There’s a brand new council in Witless Bay, and those elected are hoping this changing of the guard will result in a new direction for the town.

The entirety of the old council was ousted. That comes following immense controversy in the town regarding development in the area of Ragged Beach.

Lorna Yard, one of the most vocal opponents of that development, was elected to a seat on council.

She says Witless Bay has had a historically-low voter turnout, but for this election engagement was high.

According to Yard, there’s a feeling among those who were elected that pride needs to be restored in the town.

That’s an issue that she says goes beyond the Ragged Beach controversy, noting that they’re all “tired of controversy” and want to move forward.