Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador
Categories: Communities in Newfoundland and Labrador | Coastal towns of Canada | Newfoundland and Labrador geography stubs
Stephenville (2005 est. pop.: 8,000) is a Canadian town in Newfoundland and Labrador on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland, located near the head of St. George's Bay.
The town functions as a local service centre for the southwestern part of the island, with a hospital, schools, stores, and banks. The town's largest employer is a large Abitibi-Consolidated pulp and paper mill producing newsprint. The town also includes a harbour, named Port Harmon, which is used for exporting from the mill. The provincial community college system, College of the North Atlantic, is headquartered in Stephenville and maintains a campus there for students from the southwestern region of the island. A provincial minimum security jail is also located in the town.
Stephenville was formerly home to Ernest Harmon AFB, which was operated by the United States Air Force between 1941-1966. After the base was closed, the facility was turned over to the federal government which then provided it to the provincial government for divestiture to the local community. The facility included the air field, which has 2 runways (10,000 ft x 200 ft, 4,000 ft x 150 ft) and numerous buildings which are operated as the Stephenville Airport. An abandoned USAF Pinetree Line radar site is located on nearby Table Mountain, north of the town. The town uses many former USAF structures for housing, recreation and entertainment.
Stephenville shares a municipal border with Kippens to the west and Stephenville Crossing to the east. Settlements on the nearby Port au Port Peninsula makes the Stephenville area Newfoundland's only bilingual region.
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Operation Yellow Ribbon
On September 11, 2001, 8 civilian airliners made unscheduled landings at the Stephenville Airport following the closure of North American airspace in the wake of the terrorist attack on New York City and Washington, DC. An unwitting participant in Operation Yellow Ribbon, the town managed to host the stranded passengers for approximately one week.
Events
On July 27, 2005 Abitibi announced plans to cease newsprint production in Stephenille, resulting in a loss of 280 jobs to the town and surrounding region.
On September 27, 2005, a torrential downpour caused 180 people to be evacuated, after two rivers that flow through the town lept their banks and flooded the town. About 140 millimetres of rain fell.
On October 29, 2005, the CBC announced that Stephenville had been chosen as site for the annual Hockey Day in Canada feature of Hockey Night in Canada. The event is to take place January 7, 2006.[1]
See also
External links
- Town of Stephenville - official website
- State of emergency remains in effect in flooded Newfoundland town
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Image:Newfoundlandflag.png |
| Cities: Corner Brook | Mount Pearl | St. John's | |
| Notable towns: Bonavista | Carbonear | Channel-Port aux Basques | Clarenville | Cupids | Ferryland | Fogo | Gander | Grand Falls-Windsor | Happy Valley-Goose Bay | Harbour Grace | Labrador City | Marystown | Nain | Placentia | Red Bay | St. Anthony | Stephenville | Trinity | |