Province/Bowater Mersey Reach $23.7 M Land Deal

The Nova Scotia Government has reached an agreement to buy just over 10,000 hectares of land from Bowater Mersey. The $23.7 million dollar land deal involves various parcels of land from five counties in western Nova Scotia The largest parcel is 5,665 hectares and located is in Annapolis County. Almost 5,500 acres from Queens and 230 from Lunenburg County was also purchased by the province. The land includes forests, old-growth timber stands, ocean and lake frontage, wetlands and some land of cultural significance to the Mi'kmaq. The purchase is part of the government's $50 million bailout package for Bowater's Brooklyn-based paper mill.

Breaking: Shut Down at Bowater Mersey Extended

A shutdown at Bowater Mersey's Paper Mill in Brooklyn has been extended another week. The paper making machines at the mill have been off since Christmas and employees were expected to resume work on Monday. However, Bowater's CEO Brad Pelley says the company has decided to extend their downtime another week because of poor market conditions in Europe. Pelley says operations at the mill will now resume on January 16th. "Selling paper in Europe right now is not a particularly attractive place to sell. Producer who have traditionally sold a lot of volume in Europe are now looking to other markets. There is also over supply issues in both Asia and Latin America as well...those are markets we traditionally serve and prices are being depressed as a result," The company understands the economic uncertainty in Europe won't improve in a week. However, he says by pulling some volume out of the market it may increase the demand for paper products.

RCMP identify Waterloo crash victim

The name of the victim of Thursday's accident on highway 210 in Waterloo has been released by Lunenburg County RCMP. 29-year-old Naomi Rosemary Steele of Chelsea died late Thursday morning when the car she was driving collided with a snowplow. The crash happened during a snowstorm that had created slippery driving conditions. A 31-year-old male passenger in the car was sent to South Shore Regional Hospital with non life threatening injuries. The driver of the plow wasn't hurt.

UARB approves power rate hike for Lunenburg utility

Residents of Lunenburg will be paying more for their power. The utility and review board has approved a rate hike but not as much as most Nova Scotians. The increase of slightly less than 10 per cent for customers of the Lunenburg electric utility is retroactive to the start of the year. Staff have not worked out exactly what the price of electricity will be for the local utility's clients. Customers paid 14 per cent less than Nova Scotia Power clients did prior to the rate hike. Lunenburg buys its power from Nova Scotia Power.

South Shore Lobster Fishers to Fight for Higher Prices

Approximately 150 fishermen along the South Shore are prepared to enter into a battle for higher lobster prices. The fishermen have rallied to form a new association that will give them better representation when dealing with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The group met on Wednesday in Barrington for the first time to chart a future path. The new association, that has yet to select an official name, doesn't want to sell any lobsters for less than $5.50 a pound. The new pricing will take effect by midnight next Tuesday, when fishermen will hold their catch until they get what they are demanding. Mood says the unnamed association has to work through a regulatory process to be formally recognized by DFO. Lobster is currently selling for about $5.00 per pound.

Chester Pulls Plug on proposed Wind Energy Project in St. Croix

Chester Council has decided to pull out of a proposed wind energy project in St. Croix. Minas Basin Pulp and Paper have been looking for partners to try and move the proposed $16 million dollar project and had reached out to the municipality for support. Council had been mulling over investing four to five-million dollars into the project. However, during their meeting on Thursday, council determined the return on their investment wouldn't be worth getting involved in the project. Warden Allen Webber says there were too many unknowns surrounding the project. He says the project could still move forward but without the municipality.

South Shore hockey book to be launched

A new book is out describing the history of hockey on the South Shore. 'A History of Hockey on the South Shore and The Guys of the South Shore 1962-63 / 1963-64 Two Nova Scotia Championships' is the books title. It also reflects on hockey teams that played on the South Shore including the Chester Ravens, Lunenburg Victorias and Falcons, Bridgewater Hawks and Liverpool Rovers. Author Kie MacIsaac says the book also talks about the history of local rinks.

"The two rinks that had artificial ice surfaces were Lunenburg and Bridgewater and in the early 1920s, hockey was played in the outdoor arenas in Chester and Liverpool. So, it captures a lot of that information."

MacIsaac says the book focuses on a time period between 1889-1965. The book will be launched at Friday night's hockey game between the Lumberjacks and Woodstock starting at 7pm. MacIsaac will be on-hand to sell and sign the book at a cost of $19.95.