SPORTS: Lohnes wins judo gold in Wales

Whitney Lohnes, far left, with teammates after competing in Cardiff, Wales Tuesday

It was a gold medal performance for Whitney Lohnes. The Bridgewater native took 1st place in the 48kg  under-20 division at the Commonwealth Judo Championships is Cardiff, Wales. Lohnes defeated an Australian women in the final. Her father, Tim Lohnes, watched the fight online and says he's proud of his daughter.

"She's on the mat all the time, she loves it, so to see her actually get on the podium at an international event is just excellent."

Lohnes says his daughter has been training hard since moving to Montreal to go to school at Concordia. Next up for Whitney will be the seniors category Wednesday followed up by a tournament in Belgium this weekend.

Cash Stolen from Lahave Bakery

Thieves are believed to have taken some cash from a bakery shop in Mahone Bay. The Lahave Bakery on Edgewater Street was broken into sometime overnight on Sunday. RCMP are investigating the incident and are asking the public for tips. Mounties believe the break in occurred between 6PM on Sunday night and 8:30AM Monday morning.

South Shore Housing Numbers Jump in 2011

Gary Mailman

More homes were sold on the South Shore last year than in 2010. Stats from the Multiple Listing Service show 895 homes were sold in 2011, a 9.5% increase from the previous year. The vice-president of the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors, Gary Mailman, says he's not surprised by the figures. He believes people are changing the way they sell their homes.

"It could have been in 2010, there could have been more private sales gone through where in 2011, there may have been less private sales and those people who used private means in the past or for sale by owner companies may have chosen to use the realtor route."

MLS stats also show 3,020 homes were listed in 2011, compared to 2,871 in 2010; an increase of 5.2%. The average price for a South Shore home in 2011 also jumped by 7.8%, to sit at $174,785. Mailman says he's not sure why the price went up. But, he says the area's waterfront properties could be helping the spike.

"The South Shore does have a number of high-priced waterfront properties and a few of those had sold in 2011 and that would help drive the price upwards as well because it is an average of all the sales on the South Shore."

Mailman says the South Shore stats affect homes from Hubbards to Shelburne.

New Lobster Association to hold meeting in Chester

Lobster fishermen, business officials and the public are invited to a meeting in Chester Wednesday. The newly-formed Professional Lobster Fishermen's Association will be moving its recruiting campaign east from Shelburne, Yarmouth and Digby Counties. The group's goal is to force an increase in prices. South Shore lobster fisherman Kevin Ernst says years of low prices at the wharf have created hardship for many.

"You can't go to sea and catch lobsters for $3.25 or $3.50 a pound, even at $5.00 a pound, we're only breaking even and nobody is making a profit out of that, and I know we all go to work each day in order to make money and support our families and its been a tough go."

Prices have risen from $3.25 a pound earlier this month to about $5.00 now. Wednesday's meeting of the Lobster Fishermen's Association runs between 1:30 and 2:30pm at the Chester Legion Hall.

VIDEO: Parking Meter by-law heads to second reading

Bridgewater town council has pushed their proposed parking meter by-law to second reading. Members voted unanimously in favour of going ahead but not without some clarifications. Councillor Bill McInnis was concerned with enforcement if a parking ticket isn't paid after seven days. There was nothing in the proposed by-law saying residents would face a higher fine if the ticket wasn't paid. Mayor Carroll Publicover says it's a change that needs to be made.

Members also clarified another clause that states 'Parking in excess of time allowed.' Publicover says the rule suggests parking meter users would no longer be able to feed the meters.

"If I put $0.50 an hour in the metre over the course of a day, I'm going to spend less than I would to rent a parking spot somewhere and that's taking up a spot that would be used by shoppers and people that want to do business downtown. I can't imagine it, but I guess there are people that would do that and so that has to be prevented."

Publicover says people who studied the by-law made the recommendation to put the clause in place. Council will proceed with second reading of the proposed by-law at their February 27 council meeting.