PLFA Building Membership-Support

The Professional Lobster Fishermen's Association continues to build its membership from the ground up. Approximately 30 fishermen attended a meeting in Chester yesterday afternoon with a majority satisfied with the direction the group is headed. Fisherman Troy Nickerson spoke with CKBW/HANK FM following the meeting. "This is a chance to do something. The big goal is we are looking to next season. We don't want $3.25 next season. It's known that if we don't get our act together that's what going to happen. I'm confident we're going to be able to do it little by little, the old saying taking the land back step by step...well...we're taking the sea back...step by step," The movement began almost three weeks ago following a meeting in Barrington. Since the PFLA formed on January 4th lobster prices at the wharf have jumped from $3.25 to $5.50 per pound. The association now sports close to 600 members and plan to meet again in Liverpool next week.

Massive Wind Farm Planned between Chester and Windsor

Lunenburg County will be soon be home to the largest wind farm in the province. A trio of companies have a proposal to construct the South Canoe Wind Project. The project would consist of 33 to 50 turbines and produce enough power to heat approximately 28-thousand homes. Minas Basin Pulp and Paper and Oxford Frozen Foods have partnered with Nova Scotia Power on the project which will help the province meet its renewable energy targets. John Woods, vice-president of energy development for Minas Basin, says getting the site ready would create about 100 jobs. The project will be located between Windsor and Chester and span 6,400 hectares. The award group will be announced in April while the wind farm will be operation by 2015. A public meeting will be held in Chester in the near future to unveil project details to their residents. Meanwhile, another public forum will be held at the Vaughn Fire Hall on February 11th from 2-5PM.

Joint Services Meeting in Bridgewater

The fourth gathering in a series of five public meetings regarding a joint services report goes Thursday night in Bridgewater. Council members from the town, Mahone Bay and Municipality of Lunenburg are expected to take in the event as well consultants from Marathon Human Resources Group. The public is urged to come to the event and ask questions to help the councils learn more about the report and the impact it could have on the three areas. The meeting gets underway at 7pm Thursday night in the Bridgewater High School cafeteria.

Changes needed to accommodate Bridgewater leash-free dog space

The town of Bridgewater will hold a public participation meeting to discuss proposed amendments to its Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use by-law for a leash-free dog park. The town approved the Master Plan for Generations Active Park in principle December 12 and are looking to make changes to their MPS and LUB to allow a leash-free dog space in the park. The Planning Department is also hoping Parks, Recreation and Culture will create a leash-free dog park program to address issues like hours of operation, rules for users and fencing requirements. The public meeting will be held February 8 at 6pm in council chambers.

Fisheries Minister Reacts to "No Show" Comments

Fisheries Minister Sterling Belliveau says he's been monitoring a series of rotating meetings but explains he's never been formally invited to attend any of them.  He made the comments after he was accused of being a "no-show" at a recent meeting in Digby hosted by the Professional Lobster Fishing Association. In an interview with CKBW/HANK FM News, Belliveau says the industry faces some serious challenges and the government is paying attention. He says several working groups are set to begin consultations within industry via the Lobster Council of Canada. "There's four or five working groups that's going to go across Nova Scotia and our neighbouring provinces over the next few weeks. They will have a lot of discussion and consultation with the industry, there a lot of working going on and I think the industry needs to understand this," The council is expected to report its findings sometime in April.

Bridgewater High Principal: Students to blame for Broken Sprinkler Head

The principal of Bridgewater High is disciplining one or more students after an incident at the school Monday afternoon. Chuck McLellan says it has been determined that students are at fault after a broken sprinkler head caused the Bridgewater Fire Department to respond to a fire alarm sounding at the school. McLellan says he is not allowed to say who is involved, the gender or the ages because of the school's confidentiality framework and the protection of privacy act. He also isn't allowed to confirm the nature of the punishment. No damage was done to the school after an unknown amount of water sprayed out of the broken sprinkler head.

Bridgewater Councillor discusses town history

Patrick Hirtle

A Bridgewater town councillor is swapping hats to be a history teacher for a night. Patrick Hirtle will read from and discuss his book "Going Against the Grain, the Rise of Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, 1812-1899." Hirtle says it will give people a chance to learn more about a significant time in the town's history.

"It talks a lot about a really important time in Bridgewater's history. It's a period when the community really rose to prominence in Lunenburg County and really pushed itself into a position to challenge Lunenburg as the unofficial shire town of the county."

Hirtle hopes to see people of all ages attend Thursday night's discussion. The event gets underway at 7pm at the Desbrisay Museum.