Mooney: Move Fisheries Jobs to Yarmouth

The mayor in Yarmouth wants the province to consider relocating civil servant jobs to southwestern Nova Scotia when it begins to decentralize some government services. Phil Mooney says the area would be a natural fit for offices or services of the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture. Mooney is hoping to meet with fisheries minister Sterling Belliveau to pitch the town as an option for a decentralized fisheries department. "You know, we have the most lucrative lobster fishing industry in Canada situated right here in Yarmouth. We have an airport, a regional health facility...It would be a natural fit not only Yarmouth but the provincial government," The NDP government announced in its throne speech last month it will relocate department head offices to rural Nova Scotia. Premier Darrell Dexter says more information - like how many positions and where they will be moved - would be released this spring.

Brookside Cemetery now a Heritage Property

There's a new piece of heritage property in Bridgewater. Town council has designated the Brookside Cemetery as a historic site after a recommendation from its advisory committee. Councillor David Mitchell says the decision was a no-brainer.

"There was no question the value of it as a heritage property, the names of the important people from the past in Bridgewater that are in the cemetery and the uniqueness of the stones that are in there made a perfect case for it to be added."

Brookside Cemetery was opened in 1879 by Dean Wile, who was manager of the local carding mill. Among the notables buried in the cemetery are Mather Byles DesBrisay; a judge, politician and author who founded the local museum and Victoria Ernst, the first female doctor in Bridgewater. Mitchell says its a key step after losing two heritage properties last year.

"We lost two last year; one with the de-registration of the Riverview Community Centre and the other with the loss of the Fairview Inn in the fire, so it is important to have some more protected sites within the town because you want to maintain those for generations."

The Holy Trinity Anglican Church on Alexandra Avenue is the only other heritage property in Bridgewater. The town will now register a legal document through the province to recognize the cemetery as a heritage property.

Drugs Charges: Police Raid Home in Lunenburg

A 49 year old Lunenburg man is facing drug charges after police raided a home in the town earlier this week.  Lunenburg County RCMP carried out the search warrant with the help of the Bridgewater Police Service and South Shore Street Crime Unit. During the bust, Mounties seized marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and cash following a search of the home. Gary Benteau of Lunenburg has been charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking. He'll answer to the charge on June 13th.

Court: Buckley Case Delayed Until May

The defence lawyer for an 18 year old Chester Basin man accused of second degree murder has asked for more time to review the case against his client. Pat McEwen told court today he only received full disclosure of the evidence against Jack Buckley yesterday. Buckley is charged in the death of 57-year-old Victoria Brauns-Buckley. Her body was found in her home on the Borgels Point Road on the morning of March 2. Buckley was arrested on March 12 at a hotel in Western Shore. The case has been put over until May 17th when dates will be set for a preliminary hearing. In the meantime, Buckley has been remanded into custody at the Nova Scotia Correctional Centre.

Smith named CEO for three Southwest YMCAs

Yvonne Smith

The CEO for the Lunenburg County YMCA is expanding her role. Yvonne Smith is also the Chief Executive Officer for two more YMCAs in Yarmouth and Cornwallis in the Fundy region. Smith says she wants to incorporate more of a regional service between the three facilities.

"We're all in rural communities and for us to be sustainable and have these YMCAs in these communities, there are a lot of benefit to us working together. So, the big challenge for everyone to really break out of the mode that we are often in where we think of ourselves in isolation and look at the bigger picture and how we can work together."

Smith says she looks forward to the challenges of improving services in Yarmouth and Fundy. She says the model switch has been in the works for a long time. The management system is the first of its kind in Nova Scotia.

Mooseheads face elimination against Quebec

The Quebec Remparts have taken a stranglehold on the Halifax Mooseheads. The Remparts overcame a 3-1 deficit to beat the Moose 5-3 Tuesday night and took a 3-0 lead in their best of seven series. Scoring for the Mooseheads were Matthew Boudreau, Alex Grenier and Konrad Abeltshauser.  Zach Fucale made 32 saves in goal for the Herd, who were outshot 37-22. The Mooseheads look to keep their season alive Wednesday night in game four at the Halifax Metro Centre.

Kent Cup Final: Yarmouth drops game four; down 3-1 in finals

The Woodstock Slammers are one win away from being MHL champions. The Slammers edged the Yarmouth Mariners 2-1 Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the Best of 7 Kent Cup Final Series. Robert Visca led the Slammers with 1 goal and 1 assist. Andrew Wigg scored the lone goal for Yarmouth. Matt Murphy stopped 31 shots for the win while Charles Grant stopped 21 shots in the loss. Game five goes Friday in Woodstock.