E-Voting Coming To Bridgewater In October

It's official. The town of Bridgewater will move to electronic voting in October. Council approved its Alternative Voting Method by-law Monday night, paving the way for telephone and internet voting to start 10 days before election night. Councillor Patrick Hirtle is hoping the new initiative will improve voter turnout.




Paper ballots will still be available if a person votes on October 20.

South Shore: Municipal Leaders Back LQRDA

 

Municipal leaders in Lunenburg and Queens want the province to scale back a review of the area's regional development agency. The six municipal units are preparing to write the premier asking for an exemption due to the stress the region is facing with the Bowater Mersey closure. Mahone Bay mayor Joe Feeney says the local agency needs to focus on building momentum. He says they shouldn't have to worry about their own financial future.



A province-wide review of RDA's is being launched in response to funding cuts within the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. Earlier this year, ACOA announced core funding to provincial development agency's would cease as of May 21, 2013.

"Princess Of Acadia" Docked For Repairs

 

Tourism operators in Digby are hoping the Princess of Acadia ferry will be back in service in time for the Canada Day long weekend. The ferry is docked for repairs after a propeller hit some fishing gear on its reroute from Digby to Saint John, New Brunswick. The ferry is expected to be back in service later this week. The governments of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have promised $6-million in subsidies to keep the service going until 2014. Bay Ferries hopes to resume the Digby-Saint John service on Thursday, but the company is urging passengers to check for updates.

Court: Leopold Sentencing Set For Wednesday

The fate of a Liverpool man found guilty of manslaughter will be known on Wednesday. Justice Kevin Coady will hand down a sentence in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Bridgewater. Thirty-three year-old James Leroy Leopold was charged with second degree murder in the death of Laura Lee Robertson in April of last year. However, a twelve member jury found Leopold guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter last month. Leopold struck Robertson in the neck during a night of drunken sex after she bit his penis. During the trial, defense lawyers argued Leopold never intended to kill Robertson and her death was an accident. There is no minimum sentence for manslaughter and the charge carries a wide range of sentencing possibilities.

Bluenose II: Launch Date Nears

The Nova Scotia government is expected to announce the launch date of the Bluenose II by the end of the month. In an interview with CKBW/HANK FM, Heritage Minister Leonard Preyra says the province plans to firm up a relaunch date in the next few days. The schooner has undergone a $16 million rebuild on the Lunenburg waterfront. Workers have already started to dismantle the massive dome that has been covering the vessel while it was being

Mayor Confident In Return Of Ferry Service

Yarmouth Mayor Phil Mooney

The pressure is on for re-establishing the ferry link between Yarmouth and Maine. Yarmouth Mayor Phil Mooney says he's getting the sense the province is under a lot of pressure now that yet another business in the region has folded, that one being Bowater Mersey. 

The mayor says the region's largest industry and employer needs saving before its too late.



Mayor Mooney says it was made evident last week when the provincially-appointed panel met with various community leaders and groups; there's a serious problem that needs fixing and quickly.



The mayor believes a conventional ferry service will be up and running by next spring.

New Additions Coming To Veterans' Memorial Park

Two new granite monuments will soon honour those who served in the Royal Canadian Navy and Air Force. The monuments will be placed on the York Street side of Veterans' Memorial Park in Bridgewater. Chair of the park's committee, Roger Purnell, says the monuments should be in place later this year.



Purnell is optimistic the new monuments will be in place in time for Remembrance Day. The five foot cenotaphs are expected to be placed across from two other memorials.



Purnell suggests the monuments will cost around $8,000. MP Gerald Keddy announced up to $3,685 in federal funds to help with the project.

Power Out This Morning For Some South Shore Residents

A number of South Shore residents are without power at this hour.
About 132 Nova Scotia Power customers are affected along the Naugler Rd, Maitland, Maitland end of Mullock Rd, Hirtle Rd, Blockhouse, Aulenback Point, Sweetland, Woodstock Rd, Clearland, and the Mahone Bay end of the Oakland Rd and surrounding areas. Its not known what has caused the outage. NSP hopes to locate the problem, fix it and have the power restored by 1:30 this afternoon.