BREAKING: Martin Misses Standard, Qualifies For Final

It's down to one more race for Jenna Martin to get an Olympic 'A' standard time. The Bridgewater native missed the time in Thursday night's semi-final heat at the Canadian Track and Field Championships. She won her heat with a time of 52.25 seconds but needs 51.55 in her pursuit of the Olympic games.  After the race, Martin remained optimistic it will happen.



Martin says she learned a lot about herself after Thursday night's race and is ready to give it everything she's got in the final.



The 24-year-old qualified for Friday night's 400 metre women's final, giving her a chance to repeat as Canadian champion.

Power Outage Affecting Over 2,000 Along South Shore

Roughly 2,122 households and businesses in parts of Lunenburg and Queens County are without power at the moment. Communities such as Brooklyn, Port Medway, along Hwy #103 to Hebbs Cross, Mill Village and Italy Cross are affected. Nova Scotia Power says a tree fell on power lines outside Mill Village, which caused the outage. The utility anticipates power to be restored by 6:15 this evening.

SSRSB Removes Catchment Option For Mill Village

A school review option to include Mill Village in the Petite Riviere catchment area has been taken off the table. Petite Riviere's school advisory council proposed the option to the school board last month. Consultants with Deloitte. Inc looked into the option and reported back to the superintendent with their recommendations. Board member Judith Sullivan-Corney says she decided against the proposal because students would eventually become part of the Park View feeder system.




Sullivan-Corney also decided against the option because it would mean students at Mill Village would be picked up an hour earlier for school. 

Chester Wants To Stop Screening Operation

The Municipality of Chester will seek a court order to stop an illegal screening operation within the village. Officials have been wrestling with an individual for over a week because large piles of earth and rock are being processed in an area next to the Old Stone Bridge. The individual is allegedly using the area to process the material but doesn't have a permit for the operation. It's also in violation of municipal bylaws in Chester. Warden Allen Webber says their bylaw officer has instructed the individual to cease work at the site on numerous occasions. Council will begin the process of gaining a court order next week. The operator is being fined $227.00 per day while the work continues.

Province Should Buy Bowater Woodlands: Wildlife Group

Liverpool, N.S.

The Canadian Parks and Wildlife Society wants the provincial government to buy all the Bowater Mersey land that's for sale in the province.  The 220-thousand hectares of woodland is considered by many to be some of the most productive forest in the region, as well as an important habitat for species at risk.

There are fears a foreign company with a lot of cash might buy the land from Resolute Forest Products and ship the wood out of the province.  The head of the newly formed Lunenburg-Queens Community Transition Team, Ron Smith, says there has to be a plan quickly put in place to prevent that scenario from happening.



Smith says the provincial government is hastily exploring possibilities on what to do to prevent a foreign sale of the Bowater woodlands.

Skilled Trades Centre To Be Built At Forest Heights

A skilled trades centre will be built at Forest Heights Community School. Director of Operations with the regional school board, Steve Prest, made the announcement during Wednesday night's meeting. The province has given them $140,000 to renovate two classrooms for the program. Prest says they are filling a community-need for the Chester school.




The centre is expected to offer courses around skilled trades and construction. Prest says renovations could start as early as this summer and be finished by early February.

Martin Runs Semi-Final Race Tonight

The day has finally arrived for Jenna Martin. After eight months of training in Florida, the Bridgewater native gets down to business at the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Calgary with the Olympics on her mind. The 24-year-old says she's ready for her semi-final race.



Martin will run in the first heat Thursday night. She says she has a strategy to set the Olympic 'A' standard time.



Martin will try and break the 51.55 second barrier and qualify for Friday night's final. She is the defending 400 metre Canadian champion.