Carver Recovering Well After Surgery In Toronto

A New Germany native says she has a new lease on life following double-lung transplant surgery. Thirty-three year old Jessica Carver has Cystic Fibrosis; a genetic disorder which critically affects the lungs, and also the pancreas and liver. She remains on the road to recovery in Toronto General Hospital following the surgery in mid-December. Carver's personal blog reveals she has regained her appetite and enjoyed New Year's Eve at the hospital with friends and family. She says she's grateful for all the support.



Carver hopes to be released from hospital sometime this week. She says the next three months are critical and she will have to take anti-rejection medicine and complete physiotherapy before she can return home. If all goes well, she hopes to return to the South Shore in March. You can read Carver's blog here .

Nearly 45 Aquaculture Jobs Headed To Shelburne

Two new aquaculture sites in Shelburne county will create 27 new jobs. Kelly Cove Salmon Limited, a subsidiary of Cooke Aquaculture, will operate the new pens in Jordan Bay. Spokeswoman Nell Halse says the new sites will be installed and stocked later this spring. The Nova Scotia Government issued the approval to operate the sites last month. The approval is contingent on strict agreements to ensure the sites will protect the local fishing industry and coastal environment. Meanwhile, employees within the provincial aquaculture division are set to Shelburne early in the new year. The move will bring another 15 full-time jobs to the area. Cooke is also in the process of designing a new state of the art hatchery for the Digby area and a processing facility in Shelburne.

Hospital Restricts Visitors After Illness Detected

The third floor at South Shore Regional Hospital has been temporarily closed to visitors because of a gastrointestinal illness circulating among patients. The medical and surgical unit will be restricted to visitors until further notice. Infection prevention practitioner, Sheila Lee, says they've seen a spike in illness from two patients to nine over the past 12 hours. She says there's no timeline for the visitor restriction.



Some exceptions to the restriction may apply for immediate family of critically ill patients. All outpatient hospital services are available. The health authority says thorough hand washing can help prevent the spread of this illness.

Bridgewater Couple Welcomes New Year's Baby

A Bridgewater couple have the first new year's baby for South Shore Health. Wesley Organ was born at 10:31AM on January 1st at the regional hospital in Bridgewater, weighing nine pounds and eight ounces. Twenty-five year old Megan Skinner and 29-year-old Jacy Organ are the proud parents. Jacy says they were a little surprised the baby was delivered New Year's Day.



The parents and baby are expected to leave the hospital today with their new bundle of joy.

Chester Has Concerns Over RDA's Dissolution

The Warden in Chester has some concerns over a proposal to dissolve regional development agencies in Nova Scotia. An independent panel has recommended the creation of six Regional Enterprise Network's across the province. Under the proposal for this region, municipal units from Halifax to Shelburne would join to form an REN - designed to better promote economic development. However, Allen Webber feels the new model is too broad.



The need to replace existing RDAs became necessary when the federal government announced last May it was cutting core funding to RDAs in the province. If the proposal moves forward, the REN's would replace Nova Scotia's 12 regional development agency's.

South Shore Taxpayers Paying More In 2013

Be prepared to see more of your income used to pay higher taxes in 2013. Provincially, the government here still refuses to index tax brackets to inflation and that means more taxation. The federal government also has tax increases of its own that took effect January 1st. They include hikes in EI premiums and CPP payroll taxes. Canadian Taxpayers Federation Atlantic director Kevin Lacey says we're paying more in taxes provincial and federally than elsewhere in the country. He says South Shore residents in particular know only too well that 2012 saw no improvement. The provincial government bailed out major employers like Bowater by pumping big bucks into their operations to keep them afloat.



Lacey believes the effects of those bailouts and company collapses will be felt for years.