Power Outages: Busy Day For NSP Crews

High wind gusts have knocked out power to roughly 23,000 Nova Scotia Power customers. On the South South, more than 650 residents have lost their power in Bridgewater, another 110 in the Chester area are without power. There is a wind warning in effect for Lunenburg and Queens with winds gusting to 90 kilometres per hour. Wind warnings have ended for Shelburne and Yarmouth. High winds and rain are the cause for a majority of outages in the province. For the latest information on outages in your community check out the Nova Scotia Power outage map or phone 1-877-428-6004.

Queens: Council Supports Skateboard Park

The Region of Queens has thrown their support behind a skateboard park in the area. Council unanimously decided to give the Queens County Skateboard group $200,000 plus roughly $35,000 worth of land by Queens Place. Mayor Chris Clarke says the funding is being provided from a special reserve fund.



Clarke says project stipulations include they want construction to start before July 1, 2016 and the group needs to collect at least 90 per cent of the money needed before it can start building. He says its a worthwhile venture that the group has been lobbying behind for a number of years. The group is expected to ask the provincial and federal governments for further funding towards the project. The project is expected to cost around $780,000.

Wind Energy Group Seeks Investors In Lunenburg

A wind energy group will be in Lunenburg tonight to look for potential investors for two new projects in Nova Scotia. Wind4All Inc. will hold a public meeting at the Fisheries Museum. The group is consulting people across the province to raise roughly $5.5-million for wind energy projects near Sydney and in Gaetz Brook. Vice-President, John Brereton, says it's a chance for people to invest in local initiatives.



The meetings will discuss information about the company, the locations for the project and how people can invest and the return they could get. Tonight's meeting will go from 7-9pm. There will also be a meeting in Bridgewater February 5 at the Best Western. More details can be found here .

"Normal" Returns To NSCC Campus After Gas Leak

There was a scare this morning at the Lunenburg campus of the Nova Scotia Community College in Bridgewater. There was a propane gas leak. It forced the evacuation of the campus, the YMCA and an adjoining daycare centre. The leak was traced to a tank behind the YMCA. Cst. Will Creamer is media relations officer with Bridgewater Police. He says a propane company quickly got the leak under control and everything was back to normal within an hour.



No one was hurt and classes resumed by 9:30.

Bridgewater: Draft Plan Reveals Big Change For Downtown And Waterfront

The amount of parking and the possibility of a new bridge were the highlights of a meeting discussing the future of Bridgewater's downtown and waterfront. Ekistics Planning and Design released a draft plan in front of roughly 80 people Wednesday night at the Days Inn. Some of the ideas floated around include removing the south parkade, turn Old Bridge into a pedestrian promenade and building a new bridge to join Maple Street to the mall and empire theatres. There was also a suggestion about angle parking along King Street. Business owner Jim Rofhie is sceptical about the idea.



Other suggestions include improved signage in the town, more prominent green space around Riverside Park and roundabouts at North and Aberdeen and King and Victoria. The draft plan will be posted to the town of Bridgewater's website for people to view. Residents are encouraged to make suggestions over the next four weeks before a final plan is revealed in April. People can provide their input here .

Get Set For Even Higher Gas Prices!

Don't be surprised if South Shore gasoline prices take a jump overnight tonight when the utility and review board sets the coming week's numbers. In New Brunswick, which is a pretty good indicator of what may happen here, gasoline prices are up 4 cents a litre today. If that happens here, that'll push the price to about $1.33 or $1.34 a litre.

Bridgewater: Health Centre Takes Another Step

Plans are moving ahead in relation to establishing a new collaborative health centre in Bridgewater. Members of the Bridgewater Development Association have made their recommendation to South Shore Health for the selection of a developer for the project. Health authority spokeswoman, Theresa Hawkesworth says they are getting closer to their goal of opening the new centre but aren't ready to make an announcement just yet.



The Nova Scotia government recently announced up to $300-thousand dollars in support of the new centre. The health authority is looking to recruit five to seven doctors to staff the facility, which would also be home to nurse practitioners and other services.

UPDATED: Propane Leak Contained Near NSCC

Emergency crews have contained a propane leak near the NSCC Lunenburg campus on High Street. The leak forced a minor delay in the start of classes this morning. The leak was traced to a tank behind the nearby YMCA. No injuries reported.