Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Mahone Bay, Berwick Partnering On Wind Project

Mahone Bay is teaming up with an outside municipality to supply their own electricity. Mayor Joe Feeney confirms the town, along with the town of Berwick are proposing to build a 16-megawatt windfarm near Ellershouse in the Windsor area. The municipalities currently buy their electricity from Nova Scotia Power and resell it to their residents. Feeney says the proposed seven wind turbines could be up and running and producing power in 2015. However, he says both towns still need to clear a few hurdles.



Minas Basin Pulp and Power was awarded the contract to develop the project. Feeney estimates the project with cost between 21 and $25-million. He expects the towns of Lunenburg, Antigonish and the community of Riverport to join the partnership.

Burger Recall Extended

A burger recall has been expanded due to possible E.coli contamination. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency recall was first announced last week and involved Compliments brand Super 6 Beef Burgers sold in packages of six in Ontario and Atlantic Canada. The recall now includes the same brand of burger sold in Ontario in Sobeys, Sobeys Urban, Foodland, Freshco and Price Chopper stores. President's Choice Beef Burgers in 4.54-kilogram packages in Loblaws banner stores and Webers Bucket of Burgers sold in 1.02 kilogram packages, also sold nationally, are also being recalled. Food contaminated with E. coli may not look or smell spoiled but may cause serious and potentially life-threatening illnesses. Signs or symptoms of infection, include stomach pain and diarrhea

SiRT: No Charges Against Liverpool Officer Following Pursuit

An RCMP officer from Liverpool is off the hook following an investigation by the province's Serious Incident Response Team. SiRT was looking into a motor vehicle pursuit in June. The incident stemmed from an alleged domestic assault in Lunenburg, before a 37-year-old man started driving on Highway 103 and went off the road in Granite Village, Shelburne County. The officer followed the vehicle and was on scene when the crash occurred and alerted EHS. Director Ron MacDonald feels the officer did his duty.



MacDonald says no charges will be laid against the officer. SiRT is responsible for investigating all serious incidents involving police in Nova Scotia.

Lunenburg: Liberals Win Behind Lohnes-Croft

In the riding of Lunenburg, Suzanne Lohnes-Croft of the Liberals scored an upset of sorts over incumbent NDP MLA Pam Birdsall. She defeated Birdsall by nearly 400 votes in a tight battle which was fought right down to the final few polls. Lohnes-Croft says she plans to work hard as an MLA.



Progressive Conservative candidate Brian Pickings garnered 2,495 votes to finished third. Lohnes-Croft picked up 37 percent of the ballots cast.

Queens-Shelburne: Belliveau Secures Election Victory

In the riding of Queens-Shelburne, the NDP were able to secure an election victory behind Sterling Belliveau. He raked in 3,066 votes to win the riding by 363 over his next closest competitor PC candidate Bruce Inglis. Belliveau says the night was filled with mixed emotions.



Belliveau captured the riding by taking 37 percent of the vote. Liberal Benson Frail finished third and took in 2,286 votes.

Liberal Furey Wins Lunenburg West Riding

The second time was the charm for Liberal Mark Furey in the riding of Lunenburg West. In a tightly contested riding, Furey pulled in 3,931 votes to defeat NDP incumbent Gary Ramey. Ramey had a solid showing with 2.826 votes on the night. Progressive Conservative candidate David Mitchell picked up 2,143 votes to finish third. Rob Pierce of the Green Party had 219 votes. Furey says he's looking forward to representing residents in the riding, but also paid tribute to his team of volunteers.



This is the second time Furey ran for MLA, after finishing third in 2009. He won the riding taking 43 percent of the votes. Voter turnout in Lunenburg West was 59 per cent.



Peterson-Rafuse Reclaims Chester-St. Margaret's Riding

One of the few New Democrats returning to the Legislature will be Denise Peterson-Rafuse. The incumbent for Chester-St. Margaret's held off a hard-charging PC candidate Janet Irwin to win by 148 votes. Peterson-Rafuse says the results have left her feeling surreal.



Overall, 65% of eligible voters in Chester-St. Margaret's cast their ballot in the election. Peterson-Rafuse received roughly 35% of the popular vote in the riding. Final totals are below.

Chester - St. Margaret's

Denise Peterson-Rafuse (NDP) - 3,341 votes

Janet Irwin (PC) - 3,193 votes

Tim Harris (Liberal) - 2,943 votes

Election: Liberals Win Majority/Dexter Loses Seat

A tough night for the NDP turned into a political disaster for Darrell Dexter, who lost his government and his seat in the Nova Scotia legislature. In maybe the biggest upset of the night, Dexter lost his riding of Cole Harbour-Portland Valley by 31 votes to Liberal Tony Ince. Dexter had been a member of the legislature for 15 years. Meanwhile, Premier designate Stephen McNeil and his Liberals claimed a majority government winning 33 seats in the 51-seat legislature. The Grits broke through and nearly swept the seat rich Halifax area - long known as an NDP strong hold. The Progressive Conservatives under Jamie Baillie picked up four seats in the legisature to form the Official Oppostion. They finished with 11 seats in total. The NDP finished the night with seven seats.