Chester: Thousands Lose Power

There's roughly 7,000 people in the Chester area without power. An outage was reported just after 4:30pm. Nova Scotia Power says it's due to transmission line interruption. According to the company, the power should be back on around 6:30pm. Here's a link to their outage map

South Shore Health: No Confirmed H1N1 Flu Cases

There have been no confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu strain along the South Shore. The medical officer of health with South Shore Health, Dr. Linda Earle, says it's been a typical flu season so far in the region. There are at least two confirmed cases of H1N1 in the province while 10 people have died and hundreds are in hospital with the virus in Alberta. Dr. Earle says people should get the flu shot if they haven't already. She expects cases to rise.



Earle says the flu shot protects against three different strains of influenza including H1N1. The flu shot is provided free of charge from family doctors, nurse practitioners, some pharmacists and clinics offered by Public Health Services. Seniors, children ages six months to five years, Aboriginals, pregnant women and anyone with chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, asthma and diabetes are encouraged to get a flu shot.

Chester Basin: Guilty Plea In Drugs For Sex Case

A 24 year-old man charged in a drug for sex ring in the Chester area will be sentenced in March. Dustin Collicutt has pleaded guilty to trafficking hydromorphone in Chester Basin. He will be sentenced on March 24. Four other men were charged in relation to the case. Each of them will need to appear before a judge within the year to deal with their charges. Mounties were tipped-off that the men were allegedly exchanging prescription drugs for sexual favours with four females - ranging in age 16 to 18. That kicked off an eight month investigation before charges were laid last year.

Nominees Announced For 2013 Lunenburg-Queens Business Excellence Awards

The nominees are out for the 2013 Lunenburg-Queens Business Excellence Awards. Lanes Privateer Inn and White Point Beach Resort along with the Old Fish Factory are finalists for the Hospitality award. The Large Business Award nominations include the Best Western Liverpool, J and H Industries and South Shore Glass while School House Gluten Free Gourmet, Hell Bay Brewery and Bailly's Fuel are up for the Small Business Award. Hardware will also be given out in categories including Export, Entrepreneurial and New Business. An award ceremony will take place February 17th at the Best Western Plus in Cookville. Full award details are listed below. All other details can be found here .

Hospitality award - Sponsored by South Shore Opportunities : 

Lanes Privateer Inn, Old Fish Factory White Point

Export - sponsored by NSBI : 

Muwin Estates, RPS, Heka

Large Business. - Sponsored by CIBC : 

Best Western Liverpool, J & H Industries, South Shore Glass

Entrepreneurial – Sponsored by Clearwater : 

New Voice, Java Bead, Lunenburg Walking Tours

New Business – Sponsored by BDC :

Cocoa Organic Spa, Tech cube, Fiore Botanical and Natural Skin Care

Small Business – Sponsored by Windward Advancement :

School House Gluten Free Gourmet, Hell Bay Brewery, Bailly's Fuel

UPDATE: Oakhill Accident Victims' Conditions Unchanged

Three people critically injured in a two-vehicle accident yesterday in Oakhill remain in hospital today in Halifax. They were in a car that collided with an SUV on highway 325 about 3:20 Tuesday afternoon.
Cpl. Jamie Vacon of Chester RCMP says the three were related.



The 9 year old boy was airlifted to the QE-2 Hospital in Halifax while the woman and 13 year old boy were transported by ground ambulance to Halifax. Two people in the SUV were sent to South Shore Regional with undetermined injuries. Their conditions today aren't known. Cause of the crash hasn't been determined but roads in the area were slippery at the time.

South Shore Curlers Search For Scotties Provincial Title

The Nova Scotia Scotties Tournament of Hearts gets underway today in Cape Breton. Eight teams are vying for the title of provincial champion including some curlers from the South Shore. Jill Brothers of Liverpool and Bliss Joyce of Lunenburg make up half of team Heather Smith out of CFB Halifax Curling Club. Games begin at 1pm this afternoon at the Sydney Curling Club. All results can be found here .

South Shore Woman To Head District Labour Council

There's a new face at the helm of the labour movement on the South Shore. Lisa Mason is the newly elected president of the South Shore District Labour Council. At age 31, she's the youngest worker ever to be elected to the position. Mason takes over from long-time council president Bud Johnson. Among issues she intends to confront are improvements to the Canada Pension Plan, making more money available for baby boomers and others who will soon be retiring.



Mason also plans to promote changes to Employment Insurance and help in improving the working lives of women and other equality groups. Mason is a home support worker with the Lunenburg County Home Support Services Society and President of CUPE local 3936.

Snowboarder Duckworth Closing In On Olympic Nod

Lunenburg County snowboarder Alex Duckworth admits its hard not to think about the Olympics right now. The Kingsburg native is competing in Colorado ahead of her World Cup Grand Prix event in Quebec next week. Duckworth is coming off a sixth place finish at this season's first World Cup in Finland, a new personal best for the 26-year-old. She says she's mentally preparing for the games.



Duckworth, who began snowboarding at the age of 10, says it would be a dream come true to make it to the Olympics. Duckworth's top two results out of four World Cup races will determine the Olympic rankings. She will find out January 21 if she's heading to Sochi, Russia as part of the Canadian team.

Duck Hunters Rescued In Shelburne County

Its a happy ending for two duck hunters stranded yesterday (Tuesday) on Solomon Island in Shelburne County. A Canadian Coast Guard vessel was called-in to make the rescue near the Woods Harbour coastline late Tuesday afternoon. The hunters couldn't get off the island after their boat drifted away in rough seas earlier in day. Their outboard was eventually recovered by local fishermen. The coast guard used a zodiac to reach the two men on the island. They were said to be safe and started a fire to keep warm by the time help arrived. The Canadian Coast Guard vessel was based out of Clark's Harbour