Snow turning to Rain

It may end up more wet than white by later in the day. According to Environment Canada, a low pressure centre is forming off the Carolina coast this morning. It is expected to deepen rapidly as it passes off the Shelburne coast after midnight on it's way to lie just east of Cape Breton Island late Friday. Strong northeasterly winds will develop overnight over the province and strengthen considerably out of the north on Friday as the low passes by. Rain is expected where winds blow onshore off the warm sea. Wet snow is expected tonight inland especially over higher terrain. Areas away from the sea may have amounts of wet snow up to 10 Centimetres. However..the weather office says these same areas will see increasing amounts of rain rather than snow through Friday as temperatures moderate. They are asking people to keep an ear on the forecast as conditions and details may change.

School Board Candidates

Two candidates have put forth their names for a vacant seat on the South Shore Regional School Board. Superintendent Nancy Pynch-Worthylake says a by-election has been set for Saturday,November 21st to to fill the position left vacant when Karen Kinley resigned from the Board earlier this year. Craig Buffett of Spectacle Lake and John Jenkins of Lunenburg - have filed their nominations to represent District 7 on the Board. District 7 comprises the Town of Lunenburg and Polling Districts 1 and 2 in the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg. Voting will take place at advance polls from noon until 8 p.m. on November 14 and 17 and on election day, November 21, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The advance polls are located in the Royal Canadian Legion #23 in Lunenburg. On election day, polls are located in Palmer's Slipcovers & Draperies in Dean's Corner, the Riverport Community Centre, Royal Canadian Legion #23 in Lunenburg, the Little Tancook Activity Centre on Little Tancook Island and the Big Tancook Recreational Centre on Big Tancook Island. There will also be mobile polls on election day in Lunenburg at the Veteran's Unit of Fisherman's Memorial Hospital from 10 a.m. to noon and at Harbour View Haven from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Only residents of the Veteran's Unit and of Harbour View Haven are eligible to vote in the mobile polls. In order to qualify to be on the list of electors and vote, a person must be 18 years or older on election day, be a Canadian citizen and have lived in District 7 since August 21, 2009. People can find out whether they are on the list of electors by contacting Returning Officer Ted Bulley by telephone at 902-354-2563, email at bulleyt@eastlink.ca or in person at 92 Union Street, Liverpool.

Boat Building Help

Nova Scotia is offering up money to help the province's boat building industry open new global markets. And seven businesses along the south shore will be benefiting. Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Sterling Belliveau announced the 155-thousand dollars in funding this week. He says the long-term viability of boat building is important to our rural communities and the province's economy. The funding will allow companies to participate in market research, marketing activities and the development of marketing materials. The investment is part of one million dollars in cost-shared boat building funding over two years previously announced from the Community Development Trust Fund. Companies that have received funding from the south shore are: ABCO Industries Ltd., Lunenburg; Covey Island Boatworks, Lunenburg; Goreham's Marine 2000 Inc., Woods Harbour; The Dory Shop, Lunenburg; Lutwick's Boatbuiling, Mahone Bay; Norseboat Ltd., Lunenburg and Nova Trawler Company, Shelburne.

Gas Cash

The NDP is handing out almost 900-thousand-dollars over the next several days for projects that will help reduce greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions. Environment Minister Sterling Belliveau was in Lunenburg today (September 11th) where he announced 85-thousand dollars for six projects along the South Shore. There is a $40,834 grant for an energy-savings project by the Town of Lunenburg to help reduce energy consumption in seven of the town's buildings. That will happen through energy-efficient lighting and upgrades to insulation, and building system and heating systems. Funding will also allow the Dayspring and District Fire Hall to be fitted with solar panels and Lockeport, Mahone Bay and the town and municipality of Shelburne to conduct an energy inventory and audit of municipal infrastructure. The Dayspring project will receive $8,694, while Lockeport will get $4,160, Mahone Bay $10,000, the Municipality of the District of Shelburne $9,487 and the Town of Shelburne $9,930. Belliveau says government wants Nova Scotia to be one of the cleanest and greenest places in the world. He says the projects announced today will each play a part in helping achieve that goal.

Film Locations

Later this month, camera's will be rolling in two south shore communities. Last night, Lunenburg council gave approval to an agreement with the company involved with a 16-million dollar production of Moby Dick. And with tourism numbers down somewhat this summer, Mayor Lawrence Mawhinney says this shoulder-season event will be good for Lunenburg. Filming is expected to take place during the week of September 20th. Mayor Mawhinney says the shoot will involve several areas of Old Town which is standing in for Nantucket. They plan to film around several older buildings in Lunenburg. The German/Canadian production will also be filming in Shelburne and Malta. William Hurt is one of the stars whose name has been mentioned in connection with the film.

Canada Games Winners

Team Nova Scotia is bringing home 52 medals from Prince Edward Island, the most medals ever won by the province in any Canada Games. Ron O'Flaherty, Team Nova Scotia Chef de Mission says the team came together as friends and competitors, representing our province in the best light possible. Team Nova Scotia won 26 gold, 10 silver and 16 bronze, and improved the team's overall standing to fifth place. South Shore athletes Mattias Wolter, Jenna Martin and Rachel McIntosh all contributed to the tally. Chelsea Whalen of Liverpool got a bronze medal in shotput and Marcus Dolliver of Mahone Bay won a silver medal with the men's basketball team.

Bill Damage Assistance

Major work will be needed to repair the damage Hurricane Bill did to the causeway at Western Head. Member of Parliament Gerald Keddy says it's not clear if the repair bill will qualify for federal dollars. He says the provincial government has to pay for the repairs and then apply to the federal government for assistance. He says the Disaster Relief funding automatically applies when damages are above a million dollars. The M-P for South Shore/St. Margaret's says Bill did quite a bit of damage in areas of the riding in Western Head and in Lockeport.

Real Estate Growth

Real Estate prices on the south shore don't seem to be negatively affected by the current economic challenges. The Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS® says the average price for MLS® home sales from May to July was up 5% over the same three months in 2008. The average single family dwelling in the province sold for $202,676. The south shore saw average prices go up by 4.9 percent to $156,216. Yarmouth saw the only decrease, dropping 0.9% to $122,848 and Highland went up the most, 9.2% to $143,366. A total of 3492 homes sold through the MLS® System in Nova Scotia from May to July 2009, down 9 per cent from one year earlier. The dollar value of these home sales totalled $707.7 million during the period, a decline of 5.2 per cent year-over-year. Interest rates are at historic lows and there's been no sign of any significant increases on the horizon.

South Shore Visits

No better time than the summer to see the south shore. And two of the federal party leaders are heading our way. Jack Layton of the New Democratic Party was scheduled for a boat tour of Chester Harbour last evening. Today, he'll be spending time with Lunenburg MLA Pam Birdsall and Lunenburg West's Gary Ramey. This evening he's scheduled to have dinner with Mayors Joe Feeney, Don Downe and Lawrence Mawhinney and Deputy Mayor David Walker. And Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is in Cape Breton today and will be in Yarmouth, Shelburne and Clarke's Harbour tomorrow.

LEED School

Wherever the new P to 9 school is located in Lunenburg, it will be LEED silver certified. LEED is a rating system used by the Green Building council of Canada to rate new buildings on their energy and environmental features. Three recommended sites approved by the South Shore Regional School Board have been sent to the Minister of Education who will who will request a formal review of the sites by the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal. The School Steering Team for the new facility also reviewed the School Space Allocation Program and at it's next committee meeting will review possible amendments to the program.

History Winners

Two South Shore teenagers have been selected as the Nova Scotia delegation of 8 students to attend the 15th annual National Historica Fair in Ottawa from July 7 to 13. The National Historica Fair will bring together 100 students from across Canada for a week of learning and adventure that includes a public display of their history projects on Thursday, July 9th, at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Fifteen year old Jean Clarke, , from Lunenburg,has a project entitled Fisherman’s Suits, while 14 year old Haleigh Atwood from Shelburne will be there with a project entitled New France: The Electric City. The 100 National Fair delegates were selected from among the over 250,000 students in more than 1,000 communities who participated in local and Regional Historica Fairs in April and May.

Health Workers

Two former recipients of the South Shore Health Bursary Program ,one RN and one LPN, have completed their return-for service agreements and are now working for South Shore Health. The program was established in 2006 and has provided funding to students from Lunenburg and Queens Counties who are interested in pursuing a career. The Bursary Program is funded by the Health Services Foundation and the Queens General Foundation and last year receivedadditional funding from the Fishermen’s Memorial Hospital Auxiliary. Successful recipients are required to enter into a return-for-service agreement with the District equal to the number of years supported by the program. This year, there are 6 recipients graduating from their chosen field of study: 4 RN's; 1 Medical Laboratory Technologist; and 1 Medical Radiology Technologist. Five of the recipients have or will begin their return-for service agreement over the next several months. The District is currently supporting 3 RN's and 1 Physician and hope to support an additional 5 students in 2009-2010.

MLA's Appointed

Two South Shore NDP MLA's among eight appointed to the role of ministerial assistants. They will represent ministers and government to build relationships with important stakeholders, and oversee policy and program development that helps government keep commitments. Lunenburg West's Gary Ramey has been named ministerial assistant to the Department of Health while Queens MLA Vicki Conrad, has been appointed to Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal. Ministerial assistants will not receive additional pay for their role and it is not a full-time position.

Stroke Awareness

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in Canada but work continues on the south shore to address the health issue. The District is working on a program to both treat and prevent brain attacks, also known as strokes. Clinical Services President Sandy Christie says on the South Shore, we have high rates of many of the risk factors for stroke. They include smoking, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, physical inactivity and elevated cholesterol levels. As part of the program, funded by the Department of Health, South Shore Health hired a Coordinator to help support District planning and implementation. South Shore Health has dedicated 4-beds on the Cardiovascular Health Unit at South Shore Regional Hospital to stroke care. Christie says evidence shows grouping stroke patients together improves functional outcomes, reduces mortality rates and decreases length of hospital stay.

Health Board

2009-05-12 12:05:36

Nova Scotia's Health Minister has appointed one new member and re-appointed three others to the Board of Directors for South Shore Health.  Christopher Clarke, Walter Freeman and Doug Nauss are all returning to the board.  Dr. Al Doucet is the new face. He has practised as a family physician in Liverpool for 31 years and was a recent president of the District's Medical Staff. He retired from family practice last year and is currently working part time as South Shore Health's physician leader for Continuing Care.  Dr. Doucet replaces retiring Board Member Dr. David Large who did not reoffer for his position.

Health money

2009-05-05 06:13:05

South Shore residents are going to be seeing an enhancement of service at the South Shore Regional Hospital. MLA  Carolyn Bolivar-Getson, on behalf of Health Minister Karen Casey, says a multi-million dollar  investment in South Shore Regional Hospital will enhance emergency room service and accommodate a satellite dialysis unit.  Funding was also announced for design work on Queens General Hospital in Liverpool. The design work will enable the Queens project to move forward.  Christopher Clarke co-chair of the hospitals fundraising committee says they've been working towards the project for about 6 years. The 22 medical beds that were built in 1965 will be replaced with modern up to date facilities and there will be a new primary care centre meaning better medical delivery in Queens