Auxilliary RCMP Recognized

Three former RCMP Auxiliary Constables will be recognized during a special ceremony tomorrow. (Wed. April 28th) Recognition and presentations will be made to the three former members, who through their commitment and dedication, contributed in a significant way to the community policing service delivery model in Lunenburg County. The ceremony is set for 1:15 p.m. at the RCMP Cookville detachment.
The RCMP Auxiliary Constable Program is a Community Policing Program that allows community residents the opportunity to work with regular members of the RCMP, providing front-line support to policing services in the areas of general duties, school liaison, drug awareness, traffic control, boat patrols, off-highway vehicles patrols, as well as numerous other areas of responsibility.

Workers Remembered

Larry and Cheryl MacKay from New Germany are sharing their story as part of a Day of Mourning campaign in support of families affected by workplace tragedy. In 1999 Larry, a saw-filer in a saw mill, called home from the hospital to tell Cheryl he cut his hand on a saw. Doctors performed surgery to repair tendons and possible nerve damage, but an infection developed that caused the wound to open and damage the repair work. In Lunenburg County alone, about 870 people were injured at work last year. Nearly 200 of those injuries were serious enough that the worker had to lose time from work to recover. On Wednesday, (April 28th) Nova Scotia joins the rest of Canada and more than 80 countries worldwide to commemorate the Day of Mourning and pay tribute to those who died or were injured at work. The WCB has produced an awareness campaign in partnership with the Nova Scotia Department of Labour and Workforce Development, the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour and Threads of Life, a charitable organization dedicated to supporting families affected by workplace tragedy. To read more about Larry and Cheryl MacKay’s story and the Day of Mourning campaign, visit www.dayofmourning.ns.ca.

Day of Mourning

The Town of Lunenburg inviting the public to a ceremony to recognize workers who have lost their lives or were injured in the workplace. On Wednesday (April 28th) The Mayor and Town Council invite all Town employees and public to join them on the Lunenburg Waterfront at the site of the Fishermen’s Memorial on Bluenose Drive for a wreath laying ceremony. The event is slated to get underway at 11:45 a.m.

Bridgewater Residents Face Tax Hike

Looks like taxes will be going up for Bridgewater property owners. Town Council hopes to table the budget and set the tax rate by May 10th, and a 2 and half percent increase is being proposed. The draft budget proposes raising the residential rate to $1.66 per $100 of assessment, up from $1.62 and the commercial rate to $4.05 from $3.72. Council is looking at a 17 million dollar budget with 6.7 million of that for capital expenditures. Mayor Carroll Publicover says there hasn't been a tax increase in the Town for a long time and maybe it hasn't registered with the general public. Council has two more meetings where public input will be received before the budget is tabled.

Shannex Complaints

A senior's care home soon set to open in Bridgewater is meeting with some resistance from nearby neighbours. Residents of Brady Street appeared before Town Council to complain of high wattage lights shining in their homes and noise from a ventilation fan. Mayor Carroll Publicover says the residents have shouldered a lot of inconvenience during the construction period. Publicover says Council will work with Shannex officials and the contractors to resolve the issues. The residents are also calling for a fence to be erected between the properties. Publicover says a conditional occupancy permit has been issued to Shannex and they have 30 days to resolve the issues. The Halifax based firm Shannex specializes in seniors care. Ryan Hall, a 65 bed long term care residence is located off Hollingsworth Drive

4th Annual Community Meeting

The 4th annual United Way community meeting will be held tomorrow morning at the Day's Inn in Bridgewater.

Beginning at 10am, the meeting will focus on funded partners and highlight six particular groups that are making a difference in the community.

This year, 25 Lunenburg County organization and programs will share funding to help make positive things happen in Lunenburg County.

To register please email: office@lunenburgcounty.unitedway.ca

Motorcycle/Truck Accident in Chester

A 38 year old man was taken to the QE-2 Hospital following a serious motor vehicle collision in Chester Saturday afternoon. RCMP responded to a 9-1-1 call around 1:40 Saturday afternoon. The accident happened on Highway 3 in Chester. A pickup truck was turning across the lane of traffic when it was struck by a motorcycle. The motorcyclist was taken to Halifax with serious injuries. The 37 year old truck driver from Chester is facing charges of impaired driving causing bodily harm in the operation of a motor vehicle. A court date has been set for June 23rd. RCMP are continuing to investigate and say further charges could be laid.

Bridgewater man Turns Hiimself In

A Bridgewater man sought on a Canada wide warrant for a home invasion has turned himself into police. Twenty-four year old Matthew Kevin Glavine was charged with three others in a home invasion on Churchill Street in October 2008. Glavine was charged as a party to the offence of robbery in connection with the incident. He failed to appear in court and is alleged to have committed a number of other offences in 2009 including break and enter, robbery, being unlawfully at large and trafficking. Bridgewater Police had issued a Canada wide warrant for Glavine last May. He turned himself into the Bridgewater Justice Centre on Wednesday. Following a court appearance this afternoon Glavine has been remanded until May 19th.

House dedication in Liverpool

The dedications of the 30th house built through Habitat for Humanity in the Province is set for tomorrow in Liverpool.

At 2pm the keys will be handed over to the new owners of the home on Amherst St.

The public are welcome to attend the event, as well tours will be available after the dedication.

Sudden death at Cresent Beach

Lunenburg County RCMP are investigating the sudden death of a 43-year-old at Crescent Beach this morning.

RCMP Responded to a 911 call at around 7:45 this morning, after an adult male was found on the beach deceased.

The Provincial Medical Examiners office is assisting in this investigation. An autopsy is planned for tomorrow.

RCMP do not suspect foul play.

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

A ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for this Saturday morning to unveil the newly renovated "Seniors Room" at the Mahone Bay Centre. South Shore/St. Margaret's M.P. Gerald Keddy will perform the honour. The Centre received funding from the Government of Canada through the New Horizons for Seniors Program. The public is invited to the ribbon cutting ceremony which is is set for 10:30 a.m.

AIMS School report card

Barrington Municipal High School should be proud after ranking 3rd in the province in the annual Atlantic Institute for Market Studies report card.

The eighth annual report was released this week. New Germany Rural High School came out best overall for the South Shore School Board with a B grade, followed by Park View Education Centre and Bridgewater High School who received a B minus.

Liverpool Regional High School and Forest Heights Community School had C pluses.

For a link to the report card visit: http://www.aims.ca/

Historic Newspaper Launch

Three historic Shelburne newspapers will be included on a website featuring 19,000 pages of digitized newspapers. Nova Scotia Historical Newspapers will be officially launched this Friday, April 23. To coincide with the launch, events are being held across the province to celebrate with different regional focuses. The three historic Shelburne newspapers that have been digitized are The Port-Roseway Gazeteer and the Shelburne Advertiser, The Nova Scotian Packet and General Advertiser, and The Royal American Gazette. The Shelburne launch takes place at McKay Memorial Library, 17 Glasgow St., Shelburne, beginning at 2 p.m..

Earth Day at NSCC

It's Earth Day at the Nova Scotia Community College Lunenburg Campus. The school on High Street in Bridgewater is hosting events all day long. Students will be staffing a booth with environmental information on things such as soil amendments, tree planting tips, benefits of bat and owl houses which will be given away to winning ticket holders. They'll also perform a soil testing exercise on the area where a flowering shrub will be planted to mark the beginning of a garden to attract birds and butterflies. If you bring your own mug you'll be able to buy a coffee in the cafeteria for less than half price. A major area cleanup, led by the students in the Women Unlimited program, will see students from all programs picking up trash and sorting where possible.

Attracting Immigrants

The Lunenburg/Queens Regional Development Agency is actively working to attract immigrants to the area. Corey Pickens the Immigration Navigator for the LQRDA says they currently have about 95 active client files. His roles is to make available to newcomers, information regarding housing, language services, employment opportunities and even school information. Pickens says in terms of the RDA's goals and objectives for creating development within the region, a navigators position is critically important. He says communities can host a "Newcomers Reception" to welcome the immigrants into the neighbourhood to make them feel a part of the community. The LQRDA deals mainly with the provincial nominee program to attract skilled worker and business class immigrants .

FREE Breakfast

You can enjoy a complimentary breakfast this morning(Thurs.,April 22)and hear all the latest success stories on growth and development in Bridgewater. The breakfast is being sponsored by the Bridgewater Development Association and is on from 7:30 to 9:30 at the Michelin Social Club on Logan Road. There will be a number of presentations and trade show displays set up. The BDA is the lead development agency that has been behind many of the initiatives and work that keeps Bridgewater's growth at the forefront.

Debt Collection

The province is in the process of setting up a debt collection system on behalf of municipalities. Amendments have have introduced to the Municipal Government Act to give the province the legal authority to collect debts owed to municipalities for public utility bills or by-law infractions. There is about 8 million dollars in outstanding fines owed to municipalities. The Region of Queens would like to see the legislation go a step further. Mayor John Leefe says in the event a person does not pay their fine, the municipality would be able to put a lien against any real property owned by the person until the judgement is satisfied. The Region is asking the Minister of Service Nova Scotia to approve its amendments to be included in the MGA. There is about 8 million dollars in outstanding fines owed to municipalities. Each year, the debt collection unit of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations collects over 15 million on behalf of provincial departments and agencies.

Bridgewater Draft Budget

The Town of Bridgewater hopes to table its budget and set the tax rate by May 10th. A draft copy was released at Council's briefing session Monday night and is proposing a hike in both residential and commercial tax rates. The current residential rate is set at $1.628 per one hundred dollars of assessment while the commercial rate is $3.72. Council is encouraging public input on the draft budget and there are still a couple of meetings before the figures are finalized.

Earth Day Challenge

Tomorrow is your chance to make a difference as the earth day challenge returns.

To participate all you need to do is register your team by calling the Lunenburg Regional Community Recycling Centre or the Municipality of Chester.

Call 543-2991 (Lunenburg Regional Community Recycling Centre) or 275-3554 (Municipality of Chester) or visit http://www.modl.ca/recycling_-_home/index.html

N.S. Gun Amnesty

There is still time to turn in unwanted guns and ammunition to the police during the province's gun amnesty this month. Until the end of April RCMP will pick up unwanted guns and ammunition in a step to make Nova Scotia a safer place.

For residents in the Bridgewater area you can contact your local RCMP detachment at 527-5555