RCMP: Angry Pit Bull Greets Officer

An RCMP officer in Queens County had to fire off a warning shot to scare away an aggressive pit bull while making an arrest in Liverpool this weekend. Police were executing a search warrant on Sunday at a home in Mersey Point when they were greeted at the door by the large dog. According to police, the pet was not harmed and the officer only fired his revolver to scare away the dog. Meanwhile, police arrested a 24 year-old man in relation to an alleged break and enter in the area. The man has been charged with possession of stolen property, break and enter and two counts of breach of probation.  The accused was scheduled to appear in Liverpool Provincial Court today.

Bayport Fisherman Guilty of Avoiding DFO Inspection

A Lunenburg County fisherman has been fined after being convicted in Bridgewater court this week on a charge laid by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Bernard Selig of Bayport was found guilty of off-loading 5-thousand pounds of groundfish from his boat last year and avoiding inspection by DFO officers. He's been fined 500-dollars and ordered by the judge to forfeit the value of more than 3-thousand dollars worth of groundfish. Selig has not received a fishing license-suspension.

SSRSB Superintendent: "To early to speculate on cuts"

Nancy Pynch-Worthylake

There's more than the announced budget cuts coming for the South Shore Regional School Board. Superintendent Nancy Pynch-Worthylake says they will be facing an estimated $1.4-million in cuts, as well as roughly $660-thousand to $1.3-million in cost of living setbacks. The School Board reduced 19 positions from its regional office last year, along with 11 teachers and 32 school-based support workers. Pynch-Worthylake says its too early to tell what cuts they will make this year.

"We don't yet know what the exact implications will be. It will be very difficult and we will present the board with options for a balanced budget but it would be premature to speculate on what that will look like."

Last year, the Board was forced to trim $2.7-million from its budget because of a reduction in provincial funding and an increase in cost pressures. Pynch-Worthylake says they won't know for sure what they will have to cut until the province releases its final budget for 2012-13. Once that happens, the board has 60 days to release its budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Bridgewater turns 113-years-old

Happy belated birthday to Bridgewater. Mayor Carroll Publicover released the information during the opening announcements of Monday night's town council meeting. February 13 was Bridgewater's 113th birthday. Publicover says no celebration was held this year.

"We have been celebrating it, in every fifth year, like this is 113, on 115 there will probably be cake and cookies and lemonade and all kinds of wonderful festivities, but it's not something you do every year, but you acknowledge it."

History tells us in January 1899, an event known as the "Big Fire" completely destroyed the downtown core of Bridgewater.  One month later, the community came together as an Incorporated Town.

Minor injuries after head-on collision in Hebbs Cross

A head-on collision in Hebbs Cross Monday afternoon has left one person with minor injuries. The accident happened along highway 103 just before 3:30pm near the Blarney Stone Restaurant and Naugler Auto. Hebbs Cross Deputy Fire Chief Charles Meisner describes what happened.

"There was a Jeep coming from Liverpool. There was a gentleman that was coming out of Naugler's Service Centre and the Jeep lost control of the road conditions and hit the gentleman that was leaving Naugler's."

Meisner says an older man leaving Naugler Auto in a Chevrolet Lumina van suffered a few cuts to his face and did not believe to have any damage to his legs after they were trapped because of the accident. Officials with the Bridgewater Fire Department were called-in with the Jaws of Life to free the man. He was then taken to hospital while a younger man in the Jeep walked away with no injuries.  Meisner says weather is believed to be the main reason for the accident. The highway was shut down as a result of the accident for roughly an hour.

Suspicious Fire on Big Tancook Island

An investigation is underway into a suspicious fire at a cottage on Big Tancook Island. Chester RCMP and the Fire Marshal's office are looking into what caused the blaze and who may be responsible. The fire broke out last Monday and completely destroyed the cottage. Anyone with information is being asked to contact police in Chester or crime stoppers.

Dexter: Bowater Working on Efficiency Upgrades

Premier Darrell Dexter isn't surprised by the upcoming shutdown at Bowater Mersey. He says the market for paper across the continent remains extremely soft and periodic downtime has to be expected. Dexter says taxpayers shouldn't worry about the province's decision to offer a $50 million dollar rescue package for the mill.  He says the mill will remain in operation and officials at Bowater are still working on installing more efficient machinery. Dexter says those upgrades will help make the mill more competitive and avoid lengthy shutdowns in the future. Resolute Forest Products announced on Friday it will temporarily shut down a number of its operations next month due to poor market conditions.  The Liverpool area mill will shut down for three weeks beginning March 11th.

SSRSB Reviewing Electoral Districts

The South Shore Regional School Board is reviewing its electoral districts. Superintendent Nancy Pynch-Worthylake says the review is necessary after the approved and potential municipality district changes in the South Shore region.

"There have been changes, approved changes, to the Municipality of the District of Queens and the District of Lunenburg has applied for some changes. Our electoral districts are determined, in part, by theirs. Once they have changes to theirs, we need to look at ours."

The School Board is made up of ten district members and two at-large members-one elected African Nova Scotian and one appointed First Nations representative. Pynch-Worthylake says the review will consider lowering the district members between five and 10. The first of three public meetings will be held February 20 from 6-7pm at the School Board Office. Other public meetings will be held Wednesday February 22 from 6-7pm at Forest Heights Community School and Thursday February 23 from 6-7pm at Dr. John C. Wickwire Elementary School. After public consultations are complete, it's expected School Board Member Judith Sullivan Corney will make a decision regarding the number and composition of districts at a Special Meeting Wednesday March 7 at 6:30pm at the School Board Office. A proposal will be made to the Utility and Review Board, who will hold a public consultation and make the final decision.

Health Services Foundation ready for 2nd Annual Radiothon

South Shore's Health Services Foundation 2nd annual Gift for the Heart Radiothon gets underway Tuesday. It will be held on CKBW and HANK-FM this year, in order to raise $244-thousand for a new Echo System. Bernadette Jordan with the Foundation talks about the importance of the system.

"It takes pictures of the heart, it's a non-invasive procedure, so its like an ultrasound but it's strictly cardiac and it will look at valves as well as the heart, and anyone who has any kind of heart issues, or valve issues, the echo is the system they go on."

Jordan is encouraging businesses to challenge each other to see who can donate more, or gather pocket change and donate that way.

"Throw it in a jar and drop it off the day of the event and you know, sometimes people don't realize how much change adds up and it can add up quite quickly and anybody can collect change, I mean, we're talking kids, schools, community groups, everybody can do the change thing quite easily."

South Shore Regional Hospital has the lone echo system from Halifax to Yarmouth. Both radio stations will air the Radiothon from 8am-6pm Tuesday.

Sports: Murphy wins Tankard title over Dacey

There's a new provincial curling champion on the block. Jamie Murphy's club from CFB Halifax got by Mark Dacey 7-5 in the final of the 2012 Molson Tankard Sunday at the Bridgewater Curling Club. Murphy says its a big thrill to win the title.

"It's just been awesome. We've had an awesome week and just can't put it into words, it's just been an awesome day."

Murphy's team came out firing, building up a 5-0 lead after two ends before Dacey fought back to within two after the seventh end. But the two teams just traded singles in the next two ends before Murphy ran Dacey out of rocks in the 10th to seal the victory. Murphy says it's a big win to beat Dacey for the championship.

"It's huge. Mark has was a great competitor all week, extremely supportive of us and a true professional."

Murphy also wins the first provincial title for CFB Halifax since Dave Joens won it in 1992. The Murphy team will now represent Nova Scotia at the 2012 Brier in Saskatoon, beginning the weekend of March.

Sports: Mustangs begin playoffs against Valley

Playoff hockey hits Bridgewater Saturday night as the South Shore Canadian Tire Mustangs battle the Valley Wildcats. It's the opener of the best of five series between the two clubs. The two teams are no stranger to each other, squaring off five times in the regular season with the Mustangs winning four of the games. Head Coach Tim Boyce says his team needs to put a lot of pucks towards the net while shutting down the top offensive weapons for the Wildcats. Game one begins at 8pm Saturday night at the Bridgewater Arena.

South Canoe Wind Project: Consultations Begin

Public consultations begin today on a large wind farm between Chester and Windsor. A public meeting will be held this afternoon in Vaughan at the Fire Hall. Three Nova Scotia companies are hoping to win the rights to build the South Canoe Wind Project. The wind farm would feature up to 50 turbines spread over 6,400 hectares of land between Chester and Windsor. Oxford Frozen Food, Minas Basin Pulp and Paper and Nova Scotia power are the proponents behind the project. Today's meeting begins at 2 o'clock. Another public meeting will be held in Chester on Monday night at the Legion.

RCMP find body of missing Shelburne County woman

RCMP have found the body of a missing Shelburne County woman. Police say in a news release that foul play is not suspected in the death of Chelsea Hopkins. The 23-year-old's body was found in a wooded area near her home shortly before 4pm Friday afternoon. She was reported missing on Thursday afternoon. In a news release, the Mounties thanked the public for its assistance in providing information about the missing woman.

Sports: Crushers top Lumberjacks

Devan Gunn scored a powerplay marker midway through the third period, lifting the Pictou County Weeks Crushers to a 4-3 win over the CIBC Wood Gundy Lumberjacks. Cody Coffin, Brennan Saulnier and Jake Bullen scored for the Jacks while Dylan McQuaid turned aside 31 shots on the loss. Head Coach Terry Rhindress says his club put in a good effort, in a losing cause. The Jacks went 0 for 3 on the powerplay while Pictou went 1 for 3 with the man advantage. The Lumberjacks next game goes in Summerside Sunday against the Capitals.

McNeil: Questions Bowater $50-M Bailout

Some more uncertainty for workers at Bowater-Mersey. Resolute Forest Products says it will temporarily cease operations at its Bowater Mersey mill in Brooklyn on March 11th. The Nova Scotia government recently gave the company a 50-million dollar rescue package and Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil is questioning that decision. "We like everyone want to see the people of Queen County and the entire province go to work. Just imagine what could happen if that $50 million was invested into small business in Lunenburg and Queens County...The long-term sustainability of those jobs may be greater," The company says world paper markets are saturated and there is a shortage of new orders.

BREAKING: SSRSB facing 2.1% budget cut

The South Shore Regional School Board is tasked with a 2.1 per cent budget cut for fiscal 2012-13. Education Minister Ramona Jennex released the information during a teleconference Friday afternoon. The cut represents just over $1.4-million in the South Shore Regional School Board's budget. Jennex recently said budgets have to reflect the reality of dropping enrolments over the past year. In total, the province is reducing funding to all eight school boards by 1.3 per cent, totalling $13.4-million. Last year, the province reduced funding to school boards by 1.65 per cent. In a letter to board chairs, the minister outlined conditions for boards as they plan their budgets:


-- The province is increasing the allocation for special education, including supports for children with autism, by $12.2 million

-- School boards will achieve reductions in teaching positions through enrolment decline and retirements. This is expected to keep the student-teacher ratio at its current rate of 12.9-1, which is the lowest in a generation

-- The province is maintaining the cap on class size from Primary to Grade 3. Boards will have the flexibility to adjust the cap by two students per class, compared to the cap in 2011-12, to avoid combined classes when appropriate

-- Savings in administration continue to be the priority. Boards must continue efforts to reduce board consultants by 50 per cent by 2013-14

Individual school board allocations will vary depending on their enrolment decline and the funding formula. The province is protecting boards with the sharpest enrolment drops by capping reductions at 2.1 per cent. Boards, like all departments and agencies, must manage wage and inflation costs.

RCMP search for missing Shelburne County woman

RCMP are looking for the public's help in locating a missing woman  Barrington RCMP say 23-year-old Chelsea Justice Anne Hopkins of Shelburne County was reported missing Thursday afternoon. Police say Hopkins left her residence on Oak Park Road Wednesday morning and has not been seen or heard from since. Hopkins is described as 5 foot 3 inches tall, 125 lbs, blonde hair, and blue eyes. She may be wearing a man's brown camouflage coat, and tall orange rubber boots with a blue sole. Police are asking anyone with information on her whereabouts to contact Barrington RCMP.

Baillie: Concerned for Workers/Future at Bowater

An unexpected shutdown of operations is coming at Bowater-Mersey. The paper-machines at the Liverpool-area mill will cease operating for three weeks starting March 11th. The parent company Resolute Forest Products says world paper markets are saturated with the product right now and there is a shortage of new orders. Its the second shutdown at Bowater mill since before Christmas when it was closed for three weeks for the same reasons. Conservative Leader Jamie Baillie says two shutdowns within three months after a $50-million dollar provincial and local government bailout is a dubious sign of trouble. "The right way for Nova Scotia to proceed for the forest industry - for all industry - is to focus on getting the basics right...Having power rates that are affordable, having a tax structure that is fair and I think a better way forward is to try and move away from these band-aid bail outs in the future and focus on getting the fundamentals right,"  During the shutdown next month, only a skeleton crew of staff will remain. Everyone else will be temporarily laid-off.

BREAKING: Three Week Shut-Down Planned at Bowater

An unexpected shutdown of operations is planned at Bowater-Mersey. The Brooklyn based mill will cease operations for three weeks starting March 11th. The mill's parent company - Resolute Forest Products says world paper markets are saturated with the product right now and there is a shortage of new orders. It's the second shutdown at Bowater mill since before Christmas when it was closed for three weeks for the same reasons.

Lunenburg Academy: Town Takes Ownership on March 30

Lunenburg Academy will be back under the town's control by the end of March. However, the future use of the historic school building is still up in the air. Mayor Laurence Mawhinney says the town is still looking at a number of options. Among them, a culture, arts and education centre and maybe an interpretive centre for the town's UNESCO designation. The mayor says the town will be meeting with representatives from the South Shore Regional School board in the coming weeks to ensure the transition is smooth. The new Bluenose Academy will hold its first classes on March 21st and be home to students from Centre Consolidated, Lunenburg Academy and Riverport schools.