Bachman Helps Rink Qualify For Provincials

A Lunenburg native has helped her team qualify for provincials. Raquel Bachman, curling out of Lakeshore Curling Club, captured the Under-21 Junior Women's Eastern Curling Zones in Truro on Sunday. The team breezed through the competition with a 3-0 record. Fellow team mates are skip Hayley McCabe, Alicia Brine, and Emily Mackenzie. The team is coached by Bridgewater native Brian Rafuse. Provincials will take place from Dec 27-31 at the Lakeshore Curling Club.

Park View Boys Win Basketball Tournament

The Park View division one boys basketball team are off to a good start to their year. They won the Anse MacDonald Tournament in North Nova this past weekend.  Adam Hebb was the Tournament MVP. Meanwhile, both the girls and boys division-one teams will play their home openers on Wednesday. The girls play at 5:30pm and the boys play at 7:30pm.

Lobster Season Delayed Due To Weather

The start of the lobster season has been delayed because of bad weather. Dumping Day will now take place for fishermen from Halifax to Digby this Friday. The season was originally set to begin Monday. A pair of conference calls Sunday determined the forecast made it too dangerous to dump traps. There will be another call Wednesday in case the forecast changes. 

NDP Name MacDonald Interim Leader

The provincial NDP have chosen a new interim leader. MLA Maureen MacDonald was appointed acting leader during the party's Provincial Council meeting on Saturday. MacDonald accepted the position after former NDP leader Darrell Dexter stepped down earlier this month. She has won six consecutive elections and served as Nova Scotia's first female Minister of Finance. President of the Nova Scotia NDP, David Wallbridge, believes MacDonald will be an excellent leader during this period of transition for the party. A process to elect a new leader will be announced at a later date.

Bridgewater Wins Division-1 Volleyball Title

The Bridgewater Vikings captured the Division 1 Western Regional Volleyball title on Saturday in Yarmouth. The Vikings defeated Park View in the final. Bridgewater advances directly to Provincials, while Park View will try to punch their ticket next weekend in New Glasgow during Provincial qualifiers. 

Hurricanes Reach Semi-Finals At Esso Tourney

The BMO Western Hurricanes have earned a semi-final berth at the Esso Major Bantam Hockey Tournament in Halifax. Jacob Myra scored the winner in double overtime to help lead the Hurricanes to a 4-3 win in the quarter-finals. Alex King, Brad Jones and Michael Anthony scored in regulation. The Hurricanes play Bedford Sunday morning at 10 o'clock to try and clinch a spot in the championship game.

Gladiators Fight Off Mustangs

Keith Getson had the only goal as the Charlie's Pizza South Shore Mustangs fell 4-1 to the Dartmouth Newbridge Academy Gladiators. It's the third straight loss for the Mustangs. Colby Muise stopped 25 shots for the Mustangs, who will travel to Cole Harbour for their next game on Wednesday night.

Bearcats Maul Lumberjacks

The CIBC Wood Gundy Lumberjacks lost 7-1 for the second night in a row. The Truro Bearcats scored three goals in the first and second periods on route to the dominating win. Layton Parsons scored the lone goal for the Lumberjacks, who dropped their fourth in a row. The Lumberjacks will host the Amherst Ramblers on Friday night at the Clearwater Seafoods Arena.

Valley Crush Lumberjacks

The Valley Wildcats proved to be too much for the CIBC Wood Gundy Lumberjacks. Five different Wildcat players scored to lead Valley to a 7-1 win over the Bridgewater club. Ryan Groom had the lone goal for the Lumberjacks. The Lumberjacks are on the road tonight in Truro to face the Bearcats.

Fatal High-Speed Crash In Blockhouse

A 23 year old man is dead after a high speed chase with police in Blockhouse. The incident unfolded around supper time on Friday. Police say an officer tried to pull a vehicle over for speeding on the Cornwall Road but the driver would not stop. A short time later the driver lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the woods. A section of highway between Sweetland Road and Upper New Cornwall was closed for more than six hours while the scene was investigated. The province's serious incident response team is looking into the matter. Police have not released the man's name but say he is from the Clearland area.

Queens: Three Injured In Head-On Crash

RCMP say there are multiple injuries following a two vehicle crash this afternoon in Queens County. The head on collision occurred shortly after 3 o'clock near Exit 18. Police say three people were taken to hospital with various injuries. Another person involved was not hurt. Mounties indicate charges may be laid.

Hurricanes Rolling At Esso Tourney In Halifax

The BMO Western Hurricanes remain undefeated at the Esso Challenge Major Bantam Hockey Tournament in Halifax. The Hurricanes knocked off Cape Breton today 4-0. Dawson Wood, Josh Manzer, Walter Flower and Jacob Myra had the goals while Parker Rowter earned the shutout in nets. The Hurricanes are 3-0 and in first place in their division heading into their final round robin game tomorrow morning against Fredericton.

Chester: Site Walk Planned For Our Health Centre

Proponents with Our Health Centre will walk the site of their future facility this weekend. The virtual walk-through is scheduled for Saturday from noon-2pm. The outside and interior walls on the main floor have been staked out at the site, so people can get a feel for the space. A number of dignitaries have been invited to the event including the premier, the minister of health, as well as the area's local MLA, Denise Petersen-Rafuse and councilors from the Municipality of Chester. The centre received a $500,000 investment from the province before the October election. Volunteers with Our Health Centre will be on-hand to tell people about the facility and the programs and services it will offer.

The Chronicle Herald Christmas On The LaHave This Weekend

The magic of the holiday season ramps up this weekend with The Chronicle Herald Christmas on the LaHave. The traditional event features a number of afternoon activities at the Bridgewater Mall on Sunday, before a parade and fireworks are planned for the evening. This is the ninth year for the event. One of the organizers, Michael Graves, says there are many floats in this year's parade.



Bridgewater's Jenna Martin will also serve as the official parade marshal. There will also be a LED light exchange, a chance to donate food to the local food bank, and red noses for sale to help support local Olympians. The fireworks will be held over the LaHave River.

New Ross Gears Up For Christmas Festival

The community of New Ross is gearing up for their 20th annual Christmas Festival. More than 100 people took part in a silent auction last night at the Royal Canadian Legion to help raise money for the annual event. The auction is hosted by the New Ross Regional Development Society and raised just over $7,400.  Co-organizer Janet Larder says the event helps launch their festival and also promote local business.



Some of the money raised is donated to Ross Farm to help with their development project while other funds go toward putting on the Christmas Festival. The three day festival kicks off December 6th throughout New Ross.

Planned Power Outage At Queens General Hospital

There will be a wide spread power outage this weekend at Queens General Hospital. Health officials say the entire hospital will be without power for several hours on Sunday while workers continue electrical work related to the QGH project. The outage means the emergency room will shut down for a four hour period on Sunday morning. South Shore Health CEO Peter Vaughan says they've reached a critical stage of the construction project.



Power is expected to be restored at the hospital by noon. Vaughan says contingency plans are in place should it take longer than expected. Those needing emergency care should dial 9-1-1 or visit hospitals in Bridgewater or Shelburne.

ER Closure Planned At Fishermen's Memorial

Another closure of the emergency department at Fishermen's Memorial Hospital in Lunenburg. The ER will close this afternoon (Friday) at 5 o'clock. It will reopen at 7:30 Saturday morning. The closure is a result of a shortage of staff. South Shore Health says during the Fishermen's ER closure, anyone requiring emergency services should call 911 or visit South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater. Patients with non-emergencies should contact their family doctor or call Health Link 811 for medical advice.

Lumberjacks Square Off Against Wildcats

Two new faces will be in the Lumberjacks lineup tonight when the junior club takes on the Valley Wildcats. Matt Wright and Patrick Byrne will suit up in their first game. Byrne was acquired from Miramichi earlier this week. Wright is reporting to the club as part of the Shawn Boudreau to Yarmouth trade last month. The Lumberjacks trail the Wildcats for a spot in the mini-series. The game will get underway at 7pm at the Clearwater Seafoods Arena.

Gun Charge Laid In Bridgewater

A man will appear in court at a later date in connection with an incident in Bridgewater. Its alleged the accused threatened a woman with a gun. Bridgewater police responded to a call Thursday morning on King Street and they say they arrested a man in his 20's. They allege he was in possession of a paint gun. The suspect has been charged with uttering threats and possession of a weapon. He was released with a promise to appear and an undertaking.

No Surprise: Gas Prices Increase

As expected, gasoline prices are up this morning at South Shore pumps. Following New Brunswick's lead yesterday, the utility and review board set the prices at midnight. Regular self serve is just short of 3 cents higher in price this morning at $1.30.1 per litre. High test is up by a similar amount to $1.39.0. Diesel is up 2.5 cents a litre to $1.37.