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

UPDATED: Multiple Injuries In Oakhill Crash

RCMP say three people are in critical condition after a serious two-vehicle crash in Oakhill. The collision occurred around 3:30pm on Highway 325. Police say a Ford car with three people in it, collided with an SUV with two passengers. The three people inside the car were airlifted to Halifax while the two passengers of the SUV were taken to the South Shore Regional Hospital. Those taken to hospital in Bridgewater have undetermined injuries. The highway was closed for roughly four hours while investigators worked the scene.

New South Queens Middle School Hosts Open House

Queens County residents are getting a chance to see the new school in Liverpool before it opens to students. The new South Queens Middle School will host an open house this evening at 6pm. School Board Communications Manager, Trish Smith, says it's an environmentally-sustainable site.



Smith says there is plenty of new technology throughout the school including whiteboard desks, apple televisions, and smart-boards. South Queens Middle School will open to students on Wednesday. (Photo Courtesy: Maxim Construction)

Yarmouth's Graves Traded By Charlottetown To Val-d'Or

Yarmouth's Ryan Graves is on the move. The 18-year-old defenceman with the Charlottetown Islanders was traded today to the Val-d'Or Foreurs in exchange for defenceman David Henley. Graves played 169 games in two-and-a-half seasons with the PEI franchise, scoring eight goals and adding 29 assists. The deal came just before the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League trade deadline struck this afternoon. Graves was selected in the fourth round of the 2013 NHL entry draft, 110th overall by the New York Rangers. He played major midget hockey with the Charlie's Pizza South Shore Mustangs.

Crosby Leads Canadian Men's Hockey Team Selections

Sidney Crosby will lead Canada's men's hockey team in Sochi, Russia. The 26-year-old from Cole Harbour was named to the squad just after noon today by General Manager Steve Yzerman. Crosby leads the NHL in scoring with 63 points. He scored the game winning goal to clinch the gold medal for Canada at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Also announced to the team were 11 returning members from the previous games including Jonathan Toews, Roberto Luongo, Corey Perry and Drew Doughty. Steven Stamkos will make his Olympic debut along with Carey Price, PK Subban, John Tavares and Matt Duchene A few surprises left off the Canadian roster include Martin St. Louis, Eric Staal, Claude Giroux and James Neal. The Canadian roster is as follows:

Goaltenders: Roberto Luongo, Carey Price, Mike Smith

Defence: Jay Bouwmeester, Drew Doughty, Dan Hamhuis, Duncan Keith, Alex Pietrangelo, PK Subban, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Shea Weber

Forwards: Jamie Benn, Patrice Bergeron, Jeff Carter, Sidney Crosby, Matt Duchene, Ryan Getzlaf, Chris Kunitz, Patrick Marleau, Rick Nash, Corey Perry, Patrick Sharp, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Jonathan Toews

RCMP To Drivers: Slow Down

If you are driving today, you'll want to take it easy to avoid an accident either with another vehicle or end up in the ditch by yourself! Temperatures have been falling and the roads have become very slippery with lots of black ice. There have been snow squalls on and off along the 103 between Barrington and Yarmouth making visibility there poor. RCMP Sgt. Alain Leblanc is warning motorists to adjust their driving accordingly today all along the South Shore.



Crews have been out salting and sanding along all South Shore highways this morning but thats no insurance policy the ice is gone.

Identity Of Lost Fisherman Revealed

The identity of a South Shore lobster fisherman, found dead yesterday in Stonehurst, has been released by the RCMP. 79-year-old Elburn Leo Tanner of Stonehurst went missing late Sunday evening. His body was discovered by searchers in the water near his boat around 5am yesterday (Monday) morning. The RCMP have not released the cause of death. Foul play is not suspected though. Its believed Tanner fell overboard while trying to breakup ice in the water around his boat and drowned.

Icy Roads As Temperature Drops

If you are driving this morning, you'll want to take it easy! Temperatures are falling after reaching 8 degrees at one point during the night. With the dropping temperatures, the roads are becoming slippery with reports of black ice. There are snow squalls along Highway 103 between Barrington and Yarmouth making visibility there poor by times. Crews are out salting and sanding along all South Shore highways this morning but do ... slow down! Meanwhile, what a mess in HRM this morning! Traffic is at an almost standstill as drivers deal with roads that have turned into skating rinks because of the falling temperature. All the major routes into the city are backed up several kilometers. The bridges are packed and very little is moving. Crews are trying to get the streets salted down but its difficult with all those cars in the way. If you are heading into the city this morning, be advised its going to be a slow trip once you get to Bayers Lake.

Bridgewater: Snow Clearing Costs High In December

Snow clearing crews in Bridgewater were faced with a busy month in December. Finance Director Dawn Kaizer says they've spent roughly $90,000 of their snow clean-up fund so far, and that doesn't count the blizzard that hit the South Shore late last week. She says while the numbers aren't finalized, last Friday's storm clean-up could cost in the area of $40,000. Kaizer says there is no need to panic.



The snow removal budget for 2013-14 is $356,000. However, Kaizer says they also have almost $88,000 in a contingency fund.

Repeat Drunk Driver Case Back This Week

A repeat drunk driver is due back in court later this week. Kevin Wheaton of Bridgewater was pulled over January 2 on a main road in the town. He was arrested and charged with impaired driving. It's the ninth time the 49 year-old has been charged with an alcohol related driving offence. He also was charged with driving a vehicle without a license. Wheaton will be back in court Thursday.

Plenty Of Rain Coming To The South Shore

The next 24 hours could be wet and windy along the South Shore. Rainfall amounts are expected to exceed 25 millimetres in Lunenburg, Queens and Shelburne counties. Environment Canada has issued a rainfall warning.  A low pressure system over Quebec will intensify as it tracks northward. The system is creating a strong warm front across the region today. The combination of rain with the recent snowfall could result in challenging surface conditions, especially as temperatures fall back below freezing again early Tuesday. In addition, winds will gust as high as 70km/h through tomorrow along the South Shore.

LaHave Ferry "Rescued" From Beach

The LaHave River ferry has been re-floated and is back at a wharf in LaHave. The vessel, which plies the river daily between LaHave and East LaHave, snapped its operating cable during Friday's storm and floated down river and grounded on Oxner's Beach. Three people were on board but were not injured. The Manager of Marine Services for the Department of Transportation, John Majchrowicz says Monday's operation to free the stranded ferry went smoothly.



If the weather improves today (Tuesday), Majchrowicz says divers will inspect the vessel's hull looking for any holes.



After that, repairs will be needed for the cable and its gears before the ferry can be put back into operation. That could take a week or more.