NS Gov't Helps Small Businesses Secure Funding

Small businesses will have better access to loans through improvements to the Credit Union Loan Guarantee Program. Premier Stephen McNeil says the provincial guarantee on term loans will be increased from 75 per cent to 90 per cent. The total available to lend will double from $25-million to S50-million. The maximum loan guarantee for social enterprises will also increase up to $500,000. Credit unions administer the program and provide loans to small businesses ensuring lending decisions are made in the local community. McNeil says entrepreneurs need access to capital to expand and hire new workers. Over the past 10 years, credit unions have approved loans worth $56-million dollars, helping more than 1,200 small businesses.

South Shore: MP Keddy To Make Funding Announcements

The MP for South Shore-St. Margaret's will make a couple of funding announcements Tuesday. Gerald Keddy will make his first stop in Caledonia. He'll be making an announcement at the North Queens Fire Hall. The new money will go toward a new initiative in Queens County, but no other details were given. Meanwhile, Keddy will make an afternoon stop at the Legion in Bridgewater. He's expected to unveil details on federal funding for three South Shore organizations to help seniors in Lunenburg County.

Yarmouth Preps For Ferry Visit

Its going to be a big day today (Tuesday) in Yarmouth! The new Yarmouth to Maine ferry will pull into port for a 2-day courtesy call, its first official stop since leaving Singapore a month ago. The Nova Star will showcase its amenities, food service, casino and other pluses during its visit. Area residents, town and provincial officials are invited to go aboard and check it out. Premier Stephen McNeil says the end of a long struggle to re-instate the ferry service is near.



When it leaves Yarmouth tomorrow, the Nova Star will head to Portland to prepare for the May 15th start-up of the service.

NDP "Failure To Launch" Says Interim Leader

Nova Scotia's NDP held their annual meeting over the weekend in Halifax. It was the first major gathering of party members since last fall's devastating loss for Darrell Dexter's government. Remaining South Shore NDP MLA's Denise Peterson-Rafuse of Chester-St. Margarets and Queens-Shelburne's Sterling Belliveau were there. Interim leader Maureen MacDonald tells CKBW & HANK-FM News, one of the biggest problems that helped lead to her party's demise at the polls was its failure to provide the public with clear information on economic changes. However, she tell us ......



During the weekend get-together, former NDP Premier Darrell Dexter was given a formal thank-you from the party. He in turn said the province's economy is turning around as a result of policies he and his government implemented during their 4 years in office.

South Shore Forest Industry Boost Needed Says Opposition Leader

Its the end of the line for a Queens County sawmill. "L and S Lumber" in Caledonia had been struggling to stay alive since its main customer, the Bowater Mersey paper mill in Brooklyn, closed almost two years ago.
Last week, it ceased operations and about a dozen remaining workers were laid off. Nova Scotia Opposition Leader Jamie Baillie says its tragic so many companies have suffered a similar fate. He believes the province should be looking into the American market where cut lumber is enoying a comeback as the housing market there improves.



Baillie says there should be a comprehensive study of whats left of the South Shore forestry industry, its chances of making a comeback and to look for ways of boosting the economy of the area.

QMJHL: Mooseheads Reach Final Four

The Halifax Mooseheads are off to the next round of the QMJHL playoffs. They meet Val d'Or Friday night at the Halifax Metro Centre. Game two also in Halifax Saturday night. Over the weekend, the Moose beat Gatineau 4-1 to win that best of seven series in five games.

Mustangs Hand Out Season Ending Awards

The Charlies Pizza South Shore Mustangs have named Alex Nauss as their most valuable player this year. The 17-year-old from Chester led the Mustangs in scoring with 33 points in 32 games during the regular season. He also added 13 points in 11 playoff games. Meanwhile, Jered Scott and Travis Parks were awarded most improved players, Mitch Baker was named top defenceman and Jack Creaser won the coaches award. Matt Grace and Christian Tufts were named unsung heroes, top rookie defenceman went to Quinten Johnson and Christopher Goreham, Keith Getson was named top rookie forward and Nick Dawe and Colby Muise shared the top goaltender award. (Photo Courtesy: Donette Hubley Getson)

Clam Digging Remains Off Limits Along Coastal Areas

Parts of coastal areas in Lunenburg, Queens and Shelburne counties are still off limits for clam digging. Roughly five kilometres of shoreline remains closed after a contamination order was put in place this month. The order was put in place after sewage and bacteria entered the water because of heavy rain. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans have put signs in place advising people of the order. People can be charged under the Fisheries Act if they harvest clams under the contamination order.

SIN Numbers Exposed Due To "Heartbleed Bug"

Mounties are investigating after 900 social insurance numbers were exposed due to the "Heartbleed Bug". The Canada Revenue Agency says a malicious breach of taxpayer information occurred over the past five days because of the security threat. The agency is working to notify those affected by the breach - each person will receive a registered letter to inform them that their personal information has been exposed. The CRA shut down its electronic tax filing services last week to try and limit the damage caused the bug which can expose password information. The "e-filing" service is now back up and running. The agency states they will not be calling or emailing individuals to inform them that they have been impacted - that would be considered a scam. More information on the breach is available on the CRA website.

Chester: Flat Fee System For Sewer Rate

Chester is moving forward with a flat fee as a universal sewer rate. The municipality agreed to charge a fee based on property assessment. Currently, five out of six sewer systems are in a deficit. Warden Allen Webber says the goal of using a flat fee is to reduce the deficit over five years. It was a 4-3 vote among councillors. Webber says its been a hot topic.



The public will get a chance to voice their opinion on the changes on April 24.

Debate Over Budget As NDP Leader Seeks Answers

Budget debate continues this week in the Nova Scotia Legislature. The McNeil government brought down its first budget more than a week ago showing a more-than-200 million dollar deficit. Spending is down in most government departments but up in the premier's office and NDP leader Maureen MacDonald is seeking some answers.



Meanwhile, Premier Stephen McNeil tells CKBW & HANK-FM News ...



Except aboriginal affairs according to the Premier, because of financing of a women's aboriginal conference later this year. The budget debate in the House is expected to last another week or two before its up for a vote.

Chester Teen Heading To Bridgewater Youth Court

A 17-year-old boy is expected in Bridgewater youth court this week in connection with an incident at a school in Chester last Wednesday. The teen is alleged to have been carrying a crow-bar on school property during the noon hour and was said to be looking for another student at Chester Area Middle School. The school was put on lock-down for a few minutes, police were called, two boys were arrested; one of them an 18-year-old later released with no charges and the 17-year-old was charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. No one was hurt.

Shelburne Man Faces Drug Charges

A Shelburne man is facing a slew of drug-related charges. He was pulled over late Friday afternoon by the RCMP on Highway 103 in Port Mouton while allegedly trying to avoid a police checkpoint. The 25-year-old has been charged with possession and trafficking cocaine, possession of marijuana and two counts of breach of probation. He's being held in custody and will make a court appearance in Bridgewater on Tuesday.

Queens County Lumber Mill Closes

A Queens County sawmill has ceased operations! L and S Lumber in Caledonia was a bustling business until the Bowater-Mercey paper mill in Brooklyn closed almost two years ago. Region of Queens Mayor Christopher Clarke says its sad to see yet another Bowater casualty.



Formerly known as the Douglas sawmill, L and S employed a couple of dozen people at its peak of operations. The workforce was down though to less than a dozen when it closed a few days ago.

Doors Open At Bridgewater And Area Family Health Centre

A new collaborative health centre has been officially opened in Bridgewater. Premier Stephen McNeil cut the ribbon this morning at the Glen Allen Drive site, near South Shore Regional Hospital. McNeil says the centre is an important addition to the health care community, making doctors, nurse practioners and specialized services more readily available.

Family doctors, nurse practitioners and other health-care providers have been seeing patients for roughly the last month. South Shore Health CEO, Dr. Peter Vaughan, says the goal is to hire three new family doctors over the next few years.

The province is offering up to $240,000 a year to support the centre. It is expected to provide health-care to more than 8,000 patients once it is fully staffed.

Waldorf School Among Contest Finalists

A South Shore Independent school is looking to win a national contest and bring home a stack of cold, hard cash. The Waldorf School in Blockhouse is up against similar facilities in the National Trees of Knowledge competition. Waldorf School parent, Anastasia Malay, is spearheading the campaign and is hoping to win first prize, $20,000. She says it will go toward setting up an outdoor classroom.



The contest closes May 4th. Voters could also win $10,000 just by visiting the competition's website here . As of today, Waldorf is in sixth place in the voting.

SiRT: No Grounds For Charges After Fatal Crash In Blockhouse

The province's Serious Incident Response Team says no charges will be laid against a Lunenburg County police officer following a fatal crash last fall. The incident happened on November 22 on the Cornwall Road in Blockhouse. The driver of a small car sped away from the police officer before crashing into a ditch, killing the 23-year-old man. The incident covered approximately two kilometres and lasted less than two minutes. In the report, SIRT says the police vehicle was well behind the small car at the time of the accident. The car was estimated to be travelling at a minimum of 130 km/h when it left the road after attempting to pass another vehicle.  SIRT says the driver had recently suffered from some mental health issues, which may have caused him to feel panicked by the situation.

South Shore Gas Pump Shocker

A reality check at South Shore gas pumps this morning!  Prices for the mainstream grades have increased overnight by a considerable amount. Regular self serve is selling this morning for $1.39.3 per litre.  Thats a hike of 5.3 cents.  High test is up by the same to $1.48.2.  However, diesel is down almost a cent, selling in most places at $1.38.6.

Keddy Remembers Flaherty

The member of parliament for South Shore - St. Margaret's is remembering former colleague Jim Flaherty. Gerald Keddy says Flaherty was an intelligent man, with a good sense of humour and always had a smile on his face. The former finance minister passed away Thursday afternoon at his Ottawa condo. He was 64. Keddy says there was a lot of emotions as MPs learned about the news in the House of Commons. He believes Flaherty will be sorely missed.



Flaherty spent eight years as finance minister before stepping down from cabinet last month.

South Shore In Motion Returning To Exhibition Grounds

South Shore in Motion will be returning to the South Shore Exhibition grounds in August. Group members held a special meeting Thursday night and approved a new rental agreement with the Exhibition. It was a dramatic change after the group decided recently that it would not use the Exhibition for their ten year anniversary. Chairperson Darren Wentzell says a lot of people weren't happy, but he's glad to see a deal get done.



Wentzell says it's a better deal than they originally asked for, allowing them to use equipment and have the grounds for the amount of time they wanted. The festival goes from August 8-10 in Bridgewater.