South Shore Health in need of palliative care volunteers

It's deemed as a service to help people refocus their hope. Now, South Shore Health is looking for more volunteers for their palliative care program. They currently have 15 volunteers, but more are needed to cover the region. The bereavement coordinator, Irene Hirtle, says the South Shore has an older demographic and is more prone to life-threatening illnesses.

"And those kind of illnesses that people in our program suffer from could be malignant diagnosis like cancer or they could be respiratory like COPD or kidney failure, cardiac disease, all of those kinds of things and they can all be part of the palliative care program, too."

Palliative care can be provided to people at home, in a hospital or in a long-term care facility. Volunteer Liz Brown says she started volunteering 12 years ago and hasn't looked back.

"It was just a general interest in people I think, and we meet such wonderful people and we get so much back from what we give, so its a caring and sharing opportunity for everybody."

Brown says volunteering is a great way to help people with life-threatening illnesses. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact 634-7015.

Workshop to teach Farming Business

Here's your chance to learn more about starting a farm business. The province is hosting a one day workshop dedicated to teaching people about farming or helping current farmers sharpen their business skills. The workshop will also cover tips and strategies on marketing, as well as trends and technical practices by local farmers and agricultural experts. The local event goes Saturday at the Best Western Plus and Convention Centre in Bridgewater. To register, get more information, see the agenda or look at speaker biographies go to www.gov.ns.ca/agri/thinkfarm/fromthegroundup.shtml  .

Head to Head for Health hits the ice in Bridgewater

It won't be your typical hockey game. The Health Services Foundation of the South Shore and Park View are teaming up to play the Head to Head for Health Hockey Game Friday night at 7pm. The Health Care Hustlers will take on the Park View Lady Panthers. Bernadette Jordan with the Foundation says the event is a fundraiser for the echo system, but goes a little further.

"It's achieving a goal by helping us get youth more involved at the hospital foundation, but also its a great spirit thing for the team here because all of the departments work together and put players in, so they sometimes might not work together in the hospital, but on the ice they'll work together and it's great, it's a lot of fun."

Jordan says the game is expected to include props, special guests and a few more things out of the ordinary. Players hit the ice at 7pm at the Bridgewater Arena.

Local NDP MLA's Attend Federal Convention

New Democrats are in Toronto for today's opening of their leadership convention, where a successor to the late Jack Layton will be chosen.  Tonight there will be a tribute to the former leader. Local MLA's Pam Birdsall, Vicki Conrad and Gary Ramey are attending.  Birdsall tells us, Layton was very familiar with the South Shore and its politics.  She says "he was connected to small communities right across the country.  He was at one point the president of the Canadian Union of Municipalities so he really understood how it all worked and how municipal government plays into provincial government and into federal government. I think thats something a lot of people don't understand."  The perceived front-runner in the race to succeed Layton is Montreal M-P Thomas Mulcair, a former Quebec Liberal who has the most support from the party's caucus.  Critics say though, Mulcair is too abrasive, and wants to move the party from the left to the centre.  About 130-thousand party members are eligible to vote for the new leader, in person, by mail, or by email.

Bridgewater Vikings off to Division-3 provincial hockey championships

The Bridgewater Vikings are off to Yarmouth hoping to bring a provincial banner back home. The Vikings' boys hockey team is competing in the Division-3 championships against five other teams including Inverness, Par-en-Bas and Dalbrae. The Vikings play their first game at 4pm Friday afternoon against Richmond Academy. The tournament goes all weekend in Yarmouth. Full tournament details can be found at http://www.wix.com/jboudrea3/division-3-hockey .

Higher Gas Prices Fuel Inflation

Gasoline prices are up again at South Shore pumps. If you pull into a station today, you will end up paying 2.5 cents more for a litre than you did yesterday. The price today is $1.39.8 .  This just adds fuel to Stats Canada's report out this morning claiming higher gasoline prices right across the country last month drove up the inflation rate.  The annual inflation rate in February rose to 2.6 per cent -- up a-10th of-a-percentage point from January.  Pump prices last month were 2.6 per cent higher than they were in January, and 8.9 per cent higher than they were in February of last year.  In the past 12 months, food prices jumped 4.1 per cent.  StatsCan says core inflation rose two notches to 2.3 per cent, which is higher than the Bank of Canada's target line of two per cent.

Future unknown for Gorham facility in Liverpool

The mayor of Queens says the region may not want the Gorham facility back. The regional school board revealed Wednesday night it is returning the property back to the municipality. John Leefe says it's not that simple. He says the board can offer the building to the municipality, but they are not obliged to take it. He says he wants to understand the costs before council can make a decision.

"Ultimately, the region's taxpayers are the ones that have to bear any costs that may be associated with receiving ownership. So, their are a lot of T's to be crossed and a lot of I's dotted prior to a final decision being taken."

The school board is revamping its mid-level transition, senior high alternate and adult education programming for 2012-13. All programs are currently held at the Gorham facility, but would be transferred to South Queens Junior High and Liverpool Regional High next year. Leefe says council can't make a decision on the matter until they receive a letter of offer from the school board.

Martin competing at Disney meet in Florida

Its expected to be a good test for South Shore runner Jenna Martin. The Olympic hopeful will compete this weekend in the Walt Disney World Invitational in Florida. She is using the event to help prepare herself for the London Olympics in August. Martin is the defending 400 metre Canadian Champion. She has been in Florida training for the past six weeks.

Bridgewater curler off to Canadian Masters

A Bridgewater curler is representing Nova Scotia at the 2012 Canadian Masters Curling Championships in Montreal. Glenn Josephson will play lead with Alan Darragh, Reid Romkey and John Darragh out of the Mayflower and Dartmouth curling clubs. Josephson is playing in his eighth Canadian championship but first Masters. He says he can draw on experience to help him play well.

"First of all you learn how to win and secondly, you know, when the important shots have to be made and what to do when it's really close at the end of the game and those are the things that just come with experience more than anything else."

 Josephson says this event completes his career...after winning provincial championships at every other age group. The Masters gets underway Monday in Montreal. The club will open up competition against Alberta Tuesday.

Plans for Collaborative Health Care Centre in Bridgewater

Bridgewater could be the next South Shore community in line for a collaborative health care centre. A action team consisting of fifteen medical professionals and business leaders has been assembled to quarterback the initiative. The proposed centre would reduce wait times and greatly benefit people without a family doctor. CEO of South Shore Health Alice Leverman says more and more physicians want the opportunity to work as a team as opposed to setting up a private practice. "We need to provide those types of practice environments to ensure we can not only retain the physicians and other prodivers that we have but to continually be recruiting for health professional in the area," The centre would also offer medical services through nurses, nurse practitioners and other health-care professionals. Collaborative health-care centres already exist in Caledonia, New Germany and Lunenburg.

NS Government Subsidizes Digby Ferry, Ignores Yarmouth: Liberal MLA

Princess of Acadia

The province will help subsidize the Digby-Saint John ferry service, "Princess of Acadia", for three more years to the tune of a million dollars a year.  The New Brunswick government will match the amount.  The decision flies in the faces of those in the Yarmouth area who are campaigning for re-establishment of ferry service to Maine. Yarmouth Liberal MLA Zach Churchill tells us, premier Darrell Dexter is being hypocritical. Churchill says: the premier "is throwing money all around the province. Yet, when it comes to a major economic driver in southwestern Nova Scotia, that feeds the tourism industry across the province, he has consistently said "No" to that!"  A campaign continues to have the Yarmouth-Maine service re-established. Organizers say it will require government funding though for the first couple of years of operating.

No Serious Damage Nor Injuries Resulting From South Shore Grass Fire

Several fire departments were able to bring a raging grass fire under control late yesterday afternoon in Dayspring.  No buildings were lost but there were fears at one point that a strong wind might blow the fire into some homes.  No one was hurt either.  Conditions are becoming tinder-dry as a result of the unusual high temperatures.

Trial Date Set For Alledged Home Invader

A trial date has been set for a man accused in a South Shore home invasion more than 6 years ago.

Brian Hector Oickle has pleaded "NOT GUILTY" to breaking into a terminally-ill senior's home in Chelsea in July 2005, tying her up and stealing some 30-thousand dollars in cash.
Oickle is facing 5 charges including forcible confinement, robbery, break and enter and possession of stolen property.  He's also charged with cocaine possession stemming from an incident in Truro in the same year (2005).  Oickle will remain in jail until his trial date ... May 17th.

SSRSB puts four more schools up for review

Four more schools are heading to the review process. The South Shore Regional School Board has added Newcombville Elementary, New Ross Consolidated, New Germany Rural High and New Germany Elementary to the list of schools to be reviewed this year. Six other schools have been approved for the review process including Bridgewater Junior/Senior High, Petite Riviere Elementary, Gold River-Western Shore, Pentz, Hebbville Academy and Mill Village. Board Member Judith Sullivan-Corney says the review of the four schools goes hand-in-hand with the six other schools.

"Especially the small schools; Pentz, Petite, Hebbville and Newcombville because there are several different configurations or different potential ideas that could be explored if the four of them are under review at the same time."

Three schools will not be reviewed. Sullivan-Corney says she believes its important schools goes through the process.

"I think there are many opportunities and potential that we need to look at and I don't think we can do so without doing school review, without getting community input and without understanding the vision the community has for good education for their students."

Sullivan-Corney says she delayed making a ruling on the four schools until Wednesday night to gather more information and make an informed decision. The review process can lead to schools being closed, upgraded or consolidated. Next up will be an in-depth analysis of each school, expected to begin in the next few weeks.

SSRSB expected to rule on schools delayed for possible review

A decision is expected to come Wednesday night on the possibility of reviewing four more Lunenburg County schools. The South Shore Regional School Board delayed making a decision on New Ross Consolidated, Newcombville Elementary and both New Germany schools during its February 22 meeting. Bridgewater Junior/Senior High, Petite Riviere Elementary, Gold River-Western Shore, Pentz, Hebbville Academy and Mill Village have been identified for review this year. Aspotogan, North Queens and Greenfield will not be reviewed. The review process has many options including recommending a facility be closed, upgraded or consolidated. The board meeting gets started at 7pm Wednesday night in Bridgewater.

South Shore MLA's Prepare for NDP Convention

A number of South Shore MLA's will be in Toronto for this weekend's NDP leadership convention. Denise Peterson-Rafuse, Vicki Conrad and Pam Birdsall have all confirmed their attendance for the two-day event. Seven candidates are vying to become the party's next leader. Conrad and Birdsall announced in January they would support Toronto MP Peggy Nash in her leadership bid. However, Thomas Mulcair, Brian Topp and Nathan Cullen have emerged as the main contenders in the race which at one point featured nine candidates. Peterson-Rafuse has not indicated who she plans to support. The next leader of the federal NDP will be known sometime Saturday afternoon.

Negotiations underway to sell Former Post Office

A century-old King Street property could soon be off the real estate market. Canada Post spokesperson Lori Lancaster confirms to CKBW and HANK-FM News negotiations are underway to sell the old Canada Post building. Lancaster couldn't divulge many details regarding the potential sale. She says a buyer has stepped forward, but can't say who it is. There has been no indication about what the future use of the building would be. The Bridgewater property has been for sale since 2010. According to the town's Heritage Advisory Committee, a document reveals the building was built in 1909.

South Shore Residents Will Benefit From A Provincial Tax Cut

As the province prepares to unveil its budget for the coming year, the finance minister says one thing you can bet on and win ... will be a cut in income taxes.  Graham Steele says with the deficit coming down dramatically and the economy improving, such a tax cut would be only right. Canadian Taxpayers Federation Atlantic Director Kevin Lacey commends the minister for realizing South Shore residents and others province-wide pay the highest taxes in the country. He says: "This is a step in the right direction ... the government finally admitting that Nova Scotians pay too much tax and now it sounds like they're going to try and do something about it." The federation says high taxes is one of the biggest problems facing the provincial economy. Lacey says the province has the highest taxes in all of Canada relative to the size of its economy. He says "addressing the problem is going to help jump-start the economy, by taking money out of the hands of government and putting it where it counts, in the hands of the average South Shore resident and others across the province."  The budget comes down April 3rd.
The finance minister also says his deficit forecast for the 2011-12 fiscal year has dropped to 261-million dollars from the 365-million he was projecting back in December.

New Lunenburg School Is High-Tech Energy Efficient

Its quite a day, getting used to new surroundings in a brand new learning facility! Bluenose Academy in Lunenburg is welcoming its students and staff on this first day of school. It's considered one of the most energy efficient buildings in the province, featuring a solar wall, wood pellet boiler and is heated using solar energy. The green roof in the gym is covered with local plants and moss while the architectural design honours the historic town. Lunenburg Mayor Lawrence MaWhinney says.... he's impressed! The mayor tells us ... "I think they've done an excellent job in getting all of the bits and pieces together that are a part of modern technology. My only hope is that it will be as durable as what they built 117 years ago!" The academy will be home to 570 students and replaces the 117 year old Lunenburg Academy and the newer Centre Consolidated and Riverport Elementary schools. A date for an official grand opening ceremony has not been set yet.

Fundraising continues for Olympic hopeful

Fundraising efforts continue for Olympic hopeful Jenna Martin. Co-chairperson for Jenna's Run for London 2012, Kevin Hayward, says they're nearing their fundraising mark.

"The community support here has been absolutely tremendous for Jenna to date, but a lot of her training is funding that she has to raise herself, so we still have a goal of between $10,000 to $15,000 to get Jenna to the Olympics this August."

Hayward says the last three months have been quiet, mainly because Martin has been training in Florida. He says the remaining money needed will go towards helping Martin compete across the world before the Canadian Olympic trials in June. To help Jenna Martin reach the London Olympics, you can provide a financial donation by calling Kevin Hayward at (902) 543-6090.