Election: Debates Heat Up Campaign Trial

There will be two debates this evening in separate communities along the South Shore. The first goes in Shelburne where residents will hear from all four candidates vying for the mayor`s seat in an open forum. Incumbent Al Delaney is being challenged by P.G. Comeau, Robert Sinden and Karen Mattatall. The debate gets underway at 7PM from the Shelburne Community Centre.Meanwhile, the eight candidates seeking one of six seats on town council in Mahone Bay will also debate the issues tonight. The debate will be held at the Mahone Bay Fire Hall and will begin at 7o'clock. Municipal elections will be held on October 20th.

MHL Trade: Lumberjacks Acquire Blueline Help

The CIBC Wood Gundy Lumberjacks have made a big move to shore up their blueline. The local Junior A hockey club has dealt former first round pick Damon MacEachern to the Metro Shipbuilders for 18-year old defenceman Brandon Leonardo. The Jacks also get a fifth round pick in the 2013 draft and a seventh round pick in 2014. The six foot one inch, 190 pound Leonardo was a fourth round selection by Woodstock two years ago. The Lantz native has a goal and an assist in nine games this year. MacEachern has just three points in eight games this season after registering only 17 points a year ago. The Lumberjacks next game is Friday night when they welcome Dieppe.

Bridgewater: Leblanc Set To Appear Before Judge

The first court appearance since the arrest of 47 year-old David James Leblanc will be held on Tuesday morning in Bridgewater. Leblanc is charged with forcible confinement and sexual assault in connection with an incident in Upper Chelsea, Lunenburg County where a 16 year-old boy claims he was held captive and sexually assaulted for nearly two weeks. Leblanc was arrested on September 30th in northern Ontario. When police picked him up, he was found walking on a logging road with no shoes and little clothing in near freezing temperatures. He spent nearly four days in hospital recovering from frostbite and was flown back to Halifax in a police airplane on Friday. The body of his co-accused, Wayne Cunningham, was found near an abandoned vehicle on October 3rd,  not far from where Leblanc was arrested.

South Shore Hockey Scores: MHL/Major Midget

A three-goal third period carried Woodstock to a 7-4 win over the CIBC Wood Gundy Lumberjacks in MHL action yesterday. The Slammers were holding a slim 4-3 lead entering the final frame. Shawn Boudreau and Luc Ramey each tallied a goal and and assist for the visiting Lumberjacks who gave up four power play markers. The Jacks return to home ice this Friday night when they host Dieppe.

In Nova Scotia Major Midget Hockey League action in Port Hood the Cape Breton Islanders completed a weekend sweep of the South Shore Mustangs with a 7-6 overtime win. Jordan Messenger led the Stangs with a goal and two assists. 

Accused In Chain's Case To Appear In Bridgewater Court

Mounties say a man facing charges of sexually assaulting and confining a teenage boy will return to later this afterrnoon. Sergeant Alain LeBlanc says 47-year-old David James Leblanc will be returned to the province from Ontario sometime after 5 o'clock via a police airplane. He says Leblanc will appear in court in Bridgewater on Tuesday. Leblanc was arrested Sunday in northern Ontario and was reported to be suffering from frostbite. Police confirmed yesterday that the body of his co-accused, 31-year-old Wayne Alan Cunningham, was found in a wooded area close to where he was arrested. Mounties launched an investigation last week after a woman reported that a partially naked boy showed up at her doorstep in Upper Chelsea with his wrists and ankles bound.

Lunenburg: No Doctors Force Weekend ER Closure

The emergency department will be temporarily closed over the Thanksgiving long-weekend. Officials says the closure will begin on Saturday afternoon at 2:30PM. The ER will remain closed until Monday morning at 7:30AM. The closure is due to a lack of physicians. Anyone requiring emergency services is advised to call 911 or visit the South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater. Patients with non-emergencies should contact their family physician or call Health Link 811 for medical advice.

Yarmouth Man Faces Child Porn Charges

A Yarmouth man is facing child porn charges after police raided a home earlier this week. Mounties seized five computers, two cameras, two cell phones, a video camera, floppy disks and USB drives after they conducted a search of a home on Thursday. Police say 53 year-old James Gordon McRae has been charged with possession of child pornography. He's due in court next April. The RCMP encouraging members of the public to report any suspected child sexual exploitation to local police or cybertip.ca.

Loss Of Full Time Jobs, Worrisome Signals: NS Liberal Leader

Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil

It's a jobs report that was full of surprises. Statistic Canada says an eye-popping 52,100 jobs were added last month -- five times more than economists expected. But in another surprise, the unemployment rate inched up a tenth of a point to 7.4 because more than 72,000 people joined the work force. Here in this province, the jobless rate is down about one percentage point from August. However, Liberal leader Stephen McNeil says the numbers were buoyed a bit by part- time and seasonal jobs that came along midway through the summer. He says close to 9,000 jobs have been lost province-wide in the past year, several thousand of them on the South Shore, and many of them, young people. McNeil says there's a tidal wave of young people leaving to go elsewhere to find work.



McNeil predicts the loss of so many full-time jobs will accelerate. He says that, combined with the employment troubles facing youth, are worrying economic signals.

Four Hurricane Players Named To Team NS

Four Western Hurricane hockey players have been selected to represent Nova Scotia at the Atlantic Challenge Cup this weekend in Moncton. The event features the top players from New Brunswick, PEI, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia for a weekend of competition at the Under-14 and Under-15 age groups. Chester's Jacob Myra made the Under-14 squad. Yarmouth's Colby Muise, Barrington's Christopher Goreham and Bridgewater's Keith Getson cracked the under-15 roster.

No Date Yet For Suspect's Return To NS

Police say they are still trying to determine when a man wanted in connection with an alleged sexual assault and confinement case in Lunenburg County will be returned to the province from northern Ontario. Sgt. Alain LeBlanc of the RCMP says David Leblanc will be returned when he is medically fit following his arrest Sunday. He says the body of Wayne Cunningham -- a co-accused in the case -- was identified yesterday.



Foul play is not suspected in Cunningham's death.  His body was discovered Wednesday night along a logging road in northern Ontario. Police allege Cunningham and Leblanc held a 16-year-old boy against his will and sexually assaulted him over several days in a house in Upper Chelsea before fleeing to Ontario.

Gasoline Prices Rise Again!

Its no huge surprise that gasoline prices are up today along the South Shore.  However. the increase is not as dramatic as in New Brunswick yesterday when prices there were hiked by almost 7 cents a litre. Today in our area, regular self serve gas is selling for $1.41.7 a litre ... thats a 4 cent increase from yesterday's price. Diesel is also up by 3 cents at $1.35.4 per litre. High test gas and home heating oil are also up a bit today.

Clippers Welcome Fundy For Home Opener

The Chester Clippers open defence of their league title tonight at home against the Fundy Phantoms. The Clippers are coming off an undefeated regular season and a year where they went 49-1-1 overall. They also won the Atlantic Canadian Championship. Captain Mathieu Bourgeois says expectations remain high for this year's club.


Chester has 13 players returning from last year's squad, but lost four players including Corey Young who led the Clippers with 45 goals. The game starts at 6:30 tonight at the Eleanor Pew Morris Memorial Arena in Chester.

VIDEO: Resort Manager Talks Re-Building Main Lodge

White Point General Manager Danny Morton talks about re-building the Main Lodge during a gathering October 4 at the popular Queens resort. Morton also focused on economic development in the County and how White Point can help in the community.

BREAKING: Police ID Cunningham's Body

RCMP have identified human remains found in norhtern Ontario as 31-year-old Wayne Alan Cunningham. Foul play is not suspected in his death. Greenstone police located Cunningham's body around 7:30PM on Wednesday night near the 2003 Hyundai Elantra that was recovered in the area of Long Lac, Ontario. Cunningham had faced charges of sexual assault and forcible confinement after a boy alleged he was held captive by two men at a home last month.
Cunningham's co-accused, David James Leblanc, was arrested Sunday on a road in Greenstone after officers received a report of a man wandering with no shoes and wearing light clothing in near-freezing temperatures.

NSCC Lunenburg Campus Enrolment Holds Steady

It's another year of solid enrolment for the NSCC's Lunenburg Campus. There are 415 full-time students this year at the Bridgewater-based campus compared to 422 during the 2011-12 school year. Spokeswoman Kathleen Cameron says enrolment is holding steady throughout the 13 campus across the province. She says there were nearly 10,700 students enrolled in programs ranging from trades to health services. That's about the same as the last two years. Cameron says there have been increases in the number of students who are completing high school at the colleges, with about 2,100 students currently in the School of Access program. The colleges expect an additional 15,000 Nova Scotians will participate in apprenticeship training, customized training and continuing education over the course of the year.

VIDEO: New Features At White Point Main Lodge

One of Two Beachstone Fireplaces

Workers are about a month away from wrapping up construction at White Point's main lodge. Community and business leaders were invited to tour the facility Thursday with many getting their first glimpse of the new lodge after fire destroyed the historic building last November. The new lodge will include two guest rooms with a full dining area and convention space. General Manager Danny Morton says new features include more windows and another fireplace.



Morton says they also have returning features like a pool and hot tub area, as well as exercise facilities. White Point will house visitors from across the province for Nova Scotia Music Week November 8-11. Below, Marketing and Product Development Manager at White Point, Donna Hatt, takes visitors through the main entrance of the new main lodge to see how the building is coming along.

South Shore: Municipal & School Board Election 2012

Municipal and school board election's are two weeks away. Information from the South Shore, including candidates lists and advance polling dates can be found on our website by clicking the link http://ckbwmunelex.blogspot.ca/

Information on the upcoming election can also be found by clicking on the "News" section of our web page at http://ckbw.ca/ or http://hankfm.ca/ after clicking on "News" simply look to the right of your screen and click on the Nova Scotia flag.


Advance Polling Dates:

Town of Bridgewater: October 11th through to October 20th (E-Voting 10 days). Voting permitted from 8AM until 8PM on each day of advanced polls.

Municipality of the District of Lunenburg: October 13th and October 16th (Two days only). Voting permitted from 12PM until 8PM on both days.

Town of Lunenburg and Region of Queens: October 11th and October 16th (Two days only). Voting permitted from 12PM until 8PM on both days.

Municipality of the District of Chester: October 11th through to October 18th (Evoting 8 days). Voting permitted from 8AM until 8PM on each day of advance polls.

Town of Mahone Bay: October 13th and October 16th (Two days only). Voting permitted from 12PM until 8PM.

Town of Shelburne and Municipality of Shelburne: October 11th and 16th (Two days only). Voting permitted from 12PM until 8PM.

Town of Clark's Harbour: Advance polls will be available on October 11th and 16th between 12PM and 8PM (Two days only).

Town of Lockeport: Advance polls will open on October 13th and 16th. Voting will take place between 12PM - 8PM at the Lockeport Legion (Two days only).

Shelburne Mayoralty Candidate Would Seek Greater Promotion Of Area's Assets

A candidate for mayor in Shelburne wants to see greater promotion of the town's natural assets as a means of attracting new industries. Bob Sinden says the area has a lot of offer like public safety and its history. He believes industries such as Cooke Aquaculture, which is expanding, are paying attention.


And that future according to Sinden is ... bright. He foresees increased health care and tourism promotion to bring new businesses and jobs to the area. Sinden, P.G. Comeau and Karen Harris-Mattatall are challenging incumbent Alan Delaney for the mayor's position in the October 20-th elections.

BREAKING: Search Ends For Cunningham, Body Found

Police in Ontario believe they have found the body of a man wanted in the alleged confinement of a 16-year-old boy in Upper Chelsea. Ontario Provincial Police say the body of a 30-year-old man was recovered near a 2003 Hyundai Elantra that had been recovered on a logging road in northern Ontario. Police say the body has not been positively identified, but they believe it to be Wayne Alan Cunningham, who faced charges of sexual assault and forcible confinement after a boy alleged he was held captive by two men at a home last month. The cause of death is under investigation by the Coroner's Office. The car was found Wednesday about 19 kilometres off the highway in Greenstone, about 250 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Cunningham's co-accused, David James Leblanc, was arrested Sunday after officers received a report of a man wandering with no shoes and light clothing in near-freezing temperatures.

Gasoline Prices May Zoom Upwards

If New Brunswick is any indication, South Shore gasoline prices may take a significant jump overnight tonight. In New Brunswick this morning, gas prices have gone up. The Energy and Utilities Board has boosted the maximum price for regular self-serve to a one dollar and 40.6 cents per litre. Thats an an increase of 6.6 cents from last week's price. There were smaller increases for diesel, which is up 2.5 cents and furnace oil, which is up 1.8 cents.