2009-06-02 06:12:35
Workers at the Bowater Mersey Mill in Brooklyn will be taking part in a national day of protest Tuesday, June 2nd. The main campaign rally to be held in Ottawa, is called 'Wake up Harper", to draw attention to the crisis in the forest industry. Courtney Wentzell, president of the local union, says they'll have information pickets set up outside the mills gates from 7 to 9:30 am. The Brooklyn mill is going into its third shutdown June 2nd. It will run through to July 16th.
2009-06-02 06:10:44
Bridgewater Police aren't saying if the incidents are related, other than the targets are similar and the incidents happened not far from one another. The first incident happened on Wednesday afternoon. A purse was taken out of a vehicle parked at the LaHave Street ball field. That was sometime between 4:45 and 5:40pm. And on Thursday afternoon, someone smashed out a passenger window smashed in a grey Honda Civic and stole a purse sitting on the seat. The vehicle was parked at the HB Studios fieldhouse on Glen Allan Extension. Police are asking for people to get ahold of them if they saw anyone hanging out in the parking lot last Thursday between 4:10 and 4:30.
2009-06-01 09:48:14
They should be getting ready for graduation and the start on the journey for the rest of their lives. Instead, students at New Germany Rural High are being dismissed early today to get ready to say goodbye to a fellow classmate. 17 year-old Jacob Alexander Noonan was killed last Wednesday afternoon walking along Highway 10 in Springfield. The Grade 12 student was from North River and was a part-time employee of the New Germany Irving. A funeral service is being held this afternoon (at 3pm) in the New Germany High School gymnasium. A Memorial Bursary fund is being set up in Jacob's name.
2009-06-01 06:23:19
The Bridgewater Tourist Bureau has a new owner. The land the building sits on at the corner of Elm Street and Aberdeen Road is owned by the Town, but the building used as a Visitor Information Centre was owned by the Bridgewater and Area Chamber of Commerce. The VIC was offered to the Town for a dollar, but after no sale the Chamber called for public tenders. It was announced Friday afternoon the building has been sold to Sea Coast HVAC Limited of Bridgewater. The new owners have until June 30th to remove the VIC from its present location.
2009-06-01 06:19:43
Liberals in Lunenburg West are challenging a statement by Conservative Candidate Carolyn Bolivar-Getson. Mark Furey is speaking out against a statement she made at a debate in Bridgewater this week. Bolivar-Getson made the claim her Conservative government had produced eight consecutive balanced budgets. Furey adamantely denies that. He says the only way they could have balanced the spring budget was if they broke the rules. A proposed amendment to the Finance Act had to pass for the Conservative financial plan to balance. That change would have allowed them to spend extra money on programs instead of putting it on the province's 12-billion dollar debt. Furey says it's time for the Conservative government to be accountable for their actions and realize Nova Scotians are smarter than that.
Political rhetoric, or a pledge to set the record straight? Pam Birdsall has paid for a print ad to refute what she says are untrue statements by Premier Rodney MacDonald. The NDP candidate in Lunenburg says the premier claimed publicly the Firefighter tax credit would be cancelled if the government changed. Birdsall says the $500 credit for 2009 is law and was approved in the Legislature in 2007 with the NDP fully supporting the measure. She says the election makes no difference to the law or the ammendment extending it to ground search and rescue along with firefighters.
Judy Streatch is calling on the South Shore Region School board to keep Big Tancook Elementary school open. The facility is one of the last one-room schools in the country and it sits on an island in the waters of Mahone Bay. Declining enrollments at the school in recent years have lead board members to order an impact assessment report. Streatch says Big Tancook Elementary has a long standing history of educating the children who call the islands home. She adds it is a wonderful school in a unique situation and she says that has to be remembered in any move forward plan for the P-5 facility. It's thought there will be an enrollment of between five and ten students over the next five years. Streatch says she does not support closing Big Tancook Elementary and will work to make sure parents have input on where their kids are educated.
It's a political challenge of a different sort. Rick Welsford, the Liberal candidate in the riding of Lunenburg has challenged the other candidates to remove their signs from the Towns lawns and gardens. Welsford issued his challenge during his closing remarks of a candidates debate in Lunenburg last night. He planned to remove his signs immediately after leaving the debate.
2009-05-29 06:20:44
It was standing room only at the Lunenburg Fire Hall for the candidates debate last night sponsored by the Lunenburg Board of Trade. The riding will be represented by a newcomer taking over from MLA Michael Baker who died this March after losing his battle with cancer. Vying for the seat are Conservative Peter Zwicker, Liberal Rick Welsford, Pam Birdsall is representing the NDP, and Milton Countway is running as an Independent. The candidates were previously submitted with four questions dealing with tourism in the town, road maintenance stimulating the economy in the riding and health care. Questions submitted from the floor ranged from what the candidates would do to ensure the festivals and arts continued in Lunenburg, to supporting an outright ban on uranium mining. A new school for the town, as well as the closure of Riverport Elementary were also touched upon. And each candidate was also asked about their campaign members and if they were brought in from other parts of the province.
2009-05-29 06:17:48
The Town of Lunenburg has received over half a million dollars in funding under the shovel ready projects program. Town Engineer Marc Belliveau says they filed two applications for funding under the Canada/Nova Scotia Building Canada Fund and received $554,650 to be used for street water and sewer upgrades on Kalbach Street. The total cost of the project which must be completed by March 31st, 2011 is almost $832,000. Council approved funding the remaining one-third cost from this year's budget and if not completed, it will be carried over to the 2010/11 capital budget. Belliveau says the next step is to issue a call for proposals for project engineering services.
2009-05-29 06:11:33
Fourteen students attending South Shore schools have been presented with the 2009 Lieutenant Governor’s Medal. The Education Medals first approved in 1961 are awarded to one male and one female in each school and the award is open to all Grade 11 High School students and to students in the 1st year vocational school program. This years medal recipients are: Mason Jordan and Madison Acker of Bridgewater Junior Senior High School, Lindsay Doucet and Keith Parker of Forest Heights Community School, Cassandra Rose Fralic and Graham John Muise of Liverpool Regional High School, Alana Barry and Ryan Eisner of New Germany Rural High, Erika Brittany Noreen Huskins and Aaron John Joudrey representing North Queens Rural High, Graham Mann and Samantha Rompkey of Park View Education Centre, and Marla Russell and Nicholas Gear of Lunenburg Junior Senior High School. The awards ceremony was held this week at Lunenburg Junior/Senior High.
2009-05-29 06:01:01
Nova Scotia's Green Party is trying to offer an alternative for voters in this campaign. Party Leader Ryan Watson tells CKBW they have a candidate in all 52 ridings to provide that option. He says some people are running full campaigns while others are letting their name stand to give that choice. Watson acknowledges a full slate does also give them money for every "x". Watson says he's proud they have 20 women running for seats - the most of any party - especially since that is the way it turned out, not because of any specific policy. Be listening for more from the leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia this weekend on South Shore Sunday Morning.
2009-05-28 09:43:13
A reprieve for the Adult High School in Bridgewater. The South Shore Regional School Board has been able to rework its budget and continue to fund the adult program Lunenburg campus. Superintendent Nancy Pynch-Worthylake says the school was on the chopping block because there were not enough funds in the Boards budget to continue its operation. The Board approved a draft balanced budget but has yet to receive its final revenue figures from the Department of Education.
2009-05-28 06:26:11
A 17-year-old has been killed after being struck by a car as he was walking in the Springfield area of Highway 10. Police haven't released the young man's name since family are still being notified. An RCMP news release says the collision occurred at about 3:45 p.m. as the teenager was walking in Springfield, on Trunk Road 10 between Middleton and Bridgewater.
2009-05-28 06:24:32
Three of the four candidates were on hand to offer their views and opinions on a submitted list of questions. The Green Party's Emily Richardson declined to take part. Liberal Mark Furey, Conservative Carolyn Bolivar Getson and Gary Ramey for the NDP addressed the issues of health care, economic revitalization and roads. The topics were put forward by the debates sponsor, the Bridgewater and Area Chamber of Commerce. Other questions from the audience centered on help for low income families,twinning the 103, gas regulation, grants to Michelin and the proposed provincial curfew for teens. It was a mild almost cordial debate with the candidates wrapping up the evening with a pitch why they deserved the voters ballot. Tune in this morning to CKBW to hear what the candidates had to say.
2009-05-27 06:27:40
The Town of Mahone Bay will launch the Pace Car program this Saturday, joining 18 other Nova Scotian communities already implementing the anti-speeding initiative. Residents pledge to become mobile speed bumps and display the Pace Car emblems on their vehicles, helping to slow traffic in their community. The program launch will include an opportunity for residents to sign up for the program, the Mahone Bay and Area Lions Club will be hosting a Bicycle Rodeo and local RCMP members are organizing a guided youth hike during the day.The event is set for 9:30 to noon this Saturday, May 30th at the Mahone Bay Legion Hall, 21 Pond Street. The Pace Car Program is a partnership of the Ecology Action Centre, Canada's home, car and business insurers and the NS Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.
2009-05-27 06:21:49
It's still not a done deal but Councillors did some bare bones cutting to the proposed Bridgewater budget Monday night. Mayor Carroll Publicover says all were in agreement that there be no increase in residential tax rates. Publicover says pre-approving previous requests has backed them into a corner in some ways. Council still has to finalize the amounts for the Grants to Organizations. A special Council meeting will be held next Monday night, June 1st when the final budget will be tabled and the tax rates set.
2009-05-26 06:35:38
At least five people in the Bridgewater area have been victims of electronic identity theft. In one case, a woman says she lost about $1,000 from her bank account. John Collyer, the town's deputy police chief, says they aren't sure yet if the money was taken through an automatic teller machine or by another means. He won't say if they have any suspects but adds that in past cases they have been able to identify people through video surveillance. Police are advising people to check their bank statements carefully and to notify them or the bank if there are any unusual transactions or withdrawals.
2009-05-26 06:31:24
A busy week for candidates on the south shore as the campaign heads into the home streatch. Chester/St. Margaret's is the latest riding to announce a debate. Tomorrow night at the Chester Legion Hall, the four candidates will be discussing the issues that will decide the upcoming election. Ryan Cameron of the Green Party, Liberal Jo-anne Grant, Denise Peterson-Rafuse of the NDP and P-C Judy Streatch will be in the hot seat. The event is being put on by the Village of Chester Tourism and Development Association. Wednesday night will also see the candidates of Lunenburg West and Queens squaring off in debate. And Lunenburg candidates will be in debate on Thursday.
2009-05-25 06:16:34
Another south shore riding will be giving voters a chance to hear directly from the candidates ahead of the June 9th vote. The South Queens Chamber of Commerce is holding their event on May 27th at the Junior High School Auditorium in Liverpool. Vicki Conrad of the NDP, Wayne Henley of the Liberals and Kerry Morash of the Conservatives will be there and organisers say the Green Party has also been invited. All will be asked six questions that include school board autonomy, government involvement in the economy, support for volunteer fire departments, fiscial responsibility, health care in Queens and forestry growth and protection. And people in the audience will also get to submit questions. That same night, Lunenburg West candidates will be holding a forum at the Michelin hall and the next night, The five Lunenburg candidates will be having their say.
2009-05-22 12:10:11
It's only been four years since they've been charging a tax on every property sold in the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg. And now they are looking at increasing the deed transfer tax. Council is proposing to bump up the rate from three quarters to a full one percent of the value of the property transferred. Second reading of the changes to the Deed Transfer Tax Bylaw will be held in the county council chambers in Bridgewater on June 9th. The tax came into effect in the municipality in September 2005. According to the municipality's figures, the tax earned them $541,554 in the last budget year.
2009-05-22 12:08:22
No housing market crash in this part of the country. Average house prices on the south shore are at a record high according to the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors. In April the average residential price was just under 207-thousand dollars - a five-point-four percent increase over last year. The national average was down 3-point-2 percent. Residential properties on the south shore went up by 11 percent, second only to the Valley Region where prices were 15 percent higher. The Association says the number and value of sales were down in April compared to last year and new listings were also down for the fourth consecutive year-over-year. President of the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors says the bridge between buyer demand and housing supply is continuing to narrow. Linda Smardon says that helps maintain stability in housing prices. The average house price in the South Shore Region is $173,853.
2009-05-22 07:12:26
The Conservatives and New Democrats are kicking off their election activities today (Friday) with campaign statements in Dartmouth. Premier Rodney MacDonald has scheduled a morning news conference at the Dartmouth East campaign headquarters. While the premier speaks, N-D-P Leader Darrell Dexter will talk about the future for young people at the community college's waterfront campus before heading to the south shore. He'll be campaigning with Garey Ramey and Pam Birdsall this afternoon. Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil will spend the afternoon campaigning with Mark Furey in Bridgewater, Wayne Henley in Liverpool and Darian Huskilson in Shelburne. MacDonald is also fanning out with several candidates later today.
