Assessment in Baby Case

A Liverpool woman charged in the death of her newborn baby has been sent for a psychological assessment. Twenty-five year old Amanda Lynn Oickle is facing charges of neglecting to get assistance during childbirth, and concealing the body of her infant son. Her lawyer says she has concerns whether Oickle has the ability to fully understand the charges against her and to give legal instructions. A neuropsychological assessment has been arranged to be conducted May 10th and the report will take about a month. The lawyer is also awaiting further disclosure from the prosecution
Oickle's former partner,31 year old Andrew Gary Cunningham is also charged with concealing the body of a child and breaching his conditional sentence. His lawyer says he's awaiting DNA results. The case has been set over to June 29th at which time both accused are expected to enter pleas.

Lunenburg Gas Bar/Drive-Thru

A proposal to redevelop the old Esso station on Falkland Street in Lunenburg is on hold for another week. Residents packed the Lunenburg Court House last night for a public hearing on the matter. Mayor Laurence Mawhinney says the hearing has been adjourned until next Tuesday to receive information from the traffic authority and fire chief.
The hearing will be reconvened at the point it was adjourned, awaiting Council's decision on the proposal. Wilsons Fuel Company plans to develop the property into a combination gas bar,convenience store and drive-thru restaurant.

Baby Death Charges

A Queens County couple will be back in court this morning facing charges in relation to the death of their newborn child are back in Liverpool court today. Twenty-five year old Amanda Lynn Oickle is charged with failing to obtain assistance in childbirth and hiding the body of a child. Thirty-one year old Andrew Gary Cunningham is charged with concealing the body of a child and breaching his conditional sentence. The pair were arrested hours after bringing the remains of a baby boy into Queens General Hospital last October. It's alleged that
Oickle gave birth in her apartment, and the baby either died in childbirth or shortly after. It was also alleged the couple hid the body in the oven in their apartment for five days, before bringing it to the hospital.

Town Vehicle Policy

The Town of Bridgewater making some changes that will affect employees using their personal vehicles. Mayor Carroll Publicover says there seemed to be some inconsistencies and the Town has adopted the provincial kilometre rate for daily use. Employees travelling a distance of 250 kilometres or greater will be encouraged to rent a vehicle. If they choose to use their own the reimbursement rate will be the same as a rental rate. As well the Town will eliminate monthly car allowances. The current employees will be grandfathered. When those positions change, the allowance will disappear.

Residents to Pay for LCLC

Bridgewater Residents will be asked to help pay for the Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre through a special purpose tax. Bridgewater Mayor Carroll Publicover says the Town is following the lead of its partner in implementing the special tax. Property owners will be able to see how much the Lifestyle Centre will be costing on their property tax bills. Publicover says they still have to decide how much residential and how much commercial and whether it will be all one or the other or a blend. He says the facts and figures still have to be worked out. The tax will not be implemented until the 2011/12 fiscal year.
The Town along with the Municipality of Lunenburg have committed to funding totalling one third of the complex previously estimated at 31.5 million. However, the cost has now risen to 42 million if all the preferred components of 2 ice rinks, a pool and library are included.

Transportation Services for Residents of Chester

A new accessible bus for residents of the Municipality of Chester was announced this morning.

Both levels of government represented by South Shore St. Margaret's MP Gerald Keddy, and Community Services Minister and area MLA Denise Peterson-Rafuse was on hand for the announcement.

Minister Keddy says “This new bus will provide safe, reliable and inclusive transportation services for residents of the Municipality of the District of Chester.”

Growing Tourism Together workshop

In a effort to support tourism within the area a workshop will be held tomorrow at the Best Western Hotel in Liverpool.

Chair of the Tourism committee Donna Hatt, says they need to engage more of the tourism and related businesses and organizations within our communities to strengthen and grow tourism.

The free Growing Tourism Together workshop is being held tomorrow March, 23rd, from 9:30 am - 12 noon.

The upcoming workshop is open to everyone in Queens County and organizer are delighted to be working with tourism operators from Port Medway, Caledonia, Port Mouton, Greenfield as well as Liverpool and everywhere in between.

There is no fee to attend and those attending are invited to bring along their brochures and related promotional materials for exchanging with others. To RSVP, phone Amanda Wambolt at 354.2377 or email her at amanda.wamboldt@bwliverpool.ca by March 19th.

RCMP Files

Chester RCMP are asking for the public's help involving cases of vandalism. Two windows at Chester District School were broken sometime overnight Thursday, March 18th. As well a number of mailboxes were damaged along Highway 329 from Blandford to Fox Point overnight Thursday into Friday morning. Meantime Lunenburg County RCMP are investigating the theft of a trailer from a residence in Parkdale. Sometime between 12:30 and 3:30 pm on March 11th, a black 16 foot long deck 2007 Rainbow Utility Trailer was was removed from the driveway of a residence on the Farmington Road.

Gold River Assault

RCMP are continuing their investigation into an assault with a weapon in Gold River over the weekend. The incident happened Sunday morning. There were several victims involved in the incident. A suspect was arrested and charged and will be appearing in Bridgewater Provincial court today.

Transit Event

An important transit event for the Municipality of Chester will be unveiled this morning. Both levels of government represented by South Shore St. Margaret's MP Gerald Keddy, and Community Services Minister and area MLA Denise Peterson-Rafuse will be on hand for the announcement. ; David Outhouse, Managing Director of South Shore Community Association; and Michael Graves, Coordinator, United Way of Lunenburg County will also be in attendance at the announcement slated for 9 o'clock this morning at the South Shore Work Activity Program, 23 Collicutt Road.

Food for Thought

Making Bridgewater a better place for youth and the new proposed skate park were the two topics of this weeks Food for Thought workshop.

On Monday the Youth Action Team met to discuss what Bridgewater needs to make the town more appealing for youth.

Manager of the Bridgewater Development Association, Ida Scott says the discussion was well received and they plan to have another meeting in the upcoming weeks.

For more information tune into South Shore Sunday morning this Sunday at 9am.

New French school for the South Shore

The Francophone community in the South Shore will soon have a brand new primary to grade 9 facility in Cookville.

The new school will be replacing the current French school in Blockhouse.

The facility will house 285 students and is set to have its grand opening at the end of this year.

"The Horse Boy" comes to Bridgewater

A true story about a family who took an adventure through Mongolia on horse back with their autistic son makes its Atlantic premier this weekend at the Days Inn in Bridgewater.

"The Horse Boy" produced by father Rupert Iasscson is a story about him and his wife, Kristin who go on an adventure to search for healing with their 5-year-old autistic son, Rowan.

The showing of the film is sold out but for more information visit www.HorseBoyMovie.com

Gastro-intestinal Illness

South West Health serving Shelburne, Yarmouth and Digby Counties is reminding people to stay home and not visit friends or family in hospital if you are feeling ill. There has been some gastro-intestinal illness in the community, and people who are ill are advised to stay away from the hospital to reduce the risk of spreading the virus to patients. South West Health does not plan at this time to close any hospital units or restrict visitors as a result of the gastro-intestinal illness in the community but are monitoring the situation closely. If you are feeling ill, and your symptoms become severe, please call your family physician or visit the nearest Emergency Department. People can also call 811 to speak to a Registered Nurse 24 hours a day, seven days a week

Emergency Services get $

Funding for Emergency Services in Lunenburg was announced today. NPD MLA Pam Birdsall says she is pleased that five organizations will receive a total of more than $45 thousand dollars. Birdsall added this funding will assist firefighters and other first responders fulfill their vital roles.

The organizations are:

- Cornwall & District Volunteer Fire Department ($15,000)
- Lunenburg Ground Search and Rescue ($944)
- Mahone Bay and Area Fire Department ($15,000)
- Maitland & District Volunteer Fire Department ($10,000)
- Riverport & District Fire Department ($5,000)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Well making your party plans today, make sure you include a plan for a safe and sober ride. Public safety officials say St. Patrick's Day has been the holiday with the highest percentage of alcohol-related traffic deaths.

*Information from Canadian Press

Crousetown woman found

A Lunenburg County woman reported missing yesterday was found unhurt after spending nearly 8 hour in nearby woods. The 70-year-old resident of Crousetown had gone for a walk just after lunch without telling family where she was going. Around 3 o'clock they began to search the local area then called police around 6pm. The woman walked out onto a road approximately 8km from her home.

Hanging up the Holster

It's time to hang up the holster for the top Mountie in the Region of Queens. Staff Sgt. Bruno Deveau is retiring at the end of this month after some 35 plus years of service with the RCMP. He says its time to move on and let someone else to take over the seat. Staff Sgt. Deveau has headed up the Queens detachment for the past 3 and a-half years. Opening the lines of communication with Council and the community has been rewarding. They've also opened a community policing office in Caledonia. Staff Sgt. Deveau says he'll miss the employees and the challenges associated with the job but is looking forward to doing some travelling. with his wife Wanda. Sgt. Jeff Wells formerly with the South Shore Traffic Services will be the new commander of the Queens detachment

Municipal Auditor General

The Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities is seeking input on the potential workplan for the Municipal Auditor General. The province announced two years ago it would appoint a Municipal Auditor General to perform value for money audits. The positron was to be appointed by this April 1st, but the Minister has granted an extension.
Region of Queens Mayor John Leefe says its absolutely essential to get it right the first time. He says there has been some suggestion the UNSM would dictate the areas in which the Auditor General would undertake his reviews. Leefe says Queens supports the model whereby the Municipal Auditor General would have a small staff and farm out audits to the private sector, rather than creating a whole new bureaucracy that would be the equivalent to the operation that the Provincial Auditor General supports

Tourism Kiosks

Finding a location for a third tourism kiosk is proving a bit of a challenge for the Municipality of Lunenburg. Deputy-Mayor Martin Bell says initially they agreed to place one centrally, one on the east side of the LaHave River, and one on the west side of the river. A chosen location in Bayport had to be scrapped because a restaurant where the panel was to be placed has closed. Councillors couldn't reach agreement where the third panel should be relocated. Bell says the Tourism Focus Group has been given 30 days to bring back a recommendation to Council.
The two sites already selected for the kiosks are near the Best Western Hotel under construction in Cookville, and Mosher's look-off in Dublin Shore. The kiosks are being erected as a temporary measure for the 2010 tourism season, while a determination is made on a permanent Visitor Information Centre.