QMJHL: Surging Herd Remain Hot

In "Q" action the Halifax Mooseheads doubled Shawinigan 6-3 last night at the Metro Centre. Tonight, a sellout crowd is expected in Halifax, as the Moose welcome the Moncton Wildcats.

Dieppe Drop 'Jacks In Blowout Loss

An embarrassing home loss for the CIBC Wood Gundy Lumberjacks as they got drilled 11-1 by Dieppe. The Commandos led 3-1 early in the second before scoring eight unanswered goals. Jared Dodman had the lone marker for the Jacks who travel to Amherst tonight.

School Board Facing Third Straight Year Of Budget Cuts

The South Shore Regional School Board is bracing for their third straight year of budget cuts. The board was hit with a 1.5 per cent reduction from the province earlier this week, resulting in a loss of $995,200. Officials also estimate 1.2 per cent for wage increases and cost of living increases including fuel and electricity. Those targets are expected to be $850,000. That's a loss of over $1.8-million. Last year, the budget was reduced by $1.4-million and in 2011-12, the budget was cut by $2.7-million. Superintendent Nancy Pynch-Worthylake says it's a difficult situation to be in.



The board is facing declining enrollment, which could have resulted in a greater funding reduction but the province set a cap at 1.5 per cent. Pynch-Worthylake says it will be extremely difficult to meet the budget target without reducing staff.

Hank Snow Tribute Returning To Queens

Organizers of this summer's Hank Snow Tribute are celebrating today after confirming the event will head back to Liverpool. The Friends of Hank Snow Society say the Tribute will be headlined by Canada's Queen of Country Music, Carroll Baker and Ryan Cook will act as the honorary chair. The event is planned for August 15-18. Co-Chair of the Tribute, Charlotte White, says it should help boost tourism to the area.



The Tribute has been held in Bridgewater at the South Shore Exhibition for the last number of years. Dozens of bands are expected to play at the event, which includes an open mic show and song writer's circle. Early bird tickets are available at the Hank Snow Museum or by visiting here .

Ice Sharks Host Third Annual Shootout Tourney

The South Shore Atom 'AAA' Sharks host the third annual shoot-out tournament this weekend. The Sharks, along with 11 other teams from places like Truro, Cape Breton, Yarmouth and Antigonish are participating in the event. Games begin this morning at 10 and will be held in Bridgewater, Lunenburg and Chester. All semi-final, consolation and championship games are planned for Sunday in Lunenburg. A full schedule is below.


3rd. Annual South Shore Atom AAA Shark Shoot-out 2013 Tournament Schedule
Teams
Division A Division B
1. South Shore Ice Sharks 7. TASA
2. Truro 8. Antigonish
3. Halifax 9. Cape Breton West
4. Glace Bay Miners 10. Bedford
5. Sherwood Falcons (PEI) 11. Kent South Flames (NB)
6. Western Valley         12. Yarmouth


Friday Feb. 15th. (All Friday Games are 3-12 minute periods)
Lunenburg Arena
Times RM. Teams RM.
10:00am. 5 South Shore vs. Western Valley 1
11:15am. 4 Truro vs. Sherwood 3
12:30pm. 5 Halifax vs. Glace Bay 1
1:45pm. 4 South Shore vs. Sherwood 3
4:00pm. 5 Truro vs. Glace Bay 1
5:15pm. 4 Halifax vs. Western Valley 3
6:30pm. 5 Antigonish vs. Yarmouth 1

Bridgewater Arena
Times RM. Teams RM.
2:00pm. 1 Cape Breton vs. Antigonish 4
3:15pm. 2 TASA vs. Kent Flames 3
4:30pm. 1 Cape Breton vs. Bedford 4

Chester Arena
Times RM. Teams RM.
10:00am. 1 Yarmouth vs. TASA 4
11:15am. 2 Bedford vs. Kent Flames 3




Saturday Feb. 16th. (ALL Remaining games are at the Lunenburg Arena)
ALL Saturday Games, including the Quarter-Finals are 3-12 minute periods
Times RM. Teams RM.
8:00am. 5 Antigonish vs. Kent 1
9:15am. 4 Truro vs. Western Valley 3
10:30am. 5 South Shore vs. Glace Bay 1
11:45am. 4 Sherwood vs. Halifax 3
1:00pm. 5 Bedford vs. Yarmouth 1
2:15pm. 4 Cape Breton vs. TASA 3

Quarter-Finals (Top 4 Teams of Division A & B go to the Quarter-Finals)
Game # Times RM. Teams RM.
19 3:45pm. 5 Team 1A vs. Team 4A 1
20 5:00pm. 4 Team 2A vs. Team 3A 3
21 6:15pm. 5 Team 1B vs. Team 4B 1
22 7:30pm. 4 Team 2B vs. Team 3B 3

Sunday Feb. 17th. Semi-Finals, Consolation Games & Finals

Consolation Games (All Consolation Games are 3-12 Minute Periods)
Games Times RM. Teams RM.
S1 Consolation Semi’s 8:00am. 5 A5 vs. B6 1
S2 Consolation Semi’s 9:20am. 4 A6 vs. B5 3

Consolation Final
Times RM. Teams RM.
2:00pm. 5 WS1 vs. WS2 1


Championship Games (All Championship Games are 3-15 Minute Periods)
Games Times RM. Teams RM.
23 Semi-Final #1 10:40am. 5 WG19 vs. WG22 1
24 Semi-Final #2 12:20pm. 4 WG20 vs. WG21 3

Championship Game

3:30pm. RM. 4 WG23 vs. WG24 RM. 3

Clippers Sweep Fundy; Await Semi-Final Opponent

The Chester Clippers have clinched a spot in the Nova Scotia Junior 'C' hockey semi-finals. Jeremy Church and Ryan Horsman each scored three goals as the Clippers skated to a 10-1 win over the Fundy Phantoms last night in Brookfield, sweeping the best-of-five series, 3-0. Scott MacSween added two goals while Jack Strowbridge and Mathieu Bourgeois each scored once. Ben Bailey recorded the win in goal for Chester. The semi-finals are scheduled to begin February 23rd in Chester. The club's semi-final opponent has yet to be determined.

Bridgewater High Hosts Division-Two Hoops Regionals

Bridgewater High School is hosting the senior boys' division-two basketball regionals over the next two days. The local club will host Middleton at 5pm this evening. The other semi-final pits Central Kings against Kings Edgehill at 7pm. Play continues at noon Saturday with the consolation game and championship at 2:00. Middleton hosts provincials in two weeks time. The two highest teams from this weekend's regional's will advance.

Jacks' Look To Clinch Postseason Berth

The CIBC Wood Gundy Lumberjacks will try to make it back to back wins tonight when they welcome the Dieppe Commandos. The Bridgewater club has been off since an impressive 5-2 victory over Campbellton eight days ago. The Jacks can officially punch their playoff ticket this weekend. A win tonight combined with a Metro loss tomorrow in Truro would clinch a post-season berth for the locals. The Lumberjacks and Dieppe hook up tonight at 7 at the Bridgewater Arena.

Radiothon Another Huge Success

It was another huge success. The Health Services Foundation along with CKBW and HANK FM helped raise more than $66,000 towards new ventilators for the local health authority.The foundations, Bernadette Jordan says members aren't getting hung up on falling short of their goal of raising $80,000. She says they will look at others ways to make up the $14,000 needed to purchase the new ventilators.




Yesterday's, radiothon at the South Shore Regional Hospital was the third annual.

Town Pre-Approves $7,000 For Growing Green Festival

A festival entering its fifth year has received pre-approval of funds from the town of Bridgewater. The Growing Green event has been a fixture in the community since 2008, though no event was held in 2009. The town pre-approved $7,000 for the festival. Funding for the event has grown each year since it was held. It's information that hasn't gone unnoticed by Mayor David Walker.



Festival co-chair Patrick Hirtle says he appreciates the help the town provides. However, he says the festival is growing and provides a unique opportunity for the town.


Hirtle suggests if funding is scaled back, they would have to change their approach and what could be offered at the event. The two-day festival is usually held in the summer and features events across the county.

School Board Bracing For Cuts In 2013-14

The South Shore Regional School Board received some unwelcome news today from the Education Minister. Ramona Jennex says school boards will get $1.047 billion in 2013-2014, $3-million more than they received this year. However, Jennex revealed the local board is facing a reduction. She says the province is cutting 1.5% of funding from the South Shore, resulting in a $995,000 loss. Jennex blamed declining student enrollment for the cuts. It's still too early to tell how the cuts will affect the board.

Clippers Dominate Phantoms For 2-0 Series Lead

The Chester Clippers downed the Fundy Phantoms 12-2 last night to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five Nova Scotia Junior 'C' Hockey League quarter-final series. Alex Armstrong notched three goals, while Scott MacSween also added a pair. Scoring single goals for the Clippers was Ryan Horsman, Luc Way, Kyle Dilosa, Jack Strowbridge, Mathieu Bourgeois, Josh Thompson and Jeremy Church. Chester's Doug Barrier stopped 24 shots in the win, and was relieved by affiliate goalie Daniel Lohnes in the third period who stopped three shots. Chester outshot Fundy 56-29. Game three goes tonight at 9pm at the Don Henderson Sportsplex in Brookfield.

Chester: Council Works On Climate Change Action Plan

The Municipality of Chester is in the midst of a rigorous pre-planning process to mitigate the effects of climate change on its coastal communities. Councillors and staff are working to create a Climate Change Action Plan as mandated by the Federal Government in order to access funding known as "Gas Tax". The funding is administered through Infrastructure Canada and helps municipalities pay for various public projects such a improving drinking water and upgrades to waste water treatment. Warden Allen Webber says they are taking a proactive approach with long term planning in mind.



The plan will focus on expectations the sea level will rise and the area will be hit by harsher weather patterns in the coming decades. Councillors are mulling over a draft plan presented to them earlier this month. The plan is due on the federal government's desk before the end of this year.

Bridgewater: Outdoor Rinks May Be Cancelled

The plan to have two outdoor rinks at Kinsmen Field in Bridgewater may be falling through the cracks. Councillor Andrew Tanner says volunteers have had a difficult time trying to build the rinks while dealing with adverse weather and warm temperatures. Tanner says the winter weather hasn't co-operated.



The Bridgewater Fire Department tried on three separate occasions to fill the rinks, but have been unsuccessful. He says it's upsetting because the rinks have been well-utilized by the public in the past. Tanner says they will continue to bank on cold weather for the rinks to be built, but adds, right now the outlook doesn't look good.

'One Billion Rising' Events Planned For Lunenburg County

A campaign to end violence against women and girls will be held on two fronts Thursday in Lunenburg County. Second Story Women's Centre is promoting 'One Billion Rising', a global day of awareness for people to demand change, dance and rise in defiance of the injustices women suffer. The movement serves as a call to action based on the statistic that one in three women will be beaten or raped in their life. Board of Directors member, Helen Lanthier, says they hope the day will make a difference.



The towns of Bridgewater and Lunenburg have both proclaimed Thursday as a day of awareness and action regarding violence against women. The public is invited to attend events in those areas beginning at 10am at the Lunenburg Community Centre or 12:30pm at the Bridgewater Public Library.

Third Annual Radiothon Hits Airwaves Feb.14

Final preparations are underway before the start of the third annual "Gift For The Heart" radiothon for the Health Services Foundation of the South Shore. Staff from CKBW/HANK-FM will be broadcasting live from the regional hospital in Bridgewater to help the foundation reach their fundraising goal of $80,000. This year, money is being raised to buy two new ventilators. Bernadette Jordan says they're critical pieces of equipment.



The broadcast begins at 8am Thursday and goes until 6pm.

Clippers Host Fundy For Game Two

The Chester Clippers and Fundy Phantoms will finally play game two of their playoff series in a late night affair in Chester. Game two has been rescheduled a number of times due to weather conditions over the weekend. The league did decide to award Chester a forfeit win, but rescinded the move. Game two gets underway at 10pm tonight at the Eleanor Pew-Morris Arena.

Passion Runs Deep During Pentz School Review Hearing

Roughly 50 people filled the Pentz Elementary School gym last night for the first public hearing in this year's school review process. About 20 of them, many who were parents of students or attended the school at some point, highlighted their concerns if the school were to close. Residents pointed out how important Pentz Elementary is to the community, the school's high academic standing and its family-like atmosphere. Paul Kelley has a son in grade two. He says the school is exceptional.



Meanwhile, Study Committee Chair Sherry Doucet says it will be tough to adjust if the school is closed.



Doucet says she thought it was a good discussion and realizes the tough decision ahead for the South Shore Regional School Board. Members were in attendance to gather feedback. They will make a decision on each of the six schools under review at a public board meeting March 27. The next public hearing is planned for February 18 at 6:30pm at Hebbville Academy.

No Events Scheduled To Mark Town's 114th Birthday

Happy 114th Birthday today to the town of Bridgewater. Mayor David Walker reminded the public of the milestone during Monday night's council meeting. No celebrations are planned for this year. But, Walker says something could be in the works for 2014.



In January 1899, an event known as the "Big Fire" completely destroyed the downtown core of Bridgewater. One month later, the community came together as an incorporated town.

Mustangs Eliminated From Playoffs

The South Shore Mustangs have been swept out of the playoffs. The first-place Valley Wildcats proved to be too much for the young club as the Cats defeated the Mustangs 6-1 last night to wrap up their best-of-seven series in four straight. Alex Nauss had the lone South Shore goal while Cole Skinner stopped 40 shots in the loss. Valley will play the lowest seed remaining in the next round of the playoffs.