Western Hurricanes Captain Sets Sights On Mustangs

The captain of the BMO Western Hurricanes is hoping to take his talent to the next level. Keith Getson says he wants to crack the South Shore Mustangs line-up because he believes he can help the squad get back on the winning track. The 14-year-old is coming off an 81-point season with the Hurricanes, including 50 goals in 29 games. Getson says practicing hard helped him earn his results.



The Bridgewater native has decided not to play baseball this summer and will travel to PEI to train for the upcoming hockey season. Getson says he plans to work on getting faster and stronger to make the transition to major midget. Getson received awards as the Nova Scotia Major Bantam Hockey League's top scorer and top forward. He was also selected as a first team all-star.

Queens: Council Prepares For Tough Budget

Region of Queens Council will soon begin discussions on the 2013-14 budget. Mayor Christopher Clarke says staff is crunching and re-crunching numbers as the municipality deals with a huge shortfall in tax revenue. That's a result of the closure of the Bowater mill in mid 2012. Clarke says it is going to be a challenging year for finances.



Council will likely receive the budget within the next couple of weeks. The mayor says the deliberations will likely be long and arduous.

Bridgewater Council Holds Budget Meeting

The public are invited to a budget meeting Monday evening in Bridgewater council chambers. Council members will discuss the capital and operating portions of the 2013-14 budget. The meeting will begin at 6pm.

Council Mulls ATV Trail Request

Bridgewater council is mulling over a request to allow off-road vehicles along a portion of the Centennial Trail. Council received a letter from the co-owner of the Best Western Plus in Cookville asking members for an informal meeting to explore the option. The hotel property is connected to the trail and the co-owner feels ATV traffic could be a key resource and bring people to the area. Mayor David Walker says he has mixed emotions.



Council has sent the matter to committee for review.

Bourgeois' Double OT Winner Ties Junior 'C' Final 1-1

For the second night in a row, the Chester Clippers and Barrington Ice Dogs needed additional time to finish a game. This time, it would be Chester winning 5-4 in double overtime. Captain Mathieu Bourgeois scored the winning goal, tying the NS Junior 'C' Championship Series at 1-1. Kyle Dilosa had a big night as well, as he scored three goals to help the Clippers get the win. Josh Crouse also added a single goal. Jevon Link, Brent Symonds, Matt Goodwin and Tyler Quinlan each scored a single goal for Barrington. Game three will be played in Barrington on Friday March 22nd at 8pm. Game four will be on Saturday March 23rd at 7:30pm, also in Barrington. The fifth game of the series will be held Sunday, March 24th at 7pm in Bridgewater.

Whalen Wins Shotput, Sets New NS Record

Chelsea Whalen of Liverpool set a new Nova Scotia outdoor woman's shotput record Friday at the University of South Florida Invitational in Tampa, Florida. Whalen's throw of 15.59m took first place in the meet and wiped out her old record of 15.47m. Whalen will be competing next weekend at her home opener the FSU Relays in Tallahassee

Barrington Scores OT Win Over Chester In Series Opener

Nathan Townsend scored the OT winner for the Barrington Ice Dogs to hand them a 1-0 series lead over the Chester Clippers, in the best of seven Junior C Championship Series in Liverpool.   Tyler Quinlan, Matt Goodwin and Chad Newell each scored once in Barrington's win. Luc Way, Scott MacSween and Ryan Horsman replied with a single goal each for Chester. Chad Harris stopped 17 shots for the win, while Ben Bailey made 21 saves in the loss for Chester. Game two takes place Saturday night at 8:30pm at Queens Place Emera Centre.

Property Owners Want Town To Re-Evaluate Parking Levy

A Bridgewater property owner is requesting the town to re-evaluate a parking levy. R and C Sagors' Bookstore on King Street wants council to remove a service charge from their current tax invoice. The president and co-owner says they haven't operated the business since 2011 and no longer require customer parking. Councillor Bill McInnis agrees with the request.



A second property owner on King Street has also issued the same request to council. However, members voted to send the matter to staff to further study the matter.

Federal Money To Help Community Environmental Project

The Federal Government is providing money to a local group to help improve air quality and reduce water consumption. MP Gerald Keddy announced the Bluenose Coastal Action Foundation will receive $20,000 over two years. BCAF will partner with the Town of Lunenburg in helping local residents there and in Queens County reduce waste. The group will also promote the 'Blue W' campaign, which encourages people to refill their drinking bottles by using municipal drinking water rather than buying bottled water. The project's goal is to involve more than 1,000 participants in the campaign, which will reduce both water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Funding is being provided through Environment Canada's 'EcoAction Community Funding Program.'

South Canoe Needs 100 Workers To Build Wind Farm

The developers behind a large scale Lunenburg County wind farm will look to hold a job fair in an effort to hire 100 workers to build their multi-million dollar wind project. Minas Basin Pulp and Power, Oxford Frozen Foods and Nova Scotia Power were given the green light yesterday to proceed with construction of 34 wind turbines in the New Ross area. Minas Basin's John Woods says they'll host a competitive hiring process.



Woods says they've already done some preliminary work with local employers regarding their workforce. Construction on the $200 million project will begin this year with a completion date set for December 2014.

Gas Prices Slightly Lower

If you're keeping track of your travel budget and the price of gasoline, take note there is a small change at the pumps today. The Utility and review Board set prices overnight and regular self serve is down a cent on the South Shore, selling today for $1.35.1 per litre. Diesel is down by the same amount. It too is selling for $1.35.1 per litre.

Junior 'C': All-South Shore Final Opens In Liverpool

It's an all South Shore final as the Junior 'C' championship series begins tonight in Liverpool. The top-ranked Chester Clippers host the second place Barrington Ice Dogs in game one of the best of seven final. The Clippers won three of four games against Barrington in the regular season. However, Chester President and General Manager, Jehad Assaff, says Barrington is no push over.



Three out of four games were decided by one goal. Puck drop is at 8:30 tonight at Queens Place-Emera Centre. A full schedule is listed below:


Game 1: Barrington @ Chester - Friday, March 15th - 8:30pm at Queens Place Emera Centre, Liverpool
Game 2: Barrington @ Chester - Saturday, March 16th - 8:30pm at Queens Place Emera Centre, Liverpool
Game 3: Chester @ Barrington - Friday, March 22nd - 8:00pm at Barrington Municipal Arena
Game 4: Chester @ Barrington - Saturday, March 23rd - 7:00pm at Barrington Municipal Arena
Game 5*: Barrington @ Chester - Sunday, March 24th - 7:00pm at Bridgewater Memorial Arena
Game 6*: Chester @ Barrington - Friday, March 29th - 8:00pm at Barrington Municipal Arena
Game 7*: Barrington @ Chester - Saturday, March 30th - 7:00pm at Queens Place Emera Centre, Liverpool
*If necessary

South Shore Health Bracing For Funding Freeze

The CEO for South Shore Health says they're anxiously awaiting their budget targets, after the province's health minister revealed all districts should be prepared for a funding freeze. Peter Vaughan says it's no real surprise because the health-care system is feeling pressure across the country with an aging population with more chronic diseases. Vaughan says the health authority has to be as efficient as possible, and look where they can trim some costs.



Vaughan says they have to start thinking differently about how they're delivering service. Health care funding represents about 40 per cent of provincial spending, or about $3.8-billion. The spring budget will be announced April 4.

Chester Warden: South Canoe Emotional Experience

Councillors in Chester have given the green light to a $200 million wind farm in Lunenburg County. A motion to enter into a development agreement  for the South Canoe Wind Project was approved in a 6-1 vote. The only vote against came via New Ross councillor Tina Connors.  Minas Basin Pulp and Power, Oxford Frozen Foods and Nova Scotia Power are behind the project which would feature 34 turbines stretching between Vaughan and New Russell. Chester Warden Allen Webber says the project has created division within the municipality.



The wind farm would stretch over 3,000 hectares and be known as the largest wind energy project in Nova Scotia. The turbines are expected to generate enough power for 32,000 homes, create 100 jobs during construction. It's expected the project will come online late in 2014.

UPDATED: Chester Council Approves Wind Project

Councillors in Chester have given thumbs up to a $200 million wind farm between Vaughan and New Russell. It was a 6-1 vote in favour of entering into development agreement with the three proponents behind the South Canoe Wind Project. The only vote against came via New Ross councillor Tina Connors, who felt the turbines would be too close to homes. Minas Basin Pulp and Power, Oxford Frozen Foods and Nova Scotia Power want to build 34 turbines over 3,000 hectares in Lunenburg County. It would be known as the largest wind energy project in Nova Scotia. The turbines are expected to generate enough power for 32,000 homes and create 100 jobs during construction which will begin this year. It's expected the turbines will be turned on late in 2014.

Youth In Custody Following Break-Ins

The Bridgewater Police Service has one youth in custody after a number of break and enters into out buildings and motor vehicles late last month. Members of the service's Community Response Unit used a combination of monitoring areas of town with an unmarked cruiser, along with foot patrol throughout the nights. Officers made their first arrest of a male youth shortly after 3am Wednesday. Police have recovered some of the property stolen and remind the public to lock doors to buildings and vehicles.

South Shore Groups Receive Mental Health Grants

Two South Shore groups are among 23 organizations receiving new provincial grants to help people living with mental illness and addictions. Lunenburg West MLA and ministerial assistant for Health and Wellness, Gary Ramey, released details of Together We Can, the province's mental health and addictions strategy. The South Shore Improving Partnerships Advisory Committee is getting a one year grant worth $45,000 to build a community health network to help improve the quality of care for people with dementia, addictions and mental illness, and support their families and caregivers. The Split Rock Learning Centre Association in Yarmouth will receive $29,000 until 2015 as a three-year grant.

Unfair To Chop More Health Care Dollars: PC Health Critic

More belt tightening awaits South Shore Health and the other 8 health authorities across the province and the IWK Health Centre. The Dexter government has sent out a warning to prepare to pare more from their budgets. PC Health critic Chris d'Entremont of Argyle says enough is enough. He says there's litttle left to be cut as it is! He says: "If you're asking the district health authorities to make due with what they have is quite honestly creating a deficit situation for them because of the different things they have to spend on whether its wages or whether its other contracts they have over longer terms." d'Entremont fears cuts to services might result. Health-care funding represents about 40 per cent of provincial spending, or about 3.8-billion dollars.

MacKinnon Returns, Nets Pair In Mooseheads Win

Nathan MacKinnon didn't miss a beat. After missing 14 games because of an MCL injury, the Cole Harbour native potted two goals and two assists last night in Sydney as the Halifax Mooseheads dumped Cape Breton 6-2. Linemate Jonathan Drouin chipped in with a goal and two assists to tie Ben Duffy of PEI for the "Q" scoring lead.    

MHL: Crushers Eliminate 'Jacks In Blowout

The Lumberjacks' season is over. The Bridgewater club fell 7-1 to the Pictou County Weeks Crushers last night in New Glasgow. The Crushers took the best of three MHL mini series two games to none. Jessie McInnis scored early to give the Jacks a 1-0 lead and the clubs were tied 1-all after the first. But the home side broke things open with three goals in the middle stanza and they kept the pedal to the metal in the third. The Jacks were out shot 48-25. Pictou moves on to face Truro while Amherst and Yarmouth will hook up in the division semi finals.