Lower Northfield Man Killed In Weekend Crash

Mounties are releasing the name of person killed in Saturday's crash north of Bridgewater. Peter Bentley of Lower Northfield died in a collision with another vehicle around 8 o'clock. The 37 year old died at the scene. A 59 year old woman remains is serious condition in Halifax. Police say the Northfield Road has been re-opened to traffic. The cause of the collision is still under investigation.

Dramatic Rescue To Start Lobster Season

Some tense moments and a dramatic rescue just hours after the official start of the lobster fishing season. Four fishermen have been rescued just off the coast of Liverpool when their boat began taking on water. The mayday call was issued around 10 o'clock this morning. It's reported two men were plucked from a life raft while two others rescued from the water by a nearby fishing boat. The condition of the men is not known. Both the Canadian Coast Guard and Joint Rescue Coordination Centre were called for duty. The fishing season in LFA's 33 and 34 began this morning at 6am.

UPDATED: Fatal Crash On Northfield Road

Mounties are investigating the third fatal car crash in the past nine days in Lunenburg County. Police say a man is dead after a collision between a car and an SUV this morning in Lower Northfield. It occurred shortly after 8:00am. A woman also involved in the crash has been airlifted to the QE II in Halifax. She has serious injuries. An RCMP traffic analyst has been called to help with the investigation. On November 15, a 23 year old man was killed in a single vehicle crash in Blockhouse while an elderly man died after a head on collision in Hebbs Cross on Wednesday.

Bridgewater: Town Approves Noise By-Law

Bridgewater residents are going to have to start keeping noise at a respectable level. The town has approved a noise by-law by a 4-3 vote. The document includes maximum decibel limits of 75 decibels between 10pm and 6am.  It increases to 90 decibels during the day. Meanwhile, the town is in the middle of reviewing all of its by-laws to see which ones are necessary and which ones can be scrapped. Mayor David Walker says it doesn't make sense to add another by-law in the middle of the process.



Walker voted against the by-law along with councillors Michael Graves and Jennifer McDonald. The by-law won't take effect right away. There is training and decisions around enforcement that need to be ironed out.

Limited Parking At Queens General Hospital

Parking spaces will be at a premium for the next few weeks at Queens General Hospital. The site is being prepared for paving and other ground work. South Shore Health is advising the public to park in the lower parking lot near the old main entrance when visiting the hospital. Other parking space will be limited. Staff and the public are encouraged to carpool, or use drop off and pick up when possible. Paving is expected to be complete by mid-December.

Safety Crucial For Successful Lobster Fishing Season: Fisheries Minister

The annual lobster fishing season in our region finally gets underway Saturday morning in districts 33 and 34.
Its been delayed for almost a week because of bad weather. Nova Scotia fisheries minister Keith Colwell says its a very important industry, valued at more than 400 million dollars. He says for the fishermen, its a harsh environment in which to work.



Hundreds of vessels, stacked with lobster traps and manned by their crews will set out at 7 o'clock Saturday morning.

Nova Scotia: Ombudsman Set To Retire

Nova Scotia's long time ombudsman will retire at the end of the year. Dwight Bishop has served as the province's Ombudsman since 2004. Premier Stephen McNeil thanked Bishop for his dedicated service saying the people of Nova Scotia were well served during his term. Bishop did not wish to seek reappointment. He was appointed in 2004 and reappointed in 2009. The recruitment process for a new Ombudsman will begin shortly.

Sports: Panthers Play Titans, Mooseheads Look For Tenth Straight Win

The Park View Panthers boys hockey team gets ready for their toughest challenge this season. The high school team travels to Canning tonight to take on the top-seeded Northeast Kings Titans. Park View sits in third in the Valley League with five wins and a shootout loss.
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The Halifax Mooseheads try for their 10th straight win tonight when they travel to Cape Breton. The Moose sit in second place in the Quebec Junior League with a record of 21-8.
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The Bridgewater Triathlon Club will present a cheque to the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg in support of the local P.R.O. Kids program. The group will make the presentation at 10AM Saturday at The Local Public House in the Bridgewater Mall. The donation represents profits from the club's annual Riverport Duathlon race.

Lumberjacks Host Ramblers; Lose Nickerson To Suspension

The CIBC Wood Gundy Lumberjacks will be without one of their young defenseman tonight. Brendan Nickerson has been suspended eight games following an incident that happened in last Friday night's game against Valley. Nickerson received a match penalty during the game and was suspended for physical harassment of an official. The Barrington native has four assists in 24 games this season. The Lumberjacks will host the Amherst Ramblers at 7pm at the Clearwater Seafoods Arena. The Bridgewater club has lost four in a row.

Sports Day In Canada Comes To Lunenburg County YMCA

An open house at the Lunenburg County YMCA in Bridgewater will give people a chance to try different activities. It's all part of RBC Sports Day in Canada. People will have a chance to try pickleball. They can also watch a local Para-Olympic Para-Canoeist demonstrate training modules. A director with the local YMCA, Jonathan Gregorash, says there are many benefits to hosting the event.




The 'Y' will also set up an information booth with programming information for all ages and levels of fitness. The local YMCA will be shown during nationally on CBC, as part of the day. The event will be held Saturday from 11am-4pm.

Hundreds Of Charges Laid In South Shore & Valley Area Break & Enters

More than 300 charges have been laid against 2 men and a woman after a series of break and enters in Lunenburg, Queens, Kings and Annapolis Counties. The RCMP say the arrests follow a 5-month investigation into at least 46 B & E's over the past year. Jewelry and in a few cases firearms were targetted and the break-ins into the homes were carried out mainly during daylight hours. RCMP Sgt. Rocky Calhoun says many of the victims didn't even know they had been robbed.



The three suspects, 42-year-old Perry Fader, 56-year-old Kerry Laffin and 24-year-old Brittany Green, face charges of break and enter, possession of stolen property and conspiracy to commit break and enter.
The suspects are all from Annapolis County and they'll be appearing in Annapolis Royal court in the coming week. The RCMP says some of the stolen property has been recovered and more charges are likely.

Lobster Fishing Season Set To Go Tomorrow Morning

The annual lobster fishing season begins Saturday morning in districts 33 and 34. The area involved is large, from Halifax along the South Shore to Yarmouth and around to Digby. Former fisheries minister Sterling Belliveau, a former lobster fishermen himself and now the MLA for Queens-Shelburne, says "dumping day" is always a rush.



Hundreds of vessels, stacked with traps and manned by their crews will set sail for the rich lobster fishing areas at 7 o'clock tomorrow morning (Saturday). The start of the season has been on hold since last weekend because of bad weather conditions. Tomorrow is expected to be clear with little wind.

Gasoline Prices Up Again

Gas prices at South Shore pumps have increased overnight. Regular self serve is up 2 cents a litre to $1.32.1 High test is up by the same amount to $1.41.1. Diesel is up almost 5 cents a litre this morning to $1.41.8. These increases come about as industry analyists say there's no real reason for hikes because oil supplies are good. In fact, the world price of oil has been dropping all week.

Liverpool: RCMP Investigate Possible Threat To School

A high school in Queens County was placed under a safety procedure this afternoon due to a possible threat made to the school. Students and staff at Liverpool Regional High School were under "hold and secure"  which means no one allowed inside or out of the building. The procedure was put in place over the lunch hour and Queens County RCMP were called to investigate a possible weapons threat to the school. Corporal Scott MacRae says police were stationed at the school to ensure the safety of students and staff. He says no arrests have been made.



Classes will take place as usual on Friday.

Memo sent home to parents via South Shore Regional School Board web site:

November 28, 2013

Dear Parents/Guardians:

During lunchtime, school administration received a phone call that a non-student was rumored to be coming to our school with weapons. Immediately, the Liverpool Detachment Royal Canadian Mounted Police were advised and responded by coming to our school. Our school went into a “Hold and Secure” mode.

Upon arrival of police, students were advised to return to classrooms with their teachers, to insure everyone’s safety. Afternoon classes went ahead as usual with staff and students receiving updates.

I am very pleased with the reaction of our students and staff. The Liverpool Detachment Royal Canadian Mounted Police responded promptly, effectively and remained at school until student dismissal. Their efforts will continue with investigative work.

Terry Doucette

Principal

Liverpool Regional High School

UPDATED: Liverpool High School Under "Hold & Secure"

Liverpool Regional High School in Queens County is under a "hold & secure" procedure due to "potential issue". That means no one is allowed to enter or leave the school. Communications Manager for the South Shore Regional School Board, Trish Smith says the move is precautionary. RCMP are involved. This is all the information we have and will update when we have more to report.

Update 1:15pm: Liverpool High School will remain in hold and secure until dismissal. The school has been working with the RCMP on a potential threat. All are safe.

Update 1:25pm: RCMP in Queens County looking for a person of interest in relation to hold and secure at Liverpool Regional High School.

Update 1:32pm: RCMP were called to investigate a possible weapons threat at the school - which led to the hold and secure. They are following up to find out if the threat is legit. Students safe, classes continue as normal.

Update 1:44pm: South Shore Regional School Board says students will be dismissed at regular time, RCMP will be on site when students get on their buses.

Update 1:50pm: School board says a memo will be sent home to parent letting them know what took place at the school and the reason for the "hold and secure". Students being dismissed and are being transported home.

Victim Of Fatal 103 Crash Identified

A Mill Village man has been identified as the victim of a two-vehicle crash yesterday on Highway 103 at Hebbs Cross. 73 year old George Warner Smith died Wednesday afternoon when the mini-van he was driving east between exits 14 and 15 collided with an SUV heading west. Two other people were sent to hospital with serious injuries. The cause of the crash hasn't been determined but driving conditions on the highway were poor at the time with heavy rain and wind. The RCMP are continuing their investigation.

Storm Cleanup Continues

Heavy rain and hurricane-force wind gusts last night created a lot of problems across the province for a lot of people. The biggest impact was on power. At the height of the storm, close to 50-thousand Nova Scotians lost their electricity, including thousands along the South Shore from St. Margaret's Bay to Yarmouth. Nova Scotia Power has been trying to fix a pair of snapped poles on North Street in Bridgewater, which is causing some minor traffic delays. Company spokesman David Rodenhiser says crews have been working on the issue for more than 12 hours.



Wind gusts last evening were close to 100 km/hr at times which tore limbs from trees, destroyed fences, ripped shingles off rooves and toppled trees, power poles and lines. RCMP Sgt. Al LeBlanc says first responders were swamped with calls.



There are still about 14-thousand Nova Scotia Power customers without electricity with the most outages in the eastern part of the province and Cape Breton. NSP hopes to have everyone re-connected as the day goes on. There have also been numerous delays or cancellations of flights at Halifax's Stanfield International Airport.

Gas Prices Expected To Rise Again

Gas prices here on the South Shore will likely rise about a cent tonight when the utility and review board sets the coming week's prices at midnight. In New Brunswick this morning, there's an increase in gas prices there. Self serve regular is at $126.9 a litre with diesel at $1.42 a litre.

Bridgewater: NSP Working To Fix North Street Power Poles

Over 14,000 people province-wide remain without power following yesterday's rain and wind storm. Crews with Nova Scotia Power worked through the night to fix situations on the South Shore including several outages in the Bridgewater-area, Chester and Queens. NSP is still trying to fix a pair of snapped poles on North Street in Bridgewater, which is causing some minor traffic delays. Company spokesman David Rodenhiser says crews have been working on the issue for over 12 hours.




Rodenhiser says workers are putting up new poles and installing wiring. He expects the issue to be cleared up in the next few hours.

South Shore Cleans-Up After Powerful Storm

Heavy rain and hurricane force wind gusts created a lot of problems last night in Nova Scotia. The biggest impact was on power. At the height of the storm, close to 50,000 people lost their electricity, including thousands along the South Shore from St. Margaret's Bay to Yarmouth. Wind gusts were close to 100 km/h at times which tore limbs from trees, destroyed fences, ripped off shingles and toppled power poles. There are still about 20,000 Nova Scotia Power customers without electricity with the most outages in the eastern part of the province and Cape Breton. NSP hopes to have everyone re-connected as the day goes on. There have also been numerous delays or cancellations of flights this morning at Halifax's Stanfield International Airport.