Wind & Rain Storm Pounds Region

Nova Scotia Power crews are working to get the lights back on for a few thousand customers still reeling from last night's wind and rain storm. The largest outages being reported in Halifax, Dartmouth and Bedford/ A few hundred residents in Queens county are also waiting for power. Areas affected include Camperdown and Lapland. Streets and driveways were littered with tree branches, compost bins while flooding was reported in a number of areas. Environment Canada had issued wind and rain warnings, but they were lifted earlier this morning. At the height of the storm, nealy 18,000 homes were in the dark.

Shelburne: Medical Clinic Gets Much-Needed Funding

It appears the Shelburne Medical Clinic has gathered enough funding to expand. South West Health was facing a $441,000 deficit in their $1.4-million budget to retrofit the current facility. The CAO for the Municipality of Shelburne says council has agreed to pony up $250,000 to help the health authority. The contribution comes three years after the municipality approved $200,000 for the clinic. Kirk Cox says they hope to find the new financial commitment from this year's existing operating budget.



The Roseway Hospital Charitable Organization also increased its contribution to $300,000 while the province has set aside $658,000. A meeting will be held January 17 to discuss the next stage of the project.

Scammers Target Winter Vacationers

January is a perfect time for many South Shore residents to skip the cold and snow and head "south"! Its also considered by scammers as the perfect time to fleese vulnerble traveller wanna-bees. The province's Better Business Bureau says South Shore residents and other Nova Scotians have been getting calls offering free cruises if money is provided to collect the prizes. Jill Atkinson of the BBB says be wary of such offers.



She also says don't be fooled by familiar names being used by scam callers to lure you in ... names like Carnival Cruise Lines or Disney. Atkinson says these companies do not offer such prizes.

Former Lumberjack Butterworth Traded To Valley

Jeremy Butterworth is now a Valley Wildcat. He was traded from the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League for future considerations. Butterworth had 45 points in 49 games and was named Bridgewater's rookie of the year last season. He traveled to the United Staes Hockey League and spent time with the Fargo Force before he was traded to Brooks earlier this season.

LaHave Ferry Could Be Out Of Service Longer Than Expected

It might be a few weeks before the LaHave River ferry will be back in service. The cable-powered vessel broke free during last Friday's blizzard and ended up grounding down river on Oxner's Beach. Three people on board were not hurt. The vessel was towed off the beach on Monday and berthed in LaHave. Now, Pam Menchenton of the Department of Transportation says there was damage to the ferry's cable hydraulics which need more assessment and repairs.



When in operation, the ferry runs daily between LaHave and East LaHave.

Luke Warner Returns To South Shore; Traded To Mariners

A familiar name is coming back to the South Shore. Luke Warner has been traded by the Dieppe Commandos to the Yarmouth Mariners for future considerations. Warner spent two-and-a-half seasons with the Lumberjacks, posting nine goals and 17 assists in 131 games. He was traded by the club early in 2013 to Summerside where he won a league championship before he was dealt to Dieppe.

Education: Meeting To Discuss School Upgrades Planned

School board officials on the South Shore want to meet with the province to discuss their funding applications for upgrades to rural schools. Park View Education Centre is the only school in the region identified to receive money for improvements this year under the Nova Scotia governments capital priorities list. Schools in New Ross, both facilities in New Germany and the proposal for a new school serving Petite Riviere and Pentz were passed over for upgrades. Superintendent Geoff Cainen says he would like to know if there are gaps in their applications.



Meanwhile, Park View will see $13 million in new upgrades. Cainen is hoping the meeting with the province happens by the end of this month.

Lohnes Lumbermen Hockey Tournament Back For 30th Year

Three local teams will try their luck in winning this year's Lohnes Lumbermen hockey tournament, which kicks off tonight in Bridgewater. The Barrington Bay Lightning are one of them. They are back to defend their championship title from last year over the Aucoin Locksmith Blues, who are also scheduled to play this year. Other local teams include the Motor Inn Leafs and Eclipse Physio Rusty Blades. Games start tonight at 7:15pm and continue all weekend at the Bridgewater Memorial Arena and Clearwater Seafoods Arena. This is the tournament's 30th year.

South Shore Curlers On Top Team At Provincial Scotties

Mayflower's Heather Smith leads the way after two days of action at the Provincial Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Sydney. The Smith foursome, which includes South Shore natives Jill Brothers and Blisse Joyce, has a perfect 4-0 record after a 6-4 win last night over Mary Sue Radford. Defending champ Mary Anne Arsenault of Mayflower and Kelly MacIntosh of Dartmouth are next with 3-1 marks. Jocelyn Nix and Sarah Rhyno are still alive at 2-2. Round robin action in the eight team event continues through Saturday followed by tiebreakers and playoffs. The championship final is set for Sunday at 2pm. The winners will represent Nova Scotia at the Canadian Scotties in Montreal in early March.

Big Rainfall On The Way

Here we go again! The weather has been up and down all winter so far! Minus 20 one day ... plus 10 the next! Snow one day ... rain the next! After a low of close to minus 20 last night, we will see temperatures jump as much as 30 degrees by Sunday. Environment Canada is calling for heavy rain overnight Saturday into Sunday. Residents along the South Shore are being advised to check rain catch-basins outside and clear them of ice and snow to avoid flooding.

Substantial Drop In Gas Prices

The utility and review board has set the coming week's gas prices. They've been lowered almost 5 cents a litre. Regular self serve is selling this morning at South Shore pumps for $1.31 per litre. High test down also to $1.40. Diesel is down by about 4 cents as well.

Lumberjacks Seeking Illusive Win

The struggling CIBC Wood Gundy Lumberjacks will travel to Liverpool tonight for their game against Miramichi. The game will start at 8 at Queens Place Emera Centre. The Lumberjacks have suffered a huge goal drought and game wins this season.

Hurricanes & Mustangs Looking For Wins At Metro Tournament

The BMO Western Hurricanes and Charlie's Pizza South Shore Mustangs are off to a slow start at a hockey tournament in Bedford. The Hurricanes fell 3-1 to Moncton Thursday while the Mustangs also lost 3-1 to Miramichi at the Chronicle Herald East Coast Ice Jam. Both teams are back in action today.

UPDATE: Oakhill Accident-Three Injured Still In Hospital

Three people, critically-injured in a two vehicle crash in Oakhill on Tuesday, remain today in Halifax hospitals. Two boys, ages 9 and 13, are at the IWK while a 37 year old woman is in the QE-2. All three are said to still be listed as critical. The 9 year old boy was airlifted from the scene Tuesday afternoon in Oakhill to the IWK while the other boy and woman were rushed to Halifax by ground ambulance. Two other people in a second vehicle involved in the accident, an SUV, were treated at South Shore Regional Hospital and have been released. The RCMP are still investigating and haven't determined an exact cause of the crash, although road conditions at the time were snowy and slippery.

Hurricanes, Mustangs Compete At East Coast Ice Jam

A pair of South Shore hockey teams are in Bedford for the Chronicle Herald East Coast Ice Jam. The Charlie's Pizza South Shore Mustangs and the BMO Western Hurricanes are competing in their respective bantam and midget divisions. The Hurricanes opened the tournament Wednesday night with a 1-1 tie against Bedford. Matt Barron had the lone goal. They're back on the ice this afternoon against Moncton. Meanwhile, the Mustangs begin play at 5:30 this evening against Miramichi.

Tri County: African School Board Seat Election Saturday

There will be a vote this weekend to decide the African Nova Scotian seat on the Tri-County Regional School Board. The special election is necessary after a judge voided the results of the October 2012 election. Candidates Darlene Lawrence and Michael Alden Fells are seeking the seat. Lawrence won the seat by nearly 250 votes in the vote 15 months ago, but her victory was challenged because of electronic voting irregularities.The vote in 2012 was conducted largely online and by telephone.  Polls will open Saturday at 8am and close at 7 p.m. Paper ballots will be used in the election on Saturday.

Liverpool: 'Pep Rally' Planned For National Curling Event

They're rallying the troops in Queens County, ahead of the M and M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Curling Championships. The South Queens Chamber of Commerce and the event's host committee are welcoming people to a 'pep rally' this evening from 5-7pm in the community room at Queens Place Emera Centre. Chamber President, Barry Tomalin, says the rally will help highlight the community's effort, a rundown of day-to-day events and expectations. He says the rally is an effort to prepare the town for the championships.



Tomalin says they're expecting an additional 2,000 people in town during the curling tournament, which starts January 18.

Significant Drop Expected Tonight In South Shore Gasoline Prices

Look for a major drop in the price of gasoline tomorrow morning at South Shore pumps. The provincial Utility and Review Board will set the coming week's prices at midnight tonight and the price of regular self serve likely will drop more than 4 cents. New Brunswickers are paying less for gasoline this morning. Regulated prices there fell by 4 cents overnight to a new maximum price of $129.3 a litre.

Chester: Thousands Lose Power

There's roughly 7,000 people in the Chester area without power. An outage was reported just after 4:30pm. Nova Scotia Power says it's due to transmission line interruption. According to the company, the power should be back on around 6:30pm. Here's a link to their outage map

South Shore Health: No Confirmed H1N1 Flu Cases

There have been no confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu strain along the South Shore. The medical officer of health with South Shore Health, Dr. Linda Earle, says it's been a typical flu season so far in the region. There are at least two confirmed cases of H1N1 in the province while 10 people have died and hundreds are in hospital with the virus in Alberta. Dr. Earle says people should get the flu shot if they haven't already. She expects cases to rise.



Earle says the flu shot protects against three different strains of influenza including H1N1. The flu shot is provided free of charge from family doctors, nurse practitioners, some pharmacists and clinics offered by Public Health Services. Seniors, children ages six months to five years, Aboriginals, pregnant women and anyone with chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, asthma and diabetes are encouraged to get a flu shot.