Monday, January 30, 2012

Pet Food Drive raises over $2,000 for Queens SPCA


Karissa Boudreau
The people came out in droves Saturday to help raise money for the Queens County SPCA. The 4th annual Karissa Boudreau Memorial Pet Food Drive raised $2,048 in cash and an estimated 12-14 shopping carts full of supplies. The president of the Queens County SPCA, Martin Hilliard, says they received a variety of different items.
"Hundreds of pounds of dog food, cat food, toys, treats, all kinds of stuff, it was absolutely overwhelming."
Hilliard says the fundraiser is a huge help because a busy summer and fall season has left a big strain on their finances. One of the organizers, Wendy Whalen, says after four years, it was nice to see people still care so much.The 12-year-old Boudreau will always be remembered as a young girl who loved animals, with aspirations of being a veterinarian. It's expected the last pet food drive will be held next year before organizers move on.




Town of Lunenburg: Not Interested in Shared Services Review


The Town of Lunenburg says its not opposed to sharing some services but council isn't interested in regional governance. Mayor Laurence Mawhinney made the comments as Mahone Bay, Bridgewater and the District of Lunenburg move forward with a detailed review of regional governance and shared services. Mawhinney says he wanted to clear the air because residents have been asking why the town isn't part of the review. "We certainly wish the other three well as they continue their review and discussion, but we were not looking at regional governance per say. We're happy to look at shared services, yes. But a review focused on regional governance as the first step, in our opinion, was not the way He notes the town recently withdrew from a partnership with the three municipal units on the Waste Management Committee. Mawhinney called the venture less than satisfactory and felt the towns views were not considered seriously. The town is currently negotiating with the Municipality of Chester on a new waste disposal agreement at Kaizer Meadow.

Composites Atlantic: Calls Back Some Laid-Off Workers


Composites Atlantic has re-hired five employees that were victims of a mid-November lay-off. At the time, 37 employees were laid off as the result of an unexpected change in delivery schedules from several major customers. President and CEO Claude Baril says their market has picked up over the past few weeks. "Actually when we did lay-off...we had not underestimated but maybe went a bit too far and we re-hired some more people because we were late on some programs and dealing with overtime, so we adjusted," Baril says work orders at the plant will be stable for at least the first six months of this year and the company will re-evaluate later in the summer. The Lunenburg based aerospace plant employs more than 300 people and manufactures lightweight aircraft parts.

Final "Shared Services" Meeting Goes Tonight

mayor_don_downe
Don Downe
The last of 5 public meetings in Lunenburg County discussing the sharing of some services will be held tonight. A report on the feasibility of sharing some municipal services among Mahone Bay, Bridgewater and the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg has recommended .... in favor. The meetings have been designed to get public feedback and help councillors in the communities make their decisions on the proposal. District of Lunenburg Mayor Don Downe says that's important. He says: "We need to make sure we consult and get an idea on how our community feels about it. At the same, we are prepared to show leadership. But I think its important to have them come forward with some very interesting questions that they have about the report and we need to give them the answers." Tonight's meeting begins at 7 o'clock at the Petite Riviere Fire Hall.


Queens County Adds More Protected Lands

Mayor Leefe
Queens County has aquired another 22-hundred hectares of protected land.
Its a gift from Bowater Mersey, part of the rescue package for the mill back in December. District of Queens Mayor John Leefe says saving pristine areas from development is important. About 19 percent, or 44-thousand hectares, of Queens County's total land mass .... is now protected under the World Wildlife Federation's "Endangered Spaces Program". That figure is well above the 12 percent required under the program.




Shelburne Arena ready for next stage of upgrades


Tony Mahaney
The Shelburne Arena is entering phase two of its upgrade stage. The rink is getting roughly $453,000 worth of work done including repairs and replacement of refrigeration equipment, structural upgrades and accessibility issues. The chair of the Shelburne County Arena Association, Tony Mahaney, says they're moving ahead with their next step of renovations.
"We just finished phase one that did $500,000 worth of improvements that took care of a number of issues concerning lighting and part of the refrigeration, as well as upgrading the players' dressing rooms and washrooms. So, this phase is to accommodate the people viewing the games."
Mahaney adds, one way to help people view the games is by making the rink more accessible including building a ramp to get into the main entrance.
"Once you get into the facility, there's some upgrades that are required for the washroom facilities so that they can easily access the washrooms, as well as a small section that will be set aside for a viewing stage or viewing platform for anybody that is requiring accessibility."
Mahaney says he hopes all the upgrades will help give the arena 20-25 years of use before a new rink will be needed. He says he expects phase two will be complete by 2015.