Lunenburg Preliminary Budgets

The town of Lunenburg has received many of the preliminary budgets for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The mayor says that they have not yet begun the process of reviewing those budgets. Lawrence Mawhinney says however they plan to begin that process on the 20th of this month. At that time, the council is inviting submissions on those budgets, which are now available at the Lunenburg town hall.Mayor Mawhinney says the council wants to hold the line on expenditures. He says preliminary indications are that they may be able to do that while maintaining previous tax-rates and levels of service.

Upgrade town's infrastructure

The mayor of Bridgewater says his council continues to upgrade the town's infrastructure through capital investment.

Mayor Carroll Publicover says the new budget they approved last night shows they have stood by their intention to maintain current levels of service to town residents.

He says the council also wants to upgrade the town's infrastructure.

Mayor Publicover says the main one is the "Lunenburg County Lifestyle Center" that replaces three aging capital investments -- the arena, the pool and the library.

He says their five-million-dollar investment takes advantage of the fact that the provincial and federal governments pay the rest of the proposed facility's price-tag.

Budget has been set

Bridgewater has set its budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

Town councillors approved the new budget last night by a vote of six-to-one.

The total "Operating Budget" came in at 17-million, 254-thousand, 515-dollars, with a "Capital Budget" of 5.8-million-dollars.

Tax rates are up 2.5-per-cent over last year.

In direct terms, that is up 4.1-cents.

Tax Rates

Bridgewater Town Council hopes to be able to set the tax rates at tonight's council meeting. In the draft version Council had proposed a 2 and a-half percent increase. The residential rate currently sets at
$1.62 per 100 dollars of assessment while the commercial rate is
$3.72 per 100 dollars. Council is looking at a 17 million dollar budget with 6.7 million of that for capital expenditures. Six engineering items include sanitary and storm sewer projects totalling a million dollars.

Police Week Celebrations

Bridgewater Police Service have a number of events planned to celebrate Police Week which kicks off Sunday May 9th. May 14th, is recognized internationally as Peace Officer Memorial Day. An Open House and BBQ will be held on Tuesday, May 11th. The public are invited to tour the police station and enjoy hotdogs and cold drinks. Proceeds from the BBQ will go to South Shore Big Brothers Big Sisters.
On Thursday May 13th, Bridgewater Police Service and community partners will hold a display at the Bridgewater Mall. Auxiliary Cst. Creig Veinot will also be present with Reba, the Police Service Dog. Police week began in 1970 with collaboration between the Government of Canada's office of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada and its provincial counterparts.

Financial Safety for Seniors

An information session for seniors on financial health and safety will take place this Wednesday (May 12th) at the Bridgewater Fire Hall from 10am till noon. The topic is financial health and safety: how to protect yourself from financial abuse— from telemarketing fraud to misspending of your money by well-meaning family and friends. Specific topics covered will include wills, power of attorney, internet fraud, property transfers, and grandparents’ rights. Participants will receive a copy of the publication, "It's in Your Hands"developed by the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotia Centre on Aging at Mount Saint Vincent University. The publication will increase seniors’ understanding of the issues to consider when planning and arranging their legal and financial affairs.
For more information on the publication and info session, please visit www.legalinfo.org or call 902-454-2198.

Torch events get underway in Lunenburg

Lunenburg will be the first community in the Province to host the kick-off celebrations for the Halifax 2011 Canada Games torch program.

On Monday, May 10th the torch events will begin at the Atlantic Fisheries Museum parking lot.

The torch will arrive aboard the HMCS Glace Bay at 2pm and be carried on a relay through the town.

Bluenose Academy Public Meeting

The public can find out more about the new Lunenburg Jr. High School at a public information session May 18th. The South Shore Regional School Board will host a presentation regarding the new Bluenose Academy. Architects will be on hand to share details of the new school design and will answer questions from the public. The information session is set for 7pm, Tuesday May 18th at the Lunenburg Community Centre.

Beware of Bears

Homeowners are being encouraged to take the necessary steps to reduce encounters with bears. The animals have awoken from their winter hibernation and need to be discouraged from searching for food in residential areas. Although the numbers of recorded nuisance bear sightings are down this year, homeowners should still take precautions. Those include storing garbage inside or in metal bear-proof containers, and keeping barbecue grills clean and grease-free. To report bear sightings in your neighbourhood, contact the local Natural Resources office. To learn more about how to prevent bear incidents and what to do when seeing a black bear, visit the Natural Resource's website.

New Water Treatment Facility on Line

The water is now running through the new water treatment facility in the Town of Lunenburg. The 7 million dollar plant began pumping water through the distribution system earlier this week. The open reservoir has been taken off line and Council will have to decide what to do with it later. The pre-existing water treatment equipment will be retained for some time to ensure redundancy. Work on the standpipe will soon be completed which will enable the utility to lower chlorine treatment to less noticeable levels, while still meeting treatment standards. Council is looking to hold a public opening ceremony at the new facility in July

Fishmen caught using illegal bait

Two individuals from Port Mouton were apprehended yesterday after being caught fishing with illegal bait.

Fishery officers in Liverpool caught the two failing to release their by-catch and using cod fish and rock crabs as bait.

The two, who can not be named will appear in Liverpool Court at a later date.

For more information on fishing in Nova Scotia visit: http://www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/paal/fish/paal190.asp

Home Invasion Charges

A Lunenburg County man will remain in jail until May 12th after being arrested and charged in connection with a home invasion last year. Twenty-eight year old Jonathan Joseph Arenburg appeared in Bridgewater Provincial Court Tuesday and was remanded in custody until his next court appearance. Arenburg is charged with robbery and being unlawfully in a dwelling house relating to an incident in West Dublin last September. RCMP say an elderly man was in his kitchen when two people walked into his home demanding money. They allegedly stole cash from his wallet and shoved the 80 year old to the floor before fleeing the house.

Rescue Unit Replacement Requested

The Bridgewater Fire Department is pushing to have a new rescue truck included in this years budget at a cost of 610 thousand dollars. Fire Chief Wayne Thorburne says replacing the truck has been identified since 2000. He says the Fire Department has worked to hold the line on budget and to defer the purchase for another year would only increase the debt load. Chief Thorburne says the truck is going on 23 years old, it's hard to get parts and is a specialized piece of equipment that takes 9 to 11 months to build. The Rescue Unit is used mostly for Mutual Aid. It contains the "Jaws of Life" and is used at accident scenes and as a fire support vehicle. The last new purchase for the Fire Department was a new aerial ladder truck in 2007 at a cost of 951 thousand dollars. The ladder truck it replaced, was 25 years old and was donated to the Nova Scotia Firefighters School in Waverly.

Assessment Roll Numbers

The Town of Bridgewater seeing a 6.3 percent residential increase to the assessment roll for 2010. Commercial is slightly down by about 1.4 percent and within the Town, Business Occupancy with the phase out has decreased about 70 percent. The numbers were made known during a recent presentation to Bridgewater Council by members of the Property Valuation Service Corporation. For 2010, PVSC sent out 36 hundred and 54 assessment notices to the Town. Of that number, 25 hundred and 54 properties are receiving the CAP which is set at zero percent this year. The Property Valuation Service Corporation was formed in 2008 with a mandate to provide market valuation and other property-related services . PVSC which is chaired by Bridgewater Mayor Carroll Publicover is responsible for sending out property assessments to Nova Scotia

Tour for the Cure

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation's big pink bus will be making stops throughout the South Shore this month.

Cheryl Hill, Manager of Logistics for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation's Tour for the Cure says the bus will be making its first stop today at the Wellness Centre in Chester Basin.

Visiting the bus will help you learn how to take care of your breasts, talk with you about any concerns you might have and encourage you to book an appointment for a mammogram right away.

For more information visit: http://www.tourforthecure.ca

Fisherman caught with cooked lobster meat

A commercial Lobster fisherman and 3 crew members were apprehended this morning, in the Lockeport area for possession of illegal off shore meat.

A bag of cooked lobster meat and cooking utensils were seized.

Charges are being considered for all individuals.

It's illegal for lobster fishermen to be in possession of any claw, tail or meat that has been separated from the body of the lobster in a lobster fishing area.

Inspiring Lives Award

Hastings Guy Jr. of Shelburne is among the recipients to be presented with an Inspiring Lives Award presented to Nova Scotians living with mental illness. Nominated by Shelburne Mental Health, Guy Jr. spent the better part of his life dealing with a chronic post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of severe childhood trauma-except he didn't know it.
Four years ago, after decades of suffering from low self-esteem and an inability to sustain relationships, Hastings started doing some research. He was able to self-diagnose his illness, which was later confirmed by mental health professionals Since then, Hastings has been faithful in his recovery. He quit using drugs and alcohol and dedicated himself to maintaining good mental health. Each day, Hastings is battling the stigma of mental illness by speaking publicly about his own experience. By sharing his story, he inspires others to persevere in their challenges with mental illness and get the help they need. The awards will be presented to 12 Nova Scotians at the 6th Annual Inspiring Lives Award luncheon this Thursday, May 6th at the World Trade and Convention Centre, Halifax.

Lunenburg Looks to Set Tax Rate in June

Residents of Lunenburg will find out their tax rates for this year in June. Mayor Laurence Mawhinney says Council is dealing with the budget document section by section this month . Council will hold three meetings to receive public input before tabling the budget sometime in June. Mawhinney says staff has been directed to prepare a budget with no general increase in expenditures. However, he says there are certain items the Town has no control over. Costs such as education and policing which are mandated by the province. Despite an increase in assessments last year , Town Council was able to drop the residential tax rate for a sixth straight year setting the rate at $1.30 per 100 dollars of assessment.

Foley Lane Not on List

Once again this year Foley Lane has been left off the capital list of projects in the Town's draft budget. Former Town Councillor and Bridgewater Fire Chief Bill Rhodenizer has been lobbying for the last four years to have the street included for upgrades. Foley Lane located off North King Street is paved but has no storm sewer, sidewalks or curbing. The street was pulled from last years budget when a tender for the project came in almost 200 thousand dollars over job estimates. Mayor Carroll Publicover says a point system is used to determine the urgency of the capital project and Foley Lane keeps missing the cut. He says Council needs another strategy to make sure they're addressing streets to some degree so at least they can get started on some of the needs.

Court date this afternoon for Robbery complaint

The 28-year-old, former Lunenburg County man that was arrested for Robbery with Violence last fall will appear in Bridgewater Provincial Court this afternoon.

The arrest came after a Robbery complaint involving an 80 year old West Dublin man at his residence in September of 2009.

Police believe a second, unidentified male was involved in the incident and are asking for the assistance from the public.