Minimum Wage to Increase October 1st

You might soon see a difference in your paycheck. As of Saturday, October 1st, the minimum wage is increasing to $10 per hour . This is a 3.6 per cent increase from the present rate of $9.65. The minimum wage for inexperienced workers, with less than three months' experience in the work for which they were hired, will rise to $9.50. After the increase Saturday, future increases will occur in April, beginning in 2012, indexing the minimum wage to the Low Income Cut Off, a figure set by Statistics Canada where people are devoting a significantly larger than average percentage of their income to the basic necessities of food, shelter and clothing. Increases will be based on the national Consumer Price Index from the previous calendar year.

         The government is also investing an additional $18.25 million this year to help income assistance clients and low-income Nova Scotians make ends meet. These include a 22 per cent increase per child, per month, to the Nova Scotia Child Benefit, a $15 per month increase in the Income Assistance Personal Allowance, indexing the Affordable Living Tax Credit and the Poverty Reduction Credit to keep up with inflation, and allowing working income assistance clients to keep more money each month.

Residents Seek Less Government Connection to Freedom of Information Office

**Dulcie McCallum**
FOIPOP Information Officer




Residents of St. Margarets Bay are calling for less government control over the provincial Freedom of Information Office. Currently, government employees who process F.O.I. requests work for the departments whose information is being disclosed. Residents' spokesman Sean Kirby says departments shouldn't be able to pick and choose what they release to the public. He says: "The St. Margarets Bay connector road censorship case I think was a real eye-opener for us and a lot of people. Its a terrible example of the government breaking its own Freedom of Information law in order to hide information from residents about the connector road. Our concern is if the government is doing this on our little issue, clearly it must be taking place on other issues as well."  The Freedom of Information review officer issued a scathing report back in June which criticized the government for censoring documents about the St. Margarets Bay connector road. Residents have taken their case to the provincial supreme court and a hearing will be held in mid-January.

South Shore Weather -- Monday, September 26, 2011

TODAY
Sunny. High 24. (((**UV index 6 or high**))).

TONIGHT
Clear. Low 13.

TOMORROW
Sunny. High 20.



THE FIVE DAY FORECAST

Wednesday
Sunny. Low 6. High 16.

Thursday
Sunny. Low 11. High 20.

Friday
Cloudy with a chance of showers. Low 15. High 21.

Saturday
Cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. Low 15. High 17.

Sunday
Cloudy with a chance of showers. Low 12. High 15.



THE TIDES

High- 7:45am
Low- 2:10pm
High- 8:00pm

Lumberjacks get first win, top Campbellton 5-1

The CIBC Wood Gundy Lumberjacks finally have a notch in the win column.


Michael Crawley led the Jacks with two goals while Billy Clarke made 31 saves as the hometown club earned a 5-1 victory over the Campbellton Tigers.

Head Coach Terry Rhindress says it's a great feeling to get the first win.

"The kids played well today, they stuck together and played another complete 60 minutes. It's nice to get the monkey off our back, a little later than we expected, you know, couple games earlier we should've had a 'W' but we'll take it tonight and we'll move on."

Brad Donaldson, Jake Bullen and Brennan Saulnier also scored for the Jacks.

The Lumberjacks take on the Yarmouth Mariners Thursday night at 7pm in Bridgewater.

Last week for sales at Bridgewater Blockbuster

It's your last week to take advantage of good buys at Blockbuster.


The Bridgewater store is listed to close September 30 and is offering 50-70% off all its stock.

The Bridgewater location is one of 253 remaining stores in Canada that are expected to close their doors by the end of the month.

Up to 10 people are expected to lose their jobs.

Bridgewater Zellers remains unaffected by TARGET sale

Bridgewater Zellers is staying put, for now.


Target Corporation has identified 84 Zellers locations it will take over, as part of an agreement announced in January.

The External Communications Manager for Hudson's Bay Company, Tiffany Bourré, says the Bridgewater Zellers is one of 84 remaining stores continuing to operate while the company reviews its options.

Target has purchased 189 stores from Zellers.

The agreement with Zellers allows Target to buy up to 220 stores for $1.825-billion.

They expect to have their first stores to open in Spring 2013.

Banner Year for VIC

The numbers are in and it was a banner year for the Bridgewater and area Visitor Information Centre at Exit 12. The VIC opened in June and the last day of operation was Friday, September 23rd. Manager Dan Hennessey says it has been a tremendous year for visitors with 4 thousand 750 people coming through the doors, almost twice the number of the year before.  Hennessey says there are two keys to success for a Visitor Information Centre, accessibility and visibility.   The Town of Bridgewater and Municipality of the District of Lunenburg jointly funded the temporary centre for two seasons while they work to finding a long term solution. A regional partnership is one of the options being discussed

Memory Project

Second World War and Korean War veterans will be able to have their stories preserved thanks to the the Memory Project. On Wednesday September 28, the veterans will gather in Bridgewater to take part in a nation-wide oral history project. An initiative of The Historica-Dominion Institute, The Memory Project Archive is creating an unprecedented record of Canada's participation in the Second World War and Korean War as seen through the eyes of thousands of men and women who were there. It is providing every living veteran with the opportunity to preserve their memories through recorded interviews and digitized memorabilia. Their stories are available, in both official languages, at www.thememoryproject.com.

          The sessions will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Best Western Hotel, Bridgewater.

Premier Opens Bay Side Home

Seniors in the Barrington area will receive better care and have the option to continue living in the community they call home thanks to an expansion at the local long-term care facility.  Premier Darrell Dexter joined residents and employees of Bay Side Home today, (Friday Sept. 23) to celebrate the opening of the expanded facility. Before the expansion, the Barrington facility was dedicated to mentally challenged and physically disabled residents. Forty new beds were added to the existing 22-bed home, nearly tripling its size and adding the capacity to care for elderly residents.
       The facility features four new households, each with 10 resident rooms that follow the same layout and design as the existing facility. The home has private rooms and bathrooms, combined dining, kitchen and living room space, accessible gardens and spa facilities. The design also allows couples who both require nursing home care to live together in the same household. An outdoor garden can be accessed from the hallway of each household. Clients at Bay Side Home have access to 24-hour nursing care, medical services, nutrition services, pharmacy services, recreation, occupational therapy and physiotherapy. The facility has hired 60 new staff, many of whom live in the Barrington area to provide care and manage the facility.

34th Nova Scotia 4-H Show

South Shore 4-H members will join their provincial counterparts at the 34th annual Nova Scotia 4-H Show being held in Bible Hill from September 30th to October 2nd. The event is hosted by the Eastern Region 4-H Leader's Councils.  Agriculture Minister John MacDonell says the 4-H program has a long history of developing excellent agriculture, community and business leaders. 4-H members, age nine to 21, are eligible to compete at the Nova Scotia show after achieving top honours at a local exhibition with life skills or livestock projects. Highlights include livestock auctions, a public speaking competition, dog obedience and handling trials, tug of war competition, bake-off, fashion show and cattle selections for the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto.
           The free event at the Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition Grounds is open to the public.

Gas Prices Down Again

The price of gasoline is down again this morning at South Shore pumps.

The Utility and Review Board has set the price for a litre of regular self serve gas at $1.23.7.

Thats down 3 and a half cents from yesterday.

Shelburne County man facing child abduction charge

A Shelburne County man is expected to be in court Friday morning after an alleged domestic dispute with his wife earlier this week.

Colin Lawrence is in custody and facing charges of forcibly abducting his own baby.

Police say a man had taken his 11-day-old baby from the mother without her consent around 4pm Wednesday afternoon.

Police located the man seven hours later, around 11pm on Highway 104 near Oxford, roughly 350 kilometres from Shelburne.

The baby has been returned to her mother.

Lawrence was charged with child abduction and mischief in Bridgewater Provincial Court Thursday afternoon and remanded in custody.

He's scheduled to make a another court appearance at 9:30 Friday morning.

Bay Side Home opening 40 new beds

Premier Darrell Dexter says the opening of 40 new beds at Bay Side Home in Barrington has been talked about for too long.

He says he remembers at least three elections that the beds were promised, and also believes preliminary talks first began in the 1970s.

Dexter says the expansion is a big asset for Shelburne County.

"It's going to supply them with a high quality facility that means that seniors in that area, the loved ones of that part of Shelburne County are going to have a place that they can go and stay near there families."

Dexter calls the Bay Side Home expanision a significant increase, basically tripling its size.

The opening will be held at the Home at 1pm Friday afternoon.

Seatbelt-Exemptions

Nova Scotia's transportation minister says everyone should be required to wear a seatbelt in the province and that exemptions should be ended. Bill Estabrooks says a road action committee is looking at the issue of whether firefighters should be exempted from wearing seatbelts. He says everyone is safer wearing a seatbelt and police and firefighters should be setting a good example to the public.  Couriers, taxi drivers, emergency health-care workers and people with certain medical conditions can get exemptions.

Green CommUnity School Grants

Here's a chance for South Shore area schools to turn green ideas into reality. The World Wildlife Federation is looking for ideals to make schools and communities more environmentally friendly. Schools can win up to five thousand dollars from the WWF Green CommUnity School Grants Program. Funded by Loblaw Companies Limited, the program aims to connect students with nature, help reduce a community's impact on the environment and stimulate environmental leadership. The deadline for applications is October 13th. Winners will be announced in December West Northfield Elementary School was a Spring 2011 recipient. For more information visit herehttp://www.wwf.ca/greengrants

Fire Tax Rates

Fire tax rates for Municipal fire departments will increase slightly for four department and decrease for three.  The rates per 100 dollars of assessment  have been approved by Lunenburg Municipal Council.  Mayor Don Downe says  a number of departments actually increase the fee if they purchase a big piece of equipment and  once the equipment is paid for the  tax is reduced down. Downe says that speaks well of the community fire departments and their sensitivity to the tax issue by residents. Additionally, all fire departments have a rate of point 01 per acre for forestry land assessment class.

Shelburne Baby Safe After 7 Hour Disappearance

    An 11 day old infant is safe and doing well after a harrowing experience yesterday for her family in Shelburne. The baby girl was forcibly removed from her home by her father following a domestic dispute with the new-mother.
    The RCMP were alerted and a 7 hour search was initiated. RCMP Sgt. Brigit Leger says father and baby were spotted late last evening by the Mounties, far from home, in the northern part of the province. Leger says: "Shortly after 11pm last evening (Sep 21), the father and child were found in a vehicle heading west on highway 104 near Oxford. Both were safe and in good health."
    The infant has been returned home and re-united with her mother.
    The father is in RCMP custody but no charges have yet been laid.

Dayspring Doggie Day

We've heard before how man's best friend can often lift the spirits of the sick and elderly at a time when they need a boost. With that in mind, there will be a doggie wellness day a week from this Saturday in Dayspring.    
The "Bluenose Agility and Recreational Canines", also known as "BARC", is partnering with
the Lunenburg County Community Health Board in hosting activities designed to promote healthy living ... with the aid of man's best friend. Its called "Woof For Wellness Day" and kicks off October 1st at 11am and runs till 1:30 at the MARC in Dayspring.   
Everyone's invited to bring their furry friends and all of them must be on a leash.   
The event will happen, rain or shine.

Dismissed Africville Heritage Trust Exec. Has Shelburne Connection

A white Anglican minister, let go from her 3 month old job as executive director of the Africville Heritage Trust in Halifax, has a South Shore connection.   
Rev. Carole Nixon had a posting at Christ Anglican Church in Shelburne a couple of years ago where she served as the parish priest. Nixon was living in Toronto before she applied and approved for the position with the Africville Heritage Trust.   
She says she wasn't given a reason for her termination by the trust board and will be talking to a lawyer about it. Nixon was let go a day after some media outlets reported she had left jobs in Ontario and elsewhere over allegations of inappropriate spending. The chair of the Africville Heritage Trust, Daurene Lewis, says race wasn't an issue in the decision to terminate Nixon.  
Her dismissal follows weeks of angry comments by some members of the Halifax black community who said Nixon's appointment was inappropriate.

South Shore Weather -- Thursday, September 22, 2011

TODAY
Increasing cloud and a chance of showers or drizzle this afternoon. High 21.
(((**UV Index: 4 or moderate**))).

TONIGHT
Cloudy with showers or drizzle and fog spreading inland late this evening. Low 16.

TOMORROW
Mainly cloudy and a chance of showers or drizzle early in the morning. High 21.



THE FIVE DAY FORECAST

Saturday
Cloudy and showers. Low 15. High 18.

Sunday
Cloudy with a chance of showers. Low 15. High 21.

Monday
Cloudy. Low 16. High 21.

Tuesday
Cloudy with a chance of showers. Low 11. High 16.

Wednesday
Cloudy with a chance of showers. Low 11. High 16.



THE TIDES

Low- 10:20am
High- 4:00pm
Low- 10:55pm