South Shore Ventures Co-op leasing Blockhouse school

The abandoned Blockhouse school is getting new life from the South Shore Ventures Co-op. The group will hold an open house after agreeing to a three-year lease with the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg. Councillors came to terms with the agreement during their February 14 meeting. The South Shore Ventures Co-op is hoping to transform the old school into a model for how to become more self-sufficient and sustainable in areas including food, shelter and employment, according to their website. The open house will be held Wednesday from 3:30-5pm at the Blockhouse Fire Hall. Mayor Don Downe and other District of Lunenburg councillors are expected to be on-hand to officially sign the lease on the old school. It will be followed by an evening of celebration featuring musical acts, supper and door prizes. More information can be found at http://www.theblockhouseschool.org/ .

Park View J.V. Boys win provincial basketball bronze

A bronze medal finish for the Park View Panthers JV boys basketball team. The local club wrapped up third place at provincials with a 77-46 victory over Sydney Academy.  C.P. Allen outscored Citadel in the final to become provincial champions.

Minor football coming to Bridgewater?

Minor football could soon be a reality in Bridgewater. Town council put its support behind the idea after a presentation by the South Shore Seahawks minor football club earlier this month. There were no financial commitments but an agreement in principle that the group would submit a letter with funding indications to council. The group, led by Gary Linthorne and John Peters, is hoping to base the team out of Bridgewater and play games at the Kinsmen Field. The Seahawks are hoping to have 60 kids play for two teams in different age groups. Peters says football would get more kids active in the community. The Seahawks are projecting to spend close to $30,000 on equipment including pads, jerseys, pants, helmets and insurance. Mayor Carroll Publicover says he's concerned about the timing because its close to budget, but would like to see other municipal units get involved. Minor football is in every region across Nova Scotia except the South Shore.

Armed Robbery at Hebbville Irving

Some tense moments for an employee at the Irving gas station in Hebbville Friday night. Mounties say a masked man armed with a gun walked into the store demanding money. The suspect was able to get an undetermined amount out of the cash register and got away in a car left running outside the gas station. Mounties describe the man as Caucasian, about 5'8 with brown eyes. He was wearing a checkered hoodie and black gloves at the time of the robbery. RCMP are asking anyone with information to contact the Chester detachment.

Fishermen's Memorial ED Closure

The Emergency Department at Fishermen's Memorial Hospital in Lunenburg will temporarily close this weekend. The closure begins at 2:30PM this afternoon until 7:30AM Sunday morning. Residents needing emergency care during these hours should call 911 or visit South Shore Regional in Bridgewater.

'Jacks Host Season Finale in Bridgewater

Its been a disappointing season for the CIBC Wood Gundy Lumberjacks and tonight the team plays its season finale on home ice. They will host the Yarmouth Mariners. Lumberjacks Head Coach Terry Rhindress says tonight ... it will be all about the fans. "Tonight we want to show the fans that we appreciate their support throughout the season so we want to come away with a "W" we want to play that physical style that we have been playing at home, we want to play the simple game but we want to be relentless. Overall, we want to show the fans what they can expect next season," game at home Game time tonight is 7 o'clock at the Bridgewater Arena.

Dexter Construction: Will Pave Windsor Road for $1.8 M

Dexter Construction will pave a section of the Windsor Road for $1.8 million. The company submitted the low bid for work on a nine kilometre stretch between Canaan Road and Kaizer Meadow Road. The tender process closed yesterday with a total of six bids. Area Manager Matt Covey says the bids were extremely close with the highest coming in at $2.1 million.  The paving is planned for this summer.

Town of Lockeport Celebrates 105th Birthday

The Town of Lockeport will receive a special gift as part of its 105th birthday celebrations. The photography class from the NSCC Waterfront Campus in Dartmouth will present council with a collection of photos from the community during a presentation this afternoon. The photos were taken last April when 40 students from the class traveled to the seaside town in hopes of capturing the heart of the community. They compiled their work into a 116 page photo book that includes a collection of people, places and beauty of Lockeport. The town was incorporated on February 26th in 1907 and will celebrate its 105th birthday on Sunday. www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2988940

Health care meeting in Mahone Bay

Kyle Buott

A Nova Scotia solution for a National Dilemma. That's the focus for Friday night's health meeting in Mahone Bay hosted by the South Shore Chapter of the Council of Canadians. The group is particularly focused on the 2014 Health Accord. The current accord that sets funding and health care agreements between the provincial, territorial and federal governments expires in 2014 and needs to be renegotiated. Guest speaker, Kyle Buott, of the Nova Scotia Citizens' Health Care Network says the meeting will also talk about solutions being generated across the province.

"Often time when we talk about public health care, we often talk about all the problems that we're facing, the challenges we see, but tonight its going to be about some of the solutions that are happening across the country. So, it should be a little bit more a positive and uplifting meeting."

The meeting will be held at the Mahone Bay Centre at 7:30pm.

Park View ready to host JV Basketball provincials

It's provincial basketball time in Bridgewater. The Park View Panthers Junior Varsity boys host the championships beginning at 2pm Friday afternoon. The six team tournament includes Citadel, C.P. Allen, Sydney Academy, Riverview and Cobequid. Play will held Friday night and Saturday in the Park View gym. Tournament schedule is below.








Pool A                                         Pool B


Team A - Citadel            Team B - C.P. Allen

Team D - C.E.C.            Team C - Park View

Team E - Sydney Academy   Team F - Riverview


Friday:

2pm Citadel vs. CEC

4pm CP Allen vs. Park View

5:30pm Opening Ceremonies

6:15pm Citadel vs. Sydney Academy

8:15pm CP Allen vs. Riverview


Saturday:

9am CEC vs. Sydney Academy

11am Park View vs. Riverview

1pm 3rd Pool A vs. 3rd Pool B

3pm Bronze Medal Game
       2nd Pool A vs 2nd Pool B

5pm CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
        1st Pool A vs 1st Pool B

Mill Cove Residents Argue Boundary Changes

A long standing boundary issue between Mill Cove and Birchy Head has reached its tipping point. About 10 residents residents of Mill Cove attended this morning's council meeting in Chester to discuss a petition on the proposed boundary change. Many residents told council the original petition was confusing and that they wanted to change their vote. Councillor Floyd Shattford is hoping a second petition - mailed out by the municipality - will give the issue some clarity. 'We'll get it right at the end of the day. It's not going to change peoples lives, it's not going to change peoples postal address its just a matter of moving a sign from one place to another - it's sensitive for some people and I understand that but hopefully at the end of the day all will go well...and no hard feelings,"  According to the proposed boundary changes, residents who currently reside in Mill Cove would technically be living in the community of Birchy Head. Council will revisit the issue at a future meeting.

BREAKING: SSRSB identifies six schools for review

The South Shore Regional School Board has identified six schools for review this year. Board member Judith Sullivan-Corney stated Gold River-Western Shore Elementary, Pentz Elementary, Petite Riviere Elementary, Hebbville Academy, Bridgewater Junior/Senior High and Mill Village Consolidated will go through the review process. Sullivan-Corney says there is a need to look at some schools.

"I think its important for us to review schools that are close together, schools that are very small that require a lot of repair, we need to look at that because I think over time, we're not going to be able to maintain all of those schools."

A decision was delayed on four schools including New Ross Consolidated, Newcombville Elementary, and both New Germany Elementary and New Germany High. Sullivan-Corney also indicated Aspotogan Consolidated Elementary, North Queens Community School and Greenfield Elementary would not be reviewed. She says a decision on the four delayed schools could come as early as next month. The review process has many options including recommending a facility be closed, upgraded or consolidated. Check out the video below of Sullivan-Corney explaining why the board decided to send six schools to the review process.

Mitchell: Steele inaccurate over no tax increase claim

A Bridgewater town councillor disagrees with Finance Minister Graham Steele that taxes won't be raised in the province this year. David Mitchell says the message Steele is sending is not exactly true. He says although the province may not increase taxes, municipalities might be forced to.

"I find it humorous because at the provincial level it's easier for them to say no tax increases and send that message out to the people of Nova Scotia, yet, they increase the burden on municipalities, which may result in a lot of them increasing their taxes."

Mitchell doesn't expect the town of Bridgewater to be affected after population growth and an increase in tax revenue because of development. But he notes, total property values in the province increased by an average of six per cent from last year, meaning some homeowners should expect a hike on their tax bills.

LCLC in negotiating phase

The LCLC has entered the negotiation phase. Chair Paul Belliveau says they met with the project manager and architects Tuesday to discuss the results of the tender. He says the manager and architects have come up with a list of items where the price could be reduced and closer to budget. Belliveau says they have to negotiate with Bird Construction to see if they can reduce costs.

"The $24.389-million bid that came in was between $500,000 to $900,000 more than what we had budgeted for. So, we're working to get that number back, closer to our budget, so we can get the very same facility, same components, for the dollars that we have available."

Bird Construction submitted the low bid of almost $24.4-million. Belliveau says they're looking at reducing costs in items dealing with the appearance of the structure, not the functional use. He says they expect to fundraise if they can't cut costs to meet their budget. Belliveau says they would like to have work start on-site around the middle of March.

Record Year for Lunenburg's High Liner Foods

A record year of sales and profit for High Liner Foods. The Lunenburg based company reports overall sales increased by 14.3 percent to $668.6 million up from $584.7 million in 2010. It's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) increased by an impressive 15.9 percent to $54.7 million up from $47.2 million. High Liner Foods banner year was helped by the acquistions of Viking Seafoods Inc and Icelandic Group's US and Asian Operations. The US$232.7 million dollar Icelandic deal was completed in December making High Liner Foods the leading value-added seafood supplier in North America. CEO Henry Demone says the companies US operations grew in both food service and retail but sales volumes in Canada were unchanged due to a challenging retail market. However, the company did report a 4.1 percent increase in Canaidian sales.

Province commits $750,000 to Black Loyalist Centre



Design for the new Black Loyalist Heritage Centre

The province is supporting the new Black Loyalist Heritage Centre in Shelburne County. The Nova Scotia government has committed $750,000 to the Birchtown project through the Community Development Trust Fund. The Centre is expected to tell the story of the Black Loyalists, who relocated to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick after fighting for the British in the American Revolutionary War. Hundreds settled in Birchtown during the 1780s. The province also provides $250,000 annually in operational funding for the Centre. The federal government has also pledged roughly $2.6-million towards the new centre. African Nova Scotian Affairs Minister Percy Paris says the Black Loyalists are a fundamental part of the province's history and the new centre will help make sure their story is told for generations to come. Construction will begin in late May, with the centre expected to be open in July 2013.

Morning Rollover on Italy Cross Road

Slippery roads are to blame for a single vehicle rollover on the Italy Cross Road this morning. RCMP say a woman in her early 50's was taken to hospital when her vehicle slid of the road and flipped into the ditch. The woman was trapped inside her car until emergency crews arrived and cut out the windshield. Police describe the woman's injuries as minor.

Plan Needed To Fight Prescription Drug Abuse: Glavine

The prescription pain killer .. OxyContin ... will not be funded anymore by the Nova Scotia government's Pharmacare Program.  The move is aimed at reducing prescription painkiller abuse.
However, Liberal health critic Leo Glavine tells us its only a half-hearted attempt to address the problem with no government strategy in place.  He says drug abuse is a fact of today's life for many people and there needs to be greater government-funded rehab to help those who need and want help.
Glavine tells us: "Its a 21 day program. I know the one at Fishermen's Memorial has a couple of tremendous counsellors in the program. But very often, 21 days is just the beginning of changing behaviours and re-equipping people with the skills and tools for better decision making and re-managing their lives."
Glavine says the government promised more than two years ago it would come up with a plan to deal with prescription drug abuse and he says nothing will change until that happens.

Finance Minister: No Tax Hikes & Budget Targets Attainable

Finance Minister Graham Steele's pre-budget consultations have reached the South Shore. Steele along with Lunenburg West MLA Gary Ramey met with select groups in the Bridgewater area last night to discuss how the upcoming fiscal plan should look. The government is projecting a $365-million deficit for this year, with a deficit of about $215 million next spring and a balanced budget the following year. In a interview with CKBW/HANK FM, Steele says the government is on track to reach those targets. "I'm happy to say as the finance minster that we are on track to do exactly that, it hasn't been easy but the plan is working," Meanwhile, Steele says Nova Scotians won't see any tax increases in the upcoming budget which he says will be delivered in early April.

VIDEO: Keddy visits Lunenburg Foundry

It's the first time he's seen it, and already he's impressed. MP for South Shore- St. Margaret's Gerald Keddy got his initial look at the Lunenburg Foundry's KDM system, which uses two mirrors to harness the sun's power for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Keddy says he was impressed by what the system could do.

"This thing has potential, not just to make bronze castings and brass castings but this has potential for applications in third world countries around the world, for applications to heat hot water here we are on a February day and they are going up to a couple thousand degrees Celsius in order to melt a bronze/magnesium mixture."

Keddy stopped by the Foundry Tuesday afternoon to get a first-hand look at practices the company is involved in. He also says he likes the look of the Bluenose II. Keddy says the build is drawing a lot of attention.

"This is the most important build on the planet and I'm not exaggerating that. You know, everybody who is remotely interested in sailing vessels and wooden ships is watching this on the webcam, its that big."

 He says the visit is to help inspire companies to pursue supply chain opportunities that will be created by the Atlantic Shipbuilding Action Plan.

Check out the video below to see the KDM system work with comments from Lunenburg Foundry President Peter Kinley and MP for South Shore- St. Margaret's Gerald Keddy.