The Fishermen's Memorial Hospital Emergency Department is closed due to unavailability of staff. It will reopen tomorrow morning (August 9) at 8am. Anyone requiring emergency services is advised to call 911 or visit South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater.
A former teacher and principal is looking to try his hand as a member of the local school board. Elmer Garber has indicated he will run for one of the eight seats during this fall's school board elections. He hopes to be part of a new elected school board.
Garber served as a member on the Lunenburg Municipal School Board in the 1980s. He is currently the chair of the LaHave Manor Corporation. The Dayspring resident is a candidate for District 5, which includes Lunenburg and Mahone Bay, and municipal districts 1, 3 and 4.
The registration and emergency room waiting areas at Queens General Hospital are being temporarily relocated. South Shore Health is advising the public a one day relocation period will be in effect from 7 o'clock Thursday morning until 7 o'clock Friday morning. The temporary relocation of both areas will give workers time to upgrade the hospital's floors. There will be signs directing patients to the temporary location for the registration and emergency room waiting areas. People in need of urgent care should proceed to triage as usual.
An RCMP officer based in Bridgewater is facing charges in a domestic violence case. The male officer was taken into custody last night and made a brief court appearance on Wednesday afternoon. The matter has been adjourned until Thursday when a show cause hearing will take place. A publication ban has been issued surrounding the evidence in the case to protect the identity of the female victim involved in the matter. The investigation is being handled by the province's Serious Incident Response Team and is under the direction of independent civilian director Ron MacDonald. The independent agency is responsible for investigating all serious incidents involving police in Nova Scotia. The officer is currently not working or on duty for the Bridgewater RCMP.
The Shelburne Shipyard has been given new life just a year after major upgrades were carried out at the Irving-owned operation. The shipyard received $16.6 million dollars in upgrades in a cost sharing project between Irving and the provincial government. Since last year, the Shelburne Shipyard has won 16 contracts from 10 different customers. Economic Development Minister Percy Paris says it speaks volumes to the type of quality work going on at the shipyard.
The facility now employs 75 people and has the ability to work on vessels up to 229 metres long. The shipyards latest contract to repair the HMCS Shawinigan will provide enough work to last until November.
A 22-year resident of Bridgewater is taking the leap and running for town council. Jennifer McDonald announced her intention to run for the round-table Tuesday in a press release. The mother of three is currently the Program Manager for Employment Solutions Society. McDonald says she wants to make Bridgewater a better place to live.
McDonald says she feels strongly on work already done to make the town more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Municipal elections will be held October 20.
The cost of keeping the lights on will be front and centre during a business luncheon on Thursday in Bridgewater. Nova Scotia Power CEO Rob Bennett will be the guest speaker tomorrow at an event organized by the Bridgewater and Area Chamber of Commerce. Bennett is expected to discuss the ongoing need for the province to reduce its reliance on coal and their focus on renewable energy projects. There are now 174 wind turbines in Nova Scotia, 125 of which are independently owed. However, power rate increases will likely dominate the discussion as hikes of three percent are expected over the next two years. Bennett has been touring the province as part of a series of formal and informal discussions about how NSP is changing. The event is being hosted at the Best Western.
The group trying to help transition former Bowater employees into other jobs is encouraging them to continue the flow of thoughts, ideas and concerns. More than 300 people lost their jobs back in June when the Brooklyn mill closed. The Transition Advisory Team has produced an open letter to communities updating its work and what its learned so far. Team Chair Ron Smith says its a challenging time for many of the laid-off Bowater workers.
Smith is advising everyone affected by the closure to get in touch with his team. The toll free number is 1-855-354-2612 or you can write an email addressed to bowatertransition@gov.ns.ca or you can visit or write to the team's office at 7 Henry Hensey Drive in Liverpool. B0T 1K0. You can also visit the team's website at novascotia.ca/bowatertransition/.
The open letter can also be seen at the transition team's website and in the local newspapers.
Charges have been laid in connection with a weekend home invasion and assault in Yarmouth County. RCMP say 26-year-old Nicholas Wayne Mood is facing charges including break and enter, assault with a weapon and threat to cause serious bodily harm. Officers responded to the incident at a home on Highway 1 in Darlings Lake around 5:40 Monday morning. They say a 26-year-old man and a dog were assaulted during the forced entry and suffered serious injuries. A 23-year-old woman who was also inside the home wasn't hurt though.
After two years of work, the Martha Seabury is now in the water. The schooner is one of two being built by Dawson Moreland and Associates along the Lunenburg Waterfront. Hundreds of people showed up to watch the boat get christened and launched into the water. Captain Daniel Moreland says its a great moment for Lunenburg.
The 48-foot schooner still needs lots of work before it can sail including rigging and installing masts. During the launch, Lunenburg mayor Laurence Mawhinney shared one of his favourite nautical verses before the vessel hit the water.
The schooner is owned by Hollywood actor Billy Campbell and named after his grandmother. He says it make sense to name the vessel after someone he loved.
The Martha Seabury is expected to sail down the coast to Newport for a boat show in September.
RCMP have seized 275 marihuana plants and a firearm after a weekend raid in Shelburne County. Police say they discovered the plants after they blitzed a remote camp in Upper Clyde River on Saturday. It took officers six hours to collect all the pot plants while they executed a search warrant. Corporal Nancy Wilson says the seizure is a good reminder that marihuana harvesting season is around the corner. She says police will continue to dismantle grow operations in an effort to keep illegal drugs off the street. Police say the camp was unoccupied at the time of the seizure but a production charge is expected.
Firefighters in Queens were kept busy over the lunch hour due to a fire in Western Head. Crews were called to battle a fire at a home near the intersection of College Street and Shore Road. The fire broke out just before noon. No word on what caused the blaze or extent of damage. Members from Liverpool, North Queens and Greenfield were on the scene for more than an hour.
The campaign trail is getting crowded in Yarmouth. At least four potential candidates have emerged to seek the mayor's job in municipal elections. Byron Boudreau was the latest to announce his intentions during a speech in Yarmouth last week. Boudreau currently serves as the deputy mayor on town council. Business consultant Pam Mood and former mayor Charles Crosby have also announced their intention to run for job. Crosby announced in July he would try to win back the mayor's position. During an event in Yarmouth in May, mayor Phil Mooney told CKBW News he would seek re-election.
A second batch of Canadian military action figures are about to land in Bridgewater. The Army, Navy and Air Force collectibles were first released on the South Shore in December last year, but sold out quickly. Now, new figures including ones decorated in Arctic, desert and green camouflage will be available for purchase. One dollar from each sale will go to the Soldier on Fund for military personnel and families of injured members. The figures are expected to be sold at Miller Optical in the Eastside Plaza, starting on Tuesday.
A veteran councillor in Lunenburg will seek re-election in municipal elections this fall. Jamie Myra has confirmed his intentions to re-offer for a seat on town council. In a press release, Myra says he wants to be a part of a new team in Lunenburg to help move the town forward. Myra has served as a councillor for the past 12 years and calls the grand opening of Bluenose Academy a 'proud moment'. He says the school is a benefit to the educational growth of youth in the town and a tremendous addition to existing infrastructure. Municipal elections will be held October 20th.
RCMP are investigating a weekend home invasion and assault in Yarmouth County. Officers responded to the incident at a home on Highway 1 in Darlings Lake around 5:40 Monday morning. Police say a 26-year-old man and a dog were assaulted during the forced entry and suffered serious injuries. They say a 23-year-old woman who was also inside the home wasn't hurt. Police had been looking for a 26-year-old man who suffered from injuries, but he has since been located and is receiving medical attention.
An independent commission tasked with drawing new Nova Scotia electoral
boundaries will hold its second round of public meetings starting today in Port Hawkesbury. The commission was forced to revise its interim report last month after the province's attorney general said it did not comply with the legislature's terms of reference. The commission's revised report calls for the elimination of three ridings and the creation of two new constituencies for a total of 51 seats, down from 52. The province's PC leader Jamie Baillie is again calling on the government to back off and stop pressuring the commission to determine the future of ethnic and cultural ridings.
The public meetings will be held in various communities across the province until August 16th, with the final report due August 31st.
A weekend fire in Riverport has left five people homeless. The four adults and one child are staying with relatives for now and are receiving assistance from the Red Cross ..... things like emergency purchases of clothing and food. There were no injuries in the blaze at 3601 Riverport Road. There is no word yet on a cause. The names of those left homeless have not been released either.
A man is facing serious fines after allegedly going double the posted speed limit in Lunenburg County. Police had set up a radar gun on Conquerall Road when a driver approached them and clocked in doing 160 kilometres per hour. The posted speed limit is 80 km/h. RCMP say they pulled him over and seized the man's vehicle. He was also charged with a form of reckless driving by operating a motor vehicle on the highway in excess of 50 km/hr over the maximum posted limit. The maximum fine is $2,400.
It wasn't meant to be for Jenna Martin. The South Shore Olympian gave it her all but finished in 7th place in her semi-final heat this afternoon in London. Martin ran 52.83 seconds, well off her personal best time of 51.53. The 24-year-old never quit, running hard right to the end to finish her race. Martin, will now soak in the rest of the Olympics, and planned to do some sight-seeing once her event was complete. She is also expected to take in the closing ceremonies.
