CTF Calls For Investigation Into Illegal Cigarette Sales

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says its almost criminal whats happening with tax-free cigarettes being provided by Ottawa to native reserves across this province. Last year, the CTF revealed millions of dollars were being lost in black market tobacco products. Now, spokesman Kevin Lacey tells the problem is even worse. He says according to numbers obtained by FOIPOP from Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations, over 137,000 cigarettes were sold tax-free for the personal use of Status Indians in 2011-12. There are only 14,989 status Indians in Nova Scotia, making up 1.5 per cent of the entire population. Yet, 13.3 per cent of all tobacco sold in the province was sold on reserve, officially for the personal use of Status Indians. He says tax-payers are on the losing end and tens of millions of dollars are involved.



Lacey says tobacco products are being sold off-reserve. The CTF is calling for an investigation.

Election Most Interesting One In Years: Political Scientist

For the first time in years, the municipal election on the South Shore has sparked considerable interest. Thats the conclusion of political scientist Agar Adamson of Wolfville. He tells us, with 3 mayors not re-offering after many years in office, the political landscape will change to some degree after October 20th. Thats particularly true with Lunenburg mayor Laurence Mawhinney and District of Queens mayor John Leefe leaving after a combined 45 years of service.



Mawhinney has been mayor of Lunenburg for 33 years and Leefe has been mayor of the District of Queens for 12 and an MLA and cabinet minister for years prior to that. Mayor Carol Publicover of Bridgewater is also leaving office after 8 years.

Eagleridge Estates Gets Green Light

The former Olde Town golf course is expected to be transformed in the next few years. Bridgewater council held a public hearing recently and heard no arguments against the housing project being proposed for the land. The project, led by Genivar Inc., will include 157 housing units including 128 in phase one. The plan for Eagleridge Estates includes town-houses, semi-attached dwellings and a pair of apartment buildings. Construction isn't expected to start until 2014-15. The public has two weeks to apply to the UARB to appeal the decision.

LaHave Manor Employees Unionize - Join CAW

Employees at LaHave Manor in Bridgewater have unionized, joining the Canadian Auto Workers Union. The CAW is one of Canada's largest labour unions with nearly 200,000 members. About 70 people work at LaHave Manor and will now be able to negotiate a collective agreement with their employer. The Adult Residential Centre is a long-standing fixture in the Bridgewater area and is owned by LaHave Manor Corporation. LaHave operates three other homes in Bridgewater, including Compassion House, Fernwood House and Pleasant Street Group Homes.

Yarmouth RCMP Target Distracted Drivers

RCMP in Yarmouth have handed out fines to 20 motorists nabbed for texting or making phone calls while driving. Police conducted a blitz along Starrs Road on Friday. They had a plain clothed officer report clear violations to other members who were parked nearby. The project allowed police to issue 23 tickets to motorists for not wearing seat belts. Similar initiatives to halt distracted driving are also planned in Digby and Shelburne Counties in the near future.

School Board Forum In Bridgewater/Chester

Local residents are getting a chance to meet their school board candidates in the town of Bridgewater.A candidates forum is being hosted by the Bridgewater Junior/Senior High school advisory council for Monday night for Cheryl Fougere and Jerome Tanner. The forum gets underway at the high school at 7pm. Forest Heights will also host a Chester candidates forum Monday night.

South Shore: More Advanced Polls Open

A few more South Shore residents will be able to cast their ballots in advanced polls for the municipal and school board election. Those living in the Municipality of Lunenburg and Town of Mahone Bay can vote today between 12PM and 8PM. E-voting is underway in the Town of Bridgewater and Municipal of Chester and will continue until October 20th and October 18th respectively. Polling day is October 20th.

Community Play Area Opening In Pine Grove

The first phase of the Pine Grove outdoor play area will open this weekend. A grand opening is planned for Saturday from 10am-2pm at 72 Charlie Lane. A rain date is planned for the same time on Sunday, should the weather not co-operate. Municipality of Lunenburg councillor Sandra Statton says it will fill a need in the community.




The outdoor play area will feature a ball hockey or ice hockey pad, depending on the season, basketball nets, a swing set and mountain bike hills. A ball hockey tournament will be held Saturday to mark the event, with an entry fee of $2. Statton says phase two is expected to begin next October.

E-Votes Pouring In Around South Shore

It appears residents of Bridgewater and Chester are liking the option of casting their ballots either by phone or online. Chester has recorded 543 total votes through evoting since the polls opened on Thursday. The break down has 173 votes via TelVote and 370 votes via WebVote. In Bridgewater, 357 residents have already voted with 305 via Internet and 52 over the phone. E-voting in the Town of Bridgewater and Municipality of Chester will continue until October 20th and October 18th respectively. Meanwhile, advanced polls will also open tomorrow for residents who live within the Municipality of Lunenburg and Town of Mahone Bay. Voting those those jurisdictions will take place between 12PM and 8PM on Saturday with the traditional paper ballot system in place.

Lunenburg Mayoralty Candidate Says She Has The Right Stuff



Rachel Bailey

 For the first time in more than a generation, the municipal election ballot in Lunenburg will "not" contain the name ... Laurence Mawhinney! The venerable mayor of 33 years is retiring and "that" has some people in the town concerned about life after the MaWhinney era. However, mayoralty candidate Rachel Bailey says no fears .... she's ready to step up to the plate and take-on the challenge.



Bailey has experience on Lunenburg town council and as deputy-mayor. Ron Stockton is the other candidate seeking to replace Laurence MaWhinney. Election day is October 20th.

Health Authority Earns Highest Accreditation Level

South Shore Health has received a distinction few organizations can boast about. The authority has been accredited with exemplary standing. It's the highest honour possible from Accreditation Canada. CEO for South Shore Health, Peter Vaughan, says staff is well-deserving of the honour.



Vaughan says they moved up to exemplary standing after developing strategies to address issues in patient identification and client and families role in safety. He says this is the first time South Shore Health has received the recognition.

Yarmouth Company Providing South Shore Shuttle

Bernie Melanson

A surprising twist came out of Thursday night's Utility and Review Board hearing in Bridgewater on a new regional bus service. Trius Tours was looking to abandon their service on the South Shore, but instead, Yarmouth-based Bernie's Shuttle Service has stepped up and will carry-on the service. The company has one eight-passenger and two six-passenger vehicles to service the route to Halifax. Owner Bernie Melanson says it's a new challenge.



Meanwhile, Trius Tours owner, Mike Cassidy, says the timing of Acadian Lines decision to shut down its business played a factor in abandoning service to the South Shore.



Melanson says its too early to say where the route will stop or how much it will cost. He looks forward to providing the service and feels its important to local residents.

Gas Prices Fall (& Rise) At South Shore Pumps

As expected, gasoline prices have decreased overnight on the South Shore. One particular grade is up though. While regular self serve is down almost 4.5 cents a litre, diesel is up almost 3 cents. Self serve regular is a dollar-37-point-3 while diesel is selling at a dollar-38. High test gas is also down a bit this morning.

Shelburne Candidate Seeks Economic Revival

A candidate for mayor in the Town of Shelburne is making economic growth a keystone of her campaign. Karen Mattatall is a veteran of the Tri-County School Board and a member of town council. She says the area economy is in bad shape with too many young people moving away for jobs when they should be able to get one locally.



Mattatall says she wants to have an open approach to the mayor's office with public consultations in the decision-making process. Also running for mayor in the October 20th elections are incumbent Al Delaney, former mayor Parker Comeau and town councillor Bob Sinden.

Controversy Surrounds MODL Mayoral Debate

There's some controversy over a decision by the hosts of last night's mayoral debate at Park View Education Centre. Kirk Meisner is seeking the mayor's chair in the Municipality of Lunenburg but wasn't able to attend last night's debate because he had a campaign fundraiser on the same night. Instead, it was agreed Meisner's campaign manager - Lydia Early - would take his place but a last minute decision from the Bridgewater and Area Chamber of Commerce nixed that from happening. Early says she was blind sided by the move because the two parties had agreed to have a substitute represent the Meisner camp.



Early wants an apology from the BACC. She feel the chamber was pressured into making the decision. Meisner is taking on Don Downe for the position - who was allowed to participate in the debate. Mayoral candidates for the Town of Bridgewater - David Walker and Gary MacNeil - also squared off at the event.

Power Outage Affecting Bridgewater Area

Close to 2,000 people are without power in the Bridgewater-area at this time. Nova Scotia Power is reporting outages in New Germany, East Dalhousie, Springfield, Lower Cornwall and West Northfield. The outage happened just before 11am this morning. NSP is currently investigating the matter. They expect power to be restored by 1pm this afternoon. New Germany schools will be dismissing at noon due to the power outage.

Trius Tours Looking To Abandon South Shore Service

The South Shore could soon lose its lone bus service connecting it to the HRM. Trius Tours has submitted an application to abandon its service between Yarmouth and Halifax. A Utility and Review Board Hearing will be held in Bridgewater tonight to discuss the issue and focus on a new regional service. Municipality of Lunenburg Mayor Don Downe says they're opposed to the change.



Phone calls from our newsroom to reach Trius Tours owner Mike Cassidy have been unsuccessful. The hearing will be held at 7pm this evening at Bridgewater town hall.

Gasoline Prices May Drop Tomorrow

This may bode well for gasoline prices on the South Shore come tomorrow morning. In New Brunswick today, gas prices there are "down" considerably. The cost of regular self-serve dropped overnight by more than five cents, to just over a-dollar-35 a litre. That's after an increase last week of more than six cents a litre. Prices here on the South Shore also jumped last week by more than 4 cents a litre.

Shelburne RCMP Seize Contraband Cigarettes

Shelburne County RCMP have played a helping hand in seizing a large quantity of contraband cigarettes. Local members along with Colchester County RCMP apprehended more than 138,000 cigarettes after stopping a vehicle outside Truro late Tuesday night. Police also seized a 2007 Chevy Impala. Two men have been arrested and are scheduled to appear in Shelburne Provincial Court January 16, 2013.

VIDEO: School Board Candidates Forum In Queens

Queens County school board candidates voiced their opinions on several issues during a candidates forum Wednesday night at Liverpool High School. Four of the five candidates showed up to meet members of the public while Butch MacLeod was unavailable due to illness. The role of the school board, school review and school start times were some of the topics being talked about. Elliott Payzant says schools could open later.



Another candidate, Allan Foster, agrees.



The four candidates were also greeted with questions about representing the county, the idea of school board being televised and thoughts on in-camera sessions. Karen Ohrt says she wouldn't have a problem with meetings being video-taped or streamed online.



Another candidate, Courtney Wentzell, agrees.

Roughly 20 people showed up to hear what the candidates had to say. School board elections will be held October 20.