Mustangs Eliminated From Playoffs

The South Shore Mustangs have been swept out of the playoffs. The first-place Valley Wildcats proved to be too much for the young club as the Cats defeated the Mustangs 6-1 last night to wrap up their best-of-seven series in four straight. Alex Nauss had the lone South Shore goal while Cole Skinner stopped 40 shots in the loss. Valley will play the lowest seed remaining in the next round of the playoffs.

Bantam Hurricanes Shutout By Halifax

The BMO Western Hurricanes suffered a rare road loss last night as they dropped a 3-0 decision to the Halifax Hawks. Colby Muise stopped 23 shots in goal. The Hurricanes remain second in the major bantam standings, one point behind the Breton Sport Cougars. The club is back on the ice beginning Friday night when they travel to Pictou County for the Scotsburn Memorial tournament.

Mooseheads Blast Rocket 7-0 In Bailey's Debut

The Halifax Mooseheads certainly didn't look out of place without star forward Nathan MacKinnon. The Herd blasted the PEI Rocket 7-0 last night at the Metro Centre. Jonathan Drouin notched a hat-trick including goals each on the powerplay, even-strength and shorthanded. Zachary Fucale stopped 30 shots for the shutout. MacKinnon is expected to miss up to two weeks with a leg injury. Meanwhile, Lunenburg native Brennan Bailey also dressed for the Mooseheads last night. It was his first game with the big club since he was acquired at the trade deadline.

Bailey Cracks Moose Lineup, Playing Tonight Against PEI

A Lunenburg County native is suiting up with the Halifax Mooseheads tonight for the first time. Brennan Bailey has cracked the herd's lineup for this evening's home contest against the PEI Rocket. The 19-year-old was acquired by the Moose at the trade deadline from the Pictou County Weeks Crushers of the MHL. In a text message, Bailey says he's both nervous and excited to dawn the Mooseheads jersey. He says he will wear #6 while manning the blue line during tonight's game. Puck drop is at 7pm at the Halifax Metro Centre.

Bridgewater Police Arrest Man On Outstanding Warrant

Bridgewater Police have arrested a man wanted in connection with a home invasion in Lunenburg County. Constable Will Creamer says 27-year-old Stephen Heisler was taken into custody Sunday in Bridgewater. The home invasion occurred last July. The man also had a warrant out for his arrest for assault causing bodily harm. Heisler has been remanded into custody and will appear in Bridgewater court tomorrow.

Queens Skate Park Group 'Overwhelmed' By Council Support

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in support is music to the ears of the Queens County Skate Park Association. The group received $200,000 from Region of Queens council along with $35,000 worth of land. However, it does come with some stipulations including construction to start before July 1, 2016 and the group needs to collect at least 90 per cent of the money needed before it can start building. Vice-President of the Association, Ian Kent, says he's in favour of the guidelines.



Kent says the group is overwhelmed with the support from council. The 20,000 square feet of land designated for the future skate park is located near the Queens Place-Emera Centre. The total project is expected to cost roughly $780,000. The group has applied for a provincial health and wellness grant and held local fundraisers to try and gather further funding towards the project.

Mustangs Face Must-Win Scenario Against Valley

It's win or go home tonight for the South Shore Mustangs. The local major midget hockey club must win this evening to stay alive in their best-of-seven series with the Valley Wildcats. The top-ranked Valley club holds a 3-0 series advantage. The two teams square off at 7:30 tonight at the Bridgewater Arena.

Bounty Hearing Begins In Virginia

A nine-day probe into the sinking of the Lunenburg-built HMS Bounty begins today in Portsmouth, Virginia. The U.S. Coast Guard is convening the hearing after the ship took on water off the coast of North Carolina last October, killing two crew. The coast guard rescued 14 crew members after they abandoned the ship in two life-rafts. The hearing is set to run until February 21st.

Chester Man And Woman Appear In Liverpool Court

A man and woman from Chester will appear in Liverpool court this morning on various possession and trafficking charges. Twenty-nine-year-old Brendan Gregory Levy and 27-year-old Jennifer Andrea Corkum were arrested last week during a vehicle stop near Exit 8 on Highway 103. Lunenburg County RCMP seized crack cocaine during the arrest and also found marihuana and prescription drugs during a search of a home on Collicutt Road in Chester. Police also seized other items at the home in connection with the investigation. The two accused will both be in court at 9:30.

Chester: Tax Bill Waived For Hubbards Yacht Club

Chester council has awarded a tax exemption to the Hubbards Yacht Club. The Yacht Club has been in existence since 1967 and provides a youth sailing program for young people in the Hubbards and Chester areas. Deputy Warden Floyd Shatford says it's important to support these types of initiatives in the municipality.



Members of the club are settling into their new facility in Fox Point which just opened last summer. The building is used for classroom instruction, meetings, community events and boat storage. The club's tax bill for the year was nearly $7,000. The request was given unanimous approval.

Park View Girls Curling Team Qualify For Provincials

The Park View girls curling team has qualified for the provincials. The team, skipped by Raquel Bachman, won the Western Regions NSSAF Curling Championship in Bridgewater today defeating Forest Heights 8-5. Bachman's team will now compete against the best in the province from March 21-23 in Chester. Forest Heights is hosting the event.

NSP: Satisfied With Weekend Storm Response

A spokeswoman for Nova Scotia Power says the South Shore gave them the most challenges over the weekend. Neera Ritcey says Yarmouth, Shelburne and Barrington were the hardest to deal with because of the wind and type of outages. She says some of the power restorations in those areas were slowed down due to the bad weather and travel restrictions. Overall though, Ritcey feels the utility responded well to the conditions.



She says crews worked round the clock to try and restore power to about 250 residents in the Shelburne-area overnight Saturday. Ritcey says NSP will continue to analyze the situation and improve their contingency plan going forward.

Queens Manor Closed Due To Flu-Like Symptoms

Queens Manor in Liverpool is closed until further notice because of flu-like symptoms. A large number of residents have developed symptoms and the manor remains closed to visitors and family. An official at the manor says it's difficult to say when it will re-open.

Valley Takes Commanding 3-0 Series Lead Over Mustangs

In Nova Scotia Major Midget Hockey League playoff action last night in Bridgewater, the Valley Wildcats shutout the South Shore Mustangs 10-0. The win gives the Valley team a commanding 3-0 lead in the best of seven quarter final series.  Game four goes tomorrow night at 7:30pm in Bridgewater.

Flemming Defeats Murphy For Brier Berth

Mayflower's Paul Flemming is heading back to the Brier. Flemming claimed the Provincial Molson Mens Tankard yesterday in Truro with an exciting 8-7 win over Lakeshore's Jamie Murphy. Flemming opened up a 6-1 lead after four ends but the defending champ fought back to even the score before Flemming took one in the tenth to clinch the title. It's Flemming's sixth provincial crown. He'll be joined by former Chester Junior champ Graham Breckon, Kelly Mittlestadt,  and Ian Fitzner-LeBlanc at the Tim Horton's Brier in Edmonton beginning March 2nd.

No Injuries After House Fires In Shelburne County

As if a snowstorm, hurricane force winds, storm surges and power outages weren't enough for Shelburne County, there were also a pair of house fires over the weekend. A man and his adult son escaped unharmed from one blaze late Saturday in their home on Sandy Point Road, about eight kilometres south of the Town of Shelburne. No word yet on a cause of the fire. Meanwhile, a woman was forced from her home by a fire around 4 a.m. Saturday in Barrington. There was considerable fire, smoke and water damage to the home and firefighters think it began around a wood stove. The woman wasn't hurt and is staying with nearby relatives for now.

Flu Restricts Visitors At Shoreham Village Nursing Home

A visitor restriction remains in place at Shoreham Village nursing home in Chester. CEO Brian Selig says a handful of residents have been affected by the flu while almost a dozen others have shown symptoms. The restriction has been in place since late last week. Selig says they're working hard to limit the disease from spreading.



He says only immediate family are allowed to visit their relatives at the nursing home. Selig is hopeful the visitor restriction can be lifted in a week.

School Review: Public Hearings Begin This Week

The future of six rural schools on the South Shore will be discussed during a series of public hearings set to begin this week. The first hearing will focus on Pentz Elementary and is set for tomorrow night at the school. Members of the South Shore Regional School Board will make a decision on whether to continue to maintain some of the smaller schools identified on the review list based on criteria and enrollment  Public hearings for schools in Mill Village, Petite Riviere, New Ross, Gold River-Western Shore and Hebbville Academy will also be held this month. Each meeting will be held at the respective school up for review and begins at 6:30PM. The smallest school based on enrollment that's up for review is Mill Village with 54 students while Hebbville Academy is the largest at 538 students.

Public Hearing Schedule: 

Pentz Elementary School - Tuesday, February 12 at 6:30PM

Hebbville Academy - Monday, February 18 at 6:30PM

Gold River-Western Shore Elementary - Tuesday February 19 at 6:30PM

New Ross Consolidated School - Wednesday, February 20 at 6:30PM

Petite Reviere Elementary - Thursday, February 21 at 6:30PM

Mill Village Consolidated School - Tuesday, February 26 at 6:30 PM

Mustangs Host Valley In Critical Game Three

The South Shore Mustangs will try and dig themselves out of an 0-2 deficit in their playoff series tonight against the Valley Wildcats. The top-ranked Valley squad won the first two games at home and will travel to Bridgewater for game three. The game starts at 7pm.

StormCentre: Region Hit Hard By Latest Snow Storm

Residents of the South Shore are shoveling out their driveways after a large snowstorm hit the region over the weekend. The storm system knocked out power for thousands in parts of Queens, Lunenburg and Shelburne Counties. The outages forced emergency officials to open up comfort centres in Lockeport and on Cape Sable Island. Power was restored to most Nova Scotia Power customers last night after blizzard and storm surge warnings were finally lifted. Meanwhile, storm surges caused significant flooding in Liverpool and on Dock Street in Shelburne. There's still no word on damages to the historic waterfront.