Ramey Talks First Contract Legislation and Michelin Bill

The NDP MLA for Lunenburg West is setting the record straight on his decision to support first contract legislation in Nova Scotia. Both the Tories and Grits opposed the labour bill and hyped up the legislation as a bad move that would hurt future investment in the province. However, Gary Ramey says he believes it's a case where Nova Scotians were mainly misinformed or didn't even read the legislation. "First of all, I got very few calls, four or five emails and two or three letters on the issue. On a daily basis I probably get fifteen to twenty calls about roads, ditches, bushes - that sort of thing and I got a number of calls from people who supported it," Ramey says another reason behind his government's decision to bring forward the bill is to ensure Nova Scotia's $25 billion dollar Shipbuilding Contract goes smoothly. "What we didn't want to happen is if there ever were a glitch along the way we didn't want to be in the position where we were introducing this legislation when there was already a problem. It's still not any easier to get a union started, you still have to have a union vote and go through the entire process," Ramey says first contract legislation won't impact the status of non-unionized companies such as Michelin because of Nova Scotia's long standing law referred to as the "Michelin Bill".

On Tap: Bridgewater's LCLC Project and Amalgamation

A majority of Bridgewater councillors say the loss of the Fairview Inn was the town's biggest story in 2011. However, some members have a different opinion. Mayor Carroll Publicover believes the biggest story was the beginning of a 10-year study of potential joint services and amalgamation between Mahone Bay, Bridgewater and the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg. He says the study could impose some change in Lunenburg County. "I think its long overdue that we in an objective manner and a subjective manner look at the benefits of doing business together and possibly being one-government down the road," Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor David Walker feels the Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre was a big achievement for 2011. "Bringing that to fruition, bringing us closer with the municipality in partnering in that and delivering something that the community identified as a real need is one of the highlights for me, I've been around here long enough to know that we have a lot of studies about a multi-purpose so that's a big one for me," Construction of the LCLC is expected to begin in March.

Review 2011: Tough First Half for Lumberjacks

It was a tough 2011 for the CIBC Wood Gundy Lumberjacks. The local junior club is in the midst of a troubling season, winning only 11 of their first 35 games. Head Coach Terry Rhindress says his club has been bothered by the injury bug. "We've had a lot of concussion related injuries, it bothers me a little bit that we haven't been able to put a full solid line-up on the ice game after game for the fans," Rhindress says his club has experienced some growing pains, which has left them in last place in the Bent Division. "Yeah, we are in last place but when you look at some of the games we lost, a lot of them were heartbreakers. We out played a lot of teams but just didn't get the bounces," The Jacks will need to post some early wins in 2012 to give themselves a shot at the playoffs. Their first game of the new year will be Tuesday, January 3rd at home against Truro.

Curling: AMJ Championship Heating Up in Windsor

A playoff spot is on the line this morning at the AMJ Campbell Provincial Junior Curling championships in Windsor when defending champ Lindsay Doucet of Chester faces Mayflower's Emily Dwyer in the "B" Division final. Dwyer is unbeaten while Doucet's only loss came against Dwyer yesterday. Four other teams are still alive including Chester's Mary Fay. Action kicked off this morning at 9 o'clock. On the guys side four teams are still in the hunt with Colten Steele of Dartmouth and Stuart Thompson of Mayflower leading the way with 4-1 records. Thomas Raddall of Bridgewater was eliminated last evening following a 10-6 to Robert Mayhew. Winners will advance to the Canadian championships in Napanee, Ontario next month

Review 2011: Fire @ White Point Beach Resort

It was a year marred by tragedy for White Point. In a year-end interview with the General Manager of the Liverpool-based resort, Danny Morton tells us the November 12 fire abruptly halted a good business season. He reflects on the day fire broke out in the main lodge. "It really was one of those periods where you're just thinking moment to moment and you can only do what you can do in the moment...but if there was a point where you had down time, that's when the emotion would throw you for a loop but you'd have to shake it on and look forward," The fire eventually destroyed the lodge, temporarily putting around 100 employees out of work. Morton says the community support has been overpowering. "It was unexpected to the degree that it has happened. For my whole staff and myself, we're all just very grateful for the role that we are playing in the community," A design team has been announced with plans to have a new main lodge built by the fall.

Bowater Mersey Top Story for MLA

Queens County has certainly had its share of ups and downs for 2011. From the death and murder trial of Laura Lee Robertson to the opening of Queens Place, the region was the centre of attention for the South Shore this year. Queens MLA Vicki Conrad spoke to CKBW/HANK FM News in a year-end interview. She says Bowater was the region's top story this year."I think the impact had Bowater shut it doors would have been felt throughout the South Shore, I mean we're talking about 2,000 direct or indirect jobs," Other highlights for Conrad include the tragic fire at White Point that destroyed the Liverpool-based resorts historic lodge. Conrad was also pleased the NDP government moved ahead with First Contract Arbitration during the fall session of the legislature.

Curling: Dartmouth Rink Secures Top Seed at AMJ

Dartmouth's Colton Steele has grabbed the first playoff spot at the AMJ Campbell Junior Curling Championships in Windsor.  Steele topped Drew MacCormack of the host club 8-3 in today's "A" division qualifier.  Meantime, Thomas Raddall of Bridgewater dropped to 2-2 after an 11-3 setback against Stuart Thompson of Mayflower. Raddall faces elimination in tonight's 8 o'clock draw. In the junior women's division Lindsay Doucette and Micayla Dorey of Chester are both 2-1 while clubmate Mary Faye is in a must-win situation at 0-2.

Review 2011: Chester has a busy December

It was a hectic finish to 2011 for residents and council in Chester. A long standing land dispute within Wild Rose Park in Western Shore was resolved through expropriation just days before Christmas. The same day, council announced it would enter into a lease-purchase agreement with a private company to rebuild the beloved wharf within the park. During a year end interview, Warden Allen Webber admits they were big decisions to cap off a busy year. "Council has set the table, I guess is one way of describing it because we have these two big decisions - Wild Rose Park and the Western Shore Wharf - we've also received approval for $5.5 million wind energy project. Although those are big decision in this particular fiscal period, the real work starts next year and the year after,"  Webber also assured residents they won't see any tax spikes specific to the Wild Rose Park situation. Expropriating the land is expected to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Scam: Cleaning Company Making Rounds in Lunenburg

Seniors are the target of the latest scam circulating in Lunenburg. RCMP say tenants of two separate apartment buildings in the town have been approached by an unregistered cleaning company since Christmas. Those behind the scam offer to steam clean carpets and upholstery for set price. However, once the service has been complete the supplier attempts to charge more for extra services or work they never carried out. Those involved with the bogus company have even offered to take clients to a bank to get the extra cash. It doesn't appear the operators were successful in obtaining extra money from these clients. Mounties are urging residents to contact the Better Business Bureau before hiring private businesses.

Mawhinney: Bright Future for Historic Town

The Town of Lunenburg's long time mayor believes the future is bright for the historic community. Laurence Mawhinney is one of the longest serving mayors in Canada and has a string of 32 consecutive years in the role. In a year end interview, Mawhinney says he's still energized by the job and the community after all these years. "I've always felt if you continue to reinvent yourself with new ideas and new creativity you can keep going as long as the strength and the spirit is there - so it's a vibrant community - but also in this vibrant community we need to be able to attract younger people. I'm thinking as the shipbuilding program evolves in Nova Scotia, the next number of years are going to be invigorating for the future of Lunenburg and the South Shore," Meanwhile, Mawhinney says 2012 could be the greatest year on record for tourism in Lunenburg County. He points to the arrival of the Tall Ships and the launch of Bluenose II in the summer as examples. Mawhinney says he also looks forward to the opening of the new Bluenose Academy in the new year as well.

Bridgewater Mayor chimes in on 2011

Mayor Carroll Publicover

The Mayor of Bridgewater is reflecting on the year that was for 2011. Carroll Publicover says it was a sound year for the town, which featured a number of events including the sod turning at the Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre. Publicover says he's most proud of the work of council.

"We continue to grow our community efficiently through the BDA and through the council. We're very open to development, we try to cooperate with developers and work together to make situations work for the community, work for neighbours and work for everybody."

Publicover says he regrets not reconstructing North and Aberdeen sooner in his term as Mayor.

"I would've really hoped to have North and Aberdeen Roads reconstructed and a real redo of those for infrastructure purposes, traffic-flow purposes and for efficiency purposes."

He adds, it was a tough year for two heritage properties in the town. The Fairview Inn was demolished after a fire in June and council voted to de-register the Riverview Community Centre as a heritage building. He considers a study exploring opportunities for shared services and governance options between the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg, Bridgewater and Mahone Bay to be the biggest news story of the year for the town.

LOCATED: Elderly Couple missing since Boxing Day

It was a quick and happy ending in the search for a missing elderly couple from Annapolis County. RCMP say 80 year-old Marjorie Cook and 74 year-old Wayne Sharp were located in a convenience store in Springfield. The couple had been shopping in Bridgewater since Boxing Day but never told their daughter about their plans to stay overnight. The couple's daughter contacted police on December 27th after they never returned to their home in Springfield.

Review 2011: South Shore-St. Margarets MP Gerald Keddy

The MP for South Shore-St Margaret's says 2011 had its challenges but overall was a successful year. Gerald Keddy says North America is still feeling the effects of the recession in 2007 but adds there are a few bright spots on the horizon. During a year end interview, Keddy pointed to Nova Scotia's successful bid to secure the $25 billion dollar shipbuilding contract as a main highlight. He also spoke about the importance of the May 2nd election when Canadians elected a majority Conservative government. "In the current economic state that not just North American is in but the entire world is in, to have a good stable government to pursue economic policies that are important to Canadians and help to encourage job growth and save as many jobs as possible during this downturn is extremely important," Other highlights for Keddy include the progress on the Queens Place Athletic Centre project in Liverpool and the new Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre in Bridgewater.

Review 2011: Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Nova Scotia's debt-load is getting worse by the day. That's the conclusion of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. Atlantic president Kevin Lacey says the government has little room to move and we're all paying for it. In a year-end interview with CKBW/Hank-FM News, Lacey says according to the size of Nova Scotia's economy, this province carries the highest tax burden of any province in Canada. "Our debt, federal and provincial debt is going up about $32.00 per second per person in this province. Our total debt per person is about $30,000 and that's a huge debt, it's getting worse before it's getting better," Meanwhile, Lacey is not very optimistic about 2012, he predicts more of the same - an increased deficit and taxpayers paying "through the nose".

BREAKING: Wild Rose Park Wharf to Undergo Major Facelift

It's a big announcement surrounding the restoration of an important piece of Wild Rose Park. The Municipality of the District of Chester will enter into a lease purchase agreement with a new private-sector company to rebuild the wharf. The company is called Western Shore Wharf Corporation Limited and Warden Allen Webber says they have agreed to invest into the restoration project. "They will spend in the order of $400,000 on upgrades to the wharf, lease it from us for five years with some ability for exclusive use also guaranteeing the public full access to the facility," The company will have the option of buying the wharf from the municipality once the work in complete for $1.00 with restrictions that it remain open for public use. Webber says the municipality could buy the wharf back for the same price from Wharf Corp down the road.  The dilapidated wharf has been a sore spot for many residents and visitors because it does limit access to the ocean.

Aberdeen Road property owner fires back at Town

The building owner at 99 Aberdeen Road is disgusted with the lack of police presence in Bridgewater. Frank Rhyno says his building has been broken into at least 40 times, there's been thousands of dollars in smashed windows but not one criminal conviction. He says the days of him pumping more money into the property are done.

"I pay a lot of taxes and what do I get in return for that; vandalism, break and enter. What do I get for convictions and restitution; nothing."

He says he's fed up with people smashing windows and not facing criminal punishment.

"You get tired of this after a while. This is not the first time with Bridgewater's police and their negligence as far as I'm concerned. Why the mayor and the councillors want to dig at me on this, I don't know, but I think they need to clean up their own departments first before getting on my back."

Rhyno says he does care about the building, but is tired of spending thousands of dollars on windows that continually get smashed. He says town council should leave the matter alone for now, because they're hurting the potential sale of the property.

White Point announces Design team for Rebuild

Call it an early Christmas gift for the people at White Point. The owner of the Queens County resort, Robert Risley, announced Thursday that he's hired a team to move forward with designing and building the new main lodge. Risley tells CKBW/HANK-FM News that it's great news six weeks after a devasting fire destroyed the historic lodge.

"The more I thought about it and the more I talked to our own team and just about a ton of people from all over the world, the more you realize how important White Point is to everybody and it really spurs you on to get this thing gonig and get it back in business."

Risley has hired WHW Architects as their architectural firm, Design 360 as interior designers and J.W. Lindsay Enterprises as the construction manager. Risley says their budget to rebuild is around $4-million. The public are being invited to participate with their design ideas as well. Submissions are being invited at www.whitepoint.com/blog/.

BREAKING: Chester Council to Expropriate Land in WIld Rose Park

For the first time in decades, the municipality of Chester is taking action to acquire private land within Wild Rose Park in Western Shore. Council voted this morning to expropriate a dozen properties, giving the park complete public access. CKBW/HANK FM's Steve MacArthur was in Chester for the meeting. "It was a unanimous decision on behalf of the Municipality of the District of Chester today to expropriate the twelve pieces of private land within Wild Rose Park. A standing room only crowd packed the council chambers to hear the decision. Many of them where pleased to finally learn this issue will come to a head - its been ongoing in the community for more than 15 years. The Western Shore and Area Improvement Association purchased the land back in 1996 for $1.00 but never legally acquired the private land within the park so that's what brings us here today. Now, its a matter of the municipality entering into negotiations with those land owners to work out a dollar amount for their land," Warden Allen Webber says the municipality has approximately $200,000 in a reserve fund to purchase the land. Negotiations will begin almost immediately. Should there be a dispute on the monetary value of the land, the matter would be turned over and settled through the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.

New Russell home destroyed by Fire

A couple escaped serious injury but lost their home and belongings to fire early this morning near New Ross. A mobile home was destroyed around 3:30 a.m. at 301 Clearwater Drive in New Russell. New Ross Fire Chief Scott Reeves says the cause of the fire looks to be electrical.

"The fire started behind a sofa in the livingroom where there was an electrical outlet and some power cords."

Several fire departments were called to the blaze including Kentville, Chester Basin and Windsor.
Reeves says the home wasn't insured and the family dog died during the fire.

Kettle Campaign Needs Help

The Salvation Army is hoping a final push helps their annual Christmas Kettle Campaign. Donations in Bridgewater haven't been as strong this season compared with previous yearly totals. Captain Stephen Holland is hoping folks dig deep over the next few days. He says part of the money raised is used to provide children and families along the South Shore with the basic necessities of life. "This last week is are big drive and we're down a little bit from last year....we're actually down about $9,000. I'm hoping this week we'll be able to pick it up and have that money available to provide for families or individuals with any emergency's they may have," The Salvation Army also uses money from the kettle campaign to provides shelter for the homeless and rehabilitation those dealing with addiction. Members will be around town collecting kettle donations until Christmas Eve.