Lumberjacks quiet on trade deadline day

The CIBC Wood Gundy Lumberjacks were quiet as the MHL's trade deadline passed at 10pm Tuesday night. The club didn't budge on moving day but took several calls inquiring about Captain Jake Bullen. Head Coach Terry Rhindress says Bullen is staying put.

"He made the decision that he'd like to stay and finish his year out here and, you know, I took some phone calls on Jake today (Tuesday), but it was just nothing worth wild to move the young man against his request."

Rhindress wouldn't say what teams were after Bullen, but did mention they were Bent Division squads. It was a relatively quiet trade deadline day as only 10 trades were reported to the MHL website as of 10pm Tuesday night. Rhindress says he's not surprised by the lack of movement.

"If you look at our side, our division, it's pretty tight, right. So, not a lot of teams are going to give anything up or they're all looking but nobody wants to give a whole lot up because we're pretty stockpiled on this side, right."

Only eight points separates the top five teams in the Bent Division. The Lumberjacks get back on the ice Thursday night at 7pm in Bridgewater against the Metro Marauders. If you can't make it to the game, you can tune into Nick Yorston and Eric Whynot, beginning at 6:50pm at www.lumberjackslive.ca .

MODL selects Cobequid Trail Consulting to build Osprey Village Connection

Cobequid Trail Consulting has been selected to design and build the Osprey Village Trail Connection. The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg awarded the contract to the group after recommendations from its review committee. A member of the committee, Trudy Payne, says it was a unanimous decision to choose Cobequid Trail Consulting.

"Probably the two major factors was they had a lot of experience and they fit within the 'level of effort' that was put in the request for proposal."

The multi-use trail is expected to be constructed between the rail-trail along the LaHave River to the Osprey Village site in Cookville. Cobequid Trail Consulting is expected to begin work immediately after receiving the budgeted $65,000 for the project.

No Charges Following Fatal Accident in Waterloo

No charges will be laid following a fatal accident in Lunenburg County last week. RCMP attribute the accident to poor road conditions and speed was not a factor in the crash involving a car and a snow plow. A 29 year-old Chelsea woman was killed in the collision while a 31 year-old male was taken hospital. The crash occurred last Thursday on Highway 210 in Waterloo.

Kinsmen Outdoor Rinks waiting on weather: Councillor Mitchell

A pair of outdoor rinks are waiting on the weather before they can be used. Councillor David Mitchell says workers spent last Saturday constructing the rinks.

"Two outdoor rinks were assembled by about 15-16 men from about 8:30am to just after 12pm and they had both up and ready to go, we just need cold weather so we can flood them."

Two ice surfaces have been built at the Kinsmen ball field; one to accomodate ice hockey and the other for family skating. Mitchell is hopeful the rinks will both have ice by next week.

Former Bridgewater Town Manager passes away at 69

Charles Sinclair "Chuck" Shannon

A former town manager of Bridgewater has passed away. Charles Sinclair "Chuck" Shannon died at age 69 at South Shore Regional Hospital last Thursday. Mayor Carroll Publicover says he had a chance to work with Shannon while in Bridgewater.

"He was a very fine gentleman, very fine gentleman. Very capable. And he had been a CAO in Kings County at one time and then came to us from there and performed admirably in his position and I was pleased to have known him."

He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Loretta ; daughters, Dr. Charlene Shannon and Carletta Shannon. Arrangements have been entrusted to Sweeny’s Funeral Home in Bridgewater. Online condolences may be made at www.sweenysfuneralhome.com

Bridgewater's Prest wins juvenile under-18 curling championship

A Bridgewater curling team will represent Nova Scotia after winning the boys final at the juvenile under-18 championships in New Glasgow. Daniel Prest defeated Chester's Daniel Jessome 11-4 in Monday afternoon's championship game. Prest's squad scored five in the sixth end to close out the match. Elsewhere, Chester's Mary Fay fell 4-3 to Lakeshore's Hayley McCabe in the girls final. The winners now head to the Under-18 Atlantic Championship also in New Glasgow on Easter weekend.

VIDEO: Ottawa Supports those with Disability

The federal government is helping people with disabilities in Bridgewater find jobs. South Shore-St. Margaret's MP Gerald Keddy announced over $144,000 in funding that is expected to help 25 people with disabilities develop skills and experience to find work in Lunenburg and Queens Counties. The chairperson of Employment Solutions Society's board of directors, Dawn Huskins-Townsend, says the money is a big help.

"It is our bread and butter to be able to access federal dollars for our clients to be able to continue to support the local community and as I spoke about, the rural community in particular, to find viable job opportunities within the local community for persons with disabilities is critical."

Keddy says the money is an important step for persons with disabilities.

"By supporting this project, our government is helping Canadians with disabilities maximize their potential and independence."

Executive Director Margaret Matthews says people who apply will go through a process and if approved, money would be doled out on an as needed basis. The federal funding is being provided through the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities.



South Shore-St. Margaret's MP Gerald Keddy looks on as the chairperson for Employment Solutions Society's board of directors , Dawn Huskins-Townsend, speaks about the government's funding for people with disabilities. 

 

Municipality of Barrington reviewing council size

A public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon to discuss polling districts in the Municipality of Barrington. The Municipality has applied to the province's Utility and Review Board to reduce the number of districts and councillors from seven to five. The application also looks at amending the polling boundaries. The meeting will be held Tuesday at 1pm at municipal council chambers in Barrington.

Price Wars: South Shore & Area Lobster Fishermen's Association

A new association consisting of South Shore and area fishermen is picking up steam and looking for support. The group - consisting of approximately 150 fishermen - formed earlier this month in a bid to get better prices for lobster. Retired fisherman James Mood is leading the charge for new association. Mood says the group will hold meetings this week in Yarmouth and Shelburne. He says the meetings are open to everyone and is encouraging area residents to rally behind the new association. Mood says beginning midnight on Tuesday, fishermen will hold their catch until they get at least $5.50 per pound of lobster. The association has yet to officially select a name.

CKBW/HANK FM Poll: Results

More than half the residents along the South Shore are not very confident about their personal finances as we start 2012. Our latest CKBW/Hank FM poll, asked the question: Are you confident about your finances? Fifty-four percent of respondents are saying "Not at all" while 24 percent said they ARE confident. Twenty-two percent say they are slightly confident with their finances. Canadian Taxpayers Federation Atlantic President Kevin Lacey says there's no surprise in those numbers. "Not surprised at all, particularly in the South Shore, where your seeing places like Bowater lose jobs, employment is down year after year, so its getting worse before its getting better," A total of 79 people voted in our on-line survey over the weekend.

New Deputy Chief of Bridgewater Police Service

A long time member of the Bridgewater Police Service has been promoted. Scott Freener has been appointed Deputy Chief of the local police service. Feener began his policing career with the Toronto Police Service where he served 5 years in Patrol and Traffic. He's been serving the Bridgewater community since in 1993 and in his new role, Freener will be officer in charge of operations. The Bridgewater Board of Police Commissioners and Chief John Collyer announced the appointment over the weekend.

Mustangs Taken Down at Kiwanis

The South Shore Canadian Tire Mustangs have been eliminated from play in Gatineau, Quebec. The local major midget club lost 5-2 to the Toronto Titans in a penalty-filled game last night in the Kiwanis International hockey tournament. A total of 19 penalties were called. Jamie McIntyre and Alex Mann scored for the Mustangs while Cole Skinner stopped 29 shots in the loss.

Busy Night for South Shore Firefighters

A pair of fires last night on different ends of the South Shore. The first one was a house fire in Shelburne County around 9PM.  Barrington Firefighters were first to respond to the blaze on Villagedale road. Island & Barrington Passage, Port Clyde and Port Latour Fire Departments also responded to the scene to assist. EHS was also dispatched to standby at the scene. It's not known at this time if there were any injuries Meanwhile, a chimney fire broke out at a home on Highway 3 in Chester around 10:40PM.  Fire crews responded to the scene and took care of the blaze with little problem.

Walker steps down as 'Jacks Govenor

The Governor of the CIBC Wood Gundy Lumberjacks has stepped down. David Walker decided to leave the position and vacate his seat on the team's board of directors to focus more on municipal politics. He says he expects to be busy over the next year as he makes a run at the mayors seat. Walker says he also stepped down to dispel any notions that his role with Bridgewater council meant the Lumberjacks received whatever they wanted. He says he expects owner Ken Petrie to fill the position for the remainder of the year. Municipal and School Board elections will he held in Nova Scotia in October.

Woodstock Slam Lumberjacks

A spirited fight by the CIBC Wood Gundy Lumberjacks but not enough to take down the Woodstock Slammers. A three goal first period was enough to give the visiting team a 5-2 win over the Jacks last night. Head Coach Terry Rhindress says a couple turnovers in their own zone was the difference on the scoreboard. Michael Crawley and Nick Gouthro scored for the Jacks while Billy Clarke made 23 saves in the loss. The Jacks will try and halt their seven game losing skid tonight when they head to Amherst to play the Ramblers.

Province/Bowater Mersey Reach $23.7 M Land Deal

The Nova Scotia Government has reached an agreement to buy just over 10,000 hectares of land from Bowater Mersey. The $23.7 million dollar land deal involves various parcels of land from five counties in western Nova Scotia The largest parcel is 5,665 hectares and located is in Annapolis County. Almost 5,500 acres from Queens and 230 from Lunenburg County was also purchased by the province. The land includes forests, old-growth timber stands, ocean and lake frontage, wetlands and some land of cultural significance to the Mi'kmaq. The purchase is part of the government's $50 million bailout package for Bowater's Brooklyn-based paper mill.

Breaking: Shut Down at Bowater Mersey Extended

A shutdown at Bowater Mersey's Paper Mill in Brooklyn has been extended another week. The paper making machines at the mill have been off since Christmas and employees were expected to resume work on Monday. However, Bowater's CEO Brad Pelley says the company has decided to extend their downtime another week because of poor market conditions in Europe. Pelley says operations at the mill will now resume on January 16th. "Selling paper in Europe right now is not a particularly attractive place to sell. Producer who have traditionally sold a lot of volume in Europe are now looking to other markets. There is also over supply issues in both Asia and Latin America as well...those are markets we traditionally serve and prices are being depressed as a result," The company understands the economic uncertainty in Europe won't improve in a week. However, he says by pulling some volume out of the market it may increase the demand for paper products.

RCMP identify Waterloo crash victim

The name of the victim of Thursday's accident on highway 210 in Waterloo has been released by Lunenburg County RCMP. 29-year-old Naomi Rosemary Steele of Chelsea died late Thursday morning when the car she was driving collided with a snowplow. The crash happened during a snowstorm that had created slippery driving conditions. A 31-year-old male passenger in the car was sent to South Shore Regional Hospital with non life threatening injuries. The driver of the plow wasn't hurt.

UARB approves power rate hike for Lunenburg utility

Residents of Lunenburg will be paying more for their power. The utility and review board has approved a rate hike but not as much as most Nova Scotians. The increase of slightly less than 10 per cent for customers of the Lunenburg electric utility is retroactive to the start of the year. Staff have not worked out exactly what the price of electricity will be for the local utility's clients. Customers paid 14 per cent less than Nova Scotia Power clients did prior to the rate hike. Lunenburg buys its power from Nova Scotia Power.

South Shore Lobster Fishers to Fight for Higher Prices

Approximately 150 fishermen along the South Shore are prepared to enter into a battle for higher lobster prices. The fishermen have rallied to form a new association that will give them better representation when dealing with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The group met on Wednesday in Barrington for the first time to chart a future path. The new association, that has yet to select an official name, doesn't want to sell any lobsters for less than $5.50 a pound. The new pricing will take effect by midnight next Tuesday, when fishermen will hold their catch until they get what they are demanding. Mood says the unnamed association has to work through a regulatory process to be formally recognized by DFO. Lobster is currently selling for about $5.00 per pound.