Chair: LaHave Manor has good relationship with Town

The LaHave Manor Corporation and Town of Bridgewater are trying to iron out a location for a proposed group home. The organization is trying to access property on Evergreen Road but the town says its not accessible for a group home. Elmer Garber says the home is their best option, but it would take time to try and change town by-laws or get a development agreement. And Garber says time isn't on their side. He says they are still hoping to meet with officials from the town of Bridgewater to find a solution. He feels the town and LaHave Manor have a good relationship. "It's not a town that has discriminated against our clients in the past. I can't say that they have - it's been a good experience for LaHave Manor and I think it's been good for the town of Bridgewater as well," The corporation has signed a 30-day extension to keep the offer open for the Evergreen home, giving them time to meet with the town. The new group home could accommodate up to five people.

Price of Lobster: Hits 5-year High

The price of lobster is sitting at a five year high. Fishermen in LFA's 33 and 34 are selling their catch for $6.00 per pound after the season opened with prices set at $3.25 in November. James Mood is the president of the 1688 Professional Lobster Fishermen's Association. The PLFA formed in January in an effort to drive wharf prices up to at least $5.50 per pound. He says a combination of factors have helped push the price up - including the formation of their group. "I think the fishermen pushed it up themselves when they stopped selling lobsters - they just stopped. They had lobsters, in tubes and holding facilities they just stopped selling to the dealers. This industry works on supply and demand," The PLFA now boasts more than 800 members and Mood says they are half-way to their membership goal. The association's target is to have 80 percent of 1688 licence holders from Shelburne to Digby signed up before next season.

Anniversary for Historic Bluenose Schooner

The historic Bluenose was launched 91 years ago today in Lunenburg. The schooner is a provincial icon for Nova Scotia as well as important Canadian symbol. The original Bluenose was sold in the 1930s when fishing schooners were replaced with motor schooners and trawlers. The vessel was used as a freighter until it sank in 1946 off the coast of Haiti. It was later commemorated in 1963 by a replica Bluenose II. The name "bluenose" originated as a nickname for Nova Scotians from as early as the late 18th century. Nova Scotia's famous sailing ambassador is currently undergoing a major rebuild at the Lunenburg Shipyard and will be re-launched this summer.

South Shore Health Prepares for Accreditation

South Shore Health will find out next month if it will receive a passing grade for accreditation. The process affirms the authority is meeting national standards in health care. CEO Alice Leverman says staff began intensifying efforts over the past year to ensure they meeting the necessary requirements. "Like any big event, there is always anticipation, some build up and anxiety. But we are very hopeful we will be celebrating next month,"  She says offering high levels of service in every department is a key priority for medical professionals in the South Shore. The health authority is expecting a decision on accreditation on April 20th.

For Debate: Former Riverport Elementary Property

Residents of Riverport will get to hear the latest proposals for the former elementary school property tonight. The school closed last year and several community groups are hoping to turn the property into a gathering place. Some of the options being considered, include building a new fire hall, creating green space or constructing a multi-use civic centre. Riverport School Site Committee spokeswoman Debra Hofrichter says support is for the project is key to moving forward. "It is extremely important to us that we have the support of the community. So, Monday nights meeting is to present this draft proposal to the community and ask for their opinion and to ask for their support," An environmental assessment would need to be carried out on the property and Hofrichter says the group still needs to acquire the property from the municipality. Tonight's meeting will be held at the Riverport Fire Hall beginning at 7 o'clock.

Queens County Man Sentenced on Child Porn Charges

A Queens County man will spend six months in jail and eighteen months on probation for possessing child pornography.  39 year old Steven John Croft of White Point has been banned by the court from accessing the Internet except for job purposes while he's on probabtion for a year and a half.  After a lengthy on-line investigation, police raided Croft's home with a search warrant last July 26th.  Court testimony shows they found child porn pictures and movies stored on a computer in the home.

Injuries & Charges Result From Bridgewater Bar Fight

A fight at a Bridgewater bar over the weekend has resulted in serious injuries for one man and serious charges for another!  It happened around 1:30 Saturday morning.  A 30 year old man was found bleeding and unconscious by police at a nightspot which they haven't identified.  The victim was rushed to South Shore Regional and then flown to the QE-2 in Halifax.  A 20 year old man was arrested and charged with assault causing bodily harm and being drunk in a public place.  He's been released on conditions and makes a court appearance May 30th.  Investigators are looking for witnesses and are asking anyone to contact them if they saw the fight.

South Shore Health in need of palliative care volunteers

It's deemed as a service to help people refocus their hope. Now, South Shore Health is looking for more volunteers for their palliative care program. They currently have 15 volunteers, but more are needed to cover the region. The bereavement coordinator, Irene Hirtle, says the South Shore has an older demographic and is more prone to life-threatening illnesses.

"And those kind of illnesses that people in our program suffer from could be malignant diagnosis like cancer or they could be respiratory like COPD or kidney failure, cardiac disease, all of those kinds of things and they can all be part of the palliative care program, too."

Palliative care can be provided to people at home, in a hospital or in a long-term care facility. Volunteer Liz Brown says she started volunteering 12 years ago and hasn't looked back.

"It was just a general interest in people I think, and we meet such wonderful people and we get so much back from what we give, so its a caring and sharing opportunity for everybody."

Brown says volunteering is a great way to help people with life-threatening illnesses. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact 634-7015.

Workshop to teach Farming Business

Here's your chance to learn more about starting a farm business. The province is hosting a one day workshop dedicated to teaching people about farming or helping current farmers sharpen their business skills. The workshop will also cover tips and strategies on marketing, as well as trends and technical practices by local farmers and agricultural experts. The local event goes Saturday at the Best Western Plus and Convention Centre in Bridgewater. To register, get more information, see the agenda or look at speaker biographies go to www.gov.ns.ca/agri/thinkfarm/fromthegroundup.shtml  .

Head to Head for Health hits the ice in Bridgewater

It won't be your typical hockey game. The Health Services Foundation of the South Shore and Park View are teaming up to play the Head to Head for Health Hockey Game Friday night at 7pm. The Health Care Hustlers will take on the Park View Lady Panthers. Bernadette Jordan with the Foundation says the event is a fundraiser for the echo system, but goes a little further.

"It's achieving a goal by helping us get youth more involved at the hospital foundation, but also its a great spirit thing for the team here because all of the departments work together and put players in, so they sometimes might not work together in the hospital, but on the ice they'll work together and it's great, it's a lot of fun."

Jordan says the game is expected to include props, special guests and a few more things out of the ordinary. Players hit the ice at 7pm at the Bridgewater Arena.

Local NDP MLA's Attend Federal Convention

New Democrats are in Toronto for today's opening of their leadership convention, where a successor to the late Jack Layton will be chosen.  Tonight there will be a tribute to the former leader. Local MLA's Pam Birdsall, Vicki Conrad and Gary Ramey are attending.  Birdsall tells us, Layton was very familiar with the South Shore and its politics.  She says "he was connected to small communities right across the country.  He was at one point the president of the Canadian Union of Municipalities so he really understood how it all worked and how municipal government plays into provincial government and into federal government. I think thats something a lot of people don't understand."  The perceived front-runner in the race to succeed Layton is Montreal M-P Thomas Mulcair, a former Quebec Liberal who has the most support from the party's caucus.  Critics say though, Mulcair is too abrasive, and wants to move the party from the left to the centre.  About 130-thousand party members are eligible to vote for the new leader, in person, by mail, or by email.

Bridgewater Vikings off to Division-3 provincial hockey championships

The Bridgewater Vikings are off to Yarmouth hoping to bring a provincial banner back home. The Vikings' boys hockey team is competing in the Division-3 championships against five other teams including Inverness, Par-en-Bas and Dalbrae. The Vikings play their first game at 4pm Friday afternoon against Richmond Academy. The tournament goes all weekend in Yarmouth. Full tournament details can be found at http://www.wix.com/jboudrea3/division-3-hockey .

Higher Gas Prices Fuel Inflation

Gasoline prices are up again at South Shore pumps. If you pull into a station today, you will end up paying 2.5 cents more for a litre than you did yesterday. The price today is $1.39.8 .  This just adds fuel to Stats Canada's report out this morning claiming higher gasoline prices right across the country last month drove up the inflation rate.  The annual inflation rate in February rose to 2.6 per cent -- up a-10th of-a-percentage point from January.  Pump prices last month were 2.6 per cent higher than they were in January, and 8.9 per cent higher than they were in February of last year.  In the past 12 months, food prices jumped 4.1 per cent.  StatsCan says core inflation rose two notches to 2.3 per cent, which is higher than the Bank of Canada's target line of two per cent.

Future unknown for Gorham facility in Liverpool

The mayor of Queens says the region may not want the Gorham facility back. The regional school board revealed Wednesday night it is returning the property back to the municipality. John Leefe says it's not that simple. He says the board can offer the building to the municipality, but they are not obliged to take it. He says he wants to understand the costs before council can make a decision.

"Ultimately, the region's taxpayers are the ones that have to bear any costs that may be associated with receiving ownership. So, their are a lot of T's to be crossed and a lot of I's dotted prior to a final decision being taken."

The school board is revamping its mid-level transition, senior high alternate and adult education programming for 2012-13. All programs are currently held at the Gorham facility, but would be transferred to South Queens Junior High and Liverpool Regional High next year. Leefe says council can't make a decision on the matter until they receive a letter of offer from the school board.

Martin competing at Disney meet in Florida

Its expected to be a good test for South Shore runner Jenna Martin. The Olympic hopeful will compete this weekend in the Walt Disney World Invitational in Florida. She is using the event to help prepare herself for the London Olympics in August. Martin is the defending 400 metre Canadian Champion. She has been in Florida training for the past six weeks.

Bridgewater curler off to Canadian Masters

A Bridgewater curler is representing Nova Scotia at the 2012 Canadian Masters Curling Championships in Montreal. Glenn Josephson will play lead with Alan Darragh, Reid Romkey and John Darragh out of the Mayflower and Dartmouth curling clubs. Josephson is playing in his eighth Canadian championship but first Masters. He says he can draw on experience to help him play well.

"First of all you learn how to win and secondly, you know, when the important shots have to be made and what to do when it's really close at the end of the game and those are the things that just come with experience more than anything else."

 Josephson says this event completes his career...after winning provincial championships at every other age group. The Masters gets underway Monday in Montreal. The club will open up competition against Alberta Tuesday.

Plans for Collaborative Health Care Centre in Bridgewater

Bridgewater could be the next South Shore community in line for a collaborative health care centre. A action team consisting of fifteen medical professionals and business leaders has been assembled to quarterback the initiative. The proposed centre would reduce wait times and greatly benefit people without a family doctor. CEO of South Shore Health Alice Leverman says more and more physicians want the opportunity to work as a team as opposed to setting up a private practice. "We need to provide those types of practice environments to ensure we can not only retain the physicians and other prodivers that we have but to continually be recruiting for health professional in the area," The centre would also offer medical services through nurses, nurse practitioners and other health-care professionals. Collaborative health-care centres already exist in Caledonia, New Germany and Lunenburg.

NS Government Subsidizes Digby Ferry, Ignores Yarmouth: Liberal MLA

Princess of Acadia

The province will help subsidize the Digby-Saint John ferry service, "Princess of Acadia", for three more years to the tune of a million dollars a year.  The New Brunswick government will match the amount.  The decision flies in the faces of those in the Yarmouth area who are campaigning for re-establishment of ferry service to Maine. Yarmouth Liberal MLA Zach Churchill tells us, premier Darrell Dexter is being hypocritical. Churchill says: the premier "is throwing money all around the province. Yet, when it comes to a major economic driver in southwestern Nova Scotia, that feeds the tourism industry across the province, he has consistently said "No" to that!"  A campaign continues to have the Yarmouth-Maine service re-established. Organizers say it will require government funding though for the first couple of years of operating.

No Serious Damage Nor Injuries Resulting From South Shore Grass Fire

Several fire departments were able to bring a raging grass fire under control late yesterday afternoon in Dayspring.  No buildings were lost but there were fears at one point that a strong wind might blow the fire into some homes.  No one was hurt either.  Conditions are becoming tinder-dry as a result of the unusual high temperatures.

Trial Date Set For Alledged Home Invader

A trial date has been set for a man accused in a South Shore home invasion more than 6 years ago.

Brian Hector Oickle has pleaded "NOT GUILTY" to breaking into a terminally-ill senior's home in Chelsea in July 2005, tying her up and stealing some 30-thousand dollars in cash.
Oickle is facing 5 charges including forcible confinement, robbery, break and enter and possession of stolen property.  He's also charged with cocaine possession stemming from an incident in Truro in the same year (2005).  Oickle will remain in jail until his trial date ... May 17th.