BREAKING: Fisherman Dies After Falling Overboard

Lunenburg County RCMP have confirmed a fisherman who fell overboard earlier today in waters around Indian Point has died. The individual passed away shortly after he was taken to South Shore Regional Hospital. Mounties say they are investigating the incident that occurred at the Indian Point wharf around 7 o'clock this morning. They say two fishermen were heading out to check their traps when a man fell into the water. The individual was unconscious when emergency crews pulled him out. The man's name has not been released.

Funding To Improve Shelburne County Wharf

A Shelburne County wharf will see additional improvements thanks to some federal funding from Ottawa. Roughly $450,000 has been announced to assist with improvements to Jones Harbour in Sable River. MP Gerald Keddy made the announcement on behalf of Defence Minister Peter MacKay. The money will be used for ongoing wharf reconstruction at Jones Harbour to provide safe and additional berthage for fishing vessels and to ensure safe navigation. The work is in addition to major projects and dredging work being carried out at approximately 95 fishing harbours throughout the country announced last July.

Bridgewater: Exhibition Funding Request Going To Budget Deliberations

The South Shore Exhibition will have to wait to find out if the town of Bridgewater will become a major sponsor for this year's event. Council has sent a funding request between $3,000 and $5,000 to their budget deliberations. Over 42,000 people attended last year's event, and has grown to become the largest exhibition in the province. Mayor David Walker says it's a major event for the town.



Walker believes this is the first time officials with the exhibition have come to council for a financial contribution. This is the 122nd year for the South Shore Exhibition. The budget is expected to be approved by the end of May.

Man In Serious Condition After Indian Point Incident

An incident in Indian Point this morning (Tuesday) has resulted in a man being hospitalized. It happened at the Indian Point wharf as two fishermen prepared to head out to tend to their lobster traps. One of the two fell overboard, emergency crews were summoned and when they arrived on scene, the man was found floating unconscious in the water. Local fire fighters and paramedics attempted to revive the individual with CPR but were unsuccessful. He was taken to South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater, unconscious and in serious condition.

Lunenburg Runner Has Solid Showing & Sets PB

A Lunenburg runner has set a huge eight-second personal best in his opening race at an event in California. Mattias Wolter also broke his own Nova Scotia senior record, running 8:43:73 in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. The event was the Stanford Invitational Meet over the weekend. Wolter's time now ranks him number one in both the Canadian and NCAA collegiate systems. Its also just three seconds off the Canadian FISU Team standard. They travel to Russia in July. 

Shelburne: RCMP & Town Discuss Officer Shortage

The head of the RCMP in southwest Nova Scotia will be in Shelburne tomorrow to meet with municipal officials regarding a shortage of officers patrolling the town. Mayor Karen Mattatall has expressed concerns over the shortage in recent weeks. Medical, maternity and paternity leaves have reduced the number of Mounties from ten to about five to patrol the town of Shelburne.  Mattatall says she hopes the situation will be resolved soon.



Mattatall says another officer will be added to the force for a total of six. RCMP Superintendent Sylvie Bourassa-Muise hopes to assure Shelburne officials the situation will be corrected soon.

Belliveau Calls For Fed Help in Rural Job Creation

Shelburne area MLA and provincial fisheries minister Sterling Belliveau is putting in a pitch to Ottawa to help create rural jobs. He says the federal government is the biggest obstacle to job creation along the South Shore. Belliveau believes the fishing industry here has plenty more jobs to offer. He says it would help if the federal government would only step up to the plate and lend a hand!



Belliveau is running for re-election these days. He hasn't decided yet which riding he'll be in, either of the new ridings of Barrington-Argyle or Queens-Shelburne.

More Dates For Bridgewater's Non-Urgent Clinic

South Shore Health is extending its non-urgent care clinic in Bridgewater. Five additional dates have been announced for the medical clinic at the South Shore Regional Hospital. The appointment only clinic will be open Tuesday and Wednesday of this week between 10:30am and 3:30pm. Dates have also been selected between Monday and Wednesday of next week. Those with minor illnesses or in need of prescription refills will need to book an appointment in order to see a doctor. 

Additonal Info:

A doctor will be available to see patients with non-urgent health issues
(ie minor cuts or bumps, bites, sore throats, sinus problems and prescription refills)

 
Clinc Hours: 10:30 am to 3:30 pm
Dates: April 2nd, 3rd, 8th, 9th and 10th

 
Same day appointments can be made by calling 527-5815 between 8 and 10 am on the day of the clinic for that day only.

Chalk Up Another Marker For Whalen

Its another record for Chelsea Whalen of Liverpool. At the 86th annual Texas relays in Austin over the weekend, Whalen posted a new outdoor personal-best and new Nova Scotia senior woman's provincial record in the shot-put. Her throw was 15.68m. She beat her previous mark of 15.59m, set in mid-March at the University of South Florida.

QMJHL: Halifax Faces Gatineau In Round 2

The Halifax Moosheads will face the Gatineau Olympiques in the next round of the "Q" League playoffs. Gatineau edged Rimouski 2-1 last night to win that series in six games. The Herd will open the best of seven quarter-final series at home this Friday and Saturday.

Chester Rink Captures Atlantic Championship

The Mary Fay team from Chester has captured the Atlantic Under 18 Women's Curling championship. Fay took the title yesterday with a 6-0 win over New Brunswick's Justine Comeau in the final. The Fay rink, which includes Jennifer Smith, Karlee Burgess, and Janique LeBlanc, completed the Stephenville, Newfoundland event with a perfect 5-0 record.

UPDATED: Two Dead After Blockhouse Crash

Two men involved in a serious crash have died due to injuries sustained in the collision near Blockhouse. The 48-year-old driver of the pickup, Eric Mervin Veinotte, passed away Friday night. The 27-year-old driver of the car, Matthew Arden Deal, died in hospital Saturday morning. The two men are from Lunenburg County. Both men were originally taken to Bridgewater hospital but later moved to Halifax. The passenger of the car remains in South Shore Regional Hospital with serious injuries. Police were called to the scene near the Exit 11 overpass around 4:30am Friday morning. The cause of the collision is still under investigation.

School Board: Auditor General's Recommendations Almost Complete

The South Shore Regional School Board is well on their way to fulfilling recommendations from the province's auditor general. The 2008 report from Jacques Lapointe discovered the board did not adequately screen employees through criminal record and child abuse checks. The report also cited failure to carry out fire and safety drills as well as maintenance issues that required buses to be taken out of service until repairs could be made. But, as Superintendent Nancy Pynch-Worthylake points out, most of the issues have been taken care of.



Pynch-Worthylake says the lone recommendation they need to resolve deals with policies and practices designed to minimize risk in their system. She expects the auditor general to check-in with the board again later this spring.

Three People In Hospital After Vehicles Collide In Blockhouse

Three men are in hospital following an early morning crash in Blockhouse. RCMP say a car collided with a pickup truck around 4:30am along Highway 324 at the overpass of Exit 11 on Highway 103. Police say two men in the car and the driver of the truck have suffered life-threatening injuries. The car caught on fire and was fully engulfed when police arrived on scene. All three people were originally transported to the South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater, however, the driver of the truck was then airlifted to Halifax by EHS Lifeflight and the driver of the car was transported to Halifax by ambulance.  The passenger of the car remains in the South Shore Regional Hospital. Highway 324 was shut down as police continued to investigate with the assistance of a traffic analyst. This portion of the highway should be reopened shortly. The cause of the collision is still under investigation.

No Appeals Received On Bylaw Change For Evergreen Road

The province's Utility and Review Board has confirmed that no appeals have been received that would quash a decision for more residents to live at Compassion House in Bridgewater. The deadline passed Wednesday night without any opposition, although an official with the UaRB did note that one appeal was received earlier but withdrawn. Town council voted last month to approve bylaw changes, allowing the LaHave Manor Corporation to have up to five mentally or physically challenged residents in need of care to live under one roof on Evergreen Road. Mayor David Walker says he's pleased the development can proceed.



The corporation applied for the bylaw changes last year. It now defines the home as a single dwelling unit, not an institution and allows five people to live in the home, up from the previous three.

Blood Collection Returns To Queens General

Outpatient blood collection will return to Queens General Hospital Tuesday. The collection area will be located near the reception area on the main level of the hospital. The service has been offered from Queens Place for the past several months in an effort to reduce traffic on site during installation of underground pipes. That work was completed last week. South Shore Health has also announced the reopening of the hospital's kitchen and cafeteria. The health authority is reminding residents the hospital remains a construction area. Work on the Queens General Health project is expected to be complete next spring.

School Board Chair: "We Did The Best We Could"

The chair of the South Shore Regional School Board believes they did the best they could under their current budget situation. Jennifer Naugler says the board took their time, took their roles very seriously and made their decisions. Four out of six schools in the review process have been scheduled to close, including Gold River-Western Shore by September of this year. Naugler says the closure will help generate some savings for their upcoming budget, but it may not be enough.



The board's director of finance says closing Gold River-Western Shore and sending its students to Chester District could save just over $195,000 annually. The board will continue to look at balancing its 2013-14 budget over the next few weeks.

No Injuries After Two-Vehicle Collision In Bridgewater

Bridgewater Police say no one was injured after a two-vehicle collision along Aberdeen Road Wednesday night. The incident occurred just after 8:30pm near the traffic lights intersecting with North Street and Glen Allan Drive. Members of the Bridgewater Fire Department were also on scene. A section of Aberdeen was closed for roughly 45 minutes to clean up the site and remove the vehicles from the area.

School Closures Pegged For Lunenburg, Queens Counties

Four schools are expected to close over the next few years after decisions were handed down from the South Shore Regional School Board. The immediate school to close will be Gold River-Western Shore Elementary, effective September of this year. That means students will attend Chester District Elementary this fall. SAC Chair for Gold River-Western Shore, Sarah Swinamer, says she wishes they could have had one more year for a transition period.



Meanwhile, Pentz and Petite Riviere schools are also pegged to shut down if a new school is built in the area and Mill Village in Queens will close in September 2014, with students transferring to Dr. J.C. Wickwire. Other changes will see students from grades nine at Chester Area Middle School go to to Forest Heights in September 2014. New Ross will be reconfigured to be a primary to grade eight school in 2014, with grade nines also going to Forest Heights. Full details are available below.

New Ross Consolidated

- Motion is to reconfigure New Ross for primary to grade eight with grade nines going to Forest Heights beginning September 2014 is approved by a 6-2 vote (Board Members Griffin and Crossland vote against)

Mill Village Consolidated

- Board approves option 5-2 (Board Members Fougere and Crossland voted against, while Board Member Stevens declares a conflict with child in the school, so she doesn't vote) to close Mill Village and transfer students to Dr. J.C. Wickwire effective September 2014. Also, grade five students at Mill Village be transferred to new South Queens middle school in Liverpool when they enter grade six in 2013, leaving Mill Village reconfigured as a grade primary to grade five school. Board approves by a 6-1 vote. (Board Member Simms voted against)

Gold River- Western Shore Elementary

- Board Members approve motion to close Gold River-Western Shore Elementary in September 2013 by a 5-3 vote  (Board Members Crossland, Griffin, and Stevens voted against). This means students will attend Chester District Elementary in the fall.

Chester Area Middle School

- The board approves a motion that will see students in grades 9 from CAMS attend Forest Heights in September 2014. This means CAMS would be reconfigured to include Grade 6,7,8 with 9-12 going to Forest Heights Community School in September 2014. The motion is approved by a 6-2 vote (Board Members Crossland and Griffin voted against).

Petite Riviere Elementary

- Board votes unanimously to permanently close Petite Riviere Elementary and request a new school be built to replace Petite and Pentz.

Pentz Elementary

- Board members vote unanimously that Pentz Elementary be permanently closed and request a new school to be built to replace Pentz and Petite Riviere Elementary.

Hebbville Academy

- Board members unanimously approve keeping Hebbville Academy open and with current configuration of  primary to grade five and grades six to nine. (Board Chair Naugler removed herself from vote because she has three kids in the school.)

UPDATED: Moore Case Delayed

An impaired driving case involving the death of a nine-year-old girl has been put over until May. Candice Roxanne Moore did not appear in Bridgewater court today but was represented by her lawyer. Moore is facing four charges after an incident January 19th in Pleasantville. Moore was driving when she dropped off her daughter, Olive, at a home. The nine-year-old was struck by the vehicle and later died in hospital. Moore is facing impaired driving cause death charges, refusal to comply with a demand for a breath sample, dangerous driving causing death and criminal negligence causing death. The matter will be back in court May 15.