Fisherman Falls Overboard, In Critical Condition

A 40 year-old fisherman is in critical conditions after he fell overboard Monday morning. The incident occurred around 8 o'clock in waters off the shores of Port Mouton. The crew of the boat was able to get the man out of the water and took him to a nearby wharf. He was airlifted by a cormorant helicopter to Shearwater. The man was then taken by ambulance to a hospital in Halifax.

Whalen, Wolters Win Athletics Nova Scotia Awards

A Liverpool athlete is proving hard work and dedication pays off. Chelsea Whalen took home Athletics Nova Scotia's senior female athlete of the year for 2013 during a weekend ceremony in Truro. Bridgewater's Rachael McIntosh and Jenna Martin were also nominated. The Liverpool native broke several provincial records and represented Canada internationally. Mattias Wolter of Conquerall Mills won senior men's athlete of the year. His younger brother, Tobias, won the same award in the youth category. Local coach Tanya Daniels also received a coaching excellence award.

New Brochure Showcases Shelburne County

A new brochure featuring historic lighthouses in Shelburne County will be ready for the upcoming tourism season. The Shelburne County Tourism Association is working to produce a new booklet designed to showcase the area and attract more  visitors. Tourism Manager Suzy Atwood says it will also focus on the regions lobster industry.



Atwood says with the return of the ferry service they will put a strong focus promoting the county in nearby places like Yarmouth and Digby. However, the brochures will be available in visitor information centres throughout the province.

Fay Rink Clinches 2015 Canada Winter Games Berth

A Chester curling team continued their tremendous season. Mary Fay, Karlee Burgess, Jennifer Smith and Janique LeBlanc will represent Nova Scotia at the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George, British Columbia. The team went undefeated in Halifax over the weekend to claim top spot, defeating clubmate Cassie Cocks 7-3 in the final. It's the latest good news for the Chester team, that also won bronze at this year's national junior curling championships in Liverpool.

Chester: False Information Circulating On Flyer - Warden

The warden of Chester says there is false information being advertised throughout the area. A flyer is floating around the municipality stating that the Halifax Regional Municipality is proposing to send their waste to Kaizer Meadow in Sherwood. The flyer says an agreement would mean over 80,000 tonnes of Halifax waste would be brought to the facility every year. However, Allen Webber says it's simply not true.



Webber says he doesn't know why the flyer is being distributed or where it came from. He says if they are approached, it will be well-known to the public.

Michelin Cuts In Pictou County Will Not Affect Bridgewater Plant

One of Bridgewater's largest employers is cutting jobs at another Nova Scotia plant. Michelin Canada has announced 500 jobs will be cut over the next 18 months at their facility in Pictou County. The move is in response to a continuing shift in North America to larger size tires and limits of the existing plant. President Grant Ferguson says there are different market demands now and investment costs to upgrade the 43-year-old plant are not cost-effective. The company says the reduction will not affect Michelin's other plants in Bridgewater or Waterville. All impacted employees will have opportunity to continue working for Michelin at those two plants.

Twinning "The 103" Still Tops

Twinning Highway 103 remains a priority of the provincial government. The Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal says we're going to see improvements moving ahead before too long. Geoff MacLellan says the 103 has been ignored too long and he anticipates the federal government will come through and pitch in money for the project.



The immediate priority is to twin the highway from Exit 5 in Tantallon to Exit 6 in Hubbards. The long term goal is to then continue on with the work to Bridgewater. The 103 has been labelled by the Highway Safety Council as the most dangerous and deadly highway in all of Canada. Twenty-four people have been killed on that highway between Halifax and Yarmouth in the past five years. Fifteen of those fatalities have occurred between Tantallon and Bridgewater.

Curl For A Cause Raises $40,000 For Lunenburg Hospital

Some weary eyes around Lunenburg County after a three day curling marathon helped raise money for Fishermen's Memorial Hospital. The 14th annual 'Curl for a Cause' raised just over $40,000 to help purchase a specialized procedural operating room table. Over 60 people participated in the event at the Lunenburg Curling Club. Managing Director of the Health Services Foundation on the South Shore, Arleen Stevens, says it was a team effort.



The table costs roughly $51,000. Stevens says they're partnering with a community group to help raise the remaining funds.

Mustangs, McDonalds All Tied

The playoff series between the Charlie's Pizza South Shore Mustangs and Halifax McDonalds is all tied up. Halifax shutout the Mustangs 4-0 Sunday night in Bridgewater. The win ties the series at two games each after the Mustangs won 3-1 on Saturday night. The two clubs meet for game five on Wednesday evening in Halifax.

Fire Destroys Queens County Barn/Livestock

A weekend fire in Queens County destroyed a barn and numerous animals in it. It happened in Beach Meadows and sheep, rabbits and chickens were lost. 80 fire fighters from Liverpool, Greenfield, North Queens and Port Medway battled the blaze but couldn't save the barn and animals. However, they did prevent a nearby house from catching fire. A cause of the fire has not been determined.

No Serious Injuries In Yarmouth County Plane Crash

The pilot of a small plane that crashed in Yarmouth County yesterday wasn't seriously injured. According to police, the Cessna was flying low and crashed into a tree in Arcadia. The pilot was taken to Yarmouth hospital with some injuries. The Transportation Safety Board is looking into the incident.

Former Minister Calls For Greater Lobster Industry Consultations

A few months ago, a panel of experts set up by Maritime fisheries ministers came out with numerous recommendations to improve the lobster fishery. Among them, suggestions on better marketing and pricing. Little's been done since and former NDP fisheries minister Sterling Belliveau says the process needs speeding up.



Meanwhile, a summit of Maritime fisheries ministers and representatives of the lobster fishing industry is planned for late March to discuss recommendations in the report.

Small Business Vs. Retirement

If you own a small business and you're getting close to retirement, you should have a plan in place for whats to become of the operation. That advice from Scotiabank's Atlantic Vice-President Gord Brost (Brohst).
He says its best to have things ready well in advance of the Brown Envelope Day.



A recent survey of Atlantic Canadians owning a small business indicates almost a quarter of them have no intention of retiring and giving up the business. 19 percent of those questioned for the survey say they've got a succession plan already in place, developed years ago.

Demone, Risley Being Inducted Into Business Hall Of Fame

A pair of Nova Scotia men being inducted into the province's Business Hall of Fame have South Shore roots. Henry Demone is the CEO of High Liner Foods Inc. in Lunenburg and Robert Risley owns White Point Beach Resort in Liverpool. They are among four businessmen headed for the hall later this year. Joining them are Paul and Stephen O'Regan of O'Regans. The hall of fame was established by Junior Achievement in 1993 to recognize achievements of business leaders in the province. An induction ceremony will be held June 3.

Duckworth Returning Home Following Olympics

One of Nova Scotia's two Olympians competing in Sochi, Russia is coming home. Alex Duckworth will make an appearance at the Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre Sunday evening between 6:30pm-8pm. The snowboarder from Kingsburg will talk about her Olympic experience as well as sign autographs and be available for photos. Duckworth finished 17th in the women's half-pipe at her first Olympics. The 26-year-old was an alternate for the 2010 games in Vancouver.

Former Mayor Requests Dominion Street Repaving

A former mayor of Bridgewater wants to see the paving of Dominion Street complete. Ernie Bolivar sent an email to the town, asking council to include paving into their capital work for their upcoming budget. He says the street has very heavy traffic and the situation must be corrected. Current Mayor David Walker agrees.



The street was never fully repaved after work was done to install a new sewer pipe in 2012. Walker suggests repaving costs could be around $250,000. He says there was talk of completing the work in phases, but feels the cost needs to be reviewed.

Saskatoon: Man Charged In Missing Person Case

A 33 year old Saskatoon man has been charged with aggravated assault in connection with a missing person investigation. It's in relation to the disappearance of Myles Macintosh of Lunenburg. The 28 year-old was reported missing February 1 in Saskatoon . The charges stem from an altercation on a pub crawl bus MacIntosh was riding in while celebrating his upcoming wedding. Meanwhile, police say blood found on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River belongs to the Lunenburg native. It's believed he fell into the river. The man charged in the incident was due in court today in Saskatoon.  However, the altercation took place well-before a person was reported seen falling into the river.



Saskatoon Police Media Release:

A 33 year old Saskatoon man has been charged with aggravated assault in connection with a missing person investigation.

The man is scheduled to appear in Provincial Court Friday, February 28, 2014 at 9:30 a.m.

The charge was laid following an investigation into the disappearance of 28 year old Gregory "Myles" MacIntosh. Myles MacIntosh was reported missing when he failed to return home after attending an Idylwyld Drive bar on February 1, 2014. Investigation found that MacIntosh was asked to leave the bar following some sort of disturbance. He then boarded a pub crawl bus which was traveling to an east side bar. Police were called to an altercation between two men on the same bus minutes later, at the intersection of Lorne Avenue and 8th Street East. Based on numerous witness statements investigators believe one of those men was Myles MacIntosh, however when officers arrived Mr. MacIntosh had left the scene on foot. Following that, a report was received that a person had fallen into the South Saskatchewan River. A search was conducted by emergency responders, however no one was located. The following day, Saskatoon Police located blood evidence on the ice where the person was last seen. That evidence was sent for testing which, this week, has been confirmed to be that of Myles MacIntosh. Saskatoon Police would like to thank the public and the media for their assistance in this investigation.

Local Health CEO: Government Listening To Reform Ideas

The Nova Scotia government is looking at reforming the province's health care system, finding more dollars to pump into front-line care. One area being examined is reducing the number of health authorities in the province from 9 to 2, one for the Halifax capital district and IWK and one for the rest of the province. South Shore Health CEO Dr. Peter Vaughan gives full marks to the McNeil government for daring to open up the system for scrutiny.



Vaughan says the health minister received a good selection of opinions when he met recently with health care professionals on the South Shore.

Mustangs Continue Playoff Series Against Halifax

A big weekend for the Charlies Pizza South Shore Mustangs. The major midget hockey club hosts the Halifax McDonalds for a pair of games in their best-of-seven playoff series. The series is tied 1-1 after they split games in Halifax last weekend. Head Coach Brad Muise says it's a good start for his club, but he knows they can't take it for granted.



Muise says he was pleased with his club's defensive effort but would like to see better results on the power-play going forward. Game three goes Saturday night at 7:30. Game four will be Sunday evening at 8pm. Both games are being played at the Clearwater Seafoods Arena in Bridgewater.

Home Care Workers Walk Out

Hundreds of home-care workers in the Halifax area have walked off the job this morning to back their demands for higher wages. However, the provincial government has said it will move quickly to limit the strike's impact. It will introduce essential service legislation this morning in the Legislature that will force most of the strikers back to work. The unions are accusing the government of taking a heavy-handed approach to collective bargaining. However, former NDP labour minister Frank Corbett tells us, the unions are actually taking aim at the premier.



Northwood Homecare of Halifax, the VON and several CUPE home care workers would be affected by the proposed legislation being brought in today.