NO INJURIES REPORTED AFTER SCHOOL BUS ACCIDENT IN HOPEWELL AREA ON WEDNESDAY***UPDATED***
Facebook photo from Ashley Lawrence
A school bus accident on the Marshdale road yesterday afternoon has affected a number of families who had kids on board, but there are no reports of serious injuries. RCMP say the bus was carrying six students at the time when it slid off the roadway and rolled into the ditch. Roads were snow-covered and slippery at the time. The matter is still under investigation by both the RCMP and the school board.
NB GAS PRICES DROP BY MORE THAN 3 CENTS A LITRE
Drivers are likely hoping this trend spills over into Nova Scotia during tonight’s weekly gas price setting. Gas prices in New Brunswick have dropped by more than 3 cents a litre this week.
PETER MACKAY IS IN, STAY TUNED…
The guessing game is over, and Pictou County will be represented in the Prime Minister’s chair if former local Conservative MP and cabinet minister Peter MacKay has his way. McKay says he’s in the running for leadership of the federal Conservatives. He’s been pegged as a contender to take over the party for years, and not just since Andrew Scheer stepped down last month. The former P-C party merged with the Canadian Alliance in 2003, and MacKay went to work under the new leader: Stephen Harper. An official kick-off to his leadership bid is expected here in the riding next week.
The Pictou County Chamber of Commerce says there’s no formal closure date for their current survey. The survey that went out this week is asking Chamber members and other businesses how much their bottom lines might be affected by Northern Pulp’s pending closure. It includes potential gross revenue losses, and additional comments relating to the situation. Chamber president Blair van Veld says no individual responses will be made public, but the general consensus of the business community will be shared with government agencies.
PICTOU COUNTY FIRE CHIEF AMONG GROUP OF NOVA SCOTIANS IN AUSTRALIA TO HELP FIGHT FIRES
Photo from Kings—Hants MP Kody Blois’ Facebook page
It turns out one of the Nova Scotia fire fighters who are off to Australia to fight raging bush fires in that country is from Pictou County. Paul Schnurr is the Fire Chief in Merigomish, and he’ll be acting as the Incident Commander for whichever incidents local authorities assign to the Canadian team. Schnurr and the other two Nova Scotians taking part boarded their planes in Halifax yesterday. Schnurr says their main task will be a major one, as they help organize the fire-fighting efforts.
The latest numbers show renting an apartment is not as easy in the cental part of Pictou County as it was in 2018. The fall survey of apartment vacancies from CMHC shows the vacancy rate falling from more than 12 per cent to 9.9 per cent. It’s even harder to find an apartment in Truro and Bible Hill, where the vacancy rate has fallen to less than 2 per cent. In Pictou County’s urban core, the average rents is $607 a month for a one bedroom, $747 for a 2 bedroom and $918 for a 3 bedroom. A bachelor apartment can still be found in Pictou County for less than $500 a month.
Meanwhile, the provincial government says it’s creating new training paths for workers affected by the pending closure of the Northern Pulp mill who say they want to stay in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency and Nova Scotia Community College are working together to enhance programming to connect these workers to opportunities in the skilled trades. Workers taking part will have free access to one-on-one career counselling and a skills training plan customized to their individual needs. And people who are ready to be certified in a skilled trade can have the fees waived. Government will use $1.5 million of the $50 million transition fund to cover the cost. Workers who are interested can register by calling the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency at 1-800-494-5651.
The shortage of family doctors in Nova Scotia is highlighting an area of health access that is creating challenges for patients to et their prescriptions. Dr. Peter MacDougall is in Halifax and says there are actually patients running out of their medications, and patients taking less than they should. He says that forced choice has an impact on their health and it has an impact on the system as a whole.
CANADIAN ROCKY “SOUL MAN” JOHNSON HAS DIED
Photo credit: CNN/WWE
Canadian professional wrestling legend Rocky (Soul Man) Johnson, the father of actor Dwayne (the Rock) Johnson, has died at the age of 75. World Wrestling Entertainment, where Johnson reached the greatest heights of his career, confirmed his death on Wednesday. Johnson was born in Amherst, N.S., and made his pro wrestling debut in Southern Ontario before rising to fame in the National Wrestling Alliance in the mid-1960s. He started in the WWE in 1983 with rivalries with the likes of Greg (The Hammer) Valentine, Don Muraco and Adrian Adonis. Eventually he teamed with Tony Atlas as The Soul Patrol and the two men became the first African-American World Tag Team Champions in WWE history when they defeated The Wild Samoans on Dec. 10, 1983. After Johnson retired from wrestling in 1991 he helped train his son The Rock — a nickname that was partly in tribute to his father. Rocky Johnson was inducted by his son into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008. (Canadian Press)
SPORTS:
Maritime Hockey League.
It’s hockey night in Pictou County, the Weeks Jr A Crushers are in action tonight taking on division rivals, the Truro Bearcats. The battle for Mt. Thom continues from the Wellness Centre, puck drops at 7pm, doors open at 6!
NSMMHL:
This weekend The Weeks Major Midgets host the Cape Breton West Islanders on Saturday January 18th 4 PM Puck drop at the PC Wellness Center, for some great entertainment come out and support the boys.
Womens Hockey:
Blayre Turnbull from Stellarton is going to the NHL All-Star Skills Competition! Blayre will be one of 10 players suiting up for team Canada when they take on the USA in a 3 on 3 tournament during the NHL All Star Skills competition on January 24th!!
AUS:
The StFX X-Men hang on for a big win over the Dalhousie Tigers in mens hockey, 4-3 the final score.
NBA:
Norman Powell had 23 points as the Raptors spread the ball around in a 130-121 win over OKC last night.
MLB:
According to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Sports in Houston, the Astros are set to interview former Blue Jays manager John Gibbons on Thursday for their managing vacancy.
The Astros fired manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow on Monday after an investigation by Major League Baseball revealed sign stealing by the team.
NHL:
Just two games on the docket last night,
The Flyers got the game winner from former Halifax Moosehead, Jakub Voracek to defeat the Blues in OT 4-3.
The Canadiens got no help from their backup netminder, losing to Chicago 4-1.
