CEREMONY TO BE HELD THIS AFTERNOON FOR SERVICE MEMBERS WHO DIED IN HELICOPTER CRASH 

Photo: From top left: Master Cpl. Matthew Cousins, Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough and Capt. Brenden Ian MacDonald. From bottom left: Capt. Kevin Hagen, Sub-Lt. Matthew Pyke and Capt. Maxime Miron-Morin. (Credit: Department of National Defence)

The Canadian military is to hold a special ramp ceremony today at Canadian Forces Base Trenton to repatriate remains of a service member and honour all six who died in a helicopter crash off the coast of Greece.  The Cyclone helicopter carrying six Armed Forces members crashed into the Ionian Sea on April 29. Defence officials have said it was returning to HMCS Fredericton at the end of a NATO training mission.  The remains of Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough were recovered while the other five service members on board are missing and presumed dead. The remains of one other person have been recovered but not yet identified.  Those service members whose remains were not recovered will be represented by military headgear resting on pillows to be carried by fellow military members.  Following the ceremony, a procession will proceed down the Highway of Heroes from Trenton to Toronto.  (The Canadian Press)

PM ANNOUNCES $252M IN FEDERAL AID FOR FARMERS  

Photo Credit: The Canadian Press

$252 million in federal aid for several types of farming in the COVID-19 crisis is on the way. But critics are already saying it’s not enough. The Prime Minister has announced $77 million for meat processors, including packing plants, to keep workers safe. There’s also $125 million for the fund that helps farmers deal with emergencies. There’s $50 million in federal cash to buy Canadian-produced food that’s in danger of spoiling, and sending it to places like food banks. There’s also a credit program for dairy farmers. But the Agriculture Federation wants Ottawa to help with more than 10 times what’s being offered, saying some food producers won’t survive if there isn’t more help to come.  The places where farmers and others traditionally show off their hard work each summer and fall across Nova Scotia won’t be available to them this year. All physical exhibitions and fairs in 2020 have been postponed to 2021. That’s the thrust of this week’s announcement from the Exhibitions Association of Nova Scotia. The Agriculture Minister says it’ll find other ways to help Nova Scotians discover the kinds of locally-produced foods local farmers have to offer.

COVID-19 UPDATE FROM THE PROVINCE

The latest update shows 3 more people have died from COVID-19 in the province, and yet again, they’re at Northwood Manor in Halifax. But Doctor Robert Strang says we should not be blaming staff at the Halifax facility. The NSGEU is asking for an inquiry, and the union’s Jason MacLean says he’s not trying to point fingers, but it is time to learn some lessons, so mistakes are not repeated.  991 people have had positive test results for Coronavirus province-wide since the middle of March.  Six of those new cases were added just yesterday, which is a welcome decrease. More than 650 Nova Scotians have now recovered from the infection.

The NSGEU says provincial conservation officers at the New Brunswick border northwest of Amherst are frustrated because they don’t have the authority to turn people away if it’s deemed their travel isn’t essential.  Jason MacLean says that’s the opposite of what’s happening in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, and the union is asking the McNeil government to give the same authority to our own officers.

Doctors across the province are entering into a deal with the province to shore up their incomes. Dr. Gary Ernest heads up Doctors Nova Scotia, and says a good example of that income loss is fee-for -service surgeons, where some incomes have dropped by 75 to 85 per cent. Other doctors also earn their pay based on how many patients they see, and people have been shying away from their offices during the pandemic. The deal re-deploys doctors to work with COVID-19 patients for a base salary and a coronavirus top-up. The agreement is temporary, and is due to be re-assessed in July.

As provinces start to tiptoe toward normalcy by gently lifting restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19, a new poll suggests Canadians are largely happy with the pace. People in most provinces taking steps to reopen were between 60 and 70 per cent supportive of those moves, while 16 to 30 per cent would like to see their government slow down a little. In Alberta, the number of people who think the government is allowing re-openings too quickly sits at 50 per cent.

TRURO MAN ARRESTED AFTER GRENADES, GUNS SEIZED FROM HOME 

A man from the Salmon River area of Truro is facing a number of charges, including assault, after RCMP answered a domestic disturbance call to find 17 firearms, a large amount of ammo, and explosive materials. Those include a commercial detonator, a grenade, a smoke grenade, flares, and gunpowder. Colchester District RCMP say all of that turned up on Sunday when they searched inside a four-unit building on Salmon River Road. Tenants in the apartment building had to be evacuated as a safety precaution while the search was carried out.  Besides assault, the man faces charges of unsafe firearm storage and possession, in addition to possession of an explosive device. Police say the victim of the assault that brought them to the scene is known to the 55-year-old man who is now facing that series of charges.

TENDER CALLED TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO THE EAST RIVER BUSINESS PARK

Photo credit: Municipality of Pictou County

New Glasgow’s newest street is being named North Novie Drive, in honour of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders. County Councillor Andy Thompson chairs the New Scotland Business Development Board. He says North Novie Drive will link the new business park with East River Road through the creation of a new intersection. .“During the Second World War two basic training camps were located in Parkdale before volunteers were sent overseas to liberate Europe and other parts of the world, and they became affectionately known to others as the “North Novies” so it’s only fitting for the street to be named for that term of endearment for Nova Scotia trainees who served in Europe.

Tenders for that new signalized intersection will close May 21st with development is expected to take place this year’s construction season. Currently, CF Construction is on-site installing a wastewater lift station to serve the new park and some existing businesses on East River Road.  In addition, Thompson says the East River Business Park’s first tenant has started construction on its building and that has a lot of people guessing who it is, but he says that information will be coming out in a couple of months.  Thompson says “Interest in the park continues to grow and this new intersection onto East River Road will make it even more attractive to potential tenants,” with natural gas and other amenities, it should prove quite attractive to incoming businesses.

NEW GLASGOW BOY AWARDED CERTIFICATE OF COMMUNITY SERVICE

New Glasgow Police Chief, Stephen Chisholm has awarded a certificate of community service to Abdullah Almethyb of New Glasgow. The award recognizes him for his quick action in alerting emergency services to a ten-unit apartment fire in downtown New Glasgow late last week. His dedication to his community in that early hour on April 30th by calling 911, potentially saving lives and further damage to surrounding homes in the Forbes Street area. Congratulations Abdullah!