SCHOOL GYMS TO RE-OPEN TO COMMUNITY SPORTS GROUPS
Provincial Education Minister Zach Churchill is allowing community groups to return to using school gymnasiums for non-school sports activities. He says $5.5 million from Ottawa’s Safe Return Fund will be spent to hire extra staff, so the gyms and school washrooms will be cleaned according to protocol, in order to keep COVID-19 to a minimum. Use of any other parts of our schools will remain off limits for the time being.
NEW HIV SELF-TESTING KIT APPROVED IN CANADA
Federal regulators have approved the first HIV self-test in Canada in a long-awaited move that experts have called critical to reaching people who don’t know they have the virus. Health Canada granted a medical device licence on Monday to a one-minute, finger-prick blood test manufactured by Richmond, B.C.-based bioLytical Laboratories.
Canada follows dozens of other countries in greenlighting the technology, which has been endorsed by the World Health Organization as a tool to reduce the number of people with undiagnosed HIV. (CANADIAN PRESS)
COUNTY OF PICTOU COUNCILLORS ELECT WARDEN AND DEPUTY
Pictou County’s warden, who is re-elected around the council table, got his job back last night. Warden Robert Parker of District 6 was challenged by Andy Thompson, but managed to secure his job when all of the votes were counted. Wayne Murray, whose district includes the Scotsburn area, will stay on as Deputy Warden. The vote means the top two jobs at Pictou County’s council chambers and beyond will be the same as before last month’s election. (County of Pictou Photo)
SPCA RESCUES CATS AND KITTENS FROM PICTOU COUNTY AND CAPE BRETON “PET HOARDERS” , CAMPAIGN NOW UNDERWAY TO SAVE THEM
The provincial SPCA is asking for donations after rescuing 72 cats and kittens in need of urgent medical care. The majority of the cats came from two animal hoarding situations in Pictou County and Cape Breton. The large number of sick and injured cats has overwhelmed SPCA Animal Shelters throughout the province.
Medical treatment for the cats could exceed $58,000, based on severe disease and eye infections. The no-kill organization is inviting animal-lovers who want to help to make a donation at www.novascotiaspca.ca/helpnow or by texting “SPCA” to 4-10-10 to donate $20. The cats and kittens will not be put up for adoption until they’re nurses back to health.
The Pictou County SPCA Animal Shelter does not have an isolation room large enough to treat and protect the cats in the shelter from potential infections. That’s why other SPCAs across the province are helping out.
NEW HOPE FOR FORMER EAST PICTOU SCHOOL
The former East Pictou School might soon have new life. The County of Pictou is putting out a tender call for somebody to re-develop the facility, which has good highway visibility along the 104 in Sutherland’s River. Thoughts are it could become a business facility or a combination of residential-commercial space. The only uses not possible in that location are wind tower development or adult entertainment. (County of Pictou Photo)
MACKAY SAYS NO TO RUNNING FEDERALLY AGAIN
Hope among Tories that former M-P Peter MacKay would go back to politics and run as a contender to represent Central Nova in parliament one more time have been dashed. MacKay says he won’t be running against Liberal Sean Fraser in the riding because he wants to concentrate on family life and his current job, instead. MacKay placed second in this year’s national leadership race and excitement began to build with talk of a federal election challenge by leader Aaron O’Toole and Justin Trudeau back in September. (National Post Photo)
MORE NEW COVID INFECTIONS, ONE IN NORTHERN HEALTH ZONE
Nova Scotians are now dealing with 15 COVID-19 infections , with 2 more test results coming back positive yesterday. Public Health says the new cases are related to travel outside of the Atlantic Bubble.
One case is in the Northern Zone and is self-isolating as required, while the other case is connected to the two cases identified Saturday and remains under investigation. There are no Nova Scotians currently hospitalized by the virus.
Nova Scotia Health is also advising of potential exposure to COVID-19 at a downtown Halifax fitness centre. People who were at Fit4Less, located at 1535 Dresden Row on October 26th between 8 a-m and 10 a-m is being asked to monitor for symptoms.
JOHN BOLTON COMMENTS ON U-S ELECTION, SAYS IT’LL BE HARD TO GET RID OF TRUMP
It’s election day in the U-S, and Donald Trump’s former national security advisor is hoping Joe Biden and the Democrats will pull out a win. John Bolton says Donald Trump does not think highly of Canada, and is warning the relationship with Canada could deteriorate even further in a second Trump term. Bolton says as a former real estate promoter, Trump takes a “transactional” approach to foreign relations, with no policy or ideology underpinning his strategy. He’s worried that if Trump wins, he’ll get even more over-confident and brash. And if he loses, the Republicans will still have a hard time getting rid of the Trump “albatross”, adding, Trump’s party will have to stand up and tell him “It’s time to leave.” (Photo courtesy Associated Press)
TWITTER PUTS WARNING ON ANOTHER TRUMP FALSEHOOD
Twitter has posted a warning label overnight on an election-eve tweet from President Donald Trump, noting that his assertion that a recent Supreme Court decision could lead to problems in the election is misleading. Trump has repeatedly slammed a Supreme Court decision last week that will allow some absentee ballots to be received after today, in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. In his tweet last night, Trump took the complaint a step farther, arguing it would prompt “rampant” cheating and “violence in the streets.” (Bloomberg News, USA Today)
DARTMOUTH MAN UP ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES
Police say a Dartmouth man is facing child pornography charges after a search of a home last week. Halifax Regional officers searched the home after investigators were notified that a person from Halifax-Dartmouth had been downloading explicit images of children. Police say a number of electronic devices were seized and a 38-year-old Dartmouth man was arrested at the home. He has been charged with distributing and possessing child pornography and now has a date with a provincial court judge to answer to those charges.
HOME VALUES STILL A BRIGHT SPOT NATIONALLY & PROVINCIALLY
Confidence in the Canadian housing market continues to boom, even as officials grapple with a resurgence of COVID-19 that’s slowing the economy. Some 45 per cent of respondents in a weekly survey by Nanos Research Group believe the value of real estate in their neighbourhood will increase over the next six months. That’s the highest reading for real estate values across the country since mid-March, and reflects a major increase in sales and selling prices here in Nova Scotia since last spring.
