THORBURN MAN FACING GUN CHARGES STEMMING FROM ARREST IN WESTVILLE
Westville Police spent last evening putting together the paperwork for a Pictou County man they arrested on a number of gun-related charges. Police were called to a home on Munroe Street yesterday afternoon about 4 o’clock about suspicious activity. That led them to lay several firearms charges connected to a man and his vehicle.
After ticketing him for having no valid driver’s licence, they then searched his vehicle where police say they found a concealed long gun.
As a result a 37-year-old Thorburn man has been arrested and charged with:
• Unsafe storage of a firearm
• Unauthorized possession of a firearm
• Possession of a firearm knowing it is unauthorized
• Unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle
The man is free on a court undertaking with conditions until he appears at the courthouse in Pictou on January 25th. Stellarton Police have helped out and officers tell us more charges might be coming that are connected to the original report of suspicious activity on Munroe Street.
GAS CHEAPER, DIESEL SLIGHTLY HIGHER IN PRICE ACROSS NEW BRUNSWICK
New Brunswick Gas Prices are cheaper this week, and diesel prices nudged slightly higher. A gas fill-up in that province is 1.2 cents a litre cheaper and diesel rose in price by just two-tenths of a penny. New prices here in Nova Scotia come in at midnight
SYSTEM FOR SEEING YOUR DOCTOR ONLINE OR BY PHONE TO LAST LONGER
The provincial government is extending virtual care options for Nova Scotians.
Payment codes for virtual visits by doctors, which include consultations by telephone, telehealth network or secure videoconferencing tools, will be available until March 31st of the New Year.
There are 6 new cases of COVID being reported in the province with the number of active cases falling to 71. So while we wait for the vaccines to arrive for most of us in the New Year, the trend is looking better. Despite that, health officials are warning us not to let down our guard, with COVID proving itself to be a long-lasting enemy. All of the new cases in the latest update are in the Central Health Zone.
The head of Pfizer Canada says most people will only notice a slight reaction to his company’s new vaccine. That after people prone to allergies in the U-K reported mild symptoms yesterday. That vaccine is coming to the Halifax area next week.
New Glasgow Police tell us they arrested a local man using the Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act after an incident that ended over the lunch hour yesterday. Officers responded at around 11:00 a.m. to a home on Merigomish Road for a wellness check. Police say the man was arrested at 12:45 in the afternoon – after a brief interaction with officers. In addition, several firearms were seized from that home on Merigomish Road.
GUARDRAIL IMPROVEMENT IN PICTOU COUNTY
County Councillor Peter Boyles is pleased to see a new guardrail along the Little Egypt Road after a fatal crash there back in July. Boyles heard residents’ concerns about the stretch of road after that accident and lobbied the provincial government to install a guardrail so it would be safer for motorists. Boyles says another guardrail in the Linacy/Pine Tree Road are is slated to undergo repairs by the spring. (County of Pictou Photo)
CRA MIGHT BE LOOKING FOR PAYBACKS
Some Canadians say they were shocked and alarmed to learn they may have to pay back thousands of dollars in pandemic benefits after receiving letters from the Canada Revenue Agency last week suggesting they may not have qualified for the Canada emergency response benefit in the first place.
The CRA is encouraging Canadians who got the letters to pay back the CERB by Dec. 31st., so they don’t have to fork out cash in April.
Recipients of the letters have told CBC they are being targeted because they used their gross income instead of their net income when applying for the benefit, and say the government website did not clearly state that net income was the only one to be used.
AMHERST POLICE INVESTIGATING EXPLOSIVES – ONE ARRESTED SO FAR
Amherst Police say two explosive devices were detonated early yesterday with help from the RCMP. The Amherst Police Major Crimes Unit is working with RCMP and several other police groups to investigate. One person has been arrested and another person is being sought for questioning. An earlier explosion shook homes shortly after 10 o’clock Monday night.
SNOWBIRDS COMING TO DEBERT
The Canadian military’s aerobatic team, the Snowbirds, are on the schedule to put on a show in Colchester County this summer. The schedule says the team will perform a show near the Debert Airport, west of Truro, on August 28th and 29th.
COMMISSION ON WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS ON THE WAY
The Trudeau government is poised to consult Canadians on how to go about creating an independent commission to review possible wrongful convictions for criminal offences.
That’s a goal Ron Dalton and his colleagues at Innocence Canada have been patiently waiting for.
His group helps people who insist they have been wrongfully convicted.
Dalton says federally-created review commission, with ample budget and resources, would be a welcome sight to take over the work of what he calls Innocence Canada’s “ragtag bunch of volunteer do-gooders.”
The group, formerly known as the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, was founded in 1993 and has helped exonerate about two dozen people since then.
PICTOU COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH ROUNDTABLE SOLICITS RESPONSE
If you’re wondering how we create a better community response to mental health crises, the Coordinating Committee of the Pictou County Mental Wellness Roundtable wants to hear from you.
The Committee is offering an opportunity to learn more about gaps in community responses to mental health crises and ways to improve local responses.
The group is hosting a free public webinar on Tuesday, December 15th from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. featuring a panel of speakers including Sherry Blinkhorn, mental health advocate, Deputy New Glasgow Police Chief Ryan Leil and Monique Harquail, of the Fredericton Police HUB program.
For more information on the Mental Wellness Roundtable and the upcoming webinar, contact Lynn Langille, Pictou County Community Health Board coordinator at lynn.langille2@nshealth.ca or 902-324-0621.
IN LOCAL SPORTS
The Pictou County Weeks Crushers are hosting the Truro Bearcats tonight at home. That game starts in the Wellness Centre at 7 o’clock.
