BIBLE HILL MAN RETURNS TO COURT NEXT YEAR IN DEATH OF WESTVILLE MOTHER
The case of a man charged in a car crash that left a Westville mother of two dead goes to court just under a year from now, in January 2022. 37-year-old Jason Edward Alexander of Bible Hill has entered a plea of not guilty and has elected to be tried by a Supreme Court judge without a jury, after the crash in the community of Oliver, between Tatamagouche and Wentworth last spring. Alexander made this week’s appearance in Truro provincial court by video. The preliminary inquiry is to be held on Jan. 4th and Jan. 6th of next year. Alexander is facing a number of charges from the crash last April that claimed the life of 30-year-old Tanya Rector. She died at the scene after the driver and two passengers allegedly left her on her own when the pick-up truck she was riding in veered off the road at a sharp turn on Highway 246 in the darkness of that spring night.
Stellarton Police say if you’re looking to buy a puppy in another province – beware. There’s been a recent scam involving a local resident and a puppy for sale outside of Nova Scotia. The buyer was first asked to pay in American dollars and then asked to pick up some prepaid Visa cards. The prospective Pictou County dog buyer was then told that a pressurized kennel would need to be bought. When the buyer complained of the increased costs, they were told that if they failed to pay up, they would be reported for abandoning the animal.Police are warning scams like this are getting quite common and reputable sellers would never request prepaid credit cards for you to buy a new pet.
NB GAS PRICES UP SLIGHTLY THIS WEEK
New Brunswick gas prices are slightly higher this week. Regular self-serve gas is up by 8-tenths of a cent. New Brunswick diesel prices are up by just over a penny. Nova Scotia’s new prices come out tonight.
A northern Cape Breton man is now in the hands of police after evading officers for three days. RCMP are confirming Perry MacKinnon was “safely been brought into custody” late last night. RCMP went to a house in Meat Cove on Monday morning to arrest MacKinnon, but they say he took off into woods nearby with a gun. That prompted warnings to local residents in that remote community on Cape Breton’s northernmost tip. (RCMP Photo)
PICTOU COUNTY MAN DUE IN COURT FOR SHOOTING MAN WHILE TRYING TO EUTHANIZE HIS DOG
Pictou County RCMP have arrested a 46-year-old Bigney man and seized almost 40 long guns and handguns after responding to a complaint about a man hitting a younger man with a bullet while trying to euthanize his dog. That took place after 8 o’clock on Saturday night and RCMP say the weapon he was using was a handgun. The dog had bitten several people, and the shooter missed the dog, hitting the younger man instead, who was inside that Bigney home. The dog has been seized by Animal Control. The 21-year-old was treated and released from hospital. And the man accused of doing the shooting will be explaining the situation to a judge at the Pictou Courthouse on March 29th.
FAKE COP CAR CASE EERILY SIMILAR TO PORTAPIQUE SHOOTER LAST YEAR
Justice Minister Mark Furey says he’s looking at ways to stop the sale and use of former police vehicles. That, following Antigonish RCMP arresting a 23-year-old man from that area for Impersonating a Police Officer. They’ve also seized his fake cop car. (2013 Taurus, pictured above) Police stopped him in the HRM after people complained about what appeared to be an RCMP Ford Taurus, replicating an RCMP Cruiser in Halifax and Antigonish Counties. Police believe their suspect may have used the mock police car to pull over other vehicles on local roadways.
He was arrested at a home in Antigonish, but has now been released from custody on conditions and will appear in Antigonish Provincial Court on March 24, 2021 at 9:30 in the morning. If there are other incidents where this vehicle was used to try and get people to pull over between Antigonish and Halifax Counties, RCMP want to hear about it. (RCMP Photo)
Health officials are pinpointing three new cases of COVID-19 in the latest update. That leaves us with 23 cases province-wide. Public Health says one of the infections is in the Northern Zone and is a close contact of a previously reported case, while one case is in the Central Zone and is travel-related. Officials say the third case is in the Eastern Zone and involves a person who works on the Marine Atlantic ferry. Public health in Nova Scotia is getting some help from Marine Atlantic and Public Health in Newfoundland and Labrador on that situation. The latest list of possible exposure locations is found on this link. Potential COVID Exposures | Nova Scotia Health Authority (nshealth.ca)
CHAD TRANSIT LAUNCHES NEW “INCLUSION BUS”
Some encouraging news from CHAD Transit. They’re about to officially unveil their new “Inclusion Bus” which is painted in Pride colours, and is meant to show the bus service is open to everybody. It’s been on the streets of Pictou County’s urban core the past few days, and CHAD Executive Director Danny MacGillivray says its formal launch will be this afternoon. MacGillivray is also hinting the despite the pandemic, scheduled bus service from CHAD will likely stay on track to launch this spring. And he’s expecting an official announcement on that much-anticipated bus loop running through the urban core within a couple of weeks.
The provincial Forestry Transition Team is inviting private woodland owners to complete a new online survey.
The research has been set up to help the government better understand the needs, interests and motivations for private land use, while also taking a look at forestry management in the private woodlot sector.
Lands and Forestry Minister Derek Mombourquette says “Nova Scotians have a strong connection to our forests and creating a forest culture that balances forest stewardship and rural economic development” need the input of private woodlot owners. The survey is available at www.novascotia.ca/woodland-owner-survey and will stay open for the next three weeks, and then be followed up by online public forums.
