All CCRCE schools are closed today (Tuesday, January 18, 2022)
All Chignecto Central Regional Centre for Education schools are closed today due to road conditions. Offices and work sites will open at 10AM.
There’s a power outage affecting 1,166 customers in Caribou River, Toney River, Seafoam, and surrounding areas. There’s other scattered outages on Piedmont Valley Rd., Big Island Rd., Reese Road in Thorburn, and Mclellans Mountain Glencoe Rd. Estimated restoration time is 2pm.
New Glasgow Regional Police has located the 29-year-old man who was reported missing from New Glasgow on January 13, 2022. Police say he has been found safe. The New Glasgow Regional Police would like to thank the public for their assistance.
N.S. reports 4 new deaths, says 73 people in COVID-19 hospital unit
COVID-19 has claimed another four lives in Nova Scotia. Health officials reported the deaths late yesterday, adding that 15 more people were admitted to hospital with the virus, which means a total of 73 people were recovering in hospital — including 13 in I-C-U. Those killed by the disease include a man in his 40s, a woman in her 90s and a man in his 70s _ all in the central zone. The fourth victim was a man in his 80s in the eastern zone. An additional 495 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported on Monday.
Nova Scotia has expanded eligibility for COVID-19 booster doses to include anyone 18 years of age and older. As well, health officials say more than 55-thousand appointments for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will be added at clinics across the province for people aged 12 to 29. Officials say people 18 to 29 are strongly encouraged to schedule a Pfizer vaccine for their first, second or booster dose as recent evidence shows there is a rare, but increased risk of myocarditis-pericarditis in young adults from the Moderna vaccine. About 651-thousand Nova Scotians age 18 and older are eligible to schedule a booster dose.
Nova Scotia became the first province in Atlantic Canada on Monday to reopen its schools to in-person learning. Students in about 400 public schools across the province had been learning remotely since Jan. 10 because of the threat to public safety posed by the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus. Nova Scotia Teachers Union president Paul Wozney says that the government hasn’t done enough to ensure students and staff are protected from COVID-19, especially considering officials will not conduct contact tracing in schools. Wozney says some of his members are being asked to report to work even if they’re symptomatic but haven’t tested positive for the disease. He says the union’s main concern is that reopened schools could lead to a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The union representing school support staff at all seven Regional Centres for Education and the Conseil scolaire acadien is calling on the Nova Scotia government to give staff respirators (N-95 or higher) and to close schools until there’s a significant reduction in community spread of the Omicron variant. The chair of CUPE’s Nova Scotia School Board Council of Unions is asking what the plan is if there are not enough staff available to drive buses, clean schools, maintain ventilation equipment, or work with students with cognitive concerns or behavioural issues —- because she says that’s where this is headed if the premier doesn’t close schools or provide staff with the proper PPE to keep them safe on the job.
African Nova Scotian Affairs adding 3 regional offices
Three more regional offices are being set up in Nova Scotia to provide African Nova Scotian communities increased access to government support, programs and services. One of those regional offices will be in New Glasgow. The provincial government says new African Nova Scotian Affairs regional offices will also open in the coming weeks in Digby, and the Preston area. The province says in a statement that it has heard loud and clear that rural African Nova Scotian communities have unique needs and concerns. African Nova Scotian Affairs currently has regional offices in Yarmouth, Truro and Sydney.
The Province is investing $37.3 million from the Green Fund in projects that support its environmental and climate change goals, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That includes $15 million over three years for the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund, which will support communities to adapt to the impacts of climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A request for proposals to develop and administer the fund was issued on Monday. Other projects include $8 million for the SolarHomes incentive program for single-family homes to install solar electricity systems; and $8 million to extend for one year the Home Energy Assessment program.
Westville Council has set the date of March 12th for the Special Election to fill the council vacancy. Advance Polls will be held on March 5 and March 8. Josephine MacDonald has been appointed as the Returning Officer for the election. Nomination day will be February 21.
New Glasgow proclaims January 17, 2022 as Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the town
Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States – a federal holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year. The Town of New Glasgow is also marking the occasion and honouring the African American Civil Rights Leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient whose leadership changed the world. On Monday, Mayor Nancy Dicks, on behalf of New Glasgow Council, proclaimed January 17, 2022 as Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the Town of New Glasgow.
