Local Toy Drive collects thousands of dollars in toys and cash donations
Organizers of last week’s Toy Drive presented by the Pictou County United Way and the Nova Scotia Jeep Club – North Nova Chapter are once again praising Pictou County residents for their generous support. United Way Executive Director Ellen Fanning says over $15,000 in toys and over $6,000 in cash was collected by volunteers at Canadian Tire in New Glasgow. Local agencies that will be receiving toys for distribution this holiday season include: Winnifred Grant Opportunities Shop Society, PiCCoLA, Family Service of Eastern Nova Scotia, Pictou County YMCA, Kids First, Pictou Co. Opportunities for Men – New Leaf, Y-Reach, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pictou County, Schools Plus, and Tearmann Society.
Pictou County pedestrian suffers serious injuries after being struck by vehicle
New Glasgow Regional Police say a 61-year old Pictou County man was seriously injured in a vehicle – pedestrian collision late Friday afternoon. It happened on East River Road near McColl Street in New Glasgow. The 61-year old pedestrian suffered serious injuries and was taken to the Aberdeen Hospital by Emergency Health Services and then later transported to a Halifax Hospital. New Glasgow Regional Police and RCMP Collision Analysts are investigating.
More than 1,000 Nova Scotia employees on unpaid leave after vaccine mandate deadline
The province announced Friday that 963 of the 70,537 workers in frontline health care, continuing care, education and corrections are on unpaid leave because they failed to report their vaccination status or they remain unvaccinated. The figure for the civil service is 93 out of a total of 10,434 employees, meaning 1,056 provincial workers in total are now on leave. In the health sector, the Nova Scotia Health Authority, which oversees most of the province’s hospitals, has lost 323 workers, the IWK Health Centre in Halifax has lost 29 and long-term care facilities have seen a combined 179 employees placed on leave. As of Friday, the province had 199 active confirmed cases of the disease, including 13 people in hospital and five in intensive care. (The Canadian Press)
Nova Scotia Health will report case numbers from the weekend later today. On Friday, the province reported 20 new cases of COVID-19 (12 cases in Central Zone and eight cases in Northern Zone) and 34 new recoveries for a total of 199 active infections in Nova Scotia. There is a cluster of cases in a localized community in Northern Zone, and there is also evidence of limited community spread in Halifax and parts of northern Nova Scotia.
New Brunswick’s active COVID-19 case count stands at 752 after adding 118 new cases yesterday. Forty-six people are in hospital, with 16 of them in intensive care and nine on a ventilator. The new numbers were announced as the province implemented its so-called winter action plan — which is designed to limit the spread of the virus. It requires masking outdoors when physical distancing cannot be maintained and capping informal indoor household gatherings at 20 people.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is expected to be in the hot seat today, as the 12-member House of Commons finance committee questions her about the governing Liberals’ latest pandemic aid package. Her appearance is part of a compromise to fast-track the legislation, with the Liberals agreeing to have Freeland sit for at least two hours of questioning before the committee. Freeland is expected to face a barrage of questions on the domestic economy and the government’s pandemic response overall.
82-year old man dies in Cumberland County crash
Police are investigating a fatal single-vehicle crash in Wallace. RCMP say the victim — an 82-year-old man from the Wallace area — was driving on Ferry Road around 11 a-m Saturday when his SUV veered into a ditch. The Mounties in Cumberland County say the driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The road was closed for several hours as they conducted their on-scene investigation.
Military repairing cracks in the tails of most CH-148 Cyclone helicopters
The Canadian military says it has discovered cracks in the tails of 19 of its 23 Cyclone maritime helicopters. The Royal Canadian Air Force initially issued an emailed statement today saying cracks had been detected in four helicopters, but that number jumped to 19 later in the day. The Air Force says the Sikorsky-made aircraft have not been grounded or placed on an operational pause. Tail cracks were first detected in a helicopter during a routine inspection on Nov. 26 at 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron, based in Patricia Bay, B.C. The military also confirmed that two CH-148 Cyclones do not appear to have any defects, and the remaining two are receiving longer-term maintenance and will be inspected at a later date. The “maintenance issue” has had an impact on Operation LENTUS, the military’s effort to help those affected by the widespread flooding in British Columbia. (The Canadian Press)
Sports notes:
The Fundy Highland U15AA Stars remain undefeated after picking up 4 more points this weekend in home and home games against Valley Wild. The first game was held Saturday at the Hector arena with a final score of 4-2. Acelyn Potter and Abella Purdy started off the goals in the 2nd period – both unassisted. Ada White added the game winner with an assist from Raylee Hendsbee and Purdy added another unassisted goal in the 3rd. Game 2 was held at the Windsor Sports Complex on Sunday. Goalie Kenli Ross had the shut out in the 4-0 result. Stella Henderson opened the scoring in the 2nd with assists from Potter and Jessica Cameron. In the 3rd, Potter scored with assists from Henderson and Avery Henderson. Cameron added the 2 final goals to seal the win, one unassisted and one assisted by White and Karlee Rose.
In NS U18 AAA Female hockey action, Northern Subway Selects beat Moncton Rockets 4-1 at Avenir Centre Moncton
