Three people displaced after early morning fire in New Glasgow**Updated**
NGRP Photo (submitted)
Three people have been displaced by this morning’s fire that damaged a two-storey building in New Glasgow. Firefighters from a number of departments were called to a fire on Stellarton Road at a building which houses several businesses as well as four apartments. Constable Ken MacDonald says New Glasgow Regional Police, along with New Glasgow, Trenton, Stellarton, and Westville Fire Departments, and Emergency Health Services responded to the fire which was reported shortly after 5:00 this morning. Canadian Red Cross volunteers are assisting the three tenants from two of the apartments with emergency lodging, meals and purchases like winter clothing and some other basics. The other two apartments were vacant. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Stellarton Road from Duff Street to Campbells Lane was closed to traffic, with a detour in place. The road was expected to reopen around 12pm.
Nova Scotia Power activating Emergency Operations Centre today ahead of weekend storm
Photo: @nspowerinc
We’re bracing for another winter blast. A Winter storm warning is in effect for Pictou County. We’ll see rain changing to snow at times heavy or ice pellets this evening, with 10 to 20 mm and 10 to 15 cm in snow and ice pellets. Another 10cm is possible on Saturday. Accompanying that mess is winds gusting as 80 km/h at times. Nova Scotia Power will be activating its Emergency Operations Centre at noon today, ahead of the stormy weather, moving power line technicians, forestry teams and others across the province in place to be ready to respond in the event of outages.
Police in New Glasgow asking for public’s help to locate missing man**Updated**
NGRP Photo (submitted)
Nova Scotia reports 59 in hospital with COVID-19, including 7 in ICU
On Thursday, Nova Scotia reported five new hospital admissions and five discharges. There are 59 people in hospital who were admitted due to COVID-19 and are receiving specialized care in a COVID-19 designated unit. That includes seven people in ICU. A total of 542 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported on Thursday. There are an estimated 6,620 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia.
The Nova Scotia Health Authority is reporting three new outbreaks in hospitals, including outbreaks at two separate wards at Colchester East Hants Health Centre Fewer than 10 patients at each facility have tested positive.
Ottawa to go ahead with trucker vaccine mandate after stating it would scrap it
Photo credit: The Canadian Press
The federal government says the vaccine mandate for truckers crossing into Canada from the United States will come into effect Saturday as planned. That’s despite a previous statement from the Canada Border Services Agency that said Canadian truck drivers would be exempt. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos along with the transport and public safety ministers say the CBSA statement from Wednesday evening was “provided in error.”
Province to bump up minimum wage to $13.35 an hour
The provincial government has announced an increase in Nova Scotia’s minimum wage. The minimum wage will rise 40 cents to $13.35 an hour starting April 1st. The government accepted the recommended increase put forward by the Nova Scotia minimum wage review committee.
Lisa Smith resigns as Glen Haven CEO
Photo: @glenhavenmanorng
Lisa Smith has resigned as the chief executive officer of Glen Haven Manor. Smith was placed on administrative leave this past September pending a review of facility operations. That review is still ongoing. Jane MacDonald will continue to serve as interim administrator until a permanent replacement is found.
Fuel prices up in N.S.
There was an increase in fuel prices in Nova Scotia overnight. Gas is up 1.5 cents this morning to 142.1 cents per litre in the local area. Diesel is up 4.9 cents per litre to 148.8.
N.S. Power loses 1st bid to get $27M from ratepayers for idled plant
In a decision released Thursday by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board, an application by Nova Scotia Power to make customers pay it $27.7 million over the next decade to write off the idle Annapolis tidal generating station has been denied. The Utility and review Board says in the decision that the accounting treatment should be part of an application to decommission the station. It gave the power company one year to present its plans. The tidal generating station at Annapolis Royal hasn’t generated any electricity since January 2019 after a generator component failed and then DFO issued notice safer fish passage at the site was required. Nova Scotia Power decided to retire the facility and concluded that decommissioning was cheaper than a life-extension modernization or introducing new technology. However, regulators were not convinced and called for options to be more fully assessed. (With files from CBC)
