New Glasgow Regional Police looking for suspect who threatened people with knife
New Glasgow Regional Police are asking for the public’s help to identify a man who was threatening people with a knife. Last Wednesday at approximately 2:05 p.m., police responded to a report of an unknown man threatening people with a knife on the Samson Trail near Terrace Street in New Glasgow. The man is described as being mid 20s to early 30s, wearing a darker/grey hoodie and red undershirt, beige pants, with short dark hair. No injuries were reported and the investigation is ongoing as the suspect was not located. Anyone with information or has witnessed this incident is asked to contact New Glasgow Regional Police at 902-752-1941. Should you wish to remain anonymous call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers toll free at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submit a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca, or use the P3 Tips App.
Public inquiry into Nova Scotia mass shooting resumes today with focus on replica RCMP car
A public inquiry investigating the mass shooting in Nova Scotia is scheduled to resume today in Halifax with a focus on the replica RCMP police car the killer drove and the police gear he acquired. The perpetrator meticulously recreated a fully marked RCMP Ford Taurus —complete with a black push bar, flashing lights and a siren — before driving it during the April 18-19, 2020, rampage that resulted in 22 murders over 13 hours. The inquiry is expected to hear summaries from the commission’s investigators about the efforts of police to determine what kind of car the killer was driving and the police paraphernalia he acquired. It will also hear testimony from a witness about how the perpetrator acquired decals for the vehicle and various other police paraphernalia prior to his murders. The inquiry has to date heard summaries of the perpetrator’s actions and the police response, from the first 911 call from Portapique through to two RCMP members shooting and killing the perpetrator at a gas station in Enfield. The hearings are shifting from the Halifax Convention Centre to the Prince George Hotel today. (The Canadian Press)
N.S. RCMP warns about an opioid drug known as “Shady 8”
Nova Scotia RCMP are warning about an opioid drug known as Shady 8. Police say the drug has caused three overdoses over the last month in Cumberland County. In each case police administered Narcan to counteract the effects of the overdose. Shady 8 is a form of Fentanyl, a powerful opioid, which comes in the form of a white or green pill or tablet.
Nova Scotians 70 and up can now book a second COVID-19 booster shot
The province has opened second booster dose bookings of the COVID-19 vaccine for adults 70 and older. Health officials say people in the age group who are getting the shot should get it 120 days after their initial booster. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are recommended for the second booster, but people who cannot receive those mRNA vaccines for medical reasons may opt for Novavax. Children aged 12 to 17 are also now encouraged to get a booster shot, but they must wait 168 days after their second dose of vaccine.
While remaining unvaccinated against COVID-19 is often framed as a personal choice, those who spurn the vaccines raise the risk of infection for those around them, a new study suggests. The research published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that vaccinated people who mix with those who are not vaccinated have a significantly greater chance of being infected than those who stick with people who have received the shot. In contrast, unvaccinated people’s risk of contracting COVID-19 drops when they spend time with people who are vaccinated, because they serve as a buffer to transmission, according to the mathematical model used in the study. Co-author David Fisman, of the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana school of public health, said the message of the study is that the choice to get vaccinated can’t be thought of as merely personal. “You may like to drive your car 200 kilometres an hour and think that’s fun, but we don’t allow you to do that on a highway partly because you can kill and injure yourself, but also because you’re creating risk for those around you,” he said in a recent interview. Fisman said the idea for study came a few months ago amid the debate around vaccine passports and vaccine mandates. The conclusion, he said, is that “public health is something you actually have to do collectively.” (The Canadian Press)
Nova Scotia plan to address challenges in health system panned for lacking detail
The highly anticipated plan for reforming Nova Scotia’s ailing health system is “nothing new” and lacks detail, opposition parties said Friday, after the Progressive Conservatives released their strategy to fulfil their main election promise. Originally scheduled to be released at the end of March, the government’s 31-page “Action for Health” plan outlines six broad areas that need reform. The Tories say they also want to tackle three core issues — recruitment and retention of health-care professionals, access to care, and replacement of outdated infrastructure. However, there are no timelines or targets included in the four-year plan that is expected to run until 2026. “It’s a smattering of bullet points that have been put together for a marketing document,” Liberal Leader Iain Rankin told reporters Friday. “A plan would have specific timelines on how they are going to action new items, so I’m very underwhelmed.” Health officials, however, said Friday they intend to establish benchmarks for such things as doctor recruitment and patient wait-lists for surgeries by early summer. But NDP health critic Susan Leblanc said that isn’t good enough. “This plan came out three weeks late … and now we’re told that we need to wait again for benchmarks and targets,” Leblanc said. “There’s nothing new … there are action words but there’s nothing to make them immediate.” The Tories were elected last August largely on a single-issue campaign of addressing problems in health care. On Friday, Premier Tim Houston was adamant his government’s plan will give “structure” to what needs to be done to improve the system. (The Canadian Press)
The Province, as part of its commitment to help address the immediate impacts of the rising cost of living, has provided The United Way of Pictou County with a grant to supply additional support to the United Way of Pictou County’s Food Security Program partners. During the week of May 2, 2022, the United Way will be processing an additional support payment of $769.23 for specific use for a previously approved United Way of Pictou County Food Security Program.
The annual National Day of Mourning, for those killed or injured as the result of workplace accidents, is this Thursday. Mary Lloyd, President of Pictou County Injured Workers Association, says true injury prevention involves the mandatory reporting of all accidents, thorough investigation of the cause of each injury and fatality, immediate remedial action by employers, and the vigorous prosecution of repeat offenders. This past year saw 20 people die as a result of workplace accidents in Nova Scotia.
Local sports:
At the U18 AAA Female Atlantic Championships in Tyne Valley, PEI, the Northern Subway Selects beat the reds out of New Brunswick 2-1 in the final. The Selects will compete for a National championship at the Esso Cup in Alberta May 16-22.
