The Town of Antigonish’s smoke free area bylaw is being put on-hold for another month. During town council’s regular monthly meeting Monday evening, council decided, due to the absence of councillor Willie Cormier (who had work related commitments) and their desire to meet as a group to discuss the community health impact assessment (CHIA) regarding the proposed bylaw, it will be next month’s council meeting before a decision will be [...]

Students at Antigonish Education Centre (AEC) and St. Andrew Jr. School displayed their scientific skills Friday during fairs at their respective schools. The fairs are in preparation for the annual regional science fair which will be held March 26 to 28 at the Civic Centre in Port Hawkesbury. “It’s a tremendous experience for the students,” Mike Hinchy, fair organizer and teacher at St. Andrew Jr. School, said. He said it [...]

Central Nova MP and Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay was amongst the dignitaries in Dartmouth last week for the formal announcement of the Atlantic Shipbuilding Action Plan. The plan is billed as focusing on maximizing opportunities for firms across the Atlantic region to participate in the $33 billion federal shipbuilding initiative announced late in 2011. MacKay joined fellow Minister Bernard Valcourt and CEO of Irving Shipbuilding Inc. Jim Irving [...]

The $16.8 million contract for the completion of the eight kilometer phase 1 section of Highway 104 construction from Addington Forks to east of Beech Hill Road, has been awarded to Dexter Construction. Project manager Sheena Sampson said the announcement is in regards to the paving and she expects a starting time around May 1 with a scheduled completion date of Oct. 31, 2012. Sampson said the contract for phase [...]

At the Feb. 15 working committee of the Strait Regional School Board (SRSB) the board passed a draft report to the department of education regarding the educational business plan priorities for 2012-13. The department expects all provincial school boards to provide a draft outline regarding predicted board expenditures in the next fiscal year by March 9. The board was also presented study committee clarifications for two schools being considered for [...]

SOS. Save Our School posters were held high during a community meeting held in Heatherton last Thursday evening. The Rev. H. J. MacDonald School is being considered for closure given declining student numbers and reduced school board funding. The superintendent of schools Jack Beaton along with board administration staff and most of the board members (First Nations representative Jason Bernard was absent) were present to address questions or concerns that [...]

A dozen St. F. X. education students are headed to Bergen, Norway next month after some active fundraising over the last two months. Laura Patterson, one of the dozen students headed to the Scandinavian country, noted that they had their first fundraiser back in October before knowing where their teaching practicum would occur. All will be teaching at different kindergarten and elementary schools in the city. Education student Maria MacMillan [...]

Food. It plays a big role in everyone’s lives. For some food and emotions can be battling against each other. Called emotional eating it could be best described as an epidemic in western society. Bombarded with images of thin celebrities along with a barrage of food ads, women, and especially young girls, feel pressured to attain a body ideal in their mind. For those whose eating behaviours are driven by [...]

The man charged with second degree murder in the death of Jonathan Beaton pled guilty to manslaughter Monday morning. Robert Harris Lamb, 22, entered the plea in a courtroom at the Pictou Justice Centre nine days into his trail for the Jan. 1, 2010, stabbing death of the Southside Harbour native. “There were ongoing discussions, yes, that would be fair to say,” Darlene Oko, Crown attorney, said Monday afternoon in [...]

A more than five-hour closure of the Canso Causeway highlighted a winter storm that lashed north-eastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton overnight Friday and for much of Saturday. The storm dropped 20 to 30 or more centimetres of snow in some areas, along with power outages and traffic interruptions. The span connecting Cape Breton and mainland Nova Scotia closed at approximately 4:30 Saturday afternoon when an 18-wheeler jack-knifed, landing across [...]

The executive director of a live-in addictions recovery facility for adult men in Frenchvale, Cape Breton, has been placed on a leave of absence pending a review of a complaint against him. Father Paul Abbass has served in the position at Talbot House for more than 17 years. “It is an unfortunate and challenging situation for all involved,” Dr. John Gainer, Talbot House board chair, said in a Feb. 16 [...]

[Editor's note - Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 2 p.m: According to the Evening News in New Glasgow, Chris Rogers testified Wednesday morning that he saw Jonathan Beaton get stabbed. When asked if the person was in the courtroom, Rogers identified Lamb. He said Beaton was stabbed twice in the abdomen. After telling RCMP officers he had seen Beaton being stabbed, Rogers was given a series of photos and asked to [...]

The word ‘miracle’ gets thrown around pretty casually these days but for Antigonish’s Toni Mattie, it’s exactly that right word. “Having the second liver, having the second surgery, that would classify as a miracle,” Toni said last Thursday from her husband Earl’s hospital room at the Victoria General (VG) Hospital in Halifax. Earl, suffering from sclerosis of the liver followed by cancer, went to the VG late last month to [...]

Crosswalk safety. That was the most universal issue coming out of the three community information gathering sessions on policing held last week in Antigonish town and county. There were supposed to be four meetings but one scheduled for the Four Valley Fire Hall in Maryvale produced no public turnout. The other three meetings, all held Feb. 8 at 7 p.m., were held at the Antigonish Town Hall, Heatherton Parish Hall [...]

Contributions may have slowed down over time but Jeff Orr, trustee for the Memorial Trust Fund for the Children of Ottilia Chareka, said the support shown by the community has been “overwhelming.” Ottilia Chareka, a popular education professor at St. F.X., died last March leaving behind five daughters. “We’re just so thankful for everything,” Orr, who shares trustee duties with Mary Jane MacDonald and Joe Amoako-Tuffour, said. “The warmth, care [...]

February is Heart Month and a full community room, at the People’s Place Library Thursday night, heard how they can help their health with a little lifestyle adjustment. The words came from St. F.X. human kinetics professor Roy Rasmussen and his presentation titled Don’t Slouch on the Couch: Be Active, Be Healthy. Rasmussen said he was pleased to have the opportunity to give the talk and happy to see a [...]

St. F.X. business students and the general public had the opportunity to hear from a woman who, through her business, is helping marginalized communities and disenfranchised youth in her native Jamaica. Beverley Morgan, head of the Competitiveness Company, was at the Coady Institute last week as a mentor for the global change leaders program for women. She said Linda Jones, manager of the Coady’s International Centre for Women’s Leadership, asked [...]

Carrondale Farm of St. Andrews has won a first for a Nova Scotia dairy farm. The farm was awarded its 25th Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia Excellence award. Allister and his wife Mary McCarron have been running the family farm since 1979 though McCarron was working with his father from 1975 until taking the farm over four years later. Brian Cameron, manager with the Dairy Farms of Nova Scotia organization [...]