Blogger's Note: The Annapolis Choir's concert in Annapolis Royal Friday evening had extra accompaniment to the vocal performance. Many barely muted sirens and wails and the sound of lumbering heavy vehicles told of another event taking place in the area. It was worrisome, wondering what emergency was taking place nearby, and if anyone was in peril. Indeed there was.
Valley fire victim critically burned
Landlord lauded as hero for pulling man from blaze
By MICHAEL LIGHTSTONE Staff Reporter
Sun. May 30 - 4:53 AM
A Bell Aliant technician works Saturday to repair telephone service knocked out by a house fire at 94 Old Trunk 8 in Lequille, Annapolis County, on Friday night. All that remained of the home was a pile of burnt rubble. Reports say a man who was renting the home was pulled from the flames by the owner of the property, who lives nearby. (Bill Roberts )
A burn victim is in hospital in Halifax and his landlord is being praised for pulling him out of an Annapolis County house fire Friday evening.
The victim, who is in his early 60s, is in critical condition after sustaining injuries in the blaze that destroyed the home he was renting in Lequille, an RCMP spokesman said Saturday.
Const. Dale Guy said the man was saved by his landlord, and friend, who pulled him from harm’s way at risk to his own safety.
Television news identified the rescuer as Kevin Daniels.
The officer told CTV News the dramatic rescue occurred under harsh, frightening conditions.
It happened at about 7:30 p.m. in a house at 94 Old Trunk 8.
Guy said the rescuer "quickly ran maybe 150 feet (45 metres) to the burning structure, checked inside (and) found the victim lying on the floor. Through a hail of smoke and flame (he) went inside and pulled him" from the fully engulfed home.
Daniels made it out unharmed, CTV reported.
Neighbour, Janet Berry, said it didn’t take long for the home to burn.
"The whole house was engulfed in flames — there was black smoke everywhere," Berry told CTV.
She said "for (Daniels) to actually go in there and pull him out to safety was amazing."
Another neighbour, Joanne Nash, said she lives two doors away but was at work at the time of the fire.
"When I came home from work (Friday) night there were a few fire trucks still up there and that was after midnight," she told The Chronicle Herald.
Nash said the small, two-storey house was one of the older properties in the area.
"I knew what had happened before (returning home) because you could see the fire trucks going by from where I work, and then one of the nurses that came in said the house was on fire," Nash, who works at a nursing home, said.
Guy said the victim was taken to a local hospital and then transferred to the burn unit at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre. He said the man "has severe burns to the upper portion of his body."
The victim’s name hasn’t been released by police.
Nash said remnants of the gutted home are in a debris pile at the fire scene.
"When I went by it (Saturday) morning the house was still standing, but it was totally burnt. When I came back this evening, the house was down — somebody tore it right down today."
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
( mlightstone@herald.ca)
Sunday, May 30, 2010
The EDC Says...
NS: Nova Scotia will lead nation in export growth, says EDC
By Jennifer Taplin, Metro Halifax
Source: Metro Halifax, May 27, 2010
[HALIFAX, NS] — Nova Scotia’s exports will not only rebound but outperform the rest of the country by next year, according to Export Development Canada (EDC).
The EDC is predicting a 12 per cent growth for this province’s exporters and 17 per cent growth in 2011, which is better than any other province. Nova Scotia’s exports shrunk by 26 per cent in 2009.
“Nova Scotia’s strong performance is based on improved demand from the United States, which translates into a broad-based rebound of Nova Scotia’s main export sectors including natural gas, fish, tires, and newsprint,” said Peter Hall, EDC’s chief economist, in a release yesterday. “Natural gas exports in particular will drive the province’s exceptional export growth in 2011.”
He’s predicting the energy sector will grow 21 per cent this year and a whopping 57 per cent in 2011.
But this province’s biggest export sector remains agrifood, which has less impressive growth numbers (two per cent in 2010 and eight per cent in 2011).
“Although EDC does not anticipate a dramatic rebound in prices for lobster or crab, ground fish, herring and shrimp stocks have remained stable and crab has increased,” Hall said.
Earlier this month, Clearwater Seafoods reported first-quarter sales of $62.7 million. The company, one of the big exporters in the HRM, said strong volumes, price increases and lower costs helped to offset the impact of a high Canadian dollar.
It should also be a busy year for the Michelin plant in Waterville. Hall said high sales activity together with low inventory levels will drive demand for tire exports.
“As a result, we expect the Michelin plant should operate at full capacity starting this year,” he said.
Growth on the rise:
• Canadian exports are expected to grow by 11 per cent in 2010 and 7.6 per cent in 2011.
• National economic growth is expected to hit 2.5 per cent growth this year and 2.9 per cent next year.
• Globally, economies are expected to grow by 3.7.
By Jennifer Taplin, Metro Halifax
Source: Metro Halifax, May 27, 2010
[HALIFAX, NS] — Nova Scotia’s exports will not only rebound but outperform the rest of the country by next year, according to Export Development Canada (EDC).
The EDC is predicting a 12 per cent growth for this province’s exporters and 17 per cent growth in 2011, which is better than any other province. Nova Scotia’s exports shrunk by 26 per cent in 2009.
“Nova Scotia’s strong performance is based on improved demand from the United States, which translates into a broad-based rebound of Nova Scotia’s main export sectors including natural gas, fish, tires, and newsprint,” said Peter Hall, EDC’s chief economist, in a release yesterday. “Natural gas exports in particular will drive the province’s exceptional export growth in 2011.”
He’s predicting the energy sector will grow 21 per cent this year and a whopping 57 per cent in 2011.
But this province’s biggest export sector remains agrifood, which has less impressive growth numbers (two per cent in 2010 and eight per cent in 2011).
“Although EDC does not anticipate a dramatic rebound in prices for lobster or crab, ground fish, herring and shrimp stocks have remained stable and crab has increased,” Hall said.
Earlier this month, Clearwater Seafoods reported first-quarter sales of $62.7 million. The company, one of the big exporters in the HRM, said strong volumes, price increases and lower costs helped to offset the impact of a high Canadian dollar.
It should also be a busy year for the Michelin plant in Waterville. Hall said high sales activity together with low inventory levels will drive demand for tire exports.
“As a result, we expect the Michelin plant should operate at full capacity starting this year,” he said.
Growth on the rise:
• Canadian exports are expected to grow by 11 per cent in 2010 and 7.6 per cent in 2011.
• National economic growth is expected to hit 2.5 per cent growth this year and 2.9 per cent next year.
• Globally, economies are expected to grow by 3.7.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Deforestation Prevention Funding
Rich countries pledge $4B to stop deforestation
By IAN MacDOUGALL (AP) – 2 days ago
OSLO, Norway — Developed nations pledged more than $4 billion Thursday to finance a program meant to help poor countries protect their forests and slow global warming.
An agency monitoring the aid will be up and running before U.N. climate talks start in Cancun, Mexico, later this year, the European Union's climate commissioner said at a conference on deforestation in Oslo.
Also, Indonesia agreed to a two-year moratorium on issuing new permits for forest destruction as part of a $1 billion deal with Norway that would pay Indonesia a fixed sum per ton of CO2 emissions reduced through rain forest preservation. Norway has had a similar deal with Brazil since the mid-1990s.
Deforestation, the burning of woodlands or the rotting of felled trees, is thought to account for up to 20 percent of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere — as much as is emitted by all the world's cars, trucks, trains, planes and ships combined.
The new program — called REDD Plus, for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation — will encourage rich nations to voluntarily finance forest-protecting projects while coordinating that aid to avoid waste and ensure transparency.
It was approved — but not implemented — at the U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December.
In Oslo, Germany, France, Norway, the U.S., Britain, Australia and Japan pledged $4 billion to finance REDD Plus through 2012, with Denmark and Sweden adding $73 million more to the effort on Thursday.
The new monitoring agency would oversee individual agreements between countries to fight deforestation and educate local populations who live off forests — estimated at more than 1 billion worldwide — to do so in a sustainable way.
EU climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard said the new agency, and a comprehensive database that will help streamline aid combating deforestation, were tangible results that would build momentum in climate talks ahead of the Cancun summit.
Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the new agency would "decrease a trust deficit" that has stymied progress in wider climate talks, as wealthy countries express concern about how aid money is used in poor nations.
"Forests are worth more dead than alive. Today we commit to change that equation," said Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, who was co-chairing the conference with the Indonesia president.
A political agreement at the U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen last year called for warming to be kept from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by 2020 — which scientists say could trigger a climate catastrophe. But the Copenhagen conference disappointed many in failing to produce a legally binding deal for countries to limit emissions.
Thursday's meeting was the last on REDD Plus planned before Cancun, with work now starting on establishing the agency's infrastructure.
Britain's Prince Charles agreed that transparency was key in brokering a binding global climate agreement.
"In this period of increased stringency, governments will need to know that every dollar made available will be spent wisely in order to avoid any unnecessary duplication," he said in a speech.
While the $4 billion is only two-thirds of the $6 billion Brazilian Environment Minister Carlos Minc said he hoped would be in place by the Oslo conference, environmentalists said it was a good start for the fledgling program.
"For early phases, the kind of money we're talking about is probably sufficient," said Mark Tercek, the head of U.S. conservation group the Nature Conservancy.
Greenpeace welcomed the pledges of financing but warned that it remains unclear how the funds will be spent.
The funding so far comes exclusively from government budgets, and Stoltenberg called for "voluntary contributions" from private sector and industry players. He also said that ultimately "the most important source of money will be carbon pricing" — from carbon trading and carbon taxation schemes.
About 32 million acres (13 million hectares) of forests are cut down each year — an area about the size of England or New York state — and the emissions generated are comparable to those of China and the United States, according to the independent U.K. Eliasch Review on forest loss.
By IAN MacDOUGALL (AP) – 2 days ago
OSLO, Norway — Developed nations pledged more than $4 billion Thursday to finance a program meant to help poor countries protect their forests and slow global warming.
An agency monitoring the aid will be up and running before U.N. climate talks start in Cancun, Mexico, later this year, the European Union's climate commissioner said at a conference on deforestation in Oslo.
Also, Indonesia agreed to a two-year moratorium on issuing new permits for forest destruction as part of a $1 billion deal with Norway that would pay Indonesia a fixed sum per ton of CO2 emissions reduced through rain forest preservation. Norway has had a similar deal with Brazil since the mid-1990s.
Deforestation, the burning of woodlands or the rotting of felled trees, is thought to account for up to 20 percent of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere — as much as is emitted by all the world's cars, trucks, trains, planes and ships combined.
The new program — called REDD Plus, for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation — will encourage rich nations to voluntarily finance forest-protecting projects while coordinating that aid to avoid waste and ensure transparency.
It was approved — but not implemented — at the U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December.
In Oslo, Germany, France, Norway, the U.S., Britain, Australia and Japan pledged $4 billion to finance REDD Plus through 2012, with Denmark and Sweden adding $73 million more to the effort on Thursday.
The new monitoring agency would oversee individual agreements between countries to fight deforestation and educate local populations who live off forests — estimated at more than 1 billion worldwide — to do so in a sustainable way.
EU climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard said the new agency, and a comprehensive database that will help streamline aid combating deforestation, were tangible results that would build momentum in climate talks ahead of the Cancun summit.
Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the new agency would "decrease a trust deficit" that has stymied progress in wider climate talks, as wealthy countries express concern about how aid money is used in poor nations.
"Forests are worth more dead than alive. Today we commit to change that equation," said Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, who was co-chairing the conference with the Indonesia president.
A political agreement at the U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen last year called for warming to be kept from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by 2020 — which scientists say could trigger a climate catastrophe. But the Copenhagen conference disappointed many in failing to produce a legally binding deal for countries to limit emissions.
Thursday's meeting was the last on REDD Plus planned before Cancun, with work now starting on establishing the agency's infrastructure.
Britain's Prince Charles agreed that transparency was key in brokering a binding global climate agreement.
"In this period of increased stringency, governments will need to know that every dollar made available will be spent wisely in order to avoid any unnecessary duplication," he said in a speech.
While the $4 billion is only two-thirds of the $6 billion Brazilian Environment Minister Carlos Minc said he hoped would be in place by the Oslo conference, environmentalists said it was a good start for the fledgling program.
"For early phases, the kind of money we're talking about is probably sufficient," said Mark Tercek, the head of U.S. conservation group the Nature Conservancy.
Greenpeace welcomed the pledges of financing but warned that it remains unclear how the funds will be spent.
The funding so far comes exclusively from government budgets, and Stoltenberg called for "voluntary contributions" from private sector and industry players. He also said that ultimately "the most important source of money will be carbon pricing" — from carbon trading and carbon taxation schemes.
About 32 million acres (13 million hectares) of forests are cut down each year — an area about the size of England or New York state — and the emissions generated are comparable to those of China and the United States, according to the independent U.K. Eliasch Review on forest loss.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Quarry Expansion
NS: Municipal Enterprises faces backlash over quarry expansion
By Christy Marsters, Transcontinental Media
Source: The Hants Journal, May 26, 2010
[HANTS CO., NS] — Earlier this year, Panuke Road residents received notification of a proposed extension of a nearby quarry.
Municipal Enterprises Limited plans to combine the existing Panuke Quarry with the operations of a Hants County Aggregates Quarry Project increasing the size of the existing four-hectare quarry to nearly 14 hectares.
Municipal Enterprises’ David Clifton says the desired extension will begin, “as needed, upon approval.”
He says measures to protect the environment and community around Panuke Road will be taken “as required by environment department and as need arises.”
Panuke Quarry — Hants Journal Photo
According to a project information sheet provided by Municipal Enterprises, an environmental registration document — currently being prepared by environment consulting firm Stantec Consulting — will minimize the environmental effects of the project with appropriate mitigation and monitoring.
Elements to be evaluated in this document include: surface water resources; rare and sensitive flora; wetlands; groundwater resources; socio–economic environment; archaeological and heritage resources; wildlife; atmospheric environment, including considerations of dust and noise.
Panuke Road resident Garth Hazel says safety and lifestyle are already being interrupted by these quarries.
The community has put up with the noise, dust, dirt, fumes, trucks and pollution long enough, Hazel says.
“I do not think it should be allowed to continue unless [concerns] are addressed.”
There are no sidewalks on the shoulders of the narrow road, half paved and half dirt, he says. “I can’t open my window without dust and fumes from the trucks getting in.”
At one time, the road handled only local traffic and, occasionally, people going back and forth to the lake, Hazel adds.
“I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else , but, with all of these trucks going now, I might as well live in Halifax.”
Watershed protection should be considered a concern as well, he says.
“As of now, the water is fine but over time pollution builds up and we are going to have to have to pay for it in the end.”
At Panuke Road Recreation Park, not far from Panuke Quarry, there is a basketball court, a baseball field and a small playground.
Nobody wants kids traveling up and down the road though… it’s so dangerous, Hazel says. “From 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. trucks and trailers are constantly hauling. It’s driving the values of our homes down and down.”
A petition with over 200 names on it proves a high percentage of residents don’t want the quarries expanded, Hazel adds.
“Nobody, in any other community, would accept it. There’s been no consideration for people living in this area.”
Warden Richard Dauphinee says a letter was sent off to the Minister of Environment, shortly after April 13, to address safety issues on Panuke Road.
These properties are on a narrow street and a lot of the buildings are set close to the road, Dauphinee says.
“We could set up an area rate, but then they’d end up paying for their sidewalks and that’s not really fair,” he says.
“The municipality is trying to represent the people and I’ll take their side on this issue. It is up to the provincial government to do something here; it’s just getting worse and worse.”
A liaison committee should be established between the company and community, to improve communications, he says.
“It’s frustrating. The residents just want somebody to talk to.”
By Christy Marsters, Transcontinental Media
Source: The Hants Journal, May 26, 2010
[HANTS CO., NS] — Earlier this year, Panuke Road residents received notification of a proposed extension of a nearby quarry.
Municipal Enterprises Limited plans to combine the existing Panuke Quarry with the operations of a Hants County Aggregates Quarry Project increasing the size of the existing four-hectare quarry to nearly 14 hectares.
Municipal Enterprises’ David Clifton says the desired extension will begin, “as needed, upon approval.”
He says measures to protect the environment and community around Panuke Road will be taken “as required by environment department and as need arises.”
Panuke Quarry — Hants Journal Photo
According to a project information sheet provided by Municipal Enterprises, an environmental registration document — currently being prepared by environment consulting firm Stantec Consulting — will minimize the environmental effects of the project with appropriate mitigation and monitoring.
Elements to be evaluated in this document include: surface water resources; rare and sensitive flora; wetlands; groundwater resources; socio–economic environment; archaeological and heritage resources; wildlife; atmospheric environment, including considerations of dust and noise.
Panuke Road resident Garth Hazel says safety and lifestyle are already being interrupted by these quarries.
The community has put up with the noise, dust, dirt, fumes, trucks and pollution long enough, Hazel says.
“I do not think it should be allowed to continue unless [concerns] are addressed.”
There are no sidewalks on the shoulders of the narrow road, half paved and half dirt, he says. “I can’t open my window without dust and fumes from the trucks getting in.”
At one time, the road handled only local traffic and, occasionally, people going back and forth to the lake, Hazel adds.
“I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else , but, with all of these trucks going now, I might as well live in Halifax.”
Watershed protection should be considered a concern as well, he says.
“As of now, the water is fine but over time pollution builds up and we are going to have to have to pay for it in the end.”
At Panuke Road Recreation Park, not far from Panuke Quarry, there is a basketball court, a baseball field and a small playground.
Nobody wants kids traveling up and down the road though… it’s so dangerous, Hazel says. “From 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. trucks and trailers are constantly hauling. It’s driving the values of our homes down and down.”
A petition with over 200 names on it proves a high percentage of residents don’t want the quarries expanded, Hazel adds.
“Nobody, in any other community, would accept it. There’s been no consideration for people living in this area.”
Warden Richard Dauphinee says a letter was sent off to the Minister of Environment, shortly after April 13, to address safety issues on Panuke Road.
These properties are on a narrow street and a lot of the buildings are set close to the road, Dauphinee says.
“We could set up an area rate, but then they’d end up paying for their sidewalks and that’s not really fair,” he says.
“The municipality is trying to represent the people and I’ll take their side on this issue. It is up to the provincial government to do something here; it’s just getting worse and worse.”
A liaison committee should be established between the company and community, to improve communications, he says.
“It’s frustrating. The residents just want somebody to talk to.”
Labels:
Quarry Panuke Hants
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Promotion Opportunities
Marketing Update from DSWNA!
In This Issue:
DSWNA Marketing & Media Plan 2010-11, Booking Form
Explore Our Shores Advertising Campaign
2010-11 DSWNA Strategic Highlights
2010-11 DSWNA Advertising Campaign
Atlantic Market
Travel/Trade Market & Media
Consumer Events & Trade Shows
Dot-com Markets
NS Tourism Media Plan 2010
Municipal & Community Pages on dswna.com
Visitor Information Centre brochure distribution - deadline Friday June 4th
Chronicle Herald Opportunities
Where to Guide
Nova Scotia this Summer
Share Nova Scotia Favourites
2010 Newspaper Advertising Program
novascotia.com - advertising opportunities
Adventures in Taste: How you can Participate! Visit their website for more information
* Please note: all invoices will be submitted to partners via email where possible
Brochure distribution at regional and local Visitor Information Centres
Current partners of DSWNA are able to have their brochures delivered to the 25 visitor information centres in the region. You'll notice on the partnership form that the deadline for the first distribution (June) is Friday June 4th so please arrange to have your brochures at the Kentville VIC/DSWNA satellite office (341 Main St. Kentville) or at the Lunenburg office (18 Dufferin St) by this date. The second distribution deadline is Tuesday July 20th. The cost for parters is $25. Please contact abartram@dswna.com or call (902) 678-1728 if you have any questions.
Top of page
Municipal & Community Pages - content needed
As part of our ongoing work to refresh our website content and provide visitors with the most accurate and up to date information, we are revamping all existing community pages and creating new Municipality Pages for the "Explore The Area" section of the Destination website.
We encourage each community, town and municipality in the region to gather together a handful of images, including crests and logos and a few paragraphs of text that best describes the most important and interesting aspects of your area, and to send them to Kevin Estey at kestey@dswna.com, to be included in this refresh.
Top of page
In This Issue:
DSWNA Marketing & Media Plan 2010-11, Booking Form
Explore Our Shores Advertising Campaign
2010-11 DSWNA Strategic Highlights
2010-11 DSWNA Advertising Campaign
Atlantic Market
Travel/Trade Market & Media
Consumer Events & Trade Shows
Dot-com Markets
NS Tourism Media Plan 2010
Municipal & Community Pages on dswna.com
Visitor Information Centre brochure distribution - deadline Friday June 4th
Chronicle Herald Opportunities
Where to Guide
Nova Scotia this Summer
Share Nova Scotia Favourites
2010 Newspaper Advertising Program
novascotia.com - advertising opportunities
Adventures in Taste: How you can Participate! Visit their website for more information
* Please note: all invoices will be submitted to partners via email where possible
Brochure distribution at regional and local Visitor Information Centres
Current partners of DSWNA are able to have their brochures delivered to the 25 visitor information centres in the region. You'll notice on the partnership form that the deadline for the first distribution (June) is Friday June 4th so please arrange to have your brochures at the Kentville VIC/DSWNA satellite office (341 Main St. Kentville) or at the Lunenburg office (18 Dufferin St) by this date. The second distribution deadline is Tuesday July 20th. The cost for parters is $25. Please contact abartram@dswna.com or call (902) 678-1728 if you have any questions.
Top of page
Municipal & Community Pages - content needed
As part of our ongoing work to refresh our website content and provide visitors with the most accurate and up to date information, we are revamping all existing community pages and creating new Municipality Pages for the "Explore The Area" section of the Destination website.
We encourage each community, town and municipality in the region to gather together a handful of images, including crests and logos and a few paragraphs of text that best describes the most important and interesting aspects of your area, and to send them to Kevin Estey at kestey@dswna.com, to be included in this refresh.
Top of page
Labels:
DSWNA tourism nova scotia
Water Levels Low
N.S. dry spring equals low lakes
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 | 9:35 AM AT Comments14Recommend6CBC News
A record hot and dry spring in Nova Scotia means that the province's more than 5,100 lakes are getting low already.
Mike Taylor, who walks his dog regularly at Long Lake in Halifax, has noticed the drop.
"I haven't seen it this low ever before, and I've been coming here for years - six or seven years. For this time of year, it's pretty amazing how low it is," he said Tuesday.
According to Environment Canada, 2010 has so far been the driest year on record in the Maritimes.
For example, Halifax's Stanfield International Airport has received barely one half of its normal rain and snow. At the same time, the average temperatures were between one and three degrees above normal.
The province doesn't monitor water levels in rivers and lakes, but Dave Doggett of novascotiafishing.com can see the difference.
"It's the lowest I've ever seen in my 25 years of angling," Doggett said.
Many municipalities in Nova Scotia, including Halifax Regional Municipality, draw their drinking water from lakes.
Carl Yates, general manager of Halifax Water, said dams are so far keeping the utility's reservoir topped up.
"Right now, our lakes are full. We're not spilling anything, but we don't spill if we don't have to at this time of year to make sure we start the season full to the gunwales. And, right now, we're full to the gunwales," Yates said.
He said dry years are all part of the natural cycle. But, if there were several back-to-back dry years, the public could face more aggressive conservation measures.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/05/26/ns-lakes-water-low.html#ixzz0pAvdzHwn
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 | 9:35 AM AT Comments14Recommend6CBC News
A record hot and dry spring in Nova Scotia means that the province's more than 5,100 lakes are getting low already.
Mike Taylor, who walks his dog regularly at Long Lake in Halifax, has noticed the drop.
"I haven't seen it this low ever before, and I've been coming here for years - six or seven years. For this time of year, it's pretty amazing how low it is," he said Tuesday.
According to Environment Canada, 2010 has so far been the driest year on record in the Maritimes.
For example, Halifax's Stanfield International Airport has received barely one half of its normal rain and snow. At the same time, the average temperatures were between one and three degrees above normal.
The province doesn't monitor water levels in rivers and lakes, but Dave Doggett of novascotiafishing.com can see the difference.
"It's the lowest I've ever seen in my 25 years of angling," Doggett said.
Many municipalities in Nova Scotia, including Halifax Regional Municipality, draw their drinking water from lakes.
Carl Yates, general manager of Halifax Water, said dams are so far keeping the utility's reservoir topped up.
"Right now, our lakes are full. We're not spilling anything, but we don't spill if we don't have to at this time of year to make sure we start the season full to the gunwales. And, right now, we're full to the gunwales," Yates said.
He said dry years are all part of the natural cycle. But, if there were several back-to-back dry years, the public could face more aggressive conservation measures.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/05/26/ns-lakes-water-low.html#ixzz0pAvdzHwn
Labels:
water Nova Scotia climate
SWSDA Under Fire
Report blasts south shore authority
Proper accounting procedures not followed at SWSDA
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 | 6:14 PM AT
CBC News
The report criticized the way CEO Frank Anderson's organization was run. (SWSDA) An audit firm hired by the Nova Scotia government has found serious deficiencies at the South West Shore Development Authority.
Ernst and Young's report was released Wednesday. It suggests there was little control over the way CEO Frank Anderson ran the authority and another group, the Yarmouth Area Industrial Commission.
Ernst and Young said the board of directors had no clear mandate, lacked key skills and had little information on which to base decisions.
The authority is a regional development agency that represents nine towns, including Yarmouth and Shelburne.
The 73-page document examined the administration of the regional development authority from January 2008 to February 2010, the sale of the Shelburne Youth Centre and the relationship with the Yarmouth Area Industrial Commission.
The province was the authority's biggest funding partner.
Percy Paris, the minister of economic development, briefed reporters about the audit Wednesday afternoon.
"The question is, are taxpayers out of money? And I would say no, not that we know of," he said.
"However, having said that, is there still monies that are owed people in Yarmouth? Absolutely. Proper accounting procedures were not followed."
$500,000 missing
The report found the board of the organization didn't have the necessary skills or information to oversee the running of the development authority.
Paris said those who are owed money should sue the authority to try to recoup their losses.
The government audited the authority's books after irregularities in their accounting procedures were found by the Ombudsman's office.
Neal Conrad, executive director of community and rural development, says the authority owes or cannot account for close to $500,000.
"Board effectiveness and oversight needs significant improvement and immediate attention," the report states.
It calls for the hiring of a board advisor to help implement the report's recommendations.
Those recommendations include the creation of a board mandate, a code of conduct and a CEO position description. It also urges the board to develop executive policies that clearly set out the parameters in which the CEO can operate.
"The board has started the process of reviewing this report and has already started to act on these findings," said Phil LeBlanc, chairman of the South West Shore Development Authority.
Proper accounting procedures not followed at SWSDA
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 | 6:14 PM AT
CBC News
The report criticized the way CEO Frank Anderson's organization was run. (SWSDA) An audit firm hired by the Nova Scotia government has found serious deficiencies at the South West Shore Development Authority.
Ernst and Young's report was released Wednesday. It suggests there was little control over the way CEO Frank Anderson ran the authority and another group, the Yarmouth Area Industrial Commission.
Ernst and Young said the board of directors had no clear mandate, lacked key skills and had little information on which to base decisions.
The authority is a regional development agency that represents nine towns, including Yarmouth and Shelburne.
The 73-page document examined the administration of the regional development authority from January 2008 to February 2010, the sale of the Shelburne Youth Centre and the relationship with the Yarmouth Area Industrial Commission.
The province was the authority's biggest funding partner.
Percy Paris, the minister of economic development, briefed reporters about the audit Wednesday afternoon.
"The question is, are taxpayers out of money? And I would say no, not that we know of," he said.
"However, having said that, is there still monies that are owed people in Yarmouth? Absolutely. Proper accounting procedures were not followed."
$500,000 missing
The report found the board of the organization didn't have the necessary skills or information to oversee the running of the development authority.
Paris said those who are owed money should sue the authority to try to recoup their losses.
The government audited the authority's books after irregularities in their accounting procedures were found by the Ombudsman's office.
Neal Conrad, executive director of community and rural development, says the authority owes or cannot account for close to $500,000.
"Board effectiveness and oversight needs significant improvement and immediate attention," the report states.
It calls for the hiring of a board advisor to help implement the report's recommendations.
Those recommendations include the creation of a board mandate, a code of conduct and a CEO position description. It also urges the board to develop executive policies that clearly set out the parameters in which the CEO can operate.
"The board has started the process of reviewing this report and has already started to act on these findings," said Phil LeBlanc, chairman of the South West Shore Development Authority.
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Southwest Shore SWSDA
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