Town of Bridgewater
60 Pleasant St B4V 3X9 Bridgewater, NS, Canada

WATERMAIN BREAK -- ST. PHILLIPS STREET There is a watermain break on St. Phillips Street this morning, affecting residents on St. Phillips Street, from the intersection with Victoria Road to civic 76 on St. Phillips Street. Crews are currently on site and are hoping to restore water service by the end of day today. We appreciate your patience and understanding and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

WINTERACTIVE BRIDGEWATER -- SNOWMAN BUILDING CONTEST! Celebrate winter this year by making an awesome snowman and while you're at it enter to win some great prizes!! Multiple entries will be accepted. The contest will run from January 4 through March 31, 2021. Categories include: Best Traditional Snowman, Best Snow Creature, Tallest Snowman, and Most Creative Use of Accessories!... To participate, please submit photos of your snowman to [email protected] any time between now and the closing day of the contest. Make sure to include which category you're entering! There's a bit of snow out there today ... let's see what you can create!

TRAFFIC NOTICE -- ST. ANDREWS STREET Please be advised, on behalf of Nova Scotia Power, that the following section of street will be closed to traffic to facilitate power utility pole repair: ST. ANDREWS STREET, from Dufferin St. to Maple St., on Tuesday, January 5, until approximately 5:00 p.m.... This section of street will be closed to traffic until work is complete. Local traffic only will be permitted. The Town of Bridgewater regrets any inconvenience caused to residents and businesses. For a map of the work area, please visit www.bridgewater.ca/roads.

Centennial Trail -- Bridgewater, January 2021

THE BEST KIND OF ASSIST They may not be on the ice right now, but they sure are knee-deep in snow! A huge thanks to the members of the South Shore Lumberjacks Junior A hockey team who are chipping in with a little post-storm clean up around fire hydrants in Bridgewater today. Residents who are able to do so and wish to help out after a snow storm are welcome to lend a hand by shovelling around fire hydrants -- it eases the burden on our Public Works staff and allows for quick access for emergency responders in the event of a fire. If you're able to do so, please consider "adopting-a-hydrant" near you!

TRAFFIC & WATER NOTICE -- MURRAY DRIVE & CHURCHILL STREET >>> TRAFFIC NOTICE Please be advised, the following section of street will be closed to traffic to facilitate repair to fire hydrant gate valve near 58 Murray Dr:... MURRAY DRIVE, from Churchill St to Nauss Ave., and CHURCHILL STREET, from Empire St to Murray Dr., on Tuesday, January 5, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Rain date: Wednesday, 6 January 2021 same time.) This section of street will be closed to through traffic until work is complete. Local traffic only will be permitted. >>> WATER NOTICE THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OF BRIDGEWATER may shut off the water for approximately three (3) hours to repair a gate valve in the area of: MURRAY DRIVE, from 35 Murray Dr. to Empire St., on Tuesday, January 5, between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Rain date: Wednesday, 6 January 2021 ~ same time.) After work is complete and water pressure resumes to normal, we ask customers to flush water taps for 5 to 10 minutes should they experience any air or discoloured water. We regret any inconvenience this may cause our customers. The Town of Bridgewater regrets any inconvenience caused to residents and businesses. For a detailed map of the work area, please visit www.bridgewater.ca/roads.

BRIDGEWATER TRANSIT ALERT >>> ROUTE CHANGE As a result of the watermain break on north LaHave Street, Bridgewater Transit's route has been modified until further notice as follows: Transit will proceed on North Street to the Cookville Irving, turning around at that location. The bus will then return southbound along North Street, turning down Aberdeen Road, and reconnecting with its route at Veterans Memorial Bridge.... We regret any inconvenience this may cause.

The Regular Meeting of Bridgewater Town Council for November 23, 2020.

MUSEUM CLOSURE NEXT WEEK Just sharing a brief note from our staff at DesBrisay Museum that their site will be closed to the public from January 4 to 8 as work begins on the first phase of the upcoming Permanent Gallery Renewal. Stay tuned for more info in the weeks to come!

BRIDGEWATER OFFICIALLY WELCOMES NEW BUSES Mayor David Mitchell and the Honourable Mark Furey MLA for Lunenburg West and Minister of Justice, officially welcomed Bridgewater's two new public transit buses at a brief ribbon-cutting earlier this afternoon. ABOUT THE BUSES... The two new buses symbolize the commitment that the Town has made to transit service going forward. After providing more than 50,000 rides in its first two years of operation, it became clear that transit service was essential for Bridgewater’s residents. In April of 2020, Town Council committed about $430,000 to purchase the two brand-new buses. The Town received substantial grant support from the Department of Communities, Culture, and Heritage ($350,000) and from the Public Transit Assistance Program ($50,000) to assist in the purchase of the new buses. It took about six months for the vehicles to be built by contractor Western Canada Bus, and they were delivered to the town about a month ahead of schedule. The buses went into operation on Saturday, November 21. The new buses will represent a positive change for Bridgewater Transit’s riders. Those who struggled with the stairs at the front of the old bus, or had to use the lift at the back, will now be able to board easily at the front of the bus thanks to a lower floor and an automated ramp that lowers down to the curb for easy access. On board, riders will find a hand sanitizer station, 18 comfortable seats and plenty of room to manoeuvre. There is also extra standing room with handles to hold on to for stability, so although the buses are physically a bit smaller, there’s lots of room for everyone! Perhaps most importantly, the new buses will provide a much smoother and much quieter ride than the generation-old buses that have been the backbone of our service over the last three years. MORE GOOD NEWS FOR TRANSIT RIDERS It's now become a holiday tradition -- once again in 2020, Bridgewater's transit riders will get to enjoy some free rides and extra access to service over the next six weeks. >>> Beginning this Sunday, November 29, and continuing on December 6, 13, and 20 -- each of the Sundays leading up to Christmas -- Bridgewater Transit will have FREE Sunday service from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. thanks to an extremely generous sponsorship by the LaHave River Credit Union Ltd. >>> Then, during Boxing Week, Bridgewater Transit service will also be free to all riders on December 28, 29, 30, and 31, thanks to another very generous sponsorship by the Bridgewater Area Chamber of Commerce. For more information on Bridgewater Transit, including out live transit tracker map, please visit www.bridgewater.ca/bus.

STORM ALERT >>> WASTE COLLECTION Just a reminder that waste collection will be taking place as scheduled today. Make sure to place your garbage/bins so as not to obstruct snow-clearing efforts.

TRACK THE CORMORANT For those wondering how the former HMCS Cormorant is progressing on its final voyage to Sheet Harbour, you can track its progress by following the two tugs (Atlantic Beech and Atlantic Elm) here: www.marinetraffic.com/ The image included in this post shows their position, well clear of the mouth of the river, as of about 2:20 p.m.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION MEETING On Wednesday, November 25th at 6:00PM in Town Hall there will be a Public Participation Meeting for an application to amend the Town's planning documents to permit additional commercial uses by development agreement in the Special Commercial (C8) Zone. There are 18 C8 Zone properties around town and a map can be found here https://www.bridgewater.ca//Special%20Commercial%202020.pdf. ... More information about the application can be found at www.bridgewater.ca/DA. Click on "View Details" for the Special Commercial (C8) Zone. A virtual option for the meeting is available. If you want to provide comments but not attend the meeting please use the comment form for the application (on the webpage linked above) or contact the Planner at 902-541-4386 or [email protected]. Comments will be received until December 2nd.

HAS ANYONE NOTICED? There's something different about town today -- it seems, somehow, quieter ... calmer than usual ...

DEPARTURE OF THE CORMORANT Live coverage of the departure of the former HMCS Cormorant from the Port of Bridgewater.

STORM ALERT/TRAFFIC ADVISORY >>> WATERMAIN BREAK ON NORTH LAHAVE STREET At this hour, there is a watermain break being reported on north LaHave Street near the bottom of Silvers Hill. The road is currently closed to through traffic at Elm Street and the top of LaHave Street. Beginning Friday morning, no through traffic will be permitted from the top of LaHave Street junction with Highway 10 all the way to Veterans Memorial Bridge.... This closure is expected to be in effect for at least the duration of the day on Friday. Commuters are advised to plan their travel routes accordingly. For a map of the street closure area, visit www.bridgewater.ca/roads.

TRAFFIC NOTICE -- NAFTHAL DRIVE Please be advised, on behalf of Dexter Construction Co. Ltd., the following section of street will be closed to traffic to facilitate underground infrastructure upgrades: NAFTHAL DRIVE, from Glen Allan Drive to Pinehurst Avenue, from 7:00 a.m. on Monday, November 23, until 6:00 p.m. Thursday, November 26 (24 hours/day). Subject to extension dependent on weather conditions.... This section of street will be closed to traffic until work is complete. Traffic will be detoured accordingly. Access for local traffic will be from Pinehurst Avenue. We also ask the public to note that the Nafthal Drive access to the Medical Arts building may be closed during this work. The public is advised to plan to use other parking lot entrances for that facility during work. The Town of Bridgewater regrets any inconvenience caused to residents and businesses. For a map of the work area, please visit www.bridgewater.ca/roads.

STORM ALERT >>> TOWN HALL CLOSING AT NOON Due to the impending storm, Town Hall and Town of Bridgewater public offices will be closing at 12 noon today. Likewise, the DesBrisay Museum will be closed to the public today.

Do you love sleeping in or are you an early bird? How did you spend your family outside time this holiday weekend? #LookAtYouGo #YoureDoingIt #DirectRoute southshoreconnect.ca

CORMORANT UPDATE We have been advised by Minister Jordan’s office that the Cormorant’s departure from Bridgewater has been rescheduled for around 9:55 this morning, weather dependent. We want to remind the public that we will be carrying the event here on Facebook by livestream. In the interest of public safety and physical distancing during the pandemic, we are asking folks NOT to attend in person, but to instead watch from home.

YOUR VOTE COUNTS: UPDATE Through six days of the election period, a total of 1,372 people or 19.2% of Bridgewater's electors have cast their votes. TIME IS TICKING DOWN! Have you had your say yet on who will serve on the next Bridgewater Town Council? Don't wait until the last minute! The voting period runs until 7 p.m. on Saturday.... UNSURE ABOUT HOW E-VOTING WORKS? If you need help, the staff in the Returning Office are just a phone call away. Reach them at 902-541-4389 to get assistance to cast your vote!

ENERGIZE BRIDGEWATER : RENEWABLE ENERGY Join us for this LIVE and interactive presentation as we review the results of our recent community consultation efforts regarding the future of renewable energy projects in Bridgewater!

Games, music and more.....

The Regular Meeting of Bridgewater Town Council for October 13, 2020.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Just a reminder that the deadline for applications for our Fire Inspector / Building Official position has been extended: ABOUT THE JOB As Fire Inspector, the incumbent performs duties and enforcement pertaining to fire and life safety as per Nova Scotia Fire Safety Regulations, the Nova Scotia Fire Safety Act, the National Fire Code of Canada and Chapter 18 of the Town’s Bylaws. ... As a Building Official, assists the Inspection and Facility Manager in the inspection of buildings to ensure compliance with the Nova Scotia Building Code Act, Nova Scotia Building Code Regulations, the National Building Code, the Municipal Government Act and other applicable Acts and Regulations. This position also acts as the Town’s Assistant Emergency Coordinator (AEC) for the Regional Emergency Management Organization. DEADLINE: October 30, 2020 For more info, visit www.bridgewater.ca/jobs.

YOUR VOTE COUNTS Through five days of the election period, a total of 1,170 people or 16.4% of Bridgewater's electors have cast their votes. Have you had your say yet on who will serve on the next Bridgewater Town Council? The voting period runs until 7 p.m. on October 17.... IF YOU HAVE MISPLACED YOUR VOTER INFORMATION LETTER you can still have your say. Visit www.bridgewater.ca/2020-elections or contact our Returning Office at 902-541-4389 for assistance.

TRANSIT SERVICE REMINDER There is no Bridgewater Transit service on Thanksgiving Monday. Transit service will resume, as usual, on Tuesday morning.

The Town of Bridgewater Recreation Department in partnership with DesBrisay Museum and Gale Force Theatre are delighted to present: A Tale on Two Wheels! A whimsical performance made for children ages 2-6 that's delivered by tandem bicycle! The story follows two delivery workers that are tasked with delivering the sunrise but are thrown into unknown territory when they receive a call that changes everything. There will be two performances on Saturday, October 17th, 11am and 2...pm in Woodland Gardens behind the DesBrisay Museum. Performances are 35 minutes in length. Please bring blanket or chair to sit on. Rain Date: October 24th Everyone is welcome but please keep in mind that we do need to follow COVID-19 restrictions and limitations while in an outdoor setting. Please do not come if you are feeling ill or experiencing and COVID-19 symptoms or have been exposed. Social/physical distancing will be required. There is no cost to attend this event. See more

WASTE REDUCTION WEEK Region 6 Solid Waste Management is marking Waste Reduction Week (October 19 to 25) with some informative public outreach, including a series of three webinars. Topics include: - Reducing Food Waste (October 19, 2 p.m.)... - Junk Generation: A discussion on "throw away society" and how it can be fixed (October 21, 10 a.m.) - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: NS and our disposal rate (October 23, 10 a.m.) You can preregister for each webinar for a chance to win a prize or you can just jump in on any without preregistration. For complete details, visit https://region6swm.ca/presentations/

VOTING TALLY UPDATE Through the first day of the election period, a total of 465 people or 6.5% of Bridgewater's electors have cast their votes. Have you had your say yet on who will serve on the next Bridgewater Town Council? The voting period runs until 7 p.m. on October 17.... Cast your vote online or by phone using the PIN you received in your Voter Information Letter! Need assistance or have misplaced your letter? Visit www.bridgewater.ca/2020-election to learn how to contact the Returning Office for for help!

Have you voted in the municipal election here in Bridgewater? If so, we invite you to use our "I've voted" frame to help spread the word! Voting in municipal elections is very important -- it's your chance to help choose the council members who will work to shape our community! The voting period is open until 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 17. For more information, visit www.bridgewater.ca/2020-election.

VOTING PERIOD OFFICIALLY OPEN The voting period in Bridgewater for the 2020 Municipal Election officially opened at 8 a.m. on Thursday, October 8. Using the PIN you received via your Voter Information Letter, you can cast your vote by phone or computer/tablet any time between now at 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 17.... For full details on how to vote, you can refer to your letter or visit www.bridgewater.ca/2020-election for info on the voting process and candidates, and how to contact the Returning Officer if you're in need of assistance.