Cape Breton Post
‘LIKE A ROCKY MOVIE’
Chris Billam-Smith, right, lands a punch clean to the face of Cape Breton’s Ryan Rozicki during their 10-round cruiserweight main event of Zuffa Boxing 07 at Bournemouth International Centre in Bournemouth, England, on Saturday. Billam-Smith, who is...
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HOUSING PRICES WOULD BE 10% LOWER IF CANADA HAD KEPT PACE WITH U.S.: CMHC
OTTAWA Canada’s housing stock would be about 30 per cent larger and prices 10 per cent lower if this country’s building industry had been as responsive to demand as its American counterpart over the last couple of decades, says a new report from the...
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SHOW OF SUPPORT
Cheryl Keough thought when Premier Tim Houston looked her in the eye and said, “We want you back,” he meant it. One of the striking North Sydney Community Guest Home long-term care support workers, Keough is a hairdresser who has worked the last 10 of...
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INVESTIGATION ONGOING
A stabbing investigation led to a police pursuit and the arrest of two men in Cape Breton on Wednesday afternoon. Cape Breton Regional Police were called to Frederick Street in Whitney Pier around 11:30 a.m., where they located a male with stab...
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HOW THE WEST WAS WON
It wasn’t supposed to be a proper film per se – just Cape Breton comedy duo Tracy and Martina capturing some footage during a tour stop in Fort McMurray, Alta., for their social media channels. “We didn’t really have any plans to make a movie when we...
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HELP WANTED
It’s estimated there are 70,000 job openings in Canadian eateries, and the owner of one Nova Scotia restaurant knows all too well that finding staff is getting harder and harder. “It’s been a horrible go, to be honest,” said Jason LeBlanc, co-owner of...
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‘IT’S ABOUT ATTITUDE’
Stephanie MacNeil first noticed some unusual body activity affecting her about 10 years ago at the age 25. “It started with numbness in my foot one night, and then by the next day it had gone up the whole right side of my body,” the Sydney resident...
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FEDERAL MINISTER POURS MORE COLD WATER ON N.B.’S LNG IDEA
Canada has reached a landmark deal to export liquefied natural gas to Germany — but it’s from the Pacific coast. And federal Energy Minister Tim Hodgson has poured more cold water on the possibility of an East Coast export terminal, even as New...
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CALMING WATERS
In October 2025, the Canadian Armed Forces Naval and Army Reserves conducted a training exercise in Sydney Harbour. Plans are moving forward for a satellite detachment in Sydney for Halifax’s Naval Reserve unit, HMCS Scotian. Details online at...
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WORDS OF INSPIRATION
Brian Prince’s front tuck in the middle of the stage at Cape Breton University’s first spring convocation ceremony surprised many. But it might have been the best physical representation of what the first group of 2026 graduates were feeling as they...
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AI IMPERSONATION
When Amber Buchanan took a phone call from her 16-year-old daughter, the teen sounded like she was in major duress and was crying for her mom to help. “She was in a panic and said, ‘I need you to come get me right now.’ And then she said, ‘They won’t...
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LOST IN THE WILD
Chris Bellemore walks into the woods. He knows them; he’s been there many times. He’s not only looking for a person. He is looking at the ground for tracks. At broken vegetation. At objects someone may have dropped without noticing. At the spot...
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GOING THE DISTANCE
On your marks, get set — and they’re off. The 36th edition of the Cabot Trail Relay Race began amid a cool but sunny Saturday morning outside the Gaelic College entrance in St. Anns, where the first leg of participants congregated to chat with running...
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POLITICIANS SEEK TO EASE FOOD COSTS, BUT ARE BATTLING MARKET FORCES
OTTAWA Call it the coriander conundrum. Like with parsley, carrots, dill and most other members of the apiaceae family of edible plants, the retail price of coriander has been growing like a weed. While the prices of many items on grocery store...
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CAPE BRETON ROCKS
Goldie Boutilier called her double victory at Thursday night’s East Coast Music Awards gala validation for all the years of hard work and things she had to overcome in her life. “I will never forget this night, especially that (these wins are) in my...
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SHUTTERED BADDECK RINK UNDERGOES DEMOLITION
Victoria County’s only indoor ice rink will soon be no more. The 52-year-old Victoria Highland Civic Centre (VHCC) in Baddeck is currently in teardown mode as it prepares to begin work on a new multi-use recreational facility, which will include a new...
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‘IT’S VERY HUMBLING’
Forty years after The Barra MacNeils recorded and released their eponymous debut album, Stewart MacNeil is still processing the rise and success of the Cape Breton Celtic-folk group as they prepare to accept a lifetime achievement honour from the East...
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‘ABSOLUTE QUALITY’
The new executive director behind the East Coast Music Awards says he wants this year’s Sydney event to be an unqualified success – and a memorable one for everyone taking part. Certainly, the in-person experiences of all the live performances,...
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‘DETERMINED TO CARRY ON’
Black and white photos from 1943 of a young couple who chose to walk and bus around the Cabot Trail on a whim illustrate that even in its early years, the trail was a wonder of nature that people wanted to experience. Not having a car wasn’t a problem...
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DOING DOUBLE DUTY
Striking long-term care workers from four seniors’ homes in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality took their picket line to Cape Breton University on Thursday afternoon. “We heard Mr. Houston was going to be here. We’d like to meet with Mr. Houston,”...
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WATERFRONT PROJECT MOVES AHEAD
For several weeks now, barricades have prevented vehicular traffic from entering a gravel parking lot off Sydney’s Esplanade. The area had provided access to the waterfront boardwalk, several seasonal kiosks as well as Tide Tacos & Tequila – the...
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STANDING TOGETHER
Construction on the new Maple Hill Manor long-term care facility was stopped for a second day in a week by striking nursing home employees. Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) members from three long-term care facilities joined the picket line...
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‘HELD IN HIGH REGARD’
There’s no slowing down for the Men of the Deeps. North America’s only coal miners’ chorale just wrapped up a tour of southern Ontario to nearly sellout theatre crowds to plug their 60th anniversary as a group. Soon they will be a fixture at the Cape...
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IMPRESSIVE MILESTONE
At the end of last year’s Teal to Heal Mother’s Day walk/run event, organizer Dena Edwards Wadden hoped the annual fundraiser would meet or exceed the $1-million mark in overall fundraising contributions for 2026. Mission accomplished. The fifth...
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SUPREME COURT SET TO WEIGH IN ON HUGE INDIGENOUS TITLE CLAIM
The clock began ticking April 7 on what could be one of the most important Supreme Court of Canada cases in New Brunswick’s history. That’s the date the country’s top court told several law firms involved in the Wolastoqey Nation’s landmark title...
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SOLID GOLDIE
The church of Goldie Boutilier is a broad one. At her concert March 26 at Vancouver’s Hollywood Theatre — the perfect venue for a chanteuse whose various pop-star personas are often inspired by old movies — the enthusiastic crowd responds to her...
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‘YOU NEVER KNOW UNTIL YOU START’
George Fraser is hopeful that he’ll get a good price for his lobster catches this season. He’s fished lobster out of his home port of South Bar for the past two decades and is optimistic as the season on the east side of the island gets going on...
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‘They are more than statistics’
The founder of the Jane Paul Indigenous Women’s Resource Centre says violence against Indigenous women is not accidental and is a national issue that must be addressed. Heidi Marshall spoke at Tuesday’s Red Dress Day event and walk at Wentworth...
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‘IT’S DANGEROUS’
Maritime musician Ashley MacIsaac is used to a rough ride in the public eye. During a frequently controversial career, the Cape Breton-born fiddler’s political views, sexuality, pre-legalization cannabis use and onstage antics have all prompted...
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PROPERTY GEMS
The well-known Canadian celebrities of all things applying to home design, who also operate a seasonal boutique hotel in Louisbourg for several months each year, wanted to introduce prospective homebuyers to both Cape Breton and mainland Nova Scotia...
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WHY IS WASHINGTON STILL SO ANGRY OVER BANS ON U.S. ALCOHOL?
LONDON, ONT. It has been more than a year since most provinces banned U.S. alcohol from liquor store shelves, but the United States government is still feeling the hangover. Late last month, the issue of U.S. alcohol bans by every province except...
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NEW RULES FOR OLD GARBAGE
The Cape Breton Regional Municipality has kicked its annual heavy garbage collection to the curb, replacing it with a new call-to-haul program that came into effect May 1. The Cape Breton Post sifted through details to break down why the CBRM ended the...
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‘MUSIC OF THE PEOPLE’
The Canadian Folk Music Awards are coming to Cape Breton in 2027. The 22nd edition of the awards, which celebrate and promote Canadian folk music in all its forms, will take place in Sydney over a four-night span from April 8 to 11. At the conclusion...
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‘THEY PUT THE BURDEN ON ME’
Wanting to restore his father’s iconic bakery and bread shop in Whitney Pier has been on Bernie Kokoszka Jr.’s mind for years. But the 82-year-old says it’s becoming more difficult to fulfil that dream. And the structure that once housed Bernie’s...
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TAKING OUT THE TRASH
Volunteers on George Street in Sydney fill up a truck with bags of garbage during last year’s Great Cape Breton Cleanup. The much-anticipated annual event is set for Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.
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‘THEY WERE ALL A PART OF MY RUN’
Kate MacInnes reached two significant milestones while running in a recent Boston Marathon. For starters, the East Lake Ainslie resident marked the first-known Cape Breton female to finish the long-established race to run it in under three hours —...
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MILITARY RECRUITMENT SOARS AFTER PAY RAISES, SOVEREIGNTY THREATS
The Canadian Armed Forces has recorded its highest recruitment levels in over three decades, enrolling 7,310 personnel in the last fiscal year. That’s up 600 new members year-over-year. Officials said the new numbers show strong or stable recruitment...
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SHOOTING FOR FUN
Aidan Herman had one thing in mind before his Riverview Unified basketball team hit the court on Wednesday: shooting three-pointers. The Coxheath high school hosted a Unified Basketball Tournament, where athletes with diverse needs came together with...
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POLICE CALLED TO CRIME SCENE
Cape Breton Regional Police are investigating the death of a female at a residence on Ling Street in New Waterford on Wednesday evening. Officers were called to the location at approximately 6 p.m. on April 22, where they discovered an unresponsive...
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‘WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO HELP MORE PEOPLE THAN EVER’
The Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation raised a record-breaking $4.81 million in 2025, but the true impact isn’t measured in dollars. Foundation-funded programs and initiatives provided direct financial support to 5,227 patients this year,...
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‘IT WAS A SHOCK’
Evan MacDonald initially thought he had pulled his groin when he noticed unusual swelling in his lower body area last summer. “Just one swollen testicle on one side. That’s basically it – (initially) I didn’t have any headaches or dizziness or...
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WOODS TRAVEL BAN, FINES ‘UNREASONABLE’
A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge has found the provincial government infringed upon charter rights with its woods travel ban last summer. And because the government didn’t consider those rights or how it could achieve its goal of preventing new...
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‘SCENARIOS ARE ALL EITHER BAD OR VERY, VERY BAD’
WASHINGTON, D.C. Grocery prices are elevated, gas prices are high, job markets are cooling, and U.S. President Donald Trump is sticking to his tariff plans while the world eyes a shaky ceasefire with Iran. The truce between the U.S. and Iran has...
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EMPOWERING WOMEN
Rebekah Dixon, left, of Coxheath, an attendee and owner of Rebekah Dixon Mindset, speaks with Kelly Jerrott, sales and brand engagement representative with Island Folk Cider House. The Sydney business was one of a dozen vendors at the Advantage Women’s...
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MAKING PROGRESS
Work continues on the new Sydney Credit Union building on the corner of George and Townsend streets. Ground was broken in October 2025 for the project. The new $17-million building will replace the current branch that was constructed in the early...
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‘LEFT IN THE DARK’
Several councillors want an explanation from the Cape Breton Regional Municipal mayor on why he and staff signed off on a land sale of a wharf property in Sydport Industrial Park without prior council consultation. District 2 Coun. Earlene MacMullin...
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‘WHAT A MAGICAL INTRODUCTION’
American actress Auden Thornton had never been to Canada before shooting the film Little Lorraine on location in Cape Breton. Thornton (This is Us, Black Mirror) plays the wife of an unemployed coal miner who unknowingly gets involved with an...
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TRICKS OF THE TRADE
When it comes to competing in a skilled trades competition, Justine David admits it can be a bit nerve wracking. She’s enrolled in the one-year heavy equipment/truck and transport repair program at the Sydney Waterfront Campus of the Nova Scotia...
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FEWER CANADIANS CROSSING BORDER — AND DUTY-FREE SHOPS ARE PAYING
WASHINGTON, D.C. Canadians still have their elbows up when it comes to travelling south of the border, and those fewer trips are having a disastrous effect on a key business: duty-free shopping. Tariff spats, Donald Trump’s “51st state” rhetoric and...
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TAKE YOUR TIME, STAY AWHILE!
When it comes to exploring the island, Destination Cape Breton wants visitors to stop and smell the roses a bit more. That’s why they recently launched a new campaign, Take Your Time, which urges tourists not to rush their visit but to plan on staying...
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NEW SEASON AT THE DOCKS
The Viking Polaris docks at the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion on Thursday, marking the opening of the 2026 cruise ship season for the Port of Sydney. The ship can carry a maximum of 378 passengers and a crew of 256. The season continues on Saturday when...
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CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
With celebrations set for 2032 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Cabot Trail, Dan Coffin has already heard plenty of stories tied to Cape Breton’s world-renowned tourist destination. “Everybody seems to have a story of their uncle or their...
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‘THE LAW IS CLEAR’
Seven RCMP cruisers were vandalized and four provincial highways were blocked or slowed by protesters over raids on Mi’kmaq cannabis dispensaries. Over the Easter weekend, Premier Tim Houston and Mi’kmaq leadership offered conflicting accounts of...
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MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
A Cape Breton group that devotes itself to helping children in need in Southern Africa has returned home after a successful firsthand mission. Six individuals from the island, representing Inverness County Cares, including Colleen MacLeod, Winnie...
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CANNABIS PROTEST
This drone photo from around 10 a.m. on Thursday shows traffic blocked from going either way on Highway 4 through Potlotek First Nation, where community members were protesting a Nova Scotia RCMP raid on the Sikku Shop cannabis retail store, seen in...
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‘HE WAS JUST SO GENUINE’
Vincent van Zutphen lived life to the fullest and then some. And he didn’t “give a f--k” what people thought about how he dressed, his “scraggly hair” or how he lived. But the 59-year-old did care deeply about his family, his community and his...
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STREAMING EAGLES
The day-to-day happenings of two Cape Breton bald eagles – 24 hours a day, seven days a week – can now be viewed via livestreaming webcams. A project courtesy of the Port Morien Wildlife Association, a noon-hour event on Monday marked the official...
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BRIDGING THE AGE GAP
Eskasoni elder Bessie Prosper, 92, was happy to be surrounded by youth when dozens of both generations gathered for a day of listening and learning on Saturday at the Eskasoni Elder Centre. She was joined by Bethany Denny, left, and Allan Sylliboy,...
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JEWISH LEADERS WARN OF IRAN-INSPIRED TERROR THREAT
WASHINGTON, D.C. The Jewish community throughout North America has faced a shocking 900 per cent rise in antisemitic incidents since 2014, according to the Anti-Defamation League data. Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel, synagogues,...
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PAIN AT THE PUMPS
The price for regular unleaded gas went up again on Friday to between 177.7 and 180 cents per litre. Diesel increased to 237.7 and 243 cents per litre. The rising prices for fuel are causing financial difficulties for business owners.
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VITAL INFORMATION
It may look like a large pill bottle, but there’s no medication inside. Instead, it’s filled with vital health information that could be just as important in an emergency. Barry Gordon is administering the Vial of Life program in his role as senior...
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DANCE OF JOY
Jessica LaRusic was in front of a class full of students when she found out the video she choreographed was up for an East Coast Music Award. Creative director/choreographer of Elyse Aeryn’s Unstoppable video under the name Jess Alexis, LaRusic and...
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CRIME TOP OF MIND
Preventing crimes, calls for improved policing and concerns about public safety collectively emerged as a top priority for Cape Breton Regional Municipality council to focus on once deliberations on the 2026-27 fiscal budget begin. During a virtual...
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BIG RIGS
Nolan Benner and his friend, Mason Mahoney, hopped in the cab of the large, industrial snowblower to check out its inner workings. The two were at the McCurdy Sydney Airport on Thursday for their first Meet the Fleet event, where the public can check...
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WHAT IS KHALISTAN?
DID INDIA ASSASSINATE A CANADIAN KHALISTAN ORGANIZER? Canadian Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a prominent member of Sikhs for Justice, a global pro-Khalistan organization. On June 18, 2023, he was murdered — gunned down in the parking lot of a Sikh temple...
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AGE FRIENDLY HOME UPGRADES
Giovanni Merlini, a N.B. senior, demonstrates accessible reach and positioning designed to help people with mobility challenges safely use bathroom fixtures. “One of the myths that surrounds renovating for aging in place is the price. It doesn’t have...
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‘SOMETHING I WON’T FORGET’
When she took on the role of chancellor at what is now Cape Breton University, Annette Verschuren already had gained a high public profile. She was the face of Home Depot Canada – and, later, its short-lived venture into Asia – for 15 years in the...
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ONE-STOP SHOP
The rusty, antique truck that’s parked near the entrance at Tinker Dan’s General Store comes from a time when one-stop shops were more common in many rural communities. Today, most general stores have gone the way of the dodo due to big box stores and...
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Remembering feminist Rita
Rita MacNeil became a household name from the mid-1980s until her death on April 16, 2013, with her best-known songs reaching a wide cross-genre audience not just in Cape Breton but also nationally and internationally. But in the 1970s, MacNeil was a...
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GOLDEN MOMENT
Tamara Deverell, from left, and Shane Vieau, winners of Best Production Design for Frankenstein, attend the 98th Oscars Governors Ball at Ovation Hollywood Complex on Sunday in Hollywood. Deverell, originally from North Vancouver, B.C., now lives in...
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OFFICIAL INTRIGUED BY ANTI-DRONE SYSTEM FROM TRIO AT HEART OF EXPLOSIVES TRIAL
A senior official at the Department of National Defence says he wants to learn more about the anti-drone system three men charged in an Ontario gun and explosives investigation are working on, once their legal problems are resolved. But developing...
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KEEPING BUSY DURING THE BREAK
Gabriella Stewart, library assistant-children’s programs, left, and Lindsay Thompson, programs co-ordinator with the James Mcconnell Memorial Library in Sydney, display some of the signage they’ll be using during March break activities that have The...
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‘WE’RE IN SHOCK’
More than a dozen faculty and professional support members, as well as students all from the Nova Scotia Community College’s Sydney Waterfront Campus are urging the Houston government to backtrack on a $9.4-million chop to the college’s operating grant...
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CAPE BRETON’S NEWEST SWEET SPOT
For Shelly Gerow, it’s been a long and winding road to the newest sweet spot in Sydney. Gerow is the owner of Dragonfly Ice Candy Shop on St. Peters Road. The business opened in its new location on Jan. 17 of this year. “It all started with the...
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CALL OF THE HALL
A Nashville-based in-demand singer-songwriter, a renowned master of the fiddle, a champion of local radio and a peaceful ballad about a secluded and picturesque locale – all having Cape Breton connections – are the latest entrants into the Cape Breton...
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FIGHT NIGHT IN SYDNEY
Ryan Rozicki of Sydney Forks, left, lands a body shot on Gerardo Mellado during a cruiserweight main event fight as part of a professional boxing card at Centre 200 in Sydney on Saturday night. Rozicki won the fight by technical knockout in the second...
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