Blog Posts by Nadine Kalinauskas

This flag has unofficially been representing Nova Scotia for 155 years.Nova Scotia's white and blue flag was first created in 1858.

It has never been officially recognized as the provincial flag until now, and it's all thanks to a young student.

Eleven-year-old Regan Parker, a student at Fanning Education Centre in Canso, Nova Scotia, was working on a heritage project when she learned that her province's 155-year-old flag had never been officially recognized. She contacted Jim Boudreau, her local MLA, who then sought the help of researchers at the Legislative library, CBC News reports.

"We checked with the executive council, leg library, Communications Nova Scotia, and so on, and in fact, it had never been recognized as the official flag," Boudreau said.

"I’ve always tried to encourage students to do independent research, to look at things and to, you know, not just take things at face value so this was, this was very nice to see happen," he added.

On Tuesday, Boudreau introduced a bill, the Provincial Flag Act, to confirm the flag as the official flag of Nova

Aiden and Conner McCandless.Brothers Aiden and Conner McCandless, both in grade 7, will be at tonight's Leafs game, thanks to their generous classmates.

The grade 8 class at St. John Vianney School in East Windsor raised the funds to send the young hockey fans, who both have a genetic disorder, to the game. They raised more than $2,000 — enough to buy third-row tickets for boys and their dad and two Leafs jerseys — and presented the tickets to the brothers at an assembly yesterday.

The brothers jumped for joy in response to the "awesome" surprise gift.

"A little overwhelmed, impressed and full of emotions because this is such a big deal," Aiden and Conner's dad, Chris, told AM800 of the students' generosity, adding that his sons are huge Leafs fans.

"They are the biggest. To talk to them, almost any conversation will be interjected with some reference to the leafs and they are probably the biggest fans I know."

"They always bring us up when we're down. They do choir, all the sports teams; they're just amazing guys,"

On Monday, 31-year-old double amputee Spencer West began a 300-kilometre journey from Edmonton to Calgary — on his hands — to draw attention to the distances some people around the world must walk to get clean water.

West plans to arrive in Calgary on May 16.

"Thirty kilometres a day is going to be rough. Your arms aren’t necessarily meant to be walked on so that’s why I’m doing a bit on my hands and a bit in a wheelchair, to try to keep my shoulders in shape. I certainly can’t afford to lose these at this point," West told the Edmonton Journal.

The We Walk 4 Water campaign, part of Free the Children's Water Initiative, hopes to raise enough money to provide 100,000 people around the world with permanent sources of clean water.

Follow West's journey here.

Last summer, West and his two best friends, David Johnson and Alex Meers, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro — and raised more than half a million dollars for Free the Children's clean water projects.

"Summiting Mount Kilimanjaro last summer with my

Better late than never.

After a 30-year engagement, Jack Wright, 88, and Shirlene King, 57, have finally made it official.

The long-time sweethearts wed on Tuesday before family, friends and doctors — in the hallway of the oncology radiation department at the West Los Angeles veterans hospital.

Wright, one of only 11 living American survivors of World War II's Battle of Guadalcanal, is currently receiving chemotherapy for head and neck cancer at the hospital.

"I have to undergo several treatments. She's been by my side every step of the way," the former Marine said of his new wife.

The couple is the first to wed at the hospital.

After the war, Wright, known as "Captain Jack" to locals, became a popular figure in the seaside community of Marina del Rey. He lived on his boat, often serenading his neighbours with his accordion.

The couple first met in 1983.

"We were at a hot tub party and I was the only one wearing a bathing suit," King told NBC Los Angeles. "He swam over to me and said, 'Can I

We'd all be in much better shape if we had to peddle for our ice cream.

Employees at one California ice cream shop do just that, churning its organic dairy and non-dairy ice creams and frozen desserts with an in-house bike-pedalling system.

Peddler's Creamery recently opened in L.A.'s Historic Core neighbourhood — owner Edward Belden wanted to be part of the previously down-and-out area's revitalization — and uses good old-fashioned manpower to create its frozen treats.

Watch the original Kickstarter video for the company below:

"It might sound impractical at first, but according to owner Edward Belden, it only takes about 3-4 miles of pedalling (aboard an old Schwinn bike mounted on rollers) to freeze a 5-gallon batch of Mexican chocolate ice cream, salted caramel non-dairy vegan dessert, or strawberry-basil sorbet. If you’re going at a decent clip, that’ll take about 15 minutes. Belden says it’s no problem, for now, to keep his freezers stocked," writes the Atlantic's Sarah Goodyear.

Bella, a 2 year old Bernese Mountain Dog was inducted into the Purina Animal Hall of Fame today for saving the life of Chris Larocque. (CNW Group/Purina Animal Hall of Fame)This week, the Purina Animal Hall of Fame recognized four Canadian dogs' extreme acts of bravery, courage and devotion at its annual ceremony at Toronto's PawsWay.

Bella, Vicious, Snickers and Teak were all honoured for "the extraordinary actions they took to protect a human life — demonstrating the unique and powerful bond that exists between animals and people," a press release stated.

"The tenacity of our 2013 inductees to rescue and protect people from harm — whether it's a wild animal, house fire, criminal or a medical emergency — showcases the connection animals have to humans and the physical risks they will take to keep them safe," Purina PetCare Legacy executive director Mary Siemiesz said in a statement. "This year's inductees remind us of how much animals enrich our lives, and that pets and humans are better together."

Bella, a 2-year-old Bernese Mountain dog from Milton, Nova Scotia, was recognized for her quick-thinking heroism. She pulled her injured owner, Chris Laroque,

Jumping in puddles: it's not just for toddlers anymore.

A video of a baby elk joyfully splashing around in a puddle, unconcerned with who might be watching, has recently gone viral.

Watch the playful elk below.

"I love how at :24 it stops to look around to see if anyone's looking. Then it must decide that no one is, so it resumes its fun," wrote YouTube user weaselmiester.

"I'm guessing the Elk is a fan of Bach," YouTube user NylonSixString wrote.

When was the last time you danced like no one was watching?

Bob Sampson, principal of Bellingham Christian School, declared Friday a "sun day" (Screen grab)This story is for the students (and former students) who believe that good weather should be good enough reason to cancel classes for the day.

In Bellingham, Washington, it is.

Bob Sampson, principal of Bellingham Christian School, declared Friday a "sun day" and gave his 205 students the day off:

"SCHOOL CANCELLED DUE TO GREAT WEATHER! WAHOOO!" the school's website announced.

In an area that rarely sees a full day of sunshine, the unconventional decision to let kids enjoy the great weather is something he did once before, two years ago.

"It's just a day to create some anticipation, some joy," Sampson told the Los Angeles Times.

He added that because the school didn't use any of its snow days this year, the "sun day" was used instead.

"Kids just love the anticipation of sitting around see if school is cancelled when it snows," Sampson told the Associated Press. "You know, we haven't had any snow days, so I thought 'how fun would it be to create that anticipation for kids when it's nice out?'"