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Monday, September 14, 2009

Clearing Up Confusion on Wellington Row Project

An infrastructure project related to Peel Plaza is being defended by the Commissioner of Buildings for the city.

Bill Edwards says he's not sure where people got their information about widening Wellington Row, but the city has no plans to tear down any buildings.
Edwards says as of right now, the intersection at Wellington Row and Union Street is not working.
Edwards says every single morning the intersection becomes gridlocked with traffic, and by adding an additional 16 inches to the street it should alleviate some of that congestion.
He says there will be a public consultation held in the future to help clarify any misconceptions the public may have.

City Officals Want to Hear From Flood Victims

After the amount of flooding in the city associated with Tropical Storm Danny city officials want to hear from everyone affected.

Municipal Operations Commissioner Paul Groody says the city needs to hear from businesses and residents affected by the flooding to help try and find a solution.
He says the citys stormwater diversion systems are not set up to handle the amount of rain it had dropped on it.
Groody says the reality of the situation is there are not answers to all flooding situations, but there have been consultants hired to try and alleviate flooding in hot zones.
He says the citys future capital projects will begin to see an emphasis on stormwater diversion projects.

Premer Graham Wants Answers On Lepreau Delay



Premier Shawn Graham answers reporters' questions about delays in the upgrade of the Point Lepreau reactor following a news conference in the Oland Theater at the N-B Museum Monday afternoon - September 14, 2009.
(CHSJ News video)

New Atlantic Canadian Wellness Campaign Rolled Out

It's a joint effort to get Atlantic Canadians to think more about health lifestyles -- the four Atlantic provincial governments are teaming up on a new ad and internet campaign promoting healthier eating choices and physical activities.
Premier Graham says he's doing his bit by curtailing his love of sweets especially brownies and cookies -- the Premier also says he walks to work as much as possible.
Graham says by joining together -- the four provinces got better bounce for their bucks on the ad campaign.

Irving Oil Will Appear before PAC tomorrow night

Irving Oil will be making a presentation to the Planning Advisory Committee tomorrow night on the plans for their proposed new headquarters on Long Wharf.



Spokesperson Lesley MacLeod says they are looking foward to the presentation and answering any questions the PAC may have.


If PAC does recommend the project to Common Council, the next step comes up September 28th when council will host a public hearing where the company will answer questions and listen to comments on the project.

Thieves Steal Copper Leads In Norton

(Copper lead target of thieves - photo submitted by RCMP)

Some thieves in Norton are very lucky they didn't get zapped.

Someone took $3000 worth of copper leads from the NB Power sub-station sometime over the weekend.
Police say it's a high voltage area where they would either be familliar with NB Power sub-stations or were just lucky not be electrocuted.
Anyone with information on this theft can contact Sussex RCMP or Crimestoppers.



Theft in Upham

If you have someone offer to sell you some power tools in the coming days, buyer beware. This after several items were stolen from the Department of Transportation Garage in Upham over the weekend. A thief or thieves got away with a whipper snipper, thinning saw, half inch drill and impact wrench.


No word on how much the gear is worth.

Bids Close This Week On New Customer Management System

Time is running out for companies interested in submitting proposals for the city's new Customer Service Management system -- the deadline for submitting proposals is Thursday afternoon at 4.
City hall wants to move a single number customer contact service similar to the 3-1-1 system available in other municipalities.
City officials say it would free up the departments to concentrate on the work at hand instead of handling and redirecting calls.
The proposal is looking at either an in-house system staffed by city hall or the option of sourcing out the contact center to the private sector.

Harvesting The Arts Video



Highlights from this year's Harvesting the Arts Festival in King's Square held Saturday - September 12, 2009.

Protest Against Alberta Workers

A heavy police presence and about 100 angry unionized workers at the Courtney Bay Inn this morning -- the workers are protesting the use of non-union tradesmen at the Canaport L-N-G site. One union member says a company which won a recent contract at the site went to Alberta to get the non-union workers -- he says local unions are upset they have trades people out of work while the outsiders are coming in and taking jobs.


The tense situation was diffused when the Alberta workers headed for the L-N-G terminal were taken off two waiting buses and sent back into the hotel.

One Man Arrested in Break and Enter

One man is in custody after a break and enter at the Sebastians restaurant on Princess Street. Police made the arrest around five o'clock this morning and say a 26 year old man will face charges in court later this morning.

Uptown Fire Believed to be Caused by Kids

Fire officials believe a Friday night fire that burned two uptown storage sheds was started by two young girls playing with matches. A shed at 165 Charlotte Street was badly damaged by flames, but crews were able to quickly extinguish the blaze at a storage shed on Ludlow Street. The second shed caught fire by floating embers. No word on charges.

Parliament Opens Today

Parliment resumes today in Ottawa and election talk will be front and center. This after Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff announced he will no longer prop up the Conservative minority government. Saint John MP Rodney Weston tells CHSJ News, he is hopeful there is room for common sense on the opposistion benches.

Fundy Royal MP Rob Moore tells CHSJ News, since he was elected back in 04, there has been election fever every spring and fall. If a Federal Election is called this fall......it will be the fourth in the past five years.

Doctors and Province Head to Court

There is no headway between they Provincial Health Department and the Medical Society with a court case looming this week. The Province is being asked to honor the tentative agreement from December of last year and provincial officials responded to the original legal application by introducing legislation to block it. Health Minister Mary Schryer tells CHSJ News, the door is open for discussion.


The court case is scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

Quispamsis Teen Organizes Mexico Fundraiser

Inspired by a mission trip, a teenger in Quispamsis is organizing a mass fundraiser to help feed the children of Juarez, Mexico. Lauren Cudmore, a 16 year old student at KV High, encourages Saint Johners to come out and participate in a silent art auction, dessert sale, live music, games and much more. Cudmore tells CHSJ News, money raised will go towards a dinner that provides free meals to hungry families.

The night of activites will takes place at St. James the Less church on October 2nd, between 7:30 and 9.

Musquash Fire Department Gets Gift


(Photo Courtesy of Musquash Fire Chief Andrew Sanojca)

Christmas is still over three months away but the Musquash Fire Department received an early gift over the weekend. Brunswick Pipeline has given the Department a cheque for $18,000 dollars that is going towards buying a propane fuelled emergency generator and cooking appliances.

This will allow the Department to also double as an emergency shelter when bad weather hits the communities it serves.