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Friday, October 23, 2009

Award Finalists Are Announced

The Saint John Board of Trade has announced the finalists for the Outstanding Business Achievement Awards. The DPL Group and Dealermine Inc. are up for the Entrepreneurial Achievement award. The Business Excellence honour finalists include Fundy Region Solid Waste Commission and Dillon Consulting Limited.


Opera Bistro and Day Tripping are both up for the Emerging Enterprise Award. The winners will be announced on November 25th at the Trade and Convention Centre.

Justin Trudeau is Coming to Saint John

Former Saint John MP Paul Zed is bringing current Liberal MP Justin Trudeau to Saint John next weekend. Zed says Trudeau is passionate about engaging young Canadians in politics.


Trudeau will be speak at the Loch Lomond Villa Auditorium on Sunday, November 1st.

Construction on New Bypass Underway















                  

(Photo by Jim Hennessy)

Construction is underway for the new 10.7 kilometer Route Seven bypass Btween Welsford and Nerepis. Total cost of the project is $64.8 million which include $29.2 million for phase one. A Saint John company, Debly Enterprises has been awarded one of the many contracts, $5 million dollars for the grading work of just over two kilometers of grading work between Mount Douglas and Route 101.

The Welsford area is the only stretch of highway seven that has not been upgraded or bypassed with a new highway alignment. Work on the road should be finished in 2012.

Ferry Returns To Service

The Department of Transportation advising the Evandale ferry is back on its run.

Thompson on Refit at Point Lepreau
















               (Photo by Jim Hennessy)

South-West MP and Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson has no comment on the refit at Point Lepreau. The project is 18 months behind schedule and the Province is looking for Ottawa to step in with some funding now that Atomic Energy of Canada has admitted the time-line for the work could never be achieved. Thompson says he doesn't expect this decision will be decided by a group of politicians.

Thompson says he will not get into a fight or debate on an issue that doesn't fall into his jurisdiction.

Is NB Power For Sale













  
           (Photo by Jim Hennessy)

""I am not going to speculate on someone speculating."" That from Energy Minister Jack Keir on word making the rounds that NB Power is for sale to the highest bidder, including Hydro Quebec. Keir says the bottom line is nothing has been taken to cabinet nor has the Province been asked to make a decision on.
Keir says he can appreciate where all this is coming from. It stems from an announcement back in June where this Province and Quebec said they were entering into discussions about what possible partnerships may benefit both parties.

Fishing Boat Escorted to Safety

A Sea King Helicopter and a ship have escorted a distressed fishing boat back to port in Nova Scotia after a few scary moments this morning. Major James Simiana with the Joint Rescue Coorindation Centre in Halifax tells CHSJ news the fishing boat, Red Sun, was heading Mataghan, Nova Scotia when it was hit by a large wave, which broke the bridge windows. That caused the boat to flood and the engines to stall.

He says the boat crew was able to get the engines working again but communications were down, requiring the escort.

Police Looking Into Reports Of Pre-Noon Brawl

City police searching the north end for a couple of vehicles reportedly involved in a major dust up in the Sommerset Street area a short time ago.
Police were called after a group of men apparently swarmed a van in a parking lot -- the fisticufts broke out with reports of between 10 and 20 exchanging blows.
The two vehicles peeled away just after police were called -- so far no word on injuries or what's at the center of the physical dispute.

Thousands Wihout Power in the Province

About five thousand NB Power customers were without electricity last night thanks to snow and rain in the Northern part of the province. Spokesperson, Marianne Limpert says snow and rain weighed down branches onto power lines and several vehicle crashes damaged poles.

Crews have been working throughout the night to restore power but there are still 42 separate outages in the Miramichi area, affecting moer than 12 hundred customers. Limpert says power should be back up by supper time.

Government Invests in new Digital Mammography Unit















(Health Minister Mary Schryer presents cheque at St. Joseph's Women's Health Centre-photo by Tamara Steele)

The Provincial Government has invested in a new digital mammography unit at St. Joseph's Women's Health Centre. Health Minister Mary Schryer tells CHSJ News this technology is good news for the Greater Saint John area and this clinic.


Schryer adds it's a three year funding agreement with $53, 000 dollars announced today.
The money is for the funding and operation of the digital mammography machines at St. Joe's.  Breast Cancer is the second-leading cause of death among women in New Brunswick.

Tourism Minister Explores Cruise Ship Refueling Option

The Provincial Tourism Minister is floating the idea of Irving Oil being able to offer cruise ships fuel while they are docked in the Port City. Tourism Minister Stuart Jamieson tells CHSJ news he's not sure if the refinery is capable of such an endevour, but says it would be a major attraction for the cruise ship industry.

Jamieson was in Miami recently trying to attract more cruise ship business to Saint John, while promoting business at the refinery.

Large Military Training Exercise to Take Place this Weekend

There will be about 150 soldiers in the Minto Area this weekend for the largest army reservist exercise this province has seen in a long time--and-- the first Domestic Operations Exercise ever in New Brunswick. The Army will be testing soldiers' ability to respond to a domestic crisis. Lieutenant Colonel Paul Nielsen tells CHSJ news they will simulate a plane crash and test soldier's ability to locate and secure a brief case containing senstive documents.

Soldiers from the 37 Canadian Brigade Group--including 3 units from Saint John--will take part in the military exercise from today until Sunday.

Occupational Therapy Conference in Saint John

Saint John is host to the 2009 Atlantic Occupational Therapy Conference. Over 130 people are taking part, learning about the latest in their practices from pediatrics to geriatrics and mental and physical health. Conference Co-chair Lilli Lin tells CHSJ News it was organized by a volunteer group of local occupational therapists over the past year.

The speakers include a young man who used therapy after he survived an accident and an Ottawa occupational therapist who specializes in workplace mental health. The conference started Wednesday and wraps up this afternoon at the Trade and Convention Centre.