Blueberry Hill To Be Preserved

(Roberta Dugas of WorkSafe NB says Blueberry Hill needs to be preserved)
(Photo By Sherry Aske)

Fifty acres of land in Grand Bay-Westfield are being transferred to the Nature Trust of New Brunswick.

Don Dennison is President of the Nature trust and says WorkSafe NB is handing over the property known as Blueberry Hill so it can be preserved.

Dennison says there is less and less undeveloped shoreline along the province's rivers every year so it's important that properties like this are set aside.

He says they will be working to finish walking trails on the property and to restore Henderson Brook.

Defibrillators Save Lives

(Health Minister Mary Schryer and Mayor Ivan Court are shown how to use a defibrillator)
(Photo By Sherry Aske)

The Heart and Stroke Foundation is getting $100,000 dollars from the province to buy 25 new defibrillators.

The Foundation's Chief Executive Officer Dan Connolly says defibrillators should be as common as fire extinguishers, and they want to have 200 in place across the province by 2011.

Connolly says of the 1200 people in the province who experience heart failure outside a hospital each year, 95 per cent die as a result.

He says with defibrillators in place they can save 70 per cent of people instead of just five per cent.

Mayor Ivan Court says while defibrillators are already in every rink in the Greater Saint John Area, he'd like to see one in all of our ball parks, malls, and hotels.

Another Man Killed On A Motorcycle

With the summer only half over, the death toll for motorcycle riders in this Province continues to rise.

The latest person to be killed is a 61-year old man yesterday afternoon on Highway 105 in Whites Cove just after 12:30pm.

A bike travelling eastbound hit the back end of a pick up truck, lost control and hit two other bikes that were travelling west-bound.
The man from Whites Cove has not been identified and RCMP say alcohol and speed are believed to be factors in the crash.

Delay In The Opening Of The Q-Plex

(Mayor Murray Driscoll Speaking At A Recent Function)
                        (File Photo)

The opening of the Q-Plex, scheduled for mid-September, is now delayed by two months.

The ribbon cutting of the multi-million dollar facility now won't be until mid-November.

Mayor Murray Driscoll tells CHSJ News, even with the delay, the site is a bee-hive of activity as the town patiently awaits for the facility to be up and running.


Driscoll adds there are a few reasons for the delay including finding equipment for the Gold LEED standards building and available trades-people.

Midget Fast-Ptich Torunament Coming To Saint John

Providing a one million dollar boost to the local economy, Saint John is playing host to the Canadian Midget Girls Fast-Pitch Championship August.1st through the 8th.

Barry Freeze is co-chair of the event and Memorial Softball Field is one of three venues that will be used along with St. Rose Field and Market-place for a total of eight games.


Saint John Harbour MLA Ed Doherty will present a cheque for $25,000 dollars to the event on behalf of the province tomorrow. For more information about the tournament, you can go to www.midgetgirlsfastpitch.ca.

Provincial Funding For A Pair of Announcements

Fredericton is focused on recreation with a pair of funding announcements today.

The Province is investing $67,000 dollars in a skateboard park for St. George.

Also, new children's play equipment is being installed at Pearson Park in Sussex.


Total cost is $15,000 dollars.

Three People Who Died In Long Point Fire Identified

A weekend house fire in Belleisle has taken the lives of a couple in their 60s and a woman in her 80s, all from the Halifax area. The have been identified by the RCMP as 69 year old Graham Lunn, 66 year old Launa Lunn and her mother, 83 year old Florence Roberts. Fire crews arrived at one o'clock on Rogers Road in Long Point Saturday morning to find the home engulfed in flames. A 46-year-old man and his young daughter managed to get out with the father sustaining just minor burns. Investigators continue to comb through the rubble of the home to try and figure out what started the fire. The house did not have any electricity as it was used just in the summer but no foul play is suspected.

NDP Select Candidate To Run In West Saint John

There's another candidate running in the fall election for the riding of Saint John Lancaster. Habib Kilisli of the NDP was nominated by acclamation yesterday afternoon and will be running against incumbant Liberal Abel LeBlanc and Conservative candidate Dorothy Shepard.

Common Council Warned About Its Spending

              (City Manager Pat Woods)
                           (File Photo)

A stark warning delivered to Common Council by City Manager Pat Woods..........You're going to have to rein in your spending in next year's budget because the year to year increase that has been occurring over the past couple of years is unsustainable.
Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase claims the city tax rate could be lowered to $1.51. For that to happen, according to Woods, the city would need six per cent growth compounded yearly with just a two per cent increase in spending and no Peel Plaza. Chase is expressing doubts whether Council has the fiscal discipline to cut back on spending next year. Over the past couple of years, growth in spending by the city has been in the range of 7 per cent annually.






      

Blueberry Hill In Grand Bay-Westfield To Be Preserved

(Grand Bay-Westfield Mayor Grace Losier)
                  (File Photo)

50 acres of land that borders Grand Bay-Westfield and Saint that's known as "Blueberry Hill" will become part of the Nature Trust of New Brunswick today.
WorkSafe NB acquired the property in 1975 and it was transferred to the Town of Grand Bay-Westfield to grant the Nature Trust access.
Grand Bay Westfield Mayor Grace Losier tells CHSJ News there is local committee looking at future use for the land. She concedes some work will have to be done to return the land to its natural state.
Mayor Losier and Mayor Ivan Court will be on hand at 3 this afternoon when the deed for the property is transferred to the Nature Trust.

Heart And Stroke Foundation To Get Major Funding Boost From Province

(Provincial Health Minister Mary Schryer)
                      (File Photo)

$100,000 dollars from the Province will help the Heart and Stroke Foundation buy 25 automated external defibrillators.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation will also use the money to cover training costs for public facilities and high schools in the province over the next year as part of their Restart a Heart - Restart a Life Campaign.
The Heart and Stroke's Provincial C-E-O Daniel Connolly, Health Minister Mary Schryer and Nagesh Jammula from the Provincail E-M-S service will all be on hand for the announcement at 10 this morning at the L.B.R.