Girl Escapes Serious Injury

A young girl suffering only minor injuries after being hit by a bus this morning.
It happened around 8:30 as the bus was turning from Haymarket Square on to City Road.

Police tell CHSJ news the girl was wearing headphones as she crossed the street and may not have heard the bus. No charges will be laid.

Board Of Trade To Honour Award Winners

The Saint John Board of Trade proudly announcing the winners of the Outstanding Business Achievement Awards.

From 35 nominees,the judging panel has selected Dillon Consulting as the recipient for the Business Excellence award.


The Entrepreneurial Achievement award honour is Kelson & Kelson Limited and Emerging Enterprise goes to ClinicServer.
The Young Entrepreneur Award is Kiera Fraser of Je Suis Prest Boutique.
The awards will be handed out on November 24th at the Trade and Convention Centre.

Park Advocates Dislike The Mayor's Criticism

(David Thompson of the Friends of Rockwood Park)

The Friends of Rockwood Park finds comments from the Mayor disturbing.

Ivan Court told Common Council he thinks some information provided by groups opposed to development in the park is misleading.
David Thompson tells CHSJ News they submitted more signatures on their petition.

He says for the mayor to suggest that people were misinformed by park advocates is very disturbing to say the least.
Thompson says the criticism is insulting to the people who care about the park which he calls a crown jewel in the city.

Record Cruise Season Drawing To A Close

The Port Authority is in a mood to celebrate as this year's cruise season wraps up later this week.
The port says this has been a banner year with just over 200-thousand passengers arriving - a new seasonal record.
There are two more cruise ships scheduled to call on the port this year -- the "Crystal Symphony" on Thursday and the "Queen Mary 2" on Friday.

Helmet Art Display In Brunswick Square

A glimpse into the minds of soldiers and what they feel and think about life on the battlefield.

That is depicted in a helmet art display at Brunswick Square.

Sgt. Nathan Den-Hollander tells CHSJ News the reaction is postive from the public.

He says some hope they are not meant to wear the bright, vibrant canvases and some are just taken aback with the colour and detail.
Some of the helmets are being auctioned off at the True Patriot Love dinner on Thursday night in Fredericton with the proceeds going to three military charities. The display is on at Brunswick Square until 6 tonight.

Drug Bust In Sussex

The RCMP making a drug bust in Sussex on Wallace Court. The Mounties say they seized one and a half pounds of marijuana, 7 grams of cocaine which was packaged for sale and 5 grams of hash.

They also confiscated some money and scales for weighing. A 24 year old man was arrested and will be appearing in court at a later date.

His name won't be released until he's formally charged.

Police Determine Cause Of South End Fire And Look For Missing Man From North End

City Police have determined how that fire Sunday afternoon at the rear of 28 Harding Street and then spread to 24/26 Harding got started.

They say the blaze was started by four young people who were playing with a lighter. The fire left ten people temporarily homeless and took 27 firefighters to extinguish.

Police are also looking for your help in finding a man who has been among the missing since earlier this month.
 
He's 24 year old Donovan Campbell-Bentley who was reported missing October 15th from his apartment in the north end. He's believed to be wearing a brown leather bomber style jacket, light beige cargo pants and brown shoes.
 
 If you can help locate him, give police a call at 648-3333 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-tips.

Mayor Charges Misleading Information Is Being Spread About Rockwood Park

                 (Mayor Ivan Court)
                       (File Photo)

Mayor Ivan Court says there's a lot of misleading information being circulated about what the city plans to do with Rockwood Park and some people may have signed a petition on false pretenses which he finds offensive.

The Mayor says the Rockwood Park Advisory Board met in late September and made several recommendations which do not include moving the zoo or the golf course.

If anything, Court says the city wants to make the park larger and establish a new trail. As for future development along Sandy Point Road, Court says it would be low to medium density housing meaning no apartment buildings and no vinyl siding.
 
Common Council, a few years ago, spent five million dollars to install water and sewage services along Sandy Point Road for future development.

Peel Plaza Parking Garage To Be Constructed

(Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase)
             (File Photo)

The Parking Commission has been given the go ahead by Common Council to borrow 11 million dollars to construct the Peel Plaza Parking Garage.

Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase voted against. He fears parking lots nearby will charge less and that the Parking Commission will find itself to financially strapped to build other lots for parking around the city, Trinity Royal in particular. Councillors Donnie Snook and Patty Higgins also voted against.

The provincial government earlier agreed to contribute 6 million dollars since much of the parking spaces will be used by the people who work in the nearby justice complex, now under construction on Hazen Avenue.

The Parking Commission will own and operate the garage.

Proposed Changes To City Pension Plan To Be Presented Next Month

(City Manager Pat Woods)
        (File Photo)

City Manager Pat Woods is planning to make recommendations on changing the city's financially beleaguered pension plan at the next meeting of Common Council on November 8th.

Woods presented what he calls a comprehensive reform proposal to the employee groups last week and is expecting a response from them this week. He has also been in touch with the Superintendent of Pensions for the province asking for regulatory relief.

Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase wants to know how much the pension board's legal action against former Common Councillor John Ferguson for defamation has cost so far.
 
The pension board has been given that information but it has not been passed on to Council. Ferguson is now the city manager for the town of St. Stephen.

Common Council Given Plan To Ease Flooding On West Side And Millidgeville

(Municipal Operations Commissioner Paul Groody)
                     (File Photo)

Common Council is being asked by city staff to spend 30 million dollars next year on storm drainage to ease flooding on the west side and in Millidgeville.

The head of Municipal Operations Paul Groody says the weather has become stormier over the past 5 years and caused flooding in parts of the city other than the east side where it's normally expected.

Groody concedes the city suffers from what he calls an infrastructure deficit and the work being proposed would have to be done at some point in the future anyway.

Federal regulations now require the separation of catch basins and sanitary sewers to ease the flow of water.
 
Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase worries city water rates will escalate because of all the work that has to be done.

Common Council Takes First Step To Rejuvenate North End Community Centre

(Common Councillor Peter McGuire)
           (File Photo)

Common Council has set the ball rolling to revamp the aging North End Community Centre on Victoria Street.

The estimated cost of bringing it up to par is just shy of 3 million dollars over four years but Councillors Peter McGuire and Gary Sullivan maintain it has to be done to revitalise that part of town.

Councillor Bruce Court says it's a great idea but he doubts whether the money will be there next year to go beyond the design phase.

Councillors are hoping the provincial government will chip in some funding especially since the M-L-A for the area, Trevor Holder is a member of cabinet.

Drivers Warned By City Police To Watch For Deer

City police warning drivers to be wary of deer and moose on the road on the way to work and on the way home.
 

121 deer-vehicle collisions, most during November, happened last year with a average of one per day.
 

Police warn the animals are most active in the early morning and in late afternoon.

Over 30 per cent of the collisions last year took place on the throughway in the Saint John area.