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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The Term "Bed Blockers" Called Insulting To Seniors

The term bed blockers to describe those seniors who find themselves in hospital beds when they should be in nursing homes if the space were available is being denounced.

Micheal Keating is Executive-Director of the Provincial Association of Nursing Homes calls it unfair and points out no one describes the children in pediatrics bed blockers but it's almost as if old people aren't allowed to be sick.

 Keating says nursing homes could be built in such a way they would be able to be converted down the road to another use.

O'Hara Newest Member Of Quispam Council

The newest member of Quispamsis Town Council says she is both delighted and honoured to sit around the council horseshoe. 

O'Hara was officially sworn in this afternoon, after winning the May 9th by-election by roughly 500 votes.

O'Hara says she wants to tackle road safety issues in Quispamsis.

She says there is a heavy flow of traffic in the Cedar Ridge area and she wants to work with council to see what solutions are available.  
O'Hara says while campaigning parents also expressed concerns that there is no longer a skate park in the area, so she would like to look into that issue as well.

O'Hara is replacing Gerry Maher, who resigned in December.

Grand Manan 5 Should Return To Service By June 11th

The Grand Manan V should be back in service next month.
The regular vessel providing ferry service between Blacks Harbour and Grand Manan suffering mechanical trouble and structural damage when it ran aground while docking last Wednesday.

Transportation Minister Claude Williams tells CHSJ News the ferry is now in dry dock in Quebec where it is being repaired and it will return to service in Blacks Harbour on June 11th.
In the meantime, the MV Grand Manan is transporting vehicles and passengers on five runs per day, one more than the regular schedule.  For more info on the schedule call 506-662-3724 or click here

RCMP Bust Pennfield Grow Op

Early this morning, RCMP busting a grow op at a Pennfield home and arrested two men.

During the search officers seized about 170 marijuana plants and clones in various stages of cultivation along with growing equipment.
Once fully matured the plants could have produced up to 85,000 marijuana joints.

A 35-year-old man and a 42-yearold man faces charges and are due in court on July 15th.

Five Face Charges After Being Caught Driving While Impaired


City police laying multiple impaired driving charges over the long weekend including a head-on collision on Golden Grove early Sunday morning resulting in the death of a man is his 30's. Another man in his 30's is in court today facing a charge of impaired driving causing death.

Spotchecks, citizen complaints and accidents over the weekend leading to four other impaired driving charges against a 38-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman, a 29-year-old man and a 40-year-old man.

All four faces charges of impaired driving and will be in court at a later date.

Province Receives Energy Commission's Final Report

The Province now has the final report from the New Brunswick Energy Commission containing more than 50 recommendations for developing a 10-year energy plan.


Co-chairs Jeannot Volpé and William Thompson put the final document together after receiving input from those attending public meetings, makingpresentations, those who gave written and online input or took part in dialogue sessions over the past six months.

Energy Minister Craig Leonard says the government will examine the document and take the necessary time to review the recommendations.

5 key objectives include developing a plan for low and stable priced energy and producing, distributing and transmitting energy in an environmentally responsible manner. To see the full report: click here

Airport Funding And Deer To Come Up At Common Council

Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase will ask Common Council tonight to invite the President of the Saint John Airport to speak on why the airport hasn't received federal funding.

Airport President and C-E-O Bernie LeBlanc tells CHSJ News the airport can't receive federal funding unless it's part of a specific program because of its location on federal land.

He says it's hard for the airport to generate enough income to pay for upgrades because the airport has less than half a million passengers a year.

LeBlanc says the Saint John Airport is lucky because it is not in immediate need of funding but will need to come up with 20 million dollars in 2018 when the runways are due to be resurfaced.

When he was running as a Liberal candidate in the recent federal election, Chase warned Saint John could find itself without an airport a few years down the road if there was no federal infusion of cash.

Also tonight, Councillor Bill Farren will be pressing for the city to adopt a bylaw to stop people from feeding deer in the city.

Port Authority Happy With Relations With City

A lack of elected representatives the Port of Saint John's annual general meeting this past week isn't troubling Port Authority chair Stephen Campbell.

He tells CHSJ News he thinks the Authority has a good working relationship with the city.
 
Campbell also says the Authority has probably had greater engagement in the past year with municipal, provincial and federal politicians than it has ever had in its fifteen year history.
 
He adds the port is having ongoing discussions with the city on a number of joint issues, some of which aren't easy.

Literacy Scores Released In School District 6

The grades are in for the School District Six 2010 Literacy Assesments.

In the writing section of the grade 10 French Second Language Assessments, students scored 2 per cent lower than the provincial average.

Superintendent Andrew Hopper tells CHSJ News writing will probably be a focus area for literacy mentors moving forward.

At the Grade 7 level, students scored above the provincial average in both reading and writing.

Sussex Meeting Tonight On Shale Gas

Whether or not the public wins in the hearing against the Penobsquis Potash Mine over wells drying up will set a precedent if there are any problems that stem from shale gas development.

That from Bethany Thorne-Dykstra of the Citizens for Responsible Resource Development. Dykstra tells CHSJ News she attended the first day of the hearing being held in Sussex and thought the process used to seek damages seemed a little vague.

She says the Minister of Natural Resources Bruce Northrup has made it clear the mining commissioner is the only recourse available to people seeking damages outside of the court room.
 
 A town hall meeting will be held tonight at St. Paul's United Church in Sussex on shale gas development and the controversial extraction process known as "fracking".

New Town Council Member To Be Sworn In

The town of Quispamsis will be swearing in a new council member today. 

 Libby O'Hara won the May 9th by-election by roughly 500 votes.

  Mayor Murray Driscoll says the reason O'Hara was not sworn in for the May 17th Council meeting is because the law requires the town to wait a period of time after the election.

O'Hara, a retired school teacher, replaces Gerry Maher who resigned from Town Councifl late last year.

Things get underway today at 2 o'clock at Quispamsis Town Hall.