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Monday, July 15, 2013

Truck Stolen From Toronto Found Near Musquash

A stolen truck has been found a long way from home. 

A 2003 Dodge Caravan stolen in Toronto earlier this month was recovered in a gravel pit near Musquash by the community's fire department, who reported it to the St. George RCMP. 

They're asking the public for any information they have in connection with the case. You can contact them by calling 755-1130 or Crime Stoppers at crimenb.ca or 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Humidex Advisory Issued For Kennebecasis Valley

It's official. The dog days of summer are here, and they're scorching.

A humidex advisory is in effect for the Kennebecasis Valley today, among many other places across the province, including Fredericton, Oromocto and St. Stephen. 

The communities will see a high of 35 today, with a high UV index.

Deputy Mayor Wants Most Cost Effective Way To Respond To Medical Calls

The fact the fire department is getting too many of the emergency calls before Ambulance NB is prompting Deputy Mayor Shelley Rinehart to seek answers as to why.
 

Rinehart is giving her fellow members of Common Council a list of questions for Ambulance NB to answer. 

They include what the response times have been in the city over the past year? What the expected response times are? What the coverage is? How many ambulances are there in Saint John? How often has the fire department arrived first? What the time difference was and what type of call was it?

The city has been told by consultant Todd MacDonald, responding to medical calls could be adversely affecting response times to fires and in 3 out of 4 cases, medical intervention doesn't happen.

Low Income Homeowners To Get Help Lowering Their Energy Bills

400 low income householders will get their homes retrofitted over two years under a new energy efficiency programme announced by the Alward Government.
    

The 2 million dollar program will help to pay for the retrofitting of homes and save from 50 to 100 dollars a month.
    

Homes in need of major upgrades, particularly insulation and heating systems, will be given priority.
    

The program will start in November.

Rothesay Police Releases Citizen Satisfaction Survey

How are we doing? That's the question Rothesay Regional Police is posing to the public. 

They've released a citizen satisfaction survey to get the public's opinion on what they're doing right and what needs improving with questions about traffic and patrol, major crime, victim services, and more.

Constable Krystal Daley, their Community Relations Officer, tells CHSJ News they take the results shown in the final report very seriously, and the survey will help them map out where the department is headed in the next five years. 

The survey is released every three years. This is the first year that the survey has been released online. For a link to the survey, click here.

Moore Gets A Promotion In Harper Shuffle

Rob Moore has to be smiling. A massive cabinet shuffle sees the Fundy Royal MP land a promotion.

Moore has been named Minister of State for ACOA and Regional Minister for New Brunswick and Newfoundland.

In welcoming 8 new faces to cabinet, Prime Minister Stephen Harper kept New Brunswick MP Bernard Valcourt right where he was in Aboriginal Affairs.

The newbies include Shelly Glover as Heritage Minister, Michelle Rempel in the Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification and Kellie Leitch takes on the Labour portfolio.

Rona Ambrose is now Minister of Health while Julian Fantino becomes Minister of Veteran's Affairs.

Looking For Fresh Info On February Armed Robbery

Crime Stoppers and the Woodstock RCMP are looking for a man responsible for an armed robbery in Lower Woodstock over four months ago.

About 10pm on February 24th,  police responded to a complaint of an armed robbery at Maliseet Fuels in Lower Woodstock.
 

A man entered the gas station armed with a hand gun and demanded money from the cashier.  He took off without getting anything and the clerk was not hurt.

The man is described as being about 5 foot 8, weighing 250 to 270 pounds wearing a blue or black cargo pants, a white shirt, a dark blue or black hoodie, black gloves with a balaclava over his face. 

To see video and find the numbers for police or Crime Stoppers, click here 

and click here



Portion of Road Closes as Four-Week Project Begins

Whether you're a walker or a driver, a four-week project starting today could have an impact on your routine. 

Part of Pettingill Road is barricaded and closed until approximately August 9th as Fairville Construction Ltd., the contractor for the town of Quispamsis, installs storm culverts and a sanitary gravity main. 

Director of Engineering & Works for the town, Gary Losier, tells CHSJ News they're replacing an old line that was installed in the early 1970s. Losier says it could be a substantial job, but they don't anticipate needing more than four weeks to complete the work.

Click here to see a map of alternate routes.

Common Council To Hear About The Need To Throw Out Less Trash

The Fundy Region Solid Waste Commission will be making a presentation to Common Council tonight on the need for more of us to recycle and compost with less garbage going into the landfill. 

It wants to see a long term plan put in place for the next 15 years or so.

Brenda MacCallum of the Waste Commission warns taxpayers won't want to incur the cost of another landfill before it's absolutely necessary because the cost would be immense. Crane Mountain cost 21 million dollars to open.
 

MacCallum admits there are challenges with the blue bins as well as how to make recycling and composting easier for people who live in apartments. The numbers for both recycling and composting have stagnated. 

In Malton, Massachusetts, residents are charged 2 dollars per bag of garbage with the amount being thrown out dropping by half and recycling rising by 74 per cent. MacCallum adds in jurisdictions where limits have been placed, there has not been a problem with illegal dumping.

Saint John M-P Not Too Concerned Over Latest Polling

Support for the federal Liberals nationwide dropped by 5.6 per cent in June from May but they still lead in polling with 34.4 per cent support. The Conservatives are next at 29 per cent followed by the NDP at 24 per cent. 

Saint John M-P Rodney Weston tells CHSJ News the Harper Government faced a number of tough issues during the last session of Parliament so he's not surprised at the numbers, especially if the Opposition is doing its job properly. Weston compares polling numbers to peaks and valleys.
 

In Atlantic Canada, support for the Liberals and their new leader Justin Trudeau is at 47.2 per cent and that's the highest of any region in the country.

Auto Dealers Upset With Rothesay Avenue Traffic Lights

The Saint John Auto Dealers Association has sent an open letter to Common Council complaining about the traffic tieups with the lights at Rothesay Avenue and Ashburn Lake Road by Deluxe French Fries and looking for a permanent solution.

The auto dealers claim businesses along Rothesay Avenue are getting fed up with the lights which are designed to lead up to Costco and Eastpoint from the highway. 


The letter states drivers, at times, have to wait through 3 or 4 light changes before they can make their left turn. 

This was supposed to be a temporary fix but it's been six years now and the auto dealers say there appears to be little concern after a meeting with the mayor and no time frame for constructing a permanent intersection with better traffic flow.