Two boys killed by a large exotic snake in Campbellton have been identified as five year-old Noah and seven year-old Connor Barthe.
The boys were found dead in the living room of an apartment located upstairs from a reptile store, early yesterday morning. The snake somehow got out of its enclosure, made its way into the ventilation system and into the living room where the two boys were sleeping.
The owner captured the snake, which has been identified as an African rock python, and it has since been put down. It's been sent for a necropsy to confirm the type of snake and to help understand why it attacked.
Autopsies are being performed on the two boys today.
If you see anything strange along coastlines or remote airstrips, the police want to hear about it.
The RCMP's Coastal and Airport Watch program asking New Brunswickers to keep an eye out for suspicious or irregular activity like boats operating at odd times and planes landing after hours.
With 550 kilometres of coastline and many remote airstrips, police say criminal activity like drug-smuggling, smuggling of contraband tobacco and human trafficking can happen with little to no public attention.
You can report suspicious activity by calling Crime Stoppers, their number is 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
The Saint John police force have Bradley Saia in custody once again after the violent offender escaped from the jail on Black River Road this afternoon.
According to Sgt. Chuck Elgee, police got the call around 3pm that Saia---who is facing charges in connection with a violent home invasion on the West side in November--had jumped a fence and was on the run from jail officers. Police joined in the chase through about a mile of thick woods. At one point, they found some blood and a disturbance in the woods which showed them they were on the right track.
Officers chased Saia across Whitebone Way and into more woods by the industrial park before they caught up with him.
Although he had some fairly serious cuts to his upper body that required medical treatment, Sergeant Elgee said he would still likely being making it to his sentencing hearing which is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at Peel Plaza.
Saia has a history of attempting to evade police, having been arrested in Halifax in February after having a warrant out for his arrest since the fall. He is facing charges
of forcible entry, robbery and being masked while committing an
indictable offence.
Saia's
twin brother Brandon was previously arrested on November 6th and also has his sentencing hearing tomorrow in connection with the same incident.
Way to put a damper on the months-long renovations to the King Square Bandstand--which the community celebrated just last week with a free concert in the historic uptown park.
The Mayor is asking for assistance from the public in recovering the original fountainhead from the refurbished structure, which has already been stolen. Thieves made off with the metal attachment at some point over the past few days.
The device is cylindrical, copper in colour and was attached to the new granite fountain. Anyone with any information or who saw anything suspicious in the Square over the long weekend is being asked to contact the police.
A provincially-run registry that matches doctor-less patients with family doctors is showing results.
800 New Brunswickers have been matched with a family doctor or nurse through Patient Connect NB, and another 300 are being matched right now. 2000 people have signed up for the service in total.
Patient Connect NB was established at the end of May. To register for the service, click here.
With the announcement the West side icon will be shutting its doors, the CEO of Simms has said he'll help out of work employees find new jobs— and Ward One Councillor, Bill Farren, believes he'll be true to his word.
Farren tells CHSJ News he knows Tom Simms will do his best to take care of those who find themselves unemployed when the Simms Corner factory shuts its doors this fall.
Farren says that's just in Simms' make-up, calling him a man of the people and a good, true businessman.
In a release Simms said it was a tough choice to let go of a team of employees they've worked with for decades. No word on how many people will be out of a job.
Seeing as the NDP has such a strong stance against shale gas, some might be surprised at the party's support for the West-east oil pipeline.
Provincial NDP leader Dominic Cardy tells CHSJ News it's a matter of short term pain for long term gain, suggesting the money the province makes from the pipeline should be reinvested into renewable energy sources.
Cardy says if the pipeline is going ahead we need to restore the environmental regulations he claims have been gutted under the Harper Tories.
Rothesay residents are being asked to conserve water during the day for the next two weeks as the town does some work on the water mains.
If you use too much water between 8:30am and 4pm rusty water could enter your water system.
If you water is discoloured you should run the tap until it runs clear. If you have any questions contact the town of Rothesay at 848-6600.
The Simms Company had its beginnings in 1866. That's when Thomas Stockwell Simms, an American civil war veteran, invested his soldier's back pay and bonus in a small brush and broom operation in Portland, Maine before relocating in 1872 to Saint John.
David Goss knows more about Saint John history than just about anyone else and tells CHSJ News Simms played a huge role in the lives of many people on the west side. He says you can hardly meet anyone over the age of 60 on the west side who hasn't had some connection over the years with Simms.
Simms Corner used to be known as Avery's Corner and the company once had a building across the road on the former Centracare property that was used to house up to 60 factory girls who had no where else to live.
Simms also travelled all the way to the far east back in the early 1900's to get the best bristles for his brushes and established a Baptist church in India which is still operating today.
The company has been primarily making paint rollers for the last few years. Most of the brushes have been imported since tariffs increased about 15 years ago.
The rules of the game have changed when it comes to winning public support for big industrial projects.
John Herron of the Atlantica Centre for Energy says the old argument of compromising the environment for the sake of jobs and economic growth isn't being accepted as readily anymore.
Shale gas development has run into strident opposition but Herron tells CHSJ News other jurisdictions have managed to get their publics on board with energy development.
Herron says protests occur when people feel they're not being listened to and there have been intensified protests in Kent County with arrests being made.
This island just off into the distance is still on Saint John Waterfront Development's radar.
The General Manager Kent MacIntyre tells CHSJ News they still plan on opening up Partridge Island to the public, but unfortunately just after they finished their reports, we walked straight into a recession.
He says they can't afford to develop the island on their own, but the project could move forward if they could secure partnership funding.
There's been some vandalism on the island—graffiti and broken glass for the most part—but MacIntyre says security would be included in their operational costs.
Saint John Waterfront Development rolled out their 5.1 million dollar plan to restore Partridge Island last year.
Provincial Green Party leader David Coon says there might be overwhelming support for the West to East pipeline in Saint John but such is not the case in Quebec.
He claims there's alot of concern and Quebec Premier Pauline Marois has been hedging on where she stands so as not to alienate her populist base. Coon points out environmental concerns in Quebec have been heightened because of the train disaster with tankers of oil exploding at Lac Magentic last month.
He tells CHSJ News the pipeline project will increase carbon pollution and that will have unforseen consequences, pointing out not many people around here are aware the Bay of Fundy is becoming more acidified because of climate change and increased carbon pollution. He warns that acidification could damage the fishery over the long term.
Campbellton is in a state of shock........The RCMP say two young boys, aged 5 and 7, are dead after they were strangled by a python that escaped its enclosure at an exotic pet store.
The RCMP say the boys were sleeping in an apartment above Reptile Ocean and it's believed the snake made its way into the apartment through the ventilation system sometime through the overnight hours.
The snake was captured and is in the possession of police. The boys were visiting the apartment of the pet store's owner at the time.
Autopsies will be performed on the two victims today in Saint John.
