Quispam Warming Centre Open Til 8 Tonight

The Warming Centre is at the Quispamsis Civic Centre on 12 Civic Drive is open until 8pm.
 
Tomorrow it's open from 8am to 4pm when it will close permanently.

You can come in and warm up, grab a coffee and fill your water bottles.

There is still firewood and kerosene available.

VIDEO: Health Minister Was Also In The Dark

Health Minister Ted Flemming can really relate to his Rothesay constituents because he was without power for nearly a week.

He provided an update for reporters at Rothesay Town Hall.

Flemming was asked about the case of a woman on the Peninsula without power for 8 days who says a state of emergency should have been called.

He says NB Power are the experts in this adding they take a source of power and work out so every time they fix something you are helping someone.   

Flemming says it wasn't all bad saying everyone survived adding that is the story of many people.  

Flemming says we should be very proud of the hard work of power workers through the holidays in very difficult conditions.

Fire Destroys Home On Knightville Road

A couple and their daughter who was home from university for the holidays escaped injury in a fire in the rural community of Mt. Pisgah on Sunday. The family was out at the time, but the home and all their belongings were lost.

It's about 10 kilometres north of Sussex. The trio are staying with family now.

Sussex Fire Chief Harold Lowe says the fire was reported shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday at 432 Knightville Road and gutted the front of the house, with smoke and water damage elsewhere. 

A cause hasn't yet been determined.

East Side Power Back

The lights are back on for everyone on the East Side after an outage around 9 this morning.

The last location to be restored was on the Red Head Road and it was about 1:25 this afternoon.

Earlier parts of Bayside Drive, Edith Avenue, Mount Pleasant Avenue East and Spruce Avenue did not have power.

Angry After 8 Days Without Power

One Kingston resident says she has a few choice words for the Premier on how the power outage resulting from the ice storm is being handled.

Bonnie Dearing tells CHSJ News she lives at 4 Princess Beach Road and has been without power since December 22nd.

She wonders why the province wouldn't declare an emergency so the federal government can send in troops to give power crews a hand in clearing downed trees and branches and to spread generators around.

Dearing says she is better off than some because has a propane heater and a propane cook stove so she has been melting water for snow and its an all day job.

CHSJ News asked Dearing if she feels the Kingston residents are being forgotten and she responded by saying it feels like all of Southern New Brunswick has been forgotten.

Gallant Has Questions About Ice Storm

After everyone's power is fully restored, Provincial Liberal leader Brian Gallant tells CHSJ News the Alward Government and NB Power should review whether sufficient emergency planning was done ahead of the ice storm.

He says in the past few weeks, he's heard from many people who say they've asked for branches and trees to be cleaned up and their requests have gone unanswered.

Gallant, himself, lost power for a day or two but considers himself lucky compared to others who have been without for over a week.

Massive Clean-Up Expected On Kingston Peninsula

The spring cleanup on the Kingston Peninsula will be something to behold according to Howard Heans, who operates the Harding's Point campground.

He says when you drive up some of the back roads in the Peninsula, it looks like a war-zone with people having to drive under fallen trees which have formed a tunnel.

Biker Gets Jail Time For Drug Dealing

The President of the local Bacchus Motorcycle Club, 44 year old Brian Schofield of Public Landing has been sentenced to 2 years in federal prison after a regional drug bust in August. 

Meth, pot, guns, brass knuckles and four grand in cash were seized in the raid. Schofield pleaded guilty to possession of 144 meth pills and marijuana for the purposes of trafficking. Judge Henrik Tonning described Schofield as a lower level dealer who goes to work, rides his motorcycle and sells drugs. 

Schofield works fulltime for a paving company and the court was told he's well regarded by his employer but the judge says meth is a hard drug and peddling that is much more serious than selling marijuana.

200 Power Crews Focusing On KV & Charlotte County Today

NB Power tweeting they have 252 crews on the ground today with more than 200 working in the Charlotte county & the KV region.

Crews reconnected over 5000 homes and businesses yesterday.

4600 NB Power customers remain off the grid across the province including over 1900 in the Rothesay cluster.

Saint John Energy is reporting one outage today on the Red Head Raod and it happened around 930 this morning.

Inmate Dies In Renous

A 56 year old inmate at the Atlantic Institution has died after being found unresponsive in his cell.

Yves Valade was found on Friday and staff weren't able to resuscitate him.

Valade had been serving an indeterminate sentence for assault causing bodily harm, first degree murder, and second Degree Murder since May 1982.

The police and the coroner have been notified, and Correctional Service Canada is investigating.

Portable Heaters Available For Those Without Power

With many still without power in New Brunswick, some folks could be getting a little chilly.

The Musquash Fire Department tells CHSJ News they've been loaned two portable heaters capable of heating an average-sized bungalow to a comfortable temperature in less than an hour. Lieutenant Andrew Sanojca tells CHSJ News the heaters are on the back of a pickup truck, and they simply feed a line through the home's window and pump in the heat.
 
The heaters have been used in Black's Harbour and Saint George, although according to Sanojca most people in Musquash have their power restored at this point.

Snow Ban Tonight--And A List Of Parking Lots

It's that time of year---an overnight snow parking ban is on tonight for the South/Central Peninsula from 11pm through to 7am tomorrow. No on-street parking is allowed anywhere in the area.  Any vehicles on the street after 11 pm when a snow ban has been declared will be towed.

Six snow ban parking lots have been cleared for residents to use beginning at 6 pm:

•             the corner of Princess Street and Charlotte Street

•             King Street East

•             Peters Street

•             Carmarthen Street/Vineyard Church and

•             Mecklenburg Street at Wentworth Street

•             the corner of Charlotte and Queen Streets at Key Industries (entrance on Queen Street)



Vehicles must be removed from all snow ban parking lots by 7 am Monday through Friday and by noon on weekends. Vehicles remaining in the lots after these times may be towed at the owner's risk and expense.

 To find out whether a temporary overnight parking ban has been declared, call the Snow Parking Ban Recorded Information Line at 658-4040.  You can also check the City of Saint John website at www.saintjohn.ca.

A Good Day To Break In The New Snowblower

The storm system everyone was talking about didn't pack the same wallop we expected but it did bring a fair amount of snow.
 
Claude Cote of Environment Canada tells CHSJ News in Saint John we got 9 centimetres of snow followed by a few hours of snow, sleet and rain.

He says in the KV and on the Kingston Peninsula they received 20 to 26 centimetres of snow and it was a similar story in Moncton and Fredericton.

Cote says tonight we are expecting very cold temperatures with a windchill near minus 25.   

He tells they are tracking another system moving through Nova Scotia on Thursday and Friday which at this point will bring with it two centimetres of snow and some brisk winds.

UPDATE: Lights Back For Some, Off for others

Some Saint John Energy customers have their lights back now while others remain off the grid. 

A few are without power on Bayside Drive and beyond 1197 Red Head road but the lights are back on Willet Avenue, Courtney Avenue, Mount Pleasant Avenue East, Edith Avenue and Spruce Avenue.

Many Remain Off The Grid

Heavy snow on top of drooping branches could be a recipe for disaster in the communities that just got their power back.
 
Fingers crossed that is not the case as NB Power moves into Day 7 of restoring power to over 3900 homes and businesses still off the grid.

Among those are 2300 in the Rothesay cluster which includes that town along with Quispamsis, Carter's Point, Grand Bay-Westfield, Bayswater and Kingston.

Over 1000 homes and businesses are still without power in St. George, Harvey and Rollingdam.

Numbers Of People Without Power Fall

The numbers of people without power are down with over 23 hundred homes and businesses in the Rothesay Region which includes the Kingston Peninsula where 250 customers are in the dark at Carter's Point. There are still over a thousand homes and businesses in the St. Stephen region without electricity.


NB Power estimates it will be New Year's Eve night or New Year's Day before power is restored but whether the timetable will change because of the storm remains to be seen.


Saint John received just under 15 centimeters of snow combined with sleet and more freezing rain. Environment Canada is forecasting a cold spell beginning tonight with wind chills down to minus 25.
 
Grand-Bay Westfield Mayor Grace Losier is concerned about those without power who need help, don't know how to get it. She's urging residents in Grand Bay-Westfield to go a Shelter being offered by the Red Cross 24/7 at St. Matthew's Church. She adds if you have concerns or need help, you can reach the Mayor at her home, 738-2968. 

The warming centre in Quispamsis is moving back to the Civic Centre which is above Fire Station #2 and will be open from 8 this morning to 8 tonight. There will be jugs of water, pails, flashlights and jerry cans from J-D Irving along with firewood and kerosene.