Scam Uncovered By Hampton RCMP

An ad in the local news-paper has been indentified as a scam by Hampton RCMP.

It is a job application looking for a book-keeper and officers have traced the ad as coming from the United Kingdom.

The applicant receives a cheque in an amount more than the salary.


The applicant is then told to cash the cheque and keep 10% for salary and return the rest.

Accident On The Green Bridge In Hampton

An accident yesterday morning has caused some minor damage to the green bridge in Hampton.

It was ten o'clock when a tow truck carrying a baby barn struck the warning barrier on the west side.
There is two thousand dollars worth of damage to the barn with damage to the warning structure on the bridge as well.

Diamond Taxi Locks Up Deal With Airport

Diamond Taxi has locked up a five year deal with the Saint John Airport for ground transportation services.

That means as of August.2nd, the only cab company you will be able to get a ride home with after your flight is Diamond.


As part of the new deal, taxis will provide comment cards in all vehicles and on the airport website.

The drivers will also take part in the Department of Tourism Superhost Training Program.

Energy Task Force Gets Together

The first progress report from the Energy Hub Alliance task force has been released.

It has agreed to forecast regional energy market demand and research all existing and planned products and services in the region.

Also, the task force is identifying specific areas in the hub that need development.

This plan includes setting benchmarks and identifying high priority and longer-term projects.

The task force was formed at last week’s Energy Ignition Summit where more than 90 delegates representing industry, government and community are working together to attain common goals and prosperity.

Feeding Deer Now Illegal In Quispamsis

(Jennifer Loomer Of Quispamsis Arguing For Deer Park)
                   (Photo by Sherry Aske)

Animal lovers in Quispamsis will have to stop feeding the deer now that Council has passed a by law forbidding it. Mayor Murray Driscoll tells CHSJ News he knows it's a difficult by law to enforce, but says some people will stop feeding the deer simply because a bylaw is in place.

Driscoll says if someone is caught there is a voluntary fine with the ultimate consequence being the laying of charges.
 
Someone not so happy with the new by law is Jennifer Loomer of Hampton. Loomer tells CHSJ News Town Council should set aside land as part of town planning and use it as an animal preserve.

Warning For Parents About MP3 Players And Ipods

A doctor from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto says music devices like MP3 players and Ipods can damage the hearing of the kids who use them.



Dr. Robert Harrison tells CHSJ News that parents should be concerned because the maximum volumes can cause damage to the inner ear.


Harrison adds the manufacturers are quite responsible in warning consumers who buy the products that listening for long periods at a certain level could damage your hearing. In Europe, manufacturers must limit the sound output in devices like MP3 players making the risk of damaging the inner ear lower.

Reorganisation Of Saint John Water In The Works

As part of the plan to provide safe, clean drinking water in the city, the head of Municipal Operations, Paul Groody says there should be a reorganisation of Saint John Water which would be run more like Saint John Energy as a corporatised public utility owned by the city.

 Groody says water in the city should never be privatised and he can see at some point in the future where Saint John Water will be able to generate revenue by selling its expertise or extending its services to outside municipalities.
 
 He points to Edmonton where this is already been happening with great success. Groody adds he can see the day when water services in the Saint John area will be regionalised.

Exploring A Power Partnership

(Premier Shawn Graham and Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter)

NB Power and Nova Scotia Power are exploring the possibility of building a new transmission connection between this province and Colchester County, Nova Scotia.

The proposed connection would have a transmission capacity of up to 500 megawatts which would more than double the transmission capacity between the two provinces.

Talks will also focus on improving the agreement between NB Power and Emera's Bayside generating station including the potential to expand the facility. The expansion could result in new jobs for this region.

Twinning Of Highway One Is Underway

(From left to right: Eric Desbiens, Southwest M.P. Greg Thompson, Fisheries Minister Rick Doucet, Transportation Minister Denis Landry, Dexter Construction Co Ltd, Project Manager Harry Varjabedian and D.O.T. project manager Dan Deap)
   
The ceremonial turning of the sod has happened in St. George to mark the official start of one of the largest highway projects in the history of the province.

When work is complete, Highway One will be twinned all the way to St. Stephen.

Liberal cabinet minister Rick Doucette, who represents the area in the riding, tells CHSJ News he worked hand in hand with Former federal Conservative Minister Greg Thompson to see this done.


The project will take just over three years to finish.

Kayaker Flips Boat Near Reversing Falls

It's a happy end to a water rescue at Reversing Falls just before noon today after a kayaker flipped.
The Falls shuttle was able pull the kayaker from the water and get him to a nearby wharf.


District Fire Chief Peter Saab tells CHSJ News the Fire department's water rescue unit was sent out but wasn't needed.
Saab says the kayaker was probably a bit cold but, otherwise ok.

Development Along Sandy Point Road On Hold In Spite of City Services Being In Place

          (Entrance To Rockwood Park)
                       (File Photo)

Controversy continues over any suggestion of allowing development inside Rockwood Park on city owned lands but what about along Sandy Point Road adjacent to the park. Chief City Planner Ken Forrest says water and sewage services were extended along that road by a previous Common Council a few years ago for a reason......Development was contemplated. Right now there is a moratorium in place on any new development until Common Council decides what should be done after hearing from the public.
The city's legal department has concluded where Rockwood Park ends is undefined.

Conservation Council Circulating A Petition

(Conservation Council Member Dave Thompson)
                (File Photo)

If you have any concern about future development in Rockwood Park, you can add your name to a petition.
It is being circulated over the next two days in the City Market by the Saint John chapter of the Conservation Council.
Spokes-person David Thompson tells CHSJ News, anyone signing the document believes Rockwood Park should be kept in tact.
At last night's council meeting, the City Solicitor says there is no precise border to Rockwood Park and there are city owned lands within the park that have no restrictions on how they can be used.

Moncton Is A Safe City

Stats Canada's report on crime severity and out of the 33 census metropolitan areas in the country, Moncton is the 13th safest community.

The numbers show the severity of crime in the hub city is less serious than other Atlantic Canadian communities with a population over 100,000.

It’s a drop of three positions from the community’s ranking in 2008. Here at home, the violent crime severity index sits at 109.3 which is up from 102.9.

Over-all, Stats Canada says the number of crimes reported to police fell last year as did the seriousness of the incidents.

Don't Jump From The Green Bridge in Hampton

A warning today from Hampton RCMP about jumping off the green bridge in Hampton.
Officers tell us they have received several calls about children leaping into the water of the Kennebecasis River to get cooled down, but there is shifting sand dunes which makes this very dangerous.
Officers also point out jumping from the East Side of the bridge is dangerous for vehicles as well.

Trying To Get Power Re-Stored

Over 20 of Saint John Energy's transformers were affected during last night's thunder and lightning storm.


That knocked close to 500 of the utilities customers off the grid with crews still working in some area's to get power re-stored.
President Eric Marr tells CHSJ News, the storm didn't play favourites but the North End-Millidgeville area's certainly didn't feel the brunt of the storm.

Marr says crews hope to have everyone back on line by the end of the day and crews from NB Power have been brought in to help with the situation.

Home Sales Are Down in Greater Saint John

Home sales are down both in Saint John and around the Province according to the latest numbers from the Saint John Real Estate Board.

232 listings traded hands which is down one per cent from the same time last year.


Sales around the Province for last month are down as well.....eight per cent. President Jason Stephen tells CHSJ News, there is concern about the trend but no reason to panic.


The overall number of homes for sale on the market has stopped climbing after two consecutive years of increases with 1600 active residential listings.

The average price for a home sold last month is just over $175,000 dollars.

Action Plan On Water Approved By Common Council

(Municipal Works Commissioner Paul Groody)
                (Photo by Brian McLain)

Common Council has unanimously approved the action plan on safe, clean drinking water after hearing an impassioned presentation by the head of Municipal Operations, Paul Groody who says the way Saint John treats its water hasn't changed since the time of the Great Depression in the dirty 30's and the city can't guarantee Saint Johnners that their drinkinhg water is safe to consume on a day to day basis.
The big challenge, according to Groody, is finding the money to pay for it. Common Councillor Peter McGuire says M-P Rodney Weston will have a huge role to play for this to happen and he has to be brought on board. Groody also told Council, Saint Johnners use too much water and part of the plan, that was approved, is universal metering so Saint Johnners would pay for what they use.
The revised plan calls for just one water treatment plant to be built, instead of two, at a cost of between 90 and 130 million dollars and the preferred location is at the Little River Resevoir on the east side. The total cost of all the water improvements is estimated at 260 million dollars and if it's a three way split, the city would have to come up with 86 million dollars.

Emotions Running High On Rockwood Park

(Saint John Common Councillor Patty Higgins)
                    (File Photo)

Common Council has been told by the City Solicitor there is no precise border to Rockwood Park and there are city owned lands within the park that have no restrictions on how they can be used. Councillor Patty Higgins is charging there are plans in the works to sell one-quarter of the land traditionally known as Rockwood Park to ease the city's financial crunch that lies ahead. City Manaager Pat Woods says he doesn't know where that's coming from. He maintains no decisidons have been made and it will be up to Common Council to have the final say. A study is underway to determine what sort of development should be allowed along Sandy Point Road adjacent to the park.
Councillor Carl Killen says he doesn't think anyone on Council wants to decimate Rockwood Park .

Recreation Fees In The City Rising

(Saint John Common Councillor Bruce Court)
                     (File Photo)

Common Council has made a commitment to cap any spending increases in the overall city budget to 3 per cent over the next two years. In the meantime, recreation fees are going up by ten percent. Councillor Chris Titus has no problem with that. Councillor Bruce Court spoke out against the increase arguing there are too many obese kids in the city as is even though he doesn't object to raising the user fees for the so-called weekend warriors.
Council was told only about one-third of the cost is recovered through the user fees that are charged.

Saint John Economy To Get Financial Boost From Fastpitch Tournament

(Saint John Harbour M-L-A Ed Doherty)
                  (File Photo)

Providing a one million dollar boost to the local economy, Saint John is playing host to the Canadian Midget Girls Fastpitch Championship August.1st through the 8th. Barry Freeze is co-chair of the event and Memorial Softball Field is one of three venues that will be used along with St. Rose Field and Market-place for a total of eight games. There are 18 teams from across the country going for top spot.
Saint John Harbour MLA Ed Doherty will present a cheque for $25,000 dollars to the event on behalf of the province tomorrow. For more information about the tournament, you can go to www.midgetgirlsfastpitch.ca.

Official Start Of Highway One Twinning

Today marks the beginning of one of the most expensive highway projects in the Province.
A sod-turning ceremony will be held for the Route 1 Gateway project in St. George. The province says the project will deliver jobs and lasting infrstructure that supports economic growth in the region. The ceremonial shovel will go in the ground this morning at 9 in St. George.

"Go Riding" TV Show Is In Province

The "Go Riding" TV show and magazine are touring ATV trails in the Province starting today in Moncton.
The tour with the Province's A-T-V Federation also includes stop in Sussex this week and in Fredericton.
Jacques Poirier of the A-T-V Federation tells CHSJ News in 2005, a national survey found the A-T-V industry in the Province brings in 50 million dollars a year.

Blueberry Hill To Be Preserved

(Roberta Dugas of WorkSafe NB says Blueberry Hill needs to be preserved)
(Photo By Sherry Aske)

Fifty acres of land in Grand Bay-Westfield are being transferred to the Nature Trust of New Brunswick.

Don Dennison is President of the Nature trust and says WorkSafe NB is handing over the property known as Blueberry Hill so it can be preserved.

Dennison says there is less and less undeveloped shoreline along the province's rivers every year so it's important that properties like this are set aside.

He says they will be working to finish walking trails on the property and to restore Henderson Brook.

Defibrillators Save Lives

(Health Minister Mary Schryer and Mayor Ivan Court are shown how to use a defibrillator)
(Photo By Sherry Aske)

The Heart and Stroke Foundation is getting $100,000 dollars from the province to buy 25 new defibrillators.

The Foundation's Chief Executive Officer Dan Connolly says defibrillators should be as common as fire extinguishers, and they want to have 200 in place across the province by 2011.

Connolly says of the 1200 people in the province who experience heart failure outside a hospital each year, 95 per cent die as a result.

He says with defibrillators in place they can save 70 per cent of people instead of just five per cent.

Mayor Ivan Court says while defibrillators are already in every rink in the Greater Saint John Area, he'd like to see one in all of our ball parks, malls, and hotels.

Another Man Killed On A Motorcycle

With the summer only half over, the death toll for motorcycle riders in this Province continues to rise.

The latest person to be killed is a 61-year old man yesterday afternoon on Highway 105 in Whites Cove just after 12:30pm.

A bike travelling eastbound hit the back end of a pick up truck, lost control and hit two other bikes that were travelling west-bound.
The man from Whites Cove has not been identified and RCMP say alcohol and speed are believed to be factors in the crash.

Delay In The Opening Of The Q-Plex

(Mayor Murray Driscoll Speaking At A Recent Function)
                        (File Photo)

The opening of the Q-Plex, scheduled for mid-September, is now delayed by two months.

The ribbon cutting of the multi-million dollar facility now won't be until mid-November.

Mayor Murray Driscoll tells CHSJ News, even with the delay, the site is a bee-hive of activity as the town patiently awaits for the facility to be up and running.


Driscoll adds there are a few reasons for the delay including finding equipment for the Gold LEED standards building and available trades-people.

Midget Fast-Ptich Torunament Coming To Saint John

Providing a one million dollar boost to the local economy, Saint John is playing host to the Canadian Midget Girls Fast-Pitch Championship August.1st through the 8th.

Barry Freeze is co-chair of the event and Memorial Softball Field is one of three venues that will be used along with St. Rose Field and Market-place for a total of eight games.


Saint John Harbour MLA Ed Doherty will present a cheque for $25,000 dollars to the event on behalf of the province tomorrow. For more information about the tournament, you can go to www.midgetgirlsfastpitch.ca.

Provincial Funding For A Pair of Announcements

Fredericton is focused on recreation with a pair of funding announcements today.

The Province is investing $67,000 dollars in a skateboard park for St. George.

Also, new children's play equipment is being installed at Pearson Park in Sussex.


Total cost is $15,000 dollars.

Three People Who Died In Long Point Fire Identified

A weekend house fire in Belleisle has taken the lives of a couple in their 60s and a woman in her 80s, all from the Halifax area. The have been identified by the RCMP as 69 year old Graham Lunn, 66 year old Launa Lunn and her mother, 83 year old Florence Roberts. Fire crews arrived at one o'clock on Rogers Road in Long Point Saturday morning to find the home engulfed in flames. A 46-year-old man and his young daughter managed to get out with the father sustaining just minor burns. Investigators continue to comb through the rubble of the home to try and figure out what started the fire. The house did not have any electricity as it was used just in the summer but no foul play is suspected.

NDP Select Candidate To Run In West Saint John

There's another candidate running in the fall election for the riding of Saint John Lancaster. Habib Kilisli of the NDP was nominated by acclamation yesterday afternoon and will be running against incumbant Liberal Abel LeBlanc and Conservative candidate Dorothy Shepard.

Common Council Warned About Its Spending

              (City Manager Pat Woods)
                           (File Photo)

A stark warning delivered to Common Council by City Manager Pat Woods..........You're going to have to rein in your spending in next year's budget because the year to year increase that has been occurring over the past couple of years is unsustainable.
Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase claims the city tax rate could be lowered to $1.51. For that to happen, according to Woods, the city would need six per cent growth compounded yearly with just a two per cent increase in spending and no Peel Plaza. Chase is expressing doubts whether Council has the fiscal discipline to cut back on spending next year. Over the past couple of years, growth in spending by the city has been in the range of 7 per cent annually.






      

Blueberry Hill In Grand Bay-Westfield To Be Preserved

(Grand Bay-Westfield Mayor Grace Losier)
                  (File Photo)

50 acres of land that borders Grand Bay-Westfield and Saint that's known as "Blueberry Hill" will become part of the Nature Trust of New Brunswick today.
WorkSafe NB acquired the property in 1975 and it was transferred to the Town of Grand Bay-Westfield to grant the Nature Trust access.
Grand Bay Westfield Mayor Grace Losier tells CHSJ News there is local committee looking at future use for the land. She concedes some work will have to be done to return the land to its natural state.
Mayor Losier and Mayor Ivan Court will be on hand at 3 this afternoon when the deed for the property is transferred to the Nature Trust.

Heart And Stroke Foundation To Get Major Funding Boost From Province

(Provincial Health Minister Mary Schryer)
                      (File Photo)

$100,000 dollars from the Province will help the Heart and Stroke Foundation buy 25 automated external defibrillators.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation will also use the money to cover training costs for public facilities and high schools in the province over the next year as part of their Restart a Heart - Restart a Life Campaign.
The Heart and Stroke's Provincial C-E-O Daniel Connolly, Health Minister Mary Schryer and Nagesh Jammula from the Provincail E-M-S service will all be on hand for the announcement at 10 this morning at the L.B.R.

The Memory Project Comes To Saint John

The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War is travelling the country archiving the memories and memorabilia of veterans.

Project Coordinator Jenna Meisner tells CHSJ News that veterans can even participate over the phone.

Meisner says vets can sit in their favourite chair and tell their stories and they can also mail their memorabilia free of charge and fully insured and they will return it.

The Memory Project will visit Saint John at the Hilton on July 28th.

To find out more visit www.thememoryproject.com or call 1-866-701-1867.

Rothesay May Lead In Recycling

(Rothesay Council)
(File Photo)

Recycling in Rothesay may soon be as easy as walking to the end of your driveway.

Mayor Bill Bishop says they've been looking at curbside recycling for a while, and now they've had a response from the Fundy Region Solid Waste Commission recommending a 6 month trial period.

Bishop says the tricky part will be finding a contractor that will bid for only six months. He says they may have to ask the Waste Commission for a 12 month deal instead.

If the project goes through Rothesay will be the first town in Southern New Brunswick to adopt curbside recycling.

Court Talks Assessments

(Mayor Ivan Court)
(File Photo)

The Cities of New Brunswick are demanding a meeting with the Premier and Opposition Leader David Alward to talk about assessments.

Mayor Ivan Court maintains the way the province funds municipalities around the province is inadequate with Saint John getting shortchanged.

Court points out the unconditional grant from the province has gone down from 108 million dollars in 1990 to 68 million dollars today.

Court says at the same time, the provincial government generated more than 300 or 400 million dollars in new revenue through increased assessments.

Irving Oil Refinery Celebrates a Mile-Stone

The place most people refer to as a city with-in a city is celebrating a mile-stone this week.

Tomorrow, the Irving Oil Refinery is marking 50 years of operation.

Construction of the facility took two years and cost $50 million dollars. 20,000 tons of steel were used to put the original frame-work in place which includes 15,000 cubic yards of concrete and more than 65 miles of piping.


The original storage tanks were designed to hold 80,000,000 million gallons of crude which is equivalent to the capacity of a string of tank trailer-trucks stretching from Saint John to Amherst, NS.

Three Killed In House Fire

Two women and one man are dead after a house fire in Bellisle early this morning.

Fire crews arrived at the Rogers Road at one o'clock to find the home engulfed in flames.

Investigators continue to comb through the rubble of the home to try and figure out what started the fire.


The names of the three people killed are not being released until family have been notified.

Mayor Thinks Of Millrats Name

Even the Mayor is getting in on the naming competition for the Saint John Millrats.

The pro basketball team announced a name competition late last week to find a name that fits the city and put forward five options for the public to choose from.

But Mayor Ivan Court has come up with his own original name of "The Port City Saints."

He even has some ideas for the team's mascot, suggesting something with a halo or a knight in shining armour.

The five official voting options are The Saint John Millrats, The Saint John Fog, The Saint John Riptide, the Saint John Fire, and the Saint John Shamrocks.

Bay Of Fundy Big In China

The Bay of Fundy is getting some international exposure today at the World Exposition in China. This is Bay of Fundy Day at the Canada Pavilion in Shanghai.

Terri McCulloch of Bay of Fundy Tourism tells CHSJ News this is part and parcel of the effort to be voted one of the world's 7 new natural wonders.

She says the site in Shanghai is getting an estimated 40 thousand visitors a day.

Right now in the voting, which ends in November of next year, the Bay of Fundy stands in the top 28.

Deputy Mayor Critical Of How Common Council Spends Taxpayer Dollars

              (Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase)
                  (Photo by Brian McLain)

Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase is skeptical growth in Saint John will continue at the pace it has over the past few years and this could adversely affect the city's tax rate and what money will be available for roads which drivers in the city never tire of complaining about. Chase maintains Common Council has not been spending taxpayer dollars wisely and points to a report prepared by the head of municipal operations for the city, Paul Groody who says at least 25 per cent of roads in the city have to be rebuilt.
Chase says he is also worried about a 13 per cent in new housing starts with housing completions off by 58 per cent as compared to last year. He is also dubious about Common Council having the fiscal discipline to restrain spending next year.

Kings Landing Fashion Show

If 21st century fashion is wearing you out, you can revisit a simpler time at a 19th century Loyalist fashion show this weekend in Kings Landing.
Bonnets, Bowlers, Buckles and Bows is the title and theme of the show which will feature a range of fashions from colonial times to the Victorian era.


Many dresses and suits from the historal settlement's collection will be modelled by staff including Georgian and Victorian wedding gowns and a 19th-century swimsuit.

Kings Landing is 20 minutes west of Fredericton on Route 2.
For more info go to www.kingslanding.nb.ca

Warnings About Food Safety In The Summer

(Provincial Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eilish Cleary)

The chief medical officer of health wants everyone in the Province to follow common sense precautions to avoid food poisoning.

Two specific concerns about food handling during the summer are backyard barbecues and picnics.


Dr. Eilish Cleary says the risk is especially high for certain kinds of food poisoning when preparing raw meat for the bbq including infection caused by the bacteria E. coli.
People who get sick with E. coli experience a wide range of health effects including stomach cramps, vomiting, fever, and diarrhea.

For more info on food safety: go to
http://www.gnb.ca/cnb/news/he/2010e1221he.htm

South End Days Kick Off Tonight

The third annual South End Days kick off tonight a five o'clock.
Carl Trickey of the Organizing Committee says some dignetaries will speak followed by a BBQ and music.


Trickey says the singers on tonight between 6 and 8 either live now or have lived in the south end and that will be followed by an all-ages hip hop competition.

Saturday's events include a chance for residents to meet the candidates in the riding of Saint John Harbour and speak to Elections NB about getting on the voter list for the September 27th election.

Energy Minister Doesn't Disagree With Fitch On The NB Power Split

The Energy Minister does not disagree with Opposition Critic Bruce Fitch and his view that is was not a mistake to separate NB Power into 5 separate companies back in 2005.

Jack Keir tells CHSJ News it may have been the right thing to do at the time but, the right thing to do now is to put it back together.


He says the first reason for separating the companies was so the private sector could come and compete with them individually which never happened.
Keir says the second reason was to sell off assetts and he says his government heard loud and clear this past winter people in the province do want them doing that.

Opposition Energy Critic Says NB Power Integration Not A Mistake

The reintegration of NB Power by the Liberals is a repudiation of what the previous government under then Premier Bernard Lord did when it broke up the utility six years ago. Conservative energy critic Bruce Fitch was a member of that government and he maintains the breakup of NB Power into separate components was not a mistake and whether putting it back together as one large company isn't a done deal because there has to be a vote in the provincial legislature.

Fitch says breaking up the utility was better for determining which parts needed financial help and what had to be cut back and many millions of dollars would have been saved has the Liberals carried through with the original plan.

Opinion Divided On What To Do About Flooding In Glen Falls

(Meeting At Exhibition Park On Flooding In Glen Falls)
                    (Photo by Sherry Aske)

It was a packed house at Exhibition Park as people came out to hear about solutions to flooding in Glen Falls. The city wanted to know whether people wanted a water diversion system or if they were open to the idea of relocation. Dave Nicholson has lived in Glen Falls for five years and says if it's going to take years to build a diversion system, he'd consider relocation.
Mayor Ivan Court says at this point relocation is just an idea but adds it would likely be a quicker solution than building a multi million dollar diversion system. Laurie MacDonald of Simpson Drive says he has lived in Glen Falls for 20 years and doesn't want to move.

City Police Warning Saint Johnners Of Funny Money And Internet Scam

The City Police fraud section is warning of counterfeit one hundred dollar bills circulating in the city.The funny money is from the Canadian Journey Series from 2004. They have the holographic strip from a ten dollar bill attached where it should be on a real one hundred dollar bill.
Police say you can easily verify which one's are real with the security features in this series such as the raised surfaces on the money, tilting the bill to look for the changing colours from the holographic strip.
You can also look for the fine line printing in the portrait and background patterns.
Meantime, The latest scam making the rounds on the Internet involves rental properties. An advertisement for a house or apartment shows up and even uses photos from a previous listing. The phoney owner or landlord then offers to send the keys in the mail. The victim then wires some cash and never hears from the person again. City Police remind anyone looking for a new place to call home to go see it and get a written contract.

City Police Seek Suspects In Indecent Acts

Saint John police are looking into three indecent acts that took place in Millidgeville and Uptown.
The incidents occurred near University Avenue and Mahogany Terrace and at Wentworth Street and King Street East near homes and apartments.

One suspect is between 25 and 35 years old with a large build with greying brown hair and unshaven.
The man was wearing a red sports jersey and had his light-coloured pants open.

The other suspect is white, in his mid-40's around 5 foot 10 with salt and pepper medium length hair, about 220 pounds with a broad face wearing blue jogging pants and a blue shirt.

If you have any information, contact police at 648-3311.

Saint John's Bell Aliant Contact Centre May Close

Bell Aliant is talking to its employees in Atlantic Canada about cost-cutting measures since a collective agreement was turned down last month.
Alyson Queen of Bell Aliant tells CHSJ News that some of those measures include increasing the numbers of contractors and closing contact centres.
Queen says no decisions have been made about what contacts centres will close and that includes Saint John.
Queen adds they will take time over the coming weeks to determine those details and work with their employees once those decisions are made.

City Man Gives Guilty Plea on Two Break and Enter Charges

Hampton RCMP arresting a Saint John man soon after he tried to break into a Damascus home.  The 19-year-old was trying to pry open the door of a home yesterday when he saw a woman inside and fled.

Justin Keith Johnston was in court today and entered guilty pleas on 2 counts of break, enter and theft and one of attempted Break, Enter and Theft.
Two of the charges relate to Damascus while the other was in French Village.


RCMP tell CHSJ News that all of the stolen items have been recovered.

Saint John Family Physician Dies

A well known Saint John doctor is being mourned with word that Dr. David Craig has died unexpectedly. He served as President of the Saint John Medical Society and also served as team physician for the Saint John Flames and the Sea Dogs. A funeral service will be held this Saturday afternoon at 2:00 in the Main Street Baptist Church. His three brothers are also doctors.

City Manager Addresses Concerns Over Peel Plaza On Tax Rate

One of the big worries among many Saint Johnners is what sort of impact will constructing the new police headquarters building at Peel Plaza will have on the tax rate. City Manager Pat Woods says the likely scenario is the tax rate will be anywhere from $1.79 to $1.81 by 2013 but there could very well be new housing constructed as part of the Peel Plaza development.
 Woods says during the development design phase there has been unsolicited walk-up interest in places like the Jelly bean houses and the synogogue and other community based groups for arts purposes.
Council members have been warned they will have to restrain spending.

Meeting In Glen Falls On Flooding Tonight

Some decisions will soon have to be made about what should be done about the flooding in Glen Falls. A system to divert water away from the neighbourhood won't come cheap. Mayor Ivan Court says an alternative would be to buy out the people who are flooded out continually.


Court says some people in Glen Falls won't want to move and others may want to relocate and he says there are opporotunities for relocation or for doing something else to protect other homeowners.
The residents will have a chance to see a presentation and then have their say in Exhibition Park starting at 6:30.

Hampton RCMP Nab City Man Attempting to Break and Enter

A 19-year-old Saint John man has been arrested after trying to break into a Damascus home.
The man tried to pry open a door but, took off when he saw a woman inside.


A Hampton RCMP officer nabbed him nearby and noticed items in his van seem to come from other break and enters.
The man appears in court in Sussex today on the attempted break and enter charge and two other break and enters in Damascus and French Village.

Gas Prices In Saint John Up Slightly

A small increase in the price of gas following the weekly setting. Self Serve regular is being sold in the city for 97.9 cents a litre, a rise of one and a half cents. Diesel increasing by almost two cents to $1.00.2 a litre while propane remains listed at a dollar a litre and heating oil is 87.3 cents a litre.

City Fire Crews Respond To Fuel Spills and Two Crashes

There were three fuel spills yesterday afternoon which required action by city fire crews. Acting District Chief Joe Armstrong says the largest one happened on Reading Crescent with up to 10 litres of oil having to be cleaned up. Sand and peat moss were spread on the road. The Environment Department was also notified. There were other smaller spills along Bayside Drive and at 1 Golden Grove Road. Fire crews were also called out to a pair of two vehicle collisions on City Line West and on Rothesay Avenue at the exit ramp from the highway. There were injuries but none was serious.

Common Council Decides Fate Of New Police Headquarters

(Peel Plaza Development)
          (File Photo)

Common Council has voted by an 8 to 3 margin to approve spending 19.2 million dollars to build the new police headquarters at Peel Plaza. The province is contributing more than 2 and a half million dollars to the project which brings the cost down. Councillor Gary Sullivan voted in favour saying he has first hand experience of unsafe it is to have the police department located in the city hall building when he came in contact with a person who had threatened him and his family.
Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase, as expected, voted against saying it's not the right location and not the right time. Councillor Bill Farren also voted against saying he is concerned the city can't afford it. Councillor Peter McGuire voted in favour saying there is already interest being expressed by housing groups in developing the area after decades of inactivity. Mayor Ivan Court cautioned any further delay and the price would just rise as it has over the past four years.
Council was told more than 20 possible locations were looked at by the Police Commission.

Police Chief Beaming After Vote On New Headquarters Building

(Saint John Police Chief Bill Reid)
               (File Photo)

Chief Bill Reid says he is elated by Council's decision to approve construction of the new police station as part of the Peel Plaza development, promising the new facility will result in better policing.
The Chief calls it historic and also rejects the suggestion that the new headquarters, across from the Chipman Hill parking garage on Union Street will resemble the Taj Mahal claiming it will be merely functional. He's hoping they'll be able to start operating out of the new building in less than two years time.

Conservation Council Opposes Report On Development Next To Rockwood Park

(David Thompson Of Conservation Council)
                     (File Photo)

A consultant's report has come out on what should be done with the land next to Rockwood Park.
The Province's Conservation Council is very alarmed that land in or neighbouring the park may be sold or developed.
David Thompson tells CHSJ News the public's concern were brought forward in consultations earlier this year and he hopes the Mayor and Council realize how important this park is. Saint Johners have until August 31st to send in their opinions to Common Council on the possible sale or development of Rockwood Park. The Conservation council has started a hotline to find volunteers to help them do research on Rockwood park. The number is 650-5849.

Traffic Disruption In The K-V

A road closure and detour for the Kennebecasis Valley today. The Vincent Road between Parkwood Drive and Quispamsis Road including the Vincent Road Extension will be closed to thru traffic from 7 this morning until 7 tomorrow night.
Eastbound traffic from the Vincent Road will be detoured to the Quispamsis Road via Parkwood Drive and Brandon Street.
The Quispamsis Road will be reduced to one lane of traffic from Alma Lane to Brandon Street from 7 this morning until 9 tomorrow night.
The road closures and detours are required to permit the construction and installation of new sanitary sewer.

Two Television Networks To Visit Saint John

Saint John is getting another visit from HGTV and this time the Food network is coming along too.
A local woman will have her Mount Pleasant Avenue home in the North end featured on HGTV's website.
Judith Mackin tells CHSJ News that content producers will be here on Friday.
Mackin says as part of this process, Hemmings House Pictures has been hired to do a photo shoot of her house.
A few years ago, Mike Holmes of "Holmes on Homes" were in Saint John to fix the deck of a Princess Street home that had collapsed.
The Food Network team will be visiting a variety of local restaurants including Opera Bistro and the Urban Deli.

Tips Wanted In King Square Assault

Major Crime wants your help in solving a serious assault that took place Uptown earlier this month.
A 44-year-old man was hit in the head in King Square on the Sidney Street side about 10:30pm on Monday, July 5th.
The victim was taken to hospital for treatment.

City police tell CHSJ News that two men were seen in the area at the time of the assault.
If you have any information on this assault, call the Major Crime unit at 648-3333 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Sussex Town Councillor Runs for Provincial Liberals

A veteran Sussex town councillor is setting his sights on provincial politics.
George Horton who has spent 9 years with town council in Dairytown has been acclaimed at the Liberal candidate for Kings East in the fall vote.
Horton was acclaimed at a meeting last night.

The 49-year-old is a small business owner and a married father of two.
He has spent the 12 years working on the Atlantic International Ballon Fiesta in Sussex.

Green Candidates In the Riding of Charlotte-Campobello

(Green Party Leader Jack MacDougall)

There is still time for you to be a Green party candidate in the riding of Charlotte-Campobello for the upcoming fall vote.
The deadline to file nomination papers is Friday at midnight.

The Province's Greens are holding a nomination meeting for Charlotte–Campobello on Monday.
Janice Harvey of Waweig will be seeking the nomination.
Green Party leader Jack MacDougall will be the guest speaker.

Man Injured In Rexton Motorcycle Crash

A 43-year-old man was injured in a motorcycle collision in Rexton.
The driver was travelling east on Route 495 about noon yesterday when his motorcycle left road while making a small turn.

The man has serious injuries and remains in a Moncton Hospital in stable condition.
RCMP tell us road and weather conditions were good at the time.

Conservation Council On Second Reactor

The province's Conservation Council isn't giving a thumbs up to the possibility of a second nuclear reactor being built at Point Lepreau.

David Thompson with the council tells CHSJ News they're against anything that's not green energy and nuclear power certainly isn't green.

Thompson says the worst thing we can do is export large amounts of electricity because it just results in more power lines and more woods being cut down.

Fire On Upper Golden Grove Road

Fire Crews from the K-V, Hampton, Nauwigewalk and Saint John called out early this morning to a blaze in a two story house on Upper Golden Grove Road. Captain Bill Gentleman says crews were on scene for 6 hours battling the flames, which caused significant damage to the upstairs and basement of the home. One man was living there but managed to escape on time. Gentleman says the home is still standing, but it's difficult to say whether or not it's salvageable as it suffered smoke, heat and fire damage.

Crunch Time As Common Council Votes On New Police Headquarters

       (Saint John Common Council)
                     (File Photo)

The fate of the new police headquarters building at Peel Plaza will be decided tonight at a special meeting of Common Council. Mayor Ivan Court says the low bid to construct the two storey building has come in at 20.7 million dollars. He's all in favour but as for the rest of Council, the Mayor believes they will be satisfied with what's on the table. This project first came into being when Norm McFarlane was Mayor. Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase has been vocal in his opposition and is expected to vote against. Court accuses the opponents of exaggerating the final cost in an attempt to bolster their arguments. The project first came to fruition during the term of former Mayor Norm McFarlane.

Fire Crews From All Over Saint John Region Respond To Early Morning Fire

A fire early this morning ravaging a two storey home along Upper Golden Grove Road. One man made it out on time after the blaze was reported shortly after 2:00. Rothesay Regional Fire along with crews from Hampton, Nauwigewalk and Saint John all responded.

It's The Year Of Living Dangerously For Boaters In Province

After a boater drowned in South Oromocto Lake last week, the Province's Lifesaving Society is again urging everyone to wear a life jacket.
Elizabeth Lamothe tells CHSJ News that when you are dedicated to drowning prevention, each death feels like a failure. Lamothe says boats are more dangerous than motorcycles and this summer more people have died on provincial waterways than in motorcycle accidents. She points out the law requires all boats to have life jackets but does not stipulate that boaters have to wear them.

Skirtboarders From Sweden In The City For Skateboarding Clinic

Skirtboarders are a team of women from Canada and Sweden who skateboard. They are in the Port City to promote the sport to local girls. Jason MacLean of the Fundy Skateboard Association tells CHSJ News that women are better at this because they prevail at sports that require balance so it's a natural fit.
A demo and clinic for the City of Saint John playground program is coming up this morning at 10 at the Somerset Community Centre.
A free clinic is coming up at noon at the skateboard park along Station street near Harbour Station.
A demonstration will be held tonight at 6 also at the Skateboard park.