Life Saving Society Warns About Water Safety

The Lifesaving Society of New Brunswick says drowning still claims almost 500 lives a year in Canada. Executive Director, Elizabeth Lamothe, says the majority of drownings in this province are related to boating and swimming in unsupervised areas. She also says natural waters like lakes and rivers provide the greatest danger because of currents.
It's still not clear what happened to the man who drowned in Rockwood Park, but Lamothe says it appears he was swimming outside of the designated and supervised swimming area.

Weather In July Broke Previous Record

If it seemed much wetter than usual last month that's because it was. Saint John beat a previous record set in 1979 for the most rainfall in the month of July. The port city received 194.7 millimetres of rain last month--beating the old record of 193.3. The normal amount of precipitation for July is only 101.5 millimetres.
Environment Canada Meteorologist, Linda Libby tells CHSJ news Saint John, Fredericton and St. Leonard all had much higher than normal amounts of rain last month. But sunshine may be on the way for this month. Libby says the short term forecast for August is looking a little drier.

Summer Theatre Festival To Get Underway

Saint John's summer theatre festival kicks off tomorrow with Theatre on the Edge. Executive Director of the Saint John Theatre Company, Stephen Tobias, tells CHSJ news they are expecting about 800 to one thousand people during the 12-day festival.

The theatre company recently completed major renovations to their new building on Princess Street, which will house the entire festival. This year's Theatre on the Edge will include "Shakespeare in the Parking Lot", dance workshops, a performance by comedienne Diane Flacks about the trials of raising children in a two-mom family, and random one-act plays.

Construction Set to Begin on Rothesay Road

Galbraith Construction crews will begin the installation of sanitary and storm sewers along Rothesay Road today. Traffic disruptions and delays are expected during the construction period which will last until November. One lane will be open with traffic moving in both directions from 7 am to 9 am but after nine in the morning and on the weekend traffic will move in the Eastern direction only. The 2.8 million dollar project will include reconstructing and paving the road and expected to be finished by November 6th.

Council to Be Updated on Flood Water Diversion Plan

Common council will receive an update on the status of the Marsh Creek Storm water Diversion project at tonight's meeting. The project has $400 thousand dollars approved in this years city budget, which will go towards designing the system that will collect excess storm water before it enters Marsh Creek and divert it to an outfall at Drury Cove.

Terrain Group will carry out the preliminary design and the cost benefit analysis on the $18 million dollar project. A public consultation will be held August 12th at Exhibition Park.

West Side Business Association Fights for Levy

The Saint John West Business Association is appealing to common council to table a staff recommendation that the West side Business Improvement Area be scrapped. In a report included in tonight's council kit, the city's common clerk is recommending council deny the proposed BIA levy. Elizabeth Gormley says after reviewing letters of objection's it turns out 34.6 per cent of non-residential users are opposed to the BIA.

Business Association Spokesperson, Blaine Harris says two of the letters received from hotels on the Golden Mile were signed by managers and not the owners. He says after contacting both owners it was clear neither objected to the proposed BIA. Harris has sent an email to councilors asking them to table the item until the Clerk can meet with the Business Association to formally review the objections together.

Real Estate Brokers Offer up Alternative Space for New Police Headquarters

Three real estate brokers are trying to get common council to consider the former Downey Motors Building as the site for the proposed police headquarters.David Maxwell, Dave O'Brien and Hodges Hamm will present the $3.2 million dollar site, which they consider a prime spot for a police headquarters because of it's access to major streets and the highway.The building on the corner of Crown Street and Rothesay Avenue is approximately $32 thousand square feet.This topic is up for discussion at tonight's council meeting getting underway at 6 o'clock in the council chambers.

New Licence Plates Available Tomorrow

[Business Minister Victor Boudreau with a new plate-----Photo courtesy of GNB]


Some vehicles around the province will take on a new look this month. The Province has unveiled a newly designed licence plate which will become available tomorrow. Conservation plates with three new designs will be available for $32 and regular plates with the new design will be $25.
Also new, owners of seasonal or antique vehicles will now have a single licence plate for their vehicles. The new plates will be available starting tomorrow, but getting one is optional.

Provincial Parks Free Today

Looking for something to do today? Admission to all provincially operated parks are free to celebrate New Brunswick Day.Tourism Minister Stuart Jamieson says this is an opportunity for residents to take in the scenery and recreational activities the parks have to offer.The Department of Tourism and Parks operate 9 provincial parks including New River Beach, and Mount Carleton.

The Pipeline is Repaired

The Natural Gas Pipeline in the Red Head area has been repaired. Three minor leaks have been on the radar since July.11th and the company says several threaded fittings were the problem. The work was finished up late Saturday and gas was flowing through the system around eight o’clock that evening.
Brunswick Pipeline spokes-person Susan Harris tells CHSJ News, it’s not un-common to have minor mechanical issues like this during the start-up of a new facility. Home-owners in the area of the leaks have been complaining of a rotten egg type smell for the past couple of weeks and that is where the odor was coming from.

The Masks Could Be Doing More Harm Than Good

You may have seen pictures of people wearing surgical masks in areas where there have been severe cases of the so called "swine flu" -- but -- our deputy chief medical health officer - Dr Paul Van Buynder - says people using masks when they don't need to can actually infect the masks and transmit the virus when normally they may not have.
Van Buynder says public health strongly believes people ill with the flu should not go to work and should stay home in isolation to help prevent the spread of the virus.

West Side Business Association Blind Sided By Request to Deny Levy

Total contempt is the feeling Blaine Harris with the West Side Business Association is feeling towards the recommendation to deny the improvement levy.Harris tells CHSJ News, the common clerk is not consulting with the association, or verifying the names on the petition.
Harris says since they were not informed about the recommendation by the common clerk they are not able to present their case to council at Tuesday's meeting, but says the associations presence will be noticed.Harris says the whole process of getting the B-I-A has been disappointing. He says it seems city staff were ready to reject it the moment they applied for it.

Woman Dead After Head On Collision

A 60 year old woman is dead after a head on collision on the Loch Lomond Road yesterday afternoon.Just after 2:30 a pick up truck slammed into the front of a car.The passenger of the car and the driver of the truck were both sent to the hospital, but their injuries are not believed to be serious.The woman's name is not being released as major crime investigates.

Man Drowns At Fisher Lakes

A tragedy at Rockwood Park yesterday afternoon.A 39 year old man drowned while swimming at Fisher Lake around 3:30.Lifeguards were able to get to him after noticing him struggling in the water, and he was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.No name has been released as Major Crimes tries to figure out what happened.

Grand Bay Westfield Potential For Real Estate

Real estate in Grand Bay Westfield appears to be an investment with potential -- Saint John Real Estate Board president Peter Pappas says there is still plenty of land available and the town appears to be development friendly.
A new connector road running from Route 7 to the center of the town is under construction and will give access to about four hundred acres of land for development.

Seadogs Continue To Try and Fill The Seats

Some surprise at the Saint John Seadogs front office about Irving Oils announcement last week to cancel plans for a second refinery. The team was looking forward to extra bodies in the metro for walk-up ticket sales and possibly new season ticket holders. President Wayne Long tells CHSJ News, they are always looking at ways to grow their fan base.
Long says right now they are at 65% capacity for the season and continue their push to have 2500 season tickets locked up before the home-opener.

Westside Business Improvement Levy to be Denied

The Common Clerk is recommending council deny the proposed Westside Business Improvement Levy.The analysis of the objections received totalled 34.6 per cent of non-residential users.Members of the Westside Business Association had requested city staff verify the amount of objections to the levy, because those who had previously objected were given wrong information about what it was all about.After doing site visits, city staff found that the objectors equalled one third of those paying into the levy, which means it cannot be passed under the Business Improvement Act.

Swine Flu Vaccine On It's Way

New Brunswickers will be receiving at least one dose of the anti-H-1-N-1 vaccine when it becomes available later this year. Deputy chief medical health officer Dr Paul Van Buynder says the vaccination program will begin with at risk groups like those under 20 or those with chronic diseases.
Van Buynder says most people will receive two doses of the vaccine -- but -- seniors may only receive one shot because studies have shown they have built up a natural immunity to the virus -- the shots will be given free of charge.

Fire In Titusville

Five other fire crews lending a hand to the Hampton Fire and Rescue for a structure fire last night in Titusville.A single storey home was gutted by fire, but no one was hurt as there was no one home.Crews from Naugwigewauk, Upham, Simmonds, Norton and K-V all were called to the blaze.Crews are trying to determine the cause of the fire.

Natural Gas Line Leaking

There have been three minor leaks along the Brunswick Pipeline in the Red Head area since July 11th. The company says several threaded fittings are leaking small amounts of the odorized gas--but--spokesperson Susan Harris says it's not uncommon to have minor mechanical issues during the start-up of a new facility.

Crews will be working to repair the leaks throughout the day tomorrow by letting out natural gas from a portion of the meter station piping; burning the majority of the gas using a short flare stack, and replacing the threaded fittings. Harris says residents may smell a “rotten egg” odour near the Canaport LNG Terminal while work is carried out, but there will be no danger for nearby residents.