2009-05-01
17:25:04
Workers at the Irving Pulp and Paper Mill are trying to figure out what caused an electrical malfunction that tripped the electrical network earlier today. Spokesperson Mary Keith tells CHSJ news the outage happened around three o'clock and they expect to have power back up by six this evening.
Keith says no one was hurt and they are not aware of any environmental issues caused by the electrical malfunction.
2009-05-01
16:28:12
Saint John Police are looking for help from the public in locating a missing man. 65 year old, John--Archie--Ryan was last seen on Tuesday morning. He is described as six-foot-one, 205 pounds, with short grey hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a brown and black zip-up jacket with "wolves" printed on it.
Police say Ryan takes medications 4 times a day for several medical conditions and is known to hang around King Square, the City market and the Open Door Club. Anyone with information is asked to call city police at 648-3333.
2009-05-01
15:10:00
The new ferry schedule takes effect tonight for Belleisle and Gagetown. Ferry service will end as of 11pm and start up again at 6am--with both services only operating between 6 in the morning and 11 in the evening from now on.
There are at least three contractors showing an interest in operating the Belleisle and Gagetown ferries. The provincial government plans to hand over the two ferry services to community led groups in both areas once all they have all legal documentation in place. The province will continue to operate the ferries until the transition is complete.
2009-05-01
15:09:17
Residents of Penobsquis will soon have safe drinking water thanks to an agreement between the provincial government and Sussex Corner. Under the agreement, Sussex Corner will manage and operate a new water system serving Penobsquis. The Sussex Corner system will connect to homes in Penobsquis once tests come back showing the quality of the water supply.
A public information meeting will be held regarding the agreement on Monday night at the Penobsquis fire hall.
2009-05-01
15:08:28
The Premier has announced his awards for excellence in education. Two Quispamsis teachers will be honoured with the provincial award. Valerie Conrad is being recognized for her work improving students' numeracy, literacy and science skills at Quispamsis Elementary School. David Ripley of Lakefield Elementary School is being recognized for his passion for learning and is credited for creating a positive school environment.
Awards at the district level go to the Hammond River Valley Elementary School hot lunch volunteers and Allison Maxwell of St. Malachy's Memorial High School. A gala honouring the recipients will take place May 11th, at The Playhouse in Fredericton.
2009-05-01
11:46:32
(Canaport liquified natural gas terminal - photo courtesy Canaport LNG)
A spokesperson for Canaport L-N-G says the dispute over shifting is between the contractor and the Insulators union.
And Carolyn Vanderveen tells CHSJ News the dispute should be resolved quickly without any impact on construction schedules.
She says 98-percent of the workers during the past three years of construction have been Canadian with 85-percent of those workers actually local people.
Work on the sprawling facility is 96-percent complete.
2009-05-01
09:52:25
(Dr Eilish Cleary - file photo)
Provincial Health officials have been saying it would only be a matter of time before it happened.
The province's chief medical health officer - Dr Eilish Cleary - says New Brunswick now has it's first case of the H-1-N-1 flu formally called the Swine Flu.
Cleary says a woman in her twenties in the Moncton area who recently returned from Mexico did not need to be hospitalized.
Cleary says there hasn't been any delay in getting the results from the labs at the Georges Dumont Hospital in Moncton and the national lab in Winnipeg -- she says the results came back within expected time lines.
2009-05-01:
07:47:35:
A protest is growing along Crown Street this morning as LNG Workers pick up a picket sign instead of their tools. George Sherrard is one of them and tell CHSJ News, they are protesting what is called a double time day with 40 workers from Poland taking their shift at the terminal.
Sherrard says the workers from this country are treated like third class citizens at the LNG Site while the European workers are given everything.
2009-05-01:
04:49:50:
The refurbishment project at Point Lepreau continues to run behind schedule. An update from NB Power today says the removal of all 380 of the pressure tubes from the reactor is complete with the next phase of work set to get started. That is the removal of 380 calandria tubes. These are the components that hold the pressure tubes inside the reactor. The bad news is, things are still running behind schedule with a series of delays pushing completion of the project from September into, at least December, or possibly next year.
The main generator rotor that was dropped into the Saint John Harbor last fall is scheduled to arrive at the plant next month. NB Power says it is working closely with the fishing community to map out the best route for delivering the massive piece of machinery from the Port.
2009-05-01:
04:48:28:
Tim Hortons is not just popular with coffee drinkers anymore. Thieves are making it their target of choice as well with the Westfield Road store the latest to be hit. City Police arrived at the coffee shop to find the thief or thieves got into the store through the drive-thru window. No word at this point on whether anything or how much was taken.
This is the fourth Tim Hortons that has been hit by thieves in the past several weeks. The other locations are Russel Street, Lower West and Hilyard Street......all stores that close at eleven o'clock.
2009-05-01:
04:47:21:
For the second time this year, fire has hit the Saint John Horsehoe Club's Trailer in the North End. City Fire and Police arrived on scene to find flames coming from the unit and they quickly knocked down the fire. Damage to the interior is significant but the good news is, there doesn't appear to have been too much equipment inside. The club's trailer was destroyed by flames back on Feb.16th. Major Crime has been called in.
Also, City Fire Crews were called to Park Place Apartments on the Hickey Road last night on reports of a fire. When they arrived they found black smoke coming from the roof area but quickly found roofer's doing some repair work. In the process of using their torches to melt tar paper, other materials caught fire causing the smoke. No major damage to the building and no one was hurt.
2009-04-30
22:27:54
(Port reported in line for government funding for upgrades - photo courtesy Saint John Port Authority)
The waterfront union is applauding the prospects of over 40-million dollars in federal and provincial funding for port improvements.
But International Longshoremen's Association rep Pat Riley tells CHSJ News the money is earmarked for the wrong place -- it should be used to repair and upgrade some deteriorating piers on the west side.
Riley says the condition of some of the west side piers is a safety issue and may eventually cost the port business.
Both the federal and provincial governments are close to cutting cheques for a 42-million dollar upgrade to expand docking facilities beyond Pugsley Terminal to handle more - and - larger cruise ships.
2009-04-30
18:12:23
Saint John Portland Conservative MLA Trevor Holder says the provincial governments has broken a contract with the public. The premier recently announced he won't bring social assistance rates up to the Atlantic average as promised in the Charter for Change. Shawn Graham says they have new information since taking office. But Holder says an election promise is still a promise.
Social Development Minister Mary Schryer says they would rather have a made in New Brunswick solution. Holder says that doesn't hold much water.
2009-04-30
17:12:22
The mayor of Calais, Maine says his state and New Brunswick need to work together to realize their energy and industrial goals. Vinton Cassidy tells us he is strongly in favour of the proposed LNG terminal in Maine which would bring tanker traffic through Passamaquoddy Bay. The provincial and federal governments have said they won't allow the development to take place--but-- Cassidy says if we scratch their backs, they'll scratch ours.
The provincial government recently announced an energy corridor going through Maine carrying power transmission and natural gas lines to New England markets.
2009-04-30
17:11:44
Provincial RCMP have made another advancement in the war on illegal tobacco trafficking. A traffic stop in the northwestern part of the province yesterday (Wednesday) has led to the seizure of 240 thousand contraband cigarettes. Mounties arrested two men near Saint-Basile and they are scheduled to appear in court on June 17th. The tobacco seized is worth about 27 thousand dollars and RCMP believe it was destined for Nova Scotia.
Just last week RCMP seized nearly one million cigarettes in Northeastern New Brunswick.
2009-04-30
14:54:00
Canaport LNG has gained early access to a couple of city owned sites in order to complete engineering and design work for improvements to Marsh Creek. The company is determining the viability of its plans to develop functioning wetlands and greater flood retention in the Coldbook area, near Glen Falls Elementary School, and along Marsh Line, near Strescon.
The project would be part of the company's requirement for wetlands compensation, to make up for wetlands destroyed during the construction of Canaport LNG. Deputy City Manager Andrew Beckett tells CHSJ news they are hoping to include a public viewing area in Coldbrook and the initial stages of walking trails along the Marsh Line. The company is expected to report back to council in the fall on the viability of the project.
2009-04-30
13:42:55
Harbour Station is getting a lighting face lift. The city is upgrading all interior lighting with energy efficient light bulbs--a move that will save 16 thousand dollars annually in energy costs. City staff say the replacement wasn't in this years budget but it's in the city's interest--and add, the existing lights were installed in the early 1990's and are due for replacement.
The total cost for installation is about 110 thousand dollars with a 6.7 year payback--and--the city will get 12 thousand dollars in grants under the ecoEnergy Retrofit Incentive Program. The estimated annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the lighting upgrade is 200 tons of carbon dioxide.
2009-04-30
11:42:38
(Cruise ship docked at Water Street terminal - file photo)
It's not a done deal -- that's the word from Saint John Conservative M-P Rodney Weston in response to media reports Ottawa and the province will be cutting cheques for a 42-million dollar expansion of docking facilities at the local port.
He says it's one of a number of files being worked on at the moment -- a project he says he supports.
Meantime -- provincial government sources confirm the proposal is in "the discussion stage" at the moment.
The port authority says it needs more docking facilities to handle more and larger cruise ships.
2009-04-30
09:51:55
It takes all kinds -- and -- in Hampton last night -- it took a twisted mind to come up with this one.
Hampton R-C-M-P called after a woman almost went off the road while swerving to avoid a cat in the middle of the road -- turns out it was a cardboard cat!
Police say someone had taken the time to cut out the cat and then place it on the road -- an officer responded and removed the cardboard kitty.
2009-04-30:
03:49:01:
The month of April closes out on a high note on the gas front. The Energy and Utilities Board has released it's weekly price schedule which shows a litre of self-serve is down just over a penny to 86.3. Most stations in Greater Saint John are selling a litre of self-serve for 86.5.
Diesel is down just over two cents at 86.2, furnace oil, like gasoline is down over a penny at 68.2 and propane tops off at 82.1 which is down percentage points. At this time last year, a litre of self-serve gasoline was selling for over $1.20.
