Power Back on in the Valley

It looks like the lights are back on for almost everyone in the Kennebacasis Valley.

This after being in the dark since just after 4 this morning, until noon.
NB Power spokesperson Heather Maclean tells CHSJ News, crews continue to work to try and find out what caused the tranmission outage.
Earlier this morning over 15 thousand people were in the dark, and the utility is now reporting under a hundred.

Provincial Budget to Include Spending for Nursing Homes

[Premier Graham in the Legislature----Photo courtesy of GNB.ca]
The Premier says when the capital budget is released next week it will include significant spending toward nursing homes.

Shawn Graham says during the Legislature, that his government is dedicated to providing quality health care to seniors, something the opposition never did.
Graham says every region will benefit from this investment.
The government is preparing to table it's budget next week that will include 1.6 billion dollars in stimulus spending.

Update on Power Outage

NB Power is saying the lights went out in the Kennebecasis Valley because of a transmission failure.

Spokesperson Heather McLean tells CHSJ News, a transmission outage can be caused by a number of factors, and so far it's still not known what caused this one.
She says crews are working to get everyone back on the grid--and are making significant headway.
Earlier this morning over 15 thousand customers were in the dark, but now NB Power is reporting just over 2 thousand are without power.

Saint John Energy is reporting a large number of customers in East Saint John experienced an outage this morning due to the transmission problem from NB Power.

Black Out

The Kennebacasis Valley is completely in the dark.

NB Power is reporting nearly 15 thousand customers are without power in Rothesay, Quispamsis, Hampton, and East Saint John.
The cause of the outage is still unknown, but crews are out working on it to try and remedy the situation, with no estimated timeline to when customers will be back on the grid.
Rothesay Regional Police tell us, it seems the majority of the lights went out around 4 in the morning.

Young Progressive Conservatives Meeting

[Provincial Tory Leader David Alward---File Photo]
Quispamsis is playing host to the Young Progressive Conservatives annual general meeting this weekend. Party Leader David Alward tells CHSJ News, in recent month, many of the young people he has spoken with are becoming dis-connected with the political process:

Over the weekend, members will elect a new executive and and will be called upon to vote on proposed constitutional amendments.

Heart and Stroke Foundation Bus Pull

The Heart and Stroke Foundation will take over Charlotte Street tomorrow for it's first annual bus pull. Teams will attempt to drag the forty foot limos 100-feet with team raising cash to buy Automated External Defibrillators to install in area high schools. Spokes-person Terry Wagner tells CHSJ News, the goal is to make AED's as common place as a fire extinguisher:

There are 1200 people in the Province every year die from sudden cardiac arrest and the survival rate greatly increase with the use of an AED. The event gets started tomorrow at eleven o'clock.

Operation Red Nose Begins

After enjoying an successful campaign last winter, Operation Red Nose hits the road again this weekend. Co-ordinator Katie Emrich tells CHSJ News, the set-up is real simple, if your going out to enjoy some holiday cheer, give them a call and they will take care of the driving.
Emrich says last year they had 100 volunteers with 40 applications in so far this season including Mayor Ivan Court volunteering his services. The number to call is 693-6810.

Mock Exercise in Rockwood Park

If your near Rockwood Park today, don't be suprised by what you might see. River Valley Ground Search and Rescue is holding a Mock Search today in the park and surrounding area.

Team members will comb through the woods and set up a command post on Dark Lake Road. It's to help better prepare for when someone is missing and they are called in to help.

Swine Flu Clinics for the General Public Start on Monday

The Horizon Health Network has announced a long list of H1N1 Clinics for the General Pulblic beginning on on Monday.

Here is a list of currently scheduled clinics:

Grand Manan Community Complex Gym, 1021 Route 776, Grand Manan, General Public, November 30, 9am - 8pm

Exhibition Park, 159 McAllister Drive, Saint John, General Public, November 30, 10am - 8pm
Marco Polo Cruise Ship Terminal, 111 Water Street, Saint John, General Public, December 1, 9am - 9pm
Royal Canadian Legion, 43 Queen St. West, St. Stephen, General Public, December 1, 9am - 9pm
Grand Manan Community Complex Gym, 1021 Route 776, Grand Manan, General Public, December 1, 9am - 3pm
Royal Canadian Legion, 43 Queen St. West, St. Stephen, General Public, December 2, 9am - 5pm
Hampton Senior Resource Center, 31 Demille Ct., Hampton, General Public, December 2, 9am - 7pm
Side Court Right (gymnasium) George Forbes Elliot Athletic Centre UNBSJ, 100 Tucker Park Road, Saint John, UNBSJ Students and Staff, 9am - 3pm
Side Court Right (gymnasium) George Forbes Elliot Athletic Centre UNBSJ, 100 Tucker Park Road, Saint John, General Public, 3pm - 9pm
NBCC St. Andrews, 99 Augustus Street, St. Andrews, General Public, December 3, 9am - 9pm
Rothesay Baptist Church, 30 Vincent Road, Quispamsis, Kennebecasis Valley, General Public, December 3, 9am - 9pm
St. George Community Center, 11 J.O. Spinney Dr., St. George, General Public, December 4, 9am - 5pm
Carleton Community Centre, 82 Market Place, Saint John (West), General Public, December 4, 9am - 9pm
Sussex Elementary School, 25 Duke Street, Sussex, General Public, December 4, 9am - 7pm
NBCC Saint John, 950 Grandview Ave, Saint John, General Public, December 5, 9am - 9pm
Norton Elementary, 274 Route 124 Norton, Saint John, General Public, December 5, 9am - 3pm
NBCC Saint John, 950 Grandview Ave, Saint John, General Public, December 6, 9am - 9pm
Campobello Island Consolidated School, 1722 Route 774, Wilson’s Beach, Campobello Island, General Public, December 7, 12pm - 8pm
Hampton Senior Resource Center, 31 Demille Ct., Hampton, General Public, December 8, 9am - 7pm
St. George Community Center, 11 J.O. Spinney Dr., St. George, General Public, December 8, 9am - 7pm
Carleton Community Centre, 82 Market Place, Saint John (West), General Public, December 8, 9am - 9pm
Royal Canadian Legion, 43 Queen St. West, St. Stephen, General Public, December 9, 9am - 9pm
Exhibition Park,159 McAllister Drive, Saint John, General Public, December 9, 9am - 9pm
Saunders Irving Chapel, Bethany Bible College, 26 Western Street, Sussex, General Public, December 9, 9am - 7pm
Lord’s Cove Church of Christ, 227 Route 772, Lord's Cove, Deer Island, General Public, December 10, 10am - 8pm
St Marks United Church, 50 Dexter Drive, Saint John, General Public, December 10, 12pm - 7pm
Kings Valley Wesleyan Church, 332 Hampton Road, Quispamsis, Kennebecasis Valley, General Public, December 10, 9am - 9pm


For an updated list of clinics go to www.gnb.ca/flu  or call 1-800-580-0038.

Some Runners Have To Pay to Keep their Olympic Torch

A local woman is upset that some of the runners who carried the Torch in the Saint John area this week had to pay to keep it.

Rachel Cook tells CHSJ News her 14-year-old son Antoine had to pay almost $500 for his torch.
Cook adds she thinks it was fair and unfair and it shouldn't have been so expensive.
Cooks thinks it's a bit unfair when the runners for companies were given their torches as keepsakes while some school kids had to come up with the cash to keep it.

Imperial Theater Reaches Goal

     (Shot of the Marquee at the Imperial Theater)
                  (Photo by Jim Hennessy)

With less than a month to go before Christmas, a huge gift has arrived early for the Imperial Theater's Keep It Live Campaign. Following a performance last night, Arthur and Jack Irving handed over a cheque for half a million dollars to put the fundraiser over the top of their goal of $2.5 million dollars. Peter Smith is General manager of the Theater and tells CHSJ News, he is flabbergasted by the generosity.

Cindy Millet is a member of the Capital Campaign Cabinet and works for Irving Oil and tells CHSJ News, she is overwhelmed by the gift. As a way of thanking the Irving's for their generous gift, the Imperial Theater is renaming the auditorium Fort Reliance for the next 15 years.

RCMP Warn Of Another Phone Scam

Another warning about a phone scam in the area. It was back on Wednesday, a Bellisle Creek woman received a call from a man saying it was her grandson, he was in trouble and needed to be wired some cash for a lawyer. The woman went to her bank but they were suspicious and asked for a fax number from the lawyers office before sending the money. She went back home, the man called back and was furious and told her to go to another bank but they would not deal with her either.


She went back to her bank and they called the RCMP. An officer went home with the senior and when the phone rang, he answered. As soon as he identified himself as RCMP, the man said he had the wrong number and hung up. The call was tarced to a cell-phone in Quebec. Between January and August of this year, 317 similar calls have been made to homes around the country.

Update on Construction at the Q-Plex

After suffering through a wet start, work crews at the Q-Plex in Quispamsis are making up time with this spring like weather of late. Concrete foundations have been poured and infrastructure for the bleachers in place along with the bleachers on site ready to be installed. Work on the outdoor pool is underway and the bulk of the site work is finished.


The pipes for the geothermal system have been laid and the over-all construction schedule is on time. The facility is still scheduled to be open by the fall of next year. Earlier this week, Saint John Toyota announced it's sponsorship for the zamboni at the Q-Plex and also donated two new vehicles for use by the facility staff.

Mayor Court Lights His Tree Tonight

Santa will head down King Street tonight waving at the children on his way to the Mayor's Tree Lighting ceremony at Loyalist Plaza. Ivan Court tells CHSJ News, there will be singing, treats and the lights will be flipped on at 6pm.

City staff will also collect non-perishable donations and toys for local charities. If the weather is a problem, the event will be moved inside to Market Square.

Fundy High School Chemical Spill Contained

Student at Fundy High got an unexpected day off because of a chemical spill today. Several chemicals got mixed together when a shelf they were on collapsed around 8am.


The Saint John Fire Department's Haz-Mat Unit set up a command post and worked with St. George fire officials and 5 other agencies including the RCMP and New Brunswick Public Safety.
Saint John's Deputy Fire Chief Mark Gillan tells CHSJ News there were no injuries to students, staff or any of the responders.
Gillan says the school was turned back over to District 10 by 4pm.

Pile Driving at Long Wharf Is Finished

(file photo)

Irving Oil has completed the pile driving work at the Long Wharf site that started in September.
The International Longshoremen's Association held a news conference this week to speak against the work being done on the company's future headquarters saying it breaks the rules of the Canada Marine Act.
Spokesperson Leslie Macleod tells CHSJ News they have received all the required permits from the City and Port Authority to conduct all the work done to date.
She adds they are excited about the project but, they realize that not everyone is going to share this vision.
Macleod says they are waiting on federal approval and the finalization of the land agreement before proceeding with any more work on the site.

H1N1 Update From the Province

(Chief Medical Officer of Health)
            (File Photo)

By tomorrow, everyone in the priority groups for the H1N1 shot, will have had a chance to roll up their sleeve. So, that is why some of the clinics for the general public will open this weekend but most on Monday. To date, 158 people have had to be hospitalized because of the swine flu and seven around the Province have died. Dr. Eilish Cleary is the Chief Medical Officer of Health the intensity of the activity has gone down.


Dr. Cleary reminds everyone to keep a close watch on the gnb.ca website for clinic times and locations. Regional Health Authorities are still working on locations and how they will distribute the shots.

Chemical Spill at High School

The Haz-mat Unit of the Saint John Fire Department is on scene at Fundy High School. A chemical spill in the building earlier this morning forced the evacuation of the building. Deputy Chief Mark Gillan tells CHSJ News, it appears several chemcials got mixed together when a shelf they were on in a chem-lab collapsed.


A janitor was the first to smell a strange odour and quickly called the fire department about the incident. No one was hurt and St. George Fire were the first on the scene to secure the building.

Business Minister on NB Power

""People always react negatively to change."" That from Business Minister Victor Boudreau in Saint John earlier this week for a funding announcement. Boudreau is talking about the negative reaction to the NB Power Hydro-Quebec proposal and says even with the public utility posting a $70 million dollar profit last year, you have to look at the over-all operation and debt at five billion dollars.
Boudreau says he finds it ironic the opposistion is crying for more information to be released about the proposal and then when they do, they get more grief for spreading what Conservatives call useless propoganda.

Uptown Saint John Lights Up King Street

(City Crews String Lights For Tree on King Street)
               (Photo by Jim Hennessy)

Uptown Saint John has partnered with Saint John Energy and Leisure Services to spread some Christmas cheer. White lights have been placed in the trees along King Street and also on some trees that have been added to the flower beds. Uptown General Manaer Peter Asimakos tells CHSJ News, this work is on top of the bells and trees that go on the poles every year.

There is competion for businesses in the Uptown for the best decorated store front with a top prize of $250 cash.