Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

For everyone who was saying it was tough getting into the holiday spirit with-out any snow, here you go. Over ten centimeters is down in Greater Saint John with the first snow-fall of the winter season. Rain changed over to the white stuff early last night when the temperature took a sudden dip and the flakes continue to fall. Environment Canada tells us the sky should begin to clear by this afternoon. Police forces are reporting a few minor accidents but nothing serious at this point.

A reminder to make sure your vehicle is entirely cleaned off before pulling out into traffic and give yourself some extra time to get where you are going.

Rally of?

Word on what the replacement event will be for Rally of Hope is still being ironed out. The final event was held back in June and officials have been meeting ever since to get all the details wrapped up. Executive Director of the Regional Hospital Foundation Tim Cameron tells CHSJ News, they are talking to everyone who had something to do with the Rally to get the best ideas.
Cameron says the new event might be something that runs through-out the entire year with the final details expected to be rolled out early in the new year.

Donate While You Doze

For anyone who can't seem to find the time to donate to a charity, the United Way has a new initiative that takes very little effort. Its called ""Donate While You Doze"" and is in conjunction with the Holiday Inn and Suites in the North End. The hotel is slashing it's room rate in half with twelve dollars from each room going to the United Way. Elizabeth Jadoo is Executive Director of the United Way and tells CHSJ News, giving to charity doesn't get any easier than this.
Moncton raised over eight thousand dollars last year with this initiative and Jadoo hopes they can raise three thousand dollars. It runs between December.20th and January.4th.

Daycare Owner Continues to Wait for Council Decision

Another delay for the rezoning of Janie's Kid Zone in Quispamsis.

The process started back in May, and last week's town council meeting was supposed to determine whether the area on Sugarmaple Lane would be rezoned for a daycare.
With more letters of support coming in to the town, the issue has been tabled until a public hearing can be held in February.
Owner Janie Stewart says it's frustrating the process is still going on, but at least it's winding down.
Neighbours previously opposed the location of the daycare, and the final chance to be heard on the issue is on February 2nd.

Tenders For Water Projects to Go Out Soon

Tenders for the first 3 of 6 projects relating to safe, clean drinking water will be going out soon.

That from Commissioner of Municipal Operations Paul Groody, who says these are the most important projects the city has ever undertaken.
Groody says the a public call for proposals on the final three projects will also be going out soon.
Mayor Ivan Court says he heard from the Federation of Canadian Muncipalities these projects need to be started by March 31st, because after that date any flexibility may be lost.

Seadogs look to Continue Winning Streak

Can the Seadogs up their winning streak to 19 straight games? We will find out tonight when they play host to Gatineau for a seven o'clock start at the Station. When the season started, goaltending was a big question mark but they along with every player in the line-up has or is exceeding expectation. The holiday trading period starts on the 19th and Head Coach Gerard Gallant tells CHSJ Sports, it's too early to say what might unfold.
Gallant says a strong show of discipline has been a huge turning point for this team.

Santa Claus Visiting Dairytown

Santa Claus will wrap up his tour of the Greater Saint John area with a stop in Sussex tonight. It's the town's annual Santa Parade with plenty of people expected to show up along the route to see the jolly old elf from the North Pole. This years parade has 50 floats which will start from Princess Louise Park at 6:30pm. It will then cruise down Main Street and finish up in the Walmart parking lot.

Children are reminded to bring their letters for Santa and members of the Kiwanis Club will walk the route picking up non-perishable food. The theme for this years parade is the Olympic Spirit of Christmas.

More H1N1 Clinics for the General Public start tomorrow

Public Health has announced more H1N1 clinics for the general public.
They start tomorrow and run until December 11.
The following is a list of the upcoming clinics:

NBCC Saint John, 950 Grandview Ave, Saint John, December 5, 9am - 9pm
Norton Elementary, 274 Route 124 Norton, Saint John, December 5, 9am - 3pm
NBCC Saint John, 950 Grandview Ave, Saint John, December 6, 9am - 9pm
Campobello Island Consolidated School, 1722 Route 774, Wilson’s Beach, Campobello Island, December 7, 12pm - 8pm
Village Hall, 73 Main St, St. Martins, December 7, 10am - 7pm
Hampton Senior Resource Center, 31 Demille Ct., Hampton, December 8, 9am - 7pm
St. George Community Center, 11 J.O. Spinney Dr., St. George, December 8, 9am - 9pm
Carleton Community Centre, 82 Market Place, Saint John (West), December 8, 9am - 9pm
Royal Canadian Legion, 43 Queen St. West, St. Stephen, December 9, 9am - 9pm
Exhibition Park,159 McAllister Drive, Saint John, December 9, 9am - 9pm
Saunders Irving Chapel, Bethany Bible College, 26 Western Street, Sussex, December 9, 9am - 7pm
Lord’s Cove Church of Christ, 227 Route 772, Lord's Cove, Deer Island, December 10, 10am - 8pm
Macdonald Consolidated School, 3950 Route 845, Kingston, December 10, 3pm -9pm
St Marks United Church, 50 Dexter Drive, Saint John, December 10, 12pm - 7pm
Kings Valley Wesleyan Church, 332 Hampton Road, Quispamsis, Kennebecasis Valley, December 10, 9am - 9pm
Barrack Green Armoury, 60 Broadview Avenue, Saint John, December 11, 9am - 9pm
Lawrence Station Elementary School, Lawrence Station, December 11, 1pm - 8pm

For more updated information on the clinics go to www.gnb.ca/flu or call 1-800-580-0038.

Knappe Is Still Missing

(photo by Tamara Steele)

City police are still looking for a 26-year-old man who has been missing since October.
Kristopher William Knappe was seen near uptown Saint John on October 17th and later spotted in Fredericton on November 2nd.
He is about five foot seven with light brown hair, hazel brown eyes and a goatee.
If you have seen him, call police at 648-3333.

Damage to Fundy Trail

     (Photo of Damaged Main Gate at Fundy Trail)
         (Photo Courtesy of Fundy Trail Officials)

The search is on by Hampton RCMP after senseless damage has been done to a section of the Fundy Trail. Officers were called to the area to find someone had done damage to the entrance gate. Brian Clark is General Manager of the Trail and says someone with an ATV used winches and cables to tear open and damage the main entrance and back gate.

This is the third time there has been damage to the trail this year. The cost to fix what was broken is estimated to be around three and four thousand dollars.

St. Stephen Woman Was Murdered

(file photo)

The death of a St. Stephen woman is now being called a murder by RCMP. 59-year-old Mary Scott was found earlier this week at her Queen Street home in the border town and autopsy results tell officers they are dealing with a homicide.


Her family notified police when they had not heard from Scott for several days. Major Crime continues to go through the home looking for clues and are following up on a numbers of leads.

Update on Elsie Wayne's Condition

(Former Mayor and MP Elsie Wayne)
                (File Photo)

We have been getting a steady stream of phone calls and e-mails asking about her condition and today we have an update on Elsie Wayne. Almost a month after suffering a stroke, former Mayor and MP Elsie Wayne continues her road to recovery. Her husband Richard tells CHSJ News, things are coming along slow but steady but there is still no indication as to when she will be going home.

The 77-year old Wayne has been working with a therapist to correct some of the effects of the stroke for the past several weeks.

Firefighters and Police Officers Score Huge Victory

A huge victory for firefighters and police officers in New Brunswick. They are now exempt from the three day waiting period in the Workers' Compensation Act. The act contains a provision that anyone injured on the job must wait 72 hours before compensation is paid to an injured worker.


The new rule will apply to nearly 470 active police officers and almost 4,800 full-time and volunteer firefighters working around the Province.

New Coroner Appointed for the Province

The Province has announced Greg Forestell as the new chief coroner. Forestell began with the Department of Public Safety as deputy chief coroner in 2007, and took over as acting chief coroner in the summer of last year. Prior to that, he worked for the Canadian Red Cross in disaster management and community development.


Forestell begins his new duties right away.

District Eight Education Council Wants Your Input

If you have a child or children attending a school or schools in District Eight, you will want to hear this. The Education Council will start holding open houses in the new year to get your feed back. They want to know what you feel should be priority projects as far as infrastructure and programming is concerned. Director of Education Bev MacDonald tells CHSJ News, she really likes this kind of forum.


The Graham Government announced in it's budget earlier this week that over $90 million dollars will be spent on education in the coming year.

H1N1 Clinics Continue

There is still plenty of time for those looking for the H1N1 vaccination to get the shot. One is open until three this afternoon at Rothesay High and there is another up and running until nine tonight at the Carelton Community Center. The Chief Medical Officer of Health says there is declining activity in all areas of the Province with 171 people hospitalized since April with over 177,000 new doses arriving this week and over 92,000 are expected to arrive next week.


Mass immunizations clinics will continue until the 16th at which by that time, they hope to have given the shot to everyone looking for it. Even after the clinics finish up, shots will still be available to those who want it.

Conservatives Make a Motion in the Legislature

          (Conservative Leader David Alward)
                        (File Photo)

The Conservatives have tabled a motion in the Legislature asking the Graham Government to freeze any increase in energy rates. They want this set-up until after a referendum or election has been held. Leader David Alward says this needs to be done to assure every person in the Province they are protected while the NB Power – Hydro-Québec proposal is being debated.

Premier Graham claims the deal must be signed on or before March 31 in order to avoid an electricity rate increase of three per cent.

Wrong Way Driver

Rothesay Regional Police arrested a driver who was going the wrong way down the Mckay Highway. Police responded after getting a report of a vehicle travelling westbound from Hampton in the eastbound lanes. A charge of impaired driving is likely.

Hampton Fatality

A single vehicle crash last night has left one young man dead. Hampton RCMP tell us 23-year old Jeremy Shaw of Passakeg was killed after his vehicle left the highway and rolled over on the off-ramp in Quispamsis as you make your way to Hampton.

Citizens Needed for input on Saint John's New Munipal Plan

You could be part of the 13 person Citizen's committee that will advise Common Council
on the new Municipal Plan.
Committee members will meet regularly over 2 years.
Jacqueline Hamilton of the City's planning department tells CHSJ news council decides on who will make up the committee.
The new Municipal plan will guide development in the City for the next 25 years.
You have to include a letter and resume outlining your interest in the committee.
The deadline for applications is December 11th.
To apply, go the City of Saint John website.
http://www.cityofsaintjohn.ca/