Duck Poacher Pinched

A 32-year-old Fredericton man pleading guilty in a Burton court for hunting too close to migratory birds.

Sameul Keith F. Drummond given a $1000 fine for hunting migratory game birds within 400 metres of where bait was placed and he is also suspended from hunting for a year or being near anyone hunting the birds.
Drummond also had to surrender all hunting bait along with the birds he hunted and killed to the Court.

Unionized Workers At Airport and Air Canada Call Centre Back To Work

The Canadian Auto Worker's Union and Air Canada have reached a tentative agreement, meaning unionized employees at the call centre in Millidgeville and at the Saint John Airport will be going back to work.

Local union rep Cheryl Robinson tells CHSJ News everyone is happy the ordeal is over.

She says employees will be going back to work as soon as tonight.

The deal comes after the federal government introduced back-to-work legislation seeking to force the customer service agents back to their posts.

Community Groups Get Major Funding

160-thousand dollars worth of cheques being handed out to eight priority neighbourhood organizations.

The money is part of the city's Neighbourhood Development Stimulation Grant Program.

Tammy Calvin of ONE Change receiving a cheque for over 22-thousand dollars and she tells CHSJ News the money will go towards paying for their full-time staff member, who plays a pivotal role in their group.

Other groups receiving funding include Vibrant Communities, the Teen Resource Centre, and the Crescent Valley Resource Centre.

Commercial Development By Airport Not A Priority

Agree to disagree -- the city's planning department isn't seeing eye to eye with the Saint John Airport with regards to future development of land around the airport.

Saint John Airport President Bernie LeBlanc says commercial and retail space needs to be grown around the airport as it can't live on passenger fares alone.

But Ken Forrest with the city's planning department tells CHSJ News it's more of a priority to encourage that kind of growth in the uptown and surrounding areas.

He says the city does support the growth for air-related business out by the airport, like cargo or exporting.

Prison Term for First Time Offender Who Robbed

A 23 year old man from Baxter's Corner who, on the spur of the moment, after having an argument with his parents and drinking a pint of Fireball whisky, robbed the Dolan Road Circle "K" has been sentenced to 2 years and one month in prison.

David Ryan Chamberlain's lawyer, David Rogers,  argued for a conditional sentence, which would mean no jail time at all, saying he had never been in trouble before, is not a danger to others and has fantastic support from both family and respected members of the community including Mayor Ivan Court's Executive Assistant Al Rouse.

Judge Bill McCarroll agreed Chamberlain doesn't pose a danger but determined a conditional sentence, under the Court of Appeal guidelines, would not be appropriate.

Chamberlain had been out of work and still had not received his first E-I cheque when the blowup occurred.

The judge also went out of his way to tell the parents they shouldn't beat themselves up over what happened.

Rothesay High Students Study The Stonehammer Geopark

Students at Rothesay High taking part in a variety of projects relating to the Stonehammer Geopark.
Teacher Jayne Kingston tells CHSJ News it was linked with the physcial geography curriculum.
She says they looked at rocks and how they impact our lives and the kids could do their project on anything related to the geopark. The student projects include a movie and many power point presentations.
You can tour the Stonehammer Geopark exhibit tonight at the New Brunswick Museum. The event runs from 5-7 tonight at Market Square.

Arrests In Saint John After Break And Enter In Hampton

Three people, two men and a woman arrested at a house on Thornborough in the North End arising from a break and enter that occurred in Hampton.

The investigation hasn't concluded yet and Police are on the lookout for more suspects.

A Small Increase In Gas Prices

A slight rise in gas prices after the weekly setting with self serve regular now at $1.24.5 in the city and diesel is being sold for an even $1.31 a litre.

 There's no change with propane which remains at $1.13.2.

Chief City Planner Optimistic City's Population Will Grow

City planner Ken Forrest says all of this development planning for the city will not be in vain as it is anticipating a population boom in the coming years.

He tells CHSJ News there will be an influx of people when the baby boomers retire because they'll likely remain in the city and their jobs will have to be filled by new people. Forrest predicts the influx will begin around 2017.

He says the city can attract workers because it has large industries that aren't easy to move like the pulp mill and the refinery.

According to studies done by the city as part of the development of the new municipal plan, the city's population will surge by about 10-thousand over the next 25 years.

Saint Johnners Appear To Like New Direction In Future Development

Plan SJ hosting an open house where the draft municipal plan was presented to the public.

About 80 people coming out to view the plan, which outlines the growth strategy of the city over the 25 years, and it was met with positive praise.

Lyn Van Tassel lives by Treadwell Lake and she tells CHSJ News she likes the focus on uptown growth and less on rural development. Dee Stubbs-Lee of Germain Street listened to the summary by city planner Ken Forrest and she tells CHSJ News she likes the future direction for the uptown. Sean Gillis of Orange Street likes the plan but he hopes people don't see it as a magic bullet for the city's future.

The city is taking public input on the draft for the next 4 weeks and will present a final version of the plan to Common Council by the end of the year.

Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation Wants Votes For Online Contest

Who would have thought that signing into your Facebook page can help the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation win some cash?

The foundation is currently second in the region for the Vivint Gives Back Project, an online charity contest where the top vote-getter in each region gets 100-thousand dollars.

Voting is done via connecting to the Vivint Gives Back Project website with your Facebook profile.

Foundation Director Victoria Clarke tells CHSJ News the money would be a huge boost for The Give Campaign, which is raising 680-thousand dollars for stem cell treatment.

The charity that rakes in the most votes overall will also get 225-thousand dollars.

You can vote here.

Confessed Robber Might Not Go To Prison

A Baxter's Corner man who pleaded guilty to robbing the Dolan Road Circle "K" May 4th will find out tomorrow morning if he will have to serve any time behind bars. 22 year old David Ryan Chamberlain also pleaded guilty to having his faced concealed while committing the holdup. 

His lawyer, David Rogers is pressing for a conditional sentence which would mean no prison time calling the robbery ludicrous, bewildering and out of character. He told the court Chamberlain doesn't have a criminal record, was not armed, he actually apologised to the victim while committing the robbery and confessed shortly after being arrested. 

The court has also been given letters of support from stellar members of the community who are speaking up for Chamberlain. 

The victim's father told the court his son accepts Chamberlain's apology but Judge Bill McCarroll says he wants to hear from the victim himself before making his decision.

Former Jail Guard To Serve 15 Months

47-year-old Joseph Patrick Allen receiving 15 months in jail for two counts of sexually assaulting an inmate.
The former jail guard earlier plead guilty to both incidents, the first of which occurred between 2003 and 2005 at the jail on Old Black River Road, the second at the city lock-up between 2009 and 2010.

Allen maintained the sex was consensual and his lawyer asking for a conditional sentence so he could receive therapy for sexual addiction.

The judge awarding jail time on the grounds that Allen was in a position of authority when the act occurred, and he did not seek counselling for his illness until after he was charged.

Allen will also serve two years of supervised probation.

Pain and Suffering Insurance Cap Consultations Begin This Week

Public consultations on a review of the injury cap on pain and suffering awards start this week.  The Auto Insurance Working Group holding its first sessions in Edmunston and Belledune but will visit Saint John on the 27th.
The focus of the working group is the $2,500 cap on pain and suffering awards for minor personal injuries and the legal definition of what constitutes a minor personal injury.
Meantime, the Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company has been ordered by the New Brunswick Insurance Board to rebate more than 14 thousand New Brunswickers a total of 360 thousand dollars for their auto insurance. Each customer will receive something like 25 dollars each.  For more info click here

Crews Respond To Small Fire At A Hydrant Store

If it had been a little more serious, this might have been helpful.

Fire crews responding to smoke at Clow Canada in the industrial park on the East Side which sells fire hydrants and fire supression equipment.   The building at 245 Industrial Drive was quickly evacuated and smoke could be seen in the vents.
No one was hurt.

SWN Resources Looking For Natural Gas Deposits

A business audience in Saint John hearing about the exploration plans of SWN Resources Canada at a Board Of Trade breakfast.
The company made a discovery in Arkansas which now employs over 11, 000 mostly local people.
General Manager Tom Alexander tells CHSJ News it's too early to predict how much natural gas may be found in this province.
He says each location can have 20 wells and in Arkansas they had 500 locations but he says there are spread out to minimize impact.
Alexander says a lot of the concerning the impact of fracking to find gas deposits is just plain wrong.  He claims the film "Gasland" which is very critical of the industry is made by a filmmaker and not a documentarian.

Bay of Fundy Still In Race Of Wonders

A special event being held to raise awareness for the Bay of Fundy as the site competes to be one of the world's 7 Wonders of Nature. 

Terri McCulloch with Bay of Fundy Tourism tells CHSJ News, as part of this year's Canada Day celebrations everyone is invited to the Coast Guard site on June 29 to form a giant human seven. 

She says they'll be taking a picture to promote the Bay of Fundy, and they're hoping to get at least 777 people out. 

McCulloch says the Bay of Fundy is one of only 28 sites left in the competition, and is up against places like the Grand Canyon and the Dead Sea. 

This is the last leg of the race, with the 7 Wonders of Nature being announced November 11. 

To vote for the Bay of Fundy go to http://www.votemyfundy.com/ or text FUNDY to 77077 (25 cents per text).

Fatal First Street Likely Began After Electrical Problem

The City fire department and police department releasing a joint statement on the cause of a deadly fire in the North End last month.
In a release, they tell CHSJ News the First street fire originated between the ceiling of the main floor bathroom and the floor of the top floor bathroom and is likely to be electrical in nature.
The investigation is now over into the May 1st blaze that claimed the life of Sarah Connell.
Connell's family is asking they not be contacted by the media and they are still dealing with the loss.

Airport President Not Happy With Draft Municipal Plan For City

The President and C-E-O of Saint John Airport says there is a disconnect between Plan SJ's draft municipal plan and the future sustainability of the airport.

Bernie Leblanc says There needs to be an alignment between the city's land use policy and Saint John Airport's ability to grow.

He argues the airport will need the ability to diversify and have a variety of businesses around its area with offices and shops and he wouldn't want to see the municipal plan prevent that from happening.

LeBlanc says, according to the draft municipal plan, the land around the airport was designated primarily for transportation use and that that won't be sustainable because it generates very limited revenue.

He cites as an example of diversity at the airport could be housing the coast guard helicopter once the coast guard site is gone as well as allowing for commercial development.

You Can See Draft Of New Municipal Plan Tonight On Future Development

The public being invited to an open house tonight to help review the city's draft municipal plan.

Jacqueline Hamilton with Plan SJ says staff will be available to answer questions and a there's also a workbook to help guide people through the document.

Plan SJ is also presenting the draft plan to developers and outlying municpalities this week.

Tonight's session goes from 5:30 to 9 at Saint John High School with a presentation starting at 6pm.

The thrust of the new municipal plan is to have more development taking place closer to the urban core without an influx of big high rise buildings being constructed but the goal is to have greater density of population in a smaller area to reduce costs for the city.