City Bakery Closed Due To Mice Infestation

A City business is closed after a recent health inspection found many violations including an infestation of mice.

Public health conducting the food premises inspection on January 4th and the Batch Bakery on Main street has been closed ever since.

Douglas Walker of the Health Protection Branch tells CHSJ News in order to re-open the owners must follow up with all the recommendations the department made.

Walker says because they have an issue with mice droppings being found throughout the building, the owners must contact a pest control company and make sure that issue is under control.

The bakery was also cited for not having soap and paper towel accessible near a kitchen sink and in the staff bathroom.

KV Residents Do Not Want Commuter Tax According to KV Chamber of Commerce

The President of the Kennebecasis Chamber of Commerce says a possible commuter tax on KV residents entering Saint John will be a double-edged sword for everyone involved.

The chamber is currently looking for feedback from residents in the valley on how they feel about such a charge.

Camille Bordage tells CHSJ News the city will be shooting themselves in the foot if they impose it because less people will make the trip to Saint John.  However, he adds there would be positive spin-offs for the KV area as businesses in the valley would most likely get a boost.
He says feedback he has gotten so far indicates people would rather not have the tax at all.

Saint John's legal department is currently looking into the feasibility of a commuter or congestion tax.

Plan SJ Wants Balanced Transportation System

Finalisation of the city budget is into its final stages and it seems as if the city never has enough money to take care of the roads to the satisfaction of Saint Johnners. 

That was the impetus for the ideas of a congestion tax on suburban commuters. 

Chief Planner Ken Forrest is not offering up an opinion but concedes it's becoming more difficult to provide a wide array of city services when not all the users are paying the freight.
 
Forrest says Plan SJ will encourage people to use public transit and leave their vehicles at home. He charactises the approach as using carrots as opposed to sticks.

Cause Of West Side Inn Fire Unknown

The Saint John Fire department battling a mammoth blaze as part of the Inn On The Cove goes up in the flames.

District Fire Chief Joe Armstrong tells CHSJ News the call came in about 2:40 yesterday afternoon and firefighters remained on scene of the historic west side inn and spa until after 11pm last night.

He says no one was home at the time and a passerby noticed the fire, adding the cause and point of origin has not yet been determined.

Armstrong says it was a tough fire to fight because of the building's ballon frame construction and crews spent a lot of time chasing it.

Fire Destroys Fire Department and RCMP Office in Rogersville

The building housing Rogersville's fire department, municipal offices, and the local RCMP detachment going up in flames this morning.

Emergency crews getting the call around 5:30 this morning -- the entire building was destroyed but a rescue truck and pump truck were saved.

No one was hurt and no word yet on a cause.  Rogersville Fire Chief Marc Pitre does not believe the fire to be suspicious.

A mobile command post has been set up in the meantime for the RCMP detachment.

(photo courtesy of Gisele Caissie)

Historic Inn Destroyed By West Side Fire

A major fire destroys the turn of the century Inn on the Cove on Sand Cove Road overlooking the Bay of Fundy.

District Chief Peter Saab says the blaze was raging when fire crews arrived and quickly spread to the roof of the older part of the building.

The fire was contained to the older section. A new addition to the building was saved but did sustain smoke and water damage. It took firefighters 11 hours to finally extinguish the blaze.

There were no injuries and there's no word yet on a cause.

(Photo courtesy of Andrew Townsend)

Most Property Tax Collected In Saint John Is Taken Out Of City

The debate over a congestion tax or raising parking fees in the city has shone attention on the need for Saint John to get more money to operate. 

The city is funded primarily through property taxes but Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase says most of that money actually leaves the city including what people from the outlying areas spend at the malls.

Chase estimates 200 million dollars in property tax is leaving the city with only 19 million coming back in the form of the unconditional grant from the province.

City Budget Being Finalised

Common Council will be meeting late this afternoon in closed session as the city budget for this year is being finalised. 

Mayor Ivan Court says there will be no increase in the tax rate or cuts in services if the provincial government goes along with proposed changes to the city pension plan. 

The Mayor is looking forward to getting started this year on clean drinking water now that Harbour cleanup is ready to be taken off the city's books.

Water rates may be higher in Saint John but Court says there's a reason for that......The city is way ahead of other cities in Atlantic Canada when it comes to cleaner water. He estimates they will have to spend a billion dollars in Halifax to do what Saint John is completing this year.

Symphony NB Requests 3-Year Funding Model

Four concerts a year isn't a season--that's the complaints from music lovers at Symphony New Brunswick. General Manager Caroline Condon wants common council to commit to a 3-year funding model at a $5000 level.

Condon says the Symphony has proven its adeptness at managing its funds, with 3 debt-free years under its belt. She also emphasizes that it's a local enterprise that recycles a good portion of its annual budget right back into the community.

A $15,000 dollar commitment is on the low side compared with other similarly-sized orchestras in the country.

Changes Afoot for Fundy Regional Solid Waste Commission

With the Alward government pushing for regionalization, Common Councilor Chris Titus says that changes are in the works for the Fundy Regional Solid waste Commission. He says that the action plan for new local government systems is vague, but one this is certain: as of January 1, 2013, the Fundy Regional Solid Waste Commission won't exist anymore as a commission.

He says that the action plan could have farther reaching implications as well--but it's impossible to predict what those will look like.

He says the municipal governments won't just be looking at solid waste, but also planning and other issues.

Titus says that he expects that the changes will be hammered out more specifically during a transition period in September.

Lost Mom and Child Rescued

Scary times for a mother and her 6 year old son lost in the woods outside of Prince of Wales--but they made it home safe.

The pair found themselves lost off a hiking trail after dark last night. The lady called her husband, who got some friends together and went in to find them. By the time they did, the mother was too cold and weak to make it out on her own.

At 8:30pm RCMP contacted the Musquash Fire Department, asking for a boat to remove the people via the water. A small boat made its way from the Prince of Wales wharf to where they were located.

The mother and son were transported to hospital by ambulance for treatment.

This was the first non-fire related rescue for  Musquash Fire Department, after deciding in December that it would respond to off-road, boat and water-related incidents.

Possible Legal Action Continues To Hang Over Lepreau Upgrade

Premier Alward is keeping his cards close to his chest when it comes to the possibility of legal action over cost overruns associated with the Point Lepreau upgrade.
Alward tells CHSJ News he's said from the beginning his government will do whatever is necessary with the Lepreau issue - but - at this point in time he believes the right thing is to be doing the work needed to get the nuclear power plant back online.
Atomic Energy of Canada has experienced a number of problems as it replaced fuel channels in the reactor at the nuclear power plant with start up now scheduled for September of this year -- three years late.
N-B Power says it's paying a million dollars a day for replacement power since the plant went offline.
You can watch a video of our interview with Premier Alward by clicking the Videos button on the right.

Moore Upset With Criticism Over Qplex

The Fundy Royal MP taking issue with a published report on regionalization that criticizes the Qplex in Quispamsis.
Rob Moore tells CHSJ News his disagrees with Jean-Guy Finn's assertion that Greater Saint John has seen a proliferation of arenas and complexes.

Moore says he's not sure what province Finn is looking at but, that is not the case in Greater Saint John and he adds, the Qplex is the first arena built in the area in some time.

Moore adds it's alarming to hear commentary suggesting Quispamsis shouldn't be able to set its own recreational priorities.

Sussex Mountie Gets Foot Run Over In Early Morning Stop

Just after 1 this morning a Sussex RCMP officer conducting a traffic stop near Codys where a driver pulled over at first and then took off running over the officer's foot.

The officer was not seriously hurt and called for help from his car. He followed the man's car throughout the Codys area, but eventually lost sight of it.

Police want your help in finding the car.  It's described as a black, mid-2000s model Toyota Corolla. The driver is described as being as a tall white man with blond hair.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the RCMP at 1-506-RCMP (7267) or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Raising Parking Fees In Uptown Gets Mixed Reception

Besides the congestion tax on suburban commuters, raising parking fees in the uptown is being floated as another way to generate much needed revenue for roads in the city.

Common Councillor Bruce Court warns you've got to be careful about how high the fee should be.

He believes many people stay away from shopping uptown because they're charged for parking whereas at the malls they can park anywhere free of charge.
 
Councillor Chris Titus, who chairs the Parking Commission, says you just don't pick a number out of the air when deciding what should be charged.
 
Titus adds if you work in the uptown and live in Hampton, he believes you'd be crazy not to use the Comex bus service.

Unemployment Rises In Saint John

The Alward Government is being accused of napping when it comes to job creation.

That charge being levelled by the Liberals' Labour Critic Chris Collins with word the unemployment rate rose from 6.7 per cent in November to 7.4 per cent last month. Despite the increase in Saint John, the provincial jobless rate dropped from 9.8 to 9.4 per cent.

He tells CHSJ News rising unemployment will make it tougher to reduce the deficit without slashing and burning government services.

Collins adds the province is losing high paying jobs which are being replaced by low paying ones.

City Warns Residents About Ice Safety

The City wants you to be safe when using the lakes, ponds, streams and rivers for recreation this winter.

If you plan to skate or play hockey or take a snow mobile or small car out on any ice surface, check the ice thickness first and keep these tips in mind: 

Clear, blue ice is strongest, white opaque or snow ice is half as strong and grey ice is unsafe because it indicates the presence of water.

For skating or hockey, 20 centimetres or 8 inches of ice is required and if you want to take your snowmobile on the ice, you will need at least 10 inches of ice or 25 centimetres to travel safely and 30 centimetres or 12 inches for small cars and trucks.

Ice that forms over rivers, streams and lakes with currents is not safe.  The City’s Parks and Landscape Service will inform the public when it's safe for skating at Lily Lake.  Until then, many city arenas are offering free public skating and to find out more click here

For more on ice safety, click here

New KV Liquor Store Set To Open Late Summer

As soon as August, you may be buying your wine and beer in a brand new location.
A new 11,000 square foot NB Liquor selection store will be built next to the KV Superstore meaning the small outlet inside the Superstore and the Quispamsis location will close.
NB Liquor Communications Officer Marcelle Sonier tells CHSJ News it will feature a wine-sampling unit.

She tells us it's a little machine with 5 to 6 bottles of wine and you pay per ounce then you can sample the wine without having to buy a bottle.

Construction is set to start in April with an opening planned for late summer.

Business Optimism Flags as Small Business Owners Wait for Budget

Holding their breath--that's what policy analyst Richard Dunn says small businesses are doing as they wait for the next provincial budget.

Dunn tells CHSJ news that the latest survey data from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business rates the business confidence in the province at at 59.8%. That's below the national average of 65%.


He says that if the Alward government has to make any tough calls for small businesses, they're likely to do so this time around.

Dunn says that uncertainty is having an effect on people's optimism, and adds that rising fuel and energy prices have also been weighing heavily on small business owner's minds.

Mayor Argues Maintaining City Infrastructure Is No Joke

Most of the reaction on Facebook and elsewhere to the idea of imposing congestion tax on suburban commuters to help pay for the upkeep of roads in the city appears to be negative. Rothesay Mayor Bill Bishop has told us some people in the town told him it's a joke.

Regardless of that, Mayor Ivan Court tells CHSJ News there has to be a new way found to make sure the city has enough money to operate because how it's done now is unsustainable.

Court says Saint John has a population of 68 thousand but when you boil it down further, out of that total, there might be 23 thousand actually bearing the tax load and the numbers just don't add up.