Cat Shot With Arrow May Recover

The cat shot by a bow and arrow on Tuesday may be using one of its nine lives.
 
It happened in the area of Richmond and Exmouth streets causing shock and outrage in the community.

Melody McElman of SPCA Animal Rescue tells CHSJ News its a male cat about 1-2 years of age and he made it through the surgery.

While it will be a long road to recovery for the kitty, McElman says those caring for him think he will recover and she says she'll know more tomorrow about how he's doing.

Bust Nabs SJ Prez Of Bacchus Motorcycle Club

6 people including the President of the local chapter of the Bacchus Motorcycle club are in custody following a 6 month investigation involving 4 local police agencies.

Simultaneous raids at Nature's Way in Saint John, Shamper's Bluff Road in Kingston and Route 102 Public Landing where meth, pot, prescription pills, guns, bullets, brass knuckles and 4 grand in cash were seized.

44 year old Brian Schofield of Public Landing , also President of the Saint John Bacchus Motorcycle Club,  pled guilty to possession for the purpose of trafficking.  He was released on house arrest and will reappear in court for sentencing on September 5th and to plead on other charges.

39 year old Ryan Wallace of Kingston, a former member of the motorcycle club,  faces drugs including possession and trafficking and for having two unlicensed rifles.  He remains in custody and is due in court on Monday for a bail hearing.

28 year old Lia Olde Damink of Kingston faces several charges including possession of percocet for the purpose of trafficking, possession of two unlicensed rifles and with stealing a drug from the Regional Hospital. She has a court date next month.

39 year old Blaine Beddow of Saint John, a former striker of the Saint John Bacchus Motorcycle Club,  faces multiple drugs charges for production, trafficking and more. He's being held in custody until a bail hearing on Monday.

A 32 Saint John woman and a 42 year old Public Landing woman will be in court later to face drug charges.

VIDEO: Saint Johners Celebrate Acadian Day

City hall was a loud sea of red, white and blue flags as the Saint John francophone population celebrate Acadian Day.

Premier David Alward led a tintamarre down King Street and he says New Brunswickers don't realize that just how large the Acadian community is in the southern part of the province including the Greater Saint John area.

Guy Legere of the local francophone association tells CHSJ News he never had any trouble being french in the Port City.

He tells us he moved here in 1996 and says the integration went very well.

Kids taking part in activities at the Museum in Market Square will have their own tintamarre to Le Faubourg on Prince William street at 3 today.

The grown ups will have another traditional parade by car to Millidgeville as the crowd heads to St. Francois de Sales parish for a dinner and concert tonight.

Protests Over Proposed West To East Pipeline

Despite the enthusiasm for the proposed West to East pipeline in Saint John, it's getting a rough ride in Ontario where there have been protests. 

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is promising to address environmental concerns which she says have to be at the centre of any talk about the movement of fuel through the province. 

Eighteen people were arrested at one blockade. They oppose Enbridge's plan to reverse the flow of oil in a stretch of pipeline northwest of Hamilton to Montreal, saying the move could lead to a possible breach.

Speed Limits To Be Reviewed

Should some of the speed limits in the city be reduced? That's going to be looked at in light of a fatal crash more than three years ago on Hillcrest Road which killed a 15 year old girl and prompted some emotional debate. 

Common Councillor Donna Reardon would like to see drivers slowing down for their own safety and the safety of others, saying the Saint John Disability Association has made its concerns known to Common Council.
 
Council members Bill Farren and Shirley McAlary wonder how you could enforce lower speed limits with existing police resources.

Still A Long Way To Go For The Joshua Group

The Joshua Group is hoping the 100 thousand dollar contribution from the Potash Corporation will be the boost it needs in its fundraising campaign.

Kathy Curwin, who chairs the Joshua Group, tells CHSJ News there's still a long way to go to raise enough money to renovate an existing building on Sandy Point Road into a mess hall that would feed 100 young people as well as building an addition.

Curwin says the total cost of the project will be something like half a million dollars and the 100 thousand from Potash NB has to be matched by the Joshua Group.

Another toonie drive is planned for next month. The last one raised 20 thousand dollars in a week and Curwin is hoping to double that this time around.

Another Drop In Gas Prices

You'll get a bit of a break if you have to fill up.

Gas prices have gone down after the weekly setting. Self serve regular in the city declining by 2 cents a litre to $1.29.5 and diesel has also dropping by just over a couple of cents to $1.31.7 a litre.

Propane is virtually unchanged at 98.5 cents a litre while heating oil is down slightly at $1.15.2.

Prospects Uncertain For Injured cat

The cat that was shot with an arrow through its lung on Richmond Street the other day has undergone surgery but whether it will survive or not remains uncertain.

Taxi Rear Ended In The Valley

3 people taken to hospital with neck injuries after a taxi was rear ended while on the side of Hampton Road at Palmer Brook Road.

Former Sea Dogs In Court

A couple of former Sea Dogs appearing in court in London, Ontario on assault charges. 

Montreal Canadiens defense prospect Nathan Beaulieu and his father, former Sarnia Sting coach Jacques Beaulieu pleaded guilty and were given conditional discharges. This means they will not have criminal records which allows them to continue their hockey careers. 

The two were charged back in April after some sort of altercation at a house party during which two people suffered minor injuries. 

Jacques Beaulieu was fired as general manager and coach of the OHL's Sting in late May because of the incident.

Port City Preparing For Acadian Day Celebrations

The Acadian flag will be flying at City Hall tomorrow to mark National Acadian Day. 

Mayor Mel Norton and Premier David Alward will both be attending the event, which is happening at 12:30pm. 

The day is a celebration of the the culture and history of the Acadian people, and Alana Poirier of New Brunswick Museum tells CHSJ News the province's French roots run deep. Poirier says the whole region used to belong to France and was called Nouveau France, or New France. She says French explorer and navigator Samuel de Champlain was the one responsible for naming the Saint John River. 

The museum is hosting an uptown tintamarre, a traditional noise-making parade, at 3 in the afternoon along with various activities throughout the day. For more details on the events, click here.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch Up For Fredericton and Oromocto

Environment Canada issuing a severe weather bulletin for potentially nasty thunderstorms in the province.

The storms may include large hail, strong winds and heavy rain.

A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for Fredericton, Oromocto, St. Stephen including northern Charlotte county and Woodstock.

Training Camp Opens With Hopefuls From Ontario, Quebec and Saint John

Parents and players are descending on Saint John for the Sea Dogs training camp underway now.
 
Hopeful 17 year old Gabriel Tessier is from Chateaugay, Quebec is trying out for the first time and is good friends with Sea Dog Olivier Leblanc.

He tells us it's exciting but he's also nervous but more excited than anything.

The team's roster will be split into two squads with Team A and Team B playing each other tomorrow morning at 11am at Harbour Station.

One dad here with his son who is trying out tells CHSJ News it was scramble getting here because they didn't know officially until Monday night.

The Dogs' exhibition schedule starts on Saturday at the qplex versus the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

Posting Smartphone Pictures & Videos Leaves Trail

When you snap a picture or video and share it online, you may actually be sharing more than you think. 

David Shipley of UNB's IT Services tells CHSJ News nowadays most smartphones have a GPS device built into them, and what many smartphone users don't realize is that location-based services are turned on by default, so that whenever you make a post on Twitter or other social media sites, anyone can see where you are through embedded coordinates.

Shipley says through regular activity on their smartphone, people can unknowingly broadcast a lot of information about their personal lives. He says parents in particular would likely be much more cautious if they knew about the level of data they were putting out there about their children.

Turning off the location-based services is as easy as going into your settings and pressing a button. Shipley says depending on the type of device you have, you can can turn it on or off by application, meaning you could leave it on for maps, but not photos.

Potash Corp NB Will Give $100K To Joshua Group

It's everything they have been waiting for...the Joshua Group is getting a big financial shot in the arm from Potash Corp NB.

The company will make a $100,000 contribution to the charity's building fund.

The presentation is coming up on Friday afternoon at the Joshua Group's new location at 85 Sandy Point Road.

City Records Deficit Last Year With Surplus Predicted This Year

The city's general budget winding up 2012 with a deficit of 451 thousand dollars. 

Ward 4 Councillor David Merrithew points out you can see what the future holds by taking a look at the number of building permits being issued and what sort of revenue that's generating.

There was a substantial drop in building permit revenue from what was projected and Merrithew says that's not what you want to see happening because it's a good indication of a lack of growth taking place.

The deficit, itself, amounts to about one-quarter of one per cent of the total budget and Merrithew claim that means it's almost balanced. 

The city budget this year is expected to record a surplus of 847 thousand dollars even though revenue from permits and parking is expected to be down.

Saint John Water had a surplus last year of half a million dollars.

Search On For Duke Street Home Invasion Suspects

City police are hoping you can help them identify the culprits in a home invasion Monday night on Duke street.
 
About 11:15pm, two men came into the home and a 22 year old was slightly hurt.

One of men is described at between 20 and 30 years of age and between 5 foot 8 and 6 feet tall.

The second man is described as between 24 and 30 years of age about 5 foot 10 and between 150 and 200 pounds. 

On a related note, drugs were seized from this home after a search on Tuesday.
A 22 year old man and woman from the Duke Street residence are due in court at a later date.

If you know anything about this crime, contact police at 648-3333 or Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222 TIPS.

  

City police telling us this home invasion was not a random act.

Cat Reportedly Shot With An Arrow

A bizarre call to police late yesterday afternoon about a cat being shot from a tree with an arrow on Richmond Street. 

We don't have many details because the report hasn't been completed yet but CHSJ News has been told the cat was handed over to the SPCA.

Weapon Pulled On Cab Driver

A heated argument in the uptown ending with a weapon being pulled on a cab driver.  

City police tell us it happened late yesterday afternoon on Peters Street, just off of Waterloo Street. A 20 year old man got out of the car, kicked the door, took out the weapon before being arrested. The driver wasn't hurt in the incident and no cash was stolen.

Police say they also nabbed two car prowlers in the area of Carlisle Crescent on the east side.

Sea Dogs Training Camp Starts Tomorrow

The Sea Dogs training camp which opens tomorrow will include a couple of Port City boys.

Johnny Erbs played with the Woodstock Slammers of the Maritime Junior Hockey League last season and Riley Craft will get his second crack at the Sea Dogs after attending camp last season.  

Craft split last season between the Slammers and the Saint John Vito's.

The Dogs first exhibition game is coming on Saturday night at the qpex at 7pm.

For more info on the Sea Dog's training camp, click here