Design Your Own Shopping Bag

Uptown Saint John is promoting both the arts and the environment with its latest initative --the Bring Your Own Bag Art Contest. Uptown Saint John's environment commitee is putting the call out to artists to design a canvas bag to be distributed to uptown shops. Chair Ann McShane tells CHSJ News, the winner will have their artwork printed on 1000 organic cotton shopping bags that will be distributed in the fall.

The winner will receive a $500 gift certificate from ESL Art Supplies. Submissions must be dropped of at the Uptown Saint John office by the end of next month.

Quispamsis Teen Shoots for Top Prize

19-year-old Kelly Daly of Quispamsis has landed a spot among the five finalists competing to become the next summer host for Country Music Television. Daly will find out on Tuesday if she has won a national online contest for a two-month job interviewing country stars and attending summer music events.

Daly found out she made it into the finals on June 8 and was flown home from Toronto two days later to shoot a video of her hometown. Viewers from across the country will vote for their favourite "superfan" based on the final video entries. A finale show featuring all five finalists will air tomorrow.

KV Minor Hockey Not Happy

KV Minor Hockey is still scratching it's head after hearing the Master Recreation Report for Rothesay earlier this week. President Darren Zwicker tells CHSJ News, even with the Q-Plex going up, one sheet of ice is not going to fill the hole.

Zwicker says the stat that caught him off guard is the one ice surface for every 8000 people which he believes is a national figure and not reflective of the region.

Comments Still Wanted

Comments can still be made to the town of Rothesay about their Master Recreation Plan. Comments are being taken until July.6th on the report released last week by ADI Architecture. They indicate the town's priority list should be a field house, improvement and the building of more walking trails and then an arena. Lydia Lewicki is the senior planner and tells CHSJ News, she wasn't suprised where an arena showed up on the priority pole.

Lewicki says the final report should be ready by the end of next month.

Wild Ride Through the Falls

Two guys were shaken but not stirred after an un-scheduled ride through Reversing Falls yesterday afternoon. City Fire-fighters received a call that an inflatable boat was drifting through the raging rapids. That's when the the water rescue unit was sent in and towed the boat to shore.

The two men say their vessel lost power and the tide carried them down river.

L-N-G Tanker Finally Berths At Canaport

It finally arrived late yesterday afternoon -- the first tanker carrying liquefied natural gas for the new Canaport L-N-G terminal in Red Head berthed at the jetty yesterday -- not late Friday as we reported yesterday morning based on Port Authority vessel movement information and original information from the company.
Canaport L-N-G has been advising there may be some extensive flaring activity during the commissioning process for the first storage tank at the terminal.
The company says it will begin sending gas through the Emera Brunswick pipeline as soon as the the tank cools down.

Rate Hike Justified

The Energy and Utilities Board says N-B Power's three percent rate increase which took effect April 1st is justified.
But -- in a report to Energy Minister Jack Keir -- the Board is taking exception with some of the timing of some of the financial forecasts used for budget decisions related to the increase.
The utility is expected to lose 67-million dollars in the current fiscal year even with the three percent increase.