Seadogs Close Out Semi-Final Series

Seadogs Punch Their Ticket to the Final

     (Seadogs and Tigres Shake Hands at Center Ice)
                   (Photo by Jim Hennessy)

The Saint John Seadogs will take on Moncton in this years Presidents Cup Final after a 7-1 win over Victoriaville to take the semi-final in six.


Marco Couseinau made 31 saves and Mike Hoffman notched a hat-trick in leading the attack.
Head Coach Gerard Gallant says it was the flat game in the series for him but his team took advantage when it had to.
This is the first all Maritime Final since the league was born in 1969.


Tickets for the final go on sale tomorrow at ten at the Harbour Station box office but no word yet on when Game One will be but the series will open in Saint John.

Boil Water Order Has Been Lifted

The news close to 36,000 people east of the Reversing Falls Bridge have been waiting for has arrived........the boil water order has been lifted.

Saint John Water staff have reviewed test results taken since Friday with the Department of Health and all have come back clean.


The boil order was put in place on Friday when a valve was left open at the Latimore Lake Treatment facility and chlorine gas failed to treat water for about 15 minutes with 2.1 million untreated litres entering the system.

Saint John Continues to Map Out It's Future

(Deputy Commissioner of Planning Jacqueline Hamilton)
                  (Photo by Jim Hennessy)

14 recommendations have been laid out as Saint John continues to move ahead with it's new Municipal Plan.

Deputy Commissioner of Planning Jaqueline Hamilton says so far she is very impressed with the feed-back including one to grow the city smarter.


Other recommendations include a priority on urban design, celebrate arts, heritage and culture and improve quality of life.
 
So far, there have been 400 hits to the Plan SJ website, ten presentations to community groups and over 170 letters have been received.
 
The next public workshop is scheduled for June.

Red Triangle Awards Gala exceeds expectations

Last week's Red Triangle Gala brought in over $50,000 for the Saint John YM-YWCA.


The gala is the major fundraiser for the Y’s Strong Kids Campaign.

This year’s event last Thursday night at the Trade and Convention Centre and honoured Roly McIntyre and UNB Saint John student leader Leah Richardson.

Premier and Ministers Off to Ottawa

(Premier Shawn Graham)
       (File Photo)

After hearing about it for weeks, Premier Graham and five of his ministers will leave for Ottawa tomorrow to meet with Prime Minister Harper.


Graham says there needs to be better co-operation between this Province and the Nations Capital on several fronts.
A few of the items being brought to the table include cost over-runs during the refurbishment at Point Lepreau and funding for the Harbour Bridge.


Graham has stated Atomic Energy of Canada made a commitment to have the work done at Point Lepreau during a certain time-frame and if necessary, would not hesitate to bring this matter before a judge.


On the trip with Graham is Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Minister Donald Arseneault, Finance Minister Greg Byrne, Fisheries Minister Rick Doucet, Energy Minister Jack Keir and Transportation Minister Denis Landry.

How Many People Work for the Province

The latest numbers have been released by Fredericton on how many people are working for the Provincial Government.
It provides statistical information about key characteristics of the government's workforce, as of the final day of the year.


There were 39,802 full-time permanent employees working on Dec. 31, 2009.
The public service how-ever will experience a significant reduction in the size of its workforce this spring, when about 1,800 Community College employees will be removed from their umbrella to form its own organization as a separate employer.

Sheet Metal Workers Continue Strike

(Sheet Metal Workers Walk the Picket Line)
         (Photo by Jim Hennessy)

The union representing sheet metal workers in Greater Saint John continue their drive for a raise.
A picket line with a dozen people is set up at the Potash Mine in Pennobsquis today.

A member of the Electrical Workers Union 502 tells CHSJ News, he and many of his co-workers are refusing to cross the line.
The sheet metal workers union is 347 and one member told us last week he couldn't get into specifics of what kind of money it is looking for.


Pat Darrah with the Saint John Construction Association says sheet metal workers are making $32.24 an hour and in Moncton, they make $29.25.


Darrah says they want to level the playing field so that contractors can work in both areas and stay competitive.

Cross Country Run To Stomp Out Violence Ends In Saint John

The Stomp Out Violence Cross Country Run comes to Saint John with Dr. Roz Roach completing a 20 kilometer run beginning at Rockwood Park to raise awareness about a problem many people feel is getting worse. Dr. Roach tells CHSJ News violence among young people can be traced, in part, to the breakdown of communities which has done a disservice to the well being of our your people. Dr. Roach says there are all kinds of violence including gun play, child molestation, abuse of women, racism and homophobia. Dr. Roach, who runs Dr. Roz's Healing Place in the Tornto suburb of Scarborough, says too many young people are trying to cope with adolescent conflicts in isolation or within their peer groups which makes joining a gang so alluring.

Police Chief Expresses Outrage Over Cemetery Vandalism

(Saint John Police Chief Bill Reid)

Police Chief Bill Reid says he's disgusted by the damage caused by vandals to headstones at St. Joseph's cemetery. The Chief is promising this will be investigated thoroughly and hopefully brought to a successful conclusion with those responsible charged in court even there can never really be a successful conclusion because the damage has already been done.
Chief Reid condemns the behaviour of those responsible as callous to those people who have loved ones in the cemetery and an embarrassment to the city.

Headstones Vandalized at East Saint John Cemetery

       (Some of the Headstones Damaged)

             (Photo by Jim Hennessy)

It's expected a steady stream of vehicles will make it's way through the St. Joseph's Cemetery on Westmoreland Road.

Sometime over the weekend, vandals knocked over and damaged between three and five hundred headstones.

Irene Mazzerole was there to check on her mother's headstone and was happy to see it was alright but can't believe how many have been damaged.


Darryl Olsen is Manager of the Saint John Diocese Cemeteries and tells us he is to upset to do an interview right now but assures us, all the headstones will be repaired.

Vandals Damage St. Josephs Cemetery

K-V-H-S Shines At Provincial Reach For The Top Competition

Kennebecasis Valley High won both the Intermediate and Senior titles at the Provincial Reach for the Top Championships held over the weekend. This was the school's fifth straight intermediate title and sixth consecutive senior crown. K-V-H-S will be taking part in late May in the national seniors championship in Toronto.

Boil Water Order Could End This Afternoon

If everything goes according to plan, Saint John Water should be able to lift a boil water order by this afternoon. It has been in affect for homes and businesses east of the Rversing Falls Bridge since Friday morning. Dr. Scott Giffen is the District Medical Officer of Health and says the City has done everything by the book. The boil water order is not in place for Millidgeville and had to be implemented after a valve was left open and chlorine gas failed to treat the water for about 15 minutes with 2.1 million litres entering the system.

Call Being Made To Get More Women To Run For Political Office

(Rothesay M-L-A Margaret Ann Blaney)

Equal Voice is issuing a challenge directly to Provincial Party Leaders.....find more female candidates for the election September.27th. Lisa Merrithew is spokes-person and tells CHSJ News, there is no easy answer as to why more women aren't involved.
Merrithew does say there are external barriers within the parties. During the last Provincial Election, 15 of the 48 NDP candidates were women, 10 of the 55 Liberal candidates were women and only 8 off the 55 candidates for the Conservatives were women.
One of the longest serving MLA's in the province is Rothesay Conservative Margaret Ann Blaney. She tells CHSJ News, there has been a sharp decline in the number of women participating in the democratic process period.
She adds there are currently eight women nominated and ready to run in the fall election for the Conservatives which matches the number of women the party had in 2006.

City Looking To Make Building And Land Permits Easier To Get

People looking to get building and land permits approved in Saint John may soon find it a lot easier. The City is holding a public hearing during tonight's meeting of Common Council to discuss possible amendments to the Community Planning Act. The Act currently makes it so any permit requests must go through the provincial Planning Advisory Committee before being approved. Changes would allow minor permits to be passed by the local Development Officer, cutting some time out of the process. Moncton, Frederiction, Miramichi and Rothesay will use the same system.