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Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Schedule Announced For Presidents Cup Final

Following a full day of negotiations, the Saint John Seadogs and Moncton Wildcats have drawn up the schedule for the Presidents Cup Final. Game One goes Friday night at the Station at 7:30pm. Game two goes Sunday afternoon in Moncton which is a four o'clock start. Game Three is back at Harbour Station on Tuesday at 7pm. Game four then returns to the Coliseum on Friday, May,7th for a 7:30pm start.

If necessary, Game five is Saturday,May.8th a seven o'clock start at the Station. Game Six also if necessary,goes in Moncton on Monday,May.10th at seven o'clock. Game seven is at Harbour Station, Tuesday,May.11th, a seven o'clock start and again if necessary. The schedule had to be re-worked because the Coliseum is booked for a trade show between Monday and Thursday of next week.

Paramount Theater is Slated for Demolition
















(Picture of the Paramount Theater Near King Square)
                (Photo by Jim Hennessy)

Saint John is on the verge of losing another one of it's land-marks.


Businessman Paul Daeres owns the former Paramount Theater and tells CHSJ News, after exhausting every possible lead for a new owner or tenant in the past five years, if he can't find someone by next month, the building is coming down.


Daeres says it is becoming too expensive to mantain with plenty of damage being caused by people who know the building is vacant.


Daeres says he would be willing to hang on the building for another year if someone comes forward with a solid proposal with-in the next month.

Tentative Deal for Bell-Aliant

Good news for anyone working for Bell-Aliant.

The company has confirmed that a tentative Collective Agreement has been reached with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Atlantic Communications Council.

It represents close to 3,000 Bell Aliant unionized employees in Atlantic Canada.
The agreement still needs to be voted on which begins next Monday and will finish up on June.11th.

The current contract is set to expire at the end of next year but if ratified, this new contract is solid until New Years Eve of 2014.

Saint John Energy Reacts to Councils Request








Despite a request from Common Council, it isn't looking good that Saint John Energy can absorb any proposed rate increases.

NB Power President Gaetan Thomas says a one-time rate hike is necessary to help pay for cost over-runs for the refurbishment of Point Lepreau.

President Eric Marr tells CHSJ News, rates represent 85% of Saint John Energy's costs of operating it's utility.


The application for the increase won't be submitted until after the reactor comes back on line which is now tentatively scheduled for February.

Illegal Dumping a Growing Problem











(Common Councilor Bruce Court)
             (File Photo)

The Atlantic Coastal Action Programme has pointed out illegal dumping in remote parts of the city is becoming an issue again.

Common Councillor Bruce Court is well aware of the problem on the east side and said more sites continue to pop up.


Mayor Ivan Court is appealing to Saint Johnners to take down licence plates and report any hauler who is illegally dumping trash.



One Councilor Speaks Out About Plan SJ

An all day workshop will be held at Harbourview High in June in the continuing effort to come up with a new municipal plan that will guide the city's future over the next 25 years.

Plan Saint John also wants to shoot a video displaying the positive aspects of living in the city.

If that's the case, Common Councillor Patty Higgins argues including any segments of Council meetings in that video would be a turnoff.


In all seriousness, Higgins says it would be more like a horror movie.



Numbers Are Up at Romero House

Numbers are up at Romero House recently because another community kitchen is having kitchen trouble.


Carolyn McNulty tells CHSJ News they prepare meals for 300 every day at the location on Brunswick Drive.


McNulty says two very successful fundraisers last year and the dedication of their regular donors has put in them in a good financial position right now.





Young Children Not Very Active

In this Province, only seven per cent of children are getting the recommended 90 minutes of physical activity each day.

That staggering fact comes from the latest Active Healthy Kids Canada Report on physical activity.

The numbers from coast to coast show children five and younger are dangerously physically inactive.


Stats show less than half of the children under five are getting regular physical activity as part of their daily routines.

Copper Wire Thief in Norton

Copper wire continues to be a hot item among thieves.

RCMP tell us that sometime between Sunday and Monday, a business in Norton was broken into and five thousand dollars worth of copper wire was stolen.


The thief or thieves got into the building by breaking a lock.

Cemetary Vandalism Sparks Outrage In Community

Outrage is the consensus among our listeners on the vandalism to hundreds of headstones in St. Joseph's cemetery.

We received many comments on our Facebook page, most of them expressing disgust at the actions.
One listener said you would have to be a very sick person to do anything like this and she goes on to say she wouldn't even walk on a grave.
Another listener says "I cannot belive that people can be this cruel."
The cemetery's manager told CHSJ News all of the headstones will be repaired and City Police are investigating and are asking for the public's help in finding those responsible.

Contract To Be Awarded Soon For Repair Work To Harbour Bridge












(The Harbour Bridge)
     (File Photo)

The door is quickly closing for anyone looking to apply to do the repair work on the Harbour Bridge. Authority General Manager Ken Anthony tells CHSJ News, tenders will close on Friday and the contract will be awarded on the 7th of next month.
Anthony expects but nothing confirmed, that they work will get started after or close to the Long Weekend next month. The work on the bridge is expected to finish up in November.

Mayor Makes Appeal In Aftermath of Cemetery Vandalism











(Mayor Ivan Court)

Mayor Ivan Court is pleading for anyone who lives along Micheal Crescent beside St. Joseph's Cemetery to come forward with information about the destruction of gravestones over the weekend. Court is calling the vandalism a stupid and cowardly act saying he feels the pain of those affected families he saw while visiting the cemetery. The Mayor's own parents and late son are all buried in the cemetery. He likens the headstones that were toppled over to fallen soldiers.
Court believes, when caught, the people responsible should be sentenced to work in the graveyard because it will take months for what they did to be fixed. He speculates it will take weeks, if not months, to clean up all the damage and make things right. Court says he saw one headstone dating back to the 1880's that was split in two.

Common Council To Ask Saint John Energy For Rate Freeze















(Common Councillor Bill Farren)

Now that there won't be a five year freeze on electricity rates, Common Council will be asking Saint John Energy whether it can absorb all or some of the 3 per cent rate hike being proposed by NB Power in light of the failed deal with Hydro Quebec. Councillor Bill Farren doesn't mind asking but on the other hand wants to shy away from political meddling saying that kind of interference was what got NB Power into the financial pickle it finds itself in today.
Councillor Bruce Court is not hesitent in saying Saint John Energy should come on board and swallow the whole increase. He points out Saint Johnners are under financial strain these days with a poverty rate of over 20 per cent and rising property assessments.

Common Council Approves Design Work On Trade And Convention Centre Facelift










(Common Councillor Carl Killen)

Common council has given the thumbs up to start design work for renevating the 25-year-old Trade and Convention Centre. The cost is over 600,000 but Councillor Carl Killen says the renovations are necessary if Saint John is to compete for convention business with Moncton and Fredericton. Finance Commissioner Greg Yeomans says the City has no choice but to renew the Trade and Convention Centre because of a contract with the Hilton which states an obligation to maintain it as a first class facility. Both City Manager Pat Woods And Mayor Ivan Court describe the Trade and Convention Centre as looking tired these days.

Common Council Debates A Downsized Spring Cleanup















(Common Councillor Peter McGuire)

Saying dangerous situations are being created, Common Councillor Patty Higgins is proposing a downsized version of spring cleanup be brought back. She would like spring cleanup to take place in a different section of the city each year. But fellow Councillor Peter McGuire says show me the money. The last citywide cleanup cost something like 330 thousand dollars. Council was told Saint John homeowners can call the city and get bulky items hauled away free of charge and there was agreement that service should be promoted better. Councillor Chris Titus maintains having a spring cleanup does very little, if anything, to reduce the incidence of illegal dumping.