Three Local Students Recognised For Academic Excellence

Three Saint John students will attend the Shad Valley program after 1,000 students applied worldwide.
Zac Stanton from Saint John High and Hwanhee Son of St. Mac's both made the cut and will attend the month-long university-based development program. It's been around for 30 years and some of it's 11, 000 alumni are business leaders, patent holders, and Rhodes scholars.
Saint John Grade 10 student Mariah Darling is also going after her chemistry teacher suggested the program last fall. To qualify for the Shad Valley program, students must have high academic standing but, must also be well-rounded emerging leaders who demonstrate drive and entrepreneurial flair. The students who make the cut have grade averages in the 90's

Harbour Bridge GM Likes Proposed New Deal

(Harbour Bridge)
   (File Photo)

The provincial Liberals are offering Ottawa a new deal on the Harbour Bridge. Shawn Graham says they will take off the tolls if the Ottawa agrees to pay for half the cost of repairs for the next 30 years. General Manager Ken Anthony of the Harbour Bridge Authority says it looks like a good deal to him.
He says general maintenance repairs alone cost 2.5 million dollars a year but major repairs will be much more expensive as the bridge ages.

Sunday Afternoon Posts

In NHL ACTION: Game five of the Stanley Cup Final goes tonight with the Blackhawks at home against the Flyers. The series is currently tied at 2.

In NBA Playoffs: the Lakers take on Boston. L.A. leads the final series 1 game to none.

And in Baseball: the BlueJays are at home against the Yankees, the Red Sox are battling with Baltimore and the Cubs are in Houston.

Graham Not Phased

(Shawn Graham)
(File Photo)

Premier Graham doesn't appear to be phased by criticism from the Conservatives about his spending habits. Rothesay MLA Margaret Ann Blaney calls the recent roll out of cash pork-barrel politics at it's worst and spending has to be brought under control. It came after the Premier committed to paying for a third of the costs to upgrade the city's water system if elected. Shawn Graham tells CHSJ News, a look at the Conservative track record doesn't bode well for Saint John residents.  Graham says voters have a clear choice......to elect a Liberal Government committed to building infrastructure vote for a government that continually delays projects like Harbour Clean-up.

RESPs A Good Plan

The cost of higher education keeps increasing leaving parents starting to save earlier for their kids education.  Jason Schaella of the Bank of Montreal says the RESP includes a government grant where they contribute a maxium of 500 dollars a year.
He tells CHSJ News anyone, friend or relative, can contribute to a child's RESP as long as it's linked through a social insurance number to a parent or guardian.
Schaella adds the money earned in an RESP is taxed based on the income of the beneficiary who is normally a young person in a zero to low income tax bracket.

Saint John Flies Sunwing

(Saint John Airport)
(File Photo)


It has been another huge year for Sunwing Vacations at the Saint John Airport. The number of passengers using the service is up 45% from last year. Just over 6000 people used Sunwing to take a flight to Varadero, Cuba or Cancun. Airport President and CEO Bernie Leblanc says he is thrilled with the numbers and has every reason to believe they will be back for a fifth season next year.

No More Handouts

(Roger Duguay)
(File Photo)

The provincial NDP wants the government to stop giving businesses public money. Leader Roger Duguay uses ATCON from Miramichi as an example, and says when the government gave them public money they knew the company was having financial problems.  Duguay says what happens is you give a company public money and then it closes or moves overseas. He says if the company has no interest in developing jobs and opportunities for New Brunswickers, the government should say no.

Uptown Is Booming

The Uptown is alive and well........That's the message the General Manager of Uptown Saint John, Peter Asimakos wants to get out as the first ever Live Life awards are about to be handed out later this month. Asimakos tells CHSJ News you're going to be seeing alot more condos being built.  Asimakos says another change that has taken place is the number of restaurants opening up. He claims the uptown is now known as the restaurant area of New Brunswick.

Montreal Refinery Closes

With word out of Montreal this week Shell is closing its 76 year old Refinery, what implications, if any, does this have on the Irving Oil Refinery in East Saint John? Spokesperson Lesley MacLeod tells CHSJ News, it is far too early know what impact there may be on the market share. It also doesn’t impact Irving Oil’s recent decision to shelve a plan for the Eider Rock second refinery and bring them back on the table right now. Shell Canada announced plans in January to close the 76-year-old refinery after unsuccessfully trying to find buyers for six months last year. The Montreal refinery processes more than 130,000 barrels of crude oil daily.

Bicycle Accident

A young boy is dead after what appears to be a tragic accident in the community of Bannon near Hartland this weekend. Late Friday afternoon, RCMP was called to an accident on Route 570 where a nine year old boy was hit by a vehicle while riding his bicycle. Officer say the boy was coming down a driveway when he drove out onto the road and was hit. He was rushed to hospital but later died from his injuries. The boys name is not being released and now word yet on any charges.

Sunday Morning Sports

The Saint John Seadogs selected 13 players at this years Quebec Major Junior League entry draft including Saint John native Ryan Tesink in the opening round. The other players include six forwards, five defensemen and two goaltenders. Here is the complete list:

ROUND 1 – 18th Overall: Ryan Tesink, Forward (Woodstock, MJAHL)
ROUND 3 – 44th Overall: Guillaume Cloutier, Defenseman (C.C. Lemoyne, QCMAAA)
ROUND 3 – 54th Overall: Devon Oliver-Dares, Forward (Dartmouth, NSMMHL)
ROUND 4 – 55th Overall: Benjamin Hade, Defenseman (Quebec Cyclones, Midget Espoir)ROUND 5 – 74th Overall: Sébastien Auger, Goaltender (St. Francois, QCMAAA)
ROUND 6 – 91st Overall: Jason Cameron, Forward (Summerside, MJAHL)
ROUND 7 – 120th Overall: Chris Eiserman, Goaltender (New Hampshire, EJHL)
ROUND 8 – 128th Overall: Brock Morrison, Forward (Cape Breton, NSMMHL)
ROUND 8 – 144th Overall: Anthony St-Onge-Dostie, Defenseman (St. Francois, QCMAAA)
ROUND 9 – 151st Overall: Colin Campbell, Forward (Cape Breton, NSMMHL)
ROUND 9 – 162nd Overall: Alex Simpson, Defenseman (Saint John, NBPEIMMHL)
ROUND 10 – 180th Overall: Michael Paliotta, Defenseman (USNTDP)
ROUND 11 – 198th Overall: Jason Thorpe, Forward (Saint John, NBPEIMMHL)
 
In the French Open Francesca Schiavone took the women's crown by defeating Samantha Stosur.  Canada's Daniel Nestor and his partner Nenad Zimonjic took the doubles title.

And in Baseball the BlueJays beat the Yankees, the Red Sox trumped Baltimore and the Cubs came out on top against Houston.