Latest Poll Numbers Show the Race is Tightening

As we get closer to voting day, a new poll shows the race is growing tighter for two parties looking to hold the balance of power for the Province.

It shows the Alward Conservatives with 35% of the decided vote, the Liberals with 32% and undecided sits at 17%.

The poll was conducted by Abacus Data last weekend with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 per cent.

Plenty Of People Showing Up To Vote

With four days to go before the actual voting day, 71,000 people have already cast a ballot for the Provincial Election.
That includes 46,000 who made a trip to the advance poll on both Saturday and Monday.
Chief Electoral Officer Michael Quinn tells CHSJ News, this is the first time advance voting has been available at the returning offices since the writ was dropped and it appears to be paying off.
Quinn reminds everyone going to cast a ballot this week or on Monday, bring your voter information card which makes the process go very quickly.

New Addition To The Ranks At The Airport

There's a new face officially now in place at the Saint John Airport -- Colleen Mitchell joins the airport authority as its new Director of Marketing and Communications.
Mitchell has served in various positions with Irving Oil - the Port Authority -- and -- the A-D-I Group -- in addition she has served on a number of volunteer boards.
Mitchell will be responsible for promoting community support which the airport authority has identified as one of its key priorities.

Suspected Gas Leak Causes Anxious Moments

Lots of activity with fire trucks - police - and - an ambulance in the 100-block of Princess Street in the past hour.
Emergency crews were called after someone smelled what they thought was natural gas in the alley between two buildings in the area.
Fire fighters quickly determined there wasn't a gas leak and eventually traced the source of the odor to some fluid used in an open flame burner in a nearby yard.

Small Business On The Radar For Conservatives

Conservative Leader David Alward focusing on small business during a stop-over on the West-Side today.


The party has a three-point plan Alward says will give all provincial based businesses a fair shot to bid on government contracts.
The planks of the plan include setting up a $99 dollar incoporation package, the government regulation drafting process is open for input and give more repsonsibilities to local economic development agencies to work with entrepeneurs.

Sailboat Rescued From The Falls

A close call for six people on a sail boat this afternoon at Reversing Falls.
The boat lost power just before one o'clock and was drifting toward the rocks near the Irving Pulp Mill.
The Fire Department's water rescue unit and Coast Guard were quick to respond and towed the boat to safety.

St. Stephen Man Killed

Alcohol and speed are believed to be two of the reasons for the death of a 23-year old man after an accident on Milltown Boulevard in St. Stephen last night.


RCMP say just before ten o'clock last night when the man from St. Stephen was driving his motorcycle over the speed limit and crashed into a vehicle that was trying to make a left turn.
Officers tell us that both speed and alcohol are believed to factors in the crash.


A passenger on the bike suffered serious injuries and is at the Regional. No name is being released at this time.

Still Building In Rothesay

The Town of Rothesay continues to enjoy plenty of construction activity according to the latest building permit figures.


The total for last month is just shy of two million dollars bringing the yearly total to just over $7.5 million.
Compared to last year at this time, the monthly total for August was only $1.4 million but the yearly total was over $15 million dollars.
The report clearly shows that the number of new homes being built is down but home repairs continue at a steady pace.

Board Won't Hear From N-D-P Leader

Board of Trade president Imelda Gilman says the business group won't be hearing from N-D-P leader Roger Duguay before Monday's provincial election.
Gilman tells CHSJ News they tried a number of times to come up with mutually acceptable dates - but - it wasn't to be -- however the party did offer up its finance critic.
She says the Board declined because the invitations were issued to the leaders of the parties.
Liberal leader Shawn Graham - People's Alliance leader Kris Austin - the Green Party's Jack MacDougall - and - Conservative leader David Alward have all appeared at Board functions over the past two weeks.

Busy Cruise Ship Day

It's a triple play day for cruise ships in the port city -- the Jewel of the Seas - Crown Princess - and - Carnival Glory are all dockside on the waterfront today.
The three ships are carrying at total of 87-hundred passengers.
The pace of visits is begriming to pick up -- we can expect at least one or two cruise ships every couple of days as we head into October and the peak of the leaf peeping season.
The cruise season comes to a close October 29th with a visit by the Queen Mary 2.

Shots Fired In North End

The Major Crime Unit is investigating after a number of shots were fired at a house on Albert Street. City Police say no one was injured. Another investigation has been launched into a car fire on Milford Road.

Meeting To Decide Future Of Former Paramount Theatre In The Uptown

(Former Paramount Theatre In King's Square)
                    (File Photo)

What would you like to see happen with the former Paramount Theater?

That question will be on the floor tonight for an open house meeting hosted by Uptown Saint John. General Manager Peter Asimakos tells CHSJ News, this is part of the consultation phase in the hopes of revitalizing the building. It has been vacant for years and some lobby groups have been pushing to make it part of the city's revitalized theater movement.

Asimakos adds the building has a ton of potential with plenty of space for a stage in one theater and the art deco character that everyone will remember.

He cautions they don't want to change the structure of the building too much because the more you change, the more it costs. The meeting gets started at 5:30pm at the U-N-B Grand Hall at the corner of Charlotte Street and King's Square North.

City Fire Chief Is New President Of National Organization

(Saint John Fire Chief Rob Simonds)
                (File Photo)

City Fire Chief Rob Simonds is taking on some new duties.

As the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs continues it's annual meeting in Saint John, Simonds will be sworn in as it's new president. Simonds tells CHSJ News, along with being a great honour, it also brings recognition to the city and all of it's hardworking, dedicated firefighters.

Simonds has served as the first-vice president of the association for the past two years and says part of his mandate will be to find tax relief for volunteer fire-fighters.

N-D-P Candidate Ob West Side Says Voters Are Frustrated

(Provincial N-D-P Leader Roger Duguay)
                    (File Photo)

The NDP candidate for Saint John Lancaster is pleased with how the campaign is going.

Habib Kilisili tells CHSJ News he is hearing genuine concern going door to door with frustration over how high the provincial debt is and a desire for change.
 
Kilisili maintains Provincial N-D-P leader Roger Duguay did very well in the televised debates last week and did not promise anything we can't afford.

West Side War Memorial To Be Restored

(Conservative Candidate In Saint John Lancaster Dorothy Sheppard)
                                   (File Photo)

The Conservatives in Fredericton and Ottawa are handing over cash to fix a memorial on the West side.

Saint John-Lancaster Conservative candidate Dororthy Sheppard tells CHSJ News that she san it's in honour of vets from the two World Wars.

Sheppard says the total funding of $50,000 will go towards the restoration of the war memorial in Milford.