Board of Trade President Pleased With New Cabinet

The President of Saint John Board of Trade considering that the new Tory cabinet is smaller thinks we have good representation with three cabinet ministers.


Longtime MLA's Trevor Holder and Margaret Ann Blaney will serve in the new Alward government's cabinet.
Imelda Gilman tells CHSJ News it's huge that first time MLA Blaine Higgs of Quispamis is new Minister of Finance.
Gilman says it's very impressive that a rookie MLA would be given that responsibility.

Gilman is not concerned the Department of Energy could be moved since the new Energy Minister is from Fredericton saying the previous Minister went back and forth and most of the energy infrastructure is in our region.

Graveyard Destruction Sentencing

(St. Josephs Cemetery As it Looked After Vandalism)
                  (Photo By Jim Hennessy)

A 23-month conditional sentence, two years probation and three months behind bars he served while in remand.


That is part of the sentence handed down to Dana Bartlett.
The 20-year old pleaded guilty to knocking over 300 headstones in the St. Josephs Cemetery in East Saint John back in April.

In handing down sentence, Judge Brien pointed out that Bartlett is also under house arrest, must complete 240 hours of community service and stay away from all cemeteries.


Judge Brien also pointed out Bartlett has a history of mental illness that led to his decision.


Bartlett also suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome when first born and was brought up in a dysfunctional family but has been ordered to get into the programs that will make him a productive member of society.
In adressing the court, Bartlett apologizes for his action and points out it has ruined his name in this community for the rest of his life.

New Alward Cabinet Unveiled

(New Finance Minister Blaine Higgs)

Some Saint John MLA's getting big jobs in the new David Alward cabinet being unveiled today.

Quispamsis rookie MLA is the Minister of Justice and responsible for NB Liquor.
Saint John Portland MLA Trevor Holder is the new Minister of Wellness, Culture and Sport and Tourism.

Rothesay MLA Margaret Ann Blaney gets the Environment portfolio and is responsible for Communications New Brunswick and the Advisory Council on the Status of Women.


Moncton MLA Marie-Claude Blais is the new Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
Madeline Dube is the new Health Minister and Jody Carr is the Education Minister.


Fredericton MLA Craig Leonard is the Energy Minister and responsible for Efficiency New Brunswick.
Premier Alward is the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Native Affairs and Minister of Citizen Engagement and Government Review.

Funding To Help Sussex And Norton Youth

The Minister of Small Business and Tourism and MP for Fundy Royal Rob Moore announcing funding support for youth in Sussex and Norton.
The Dairytown receiving nearly $80,000 to help eight youth facing employment barriers develop life and job skills to ease their transition to work or return to school.

Portage Atlantic will receive over $50,000 to support its Mentors program.
It will help five youth gain skills for work or school.

Moore also announcing support for a person living with a disability in Sussex to gain valuable job training. The Kiwanis Nursing Home will receive just over $10,000 to help a person with a disability gain the skills and experience they need to participate in the workplace.

Conservative MLA's Take The Oath Of Office

One by one, all 42 Conservative MLA's, elected in last months provincial vote, took the oath of office in the Legislature today.
That includes David Alward, sworn in as the 32nd Premier of this Province.

The list of MLA's include four term represenative for Rothesay Margaret Ann Blaney, Saint John Fundy MLA Glen Savoie who is a rookie member.

Glen Tait, former City councillor taking his first term in office. Also in her first term is Dorothy Sheppard representing Saint John West.
Still nursing an injury, Dr. Jim Parrot took the oath as the representative for Fundy-River Valley.
Trevor Holder took the oath for the fourth time in Saint John Portland.
Blaine Higgs is officially in as MLA for Quispamsis and Bev Harrison is back as the MLA for Hampton-Kings.
The new-look 15 person cabinet will be sworn in at two this afternoon.

District Six Kindergarten Registration

If you have a four year old at home and live in the Kennebecasis Valley, this message is for you.


District Six is holding a registration for those who are going to be in kindergarten next year.


Transition to School Coordinator Mary Ann MacKay tells CHSJ News, all you have to do is go to the school your child or children will be attending and sign a few forms.
MacKay adds if you are not sure what school your child should attend next fall, drop into the District Six office with a birth certificate or passport, proof of immunization and Medicare card.


There is also an evening session on Wednesday at the District office between five and eight.

Fourteen hours after the fact, officials with the Town of Rothesay have notified the media that the boil water order for K-Park has been lifted.

The all clear was given last night at seven o'clock and Director of Operations Scott Hatcher tells CHSJ News, the information, once received, was passed on to Town officials and a sign at the entrance to the subdivision was changed as well.


Hatcher says the order remained in affect for the area for an extra day believing it would have taken the affected water longer to reach K-Park and the fire department also drew a large amount of water Sunday morning which may have aided in stirring up the system.

If upgrade work on the system stays on target, K-Park will be off city water by December.15th.

New Provincial Government To Be Sworn In Today

(Premier Elect David Alward At Appearance In East Saint John)
                        (File Photo)

Premier-Elect David Alward along with 42 MLA's will take the oath of office in Fredericton today.

Alward and the Conservative Party crushed Shawn Graham and the Liberals with a land-slide victory on election night.

Alward is also expected to unveil his new look 15 person cabinet with Saint John Portland MLA-Elect Trevor Holder and Rothesay MLA-Elect Margaret Ann Blaney expected to garner serious consideration.

Political science professor Donald Wright of U-N-B says Alward has about a dozen former cabinet ministers to chose from but would be wise to distance himself from the old guard. Professor Don Desserud of U-N-B Saint John says the cities of Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton are each expecting to get two representatives at the cabinet table.

Desserud tells CHSJ News there is a grace period for everyone but it won't last long.

Quispamsis Mayors Expects Good Working Relationship With New Provincial Government

(Quispamsis Mayor Murray Driscoll)
          (File Photo)

As the Alward Government gets set to take over, the Mayor of Quispamsis is sending best wishes to his incoming and outgoing MLA's.

Murray Driscoll tells CHSJ News, Mary Schryer can leave the job with no regrets.

As for M-L-A Elect Blaine Higgs, Driscoll says he has spoken with him and is convinced the strong working relationship between the Province and his town will continue.

No Tax Break For Saint John Transit

Service New Brunswick has denied the Saint John Transit Commission property tax relief determining it doesn't qualify because it's owned by the municipality.

The property tax bill for the new transit garage on the east side will be 380 thousand dollars which is 300 thousand dollars over budget. The 300 thousand dollars is the amount the transit budget was cut by Common Council in anticipation of tax relief.

The Transit Commission is also wants to talk about the implications of limiting its budget increase next year to just one per cent with Common Council.

Rejuvenation Of The L-B-R Proposed

Common Council has been told by the Leisure Services Advisory Board the L-B-R has great potential as an Olympic ice surface which could be used for speed skating as well as hockey.

The Recreation Board also claims the Olympic ice surface would be safer and rejuvenating the L-B-R could also be a catalyst for economic development in that part of the north end.

To further bolster its argument, Council has been told Moncton, Campbellton and Fredericton can now attract sporting events, Saint John can't. There is no indication about how much this would cost.

Future Of Saint John Economy Looking Good

A bright picture is being painted about the local economy by urban researcher Kurt Peacock, who has done an analysis for Enterprise Saint John.

He says the Saint John economy is very diifferent to what it was even just ten years ago.

Peacock warns one of the big challenges will be how to grow the population of the city. He maintains the trend of more and more people living outside the city limits has to be reversed and is one of the reasons Plan SJ is talking about future development being up and not outward.

Registration For Kindergarten Begins

It's time to register your four year old for next year's Kindergarten class in District 8.

Transition to School Coordinator Mary-Therese Davis tells CHSJ News the numbers of children who register on time is low and they are hoping to improve the numbers.

Special events will take place at every elementary schools to make the process go smoothly for kids.

An evening registration session will be held on Wednesday between 4 and 8 at the School District 8 offices at 490 Woodward Avenue in Millidgeville.

Registration for Kindergarten starts and continues until the 15th.

For more information on Kindergarten registration go to our website at country94.ca and click news.

Now Is The Time To Think About Winter Driving

Not many want to talk about it but winter weather is just around the corner and it's time to get your vehicle ready.

The Vice President of the Canadian Automobile Association Gary Howard tells CHSJ News, a trip to see your mechanic is a must and a winter survival kit with enough supplies to last for three days doesn't hurt either which includes a cellphone.

Howard adds the C-A-A recommends getting winter tires but reminds anyone that you need four and not just two comparing that to walking around with only one shoe on.