Millidgeville Neighbourhood Getting Flood Relief

The city making drainage improvements to Woodward Avenue and Boars Head Road in order to prevent future flooding.

A culvert will be constructed under Woodward Avenue and Cedarwood Drive.  A channel will also be built on the south side of Boars Head Road.

Municipal engineer John Campbell tells CHSJ News there will be some traffic delays during the project.
 
The project will be completed in about 5 weeks.

Parents To Meet With Ministers Over K-Park School

While they are glad they are still in talks with the Province, parents in K-park are angry a new school will not be builit.


Finance Minister Blaine Higgs says plans are on hold because the proposed school for 300 students is not big enough when the area requires a school for a mininum of 500 students.


Parent John Oxley tells CHSJ News a lot of money has already been spent on the site including clearing about 20 cords of wood.  He says that's like building a house and stops after digging the pit for the foundation adding people are angry because they feel they have been lied to. The parents will be meeting with Ministers Carr, Higgs and Blaney at the school on May 25th.

City Says Expect Road Delays This Summer

If you hate sitting in traffic then you may want to stay off the streets of Saint John this summer.

The city has a slew of road repairs and infrastructure upgrades on deck for this summer which will result in lane closures and delays.

Commissioner of Municipal Operations Paul Groody says work will include the Westfield Road, Westmorland Road and Union Street.
 

Construction projects related to harbour clean-up will also cause a number of road closures and delays.

Here is list on the projects the city will undertake this summer:

One Mile Interchange - lane reductions on the Throughway and reconstruction of Rothesay Avenue/Russell Street

Westfield Road Reconstruction - Dalton Court to By Road #7 (plan to maintain one lane of alternating traffic during construction)

Bleury Street Reconstruction - Sand Cove Road to Molson Avenue (will likely result in road closures and detours)

Market Place Reconstruction - road closures and detours

Kennebecasis Drive Culvert  - at Brothers Cove (road closure and detour)

Station Street/City Road Forcemain - Harbour Station to Haymarket Square (lane reductions)

Union Street Reconstruction - Aquatic Centre to Wellington Row (road closures and detours)

Broad Street/Crown Street Forcemain - Charlotte Street to Haymarket Square (lane reductions)

Westmorland Road Reconstruction - Westmorland Place to Kervin Road (road closures and detours)

New Beer Flavour Part Of Global Trend

Moosehead Breweries adding another new beer to their collection of products.
The new brew....Moosehead Light Ginger is now available for sale in the province.  Director of Marketing Ray Gracewood tells CHSJ News the ginger flavour is growing in worldwide popularity.

He says the flavour has a natural healthy image to it and it's very popular in Asian cuisine.
The companies brewmaster Darrell Little says the new beer was developed specifically to suit the changing taste buds of beer lovers.

Water Said To Be Lapping Over Road In Millidgeville

Emergency Measures Organization officials are warning the St. John River is expected to be at flood stage through tomorrow.

Vera Myers who's staying with her daughter on Beach Road tells CHSJ News waves are already lapping over the road which she describes as impassable.

 She adds plenty of debris is coming with the water from the river and if drivers are unaware they could find themselves submerged.

The City of Saint John telling CHSJ News that Beech road is closed until further notice due to flooding.   For more information..call 658-4455

High Water Near Route 102 This Morning

 High water on the Nerepis River along Route 102 this morning.

Cause Determined For Major East Side Fire

It has been determined yesterday morning's major fire at Alot of Auto Recyclers on the Old Black River Road was caused after fuel that had been spilled was accidentally ignited by welding.

The building collapsed a short time later and one worker had to be treated for minor burns.

Meantime, there was a water rescue last night shortly before 9 in Millidgeville.

District Chief Gerry Morris says the fire department's water rescue boat was launched after getting a call from the Coast Guard about a boat running aground on the rocks off Ragged Point in Millidgeville.

The boat that ran aground in the rocks was towed to a nearby cove and the one person on board was not injured.

East Side Could Get Much Needed Greenspace

Irving Oil is offering to design and foot the entire bill for a proposed park and greenspace at the Little River Reservoir on the city's east side.

Upgrades will include upgrading paths around the park to form a walking trail, building two bridge crossings, and new playground equipment. The project is estimated to cost about 400-hundred thousand dollars.

J.C. Besner of Irving Oil tells CHSJ News all they need from the city is the green light for the project and an agreement to cost share the upkeep of the park.

Common Council wants to first hear some estimates from city staff before green lighting the project.

Besner says if approved, construction will begin this summer and wrap up in 2012. Glen Creamer with the Little River Resevoir Association is confident work will begin this summer.

Retired Teacher Wins Seat On Quispamsis Council

Election fever, so to speak, isn't over for some people in the province.
13 municipalities in the province held municipal bye-elections to fill the void around council chambers. Voter turnout was under 25 per cent.

In Quispamsis, Libby O'Hara received 949 votes to become the newest member of Town Council, defeating her closest opponent by almost 500 votes. The voter turnout in the town was low at just over 19 per cent.

Other results include Natalie Harris winning a seat on Blacks Harbour Council by acclamation and Roger Doiron is the new mayor of Richibucto by acclamation.

In Norton, Juliana Catherine Booth was elected to Council with 135 votes.

Gas Prices Remain Volatile

If you were confused by the change downward in the price of diesel this past weekend, the change on Saturday was allowed because of something called the "interuption clause."

Dave Young with the province's Energy and Utility Board tells CHSJ News the price of gas changes if the cost of fuel in the New York Market goes up or down by at least six cents a litre in one day.

Young says it's very rare that the price of fuel would change by that much in one day, which is why normally gas prices only go up or down on Thursdays after the weekly setting.
 
The price of self serve remained the same and now is more expensive than diesel.
 
Meantime, gasoline prices took a major leap higher in parts of the country overnight with the price soaring 6.5 cents a litre in southern and eastern Ontario. A litre of regular gas in the Toronto area now costs $1.39.6.

The price in Montreal is now $144.9 after a nickel per litre increase and $144.1 in Vancouver after a 4.6 cent per litre increase.