Liberal MLA Rick Doucet says everyone is happy the seniors of Grand Manan will get a new, safe home, but it should have happened sooner.
Doucet tells CHSJ News there's been a justified sense of outrage over the situation for the last little while.
He says this proposal has been in a report on the Minister's desk for the last ten months, so he wonders what the province's priorities are.
Doucet says the cost of the project has gone up four million dollars since it was first proposed, and it's the seniors that have to pay for that increase because the province waited.
City police will not confirm a media report on Richard Oland's cause of death. The Toronto Star is quoting an unnamed source as saying the 69-year-old was bludgeoned to death with an axe.
Police are refusing to comment on that report and have not released Oland's cause of death. Our newsroom placing a call to the police chief to confirm the report and we have yet to hear back.
Good news for the patients at the Grand Manan nursing home -- especially those recently taken to other facilities due to a mold problem. Social Development Minister Sue Stultz announcing the government will be replacing the facility after meeting with residents, staff and administration.
She tells CHSJ News the mold and move issue wasn't the straw that broke the camel's back but did make it a bit more paramount to get a plan into action.
She adds the displaced residents will be moved back in about two weeks once the mold has been taken care of.
As for the new facility, she says department staff will meet with nursing home representatives next week but no timeline has been announced for the new building.
Kids are enjoying the splishing and splashing at Rainbow Park -- Councillor Donnie Snook hosting the grand opening of the Splash Pad at the park with a community BBQ.
Snook tells CHSJ News the park has become a real hub for the community and even people from as far as Grand Bay have come to get wet.
Additional upgrades are being also in the works including new basketball and playground equipment.
The pad will be converted to a skating rink in the winter months.
You can help conserve the province's natural heritage and greenspace thanks to a new program by Nature NB.
Executive Director Vanessa Roy-McDougall tells CHSJ News they're looking for people to monitor, explore, and collect bio-diversity information on the province's many protected natural or birding areas. She says with industry and development we are starting to lose these kinds of places and it's important for climate change and wildlife to keep them.
Family, friends, politicians and dignitaries filing into a packed Rothesay Church to remember Richard Oland.
Pat Darrah, who worked with Oland for six years on bringing the Canada Games to Saint John in 1985, sobbed as he began the eulogy.
Darrah says he and Oland had many wonderful times together. He says Oland was a dear friend who loved to drive fast, go sailing, and spend time with his family.
Rothesay Mayor Bill Bishop also in attendance, and says people are still shocked at what happened. Bishop says Oland was a do-er, who was looked on very highly by the citizens of Rothesay and Saint John.
Oland's death is being investigated as a murder and police announcing yesterday Oland and the killer knew each other.
If you were on the boardwalk last week, your face may help promote the Port city. Saint John Destination Marketing doing a photo shoot in the City Market, King Square and the boardwalk. Manager of Marketing and Communications Jillian MacKinnon tells CHSJ News the pictures will be used in an advertising campaign both here and in Nova Scotia.
She says they were nervous about the weather because the fog was rolling in an out on Wednesday they were able to get some great shots. MacKinnon says the pictures will also be on the Destination Marketing website next week.
Two major concerns for small businesspeople in the province, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, are rising energy costs and upward pressure on wages. C-F-I-B policy analyst Richard Dunn tells CHSJ News the minimum wage in the province has gone up by 25 per cent in two years and that has had an adverse effect on hiring.
He says student employment is being impacted too with CFIB members in accomodations and food service scaling back hiring this year.
Small businesspeople in the province, 85 per cent of whom describe the state of business as being good or satisfactory, expect the yearly increase in wages to be around 1.8 per cent.
Rothesay and Quispamsis will hold a joint meeting in the fall to explain to the public what the options are for dealing with the Valley's swelling deer population.
Rothesay Mayor Bill Bishop tells CHSJ News both towns are being inundated by the animals and complaints are coming in weekly, if not daily, about the swelling deer population.
Bishop says both towns have been in touch with the provincial biologist at the Department of Natural Resources but there are no simple answers to the problem and he concedes short of lining the deer up and shooting them, there doesn't seem to be an answer.
A warning for drivers in the Kennebecasis Valley from Rothesay Regional Police.........Lock your doors and take any valuables out of your vehicles.
Police tell CHSJ News there have been something like half a dozen cars broken into over the last couple of nights in the areas of the Queensbury sub-division and Cedar Ridge Boulevard. Police say items such as the G-P-S are being taken and they think young people wandering about might be responsible.
Meantime, one person was taken to hospital with undetermined injuries after being struck by a car in the city and the fire department crews were summoned to 79 Fleming Court where they discovered furniture at the back of the building on fire.
Potential water issues kept Rothesay Town Council from saying yes to the development of office space and two apartment buildings at 45 Marr Road.
Councillor Norma Mullet says there's water in the area, and it has to go somewhere. Sheila MacDougall of nearby Old Mill Lane tells CHSJ News flooding definitely would have been an issue had the project gone forward.
Concerns were also voiced about increased noise and lower property values.
MacDougall says Rothesay may have a need for more apartment buildings but a lot of people don't want the development in their backyard.
