Teenager Remains In Critical Condition After Near-Drowning

A 17 year old international student from China remains in critical condition at the Regional Hospital after a near drowning Sunday afternoon at the Aquatic Centre.

He had just registered to attend Simonds High and his mom and dad are expected in the city later this week from China to be with him.

Sgt. Glen Hayward with the Saint John Police Force says foul play is not suspected and police are still looking into what caused the incident.

He says the lifeguards acted accordingly but he would not confirm whether a health issue caused the near-drowning.

Premier Visits The Port City Tomorrow

Premier David Alward will be in the City tomorrow morning for a economic development announcement.   The same announcement is also happening in Moncton and Campbellton later in the day.

The Premier will be joined by Economic Development Minister Paul Robichaud and Robert MacLeod CEO of the Invest NB.

The announcement gets underway here in Saint John at 9 tomorrow morning at the Delta.

Rothesay Woman Receives Honour In Ottawa Tonight

A Rothesay woman receiving national recognition from Canadian Blood Services tonight for her many donations over the years.

Judy Morgan tells CHSJ News she first learned of blood donation as a little girl when her dad with rare blood was called to donate in emergency situations.

She says it was really in her to give and she also became a medical lab technologist so the importance of giving blood began to hit home.

Morgan will be recognized this evening in the national Canadian Blood Services "Honouring Our Lifeblood" ceremony in Ottawa tonight.

Together with her husband, Martin, the Morgans have donated blood and plasma 500 times.

Housing Starts Will Continue To Slump For The Next Few Years

Housing starts in Saint John, Fredericton, and Moncton are down about 28 percent this year and Claude Gautreau with the Canada Mortage and Housing Corporation says that slump won't be changing soon.

Gautreau tells CHSJ News housing starts are cyclical and because the province peaked around 2008, the numbers will continue to dip into the foreseeable future.

He says the market should pick back up in about 2 to 3 years.

800 Homes Affected By Outage In Welsford

About 800 people without power earlier today in the Welsford area.  The power went out around 10:30 this morning.

NB Power spokesperson Jennifer Gallagher tells CHSJ News crews are working on the issue and most people are back on the grid.

She says there are still about 70 homes that need to reconnected and they should have power back around 2:30pm.

There are also about 70 homes without power in the Rothesay area.

Golden Ball Gas Bar Coming Down

One of the last full service gas bars in the city has closed down in the parking lot behind the Golden Ball Building on Union Street.

It had been a fixture there for years. Fencing has been put up to allow for it to be dismantled.

As for the building itself, we're told by Irving Oil it's being fully utilised. There have been renovations to all of the floors as well as a new state of the art gym for the employees being installed.

City Wants Sydney Street Courthouse

The city doesn't want the Sydney Street courthouse to fall into disrepair once the province moves to the new Justice Complex next year.

Councillor Chris Titus believes the city will get first crack at the building once it's vacated and he wants to take advantage of that opportunity.

He says a city department could move there or a public-private partnership could be entertained.

The city will be talking to the province about obtaining ownership.

Saint John To Get Visit From Bank Of Canada Governor

The Governor of the Bank of Canada Mark Carney will be in town tomorrow talking about the economy.

There are predictions we will continue to see a slowdown, especially in construction activity. Pat Darrah of the Saint John Construction Association claims the slowdown is already happening and Saint John M-P Rodney Weston describes the state of the economy as being fragile.

Steve Carson of Enterprise Saint John tells CHSJ News growth will be more modest over the next few years but the city is not likely to see any big decline. Carson points out the Saint John economy has diversified significantly in the last decade or two with tremendous growth taking place in health sciences and information technology.

Teenager Rushed To Hospital After Nearly Drowning

A 17 year old youth is listed in critical condition at the Regional after nearly drowning yesterday afternoon at the Canada Games Aquatic Centre.

An eyewitness says he didn't appear to be breathing when ambulance, police and fire crews arrived. 

Acting District Chief Marc Carey says fire crews were also called to a blaze at 70 Jean Street which began in the kitchen. The remainder of the building  sustained smoke and water damage.
 

There were no injuries but a woman and her 6 year old daughter have had to move in with family members. There's also a pet grooming business in that building.

City Police telling us about a home invasion on Queen Street but the victim, who suffered just minor injuries, isn't co-operating with investigators.

Weston Heading Back To The Hill

MP's from coast to coast are heading back to the Hill as Parliament resumes.
Saint John's MP Rodney Weston tells CHSJ News Question Period will be a whole new ball game this time round without Jack Layton standing across the floor.

He says it will be different with the two parties opposite having interim leaders and he's anxious to see what it looks like.
Weston adds politics aside, the government has work to do including tackling the fragile economy.

Work On Flooding Problem In Oakville Acres Hits Brick Wall

More complications in solving the flooding problem for the people who live at Oakville Acres in Rothesay.

The project is now at a standstill according to Mayor Bill Bishop because of restrictions from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans along with two property owners who are putting up a fight over the town taking over their land.

No work will be done this year and, according to Bishop, the earliest it can be started is next summer.



The town had to apply to the province for a watercourse and wetland alteration.

New Trail Now Open At Lou Murphy Park

You're being invited out to try out the new trail system Lou Murphy Park.

Kevin Watson is Recreational Manager of Leisure Services and he tells CHSJ News despite some odds and ends that need to be tied up, the 3 kilometre trail is now open.

Emera New Brunswick donated 27 acres of land to the park.

Watson says more work is being planned for the park -- over the next year or two he would like to see new playground equipment and a new basketball court.

The Diets Of Students In School District 6 Aren't Good Enough

Students in School District 6 are not eating enough fruits and vegetables......That, according to a wellness survey that was presented to the District Education Council. 

Only 40 per cent or so of students in District 6 are eating the daily recommended amounts. That bothers acting Superintendent Gary Hall because he tells CHSJ News the better you eat, the better you'll learn and then there's a correlation between students who smoke having higher rates of dropping out and lower levels of mental fitness.

Hall says the school district will use the information in formulating future strategies.