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Thursday, February 9, 2012

Provincial Dollars For Comex Bus Expansion Shot Down

Expansion of the Comex bus service has been put on hold due to a lack of funding from the provincial government.

In a letter to Quispamsis Mayor Murray Driscoll, Transportation Minister Claude Williams says the department cannot afford to fund an expansion.

Driscoll tells CHSJ News it's unfortunate but he's proud of the popularity of the Comex service so far.

He says despite the setback, the town will continue working on expanding the service.

Mounties Rule Pair Of Deaths As Murder Suicide

The deaths of Tanya Couture of Clifton and Jason Scott of Bathurst  on February 5th being ruled as a murder-suicide by the RCMP.

According to police, Jason Scott took his own life after the murder of Tanya Couture.

Charges will not be laid and at the request of both families, no further details surrounding their deaths will be made public.

Mayor Says Pension Reform Approval Not A Slam Dunk

Mayor Ivan Court says while he is confident the city will get pension reforms approved by the province, it is not 100 percent guaranteed.

Court says recent media reports are indicating the Superintendent of Pensions will approve the reforms in the spring sitting of the Legislature based on a October 2011 email.

He says nothing has been promised and the Superintendent has requested more information to assist in her decision as recently as last month.

Organised Labour Calls For Pension Contributions To Increase

The New Brunswick Federation of Labour is weighing into the fight over any changes to the old age pensions by sending letters to all the M-P's from the province urging the federal government to invest more, not less.

Labour Federation President Michel Boudreau tells CHSJ News the same arguments about whether we can afford decent pensions are not new. They were made decades ago when pensions were first proposed.

The Labour Federation is calling for contributions to be doubled so pensions can be higher but fears the Harper Government will be making cuts to old age security and the guaranteed income supplement.
 
Boudreau says according to pension experts, your pension income should be 60 to 70 per cent of your previous earnings.

Police Release Description Of Motel Robber

City police want your help in finding the man who robbed the Park Plaza Motel last night.

The suspect is being described as 5'5" -5'6", 150 lbs, and Caucasian with a dark complexion

He has short brown hair, scruffy facial hair and was wearing glasses, a blue ball cap with white lettering and a black hoody.

The robber made off with some money from the motel office.

If you have any information, you're being asked to call police or Crime Stoppers.

City's Bottom Line Could Get Boost From Population Increase

Better census data could result in Saint John getting half a million more dollars in gas tax money.

That, according to Mayor Ivan Court, on the city's population rising in the last five years by more than 2 thousand people to over 70 thousand.

Court expects that growth to continue thanks to immigration. He points to 59 nationalities attending the university.

Court says in the last census back in 2006, Saint John lost 18 hundred people and revenue from the gas tax went down from 5.7 million dollars to 5.2 million.

Robbery And Fire Out East

City Police investigating a robbery at the Park Plaza motel around 11:30 last night.

One person getting away with an undisclosed amount of money from the motel office and no one was hurt.

There was a house fire on the east side early this morning that was put out quickly.
 
It broke out at a home on Omega Drive off Hickey Road. One woman lives in the house and she got out okay.

Not All Conflicts Among Students At School Are Bullying

The Superintendent in School District 8 Mike Butler says the hair burning at Simonds High recently is not a case of bullying.

He calls it an isolated act of aggression and warns against lumping together all conflicts between students under the umbrella of bullying.

The chair of the District 8 Education Council Rob Fowler describes it as assault and being handled properly.

A 15 year old boy will be appearing in youth court next month on charges of assault with a weapon.
 
 He's accused of lighting the hair of a 14 year old girl on fire and attempting to do the same to two other girls.

New Historical Mural Will Be Created At East Side School

You might remember seeing a mural on the outside of Simonds Middle School on Loch Lomand Road for years which is now called Bayview Elementary.

That mural got damaged in the elements, became waterlogged and was disposed off.

A former member of the District 8 Education Council, Barb Mahaffy complained about how it was done with no notification but now a decision has been made to create a new mural to depict the landing of James Simonds out east.

The new mural will be displayed inside the school.
 
Mahaffy hopes the name plaque recognising the efforts of the students who put together the first mural years ago will be recreated as well.

Gas Prices Virtually The Same

You likely won't notice much of a change with gas prices after the weekly setting.

Self serve regular is selling at $1.27.7 a litre in the city.

Diesel is going for $1.37.1.

 Heating oil has increased by half a cent to $1.20 a litre.

Propane is listed at $1.06.5 a litre.