Suspicious Package Found At Jail

The perimeter of Black River Road Jail being evacuated due to reports of a suspicious package this afternoon.

Sergeant Peter Fres of the Saint John Police Force would not release any details about what was found but does tell CHSJ News the RCMP bomb squad and the Fire Department's Haz Mat were called in after the report was recieved at aproximately 1:30pm.

The package was checked over and determined not to be dangerous.

Seniors Can Celebrate The Diamond Jubilee

Seniors in Saint John will be celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee at the Lily Lake Pavilion tomorrow.

They will be treated to a red carpet event, complete with Saint John Police and RCMP escorts upon their arrival.

Special recognition will be given to our local war veterans, war brides, and present local members of our armed forces.

A cold plate luncheon will be served in the style of a British High Tea.

The event begins at noon.    Tickets are $20 each and for more info call 609-1970.

Parking Rates Increase

It will cost you more to park at hourly meters starting tomorrow.
Customers will now pay $2 an hour at metered spaces.

Fees for parking at an expired meter in a no parking zone or in a handicap space have also increased. 
 
For all the details, click here

Conservative MLA's Pledge To Eat Apples & Move

Eat an apple a day and spend 30 minutes movin---that's the idea behind a health challenge between the southern New Brunswick conservative caucaus and the Saint John medical society to everyone in the province.

Dr. Theresa Koppert tells us participants can take part by signing up on the new SJ medical society website.

She says the website has made the challenge possible allowing them to have a place where people can record the exercise they are doing and that they ate an apple a day.

Wellness Minister Trevor Holder says for every dollar spent on preventative measures leads to $12 in healthcare savings down the road.
To sign up yourself, click here

Nerepis Man In Hot Water After Evading Police

A 25 year old Nerepis man has a date with a judge after speeding through Grand Bay-Westfield just after midnight on Sunday.

The mounties tell CHSJ News once they put the lights and sirens on the driver dropped his speed below the speed limit but did not stop.
The man kept driving until he reached his garage at home.

A RCMP member was assaulted but not injured during the arrest.
The man was released on conditions and is due in court later to face charges of impaired driving, failing to stop for police and assaulting a police officer.

 

Doctors To Meet With Health Authority Amid Fears They're Being Silenced

Doctors in the province say they don't want to be muzzled and the President of the New Brunswick Medical Society Dr. Robert Rae says that's how they read proposed rules that would prohibit them from making statements deemed to be detrimental to the health authority.

Donald Peters is President and C-E-O of the Horizon Health Network and he acknowledges the doctors don't want to be told you can never advocate on behalf of patients but nothing has been approved yet.

There will be a meeting tomorrow between Horizon and the doctors to iron out their differences.
 
Peters says this could all boil down to a misunderstanding or misinterpretation.

Mental Health Counsellor Talks About His Own Ordeal

Those young people from the Saint John area who go to Peer 126 on Duke Street to get help with whatever form of mental illness they're suffering from shouldn't have any trouble relating to the counselors who have been down the same road.

One of those counselors is Jason Smith who was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic when he was working at the University of Waterloo. Smith says he thought he was hearing voices through the walls and people circling his house and this took over his life.

Smith did suffer a breakdown and found himself homeless.
 
He was eventually arrested and that may have been a good thing because he underwent a psychiatric evaluation and finally got the help he needed to recover.

To learn more, click here

"Look South" Is The Theme At Port Days

Port Days will get down to business first thing tomorrow morning by hearing from Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield, who's also the Minister responsible for the Atlantic Gateway.

Port Authority President and C-E-O Jim Quinn says the theme this year is to develop more trade in the Caribbean and Latin America. People are here from the Dominican Republic and delegates will also be hearing about the expansion of the Panama Canal.

 Quinn says alot of the potash from Saint John already moves down south but there are more opportunities that can be had and he wants to raise the awareness of businesspeople in the city about those.

Green Party Candidate Says Quality Of Life In Rothesay Is Not Great

Patronage is not something the Green Party candidate in the June 25th Rothesay byelection is talking about, unlike the Liberals and New Democrats.

Sharon Murphy prefers to talk about quality of life issues and she is warning the drinking water in Rothesay could be destroyed for generations by fracking and then there's blasting and mountaintop removal in the Rothesay watershed.

She questions how well the riding has been represented in the past considering there are no centres for young people or seniors and no recreational trails but there are railway tracks running alongside the river.

Provincial NDP Leader Calls Patronage "An Addiction We Can't Afford Anymore"

Patronage and the appointment of former Rothesay M-L-A Margaret Ann Blaney as C-E-O of Efficiency NB have become the defining issues of the campaign thus far in the June 25th Rothesay byelection. 

That's what Provincial NDP leader Dominic Cardy says he has been hearing on doorsteps as he campaigns to try to wrest the riding away from the Conservatives. 

He argues the culture of patronage is holding the province back economically by driving young talent away and preventing businesses from setting up shop here.
 
Cardy says he would like to debate the issues with the 4 other candidates.

Federal NDP Leader Warns About Health Dangers Of Fracking

The Rothesay byelection is a priority for the NDP........That message delivered in Rothesay by Federal leader Thomas Mulcair who made his fifth trip to the province since assuming the leadership to boost the campaign of provincial party leader Dominic Cardy in the June 25th byelection. 

Mulcair not only calls shale gas development "a con job" but charges fracking is downright dangerous because the fluid used in the process of breaking up the rock to release the natural gas contains known carcinogens.

Mulcair did call for pipelines to be built from west to east so jobs can be added in this region instead of being shipped to the U.S.

Farren Says We're Making Progress With Pension

A Saint John problem which only Saint Johners can solve--that's what common councillor Bill Farren calls the 75 million dollars missing in indexing the city's pension reforms.  

Mayor Mel Norton suggesting Saint John examine the province's reforms for cost-cutting measures we could potentially adopt. Farren says he expects they'll be calling in the experts: the people who drafted the legislation.

Farren says the newly-elected council is making progress with the issue in a direction the previous government wasn't willing to pursue.

Word Expected Soon On Bridge & Interchange Projects

Construction equipment at the Harbour Bridge and One Mile Interchange sites remains parked - but - that may be about to change.
Work has been at a standstill at both sites since the spring when the primary contractor ConCreate U-S-L went into receivership -- the good news is the province had bonding in place.
And the Transportation Department tells us it's working on an agreement with the bonding company to get a replacement contractor in place -- an announcement is expected soon.
Phase 2 of the 35-million dollar Harbour Bridge make over and work on the 70-million dollar interchange were originally scheduled for completion this year.