Cleaves Win Gold

A celebration for a St. Stephen Gold Medalist.
 
18-year-old Allyssa Cleaves winning the gold at the Junior Pan-Am Wrestling Championship in Guatemala.

She tells CHSJ News how it felt to bring the medal back to her hometown.

She says she was really proud to represent Canada for the first time.

Cleaves says she felt intimidated at first, because this was her first international competition, and she was the youngest girl competing.

Driscoll Says City Money Means They Stay Open

Anne Driscoll of the Crescent Valley Resource Centre tells CHSJ News this $22,000 will be used to hire a full-time executive director.

She says they are a small non-profit serving 300 famillies and the money will allow them to stay open 5 days a week.

The other recipients are Quality Learning New Brunswick, ONE Change Inc, the Teen Resource Centre for Youth and the Village Association/East Side Motivaters.

Also receiving funding today are Westside PACT, P.U.L.S.E. and the Anglin Drive Tenants Association for their story tent.

A Warning About Safety In Bay Of Fundy

Safety of marine traffic in the Bay of Fundy is being jeopardised by the Harper Government's decision to close the Saint John marine communications and traffic services centre. So says Rick Doucette, the Liberal M-L-A for Charlotte-The Isles. 

Doucette charges Premier David Alward is refusing to stand up and fight for people in the province which happened earlier with the proposed changes to Employment Insurance. 

Federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair is accusing the Prime Minister of treating Maritimers with disdain and warns a low key approach when dealing with the Harper Government doesn't work.
 
Doucette calls the Bay of Fundy the most treacherous body of water on the eastern seaboard because of the high tides and rocky geography and fishermen need help navigating.

City Hands Out $150K In Grants

The City of Saint John distributing $150, 000 dollars through neighbourhood stimulation grants.
 
Councillors Donnie Snook and Susan Fullerton happily handing out the cheques at City Hall to 9 different local groups.
 
Snook tells CHSJ News its great to be able to support community initiatives around the City.

He says the groups receiving the money are the frontline organizations in the City making a real difference.

Councillor Susan Fullerton was thrilled to hand out the money saying its the most fun she has had in the three weeks since she was elected.

Vacancy Rate Rises In Saint John

The vacancy rate for renters in Saint John is going up, in large part, because the population isn't increasing. The vacancy rate in Saint John is at 8.4 per cent. 

Claude Gautreau of Canada Mortgage and Housing calls that a bit high with the ideal being between 4 and 5 per cent, although renters may disagree because a higher vacancy rate is better for consumers.

The average rent for a two bedroom apartment in Saint John is 696 dollars which is below the provincial average. Fredericton has the lowest vacancy rate in the province at 3.8 percent with Moncton at 5 percent. 

The average rent for a two bedroom apartment in Fredericton is $755. In Moncton, it's $721.

Moncton is the fastest growing city in the province.

Gas Prices Continuing To Go Down

With the world price of oil dropping, the price of gas in our area is also becoming less expensive after the weekly setting. 

Self serve regular in the city is now down to $1.22.8 a litre. That's a reduction of under half a cent. 

Diesel dropping by the same amount to $1.23.8 a litre. 

Propane is also down a bit with the listed price of 92.3 cents a litre and heating oil is at $1.07.6, which is a decline of half a cent.