World Championship Cancels Saint John

A year after Saint John was announced as the host city for the 2013 IFAF Women's World Championship, it finds out it will no longer be hosting the football tournament.

Football Canada and the IFAF says the decision to pull the tournament was due to liability, lack of suitable fields and international travel costs.

President of Football New Brunswick Lisa Harlow tells CHSJ news there are plenty of fields in Saint John and 68% of the budget was already covered, so the decision to pull was a surprise. Harlow says they tried to having meetings to make changes but were unsuccessful.

Harlow adds one concern was having Canadian sized football fields instead of American, but they were working with companies to get them changed over.

She says despite the disappointment, women's football is growing. There's still no word yet on where the new host city will be.

Funeral Service Set For Former Rothesay Mayor

A funeral service for former Rothesay Mayor Don Horne will be held tomorrow afternoon at St. Paul's Anglican Church in Rothesay at 1:00.
Horne, who was also active in the Conservative party, served as Mayor of Rothesay from 1983 to 1995.
He worked for more than 30 years at NB Tel and was a driving force behind twinning the McKay Highway.
There will be visitation today at Brenan's on Paradise Row from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 tonight.

New BMO Opens On King Street

The new location of the Bank of Montreal is now open on King Street.

The heritage style branch is returning home after many years in City hall.

The new BMO used to be located on King street back in the early 70's.

More Flight Locations For Saint John Airport

Saint John Airport will be extending where it flies.

The airport will over new direct air services and connections to major centres in Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The news means the Saint John Airport will be the only one in the province offering direct flights to Quebec City and Bonaventure.

The official announcement will be made this Tuesday at the Saint John Airport.

M-P's Told To Get Real With Their Platinum Plated Pensions

Members of Parliament are being pressured by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation to radically change their pension plan.

The Federation's Atlantic Director, Kevin Lacey tells CHSJ News each M-P can start collecting a pension at age 55 and is eligible to collect after serving for only 6 years.

Lacey points out the average M-P in the province will be eligible for a pension of over 50 thousand dollars a year.

The Federation has calculated Saint John M-P Rodney Weston can collect a pension of 33 thousand dollars a year by 2015. By contrast the average New Brunswicker receiving the Canada Pension gets 536 dollars a month.

The Federation says the MP's should be on the same type of R-R-S-P plan as anyone else instead of having taxpayers shelling out 24 dollars for every dollar being contributed by each M-P.

Blind Driver's Behind The Wheel For MIRA

Bet you've never 'seen' this before... a car race with drivers who are blind.

That's exactly what's happening tomorrow at 7 o'clock at the Centre for Speed in Shediac. The first blind driver stock car race in the Atlantic provinces will have 10 blind drivers competing in a 10 lap race.

Participant Brian Thorne tells CHSJ news each driver will have a co-pilot to give instructions, but they won't be allowed to touch the brakes or steering wheel.

All the money raised goes to the MIRA foundation, who train seeing-eye dogs.

For more information on tickets and to donate, you can call Brian Thorne at 672-5574 or e-mail atlantique@mira.ca.

Tickets are $10 each or $25 for a family pass.

Alward Government Pressed on Lepreau Compensation

The Liberals are accusing the Alward Government of dragging its heels on getting compensation for the cost overruns with the refurbishment of the Point Lepreau nuclear power station.

Liberal energy critic Brian Kenny tells CHSJ News we're talking a billion dollars and that will have some impact on what you pay for electricity each month.

Kenny is worried when he hears acting Energy Minister Craig Leonard indicate compensation may not have to be paid if the federal government helps out with projects down the road like the restoration of the Mactaquac dam.

Youth Hunting Sparks Debate

The province wants to hear from you on lowering the legal hunting age from 14 to 12 with adult supervision.

It's a polarizing subject for many given the recent gun violence in Toronto and Colorado and our listeners are speaking out online.

Matt says it gets the kids out with mom & dad to help them build responsibility while Jimmy mocks the idea saying 'let's put guns into more hands even little kids".

Wendy thinks with adult supervision, it's a great idea. Colton says all four of his daughters have shot a gun at a target adding there is absolutely nothing wrong with teaching your children to be independent and live off of the land.

Liz thinks the post is in poor taste but says there are always two sides to a debate but in her opinion, there is something not right about any child holding a weapon.

In a recent CHSJ News poll question we asked you if the legal hunting age for youth should be lowered from 14 to 12 with adult supervision and 78 per cent of you said no.

To add your voice, click here

For more info on the government's proposal, click here

Changes To Construction Work Today

Due to today's weather, paving on St. Patrick Street is postponed until Monday.

Between 8am and 6pm on Chesley Drive, traffic will be reduced to one lane in both directions.

Crown Street is closed to south bound traffic. Motorists will be detoured via Pitt Street to King Street East and back to Crown.
This work is part of Harbour Clean up and should last three weeks.

Crews Rescue Pair From The Water

A terrifying situation for two people boating on the Kennebecasis River ending with no injuries.
 
About 5:30 in the afternoon, emergency personnel in the KV including Coast Guard and the RCMP got the call about a boat sinking in the water.
 
Luckily the two people on board were able to hold on to a nearby kayak until help arrived.
 
Lieutenant Mike Boyle of the KV Fire Department tells CHSJ News the two experienced boaters who know the river were on a 16-foot power boat.

He says they actually hit something in the water hard enough causing it to sink almost immediately.

The KV Fire rescue boat picked up the boaters bringing them to the Meehan's Cove Wharf.
No word on what they may have hit in the water.