Man Accused In Rockwood Park Attack Back In Court

Another court appearance for a 27 year old Saint John man on charges arising from an attack on a jogger in Rockwood Park early last month. 

Nathan Dean waived his request for bail and was remanded until Monday morning when a trial date will be set.

The woman was confronted on a trail by a man with his face covered and armed with a knife but managed to fight him off.

Homeless Youth Get A Helping Hand

Today marked a big announcement from the folks at Safe Habour, an emergency shelter for homeless youth that's looking to open its doors in 2013.

The shelter will be built on the former site of Saint James Anglican Church on Broad Street. Coordinator Colin McDonald tells CHSJ News they hope starting to build the shelter will get Saint Johners thinking about how they can help all our marginalized groups.

The 10-bed facility will house at-risk youth for up to six months as they transition from street life to a more permanent home. It will also make counseling and other services available to help the young people transition back into society.

BREAKING: Fire On Westfield Road, Building Destroyed

The storage building that has been on fire for the past several hours on Westfield Road is now all but destroyed.

Some propane tanks were reportedly inside the building as well as number of boats and RVs.

The blaze appears to be getting under control. 

BREAKING: Fire On Westfield Road

A significant fire has been reported on Westfield Road this afternoon; fire officials got that call shortly after 1pm.

According to early reports heavy black smoke is billowing from the storage building and fire fighters are preparing to begin taking off the roof to fight the blaze.

It's thought to have originated between the floors of the building, which contained a number of boats and RVs.

NB Power and Saint John Water have also been called to the scene.

Jaywalking In Support Of Sex Workers

"Take back the streets" was the cry as over 70 loud and proud protestors jaywalked their way from King Square to City Hall in support of the dignity and human rights of street-based sex workers.

North End Community Activist Tammy Calvin tells CHSJ News politicians don't have the right to look down on their citizens, no matter what they do for a living.

The protest was against a motion recently put forward by Councillor Susan Fullerton to fine sex workers under jaywalking bylaws. The motion was passed by council, but according to Councillor Shirley McAlary (who voted against) it's unlikely to be put into effect because the police simply don't have time to enforce it.

Meet The Winners Of The Home Lottery

Dwight Ough, Suzanne Cline & Anita Cline

Three things filled the NB Hospital Home Lottery Grand Prize Showroom today: smiles, shock and winners.

The Grand Prize Showhome in Rothesay, worth $775,000, was won by Dwight Ough, Suzanne Cline and Anita Cline. The three will sell the house, meaning along with cash they'll walk away with $275,000. Dwight is an audiologist and Suzanne is the office manager of a private hearing clinic in St. Andrews, while her sister Anita does accounting at the Atlantic Salmon Federation. 

All 3 winners had never been to the show home before they won it, and for Anita it was her first time buying a ticket. She was the one who received the call from Donna Gates, the VP of the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation. Anita tells CHSJ news she blacked out for a few minutes, and it took her 10 minutes to convince the other two that they won. 

So what are their plans for the money? Dwight says he's got financial obligations, Anita will extend a trip to Thailand with her husband, and Suzanne is going to buy a dirt bike and ride to Argentina. She says it's sad to sell the house, but would think it'd be difficult for the 3 of them to "live happily every after" in it.

Helen Brown and her husband Jack

Saint Johnner Helen Brown won the early bird prize, a Mercedes-Benz. She says when she first got the call she thought it was a hoax. She works at the hospital in a recovery room, and says she's going to take the $60,000 instead of the car to help build her new home.

Mario and Claude Mallais

Claude and his son Mario Mallais from Tracadie-Sheila won the Lexus. They've been buying tickets for years and never thought they would win anything big. The two are going to sell the car and split the money which they both plan to save and invest. Mario works as a pharmacist in the Bathurst Chaleur Regional Hospital, and a large chunk of his family works there as well.

Heidi Price

Heidi Price from Sussex Corner had a strong feeling she was going to win something, but says pandemonium took over her house when she found out she won $200,975 from the 50/50 draw.  She tells CHSJ news she bought her ticket when she heard it was 90% sold out, and kept telling her husband for weeks they were going to win something big. She and her husband are going get a new car and take their 5 and 1-year-old to Walt Disney World and Italy. 

Over $900,000 from the lottery will support priority programs and equipment at the Saint John Regional Hospital, New Brunswick Heart Centre and Mindcare New Brunswick.

Tanning Beds Targeted By Provincial Liberals

The Opposition Liberals want the use of tanning beds in the province by those young people under 19 banned.
    
Liberal Health critic Donald Arsenault points to research from the International Agency for Research on Cancer. It shows the risk of skin cancer increases by 75 per cent when tanning bed use begins before age 35. 

The Liberals will be tabling a bill aimed at banning the practice but even Arsenault, a former Deputy Premier, concedes opposition bills are rarely made law. That's why he's calling on Health Minister Ted Flemming to take the bull by the horns.
   
Arsenault says a ban could also save scarce health care dollars as well as lives down the road.
  

Hospital Home Lottery Picks Winners

There are 4 big winners in the Hospital Home Lottery. Anita Cline of St. Andrews wins the 750 thousand dollar Grand Prize Showhome in Rothesay.

The 50/50 cash prize of almost 201 thousand dollars was won by Heidi Price of Sussex Corner. 

The early bird prize which is either the Mercedes Benz or 60 thousand dollars went to a Saint Johnner, Helen Brown and the 2013 Lexus was won by Claude Mallais from Tracadie-Sheila.

Gas Prices Change But Not By Alot

The price of self serve regular has taken a bit of a dip after the weekly setting. 

It's selling for $1.24.1 a litre which is a drop of almost 2 cents. 

Diesel, though, is more expensive at $1.36.1, an increase of almost one cent a litre.

Heating oil has gone up slightly to a maximum price of $1.17 and the price of propane has declined by two cents to a max of 97.4 cents a litre.

Jaywalk Flash Mob Set For Noon Today

Get ready to see some reckless jaywalking uptown today.  

The Great Jaywalk is coming up at noon in Kings Square to support dignity and human rights for people who work in the sex trade.

The Jaywalk flash mob is a response to Common Council's move to use City by-laws regarding jaywalking and sidewalk use to rid the street's of sex workers.
 
The motion was put forward by Councillor Susan Fullerton and passed by council at the November 13th meeting and will go before the Saint John Police Commission for further examination.

The move sparked a negative response particularly from AIDS Saint John which feels forcing sex workers in the City to pay fines will mean they have to work more in the sex trade to cover the cost.

The Jaywalk flash mob is meeting in Kings Square at noon today jaywalking across Charlotte to King where they plan to march down peacefully before jaywalking again to end up at City Hall.