Most of the Lights Are Back On

A little more than 900 homes and business will find making supper challenging tonight with many of them in the Moncton area due to a lack of power.

This morning, NB power was reporting 5500 customers were in the dark.   The outages caused by high winds from Sunday's storm.

Graham Accepts Responsibility For Atcon Conflict

The Province's conflict of interest commissioner says former premier Shawn Graham broke provincial rules because of his involvement in his government's decision to give financial help to a construction company.

    Patrick Ryan has released his report into allegations that Graham was in a conflict of interest in 2009 when his Liberal government gave a $50 million loan guarantee to Miramichi-based Atcon.
 
    Ryan says Graham should have removed himself from cabinet discussions over the loan guarantee because his father was a director of Vanerply, a Swedish subsidiary of Atcon,  and a paid consultant of Vanerply and other Atcon companies.
 
    Ryan says while Graham didn't check whether his father had ties to Atcon at the time the loan guarantee was offered, it was his responsibility to know.

    Despite the loan guarantee, Atcon went bankrupt in 2010.    Ryan is recommending Graham be fined $3,500 and reprimanded.
 
    Graham issued a statement saying the fault was an oversight' on his part and he accepts full responsibility for his actions.
 

Another Storm Impacts Blood Donation

If you can safely get out of your driveway, Canadian Blood Services is hoping you will consider driving straight to 400 University Avenue.
 
Peter MacDonald of Donor and Clinic Services says this is the fifth week they have experienced clinic impacts due to weather this winter.

109 appointments remain in Saint John for clinics this week.

If you can't keep your appointment to donate, you are asked to cancel it and allow CBS the chance to book another donor.

To book an appointment,  1 888 2 DONATE (1-888-236-6283).

Sisters Of Charity To Receive Red Triangle Award

The 2013 Red Triangle Award winners are the Sisters of Charity.

The Saint John Y bestowing the honour on the group of women because they embody the spirit of giving and service.

Sister Mary Beth McCurdy tells CHSJ News they along with the Y have been going for 159 years.

She says they have walked through periods of time with a goal to be of service to women, children and famillies.

The Sisters of Charity will get their award at a gala awards night on April 17th at the Trade and Convention Centre.

The Y's Strong Kids campaign goal is $157,000 for 2013 which President Shilo Boucher tells us is higher to accomodate a growing need in the community.

All proceeds from the Red Triangle awards go toward the Y's Strong Kids campaign. 

Progress On Restoring Power

Our Sunday storm has lasting impact in the form of power outages.

More than 3200 NB Power customers province wide are without electricity including many folks throughout the Rothesay region from Nauwigewauk and Darling's Island to the Kingston Peninsula.
At 11 this morning, that number exceeded 5500 homes and businesses.

Move Your Car Tonight Or Else

No suprise here...the City declaring an overnight snow parking ban for the uptown and south end between 11 tonight and 7 tomorrow morning.

If your vehicle is left on the street, it will be towed at your risk and expense.

The City provides 6 lots for the use of on-street parkers.

You can see the list by clicking here

Cancellations And Closures For Monday February 18th

All schools are closed in the Anglophone South School District and the Anglophone West School District along with the Francophone South School District which includes Samuel de Champlain. 

The Saint John campus of the Community College is closed.

Classes at the Community College campus in St. Andrews will not be starting until 10:30 this morning.

Somerset pre-school is closed for the day.

Eastern College and Eastern Trades College are both closed.

The Academy of Hair Design is closed.

 All five libraries in the Saint John region are closed.

Grand Manan Library, 1144 Rte 776, for the whole day
Kennebecasis Public Library, 1 Landing Ct., for the whole day
Le Cormoran Library, 67 Ragged Point Rd., for the whole day
Saint John Free Public Library, Central Branch, 1 Market Square, for the whole day
Saint John Free Public Library, East Branch, 545 Westmorland Rd., for the whole day
Saint John Free Public Library, West Branch, 621 Fairville Blvd., for the whole day

The S-N-B Wood Co-op in Sussex is closed.

Family Ties Daycare will be closed.

Dr Mark Lowney's Office

Boys and girls Club closed and  all programs - cancelled for the day

Habitat Re-Store closed.

AJ's on the West Side closed


Classes at Ready Arc Welding are closed


All classes at the Atlantica Centre for the Arts are cancelled. 

The Princess of Acadia crossing today has been cancelled because of the high winds.

Will Shale Gas Regulations Ease Public Fears?

Now that the Alward Government has released its regulations to move forward with shale gas exploration, the big question is whether the public, by and large, will buy in. 

The President of the Atlantica Centre for Energy John Herron tells CHSJ News the government will need what he calls "social licence" to make this a go.
 
To achieve that, Herron says the provincial government will have to show it's willing to enforce its own regulations because without enforcement, they're not worth the paper they're written on and if something does go wrong, the government will have to demonstrate it's got the landowner's back.

North End Community Centre Could Come Under New Management

Common Council is being urged by city staff to turn over management and operation of the North End Community Centre on Victoria Street, officially named the Nick Nicole Community Centre, to One Change which is promising an increased level of service. 

One Change says it can operate the community centre with a yearly budget of more than 184 thousand dollars, over 158 thousand dollars of which would be provided by the city. 

The recommendation calls for One Change to take over at the beginning of June. The Centre will be closed for 6 to 8 months for work to be done to the exterior of the building.

School Security Being Beefed Up

Security at schools in the Anglophone South School District is being enhanced in the wake of the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut before Christmas. 

There will be new I-D badges for school district workers who are not attached to any particular school but perform jobs at several of them when the need arises. 

Superintendent Zoe Watson tells CHSJ News school safety is always uppermost in their minds at the school district and there are some schools in Saint John which have an intercom outside and you have to be buzzed in. 

The new logo for the school district was designed by a grade 9 studeent at Hampton High, Melanie Levesque in her art class.

Schools Closed For The Day

Saint John got 25 centimeters of snow in the latest winter storm to batter the region. 

All schools are closed in the Anglophone South School District and the Anglophone West School District along with the Francophone South School District which includes Samuel de Champlain. 

 The Saint John campus of the New Brunswick Community College is closed today.

George Parkes of Environment Canada calls it a significant storm with winds gusting to a maximum of 87 kilometers an hour.

He tells CHSJ News we might still see a couple of more centimeters of snow this morning snow before its said and done.
 
The high winds will remain with us all day long with gusts up to 70 kilometers an hour. Parkes expects they will start to diminish tonight and become light by noon tomorrow.  

As of early this morning, NB Power is reporting 11 outages throughout the Rothesay region affecting more than 600 customers from Nauwigewauk and Darling's Island to the Kingston Peninsula. 

The first two flights of the day from Saint John Airport to Toronto and Montreal have been cancelled. he flights to and from Halifax are delayed.

We are told there will be traffic delays at Rothesay Avenue and Russell Street today, not so much because of the nasty weather but construction work that's taking place on the One Mile Interchange project.