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Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Donations Low But Demand High at Food Banks

Slim pickings at our local food banks, with donations hitting a yearly low. But Dianne Daigle, who manages the clothing room and emergency food service for Romero House, says demand, on the other hand, is sky-high. 

She tells CHSJ news that because of pricey winter heating bills, people simply don't have the cash to buy groceries.

Daigle says they're always looking for canned milk, pasta and kids snacks. To donate, you can drop off food at the door at 647 Brunswick Drive , or if you're unable to get there, you can call Romero House at
642-7447 and a truck driver will pick up the items.

Facebook Scam Making The Rounds

If you've been seeing a lot of notifications lately for something called Facebook Black, don't be fooled. It's actually a scam which can hijack your account and use it to spam your friends.

The scam happens when you click wall post with a link stating you can change the color of your Facebook theme from blue to black. After clicking the post, the user is then directed to a website that claims they can change their Facebook color to any color they want. The user is persuaded to click a button that says Change Your Color, and then the site hijacks the used Facebook account and installs a virus to your computer.

At the end of the day, your Facebook colour won't change. If you've fallen for the scam change your password right away and let your Facebook friends know not to click on it.

VIDEO: East Side Garage Suffers Fire Damage

Thick black smoke and flames could be seen coming from a garage on the east side this morning.
 

Saint John Fire crews responding to the fire at Crowe's Auto Body on Grandview Avenue.
 

Platoon chief Eric Garland tells us no one was in the garage at the time or in the nearby house.

He tells crews took an aggressive exterior attack because no one was inside the building not wanting to take a chance on what hazardous materials might be inside.
 

Garland says they did have concerns about propane tanks in the building but its unclear what caused an explosion but he does not think it was the acetylene. 

A fire investigator is looking into the cause.




Big Changes At This East Side Beach

Mispec has been pretty storm-damaged and hard for families to enjoy for a few years now; however, that's going to change as of May 1.

Common Councillor Ray Strowbridge tells CHSJ News the sea wall and walking trails will be repaired, changing and bathrooms will be installed at the East Side beach. The old, cracked asphalt will also be torn up and replaced with gravel.

Since much of the damage was caused by storms, the project qualified for disaster relief funding as well as money from the province.

Crook Jumps Off Digby Ferry, Gets Arrested Anyway

It's a heck of a way to celebrate the first day of spring.

One man with a warrant out for his arrest decided to risk a swim the frigid waters of the Bay of Fundy--in a blizzard, no less--rather than get arrested.

The man was on the Digby Ferry this morning when he was approached by police looking to collar him for robbing Daly's in the north end earlier this week.

According to Staff Sergeant Mike King he then jumped overboard and had to be rescued from the water. He was checked over in an ambulance but didn't appear to have sustained any injuries. He did, however, need to be brought some dry clothes.


BREAKING: Fire at Crowe Auto

Fire crews are working to knock down a blaze at Crowe's Auto Body which is 1720 Grandview Avenue.  Black smoke is visible and some wires are reportedly down.

Crews received that call around 11am to the large working garage with 3 vehicles still inside. The bulk of the fire is knocked down, but there is some still in the roof area they're working to control.

According to early reports there are some acetylene and oxygen tanks in the garage but no propane making it impossible for crews to go in. No one was inside at the time.

Crews are working to open up the roof and vent the building's attic space.

Armed Robbery On The Kingston Peninsula

The RCMP getting a 9-1-1 call around 10 last night about a robbery occurring at the Kingston General Store on Route 845 on the Peninsula.

Two men left with an undisclosed amount of cash after confronting the clerk who wasn't hurt but she was tied up with duct tape.

The RCMP set up several checkpoints and checked all vehicles coming off of the Gondola Point and Grand Bay-Westfield ferries in an effort to nab the two.

Anyone with information about the holdup to contact Hampton RCMP at 832-5566 or Crimestoppers at www.crimenb.ca or 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Sebastian Auger Five-Time Winner at Sea Dogs Awards Banquet

A whopping five trophies going to the Sea Dogs' goaltender. Sebastian Auger getting half of the awards given out at the team's awards banquet. Auger tells CHSJ news that this year hasn't been a breeze for the team, but the hurdles didn't knock the dogs off their feet.
 
Team captain Pierre Durepos winning two awards. He tells CHSJ news that the team is gearing up to hit the ice against the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday, the first game of this year's playoffs. He says they've been practicing hard, and says, "Hopefully we can make a little bit of noise."

Alpine Three Stars Award: Sebastian Auger
Pepsi Top Scorer Award: Jacob Izacky 
Scotiabank Community Service Award: Jason Cameron
Saint John Airport Academic Athlete of the Year: Pierre Durepos
Tim Hortons Most Improved Player Award: Sebastian Auger
Irving Oil Team Player Award: Sebastian Auger
Sun Life Global Investments Top Defenceman: Pierre Durepos
Grant Thornton Rookie of the Year Award: Stephen Anderson and Olivier LeBlanc
Children's Wish Foundation Fan Choice Award: Sebastian Auger
Bell Aliant Most Valuable Player:  Sebastian Auger

 

First Day Of Spring Is More Like Winter

The first official day of spring comes in with a bang as a winter storm moves through the province from the Gulf of Maine. 

All schools in the Anglophone South School District from Sussex to St. Stephen are closed today because of the storm. All schools in Francophone South, which includes Samuel de Champlain, are closed as well.

Cindy Vallis of Environment Canada tells CHSJ News, as of early this morning, ten centimeters of snow had fallen with another five to ten centimeters still to come, mostly this morning before tapering off to flurries this afternoon.

She hasn't seen any sign of freezing rain or ice pellets in the mix but the snowfall warning remains in effect.