BREAKING: Two More Explosive Devices Found at Scene of The Boston Marathon

A senior U.S. intelligence official says two more explosive devices have been found near the scene of the Boston marathon explosions. 

The official says who launched the attack and their motive is currently unclear.

BREAKING: Major Explosions At Finish Line Of Boston Marathon

At least 2 are dead and 23 injured in Boston.

A source at the Running Room in Brunswick Square says there are several Saint Johners among the competitors. The Saint Johners listed online as registered for the race are 
Alex Coffin, Brenda Guitard, James Miller, Alonzo Reardon, Jeremy Steeves, Vincent Vatour.

CHSJ News spoke with Amanda Howes of the Boston radio station WBZ, who tells us area hospitals are full dealing with the injuries and streets are being shut down throughout the uptown.


Runner Laura McLean of Toronto says she heard the explosions outside the medical tent and describes seeing people who were ``really, really bloody.''

McLean says medical personnel were pulling victims into the medical tent that had been set up to care for fatigued runners.

 Another runner from North Carolina says there are a lot of people down. Frank Deruyter was not injured, but says marathon workers were carrying one woman, who did not appear to be a runner, to the medical area as blood gushed from her leg.
A Boston police officer was wheeled from the course with a leg injury that was bleeding. 
Competitors and race organizers were crying as they fled the chaos.The explosions occurred about three hours after the winners crossed the line, as stragglers were still finishing in the 42.1 kilometre trek from Hopkinton.Those who had not finished the race were rerouted away from the smoking site of the blasts. 

Grass Fires A Problem At This Time Of Year

What says "spring" like the smell of grass fires in the air? Whether it's kids setting them as a prank or homeowners burning their lawns, Charles Beaulieu of the Department of Natural Resources warns it's easy for fires to get out of control and destroy both homes and animals natural habitats.

He tells CHSJ News it's a common myth that burning your lawn will make it grow back quicker. In fact, burning only makes the grass appear greener because all the dead, brown growth is beside it. Beaulieu says burning can also burn the root systems that are just starting to grow making your lawn come in more slowly.

 Instead of burning the Department of Natural resources encourages people to mulch and compost debris instead.

Help Your Kids With Stress

The sooner anyone learns to cope with stress the better.   

That's the idea behind the Kids Have Stress Too course at Centennial School for the guardians or parents of kids from 4 to 9 years old.

Facilitator Debbie McCormick tells CHSJ News they use the words mad, sad, glad and bad to figure out how they are feeling.

If your daughter comes home crying because she was not invited to a party.

McCormick says she may be disappointed and we deal with that differently than sadness.

The course is coming up April 23rd and 30th at Centennial School.

For more info, call 633-1705 to register.

Cuts And Other Changes To Grand Manan Ferry Run

The Grand Manan ferry will have its daily round trips cut from four daily runs to three during the low traffic season, and from seven daily runs to six during the high season. The crossing time between Blacks Harbour and Grand Manan Island will also be increased from 90 to 120 minutes.

The exact timetable is being worked out with the operator and the final schedule will be shared before any changes are made; however, it's expected the last run of the day off Grand Manan Island will be roughly 6 p.m and the last return trip from Blacks Harbour will be about 8 p.m. 

 The changes will come into effect in the next few weeks and are expected to save as much as $1.5 million. The operation and maintenance of ferry services to all the Fundy Isles costs taxpayers $13.8 million per year.

Weed Growers Moving Operations Outdoors

Spring is here: which means pot growners are increasingly taking their operations outside.

Crime Stoppers and the RCMP are asking the public to keep an eye out for people growing marijuana outdoors. Often, growers will use Crown land to avoid prosecution. The plants are sometimes surrounded by chicken wire to keep out animals with legal plants used as camouflage.

ATV and walking trails  are commonly used to get to the crops. Unsuspecting people have been known to locate a grow op simply by accident or by recognizing the 'skunk like' odor that the plants produce.Anyone with any information concerning an outdoor marijuana grow operation can call N.B. Crime Stoppers Inc. at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or visit www.crimenb.ca. If your information leads to an arrest, you could qualify for a cash award of up to $2,000.

Canteen At Mispec Beach Can't Be Salvaged

Ward 4 Councillor Ray Strowbridge wants to see Mispec Beach brought back to where it was a few years ago but he admits the canteen is too far gone and there likely won't be canteen services available this summer.

Strowbridge tells CHSJ news with the electrical problems and the mould, the cost of repairing it would be more than the canteen is now worth.

Common Council being advised to approve demolition . City Staff say they're looking for alternatives to the canteen. In the meantime, repairs at the beach start May 1st.

Former Saint John M-P Says Trudeau Should Stay Positive

Now that Justin Trudeau is the new leader of the federal Liberals, can he turn their fortunes around and present them as a viable alternative to the Harper Government which is already out with the first attack ad? 

Former Saint John and Fundy-Royal M-P Paul Zed tells CHSJ News Trudeau has a good foundation to build upon having received 100 thousand votes in the leadership contest.
 
Zed says Trudeau is well connected to the Maritimes, visiting Saint John three or four times, and  he should continue travelling the country to reach out and present a positive vision for the future as a contrast to the federal Conservatives and their U.S. style negative ads.

CHSJ News asked Zed whether he would consider running again with Trudeau as leader and tells us "in politics, you never say never".

A Chance To Get Rid Of Your Old Car Batteries Tomorrow

Starting tomorrow you can get rid of your dead car battery in an environmentally responsible way: CAA is recycling your used batteries during Earth Week, April 16 to 22.

The public can drop off lead-acid batteries (those found in cars, trucks, campers, motorcycles, boats and small planes) at the Saint John CAA Office at 378 Westmorland Rd. during business hours. In Fredericton you can drop them off at Coast Tire & Auto Service, 749 Wilsey Rd.

Vehicle batteries are hazardous waste--so you can't put out with your normal trash.You're advised to wear gloves and safety glasses when handling batteries. Place them upright in a sturdy container and secure them so they don't tip over. Do not smoke near batteries or expose them to open flames. When you are finished handling batteries, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.

Death Camp Survivor To Speak In Saint John Tonight

It's been 68 years since the end of the second World War, but Saint Johners haven't forgotten the tragedy of the Holocaust.

Tonight at the synagogue on Leinster Street schoolchildren and community members will gather to hear from Holocaust survivor Bill Glied , who came to Canada as an orphan in 1947. 

 Mr Glied was born in 1930 Subotica, Yugoslavia, a city about the size of Saint John. They were a middle-class family who had lived there for 200 years and operated a flour mill. He was a student in public school where he played soccer and chess, and went to Hebrew school. Yugoslavia was occupied by the Germans in 1941 and then ceded to the Hungarians. From that point Jewish people had to wear a yellow star and endure persecution and degradation. In 1944 the Glied family and the rest of the city’s Jews were forced into cattle cars and taken to Auschwitz. Upon arrival the family was separated. His mother and sister were taken to the gas chambers. He and his father endured nearly a year in slave labour camps near Dachau, but his father died 9 days before the camp was liberated in April, 1945. . Mr. Glied came to Canada as an orphan in 1947. He married a Hungarian-Jewish Holocaust survivor, Marika, and has three daughters and eight grandchildren. 

During the evening candles will be lit in memory of victims of the Holocaust.
Local schoolchildren will also be presenting their projects on the Holocaust and a short video called "Outrunning the Nazis" will be shown. The Holocaust Memorial event begins at 7:30 at the synagogue 91 Leinster Street.

Plan To Enjoy Somerset Street In August

Driving along Somerset Street near St. Pius should be a treat in August..not so much right now.
 
Crews are one week into a 5 month project repairing sanitary sewers and watermain and new curbs, sidewalks and road surface.
Project engineer Michael Baker tells CHSJ News it's 2.3 million dollar project with 3 phases.

He says phase 1 is Samuel Davis Drive to Thornbrough Street, phase 2 is the intersection of Somerset Street and Wellesley Avenue and phase 3 is Somerset Street from Wellesely Avenue to Thornbrough Street.

A detour is in place for the southbound traffic using Churchill Boulevard, Visart Street and Wellesley Avenue.

TEDx Conference On Saint John's Youth Happening Later This Month

Hosted around the world, TEDx conferences are about sharing ideas and spurring on dialogue, and 18-year-old high school student Marc Boudreau thinks that's exactly what needs to happen in this city when it comes to Saint John's young population. 

Boudreau is organizing a TEDx conference in the Port City focusing on youth. He tells us too often, young people are characterized as either bad or good, and people can take a superficial approach when dealing with youth issues. But he thinks this can change. 

The event is going to be held later this month and will feature several speakers giving their two cents on the city's youth. For a link to the event page, click here.

Funeral Set For Man Who Died After Being Assaulted

A funeral service will be held tomorrow afternoon for 43 year old Scott Crawford who died Friday night after being assaulted in the early morning hours of Easter Monday on the west side. 

The service will take place at 2:00 tomorrow at Our Lady of the Assumption Church on Dufferin Row with visitation at Brenan's today from 2 until 9 tonight and tomorrow from 9 in the morning until noonhour. 

Crawford worked at Moosehead and had been in the Regional Hospital ever since being seriously injured at a bar on Manawagonish Road.  

A 37 year old unnamed man was arrested and was facing a charge of aggravated assault. He's scheduled to appear in court on May 8th at which time we'll know if the charge has been changed to a more serious one.

Saint John Mother Says Autistic Children Need More Support

The Anglophone South School District is promising better early learning services for preschoolers, but one Saint John mom says too little is being done to help the other young people who have autism. 

Amanda Hensey has two sons who are autistic. The oldest is 10 years of age and she tells CHSJ News autistic children are falling through the cracks and this is putting undue pressure on their parents.

Hensey says she has been told autism isn't viewed by the professionals as a mental health issue and autistic children are not considered low functioning enough to be classified as special needs.

She points out the numbers of children being diagnosed with autism are skyrocketing from 1 out of 250 in 2002 to 1 in 87 now and Hensey wonders what's going to happen when they become adults.

Vacant Lots In City Could Be Greened Up

Common Council getting a proposal tonight to approve spending $10,000 on a pilot programme designed to beautify, to a certain extent, vacant lots in the urban core after buildings are torn down. 

Top soil and grass will be put down from May to October after the building is demolished. 

This was the brainchild of  North End Common Councillor John MacKenzie who first suggested this be done shortly after the municipal election. Initially, the idea went nowhere with one concern being the fact these properties are privately owned. City Staff are also concerned if the lots get overgrown with grass, they might become targets for fires and illegal dumping.

It's estimated to cost from 2 to 3 thousand dollars to seed a typical lot.

Mispec Won't Have The Canteen This Summer

Common Council will be asked tonight to approve the demolition of the the canteen at Mispec Beach. 

City Staff have concluded it's not worth spending over 12 thousand dollars on repairs for just one season and will be looking at alternatives. 

50 thousand dollars has been spent on the canteen since 2005.

Contaminated Soil Underneath North End Community Centre

The city running into a couple of unforeseen problems with the revitalisation of the Nick Nicolle Community Centre in the north end that will delay completion of the project by a couple of months. 

During excavation, it was discovered soil had been contaminated by furnace oil and a previous fire. The soil had to be removed at a cost of 20 thousand dollars with the provincial Environment Department insisting three monitoring wells be installed which brings the total cost to more than 32 thousand dollars.

It was also discovered some of the columns in the exterior walls were rotted because of moisture. Those columns were to be reused but, instead, will have to be replaced.


$140,000 was set aside by the city for contingencies like these.