Port City Preparing For Acadian Day Celebrations

The Acadian flag will be flying at City Hall tomorrow to mark National Acadian Day. 

Mayor Mel Norton and Premier David Alward will both be attending the event, which is happening at 12:30pm. 

The day is a celebration of the the culture and history of the Acadian people, and Alana Poirier of New Brunswick Museum tells CHSJ News the province's French roots run deep. Poirier says the whole region used to belong to France and was called Nouveau France, or New France. She says French explorer and navigator Samuel de Champlain was the one responsible for naming the Saint John River. 

The museum is hosting an uptown tintamarre, a traditional noise-making parade, at 3 in the afternoon along with various activities throughout the day. For more details on the events, click here.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch Up For Fredericton and Oromocto

Environment Canada issuing a severe weather bulletin for potentially nasty thunderstorms in the province.

The storms may include large hail, strong winds and heavy rain.

A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for Fredericton, Oromocto, St. Stephen including northern Charlotte county and Woodstock.

Training Camp Opens With Hopefuls From Ontario, Quebec and Saint John

Parents and players are descending on Saint John for the Sea Dogs training camp underway now.
 
Hopeful 17 year old Gabriel Tessier is from Chateaugay, Quebec is trying out for the first time and is good friends with Sea Dog Olivier Leblanc.

He tells us it's exciting but he's also nervous but more excited than anything.

The team's roster will be split into two squads with Team A and Team B playing each other tomorrow morning at 11am at Harbour Station.

One dad here with his son who is trying out tells CHSJ News it was scramble getting here because they didn't know officially until Monday night.

The Dogs' exhibition schedule starts on Saturday at the qplex versus the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

Posting Smartphone Pictures & Videos Leaves Trail

When you snap a picture or video and share it online, you may actually be sharing more than you think. 

David Shipley of UNB's IT Services tells CHSJ News nowadays most smartphones have a GPS device built into them, and what many smartphone users don't realize is that location-based services are turned on by default, so that whenever you make a post on Twitter or other social media sites, anyone can see where you are through embedded coordinates.

Shipley says through regular activity on their smartphone, people can unknowingly broadcast a lot of information about their personal lives. He says parents in particular would likely be much more cautious if they knew about the level of data they were putting out there about their children.

Turning off the location-based services is as easy as going into your settings and pressing a button. Shipley says depending on the type of device you have, you can can turn it on or off by application, meaning you could leave it on for maps, but not photos.

Potash Corp NB Will Give $100K To Joshua Group

It's everything they have been waiting for...the Joshua Group is getting a big financial shot in the arm from Potash Corp NB.

The company will make a $100,000 contribution to the charity's building fund.

The presentation is coming up on Friday afternoon at the Joshua Group's new location at 85 Sandy Point Road.

City Records Deficit Last Year With Surplus Predicted This Year

The city's general budget winding up 2012 with a deficit of 451 thousand dollars. 

Ward 4 Councillor David Merrithew points out you can see what the future holds by taking a look at the number of building permits being issued and what sort of revenue that's generating.

There was a substantial drop in building permit revenue from what was projected and Merrithew says that's not what you want to see happening because it's a good indication of a lack of growth taking place.

The deficit, itself, amounts to about one-quarter of one per cent of the total budget and Merrithew claim that means it's almost balanced. 

The city budget this year is expected to record a surplus of 847 thousand dollars even though revenue from permits and parking is expected to be down.

Saint John Water had a surplus last year of half a million dollars.

Search On For Duke Street Home Invasion Suspects

City police are hoping you can help them identify the culprits in a home invasion Monday night on Duke street.
 
About 11:15pm, two men came into the home and a 22 year old was slightly hurt.

One of men is described at between 20 and 30 years of age and between 5 foot 8 and 6 feet tall.

The second man is described as between 24 and 30 years of age about 5 foot 10 and between 150 and 200 pounds. 

On a related note, drugs were seized from this home after a search on Tuesday.
A 22 year old man and woman from the Duke Street residence are due in court at a later date.

If you know anything about this crime, contact police at 648-3333 or Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222 TIPS.

  

City police telling us this home invasion was not a random act.

Cat Reportedly Shot With An Arrow

A bizarre call to police late yesterday afternoon about a cat being shot from a tree with an arrow on Richmond Street. 

We don't have many details because the report hasn't been completed yet but CHSJ News has been told the cat was handed over to the SPCA.