Single Game Dogs Ticket Sales Start Friday

Fans have been waiting for this. 

Single game tickets for the regular season of the Sea Dogs go on sale on Friday morning.
Ticket prices range from $12 to $18.

For ticket info,  call 657-1234 or click here  

The Harbour Station box office will also be open Saturday beginning at Noon.

New MMA TV Series Filmed In Maritimes Airs Tonight

If you're into mixed martial arts, documentaries, or simply good storytelling, a new documentary TV series by Hemmings House Pictures might appeal to you.

 It's called Cubicle to the Cage. It's filmed in Halifax, and chronicles the progression of a group of average Joes who get picked to train for a year and become ultimate fighters--or not. Saint John filmmaker Greg Hemmings tells CHSJ News he knows MMA fans will love it, but it's also a story about passion, drive and determination that should appeal to a broader audience as well.

The series airs on the radX Channel beginning tonight at 10 PM EST. After the episode, series creator Boyd Sharpe will release a blog discussing the episode at www.topmmanews.com

The Refinery Is A Tobacco-Free Workplace

The Irving Oil Refinery is a tobacco-free workplace.   For that accomplishment, the company received an award from the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
 
In January 2012, the company let its workers know that all tobacco products would be banned as of July.

Millright Gary Crowell says never considered quitting before and it was easier than he expected.

He tells us he does a lot of climbing in his job and he finds its easier to breathe now and he definitely feels better.

Crowell says he always thought you needed to 100 per cent to successfully quit smoking but he did it with a desire and some will power.

Dan Connolly of the Heart & Stroke Foundation would like to see other companies follow suit.
He says many workplaces restrict or reduce smoking and like Irving are offering incentives to reduce their smoking rates.

He says New Brunswick has some of the highest smoking rates in the country and its a huge risk factor for cardiovascular disease and we need to do something about that.

Connolly says when you consider the Refinery is a workplace of 1400 people, he's amazed they were able to get this done.

New Murals To Go Up On Canterbury Street

The view on Canterbury Street is going to be getting a lot more colourful this weekend.

Jacqueline Collomb of Thirdspace Gallery tells CHSJ News the murals of Walter Pidgeon, Stompin’ Tom, Miller Brittain, Donald Sutherland and Louis B. Mayer have been totally redone by Grand Manan artist Sarah Griffin--and will be unveiled on Saturday at a black-tie fundraiser called GALA-VANT. Griffin has also created two new portraits of visual artist Fred Ross and female pilot Daphne Paterson.

Fred Ross will be the guest of honour at the fundraiser and it will be catered by Thandi.

GALA-VANT happens Saturday in the restaurant and under a large tent beside Thandi Restaurant, 33 Canterbury Street, from 7-11 pm. Tickets are available at TUCK Studio, Thandi Restaurant, and Backstreet Records. Tickets are $100 apiece and include a one-year membership to Third Space Gallery. Existing members are $75.




Photo: Work crews prepare the mural site for Saturday's event.

Two New Bus Shelters Coming For The Uptown

You may have noticed there are no bus shelters in King Square. 

City Transit General Manager Frank McCarey tels CHSJ News they had to be taken down because of becoming unsafe.
 
McCarey says the new ones are of a historic design unique to Saint John which have the approval of the people at heritage and will last a long time.

They're expected to arrive in the city in late September.

Shock At Cost Estimates For School Improvements

The District Education Council has approved its wish list of over 5 million dollars of improvements to schools in the Anglophone South School District but not without alot of grumbling. 

The Fire Marshall has ordered a sprinkler system for Kennebecasis Valley High at an estimated cost of 600 thousand dollars. 

School District Superintendent Zoe Watson says when the Fire Marshall orders something be done, you've got to comply.
 
Heads were shaking at the estimate of 75 thousand dollars to inspect the sprinklers at the school in Sussex Corner. Watson also points out you never get everything you ask for from the province.

NB Music Awards Nominees Announced

The New Brunswick Music Awards showcase some of the region's hottest local talent--and with the nominations being announced today, anticipation is gearing up for the festivities next month. 

Organizer Chuck Teed tells CHSJ News it's going to be a bigger and better event than in the past three years, which have had more of a focus on industry professionals.

The major awards gala will be happening on October 20. New Brunswick Music week runs from the 17th to the 20th of next month.

Car Prowling Increases On East Side

A warning from City Police for people who live in the Lakewood Heights area on the east side. 

Police say they have been receiving an increase in the number of calls over the past couple of days about thefts from vehicles in the neighnbourhood.

 People all over the city are being reminded of the Lock It and Pocket programme where anything of value should be removed from the vehicle or locked away in the glove compartment or trunk. 

Police are also urging you to lock your vehicle and never leave behind the keys which sometimes can even be found in the ignition.

Unofficial Numbers Show Fewer Students

The Anglophone South School School District will be spending a bit less money than last year because of fewer students.  The District Education Council has approved a budget of more than 212 milion dollars. 

Unofficial numbers show another 2 and a half per cent decline which translates into as many as 500 students. School District Superintendent Zoe Watson says this is not positive because it means less money from the budget, fewer opportunities for teachers and unused space in schools which always raises the possibility of buildings being closed.

The District Education Council has been told there are more than 90 fewer students in the St. Stephen area and over 300 less in Saint John. Student numbers in the Valley are not growing.

A Substantial Drop In Price Of Self Serve Regular

You're going to be getting a big break at the pumps if you have to fill up. 

Self serve regular has gone down to $1.30.8 a litre, a drop of five cents from what it was last week after the weekly setting. 

Diesel also has gone down but not be as much. It's selling for $1.39.9 a litre. 

Heating oil is a couple of cents a litre cheaper with a maximum price of $1.20.4 a litre. Propane is virtually the same with a maximum price of $1.05.8 a litre

Arena In Sussex Will Not Get Help From The L-S-D's

As happened in a similar vote when held in Grand Bay-Westfield, the local service districts around Sussex don't want their taxes to go up and have rejected the proposal to financially support the 8th Hussars Arena in the town. 

The final vote count was 877 against and 449 in favour. 

User fees at the arena are expected to rise dramatically. The arena is plagued with a shortfall of more than 150 thousand dollars.

RCMP Wives Get "Second Man" Award

Some New Brunswick RCMP wives will be getting a nod today for their unofficial, unpaid police work. The 37 women will be getting an honorary silver brooch and a certificate of appreciation from the RCMP Commissioner.

In isolated detachments back in the 1900s onward, wives were often left to cook and care for prisoners, take complaints, do accident reports and comfort crime victims and families. These women became the 'unpaid second man' for the communities in which they lived.

The "Second Man" awards will be distributed at a ceremony at the Fredericton Inn & Convention Centre.

The KV Library Expansion Is Long Overdue

It was built back in 1984 and except for a small expansion ten years later the KV library remained the same size despite a population explosion around it.
 
Head Librarian Leslye McVicar tells CHSJ News they now have 3 times the space as before which includes a meeting room and a large computer lab.

She tells us they opened unofficially in March adding it's wonderful how the community has embraced the new facility.

The new section has two levels.