The Boys and Girls Club of Saint John celebrating the valued contributions of community members in the area.
The club inducted Heinz Schaerer, and the Sisters of Charity into the "Order of Master Builders."
Mr. Schaerer is VP of International Sales for Connors Brothers. He says his involvement with the Boys and Girls club has been a rewarding experience. He tells CHSJ news, he got involved to help make Saint John a better place for underprivileged youth in the community. Heinz received ten tons of school supplies from Staedtler Corporation, being distributed to 24 local schools.
Mary Beth McCurdy, Congregational Leader of the Sisters of Charity tells CHSJ news, the mission of the group has been lived by the Boys and Girls Club. She says the group shares the same community care for the children.
Contributions from the Sisters of Charity have helped the Boys and Girls Club evening youth program, serving up to 150 children and youth. The charity has also assisted with the "Heart of the Possible Campaign," resulting in a music room for youth.
Their efforts have helped youth of the Boys and Girls Club develop their musical talents featured in this video.
Two call centres may soon be shutting their doors in the city for good, but Saint John Lancaster MLA Dorothy Shephard believes the industry is still going strong in the province.
Shephard tells CHSJ News the sector is still looking for trained employees and the hundreds of people who are losing their jobs will likely be absorbed by other centres...and there are programs they can turn to for help in the meantime.
She says there are all kinds of thing in place within the Department of Post-Secondary Education Training And Labour and she would be looking to the company to offer support and she thinks it will happen.
Shephard says ExxonMobil is a company that started out with 40 employees and built up to over a thousand, so they have some strength.
This will get you thinking and feeling Christmas..tomorrow is the 61st annual Saint John Santa Claus Parade.
Leslie Keating of Uptown Saint John tells CHSJ News the people working on floats all week are very excited for everyone to see them.
She says an estimated 65,000 people line the parade route every year making it the biggest single day event in the City.
The parade winds its way through the uptown beginning at 6pm tomorrow night.
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With the news a total of over 400 call center employees will be looking for work with the phased-in closures of the Iron Mountain and ExonnMobil call centers in Loch Lomond mall, Liberal MLA Rick Doucet is wondering what's being done to help the people effected by the layoffs--and prevent call centers from pulling up stakes in the future.
Doucet tells CHSJ News he'd like to see the government playing a more proactive role and they should have been working with the corporations from the get go to be aware of their plans and see how they could potentially be accommodated.
Doucet--who will represent parts of Saint John after the next election--says if we're going to offer call centers subsidies to come here they'd better be iron-clad on a year by year basis so we know what their plans are and how we can make Saint John a good place for them to do business.
Crews responding to a fire at a special care home for seniors discovering a marijuana grow-op in the basement.
RCMP seizing 550 marijuana plants, marijuana growing equipment and a large quantity of pot from the building on Shore Road in Clarks Corner, about a half an hour's drive from Oromocto. The plants seized could have potentially produced up to 275,000 joints.
The fire is believed to be related to the grow-op. All the people living ni the home were safely evacuated.
Two men facing charges after city police were called to a disturbance call, including the man who phoned it in.
A 51-year old man who was inside a home on Duke Street and had no business being there was arrested and charged with being unlawfully in a dwelling, but Sergeant Jay Henderson says it didn't end there.
Henderson says the original caller, also 51-years old, then made death threats towards the man in front of officers and was taken into custody. Both men will be appearing in provincial court.
Police also responding to an incident on Rothesay Road where gas was stolen from a garage...a car on the property also broken into and a magazine and bullets for a gun were taken but were found close by.
The Rothesay Regional Police respond to at least one domestic violence call a day.
The police force is taking part in a campaign to spread awareness during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Constable Kelly McIntyre tells CHSJ News they are holding information checkpoints and handing out pop quizes at the middle schools and high schools.
She tells us they are also handing out cookies with the purple ribbon on them which represents the woman that have been killed in domestic violence and those who are currently struggling in domestic violence situations.
The theme of the campaign is "End the Silence on Domestic Violence".
For information on how to find help if you are struggling with domestic violence, call 847-6277 or email kvoutreach@quispamsis.ca
The Salvation Army's Red Kettle Campaign kicking off this week in Saint John.
The annual initiative happens within the Salvation Army all around the world.
Major Danny Pinksen is the Director of Community and Family Services.
He tells CHSJ News all the funds collected go to support community and family services initiatives.
There will be about 15 Christmas Kettles around the city.
'Tis the season to at least start thinking about those hard-to-buy-for people on your Christmas list--and the Rhoda's Christmas craft fair is a great chance to get gifts and support local artists all at the same time.
It gets underway at Harbour Station at noon today and runs 10-6 on Saturday, 11-5 on Sunday. Admission is $6 regular and $5 for students and seniors, and that will get you in for the entire weekend with a hand stamp.
The fair features art, crafts, food and antiques from dozens of vendors.
The Boys and Girls Club of Saint John celebrating the valued contributions of community members in the area. 
