The Province Makes Big Claims With New Forestry Strategy

A new forestry management strategy from the province claims it will encourage investment, maintain thousands of jobs, create hundreds of new jobs and manage Crown forests in a sustainable way.

The Alward government says the new plan is expected to lead to the harvesting of an additional 660,000 cubic metres of softwood on Crown land, creating more than an additional 500 permanent private-sector jobs and 1,200 construction jobs as mills modernize.

Premier David Alward says the strategy will be put boots in the woods by providing clarity and a framework for businesses and workers to plan for the future.

There is an announcement tomorrow (Thurs.) morning at the Irving Pulp and Paper mill on its New Brunswick forest products operation.

Rollover In Lepreau

Musquash firefighters had to break out hydraulic rescue tools to remove a woman from a vehicle after it rolled over and left the road in Lepreau yesterday night. 

The call came in shortly after 8pm to Route 790.
   
Firefighters found single vehicle on its side, and managed to get the woman to safety. Her injuries weren't life threatening. The roads were extremely slippery at the time.

Curling Prep at Harbour Station

Preparations are underway at Harbour Station for the Ford World Women's Curling Championships.

The international athletes are being spotted around Saint John.

Opening ceremonies begin at noon on Saturday.

For more info on the event, click here

(photo courtesy of John Dykeman)

Coast Guard Working To Remove Oil From Sinking Ship

photo courtesy of Frank Bailey

A Canadian Coast Guard official expects to be on scene for several more days to deal with the Cape Rouge.


The vessel began sinking on Monday afternoon in Bridgewater Harbour.

Fuel is being pumped out of the vessel's main tank before removing other oil from the ship.

Senior response officer Keith Laidlaw says it's a slow process but the environment remains their number 1 priority.

He says they are more worried about the oil in the water and they are looking to get the oil out so it's not longer polluting.

Laidlaw says they continue to have a boom surrounding the vessel, as well as absorbing pads soaking up fuel.

Most of the ship is now under water after it began sinking  off a port in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.

The Province Warns Against Travel In Storm

The Province is encouraging you to get ready for tonight's storm.

A statement on the government's website points out a significant winter storm bringing rain first then a mix of snow, ice pellets and freezing rain. 




They do warn that heavy snow and freezing rain can lead to power outages and really bad driving.

Public safety suggests if you don't have to go anywhere don't travel during the storm.

To find the link for NB Power's list of power outages, click here 

To read the full Winter Storm Advisory, click here

Gallant Skeptical Of Forestry Plan Being Announced Now

The announcement by the Alward Government of a long term plan for forestry has provincial Liberal leader Brian Gallant questioning the timing. 

Gallant is wondering why now and why not a couple of years ago when the provincial economy needed a boost.
 
Gallant speculates the timing has more to do with a provincial election that will be held in late September or, perhaps, to divert attention from the obstruction of justice trial now going on of a senior official in the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture into the investigation of Deputy Premier Paul Robichaud's brother for an aquaculture violation.

Flights Cancelled Even Before Snow Starts Falling

We already have flight cancellations in advance of the impending storm we're expecting with the worst coming tonight into tomorrow morning. 

The last flight from Toronto today flew in at noonhour and left again just after 12:30. The rest of the Air Canada flights to and from Toronto and Montreal later this afternoon as well as tomorrow morning have been cancelled. 

Environment Canada is calling for as much as 20 centimeters of snow in Saint John and more in Fredericton.

M-L-A For Oromocto Talks About The End Of The Afghan Mission

Canada's military mission in Afghanistan has officially come to an end, more than 12 years after it first began. 

The M-L-A for Oromocto where C-F-B Gagetown is located, Jody Carr says it represents closure, sorrow, anger and pride. 

Carr says there would be worry and stress whenever word came that a Canadian soldier had died. He vividly remembers the conversation he had with his daughter when she was in grade 1 and told him her friend's father wouldn't being coming home from Afghanistan after a roadside bomb exploded in April of 2007. 

Since February 2002, 158 Canadian soldiers have died in that war-torn country including Private David Greenslade of Saint John in that same roadside explosion during the Easter weekend of 2007.

The Port City Ranks 89th Overall On MoneySense Survey

MoneySense Magazine is out with its annual survey of the Best Places to Live in Canada.

The Port City does not far too well sitting 89th in the overall rankings.

Two other New Brunswick cities are ahead us with Moncton coming in 16th and Fredericton at 22.

Halifax is listed at 26.

The best place to live in our country according to the survey is St. Albert, Alberta.

To see the complete list, click here

Lots Of Room For Improvement In Health Of NBers

High blood pressure, obesity, mental health, and preventing injuries: those are the big areas in which New Brunswick needs to improve according to the Health Snapshot released by the New Brunswick Health Council.
 
CEO Stephane Robichaud tells CHSJ News identifying the problem is half the battle--and then we need to look at some strategies to fight the alarming trends.
 
Robichaud says another area we need to work is is making sure that young people facing mental health crises get seen by a professional in a timely way. 

For a link to the full Population Health Snapshot, click here

Want To Help Out The SJPD? Here Could Be Your Chance

Saint John's auxiliary police force will be growing in the coming years.

Currently, 20 volunteer members put in over 3,000 hours helping uniformed members with everything from special community events to crime prevention.

 Police Chief Bill Reid tells CHSJ News they always ask people why they want to volunteer with the police department--and while they get a variety of answers, it's also a plus to see people interested in the real life aspects of policing, and not just what they see on TV and in movies.
 
Reid says many of the people who start on the auxiliary force end up becoming full-fledged police officers. They'll be looking to expand the auxiliary force and train 10 new members by 2016. 

For more information, click here

2200 Without Power in St. George

2200 NB power customers in St. George are without power.

According to the utility's website,  it's an unplanned outage.

The power should begin coming back in some areas by noon and be fully restored by 1:30 today.

United Way Exceeds Fundraising Goal

The United Way campaign in Saint John, Kings and Charlotte Counties has exceeded 1.4 million dollars in donations. That represents an increase of 110 thousand dollars over the past two years.