Building Evacuated In South End

(Photo courtesy Joe Comeau)

Falling bricks causing the evacuation of a building in the 100-block of Carmarthen Street last night.
    
Fire and police were called just after the supper hour when bricks fell from the building.
   
Residents were evacuated until a city building inspector arrived - checked the premises and gave the all clear.
    
The area in front of the building remained blocked overnight as a precaution.

Cuts Extinguishing Hope for Fire Fighters

Get our firefighters back to work--that from Paul Stackhouse of the Fire Fighter's Association. He tells CHSJ news that, in light of expected cuts to the city budget, they're paying people overtime to man the trucks. 

 He doesn't understand why they can't just bring back some of the 12 holiday relief firefighters who are currently laid off, instead of spending double on overtime.

Stackhouse says at this time of year, they'd normally have 28-32 people working--and the city has let the firefighters down. He says the expected cuts make it a sad day for the city of Saint John.

Salty Awards a Huge Hit

Local tweeps, facebookers and bloggers shut off their computers last night in favour of a a glam gala at the Saint John Ale House. The Salty Awards honour the city's the best and brightest users of social media. 

Sea dogs forward Jonathan Huberdeau was fan favourite for Twitter Person of the Year. Under the username @JonnyHuby11, the young hockey star tweets to almost 16-thousand followers about his life on the ice. 

Huberdeau tells CHSJ news the award was a sweet score.

Piece of Cake Custom Creations, Hemmings House, and others also got nods in categories including Best Blog, Best Facebook Page, and Hottest Youtube.

Check out Jonathan Huberdeau on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/jonnyhuby11

Hemmings House's Salty-winning Save the Paramount video is can be watched at  
http://www.hemmingshousepictures.com/site/?page_id=173

Dogs Set For A Big Game Tonight

All eyes will be on Harbour Station tonight when the Seas Dog game with the Quebec Rempart airs on tv.


Dogs President Wayne Long tells CHSJ News the CHL broadcasts games every Friday night and he calls this game a marquee matchup with two of the best teams in the country.

He says it has Gerald Gallant and Patrick Roy and it's certainly a clash of the titans with two of the best teams in the country.

It's also Country 94 night where fans are encouraged to wear their cowboy boots and cowboy hats and some of our station's personalities will be on hand at the game. The puck drops at 8pm at Harbour Station.

Former City Finance Commissioner Continues Testimony In Trial

Former city finance commissioner and pension board trustee Andrew Beckett with more testimony in the John Ferguson defamation case.

He says the pension board made a presentation to common council about the plan's deficit but Ferguson did not ask any questions or raise any concerns.

Beckett adds the pension board grappled with the difficulty of defining and changing what constituted a total and permanent disability as well as dealing with the unusually high number of claims.

Beckett told the jury he sympathized with the board's medical advisor but trusted his judgement.  He says if the advisor ruled that an employee was permanently disabled, the board would approve the claim.

Beckett is back on the stand today.

Major Crime Looks Into North End Stabbing

The Major Crime Unit of the Saint John Police looking into a stabbing in the North end on Adelaide street.

The call came in just after 2pm.

A 22-year-old man was taken to hospital to be treated for an injury described as significant.

Norton Ponders Run For Mayor

A first term councillor is giving serious consideration to a bid for the mayor's chair at city hall.
Mel Norton confirms to CHSJ News he's been talking with family - business associates - and - members of the community.
He says he wants to ensure he's doing the most impactful thing for the community and if it's offering for the mayor's seat then he absolutely wants to do that.
Norton says he's been humbled by the expressions of support so far -- and -- says he will announce his final decision within days.

Police Reveal More On Hospital Death

City police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a woman, in her early twenties, who was a patient at the Saint John Regional Hospital.

The family has requested the woman's name not be released.

The investigation gleaning many interviews, forensic collection and analysis, pathology, and technical support so far.

The preliminary report on how she died is being kept under wraps while evidence is being analyzed.

Liberal MLA Fears Fallout From School District Consultation

The Liberal education critic fears fallout from a rushed consultation process to reduce the number of school districts in the Province.
Caraquet MLA Hedard Albert tells CHSJ News he thinks these changes will have a trickle-down effect.

He says the changes to the district will impact the teachers, students and all aspects of the classroom.

Albert adds the Alward government says children are the top priority but, he doesn't think that's the case right now.

City Hall Announces 32 Job Cuts

The bloodletting has begun at City hall with 32 positions cut including 6 workers given termination notices effective today.

A release says Common Council has approved a reduction in the City’s establishment from 680 to 648.

Many of the positions are being eliminated by not filling current vacancies and pending retirements and 12 holiday relief firefighters will not be called back.


The City claims this move will result in more than $1.9 million in savings a year.

Inside workers were reduced by 7.75%, professional & management positions by 6.2 % and the fire department reduced by 9.93%. 

Bank Of Montreal Moving From City Hall

Defamation Trial Told Why Lawsuit Was Launched

The City's former Finance Commissioner Andrew Beckett says the Pension Board had to defend itself by launching a lawsuit against former Common Councillor John Ferguson after a series of comments and accusations.

Beckett told the jury at Ferguson's defamation trial, it got so bad, he didn't want to talk about his role as a pension board trustee.

Ferguson was asked to make a public retraction but refused to do so until 2010 when he retracted his previous assetion about his statements about the pension board being true in an amended statement of defense.
 
Beckett says the pension board tried, without success, to get Ferguson to divulge the name of the pension board member who allegedly told him there was inappropriate activity going on.
 
Each of the pension board members were asked individually if they were responsible but there were denials all around.

Aggravated Sexual Assault Trial Set For August

The sexual assault trial of 25 year old Bradley Scott Wilson will be going to trial on August 8th.

He is being charged with the aggravated sexual assault and unlawful confinement of a 46 year old bartender in January.  The incident allegedly occurred while she was closing up the Buccaneer's Pub.

He is also facing other assault charges and will be in court April 26th for those.

Insurance Will Cover Sinkings On The Hillbilly Highway

With a truck recently going through the ice on the Hillbilly Highway, you may be wondering if your insurance will cover such an accident?

The Vice-President of TD Insurance Henry Blumenthal tells CHSJ News you will be covered because the incident was sudden and unforeseeable.
 
He says while you could have prevented such an accident, it is considered simple negligence.

The Hillbilly Highway is a five-kilometre stretch of ice road on the Kennebecasis River.

No New Info On Suspicious Death At The Regional

City police releasing few details about a death at the Regional Hospital.

In an email, Sgt. Glen Hayward tells CHSJ News the police service will not be releasing anything new at this time and when they do it will come in a media release.

Hayward did confirm officers are looking into a suspicious death at the hospital.

Trial Program Shows Need For More Family Doctors

A new trial clinic being put on by the Horizon Health Network is showing that family doctors are desperately needed in the city.

The clinic, which began in November, will run for 6 months and allows people without family doctors to get primary care.

Laurie Janes is administrative director for emergency services and she tells CHSJ News the numbers speak for themselves as there are 7000 names on the registry.

So far, 500 patients have been seen and Janes says Horizon Health Network is busy recruiting.

She expects 3 or 4 new family doctors to be in the city by spring.

Gas Prices Are Up

You'll be paying more for self serve regular if you have to fill up over the next week.

It has increased in price by two and a half cents a litre after the weekly setting and is selling for $1.30.2 around town. 

Diesel is also higher by just over half a cent a litre to $1.37.6 and heating oil is more expensive at $1.21.7 a litre, a rise of more than one and a half cents. 

On the other hand, the price of propane dropped by almost three cents a litre to $103.6 a litre.

Apartment Evacuated After Gas Leak In St. George

Ten apartment building residents being evacuated after a natural gas leak in St. George.

The leak was from a gas meter for a local business near the intersection of Main and Portage Street.

The smell was detected shortly after midnight by an RCMP officer on patrol.

The residents were able to return to their building about an hour later.  No one was hurt.

Disney Magic To Call On Saint John This June

The 2012 tourism season will get a huge boost with 9 calls to the Port of Saint John by Disney Cruise lines beginning in June.

The company's webpage for Saint John officially launched earlier this month and bookings are starting to come in.
 

Disney and Aquila Tours are working on 20 Port Adventures including exclusive an adventure where famillies will meet Alice in Wonderland during a visit to Kingsbrae Gardens in St. Andrews.

Beth Kelly Hatt of Aquila Tours tells CHSJ News the Disney brand automatically creates a lot of attention.

She says it's a very exciting thing adding the fact that Disney is calling on our City makes Saint John look good.  The Disney Magic makes her first call to Saint John on June 13th.

To see the webpage, click here  filter by Saint John, New Brunswick.

For the blog, click here

Emergency Funding For Operating Rooms Not Coming Until New Budget Arrives

Fundy-River Valley MLA Jim Parrott and local doctors want emergency funding to open up more operating rooms but the Provincial Health Minister says there is no money to do so.

Doctors say the shortage is urgent but Madeleine Dubé says money won't be available until the new provincial budget lands in March.

She tells CHSJ News it is a top priority of doctors and she will present it as such when she goes before the Finance Minister for her budget.

8 out of 13 operating rooms at the Regional are currently dormant due to a lack of funding.

Dubé says it will cost millions to open up more rooms.

More Transit Cuts Have Common Councillor Worried

The Transit Commission will meet next Wednesday to talk about where to make another quarter of a million dollars worth of cuts to bus service in the city.

Common Councillor Donnie Snook, who voiced opposition to the cuts that were made just after Christmas, tells CHSJ News the new reduction is part of the 2012 city budget that was passed and he's concerned about the negative impact it will have on service which for many Saint Johnners is essential to get about. The cuts would likely go into effect April 1st.

 Snook is hoping if and when the provincial government approves proposed changes to the city's pension plan, there will be some extra money that could be put back into the bus service but that decision will likely have to be made by the new Common Council that will take office after the May election.

City Police Investigate Suspicious Death At The Regional

City police confirming they are investigating a suspicious death at the Regional hospital.

Sgt. Glen Hayward tells CHSJ News no other details are being released at this time but more information could be made public later today or tomorrow.

Robbery Reported In Old North End

City Police telling CHSJ News a man was assaulted and robbed on Adelaide Street last night around 8.

They believe a group of 2 or 3 people did the deed but add the victim who was taken to hospital with minor injuries is not being co-operative.

Meantime, 3 people are looking at mischief charges after being arrested by police following paintball shootings in the west side. 

Police received reports of people and buildings being fired at from a passing car.

Former Commissioner of Finance Takes The Stand

The former Commissioner of Finance for the city taking the stand in the defamation lawsuit between the city's pension board and former city councillor John Ferguson.

Daryl Wilson also served as the treasurer on the pension board.

When questioned by pension board lawyer Barry Morrison, he said he had no knowledge of any illegal activity on the board or anyone abusing long-term or permanent disability benefits.

But under cross-examination by the defense, Morrison acknowledged emails from an actuary that stated the city had an abnormally high number of people on permanent disability and the legal definition the city is using may need to be examined.

The trial resumes Wednesday afternoon and is expected to last 6 weeks.

RCMP Identify Body Found In Kingston

RCMP identifying a body found in Kingston as Joseph Rhéal Doucet of Saint John.

The 56-year-old's body discovered in woods off the Backland Road on the Peninsula.


The Mounties called to the scene about 2pm yesterday and remained there until late last night.

An autopsy has been scheduled for later this week to determine the cause of death but there's no indication yet of any foul play.

RCMP Seek Two Men After December Cottage Break-Ins

TheRCMP releasing sketches of two men they think broke into a camp near McDougall Lake last December.

The men were confronted by a neighbour and one of the men assaulted the person and then left in a vehicle believed to be a blue Pontiac Grand Am.

On December 15th and 16th last year, more than a dozen camps in the McDougall Lake and Seeley Lake areas were broken into.

One man is described as white, in his early 20's, blonde or sandy hair,a thin build, a pierced ear wearing camouflage pants and a jacket.

 The second man is of unknown ethnicity in his late teens to early 20's wearing camouflage clothing.

If you can help police, call the St George RCMP at 506-755-1130 or N.B. Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Former Common Councillor Answers Legal Attack

The defense lawyer for former Common Councillor John Ferguson firing his first salvo in the defamation lawsuit filed against Ferguson by the city's pension board.

Rod Gillis argues Ferguson can't be guilty of defamation because any comments about alleged wrongdoing by the pension board was made while he was a councillor and is therefore protected by qualified privilege.

However, pension board lawyer Barry Morrison maintains qualified privilege doesn't apply if there is malice in the comments that were made.

Gillis told jurors Ferguson wanted answers to the city's growing pension deficit but board members who benefitted from changes made to the plan were stonewalling him.

Nature NB Not Happy With Wetland Stretegy

It's open season on over two-thirds of the wetlands in the province......That, according to Nature NB which is expressing concern about whether more wetlands will be lost because of the new strategy unveiled by Provincial Environment Minister Margaret Ann Blaney. 

Vanessa Roy-McDougall of Nature NB tells CHSJ News wetlands will not be protected if they're not mapped and less than 50 per cent of all the wetlands in the province will be regulated until the boundaries are set.

She argues what Blaney rolled out yesterday, in no way, can be considered a long term strategy.

Besides new boundaries, Blaney wants less red tape and reduce the conflicts that have arisen between development and wetland protection.

City To Make Another Attempt At Pension Approval

A meeting will be held in Fredericton this week to try to get a long sought after recommendation that would allow the Provincial M-L-A's to approve changes to the city's pension plan when they come up for a vote.

Mayor Ivan Court says the worst case scenario budget the City Manager has been instructed to draw up with another 6.3 million dollars in cuts is a non-starter. In his view, it is unsustainable.

Court says what the city is asking for are regulatory changes that won't cost the province one red cent.

Meantime, there is speculation at Saint John Transit that additional cuts to city bus service will be coming in the spring.

The City's YM-YWCA Looks To Boost Strong Kids Campaign

The Saint John Y aims to be open to all in the community and to that end their Strong Kids program is an open door campaign.

Executive Director Shilo Boucher says the City has declared it Strong Kids month and the programs offered include child care, health and wellness and youth programs.

She tells us it provides access to all of the Y's programs to folks who otherwise couldn't afford it.

Volunteers will be spinning on bicycles at the Saint John Y location in Prince Edward Square mall until 9 tonight.   All proceeds will go to the Strong Kids campaign.   

For more info, click here

Man's Body Found On The Peninsula

The RCMP in Hampton are investigating the death of a 56 year old man from Saint John whose body was found in a remote wooded area on the Backland Road on the Kingston Peninsula.

An autopsy has been scheduled for later this week to determine the cause of death.

The name of the man who died is being withheld at this time until his family has been properly notified.

Health Minister Visits Uptown Hospital

The provincial Health Minister giving kudos to Saint Joseph's Hospital for its patient-centered, pro-active approach to healthcare.

As part of a fact-finding tour of provincial hospitals, Madeleine Dube paying a visit to the uptown hospital yesterday.

Dube says the doctors, nurses, and nurse practitioners at Saint Joseph's are getting out into the community and using the resources that are there--and that's something she'd like to see happening in the rest of the province.

After the upcoming healthcare summit, the Health Minister says they'll be making policy decisions based on their observations.

Sullivan Says Worst-Case Budget Plan is Wise

When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.....That's the advice from Councillor Gary Sullivan. He and Councillor Patty Higgins are pushing for a budget plan in case the province denies proposed pension reform packages. 

Several councillors objecting to the worst case budget plan, saying any time taken away from getting those reforms is time wasted.

However, Sullivan tells CHSJ News it's the only smart option, because  if reforms get turned down at the legislature in June, there needs to be something there for the new council.  

City Manager Pat Woods will come up with the plan by March 31st but he warns any more cutting and the city will find it tough, if not impossible, to operate.

Bickering at City Hall Gets Councillor Kicked Out

Bickering in common council last night resulted in one city councilor being thrown out of the chamber. 

Discussion got heated when Councillor Bruce Court alleged councilors were suggesting more spending in closed session, then turning around and publicly pushing cuts at city hall. 

Councillors Donnie Snook felt the comments were directed at him, and took exception. He and Patty Higgins continued to interrupt Court until the Mayor stepped in.

Snook says it's not fair, since the Mayor interrupts councilors all the time

At the time, Snook declined to apologize for what the Mayor said was interference in the debate.

RCMP Conduct Search In Kingston

A large police presence on the Peninsula tonight as the RCMP conduct a search in woods off the Backland Road.

The forensics unit and a canine unit are also on the scene and have been since this afternoon.
Volunteer firefighters and at least one snowmobile are also involved in the search.

Police are not confirming reports of a body being found in the area.

Landowner And Developer Pleased With New Wetland Plan

Landowner Blair Hodgson is pleased with the changes to wetlands policy.

He tells CHSJ News the previous plan was too rigid and was going to be forced on everybody with no hope of compromise.

He says the previous strategy was a once-size-fits-all plan that didn't fit anything.

Meanwhile, Majid Debly is a civil engineer with the Debly Group and he says the new plan is more stable and will reduce the chances of landowners and consultants being blindsided with restrictions.

New Wetland Strategy Revealed

The provincial government releasing it's much-anticipated long-term wetland management strategy after numerous consultations with land owners and businesses last year.

Environment Minister Margaret-Ann Blaney tells CHSJ News a new sub-committee will map the province which will include members of the public, landowners, and businesses.

She says other goals of the plan will be to lessen the amount of red tape and reduce any conflicts municipalities may have between development and wetland protection.

The previous wetland plan was met with an outrage by landowners and developers as it designated 18 percent of the province as wetlands.

They felt it was too restrictive and hampered future development.

To read the new plan, click here.

Jury Told Ferguson Lawsuit Is About Lies And Deceit

Jurors are being told former Common Councillor John Ferguson launched an attack on the pension board for political gain.
In a long opening statement, the lawyer for pension board Barry Morrison telling jurors the case is all about lies and deceit.
Morrison says Ferguson lied and deceived because he wanted to be mayor and kept information from his fellow Councillors while besmirching the reputations of the pension board trustees.

Morrison also maintains that Ferguson knew the facts but maliciously chose to ignore them for political gain.
He says the pension plan deficit in 2003 and 2004 was caused by a downturn in the stock market.

RCMP Say The 'Hillbilly Highway' Is Open

Use at your own risk---seems to be the policy for use of the so-called "Hillbilly Highway"- the ice road connecting the Kingston Peninsula and Saint John over the frozen Kennebecasis River.     

A 'road closed' sign can be seen closer to the Drury Cove side near where a truck went through the ice last night.   A man rescued his dog from the water but it otherwise ok.

Both the Provincial department of transportation and Hampton RCMP say they have nothing to do with the sign being posted adding since it's not really a road they wouldn't be doing that anyway.

City Man In Court Over A Douglas B & E

A City man is facing charges after a break and enter last night in Douglas near Fredericton.

The 35-year-old man's vehicle was spotted in Fredericton by an RCMP member who was on their way to the scene. 

The Mounties getting a call about a break and enter taking place in a Douglas home just after 11pm.

The vehicle was stopped and the man was taken into custody.

Ferguson Lawsuit Underway

A jury of 5 men and 4 women will be listening to testimony over the next six weeks in the defamation lawsuit launched by the city's pension board against former Common Councillor John Ferguson.

The jurors have been told there will be a lot of documentation to go through and excerpts from Common Council meetings will be played for them to listen to. 

The lawsuit was launched five years ago after Ferguson voiced criticism on the management of the city's pension plan. Ferguson has since become the town manager in St. Stephen and the pension deficit has risen to 190 million dollars.

McGuire Calls For More Affordable Housing

The Department of Social Development has 415 affordable housing units constructed or in development in the city, with over 50 more being planned over the next two years

City Councillor Peter McGuire says while it's always great to have units, he was hoping there were more than double the units available now.
He says at one point there were over a thousand people on a waiting list for affordable housing.

26 percent of affordable housing in the province is located in Saint John.

Common Councillor Disappointed With Affordable Housing Numbers

Councillor Peter McGuire isn't happy with the affordable housing figures in the city.
 
The Department of Social Development has 415 units constructed or in development in the city, which makes up 26 percent of affordable housing in the province.
 
McGuire says that number is too low.

Over the next two years, the Department is planning on developing 57 additonal units in the city but McGuire wants more than double that. 

He says at one time, there were over a thousand people on the waiting list.

North End Mom Starts Anti-Bullying Campaign

Bullying is a big topic in the news these days--and a North End mom is stepping up to do something about it.

Joanne Howe, whose 10 year old daughter Dionne, is being bullied in and out of school, says she wants school and police officials to stop burying their heads in the sand about the issue. She says police and school officials can't do anything because the kids involved are too young.

Howe has taken matters into her own hands by talking to the media, and starting a Facebook group called Help Stop Bullying--Call Your Local MLA. She's also planning to work with local businesses to start a flier campaign.

Provincial Government Getting Help On Problem Of Bullying

Education Minister Jody Carr wants to come up with an overriding provincial policy on bullying and he's getting help with that from Rob Fowler, the chair of the District 8 Education Council, who's co-chairing a committee on bullying. 

Fowler says even coming up with a definition of bullying is more in the eye of the beholder. He says in Moncton, bullying is defined as "if it hurts, it's bullying" while his definition is sustained harassment over a period of time by someone who has influence or power over another person. To him, getting pushed down to the ground in a playground and punched is not bullying but it is assault.

Fowler also tells us there are 25 thousand programmes you can choose from and he also points out the makeup of each school is different so what works in one may not be the solution in another.

Mayor Dismisses Talk Of Court Action

Mayor Ivan Court doesn't believe the one million dollar cut to the police department's budget will wind up being challenged in the courts. 

The Saint John Police Association is urging the Police Commission to go to court to enforce its mandate of providing what is termed adequate policing. 

Court, who's also a member of the Police Commission, tells CHSJ News it would be too difficult to come up with a legal definition of what constitutes adequate.

As to whether public safety will be compromised or not remains to be seen......That will depend on the year to year crime stats.

Court says all cities are being forced to make budget cuts to policing. He points out in Toronto, the reduction amounts to 100 million dollars in a budget of over a billion dollars.

Two Vehicles In River

A car and a truck winding up in the icy waters of the Kennebecasis River near Drury Cove.

Police tell us the son's car went into the river first and that's when the father, in his truck, tried to rescue him and both are reportedly alright.

Crash Claims Life of 18 Year Old

An 18-year-old woman has died after a weekend crash between a vehicle and a transport truck in Oromocto.

She was merging on the westbound lane when she apparently lost control of the vehicle and was struck by a tractor trailer. The passenger in her vehicle was taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries. The driver of the transport truck was not injured.

At the time of the crash roads were icy and snow covered.

The name of the victim is not being released at this time.

Upcoming Campaign Training Workshop for Women

If you-- or a woman you know--wants to get involved in politics, an upcoming two-day workshop from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities can lend a hand.

Councillor Pam McConnell tells CHSJ news the FCM wants to to increase women's political presence on the municipal level--not just by getting their names on the ballot, but actually helping them win elections.

Although women make up 52 percent of Canada's population, only 24 percent are elected municipal politicians. McConnell says this workshop will equip more women with the tools they need to get involved. The workshop will cover topics from campaign financing to ethics, canvassing, and media training. 

For more information on the municipal campaign training course, click here

Politicos Support Ferguson in Midst of Legal Woes

Fellow politicians rallying around embattled former city councillor John Ferguson. The committee to elect John Campbell organizing a rally in front of the  show its support for Ferguson. After 5 years of legal back and forth, he's been slammed with a defamation lawsuit by the the board of trustees of the City of Saint John Employee Pension Plan.

John Campbell tells CHSJ News Ferguson had a point when he made allegedly defamatory comments, because, "a lot of them have come true--in spades".

Campbell says his group feels Ferguson's remarks were made as an elected official, and not as a private citizen with malice--which would count as defamation. The rally will be held in front of the court house on February 14th at 8:30 am, before the trial begins.