Hit & Run On Prince Edward St.

Saint John Police responding to a hit and run on Prince Edward Street last night.

A 23-year-old female is being charged with impaired driving, and failure to remain at the scene.

Overnight Fire At Shamrock Park

Crews responding to a structure fire at the field house in Shamrock Park early this morning. 

Crews found heavy smoke conditions in the building, and were on the scene for about two hours.  

The fire being contained to the rear section of the building.
The fire is now under investigation by Saint John Fire, and Saint John Police. It's suspected to be a case of arson.

Over $100 Million To Treat Saint John's Water

The days of boil water orders in Saint John may soon be over.

The federal and provincial governments making a combined investment of $114.6 million for a Safe Drinking Water Project. It will be the biggest infrastructure project in the city's history and the first water project ever funded by P3 Canada. The project will include a new treatment plant, 3 new storage tanks, and over a dozen transmission system improvements.
 
Saint John MP Rodney Weston telling the crowd the people of Saint John have waited a long time for this announcement adding we kept our eye on the ball.

Premier David Alward says this announcement represents a historic day for the city adding it's a project that will create construction jobs and help rebuild the economy.

The politicians joining Mayor Norton for the long-awaited announcement at City hall today. Work is expected to start in early to mid 2015 and it will be finished in 2018.

BREAKING NEWS - Money For Safe Drinking Water

The federal and provincial governments are going to contribute just over 114-million dollars to the city's safe drinking water project.
The announcement coming moments ago at a news conference at City Hall.
More details coming.

UNB Professor Recognized For Sex Research

A professor at UNB getting recognition for her work in sex research.
Dr. Sandra Byers, professor of psychology, is internationally recognized as the most important sex scientist of the last 100 years.  Byers tells CHSJ News, more communication is needed when it comes to sexuality.


"It became clear to me that there are big gaps in our knowledge of sexuality, that people had sexual issues, sexual problems, sexual concerns that weren't being well addressed. It's really the gaps that drove me into this field," she says.

Byers is recognized for contributing some of the most important information to the understanding of women's and men's social interactions. She's being awarded the 2013 Alfred C. Kinsey Award by the Society of Scientific Research for Sexuality.

Executive Of Alberta Energy Company Talks To UNB About Oil & Gas

A senior executive from an Alberta oil and gas company, giving a lecture at UNB about the evolution of oil and gas.

 Keith Steeves CFO of NAL Resources, tells CHSJ News, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers are expecting the gas industry will create over 300,000 jobs across Canada. He says this is expected over the next 25 years.

"There's tremendous amount of spinoff  from energy type drilling services," he says. Adding that about 400 people are involved with the drilling of a well.

Steeves  points out that he's not speaking from a political stance, but he expects shale gas development would create many jobs in New Brunswick.

Santa Claus Parade In The Valley Tomorrow

The 15th annual Kennebcasis Valley Christmas Parade will be held tomorrow night starting at 6 from K-V-H-S. It will proceed along Hampton Road to Clark Road and you're being urged to bring a non-perishable food item for the K-V Food Basket. 

Quispamsis is also running a Christmas contest.
 
The Town of Quispamsis held its Christmas tree lighting ceremony and is now inviting you to guess how many lights there are in the Arts and Culture Park. The three closest guesses without going over will win prizes. 

The top prize is a free season's pass at the Q-Plex swimming pool for a family of 4. The winners will be announced December 17th. You can make your guess online. You can find the link by going to country 94.ca and clicking news.

http://quispamsis.ca

Another Ederly Man Dies Burning Yard Debris

In the second incident of its kind in New Brunswick this year,an elderly man has died while burning debris in his yard.

RCMP in Perth Andover are reporting an 81 year old man was found deceased with some burns to his body after doing some yard work. This happened before back in May in Hampton when another elderly man passed away under similar circumstances.

Foul play isn't suspected in either case. The man's name is not being released.

You'll Have To Take The Scenic Route Tomorrow

You're going to have to take the scenic route if you want to get to the peninsula between 10am and 3pm tomorrow.

The Belleisle Ferry will be off its run for scheduled maintenance....every 5 years the cable ferry has to be pulled out for a refit and an inspection. It's the only ferry at that location.

According to the Department of Transportation the service interruption could last more or less time depending on how things go.

WATCH: KV Fire Gets Help Knocking Down Garage Blaze

It had the potential to be a scary fire but KV fire crews with help from Hampton, Nauwigewauk and Saint John were able to contain a garage fire at 55 Iona Avenue in Rothesay.

KV Deputy Fire Chief Dan McCoy tells CHSJ News the first crews attacked the blaze to stop it from spreading.

He says they wanted to make sure they contained the fire to the garage area and they were successful in that.

McCoy says there is some water damage inside the home.

The homeowner was there at the time but not injured.  A cause of the blaze is unknown.

Singh & Loparco Win Peace Awards

The Saint John Y recognizing two champions of peace at a breakfast this morning.

Holly Singh is well known for many years in the restaurant business but, she is also very involved in helping new immigrants arriving here.
 
Singh says it started one year when the Y called about some immigrants who had arrived in Saint John really close to Christmas.

She says they called to see if they could feed these people because they would like the food they serve.
Singh says she told their staff about it and they wanted to help.

17 year old Julia Loparco win the Youth Peacemaker certificate. 

She is a busy student, athlete and volunteer who says she doesn't do it for the recognition, she just loves giving back.

The Rothesay Common Is Getting A New Look

An open house being held in Rothesay discussing concept plans for the Rothesay Common. This was the third open house being held to get feedback from residents.

Some features of the plan include two basketball courts, an oval skating rink and a new playground.

Landscape architect Daniel Glenn tells CHSJ news, the concept will help people make more use of the area. "It can benefit the community by creating a lot more use throughout the season for the space," he says.

 Mayor Bill Bishop tells us, the Common will be for all ages to enjoy. "People are very excited about it," he says, they can't wait to see this because it's not only for the young but for the old. It's skating, walking trails and improvement of drainage, so it's a great facility for the center of the Town of Rothesay."

Bishop says work on the project should begin this spring and is hoped to be completed by the fall.

Busy Lunch Hour for SJFD

A busy lunch hour for City fire crews with back to back calls on opposite side of the City.

Crews had just responded to an issue with a water sprinkler when another call came in on the east side. 

Platoon chief Kevin Forrest tells CHSJ News the first call was at a home on Brigadoon Court in Millidgeville.

He says on arrival crews found it was an activated sprinkler system in the house that caused some water damage.

At the same time, Fire crews were called to a possible structure fire on Simpson Drive in East Saint John. 

It turned out the release valve on the home's water heater went causing steam to fill the home.    Firefighters shut down power to the area and turned the house back over to the homeowner.

Clean Drinking Water May Be Closer

A federal funding announcement regarding water is expected tomorrow afternoon at City hall.

Saint John MP Rodney Weston is hosting a news conference at 3pm tomorrow in the Ludlow Room at City hall.

He has confirmed to CHSJ News that it does have something to do with water.

In March, Mayor Mel Norton said council is committed to delivering clean drinking water because the community wants it.

An application to P3 Canada was made by the City earlier this year looking for the funding to build a new water treatment system.

Boudreau: Pensioners Being "Forced" To Accept Shared Risk

A heated exchange in Question Period today between Shediac—Cap-Pelé MLA Victor Boudreau and Finance Minister Blaine Higgs over whether the Shared Risk model is the only option for the public service pension plan.

Higgs responded that there have been actuarial reports done from the get-go and they've done their due diligence--but Boudreau argues there's been a lack of transparency and the model has been "forced" on the retirees and current pensioners.

Boudreau says if there is an actuarial plan on the Shared Risk model, the finance minister should table it in the legislature.

Party Leaders Butt Heads Over Shale Gas

Premier David Alward and Provincial Liberal leader Brian Gallant clashing over shale gas.

 Gallant says the Conservatives are jumping ahead too fast without giving enoough consideration to the effect on human health and the environment. 

He points to a document from the Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. which talks about the potential hazards to human health of fracking. He charges the Alward Government decided to press ahead without giving due consideration to human health, the environment and royalties.

The Premier dismisses the Liberals as "the moratorium party", accusing them of having no plan for growing the provincial economy.

The Y Is $260,000 Closer To A New Home

The Saint John Y is $260,000 closer to its fundraising goal of 7 million dollars for a new facility thanks to the generosity of some local donors. 

The Greater Saint John Community Foundation which normally does not support corporate campaigns donating $60,000 and Dale and Wendy Knox will donate $100,000 for a room in memory of Pat Davis a longtime Y employee.
 
The Y's President and CEO Shilo Boucher tells CHSJ News the Y family was touched by that.

She tells us he surprised her with that  adding she knows Dale Knox worked very closely with Pat and she did as well so it definitely brought tears to her eyes.

Another anonymous donation of $100,000 was announced.

Boucher tells us we can expect more announcements in the new year and if all the funding is in place they hope to break ground on the new Y on Churchill Boulevard in the new year.

Lights Out For 6000 Today

6000 home and businesses in the KV will be without electricity for a few hours today because of some work that NB Power needs to do.

The outage beginning at 1pm today will impact Quispamsis, Gondola Point, Kingston Peninsula and Meenans Cove.

The repairs are expected to be completed by late this afternoon.

Demolition Starting On Simm's Factory

 The Simm's brush factory announced back in the summer it would be closing down its Saint John operations and laying off 35 employees--and now JDI has confirmed the iconic glass building itself will be demolished in the new year. 

Mary Keith of JDI explains demolition has already begun on the wooden building that is behind the iconic glass-fronted factory on Simm's Corner--and by the new year, the factory itself will be levelled and the site used for heavy industrial purposes.

Keith says they're looking at all the options when it comes to traffic calming on Simm's Corner, but the solution won't necessarily involve a divestiture of any of that land.

Simms has been a family business since it was founded in 1866. 

The glass building was built in 1912.

Gas Prices Rise

If you have to fill up with self serve regular, you will have to pay more with a three cent a litre rise in the maximum price after the weekly setting. 

The maximum price for diesel also going up by a cent and a half a litre. 

Heating oil is also more expensive by just over 1 and a half cents. Propane also rising by just over a cent a litre.

Shared Risk Pension Model Called "Irresponsible"

" Policy development on the fly".........That's what provincial government retirees are calling the shared risk pension model and have their own expert criticising what's being proposed. 

The Pension Coalition calls Bernard Dussault one of the original architects who reformed the Canada Pension Plan as well as being actuary for the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada. 

Dussault is denouncing the shared risk model as irresponsible because it lacks the standard actuarial projections on how much it will wind up costing along with what the short, medium and long term financial effects will be on the provincial pension plan itself.

Fitz-Randolph's Legacy Is Fighting To Protect Land

A celebration of the life of Mabel Fitz-Randolph is coming up this afternoon on the west side.     

The 100 year old woman recently passed away.

She spearhead the move to make the Musquash estuary a marine protected area and even spurred on other landowners by giving more than 700 acres of her own land to the cause.
 
Andrew Holland of the Nature Conservancy of Canada tells CHSJ News her efforts did not go unnoticed.

He says because of her work she was given an environmental lifetime achievment award from the Province which he says is a testament to her personal contribution to this area west of Saint John on the lower Bay of Fundy.

A funeral for Fitz-Randolph will be held at 1pm today at the Castle Funeral home on Lancaster Avenue.

Swagerman Wins Hospital Home Lottery Showhome

Say 'congrats!" to Nancy Swagerman of Saint John the next time you see her. She is the winner of the grand prize show home in the Hospital Home Lottery.

Robert and Roxanne Harris of Hampton win the winnebago or 80 thousand dollars and Lucille Roy of Dieppe gets her choice of a 2014 Toyota 4Runner or Lexus IS250.

Shelley Skidd of Hanwell wins more than $246 000 in the 50/50 draw.

All 1503 prize winners have been notified and all proceeds from the lottery support programs and equipment for the New Brunswick Heart Centre, Mindcare NB and the Regional Hospital.

Shared Risk Pension Model Getting The Thumbs Up

New Brunswick is ground zero in the pension crisis. So says Jim Leech, the C-E-O of the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan. 

He tells CHSJ News the shared risk model that was adopted by the city and is being embraced by the Alward Government is the right thing to do. He says it is the only solution to the demographic time bomb with public pension plans that have defined benefits.


Leech says to exclude retirees and put the entire risk on current provincial government employees is unfair. 

Leech has praise for Premier David Alward and those labour leaders in the province who realised the seriousness of the problem.

Mental Health First Aid Offered In Saint John

You can take advantage of another kind of first aid that's available in the port city. Mental Health First Aid courses are being offered in Saint John.
 
The courses are part of the Mental Health Commission of Canada. The training offers techniques to help people dealing with mental health problems such as anxiety disorders, mood, psychotic, and substance-related disorders. There are also specific classes offered for adults who interact with youth.

A panic attack is an example of a mental health problem, emerging as a crisis. In that instance, crisis first aid skills are taught, to provide effective first aid to somebody having a panic attack.

Sjors Reijers is manager of national program promotions and business development at the Mental Health Commission of Canada. He tells CHSJ news, the courses are intended to start a conversation about mental health.


"The real challenge is being aware and tuned in to changes in behavior. It's not to assume that every change in behavior is because of an emerging mental health problem, but rather to be able to start a conversation about mental health."


To find out how to get involved with Mental Health First Aid courses check out the course listing at www.mentalhealthfirstaid.ca

Liberals Call For Review After Grow-Op At Senior's Home

The Opposition Liberals calling on the Province to review special care homes following the discovery of a grow-op in Clark's Corner last week.
 
Victor Boudreau asking the Minister of Social Development Madeleine Dube when the home in question was last inspected.

Dube says the government does have a program of inspection in place across the province.

She says the province has about 400 care home in the province where they do annual inspections and spotchecks. 

 Dube adds Public Health and Public Safety are also involved with these homes as well.

After a fire in the Clark's Corner senior care home, a grow-op was discovered where police seized 550 pot plants.  

Boudreau says 6 seniors were displaced because of the fire and bust so he questions why Dube can't speak about this case since it's been widely reported in the media.

Cold Temperatures Dangerous For The Homeless

For most of us it's hard to imagine sleeping on the street in sub-zero temperatures......but there's one local shelter that caters to people who are in exactly that unfortunate position. 

Tony Dickinson has been volunteering with the Out of the Cold shelter at Grace Presbyterian for the past several years and he tells CHSJ News as the temperatures drop it starts to get really dangerous for people to sleep outside.

The Out of the Cold shelter can sleep about 15 people and 67 different men used the shelter last winter. They're in need of both men and women to help out. There is an information session for men and women who might be interested in volunteering coming up this Saturday at Grace Presbyterian Church, which is right across the street from St. Joseph's Hospital at 10am.

Man Runs After Being Found With Large Knife And Crack

A foot chase on the east side in the early morning hours has resulted in criminal charges for one young man.

Sergeant Jay Henderson of the Saint John Police Department explains they got a 911 hang up call shortly before 5 in the morning from an address off Golden Grove Road, where a 25 year old man on a court order to keep the peace and stay off drugs was found to be in possession of what looked like crack, as well as a large knife.

The man tried to make a run for it while police took him into custody but was soon found in the nearby woods.

He's now facing criminal charges including possession and escaping custody.

Gallant & Alward Tangle In The Leg

Some lively debates in the legislature on changes to employment insurance. 

Liberal Leader Brian Gallant asking the Premier again if the government to going to release a completed report from last June on EI changes.

Gallant says the report is on their own civil service speaking to what impact employment insurance changes might have.

Premier Alward rose to say he is confident the work will get done on the goverment side of the house.

He attacked Gallant and the oppostion calling them a moratorium party and a do-nothing party.

Police Release Names Of Those Wanted On Warrants

The Rothesay Regional Police looking for the public's help finding 9 men and 1 woman wanted on warrants for a variety of offenses from suspending driving to fraud, and break and enter.

The Kennebecasis Crime Stoppers have pre-approved rewards of $500 for any information that leads to the arrest of any of the wanted individuals.

Paul Thomas Romanoff, age 50       (Pre-Approved Reward $500)
Warrant of arrest for fraud and failure to appear


Phillip Anthony CURTIS, age 39       (Pre-Approved Reward $500)
 Warrant of arrest for breaking & entering


Jordan Stephen Paul ROWE, age 20
    Warrant of arrest for breaking & entering  (Pre-Approved Reward $500)
 Warrant of committal for suspended driving, $960 or 23 days
Warrant of committal for suspended driving, $600 or 15 days


William Henry MARTIN, age 42
 Warrant of committal for driving while suspended, $1200 or 27 days
 Warrant of committal for driving while suspended, $500 or 13 days


Ernest William ANDREWS, age 39
Warrant of arrest for Impaired Driving


Kevin Stanley SAUNDERS, age 33
Warrant of committal for driving while suspended, $1200 or 27 days


Kyle Anthony SMITH, age 21
  Warrant of committal for driving while suspended, $510 or 27 days 


Stephen Joseph MATTSON, age 32
 Warrant of committal for driving while suspended, $1001 or 24 days


Tara Alexandra HICKS, age 24
Warrant of committal for driving while suspended, $560 or 15 days


Shawn Adam DAY, age 36
Warrant of committal for driving while prohibited, $500 or 6 days
Warrant of committal for theft under $5000, $250 or 3 days

Snook Is Considering An Appeal

Former Common Councillor Donnie Snook reportedly has filed a notice of appeal, saying the 18 year sentence he received for more than 40 charges of child abuse and exploitation is unreasonable. 

At the time, his lawyer Dennis Boyle called the sentence approriate. Prosecutor Karen Lee Lamrock told the court if you were looking at sentencing on each individual charge, you would be talking about 75 years in prison. 

Snook is expected to plead guilty to four more sex charges on November 28th from his time in Newfoundland before coming to Saint John.

Stolen Car Rammed Into Pole

A crash last night along Prince Edward Street. 

City Police say a stolen car was smashed into a pole. The car, described to us as brand new, sustained a lot of damage. 

Police also telling us two teens took off from the collision.

Speculation Rages With Demolition Of Old Zellers Store

Lots of speculation in the North End about what's going to fill the gap after the demolition of the old Zellers in Lansdowne Plaza.

There are rumours of a new Sobey's being built with the liquor store and Lawton's moving into the building where Sobeys is now.
 
No building permit application has been filed for the site so far with the city's planning department. 

Marcelle Saulnier of NB Liquor has heard the talk but tells us it's all rumour at this point although options are being looked at. 

Shauna Selig of Sobeys telling CHSJ News they're always in talks with developers but there are no concrete plans.

(Photo courtesy of Doug Epton)

Innov8 Awards Presented To Local Companies

A high-energy crowd celebrating innovation in the province with an awards ceremony. Eight New Brunswick companies getting awards for their work in one of the province's six strategic sectors at the Innov8 Awards.

Economic Development Minister Bruce Fitch making a speech at the event and presenting the winning companies with their hardware. He tells CHSJ News innovation is one of the areas that's very important to the province and the government has committed $80-million over the next five years towards innovation as part of a bigger plan to grow the province's economy.

The winners:
-Innovation Excellence in Aerospace and Defence: FFG Canada
-Innovation Excellence in Biosciences: LuminUltra Technologies
-Innovation in Industrial Fabrication: Sunny Corner Enterprises
-Innovation Excellence in Info and Communications Technology: Introhive Services 
-Innovation Excellence in Value-Added Food: Atlantic Potato Distributors
-Innovation Excellence in Value-Added Wood:  Los Cabos
-Most Innovative Start-Up 2013: Mycodev Group
-Excellence in Fostering Innovation: Propel ICT

Commission Sets Safety & Efficiency As High Priorities

The importance of safety and building on the success of the methadone program and the intelligence-led policing model are just a few of the priorities of the Saint John Police Commission.

6 members of the board including Mayor Mel Norton and Chair Chris Waldschutz participating in a brain-storming session to help identify the board's future focus.
 
Board chair Chris Waldschutz says their strength is providing strong and sound advice to the City police force.

He says the huge objective is to efficiently provide a safe community where people are safe and feel safe.

There was discussion about how to involve members of the public that are itching to help and one area might be through community policing.

Decision Made On Reopening Of Autumn Avenue

Quispamsis Town Council has decided Autumn Avenue will remain closed to through traffic. 

Town Engineer Gary Losier estimates traffic would increase from 85 to 90 vehicles a day up to as many as 21 hundred. He also says the town would have to spend 200 thousand dollars or more on making roadway improvements to Autumn Avenue if it were reopened. 

Town Solicitor Richard McPhee has determined the closure was done properly back in 1984 despite claims to the contrary by those who argued for the reopening of the street. 

Town Councillor Pierre Rioux says he didn't think it was proper to turn residential streets into shortcuts.

Another Councillor Emil Olsen had suggested a study be done to determine how much additional traffic there would be should Autumn Avenue be reopened. 

Man Hurt After Forty Foot Fall

A man taken to hospital after a falling off a ladder about forty feet to a boat below.

City fire crews providing some help to Simonds fire at the scene on the Wharf road off Garnet Settlement road.

Crews responded to the scene just after 6pm and spent about two hours there.

Platoon chief Peter Saab tells CHSJ News they brought one of their aerial trucks and assisted with a vertical lift getting the man from the boat back on to the shore and with paramedics.

The man's injuries are said to be serious.

Pond Says Job Creation Should Be The Outcome, Not Objective

With Saint John claiming the dubious distinction of having the highest unemployment rate in the last Stats Canada survey, many may be focusing on ways to create more jobs, but a local businessman says that's putting the cart before the horse. 

Mariner Partners CEO Gerry Pond tells CHSJ News you have to think about growing businesses before you think about hiring. Pond says if you start hiring people before you have any revenue, it's going to be hard to meet payroll.

Pond says we have a very good start-up record in Saint John, adding, we have world-class companies here and he has no doubts our ideas are as good as anyone else.

Former SJ Flame Joins The Dogs Staff

The Sea Dogs adding former Calgary and Saint John Flame Jeff Cowan as assistant coach.

37 year old Cowan signed as a free agent by the Calgary Flames in 1995 and played over 200 games with the Saint John Flames in four seasons between 1996-2000.

He hails from Scarborough, Ontario spending parts of 8 seasons in Calgary, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Vancouver.

He spent another 3 seasons in the AHL and one in Germany before retiring in 2012.

Cowan is expected to be behind the bench when the Sea Dogs host the Screaming Eagles on Friday night at Harbour Station.

Some Students From SJ To Visit Parliament Hill

More than 60 students including some from UNB Saint John are converging on the Nation's capital this week.

Local students are in Ottawa for the national Canadian Alliance of Student Associations conference and Ottawa Hill day where students will meet with over 120 Ministers, Senators and MP's.

The students representing CASA wants to speak with the government about removing earnings penalties for students, increasing the proportion of up-front needs based financial assistance and reforming study permit policies to make Canada an international education destination.

The students will be in Ottawa until Friday.

Province Announces Union Support For Pension Changes

Most of the unions that represent the civil service are now on board with proposed changes to the public pension plan, according to a release by the provincial government.

Those changes include the controversial move to the shared risk model, which it is hoped will redress the $1 billion deficit for the public service plan. The government claims the the pension legislation will make sure retirees will never see their pensions reduced from their current level and will continue to get cost of living increases; however, the Pension Coalition of New Brunswick has protested the changes all along as unjust and potentially actionable.

Marilyn Quinn of the New Brunswick Nurses Union has said they're confident it's the best solution to provide pension security.

Dennis Oland In Court Again

If anyone was expecting a speedy resolution to the Richard Oland murder investigation now that charges have been laid against his son Dennis, they might be sorely disappointed.  
Dennis Oland made a brief court appearance this  morning in connection with his second degree murder charge in his father's death over two years ago.

On January 21st, a date will set for a preliminary hearing that will determine if there's enough evidence to go to trial. The adjournment was requested due to the amount of documentation according to Oland's lawyer--and the trial might not happen until late 2014.

Richard Oland was found dead in his Canterbury Street office in July, 2011.

SJPD Warn Of Credit Card Scam

The fraud section of the City police are warning the public of a credit card scam.
 
Back on November 12th, three people were arrested and found with many fake i.d.'s and credit cards.

Sgt. Jay Henderson says police believe it is part of an organized credit card fraud ring operating in this province and in PEI for the last two months.

He says the suspects would enter a business, pick an item and present a credit card to the cashier saying the magnetic strip was not working.
Then then ask the store's employee to enter the number manually to make the item go through.

The card given to the employee was counterfeit and the number on the card was stolen.   The SJPD Fraud section advises businesses owners to speak to their employees and see if this happened to their business.

To contact police call 648-3333 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or click here

Mayor Maintains Job Growth In City Is Going In The Right Direction

The Saint John region has a goal of an additional 250 new fulltime jobs by the end of 2013. That word coming from Mayor Mel Norton. 

Several hundred jobs are going to be lost in the coming months with the closure of a pair of call centres in Loch Lomand Mall. The Mayor says he hates to hear about anyone losing their job but the overall trend for job growth in the city is good.

The Saint John region has a goal of an additional 250 new fulltime jobs by the end of 2013. 

Norton says he understands the people who will be losing their jobs at the two call centres are likely to be employed, by and large, at other call centres in the city.

Common Council Sets Priorities For 2014

Common Council appears pretty optimistic as it sets its priorities for 2014 just prior to the start of budget deliberations. 

Clean drinking water is the number one priority and word on whether funding will come about through a public-private partnership is expected before the end of the year. Better roads and sidewalks are also listed as priorities together with economic development and recreation but Mayor Mel Norton says resources remain limited.

City Manager Pat Woods is warning flood control and drainage should also be among the priorities especially for the people who live in Millidgeville, Westgate Park and Glen Falls. 

Fire Chief Kevin Clifford also says Police and Fire will need more up to date equipment to better communicate with eachother during emergency situations. 

Council is committed to maintaining the current level of transit service and a transportation master plan is expected to be presented next year.

Besides looking at what the priorities are, Common Council also looked at what has been achieved since the last municipal election. West side Councillor Greg Norton says it's now easier for developers to get their projects started and Councillor at Large Shirley McAlary says people she hears from appear happy with the progress being made in improving the roads around town.

Fund To Support Start-Up Community Announced

Those local, aspiring entrepreneurs who think they've got the next big idea can apply for some help through a newly announced fund. 

The Executive Director of the Pond-Deshpande Centre at UNB, Karina LeBlanc tells CHSJ News the Saint John True Growth Innovation Fund is designed to spur early stage innovators into action.

The fund is between $1000 and $5000 and the money is meant to help the entrepreneur build a case so they can go out and pitch to those who can then give them more funding. Click here for more information on the fund.

The launch of the fund at the Creative Soup Building uptown also kicking off Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Man Facing Charges In 2004 Crime

A 29 year old man from the Island is facing 6 charges relating to a home invasion more than 9 years ago in Petitcodiac.

Michael Arthur Gaudet of Charlottetown was in Moncton court charged with forcible confinement, assault, robbery, and break and enter into a home.

Two men wearing masks entered a home in Petitcodiac in May of 2004 demanding money. A woman living at the house was assaulted and tied up. Her son arrived home and was assaulted before the pair took off.

A positive DNA match with the National DNA Data Bank allowed the Mounties to confirm the identity of one of the two men involved in the home invasion.

Gaudet is being held in custody until his next court appearance at December 5. RCMP are still looking for another man involved in the crime.

Be Kind To Others & You Might Win Big

Brunswick Square wants you to pay it forward this holiday and for your trouble you can win a cool prize and help your favourite charity.

Apryll Stansfield tells CHSJ News you can get a flyer from a retailer in the mall or "Elf Yourself" on the Brunswick Square facebook page and you tell them about your good deed.

She tells us the good deed could be anything like helping someone with their gifts or grabbing someone a coffee when you go out for the office run and it can be for a stranger, a neighbour or anyone at all.

Someone will win $1000 in Brunswick Square gift certificates and another $1000 for a charity of their choice. 

For more info, click here  and here

Dennis Oland Granted Bail

Dennis Oland, who is facing a charge in his father's murder more than two years ago, has been granted bail.

The 45-year old in court today for the bail hearing.

This marks Oland's second court appearance since his arrest last week. During his first appearance, he was formally charged with second degree murder in Richard Oland's death. 

Oland was found dead in his Canterbury Street office back in July of 2011.

Dennis Oland is scheduled to be back in court tomorrow morning at 9:30 to set a date for a preliminary inquiry.

Regional Teachers Receive Awards

10 teachers from the Anglophone south school district winning the Excellence in Teaching Awards from Minister of Education Marie-Claude Blais.

The winners include retired teacher Paul Holder of St. Mac's, Dean Grattan of Oromocto High, Jean Anne Green of Forenceville Middle School, Kathy Young, Principal at Glen Falls School and John Tanner, Principal at Fundy High in St. George.

The awards handed out in a ceremony over the weekend in Fredericton.