Emera Inc Increases Role in Saint John Energy Sector

Emera Inc is stepping up it's involvement in the provincial energy hub.The company announced it was buying the Bayside Power Plant from Irving Oil yesterday for an undisclosed amount of money.Spokesperson Jo-Anne Hicks tells CHSJ News, the energy sector is booming in Saint John, and Emera wants to be apart of it.
The Bayside Power plant is 260 megawatt gas fired combined cycle power plant that supplies energy to the province and Northeastern US markets.Emera will take over the plant in approximately two months.

Arena Getting a Green Makeover

The city is spending 137 thousand dollars to upgrade the energy efficiency of the Peter Murray Arena. SES Lighting and Energy Consultants of Bedford, NS has been awarded the contract to replace all inside lighting with new low wattage lamps and install sensors in areas where the lights are left on 24 hours. Energy cost savings are estimated to be about 45 hundred dollars annually with reductions in green house gas emissions by 45 tons each year.
Meanwhile, Master Mechanical Contractors will replace the Ammonia Plant Heat Recovery and Flood Water Heating system. This will save money and increase the life expectancy of the hot water system by 15 years.

City Police Round Up

Business as usual for city police last night making a total of 9 criminal arrests.Just after one in the morning police had a man on the ground on Prince William Street trying to hand cuff him when a woman jumped on the back of the officer.The 32 year old woman is facing obstruction, assaulting a police officer, and mischief charges, while the 24 year old man is being charged with threatening an officer after uttering death threats while being taken to the station.No one was injured in the incident.

Fundraiser For 13 Year Old With Cystic Fibrosis

The Saint John Police Force and the One Change Youth Council is partnering up for a city wide fundraiser.The collaborative effort is to raise money for a 13 year old Lorne School student with Cystic Fibrosis in need of a double lung transplant.From 8:30 to 1 o'clock Youth Council Members will be at redemption centres around the city collecting bottles for the cause.

First Rock Concert of the Year on Magnetic Hill

A big crowd is expected today on Magnetic Hill in Moncton for the first of two rock and roll concerts at the site this summer. Bon Jovi along with Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman are the headliners along with other acts. Despite the soggy conditions through-out the week, crews have everything in place and City Officials say a new drainage system that was installed following last years Eagles show should help keep any rain from building up.
Ian Fowler with the city of Moncton says no question, the wet weather this week puts a damper on last minute ticket sales but expects a good crowd to come out and enjoy the show.

Canaport LNG Phase 1 Complete

[Foggy View of the First Ship Coming In-----Photo by Deborah Stevens]

The first liquefied natural gas tanker to dock at the Canaport L-N-G terminal in Red Head has tied up at the jetty. And its arrival is drawing people to the Mispec Park to get a glimpse of the giant ship -- one of them is Dave Morrell who lives close to the new facility -- he tells CHSJ News it's an exciting day
One Red Head resident says it's an historic day and she's excited about the potential it represents for the city.

Campground Investigation Called Off

After a week long search at the Hidden Valley Campground on the Kingston Peninsula, the RCMP are calling off the investigation.On Monday, the RCMP began looking for evidence in relation to a criminal investigation based off of tips they received.No evidence was discovered to support the information they received to be accurate.RCMP would also like to state that the owners of the campground were in no way involved in the investigation.RCMP are keeping tight lipped about what they were looking for.

First Shipment Arriving At Canaport LNG

[Canaport LNG Site----File Photo]

With the arrival of the first vessel bringing liquefied natural gas to the Canaport LNG terminal, city staff are hand delivering a letter penned by the Mayor to residents living with 2 kilometres of the site.Ivan Court writes to assure residents that safety is the top priority during the first unloading process.Court says the ship is able to be docked at Canaport LNG because the facility has met 24 guidelines set out in the Environmental Impact Assessment process.This first shipment was supposed to arrive in the city at the beginning of the week, but was pushed back due to weather and other large crude oil tankers needing to unload product.

Saint John Energy Restores Power

Everyone is back on the grid after being in the dark for most of the night.Saint John Energy is reporting the power was restored in the uptown, South Central Peninsula area shortly after 9 this morning.Officials said earlier that power wasn't expected to be back until early this afternoon, but crews were able to fix the problem faster than anticipated.A piece of equipment in the underground manhole at the bottom of Prince William Street is being called the cause.

Supportive of the Fund, But the Money is Needed Elsewhere

The Chairperson for District 8's education council says while the Innovative learning fund is a good concept--- the money is needed elsewhere.Rob Fowler tells CHSJ News, the priority of educational support staff outweighs the program.
Fowler says if money is reallocated it will probably end up going into support staff---but he doesn't expect the full amount to be replaced.

CUPE Hoping Resources Return to Education Support Staff

The provincial president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees 2745 says she has high hopes that newly appointed Education Minister Roland Hache will allocate the funds from Kelly Lamrocks pet project the Innovative Learning Fund to soften budget cuts.Sandy Harding tells CHSJ News, the $5 million dollar fund is more than enough to reinstate library workers, and fix the transportation cuts.
Harding says she will be meeting with Hache on Thursday of next week to discuss putting the resources back into educational support staff.

Country 94 and the Wave Honoured By The Kidney Foundation

The Kidney Foundation of Canada is honouring Country94 and the Wave with the National Media Award for contributing to increasing public awareness of kidney disease.Acadia Broadcasting Vice President Jim MacMullin was presented with the award yesterday by the local chapter of the Kidney Foundation.

The Lights Were Out in Rothesay

It was only for about an hour, but people in the Rothesay area were left in the dark.NB Power spokesperson Heather MacLean tells CHSJ News, a tree took out a power line in the valley, causing over 1000 customers to be affected.MacLean says the lights went out shortly after 11 this morning, and crews worked to get nearly everyone back on the grid by noon.

Inmate Found Dead At Dorchester Penitentiary

A man convicted of second degree murder in the death of a five year old girl in Calgary 17 years ago has been found dead in his prison cell at Dorchester Penitentiary.Shortly after midnight last night officers found Gleason Williams unresponsive in his cell, and was pronounced dead at the scene.Gleason was serving a life sentence for killing Shannon Dawn Morrissette in his basement in Calgary.Two weeks ago the 54 year old Gleason was denied a request for escorted day passes by the National Parole Board.

Conservation Council Wants to Be Included in Barge Talks

The Conservation Council of New Brunswick wants the city and industry to include them in talks about finally building a barge docking facility in Lorneville. Fundy Bay Keeper, David Thompson tells CHSJ news ships coming through would damage lobster gear and possibly force fishermen out of the area.
Thompson says anchorage areas for ships could also be a concern for the marine protected area. Mayor Ivan Court says it's important to get a long-time proposed barge docking facility constructed in the Lorneville area. He says the city may find a way to finance the barge dock on its own if talks for funding with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency fall through.

Steady Enrolment at UNBSJ

Enrolment levels at UNB Saint John are steady this year, stopping the university's decline in recent years. cting Assistant Vice President and Registrar, John Johnson tells CHSJ news it looks like they are turning the corner.
Johnson says that's due to better programing and more options for students.

Provincial Loan Maintains Jobs

A St. Stephen company will be able to maintain 60 jobs in the town thanks to a provincial loan guarantee. The province is giving S-W-P Industries 1.4 million dollars in loan guarantees to be used as working capital.
The company produces fencing using eastern white cedar, spruce and Chinese fir-- and-- is a value-added re-seller of vinyl and aluminum fencing products. Company president Stephen Crabbe says this is a tough time for many businesses because access to credit has been severely limited by the global financial collapse.

Shellfish Harvesting Ban

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has placed a ban on shellfish harvesting along the Southeastern Coast of New Brunswick until further notice. The ban is due to increased levels of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning.
harvesting clams, mussels and other shellfish is prohibited within 1.6 km of Grand Manan, and the Islands of Wolves, Bliss, Hills, Frye, Deer and Campobello, as well as from Nova Scotia to Maine.

Missing Boy Found in Saint John

A boy reported missing from Digby, Nova Scotia has been found in Saint John. City police say the 13-year old ran away from home yesterday and took the ferry across into Saint John. Sgt. Don Cooper tells CHSJ news his parents thought he was still somewhere in Digby.

Officers found the boy roaming the streets around midnight and have placed him with friends of the family until his parents can pick him up today.

Uptown Power Being Restored

Saint John Energy crews are still working to restore power to parts of the uptown this morning. The lights went out in the South Central Peninsula near 11 o'clock last night. Vice President of Engineering and Operations, Darren LaMont tells CHSJ news it appears a piece of equipment in the underground manhole failed at the bottom of Prince William Street.

Three-quarters of the power is back up. No word yet on when the remaining homes and businesses will have electricity.