Saint John Area Businesses Recognized For Helping Reservists

The Canadian Forces Liaison Council recognizing the support given by provincial businesses including many in Greater Saint John to reserve personnel.


Lieutenant Governor Graydon Nicholas presiding over the event in Fredericton yesterday at Government House.

Elizabeth Rybak, chair of the Provincial Council, credits reservists in the dual role they play in balancing personal and military commitments.
Some of the companies receiving the recognition include Coastal Blending and Packaging, Ambulance New Brunswick in Blacks Harbour and Xerox of Saint John.

KV Library Expansion Moves On To Next Phase

Rothesay Council getting an update on the renovation and expansion at the KV Library.

Spokesperson Heather Crawford tells CHSJ News the pre-design phase is done and the next step is to complete the schematic designs.

The project will add over 14-thousand square feet.

The final cost of the project yet to be determined but Crawford says early estimates put it at around 6 million dollars, which will be cost-shared by Rothesay and Quispamsis.

Quispamsis Council will be getting the same update at tonight's council meeting.

J-D Irving Says It's Willing To Deal With City On Harbour Cleanup

J-D Irving sending an e-mail to City Hall objecting to the wording that was used in a report on harbour cleanup.

The report stated there was a reluctance on the part of some to resolve property needs for the project to be done by the end of 2012. Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase says J-D-I believes it was unfairly singled out and he finds it disturbing.

The head of Municipal Operations Paul Groody is taking a conciliatory approach, apologising if anyone took offense at the wording.

 Common Councillor Peter McGuire is quick to defend the report saying there is no need to apologise because harbour cleanup is for the citizens and not the corporations.

East Side Councillor Pushing Artificial Turf Field At Exhibition Park

East side Common Councillor Joe Mott wants to know what it will take to build a field house at Exhibition Park complete with an artificial turf field.

City Manager Pat Woods says you'll need is a well laid out plan that makes economic sense and that will be alot easier to do because of all the work done thus far by the Exhibition Association.

The city says it's willing to contribute three million dollars but only if the federal and provincial governments each chip in the same amount.

According to Woods, the federal and provincial governments will have to be persuaded investing in this project will meet their interests.

Common Council Divided Over Parking Exemption

Wintertime parking restrictions along all of Douglas Avenue have divided Common Council right down the middle with Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase arguing for the entire Avenue to be exempt claiming some people simply have no where to park because when many of the homes were built, cars were not a consideration.

Mayor Ivan Court says that part of Douglas Avenue where parking is allowed towards Main Street is downright dangerous these days and Councillor Donnie Snook agreed saying there is no more hazardous street in the city with cars parked every which way.

The vote came out a tie meaning only half of Douglas Avenue towards Main Street will be exempt from the parking restrictions.

Common Council Gets Warning About Harbour Cleanup

The clock is ticking on harbour cleanup........That warning from the city's head of Municipal Operations Paul Groody who says the acquisition of land has to be done faster if the target date to finish the project is to be reached by the end of 2012.

Mayor Ivan Court has a message for the Port Authority and that is to get on board because this will clean up your harbour.

Common Council has been told there is difficulty over acquiring 625 metres for a lift station on port property on Broad Street at the foot of Water Street. Groody says that lift station is considered to be essential to the project.

Rothesay Council Pressing Forward With Flood Relief In Town

Rothesay Council is moving ahead with expropriation for land needed for a retention pond.

The pond is part of flood relief efforts for the people in Oakville Acres.

The land is located behind a car wash on Rothesay Road and Mayor Bill Bishop tells CHSJ News all of the land acquisition for the project is nearly complete.

Bishop says the owner of the land was asking too high a price so they had no choice but to go the expropriation route. He would like to see construction begin by the fall or winter. The town is also in discussions for another piece of land and Bishop says negotiations are going well.

East Side Stabbings Being Investigated

Three men in their twenties got into an altercation at an east side plaza where the Studio 10 theaters are located and two of them were stabbed.

Police tell CHSJ News Major Crime is still trying to sort out what happened and who to charge.

Fire In Milltown This Morning

A fire this morning damaging an apartment building on Queensway in Milltown this morning.

Conservation Council Posts Video Before Energy Hearings

The Conservation Council of New Brunswick will be appearing at the Energy Commission hearings in Fredericton on Wednesday.  The environmental group is broadcasting a prequel to its submission on C.C.N.B. ActionTV.

The 12 minute film profiles the actions some are taking to put us on a more sustainable energy path and they include John Irving from Commercial Properties to Peter deMarsh of Nashwaak Valley Wood Energy.
The Province's Conservation Council wants an energy policy based on long-term thinking to provide long-term solutions, instead of short-term fixes to problems caused by decisions of the past.
To see their movie....click here

Access To Lily Lake Is Closed To The Public

City officials closing the surface of Lily Lake to all public access.    They tell CHSJ News they will not be maintaining the ice surface.   Residents are being asked to observe signs and barricades. Rockwood Park with the exception of all ice surfaces remains open.

RCMP Indentify Victims of Sussex Fire

Police releasing the names of the two victims of an early morning blaze in Sussex yesterday.
20-year-old Travis Lorne LeRoy of Saint John and 44-year-old Kimberly Lois Friars of Sussex both died of smoke inhalation.

District 3 RCMP and the Sussex Fire Department responding to a 911 call about the fire on Main Street in Sussex just before 4am yesterday.
The fire was contained to a lower apartment and it's believed the fire started in the kitchen area.

KVHS Reach For The Top Team Wins Ontario Tourney

5 students at KV high are likely getting lots of high-fives in the halls today.
The school's Reach For Top team beat host school Lisgar Collegiate 470-190 in the championship game to win a tourney in Ottawa, Ontario this weekend.

The team's coach is teacher Jason Thorne who tells CHSJ News the team overcame a 40 point deficit to come back and win.

He says they lost one game that was hard fought but, they played the same team in the championship so the earlier loss didn't hold them back.  The KVHS Reach For The Top team is made up of David MacFarquhar, Sam Forestell, Kyle Mason, Michael Forestell and Josh Outerbridge.

MLA's Get A Valentine Of Sorts

Volunteers with the MS Society giving a Valentine of sorts to MLA in the Province.
The politicians were delivered pill bottles with cinnamon hearts as a way to draw attention to the need for coverage for catastrophic drugs.
Spokesperson Jess McNeil tells CHSJ News some MS therapies are very expensive ranging from $13,000 to $40,000.

She says in some cases that price tag is too much for some famillies too afford so they want to make sure everyone has everyone has coverage regardless of whether they have private insurance or not.

Councillor Is Hoping For Help From The Province

One of the issues on tonight's agenda of Common Council is from Councillor Peter McGuire. He will be talking about getting help from the provincial government to make it easier for the city to demolish derelict buildings around town that have become hazards to public safety. McGuire maintains the city has to be persistent if it wants to get anything done with help from Fredericton and Ottawa. That's why he considers it to be a good idea to have a city hall staffer whose job would be inter-governmental affairs.

McGuire says he's not sure too many other cities have it and he thinks it will pay off dividends.  He says when council was advocating for Harbour Clean Up it was a grind and he would have preferred having one person fighting that file for us.

Councillors Gary Sullivan and Mel Norton want to talk about Rockwood Park. This follows Council's decision at its last meeting not to allow development in the area adjacent to the park, much to the Mayor's displeasure.

Another Fatal Fire Takes Two Lives

Two people are dead after yet another fatal fire........This one happening on Main Street in Sussex.

The building housed a business and two apartments. The RCMP say the fire was contained to the lower apartment and is believed to have started in the kitchen.

A 44 year old Sussex woman and 20 year old man from Saint John were found dead in the apartment. Their names have not been released.

Autopsies will be performed to determine the cause of death but foul play is not suspected.

A funeral service will be held tomorrow morning for Francis Deane who died in a fire early Friday morning on Braemar Drive.

Difficult Rescue Carried Out On West Side

The Fire Department making a dramatic rescue yesterday afternoon in a remote are of Dominion Park.

Four teenagers became stranded in a remote area of the park with one of them suffering a seizure.

District Fire Chief Eric Garland says a specially equipped all terrain vehicle had to be used to make its way through deep snow to reach the teens. They were located through the use of cellphones and G-P-S coordinates.

The teenager who suffered the seizure was showing signs of hypotermia before being taken to hospital.

Another Week and Another Storm

Saint John can expect from 10 to 15 centimeters of snow from the latest storm of the winter.

Jeremy March of Environment Canada tells CHSJ News the snow will switch over to rain this morning.

The rain will last through tonight before it turns colder with a bit more snow on the way, maybe a couple of additional centimeters.

March says after the storm system passes through during the overnight hours, it will turn colder.

Enterprise Saint John To Recruit In Toronto

Enterprise Saint John will be looking to wrangle in some out of towners as it represents local I-T companies at a recruitment fair in Toronto next month.

Spokesperson Sara Stashick tells CHSJ News Saint John is attractive to those from the big city who are looking to escape from the rat race and flexible work opportunities offered by the Port City make it attractive to out of towners.

She says there is a shortage of highly qualified I-T personnel in the city because the industry is constantly growing.

I-T companies interested in being represented at the recruitment fair can go to http://www.enterprisesj.com/recruitment_mission.

City Developer Bullish On Condo Market

A city developer says the condo market is determined less by the local economy and more by what is happening with young professionals and retirees.

John Rocca doesn't think condos can revitalize the uptown core of Saint John but believes this type of housing does attract people.

He says there will be more homes built in Phase 1 of this project that were built in Saint John in all of 2010. He adds it's 83 homes on a very small parcel of land.

Phase 1 of the Harbourfront Residences condo project on Water street is 80 per sold. Rocca adds Phase 2 will begin construction subject to market demand and a decision on that will come this summer.