Police Seek Help In Finding Those Responsible For Several Crimes

City police want your help in figuring out who set fire to railway ties earlier this month.


The fire took place July 10th at 800 Bay Street where the railway ties belonging to NB Southern Railway were set ablaze.

Saint John police are again reminding people to lock their vehicles after several breakins on the west side.
Officers are also investigating several reports of atv thefts over the last two weeks and reminding you to never leave them unattended and park them inside where possible.

If you have information on any of these crimes, call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or City police at 648-3333.

Review Board Ruling Critical Of Smith Case

An Ontario health review board ruling is critical of the treatment troubled young inmate Ashley Smith received in the days leading up to her death.
    The Health Professions Appeal and Review Board was looking into the case of Smith, a 19-year-old from Moncton, who choked herself to death in an Ontario prison in 2007.
  
    The board found that the investigation of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario was adequate, though it was still critical of how Smith's case was handled in prison.
    The review finds it is difficult to understand how the resources of the Correctional Service of Canada could not have somehow treated her appropriately.
    A delay-plagued coroner's inquest into Smith's death will resume under a different coroner in September.

SJ Will See Heat Splash, Not Full Heat Wave

With extreme heat hitting much of the country this week, Saint John will be feeling a bit of it, but won't be getting the scorching weather expected in Toronto and Winnipeg.

Linda Libby with environment Canada tells CHSJ News Toronto is expected to hit 38 degrees on Thursday.

She says Saint John may be 30 degrees tomorrow, but will die down to 22 degrees on Thursday.

Libby says Saint John normally sits at around 23 degrees so these are much warmer temperatures, but they are not unheard of for this time of year.

She says its unlikely any records will be broken.

Quebec Couple Brighten Up King Street

Two Quebec artists are bringing some colour to a section of King Street.

Eric Couture and Krystal Schippers are creating sidewalk art in the middle of the block between Charlotte and Germain Streets.

The young couple are camping in Rockwood park and living off the money their art brings in to buy food. 
Couture says they were in Saint John for half a day when they decided to stay here.

Mayor Says He Hates Election Years

Mayor Ivan Court upset with his fellow councillors and is blaming next year's municipal election.

Common Council voting down two housing projects on Loch Lomond Road that would have seen 187 residential lots developed.

But the nay votes which included Councillors Bill Farren and Mel Norton, said developing in that area went against the new municipal plan, which focuses on building the uptown core. A dejected Mayor Court was none too pleased calling some of the councillors "anti-development" and charging the votes were politically motivated.

Court says the area was an ideal spot for housing as it was close to commercial areas as well as schools.

Common Council Decides How Big It'll Be

After flirting with the idea only two weeks ago, the size of Common Council will not be reduced.

The move was voted down after several councillors changed their minds since the idea was first presented.

Councillor Mel Norton says the feedback from his constituents was loud and clear that proper representation outweighs any cost savings.

 Councillor Bill Farren initially liked the idea because of the cost savings but had a change of heart after hearing from people but Councillor Peter McGuire voted in favour for the cuts because of the financial benefits for the city.

Council was considering the elimination of four council seats in order to save about 450-thousand dollars over four years.

City Ponies Up Cash For Its Pension Plan

It's time for the city to settle part of its huge pension tab.

The city will be paying 8.7 million dollars to make good on its 2010 pension plan contribution.

Commissioner of Finance Greg Yeomans says it has to be done since the province did not accept the city's initial pension reform plan.

A revised plan will not be looked at by the province until the fall sitting of the Legislature. He says the money will be charged against the city's 2010 operating budget unless the province allows at least some of it to be deferred to lessen the financial impact.

RCMP Lay Down Attempted Murder Charge In Moncton Shooting

RCMP charging 24 year old Shawn Joseph Reid with attempted murder in connection with a shooting in Moncton over the weekend.

A 35 year old Nova Scotia man was injured last Saturday on Wesley Street.

RCMP arresting Reid in Nova Scotia earlier this afternoon after a Canada wide warrant was issued by the police.

Reid Sentencing Delayed

The sentencing of Vincent Eric Reid being delayed until this Thursday now that he faces an additional charge of impaired driving causing bodily harm. 

35-year-old Reid earlier plead guilty to impaired driving causing the death of Gerald Troy Bridges after two trucks collided on the Golden Grove Road on the Victoria Day long weekend. 

He has also plead guilty to four charges of impaired driving causing bodily harm.

Bathurst Call Drug Bust Significant

RCMP and police in the Bathurst area teaming up to keep potentially 18,000 marijuana joints off the streets. 

It what RCMP are calling a significant seizure, police found 17 pounds of marijuana, 40 pounds of hash and six riffles between two houses. 

A 48-year-old man and a 44-year-old man are under arrest and will appear in Court on a later date on drug-related charges.

Bad Driving Habits On The Rise

More congestion on the roads might be leading to the perception that driving habits are getting worse as compared to five years ago.

The Canadian Automobile Association office is located on one of the busiest streets in the city, Westmorland Road as you make your way down the hill to McAllister Mall and Consumers Drive.

The C-A-A's Gary Howard tells CHSJ News when behind the wheel, you have to pay attention to what you're doing.

He says 80 per cent of accidents could be avoided with just one more second of reaction time.

Howard also points out for some reason, people become more aggressive when driving and engage in behaviour they wouldn't dream of doing if just walking along the street.

1785 Charter Was Discriminatory, Man Says

A Saint John man wants the mayor to acknowledge that wording in the city's first Royal Charter was inappropriate towards Black Loyalists. 

David Peters tells CHSJ News he's been lecturing on the subject for 17 years, and says the 1785 Charter was discriminatory in five ways.

He says Black Loyalists were not allowed to vote, live in the city, sell their goods or own a business, and weren't allowed to fish in the Saint John Harbour.

Peters says he's already received letters of recognition from federal Heritage Minister James Moore and Saint John MP Rodney Weston and just wants council  to acknowledge the Charter was prejudicial and would not be accepted in today's society.

Dairytown In The Dark

Most of Dairytown and surrounding area are currently in the dark. 
 
NB Power reporting a major power outage affecting over 9000 customers in Sussex, Four Corners, Midland Kings, and Jemseg. 
 
A spokesperson says crews are investigating the cause of the power outage and hope to have restored power to about 2000 costumers within the hour. 
 
No word yet on when the remaining customers can expect to have power restored.

Reid Back In Court For Sentencing

Vincent Eric Reid of Wright Street faces sentencing today for his involvement in a head on collision on the Golden Grove Road on the Victoria Day Long weekend. 

The 35-year-old is charged with impaired driving causing the death of Gerald Troy Bridges and three other charges of impaired driving causing bodily harm. 

Reid earlier plead guilty to all four charges, and was denied bail.

Moncton Crash Takes Life

One man is dead after an accident involving a single car on the Trans-Canada Highway in Moncton.

RCMP say the crash happened at 9 in the morning on Saturday, when the 82-year-old's car left the road, went into the median and ended up resting against a guardrail.

The man is from Florida, and the cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Collision On West Side

(Photos courtesy of a Road Warrior)

Car and motorcycle collide on Milford Road Sunday night.

Fire Department Checks Out Smell Of Natural Gas

Fire crews getting several calls about the smell of natural gas in the vicinity of Sand Cove Road.

District Fire Chief Joe Armstrong says they made three trips to the Maritime Northeast distribution plant.

No leak was found but Maritime Northeast was doing some maintenance at the plant earlier in the week and that will be checked out to see if it had anything to do with what you may have smelled yesterday.

Green Party Says The Province Lacks The Vision Needed For The 21st Century

We need new thinking in the province from both the government and business leadership when it comes to future energy development in the 21st century.

So says Provincial Green Party President Janice Harvey who points to the desire to move ahead with shale gas development as being an example of a 19th century mentality.

Harvey questions when New Brunswick will base its economy on renewable forms of energy and efficiency as Germany is demonstrating with its move away from nuclear power.

She also rails against the mentality that whatever an outside investor wants to do in the province, so be it.

Business Liason Not Necessary For Rothesay

Rothesay and other outlying communities don't need to follow Saint John in appointing an economic development officer to communicate priorities to Enterprise Saint John.  

Chair Tony Gogan tells CHSJ News it's much less typical for smaller communities to have a liaison officer because there isn't the same maze that exists when navigating city hall.
 
Gogan says Rothesay also benefits differently from Enterprise Saint John, because while new businesses locate within the city, a lot of the employees live in the surrounding communities.

Local Artist Up For National Prize

A Saint John artist is in the running for 25 thousand dollars.

Jared Peters is one of 15 semi-finalists in the RBC Canadian Painting Competition, a national contest for up and coming artists.

He tells CHSJ News he was shocked to have been chosen as a finalist.
 
He adds he is honoured to be competing with his peers -- in fact, one of the other finalists is a former professor.

The winner will be announced in Edmonton on September 27th.