Beating At Rockwood Park

Not many details being released at the moment but police are confirming a beating at Rockwood Park.

Early reports indicate a man was found beaten in the park Saturday night and was taken to hospital.

The Major Crime Unit has taken over the case.

New Brunswick Southwest MP Says Irving Oil Refinery Should Be Refining Oil From Alberta

The MP for New Brunswick Southwest says the Irving Oil Refinery in Saint John should be refining oil from Alberta, especially in the wake of the delay of the Keystone XL Pipeline project.

John Williamson tells CHSJ News there is currently a pipeline from Alberta to Sarnia.  He says he would like to see an extension of that pipeline from Quebec to Saint John and is currently having discussions with government reps and trade unions about it.

He says not only would it would bring jobs to the region but keep New Brunswickers from going out west to find work.

How Budget Cut At Police Department Will Play Out Won't Be Known For Sometime

It's going to take a lot of work for the police department to figure out how it will make do with a million dollars less this year. 

Chris Waldshutz, who chairs the Police Commission, tells CHSJ news decisions will not be made willy-nilly.

As for the fear there will be fewer officers on the streets of the city when all the number crunching is done, Waldshutz tells CHSJ News it's his personal opinion that prospect is improbable but there won't be any cuts made until there has been careful analysis because you don't want to do anything that will harm intelligence led policing which has been responsible for substantial drops in the crime rate. 

He adds the budget cut at the police department could have been as high as 2 million dollars.

The Police Commission will be meeting tomorrow night and while the budget cut will likely be discussed, there won't be any firm plan in place dealing with it.

People In St. Stephen Asked To Conserve Water

They're having problems with water in St. Stephen and the town is asking everyone to conserve their water consumption this morning because there is a limited supply due to a breakdown that happened last night.
 
Some people may have little or no water pressure.
 
The St. Stephen Water Department says the parts needed to fix the problem will be trucked in from Saint John.

Alward Government Accused Of Backing Away From Poverty Reduction

As the Provincial Government grapples with a rising deficit and debt, will it back away from the poverty reduction plan that was put together with such fanfare in Saint John a few years ago?

Former Social Development Minister Kelly Lamrock, who's considering a run at the Provincial Liberal Party leadership, tells CHSJ News it began with the delay in raising the minimum wage followed by increasing the co-payment seniors have to come up with for their prescription drugs. 

He accuses Premier David Alward of not standing up for the less affluent in the province because he listens to the most powerful voices.
 

Anti-poverty activist Pam Coates resigned from the Board overseeing the implementation of the poverty reduction plan saying not much of anything has been done.

Mayor Answers Criticism

Criticism is being heaped on Common Council over the city budget but Mayor Ivan Court points out the issues that have been dealt with during this term have been the toughest to face the city in the last 30 to 40 years including clean water and the city's pension plan. 

There will be cutbacks coming in the police department at the same time the new police headquarters is under construction at Peel Plaza which has many Saint Johnners wondering if we can afford to spend over 20 million dollars. 

Mayor Court tells CHSJ News alot of the talk about the new police station has been exaggerated and mixed up with the new provincial justice building nearby which is far more expensive at 50 million.

Court predicts alot of people in the city will be surprised by Peel Plaza when it's finished.

Bullied Teen Says School Isn't Helping

After being bullied for months via social networking sites, phone, and at school. Brendan Annis is begging the administrators at Leo Hayes High School to do more to help him. It's been so bad that his parents decided to take him out of school--but as soon as he returned, the bullying started again.

The bullying started when Annis broke up with his long term girlfriend, and has been so stressful for the 15 year old that he's been hospitalized due to self injuring behaviour. Dianne Wilkins, the superintendent of school district 18, says that they've hired an external investigator to look at the situation.

Home Invasion on the West Side

A scare for one West side resident, whose home was invaded last night.

At almost 11 o'clock, 4 masked men forced their way into a home on the West side and robbed a man in his 50s. The robbers were interested only in cash. Police weren't able to disclose how much money they made off with.

No injuries happened as a result of the robbery.

CFIB Says NB Business Optimism is Low

Here in the Atlantic Provinces, optimism about small business is at the lowest level in Canada--that from the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses. The Business Barometer Index for the province is at 61.7--which is up two points from December--but that's still well below the national average of 65.2

Policy analyst Richard Dunn of CFIB says it's because everyone is waiting to see what the provincial budget will bring next month. If the government fails to develop a solid plan to deal with its debt, we could see that trickle down into the business market.

Dunn says as businesses get back on their feet to where they were before the recession, CFIB expects the numbers will improve.

Councillor Wants Funding Axed To Enterprise Saint John

Councillor Bruce Court raising concerns over funding Enterprise Saint John in a time when core city services are being slashed to the bone.



Court has been outspoken in the past about the continued funding of the economic development agency.


He is baffled at how the agency can continue to receive money when the city will not be able to afford lifegurards at beaches.


Court lobbied to have all funding cut to Enterprise Saint John last year but council decided against it after consultations with the group.

The group will be receiving 332-thousand dollars this year, 100-thousand dollars less than in 2011.

Car Fire Blocks Highway

A burned out shell is all that remains of a small car after it burst into flames on Highway 2 Northbound just outside Fredericton late this morning. The highway was blocked for about an hour while firefighters snuffed out the flames. No word on injuries.

(photo by Deborah MacDonald)

Assaults and Drunk Drivers Make a Busy Night for Police

Drunk drivers and fights making it a busy Friday night for the Saint John Police force.



Police getting a call just after 2am that a fight had broken on out King Street East between four men. Two were sent to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Although no one was arrested, police say they'll be dealing with the men at a later date.


A woman was also picked up for assault on the corner of Priness Street. The injuries weren't serious.


Two drivers were also picked up on Rothesay Avenue and Welesley Avenue in the city's north end after reports that they were weaving all over the road. Both were charged with driving under the influence.

Allegedly Impaired Driver Crashes Into Police Car

Talk about running into the law -- literally.

A 20 year old Saint John man striking a police car head-on early this morning in St. Andrews after allegedly failing to obey a stop sign.

A police officer receiving minor injuries and the driver was believed to be impaired.

His license has been suspended for 90 days and he will be appearing in court at a later date to face charges.

Job Fair Aims To Help Atelka Workers

There is good news for the 142 Atelka call centre employees that got pink slips this week.


Contact NB and Enterprise Saint John are teaming to host a job fair later this month in hopes of finding the workers another job.


Mike Bacon of Contact NB tells CHSJ News they have put the call out to local employers, call centre and otherwise, to take part.



It will be those employers who want to meet with the affected Atelka employees and discuss with them some career options for the future.

A similar event last for employers at the RCI call centres in Saint John last year that saw 7 of 31 employers confirm multiple hires as a result of the event.

The Atelka job fair is coming up on February 18th with a location to be dertermined.

For more info, click here

Bail Denied In Sexual Assault Case

25 five year old Bradley Scott Wilson being denied bail -- he's been charged with aggravated sexual assault, assault causing bodily harm, and unlawful confinement in an incident at the Buccaneers Pub on the West Side. 

It's alleged on Jan 12th, Wilson sexually assaulted a 46 year old bartender as she was closing the place down.  She also suffered a broken leg while trying to escape.

Wilson has pleaded not guilty and will remain in police custody until a trial date is set on February 16th.

More Time Needed For Pension Payment

Mayor Ivan Court says the city needs more time to make it's pension payments.

Under the proposed pension reforms, the city could receive a 15 year repayment period.

But Court says that may not be enough time and the city may need 20 to 25 years to make the payments.

City Manager Pat Woods says even with the bare bones budget, pension reforms are still critical.  If not approved, the city would need to come up with an additional 6.4 million dollars in payment money.  The total deficit is now up to 190 million dollars.

Two Men Facing Drug Charges After Three Month Invesigation

A 33-year-old Canterbury Street man faces drug charges after a three month joint police investigation.

Russell William McCain was in court today and has been remanded into custody before another court appearance next week.

Members of the Street Crime Unit and Fundy Integrated Intelligence Unit making the arrest yesterday and in the process seizing one and a half pounds of cocaine and over a half pound of marijuana.

A 53 year old man also faces charges and will be in court at a later date.

M-L-A Tells Mayor Not To Blame Province

A former member of Common Council who's now an   M-L-A is accusing Mayor Ivan Court of playing the blame game.

Glen Tait of Saint John East tells CHSJ News the province is not to blame for the pension plan's growing deficit and city budget cuts stemming from that.

He points out it was the city which missed the deadline to have proposed changes to the pension plan considered during the fall session of the legislature and should take responsibility for that lapse.

Tait says the problems with the city's pension plan started back in 2001 but nothing has been done expect to put more money into it.

Don't Risk Getting Towed

The City pointing out to motorists that under the provincial Motor Vehicle Act, any vehicle parked on a street more than 24 hours is considered abandoned and can be towed.

In a release, they say City streets are for the movement of vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians and not for long term parking and street maintenance can be hampered by parked cars.
 To report an abandoned vehicle in your neighbourhood, you can call the Saint John Police Force at 648-3333 or for more information click here

Local Ad Company Will Not Bid For Provincial Contract

A Saint John based ad agency will not be throwing it's hat in the ring as the province consolidates it's marketing down to a single company.

Revolutions Strategy has been working with New Brunswick Tourism and Park since 2009 but says the requirements and direction that the tourism department is taking does not align with the company's goals.

Revolution's current contract ends this summer and it will layoff 4 people who worked exclusively on the tourism account.