The 6th annual Romero House food drive is a phenomenal success filling a 53 foot trailer and more.
Donations of food and cash were accepted in the parking lot of Ritchie's on Rothesay Avenue for the soup kitchen's only annual food drive.
Carolyn McNulty tells CHSJ News everything donated will be used to provide meals, to help out in a food crisis, to keep their Mobile Unit on the road and full of supplies and more.
She tells us the operation is a fine balance between getting the food and having enough money to pay her staff who she adds do not make big money.
McNulty says a staff of 6 full time and two part time workers keeps everything going smoothly and in harmony.
The 6th Annual Christmas Food Drive in support of Romero House ends at noon today.
The police union just donated $5,000... which Ritchie's has matched.
If you'd like to donate, Country 94 is on location in the Ritchie's parking lot until 12.
Some of the items needed are:
- hot chocolate
- coffee whitener
- canned meats
- sugar
- peanut butter
- jam
- sweeteners
Five regional projects are hoping to get enough votes to win some money through the Aviva Community Fund.
They range from a skateboard park in Hampton to getting a wheelchair accessible bus for the Kennebec Manor.
The SPCA Animal Rescue League is looking to start a new low cost spay and neuter program. Shelter Manager Kathy Illingworth says a win would mean $100,000 - 150,000 for the program.
Click any link below to view a project and cast your vote.
1. Hampton Skateboard Park
2. Ca-R-Ma Cat Rescue Maritimes, Saint John
For a trap, neuter, return program.
3. SJ SPCA Animal Rescue
For a low cost spay and neuter program.
4. Joshua Group
Help at risk youth.
5. Kennebec Manor
Senior facility looking for a new wheelchair accessible bus.
The votes for the semi-finals will be tallied on Wednesday.
Ritchie's needs your help, and it's not with the food drive.
A traffic camera is being set up today to count cars making a left hand turn either west or east on Rothesay avenue at the Glen Falls & Ritchie's intersection.
Sandy Ritchie says the intersection is extremely dangerous, with an average of 1-2 accidents a week. She tells CHSJ news they've been trying to get an advanced green light at the intersection for about 5 years, and today's study will determine if it's needed.
Ritchie is worried that a short time frame of 11:00 am - 1:00 pm on a Saturday won't accurately show how messy the intersection is, and is encouraging drivers to take the time and drive through the area to help with the study.
Staff at Canadian Blood Services learning the start date to move production and distribution to Dartmouth is now scheduled for April, 13th, 2013.
In a release, Public Affairs Manager Paul McGrath says the new production and distribution site in Dartmouth is finished and currently undergoing validation and commissioning.
Halifax functions will begin being consolidated into the Dartmouth site in February and March.
The Dartmouth Production and Distribution Site will be fully operational by the time the Saint John operations move next spring.
CBS is working with the Provincial Medical Society and others to ensure the province continues to receive the same or an improved level of service when Saint John production and distribution move to Dartmouth.
The process will be monitored before and after to ensure service levels are maintained at the same or an improved level.
We went to social media to ask our listeners whether they think Saint John is as violent as other cities.
Doris says, "there is crime everywhere there are people: it doesn't matter where you live."
But Leanne says she thinks we have a higher crime rate per capita than Toronto.
Kelly tells us Saint John is nothing compared to Prince George...the downtown there is much rougher and she'd never seen so many people on the streets.
Monique agrees: "Violence is everywhere but we Saint Johners should count ourselves lucky. We aren't nearly as bad as some other places. Yes, we have our crimes but I feel safe here in our city compared to others."
Police Chief Bill Reid tells CHSJ News the crime rates aren't low in Saint John compared to what you see elsewhere--but according to Andrea, "of course he would say that."
Play SJ is all about consolidation and the city is being told it has too many sports fields, ball diamnnds and playgrounds spread over too large an area which makes keeping them up to par difficult.
Todd MacDonald of Performance Concepts Consulting says that means city workers are spending too much of their time travelling and not enough maintaining the facilities themselves.
MacDonald says Saint John has 25 sports fields versus the per capita requirement of 14, 30 baseball diamonds versus the per capita requirement of 14, 71 playgrounds versus the per capita requirement of 14 and 3 thousand acres of parkland versus the per capita requirement of 14 hundred.
It's that time of year again. The annual Christmas Bird count at Fundy National park is coming up on December 14th.
The events encourages participation from both inexperienced and experienced birders.
Binoculars are available for rent and to register for the Bird count you must contact the Fundy Guild.
The count begins on the 14th at 8:30am from the Alma Activity Centre.
The Fundy National Park is one of 20 sites in the Province being inventoried for winter bird sightings.
For more info on the Christmas bird count including how to get involved,
you can call 506-887-6094 or click here
It's a sad reality that the holidays aren't a happy time of year for some families in Saint John.
Police Chief Bill Reid tells CHSJ News some at-risk families find the stress of the holidays too much and domestic violence incidents tend to increase.
The Saint John Police Force has a Christmas card campaign to make sure people are aware of the numbers they can call if they need help. They emphasize the police are there to help stop crime before it happens and not simply deal with it after the fact.
The 24-hour line for the Hestia House women's shelter is 506-634-7570
The non-emergency line for the Saint John Police Force is 648-3200
Pointing out the achievements of City youth is the purpose behind a new Fusion event coming up next year.
The group will host an awards ceremony on February 1st to hand out awards in categories like Sports & Recreation, Community Building and Arts and Culture.
Chair Jane MacEachern tells CHSJ News they want Saint Johner's to have a little pride in the good things youth are doing.
She says there are a lot of young people here adding they want to make sure they are recognized for the work they do. She notes some of the awards in the City recognize the more established people in the community.
The deadline to apply for the 1st annual Greater Saint John Youth Achievement Awards is December 20.
For more info, click here
A new movement called Pay It Forward Saint John isn't only about loving your neighbour.
Constable Dan Weber of the Saint John Police Force tells CHSJ News committing random acts of kindness could actually help tackle crime. He says it takes a negative aspect to our society and replaces it with a positive, which is always a good thing.
Suggested ways to "pay it forward" include shopping at charity stores, driving friends in need to doctors appointment, or giving a pet store gift card to a homeless person with a pet.
Despite all the attention of late on prostitution in the city and whether there should be more of a crackdown, Police Chief Bill Reid argues the sex trade here is no different than any other city and the sex trade workers, themselves, are afflicted with a myriad of problems with drug addiction and mental health issues leading to risky and dangerous behaviour.
The Chief also maintains Saint John is no more violent than any other city, pointing out there are far more murders happening in places where turf wars are raging over drugs whereas homicides here are what he calls "one offs".
The
Canadian Automobile Association in Atlantic Canada is commending Public Safety Minister Robert Trevors for withdrawing the proposal to
amend the Graduated License program.
Vice
President Gary Howard tells CHSJ News evidence shows that the
combination of reduced visibility, glare, fatigue, possible impairment
and other factors make nighttime particularly hazardous for new drivers.
The Alward government has changed their tune on a proposal to eliminate an overnight driving restriction for new drivers after two national groups condemned it.
Public Safety Minister Robert Trevors introduced legislation last week that would have removed a restriction preventing novice motorists from driving between midnight and 5 a.m.
At first, he defended the legislation, saying it was needed to remove a restriction that is inconvenient for young drivers, especially in rural regions.
But Trevors reversed course today, saying the government would not proceed with the bill after hearing concerns about it.
The legislation sparked uproar from MADD Canada and the Canadian Automobile Association who said it would have put driver safety at risk.
RCMP are looking for the public's help after an incident of voyeurism in Moncton.
Back on October 22nd, police were told that a man had possibly used a disguised camera to take pictures of a client in a dressing room at a women's clothing store on Trinity Drive.
A surveillance image and a recent sketch by a forensic artist are now being released in an effort to identify the suspect. The man is described as about 6 feet tall.
If you have any information, contact the Mounties at 1-506-857-2400 or Crime Stoppers
at www.crimenb.ca or 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
It's hard to get excited about Christmas without any white stuff. We may not have any on the ground but they are making it at Poley.
Officials at Poley Mountain tell CHSJ News they began making snow again just before 4 this morning.
They plan to keep making snow today and tonight but may shut down on the weekend due to the forecast.
It was on this day in 1989 when a man walking into a school in Montreal and gunned down 14 people just because they were women.
10 other women and 4 men were injured in the shooting.
December 6th is now observed as a National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
Memorial services will be held coast to coast in honour of the victims.
UNB Fredericton is hosting one today in the SUB ballroom between 4 and 5pm.
Purple and white ribbons will be handed out.
The new Provincial Health Minister Ted Flemming has a big job on his hands and that's to get control of the rising cost of healthcare which is taking up from 40 to 50 per cent of the Alward Government's budget.
So how do you rebuild the system to make it better and more cost effective? Several hundred people around the province were asked that and Stephane Robichaud of the New Brunswick Health Council tells CHSJ News they believe electronic health records hold great promise for better care.
Robichaud also says New Brunswickers, by and large, believe individuals should be taking greater responsibility for their own care and keeping themselves well but should be provided with more information about how to do that in terms of nutrition and physical activity.
He concludes the health care system in the province works well if your life is in danger but less so if you have a chronic disease that requires continuous care.
Mayor Mel Norton's idea of building a fourplex with multi ice surfaces is getting support from a consultant the city hired to review its core services.
Todd MacDonald of Performance Concepts Consulting says it's one of the trends happening in other cities because it's more efficient to run and less costly. He also points out the arenas around town are getting long in the tooth.
MacDonald is also suggesting the city might want to cut back on what it's offering at arenas during the day, Monday through Friday, because of low use and that would free up city workers for more productive jobs.
The price of gas is going to be increasing but we don't know yet by how much or when.
In an unusual move, Irving Oil has filed an application with the Energy and Utilities Board to increase prices in light of rising expenses to transport E-10 or mixed gasoline.
Public Intervenor Renee Basque represents consumers. He tells CHSJ News since Irving has successfully demonstrated its costs have gone up since 2006, there will be some sort of increase.
More details will be released Monday on the change. Meantime, the price of self serve regular and diesel both dropping after the weekly setting by under a cent a litre each.
