15 Out Of Their Homes After North End Fire

Up to 15 people are displaced after an apartment building fire on Anglin Drive in the North end.

The call came in about 4:30 of the front porch on fire and the blaze did get into one unit of the four unit building.

No one was hurt but the one unit did suffer fire damage and two others water damage.

The Red Cross will be providing help to the tenants who are out of their homes for the timebeing.

Fire investigators are looking into the cause of the blaze.

New East Side Tim Horton's Opens

 

The newest location of Tim Horton's in Saint John opened for business at 5am this morning.

It's located on Bayside Drive near the Causeway.

Back Bay Man Drowns In Weekend Accident

RCMP tell CHSJ News the man who drowned in the Bay of Fundy on Saturday is 45-year-old Norman Nathan Parker of Back Bay.

It's believed the man and his 10-year-old son were forced to abandon their boat after suffering engine problems.

The St. George Fire chief says the boy swam about 100 metres in the Bay of Fundy and walked at least three kilometres to try and find help.
Sean Morton says the man was not wearing a lifejacket at the time but, they do not know if the boy was wearing one.

United Way Names New Executive Director

 The Board of Directors of the United Way of Greater Saint John announcing Wendy MacDermott is their new Executive Director.  

President Bob Crowley says her success in forming strong ties in the community at Vibrant Communities Saint John is one of the reasons they believe she is the right person for the job. 

MacDermott says she is passionate about working in new and innovative ways to find solutions to complex issues such as poverty reduction

For more information, click here

No Cause Yet In Fire Near Hartland

A woman is temporarily homeless after a fire yesterday gutted her mobile home in Howard Brook northeast of Hartland.
 
Luckily she wasn't home at the time so no one was hurt.
Red Cross volunteers are helping her find somewhere to stay for now along with clothing and food.
 
The mobile home was engulfed in flames when the Hartland fire department arrived shortly after 1:30pm.
A cause is not yet known.
 

Bus Cuts Will Return Service To 08 Levels

Bus service in the city will be back to where it was in 2008 after the latest round of cuts take effect on Boxing Day. That warning from the President of local 1182 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, Tom McGraw who tells CHSJ News alot of people who depend on the bus to get about will be hurt.

He says it will impact the senior who has to get to the doctor or the person heading to a food bank because unless you live on a main bus line, the people who use the feeder lines will be hurt severely.

McGraw is holding out some hope Common Council may have a change of heart is there is enough opposition to the cuts on the part of Saint Johnners.

Liberal Caucas Takes On Movember

For a few weeks now, you may have noticed the Liberals MLA's are looking at little fuzzier.
It's not a caterpillar on the their lip but a moustache for Movember.

Opposition Leader Victor Boudreau tells CHSJ News says they wanted to get involved because some members of the party have struggled with prostate cancer recently.

He says it's a program where they can raise money and awareness and have a little fun while doing it.

Seven members of the Liberal caucus including Boudreau are taking part in Movember.
To follow their progress, click here

Fundy Health Centre Hours Change

The Fundy Health Centre in Black's Harbour announcing changes to their hours.

They will now be open Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm and on the weekend from 8am to 4pm.

The walk-in clinic has the same hours with no appointment required.
The on site blood collection and specimen drop off runs Monday to Saturday between 8 and 10:30am.

For emergencies, you should go to the nearest Emergency Department or call 911.
For Telecare, call 811.

For more info click here

Saint John Transit Cuts Being Opposed

Common Council will be getting a petition tonight in opposition to cuts to city bus service that will be implemented on Boxing Day.

10 fulltime jobs are being eliminated and 5 others are being made part time along with reductions in service. 

The Transit workers union says the decision by Common Council to limit Saint John Transit to a one per cent budget increase next year will leave it 900 thousand dollars in debt.

There is now a Save our Bus page on Facebook with 1000 followers in just two weeks.

Man Dies In Bay Of Fundy Boating Fatality

An investigation is underway by the Transportation Safety Board into a boating fatality that killed a man from the L'Etang area off Black's Harbour.
    

The R-C-M-P say the unidentified 45-year-old man was on board the "Wendy and Micheal" Saturday on the Bay of Fundy with his 10-year-old son when they had to abandon their boat.
    

The son was able to swim shore but his dad didn't. The RCMP say the boy then walked several kilometres to a relative's home in order to get help.
    

His father's body was later recovered from the water by fishermen in the area.   

Initial reports indicate something happened to the boat's engine that made the father and son go into the water.

Coalition For Pay Equity Says It Won't Come About Without Legislation

The Coalition for Pay Equity says any idea the provincial government may have about businesses implementing pay equity voluntarily is pie in the sky.....the stuff of fairy tales. 

Gail Taylor chairs the Coalition's Saint John Regional Committee and says the five year plan to see if the private sector would voluntarily close the wage gap between men and women doing comparable jobs has been an abject failure. Taylor tells CHSJ News the wage gap actually got larger during one of those years.

The Coalition, which is seeking to raise 40 thousand dollars for a campaign to bring pay equity about, is waiting to see what the province is going to do to raise the wages paid to workers in childcare, homecare, transition homes and community residences because the review of their situations has been done.

Main Street Baptist Church Is Moving

We're maxed out.........That's why Main Street Baptist Church will be moving from its current location at Douglas Avenue to Forbes Drive across from Shamrock Park.

Pastor John Knight says this doesn't mean the church is going to be less of a presence in the old north end........quite the contrary  as a matter of fact.

Pastor Knight says they would like to build a playground on land the church owns beside the north end community centre. 

He also says the congregation is large so there should be what he calls "an army of volunteers" ready to make the neighbourhood better. 

Construction of the new church is expected to begin in the spring of next year with completion of phase one by the end of 2012.

Saint Johnners Grade Common Council And City

How well are the city and Common Council doing in the eyes of Saint Johnners? The results of a survey show people in the city are getting more disgruntled than they were a couple of years ago. 

49 per cent of respondents approve of the job Common Council is doing which is down from two years ago while 50 per cent disapprove. A greater percentage is also seeing lower value from the taxes they pay.

57 per cent of Saint Johnners say the city is doing a good job in supporting the local economy but that's down from 73 per cent just 2 years ago.

61 per cent say city staff are doing a good job with 38 per cent calling their performance poor.

Paramount Fundraiser Attracts Hundreds

A shuttered uptown theater is one small step closer to being re-opened as a multi-purpose venue. Organizers says that the Night for the Paramount fundraiser last night was success. Local musicians played the benefit concert to save the building, which dates back to 1947.

Uptown Saint John General Manager Peter Asimakos telling CHSJ News that over 300 people came out to support the project. He tells us that lots of people are very curious to see where the project is headed, and that the crowd was very enthusiastic.

He says they raised about $7,500 dollars, and that it bodes well for making a positive move forward. The next step will be negotiating with the owner and getting support from the provincial and federal governments.

A decision will have to be made about the future of the building before the end of the month.

Winning Entries in Santa Claus Parade Announced

Saint John held its 59th Annual Santa Claus Parade yesterday evening.

The parade judges have also released their list of winners today--and Country 94 was among those who made the cut!

Winning Entries:

Best in Parade -- Simonds High School 
Best Commercial Entry -- 97.3 The Wave/ Country 94/ Commercial Properties
Best School -- Prince Charles  
Best Cheerleaders  -- Simonds High School  
Best Band -- 101 Moncton

Best Community Group -- Fundy National Park  

Chairperson’s Choice -- Enbridge Gas/United Way

Honorable Mentions: 

- Port City Dance Academy  
- Eastern College  
- Saint John Energy  
- Royal Taxi
- Atlantic Hockey Group 
- City of Saint John – Mayor’s float 

Potential Spinoffs From NS Shipbuilding Contract Big For NB

The Conference Board Of Canada predicts for every thousand dollars spent on procurement relating to the Irving Shipbuilding contract in Nova Scotia, about $11 will go into the New Brunswick economy.

Fred Bergman of the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council tells CHSJ News over the twenty-five years of the contract this Province could see $275 million in economic activity.

He says they may see even more than that if suppliers take advantage of a long term contract like this and develop relationships with Irving shipbuilding.

Bergman says outside Nova Scotia,  New Brunswick has the most suppliers for the combat vessel program with 8 contracts at 1 million dollars or more and 27 contracts at $100,000 or above.

Rothesay Residents Want More Recreation Space

Mayor Bill Bishop says Rothesay residents want more recreational options -- which is why the town forges ahead with its field house expansion onto the Rothesay Arena.

Bishop tells CHSJ News the project will compliment the qplex nicely since the Quispamsis facility is focused on providing ice time. 


The field house will allow for indoor basketball, soccer, tennis and a walking track.

There has been some opposition over the fact that two low-income apartment buildings will be knocked down to make way for the field house.

But the mayor says the impact will be small because most tenants are on a month-to-month lease and the turnover rate has been very high.

The apartments will be demolished and work on the field house will begin in a year or two.

Video Highlights from the 2011 Santa Claus Parade

Santa Claus Parade Carries On on King Street

Province Announces New Pediatric Insulin Pump Program

The provincial government rolling out a new program to help families with diabetic children.

Health Minister Madeline Dube announcing the Pediatric Insulin Pump program on Friday. The news came just in time for Diabetes Awareness Month.

Parents of children with diabetes age 18 or younger can apply to receive insulin pumps and supplies at reduced rates. The Health Minister states that the idea is to lessen the financial burden on families, and reduce their out-of-pocket costs.

The program will begin accepting applications in mid January.