Why can't insurance cover it?
That was the buring question at the public meeting in St. Stephen concerning the future of the Maxwell Crossing Covered Bridge.
The bridge was significantly damaged last month after a car crashed into it.
Department of Transporation representative Alan Kerr says they are currently pursuing an insurance claim, but it would be highly unlikely that insurance would cover the entire cost.
Many payment options were discussed including provincial funding and fundraising.
Kerr estimated the cost of repairing the bridge at $500 thousand dollars versus $300 thousand to build a new modular version.
Members of St. Stephen Town Council were on hand.
Councillor Jim Maxwell spoke on stage saying we know you're not here to tell us you're tearing down that bridge.
Councillor Allan MacEachern says repairing the bridge makes sense adding its worth more as a covered bridge.
Before Local Service District President Vern Faulkner closed the meeting, he handed out parting gifts to each of the government representatives--Covered Bridge potato chips.
The coming storm hasn't begun yet but it's already having an impact locally.
The organizing committee of Investors Group Skate to Care has decided to postpone the 2013 event due to the impending winter storm.
Organizers tell CHSJ News the move is out of concern for the safety of fundraising teams and volunteers.
The event was to be held this Saturday but will be postponed to a later date.
A 47 year old Saint John man is facing several charges relating to recent break, enter and thefts in the uptown area.
The man is being held in custody pending a court appearance.
If you know anything about this crime you can contact City police at 648-3333 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or click here
From the deep freeze to a winter wonderland.... Southern New Brunswick is bracing for a weekend storm.
Claude Cote of Environment Canada tells CHSJ News the snow will start falling tomorrow.
He says when expect about a centimetre of snow during the day tomorrow with conditions worsening Friday night and most of the snow will fall Saturday along with high winds causing reduced visibility.
Cote says the storm's track has changed so they are now predicting 10 to 15 centimetres of snow by daybreak on Sunday.
Frank McKenna will be back in Saint John on Monday.
The former Premier and current TD bank chairman will speak at a Board of Trade luncheon at the Delta.
A release says McKenna will connect the dots between shale gas, pipelines and refining capacity leading to a thriving energy sector and more prosperous New Brunswick.
The St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation is hoping to raise 250 thousand dollars at this summer's Dragon Boat Festival. The theme will be "I Can See More Clearly".
The Foundation's Executive-Director Laurie Flood tells CHSJ News the proceeds will be used to buy an Ultrasound for Diagnostic Imaging and a Surgical Microscope.
It's expected more than a thousand paddlers will be taking part in this year's event on August 24th.
Flood says the Foundation gets to choose what it will use the proceeds for from a list of priorities it receives from Horizon Health.
New technology for the treatment of glaucoma, which was bought with the proceeds from last summer's Dragon Boat Festival, being rolled out at St. Joseph's Hospital in the Eye Clinic.
It's called the S-L-T machine or gentle laser and is a big improvement on what was used before. The S-L-T activates the pigment cells while the old laser treatment worked by punching holes and the gentler laser treatment can be repeated.
It takes six weeks to get the full effect and with the new treatment, people who had been using eye drops on a daily basis will no longer have to do so.
Dr. Chris Symonds says many people forget to take their drops on a daily basis or find it difficult and he warns damage from glaucoma is irreversible.
That friend or family member you know working for NB Power in Shediac and Sackville may be moving soon.
Staff at those operating centres will be relocating to Bouctouche and Moncton to improve efficiency and productivity.
NB Power's VP for Customer Service Sherry Thompson tells CHSJ News the goal is to save time and money by relocating staff to centres that are closer to the majority of their work.
Work on the relocation will start right away and no NB Power employees will lose their jobs but, the buildings in Shediac and Sackville will eventually be put up for sale.
An inmate has died at the Dorchester Penitentiary.
46 year old Antonio Roussel was found unresponsive in his cell last night and Correctional officers immediately performed CPR but were unable to revive him.
Roussel was serving a two and a half year sentence for various offences.
The police and coroner have been notified and Correctional Service Canada will review the circumstances surrounding the incident.
More charges of sexual assault have been laid against a doctor who has practiced medicine in the Saint John area for more than 25 years.
8 of 9 charges were laid a couple of days ago against Dr. Alan Cockeram, a gastroenterologist who has an office in the north end.
In response, Horizon Health has announced restrictions will be imposed on Dr. Cockeram when he treats female patients for an undetermined amount of time. No decision has been made on whether his license to practice medicine will be suspended.
A preliminary hearing on the charges will in June which will determine if there's enough evidence to warrant a trial.
You're going to have to dig even deeper into your wallet to pay for gas after the weekly setting.
Self serve regular is up by just over 4 cents a litre to $1.32 a litre in the city.
Diesel is higher at $1.44.4 a litre, a rise of a couple of cents.
Heating oil also more expensive with a maximum price of $1.21.9 a litre according to the Energy and Utilities Board.
One woman taken to hospital with undetermined injuries after a two vehicle collision in the north end.
It happened early last night at Lansdowne Avenue and Main Street.
NB Power responding to the Conservation Council's claims Point Lepreau is 40 times more likely to suffer an earthquake leading to a nuclear accident than previously thought.
The Crown utility says Point Lepreau is safe and the misleading comments by the Conservation council are an attempt to undermine trust in the generating station.
In a release, NB Power refers to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission who state the structures and systems have been designed to safely survive earthquakes.
It goes on to say that Point Lepreau is located in an area of much lower seismic hazard risk than Fukushima.
Maintenance is finished on the Princess of Acadia but because of a rough weather system coming up the Eastern seaboard, the ferry won't be running until next Tuesday.
Money the taxpayers don't need to spend.....that from Common Councillor Bill Farren on the purchase of a new street line-painting truck approved by common council. Transportation Commissioner Bill Edwards says the 250-thousand dollar vehicle has some much-needed features.
He says the new truck has the capability of heating the paint which means it dries much faster when its put on a street and crews can work in weather that is somewhat damp where they can't today.
Edwards says the large amout of sand and salt we put on the roads acts liker sandpaper and constantly repainting lines with older equipment is costly.
Security is now a little tighter at city hall, after the theft of several voting computers from Council Chambers.
The equipment was stolen from where Common Council holds its regular Monday night meetings--one of them from the mayor's seat
A source at City Hall telling CHSJ News someone made off with the devices after a meeting last week. Chris Dever, the mayor's executive assistant, tells CHSJ News the stolen equipment did not contain any sensitive information--and besides, the thief left the power cords behind.
Staff have changed the locks and are ensuring the Council Chambers are secure when not in use.
The leader of the Provincial NDP introducing two draft bills in hopes of cutting patronage within the government.
In the first bill, Dominic Cardy suggests that once an MLA is defeated or resigns, they can't get a government job appointed by the government for a year. Cardy says that cooling off period would leave positions open for competition. He points to Margaret Ann-Blaney's appointment as CEO for Efficiency New Brunswick as an appointment that could've been stopped.
The second bill relates to NB Liquor, with the aim of removing political influence when appointing a new president and CEO of the crown cooperation. Cardy says the province has a weird history of hiring campaign managers, like the current CEO Daniel Allain and former premier Shawn Graham's campaign manager Dana Glendenning.
Cardy says people should be hired on their merits, not by who they know. He says New Brunswick is far behind many provinces in Canada and places across the world that have rules such as this in place to stop patronage.
Mayor Mel Norton might see Saint John as the "renaissance city"; however, the fact remains that there are still more boarded up storefronts in the uptown than most would like to see.
Common Councillor Donna Reardon tells CHSJ News despite the effort put into of PlanSJ the focus of retail development is still the sprawl of big-box stores on the East Side.
Reardon proprise Saint John should strike the same sort of deal with big-box retailers as have some European countries, in which have to put a satellite location in the uptown if they want to open up in the mall area.
It will soon be that time of year again..when local charities apply for grants from the Greater Saint John Community Foundation.
Executive Director Clare Northcott tells CHSJ News they made some changes so busy local charities are not spending a lot of time filling out a complicated application for a $3000 grant.
She says they streamlined the application process with two majors categories. The Community Support Grants program offers grants of a maximum of $3000 and the Vital Impact Grants offers support between $3000 and $15,000.
The application deadline for these grants in April 15th.
Northcott says wonderful donors put the Foundation's assets at 9.9 million dollars. She tells us the investment income is used to support grants in our community.
For more info, click here
Police in management and professional positions are getting a cost of living increase after living with a wage freeze for 3 years.
The decision for a 1.25% increase followed by another 1.25% in July getting the final approval by Police Commission after it was decided earlier this year by Common Council. Police Chief Bill Reid says the economic increase is long overdue, and puts the 16 managers in line with other forces in the province.
The increase applies to the Chief and Deputy Chief of Police, staff sergeants, director of HR and finance among others.
