More Snow Tonight

We're expecting a couple of centimeters of snow this afternoon and another 5 to 10 tonight before it tapers off in the overnight hours. 

George Parkes of Environment Canada warns another snowstorm is possible on Monday which could be more intense with more snow.
 
Parkes tells CHSJ News if you have to go to work tomorrow morning, the snow will be over by the time of your morning commute.

Tourism Minister Shares His 2013 Highlights

Having a tourism ad run in Times Square and a big funding announcement for the Fundy Trail are two of the big successes of this year for Trevor Holder.

The provincial Tourism Minister believes the province is getting much more sophisticated at how we market New Brunswick, pointing to the tourism ad that ran in New York's Times Square. He's also happy to hear about plans from Ottawa which was announced last June to seek a replacement for the Princess of Acadia.

Holder says he looks forward to hearing the results of the home-port study launched last May to see if Saint John can be a location for cruise ships to depart from.

Heating Unit Recalled Due To Overheating Hazard

A warning from Health Canada not to use a certain type of heating unit because it has a manufacturing defect that causes overheating, which could lead to injury or property damage.

RONA Incorporated issuing a voluntary recall of Uberhaus 1500-W wall-mounted convection heaters with the model number HC09C15 and a product number of 63545004 that were sold between April 2010 and November of this year. An estimated 17,000 units were sold in Réno-Dépôt stores in Quebec and in RONA stores across Canada, including RONA stores that were formerly under the TOTEM banner in Alberta.

Health Canada has received a report of an incident without injury relating to the use of the product. If you own this you're being told to stop using it immediately and return it to a Réno-Dépôt or RONA store. You can also contact customer service toll-free at 1-866-283-2239 for more information.

K-V Fire Chief Reflects On The Past Year

At the end of November, total volume for fire calls is down 14% over 2012 at the KV Fire Department.
 
Chief Bill Ireland tells CHSJ News calls for overall service are up but they are reducing the number of fires in the community. Ireland adds included in the overall numbers numbers would be the medical calls they respond to. He says medical calls represent about 55% of their overall call volume.

Two of the departments big fires occurred on a weekend last May when a home was lost on Alderbrook Crescent in Quispamsis and a forest fire in French Village. Another major blaze was just last month, a garage fire on Iona Avenue in Rothesay.

Ireland says the department did have to deal with a situation early in the year with several people out on long term disability which resulted in some increased costs at the start of the year.

Thousands Still Without Power Across N.B.

It was a cold and dark Christmas for many New Brunswickers, as thousands of homes and businesses around the province still don't have power days after a major ice storm.

There are still more than 18,000 customers who don't have electricity with the hardest hit area being Rothesay with a total of more than 11,000 outages. NB Power saying trees and heavy snow are making it tough for crews to access many areas in order to do repairs, which is leading to more delays. The utility is estimating some customers won't have power back until New Year's Eve.

Saint John Energy says there are outages on Keating Road, James Way, Woodside Drive, Bay Crescent Drive, Chalmers Drive, Station Road, Upper Golden Grove, Kirkpatrick Lane, Bradley Lake Road and Dolan Road. They have no estimated time for when power will be restored. 

UPDATED: Warming centres have been set up in Grand Bay-Westfield at the St. Matthew's Church by Sobeys, the Lighthouse River Centre in Hampton and in Rothesay at Rothesay-Netherwood in Heritage Hall. The Quispamsis Civic Centre above the number 2 fire station on Civic Road will be open until 10pm tonight then will move to the qplex opening at 8am. Click here to see a list of other warming centres across the province.

Christmas Day House Fire In The Valley

A Quispamsis family getting out safely after their house caught fire on Christmas Day.

Rothesay Regional Police tell us it happened at a home on 64 Quispamsis Road around 12:30pm, and while the cause of the fire is not known at this point, it may have been caused by a problem with a generator. 

There is major fire damage to the front of the house and police say if crews had arrived five or ten minutes later the house would have been completely lost.

From 54,000 In The Dark To 25,000

Many families in the region are moving their Christmas dinner and other festivities to the relative's home that has power.

Following last week's massive ice storm,  more than 25,000 New Brunswickers do not have electricity.

The Rothesay cluster has 229 outages impacting more than 13,000 NB Power customers.

That includes Hampton, Grand Bay-Westfield, Welsford, Rothesay and Quispamsis.

In the Sussex cluster, nearly 2700 homes and businesses are without power in locations like Cambridge-Narrows, Norton, Kars and Havelock.

Almost 1200 people living in Ripples, Waasis, Rusagonis and Wirral are off the grid as well.

NB Power says the lights should be back on anytime between tomorrow and in some cases Saturday.

Number Of People Without Power Going Down But Still Substantial

NB Power is making headway in getting power restored with more than 28 thousand homes and businesses around the province without, which is down from the more than 51 thousand yesterday morning.

There are still more than 14 thousand in the Rothesay region. This includes not only Rothesay but Grand Bay-Westfield, Quispamsis, Hampton, Nauwigewauk,  Titusville, the Kingston Peninsula, Nerepis, Rowley, Queenstown and Passekeag.

NB Power is now estimating restoration could be anywhere from late tomorrow night to  Saturday night depending on where you live.

Warming centres have been set up at the Brundage Point River Centre in Grand Bay-Westfield, the Lighthouse River Centre in Hampton, the Quispamsis Civic Centre above the #2 fire station on Civic Road and at Rothesay-Netherwood in Heritage Hall.

Saint John Energy, in its latest update, is reporting power outages on Keating Road, Kirkpatrick Lane, Bradley Lake Road, Dolan Road, Janes Way, Woodside Drive, Bay Crescent Drive, Chalmers Drive, Station Road and Upper Golden Grove. There's no estimate when the power will be back on.

There are more than 75 hundred homes and businesses still in the dark in the St. Stephen region. This includes as well as St. Stephen, Blacks Harbour, St. George, Lepreau, Harvey,  McAdam, St. Andrews, Pennfield, Musquash, Utopia, Oak Bay, Waweig, Yoho, Pocologan, Back Bay, Oak Bay, Little Ridge, Chamcook, Bocabec, Oak Hill and Digdeguash. NB Power is estimating it could be anywhere from tonight before power is restored for a few customers in McAdam but, for most still without electricity, it appears to be late Saturday night now.

Warming stations have been set up at the Civic Centre in St. George and the D-F-O Biological Station in St. Andrews.

More than 31 hundred homes and businesses are without electricity in the Sussex area with NB Power estimating it will be late tomorrow night before over a thousand customers in Jemseg get their service restored but the latest estimate for most is late Saturday night. 

Handgun Reported Stolen

A 27 year old woman, who was on house arrest, is behind bars facing a charge of stealing a handgun from a home off Rothesay Avenue.


Her name won't be made public until she is formally charged in court.

Police Investigating As Baby Is Taken To Regional Hospital

A 10 week old baby boy is in pediatric intensive care at the Regional Hospital and Major Crime is investigating. 

The baby was taken from a home in the north end and the Department of Social Development is also involved in the case. 

Police aren't sure whether the baby was injured by accident or deliberately and are waiting to see the medical reports.

Trees Take A Beating In Ice Storm

Downed branches along Charlotte Street

Bent tree in King Square

Downed tree branches in King Square on Charlotte Street

Broken branches off trees in King Square

Downed tree branch on Kilburn Avenue in East Saint John

Fatal Crash Near Salisbury

A collision between a car and a transport truck has killed two people on Highway 2 near Salisbury.
 
The two, an 81-year-old man and a 62-year-old woman from Sackville, were in the car.
 
The RCMP believe poor road and weather conditions caused the crash to take place.

City Police responding to a three vehicle collision on Westmorland Road by Frenchy's Clothing store which happened around 10:30 this morning.

Power Outage Update

Power lines and tree branches remain coated with ice. NB Power is reporting, as of early this evening, there are still more than 45 thousand customers without power provincewide including more than 18 thousand in the Rothesay region. This includes not only Rothesay but Grand Bay-Westfield, Quispamsis, Hampton, Nauwigewauk,  Titusville, the Kingston Peninsula and Bloomfield. NB Power estimates it could be 11:00 tonight or even midnight before electricity is restored. NB  Power crews have been called in from their Christmas vacations.

Warming centres have been set up at Rothesay-Netherwood in Heritage Hall and at the Quispamsis Civic Centre above fire station #2 on Civic Road along with the Brundage Point River Centre in Grand Bay-Westfield. The town of Hampton has opened up the Lighthouse River Centre as a warming centre where people can also fill jugs with water and charge their cellphones if need be. 

The Church of the Resurrection in Grand Bay-Westfield says it will hold its 4:30 service by candlelight this afternoon despite having no power but its service tonight at 9:30 is cancelled.

Saint John Energy is now reporting power outages on the Westfield Road to Ketepec and surrounding area, Wasson Court, Ray Street, Beach Road, Balmoral Crescent, Green Head Road, Dominion Park Road and area, Lorneville and area, Golden Grove Road, and Upper Golden Grove Road.

There are almost 11 thousand homes and businesses in the dark in the St. Stephen region. This includes as well as St. Stephen, Blacks Harbour, Dipper Harbour, Bayside, St. George, Lepreau, Harvey Station, Harvey, Letang, Bethel, McAdam, Bonny River, Old Ridge, St. Andrews, Pennfield, Musquash, Utopia, Oak Bay and Tower Hill. It could be late tonight or tomorrow morning before the power is back on.

Warming stations have been set up at the Civic Centre in St. George and the D-F-O Biological Station in St. Andrews.

More than 6 thousand customers are without electricity in the Sussex area with NB Power estimating it will be late tonight before they get their service restored and more than 69 hundred in Fredericton.  

NB Power tweeting to its customers that it hopes to have power restored by late tonight or Christmas day but warns some people won't have electricity for four days.

2014 Operating Budget Passed

The 2014 operating budget has officially received the green light from Common Council.

According to City Manager Pat Woods, the budget allows for better roads, improved recreation, a completed North End Community Center, and greater economic growth. Councillor Susan Fullerton, however, was the only dissenting vote: when asked why she voted against passing the budget, she would only say there wasn't sufficient time to go over it thoroughly and there were some items in it she would have liked to see changed.

Mayor Mel Norton also tells CHSJ News council is also putting departments and agencies on notice that future spending will be capped at 2014 levels so that the city can focus on its priorities.
 
The agencies effected by the cap will include police and fire, but other city departments will also be reviewed.

NB Power Appeals For Patience

NB Power urging its customers for patience as they grapple with the negative effects of heavy ice-laden tree branches hitting power lines leaving thousands without power.

The utility taking to Twitter to let people know that crews will be working through Christmas to restore power.

They expect power will be restored by late tomorrow or Christmas day but some folks won't have power for four days.

Under normal conditions, NB Power would get help from its counterparts in other provinces but the massive weather system stretches from Nova Scotia to Ontario so those crews are stretched too.

Some Success Getting Lights Back In The City

Saint John Energy successful in restoring power to parts of the uptown and the West side earlier tonight.

On the heels of that, the lights are still off in parts of the west side following back to back transformer explosions earlier tonight on Lancaster Street and Duke street west.

Over 54,500 In the Dark Due To Ice Storm

Many will be behind in the baking and other Christmas prep thanks to a massive ice storm

In the Sussex cluster, NB Power reports over 8000 are in the dark in places like Norton, Cambridge-Narrows, Havelock and Sussex Corner.

One of the biggest outages has thousands of homes and businesses in Hampton, Kingston, Quispamsis, Grand Bay-Westfield and Rothesay without power.

Hundreds in Fredericton Junction, Oromocto and Hoyt are off the grid too.

140 outages are impacting more than 11,000 people in the St. Stephen cluster which includes folks in Harvey, Lepreau, Blacks Harbour and St. George.

UPDATE: Massive Outage Leaves Many Cold

They just can't get ahead of it. 

A whopping 50,900 people in this province are in the dark tonight after an ice storm leads to a massive power outage.

That includes over 17,000 in the Rothesay cluster which includes Quispamsis, Hampton, Grand Bay-Westfield.

Another huge outage is impacting thousands of people in Harvey, Lepreau, Oromocto, St. George, St. Andrew's and Black's Harbour.


To get the latest numbers, click here

City Crews On Alert For The Storm

The City assuring us their crews will be out in force tonight and overnight working to keep streets safe during the storm.

They suggest motorists avoid travelling during the storm

In a release, they tell us major arteries, highway connections and emergency routes will be cleared constantly during the storm.

Crews are also preparing for the rain and melting snow.

The City also reminding pedestrians to be careful when out walking on sidewalks which could be slushy and slippery.

For more on the City's Winter Management Plan, click here

Many In The Dark In The Port City

Saint John Energy crews are dealing with a slew of power outages as well including Manchester Avenue, Manawagonish Road and Sand Cove Road.

The Dever road and Westfield road are also impacted.

It also includes parts of Millidgeville and in the Uptown, the power is out on Union, King, Canterbury, Charlotte, Prince William and Water Street.

Lorneville road has a partial outage along with Martinon to Ketepec Road.

In East Saint John, they are reporting an outage on the Golden Grove Road.