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Monday, June 20, 2011

Man Charged After Truck Ends Up In River

Charges of dangerous and impaired driving have been laid against a 34 year man after a truck went off the end of Millidge Avenue into the river by the yacht club early Sunday morning.

Two bystanders heard a man screaming he couldn't swim and they plunged into the water and brought him safely to shore. 

District Chief Gerry Morris says when fire crews arrived they found a truck submerged and the driver already safe and sound. 

A boat and a pick-up truck were utilized to pull the vehicle out of the river. This is the third time in the last 2 years that a vehicle wound up plunging into the river.

Grand Manan Ferry Back In Service Tomorrow

The regular Grand Manan ferry will be back in service beginning tomorrow morning.

It's first run will begin at 7:30am, from North Head, Grand Manan, to Blacks Harbour.

The ferry went out of commission last month after getting moored on a ledge near the wharf in Blacks Harbour.

The regular schedule from June 21 to 29 will be as follows:

●    depart North Head: 7:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m., 7 p.m.;
●    depart Blacks Harbour: 9:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m, 9 p.m.

As of June 30, additional runs will be added to the ferry service to accommodate the annual summer tourism season.

Labour Council Supports Postal Workers


The Saint John District Labour Council joining CUP-W in their rally. 

President Ron Oldfield tells CHSJ News the council believes this is a fight for every public worker, not just for Canada Post. 

He says free collective bargaining is the main stay of the system, and if that is lost then it will be hard for anyone to negotiate a fair contract.

Oldfield says it was Canada Post that decided to lock the workers out, and they're the ones that should be penalized for that, not the Union.

Union Members Say No To Back-To-Work Legislation

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers isn't gung-ho about the tabling of back-to-work legislation in the House of Commons. 

Members gathering outside MP Rodney Weston's office today to present a letter asking him not to vote in favour of the legislation. 

President Wally Moore tells CHSJ News the Union wants a negotiated settlement, not an arbitrated one. 

He says legislation does nothing to get the other side to sit down at the table and negotiate.

Workers have been locked out since last Wednesday, following two weeks of rotating strikes.

A-T-V Flips Over In Red Head

Emergency crews were called out shortly before noonhour after an ATV flipped over on Harbourview Drive.

The four-wheeler was being driven by a woman with two young children on board.

No one was wearing a helmet.

Spray Painting Lines Around Potholes Is A No-No

Well intentioned it may be but the city is asking whomever is spray painting lines around potholes not to do it anymore.

The City's Leah Fitzgerald tells CHSJ News it's the practice to paint lines on the street to indicate where digging should take place and if those lines are in the wrong place, contractors and city workers are put at risk as well as the infrastructure itself.

She warns digging in the wrong place could, as an example, rupture a line and knock out half of the uptown's internet service.

Fitzgerald says if you want to do something about potholes, give Municipal Operations a call at 658-4455 to report where they are and contact them as well if you see any spray painted lines around potholes.

New Brunswick Coalition For Pay Equity "Frustrated"

The New Brunswick Coalition for Pay Equity has a new chair who has promptly taken the provincial government to task.

She's Vallie Stearns who formerly worked in a women's transition shelter. Stearns tells CHSJ News voluntary measures to bring about pay equity have not worked and she charges the Alward Government is not committed to legislation.

Stearns says workers in women's shelters, home care, community residences and day care have gone through job evaluations but are still waiting for wage adjustments and the delay in bringing those about is beyond what should have happened.

ATV Accident in Red Head

Emergency crews responding to an ATV accident on Harbourview Drive in Red Head.

The four-wheeler being driven by a woman with two children on board has flipped over.

No one was wearing a helmet.

City Told Attracting New Industry To City Should Be Left To Province

Enterprise Saint John might benefit if it left attracting new industry to Invest NB, the province's new economic development arm.

That from consultant David Campbell, who says unless the city's aware of a company's specific interest it should let Invest NB do the heavy lifting.


Councillor Bill Farren says the city isn't making progress and has to stop relying on everybody else.

Campbell says it will be hard for Enterprise Saint John to do generic promotion of the city because Invest NB will have more resources to do the job and he claims there's every indication Invest NB will be more focused on Saint John's interests than Business New Brunswick was.

Visits To Each School In District 6 To Focus On Student Learning

As the school year winds down, members of the District 6 Education council are doing their annual visit with each of the 24 schools.

Superintendent Andrew Hopper tells CHSJ News he and the Director of Education Gary Hall thinks it's a wonderful process because it focuses on student learning.

Hopper, in these visits with each school's principal and vice-principal, go over the school improvement plan indentifying priorities for the next school year.

He says they also review data from the perception surveys that parents do in the fall.

Traffic Disruptions Beginning Today

Major construction work begins today along Union Street with the first phase starting at Wellington Row and Germain Street.

There are four phases to the project with the work being done down to St. Patrick's Street and continues until the latter part of September.

There's another traffic note to keep in mind while you're driving today. Hilyard street will be closed between Chesley Drive and Simonds Street from 7 this morning until 7 tonight while work is done to the Chelsey Drive off-ramp.

Motorists headed east on Chesley will not be able to turn right onto Hilyard. People who need to get to Place 400 will be able to access the parking lot via Simonds Street.

And don't be alarmed if you see high flames coming from the L-N-G Terminal over the next two weeks. Maintenance is being carried out on the L-N-G storage tanks.