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Thursday, September 29, 2011

Rothesay Mayor Says Deer Problem Has No Easy Fix


A solution to the deer dilemma in Hampton, Quispamsis and Rothesay may be far off but members of a multi-town committee have direction after a public meeting.
Rothesay mayor Bill Bishop tells CHSJ News the regional deer committee will create a survey to determine what solutions the residents want.

He says they want to determine how serious people are about getting rid of the deer or letting them become residents in the community.

Bishop says the meeting emphasized to him that the urban deer problem in the KV has no easy solution.

Saint John Man Busted In Grow Op Raid


Police from Hampton, Saint John and Rothesay taking part in a raid at a Black River home on the Moore Road.

The joint force investigation found the home was being used only for the purpose of cultivating marijuana.
400 marijuana plants seized and 4 pounds of marijuana with a street value of more than $400,000.

47-year-old Wayne Francis McMullin of Saint John was in court facing several charges including possession of a controlled drug or substance for the purpose of trafficking and possession of a restricted firearm with ammunition. He is due back in court on Monday for a bail hearing.

Teen In Custody After Stabbing


A 17-year-old is in hospital after a lunch hour stabbing on the Boardwalk.
Police, Fire and Ambulance responding to the call near the Trade and Convention Centre about 12:40 this afternoon.
Sergeant Peter Fres says the Major Crime Unit is looking into the incident.

He says a 15-year-old youth is in custody.
The 17-year-old youth had emergency surgery today for a wound to his abdomen and it's expected he'll be in the hospital for a couple days.





Human Rights Complaints In Province Close To 300

The annual report of the Provincial Human Rights Commission includes 293 allegations of discrimination, of which 63 per cent were employment related.

As in previous years, the most common grounds of discrimination were physical or mental disability, which together came to 43 per cent of the cases. 

The chair of the Human Rights Commission Randy Dickinson concedes that judging by the volume of complaints, there's still a lot of work to do.

Phone Service Back To Normal

A problem with the Bell Aliant fibre optic network in Northern New Brunswick disrupted phone service throughout the Atlantic provinces for much of the day.

Bell Aliant reports phone service is now fully restored.

Acting Fire Chief Kevin Clifford tells CHSJ News he's unaware of any emergency calls falling though the cracks while the service was sporadic. 

Police Inspector David Parks says a contingency plan was implemented pronto with all fire and community police stations being manned.

Leah Fitzgerald with the city is happy with the way the emergency plan worked in response to the disruption in service.

Police Respond To Possible Stabbing Uptown


City police responding to a possible stabbing on the boardwalk near Loyalist plaza.

Police and ambulance are on the scene.  There are reorts the patient is losing a lot of blood.

You're Being Asked To Comment On Driving Rules And Regulations

The Alward Government says it wants your input on vehicle inspections, highway safety priorities and driver licensing.

A series of town hall meetings will be held next month with one of them in Saint John.

It is scheduled for Ganong Hall at U-N-B Saint John next Thursday night from 6 to 9 to talk about the motor vehicle inspection programme.

Public Safety Minister Robert Trevors says it has changed much since the late 60's but there is new emphasis on the environment now and there have been huge changes in auto technology.

City Requests No 911 Calls During Phone Outage


You are being asked by the City of Saint John not to call 911 unless it's an emergency while Bell Aliant fixes a phone issue.
The problem resulting from damage to a fibre line up north and the company is aware and working to fix it.

In the meantime, the City’s public safety services, including fire, police and ambulance  are able to talk to each other and the 911 call centre.
Police, fire and ambulance are being strategically placed around the city.
If you experience an emergency and a 911 call does not work, you should go to a police or fire station or find one of the police cars, fire trucks or ambulances deployed around the city.  No timelime has been given on the repairs will be made.

Deputy Mayor Says Cuts To City Pension Plan Will Have To Be More Aggressive

There will have to be deeper cuts made to the city's pension plan than were originally proposed to the province.

So says Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase who argues even with more severe cuts, the city retirees will still have a good pension plan with benefits that are better than what most people in the city will have to live on in their old age.
 
Chase says Common Council should be looking out for taxpayers as its primary focus and city policy should not be driven by the employees.

Phone Service Disrupted

Rothesay Regional Police letting us know there are some issues with phone service in the region.

Both landline and cell service are working intermittently and this is impacting emergecy services.

We are told BellAliant is aware of the problem and working on it.

Serious Injuries After Collision West Of City

Two women were transported to hospital with serious injuries after a head on collision on the Wetmore Creek Road in Musquash. 

The Musquash Fire Department assisted Ambulance NB Paramedics with the treatment of the two women, as well as one child who was in one of the cars. All three were transported to the  Regional Hospital. 

The road was closed for almost two hours as debris and spilled fluids were cleaned up and the heavily damaged cars were removed from the scene.

City Police Warn About Pepper Spraying

A Victoria Street man is looking at several charges after a firefighter was assaulted last night around 9:30.

The fire department was called to Victoria Street after several people were pepper sprayed. 

One man became combative and went after the firefighter before being wrestled to the ground. Among the charges he faces is probation violation. 

City Police say they don't know who did the pepper spraying but are warning it's becoming more prevalent.

City Police Looking For Suspect In Assault

City police looking for your help in finding the person responsible for an assault last month.
 
Just before 7pm on August 24th, a man was assaulted while riding his bicycle on Ocean West Way.
 
The man, police are looking for, was operating a black motorcycle at the time and is about 35 to 40 years old.
 
If you know anything, contact Major Crime or Crimestoppers and for the numbers, go to country94.ca and click news.

Another Decline In Gas Prices

It's going to be a bit cheaper for you to fill up after the weekly setting. Gas prices around town are continuing to drop.

Self serve regular is now being sold for $1.20.9 a litre in the city. That's a reduction of a couple of cents and diesel is also costing you less at $1.28.8 a litre.

Heating oil is now down to $1.12.6 a litre but propane keeps rising. It's now listed at $1.16.1 a litre.

What To Do About Deer In The Valley Is Still A Long Way Off

About 150 people gathering at Kennebecasis Valley High to learn about lyme disease and potential solutions for the deer problem between Hampton and Rothesay.
 
Dr. Jaqueline Babcock of Public Health telling the crowd that the black-legged tick that carry and spread lyme disease may be spreading but overall numbers are still low in the area.
 
Rod Cumberland of the Department of Natural Resources says the urban deer problem affects up 30,000 people in the K-V.
 
The deer committee will be meeting in the next two weeks to decide on what questions should be asked in a survey of residents on the deer solution, if they think there is a problem with too many roaming about.

 

Mayor Denies City Is Too Secretive

The Mayor is dismissing the accusation that the city is not transparent.  

The city was criticised in a study by Newspapers Canada for not disclosing information about municipal expenses under the Freedom of Iinformation act.
Mayor Ivan Court tells CHSJ News the city recently hired someone who deals with information requests.
While the mayor did not give a direct answer as to why requested info wasn't sent out, he says City Hall is a busy place with a lot of projects on the go.