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Monday, July 9, 2012

Boil Water Order Over

Water is now safe to drink for the Sandy Point Road area. 

Test results have confirmed that water at the following locations is now safe to consume:

•    Sandy Point Road between Hawthorne Avenue and MacLaren Boulevard (not including Parkwood Avenue)
•    Thornborough Street
•    Jack Street
•    Kelly Lane
•    Anglin Drive, including Anglin Crescent and Pidgeon Street
•    Kiwanis Court
•    Corkery Street
•    Cranston Avenue between Sixth Street and Thornborough Street (not including Sixth Street)(Notices were hand delivered to affected residents.)

That being confirmed by water test results reviewed with the Department of Health and the Medical Officer of Health.

They recommend if you've been away from your home during this period, you take a few minutes to flush out the water in your plumbing.

Grand Mananer Dies After Long Wait For Air Service

A heart attack victim from Grand Manan has died needlessly....that according to MLA for Charlotte-The Isles Rick Doucet. He emphasizes the importance of air-based evacuation from Grand Manan to the Saint John Regional.

 Previously, residents could be transported to hospitals in Saint John or Moncton directly from the island. Under a new contract signed less than a week ago the wait-times are much longer.

Doucet says he's been saying all along the cuts would have a disastrous effect and this incident proves it. He says given the "golden hour" for medical response in certain emergencies, the wait time is simply unacceptable.

Doucet says the helicopter arrived just after 1pm, but just before the patient could be taken to the helicopter--four hours after the ambulance was called--the patient suffered another, fatal heart attack.

Doucet says Grand Mananers are anxious to have the island-based service restored.

Horse Dies After Alleged Abuse

The horse allegedly abused in a high-profile case near Geary has been euthanized.

We told you last week the animal was left out without food or water in stifling heat. Sergeant Joel Sauleof District 2 RCMP tells CHSJ News the owner of the animal surrendered to to the SPCA voluntarily.

The animal was later euthanized. Saule says the investigation is ongoing.

Photo: courtesy of a concerned tipster to our CHSJ Newsroom.

Man Dies In Police Custody

A 43-year-old man has died while in police custody.

The Tracadie-Sheila man being arrested twice Sunday morning for knocking on people's doors while intoxicated, then hours later for trying to break into a house.

While in custody for a second time Mounties say during a routine evening check a guard noticed he was unresponsive. Officers tried to resuscitate him and he was later taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Bathurst police are leading the investigation into the man's death. His name has not been released.

Saint John Ads Take Over Halifax

The City of Saint John getting more publicity around Halifax. 

Giant billboards can be seen around the Nova Scotia city -- promoting the City market, Uptown and other areas. 

Ross Jefferson from Discover Saint John tells CHSJ news Porty City offers a lot with it's waterfront, historic character, great shopping and food.

Jefferson adds the new ads in Nova Scotia makes sense since most visitors come from the Maritimes.  He estimates tourism brings in about a quarter of a billion dollars spent on goods and services.

Look For A Vehicle Report Card On Your Car

Four Saint John police officers are putting report cards on vehicles in Uptown parking lots based on what can or can't be seen inside and if its locked or not.
Sgt. David Hartley-Brown tells CHSJ News four officers are placing pass/fail report cards on the vehicles in some uptown parking lots.

He says they are hoping to increase the numbers of people who lock theirs cars adding 100 per cent would be ideal but any improvement is better.

Hartley-Brown says an easy target is a car with the windows down and doors unlocked with valuables in plain sight where a hard target is locked with nothing valuable visible from looking inside.




Teens Arrested In Car Thefts

Some Rothesay teens arrested for theft after an early-morning bust...

Police received a report around 4am that a young pair were tampering with vehicles around Hillsview Crescent area. When they arrived on the scene they found a group of teens, including two that matched the description of the thieves.

The 14 year old girl and a 15 year old boy were arrested.

Moose License Draw Results In

The results of the 2012 provincial moose license draw are now available.

Hunters who entered the draw may find out if they were successful either by calling or by checking online.  

Callers will be asked to enter their provincial medicare number using the telephone keypad and applicants will then be informed if they were successful in the draw.

To purchase their moose license, hunters must bring a valid medicare card to a Natural Resources office or to a participating Service New Brunswick center after August 20th.

There were over  63,000 applications for more than 4,600 licenses available for provincial residents. The 2012 moose hunting season runs from September 27th to the 29th.

To find out whether you received a moose license click here
You can also call 1-800-459-3729.





Watch Out For Dangerous Algae

Most of the algae that grows in lakes and ponds is harmless---but there's one kind you should watch out for. The Department of Health warning folks about blue green algae, which can be recognized for its blue-green colour and paint-like scum it leaves on the water.

It causes skin, eye and throat irritation and even more serious effects if consumed. Young children and pets are particularly sensitive.

You should avoid swimming, water-skiing or other activities in water showing signs of blue green algae.

Speed Likely A Factor In Minto ATV Death

A man is dead after an ATV crash in Minto on Saturday night.

RCMP were called to the crash around 7pm where a 21-year-old man drove into a large mud hole where he lost control of his vehicle causing it to roll over several times, throwing him off.

Police say he wasn't wearing a helmet at the time and they believe speed was a factor.

Carnival Glory In Port Today


The Carnival Glory cruise ship is due in Port today with 3500 passengers arriving at 9am and leaving at 5pm from the Marco Polo Cruise Terminal.

For more on the Cruise Ship season, click here

Shale Gas Concerns Stronger Than Ever

Public consultations are over but you can still have your say on shale gas development.

The provincial government released 116 recommendations on shale gas to help ease people's concerns about safety but anti-shale gas activist Greg Cook tells CHSJ news those concerns are as strong as ever.

Cook says a labour report in the United States recently says that shale gas, of all industries has the highest accident rate.

The main concern remains that fracturing the rock will release methane into wells and contaminate drinking water. Federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair also claims the chemicals used in fracking contain carcinogens.

The government is still looking for your views until September 18th.

Teach Health & Life Skills In Schools

As the provincial government prepares their new health care strategy, a nurse who sees health first hand says we need to get back to the basics.

Shannon Robertson, a nurse at New Brunswick Heart Centre, says community and health professionals need to work together for a healthy future. She tells CHSJ news it starts with the kids.

"Children are our next generation, they need to know whats going on. And we're doing the best we can, but we need the collaboration of everybody."

Robertson says kids need to be taught health and physical education and life strategies in general, and that can be taught through education and in the community.

Health Minister Madeleine Dubé says New Brunswick is "the unhealthiest province in Canada", spending $8.6 million dollars a day in health care costs. The provincial government is currently drafting a new health care plan for December, taking in people's concerns and comments on how to improve our health system.

A Bleak Assessment From City Finance Commissioner

Cities are dying because of a lack of revenue.........This claim being made by City Finance Commissioner Greg Yeomans who's calling for a better way of funding municipalities because what's in place now isn't working.
 
Yeomans says cities only receive 8 per cent of the total pot of tax dollars with the federal and provincial governments dividing up the other 92 per cent.

He adds if the energy hub developed the way people had hoped with the prospect of a second oil refinery in Mispec, the city would have received half a million dollars in more tax revenue but would have to spend 1.2 billion dollars to upgrade the infrastructure.
 
Even with the gas tax money that came back to the city did so with strings attached because it had to be spent, as Yeomans puts it, on "new stuff", not what was already on the ground. 

A Bar Brawl and A Robbery Over The Weekend


City police kept busy over the weekend with a number of people facing charges.
 
Just after 2am Sunday, officers got the call to break a brawl at a East side bar where one person was sent to hospital to be checked out and four men in their 20's and 30's are facing charges.

A short while later a man was robbed and injured at Charlotte and Union.   A man in his 30's made a court appearance on a charge of robbery with violence.

Yesterday, a man in his 40's twice refused a breathalyser, once early in the morning in a car and again last night while on a lawn tractor.

The East Saint John man is being held until a bail hearing.