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Friday, October 12, 2012

Three-Quarters Of Saint Johnners Satisfied With City Services

Common Council has started setting the city's priorities with the level of public satisfaction at 75 per cent for city programmes and services, up 5 per cent in one year. 

On the other hand, the satisfaction rate for City Transit, after a series of cuts, has fallen in just one year from 78 per cent down to 56 per cent.
 

Mayor Mel Norton says whether funding for City Transit is restored depends on how well Common Council deals with the pension issue after hearing from the task force on the shared risk model. 

Norton also says he doesn't want a huge list of priorities with no more than 5 with rebranding Saint John as a city open for business to be on that list.
 

The Ipsos Reid survey also finds Saint John is an aging city with 57 per cent of the adult population 45 years of age or older with 1 in five over 65.
 

Haz Mat Called In For False Alarm At Lepreau Post Office

A false alarm causing some hassle this afternoon at then Lepreau post Office around 1pm.

A package had broken open and was leaking an unknown substance in the trunk of a delivery vehicle. The Canada Post employee was not injured, but had been quarantined before the fire department's arrival and the Regional Hazardous Materials Unit was called in from Saint John.

The Regional Haz Mat Team donned protective gear before accessing the package--but as it turned out, the contents were not dangerous. They were on the scene until 3:30.

Get An Early Start For Santa Claus

There's a long way to go yet until we're decking the holls for Christmas...but organizers of the Santa Claus parade are already recruiting businesses and organizations to participate in the 60th annual event.

Organizer Leslie Keating tells CHSJ News it's the amount of preparation that goes into the entries that makes the biggest difference in terms of making the parade better each year.

The theme of this year's parade is children's wishes, dreams, and imagination. To sign up your organization, click here

Haz Mat Unit Called To Lepreau Village

The Hazardous materials unit responding toward to to reports of a suspicious package in the Lepreau Village area.

Fire officials aren't yet able to provide any information on nature of the package or where exactly it was found.

Number Of Self-Employed Workers Stagnant Since '98

We all know Atlantic Canada isn't doing so hot in the job creation department...but few people seem to be taking matters into their own hands. A recent study by the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council shows the number of self-employed people in the Maritimes has stayed stagnant since 1998.

Senior Economist David Chaundy tells CHSJ News it's not typical to see so little progess in that amount of time--especially since the rest of Canada has seen growth of 11% in the same time period.

He says part of the problem is that most self-employed people are fishermen, farmers, and forestry--and all those industries are on the decline.

Active Living Not Always Easy For Seniors

This weekend kicks of Active Living Week for Seniors, with the government encouraging our seniors to remain active through volunteering, social acitivites, and physical activity.

According to Seniors Resource Center President Sherman Palmer, it's not always easy for people to remain active throughout their golden years due to physical conditions, lack of money, and other factors.

Palmer says while there are lots of activities available for seniors, it would be easier for seniors to stay active if there were better city transit, because with 85% of NB seniors living independently many rely on it to get around.

RCMP Release Video Of Credit Union Robbery

The District 2 RCMP is releasing surveillance video taken on Tuesday during an armed robbery at a credit union in Fredericton Junction is hopes of someone identifying the robber.

The man entered the Citizens Credit Union on Sunbury Drive with a gun around 10:30am An undisclosed amount of cash was taken. No one was injured.

The suspect is described as being of average height, with a medium build. He was wearing a two toned jacket, white and black in colour. To watch a video of the robbery, click here

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the District 2 RCMP at 506-357-4300 or 1-888-506-RCMP (7267) or N.B. Crime Stoppers at www.crimenb.ca or 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

West Side Wal-Mart Open Today

One stop shopping getting a lot easier for residents of the West Side....the brand new Walmart and Lancaster Mall has opened its doors today.

It was last September that Lancaster Mall originally announced the former Zellers location would be taken over by the big-box giant.

It's hoped that the new store will be a magnet for people from the outlying areas as well as West Siders.

Peel Plaza Police Headquarters Not Ready For Move

Just when the police department will be moving into its new headquarters at Peel Plaza is uncertain with word this week of a delay because the building isn't ready. 

Police Chief Bill Reid told CHSJ News recently he had hoped to gradually start the move into the new building over 3 to 4 weeks beginning at the end of this month. That's when the building is to be turned over to the city. 

For the time being, Police will continue paying 100 thousand dollars a month in rent at City Hall.

Medical School Gets Generous Donation

The Dalhouse medical school on the campus of U-N-B Saint John receiving a big donation of $250,000 from Richard Currie as part of the Bold Ambitions: The Campaign for Dalhousie. 
 

The quarter of a million dollars will be used to support the development of the Research Chair in Occupational Medicine that will promote training, research, and development of better workplace health and safety by, hopefully, preventing accidents on the job.