Linked Header

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Dean To Stand Trial In Park Assault

A 27 year old Saint John man will stand trial after an October assault on a jogger at Rockwood park.

Nathan Dean was in court today where he waived his right to a bail hearing.

Early last month, a masked man carrying a weapon jumped out of the woods near Fisher Lakes attacking a jogger on a trail near Fisher Lakes.    The woman fought back and contacted police.

Dean is due back in court next Tuesday to set a trial date.

New Ticket Sale Date For Carrie Underwood's Concert

Carrie Underwood fans will have to hold on to their credit cards a little longer.

Ticket sales for her Blown Away concert at Harbour Station in April will have a new on-sale date on Friday, November 30th instead of this coming Friday.That decision coming from promoters of Carrie's tour.

Tickets will be available on Harbour Station's website, over the phone and at the box office.

Flemming To Meet With Fundy Doctors

The new Health Minister thinks doctors are reasonable people and a dispute over fee's in Black's Harbour can be sorted out.
 

Doctors at the Fundy Health Centre are threating to shut down the clinic's emergency room because the Horizon Health Network wants to charge them $1.50 for every patient they see.

Ted Flemming tells CHSJ News thinks the dispute is a glitch in the billing process.

He says he doesn't take the idea of the doctors not working past November 30th as a threat adding he hopes to have the matter resolved long before then.

Flemming adds he has already been speaking with the doctors on this issue and plans to meet with them this week.

NBCC Announces First 5 Year Plan

New Brunswick Community College creating it's first 5 year strategic plan to create new opportunities for students and to increase their presence in the community.

NBCC president Marilyn Lucsombe tells CHSJ news there are some brand new changes in the plan. Lucsombe describes developing a signature learning experience, where students will take their learning and apply it to helping the community, such as cleaning up a river bed.

The college will also be starting an elder in residence program. The focus is bringing in an aboriginal elder to provide wisdom, guidance, and influence to both students and staff. They would also provide more education on aboriginal culture, says Lucombe.

Internships will have a bigger role in curriculum. The school will also be bringing in mentors to help students become successful in business. NBCC will also be trying to bring in more international students, who they hope will stay and work in the province after they graduate.

A whole new piece of work that's starting is applied research, so the college can work with industries to test and commercialise new products. Luscombe says they're trying to bring in their first research chair to help link up with the ICT community and to be more productive in working with mobile devices.

Members of NBCC's board will be travelling to all of their campuses to promote their new strategic commitments.

Tough Times At Chicken Noodle Club

The Chicken Noodle Club in the city is in dire financial straits and facing closure in just a few weeks if it doesn't get some funding help.

Common Councillor Donnie Snook, who run the programme, tells CHSJ News they serve more than 60 thousand hot lunches over the course of a year to 570 young people in the city who are in need.

Snook says the yearly budget is in the neighbourhood of 60 thousand dollars and there's a desperate need for additional funding.    A food drive is being organised for November 23rd, 24th and 25th in the Superstore parking lot on Rothesay Avenue.   chickennoodleclub.com

Pharmacists Answer Criticism About Their Methadone Fee

The New Brunswick Pharmacists Association is calling the dispensing fee of over 10 dollars for methadone "fair".

The Association's Executive Director Paul Blanchard is answering criticism from healthcare ethicist Dr. Tim Christie about that fee being too high since methadone itself costs between 35 and 40 cents.

Blanchard accuses Dr. Christie of not assigning any value to the role pharmacists are playing in the programme. He points out there's considerable interaction between the pharmacists and those people taking the methadone for their addictions and if a mistake is made, it can cost someone their life.

Blanchard also argues without the participation of pharmacists, there would be no methadone programme in Saint John.

He suspects Dr. Christie would like Aids Saint John to set up its own dispensary and, if that happened, he would find out about the cost of doing business.

Diamond Jubilee Terminal Officially Opens

It was open for business and accepting ships two months ago but the Diamond Jubilee Cruise Ship Terminal gets it's official grand opening a few ways this week.  
A business reception is coming up tomorrow night and on Saturday the Port will host a pre-parade event for the whole family.

Carl Blanchard of FCC Construction tells CHSJ News says one of the design features is the pre-cast arches on the exterior.

He says inside it's a very wide open space with a lot of windows so it's bright including a rooftop patio the public can enjoy.

There is space indoors that can be rented for wedding and meetings and can include access to the rooftop patio.

The terminal's name was announced back in May during the visit by Prince Charles and his wife Camilla.

A bust of Queen Elizabeth sits inside the terminal next to a Union jack.
For more info on the Grand Opening week events, click here

Power Outages

As of 7:00 this morning, NB Power reports there are two power outages in the Rothesay district which includes Hampton, Grand Bay-Westfield, the Kingston Peninsula as well as the Valley. 

84 customers are affected in Hampton.

NB Power says 80 of them should have their electricity back between 8 and 9 this morning with the remaining 4 sometime from 8:30 to 9:30.

Warning About Unemployment In Province

Unemployment in the province won't get any better if the provincial government cuts spending in an effort to reduce the burgeoning deficit which has doubled from the previous estimate. In fact, it will continue to rise.

That warning from U-N-B Economics Professor Rod Hill who tells CHSJ News the Conservatives have backed themselves into a corner by their refusal to raise taxes and there must be a discussion about increasing government revenues.

Hill argues there is no evidence to suggest the tax cuts implemented in 2008 by the previous Liberal Government stimulated economic activity and the provincial government lost more than 730 million dollars in much needed revenue but the Canadian Taxpayers Federation warns it would be a mistake to raise taxes at this point.

Province's Plans For Greater Regionalisation Coming Soon

Whatever the Alward Government comes up with for greater regionalisation of local government services is bound to cause controversy. 

Premier David Alward expects the suspense will be over sometime in the next few weeks.

The Premier concedes this has not been an easy process and points out the current system is not fair and that's what his government will try to remedy.

A Hunter Is Shot

A hunter suffering serious injuries after being shot in the Penobsquis area. 

The RCMP in Sussex and Department of Natural Resource are both investigating how it happened.
 

Police say he was shot by another hunter in his group and was first taken to the Sussex Medical Centre before being transferred to the Regional Hospital. 

The Mounties say the hunter who was shot will recover from his injuries.

Schools Look At Bridging Nursing Programs

New Brunswick Community College and the University of New Brunswick are no strangers to working together, and one of their latest projects is trying to bridge together their nursing programs.

NBCC President Marilyn Luscombe tells CHSJ news a license practical nurse student from the college should be able to honor their credits in the university registered nurse program. She says that way the student or grad wouldn't have to start from scratch and it would be a seamless opportunity for the student.

Luscombe says she's met a lot of LPN's in the province who are in need this kind of programming.

Funeral For Shooting Victim Later This Week

31 year old Ryan Firlotte of Baxter's Corner, who was shot and killed last Saturday will be laid to rest later this week. 

A funeral service is scheduled at St. Mary and St. Bartholomew's Church on Westmorland Road this Friday morning at 11:00. 

Two other men were wounded in the shootings outside a home on Raymond Street in Baxter's Corner. 

A 35 year old man, whose name has not been released and who lived at the home, was arrested but has been released and could be facing charges at a later date. 

The RCMP say the shootings followed an altercation and assault.