Locals Give Opinion On New Mandatory Course On Rinkside Behaviour For Parents

The parents of the youngest hockey players in the province will be required to take a course on rinkside behaviour beginning in the fall. 

Brian Whitehead of Hockey New Brunswick says the organization is planning to introduce the online course in September.

Whitehead says the course will be mandatory for any parent registering children aged four to eight years old. The course will also be free of charge to parents, unlike a similar course offered in Nova Scotia which charges parents a $12 fee.

In the meantime, The Tide's Facebook page is getting a lot of action on the issue.

Stephanie says, "I get so embarrassed when parents behave badly at games. Hopefully this will help to stop the cycle!"

Brenda says she doesn't think the course will change anything.

Jason says, "I don't believe there are any reasons not to have parents know the rules and conduct of the game."

One comment told of a situation on the weekend in Fredericton where a parent allegedly went into the opposing team's locker room to have words with the coach.

Shannon says, "As a hockey parent myself, I think it should be mandatory for all of us, on an annual basis!"






Most of the comments were positive towards the new course, however, a high percentage thought it was sad that children's hockey has come to this.

Special Police Unit Investigating 5 Child Sex Abuse Cases In SJ

The Internet Child Exploitation Unit of the Saint John police force reports they are investigating 5 child sex abuse files in the Saint John area in the last week alone, and there are currently 50 suspected cases of pedophiles sharing abuse images across the province.

Constable Tonia Williams of the ICE Unit tells Tide News law enforcement is constantly trying to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to technologies predators have at their disposal.

The ICE Unit gave a presentation to Police Commission outlining how they respond to cases of child porn sharing. The unit advises parents to monitor what their kids are doing even if the computer is in a common area -- because they've seen videos that show the parent was even in the same room when their child was chatting on webcam with a pedophile.

Challenges Hindering Snook Child Sex Abuse Case

With the child sex abuse investigation into former Saint John common councillor Donnie Snook continuing to bring forward new victims, Police Chief Bill Reid is hoping they can help everyone affected find some kind of justice.

Reid tells Tide News the wheels of justice turn more smoothly if you can get everyone to come forward in a timely fashion. He says it's vastly preferable to deal with all the complaints in one shot than see them trickle in over 6 or 7 years.

Reid says investigators are dealing with a number of challenges, including the fact that some kids are too young to articulate the information and some families are in denial that abuse has occurred.

Donnie Snook reappears in court on May 29th.

White Smoke Signals New Pope

White smoke is pouring out from the Sistine Chapel chimney in St. Peter's Square, signalling that a new pope will appear on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica within the hour before many faithful waiting to witness the first new pontiff in eight years.

River Watch Warns Of Possible Flooding

You might want to keep an eye on water coming into your basement.

An advisory today warning locals about the possibility of flooding from River Watch because of ice jams due to the milder temperatures and heavy rainfall.

A special weather statement being issued by Environment Canada for St. Stephen and northern Charlotte County, Grand Manan, coastal Charlotte County, Saint John, and Fundy National Park with up to 40 millimetres of rain falling before it ends tonight.

Callers to our 466-2222 news line report water coming over the Reardon Road near Digdeguash (as seen in picture ), rising waters under the Rollingdam covered bridge, as well as near the King Street traffic Circle in St. Stephen.