Ideas Brought Forward On Border Arena Future

An indoor skate park? A movie theatre? A paint-ball field?

Those are just a few of the ideas brought forward by residents on the future of the Border Arena.With the opening of the Civic Centre in downtown St. Stephen in the midst, a public meeting was held this week for residents to give their opinion on what should become of the 40-year-old facility.

Other ideas included an indoor turf for sports, a youth hostel, and keeping the building as an arena for a few more years until ice time requirements are met with the Civic Centre.



Deputy Mayor John Ames says the land is leased from the province and the arena will need around 40-50 rentable hours in order to keep costs withing reason.

No definate plans have been made yet.

Update Monday On Sexual Abuse Investigation

The city has scheduled an update Monday on the investigation into sexual abuse perpetrated years ago by then City Police officer Ken Estabrooks, amid reports of many more victims have come forward. There are also rumblings a potential class-action lawsuit. 

Saint John Common Council has approved an additional $100,000 to continue the investigation. There may have been more than 40 victims of the abuse.

 Estabrooks was never charged in 1975 even though he confessed. Estabrooks resigned from the police department but was transferred to City Works. Charges were finally laid in 1998 and Estabrooks, who died in 2005, was convicted in 1999 and sentenced to six years in prison. The Police Commission released a report, calling the 1975 investigation "unprofessional" which allowed a serious sex offender to go unpunished.

Inmate Hospitalized After Assault

Yesterday at around 11pm an inmate was assaulted in the maximum-security jail in Renous. The victim had to be taken to an outside hospital.

 The Mounties are investigating and they know who committed the assault.

The victim is in stable condition. Jail officials say they taking what they call "appropriate" measures to keep incidents like this from happening.

Mike Biggar Launches New Country Record Tonight

Mike Biggar is a name in country star most local folks will recognize. 

Biggar's been breaking into the mainstream music scene will his collaborations with Chris Cummings and big names and he tells Tide News he's excited to release his new album Feels Like Now.

Biggar is an ECMA and New Brunswick Music Award Winner with several successful albums. 

He will be performing tonight on Mexicali Rosa's patio on Princess Street in Saint John with Chris Cummings and a full band to launch the new record. 

The concert is free.

Not Everyone Is Enthralled With The National Energy Board

Premier David Alward says he has confidence the National Energy Board will be able to adequately evaluate the environmental risks associated with building a pipeline to Saint John. 

David Thompson of the Conservation Council tells Tide News a lot of people were turned off by their treatment when the National Energy Board held hearings in the city a few years ago on the natural gas pipeline through Rockwood Park.

Thompson says the rules apparently have changed since then and a lot of people who might want to have something to say and take part could be shut out from participating because they won't be given standing.
 
A grassroots energy summit will be held in the city next week with the theme that shale gas, oil pipelines and nuclear energy represent the past and not the future. One of the speakers will be Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians.

Higgs Releases Financial Update In Saint John

The Alward government providing a long overdue fiscal update with first quarter results projecting a deficit of nearly 500 million dollars.

Finance Minister Blaine Higgs joined by the Premier and MLA Glenn Savoie for the announcement at the Delta today as the Saint John caucus wraps up its summer retreat.
 
Higgs says if government had not confronted spending the revenue challenges they have been facing would be much worse.

In 2011 and 2012, Higgs says they saw year over year expenses decrease for the first time in 11 years adding in the last two years they have seen spending only grow by a half a per cent compared to the 10 year average of 4.2 per cent.

Premier Alward says historically departments have been way over budget with their early quarterly results and now they are seeing departments below budget and within 1 per cent representing a huge shift.

The Premier also revealing to the gathered media that the fall session of the Legislature will begin early on November 5th.

Empress Of Ireland Exhibit

Next May will mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Empress of Ireland.  

It's happened in the St. Lawrence River and more than a 1000 passengers on the ship died.   

The New Brunswick Museum hosting a traveling showcase on the ship which includes video of the underwater wreck. 

Pascale St. Amand tells Tide News the exhibit is moving on to Halifax at 5 today.

She says she has had many visitors from cruise ships and they are a bit scared by the tragedy but most people are surprised they have not heard of the Empress before.

St. Amand says the exhibit includes a video that depicts how the Storstad hit the Empress sinking her.    She add the sinking is significant as World War 1 broke out a short time later.