Facebook Outrage Over Bullying To SSHS Student

A local bullying incident has sparked outrage on Facebook.

A story circulating on the popular social media website, describes a student from St. Stephen High School who's belongings were spit on in a locker room last Friday, while the student was helping a teacher in the Gymnasium.

Vice-Principal of SSHS Krista Amos tells Tide News the school is investigating the situation and will deal with it accordingly.

The story can be found in the "Love Is Louder" category on Facebook.

Ferguson Begins Cross-Examination At Defamation Trial

Former Saint John Common Councillor John Ferguson has begun to be cross examined at his defamation trial.


Ferguson told the court he knew it was a long shot when he ran for Mayor in 2008 but felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders when he lost because of the pension plan's financial problems. The court was also told the Pension Board put a lien on Ferguson's home in the city and that's why he and his wife decided to move away.
 
He's now the Town Manager in St. Stephen.
 
Lawyer Barry Morrison for the Pension Board questioning Ferguson about his math skills, asking him to multiply 52 times 11 and accused him of craving attention.


Morrison questioned Ferguson about the Free Ferguson tee shirt making the rounds and about rallies being held in his support. Ferguson testified he has no knowledge of either and denies being a publicity hound.

He also told the court no one asked him to serve on the Pension Board. Morrison suggested if he had, this media circus could have been avoided to which Ferguson replied there were some members of the Pension Board who didn;t know what was going on prior to 2003.

Ferguson testified Common Council had no real information about the city's pension plan while the deficit was rising. That's why he wanted a committee formed with broad representation. He maintains that would have shown the wider community that best practices would be brought to bear on the problem. Pension Board lawyer Barry Morrison suggested it was an effort to set up a shadow pension board but Ferguson replied he wanted to find a solution after first identifying what the problem was.

Town Council To Approve Contract - Without Contract To Approve

It seems St. Stephen Town Council was counting their eggs before they hatched.


Over the weekend, a special meeting was called to approve two motions concerning the Garcelon Civic Centre, the first to authorize the signing of the Design Build contract with DORA Construction.

But there was no contract to authorize at the meeting.

Chief Administrative Officer, John Ferguson tells Tide News it's a requirement for the Town to have any contract legally vetted.
 
He says Council went to have certain language changed in the contract, and when the meeting came to order, they had not yet heard back from DORA's legal council.
 
The second motion -- which did get approved -- was to adopt the governance model for the Advisory Commission of the Civic Centre.

NDP Leaders Outline Vision

Federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair making his first visit to Saint John since assuming the leadership. He told the provincial NDP convention about his goal to win in the province and elsewhere, saying New Brunswick is the province he's visited the most.

Meanwhile, the provincial NDP leader Dominic Cardy saying the NDP will topple the Tories and Grits by appealing to the working class. Cardy gave a rousing speech in which he claimed Liberals and Conservatives don't care about ordinary folks.

The NDP convention is being  held at the Delta until Sunday, and was concerned with the party's economic strategy, shale gas,and job creation.

Ferguson Tells Court, Tait Told Him To "Bite His Arse"

Former Common Councillor -- and current Chief Administrative Officer of St. Stephen -- John Ferguson defends his comparison of Saint John's pension woes with those of San Diego which the Pension Board claims is defamatory.


Ferguson told the defamation trial the pension plan in San Diego was not properly funded and neither was Saint John's with the city not making its contributions in 2004 and 2005. In San Diego there was a lawsuit launched by some of the pension plan members which resulted in a 178 million dollar settlement. As for his reference to a desperate gambler, Ferguson says he was talking about Common Council transferring the financial burden of early retirements to the city's pension plan when it was tanking.
 
Ferguson also told of a nasty meeting of Vision 2015 that was held.


He told the court then Pension Board member and Common Councillor Glen Tait didn't call him a scumbag at that meeting... That happened later during a Council meeting, but did tell him to quote " bite his arse".

Ferguson found out, just before that meeting, the Pension Board was told it would have to lower its rate of return assumption which would result in a significant increase in the pension's plan's deficit. Ferguson also denies grandstanding, telling the jury he was concerned about the rising deficit which he says is to the point of being catastrophic.

Grand March Scholarship For Lady Spartan Grads

St. Stephen High School female Grads have an opportunity to win some great prizes for Grand March.


Shannon May Photography has partnered with other businesses in town to make a scholarship full of goodies for prom, including photos by Shannon-May Photography, accessories from Terri Jordan - Stella & Dot, nails from Sea of Tranquility, flowers by Mehan's, and a cash prize of $250 donated by Kindred Home Care.

The winner will be a girl who has been a voice of encouragement to friends and classmates, to be positive and confident in who they are, and let their inner beauty shine.

 Here is the link and contest rules for the scholarship: http://seniorportraits.shannonmayphotography.com/#/grand-march-scholarship/

( Picture provided by Shannon-May Photography )

Nominations Close Tomorrow For Municipal Election

So far, 22 candidates are vying for 7 positions in St. Stephen Town Council.


As of today, 3 people putting their offer in for Mayor -- John Quartermain, Kenneth Parker, and Robert Tinker.

Thus far, the 19 candidates going for St. Stephen Town Council positions are : John B Ames, Robert Michael Booth, Kenneth C Chase, Patrick L Cummins, Barbara Ellen Donovan, Peter J Giddens, June Elizabeth Greenlaw, Glen D Gregory, Margaret (Marg) Harding, Debbie (Gullison) MacDonald, Allan L MacEachern, Jim M Maxwell, Michael K McVay, Richard Rogers, Wilfred Robert Torunski, Gavin G Toumishey, Jamie White, Ralph Williams, and Ed P Zammit

Nominations close tomorrow at 2pm for municipal elections, Hospital Authority, and the District Education Council.

Special Meeting Concerning Civic Center

A special meeting being held this weekend concerning the Garcelon Civic Center.


St. Stephen Town Council will be considering two motions.

The first is to authorize the signing of a contract for the design build of the Garcelon with DORA Conctruction Limited.

The second is the adoption of the governance model for the Advisory Commission of the Town of St. Stephen's Garcelon Civic Center.

The meeting is Saturday morning, April 14th, at 10am, in Council Chambers at 73 Milltown Blvd, Suite 112.

Elderly Man Dead After Grand Manan Crash

District 1 RCMP in Grand Manan are investigating a fatal pedestrian motor vehicle crash, in the early morning hours of April 4, 2012, on White Head Island.


A 75-year-old man died as a result of the collision.

Police are not giving any other details at this time.

Defamation Trial Shown Video Of Council Meeting

Saint John City Solicitor John Nugent tells the defamation trial of former Common Councillor -- and current St. Stephen Town Manager -- John Ferguson, under the Municipalities Act, he was not required as a Pension Board member to quantify the extent of his own personal interest in the city's pension plan.


Ferguson's lawyer Rod Gillis estimates Nugent's pension is worth 1.7 million dollars which the City Solicitor has not disputed.
 
Gillis also suggested the pension board could have reduced benefits 9 years ago for the future retirees but that would have adversely affected Nugent's own pension and that of now retired City Manager Terry Totten.
 
The trial has been shown video of a Common Council meeting that shows other Council members were also concerned about the early retirement buyouts and city pension plan.


Then Common Councillor Ivan Court is shown agreeing with some of the things Ferguson was saying about the cost of the early retirement packages.
 
Councillor Bill Farren expresses support for Ferguson saying there was mass confusion, mixed messages, walls being put up and city staff not wanting to give information to the extent he was beginning to suspect things and those raising questions were accused of nit picking.

NB Girl Goes For Miss Universe Canada

A close-to-home beauty is throwing her hat in the ring to become the next Miss Universe Canada.


26 year old Seena Love is a trained opera singer and performer who originally hails from Quispamsis although she now lives in Fredericton.

She'll strut her stuff onstage next month at a televised pageant in Toronto

Love tells Tide News she's thrilled to be taking part.


The winner of the pageant will travel to Nicaragua to do relief work among other duties.

ATV Crash Sends SJ Man to Hospital

An ATV Accident on the west side has sent one man to hospital.

Police and fire officials responding to the call close to 1am. An ATV had crashed on Riding Way and Miller Robertson Road causing considerable injuries to the driver.

According to early reports, a firefighter ended up driving the ambulance.

Investment Scammers Busted

A pair of scammers getting their comeuppance after being busted by the provincial securities commission. An Alberta couple named Steven Weeres and Rebekah Donszelmann came to New Brunswick in 2009 and struck up a relationship with a woman here, who they defrauded out of tens of thousands of dollars by spinning lies about false investment opportunities

Rick Hancox of the commission tells TideNews they scammed their victim by pretending to have bought a hotel and courting investment in it

The panel ordered the two to pay out a total of 2 hundred twenty five thousdand dollars and Donszelmann was banned from the NB capital markets for 20 years. Hacox says it's important that people report frauds of this sort because that's the only way justice can be reached.

Teen Rises Out of Tragedy to Fight Drunk Driving

At only 17 years old Kali O'Dell's life has already been changed by drunk driving. But the high school student, whose mother and father were both killed in  a car accident caused by an impaired driver --to become a spokesperson against driving under the influence.

She's recently been recognized for her efforts, as TD Canada Trust has granted her a $70,000 scholarship for her work as founder of Teens Against Drunk Driving (TADD) at her high school.

O'Dell tells Tide News she's worked so hard to get the message out to teens because as the next generation of teachers, politicians, and public servants they will shape tomorrow's policy on drinking and driving.

O'Dell plans on using the scholarship to attend UNB Fredericton and major in English and History.

Revenge of the Nerds: NB Geeks Unite in SJ

If you see a posse of strangely-dressed young people roaming around town, Halloween hasn't come early. Saint John is catching on to an international fad known as cosplay--or costume play, in which folks dress up as their favourite characters from comic books, films, or anime. In case you haven't heard, that's another term for Japanese animation.

To some, it seems strange pastime, but it's one a lot of people seem to enjoy. So much so, in fact, that there's a whole convention dedicated to nerdy pursuits coming up this summer. Organizer Jessica Milne tells CHSJ News the event, called Harbour Con-Fusion, is a place for fans of sci-fi, horror and fantasy to meet and talk about their favourite works of geeky art--and wear their crazy costumes, of course.

 Harbour Con-Fusion will be held at the Holiday Inn Express in Saint John, NB, on Saturday July 28th and Sunday July 29th, 2012.In the meantime, the group will be holding smaller, geeky get-togethers and raising money for the Animal Rescue league.

Winter's Not Over Yet: Snow Expected This Weekend

After an unseasonably warm winter, New Brunswick getting a reminder that this is still a regular Canadian March.

 Meteorologist Claude Cote with Environment Canada tells CHSJ news there's a storm system developing south of Sable Island and curving toward Cape Breton. It's going to hit the Saint John area with 5-10 centimetres of snow beginning late this evening. Charlotte County will get hit as well, but with considerably less white stuff: 4-6 centimtres are expected over the weekend.

Moncton and Bathurst are expected to get 15-20 centimetres. Cote says things will have mainly calmed down by Sun

Rising Gas Prices Won't Last

A prediction from someone who should know that gas prices might still go up a bit before going down in Atlantic Canada. So says Dave Collins of Wilson Fuel.

He says speculators are driving up gas prices at the moment but a look at the futures market for gasoline shows a drop coming with the August price expected to be seven cents lower.

Gas prices are at a six year high.

Regional Hospital Hoping To Get Advanced M-R-I Machine

The Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation is pretty excited to hear the province is looking at 3T MRI's possibly for Saint John.

The Foundation's President and CEO Tim Cameron says there is a case for the technology at the Regional hospital because it's a tertiary care centre.Cameron tells CHSJ News says they had fears along the way that the government might ask them to contribute more than a million the foundation had offered to help defray the cost.

Cameron says the 3T MRI is a highly advanced machine used for tertiary care hospitals while he describes the 1.5T MRI unit as the workhorse used in most MRI scanning.
 
The Department of Health telling CHSJ News that Saint John will be receiving a 1.5T MRI. 
 
The 3T MRI is a highly advanced machine mainly used for neuro surgery.

Saint John City Solicitor Clashes With John Ferguson's Lawyer

City Solicitor John Nugent continuing his testimony at the defamation trial of former Common Council and St. Stephen Town Administrator John Ferguson.
Defense lawyer Rod Gillis tried to get Nugent to agree that Ferguson's presentation to Common Council about alleged wrongdoing was not defamatory but Nugent maintained when taken as a whole, he found the it "outrageously defamatory."

Nugent would also not agree with Gillis that the "sweeping things under the carpet" comment was about the city and not the Pension Board.
Nugent also vehemently denied that he kept a log or diary of all of Ferguson's comments and, if anyone did, he had no knowledge of it.

Gillis also asked Nugent if he planned on suing Provincial Finance Minister Blaine Higgs for his recent gambling analogy when describing the city's investment strategy as double or nothing. Nugent told the court he was no longer on the board.

The trial resumes on Wednesday and Ferguson is expected to take the witness stand at that time.

Proposed Inter City Shuttle Bus Service Bites The Dust

A Prince Edward Island company has failed to get approval to start a door to door van shuttle service in the province.

Advanced Shuttle Services proposed to set up a reservations only shuttle service using 15-seat passenger vans but the Energy and Utilities Board rejected the application ruling the proposed service isn't covered under the province's Motor Carrier Act and didn't include a regular route.

The company was looking to run two shuttles which would make stops at the Regional Hospital and U-N-B Saint John. There also would have been stops in Fredericton, Moncton and Port Elgin.

Blacks Harbour Water OK says Health Department

Blacks Harbour Mayor,  Terry James tells Tide News the Do Not Consume Order has been lifted by the Department of Health.

Residents of Blacks Harour are encouraged to resume their water consumption as per normal.

Blow to Development as Immigration Center Shut

An alarm being sounded about the closure of the federal immigration office in our city – councilor at large candidate John Campbell tells CHSJ News it’s a blow to our future development:

He says with the Port and UNBSJ trying to attract foreign students and new immigrants, the center is particularly important.

Immigration services are apparently being consolidated in Moncton – a move Campbell says should be meeting with solid opposition from the community and Common Council.

Candidate For Council Gives Opinion On Garcelon

Stand Up, Shout Loud, and Be Heard.


That from Patrick Cummins, while announcing his offer for St. Stephen Town Councillor.

He tells Tide News his opinion on the future Garcelon Civic Center. Cummins says he wishes he could go back 2 years and give the Town of St. Stephen a different plan.

Cummins thinks St. Stephen could have made a different deal with the province by amalgamating St. Stephen Elementary School with Milltown Elementary, put a cap on the MES pool, and build an arena between the pool and MES.

He says it would have saved a lot of money for the province and town, had it been done that way, or a little differently and more efficiently.

Cummins says St. Stephen needs to prioritize on the tourism industry, if it wants to grow economically.

The municipal elections are coming up in May.

Nugent Says Ferguson Wouldn't Share Information On Pension

The defamation trial of former Common Councillor - and current St. Stephen Town anager - John Ferguson hearing more testimony from Saint John City Solicitor and Pension Board trustee John Nugent.


Nugent has told the court Ferguson would not spell out or share with his colleagues on Council any information he claimed to have about the city's pension plan when he had a duty to do so.

That, according to Nugent, cast the Pension Board in a bad light leaving the impression of misdeeds and misconduct.

When asked about Ferguson's reference to a desperate gambler, Nugent testified he thought that referred to the city's early retirement programme which transferred costs on to the pension plan.

Balancing Act In Car Accident

A car accident in St. Stephen, could have ended tragically.

The St. Stephen Fire Department tells Tide News, a car hit the guardrail on the Route 3 overpass by the St. Stephen High School , Saturday afternoon.

Officials say the car went on its side and was very close to rolling down the embankment, and onto the highway below.

2 dogs remained inside, until a crane was able to move the car to safety.

The driver was taken to hospital and released.

( Photo By Kendra Madsen )

Tinker For Mayor

It seems the new fad for the municipal elections -- is Facebook!


Town Councillor Robert Tinker announcing to the internet world today, he is running for Mayor of St. Stephen.

Tinker tells Tide News he believes in the future of St. Stephen, wanting to make it a better place to live with decent, well-paying jobs, as well as finding a team of people who can find where the best opportunities are to bring them to our town.
Blacks Harbour Mayor Terry James also announcing first to Facebook of her re-offer.

Do Not Drink The Water!

Do Not Drink The Water!


All residents of Blacks Harbour are being warned not to consume any water until further notice.

Mayor Terry James tells Tide News, significantly discolored water brought concern for health this morning.
James says it will be at least 24-48 hours before the water is drinkable.

Blacks Harbour Bad Water

Residents of Blacks Harbour are being warned to lower their water consumption, ASAP.


Mayor Terry James tells Tide News, significantly discolored water in the area has caused a concern for health.

She says Connors Bros. and the Village of Blacks Harbour are working to fix the problem through an aggressive flushing program.

James adds, there is no boil order as of now, but that may change after direction from the Department of Health.

More details on the situation coming this afternoon.

Saint John Completes Harbour Cleanup

A huge milestone is approaching for the city -- with the recent approval of the 2012 Capital Utility Budget, City Manager Pat Woods says Harbour Clean-Up will be complete by the end of the year.

Mayor Ivan Court says it took 10 years to get the funding for the project but less than 4 years to complete it.

The 2012 Utility Budget comes in at almost 20 million dollars with almost 40 million dollars in carry-over projects.

The price tag for Harbour Clean-up is about 87 million dollars.

Farren Re-Offering in Saint John

On the heels of public criticism from Mayor Ivan Court regarding his constant questioning of pension issues, Councillor Bill Farren says he wants another chance to address what he calls the city's Achilles heel.

Councillor Farren tells CHSJ News that he is re-offering for common council, but he won't be joining the pension board---because as he puts it, its operations are currently clouded with "shenanigans."

Farren says he hopes the electorate will support him in his bid to tackle the issues and help the city move forward.

Drugs and Ruckus in Rothesay

A quantity of marijuana was seized after a traffic stop on the Gondola Point arterial. The Rothesay Police pulled over a man driving with a female passenger, and noticed there appeared to be marijuana laying on the floor of the car. Both were arrested and the car was searched. The woman admitted to owning the drugs and was booked for possession of a controlled substance, then released.

Police also responded to a call from the McDonald's on Hampton Road, where some young men were causing a ruckus by screaming and swearing inside the restaurant. They were trespassed from the restaurant and taken home to be dealt with by their parents.

MP Gives Kudos to Federal Budget

The federal budget is in line with protecting social programs, balancing the budget, finding efficiencies in government, and boosting the economy--that from John Williamson, the MP for Southwest New Brunswick. He says the best way to achieve those mandates is to keep taxes low and debt down.

CHSJ News asked Williamson if he's heard any concerns over changes to the age requirements for Old Age Security. He tells us its such a long-range time-frame that a lot of the backlash has quieted down. The changes won't be phased in until 2023-2029--and the demographic who was most concerned were people currently on the edge of retirement.
 

Regarding another high-profile decision--to phase out the penny--Williamson said he's heard mostly positive feedback.

Nugent Says Ferguson Compared Him To Martha Stewart

The defamation trial of former Common Councillor - and current St. Stephen Town Manager - John Ferguson hears how angry and outraged City Solicitor John Nugent was at what he calls sensational assertions that were left hanging without any proof being offered to back them up.


Nugent testifies his anger was ratcheted up when Ferguson compared accepting legal advice from him to Martha Stewart whom everyone knew had been charged with illegal insider stock trading. He was already incredibly offended at Ferguson claiming senior city staff were blocking him from getting outside advice on the pension plan which Nugent maintains was not the case. Nugent also telling the jury he found it puzzling Ferguson would not identify who was giving him legal advice.

The Pros & Cons Of East-West Corridor On Milltown Blvd

 The East-West Corridor being the big topic in St. Stephen.


President and CEO of Cianbro Corporation Peter Vigue tells Tide News the proposed highway will connect Calais to Coburn Gore -- another border town -- making travel more covenient between here, and big cities like Montreal, Chicago and Detroit.

Meanwhile...


Not everyone is happy about the East-West Corridor Project.

Sidney Mitchell, seen protesting on Milltown Blvd in St. Stephen tells Tide News she is with the group "Friends of Piscadaquis Valley".

She says they are concerned about the possible pipelines and trucking routes disrupting rivers, watersheds, and wildlife.

Mitchell adds Maine has the means to become an eco-tourist area, and the East-West corridor will ruin that opportunity.

Earth Hour on Saturday

A chance to do your part to save the earth.
Tomorrow night between 8:30 and 9:30 your invited to join the hundreds of Millions of people , businesses and governments around the world as we unite each year to support the largest environmental event in history....Earth Hour.
More than 5200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide will be switching off their lights, sending a powerfull message for action on climate change.  The Algonquin Hotel in Saint Andrews will be participating in this event.  The lights will go out for an hour starting at 8:30 tomorrow night.

Saint John Mayor Wants Respect From Ferguson Lawyer

Saint John Mayor Ivan Court clashed with the lawyer for John Ferguson at the former Common Councillor -- and current St. Stephen Town Manager's trial for defamation.

Court admonished Gillis to show him some respect as Mayor and member of Common Council. Gillis was pressing Court on whether he had an obligation to the taxpayer in 2003 to make changes to the city's pension plan. Court told the jury the city received actuarial advice in 2006 not to make any changes because the plan was in good shape but then the financial collapse happened in 2008.

Court maintains there was no mismanagement on the part of the pension board even with a deficit exceeding 190 million dollars.

Ferguson's lawyer, Rod Gillis told Court the only people who are losing are the taxpayers but the Mayor disagreed with the suggestion that the pension plans financial woes will drive the city into bankruptcy.

Court admits he was never comfortable with the early retirement buyouts but told the jury Ferguson went down a dangerous road and was reckless.

Still No Sign Of Missing St. Stephen Man

Local police say there are many concerned citizens asking about a missing St. Stephen man.


60-year-old Kenneth Lee has been missing since Sunday, March 18th.

District 1 RCMP Sgt. Bob MacKnight says an RCMP helicopter searched isolated areas and points of interest for Lee this past weekend, with negative results.

Lee is 5'9, 175 lbs, wth a full beard and ponytail.

Police say he is driving a green 1993 Toyota Camry, with New Brunswick license plate BPN 513.
He was last seen wearing a beige, long-sleeve shirt and blue jeans.

If you have any information on Lee's whereabouts, please contact St. Stephen District 1 RCMP at 466-7030.

Mayor Thinks Ferguson "Just Didn't Like City Management"

Saint John Mayor Ivan Court has told the defamation trial of former Common Councillor John Ferguson, the city pension plan's deficit was like an iceberg coming towards the city and he was concerned about the cost of the early retirement packages.

Ferguson is currently the Town Manager of St. Stephen.


Court says he became friends with Ferguson in 2004 but disillusionment set in when Ferguson wouldn't share pertinent information with Common Council or offer up any proof to back his accusations of gross negligence.
 
Court testified he believes Ferguson's real problem was that he just didn't like city management for some reason.
 
He also told the jury the accusations were defamatory because members of the public started to believe pension board members did something wrong or illegal.

Door Not Slammed Shut On More Powerful Imaging Unit

The Health Minister is downplaying any suggestion politics are involved in a decision to move forward with a less powerful M-R-I machine for the Regional Hospital.
Madeleine Dube says it's about providing a standard level of service to all New Brunswickers.
But -- Dube says her department will monitor ongoing upgrades to units that are available and she's not closing the door to upgrading the Regional to the higher powered unit at some point in the future.
The Alward government is taking heat for refusing a million dollar donation from the Regional Hospital Foundation to upgrade the new M-R-I machine to the more powerful unit.


Attempts In Preventing The Lawsuit From Happening

The defamation trial of former Saint John Common Councillor John Ferguson was told he made three attempts to prevent the lawsuit from proceeding.


Pension Board lawyer Hugh Wright agreed with Ferguson's lawyer, Rod Gillis the costs would have been substantially lower had he been successful. Common Councillor and former Pension Board trustee, Chris Titus wrote a letter saying questions were being raised about the city's pension plan with good intentions but without a full understanding of the facts. Another letter written by then Councillor Ivan Court in 2007 warned going ahead with the lawsuit against Ferguson would set a dangerous precedent.
 
Ferguson is currently the Town Manager of St. Stephen.

ATV Causes Serious Injuries After Landing On Local Man

Local police were called to an accident over the weekend in Flume Ridge.


District 1 RCMP say the call came around 2:30 Saturday afternoon, of a man who was seriously injured while driving an ATV.

Sgt. Bob MacKnight says it appears the ATV went end over end, landing on top of the man.

Paramedics arrived via all-terrained-vehicle, and the man was taken to a hospital in Fredericton.

MacKnight says this is the second incident, within the past 10 days, of an AVT operator being seriously injured.

Another Telephone Scam Involving Power Bills

St Martins residents are the latest to be hit by yet another telephone scam - this one claiming to represent N-B Power and it deals with a change in billing procedures.
One resident who received the call tells us it came from a California area code.
N-B Power spokesperson Melissa Morton says it's part of the ongoing telephone scams with callers claiming to represent the utility.
She says if you receive one of these calls - don't give any information and contact your local police or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre - contact the centre at 1-888-495-8501or click here.

Who Cracked The Cheese?!

The St. Stephen Superstore, St. George Save-Easy, along with over 250 other select Loblaw banner stores across Canada, simultaneously broke 305 wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese for world record Saturday afternoon, March 24th.


Loblaw Companies became the new official world record holder for the most wheels of cheese cracked simultaneously.

It was declared by Guinness World Records.

Northumberland Teams Up With NCC

Milk cartons here in the province are getting a temporary makeover--Nothumberland Dairies is partnering up with the Nature Conservancy of Canada to promote conserving the province's wetlands, forests, and coastal habitats. The limited-edition white cartons feature a sketch of a sandpiper by Sackville artist Robert Lyon.

Jack Christie of Nothumberland Dairies tells CHSJ News teaming up with the NCC was a natural choice because they represent what farmers stand for: living responsibly off the land.


Over 6 hundred thousand cartons are now being distributed all over New Brunswick.

Down's Syndrome Society Recognized

The Saint John Down Syndrome Society has been recognized with a national award. The society was nominated by Michelle Boutilier (Boo tell yay), a mother of a 5 year old with the disorder. In her nomination letter, she said they've been a major support to her and done a lot of help her and her son.

Sharon Gerrits of the Saint John Down Syndrome Society tells CHSJ News the organization aims to help our families of people with Down Syndrome by providing a place for their loved ones to socialize with peers, planning activities, and making sure people have access to proper care.

One out of every 800 babies has Down syndrome. The SJDSS will be featured in the Spring issues of 21 Magazine and Voices.

To contact the society email saintjohndss@hotmail.com. You can visit the national association at www.cdss.ca/

Motel Fire in Saint John

A fire this morning at a motel on Manawoganish Road. Officials responded to the call around 8:30am that there was smoke issuing from the second floor of the building.

When they arrived they found a verandah on fire--the blaze was threatening to spread to the inside of the motel. They quickly knocked it down. Only a couple of units in the 19-unit motel were occupied at the time of the blaze.

The fire department also responded to a call on Carmarthen Street around 9pm--a smoke alarm was going off in the building, but no one was at home. Fire officials broke into the home but there was no damage.

Fairmont To Marriott

More details in the sale of the historic Algonquin Hotel in St Andrews after a news conference held at the resort today.

Tourism Minister Trevor Holder tells Tide News it's a solid agreement that will protect the iconic value of the hotel.

Provincial officials have been hammering out the agreement with a partnership made up of New Castle Hotels and Resorts - and - Southwest Properties.

Holder says the government will collect 20 per cent of profits from the hotel within 30 years, and the province will provide the new owners with a $21 million loan, to be repaid within the same amount of time.


The new owners plan to operate the Algonquin under the Marriott banner.

St. Stephen Man Missing

District 1 RCMP is asking for help from the public in locating a missing 60-year-old St. Stephen man.
Kenneth James Lee has been missing since Sunday, March 18.


Police say Lee borrowed his mother's car to go to a local convenience store, but he never made it that far.

He is driving a green 1993 Toyota Camry with New Brunswick license plate BPN 513.

Lee is 5' 9' tall (175 cms) and weighs 175 lbs (79 kg). He has a full beard and a ponytail. He was last seen wearing a beige, long-sleeve shirt and blue jeans. He is also known to wear a beige baseball-style hat with the word 'FLAKEBOARD' on it.

Anyone with information about where Kenneth James Lee may be is asked to contact the District 1 RCMP at 506-466-7030 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Civic Center Is On Schedule

We've got the latest update on the Garcelon Civic Center.


Chief Administrative Officer for St. Stephen, John Ferguson says the surcharge and compression of soil for the pool is keeping good time.

He says Dora Construction giving their worst case scenario cost estimate, which is within the town's budget.

Ferguson adds the project remains on schedule, and with the warmer weather we will see lots of activity in the coming months.