City Liberal Likes Trudeau In The Race

Justin Trudeau is running for the Federal Liberal leadership and a former Liberal MLA thinks he is just what the Liberal party needs right know.

Roly MacIntyre tells Tide News the Trudeau legacy is still powerful in the Maritimes and will help him in the race. 

He says Trudeau is not hard to support adding the Federal Liberals need renewal and he's the answer.

MacIntyre says he's met Trudeau a few times and finds him knowledgeable and charismatic.

Young Farmers Compete In Pumpkin Contest

Farmers as young as five will be showing off their pumpkin growing skills today.

The Kingston Farmers Market is hosting their annual "Pumpkin Growing Contest", where kids ages five to sixteen compete in two different age categories and are judged on the size of their pumpkins.

Market Manager Lorraine Forbes tells Tide news the contest gives pride to kids in growing their own product.

The young farmers will be bringing in their pumpkins this morning and judging will take place at noon.

Kindergarden Registration Next Week

It's almost time to sign the kiddies up for kindergarden.


Tuesday, October 9th,  through to Friday, October 12th, registration will be held at your local community school during regular school hours for children born in 2008.

There will also be an evening registration Wednesday, October 10th from 4-8pm at the St. Stephen Education Centre on School Street -- formerly known as the District 10 building.

You will need to bring your child's birth certificate, medicare card, and immunization record.

Silent Witnesses Bring Message To NBCC

Allowing women without a voice to speak their message.


Right now at NBCC in St. Andrews, life-size silhouettes -- representing women who were murdered in New Brunswick at the hands of their intimate partners -- are set up on display.

The Charlotte County Abuse Prevention Network bringing The Silent Witness Project for the public to view today until 6:30pm.

Organizer Carol Lynn Gamblin tells Tide News it's important these women are remembered and honored. She says, "...we have been robbed of these women, of their potential, of their love, of their humour, of their warmth, of their presence. They are gone, they will not be forgotton, we will not allow that to happen."

Some of the silhouettes are wearing shawls, scarves, brooches, or necklaces ( like the one seen in the bottom picture of 28-year-old Melanie Davis from Saint John, who was brutally stabbed and murdered in 2010).

Gamblin says we need to continue to work on awareness and education when it comes to domestic or family vilence. She adds, "We hope at some point that this will be in the history books. We hope that one day, this (domestic abuse) will be behind us."
Kelly Kurtz-Johnson with the Network says a new silhouette of Karen Buchanan-Frost from Charlotte County -- who died in 2007 -- will be added in the Spring.

She says they are currently looking for friends, family, and co-workers of Karen who would like to participate in her dedication ceremony and help with creating her shield.

If you are interested in helping with the Silent Witness Program, contact Carol Lynn Gamblin at 469-5544.

Gas Prices Predicted To Go Up Tomorrow

Get set to pull an extra nickel and two pennies as we look for a 7 cent hike in gas prices tomorrow (Thursday).


Kevin McCann of Wilson Fuels says speculators like bad news and the Irving Oil Refinery did have an incident last week.

McCann tells Tide News there are many contributing factors to an increase, including the incident at the Saint John Oil Refinery with an explosion on site.

Hoping to dodge the increase, many motorists are filling up today.

Prosecutor To Decide On Charges In Serena Perry Death

The Prosecutor's office now has all the evidence gathered by Saint John City Police in the strangulation death of 22 year old Serena Perry at the Regional Hospital.


And the prosecutor will make the final decision about whether anyone will be formally charged.

Perry was a psychiatric patient who was found dead in the amphitheatre at the hospital last February.

Police have said all along they had a suspect in her death but no arrest has ever been made.

Perry's family has been critical about the length of time this is all taking and the lack of information they have received on what's going on.

Perry's mother recently was asking people to sign a petition outside the hospital calling for better security inside.

Saint John Gets "Art-Bombed"

It might be what is known as an "art bomb" where local artists put up new art in the dead of night.


That appears to be the case with a rendition of Mona Lisa on the cement of an Uptown parking lot in Saint John that has popped up overnight.

The one major difference with this Mona Lisa is she has a nose ring.

You can check it out in person in behind the RBC parking lot on Charlotte Street, or by walking up the laneway on Germain Street between Princess and King Streets.

Route 1 Gateway To Be Completed 1 Year Early

That stop and go routine you have been enjoying in Charlotte County is nearing an end.


The massive $540 million Route 1 Gateway project which includes twinning 55 kilometres between Waweig and Lepreau will be complete by October 25th.

Dexter Design Manager Pat Chouinard was asked how they are able to finish the work a year early. He says innovation, a lot of value engineering with the department and staff, and by by using more people at one time made the job go faster.

Transportation & Infrastructure Minister Claude Williams tells Tide News when the job is done on October 25th, Dexter will begin a 30 year maintainence contract on the roadway. He says the New Brunswick economy will certainly benefit from having the highway open one year sooner than predicted.

About two years ago an archeaological site was found that forced changes in the construction plans.
Artifacts believed to be 10,000 years old found near Pocologan will one day be seen in a provincial museum.

Public Speaks On NB Liquor Closure In St. George

With NB Liquor closing their stores in St. George and Bristol, replacing them with much smaller agency stores, employees -- including 7 in St. George -- are being given the option to relocate to other corporate stores in different towns.

Tide News spoke with two employees from the St. George location who said they were told by their employer not to make any comments to the media.

So we asked the general public.

It was a mixed opinion with some people making comments, "I don't really care about the closure."
One man noted, "This would be cheaper for taxpayers in the end."

Most residents we asked about the closure paid concern to the employees.
One women says, "To put people out of work who live around here, to place them in other positions around the province, it's not right. They (provincial government) need to look at the people in this community."

Another man says, "It's sad really, because this community needs the stability of this business. We strive off of that store and not having it will have a big impact on the community."

Between the two stores, six full-time, permanent jobs will be lost in the small towns. The closures are slated for the end of 2012.

CUPE Asking NB Liquor To Reconsider

The union representing NB Liquor store employees is asking the corporation to reconsider closing the stores.


CUPE Local 963 President Martha Thompson says this decision is another blow to the economy of these communities, that these communities are not only losing good paying jobs, they are losing tax revenues as well.

The NB Liquor stores in St. George and Bristol are slated to be closed by the New Year. They will be replaced with much smaller agency stores, and employees are being given the option to transfer to another corporate store.

Thompson says the agency stores will offer a much smaller selection with practically no customer service, adding, it seems New Brunswickers don't deserve the same level of services and selection from NB Liquor than people living in larger centres.

Thompson says they believe this is part of a scheme by the Alward government to privatize NB Liquor, and instead of facing the public backlash by privatizing all at once, the government is privatizing the corporation, piece by piece.

Run For The Cure Today

Today is the 21rst annual Run for the Cure. The major breast cancer fundraiser kicks off in Saint John at 1:30 this afternoon, and will also be a BBQ and events for the kids, weather permitting.

 Karen McCumber tells Tide News they're hoping to raise a lot of money in this big push: they have already raised close to $80,000 with the goal being $235,000.

Individuals can still come sign up to run 5k or walk 1k. For more information, click here

Historic Saint John Church To Close

The bells toll for the last time today at St Jude's as a separate congregation...as of October 1, parishioners at Saint John's historic West Side church will join the nearby congregation at Saint George's Church.

Reverend Rob Salloum tells Tide news while it's sad to see the church close after over 100 years, it makes sense in the face of a declining church population  and both congregations need to look toward the future.

Saint George's final non-combined service will be held tonight.

Major Crime Investigates Blaze on Winslow

Another abandoned building has been destroyed by fire: this time, on Saint John's West Side. Fire crews responding to the call around 2:30 in the afternoon to reports of a fire at 158 Winslow Street.District Fire Chief Joe Armstrong tells Tide News the fire was already somewhat advanced by the time they arrived.

Smoke and fire were visible in the rear of the wooden building on both the first and second floors.

Crews performed an aggressive interior attack and managed to knock the fire down, but remained on the scene for over 3 hours. The blaze is under investigation by the city's Major Crime Unit.

Pot Seized After Truck Tips Over

A 31-year-old man is in hot water after a car accident resulting in the seizure of several marijuana plants.

Police responded to a call around 6pm of an accident on the East side of Saint John. When crews arrived, a pickup truck was tipped over on the median at the intersection of Barnesville Road and Loch Lomond Road.

After examining the scene police found a number of marijuana plants in the vehicle. As a result, the suspect is expected to appear in court at a late date.

Over 50 Trucks & Cars At Long Wharf Today

A new event and fundraiser will be rolling into Saint John today.

"Touch A Truck" will feature over 50 trucks at Long Wharf today, and proceeds go towards First Steps Housing Project which helps young mothers.

First Step's Sharon Amirault tells Tide news kids will be able to climb in many of the vehicles, which range from antiques, to construction, and military. Amirault hopes to raise between $10,000-$20,000.

Tickets are $5 which can be purchased at Harbour Station or at the event. Children under 2 are free. The vent is rain or shine and runs from 10:00-3:00 pm.

Test Drive & Help School Programs

You can take a car for a test drive and Ford will donate $20 for Samuel de Champlain school.

Called "Drive One 4 UR School" program, the fundraiser hopes to raise $6,000 to help pay for sports, arts and technology programming.

Ford sales manager David Brown tells Tide news there will be 15 vehicles to test drive at the school.

There will also be a car wash, BBQ and soccer tournament from 9 until 3 today.

Anti-Bullying Advocate Paints Fundy Pink

It's time to paint the school Pink!


Today, Fundy High School in St. George welcoming an anti-bullying advocate who made headlines 5 years ago by creating "Pink Shirt Day".

In 2007, Travis Price and friend David Shepherd decided to stand up for a fellow student who was being bullied for wearing a pink shirt on the first day of school. Overnight, they bought pink shirts from a women's clothing store, and through Facebook, were able to get much of the student body to wear pink the next day to class.

Price tells Tide News he never expected his actions to spread so far. He says it was one of those things he didn't think would fly because bullying had gone for so many years without a face, nobody to inspire kids. He says he really feels that he and David were able to do this, where kids could point and say "I'm going to be like them, I'm going to stand up for myself."

Price is now working with the Canadian Red Cross on the "Beyond The Hurt" program, which gives kids a place to find information and resources about bullying. Price says he really wanted to expand on more than just a "pink shirt", and the "Beyond The Hurt" program gives him that option. He says the Red Cross are a great group of professionals and he is very excited to be working with them.

( In Picture: Fundy High School Principal John Tanner with Travis Price )

Local MLA Against NB Liquor Closure

NB Liquor announcing the closure of two stores by the New Year leaving St. George feeling dismal.


The corporate-owned stores in St. George and Bristol will be replaced with privately owned agency stores.

Charlotte-The Isles MLA Rick Doucet says the net gain by opening the agency store would be minimal. He says the jobs would be amalgamated with another location so therefor you wouldn't see any net gain in jobs. As well, residents will be left with about an eighth of the selection of booze available now.

Doucet adds this is another slap in the face to rural New Brunswick, with the government basically saying "Go move out west where there are more jobs."

NB Liquor president Daniel Allain says the stores are no longer efficient, each are more than 50 years old, and staff will be moved to other locations.

In total, Doucet says 7 local jobs will be taken by the closure.

Murphy Wants To Help Young People Stay In NB

"Help with university loans and tax credits for businesses that hire local grads."


That's what Provincial Liberal leadership candidate Mike Murphy would like to see.

Murphy, who made a stop in St. Stephen this week tells Tide News he's concerned students have a mind set they have to move out of the province once they graduate because there are "no jobs".

He says it's very difficult to ask people from outside of New Brunswick, or even young people inside New Brunswick, to come and stay in the province when we don't even invest in ourselves.

Murphy adds he'd create a youth investment bank to help with student loans.

The liberal leadership election will be held next month.

Local CEO Going Undercover

Ever wonder how your boss would make out if he did your job?

Now you can see for yourself!

Cooke Aquaculture CEO Glenn Cooke worked undercover in this season of Undercover Boss Canada.

The hit TV show invites CEO's to go undercover and work with their employees at a base level, to learn more about their workers and to find what is lacking in the business.

Cooke spent a week with the men and women who care for his fish, and hearing their remarkable stories.

The Cooke episode debuts tomorrow night ( September 27th, 2012 ) at 10 pm on W Network.