Halloween Fun Run Raises Money For Community

Runners of all ages will be getting in the Halloween spirit this morning!

The 4th annual "Creepy Crawl" fun run will be kickin' off at Beaconsfield Middle School in Saint John at 9:30 am. There's a 1 km kids run, 3 km challenge for middle school students and 5 kilometre run/walk for adults.

Organizer Connie Coffin tells Tide news there's lots of fun Halloween decorations along the course and suggests runners wear costumes.

Coffin says every year their run club votes on where the money should go. This year proceeds from the run are split between PRO Kids and the Carlton Community Centre on the west side. Coffin says those two were picked because the centre gives their run club space to meet and PRO kids helps kids in sports and recreation. Last year the group raised just over $1,100. They'll also be collecting non-perishable food items for the food bank.

The run is $10 for adults, $5 for kids and little ones are free.

CUPE Protests At Route 1 Opening

Not everyone in the crowd at the Route 1 Gateway opening was celebrating.


A Protest by CUPE local 963 representing the employees of NB Liquor attending the event at the Pennfield Elementary School yesterday (Thursday, October 25th).
CUPE representative Marcos Salib tells Tide News they are concerned over the privatization being done by the province. Salib says, "..obviously, when you have assets, you should not be selling those assets. That's money that brings tax revenues, money that stays in the communities." He adds, "We are very concerned about those closures and the loss of employment as well."
The provincial government previously announced the closure of NB Liquor stores in St. George and Bristol, replacing them with much smaller agency stores that will be privately owned.

Joanne Murray who currently works at the St. George NB Liquor store tells Tide News after 33 years, she was asked to pick a different store. She says she was given the option to pick between a location in St. Stephen, St. Andrews, or any location in Saint John. Murray says she is not sure what she wants to do, as her husband is sick and at the moment she works only four minutes from home. She says she is worried what the winter months will bring having to travel on the highway so far between home and her job if she chooses another NB Liquor location. Murray adds that NB Liquor offered her another position for the same pay and travel expenses would be paid, but only for the first three months.

CUPE Local 963 President Martha Thompson tells Tide News they are upset over the privatization of taxpayer-owned NB Liquor stores. She says, "I want them (the provincial government) to reverse their decision. The agency stores don't give the customer service, they don't have the product knowledge we have, and the people in those communities deserve a real liquor store."

CUPE is asking the provincial government to reverse their decision to close the NB Liquor locations in St. George and Bristol as the communities need the local jobs.

Route 1 Gateway Officially Open

The new Route 1 Gateway is officially open.


Premier David Alward told the crowd gathered at the Pennfield Elementary School yesterday (Thursday, October 25th), this highway is not just infrastructure -- but a tool. He says, "It is a tool to allow efficient movement and safe movement of goods and services in and out of New Brunswick. The highway is going to allow us to do better business in a more efficient way, but more inportantly, in a safe way for many years to come."

The $540 million project by Dexter Contruction is finished nearly a year ahead of time, and at it's peak created about 700 jobs.

South-West New Brunswick MP John Williamson says his government's top priority is building the economy and protecting jobs. He says, "On behalf of the Harper Government I am very pleased to mark the completion of the Route 1 Gateway Project. It's very rare that large infrastructure projects come in ahead of schedule and under budget, thereby saving dollars from taxpayers that we can use for other projects and initiatives."

Williamson spoke on behalf of Minister Keith Ashfield who is recovering from a heart attack.

Transportation Minister Claude Williams says everyone in New Brunswick can now travel safely on the highway. Williams says, "I join all New Brunswickers in saying thank you to all those involved in making the Route 1 Gateway a safe highway to travel on."

The entire 240 km stretch between St. Stephen and River Glade is now a divided, four-lane highway.

MLA Calls For Change To Air Ambulance Policy

More controversy on Grand Manan about taking patients to the mainland.

Liberal M-L-A Rick Doucet of Charlotte-The Isles tells Tide News a woman who had suffered a heart attack had to wait for a few hours for the Air Care plane to arrive even though an Atlantic Charters plane was nearby.

Doucet says "If the Air Care flight is going to be delayed at a point where they don't understand how long it's going to be, then the doctor should have the last say , 'Look, we're going to get this patient off the island immediately,' and that's the bottom line here."


Doucet is calling on the new Health Minister Ted Flemming to get the policy straight. Doucet says he received an email from a relative of the person who suffered the heart attack charging the system in place now isn't working and quite frankly "sucks".

3 Teens Arrested During Lunch At SSHS

Three teens from St. Stephen High School getting a set of handcuffs for lunch.


Yesterday, (Monday, October 22nd, 2012) during lunch hour, a 17 year old boy, a 16 year old boy, and a 15 year old girl being arrested at St. Stephen High School.

All three teens are from the St. Stephen area.

Police say charges of trafficking marijuana and possession of marijuana are anticipated, and the arrests were the result of information District 1 RCMP received regarding drug use and trafficking around school property.

The Mounties say the teens have been released from custody to their parents.

Sgt. Bob MacKnight says "District 1 RCMP and local educators are commited to ensuring school is a safe environment for students. It's important to disrupt the drug trade influence on teens in our community, as we know that drug use is the root cause of crime."

Two Teens Stabbed On School Bus

The trip to school would have been really scary.

Two teen boys making their way to school this morning got hurt by a 17 year old in a stabbing incident on a school bus.

It happened around 8:30 this morning on Canterbury Street in front of Saint John High School.

Grade 11 student Kyle Soucy was standing outside the school when the bus pulled up and he tells Tide News he saw the bus driver pointing to the back of the bus and he could see fists flying and then someone got off the bus saying someone had been stabbed.

Sgt. Chuck Elgee of the Saint John Police Service tells Tide News the 17 year oldis  in custody.

The two teen victims were treated in hospital and released.

School District spokesperson Debbie Thomas tells Tide News that parents would have received a direct message from the school and they are working directly with the police on the matter.

Speeder Fined Almost $900 In Bethel

Local RCMP say a driver has been charged after speeding more than 50 kilometres over the speed limit.


Last Friday, October 19th, 2012, District 1 RCMP stopping a vehicle on Highway 1 in Bethel for driving 184 km/h in a 110 km/h zone.

St. Stephen Police say after stopping the vehicle, the driver then attempted to escape on foot, but, police say he was quickly apprehended.

RCMP say he was fined $604.50 for speeding more than 50 km/h over the posted speed limit, as well as $292.50 for failing to stop for police.

One Of The Biggest Redneck Fundraisers In Charlotte County

It was one of the biggest redneck fundraisers in Charlotte County.


The 2nd Annual CCSPCA Mud Bog yesterday (Sunday, Oct.21st)  raising $2641.91 and an SUV packed to the brim with supplies for our local animal shelter. This is over double the amount raised at last year's event.

Organizer Aaron Anderson tells Tide News he -- and the rest of the Offroaders Crew-- were worried not many people would come to the mud bog since the event was post-poned on Saturday due to rain. Anderson says he and Vice President of the Charlotte County Offroaders, Joe McFarlane were surprised over 1200 spectators signed in at the entrance with many more coming through a back way.

In total, 19 trucks attempted the 200 foot mud bog. In the competition there were two classes. Class 1 had entries with 35'' tires and under, and Class 2 had entries with tires 36'' and above.

1st place in Class 1 went to Anthony Hatt, who says this was the first time getting his Jeep dirty, since he just finished building it.

1st place in Class 2 went to Billy Fournier with his RAV 4 on 39'' tires.
Anderson says after such a successful fundraiser the Offroaders are already planning for next year.

You may want to clean the dirt off of your calendars.

New Sushi Restaurant Set To Open Uptown

A new restaurant is rolling in uptown, Saint John.

Work has begun to create Ta-Ke Sushi, which will be opening on King Street this December. Tidenews spoke with Glen Lee, who came up from Toronto to help his father Yang open the Japanese restaurant. Lee says his dad has been in the business for over 20 years, opening restaurants in Kingston (Ontario), Toronto, and Charlottetown. They noticed there weren't a lot of Japanese restaurants in Saint John, or even New Brunswick. Lee says his dad fell in love with the city, and that we can expect good food when it opens.

According to Lee they do traditional maki, but also have a variety of unique rolls with names like "Las Vegas."

They'll also be hiring 10 people to work for the restaurant, which is being built in the former Quality Convenience Store location. The name 'Ta-Ke' (pronounced 'tah-kay') means bamboo.

QPlex Winning Active Living Award

The QPlex getting provincial recognition for the healthy changes it's made in Quispamsis.

The facility won the Recreation New Brunswick Active Living Award, which Director of Community Services Dana Purton Dickson says comes from being a very open and accessible facility. The QPlex has a free hour of public skate and swim, as well as a walking track, dog park and community garden.

The QPlex has been open for just over a year and a half.

Irving Tractor Trailer Containing Diesel On Fire

Saint John Fire Department responding to an Irving tractor trailer on fire.

Platoon Chief Mark Wilson says crews were called to the trailer which was at the Seely Street exit, just above Rockwood Court, at the exit of Highway 1. Wilson says crews quickly put out the heavy fire found at the rear of the tractor trailer and cooled the truck.

The rest of the diesel was transferred to another tractor trailer.

Firefighters Save Wheelchair Bound Man From Fire

A 61-year-old man who uses a wheelchair is recovering in hospital from smoke inhalation after being rescued from a house fire in Quispamsis.

KV Fire Department tells Tide news they were called to the bungalow at 695 Hampton Road just after midnight. Smoke was billowing out of the home while they searched for the homeowner. Fire crews managed to put out the fire, which they say was mainly confined to the living room and was crawling up the ceiling.

Rothesay police say they received the call saying a cushioned chair in the home was on fire. Police add his neighbors say the homeowner is a chronic smoker. Police tell Tide news the "KV fire department are the heroes, they're the ones that saved that man from dying."

Author Stephen King Surprises Sussex Students

Students at Sussex High School getting quite a surprise yesterday.

Well known suspense and horror author Stephen King making a special trip into the school on Friday to do a writing workshop.

Teacher Sarah-Jane Smith tells Tide news the students spent the past year convincing King to come to the school. She says they sent over 1,200 persuasive letters, which King read all of. The students also made music and film projects posted to YouTube. Smith says King talked about how to make a story suspenseful, worked with them one-on-one and read their work out loud.

King is from Bangor, Maine and is known for writing The Green Mile, The Shining, The Stand, Carrie, The Dark Tower series and more.

Clean Out Your Closet & Lend A Helping Hand

Those old bikes and sneakers lying around your closet could mean the world to someone else.

The Rotary clubs from across Greater Saint John are joining together for "Boots, Bikes & Band-aids". Rotary club member Grant Kimball tells Tide news they're collecting gently used bikes, shoes, band-aids, hard vitamins and school supplies to ship down to the Dominican Republic. Kimball says they give the items to sugar cane workers who live outside the city and have no water or electricity. He says when they did the fundraiser two years ago it had a huge impact. Kimbal adds cash donations are also welcome.

Collection will be taking place today from 11:00am-3:00pm at Superstores in Saint John, Rothesay, Sussex and Hampton.

It's Fundraising... Charlotte County Style

Things are about to get Dirty!


This Saturday, October 20th, the Charlotte County Offroaders are bringing out the big trucks for the 2nd Annual Charlotte County SPCA Mud Bog.

Organizer Aaron Anderson tells Tide News last year's event was a little disorganized. He says the Offroaders have attended "mud-runs" throughout the year and have found many ways to improve this year's event. He says approximately 30 trucks participated last year, and due to a lot of thanks to social media, they are expecting many more vehicles this weekend, some coming as far away as Fredericton.

Anderson says they have a 200 foot long mud bog, which he calls "a see how far you can make it" pit. He says if you can drive the whole way through to the end, you are doing really well and you may get a trophy.
Anderson says he was very surprised to see how much support the community has given to the fundraiser with many businesses in St. Stephen donating prizes and trophies for the participants.

He says if you would like to participate and enter your own 4-wheel-drive, registration ends at 11am on Saturday, with the competition beginning at 1pm. For entry inquiries, you can call Aaron Anderson at 467-1793, or Joe MacFarlane at 467-7242.

Anderson says he is very happy for the support throughout the town and wants to invite everyone to the Mud Bog because they plan on putting on a good show. He says "..it's a blast, whether we break or not, or get stuck, it's just a blast."
Admission for the general public is a free-will money, food, or litter donation to the Charlotte County Animal Shelter.

The 2nd Annual CCSPCA Mud Bog will take place Saturday, Oct 20th, at 1pm at the end of the Cleland Road -- across from the Red Rooster Country Store.

(Picture provided by the Charlotte County SPCA Mud Bog Facebook Page)

Anglophone South Takes On Bullying

The Canadian Red Cross is taking a different approach to bullying, and is including our local schools as they do it.

This week, 13 teachers from the Anglophone South School District are being trained in the "Beyond The Hurt" program, an anti-bullying campaign that looks at more modern resources to deal with the issue.
Guidance Counsellor at St. Stephen High School Jennifer Grant tells Tide News her school has made changes to deal with bullying like re-arranging the locker areas and installing cameras, and they are going on 12 years with their anti-harrassment group. However, she adds, bullting used to be physical and verbal, now it is taking a modern face in the digital world.

Grant says through facebook messages, improper texting, and the fact that many bullies feel safe behind a computer screen, cyber-bullying can create a viscious cycle very quickly. She says bullies are getting braver through cyber-bullying because they don't have to physically see the effects they cause on their victims.

Red Cross Instructor Stacy Coy tells Tide News what they have found is youth need to be engaged in the solutions. She says instead of having an adult deliver bullying-prevention presentations, they have a student deliver the presentations.
Here, they are training teachers within those schools to do the training with the students so those students can then make the presentations to their peers.

Coy says since the program began in 2003, many teachers are saying the kids within their schools seem kinder to each other and they seem understand the impact of their actions.

(Top Picture - Guidance Counsellor at SSHS, Jennifer Grant, Bottom Picture - Canadian Red Cross Instructor Stacy Coy in a training session with the teachers)

CCSPCA On Temporary Quarantine

The Charlotte County SPCA is on a temporary quarantine.


The shelter is currently suspending all adoptions and intake of cats due to a Panleukopenia virus. The virus is a common cat virus, but can be very dangerous to young, unvaccinated kittens.

Evie Gange from the CCSPCA tells Tide News they are doing everything they can to resolve the matter and they appologize for the inconvenience to the community.

Gagne says to keep this problem from happening again, the CCSPCA is looking to increase their list of kitten foster homes, which are temporary safe havens for the animals to stay until they can be vaccinated.

If you would like to be a kitten foster home for a few weeks a year, please call the Charlotte County SPCA at 465-7657, or email at ccspca@nb.aibn.com .

4 / 5 Blooms For St. Stephen

That's 4 Blooms for Chocolate-Town.


The Town of St. Stephen getting a 4 out of 5 Bloom rating and a special mention for Dover Hill during the awards ceremonies for the 2012 National Edition of Communites In Bloom.

Communities In Bloom is a national organization promoting green spaces in community settings.

St. Stephen being one of eight finalists in the 3001-6500 population category, with Sussex being the only other NB contender.

Jasper, Alberta was named the winner of the category.

Get Your Tires Checked This Week For Free

It could be time to get your pressure checked -- and we don't mean your blood pressure.

 Pat McCarthy of Recycle NB tells Tide News it's important to get the pressure in your tires checked regularly, because improperly inflated tires are less fuel efficient and thus bad for the environment.

He says Recycle NB as well as the Rubber Association of Canada are recommending having your tires checked every month. He says to check your tires when they are cold, not after driving down the highway.


Starting today (Monday) through to Friday, October 19th, a partnership between Canadian Tire and Recycle NB means you can stop by any location -- including St. Stephen -- and get your tire pressure checked for free. Your name will also be entered to win a set of winter tires.

Drug Charges For A St. Stephen Pair

Two people from St. Stephen being arrested for drugs.


Sgt. Bob MacKnight of the District 1 RCMP tells Tide News a vehicle was stopped on Route 755, near Tower Hill last Friday, Oct. 12th, 2012.

He says a quantity of prescription drugs, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia were seized, and search warrants were executed at the home of the vehicle owners.

Police say a 42-year-old woman and a 25-year-old man were arrested and later released.

They are due to appear in court in December.