NBCC officially a crown corporation

The province now has two independent community Colleges. The New Brunswick Community College and the Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick, are now managing separate English and French institutions.

The province says the new system will better represent New Brunswick's bilingual status. Minister of Post-Secondary Education Donald Arsenault says the split will allow for more federal goverment and private sector funding.

Pictured above is the Board running NBBC along with  Charlie Norman from St. George.

Tucker declared Charlotte-the-Isles PC candidate

Sharon Tucker was declared the Progressive Conservative candidate for the riding of Charlotte-the-Isles.
Tucker was named the successful candidate on the second ballot, receiving more votes than Wilfred McAdam and Philman Green.

Wood & Wardrobe to Re-Open

The Wood & Wardrobe Thrift Store is going to be re-opening in a new/temporary location on Thursday, June 3 at 9:00 a.m. The new location at 107A Milltown Blvd.

They are still accepting donations at 129 Union Street – the St. Croix Vocational Centre building.

Cash donations towards the building fund are also being accepted.

Fatal Crash

The RCMP say three young people from the Riverview area are dead and two others are in hospital after a car slammed into a tree in the southeastern part of the province.

Four of the five people were thrown out of the vehicle in the crash Saturday night on Route 905 in Forest Glen.

Police say an 18-year-old woman, a 19-year-old woman and an 18-year-old man died at the scene.

An 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl were rushed to hospital in critical condition. Police say it appears the young people were not wearing seatbelts adding that speed may have been a contributing factor in the crash.

Alward Charges Focus Has Been Lost On Lepreau Refurbishment

It was the previous Lord Government that signed on to the refurbishment of the Point Lepreau nuclear power plant. Conservative leader David Alward was in the provincial cabinet at that time. He says Atomic Energy of Canada is responsible for the cost overruns but the issue is who will pay for the replacement power. Alward says the focus appears to have been lost by the Premier and Provincial Energy Minister Jack Keir because of the proposed sale of NB Power to Hydro Quebec.

Alward says the Legislative Assembly should have oversight of the project and it ought to be the number one priority of NB Power these days.

ATV Accident

A 16-year-old girl from the Buctouche area is in critical condition after two all-terrain vehicles collided with one another on a highway in the southeastern part of the province. The RCMP say alcohol may have been a factor in the crash.

The girl was a passenger on one of the ATVs that police believed were making their way along Highway 11 near Saint-Maurice when the collision occurred.

Former Eastport City Clerk Helen Archer Honored By Maine Governor Baldacci

A recently retired Eastport City Clerk was honored by Maine Governor John Baldacci, The Maine Legislature and The Eastport City Council at a surprise luncheon on Friday.

Helen Archer  retired last month after 27 years of service to Eastport and The State of Maine.

Governor Baldacci honored Helen Wilson Archer by declaring Friday, May 28th as Helen Wilson Archer Day in Maine in recognition and honor of her long and distinguished career serving Eastport and Maine.

Maine Senator Kevin Raye (R.-Perry) presents Eastports new Honorary Chief of Protocol Helen Wilson Archer with Proclamation from Governor Baldacci that declared Friday May 28 as Helen Wilson Archer Day in Maine - Chris W. Brown Photo

Saint John Man Sentenced To Prison For Robbery And Abduction

13 years in prison the sentence for a Saint John man convicted of attempting to kill a woman who was bartending at a Quispamis pub.
55-year-old Adrian John Lepage also pleaded guilty to robbing and kidnapping the woman from the Barnwood pub last November. It was revealed in his trial last month that he left the victim in a Lepreau gravel pit with a plastic bag taped over her head.

New Ferry For Grand Manan

The provincial government announcing a new five million dollar ferry will be plying the waters off Grand Manan from White Head Island sometime next year. Provincial Fisheries Minister Rick Doucet tells CHSJ News the ferry will be larger than what has been used since 1976.
A contract has been awarded to the same shipyard in Gaspe, Quebec which constructed the Henry Nase ferry which runs between Grand Bay-Westfield and Harding's Point. The new ferry will be able to carry 12 cars and 32 passengers

White gets life

A 32-year-old St. Stephen man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 59-year-old Mary Claire Scott.

William David White will be eligible for parole after serving 20 years and he is banned from owning or possessing firearms and ammunition for life.

New Bistro Opens in St. Stephen

The Grand Opening of The "Bistro On The Boulevard",was held this morning. It's owned and operated by Diane Ganong. The Bistro is located at 73 Milltown Blvd. Hours of operation are Monday to Sunday, 9:00am-9:00pm although this Friday you can expect to see them open to 11 as they will be hosting Peter Fitch for some Acoustic live entertainment.
The Bistro sells a wide variety of special coffees and teas, with homemade soups, fresh salads, sandwiches, and main course.

Photo compliments of Judy Lowery
Mayor Jed Purcell shown here at The Official Ribbion cutting.

Costco Saint John opens doors

People began lining up as early as 6am to be the first ones into the store.  Warehouse manager Mike Briere says he decided to open a Costco in Saint John because of the booming economy.  He says he knew a lot of Saint Johners were already going to the Moncton store, and he wanted to take advantage of the excellent location at East Point.

The City of Saint John  is taking steps to prepare for more traffic today.


Signals, markings and signage have been improved and motorists are being reminded not stop on the railroad tracks at the exit. All available officers from the traffic enforcement division will assist with traffic today

Fire Damages House outside of Harvey Station

The Harvey Volunteer Fire Department responded to a structure fire at a single family residence outside of Harvey Station yesterday.

The house suffered heavy smoke damage. No one was home at the time of the fire.

Firefighters were on the scene for approximately 3 hours and were assisted by firefighters from the McAdam Fire Department. There were 23 firefighters and 7 departmental vehicles attending to the scene. Highway 635 was closed for a short period of time and some area school buses were re-routed.

The fire is under investigation at this time by the Provincial Fire Marshal's office and the cause has not been determined at this time.

Lake Utopia Update

There will be a public meeting tonight to update us about The Lake Utopia algae. It's been an ongoing problem for sometime now.
The Dept of Health & Dept of Environment will be giving presentations. Cookes Aqua, Irving and Eastern Charlotte Waterways will also be in attendance. The meeting is open to the public and gets underway at 7 at the new St. George Community Centre.

Gas Prices still going down

For the third week in a row, gas prices have fallen in the city following the weekly setting. Self Serve regular is being sold for 98.5 around town with diesel going for 98.7. Heating oil is also cheaper this week at 85.8 and propane stands at 102.3 a litre.

Meanwhile Cross Border gas price are coming in at 78 cents per litre Canadian.

Marijuana plants seized from a home Elgin

A marijuana grow operation was discovered over the weekend by Caledonia RCMP.  Members were called to the Hillside Road in Elgin to initially respond to a complaint.
Police seized approximately 425 marijuana plants and growing equipment and could potentially produced over 212,500 joints.

A 43-year-old woman will be appearing in Moncton Provincial Court at a later date to face related charges.

Lottery-Win

A couple from Saint John has won the $1-million grand prize in the Atlantic 49 lottery draw on the weekend.
Linda DeFazio and Gary King say they plan to buy a new car and go on a cruise.

DeFazio says she brought the ticket into the store to be checked Sunday morning and the cashier ran it through the machine twice, thinking it was broken when it showed the big win.

DeFazio says she loves her job at the Value Village discount store and has no plans to quit.

Huntsman Marine Temporary Aquarium

A temporary aquarium has been set up at The Huntsman Marine Science Centre until Labour Day weekend.

It will house the harbour seals Loki and Snorkel, all of the lobsters, sturgeon, touch pool and tanks will be in place on the same site for the public to visit.

The temporary aquarium is open daily until Labour Day in September. Seal feedings still take place at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., and there will be a Meet the Lobsters event at 1 p.m. daily.
Photo compliments of Jim Cornall

Additional $1 million for agriculture industry

An added one million dollars has been added by The provincial government under two initiatives to support land development and enhancement of livestock genetics.

Agriculture and Aquaculture Minister Ronald Ouellette announced the funding today.

This assistance is an increase to the programming already available through the Canada-New Brunswick Growing Forward agreement.

Crime Compensation Raised

People who have been a  a victim of a violent crime will soon be able to file for $5,000 more in compensation. Public Safety Minister John Foran announced today that as of June 1st, the maximum amount of compensation for crime victims is going from $5,000 to $10,000.
He says this includes money used for councelling, medication, eye wear, transportation, relocation expenses, and funeral expenses.