Education Council Approves Upgrades To Local Schools

Some much needed improvements are in the mix for two of our local schools.


The Anglophone South District Education Council giving the nod for upgrades to the Blacks Harbour Elementary School bathrooms, as well as a portion of new roofing for the St. Stephen Middle School.

Anglophone South District Superintendent Zoe Watson tells Tide News the Council approved the upgrades at their last meeting in September, but a few revisions needed to be made about the cost of the bathroom upgrades, which will be $235,000, as well as which portion of the roof will be done at SSMS.
She says the requests will be sent off to the District of Education, and usually around Christmas time the Council will find out which projects are approved.

Watson says both projects will hopefully take place in summer of 2013.

A Public Inquiry With One Opinion

The glass was more empty than full at the Electoral Boundaries Commission hearing in St. Andrews.


The number of ridings will be going down from 55 to 49 before the next provincial election.

The Commission making a stop at the Huntsman Marine Science Centre to get public input on where the changes should be made, with only one resident showing up to share his ideas.

Oak Bay resident Ed Young brought up the option of combining McAdam with Charlotte-Campobello. He says even though he cannot speak for the people of McAdam, McAdam did ask to be included in the Regional Council. He thinks the Islands ( Grand Manan, Deer Island, and Campobello ) should be left as they are, and that the people of Charlotte County need the two ridings we have now.

Young says what he thinks doesn't matter because things are going to change whether we want them to or not.

The Commission's Alan Maher says hearing from people around the province is essential. He says "..we are looking at a blank slate right now, and that's the whole intent, we want New Brunswickers to tell us what they think we should do in various areas to get the constituencies as close as possible to the electoral quotient of 11,269." Maher explains the quotient is determined by dividing the total number of registered voters in the province by the total number of electoral districts, which will soon be 49, and getting each riding as close to that number as possible is where the changes are needed.

The second round of public hearings during the Commission's mandate will be held in February and March of next year.

Reckless Driver Hits Multiple Police Cars & Signs

A 41-year-old man has a date with court after major fiasco with city police Saturday night.

City police say they spotted the man driving a truck in a reckless manner by Main street and Lansdowne avenue in Saint John. Suspecting he was an impaired driver, police called off the pursuit. Sgt. Tanya LeBlanc tells Tide news the driver was later found in his truck in a driveway after striking two street signs and a car in the driveway. When police approached the truck the driver attempted to drive out of the driveway, causing the police officer to jump out of the way before the truck hit a police car.

The truck then drove towards two more police officers, who also had to dodge out of the way before the truck hit a second patrol car. Police then managed to get the man out of the truck.

Alcohol is believed to be a factor.

Hampton High Attempts To Break World Record

One high school is playing it's part in trying to break a Guinness World Record.

Students and staff at Hampton High School will join other schools across the country by participating in the worlds largest practical science lesson. Grade 9/10 science teacher Susan Cochrane tells Tide news the record attempt will take place in the school's gym on Friday at 2 o'clock. She says the two-part lesson is based on the Bernoulli's principle. Cochrane says one experiment will involve taking straws and water to create mist, while the other will work with water balloons and air pressure.

Cochrane adds Belleisle will also be participating.

Arts & Culture Park Gets "Scary"

What would fall be without scarecrows?

This month the Arts & Culture park in Quispamsis is home to 13 of them.

Organizer Aaron Kennedy tells Tide news the scarecrows are made by local groups like cadets, brownies and the KV figure skating club. He says the annual fall scarecrows have now become a tradition.

Red Head Community Association Up & Running

The Red Head Community Association in Greater Saint John is officially formed.

Twenty residents now make up the group that will celebrate and also address pressing issues in the community. Ward 4 Common Councillor Ray Strowbridge tells Tide news since their first official meeting the association is now planning a website, developing a newsletter, and creating their mission statement.

Now that the group is on their feet, Strowbridge says he and Councillor David Merrithew will no longer have a say in the association's plans.

In August, Strowbridge and Merrithew helped provide ideas on how community associations work to concerned Red Head residents, who felt they weren't being heard or recognized by previous councils.

City Hotel Being Turned Into Apartments

The Courtenay Bay Inn near Haymarket Square is being converted to residential housing made up of studio apartments and ads have already appeared looking for people to move in to Crowne Street Plaza in Saint John.

Ward 3 Common Councillor Donnie Snook couldn't be happier saying affordable housing is just what's needed now near the centre of the city with Plan SJ and the desire for greater density.

Snook earlier suggested the courthouse on Charlotte Street across from Horsefield be turned into housing when the new courts building opens up at Peel Plaza.

Fire On West Side

Fire crews are currently battling a blaze on the west side in Saint John.

Saint John city police telling Tide news they received the call just after 9 am . Police say the fire is at a residence in the Ferry Cove Lane area, no details yet the exact address.

Police say all residents are out safe.

Arts Festival Taking Over King's & Queen's Square

No rain expected today which is good news if you're heading to the 9th annual Harvesting the Arts Festival.

The event at King's and Queen's Square will feature local artists, musicians, community groups and more.

Coordinator Jennifer Waldshutz tells Tide news partnering up with the Queen's Square Farmers Market is new, where they'll have a free horse-drawn trolley ride as a shuttle service between both Square's.

Waldshutz adds they've had as many as two-thousand people in the past.

The free events runs from 9:00am-4:00pm today.

Major Fredericton Fire Destroys Restaurant & Apartments

A major fire in downtown Fredericton leveling a three-story building that contained a ground-floor restaurant, two dozen apartments upstairs and also causing fire or smoke damage to several close buildings.

The Canadian Red Cross says the building at 73 and 75 Carleton Street was nearly a block deep and housed the Isaac's Way restaurant. What was left of the building later collapsed.

The Canadian Red Cross volunteers arranged emergency lodging and food for the 23 tenants. No reports of serious injuries.

Two Car Accidents Sending Three People To Hospital

A couple of noon time car accidents sending three people to hospital.

The first happened yesterday at 12:30pm with two cars at the intersection of Rothesay avenue and Rothesay road where one person was sent to hospital with minor injuries.

Shortly after another accident occurred just before 1:00pm at Somerset street and Milledgeville avenue where two people were sent to hospital with minor injuries.

Fire At East Side Home

An early morning fire on the east side causing some damage at a home in Saint John.

Saint John Fire Platoon Chief Peter Saab says fire crews were called the 27 Todd Street around 4:30 am.

Saab says the fire started in the kitchen, which suffered the most fire, water and smoke damage.

The blaze was extinguished quickly and there were no injuries.

Teenager Girl Struck By Car

A young teenager girl is in hospital after being struck by a pick-up truck and thrown into the air.

Rothesay Police tell Tide news two teenage sisters were walking along Route 119 by the Gondola Point Ferry around 8 o'clock last night when one of them was struck.

Police say the vehicle fled the scene, and with the help of RCMP an 83-year-old man was later arrested.

No word yet on the girls condition.

Threat With Weapon At Uptown Pub

A man is in police custody and facing a court date after threatening people with a weapon at an uptown pub in Saint John early Saturday morning.

City police say the man in his mid-twenties was arrested around 1:30 am outside O'Leary's Pub on Princess Street.

Police say they received the call from bar staff and no one was hurt in the incident. Police would not say what kind of weapon was used.

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.