Vets And Many Other Benefit From Biker Festival

Our international biker festival being very beneficial to our veterans.

Canadian Chair of the Rally In The St. Croix Valley,  Bob Hamel tells Tide News they delivered a couple cheques worth $15,500 to the Ridgewood Veteran's Wing in Saint John on Saturday. He says $500 came from the 2nd CAV mambers with the other $15,000 being raised by events such as the annual Harley Draw.




Hamel says on top of raising the money for Ridgewood, other charities benefited. He tells us the Red Knights MC made $820 from the Peter McBride Memorial Poker Run to be donated in Peter's name to a charity. The 2013 Fundy Rugby team made over $950 to fund a trip to compete in a major tournament.

 Hamel says 1951 bikers registered this year and the St. Stephen Legion reported the biggest event fund total in 10 years.
He estimates that over the course of the two and 1/2 day rally, over $250,000 was spent locally on food, fuel, housing and goods.

Apartment Building Destroyed By Fire In Milltown

Seven tenants are temporarily homeless after a fire in an older two-storey wooden building in St. Stephen on Sunday afternoon around 2:30pm.

Red Cross disaster volunteers providing help for six tenants.

One woman was checked briefly at hospital due to a pre-existing medical condition and one firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation.

Firefighters from St. Stephen, Calais, Moores Mills, and Oak Bay responding to the blaze at 57 and 59 Queensway.

A cause is not yet known.

Ben & Marcia Will Wed By The Sea

Tell them congrats next time you see them....Ben Vienneau and Marcia Belyea are the grand prize winners of Win & Wed by the Sea.

The couple found out this morning they are the winning couple who win a wedding in St. Andrew's By the Sea worth more than $20,000.

Courtney and Chris from St. Stephen don't go away unhappy winning $2500 dollars for second place.

Crimestoppers Looking For Who Damaged Lot In Elmsville

Two vehicles spinning out causing some serious damage to a parking lot in Elmsville. 

St. George RCMP and Crimestoppers looking for any information the public may have about the incident, which happened on the evening of July 20.

The first vehicle is a newer model white, four-door, Ford 150 with a chrome push bar, side-steps and dark tonneau cover. The second vehicle is a white, two-door, Chevrolet Cobalt with a spoiler. 

You can contact Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

BREAKING NEWS : It's A Boy For Will And Kate

Duchess Catherine has given birth to a son weighing 8lbs 6 oz. The birth occurred at 4:24pm.

The baby will be third in line for the British throne after Prince Charles and William.
 

BREAKING NEWS: Severe Weather Watch Issued

Environment Canada issuing Severe Thunderstorm Watches across the province. 

The watches have been issued for Saint John and County, the Kennebecasis Valley, Sussex, Kings County, St. Stephen, Charlotte County, Grand Manan, and more.

The weather service says the storms are likely this afternoon or evening with the potential for strong winds heavy downpours and possibly hail.

Click here for the latest weather information.

Artists Create Works To Benefit John Peters Humphrey Foundation

Over 30 artists are in Hampton this weekend creating tiny works of art — they're taking part in Bloomin' Artists, a biennial fundraiser for the town's John Peters Humphrey Foundation.

Participating artist Alison Murphy tells us there are six gardens open for the artists to take inspiration from. They'll create their works of art in the garden, and the public is welcome to watch them work. The art itself will be small enough to fit inside a 12-inch pizza box.

The viewing of the finished art takes place at the Lighthouse River Centre at 1075 Main Street starting on both Saturday and Sunday at 11:30am with auctions at 2pm and 4:30pm.

This year, the John Peters Humphrey Foundation contributed funds towards a Hemmings House film about Humphrey called The Boy Who Was Bullied, a documentary about the human rights advocate. The film premiered on CBC Atlantic earlier this month.

Police Make Arrest In Hotel, Gas Station Robberies

A man arrested in connection with two robberies taking place within the span of half an hour. 

Saint John Police say at 5:30am this morning, a man went into the Hilton demanding cash. Then, just before 6am, the man entered the Garden Street Irving, demanding cash and left with an undisclosed amount of money. 

He was nabbed after a vehicle chase, which turned into a foot chase, ending on Prince Edward Street. The man is in court today, and is charged with two counts of robbery.

Province's Black Bear Population Increasing

The number of black bears in the province is growing, and one scientist says the upswing is directly related to the economic downtown across the border.

Kevin Craig, a wildlife biologist for the Department of Natural Resources says because of the financial conditions in the United States, fewer Americans are taking trips to the province to hunt the bears. Craig says the decrease in visiting hunters and more habitat has led to their numbers ballooning to 17,000 in the last few years.

There's been an increase in bear sightings in residential areas, however, Craig says people can reduce the number of encounters with bears by not leaving out garbage and bird feeders at night. To re-locate them, the Department of Natural Resources has set many live-traps in a variety of areas.

St. Stephen CAO John Ferguson Resigns

He's not heading out west -- but he is leaving St. Stephen.

Chief Administrative Officer John Ferguson has resigned.

The Town releasing a statement this morning that says Ferguson has accepted the position of CAO for the municipal county of Annapolis, Nova Scotia.

Ferguson states, " It has been a wonderful experience in St. Stephen. I am so impressed with the community's effort to move your beautiful border town forward. Please continue the wonderful work with each other and with your great neighbour: Calais, Maine."

He adds, "I wish St. Stephen well in their transition. St. Stephen has a bright future and excellent citizenry. Thank you St. Stephen. I look forward to shared opportunities to work with your great town on economic possibilities that affect all of us in Atlantic Canada."

Three Men Arrested In McAdam For Attempted Break-In

Three men have been arrested for attempted break and enter in McAdam.

RCMP say two men, ages 18 and 28, both from McAdam, were arrested Monday morning around 2am while trying to break into a shed.

A 33-year-old Blacks Harbour man was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the incident.

Police say all three are scheduled to appear in court at a later date.

Irving Oil Named In Lawsuit

Irving Oil has been added to the list of defendants in a proposed class-action lawsuit stemming from the train derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec.
    
The oil in the train cars that derailed and exploded was destined for Irving's refinery here in the city
    
An Irving spokesperson says the company did not own or control the oil or its transportation at any time.

Illegal Smokes Seized

About 260 thousand illegal cigarettes have been confiscated by the RCMP with two men from Burton now facing charges and hefty fines.
    
Police say the seizure of 26 cases of illegal tobacco happened after the two were stopped in Charters Settlement.
    
An 81-year-old man and 54-year-old man have court appearances scheduled in September. Their names won't be released until they are formally charged in court.

Tolls Again On The Harbour Bridge?

Social media was abuzz this morning with rumors that Transportation Minister Claude Williams had said there was a possibility of re-instating the toll on the Harbour Bridge.

The comments were made to the media yesterday. According the Honorable Dorothy Shepherd, the rumor was the result of a miscommunication when the Minister was talking about tolls in general.

Shepherd did say tolls are definitely on the table as an option for generation revenue--but not on the Harbour Bridge. It was a platform promise of the Tories to remove the toll, which was widely believed to unfairly penalize locals.

Point Lepreau Could Experience 2 Week Outage

The Point Lepreau Generating Station is currently operating safely at 95 per cent according to the New Brunswick government.

NB Power is considering the advantages of a two-week outage this fall so technicians can make adjustments to a steam valve.

NB Power stated its intent to have a two-week outage back in June. Fixing the valve would take care of steam line vibration issues, allowing the plant to return to 100 per cent reactor power.

If an outage is required, rates for NB Power customers would not be effected.

Referendum On Senate Gets Lukewarm Reaction

Liberal Senator Joe Day of Hampton isn't disputing the need to reform the Senate but he's not crazy about the idea of holding a national referendum on its fate which is being called for by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Day tells Tide News the Senate isn't the only government institution in need of reform. He argues the House of Commons is in need of reform as evidenced by the mini revolt staged by some Conservative M-P's over their treatment at the hands of the Prime Minister's Office and the control being exerted over them by the P-M-O.

One former Conservative M-P from Alberta who's now sitting as an independent complains they were being treated like trained seals.

BREAKING NEWS: 9 Sex Charges Withdrawn Against City Doc

A big surprise in court this morning.

All 9 charges of sexual assault against a Saint John City doctor have been withdrawn.

At a court appearance this morning all 9 charges were withdrawn but a reason has not been given.

8 of the 9 charges against Dr. Alan Cockeram were laid back in February.

Defence lawyer Brian Munro got into a heated exchange with the judge over the reason the charges were withdrawn, which was not revealed.

Munro says his client's name has been dragged through the mud for 14 months.

Green Party Leader Calls Shale Gas Regulations "A Myth"

Provincial Green Party leader David Coon isn't buying assurances from Premier David Alward about provincial regulations being strong enough to protect the environment when it comes to shale gas testing.
 
Coon says the regulations are more like conditions that can be negotiated away.

He can't believe SWN Resources got a blanket exemption to carry out seismic testing for shale gas in provincial wetlands.

Nearly $30,000 Worth Of Pills Seized At Jail

Correctional Officers at the Atlantic Institution have nabbed a visitor trying to bring drugs into the maximum-security federal penitentiary.

The officers seized 25 g of Hydromorphone beads as well as Dilaudid, worth nearly $30,000 inside.

The visitor was arrested by the police and may face criminal charges. From April 12 to July 08, 2013 staff at the Institution have had a total of 7 drug seizures valued at over $65,000 and resulting in four visitor arrests.

The jail uses tools like ion scanners and drug dogs to search buildings, offenders and visitors.

Airport Enjoys Big Increase In Passenger Traffic

Things are going well these days at Saint John Airport which is reporting a ten per cent increase in passenger traffic for the first half of the year. That represents the highest rate of growth of any airport in the Atlantic region. 

The airport also announcing Sunwing is planning its seventh season with direct flights and vacation packages next year from Saint John to Mexico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic starting in February.

The economic impact of the Airport on the Saint John economy is estimated at 66 million dollars as well as the creation, directly and indirectly, of 570 jobs.