A provincially-run registry that matches doctor-less patients with family doctors is showing results.
800 New
Brunswickers have been matched with a family doctor or nurse through
Patient Connect NB, and another 300 are being matched right now. 2000
people have signed up for the service in total.
Patient Connect NB was established at the end of May. To register for the service, click here.
With the
announcement the West side icon will be shutting its doors, the CEO of
Simms has said he'll help out of work employees find new jobs — and Ward One Councillor, Bill Farren, believes he'll be true to his word.
Farren
tells CHSJ News he knows Tom Simms will do his best to take care of
those who find themselves unemployed when the Simms Corner factory shuts
its doors this fall.
Farren says that's just in Simms' make-up, calling him a man of the people and a good, true businessman.
In a
release Simms said it was a tough choice to let go of a team of
employees they've worked with for decades. No word on how many people
will be out of a job.
The Simms Company, which will no longer be making its brushes in Saint John, had its beginnings in 1866. That's when Thomas Stockwell Simms, an American civil war veteran, invested his soldier's back pay and bonus in a small brush and broom operation in Portland, Maine. This fledgling enterprise moved in 1872 to Saint John.
David Goss knows more about Saint John history than just about anyone else and tells CHSJ News Simms played a huge role in the lives of many people on the west side. He says you will hardly meet anyone over 60 in that part of the city who hasn't had some connection with the company over the years.
Simms Corner used to be known as Avery's Corner and the company, which employed up to 500 workers at one time, had a building across the road on the former Centracare property which was used to house 60 factory girls if they had nowhere else to live.
Simms travelled all the way to the far east back in the early 1900's to get the best bristles and established a Baptist church in India which is still standing today.
The rules of the game have changed when it comes to winning public support for big industrial projects.
John Herron of the Atlantica Centre for Energy says the old argument of compromising the environment for the sake of jobs and economic growth isn't being accepted as readily anymore.
Shale gas development has run into strident opposition but Herron tells the Tide other jurisdictions have managed to get their publics on board with energy development.
Herron says protests occur when people feel they're not being listened to and there have been intensified protests in Kent County with arrests being made.
Provincial Green
Party leader David Coon says there might be overwhelming support for the
West to East pipeline in Saint John but such is not the case in
Quebec.
He
claims there's alot of concern and Quebec Premier Pauline Marois has
been hedging on where she stands so as not to alienate her populist
base. Coon points out environmental concerns in Quebec have been
heightened because of the train disaster with tankers of oil exploding
at Lac Magentic last month.
He
tells the Tide the pipeline project will increase carbon pollution and
that will have unforseen consequences, pointing out not many people
around here are aware the Bay of Fundy is becoming more acidified
because of climate change and increased carbon pollution. He warns that
acidification could damage the fishery over the long term.
Campbellton is in a
state of shock........The RCMP say two young boys, aged 5 and 7, are
dead after they were strangled by a python that escaped its enclosure at
an exotic pet store.
The
RCMP say the boys were sleeping in an apartment above Reptile Ocean and
it's believed the snake made its way into the apartment through the
ventilation system sometime through the overnight hours.
The
snake was captured and is in the possession of police. The boys were
visiting the apartment of the pet store's owner at the time.
Autopsies will be performed on the two victims today in Saint John.
Premier David Alward announcing ten people in the province being recognised with the Order of New Brunswick.
They
are Joanna Bernard, of Madawaska Maliseet First Nation, for her
tireless efforts to ensure the well being and economic prosperity of her
community as well as of all First Nations communities in the province.
Édith Butler, from Paquetville, for her remarkable contributions to the advancement of Acadian culture and heritage.
Alida
Clément, from Dieppe, for her dedication and volunteer efforts to
ensure the well being and quality of life of disabled persons, seniors,
and her community at large.
Eugène
Durette, from Edmundston, for the impact he has had in advancing
business in Edmundston and throughout the province, as well as the many
ways in which he has given back to his community.
Dr.
Dana Hanson, from Fredericton, for his outstanding leadership in the
medical profession in New Brunswick and around the world. Dr. Hanson is a former President of the Canadian Medical Association.
Jean
Irving, from Rothesay, for her passion and commitment to bettering the
quality of life of communities throughout the province.
Freeman
Patterson, from Shampers Bluff, for his exceptional talents as a
photographer and his passion for sharing his skills and knowledge the
world over.
Gerry
Pond, one time head of NB Tel, for his innovative spirit and for being
the driving force behind so many of New Brunswick's information
technology and telecommunications success stories.
Gordon
Porter, from Woodstock, for his efforts in advancing inclusive
education and the rights of persons with disabilities in New Brunswick
and throughout the world.
Lionel
Poitras, from Saint-André, for his contributions to ensuring the
sustainability of the potato farming industry in the province.
To play on the Saint John Mill Rats, you can’t just play a good game, you’ve got to have a good personality.
That’s
according to the President and General Manager of the team, Ian
McCarthy, and the philosophy he’ll be bringing to the National
Basketball League of Canada’s draft later this month as they add a few
new faces to the team.
McCarthy
tells CHSJ News the players have to be willing to be involved in the
community, they have to be amiable and willing to sign autographs for
the kids. In terms of on-the-court play, he says the top two things
they're looking for is athleticism and talent.
The Mill Rats have fifth pick in the 2013 National Basketball League of Canada draft on Monday, August 19 in Markham, Ontario.
As the
Cherry Brook Zoo comes to grips with the sudden loss of its young
Siberian tiger, their Director of Zoo Development says they’re focusing
on the present before they start to think about the future.
Linda Collrin tells CHSJ News another tiger will be brought into the zoo eventually—she says it would be a dishonour to six year-old Nyla if they didn't—but first, they want to find out exactly what happened to her through a necropsy.
The
tiger became sick on July 18, going blind, having seizures and losing
weight and the zoo was forced to euthanize her on Wednesday. While
results have shown she had an pneumonia, Collrin says she caught it as a
result of being in such a weak state. That doesn't tell them why she
became sick in the first place.
Collrin
says they'll be working with the SSP Program or International Species
Survival Program again when bringing in a new tiger.
A group of swimmers are back on dry land after diving into the frigid waters of the Northumberland Strait.
The 34
participants in the Big Swim fundraiser swam a 15-kilometre stretch from
New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island to raise money for people living
with chronic illness and disease.
They
brought in more than $130,000 dollars during this year's swim, most of
which will be split between Cystic Fibrosis Canada and Brigadoon
Village. Since it started three years ago, The Big Swim has raised more
than $230,000 dollars for charity.
Todd
McDonald is the co-founder of the event, and he says they set two
records this year: the largest group to swim the Strait at once and the
youngest female swimmer to make the crossing—15 year-old Jessica Plummer from Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia finished her swim in four and half hours.
A man and woman evacuating their smoke-filled home as a fire burned in the kitchen.
Platoon Chief Eric Garland says crews were called around 5:30am to 401 Churchland Road in Saint John and knocked down the blaze.
Garland says the woman was woken up by the smoke, and she woke up her husband—the smoke detector didn't go off.
The
house has some smoke damage and there is fire damage in the kitchen,
but nobody was hurt and the fire is not considered suspicious.
Development of the former Coast Guard site down by Market Square will take 7 years to complete over 4 phases.
The General Manager of Saint John Waterfront Development Kent MacIntyre predicts this will have a significant impact for the good on the uptown and tells the Tide whenever you have a developer from outside showing confidence in the city, it can build momentum because local businesspeople take note of that.
MacIntyre points out there will be a strong residential component to the development and with more people in a neighbourhood, you tend to get new businesses springing up.
Tragedy on the race track—a 30 year-old stock car racer from Riverview died after his vehicle
flipped onto its roof during the 98th lap of a 100-lap competition.
He started to take off his own safety
equipment while suspended upside down, but the effort somehow strangled
him, leading to his death.
The race was hosted Saturday at the Oyster Bed Speedway race track, about 15 kilometres north of Charlottetown.
RCMP say reasonable safety protocols were followed during the race.
A large parcel of land on the West side of Saint John is now under protection.
Jane
Barry of the Nature Trust of New Brunswick says 122 acres of marshland,
shoreline and forests in Saints Rest have been donated to the group for
preservation.
Barry tells CHSJ News the land has a rich history—about
300 years ago it was diked by Acadian settlers, and the settlers used
the dried-up area for harvesting hay. In the 1940s, the the dikes were
washed away and the land became reclaimed by the Bay of Fundy. Now, it's
one of the largest salt water marshes in the area.
The area is home to the American black duck and the Savannah Sparrow, along with a number of rare plant species.
The Nature Trust of New Brunswick is hosting a reception and tour of the new nature preserve, called Saints Rest Marsh-F. Gordon Carvell, on Tuesday from 1-2pm, starting at the Tourism Information Centre.
The stench of crude oil being unloaded near the Courtney Bay train tracks drawing concern and disgust from some residents.
South
Ender Julie Dingwell tells CHSJ News the overpowering smell woke up her
entire family in the middle of the night last week, and they called the
fire department thinking there was a gas leak.
Dingwell says if it's that bad where she lives she can't imagine what it would be like on Bayside Drive.
Irving
tells CHSJ News they are investigating but believe it was the result of
the type and amount of crude being unloaded at the time, and it won't
happen again.
Police are investigating the theft of an ATV—and they're looking for your help.
The robbery happened overnight on Thursday.
The ATV
is a yellow Can Am Renegade with two decals, one the gas tank that reads
"Hot Balls" and the other on the front fender that reads "Metal
Mulisha".
If you
have any information, you're being asked to contact the Rothesay
Regional Police Department by calling 847-6300 or Crimestoppers by
calling 1-800-222-8477.
The staff at the Cherry Brook Zoo are mourning the loss of one of their animals—a Siberian tiger named Nyla.
The zoo saying in a release they were forced to euthanize the six year-old animal on Wednesday.
After becoming suddenly ill on July 18, Nyla went blind, started having seizures and began losing weight—they
consulted with other zoos and veterinarians from across Canada and the
U.S., but she didn't respond to any treatments. The cause of death has
been labelled a pneumonia.
As to whether or not they'll bring
another tiger into the zoo, they say they're waiting on necropsy results
first. They say they need to know what happened to Nyla before moving
on.
The zoo says tigers can live into their twenties.
It's no
surprise New Brunswickers love their suds, but what might surprise you
is the number of brews we're projected to buy over this long weekend.
Moosehead
Breweries says it's expected that 130 to 140 thousand 12-packs of beer
will be purchased during the New Brunswick Day weekend.
NB liquor will be open during regular hours tomorrow, but will be closed on Monday. You can visit their store locator site for the complete list of store locations and services available.
Stay
sober, buckle up and don't answer that call. Long weekends mean more
traffic on the roadways, and police are heightening their presence to
crack down on dangerous driving.
Sergeant
Claude Tremblay of RCMP's Traffic Services tells CHSJ News some people
say they don't need to wear a seat belt because they're not driving very
far, but Tremblay says statistics show that 80% of people drive within
25 to 30 kilometres of where they live, so that argument doesn't hold
water.
He says
if you're not wearing a seat belt in a crash, you'll be knocked around
or ejected from the car, and if you're ejected, 95% of the time you'll
be seriously injured or killed.
The
percentage of fatal crashes where the victims weren't wearing a seat
belt has gone up, from 23 per cent last year to 40 per cent so far this
year.
All three involved in the armed robbery of a small grocery store in Rothesay have now been charged.
On July
16, three people with weapons entered Cochran's Country Market on
Hampton Road, bound two employees and made away with an undisclosed
amount of cash.
27 year-old Blake Andrew Smith, 26 year-old
Stephen Corey Richard and 47 year old Keith Oliver Dixon have all been
charged with armed robbery, wearing a disguise, and unlawful
confinement.
Smith and Richard will be back in court on Tuesday, and Dixon will be in court again next Monday.
