Sussex Area Woman Wins Big

Imagine waking up to a text from your boyfriend telling you someone in Sussex won $7 million dollars and thinking it might be you.

That is what happened to Kelsie Hodgin yesterday morning.   She says she jumped out of bed grabbed the ticket and checked the numbers online.

When she saw they matched she didn't believe it and called her mom to have her check.

With Mom's confirmation, Kelsie had to check for a third time at Wilson's in Sussex where she bought the ticket and finally realized she had won the money.

Kelsie is currently on maternity leave from her job with Bell Aliant.    She says she and boyfriend Paul will pay off their car and they plan to build a new house a maybe take a trip all she has no idea where she goes.

She says it's all still sinking in and even though she dreamed about winning now that she has it's a bit overwhelming.

Cleaning Up A Musquash Trail

Some folks will be giving their time tomorrow at the Conservation Volunteer Event in Musquash.

Siobhan Darlington of the Nature Conservancy of Canada tells Tide News they are doing some light maintainence on the Five Fathom Hole trails.

She says no experience is necessary adding they are looking for people who want to hike and help fix up parts of the side trail or the full trail.

Darlington says some of the work includes tree trimming and it also needs a new boardwalk.

To sign up, call 1-877-231-4400.

Air Canada VP In The City

Air Canada Senior VP Kevin Howlett was in town today, speaking to an Enterprise Saint John luncheon.

Howlett gave the invite-only crowd  an update on the future of Air Canada's operations here. Howlett tells Tide News they're always working to get more flights out of Saint John at better prices.

Howlett also announced that 50 new jobs will be added to the existing Air Canada call center in Saint John over the next few months, with 25 already in the works.

Opposition Mounting To Proposed Pipeline, Say Groups

It's not an official proposal yet, but according to the Ecology Action Center, opposition to TransCanada's proposed Energy East pipeline is mounting across the country. 

Catherine Abreu says the promise of 1,000 jobs created during the flow phase isn't enough to sell the idea to Canadians, and there's been a huge response to petitions circulated by various organizations--40,000 signatures, to be exact.

Abreu points out fisheries jobs are being put at risk by the proposed pipeline....and in Ontario, the provincial government is calling for province-wide consultations, including a review of climate impacts from Energy East.

Child Taken Into Protective Custody After Shoplifting Incident

A chase after a shoplifter on the West Side caused a bit of a stir in the Fairvale Boulevard area around 2pm yesterday. 

Sergeant Jay Henderson explains employees at the hardware store saw the man stealing---and when he left the store, they got in a car and chased him onto Greystone Terrace, where they boxed in his vehicle.

The man tried to flee and was picked up in the backseat of another vehicle a short distance away.

He left a 2 year old baby and an intoxicated woman in the car. He's now facing charges, and the baby was taken into protective custody by the Department of Social Development.

Savour In The Garden Makes Top 100 Restaurants In Canada

One of the Top 100 restaurants in Canada is in our own backyard -- or should we say Garden?

Savour in the Garden, managed by Chef Alex Haun in St. Andrews coming in at #72.

The competition by Vacay.ca considers the quality of the food, service, presentation, creativity, wine list, and front-house performance as just a few of the factors in the judging process.

A respected roster of chefs, food industry professionals, connoisseurs, and travel and food writers were used as judges. The #1 restaurant in Canada is yet to be announced.

Savour in the Garden is located at Kingsbrae Garden.

Federation Of Labour Predicts Injured Workers Will Lose Out

The New Brunswick Federation of Labour is warning changes to how appeals by injured workers are heard will make it harder for them to get compensation. 

Instead of a three person panel which includes a labour representative, the appeal will be heard by a lawyer.

Lawrence McKay of the Federation's Occupational Health, Safety and Environment Committee tells Tide News the Workers Compensation Board has found itself on the losing end of appeals which means its policies have been contravening the Act. He suspects these changes are mean't to change the outcomes.
 
McKay predicts the changes will make appealing compensation decisions more expensive and could be beyond the reach of injured workers who are not unionised.

A Depressing Report On Housing

If you want to buy a home, you'll have a wide array of choices at a good price. 

Canada Mortgage and Housing is predicting housing starts will decline both this year and in 2015 in Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton. Slow demand for housing being caused by weak economic and employment growth. 

A downward trend is also expected this year and next in the resale market with new listings at historically high levels.

The vacancy rate for rentals will stay high.

NDP Calling For Crackdown On Impaired Drivers

NDP Fredericton North candidate Brian Duplessis is calling for a crack-down on drug use among drivers. Duplessis says it's especially important given the trend toward legalizing marijuana.

The NDP also wants tougher penalties for repeat impaired drivers, including automatic license suspensions for failed tests, mandatory alcohol interlocks for any drunk driving conviction, and stiffer fines the more convictions you have.

According to a MADD study, one-third of young Canadians think driving stoned is safer than driving drunk.

River Watch Ends

Another sign that we're marching--slowly, but surely--toward summer.

The New Brunswick government has announced it's wrapping up its River Watch operations, which allowed New Brunswickers to call a hotline or check the website for updated flood conditions.

Water levels have now fallen well below flood stage and are expected to keep going down.

The spring freshet caused major flooding in Sussex, but fortunately, it wasn't as bad as expected in Perth Andover and elsewhere.

Prowler Steals NB Government Laptop In Rothesay

A suburban car prowler managed to make off with some pricey electronics--but not for long.

Sergeant Jay Henderson explains they got a call from a citizen with a description of the 24 year old who was checking cars on the Rothesay Road.

When they pulled him over near Ashburn Road, he was found to have an Government of NB-issue laptop and an iPhone, both of which are believed to have been stolen.

He was also found to be wanted on a province-wide warrant. he'll be appearing in court later this afternoon.

Big Lotto Win In Sussex

If you happened to buy a ticket in Sussex for last night's Lotto 649 draw, you could be 7 million dollars richer. 

Atlantic Lottery is telling us a ticket sold in Sussex for last night's draw is worth that much.

Decision Not Expected This Year On New Plant In City

A decision is not expected until sometime next year from Repsol on whether it will proceed with building a $2 billion plant at Canaport L-N-G to export natural gas to Europe. 

Bloomberg News is reporting Repsol, which is the largest energy company in Spain, is at least giving consideration to the possibility because of unease in Europe over its dependence on Russian natural gas after the upheavel and violence in the Ukraine. 

Premier David Alward has told Tide News when he met with more than 20 ambassadors from the European Union, they were primarily asking him about exporting energy from Saint John.

Canaport LNG has reportedly been underutilised as a facility to import liquified natural gas.

Protection Of Musquash Estuary Expanded

More forests and habitat for moose, deer, and bear is going to be protected in the Musquash area west of Saint John.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada has purchased 4 new sites for conservation around the Musquash Estuary totalling 435 hectares. Saint John MP Rodney Weston tells Tide News just because an area is protected doesn't mean that people can't fish there or use it for other activities.

The funds came from Canada's Natural Areas Conservation Program. The forests around the Musquash Estuary contain old stands of red spruce and cedar, as well as being a habitat for various wildlife species.

Alward Government Runs Attack Ads

You might have seen the attack ads the Alward government has started running on TV, criticizing the Opposition for their so-called "moratorium on jobs" and hearkening back to mistakes supposedly made by former Liberal leader Shawn Graham.

Liberal MLA for Charlotte the Isles Rick Doucet tells Tide News American-style attack ads are out of step with what New Brunswickers want to hear.
 
Doucet says if the Alward government had really done a good job they could rely on that to get votes in the September election, not smearing the Opposition. 

Meantime, the premier has said that the Liberals have demonstrated they're opposed to development in New Brunswick.

Increase In Thefts In Charlotte County

Lock your vehicles, your house, and anything worth value.

That word from Sgt. Bob MacKnight with District 1 RCMP in St. Stephen.

He says local police have noticed an increase in property related offences, such as break and enters, theft, and mischief, with 3 calls being reported just yesterday.

MacKnight says the thefts related to all sorts of structures and various items of value were taken. He says this kind of criminal activity is indicative of the time of year. The warmer it gets, the more criminals act.

If you have seen any suspicious people or vehicles, he says you should report it to the RCMP.

If you have any information on these crimes, you are asked to call local police in St. Stephen @ 466-7030 or in St. George @ 755-1130.

Heated Debate On Last Day of Spring Legislature

The Legislature winding down with a heated exchange between Premier David Alward and the Liberal Leader Brian Gallant as we head into a summer election campaign.

Gallant saying the Alward Government has done nothing to create jobs and grow the economy, saying the affordability of the daily lives of New Brunswickers has taken a beating under his leadership. The Liberal Leader calling out the Premier to take responsibility for his so-called failed mandate.

Alward responding by bringing up the former Liberal Government and talking about his government's plan to move forward with development of natural resources like shale gas development, mining, forestry, and the pipeline. 

He says the reality is that the fall election, more than many in the past, will make a difference in the future of the province.

Province Sees Biotech Firms Setting Up In City

A whole new industry could spring up from have a health science research centre built at the Regional Hospital. 

That possibility has been raised by Premier David Alward and Provincial Health Minister Ted Flemming tells Tide News he's already had meetings with people interested in coming to Saint John.

Flemming says he has talked to drug companies, research companies and technology firms and they're impressed with what they see here including the low cost of housing.

Another Major Copper Theft

Sergeant Jay Henderson tells Tide News copper thieves have been at it again--this time, getting a bigger haul than usual.


The thieves made off with 250 pounds of copper that was stored on a spool in an outside yard at a Chesley Drive business.

The Major Crime Unit is investigating these thefts, which have been escalating over the past months in all areas of the city.

New Medical Centre To Be Built At Regional Hospital

The Alward Government says it wants to take medical research to the next level in the province with construction of a health science centre at the Regional Hospital. 

The building will be constructed where the visitor parking is located now.It will be run by a new non-profit crown corporation under the chairmanship of former Saint John Board of Trade President Bob Manning who tells Tide News the potential here is huge to be a key driver of economic growth not only in Saint John but for the province as a whole.
 
The building will also be used to house out of town patients and their families if they're here for any extended period of time and the hope is that businesses will set up shop. Manning promises any displaced parking spaces will be replaced.

Manning says the university and hospital should be considered as one campus.