Saint John High Tech Company Expanding

A Saint John I-T company, based in the Red Rose Tea Building, is expanding. 60 new jobs are being created and Premier David Alward says the province is going to help Mariner Partners out with a payroll rebate of 750 thousand dollars which will be paid only when all the jobs are filled. 

Alward says 27 of the jobs have already been filled and rejects criticism of the rebate program based on what happened at Radian 6.

As for what the future holds, the President of Innovations at Mariner, Peter Storey says the sky's the limit when it comes to growth.

Mariner also announcing a deal to provide one of the world's largest TV operators with video quality monitoring for more than 10 million devices by the end of this year. Plans call for that to go up to 20 million devices within 5 years.

Work On Maxwell Crossing Covered Bridge Should Begin Soon

It's been an 8 month wait before news struck yesterday on the future of the Maxwell Crossing Covered Bridge.
 
The bridge will be repaired back to it's original state, but many residents are wondering why it took so long to decide?
 
Charlotte-Campobello MLA Curtis Malloch says the Minister of Transportation was negotiating with the insurance company to get taxpayers "the best bang for their buck".

Malloch tells Tide News they are wrapping up the final paperwork adding they are waiting for the engineering report from DOT to compare it to one from the insurance company.

Malloch says when that report comes in they will be able to set exact dates for construction adding it should begin this fall.
 
The bridge was damaged back in January after a driver lost control of his car and crashed inside it.

The Refinery Is A Tobacco-Free Workplace

The Irving Oil Refinery is a tobacco-free workplace.   For that accomplishment, the company received an award from the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
 
In January 2012, the company let its workers know that all tobacco products would be banned as of July.

Millright Gary Crowell says never considered quitting before and it was easier than he expected.

He tells us he does a lot of climbing in his job and he finds its easier to breathe now and he definitely feels better.

Crowell says he always thought you needed to 100 per cent to successfully quit smoking but he did it with a desire and some will power.

Dan Connolly of the Heart & Stroke Foundation would like to see other companies follow suit.
He says many workplaces restrict or reduce smoking and like Irving are offering incentives to reduce their smoking rates.

He says New Brunswick has some of the highest smoking rates in the country and its a huge risk factor for cardiovascular disease and we need to do something about that.

Connolly says when you consider the Refinery is a workplace of 1400 people, he's amazed they were able to get this done.

New Murals To Go Up In Saint John

The view on Canterbury Street is going to be getting a lot more colorful this weekend.

Jacqueline Collomb of Thirdspace Gallery tells Tide News the murals of Walter Pidgeon, Stompin’ Tom, Miller Brittain, Donald Sutherland and Louis B. Mayer have been totally redone by local Grand Manan artist Sarah Griffin--and will be unveiled on Saturday at a black-tie fundraiser called GALA-VANT. Griffin has also created two new portraits of visual artist Fred Ross and female pilot Daphne Paterson.

Fred Ross will be the guest of honor at the fundraiser and it will be catered by Thandi.

GALA-VANT happens Saturday in the restaurant and under a large tent beside Thandi Restaurant, 33 Canterbury Street, from 7-11 pm. Tickets are available at TUCK Studio, Thandi Restaurant, and Backstreet Records. Tickets are $100 apiece and include a one-year membership to Third Space Gallery. Existing members are $75.

Unofficial Numbers Show Fewer Students

The Anglophone South School School District will be spending a bit less money than last year because of fewer students.  The District Education Council has approved a budget of more than 212 million dollars. 

Unofficial numbers show another 2 and a half per cent decline which translates into as many as 500 students. School District Superintendent Zoe Watson says this is not positive because it means less money from the budget, fewer opportunities for teachers and unused space in schools which always raises the possibility of buildings being closed.

The District Education Council has been told there are more than 90 fewer students in the St. Stephen area and over 300 less in Saint John. Student numbers in the Valley are not growing.

NB Power Releases Point Lepreau Update

NB Power releasing an update on Point Lepreau saying the net capacity factor for August was 93 per cent.

The capacity factor is the megawatt output of a generating station compared to the maximum that could be produced.

During a regular plant inspection on August 30, one of the hangers supporting piping on the main steam supply on the non-nuclear side of the plant was found to be damaged.

The Point Lepreau team decided to reduce reactor power from 95 per cent to its current level of 90 per cent, which reduced vibration levels.
Site VP Sean Granville says adjusting power levels is part of the day-to-day operation of a nuclear power plant.

Everything is on track for a two week outage beginning October 18th to repair a steam valve.
Sean Granville says this  short outage will allow Point Lepreau to return to 100 per cent power.

Granville says they budgeted and planned for this type of equipment challenge when forecasting the first year of operation after refurbishment, so the outage will not have an impact on rates to NB Power customers.

Over the next few weeks, work will be done on lines connecting our province and the US as part of upgrades south of the border.

When interconnections like this are temporarily removed, there is a higher possibility that the New Brunswick System Operator may request that Point Lepreau reduce its power level to support the  stability of the NB electrical grid.

Two new turbine rotors will be transported from Saint John Harbour to the Point Lepreau Generating Station this fall.   The manufacturer Siemens has the lead role in transporting them to Point Lepreau and is working with NB Power and others to ensure an event-free delivery.

Maxwell Crossing Bridge Will Stay Covered

It's big news for residents of Maxwell Crossing. Charlotte-Campobello MLA Curtis Malloch says the historic covered bridge, just outside of St. Stephen town limits will be repaired -- and not replaced with a non-covered, metal one.

Malloch tells Tide News it's a happy day. "This is exactly where we want to be. It's good news for the community. I've had the minister's support on this, he knows this has been a priority since day 1. As you know, there is a petition out there with 800 names, and I'm one of those names." The petition he is refering to was sent out to St. Stephen and surrounding areas in support of keeping the covered bridge for tourism and historical reasons.

Malloch says right now they are just waiting for a final engineering report from the Department of Transportation to compare with a report from the insurance company.

He says exact dates have not yet been set, but construction should start this fall.

The covered bridge was damaged on January 21st of this year when a driver lost control of his car due to high speeds, driver inexperience, and slippery conditions, before slamming into the side of the bridge.

All three occupants were injured in the crash, the car was totalled, and the bridge was left missing a large section on one side. It has since been closed to traffic.
(Photo by Murray Weeks)

CBS Holding Blood Donor Clinic Today In St. Stephen

It's time to roll up your sleeve and save a life.

Canadian Blood Services holding a blood donor clinic today at the St. Stephen Legion.

Doors will be open for donations from 2-4 today, and again this evening from 5:30-7:30.

To book an appointment, log on to www.blood.ca.

Child & Youth Advocate Unconvinced Anti-Bullying Laws Work

If you want to stop cyberbullying, you have to get to the root of the problem. That, from the province's Child & Youth Advocate, Norman Bosse. 

He tells Tide News with Nova Scotia passing legislation against cyberbullying in the wake of the Rehtaeh Parsons tragedy, the province is likely looking into passing something similar in New Brunswick, but he doesn't think laws are enough. He says he's not convinced that legislation like the Cyber Safety Act will change bullying behaviour.

He says educating students about bullying has to start at the elementary school level.

Money For Grand Manan Improvements

The Province and The Feds teaming up to contribute nearly $200,000 to fix up the Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station and the Swallowtail Lighthouse.

The work will include improvements to the research station and the installation of a proper basement, walls and a new roof.

The Swallowtail Keepers Society is taking on enhancements to the Swallowtail Lighthouse including work on the footbridge and the construction of a boardwalk.

Liberal Health Critic Has Issues With MLA Flemming

New Brunswick needs a plan for the provincial healthcare system...and the Alward government has failed to deliver on that promise.

Those harsh words from Liberal Health Critic Donald Arsenault didn't mince any words with Tide News describing Health Minister Ted Flemming's attitude toward releasing the health plan.

Arsenault describes Flemming as very arrogant adding it's his way or the highway.

Arsenault says it's just like the catastrophic drug plan....the health minister claimed to have all the answers on that as well and now three years into the mandate of the Alward government that hasn't happened either. 

Flemming claims time is needed to make sure it's done right because of the program's complexity.

Environmental Concerns Raised At Pipeline Meeting

Tremendous...that's how one resident describes his environmental concerns about the Energy East pipeline project, and says the recent open house information session on the Energy East pipeline didn't do much to dispel them.

Carl Wolpin attending Hampton's edition and he tells Tide News his two major problems with the project is the potential for contaminating the village's well-water, and that the pipeline is going to be built right through a regulated wetland. He says the wetland from Darling's Island to Bloomfield Bridge is home to rare species of plants and the project would put it at risk.

He says he doesn't feel the representatives at the open house properly addressed his concerns.

Hotel Robbed In Saint John

The Best Western Hotel on the east side of Saint John along Majors Brook Drive was held up this morning around 1:15 by a man and woman. 

City Police say they took off with an undisclosed amount of money but were arrested a couple of hours later in the area of Duke and Sydney Streets.

Missing Nova Scotia Teen May Be In Charlotte County

A missing teen from Nova Scotia may be in our area.

RCMP and Halifax Regional Police say they've received information that 14-year old Dametry Ruscoe of Lake Echo may be in the Saint John area on his way to Oshawa, Ontario. 

He was last seen on August 19 at his home on Walker Street. He may have been in Halifax on Spring Garden Road and looking to go a local shelter. He's described as being 5'7', 140 lbs, with medium length dark hair.

Police and Crimestoppers asking anyone with information about his whereabouts to contact any RCMP office, Halifax Regional Police or Crime Stoppers anonymously anytime at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

9/11 Anniversary Marked In NB

September 11, 2013 marks 12 years since the tragic attacks on New York City in which nearly 3,000 people lost their lives. 

Saint John Fire Chief Kevin Clifford tells Tide News as a firefighter, he was struck by the conscious sacrifice many New York  emergency personnel made on that day.

An honor guard and memorial service was held in Fredericton to honor both the emergency personnel who died in New York that day, and also those who have passed away both in and outside the line of duty.

Doucet Fires Back At Conservatives For "Hogwash" Excuses

A Liberal MLA fighting back against comments made on the Deer Island Ferry.

The Conservatives claim the promise to replace the John. E. Rigby ferry with a 24-car ferry, rather than an 18-car,  was made by the previous Liberal government back in 2007.

Liberal Rick Doucet tells Tide News, that may be true, but he claims when the Premier was campaigning, David Alward made two promises while standing on the Deer Island wharf. He says one promise Alward made was not to privatize the ferry service, and the second was to honor the promise of a 24-car ferry to Deer Island.

Doucet says the Conservatives are claiming a savings of approximately $2.5 million is choosing an 18-car ferry over a 24-car due to construction and dredging costs. He says this is hogwash. "Dredging costs, that's not an issue because they could utilize one side of the wharf. That's something that people have always been trying to figure out, why don't they just use one side instead of having the two sides? So that's not an issue."





Doucet says the community is coming together to host a public meeting on the issue, but a date has not yet been set.

Two Fatalities Under Investigation In The Province

The RCMP in Moncton are investigating a fatal collision involving a motorized wheelchair.
 
A 76 year old woman, in a motorized wheelchair, who was crossing an intersection was struck by a minivan and killed.
 
The man driving the minivan and a woman who was with the victim were not injured.
 
The circumstances of the collision are still under investigation but alcohol is not believed to have been a factor.

Another fatality is under investigation int he northern part of the province.. 

This one happened along Highway 2 near Perth-Andover when a vehicle left the highway and collided with the guard rail before rolling over, killing a 61 year old man from Ontario. Speed and alcohol use are not believed to be responsible.

TransCanada Offers More Details On Pipeline Jobs

Trans Canada announcing the economic benefits that will stem from the Energy East Pipeline based on a report by Deloitte and Touche. 

Deloitte used 40 years as a example for the life of pipeline but expects it will be around a lot longer than that.

The gross domestic product is forecast to be 10 billion dollars in the construction and development phase.  Russ Girling is the President and CEO of TransCanada and he says that's going to mean a significant number of jobs--over 10,000 in the construction phase.

In the operating phase, the pipeline, when completed, will create 1000 jobs and when you add in spinoff positions it increases to 4000 jobs.

Maine Governor Likes Proposed Pipeline

More support for the Energy East pipeline.......This time from a New England governor.

Maine's governor Paul Lepage is attending the New England governors and Eastern Canadian premiers meeting in Quebec and calls it a great project.

In an online report, Lepage says he would like to see oil transported by pipeline rather than by rail, adding the Lac Megantic disaster was a perfect storm involving aging equipment and human error.

Scam Alert

Loblaw, which includes the Atlantic Superstore, is warning of a fraudulent scam that targets you over the phone. 

Several people have reported receiving an automated phone call that advises them they have won a free vacation from the Superstore. 

The automated caller asks them to press one if they agree and two if they disagree. If the customer presses one it takes them to a live caller who asks for their personal information including their credit card information to book the vacation. 

Loblaw says customers would never be asked to provide their personal or credit card information over the phone.