We Want More Candidates!

Don't just Talk -- Run!


Chief Electoral Officer for the province, Michael Quinn, creating awareness of the upcoming municipal elections to the St. Stephen Chamber of Commerce.

He says the more candidates you get, the more debates you have, leads to more public interest and a higher voter turn-out.
Quinn says the best part of democracy is alot of public involvement.
 
For more information on becoming a candidate, go to the Elections NB website: http://www.gnb.ca/elections/index-e.asp
 
The deadline to file your nomination papers is April 13th, at 2pm.
 
(Picture: (left) Chamber President Dale Weeks and (right) Chief Electoral Officer for NB Michael Quinn)

Man trapped by train rail in Harvey

The Harvey Volunteer Fire Department rescured for a man trapped beneath a piece of train rail. 
The Nackawic area man had been using a crane to load train rails from a tractor trailer to a train boxcar when a mechanical failure occurred. 
The operator was pinned in to the controls of the crane by a piece of rail, yet was able to dial 911 for assistance. 
The Jaws of Life was used to free the man who was then taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Maxwell Announces Re-Offer For St. Stephen Town Council

Current Deputy Mayor Jim Maxwell has announced his re-offer for St. Stephen Town Council.


He says he is not running for mayor because he enjoys doing volunteer work, such as benefit Pool tournaments, and the Mayor position wouldn't allow much time for that.

This morning, another re-offer was announced, this time on Facebook.

Mayor of Blacks Harbour Terry James made it official to the internet community she will be running again for Mayor.

St. Stephen Residents Angry Over Ferguson's Paid Leave

"As a taxpayer, I'm not happy."

That word from St. Stephen resident Margaret Harding after Town Council approved a 6 week paid leave of absence for Chief Administrative Officer, John Ferguson.

The approval comes 3 weeks into his defamation trial with the Saint John Pension Board.

Resident Margaret Harding singled out Mayor Jed Purcell, asking why he would pay Ferguson out of the Town's pocket while he went to court.


Mayor Jed Purcell responding "it was not a result of something Ferguson has done, and he deserves the support of the town."
Councillor Ralph Williams responding, "Ferguson was called to court, he did not instigate this. If you were called to jury duty, the same rules would apply."

Councillor Robert Tinker said, "When we hired John, we knew the courtdate was looming, it's a matter of principle. Had this come up after, the outcome would be different."
 
The Mayor says he is unsure if he would grant more paid leave to Ferguson if the trial lasted more than the estimated 6 weeks.

Former Mayor Takes The Stand At Defamation Trial

Former Saint John Mayor Norm McFarlane, who chaired the Pension Board from 2004 to 2008, says the obligation of the trustees is to members of the city's pension plan when pressed on whether any recommendations were made to Common Council to make changes in light of a rising deficit.


McFarlane says it was not up to the Pension Board to make any such recommendations. It would have been up to the City Manager who's also a member of the Pension Board.
 
One option looked at was a sick plan with health and benefits to replace the disability pension.
 
McFarlane was asked about a motion by Common Council asking the Pension Board for alternatives to tackle the unfunded liability, but he couldn't say if the pension board ever gave a response.
 
He concedes no trustee wanted to reduce benefits.
 
Yesterday, MacFarlane testified that he had to stop going to the market and for walks on the Harbour Passage after John Ferguson's comments to avoid being harassed. He said voters always asked him about the pension board—never about city business or the LNG controversy.


MacFarlane said “If there's anyone on the pension board that didn't have a conflict of interests, it's me—because I wasn't receiving a pension.”

The former mayor testified as recently as last Saturday a stranger got in his face and said “I don't believe a word you say, you're a liar.” He testified he's a 76 year old churchgoer and John Ferguson's statements were a black mark against his name.

MacFarlane said Ferguson falsely claimed he was warned to keep his mouth shut for the sake of his career. He further said Ferguson had every opportunity to either prove his statements or apologize—but didn't do either.

Ferguson is currently the Town Manager of St. Stephen.

Online Safety At SSES

With all the new gadgets out there, protecting your child online is a challenge.


RCMP Community Programs Officer Lisa Williams will be speaking about strategies for keeping your child safe online, at a meeting for parents at the St. Stephen Elementary School.

Topics range from cyber-bullying, police involvment, school policies, facebook, and how parents can get involved.

The meeting gets underway tomorrow night at 6pm in the Library.

Either Honor Your Promises, Or Admit You Lied

How will the government stimulate the economy?


That's the question from local MLAfor Charlotte The Isles, with the government dropping the new provincial budget next week.

Liberal Rick Doucet tells Tide News so far with our current government, job creation has been off the map.
He says Premier David Alward has some big ticket promiseson the table, and Alward should either start to honor them or admit to New Brunswickers that you lied to them.

Doucet points out Premier David Alward said there would be no new taxes, and yet rural New Brunswick is being driven down because of gas taxes.

Saint Andrews Gets Cut

St. Andrews has been dropped.


The Kraft Hockeyville competition has been narrowed down to the Top 5 Finalists, and the town by-the-sea didn't make it.
St. Andrews had been the last New Brunswick contender in the Top 15.

The winner taking a one-hundred-thousand-dollar grand prize in upgrades for their arena, and an opportunity to host an N-H-L pre-season game.

Yarmouth, Nova Scotia is the only Atlantic Canadian town left vying for the prize.

Voting closes on March 20.

St Patty's Uneventful for Saint John Cops

With the green beer flowing throughout the city yesterday, you might think city police had their work cut out for them last night. But according to Sergeant Callan of the Saint John Police force, people were surprisingly well behaved this year.

Callan tells Tide news that although there were drunks everywhere, there weren't any incidents apart from a few fights and one impaired driver pulled over on Garden Street. He says that's basically a regular Saturday night. Other Canadian cities weren't so lucky, with reports of fires and rioting in London, Ontario.

Callan also said that people should always be aware that drunk driving is a dangerous crime whether it's a holiday or not.

90lbs of Weed Seized From Secret Compartment

A man from Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia man has been arrested after his pick-up truck was pulled over near Edmundston. Inside a secret compartment in the truck, police discovered more than 40 kilograms, or 90 pounds, of marijuana.

The discovery was made on Highway 2, where the vehicle was seized and 28-year-old Micheal McNaughton was arrested.

McNaughton was charged at the Grand Falls provincial Court and then released on bail and numerous conditions. 

Photo: RCMP

Woman From Blacks Harbour Says She Is Alive Because Of Health Clinic

After a similar situation in McAdam, a woman from Blacks Harbour is telling her story.


Donna Moses says she had a brain aneurysm back in 1999, and she was taken to the Fundy Health Centre to be stabalized, before heading to the Saint John Regional Hospital.

She says her neurosurgeon called her his "miracle of '99", but she believes that that miracle wouldn't have happened if she had not been brought to the Fundy Health Clinic first.
In February, 4 fire victims in McAdam -- who were only 700 feet away from the McAdam Health Centre -- were made to wait over an hour for enough ambulances, because it is against Ambulance NB policy to take patients to a Health clinic, without a 24 hour emergency room.

A spokesperson for Madeline Dube says the Health Minister will be notified of the situation.

That's A Lot Of Lawyers...

The defamation trial of former Saint John Common Councillor -- and current St. Stephen Town Manager -- John Ferguson has been told the Pension Board's legal fees from 2006 to the end of 2010 surpassed 1.8 million dollars.


Pension Board trustee Bill Buckley of the Canadian Union of Public Employees argues not all of those legal fees are because of the lawsuit.

He told the court it was launched to stop what he calls the slander... It's not about money... It's about knowing we're not crooks.

Buckley also argues the city doesn't have a Cadillac pension plan and testified no one suggested reducing benefits or switching to a defined contributions plan and Ferguson's lawyer Rod Gillis pointed out most of the pension board members are receiving or will be getting city pensions.

Local MLA Believes Rural Areas Should Have Exceptions

A local MLA is throwing his support behind McAdam Mayor Frank Carroll in hopes of changing an Ambulance NB policy.

The ANB policy states ambulances can only take patients to destination hospitals, not health clinics.

But, after four fire victims -- including a baby -- were made to wait over an hour for enough ambulances to arrive, while only 700 feet away from the McAdam Health Care Centre, residents want the policy changed.

MLA for Charlotte and The Isles Liberal Rick Doucet tells Tide News the situation at hand, makes it clear "we can't put a round peg in a square hole."

He says, "If someone is in serious condition, and there is a doctor available on call, then let's take advantage of it."

Doucet adds there should definately be exceptions to the policy in rural areas, like McAdam, Blacks Harbour, or the Isles, where a health clinic is all they have.

Information Meeting For French Immersion

Are you looking into French Immersion for your child?


There will be a parent information meeting for the SSMS Grade 6 late french immersion program for 2012-2013.

The meeting is for parents of grade 5 students from St. Stephen Elementary, Milltown Elementary , Lawrence Station Elementary, and Vincent Massey.

The meeting gets underway tomorrow night at St. Stephen Middle School, starting at 6:30.

Lawyer Scoffed At Saint John City Manager

Saint John City Manager Pat Woods maintains criticism voiced about the city's pension plan by former Common Councillor John Ferguson implied something was amiss on the Pension Board.


Ferguson's lawyer, Rod Gillis scoffed when Woods told the court the Pension Board knew what it's doing saying how can that be, considering the city's pension plan is running a deficit of 191 million dollars.
 
Woods also testified benefits have not been reduced but worker contributions into the pension plan have increased.
 
Ferguson also was concerned senior staff who receive city pensions would not recommend cutting benefits. Woods concedes the concern is legitimate but unfair.
 
Ferguson is currently the Town Manager of St. Stephen.

Aftershocks Confirmed In McAdam

McAdam is shaking and quaking.


The Canadian Earthquakes Centre confirming earthquake aftershocks, felt this morning at 3:28 and 3:44am.

The approximate location of the 2.4 magnitude earthquake was 2 kms south-west from McAdam on Saturday.

One resident says the aftershock was strong enough to knock a picture frame and knick-knacks off of her wall.

To see a recent list of all earthquakes in Canada, go to http://www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/index-eng.php.

"F" Word Used Often By Saint John Common Councillors

The decorum or lack thereof at Saint John Common Council coming up at the defamation trial of former Common Councillor, and current St. Stephen Town Manager John Ferguson, as City Manager Pat Woods told the jury the language used by Ferguson about the city's pension plan was unusual.

Ferguson's lawyer Rod Gillis quoted Councillor Bruce Court from last night's Council meeting saying alot of the stories about the pension plan are a crock of crap and went on to tell the court Councillors use the "F" word alot in Committee of the Whole.

Gillis used the city's own figures showing 70 thousand dollars was spent in 2000 and 87 thousand in 2001 to send Pension Board trustees to conferences including one in Maui.

Gillis also questioned whether the money was well spent.

Boston Smells Fishy

Fish from the Bay of Fundy are making a fresh impression over the border.

Companies from all over the world are gathering for the International Boston Seafood Show.

Nell Hulse, V-P of Communications for Cooke Aquaculture tells Tide News about the True North Salmon theme this year.

She says when you are talking about fish, freshness is the most important quality, and that is one of the biggest assets from our region.

Hulse also mentioned a chance True North Salmon had to talk with big names such as Premier David Alward and Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Keith Ashfield at the show.

She says it was a great opportunity to talk about common issues like how important seafood is to our area,  how many people work in the sector, and how important that both of those sectors remain healthy.

Aftershocks in McAdam

More rumblings being felt in McAdam over night.
Aftershocks are still being felt from the earthquake that happened on Saturday. 
One McAdam residents telling Tide News, it woke them up out of a dead sleep at around 3:30 this morning.

One Year 100 Men hits half way point

Big Brothers Big Sisters launched the One year 100 men campaign back in September to find mentors for the 88 young boys currently on the waiting list.
As of today the program has matched 48 boys with mentors.
Although One year 100 Men is geared toward male volunteers, Big Brothers Big Sisters is still actively recruiting Big Sisters too.
For more information on Big Brothers Big Sisters, visit their website.

http://www.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca/saintjohn/en/Home/default.aspx