Waiting On Progress Report From Mayor

Will the Civic Center ever open? We will hopefully hear that answer soon.

The Town of St. Stephen announcing yesterday the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony -- the 1st event scheduled for the Garcelon -- has been moved to the Algonquin Resort in St. Andrews.

A press release from the Town stated "the facility will be unable to accomodate".

Though Garcelon Manager Natalie Reid and Mayor John Quartermain both denied interviews with Tide News... Town Hall said Quartermain was hoping to have a progress report on the Civic Center for tomorrow.

Want The Kids To Do Some Reading This Summer?

Want to get the kids reading this summer?

Libraries will be launching their summer reading clubs in just a few days.... they run from June until August. This year's theme for the free programs is "Dive In!"....encouraging reading about all things water-related and the connections they have to New Brunswick waterways.

Kids can learn about the highest tides in the world, the people who make their living off the water, or the creatures that live in our oceans.

Each year, about 10,000 young people in the program read more than 200,000 books.

You can get more information at your local library, including the St. Croix Public Library in St. Stephen, or Bookmobile.

Traffic Disruption In South End

The city of Saint John warning drivers that traffic will be reduced to one lane at Crown and Broad Streets at the entrance to the Potash Terminal for road repairs from 3 this afternoon to 3 in the morning.

BREAKING: Workers Sent To Hospital After Exposure To Hydrogen Sulfide

Around 8:30 this morning, fire crews responded to an EMS call at Irving Paper on Bayside Drive.

3-4 people were sent to the hospital as a precaution after accidentally inhaling hydrogen sulfide.

Hydrogen sulfide is a dangerous gas with a rotten-egg odour that is generated as a by-product in many industrial processes.

Fire crews and WorkSafe NB are on the scene ventilating the area and checking out the processes to make sure it's safe. The condition of the workers isn't thought to be serious at this point.

Garcelon No Longer Venue For Sports Hall Of Fame

Just when we think it's ready to go -- another delay.

The Garcelon Civic Center will no longer be the venue for the NB Sports Hall Of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony.

The ceremony was supposed to be the first event to be held in the Civic Center, but it won't be finished in time.


The Town of St. Stephen sending out a release stating, "The facility will be unable to accomodate the NB Sports Hall Of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony taking place on June 7th."

The venue will remain in Charlotte County, however, same date and time, at the Algonquin Resort in St. Andrews.


The Hall of Fame will refund ticket-holders if they are inconvenienced by the venue change.

Both St. Stephen Mayor John Quartermain and Civic Center Manager Natalie Reid denied further comment with Tide News.

St. George Warns About Road Closures

Be prepared for delays if you're traveling in St. George.

Closures and interruptions can be expected as the Town upgrades its water and sewage systems for the year.

Today, Riverview Ave. is down to one lane, as is Prince William Street. All of Prince William will be without water for the remainder of the day as well.

Tomorrow, starting at 8:30am, water will be shut off for all homes on Kennedy Court and traffic will be down to one lane.

100 Women Who Care Donate $10 Grand To Little Acres

100 Women coming to the rescue once again.

The Charlotte County Organization donating $10,000 last night to the Little Acres Community Residence.

100 Women Who Care is a St. Stephen-based group of women who each donate $100, 3 times a year, and then vote on the recipient.

Little Acres says they plan to use the money for new mattresses, furniture, and renovations.

The 1st donation earlier this year went to the Volunteer Centre of Charlotte County.

Ande Mosher with 100 Women says they now have 103 members and are always looking for more.

If you would like more information on joining 100 Women Who Care, you can call Ande at 465-0992, or check out the 100 Women Who Care St. Stephen Facebook Page. 

(Photo provided by Facebook)

Frost Advisory At The End Of May

Sometimes it feels like this winter will never end.

Today is May 28th, and Environment Canada is calling for a frost advisory overnight in St. Stephen.

The forecaster says temperatures will dip to zero degrees -- but it won't hold for long.

Charlotte County can expect temperatures into the 20's through to next week.

Atlantic Premiers Discuss EI Changes

The four Atlantic premiers getting a look at a draft of a report put together of the potential impact of federal changes to Employment Insurance on Atlantic Canadians. 

The Premiers were asked about the urgency of getting this report out since its been a year since the changes were first announced.
 
PEI Premier Robert Ghiz says they were still be work to be done after this report comes out.

Ghiz says we won't see the full impact of the changes to E.I. for another year so more research will have to be done and they will be expressing that to the Federal government.

Premier David Alward points out this report is being compiled by an independent panel across all sectors and all provinces.

New Head Of NB Trauma Program Appointed

Dr. Erik St. Pierre has been appointed the new medical director of the New Brunswick Trauma Program, Health Minister Hugh Flemming announced today.
The previous director was Dr. Marcel Martin.

Dr. St. Pierre has served as an emergency department physician, director of an emergency department and as chief of staff for a community hospital. He has also practiced emergency medicine at the Regional and  Moncton Hospital.

The Trauma Program works on injury prevention, clinical care, education and research on serious and critical injuries in New Brunswick.

University Students Graduate Today

Time for university students to start planning the rest of their lives....

The University of New Brunswick will award degrees to almost 18-hundred students at its spring graduation ceremonies starting today.

Ceremonies will start in Fredericton at the The Richard J. Currie Centre on the UNB Fredericton campus today with more to be held tomorrow. Graduating students and their families will be informed which ceremony they should attend.
 
In Saint John, the 40th Spring Convocation will be held on Friday at 2 p.m. at the G. Forbes Elliot Athletics Centre.

Elderly Man Wakes Up To Stranger In His Bedroom

A nightmarish situation in McAdam, with an elderly man waking up to find a stranger in his bedroom.

 

The man stole the victim's wallet and billfold and while there were keys to a truck and ATV in the wallet, neither vehicle was stolen and the elderly man was not hurt.

 

RCMP calling on the public for help finding the suspect in this home invasion. If you have any information, you're being urged to contact them at (506) 784-1205 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Saint John Sign Occasionally "Ain't On"--But Not For Much Longer

The Saint John sign on Fort Howe has been known to have letters burnt out on occasion--you might call it the "Ain't On" sign.

Common Councillor Susan Fullerton says you leave your porch light on when you're expecting guests to show that they're welcome, and the Saint John sign is our metaphorical porch light.

If the city goes through with its proposed change to LED lights, they would have a 10 year lifespan.

Strikers At Three Radio Stations In City Returning o Work

After a bitter strike and lockout over the past couple of years, 7 employees at three Maritime Broadcasting radio stations in the city will be returning to work June 16th. 

The Canadian Media Guild says the tentative 4 year contract agreement came about with the assistance of Federal mediation and conciliation services. 

There's language in the tentative contract on job security and includes a signing bonus along with new wage scales.

Traffic Delay And Detour in Saint John

The City letting us know that Rothesay Road will be reduced to one lane from 7 this morning until 7 tonight between Ashburn Road and the rail overpass for paving.

Milford Road between Kingville and Violet will be closed in both directions from 7 to 7 over the next four days because of construction.

Pricing approved for Aquatic Center at Garcelon Civic Center

The St. Stephen Town Council has now approved the pricing for the Aquatic and fitness Center for the The Garcelon Civic Center.  Individual day passes for adults start at $8 with the Annual membership costing $486.
The new Garcelon Civic Center will feature a 25 meter pool and will offer fitness orientation and consultation, lap swims, public swims, aquatic fitness classes.   Youth memberships are also available.
No official date has been set for the opening.

By The Sea Playground Grand Opening This Weekend

A local tourist attraction for children is back up and running.

The Grand Opening of the St. Andrews Community Playground will be held this Saturday, and families, friends, and children of all ages and abilities are invited.

A parade will begin at the W.C. O'Neill Arena, go down Water Street, and end at the playground, where there will be a BBQ and clown will be provided by the Shriners, and a Mega Bloks play area will be open.

Mayor Stan Choptiany and MLA Curtis Malloch are expected to be there.

The Grand Opening begins at 10:30 am.

Over $40K In Equipment Stolen From Business

City Police's Major Crime Unit is investigating after more than $40,000 in equipment was stolen from a commercial business on the Manawagonish Road on the West side.

Sergeant Jay Henderson explains two diesel plate compactors worth up to $18,000 each were swiped, and he says they are very heavy and the thief or thieves would have needed a large truck or trailer to move them. 300 traffic pylons were also lifted worth an estimated $9000.

Henderson says they believe the theft happened between Sunday May 18 and Tuesday May 20 of this year.

Perry Family Says They Won't Give Up

A sad, delayed, painful matter--that's Mr Justice Hugh McLellan's estimate of the Serena Perry case.

 Perry died at the Regional Hospital back in February 2012. Today at the Court of Queen's Bench, members of the family and lawyers were present for yet another tiny step toward setting a date for the inquest, which has become mired in questions over which parties should get standing and what information can be made public.

The victim's mother, Rose, says she won't give up.

According to John Gillis, the lawyer for the family, we're still no closer to setting a date for the actual inquest into Perry's death.

New Markets Being Explored For Canaport LNG

More attention has been focused on Saint John of late as a place where natural gas could be exported to Europe in light of what has been happening in Russia and the Ukraine. 

The Europeans are said to want to lessen their dependence on Russian natural gas. Irving Oil President Paul Browning can see the potential for Canaport L-N-G. He says Europe would be the most obvious choice as a market, and also talks about South America and India.

Browning says what the company needs before anything else takes place is an abundant supply of natural gas that's cost competitive.

It appears Irving Oil and all four Atlantic Premiers who met in Saint John agree on the need on commercializing natural resources.