Loose dogs are killing deer, says conservation official

Loose dogs are chasing and killing deer in the heavy spring snow, says a Department of Natural Resources representative.

Eric Sullivan, a biologist with the department, has been monitoring deer kills in the area.

He said it is instinctive for a loose dog to chase after a wild animal.

"People think it's never their dogs."

And although it is a problem year-round, he said changing snow conditions are making the problem worse.

"This time of year it's especially critical."

Sullivan said deer are at their lowest energy reserves at this time of year and any extra stress can lower their chances of survival, even if the dogs don't catch them.

Dogs can run along on top of the snow while deer fall through and can't get away, he said.

"Often they're killed."

Sullivan said it is a problem all over the province, but there are places where it is worse.

"We do have hot spots that come back every year."

People need to be educated, he said, but he is not sure what it is going to take for people to get the message.

"This is a problem."

Sullivan said there were probably 15-20 deer killed in the last week.

"Those are just the ones we've been finding."

People report incidents when they see them and that means they don't find the ones that happen back in the woods, he said.

"A lot of it's happening around communities."

Sullivan said in the past, the Department of Natural Resources has run radio ads, posted information on their website and they now include information in their hunting and trapping summary booklet to try and educate the public.

People know it is a problem, he said.

"It's just some people choose to ignore it."

Michael Cain, the regional conservation manager for Miramichi district, said there are consequences for owners who let their dogs run free.

Wildlife enforcement officers don't have to prove a dog is actively pursuing a wild animal for them to fine the dog's owner, he said.

"Any time a dog is allowed to go unsupervised there is the potential to be charged under the Fish and Wildlife Act."

Cain said they approach everyone with an unchained dog but don't enforce the law as much in the summer.

"We try to use common sense."

The fines range from $100 to $300 and conservation officers have the authority to destroy dogs, he said.

Cain said a dog would have to be actively in pursuit of wildlife for an officer to shoot a dog and very few incidents come to that, he said.

"That's used as a method of last resort."

Conservation officers always prefer to follow an animal home, charge the owners and, if possible, turn the dog over to the local dog catcher, he said.

Cain said they can't do that if the dog is dead.

"It's not the preferred option."

Silviculture cuts debated in legislature

Opposition leader Jeannot Volpe says the decisions made about silviculture are killing rural regions, but the provincial natural resources minister says sometimes governments have to make tough choices.

Volpe addressed Premier Shawn Graham in the legislature last week in response to provincial budget cuts made to silviculture.

Volpe asked the premier why the government killed the silviculture program.

"We all know the money was there."

Natural Resources Minister Donald Arseneault answered for the premier and said Volpe was once the minister of finance and knows how difficult it is to meet every demand made for money.

"We have to make some choices."

Arseneault added Volpe cut the budget for silviculture on Crown land by $3 million down to $13.1 million when he was the natural resources minister during the first term of Bernard Lord's government .

Even with the current reduction, he said, there is $15 million budgeted and twice as many trees will be planted than were planted under the Lord government.

"I have no lesson to be learned from the leader of the opposition."

Arseneault said 28 million trees will be planted throughout the province this year, which is the same amount as last year.

New Maryland-Sunbury West MLA Keith Ashfield asked what impact changes to the silviculture program will have on the workforce in rural New Brunswick.

"What job losses will there be in rural New Brunswick because of the cuts in this program?"

Arseneault said there is always an impact when you reduce funding to a program, but a private woodlot is a business.

Even with 50 per cent funded by the government, it is still a generous program, he said.

"Find me a business program that is as generous as that."

But Ashfield said the changes will cut the legs out from under the silviculture program.

"It will not exist."

Over 700 jobs will be lost in rural New Brunswick because of the cuts, he said.

"This is the worst time you could possibly have done this."

Graham gave his first response to opposition questions and said market conditions have changed in recent years.

The forest industry took a leave on silviculture programs on their own lands last year, he said.

"This year, the government is also taking the same initiative because of the market conditions."

Ashfield responded by saying the premier has been letting his ministers take the heat on important issues.

He said the federal government has transferred more money to the province and more has been spent in New Brunswick by them than there has been in years.

"The government has been squandering the resource of money coming from the federal government and it continues to do it.

York North MLA Kirk MacDonald said the federal government gave the province $100 million more this year.

"The money is there, but the will is not."

Woodstock MLA David Alward asked Arseneault and Graham to elaborate on the reductions in silviculture.

"How much less wood will be available in the system for our forestry sector?"

Arseneault said in the medium term there will still be the same wood supply available for New Brunswick mills.

"Silviculture is an investment for the future."

Alward said Volpe and the people of New Brunswick want to ensure forestry is a viable industry.

"They want to save the industry."

Graham said with the new cost-sharing agreement, landowners can receive up to 50 per cent of taxpayers money to pay for pre-commercial thinning and tree planting on their property.

"That is an investment for the future."

Community involvement key to renewed success: community action committee

Active community involvement is important for the Miramichi to get through tough economic times, says the chair of the Miramichi Community Action Committee.

Rogersville businessman Patrick Finnigan was part of the committe commissioned by Premier Shawn Graham to find ways to help communities in the Miramichi region prosper.

Finnigan said there will be business leaders who lead the way in the future, but it is the people on the river who will ultimately help the area prosper.

"We want to get the whole community behind it."

The committee was set up in August 2007 with a 6-9 month mandate to find ways to move forward as a community.

Finnigan said there are great leaders on the river and the group hopes to get support from the government.

"We should be successful."

Finnigan said the region needs to be successful in order for his gardening-oriented business to succeed and he joined the committee to do his share.

"I want the future of the Miramichi to be bright."

Organizations like the chamber of commerce have been very responsive, he said, and they are best suited to take over the committee's work once it disbands.

"I think we're ready."

Coordinator Lisa Cove said the committee has looked at other communities and cities to see how they have dealt with the loss of major employers.

Moncton was one of those cities, she said.

Cove said Moncton launched a program to help citizens see the city's strengths and sold those strong points through a lot of marketing.

"They sold that to the citizens."

There are many positives in the Miramichi, Cove said, which bode well for a program like the one Moncton used.

"I think it would work well here."

Cove added other communities have not been as successful as Moncton has. She cited as an example the city of Sudbury in Ontario, a community similar to Miramichi because of it's dependence on natural resources, which achieved only modest success because there has been less community involvement.

"It was able to hold its own."

It's amazing what Moncton and Halifax have been able to do, she said, adding, "I think Miramichi can do it as well."

The committee is compiling a report to send to Graham by the end of May.

Cove said the committee's mandate is not to bring business to the region.

"We're not an economic development organization."

As it final act, the committee will host a public forum and will feature as guest speaker a former Miramichier who helped Halifax rebound.

Fred Morley was the executive vice-president of development in Halifax after jobs were lost at the naval base there.

Foundations 2020 will be a full-day event involving visioning, building partnerships and growing a healthy and vibrant community for the future of the region.

Facilitator Andrew Beckett is Saint John deputy manager for programs and priorities. He is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the city's Vision 2015-Program of Excellence.

The objective of that program is to work with the community in establishing a long-term vision and goals and then to establish concrete action plans that will move the community towards achievement of this vision.

Beckett will help community members who attend the Foundations 2020 event better understand the role they play in the future of the region, as well as provide insight into visioning and building partnerships.

Foundations 2020 is set to take place April 12, at the Park Inn. Anyone who wishes to participate is invited to call 622-7890.

Record 373 centimetres of snow fell on Miramichi

He was never good at math, but that hasn't stopped Robert Groves from following his dream of becoming a weatherman.

It just meant he had to go about it a different way than most.

Groves said he became an amateur weatherman in 1954 when he started to keep records of basic temperatures.

"I've been doing them ever since, up 'til today."

With a few pieces of equipment, Groves said, he can measure wind speed, rainfall, barometric pressure and the high and low temperatures for the day.

He even keeps accurate measurements of snowfall, something he said nobody in the area does.

Groves said his measurements are generally about 20 per cent higher than Environment Canada's readings.

"That's because they're estimated from Kouchibouguac."

Claude Coté of Environment Canada said there is an automatic weather reporting station at the Chatham airport, but the data it provides is more of an estimate because it is exposed to the wind and there is no one there to go out and take a measurement.

"There's nothing like going outside and doing a real one."

That's just what Groves said he did this winter, when he measured a record 373 centimetres (147 inches, or 12.25 feet) of snowfall between Jan. 1-March 31 — the largest snowfall since 1967, when 483 centimetres fell.

"Too much snow," Groves said.

He said he had an old weather station that was destroyed when it blew over this winter and the heavy snow has kept him from replacing it.

"I have a station to put up, but I have to wait until the snow disappears," he said, adding sometimes it has been hard for him to get around this year to take accurate reading because of all the snow.

Along with the weather station and hand-held instruments he has owned for about 40 years, Groves said he has learned to predict the weather by observing the updrafts and downdrafts of cloud formations.

"Before, I just knew what kind of cloud it was."

Everything he has learned is self-taught from government pamphlets, he said.

"Picked it up myself."

Cote said Environment Canada looks at information from different resources, which includes certified amateur volunteers like Groves.

"It has to be according to certain standards."

Groves writes down his readings on paper, so although he has detailed records going back some time, none of them can be electronically transmitted to Environment Canada.

"Someone will have to re-enter all this info," Groves said.

His records include data from when he lived in Moncton where, he said, his predictions we so accurate people would ask him about the weather before they planned their vacations.

"They tried to plan theirs around when I was going."

Groves said there was a difference of 2-5 per cent between his readings in Moncton and Environment Canada's numbers.

"A lot closer than up here."

In 2001, Groves started reporting severe weather conditions for the Weather Network. Two years ago, he recorded 21 thunderstorms. Last year he recorded 41.

"I expect to see more of those this year too."

Groves said he still finds the work interesting and doesn't plan on giving it up any time soon.

"'Til I can't write I guess."

Rising costs mean higher food prices

High wheat prices are leading to higher prices for baked goods, says a local baker.

Colleen Flett, a vendor at the Newcastle Farmers Market, has sold bread, cookies and other baked goods at the market for over 10 years.

Flett said she has had to raise her prices, but is still trying to keep them affordable, even though the price of flour has doubled over the last year.

"It affects everything."

The increased cost has to be passed on to customers, she said, but once she explains why prices are up they understand.

"They're accepting it."

Other ingredients, like marshmallows and brown sugar have also gone up in price, she said.

"What do we do?"

Flett said she has raised the price of almost all her product by 25 cents.

Over the years, she has built up a clientele of regular customers who have accepted that prices had to go up, she said.

"They just keep coming back."

Lorna Urquhart, owner of the Country Charm Bakery in Miramichi, said she has been in business for 11 years and has never before seen such a big increase in the price of flour.

"We didn't have any warning whatsoever."

The increase is making it hard for small business owners to stay in business, she said.

"It's really difficult."

Urquhart said the price per 20 kilogram bag has doubled to $23 in the last few months and her bakery goes through anywhere from 15-20 bags a week.

"Any of the busy times, it's more than that."

But customers are understanding, she said, and she didn't raise her prices until all the old flour stock was gone.

"I held it off as long as I could."

Andrew Veneau, a Bathurst farmer who sells chicken, eggs and beef at the market, said wheat isn't the only grain that has gone up in recent months.

Veneau said he uses all natural grains and grass to feed his animals.

"Barley and corn ... is what I use the most of."

The cost has gone up by almost $50 a ton in the last month and that costs him more than $400 a month, he said.

"It's almost doubled."

Veneau said he pays more for his feed than some farmers because it has no animal waste in it.

He said he refuses to add animal waste to the grain, even though that could lower his costs.

"I will not do it."

Veneau said growing demand for biofuels is pushing grain prices up.

"A lot of these guys have gone into growing corn for biofuel."

Over the last year, the prices he charges have gone up 25 cents for a pound of beef and 50 cents for a dozen eggs, he said.

"I had no choice other than to put it up some."

Veneau said most customers realize the price of everything is going up and although some people complain, others tell him he doesn't charge enough.

"It's not too bad."

Veneau added one way for him to save money on feed would be to grow it himself.

"I've got the land base available."

But the bottom line is, if prices stay high, he said, he will have to get out of farming.

"I'll hang on as long as I can."

UPM transition centre to recieve more funding

The provincial government will give $500,000 to help workers who lost their jobs when the UPM mill closed, says Public Safety Minister John Foran.

Foran made the announcement Monday during a press conference at the UPM-Kymmene Adjustment Committee Transition Centre.

The funding will go to the centre and extend training programs in place to help people make the transition from being a mill worker, he said.

"Our goal is to have as many people as possible working."

Foran said with projects like the Point Lepreau refit, New Brunswick is on the verge of an economic boom.

"We have to position ourselves to be ready for that."

Some of the people who use the transition centre to retrain will benefit once the boom hits, he said.

"We've got to do everything we can as a government to retrain people and be ready for the boom."

Patrick McDonald, a former process operator at the UPM mill, worked there for 29 years and said the announcement was good for the workers.

"It should help."

The training he gets at the centre has helped him develop more marketable skills, he said.

"I'm improving my edge on competing for employment."

McDonald said he won't leave the province to find work the way some people have, unless he has to.

"Out west is not my home."

Program gives high school students training in trades

Oily metal shavings drop from a spinning pipe as pipe-threading machine's teeth dig threads into the steel.

When he was satisfied, Josh Manuel cut off a section of the pipe and dropped it into a bucket to rest with his earlier work at the union hall of the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, Local 799 on Henry Street in Newcastle.

Manuel is one of 12 high school students involved in the Career Exploration and Apprenticeable Trades program through funding from the Department of Education's Innovative Learning Fund.

The program helps students develop skills in several trades, including carpentry and welding.

Manuel said he liked the program because he was not a strong student.

"I'm more a hands-on kind of person."

The program teaches students a lot of different things and is a good opportunity for them to get into the trades, he said.

"It's an amazing program."

Helena Waye, the former principal at the District 16 Learning Centre, applied for the program's funding from the province because she wanted students to be able to get hands-on training in the trades.

"We felt that there was something missing from our high schools."

The students who were approached for the program were extremely interested, she said.

"They saw it as an opportunity."

Waye said the training will help the students find jobs when they are done and give them credit toward post-secondary education.

"They'll get credit for work already done."

One important part of the program is a requirement that students be drug-free, she said and added it is the way things are in the workplace.

"You have to be drug-free to work for those companies."

Waye said the students' and parents had to agree to allow testing before they entered the program.

"They're all drug-free through the process."

Kaitlin Matchett, a Grade 11 student, said it was a great idea because people don't need drugs in their life and it makes the workplace safer.

"If you are attached to it, it's a good way to get away from it."

Matchett was one of two girls in the program, both of whom received their Class B F-3 welding tickets.

That class of ticket means Matchett can weld flat, horizontal, vertical and overhead seams.

Matchett said they are the first girls to get welding tickets through the program.

"I was like, wow, I actually did it."

Guys look at women and think they can't do that type of work, she said.

"I think there should be a lot more women in the industry."

Samantha Hobson, the other girl in the program, shared Matchett's opinion of women in the industry.

"More girls need to get into it, so I might as well set an example for everyone else."

Hobson said she will take part in the program next year if she can.

"I don't know if they're letting people back or not."

Waye said the program will need about $100,000 in funding to run again next year, but they can't apply for the same funding again, she said.

"That was a one-shot deal."

To get this year's funding, Waye said, they had to get $24,000 on their own before the government would give them the $100,000 grant the program received.

"It really is a very small investment for a program of this magnitude."

Waye said the impact will not just be in the lives of the students, because there will be 12 more people ready for the workforce.

"If just one student didn't finish high school without this program, it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the long run."