Ski club still on Umoe land

March 11, 2009

When cross-country skiers went out on some of the local trails this winter they did it on borrowed land.

That's because part of the Miramichi Cross Country Ski Club's trail system winds through land now owned by Umoe Solar.

Ski club president Don Lynch said about 600 acres around the club belong to the solar panel company.

"We don't use all of that land, but a portion of our ski trails are on it."

When Umoe acquired all of UPM's assets around the Miramichi, the land the ski club uses was included in the deal.

Lynch said the club talked to UPM about what would happen when Umoe took over the land to see about transferring it to the club.

"They pretty much told us there was nothing they could do in regards to turning it over to us."

The ski club first started to use the land through a deal they had with Repap and UPM honoured the agreement when they bought the property, he said.

"There's never been any change to what we do."

When he was in Bathurst last week, Umoe spokesman Ernst Andersen said they are in discussions with other companies interested in buying the land.

"No decision has taken up today as to what will happen with that."

Any potential new owner would have to maintain the same agreement UPM had with the ski club, he said.

"It is our will that MCCSC should be able to use the land for their trail system in the years to come."

Andersen said when he was in New Brunswick he thought about using the ski trail himself.

"I didn't have time or the weather condition wasn't right."

He didn't have his skis with him, but did bring all his other equipment, although he didn't get a chance to use any of it, he said.

"But we still have winter, so I would believe I have a chance next time when I'm come to Miramichi."

Cellphone coverage plans unclear

March 13, 2009

For most people cellphones are a convenience, but in parts of the province they aren't much more than an electronic paperweights.

That's because none of New Brunswick's cellphone providers have service that covers 100 per cent of the province.

Aliant spokesperson Alyson Queen said they don't have service in every part of the Miramichi, but they do have considerable coverage.

"At this point there are no expansion plans for the area."

Aliant serves New Brunswick cellular customers through the Bell Mobility network, but they aren't alone in the province.

Rogers, Virgin and Telus have extensive networks in New Brunswick, which also have gaps in their coverage areas.

Rogers began offering cellphone service in New Brunswick in the late 1980s and covers 94 per cent of the province, while Telus has been providing service since 2002.

Neither Telus or Aliant gave a figure for their coverage area in the province, but a map Telus provided showed they have a large coverage area with sizeable gaps in parts of northern New Brunswick.

Telus spokesperson Megan Fielding said for competitive reasons she couldn't comment on their expansion plans, but she did say Telus has the largest high- speed network in the country.

"We're really dedicated to expanding our coverage to bring out best service to our customers."

Christiane Vaillancourt from Rogers said her company continues to expand their network around the Miramichi and the rest of New Brunswick, but also would not be more specific.

"We have rather ambitious expansion plans, but can't provide details for competitive reasons."

The company is expanding as fast they can, but outside factors like the weather and the size of the workforce affect how fast they can work, she said.

"We are very busy and that's why a lot of our customers are seeing our trucks around because we continue to build our network."

Vaillancourt said those kinds of factors can delay the process and there is no timeline available for when Rogers expects to have complete coverage of the province.

"There are a lot of outside factors so that's why we don't like to give deadlines."

Queen said Aliant's plans are focused on rolling out the next generation cellphone network.

"A lot of the energy is focused on that."

Like Telus, they also have a high-speed network to provide customers with faster data speeds and although Queen didn't know how much of New Brunswick it serves, she did say it covers more than 60 per cent of Atlantic Canada.

"Particularly for data services is where you notice the difference."

Aliant will be expanding region by region depending on where the need is greatest, she said.

"Certainly we will be embarking on either expansion or extension of service as needs require and certainly as we can."

Province does not want to own the morrissy Bridge

March 4, 2009

The province may not know the cost to demolish the Morrissy Bridge, they just know they don't want to own it.

Last week the Transportation Department gave the results of an engineering study on the bridge piers to Miramichi Centre MLA John Foran who in turn passed them along to the group that wants to save the bridge for pedestrian use.

Department spokesman Andrew Holland said they gave the group time to come up with a plan to save the bridge, but the province made it clear they don't want to own it.

"We don't want to be on the hook for anything in terms of liability wise."

The Morrissy Bridge was slated for demolition in December due to structural problems that made it unsafe for vehicle traffic, but local interest in using it as a pedestrian crossing saved it from the wrecking ball.

The Miramichi Trails Coalition was waiting for the results of an engineering study on the bridge piers to evaluate the extent of repairs needed to make them safe.

Transportation Minister Denis Landry said his department hasn't given the trails coalition a time limit to come up with a plan, but they expect to hear back from them with a plan for the bridge around April or May.

"We're not pushing them, but we're expecting they will be back at us in no time now because they have everything they asked for."

The trails coalition requested the study at the Transportation Department's expense, he said.

"The thing we've done there is they've choosed the consultant and I've paid for it."

Although the bridge was slated for demolition, Holland said he didn't know how much it would have cost to tear it down.

"We didn't know the full cost because it wasn't tendered."

But he did say the cost of tearing it down was budgeted for this year.

"We'll give them the time that they need to come back to us with a proposal or some different suggestions and then go from there."

Holland reaffirmed the province does not want the bridge as an asset on their books and said if any groups come forward with a plan they will hold discussions.

"The government of New Brunswick or the Department of Transportation will not be liable for the future use of that structure."

Mike Mersereau is part of the group trying to save the bridge and said the report showed only one of the piers near the Chatham Head side of the bridge needed serious work, "It doesn't look so concerning or daunting as might have first been expected."

The trails coalition received the short report last week and hope to meet soon to come up with a plan, he said.

"Our members of the coalition are trying to digest the report."

Mersereau said the next step for the coalition is to work on funding for repairs and conversion into a pedestrian bridge.

"The Department of Transportation would like us to move quickly on letting them know what we'd like to do."

But before they talk to engineers about doing the necessary work on the bridge the group needs to develop a trails plan, he said.

"We're moving closer to getting a better understanding of what it would cost us, but we don't have a full picture yet."

Former Miramichi Mayor John McKay said when the Miramichi Bridge was built there was no discussion about keeping the Morrissy Bridge only if a private group took responsibility for it.

"Private groups don't take responsibility for provincial highways."

When the province was working on plans for the Miramichi Bridge, there was no talk of tearing the Morrissy Bridge down, he said.

"It was never the intention that the province would stop maintaining."

McKay said the Princess Margaret Bridge is in need of repairs and there are no talks of turning it over to a private group.

"So how come it's OK for Fredericton to maintain a very very viable structure and not for Miramichi?"

NSWC rejects facility tender

March 4, 2009

The deadline for tenders has come and gone, but there is still no plan in place to build a new solid waste facility.

Almost a year after the province committed $1 million to the construction of a new material recovery facility the Northumberland Solid Waste Commission only received one tender for the project.

Feb. 23 was the deadline and the commission board met Thursday to look over the bid and decide if they wanted to accept it.

Commission chair Lévis Savoie said the board rejected the proposal, but would not say why.

"I can't answer more than that."

In anticipation of media queries, the board prepared a statement for Savoie, but did not provide any details about their decision.

"The Northumberland Solid Waste Commission will continue to pursue other options as there were no compliant proposals received in response to our request for proposals for design, construction, and operation of the Northumberland Materials Recovery Facility," the statement read.

Envirem Technologies senior engineer Rod Fry confirmed his company submitted the one tender, but he didn't know why it was rejected.

"I don't have any other information."

Savoie said the board will decide how to proceed now that they have rejected the one tender.

"I don't know nothing before the next step."

The board is expected to meet again next month, but Savoie said he couldn't discuss any details of how they will proceed once they do meet.

"We're working on stuff that we can't release."

When the province announced its commitment to the facility last February, it included the use of renewable energy sources and compostable toilets to reduce its carbon footprint.

The intent was to design a facility that would divert organic waste from the landfill to large-scale composting facilities.

They anticipated the new facility would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 162,000 tonnes and would extend the current landfill's life by 22 per cent.

When they sent out their request for tenders, the commission was looking for two proposals. They were to consider options for a separate company to build and run the facility or to have a separate company just build the facility and the commission would operate it.

It is unclear if Envirem Technologies submitted tenders for both options.

Environment Department bioscience sector manager Mark Boldon said the province's solid waste commissions have some accountability to the province and have to submit reports.

"I believe an annual report has to be produced."

Each of the commissions also has to develop and follow a set of bylaws, he said.

"In essence what the regulations give them is a set of guidelines they have to follow."

Boldon said he didn't know if the commissions are required to disclose any information about tenders, but he did confirm they have to follow the guidelines set out under the provincial Public Purchasing Act.

"They have to follow the requirements under that."

The Northumberland Solid Waste Commission board is comprised of local officials who represent different areas around the county listed as follows:

Lévis Savoie - Village of Neguac

Scott Clowater - Upper Miramichi

Jocelyne Bourque - Village of Rogersville

Deputy Mayor Nancy Lordon - City of Miramichi

Elphège Sippley - Baie Ste Anne LSD

Hilda Robichaud - Fair Isle LSD

Jonathan Brennan - Village of Blackville

Charles Stewart - Village of Doaktown

Helen Ward-Wakelin - First Nations

Mike MacKenzie - Sunny Corner LSD

N.B. residents want pesticide ban, according to poll results

March 4, 2009

Cosmetic pesticides may help lawns look nice, but a recent survey shows most New Brunswickers want them banned.

The Canadian Cancer Society, New Brunswick Lung Association and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment released the survey results which showed 79 per cent of people surveyed support a provincial ban on cosmetic pesticides.

Conservation Council of New Brunswick science advisor Inka Milewski said she wasn't surprised by the survey results.

"We have been working on this issue for a very long time."

Several municipalities around the province have already implemented pesticide bans, including St. Andrews and Shediac, she said.

"This is the trend towards these bans and the province needs to get on board and take some leadership with this."

Milewski said the province is slated to make an announcement on cosmetic pesticide use this spring and she hopes they will initiate a ban.

"Ideally the ban should have been in effect 10 years ago or longer."

Quebec initiated a ban on cosmetic pesticide use in 2006 and Ontario included the sale of pesticides for lawn care and landscape purposes in the ban they instituted in 2008.

The scientific journal "Canadian Family Physicians" conducted a survey of studies on the effects of pesticides and concluded most showed a link between pesticides and cancer, she said.

"Children are the most vulnerable to pesticide exposure and it just makes sense to remove these from their environment."

Milewski said there is also evidence of links between pesticide use and effects on the nervous systems.

Even if signs are posted warning of pesticide use the chemicals linger for a long time and can drift when sprayed, she said. "It's just something that shouldn't be used."

Milewski said the government should do more to educate the public about the risks of pesticide use so they are aware of the dangers.

"I think part of the problem is this evidence is not as widely known or advertised as it should be," she said.

Miramichi public works director Frank Duffy said the city doesn't have a ban on pesticides, but they only use them in extreme cases.

"I think there was maybe one or two occasions where we have."

City workers either pull weeds out or cut them off instead of spraying them, but they did have a few places where there were too many for the staff to handle by hand, he said.

"It just got to the point where it was impossible to do."

Duffy said manually removing weeds does a take a lot of work.

"It places a much larger demand on our workforce when we do that."

But the public works department tries to be a good corporate citizen when it comes to cosmetic pesticide use, he said.

"Like everybody else we're concerned about the environment."

Ipsos Reid conducted the survey Dec. 5-9, 2008 and sampled 438 New Brunswickers. The poll is considered accurate with plus or minus 4.7 per cent 19 times out of 20.

Province releases guidelines for student travel

March 4, 2009

Local school officials are happy with the province's changes to extra curricular travel, says the superintendent for District 16.

The province released its new travel guidelines Friday to improve safety after last year's fatal crash involving students from Bathurst. Seven basketball players from the Bathurst High School Phantoms team and their coach's wife were killed when the passenger van they were travelling in was hit by a transport after it lost control on a slippery highway minutes from home.

Superintendent Laurie Keoughan said the new policies mean every district in the province will be following the same guidelines.

"We're pleased with it."

Under the new guidelines drivers who transport students will need to get mandatory training, vehicles used must have winter tires and schools will no longer be able to use 15 passenger vans.

Schools will still be responsible for maintenance costs on the vehicles they use, but work will have to be done by the Department of Transportation.

As part of the new regulations, the province will also be buying 15 passengers vans from any schools that still have them, although a ban was already in place against their use since the accident.

Keoughan said James M. Hill and North and South Esk Regional School were the only ones in the district that still had the vans.

"We didn't have that many in the district anyway," he said.

Since the province initiated its ban, three schools bought mini buses and most of the other schools were using buses for extra-curricular travel, he said.

"There have been purchases of the multifunctional vehicles since then," Keoughan said.

Education Department spokesperson Valerie Kilfoil said only 12 schools throughout the province still had the 15 passenger vans.

"Some had gotten rid of theirs already. Not every school had one anyway," she said.

In the past, whoever owned the vehicles used for transportation chose where to have maintenance done, but the new policies mean everyone will use the same maintenance guidelines, she said.

"Now they will all get standardized maintenance which gives us a bit more control and certainly higher quality."

Like other superintendents around the province Keoughan is now responsible for deciding if travel will be cancelled due to weather and unless he authorizes it, travel will be not be allowed between 12 to 6 a.m.

Keoughan said District 16 had a policy in place for extra-curricular travel, but the recent announcement standardizes them across the province.

"I think it's as equitable as it can be."

Kilfoil said the new policies outline the decision making process for student travel and how it's going to work.

"We've had a lot of meetings with superintendents on how to proceed," she added.

Some of the guidelines, like winter tire use and the ban on 15 passenger vehicles were already in place before the province's announcement, she said.

"There's a few new things that are coming into effect."

A coroner's inquest into the Bathurst accident will be held May 4-15 and the province will review the policies once the inquest is finished.

Husband looks for answers in wife's death

March 2, 2009

Years after having the last of three children, Paula McIntyre underwent surgery to tighten up the skin on her stomach.

She died less than two weeks later.

Now her husband Dale is looking for answers as to why his wife didn't get the care she needed before her death.

Paula had a blood disorder called cold agglutinin that can cause blood to clot if the body gets too cold. She discovered she had the disorder after her third child was born and the doctors were aware of it when she went in for the surgery.

A surgeon performed the operation at the Chaleur Regional Hospital in Bathurst on Feb. 2 and she left the hospital the next day.

"She was in pain after that," Dale said.

Before Paula left the hospital, she was given Tylenol 3 for the pain but Dale said it got so bad she ran out three days later.

By that time she was complaining about back pain and went back to Bathurst to see the surgeon as soon as she could, Dale said.

"She explained to him because she never had back problem before."

Paula also went to see her family doctor when her legs started to swell to the point she could hardly walk.

"Her thighs were rubbing together because they were so swollen from retaining fluid."

Dale said neither of the doctors performed any tests to find out what was wrong with his wife.

"I find it just a pure shame."

Despite her medical condition, Paula was no stranger to surgery. She had ceasarian sections for each of her children and also had a breast reduction, all without any of the problems she experienced after the tummy tuck.

Before undergoing the procedure, she researched it and spoke with people who had the surgery to make sure it would be safe and she would know what to expect.

But somewhere along the way something went wrong and she died when a blood clot went into her lung.

The coroner has completed an autopsy and although he has spoken with him, Dale doesn't expect to see a copy of the results for a few months.

Dale said he thinks his wife was overlooked when she went to the doctors for help and he doesn't understand why they didn't look after her.

"I want to ask why she wasn't taken care of and why she was sent home to die. "

When Paula went to the hospital, the swelling in her legs was so bad she could hardly walk, but Dale said her doctor still didn't admit her to the hospital.

"We were disappointed when she didn't admit her."

On the day she died, Feb. 12, then days after the surgery, Paula and Dale were at home when he decided to go down to the basement to watch a movie. Paula was upstairs in the bathroom where she fell and yelled out for help.

Dale heard her and ran upstairs to find her on the bathroom floor. He said he tried to do CPR to resuscitate her, but there was nothing he could do.

"She died in my arms."

Dale now wants a coroner's inquest to look into the treatment his wife received as she sought help from doctors.

"It's not going to bring Paula back, but I don't want anyone else to go through what I went through."

Dale said before she started to have problems his wife was happy with how the surgery turned out.

"She didn't have to die that way."

Public Safety Department spokesman Daniel Lessard confirmed there is an investigation going on, but he couldn't give a timeframe for when they will release the findings and said his department doesn't comment on specific cases.

"After a sudden and unexpected death a local coroner is investigating and when he's done the case will be reviewed by the office of the chief coroner and they will communicate the results to the family members."

As for the possibility of a coroner's inquest, Lessard said the coroner will determine if one is necessary after he completes his investigation.

"There is an inquest if the coroner determines that it would be beneficial in addressing community concern about the death and assisting in finding information about the deceased or the circumstances around the death."

The grieving husband and father hopes he gets answers and said he doesn't want what happened to his wife to happen to anyone else. He adds he believes the medical system "pretty much failed her."

The coroner and Chaleur Regional Hospital were contacted, but both said they were not able to comment on the case.