After finding speed cushions helped slow traffic on an east Saint John street, council voted Monday to put them on more streets.

A former Moncton-area economic development agency executive is set to stand trial in 2025 on charges that include fraud, theft and money laundering.

COVID-19 has killed 17 more New Brunswickers, including six over the holidays, while influenza has claimed nine lives, the first flu deaths of the season, including a young child, the latest data from the province shows.

Sainte-Marie-de-Kent's Lukas Cormier made his NHL debut on Saturday with the Vegas Golden Knights.

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A Central Blissville man is headed to trial this fall on charges of impaired and dangerous driving after defence counsel entered not-guilty pleas on his behalf Monday.

Creighton Basil Davenport, 60, of Duplissea Road, wasn’t present when his case was called in Fredericton provincial court Monday, but Fredericton defence lawyer Emily Cochrane appeared as an agent for his legal counsel, Ron Morris.

Davenport faces charges of impaired driving and dangerous driving, alleged to have occurred in New Maryland on Sept. 15.

Cochrane said Davenport wanted to plead not guilty to those counts.

Judge Natalie LeBlanc scheduled the defendant’s trial for Oct. 29.

Don MacPherson can be contacted at [email protected].

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A Fredericton man who was wanted on an outstanding warrant appeared in court Monday, but he wasn’t ready to plead to the two charges he’s facing.

Anthony Stephen Beaumont, 40, of Albert Street, was supposed to appear in Fredericton provincial court Dec. 18 to answer to a charge alleging he breached a  Sex Offender Information Registration Act (SOIRA) order.

The count alleges he failed to report where he was living to the registration centre June 2 and July 2, 2022, as per a SOIRA order from 2007.

He was also scheduled to answer to a Jan. 24, 2023, count of failing to attend court, but Beaumont wasn’t present in court Dec. 18 when his case was called. As a result, the court issued a warrant for his arrest.

However, he showed up late that same day, and the court vacated the warrant.

His case was back on the provincial court docket Monday, and Beaumont appeared in person. He wasn’t in custody, indicating the warrant was executed and he was released, or that the warrant was vacated.

Duty counsel Gwynne Hearn said Beaumont has applied for legal aid, and he was seeking an adjournment of pleas to allow that process to unfold so he can have defence counsel.

Judge Natalie LeBlanc set the charges over to Jan. 29 for pleas.

Don MacPherson can be contacted at [email protected].

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More details about the storm system headed for the Maritimes are now available, with the federal weather service issuing a snowfall warning, predicting a heavy blanket of winter precipitation.

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s weather service issued a snowfall warning early Tuesday morning for western New Brunswick, including the Fredericton region.

“Snow, at times heavy, will begin early Wednesday morning over western New Brunswick and quickly move east,” it stated.

“Snow will then transition to rain by Wednesday afternoon. A brief period of freezing rain or ice pellets are possible during this transition.”

The warning advised that 10 to 20 centimetres of snow could fall in the capital region during that period.

“Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow,” it said.

“Be prepared to adjust your driving with changing road conditions.”

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s hourly forecast indicates the snow will likely begin at about 3 a.m. Wednesday.

The Fredericton Independent can be reached at [email protected].

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Peter 'Evan' McArthur died a hero and is "free at last," according to his mother.

Fredericton city councillors are considering a zoning bylaw amendment that would put an end to horse racing at the New Brunswick Exhibition grounds.

Kids below the age of 12 can now ride buses for free across Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe with Codiac Transpo's U12 bus pass.

Environment Canada has issued special weather statements for the entire province, calling for strong winds and up to 15 cm of snow in some places

Fredericton experimental music label Patient Records have announced forthcoming releases by Charles Harding, Counting on Downstairs, and more.  Matt Carter  It has been more than a year since we have…

The post Patient Records announces new releases appeared first on Grid City Magazine.

A new season of exhibitions at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre opens January 25. Matt Carter  Fredericton-based illustrator and designer Youseff Hussain will make their debut at the Charlotte Street…

The post Two exhibitions open at CSAC later this month appeared first on Grid City Magazine.

Body of a male discovered inside shed after intense fire was extinguished, police said.

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Defence counsel for Lawrence (Larry) Steven Chippin argued Monday his client’s community activism and safety concerns merit a community-based sentence for drug-trafficking and other crimes.

But the prosecution said Chippin’s peddling of crystal meth merits a stint in federal prison because the insidious drug “leaves a trail of destruction” through that same community.

Chippin, 62, formerly of Dundonald Street in Fredericton, appeared in Fredericton provincial court Monday for a sentencing hearing.

He was convicted after trial last year of possessing meth for the purpose of trafficking.

Evidence at the trial showed members of the Fredericton Police Force executed a search warrant at Room 221 of the Days Inn on Prospect Street on July 30, 2021.

Chippin was living in that motel room at the time, and he was present when officers showed up on that date.

Police found a significant quantity of crystal meth in the room, as well as dime baggies, scoresheets and digital scales, court heard, and Chippin’s laptop was also found to have online messaging threads that showed he was selling meth.

The offender denied he possessed the drugs, pointing the finger instead at Eddie Sivret Jr.

He testified Sivret paid for part of the motel room so he could run his drug trade out of there. Chippin claimed he just bought drugs from Sivret, who died later in 2021.

Judge Cameron Gunn said Chippin admitted in his own testimony to having constructive possession of the crystal meth found in the room and would be guilty as charged in that respect, but he rejected the defendant’s claim that he was a bystander.

The judge ruled Chippin had true possession of the drugs for the purpose of trafficking.

More drug crimes and multiple breaches

The offender was also in court Monday to be sentenced on other charges to which he’d previously pleaded guilty: May 19, 2021, counts of simple possession of cocaine and meth; and a July 5, 2021, breach of a police undertaking that required him to reside at a McGee Street home in Lincoln; and yet another breach of conditions May 20, 2022.

Furthermore, Chippin pleaded guilty Monday to Oct. 4 counts of possessing meth and breaching a release order to reside at a Dundonald Street apartment, and a Nov. 25 breach of the same release order.

Crown prosecutor Rodney Jordan said that the May 19, 2021, charges arose after Fredericton police officers surveilled him and Kim Somers, also known in the local drug trade, in a commercial parking lot at about 6:45 p.m. on that date.

Officers observed the pair engage in what appeared to be a drug transaction and swooped in to arrest them.

Chippin was found to have 13.47 grams of crystal meth and 6.78 grams of cocaine, the prosecutor said, and officers also found a black scale in his car.

“Mr. Chippin uttered that all of the drugs were his and that Kim Somers had nothing to do with them,” Jordan said.

He said Chippin presents with a prior criminal record for drug possession and breach of conditions, but those date back to 2012.

Mitigating factors in the offender’s favour, the Crown said, were guilty pleas on many of the lesser charges and a limited criminal record.

But Jordan urged the court to give greater weight to the aggravating factors. He noted Chippin was found in possession of a significant amount of crystal meth on two occasions and cocaine on one, and that he was arrested while awaiting trial and again while awaiting sentencing.

More importantly, the prosecutor said, crystal meth has become far more prevalent in the capital region in recent years and “leaves a trail of destruction” in its wake.

“There was a big potential for profit, and the accused was a part of that operation,” Jordan said.

He pointed out the New Brunswick Court of Appeal has directed that those trafficking in hard drugs such as meth and cocaine can expect to serve federal-prison sentences, even for first-time offenders.

Jordan asked the court to impose an overall sentence of 44½ months in prison, less credit for time spent on remand since early December.

He also asked the court to impose orders requiring Chippin to submit a DNA sample for inclusion in a criminal database, prohibiting him from possessing firearms and other weapons for 10 years following his sentence and directing the forfeiture of items seized from Chippin’s motel room in 2021.

Lobbying for leniency

Defence counsel Joshua Adams urged Gunn to consider his client’s community activism and his own drug addiction in crafting a sentence focused on rehabilitation.

He recommended a conditional sentence, to be served in the community under house arrest.

If the court deems a community-based sentence to be inappropriate in the circumstances, the defence lawyer said, it should impose a minimal federal sentence of 26 months in prison.

“Mr. Chippin is an active community volunteer,” Adams said, noting that his client’s pre-sentence report bears that out with input from the offender’s rabbi.

Chippin himself touted his work through Facebook groups he established that focus on missing persons in the region as well as crime.

Before he was remanded late last year, Chippin was active on Facebook such groups Missing & Unsolved New Brunswick and NB Proud. Most of his posts in those groups push for stronger action on missing-persons investigations, murder cases and policing.

Adams said his client is also concerned for his safety in prison as a result of that online activism, suggesting his posts irk an element that could do him harm.

But Jordan countered that the prison system is no stranger to safety concerns among inmates and can address them. He also noted that in his pre-sentence report, Chippin reported he has health issues that could decline behind bars, but again, that’s something for the correctional system and the Parole Board of Canada can address.

Adams argued Chippin was far from the most egregious drug offender and that he was involved in the trade to feed his own habit.

“Mr. Chippin was far from being a drug kingpin in the city,” he said, adding what police found in that motel room was not a sophisticated criminal operation.

“It also had to do with Mr. Chippin’s own drug problem.”

Gunn asked Adams how he could reconcile the request for a conditional sentence with the direction from the Court of Appeal regarding prison terms for drug dealers.

The defence lawyer said Chippin’s specific circumstances were sufficient to merit the community-based sentence, which is still available under the law despite the higher court’s decisions on drug cases.

Jordan said the Crown specifically opposes a conditional sentence in the case, and Gunn noted that the fact Chippin accumulated offences after his conviction at trial was a concern regarding his ability to follow the conditions of such a sentence.

Chippin apologized for those many breaches, but he also tried to offer excuses, minimizing them, blaming car troubles and arguing that police knew where he was living even after he left the Dundonald Street apartment without varying his release order.

He pleaded with the court to grant a community-based sentence, noting that the families of the missing persons his Facebook group reports on are suffering because he’s unable to manage it and craft new posts.

Gunn reserved his decision on sentence to Jan. 25 and remanded Chippin again until that time.

Don MacPherson can be contacted at [email protected].

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Forecasters predicting significant snow before changing to rain in Carleton County

Woodstock and Carleton County residents should prepare for up to 15 cm of snow, followed by rain on Wednesday, Jan 10, as a significant winter storm passes over the province. 

Environment Canada meteorologist Jill Maepea expects the snow to begin near dawn on Wednesday morning in the Woodstock area. 

While it’s too early to provide specific numbers surrounding the storm featuring mixed precipitation, she said residents can expect poor travelling conditions throughout the day. She said the current weather model suggests 10 to 15 cm of snow in Woodstock and Carleton County. 

“Looks like snow will be more prominent,” Maepea said. 

As substantial southeast winds increase during the day, she said, temperatures will climb as the snow changes to rain. 

While it’s “always tricky” to predict precipitation amounts during changeovers, Maepea said Woodstock residents should expect snowfall levels at the higher end of the predictions. 

Forecasts are “hinting at more snow,” she said. 

Maepea said the fast-moving storm should pass through Carleton County by early evening. 

While the storm could deliver wind speeds as high as 60 to 70 km/hr in the Bay of Fundy region, Maepea doesn’t expect the winds to be a significant issue in Carleton County, noting wind speeds will increase as the snow turns to rain. 

She doesn’t expect the winds will be high enough to create blizzard conditions. 

Maepea said the transition from snow to rain creates a brief risk of freezing rain. 

“The strongest winds will be with the rain,” she said. 

Maepea expects Environment Canada to issue winter storm warnings by early Tuesday morning. 

Environment Canada encourages the public to monitor its alerts and forecasts. To report severe weather, email [email protected] or tweet reports using #NBStorm.

The post Winter storm heading to New Brunswick first appeared on River Valley Sun.

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A 13-year-old girl from Oromocto has been reported as missing to police, the local RCMP detachment reports, and there are concerns for the teenager’s safety.

The Oromocto detachment of the RCMP issued a news release Monday advising that police are trying to locate town resident Isabella Scott, 13.

The release said she was last seen at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday near a residence on Enniskillen Drive in Oromocto. 

“She was reported missing to police the following day,” it said.

“Police have followed up on several leads to try and locate her, but have so far been unsuccessful. Police and her family are concerned for her well-being.”

Isabella is described as being about 5’3” (160 centimetres) tall, weighing about 105 pounds (48 kilograms), with green eyes and long brown hair. 

“She was last seen wearing a black hoodie, red and black pyjama pants, and pink flip flops,” the release said.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts or that could lead to her being found is urged to contact the Oromocto RCMP at 506-357-4300.

The Fredericton Independent can be reached at [email protected].

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Joe Knockwood, known for work as an environmental activist, died late last month at the age of 84, leaving behind a lasting legacy.

A man from southeast New Brunswick has opted to skip a preliminary inquiry on charges that allege he killed his spouse and dismembered her body.

Woodstock Police Force investigating sudden death after remains discovered at fire scene

The Woodstock Police Force is leading an investigation of a sudden death following the discovery of remains in the aftermath of a shed blaze at a cemetery near Broadway in Woodstock.

In a press release, the Woodstock Police Force said officers responded to a call at 6:27 a.m. on Jan. 8 about a shed on fire located on the Methodist Cemetery property on Cemetery Street in Woodstock.

The release explained the Woodstock Fire Department attended the scene and successfully extinguished the blaze.

“During the inspection of the structure after the fire, the body of one person was discovered, leading the Woodstock Police Force to initiate an investigation into a sudden death,” the release stated.

The release explained the Woodstock Police Force is collaborating with the NB Coroner Service, NB Fire Marshal’s Office, Woodstock Fire Department, RCMP K-9, and the Fredericton Police Force Forensic Identification Section to determine the source and cause of the fire, which is yet to be determined.

The WPF release said officers would remain in the area for several days, conducting a neighbourhood canvass for video footage and witnesses.

The Woodstock Police Force encourages anyone in the area at the time of the fire or may have information to contact them at (506) 325-4601.

Police added that the public can also provide information anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), by downloading the secure P3 Mobile App, or through Secure Web Tips at www.crimenb.ca.

Police request that vehicular and pedestrian traffic avoid the area and follow traffic detours as first responders continue working on the scene.

The post BREAKING NEWS: Person dies in Woodstock cemetery shed fire first appeared on River Valley Sun.

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Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story mistakenly indicated the accident occurred Sunday evening. It happened Saturday evening. We regret the error.

A Saturday evening accident that injured a driver remains under investigation, and the Fredericton Police Force is hoping any witnesses or those with video of the incident will come forward.

Fredericton police officers responded to a motor-vehicle accident on Canada Street at about 6 p.m. Saturday, police spokesperson Sonya Gilks told the Fredericton Independent on Monday.

“Two males were in the vehicle, and one sustained minor injuries,” she wrote in an email, noting it was the driver who was injured.

“[The force’s] accident reconstruction team was on site, and the accident remains under investigation.”

Gilks said no charges have arisen as yet, but as the investigation continues, officers are actively seeking additional information on the file.

The police force is urging anyone who witnessed the accident, who might have video footage of it or with any other relevant information to call police at 506-460-2300. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Don MacPherson can be contacted at [email protected].

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River Valley Suicide Prevention Committee promotes ‘Day in Yellow’ to help kick off N.B. Suicide Prevention Month in February

Members of the River Valley Suicide Prevention Committee (RVSPC) are asking residents, businesses, students, and education staff to wear, carry or use yellow on Feb. 2 to raise awareness to begin Suicide Prevention Month in New Brunswick. 

RVSPC co-chair Ebony Wade said the committee is reaching out to the public to promote awareness of the critical campaign. 

“We have several activities happening, including “Day in Yellow” and free education sessions to the public (SAFEtalk) on how to recognize the signs of suicide and how to help, as a non-professional,” Wade explained in a letter to businesses and schools in the River Valley.  

The committee’s message notes Feb. 2 as New Brunswick’s Day in Yellow and explains the importance of raising awareness during Suicide Prevention Month in February. 

“Our local committee is working to bring awareness to the important topic of suicide so that we can reduce the number of deaths by suicide in our region, reduce stigma around mental health, and increase resilience,” said Wade. 

The public can help by displaying yellow on Feb. 2, sharing information and taking in special events and information sessions during the month. The committee’s letter outlines a variety of steps during the month. 

Wear Yellow

Bring awareness to suicide prevention by wearing, carrying, or using yellow on Friday, Feb. 2. Some ideas include t-shirts, socks, shoes, sweaters, stickers, water bottles, ribbons, pins, necklaces, hats, or anything yellow. 

The committee has yellow stickers available to businesses, schools or organizations by emailing [email protected]

Share to #RVSPC

The committee urges everyone to share a photo of themselves, their friends, classrooms, teams or groups wearing yellow on Facebook or Instagram. Include the hashtag #RVSPC and tag the RVSPC page in their post to be entered for a chance to win prizes.

Win Prizes

Prizes offered by RVSPC include a pizza party for a homeroom whose teacher or school shares a post. 

Businesses and organizations can win a coffee break with coffee and muffins delivered to them. 

Individuals can win a “smile box filled with all kinds of yellow goodies.” 

While recognizing the importance of awareness, Wade explained the committee understands how essential it is to educate the public about what signs to watch for and how to engage with someone who may be contemplating suicide. 

The committee will offer two SafeTALK training sessions at the L.P. Fisher Public Library in Woodstock on Saturday, Feb. 3 and Wednesday, Feb. 21. Both are from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Email [email protected] to register. 

The post Help raise suicide awareness on February 2 by wearing yellow first appeared on River Valley Sun.

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A Sunday evening accident that injured a driver remains under investigation, and the Fredericton Police Force is hoping any witnesses or those with video of the incident will come forward.

Fredericton police officers responded to a motor-vehicle accident on Canada Street at about 6  p.m. Sunday, police spokesperson Sonya Gilks told the Fredericton Independent on Monday.

“Two males were in the vehicle, and one sustained minor injuries,” she wrote in an email, noting it was the driver who was injured.

“[The force’s] accident reconstruction team was on site, and the accident remains under investigation.”

Gilks said no charges have arisen as yet, but as the investigation continues, officers are actively seeking additional information on the file.

The police force is urging anyone who witnessed the accident, who might have video footage of it or with any other relevant information to call them at 506-460-2300. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Don MacPherson can be contacted at [email protected].

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A man was pronounced dead on Sunday after a fire at a homeless encampment on Saturday evening, according to Saint John police.

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While the region made it through the holiday season without any major weather events, it appears the new year will be a different matter, as the federal weather service has issued a storm advisory for later this week.

“A developing storm will affect the Maritime provinces on Wednesday,” Environment and Climate Change Canada’s weather service said in a special weather statement Monday morning.

“While it is too early to provide specific details, strong winds, heavy rain, and heavy snow will accompany this system.”

The weather statement said the winds and snow should begin Wednesday morning before the snow transitions to rain across southern and central New Brunswick by that afternoon. 

It also noted there’s a brief risk of freezing rain as the precipitation changes from snow to rain.

Environment and Climate Change Canada also reported that elevated water levels will be possible near high tide along the Bay of Chaleur coastline Wednesday.

The weather service said more details will be made available as the week progresses and as the weather system in question nears the Maritimes.

The Fredericton Independent can be reached at [email protected].

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A Fredericton man’s quest to overturn a breath-sample refusal conviction ran out of steam late last year when a Court of King’s Bench judge dismissed his appeal.

Andrew Earl Mocker, 60, of Kimble Drive, was convicted in Fredericton provincial court of refusing a breath demand, stemming from an Aug. 24, 2019, encounter with police.

Due to prior related convictions, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail, a two-year driving prohibition and a $100 victim-fine surcharge, but Mockler filed a notice of appeal with the Court of King’s Bench, which oversees initial appeals of such summary offences.

Mockler’s sole ground of appeal was that the provincial court judge who presided over his trial erred by failing to consider medical evidence presented in support of his defence of reasonable excuse for failing to provide a breath sample as requested by police.

King’s Bench Justice William Grant heard arguments on the appeal at the Burton Courthouse on Nov. 15, and in a decision penned Nov. 17 but only recently published online, the judge dismissed Mockler’s case, upholding the guilty finding.

In that written decision, Grant reviewed the facts of the case, noting the charge arose after Mockler got into a car accident the summer of 2019.

“On the date in question, Mr. Mockler was driving on Dundonald Street in Fredericton when his car crashed into a tree,” Grant wrote.

“The police were called, and Const. Anthony Pascon gave him the breathalyzer demand, which he appeared to understand.”

But problems arose when Mockler was asked to provide samples into a roadside screening device, failing to do so twice.

“Const. Pascon testified that Mr. Mockler was blowing out of the side of his mouth during the two attempts, resulting in not enough air going into the tube,” the judge wrote.

“When he was told this Mr. Mockler told the officer that he is asthmatic, at which point an ambulance attendant gave him the same medication he uses in his puffer. Mr. Mockler then made five more attempts but did not provide a satisfactory sample.”

The trial judge noted that video of the interaction with police corroborated Pascon’s account, as one could see Mockler’s lips weren’t firmly affixed on the device’s tube and could be seen fluttering as he blew.

The video also included audio confirming Pascon’s directions on how to blow properly and that Mockler wasn’t doing so.

However, the defence called Dr. Scott Robertson, Mockler’s family physician, as a witness, and he testified the defendant suffers from asthma.

“[Robertson]  testified that a person would need to wait 15 minutes after using the puffer given to Mr. Mockler at the scene in order to get full relief,” the decision states, noting that the video showed the attempt to provide a sample was made less than 15 minutes after the ambulance attendant administered the medication. 

However, the doctor conceded that Mockler didn’t exhibit the typical symptoms of an asthma attack - such as rapid breathing and brevity of speech - in the video.

“[Robertson] also testified that in 2021, Mr. Mockler was diagnosed with tracheomalacia, which he described as a collapse of the trachea in the windpipe making it weak and floppy,” Grant wrote in his decision. 

But the physician also acknowledged there wasn’t evidence on when Mockler developed tracheomalacia and he made no observations of it in 2019 or earlier.

“On cross-examination, Dr. Robertson confirmed that before 2019 Mr. Mockler did not require hospitalization and agreed that the severity of his tracheomalacia as of 2019 was uncertain,” the decision states.

Grant noted the law was clear that with a defence of reasonable excuse, the burden was on Mockler to show it was viable on a balance of probabilities.

“I find that in this appeal the central issue - whether or not Mr. Mockler met the burden of proving that he had a reasonable excuse for failing to provide an adequate sample - turns on findings of fact by the trial judge, including whether or not Mr. Mockler’s asthma affected his ability to do so at the time and whether or not his subsequently diagnosed tracheomalacia was, more likely than not, a cause of his failure to provide an adequate sample,” the appeal judge wrote.

“I further find that there is no extricable question of law raised in this appeal and therefore the decision of the trial judge is owed deference. The standard of review then is that of palpable and overriding error.”

When it comes to factual findings made by trial judges regarding evidence, he wrote, appeal courts aren’t empowered to interfere with such determinations.

“While there was, as pointed out by the appellant, evidence from Dr. Robertson that these typical traits are not always present in a flare-up, it is also clear from the trial judge’s decision that Mr. Mockler’s medical condition was clearly not relevant to his initial attempts to provide a sample,” Grant wrote, noting the trial judge, based on the video evidence, agreed with Pascon’s assessment that Mockler wasn’t forming the proper lip seal around the tube and wasn’t blowing properly.

“The appellant submits that the trial judge did not apply the medical evidence properly and thereby erred in law. I disagree. He reviewed that evidence and did so in the entire context of the interaction between Mr. Mockler and the police - as he should have. While the medical evidence was important, it couldn’t and shouldn’t have been dealt with in isolation.”

As such, Grant rejected the reasonable-excuse defence and dismissed the appeal.

Mockler has since served his sentence.

Don MacPherson can be contacted at [email protected].

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A University of Toronto professor who studies wrongful convictions says it's difficult to know just how many people have been wrongfully convicted in Canada.

Ottawa announced on Friday that it would be giving over $6.7 million for Rapid Housing Initiative projects in Moncton. That money will go to projects with the non-profits Rising Tide and Crossroads for Women.

Aboiteau Wharf, a beachside in restaurant in Cap-Acadie, burned down on Sunday morning. The fire started at about 9:30 a.m., according to Fire Chief Ronald Cormier.

A man has serious injuries following a fire at a tent encampment in Saint John on Saturday night. He was taken to hospital with severe burns. Others with less serious injuries were treated on site.

Police say 40-year-old last seen along Greenfield Road

The Western Valley Region RCMP is seeking help from the public to locate a missing 40-year-old man from Greenfield, near Centreville.

In a Jan. 7 release, the RCMP said Darren Richard Todd Hamilton was last seen on Jan. 4 at approximately 3 p.m., walking near Greenfield Road in Greenfield, N.B.

The RCMP said Hamilton was reported missing to police on Jan. 6. Police have followed up on several leads to try and locate him but have so far been unsuccessful. Police and his family are concerned for his well-being.

Police described Hamilton as approximately five feet eight inches (172 centimetres) tall and weighing approximately 180 pounds (82 kilograms). He has hazel eyes and dark brown hair.

He was last seen wearing an orange hat and a blue jacket with yellow safety stripes. A recent photo of Darren is not available at this time.

Police ask anyone with information on the whereabouts of Darren Richard Todd Hamilton to contact the Western Valley Region RCMP at 506-325-3000.

The post RCMP searching for missing Greenfield Man first appeared on River Valley Sun.

A new Atlantic Voice documentary looks at how one woman makes music for people's final moments, calling it 'a sacred privilege.'

Saint John's Alisha Anderson, the owner of Dioné Cosmetics, is in Beverly Hills, where she’ll be handing out gift bags of her makeup products to the rich and famous attending the big event.

Students at Woodstock High School wove ash wood into baskets.

This week's gallery features a tranquil snowfall in Carleton County and early morning light on a Saint John beach.

RCMP and Fire Marshal’s Office investigate as two fires in two weeks destroy two buildings on the same property

The RCMP and Fire Marshal’s office are investigating the second of two structure fires over two weeks, which destroyed separate garages on a family property near Centreville.

George Armour said the fire department responded to overnight fires on their family property on Hartley Settlement Road, which levelled a business-size garage on Dec. 17 and a stand-alone two-car garage on Jan. 2.

Armour’s sisters Ellen, Monica and other family members, noting the timing of the blazes, consider the fires suspicious.

“In our hearts, we know it’s arson,” Armour said.

He noted both fires began in the early morning hours just over two weeks apart.

Centreville Fire Department Chief Ritchie Shaw said he deemed two blazes on the same property in such a short time as suspicious. While his department didn’t notify the Fire Marshal’s Office after the Dec. 17 blaze, he requested investigators following the Jan. 2 fire.

“I felt we had to do everything we could to find the cause,” he said.

Shaw said since neither the structures, nor contents, which included at least three vehicles, were insured, they didn’t initially call for an investigation. However, the chief added that the second fire raised concerns about potential arson.

Shaw said his department received the fire calls shortly before 5 a.m. on both occasions, with the Dec. 17 call coming in at 4:44 a.m. and 4:59 a.m. on Jan. 2.

He explained both fires began more than a half hour before the department received the calls. While fire crews responded quickly, both buildings were fully involved when they arrived, making it impossible to save either building.

Sgt. Dan Sharpe of the Western Valley Region RCMP said the Jan. 2 fire was “flagged as possible arson.”

While acknowledging that arson was one of the harder crimes to investigate, he said the Fire Marshal’s investigators collected samples from the Jan. 2 blaze. Sharpe explained those samples could indicate the presence of an accelerant.

While the investigation could identify arson as the cause of the fire, Sharpe said it becomes more challenging to identify who was responsible, noting the blaze would destroy much of the evidence.

If it was arson, he added, it appears it was someone with a vendetta.

Armour said his late father used the large garage destroyed on Dec. 17 for his repair business. While his brother continued to use the building after his father’s death, he hasn’t worked out of it for a couple of years.

While both structures have power, Armour said he can’t imagine any fire dangers in either building.

“We didn’t store any flammables there,” he said.

Armour said by the time someone discovered the Dec. 17 blaze, it was already “a big glow” in the early-morning sky.

By 5 a.m., he said, the building was “completely engulfed in flames,”

Armour said a neighbour spotted the Jan. 2 fire when he awoke early in the morning.

Like the first blaze, the firefighters arrived to find the building fully involved.

Armour said the fires destroyed several vehicles, including a vintage Monte Carlo his brother hoped to restore.

Since the vehicles weren’t used on the road, he explained, they weren’t insured.

Sharpe said the RCMP is awaiting the results of tests from the samples collected by the Fire Marshal’s Office. He said the fire remains under investigation.

The post Centreville fires ‘flagged as possible arson’ first appeared on River Valley Sun.

New Brunswick's Elizabeth Robinson Scovil co-founded the Victorian Order of Nurses, wrote bestselling books on child health and parenting and was a founding editor of The Ladies Home Journal. A new biography tells her story.

Friends Kathy Nixon, Keith Dobbin and their dogs Skye and Abby were out for their daily walk when the dogs took off toward the ice, making for an intense rescue.

One month into breeding season for North Atlantic right whales, nine calves have been born. Amy Warren, an assistant researcher at the New England Aquarium's Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, said she’s crossing her fingers for more births, but that the count at this stage is pretty much on par with previous seasons.

Tate Hughes just turned five a couple weeks ago. But "Tater Tot," as he was affectionately known, managed to touch a lot of hearts in the greater Moncton area before he died suddenly Tuesday.

Here's how withheld information, recanted testimony and alibi evidence helped overturn the convictions of two Saint John men who spent 40 years wrongly convicted of murder.

Dieppe Boulevard in its namesake city will be getting a much-anticipated upgrade to help address the growing population in the region.

New Brunswick Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Tracey DeWare has apologized to Robert Mailman and Walter Gillespie for the miscarriage of justice that resulted in their wrongful conviction of murder 40 years ago.

Bianca Chouinard, 26, pleaded guilty in October 2022 to sexual exploitation by touching a 17-year-old boy for a sexual purpose while in a position of trust or authority. She was taken into custody after sentencing in Moncton provincial court on Friday.

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On the day he was to stand trial on firearms and drug-trafficking charges, a Perth-Andover man admitted to some of those offences instead.

Stephen Perley Jr., 28, of Main Street in Perth-Andover, previously elected to be tried in provincial court and pleaded not guilty to June 14, 2021, counts of possessing of cocaine and meth for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a prohibited firearm (a handgun), possession of that loaded weapon without a licence, and possession of a prohibited firearm knowing that he wasn’t the holder of a licence.

Those charges allege offences in Fredericton.

His trial was set to begin Thursday in Fredericton provincial court, but Perley appeared by video from a federal prison where he’s serving a sentence for unrelated offences.

Defence lawyer Steve McNair noted his client was prepared to admit to some of the charges.

Perley changed his pleas to guilty to the drug counts and to the charge of possession of the loaded handgun without a licence.

The offender will be back before the court March 7 for sentencing.

Don MacPherson can be contacted at [email protected].

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The Fredericton Police Force says a mid-December response to a suspicious-vehicle report led to the seizure of $26,000 worth of drugs and $3,000 in cash.

The force issued a news release Friday advising that officers responded to a complaint about a suspicious vehicle in the Islandview area on the south side of Fredericton on Dec. 16.

“Upon arrival, they located the vehicle in question, determined it to be stolen, subsequently blocked the vehicle and arrested two adult males,” the release said.

A subsequent search of the vehicle led to the discovery of quantities of different hard drugs worth about $26,000 on the street, it said, and about $3,000 in cash.

Seized were the following quantities of what are suspected to be the following drugs: 29.57 of fentanyl, 77.05 grams of cocaine, 29.01 grams of methamphetamines, 50 ice-pill (meth) tablets, 489 tablets of Xanax and 57 hydromorphone tablets, the release said.

Arrested and remanded into custody were Christopher Scott Phillips, 42, of Crouse Road in Zealand; and Maurice Chester Paul, 43, of no fixed address in Fredericton.

Court records show Phillips is accused of Dec. 16 counts of possession of hydromorphone, cocaine, fentanyl, meth and Xanax for the purpose of trafficking.

He’s also charged with possessing a stolen 2021 Dodge Ram belonging to Kenneth Van Aarle; possessing break-in instruments (bolt cutters and a crowbar), possessing cash deemed to the proceeds of crime, possessing 22-calibre ammunition while prohibited by a court order, driving while impaired by a drug, and breaching two probation orders.

Phillips also faces an unrelated count of driving while suspended Nov. 1.

Paul is also charged with possessing the same five drugs for trafficking purposes, possessing break-in instruments, possessing proceeds of crime, breaching a probation order and violating a court-ordered prohibition against possessing firearms and ammunition.

Both are due back in Fredericton provincial court to answer to the charges next week.

Don MacPherson can be contacted at [email protected].

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Robert Mailman and Walter Gillespie were sentenced to life in prison in 1984 for the murder of George Leeman. Forty years later, they walked out of the Saint John courthouse after a judge found them not guilty.

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Editor’s note: The defendant in this court report and the journalist covering the case share the same first and last names, but they aren’t related or connected in any way.

A Noonan man set to stand trial next month on sexual-assault and sexual-interference allegations now has trial dates later this year on related child-pornography charges.

Donald Ashley MacPherson, 64, of Hughes Street in Noonan, pleaded not guilty in November to charges that he accessed child pornography in Fredericton between Feb.12 and April 16 and that he possessed it May 3.

He’d also previously denied two counts each of sexual assault, touching minors for a sexual purpose and touching them sexually while in a position of trust or authority.

Those charges allege events in Fredericton involving two young girls, now aged eight and 10 years. One set of charges purport to have occurred between Oct. 1, 2022, and Jan. 1, 2023, and the other between Jan. 1, 2023, and March 1.

There’s a court-ordered publication ban in place protecting the identities of the two girls.

Both cases were back in Fredericton provincial court for a case-management conference Thursday to determine if issues to be explored at trials could be narrowed and if resolutions could be reached between the Crown and defence.

However, such discussions aren’t public.

Following the conference, MacPherson’s trial on the child-porn charges was scheduled for Dec. 3 and 4.

His trial on the sexual-assault allegations was previously scheduled for Feb. 16 and 20.

When the RCMP laid the child-pornography charges last fall, it issued a news release, detailing that its Internet child exploitation (ICE) unit embarked on an investigation in February 2023 following the receipt of information from its National Child Exploitation Crime Centre.

That investigation ultimately led to police securing a search warrant for a Fredericton residence, the RCMP advised at the time, noting officers with the ICE unit and the Fredericton Police Force were involved with that search.

As a result, MacPherson was arrested and released on conditions, and the Fredericton Police Force subsequently laid the sexual-assault and sexual-interference counts ahead of the RCMP’s child-pornography allegations.

Don MacPherson can be contacted at [email protected].

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Covered Bridge Community to host Dominion 8-Ball Championships in May

The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 24 members in Hartland are working hard to prepare for a national event in May. 

The Hartland Legion branch will host the Dominion 8-Ball Championships on May 24, 25 and 26. 

“There’s a lot of planning ahead,” said Carla Orser, co-chair of the event with Bobby Allison. 

Orser said the branch originally applied to host the popular Legion event five years ago. 

The event organizers began preparing for the tournament in November. 

Branch president Gary Bovard said Harland Legion members are excited to welcome players from across Canada to the Covered Bridge Community. 

He said the event will welcome players from 12 provinces and territories. 

Hartland Mayor Tracey DeMerchant said the town council and staff are entirely on board with the branch’s efforts. 

“We will support the tournament in any way we can,” she said. “We always want more people to discover Hartland.” 

DeMerchant praised Hartland Legion members’ long-running contributions to the broader Hartland community.

“We appreciate what the Legion does to support the town,” she said. 

Bovard said Hartland Legion members are excited to host the national event. 

The post Hartland Legion to welcome pool shooters from across Canada first appeared on River Valley Sun.

The fire that destroyed a three-year-old Fredericton apartment building has been deemed accidental, but fire investigators were unable to pinpoint a cause.