Friday, September 26, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
"THEY" say there's no such thing as a free lunch...
We disagree...
On Friday September 26 from 12:30pm until 4:00pm or so, we the vendors
and friends of St. Stephen Community Market are having a thank you for the summer party.
Since we are having a saying thanks celebration, we must give a present.
Therefore SSCM is giving away lunches to all our loyal vendors a free
lunch. Not only that, we want to give a free lunch to the first 30
people who come to say thanks with us.
The SSCM has contracted with Bob Oatway to supply lunch. He will cook
you a great sausage or hot dog and give you a pop or water free as our
way of saying thanks. Our special ladies who have baked such wonderful
sweets and breads, pies and cookies, and have kept me chubby all summer,
promised to cook up some wonderful desserts for us. This will be a day
of sharing.
So please come out to join us on Friday Sept 26 at 12:30, our vendors
are good folks, they'll be glad to see you.
Rex Nicholson, Market Manager.
On Friday September 26 from 12:30pm until 4:00pm or so, we the vendors
and friends of St. Stephen Community Market are having a thank you for the summer party.
Since we are having a saying thanks celebration, we must give a present.
Therefore SSCM is giving away lunches to all our loyal vendors a free
lunch. Not only that, we want to give a free lunch to the first 30
people who come to say thanks with us.
The SSCM has contracted with Bob Oatway to supply lunch. He will cook
you a great sausage or hot dog and give you a pop or water free as our
way of saying thanks. Our special ladies who have baked such wonderful
sweets and breads, pies and cookies, and have kept me chubby all summer,
promised to cook up some wonderful desserts for us. This will be a day
of sharing.
So please come out to join us on Friday Sept 26 at 12:30, our vendors
are good folks, they'll be glad to see you.
Rex Nicholson, Market Manager.
Power of the press
WE SAID... on in an editorial on Sept. 16
Winter of our discontent
That chill that’s arriving each evening is more than a folksy or charming reminder that fall colours, pumpkins and, soon enough, that first snow, are on their way.
The killing frost is a real scare for many Charlotte County residents who are torn up wondering how they’ll find the money, or what they’ll have to do without, in order to keep their homes or apartments warm this winter.
Whatever their poison – oil, electric, natural gas or wood – energy is getting more expensive all the time. Too expensive for too many people.
And in the face of what promises to be the most costly winter on record here, what has Shawn Graham’s Liberal government done? Cut a pittance of a subsidy – the provincial Home Energy Assistance Program worth a whopping $100 per household per year.
About 55,000 households benefited from this program as seniors on fixed incomes, the working poor and those on social assistance took advantage. A hundred bucks isn’t much but when you’re on a fixed income and you’re barely able to pay the bills (or at least pay enough to avoid a shut-off) it can be a flicker of light in a dark winter night.
The ranks of those who are hurting are expected to grow this winter. Home heating oil bills, for example, are up 37 per cent. One Charlotte County resident said her bill, on an equalized payment schedule, is going up $117 per month. She expects to pay about $4,500 for oil this fall and winter. She’ll be able to swing it but she wonders how others will manage. That $100 subsidy would have at least covered one month’s worth of the increase.
At the Volunteer Centre of Charlotte County, Donna Linton is bracing for an increase in clientele this winter as the reality of heating bills hits with full force. People, from the working poor to the unemployed, are going to need help. The Graham government is offering little.
And then there’s gas prices. Gas price regulation was supposed to protect consumers from the kind of 13-cent-per-litre bomb that dropped last week in the wake of Hurricane Ike – a storm that clobbered Texas but left the oil refineries there, thankfully, in good shape.
Across the St. Croix River in Maine, the price of gas rose only CDN three cents a litre. Is it any wonder New Brunswickers are turning to Fredericton and asking, “What’s going on here?”
Politicians will tell us the gas price spiked because of emergency conditions or they’ll cite the New York Harbour pricing formula as justification for our outrageous rates. Don’t be fooled. Gas went up 13 cents per litre because the Graham government is failing to protect consumers. If the current gas price regulation system, introduced by Graham’s predecessor, Bernard Lord, isn’t working, no one is in a better position to fix it than Graham.
In the bigger picture, all that money New Brunswickers are spending on oil and gas is money they aren’t spending at local stores, restaurants and other businesses. Everybody hurts.
Oh the province is happy to hand over cash or issue loans to homeowners who take steps to make their homes more efficient. The New Brunswick Energy Efficiency program offers $2,000 grants or $10,000 loans to people who can upgrade their homes. It’s little use to those living paycheck to paycheck but it’s a great program for people who can afford to renovate. It’s a huge financial help to those who need help least.
Many of us have the luxury of grumbling about gas prices as we idle in line at a drive-through or as we turn up the thermostat a notch. But some New Brunswickers will think hard this winter about whether to spend money on heating or eating.
For those most in need, the province is offering even less comfort than it did last year. And that’s chilling.
THEY REPLIED... in a letter received Sept. 23
Editor
Saint Croix Courier
Dear Editor:
I would like to respond to an article which appeared in your newspaper on Sept. 16thregarding the home heating assistance program.
The government realizes that the winter heating season is fast approaching, and shares concerns regarding the rising cost of home heating fuel and the impact on New Brunswickers.
The home energy assistance program had originally been put in place as a one-year program and was extended last year by government to include last year’s winter season, which ended up having $5.5 million issued to 55,000 New Brunswickers through rebates of $100.
The program has expired but we realize that energy costs are higher than ever and that many will find heating their homes especially challenging this winter.
As such, a review of all assistance programs that are offered through Finance, the Department of Social Development, as well as the programs available through Efficiency NB are being examined to see how to proceed for this winter.
The government wants to ensure that the programs that are being offered are effective and that assistance is being provided to those most in need. The government will be making an announcement in this regard in the coming weeks.
With respect to pensioners, this government is committed to assisting low-income seniors. Effective April 1, 2007, the Low-Income Seniors Benefit was doubled from $100 to $200. For further information on the Low-Income Seniors Benefit, please see the following website: http://www.gnb.ca/0024/tax/seniors.asp
Thank you for allowing me the space to respond to this important issue.
Sincerely,
Victor Boudreau
Minister of Finance
Winter of our discontent
That chill that’s arriving each evening is more than a folksy or charming reminder that fall colours, pumpkins and, soon enough, that first snow, are on their way.
The killing frost is a real scare for many Charlotte County residents who are torn up wondering how they’ll find the money, or what they’ll have to do without, in order to keep their homes or apartments warm this winter.
Whatever their poison – oil, electric, natural gas or wood – energy is getting more expensive all the time. Too expensive for too many people.
And in the face of what promises to be the most costly winter on record here, what has Shawn Graham’s Liberal government done? Cut a pittance of a subsidy – the provincial Home Energy Assistance Program worth a whopping $100 per household per year.
About 55,000 households benefited from this program as seniors on fixed incomes, the working poor and those on social assistance took advantage. A hundred bucks isn’t much but when you’re on a fixed income and you’re barely able to pay the bills (or at least pay enough to avoid a shut-off) it can be a flicker of light in a dark winter night.
The ranks of those who are hurting are expected to grow this winter. Home heating oil bills, for example, are up 37 per cent. One Charlotte County resident said her bill, on an equalized payment schedule, is going up $117 per month. She expects to pay about $4,500 for oil this fall and winter. She’ll be able to swing it but she wonders how others will manage. That $100 subsidy would have at least covered one month’s worth of the increase.
At the Volunteer Centre of Charlotte County, Donna Linton is bracing for an increase in clientele this winter as the reality of heating bills hits with full force. People, from the working poor to the unemployed, are going to need help. The Graham government is offering little.
And then there’s gas prices. Gas price regulation was supposed to protect consumers from the kind of 13-cent-per-litre bomb that dropped last week in the wake of Hurricane Ike – a storm that clobbered Texas but left the oil refineries there, thankfully, in good shape.
Across the St. Croix River in Maine, the price of gas rose only CDN three cents a litre. Is it any wonder New Brunswickers are turning to Fredericton and asking, “What’s going on here?”
Politicians will tell us the gas price spiked because of emergency conditions or they’ll cite the New York Harbour pricing formula as justification for our outrageous rates. Don’t be fooled. Gas went up 13 cents per litre because the Graham government is failing to protect consumers. If the current gas price regulation system, introduced by Graham’s predecessor, Bernard Lord, isn’t working, no one is in a better position to fix it than Graham.
In the bigger picture, all that money New Brunswickers are spending on oil and gas is money they aren’t spending at local stores, restaurants and other businesses. Everybody hurts.
Oh the province is happy to hand over cash or issue loans to homeowners who take steps to make their homes more efficient. The New Brunswick Energy Efficiency program offers $2,000 grants or $10,000 loans to people who can upgrade their homes. It’s little use to those living paycheck to paycheck but it’s a great program for people who can afford to renovate. It’s a huge financial help to those who need help least.
Many of us have the luxury of grumbling about gas prices as we idle in line at a drive-through or as we turn up the thermostat a notch. But some New Brunswickers will think hard this winter about whether to spend money on heating or eating.
For those most in need, the province is offering even less comfort than it did last year. And that’s chilling.
THEY REPLIED... in a letter received Sept. 23
Editor
Saint Croix Courier
Dear Editor:
I would like to respond to an article which appeared in your newspaper on Sept. 16thregarding the home heating assistance program.
The government realizes that the winter heating season is fast approaching, and shares concerns regarding the rising cost of home heating fuel and the impact on New Brunswickers.
The home energy assistance program had originally been put in place as a one-year program and was extended last year by government to include last year’s winter season, which ended up having $5.5 million issued to 55,000 New Brunswickers through rebates of $100.
The program has expired but we realize that energy costs are higher than ever and that many will find heating their homes especially challenging this winter.
As such, a review of all assistance programs that are offered through Finance, the Department of Social Development, as well as the programs available through Efficiency NB are being examined to see how to proceed for this winter.
The government wants to ensure that the programs that are being offered are effective and that assistance is being provided to those most in need. The government will be making an announcement in this regard in the coming weeks.
With respect to pensioners, this government is committed to assisting low-income seniors. Effective April 1, 2007, the Low-Income Seniors Benefit was doubled from $100 to $200. For further information on the Low-Income Seniors Benefit, please see the following website: http://www.gnb.ca/0024/tax/seniors.asp
Thank you for allowing me the space to respond to this important issue.
Sincerely,
Victor Boudreau
Minister of Finance
Monday, September 22, 2008
This just in...
Nude bartending can get you arrested... and we don't even want to know what nude bacon frying can get you.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
IMPORTANT UPDATE
The latest edition of the Courier Weekend is coming along great and the newsroom is humming along with no distractions whatsoever. SERIOUSLY.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Phrase of the day so far
CHEESE FUDGE!
Q: Can you use "cheese fudge" in a sentence please?
Sports reporter Jeremy Townes: "I drank so much last night, I feel like cheese fudge this morning."
Q: Can you use "cheese fudge" in a sentence please?
Sports reporter Jeremy Townes: "I drank so much last night, I feel like cheese fudge this morning."
Friday, September 12, 2008
Bye Buddy
ST. ANDREWS – One of the Huntsman Marine Science Centre’s oldest residents and favourite attractions, Buddy the harbour seal, died Tuesday after a short illness.
Buddy was born at the Shippagan aquarium but resided in the Huntsman Aquarium where he was a focal point of the conservation education programs.
A generation of Maritime school children regarded Buddy as a personal friend. He lived to be 20 years old, a good age for a male seal. Buddy and Chelsea, his mate at the aquarium, had their 13th pup, Quin, earlier this year.
Proud veteran helps Thompson
Signs of the times – Veteran helps with Greg Thompson signs.
A picture of 87-year-old L.J. (Ben) Leland helping put up a “re-elect Greg Thompson” sign (at right of the sign). Ben Leland is a veteran of WWII. He was a Navigator in the 433 Porcupine Squadron of the 6th Bomber Command for the RCAF. Ben and his wife Margaret live in Saint George and are the parents of 14 children and 49 grandchildren. Ben isn’t a particularly political person but is so proud to have the Veteran’s Affairs Minister as his MP. Ben is now a man of very few words but he thinks Greg “is a really good guy”. Also pictured in the photo are Walter Balasiuk and Peter Leland.
Picture submitted by Patrick Leland
Monday, September 8, 2008
Watcha gonna do...
when WASHERMANIA runs wild on you!
Then there's the more popular HULKAMANIA
And then there's WHEN GOOD HULKAMANIA GOES BAD
Then there's the more popular HULKAMANIA
And then there's WHEN GOOD HULKAMANIA GOES BAD
Headline of the day so far...
Could invasive ‘rocksnot’ be headed our way?
For the answer to this pressing question and others, read Rebecca Mersereau's Saving the Green in Tuesday's Courier.
For the answer to this pressing question and others, read Rebecca Mersereau's Saving the Green in Tuesday's Courier.
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