IDOL RETURNS

Downeast Idol host and producer Anthony Enman, left, with contestant David Humphreys during last summer's Charlotte County's Got Talent competition.


Popular competition will raise funds for high school theatre
ST. STEPHEN –Downeast Idol is back.
The popular singing competition returns for to St. Stephen for a third season, running for six weeks starting Wednesday, April 29.
Auditions for Idol are Sunday, April 19 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at St. Stephen High School.
The competition is open to residents from St. Stephen, St. George, St. Andrews, Saint John and Calais. Only those 15 years of age and over are eligible to audition. Applications are available via e-mail, enmaprod@gmail.com or by contacting producer Anthony Enman at (506) 650-3113. If you can’t make the audition but still want to try out, contact Enman.
Up to 12 contestants will be chosen to compete in the six-week competition.
Unlike previous years, singers can audition with an instrument.
The show will run Wednesday, April 29, Wednesday, May 6, Monday, May 11, Wednesday, May 20, Wednesday, May 27 and the finale will be on Tuesday June 2.
Admission is $5 per person or an Idol Pass will be available for all shows.
Downeast Idol was created in the summer of 2006 to raise funds for the erection of the Charlotte County Civic Centre in St. Stephen. Since then organizers have added some great new ideas, and have changed their charity for donation. The competition is now raising money for the Save Our Theatre Campaign to refurbish the St. Stephen High School theatre and replace its lighting system.
Last year Enman produced Charlotte County’s Got Talent, won by singer/guitarist Nick Gay of Utopia. He said the show is going back to its idol format due to popular demand.

BREAKING NEWS

Deer Island teacher Jude O'Reilly has pleaded guilty Monday to a charge of indecent exposure over the Internet. Our reporter was in court and has all the details in Tuesdays Saint Croix Courier.

HARLEY WINNER

Congratulations to Bernie Mersereau, Lorneville, on winning the 2009 Harley Davidson Bike at the Old Town Tavern draw on Saturday night! This was the 10th Annual Harley Draw with proceeds going to Fundy Region Transition House.

- From Carole McKenzie

WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON

Tuesday, March 31

* Another candidate wants Tony Huntjens' job. Find out who.

* Get the details from Sarah Russell's bail hearing

* Southern Hockey League champion will be crowned Saturday or Sunday

BREAKING NEWS -- Russell gets bail

FRIDAY MARCH 27
ST. ANDREWS – A 19-year-old Moores Mills woman charged with manslaughter by criminal negligence and accessory after the fact to murder in connection with the death of her newborn son has been released on bail.
The court ordered that evidence presented at the bail hearing this week cannot be published - only the outcome. She was released from custody Friday afternoon and left the Court of Queens Bench in St. Andrews with her father.
Mr. Justice Raymond French heard evidence presented by Sarah Marie Russell’s lawyer, Randy Wilson, and Crown prosecutors Jim McAvity and Randy DiPaolo on Wednesday and Thursday, March 25 and 26.
Russell is also charged with disposing of the body of a dead child in an attempt to conceal its birth. She is due back in Provincial Court on April 20 when it will be decided if and when she will have a preliminary hearing into the first two charges. At that time she will also elect her mode of trial on the disposing of a dead body charge.
Russell and her boyfriend, Rodney Miller, 27, were arrested Jan. 29 and have been in custody since.
Miller is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the child’s death. No date has been set for his bail hearing. He is due back in Provincial Court on April 14 when it will be determined if and when he will have a preliminary hearing.
Both Miller and Russell have elected to be tried by Court of Queens Bench on their murder, manslaughter and accessory after the fact charges.
They both underwent court-ordered, 30-day psychiatric examinations which determined they were fit to stand trial and were not, at the time of the alleged offence, suffering from any mental disorder that would make them not criminally responsible.
The small house where Russell and Miller lived on Route 790 was cordoned off for several days after their arrest as local RCMP officers aided by those from the J Division Major Crime Unit South conducted the investigation into the infant’s death.

HEADLINES - Courier Weekend, March 27

In the Courier Weekend, March 27
Call 466-3220 to subscribe

Woman charged in infant’s death seeks bail
Out of the woods, deer pose highway hazard
By-election candidates have until April 17 to file
St. Stephen family heading north… way north
Thompson slams province for quarry defence
Malloch seeks PC nomination
Washington County: We want our LNG
Body recovered, search continues for second man
Silverkings, Thrashers all tied up

YOU SAID IT...

Quotes of the Week, Courier Weekend, March 27

“I’m just frustrated with the tactics of (Blacks Harbour Silverkings coach) Meryl (Stewart) and his nutbars.”
– St. Andrews Thrashers General Manager Murray Knox

(Meryl and the Nutbars would be a good name for a rock band).

“I am so confident in all the work that has been done by Calais LNG and I know this will be an excellent project for the area.”
– Calais Mayor Vinton Cassidy.

“The economy of Maine and Washington County is on thin ice, and Calais LNG will recharge our economy and help build a secure energy future.”
– Maine State Senator Kevin Shorey

“I don’t have a PhD or a college education but what I have got is a hard work ethic and very strong common sense values.”
– Curtis Malloch, PC candidate

“Does the province actually believe that these fines – which are supposedly now under strict conditions for on-site storage at the quarry – suddenly become safe when they are distributed into local communities? This is simply not believable.”
– Veterans Affairs Minister and MP Greg Thompson

“I just hate to see them killed.”
– Sharon Tucker, on the numbers of deer being killed on Highway One

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“I didn’t support it or not support it."
“I just said, economically, it looks okay.”
– ST. STEPHEN MAYOR JED PURCELL (RIGHT)

“I think they have to hear both sides of the story and, once they do, I am sure they will change their opinion."
– ST. ANDREWS MAYOR JOHN CRAIG

"If these people are supportive of Jamer Materials, and believe in Jamer's solemn statements and science that they pose no threat to the environment (despite their operating history, and that of their parent company), let them host Jamer in St. Stephen. Let's plant a giant quarry dead-centre and sell it to the people as The St. Stephen Central Core Improvement Project."
– PAT MOWATT, BAYSIDE RESIDENT

“Did they not read the article?”
– PURCELL

“I didn’t have time to think."
– JERRICA BARTLETT, MEDAL OF BRAVERY WINNER

“They are putting us back 50 years. It makes no sense. They have wasted enough money on things that don’t add up. I don’t know how they came up with this.”
– JOYCE STUART, DEER ISLAND LSD

“People will have to adjust their travel plans.”
– ANDREW HOLLAND, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

“You can fight a better battle from within.”
– FORMER ST. STEPHEN MAYOR BOB BROWN CALLING RECENT RESIGNATIONS FROM COUNCIL A MISTAKE

“I am outraged. I am just vibrating."
– TERRY JAMES
BLACKS HARBOUR MAYOR ON THE PROVINCE'S FEE-BASED AMBULANCE PLAN.

"If someone wants to drop the mitts, we are more than happy to accommodate them."
– MATTY WALSH (RIGHT)
BLACKS HARBOUR SILVERKINGS

HEADLINES

John Gardner/Courier

The Bartlett family gather around Medal of Bravery winner, Jerrica Bartlett. From left Josh Bartlett, Sheila Bartlett, Randy Bartlett, Jerrica Bartlett, Leah Bartlett, and Roxanne Petitpas.


In the Saint Croix Courier, Tuesday March 24, 2009
Call 466-3220 to subscribe

Lack of support stings St. Andrews -- Anti-quarry mayor wants chance to convince St. Stephen to join the fight
Quarry 'looks okay' -- But that's not a vote of support, says St. Stephen mayor
Councillors shouldn't have quit, says a former St. Stephen mayor
St. Stephen girl earns Medal of Bravery
Council chickens out of animal ban after bylaw lays an egg
Katlyn keeps fighting
Ferry cuts set Deer Island back 50 years
Mayor slams ambulance fee plan
Province responds to Thompson's quarry claims
Calais LNG holds public meeting Tuesday

EDITORIAL
Gutless comments are getting too much attention
LETTERS
If mayor supports quarry, bring it to St. Stephen
St. Stephen mayor stabbed St. Andrews in the back
Quarry GM says watershed is safe

SPORTS
Silverkings hook series lead
Islanders compete for NB title


St. Stephen girl earns Medal of Bravery

By JOHN GARDNER
john@stcroixcourier.ca

ST. STEPHEN – On March 16, Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, announced that Jerrica Bartlett, of St. Stephen, will be the recipient of a Medal of Bravery awarded in a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.
On Aug. 4, 2007, then 11-year-old Bartlett rescued her great-great-uncle from a possible drowning in North Head, Grand Manan...

See the full story in Tuesday's Saint Croix Courier

HEADLINES

JOHN GARDNER/COURIER Sarah Marie Russell, 19, is charged with manslaughter and being an accessory after the fact to the murder of an infant.

In the Courier Weekend, March 20, 2009...

Couple deemed fit to stand trial in infant death case
Hundreds tell province: We don't want a quarry
St. Stephen mayor, councillors support quarry
Islanders keep ferry hope afloat
ASF’s Wilfred Carter dies at 82
Blacks Harbour councillor resigns
St. George wakes up dry
St. Stephen liquor store on the move


FIT TO STAND TRIAL

By KATHY BOCKUS
kathy@stcroixcourier.ca

ST. STEPHEN – A Moores Mills couple has been found fit to stand trial on charges of murder and manslaughter in connection with the discovery of the dead body of their newborn son.
Rodney Stuart Miller, 27, has elected to be tried by judge alone in Court of Queen’s bench on a charge of first-degree murder.
Sarah Marie Russell, 19, chose the same mode of trial on her charges of manslaughter and being an accessory after the fact to the murder of an infant the court is calling “Baby Russell.”
After the couple’s court appearance in St. Stephen on Tuesday, Miller’s lawyer, Joel Hansen said he would not be asking for a preliminary inquiry on his client’s behalf.
He said he is pushing for the receipt of the autopsy report.
“There’s no report yet that says the infant was alive at birth,” said Hansen. “If the child was not alive, there is no murder.”

For more visit www.stcroixcourier.ca

HEADLINES

Dick Cornish, of Dooly’s Billiard Room in St. Stephen, is ready for a St. Patrick’s Day toast.

In the Saint Croix Courier Tuesday, March 17

Parker quits, St. Stephen council now down to four
Thompson urges quarry foes to attend meeting
Doucet sinks Campobello ferry dreams
Mayor John Craig wants to replace Huntjens
Parents charged in infant’s death return to court
Thompson demands clean-up of fines from granite quarry
Man who tried to rob video store gets treatment, not jail

St. Stephen Town Council... visionaries

Image copyright John Drysdale, used with permission

A few St. Stephen residents have asked the town to allow them to raise some hens in their yards. St. Stephen council has moved swiftly... to develop a bylaw banning chickens and any other livestock from town.

Meanwhile, in a forward-thinking, visionary city like Vancouver...

Cup comes to FHS

Barb Rayner/Courier
Former NHL stars Brian Trottier (left) and Butch Goring pose with a replica
of the Stanley cup with students from Fundy High where they made a
presentation Wednesday afternoon.

NHLers visit FHS

Barb Rayner/Courier
Former NHL stars Brian Trottier (left) and Butch Goring posed for a quick
photo with some Fundy High students after the arrived at the school to make
a presentation Wednesday afternoon.

Boy in Striped Pyjamas opens door to talk to kids about Holocaust

JOHN GARDNER
This Week on DVD

THE BOY IN STRIPED PYJAMAS
Three and a half stars out of five

The Boy in Striped Pajamas is the story of a forbidden friendship between two little boys, Bruno, (Asa Butterfield) and Shmuel (Jack Scanlon).
Shmuel lives on a farm. Barbed wire surrounds the farm to keep the animals in and they often smell the stench of burning garbage coming from chimneys on the farm.
Bruno lives in the house next door, and his father, Rolf (David Thewlis) runs the farm. The house is behind a fence, and he only has a small gravel yard to play in. The backyard is off limits to him, and there are no other children to play with. You very much get the sense that Bruno is living in a prison.
Soon the adventurous eight year old finds a way through the backyard and out into the forest beyond. A short hike takes him to the farm where he has spotted strange people who spend all day in striped pajamas.
In reality the “farm” is a Nazi concentration camp, the electric barb wire keeps the “animals” like Shmuel in, and the garbage that the family smells burning are the Jews being slaughtered.
Scanlon with his head shaved and missing a few teeth, steals the scenes with few lines and fearful facial expressions. Originally Scanlon and Butterfield had more lines but the awkward silences that developed on the set seemed more natural than anything that could have been written.
Butterfield is clearly the star of the show, appearing in 120 of 140 scenes. A childlike innocence surrounds Bruno, as he asks Shmuel, “Do you have a lot of friends over there?”
But Bruno is not the only innocent character. The question is often asked how such a thing could have happened, and in this film the viewer gets to see the events through fresh eyes. Mother Elsa (Vera Farmiga) is equally in the dark as to the true nature of events going in the camp. When a young lieutenant (played by Rupert Friend) let's slip the true nature of what is going up the chimneys, Elsa is furious with her husband. He tells her he was sworn to secrecy to death about what was happening there. In researching, the producers discovered through journals kept at the time, that the wife of the real life commandant at Auschwitz did not know was going on.
Thewlis, perhaps best known as Professor Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter films, uses his full 6'4” to create an imposing, sombre figure as if the weight of countless deaths weighed him down.
The film is a new take on the Nazi war movie. Although the film is clearly set in the midst of the Holocaust, the shock value is lacking in this version. While other films made use of period newsreels type shots, and Steven Spielberg made use of black and white in Schindler's List, this film was shot in crisp colour. The atrocities are hinted at, but are not in your face.
The film is rated PG, and is definitely not something to watch when you are looking for mindless entertainment. Because the brutality of Nazi Germany is presented subtly, I would recommend this movie as a good one to watch with your children when you have the time for a follow-up discussion. As the plot progresses, the characters are educated but there is still much to talk about.
I am giving this movie three and a half stars because while it was interesting once I got into it, it did not grip me. As a war movie, it lacked the action. As a holocaust movie, it lacked shock value. The British accents caused me some problems, merely because I am used to war movies where the people with British accents are fighting the Nazis. Even the boy in the striped pajamas (Scanlon) does not show up until the halfway point of the movie. The movie is based on the novel of the same name written by John Boyne.

Movies for This Week on DVD are provided by Movie Gallery, St. Stephen.

In the Courier Weekend, March 13, 2009

COURIER EXCLUSIVE -- Huntjens won't seek re-election
Quartermain quits St. Stephen council
Sweeney talks about call to the Hall
Bayside meeting isn't a quarry dig
LNG a great economic hope, says governor
Man pleads guilty to camp break-ins
New suds start flowing
NHLers treat fans to legendary night

Coming up in the Tuesday March 17 edition
Who might replace Tony Huntjens?
The Irish in St. Andrews

COURIER HEADLINES March 10, 2009

Chuck Brown/Courier

For hockey fans who remember the 1970s and ‘80s, Wednesday night’s NHL Legends game will bring back a flood of memories and offers a chance to see some of their hockey card heroes live and in person. Bryan Trottier, Billy Smith, Butch Goring, Glenn Anderson, Terry O’Reilly, Rick Middleton and Gary Leeman are set to take on a team of locals at 7 p.m. at the Border Arena.


In Tuesday's Saint Croix Courier

Ferry a done deal
Time to shine - NHL stars coming to border town
Computer users jumping on broadband wagon
Island rink needs more work
Economy hurting community fund
Don Sweeney Hall of Fame bound
Reeves to speak at Boys and Girls Club fundraiser
Woman pleads not guilty to passing school bus

TIME TO SHINE
NHL greats hit Border Arena Wednesday

By CHUCK BROWN
editor@stcroixcourier.ca

ST. STEPHEN – Bryan Trottier has certainly earned the right to spend these Canadian winters somewhere warm where he can put his feet up, kick back and admire his Stanley Cup rings – all seven of them.
But he won’t. He can’t. He just can’t stay away from the rink. And on Wednesday night the Hockey Hall of Famer will be lacing up the blades with six other NHL legends for an exhibition at the Border Arena in St. Stephen.
“It brings back some memories for some hockey fans,” Trottier, 52, said Monday in a phone interview from New York.
Fifteen years removed from his last NHL game as a player, he said he still feels the pull of the rink and, while he’s based in the U.S., still loves getting to Canada any chance he gets. It’s here, said the Saskatchewan native, that hockey hits home hardest and where he feels the passion for the game everywhere he goes.
The game treated Trottier well and he has gone down not just as one of the best of his era but of all time. In 1998 The Hockey News ranked him number 30 on its list of 100 greatest players. He was an all-star year after year. He won a scoring title, an MVP and a playoff MVP award. He was a rookie of the year. He won Stanley Cups with the 1980s New York Islanders dynasty and with the Pittsburgh Penguins when Mario Lemieux ruled the game. He won another as an assistant coach in Colorado.
And while hockey was a rewarding career, Trottier has a confession.
“I would have played for free,” he said. “It’s just the greatest game at the highest level against the greatest players in the world.”
There’s no way to describe the feeling of skating on NHL ice, he said, never mind trying to put the emotions and experience of lifting a Stanley Cup into mere words. It can’t be done.
Trottier shone bright in a golden era for hockey. He was a key part of the Islanders’ dynasty that brought four straight Cups to Long Island before a kid named Gretzky, along with Messier and the rest, toppled the kings and assumed the throne.
Trottier still watches, and loves, the modern game but he’s not sure how he’d enjoy playing it.
“I had a good chat with Mike Bossy about that,” Trottier said.
His Islander teammate and legend in his own right agreed that new rules allow stars room to move and to shine but the competition is fierce and players today are bigger and stronger than ever.
“The players are so big,” said Trottier, who played at about 5-11 and 195 pounds. “I sure feel small when I walk through the dressing room today.”
His old Islanders aren’t the perennial Cup favourites they were when Trottier centred the Trio Grande line between Bossy and Clark Gillies. Today’s Islander fans can only cheer about the prospect of a last-place finish and a shot at the number one draft pick.
“You’d much rather be vying for the Stanley Cup every year,” Trottier said, acknowledging that it’s still exciting to think about the future and the prospect of adding someone like all-time OHL scoring leader John Tavares to the fold.
Like his fearless playing days, Trottier isn’t afraid to weigh in on some of hockey’s current hot-button issues either. With debate raging in the hockey world about the role of fighting, Trottier said he doesn’t mind a genuine, spirited scrap when emotions boil over and two players spontaneously combust. But the goon battles that pit fighter against fighter are too choreographed and pre-meditated.
“It’s a recipe for disaster,” he said. “I’m not a big fan of that.”
He said the instigator rule that penalizes a player for starting a fight has to go.
“It ruined it all for everybody,” he said of the rule, which critics say removes any form of player-dealt justice from the game.
He also said the current perceived feud between young superstars Sydney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin is overblown by news-hungry media.
“I think the players have mutual respect for each other,” he said.
Focusing back on Wednesday night’s game at the Border Arena, Trottier said the Legends will provide an entertaining and interactive show.
“We have a lot of fun on the ice,” said the 18-year NHL veteran.
Joining him are fellow Islanders Butch Goring and Billy Smith, Boston Bruins Rick Middleton and Terry O’Reilly, Toronto Maple Leaf Gary Leeman and Glenn Anderson, best known as a five-time Cup winner with the Edmonton Oilers who added a sixth championship as a New York Ranger.
“He enjoys working the crowd,” Trottier said of the colourful Anderson.
Among the roster of Charlotte County players are Rob Dougherty, Mike O’Connell, Dan Dempsey, Larry Seabrook and RCMP members Don Marshall, John Beck and Dan Gourdeau. David Mitchell and Eric MacDonald, from Calais, will also be lacing up for the Charlotte County team.
The last time a roster of ex-NHL players skated at the Border Arena was 20 years ago when Eddie Shack and Frank Mahovlich were among the greats to face off against local heroes like Steve and Floyd Haley, Blair Price, Mike Kohler and Dale Orr.
The puck drops Wednesday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. That’s $5 less than originally planned, thanks to a donation from Cooke Aquaculture, said promoter Steve Walton.
Trottier or one of the other NHL legends is also expected to give a speech at Fundy High School Wednesday afternoon.