Local residents build low-cost air purifiers amid surge in respiratory illnesses
Listen to Tantramar Report for Monday, December 5, 2022:
Students’ union apologizes after issuing ‘misinformation,’ the latest in an election cycle marked by mix-ups
The Mount Allison Students Union has issued an apology after releasing incorrect municipal election information on social media.
It was the latest in a series of mix-ups during the municipal election cycle, which was also marked by erroneous mailouts from Elections NB and a mysterious flyer that appears to have violated the Municipal Elections Act.
The mistake meant that some students were unable to vote, according to MASU. It’s unclear how many people were actually affected.
Municipal elections took place on Monday, forming the first-ever council for the new town of Tantramar.
But some would-be student voters were led astray by “Municipal Election GOVT [get out the vote] posts on Instagram” that contained “misinformation” about election times, according to a statement from MASU.
Opening and closing times for the local polling site were essentially reversed, a MASU official said in an email.
“The substance of the error was quite basic, it seems that the time was posted was “7 [a.m.]-10 p.m.” rather than “10 [a.m.]-7:30pm” (which was the accurate time),” said Suchet Mittal, VP Communications and Marketing.
“As far as I am aware, we only received one official complaint which was received over Instagram. However, we are aware that other students were also affected by the issue, although the actual numbers we have only reach 3-5 students. We predict the actual impact was closer to 10-12 students being impacted, as best we can estimate without any real data.”… Continue
Higgs’ plan to abolish French immersion prompts Sackville parents to form grassroots group
The planned abolition of French immersion in New Brunswick has provoked the wrath of some local residents, and a grassroots organization appears to be taking shape in Sackville to oppose the change.
About two dozen people turned out for a public meeting Tuesday evening at the Sackville Commons Co-op.
Valmai Goggin, the parent of two young girls, lived away from New Brunswick for 15 years. Access to French immersion was among the factors attracting them back to the province.
“To be in a position now where the only bilingual province in the country is looking at having the worst French program nationwide, is mind-boggling and it cannot happen,” she said.
Listen to local residents who turned out for the meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, in Sackville:
The event featured two guest speakers: Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton and Chris Collins, executive director of Canadian Parents for French NB.
Collins, who was formerly a Liberal Party MLA who served as Minister of Local Government, encouraged parents to oppose the changes through a letter-writing campaign.
He said letters should target Progressive Conservative MLAs whose seats are vulnerable in the next election, notably in Moncton and Fredericton.… Continue
Mayoral candidate Bonnie Swift responds to criticism after far-right tweets vanish
Tantramar mayoral candidate Bonnie Swift has responded to criticism after a slew of controversial posts disappeared from her public Twitter account.
Listen to the report that aired on CHMA’s Tantramar Report on Thursday, November 24, 2002.
The social media posts suggested her politics are heavily influenced by the far-right on issues such as anti-racism, abortion and health-care privatization.
When local residents and journalists raised questions about her stated views this week, hundreds of tweets suddenly vanished. The first-time politician had previously campaigned on transparency in local government.
Swift says her tweets are being taken out of context, and that her husband deactivated the account without her knowledge because of online harassment.
Reached by phone on Wednesday, Swift told CHMA she “could care less” if residents decided not to vote for her over the deleted tweets.
“I’m not desperate to win this race… I’d be happy just leaving it, not talking to anybody,” she said. She added that she stands by a statement issued to local reporter Bruce Wark, who first reported about the missing tweets.
CHMA collected screengrabs of her Twitter feed before they disappeared. Some of her controversial takes included commentary on reproductive rights.
When one media organization reported that the U.S. Supreme Court was set to overturn Roe. v Wade, striking down abortion rights, she responded: ‘LOL.’ … Continue
Meet the candidates: Sahitya Pendurthi, running in Ward 3 (Central Sackville)
Sahitya Pendurthi is a project manager for an IT distribution company working remotely from Sackville. Pendurthi came to Canada from India as an international student ten years ago, chose to become a citizen, got married and settled in Sackville. Pendurthi says she fell in love with the town after her husband, an Amherst native, first brought her here.
Listen to CHMA’s Meet The Candidates interview with Sahitya Pendurthi, which took place at CHMA on November 9, 2022.
Pendurthi is running for Ward 3, where residents will elect four councillors from a pool of nine candidates, including Pendurthi, Josh Goguen, Alice Cotton, Virgil Hammock, Bruce Phinney, Michael Tower, Allison Butcher, Charles Harvey, and Sana Mohammed. All candidates have interviews on CHMA, except for Charles Harvey who declined our request, and Sana Mohammed, who has yet to respond.
CHMA is compiling all its election coverage in one place, for your convenience. For more candidate interviews and other local elections coverage, click here.
TRANSCRIPT Sahitya Pendurthi at CHMA, November 9, 2022
CHMA: Sahitya Pendurthi, thanks for joining us.
Sahitya Pendurthi: Thank you for having me here.
CHMA: So for those who may not already know, do you tell us a bit about yourself?
Sahitya Pendurthi: I am 37 years old. I was born and raised in India in a middle class family. My parents had to do two or three jobs to go up in their status to be able to afford to send their kid to Canada to study.… Continue
Meet the candidates: Alice Cotton, running in Ward 3 (Central Sackville)
Alice Cotton is a long time Sackville resident and avid volunteer, having worked with EOS Eco Energy, the Sackville Music Festival, and the Community Food Smart program. She has diverse work experience in teaching, gardening and food preparation, and is a local entrepreneur, running the Deus Ex Machina coffee truck at the Sackville Farmers Market.
Listen to CHMA’s Meet The Candidates interview with Alice Cotton, which took place by phone on November 9, 2022.
Cotton is running for Ward 3, where residents will elect four councillors from a pool of nine candidates, including Cotton, Sahitya Pendurthi, Josh Goguen, Virgil Hammock, Bruce Phinney, Michael Tower, Allison Butcher, Charles Harvey, and Sana Mohammed. All candidates have interviews on CHMA, except for Charles Harvey who declined our request, and Sana Mohammed, who has yet to respond.
CHMA is compiling all its election coverage in one place, for your convenience. For more candidate interviews and other local elections coverage, click here.
TRANSCRIPT
CHMA: So Alice cotton, thanks for joining us. Thank you. For those who might not already know you tell us a bit about yourself.
Alice Cotton: Sure. Well, I have lived in Sackville for close to 30 years. I have raised my two sons here, they both went to Mount Allison, one is still going to Mount Allison. And I have worked at various jobs here in town and gotten to know you know, different groups of people through those those jobs and also through volunteer work that I’ve done, and board work that I’ve done, as well, I’ve been on a couple of boards for EOS Eco Energy and the Sackville Music Festival.… Continue
Meet the candidates: Josh Goguen, running in Ward 3 (Central Sackville)
Josh Goguen is originally from Moncton, and has been living in Sackville with his family for the past 16 years. He’s fluently bilingual, works for Moneris in technology operations analysis, and runs one of Sackville’s community Facebook groups.
Listen to CHMA’s Meet The Candidates interview with Josh Goguen, which took place at CHMA on November 9, 2022.
Goguen is running for Ward 3, where residents will elect four councillors from a pool of nine candidates, including Goguen, Alice Cotton, Sahitya Pendurthi, Virgil Hammock, Bruce Phinney, Michael Tower, Allison Butcher, Charles Harvey, and Sana Mohammed. All candidates have interviews on CHMA, except for Charles Harvey who declined our request, and Sana Mohammed, who has yet to respond.
CHMA is compiling all its election coverage in one place, for your convenience. For more candidate interviews and other local elections coverage, click here.
TRANSCRIPT:
CHMA: All right, Josh, thanks so much for coming in today. Really appreciate it.
Josh Goguen: Thank you for having me, Erica. It’s a pleasure.
CHMA: For those who might not already know you, tell us a bit about yourself.
Josh Goguen: So, my name is Josh Goguen. I am a resident of Sackville, obviously, for the last 16 years. I am married to my wonderful wife, Sarah, who works at Jean Coutu. And my son Ben is 13 years old now and he goes to Marshfield.… Continue
Meet the candidates: Virgil Hammock, running in Ward 3 (Central Sackville)
Virgil Hammock has lived in Sackville for nearly 50 years, teaching at Mount Allison University for almost 30 of those years. He previously served on Sackville town council from 1999 and 2012 and has held positions on the Southeast Regional Health Authority board and planning commission.
Listen to CHMA’s Meet The Candidates interview with Virgil Hammock, which took place at his home in downtown Sackville on November 10, 2022.
Hammock is running for Ward 3, where residents will elect four councillors from a pool of nine candidates, including Hammock, Bruce Phinney, Michael Tower, Allison Butcher, Alice Cotton, Sahitya Pendurthi, Josh Goguen, Charles Harvey, and Sana Mohammed. All candidates have interviews on CHMA, except for Charles Harvey who declined, and Sana Mohammed, who did not respond.
CHMA is compiling all its election coverage in one place, for your convenience. For more candidate interviews and other local elections coverage, click here.
TRANSCRIPT: Interview with Virgil Hammock, November 10, 2022
CHMA: Virgil Hammock. Thanks for taking some time to speak with us.
Virgil Hammock: My pleasure, Erica.
CHMA: Just to start off, for people who might not already know you, tell us a bit about yourself?
Virgil Hammock: Well, my name is, as you say, Virgil Hammock. I’ve lived in Sackville for 47 years. I taught at Mount A for 29 years, and 19 of those years as head of the Fine Arts department.… Continue
Meet the candidates: Allison Butcher, running in Ward 3 (Central Sackville)
Allison Butcher was born and raised in Sackville and lived in Ottawa before returning to her hometown in 1998. She’s the mother of two teenage daughters, and for the past 20 years she has worked as a pre-school teacher. She’s been involved in municipal politics since 2016 and is currently in her second term as councillor.
Listen to CHMA’s Meet The Candidates interview with Allison Butcher, which took place by phone on November 9, 2022.
She is running in Ward 3, where residents will elect four councillors from a pool of nine candidates.
Along with Butcher, those candidates include Michael Tower, Alice Cotton, Josh Goguen, Virgil Hammock, Charles Harvey, Sana Mohamad, Saditya Pendurthi and Bruce Phinney. CHMA has interviewed all of them except for Charles Harvey, who declined an interview request, and Sana Mohamad, as we’re awaiting a response from that candidate.
CHMA is compiling all its election coverage in one place, for your convenience. For more candidate interviews and other local elections coverage, click here.
TRANSCRIPT Allison Butcher, Nov. 9, 2022:
CHMA: Allison Butcher, thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us.
AB: Thank you.
CHMA: So for those who might not already know you, tell us a bit about yourself.
AB: So I’m Allison Butcher, I live in Sackville, and what will be Ward 3. I am a preschool teacher here in town and have been for about 20 years now.… Continue
Meet the candidates: Michael Tower, running in Ward 3 (Central Sackville)
Michael Tower was born and raised in Sackville. He lived in Dorchester for seven years as he started to raise a family, before returning to his hometown. For nearly 50 years, he worked at the liquor store, seven of those years as a manager. He’s also a longtime member of Sackville town council, currently serving his fourth term
Listen to CHMA’s Meet The Candidates interview with Michael Tower, which took place at CHMA studios on November 9, 2022.
Tower is running for Ward 3, where residents will elect four councillors from a pool of nine candidates.
Along with Tower, those candidates include Allison Butcher, Alice Cotton, Josh Goguen, Virgil Hammock, Charles Harvey, Sana Mohamad, Saditya Pendurthi and Bruce Phinney. CHMA has interviewed all of them except for Charles Harvey, who declined an interview request, and Sana Mohamad, as we’re awaiting a response from that candidate.
CHMA is compiling all its election coverage in one place, for your convenience. For more candidate interviews and other local elections coverage, click here.
TRANSCRIPT. Interview with Michael Tower, November 9, 2022.
CHMA: So for those who might not already know you, tell us a bit about yourself.
Michael Tower: Well, I was born and raised in Sackville, and lived in Dorchester for seven years as I started raising my family and moved back to Sackville. But worked at the liquor store for 47 years, seven years as a manager.… Continue