‘Coffee with a Cop’ comes to Sackville, local RCMP says crime not on the rise locally
Officers from the Southeast District RCMP hosted an open house event at the Tim Horton’s on Main Street in Sackville on Friday. About 30 people dropped in to meet with the officers during the two hour event Friday morning. Among them were Tantramar councillor Mike Tower, Mayor Andrew Black, Dorchester fire chief Greg Partridge, and Ambulance NB operations manager Mark Hicks.
Sergeant Martin Janson is a supervisor for the Southeast District, and organized the event as part of a series of ‘Coffee with a Cop’ events throughout the region, in turn part of a larger trend of similar events happening across North America.
Janson was joined by Sackville’s community police officer Melanie Belliveau, as well as Sackville detachment Sergeant Eric Hanson, who took a moment near the end of the session to speak with CHMA.
Hanson said the event was “a great opportunity for us to connect with members of the community in a friendly setting where people can ask us questions, interact with us.” Hanson said the officers heard questions about the job, and also heard concerns about “traffic and behaviour and things that are going on in their community.”
“One lady came up to report that she needed our help this afternoon,” said Hanson, “so we’re going to go help her out disposing of some ammunition at her house.”… Continue
Council lifts decades-old skateboard ban in a close vote
Skateboards are no longer banned on the streets of Sackville.
In a 4 to 3 vote, council passed second and third reading of a revised streets bylaw that will allow people to ride skateboards on streets with certain restrictions, such as wearing helmets and refraining from tricks.
In addition to a requirement for Motor Vehicle Act approved helmets, the bylaw requires people on skateboards to:
- wear reflective material between dusk and dawn,
- travel “in a straight line as close as is practicable to the right hand side of the roadway”,
- yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and cyclists, and to
- travel “in a manner and at a speed appropriate to the surface being travelled upon.”
A final vote on the revised bylaw was nearly delayed by a month, after Councillor Mike Tower requested copies of the communication from the town’s solicitor and insurance company, and asked for time to review them. CAO Jamie Burke agreed to provide it, and recapped the process for how staff came up with the proposed bylaw.
“Our lawyer originally said not to do this,” said Burke Monday. “That was very clear… We communicated that to council and council gave us direction to say, well, we want to explore ways to do it.”
Burke said the solicitor then advised that the town could limit risk or exposure by not simply allowing skateboarding, but by applying some regulations to the activity in town streets.… Continue
Tantramar Report: Amherst family killed in fire; COVID cases surge in NB; council approves lifting skateboard ban
On Tuesday’s Tantramar Report:
A family of six from Amherst were found deceased on Monday evening after a fire in a camper trailer in Millvale, Nova Scotia. The victims have been identified by family as 30-year-old RJ Sears, 28-year-old Michelle Robertson, and four children, eleven-year-old Madison, eight-year-old Robert Ryder, four-year-old Jaxson, and three-year-old Colin.
Sears’ father told the Canadian Press that the family had been at the trailer for a short stay. It’s not clear when the fire happened.
Police say preliminary investigations do not indicate the fire is suspicious in nature, though the fire marshall is investigating.
The Town of Amherst, in conjunction with Cumberland North MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin, have set up a memorial in Victoria Square in Amherst where people can come and pay their respects to the victims and their family.
New Brunswick’s COVID-19 cases surged over the weekend, with 122 new cases reported and five more people admitted to hospital since Friday. The surge has prompted new rules for schools province-wide. As of Tuesday, students of all ages must wear a mask in school and while on school buses. Masks may be removed when students are eating, drinking or engaged in sports or physical education classes, says the province.
Skateboards are no longer banned on the streets of Sackville. In a 4 to 3 vote Monday night, council passed second and third reading of a revised streets bylaw that will allow people to ride skateboards on streets with certain restrictions, such as wearing helmets, yielding to cars, and refraining from tricks.… Continue