UPDATE: Dump truck incident on Lower Walker Road ‘could have been fatal,’ says WorkSafeNB
This story was updated on June 1, 2022 to include new information from WorkSafeNB.
A seatbelt may have saved the life of a dump truck driver whose vehicle flipped onto its side last week, according to WorkSafeNB.
The driver escaped with minor injuries, but the incident could have been fatal.
The emergency call came in around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 24, Cpl. Brian Villers of the Sackville RCMP said in an email last week.
The vehicle flipped onto its side, trapping the 58-year-old driver in the cab of the truck. The incident took place at a worksite located at 132 Lower Walker Road.
The driver was extracted from the truck, and taken to hospital via ambulance with minor injuries, according to Villers.
Ambulance NB and Sackville Fire and Rescue also attended the scene. No other vehicles were involved in the incident, according to Sackville fire chief Craig Bowser.
A spokesperson for WorkSafeNB provided a statement about the agency’s investigation on June 1.
“An experienced worker was operating a dump truck when the wheel [sank] into freshly bulldozed material” and the vehicle flipped, Laragh Dooley said in an email.
“The worker suffered shoulder and collarbone injuries. Fortunately, the worker was wearing a seatbelt – otherwise this could have been much more serious, even fatal.”
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‘It’s as if you’re not doing it… it’s happening’: An interview with celebrated musician Janet Hammock
Listen to the Tuesday, May 24, 2022 edition of Tantramar Report:
Caribbean Corner
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‘Clearly one of the major issues of our time’: Bird expert warns about biodiversity loss, but says solutions exist
Listen to Tantramar Report for Thursday, May 19, 2022:
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Levee on the Lake prepares for summer festival after winning second East Coast Music Award
A Sackville festival has been honoured with an East Coast Music Award for the second consecutive year.
On May 8, Levee on the Lake was named Event of the Year at the awards event in Fredericton.
The festival is happening in Sackville again this summer from August 18 to 21.
It began in 2020, after the COVID-19 crisis wiped out the live music scene.
For that event, music lovers were physically-distanced in boats, with a paddle-up stage at Silver Lake. Last year, the festival moved onto dry land at Lillas Fawcett Park.
For more on the festival, CHMA spoke to organizers Shelley Chase and Stacey Read.
This report includes music performed by some of the artists on this year’s festival lineup, including the Barra MacNeils, Ivan Hicks, the Sacred Wolf Singer and Jud Gunning, whose version of Deep River Blues wraps up the show.
You can see the festival’s full line up at leveeonthelake.com.
“We want to be a festival that belongs to the community,” say Levee on the Lake organizers
Listen to Tantramar Report for Monday, May 16, 2022:
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Struts Gallery to host zine and craft fair
Print isn’t dead, at least not in Sackville.
People who create DIY publications known as zines will be gathering this weekend for the Sackville Zine and Craft Fair.
Organizer Patrick Allaby says about a dozen vendors are expected to sell hand-made books and other items ranging from pottery to popsicles.
Allaby, who ran the SappyFest zine and craft fair for several years before the pandemic, is also a graphic novelist whose works will be available at the event this weekend.
He spoke to CHMA about the event earlier this week:
The Sackville Zine and Craft Fair is happening Saturday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at Struts Gallery. Face masks are mandatory at the event.
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Massive decline in bird populations, ‘degradation’ of avian habitat prompt calls for changes to forestry
Listen to Tantramar Report for Wednesday, May 11, 2022:
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Tenants’ advocate speaks out against rental discrimination
A Sackville man who is searching for affordable housing says he’s encountered roadblocks, including landlords who won’t accept him as a tenant because he has children.
But an advocate for the rights of tenants says that’s an example of rental discrimination, which is illegal under provincial human rights legislation.
“I think that it’s important to make [people aware] that is not legal, this kind of discrimination,” says Jael Duarte, a lawyer and tenants’ advocate for New Brunswick, employed by the Saint John-based Human Development Council.
The home rented by Reggie Beal, a father of three, is up for sale, and he’s been trying to find an affordable place to live with his three young children.
By Sunday, he was still searching for a home using online platforms like Kijiji and Facebook, and by word-of-mouth. So far, nothing’s worked.
“Basically, we’ve tried to find places that will accept, first of all, children,” he says. “And second of all, we’re trying to find places that is affordable.”
That means anywhere from $750 to $900 a month for the grocery store worker. He says the price of housing suitable for his family now tends to range from $1,100 to upwards of $2,500, not including utilities.
He’s a member of the Affordable Housing Initiative, which made a presentation at Monday’s public meeting of Sackville town council.
For more on this story, CHMA spoke to the Fredericton-based tenants’ advocate, asking her how widespread housing discrimination based on family status is in New Brunswick.… Continue
MLA calls on New Brunswick to resume masking in schools
NOTE: This article was updated on Friday, April 29, 2022 at approximately 3:20 p.m. to include a response from the provincial Department of Health.
Sackville’s MLA says the province should reinstate masking in schools, following a recommendation from the New Brunswick Child and Youth Advocate.
The provincial government removed COVID-19 protections on March 14 – including the mask mandate in public schools – just as children returned from March Break.
That’s when the province ended its state of emergency for the second time since the global pandemic hit New Brunswick more than two years ago.
On Friday, child and youth advocate Kelly Lamrock released a report calling for the government to “revert to the status quo that existed when the flawed decision” to lift the mask mandate came down, and to review the decision.
The inquiry found there was an “overreliance on following other provinces without providing evidence, projections and measurements that would justify the Public Health recommendation.”
For more on this story, CHMA spoke to Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton, the Green Party’s health and education critic.
Mitton said she’s been hearing from parents and teachers who are concerned about their health and safety since the province lifted the mask mandate. “There’s a real sense of feeling abandoned,” she said.
You can hear the full interview here:
In an email, Bruce Macfarlane, communications director for the Department of Health, provided the following statement:
“Health recognizes the importance of empowering children and families to make choices regarding when to wear a mask and accepting and supporting all children whether they wear a mask or not.… Continue