On today’s show, we hear a story of a police interaction in Sackville gone wrong. Chelsea McKenney and Justin Baird were spending a normal night at home this summer, but a 911 call and a police visit turned to a night in jail and criminal charges for McKenney. We take a closer look at the incident and hear from a lawyer who is helping McKenney file a human rights complaint in response to her treatment.
On today’s show, we stop in at the St. Paul’s Anglican church hall this past Saturday, as volunteers with the Tantramar Community Association carefully select gifts for families as part of the Sackville Christmas Cheer program.
Plus in news briefs: boiler troubles at the Sackville Memorial Hospital, and an apology from Mount Allison’s administration to the school’s Black community. … Continue
Ed Knuckles in his shop on December 7, 2023. Photo: Erica Butler
Chocolate fans of Sackville and the region will be disappointed after Christmas, when Knuckles Truffles of York Street doesn’t reopen again after its usual Christmas break. The owner of the shop, Ed Knuckles, has announced his retirement from the small business which he’s run for about ten years. Knuckles’ last day will be Saturday, December 23.
CHMA stopped by to talk with Ed Knuckles, and asked about how he came to find himself in the chocolate business:
Knuckles retired to Sackville in 2011, after a career in opera and musical theatre, that among other things took him on tour with the production Show Boat for five years. About eight months into his retirement, Knuckles knew he had to take on a new project. He had been making chocolate truffles since first discovering the recipe in 1979, and decided to take it to the next level. “I had been making chocolates for over 30 years, and I thought, okay, let’s give it a try.”
After doing some market research among his neighbours, Knuckles started his business at the Sackville Farmers’ Market. “I was there for a year when two other vendors came up to me and said we’d like to open a shop with you,” recalls Knuckles. As it turned out, those partners didn’t last, but Knuckles did. He’s now been in his shop on York Street for about a decade.… Continue
An issue with a boiler in the Sackville Memorial Hospital is under repair today, and the facility is relying on a backup boiler until it is fixed, says hospital executive director, Christa Wheeler-Thorne.
The hospital is operating normally today, with no disruption of services, says the Horizon manager.
In an email response to CHMA, Wheeler-Thorne says hospital staff reported a strong smell emanating from one of the building’s boilers on Sunday evening. The hospital staff moved “a small number of admitted patients away from the area as a precaution,” says Wheeler-Thorne, and called local firefighters and Horizon facilities personnel.
A service technician identified a mechanical issue with the boiler which is now under repair.
Reports of a gas leak at the hospital on a local Sackville Facebook group were simply not true, says Wheeler-Thorne. “Horizon wishes to stress that the situation was in no way related to a gas/fuel leak, and we would like to sincerely thank our patients and their families for their cooperation while this incident was investigated,” says Wheeler-Thorne.
Sackville Fire chief Craig Bowser confirmed that Sackville Fire & Rescue responded to a call at the hospital Sunday evening for a diesel smell. “The smell was identified, and the remainder of the building was searched with negative results,” explained Bowser via email.… Continue
On today’s show, we take a look at some more items from Tantramar council’s December meeting, including a presentation from Tantramar Regional High School principal Susan Lafford, callling for high school hockey teams to be included in a discounted rink fee program recently approved by Tantramar council. Council also elected a Deputy Mayor for 2024, and got notice of a motion being proposed by Councillor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell that would expand the streets where ATVs are allowed in Sackville and Dorchester. … Continue
On today’s show, we hear from Ed Knuckles, who has announced his retirement and the permanent closure of his chocolate shop, Knuckles Truffles on York Street in Sackville, as of December 23. Plus we take a look at a decision by Tantramar council to opt out of blue bag recycling collection starting in November next year, and the RCMP underwater unit conducts a search in Port Elgin area. … Continue
Councillor Josh Goguen at Tantramar Council on November 14, 2023. Image: Youtube screencap
Tantramar council gave the green light for town staff to move forward on two longstanding requests from community members on Tuesday. Staff will now start discussions with the provincial government about a land use agreement for the Trans Canada Trail within town boundaries, and also start to pursue additional funding for a pedway to re-connect the trail where it is bisected by the highway. In addition, council asked staff to form a committee with local groups to work on planning and funding a new multipurpose facility that could serve as a permanent home for the Sackville Farmers’ Market.
Both motions came from Councillor Josh Goguen, who was visibly pleased on Tuesday. “I’m glad that my fellow councillors saw the value in what I was bringing to the table,” said Goguen. “And for wrapping up my first year on council, I think it’s a win.”
Trail motion ‘not promising anything’
While the vote on Goguen’s first motion was unanimously in favour, one of the selling points seemed to be that it didn’t commit the town to any specific agreements or projects. Here’s the motion as read by Goguen:
“I move that council request staff to engage with the provincial government to discuss a land use agreement for the existing Rails to Trails system within the Tantramar boundary, and explore capital funding for a proposed new pedway over the Trans Canada Highway, leveraging the $1 million donation.”
Bill Costin and Rob McLeod are the driving forces behind the Tintamarre Community Concert Band, formerly the Sackville Citizens Band, which regrouped this year and are back with their annual winter concert at Brunton Auditorium this Thursday, December 14, at 7:30pm.
“Everything we do is a celebration,” says McLeod, the band’s music director. “We get together we play something, we celebrate. The audience in the community comes together, we celebrate. And everybody walks around celebrating how unbelievably lucky we are to live here, and to have the ability to gather and play music in a safe environment, and just focus–for however long it is you can focus–on beauty and wonder.”
Costin and McLeod stopped by CHMA studios to talk about their upcoming concert and recent changes to the band, including their new name.
The Wallace McCain Student Centre at Mount Allison University in Sackville NB. Photo: Erica Butler
Last Thursday night, during or after an end-of-classes event in Mount Allison’s student centre, someone vandalized the school’s Black Resource and Information Centre (BRIC), and left behind what school officials have called “hate speech”.
Mount Allison vice-president of student affairs, Anne Comfort, addressed the incident in a video message on Instagram on Friday, saying the centre was “the target of hate speech and vandalism,” and that “this is one of a series of events that have occurred on our campus.”
The school has not shared further details about the nature of the incident on Thursday.
The BRIC is a new space which just opened this fall in the student centre. It offers a dedicated safe space and resources for Black students to gather or study.
In her social media message, Comfort went on to call for support for Mount Allison’s Black community members, saying “there is no place at Mount Allison for discrimination, for hate, or any forms of harassment.”
In an email to students on Friday, university president Robert MacKinnon said, “there will be zero tolerance for acts of hate speech, discrimination or harassment,” at the school, and that anyone found to have violated the school’s anti-racism policy would face disciplinary action. The school also says it has contacted the RCMP to help investigate the incident.
The school offered a counselling session on Friday afternoon, though the email from the president announcing both the session and the incident itself went out after the session time had started.… Continue
On today’s show, we listen in to some highlights from Tuesday’s meeting of Tantramar council including contrasting presentations from members of the public talking about the tragic war in the Middle East. We also hear about unanimous approvals for action on two longstanding community requests: a pedway over the Trans Canada highway, and a multipurpose building that could accommodate a permanent location for the Sackville Farmers Market. … Continue
