Category: Front Page

Town staff are working on the first ever homegrown budget for the amalgamated municipality of Tantramar. The current year’s budget was written and approved by the provincial government, but for 2024, it’s local staff and council that will get final say on how to spend approximately $15.5 million on behalf of the municipality.

As part of the process, staff are seeking some input from citizens. CHMA called up town treasurer Mike Beal and corporate services director Kieran Miller to find out more about what they have planned, starting with a public meeting slated for September 19, inviting residents to weigh in on budget priorities.

Residents interested in speaking directly to council on September 19 are being asked to email the clerk’s office in advance to get on the list, and will have up to five minutes to speak. “It’s not a lot of time,” says Beal, “but it gives an opportunity for even individuals to come and pinpoint a specific item that they’d like to get on council’s radar as we prepare the first draft of a 2024 budget for Tantramar.”

“The meeting is an opportunity for any citizens and groups or organizations to come and give their feedback on things they’d like to see happen within the municipality,” says Beal. The deadline to register is September 12, but Beal says there’s a possibility of getting on the list after that depending on how many presentations are scheduled.

For those less inclined to public speaking, the town is also asking for input via an online survey which asks residents to choose where they’d like to see enhanced or reduced services by department, and also to choose their top three spending priorities from a long list.… Continue

Trevor Donald has concerns about NB Power’s plan to twin the high voltage power lines that run past his parents house on Babcock Road in Upper Sackville, and he’s hoping that Tantramar council will take an official stance against the project.

Donald will be presenting to Tantramar council next week, on behalf of his family, who before January lived in the Sackville Local Service District, and didn’t have local representation.

An outbuilding on the Donalds’ property is about 260 feet from the right of way for the existing 345 kilovolt line, which crosses Route 940 just before Upper Aboujagane Road. The Donalds are concerned that right-of-way will need to expand to accommodate a second 345 kilovolt line, bringing the cleared right-of-way that much closer to their home.

The proposed new line would run from Salisbury, through Memramcook, and all the way to the Nova Scotia border, where it would continue on to Onslow, Nova Scotia. The total cross-provincial project is 160 kilometres long, and involves constructing 447 new structures. 65 kilometres of wire and 181 structures would be required in New Brunswick, built by NB Power.

NB Power did not respond to multiple CHMA requests for interviews, but spokesperson Dominique Couture provided some responses by email.… Continue

Sean Patrick Patterson will remain incarcerated until at least June 5, 2034, thirteen years after he was arrested for the murder of Jamie Leard.

30-year-old Patterson was sentenced on Thursday afternoon in Moncton’s court of King’s Bench by Judge Tracey K. DeWare.

In April, Patterson pled guilty to the second degree murder of Jamie Leard over two years ago in Upper Cape, between Port Elgin and Cape Tormentine. Patterson admitted to shooting Leard in the head after he returned home on May 25, 2021, but says he intended only to scare his friend and roommate. Another friend, Henry Pottie, has also pled guilty in the death of Leard, admitting to assisting or encouraging Patterson in the dangerous confrontation. But there remain discrepancies in the agreed facts of the case. Prosecutor Maurice Blanchard told CHMA he will wait until after a sentencing hearing for Pottie on September 15 before commenting on the case.

Judge DeWare called the crime “horrific and senseless” and noted that while there was no clear motive, Patterson’s use of methamphetamine during the same time period ”must have played a significant role in what occurred.”

DeWare explained that a conviction of second degree murder gets an automatic life sentence, but the number of years a person serves before being eligible for parole is decided by the court. DeWare also said that whether Patterson is released after June 2034 is a matter for the parole board, and that if released, he will be “subject to strict conditions likely for the remainder of his life.”… Continue

By Ashley Legere’s count, about 22 people in Sackville and Amherst died between 2020 and 2022 due to unsafe drug supply and overdose. “We see a lot in the news of downtown eastside Vancouver,” says Legere, but the reality is, “it’s in every small town.”

Legere is known in Sackville as the driving force behind the town’s harm reduction vending machine, located inside the Main Street foyer of the Sackville United Church downtown. These days, she works for the Cumberland Homelessness & Housing Support Association, where she leads a team providing shelter options and meals to about 45 individuals. On Thursday, she was in Victoria Park in Amherst, helping mark International Overdose Awareness Day.

That’s where CHMA caught up with her:

In the course of her career so far, Legere has a list of 81 names, all people who have died since 2010 in the Amherst, Sackville and Moncton area, that she has personally known. The loss is significant, she says, especially when you consider the impact on those left behind. “It’s their family, it’s their co-workers, it’s their friends,” says Legere.

The job is tough but Legere isn’t beaten down, rather she radiates compassionate energy. “I don’t know what life is if you don’t love people,” says Legere. “And feeling the loss of 80 people heavily just means I’ve loved that many people.… Continue

The trademark neon sign that marked the location of Mel’s Tea Room for seven decades will remain on the building outside, but the space that once housed the beloved diner has been transformed into something completely new.

The mint green walls have been painted black on one side, and exposed to brick on another. Modern lighting hangs over a simple bar, where patrons will soon be able to order a beer and pay their bill. Underfoot is still the same black and white tile floor that was once part of the Mel’s Tea Room aesthetic, the one crossover to the new restaurant opening soon in this space in the coming weeks: Oh Chicken.

Oh Chicken is the creation of Paul An, owner and operator of Song’s Chopsticks across the street. An says when he saw the Mel’s space up for lease, he started imagining what else he could bring to the restaurant landscape of Sackville. A Korean favourite came to mind: Korean fried chicken, what is sometimes called “the other KFC”. Chicken pieces, either boneless or bone in, marinated, deep fried, and then glazed with a number of different sauces, the most popular being yangnyeom (pronounced yang-nyum).

“It’s like a sweet chilli, but different,” says An. “I can’t really describe the sauce, you have to try it.”

An says he’s been working on the recipe for the past two months.… Continue

The Tantramar Civic Centre canteen will have a new operator this season, if Tantramar council approves a contract with Heather Wells to run the fast food and beer vendor situated in the mezzanine of the Civic Centre. But not much will change if the contract with Wells is approved, because the canteen is not an independent business, but rather a controlled and subsidized service provided by the town of Tantramar.

It costs the town in the range of $16,000 to $25,000 per year to run the canteen, with its menu of beer, sodas, fries and burgers. It works like this: The town hires a contractor to run the canteen, and in exchange for a guaranteed fee of about $25,000 per year, the town sets the hours, menu, and prices for the small restaurant. The town covers all bills including food and supplies, and also gets all the revenue. The contractor is expected to open for a town-approved list of Civic Centre games and events between October and March, and the $25,000 fee covers up to 1000 hours of worker time in the canteen over that 6 month period. Any hours over and above that, and any staff hours for events between April and September, are billed separately at $25 per worker, per hour.

In the 2022-23 season, the canteen took in about $42,000 in sales to customers, but overall the operation lost about $19,000, not including equipment maintenance.… Continue

James Mullinger can’t wait to get back to Sackville, if only to hit up the Cackling Goose Gluten Free Bakery. “My wife and I always stop in there when we’re passing through,” says the British-born, New Brunswick-based comedian. But this time he’ll be stopping for more than a six-pack of gluten-free cinnamon buns. Mullinger is returning to Sackville on September 20th with a show at Convocation Hall to help launch the Fall Fair.

CHMA spoke with Mullinger to find out more about his tour, his new tv show, and his favourite Sackville spots:

If there’s a theme to James Mullinger’s life so far, it would have to be his propensity to ‘go for it’.

Just five years into a successful editorial career at GQ in London, Mullinger decided to chase his dream, and in 2005 started the grueling work of stand up comedy, all while keeping his day job. Then in 2014, he and his partner Pam decided that raising a family in busy London wasn’t for them, and so made a radical move, all the way to Saint John, New Brunswick, where Pam grew up.

When people in Canada told Mullinger he would have to give up on his comedy career while living in New Brunswick, he very happily went about proving them wrong. With a longstanding goal of playing his own stadium show, Mullinger decided to make that dream come true, and within two years of arriving in the city, took on the challenge of a show at Harbour Station Arena in Saint John.… Continue