(NB-Zebra-Move)
Two zebras from Saskatoon who formed a friendship during a shared illness are adjusting to their new lives in Moncton.
The Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo says Koffee and LeeLoo became a bonded pair when they were separated from the other zebras last fall, when they both came down with the same illness.
A news release says the zoo worried the other zebras would become territorial and officials decided not to reintroduce Koffee and LeeLoo to the herd.
Instead, they were transported to the Magnetic Hill Zoo in Moncton earlier this week, and they are now settling into their new home.
(The Canadian Press)
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(NB-Pulp-Mill-Fined)
A pulp mill in western New Brunswick has been fined 250-thousand dollars for allowing a failed pipeline to dump waste water into the Madawaska River.
Environment Canada issued a statement saying The Twin Rivers Paper Company in Edmundston had pleaded guilty to a charge under the federal Fisheries Act.
The department says that on May 10th, 2021, enforcement officers spotted the corroded pipeline during a routine inspection, and they later determined it had released 102-thousand litres of groundwood white water into the river.
Testing of water samples determined the substance to be harmful to fish in the river, which is home to brook trout, yellow perch and Atlantic salmon.
(The Canadian Press)
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(NB-School-Bus-Safety)
New Brunswick’s auditor general has found evidence of school bus drivers in the province failing to meet licensing, training and criminal record check requirements.
Paul Martin’s audit says drivers and the Education Department are failing to ensure compliance with vehicle maintenance schedules, and he notes more than 60 buses were overdue for inspections.
The audit covered the period between January 1st of 2022 and February 1st of this year.
Martin has given the province 12 recommendations aimed at fixing these problems.
(The Canadian Press)
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(NB-Travel-Nurses)
New Brunswick’s auditor general says the more than 170-million dollars the province spent on travel nurses between January 2022 and the end of February this year was not a good use of public funds.
Paul Martin says in a report that the expenses on travel nurses didn’t correlate to staff vacancies because of COVID-19.
He adds there was no bidding process or legal review for private nursing contracts, and that there lacked evidence all the people hired went through criminal background checks.
Vitalite Health Network spent more than 123-million dollars on travel nurses, Horizon Health Network spent about 48-million dollars and the Department of Social Development spent about three-million dollars.
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Paula Abdul is coming to the Maritimes.
The Grammy award-winning singer and dancer is expected to make two stops in Nova Scotia and one stop in Saint John, New Brunswick, this October as part of her Straight Up! To Canada Tour.
American singers Taylor Dayne and Tiffany will join her on the road.
Tickets go on sale Friday morning.
(The Canadian Press)
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(NS-Elver-Seizure)
Two people are facing charges after federal fisheries officers in the Halifax area recently seized 60 kilograms of baby eels worth up to 350-thousand dollars.
The Fisheries Department says the eels — also known as elvers — were seized Friday from a ground transport facility in Dartmouth.
The department says the eels were expected to be taken to Toronto and shipped overseas, where they would be allowed to mature before being sold as seafood.
Ottawa closed the lucrative elver fishery on March 11th after violence and intimidation plagued last year’s fishing season in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
(The Canadian Press)
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(NL-Manslaughter-Charge)
Police in Newfoundland have charged a 57-year-old Ontario man with manslaughter after a fatal shooting Sunday in Little Burnt Bay.
R-C-M-P say officers got a call about the shooting and found a 36-year-old man dead inside a house.
The suspect was arrested at the scene without incident and appeared in court on Monday to face his charge.
The Mounties say the victim was known to the accused, who had recently arrived in the province from Ontario and had been spending time in both provinces.
(The Canadian Press)
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(NL-Poet-Prize)
Newfoundland-based poet Don McKay will receive the Griffin Poetry Prize’s Lifetime Recognition Award tonight.
The prize is worth 25-thousand dollars and will be handed out at the Griffin Poetry Prize Readings in Toronto.
Mackay won the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2007 for “Strike/Slip,” a work jurors at the time praised as “a playful yet resonant microcosm.”
He was a finalist for the prize two other times, and has twice won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry.
(The Canadian Press)
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(NS-Student-Vouchers)
The Nova Scotia government will be distributing 10-dollar vouchers to students across the province in a bid to get them interested in products sold at local farmers’ markets.
About 131-thousand students from grades primary to 12 will get the vouchers some time this month.
The Nova Scotia Loyal vouchers can be used to buy any locally grown or crafted product at participating farmers’ markets across the province.
Economic Development Minister Susan Corkum-Greek says the goal of the program is attracting new customers to farmers’ markets.
(The Canadian Press)
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