Gander
A bear cub that gained fame when it had its photo snapped with a Newfoundland RCMP officer has been killed because it was feared to be too friendly. Fish and Wildlife enforcement officers with the Department of Justice euthanized the bear on the weekend after it was seen going up to customers at the Copper Kettle Restaurant inside Terra Nova National Park, near Gander. It had already proved to be a traffic hazard on the nearby Trans-Canada Highway. The cub was made famous when its picture appeared in the St. John’s Telegram standing upright and staring at RCMP Constable Suzanne Bourque, who was unaware of its presence. Officials said they had previously trapped the cub and moved it to a more isolated spot, but it returned. As cute as the cub may have been, it was still dangerous, particularly because where there’s a cub, the mother is never far behind, said Kirby Tulk, acting resource conservation manager with the park.
Penobsquis, N.B.
Two New Brunswick farmers told a provincial hearing they’re afraid to work their land after a portion of their field collapsed into a car-sized sinkhole. Sisters Brenda Lee Morrell and Cynthia MacEwan of Penobsquis told a mining commission hearing that their well dried up and a massive sinkhole appeared in their hay field after Saskatchewan’s Potash Corporation began seismic testing in the area. The hearing is examining complaints from dozens of local residents who say their wells have also run dry and huge sinkholes opened up on their property because of the nearby mining operations.
Dorval
The City of Dorval is demanding that Air Canada repay the municipality $100,000 for an emergency tap water ban after the airline and a private contractor accidentally connected the city’s drinking water supply to a pool of stagnant water. The city said the airline and Doncar Construction Company mistakenly hooked up a water reservoir at Trudeau International Airport to the city’s water supply two weeks ago forcing its 17,000 residents to either buy bottled water or travel to a municipal distribution centre to pick up four litres a day. “People were scared…of coming to eat,” said Glen Doucet, chef at Dorval’s Restaurant Da Mangione, who says the restaurant took a $2,000 hit in lost business because of the water mix-up.
Halifax
Halifax regional council has voted not to suspend its mayor for what the city has dubbed its Cash-for-Concerts scandal. Councillor Sue Uteck introduced the surprise motion to slap Mayor Peter Kelly with a one-week suspension for his role in a questionable city deal with a concert promoter. During a raucous Tuesday meeting, councillors voted 17-3 not to suspend Mr. Kelly. “People have paid a price for this…but the mayor’s been allowed to walk free. I just don’t think it’s right,” Ms Uteck said. Several councillors complained the vote was evidence that Halifax’s regional council was self-destructing, while Councillor Debbie Hum said the municipality needs professional help. Halifax’s chief administrative officer Wayne Anstey resigned in March after admitting that the region had made unauthorized payments to concert promoter Harold MacKay for a series of shows on the Halifax Commons. The payments were made without the council’s knowledge or approval and has left the municipality with an unbudgeted liability of nearly $360,000, a municipal auditor-general’s report found. The mayor has apologized but refused to step down.
Roseville, P.E.I.
A P.E.I. man could spend up to a year in jail after pleading guilty to shooting his neighbour’s dog in a drunken rage. Joseph Benjamin Muncey Clements, 68, of Roseville pleaded guilty in May to charges of property damage, careless firearm use and willfully causing the death of a dog. His next-door neighbour, Matthew Ramsay, called police after finding his two-year-old pitbull mix shot to death on the floor of his kitchen. Mr. Clements said the dog had almost bit him more than once and when he heard it barking inside the house on May 9, he waited for his neighbour and his young son to leave before grabbed a shotgun from his vehicle, aimed it through the kitchen window and shot the dog once in the head. In a sentencing hearing this week, the Crown prosecutor pushed for six months to a year in jail for the crime, while Mr. Clements lawyer has argued for house arrest or probation, saying his client has no criminal record and lived in fear of the dog. He is to be sentenced July 5.
National Post, tmcmahon@nationalpost.com
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