News from the York Valley
Boutique with a fresh new look
After years away from New Brunswick, Jennifer Mills returned home, started a family and took over an existing consignment business.
Second Showing Boutique now has new clothing lines, accessories and jewelry.
“I worked in the financial sector when we lived out west. But I always wanted to own my own business,” said Mills. “I went to the shop to take some clothes on consignment for a family member and learned the business was for sale.
“I have a good fashion sense and know numbers. I talked it over with my husband, Bernie, and he supported my dream.”
The first thing that Mills did was give Second Showing a new facelift before opening the doors in April.
“Lee Shakotko is a talented interior designer and stylist who was able to make my vision a realty. And she was able to do it all within my budget,” Mills said.
“Lee is now working with me in the store. It’s a very exciting time.”
Mills takes clothes on consignment - designer labels only. She has added a new clothes line to the mix. The majority of the product offering is for women.
“There was a small men’s department but I’m getting out of that,” she said.
“I have a great group of consignors who worked with the previous owner, Milly.
“The response of the customers has been great and I imagine I’ll always be looking for good quality merchandise.
There will definitely be new products in the fall” Mills is doing her best to support local designers. She is the exclusive retail for Mommy & Me bags, and the Bellah Gem line of jewelry.
“The inventory now includes contemporary diaper bags, designer pillows and blankets, more jewelry lines,” said Mills. “I’m limited by the size of the store, so I have to be careful not to get cluttered.
“There is no ‘bin digging’ here.
The space is clean and the merchandise is accessible.
And there is always a sale on so the store remains competitive.”
En français : Jennifer Mills est de retour dans sa province natale après avoir travaillé dans le domaine financier dans l’Ouest pendant plusieurs années. Elle dirige maintenant sa propre boutique de vêtements, accessoires et bijoux.
Workplace safety education first step to preventing accidents
A victim of a workplace accident says education is the first step to prevent injuries to young workers.
“Education is empowerment and if you feel empowered you have the courage, the confidence and the ability to speak up for yourself,” said Candace Carnahan a spokeswoman for Passport to Safety. “The minute that you realize a workplace injury could become a reality to you, then you will pay attention to the awareness programs and the tools that are out there to educate workers about health and safety.”
Carnahan addressed the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce during a luncheon recently about its role in workplace safety.
Workplace injuries became a reality for Carnahan, on Aug. 11, 1999. On that day, her leg got caught in between two rollers while crossing a conveyor belt at a pulp and paper mill.
“I never experienced pain like that before in my life,” Carnahan said.
Carnahan lost her left leg below the knee because of the accident. She has been an advocate of workplace safety ever since.
“It’s important for young workers to know that asking a question could save their lives,” Carnahan said.
On display at the luncheon was a quilt showing the faces of a hundred workers under the age of 24 who died while working. One of the faces is familiar to the founder of Passport to Safety, Paul Kells.
“You hear a lot of numbers, a lot of stats, but there are (also) a lot of faces and people associated with it. One of them was my son who was killed by a workplace explosion in 1994. That caused me to set up two communities: one called Safe Communities Canada and the other called Passport to Safety.” Kells said.
After his son died he said he realized that kids leave school unprepared for the health and safety part of work.
“What I decided to do along with a number of volunteers across the country is say ‘what’s the minimum any kid ought to know before they go to work?’ and from that came a web-based Internet test,” Kells said.
Passport to Safety’s online test has been completed by close to 10,000 youth in New Brunswick schools. New Brunswick is one of three provinces that include the test in their school program. Young workers in other provinces have to pay more than $10 to access the site.
The test is comprised of six sections:
supervisor and employer responsibilities, worker rights and responsibilities, workplace hazardous materials information system basics, common workplace hazards, controlling workplace hazards, and health and safety in the workplace.
After completing the tests the student can print a certificate.
Kells is hoping more businesses will implement the program or ask young workers if they have taken it.
En français : Victime d’un accident au travail elle-même qui lui a coûté sa jambe gauche, Candace Carnahan déclare que l’éducation est la première étape pour prévenir les blessures aux jeunes travailleurs.
Gallery board gets new chairman
Allison McCain has been appointed chairman of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery’s board of governors.
McCain stepped into the role June 7. The Florenceville native is also chairman of the board of McCain Foods Ltd. and has more than 30 years of management experience at McCain locations around the globe.
McCain said in a news release that he’ll do his best to continue expanding the gallery’s horizons.
“The Beaverbrook Art Gallery has assembled a world-class collection of art since its creation by Lord Beaverbrook nearly 50 years ago,” McCain said.
“As we move forward, we need to ensure that the gallery continues to bring great art to New Brunswick.
My predecessor, Dan O’Brien, has done an outstanding job in trying times over the past four years.”
Gallery director Bernard Riordon said McCain is the right person to take over the role of chairman.
“He will provide strong leadership and stewardship into the next phase of the gallery’s history,” Riordon said.
“We look forward to working with Mr. McCain as we prepare to celebrate the Gallery’s 50th anniversary.”
McCain is also a member of the New Brunswick Business Council and has held a number of positions during his years serving the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.
Douglas Stanley will serve as the board’s vice-chairman.
En français : Allison McCain a été nommé à titre de président du conseil des gouverneurs de la Galerie d’art Beaverbrook.
Woolastook getting back on track - operator
Blaine DesRoches wants Woolastook Park to be the friendliest and cleanest campground in New Brunswick.
The park’s new operator said it’s possible and strides have been taken in that direction.
“People are bragging about how good it looks, how clean the washrooms are,” DesRoches said.
“When people go camping, that’s what they look for. They want something friendly, something clean and to be left by themselves so they can enjoy nature.”
DesRoches was awarded a 20-year lease to operate the park, located 27 kilometres west of Fredericton, by the Liberal government at the end of April. The park, which has 279 licensed campsites, opened May 16.
DesRoches, a resident camper at Woolastook for eight years, took over from Fred Paget.
DesRoches said he’s ironing out some of the kinks within the park and expects to have that done by the end of the month.
“There are a lot of things on the go ... it is kind of hard to do everything and get everything back on track,” DesRoche said.
Kevin Arbeau, a resident for five years, said things couldn’t be better at Woolastook.
“I think this is going to be one of the better years,” Arbeau said Tuesday.
“We can do pretty much what we want here. It is our second home.”
Arbeau said it’s the atmosphere of the campground that people like the most because people work together to improve the facility.
Violet Arbeau said she and her husband also look at the park as their second home.
“We just love it because it’s so beautiful,” she said.
DesRoches said the site is moving away from the “lots of things to do for kids” scenario to focus on staying away from things that will cost campers extra money.
DesRoches said there are already a lot of things to do at the park with tons of acreage, beautiful treed lots, wildlife, a beach, day park, miles of biking and hiking trails, a nine-hole pitch and putt, as well as the ability to accommodate festivals.
DesRoches can be reached by calling 472-5584 or online at www.woolastookpark. com.
En français : Blaine DesRoches, directeur du Parc Woolastook, a reçu des bons commentaires relativement à la propreté du terrain de camping qui a ouvert pour la saison le 16 mai dernier.
Credit-union business needs to pick up
The future of the Village of Gagetown’s only credit union could be determined over the next few months.
Officials attending an information meeting recently told clients of the Citizens Credit Union that a better effort had to be made to make the operation more viable.
Paul Paruch of Credit Union Central, a Riverview-based body that oversees credit unions in the province, said a challenge was issued to users of the Gagetown operation to make more use of it.
He said the next few months will be important in determining what happens next.
Paruch declined, however, to speculate whether the credit union would close if the situation didn’t improve.
“In any business, it has to at least break even. To that point, more business decisions would have to be made. Nobody wants to see a credit union or location closed. I could guarantee you that would be the furthest end result that we want to see,” Paruch said.
He declined to say if the operation was losing money, but said the location isn’t performing as well as they would like it to. He said the situation in Gagetown isn’t uncommon in small communities with aging demographics.
“We’re all struggling to make our way,” he said. “The information meeting (Wednesday night) was basically to share with the owners of the Gagetown branch that they need to use the local service a bit more than they have been.”
Gagetown Mayor Randy Smith said the meeting made the community more aware of the relationship it has with the credit union and how the community, as owners of that business, have to take responsibility for its success.
En français : L’avenir de la seule Caisse populaire du village de Gagetown pourrait être décidé au cours des prochains mois.
Voucher program giving work to people in need
The co-ordinator of Fredericton’s community voucher campaign says the number of local businesses providing work placements to the city’s low-income population has increased to 12.
Mavis Doucette said each business provides two to three-hour work assignments per week to program participants.
While the program is inching forward, it still needs more business partners and more funding, she said.
The program is aimed at curbing panhandling by allowing its clients to work at odd jobs in return for coupons that can be traded for necessities of life such as food.
The demand rises in summer as more transients travel through the capital city, Doucette said.
“It’s taken off in the fact that there’s so many people here this year, so many new panhandlers,’’ she said. “Everyday, I have people wanting to come into the program.
I have had to limit the program to two hours per week.
“So many people in crisis. People that aren’t in the shelters and are trying to just survive. Everybody is always in a crisis when they come to you.’’ But Doucette said the program has made small, but significant gains.
One social assistance recipient is now employed.
Another young woman who was on the brink of becoming a runaway has since been able to obtain community support to remain here.
“It’s the little things that are the successes, but aren’t measurable in dollar amounts, but it’s much more important,” Doucette said.
Since the program began in mid- February, a total of 793 hours have been contributed by its participants.
Doucette said the program subsists on donations and was bolstered by a $2, 000 grant from a crime prevention group recently.
But Doucette said sustaining funding for the program remains critical to its success.
Fredericton area businesses; Culture’s, Think Play, McGinnis Landing, Isaac’s Way, Chippin’s, Bump Maternity, Electric Motor Service, The Meeting Place, Changes, Bridges of Canada’s downtown office and Molly each provide two to three-hour weekly placements for participants.
En français : Une douzaine d’entreprises fournissent des tâches s’étalant sur une période de deux à trois heures aux participants d’un programme communautaire qui vise à réduire le nombre de mendiants.
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