Shift (NB)

Some positive progress is being made at the Sackville Memorial Hospital. According to a release from Horizon, 19 out of 24 RN positions are now filled. A second operating room will also be constructed at the hospital. We'll speak with the co-chair of Sackville's Rural Community Action Group - John Higham.

A Hindu activist will not be allowed to recite a Hindu prayer in the New Brunswick legislature. The Speaker of the House turned down the offer - pointing to a long tradition of Christian prayer. The CBC's Jacques Poitras will bring us the story.

Over the holidays our birder Alain Clavette went to see a rare bird, and he brought back a big story about one man's "big year" - travelling around the country trying to see as many birds as he possibly could in a single year. Robert Baumander says he learned more about himself in that year than he was expecting.

Despite all of the turmoil in Haiti, the vocational school built in honour of New Brunswick RCMP Sgt. Mark Gallagher continues to operate. We'll get an update from two people involved with its operations - Richard Blaquiere and Reg Sorel.

Some fishing organizations are looking for changes to improve the safety of the industry. That's after a Nova Scotia fisherman fell overboard and was lost at sea on Boxing Day. We'll speak with Luc LeBlanc of the Maritime Fisher's Union about the beacons some want to see on personal floatation devices.

Pam Novak of the Atlantic Wildlife Institute tells us about her adventure wrangling a stranded loon over the holidays.

Fredericton's Brittany McQuinn is in the musical spotlight this week. Her latest solo project is called simply qwinn. And she's just had a song placed in the second season of the Netflix series Ginny and Georgia! We'll hear all about it.

If you're planning to take up running as your New Year's Resolution, you'll want to listen. We'll talk about how to get started - and how to stay motivated. Suzanne Myers of Run NB has tips.

It's been an exciting week for hockey fans in Moncton, and the businesses who cater to them. The last two games of the World Junior Tournament to be played in the Hub city are today. We caught up with Mayor Dawn Arnold between them to talk about how her city did as host.

Alain Clavette takes listeners on a Christmas Bird Count in Memramcook.