Marc Thorne says it feels great to have landed his fourth term as mayor of Sussex.
He landed the top spot, Monday night, in a three-way race against Tim Hutchinson and Sonja Davis Carhart.
In an interview with Acadia News, he says it was a bit of a “tough election” with a number of things going on creating pressure.
“With trying to resolve significant flooding and the closure of a very important bridge within the heart of our community,” explains Thorne.
“So, when you’re in a position like mine, you never really know how the public feels.”
The 66-year-old has held the role since 2012 after he was elected in by acclamation halfway through the 2022 election.
Thorne says there are mixed feelings when it comes to holding the title for so long.
“Sometimes you feel weary, but most of the time it’s a very satisfying experience to take your community and to make it a better place for people to live, grow and raise their families,” shares Thorne.
He thanks his constituents for their trust.
“I never take it for granted,” says Thorne.
Councillors at Large:
Tim Wilson will serve another term as Councillor and Deputy Mayor. He will be joined by incumbents Graham Milner and Fred Brennan.
Ward 1:
Anne-Marie Snyder and Gisele McKnight will be the Councillors for Ward 1.
Ward 2:
Incumbents Doug Bobbit and Catherine MacLeod will be the Councillors for Ward 2.
A 32-year-old Moncton man has been charged after fleeing police near the greater Hampton, Salisbury, and Sussex area.
RCMP say members of the Hampton detachment were looking into reports of a truck driving recklessly on Route 1 near Nauwigewauk on April 23. Police spotted the suspected vehicle soon after entering the area and attempted to use a tire deflation device to prevent the truck from fleeing.
Despite the deflation device working, the vehicle continued to drive at high speeds and police did not chase.
Following aid from Caledonia Region RCMP, New Brunswick RCMP Police Dog Services, and RCMP Air Services, the truck was found and soon abandoned on Route 2 near Salisbury.
Police dogs then located the 32-year-old Moncton man who was the only person involved. Following his arrest, officers learned that he was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant in connection with a different crime.
The truck was also reported stolen from a residence in Bloomfield, New Brunswick earlier that day.
The following day, the suspect appeared in Saint John Provincial Court and was charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, fleeing from police, and theft of a motor vehicle.
He will remain in custody while he awaits a future court date, as the investigation is ongoing.
A man from Sussex qualified for the Boston Marathon after a successful performance in the 2025 Fredericton Marathon and has since been filming the process of preparing for the race, which is on April 20.
Colin Swift started running in 2019 after he found himself looking for another hobby.
“I never enjoyed running, it was just something to do. When I first started, I decided to sign up for the Toronto Marathon, which is not a great idea for your first race, but I knew it would keep me accountable to keep running,” said Swift. “I just started training and ran my first marathon in 2019, and I’ve just been addicted to it ever since.”
Training for and running different races led to qualifying for Boston, which Swift has never run before.
He ran a 2:54:36 in the 2025 Fredericton Marathon, a time that beat the minimum qualifying time for Swift’s age group (35-39) of three hours, but Swift explained that runners typically have to go a bit faster than their given qualifying time to stand out in an application for the Boston Marathon.
“Qualifying for Boston is kind of funny, because you have to find a marathon that’s a Boston qualifying race, because not every marathon is. Fredericton is a Boston qualifying race, and a lot of people like running it because it’s flat, which gives you more of a chance to go a bit faster,” Swift said.
Colin Swift (left) and Thomas Van Steeg (right) training together for the Boston Marathon / Image: Colin Swift – YouTube (with permission)
He and a fellow runner, Thomas Van Steeg, who ran a 2:49:50 in his first marathon experience, both posted qualifying times and applied for Boston. They have been training together for two years since Van Steeg moved to Sussex.
A couple of weeks later, good news landed in their inboxes.
“Once you run your qualifying run, you go to the Boston website on a certain date, you put your name in and just hope for the best. They usually email you if you get in or not, and luckily, my first time I tried to get in, I got in,” said Swift.
However, he might have had the opportunity had he applied two years ago.
“Post-Toronto Marathon, I’ve run Fredericton every spring, so four or five times. I did run a qualifying time two years ago, but I didn’t end up applying for Boston, so I ran it again last year and finally decided to go for it,” said Swift.
He is hoping to run a time under three hours if he has a good day, but a hilly marathon route has reduced Swift’s expectations.
“Originally, I would have wanted to beat my qualifying time [in Fredericton] because every marathon I’ve gone a little bit quicker. Anything sub three hours is considered a pretty solid race, but my training block probably wasn’t sufficient to do that because Boston’s a tough course, so anywhere from a 2:55:00 to a 3:15:00 is what I’m aiming for,” said Swift.
The self-proclaimed YouTube junkie has been documenting the training process leading up to Boston, which he says began after realizing there were not too many running content creators from the Maritimes.
“I watch a lot of running content on YouTube, and I always kind of wished there were more New Brunswick, even maritime running-specific channels. There’s one guy in Fredericton who does good content, What Matters to Matt. The only reason I started doing it was that I wished there was more local content for running,” Swift elaborated.
Colin Swift’s YouTube channel / Image: Colin Swift (with permission)
He documented his training for the 2025 Fredericton marathon as he was trying to get into Boston, and this year has done more filming for Boston training.
Swift and Van Steeg will join more than 30,000 runners on the Massachusetts capitol’s crowded streets, among sports fans attending the Celtics’ playoff games and visiting the Red Sox at Fenway.
“We’ll be popping around different parts of the city and there’s lots of events and stuff going on, and I’m kind of excited to see if I can spot any of the YouTube people that I like to watch, so we’ll see,” said Swift.
Following Boston, Swift will be training for trail runs, like the Quebec Mega Trail, a 50k race in July, and the Capes 100, a Cape Breton race with different distances, of which Swift wants to run the 87k.
New Brunswick RCMP conducted a traffic enforcement operation in Southeastern New Brunswick from March 26 to April 6, 2026.
Members of the Grand Bay-Westfield, Hampton, and Sussex RCMP detachments were present when 97 tickets were issued and 11 vehicles were towed. The officers also issued 200 warnings.
Nine people were issued license suspensions for driving while under the influence of alcohol and one other was charged for impaired driving.
Four were found to be driving with a suspended license and were charged. Two other individuals have been charged after fleeing police.
Constable Mike Rowsell of the RCMP Hampton Detachment said enforcement in the area will continue, as it is a priority.
“The success of this initiative is reflected not just in numbers, but in the reduction of risk on our roads and the increased safety for every driver and family,” said Rowsell.
The RCMP says that reporting dangerous or suspected impaired drivers to 911 can make New Brunswick roads safer.
A 24-year-old Sussex man has been sentenced to four years in prison for drug-related crimes.
Colton Bernard appeared in Saint John provincial court Wednesday.
The charges stemmed from an investigation by members of the New Brunswick RCMP’s Southeast District Community Crime Reduction Unit last year.
On June 12, 2025, unit members executed a search warrant at a residence on St. George Street in Sussex. They were assisted by members of the Sussex and Hampton RCMP detachments.
Bernard was arrested at that time.
As a result of the search, police recovered quantities of various drugs, including crystal meth, ICE pills, cocaine and various prescription pills. They also recovered drug paraphernalia, four cellphones, a rifle and ammunition.
Upon his release, Bernard will be prohibited from possessing any firearms for 10 years.
He will also be required to submit a DNA sample to law enforcement.
