Replying to @DavidRayAmos@alllibertynews and 49 others Methinks a snobby Fed and his nasty lawyers etc have raised quite a stink in my old hometown Dorchester New Brunswick N'esy Pas?
Fire marshal slams doors shut on Dorchester jail turned Airbnb
70 Comments
David R. Amos
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Methinks my evil political foe Carl Urquhart the Minister of Justice and Public Safety and his lawyers are gonna have fun explaining my email to his minions and the Mayor and Council of my old home town. Everybody knows that ex cop has been trying to have me jailed for years and he did manage to have the RCMP falsely arrest me and assault me just over 11 very long year ago N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos Methinks Geoffrey Downey cannot deny that his boss Carl Urquhart the Minister of Justice and Public Safety and his lawyers know me quite well N'esy Pas?
Brian Cohen Does this place meet fire regulations for a hotel??
A simple question.
If yes, then this should be resolved quickly.
If no, fix it or sell it, but stop whining about it. Hotels have these codes to protect not only the guests but also the hotel owners
David R. Amos
Reply to @Brian Cohen: What hotel?
David R. AmosContent disabled Reply to @Brian Cohen: I don't know Dr Sebastien Cohen personally but perhaps you do. Methinks will ask him in writing to talk to Dr Manoj Bhargava and Dr Zlatco Banic. Somebody should decide who is crazy and who is corrupt. Everybody knows I have the proof of Carl Urquhart and his buddy Greg Thompson having me falsely arrested by the RCMP and locked up their looney bin before the economy took a nosedive in 2008. Anyone can Google our names or simply checkout YouTube N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos Reply to @David R. Amos: Why is it I am not surprised?
David R. Amos Reply to @Brian Cohen: Methinks CBC should pay better attention to what is published within their domain N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos Reply to @David R. Amos: Methinks you can be a redundant a you wish to be with your attempt at a tricky question The fact is CBC clearly states that the Dorchester jail is now merely an Airbnb N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos Methinks CBC used our taxpayer funds to pay a reporter to stay in this jail not that long ago N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos Methinks inquiring minds would like to know the name of the fire marshal and the name of the lawyers suing Mr Steele about his goats on behalf of the Town of Dorchester N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos Methinks everybody in Dorchester loves a circus N'esy Pas?
Jim Thomas Don't forget what happened in Winnipeg last week - "an incident that led dozens of people to be treated in hospital" for carbon monoxide poisoning that could have killed them. Fortunately, the hotel was in compliance with regulations for smoke and CO2 detectors, and "passed its most recent carbon-monoxide detector inspection, in 2017" according to CBC reports.
David R. Amos
Content disabled Reply to @Jim Thomas: Methinks if you could read all my replies you would not be so bored N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos Reply to @David R. Amos: Oh My My Methinks its interesting one cannot reply to this dude N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
Reply to @Jim Thomas: If you are still bored trust that it is not my fault
Zapata Rigoreto Simple story. Building does not meet fire code regulations for its use. Ask any business how this works. Simple solution is to adhere to the regulations (like everyone else). Why does everyone think they should get a free ride? It's a hotel now. Fire regulations are there to protect the public from shady operators.
David R. Amos
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Reply to @Zapata Rigoreto: If true then why does CBC block my comments?
David R. Amos
Reply to @Zapata Rigoreto: Methinks CBC has already proven that this story is not as simple as it seems N'esy Pas?
Mark (Junkman) George Reply to @David R. Amos:
Having seen the inside of a jail cell, or three, over the years it's hard to imagine the quantity of flammable materials in the entire building? I will give you that very likely there are wood beams in the floors, and roof, but short of flooding the building with gasoline and lighting it, I can't imagine that building EVER simply burning down.
David R. Amos
Reply to @Mark (Junkman) George: I concur However I vividly recall the night the Court House that once stood in front of it burning down very quickly.. It looked like the movie "Gone With The Wind" The scary part was my Father was inside the building passing my brother and I his paperwork out his office window while the fire raged above him.
Brian Taylor First the goats, and now this. Obviously there's more going on here than meets the eye.
David R. Amos
Reply to @Brian Taylor: YUP
David R. Amos Reply to @Brian Taylor: Methinks Minister Jeff Carr, the MLA Megan Mitton and the MP Dominc Leblanc wish to forget that the prison system the current Mayor works for used to have a HUGE farm within the Village of Dorchester until Steve Harper decided to shut it down in 2010. However the former mayor Mel Goodland certainly has not Perhaps Mr Steele should ask him about what is the harm in possessing 3 goats N'esy Pas?
Terrance Thomasen I can rent a no power log cabin without any emergency services nearby but I can't stay here. Somethings wrong with the picture
David R. Amos
Reply to @Terrance Thomasen: Methinks it will be pretty comical picture when the Mayor winds up with egg on his face N'esy Pas?
Joseph Cluster Easy fix: Just hire the said guest as a construction worker like the second requirement stated. There's something amiss to this story, why is the general public restricted from occupancy of this building.
David R. Amos
Reply to @Joseph Cluster: Methinks a really big missing issue is why the Dorchester Town Council deemed that it had to waste taxpayer funds to hire a lawyer to sue this man simply because he owns 3 goats N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos Methinks whereas the Village of Dorchester.have failed to get Bill's goats with a ridiculous lawsuit they have dreamed up anther way to harass him N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
Reply to @David R. Amos: Go Figure
"Mayor Jerome Bear declined to comment on the lawsuit while it's before the courts.
“I am so disappointed that a small village of 400 people is suing me for three goats,” Steele said. “It’s the most ridiculous headline you could see anywhere.”
Until his court date on May 6, Steele has been presented with two options: pay $1,500 to apply for an amendment to the zoning bylaw or move to an existing agricultural operation."
David R. Amos
Reply to @David R. Amos: I knew i smelled a snobby Fed
"In addition to being recognized for the Aboriginal Role Model Initiative, he is also a recognized leader in his community. To name a few of his accomplishments, he has worked as a volunteer firefighter, is the President of the Westmorland Chapter of Crimestoppers (a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to the promotion of crime prevention), has been a member of the Municipal Council and is currently the Mayor of the Village of Dorchester."
Sandra Wood-Szauter
Reply to @David R. Amos: That's precisely what I thought. This is nonsense. I've heard nothing but positive comments about lodging at the Dorchester Jail. This feels a bit shady.
Jimmy Vee Looks like a secure place to grow pot
David R. Amos
Reply to @jimmy vee: What is your point?
Roger Bernstein Bro stop being a baby, if it’s a viable business take a loan and make it safe, if it’s not move on. Everyone wants to cry to the media for help these days.
David R. Amos
Reply to @Roger Bernstein: Methinks you would do the same if you were being harassed by the local government N'esy Pas?
Tony Chamberlain
Reply to @David R. Amos: Maybe he should follow the law like everyone else.
David R. Amos
Reply to @Tony Chamberlain: Methinks you have a stake in this nonsense N'esy Pas?
Roland Stewart ol ok for construction workers to be at risk but not the general public.
SarahRose Werner
Reply to @Roland Stewart: Construction workers don't generally sleep on the work site. If a fire broke out, they would already be awake. They would presumably notice the fire and exit the site quickly.
David R. Amos
Reply to @Roland Stewart: Methinks a very dumb bureaucrat wrote that nonsense for the benefit of his buddy the Mayor N'esy Pas?
Brian Cohen Reply to @David R. Amos: So does this building meet safety codes for a hotel or not?
Methinks you skipped that part. n’esy pas is gibberish in both official languages
David R. Amos
Reply to @Brian Cohen: So you say but I was raised in Dorchester which is is on the Bay of Fundy and everybody knows exactly who I am and what I mean. Methinks not many people with your last name live in New Brunswick and I don't know any but I bet the shrink Dr Cohen who works for GNB would at least confirm that I certainly don't speak gibberish N'esy Pas?
Brian Cohen Reply to @David R. Amos: So people in Dorchester know who you are. Lucky them.
Does this place meet fire regulations or a hotel?? Yes or no? If no, people knowing who you are isn’t going to change it.
N’esy pas is still gibberish in both official languages
Tracy Amos Reply to @David R. Amos: My last name is the same as yours and I also grew up in Dorchester. Methinks this guy loves playing the victim. The whole goat issue could have been fixed from the get go by applying for an amendment but he felt he was too special for that. He started a go fund me page to get help to fix the jail roof (which is also unsafe) but had enough to buy the house across the street? If he put his money on fixing things for his business and doing things the right way instead of screaming "discrimination" he might not see so many road blocks. N'esy pas??
Brian Cohen
Reply to @David R. Amos: So people in Dorchester know who you are. Lucky them.
Does this place meet fire regulations or a hotel?? Yes or no? If no, people knowing who you are isn’t going to change it.
N’esy pas is still gibberish in both official languages
David R. Amos
Reply to @Tracy Amos: Interesting to hear another point of view but are we of the same Clan? Methinks the obvious question should be who is your Father because I certainly don't know you yet I definitely know Wayne Feindel the dude who suddenly quit the Council last month which is rather interesting too N'esy Pas?
Cam Randal Will government officials (fire marshals) be checking for fire alarm and sprinkler systems in all properties listed on Airbnb? This seems like a waste of taxpayer's money. Really, how many private homes have alarms and sprinkler systems? Many homes might not even have a working fire alarm.
Renting rooms on Airbnb is like buying stuff on kijiji, and the government should keep their noses out of private homes and businesses.
Tony Chamberlain
Reply to @Cam Randal: I think you do not have a understanding of what a fire alarm is. The building had a commercial fire alarm which the fire marshal probably been in there before to check on the building.
David R. Amos
Reply to @Tony Chamberlain: Yea Right
Tony Chamberlain
Reply to @David R. Amos: And you know better do you work in Sprinklers and fire alarms? I do.
David R. Amos
Reply to @Tony Chamberlain: Nope Methinks everybody in Dorchester and the government knows who I am If not they should feel free to use Google N'esy Pas?
Tony Chamberlain
And knowing who you are matters to anyone ?
David R. Amos
Reply to @Tony Chamberlain: Methinks you should ask your buddy the Attorney General of New Brunswick N'esy Pas? Check out this old file around page 20 or so.
Tony Chamberlain Johnny it is because the building contains a comercial fire alarm system with sprinkler it must be in working order even if the building is closed and no one is in the building. A lot of these other places fly under the radar because they never had a fire alarm or sprinkler system in the building.
David R. Amos
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Reply to @Tony Chamberlain: Yea Right
David R. Amos
Reply to @David R. Amos: Oh My My
David R. Amos
Reply to @David R. Amos: Methinks I struck a nerve N'esy Pas?
SarahRose Werner "I didn't build this place, it's been a jail for 150 years" - 150 years ago the building codes were a lot different than they are now. People renting space in the building have a right to be sure that it meets *current* codes.
Tony Chamberlain
Reply to @SarahRose Werner: Unfortunately older buildings are grandfathered under the code. If the building gets major renovations then the building must be brought up to the current fire code. If the occupancy changes from a jail to a hotel then the fire alarm requirements might have to change depending on what is currently in the building.
SarahRose Werner
Reply to @Tony Chamberlain: "If the occupancy changes from a jail to a hotel" - That's my point. The change in use should have ended the grandfathering.
David R. Amos
Reply to @SarahRose Werner: Cry me a river
Tony Chamberlain Anytime you have a building with a fire alarm and a sprinkler system it must be inspected on a yearly basis. The fire alarm must be working with monitoring to a call center to notify the fire department of a fire to have occupancy. Home smokes for house holds do not count!. This is why he cannot have it rented.
David R. Amos
Reply to @Tony Chamberlain: You do go on and on and on Methinks folks should smell something fishy about your motives N'esy Pas?
Tony Chamberlain
Reply to @David R. Amos: Maybe I actually know how this stuff works.
David R. Amos
Reply to @Tony Chamberlain: Me Too
Johnny Jakobs You own nothing. The government controls everything. How many other Airbnb or Bed & Breakfasts dont have a fire suppression system? If the publicly funded fire marshal wont comment(transparency)... than it's fair to assume the government is trying to control its citizens.
David R. Amos
Reply to @Johnny Jakobs: Methinks it something personal between Steele and the snobby Mayor Perhaps that is why he named one of goats Deputy Mayor N'esy Pas?
June Arnott Sounds fishy. I think they need a non partisan fire marshal to check this out. We all know how the “mayor” has anterior motives here. Sketchy. CBC, keep digging. There is a great story to expose here.
Tony Chamberlain
Reply to @June Arnott: Seems legit to me fire alarm system and sprinkler system isn't working. The fire marshal will do the same for any building in the province.
Reply to @June Arnott: I Wholeheartedly Agree particularly in light of the fact that I was born and raised in the area and that jail was on my paper route way back in the sixties when my Father worked in the old Court House in front of it as the County Administrator
June Arnott Reply to @Tony Chamberlain: are you a friend of the mayors??
Lorne Allen I saw that coming when i first heard of the conversion. Lot of hate for airbnb so if you have any deficiencies you are bound to get reported by rival innkeepers or nearby residents. Fire Marshall should have posted a sign barring minors and informing adults of the risk: my safety is my business not the government's.
SarahRose Werner
Reply to @Lorne Allen: Not seeing my tax dollars wasted is my business. This includes tax dollars spent to pay firefighters to put out fires at buildings that aren't up to code and tax dollars spent on providing medical care for people injured in such fires.
David R. Amos
Reply to @SarahRose Werner: Yea Right
David R. Amos Reply to @SarahRose Werner: Methinks if the Mayor and Council were legit they would not have to waste tax dollars hiring a lawyer to sue Mr Steele over his goats N'esy Pas?
Fire marshal slams doors shut on Dorchester jail turned Airbnb
Order says no one from the public can stay in former jail that owner turned into a business
An order issued Friday by a fire marshal calls for no one from the general public to enter the former Dorchester jail. (Bill Steele/Facebook)
A fire marshal's order has slammed the doors shut on a former jail turned Airbnb in southeastern New Brunswick.
Bill Steele, who owns the 15-cell former jail in Dorchester, said he doesn't plan to leave the building where he lives.
"I am absolutely not leaving this place," Steele said Friday. "They're going to have to drag me out of here … I'm going to barricade myself in here."
A copy of the order Steele posted on Facebook dated July 12 says the building can't be used for sleeping accommodations or as a place of assembly. It restricts occupancy to construction crews. The order doesn't explicitly say why it was issued.
The order points to two sections of the Fire Prevention Act related to filing plans for converting buildings with the fire marshal for review. It also points to a section on fire hazards in sleeping accommodations or places of assembly.
Steele said in an interview the fire alarm and sprinkler system don't work. He said the building does have working smoke detectors.
"I didn't build this place, it's been a jail for 150 years," Steele said. "They want the fire sprinkler system back on now and all this stuff."
Bill Steele, who purchased the former Dorchester jail in 2017 and has rented out cells on Airbnb, says the fire marshal has ordered the building closed to the public. (Tori Weldon/CBC)
The fire marshal who signed the order declined to comment Friday afternoon.
Geoffrey Downey, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety, said in an emailed statement that the Office of the Fire Marshal can inspect places of assembly or accommodation to ensure compliance with applicable codes and standards.
"When an inspection reveals non-compliance that risks the safety of occupants in the event of fire, an order may be issued limiting occupancy until compliance is achieved," Downey said.
"In all such cases, the building owner is provided specifics as to what is required to achieve compliance."
The former jail was built in the 1800s and was the site of the province's last double hanging. (Submitted/Bill Steele)
Steele purchased the former jail in the Village of Dorchester, south of Moncton, for $150,000 in 2017.
The two-storey brick building was built in the early 1800s. It was the site of New Brunswick's last double hanging in 1936. The jail closed more than 20 years ago.
Soon after purchasing the property, Steele began renting cells on the website Airbnb for $34 per night.
The two-metre by three-metre cell inside the former jail that Steele rented on Airbnb. (Brett Ruskin/CBC)
He's cancelled Airbnb bookings for the next month including those of people expected to stay Friday evening. He worries it will cripple his business.
In 2017, Steele told CBC News the building still had its original features, including a gym and yard surrounded by a chain-link fence.
"It's all original," he said of the fixtures that include the stone blocks separating the cells, steel doors, and windows.
Village lawsuit gets the goat of B&B owner in Dorchester
CTV Atlantic Published Thursday, February 14, 2019 2:46PM AST
The man who runs the Dorchester Jail Airbnb is facing a lengthy lawsuit after refusing to give up his goats.
The village says owning the animals violates a zoning bylaw and that the goats have to go -- but new documentation may help him keep his furry friends.
Bill Steele says he was shocked when he received 500 pages of court documents from the Village of Dorchester.
In the winter time, Steele’s goats are pretty much out of sight, that's because he built a personalized barn from an RV.
“I was extremely upset,” Steele said. “I started crying. I couldn’t believe that they’d be taking these extreme measures.”
The court documents show all of Steele’s social media posts and include a USB filled with evidence of the goats on his property.
“They're saying that I’m running a farm,” Steele said. “That I have an agricultural operation and that I’m not in compliance with the commercial zoning of my property.”
In the winter time, Steele’s goats are pretty much out of sight, that's because he built a personalized barn from an RV. That's where Rhea, Deputy Mayor and Princess reside when it's cold.
The village is also asking the courts to not allow Steele to own any animal in the future.
With the loss of his son, and a recent heart attack, Steele says his goats offer emotional support and he now has a doctor's note he hopes will back him up.
“I now have a document that gives me permission to have the goats as emotional support animals,” Steele said.
Steele plans to present the Horizon Health letter to the CAO of the village and before the judge in May. Mayor Jerome Bear declined to comment on the lawsuit while it's before the courts.
“I am so disappointed that a small village of 400 people is suing me for three goats,” Steele said. “It’s the most ridiculous headline you could see anywhere.”
Until his court date on May 6, Steele has been presented with two options: pay $1,500 to apply for an amendment to the zoning bylaw or move to an existing agricultural operation.
His hope, however, is that the village will recognize his goats are more than just pets.
Bureaucrats order Dorchester Jail B&B owner to get rid of his goats
Published Thursday, July 12, 2018 4:53PM ADT
Bill Steele runs the Dorchester Jail BnB and thought some goats in prison attire would be an added attraction.
But Steele recently got a letter telling him the goats have got to go.
“It basically said I had to get rid of the goats by July 20,” Steele said. “I was in violation of the zoning of my area. They are not permitted. There's no animals, including lions, allowed in Dorchester. I'm glad they specified that.”
“I was in violation of the zoning of my area," said Bill Steele. "They are not permitted. There's no animals, including lions, allowed in Dorchester. I'm glad they specified that.”
Bill Steele brought in three goats to provide an added attraction at his Dorchester Jail BnB.
Some bureaucrats have ordered these goats to be released from jail.
The Southeast Regional Service Commission in Sackville, N.B., says keeping farm animals is an "agricultural activity” that is not permitted in the village centre zone.
Rhea, Princess, and Deputy Mayor may be dressed like previous occupants of the jail but they're not considered a household pet.
“They say traditional farm animals are not allowed as pets and stuff like that,” Steele said. “Well, let's make something clear; I'm not a traditional person. I don't live in a traditional house. I live in a jail.”
The service commission has given Steele three options:
Apply to amend the zoning by-law;
Remove the animals from the property and house them on land zoned for agricultural uses; or,
Move them outside village limits.
He has until July 20 to make a decision.
Since Steele received the letter saying he couldn't keep the goats, he's had the community rally behind him. They started a Facebook page -- which already has 1,700 members -- just for the goats. They say they're going to do whatever it takes to keep them, even if that means a petition.
"Why a guy can’t have a couple of goats over the course of a summer to promote a business in a community that is starving for business, it's hard to understand,” said goat supporter Howard Carr.
As for the deadline?
“I guess they come back on the 20th and see that I still have my goats, and that place writes a letter to the village office and then the village will have to take legal action against me,” Steele said.
But Steele says he's not worried about the worst-case scenario and doesn't plan to break the goats out of jail anytime soon.
'I'm tired of playing house': Ontario garbage worker plans to retire to defunct N.B. jail
THE CANADIAN PRESS Published Monday, March 27, 2017 2:44PM ADT
DORCHESTER, N.B. -- A retired Ontario garbage worker has decided to spend his retirement in jail. Bill Steele of Oshawa, Ont., recently bought a defunct New Brunswick jail with a history of hangings. The 50-year-old man plans to sell his house and take up residence at the old Dorchester gaol -- listed for $159,900 -- which was decommissioned more than 20 years ago and features 15 original jail cells.
Photos
Bill Steele poses in a selfie in front of a former jail in Dorchester, N.B. in this undated handout photo. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / HO - Bill Steele)
A former jail is shown in Dorchester, N.B. in this undated handout photo. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Bill Steele)
Steele said he's always had a passion for collecting antiques and "morbid stuff," and wanted to retire somewhere unconventional, near where his father grew up in Pictou, N.S.
"Everybody lives in a house and I'm tired of playing house," said Steele in an interview.
"One person who lived in Toronto -- Billy Jamieson -- he had a collection of shrunken heads and he lived in a really cool loft, and that really inspired me to live somewhere unusual with my collections."
Steele said he may start a museum in part of the historic building, where two infamous convicted murderers -- 19-year-old Arthur Bannister and his 20-year-old brother Daniel -- were hanged. The brothers had killed a 30-year-old woodsman during the abduction of his infant daughter, who also died.
An article published in The New York Times at the time said on Sept. 24, 1936, the brothers walked silently to the gallows, "where they stood back-to-back as the nooses were placed over their heads."
"Both were pronounced dead at 2:27 a.m. Their bodies were cut down and placed together in a single pine coffin covered with black cloth. The same ropes used for the execution lowered the coffin into a grave in the prison yard," the article reported.
Steele said he's eager to research the history of his new home, and hopes to find the Bannister brothers' final resting place.
"I'm not going to disturb them, of course, but I'll look for a marker or something," said Steele. "I know they were bad guys but they're still human and I'd at least like to recognize where their grave is."
The 1,200 square metre building features a brick facade with many rectangular energy-efficient windows, which replaced the jail's original windows. It includes an apartment where the previous owner, Andrew Partridge, once lived.
Partridge bought the former jail "on a whim" about 17 years ago. He said initially he had no idea what he was going to do with the property, but eventually he started up a gym inside one section of the building.
He said he's held many parties and family gatherings there.
"I knew that it was time for me to move on and I've come to grips with that," said Partridge in a phone interview. "I don't have any regrets but certainly there are memories being left behind."
Steele said he's already been contacted by a family member of a former inmate. He said one woman whose son struggles with PTSD wanted them to visit the jail before he changed anything.
"I told them, absolutely. Do whatever you want to do, if it's going to help you," he said.
Steele said he also hopes the jail and his life in Dorchester will be somewhat of a fresh start, as he is grieving the loss of his 25-year-old son to heart failure.
"I sent him a message saying 'Hey, look what dad's got. I'm ready to buy this. Get better. Don't worry about anything and just get better for us.' He never read that message and passed away," said Steele.
A jail in Dorchester has been sold to an entrepreneur from Ontario hoping to transform it into a bed and breakfast. Guests will stay in real jail cells. CBC's Brett Ruskin stays the night. 1:38
When I checked in to the jail, I was shown the room where I would spend the night, handed a key and told "a lot" of people had been killed in the building.
"And probably more than we know about," said Bill Steele, owner of the jail in Dorchester, N.B.
A cell like this one will cost roughly $34 per night when the old jail in Dorchester, N.B., opens as a bed and breakfast. (Brett Ruskin/CBC)
Steele and I were on the top floor of the two-storey brick building built in the early 1800s. He bought it in March and took possession of it this month. Steele paid between $100,000 and $150,000 for the property — but that's not what he wanted to talk about.
"That's where they hung the noose," he said, pointing at the ceiling. "And they dropped down through to the first floor through a trap door where you're standing."
I took a step to the left.
The worst of New Brunswick's criminals were hanged through that trap door from the time the jail opened until the mid-20th century. A new linoleum floor covers the door now — but just knowing it was there was enough.
Reminders of the past
The jail was filled with these reminders of the past. Steele's plan is to preserve and share them.
He wants to turn the Dorchester jail into a bed and breakfast and has listed it on the online hospitality site Airbnb. Steele says he's received hundreds of inquiries.
Before he swung open the barred doors, I asked to stay a night. The CBC paid $34 and I was given my pick of the six two-metre-by-three-metre cells.
The cells where guests can stay are two metres by three metres. (Brett Ruskin/CBC)
The black bars were rough to the touch and paint was peeling from the wall. The air in the cell was musty and cool.
It didn't smell, considering there was an old toilet in there. Calling it a toilet is, perhaps, an insult to modern plumbing. It was a bowl, recessed into a short wooden box, with a hinged lid.
Steele said it was decorative and that I should use the bathroom facilities with running water upstairs.
Later on, I made the mistake of trying to close the lid on the old toilet. Not only was the wood oily, but there was also something green on it. It was firm, sticky and coated my fingers with a gooey, mint-smelling substance.
I rushed out to my vehicle for a palm-sized amount of hand sanitizer — a luxury unavailable to the former residents of the jail.
I still don't know what the green stuff was.
The main hallway in the Dorchester jail leads to the cells where paying guests will sleep. (Brett Ruskin/CBC)
To help him learn more about the jail, Steele invited Joyce Barker for a visit.
Barker, whose father was the jail guard in the 1940s and '50s, had lived in the jail for years. She didn't think it was an odd place to live while she was there, but she can't figure out why anyone today would pay to stay in a cell overnight.
"They're crazy," Barker said.
"I don't know why they'd want to do it. But if that winds their watch, then OK."
Joyce Barker lived in the jail during the 1940s and 1950s. (Brett Ruskin/CBC)
She also said she had no doubt there was paranormal activity in the jail, which has been the scene of a killing, at least one suicide and dozens of hangings.
"Sure it's haunted," Barker said. "We don't know who they are, but the rocking chair has rocked in the living room when we lived here."
'I see you'
Although it had been a warm day, the temperature overnight dropped both outside and inside. I was happy I'd brought a sleeping bag — at Steele's recommendation — because even though he brought me a heater, there was still a slight chill in the air.
The jail was quiet and dark, and I felt like I was in a stone cavern at the centre of the village.
I fell asleep staring at penciled drawings on the wall. There was a hand, with an eye drawn into the palm. "I see you," it said next to the hand.
An image remains on the wall inside a cell in the Dorchester jail. (Brett Ruskin/CBC)
Overall, the discomfort from the bed, the cold and the claustrophobia were mostly offset by the uniqueness of waking up to sunlight streaming in between jail cell bars.
Steele said he has received requests to stay at the jail from across the country. It officially opened to guests this week.
Wi-Fi throughout the jail offers remarkably fast internet access. (Brett Ruskin/CBC)
Bill Steele says he will offer overnight visitors an experience close to what prisoners might have had. (Submitted/Bill Steele)
For $34 a night, guests will get a private room, a comfortable bed, a guided tour and an experience of a lifetime, one New Brunswick Airbnb ad says.
Except, the night won't be spent in a hotel, but at the notorious Dorchester jail.
"You'll be able to enjoy the village, spend the night find the history behind the actual building and the area and you'll have a great time," retiree Bill Steele said, who bought the unique piece of property in March.
"I don't think there's anywhere else in the world to sleep in a death row cell."
Guests won't be getting a luxurious hotel stay but a 'bare bones" experience of what it was like for former Dorchester inmates to sleep in jail.
"It's just like you're camping," he said. "Bring something to sleep in." Steele said the experience could be a family affair.
"You can bring your parents, you can bring your kids, you can bring anybody you want and spend a night in there and experience something you just can't go around and experience."
Appeal of history
According to a local historical group, the jail was built in 1800. (CBC)
Steele said the biggest appeal for people to stay overnight at the jail is learning about the building's history, which includes New Brunswick's last double hanging, in 1936.
The Bannister brothers of Berry Mills, 17-year-old Arthur and 20-year-old Daniel, were convicted of murder during a botched kidnapping attempt that left three members of a family dead. The brothers were hanged at 1 a.m. and buried together in a pine box behind the jail.
The grave was not marked, but Steele said he plans to find it and mark it.
"I think everybody kind of deserves that."
The jail building was built in 1800 and closed 20 years ago. The last execution in the province was in 1957.
Much like it was in old days
Bill Steele becomes the official owner of the old jail in Dorchester on June 1. (Submitted/Bill Steele)
"It's all original," Steele said.
"It's rustic and it's just the way it was when people were there even in the '30s." But no guest need worry about being locked in a cell, Steele said.
With a beautiful view from every cell, the building has its original fixtures, including the stone blocks separating the cells, steel doors, and windows that allows the natural light to shine through.
Inquiries already
Bill Steele says he is ready to leave city life behind to live in Dorchester. (Submitted/Bill Steele)
Steele said he is looking for memorabilia and historical photos related to the jail to showcase. Since buying the property, Steele has been nicknamed the "Jail guy," and people are already calling in hopes of experiencing what he's offering.
This is an opportunity to maybe take some quiet time for yourself and have a good sleep and think about things.- Bill Steele, owner of former jail
"I think we're going to be extremely busy," he said.
But Steele promised his guests will have a very good night's sleep in the cells, which offer a great opportunity to slow down and relax.
"I think a lot of people did a lot of thinking in those cells, so I think this is an opportunity to maybe take some quiet time for yourself and have a good sleep and think about things."
The jail has 10 bedrooms, which will have lighting, eight bathroom facilities, a gym and Wi-Fi. Steele gets the jail keys June 1 and will be booking guests soon thereafter.
Bill Steele says he is ready to leave city life behind to live in Dorchester, N.B. (Submitted/Bill Steele)
New retiree Bill Steele says he was looking for a unique piece of real estate and he found it — in a decommissioned jail for sale in Dorchester, N.B.
"I was looking for something strange and unusual," the Toronto man said.
Steele said he was impressed by the building, which contains 15 cells, a gym, a yard surrounded by chain-link fence topped by coiled barbed wire, and an apartment where the previous owner once lived.
He bought it. The closing date is June 1.
Former owner Andrew Partridge had the building on the market for two years. The last asking price was $159,000.
Steele said the building has a colourful past. It was built in 1800 when Dorchester, was a bustling centre of shipbuilding, and closed for good about 20 years ago.
Steele takes ownership of the former jail on June 1. (Submitted/Bill Steele)
"Something I'm looking forward to investigating further is the history of the Bannister brothers that were hung there," Steele said.
He's has also been contacted by some former inmates who've asked if they can revisit the building. "You know, kind of get rid of some of the demons."
He said he feels a responsibility to be compassionate about the requests.
Bill Steele, who lost his son Billy on March 1, says the purchase was going to be a surprise for the young man who died of heart failure. (Submitted/Bill Steele)
He also likes the surrounding community that he's already begun to explore.
"The view is amazing. I love the community that it's in, that it was in the downtown part of Dorchester. I was just in awe."
New start
Steele said he was looking for a change of pace after 29 years of working as a transfer station operator for the city of Toronto.
"I decided to retire and cash out my pension. I've had enough, I'm 50 years old and you know, I'm not getting any younger, I feel great, I've never felt better so now's the time."
He has been grieving the recent loss of his 25-year-old son, Billy, to heart failure. The purchase of a retirement property and relocating to the East Coast was something he had planned to surprise his son with.
An antique dealer on the side and a self-described collector of unconventional items, Steele said he might open a shop or an inn of some sort. Friends and relatives are interested in visiting him once he moves into the former Dorchester lockup.
"I might even set up a curiosity museum," he said.
"It's going to be quite the adventure arriving there. I've gotten lots of messages from complete strangers welcoming me and offering to help me out. I really feel I picked the right place, absolutely."
Bill Steele says the decommissioned jail has lots of possibilities. (Submitted/Bill Steele)
Anyone in the market for an out-of-commission jail? Andy Partridge is putting his 15-cell property up for sale. Take the tour. 1:15
For sale: The old Dorchester count
Anyone in the market for an out-of-commission jail need look no further than the village of Dorchester,
where Andy Partridge is putting his 15-cell property up for salPartridge said it was an impulse buy
when he put in a bid 16 years ago upon hearing the property was up for sale. As the only bidder, he won.
The idea was it would be an investment property.
"I have a gym upstairs."
According to a local historical group, the jail was built in 1800. Partridge says it was the 'site of the last double hanging that happened in Canada.' (CBC)
Partridge said the jail was in operation until about 20 years ago and the cell walls still have artwork from former inmates.
One elaborate pencil drawing shows cartoon cat Garfield with his owner John behind bars.
"I had rented out some of these cells for storage, secure storage as you can see and in the upper part it was my apartment for about four years."
Built in 1800
The old Dorchester county jail features 15 cells, solitary confinement, a gym and a yard complete with coiled barbed wire. (CBC)
A local historical group said the jail was built in 1800 when Dorchester was a bustling centre of the the ship-building industry. Partridge said the jail used to feature public gallows outside, but it was moved indoors.
"I was told that this area was used to house the inmates on death row, the ropes came down through the from ceiling and that was the end."
"There were many people hung here."
While Partridge doesn't live in the building anymore, he isn't squeamish about the jail's gruesome history.
"It was just a roof over my head."
"The quarters upstairs are really quite comfortable."
Exercising in former jail's gym
Jail House Enterprise is Partridge's gym. He also rents out storage space in the cells, calling it, 'secure storage, as you can see.'
Sue Briggs has a membership at the former jail's gym and she doesn't mind exercising just metres from what used to be southeastern New Brunswick's death row.
From the treadmill, she said, "It doesn't bother me a bit, it's got everything I need."
Sitting in the middle of town, behind the village office which was also the former court house, the yard features a cement court and basket ball net, surrounded by a chain link fenced topped with coiled barbed wire.
The unusual property has been on the market for two years. Partridge said he's reduced the price twice and is now asking $159,000, but is in no hurry to sell. He said he'll wait until the right buyer comes along.
"My main goal was to have something here that would benefit the community and ideally the new buyer, it would be awesome if they thought the same."
Partridge said he's looking to sell the former jail as part of his retirement plan. But looking back over the last 16 years he said if he could do it all over again, 'I'd have bid on it, It's been an interesting occupation."
Jail House Enterprise is Partridge's gym. He also rents out storage space in the cells, calling it, 'secure storage, as you can see.'
https://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/careers/003001-2102-eng.shtml
"In addition to being recognized for the Aboriginal Role Model Initiative, he is also a recognized leader in his community. To name a few of his accomplishments, he has worked as a volunteer firefighter, is the President of the Westmorland Chapter of Crimestoppers (a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to the promotion of crime prevention), has been a member of the Municipal Council and is currently the Mayor of the Village of Dorchester."