ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020 | SPORTS | A5
Caden Brown and Ethan Semeniuk selected in WHL Draft Dillon Giancola sports@ahnfsj.ca A pair of former Fort St. John minor hockey players — who happen to be cousins — were selected April 22 in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft. Caden Brown was chosen 17th overall in the first round by the Prince George Cougars, while Ethan Semeniuk was selected in the third round, 56th overall, by the Vancouver Giants. Both played on the Delta Academy Bantam Prep team this year,
where they won the inaugural WHL U.S. Challenge Cup in Seattle near the end of the season. The two cousins began their minor hockey careers in Fort St. John before moving on, and have family in the area. Brown had a strong year as captain for the Delta team, scoring 35 goals to go with 30 assists and 65 points in 30 games this season. Semeniuk had 19 goals, 31 assists, and 50 points in 30 games this season. Both are 15 years old. In total, 216 players were selected across 10 rounds.
City opens tennis courts, trails and parks remain open Dillon Giancola sports@ahnfsj.ca The City of Fort St. John says its tennis courts are open and available for use, so long as users follow the same recommendations from provincial health officers that apply to the city’s trails and parks. As for its baseball diamonds and soccer fields, they are still too wet to use for now but will be open for use when things dry up, providing recommendations and regulations stay the same. This means not playing softball or soccer in groups, and maintaining at least two metres of distance between people who don’t live in the same household as yourself. “It’s important to keep these facilities open so people can get out and do things,” said city Communications Co-ordinator Ryan Harvey. “It’s important that people aren’t gather-
ing in groups, but a father and son playing catch or a family playing soccer is acceptable and something we encourage people to get out and do.” As we get closer to summer, Harvey said a decision will be made as to keeping the courts and diamonds open long term. For now, it’s wait and see whether or not regular slow pitch, baseball, and soccer leagues will be able to take place in some form. City parks, walking trails, dog parks, and the skate park are still open and have been getting lots of use. “These places have been getting a lot of use, but for the most part, people are maintaining physical distancing measures, and moving around each other on trails,” Harvey said. “It’s important to get out there and enjoy the spring, even if it’s a late one.” Playgrounds and outdoor fitness equipment are still not recommended for use, as they can’t be regularly cleaned.
Vertical Slam events going virtual Dillon Giancola sports@ahnfsj.ca The Vertical Slam Ultimate Challenge Society announced last week it was taking its two upcoming events — the Vertical Slam Ultimate Challenge and the Sadownik Memorial Run — virtual. The Ultimate Challenge was set for June 6, with the Sadownik Memorial set for the following week on June 13. Instead, both events will be open for participants to submit times and run on their own time from June 1 to 15. “We all understand that the event is in June. But due to the unknown facts of COVID-19 and the fact that if we are possibly only going to be transitioning back to some sort of normal at the time of the event, we want to not encourage an event that promotes crowds,” the society said on its Facebook page. For the Ultimate Challenge, there is a registration fee, with money going towards School District 60’s Hot Meals Program. An option to donate more, as well as to have a participation medal shipped to runners, is
available as well. Participants can run, hike, bike, walk, or even use an exercise machine at home. It’s not mandatory that your time be recorded on the actual Beatton River Valley route, though that route will be mapped out for those interested. There are three options — a 5km or 30 minute run, a 10km or one hour run, or a 21km or two hour run or activity. To register, and for information on submitting times, go here. The Sadownik Memorial, in honour of the late Steve and Nicole Sadownik, will be run in a similar fashion as the Ultimate Challenge, but will focus on running, hiking and walking. Funds raised from the run will go towards chemotherapy patients at the Fort St. John Hospital. “Time dedicated can go from 30 minutes to 12 hours! Challenge yourself! Make a statement out loud on our page of what you are dedicating in the name of the cause!” said the Vertical Slam Society. A leader board will be kept for both runs as times start to come in.
Hunting declared essential service The province of B.C. added hunting and angling to its list of essential services on April 23. This is good news for hunting and fishing enthusiasts throughout the Peace Region. The B.C. Wildlife Federation announced the news in a press release today, and said the move comes after three weeks of discussions between the BCWF and different levels of government. “We are happy hunting and fishing are now listed as essential services. With this listing comes great responsibility and a degree of scrutiny; as responsible citizens and conservationists, we need to ensure these activities are conducted within the guidelines set out by the Provincial Health Officer,” said Bill Bosch, President of the BC Wildlife Federation. The federation is strongly asking
everone who engages in hunting or angling to make sure they are familiar with the rules and protocols and follows them. For details on best hunting and fishing practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, see the BCWF’s website. Guidelines include not fishing or hunting with anyone who doesn’t live with you, and maintaining two meters of distance between yourself and others you come across. In the release, the BCWF said it, “will continue to advocate on behalf of hikers, hunters and anglers with various levels of government. The BCWF believes the provincial government should be finding ways to allow British Columbians to stay local, get outside safely and enjoy our public spaces, especially in provincial parks.” — sports@ahnfsj.ca
The last of the remaining snow is slowly melting away at Lake Point Golf and Country Club. Golf Courses throughout the Peace Region will begin opening in the coming weeks. See alaskahighwaynews.ca for a full golf course update.
Regional parks closed Three regional parks with overnight camping facilities, as well as one community park, are being closed this week until further notice, the Peace River Regional District says. The closures include Blackfoot Regional Park, Minaker Regional Park, and Montney Centennial Regional Park, as well as Iver Johnson Community Park. “This was a difficult decision, but a necessary one as we all need to do our part to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and flatten the curve,” the Regional District said in a statement. “Open camp-
ing facilities make it challenging to maintain safe physical distancing as well as may encourage travelling from both inside and outside the region.” The Sundance and Spencer Tuck day-use parks remain open, and visitors are asked to keep at least 2 metres from others, and to regularly wash or sanitize their hands. All provincial parks in B.C. are closed until May 31. “The PRRD will continue to monitor the situation and look forward to opening overnight camping facilities once it is safe to do so.”
ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
A10 | NEWS | THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020
Site C construction on Highway 29
Construction is continuing on the Cache Creek East embankment. Construction of a bridge at Halfway River continues. This includes operation of a concrete batch plant, aggregate plant, aggregate pit development installation of bridge piles, excavation at east and west bridge abutments, construction of bridge pier rebar and formwork, and hauling and stockpiling of materials. Lynx Creek East embankment construction continues, with the con-
tractor based at Dry Creek. This includes clearing, vegetation removal, and excavation, hauling and stockpiling of aggregates. Lynx Creek East in-river construction works will continue with construction of gravel causeways in the Peace River and the excavation, aggregate hauling, and removal of waste wood on Dry Island and Gates Island. Boaters are advised to stay clear of the construction areas. Photos by Tom Summer
Left: Tree clearing on the islands in the Peace River, April 19, 2020. Right: Hip Peace Produce’s farm stand at Bear Flat sits empty amongst Site C burn piles.
Gravel trucks at the Halfway River bridge construction site, April 19, 2020.
ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020 | NEWS | A11
The price of dithering
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kay, so to be clear, there is a lot of confusing stuff happening right now, and everyone’s situation will be a little different, so be sure to check with your investment advisor as to how this applies to your own situation. But that being said, I expect that more money could be “lost” by people who are in a position to buy long-term quality investments on sale, but for some reason they dither and delay as they wonder when is the “right time” to buy, that money that will be “lost” by people who buy in too early. In other words, some people will wait to buy but end up missing the sale altogether, and that can be worse than someone who buys early only to find the prices get a little cheaper still. Here is the thing: we have an entire financial news industry that is built on the premise that there are pundits that can tell you with certainty what will happen in the next five minutes. But that’s a charade. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that making rational decisions that are consistent with your objectives is misguided. I am also not saying that if you buy wonderful businesses run by honest, hardworking and ethical people, in in-
BRAD BRAIN dustries that have a bright future, and when you find these businesses you acquire them at cheap prices and hang on to them for the longterm, is a bad way to build wealth. Indeed, the majority of my work is based on these simple truths. What I am saying, is that we have entire television channels and investment periodicals devoted to the idea that they can pull back the curtain for subscribers, revealing untold mysteries, and all you need to do is follow their programming because they really, really know for sure what will happen next. None of this is new. Years ago, renowned mutual fund manager Peter Lynch famously said, “Thousands of experts study overbought indicators, oversold indicators, head-andshoulder patterns, put-call ratios, the Fed’s policy on money supply, foreign investment, the movement of the constellations through the heavens, and the moss on oak trees, and they can’t predict markets with
any useful consistency, any more than the gizzard squeezers could tell the Roman emperors when the Huns would attack.” The problem is that when people base their financial decisions not on what they need to do to reach their financial objectives, but rather on what the guys on TV are saying, then we can have random results. Here is the reason I am writing on this. I do not think that when the markets recover it is likely to be a gradual, measured response. Rather, I expect big chunks of the recovery are likely to happen very quickly, maybe even over a few days. If you miss those days then you miss a large part of the recovery. Here is a fantastic illustration. AGF Management Ltd. has calculated that if you were fully invested in the Toronto Stock Exchange Index for the 20 years ending December 31, 2019, your total return would be 6.25%, not including dividends. You would have gone through Y2K, the Tech Wreck, the Great Recession, and now this. Lots of bad days along the way. But lots of good days too. And its these good days that do the heavy lifting on your results. If you missed the top 10 days in
the last 20 years – just 10 days out of 20 years – the results drop from 6.25% to 3.07%. Those 10 days took a 20-year return down by more than half. Even more dramatic, if you took out the top 40 days out of the last 20 years the return drops from 6.25% to -2.37%. Miss the big days and you miss the performance. Food for thought for those waiting on the sidelines before putting money to work. Brad Brain is a Portfolio Manager with Aligned Capital Partners Incorporated (ACPI). ACPI is regulated by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (www.iiroc. ca) and a Member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (www.cipf. ca). This publication is for informational purposes only and shall not be construed to constitute any form of investment advice. Market data courtesy of AGF 2020 Quick Reference Guide, March 5, 2020. The views expressed are those of the author and may not necessarily be those of ACPI. Content is prepared for general circulation and has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it.
ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
A12 | NEWS | THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020
MATT PREPROST PHOTO
MLA Dan Davies and constituency assistant Tamara Wilkinson gave more than 50 free sanitizer refills in Fort St. John, April 22, 2020.
Hospital needs masks The Fort St John Hospital Foundation has put out a call for facemasks in much need for frontline medical staff. The Foundation is looking for approved Primagard procedure masks with the model number PG4-1201 to use in both the hospital and Peace Villa care home. Hospital staff are required to use masks on a daily basis, and these are
the approved masks for the hospital. The Foundation says the COVID-19 pandemic has made supplies limited and difficult to acquire. The hospital will not accept handmade masks. Residents able to help are encouraged to drop off masks at the hospital’s main entrance anytime between 8:30 a.m to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Wage subsidies to arrive May 7 Businesses can expect payments for the federal government’s wage subsidy program to arrive beginning May 7, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Monday (April 27) marks the launch of the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy program, which covers 75% of the first $58,700 an employee earns. The $73-billion initiative is open to companies that can demonstrate a 15% revenue decline in March compared with a year earlier, or else 30% annual revenue declines in April or May. About 10,000 businesses had applied for the program within five hours of launching at 3 a.m. PT, Trudeau said during his daily media briefing in Ottawa. The subsidy is not available to workers already receiving the $2,000 monthly Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) in the wake of being laid off or losing income during the pandemic. But because the wage subsidy is retroactive to March 15, it’s possible Canadians, not knowing if they would benefit from the wage subsidy pay-
ments, already applied for and began receiving the CERB. “In that case they will have to, over the course of the coming months, pay one of them back. So people should keep that in mind, that if you’re getting both you should probably set one of them aside so that you can pay that back and you don’t get overly challenged with that down the road,” Trudeau said. He said it’s most likely recipients will have to repay the CERB if they are currently benefitting from both programs. “The government agencies have a clear record of who gets what that will obviously help in sorting this out in the coming months,” the prime minister said. “The CERB is coming up on a reapplication [cycle] and if people are receiving that wage subsidy, they shouldn’t reapply for the CERB.” Meanwhile, Trudeau said he expects a shared set of guidelines between Ottawa and the provinces to be released in the coming days to help inform decision-makers regarding the reopening of provincial economies.