THURSDAY, august 10 2017 Vol. 74, No. 32
Serving Fort St. John, B.C. and Surrounding Communities
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ideas abound for condill’s future
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Seven compete for city council seat matt preprost & ALEISHA HENDRY editor@ahnfsj.ca / ahendry@ahnfsj.ca
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A citizen of the year, a chemical engineer, a fro-yo franchisee, a driver training professional, a long-time real estate appraiser, a helicopter pilot, and a Chamber boss— seven political hopefuls have entered Fort St. John’s byelection race set for September. Cindy Dettling, Christopher Flury, Randy Vincent, Barry Wilkinson, Edwina Nearhood, Becky Grimsrud, and Lilia Hansen are vying to fill former councillor Dan Davies seat. Wilkinson, who owns Safety First Professional Driver Training, was the last to file his nomination papers Aug. 4. “I’ve been interested for quite a while but was always too busy with running our business, but
I’m at the point now where I’m ready to do it,” he said. “I want to continue the good job our council is already doing. Our city council right now is full of great people that have done a lot of positive things for the city and I want to be part of that.” Vincent owns the Menchies in Dawson Creek, but has lived in Fort St. John his whole life. He’s looking forward to bringing a new perspective to council chambers. “It’s something I’ve always been interested in and hope to be a new set of eyes for council,” he said. Dettling, who received the Mayor’s Citizen of the Year honours at this year’s community awards, says her family has been here for six generations, and she has no plans to leave. “I have an active interest
in what goes on in my community,” said Dettling, a school bus driver who has earned provincial recognition for her work promoting school bus safety in the community. “When I was younger, I didn’t have the time commitment available. At this time in my life, I’m able to do it now.” Nearhood, who owns Nearhood Appraisal Services and writes about real estate for the Alaska Highways News, said “it’s important to give where you live.” “With 30 years of experience in the community, with my professional background, it gives me the insight and knowledge of the issues that are important to the community from a resident’s point of view and a business point of view, and not-for-profits,” said Nearhood. See COUNCIL on A7
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Brenda Gejdos (left) was crowned champion at the 45th annual World Invitational Gold Panning Championship at Peace Island Park Aug. 6. It’s her second championship win since 2014. See results on B4.
Gold panners descend from near and far matt preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca
It was another golden August long weekend to celebrate more than 150 years of gold panning tradition on the Peace River. The 45th annual World Invitational Gold Panning Championships wrapped up Aug. 6, with Brenda Gejdos taking home the tournament’s title trophy in the Class A event with a 24-point finish. It’s her second win after having first won the title in 2014. “There’s actually only been two women that have won, myself and Muriel Scott,” Gejdos said. “It’s pretty thrilling to have won it again, especially to win
it twice now, that’s been pretty awesome.” Seventeen professional gold panners from B.C., Alberta, and Holland were undeterred by intermittent bouts of rain during Sunday’s main event, sloshing their pans in the water alongside another 13 kids in the juvenile category, and eight semi-pros in the Class B event. Gejdos, who’s been competing the last eight years, found 15 flakes in 268.31 seconds in the first round of the Class A event, and finding five flakes in 105.62 seconds in the second round. In the speed round, Gejdos found her nugget of gold in a day’s best time of 11.05 seconds. Kimberly Mckillop, this
year’s Class B champion, finished second in the Class A, and Rod Scott finished third. The sport can be a game of chance and luck, Gejdos acknowledged, but one that can always be honed with technique. “There are some panners that are really, really, super speedy,” she said. “I’m not a fast panner, but I know that if I can just find all my flakes that I have a bit of a chance to win. So, I just make sure I find all my flakes, getting into the bottom (of the pan) and shaking it lots, using lots of water, and getting my flakes to the bottom. The nugget is just chance.” See GOLD PANNERS on A14
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Energy Minister Michelle Mungall
Site C review underway matt preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca
A BC Utilities Commission review of the $8.8-billion Site C dam has begun. Energy and Mines Minister Michelle Mungall made good on her NDP government’s election promise Aug. 2, a move that has aligned interests on both sides of the contentious project as its future enters uncertain territory. “Our government is delivering on our commitment to British Columbians by ordering an independent review of Site C to ensure we can keep hydro rates affordable,” Mungall said. “The previous government refused to allow our independent energy watchdog to examine the project to determine if it was in the public interest. That was wrong.” The commission is being tasked to study the economic viability of the project based on current electricity supply and demand, and its cost to ratepayers. It will also be asked to confirm whether the project is on budget and on track to be completed by 2024, and will provide advice on whether to continue or suspend construction, or terminate and remediate the site, while proceeding with other resource portfolios that provide “the same level of benefits at the same or lower cost as Site C.” The commission will deliver a preliminary report by Sept. 20, with a final report due by Nov. 1, Mungall said. “Once we have the final report, the government will consider the advice from the BC Utilties Commission, along with other environmental and First Nations considerations, and make a final decision on the future of Site C,” Mungall said. ‘The right path’: landowners The project has been under construction for two years on the Peace River just outside Fort St. John. There are 2,200 workers employed on the project, Mungall said. Roughly $1.6 billion had been spent on the project as of March 31, 2017. The Commission began accepting data and analysis from interested parties Aug. 9, which it says will form the basis of its preliminary report. See SITE C on A5
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