THURSDAY, august 24 2017 Vol. 74, No. 34
Serving Fort St. John, B.C. and Surrounding Communities
$1.50 inc. gst.
alaskahighwaynews.ca
“The Only Newspaper in the World That Gives a Tinker’s Dam About the North Peace.”
council candidate chats
petrowest lenders look to collect
young flyers get whl shot
NEWS A4 & A5
BUSINESS A9
SPORTS B1
‘As many patients as we can’: mayor matt preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca
When You Are Out in the Field, Time IS Money. QUALITY PARTS, EXPERT SERVICE! matt preprost Photo
From left: Drs. Bayo Oyedeji, Abimbola Olajide, and Oname Diakparomre from the North Peace Primary Care Clinic outside Taylor municipal hall. Oyedeji and Diakparomre start in Taylor Sept. 5.
HoursMon-Fri: 8am - 5pm Sat: 8am - Noon
Energy minister shirks Site C tour Won’t ‘interfere’ with BCUC review, Mungall says matt preprost
9224 100 Street, Fort St. John, BC (250) 785-0463
editor@ahnfsj,ca
After Hours - Leave Message
CONTACT US
phone 250-785-5631 fax 250-785-3522 email circulation@ahnfsj.ca
B.C.’s energy minister has no immediate plans to tour the construction site of the contentious Site C dam. Though she was in the Peace Region this month, Michelle Mungall did not take in a tour of the dam’s progress, now two years into construction on the Peace River outside Fort St. John. Mungall said she has no plans to tour the site before the BC Utilities Commission completes its review of the $8.8-billion project by November. “I’m very cognisant that review needs to be independent,” she said.
Michelle Mungall
“I can’t speak to after the review, but certainly not before. I’m not going to be interfering with that independent process.” The utilities commission began its review on Aug. 9, and commissioners took in a two-day tour of the site and impacted areas for themselves. “Over the course of the
two day visit, the group toured the Highway 29 realignment area, received a briefing from BC Hydro’s on-site team that included that team’s views on progress to date and remaining work, and closed with a tour of the construction site, including the dam site area,” the commission said in a statement. Commissioners were joined by representatives of Deloitte LLP, which will provide an independent report on matters being studied as part of the review. Mungall was unsure of her next visit to the region, saying she’s focused on the upcoming legislative session, set to begin Sept. 8.
Hospital helipad plans grounded Aleisha Hendry
future forester
ahendry@ahnfsj.ca
online alaskahighwaynews.ca facebook AlaskaHighwayNews twitter @AHNnewspaper
matt preprost Photo
Aiden Rempel, 9, tries his hand at log sawing during the 70th annual North Peace Fall Fair Aug. 20. For more from the fair, including results, turn to B9.
PAVING 100 Canadian
Doctors Bayo Oyedeji and Oname Diakparomre begin their rounds at the Taylor Medical Clinic Sept. 5. The doctors, new to the Peace Region, were introduced to residents Monday evening at an open house to learn details of a deal with the North Peace Primary Clinic to ensure continued operations at the district’s clinic for the next year. “Our biggest thing now is to attach as many patients as we can to this clinic,” Mayor Rob Fraser said. The doctors, based in Fort St. John, will work part-time in Taylor Monday through Thursdays, with schedules to be finalized. Dr. Abimbola Olajide, also introduced Monday, said the deal is part of his clinic’s plan to eventually settle a permanent doctor in Taylor and recruit another to Fort St. John. Around 1,500 patients are needed to do just that, he said. “We feel like we should be willing to take care of the health in Taylor rather than Taylor people looking for some form of care elsewhere,” Olajide said of the opportunity. The clinic currently has six doctors on staff, with Oyedeji and Diakparomre the newest doctors welcomed into the fold after finishing their practice readiness assessments with the province. Oyedeji arrived in Fort St. John a week and a half ago, following his wife and three kids who recently moved to Dawson Creek after an stint in Saskatchewan. They plan to move north soon, Oyedeji said. “I was coming from Nigeria to visit on and off and eventually I came through the (program),” he said. Diakparomre, also from Nigeria, started working in Fort St. John in March. She moved to Canada in 2013, brings with her a young daughter, and has already bought a house in town. “It’s been a long journey since 2013. It’s been back and forth, back and forth, but I am here to stay for good, said Diakparomre, who will serve as the clinic’s medical director. See DOCS on A5
Residential • Commercial • Industrial Roads • Driveways • Parking Lots
Plans for a helipad at the Fort St. John Hospital have been grounded—at least for now. The Fort St. John Hospital Helipad Steering Committee released its final report and found its construction isn’t economically feasible or medically critical now or in the near future. “We realized the data we need to make the right decision isn’t necessarily there,” said Moira Green, who represented the City of Fort St. John on the committee. “The recommendation is that BC Ambulance do some monitoring so we know how many medevacs there are, and that they provide an annual report to Northern Health, the Fort St. John Hospital, (the city), the regional district, and (oil and gas producers) on what kind of movements those are.” In inclement weather, it would be safer for a helicopter to land at the airport, Green said. “If you have the choice in bad weather of landing at the hospital or landing in a controlled airspace, where there’s a tower and snow removal and staff and lights…the helipad itself would have some significant limitations with regard to bad weather and visibility,” she said. See HELIPAD on A5
FREE ESTIMATES
250.719.0686
% COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL GRAVEL SALES AND DELIVERY
Owned
Serving Dawson Creek, Chetwynd, Fort St. John & Surrounding Areas
33490