THURSDAY, august 31 2017 Vol. 74, No. 35
Serving Fort St. John, B.C. and Surrounding Communities
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alaskahighwaynews.ca
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THE RACE FOR CITY COUNCIL
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Crews work to carefully move the five-ton magnet for the Fort St. John Hospital and Health Centre’s new MRI machine. A portion of the wall in the room where the MRI is going had to be removed and a crane was used to lift the massive piece of equipment. Fort St. John is one of three hospitals receiving new MRIs, along with Terrace and Prince George. The MRI is expected to reduce wait times for local patients and allow them to have diagnostic testing done closer to home.
City looks to regulate adult entertainment Public hearing on Sept. 11 CONTACT US
Aleisha Hendry ahendry@ahnfsj.ca
phone 250-785-5631 fax 250-785-3522 email circulation@ahnfsj.ca online alaskahighwaynews.ca facebook AlaskaHighwayNews twitter @AHNnewspaper
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A stunning display of the northern lights shimmer over the Margaret ‘Ma’ Murray Community School earlier this month.
School district on hiring spree Aleisha Hendry ahendry@ahnfsj.ca
With the new school year just around the corner, School District 60 still has vacant teaching positions in several schools. This isn’t much of a surprise to SD60 Superintendent Dave Sloan, as the North Peace has often been a hard sell for many teachers. “We want the right type of people, we don’t want just anybody,” he said. There are 14 teacher and teaching assistant positions currently open
in SD 60, with four of those for Dr. Kearney Middle School and three at Prespatou Elementary Secondary School. “It’s always been challenging to find teachers for places like Prespatou,” said Sloan. “It’s a great school, but it’s an hour out of town. You have to have the right pioneering spirit.” A French Immersion teacher is sought for Ecole Central Elementary; a maternity leave position is open at CM Finch Elementary; a parttime primary teacher is
needed for Robert Ogilvie Elementary; North Peace Secondary needs a learning assistance teacher that can also take on math and science classes. Trying to entice teachers to the North Peace is an ongoing issue for the district. “Over the years we’ve developed strategies in recruiting around Northern Saskatchewan, and northern Ontario— places where winter doesn’t scare you,” said Sloan. See SCHOOL on A9
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The city of Fort St. John is working on regulations for adult entertainment venues within city limits. Back in the spring, council directed city staff to provide more information about changes to zoning bylaws regarding “adult entertainment,” which included a new definition of adult entertainment, clarification on the “grandfathering” of businesses in connection to liquor licenses, indentifying where those businesses should be located, and consultation with primary liquor license holders. Staff submitted a new definition of “adult entertainment,” which states “any exotic dancing, or sexually explicit performance, including but not limited to striptease performance.” Belly dancers are not considered adult entertainment under the definition. There are 19 licensed businesses in Fort St. John that have the potential for adult entertainment. The city reached out to all of them, four responded and met with staff. Overall, they felt the issue was important with mixed levels of concern about impact to participants, and that it was important for city to be fair and open-minded in its review. Staff listed four options for where adult entertainment venues could set up shop in the city, most being on the south side of the highway. Business owners raised concerns about safety and enforcement issues by having all adult venues in one area. A public hearing will take place on Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. at city hall in order to get input from residents on the issue.
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