THURSDAY, February 1, 2018 Vol. 75, No. 5
Serving Fort St. John, B.C. and Surrounding Communities
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Ma Murray catchment approved
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Crews inspect the damage to Totem Mall on Jan. 29, 2018.
The Totem Mall is tallying up the damage after a vehicle smashed through three different sections of the building early Monday morning. Mall officials say they were called around 3 a.m. after the vehicle targeted the west side of the mall, causing extensive damage to the exterior and interior of some stores. There were no injuries, according to Bentall Kennedy, which manages the property. “Given the resulting structural damage sustained and impacts to the property’s utilities, we will be closing Totem Mall until all required repairs are complete,” said Rob Schlitt, the mall’s general manager, in a statement. “Once Totem Mall has been cleared to resume service, we will inform the public.”
Police, clean up crews, and insurance adjusters were on scene throughout Monday. The mall was closed Tuesday for utility repairs, however, Schlitt was hopeful to reopen the doors on Wednesday. Fort St. John RCMP have not responded to media requests. It’s unknown if there is surveillance footage of the incident, or whether a suspect or suspects have been arrested. A spokesman for Apollo Avenue Sunglasses and Watches said crews are still assessing the damage to their store, and could not immediately say whether any inventory had been stolen. A spokesperson for the Michael So Jewellery store could not be reached for comment. Some businesses at the mall not impacted by the incident
YMCA to operate new daycare
tion cared for more than 550 children in 10 daycares across the north, according to the release.
The YMCA of Northern B.C. has been chosen to operate the new daycare at Margaret ‘Ma’ Murray Community School. The 37-space daycare is scheduled to open this summer after construction of the school is complete. “School District 60 is pleased to partner with the YMCA of Northern BC to bring much needed daycare facilities to Fort St. John,” board chair Erin Evans said in a statement. “The YMCA has an exemplary record for providing outstanding childcare experience for over 40 years in Northern B.C., and we look forward to our partnership in providing services to children and families.” This will be the YMCA of Northern B.C.’s first presence in Fort St. John, according to a news release distributed at Monday night’s meeting of school board trustees. In 2016, the organiza-
See YMCA on A4
Weaver, Horgan ocean apart on liquefied nat gas B.C.’s GreeNDP alliance leaders found themselves on either side of the world, and on either side of the province’s LNG debate last week. Speaking from his 10-day trade mission in Asia Jan. 26, Premier John Horgan told reporters that he spoke with representatives at Korea Gas Corporation and PetroChina – two partners in B.C.’s LNG Canada joint venture – about his government’s LNG strategy. He also stated that he will “first and foremost” be taking advice on the issue from the “legions” of public servants with experience on the file. See LNG on A16
remained open, Schlitt said, including the movie theatre, Winners, Staples, and the north end of the mall including Panago, Enform, Pet Valu, and M&M Meats. The mall has been a frequent target of vandals and thieves over the last several years. In 2017, a 17-year-old boy was arrested after driving a truck through the front entrance of Warehouse One, as well as through another business in town. In 2016, police arrested and charged three people in connection to a 2013 smash-andgrab break-in that saw more than $40,000 in damages and more than $19,000 in goods stolen. That case continues to make its way through the courts.
Site C audit a work in progress B.C.’s Auditor General still has the Site C dam on her mind, but what aspects of the $10.7-billion project she plans to review are still up in the air. In a coverage plan released Jan. 24, Carol Bellringer listed Site C as one of 35 future projects she plans to tackle between now and 2020. Bellringer had put an audit of the dam on hold last August after the new NDP government ordered a utilities commission review of the project’s need and costs. That review is done, but a further audit of the dam — the most expensive public infrastructure project in B.C. history — remains a priority, Bellringer said. “We need some time to determine where we can offer the most value, given the complexity of the project and our limited resources,” she said.
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See SITE C on A16
School District 60 is ending the English program at Ecole Central Elementary as it looks to populate the new Margaret ‘Ma’ Murray Community School. Trustees approved Monday night student catchment boundaries for the the new school being built in Sunset Ridge. The catchment will see students from Clairmont, Grandhaven, Fish Creek, Old Fort, and much of southwest Fort St. John populate the new K-6 school when it opens for classes in the fall, and thin out populations at CM Finch, Ecole Central, Charlie Lake, and Bert Ambrose schools, each of them crunched for space and in need of immediate relief. The catchment also eliminates the English program at Ecole Central, which will become a single-track French immersion school. The catchment reflects feedback from the public, and was made with the district’s education and logistical planning needs in mind, superintendent Dave Sloan said. “The shrinking nature of the Central English program indicates that program ultimately would need to be incorporated into other schools, if not at this opportunity, then in the very near future,” Sloan said. A school locator map is expected to be made available through the district’s website as soon as it becomes available. The district will be cleaning up some of the boundaries as first presented, as the original plan cut through some laneways instead of frontage streets, Sloan said. Depending on where they live within the former catchment, English program students at Ecole Central will have options to attend Ma Murray, Duncan Cran, or Robert Ogilvie schools, the district says. The district, meanwhile, is working with its transportation department to ensure bus pickup at Central for English students in its immediate catchment, around 63 of them. More than a third of the school’s English students live out of catchment due to variance or overcapacity issues, Sloan said. “It’s going to take staff a little bit to process the decision,” Sloan said. See MA MURRAY on A12
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