THURSDAY, january 17, 2019 Vol. A-75, No. 3
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Anne Young, region’s first nurse, tops the list of new school name suggestions matt preprost
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School District 60 received more than 70 public submissions about a name for Fort St. John’s new elementary school, and pioneer nurse Anne Young was top among the suggestions. The two-storey, $31.1-million school is under construction across from the hospital, and has been given the temporary name of Northeast Elementary. Trustees will choose a formal, permanent name as per district protocol, and public input is part of the process. The school’s proximity to the hospital meant a good chunk of suggestions from the public were of local doctors and nurses, Superintendent Dave Sloan said. “We’re right across the street from the hospital and birthing
centre. There’s a strong tie,” Sloan said. Anne (Roberts) Young was the first registered nurse stationed in the North Peace, arriving from England in 1930 to work at the Grandhaven Red Cross Outpost Hospital. She married farmer and postmaster Jim Young of Rose Prairie, and continued working as a nurse after her move to that community, often travelling by horseback and through severe weather to see patients. She delivered more than 300 babies during her 25year career in the region. That said, the school district received a wide gamut of name suggestions to consider, ranging from local individuals and families, to geographic locations, to cultural references, Sloan said. District staff are narrowing down the list, which will be presented to board trustees at
their January meeting. Individual name suggestions ranged from Sir Alexander Mackenzie, the first explorer to travel through the region, to Frank Beatton, the clerk for the Hudson’s Bay Company at Old Fort St. John. Ross H. MacLean, a businessman and founder of minor hockey in Fort St. John, was also suggested as a name, as was Dr. William Watt, recently retired after 41 years of service. Schooly McSchoolface was suggested several times. Geographical name suggestions included Beatton Heights, North Knoll, Fort St. John Heritage, Nature’s Horizon, Peace Foothills, and Northern Lights. Others suggested a range of Dane-Zaa phrases and words such as Dreamer and Beaver to recognize First Nations history in the region.
PRRD, province to meet on caribou Thursday matt preprost & AUSTIN COZICAR editor@ahnfsj.ca
The Peace River Regional District will host a provincial delegation a special meeting about caribou Thursday, January 17. Mark Zacharias, BC Deputy Minister of Environment, and Dave Nikolejsin, BC Deputy Minister of Energy, Mines & Petroleum Resources, will be in attendance and making a presentation to the board. Board chair Brad Sperling says it will be open to the public. “It’s an open meeting,”
says Sperling. “They actually offered to come up and present to us, because of what’s been going on over the caribou.” The meeting takes place at 10 a.m. in the regional district office boardroom in Dawson Creek. It comes after a planned meeting between governments and First Nations to discuss caribou recovery plans in Northeast B.C. was cancelled last week. The Resource Municipalities Coalition planned to host a roundtable discussion in Fort St. John on Jan. 11 to give the provincial officials and West
Moberly and Saulteau leaders a chance to speak about the plan and how to balance the need for caribou recovery with the region’s economy. “At this time, without a draft agreement in place, the federal government, provincial government prefer to not discuss this issue,” the Coalition said in a news release Tuesday, January 8. “The West Moberly and Saulteau First Nations are willing to have an open discussion with stakeholders as soon as all sides are willing.”
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Members of the Wet’suwet’en who are opposed to the $6.2-billion Coastal GasLink pipeline have every right to protest the project, Premier John Horgan says. But as far as his government is concerned, the elected band councils – including those in Wet’suwet’en territory – that signed benefits agreements had authority to sign those agreements and the project has met all conditions, including First Nations consent. “We recognize the rights of individuals to protest,” Horgan said at a Wednesday, January 9 press conference. “We recognize the rights of those across the country who wanted to voice their concerns about this project. However, it has been my view that LNG Canada has shown they understand the importance of consultation and meaningful reconciliation with First Nations, and that’s why they have signed agreements with every First Nation along the corridor.” Horgan addressed media after his minister of forests, Doug Donaldson, came under fire for what looked like support for hereditary chiefs who are opposed to the project, raising questions over whether the NDP government supports the elected or unelected leaders. Some hereditary chiefs participated in roadblocks that were broken up January 7, when RCMP enforced an injunction and arrested 14 protesters. Donaldson was pictured meeting with some of them prior to the RCMP taking action. The Liberals said Donaldson had not only met with them, but had offered support for the hereditary leaders, which was seen as taking sides against the elected Wet’suwet’en leaders who support the project. Horgan said Donaldson is the MLA for that region, and that it was therefore appropriate for him to meet with constituents “one last time” before the injunction was enforced. “I believe if you’re going to find a solution, you need to have a dialogue, and who better than the local MLA to be there before the RCMP enforce the order to hear one last time what the concerns were?” Horgan said. The protest camp is located in the Nechako Lakes riding, represented by BC Liberal MLA John Rustad. See PIPELINE on A10
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