THURSDAY, july 12, 2018 Vol. 75, No. 28
Serving Fort St. John, B.C. and Surrounding Communities
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rolling and tumbling
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splashing into summer
Randolph Byron Dunlop
Convicted rapist may have more victims: police
When You Are Out in the Field, Time IS Money. QUALITY PARTS, EXPERT SERVICE! matt preprost Photo
It was a hot and sunny day as city councillors and local Rotarians cut the ribbon on the new and improved Rotary Spray Park on Friday, July 6, 2018. Pictured, from left: Coun. Larry Evans, Sunrise Rotary rep Neale Skauge, Coun. Trevor Bolin, Mayor Lori Ackerman, Coun. Gord Klassen, Rotary Club President Raven Pruden, and MLA Dan Davies. More on A3.
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Eco-retreat set for this weekend
Centennial Park redevelopment set to begin Fort St. John city councillors awarded a $5.5-million contract to redevelop Centennial Park to Northern Legendary Construction on Monday. The company, based in Fort St. John, was the lowest bidder for the work. The park will include a new permanent stage and festival plaza, along with an inclusive playground, a pedestrian lane way, garden, and public washrooms. It also includes the recently refurbished spray park, which opened in June. “I’m pleased to see this is moving forward,” Mayor Lori Ackerman said. The work is planned to start in August, with completion expected in spring of 2020.
Cannabis zoning rules get public hearing July 23 New rules to allow cannabis retail entrepreneurs to do business in Fort St. John go to a public hearing July 23 at 6 p.m. Council gave the first two readings of zoning amendments on Monday that would allow cannabis retail stores to operate only in downtown core commercial zones, based on a recommendation from the RCMP. The proposed amendments would setback stores 200 metres from schools and 100 metres from parks, with no setbacks between stores. Coun. Trevor Bolin recused himself from the matter, citing a conflict of interest due to his real estate business. The meeting will be held in council chambers.
The rejected design for a new Fort St. John coat of arms.
Coat of arms plan scrapped Fort St. John city councillors have abandoned plans for a new coat of arms. The decision was made during Monday’s council meeting, with Coun. Gord Klassen motioning to abandon the project. “This was a project that we’ve struggled with for quite some time: how do you find something that is symbolic of a very robust and diverse community?” Mayor Lori Ackerman said. “It is truly something that really should have taken a lot more conversation before it even started.” “If future councils want to take a look at this they can bring it forward,” Ackerman added. The proposed design was drafted to replace the city’s original, unregistered coat of arms dating back to the mid 1970s. That coat of arms was selected by a blind vote from council at the time following a public contest. The new design was subject to much criticism from the community on social media after it was made public, and even from council itself on Monday.
Eco-homesteads, wild edibles, medicinal plant identification, and permaculture networks are just a few the topics on offer July 14 and 15 at Cameron Lake, courtesy of the Boreal Centre for Sustainability, a Moberly Lake based non-profit. “The retreat is an attempt to bring people together that are involved in food security and what we would call eco-living, people who want learn how to plan their homestead,” said Reg Whiten, a local resource stewardship agrologist who founded the society in 2000. Saturday’s activities will focus on eco-homesteads and building a permaculture network. “What that really means is that you’re trying to maximize the values from pieces of land, looking at where you can grow herbs, small scale animal husbandry, and how you can tie in other crops,” said Whiten, noting it’s all based on an understanding of land management through agroecology. Sunday will feature a guided medicine plant walk with Elder David Daniels. A residential school survivor, Daniels was born on Long Plain Reserve in Manitoba and comes from a long line of traditional healers. An interpretive trail has been established by the group, marking a variety of local vegetation — soapberries, cranberries, horsetails and much more, says Whiten, adding the signs are written in Cree, English, and Latin. Got a green thumb? Looking to build your own eco -homestead? Those interested are encouraged to register at borealcentre@gmail.com or check out their Facebook page for more details. — Tom Summer
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A Grande Prairie man has been convicted for a decades-old sexual assault in Fort St. John, but police believe he may be responsible for similar, unsolved crimes. Randolph Byron Dunlop, 60, was found guilty and sentenced to eight years in jail for sexual assault with a weapon, break and enter, and forcible confinement on March 23, Fort St. John RCMP announced last week. Dunlop was wearing a mask and carrying a gun when he broke into a stranger’s home in Fort St. John in 1994, tied up a woman and sexually assaulted her. Dunlop had cut phone lines to the home before breaking in, according to police. RCMP say they were able to connect Dunlop to the crime 20 years later through DNA evidence, and he was arrested at his home in Grande Prairie in 2014. RCMP say they are working with authorities in Alberta to determine whether Dunlop is responsible for similar investigations that remain unsolved. They have released his image to help their investigation. Dunlop was known to have worked in the Fort St. John area in the 1990s, police say. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 250-787-8100.
New plea issued in unsolved hit-and-run Fort St. John RCMP are appealing the public for help solving a three-year-old fatal hit-and-run in Halfway River First Nation. The 46-year-old woman was struck and killed by a vehicle on Road 5 on April 5, 2015, shortly after 10 p.m. The woman was pronounced dead after emergency crews arrived, and the driver did not stay at the scene. The investigation continues. “Every piece of information can help the investigative team and we encourage you to contact the police,” Cst. Amy Floyd, North District Traffic Services, said. The victim hasn’t been identified. Have information? Call police at 250-787-8100, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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