THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017 Vol. 74, No. 11
Serving Fort St. John, B.C. and Surrounding Communities
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Fort St. John speed skater Heather McCracken took the gold in her age class at the 26th Masters Allround Games last weekend at the Pomeroy Sport Centre. The event saw masters-level competitors from around the world descend on Fort St. John—including one skater who is deaf and blind. Turn to B1 to read more.
Syrian families reunited in Fort St. John matt preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca
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After a year of much anticipation, two Syrian refugee families have reunited in Fort St. John. The Charlie Lake Community Church welcomed the arrival of Naim Techikha, his wife Amal, and their two young daughters Christina and Karlen at the North Peace Regional Airport Monday night. Salwa Techikha and her daughter Hilda Barkho were sponsored by the church and arrived here last year, but had to wait for their relatives as paperwork was processed. Naim Techikha was all smiles to see his family arrive in good health and high spirits after some 20 hours of travel from Lebanon to Fort St. John. “I’m feeling much better now,” he said through a translator. “It’s a new experience and we’re looking forward to continuing it.”
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The Charlie Lake Community Church welcomed the arrival of Naim Techikha and his wife Amal and their young daughters Christina and Karlen Monday night. From left: Salwa Techikha and Hilda Barkho, who arrived in the Peace last year, and Christina, Karlen, Amal, and Naim, who arrived Monday night.
The two families fled the civil war in Syria four years ago, and left their home in Hasakah, a corner of the country that was
home to a large Christian population. But because they were Christians, they weren’t allowed into refugee camps, and lived
together in Lebanon until being sponsored by the church as refugees. See FAMILY on A7
PRRD to sign contracts for new 911, fire dispatch services matt preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca
Peace River Regional District directors voted to sign contracts that will see 911 answering and fire dispatch services move to the Lower Mainland. The move authorizes board chair Brad Sperling and district CAO Chris Cvik to sign a five-year contract with E-
Comm, based in Vancouver, to handle primary 911 answering services for the region. The company was the only one to respond to a request for proposals in 2016 and will handle initial 911 calls that are then transferred to fire, police, or ambulance dispatch services depending on the nature of the call. The district anticipates sav-
ings of $1.56 million over five years on that contract, compared to North District RCMP service costs out of Prince George, which have jumped 55 per cent over the last six years. The transition date is expected May 17, 2017, and regional district staff continue to work with E-Comm and other stakeholders on how to handle oil and gas-related calls, accord-
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ing to a administrative report. The board also authorized Sperling and Cvik to sign a five-year contract with the North Island 911 Corporation to handle fire dispatch services for the region’s 11 fire departments. See FIRE DISPATCH on A4
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