alaska highway news THURSDAY, nov. 7, 2019 | VOL. A-75 NO. 45
$1.50 incl. gst celebrating
75 years
FORT ST. JOHN NEWS | BUSINESS | POLITICS | SPORTS | ARTS | est. 1944 taylor hill
world records
lest we forget
Millions more to be spent to stabilize the South Taylor Hill
Fort St. John powerlifter Rob Nikoleychuk impresses in Slovakia
Historian Larry Evans on the Seven who didn’t return home
NEWS h A3
sports h b1
community h A11
a good day
When You Are Out in the Field, Time IS Money.
Sarah Byford, 8, drew the design for this golf towel as part of her fundraiser to help sick kids through the Fort St. John Hospital Foundation and Ronald McDonald House. Byford lives in Taylor and stayed in RMH after undergoing heart surgery. She said she’s giving back to see sick kids smile, and “so they can be able to fulfill their dreams.” She hopes to raise at least $2,500, to be split between the two charities, at a fundraiser at the Taylor Community Hall on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019.
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Pictured: Byford with Niki Hedges, executive director, Fort St. John Hospital Foundation
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U YOUR AD COULD BE HERE Reach 10,391 homes and businesses in Fort St. John and surrounding area
: For all the news we couldn’t fit into print: alaskahighwaynews.ca
‘Desecrated’: Family pushes for cemetery changes Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca A Fort St. John family is calling for changes to the city’s cemetery bylaw, saying workers “desecrated” their decades-old family plot by tearing down their handcrafted memorial without notice or permission. Patricia Dyck and her family were shocked last week to discover city workers had torn down the wooden cross and fence that marked the grave of her parents, Amy and Clarence Letendre, as well as her baby sister, Tracy. The plot at the Fort St. John Cemetery on 100 Avenue has been in the family for 50 years, Dyck said, when her sister was first buried there after dying in childbirth, and when the cemetery was run by the Catholic Church. Her parents were later buried in the same plot, most recently her father last year. “Every time I drive by, I look every single time. It’s right next to the road,” Dyck said. “I chose that word really carefully when I said they desecrated our plot. It’s a strong word and I totally meant it.” Dyck’s husband and her
matt preprost photo
City workers were quick to resod and reinstall the Letendre family grave site at the Fort St. John Cemetery last week after tearing down the family’s handcrafted memorial.
late father built and installed the cross to mark the grave nine years ago when her mother died and was buried there. The cross was made from treated cedar and which had a family picture set into the varnished wood. The plot had long been bordered by a wooden fence and filled with rock, and had been maintained through years of vandalism, she said. But Dyck’s husband noticed the cross was missing when he drove by the cem-
etery on Wednesday, she said. Further inspection found the entire memorial was removed and all that was left was a patch of dirt, Dyck said. The family was told by the city’s public works department that the memorial was removed as part of a council crackdown on bylaws, Dyck said. The family was provided no notice, said Dyck, who took her family’s concerns to social media. That prompted a swift public backlash against the city, which quickly back-
tracked and sent out workers to resod the plot and put the grave marker back in its place. “They violated it,” Dyck said. “This issue is so personal to everybody. It’s not something you can brush off.” The city’s cemetery bylaw states memorials must be made of either granite or bronze — marble and wood aren’t allowed. It also gives the cemetery caretaker permission to remove “alternative landscaping or non-permanent adornments,” among other provisions. The city asks residents to remove any non-permanent ornaments, such as flowers, by October 1 of each year to avoid being damaged by winter maintenance. Dyck isn’t sure why the memorial was suddenly removed after all these years without issue. But, the bylaw needs to change so families can personalize their memorials and mourn in their own ways, she said. “A wooden cross that was handmade, hand built with love, that’s way too personal I guess,” Dyck said. “There are many municipalities in B.C., in this country, that do not have bylaws like this.” Continued on A3
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