ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2022 | PEOPLE’S CHOICE | A5
ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2022 | NEWS | A7
Community Living enjoys green summer Tom Summer tsummer@ahnfsj.ca The Fort St. John Association for Community Living is enjoying another successful summer of gardening. Aquaponics have been installed at their indoor green space located downtown, extending the growing season for their Growing Connections program. And sheep are still living happily at one of the association’s two Baldonnel farm locations, with produce being grown at the second for the farmer’s market. Executive director Joseph Lang says the ACL has been enjoying the season, with gardening remaining a huge opportunity for meaningful social interactions and inclusion. “We’re doing good, lots of partici-
pation and individuals are enjoying it,” Lang said. A large fish farm now occupies the green space, stocked with goldfish providing nutrients for herbs and other vegetables, and with kale and other goodies almost ready for harvest. The fish have all been named by members with the ACL, furthering the community spirit and camaraderie shared by everyone. “It’s our first year of the aquaponics, and it’s going well – learning how to grow indoors and doing education around ecosystems and how it all works together. Hopefully local farmers take an interest in it, given the short season,” said Lang. “If anyone has questions, they can certainly give us a call.” — Local Journalism Initiative
TOM SUMMER/FORT ST. JOHN ASSOCIATION FOR COMMUNITY LIVING PHOTOS
Above, Alex Coutts, Whitney Troyer, and Jenelle Russell making sure their sheep get plenty of affection at the ACL’s Baldonnel farm. At left, some veggies at the Growing Connections green space, fed by the association’s new aquaponics system.
ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2022 | OP-ED | A11
Smart Money: What successful financial planning looks like
I
am seriously considering a bigticket luxury purchase. And the nice thing about not having a spouse is that there is nobody to tell me I can’t buy it. Is this a mid-life crisis? I don’t know, and I don’t care. But I had someone say to me, “Aren’t I worried that people will think the wrong thing?” There are three reasons, which I will share in order of importance, why that does not bother me one bit. First, and probably least important, is that I am not trying to impress anyone. I am considering this purchase for me, not for what others think. Second, and more important from the client’s perspective, it may be a lousy criteria to choose which financial professional to work with based on that professional’s lifestyle. This goes both ways, either choosing to work with someone, or choosing not to work with someone. Here’s what I mean. Let’s say you based your choice of financial professional on the type of house that the advisor lives in or the type of car that they drive. Warren Buffett is the World’s Greatest Investor and one of the wealthiest humans to exist on earth, ever. But for years he lived in a modest house in Omaha, Nebraska, and drove a second-hand Volvo. Imagine choosing to pass over an opportunity to invest with Buffett because he did not drive a flashy car. Big mistake. On the other hand, if your advisor drives a Ferrari that doesn’t make them a good advisor. It doesn’t necessarily even mean that they are good with their own money. There are plenty of examples of people who live an expensive lifestyle, but don’t have actual wealth, or even financial security. We call this situation “big hat, no cattle.” But both these reasons are secondary. The real reason that I am not worried about what people think about me as a financial advisor if I make a big-ticket luxury purchase is that anyone who did think along those lines is completely missing the
BRAD BRAIN point of financial planning. The essence of financial planning is doing the things that you need to do in order to be in a position to do the things that you want to do. So, yes, after being careful with my money for three decades I can afford nice things. Thirty years of planning and achieving good returns on my investments adds up. I am not apologetic about that. As an advisor I see people do reckless things with their money all the time. They raid their retirement savings for a trip to Disneyland. They take equity out of their house to buy an expensive, but depreciating, toy that they will seldom use. Here’s the vital difference. If I do move forward with my big-ticket luxury purchase, and at this point I think that may be inevitable, I won’t need to give up anything important. I won’t need to dip into my retirement savings or my kid’s education fund. I don’t need to cash in my TFSA. I would be spending a little bit of my kid’s future inheritance and I am totally fine with that. There would still be more than enough left over for them when I eventually go. Buying nice things at this stage of my life is not reckless. Reckless would be buying big ticket luxury items 30 years ago. Buying nice things now is not irresponsible. It is harvesting the seeds that I planted many years ago. That’s what successful financial planning looks like. Brad Brain, CFP, R.F.P., CIM, TEP is a Certified Financial Planner in Fort St John, BC. This material is prepared for general circulation and may not reflect your individual financial circumstances. Brad can be reached at www.bradbrainfinancial.com.
Happy 50th to the Hadlands By Ruby McBeth
L
aurel and Arthur Hadland had their 50th wedding anniversary on July 29. On August 14 they will celebrate at their home in Baldonnel with friends invited to join them between 1 and 5 pm.
SENIORS HALL picking them; Lorne shells them while I freeze beans, yellow zucchini, and swiss chard, and the shelled peas. The one thing I was not successful at (again) this year was growing cucumbers. Maybe next year.
SENIORS’ CLUB SENIORS GAMES The Seniors’ Hall is now open to its new normal. The table tennis and pool players now share the table tennis room, and the Metis Society has moved into what was formerly the pool room. The floor in the main room was completed on July 18. It will be available for floor curling on August 18 by which time the floor will be “seasoned.” TRIP SOUTH Our second trip to the Okanagan this year included an abrupt change of plans when halfway through my drum week Lorne ended up in the Vernon Jubilee Hospital. He was very well cared for and is now much recovered. The prescribed medications appear to be doing their job. We had visits with old ski friends Ross and Linda Pomeroy and Jesse and Joanne Kosick while Lorne was in hospital. A week after we got back, we had a low-key celebration with family for our 50th wedding anniversary and Lorne’s birthday. GARDENING With the rains this spring our gardens have done well. The peas are especially good. This past week we have been busy
The next Seniors’ Games meeting is Wednesday August 17 at 11 a.m. at the Seniors Hall in Fort St. John. FALL FAIR NEWS There are two free buses to take seniors out to the Fall Fair on August 20. Bus one leaves from North Peace Secondary School at 10 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 1:45 p.m.; Bus two leaves the Seniors’ Hall at 10:30 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 2:15 p.m. Register with Laura Beamish 250-785-8880 to receive a voucher for an entrance fee and refreshments. LEARNING THE LINGO This week’s term is “screen time out.” I was bothered by my phone turning off quickly. I would have to constantly type in my password. A helpful lady at the Telus office in the mall told me to go to settings, then display, and finally screen time out. I could then choose a longer period of time. My screen no longer times out after 30 seconds. Ruby McBeth lives and writes in Fort St. John.
SUPPLIED PHOTOS
Teresita Pagatpatan retired in 1997 after a 30-year career helping young mothers and nurturing new families in Fort St. John and the North Peace. She passed July 23 after a brief battle with cancer.
A fixture of maternity ward From the front page Pagatpatan was lovingly known as Mama Tess, or Auntie Tess, and Ramos said her focus was always her family even though she didn’t have children of her own. Ramos said family, friends, and many new mothers in the community will remember her Mama Tess for being humble and compassionate. “I think that was her dream job… she liked to be a midwife and to work in maternity. She liked babies,” Ramos said. “She didn’t get married and that’s why she loved to take care and look after babies, and other people. She just wanted to help.” Fort St. John residents Joan and Larry Evans recalled Pagatpatan as a “fixture of the maternity ward” who was on duty during their birth of their three kids. “She was the kindest nurse,” said Joan. “She was very compassionate, very kind to the new moms.” The Evans said they later got to know Pagatpatan outside the hospital and in the community through family and mutual friends. “You couldn’t meet a better nurse,” said Larry. “Decades later, she would see you someplace and she would remember that you had been in the hospital and she had been the nurse,” added Joan. “Some people you meet you just don’t ever forget their name. Tessie is
just one you would never forget.” Castrillo-Hill, of the Fil-Can Association, is working on a documentary series about the local Filipino community, now the fastest growing immigrant population in Fort St. John. She first met Pagatpatan in 2009 when she was visiting here as a tourist. The association was putting on a show at the Lido and asked if she could help, an occasion that would later honour Mama Tess as the first Filipino-Canadian in Fort St. John. Castrillo-Hill said many people have been touched and are mourning her passing. She will remember Pagatpatan as someone who was always smiling and always giving, an “exemplary human that set an example for others.” “The ones that are old-timers here, I always feel very grateful for them and I think every single Filipino should feel grateful, especially to people to people like Mama Tess,” said Castrillo-Hill, “and especially for people who came as workers, because if the people who came in the 60s or 70s didn’t show good examples of being good workers, I don’t think anybody would have hired Filipinos. “The kind of reputation they established and the kind of work ethics that they had that gave them those reputations, I think, are very instrumental, and growing the community,” she said.
Agri-conference set for 2023 Dave Lueneberg sports@ahnfsj.ca It’s being billboarded as the first annual, of what organizers hope, will become a yearly and regionally-participated event. The Agro Connect Conference and Agricultural Market is being planned for the weekend of February 11-12, 2023 in Dawson Creek. “About four years ago, I had the idea to put on this market. Essentially, what I wanted to do was to provide a platform,” explained event organizer Natasha Cortes. “We have lots of farms, microfarms, lots of new agriculture popping up in our area and I wanted to bridge our farmers with our community by way of a market...strengthening that connection.” But the concept has since grown. “As I started to chat with some other people, with Fran and Sue at Community Futures, we thought it would be great to bring in an educational and networking aspect.” Cortes is a big-believer of food security and another reason why she feels the conference and market is important to have. “Obviously, over the last couple of years, it has been more on the minds of people, especially where their food is coming from.” The two-day event will feature different panel discussions – one of those, she said, will be on alternative energy sources like wind, solar, and geo-thermal. “We’ll also be doing a session on alternative growing,” Cortes said. “Focusing on things like vertical growing...perma-culture. Our other panel will be on agri-tourism. I know
we have had some farmers who have done a ‘bang up’ job. They’re pretty humble, when talking to them, but it’s something we haven’t focused on as a region. I would love to see it flourish.” The conference and market has already garnered the support of two local councils. “We think this is a very positive and great idea. Obviously, agriculture has always been that foundational industry for all of us,” said Dawson Creek mayor Dale Bumstead. “Innovative, creative, agricultural food production is always good.” Taylor mayor Rob Fraser agrees. “It’s a great opportunity for the producers in the area to come together and start talking about the agricultural industry, as a whole, in the region,” said Fraser, who believes there’s a potential for a burgeoning horticultural industry here in the Peace. “Particularly, vegetables (grown) locally, to add more food security. I think there’s a market north of Taylor...Fort St. John, even up into the Yukon and Alaska. If we can sell tomatoes here from Israel, surely we can sell tomatoes from Taylor.” Organizers have asked for, and will receive letters of support, from both Dawson Creek and Taylor councils as it looks to secure additional regional, provincial, and federal funding for the event.
: For all the news we couldn’t fit into print: alaskahighwaynews.ca
ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
A12 | NEWS | THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2022
Health care system ‘at risk of imploding upon itself ’ Dave Lueneberg sports@ahnfsj.ca
DAVE LUENEBERG PHOTO
B.C. Liberal leader Kevin Falcon with Child Development Centre executive director Tana Millner during a tour of the Fort St. John facility July 28, 2022. Peace River North MLA Dan Davies is also seen in the background.
Hot weather and your vehicle Dave Lueneberg sports@ahnfsj.ca With temperatures peaking into the 30s last month, the last place you want to be is stuck on the side of a highway. The owner of one Peace Country repair shop is making some simple suggestions to avoid being that person. “Definitely, you want to make sure your cooling system is working properly,” recommends Sheldon Sears with SS Automotive in South Taylor. The type of anti-freeze used is equally as important. “You go by the colour the manufacturer recommends because there is a difference between diesel and gas (powered engines) with some good for 100- to 160,000-kilometre intervals. You just need to look for which one your vehicle requires.” Sears encourages motorists to check their owner’s manual to see the specifications. Another important feature of your vehicle at this time of year is air conditioning. One tell tale sign, he says, is just how cold the air is blowing from through the vents. “If you’re comfortable in the vehicle at 30 degrees and you have to turn it down, that’s generally when it’s
working good,” Sears says. “If you have to have it at full blast all the time and you’re barely keeping up with it, it’s not keeping you cool, then generally there’s an issue. There’s a low charge or something along those lines.” “You also never want to open the radiator cap under any circumstances if it is overheating,” he warns. “If there is overheating, you will get boiling out of your rad cap.” Another good practice, but really only as a temporary stop gap measure should you find yourself driving in a remote area and your car or truck starts to heat up – turn on the heater. While it will blow hot air into your face, it will cool the engine. While suggested, it should really only be done after you’ve pulled over and done a quick visual check of the engine. “You’re going to want to check your hoses. Check for leaks. Make sure you’re good on that end,” adds Sears. A really good rule of thumb, though, is to always have coolant or anti-freeze safely stored in your vehicle and isolated from pets if they travel with you. While we aren’t all mechanically-inclined, Sears believes keeping up on maintenance is key to avoiding potential problems.
“Absolutely! You want to keep up on your intervals. Oil, for example. Sometimes the manufacturer’s recommendations are not what they should be. If you’re doing your oil changes just ‘cause the light comes on in your dash, it’s not necessarily the time. It should have been done, maybe, prior to that because of our climate here with more extreme lows and highs than some places have.” Not enough engine oil can also affect the temperature of the engine just as much as having too much. Finally, Sears suggests keeping a close eye on the amount of air in your tires, especially with the current heatwave. “Your tires are going to get hotter so you’re going to want to definitely have them to what your manufacturer recommends, which is printed inside the driver’s door.” He points out low tire pressure can impact the way a vehicle functions including fuel economy, and, with the price of gas and diesel, it’s an added incentive, he believes, to have them properly inflated. “You want to make sure you’re definitely not too low because you’re going to be sucking the fuel back pretty good.”
SUBMITTED PHOTO
WO Justin Armishaw in summer dress at Vernon Cadet Training Centre.
Local cadet braces the heat 2Lt Naima Said Contributed Warrant Officer Justin Armishaw belongs to 2276 Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) Royal Canadian Army Cadets (RCAC) in Fort St. John. The recent secondary school graduate is in Vernon as a staff member, a long journey from his time as a trainee in
pre-pandemic 2016. WO Armishaw enjoys the teamwork, marksmanship training, and leadership skills he has soaked up in the past six years. The pandemic did not deter this young trainee as he has proven to be resilient, working in Vernon this summer with the hottest temperatures recorded in nearly 90 years. A future Regimental Ser-
geant Major (RSM) in his home Corps, WO Armishaw has decided to enlist in the Canadian Armed Forces as a member of the PPCLI in Edmonton once his Cadet career comes to an end. For the Northern B.C. youth and beyond, the Cadet programme offers the chance to improve oneself, develop strength and persevere in a positive environment.
The leader of B.C.’s Liberal party believes the province’s health care system is not only crumbling, it’s at risk of imploding upon itself. Kevin Falcon interviewed, during a visit to Fort St. John July 28, stated he’s more concerned than ever before over its current status. “What I care about is a health care system that works and is delivering for patients,” he said. Responding to a question over private versus public health care, and the highlypublicized court case challenge by a Vancouver doctor over the current formula, Falcon quickly pointed out it’s nothing new. “Don’t get caught up in the myth. We’ve always had a two-tiered health care system. It’s called a plane ticket,” he said to the Alaska Highway News. “Believe me, people with money are flying and they’re getting health care around the world. Down south, India, China, you name it. So, it’s already been happening.” If chosen in 2024, or whenever the next election is called, he said his government will “innovate like crazy” under what, he called, a universally publicly-funded system. “Our entire dental system is delivered privately and I
note with more efficiency than the public system that we have right now,” he added. “I just want to make sure we focus on the best interests of patients, and I am open to absolutely all ideas how we can deliver better services.” The party’s current health care critic is northern MLA and former interim party leader Shirley Bond. Like in her home community of Prince George, Bond heard the same concerns throughout the Liberal’s road show to the Northeast. “The lack of physicians. The lack of locums, so that physicians can get the opportunity to care for themselves,” she said. “That’s why we’ve proposed a 30-day action plan to the (current) government – here are some important steps you can take. We have heard nothing back.” While not a quick fix, Bond feels it all begins with primary care. “We need to make sure British Columbians have access to a family physician. So, it starts with not only recruiting but training more doctors. There’s a whole bunch of things this government should be taking action on.” The Liberals will have the chance the debate this issue, and other concerns they heard during their tour of the Peace Country, when MLAs return to the legislature Oct. 3.
Dual credits for ECE Fort St. John high school students considering a career in early childhood education are among those benefiting from a new dual credit system being rolled out across the province. In a release last Thursday, the Ministry of Education and Child Care said 30 new dual credit programs are being introduced at participating school districts and post-secondary institutions, backed by $5.25 million in provincial and federal funding. In the Peace River North school district, the program is being offered through an online course in partnership with Northern Lights College that started in February 2022, and is being followed by five additional courses to begin in September, according to the ministry. The ministry says the province is anticipating more than 10,000 new job openings for certified ECEs and assistants in the coming decade. “There is a strong need for early childhood educators now and in the coming decade, and that’s why we are working to give high school
students who are interested in a career as an ECE an opportunity to get a head start on their post-secondary studies,” education minister Jennifer Whiteside said in a statement. “High school students who complete dual-credit courses are more likely to graduate on time and transition to post-secondary education, leading to better career opportunities, while also helping develop our province’s workforce in the early childhood education sector,” Whiteside said. The ministry says 800 secondary students in B.C. are expected to enrol in early childhood education dualcredit programs by the end of 2025. It says tuition for the courses will be covered by the program, “meaning that students’ entry into post-secondary training comes with fewer expenses.” Dual credit programs are also being offered in the Peace River South and Fort Nelson school districts in partnership with NLC, according to the ministry.
$100,000 liaison The Peace River Regional District has been granted $100,000 in provincial funding for a new First Nations liaison. According to a release, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs says the capacity funding is coming through a recent intake of the Northern Healthy Communities Fund. “The First Nations Liaison will build capacity in the Peace River Regional District to strengthen regional relationships with First Nation communities, build and strengthen mechanisms
for information sharing and partnerships with First Nation communities,” a handout reads, “and to renew or establish Treaty relationships based on principles of mutual recognition, mutual respect and shared responsibility for maintaining those relationships into the future.” The province has earmarked $25 million over five years to help communities near the Coastal GasLink and LNG Canada projects increase capacity of services and fund capital projects.