AHN DEC 8, 2022

LIFE ON THE INSIDE

‘A beautiful situation’: Ukrainian family begins new life in FSJ

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

Ukrainians fleeing war in their home country continue to start their lives anew in Fort St. John.

Liudmyla and Oleksandr Polyvana are among the most recent arrivals, landing with their two young daughters Al bina and Amelia on Oct. 22.

But it wasn’t a quick and easy journey for them to get to a land blessed to be called Peace.

Originally from Kharkiv, a city near the eastern UkraineRussia border and one of the first to be invaded, the family had no choice but to find safety on the other side of their coun try when the conflict began in February.

“It is a very dangerous situa tion in our town because there are many bombs every day,” says Liudmyla during a conver sation over lemon tea and pear pie at the family’s apartment near the mall.

“There are many weapons, there are very many soldiers, our soldiers and Russian sol diers,” she says. “The situation was very bad for us.”

The war and the missiles soon followed the family to Lviv, where they had sought safety in western Ukraine. That prompted them to leave the country altogether, first to Po land and then to Berlin.

They stayed in Germany for seven months volunteer ing their time helping other Ukrainians, and as their daugh ters struggled to adapt to new schools. The language barrier eventually proved too big of a gap to bridge.

“If you don’t understand any German it is very difficult,” ex plains Liudmyla, herself a uni versity economics professor with a doctorate in accounting.

“One day I decided we must go to a country with English because English I understand, my husband understands, and my daughters understand, be cause we learn English from our first class in school.”

The family was eventually persuaded to come to Fort St. John by a friend who had moved here several months earlier. So they filled out the paperwork and arrived in Can ada on a visa from the Can ada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel program.

Fort St. John and its people have been quick to make a last ing impression.

With the help of local resi dents and businesses, the family was quickly put on their feet with an apartment, inter net, and plenty of donated fur niture and winter clothing.

They’re already raving about the generosity to friends and family back home, who are

waiting for their own paper work to be processed so they too can leave.

Liudmyla says the situation in Ukraine gets worse by the day — still many bombs, and now no gas or electricity in many places. She would like to bring her mother and father to Canada, and her oldest daugh ter who is living and working in New York.

Oleksandr, a mechanical en gineer by trade, would like to bring the employees from his construction business he had to leave behind.

“We say, in Fort St. John it is a beautiful situation and they must come,” says Liudmyla.

“The Canadian people give us very big support, very big help… That’s why we stay here.”

But the family still faces barriers, particularly when it comes to finding qualified work, getting a new driver’s li cence, and finding a doctor to get a required medical exam.

Helping them navigate the challenges are Jane MalcheskyDrew and Jen McInnis, who met the family through their work in the school district’s Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) program. Albina, 11, is attending Robert Ogilvie ele mentary school, while threeyear-old Amelia is still being cared for at home.

Continued on A11

CANADA CUP BEGINS Watch Canada’s top up-and-coming speed skaters this weekend

SPORTS h A4

Sentenced for fatal hit & run

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

A Fort St. John man will spend 90 days in jail over the next three years for fleeing the scene of a fatal hit-and-run that killed two pedestrians in 2019.

Anthony Norman Burke pleaded guilty and was sen tenced Monday, Nov. 28, for failing to stop after an accident causing death, a case described to the court as “tragic” and “unavoidable.”

According to facts agreed to by Crown and defense lawyers, Burke turned his pickup truck west off 100 Street onto 98 Av enue in the early evening of Sept. 18, 2019. As he accelerat ed down the road, he “immedi ately collided” with Samantha Hunter and Jared Tompkins, who had been crossing the street from a hotel parking lot.

Both were killed on impact, and Crown prosecutor Joseph Temple said Burke had not seen them in the middle of the road because he was “blinded” by the glare of the sun, which was setting at the time. “It’s not the first time I’ve seen a case where somebody turned off our northbound-southbound streets onto a westbound av enue at sunset and was blind ed, literally just blinded, by the sun, and then hit somebody in a crosswalk or hit somebody who was crossing the street,” Temple said.

However, Temple noted Burke was also “well aware” of the accident and that it may have caused death. The inci dent was captured on dash cam video from a vehicle parked near the scene. A witness also told police he saw Burke exit his vehicle and had spoken with him briefly before Burke said, “I’m out of here,” and got back in his truck and drove away.

Burke surrendered himself to police several hours later after RCMP put out a news re lease searching for witnesses and calling on the suspect to turn themselves in. Defense lawyer Jay Michi said the cir cumstances of the collision were “tragic” and determined to be “unavoidable” by acci dent reconstruction experts.

“Two people are dead and there’s no escaping that,” Mi chi said, adding Burke was “ashamed” and received coun selling to deal with post-trau matic stress.

“He’s prepared to take re sponsibility for his imprudent and unfortunate and craven decision not to remain at the scene that day,” Michi said.

Continued on A11

Author Sara Warriner brings fun story about baby’s life in the womb

SUPPLIED

Liudmyla Polyvana and her daughter Amelia, with neighbour Nadiia and Edward Stanford and Jesse Postnikoff of Urban Systems, which recently donated a TV to help the family settle into life in Fort St. John.

Verena Hoffman – adopting a family

Gaslink Industries – adopting a family

Baron Oil eld – adopting a family

Watts Oil eld – adopting a family

Bailey Large, Watts employee – adopting a family

ArchTech Welding – adopting a family

Trailblazer Power – adopting two families

Strait Pipeline – donated grocery cards

Justin Butts & Family – adopting a family

Bizzybody, Professional Muse – adopting seven families

Knappett Industries – adopting a family

Inland Kenworth – adopting a family

DWB Consulting Services Ltd. – adopting a family

Peace Pharmacy – adopting a family

Dr. Delmont – adopting a family

Rumble – adopting a family

Resolve – adopting a family

Techmation – adopting a family

W&M Enterprise – adopting a family

NHA looks to the future

Dave Lueneberg sports@ahnfsj.ca

Although they may still be more than three years away from graduating high school, Grade 9 students at Dr. Kearney Middle School had the chance last Friday to hear about some career options to consider in their future.

Former DKMS graduates Byron Stewart and Neil Evans spoke to some 50 students in a classroom setting about opportunities in the health care field.

Stewart is a recruitment and retention ambassador for Northern Health’s northeast region and went to the school in the mid-1980s.

“I don’t remember presentations like this when I was this age, and I don’t know if these kids will remember this presentation when they’re older, but I believe there are building blocks and conversations to be had,” said Stewart.

“With our health care industry in the state it’s in, so many job opportunities available, so many career paths available, it’s important that our youth, their families, consider it, encourage it.”

While most might think of a doctor or nurse when discussing health care, Stewart said there’s so much more available.

“The health care industry has a wide range of positions. You can be a power engineer. You can be an IT person. There are clerical positions,” he suggested.

Addictions and mental health counselling, physiotherapy, and MRI technologists were also mentioned as potential careers in the field.

Evans, the current in-patient manager for the Fort St. John Hospital, is also a registered nurse.

Just like health care jobs, he said the opportunities in nursing also have a large scope from being an RN or LPN (licensed practical nurse) to nurse practitioner and care aide – and it’s doesn’t have to end there.

“When people think nursing, hospitals are usually the first thing that comes to mind. They watch shows like Grey’s Anatomy, and that’s all they see. There’s a whole different world out there,” explained Evans, who graduated from Dr. Kearney in 1995.

“They’re in every corner of the world, wherever someone is sick or injured, you’re going to find a nurse, be that on a cruise ship, travel resort, or amusement park,” a fact the students likely didn’t expect to hear.

An added message by Evans: keep up your grades!

“I was definitely one of those toocool-for-school kids, skipped out a lot. Didn’t realize how important school was back then, until my post-graduation,” said Evans, who shared his personal history with the group.

Evans detailed that he needed night school to move on to university, “and it’s not as fun as it sounds,” he told the students.

A fairly new component, or at least broader component to attract future health care workers, is a volunteer program for young people.

Started by the Fort St. John Hospital Auxiliary, it’s hoped the new Northern Health volunteer resources department will garner interest with older teens.

“Kids who are 15 years can sign up to be volunteers,” program coordinator Machiel Mostert outlined.

“Right now, for example, we have opportunities in our long-term care facilities and some select hospital settings, as well.”

Mostert said the biggest need, though, remains in long-term care, with clients isolated for the last two years-plus due to the pandemic.

“Just to the get the volunteer in for an hour or two and sit with the resident. Reminisce…go through photo albums, that kind of thing is really, really valuable.”

“Being stretched as it is, having that extra person in that setting to spend half-an-hour with the resident, frees up some time for the staff member to focus on more of a clinical task-athand,” added Mostert.

As of Friday (Dec. 2), there were 304 openings within Northern Health throughout the northeast, 148 of those were in Fort St. John.

While most of the positions are existing roles, some are new ones, needed, but yet to be filled.

An earthquake late Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 29, near Peace River, Alberta, was felt in many parts of the B.C. Peace, including at the Site C project southwest of Fort St. John.

Community relations manager Bob Gammer verified that precautionary measures were taken as a result.

“Following a visual inspection of the dam site and a review of our instrumentation, we can confirm there were no impacts to any of the project structures or equipment on site.”

Gammer also confirmed no employees or contractors were injured.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we kept people away from some of the work areas overnight,” he continued.

“All work activities at site safely resumed this morning, as planned.”

In an email to Alaska Highway News, Gammer added the project design takes a full range of earthquake magnitudes into consideration.

“Safety features of the project include a long concrete buttress under the dam, generating station, spillways and ancillary structures to improve foundation stability and seismic protection.”

The precautions were taken after a series of quakes were recorded northeast of Reno, Alta., – the largest registering in at a magnitude 5.8.

DAVE LUENEBERG PHOTO

Neil Evans, registered nurse and in-patient manager of Fort St. John Hospital, speaks to Grade 9 students at Dr. Kearney about health care careers, Dec. 2, 2022.

Dave Lueneberg sports@ahnfsj.ca

BC HYDRO

1 of 2 Lotto Max prizes claimed

Lueneberg sports@ahnfsj.ca

A Charlie Lake man is a half-million dol lars richer.

William Boutilier had the winning ticket in the Nov. 18 Lotto Max draw that matched all four Extra numbers.

“A co-worker mentioned someone may not show up at work because some one won in Fort St. John,” recalled Bou tilier. “That’s when I checked my ticket on the lotto app and found out I won!”

Just be sure, though, Boutilier had the ticket checked in store at the same place

he bought it.

“I am speechless and overwhelmed,” he said.

Part of the windfall will be set aside for his kids.

“This win makes life financially less stressful and will set my boys up for the future.”

The winning ticket was purchased at the Q Mart on 100 Avenue in Fort St. John.

Another $500,000 Lotto Max Extra prize from Oct. 14 remains unclaimed.

The numbers from that draw are: 27-34-51-87.

$18,000 for Lotto 6/49 winner

Christine Dalgleish cdalgleish@pgcitizen.ca

Looks like there’s a couple of lucky lot tery winners from Wednesday’s Lotto 6/49 draw and this time not only is one from Fort St. John but the other is from Prince George.

A winning ticket worth $18,724.20

was bought in both Prince George and Fort St. John, matching five numbers and the bonus number. These two along with five others from Ontario and Que bec also hit five of the six numbers, plus the bonus.

The unofficial winning numbers were 4, 11, 16, 19, 27 and 35, with the bonus number of 25. — Prince George Citizen

Dave

SUPPLIED

William Boutilier had a winning Lotto Max Extra ticket that was purchased Nov. 18.

It’s the beginning to look a lot like winter! The cold weather has finally settled in and the Green Valley 4-H Club is under way for another year. This year we are welcoming two new members and 17 Projects! We have 11 Market Steer Projects, 2 Heifer Projects, and 4 Cow/Calf Pair Projects. This is a few more projects than last year , which shows the amazing growth of our club. It’s going to be a super busy but exciting year! We look forward to meetings, educational days and of course, Communications, over this winter.

The members of the Green Valley 4-H Club would like to extend a huge heartfelt “Thank You” to The Dry Creek Ranch for their continued support and sponsorship of our club. We truly appreciate them and all they do for our club.

Fort St. John welcomes Canada’s top up-and-coming speed skaters for Canada Cup 1

Canada’s top up-and-coming long track speed skaters will kick off their national season next month in Fort St. John, as the city gets set to host Speed Skating Canada’s Long Track Canada Cup 1 from December 9-11.

Hosted by the Fort St. John Elks Speed Skating Club, this will be the first national-level speed skating event at the Pomeroy Sports Centre since the facility hosted the same competition during the 2019-2020 season. The community also welcomed Canada’s national team skaters during a 2-week training camp in November 2020, providing them with valuable ice time while their training centre in Calgary was closed due to mechanical issues.

This season’s Long Track Canada Cup series will feature five stops, kicking off in Fort St. John this December before traveling to Quebec City (January 5-8), Winnipeg (January 27-29) and finishing off with a pair of events in Calgary (March 10-12 and March 16-19).

These national-level competitions provide senior and junior level skaters the opportunity to gain valuable racing experience and accumulate points towards the end-of-season Canadian rankings, which are used to help select the athletes who are nominated to the

National and NextGen teams for the following season.

Team BC will also run its 2023 Canada Winter Games long track selection trials as part of Canada Cup 1, which will help determine the four male and four female skaters that will represent the province in PEI this coming February.

Admission is free for those interested in coming to watch the races throughout the weekend. The action will also be live streamed on both the Speed Skating Canada and FSJ Elks Speed Skating YouTube channels for those not able to attend in person.

SCHEDULE

Friday, Dec. 9 (racing starts at 9am)

• Women’s 500m-1 and 1500m

• Men’s 500m-1 and 1500m

Saturday, Dec. 10 (racing starts at 9am)

• Women’s 1000m-1 and 300m

• Men’s 1000m-1 and 5000m

Sunday, Dec. 11 (racing starts at 9am)

• Women’s 500m-2, 1000m-2, Mass Start, Team Pursuit

• Men’s 500m-2, 1000m-2, Mass Start, Team Pursuit

Pool closed for deck repairs

Lueneberg sports@ahnfsj.ca

The newly refurbished North Peace Leisure Pool remains as the pool deck is being resurfaced to address safety concerns.

“Since opening, there have been several slips and fall incidents that require immediate remediation to prevent further accidents,” said a City of Fort St. John release last week.

“During the shutdown in the fall, we grinded down the pool deck surface, repainted it, but the [new] paint has

made the deck very slippery,” explained director of community services, Karin Carlson.

“We’re going to shut down the pool, re-paint it, and then use an additive to give it a rougher surface.”

The pool will be closed Sat., Dec. 3, once the Inconnu swim meet is complete, re-opening to the public the following Saturday, Dec. 10.

Work will also continue on getting the hot tub up and running. The city is expected to give a progress report sometime this week. Check alaskahighwaynews.ca for more information.

Green Valley 4-H Report

First Year Member-Kade Goertz

The Green Valley 4-H Club held their first weigh in on November 11, 2022 at the Goertz Ranch. We were incredibly grateful to the North Peace Vet Clinic for supplying our club with Vaccines for the animals.

Over the next couple of weeks our members will be busy halter breaking and

quieting their projects. They will be feeding and adjusting rations to get their animals started the right way for a great finish. It’s a busy and hopeful time.

Until next time, Arlee Newsham, Club Reporter Green Valley 4-H Club

Platinum sponsor: Gold sponsor:

Dave

Canucks to recognize local re ghter, volunteer, coach

Dave Lueneberg sports@ahnfsj.ca

A well-known member of Fort St. John’s firefighting community is being recog nized for his countless hours of volun teering and charity work.

Capt. Brent Morgan, a member of the city’s fire department, will be honoured by the Vancouver Canucks as part of its Community Heroes program.

“It’s pretty cool to be recognized,” said Morgan, humbled by the NHL hockey team’s choice for its Dec. 22 game. “I’m not really looking for that kind of stuff, but it’s neat when you get selected.”

Morgan has been a long-standing volunteer with the B.C. Burn Fund, now in his ninth year as its northern director – the fund, the main charity of the B.C. Professional Firefighters Association.

Part of his contribution is being a counsellor and mentor at a summer camp held every July for children be tween six and eighteen impacted by burns.

“This camp is such a life-changing experience for kids who have gone through these terrible injuries. It’s a chance for them to realize they’re not alone. It really helps to build their con fidence moving forward in life,” added Morgan, on a project near and dear to his heart.

“At every Canucks home game, we recognize someone who has gone above and beyond for their commun ity,” said Vancouver Canucks’ coordin ator of community engagement and social impact, Robyn Bossons, in a text to Morgan.

“The person receives two tickets to the game and has the opportunity to crank the game opening siren.”

According to Bossons, the recogni tion is for his work with, not only with the burn fund, but the Fort St. John Fire Department, Fort St. John Firefighters

Charitable Society, and involvement in minor hockey.

“He is a welcome asset to our or ganization,” said Huskies head coach Todd Alexander in describing Morgan, a second-year assistant coach with the club. “He’s one of the best humans I know.”

Alexander is impressed with his level of dedication to everything Morgan gets involved with, including the hockey team.

Case in point – the original date the Canucks had hoped to recognize the firefighter was Dec. 10, but with the Huskies playing that night, he asked for a new date.

“That just shows you Brent’s passion and seriousness towards this team. He wants to be there for the boys. Anybody who wants to show up and makes sure the players have the best night that they can, each and every night, is an individ ual you want on your club.”

Brent’s older brother, Scott, couldn’t be more proud of the recognition his sibling is receiving.

“He is a very generous person. He gives time to anything and everything. He’s always been like that,” said Scott.

“When he moved up to Fort St. John, he got involved almost right away with the Big Brother program and it’s carried on with the fire department.”

Unfortunately, Scott, who is the Can ucks supporter in the family, won’t be able to join his brother for the game against the Seattle Kraken because of work. He’s probably thankful, though, it wasn’t the Jan. 21 game, against Ed monton, that was chosen.

“Brent is actually a huge Oilers fan. He asked me if he should wear his Oil ers jersey to the [Dec. 22 game] game.”

(Big brother set him straight)

Well done, Brent, on being recog nized as a community hero.

We’ve always known.

Back-to-back wins push Huskies win streak to 13

Dave Lueneberg sports@ahnfsj.ca

The Fort St. John Huskies extended their unbeaten streak to 13 games Sunday afternoon with a 5-1 win over the North Peace Navigators.

Five different scorers added to the goal total: Ashton Underhill, Colby Busche, Oscar Burgess, Justin Brownlee, and Raymond Dick in a game where the Huskies were up 3-0 on their first four shots of the game.

“It was a good weekend. The boys played well,” said team captain Cayden Frenette who celebrated his 100th game with the club Saturday. “You do the simple things... the game is going to go your way.”

Frenette earned five points in the back-to-back games with Peace River on the weekend, which included a 5-3 win by the Huskies Saturday night.

“I thought our start was really good. Parts of it were decent in the second and kind of pulled off the gas pedal in the third,” said head coach Todd Alexander after Sunday afternoon’s contest. “Pos itionally, we were still okay. We were above the puck. Our energy level kind of dropped as the game went along but we, obviously, did enough in the first 20

minutes to get ‘er done.”

The Huskies remain in third in the Northwest Junior Hockey League stand ings, three points back of Grande Prairie and five away from league-leading Sex smith – the same gap they had after play Nov. 26 and 27, with both the Wheat Kings and Vipers continuing to win their games as well.

The Huskies are home to Grande Prairie Friday (8 p.m., North Peace Arena) before a quick one-game road trip to Fairview to take on the Flyers Saturday night.

SUPPLIED

Fort St. John firefighter and long-time volunteer Brent Morgan will be recognized Dec. 22 as a community hero by the Vancouver Canucks at its game against the Seattle Kraken.

DAVE LUENBERG PHOTO

Huskies captain Cayden Frenette had five points against the Navigators Dec. 3 and 4. He has 14 points in his last 10 games.

Culling wins Maple Circuit Finals to cap o season

Dave Lueneberg sports@ahnfsj.ca

Fort St. John’s Stephen Cull ing can add another buckle to his collection after winning the 2022 Maple Leaf Circuit Rodeo Finals in Regina last week.

Culling, who returned home to the Peace Sunday night, had top four finishes in each of the four go-rounds at circuit finals.

“It feels really good to get off to a good start for next year,” said Culling.

“All the money that was won for this event will go to the Canadian standings for 2023. It’s a good little hit to start the year off for next year.”

Culling opened the compe tition Wednesday night with a time of four seconds flat.

Although most nights that might have given him the win, the top four times were just three-tenths of a second apart and he’d place fourth.

Culling, though, would fin ish on top of the podium a night later with a 3.6. His 4.5-second result Fri day would give him second, but also tie him with southern Alberta’s Jonny Webb.

And his final score Satur day, a 4.4, would earn him a fourth-place showing and an other tie – this time with Stony Plain’s Derek Frank.

But it was his aggregate time of 16.5, all four scores combined, that would earn him the buckle.

“Always great competition at events like this,” admitted Culling. “Some really good horsepower.”

He credits some of this year’s success to a particular horse named Eddie.

“Lots of times I would take mine out. This year, I’ve been riding Tanner’s quite a bit. That’s what I rode at Can adian Finals and he’s one of the nicest ones in the world right now.”

Tanner Mylan is Culling’s friend and travelling partner around the rodeo circuit, and Eddie’s owner.

“Tanner took him out there and I had the chance to ride him.”

Culling will spend the next few weeks, including Christ mas, with family here at home, before packing up and heading south to the States for more rodeo competitions in the new year.

It was a .500 weekend for the Fort St. John Senior Flyers with a

win against Grimshaw and road loss in Valleyview.

Sr Flyers win one, lose one

Dave Lueneberg sports@ahnfsj.ca

It proved to be fourth time lucky for the Fort St. John Sen ior Flyers last Friday night at the North Peace Arena.

After dropping their first three games of the season at home, the Flyers beat the Grimshaw Huskies 7-3 to add a second game to the win column.

Jared Winkel and Nolan Lagace each scored twice to se cure the win – Cayle Bell, Joey Massingham, and Adam Horst added the others.

Edward Stolz earned his first win of the year between the

pipes.

It was a much tougher game Saturday night, however.

Gary Loewen would score twice while Alex Nimmo would add a goal and an assist in a 6-5 loss to Valleyview.

Dawson Phillips and Lien Miller-Jeannotte would pull to the Flyers to within reach in the third period, but the Jets would hold on for the win.

Fort St. John (2-6) are in Grande Prairie (5-2) Thursday to take on the A’s.

They return home Saturday to face the 2-and-7 Spirit River Rangers for Teddy Bear Toss Night. Puck drop is 8:30 p.m. at the North Peace Arena.

DAVE LUENEBERG PHOTO

home

COVY MOORE PHOTO/FILE

Fort St. John’s Stephen Culling is the new steer wrestling champion on Canada’s Maple Leaf rodeo circuit.

Dave Lueneberg sports@ahnfsj.ca

Amendments to Canada’s Firearms Act, which could soon become law, squarely target the recreational shoot er and licensed hunter.

That’s the feeling of a wellknown regional advocate of safe gun laws and past presi dent of the North Peace Rod & Gun Club.

“It really targets the ability to provide for positive family experiences at the range,” says Guy Lehaye, who also sits on the B.C. Wildlife Fed eration’s recreational shoot ing committee.

“It impacts the ability, for many families, to put food on the table across B.C. and Canada, for that matter. For example, grandpa’s shotgun that he’s used for over 50 years is now illegal. When he goes out and does a little bird hunting, it’s now prohibited. He’s got to find another firearm.”

Lahaye believes amend ments to the federal govern ment’s Bill C-21 are meant to appease Liberal voters in central Canada, Ontario and Quebec, and doesn’t take into

account, any of the concerns of rural northerners.

“If you’re going to continue to hunt, you need to find other firearms. You need to go out and buy new ones,” ex plains Lahaye.

“Right now, they may be legal to purchase if you have all the necessary paperwork, but who knows down the road.”

He believes the cost of add ing additional firearms for the average Canadian hunter or recreational shooter will be “phenomenal.”

A current gun ban and buy back program, established by Ottawa, has ballooned to al most $1 billion.

A parliamentary budget of ficer, in a 2021 report titled Cost Estimate of the Firearm

Buy-Back Program, projected it could cost up to $756 mil lion, alone, just to reimburse gun owners.

“Confiscating grandpa’s shotgun is going to do noth ing for public safety whatso ever. The money would be way better spent on health care, reducing organized crime, firming up the border situation, and a-million-and-

one more pressing needs.” Lahaye characterizes the new additions to C-21 as emotional not rational.

“The whole process of owning a firearm is [already] highly vetted. Law-abiding firearms are not responsible for crimes,” he adds.

For the changes to become law, it will need the approval, or royal assent, from the Can adian senate.

“Basically, we’re going to target the Senate in terms of asking all of the members within our rod and gun club , and others across the coun try, to stand up for their indi vidual rights and privileges as rural citizens of British Col umbia and Canada. Pure and simple.”

“If you’re asking me how it’s affecting me personally, I’ll tell you. Between C-21 and the amendments, I now have a gun safe full of prohibited firearms and the buyback program announced back in 2020 still has not seen the light of day.”

“You’re now looking at bil lions of dollars to administer a program that may never get off the ground and it will de stroy rural life in Canada.”

SUPPLIED

“The whole process of owning a firearm is [already] highly vetted. Law-abiding firearms are not responsible for crimes.” - North Peace Rod & Gun Club past president Guy Lehaye on amendments to Bill C-21 by Ottawa.

BLAZETOOP

Parents:

Colbee&BrandonToop Weight: 7lbs1oz Length: 20inches Time: 08:16am Date: October28,2022 FortSt.John,BC

MELIZATOOP

Parents:

Colbee&BrandonToop Weight: 6lbs6oz Length: 18inches Time: 08:17am Date: October28,2022 FortSt.John,BC

knowing just where to pull back so that you can do each job well.

GEMINI  MAY 22/JUN 21

Think before committing to a project that is expected to take a long time, Gemini. While you may have a lot of free time right now, that may not be the case in a few weeks.

CANCER  JUN 22/JUL 22

Cancer, health concerns may come to the forefront this week, whether it pertains you or someone close to you. Empty your schedule so you can devote the utmost attention.

LEO  JUL 23/AUG 23

Leo, despite many looming deadlines, you are surprisingly relaxed about all the things you need to accomplish. Maybe that is because you have a lot of help.

VIRGO  AUG 24/SEPT 22

Some unexpected time o has dropped into your lap, Virgo. Figure out if a small vacation or weekend getaway might be just what you need right now. Then make it happen.

LIBRA  SEPT 23/OCT 23

A career change could be on the horizon, Libra. Do your research before you take the full plunge into new waters. Maybe test things out before making a rm commitment.

SCORPIO  OCT 24/NOV 22

Home improvements could be coming soon, Scorpio. They’ll interfere with your daily schedule for a bit, but the results will be well worth any disruption.

SAGITTARIUS  NOV 23/DEC 21

Your hospitable nature is a perfect match for the entertaining you will be doing this week, Sagittarius. Expect a houseful of people on one or more days.

CAPRICORN  DEC 22/JAN 20

Spending certainly is up during the holiday season, but you may need to keep a closer eye on what is going on with your nances, Capricorn. Don’t lose sight of your budget.

AQUARIUS  JAN 21/FEB 18

A few interesting possibilities may come across your desk, Aquarius. Look at them with a critical eye and get a second opinion before mov ing forward.

PISCES  FEB 19/MAR 20

Too many things seem like a priority right now, Pisces. You need to weed through all of your responsibilities and tackle the most urgent.

Locals deliver 1,400 Christmas shoeboxes to children in need

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

More than 1,400 shoeboxes filled with gifts from the B.C. Peace region will soon be making their way to kids in need throughout the world.

Another season of Operation Christ mas Child came to an end in Fort St. John this month, as 1,427 shoeboxes were loaded onto pallets at the Alliance Church and sent on their way.

“Any big event takes much time and effort and hours of work. Operation Christmas Child is no exception,” says Crystal Holden, volunteer regional and area co-ordinator for the mission.

“From the youngest to the oldest and everyone in between... Hundreds of behind-the-scenes workers and volunteers come together all year to support and organize this worldwide event each year.”

Local volunteers put in hundreds

of hours over the last three months to pack and prepare shoeboxes in Fort St. John, Dawson Creek, and surrounding communities.

Boxes were filled with everything from soaps and stuffed animals, to toothbrushes and combs, to sunglasses and school supplies, and other goodies.

The shoeboxes were gathered dur ing national collection week Nov. 14 to 20, and shipped to Calgary through Samaritan’s Purse.

From there, they’ll be sent to chil dren in Central America (El Salva dor, Nicaragua, Costa Rica), in Africa (Senegal, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, The Gambia, Sierra Leone), and in Ukraine and the Philippines.

Holden says 2022 saw the 200th mil lion shoebox packed since Operation Christmas Child mission began in 1993.

The locally packed shoeboxes filled 67 shipping cartons packed onto six pallets.

SUPPLIED

Operation Christmas Child local co-co-ordinator Crystal Holden with her parents, displaying their 115 shoeboxes packed with help and donations from friends.

SUPPLIED

Above: Volunteers from Chetwynd brought 231 shoeboxes during national collection week. Below: Loading shoeboxes into shipping cartons.

e expensive death of Watson Slough

By Ken Boon

The steady, death-by-athousand-cuts destruction of the Peace River valley over the last few years in preparation for the flooding that will occur with the Site C dam has been sad to witness.

However, the destruction of the Watson Slough, a wetland of international importance to birds and other wildlife, is perhaps the most disturbing act of madness yet to take place in Bear Flat.

Perhaps that is why BC Hydro was in a rush to open the new Bear Flat/Cache Creek highway realignment segment today (Dec. 1, 2022), which will take that ongoing logging out of sight from the traveling public.

As I wrote previously, it was revealed by BC Hydro that in order to “safely” log the sloughs, beavers were killed before their dams were breached in an effort to drain the slough so that heavy machines could do the logging this winter. However, now that the logging is actually happening, it turns out that much is being done by hand fallers anyway, and everything they cut down is being transported by helicopter to landings.

As with everything else Site C, this begs the question; Just how expensive will it be to log the Watson Slough?

To my understanding, just the helicopter cost alone is more than $4000 per hour. While I admire the work the pilots do, there is a simple reason why helicopter logging is normally not done in this part of the country; with this size and type of trees, it is uneconomical.

Not surprisingly, it gets even worse with the Site C project. Pilots are flying around for days on end with a

grapple on a long line to pick up scattered sticks that often end up on a brush pile to be burned. Often the ignition of those brush piles is also done by helicopter.

Simply put; the entire process hemorrhages vast amounts of money with no return.

To my understanding, all of the logging required for Site C was directly awarded to First Nation companies. In addition to being paid to do the logging, those companies also get to keep all proceeds for the logs they sell to the mills. Since many of the areas to be logged are somewhat uneconomical, I can understand that part of the arrangement, but I do not understand why there is no disclosure of logging costs on the publiclyfunded project.

Could it be that such a disclosure would put a spot

light on what must be the most wasteful and expensive logging in B.C.? BC Hydro and the B.C. Government have repeatedly demonstrated their lack of willingness to publicly disclose any bad news about Site C, and that likely includes the cost of logging over 100 kilometres of river valleys.

It is understandable that BC Hydro needs to remove as much woody debris from the flood zone beforehand, and with much of that area being hard to access, the cost to do so will be high, but that should not mean we do not get to see those costs. Of course, the high cost of logging along with the enormous environmental damage were good reasons not to proceed with the project in the first place, and I believe that BC Hydro and the government don’t want to remind us about that with disclosure of Site C’s

Born to make a di erence

By John Grady

Just recently I was in Israel on a short business trip and as I was entering Tel Aviv, located on the Mediterranean coast, I noticed this unique billboard that really caught my attention. It read: “Why fit in when you were born to stand out.”

It made me ponder its wording and significance, wondering why so few of us do not make a difference. It isn’t meant that we are all to attempt to attain super star status or become famous in the arts, politics, sports, media, science, education, medicine, business, or whatever field of endeavor you want to consider. But, of course, it is important that we attempt to excel in whatever we do.

Our life can fall into a trap where we might have had big dreams that did not come about in our lives and we settle into a routine, which can become boring and dull. For some of us, we didn’t have a dream and life can become routine and mundane. In any case, we can lose our passion, our edge, our sharpness, and real purpose.

This summer, Sandra and I went to a family reunion where one of the relatives quickly chopped down a dead tree for firewood. The axe was sharp and he was focused with a clear objective, no distractions, and a clear aim. Down came the tree.

As Christians, we can get so lost in being busy, being so spread out and distracted that we really accomplish very little for Him and the Kingdom of God. He innocently becomes an add on and not the foundation we claim He is.

We can easily fall into a routine where we have lost our focus, lost our objectives, lost our aim, lost our passion, and lost our purpose. One of the reasons is we have lost sight of His focus for our lives, we have lost His aim for our lives, lost His objective for our lives, and lost His purpose for our lives.

It is when we seriously make Him Lord of our lives and allow Him to put His focus, objective, purpose into our lives that we can accomplish the smallest details or the largest ones that give us such joy and pleasure. It is because we are walking in intimacy with Him, our Lord, our Savior, our King, our Redeemer, and He is the one that gives us encouragement and joy as we do His purposes.

He is longing to be part of all the details of our lives. As we allow Him that freedom we become free, full of life, full of focus, full of objectives and purpose, and we sense His pleasure. The key is to join our lives, our hearts, our emotions, our souls and our lives and our wills to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We must seek Him every day, drawing near to Him with an open heart, and He will not only meet us, but fulfill us. When we learn to walk with a single aim, single motive, single goal, we eliminate our wavering that takes us from His goals for our lives.

John Grady lives and writes in Fort St. John.

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Ken Boon lives and writes at Bear Flat.

KEN BOON PHOTO

Logging operations of the Watson Slough in the Peace River valley.

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A bouquet of flowers on 98 Avenue in Fort St. John,

a hit and run on Sept. 18, 2019.

Closure, but family’s grief lingers

From the front page

“The decision to drive away and not render assistance is something that Mr. Burke has a lot of remorse about,” Michi said.

Judge Tamera Golinsky accepted Temple and Michi’s joint recommendation for an intermittent sentence, a 90day jail term the maximum allowed under law.

Golinsky said Burke has no criminal record or driving violations, and that “he expressed remorse and is receiving counselling.”

However, Burke “should have known better” and “should have acted responsibly,” Golinsky said.

Burke’s sentence will be spread out over the term of a three-year probation order, and served at Prince George Regional Correctional Centre in December 2022, April 2024, and September and October 2025.

He was also fined a $200 victim surcharge and given an automatic one-year driv-

ing prohibition, though there may be further restrictions imposed by ICBC.

Temple said the purpose of an intermittent sentence is for the accused to be “significantly reminded” of their criminal offence.

“It is a repeated denunciation on the part of society,” he said.

Given a chance to address the court, Burke, 31, apologized to Hunter’s family, saying he took responsibility for his actions and was prepared to accept the consequences.

“I know leaving the scene was the wrong thing to do and I’m ashamed of that,” he said. “Nothing I can say will undo the effects of the damage done, I am very sorry though, very sorry.”

Samantha Hunter was 31 and had celebrated her birthday just 10 days before she was hit and killed.

Speaking on behalf of his family, Sky Hunter said his sister left behind two boys, ages two and 10 at the time, the oldest of which he and his

wife have now adopted.

Hunter said the youngest boy now lives with his sister, and that the family grieves Samantha’s death every day. She was described as a good mother who “loved her boys to the max.”

“It’s affected her son, which I call our son now, to a point where he keeps a lot of stuff bottled in... He’s asking a lot of questions now being 14 years old, and we definitely don’t have all the answers,” Hunter said.

“I realize it was an accident... I realize this also could have happened to a lot of people, even this gentleman here,” he said, referring to Burke. “But a lot of people might have stayed at the scene as well too, so, it’s very unfortunate.”

“We’re glad that this is finally coming to an end and we have a little bit of closure,” he said.

No victim impact statement was submitted or presented to the court on behalf of Tompkins, who was 26.

Toxic drug death toll rises to 21

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

The number of fatal overdoses from toxic drugs in Northeast B.C. continues to rise.

The BC Coroners Service reports at least 21 deaths in the region through the first 10 months of this year, with three reported in September and two more in October.

The northeast region accounts for 15% of the 143 overdose deaths reported across Northern B.C. so far in 2022.

A majority of deaths in the north have been in the northern interior, with 78 reported. Sixty deaths have been in Prince George alone — a new record for the city.

There have been 44 deaths this year in the northwest region, including at least 15 in Terrace, six in Prince Rupert, and four in Kitimat.

According to the coroners service, the Northern Health region has the highest rates of

overdose deaths, at 56 deaths per 100,000 people.

In the northeast, that rate drops to 34.4 deaths per 100,000.

At least eight deaths have been reported this year in Peace River South and six in the Peace River North health areas between January and August, according to the coroners service.

No information is available for Fort Nelson, and the data does not include the five deaths reported in September and October.

In B.C., there have been 1,827 overdose deaths so far in 2022, with men accounting about 8 out of every 10 deaths.

The coroners service says fentanyl has been detected in 82% of post-mortem toxicology results in 2022.

It also says that etizolam has been found in 38% of deaths between July 2020 and August 2022, “a benzodiazepine analogue and non-opioid sedative

that does not respond to naloxone and creates lifesaving challenges for first responders.”

In northern B.C., people are dying from a drug overdose most often in private homes (61%), or other residences such as hotels, rooming houses, shelters, or other supportive housing (20.6%) according to the coroners data.

About 15% are dying outside, either in a vehicle, on the streets, or in other public places.

2022 TOXIC DRUG DEATHS IN NORTHEAST B.C.

January - 5 February - 2 March - 1 April - 3 May - 1 June - 2 July - 1 August - 1 September - 3 October - 2

Community supports needed as more Ukrainians expected

From the front page

“We identify the new Ukrainian families that come when they enrol their children in school, that’s how we get involved,” says Drew.

They’ve been getting children set up in school and connecting families to agencies like the Literacy Society or Employment Connections and WorkBC. Drew says others such as Home2Suites and Northview Apartments have been helping them find housing for families.

“We know through the Salvation Army and other community service providers that there are more families, that their kids are doing schooling online, that we haven’t identified to help them.”

There are at least four more families in local hotels waiting to be placed into apartments, according to Drew.

But no one can say for sure just how many Ukrainian refugees have come to Fort St. John.

Drew says there is no government office coordinating resources locally, and that it’s

been difficult to get information or support from all levels of government.

It’s why she and McInnis, along with their colleague Joy Friesen, are trying to be as proactive as they can — they know more families are going to be coming. Drew says she is meeting with MLA Dan Davies this week to work towards a coordinated solution to help arriving Ukrainians.

“We do all of the educational SWIS stuff during the day, and the rest is all evenings and weekends for us,” says Drew, who has donated her son’s old carpet, television, and even clothes now that he’s moved out of the house.

“One lady, I see her wearing my clothes all the time, or Kyle’s clothes, and I look and you think it’s him…. We’re just giving them what we have, literally the furniture that we have, anything that we need [for the families].”

“We would do it all again, and we will continue to do it,” she adds. “But there really does need to be somebody in town that we can give all this information to.”

Unemployment too low to report in November

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

Unemployment in Northeast B.C. was too low to report for a third straight month in November, and for the sixth time this year.

Statistics Canada withheld unemployment data in its latest labour force survey released Friday, citing confidentiality.

Unemployment was also too low to report in September and October, and during the first three months of 2022.

According to Stats-Can, there were 37,200 people working in the region in November, down 800 jobs from October.

Stats-Can says it suppresses estimates below 1,500 unemployed people to prevent “direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data” under the requirements of the Statistics Act.

With an estimated labour force of 38,000 last month, however, there were about 800 people unemployed.

A year ago in November 2021, there were 37,300 people employed and 1,600 unemployed, with a regional unemployment rate of 4.1%

Among all economic regions of B.C., the northeast has the highest overall employment rate, at 66.9% last month, and labour participation rate, at 68.3%.

2022 NORTHEAST B.C. UNEMPLOYMENT:

November - too low to report

October - too low to report

September - too low to report

August - 3.8%

July - 4.4%

June - 5.0%

May - 5.0%

April - 4.8%

March - too low to report

February - too low to report

January - too low to report

with momentum in the labour market after adding about 43,000 jobs in September and October combined. Instead, the construction sector lost 9,200 jobs last month as the central bank put pressure on the housing market by hiking its key rate by half a percentage point on Oct. 26.

The Bank of Canada has hiked its key rate from 0.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent since the start of the year, resulting in significantly higher mortgage rates across the country and a significant decline in home sales in B.C.

The province also saw notable losses in the health care and social assistance category (-8,600 jobs) as well as in the tech sector (-5,500 jobs).

Gains were made in education (+4,300 jobs) and the finance, insurance and real estate category (+4,200 jobs).

B.C.’s losses come as Canada as a whole added 10,000 jobs to the broader labour force as the unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 5.1%.

“Labour demand is significantly outpacing supply of workers – and unemployment is holding at very low levels longer than expected. Still, the pace of job growth has slowed,” RBC assistant chief economist Nathan Janzen said in a note, referring to the national numbers. “The impact of Bank of Canada interest rate hikes has yet to fully be felt in the economy. Some early signs that broader inflation pressures have started to ease, and indications that domestic demand is softening, mean the BoC could be close to the end of the current interest rate hiking cycle.”

To learn more about diabetes, volunteer, advocate or donate, please contact : Northern Region (250) 561-9284 boyanne.young@diabetes.ca Northern Region

B.C. shed 13,700 jobs in November, with construction taking the biggest hit.

The province’s unemployment rate, meanwhile, climbed 0.2 percentage points to 4.4%.

B.C. was not able to keep up

MATT PREPROST PHOTO

where Samantha Hunter and Jared Tompkins were killed in

Children’s book a story inside mama’s belly

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

A new, locally written children’s book is getting kids to imagine the wonders of their first nine months of life.

Sara Warriner has released Life On The Inside , a fun and interactive story bringing to life facts about a baby’s experience in the womb, from how their heartbeat pulses at three weeks, to how their taste buds develop by the thousands at 11 weeks.

“My daughter’s having children and it’s always been something I’ve been fascinated with, the unborn life,” says Warriner, who drew on her experiences both as a mother, as well as a pastor and children’s program director.

“I thought it would be neat to write a book that talks about what’s happening to the unborn child in side his or her mother’s womb… To bring out some of those facts about the experiences the unborn is hav ing, and to be able to put it in a kid’s book that’s interesting for my grandchildren.”

The book is geared for children ages two to 10, with a mix of photo graphic illustrations and “I Spy” search activities for kids as they flip through each page.

“It was actually really eye-open ing for me as I did some research and then I tried to tell a story throughout the book, that whatever kids are experiencing the unborn are experiencing to some degree as well, and where that comes in, in their development,” Warriner says.

“We ended up getting a profes sional photographer for all the illustrations in the pictures, so my grandchildren are actually in the book, acting out the different themes,” she says.

As a mother of four and grand mother of six, Warriner says one of the biggest parenting lessons she learned was to be available for her kids and not overwhelm her family by being too busy.

“So that I was emotionally and physically there for my kids when they were growing up. Not to make myself too busy, or even to make them too busy,” she says, adding support and presence from her husband, Tony, was also important.

“We had them pick just one ex tra activity outside of school that they could be involved in, not a bunch of different things, because we just felt it was important to have the family around the dinner table most nights.”

Affectionately called “mimi” by her grandkids, she says that advice extends to being a grandparent as well, being available and helping

as much as you can.

“I know it’s not possible for everybody because they don’t live close to their grandkids, but to be intentional about connecting with them is advice I would give,” she says.

“Sometimes it’s not easy, unless

Life on the Inside is

on Amazon, and readers can connect personally with Warriner by email ing saraawarriner@gmail.com

The author, Sara Warriner

SANTA

down

Street on

holiday revelers braved the blustery northern winds and gathered for the return of the annual Santa Claus parade downtown.

Fort St. John museum news: Christmas tea and kids night this week

By Heather Sjoblom

We’re gearing up for the Christmas sea son at the Museum. It feels great to be able to put on our regular Christmas Tea and Christmas Kids’ Night once again. Decorations are going up around the museum and it’s starting to feel festive here.

Are you looking for a present for that tricky to buy for person? Why not think about putting your family member’s name in our wooden book?

For a $25 donation to the mu seum, you can request to have the name of someone local you wish to honour (an elder, pioneer, veteran, local family, etc.) printed in the museum’s wooden book! This book is on display year-round in the mu seum. Need a cheaper option? Our Alaska Highway calendars (from 2017 – but good for 2023 dates) are on sale for only $2. They contain beautiful historic photographs of the highway as well as lots of information.

EXHIBITS

Christmas at the Museum

Starting Thursday, Decem ber 1 at the Fort St. John North Peace Museum

Our exhibits are decked out for the Christmas holidays. From candles on Christmas trees to garlands galore, a tour of our decorated exhibits is sure to get you in the holiday spirit. Regular admission fees apply. Kids five and under are always free!

EVENTS

Old-Fashioned Christmas

Tea

Wednesday, December 7th 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Fort St. John North Peace Museum

After a two-year hiatus, our Christmas Tea is back! Enjoy tea and coffee (in fancy cups) and home-baked goods at the museum. Catch up with friends and delight in the magic of our exhibits decorated for the holi days. Tickets are $10 at the door. We’ll also have our usual array of door prizes thanks to Home Hardware and some generous individuals. North Peace Historical Society mem bers get 10% off in the gift shop

all day (apart from local items on consignment).

Christmas Kids’ Night at the Museum

Friday, December 9th 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Fort St. John North Peace Museum

Join us for a classic How the Grinch Stole Christmasthemed Kids’ Night at the mu seum on Friday, December 9. From scavenger hunts and crafts to science-themed ac tivities, this night is sure to be a blast. Enjoy hot chocolate and Christmas cookies and get in the spirit of the holidays.

REGISTRATION IS MANDA TORY AND LIMITED. Event tickets are $5/child or $10/ family and must be purchased

in advance. Children must be accompanied by an adult (free). Tickets are available at the museum starting Novem ber 28.

BOTTLES & BREAD FOR HISTORY

Do you have some empty bottles, juice boxes, or cans? Place them in a clear or clear blue recycling bag and bring it to the Fort St. John Return-It Ex press depot. Enter in 250-7870430 at the Express Kiosk (to right of counter). Please do not include anything else in your bag (including cardboard). Glass bottles can be submitted separately in cardboard boxes (which can be labelled just like

bags). Attach the label to your bag and put it in a designated bin to right of kiosk. Don’t want to bring it the depot? Drop your empties off at the museum and we’ll bring them in for you (advance notice appreciated).

When purchasing bread and goodies at COBS Bread Fort St. John, mention the FSJ North Peace Museum and they will donate 5% of your purchase to us.

MUSEUM GIFT SHOP

We have a great assortment of new t-shirts (including vnecks for women) as well as two styles of new hoodies. These make great Christmas gifts. Our Christmas cards are the cheapest in town – only 25 cents each! (Donations of old unused Christmas cards are welcome). From the best selec tion of local history books in town to locally made scarves, honey, and woodworking, there’s something here for everyone on your list.

COLLECTIONS & ARCHIVES

At last, we have broken our record for archival inquiries set in 2016! We’re at 147 inquiries and counting with a month to go. Did you know we provide 30 minutes of research for free for everyone? We can search the Alaska Highway News or our photograph collection for you or help you with a family history inquiry. You can reach us at fsjnpmuseum@fsjmail. com or call us at 250-787-0430.

Driving under the in uence: e ects, detection and consequences

The holiday season is in full swing, and celebrations of all kinds abound. However, amidst the merriment and festivities, it’s important to remember you should never get behind the wheel if you’re intoxicated. Here’s what you should know.

EFFECTS

Many of the skills required for safe driving, such as sound judgment, acute concentration, impeccable co-ordination, pronounced visual acuity and quick re exes, are impacted by drug and alcohol use. Consequently, being under the in uence can result in speeding, driving o the road, swerving into oncoming tra c and dozing behind the wheel.

DETECTION

Police o cers use their training as well as what they see, hear and smell to determine if a driver has drugs or alcohol in their system. Plus, they can take a breath sample to

determine a motorist’s blood alcohol level.

Police may also issue a standardized eld sobriety test (SFST), which typically requires the driver to walk in a straight line, stand and turn or stand on one leg.

CONSEQUENCES

If you’re caught driving under the in uence of drugs or alcohol, you could have your licence suspended following your arrest, even before being convicted.

Once convicted, the severity of your sentence will depend on your background and the circumstances surrounding your arrest. For instance, you could receive a hefty ne and jail time if you injured or killed someone.

To avoid collisions and other serious consequences of getting behind the wheel while under the in uence, make sure you drive responsibly.

This photograph shows Fort St. John on July 10, 1942. It shows what is now 100th Street looking south (Central Department Store on right).

LEGAL/PUBLIC NOTICES

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION NOTICE

Application for a Permit Under e Provisions of the EnvironmentalManagementAct. We Enbridge Alliance (Canada) Management Inc. intend to submit this application to the Director to authorize the discharge of air emissions from the Taylor Lateral Compressor Station. e sources of discharge include the following,

• One 16 MW Solar Taurus 60 Turbine Compressor Unit

• Two 0.2 MW Parker T-970 Heating Boilers

• One 0.45 MW Caterpillar G3412TA Power Generator (backup)

• One Seal Gas Vent

• One Compressor Unit Blowdown Vent

• Eight Station Yard Vents

e land upon which the facility is situated, and the discharge occurs is 4-10-83-17 W6, located at 6133 247 Road, within the Peace River Regional District. e maximum rate of air emissions discharged from this facility will be 17.2 Sm3/s. e operating period for this facility will be 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. e characteristics of the waste discharged are as follows:

• NOX 2.5 g/s

• PM 2.5 0.010 g/s

• SO2 0.022 g/s

• CO 0.23 g/s

• VOC 0.04 g/s

e turbine compressor unit NOX emissions are controlled using a Dry-Low NOX combustion management system. Primary electrical power for the Taylor Lateral Compressor Station is from the BC Hydro Grid, eliminating the need for continuous on-site power generation.

An air quality assessment has been completed for the Taylor Lateral Compressor Station discharge sources. e assessment shows that the Taylor Lateral Compressor Station’s incremental e ect on air quality is small, and the greatest e ect on air quality occurs locally near the facility boundary. Predicted concentrations rapidly decrease with distance from the emission sources and concentrations are negligible at sensitive receptors.

Maximum predicted concentrations are less than the applicable regulatory criteria. Any person who may be adversely a ected by the proposed discharge of waste and wishes to provide relevant information may, within 30 days a er the last date of posting, publishing, service or display, send written comments to the applicant, with a copy to the Regional Director, Environmental Protection at Ministry of Environment at 325, 1011-4th Avenue, Prince George, B.C. V2L 3H9. e identity of any respondents and the contents of anything submitted in relation to this application will become part of the public record.

Dated this 30th day of November 2022. Contact person: Garrett Hoeksema, MSc. Email address: garrett.hoeksema@enbridge.com Phone: 403-231-5943

‘To thine own elf be true’

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

Every generation has its family favourite Christmas movie.  Baby Boomers have It’s a Won derful Life, Gen X’ers have Na tional Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Millenials have Home Alone, and for Gen Z’ers, their classic may very well be Elf “I feel like Elf is one of the Christmas movies that is truly timeless in a sense that every body has seen it at least once. It’s still being introduced to small children,” says Connor Yates, who plays Buddy the Elf in North Peace Secondary’s musical rendition, which made its debut last week. “It’s just one of those Christmas movies that you can watch again and again, every year, and you can still find joy in it.”

Based on the 2003 film that starred comedian Will Ferrell, Elf the Musical follows Buddy, a hu man raised by Santa Claus and his elves in the North Pole, and his adventure to New York City to finally meet his real dad, Walter Hobbs, a publisher of children’s books (played by Gavin Forrest).

“He gets into some hijinks in New York City, he finally meets his dad, messes up big time, gets into some more hijinks, of course, then he finally makes it up to his father by selling him the best story pitch ever,” says Yates. “And then he saves Christmas by bringing everybody together, raising the Christmas spirit.”

Along the way, Buddy meets Jovie (played by Shayne Turner) setting up a Christmas display at a department store. Jovie hates Christmas but Buddy has his heart set on changing her mind, making it his mission to fall in love with the holiday — and, eventually, in love with him.

“It’s pretty cool story because Buddy grows up completely isolated for 30 years, growing up with elves. His whole experi ence of the world is crunched into one week,” says Turner. “So he comes to New York, he’s ex periencing love and family and heartbreak and loneliness, all these different feelings.”

“It’s really a really cute story, because it’s like watching someone experience life for the first time,” Turner says. “I really liked that part of it.”

The play is directed

And close to 100 students have put in hundreds of hours bringing the show to life over the fall se mester, from rehearsing lines in musical production class, to making props in stagecraft class. “Just to have everyone come together was an amaz ing thing,” says Sloan. “I know a lot of my kids have jobs, they have homework, they have sib lings, they have relatives, so I’m just constantly impressed and amazed at how much time they were able to set aside.”

After debuting to nearly sold-out shows last week, Elf the Musical continues its holi day run at the North Peace Cultural Centre this week, Dec. 8, 9, and 10.  Shows begin at 7 p.m., with tickets available at the NPCC box office.

“You don’t come and see the movie, you come and see the movie brought to life, which is really fun,” says Sloan. “The fiveyear-old will laugh, the 85-yearold will laugh, and everyone in between will as well.”

by NPSS theatre teacher Ted Sloan, with musical direction by band instructor David Price.

MATT PREPROST PHOTOS

Top left: Shayne Turner and Connor Yates (front) during a scene in ‘Elf the Musical’. Above: North Peace Secondary students dance and perform one of the play’s many musical scenes.