AHN JAN 19, 2023

Manslaughter verdict for stabbing death of Taylor woman

By Mark Nielsen

A B.C. Peace man who initially faced a count of second-degree murder for stabbing his girlfriend to death and dumping her remains at a remote gas well site north of Fort St. John was found guilty Tuesday of manslaughter and indignity to a human body.

In finding John Wendell Keyler guilty of the lesser count for the July 7, 2020 death of Sarah Foord, B.C. Supreme Court Justice James Williams found he could not “discount the reasonable possibility” raised by a forensic psychiatrist during a seven-day trial that Keyler was “experiencing the effects akin to psychosis arising from the state of cocaine and alcohol intoxication.”

As such, Williams concluded Crown prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Keyler had the “requisite and specific intent for a murder conviction to be entered.” Second-degree murder is any murder committed on impulse rather than being planned and deliberate. Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of someone unintentionally.

During the trial, held during late October and early November at the Prince George courthouse, the court had heard that a then 38-year-old Foord and 35-year-old Keyler had been living together in her mobile home in Taylor after becoming a couple in spring 2019. Keyler was working in the oil and gas industry in the B.C. Peace but by March 2020 had been laid off and was collecting Employment Insurance while Foord, a cook by vocation, was working at least part-time at a pub in the community about midway between Fort St. John and Dawson Creek.

The two had both been consuming drugs and alcohol to a significant extent during their relationship. Keyler, who took the unusual step of testifying on his own behalf, told the court that in the days leading up to the incident, they had been binging and sleeping erratically and had run into money issues. As well, a conflict emerged over Foord’s circle of friends and Keyler’s concerns about an alleged interloper who he believed was trying to split the couple up.

Keyler told the court that on the day before, he and Foord had bought two dozen beer, a 24-pack of coolers and a 26-ounce bottle of vodka and then, in the afternoon, travelled to Charlie Lake where they bought five grams of cocaine, worth $300-$400, along with 2.5 grams of methadone

from their dealer on credit. By midnight, they had run out of drugs and returned to Charlie Lake to purchase a further 4-5 grams of cocaine and one more gram of methadone, this time with cash withdrawn from an ATM.

By 1 a.m., they were back in Taylor where the drinking and drug taking continued. During that time, they received text messages from the alleged interloper which set off an argument between the two before they eventually found themselves in the bathroom “chilling” by which Williams took to mean they were using drugs.

Keyler testified he began to feel uncomfortable and nauseous and “felt cornered.” When the music they had been listening to had stopped, Keyler began to hear things, became convinced there were people underneath the house and that Foord had “set him up” and had wanted to get somebody to kill him.

Keyler said he unfolded the knife from his multi-tool, pulled Foord toward him and into the tub with him, then pulled down the shower curtain to cover the them and hide from the supposed attackers. Keyler testified he remembered poking her in the back he struggled to keep her near as a form of protection.

Keyler said he then blacked out and, when he woke up, found himself in a tub half full of water with the taps running and trying to get the shower curtain off himself. Foord, in turn, was lying on the floor on her back with her foot resting on the tub. Unable to wake her, Keyler went into the bedroom to have a smoke, snort some cocaine and change his clothes.

When he came to realize she was dead, Keyler put Foord’s

body in a garbage can and then drove it in his truck to an oil and gas site near Buick Creek. After driving back to Taylor to get more gas, cocaine, clothes and personal items and a shovel, he drove back to Buick Creek, buried Foord in a shallow grave, disposed of the garbage can and shovel in the bush and threw the multi-tool into a small lake nearby.

Keyler said he noticed blood on the bathroom wall along with a broken toilet seat and a towel rack pulled off the wall but was “quite adamant” that he saw no stab wounds on Foord’s body. However, an autopsy revealed 50 of them, two of which were fatal.

Keyler drove to Surrey by way of Alberta then, two weeks after Foord’s death, returned to Fort St. John where he confessed to RCMP and led police to where Foord had been buried.

In support of Keyler’s position that he was in the throes of a “substance induced psychosis,” the court also heard about a time in September 2019 when he and Foord had gone hunting while also drinking and using drugs. Keyler

noticed some people following him and became convinced Foord had set him up. Two witnesses testified as to Keyler’s behaviour at that time.

Although Keyler also pleaded not guilty to indignity to a human body, the matter was not vigorously argued during the trial.

After Williams issued his verdict, Crown prosecutor Joseph Temple gave notice that he will be seeking dangerous offender status for Keyler. If granted, Keyler will have to serve at least seven years behind bars before he can apply for parole. If he is released from prison, he will be under supervision for the rest of his life.

Keyler’s record includes attacking an inmate with a home-made knife while in custody and confining, threatening and choking a woman. His “use of knives goes right back to the beginning of his criminal record,” Temple said.

Sentencing will be handed over to a different judge because Williams will soon be retiring.

— Prince George Citizen

FILE PHOTOS

Crown prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Jonhn Wendell Keyler had the “requisite and specific intent for a murder conviction to be entered,” for death of Sarah Foord, says judge.

ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS FILE PHOTO

The home of Sarah Foord and John Keyler in Taylor. Keyler was found guilty of manslaughter in her July 7, 2020 death.

Upper Pine church destroyed in re

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

Fort St. John RCMP are investigating after a local church was destroyed by fire last Friday morning.

In a news release, police say they were called to the Upper Pine Gospel Chapel in Rose Prairie around 12:34 a.m. on Jan. 13, which was “fully engulfed” in flames. No one was inside the church at the time of the fire, police said.

“I’m still a little bit in shock but I’m sure that God has a plan here for us,” said Lawson Peterson, a trustee of the church.

Built in the late 1970s, the log church was dedicated June 1, 1980. Church elder Andy Burkholder was a kid when he helped put the wood shingles on the roof. “It is definitely a tough day, but from tragedy there’s always opportunity and that’s what we’re looking to,” he said.

Burkholder couldn’t speculate on the cause of the fire, which began a few hours after it closed Thursday night. “The building had been empty for about three hours with nobody in it,” he said. “I was actually the last one out of the building and locked it up and everything... The highways guy drove by at 11:30 it wasn’t burning. Shortly after 12 it was going through

the roof already.”

“As a log building it went very, very fast,” he said.

Burkholder says the church might miss this Sunday’s services given the circumstances, and will be looking for a new facility to meet in. There about 80 to 100 members of the church. “As a church group we’re coming together well, and we do have community members that have offered things which is so appreciated,” he said, extending his thanks

to those that showed up to offer help and who continue to help. “It is really appreciated, that is what community is about.”

Cst. Chad Neustaeter says the investigation is in the early stages and will be ongoing. Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call RCMP at 250-787-8100.

Anonymous tips can be made through Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-TIPS (8477) or online at northernbccrimestoppers.ca.

RCMP HANDOUT

A fire at Upper Pine Gospel Chapel was reported to police shortly after midnight on Jan. 13, 2023.

UPPER PINE GOSPEL CHAPEL

Built in the late 1970s, the Upper Pine Gospel Chapel was dedicated June 1, 1980.

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

Clarence Apsassin was welcomed last week as the elder in residence at Northern Lights College. The monthly, weeklong program, launched last fall, aims to share and integrate Indigenous knowledge in postsecondary classrooms, and provide support to students of all backgrounds.

“It’s an honour for me to be selected,” said Apsassin, a former Treaty 8 tribal chief and local business leader from Blueberry River First Nation. “It’s very important to translate whatever information that we have through oral history, what we learned in our culture, and how things were back then versus today,” he said. “I think no matter how we look at things, education is a key part for our kids in terms of what we’re teaching them, and how we’re teaching them.”

Last Monday, Apsassin shared a soup and bannock lunch with students from Bert Bowes Middle School, telling stories about his youth growing up on the trapline and being forced to attend Indian Day School, and talking about the importance of having respect for traditions and conserving land and water for future generations.

“I was eight years old when I was left on the trapline by myself for one week, eight days to

be exact. To live on my own, to learn to survive. That’s the way we were taught,” he told the students. “We learned very fast you had to work to survive, at a very young age. There was no free anything, there was no money floating around anywhere. It’s quite different from those days and today.”

Of being taken from his community to go to residential school in the 1960s, Apsassin told the students, “I couldn’t understand why and I wasn’t allowed to speak my language.”

“I used to be beaten, I was abused… today, when I look back at that it’s like horror movie. Why? What did we do wrong to be put in that position?” he said. “It’s not about blame, it’s about the culture and what

took place at that time with the governments to assimilate our people.”

Last week, Apsassin met with college students at both the Fort St. John and Dawson Creek campuses, as well as with French Immersion students from École Frank Ross Elementary School. He hopes students will take away a little bit of new knowledge from his life stories and wisdom, and seek to learn more on their own.

“That’s what I want to see happen when they walk away from here, that they want to know more. Not only want to know more, but ask questions: How can that be? Why is it so different? Their life is this, and ours is this,” he said.

“I want to see people walk

away from the knowledge and what they’ve learned, and what I can bring to the table for them, to kind of give them that nudge.”

Other featured elders so far this school year have included Gerry Attachie of Doig River First Nation and David Rattray, a retired educator and aboriginal youth counsellor in Fort St. John. Vera Nicholson of Fort Nelson First Nation will be elder in residence in February, followed by Bernadette Cardinal, also of Fort Nelson First Nation, in March, and Malcolm Supernault of the Metis Nation in April. Some of the elders have already been involved in learning environments and were a “natural fit” for the program, said Helen Knott, the college’s Director of Indigenous Education, while others were

nominated by their communities to participate.

“Prior to launching this program, we had a day and a half where all of the elders came together and they talked about what they wanted to share, what they believed that their gifts were and how they wanted to share that, and if there was any topics that they didn’t want to talk about,” Knott said.

For the school community, Knott says the elders program is creating a deeper understanding for students about the traditional territory and culture of local First Nations, and about Indigenous ways of knowing the world. “We have such an amazing group of international students that come from a variety of places and it’s important for them to also gain knowledge about the territory that they’re in, and gain an understanding of Indigenous history within Canada as well because a lot of them will choose to stay here and to make either the North their home or Canada their home,” Knott said. “It’s important for people from other countries to have an understanding of what has happened and how it has created present circumstances, and giving them that base here when they’re first introduced into Canadian life will also enable them to be curious when they move elsewhere… ‘Oh, whose territory am I on?’”

Polling Stations Area C By-Election

Advance Voting: February 15 & 22

Pomeroy Sport Centre 9324 96 St, Fort St. John, BC Open 8am to 8pm

General Voting: February 25

Baldonnel School 5836 Baldonnel, Baldonnel, BC Open 8am to 8pm

Charlie Lake Elementary School 12655 Charlie Lk Frontage Rd, Charlie Lake, BC Open 8am to 8pm

Nomination period for Area C by-election open

The PRRD is accepting nominations for Electoral Area C Director ahead of the by-election on Saturday, February 25, 2023. All prospective candidates must submit the required nomination documents to the Chief Election Officer, Janet Prestley, by 4pm on January 20, 2023

A person is qualified to be nominated, elected and to hold office as a member of local government if they are: a Canadian citizen, 18 years of age or older on general voting day, a resident of British Columbia for at least six months immediately before the day nomination papers are filed and not disqualified by the Local Government Act or any other enactment.

All eligible residents who are thinking of running are encouraged to visit the Regional District’s website at prrd.bc.ca/getoutandvote to review important dates, candidate resources and to download the nomination package before the period closure.

Nomination packages can also be obtained at the PRRD offices during regular business hours, or by sending an email request to jprestley@telus.net. Candidates can return nomination documents to the PRRD offices in Dawson Creek or Fort St. John; an appointment with the Chief Election Officer is required for Fort St. John submissions. To request an appointment, please email the Chief Election Officer.

The by-election follows a BC Supreme Court decision that ruled the October 15, 2022 vote invalid and the position vacant, due to issuance of ballots to electors outside of Electoral Area C discovered by the PRRD during a recount.

As of January 12, 2023, the Chief Election Officer has received nomination documents for Brad Sperling and Suzanne Haab for the position. The PRRD will announce the official Declaration of Candidates on January 20, 2023.

PRRD launches Aquatic Vegetation and Management Study for Charlie Lake, Swan Lake and One Island Lake

The Regional District has partnered with local biologist, Brian Paterson with Zonal Ecosystems, to investigate the possibility of conducting mechanical removal of some aquatic vegetation at Charlie Lake, Swan Lake and One Island Lake. The study follows feedback from residents that excessive aquatic vegetation is detracting from recreational use, reducing aesthetics and creating a safety issue for lake users.

The study will produce an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for each lake, which minimizes potential environmental impacts and is required to obtain provincial permitting. These EMPs will contain general information regarding lake ecology and biodiversity, suggest areas to focus harvesting efforts and incorporate best practices to minimize unwanted effects to the focal lakes.

Consulting with lake users and collecting feedback is a crucial component of the feasibility study. The PRRD is encouraging all lake users to the visit the project page at haveyoursay.prrd.bc.ca to take a short online survey and engage with the interactive vegetation maps where users can drop “area of concern” pins.

The public engagement phase of the study is open until January 20, 2023, and will inform a final report for the Regional Board to consider in relation to potential permitting and next steps.

To

Join the Discussion Engage in the active consultations happening in the Peace River Regional District. haveyoursay.prrd.bc.ca

MATT PREPROST PHOTO

Clarence Apsassin speaks to students from Bert Bowes Middle School, Jan. 9, 2023.

Fort St. John is No. 1 after beating Dawson Creek 4-2 at the annual U13 Recreation GP hockey tournament.

Fort St. John wins U13 hockey gold

Submitted by Nikki Eldridge

This month, the Fort St. John AAA Safety U13 hockey team went to Grande Prairie to play in the annual U13 Recreation GP tournament.

The tournament started on Friday with AAA Safety playing against GP Pembina Pipeline and Fort St. John coming out with a 4-1 win, with goals from Marc MacGillivray, Paige Bueckert, Nash Eldridge, and Ryland Bock.

Saturday afternoon, AAA Safety played GP Corrosion Sampling with AAA Safety walking away with a 11-2 win, with goals from Ryland Bock (5), Nic Ellerington (2), Paige Bueckert, Marc McGillivray, Lukas Lawerence, and Nash Eldridge.

Saturday night, they were back at the rink for a game against GP Pomeroy Lodging. GP came out fast and aggressive, putting two quick goals on the board. It wasn’t until the end of the second period that Blake Bennett took the puck end-to-end to score Fort St. John’s first goal of the game to end the second period. Going into the third 2-1 for GP, Ryland Bock scored the team’s second goal, tying the game 2-2 where it stayed and earning the team a spot for the gold medal game against Daw-

son Creek Ceda.

Sunday afternoon, AAA Safety played Dawson Creek Ceda. The first period had a lot of back and forth, a ton of shots by both teams, and just as many saves by each goalie! In the second period, Dawson Creek opened the score and then followed with another goal shortly after, leaving the game 2-0 Dawson.

It wasn’t until halfway through the second that Grady Collins put Fort St. John on the board with a quick wrist shot, followed by Nash Eldridge and his one-time shot from the blue line making the game 2-2.

Halfway into the third, Grady Collins scored his second of the game followed by a hard shot off the point by Nash Eldridge with Kade Forest being in front of the net to tip it past the goalkeeper, ending the gold medal game 4-2 for AAA Safety.

This is the first time a Fort St. John team has won this tournament. The team will have their team name engraved on the trophy that will stay in Grande Prairie. It was an exciting and fantastic weekend from start to finish for the team! The team would like to thank Eldridge Inspection Inc. for sponsoring the team entry fee.

Taking care of your horse is important but it’s even more important when the weather is very cold in winter. I know it takes a lot of motivation to get out of the warm house and out into this cold northern weather but trust me they (your horse) appreciates it. Its super important to make sure your horse has access to open water and gets enough hay to keep them warm, horses use a lot of energy to stay warm so extra feed on really cold days is essential. Knocking the snow out of your horses’ hoofs prevent snow build up, this prevents strain on their tendons and ligaments. Make sure to check on your horse every time you feed it and look for any injuries and or soreness this is always a challenge with the short days; headlamps are a very useful tool for checking horses. If you take your horse out to ride, remove clumps of snow in their fur and on the horses back before and keep an eye open for Icey spots on the ground. ere are many fun activities to do with your horse in the winter; I like to go skijoring, sleigh riding or just bareback riding around in the deep snow. Bye

SUPPLIED

Kailey

Semeniuk lands on NHL scouting’s draft rankings

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

A Fort St. John hockey player finds himself in some elite company on NHL Central Scouting’s mid-season rankings of North American skaters ahead of the 2023 draft.

Ethan Semeniuk ranked 173rd on the list, released Friday. He grew up playing hockey in Fort St. John and was drafted 56th overall by the Vancouver Giants in the third round of the 2020 WHL Draft.

“Semeniuk started the season hot before missing time with an injury.

He’s got 7 goals and 8 assists for 15 points, including a pair of shorthanded points so far,” the Giants said in a posting to the team’s website.

Topping the midseason rankings was Connor Bedard, who is coming off a memorable performance at the recent world junior hockey championship, where he set a number of national and tournament records in helping Canada capture its second straight gold medal.

Three other northern British Columbians made the mid-term

rankings, including:

- Tanner Molendyk of McBride, ranked 36th, a defence man for the Saskatoon Blades

- Nico Myatovic of Prince George, ranked 47th, a right winger for the Seattle Thunderbirds

- Terrell Goldsmith of Fort St. James, ranked 202nd, a defence man for the Prince Albert Raiders

Also making the list was Gracyn Sawchyn of Grande Prairie, a forward for the Seattle Thunderbirds, ranked 42nd.

— with Canadian Press files

Local long track speed skaters named to Team BC

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

A group of Fort St. John long track speed skaters will represent BC at this year’s Canada Winter Games.

Brooke Braun, Hannah North, Sidney Bennie, Jack Hanson, Matthew Mitchell, Kieran Hanson, and Nick Guliov have all qualified for Team BC following selection trials.

Maria Hansen and Cheyanne Key have also been named first and second alternates for the female long track team.

They’ll join Speed Skating BC Provincial Coach Jennifer Gibson and Team Manager Adam Ing when the team takes to the ice at the Halifax Oval Feb. 18 to 25.

The 2023 Canada Winter Games take place Feb. 18 to March 5 in Prince Edward Island.

Games organizers note the outdoor venue in Halifax, which hosted long track speed skating at the 2011 national winter games, will “provide a special Canada Games experience for all participants.”

Ethan Semeniuk photo via Elite Prospects

DAVE LUENEBERG PHOTO

Fort St. John Elks’ speed skater Brooke Braun (right) practices with teammate Hannah North in 2022.

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

Nominations have opened for candidates in a byelection being held next month in Area C of the Peace River Regional District.

The byelection is being held Feb. 25, after the B.C. Supreme Court tossed the results from October’s general election when it was discovered during a recount that voters outside the electoral area were issued ballots despite being ineligible to vote.

Final results of the Oct. 15 election showed Haab, a political newcomer, winning with just a three-vote edge over the incumbent Brad Sperling, 234 to 231.

The concern with the narrow margin was whether the actual number of ineligible votes cast impacted the margin, and to what degree.

As a result, Supreme Court ruled the results couldn’t be validated, meaning the position of Area C director was

vacant.

Area C includes the communities of Charlie Lake, Old Fort, Baldonnel, Grandhaven, Clairmont, and Two Rivers. Both Haab and Sperling have already file their nomination papers.

This will not be a run-off election between the two candidates from October’s ballot, but a full byelection, which means new candidates could also put their names forward, if they wish.

“The Peace River Regional District continues its commitment to upholding the democratic process and ensuring that elections are conducted in accordance with legislated procedures,” the regional district said in a news release Tuesday.

Prospective candidates must file all required nomination documents to Chief Election Officer Janet Prestley by 4 p.m. on Jan. 20.

To learn more, visit the PRRD’s website.

— with files from Dave Lueneberg

Fatality in Highway 29 collision

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

One person was killed last Tuesday afternoon after a crash involving a car and semi-truck on Highway 29.

RCMP in Chetwynd say they were called to the collision near Nicholson Road at 2:59 p.m. on Jan. 10.

The driver of the passenger car, a

Chrysler, was pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver of the semitruck wasn’t injured, police said.

DriveBC reported the highway closed for several hours as the incident was investigated and scene cleared.

RCMP say their investigation into the cause continues though noted roads were slippery at the time of the incident.

Wanted man arrested and released

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

A Fort St. John man wanted on warrants for assault and uttering threats last month has been found and arrested.

According to RCMP, Ryan Donald Large, 31, was found Jan. 10 following a tip from the public. Large was also wanted for resisting a peace officer, mischief, and breach of an undertaking, and police put out the call for public help to find him on Dec. 7.

After his arrest, Large was subsequently released by the courts the same day on an order to reappear on Jan. 23, according to RCMP.

The alleged offences occurred in Baldonnel and Fort St. John in September 2022.

Butter y knife seized in tra c stop

On Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, at approximately 10:30 a.m. an officer with the BC Highway Patrol in Fort St. John conducted a traffic stop.

Upon further investigation, the officer found the driver to be displaying symptoms of impairment by alcohol. The officer had the driver provide a breath sample on an approved screening device to which the driver blew two fails. The officer issued the driver an Immediate Roadside Prohibition preventing the driver from operating a motor vehicle for 90 days. The vehicle was also impounded for 30 days and towed to a secure compound.

The officer conducted police checks and noted the driver was on court ordered conditions not to consume liquor and was subsequently arrested. As the officer was waiting for the vehicle to be towed, the member witnessed a butterfly knife in the front console of the

vehicle, which is deemed a prohibited weapon under the Criminal Code of Canada.

The driver was escorted to the Fort St. John RCMP detachment for processing and subsequently held for court.

Constable Wright states, “Our role is to make our highways and roadways safe. Our goal to reduce motor vehicle incidents and therefore reduce the number of fatals and serious injury collisions. This traffic stop highlights how members are committed to removing impaired drivers from British Columbia’s roadways, and how each traffic stop is a unique moment that requires diligent investigation.”

Constable Wright concludes, “Each time I remove an impaired driver from the road I feel a little better. There is no excuse for driving while impaired.”

Released by Cst. Clyde Feero, Northern Highway Patrol

City property sales down in 2022

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

Real estate sales plunged 26% in Fort St. John in 2022, but average selling price of a single-family home saw a modest increase from 2021, according to year-end numbers from the BC Northern Real Estate Board.

A total of 632 properties changed hands in Fort St. John last year, down 26% from the 796 properties sold in 2021, according to the real estate board.

The sales for the year were valued at $258 million, down 20% from $309.4 million worth of real estate sold the year prior.

Of the 292 single-family homes sold in the city, the average selling price was $411,380, up 3.8% from 2021’s average of $396,353, when 403 homes were sold.

However, of the single-family homes sold in 2022, half sold for less than $381,000, according to the board.

Another 77 half-duplexes, 54 homes on acreages, and 91 manufactured homes, including 31 in parks and 60 on land were sold, as were 28 parcels of vacant land.

There were 420 properties were listed through MLS in the Fort St. John area at the end of 2022, up from the 193 properties at the end of 2021.

“Active listings in the region started the year at record low and slowly grew through 2022 as home sales slowed and listings remained on the market longer. As a result, markets around the north returned to balance as months-

of-inventory normalized from the deep sellers’ market conditions that had prevailed for much of the last two years,” the board said in a news release.

“The abrupt shift in market conditions spurred by rapidly rising interest rates has translated into a softening of prices from peak levels achieved earlier in the year,” the board stated. “By the end of 2022, the average price in the BC Northern Board area was essentially flat when comparing the fourth quarter of 2022 to the fourth quarter of 2021.”

Across Northern B.C., there were 5,001 property sales worth $2 billion in 2022 through MLS, down from last year’s 6,669 sales worth $2.4 billion.

Total home sales across the region declined 23% to 4,250 units, according to the real estate board, “but on par with the average level of sales activity over the past 10 years.”

The board predicts a slow start to the market in 2023, with home sales forecast by the B.C. Real Estate Association to decline a further nine percent to 3,900 units in 2023, it said.

“With mortgage rates expected to remain elevated, and a likely slowdown in the economy on the horizon, housing market activity across the north will remain slow in 2023,” the board said.

“Slower sales and rising inventory will precipitate a slight decline in home prices, with the average price in the region slipping about 1 per cent over the next year.”

Arbitrator awards ‘signi cant wage increase’ to Site C builders

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

An arbitrator has awarded a “significant” five per cent raise to employees of Peace River Hydro Partners building the Site C dam.

The Construction and Allied Workers Union, CLAC Local 68, announced Monday the settlement of a wage opener as part of their collective agreement for the $16-billion project.

“When negotiations to reach a settlement stalled, the parties took the matter to binding arbitration,” the union said in a news release.

“Arbitrator Ken Saunders awarded a five percent increase to all base wages, given the current high rate of inflation, which has raised employees’ cost of living considerably. The award comes following a 4.5 percent increase last year.”

Peace River Hydro Partners is the main civil works contractor at Site C under a $3.1-billion contract. More

than 500 CLAC Local 68 members are currently employed on the project, according to the union.

“We’re very pleased with the positive outcome from the arbitration hearings,” Josh Pastoor, CLAC regional director for the union’s Fort St. John Member Centre, said in a statement.

“This is a very good decision for our members, given last year’s wage increases. The award helps our members stay ahead of the inflationary curve, which is eating into many workers’ livelihoods across the country.”

Construction of Site C is now more than 70% complete, according to BC Hydro, with construction of the earth fill dam crossing the Peace River outside Fort St. John now 87% complete.

Construction of the earth fill dam began in October 2018, ahead of its scheduled start in 2019, and is now standing at an elevation of 445 metres, according to BC Hydro.

Ground first broke on the hydroelectric project in summer 2015.

Charlie Lake’s Brad Sperling and Baldonnel’s Suzanne Haab have filed their nominations for the Feb. 25 byelection in electoral Area C.

Ryan Donald Large

It’saBoy!

HAYDEN BENNETT LOEWEN

Parents: Gary&AmyLoewen

Video still showing fireworks falling down on a home in Fort St. John early New Year’s Day.

Be a good neighbour and leave reworks to the pros

off fireworks within city limits, with fines of $100.

New video shared by the Fort St. John fire department today is serving as a reminder as to why recreational fireworks are banned inside city limits.

The fire department posted a 30-second video to Facebook of what it called the “negligent use” of fireworks by one neighbour of a local household early New Year’s morning.

In the video, timestamped at 2:23 a.m., exploding fireworks can be seen reflected in the windows of a home and shooting into the sky, their sparks raining down on its snowcovered roof and into the backyard.

Under the city’s fire prevention bylaw, it is illegal to sell, give, or set

“This video was submitted to our fire department showing a view of a person’s house on January 1st and their neighbours’ negligent use of fireworks,” the fire department said.

“If this event would have happened in the summer, it had the potential to result in starting a fire.”

It added, “This is why we leave fireworks up to the professionals.”

Only the fire department can display fireworks with the necessary permits, and which are traditionally displayed on Canada Day.

The city held its first annual New Year’s Eve fireworks on Dec. 31 as part of efforts to curb the number of illegal fireworks being set off by residents during the holidays.

No injuries in house re

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

Fort St. John firefighters quickly doused a fire at a home in Peace Country Park last Monday night.

Deputy Fire Chief Daniel Simpson says 20 firefighters responded to the call after a structure fire was reported at 8420 Alaska Road around 8:20 p.m., adding “it was unclear if anyone was inside” the home at the time.

“Arriving on scene we found smoke and fire throughout the home and the crews quickly went inside to

knock down the fire,” said Simpson.

“After the crews put the fire out we did a preliminary investigation and found the fire had started in the kitchen, yet the cause of the fire is still under investigation,” Simpson said.

Simpson says there were no injuries, and that the residents were able to find housing and did not need emergency support services.

“As a reminder for everyone please ensure you have working smoke alarms, and when working in the kitchen to practice fire safety,” said Simpson.

ARIES

TAURUS  APR 21/MAY 21

Obligations to friends or family could interfere with other things you had intended, such as spending time with your partner. As more people call upon you, step back and consider.

GEMINI  MAY 22/JUN 21

You have a strong desire to clean and organize your home this week, Gemini. Spring cleaning certainly comes early. Conquer that clutter.

CANCER  JUN 22/JUL 22

All of that extra work on the job will pay o in the days to come, Cancer. Expect an email or personal meeting from a supervisor to discuss.

LEO  JUL 23/AUG 23

Practical matters, such as the household budget, may need your attention this week, Leo. A big purchase is on the horizon, so get your nances sorted out.

VIRGO  AUG 24/SEPT 22

Giving back to the community can boost your morale, Virgo. Think about o ering to shop for an elderly neighbor or volunteer at a food pantry a few days a week.

LIBRA  SEPT 23/OCT 23

Careful penny pinching may now result in a nice nest egg you can use any way you desire, Libra. Enjoy the fruits of your labor when you can loosen the pursestrings.

SCORPIO  OCT 24/NOV 22

Scorpio, a sense of duty to loved ones may have you taking on tasks that you otherwise may never consider. Your willingness to pitch in won’t go unnoticed.

SAGITTARIUS  NOV 23/DEC 21

Don’t be surprised if the people you help this week are willing to go to bat for you in the future. Consider any assistance you provide an investment in friendship.

CAPRICORN  DEC 22/JAN 20

Some people know exactly which buttons to push to get a rise out of you, Capricorn. Try to be the bigger person and turn the other cheek.

AQUARIUS  JAN 21/FEB 18

A momentary loss of con dence may catch you o -guard, Aquarius. Brush these feelings aside and take on any task or challenge that comes your way.

PISCES  FEB 19/MAR 20

Nostalgia could hit you hard this week Pisces. Enjoy an unexpected trip down Memory Lane. Contact others who might enjoy it as well.

15 Dove Cameron, Actress (27)

16 Lin-Manuel Miranda, Actor (43)

17 Steve Harvey, Comic (66)

JANUARY 19 Dolly Parton, Singer (77)

JANUARY 20 Skeet Ulrich, Actor (53)

JANUARY 21 Emma Bunton, Singer (47)

Northern B.C. Crime Stoppers sets all-time record for tips

By Hanna Petersen

Northern B.C. Crime Stoppers, which is now 38 years old, has reached an all-time record of the number of tips it received in a single year.

During 2022, Northern B.C. Crime Stoppers received over 1,200 tips, which is an increase of 26 tips from 2021.

The organization now serves over 30 communities across northern British Columbia by taking tips north to the Yukon border, south to Williams Lake, west to Terrace and east to the Alberta border.

Since its inception in 1985, it’s received 21,609 tips and last year received a total of 1211.

Since 1985 it’s also recovered

$3,283,451 in stolen property, $35,557,709 in drugs seized, and $558,147 in cash.

Northern BC Crime Stoppers is a not-for-profit society run independently of the police by everyday citizens. All information received is anonymous and is provided to the police in the hopes it will further investigations and lead to arrests, seizures and recovered property.

The traditional method of calling 1-800-222-8477(TIPS) and providing information to a trained operator is still very popular but an increasingly popular alternative is submitting a tip via the website at www.northernbccrimestoppers.ca.

— Prince George Citizen

Northern Region (250) 561-9284 boyanne.young@diabetes.ca

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

To learn more about diabetes, volunteer, advocate or donate, please contact :

Watt’s Happening: Good news for 2023

By Don Pettit

If you are as convinced as I am that we need to move to the clean energies of sun and wind as quickly as possible, then these two stories will pick up your day considerably.

Denmark has been a world leader in wind power for some 40 years, but their newest plan to build the world’s largest wind farm will blow you away.

Denmark was the first country to install off-shore wind turbines, which are more efficient and have a lower environmental footprint than land based generators.

Now Denmark is thinking big, really big, with a project that could be a major player in meeting the European Union’s aim to depend entirely on renewable energy by 2031 and Denmark’s goal of ending all oil and gas extraction in the North Sea by 2050.

THE NORTH SEA WIND POWER HUB

This is a proposed energy island complex to be built in the North Sea. The islands, each about six square kilometers in size, will act as energy hubs interconnecting most European countries.

Thousands of floating wind turbines will surround the islands. Described as a “hub and spoke” scheme, the islands will both transmit and store the electricity generated as well as making green hydrogen (using green electricity to break down sea water into hydrogen and oxygen), which will be piped across Europe and exported around the world.

The first phase will power about one million homes, but that first hub will eventually power some 10 million homes.

This shallow area on the North Sea, known as Dogger Bank, can generate up to 110 GW (110 billion watts) of wind

electricity, more than fifteen times Denmark’s current needs. Fully completed by 2050 it will be by far the largest wind park in the world.

WIND REACHES NEW HEIGHTS

As wind technology improves, wind turbines get bigger. The larger the blade span and the higher the tower, the more energy is produced per kilogram of material invested, and the fewer the turbines needed.

All good news for the birds too. Although domestic cats and glass windows kill many, many, many more birds than wind turbines, the bigger the blades the slower they rotate, reducing the threat to our feathered friends even more. With wind, bigger actually is better!

The newest Danish offshore turbines are 260 meters tall (850 feet) with 100 meter blades, each producing about 8 megawatts (8 million watts) of power in a nice breeze. Just 300 of these would power all of the homes in Denmark.

Never to be outdone in the renewable energy field, China’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines, MingYang, has just announced their giant

EV’S REDUCE THE COST OF ELECTRICITY

New studies indicate that widespread use of electric vehicles (EVs) is decreasing the overall cost of electricity to consumers. Here is how it works:

Increased energy use for charging EV’s increases revenue to the utilities. But most utilities have caps on the amount of revenue that they can generate. That extra revenue cannot be kept in the pockets of the utility companies, but instead must be returned to customers in the form of reduced rates.

A recent National Resources Defense Council study looked at three California utilities that serve more than 735,000 households with EVs. They looked at the cost of providing electricity to those vehicles, compared with the revenue generated by them. It showed that between 2012 and 2021 the utilities made $1.7 billion in excess profits.

In other words, EVs increase utility revenues more than they increase utility costs, leading to reduced rates for both EV owners and nonEV owners alike.

IN CANADA TOO

Every Canadian province has a regulatory body that approves the rates for electricity and restricts utilities from making more money than their capital costs, so similar principles are at work here too.

Another reason EVs benefit the grid is that they primarily charge during off-peak hours, such as overnight, imposing minimal costs to the grid for new infrastructure while utilizing resources more efficiently.

“Time-of-use” rate structures also help with any grid capacity problems, encouraging EV owners to charge during off-peak hours to save money. Ontario already has time-of-use rates, and most other provinces are close to adopting them too.

So don’t worry about all the electric vehicles overwhelming the grid and driving up electricity prices. That’s just not Watt’s Happening. Good news!

Don Pettit lives and writes in Dawson Creek and is executive director of

e pruner

By John Grady

It’s so interesting to watch a person who knows what they are doing when they prune the branches on a tree. They know the branches that are unfruitful so for the good of the tree, and to ensure it remains healthy and bears more fruit, they prune the unfruitful and dead branches. In the short term, it looks like a loss, and if you don’t realize the value of why and what the pruner is doing, it could be considered a loss. The reality is when the pruner has pruned the unfruitful branches, in time the tree will bear more fruit.

Our lives can be like that tree. The good news for us is the pruner is our Lord and He knows exactly what He is doing so that we bear the fruit in our lives that He created us for. Not only does He prune our unfruitful branches, but He also desires to prune the areas of our lives where we have issues like pride, deceit, judgment, unhealthy sexual issues, fear, or what is most commonly referred to as sin that has crept into our lives. When He prunes the unfruitful branches, we automatically think it’s a loss, but over time, like the tree, we see where a change has taken place and we bear fruit that we didn’t even realize we had. In fairness, that kind of pruning does not hurt that much, especially when we experience the benefits.

Where we normally resist the Lord is when we feel He is nudging us to prune the areas of our lives that we don’t want pruned, which is our sin. Because He is not a bully, doesn’t treat us like robots, gives us free will, and yet being a Holy God knows what is best for us, He tries to get our attention so we can deal with our issues. He deals with us all differently but with all of us wants us to identify and rectify our sin. The deeper we are in our sin the further we are from Him. That way it’s much easier for us to ignore Him and what He is trying to reveal to us.

Many theologians could say when it comes to sin He should get an axe instead of the pruner to get rid of our sin, but if that was the case there would be none of us on earth because we have all fallen short and have all sinned. Accordingly, He gives us a free choice to respond, which is why He sent His Son to earth as a sacrifice for all our sins — if we would only acknowledge our need of Him and our condition. Not only is He Holy, but, as a pruner, loving and patient, and desires above all else to walk with us every day of our lives to watch us bear fruit.

John Grady lives and writes in Fort St. John.

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CONTRIBUTORS

Ruby McBeth, Evan Saugstad, Ken Boon, John Grady, Don Pe it, Heather Sjoblom, Jaclyn McNicol, Merlin Nichols, Pa i McDougall, Dr. Kirsten Miller

Interested in contributing? Send an email to at editor@ahnfsj.ca

William Julian Regional Manager wj@ahnfsj.ca

Ryan Wallace Sales Manager rwallace@ahnfsj.ca

Ma Preprost Managing Editor editor@ahnfsj.ca

Lynn Novack Circulation Manager circulation@ahnfsj.ca

16 MW turbine, expected to be operational by 2024. Wow.

the Peace Energy Cooperative.

The Danish North Sea Wind Power Hub will be largest wind facility in the world, and will also produce green hydrogen from sea water, a powerful zero carbon liquid fuel.

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

In the book of Isaiah, the biblical prophet says that, “If you open your heart to the hungry, and provide abundantly for those who are afflicted, your light will shine in the darkness, and your gloom will be like the noon.”

So it is that Wilfred Alero has brought his light to Fort St. John from Kenya, opening his heart to serve the spiritual needs of those often forgotten by society: the elderly in their dying days and people battling addiction on the streets.

“To be a chaplain means to stand with people who are needy. There is a genuine need out there other than the one in the church where you see people coming in their Sunday best,” says Alero, approaching his one-year anniversary of moving to Fort St. John to provide chaplaincy services at the Peace Villa care home and Salvation Army shelter. “That is what I’m there to offer.”

An ordained Anglican priest, Alero came to Canada in July 2019 to work for the Bulkley Valley parish in Smithers. But in March 2021, after a year of Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns and prohibitions on public worship services, Alero says he “hit a bump” and couldn’t continue with his ministry there.

But restrictions of his work visa, which allowed him to perform religious duties only, meant there wasn’t much else for him to do. Months later in August, he began volunteering with the fire department in Houston to shake the emotional and mental toll of being jobless. His wife, a child care worker, supported the family while he took care of their three young children, all boys, at home.

“I was still trying to find the face of God in what he wanted me to do here,” he says. “I really wanted to go back home because I thought Canada was not the right place for

me. I mistook that it was my call, or it was my call still, yes, but I needed something else alongside that.”

When he first saw the ad for a chaplain wanted at Peace Villa, Alero wasn’t sure if it was his calling, even though being ordained in the missionary Anglican church allows him to move and minister anywhere in the world there is a need.

“I was like, chaplain? At a care home? No, I’m a minister in an active ministry. I’m not thinking about that. Then I gave it a thought for a month or two, then I said, Well, maybe this is what God wants of me,” he says. “I made an application and [the Ministerial Association] invited me for an interview and they thought I was fit for the job. That’s how we moved up here.”

That was in February 2022, and by the end of summer, Alero had also taken up the chaplaincy at the Salvation Army. Alero takes inspiration from William Booth, the English preacher

who founded the faith-based charity in 1865.

“He said that his decision to start the foundation of the Salvation Army was based on the thought that we have been ministering to people in the church, people coming to us. But there are people out there who don’t know what church is, who don’t know God. And now, this may be the time to leave the conventional means of ministering from the pulpit, to the streets,” he says.

“I was really excited with that, taking the church out there to people who need it, who can’t come to church because of various reasons, some mental, psychological, economic, feeling of discrimination,” he says. “That really inspired me.”

Serving the city’s most vulnerable, Alero says giving spiritual guidance to care home residents is “extremely different”

than providing it for those living in the shelter. Residents in long-term care are often older than 90 with some suffering from dementia; residents at the shelter are often young and struggling with addictions, their whole lives still ahead of them.

“In residential care… my main job there is to transition, to make sure that before they go to rest they know God, and their fate in the life after this one,” he says. “It comes with its challenges, especially death, because we bond, we sing, we talk, they laugh… But then a few days later, you hear that they’re dead.”

“In the Salvation Army, this is an extremely productive age, people who still need their future. They have a vision, but something has hap-

pened in their life that they cannot actualize it because of mental breakdown, and, you know, drugs,” he continues. “So the biggest thing here is to return that hope to them. And the worst thing here is to see someone dying at 19 because of overdose… all their potential is gone. That is what breaks me down. He had this potential. We never saw it.”

“But the ultimate thing, the biggest thing at the end of the day, is to introduce Christ to them because Christ changes everything,” he says. “We try to walk them through their real struggles in life, and give them hope.”

Going on four years of integrating into Canada and moving around with his ministry, Alero says he and his family are here for the long-term. He wants stability for his children, ages 13, seven, and five, most of all.

“They got friends, they have fun. They have adjusted and they’re at home. If anything, moving them again would be the trouble,” he says. “It has come to that time where I want my children to settle down and grow up with their friends in an environment they can call home.”

As for himself and his wife, Alero admits they’re still adjusting some days, especially to the climate. But, he says, “I keep challenging myself every day, trying to look at the positive side of it and ignoring the darker side. I have to really play with my attitude, my mind, and tell myself that it will be well, it is well.”

“Every day I see the sun I tell myself that it’s a beautiful day,” he says. “If there is no sunlight, then I try to find something that will help me, that will convince me that it’s a beautiful day.”

MATT PREPROST PHOTO

Wilfred Alero in the pews at Peace Lutheran Church.

Sweet evening promised at Chocolate Festival

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

Fort St. John’s annual Chocolate Festival returns Feb. 11, and bakers and volunteers are needed to make this year’s fundraiser for local arts programming a success.

Whether it’s squares, candy, cakes, cookies, commercially made or crafted by the kids, organizers are ask-

ing interested bakers to sign up and support art in its many forms at the North Peace Cultural Centre and Peace Gallery North.

Participants will have to make two batches of their delectable dessert dish, one to be cut up for samples, and the other to be sold during a live auction held in the evening.

Funds raised at the event go towards arts programming

including the Creative Kids After School Program and the Let’s Art free art class.

The festival starts at 6 p.m. on Feb. 11, with tickets available through the NPCC box office and website.

Those interested in taking part as baker or volunteer, or those looking for tickets, should contact Oliver Hachmeister at the cultural centre at 250-785-1992.

Local photographer runner-up in Canadian Geographic contest

By Alanna Kelly

Two B.C. photographers are getting high praise for their work.

Canadian Geographic has announced the winners of the Canadian Photos of the Year competition and two people from British Columbia took home second place.

More than 6,400 entries were submitted and just 12 ‘outstanding’ images were honoured for their originality, technical skill and visual impact.

Alexandra Pope, editor-inchief at Canadian Geographic, says great photography comes down to a combination of location, timing and skill.

“Each of the winning images tells a compelling story and is a testament to the talent and passion of our photographic community,” says Pope.

There were four categories: epic landscapes; wildlife in action; city life; and weather, seasons and sky.

Brandon Broderick of Tumbler Ridge, B.C. won runnerup in the epic landscapes

category and fellow B.C. resident Gabor Dosa of Surrey also won runner-up for his city life photograph.

Glacier Media has reached out to Broderick and Dosa for comment.

The prestigious Canadian Photographer of the Year was awarded to Ontario photographer Alan Poelman.

“Poelman’s wildlife and landscape photography stood out among the submissions for its depth, quality and range. A portrait of a lynx staring straight at the camera was a particular favourite of the judges,” says a statement from the Royal Canadian Geographic Society.

Poelman described how he was at a lake he previously visited as a kid and spotted the lynx.

“I have never been as excited about a photo as I was for the lynx encounter,” he says.

The winning images will all be published in Canadian Geographic’s March/April issue. Poelman received a $5,000 grand prize.

— Glacier Media

Court Docket, Jan. 3 to 6

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

• Francine Marie Grey (born 1980) was fined $1500 and given a one-year criminal driving prohibition for impaired driving over the 80-point blood alcohol concentration limit, and fined $500 and ordered to pay a $75 victim surcharge for driving while prohibited in Dawson Creek in July 2020.

• Shandee Rose Simpson (born 1986) was granted a conditional discharge with one month probation for dangerous driving and failing to stop in Hudson’s Hope in May 2022.

• Kenneth Albert Wood (born 1985) was given a suspended sentence with 15 months probation for assault committed in Chetwynd in November 2021.

(born 2001) was issued a one year $0 recognizance after allegation of causing fear of injury or damage to property in Doig in December 2021.

• Frank Szabolcsi (born 1969) was issued a one year $0 recognizance after allegation of causing fear of injury or damage to property in Chetwynd in December 2021.

• Gerry Allan Lafleur (born 1973) was sentenced to time served for breach of a release order in Fort St. John in July 2022.

NOTES ON SENTENCING

Suspended sentence: The judge convicts the accused but suspends sentencing, and instead releases them on conditions set out in a probation order.

Coastal GasLink more than 80% complete

By Arthur Williams

By the end of 2022, work on the $11.2 billion Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline across northern B.C. was 81.2 per cent complete, according to information released by pipeline owner TC Energy.

The construction portion of the overall project was 77.8 per cent as of the December update. As of Nov. 30, roughly 6,120 workers were employed along the 670-km pipeline route from the Wilde Lake Compressor Station, west of Dawson Creek, to LNG Canada’s liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminal under construction in Kitimat.

“To date, our team has installed nearly 490 km of pipe across the 670-kilometer route, and steady progress is made each day,” an update issued by TC Energy in late December said. “This year, we also safely and successfully completed 9

out of 10 major watercourse crossings.”

As of the December update, pipeline installation was complete in two of the project’s eight sections: Section 1 from west of Dawson Creek to South of Chetwynd, and Section 4 from north of Prince George to northwest of Vanderhoof.

On Section 3, from east of McLeod Lake to north of Prince George, 83.2 per cent of grading and 64.6 per cent of pipeline installation was complete. Roughly 1,164 workers were based at Parsnip Lodge, located northeast of Bear Lake.

Construction was least advanced in Section 7 of the project, where only 67.6 per cent of grading and 32.4 per cent of pipeline installation was complete, as of the December update. Section 7 is the 77 km stretch from south of Houston to north of Morice Lake, where a work camp was attacked in

February and Wet’suwet’en First Nation hereditary chiefs and their supporters have engaged in blockades.

In November, TC Energy announced that cost pressures had driven the expected pricetag of the project to $11.2 billion, up from earlier estimates of $6.6 billion. “This year has been full of many milestone achievements, and it’s all thanks to the support of the Indigenous and local communities along the project route,” the TC Energy update said. “We look forward to continuing to build this extraordinary legacy with you as we enter the final year of construction in 2023.”

Construction of phase 1 of LNG Canada’s $40 billion export terminal was 70 per cent complete in late September, and was not expected to start shipping for another two or three years.

— Prince George Citizen

• Brandon Cole Giesbrecht (born 2001) was issued a one year $500 recognizance after allegation of causing fear of injury or damage to property in Fort St. John in September 2022.

• Corissa Jessica Bratko (born 1995) was issued a one year $500 recognizance after allegation of causing fear of injury or damage to property in Dawson Creek in October 2021.

• Jason Carl Schafer (born 1981) was issued a one year $0 recognizance after allegation of causing fear of injury or damage to property in Hudson’s Hope in December 2021.

• Jacob Samuel Barrett

Conditional sentence: The judge gives the accused a jail term, but allows them to serve it in the community as long as they follow certain conditions. Often called house arrest.

Conditional discharge: The accused’s record won’t show a conviction if they meet conditions the judge sets out in a probation order.

Recognizance after allegation: An agreement to keep the peace and be of good behaviour when the court finds there are reasonable grounds that a person will commit an offence.

Victim surcharge: A fine levied by judges at their discretion during sentencing that goes toward helping victims of crime.

BRANDON BRODERICK PHOTO

Via Canadian Geographic: “British Columbia’s Nass River is seen from above at low tide near the Nisga’a Village of Gingolx.”

This year’s Chocolate Festival goes Saturday, Feb. 11.

She will be missed and forevermore loved, and never forgotten.

Condolences can be shared through Hamres Funeral Chapel at www.hamresfuneral.com.

TRUCKS & VANS

OBITUARIES

Frances Edwards (Burnard)

August 8, 1930 - January 2, 2023

It is with deep sorrow and much love that we mourn the passing of Frances Edwards of Fort St. John, BC on January 2, 2023 at 92 years of age. Frances was born at home in Edam, Saskatchewan to parents Archibald and Nora Burnard.

Loving Wife, Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother, Frances will be lovingly remembered by her Children, Janet Abbott (Jim), Karen Sutherland (Lorn), Gertrude Steiner (Rod), Gary Edwards (Joan) and Linda Foster (Brad). Her memory will be cherished by her Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren.

Frances moved to Pouce Coupe with her sister Dorothy Swanberg in 1957. ey were Maternity Nurses at the hospital. She met Lyle Edwards in 1959 at the Pouce Coupe Hospital as he brought his future Brother-In-Law in with a broken leg. Lyle and Frances were married April 18, 1960 and started a family in 1961.

Lyle and Frances bought land at Clearview in 1964 and moved to the farm in 1970. e two retired April 9, 1999 when they moved to Fort St. John. eir son Gary and family bought the farm where they continue to farm to this day.

Frances was predeceased by her Husband Lyle Edwards. A private family celebration will be held at a later date. ose wishing to make donations in Frances’ memory can do so to the Fort St. John Hospital Foundation Cancer Treatment Fund. Condolences may be forwarded through www.hamresfuneral.com

Notice

ProposedAmendmenttoBoardProcedureBylaw

In accordance with the  Local Government Act, notice is hereby given that the Peace River Regional District Board intends to consider changes to its Procedure Bylaw at the February 2, 2023, Regular Board Meeting. The proposed amendment is to add ‘Chair’s Report’ as a standing item on the order of business at Board meetings.

A copy of the proposed bylaw and the sta report outlining changes in further detail will be published on January 27, 2023, as part of the February 2, 2023, Regional Board Meeting Agenda on the PRRD Website;  www.prrd.bc.ca. Questions or comments regarding the proposed bylaw may be directed to Tyra Henderson, Corporate O cer, at 250-784-3200 or tyra.henderson@prrd.bc.ca.

Tyra Henderson Corporate O cer

www.prrd.bc.ca

vast.

(Public) Board Meeting 5:30 p.m.

(Public) Committee of the Whole Meeting1:30 p.m.

(Public) Board Meeting 5:30 p.m.

(Public) Board Meeting 5:30 p.m.

p.m.

Board Meeting 5:30 p.m.

(Public) Committee of the Whole Meeting1:30 p.m.

Board Meeting 5:30 p.m.

p.m.

p.m.

Ellen Ruth Knight (Fox) 1937 – 2023

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Ellen Knight (Fox) at 85 years of age.

Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. In lieu of owers, expressions of sympathy can be made in memory of Ellen to the Fort St. John Senior Citizens Association – Branch 58.

PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT

By Carla Wilson

An unusual green-tailed comet that last appeared in our skies 50,000 years ago is making a return trip this month, when it can be viewed with the naked eye.

It’s a once-in-many-lifetimes opportunity, since even if it does return, it will take tens of thousands of years to reappear on its long orbit, says Karun Thanjavur, a senior astronomy laboratory instructor at UVic.

The comet can be viewed already with high-powered equipment. But on Feb. 1, it will be closest to the earth at more more than 40 million kilometres — making it easier to see from about 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Thanjavur recommends going to a dark place away from light pollution. The comet, dubbed C/2022 E3, will appear as a “smudge” in the sky, he said, but viewers can see it more clearly with binoculars or a telescope. He recommends looking between the Big Dipper and the Cassiopeia constellation, which resembles an inverted “W.”

The comet will not be as bright as the Neowise comet that passed by Earth in 2020, and has a stubby-shaped tail, Thanjavur said.

Observers in the northern hemisphere will find the comet in the morning sky, as it moves swiftly toward the northwest during January, according to NASA. It’s expected to become visible in the southern hemisphere in early

February.

The space agency describes the chance to see the comet as an “an awesome opportunity to make a personal connection with an icy visitor from the distant outer solar system.”

The comet was discovered last year by astronomers at Zwicky Transient Facility at Palomar Observatory in California. At that time, the comet was inside the orbit of Jupiter, NASA said.

Thanjavur said comet discovery is becoming more common as telescopes have improved. Now, many dedicated telescopesare directed at the sky nightly, and data they collect is often made available publicly, he said.

More eyes on the data results in more discoveries, he said. “In some ways, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

The C/2022 E3 comet is believed to have originated from the Oort Cloud, a massive area holding frozen chunks of dust and gas. Those chunks turn into comets when they come closer to the sun’s heat and light and begin evaporating. Comets are hit by “high-energy” ultraviolet radiation from the sun, which “excites the gas,” causing it to emit light, Thanjavur said.

The gas is carbon and in this case, its light is greenish in colour. Dust that is evaporated forms a tail as it reflects sunlight. That means there are two tails — one from the gas and another from the dust, he said.

— Times Colonist

GETTY IMAGES

A rare green comet last appeared in our skies 50,000 years ago.