ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2022 | SPORTS | A5
Here are the top results from the North Peace 4-H Achievement Days held at the North Peace Fall Fair grounds July 9 and 10, 2022: BEEF SHOW Grand Champion Steer – Jennifer Bell Reserve Champion Steer – Melissa Dick Top Home-Grown Steer of the Show - Jennifer Bell Light Weight Steer - 1. Jaida Morton 2. Wren Shipley 3. Jessie Giesbrecht Intermediate Weight Steer - 1. Kaylee Wiebe 2. Bailey Fell 3. Piper Masse Heavy-Intermediate Weight Steer - 1. Melissa Dick 2. Joelle Shipley 3. Sara Trask Heavy Weight Steer - 1. Jennifer Bell 2. Arlee Newsham 3. Grace Trask MATT PREPROST PHOTOS
Grand Champion Heifer – Brooklyn Morton Reserve Champion Heifer – Jessie Giesbrecht Grand Champion 2 yr old Cow/Calf – Payton Briltz Reserve Grand Champion 2 yr old Cow/Calf – Grace Trask Grand Champion Mature Cow/Calf – Rheana Gilbert Grand Champion Female of the Show - Rheana Gilbert Reserve Champion Female of the Show - Payton Briltz Grand Champion Pen of 3 Steers – Green Valley Reserve Champion Pen of 3 Steers – Wonowon Steer with the Highest Average Daily Gain - Ross Kishkan Top Junior Groomer - Sariya Wiebe Top Intermediate Groomer Donovan Snider Top Senior Groomer - Jessie Giesbrecht Top Overall Groomer - Donovan Snider Top Junior Showman - Caitlyn Kelly Top Intermediate Showman Donovan Snider Top Senior Showman - Jessie Giesbrecht Top Overall Showman - Caitlyn Kelly Herdsman of the Day - Rheana Gilbert Best Dressed Club - Silver Willow Best Barn Display - Silver Willow Best Angus Sired Female of the Show - Atalya Clay Angus Sired Steer with the Highest Rate of Gain - Arlee Newsham Best Simmental Sired Female of the Show - Rheana Gilbert Best Simmental Sired Steer of the Show - Melissa Dick
Jennifer Bell of Silver Willow 4-H with her Grand Champion steer at 2022 Achievement Days. Named for the Hudson’s Hope pioneer, Jim Beattie had a final weight of 1386lbs, and also won first place in the heavy weight class.
HORSE SHOW Overall Horse Husbandry - Camryn Allen All Units Highest Scoring Showmanship - Harlan Giesbrecht All Units Highest Scoring Equitation - Wendy Whitford High Point Level 2 & Up - Kailey Amboe Team Cowboy Challenge - Alexa Giesbrecht/Camryn Allen Individual Cowboy Challenge Alexa Giesbrecht Showmanship Raelle Amboe - Silver (Level 6) Harlan Giesbrecht - Gold (Level 5) Alexa Giesbrecht - Silver (Level 4) Kailey Amboe - Silver (Level 3) Wendy Whitford - Silver (Level 2) Camryn Allen - Silver (Level 2) Emma Giesbrecht - Bronze (Level 2)
Emily Wiebe (left) and Jessica Wiebe of Prespatou 4-H, with this year’s Grand and Reserve Champion market lambs at 2022 Achievement Days.
Equitation Kailey Amboe - Gold (Level 3) Wendy Whitford - Gold (Level 2) SWINE SHOW Grand Champion market hog Denika Briltz Reserve Champion market hog Lenard Pugh Grooming Class 1. Denika Briltz 2. Lenard Pugh 3. Payton Briltz Showmanship Class 1. Payton Briltz 2. Lenard Pugh 3. Denika Briltz DOG SHOW
SHEEP SHOW Top Junior in Grooming Walker Masse Reserve Junior in Grooming Mikayla Schaeffer Top Senior in Grooming - Emily Wiebe Reserve Senior in Grooming Hailey Shipley
Wiebe Top Senior Showman - Joelle Shipley Reserve Senior Showman - Emily Wiebe Overall Showman - Joelle Shipley Reserve Overall Showman - Emily Wiebe Shepherd of the Day - Jessica Wiebe Sheep Member with the Most Points - Joelle Shipley Grand Champion Ewe Lamb Jessica Wiebe Reserve Champion Ewe Lamb Joelle Shipley Grand Champion Ewe with Lamb Joelle Shipley Reserve Champion Ewe with Lamb - Hailey Shipley Overall Female of the Show - Joelle Shipley Grand Champion Market Lamb Emily Wiebe Reserve Champion Market Lamb Jessica Wiebe
Rheana Gilbert of Silver Willow 4-H with Anne Young, Grand Champion Female of the Show at 2022 Achievement Days here at the North Peace fairgrounds. Bred by Sasquatch Valley Simmentals, Anne Young, pictured with calves Harvey and Terry Wood, has a final weight of 1264lbs. Also pictured are Piper Masse and Bailey Fell.
Top Overall Groomer - Emily Wiebe Reserve Overall Groomer - Walker Masse
Top Junior Showman - Mikayla Shaeffer Reserve Junior Showman - Tamara
Alexa Giesbrecht - Bronze Emma Giesbrecht - Bronze See more pictures from this year’s Achievement Days online at alaskahighwaynews.ca/ photos-and-videos
ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2022 | PEOPLE’S CHOICE | A11
ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
A12 | NEWS | THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2022
Hybrid parliaments draw mixed reviews from Northern MPs Mark Nielsen mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
DAVE LUENEBERG PHOTO
TUNNEL VISION — Dawson Creek’s Claire Chymko, 6, takes a break from shopping with her mother and sister to race down the aluminum tube slide during a visit to the Centennial Park playground June 9. It also sheltered her from strong afternoon winds.
Fort St. John RCMP present crime statistics to city council Dave Lueneberg sports@ahnfsj.ca On the surface, crime in Fort St. John was down in 2021 versus the year before, but figures did fluctuate. In its annual report to city council, RCMP Inspector Anthony Hanson said much of his presentation might be skewed because of the pandemic. Factors, he said, like a smaller population with no industry and many staying home with Covid-19 restrictions, likely, played a role. Overall, there were 3,304 criminal offenses within city limits last year, down from 3,636 in 2020. Rural numbers, however, were up slightly by 21 to 807, due
partly to the increase in industrial thefts. “The fact that industry has re-started, that’s really it,” said Hanson. “We’ve, basically, had two years of minimal industry and now industry is rolling back in and, with that, comes more equipment and more opportunity to steal that equipment.” The RCMP document also showed a drop in impaired driving incidents but they’re not mainly alcohol-related, like in years past, as Hanson points out. “We’re certainly seeing, at least what we’re dealing with, a greater number where drugs are involved,” said Hanson. “Usually an opioid or synthetic opioid
or fentanyl analog behind the wheel.” For RCMP, though, it brings with it some challenges. “We only have a certain number of trained members who can take that investigation through to a criminal code conclusion. We just need to get more people trained,” added Hanson. The presentation also broke down vehicle thefts, which showed an increased year-over-year from 132 to 160. The number of charged adults also went up last year from 266 to 305. However, overall service calls to the RCMP for the year were down by 276 to 11,672.
Members of Parliament from northern B.C. may be among those with the farthest to travel but they remain largely in support of gathering in-person over attending meetings and debates in Ottawa via video conferencing technology. Prince George-Cariboo Conservative MP Todd Doherty said he has mixed emotions over so-called “hybrid parliaments” that gave MPs the option of attending in-person or virtually. Due to ongoing troubles with his knee, Doherty continues to get around on crutches and admitted to relying on the format to take in meetings and debates, but accused the governing Liberals of taking advantage of the situation. “They’ve used it to shut down debate, which they did this week again,” Doherty said. “They claimed technical difficulties, they adjourned the House and then when everybody had gone home and shut off their computers, a minister crept into the House and did closure on a Bill. “It’s those kind of tricks and dilatory motions and acts that they’re doing that are just really making it hard for us to trust that they’ve got the best intentions.” Rules allowing MPs to appear virtually in the House of Commons - at first entirely and then in a hybrid format - were introduced near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, after Parliament adjourned for a time when public health officials were urging people to work from home. Members of Parliament cast their first virtual vote, using video-conference technology, in September 2020 and then were able to
do so through an app the following spring. Last week, MPs stuck to party lines when a Liberal motion was passed to extend the hybrid sittings in the House of Commons until June 2023. New Democrats, Greens and the House’s lone Independent joined Liberals in support while Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois opposed. Taylor Bachrach, the NDP MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley, said making the format permanent is worth considering. “I totally agree that there are many benefits of being in Parliament in person. There is so much relationship-building and informal meetings that take place that are really invaluable,” Bachrach said from Ottawa. “But my hope is that we can strike a balance that both maintains the benefits of in-person Parliament and provides flexibility for young parents, for people who have accessibility challenges and for situations where you might have to be on the other side of the country at a certain time. “It’s a hot debate and at this point the virtual Parliament is going to continue until June 2023. The longterm conversation is one we’re yet to have.” Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies Conservative MP Bob Zimmer said he’s does not support hybrid parliaments in “any way.” “When you have a chance to talk to someone person to person, it’s a different conversation and there is way more that can be accomplished,” Zimmer said. “It’s just something I’ve seen over the last 11 years (of being an MP) and even before.” - with files from The Canadian Press
$1.4M for Peace fish and wildlife projects
RCMP HANDOUT
SEIZED FAWN — Mounties in Fort St. John seized a deer and stash of drugs during a traffic stop last month. According to a release, RCMP said officers conducting the early morning stop on June 30 found a one-month-old fawn in the back seat of the vehicle. “The occupants of the vehicle were arrested for possession of live wildlife, with the subsequent investigation resulting in drugs being seized,” RCMP said. “The fawn enjoyed some time with RCMP members before being handed over to Conservation. The deer will be headed for the Rimrock Wildlife Rehab to be reintegrated to the wild once able to do so.” Police say the investigation continues, “both for the drugs seized and a separate investigation by the BC Conservation Office.”
Twenty-five research projects supporting fish and wildlife in the B.C. Peace region are being funded by the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program this year. The projects will see a combined $1.4 million in funding through the program, which target fish and wildlife impacted by hydroelectric dam development in the region. The funding covers a wide range of work, including continued funding for the KlinseZa caribou maternity pen, which the FWCP says over the last nine years has helped herd numbers “triple in size.” The FWCP says other ongoing project funding awarded this year includes the Mugaha Marsh Bird-Banding Station, operated by Mackenzie Nature Observatory on the Parsnip Reach of the Williston Reservoir, which, over two decades, the FWCP says has created “a 20-plus year data set on breeding bird population trends, distribution, and health.” “The nine fish and 15 wildlife projects approved for funding this year reflect our forward-looking approach to addressing the impacts of BC Hydro dams,” acting Peace Region manager Jen Walker-
Larsen said in a release. Other funded projects, the FWCP says, will support other animal species including moose, bull trout, lake trout, Stone’s sheep, and bats. One project with the McLeod Lake Indian Band will address information gaps about Arctic grayling populations and habitat in the Parsnip River watershed. Another project will restore 12 linear corridors in the area around the KlinseZa herd, which the FWCP says will reduce human and predator access to their habitat, and help accelerate forest regeneration. So far, about 45 kilometres of corridors have been restored under the project, now entering its fourth year, according to the FWCP. Grant funding will also support a project the health of the Dunlevy and Schooler Stone’s sheep herds, “the two southernmost functionally viable herds of the species.” The study will compile data on sheep health and population, and chart their distribution and habitat use with the use of GPS collars, according the FWCP. That will then be compared to data collected in the area from 1999 to 2005 to help inform plans for herd and habitat enhancements.