ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
A6 | NEWS | THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2021
SOWING SEASON
TOM SUMMER PHOTOS
NEAT and the Northern Cohort hosted a seed swap and work bee at the Fort St. John Community Gardens, May 22, to kick off the 2021 growing season. Above: Adam Craig and Taylor Mitchell prep their garden box for the summer season. It’s the second year they’ve been part of the FSJ Community Gardens. Left: Mike Vanzandwyk plays a tune for the small crowd. Below: Carlos Yu tinkers with the soil at the community gardens, removing weeds.
May is MS Awareness Month MS Society of Canada member Sherri Mytopher wants to remind the public that May is MS Awareness Month. The Centennial Park stage will be lit up in red on May 30 to commemorate the occasion. The City of Fort St. John made a proclamation on May 1, and will fly a MS Society flag at City Hall all month. About 600 people across northern B.C. live with Multiple Sclerosis, a chronic autoimmune disease that can affect vision, memory, and mobility. MS is the most common neurological disease among young adults, with 60% of adults with MS between
20 and 49 years old. Approximately one in every 400 Canadians live with MS, and 12 Canadians are diagnosed every day. The MS Society provides programs and services for people living with MS and their families, and funds research to help improve the quality of life for people living with MS and to ultimately find a cure for this disease. Locally, a dine-out campaign fundraiser is already underway at participating restaurants, with the proceeds going to the society. A drive-in movie fundraiser is also being planned. To learn more, follow Peace Region MS Events on Facebook.
DILLON GIANCOLA PHOTO
Connor Vig adds some obstacles to hurdle over with his badminton drills during a North Peace Badminton Club session at Ma Murray School, May 15, 2021.
Oilmen’s golf plans up in the air Dillon Giancola sports@ahnfsj.ca
TOM SUMMER PHOTO
Sherri Mytopher at the Centennial Park stage, which will be lit up in red on May 30 to commemorate MS Awareness Month.
There will be no Oilmen’s Golf Tournament in June for the second straight year. After cancelling the 2020 tournament, the Fort St. John Petroleum Association hoped to hold this year’s tournament June 5 to 8. However, with the current public health restrictions in place, golf tournaments aren’t allowed to take place. “We’re hoping to maybe have one in the fall or as soon as it opens up. Hopefully we’re at least in the clear for next year,” said Dan Bonin,
chairman of the Oilmen’s Golf Tournament. The next Oilmen’s Golf Tournament will be the 58th edition of the longtime event. 2022 would have been in line for the tournament’s 60th anniversary. However, that special celebration keeps getting pushed further away. Currently, there are no solid plans to host Oilmen’s events this year, though the association is hopeful the trapshoot can go ahead. The 2020 Oilmen’s Trapshoot was the lone Oilmen’s event to take place during the pandemic.
ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2021 | OP-ED | A11
True Life Stories: Lessons from a single momma
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ne of the things that can happen in my line of work is that there can be significant analysis about the details of various financial products. We can talk about the MER of a mutual fund, or the dichotomy of an actively managed ETF, or the quest for alpha. But that kind of focus can detract from what is really important: How these things help real people. I first met my friend Janet Ng at a global conference for financial advisors in 2010. Superficially, Janet and I don’t have a lot in common. She is Filipino-Chinese and lives in Metro Manila. We are both financial advisors, but we operate in different spheres; We are on different sides of the planet with different regulatory environments, different cultures, different attitudes to retirement, and so on. But we have one important thing in common. We are both parents, and parent-
hood is universal. We have the same hopes and dreams that our children will grow happy and healthy. We are also both single parents, and with that come the same fears: Am I going to be OK? If something happens to me, are my kids going to be OK? Janet has written, openly and from the heart, about her journey over the years. She calls it, ‘Lessons from a Single Momma’. She talks about the pain that accompanied the breakdown of her marriage. She talks about the challenges of “moving on.” She talks about re-entering the workforce with four kids (ages 4 to 11) when her previous life experience was focused on motherhood. She talks about how all this affected her relationship with her own parents, who did not agree with her choices. Her biggest concerns included who will look after her kids if something happens to her, and how will they get a proper education.
BRAD BRAIN Fast forward four years, and she writes about the grieving process for her marriage: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. She writes about the emotional roller-coaster that follows divorce. Now that her kids are a little older, she has had “the talk” with them about what will happen if she was to die. She talks candidly with them about money. It’s the honest conversation that many of us are not brave enough, or realistic enough, to have with our own kids. Fast forward again, and now the two older kids have entered the workforce, with the two younger ones still in university. Her thoughts are focused on preparing them for the last few steps before adulthood and in-
dependence. It is time for the little birds to leave the nest and fly on their own. As the family enters this next phase, Janet is revisiting her objectives and her financial planning to keep pace with the changes. Janet says, “I know my children will still make mistakes as they grow older. That’s unavoidable. However, I’m confident that I’ve done my job well enough that they’ll pick themselves back up when they stumble and keep pushing forward even without me around. Knowing that they’re able to do so will make me proud as a mother and let me rest with some peace of mind.” Through all her journey, regardless of the unexpected twists and turns of life, what gave Janet peace of mind was knowing that things were going to be OK. As a financial advisor, Janet was eating her own cooking. She purchased significant life and disability insurance on herself, just
in case. Good job, Momma Janet. Good job. That really is what financial products and proper planning are all about. It’s not at all about the microscopic differences between product A and product B, despite all the attention such trivialities garner. Financial planning is about helping you to do the things that you want, and protecting your finances in case something terrible happens. Are you able to answer the questions, “Am I going to be OK?” and “If something happens to me, are my kids going to be OK?” If you are not comfortable with your answers, it’s time to take action. Brad Brain. CFP, R.F.P., CIM, TEP is a Certified Financial Planner in Fort St John, BC. This material is prepared for general circulation and may not reflect your individual financial circumstances. Brad can be reached at bradbrainfinancial.com.
$3 million grant Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca
DILLON GIANCOLA PHOTO
May 10 to 16 was National Nurses Week. The Alaska Highway News dropped by the Public Health Unit May 14 to give our thanks and help fuel their afternoon!
Fort St. John city councillors were scheduled to meet this week to grant $3 million in startup funds to the new North Peace Community Foundation. The city is planned to be the principal partner for the Foundation, which is being launched to invest and distribute legacy funds from the city’s Site C benefit agreements, estimated at $58 million over the next 70 years. The startup grant “will provide start up funds and demonstrate commitment to sustaining the Community Foundation into the future,” CAO Milo MacDonald wrote in a May 25 report to council. “This is one of many steps being undertaken concurrently to move the Foundation towards self sufficiency.” According to the report, the grant would be made once the Foundation is legally established as a registered charity. There is $240,000 budgeted for operating costs in 2021 with an additional $130,000 for each of 2022 and 2023, according to the report. The Foundation is planned to support local non-profits, and also fund grants-in-aid and permissive tax exemptions that currently come from the city’s operating budget. Funds from the Site C agreements will start flowing once the project is operational. In the report to council, Chief Financial Officer David Joy notes, “Until the Foundation establishes a sufficient level of funds to distribute grants to qualified charitable recipients, the City will continue to provide grants-in-aid as it has in 2021 until the Community Foundation is able to take over these disbursements.”
Kin Park tender Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca
DILLON GIANCOLA PHOTO
Ronda Hards makes her weekly stop to the Alaska Highway News office on Wednesday, May 12 to grab her copy of the weekly News.
The first phase of Kin Park upgrades is up for award. City council were scheduled to meet Tuesday, and staff are recommending the $3.87-million works be awarded to Knappett Industries. Construction includes an outdoor skating surface, pickleball courts, play structures, and a batting cage. Work also includes trail additions, storm system upgrades, trees with landscaping, and a paved parking lot. “This tender award provides a starting point for the long awaited upgrades to Kin Park which will dramatically increase the four season recreational value of this park,” writes CAO Milo MacDonald in a May 25 report to council. Phase two of the park upgrades will include the building structure with washrooms, storage and common areas scheduled be tendered later in 2021. Work is being completed alongside a major sanitary sewer upgrade and realignment of 96 Street through Kin Park and Bert Ambrose, scheduled to be completed this year. The city budgeted $5 million for the first phase of work, and has received $994,500 in provincial funding.
ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
A12 | OP-ED | THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2021
Taylor Bridge funding should be tied to natural gas growth
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n the age of COVID-19, it’s difficult for other news stories to get much attention. People are rightly focused on protecting their families and neighbours, preserving their jobs and small businesses, and thinking of the day when their lives can return to a more normal and natural rhythm of family, community, sports, and work gatherings. Decisions in Ottawa and Victoria that would normally be the subject of well-publicized debate and media coverage is another of the many casualties from the weariness settling into people’s lives as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The recent B.C. Budget is an example of this phenomenon. Like a shooting star, it appeared on a Tuesday, (April 20th), lighting up the media sky for all of 24 hours, and then disappeared. But if one takes time to do a proverbial deeper dive into the provincial budget, they will find that once again, the much-needed Taylor Bridge replacement, is nowhere to be found in the Government’s three-year financial outlook. No money, no plan. Despite the fact the 61-yearold Highway 97 bridge is experiencing rapid deterioration of its steel grid deck
FORT ST. JOHN NORTH PEACE MUSEUM ARCHIVES I984.77.27
Historical photograph of the Taylor Bridge c. 1960.
and catwalk, its name does not garner even a passing reference in the list of favoured projects. If this bridge fails, it will be a massive blow to the residents and economy of both the north and south Peace. It’s even more troubling when one considers how much extra money the area served by the bridge will pump into provincial coffers in the coming few years. Victoria is generally quite happy to spend the money generated in the Peace River region, but much less interested in funding the infrastructure that makes it possible.
Not only did the natural gas sector help bring last year’s deficit down, it’s set to overperform expectations going forward. Over the next three years, the government expects to pull in $1.35 billion in natural gas royalties and Crown land drilling rights, far more than was expected even a year ago. Most of that money will be generated in the same area the aging Taylor Bridge serves. This revenue doesn’t take into account the boost in production that will occur when LNG Canada – supplied by the Coastal GasLink pipeline in the south Peace –
comes on stream. Despite this influx of cash and its obvious connection to, and the importance of, the Peace River region, there is not a single dollar budgeted in the three-year plan for replacing the Taylor Bridge. This is a troubling omission and is symptomatic of the tendency for important regional issues to get short shrift from those holding the purse strings in the provincial capital. Over the next two years, an independent commission will examine the number of seats in the provincial Legislature – the fear is that the
large urban centres in the province will see the addition of more members of the Legislative Assembly while regions like the Peace will experience a reduction in seats. This will further dilute the influence of regions vital to creating jobs and opportunity in B.C., and make it harder for voices from the North and the Peace to be heard on important issues that require support from the provincial government. In an effort to amplify the voices from the Peace, earlier this year, ICBA launched a campaign to get the Taylor Bridge on to the radar of Premier John Horgan and Transportation Minister Rob Fleming. You can help by sending them an email through a website dedicated to building support for a new Taylor Bridge, BuildTaylor.ca. This disconnect cannot be allowed to get worse, so when the boundary commissioners come knocking, they need to hear loudly and clearly from our northern cities, towns and communities. And, COVID-19 pandemic or not, the Taylor Bridge needs to be replaced. Chris Gardner is President of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association
TOM SUMMER PHOTO
Curator Elinor Morrissey and summer student Joey Poirier pose in front of one the cabins on display at the Hudson’s Hope Museum, which is now open seven days a week.
Summer days and fireside tales
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armer days are here, and so are the summer hours. The museum is looking forward to seeing visitors stop in, our cabins are now open to the public. The last time I penned a column, the focus was dinosaurs, and the rich prehistoric history contained within the Peace. I’m happy to say our dinosaur exhibit will be getting new foam inserts to better hold fossils and castings. Virtual heritage fairs were held last month, with students from Grades 3 to 6 submitting displays on local history. A big thanks to all the judges who volunteered their time to review projects. One summer student has also been hired on, wishing a welcome back to Joey Poirier. He’ll be working on accession materials, updating artifacts for our database, and safely moving them into the temperature controlled storage in the Rutledge Heritage Building. The building chronicles the history of guides and outfitters in Hudson’s Hope and surrounding areas. The structure was
reclaimed from Leo Rutledge’s homestead, who arrived in 1929 to make his fortune in the Peace. Other prominent outfitters are also featured, such as Olive Powell, who donated over 60 taxidermy animals collected by her and her husband Gary. The pair ran an outfitting business all the way from Fort Nelson to Peace River for more than 30 years. I’ve also been chatting with author and historian Jay Sherwood. He’s a family friend, and a friend to the museum. For the past few years, Jay’s been sifting through journals left by my Great Uncle, Willard Freer. A book is in the works for a 2022 release, titled Kechika Chronicler: The Northern B.C. Diaries of Willard Freer. Freer was one of the cowboys hired in 1934 for the Bedeaux Expedition, which saw Citroen half-tracks make their way through the wilderness of Northern Alberta and B.C. The journals chronicle Freer’s life after the expedition, from 1942 to 1975. He spent much of his time living along
the Alaska Highway in Fireside north of Fort Nelson, along the Liard River. Jay says his diaries are incredibly valuable, with a rich pantheon of Northern B.C. historical figures mentioned in the pages. Freer worked with Skook Davidson for many years at the Diamond J Ranch and spent time packing for government survey parties and mining companies, as well as working for the US Army during World War II. The museum is now open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We’re always looking for volunteers so if you have a keen interest in history or would just like to learn a little more about the valley, come out and volunteer. We have lots of scanning and accessioning of historical photos and artifacts to be done. Training is provided If you would like any further information, please call 250-7835735 or email at hhmuseum@pris.ca. Tom Summer is president of the Hudson’s Hope Historical Society