ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS
A2 | NEWS | THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2020
Set for life with lotto win Bonnie and Carl Niekamp had a lot to talk about over the campfire a few weeks ago after scoring $675,000 playing Set for Life on the way to the lake. The two stopped in at Charlie Lake Store to pick up the Scratch & Win ticket, one of their favourite traditions, but weren’t on the road long when the camping trip took an unexpected detour after Bonnie scanned their ticket using the BCLC Lotto! app. “When it told me I was a winner, I asked Carl to pull over,” she said. SUPPLIED “We were both shocked. I turned Bonnie and Carl Niekamp of Fort St. John had a lot to talk about over the campfire a few the ticket over to make sure we were weeks ago after scoring $675,000 playing Set for Life on the way to the lake. playing the game right and read
over the instructions.” Carl also checked the ticket on his phone with the Lotto! app, and it was then the couple realized its win wasn’t going to be another campfire tale. “It’s a pretty good feeling,” Carl said, with Bonnie adding, “Amazing.” The couple, who are nearing retirement, say the winnings will allow them to travel to see children and grandchildren more frequently. On any bucket list items they’ve ever dreamed about buying, Bonnie said, “When it really hits us, we will probably do something — which will probably be while we are camping.”
$10,000 for Burn Camp
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Fort St. John Fire Department Captain Brent Morgan at the annual Burn Camp.
Spillway operation update We’ve started discharging water from our spillways at the WAC Bennett and Peace Canyon dams in addition to the water discharged for generation. The spill is being done to safely manage the level of the Williston Reservoir. Between Peace Canyon and the Halfway River, flows may be slightly higher than during normal maximum discharge. We request that the public continue to be very careful when active in and around the Peace River downstream of our dams and generating facilities. Water levels can rise and fluctuate without warning even under normal operations. Spillway and generation discharge may change from time to time and our increased discharge may continue until late August. For more information on reservoir operations, please go to bchydro.com.
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Fort St. John firefighters recently donated $10,000 to the BC Burn Fund’s annual camp for young burn survivors. Traditionally held for one week in July, this year’s 27th annual Burn Camp went virtual, with 100 survivors and firefighters tuning in for music and entertainment that included water fights and a Jumanjithemed cheque rescue mission. “The Burn Fund is the charity of all BC fire fighters and I am so proud of all of them who raise funds in their off duty time to support their home communities and continue to raise funds to support burn survivors in BC and Yukon,” Gord Ditchburn, president of the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund, said. A total of 29 firefighter Locals and eight young burn survivors announced their donations to Burn
Old Fort evacuation alert cancelled The Peace River Regional District has cancelled the evacuation alert for the Old Fort subdivision. The community has been on alert since June 20, after a landslide reactivated and destroyed the only road in and out of the community. Road access was fully restored July 16. The regional district is maintaining an evacuation alert for 7711 Old Fort Road just west of the landslide, due to a potential risk and proximity of the property to the landslide. The alert says there is still “surficial movement of material on the
Peace River closure begins in June As part of the Site C project, BC Hydro will be installing debris management structures across the Peace River in advance of river diversion this fall. For safety reasons, starting mid-June, a 4 km section of the Peace River near Fort St. John will be permanently closed to boaters. Portage program: To move boaters around the construction area, a Portage Program for nonmotorized boats will operate between the Halfway River boat launch and the Peace Island Park boat launch from June 15 to September 15. Reservations are required seven days in advance of pickup. For more information visit sitecproject.com/boating or call 1 877 217 0777
Camp, despite COVID-19 cancelling numerous fundraisers. Youth fundraising totalled $18,185 and included everything from classic lemonade stands to a school-wide travel mug fundraiser. Firefighters from across BC and the Yukon raised another $181,883, for a grand total of $200,068. To date, the Fort St. John firefighters have donated more than $470,000 to the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund, and are among the top donors in the province. The firefighters announced this year’s $10,000 donation in a hilarious cheque presentation video that saw them, along with firefighters from Port Alberni and Campbell River, compete in a virtual water fight. More than 1,000 children from across B.C. have attended the camp since 1994.
slope above this house outside of the original slide area of the landslides in 2018. This is a precautionary measure because it is unknown at this time how or if the older slide will have any affect on this newer movement.” The alert says those residents should be prepared to evacuate their property on short notice if the situation worsens. The landslide restarted June 18, almost two years after it first slipped in fall 2018. Geotechnical experts blamed heavy rains after more than 50 mm drenched the city and region in mid-June.
$1.1 million for caribou projects More work is getting underway in British Columbia to restore caribou habitat across the province. Seven projects approved by the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation will receive nearly $1.1 million in grants. Of the grants, $356,959 will fund four projects in the northeast. The provincial government says habitat restoration includes planting trees to cover up old roads and seismic lines that were cleared for oil and gas exploration, which give predators clear lines of sight and access to caribou. The local projects include: Amoco Road - led by the Nîkanêse Wah tzee Stewardship Society - 56 kilometres west of Chetwynd - designed to benefit the Moberly (Klinse-Za) and Scott East caribou herds by planting trees and creating barriers along a road built for oil and gas exploration - grant of $53,150 approved for 2020-21
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Kotcho Lake - led by the Fort Nelson First Nation Lands Department - about 80 kilometres northeast of Fort Nelson - designed to benefit the Snake-Sahtahneh caribou
herd, by limiting predator use of legacy seismic lines (corridors cleared of vegetation for oil and gas exploration) and replanting areas to increase habitat suitability for caribou - grant of $164,780 approved for 2020-21 Peck Creek-Upper Carbon - led by the Nîkanêse Wah tzee Stewardship Society - 54 kilometres northeast of Mackenzie - aims to functionally and ecologically restore 14 kilometres of a road to a more natural state by planting trees and using other techniques to reduce its use by people and predators, which will benefit the Klinse-za and Scott East caribou herds - grant of $123,865 approved for 2020-21 Doonan Creek - led by the Nîkanêse Wah tzee Stewardship Society - 35 kilometres northeast of Mackenzie - aims to functionally and ecologically restore 1.6 kilometres of a road to a more natural state by planting trees and using other techniques to reduce its use by people and predators, which will benefit the Klinse-za and Scott East caribou herds - grant of $15,164 approved for 2020-21