012413-nenews

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January 24, 2013 - Vol. 10 - No. 4

MDI better than current practice?

Inside

By Kyla Corpuz

Proper med disposal Page 3

Unique art exhibit Page 10

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of using MDI because it wasn’t economically sound—not because of health concerns, according to Coote. However according to Cushway, when residents walked away from an open house hosted by PV OSB 10 years ago, their understanding was that the company would not use the reactive chemical because of the amount of people who spoke out against it due to health and environment concerns. Coote said the LP representative at the time “certainly would not have said they weren’t using MDI because of health concerns,� because the LP plant Coote managed in Manitoba was already using the resin in their production. Work Safe BC states that MDI (a type of isocyanates, there are two types of isocyanates: MDI and TDI. MDI is known to be the less hazardous) can cause irritation to eyes, skin and respiratory systems. However MDI isn’t the only resin with side affects. The resin currently being used by PV OSB is phenol formaldehyde. Experiments have shown that when formaldehyde is heated it causes cancer in animals, according to the Health and Safety Executive website, and phenol formaldehyde is used extensively in the hotbox and warm box processes to produce cores and moulds, reads the HSE website. “Ten years ago the trend within the industry was to try and get away from MDI because of the cost impacts of it,� said Coote. “Not because of the health impacts. And the trend today in the industry is migrating more towards MDI because in a lot of sense it’s seen as a greener alternative.� MDI is used throughout the OSB industry. Ainsworth Engineered, a North American OSB producer, also uses MDI in their production. Their marketing manager for western Canada, Norm Kwok, said that MDI is “fairly popular.� While MDI is more expensive than the phenol formaldehyde resin, it requires less of it to get the job done at a quicker pace, said Coote. Dawson Creek’s OSB plant is currently not distributing OSB, but has been using MDI.

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FORT ST. JOHN – Concern from residents started to flurry over Peace Valley OSB’s application to use MDI, a chemical known to cause asthma and other side effects, last November. Two-hundred residents in the area attended an open-house meeting in the middle of December to discuss their queries on MDI being used at the local plant. Sandra Cushway, organizer of the community open mic session, set up the first meeting just days after learning PV OSB applied to use MDI; she has organized a second one on Jan. 29, a day before PV OSB’s open house. “Due to the fact that there was a lot of concern, [PV OSB] was planning a meeting on the 30th ‌ they said it would be an open house, and so at that time I told people that, ‘Yes there is an open house,’ but [residents] don’t want an open house. We want to voice our concerns,â€? said Cushway. PV OSB’s open house will give opportunity for residents to ask questions at the end of their presentation. The Ministry of Environment said the concerns raised by the community will be taken into consideration despite the official public comment period ending on Jan. 15. Some residents are wary of why PV OSB has suddenly decided to introduce MDI after a decade, especially since the company stated they weren’t going to use it in its production process when the plant was first built. PV OSB is owned by a joint venture between Louisiana-Pacific (LP) and Canfor. Canfor is currently in the middle of selling its stake to LP. As of last year, LP took over the management side of the plant. Ian Coote, PV OSB general manager, alluded that this was the reason behind their recent MDI application. “Basically every one of [LP’s] OSB mills utilize MDI to some degree, so one of the things that LP wanted to do is bring the best practice of OSB to the Peace Valley OSB, and one of those best practices is MDI.â€? A decade ago PV OSB had no intention

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January 24, 2013

Northeast NEWS

Greyhound cuts approved by Passenger Transportation Board By Jill Earl DAWSON CREEK - Travelling between cities in the Peace River Regional District and in some areas of the province will become slightly more difficult for passengers using public transportation. On Jan. 15 the Passenger Transportation Board approved an application submitted on Oct. 10 by Greyhound Canada to reduce the minimum route frequency on 15 routes in the province and eliminating one route altogether. In the PRRD three routes will be affected: Route G that travels from the Alberta Border to Dawson Creek, Route I1 that travels from Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson and Route J that goes from Dawson Creek to Prince George. Route G will be reduced from two daily trips to one; Route I1 will not reduce its required one daily trip but will cut its 30 weekly trips to 14 between Dawson Creek and Fort St. John.

Route J will not change its level of service for the Mackenzie portion of the trip but will reduce frequency of trips from 24 to 14, for the Bear Lake portion the reduction will be from 19 to 14 weekly trips. Greyhound will have 14 days to notify passengers of the reduced service, except for a route from Vancouver to Mt. Currie where they will have 21 days and a route from Victoria to Mt. Washington Alpine Resort where they will have seven days. The Passenger Transportation Board received and considered more then 200 public comments before deciding to approve the application. The City of Dawson Creek, The City of Fort St. John and the North Central Local Government Association submitted comments opposing the reductions on all three affected routes. The NCLGA raised concerns over the impact of freight services in all three cases; but the board did not examine how freight would be impacted as their jurisdiction relates solely to passenger transportation. “We note, however, that GCTU [Greyhound Canada Transportation ULC] stated that approval of the proposed route re-

D.C. looking at risks to FairShare funding By Jill Earl

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GATEWAY perspectives

In fact, it’s taken more than 10 years of extensive, careful, and diligent planning to ensure Gateway is one of the safest, most environmentally responsible projects of its kind. Our team of engineers and scientists has taken great pains to ensure that the proposed pipeline route is almost entirely made up of pre-existing corridors of activity, such as logging roads, forestry roads, cut lines, or other “previously disturbed� areas. Our engineers, and experts familiar with B.C.’s terrain, have also spent years using the most advanced technology available to identify and mitigate any potential geohazard risks — such as landslides, rock fall, avalanches, seismic issues, and marine clays. We’ve worked hard to minimize the risks, and ensure the safest pipeline route possible, with extra measures such as deeper pipe burial, tunnels, and special pipe design. Last summer, we also announced a $500-million package of enhancements to make an already extremely safe project even safer. Those safety measures included: boosting the overall wall

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thickness of the pipeline; ďŹ tting the pipeline with dual-leak detection analysis systems; bumping up the frequency of in-line inspection surveys to a minimum of 50 per cent above current standards; adding nearly 100 remotely operated isolation valves, bringing the total to 264; and stafďŹ ng of all our pump stations 24/7. The planning doesn’t stop, either. Working with environmental groups, First Nations communities, and government agencies, our engineering team is constantly reďŹ ning the route — with nearly two dozen amendments to date. Safety and respect for the environment have been our primary considerations in charting the Gateway pipeline route over the past 10 years. And that’s not about to change.

Janet Holder Executive Vice President Western Access Enbridge Inc.

northerngateway.ca

It’s more than a pipeline. It’s a path to delivering energy safely. Š2012 Northern Gateway Pipelines Inc.

Gagnon Strategix Consulting the approximately $39,600 contract to review the spending; the final report is expected to be released in February. As a part of the review Gagnon Strategix Consulting held a public forum last Tuesday, open for residents to learn more about how FairShare funding affects the City. “This evening is a little bit more sharing, finding out if there are any issues out there pertaining to the municipal funding formulas that are out there and seeing if we can come up with some ideas through different discussions,� said Gagnon president Yves Gagnon. Gagnon hosted another, more formal, forum the following day in a mock council where participants were elected into councillor and mayor positions. The intent was to see how residents would use FairShare funding, how they would balance the budget, if there were any overarching themes of money use and if they could come to a compromise. “We wanted to see how we could put people in the real perspective. It’s one thing to say ‘it might be easier if we put X amout of dollars in operating or in capital’, it’s another thing to say that when you have other people to contend with and try to maybe have to find a happy Jill Earl photo medium,� Gagnon said. A Gagnon Strategix consultant gives a little more detail “It’s trying to see if there are on the City’s use of FairShare funding to an interested issues that come out of that that resident. will help us understand a little of the strengths in the communities, maybe the issues that are out there,� he adds. While the firm is still developing recommendations for the City, they have identified several risks in relying on FairShare. The Provincial memorandum of understanding accounts for the City’s second highest operating rev%DQNV VD\ enue at $10.8 million in 2012, after city taxes at $13.5 mil12 WR D ORDQ " NO PROBLEM! lion. Predicted FairShare totals /HW )RUW 0RWRUV for Dawson Creek between +HOS <RX 1994 and 2019 are estimated %DG &UHGLW ‡ 6ORZ &UHGLW at $223.16 million. The City uses its FairShare to subsidize 'LYRUFH %DQNUXSWF\ $/ 529 $33 service provisions and capital ',7 &5( $17 167 72 , $SSO\ 7RGD\ DQG 'ULYH $ZD\ investment. Political risks include the :H 6SHFLDOL]H LQ +HOSLQJ *RRG 3HRSOH L OL L fact that the MOU expires ZLWK %DG &UHGLW &DOO 0DUWKD RU *UHJ IRU March 31, 2020 and the gov3UH $SSURYDO ernment may choose not renew the MOU under the current for6 9 ; 4 4 6 ; 6 9 : 33; + 46 mula. ‹ ^^^ MVY[TV[VYZ JH ‹ (SHZRH 9VHK -VY[ :[ 1VOU Continued on Page 7.

DAWSON CREEK - There’s no doubt that the residents of the Peace River Region have enjoyed the economic benefits of having the oil and gas industry prosper in the region, although the activity is expected to continue for several more years, Dawson Creek city council wants to be prepared for when that activity eventually comes to an end. Council has made a longterm financial plan with a review of FairShare spending one of their priorities in their 2012 Strategic Priorities Chart. Last November, the City awarded

A decade of careful planning The Gateway pipeline is a state-ofthe-art project, in terms of safety and environmental sensitivity. And I can assure you that doesn’t happen overnight.

ductions made with this application would not cause the discontinuation of overnight package express service in those communities,� the Board’s report states. Regional manager of passenger services for Greyhound, Grant Odsen, told the Northeast News in October that low ridership was the main reason for submitting their application to reduce their service. He said that the coach buses (that can seat 54 passengers) needed approximately 24 riders to break even, but routes in the Northeast are averaging 10 passengers a trip. Greyhound was denied an Urgent Public need application from the board in August for the same reductions. At that time Odsen said that the company was losing approximately $14 million a year on low ridership and costs for maintenance on the older fleet. The following routes have also been affected: KelownaPenticton, Vancouver-Rock Creek, Kelowna-Alberta, Prince George-Vancouver, Prince George-Fort St. James, Prince Rupert- Prince George, Alberta-Vancouver, Kelowna-Vancouver, Victoria-Nanaimo and Nanaimo- Campbell River.

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Northeast NEWS

January 24, 2013 by accident,� he said. Depending on the amount of pills in the house, Hermans advises residents to go through their medicine cabinets on a regular basis and take out what they’re not using. “Bring it right in [to the Fort St. John Pharmacy and Wellness Centre], bring it in bags or bottles.�

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The pills are then filtered into a two-gallon pail and sent to a company for incineration; it goes through the same destruction process as biohazards. Hermans said that bringing back medication is part of the recycling trend he’s noticed in recent years. The Northern Environmental Action Team (NEAT) has also started their own campaign to remind residents to safely dispose medication.

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Cory Hermans, a Fort St. John pharmacist, encourages people to bring their unwanted pills, medication or vitamins, to the Fort St. John Pharmacy and Wellness Centre for safe disposal.

Proper medication disposal By Kyla Corpuz FORT ST. JOHN – Residents are being asked to sift through their medicine cabinet and bring unwanted pills to the Fort St. John Pharmacy and Wellness centre for proper disposal. “The most important thing is to not allow the medications to go into the environment,� said local pharmacist Cory Hermans on why medication and vitamins shouldn’t be thrown in the garbage, flushed down the toilet or disposed of in the sink. “All of those end results is that it

goes into the environment. The big thing is the water,â€? he said, adding that the water treatment plants don’t have the capacity to remove medications. “If the treated water is coming back into the system you’d get the medication that you just put down the sink—potentially. So that’s where it could be harmful.â€? The residue of the pills could also end up in wildlife habitat, added Hermans. “Any kind of medication, offthe-shelf medication, vitmas, could be potentially harmful as well ‌ to

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January 24, 2013

Northeast NEWS

New PRRD bylaw hopes to bring quick compliance to the Peace By Jill Earl DAWSON CREEK – A new PRRD bylaw, effective Feb.1, will allow district staff to deal with bylaw infractions in the rural areas. With the Notice Enforcement Bylaw the district will be able to deal with infractions and disputes instead of taking the matters through an often lengthy court system. The district’s bylaw enforcement officer and screening officer will be able see matters surrounding: solid waste, zoning, building, noise, unsightly premises (Electoral Area ‘C’ only), manufactured home parks, special events and regional parks.

The enforcement officer will issue fines only after contacting the alleged offender and giving them the opportunity to comply with the bylaw if it’s necessary; a responsibility they currently don’t have. The offender will have the opportunity to appeal tickets in two stages. The district may also decide to proceed with an offence through the current process, the court. The district decided to support the bylaw when they were hearing from rural residents that it was needed. “The communities have asked for them and unless we have the tools necessary to provide some incentive for people to comply with the bylaws, they need to be upheld and the board is looking to do that to meet the publics expectations,” said general manager of development services, Bruce Simard.

Simard says that issuing fines and tickets will be their last resort, he finds that currently many residents comply with the bylaws when approached. “Nine out of ten are successfully resolved, without having to go to court or get heavy handed or anything, it takes a bit of time,” he said. The Caribou Regional District and the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality have also adopted this bylaw. “They found it’s been very successful, they’ve been getting a high level of compliance, it provides an excellent set of record tracking system for those that are habitual offenders and that type of thing, so they’ve found that it works really well,” Simard said.

Dawson Creek’s overdue maternity ward gets approximate delivery date By Jill Earl DAWSON CREEK - The Dawson Creek and District Hospital Foundation’s Extreme Maternity Makeover project is nearly nine months overdue, but new mothers delivering in the 1960s interior delivery rooms would say the makeover was due long before that. The Foundation hosted their annual Lights for Life event on Jan. 15, thanking their 2012 donors. At the event, president of the Hospital Foundation, Kristina Van De Walle announced that the project is expected to be fully finished by the end of March. The original construction time was 11-12 weeks, aiming for an opening date sometime in May or June 2012. “Really we’re down to the esthetic things, the carpentry is over, the birthing rooms are done, the tiling is done, the new bathrooms and birthing tubs are all in, the showers, all of that kind of stuff is all in now,” said Van De Walle. The Foundation had spent a couple years fundraising for the maternity ward’s renovations that include structural updates and new equipment, and thanks to 78 generous donors, the project celebrated its groundbreaking on Mar. 9, 2012. Due to a number of problems during construction including asbestos, having to upgrade a number of pipes, and dealing with the addition of birthing tubs, this estimated $430,000 project will be delivered 5”X7” Oval at an estimated $900,000; though total estimates are not in yet. LED Driving Light “What started out as a half a million dollar project has changed, and it has changed for the good. It’s for the good of the $ ea moms and our babies in the community so it’s been, I hate to use the pun, a ‘labour of love’; but, it really has been. I’m so glad people have been so patient, I really am,” Van De Walle said. Phone (250) 785-7907 Besides the redesign of the waiting room, patient rooms and Toll Free 1-888-830-9909 delivery room, the ward has received new equipment thanks to 9604-112 Street, Fort St. John, BC the project including, a life support icolette, two Panda Warmers used to elevate babies temperatures when they are first delivered, lights in the delivery room that are similar to those in the operating room, and epidural pumps among a long list Oscar Lopez and James Keelaghan Jan 25 Writers’ Open Mic Feb 12 of others. At Head Space new store At North Peace Cultural Centre “Our hospital is notorious 20 Years of Local Art at a Glance Feb 1-22 Movie “Midnight’s Children” Jan 28 for being short on equipment With Film Society at Aurora Cinema Peace Gallery North in the NPCC and you kind of steal it from one wing to another when it’s James and the Giant Peach Feb 15-23 Laugh Your Ice Oī Comedy Feb 8-11 needed,” said Van De Walle, With Stage North at NPCC With High On Ice at Lido Theatre which won’t be the case any-

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more. She also said that the Foundation ordered the equipment as soon as the donations came in, to be put to good use. Originally contractors were going to work on one side of the ward at a time, so that the ward could still operate, but as construction dragged on the construction has to occur in ‘little spurts’. “We got so long into the project that it came in spurts, ‘yeah ok, we can finish this, but we can’t finish this’ so it began to become, ‘how can we finish it, how can we use it and how can women still be able to deliver babies safely in this place’, so that’s a reality, the patrons have been amazing,” Van De Walle said. She congratulates contractors on their efforts, and their flexibility. She explains that one woman was sent to the operating room for a caesarian section and returned from the recovery to find that her room had been fully repainted. In order to pay for the unforeseen costs the Foundation has had to rely on donations from their supporters and Northern Health, who chipped in $200,000. At the event last week, supporters including Shoppers Drug Mart and Tim Hortons presented the Foundation with some funds to cover the extra costs. Encana, a long-time supporter of the Hospital Foundation, gave them an additional $75,000. “We know that unfortunately a number of these agencies, like the Dawson Creek Hospital Foundation, they are not given enough money to supply some of the extras that are needed, like the bed, the transport bed for the infants…so we’re willing to step up and fill some of those gaps,” said Brian Lieverse, community relations for Encana. “They’ve got a great group of people here that work hard at trying to get these extras here and we’re willing to help out and we’re proud of that,” he said, confirming Encana’s future support. Van De Walle says that the event was to thank the donors from 2012 but also to let them know where their money went and how it’s helping the community. “We realize that as a Foundation, it’s nothing without donors, we’re nothing…It’s not just pretty walls, what we did was buy life saving equipment for babies…Hopefully people feel proud of being a part of something like this, that they actually are a part of saving lives in their own community, that’s a good thing,” she said. “We want to share that out. You guys saved children’s lives this year, and that’s a heck of a legacy for 2012,” she adds.

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Jill Earl photo

The Dawson Creek and District Hospital Foundation thanked their 2012 donors during their Lights for Life luncheon last week, some of their donors include: Spectra Energy, Murphy Oil, Encana, Northern Health, Dawson Creek Sportsman Club, the Dawson Creek Daily News, Shell Canada, Shoppers Drug Mart, Chances Gaming Centre, Lake View Credit Union, and Astral Media.

Northeast NEWS

January 24, 2012

Page 5

“The importance of having events like this is getting knowledge out, and whether or not it’s knowledge that you agree with or disagree with, it’s knowledge that needs to be out and shared,” she said. “I thought that … what Dr. Wendling presented is a challenge for us to take a look at. We’re not all scientist, so we have to take that information and blend it with what we’ve heard and what we know and look at what do we do right. I believe necessity is the motherhood of invention. If … we’ve reached the point that if something needs to change, we put on our work pants and get at [it].” From a mayor’s perspective she said it puts a question in her mind to look at the community’s water wells, where they are located and what activity is happening around it, “to ensure that we have a safe water supply.” Wendling has 25 years in hydrogeology and is a “reputable” expert in ground water supply and protection. His presentation last Monday was the first part of a series of studies funded by BC Real Estate, Peace River Regional District and the Custodians of the Peace totaling $37,000. “I have given some presentations in Fort St. John 10 years ago and this is a region that is very interesting and fascinating,” he said. Wendling will continue his research throughout the year looking “specifically at what’s happening at depth, two kilometres or three kilometres, and by chance is it connected to surface?” The possible adverse affects that industry has on ground and surface water requires continuous attention and research, according to Wendling. “Maybe someone should care,” he said, followed by a long pause. “Maybe we should care.”

Kyla Corpuz photo

Pet Photo of the Week

Mayor of Fort St. John and Sci-Tech North executive director Lori Ackerman, GW Solutions president Dr. Gilles Wendling and Rick Koechl with Custodians of the Peace at the ground and surface water presentation by Dr. Gilles on Jan. 14 at the Pomeroy Hotel.

Sophie Fraleigh is my super cute mixed breed. She loves to cuddle.

Study drills into possible water impacts caused by oil and gas industry By Kyla Corpuz FORT ST. JOHN – The possible affects that fracking, along with other the oil and gas practices, have on ground and surface water was the topic of conversation on Jan. 14. While B.C. industry players have been acclaimed for its fracking process and oil and gas regulations, veteran hydrogeologist Dr. Gilles Wendling said it’s time to start looking at the “other side of the medal.” “Now what are the risks? It’s very important that we define the big picture, and in the big picture you need to define … who are the most vulnerable,” said Wendling. In society the most vulnerable people are seniors and kids. In the same way, the environment’s most vulnerable elements are little streams and creeks. “These are the ones who are going to suffer first,” he said. “And they are the first element when you look at the watershed. You have the mouth of the big river, but as you go up the watershed the streams the creeks are getting smaller and smaller and smaller. “But the watershed is made up of thousands of those little streams, and [it] creates this amazing and huge network which forms extremely complex ecosystems. So if you start cutting one branch, the second branch, a hundred branches, a thousand branches—it’s the death of a thousand cuts, right? So I think we have to be aware of that.” During his presentation he outlined his findings, which question how safe current oil and gas regulations are. The Oil and Gas Commission’s watershed tool shows that 85 per cent of water is dedicated to ecosystems, meaning it is safe for industry to use 15 per cent of the flow. The average water run-off in the Peace River is roughly 16.6 billion cubic meters a year, approximately 14 million cubic meters a year is used for hydraulic fracking. That’s less than one per cent of water. However, Wendling wonders if that amount is too much. He showed an illustration of a dugout in the shape of a ‘U’ filled with water and subtracted a sliver of blue lining, equivalent

Email your pet’s photo to editor@ northeastnews.ca for a chance to win a special prize from the North Peace Veterinary Clinic

to 15 per cent. It was followed by a ‘thumbs up.’ He then showed a picture of a dugout, similar to the first, except the surface levels were different, one end was higher than the other. So what happens if the 15 per cent of water covering the lower surface bed was removed? He added that some ecosystems need all the water 1 pet will be chosen each week and will be it currently holds. featured in the Northeast News. A high percentage of water intakes come from dugouts, said Each pet chosen will be entered into a draw Wendling. As part of his research he pumped a well 130-mefor a monthly prize supplied by the tres away from a creek for six days. Within that time frame the North Peace Veterinary Clinic creek lessened by half a metre. “When you pump from dugouts it can affect rivers significantly,” he concluded. He added that dugouts are connected to shallow aquifers. “We need to know how the aquifers move and what’s happening. We can’t just guess. Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013 Then we need to take that information and understand it.” He said regulators have spent millions of dollars researching Get Involved what happens at two to three Walk - Donate kilometres deep. However he Volunteer - Sponsor believes to fully understand the impacts it’s necessary to 2013 Walk Honours dig deeper; but digging deeper All Caregivers comes at a cost. The price tag Walk Location: to drill one kilometre below Pomeroy Sport Centre earth to study what’s happen9324 - 96th Street 250-785-4312 ing is $300,000, according to Wendling. One in three Canadians Sci-Tech North hosted the know someone with event at the Pomeroy Hotel. Walk: 11 a.m. - Noon Alzheimer’s disease Lori Ackerman, Sci-Tech Registration: 10:30 a.m. who do you know? North executive director and www.walk formemories.com Fort St. John mayor attended 1- 8 0 0 - 6 67-3742 the presentation.

FORT ST. JOHN

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Northeast NEWS

January 24, 2013

Horrific, why?

EDITORIAL

Dear Editor, Why is our Society horrified at the violence, such as the school shootings, home invasions, police brutality, assaults, personal and property abuse, etc., that is reported daily in the media? We as a Society have conditioned these perpetrators since they were small children. The violence, foul langauage and sex that is shown on television , at the movie theatres and video games, only causes desensitization to those watching. It may horrify them the first time but as the exposure is more frequent this form of behaviour becomes the norm. The lack of conversation is another form of detachment and desensitizing to the concerns, welfare and feelings of other people in your Society. When you are texting, emailing you now are corresponding with an inanimate object. Therefore violence, abuse, lack of respect all become easier to exhibit. I would like the schools to teach our youngsters that our language is very diverse and there are so many better descriptive adjectives/adverbs to use than the one that is so blatantly used by our Society now. (the “F” word). Let’s all do our part and take back our Society and teach respect, honour, manners and good language to our children and grand children. Most of all teach “Do unto others as you would like them to do to You!” Sincerely, Chris Lamoureux Fort St. John

I VOLUNTARILY ASSIMILATED MYSELF When I was a kid I remember not being like the other kids. I am a first-generation Filipino-Canadian. My parents didn’t pack me peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. Instead they sent me to school with adobo (a Filipino dish consisting of chicken, rice and a whole lotta soy sauce) or fish and rice—you could imagine how embarrassing it was when my Grade 3 crush would yell, ‘What is that smell!?’ Thus began the years I ate lunch under my desk. I was also the only ‘coloured’ kid in my class. When my teacher referenced ‘coloured’ people, I was immediately the center of attention. I hated having a different skin colour. As children, my sister and I would pray for pale skin, seriously. (My mom always used to say other girls would die to have my skin colour. I would look at her in disgust and reply, ‘Nobody wants to be brown, mom.’ Insert eye roll. To my surprise, she turned out to be right, literally. According to The World Health Organization, indoor tanning before the age of 35 raises the risk of melanoma by 75 per cent. Melanoma is the most deadly type of skin cancer). I didn’t grow up in a multicultural neighbourhood for the better part of my elementary years. I was surrounded by fair-skinned kids who played soccer and grew up with Nanas and Opas (the Dutch term for grandpa). Not Lolos and Lolas (the Filipino term for grandpa and grandma, which I never called my grandparents—but many Filipinos do). I was constantly searching for my identity. I tried not to seem too interested in my heritage or cultural way of living because none of the kids at school shared those values or experiences. I voluntarily assimilated myself. By the time I got to high school a lot of kids said I was ‘whitewashed,’ and you know what? I was proud of that. To me that meant I had finally achieved my goal of fitting in.

Looking back at it now, I wish someone told me that it was okay to be different. I was so adamant to be like everyone else, even though I was like everyone else. The only difference was that I was much shorter (I was always the last kid lined up in class photos), a bit darker and ate ‘weird’ food (which is code for traditional food). So what happened? Where did I get the idea that in order to fit in you had to forget about your heritage? In my experience as a kid, after being placed in an environment where I was the visual minority, a sense of trying to be like everyone else started to creep in. Growing up I started to believe that my differences were a downfall. Disclaimer: nobody was actually ever verbally racist towards me. However, they didn’t have to be blunt about it with words because their reactions to certain things I said or ate, in a way, made up for that. This is why I believe being competent about other cultures is important. The more we are able to expand and learn, not only about our own heritage, but those that surround us, will we begin to achieve an inclusive community. While society continues to develop an appreciation for various cultures (and hopefully parents are passing the knowledge down to their children), I’m going to take a guess and say there are still little boys and girls who are in the same shoes I was in 15 years ago. It took me a while to embrace my Filipino background, but I’ve done it and I’m a better person because of it. I believe one of life’s necessities is to know where you came from, to appreciate those who came before you and to never forget that everyone has a story—because at the end of the day understanding diversity is what ultimately unifies us. -Kyla

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www.northeastnews.ca • 9909-100 Avenue, Fort St. John, BC V1J 1Y4 • Phone toll free 1-877-787-7030 • Phone: 250-787-7030 • Fax: 250-787-7090 Email: editor@northeastnews.ca • salesmanager@northeastnews.ca • sales@northeastnews.ca • info@northeastnews.ca • reporter@northeastnews.ca 1509B Alaska Avenue, Dawson Creek, BC V1J 1Z9 • Phone: 250-782-7060 • Fax: 250-782-7066 lisa@northeastnews.ca • news@northeastnews.ca

Brenda Piper Publisher /Sales Manager Fort St. John

Lisa MacElheren Sales Dawson Creek

Kristine Budac Sales Fort St. John

Evelyne Brown Administration Fort St. John

Kyla Corpuz Senior Reporter Fort St. John

Jill Earl Reporter Dawson Creek

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Northeast NEWS

January 24, 2013

SPECTRA ENERGY DONATES TO HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

Spectra Energy’s first gift to the Hospital Foundation came in 1997. Since then they have donated over $130,000 supporting many different campaigns and funds. Their latest gift came on January 11th, 2013 when Jay Morrison and Don Lacey stopped by the Foundation office and presented Executive Director, Ashley Bentley with a $10,000-cheque. The gift will help purchase priority medical equipment at our Hospital and Peace Villa Facility.

Taylor council commit $4,800 for sand event By Kyla Corpuz TAYLOR – District council recommended to give the Fort St. John Arts Council an inkind donation of $4, 800 for the 2013 Sand Sensations BC summer event. Mayor and council voted to once again give an in-kind donation of $4,840 to cover the cost associated with power camping spaces, sound equipment and tech, staff time, a food vendor license and an ad in the Taylor Times’, website and Facebook. The Arts Council originally requested $9, 800 ($4, 800 in-kind donation and an additional $5, 000 sponsorship), which some councillors agreed to while others were not in favour. “I’m not very enthusiastic about adding another $5, 000,� said Counc. Betty Ponto. Counc. Brent Taillefer agreed. He was hesitant to commit the extra funds, which would be half of their $10,000 grant-in-aid budget, in case another organization approached them looking for financial support. Counc. Brad Filmer who was supportive of giving the sponsorship said district staff

could always look into building the grant-in-aid budget. “There’s nothing stopping us from getting more money for the grant-in-aid budget,â€? he said. “We need to encourage [the Sand Sensation event] ‌ I have no problem for the extra $5, 000 for the PR that we’re getting. I say yes.â€? Filmer added that the Sand Sensation event is “spiralingâ€? as much as the International Gold Panning Championship, which the district contributes $10, 000 to. The first Sand Sensation event was last summer. Ponto chimed in saying the event was “awesomeâ€? but she wasn’t ready to compare it to

DAWSON CREEK

English as a Second Language Monday - Friday, 9 am to 3 pm Space is limited :[\KLU[Z ^PZOPUN [V Z[\K` ,:3 ULLK [V JVU[HJ[ 4PJOLSSL H[ TNPISHR'USJ IJ JH [V ZL[ \W HU HWWVPU[TLU[ MVY [LZ[PUN

3 5,5

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FORT NELSON / : (SP]L 1HU -LI 6JJ\WH[PVUHS -PYZ[ (PK 3L]LS 1HU -LI -HSS 7YV[LJ[PVU 1HU -LI )HI`ZP[[LY ;YHPUPUN KH`Z 1HU -PYL ,_[PUN\PZOLY 3L]LS 1HU -LI *VUĂ„ULK :WHJL 1HU -LI (JJPKLU[ 0U]LZ[PNH[PVU -LI 6JJ\WH[PVUHS -PYZ[ (PK ;YHUZWVYH[PVU ,UKVYZLTLU[ -LI .LULYHS 6PSĂ„LSK +YP]LY 0TWYV]LTLU[ .6+0 -LI 6PSĂ„LSK /LH]` /H\S[LY -LI :[HUKHYK -PYZ[ (PK -LI (PY )YHRLZ -LI 5VU YLZ[YPJ[LK -PYLHYTZ 4HY 4VKPĂ„LK 9LZ[YPJ[LK -PYLHYTZ 4HY *69, /\U[LY ;YHPUPUN 4HY

(Peace River North) Province of British Columbia

Legislative OfďŹ ce: East Annex, Parliament Buildings Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4 Phone: 250 952-6784 Fax: 250 387-9100

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FORT ST. JOHN *HUHKPHU -PYLHYTZ :HML[` *V\YZL 7(3 1HU (PY )YHRLZ KH`Z 1HU -LI 4HY 4HY )YLHZ[MLLKPUN 0UMVYTH[PVU 1HU -LI 4HY -VYRSPM[ :HML[` -LI 4HY (WY .LULYHS 6PSĂ„LSK +YP]LY 0TWYV]LTLU[ .6+0 -LI 4HY (WY 7YLUH[HS KH`Z -LI 4HY (WY 6PSĂ„LSK /LH]` /H\SLY -LI

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For information or to register, please call 1-866-463-6652 and ask for the Workforce Training Department on that campus.

the Gold Panning Championship, an event that has put Taylor on the map. “I think what we get out of it is more than we’re putting in,� said Filmer. “I would hate to jeopardize this,� he added. Community service director Tara O’Donnell said the Arts Council was going to host the event at the Peace Island Park in Taylor regardless if the additional funding was granted. Taillefer suggested that instead of giving monetary support to offer services that could save the Arts Council and the district some money. Sand Sensations BC is the first professional sand-sculpting event in the Peace region.

Pat Pimm, M.L.A.

WORKFORCE TRAINING and CONTINUING EDUCATION 6PSĂ„LSK /LH]` /H\SLY 6// 1HU 6JJ\WH[PVUHS -PYZ[ (PK 3L]LS 1HU -LI 6JJ\WH[PVUHS -PYZ[ (PK 3L]LS KH`Z 1HU -LI )HZPJ :LJ\YP[` KH`Z 1HU -LI / : (SP]L 1HU -LI *VVRPUN *SHZZ Âś 0UKPHU 1HU 7HYHTLKPJZ PU 0UK\Z[Y` OV\YZ -LI :\WLY]PZVY :HML[` 4HUHNLTLU[ -LI 7YLUH[HS *SHZZ -LI 4HY 8\PS[PUN *SHZZLZ :H[\YKH`Z 0UMV UPNO[ -LI -LI 4HY *VVRPUN *SHZZ Âś :\ZOP -LI -66+:(-, 3L]LS -LI .LULYHS 6PSĂ„LSK +YP]LY 0TWYV]LTLU[ .6+0 -LI (PY )YHRLZ -LI *VVRPUN *SHZZ Âś .LYTHU -LI

Page 7

Constituency OfďŹ ce: 10104 - 100th Street Fort St. John, B.C. V1J 3Y7 Phone: 250 263-0101 Fax: 250 263-0104

e-mail: pat.pimm.mla@leg.bc.ca

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Page 8

Northeast NEWS

January 24, 2013

Smart strategies for top-up RRSP loans By Investors Group Submitted article If you’re like most Canadians, your RRSP eligible investments will likely be a vital source of retirement income. However, like most Canadians, you’re probably not making the most of your contribution room. According to Statistics Canada, in 2010,

Jeff Shea

Division Director 202 - 1200 103 Ave, Dawson Creek, BC Ph: (250) 782 4312 or (250) 785 4312

Email: Jeff.Shea@investorsgroup.com RRSPS • INVESTMENTS • INSURANCE • RESPS • MORTGAGES Jeff Shea

Division Director

TM Trademark owned by IGM Financial Inc. and licensed to its subsidiary corporations. Mortgage products are offered through I.G. Investment Management Ltd., Investors Group Trust Co. Ltd. is a trust company licensed to lend money in all jurisdictions in Canada. Clients with mortgage inquiries will be referred to an Investors Group Mortgage Planning Specialist. Insurance products and services distributed through I.G. Insurance Services Inc. Insurance license sponsored by The Great-West Life Assurance Company.

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almost 93% of taxfilers were eligible to contribute to RRSP eligible investments but only 26% actually made contributions, adding up to $33.9 billion in total contributions – but representing only 5.1% of the total room available.* If you’re having trouble coming up with enough money to fill your available RRSP eligible investments contribution room this year or if you’ve got unused room from previous years, an RRSP loan may be a smart strategy. RRSP eligible investments can provide solid tax savings along with tax-deferred, compound growth so the short-term interest costs of an RRSP loan can be outweighed by the long-term benefits. Here’s an example **: • You’re entitled to make a maximum contribution to your RRSP eligible investments of $10,000 for the 2012 tax year but you have only $5,000 of cash on hand. So you borrow the additional $5,000 (at 7% interest) and – here’s the important part – pay it back in a year. • If your marginal tax rate is 35%, your additional $5,000 contribution gets you an immediate tax refund of $1,750 and (at an annual return of 8%) your $5,000 top-up loan earns an additional $400 at an interest cost of $190 for the loan. • If you leave the additional $5,000 in your RRSP eligible investments for 25 years, that top-up contribution will grow to more than $34,000 (at an average rate of 8%). The keys to the success of a top-up RRSP loan strategy include: • Get a low interest rate that does not eat up your potential tax savings and investment returns. • Repay the loan as quickly as possible – preferably one year but, in most circumstances, no longer than two years. • Use your RRSP-related tax return to pay down your loan.

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• Consider using the cashflow from a Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program to fund your RRSP loan payments. Depending on the interest rates using PAC income can help you by, for example, avoiding cash crunches that might prevent loan payments. An RRSP loan is not the right strategy for everyone. Your professional advisor can help you make that decision as well as how to make the most of your investment savings for retirement.

Investors Group Walk for Memories Fort St. John One in three Canadians knows someone with Alzheimer’s disease—who do you know? Please join us on Sunday, Jan. 27th, 2013 as we celebrate our annual Investors Group Walk for Memories. Held in 23 communities around the province the event raises funds for the Alzheimer Society of B.C. in support of research, education and the promotion of healthy lifestyles. It is very exciting for us to be sponsoring this important event, and we are asking you to help by joining our team! At Investors Group, we strongly believe in supporting the communities where we live and work. Alzheimer’s disease affects a growing number of British Columbians, and we’re honoured to support the great services of the Alzheimer Society of B.C. This year’s Walk is being held in honour of All Caregivers.

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6 mth

open

6 mth closed

1 year

open

The BC SPCA cares for thousands of orphaned, abandoned and abused animals each year.

Each office independently owned and operated

250-261-1644 Direct

Lending Institutions Current Mortgage Rates Institute

We Can’t Do it Alone

1 year 2 year 3 year 4 year closed closed closed closed

5 year 7 year 10 year closed closed closed

TD Canada Trust

n/a 4.60 6.55

2.75

4.20

4.75 4.24

4.59

6.60

6.70

Invis

n/a 3.35 n/a

2.39

2.49

2.69 2.99

3.09

3.79

3.89

Canadian Imperial Bank Of Commerce

4.00

4.45 4.00

3.00

3.14

3.70 4.39

5.24

5.95

6.75

Royal Bank

6.30

4.00 6.30

3.00

3.04

3.65 4.64

5.24

5.95

6.75

Centum

n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 3.

3.

3.

4.

Bank of Montreal

6.45

4.55 6.30

3.50

3.85

4.35 4.79

5.19

6.35

6.75

Scotiabank

6.45

4.55 6.50

2.99

3.89

2.79 4.39

3.99

3.79 n/a

North Peace Savings & Credit Union

n/a n/a 4.50

2.95

3.25

3.50 3.50

3.75

4.75

09

n/a

29

89

39

5.00

Note: Rates are provided for information purposes. Rates should be verified by Financial Institutions.

Volunteers are urgently needed to care for animals and assist with SPCA events. If you can help, please contact your local shelter today. www.spca.bc.ca

Northeast NEWS

January 24, 2013

Page 9

MINISTRY OF HEALTH INFORMATION BREACH INVESTIGATION CONTINUES By Jill Earl DAWSON CREEK - The medical information of more then five million people in the province is a part of a privacy breach that occurred in recent incidences in the Ministry of Health. On Jan. 14 Minister of Health, Margaret MacDiarmid, announced an update of an investigation by the Ministry of Citizens’ Services and Open Government that began in September, exploring inappropriate conduct, contracting and data management processes. The investigators are still reviewing thousands of computer records and storage devices used over the past several years but MacDiarmid says that investigators believe there to be minimal risks associated with the breaches. “We believe that there is minimal- if any- risks that this information would be used in a way that would be harmful to the individuals but at the same time we believe that the public needs to be informed about what has happened,” she said. MacDiarmid confirms three incidences where personal health data was shared with researchers and contractors after being inappropriately accessed and saved on portable storage devices without permission and proper protocols being followed. The Health Minister notes that the ministry has policies ordering USB sticks to be password protected and encrypted if they are carrying personal health information, these policies were not followed in all of these three cases. Two cases occurred in June 2012, in one instance the health data including personal health numbers, dates of birth, gender, postal code, hospital admissions and discharges, medication history and medical service plan claims of about 38,486 people were shared with a researcher. The file also had data compiled from responses to Statistics Canada’s Canadian Community Health Survey, breach-

ing an agreement between the ministry and Statistics Canada that stipulated the information would not be shared outside of the ministry. By recommendation of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of B.C. the ministry will be sending out personal letters to the 38,486 people involved about what has happened to their information. The second instance that happened in June 2012 involved a USB stick with a plain-text file of 19 types of health data that was provided to a ministry contractor who was authorized to receive encrypted data, but instead received unencrypted. The file contained personal health numbers, gender, age group, length of hospital stay and, some information on some health conditions and amounts spent on various categories of health care for over five million individuals. In this case the ministry will not be sending letters to those affected. The third case of inappropriate conduct happened in October 2010, ministry data containing the personal health number of approximately 21,000 people and detailing diagnostic information for 262 chronic diseases and conditions and prescription history and certain drugs were shared on a USB stick. They were shared with a researcher without a data request being approved, contrary to ministry policy. Letters will not be sent to those affected. “Health data should only be shared with those who have permission to access it for approved purposes, and that was not the case,” MacDiarmid said. “While we take this very seriously, and I take this matter to be extremely serious, we don’t have any evidence that this information has been used for anything other then research…The Ministry of health data does get used for research purposes but the policies and procedures that guide that were not followed in this

FairShare Funding Continued from Page 2.

Another risk is the oil and gas activity in the coming years, because FairShare is directly tied to the industry’s activity, if the oil and gas industry declines so will the FairShare funding. “What does this region have as an economic back bone? Is this environment the same, will it change? What if the oil and gas industry goes in another direction…those are the elements that we will be speaking to,” Gagnon said. Gagnon’s report will also include mitigation strategies for the identified risks and make recommendations for future use of FairShare funding in a draft policy for Council’s consideration.

case,” she adds. She highlights that the information released in all three cases did not include names, social insurance numbers, addresses, or any financial information and that it would be difficult to match personal health numbers to identifiable information. She also notes that all data breached requires specific software tools to access the information. Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham, released a report stating that she expects the investigation to conclude in the next couple of weeks, at that time she will be issuing a public report with findings and recommendations. MacDiarmid says that the ministry has already taken steps to mitigate potential problems including introducing a mandatory privacy and data security training program for all employees and hiring Deloitte, a private consulting firm, to review the ministry’s data security measures and suggesting ways to enhance compliance, monitoring, information management practices and technological infrastructure requirements. MacDiarmid also confirmed that the employment of seven workers has been terminated as a result of the breaches, but didn’t speak to the matter further, respecting privacy legislation. She also said that the ministry has been communicating with the parties involved to get the data back to the ministry. “There are a number of other breeches and inappropriate contracting and the other things that I mentioned to begin with that have been revealed throughout this investigation, and I haven’t been speaking about those today. As I said on the outset, there is still considerable information which cannot be made publically available,” MacDiarmid said. She assures that there will be more updates as the investigation continues.

Gagnon was hesitant to mention some early recommendations but did say that if ever the funding should fall through, there would definitely be an impact to residents. “From a local governance standpoint across the country, sources of revenue are not very broad…and in this particular case it represents a pretty good value on the revenue stream and certainly any impact on that would be certainly be a pretty large effect…just a 25 per cent reduction represents $2.7 million, well that’s a lot of money,” he said. “We do understand that if those revenues were not to flow in there would be certainly impacts and where you need to readjust it, we need to continue this dialogue to understand what that would be,” Gagnon adds.

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Thank you to all our sponsors. Without your support, this event could not happen. We appreciate your help for making this year’s event such a huge success.

Page 10

Northeast NEWS

January 24, 2013

IMPORTANT NOTICE

INFORMATION OPEN HOUSE Peace Valley OSB (PVOSB) will host an Information Open House on January 30, 2013 to share more information about its application to the Ministry of Environment (MOE) to use MDI resin in the OSB process. The Information Open House will take place 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at the North Peace Cultural Centre and include two parts. The first part will be an informal Open House where people will have the opportunity to speak directly to a number of experts with knowledge about MDI, health and environmental impacts of MDI, air monitoring conducted by PVOSB, stack testing carried out on a quarterly basis at PVOSB, workplace health and safety where MDI is used, transportation and emergency response for MDI and the application PVOSB will submit to the MOE to seek approval to use MDI. The first part of the event will take place 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. The second part of the event will include an auditorium-style Question-Answer (Q&A) session with many of the same experts who will participate in the Open House portion of the event. The Q&A will take place 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.

“We have received many legitimate questions from people in the community since we made public our intention to seek permission to use MDI on November 19, 2012. We have met with people at our plant, we have given several presentations to community groups and agencies and attended the public meeting held at Baldonnel school on December 19, 2012. Given the number of questions we’ve received and the level of interest in our application throughout the community, we’ve decided to host an Information Open House and provide an opportunity for everyone to learn more about our application. We encourage everyone with an interest in our application to attend and speak directly with the team of experts who are the most knowledgeable about our application to use MDI.”

- Ian Coote, PVOSB General Manager

Date: Time: Where: Media Contact:

D.C. gallery weaves three fibre artists together in latest show By Jill Earl DAWSON CREEK - The work of three artists is woven together in the Dawson Creek Art Gallery’s latest show, ‘3 Strands Together; fibre and fabric art explored from three perspectives,’ which officially opened on Jan. 8. The show combines travelling exhibits ‘The Other Side of the Fence” by artist Marcy Horswill, ‘6 Points of Resilience’ by Catherine Hamel with Lone Prairie resident Sue Davies’s, ‘Beyond a Practical Tradition.’ Horswill uses felt and other materials to create several pieces depicting flowers and fences while Hamel includes thread, paint and paper in her six pieces of work that are accompanied by poems. Davies’ work is what she considers traditional rug braiding and hooking with a little modern touch. Davies has been rug hooking since 2001 and rug braiding since 2005, this is her first exhibit and it includes a variety of pieces she’s completed throughout her years working in the medium. “I’ve tried to bring a sampling of things, from different materials or different sizes…It’s fairly eclectic, it doesn’t really have a theme, it’s just exploring different things to do with the braiding,” Davies said. Besides wall hangings of rugs, chair and table mats, Davies has also brought along baskets and braided ornaments like corn, Easter eggs and pumpkins for display. According to Davies, rug braiding was very popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s in Europe and in Eastern Canada when the country was still being settled, when people were still making most of their own things. During that

time, people braided and hooked rugs from old and worn clothing; Davies likes to upkeep that tradition by recycling old blankets, pants, skirts and coats for use in her pieces. “Once I got doing the bigger rugs, you need more wool so then I got using blankets and recycled coats and different things…That’s what I prefer, and it’s also very hard to buy wool… Traditionally people did recycle clothing, that’s what the old time braiders did, they didn’t buy fabrics,” said Davies, adding that she dyes all of her own fabric. Davis breaks tradition in that she combines braiding and hooking together and that the skill wasn’t passed down to her from family members, she picked it up from the Alberta Handicraft Guild when she retired from living in the Yukon and moved just outside of Calgary. Her interest in the craft as an adult surprised her because she hadn’t grown up with sewers or other fabric crafters in her family. “As a matter of fact, years ago I would have said, ‘Ew, yuck a braided rug, maybe in my cabin!’ But I don’t know, I just got a whole new appreciation for doing it and just really, very much more interested in going back to simple things you make,” Davies said, adding that before she began braiding she did quilt and knit and is now in the process of learning to felt. She likes that there is no machinery involved and very little equipment needed to do braiding and hooking, she also finds it easy and is able to multitask while doing it. While a member of the Alberta Handicraft Guild, Davies gained the group’s collective goal of educating the public about the craft and Continued on Page 14. keeping it alive.

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EnCana Challenge Division Team Cooper of the Fort St. John Curling Club (skip Bob Cooper, third Bruce Craig, second Darryl Horst and lead Larry London) defeated defending champion Devin Burkitt of Grande Prairie 7 – 5. Cooper scored 3 in the second end then stole one in the third end to lead the game 4 – 2. The team never relinquished the lead after that though Cooper did have to make a draw in the final end to ensure the win. Cooper won $2000. (Pictured to the right)

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SunLife Financial Competitive Division Team Steinke of the Dawson Creek Curling Club (skip Jordan Steinke, third Jason Ginter, second Tristan Steinke and lead Renee Sonnenberg) upended three time consecutive champion Kurt Balderston 6 – 0. Never having the hammer, Steinke stole two in the 5th when Balderston

was light on a tap-back and then stole four in the sixth when Balderston’s final draw picked up some debris and came up light. Steinke takes home the top prize of $3000. Note: Sonnenberg stepped in to spare for regular lead Brett Winfield who was unable to play due to the flu.

LOCKS OF LOVE In support of her Auntie Holly Fehr, who was recently diagnosed with cancer and who lost her hair due to chemo treatments, Nekeesha is cutting her hair to support the non-profit organization: Locks of Love. Her aunt also cut her hair for donating before it fell out. Nekeesha is inviting others to join her at a special event planned for Wednesday, Jan. 30, at her school at 11 a.m. We are also raising funds to send along for the making of hairpieces that Locks of Love provides for children with permanent hair loss. If you are interested in cutting and donating your hair and/or donating funds for this very worthy cause, please contact Crystal at 250-785-4086.

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Northeast NEWS

January 24, 2013

Fibre Art

Continued from Page 10. Davies is doing her part by promoting the craft and encouraging people in her community to pick it up; she even found a small group of women in Chetwynd who agreed to learn. Last year Davies taught a rug braiding class through the Dawson Creek Art Gallery, and taught another one last weekend. “I’m kind of happy to be able to share it with other people because it’s not the kind of craft, especially up here, that people can just take a class in or see people doing it, even in the bigger centres you don’t see many people doing the braiding and that,” she said. “My little grandkids are two and four and they’ll come and they’ll watch me braiding and they’ll touch it, ‘I just love this grandma, I just love this,’... So they see me doing it and that’s what I kind of want to leave them, to see me as someone who makes things that become rugs in their bedrooms and pictures on their walls,” Davies adds. 3 Strands Together can be seen at the Dawson Creek Art Gallery until Feb. 1.

February 4, 2013 to March 15, 2013

Jill Earl photo

Fibre crafter, Sue Davies, combines traditional and modern rug braiding in her show that opened on Jan. 8 at the Dawson Creek Art Gallery.

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Northeast NEWS

January 24, 2013

S.U.C.C.E.S.S. gives new comers equal chance to succeed By Kyla Corpuz FORT ST. JOHN – Ovvian Castrillo Hill was born in the Philippines. David Ambaryan was born in Armenia. Onese Oboh was born in Nigeria. Today these three individuals are Fort St. John residents. Ambrayan and Oboh work at S.U.C.C.E.S.S. as outreach settlement officers; they help newcomers—who have recently received permanent residence status, refugees and vulnerable individuals (those needing assistance with finising their permanent residency) settle into Canada. As for Hill, she was a S.U.C.C.E.S.S. client who contributes her ‘successful migration’ to Canada to the small S.U.C.C.E.S.S. settlement office inside a corner building on 101 Avenue and 101 Street. She heard about S.U.C.C.E.S.S. through word of mouth, which is how most of their clients find out about the immigration support service. “I was a tourist and I immediately needed S.U.C.C.E.S.S.,� said Hill. After retaining permanent residency she turned to the immigrant support services for help in getting her driver’s license and learning where to find employment opportunities. “Whatever success I achieved can be attributed to S.U.C.C.E.S.S.� The Fort St. John S.U.C.C.E.S.S. team works with settlement and enhanced welcoming community programs; while they once helped with employment sourcing, Employment Connections now deals with that aspect. Last year S.U.C.C.E.S.S. saw 140 people come through their doors, according to Kim McPhedran, Welcoming and Inclusive Communities Workplaces Program (WICWP) program manager. She estimates that number will jump by 64 per cent this year. Kyla Corpuz photo A majority of immigrants who find their way to North Peace Credit and Savings Union donates $10,000 to S.U.C.C.E.S.S. BotFort St. John come from the Philippines, China, Intom: Queenie Cho, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. CEO, holds up the Welcome BC’s Integradia, Russia and Germany, said Ambrayan; adding that tion and Immigration Award given to Fort St. John’s S.U.C.C.E.S.S. there are five to 10 per cent more males than females who make their way to the Energetic City, which is driven by the oil and gas industry.

Northern

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“We will be busy,� he said. “We will do our very best that they will find their home here.� There are five other S.U.C.C.E.S.S. offices across B.C.; Fort St. John is the only northern location. While S.U.C.C.E.S.S. is a provincially funded program, community support plays a role in helping to extend their services outside their office space. On Jan. 16 the Fort St. John settlement office was presented with $10, 000 by the North Peace Savings and Credit Union. Those funds will help support S.U.C.C.E.S.S. events like their upcoming Sports Day in spring. They plan to bring families out and divide them into ‘international teams’ where they will learn chants in other languages. There will also be film screenings that illustrate what goes on in communities around the world. “We’re stronger as a community overall if we give newcomers every chance of success,� says Paul McAfee, Vice President of Service for NPSCU. Oboh was one of those newcomers. “I remember coming to S.U.C.C.E.S.S. as a client looking for a job.� She was advised to volunteer, a route that wasn’t popular in Nigeria. “Where I come from you don’t volunteer.� But she did and after contributing her time to the Women’s Resoucre Centre and a World Fair community event, she now works for S.U.C.C.E.S.S. as an outreach settlement officer. “Anything you would like us to help you with to settle better,� is what they are there for, said Oboh. The CEO of S.U.C.C.E.S.S., Queenie Cho, travelled to Fort St. John for the cheque presentation and an open house with community members, NPSCU’s vice president, city councillor Larry Evans and various S.U.C.C.E.S.S. members. Fort St. John S.U.C.C.E.S.S., School District 60 Settlement Workers in School Programs and the Literacy Society were recently the recipients of Welcome B.C.’s Integration and Immigration Award.

JENNIFER FERNANDES Director, Marketing and Communications

Dease Lake students complete Heavy Equipment Operator program

Staff supports the BC SPCA Last month Workforce Training campus clerk Debbie Rost organized a Christmas bazaar and raised $790 for our furry friends.

Hal Hobenshield (third from right), Chair, Aircraft Maintenance Engineering, and staff on tour of the Centre of Excellence for Aerospace with visiting Chinese students.

Aircraft Maintenance Engineering program has a global reach The Aircraft Maintenance Engineering (AME) program regularly attracts students from around the world, but last month the provincially-designated Centre of Excellence for Aerospace on the Dawson Creek Campus had an extra-special visit from China. AME Chair Hal Hobenshield said the students were very im-

pressed with the facilities. Students are offered a unique blend of theory and hands-on training on aircraft and helicopters. The AME program has two intakes every year in February and September and was recently featured in Helicopters Magazine at: www.helicoptersmagazine.com/ content/view/1496/38/

Heavy Equipment Operator instructors Ross Clark and Darryl Graham presented the students with a celebratory cake and were surprised to receive two sets of hand-crafted moccasins from students as a gift of appreciation.

Twelve lucky students in Dease Lake took advantage of a free training opportunity through Employment Skills Access (ESA) for a Heavy Equipment Operator program. The students completed the 12-week program and immediately started creating their new resumĂŠs for employment searches. Completion of the course gave

each student 300 hours of work experience, as well as completing a variety of other courses such as air EUDNHV ÀUVW DLG DQG VDIHW\ WUDLQLQJ forklift, ground disturbance and light duty vehicle training. Funding for the program was provided through the CanadaBritish Columbia Labour Market Agreement.

BCSPCA staff member Sara Hamanishi (l) accepts the gift from Debbie and the Fort St. John Campus. Beautiful Husky dog Lakai is still waiting for a good family home.

January 24, 2013

Northeast NEWS

Page 17

D.C. Literacy Society welcomes newcomers with program launch By Jill Earl DAWSON CREEK - Whether residents are new to the community or new to the country, the Dawson Creek Literacy Society aims to make them feel right at home. The Society celebrated the launch of their Welcoming Communities program last Friday at the Kiwanis Performing Arts Centre with international entertainment among Society volunteers, students and service providers. “It’s just an opportunity to bring everybody together, our immigrants, our community partners, that sort of thing, just too kind of kick it off,” said Jennifer Neis, program coordinator for the Society. The Welcoming Communities program is a provincial initiative aiming to help immigrants become settled in their new communities. The Literacy Society was the successful bidder in Dawson Creek to provide the provincial program; SUCCESS was the successful bidder in Fort St. John. The role of the providers is to come up with a plan for their

community that looks to support the development of intercultural relationships, welcoming and inclusive workplaces, creating welcoming and inclusive places in the community and providing assistance in newcomers’ settlement process. New immigrants include people that have been residing in the country for ten years or less. “Each community will have different goals depending on their immigrants, so they’ve left it open so that each community can come up with their own plan. There are guidelines that we have to follow, certain criteria of what’s allowed and what’s not, mainly what our community needs,” Neis said, suggesting Dawson Creek needs a place to worship for everybody. Neis plans on gathering immigrants the Society has helped in the past along with other community groups to discuss what the gaps are in the community. When those gaps are identified and a plan is determined, the Society will use it’s many community partners, like the South Peace Community Resources Society and School District 59, to accomplish their goals. “We want to make sure that any of the gaps that we might have in the community are filled, so it becomes more of a welcoming community. People aren’t feeling lost and lonely and that sort of thing,” said Neis. The Society was interested in offering the program because they have extensive experience working with newcomers with their English as a Second Language classes. For the past several years staff at the Society have also helped their students settle into the community by helping them find an apartment, find daycare and other essential services. Neis even recalls attending a doctor’s appointment with one of the students because he was not confident communicating in English at the time. The Society not only connects newcomers to services, they also help connect newcomers to each other. Sometimes the Society will connect newcomers from the same country, but often the Society will connect them if they have the same interests, to promote personal friendships. Many past students of the Society’s ESL program stay connected with the Society and volunteer with them whenever needed, they also play a part in welcoming newcomers. “We’ve been friends for years. We develop really good friendships, and so they’re always on the list whenever we do something…everybody kind of stays connected, it’s a really

good group that way, because there are a lot of friendships that we develop,” Neis said. The program launch couldn’t come at a better time as Neis says she has seen a large increase of new immigrants coming to the community over the last couple of years; she counted 19 different languages spoken by her students a few years ago. “I’ve been working with immigrants for 13 years and we’ve seen it grow, the program, and we’ve seen more and more people moving here. The opportunity for employment is better here then say in the larger centers…there’s more opportunity for them here work-wise, that’s why we’re seeing that growth,” she said. The Dawson Creek Literacy Society is a nonprofit organization and don’t charge for their services.

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SLAUGHTER CATTLE

On Thursday, January 17, 2013, 350 head of cattle went through our ring D1 - D2 Cows 64.00-69.00 D3 - D4 Cows 52.00-62.00 Holstein Cows N/A Heiferettes 55.00-75.00 Bologna Bulls 55.00-70.00 Feeder Bulls 65.00-80.00 Good Bred Cows 1100.00-1400.00 Good Bred Heifers N/A Milk Cows N/A Cow/ Calf Pairs (younger) N/A Cow/ Calf Pairs (older) N/A

STOCKERS AND FEEDERS

Jill Earl photos

Above: The Dawson Creek Filipino Association has approximately 150 registered members in the city, some of those members performed traditional dances at the launch. Below: The Welcoming Communities launch featured several belly dance performances.

Good Feeder Steers 1000 lbs Plus:

N/A

Heifers

95.00-110.00

Good Feeder Steers 900 lbs Plus:

N/A

Heifers

100.00-118.00

Good Feeder Steers 800 lbs Plus:

115.00-130.00

Heifers

105.00-121.00

Good Feeder Steers 700 lbs Plus:

115.00-132.00

Heifers

110.00-124.00

Good Feeder Steers 600 lbs Plus:

120.00-140.00

Heifers

115.00-131.00

Good Feeder Steers 500 lbs Plus:

135.00-158.00

Heifers

126.00-143.00

Good Feeder Steers 400 lbs Plus:

150.00-175.00

Heifers

130.00-154.00

Good Feeder Steers 300 lbs Plus:

160.00-185.00

Heifers

130.00-160.00

Vold, Jones & Vold Auction Co. Ltd.

DAWSON CREEK AUCTION ‘MILE ZERO CITY’

Dawso 301-116th Ave. Dawson Creek, British Columbia Dawson Creek Office: 301-116th 250-782-3766 VJV Main Office: 403-783-5561 Cattle Sales, Don Fessler: 250-719-5561 Fax: 250-782-6622 D

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Page 18

January 24, 2013

CAREER OPPORTUNITY

Publisher/ General Manager Aberdeen Publishing has an opening for the position as Publisher/General Manager of the Prince George Free Press. We are seeking a proven leader with the entrepreneurial skills to continue and further enhance the strong growth this paper has experienced over the past six years. Ideally, you should have a good understanding of all facets of newspaper operations with emphasis on sales, marketing and financial management. In addition, our new publisher should be well suited to working with community groups and clients as well as developing sponsorship opportunities for the newspaper.

CLASSIFIEDS HEAVY DUTY MECHANIC WANTED Raven Oilfield Rentals in Fort St John is seeking a full time mechanic for heavy equipment repairs in shop. Competitive wages and benefit package. Please forward drivers abstract with resume to: carl@ravenoilfield.com or fax 250-787-8474

If you have the ability to innovate, are customer driven, success oriented, and want to live in one of the most beautiful places in northern B.C., then we want to hear from you. We offer a generous compensation and benefits package as well as the opportunity for career advancement. Please submit your resume by February 15, 2013, to the attention of: Ron Lovestone, Regional Manager Prince George Free Press 1773 South Lyon Street Prince George, BC V2N 1T3 Telephone 778.349.6327 or email: publisher@northeastnews.ca

We thank all applicants. Only those considered for an interview will be contacted.

CAREER OPPORTUNITY New Holland Parts Excellence, Service Excellence dealer in Fort St John BC has vacancy for

PARTS MANAGER

Rewarding position for the right person w/advanced training and benefits. Please reply by: email: butlerfarm@telus.net • fax: 250-785-9771 phone: 250-785-1800

ELECTRICIAN WANTED

As publisher of the Free Press, you will help develop strategy for the newspaper as it continues to serve this diverse marketplace. Aberdeen Publishing is one of Western Canada’s largest independent newspaper companies with properties in British Columbia and Alberta.

Northeast NEWS

With a mission to “Encourage economic development projects to diversify and strengthen the economy of the North Peace”, the North Peace Economic Development Commission is seeking proposals for a contract grant writer covering the communities of District of Hudson’s Hope, District of Taylor, the City of Fort St. John with weekly meetings at the NPEDC office, Fort St. John, BC

Raven Oilfield Rentals is now seeking a full time, all around general electrician. Job entails generators, heavy equipment, some mechanical buildings (etc). Competitive wages and benefit package. Please send drivers abstract with resume to: carl@ravenoilfield.com or fax 250-787-3097

For the complete RFP, please contact the office of the North Peace Economic Development Commission to request a copy at (250) 785-5969 or by email at invest@npedc.ca Submission deadline is February 15, 2013

Job Board www.macenna.com Payroll Administrator: This is a full time position suitable for someone who has payroll experience and has worked in the oilfield industry in the past. Must be well versed in all aspects of payroll and remits. Experience with SAP an asset. Apply with resume that includes work references. Bookkeeper: This is a position in a busy office and has a variety of tasks to do each day. Candidates should be well qualified with A/P, A/R and have a working knowledge of payroll and employment standards in BC. Duties will include data entry, PO's, creating and working with budgets, and other daily administrative duties. Camp Cooks (small camp): The majority of our camp positions are year round with regular shifts in and out, transportation will be provided. Most of the camps are small; cooking and cleaning for 3 - 8 people. Nice camps, nice people, and good pay. We prefer some camp experience but will also consider a great cook and someone that likes to clean. Camp Attendant: (small camp): The majority of our camp positions are year round with regular shifts in and out, transportation will be provided. Most of the camps are small; housekeeping and cleaning for 12-20 people. Nice camps, nice people, and good pay. We prefer some camp experience but will consider people with housekeeping experience and someone that likes to clean. Please bring a resume and we will keep it on file for future consideration if nothing is available now. Accounts Payable Clerk: Full time position in oil company office. Main responsibilities are data entry and coding vendor invoices. Candidates should have previous A/P experience, good Excel skills and be able to work effectively in a team environment. 10139 101 Ave. Fort St. John, BC V1J 2B4 | p. 250.785.8367 | f. 250.785.4795 | www.macenna.com e. apply@macenna.com | www.macenna.com

LOOKING TO HIRE BC SERVICE TECHNICIAN! Job Description: Field Service Technicians are responsible to complete field installations, perform site rebuilds, service and maintain equipment, complete warranty repairs and troubleshoot equipment performance issues for air compressors, air dryers, pumps and other related equipment at customer site locations. Description of the Duties: • Must be able to travel within North Eastern BC and in the United States. The estimated amount of travel Monday through Friday is 60% with some weekend travel. • Mandatory on-call support is required on a rotation basis • Strong mechanical skills are required including experience with rotating equipment. • Strong troubleshooting skills with an ability to understand and interpret pneumatic, hydraulic and electrical drawings/schematics. • Service Technicians must supply their own hand tools up to 7/8” including a proper compliment of tools as requested. • Participation is mandatory for all required training programs (this involves US travel). • Clean drivers abstract must be provided at time of hire and annual driver’s abstracts are required. Qualifications: Journeyman and preferably red seal certified; Millwright, Electrical Motor Technician, Machinist or Heavy Duty Mechanic required. Five years of related experience in the field of pumps and/or compressors is an asset. Compensation: Will be discussed at time of offer. Reports To: Branch Manager Please send resume’s to: Email: korbell@chamco.com Fax: 780-538-9629 Or drop off in person at #112, 6902 – 98th Street Clairmont, AB T0H 0W0

CLASSIFIEDS

Northeast NEWS

HOUSE FOR SALE 5 Bedroom House, 3 up & 2 down, 2 bath. Separate Entrance, shared laundry, excellent tenants. Keep the tenants or move in yourself on one acre. Bank Appraised Oct $350,000. Price now is $319,000. If interested drive by 6388 Daisy Ave, then call 250-493-1807 01/31 MASSAGE Nim’s Thai Massage. Great stress relief for your Therapeutic well-being. Call 250-793-2335 02/28

FOR SALE Large Pails of Honey, Hay Bales, Alfalfa, Brome, Timothy Mix, Tamarack Corral Posts 10 ½, Corral Rails up to 24 feet long. Call 250-719-6142 04/13 LAND FOR SALE 1 Acre with good gravel driveway, power pole with Hookups and Lagoon near the traffic circle. By the airport. Great for mobile home to set up on $144,000 Call 250-493-1807 01/31

NOVELTY Bills Books & Bargains. We Buy your collectables, Adult Magazines, Books and coins. Open 12pm to 7pm Mon to Sat. Phone 250-7852660 TFN FOR RENT $2000.00 Office Retail Mile 49. Office 1800 sq.ft. Alaska Hwy mi 49, good parking, large front office, large rear office, 3 smaller offices. 10996 Clairmont Frontage. Call Ken 250-785-3433 or email chambers@pris.ca 02/07

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Job 1593 Stopping the Violence Counselor Position – Dawson Creek

Position Title: Stopping the Violence Counselor - Temporary Job Responsibilities: The Stopping the Violence Counselor: - Is responsible for the provision of individual and group counselling services for the Choices for Women Program - Ensures that the delivery of service Ă„ts with the philosophy and standards of the organization and meets provincial standards

QualiÄcations: - Masters’ Degree in counselling psychology or social work with a minimum of two years supervised clinical experience; or - Bachelor’s degree in counselling psychology or social work with a minimum of four years supervised clinical experience - An equivalent combination of education and/or experience Hours of Work: 35 Hours per week - Flexible to meet the needs of the program Rate of Pay: As per the Collective Agreement Closing Date: February 1, 2013 Submit Resumes To: Lori Brooks, Human Resource Coordinator P.O. Box 713 (10110 – 13th Street) Dawson Creek, BC V1G 4H7 Fax: (250) 782 4167 E-mail: lbrooks@spcrs.ca • Please include Competition #1593 with resume • This position is open to female applicants only • Only short-listed applicants will be contacted • This position is a union position -VY TVYL PUMVYTH[PVU WSLHZL ]PZP[ V\Y *HYLLY 6WWVY[\UP[` ZLJ[PVU H[ ^^^ ZWJYZ JH >L SVVR MVY^HYK [V OLHYPUN MYVT `V\

Page 19

CAREER OPPORTUNITY HQFDQD Global Spectrum Facility Management (www.global-spectrum.com) requires an energetic, highly motivated and detailed orientated, customer-focused team player to become a Facility Operator at the Encana Events Centre (www.dawsoncreekeventscentre.com). This position is full time, salaried and comes with competitive salary and a comprehensive benefit plan. The Facility Operator will be responsible for the preparation and maintenance of the ice surface, automated building controls, HVAC, electrical systems, preventative maintenance programs, and general building repairs. Duties include, but are not limited to, the repair of machinery, performing preventive maintenance of HVAC and boiler systems and general equipment such as plumbing, electrical and refrigeration systems. The ideal candidate will have strong interpersonal, computer and communication skills along with being able to work within a team environment. Minimum requirements include 5th Class Refrigeration Endorsement or 4th Class Power Engineering ticket is preferred. This position can be physically demanding and evening and weekend shifts may be required. Your ability to work with minimum supervision, performs duties in a safe manner, and consistently demonstrates efficient, effective use of time and resources will ensure your success. Global Spectrum Facility Management (global-spectrum.com) operates the Encana Events Centre on behalf of the City of Dawson Creek. Global Spectrum is the fastest growing firm in the public assembly facility management field with more than one hundred facilities throughout the North America. Please mail your cover letter and current resume to the attention of Ryan MacIvor, General Manager, Global Spectrum Facility Management, # 1, 300 Highway # 2, Dawson Creek, BC V1G 0A4, email to rmacivor@dawsoncreekeventscentre.com or fax to 250-782-7446.

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January 24, 2013

We appreciate all applications; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

:V\[O 7LHJL *VTT\UP[` 9LZV\YJLZ :VJPL[` 7VZ[PUN *PYJ\SHY! 1VI *OPSKJHYL 9LZV\YJL 9LMLYYHS 7VZP[PVU +H^ZVU *YLLR Job 1594 Resource/Educator (CCR&R program) – Dawson Creek Position Title: Resource/Educator position Job Responsibilities: The Resource/Educator will: - Work in partnership with service providers - Ensure activities are conducive with child care setting policies - Promote, create and offer activities to child care settings that stimulate and develop children’s intellectual, physical, emotional and social growth - Promote and offer educational events to child care providers and others in the community QualiÄcations: - Grade 12, plus post secondary training child care or a related Äeld of up to one (1) year. - Experience working in a child care setting - An equivalent combination of education and/or experience Hours of Work: 21-24 Hours per week - Flexible to meet the needs of the program Rate of Pay: As per the Collective Agreement Closing Date: February 1, 2013 Submit Resumes To: Lori Brooks, Human Resource Coordinator P.O. Box 713 (10110 – 13th Street) Dawson Creek, BC V1G 4H7 Fax: (250) 782 4167E E-mail: lbrooks@spcrs.ca • Please include Competition #1594 with resume • This position is open to female and male applicants • Only short-listed applicants will be contacted • This position is a union position -VY TVYL PUMVYTH[PVU WSLHZL ]PZP[ V\Y *HYLLY 6WWVY[\UP[` ZLJ[PVU H[ ^^^ ZWJYZ JH >L SVVR MVY^HYK [V OLHYPUN MYVT `V\

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:V\[O 7LHJL *VTT\UP[` 9LZV\YJLZ :VJPL[` 7VZ[PUN *PYJ\SHY! 1VI -HTPS` :\WWVY[ *V\UZLSVY 7VZP[PVU +H^ZVU *YLLR Job 1595 Family Support Program – Dawson Creek Position Title: Family Support Counselor Job Responsibilities: The Family Support Counselor will: - Assess clients and their families - Develop, implement and evaluate family based intervention plans; - Participate in the development, implementation and evaluation of client service plans with the integrated case management team QualiÄcations: - Bachelor degree in a related human/social service Äeld - Two (2) years recent related experience or an - Equivalent combination of education, training and experience. Hours of Work: 28 Hours per week - Flexible to meet the needs of the program Rate of Pay: As per the Collective Agreement Closing Date: February 1, 2013 Submit Resumes To: Lori Brooks, Human Resource Coordinator P.O. Box 713 (10110 – 13th Street) Dawson Creek, BC V1G 4H7 Fax: (250) 782 4167 E-mail: lbrooks@spcrs.ca • Please include Competition #1595 with resume • This position is open to female and male applicants • Only short-listed applicants will be contacted • This position is a union position -VY TVYL PUMVYTH[PVU WSLHZL ]PZP[ V\Y *HYLLY 6WWVY[\UP[` ZLJ[PVU H[ ^^^ ZWJYZ JH >L SVVR MVY^HYK [V OLHYPUN MYVT `V\

Page 20

CLASSIFIEDS

January 24, 2013

Northeast NEWS

8E HAVE WARM PLACES TO CALL HOME THIS WINTERg Sterling Management Services Ltd. has for rent

Bach, 1 and 2 bedroom apartments. Townhouses & Duplexes Fort St John Dawson Creek Commercial Space For Lease/Rent

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Brandt: 9907-100th Ave 2500 sq ft retail retail or ofďŹ ce Dehod: 10614 Alaska Road 4000 commercial highway frontage Endicotte: 9512-100 Street 4248 sq ft retail or ofďŹ ce Pioneer Square: 9900-100 Ave 2050 sq ft approx. 100 Ave ofďŹ ce or retail Yenkana: Shop space 3000 sq ft OfďŹ ce space: 10615-102 St 5829 sq ft TD Bank: upstairs ofďŹ ce space 1323 sq ft Call Rob for viewing, rates and details - 250-785-2829 PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMMERCIAL RESIDENTIAL

THE DISTRICT OF HUDSON’S HOPE NOTICE OF 2013 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING SCHEDULE

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Northeast British Columbia

The following District of Hudson’s Hope regular Council meetings are scheduled for 2013 and will be held in the Council Chambers, District Office, at 9904 Dudley Drive, Hudson’s Hope. All meetings will commence at 7:00 pm, unless otherwise advertised. January 14 January 28 February 12 February 25 March 11 March 25 April 8 April 22 May 13 May 27 June 10

June 24 July 8 July 22 August 12 August 26 September 9 September 23 October 15 October 28 November 12 November 25 December 9 December 23

A copy of the schedule is available at the District of Hudson’s Hope, at 9904 Dudley Drive, Hudson’s Hope, BC. The Schedule is subject to change; please confirm meetings by contacting the District Office at (250) 783-9901 or by email at district@hudsonshope.ca or visit our website at www.hudsonshope.ca

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Phone: 250-782-7060 www.northeastnews.ca

Northeast NEWS

January 24, 2013

Page 21

COMMUNITY CALENDAR UPCOMING

January 2013

Dawson Creek • Jan. 29: The South Peace Seniors’ Access Services Society will be holding their Annual General Meeting on Tuesday at their office: Unit #7 10200 8th Street (Co-op Mall). We will be holding a welcome reception at 3 p.m. with the meeting to follow at 3:30 p.m. • Jan 29: Workshop “Preparing for Income Tax Time” to be presented by Grace Peters. At Seniors’ Access Office (Coop Mall) on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. Everyone welcome but space is limited.

Fort St. John • Parents with Kids Family Literacy Program runs every Tuesday and Thursday for the month of January from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. English as a Second Language classes every Wednesday at 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Study Help for Adults will run every Thursday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. All classes are located at the Fort St. John Literacy Society: 10142 101 Ave. • Jan 24: For parents interested in Kindergarten French Immersion,

ONGOING

Fort St. John • Ft. St. John Parkinson’s Support Group Parkinson Society British Columbia People living with Parkinson’s disease, caregivers and family members are warmly invited to the Ft. St. John Parkinson’s Support Group. Join others in your community to share information and resources, coping strategies, ideas for living well with PD, good humour, social support and more. Last Wednesday of the month at 11:00 am McDonald’s Restaurant 10920 Alaska Road North Ft. St. John, BC Note: there is no meeting in December For more information please contact: Sarah at 250 785 7348 • S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Northern B.C. Newcomers Integration Service Centre is a non-profit organization in Fort St. John. Our Settlement Program provides information, orientation, assessment, referral and service linking, educational workshops and short term adaptation counselling to immigrants. The program also offers assistance with form completion, correspondence between clients and service providers, navigating immigration processes including sponsorship applications, obtaining permanent residence cards and applying for citizenship. Bridging services are provided to a variety of community and government service agencies and organizations. Service is available in English and Spanish. The Settlement Program is located at: #209 10142-101st Ave (Execuplace building). From 8:30-4:30 p.m. Phone # 250785-5323 Ext 22. • Toastmasters International Club of Fort St. John meets from 7 - 8:30 p.m. every Thursday evening at Northern Lights College, Room 105. Learn valuable communication & leadership skills. Contact Claire Seidler at 250-787-9697 or Gayle Wagner at 250785-3991 for more information. • Rocky Mountain Rangers Army Cadets meet at 6:30 PM each Wednesday night at the Royal Canadian Legion on 102nd and 105 Ave. If you are between 12 and 18 years old please drop in or call us at 250-787-5323. • Alcoholics Anonymous - If you think you might have a problem with drinking, come to an AA meeting. Call for times and places or someone to talk to (250) 785-8866. • Fort St. John Multiple Sclerosis support group. If you or anyone you know has MS and have any questions or just need to talk, please call Susie at (250) 785-2381 or Sandi at (250) 787-2652. • A Youth Relapse Prevention Group may be held weekly, in the afternoons at Mental Health and Addiction Services, #300 - 9900 – 100 Ave. For more information call Chris or Shaun at (250) 262-5269. • “Butterfly Families – Families Supporting Families” is open to all caregivers of children and youth with Special Needs. We meet the third Wednesday of every month at the Child Development Centre from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., 10417 106 Ave. Does your child

there is an informational meeting on Thursday, at Central School at 6:30 pm. Registration now being accepted at Ecole Central Elementary School for 2013. • Feb. 2: Campfire Cowboy’s are back at the Fort St. John Legion Hall. Donations at the door, snacks will be served. Event starts at 7 p.m. • Feb. 9: FSJ Arts Market participates in High on Ice event to encourage community collaboration! Come celebrate with us and support local artists. View beautiful art, meet interesting people with the communities interests at heart, and find an oasis in the middle of a cold winter day! Discover something new in Fort St. John! • Feb. 18 – Feb. 22: Students who are currently attending Kindergarten

are being asked to take part in a screening and immunization clinic at the Health Unit in Fort St John. The clinic is scheduled for February 18 – 22, 2013. Screening will include hearing, vision and dental health status. School entry immunization boosters will also be available. Please call the Health Unit at (250) 263-6000 and make an appointment as soon as possible.

have learning, behavior or other complex special needs? Would you like to connect with other caregivers? Child minding available but please call ahead a few days before the meeting. Call (250) 785-3200 for more information. • Pregnancy tests, pregnancy options, peer-counselling and support are available at the North Peace Pregnancy Care Centre. New location at #208 10139 100 Street (above TD Bank). Drop in hours Monday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Tuesday from noon to 4 p.m. or to make an appointment call our 24 hour hotline at (250) 262-1280. All services are free and completely confidential. • Are you tired of the crime? Then do the time. Join the Fort St. John Citizens Patrol. Donate a minimum of five hours per month. For information, call (250) 262-4530. • Pan African Caribbean Association welcomes the community to join our group to promote community awareness of culture, music and cuisine. Phone Donald at (250) 785-0815 for more information. • New Totem Archery hold their indoor shoots at the Fort St. John Co-op Mall every Tuesday and Thursday at 7 p.m. and every Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. • Come out and join us for an afternoon of play, crafts, a healthy snack, circle time and an opportunity to borrow books from the Devereaux School Library. This is a chance to meet other people from your community and introduce your children to a school setting. We meet from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. every other Wednesday beginning Oct. 20th. This program is geared for three to four year-olds but siblings are welcome to come with their parents. Call Patti (250) 843-7813 for more information. • Join us for fun, fun, fun at the artSpace! ArtSpace classes are here again at the North Peace Cultural Centre with wonderful programming for all ages! Don’t miss out! Register today for preschool, Mommy and Me, afterschool and adult classes! Check out the great selection of activities at www.npcc.bc.ca, or pick up a brochure at the North Peace Cultural Centre. Call (250) 785-1992 for more information or to register.

Dawson Creek

• The Visually Impaired Support Group meets on the first Tuesday of the month at 12 noon at First Baptist Church, 1400 113 Ave. Each month we have a guest speaker and we share lunch. (cost by donation). Anyone who is visually impaired or who cares about someone with vision difficulties is welcome to attend. For further information please call Kathy 7827539 orMargaret 782-3221. • If you know how to visit with a friend, you already have the skills required to be a CASI Friendly Visitor volunteer! There are seniors in Dawson Creek right now who would like to have a friend come and visit them and perhaps take them to doctor’s appointments or shopping. Can you spare an hour or two a week to

visit a senior? Call CASI (Community Action for Seniors’ Independence) today. 250-782-1138 ext. 228, email lstudley@spcrs.ca or visit the website at www. casidc.org. • Alcoholics Anonymous - meets Mon., Tues., Fri., & Sat., 8 p.m. at Peace River Health Unit. Wed. 8 p.m. Hospital Education Room. All meetings are open. • Mile 0 Al-Anon meets 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. every Thursday evening at the Health Unit, Dawson Creek. • Mile 0 Quilt Guild meets every Tuesday and Thursday at 7 p.m., Studio 10 at KPAC. Come join us for sewing, fun and friendship. Contact Gloria at 250 786 5597. for more info. • Dawson Creek Toastmasters meets every Thursday at 7pm at Farmer’s Advocacy Office 1032 103 Ave (Front door on 11 st.) Contact Heather at 250-7845700 or 780-353-3050.

Fort Nelson

• The Community Market is held at the Westend Campground every Saturday except on long weekends. For more info or a vendor package please contact Jaylene Arnold at (250) 774-2541 or Audrey Reynolds (250) 774-6574. Pouce Coupe • Youth Drop-In at Pouce Coupe Community Church Annex (the old Pouce library). Saturday nights 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Ages 13 to 17.

Chetwynd

• Alcoholics Anonymous meets Tuesday and Friday at 8 p.m. at the Public Library, 5012 46 Street. If you think you might have a problem with drinking, come to an AA meeting. Call for times and places or someone to talk to, phone 788-9658 or 788-1100

Tumbler Ridge

• Alcoholics Anonymous - meeting Thursday. 8 p.m. 115 Commercial Park (Baptist Church). If you think you might have a problem with drinking, come to an AA meeting. Call for times and places or someone to talk to. Phone 242-4018. • Tuesdays: TR Seniors (55+) Drop-In – Floor curling, carpet bowling, card & board games, coffee & cookies. Community Centre Room 5 from 1-4 pm. Small drop-in fee. • Tumbler Ridge’s self-employed women will receive six months of free personal business monitoring beginning this October at no charge. If you are a self-employed woman in their first three years of operation, or partially operate a business, contact Sara Cooper at the Women’s Enterprise Centre at 1-800643-7014 ext. 104 or Mila Lansdowne by e-mail at mila@persona.ca or (250) 242-3389. Registration is required.

Taylor

• Civil Air Search and Rescue (CASARA) meetings every second Tuesday at the Taylor Fire Hall at 7 p.m. For information call Bob at 250-789-9152 or 250-787-5802.

Page 22

Northeast NEWS

January 24, 2013

‘Tis the Season for Chocolate By Sue Popesku Submitted article

The Agricultural PlasƟcs Pilot Program has begun. Recycle your Bale Wrap and Twine at select locaƟons. Call NEAT at 1-888-689-6328 for more informaƟon.

Serenity Spa This Season, Find your Bliss Every $100 spent on services or gift certificates will earn you $10 in

Bliss Bucks

to spend on yourself in Jan. 2013

250-785-0263 w www.serenityspabc.com Open 7 Days a Week

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Brush up your sweet tooth and measure out the sugar and cocoa to get involved in the 13th Annual Chocolate Festival scheduled for Feb. 9. Entries are open to all bakers from stay-at-home moms to commercial chefs, kids to grandparents, and from aficionados to connoisseurs. Everyone has a favorite chocolate cake or brownie recipe. What better way to show it off than to enter it in the Chocolate Festival where crowds of people can sample the “goods”. A distinguished panel of judges taste and test all the entries. At 6 p.m., the doors are open to the public and over 100 deliciously decadent, chocolate confections are gobbled up faster than birdseed by a flock of migrating geese. File photo Tasty treats are also aucTesting out all the chocolate-y goodness at last year’s Chocolate Festival. tioned off to the highest bidders. Each entry requires two conducts a Free Kids’ Art Camp at the North Peace Cultural identical cakes or plates of cookies and candy. One is for tastCentre. Proceeds from the Chocolate Festival support the Kids ing and sampling the other is put on the live auction block. Prizes Art Camp each year. are awarded in each category and when the auctioneer begins at To enter this one-time-a year Chocolate Feast email Peace around 7 p.m. in the evening to offer the delectable delicacies, Gallery North scoultry@npcc.bc.ca or phone 250-787-0993. the prize winners always command the highest bids. The silent Tickets for this very popular event are only $10 and available auction is a big attraction for the children and, with adult supernow online at tickets.npcc.bc.ca or at the North Peace Cultural vision, children can bid on their favorite chocolate treats as well. Centre box office 250-785-1992. The Chocolate Festival is not only a unique tasty treat and Treat yourself to the one evening of the year when chocolate artistic feast to celebrate Valentine’s Day, it is a fundraiser for reigns supreme and carries no calories to speak of. a very worthy cause. Every summer the Peace Gallery North

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Northeast NEWS

January 24, 2013

“Proudly Sponsors the North and South Peace SPCA” National Cupcake Day creates sweeter future for abused animals

Coming Soon… Tuxes N Tails

Black Tie Gala Event Please join us for our Įrst annual black Ɵe “Just Fur Love” dinner event coming to you on Saturday February 16th, 2013. Just in Ɵme for ValenƟnes Day!! Come out and support the South Peace SPCA by enjoying yourself and a special loved one for a gourmet dinner, music, silent aucƟon, furrrrbulous door prizes and much, much more.

The BC SPCA is calling on everyone who loves animals and tasty treats to join Canada’s first-ever National Cupcake Day on Feb. 25, 2013, in support of homeless, abused and injured animals. Register today at www.nationalcupcakeday.ca to host a National Cupcake Day Party and bake cupcakes for friends, family, co-workers or schoolmates in exchange for donations for the BC SPCA. It’s an easy and fun way to make a difference in the lives of animals who desperately need our help. What could be sweeter? When you register you’ll receive a Cupcake Host Welcome Package filled with goodies, ensuring your National Cupcake Day Party is a success. Be sure to like us on Facebook for more information, scrumptious recipes, fabulous prizes and much more!

Get your Ɵckets today at the Encana Events Centre. For more informaƟon, please call 250-784-5522 or 250-782-2444.

8-inch KC Pro-Sport HID Long Range Single Light Part #1850

OUR LOW PRICE STARTING AT

$

515

A PAIR INCLUDES WIRING HARNESS, LIFETIME WARRANTY ON BULBS & LENS

6-inch KC Pro-Sport HID Long Range Single Light Part #1640

6” Lenses (sold in pairs) KCH-7206 amber KCH-7204 blue KCH-7207 clear

NEW 35 Watt KC Pro-Sport HID lights are fully self-contained with the ballast and starter located inside the housing. • Durable 8-inch or 6-inch dia. Polymax housings • Computer designed precision polished reflector • KC Pro-Sport HID 8-inch lights feature hard coated Lexan ® lenses; KC Pro-Sport HID 6-inch lights come with glass lenses • Rugged 35 watt solid state ballast and starter • Rated at 3500 lumens per lamp • Choose either Long Range or Drving beam patterns • Available idividually packed with protective stone guard or in pair packs including stone guards and fully assembled pre-terminated relay wiring harness for fast and simple installation Pair Pack Part #

Single Light Part #

Beam Candlepower

640

1640

Lumens

6" 35 Watt HID - Long Range

600,000

641

3500

1641

6" 35 Watt HID - Driving

285,000

3500

850

1850

8" 35 Watt HID - Long Range

740,000

3500

851

1851

8" 35 Watt HID - Driving

350,000

3500

8” lenses coming 2013

1-888-919-8866

INLAND

Chrysler Jeep

Jeffrey

Dollie

Description

Thomas

Llily

®

westernwarehouse.net 11600 8 Street, Dawson Creek

Toll Free 1-800-808-7844

250-782-5507

www.inlandchrysler.com

Momma Silver

Cleopatra

Tux

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Northeast NEWS

January 24, 2013

PAYMENT TERMS AVAILABLE Dawson Creek, BC We don’t sell... We help you buy!

10205-13 St.

(250) 782-8988

Fort Nelson, BC

Shop and Compare!

5003-50 Ave. (250)

We will not be undersold

HOURS: Monday to Thursday: 9-6 t Friday: 9-6 t Saturday: 9-6

774-2455

Fort St. John, BC

10052-100 Ave. (250)

785-7868

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