Prince George Citizen September 19, 2019

Open-air library

Construction continues at the library as parts of the walls are removed to allow for a new entrance to the Bob Harkins Branch of the Prince George Public Library.

A letter to our readers and the community

Colleen SPARROW and Neil GODBOUT

Citizen publisher and editor-in-chief

Change is inevitable. We’re writing to you today to tell you about the changes we’re making at The Citizen.

Effective Oct. 3, The Citizen will become a free weekly newspaper, available in neighbourhood boxes and at various other central locations, along with home delivery in certain residential areas of the city. We’ll be printing our last daily print edition on Saturday, Sept. 28.

Becoming a weekly is not a decision that was made lightly or quickly, but we knew it was a necessary one in order to keep in step with the changing needs, habits and appetite for readily-available, quality journalism for local residents. Our online publication, www.princegeorgecitizen.com, remains the hub of our daily content, and the website will be updated constantly with the news and community content you love.

Back when this newspaper began publication 103 years ago, it was also a weekly. Devoted to providing the people of Prince George and the surrounding communities with journalistic excellence and storytelling that would reflect the world around them, it became a daily in 1957. Decades later, and with the advent of online versions of newspapers around the world, we are now able to give you those same stories that matter, with the same commitment to local, vital news – but now we’re focusing on 24-7 delivery. A news organization always needs to listen to the people – and that’s what we’re doing. With most of our readers now finding us online, we are making this change to ensure quality and immediacy for you, and value for our sponsors and advertisers, who have financially supported our printing and distribution from the start.

Our core values remain the same. Wheth-

er it’s breaking news, features, local sports team updates or community events, we will be there as we always have been. We’ll also bring you those stories quickly and directly via your phone, computer, tablet, etc. and our weekly print edition will allow you to pick up the paper and read at your leisure.

As Charity Milner (The Citizen’s former president) wrote to readers in November 1963, The Citizen’s role is: “to bring out all the significant news and to tell the truth as we see truth, no matter whose feelings may be ruffled.”

That means bringing your daily news to you when it happens, holding governments and politicians to account, and continuing to take those bigger dives into important local stories that need our attention.

To our readers: we pledge to deliver the news stories you have come to rely on us for on a daily basis, and with the same commitment to integrity, values and passionate journalism as we have always done.

To our subscribers: we thank you for your continued support through the years. We hope you will continue to enjoy our weekly publication for free.

To our retailers and stores: thank you for including The Citizen on your shelves, and as an option for delivery. We will be printing a list of locations where the paper can be picked up weekly as we move forward.

To our sponsors and advertisers: we are thankful for your company on this journey, and we look forward to exploring new ways to bring your messages to our readers.

To our team: thank you. We couldn’t be more grateful for all you have done and for all that we will continue to do together in the future.

On a personal note, both of us have been through many changes during our newspaper careers.

— see ‘THANK YOU, page 3

COFI issues long-term plan to renew forest industry

Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca

The BC Council of Forest Industries is calling on government and industry to pursue a series of “policy choices” to guide the sector through the current “perfect storm” of troubles and towards a viable future. There are 60 recommendations in all and they come in the form of a report, entitled “Smart Future: A Path Forward for B.C.’s Forest Products Industry.”

“In addition to addressing today’s challenges, many people are asking what the future holds for forestry in British Columbia, and where will we be once we have moved through this transition,” COFI president Susan Yurkovich said in a statement.

“We believe that with the right choices, there is a bright future for the forest industry in B.C. That’s why we are putting forward our ideas for a path forward - one that will help attract investment, secure jobs, deliver value and sustain economic benefits across the province.

“Some of these policy choices can be implemented by industry, others will require government action, and many will require collective effort from workers, communi-

ties, First Nations, academic institutions and all those involved in the sector to build the industry of the future.”

The proposals are divided among five themes that include steps to “double down on market and product diversification.”

On that note, authors suggest an export tax credit for products shipped to nonU.S. markets and increasing the proportion of value-added manufacturing in the province to at least 20 per cent within five years.

As it stands, about 30 per cent of B.C.’s wood products are now shipped to Asia, the authors note, adding that developing new markets requires perseverance.

“It takes years to develop product familiarity, codes, standards and market acceptance. But the benefits of these efforts has been significant for B.C.”

And it will have to be pursued in the context of lower harvest levels and rising fibre costs, meaning “we need to continue to explore new ways to generate as much value as we can from the resource.”

The plan also calls for securing a land base for harvesting. According to the report, 52.3 per cent of the province is covered by some form of conservation designation - from parks and protected areas

to old-growth management and wildlife conservation areas.

“A key choice, that would help build the confidence that draws investment into the province, would be to settle on the size of our working forest and lock it in,” authors say. “This will allow companies and communities to plan a future that workers can count on.”

Specific proposals on that theme include salvaging timber within two years of a wildfire and switching a portion of forest licenses from volume-based to area based “to encourage further investment by companies in intensive forest management.”

The plan was issued Monday - the day before B.C. Forests Minister Doug Donaldson announced a $69-million aid package for displaced forest workers. In an interview, Yurkovich said she welcomed the measures that include putting $40 million over two years toward an early-retirement bridging program for older forest workers.

Yurkovich called the step “entirely appropriate.”

“We also have lots of work to do to train the next generation of forest workers because, ironically...within the next 10 years we have a demographic bubble,” she said. “We have a lot of people moving through

towards the age of retirement and we need to ready ourselves for the next generation of forest worker. And so we also need to be able to train attract highly-skilled workers to work in our facilities, and the industry is high-tech, so we need to bring in technology workers, accountants, sales and marketing people, logistics people and we need to attract the next generation of forest worker as well.”

The bridging program is contingent on employers chipping in on a cost-sharing basis.

Opposition forests critic John Rustad, the B.C. Liberal MLA for Nechako Lakes, questioned the proviso given lumber producers are losing money.

But Yurkovich said COFI is “happy for any support” for the sector.

“Industry can’t afford to do everything on its own because we’re already facing very significant financial challenges and complex markets. We’re paying 20.23-percent duties, our log costs are climbing to the point where you’re seeing the curtailments because with markets where they are and fibre costs where they are, operations are uneconomic.”

The full report is posted with this story at www.princegeorgecitizen.com.

Creating a buzz

Anne Laughlin and Ted Price unveil the art for the fifth Miracle Theatre production, The Birds and The Bees by

All

annually to Prince George Charities that help the development and wellbeing of children in the city. The play will run Feb. 12 to March 4

every night except Mondays, plus Sunday matinees – at ArtSpace above Books and Company.

Woman faces firearms, stolen property charges

Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff

mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca

A woman faces charges in connection with a seizure of stolen property from a Nukko Lake-area home last week.

Four counts of possessing a firearm contrary to an order and one count of possessing stolen property over $5,000 have been approved for Anna Marie Elizabeth Thibodeau, according to court records.

The counts are related to an investi-

gation into a discovery last Monday of dozens of allegedly stolen items on a property on Moldowan Cutoff Road. Thibodeau was charged last Tuesday and released on $1,000 bail on Friday. Six people were arrested, but so far Thibodeau has been the only one charged. In 2013, she was sentenced to a sixmonth conditional sentence order and two years probation for possessing stolen property and possessing a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking

from a November 2011 arrest at a Norwood Street home. At the time of Thibodeau’s arrest, police said a quantity of methamphetamine and cocaine, along with drug trafficking paraphernalia, were found in the home after a search warrant was executed. They also uncovered a large amount of electronic equipment – more than 20 laptop computers, more than 30 cellular phones, Apple iPods, various video game consoles and cameras, plus a significant number of bicycles and bicycle parts.

Suspect in kidnapping attempt back in custody

A man accused of participating in an attempted kidnapping is back in custody following a high-profile arrest Tuesday afternoon.

Guns were drawn, traffic diverted and nearby homes in the 1900 block of Spruce Street were evacuated in the process while police apprehended Eric Vern West, 39.

West is one of four men facing charges from an April 15 incident that began with a report of shots being fired in the 2200 block of Quince Street.

RCMP arrived to find a man in an SUV parked in an adjacent alley suffering from a gunshot wound.

West had been released on $2,000 bail on Aug. 13, but on Sept. 11, a warrant for his arrest was issued for allegedly contravening his conditions, according to court records.

On Tuesday, RCMP were called to the scene at about 3 p.m. and by 5:30 p.m., members of the emergency response team had taken him into custody.

Co-accused Kyle Devro Teegee and Anthony Joseph Karl Larsen have remained in custody since they were arrested in relation to the original incident while Kenneth Ricardo Munroe was released on $1,000 bail on June 28.

Canadian War Museum to loan artifacts to schools

Holly McKENZIE-SUTTER

The Canadian Press

Classrooms across Canada can borrow sets of Second World War artifacts and reproductions in the second instalment of a popular learning tool provided by the Canadian War Museum.

The Canadian War Museum launched its “discovery boxes” at Bayside Middle School in Saint John, N.B., today, following up on a similar project involving items from the First World War. Boxes booked through the museum’s Supply Line program contain clothing, wartime art and photos and other artifacts, as well as lesson plans that explain the contents.

Many of the clothing items, including a Mark II helmet, an army battle dress jacket and a woman’s head scarf worn in a factory, are reproductions, but some

authentic artifacts are included in each box, such as an emergency ration kit and a camera specific to the period.

Kathryn Lyons, the museum’s manager of visitor experience, oversaw the development of the Second World War box. She said the program aims to bring the tactile learning experience of the museum to kids who may not be able to visit.

“There is something about being able to touch objects, being able to feel history in a way that you don’t necessarily get to when you’re reading it on a page,” Lyons said in a phone interview.

After Wednesday’s school launch in Saint John, Lyons said she was impressed by how the Grade 7 students were intrigued by the discovery box contents. One student shared a story about a relative’s wartime service, and another imagined the possible back story

NEWS IN BRIEF

UNBC group bringing romantic musical to TNW stage

UNBC Musical Productions presents The Last 5 Years at Theatre Northwest from Friday to Sunday and then again next Friday to Sunday with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. and the show beginning at 7 p.m.

The musical tells the story of two 20-somethings in New York who fall in and out of love within five years. This show features only two performers, Alex Verge and Solomon Goudsward and their two characters tell their stories in a unique way. Cathy tells her story backwards, while Jamie tell his story chronologically.

Tickets are $20 for the general public, $15 for students. Tickets are available online at tickets. theatrenorthwest.com or at in person at Books and Co., 1685 Third Ave.

Paving project delayed

Paving at the Prince George Airport has been delayed by two days.

Work will now start on Friday, take about a week, occur on Ellis Road, the main road into the airport, as well as two service roads and the longterm parking addition.

“At times during the project, there will be single lane alternating traffic on Ellis Road,” officials said. “A flagger will be present to direct traffic, but those using the airport should allow a few extra minutes to arrive and park.”

Flights won’t be affected.

of an original piece of sweetheart jewellery, which would have been worn by a serviceman’s loved ones.

“The power that objects have to grab attention, to generate questions, is amazing,” Lyons said.

Online course material expands on the war efforts of Canada’s army, navy and air forces, the roles of women and children, wartime jobs, the story of the Holocaust and the country’s internment of Japanese Canadians.

Items in the boxes and accompanying photos were selected to reflect the diversity of Canadians’ wartime experiences, something Lyons said teachers across all grade levels expressed interest in after the First World War boxes launched in 2014.

Teachers can book one of 20 bilingual kits, aimed at students in Grades 4 and up, for two weeks at a time.

‘Thank you for making us a part of your daily lives’

— from page 1

When Colleen started at The Citizen 29 years ago and Neil was a summer student at the Kelowna Capital News, the newspaper was still being assembled each day by hand. Lengthy, labourintensive processes eventually brought the paper to life every day, then it was back to work to get the next day’s news together. Desktop publishing, 24-hour news demands and direct-to-plate printers have changed how we do things dramatically, but they haven’t changed our values. We both believe passionately in deliv-

ering local news and that’s what we’ll continue to do. And while we might miss the feel (and the smell) of a local daily newspaper over our morning cup of coffee, we aren’t going away.

Those who love to get their content online will see an increased dedication to that method of news delivery from our incredible Citizen news team. Those who love print will enjoy an enhanced weekly edition of The Citizen for free. Thank you for making us a part of your daily lives. We hope you continue

to place your trust in us. To quote Charity Milner one more time: “... we will continue to proclaim what we believe is the truth with force and sincerity. We will fight improvidence, rascality, stupidity and sloth in the management of public business and formulation of public policy without fear or favour.” The way we’re fulfilling that mission is

Sincerely, Colleen Sparrow, Publisher and general manager Neil Godbout, editor-in-chief

Citizen staff

Special ticket prices available for Rock the Rink

Rock the Rink, Battle of the Blades, which takes to the ice on Oct. 12 at CN Centre, has a special ticket offer starting today.

Tickets are going on sale for $29 each from Thursday to Sunday and applies to limited seating. Battle of the Blades combines athletes from two of Canada’s favourite sports, figure skating and hockey to pair up in a high-stakes figure skating competition for the charity of their choice.

The cast features Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Patrick Chan, Kaetlyn Osmond and Elvis Stojko. Also appearing is world-renowned skating talent from Europe and the U.S. Italian Olympic medalist and world champion, Carolina Kostner, plus Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov. And for the first time in seven years Jeremy Abbott, Olympic medalist and U.S. champion will also join the tour.

Special ticket pricing is only available at www.ticketsnorth.ca.

Citizen staff

Mark Crawford.

B.C. assisted-death lawsuit adjourned

Laura KANE The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and a woman with a degenerative illness have adjourned their lawsuit challenging the federal assisted-dying law after they say government evidence expanded eligibility for the procedure.

The law says that only people who have a “reasonably foreseeable” natural death qualify, but a government expert has filed a report that states some doctors are now interpreting this category to include people who refuse care that would prolong their lives.

Lead plaintiff Julia Lamb, who has spinal muscular atrophy but isn’t facing an imminent death, said the relief she feels is “indescribable.”

“For years a shadow loomed over me. I feared a future where I was trapped in pain and in forceful suffering as my disease would continuously progress but not kill me,” the 28-year-old said at a news conference Wednesday.

“Now that all-familiar shadow has lifted.” Lamb said she is comfortable at the moment and still has ambitions to pursue in life, so she doesn’t plan to seek an assisted death any time soon, but she’s grateful to have the option.

The association and Lamb filed the lawsuit against the Canadian government in B.C. Supreme Court in 2016, arguing the law was too restrictive because of the “reasonably foreseeable” death requirement.

But a recent report filed by government expert Dr. Madeline Li, a physician and assisted-death provider with the University Health Network in Toronto, outlined a scenario in which some doctors would likely find Lamb eligible for medical assistance in dying.

Li wrote that initially after the law was enacted, medical practitioners were more cautious and only provided the procedure when a patient had a very short life expectancy. At the time Lamb filed the civil claim, the “reasonably foreseeable” death criteria may have been a barrier to her.

If Lamb requested an assisted death now, a doctor could find her eligible because she’s at risk of developing a chest infection, Li wrote. If she was to stop using a ventilator that helps her breathe at night and refuse treatment for the inevitable chest infection, then her natural death would become “reasonably foreseeable.”

“Canadian physicians and nurse practitioners have been on a steep learning curve over the past three years in interpreting Bill C-14 eligibility criteria,” Li wrote.

“The law as it stands contains enough flexibility in the interpretation of the end of life criteria that it is not a barrier for practi-

tioners who are comfortable with expanding access.” Li said in an interview that she did not personally assess Lamb and she intended her report to state that there are physicians who would likely find the woman eligible under the current law. She stressed that every case must be judged individually by a medical practitioner.

Refusing treatment as a route to assisted death is still legally vague, she added, as there have been no court rulings examining the practice, but the cases she knows of where it has happened have not prompted complaints to regulatory bodies or coroner’s inquests.

No other expert in the case challenged Li’s evidence on the matter, the civil liberties association said.

The association did not provide the full report because it said it was confidential and may only be disclosed by the Attorney General of Canada. But the association said

Some schools, colleges move to accommodate climate strikes

Paola LORIGGIO The Canadian Press

TORONTO — Students in Canada are expected to participate in climate demonstrations beginning this Friday, and some school boards are moving to allow – even encourage – them to miss class for the cause.

The University of British Columbia, the Toronto District School Board and Montreal’s Dawson College are among the institutions taking measures to support students who plan to walk out of class as part of a global call to action.

The TDSB said it has asked its schools to avoid scheduling tests and other assignments on Sept. 27, to ensure students aren’t penalized academically for participating in a rally outside the Ontario legislature. However, the board noted students under 18 must still obtain parental permission to skip class.

The board’s director of education, John Malloy, said the decision stems from the “large and unique nature of this particular event” and the fact that a number of students have indicated they want to attend, though he could not say how many.

“We see this particular rally as global, as starting from students and generated fur-

ther by students, and we see it as one that we should consider with parents and with students in terms of their participation,” he said Wednesday.

UBC, meanwhile, said students who plan on taking part in the walkout should discuss possible accommodations with their instructors. Similarly, any faculty members wishing to cancel classes in support of the climate action should inform students in advance, the university said in a statement.

“This strike is a student-led initiative and we acknowledge that many of our students and community members care deeply about this issue. It is inspiring to see so many students take part in shaping their future and use the power of the collective voice to raise awareness of climate change and the need for immediate action.”

The rallies – dubbed Global Climate Strike – are timed to coincide with the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York next week.

The movement is partly inspired by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, who has staged weekly demonstrations over the past year under the hashtag #FridaysForFuture, calling on world leaders to step up efforts against climate change.

it sought and obtained Canada’s consent to publicly release its letter to the court seeking the adjournment, which quotes from Li’s report.

The letter, written by lawyer Joseph Arvay on Sept. 6, says Canada consented to the request for an adjournment.

The federal Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for the full report or for comment.

Grace Pastine, the association’s litigation director, said the decision is a “huge victory for our client and for the many Canadians like her who might find themselves suffering unbearably with no end in sight.”

“The government’s expert evidence provides new clarity to health-care providers. It confirms that Canadians who are seriously ill and face enduring and intolerable suffering have the right to die with dignity, even if they are not at or near the end of life and their deaths are not considered ‘foreseeable.’ ”

But Pastine said the organization would not hesitate to reopen the case if it learns that Canadians like Lamb are being denied their constitutional right to a compassionate and peaceful death.

The Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear an appeal in December in a bid to accelerate Lamb’s lawsuit.

Earlier this month, Justice Christine Baudouin of the Quebec Superior Court ruled invalid the Criminal Code requirement that a natural death be “reasonably foreseeable” before someone can be eligible for assisted death. She also invalidated a section of the Quebec law that says people must “be at the end of life” to receive the procedure.

The civil liberties association said if the federal government doesn’t appeal that ruling, reasonable foreseeability will no longer be a barrier to eligibility in Quebec after March 11, 2020.

Pastine said the Quebec ruling didn’t affect the B.C. case.

Charges stayed against B.C. RCMP officer

The Canadian Press

VICTORIA — Charges of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon have been stayed against an RCMP officer who shot a man nine times during a confrontation in Surrey.

Documents released by British Columbia’s prosecution service say while evidence shows Const. Elizabeth Cucheran fired the shots at 20-year-old Hudson Brooks, the law is clear that even the mistaken belief in the need to use lethal force is a complete defence.

The service says Brooks had consumed significant quantities of alcohol and cocaine when he was in the parkade at the Surrey RCMP detachment on July 18, 2015. It says Brooks was shoeless and wearing only boxer shorts, and screamed “Kill you! Kill me! Kill you!” as he used his fists, knees and shoulder to hammer at the driver’s door and windows of an officer’s SUV.

The prosecution service says when other officers confronted Brooks, he charged Cucheran, who stepped backwards while firing at him until she tripped and Brooks

fell at her feet then crawled on top of her. It says Cucheran fired her weapon 12 times, hitting Brooks nine times and shot herself in the leg while she was on her back. Initially, the Crown concluded the shots weren’t legally justifiable.

“While there was no doubt she was entitled to use some degree of force to defend herself as Mr. Brooks approached, the Crown was satisfied she was not entitled to resort to lethal force as soon as she did,” the prosecution service says in a statement. But it said the evidence brought out at a preliminary inquiry significantly weakened the foundation of the Crown theory that a Taser provided a reasonable force option for the officer to use.

It said testimony at the preliminary inquiry from experts meant the Crown was unable to prove that Cucheran’s failure to use the Taser when Brooks initially attacked her resulted from “any blameworthy conduct” on her part.

“The Crown is now of the view that the evidence strongly establishes that resort to her firearm was entirely reasonable in the circumstances.”

Julia Lamb, who has a degenerative muscle disease, leaves a news conference in Vancouver in 2016. Lamb challenged the federal government’s assisted dying law in court.

Liberals, NDP promise to work with provinces

Joanna SMITH The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — The Liberals and New Democrats are both making promises that would need some co-operation from the provinces to become reality, at a time when powerful premiers have made it clear they see their relationship with Ottawa headed in a very different direction.

Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday that a re-elected Liberal government would work with the provinces and territories to increase the benefit paid to surviving spouses through the Canada Pension Plan and the Quebec Pension Plan by 25 per cent.

That need to hammer things out with other levels of government might seem like a small detail, but it’s a reminder of how much things changed in the relationship between Ottawa and the provinces when the Liberals came to power, and then how much they have changed again since.

Stephen Harper met only twice with the premiers as a group during his time as Conservative prime minister, the last time being in 2009 to discuss the global economic crisis. He preferred to deal with them and their causes – or complaints – one at a time.

The premiers demanded a more collaborative relationship and Trudeau promised to deliver just that, arranging to sit down with his fellow first ministers to discuss climate change in November 2015, mere weeks after swearing in his cabinet.

The regular gatherings were friendly enough at first, helped along by how closely aligned Kathleen Wynne, then the Liberal premier of Ontario, was with the Trudeau government, on major priorities, including carbon pricing as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Quebec was led by Liberal Philippe Couillard and Alberta’s Rachel Notley, a New Democrat, also had an outlook not too different from Trudeau’s.

Not everything was smooth sailing, but the Liberals eventually managed to get everyone except Saskatchewan to sign on to a framework on carbon pricing, and negotiated a new decade-long health accord.

They also worked out a deal with the provinces, excluding Quebec, to enhance the Canada Pension Plan, by increasing contributions gradually beginning this year, while boosting benefits for retirees on the other end.

The pensions promise Trudeau is making in this campaign, while not as broad, comes in a very different context.

Newer conservative premiers such as Doug Ford in Ontario and Jason Kenney in Alberta, among others, have been opposing the federal carbon tax and otherwise show-

ing they are not eager to co-operate.

The Liberals are not expecting to face the same kind of opposition to enhancing the survivor’s benefit as they did to the carbon tax, but the frustration Trudeau appeared to express at the general state of things on Wednesday still shows the amount of discord around the table.

“People are choosing premiers who are choosing to use millions of dollars of your money to fight a concrete plan, to fight climate change in the courts,” he said at a campaign stop in Fredericton, “instead of figuring out to how to work with us to build a better future in which we can have a stronger environment and make life more affordable for all Canadians.”

Meanwhile, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh promised to extend full public dental coverage to those whose household incomes are less than $70,000 year - billed as a move toward eventually including dentistry in universal public health care.

Singh said the NDP “denticare” plan, which would also include partial cover-

International group takes pass on monitoring election

Lee BERTHIAUME The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — An international body that specializes in monitoring elections is skipping this year’s Canadian election due to limited resources despite questions and potential concerns about the role of third-party groups, cybersecurity and social media in the campaign.

The Organization for Security and Economic Co-operation in Europe, or OSCE, monitored Canada’s federal election in 2015 and recently deployed an advance team to determine whether it should repeat the exercise. Canada is one of 57 members of the OSCE.

The team came back at the end of August recommending a monitoring mission following interviews with representatives from the main political parties as well as Elections Canada, several government departments and outside experts.

While the team wrote in its report that it found “full stakeholder confidence in the overall integrity of the electoral process,” those interviewed identified several areas of concern that would warrant the presence of an extra set of eyes.

Those included changes to the election law by the Liberal government as well as efforts to protect the election from cyberthreats, the role of online media and social networks on the campaign, “and the effectiveness of oversight of campaign and campaign-finance rules.”

In particular, those interviewed “acknowledged concerns related to public perceptions of electoral security,” fears about disinformation campaigns and “potential loopholes” in the election law when it comes to spending limits and other rules on third-party actors. Despite these concerns, Katya Andrusz of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights said the organization decided not to send an observation mission because it has already deployed a large number of missions to other countries this year.

“As 2019 is a heavy election year and we have had some large-scale observation operations that have been demanding on ODIHR’s budget and human resources, it will not be possible for us to carry out an observation to the federal elections in Canada this year,” she said this week.

Ukraine’s presidential and parliamentary elections in particular have been a significant draw on the office’s “limited resources,” Andrusz said, while missions are also underway or expected for Poland and Belarus.

Dalhousie University professor Lori Turnbull, who was interviewed by the advance team in July, was disappointed the OSCE opted not to send an observation mission

It is a big election year globally and so if they made the decision not to come here, I get it.

— Lori Turnbull

given some of the issues likely to come up during the campaign.

“It is a big election year globally and so if they made the decision not to come here, I get it,” she said.

“But at the same time, I would really have liked to have seen an observation just because of the different rules around third parties and because of the concerns around cybersecurity. I think it would have been really good to have that analysis done.”

Some experts believe Canada will be a test case of sorts for next year’s U.S. presidential election, both in terms of efforts to protect and attack the campaign, Turnbull said, which is another reason an independent assessment would have been welcome.

But there are also questions about how votes by expatriates will affect the election along with the effectiveness of rules around third-party groups and foreign financing and the reinstatement of vouching that are worth monitoring, she said.

“The changes that this government has made are integral to how we run elections and it would be interesting to have that objective analysis to see how things are working.”

The last time the OSCE sent an electionmonitoring mission in 2015, it was on the basis of widespread concerns about the Fair Elections Act, which was rammed through by Stephen Harper’s Conservative government with limited consultation.

Those concerns included whether the law would prevent large numbers of voters from actually casting their ballots, whether campaign finance rules would benefit some parties and not others, and whether the law would negatively affect turnout among Aboriginals and other groups.

The Liberal government subsequently rolled back many of the changes in the Fair Elections Act with their own legislation.

Andrusz said there was no connection between the decision not to send a mission to Canada this time around and the changed political environment - it was solely a matter of money and resources.

“You can’t say: ‘Okay there was something we were concerned about last time, for example, and we’re not concerned now and that’s why we’re not coming,”’ she said. “That comparison really doesn’t hold up.”

age for households with incomes between $70,000 and $90,000, was designed to be fully paid for by the federal government.

It is clear, though, that the NDP views this initial program as a stopgap.

As with the original creation of the public health care system, adding dental care to public coverage would require a long series of negotiations with the provinces and territories.

Singh hinted at those conversations to come when he said he hoped that by relieving the provinces of some of the burden, they would start looking at how they could expand their own existing programs that subsidize dental care.

“We don’t have control over those provincial programs,” Singh said in Sudbury, Ont. “They are good starts, but they don’t go far enough.”

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer also faced questions Wednesday about how he would handle federal-provincial relations, specifically with Quebec.

On Tuesday, Quebec Premier Francois

Legault issued a list of demands to the federal party leaders, asking for his province to have greater control over immigration, tax collection and language regulation.

Scheer said he is willing to work on eliminating federal-provincial duplication of labour market opinions for temporary foreign workers, which sometimes slow things down, and committed to changes that would see Quebecers file only one income tax return.

Quebec currently requires its residents to file separate tax forms, but is willing to combine them if Quebec gets to handle both the federal and provincial systems.

Scheer said he would also be prepared to stand up for his promised national energy corridor, even if it means having to assert federal jurisdiction over any opposition to pipelines that would run through Quebec.

“We have respect for provincial areas of jurisdiction and the other side of that coin is we also have respect for federal jurisdiction,” said Scheer in Hamilton on Wednesday.

Canada’s provincial and territorial premiers are seen during a closing news conference following a meeting of Canada’s Premiers in Saskatoon, Sask., on July 11.

How Apple inspires us

Twenty-five years ago, Apple was all but finished as a company.

Microsoft had such domination over the personal computer and operating software market that it was facing U.S. government anti-trust investigations, with the looming threat that the company might be broken into pieces to deal with its monopoly.

Microsoft put off those charges by sending hundreds of millions of dollars over to Apple to prop up its struggling little competitor.

What happened next is business history. Apple – with the brilliant Steve Jobs back in charge – rolled out a new generation of iMacs, then those little iPods portable music players and then transformed the world with the iPhone. Yet Apple never strayed from its core mission of offering well-designed, user-friendly products that fostered a fierce, tribal allegiance from customers. When Apple eventually rolls out its first car (they’ve spent years and billions

in development), people will rush to buy it because it has the famous Apple logo on it.

Apple survived and then thrived because it adapted its business model without ever losing sight of its values and its relationship with its customers.

That’s our inspiration here at The Citizen as we make the transition from a daily newspaper to an online news portal that also publishes a weekly printed newspaper. In the same way that Apple saw itself for too long as a computer company, we saw ourselves as a daily newspaper.

Although our customers – both our readers and our advertisers –had gone online in droves, we passionately battled for years to serve the dwindling number of residents who just loved their daily newspaper, in the same way Apple was so devoted in the early 1990s to their dwindling base of Macintosh devotees.

We also held off on making the change because of the human cost and the risk. The human cost is saying goodbye to great people

and hard workers whose jobs are no longer needed. The risk is striking out in a different direction without knowing if it will work. Jobs and the Apple team relished the opportunity to prove the doubters wrong and reward the faith of their supporters.

In the same way, all of us at The Citizen are eager to prove ourselves, both to those who stuck with us as paid subscribers and frequent advertisers, as well as to the segment of the community that wrote us off years ago and will see this most recent change as The Citizen’s last gasp.

Our confidence in our future is not tied to pie-in-the-sky hopes (nor unreasonable expectations that we’ll be a trillion-dollar company like Apple in 20 years).

Our readers and advertisers – in both words and actions – have told us who and what they want us to be. Readers want us to deliver reliable, breaking local news, as well as insightful features and opinion, online but also publish a printed product with paid advertisements and flyers. Advertisers want to let

Why independents have no chance

My panelists on last Friday’s After Nine show at CFIS 93.1 FM insisted either more independents were needed in Parliament, or that MPs in all parties needed to rediscover their independence from the leader. Outside of confidence motions, such as the annual budget, having a majority of the seats in Ottawa should be no guarantee of passing legislation. I heartily agree, but cannot overstate how unlikely such a scenario is to manifest. First, there is the near impossibility of independents being elected. Non-partisans do not have a party apparatus to double their cash from donors, with one max donation going to thee and another going to HQ where the shortpants brigade does opposition research or signs are ordered in bulk. Also, independents cannot advertise before the writ drops, nor can they bankroll their own campaign. Thus, no “agent of change” can upset an election. Then there is the fact that, ironically, Canadians are more likely to vote along partisan lines than our American cousins, who often cast ballots based on the candidate. Certainly, names and reputations count for something, but without a party banner, even long serving representatives are all but forgotten the minute they quit or are booted from caucus. Leaders know this well and it gives them an inordinate amount of coercive power over their MPs. None of the independents, including the candidate whose campaign I managed, won or retained office in 2015. For all the media attention on Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott, it is nearly certain they’ll lose, either to their former comrades or the opposition by vote-splitting.

So if running independently is futile, what options remain for those who want to make a difference? There are only two: creating a new party, with integrity and clear principles, or reforming one of the long established political vehicles that has fallen into disrepute and scandal.

How successful has creating a new party been? Until the Great Depression, there were no viable third parties federally. The

RIGHT OF CENTRE NATHAN GIEDE

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, predecessor to the New Democratic Party, was founded in 1932: 79 years later the NDP finally became the Official Opposition. Including the Bloc de Quebecois in 1993, then the Reform Party in ’97 and the Alliance Party in 2000, new parties have silver medalled in elections just four times.

That’s a failure rate of 91 per cent for Official Opposition status, and a no-hitter for new or third parties when it comes to forming government. Some may quibble about the united right, as the Reform and Alliance did “achieve government” through the Conservative Party; others will point to how the Liberals jumped from third place to government in the 2015 election. Such arguments are worth having, but the fact remains all of our prime ministers have either been Grits or Tories.

This brings us all the way back around to the perennial tragedy of the Commons: Canada appears incapable of reform (pun intended). This is the heart of the issue, as those who desire more independents in Parliament, de jure or de facto, are essentially asking for both fiscal accountability and genuinely innovative policy that improves the lives of all Canadian citizens.

That has been the stated intention of every alternative political project since Confederation, and not a single one has ever been granted the mandate to try. With electoral reform dead and buried “this election will be the last held under first past the post,” remember? - as well as the rules for political fundraising described above, there is almost no hope for new parties to get off the ground and make a serious difference in our federal contests.

That’s a bleak picture, but at least it gives us a direction. For if we cannot go around our established political vehicles, our only option is to go through them. What might that look like?

our readers know about the goods and services they are offering to local residents.

In other words, the demand is there, both on the readership and the advertising side. This change we’re undergoing positions us in the community where those readers and advertisers want us to be.

My goal – both personally and professionally – has been that journalistic calling to report and comment on important community news to local residents. But that’s just the selfish part. It’s never been about me. I’ve always seen my role as editor of The Citizen as being the steward of an essential piece of the fabric of this city – a place where residents can find out what’s happening but also talk to one another. Columns and letters to the editor written by local residents – both in print and online – is something no other Prince George news outlet offers to anywhere near the degree The Citizen does.

During the last week, one of the most-read articles on our website

was the letter Ken James, the president and CEO of West Coast Olefins Ltd., wrote in response to the questions submitted by the Too Close 2 Home Facebook group regarding the proposed petrochemical group. It was probably the longest letter The Citizen has ever published – it filled nearly two broadsheet pages in the print edition – but it provided the depth of information local residents are clearly hungry for.

The weekly newspaper and The Citizen website will be the place for that kind of in-depth reporting and analysis, as well.

You get to decide, however – not just today but every day – whether we’re succeeding in our core mission of giving you the news and views you want to read (but not necessarily agree with), when and how you want to read it.

Apple proved itself to be more than just a computer manufacturer and we’re excited about the opportunity to prove to you that The Citizen is far more than just a daily newspaper. — Editor-in-chief

Neil Godbout

Better economic measure needed

The Minister for Cultural Progress recently announced a new initiative to increase the productivity of classical musicians. Musicians, it seems, have been lagging behind other sectors of the economy. While forestry, mining, and manufacturing have all shown gains in efficiency in recent years, musical production has remained stubbornly stuck at the same level as when it was invented hundreds of years ago. The minister has therefore ordered that all music shall henceforth be played at double speed, allowing musical output to increase by 100 per cent.

This apocryphal story demonstrates both why traditional economic measures are not appropriate in today’s economy, and why we should expect – and welcome – certain sectors to occupy an increasingly large fraction of the economy.

Let’s start with the idea of increasing efficiency. If new equipment and varieties of crops allow a farmer to produce twice as much as before, that benefits everyone through cheaper food (so fewer go hungry), more profit to the farmer and more efficient use of arable land (leaving more available for wildlife).

The only people who lose in this scenario are the less efficient farmers, who are driven out of business.

Is this a good bargain? Nobody asked the farmers but society has embraced this approach and farmers have suffered the consequences.

When we talk about coal mining, the same logic applies, with the added benefit that every worker displaced from coal mining is another worker who won’t get lung disease or be killed in a mining accident. Again, nobody asked the miners and many of them would not see this as a good deal, as they would rightly argue that their longterm health is less of a concern than tomorrow’s paycheck.

Is there a logical conclusion to these trends? Yes, there is: we can see a time coming when all kinds of occupations have been replaced by machines or computers. Indeed, we are not too far from a time when humanity’s basic needs – notably food and shelter – could and probably will be provided with minimal human labour.

A huge question is how we will re-organize society when there are essentially no more jobs in food production and transportation, energy production, or manufacturing, but that’s a topic for another day.

There are, however, large sectors of the population that work in people-centred occupations. Your hairdresser. Your dentist. Your entertainers. Your lawyer. And, yes, your university professor.

Although you would be happy if their services were cheaper, in none of of these occupations would you want higher productivity, because the value you derive from them comes from the personal attention you receive. At least for hairdressers and entertainers, you wouldn’t want them to be faster.

Similarly for school teachers: yes, we

Mailing address: 505 Fourth Ave. Prince George, B.C. V2L 3H2 Office hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday

General switchboard: 250-562-2441 info@pgcitizen.ca

General news: news@pgcitizen.ca

Sports inquiries: 250-960-2764 sports@pgcitizen.ca

Classifieds advertising: 250-562-6666 cls@pgcitizen.ca

could have a system in which one teacher hooks up 100 kids to a computer system for the day, perhaps administering mild sedatives so they don’t get fidgety. That would reduce the cost of school. It might even improve learning outcomes. But I wouldn’t allow my kids to go to such a school. Would you? I want my children to have personalized, human interaction with a teacher and the other children. I don’t want the system to be faster, I don’t want the teachers to be paid less. This is a part of the economy, like musicians, that resists efficiencies in the way that economists want to measure them. As everything else becomes more efficient, these service parts of the economy will take up a larger and larger share.

The problem here is not that services can’t be rendered more efficient, it is that the way we measure economic production – through GDP – was useful when it was invented to optimize manufacturing in the Second World War but no longer serves the needs of society.

For example, GDP does not account for the work parents do raising their children, unless they swap parental responsibilities with their neighbours and pay each other. According to economists, parenting has no value to the economy.

Oddly, the consequences of bad parenting are valuable, because if you have to pay for medical treatment, to repair damage that a child has done, or for their therapy, that improves the economy. Similarly for devastating storms and earthquakes: each one gooses the GDP.

Spending time at church with your neighbours? Not so much.

What kind of sick person would invent an economic measure that values tragedy and devalues community and human bonding?

Many people have suggested alternatives to GDP.

In Bhutan, they use Gross National Happiness, which actually takes into account various measures of how happy their citizens are.

There is some urgency to choosing a better alternative to GDP, as governments work eagerly to improve whatever measure is available.

Their relentless focus on improving GDP is partly responsible for manufacturing jobs moving overseas and society’s failure to look after the environment.

As the fall election rolls along, I encourage you to ask your local candidates what they would replace GDP with so that their efforts to improve the economy place value on our communities, our children, and the environment they will inherit.

– Stephen Rader is a professor in biochemistry at UNBC.

Shawn Cornell, director of advertising: 250-960-2757 scornell@pgcitizen.ca

Reader sales and services: 250-562-3301 rss@pgcitizen.ca

Letters to the editor: letters@pgcitizen.ca

Website: www.pgcitizen.ca

Website feedback: digital@glaciermedia.ca

Member of the

Glacier Media

SHAWN

Photo surfaces of Trudeau wearing ‘brownface’ costume

Teresa WRIGHT The Canadian Press

HALIFAX — A 2001 yearbook photo of a costumed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his face and hands darkened by makeup, detonated Wednesday on the federal campaign trail, instantly tarnishing the Liberal leader’s bona fides as a champion of tolerance and stopping the party’s re-election momentum squarely in its tracks.

The jarring black-and-white photo, posted online by Time magazine, originally appeared in the yearbook from the West Point Grey Academy, a private school in Vancouver where Trudeau worked as a teacher before entering politics.

It depicts Trudeau at an Arabian Nightsthemed gala event, clad in an elaborate turban and robe, his face, hands and neck covered in dark makeup – a breathtaking contradiction to the prime minister’s carefully cultivated image as a standard-bearer for Canadian diversity.

“It was a dumb thing to do,” he said during an emergency news conference on board the Liberal campaign plane before taking off for Winnipeg.

“I’m disappointed in myself, I’m pissed off at myself for having done it. I wish I hadn’t done it, but I did it, and I apologize for it.”

Asked whether it was the only instance of its kind, Trudeau admitted that during a high school talent show, he wore makeup while performing a version of Harry Belafonte’s Banana Boat Song (Day-O), although he didn’t explicitly say the makeup was dark.

He also said he’s been calling friends and colleagues to apologize personally for the photo, adding that he expects to be making more such calls on Thursday.

“It was something that I didn’t think was racist at the time, but now I recognize it was something racist to do, and I’m deeply sorry,” he said.

“I have worked all my life to try and create opportunities for people, to fight against racism and intolerance, and I can just stand here and say that I made a mistake when I was younger, and I wish I hadn’t.”

The picture depicts the now-Liberal leader alongside four young women – his hands draped over one of them – in what appear to be cocktail dresses, none dressed as elaborately as Trudeau. The Time report describes the photo as having been the subject of gossip within the West Point Grey community.

Word of the photo ripped through the Liberal campaign bus like wildfire when the story broke, instantly changing what had been a convivial end-of-day mood.

Staff members suddenly began talking

frantically on their cellphones as reporters urgently called their newsrooms before snapping open their laptops.

One of the people Trudeau called Wednesday was Liberal candidate Omar Alghabra, who was born in Saudi Arabia to a Syrian family. In an interview Wednesday night, Alghabra said the prime minister apologized and asked for his advice.

“I told him to be upfront and to own the mistake,” said Alghabra, who admitted to being upset and concerned by the photo, but also ready to forgive.

“As disappointing as it is, it’s not that hard for me to get over it, because I’ve seen him act in public and in private and I’ve seen what he’s done for many people who are marginalized or being victimized by stereotypes or racism.”

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, however, was giving no quarter, calling Trudeau “someone who’s not fit to govern this country.”

“It was racist in 2001 and it’s racist in 2019,” Scheer said in a brief statement

So-called “blackface” images have been a frequent source of controversy in recent years, predominantly in the United States, where last year a number of prominent state politicians were forced to apologize for similar yearbook images that surfaced publicly.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who was taking part in a town hall meeting when the news broke, said it’s becoming clear that Trudeau’s public persona may not be an accurate reflection of who he is.

Later, in a powerful statement on live television, Singh – the first non-Caucasian leader of a federal political party – made an emotional appeal to Canadians hurt by the image.

“Seeing this image is going to be hard for a lot of people; it’s going to bring up a lot of pain, it’s going to bring up a lot of hurt,” he said.

“Please reach out to your loved ones, please reach out to people who are suffering in silence right now. Please let them know that they are loved, and they are celebrated for who they are.”

Green Leader Elizabeth May described herself as “deeply shocked” by the “racism” on display in the photo.

“He must apologize for the harm done and commit to learning and appreciating the requirement to model social justice leadership at all levels of government,” May tweeted.

“In this matter he has failed.”

People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier described Trudeau on Twitter as a “master of identity politics” whose party has been accusing others of being “white supremacists.”

“He definitely is the biggest hypocrite in the country.”

— With files from Joanna Smith and Joan Bryden in Ottawa.

MAGAZINE HANDOUT

A photo showing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, second from right, at a 2001 costume party – his hands and face blackened with makeup – was published by Time Magazine on Wednesday. They say it was published in the yearbook from the West Point Grey Academy, a private school in Vancouver, where Trudeau worked as a teacher before entering politics.

Trump bars California from setting fuel standards

The Associated Press

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that his administration is revoking California’s authority to set auto mileage standards stricter than those issued by federal regulators, a move critics said would result in less fuel-efficient cars that create more planet-warming pollution.

In a tweet, Trump said his action would result in less expensive, safer cars. He also predicted Americans would purchase more new cars, which would result in cleaner air as older models are taken off the roads.

“Many more cars will be produced under the new and uniform standard, meaning significantly more JOBS, JOBS, JOBS! Automakers should seize this opportunity because without this alternative to California, you will be out of business,” Trump tweeted.

U.S. automakers contend that without year-over-year increases in fuel efficiency that align with global market realities their vehicles could be less competitive, potentially resulting in job losses. However, most of the industry favours increases in standards that are less than the Obama-era requirements, saying their consumers are gravitating to SUVs and trucks rather than buying more efficient cars.

Top California officials and environmental groups pledged legal action on Wednesday to stop the rollback, potentially tying up the issue for years in federal courts. The U.S. transportation sector is the nation’s biggest single source of greenhouse gasses.

“You can’t get serious about climate change unless you are serious about vehicle emissions, said California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat. ”This is such a pivotal moment in the history of the climate change debate.“

It’s not clear yet what the Trump administration will propose as its final fuel-efficiency rules, but in the past it has favoured freezing Obama-era mileage standards at 2021 levels. Under the Obama administra-

tion requirements, the fleet of new vehicles would have to average 30 mpg in real-world driving by 2021, rising to 36 mpg in 2025. Currently the standard is 26 mpg.

Under Trump, the Environmental Protection Agency contends that freezing the fuel economy standards will reduce the average sticker price of new vehicles by about $2,700 by 2025, though that predicted savings is disputed by environmental groups and is more than double the EPA estimates from the prior administration.

Trump’s tweet does not address the money consumers would save at the gas pump if cars got better mileage. A study released by Consumer Reports in August found that the owner of a 2026 vehicle will pay over $3,300 more for gasoline during the life of a vehicle if the standards are frozen at 2021 levels.

Trump’s claim that his proposal would result in a cleaner environment is contrary to his own administration’s estimate that by freezing economy standards U.S. fuel consumption would increase by about 500,000 barrels per day, a two to three per cent increase. Environmental groups predict even more fuel consumed, resulting in higher pollution.

The administration argues that lower-cost vehicles would allow more people to buy new ones that are safer, cutting roadway deaths by 12,700 lives through the 2029 model year. But The Associated Press reported last year that internal EPA emails show senior career officials privately questioned the administration’s calculations, saying the proposed freeze would actually modestly increase highway fatalities, by about 17 deaths annually.

Night sky wonder still amazing

Astronomy is one of our oldest sciences. Humans have studied the stars for all of recorded human history and quite possibly well beyond. After all, stars are a nightly occurrence and hard to ignore.

Our ancestor built a great deal of lore around the stars. In Eastern, Western, and ancient American culture, wise men studied these points of light hoping they might reveal what the future holds.

But to the naked eye, there are five stars which do not behave like any other. They move against the celestial backdrop is a wayward manner. The “wanderers” or planets as they were called held a mystical place in some religions, developing into astrology or the belief that the fate of humans could be read in the stars.

Of course, the invention of the telescope allowed astronomers such as Galileo to show the wanderers were planets with their own orbiting bodies. It is difficult for anyone to look at Jupiter on a clear night, see its moons with their own eyes and then deny the

RELATIVITY

TODD WHITCOMBE

truth of the solar system model he propounded.

The discovery of Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and the asteroid belt led to a much clearer picture of our local neighbourhood. In the past few decades, probes have flown past every planet and provided us with close up images of these distant worlds. We have even landed probes on Venus and Mars – although the Venusian probes only last a matter of minutes.

The continuing exploration of Mars has revealed much about the solar system. While alien life has not been detected, there is certainly evidence water flowed openly on the surface of Mars and may still be found in underground caches. It is doubtful Mars will ever be a habitable planet for the likes of you and me but life might have found a way.

Of course, exploration of the solar system led to questions. Are we unique? Are there solar systems around other stars? And if so, could they possible have the same conditions we have here on Earth? Is there life out there in the galaxy?

The first detection of a planet outside of our solar system likely took place in 1917 but the astronomers at the time did not recognize it as such. The first confirmation of an exoplanet – a planet orbiting another star – was reported in 1992. This was followed by the confirmation of other observations made four years earlier. Other stars definitely have planets.

As of this month, a total of 4,109 exoplanets have been confirmed in 3,059 different star systems.

A total of 667 systems have been shown to have more than one planet. These numbers will only increase as astronomers refine their approaches. Indeed, by looking at electromagnetic wavelengths outside of the visible region of the spectrum, using transit photometry, and employing Doppler spectroscopy, it is likely we

Trump was in California for fundraising events Tuesday and Wednesday near San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. California’s authority to set its own, tougher emissions standards goes back to a waiver issued by Congress during passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970. In 2007, when Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor, President George W. Bush’s administration denied California’s bid to place first-in-the-nation greenhouse gas limits on cars and trucks. But the state asked the EPA to reconsider its decision, and in 2009 –when Democratic President Barack Obama took office – the feds granted California’s request.

California has 35 million registered vehicles, the most of any state. A dozen other states and the District of Columbia also follow California’s fuel economy standards. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the Trump administration’s action will hurt both U.S. automakers and American families. He said California would fight the administration in federal court.

“You have no basis and no authority to pull this waiver,” Becerra, a Democrat, said in a statement, referring to Trump. “We’re ready to fight for a future that you seem unable to comprehend.”

Trump’s Justice Department recently opened an antitrust investigation into a deal between California and four major automakers for tougher pollution and related mileage requirements than those sought by the Trump administration.

The deal struck in July between California and four of the world’s largest automakers – Ford, Honda, BMW and Volkswagen – bypassed the Trump administration’s plan to freeze emissions and fuel economy standards adopted under Obama at 2021 levels.

The four automakers agreed with California to reduce emissions by 3.7 per cent per year starting with the 2022 model year, through 2026. That compares with 4.7 per cent yearly reductions through 2025 under the Obama standards.

will find planets around most of the 200 billion stars in our galaxy. It has been hypothesized there are 11 billion potentially Earth-like planets in the Milky Way and we inhabit only one of well over 100 billion galaxies in the universe.

The question – for astronomers –is no longer “are there other Earthlike planets?” but rather “where should we look first?”

With this in mind, last week two groups of astronomers announced “water vapour in the atmosphere of the habitable-zone eight-Earthmass planet K2-18b”.

Why did they focus on this particular planet? A number of reasons.

It was first discovered by the Kepler space telescope program in 2015, orbiting a red dwarf star (K2-18). The star is 124 light years from Earth and the planet was first detected by variations in the light curve for the star. Subsequent data from the Spitzer Space Telescope confirmed K2-18b orbits in the habitable zone around its star with a 33 day period. Each year on the planet would be a little over a month long – although it is likely tidally locked and therefore

always has the same face pointing at its Sun.

The short orbit worked to the advantage of the groups analyzing the planet. Each transit across the face of its star allowed more data to be collected greatly reducing the signal-to-noise ratio and enhancing the ability of the teams to ascertain the components of the atmosphere. The planet’s equilibrium temperature is estimated to be -8 plus/minus 5 degrees Celsius. The error bars, the assumptions about the size and mass of the planet, and the fact it is tidally locked all argue for a surface temperature which is in the “goldilocks zone.”

Finally, studies with the Hubble Space Telescope corroborate the Kepler and Spitzer results and confirm the presence of water vapour as detected in the spectra of the starlight passing through the planet’s atmosphere during a transit.

Our ancestors might have looked to the night sky with wonder but we now know there is more out there than meets the eye. And likely many more discoveries yet to come.

CALTRANS DISTRICT 3 VIA AP

This Feb. 14 photo released by Caltrans District 3 shows a 12-kilometre back up on the South bound Interstate 5, as it reopens to traffic in Colusa County, Calif.

The Citizen archives put more than 100 years of history at your fingertips: https://bit.ly/2RsjvA0

Knights bringing baseball skills to Bellingham

Ted CLARKE Citizen staff tclarke@pgcitizen.ca

After a standout season playing baseball this summer for the Jepson Petroleum double-A bantam Knights, Preston Weightman and Parker McBurnie will be lining up as opponents this weekend They’ll face each other with their respective provincial teams in one of the most prestigious ball tournaments of their careers.

And it all happens at Joe Martin Field. Not the Joe Martin Field they grew up playing on in Prince George.

Weightman, selected for Baseball BC’s 16U team, and McBurnie, part of the provincial 15U team, are heading to Bellingham, Washington, for the second annual Bellingham Bells Futures Series tournament. The Bellingham tournament provides their first chance to ever compete against each other in a real game.

“I’m actually excited to be able to play against him, and just to see all of his age group in this tournament,” said the 16-yearold Weightman. “Parker had an awesome season coming into the four-spot (in the Knights’ batting order), just being our power guy.”

The four-team tournament also includes the host Northwest Elite 15U and the Langley Blaze Juniors. The Bells are a collegiate team that plays a four-month summer season in the West Coast League and McBurnie can’t wait to get on the field which gave rise to future major leaguers.

“I heard lots of major league players, like Ken Griffey Jr., played there, so that’s super-exciting,” said McBurnie, who will be playing first base and pitching. “I tried out for this team (the past two years) and didn’t make it and now I’ve kind of stepped up my game a bit and made it.”

Weightman plays shortstop and pitches and will probably be used at third base this weekend. He was one of the Knights most consistent batters, hitting .342 with three triples, two home runs and 22 runs batted in through 28 games. He usually hit right behind McBurnie in the Knights’ order. McBurnie delivered 37 hits, 17 that went for extra bases, and took three pitches out of the park while maintaining a .440 average.

A month ago in Prince George, Weightman and McBurnie each played starring roles in the Knights’ dominant romp to the Baseball BC championship.

“Not a lot of people get to do that,” said McBurnie. “It was pretty exciting, all the fans, everyone you know watching you, to be able to win in front of them and celebrate it with them. That’s a moment I’ll never forget.”

The following weekend the Knights advanced to the final of the B.C. Minor Baseball championship in Chilliwack, losing to the Cowichan Valley Mustangs on a walk-off hit. Five of the Knights – Weightman, Brenden Gaboury, James Yandeau, Caleb Poitras and Logan Dreher – then joined forces with the Mustangs and helped B.C. finish second at the Western Canadian

championship in Strathmore, Alta.

The Knights started indoor workouts at the Northern Sport Centre in January and it paid off in their success against the provincial peers.

“We had good coaching and they really prepared us for the games,” said the 15-year-old McBurnie. “They’ve helped us get this far and we’ll carry that in to this tournament in Washington.

“It’s a big accomplishment, not a lot of kids have got to represent Prince George down there. The high level of baseball we’re going to be facing there, it’s going to be really high-intensity and really fun. I just want to do the best that I can and show people what P.G. is made of, show them that we have talent.”

Weightman and McBurnie had their first provincial team tryouts in Kamloops in May and also auditioned in July in Whalley. They found out they made the team on the weekend they hosted the provincial tournament at Nechako Field.

“I know some of the guys, but they’ve probably never heard of Prince George,” said Weightman. “When we were at one tryout, they had no idea where Prince George was. They’re going to start to learn now. We’re going to make a big impact.”

They’re not the first Prince George players to make a B.C. select team. Paul Wilson, Simon Stoner, Curtis Sawchuk, Mike Schwab and Jared Young, among others, represented the city on various provincial teams at various stages of their youth baseball

Cougars’ d-man Schoettler settles into overager role

Ted CLARKE Citizen staff

Ryan Schoettler doesn’t feel old but his birth certificate confirms it.

He’s now one of the elder statesmen of the Prince George Cougars.

There are no deep wrinkles on his 20-year-old face but he’s now sporting a beard, albeit one that has no gray whiskers.

“It’s weird being the old guy, it still feels you’re kind of 18,” said Schoettler.

“It’s a big change coming in this year and then next year not coming back to Prince George.

“It will be different.”

Schoettler has been a Cougar ever since the team drafted him in the seventh round as a 14-year in April 2014 when he was still finishing up his bantam career in Lloydminster, Alta.

He’s been one of the most durable defencemen in the league the past two seasons, having missed just one game in that time, and has continued to show his offensive capabilities.

“I’ve been working hard on my offence, just trying to help out more in the offensive zone,” said the five-foot-10, 174 pound Schoettler.

“It’s hard but that’s kind of what I want to be, an offensive guy, especially with the way the game’s moving.”

Last year, on a team that struggled to produce goals, Schoettler finished fourth in Cougar scoring with four goals and 28 assists for 32 points and he knows he will be expected to produce again this season as one of the go-to pointmen on power plays. Last season he was often paired with Cole Moberg and the two complemented

each other well.

Moberg who had a breakout season last year and was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the seventh round.

Schoettler scored one of the six goals the Cougars scored in their five-game preseason, playing most often with 16-year-old rookie Ethan Samson.

Left winger Josh Maser and defenceman-turned-forward Austin Crossley are the other returning Cougars who will fill the three 20-year-old spots on the roster.

The six-foot-one, 210-pound Crossley played 66 games last season, mostly on defence.

He likes to use his body to disrupt traffic. In 66 games last season he had three goals, nine points and led the team with 146 penalty minutes.

Maser also has a reputation as a body basher.

He finished second in team scoring with 42 points and was the only Cougar to score 30 goals in 2018-19, which earned him an invitation to the New York Rangers’ rookie camp.

“He’s a big help for our team, he’s a big body and he intimidates the other teams quite a bit and he can score goals,” said Schoettler.

The Cougars begin their 26th season in Prince George on Friday when they host the Vancouver Giants at CN Centre.

careers. Some of them went on to attract U.S. college scholarships and Weightman is thinking this is his chance to make a blip on the radar screen.

“What I want out of the game is to get some college schooling out of it and from there see where I can take it,” he said.

“That’s why this is really big for me because there’s definitely going to be scouts down there.

“I just want to have a good time and have fun with it, playing at this level of baseball, just make it a great experience going down and playing on this field with all these great players.”

Both excel in winter sports. McBurnie, a Grade 9 student at Prince George Secondary School, grew up playing rep hockey and is a now with a defenceman North Central triple-A bantam Bobcats. He’s missing his team’s season-opening games this weekend to play in Bellingham. Weightman has played the past two seasons at point guard with the Kelly Road Roadrunners junior basketball team and as a Grade 10 player will be trying out for the senior team. The two B.C. teams face each other in the tournament-opener Friday at 2 p.m. The U-15s will also take on Langley Friday at 4:30 p.m., then will meet the Northwest Elite Saturday at 4:30 p.m. McBurnie’s U14s have two games back-to-back Saturday. They’ll face Langley at 11:30 a.m. and Northwest at 2 p.m.

The championship and final games are set for Sunday.

DiLaura traded to Portland

Ted CLARKE Citizen staff

Isaiah DiLaura is no longer stopping pucks for the Prince George Cougars.

The Cougars made their decision to go with just two goaltenders to start the 2019-20 season and to make room they sent 19-year-old veteran DiLaura to the Portland Winterwhawks in a trade for the ‘Hawks seventh-round bantam draft pick in 2022.

Ever-popular with his Cougar teammates, DiLaura racked up seven wins in 36 games and compiled a 3.61 goals-against average and .889 save percentage with one shutout over the past two seasons.

The native of St. Paul, Minn., was the Cats’ eighth-round bantam choice in 2015.

His departure for Portland leaves the goaltending duties to incumbent starter Taylor Gauthier, 18, and 16-year-old rookie Tyler Brennan.

The Cougars have also returned 2004-born defenceman Keaton Dowhaniuk to the OHA Edmonton Midget Prep team. Dowhaniuk was the first player drafted by the Cougars in 2019, taken third overall.

That leaves the opening-day roster with two goalies, eight defencemen and 15 forwards.

The Cougars host the defending Western Conference-champion Vancouver Giants in their season opener Friday at CN Centre in the first of a two-game weekend set.

Tickets are on sale at the TicketsNorth box office at CN Centre or online at ticketsnorth.ca, with seats available starting at $13.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE

Parker McBurnie and Preston Weightman pose for a photo on Sunday afternoon at Citizen Field as they practice in preparation for the upcoming Pacific Northwest tournament in Bellingham, Washington.

Grichuk slam negates Buchholz dud as Jays beat Orioles

David GINBURG The Associated Press

BALTIMORE — After Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Clay Buchholz left the game under radically different circumstances, Randal Grichuk delivered the decisive blow in an improbable Toronto victory.

The Blue Jays overcame an ineffective start by Buchholz, using a grand slam by Grichuk with two outs in the ninth inning to beat the Baltimore Orioles 11-10 on Wednesday night.

Grichuk’s 30th home run highlighted a six-run ninth that began with Toronto trailing 9-5.

The shot came off Miguel Castro (1-3), who was charged with all six runs.

Guerrero Jr. was removed in the ninth after being shaken up making a hard slide into second base.

“It was the rib,” manager Charlie Montoyo said.

Guerrero was wearing a bandage over his left rib cage, but it was unclear if he would miss any or all of Toronto’s final 10 games.

Brock Stewart (4-0) worked the eighth and Derek Law finished for his fifth save, retiring Trey Mancini on a bases-loaded grounder to end a game that lasted 4 hours, 8 minutes.

Homers by Jonathan Villar and Anthony Santander in the fourth inning put Baltimore ahead 7-1 and ended another disappointing outing by Buchholz. He allowed 10 hits, seven for extra bases, in 3 2/3 innings and left with a 6.48 ERA.

“Terrible,” Buchholz said.

“It’s what I told (catcher) Reese (McGuire) whenever Charlie came out and got the ball from me. I tapped him on the facemask and told him ‘That’s what happens when you don’t execute your pitches when you need to execute them.’ It’s not the first time I’ve given up seven runs.”

The oldest man on a team rebuilding with youth, Buchholz has spent more days on the injured list than on the active roster. The 35-year-old started on the IL with an elbow strain and was sidelined with right shoulder inflammation from May 9-Aug. 24.

This was the shortest of his 10 starts this season. Buchholz missed time last year with Arizona because of elbow and oblique injuries, and in 2017 he had season-ending elbow surgery after making two starts in April.

Now, 12 years after throwing a no-hitter against the Orioles for Boston in his second major league start, Buchholz faces an uncertain future after he completes the final days

of a one-year deal he signed in March.

Since going 81-61 with the Red Sox during a 10-year span, Buchholz is 8-8 over the past three seasons.

In an eventful first inning, Dylan Bundy struck out Teoscar Hernandez with the bases loaded to end the top half and Derek Fisher opened the bottom half by reaching over the left-field wall to rob Villar of a home run. With two outs, Santander, Rio Ruiz and Austin Hays doubled in succession for a 2-0 lead.

It was 4-1 in the fourth before Villar hit his 23rd homer, Trey Mancini singled and Santander sent a 1-2 pitch deep into the right-field seats.

Buchholz never turned to follow the path of the ball. He simply motioned for another baseball, caught it barehanded and trudged back to the mound.

An instant after that, Montoyo went to the mound and took that ball from Buchholz.

But Baltimore couldn’t hold the lead.

“Miguel Castro has been throwing the ball

great the past couple months,” manager

Brandon Hyde said.

“He just had a tough night.”

Family ties

Not long after hitting for the cycle in Tuesday’s 8-5 victory, Toronto 2B Cavan Biggio received a message from someone who knows what it’s like to accomplish the feat in the majors: His father Craig, who did so April 8, 2002.

“He shot me a text after the game and said ‘Congratulations, welcome to the club,”’ Cavan Biggio said.

The Biggios are the second father-son duo to hit for the cycle in the majors, joining Gary and Daryle Ward.

Trainer’s Room

Blue Jays: LHP Tim Mayza underwent surgery to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament and repair the flexor tendon in his

left elbow. Mayza, who was 1-3 with a 4.91 ERA in 68 relief appearances, will miss all of next season and hopes to return for spring training in 2021.

Orioles: RHP Hunter Harvey has been shut down for the rest of the season. The prospect has hit his quota of innings, Hyde said. ... Renato Nunez is day-to-day after being hit on the left hand with a pitch Monday in Detroit. He’s one HR shy of 30. ... A collision with the outfield wall Tuesday night while chasing Biggio’s triple did not give Mason Williams a concussion but left him with a sore shoulder and knee.

Up Next

Blue Jays: LHP Anthony Kay (0-0, 6.30 ERA) makes his third major-league start in the series finale Thursday night.

Orioles: RHP Gabriel Ynoa (1-8, 5.74) makes his 12th start and 35th appearance. His only win of the year came in a relief role on July 17 against Washington.

Brock Boeser ‘stoked’ to be back with Canucks

Gemma KARSTENS-SMITH

The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — Brock Boeser wasn’t expecting drawn out contract talks with the Vancouver Canucks this summer but the prolonged negotiations did have an upside.

As one of the NHL’s many restricted free agents without a deal, the 22-year-old right-winger missed Canucks training camp in Victoria over the weekend while contract talks continued. However, the delay meant he was able to spend some more time with his dad, Duke, who’s been hospitalized since suffering heart failure at the end of July.

“That meant a lot to me to be there,” Boeser said Wednesday, tears welling in his eyes. “That’s kind of what kept me sane

through this whole process, just being able to go see him each and every day, being able to support him.”

The past couple of months have been tough, he added, but his dad is making improvements every day.

Now Boeser is focused on making up for lost time with the Canucks.

On Monday, he signed a threeyear contract worth an average US$5.875 per season and on Wednesday, he was back on ice with his teammates in Vancouver.

“It feels amazing,” Boeser said after the practice. “It was tough seeing those guys go to battle every day, getting in shape and working together. It is tough to watch that. Obviously, I want to be here super bad through the whole camp so I’m really glad it

got done now rather than later.”

Boeser’s teammates were also eagerly anticipating his return.

“It was great to see him in the

locker room,” said centre Bo Horvat. “He had a big smile on his face. He’s one of our core guys and it’s nice to have him back in the room.”

The native of Burnsville, Minn., is considered one of the Canucks up-and-coming stars.

Originally picked 23rd overall by Vancouver in the 2015 draft, Boeser was an NHL All-Star Game MVP in 2018 and a finalist for the Calder Trophy in the same season, despite a broken back cutting short his rookie campaign.

Last year, he was Vancouver’s third-leading scorer with 26 goals and 30 assists in 69 games.

Canucks coach Travis Green believes Boeser still has room to grow.

“We’re proud to have him in our group,” he said. “He wants to do well, he wants to win and he

wants to become a better hockey player. I think he knows he’s not a finished product, he’s still got room to grow. And that’s the exciting part of having him in our group.”

Canucks general manager Jim Benning has said the club discussed both long and short-term deals with Boeser’s camp, but found there was more common ground for something shorter.

Still, Boeser sees himself in a Canucks jersey well into the future.

“I love Vancouver. My plan isn’t to just play three years and get out of here. My plan is to be here as long as I can,” he said on Wednesday.

“I love this city, I love the fans, I love the organization. So just take it year by year and hopefully I can sign a longer one after this.”

Toronto Blue Jays’ Randal Grichuk watches his grand slam off Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Miguel Castro during the ninth inning of a game on Wednesday in Baltimore. The Blue Jays won 11-10.

BOESER

Johnson faces Brexit backlash from EU, court

Jill LAWLESS, Samuel PETREQUIN and Mark CARLSON

The Associated Press

STRASBOURG, France — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was accused by European Union officials Wednesday of failing to negotiate seriously and branded the “father of lies” by a lawyer in the U.K. Supreme Court, as his plan to leave the EU in just over six weeks faced hurdles on both sides of the Channel.

In Strasbourg, France, the European Parliament said it would be the fault of Britain, not the bloc, if the U.K. crashed out of the EU without a divorce deal on the scheduled Oct. 31 departure day.

In London, Johnson’s government battled to convince the U.K.’s top court that the prime minister’s decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks with Brexit looming was neither illegal nor improper. The government’s opponents claim Johnson illegally shut down the legislature to prevent lawmakers from scrutinizing his Brexit plans.

Government lawyer James Eadie told 11 Supreme Court justices that the decision to send lawmakers home until Oct. 14 was “inherently and fundamentally political in nature,” and not a matter for the judiciary. He said that if the court intervened it would violate the “fundamental constitutional principle” of the separation of powers.

But a lawyer for lawmakers challenging the shutdown accused the government of being “unworthy of our trust.”

“We’ve got here the mother of parliaments being shut down by the father of lies,” said attorney Aidan O’Neill. He urged the judges to “stand up for truth, stand up for reason, stand up for diversity, stand up for Parliament, stand up for democracy.”

The judges, for their part, wondered why

Johnson had refused to provide a sworn statement to the court about his reasons for the suspension.

“Isn’t it odd that nobody has signed a witness statement to say: ‘This is true. These are the true reasons for what was done’?” said one of the judges, Nicholas Wilson.

The developments were the latest in a rocky week for Johnson, who pulled out of a news conference with the prime minister of Luxembourg on Monday because of noisy protesters nearby. On Wednesday he was berated by the father of a sick child over funding cuts to Britain’s health service as he visited a London hospital.

Johnson took power in July with a vow that

Britain will leave the EU on Oct. 31 “come what may.” He promised to break a stalemate that saw the Brexit agreement struck between the EU and Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May rejected three times by Britain’s Parliament, prompting May to resign.

Many lawmakers believe a no-deal Brexit would be economically devastating and socially destabilizing, and have put obstacles in Johnson’s path, including legal challenges to the Parliament shutdown.

Last week, Scotland’s highest civil court ruled the move illegal, saying it had the intention of stymieing Parliament. The High Court in London, however, said it was not a matter for the courts.

Gov’t interference stifles creativity

Before we start, think about the notable technological innovations of the past 125 years: trains, planes, automobiles, television, radio, cell phones and so on. We’ll come back to this. Around our Christmas dinner table there’s still debate on the wisdom of an odd, homespun innovation of mine. But in my practiced opinion, wearing heavy duty machine shop ear protection in a minivan stuffed with smallish, underfed opera singers all screaming “she’s touching me!” all of the time, was better than the alternative. Before the headset, I had to put my right hand over my right ear, keeping my left hand on the steering wheel. Contorting my head severely westward, and lifting my left shoulder up, as if trapping a phone there. But instead of a phone, I squeezed a scrunched-up Tickle Me Elmo against my left ear. This driving maneuver flimsily kept a bit of noise out of my left ear, while my right hand performed a more tradition defense along the highway.

After a while I got used to the little red freak muttering, “Oh boy!” in my left ear, but one can only drive so far with a strained neck, right eye directly above the left, and a Prozacinfested Muppet whispering sweet nothings to him. I must have looked frozen, mid-HokeyPokey – (which is just one of the dances not to do while driving).

Bath time was only a small improvement as far as noise pollution went. A steamy, soapy biffy smells better than a heated minivan full of used diapers, but it’s still a tiny space, over-

crowded with precious little banshees, each of whom could break glass at half-volume.

So one Saturday night when the Canucks were set to be on the TV, and my wife was out, I was the de facto bath boss. Six kids and a Sunday-best mandate could easily ruin my personal time with Don Cherry, so I improvised again. Donning my industrial ear muffs, I encouraged the four littlest monkeys into the tub all at once, with what should now be regarded as prescient gender neutrality.

Next, with Henry Ford efficiency I hosed them all off together with the shower wand, then squeezed the shampoo on to all four heads in one swoop. (Note: The apparently loud noises coming from Satan’s adorable little choir were muffled by my resourceful preparations in the ear area earlier. Also note: shampoo is really very much like soap, so that’s handy.)

With loving proficiency I lathered their hair, quickly hosed them off, and then wrangled them, single file, through a warm toweling station at the door. It was all over in about six minutes. Band-Aid ripped off. Don Cherry and me, and a plate full of nachos.

All of which, of course, dovetails nicely with the Purchase Manager’s Index (or PMI), Stalin

and Orville Wright. I’ll explain.

A purchase manager (PM) determines how much inventory to buy and when. When I was in my 20’s, my girlfriend’s mother was a PM for a spice supplier in Vancouver. Another PM might manage the on-hand supply of lithium for a distributor. Since lithium is used in drug manufacturing, as well as batteries, its demand wiggles in weird ways.

The PM makes complex decisions, partly driven by something as simple as how high the stuff is already stacked in the warehouse, and how much dust has been settling on it. When we aggregate the data from PM’s across the developed world in the PMI, or in any of its economic regions, we get a very useful measure of expected short-to-mid term business conditions.

Regarding Orville Wright and his innovative ilk, the human spirit and invention are inextricably connected. Although Steve Jobs was reportedly an unyielding task master, nobody can deny that he had something approaching clairvoyance when it came to product development, creating one of the most valuable corporations in the history of the world out of a start-up in his garage.

Everyone wishes they had a weather vane that would tell them which way the money is blowing. Is this a good time to subdivide my edge-of-city acreage and develop a new neighbourhood, naming the streets after my cats?

And of the above innovations, which ones grew out of a socialist regime? Zipity-stinkingduda. And none of them were spawned by a government grant. All came from fiercely independent minds. Brilliant trendsetters, living in a domain where bold experimentation was tolerated, even celebrated, in messy, capitalist societies.

And consider the skillful agility of those purchase managers of the free world compared to the Central Planning Committees of the great Marxist experiments of the past century.

The PM’s adeptly listened to market signals. The central planners clumsily tried to dictate them, and imposed brutal famine, and substandard manufactured products on a defeated underclass. Their willful blindness was, in the end, the end of the socialist experiment.

And here’s the thing. There are innovators everywhere, constantly testing, probing, experimenting, speculating, disrupting, failing and occasionally thriving.

Governments should be cautious about over-managing, or being bent on programs, funded by tax-payers, and clumsily managed by bureaucrats who haven’t the faintest clue about market forces. This nearly always stifles the very creativity and entrepreneurial spirit they hope to harness.

Mark Ryan is an investment advisor with RBC Dominion Securities Inc. (Member–Canadian Investor Protection Fund), and these are Mark’s views, and not those of RBC Dominion Securities. This article is for information purposes only. Please consult with a professional advisor before taking any action based on information in this article. See Mark’s website at: http://dir.rbcinvestments.com/mark.ryan.

Federal Reserve disappointed with its interest rate cut and guidance. A sharply divided central bank cut its benchmark interest rate a quarter point for a second time this year but declined to signal that further rate cuts are likely this year.

“The somewhat hawkishleaning outcome from the Federal Reserve gathering has been met with a disappointing market response,” said Candice Bangsund, portfolio manager for Fiera Capital. The market expected the size of the cut but believed going into the meeting that it would reduce rates three or four times by the end of 2020.

In making its decision, the Fed acknowledged the strength of the domestic economy, labour market and consumer while also recognizing slower business investment and weaker exports which it attributed to global trade headwinds.

“Longer-term the Fed is essentially reinforcing the view that we are not headed into a recession and the world’s largest economy remains in good shape, and yes, there are global headwinds while the current stance of policy is still accommodative enough to support growth,” she said.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell from Tuesday’s record high to close down 34.46 points at 16,800.29. Energy led five sectors that lost ground, falling 1.5 per cent with Husky Energy Inc. and Encana Corp. down 2.8 and 2.6 per cent respectively. They dropped as crude oil prices softened for a second day after Saudi Arabia said it was restoring production at an oil facility that was attacked over the weekend and U.S. crude inventories rose last week after four consecutive weeks of declines.

The November crude contract was down US$1.06 at US$58.04 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down 3.1 cents at US$2.64 per mmBTU.

Materials was also lower with shares of several miners slipping despite higher gold prices. Barrick Gold Corp. shares dropped more than two per cent.

The Canadian dollar traded for an average of 75.35 cents US, down compared with an average of 75.43 cents US on Tuesday. Bangsund said she doesn’t see the Bank of Canada following the Fed and cutting rates.

AP PHOTO

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, centre, speaks to guests at a military reception held at 10 Downing Street in London on Wednesday.

Laura Nicole Freeman (nee Martin) August 4th, 1976September 16th, 2019

With profound sadness we announce the passing of Laura Freeman at the age of 43. Laura will be deeply missed by her loving husband of 21 years, Cory and their four children, Alex, Connor, Kirstin and Brooklynn. She is survived by her parents, Carrie and Al Martin, brothers Nathan (Renée) and Eric (Vincent). Laura was born on August 4th, 1976 in Prince George, B.C. She earned her Bachelor of Social Work from UNBC and threw herself into her work with foster families with passion and integrity.

Laura’s creativity allowed her to enjoy numerous hobbies including scrapbooking, card making and crocheting which resulted in friends, family and even strangers wearing cartoon themed toques, but her children were her greatest creation.

Laura’s wicked sense of humour and quick wit allowed her to share her intelligence and stories and she kept family and friends laughing until the end. The family would like to personally thank Dr. Campbell, Dr. Babcock and the Oncology dept. in Vanderhoof, Tina, Laila, Louise and Jen. Heartfelt thanks to her co-workers at the Ministry of Children and Family Services in Vanderhoof. A Celebration of Life will be held this Saturday, September 21st, 2019 at Assman Funeral Chapel on Queensway in Prince George, B.C at 9:30am. Memorial contributions may be sent to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Barbara Lorraine Jean Harris (Thiel) October 22, 1954

Prince George B.C.

Barbara passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family at Rotary Hospice House on September 13, 2019 after a 9 1/2 year battle with cancer. She is survived by her husband Glen, daughter Shannon (Cezary and granddaughter Clara), many siblings, and extended family.

A viewing for family and friends will be held at Prince George Funeral Services 1014 Douglas Street from 7 - 9 pm on Friday, September 20, 2019.

A graveside service with interment will be held at Memorial Park Cemetery 3300 Memorial Park Lane at 1 pm on Saturday, September 21, 2019. Reception to follow at Two Rivers Gallery 725 Canada Games Way.

A celebration of Barbara’s life will be held at First Baptist Church 483 Gillett Street at 1 pm on Saturday, October 12, 2019.

Barbara will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by her family, friends, and those whose lives she touched during her career at BC Tel/Telus, her involvement in the arts community, and in her 28 years of volunteering with Girl Guides of Canada.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Rotary Hospice House, Canadian Cancer Society, or Girl Guides of Canada.

includeavalidclass1or3 driver’slicensewithair,a cleandrivingrecord,and driver’sabstract. YRBisalsolookingfor candidatesavailableonan asandwhenneededbasis. Ifyouaresemi-retired, andlookingforoccasional winterwork,thismaybe theperfectopportunity. Pleasedropoffaresume at2424HartHwyoremail tobens@yrb.ca. bens@yrb.ca www.yrb.ca

H&RBLOCKCANADAINC.TAXPROFESSIONAL

Established Franchise Photography Business

Serving Northern B.C for over 35 years

Gross Revenues of $150.000 plus annually from seasonal work Lots of opportunity to expand the business.

Transition support available to the right buyer

Serious Enquiries Only Office 250-596-9199 Cell 250-981-1472

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

Established Franchise Tax Preparation BusinessMackenzieservicing and McLeod Lake area for over 30 years.

On September 14, 2019, Sondra Elise “Joy” Domansky, loving wife and mother, passed away in Prince George, BC, at the age of 82 after a lengthy illness. Joy was born on October 23, 1936 in Ottawa, Ontario, to Frank and Winnifred Barland. On September 2, 1961, Joy married Stanley Gerald Domansky and they started their family in British Columbia. Joy was a very kind and loving person, with a quick wit and great sense of humour. She loved to try to embarrass her daughters in public with her Woody the Woodpecker imitation. For many years, Joy participated in local craft fairs, being well known for her beautiful Icelandic sweaters. Joy was predeceased by her parents Frank and Winnifred and her brother Kenneth. she is survived by her husband Stan, daughters Vicki Domansky and Cindy Corrigan (Brian), and sister June Tooke. Special thanks to all the staff at the Parkside Care home. There will be no funeral by request.

Gross Revenues of $85,000 to $90,000 Annually and Potential to expand revenues in a growing economy. Transition support available for the right buyer. Serious Inquires Only Office (250)997-9003 Home (250)997-5538 Cell (250)990-0152 BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

Gateway • Victoria St, Tamarack St, Strathcona Ave, Moss Ave, Wiggins Pl. Full Time and Temporary Routes Available. Contact for Details 250-562-3301 or rss@pgcitizen.ca

YELLOWHEADROAD&BRIDGEWINTER SUBCONTRACTORS

YRBisseekingsubcontractorswithsnowremoval equipmentthatwillbedeployedthroughthewinteronan as-neededbasis.

Allequipmentmustincludeafrontploworequivalent snowremovaldevice.Communicationpriortosnow eventswillconfirmexpectedtimeanddurationof deployment.Preferencemaybegrantedtothosesituated inkeyrurallocations.

Pleasecall250-614-7600oremailbens@yrb.catoenlist withYRBonasubcontractbasis.

Includeequipmentyear,typeandaddressofresidence. Ratesmaybenegotiatedbutareoftenbasedon’Blue Book’rates. bens@yrb.cawww.yrb.ca

Woodlands, 1399 Bearhead Rd, Vanderhoof, BC V0J 3A2 Terry.Lazaruk@canfor.com

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 Page 6

Green stopping in to say bye

10

CHRISTINE HINZMANN 97/16 staff

It’s 10 o’clock on a Monday morning and the old Longworth school house, now the post office, is a hub of activity.

There are two cars and an ATV in the parking lot.

For a town with a population of 21.

“Looks like it’s going to be busy,” Post mistress Robin Wills says with a smile, scanning the four other people in the room.

There are long tables set in a square in the middle of the room with chairs at the ready. There are handmade quilts, crocheted blankets, handknit scarves, cloth dolls, rustic postcards and fruit preserves on display along the walls.

Everything’s for sale.

The coffee station is in the far corner and most everyone eventually makes their way to it.

As more people trickle in, they deposit their contributions on the table. Cookies in a Tupperware container, banana bread on a paper plate, fancy cookies in a tin.

About a dozen people settle in for a chat over coffee.

This is what it looks like three mornings a week in Longworth, 160 km east of Prince George.

There’s talk of someone needing eggs, another’s hand goes up signalling she’s got some to spare.

The give and take of a 21-person town already starts to show.

“If I had a tape recorder I could push play right now because we’re going to hear the same old stories,” Robin teases. But those stories are new to some people at the table. Dave, a retired forest service worker from Clearwater who spent a short time in Longworth in 1959, has stopped by to visit. He’s on a road trip to Alaska and thought he’d make the trek to see the town that made such an impression so long ago.

Continued on page 3

97/16 photos by James Doyle Above: Robin Wills is the Longworth post mistress. Below: The Longworth Community Hall.

‘THAT WAS SO MUCH FUN’

Longworth is 99 years old and the big news is the townspeople are talking about hosting an open house next summer to celebrate the centennial.

There’s going to be a barbecue and the invitation is open for anyone who might be interested. There’s no date set yet but all those details will be put in place soon.

In its heyday, when logging was in full swing in the 30s and 40s, there were upwards of 1,000 people living there. Longworth started as a stop on the Eastline of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, before it became the Canadian National Railway. The train station was demolished in 1969. Longworth lies between Sinclair Mills and Penny and had a smaller sawmill than the one at Penny. Longworth is located on the northeast side of the Fraser River.

There was no water or power in Longworth until the road was built in 1989. Before that, people had to cross the river to get in and out of Longworth. Phone service wasn’t available until 1999.

One resident disagreed about one thing.

“Grace and I have always had running water,” Les Apps deadpans.

“Put the water in the bucket and run,” Les and Grace chime together and laugh. It’s the longest “running” joke between them.

The McCoy brothers – Bob, 77, and Dave, 79 – are sitting with their friends at the table reminiscing about the days they would have to load their inebriated teacher into a wheelbarrow at their house because they were too little to pack her to her house any other way. They were about 10 and 12 years old at the time.

Bob and Dave, along with brother Wayne, 76, have lived in Longworth most

of their lives and say they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Back in the day, the brothers helped build and maintain ice roads in the winter. Plank roads were built in the muddy spring and fall to get the logs out of the forest and onto the railway cars.

People could be seen driving across the partially melted ice road with their doors open ready to make a quick getaway if things went sideways.

much fun.”

Some of the stories of how people got to Longworth are quite rare in their own right.

Gundula Myer-Eppler Rabien’s dad, Hans, literally flipped a coin in Berlin. The choice was North or South America. Once that was settled, he then turned a map over and poked a needle through it. She has had a 65-year love affair Continued from page 1

A unique kind of fun was had right up until the 80s as residents pushed their luck in the spring to see if they could cross the river with their vehicle on the ice road one last time before break up.

There was lots of talk about having to pull each other out of the shallows if they got stuck, borrowing a loader if it was a bigger truck that needed a tow.

Many a tale started with “remember when we had to pull so-and-so out of the river that time?”

Many a tale ended with “that was so

Continued on page 4

97/16 photos by James Doyle Longworth resident Bob McCoy points to himself in a school photo from 1954-55 that hangs in the Longworth post office.  The post office is now located in the building which used to be the school.

97/16 photos by James Doyle

The Longworth Post Office.

97/16 photos by James Doyle

A logging truck drives on wooden planks road near Longworth circa 1940s.

‘PUT THE WATER IN THE BUCKET AND RUN’

with Longworth ever since those fateful choices were made.

She grew up there and then spent 35 years in Germany only to return because she was homesick and has now spent the last 10 years in Longworth. She’s leaving her beloved home for the last time to return to Germany permanently because of her 22-year-old daughter Fiona’s extensive medical needs.

Viv Tolley is a former Floridian whose truck driving younger brother passed through Longworth years ago. He laid eyes on Big Jim Tolley and knew he was the fellow for his widowed sister.

“My brother came back to Florida to tell me about this bachelor-person up there,” Viv says with mischief in her eyes. “He knew I liked the country and I liked the quiet, and knew that I would like to live like they did 80 to 100 years ago and he led me up here and showed me the beautiful views.”

She drove her big motorhome from Florida to Longworth in 1994 and has lived there ever since.

Viv is proud to say she’s the oldest female in Longworth at 80 years old.

“It’s the most beautiful place in the

world,” Viv says about Longworth. And she should know, she said, because she’s been all over Europe and even visited the Swiss Alps and still knows it’s the most beautiful place.

Big Jim and Viv are snowbirds and travel to Florida to be with her children every winter.

“We’ve got a wild bunch up here,” Viv says, looking around the table at her many friends.

Les and Grace Apps bought property in Longworth in the 80s and moved to it full time when Les retired in 1997.

When people moved into the area before the road was built in 1989, it was trips across the river but that didn’t stop them from wanting their vehicles and toys brought over.

One guy wanted his motorcycle on the other side of the river and the weight was too much for the boat. It sunk.

“Big Jim and I spent three or four days going down the river with hooks before we found it,” Les says. “We got the motorcycle and brought it to shore between two boats. They drained it out and had it going the next day.”

Talk turns to the days when babies were born on kitchen tables and neighbours would gather to help. When one young mother tried to make it to town to have her baby, he was born on the train and the town nicknamed him Caboose. That memory brings on a hearty laugh from those gathered around the table.

It’s a different kind of lifestyle where everyone relied on one another to succeed and not much has changed that way.

“Most everyone comes for coffee on days the post office is open and when someone doesn’t show up for a while, we all check in with each other and if no one has heard from that person then someone will go pay a visit to make sure they’re OK,” Robin explains.

It’s an aging population in Longworth now.

“Pretty much 99 per cent of the population of Longworth is over 50 years old,” Robin says.

In the most recent years the community has supported each other in many ways,

not only coming together for coffee to check in with each other three times a week but also to celebrate special occasions together like Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. They gather at the Community Hall, the only other public building in Longworth, besides the school

house turned post office.

“There’s always a poltuck for special occasions,” Gundula says. “And the Eastline often does stuff together.”

The Eastline includes Willow River Sinclair Mills, Longworth and Penny, which

Continued on page 5

97/16 photos by James Doyle

A sawmill crew in Longworth circa 1930-40s.

97/16 photos by James Doyle Longworth resident Dave McCoy.

Continued from page 3

97/16 photos by James Doyle Longworth resident Viv Tolley.

‘WE’VE GOT A WILD BUNCH UP HERE’

Continued from page 4

are all along the Fraser River.

“Our Christmas potluck is huge,” Gundula says.

The community hall saw about 80 people in it last year.

“And all the kiddies get gifts,” she adds. During the dinner, one or two quilts get raffled off and proceeds go towards the children’s gifts for the next year.

“The great thing about it is that you just about know everybody from here to Prince George,” Robin says. “We all know each other’s names and where we live and it’s almost like you feel they just live down the road.”

Gundula had a little dog come visit her place just the other day. All it took was a few phone calls to her neighbours and the owner was found and reunited with his dog within minutes, she says.

“During any kind of crisis everybody bands together,” Grace says. She recalled a fire taking a neighbour’s home years ago and within days residents had given enough materials to build again and then they did.

During the winter, many of the women meet weekly for a traditional quilting bee.

“The women get together to make the (raffled) quilts and we shovel the driveway,” Les smiles.

Instead of going anywhere else, organizers of events in Sinclair Mills will come to Longworth and buy the handmade items for the draws they hold as fundraisers, Robin says.

From June to September, the Eastline Market is held in Willow River, 70 minutes’ drive from Longworth. Several members of the small town sell their homemade wares every week while others travel there to support them. In

other words, the same items for sale at the Eastline Market are also available at the Longworth post office. So instead of making purchases at the post office just an ATV ride away, neighbours and friends all travel to the market more than an hour away.

Bob McCoy’s wife Iris sells handwoven

mats, purses, vegetables and preserves at her booth at the market while Robin and husband Terry set up a booth to showcase her handmade quilts, jams, jellies and eggs when she’s got them. The Tolleys make the drive down to the market and buy from them and visit with friends.

“I would much rather buy homemade jams and jellies from the local people than anything they have in a store in town because nothing there is nearly as good as the homemade stuff,” Viv says. “And you’re helping your neighbours out at the same time. It really is a beautiful way of life.”

97/16 photos by James Doyle Longworth resident Les Apps.

97/16 photos by James Doyle Longworth resident Gundula Meyer-Eppler.

97/16 photos by James Doyle Horses pull logs near Longworth circa 1930‚

RED GREEN STOPPING IN TO SAY BYE

CHRISTINE HINZMANN 97/16 staff

This could be it, Canada.

At least that’s what Red Green is saying about his upcoming cross-country tour that starts later this month.

Steve Smith, who plays Red Green, will make his way to the Vanier Hall stage Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. for the last time.

“This will be my last tour and the worst thing that could happen is that you realize your last tour should’ve been your last tour,” Smith said. “So this is good.”

Smith can’t say enough about his love for live performance on stage.

“It is absolutely the best, hands down, 1000 per cent ahead of anything else,” Smith said.

He said he thoroughly enjoyed doing the television show, writing his books and newspaper columns.

“They’re all good - they’re all pleasant experiences for me but the live stage thing - if I’d have realized I would have done it long ago,” Smith said. “It’s not something I came up through - I wasn’t a stand up comic and I never did theatre or anything so in 2010 when I went on stage as Red Green that was the first time I’d ever really done that.”

• Colleen Sparrow, publisher and GM

• Neil Godbout, editor-in-chief

• Shawn Cornell, director of advertising

Smith said it is a really personal thing to get up on stage in front of a live audience.

“And there’s no other agenda,” Smith explained. “I didn’t bring an audience in for the purpose of using them to create something that I’m going to market after I’m done, like a television show. It’s not about lighting or makeup or anything. It would’ve happened the same way 1,000 years ago. It’s just somebody getting up and trying to entertain other people as if they were in a living room or a kitchen or a theatre. I was shocked at how much I really enjoyed it.”

Smith said he had to be honest. It’s not cheap to go see him.

“So people who are ambivalent about me aren’t there, so it’s not like this is a cold call,” Smith said. “I’m not getting up at a comedy club where they don’t know me. The audience has already, by buying a ticket, showed some appreciation for my bizarre sense of humour. So that kind of gives you the green light.”

(Not sure if the pun was intended there - “Green” light.)

“The challenge is in the first night or two after that you kind of know how you’re doing,” Smith said. “I can’t create five minutes worth of material and then go to the comedy club to try it out. It just doesn’t work for Red Green. So I step on stage with 90 minutes of stuff that’s

never been said to anybody and hope that most of it goes well.”

And if if doesn’t then adjustments are made and sometimes it’s just the opposite.

“Then there are other things, believe it or not, that you thought were kind of throwaways that were very well received, so you’ve got to give them a little room to breathe,” Smith said. “So, yeah, there are adjustments all the way along but it’s honestly not much - it’s not five per cent. It’s not that much. I know what my point of view is and the audience seems to like that.”

When it comes to comedy, it can’t be your greatest hits, Smith said.

“So this is all fresh and brand new,” he added. He’s shot some new video. He’s got three of the characters from the show phoning in, there’s handyman tips, advice on how to talk to your spouse and words of wisdom for teenagers on how to get that first date.

“I end the show with a wish for the audience and that’s gone over really well,” Smith said.

“The under current of the whole thing is gratitude and good-bye.”

Tickets are on sale at www.ticketsnorth.ca

Facebook, by going online to: https://bit.ly/2SdAmek

• Visit https://bit.ly/2S9W4zW to find the location nearest you to pick up extra copies of 97/16.

Photo supplied Steve Smith as Red Green

DAHL LAKE A BEAUTY TO BEHOLD

One of my favourite things about Prince George and its surrounding area has to be that despite living here since the ‘90s, I am still learning of new places of beauty and wonder around us all the time. I feel extremely fortunate to have relatively easy access to so many spots that allow us to get immersed in nature – places that help create a feeling of being miles away from it all when we really haven’t traveled far.

One of these places that I was recently introduced to is Dahl Lake Provincial Park. To get into Dahl Lake, one must either hike from the east end of Norman Lake or launch a canoe or kayak from that point. My choice for this adventure into Dahl was to kayak. As you follow the shore of Norman Lake about 300 metres up the shoreline the reeds become thicker and you can see a channel open. Once you enter the almost tunnel-like channel of greenery growing from the water, keep your eyes open for an eagle at his favourite perch atop one of the tall trees lining the shore. As you begin to navigate further, the channel begins to feel like your very own portal to another world. There is a very remote and wild feel in the air. Dense forest grows to the water’s edge, with trails beaten down from the activity of busy beavers. Patches of lily pads poke their way out of the water with bright yellow blossoms acting like runway lights directing you into Dahl Lake. Around each corner, wildlife makes its presence known, ducks scurry from their perch on a half-submerged log, a pair of flicker woodpeckers chase each other from branch to branch, fish jump and eagles and osprey both make their call.

JOURNEY THROUGH MY LENS

BILL CAMPBELL

I would not be shocked if I was the only person on the lake that day. The lake has enough size though that even with multiple people out there is a good chance you may not notice each other. Only non-motorized vessels are allowed on Dahl Lake, which helps to maintain the feeling of total solitude. As you delve further into the arms of the lake, you will discover a couple of small islands that could make for some fun exploration or even an ideal spot for lunch.

Daylight was fading fast and I decided to return into the channel and head back towards the access area on Norman Lake. I gave myself one more chance at catching a fish while I watched the sunset. The sky lit up and sun rays burst through the clouds. Once the sun dropped below the horizon, a distinct line of blue cut across the sky upwards like old fashioned spotlights at a theatre entrance. I took a few more casts just to give me more reason to soak it all in and then I headed in.

Dahl Lake is accessed from the Norman Lake Road which is approximately 43 km west of Prince George on Highway 16, then follow Norman Lake Road approximately 14k m. A sign to the left side of the road marks the entrance for Dahl Provincial Park. Access to Dahl is gained from the east end of Norman Lake by either boat or a short hike along the shore.

LOVE IS THE GREATEST CONQUEST

As we study history, we see many mistakes which have been made. We also see many great successes. What creates this difference?

At the core of each person, there are guiding principles. We innately know that love, kindness, humility, truth and compassion are paramount and our ability to embrace these ideals impacts the direction of the world around us. We can also choose to ignore them and focus on baser instincts.

When we look back over the 19th and 20th centuries, we see that many people embraced a strong belief in conquest. They held that it was their destiny to conquer and develop the world. They idealized industrialization and militarization.

Global development is not a bad thing in and of itself. When we look around our homes and public buildings, we see that it has helped to create a very comfortable way of living for millions of people.

The problem comes when we forget that there are deeper and more profound values. Jesus asked, “For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose

LESSONS IN LEARNING

GERRY CHIDIAC

his own soul?” How ironic that many of those who pillaged the world did so in the name of this same Jesus.

The truth is that it is not difficult to learn to manipulate the situations around us in the short-term. When we do so without taking the time to reflect on deeper truths, however we cause unnecessary suffering.

All great religions and philosophies stress the importance of love. To love means to have respect and compassion, to be able to forgive. In loving, we need to seek truth and live with integrity. We value ourselves and we also value our neighbours.

What is interesting is that living this way is also the path to true greatness. The leaders we most admire are those who have learned to exemplify love. We may

praise those who led conquests, but the ones we hold in highest esteem are those who embraced compassion and forgiveness.

It is not difficult to look at our history and see the mistakes which were made. We are still paying the price for the crimes of colonialism. We see economic hardship, political instability, rampant racism, wars and refugees in many former colonies. We also see people dealing with the intergenerational trauma which has been the result of our conquest.

It is also not difficult to see what greatness really is. ommon missionaries exposed the horrendous exploitation of the Congo Free State by King Leopold II of Belgium. Mohandas Gandhi led a peaceful revolution which caused the world’s most powerful empire to be dissolved. He also inspired Martin Luther King Jr. to challenge legalized racism in the United States.

Though weapons are necessary from time to time, universal wisdom teaches us that they can only be used in extreme circumstances. The same goes for prisons.

FREE AND OPEN CANADA

It is September and our children have returned to school. Not only do schools educate, we also expect them to indoctrinate our kids on the merits of tolerance

and diversity in our free society. Many adults in the news media and general public seem to have forgotten the benefits of this inclusive education.

There was a huge brouhaha over an article published in the Vancouver Sun recently. The article questioned how well very different people can actually live and thrive together in a free and democratic society. A quick check on the author Mark Hecht reveals he teaches at Mount Royal University and works to prevent child sex exploitation internationally. Hecht cited various studies and came to a conclusion I do not agree with but I am not sure that we help improve our country by shutting down the conversation.

I grew up a visible minority in a closed community. Survival of the community became the highest value and, one by one, the good founding values had to give way to the “New Great Purpose” – the survival of the community and its traditions. Outsiders were considered beneath us. We were told not to be tarnished by brushing against those who did not share our traditions.

The exclusion and isolation, believed necessary for the survival of the community, meant that everyone was taught by the self-appointed and appointed elders of our community to “ask no questions, see no issues, express no concerns.”

Questions presented a danger to the status quo. Questions and ideas become the enemy.

Demonizing others does not make us safe. We can only change the world for the better if we embrace our higher ideals.

When we love and respect ourselves and others, we see that there really are ways where everyone can thrive. There is more than enough good in this world for everyone and every person has the potential for greatness.

Quite honestly, this is why I have devoted my career to education. By creating an atmosphere of mutual respect, I am able to draw out the greatness in those around me. These are not just ideals; they are guiding principles which lead to success. What is true in the classroom is true in the world around us. Whether we are leading teams of thousands of people or working independently, when we hold fast to the higher human principles, we will overcome all obstacles and live to our greatest potential.

— Gerry Chidiac is a champion for social enlightenment, inspiring others to find their greatness in making the world a better place. For more of his writings, go to www.gerrychidiac.com.

THINKING ALOUD

TRUDY KLASSEN

very strong connection to Canada. The freedom-advocating Cato Institute has found, as I would expect based on normal human behavior, that most immigrants to Canada self-select, that is, those most eager to assimilate are the ones who apply to move here.

Falconer does provide a subtle warning to Canadians: “Some have cited Alberto Alesina’s work on… the idea that greater population diversity is associated with social strife. This is true in countries with weak democracies and restricted labour markets, where the political and economic systems favour a select few.”

Alesina’s subsequent works have shown that diverse populations reap economic benefits and remain relatively cohesive when everyone has a fair shot at becoming an MP or getting a job. Open societies enjoy strong trade relationships with other countries, a diversity in goods and services, and stronger workforces. Under these settings the work of integration takes care of itself, with newcomers and their children identifying with Canada and its values.

I remember the laughable arrogance of the most backward people in my community. The sad thing is often those people became the most influential, because lacking the freedom to dialogue about things that mattered, the loud, angry voices of the fanatics provided a feeling of self-righteousness.

I left, because I couldn’t see raising my kids with that kind of worldview.

In my reading of Hecht’s article, it seemed to me that he was attempting to address the issues that can and, in my case did, occur in some immigrant communities. It is interesting to read the rebuttal, by Robert Falconer, that the chastised Sun published. I can easily believe Falconer’s quoted statistic that 93 per cent of immigrants have a strong or

In that light, the work of integrating newcomers within the fabric of Canada is less about exclusion, and more about maintaining, celebrating, and safeguarding Canadian institutions, entrepreneurship, and our open society. That last paragraph is, in my mind, our job. It is our gift to the world. Without it, without working hard to “safeguard Canadian institutions and open society,” Canada will no longer be a place worth fleeing to. Leaving my very conservative and exclusive community, along with many beloved friends and family, will have been useless. Without toleration and open discussion, we will become the very thing we hate.

INTERMITTENT FASTING CARRIES RISKS

Intermittent fasting is a term used to describe a pattern of eating, cycling between periods of fasting (with no food or a significant calorie reduction) and periods of unrestricted intake. Intermittent fasting can take different forms and follow different patterns, but the lure of these strict eating schedules is the same, regardless of the approach.

As with many fad diets, the claims associated with intermittent fasting centre around promises of weight loss and fat loss, as well as a reduction in inflammation, improved blood pressure and cholesterol levels and a “slowing of the aging process.”

Alternate day fasting, modified fasting and time-restricted fasting are three common methods of fasting that differ primarily in terms of eating schedule, but not necessarily in the total amount of food/ calories consumed.

Alternate day fasting refers to rotating days of eating with days of fasting. On fasting days, foods and beverages with calories cannot be consumed and calorie-free drinks, including water, black coffee and tea are allowed. On non-fasting days, you can eat whatever you want, with the recommendation to choose healthier options.

This schedule of eating assumes that an individual’s intake will remain unchanged on those non-fasting days, leading to a substantial reduction in the overall amount of calories consumed in a week, resulting in weight loss.

The side effects of this fasting pattern include hunger pangs and decreased concentration on fasting days, and may be worse if you’re an active person or have higher caloric requirements. Some studies

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

KELSEY LECKOVIC

have shown that hunger can overwhelm people on fasting days and cause them to eat more than usual on non-fasting days, leading to an increase in overall intake. It’s also important to note that the long-term effects of this pattern of eating are not yet known.

Modified fasting involves eating very few calories on fasting days, approximately 20-25 per cent of normal intake or 500 calories per day. A modified fast has also been referred to as a 5:2 fast, with five days of “normal” eating and 2 days of fasting, with no intake.

Although this method of eating is endorsed as a means for improving blood sugar control and blood pressure, there is currently not enough evidence to know if this eating pattern is effective at promoting an improvement in either, or if it’s even a safe method for weight loss, with studies showing conflicting results.

Time-restricted fasting may be one of the most common methods of intermittent fasting, with caloric intake limited to 8-12 hours per day and the majority of the fast occurring while you sleep. This style of fasting may be more popular because it’s an easier transition for people who are already used to skipping breakfast or not snacking after dinner.

As with a modified fast, evidence to

support a time-restricted fast is not strong enough to warrant an evidence-based recommendation of this diet and more research is required. Although I’ve seen this diet promoted as a “solution” to improving blood sugar control in individuals with diabetes, that claim would be a direct contradiction to the recommendations being made by Diabetes Canada (DC), which publishes the practice standards for the management of diabetes in Canada. DC recommends eating three meals per day at regular times, spacing meals no more than six hours apart and eating breakfast to help keep blood sugars stable throughout the day.

Reviewing the research behind current fad diets is something I have to do on a regular basis. Sometimes I find weak evidence to support claims, sometimes there’s conflicting research and other times there’s overwhelming evidence against the claims being made. Intermittent fasting falls somewhere between weak evidence and insufficient evidence.

Although there is evidence from animal studies that calorie restriction can increase lifespan and improve tolerance to certain metabolic stressors, there is insufficient evidence to show that those results are equaled in humans.

Arguments for intermittent fasting sometimes include the claim that the stress caused by fasting will prompt an immune response that repairs cells and produces positive metabolic changes including a reduction in triglycerides, cholesterol, blood pressure, weight, fat mass, and blood glucose levels.

Unfortunately, different studies compare

different methods and schedules of intermittent fasting, which makes it difficult to make a sweeping statement with regards to the efficacy of this style of eating. There needs to be more research, especially regarding any negative side effects. We do know that extended periods of minimal caloric intake can actually lead to physiological changes that can cause the body to adapt to the calorie restriction and prevent further weight loss. In other words, if you restrict your caloric intake for long enough, the body will learn to function on that reduced intake and you will not lose any more weight, plus you’ll have to eat less calories just to maintain your weight.

Intermittent fasting carries with it the risk of nutrient deficiencies and the potential to constantly be overriding feelings of hunger on fasting days and fullness on non-fasting days. Intermittent fasting does not allow for the flexibility that comes from listening to your hunger and fullness cues. If you get up in the morning, hungry for breakfast, but you can’t eat until 2 p.m., does it make sense to go through most of the day lethargic and light-headed while you wait to break your fast?

Unfortunately, the number of books on intermittent fasting and how it can be incorporated into our daily lives seem to far outweigh the number of trials examining whether fasting should be encouraged at all. As with many fad diets, more research is required before evidence-based claims can be made.

— Kelsey Leckovic is a registered dietitian with Northern Health working in chronic disease management.

EARLY DAYS IN A NEW CITY

Aroad trip from 49.2827° N, 123.1207° W to 53.9171° N, 122.7497° W is an interesting one. Prior to my move up from Vancouver, I have a distinct memory of discussing the population of Prince George, of all things. It’s funny how an inconsequential conversation has become so important over the years.

I set out early on a Saturday morning in my 1988 Topaz, packed to the brim with worldly possessions and my cat Sydney. He lasted on my lap until just before Cache Creek, when he suddenly slid down into what seemed like the depths of the undercarriage.

After a long drive filled with excitement and anticipation, tempered with fear of the unknown and spruce bog, I was suddenly heading down Sintich hill into Prince George. The sun had set an hour before and the city seemed dark for a population of 80,000.

Where was the city anyway? Why weren’t there any street lights? There were no houses, businesses or people. I asked myself over and over, ‘What have I done?’

I was lost, driving in circles when I realized I had turned off the highway too soon and was in the BCR Industrial site!

A natural consequence of impatience. I suppose. How different this landscape would be if West Coast Olefins is able to navigate the opposition. Finding Prince George on the first try will be a piece of cake.

Finally, I made it into the downtown core and was immediately taken aback by the five cent parking meters, recognizing little else until I saw The Keg. At last, a familiar place to take refuge. Thankfully, there was a pay phone just inside the door. I desperately tried to call

my employer about the promised prearranged accommodations. No answer.

I tried the Pioneer Apartments. No answer anywhere; it was too late. Exhausted, I chose to stay next door to my apparent apartment in the Economy Inn. After fifteen minutes of prying Sydney, now the pancake cat, from under the car seat, we could rest at last. Sleep came quickly, when suddenly out of nowhere I was jarred awake by the loudest thunder I had ever heard.

Regular, persistent crashing that went on and on, but no rain. The next morning the nice lady at the counter explained it was the trains, and that it happens regularly.

Welcome to Prince George! I finally settled into my new Pioneer apartment. The train thunder had faded into white noise as I watched rented VHS videos, while Sydney lounged on the cool tiles in the June heat. Slowly I acquainted myself with Third Avenue as I walked to work. Mr. Jake’s, Home Hardware and the dry cleaner further down. Phil was so funny in his year round flip flops and Bermuda shorts. Every time I came by he threatened to keep my clothes and make me wash his floors by hand if my cheque bounced.

My Third Avenue office was situated in the back of a second floor office mall. It had a small window high up on the back wall that was just large enough to display hydro wires and sky. It was a window that would work perfectly in a prison cell.

On cloudy days, I was lonely and depressed, and I couldn’t wait for this job to end. But there were sunny days too, and before long I met two of the most loving friends I have ever known and will forever be grateful for. Their presence changed the latitude of my spirit and the trajectory of my life.

Now, when I now reflect on my move to Prince George over 20 years ago, I know deep down that it was a journey of the heart.

REMPEL

97/16 photo by Brent Braaten The sun makes an appearance above the CN Rail bridge over the Fraser River.

STILL IN LOVE 41 YEARS LATER

MSENIORS’ SCENE

KATHY NADALIN

ike Morris, a retired RCMP officer, and the third youngest of 10 children, was born in Quesnel in 1953. By the time he graduated from high school, he had attended 12 different schools and lived in 17 different homes.

His first jobs during the last two summers in high school were in the forest industry. After high school, he worked underground in the mining town of Lynn Lake, Man. A local RCMP officer encouraged Mike to join the RCMP so he applied and successfully wrote the entrance exam.

His first posting was Prince George in 1973 and then on to Vancouver. Mike said, “I was not a city type of guy so I was glad after six months to be sent back to Prince George to finish up some pending cases.

“My next posting was McBride until I was transferred on a day’s notice to Fort St. James where I met my lovely wife Chris in 1976. We were married in Hawaii two years later. I worked in Fort St. James for five years and loved it because of the people we met and the outdoor opportunities. We go back there often on our holidays.

“I was posted back to Prince George in 1981 and we started our family of two boys.”

In 1989, Mike was posted to New Aiyansh, New Hazelton in 1991 and Fraser Lake in 1992.

In 1993, he was posted to Calgary where he received his commission to inspector and became the human resources officer in southern Alberta. In 1996, he transferred back to Prince George as the operations officer for the North District and was promoted to the district officers’ position in 1998 until retiring in 2005 with 32 years of service.

After leaving the RCMP, he was offered different opportunities. In 2008, he accepted a position as an adjudicator and mediator with the Health Professions Review Board, a board tasked with adjudicating disputed decisions of B.C.’s professional health colleges.

From 2010–2013, he also served on the Drug Benefit Council for B.C., an independent advisory body that makes evidence-informed recommendations to the Ministry of Health about the listing of drugs for the PharmaCare program.

Mike said, “I was the only board member at the time that didn’t have Dr. in front of my name. We reviewed hundreds of pages of research results each month, pharmacoeconomic business cases and many other elements. My experience on this council indicated to me that B.C. has a very robust system with many qualified people on the council.”

Mike was elected MLA in the 2013 provincial election to represent the electoral district of Prince George-Mackenzie as a member of the B.C. Liberal Party. He was re-elected in 2017.

He served as Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations. Mike has also been the chair of the Special Committee to Review the

Independent Investigations Office, the convener of the Select Standing Committee of Crown Corporations and he has served on other select standing committees including finance and government services and public accounts, along with the cabinet committee for environment and land use.

Today, Mike uses his extensive knowledge from his prior experience as an RCMP Officer and a cabinet minister in a critic role on Public Safety and Solicitor General for the opposition. He has also been appointed to the Select Standing Committee on Parliamentary Reform, Ethical Conduct, Standing Orders and Private Bills and the Special Committee to Appoint a Conflict of Interest Commissioner.

Mike said, “I have collectively spent over 30 of the last 45 years in Prince George and spent the majority of my RCMP career in northern communities. It was never on my bucket list to venture into politics but here I am. None of the above would have been possible without my wife Chris and her total support behind me.”

He met Chris Birkeland when he was 26 years old. Chris is the youngest of five children and was born at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. The family moved around a fair bit and ended up in Telkwa when she was in Grade 3. After high school, Chris attended the College of New Caledonia in Prince George and studied to be a Licensed Practical Nurse.

On the advice of a classmate, she applied for and was accepted for a nursing position in Fort St James. Her life was about to change when she met and then married Mike.

Chris said, “We started out in a tiny apartment with a camp cot and a small dining room table. None of that mattered because we were in love. That was 41 years ago and yes, we are still in love.”

Chris took advantage of every transfer to work at various health facilities –Prince George Regional Hospital (now UHNBC), the Nisgh’a Health Clinic in New Aiyansh north of Terrace, Wrinch Memorial Hospital in New Hazelton, High River hospital in Alberta and UHNBC, as well as a few stints working in various doctors’ offices.

She says “I have worked as an LPN since 1975 and I am getting ready to retire.”

Mike explained, “The nature of my work caused me to be away from home on many occasions and Chris stood behind me through it all. She was a good mom and held down the fort in my absence. I could not have done it without her. She worked in her profession and kept everything running smoothly

around the home. I saw a lot of misery and pain on a regular basis in my job so it was nice to come home to a smiling wife and a happy environment.

“I am a past president of the B.C. Trappers Association and have owned a registered trapline since the early ‘80s. Chris often accompanied me on the trapline over the years helping in pelt preparation and keeping trails open.

“When I decided that I wanted to be a beekeeper she supported me on that project as well. When I went into politics, she bought her own beekeeper’s suit and took a deep interest in bee keeping, probably one of her best hobbies to date. She calls them her girls and along with the assistance of some great neighbours, does a good job looking after them. What can I say - she is truly an amazing woman.

“When I left the RCMP, we had the option to relocate any where in Canada. We talked about it and saw no reason to leave Prince George. I didn’t plan on it but I got into politics and hope I’ve made a contribution in making our province a little bit better for the folks who live here. We built our lives here and British Columbia is a great place to live. I love Prince George and British Columbia and I want what is best for all British Columbians.”

Mike and Chris have two sons; Matt (Heather) and Dan (Michelle) who in turn gave them five grandchildren and who they claim are perfect in every way. Their sons both live in Prince George and they are both RCMP officers.

97/16 photo by Brent Braaten Chris and Mike Morris at home.

teasing starts out to be fun, but then it goes too far and turns negative and hurtful. Some kids tease because they feel bad

sad or scared. Some kids tease to go along with the crowd. They think teasing other children will make them look

Lydia is teasing Julie about her messy hair. Circle what Julie is thinking. Why did you choose the thought you selected?

It’s okay. Lydia’s only kidding.

I’m going to tease her back the next time she has a bad hair day! This really hurts my feelings.

Look at the examples of teasing below. Cross out the examples that you think are hurtful. Circle the ones you think are funny. Not everyone will circle and cross out the same pictures. Why is that?

So, how’s it going, Four Eyes?

Nice work, Professor Einstein!

Have a friend give you each type of word to fill in the blanks. Then read the story aloud!

My friend Lawrence had the hiccups while getting a haircut. I was joking and teasing with him about it and said his haircut made him look like a _________

Funny is not the same for everyone. One person may think getting teased about their hair is funny. Another person might find getting teased about their hair painful.

What

Too much teasing is bullying. When you see bullying, there are safe things you can do to make it stop. Below are a few things you can do to help a person that has been upset by teasing. Which would you try first? With a parent, discuss each of these helpful tips.

Talk to a parent, teacher, or another adult you trust. Adults need to know when bad things happen so they can help.

Be kind to the kid being bullied. Sit with them at lunch or on the bus or invite them to do something. Just hanging out with them will help.

Not saying anything could make it worse for everyone.

The kid who is teasing will think it is ok to keep treating others that way.

Bullying is meant to hurt, intimidate, embarrass and threaten. It can happen online, through social media, through texting but also on the playground or after school. It’s important to tell a trusted adult if you are being bullied or if you see another child being bullied.

Make Silly Sentences

Go through the print or electronic edition of your newspaper and find three nouns, three verbs and six adjectives. Combine these to make three silly sentences.

Standards

It was only a joke, but it made him pretty angry. To make it up to him, I invited him to see the with my family. Lawrence cheered up when he saw a on the trapeze.

A shiny ____________ drove into the center ring and a dozen crazy ____________ climbed out of it. My dad bought us each a bag of hot _____________ and a balloon shaped like a _______.

When we got home, I apologized again to Lawrence. “It’s okay,” he said. “I can’t stay mad when I think about the _____________ ___________ we saw today!” Standards Link: Grammar: Understand and use nouns, adjectives and verbs correctly.

Pretend you have been asked to write an ad asking kids not to bully other kids. What would your advertisement say?

How’s the weather down there, Shorty?

Good catch today, Freckle Face!

is something this kid could say that is funny but not hurtful?

© 2019 by Vicki Whiting, Editor Jeff Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 35, No. 41

AROUND TOWN

MakerLab Youth Immersion exhibit

Thursday from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Two Rivers Gallery, 725 Canada Games Way, there is an opening reception of the MakerLab Youth Immersion new exhibit in the Rustad Galleria featuring work from the students. Thursdays are always free to attend and all are welcome.

Contact: 250-614-7800 | roxanne@ tworiversgallery.ca

DJ Dance Nights

Thursdays until Dec. 26 from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Omineca Arts Centre, 369 Victoria St., Thursday DJ Dance Nights are presented to get a body grooving and keep spirits and energies high. There are licenced and dry DJ nights each month featuring local, regional and touring DJs. Entry is by suggested donation of between $5 and $20, but no one is turned away due to lack of funds. For details visit www. ominecaartscentre.com.

Contact: 250-552-0826 | info@ominecaartscentre.com

Movie Under The Stars

Friday from 6:45, showtime is 7:45 to 10 p.m. at Northern Lights Estate Winery, 745 PG Pulpmill Rd., attend an evening of classic movies under the stars. The Blair Witch Project will be featured. Concession including wine, beer, and snacks (popcorn, candy and soft drinks. Chairs can be

provided, but if you would prefer a more comfortable seating experience, it is recommended to bring your own chair or blanket. Pre-purchase tickets as these events sellout fast. Tickets are $17+tax, or $15+ tax for wine club. Call 250-564-1112 or come into the Wine Shop for tickets.

BC Old Time Fiddler’s Dance

Saturday from 8 p.m. to midnight at the PG Elks Community Hall, 663 Douglas St., enjoy toe-tapping live music to swing your partner. This is the chance to do the oldtime dances like polka, waltz, schottishe, barn dance, seven step, two step. Entrance fee of $10 includes light lunch, prizes. Cash bar. Tickets available at Books & Co or at the door. Children get in free. Contact: (250) 563-1025 | beth.bressette@telus. net

Bucket List Gala

Saturday from 5:30 to 10 p.m. at the Civic Centre, 808 Canada Games Way, the Prince George Hospice Society presents the charity fundraiser dinner the Bucket List Gala, with keynote speaker bestselling author and TV host Robin Esrock. For more information visit hospiceprincegeorge.ca or call 250-563-2481.

CrossRoads Street Festival

Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Cross-

Roads Brewing, 508 George St., Crossroads is hosting Powersports, Skiing and Snowboarding Festival, featuring local recreation clubs and small businesses. The events are also intended to increase community pride and bring life back into the downtown. The daytime show is free while the evening street party is a ticketed event from 6 p.m. to midnight featuring live music, local craft beer, street food, and interactive outdoor party games. Those 19+ are welcome to attend the evening event, identification required. Tokens for food, beer, cider and wine will be sold on-site at $5 each. We’ll have tenting and the brewery indoors so these parties will occur rain or shine (no ticket refunds). Plan ahead for a safe ride home. Contact: 250-614-2337 | events@crossroadscraft.com

Downtown FallFest

Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Third Ave., the Downtown Fallfest is the latest signature festival. Bring the whole family to Downtown Fallfest where vendors and exhibitors will offer local products, green and sustainable ideas and a unique look at Prince George’s farming and entrepreneurial spirit. Enjoy unique local shopping at Prince George’s largest outdoor market of the year. Contact: 2506141330 | info@ downtownpg.com

Shred It Event

Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at CN Centre Parking Lot, 2187 Ospika Blvd. South, clean out those filing cabinets of all your

old, personal documents and bring them to the CN Centre parking lot for on-site, safe shredding. Bring as many boxes and bags as you can carry. Businesses are welcome too - just adjust your donation to reflect the quantity. Prevent identity theft and recycle with a $5 minimum donation. Enjoy a fresh and tasty Mr. Mike’s burger barbecued on site for just $5. Proceeds support local Crime Stoppers programs | www. pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca

Picklefest at the Library

Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way, During the Pickelfest there will be demos and presentations. Pickle Basics with Alise at 1 p.m., kimchi with Rebecca at 1:45 p.m., cooking with pickles with Patricia at 2:30 p.m. This event is free. Everyone welcome. Contact: 2505639251 | adhanjal@pgpl.ca

Mad Moose Marathon

Sunday from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Otway Ski Center, 8141 Otway Rd., the Mad Moose Marathon is a trail running event. All distances start and finish at the Otway Ski Center and run through a wilderness setting. Fees are $45-$65 for Ultra and Marathon; $35-$50 for half; $30-$40 for the 10 k. Entry deadline is Friday, September 20 at 6 p.m. Run times are 6 a.m.- Ultra Moose Marathon, 7:30 a.m. - Full Moose Marathon, 9:30 a.m. - Half Moose Marathon, 10:30 a.m. - 10 km. http://madmoosemarathon.ca

FINDING MY WAY TO THE BOOK ROOM

or as long as I could remember, I wanted to be a teacher.

That’s not strictly true. Up until Grade

After Grade 6 though, I did want to be a

When I got to high school, I loved nearly everything about every English class with few exceptions. My only complaint about my high school English experience is that, occasionally, someone in the class was allowed to go into the book room and choose the books for the class and that someone

My classmates would also only ever choose the shortest books they could find. Short does not equal the best book, in my opinion. Aside from feeling left out of the book room, I loved my teachers and the literature and the writing and the reading.

By the end of high school, I was convinced that I was going to be a high school

loved to read and thought I was funny. My husband and I moved to Prince George at a time where we didn’t know what we wanted to do with our lives but we knew that we wanted to have kids. We worked for a bit and I applied to UNBC to do the Bachelor’s Education program. I was accepted to the program but after some soul-searching, I decided that I could not put off having kids any longer so I declined my seat in the program.

Then the kids came and life, et cetera, et cetera, I got back to do my Master of Arts degree and, long story short, I am now teaching a few English classes at CNC and I am loving it and more than a little intimidated.

I had my first class and I realized that my class was their first introduction to post-secondary English. It is a large responsibility and I hope that I can pay the love forward that all of my teachers and professors have shown to me. I appreciate all teachers, from kindergarten to post-secondary for all of the hard work they continue to do sharing what they love with students, year after year, term after term. I am looking forward to what will be yet another busy term for me and my family.

However, once I got to university, for the first time in life, I found my people: people who were book nerds and loved discussing how books made them feel. I hope that my children end up loving the magic of reading as much as I do. University was the most fun and I slowly dropped the idea of teaching high school and started planning my academic career. I moved to Victoria to finish my bachelor’s degree, got a great job in an excellent bookstore (go, Munro’s!) and graduated with my shiny new paper. I was burnt out by the time I finished my undergrad and I took a bit of break from school. I was young, had a fun job where I was surrounded by books and people who

To all of the teachers who are prepping last-minute for their classes and staying up all night lesson planning, good luck in the term and we’ll see you on the other side.

MEGAN KUKLIS

DEALING WITH ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCE

The journey from birth to adulthood is a convoluted and risky one. The things that happen to us along the way help form who we become. We all know this intuitively, but there is science to back this up.

From 1995-1997, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) collected and analyzed data from over 17,000 individuals in Southern California. The results, known as the CDC Kaiser ACE study, demonstrated a strong connection between Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) and later physical health diagnoses. The ACEs included in the study were from three categories:

• Abuse: emotional, physical and sexual abuse

• Neglect: emotional and physical

• Household challenges: mother treated violently, substance abuse, ,mental illness, parental separation or divorced, and incarcerated household member.

Major findings include that ACEs are common among all populations; an ACE score is the total sum of all adverse experiences reported by each participant. The higher your ACE score, the higher the incidence of negative health and wellbeing outcomes as adults. Specifically, an increased risk of:

• physical Injury including traumatic brain injury, fractures and burns.

• mental health issues such as depression anxiety, suicide and PTSD.

• maternal mental health such as unintended pregnancy and pregnancy complications including infant or fetal death.

• infectious diseases such as HIV and STDs.

• chronic disease like cancer and diabetes.

• risky behaviours including alcohol and drug use and unsafe sex.

• lack of opportunities including education, occupation and income.

Since the initial study in 1995-97, all states have started collecting this same data across

OPEN FOR DISCUSSION

CHRISTINE RICKARDS

the U.S. with similar results across all demographics.

But it’s not all bad news. A subsequent study looked at resiliency factors and found even in the face of high ACE scores, these factors can decrease the long-term risks to health and increase opportunities. Some of the resiliency factors are:

• feeling loved by parents as an infant/child.

• feeling loved by extended family as an infant/child.

• recalling being a source of pleasure/enjoyment as a child.

• having a safe person as a child.

• feeling well liked as a child.

• having supportive people outside family as a child (teachers, pastor, coach, etc).

• having a significant adult care about how you were doing in school.

• being exposed to forward looking positive role models.

• growing up with household rules.

• having access to trusted people during hard times.

• having adults notice your strengths as a child.

• being self-motivated as a child.

• believing you can impact your future. Do you have a young person in your life? The above list is so encouraging for those of us fortunate enough to have even a small window of opportunity to invest in an impressionable child or youth. We can’t always impact a child’s ACEs but we can help to build resilience.

I was fortunate to have several supportive adults surrounding me as a child. They were people who loved me and showed it with kindness, encouragement and enjoying my presence. I don’t remember their exact words or deeds but I recall in detail how they made me feel about myself. In contrast, I also remember a few people who made me feel scared and unsafe. In retrospect, I can easily see how those frightening experiences contributed to the development of anxiety in later years.

If you would like to know more about ACEs research, go to the ACEs Connection website. At this site you can take both the ACEs quiz and get your resiliency score.

It is never too late to start building resiliency in yourself or others. Our brains are very plastic. Contrary to old beliefs, we can build new

SOLUTION TO: NICKNAME CALLING

neuropathways at almost any age. What we say to ourselves about ourselves; what others say to us, sticks with us and contributes to our beliefs about ourselves.

If you find yourself surrounded by negative messages about yourself, learn to speak kindly to yourself. Learn to find your strength while you find your way away from these negative messages.

As adults we can choose our friends, but as children we cannot choose our family and home. So I urge you to edit yourself carefully around all people, but especially around children. When we see the long-term effects of harsh and abusive treatment, on both physical and mental health and on economic futures, we must also see the role we as adults have to play in changing the future for all children.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 Page 6

Green stopping in to say bye

10

CHRISTINE HINZMANN 97/16 staff

It’s 10 o’clock on a Monday morning and the old Longworth school house, now the post office, is a hub of activity.

There are two cars and an ATV in the parking lot.

For a town with a population of 21.

“Looks like it’s going to be busy,” Post mistress Robin Wills says with a smile, scanning the four other people in the room.

There are long tables set in a square in the middle of the room with chairs at the ready. There are handmade quilts, crocheted blankets, handknit scarves, cloth dolls, rustic postcards and fruit preserves on display along the walls.

Everything’s for sale.

The coffee station is in the far corner and most everyone eventually makes their way to it.

As more people trickle in, they deposit their contributions on the table. Cookies in a Tupperware container, banana bread on a paper plate, fancy cookies in a tin.

About a dozen people settle in for a chat over coffee.

This is what it looks like three mornings a week in Longworth, 160 km east of Prince George.

There’s talk of someone needing eggs, another’s hand goes up signalling she’s got some to spare.

The give and take of a 21-person town already starts to show.

“If I had a tape recorder I could push play right now because we’re going to hear the same old stories,” Robin teases. But those stories are new to some people at the table. Dave, a retired forest service worker from Clearwater who spent a short time in Longworth in 1959, has stopped by to visit. He’s on a road trip to Alaska and thought he’d make the trek to see the town that made such an impression so long ago.

Continued on page 3

97/16 photos by James Doyle Above: Robin Wills is the Longworth post mistress. Below: The Longworth Community Hall.

‘THAT WAS SO MUCH FUN’

Longworth is 99 years old and the big news is the townspeople are talking about hosting an open house next summer to celebrate the centennial.

There’s going to be a barbecue and the invitation is open for anyone who might be interested. There’s no date set yet but all those details will be put in place soon.

In its heyday, when logging was in full swing in the 30s and 40s, there were upwards of 1,000 people living there. Longworth started as a stop on the Eastline of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, before it became the Canadian National Railway. The train station was demolished in 1969. Longworth lies between Sinclair Mills and Penny and had a smaller sawmill than the one at Penny. Longworth is located on the northeast side of the Fraser River.

There was no water or power in Longworth until the road was built in 1989. Before that, people had to cross the river to get in and out of Longworth. Phone service wasn’t available until 1999.

One resident disagreed about one thing.

“Grace and I have always had running water,” Les Apps deadpans.

“Put the water in the bucket and run,” Les and Grace chime together and laugh. It’s the longest “running” joke between them.

The McCoy brothers – Bob, 77, and Dave, 79 – are sitting with their friends at the table reminiscing about the days they would have to load their inebriated teacher into a wheelbarrow at their house because they were too little to pack her to her house any other way. They were about 10 and 12 years old at the time.

Bob and Dave, along with brother Wayne, 76, have lived in Longworth most

of their lives and say they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Back in the day, the brothers helped build and maintain ice roads in the winter. Plank roads were built in the muddy spring and fall to get the logs out of the forest and onto the railway cars.

People could be seen driving across the partially melted ice road with their doors open ready to make a quick getaway if things went sideways.

much fun.”

Some of the stories of how people got to Longworth are quite rare in their own right.

Gundula Myer-Eppler Rabien’s dad, Hans, literally flipped a coin in Berlin. The choice was North or South America. Once that was settled, he then turned a map over and poked a needle through it. She has had a 65-year love affair Continued from page 1

A unique kind of fun was had right up until the 80s as residents pushed their luck in the spring to see if they could cross the river with their vehicle on the ice road one last time before break up.

There was lots of talk about having to pull each other out of the shallows if they got stuck, borrowing a loader if it was a bigger truck that needed a tow.

Many a tale started with “remember when we had to pull so-and-so out of the river that time?”

Many a tale ended with “that was so

Continued on page 4

97/16 photos by James Doyle Longworth resident Bob McCoy points to himself in a school photo from 1954-55 that hangs in the Longworth post office.  The post office is now located in the building which used to be the school.

97/16 photos by James Doyle

The Longworth Post Office.

97/16 photos by James Doyle

A logging truck drives on wooden planks road near Longworth circa 1940s.

‘PUT THE WATER IN THE BUCKET AND RUN’

with Longworth ever since those fateful choices were made.

She grew up there and then spent 35 years in Germany only to return because she was homesick and has now spent the last 10 years in Longworth. She’s leaving her beloved home for the last time to return to Germany permanently because of her 22-year-old daughter Fiona’s extensive medical needs.

Viv Tolley is a former Floridian whose truck driving younger brother passed through Longworth years ago. He laid eyes on Big Jim Tolley and knew he was the fellow for his widowed sister.

“My brother came back to Florida to tell me about this bachelor-person up there,” Viv says with mischief in her eyes. “He knew I liked the country and I liked the quiet, and knew that I would like to live like they did 80 to 100 years ago and he led me up here and showed me the beautiful views.”

She drove her big motorhome from Florida to Longworth in 1994 and has lived there ever since.

Viv is proud to say she’s the oldest female in Longworth at 80 years old.

“It’s the most beautiful place in the

world,” Viv says about Longworth. And she should know, she said, because she’s been all over Europe and even visited the Swiss Alps and still knows it’s the most beautiful place.

Big Jim and Viv are snowbirds and travel to Florida to be with her children every winter.

“We’ve got a wild bunch up here,” Viv says, looking around the table at her many friends.

Les and Grace Apps bought property in Longworth in the 80s and moved to it full time when Les retired in 1997.

When people moved into the area before the road was built in 1989, it was trips across the river but that didn’t stop them from wanting their vehicles and toys brought over.

One guy wanted his motorcycle on the other side of the river and the weight was too much for the boat. It sunk.

“Big Jim and I spent three or four days going down the river with hooks before we found it,” Les says. “We got the motorcycle and brought it to shore between two boats. They drained it out and had it going the next day.”

Talk turns to the days when babies were born on kitchen tables and neighbours would gather to help. When one young mother tried to make it to town to have her baby, he was born on the train and the town nicknamed him Caboose. That memory brings on a hearty laugh from those gathered around the table.

It’s a different kind of lifestyle where everyone relied on one another to succeed and not much has changed that way.

“Most everyone comes for coffee on days the post office is open and when someone doesn’t show up for a while, we all check in with each other and if no one has heard from that person then someone will go pay a visit to make sure they’re OK,” Robin explains.

It’s an aging population in Longworth now.

“Pretty much 99 per cent of the population of Longworth is over 50 years old,” Robin says.

In the most recent years the community has supported each other in many ways,

not only coming together for coffee to check in with each other three times a week but also to celebrate special occasions together like Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. They gather at the Community Hall, the only other public building in Longworth, besides the school

house turned post office.

“There’s always a poltuck for special occasions,” Gundula says. “And the Eastline often does stuff together.”

The Eastline includes Willow River Sinclair Mills, Longworth and Penny, which

Continued on page 5

97/16 photos by James Doyle

A sawmill crew in Longworth circa 1930-40s.

97/16 photos by James Doyle Longworth resident Dave McCoy.

Continued from page 3

97/16 photos by James Doyle Longworth resident Viv Tolley.

‘WE’VE GOT A WILD BUNCH UP HERE’

Continued from page 4

are all along the Fraser River.

“Our Christmas potluck is huge,” Gundula says.

The community hall saw about 80 people in it last year.

“And all the kiddies get gifts,” she adds. During the dinner, one or two quilts get raffled off and proceeds go towards the children’s gifts for the next year.

“The great thing about it is that you just about know everybody from here to Prince George,” Robin says. “We all know each other’s names and where we live and it’s almost like you feel they just live down the road.”

Gundula had a little dog come visit her place just the other day. All it took was a few phone calls to her neighbours and the owner was found and reunited with his dog within minutes, she says.

“During any kind of crisis everybody bands together,” Grace says. She recalled a fire taking a neighbour’s home years ago and within days residents had given enough materials to build again and then they did.

During the winter, many of the women meet weekly for a traditional quilting bee.

“The women get together to make the (raffled) quilts and we shovel the driveway,” Les smiles.

Instead of going anywhere else, organizers of events in Sinclair Mills will come to Longworth and buy the handmade items for the draws they hold as fundraisers, Robin says.

From June to September, the Eastline Market is held in Willow River, 70 minutes’ drive from Longworth. Several members of the small town sell their homemade wares every week while others travel there to support them. In

other words, the same items for sale at the Eastline Market are also available at the Longworth post office. So instead of making purchases at the post office just an ATV ride away, neighbours and friends all travel to the market more than an hour away.

Bob McCoy’s wife Iris sells handwoven

mats, purses, vegetables and preserves at her booth at the market while Robin and husband Terry set up a booth to showcase her handmade quilts, jams, jellies and eggs when she’s got them. The Tolleys make the drive down to the market and buy from them and visit with friends.

“I would much rather buy homemade jams and jellies from the local people than anything they have in a store in town because nothing there is nearly as good as the homemade stuff,” Viv says. “And you’re helping your neighbours out at the same time. It really is a beautiful way of life.”

97/16 photos by James Doyle Longworth resident Les Apps.

97/16 photos by James Doyle Longworth resident Gundula Meyer-Eppler.

97/16 photos by James Doyle Horses pull logs near Longworth circa 1930‚

RED GREEN STOPPING IN TO SAY BYE

CHRISTINE HINZMANN 97/16 staff

This could be it, Canada.

At least that’s what Red Green is saying about his upcoming cross-country tour that starts later this month.

Steve Smith, who plays Red Green, will make his way to the Vanier Hall stage Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. for the last time.

“This will be my last tour and the worst thing that could happen is that you realize your last tour should’ve been your last tour,” Smith said. “So this is good.”

Smith can’t say enough about his love for live performance on stage.

“It is absolutely the best, hands down, 1000 per cent ahead of anything else,” Smith said.

He said he thoroughly enjoyed doing the television show, writing his books and newspaper columns.

“They’re all good - they’re all pleasant experiences for me but the live stage thing - if I’d have realized I would have done it long ago,” Smith said. “It’s not something I came up through - I wasn’t a stand up comic and I never did theatre or anything so in 2010 when I went on stage as Red Green that was the first time I’d ever really done that.”

• Colleen Sparrow, publisher and GM

• Neil Godbout, editor-in-chief

• Shawn Cornell, director of advertising

Smith said it is a really personal thing to get up on stage in front of a live audience.

“And there’s no other agenda,” Smith explained. “I didn’t bring an audience in for the purpose of using them to create something that I’m going to market after I’m done, like a television show. It’s not about lighting or makeup or anything. It would’ve happened the same way 1,000 years ago. It’s just somebody getting up and trying to entertain other people as if they were in a living room or a kitchen or a theatre. I was shocked at how much I really enjoyed it.”

Smith said he had to be honest. It’s not cheap to go see him.

“So people who are ambivalent about me aren’t there, so it’s not like this is a cold call,” Smith said. “I’m not getting up at a comedy club where they don’t know me. The audience has already, by buying a ticket, showed some appreciation for my bizarre sense of humour. So that kind of gives you the green light.”

(Not sure if the pun was intended there - “Green” light.)

“The challenge is in the first night or two after that you kind of know how you’re doing,” Smith said. “I can’t create five minutes worth of material and then go to the comedy club to try it out. It just doesn’t work for Red Green. So I step on stage with 90 minutes of stuff that’s

never been said to anybody and hope that most of it goes well.”

And if if doesn’t then adjustments are made and sometimes it’s just the opposite.

“Then there are other things, believe it or not, that you thought were kind of throwaways that were very well received, so you’ve got to give them a little room to breathe,” Smith said. “So, yeah, there are adjustments all the way along but it’s honestly not much - it’s not five per cent. It’s not that much. I know what my point of view is and the audience seems to like that.”

When it comes to comedy, it can’t be your greatest hits, Smith said.

“So this is all fresh and brand new,” he added. He’s shot some new video. He’s got three of the characters from the show phoning in, there’s handyman tips, advice on how to talk to your spouse and words of wisdom for teenagers on how to get that first date.

“I end the show with a wish for the audience and that’s gone over really well,” Smith said.

“The under current of the whole thing is gratitude and good-bye.”

Tickets are on sale at www.ticketsnorth.ca

Facebook, by going online to: https://bit.ly/2SdAmek

• Visit https://bit.ly/2S9W4zW to find the location nearest you to pick up extra copies of 97/16.

Photo supplied Steve Smith as Red Green

DAHL LAKE A BEAUTY TO BEHOLD

One of my favourite things about Prince George and its surrounding area has to be that despite living here since the ‘90s, I am still learning of new places of beauty and wonder around us all the time. I feel extremely fortunate to have relatively easy access to so many spots that allow us to get immersed in nature – places that help create a feeling of being miles away from it all when we really haven’t traveled far.

One of these places that I was recently introduced to is Dahl Lake Provincial Park. To get into Dahl Lake, one must either hike from the east end of Norman Lake or launch a canoe or kayak from that point. My choice for this adventure into Dahl was to kayak. As you follow the shore of Norman Lake about 300 metres up the shoreline the reeds become thicker and you can see a channel open. Once you enter the almost tunnel-like channel of greenery growing from the water, keep your eyes open for an eagle at his favourite perch atop one of the tall trees lining the shore. As you begin to navigate further, the channel begins to feel like your very own portal to another world. There is a very remote and wild feel in the air. Dense forest grows to the water’s edge, with trails beaten down from the activity of busy beavers. Patches of lily pads poke their way out of the water with bright yellow blossoms acting like runway lights directing you into Dahl Lake. Around each corner, wildlife makes its presence known, ducks scurry from their perch on a half-submerged log, a pair of flicker woodpeckers chase each other from branch to branch, fish jump and eagles and osprey both make their call.

JOURNEY THROUGH MY LENS

BILL CAMPBELL

I would not be shocked if I was the only person on the lake that day. The lake has enough size though that even with multiple people out there is a good chance you may not notice each other. Only non-motorized vessels are allowed on Dahl Lake, which helps to maintain the feeling of total solitude. As you delve further into the arms of the lake, you will discover a couple of small islands that could make for some fun exploration or even an ideal spot for lunch.

Daylight was fading fast and I decided to return into the channel and head back towards the access area on Norman Lake. I gave myself one more chance at catching a fish while I watched the sunset. The sky lit up and sun rays burst through the clouds. Once the sun dropped below the horizon, a distinct line of blue cut across the sky upwards like old fashioned spotlights at a theatre entrance. I took a few more casts just to give me more reason to soak it all in and then I headed in.

Dahl Lake is accessed from the Norman Lake Road which is approximately 43 km west of Prince George on Highway 16, then follow Norman Lake Road approximately 14k m. A sign to the left side of the road marks the entrance for Dahl Provincial Park. Access to Dahl is gained from the east end of Norman Lake by either boat or a short hike along the shore.

LOVE IS THE GREATEST CONQUEST

As we study history, we see many mistakes which have been made. We also see many great successes. What creates this difference?

At the core of each person, there are guiding principles. We innately know that love, kindness, humility, truth and compassion are paramount and our ability to embrace these ideals impacts the direction of the world around us. We can also choose to ignore them and focus on baser instincts.

When we look back over the 19th and 20th centuries, we see that many people embraced a strong belief in conquest. They held that it was their destiny to conquer and develop the world. They idealized industrialization and militarization.

Global development is not a bad thing in and of itself. When we look around our homes and public buildings, we see that it has helped to create a very comfortable way of living for millions of people.

The problem comes when we forget that there are deeper and more profound values. Jesus asked, “For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose

LESSONS IN LEARNING

GERRY CHIDIAC

his own soul?” How ironic that many of those who pillaged the world did so in the name of this same Jesus.

The truth is that it is not difficult to learn to manipulate the situations around us in the short-term. When we do so without taking the time to reflect on deeper truths, however we cause unnecessary suffering.

All great religions and philosophies stress the importance of love. To love means to have respect and compassion, to be able to forgive. In loving, we need to seek truth and live with integrity. We value ourselves and we also value our neighbours.

What is interesting is that living this way is also the path to true greatness. The leaders we most admire are those who have learned to exemplify love. We may

praise those who led conquests, but the ones we hold in highest esteem are those who embraced compassion and forgiveness.

It is not difficult to look at our history and see the mistakes which were made. We are still paying the price for the crimes of colonialism. We see economic hardship, political instability, rampant racism, wars and refugees in many former colonies. We also see people dealing with the intergenerational trauma which has been the result of our conquest.

It is also not difficult to see what greatness really is. ommon missionaries exposed the horrendous exploitation of the Congo Free State by King Leopold II of Belgium. Mohandas Gandhi led a peaceful revolution which caused the world’s most powerful empire to be dissolved. He also inspired Martin Luther King Jr. to challenge legalized racism in the United States.

Though weapons are necessary from time to time, universal wisdom teaches us that they can only be used in extreme circumstances. The same goes for prisons.

FREE AND OPEN CANADA

It is September and our children have returned to school. Not only do schools educate, we also expect them to indoctrinate our kids on the merits of tolerance

and diversity in our free society. Many adults in the news media and general public seem to have forgotten the benefits of this inclusive education.

There was a huge brouhaha over an article published in the Vancouver Sun recently. The article questioned how well very different people can actually live and thrive together in a free and democratic society. A quick check on the author Mark Hecht reveals he teaches at Mount Royal University and works to prevent child sex exploitation internationally. Hecht cited various studies and came to a conclusion I do not agree with but I am not sure that we help improve our country by shutting down the conversation.

I grew up a visible minority in a closed community. Survival of the community became the highest value and, one by one, the good founding values had to give way to the “New Great Purpose” – the survival of the community and its traditions. Outsiders were considered beneath us. We were told not to be tarnished by brushing against those who did not share our traditions.

The exclusion and isolation, believed necessary for the survival of the community, meant that everyone was taught by the self-appointed and appointed elders of our community to “ask no questions, see no issues, express no concerns.”

Questions presented a danger to the status quo. Questions and ideas become the enemy.

Demonizing others does not make us safe. We can only change the world for the better if we embrace our higher ideals.

When we love and respect ourselves and others, we see that there really are ways where everyone can thrive. There is more than enough good in this world for everyone and every person has the potential for greatness.

Quite honestly, this is why I have devoted my career to education. By creating an atmosphere of mutual respect, I am able to draw out the greatness in those around me. These are not just ideals; they are guiding principles which lead to success. What is true in the classroom is true in the world around us. Whether we are leading teams of thousands of people or working independently, when we hold fast to the higher human principles, we will overcome all obstacles and live to our greatest potential.

— Gerry Chidiac is a champion for social enlightenment, inspiring others to find their greatness in making the world a better place. For more of his writings, go to www.gerrychidiac.com.

THINKING ALOUD

TRUDY KLASSEN

very strong connection to Canada. The freedom-advocating Cato Institute has found, as I would expect based on normal human behavior, that most immigrants to Canada self-select, that is, those most eager to assimilate are the ones who apply to move here.

Falconer does provide a subtle warning to Canadians: “Some have cited Alberto Alesina’s work on… the idea that greater population diversity is associated with social strife. This is true in countries with weak democracies and restricted labour markets, where the political and economic systems favour a select few.”

Alesina’s subsequent works have shown that diverse populations reap economic benefits and remain relatively cohesive when everyone has a fair shot at becoming an MP or getting a job. Open societies enjoy strong trade relationships with other countries, a diversity in goods and services, and stronger workforces. Under these settings the work of integration takes care of itself, with newcomers and their children identifying with Canada and its values.

I remember the laughable arrogance of the most backward people in my community. The sad thing is often those people became the most influential, because lacking the freedom to dialogue about things that mattered, the loud, angry voices of the fanatics provided a feeling of self-righteousness.

I left, because I couldn’t see raising my kids with that kind of worldview.

In my reading of Hecht’s article, it seemed to me that he was attempting to address the issues that can and, in my case did, occur in some immigrant communities. It is interesting to read the rebuttal, by Robert Falconer, that the chastised Sun published. I can easily believe Falconer’s quoted statistic that 93 per cent of immigrants have a strong or

In that light, the work of integrating newcomers within the fabric of Canada is less about exclusion, and more about maintaining, celebrating, and safeguarding Canadian institutions, entrepreneurship, and our open society. That last paragraph is, in my mind, our job. It is our gift to the world. Without it, without working hard to “safeguard Canadian institutions and open society,” Canada will no longer be a place worth fleeing to. Leaving my very conservative and exclusive community, along with many beloved friends and family, will have been useless. Without toleration and open discussion, we will become the very thing we hate.

INTERMITTENT FASTING CARRIES RISKS

Intermittent fasting is a term used to describe a pattern of eating, cycling between periods of fasting (with no food or a significant calorie reduction) and periods of unrestricted intake. Intermittent fasting can take different forms and follow different patterns, but the lure of these strict eating schedules is the same, regardless of the approach.

As with many fad diets, the claims associated with intermittent fasting centre around promises of weight loss and fat loss, as well as a reduction in inflammation, improved blood pressure and cholesterol levels and a “slowing of the aging process.”

Alternate day fasting, modified fasting and time-restricted fasting are three common methods of fasting that differ primarily in terms of eating schedule, but not necessarily in the total amount of food/ calories consumed.

Alternate day fasting refers to rotating days of eating with days of fasting. On fasting days, foods and beverages with calories cannot be consumed and calorie-free drinks, including water, black coffee and tea are allowed. On non-fasting days, you can eat whatever you want, with the recommendation to choose healthier options.

This schedule of eating assumes that an individual’s intake will remain unchanged on those non-fasting days, leading to a substantial reduction in the overall amount of calories consumed in a week, resulting in weight loss.

The side effects of this fasting pattern include hunger pangs and decreased concentration on fasting days, and may be worse if you’re an active person or have higher caloric requirements. Some studies

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

KELSEY LECKOVIC

have shown that hunger can overwhelm people on fasting days and cause them to eat more than usual on non-fasting days, leading to an increase in overall intake. It’s also important to note that the long-term effects of this pattern of eating are not yet known.

Modified fasting involves eating very few calories on fasting days, approximately 20-25 per cent of normal intake or 500 calories per day. A modified fast has also been referred to as a 5:2 fast, with five days of “normal” eating and 2 days of fasting, with no intake.

Although this method of eating is endorsed as a means for improving blood sugar control and blood pressure, there is currently not enough evidence to know if this eating pattern is effective at promoting an improvement in either, or if it’s even a safe method for weight loss, with studies showing conflicting results.

Time-restricted fasting may be one of the most common methods of intermittent fasting, with caloric intake limited to 8-12 hours per day and the majority of the fast occurring while you sleep. This style of fasting may be more popular because it’s an easier transition for people who are already used to skipping breakfast or not snacking after dinner.

As with a modified fast, evidence to

support a time-restricted fast is not strong enough to warrant an evidence-based recommendation of this diet and more research is required. Although I’ve seen this diet promoted as a “solution” to improving blood sugar control in individuals with diabetes, that claim would be a direct contradiction to the recommendations being made by Diabetes Canada (DC), which publishes the practice standards for the management of diabetes in Canada. DC recommends eating three meals per day at regular times, spacing meals no more than six hours apart and eating breakfast to help keep blood sugars stable throughout the day.

Reviewing the research behind current fad diets is something I have to do on a regular basis. Sometimes I find weak evidence to support claims, sometimes there’s conflicting research and other times there’s overwhelming evidence against the claims being made. Intermittent fasting falls somewhere between weak evidence and insufficient evidence.

Although there is evidence from animal studies that calorie restriction can increase lifespan and improve tolerance to certain metabolic stressors, there is insufficient evidence to show that those results are equaled in humans.

Arguments for intermittent fasting sometimes include the claim that the stress caused by fasting will prompt an immune response that repairs cells and produces positive metabolic changes including a reduction in triglycerides, cholesterol, blood pressure, weight, fat mass, and blood glucose levels.

Unfortunately, different studies compare

different methods and schedules of intermittent fasting, which makes it difficult to make a sweeping statement with regards to the efficacy of this style of eating. There needs to be more research, especially regarding any negative side effects. We do know that extended periods of minimal caloric intake can actually lead to physiological changes that can cause the body to adapt to the calorie restriction and prevent further weight loss. In other words, if you restrict your caloric intake for long enough, the body will learn to function on that reduced intake and you will not lose any more weight, plus you’ll have to eat less calories just to maintain your weight.

Intermittent fasting carries with it the risk of nutrient deficiencies and the potential to constantly be overriding feelings of hunger on fasting days and fullness on non-fasting days. Intermittent fasting does not allow for the flexibility that comes from listening to your hunger and fullness cues. If you get up in the morning, hungry for breakfast, but you can’t eat until 2 p.m., does it make sense to go through most of the day lethargic and light-headed while you wait to break your fast?

Unfortunately, the number of books on intermittent fasting and how it can be incorporated into our daily lives seem to far outweigh the number of trials examining whether fasting should be encouraged at all. As with many fad diets, more research is required before evidence-based claims can be made.

— Kelsey Leckovic is a registered dietitian with Northern Health working in chronic disease management.

EARLY DAYS IN A NEW CITY

Aroad trip from 49.2827° N, 123.1207° W to 53.9171° N, 122.7497° W is an interesting one. Prior to my move up from Vancouver, I have a distinct memory of discussing the population of Prince George, of all things. It’s funny how an inconsequential conversation has become so important over the years.

I set out early on a Saturday morning in my 1988 Topaz, packed to the brim with worldly possessions and my cat Sydney. He lasted on my lap until just before Cache Creek, when he suddenly slid down into what seemed like the depths of the undercarriage.

After a long drive filled with excitement and anticipation, tempered with fear of the unknown and spruce bog, I was suddenly heading down Sintich hill into Prince George. The sun had set an hour before and the city seemed dark for a population of 80,000.

Where was the city anyway? Why weren’t there any street lights? There were no houses, businesses or people. I asked myself over and over, ‘What have I done?’

I was lost, driving in circles when I realized I had turned off the highway too soon and was in the BCR Industrial site!

A natural consequence of impatience. I suppose. How different this landscape would be if West Coast Olefins is able to navigate the opposition. Finding Prince George on the first try will be a piece of cake.

Finally, I made it into the downtown core and was immediately taken aback by the five cent parking meters, recognizing little else until I saw The Keg. At last, a familiar place to take refuge. Thankfully, there was a pay phone just inside the door. I desperately tried to call

my employer about the promised prearranged accommodations. No answer.

I tried the Pioneer Apartments. No answer anywhere; it was too late. Exhausted, I chose to stay next door to my apparent apartment in the Economy Inn. After fifteen minutes of prying Sydney, now the pancake cat, from under the car seat, we could rest at last. Sleep came quickly, when suddenly out of nowhere I was jarred awake by the loudest thunder I had ever heard.

Regular, persistent crashing that went on and on, but no rain. The next morning the nice lady at the counter explained it was the trains, and that it happens regularly.

Welcome to Prince George! I finally settled into my new Pioneer apartment. The train thunder had faded into white noise as I watched rented VHS videos, while Sydney lounged on the cool tiles in the June heat. Slowly I acquainted myself with Third Avenue as I walked to work. Mr. Jake’s, Home Hardware and the dry cleaner further down. Phil was so funny in his year round flip flops and Bermuda shorts. Every time I came by he threatened to keep my clothes and make me wash his floors by hand if my cheque bounced.

My Third Avenue office was situated in the back of a second floor office mall. It had a small window high up on the back wall that was just large enough to display hydro wires and sky. It was a window that would work perfectly in a prison cell.

On cloudy days, I was lonely and depressed, and I couldn’t wait for this job to end. But there were sunny days too, and before long I met two of the most loving friends I have ever known and will forever be grateful for. Their presence changed the latitude of my spirit and the trajectory of my life.

Now, when I now reflect on my move to Prince George over 20 years ago, I know deep down that it was a journey of the heart.

REMPEL

97/16 photo by Brent Braaten The sun makes an appearance above the CN Rail bridge over the Fraser River.

STILL IN LOVE 41 YEARS LATER

MSENIORS’ SCENE

KATHY NADALIN

ike Morris, a retired RCMP officer, and the third youngest of 10 children, was born in Quesnel in 1953. By the time he graduated from high school, he had attended 12 different schools and lived in 17 different homes.

His first jobs during the last two summers in high school were in the forest industry. After high school, he worked underground in the mining town of Lynn Lake, Man. A local RCMP officer encouraged Mike to join the RCMP so he applied and successfully wrote the entrance exam.

His first posting was Prince George in 1973 and then on to Vancouver. Mike said, “I was not a city type of guy so I was glad after six months to be sent back to Prince George to finish up some pending cases.

“My next posting was McBride until I was transferred on a day’s notice to Fort St. James where I met my lovely wife Chris in 1976. We were married in Hawaii two years later. I worked in Fort St. James for five years and loved it because of the people we met and the outdoor opportunities. We go back there often on our holidays.

“I was posted back to Prince George in 1981 and we started our family of two boys.”

In 1989, Mike was posted to New Aiyansh, New Hazelton in 1991 and Fraser Lake in 1992.

In 1993, he was posted to Calgary where he received his commission to inspector and became the human resources officer in southern Alberta. In 1996, he transferred back to Prince George as the operations officer for the North District and was promoted to the district officers’ position in 1998 until retiring in 2005 with 32 years of service.

After leaving the RCMP, he was offered different opportunities. In 2008, he accepted a position as an adjudicator and mediator with the Health Professions Review Board, a board tasked with adjudicating disputed decisions of B.C.’s professional health colleges.

From 2010–2013, he also served on the Drug Benefit Council for B.C., an independent advisory body that makes evidence-informed recommendations to the Ministry of Health about the listing of drugs for the PharmaCare program.

Mike said, “I was the only board member at the time that didn’t have Dr. in front of my name. We reviewed hundreds of pages of research results each month, pharmacoeconomic business cases and many other elements. My experience on this council indicated to me that B.C. has a very robust system with many qualified people on the council.”

Mike was elected MLA in the 2013 provincial election to represent the electoral district of Prince George-Mackenzie as a member of the B.C. Liberal Party. He was re-elected in 2017.

He served as Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations. Mike has also been the chair of the Special Committee to Review the

Independent Investigations Office, the convener of the Select Standing Committee of Crown Corporations and he has served on other select standing committees including finance and government services and public accounts, along with the cabinet committee for environment and land use.

Today, Mike uses his extensive knowledge from his prior experience as an RCMP Officer and a cabinet minister in a critic role on Public Safety and Solicitor General for the opposition. He has also been appointed to the Select Standing Committee on Parliamentary Reform, Ethical Conduct, Standing Orders and Private Bills and the Special Committee to Appoint a Conflict of Interest Commissioner.

Mike said, “I have collectively spent over 30 of the last 45 years in Prince George and spent the majority of my RCMP career in northern communities. It was never on my bucket list to venture into politics but here I am. None of the above would have been possible without my wife Chris and her total support behind me.”

He met Chris Birkeland when he was 26 years old. Chris is the youngest of five children and was born at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. The family moved around a fair bit and ended up in Telkwa when she was in Grade 3. After high school, Chris attended the College of New Caledonia in Prince George and studied to be a Licensed Practical Nurse.

On the advice of a classmate, she applied for and was accepted for a nursing position in Fort St James. Her life was about to change when she met and then married Mike.

Chris said, “We started out in a tiny apartment with a camp cot and a small dining room table. None of that mattered because we were in love. That was 41 years ago and yes, we are still in love.”

Chris took advantage of every transfer to work at various health facilities –Prince George Regional Hospital (now UHNBC), the Nisgh’a Health Clinic in New Aiyansh north of Terrace, Wrinch Memorial Hospital in New Hazelton, High River hospital in Alberta and UHNBC, as well as a few stints working in various doctors’ offices.

She says “I have worked as an LPN since 1975 and I am getting ready to retire.”

Mike explained, “The nature of my work caused me to be away from home on many occasions and Chris stood behind me through it all. She was a good mom and held down the fort in my absence. I could not have done it without her. She worked in her profession and kept everything running smoothly

around the home. I saw a lot of misery and pain on a regular basis in my job so it was nice to come home to a smiling wife and a happy environment.

“I am a past president of the B.C. Trappers Association and have owned a registered trapline since the early ‘80s. Chris often accompanied me on the trapline over the years helping in pelt preparation and keeping trails open.

“When I decided that I wanted to be a beekeeper she supported me on that project as well. When I went into politics, she bought her own beekeeper’s suit and took a deep interest in bee keeping, probably one of her best hobbies to date. She calls them her girls and along with the assistance of some great neighbours, does a good job looking after them. What can I say - she is truly an amazing woman.

“When I left the RCMP, we had the option to relocate any where in Canada. We talked about it and saw no reason to leave Prince George. I didn’t plan on it but I got into politics and hope I’ve made a contribution in making our province a little bit better for the folks who live here. We built our lives here and British Columbia is a great place to live. I love Prince George and British Columbia and I want what is best for all British Columbians.”

Mike and Chris have two sons; Matt (Heather) and Dan (Michelle) who in turn gave them five grandchildren and who they claim are perfect in every way. Their sons both live in Prince George and they are both RCMP officers.

97/16 photo by Brent Braaten Chris and Mike Morris at home.

teasing starts out to be fun, but then it goes too far and turns negative and hurtful. Some kids tease because they feel bad

sad or scared. Some kids tease to go along with the crowd. They think teasing other children will make them look

Lydia is teasing Julie about her messy hair. Circle what Julie is thinking. Why did you choose the thought you selected?

It’s okay. Lydia’s only kidding.

I’m going to tease her back the next time she has a bad hair day! This really hurts my feelings.

Look at the examples of teasing below. Cross out the examples that you think are hurtful. Circle the ones you think are funny. Not everyone will circle and cross out the same pictures. Why is that?

So, how’s it going, Four Eyes?

Nice work, Professor Einstein!

Have a friend give you each type of word to fill in the blanks. Then read the story aloud!

My friend Lawrence had the hiccups while getting a haircut. I was joking and teasing with him about it and said his haircut made him look like a _________

Funny is not the same for everyone. One person may think getting teased about their hair is funny. Another person might find getting teased about their hair painful.

What

Too much teasing is bullying. When you see bullying, there are safe things you can do to make it stop. Below are a few things you can do to help a person that has been upset by teasing. Which would you try first? With a parent, discuss each of these helpful tips.

Talk to a parent, teacher, or another adult you trust. Adults need to know when bad things happen so they can help.

Be kind to the kid being bullied. Sit with them at lunch or on the bus or invite them to do something. Just hanging out with them will help.

Not saying anything could make it worse for everyone.

The kid who is teasing will think it is ok to keep treating others that way.

Bullying is meant to hurt, intimidate, embarrass and threaten. It can happen online, through social media, through texting but also on the playground or after school. It’s important to tell a trusted adult if you are being bullied or if you see another child being bullied.

Make Silly Sentences

Go through the print or electronic edition of your newspaper and find three nouns, three verbs and six adjectives. Combine these to make three silly sentences.

Standards

It was only a joke, but it made him pretty angry. To make it up to him, I invited him to see the with my family. Lawrence cheered up when he saw a on the trapeze.

A shiny ____________ drove into the center ring and a dozen crazy ____________ climbed out of it. My dad bought us each a bag of hot _____________ and a balloon shaped like a _______.

When we got home, I apologized again to Lawrence. “It’s okay,” he said. “I can’t stay mad when I think about the _____________ ___________ we saw today!” Standards Link: Grammar: Understand and use nouns, adjectives and verbs correctly.

Pretend you have been asked to write an ad asking kids not to bully other kids. What would your advertisement say?

How’s the weather down there, Shorty?

Good catch today, Freckle Face!

is something this kid could say that is funny but not hurtful?

© 2019 by Vicki Whiting, Editor Jeff Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 35, No. 41

AROUND TOWN

MakerLab Youth Immersion exhibit

Thursday from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Two Rivers Gallery, 725 Canada Games Way, there is an opening reception of the MakerLab Youth Immersion new exhibit in the Rustad Galleria featuring work from the students. Thursdays are always free to attend and all are welcome.

Contact: 250-614-7800 | roxanne@ tworiversgallery.ca

DJ Dance Nights

Thursdays until Dec. 26 from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Omineca Arts Centre, 369 Victoria St., Thursday DJ Dance Nights are presented to get a body grooving and keep spirits and energies high. There are licenced and dry DJ nights each month featuring local, regional and touring DJs. Entry is by suggested donation of between $5 and $20, but no one is turned away due to lack of funds. For details visit www. ominecaartscentre.com.

Contact: 250-552-0826 | info@ominecaartscentre.com

Movie Under The Stars

Friday from 6:45, showtime is 7:45 to 10 p.m. at Northern Lights Estate Winery, 745 PG Pulpmill Rd., attend an evening of classic movies under the stars. The Blair Witch Project will be featured. Concession including wine, beer, and snacks (popcorn, candy and soft drinks. Chairs can be

provided, but if you would prefer a more comfortable seating experience, it is recommended to bring your own chair or blanket. Pre-purchase tickets as these events sellout fast. Tickets are $17+tax, or $15+ tax for wine club. Call 250-564-1112 or come into the Wine Shop for tickets.

BC Old Time Fiddler’s Dance

Saturday from 8 p.m. to midnight at the PG Elks Community Hall, 663 Douglas St., enjoy toe-tapping live music to swing your partner. This is the chance to do the oldtime dances like polka, waltz, schottishe, barn dance, seven step, two step. Entrance fee of $10 includes light lunch, prizes. Cash bar. Tickets available at Books & Co or at the door. Children get in free. Contact: (250) 563-1025 | beth.bressette@telus. net

Bucket List Gala

Saturday from 5:30 to 10 p.m. at the Civic Centre, 808 Canada Games Way, the Prince George Hospice Society presents the charity fundraiser dinner the Bucket List Gala, with keynote speaker bestselling author and TV host Robin Esrock. For more information visit hospiceprincegeorge.ca or call 250-563-2481.

CrossRoads Street Festival

Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Cross-

Roads Brewing, 508 George St., Crossroads is hosting Powersports, Skiing and Snowboarding Festival, featuring local recreation clubs and small businesses. The events are also intended to increase community pride and bring life back into the downtown. The daytime show is free while the evening street party is a ticketed event from 6 p.m. to midnight featuring live music, local craft beer, street food, and interactive outdoor party games. Those 19+ are welcome to attend the evening event, identification required. Tokens for food, beer, cider and wine will be sold on-site at $5 each. We’ll have tenting and the brewery indoors so these parties will occur rain or shine (no ticket refunds). Plan ahead for a safe ride home. Contact: 250-614-2337 | events@crossroadscraft.com

Downtown FallFest

Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Third Ave., the Downtown Fallfest is the latest signature festival. Bring the whole family to Downtown Fallfest where vendors and exhibitors will offer local products, green and sustainable ideas and a unique look at Prince George’s farming and entrepreneurial spirit. Enjoy unique local shopping at Prince George’s largest outdoor market of the year. Contact: 2506141330 | info@ downtownpg.com

Shred It Event

Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at CN Centre Parking Lot, 2187 Ospika Blvd. South, clean out those filing cabinets of all your

old, personal documents and bring them to the CN Centre parking lot for on-site, safe shredding. Bring as many boxes and bags as you can carry. Businesses are welcome too - just adjust your donation to reflect the quantity. Prevent identity theft and recycle with a $5 minimum donation. Enjoy a fresh and tasty Mr. Mike’s burger barbecued on site for just $5. Proceeds support local Crime Stoppers programs | www. pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca

Picklefest at the Library

Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way, During the Pickelfest there will be demos and presentations. Pickle Basics with Alise at 1 p.m., kimchi with Rebecca at 1:45 p.m., cooking with pickles with Patricia at 2:30 p.m. This event is free. Everyone welcome. Contact: 2505639251 | adhanjal@pgpl.ca

Mad Moose Marathon

Sunday from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Otway Ski Center, 8141 Otway Rd., the Mad Moose Marathon is a trail running event. All distances start and finish at the Otway Ski Center and run through a wilderness setting. Fees are $45-$65 for Ultra and Marathon; $35-$50 for half; $30-$40 for the 10 k. Entry deadline is Friday, September 20 at 6 p.m. Run times are 6 a.m.- Ultra Moose Marathon, 7:30 a.m. - Full Moose Marathon, 9:30 a.m. - Half Moose Marathon, 10:30 a.m. - 10 km. http://madmoosemarathon.ca

FINDING MY WAY TO THE BOOK ROOM

or as long as I could remember, I wanted to be a teacher.

That’s not strictly true. Up until Grade

After Grade 6 though, I did want to be a

When I got to high school, I loved nearly everything about every English class with few exceptions. My only complaint about my high school English experience is that, occasionally, someone in the class was allowed to go into the book room and choose the books for the class and that someone

My classmates would also only ever choose the shortest books they could find. Short does not equal the best book, in my opinion. Aside from feeling left out of the book room, I loved my teachers and the literature and the writing and the reading.

By the end of high school, I was convinced that I was going to be a high school

loved to read and thought I was funny. My husband and I moved to Prince George at a time where we didn’t know what we wanted to do with our lives but we knew that we wanted to have kids. We worked for a bit and I applied to UNBC to do the Bachelor’s Education program. I was accepted to the program but after some soul-searching, I decided that I could not put off having kids any longer so I declined my seat in the program.

Then the kids came and life, et cetera, et cetera, I got back to do my Master of Arts degree and, long story short, I am now teaching a few English classes at CNC and I am loving it and more than a little intimidated.

I had my first class and I realized that my class was their first introduction to post-secondary English. It is a large responsibility and I hope that I can pay the love forward that all of my teachers and professors have shown to me. I appreciate all teachers, from kindergarten to post-secondary for all of the hard work they continue to do sharing what they love with students, year after year, term after term. I am looking forward to what will be yet another busy term for me and my family.

However, once I got to university, for the first time in life, I found my people: people who were book nerds and loved discussing how books made them feel. I hope that my children end up loving the magic of reading as much as I do. University was the most fun and I slowly dropped the idea of teaching high school and started planning my academic career. I moved to Victoria to finish my bachelor’s degree, got a great job in an excellent bookstore (go, Munro’s!) and graduated with my shiny new paper. I was burnt out by the time I finished my undergrad and I took a bit of break from school. I was young, had a fun job where I was surrounded by books and people who

To all of the teachers who are prepping last-minute for their classes and staying up all night lesson planning, good luck in the term and we’ll see you on the other side.

MEGAN KUKLIS

DEALING WITH ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCE

The journey from birth to adulthood is a convoluted and risky one. The things that happen to us along the way help form who we become. We all know this intuitively, but there is science to back this up.

From 1995-1997, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) collected and analyzed data from over 17,000 individuals in Southern California. The results, known as the CDC Kaiser ACE study, demonstrated a strong connection between Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) and later physical health diagnoses. The ACEs included in the study were from three categories:

• Abuse: emotional, physical and sexual abuse

• Neglect: emotional and physical

• Household challenges: mother treated violently, substance abuse, ,mental illness, parental separation or divorced, and incarcerated household member.

Major findings include that ACEs are common among all populations; an ACE score is the total sum of all adverse experiences reported by each participant. The higher your ACE score, the higher the incidence of negative health and wellbeing outcomes as adults. Specifically, an increased risk of:

• physical Injury including traumatic brain injury, fractures and burns.

• mental health issues such as depression anxiety, suicide and PTSD.

• maternal mental health such as unintended pregnancy and pregnancy complications including infant or fetal death.

• infectious diseases such as HIV and STDs.

• chronic disease like cancer and diabetes.

• risky behaviours including alcohol and drug use and unsafe sex.

• lack of opportunities including education, occupation and income.

Since the initial study in 1995-97, all states have started collecting this same data across

OPEN FOR DISCUSSION

CHRISTINE RICKARDS

the U.S. with similar results across all demographics.

But it’s not all bad news. A subsequent study looked at resiliency factors and found even in the face of high ACE scores, these factors can decrease the long-term risks to health and increase opportunities. Some of the resiliency factors are:

• feeling loved by parents as an infant/child.

• feeling loved by extended family as an infant/child.

• recalling being a source of pleasure/enjoyment as a child.

• having a safe person as a child.

• feeling well liked as a child.

• having supportive people outside family as a child (teachers, pastor, coach, etc).

• having a significant adult care about how you were doing in school.

• being exposed to forward looking positive role models.

• growing up with household rules.

• having access to trusted people during hard times.

• having adults notice your strengths as a child.

• being self-motivated as a child.

• believing you can impact your future. Do you have a young person in your life? The above list is so encouraging for those of us fortunate enough to have even a small window of opportunity to invest in an impressionable child or youth. We can’t always impact a child’s ACEs but we can help to build resilience.

I was fortunate to have several supportive adults surrounding me as a child. They were people who loved me and showed it with kindness, encouragement and enjoying my presence. I don’t remember their exact words or deeds but I recall in detail how they made me feel about myself. In contrast, I also remember a few people who made me feel scared and unsafe. In retrospect, I can easily see how those frightening experiences contributed to the development of anxiety in later years.

If you would like to know more about ACEs research, go to the ACEs Connection website. At this site you can take both the ACEs quiz and get your resiliency score.

It is never too late to start building resiliency in yourself or others. Our brains are very plastic. Contrary to old beliefs, we can build new

SOLUTION TO: NICKNAME CALLING

neuropathways at almost any age. What we say to ourselves about ourselves; what others say to us, sticks with us and contributes to our beliefs about ourselves.

If you find yourself surrounded by negative messages about yourself, learn to speak kindly to yourself. Learn to find your strength while you find your way away from these negative messages.

As adults we can choose our friends, but as children we cannot choose our family and home. So I urge you to edit yourself carefully around all people, but especially around children. When we see the long-term effects of harsh and abusive treatment, on both physical and mental health and on economic futures, we must also see the role we as adults have to play in changing the future for all children.