Prince George Citizen November 7, 2019

PRINCE GEORGE

THURSDAY

November 7, 2019

rangers remember at france memorial

MARK NIELSEN Citizen Staff

It’s known as Canada’s Forgotten Battle.

Over 11 days in August 1917, three divisions and one reserve of Canadian troops took what became known at Hill 70 near Lens, France, fending off five German divisions in the process.

The battle took place four months after the Battle of Vimy Ridge, regarded as the day Canada became a nation and so, has overshadowed Hill 70.

But thanks to an eight-year campaign that raised $12.5 million in donations and gifts in kind - almost all of it from private sources - a memorial is now in place to commemorate the battle.

On Oct. 2, more than 30 Rocky Mountain Rangers were among those who attended a day of commemoration to formally open the memorial and also to remember the sacrifices of one of their own.

Private Frederick Lee was a member of the Rocky Mountain Rangers’ forerunner, the 172nd Battalion. Lee, who grew up in

Kamloops and was a Canadian-born soldier of Chinese heritage, died in the battle.

“At the time, Canada didn’t recognize Chinese Canadians as citizens,” noted Adam Davey, an officer in the Rangers’ Bravo company in Prince George. Alpha company is based in Kamloops.

At the centre of the Hill 70 Memorial is a striking white limestone obelisk, overlooking an ampitheatre partly surrounded by an elevated walkway. It is named after Lee, who came to symbolize the 1,877 Canadians who died in the battle.

Following the main ceremony, a Ranger honour guard marched along that path and to a pair of park benches made possible through donations from the Rangers’ retired members.

“The whole site is quite fascinating,” Davey said. “The Frederick Lee walkway is supposed to resemble the trenches, so it’s concrete on either side and as you’re walking up this hill, it then opens up to the cenotaph at the top.”

For Davey, who served in Afghanistan, the walk brought home something the

history books simply cannot deliver - how daunting the task was for the troops.

“As an infantry officer, I’m looking at the ground and thinking ‘wow, it would’ve been nearly impossible to take the position tactically,’” he said. “It was certainly quite emotional.”

But take it they did, and then fended off 21 German counterattacks after doing so.

Much of the credit has gone to a Canadian-born commander – Arthur Currie.

By then the portly real estate speculator from Victoria had gained the respect of the high command as the chief planner for Vimy and had been promoted to lieutenant general and given command of the Canadian Corps. He had then been ordered to attack and capture Lens, a small industrial city north of Vimy, to divert the Germans from reinforcing Ypres.

Currie refused and had he been a newlyminted British lieutenant general, he probably would have been sent home, historian John Cowan said in an account posted at Hill70.ca.

continued on page 3

PLASTIC BAG BAN PLAN ON HOLD

City council’s quest to formally rid the Prince George’s checkout stands of plastic bags has been put on hold.

City council members unanimously agreed during the Oct. 23 meeting to wait until a provincial government public consultation on the issue has been completed before taking any concrete steps.

The consultation was launched after the Canadian Plastic Bag Association convinced the B.C. Supreme Court to overturn a ban imposed by the City of Victoria. The court found the ban was outside municipal jurisdiction because the purpose is to protect the natural environment and that is a provincial responsibility.

“It’s expected that by late 2019, further direction and guidance will be given by the province on the jurisdiction and powers of local government in regulating plastic waste and single-use plastic bags,” Engineering and Public Works General Manager Dave Dyer told council. “City staff will prepare a report to council once this direction is announced to consider next steps.”

In July, council unanimously endorsed Coun. Murry Krause’s proposal to direct staff to draft a report on how best to “regulate” single-use plastic bags.

In deciding to take a wait-and-see approach, council also directed staff to develop a public education campaign on the issue. Cost of such a campaign is estimated at $10,000 to $15,000.

According to a staff report, Prince George residents go through an estimated 14.8 million plastic checkout bags a year.

Members of the Rocky Mountain Rangers at the Hill 70 Memorial near Lens, France.

MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff

MURRY KRAUSE

REMEMBRANCE DAY SCHEDULE

CITIZEN STAFF

The annual Remembrance Day ceremony will take place Monday at the Prince George Civic Centre.

Organizers ask the public to be seated by 9 a.m. in time for the 9:15 start.

The original seating plan has been reinstated as it provided more seating for those in attendance.

The parade will start to march from the Civic Centre at 10:45 a.m. and will head to

the cenotaph.

A short service will be conducted with the last post at 11 a.m. followed by two minutes of silence. Wreaths will be laid before the marchers head back to the Civic Centre where participants will be dismissed.

Members of the public who wish to lay personal wreaths and poppies can do so after the march away.

The Royal Canadian Legion, 1116 Sixth Ave., will be open for business following the service.

it was quite emotional

continued from page 1

But he was not and instead, his superiors agreed with a proposal to take the high ground outside the city.

Interestingly, Currie’s ability to evaluate the ground, “learned from his real estate days,” would prove decisive.

But not without loss as the attack cost the Canadians some 3,500 casualties and a further 2,200 in the German counterattack. The count for the Germans is unknown but believed to have exceeded 20,000.

“The successful battle for Hill 70 was the watershed,” Cowan said. “After that, the Canadian Corps was viewed as a national allied army, and Currie as a national force commander.”

Currie brought on a “distinct Canadian way of war,” in which he made sure the troops were more thoroughly equipped.

During the period known as the 100 Days, the Canadian Corps defeated 47 German divisions, one more than did the Americans while taking half the casualties and using twice the number of artillery shells.

“Currie’s slogan was “Pay the price of victory in shells, not men,’” Cowan said.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE

Poppies are placed on the Veterans Memorial at Memorial Park Cemetery on Sunday morning during the Military Church Parade and Veterans Memorial Ceremony.

CITIZEN STAFF

Forests Minister Doug Donaldson has approved the transfer of forest tenure from Conifex Timber Inc. to Hampton Lumber Mills, clearing the way for construction of a new sawmill in Fort St. James.

In a statement, Donaldson said he okayed the transfer because it is in the public interest.

“As a condition of the transfer, Hampton has committed to build a new mill in Fort St. James that will be operational within 36 months of closing the transaction with Conifex,” Donaldson said.

“It is my expectation that Hampton will continue to work closely with First Nations to develop business and capacity-building arrangements and hire local workers. In addition, it must meet with the United Steelworkers’ local, and continue discussions with Fort St. James Green Energy and local logging contractors.”

The transfer consists of forest licence and associated road permits.

Hampton has committed to build a new mill in Fort St. James that will be operational within 36 months

In June, the companies announced a $39-million deal that would see Oregonbased Hampton Lumber take over Conifex’s operations in Fort St. Jame, subject to Donaldson’s approval.

At the time, Hampton CEO Steve Zika said the company intends to build a new sawmill in Fort St. James and operated in partnership with area First Nations and community partners, “similar to a successful joint venture we have with the Burns Lake Native Development Corporation in the Burns Lake area.”

Conifex’s existing Fort St. James mill was shut down on May 13.

Nechako-Lakes MLA and Opposition forestry critic John Rustad called the

development a positive step for the community but added it took the government took four months to make a decision even though Hampton made its intentions clear at the outset.

“I’m not sure what value was added to the discussion because this was the deal and the intent all along,” he said. “If it locks in the commitment, I suppose that’s a positive but having the uncertainty out there for months on end rather than getting to the deal and moving on is unfortunate.”

A decision could have been made in a “matter of a month, maybe,” he suggested.

Through Bill 22, passed in May, the forests minister has final say on whether a transfer of tenure can go ahead. Opposition Liberals have been highly critical of the measure, saying it creates additional bureaucracy that hinders companies ability to operate.

Rustad said the definition of public interest remains vague and subjective.

“In this case, it worked out but it may not always work out,” he said.

In the statement, Donaldson said government had little say on such transactions prior to Bill 22.

fer would be considered. This is one sizeable step in making sure that the people who live near the forests are first in line to benefit from that resource,” Donaldson said.

The deal remains subject to “remaining customary closing conditions,” but is expected to be completed soon, the companies said in a statement.

NEW SAWMILL COMING TO FORT ST. JAMES research into firefighter health underway

“Now, those companies must be fully engaged with First Nations, workers and local governments before any tenure trans-

CITIZEN STAFF

“This project is important because it establishes a partnership between UNBC and the B.C. Wildfire Service,”

Researchers at the University of Northern British Columbia will spend the next year studying the impacts of wildfire exposure on firefighters.

Dr. Chelsea Pelletier, an assistant professor at UNBC’s School of Health Sciences, is leading the project.

“This project is important because it establishes a partnership between UNBC and the B.C. Wildfire Service,” said Pelletier. “We are hoping to help the BCWS develop a program of research that reflects the priorities of key stakeholders, most importantly wildfire fighters themselves so that we can better understand the health risk and mitigation strategies.”

Once complete, the results, combined with previous research, will support the

development of a long-term research strategy for worker health. This project is expected to be completed by summer 2020.

The B.C. Wildfire Service is funding the project for $125,000 through the Canadian Partnership for Wildland Fire Science, also known as Canada Wildfire, with additional support from the Health Research Institute and the newly created Knowledge Synthesis Centre at UNBC.

A further $180,000 is going to a research project led by a University of Alberta professor.

Dr. Nicola Cherry, the tripartite chair of occupational health with the Division of Preventive Medicine at U of A will look at the nature and compounds of the wood smoke, the effectiveness of respiratory protective equipment and determine whether wildland firefighters have more chronic lung disease than other people of the same age, gender and geographic location.

So far, about 50 B.C. Wildfire Service firefighters have taken part in this study. Alberta firefighters are also taking part.

A progress report on the initial phase of this project is expected in March 2020.

JOHN RUSAD

NEW HOME FOR ELDER

CITIZEN STAFF

For the first time in more than 15 years, a house warming was held on the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation’s Shelley reserve.

Elder Peter John was presented with the keys Friday to a brand-new 900-square-foot two-bedroom home. Five more are in the process of being completed with the last of them scheduled for occupation by the end of January.

The ceremony was a long time coming for Lheidli T’enneh Chief Clay Pountney, who said he was just a teenager the last time a new home was built on the reserve.

With about 70 people on a waiting list to come back to the reserve and a stock of aging homes in need of replacement or upgrading, Pountney said it’s only the beginning.

“We have a community housing plan and we’ve been following that,” Pountney said, adding the aim is to make a handful of new lots ready for construction each year.

John’s home, and the five others like his, stand apart from the ungainly bread box style that dominates the reserve.

Measuring a cozy 900-square feet, it features a covered carport, a peaked and shingled roof and Hardieplank-style siding over top of an inch of insulation.

Inside, it has wider hallways and doors to accommodate people with mobility challenges, ample storage, a cubby hole

Lheidli T’enneh elder Peter John tours his newly-built house on Tl’ughus Road for the first time last Friday morning. It is one of six new rental houses built by the Lheidli T’enneh Nation.

holding a washer and drier, and a small wood stove strategically located between the living room and dining area. A wood shed is situated a few steps away from the three new homes on the reserve’s south side.

The homes, which will remain in the LTFN’s name and be rented out to members, were designed with extensive consultation with the community and with an emphasis on energy efficiency. A heated slab was considered but abandoned due to cost-effectiveness in favour of a four-foot crawl space which Pountney said keeps the heat on the floor.

“Cozy, warm. I think you could light a couple of candles to heat the place. “That’s how well insulated they are,” he said. They were also designed with elders in mind. They are compact and easy to main-

tain and the second bedroom is meant for a family member or caregiver who can help with an elder’s day-to-day needs.

Pountney credited former LTFN Chief Dominic Frederick and the previous council for getting the projects off the ground. Financing for the homes, which cost about $220 per square foot, came from a combination of own-source revenues from the band’s various businesses and government, notably Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Eberle and Sons Construction began work on the homes in May and the last of them is scheduled for completion by the end of January.

Looking ahead, Pountney said some four-bedroom family-oriented housing is in the works.

pet adoption event

CITIZEN STAFF

Pets will be available for adoption from B.C. SPCA shelters at a discount on Saturday.

That’s when the agency’s second-annual Fall Head Over Tails in Love! day is being held at all facilities, including the North Cariboo District branch at 4011 Lansdowne Rd.

Most of the animals in SPCA care, including dogs, cats, kittens, puppies, rats and guinea pigs will be eligible for 50 per cent off the adoption fee and BC Pet Registry fee.

Adoption discounts for farm animals will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

“Welcoming a rescued animal into your home is a rewarding experience for everyone involved,” said B.C. SPCA’s chief operations officer Mark Takhar. “As always, our top priority is to ensure that every animal finds their perfect people, so our usual matching process will be in effect for this event.”

CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE

CNC STUDENTS FIX ICE OVAL TRUCK

CHRISTINE HINZMANN Citizen staff chinzmann@pgcitizen.ca

With a tight budget and a leaky water truck, it was time for a local non-profit to reach out to the community for a bit of help.

Dick Voneugen of the Ice Oval Society of Prince George heard the College of New Caledonia has a program for mechanics that might take on the project.

He reached out to Randy Kempster, instructor for CNC’s school of trades and technology, heavy mechanical.

The foundations program is nine months long and offers students knowledge of the basics about engines, transmissions, hydraulics, safety and tools.

“We take in customer’s units and fix them,” Kempster said. “They may be in there for a day, they may be in there for 10 months.”

A 10-month project would see students working on a complete engine and transmission overhaul, Kempster gave as an example. The college offers the labour for free and the customer pays for the parts.

“So for the ice oval water truck, we fixed some hydraulic leaks, there had been a fire underneath it so we fixed a bunch of burned wiring, burned hydraulic hoses, resealed the main lift cylinder, resealed the plow cylinder, and replaced the main dump truck box cylinder,” Kempster said.

It was a big job, Voneugen said.

Alex Paulson, heavy mechanical trades foundation, first year CNC student, left, Ice Oval Society member Dick Voneugen, Logan Verveek, student, and Randy Kempster, instructor for CNC’s school of trades and technology, heavy mechanical got together at the CNC Heavy Mechanical Trades Training Building last week to talk about how the ice oval’s water truck was fixed.

“These guys jumped in and over the summer fixed the whole truck up,” Voneugen said. “There’s no more leaks and it’s back at the shop.”

Working to help organizations in Prince George is important to the college students.

“It’s kind of nice to be able to give back to the community,” Alex Paulson, first year CNC student, said. He’ll focus on being a mechanic for heavy equipment during his career. “I love the course. There’s a lot of hands-on experience as well as the classroom teaching.”

Working on the water truck offered opportunities to the students who didn’t even know where the ice oval was located in Prince George.

“It’s a really good experience,” Logan Verveek, a first-year CNC student, said. Both Verveek and Paulson agreed they really liked the idea of working on a diverse selection of vehicles and fixing the working parts of the water truck was a great learning experience for both of them.

Volunteering works in every language

DSENIORS’ SCENE

KATHY NADALIN

ennis Hausselman was born in Montreal. He spoke French right up to Grade 6 when his parents decided to move to British Columbia for work.  His father worked as a production baker and found work in Burnaby.

This was a difficult time for Dennis, who was now a 13-year-old student attending school in Surrey and he could not speak English. The school set him back two years which meant that when he was nearly 20 years old when he left high school one credit short for a diploma. He decided not to stay another year in school to earn his diploma and found work instead at CN Rail. He worked as an apprentice car-man in the townsite of Port Mann. The Port Mann townsite was created in 1911 in the municipality of Surrey.  The new town was intended to adjoin the new railway yard and roundhouse forming the terminus of the new trans-national rail-line operated by CN Rail.

Dennis met and married Yvonne Lavers in 1972; they separated many years later. They have two daughters – Irene and Amie – who in turn gave them four grandchildren.

Dennis eventually went to work for BC Rail in Squamish and then moved to Endako to work in the Endako molybdenum mine as an uncertified millwright doing mill and mine repairs.

He said, “The mine laid off 500 workers in one day and I was one of them. I tried to talk to both the company and the union about going back to negotiations to avoid the layoffs. I explained to both sides that no paycheck meant no paycheck for all of us but it didn’t work. I put myself in the middle of it all and pretty soon both sides were mad at me.

“I stayed in Fraser Lake for another year and went back to work for CN Rail. I could see that there was no future for us in Fraser Lake so I loaded up my family and moved to Prince George.

“We bought a house and after three years with CN Rail I went to work for BC Rail. I did yard work, regular repairs and worked on the RIP line also known as

repair work on the running inspection point. I retired in 2005 after nearly 20 years of service.”

Dennis had an interest in trap shooting and is proud to say that over the years he earned both gold and silver medals in several trap shooting competitions.

When he retired, he looked for suitable and meaningful employment and decided to do volunteer work instead.

Dennis is a member and a volunteer at the Prince George Tabernacle Church and he currently volunteers and ministers at the street church at St. Michaels, The Well, The Broken Bread Church, The Way Native Ministry and the Life Centre – a drop-in centre for the underprivileged.

He volunteered extensively at the 2015

Canada Winter Games. Dennis ended by saying, “Moving to Prince George was a good move.  This is a great place to live and there are many great people doing good things in this city.”

***

November birthdays that I know about: Nell Glass turns 99, Mary Kordyban, Shirley Bond, Eva Buchi (93), Noreen Rustad, Jim Rustad, Ginny Jenkins, Lorraine Anderson, Ann O’Shea, Karen Loehndorf, Maurice Mingay, Ken Royston, Bev Kelly, Maureen Braun, Jeanette Hawkenson, Josephine Lloyd, Darrell Rutledge, Carron Dunn, Robin Wright, Wendy Schmidt, Helen Eberherr, Ed Parent, Gale Russell, Randy Sokolowski, Jean Staniland, Maureen Suter, Rita Svatos, Ken Dahl, Eva Switzer, Margaret Toyata, Andrea Palombo, Myrna Lemke, Barbara Fairservice, Pat Collicutt, Dolly Girard, Bill Roper, Bill Smith, Agnes Lavale, Lindsay Hick, Christena Benwell, John Sunley, Lynn Anderson, Sharon Halvorson, Annette Kennedy, Fred Schaefer, Bill Heather, Marlene Arndt, Maureen Braun, Jack Paul, Sharon Paul, Mario Domenis, Lucien Prevost, Avis Giroday, Neil Hunter, Leno Ouellette, Rose Mcgregor, Sylvia Fetterly, Roy Ceal, Derrick Fife, Janice Rivers and Diane Trenaman.

***

November anniversaries that I know about: 66 years for John and Iva Lovett, 59 years for Ted and Carol Haugland, 57 years for Elmer and Maureen Braun, 54 years for Walter and Betty Wessner, 53 years for Vern and Verna Wright, 51 years for Roland and Edna Rouleau and 43 years for Larry and Kelly Flath.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE

Dennis Hausselman remains a busy volunteer in his retirement years.

MORE JAIL TIME FOR SEX SHOP B&E studio fair

CITIZEN STAFF

A MAN SUSPECTED OF BREAKING INTO A LOCAL SEX SHOP TWICE IN THE SAME WEEK HAS BEEN SENTENCED TO A FURTHER 197 DAYS IN JAIL AND ONE YEAR PROBATION FOR ONE OF THE INCIDENTS.

Clayton Tyler Moll was issued the term in provincial court on Oct. 22. He had remained in custody since July 2 when he was arrested near Dr. Love on Patricia Boulevard near Victoria Street.

Charges from an alleged June 27 incident at the same store were stayed.

The sentence was also applied to a July 1 break and enter. Co-accused Victor Willier was sentenced to one year probation in September.

DRUGS, CASH SEIZED

CITIZEN STAFF

A SIGNIFICANT QUANTITY OF COCAINE AND NEARLY $15,000 CASH WAS SEIZED AND THREE PEOPLE WERE ARRESTED IN A SERIES OF SEARCHES ON FIVE HOME, PRINCE GEORGE RCMP SAID.

Backed in part by the North District

RCMP emergency response team, the detachment’s street crew unit executed search warrants on homes on Lyon Street, Conveyor Street, Simpson Road and Isle Pierre Road, as well as a storage unit on Highway 97 North.

Two men, ages 54 and 49, and a 50-yearold woman were arrested an later released pending further investigation and consideration for charge approval. Their names were not released.

The detachment’s serious crimes section and dog service and the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. were also involved in the operation.

ROBBERY CHARGES LAID

CITIZEN STAFF ngodbout@pgcitizen.ca

A MAN SUSPECTED OF THREATENING AN EMPLOYEE WITH AN UNCAPPED NEEDLE WHILE SHOPLIFTING HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH TWO COUNTS OF ROBBERY.

Harvey Jerome Leon Chingee, 33, was arrested on Oct. 23, a day after the alleged incident at an Austin Road business.

Chingee had fled the scene but was iden-

tified and picked up on so-called “welfare Wednesday” when income assistance payments are handed out.

It’s typically the busiest day of the month for RCMP as they deal with a jump in calls, often for public drunkenness and drug-related offences.

Police have had more than 40 negative contacts with Chingee this year, RCMP said.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE

Patrons check out a booth of one of the more than 200 vendors at the 43rd annual Studio Fair on Saturday at the Prince George Civic Centre.

Homelessness needs huge effort

Fifteen years ago, dozens of logging trucks drivers were being killed or seriously injured every year in B.C. forests.

The RCMP said it wasn’t their problem because logging roads aren’t public streets or highways and there weren’t laws being broken that were causing harm to the drivers.

Worksafe BC said it wasn’t their problem because the drivers were rested and safely driving properly working trucks.

ICBC said it wasn’t their problem because the drivers were qualified to drive their trucks and load, which were properly insured.

The forest companies said it wasn’t their problem because the logging truck drivers were independent contractors who were responsible for their own safety after driving away from the logging sites.

The Ministry of Forests said it wasn’t their problem because their job is to manage forests, not to manage the hauling of logs to the mill.

Only when the provincial government

brought all of the stakeholders to the table was the problem in its totality addressed. With the money and authoring to change things and the oversight to maintain those changes, the preventable accidents and deaths were all but eliminated.

Until the provincial (and federal) governments get involved with homelessness and street populations, little will change.

Municipal governments will say there is only so much they can do with zoning and bylaws. If there is illegal activity going on, residents should call the police.

Municipal police forces will say there is only so much they can legally do to stop street populations from petty theft, vandalism, littering, panhandling, public intoxication and antisocial behaviours often caused by drugs, mental health issues or a combination of both because once people are arrested and charged, they are often free to go until their court date. If someone is overdosing, an ambulance should be called.

Health agencies say there is only so much they can do to treat patients with emergencies, offer ongoing mental health and addictions treatment and

RCMP NEED OUR HELP

I’m not exactly the esteemed Christie Blatchford or even a novice police beat reporter. And given my lone ride-along that I voluntarily ended before the bars closed on Saturday, as well as a single interview with another member for an hour, large gaps are inevitable in what follows. But the takeaway from my short time with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is that our most iconic institution and its personnel are facing serious challenges from every possible direction.

I promised to make no notes nor any recordings during this escapade. Given the media bias surrounding the RCMP, from the exaggerated reports on the Cypress Hills’ massacre of my ancestors that facilitated their hasty inception as “police” while wearing the red serge of the British Empire, to the recent ramblings of a local editor about how carbines should be left locked up at the detachment, earning their trust was no small task.

It is my solemn intention to keep it. With these caveats stated, the Mount-

RIGHT OF CENTRE NATHAN GIEDE

ies’ issues mirror those of most organizations - the loss of institutional knowledge as senior members retire, a recruiting deficit, stretched resources due to budget cuts, as well as the growing disconnect between the thin blue line of members on the road and the swelling ranks of desk-bound management. Add to this that frontline police are falling behind in compensation and the unionization push by uniformed members makes sense.

Of course, as the token right wing pundit, it is incumbent upon me to write on issues of policing and state control. To be clear, we do not live in a police state, whatever conspiracists might say; we do however live in a policed state, where files documenting all of our interactions with the RCMP are available at the touch of a button. No clear alternative

harm reduction program. If someone needs food, clothing and/or accommodation, there are social agencies available to help.

Social agencies will say their mission is providing life’s basic necessities.

Until the provincial (and federal) governments get involved with homelessness and street populations, little will change.

If their clients are loitering inside or panhandling outside of a downtown business, the owner or manager should complain to the city.

Round and round it goes.

The tragic irony is that street populations, local residents and downtown business owners and operators are all being victimized by the same bureaucratic logjam. Downtown businesses

deserve a safe place to work, local residents deserve safe streets, street populations deserve a safe environment to receive compassionate assistance and support to improve their lives.

The current mess in Prince George’s downtown and in cities across the province and country is what happens when individual stakeholders each do their part with insufficient coordination and oversight.

Whether it’s logging truck drivers or street populations, the strategic goal boils down to one word: safety.

If Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the provincial premiers and Indigenous leaders are looking for a national unification project that transcends politics and would significantly improve communities everywhere to the benefit of all Canadians, homelessness and street populations would be a fine place to start.

It’ll take time, money and agencies used to doing their own thing with little accountability having to answer for their actions and inaction. But it will certainly better than the ongoing fiasco happening now, with no end in sight.

- Editor-in-chief Neil Godbout

presents itself to me, especially given our society’s demand that the police anticipate every kind of criminal activity.

As stated in previous columns, the way to remain under the radar of any surveillance based organization is to either not do crimes or to not get caught doing them. During the ride along, only one person out of the several stopped and questioned had no previous contact with police. Keeping such close tabs on citizens does raise my civil liberty hackles, but any reader of this paper can vouch that the same characters feature over and over again in the court docket.

I was given the chance to experience the adrenaline that ensues from a high-speed rendezvous when another Mountie calls for back-up, lights and siren blaring. That’s the RCMP’s greatest asset: the fraternity born out of everyone completing the same training at depot in Regina. Thus, members are loathe to do anything that might betray the sacred bond between them, which explains why a culture of silence manifests when the police are being investigated.

Contrary to popular caricatures, a

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Mountie’s life isn’t all Timmies and driving as if Road Warrior was an instructional video. Cases are worked on a priority basis, with topics spanning the most mundane to the incredibly tragic: scanning for a miscreant who was testing car doors, or following up on an alleged assault, or even delivering the age-old line “...I regret to inform you...” late at night at a citizen’s front door, the RCMP are in constant motion while on watch.

More Mounties are needed here and across the country. But with the total commitment required by our federal police force, new members are slow to join, as the worklife balance has not evolved to 21st century expectations, from stability to salary. This also causes stress for RCMP with young families, as securing daycare or settling into a new town adds to their already difficult vocation. Perhaps childminding and preschool facilities should be offered at 455 Victoria.

George Orwell noted, “we sleep soundly in our beds because of those who stand guard over us.”

Until we create an alternative, that duty falls to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

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a path forward for conservatism

Political pundits have been busily declaring the way forward for the Conservative Party is to the left. That would be the worst possible outcome of this election for all Canadians. Moving to the left would leave a wide swath of Canadians without any representation. Worse, it would remove the most important social conservative value from the public square. The left, centre, and many right leaning people take this value for granted.

This socially conservative value has been stuffed into a closet and its time to “out” it. The social conservative value is “freedom of conscience,” or the more modern-sounding “freedom of choice.”

You may ask: “How is freedom of choice a conservative value? All I hear about is social conservatives want to restrict choice!” I grant that too often that has seemed to

LETTER

FAIR SHAKE FOR FIRST NATIONS

Prime Minister Trudeau did his first press conference and how he intends to move forward with a minority government. Personally, nothing much has changed in the way he governs, for the past four years he has tried to be everything to everyone. He was criticized for lacking insight, coming from a place of privilege and not connecting with Canadians from coast-tocoast-to-coast over the years and especially while campaigning. Mr. Trudeau’s insight will be tested in the next 18 months on his ability to harness the leadership. It will be his actions that speaks volumes and reunites Canadians.

We in Canada and around the globe have critical issues to attack and resolve or work collectively to move in the right direction to

be the message, but therein lies the problem – and the opportunity – for the right-of centre party, currently the Conservative Party of Canada.

First though, an historical tip: freedom of conscience was a primary tenant of the Anabaptist movement that came out of the Reformation. After years of church and state being joined, people died for their right to believe, and act, as they chose without interference of the government.

Past Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (a Liberal!) espoused the idea of freedom of conscience when he said: “There is no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.”

However, unlike consenting adults’ sexual preferences which Trudeau referred to, some rights compel others to act, and sometimes against their will, so then whose conscience wins?

Politically, do we compel our federal party leaders to actively participate in and advocate for things they don’t believe in, in effect telling them they must, in order to be

resolve for our future generations. The days of living for today are over – we all require more insight, more compassion and a better vision for the future for our children and grandchildren.

Mr. Trudeau should take the voting results with disappointment. There is a blatant divide in our country and this rests at his doorstep under Liberal governance. The burning question for Canadians is how do we as a country reunite. We seem to be pre-occupied and worried about Quebec and the influence they have for dividing our country.

Quebec has openly and aggressively protected their language, culture and status in Canada. This is not going to change. We have an evolving Canada through immigration and whether it was First Nations or Euro-Canadians, Quebec will protect their culture and language. New Canadians and

qualified to run for our top office?

Force Andrew Scheer to march in a Gay Pride Parade, Justin Trudeau to march for 40 Days of Life, and Jagmeet Singh to take holy communion in a Catholic church?

Force Elizabeth May to whip her MPs to vote against their conscience, and Justin Trudeau to reinstate Jody Wilson- Raybould as justice minister?

Interesting, but let’s rather not.

None of these is a good look in a free country.

We also need to consider that our rights, at some point, require assistance from others in order to be properly fulfilled.

For example, if I have the right to clean water, is someone compelled to provide it? If I have the right to an education, who provides it? If I have the right to a late-term abortion, who is compelled to perform it?

If I have a right to die by assisted suicide, who is compelled to kill me? If I have a rare disease and require drugs that cost millions of dollars a year, is my life worth more than

many older Canadians will not or choose not to remember what happened during the Meech Lake Accord. Quebec wanted their unique place enshrined in the Constitution and it was Elijah Harper (a First Nations man) and several chiefs from across the country who stopped this from happening. To give Quebec their place in Canada and do it because they didn’t sign any agreements with Canada, this can be said for many, many First Nations, as well as the Métis people of Canada.

So, fearful Canadians and new citizens, I wouldn’t lose too much sleep on Quebec. What I would worry about is the separation and alienation we witnessed in this election across the country.

I am of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation and with a minority government being represented by all the stripes, let’s not forget the creation of bands was the work

your right to keep a few more dollars in your pockets to save for your kid’s education? This problem of balancing rights and restrictions opens up an opportunity for the Conservative Party to build policy and campaigns around the freedom of choice. Only in conservatism can freedom of conscience find its best expression. It is the value that fits perfectly with the more well-known conservative values of smaller government, lower taxes, less regulation, and most importantly, few, if any, laws compelling certain behavior. Governing is both representation and leadership. The Conservative leader that can clearly, confidently, articulate a vision of a Canada that values personal choice by protecting the right to act (representation,) and without compelling people to act against their conscience (leadership,) will be the one that can attract people from the right – and the left. by Trudy Klassen

of government and today they use it against us. People still decry what the government provides the indigenous people, so here is a simple solution.There is no denying our people are the original peoples when the colonizers created government and evolved to where it is today. Instead of treaties, why not share in all taxation to the tribes who occupied the territory where industry operates, towns and cities are built and property owners live? Give us a fair and equitable portion of all taxes collected to the First Nation and then offer us the same deal as Canadians.

Don’t take our land and resources in exchange for the welfare state our people live in.

Jo-Anne Berezanski North Saanich

CONTROL STARTS WITH OURSELVES

It is said that successful people are not those without problems, they are simply those who deal effectively with their problems.

This is an easy claim to make, but what does it really mean?

Stephen Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, tells us that between stimulus and response there is a gap, and it is in this gap where we find our greatest human freedom, the freedom to choose our response.

This sounds wonderful, but what is in this gap, and what do we do there? Does it mean taking a walk when I am upset and thinking about why I am so upset, and why my anger is justified? Is this gap simply the time I need to figure out a way to get even?

Not exactly. Vengeance is always tempting, but it is unlikely to bring us the longterm success we are looking for.

The concept of making effective use of this gap is beautifully explained by Covey’s

son Sean in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens.

First it is necessary to simply observe oneself. “I can feel my heart rate increasing and my muscles tensing. I must be angry. I wonder why I find this so upsetting. Do I really want to hand the control of my emotions over to this other person?”

Learning to meditate is an amazing way to expand the gap. As my skills in this area evolved, I was amazed at how time actually seemed to slow down and allow me to calmly contemplate my next step.

From this place of calm, one can more easily get in tune with our natural sense of right and wrong. The human conscience tells us to embrace the universal principles which we know are life-giving. The Seven Sacred Teachings given to us by our Indigenous elders offer us a beautiful summary. They tell us to seek humility, honesty, respect, courage, truth, wisdom and love. If we can do so, we are sure to move in the

plants are nature's chemists

With those words, the three witches of Macbeth concoct a foul brew. It contains tiger guts and filleted fenny snake, eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog. Indeed, it is a rather macabre blend of materials that rhyme.

After all, Shakespeare was a playwright. It does contain two interesting ingredients – a 31 day-old toad from under a cold stone and a hemlock root. Interesting because a number of toads excrete chemical compounds with psychotropic or toxic effects and hemlock – conium maculatum – is a poisonous biennial. (Not to be confused with the hemlock tree!)

In both toad secretions and hemlock, the active ingredients are alkaloids which are a class of organic compounds defined by containing nitrogen and with pronounced physiological effects. Natural alkaloids include drugs, such as morphine and quinine, and poisons, such as atropine and strychnine. Many of the “street drugs” in use today – from heroin to crystal meth –are alkaloids.

Whether Shakespeare knew about the potential for toads and hemlock to act as drugs or not is something left to literary historians but the pursuit and prosecution of witches was certainly occurring in his time. Often the individuals involved were

right direction.

This leads us to imagine what could happen in the future. The great Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist, when enduring the cruelty and suffering of life in a concentration camp, would imagine himself teaching about his experience years in the future. These thoughts became the basis of Frankl’s classic work, Man’s Search For Meaning, one of the most influential books ever written.

Imagining the future allows us to find meaning in our suffering. We are able to turn our negative experiences into wisdom and inspiration to fulfill our purpose as human beings. Just like Frankl, we have a significant mission to accomplish in life. Why would we allow a negative experience to relinquish this awesome potential to do good?

Responding positively to negative situations is not easy, however. Thus, Sean Covey tells us that the final act for us to

local healers and goodwives who used herbs and plants, including hemlock, as medicine. Many of the plants they routinely used contained active alkaloids but this didn’t make them witches.

I should point out plants are a rich source of phytochemicals – including alkaloids. There are hundreds of thousands of chemical compounds found in plants ranging from simple substances such as cellulose to complex substances such as chlorophyll. Plants are the original and still the most prolific producers of chemical compounds on the planet (although a case could be made for micro-organisms).

We tend to think of plants as benign

take in the gap is to embrace our willpower. I choose not to scream and act out. I choose to walk away from provocation. I choose to be my best self and then I carry out the actions which I know are right. Life is not easy and we are not perfect beings. There is also a great deal that we do not control. We can’t do anything about the past or about earlier decisions we’ve made. Governments change, economies shift, people let us down, we experience downturns in our health.

The only thing we control is ourselves. We can choose our attitude and response to any given situation. This is our greatest human strength. We simply need to embrace it.

- 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.

but nothing could be further from the truth. Plants can’t run away when they’re attacked. They’re rooted to the spot. As a consequence, plants employ chemical warfare to prevent organisms from eating them.

Numerous common plants are toxicbuttercup, daffodil, hyacinth, iris, mistletoe, potato sprouts - the list goes on. The symptoms of poisoning can vary from a mild stomach ache or swelling of the throat to damage to the liver, kidneys, or other organs.

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS

By James Doyle

Right,The College Heights Cougars hoist the Matt Pearce Memorial Trophy on Friday evening at Masich Place Stadium after defeating the Nechako Valley Vikings to become P.G. Bowl champs.

Second right, The Duchess Park Condors senior girls volleyball team pose with the banner they won as city champs after defeating the D.P. Todd Trojans on Wednesday evening at the CNC gym.

Bottom right, The College Heights Cougars senior boys volleyball team pose with the banner they won as city champs after defeating the Duchess Park Condors on Wednesday night at the CNC gym.

Citizen photos

Bottom left, The Duchess Park Condors pose for a team photo after winning the Kelly Road Senior Boys Megabowl on Saturday afternoon at the Kelly Road Secondary School gymnasium.

T-wolves discover life after Louka

TED CLARKE Staff Reporter tclarke@pgcitizen.ca

The UNBC Timberwolves knew they’d have to cross this bridge when Vasiliki Louka reached the end of her university basketball eligibility last spring.

How do you replace your six-foot-three captain and one of your most consistent scorers, who led the Canada West Conference in rebounds and ranks second in that department all-time and just wrapped up a five-year career as the most dominant player in the history of UNBC’s basketball program?

You don’t. And that’s one headache that lingered all summer for T-wolves head coach Sergey Shchepotkin.

The team opened their regular season at home over the weekend with a pair of tough losses to the University of Victoria Vikes. After falling 97-93 in an overtime nailbiter Friday night, the Vikes took the lead early Saturday and never surrendered it in a 70-60 victory.

The T-wolves thought they found their answer to their Louka dilemma in a pair of European forwards who appeared ready to step in as U Sports regulars when they recruited six-foot-two Laura Garmendia Garcia of Castelldefels, Spain and six-foot-one Svetlana Boykova of Moscow, Russia, who played for Russia at the Summer Universiade in Napoli, Italy.

A couple of knee injuries derailed that plan. Garcia torn her ACL in May at the end of her season playing in a Spanish women’s league and Boykova suffered the same injury playing a friendly game at the end of September against the UNBC alumni.

“I don’t know how it’s going to look without Vasiliki,” said Shchepotkin. “My hope

UNBC Timberwolves forward Maria Mongomo leaps to take a shot over a trio of University of Victoria Vikes defenders on Friday evening at Northern Sport Centre.

was that we had the players but they’re injured, so we’ll play without a post and I don’t know how it will look. It’s difficult to replace her. We need to get 20 points (a game) and all the rebounds and plus her leadership.

“But the girls are doing pretty well in practices and they’re excited. We have some pretty experienced players. It is difficult for UNBC to compete on that level and to be on that level we still need all our players to show 100 per cent (effort) all the time. We can’t do anything 90 per cent. If all the players show 100 per cent we could be pretty successful.”

The only other player the T-wolves lost to graduation was guard Abby Gibb, so that leaves eight returning players from the team

ROUGH ROAD TRIP FOR BIG CATS

The Prince George Cougars endured a Western Hockey League weekend road trip they would like to forget.

The Cats lost 6-2 to the Kelowna Rockets on Friday night at Prospera Place and for the first time this season, were shut out when they went down 6-0 to the Spokane Chiefs on Saturday.

The Cougars hosted the Medicine Hat Tigers on Wednesday night and will be followed by a pair against the Victoria Royals on Friday and Saturday night, all games at CN Centre, 7 p.m. starts.

that made UNBC history last season with its first playoff win. The T-wolves went 11-9 in the season, their best-ever regular-season showing, then beat Trinity Western in a one-game playoff before losing a two-game quarterfinal series to Calgary.

Maria Mongomo returns for her fifth season having led the T-wolves in scoring last year, averaging 19.9 points. Her exceptional speed and accurate shooting have been constant throughout her U Sports career and she will have to be even more dominant as a gamebreaker for the T-wolves to duplicate last year’s success in Louka’s absence.

Emily Holmes takes over the captaincy and she and second-year Lucy Guan will take turns filling the point guard position Now in her fifth season, Holmes is one of

four Duchess Park Secondary School alumni on the T-wolves. That list includes fourthyear forward Madison Landry, third-year guard Alina Shakirova and rookie forward Rebecca Landry, Madison’s 18-year-old sister.

Julia Gallant of Victoria is in her fourth year at guard and freshman Anastasia Soltes of Calgary adds to the depth at guard. With Garcia and Boykova red-shirting, that door of opportunity at forward is open for third-year Prince George Polar alumni Issy Bourque, second-year Cevanna Carlson of Turner Valley, Alta., and fourth-year newcomer Emma vanBruinessen, a Leduc, Alta., product who played three seasons in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference. VanBruinessen was a top-five rebounder last year for the University of Alberta-Augustana. Forward Jessica Nycholat is making the jump to the university ranks from her high school team at College Heights.

“We still have some talent on the team and all the girls are working hard in practices and they’re bringing their best,” said Shchepotkin. “I’m excited and I have some expectations and I hope they can fill that gap that happened after Vasiliki left.”

The Timberwolves had an extended preseason which included a trip to Barcelona, Spain They spent a week there in late August and played two games against women’s teams while practicing and enjoying the sights They also won a couple preseason tests against Vancouver Island University, the defending B.C. college champions, then went to Montreal, where they beat Concordia and lost to McGill and Quebec. The team heads to Trinity Western for a pair of games this Friday and Saturday before returning home for games Nov 15 and 16 against the UBC Thunderbirds.

A LEAP AHEAD

Cariboo Cougars forward Carter Yarish tries to play the puck while jumping over sliding Okanagan Rockets defender Cameron Moger on Saturday evening at Kin 1. The Cougars lost 4-1 but roared back on Sunday to defeat the Rockets 5-1, handing the league-leading rockets their first regulation loss of the year. The Rockets are now 12-1-0-1 to lead the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League while the Cougars are 9-2-0-1. The Cougars will be at the North Shore Winter Club this coming weekend for games against the Vancouver Northwest Hawks.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE

CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE

Citizen staff

Men’s team rebuilding

Citizen staff

Ten years ago, the UNBC Timberwolves won their first men’s basketball national championship when they beat the host SAIT Trojans of Calgary in the Canadian College Athletic Association final

Winning games is a difficult achievement at either level, university or college, and the T-wolves entered the new season knowing that after losing four of their starters to graduation last year, their young and inexperienced team will inevitably feel growing pains trying to find their way.

That was the case over the weekend at their regular season homeopener at the Northern Sport Centre.

The men opened Friday with an 88-81 victory, thanks to Vova Pluzhnikov’s tripledouble – 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He is the first to reach that basketball high mark since UNBC joined Canada West in 2012.

The Vikes were having none of that on Saturday night, thumping the Timberwolves 83-60.

Gone are starters Vaggelis Loukas, Jovan Leamy, James Agyeman and Austin Chandler. Their absence puts the onus on returning veteran Anthony Hokanson (fifth-year forward), Pluzhnikov (fourth-year guard), Sage Gosal (fifth-year guard) and Tyrell Laing (fourth-year guard) to lead the way for the rookies and returning sophomores.

“It’s obviously a fairly large change from the last couple years, we’re a lot younger than we’ve been and we have some guys playing in some new roles,” said UNBC head coach Todd Jordan, about to begin his 10th season at the helm. “Tyrell has moved into a much bigger role, as well as a couple of our younger guys, so we bring a lot of youth

and a lot of young guys off the bench. All our veteran guys – Tyrell, Vova, Sage and Anthony – are all taking on increased roles this year.”

Colburn Pearce, now in his second year at UNBC since being plucked from the Duchess Park Condor high school ranks, will also see a lot more court time at guard, as will guard Chris Ross and Spencer Ledoux,

Prince George Spruce KIngs forward Chong Min Lee tries to bat the puck out of the air while fighting off the check of Langley Rivermen defender Brian Scoville on Friday night at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.

SPRUCE KINGS SWEEP RIVERMEN

Citizen staff

The Prince George Spruce Kings have won back-to-back games for the first time this season

They followed up a 4-2 win over the Langley Rivermen on Friday night with a 6-3 victory over the same team on Saturday evening, both games played at the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena

Nolan Welsh’s two goals - including the game winner midway through the third period - and Jett Alexander’s 34

saves led the way on Friday night while Kolton Cousins recorded a hat trick and an assist and Evan Orr scored once and recorded three assists on Saturday.

The wins vaulted the Spruce Kings past the Rivermen into third place in the B.C. Hockey League Lower Mainland division.

The Spruce Kings now hit the road for three divisional matchups, beginning with the Coquitlam Express Wednesday night, followed by the Surrey Eagles on Friday, and the Chilliwack Chiefs on Saturday.

high school team, while rookie Fareed Shittu is a six-foot-six product of Harry Ainlay High School in Edmonton.

“Fareed is super-exciting and I think he’s going to be a fan favourite around he because he does video-game stuff as far as his ability to leap and dunk,” said Jordan. “He’s late to the game, started playing in Grade 10 or 11, and he’s a young guy with not a lot of experience but he’s getting an opportunity with us to be thrown out there in situations every single day.”

Two other promising recruits won’t play any games this year. Six-foot-five Daniel Kopf is in his third year of eligibility. He was born in Canada but grew up in the Czech Republic and played semiprofessional basketball there last season which requires him to red shirt this season. Rohtosh Mattu is a third-year transfer from the University of Victoria and the native of Patialo, India will also be confined to the practice roster.

The T-wolves will certainly be hard -pressed to match their success of last year when they finished 9-11 and made the playoffs for a second-straight season. With so many new faces in the lineup, T-wolves fans will have to be patient waiting for them to develop.

who will have more opportunity to use his six-foot-six reach to get to the hoop as a forward.

The T-wolves added a big northerner to their lineup when they recruited six-footsix forward Saymon Loki from Smithers (Bulkley Valley Secondary). First-year guard Dylon Matthews comes to UNBC from Seacove Secondary in North Vancouver, Ross’s

UNBC went 0-7 in the preseason. They started with two preseason games at home against Mount Royal, then went to Manitoba for a two-game set and ended their exhibition season with three games at the Waterloo tournament in Ontario.

The team heads south this weekend for Friday and Saturday games at Trinity Western before coming home to play the UBC Thunderbirds Nov. 15 and 16 at the Northern Sport Centre.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE

UNBC Timberwolves guard Tyrell Laing looks to make a play with the ball against a University of Victoria Vikes defender on Saturday night at Northern Sport Centre.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE

Potskin heads south for Kiwi ball

TED CLARKE Staff Reporter tclarke@pgcitizen.ca

Nick Potskin has played fastball most of his life, but never in the winter months.

Not when every ball diamond in the city is buried under a blanket of snow.

This winter is going to be different for the 22-year-old from Prince George. Last week, he boarded a plane for New Zealand, where he’ll soon be taking his swings and fielding line drives as a shortstop with the Island Bay Softball Club in Wellington.

He first landed on the Kiwi radar in May while playing for his hometown team, the Big Guy Lake Kings, at a tournament in Williams Lake. A couple of New Zealanders who suited up for the Parksville team that faced the Kings in the tournament final approached him and asked if would be interested in playing for their team in Wellington. He never heard from them again until midSeptember when he received a text message formally offering him a position.

“They’re trying to rebuild their club so they’re trying to bring in more players to build the league,” said Potskin, who has

been named to Canada’s 40-player national team roster.

“It’s a pretty competitive fast-paced game down there, I think more people are involved with it.”

He’ll be living with one of his coaches and the team has lined up a part-time job for him while he’s there. One other Canadian, Caleb Keeshig of Ontario, has also been recruited to the Island Bay team and they will visit other parts of the country playing on a traveling team

“I’m looking forward to experiencing a new culture, a new atmosphere, just different levels of ball and hopefully I come back with a lot more experience,” said Potskin.

“I’ll make some new connections and maybe bring some of their players back to Prince George.

Wellington is situated on the southwestern tip of New Zealand’s north island overlooking the Cook Strait and with its mild humid climate it never gets that cold. The average annual temperature is 12.9 C and in the warmest month, February, the daily temperature averages 17.2 C.

“I’ve heard it’s really windy there and that makes it a little tougher to play ball for sure,” Potskin said. “I really hope to improve on my swing I see the ball well but I just want to get more consistent.”

The season ends in late March and Potskin plans to be back in Canada in April. Prince George will be hosting the 2020 Canadian native fastball championships in July.

Potskin had a busy summer playing locally in the Spruce City Men’s Fastball League and held an integral role as shortstop for the Big Guy Lake Kings traveling team. The Kings finished third at the Canadian native championship in Winnipeg and placed sixth at the Canadian fastball championship in Grande Prairie. In mid-August he joined the Grande Prairie Pirates at the 36-team International Softball Congress world tournament in Circle Tap, Wisc., and they posted a seventh-place finish. Potskin made the all-world second all-star team at shortstop and won the award for most runs batted in.

He played several positions for the Irma (Ont.) Tigers in the 2018 ISC world tournament in Kitchener, Ont., and batted .800

(10-for-13) in that tournament. The team lost its first two games and dropped to the ISC2 level and won that side of the tournament.

“I was very nervous because I’d never played with those guys in my life”, he said. “That took me out of my comfort zone and maybe that helped me focus more The pressure made me bear down.”

Potskin, who graduated UNBC last spring with commerce degree, is a member of the Driftpile First Nation and works as an accountant at the Tsay Keh Dene Nation band office in Prince George His bosses have been supportive of his fastball commitments and have given him a leave of absence while he’s in New Zealand He is the son of local fastball legend Randy Potskin and his cousins Evan Potskin and Chad Ghostkeeper have both played for Canada’s national team. He’s been immersed in the game for as long as he can remember and for years has watched his father and family members play ball in native tournaments and at the national and international levels.

Coldsnap schedule

Citizen staff

Prince George’s winter music festival Coldsnap is announcing its mainstage artists who will perform at a variety of venues in the city from Jan. 24 to Feb. 1, 2020.

The first evening’s performance sees a bluegrass dance party at the Ramada Ballroom starring Big Fancy from northern B.C, the Eliza Doyle Band from Saskatchewan and Foghorn Stringband from Oregon.

On Saturday, Jan 25, the Ramada will be rockin’ with hip-hop sensations Rebecca Solomon and Rich Mac from Williams Lake, Kimmortal from Vancouver and Snotty Nose Rez Kids from Kitimaat Village.

Sunday, Jan. 26, sees a specially-priced Coldsnap for Kids at the Prince George Playhouse with Kelowna-based family rock band The Oot ‘N Oots.

Sunday night at the Playhouse will feature national award winning local choir Nove Voce perform along with a line up that includes Khari Wendell McClelland and the Sojourners who draw deep inspiration from their African-American history during their performance to send messages of social justice and civil rights.

For the full schedule visit www.coldsnapfestival.com.

Team Canada schedule set for World Women’s Curling

Citizen staff

Fans in Prince George can start stocking up on Canadian flags, and red and white face paint, because we now know when the home team will be in action at the 2020 World Women’s Curling Championship.

Here’s a look at the Team Canada schedule (all times Pacific): March 14, Draw 2 (6 p.m.); March 15, Draw 3 (8 a.m.); March 15, Draw 5 (6 p.m.); March 16, Draw 7 (1 p.m.); March 16, Draw 8 (6 p.m.); March 17, Draw 10 (1 p.m.); March 17, Draw 11 (6 p.m.); March 18, Draw 13 (1 p.m.); March 19, Draw

PG HOLIDAY MAKERS MARKET

Friday from 2 to 8 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Elks Hall, 663 Douglas St., the Holiday Makers Market features many talented artisans from our northern community, with one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted gifts including unique art, outdoor apparel and textiles, jewelry and home decor. This event is wheelchair accessible. Parking and admission is free. Raffle ends the evening Friday, which offers a $100 shopping spree. For more information contact information@pgholidaymakers@gmail.com.

15 (8 a.m.); March 19, Draw 16 (1 p.m.); March 20, Draw 18 (8 a.m.); March 20, Draw 20 (6 p.m.)

Canada’s opponents won’t be known until after the field has been determined, as countries have to qualify through regional championships. Canada’s team will be decided at the 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Moose Jaw, Sask

Not only will a world title be up for grabs, Prince George will also be the first opportunity for countries to earn qualifying points for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Curling fans can now lock down their tickets.

HURLY BURLY BOOTY NIGHT

Saturday from 8 to 11 p.m. at the Prince George Playhouse, 2833 Recreation Place, Hurly Burly Booty Night features professional auctioneer Melissa Barcellos making fast work of the limited edition and fine photographic prints, hand printed by the one and only Bill at Shadows and Lights. These fine prints for auction feature each of The Hurly Burly Booty Delicious Dozen and yes, sometimes some of the models do enjoy a moment onstage to inspire the bidding. Entertainment and munchies included. Buy your tickets online for big savings at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/hurly-burly-bootynight-tickets-70719181977?aff=erellivmlt

KIDS MARKET

Here’s a look at what single-draw tickets will be available: $17.50 - Non-Team Canada round-robin games; $19.50 - Sunday-Friday Team Canada morning games; $25 - Monday-Thursday Team Canada afternoon games; $30 - opening Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Tuesday Team Canada evening games.

A variety of new packages are now sale as well: Championship Weekend - Last Eight mini package (Friday to Sunday): $199; Opening Weekend - First Five mini package (Saturday, Sunday): $99; Opening Day

will see children sell their products, including previously-loved toys, baked goods and handmade crafts as well as vendors who are selling children’s items. Vendors wanted. $25 to reserve.

Contact: 250 981 9822 | eventsinpg@gmail. com

REMEMBRANCE DAY CEREMONY

Special (Saturday, March 14): breakfast in the Patch, Opening Ceremonies, Draw 1 and Draw 2: $45; Sunday to Thursday Day packs (three draws per day): $59.

Full event packages still available. Youth single-draw tickets are priced at $15 (fees and taxes included).

All prices are per ticket are, other than the youth tickets, subject to standard facility and ticket service fees

Tickets are available at curling.ca/tickets, in person at the CN Centre Box Office, or by calling 1-888-293-6613.

DRACULA: THE BLOODY TRUTH

Every Monday until June 29, 2020 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 483 Gillett St., the Alban Classical New Horizons Adult Band meets. For more information visit www.albanclassical.org. Contact: 250-563-4693 | admin@albanclassical.org AROUND TOWN COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Roll A Dome, 2588 Recplace Dr., the Kids Market

Monday at 9:15 a.m. at the Prince George Civic Centre, the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 43 presents its annual Remembrance Day ceremony. Everyone is asked to be seated by 9 a.m. for the start of the ceremony at 9:15. At 10:45 a.m. the parade from the Civic Centre to the Cenotaph takes place and at 10:55 a.m. the Cenotaph ceremony will include the wreath laying ceremony and 2 minutes of silence.

Until Nov. 9 at 8 p.m., Theatre Northwest, #36 - 556 North Nechako Rd., presents Dracula: The Bloody Truth by John Nicholson and Le Navet Bete. This is a co-production with Western Canada Theatre. This funny and thrilling comedy is perfect for the season. The main character offers advice on the dangers of vampires and how to manage during a close encounter. Contact: 250563-6969 or visit www.theatrenorthwest.com.

ADULT BAND

WE REMEMBER Conductor Michael Hall leads the Prince George Symphony Orchestra during their performance of We Remember on Saturday night at Vanier Hall.

Catchment areas transferred to D.P.Todd

MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff

In a bid to take the pressure off Duchess Park Secondary School, students graduating from Edgewood and Spruceland elementary schools will move on to D.P. Todd Secondary School starting next September.

School board trustees made the decisions to reassign the catchment areas following a lengthy consultation process over the past year but not without some extended and sometimes emotional debate.

While trustees voted unanimously in favour of the change for Spruceland, the vote for Edgewood passed by a narrow 4-3

margin as concerns about the impact on D.P. Todd and questions about whether Kelly Road Secondary School has been given enough consideration as an option were raised.

Urging trustees to postpone a decision until at least early December if not for another year, Trustee Sharel Warrington was particularly outspoken.

She questioned the school’s ability to take on as many as 70 more students, warned that the Ministry of Education has not yet responded to the district’s proposal to expand D.P Todd and even if it does go ahead, it would take three to five years to complete.

City sidewalk projects wrap up

The final city road and sidewalk rehabilitation project of the year is done as workers repaved the sidewalk running along 3rd Avenue in front of the Prince George Native Friendship Centre last week.

In 2019, crews completed seven sidewalk projects of about 1.5 kilometres, including 325 metres of newly installed concrete sidewalk

The largest took place on the south side of Highland Drive, from Berwick to Glenngarry Road, while two new sidewalks were added to 2nd Avenue from Ospika to Quinn Street and on 22nd Avenue from Highway 97 to the entrance to College of New Caledonia.

New and enhanced sidewalks were also included as part of the parkade and Park House condominium developments next to City Hall. They include the rehabilitation and extension of the paved trail next to Connaught Hill from Patricia Boulevard, the widening of the sidewalk on the north side of 7th Avenue across from City Hall, and the increased frontage of Veterans Plaza.

Crosswalk improvements included a pedestrian-activated crosswalk systems with flashing beacons at the St. Lawrence Avenue and Southridge Avenue and 20th Avenue and Oak Street crosswalks, a crosswalk at the Highland and Dundee Drive intersection and a countdown pedestrian signal at Queensway and 5th Avenue.

Road safety improvements included signalization of the Ospika Boulevard and 22nd Avenue intersection, a 30 km/h speed limit and parking restriction on Pidherny Road, new advanced warning and chevron signs for road curves on Purdue Road East and on Old Summit Lake Road, a “30 km/h while Children on Roadway” speed limit on Kelly Road North, parking restrictions on Zral Road for Springwood Elementary to increase safety for students as they are dropped off and an additional accessible “handicapped parking” stall and wheelchair ramp next to the Central Interior Health Society at George Street and 4th Avenue.

In 2017, council voted to double the budget for sidewalk construction and rehabilitation to $1 million per year.

TRANSPORTING UNSECURED DOG LEADS TO AMPUTATION

staff

A young dog whose leg has been amputated is serving as a reminder to drivers to keep their pets secured inside their vehicles.

Seven-month-old Chilli fell out of the back of a pickup truck. She was surrendered to the SPCA’s Williams Lake branch and immediately rushed to the vet.

He front leg was torn at the shoulder under her chest and down the inside of her front leg. The muscles from her chest to her shoulder were severed. Her skin was torn off of the tissue from her upper forearm to her armpit and she had numerous severed arteries.

“Chilli had such deep wounds all along her leg that the limb was beyond repair and she required an emergency amputation to save her life,” said BC SPCA Williams Lake and District branch manager Liz Dighton.

Transporting an unsecured pet in the back of a pickup truck is a violation of both the Motor Vehicle Act and the B.C. Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

If a pet must be transported in the back of a truck, the safest method is to keep them inside a secured crate in the centre of the truck box.

Chilli’s emergency amputation surgery, follow up examinations, physiotherapy and daily care is expected to reach $4,230. She will need at least three weeks in SPCA care before she is ready to be adopted.

“This young lady is super-friendly and sweet,” said Dighton. “She enjoys cuddles and is so careful to be gentle when around people. We really hope that people are able to donate towards her emergency surgery.”

If you can help this puppy, visit spca.bc.ca/ medicalemergency or visit the branch at 709 Bond Lake Road, Williams Lake, 250-392-2179.

“It’s not a done deal,” Warrington said. However, trustees in favour of the move noted there is no room for a further expansion at Duchess Park.

They also countered a contention made by two Edgewood parents at the outset of the meeting that students in the regular stream at Duchess Park are being sacrificed in the name of keeping the French immersion and Franco Nord programs at the school.

Trustee Ron Polillo, who chairs the catchment and capacity committee, said transferring those programs to Prince George Secondary School was considered by previous boards and found to be unrealistic.

“We have been delaying this decision, quite frankly, for years,” Polillo said. “It is our responsibility, as a board... to make a decision.”

Polillo was joined by trustees Trent Derrick, Betty Bekkering and Bob Thompson in voted in favour. Warrington was joined by board chair Tim Bennett and trustee Shuirose Valimohamed in voting against. One loose end remains. Trustees will consider at their Dec. 3 meeting a notice of motion from Warrington to allow students at Edgewood and Spruceland who have siblings currently at Duchess Park to move on to that school.

This is the front page from the November 12, 1919 edition of the Prince George Citizen. You can search all of The Citizen’s archives online at pgnewspapers.pgpl.ca

Citizen

Citiizen staff

UNBC faculty issue strike notice

Citizen staff

Faculty at the University of Northern British Columbia could be on the picket line as soon as Thursday morning

The UNBC Faculty Association issued 72 hours strike notice on Monday morning, “despite ongoing negotiations and mediation at the bargaining table,” UNBC administration said in a posting

It said a new offer was tabled on Monday morning but declined to provide details until the Faculty Association bargaining team has reviewed the proposal and responded. The offer expires on Tuesday at 4 p.m

Should a strike go ahead, it is expected that pickets will be up at the Prince George campus, the Terrace campus, and at the Wood Innovation and Design Centre.

“The University will continue to update students and staff regarding the latest

developments; official decisions regarding the status of classes will come from UNBC,” administration said.

In early October, faculty voted 83 per cent to give the bargaining committee authority to issue strike notice. Less than a week later, UNBC administration applied to the Labour Relations Board for mediation, delaying the chance for a strike by 20 days.

Faculty have been working at UNBC without a contract since June 30.

At the end of 2015, the association agreed to a five-year deal backdated to July 1, 2014, which provided a 10-per-cent wage increase over the life of the deal.

The contract was the culmination of a lengthy dispute that included mediation, a two-week strike in March 2015 and finally binding arbitration through a process only permitted for first collective agreements.

Forest crisis cutting into trade

of 2018, which is also weighing on B.C.’s prospects for economic growth.

The crisis in British Columbia’s forestry sector that saw more than 20 sawmills close or curtail production over the summer and put some 3,000 sawmill employees out of work, at least temporarily, is showing up in worsening trade figures for the province.

To the end of August, the cascading series of mill closures and production curtailments translated into an 11-per-cent drop in the volume of lumber exports, according to trade figures from B.C Stats. By value, the loss appears deeper with the $3.4 billion in export sales reported by the statistical agency representing a 25-per cent decline from the same eight months

And the decline in forestry shipments was the biggest reason driving a 5.3-percent decline in B.C.’s overall exports to the end of August.

“You just can’t take B.C.’s largest export industry and have it go through what it’s going through and not expect negative spinoff implications,” said Ken Peacock, chief economist for the Business Council of B.C. “It just has to be.”

The business council, an industry group representing B.C.’s largest employers, reduced its expectations for economic growth next year to 1.8 per cent from its earlier estimate of 2.2 per cent, with the crisis in forestry one of two main factors

BURNS LAKE STUDENTS TO ATTEND WE DAY IN VANCOUVER

It came as a surprise to 14 Lakes District secondary school students in Burns Lake when they were told during a volleyball pep rally that they would get the opportunity to attend WE Day in Vancouver Nov. 19 thanks to WestJet.

The students and their teacher Patti Dube are being recognized for their outstanding local and global actions. The focus for the school is food security and students participated in WE Are Silent event where they took a vow of silence for those without a voice and the WE Walk for Water event where 40 students and teachers did a five kilometre walk to fetch water from a lake to understand how that would feel if they were in the position to have to make that a daily trek as is so many people’s reality.

For 30 years, Dube has challenged students to find issues they are passion-

ate about and guide them into action to create change in their community and further.

“We’re excited to go to WE Day Vancouver and very thankful to WestJet for helping to help make the trip happen,”

Dube said. “My students work hard all year to raise awareness on issues they are passionate about so to be able to celebrate with them in Vancouver will be incredible.”

For the sixth year, WestJet and WE have partnered to bring students from remote areas the opportunity to join thousands in a WE Day Experience like the event in Vancouver.

From across the nation, 126 students and educators will be brought to a WE Day event closest to them.

The WE Day event in Vancouver takes place on Nov. 19 at Rogers Arena where more than 20,000 students and educators will be in attendance.

for the decline.

“It’s also so widespread,” Peacock said. “(Forestry) remains the foundation of so many regional economies and communities.”

Peacock added that because the main factors driving the downturn are structural, sawmills are simply running short of available timber from interior forests decimated by the mountain pine beetle, the effects are expected to last into subsequent forecasts.

The downturn becomes, in effect, a reversal of the economic multiplier effect, Peacock said.

“(With) fewer jobs, unemployment, people aren’t spending as much so there is an impact in the retail space, auto sales, manufacturing activity,” Peacock said.

And if forestry companies aren’t profitable, he added, they are less likely to invest in capital upgrades of their operations.

This week, lumber manufacturers West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. and Canfor Corp. reported financial losses in the last fiscal quarter.

West Fraser posted a $15 million net loss on almost $1.2 billion in sales for the three months ending September 30, compared with a $275 million profit for the same period in 2018.

Canfor reported a $44 million loss on $1.1 billion in revenue for the same period compared with net income of $157 million on $1.3 billion in sales during the same months of 2018.

WORKSHOP FOCUS POSITIVE MENTAL HEALTH FOR FIRST RESPONDERS

The Building Resilient Workplaces workshop was held last week in Prince George to bring first responders from different organizations the same message about best practices and developing resources to promote positive mental health.

First responders see job-related traumas and stressors unique to them. They are at higher risk for mental health issues because of that.

Agencies employing first responders are always looking for ways to support the staff.

“This is such a critical issue among first responders and we want to provide leaders, influencers and implementers who have mental health responsibilities in their organization with solutions they can use to build

resilient workplaces,” Sergeant Ralph Kaisers, president of the Vancouver Police Union and vice-president of the BC Police Association, said The interactive workshop, presented by the BC First Responders Mental Health Committee, includes aspects of the recommended practices which is a guide created by the committee.

Sessions covered a host of topics including an introduction to mental health and resilience, the role leaders have in promoting mental health in the workplace, addressing stigma, intervention and treatment, occupational awareness and action planning.

The day-long workshop was held Wednesday at the Courtyard Marriott Prince George. Similar workshops were held in Richmond, Kelowna, Victoria and Surrey.

Citiizen staff

Citizen staff

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

UNBC students Elizabeth Gunsinger and Rina Stuparyk walk the picket line with Professor Dana Wessell Lightfoot in front of the WIDC building downtown in March 2015.

Research project set for Nechako watershed

MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff

A University of Northern British Columbia professor is heading a research project worth $1.5 million over five years to develop a better understanding of the effects of climate change and human activity on the Nechako watershed.

The goal, said UNBC environmental sciences professor Stephen Dery, is to help Rio Tinto make better decisions about when and how much water to release from the Nechako Reservoir, created in the 1950s when the river was reversed to produce electricity for its Kitimat aluminum smelter.

The company will contribute as much as half the total funding while the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada is providing the rest through its Industrial Research Chair program. It builds on previous research carried out by Dery’s team, also partly funded by Rio Tinto, and is supporting 13 students,

ranging from doctoral candidates and post-doctoral fellows, to masters students and senior undergraduate researchers.

The work, which began in July, was announced Monday at UNBC.

“We’re really trying to get to the causes of the changes in the hydrology in this vast watershed,” Dery told local media following the announcement. “The water resource is really important for Rio Tinto and (so is) understanding what is happening to these water resources.”

The project will feature an increase number of hydrometeorogical research stations in the Nechako River basin, monitoring of so-called atmospheric rivers, or long bands of rain also known as Pineapple Express storms, and an attempt to project future water flows and temperatures.

The Stuart River system will be included in the project.

“Of course, the Stuart River drains into the Nechako just downstream of Vanderhoof,” Dery said. “It’s very important for

its salmon run as well and it’s part of the watershed. So yes, Rio Tinto manages only part of the Upper Nechako proper but we want to understand everything on the watershed scale.”

Affonso Bizon, Rio Tinto’s general manger for the company’s B.C. aluminum works, said the company has seen plenty of variation in the water levels in the reservoir and wants to get a better picture of what lies ahead.

“Definitely, this is going to create good data for us to make the right decisions in the future,” he said.

The announcement comes as a lawsuit launched by Saik’uz and Stellat’en First Nations over the impacts of the diversion of water out of the Nechako remains before the courts. Bizon said the research is not related to the legal action.

“This is a different process,” he said.

CITIZEN STAFF PHOTO

Prof. Stephen Dery of UNBC is heading a $1.5 million research project on the effects of human activity in the Nechako watershed.

Hitting the slopes in Montana

JUSTIN FRANZ

The Washington Post

Long before they were covered in luxury condos, boutique outdoor clothing stores and latte-spinning coffee shops, good ski hills needed two things: a lift and a lodge.

While many of those simple ski areas have either grown up or closed down, Turner Mountain, a one-lift hill nestled into the northwest corner of Montana, continues to offer skiing the way it was 30 or 40 years ago, when a weekend ski trip for a family of four wouldn’t break the bank.

“I hear it from people all the time,” says Bruce Zwang, president of Kootenai Mountain Sports, the nonprofit that operates the ski area. “They tell me that this is just like the hill they skied on as a kid.”

But Turner Mountain isn’t just some ramshackle ski area off in the boondocks The mountain has been featured in numerous magazines; Ski Magazine even declared it might have “the best lift-assisted powder skiing in the U.S.” It also appeared in “Here, There & Everywhere,” a movie by Warren Miller, the ski bum-turned-filmmaker whose features have helped skiers and snowboarders map out their dream vacations for a generation.

Getting to Turner isn’t easy. The mountain is at least two hours from the closest airport and requires driving down an old snowpacked logging road deep in the Kootenai National Forest. However, those adventurous souls who do make the trek to Turner will undoubtedly be rewarded with some of the best skiing in their life - and so much more “I don’t think there’s another ski area quite like this in the world,” says Jake Jeresek, who volunteers at the mountain.

Turner is located 38 km north of Libby, Montana, a onetime mining and logging town trying to reinvent itself as an outdoor recreation destination. Libby has always worked hard and played harder. In the 1930s, local skiers set up a tow rope and started barreling down a slope at the edge of town. By the 1950s, they were ready for something a little steeper, so they set out to find an actual mountain. That search brought them to a recently burned peak in the heart of the Purcell Mountains. Since the wildfire had already cleared most of the slope, all the skiers needed to do was strike a deal with the local forest ranger. In 1960, skiers strung up a short tow rope and Turner Mountain was officially open for business. The summer after the inaugural season, the tow rope was replaced with a mile-long T-bar that had the distinction of being one of the longest such lifts in North America. Locals often joked that at Turner, the real workout was going up the mountain rather than skiing down it. By the late 1990s, the T-bar had reached the end of its useful life, so the mountain’s operator started raising money for a replacement with pint nights at the local bar and other fundraisers In 2001, the group purchased an old chairlift and had it installed that summer.

In recent years, nonprofit ski areas have popped up across the country as changing economics and a changing climate make it harder to stay open. According to the National Ski Areas Association, about 30% of its more than 300 resorts across the country are not-for-profit entities. Among them is Bogus Basin Recreation Area near Boise, Idaho. Brad Wilson, general manager of the mountain, says he believes independent ski areas that focus on keeping prices low are critical to the long-term survival of the sport. “No one is going to pay $200 for a lift ticket for something that they have never done before,” he says. “It’s up to the small, independent ski areas to create new skiers.”

Zwang agrees with Wilson’s assessment and says keeping prices low, especially for locals, is Turner’s primary mission. “So many people are getting priced out of this sport,” Zwang says. “But we have the cheapest tickets in the state.” A day pass at Turner is $38 for an adult, $26 for teens ages 13 to 18, and $21 for kids (children 6 and under ski free).

An adult lift ticket at Whitefish Mountain Resort, about two hours east of Libby, will set you back $83. That’s still a bargain compared with other places, including Colorado’s Vail Ski Resort, which in 2019 was charging between $160 and $200 for a day on the slopes.

Turner can keep prices low because it has just four employees who run the lift and do maintenance; a few others are hired by a contractor that runs the rental shop and the lunch counter in the base lodge. Otherwise, most of the work at Turner is done by volunteers, who get to work each season long before the snow flies.

Volunteers at Turner clear brush on ski runs, break down and clean the chairlift, and make

improvements in preparation for the upcoming season. A few years ago, they built a new groomer shed weeks after the old one burned down Every volunteer gets a season pass, but Jeresek, who helps organize groomer operations, says everyone would still be there pitching in even if they didn’t get to ski free

“Everyone is up here volunteering because they really care about the place,” Jeresek says

Jake’s dad, Jon, agrees. Jon Jeresek has been skiing at Turner since the 1970s, when he moved to northwest Montana for a job with the U.S. Forest Service. He has been on the board of directors for 17 years.

“This is really a family mountain,” he says The elder Jeresek is also one of two mountain managers who put in long days to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. On days the mountain is open, the manager gets there around dawn to help coordinate grooming and opens the lodge before the lift starts spinning at 9:30 a.m. Not long before the twoseat chairlift starts to roll, the first skiers pull into the parking lot, conveniently located just feet from the lift line. From Turner’s one lift, skiers and riders can access 400 acres of terrain with two dozen named runs. Most of the runs are for intermediate or advanced skiers, although there are also a few beginner runs.

One of the runs is named for Jon to mark the site where he skied into a tree, breaking a rib and dislocating his shoulder. “Jeresek Park” is the mountain’s only double black diamond (it’s also probably the least intimidating double black diamond run in all of America).

On most days, it’s not unusual for a skier to have Jeresek Park or any other run all to themselves. That’s because the mountain usually only gets about 100 skiers a day,

or 6,000 annually (Vail regularly welcomes 1.6 million annually). Much of the snow at Turner is also likely to be untouched because the mountain is only open to the public three days a week, Friday through Sunday. At some ski areas, it’s likely that every stash of powder will be gone within an hour or two of opening; but at Turner, which averages 200 inches of snow a year, it’s possible to find virgin snow two or three days after a storm has passed.

“There are no crowds here, no lift lines,” Zwang says. “Even on our busiest days, it feels like you have the whole mountain to yourself.”

And if you really want to make sure you don’t run into anybody, you can rent the entire mountain on non-operating days for $3,750. Jeresek says the rental program helps keep the ski area’s books balanced and is popular with Canadians who will come south by the busload for a day of skiing on their own private mountain.

Locals say they know they have it good at Turner when it comes to uninterrupted powder skiing, but when you ask them what they love most about the mountain, it’s not the incredible skiing that tops the list but the friendly atmosphere. Zwang says when his kids were young and he brought them to the mountain, he never had to worry about losing them. He would just ask the lifty when he saw them last. That friendly vibe is perhaps best witnessed inside the base lodge, where old friends gather by the fireplace and even a newcomer can grab a beer out of a local’s cooler.

“We never want to be some mega resort,” Zwang says. “We want to maintain that hometown feeling where everyone knows your name.”

The family-friendly Turner Mountain Ski Area offers sledding, and children six and under ski free.

How to keep fall colours alive

The Washington Post

Flower designer Jo Oliver is imagining new ways to bring autumn into the home.

“I always like to avoid the cliches of fall,” she says “Why not elevate your pumpkin and change up your colours?”

Instead of the traditional oranges and burgundys, Oliver takes inspiration from the subtle changes of color and texture she sees in rolling hills and the fading gardens before the snow comes.

“I love the colors of the moody blue skies this time of year, the way the plants look after the first frost, the golds of the cornfields after harvest and the purplish shadows at twilight,” Oliver says

This year, her front porch, wide entry hall and dining room are filled with pumpkins of all sizes painted in dusty shades of pale blue, mustard, gray and biscuit. Roses, hellebores and thistle are massed on her dining table and sideboard in delicate purple, navy and cream. And her blue and white china collection inspired her hand-drawn, transferwarestyle pumpkins and a wreath made of plates. Oliver says if you want to change up your fall look before decorating for Christmas, start with a plan and a color palette in mind.

“It’s hard to imagine a different approach when you are already in the store and the aisles are filled with orange and black things,” she says. “Check out your own yard first, and make a list of greens, leaves, branches, pine cones and pods that you can use.”

Figure out what colours you’re drawn to and how you could supplement with fruits, vegetables, berries, rose hips or herbs, she says. “Think outside your normal field of colours,” she says.

If you’re going to choosing some paint for your DIY projects, have an idea what you want before you get to the wall of chips, “otherwise you will be paralyzed by the options,” she says. “Think of the way colors relate to each other.”

After deciding on her own palette for this year, inspired by the farms, water and sky, she selected lavender, greyish blue and custard yellow

Oliver experiments with new ideas for seasonal decorating and makes sure she has a changing display of flowers and other plants. “I enjoy changing it up. But of course, people also do expect it from me when they come over.”

Here’s a peek at some of Oliver’s projects, with plenty of ideas for getting out of your own autumn decorating rut.

PAINTED PUMPKINS

Oliver painted a few dozen tiny pumpkins in the shades she selected. She bought sample-size cans of each colour. She suggests finishing off the pumpkins with a clear coat of enamel gloss spray paint if you plan to keep them in an unprotected outdoor area. For her blue transferware pumpkins, she first painted them chalky white primer. Then she switched to a navy blue medium Sharpie to complete her vision.

“My experience was that the bumpiness of

the pumpkin makes it easier to do a design using a Sharpie instead of a brush,” she says. “I drew out my motif and then filled it in freehand.”

CEILING MEDALLION WREATHS

The 19th-century ceiling medallion in Oliver’s dining room was the inspiration for her front-door wreath. She looked online for PVC copies of period medallions and found a 16-inch-diameter medallion on Amazon. She painted it with her colours, then sprayed several dozen dried natural wheat stalks with gold paint. She traced the medallion on a piece of cardboard, cut it out and then hotglued the wheat all around it The cardboard was glued to the back of the medallion In the centre, she placed a six-inch Oasis wreath ring with viburnum berries, carnations, ilse roses, seckel pears and greenery.

CENTREPIECE

For the rectangular table in her dining room, Oliver demonstrated a long, low-profile arrangement that she would display for fancier fall occasions. She bought two doublebrick plastic floral trays and fitted them both with a pair of well-soaked Oasis bricks using waterproof tape. She layered in some greenery as a base, then used wooden skewers to attach roses in smoky shades: chocolate lavender, terra cotta, cream and yellow. She added thistles, sunflowers, carnations, hellebores, clematis, viburnum berries and seckle pears. The result is a lush arrangement of many different shapes, colors and textures.

“I worked from left to right across the arrangement, being sure to turn the arrangement around as I worked, so both sides were balanced, she says. “As you’re working, it’s also important to step away from the arrangement and look at it from a distance. This helps you to see if there are any areas

Using a wire wreath base, Jo Oliver created a display of her blue and white plate

lection

to add pieces. It’s sometimes good to squint your eyes a little to see if you need more ‘pops’ of lighter colored flowers anywhere in the arrangement.”

Plate wreath

Oliver wanted to create a focal point on the dining room wall, so she selected some blue and white vintage plates from her collec-

tion. She attached wire plate hangers on the back of each plate and wired them all onto a 24-inch wire wreath frame She drilled holes in the painted mini pumpkins and popped a few in the arrangement. She plans to change those out seasonally, adding boxwood cuttings for December and then succulents for the new year.

WASHINGTON POST PHOTO

Jo Oliver’s front door wreath was made using a copy of her 19th-century dining room ceiling medallion as a base.

WASHINGTON POST PHOTO

col-

Are your employees fogged in?

The city was socked in with a heavy layer of fog and had been for weeks when I decided to drive up the hill to an area of town that I hadn’t been before. As I climbed through the layers of cloud towards my destination, I became curious about where I was going and why people would live up on such a steep hillside. However I had to wonder no longer, because as I neared the summit of the hill and beheld the expansive farmlands, I was overwhelmed with wonder. There were no clouds on the hilltop, no fog and only bright blue skies and the dazzling radiance of the sun.

Shortly thereafter I bought land on the top of the hill.

As a business coach, I work with the employees of many different companies and in a variety of industries. More often than not, the employees of these businesses are in a fog. They have no idea where the company is going and what they are going to find after their uphill grind. Unfortunately, the leaders of those companies don’t have a clear idea of where they are going, either. They have lost their direction in the fog and dark clouds that may have covered their business during troubled times. In order to have productive employees who are moving us quickly to the blue skies

and bright sunshine, we need to provide clarity about where we are going and why we want to get there When employees understand the purpose of what they are doing, how they are contributing and are recognized for their contributions to the goals of the organization, they become so much more productive, more effective and happier. Happy employees tend to stay longer in our companies resulting in the reduction of the significant cost of recruiting and onboarding, which is estimated in the tens of thousands of dollars per new hire

Great companies not only have clarity on where they are going, but they involve their employees in forming that vision If we, as leaders, think that we have the best ideas for how our company should be run, we are sadly mistaken. Almost all the best ideas I ever had for my businesses came from listening to my employees They were so much more in touch with customer requests and

market trends, which resulted in a greater understanding of the future needs of the society they were serving than I ever was

It’s November and by this time of year, larger companies have been working for months on their annual plans for the coming year. They have been gathering data, looking at trends, talking to their employees and management teams and making projections for the coming year. Unfortunately, most small businesses don’t operate on a plan, and as a result leave their employees in the fog. As small business leaders we tend to be just drifting along, doing the same things hoping that the wind will continue to blow us in the right direction

It’s not that having a plan will ensure that you are going to be successful, however when we take the time to look at our performance in the past year, while implementing strategies for increasing success, the fog starts to clear. When we determine some

achievable goals, and develop workable plans to achieve those goals, our teams start to get clarity. With clarity comes productivity and focus in moving towards our goals.

Annual plans with realistic measurable targets are tools that drive organizations forward. Repeated studies show that having a plan increases success in achieving goals, while giving employees a higher sense of motivation and job satisfaction. It is no wonder that as business leaders we underestimate our employees’ abilities to fulfil our expectations. In most cases it’s because we haven’t been clear about our goals and expectations and have failed to lead them out of the fog and into a brighter future.

- Dave Fuller is an award-winning business coach and the author of the book Profit Yourself Healthy. Still in a fog? Email dave@profityourselfhealthy.com

Make your long story short and sweet

Fridays at the bank always felt like full moons. Maybe it stemmed from the old payday lineups we would get at the teller wicket or the unspoken panic that our not-longago cash society started to feel when the banks would close like clockwork at 3, right around the time the boss handed you your paycheque. That was cute.

But the commercial banking floor never really had a teller lineup and still managed to be hectic. In my case, with several midsized construction companies in my portfolio, I often got a calls from some Podunk bank branch in Projectland. Some guy was in the branch with a paycheque from one of my clients, but he didn’t have any ID. Fortunately, earlier in the day his boss had called his boss’s boss who called me to say I should expect a call from Podunk to cash a paycheque for a guy with no ID. He was missing his left pinky and one ear was sewn on backwards (long story). Easy

enough to identify, even without standard documentation. The cheque was made out to Dave – Citizen of the Universe. I’ve got a nephew like that in Montana. (Also a long story).

Retaining top talent: Analyse the potential business consequences of losing your most talented employees. To retain them, get to know them, reward them, keep them challenged and engaged, foster a team environment, offer them growth opportunities and competitive pay. Treat them as well or better than you treat your equipment. Downtime in both cases is too expensive.

Discombobulation, in the financial sense, is common, even among very successful business owners. It’s a mismatch big ideas, a sort of tragic flaw.Example: It quickly becomes obvious that attracting talent to this region can be a challenge, especially if Vancouver or Alberta are booming. Our businesses get pretty good at finding the right sort of soul who thrives here, and at

the right price. On the other hand, these skillful, frugal business owners don’t always translate that same skill in seeking out the right accounting or legal firm to help them deal with the sophisticated world they’ve built. You don’t transport your peach harvest on a logging truck. Consult the appropriate advisors: This step is crucial to ensuring your estate plan is done right. If you’ve made a good go of your business, you’re going to need some sophisticated professionals. Make sure you find those who specialize in estate planning. Think of it this way, would you go to your family physician if you required brain surgery? The family doctor is highly trained, but not a neurosurgeon. Why should your nest egg be any different? Questions for your estate advisors:

• What degrees or relevant designations do you hold?

• How long have you specialized in estate planning?

• Have you implemented estate plans of

similar complexity to my own? Explain.

• Is there any charge for an initial consultation?

• Do I have the option of an hourly fee or a flat rate for your services?

Don’t skimp: You may have considered the accountant or lawyer an afterthought through the years, and might not have always taken all of their advice. But this is different. You have maybe a dozen or so hours of complex decision making to work through in order to make the last 40 years worthwhile.

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

Prince George sits under the fog as seen from the top of University Way in January 2017.

JOHNLORNEWILLARDROMBOUGH

April11,1931-October26,2019

Husband of Marjorie Rombough. Born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Passed away peacefully in PrinceGeorge,BC.

LarryWilbertBarks

Jan29,1953-Oct26,2019

It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our dad Larry Wilbert Barks on October 26, 2019. Larry was born January 29, 1953 in Nipawin, Saskatchewan. He is predeceased by his father Archie, mother Betty, his sister’s Wendy and Clela and his grandson Devin. He will be survived through his sons Brent (Cassie), Lawrence (Aimee), his daughter Juanita (Clint) and his grandchildren, Brian, Dustin, Brodie, Tyler and Aurora, his brothers and sisters and many more. A celebration of life will be held on November 9th at1pmatAssmansFuneralChapel.

StanleyWilliamErnest McKay

December12,1951October28,2019

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Stan McKay on October 28 after is survived by his wife Rosemarie, his children Jenny (Eric) and Scott (Kathryn), and his grandsons Ian and Warren. He will also be missed by his mom Louise, sisters Michele, Denene, and Joanna, and hisbrotherBill.

An informal drop-in memorial tea will be held on Saturday November 2 from 1-3 pm at the MalcolmMcLeodHall,6355BendixonRd.

REMEMBRANCES

December 16, 1946 -October 26, 2019

With broken hearts we are deeply saddened with the passing of Darlene (Spook) and announce her passing on October 26th, 2019, We hope to see you at her celebration of life.

We all loved and appreciated the fact that Darlene Mary Gibbs (McLeod) -Mom, Grandma, GG, Great Grandma, Auntie, Sister, Mrs. Gibbs, and an amazing friend to alland will never forget and always appreciate her love and guidance. We would like to thank the amazing Dr. Chang and staff and the people at the cancer clinic for their support and guidance during this difficult time. She found friendship, peace, comfort, and more friends at the Prince George Hospice House and loved all the staff. Thank you, Cathy, Jillian, Denise, Chantal, and all the staff (too many to list) -she loved you all. Anyone interested in donating in Darlene’s memory is encouraged to do so by contacting:

Prince George Hospice House 3089 Clapperton Street, Prince George, BC B2L 5N4 (250) 563-2485

www.hospiceprincegeorge.ca/

We would like to express our appreciation for all of your love and support during this difficult time.

LouiseJoanGorton May30,1952-Oct21,2019

Louise Joan Gorton passed peacefully in her sleep early in the morning of Oct 21, 2019; she was 67 yearsyoung. A dedicated and respected educator for all of her life, following graduation from UBC with her Bachelors of Education, Louise moved from her birthplace of Vancouver to Prince George where she began her long-standing career as the librarian at Prince George Secondary School. She then moved to Kelly Road Secondary where in addition to her role as librarian, Louise taught sewing and math in addition to several years supportingtheschool’swrestlingteam.

Louise was active within the profession throughout her career; as member and former president of the Prince George District Teachers Association, member of the Prince George Librarian’s Association and BC TeachersLibrarian Association. In addition Louise took great pride in her appointment to the University of Northern British Columbia’s (UNBC) Board of Directors as representative of the College of New Caledonia in May 1997. She remained an active donor and contributor to the university throughout her life, establishing the Gorton Family Scholarship which will remain for many years to come thanks to her extraordinarily generous bequesttotheuniversityinherpassing.

Louise was also an active volunteer within the Prince George community As a gifted seamstress, for years Louise donated her exquisite baby quilts to young mothers through Reverend Elizabeth Zook, Chaplain at Prince George Hospital. She also crocheted and donated countless ‘white angels’totheHospiceHouse.

Not long following her retirement Louise was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s and her Louise in her passing is predeceased by her father Ron and mother Joan and survived by her cousins Eric, Lori and Andy DeCou who wish to extend their thanks and gratitude to the dedicated staff at Simon Fraser Lodge for their care and a special thankstoLouise’sfriendandcolleagueDonna.

In Memory

Gibbs, Darlene M.

Career Opportunities

WEYERHAEUSER MAINTENANCE RELIABILITY LEADER

Weyerhaeuser in Princeton, BC, is seeking to add aMaintenance Supervisor /Reliability Leader to its lumber manufacturing team.

The successful candidate will have proven abilities or exceptional aptitude in safety leadership, reliability/maintenance practices, team development, and technical capabilities with experience working in an industrial setting.

We are looking for someone who can lead our maintenance team to world-class execution of standard manufacturing and maintenance practices to improve our processes and increase reliability.

Competent in all areas of maintaining strong working relationships, maintenance processes, and administration, the successful candidate will have the ability to grow and develop as aleader within the company. APPLY ONLINE: weyer.jobs/14152

We encourage Indigenous people to apply

Please send your resume to karen.phoenix@shaw.ca or to: mariabrouwer@shaw.ca or

/

(Part-time)

Broadcast Group Prince George is looking for someone with strong attention to detail the initiative to problem solve in a structured environment, and the ability to multitask Also, we need someone who enjoys meeting people and understands the importance of both internal and external customer service The successful applicant must: of our radio and TV stations Experience with

Legal/Public Notices

WAREHOUSMANS LIEN PURSUANT TO THE WAREHOUSE LIEN ACT IN BC -IRSC DOES HERE BY GIVE NOTICE TO PREST, MICHAEL ALBERT THAT YOUR 2015 RAM 1500 SPORT, 1C6RR7MT9FS774794, WILL BE SOLD FOR NONPAYMENT IF WE DO NOT RECEIVE $1732.50 PLUS FEES, STORAGE AND COSTS ACCRUING.

SALE WILL TAKE PLACE NOVEMBER 11, 2019, OR THERE AFTER.

PLEASE CALL IRSC AT 604-595-7376 FOR INFORMATION.

CITIZEN PROMO

R0011752734

4.00x93.0-4C PG11 / PG000031

OFFICIAL RULES GREAT CANADIAN HOCKEY TOUR

Contest starts: October 3, 2019

Contest closes: February 5, 2020 at 5:00pm

CONTEST PRIZE INCLUDES:

Round trip airfare from Prince George including connection and airfare to each destination city 10 Nights accommodations 2 Tickets to each game

PRIZE VALUE: $10,000

Includes all taxes and fees.

All weekly winners will be eligible for the Grand Prize draw Thursday, February 13, 2020

No cash alternative, judges decision is final, no correspondence will be entered into. Prize must be accepted as awarded.

All entries must be received by 5pm February 5, 2020

GENERAL RULES:

No purchase necessary Maximum one original newspaper entry per participating advertiser location will be accepted. Contestants must reside in BC and must be 19 years of age

Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.

Prince George Citizen reserves the right to restrict the local winners to only persons whose primary residence is within a 100 mile radius of the affiliate’s office.

Employees of Prince George Citizen, its respective parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising sponsors and promotional agencies, and the immediate family members of each are not eligible

Contest entrants agree to abide by the terms of these Official Rules and by the decisions of the contest commissioners, which are final on all matters pertaining to the contest.

Winner must provide name/names of those able to leave on the trip the night of the draw Thursday, February 13, 2020 Must be in attendance to win.

Entrants further grant the Prince George Citizen the right to use and publish their proper name online and in print, or any other media, in connection with the Contest.

Prince George Citizen reserves the right to use any and all information related to the Contest, including information on contestants obtained through the contest, for marketing purposes or any other purpose, unless prohibited by law.

The Contest and all of the related pages, contents and code are copyright of the Prince George Citizen - Glacier Ventures and/or participating advertisers. Copying or unauthorized use of any copyrighted materials, trademarks or any other intellectual property without the express written consent of its owner is strictly prohibited.

Each winner, by acceptance of the prize, agrees to release all Sponsors, and their parent and subsidiary companies, their officers, directors, employees, agents, shareholders, affiliates, suppliers, distributors, and advertising agencies from all liability, claims, or actions of any kind whatsoever for injuries, damages, or losses to persons and property which may be sustained in connection with the receipt, ownership or use of the prize.

This contest is not intended for gambling. If it is determined that a contestant is using the contest for gambling purposes they will be disqualified and reported to authorities.

Prince George Citizen reserves the right to change the rules at any time

This contest is officially sponsored by Prince George Citizen and the 20 participating advertisers.

The Prince George Citizen is not affiliated with any contests run in conjunction with the Great Canadian Hockey Tour by participating sponsors.