Prince George Citizen December 19, 2019

Prince GeorGe

thursday december 19, 2019

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Man sentenced for shooting death

Mark NielseN Citizen staff

A Burns Lake-area man has been sentenced to life in prison without eligibility for parole for 12 years for the second-degree murder of his ex-wife’s friend.

Albert Gordon Giesbrecht, 67, was issued the term in B.c Supreme court in Smithers on Dec. 9 for the May 18, 2017 shooting death of raymond Bishop, 59, in Southside.

Giesbrecht had originally been charged with first-degree murder, which would have carried a minimum 25 years in prison. But during the course of submissions, crown prosecution abandoned the theory that Giesbrecht’s actions were the result of planning and deliberation.

According to an account provided by Justice David

Strimbold petition launched

An online petition has been launched calling on B.c.’s Attorney General to seek an appeal of the sentence issued to former Burns Lake mayor Luke Strimbold. Strimbold was sentenced Dec. 4 in B.c Supreme court in Smithers to two years less a day followed by two years probation after pleading guilty to four counts of sexual assault involving four boys who were under the age of 16.

The term has not sat well with Glen Laliberte and the more than 2,000 people who have signed it as of Monday. The term is “not just and his victims deserve better,” Laliberte said in the posting on change. org.

crossin in a May 24 decision to find him guilty of the lesser count, Giesbrecht left his home in Burns Lake sometime after 5 a.m. and boarded the 5:55 a.m. ferry to Southside. He was carrying with him two rifles with ammunition and crown prosecution argued Giesbrecht went to Southside looking for Bishop and his ex-wife.

“His motives and intentions were unclear other than he ‘wanted answers,’” crossin said.

Video from the ferry showed Giesbrecht, upon leaving the ferry, headed in the direction of Murray road, where Bishop lived. A few minutes later, Giesbrecht’s vehicle is seen again retracing his route, this time being followed by a pickup driven by Bishop.

How Bishop came to fol-

low Giesbrecht is not known although he did usually catch the ferry at that hour to Burns Lake where he worked. He also knew where Giesbrecht’s ex-wife lived and would have known Giesbrecht was at least heading in the general direction of her home. either way, Bishop pulled in front of Giesbrecht, prompting crossin to conclude Bishop was hoping to stop Giesbrecht’s progress.

They performed a rolling stop at a nearby intersection and then continued on and out of the view of the video camera where, according to the evidence, they stopped at some point. Shortly after, Giesbrecht’s vehicle is back in view while Bishop’s was not.

“it was during this timeframe of approximately two minutes, hidden from the view of the video camera, that both

vehicles eventually came to a stop and Mr. Bishop was ultimately shot and killed,” crossin said.

The case hinged significantly on two calls Giesbrecht made to 911. in reaching his verdict, crossin effectively agreed with the crown’s position that in the first call, made a few minutes after the incident, Giesbrecht not only admitted to shooting Bishop but provided the reason for doing so when he agreed with police that there was a history between the two.

in the second call, made about two hours later, Giesbrecht claimed the shooting was accidental. Why Giesbrecht did not raise the notion during the first call is “beyond the most charitable boundaries of common sense,” crossin said.

“Strimbold’s victims will live with this traumatic event for the rest of their lives. What is the message our justice system is sending to others that harm innocent children?” he continued.

B.c. Prosecution Service communications counsel Daniel McLaughlin said the Attorney General has the authority to “provide direction to the BcPS” with respect to the “approval or conduct of an appeal.” But he also cautioned that the Attorney General “must fulfill this constitutional role in an independent and judicial manner.”

According to a BcPS policy manual, an appeal of sentencing will be approved only if the term is either illegal or unfit and either involves a serious offence, raises a question concerning legal principle or involves the public interest in the proper administration of justice.

But in general, “a sentence will only be considered unfit if it is clearly below the acceptable range of sentence and not merely at the low end of the acceptable range.”

crown counsel was seeking four to six years, which would have been served in a federal institution, while Strimbold’s lawyer argued for 18 months.

— See eArLY reLeASe on page 3

PGcitizen.ca

Mark NielseN Citizen staff

citizen Photo by James Doyle

Fighting hunger members of the b c emergency health services and ambulance Paramedics of b c. show off some of the items that were donated on sunday afternoon at the college heights location of save-on-Foods during the 13th annual Red and White hunger Fight.

Scheer resignation shocks local MPs

Mark NielseN Citizen staff

Cariboo-Prince George MP Todd Doherty said Andrew Scheer’s decision to step down as Conservative leader left him in shock but he understands why he made the move.

“I can really appreciate where he’s coming from,” Doherty said Dec. 12 from Ottawa.

Doherty learned the news just prior to giving his reply to the Speech from the Throne in the House of Commons and during his speech spoke of how MPs’ relationships can suffer as they do their jobs.

“I know Andrew as a family man,” Doherty said. “His wife, Jillian, and his five kids are a priority for him and that’s what

Red Nose Needs voluNteeRs

Operation Red Nose needs about 75 more volunteers to ring in the new year.

“Historically in the last 10 years we have provided between 150 to 200 rides alone on New Year’s Eve and right now we don’t have enough teams to ensure everyone gets home safely,” said Andrea Johnson, Operation Red Nose spokesperson.

Those interested in helping out can apply online at www.ornpg.ca. Volunteers who’d like to be part of a road team must be 19 years old and have a valid B.C. driver’s license.

Road volunteers can be designated drivers (drive the client’s vehicle), navigators to work with the designated driver and escort drivers (transports the team from the client’s pickup location to the drop-off location.)

After four nights of service in 2019, Operation Red Nose had delivered 281 safe rides home.

On Saturday, Dec. 7, 65 volunteers, including 15 teams, provided 94 rides, while on Friday, Dec. 6, 77 volunteers, including 19 road teams, provided 89 rides.

“Our volunteers were rock stars especially on Friday night with the snowy road conditions and we appreciated everyone who called us,” said Johnson.

The safe ride home service available during the holiday season is by donation and is organized by the Rotary Club of Prince George-Nechako in partnership with ICBC and the Prince George RCMP.

Donations that Operation Red Nose receives from clients stay in Prince George and go directly to local youth and amateur sport organizations.

drew me to support him and I just wish Canadians would’ve seen the family man behind the scenes and how he was - but his actions today speak to that.”

The decision comes less than two months after a disappointing election result and after weeks of Conservative infighting about whether Scheer should stay on.

Several prominent Conservatives have called outright for his resignation or for him to re-apply for his job in a new leadership contest. However, Doherty’s support for Scheer remained strong.

Under Scheer’s leadership, the Conservatives drew one million votes than during the previous election, Doherty noted. But he hinted that the Tories will need to

make gains in Greater Toronto to come out ahead next time around.

“It was one area, really, 905 area, that we fell down in,” Doherty said.

It will be a matter of emphasizing the Conservatives “track record for holding the country together and being fiscally responsible” to win the next election, he said.

Doherty declined to say what kinds of qualities he will be looking for in a new leader.

“I haven’t given it any thought,” he said. “It’s so fresh. This isn’t even an hour, two hours old for us.”

Bob Zimmer, MP for Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies, said the news came to him as a surprise.

“The one thing I’ve understood in the

roles I’ve been in, I understand the stress and scrutiny,” Zimmer said. “When you’re the leader of the party, it’s much more intense and prolonged, and just doesn’t go away.”

Like Doherty, Zimmer stressed the achievements the Conservatives made in the last election, which included gains of 22 seats from 2015 while the Liberals and NDP both lost seats.

“I supported Andrew early on, and was ready to go into another election. We needed to fix something and the way we talk to Canadians could have been different, but I think we could have won,” Zimmer said.

- with files from the Canadian Press and Glacier Media

and her

evening during the inaugural Christmas

memorial ornaments for her

eaRly Release a possibility

— from page 1

That is the minimum that must be served to get into a sexual offender treatment program.

Two years less a day is the maximum time that can be served in a provincial facility. It was also recommended he serve the sentence at Ford Mountain Correctional Centre, where the province’s treatment program is housed.

There is a chance Strimbold could be out early. Under “early remissions,” an inmate can be released after serving two-thirds of a sentence based on good behaviour, Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General public affairs officer Hope Latham confirmed. Early releases are not made public for privacy reasons, she said.

Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad said last week he was not aware of the petition

a good friend.

and had no further comment.

“I heard about the sentencing but I had not looked into it any further at all,” Rustad said.

Cariboo-Prince George MP Todd Doherty said he was disappointed with the sentence Strimbold got, saying it should be longer. He plans to take the issue and others like it to the floor of Parliament, possibly as part of a speech about the right of victims.

Citizen staff

Citizen Photo by James Doyle.

Christmas memories

Kayla anderson

husband Kevin place handmade snowflake ornaments on a tree at salvaton army Church last tuesday

memorial. each ornament represents a loved one that has passed on and Kayla had

brother, sister, and mom while Kevin had a memorial ornament for

New bridge opens over Parsnip

Mark NielseN Citizen staff

The new bridge over the Parsnip River is now open, the province said Tuesday, eliminating a key bottleneck along Highway 97 between the Central Interior and the Peace.

Located just west of the Mackenzie junction, the $30.4-million project replaces a 66-year-old steel truss bridge with an opentop structure and two travelling lanes. The features translates into a greater capacity to handle the heavy loads required to service resource industries like mining, forestry, oil and gas.

“This new bridge replaces the last low overhead along the highway, opening the path for improved transport of goods and equipment in the northeast,” Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Claire Trevena said in a statement.

Replacing the bridge was part of the previous Liberal government’s 10-year transportation plan, launched in 2015 as part of the effort to make Highway 97 north easier to negotiate.

Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Mike Morris welcomed the news.

“It was a pet project of mine - that and the Salmon River bridge - when I first got elected in 2013 and it took a lot of internal work to get the ministry to pay attention to it, just because of the price tag,” he said.

The federal government contributed $12.9 million to the project, he noted, with the province footing the rest of the bill.

Bottlenecks along the route have long been a sore spot for truckers. Morris said drivers and companies often visited his office when he was first elected to register their complaints.

“Sometimes it’d add $20,000 to the transportation bill to get something over to Alberta and then up north and across into northern B.C. again because of the restriction of the bridge and it was totally unacceptable,” Morris said.

With the bridge now open, Morris said the most restrictive point now is the overhead railway crossing just north of Bijoux Falls.

“But they have dug it a little bit deeper

and they have made it so they can get some of the high loads through there,” he said.

“One of these days, they might have to replace it but for the time being it’s not too bad.”

The bridge also has a sidewalk for walkers and cyclists. Some work remains. Final paving of the bridge and its approaches will be completed next spring and the old steel truss bridge, built in 1953, will be decommissioned in 2020.

the new parsnip River bridge next to the old bridge, which will be decommissioned next year.

EquipmEnt donatEd to CollEgE

College of New Caledonia students will benefit from new tools in the classroom, thanks to a donation from the Dillon Adey Memorial Equipment Fund.

On June 1, 2009, Adey was killed in a motorcycle collision in Prince George. Since that day, the Adey family has kept his memory alive by raising funds to advance educational opportunities for students at CNC.

This year, the Adeys donated nearly $12,000 worth of equipment including three camcorders to the college’s library; a natural bone demonstration skull and two maxima curing lights to the dental program; a female reproduction model, four magnetic osteological teach skull, two giant functional centre brain anatomy model, and a bottle top dispenser to the

biology department; and a planetary mixer and six thermalloy fry pans to the professional cook program.

“It has become a family tradition to celebrate Dillon’s birthday by donating equipment to CNC at the end of the year in honour of Dillon’s birthday in November,” said his father, Perry Adey. “This year, Dillon would have turned 32. We’re happy knowing our son’s memory has made a significant impact in the education of others.”

The Adeys are one of CNC’s most consistent donors and, with the help of the community, have given more than $214,000 to CNC.

The family offers seven bursaries and scholarships to CNC students annually.

To honour the 10th anniversary of Dillon’s passing this year, the family also awarded two scholarships worth $7,000 each to a pair of nursing students.

Citizen staff

LheidLi T’enneh chaLLenges ceO’s cOmmenTs

Mark NielseN Citizen staff

A comment by the lead proponent of an ambitious plan to bring a massive petrochemical complex to Prince George is raising alarm bells for the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation.

In an interview aired on BNN Bloomberg, West Coast Olefins Ltd. CEO Ken James

said the “local community and the local First Nations are very supportive of this.”

It prompted the LTFN to issue a statement stressing that it has not come out favour the projects proposed by WCOL.

“Although we have had very preliminary discussions with WCOL, Lheidli T’enneh wishes to clarify that it does not support either of WCOL’s proposed projects at this

time,” LTFN said.

So far, LTFN Dayi (Chief) Clay Pountney has made only one public statement on the project, and that was included in a press release issued when WCOL first announced its in intention in July to pursue the $5.6-billion project on the BCR Industrial Site.

Pountney said LTFN “looks forward to potentially partnering with West Coast Olefins to ensure that if the project is approved (it) will provide significant economic benefits to Lheidli T’enneh and our members, and is designed and built in a way that is aligned with our values.”

In an emailed response, James said WCOL will work to address LTFN’s concerns.

“We strongly believe in the economic and environmental merits of the project and hope that we can gain public support before making firm commitments to proceed with the project in the Prince George community,” he added.

WCOL is in the process of seeking approval from the province’s Environmen-

tal Assessment Office to build an ethylene plant on a 120-hectare (300-acre) property in the BCR.

A preliminary project description was posted on the EAO website in September, sparking a 180-day review although the period can be extended if there is a need for more information or the proponent asks for one.

Last week, the EAO posted a letter outlining the formal scope, procedures and methods for the review. Steps will include a public consultation period as well as a review by a working group, the EAO and the LTFN.

WCOL also wants to build a natural gas recovery system, consisting of an extraction plant adjacent to the Enbridge’s West Coast natural gas pipeline and connected to a separation plant at the BCR, 10 kilometres away. That is to be subject to a review by the Oil and Gas Commission.

A lawsuit filed by LTFN against Enbridge following the October 2018 pipeline explosion and fire at Shelley remains before the court.

RCMP target ‘porch pirates’

Mark NielseN Citizen staff

Thanks to an enterprising Prince George RCMP officer, opportunistic thieves may get more than they bargained for if they try to abscond with a parcel from someone’s front porch this Christmas.

Earlier this year, Cst. Brent Benbow reached out to Amazon to let the online retailing giant know about the prevalence of the theft of their packages from doorsteps and mail boxes in the city.

In return, Amazon supplied the detachment with parcels holding a little prize inside - a device police use to track the package and the culprit who made off with it.

As of Wednesday, when local Mounties unveiled their new crime-fighting tool, the so-called bait packages had been deployed 50 times around the city, yield-

ing three activations. And one of them led to the arrest of a 37-year-old local man with charges pending.

“We’re essentially here to let these porch pirates know that they’ve had some strong winds behind their sails lately but there are many icebergs ahead and their ships will continue to sink,” Benbow said.

He said the packages have been put out all around the city with cooperation from households that have been the victims of such thefts in the past.

“We’re trying to let people know that a porch is not a community Christmas tree,” Benbow added. “If somebody does take one of these packages, they’re not going to be receiving a gift. The only gift they’ll get is a ride to our detachment.”

Those caught will be sentenced under a charge of theft from mail, a specific offence in the Criminal Code. The maximum punishment is 10 years in prison if the Crown proceeds by indictment and six months in jail and a $5,000 fine if the Crown proceeds by summary conviction.

Prince George RCMP Supt. Shaun Wright called Benbow’s initiative an excellent example “outside the box thinking” by the detachment’s members in the name of putting a dent in property crime.

“Really, our end goal is deterrence,” Wright said. “If somebody sees a package in Prince George on a doorstep or a bike downtown, we want them to think it’s a bait package, it’s a bait bike, it’s not yours.”

A similar program has been operating in New York but Prince George RCMP is the first detachment in Canada to take up

the partnership, Benbow said.

Bait packages aren’t the only way thieves are being caught. RCMP showed a video of a man carrying a shovel and knocking on doors, purportedly to ask homeowners if they wanted their driveways shoveled.

When there was no answer at this one particular house, and after he looked around to see if there were any security cameras spying on him, he lifted a package out of the home’s mailbox and left. Little did Ronald Dale Collins know that the house was equipped with a doorbell camera. He was subsequently sentenced to 224 days in jail and one year probation for the Jan. 13, 2017 offence.

prince George RCMp Cst. Brent Benbow and a selection of the bait packages Mounties have been setting out around the city to catch parcel thieves.

Skills trailer stolen from school

The trailer used to transport tools, equipment and supplies to elementary schools throughout School District 57 has been stolen.

It went missing from Buckhorn Elementary School sometime last Monday night, School District 57 said in a statement, adding the theft has been reported to the RCMP. It’s described as a charcoal-grey 20-footlong dual-axle enclosed trailer with a rampstyle rear door and a distinctive Canfor toolbox logo on each side.

Fortunately, the trailer was mostly empty when it went missing although there was $1,000 worth of woodworking equipment still inside. The trailer was equipped with a hitch lock.

The school district’s elementary skills teacher, Trevor Pearen, uses it as a home base from which to deliver programming to students. Inside the school gymnasiums, Pearen typically leads the students in woodworking projects as part of hands-on learning opportunities.

The trailer was scheduled to be at Nusdeh Yoh Elementary School this week. If it was not recovered by then, tools and equipment were to be transported to that school via a fleet of trucks.

“If you locate the trailer, do not approach,” RCMP advised. “Call police immediately.”

Brink fined for unsafe workplace

WorkSafeBC has hit Brink Forest Products Ltd. with a $37,639.56 fine for unsafe work practices.

The fine was levied on Oct. 4 in response to a July 3 inspection to see if the employer had completed a safeguarding audit and added new guards to the workplace.

The inspector found the employer had

done so but also came across some problems.

“During the inspection, I observed two separate safeguards that were left open,” the inspector said in a report. “One safeguard gate was propped open with a garbage can and the other was flipped open.”

“The employer corrected the violation immediately and I discussed with the employer and worker that the root cause

of the violation must be investigated to ensure sustainability of compliance.”

The inspector also found a safeguard on a third machine was not adequately constructed to ensure workers could not reach a hazardous part. This was a repeated violation, WorkSafeBC said in a summary on its website.

Brink did not return an invitation to comment.

Citizen staff

Citizen staff

Citizen Photo by James Doyle

Johnny Reid

ChRistmas

Johnny Reid performs on stage at Cn Centre last Wednesday night during the Prince George stop of the my Kind of Christmas tour.

Gunfight combatant denied parole

Mark NielseN Citizen staff

A Parole Board of Canada panel has denied early release to a man serving a fouryear sentence for his role in an exchange of gunfire outside a Prince George drug house.

Cody Aubrey Lornsten, 33, is serving the sentence for an Oct. 17, 2017 incident that began when he walked into a known drug house in the 2000 block of Tamarack Street and came across some people he did not get along with.

What happened next was the subject of video footage retrieved from the home’s security camera.

As Lornsten exited a side door into the home’s driveway, Michael Campbell-Alexander, who left the home from another door, stationed himself at one end of the driveway and opened fire.

Lornsten, in turn, shot back with a shotgun he claimed to have found inside the home. Lornsten was hit in the thigh with a .22-calibre round and his dog, which he had on a leash, was shot dead. Campbell-Alexander, now serving a 5 1/2-year sentence, was hit in the ankle with bird shot.

Despite the wound, Lornsten managed to escape. Police tracked him to an apartment building in Quesnel where he was found with

the shotgun, along with 17 rounds of shells. In reaching its decision, issued Dec. 5, the panel found that while Lornsten has been making progress, it remained concerned about his ability to make good choices while incarcerated. Specifically, he admitted to smoking cannabis when he was selected for a random drug test and took responsibility for a tattoo rig found in another inmate’s cell.

By waiting until the drug test to admit he had consumed the cannabis, a panel member found he effectively lied by omission. On the tattoo rig, Lornsten told the panel he took ownership under threat from another inmate.

The panel also found he lacked a viable release plan and recommended he work towards transfer to a minimum security institution from the medium-security one he is currently serving his time in.

Lornsten was issued his sentence on Nov. 9, 2018 after he had pleaded guilty to two firearms counts and one count of breaching an undertaking.

wNine other counts, including aggravated assault and unlawfully discharging a firearm, were stayed.

Less credit for time served prior to sentencing, he had a further two years six months and 17 days left to serve at that time.

Trailer fire on Lansdowne Road

There was a trailer fire in the 3700 block of Lansdowne Road at about 4:30 Monday morning.

Prince George Fire Rescue responded to the call with 16 firefighters from four halls. When crews arrived they discovered

flames coming from the front of the trailer. Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the front of the home. No one was home at the time of the fire and there were no injuries to fire personnel. Cause of the fire is not yet determined. Estimated damage is $25,000.

Citizen staff

Fentanyl dealer sentenced

A Fort St. John man has been sentenced to 32 months in prison after being busted with more than 200 pills laced with fentanyl in a Walmart fitting room in 2018.

Sam Jr. Archibald Capot Blanc-Acko was sentenced to 985 days in BC Supreme Court on Dec. 10. He was convicted on two counts of possession for purposes of trafficking and two counts of possessing a dangerous weapon in July.

Capot Blanc-Acko was arrested March 2, 2018, after he was seen walking into the Fort St. John Walmart with a gun tucked into his waistband. Both uniform and plainclothes officers swarmed the store where they found Capot Blanc-Acko in the fitting room with containers of green pills.

Police seized 223 tablets in total, including dozens hidden in a plastic Kinder egg container, that were tested and confirmed to contain fentanyl. Police also seized an air gun and a baton from the fitting room. At trial, experts testified the number of pills seized would make Capot Blanc-Acko a mid-level dealer. If sold in singles, the street value of the seized pills would be $6,700, court heard.

Capot Blanc-Acko was sentenced to 985 days in jail on each count of trafficking, to be served concurrently, and was issued a lifetime firearms ban. He was sentenced to time served, issued a lifetime firearms ban, and ordered to submit for a DNA sample on the weapons charges.

Bait car theFt yields jail time

A Prince George woman has been sentenced to a further 60 days in jail for trying to make a theft from an RCMP bait car.

Virginia Anne Denning, 36, was arrested on Oct. 19 after members of the Prince George RCMP’s downtown safety unit inside the vehicle, parked near Seventh

and Brunswick.

“Within seconds of entering the vehicle, the suspect had removed a number of bait items, including two rifle cases, and was going back for more when officers arrived,” RCMP said at the time.

Denning, who has remained in custody ever since, was sentenced on a count of theft $5,000 or under.

She was also sentenced to 30, 15 and 12 days respectively for four other counts of theft $5,000 or under, to 45 days for possessing stolen property under and to 12 days for breaking and entering and committing an indictable offence from five other incidents. She was also sentenced to 18 months probation on the counts.

Citizen staff

Glacier Media

Citizen Photo by James Doyle

Kathi travers.

Mary John’s life inspires students OPINION

LESSONS IN LEARNING

GERRY CHIDIAC

One of the benefits of teaching is that I get to make the final choice with regard to the books we will study in class. With a greater emphasis on Indigenous content in the new British Columbia curriculum, I was drawn to Stoney Creek Woman, the story of Mary John. The Stoney Creek Reserve, today called Saik’uz, is not far from us, just outside of Vanderhoof.

Quite honestly, the book was a joy to read, for both me and for my students. The story begins in 1918, when Mary is only five years old. It ends 70 years later, with Mary reflecting over her life with author Bridget Moran.

Mary John was a person we would call resilient today. She faced a life of hardship, yet always focused on what she could do to improve the situation.

She was born to a 13-year-old Carrier mother who had been assaulted by an Englishman. Though he remained in the area, this man never even acknowledged Mary’s existence. Her mother fortunately married a wonderful man from Stoney Creek who loved her like his own daughter.

The story reflects the times Mary lived through. She experienced the traditional life of a Carrier child until she went to a church-run residential school. Though she was not overtly abused in that setting and was well-liked by the staff, it was very hard for her to be away from her family, away from her language and traditions. The underfunding the school received from the Canadian government meant that the food was horrible and the children spent more time doing manual work than they spent learning. Mary’s mother finally risked the wrath of Canadian law and kept her daughter home when she was 14.

Two years later, Mary was married to Lazare John, a man she barely knew, in an arranged marriage. Lazare turned out to be a good man. He and Mary had 12 children and were together for over 60 years. Life was difficult and several of their children died. In addition, the people of their community were subject to an archaic Indian Act, where the “Indian agent” had tremendous influence over the lives of people he clearly didn’t understand. The Great Depression and the tuberculosis epidemic also hit the people of Stoney Creek very hard. Added misfortune was caused by racism in the legal system and the first cases in what is now called The Highway of Tears, which passes through Saik’uz territory. Yet Mary always found a way forward. She worked much of her adult life to build bridges between the Carrier people and the non-Indigenous population. She was also a force for justice, helping to transform the Homemakers Association, founded by the Department of Indian Affairs to teach homemaking skills, into a vehicle for social change.

member of the b c. Press council a division of Glacier Ventures international corp e-mail: letters@pgcitizen.ca.

Mary and Lazare also worked tirelessly to pass on their traditional ways to the young people and to anyone who wanted to learn. She remarks on the irony of being asked to teach the Carrier language and traditions at the local Catholic elementary school in Vanderhoof in the 1970s, yet she undertook it with great enthusiasm. Later in her life, Mary received numerous public honours, including the Order of Canada. The crowning achieve-

ment for me as a teacher, however, was seeing how much my students loved and admired Mary John. Their final project was to simply create a work inspired by the book. Some reflected Mary’s activism and drew attention to the fact that the Highway of Tears still haunts us. Others beautifully demonstrated their love of this great woman in various original pieces. We can be grateful to Bridget Moran for so beautifully writing Mary’s story. It is a

reminder that there are many such people among us. May their resilience and determination always motivate and inspire us to continue the journey and build the kind of world they dreamed of. — 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

Illustration by Jerricko Felix/@graphikills Mary John’s life was depicted in Bridget Morgan’s book Stoney Creek Woman.

Q

THIS week’S queSTIon: How are you giving to charity this Christmas?

Charity starts at home (and home is where it will be this Christmas)” was the most popular answer with 41 per cent and 162 votes, while “money to my charities of choice (no time)” came in with 38 per cent and 151 votes. Trailing with 17 per cent and 67 votes was “food” and last but not least “time for my charities of choice (no money)” came in with five per cent and 19 votes. There was a total of 399 votes. Remember this is not a scientific poll.

week’S queSTIon:

How to vote: To answer go online to our website: www.pgcitizen.ca

How to Have a “green” CHristmas

Christmas has turned into a capitalistic consumer-based holiday where presents have become the focus in North America. This also means that where there are presents, there is trash... or is there?

Have you ever thought about reducing the waste created at Christmas time? There are plenty of ideas floating around on the internet but the assumption is that they will cost more money and time. This assumption couldn’t be farther from the truth. Changing the way we wrap gifts, buying local and using up our leftovers are just a few of the hundreds of ideas that can help us reduce our footprint during the holidays. Hopefully one of these ideas will make its way into your home if you celebrate the holiday. We need millions of people doing zero waste imperfectly, not a select few doing everything. The most obvious place that we can reduce waste during this holiday season is gift wrapping. To avoid the hassle of trying to figure out if you can recycle the wrapping paper and bows, try wrapping with newspaper and ribbon, in fabric Furishiko style or keep it simple and use

SENSIBLE SOLUTIONS

a pillowcase! The excitement of unwrapping is still there but you can throw the pillowcase in the wash after. This also leads to saving hundreds of dollars over the long term. Encourage your family to also wrap in sustainable products and enjoy how beautiful all your presents look under the tree wrapped in the newspaper. I was pleasantly surprised! If you are looking to use up a roll you still have left and want to know if you can recycle it you can go to Recycle BC and type in the search box. The rule of thumb is that if you can rip the wrapping paper you can usually recycle it. If it’s shiny, has sparkles, or doesn’t rip easily you usually can’t recycle it.

The next largest waste creator during this season is the Christmas dinner. If

it’s possible, use reusable cutlery and plates to feed your friends and family. If you don’t have enough to host everyone, consider asking them to bring their own plate and cutlery, it’s not as terrible as you may think. When it comes to cooking for large amounts of people it can be tricky to gauge how much food to make. I recommend asking your grandparents for some advice on how big of a turkey to get. If I was cooking my own turkey and not going to my families for dinner that’s what I would do! Grandma knows best. Christmas dinner the next day is legendary so make sure leftovers are sent home with the relatives in reusable containers. Christmas dinner is my favourite so I try to make sure that I’m cognizant of the waste created as well as the environmental footprint as a whole. Buying a locally raised turkey is a great way to reduce your impact and those dollars will go towards making your neighbour’s Christmas that much better. To find a turkey near you, I recommend visiting the farmers market on Saturdays at 1310 Third Ave. – they are open year-round!

Science proves Santa is real

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Clement Moore’s poem is a holiday tradition. With its careful and detailed description of Santa Claus and his eight tiny reindeer, and a more detailed description of Santa at work as he delivers presents, it is one of the best and most accurate accounts we have of the “right jolly old elf.” I mean, from a scientific point of view, what is better than observational data?

But, despite this excellent firsthand account, I get e-mails around this time every year proudly proclaiming Santa does not exist. I received one recently carefully outlining the scientific impossibility of Old Kris Kringle by pointing out reindeer can’t fly, he would only have 1/3000th of a second to deliver presents at each house, and the g-forces involved in acceleration would flatten him like a pancake.

Scientifically speaking, this defies logic as we have an account of Santa in the very act! If he didn’t exist, who is the poem describing? What’s the truth? When what to my wondering eyes should appear,

MACKENZIE KERR RELATIVITY

TODD WHITCOMBE

But a miniature sleigh with eight tiny reindeer, With a little old driver, so lively and quick, I knew in a moment that it must be St. Nick.

Well, I’d like to provide some science in favour of Santa Claus and it is this last couplet that provides the clue as to how the man in red can accomplish it all. Quick isn’t the word. Light speed would be a better term!

In the 1890s, Lorentz devised a set of equations called the Lorentz Transformations. The essential feature of these equations, for our purposes, is that time is intimately linked with velocity and totally relative. And we all know relatives are a big part of Christmas!

For anything with a velocity approaching the speed of light, time stretches. At the speed of light, time stops. That is, for anything traveling at the speed of light, time does not change or move or pass

or... well, time is just meaningless.

This, of course, means if St. Nick is truly quick and traveling at the speed of light, then he has all of the time in the world to accomplish his task.

But, the skeptics cry, only photons can travel at the speed of light! And they are massless particles of energy.

True. The reason they need to be massless is also a consequence of the Lorentz Transformations as anything with mass gets infinitely heavy as it approaches light speed.

If Santa is to travel at the speed of light, he must have no mass at all. That makes carrying presents somewhat problematic, to say the least! Not to mention the fact that he is invariably described as “chubby and plump” so he is already starting with a lot of mass!

Sub-atomic physics comes to the rescue, however.

You might have heard of the discovery of the Higgs Boson at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. This has been dubbed The God Particle but that is a silly and misleading name. It really should be called The Santa Claus Particle.

After all, it is the interactions of the

While you are there you can buy all of your vegetables for dinner as well. Why stop at only buying your food locally? There are so many stores that can supply you with all your Christmas gifts so you can skip Amazon altogether. If you have leftovers, I recommend making a turkey soup or googling Christmas leftover recipes. Some of these ideas may be new to you or you have been doing them for years. If you can take one of these ideas and adapt it to what works for you then you will be making a difference. If you are worried your family won’t appreciate your efforts because change can be confusing and scary, just lead by example. Wrap your gifts for them sustainably but don’t expect them to reciprocate right away. It can take time for your family to change their habits. Bring your own reusable cutlery and plate and be the “weird” one at the table for the planet. Above all else, remember that Christmas is a time to spend with your loved ones and memories are more important than the gifts.

Higgs Boson with the universe which leads to “mass.”

Shut down the Higgs Boson and you have a mass-less Santa Claus able to move at the speed of light. It is science that allows Santa to be light speed quick and have all the time he needs to visit every good boy and girl on Earth. Of course, controlling the Higgs Boson requires a lot of energy – more than Santa Claus can get from just eating milk and cookies. Where does the energy come from?

Well, again sub-atomic physics allows for the production of large fluctuations in energy from the substance or vacuum of space itself, much like the Big Bang which produced the universe and all the mass in it in the first place. All of the Christmas presents, too! And since Christmas presents are observed to occur, one can only conclude the Big Bang must have taken place. Therefore, Santa must exist. But in the end, what really matters, at this time of the year, is: And I heard him exclaim, ere he flew out of sight, Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night.

2019 TribuTes

NIGHT SHIFT

For the friends and families of the following individuals, next week will be their first Christmas without this amazing individual in their lives. We hope your sorrow and loss is also mixed with pride for how gracious this person was in life.

Prince George benefited greatly in the lifetime of these people and the city and its residents continue to reap the rewards of their contributions, as well as the example they set for all.

My deepest apologies if I’ve missed anyone but here is my 2019 tribute list, in no particular order:

Mary Gouchie - a Lheidli T’enneh elder and matriarch, Gouchie passed away on Jan. 24 at age 97. Flags were lowered across the city at half-mast in her honour.

A mother of 10 with 21 grandchildren, 33 great granchildren and a host of great-great grandchildren, Gouchie’s legacy to Prince George and area will be her words and music.

She worked tirelessly to preserve the Lheidli dialect of the Dakelh (Carrier) language, as well as songs and traditions

for her family and her people.

Along with Olympic gold medalist Catriona Le May Doan, Gouchie carried the torch into Canada Games Plaza to open the 2015 Canada Winter Games.

Bjorger Pettersen - a member of the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame, Pettersen passed away last Dec. 29 at his home in Okotoks, Alta. He was Canada’s first full-time cross-country ski coach.

Along with his extensive contributions to local skiing, he worked in Inuvik in the mid-1960s, transforming a group of Indigenous kids from the Mackenzie Delta region into Olympic-calibre athletes.

Two of his skiers, twin sisters Sharon and Shirley Firth of the Gwich’in First Nation, were on the national women’s crosscountry team for 17 years, competing in

four consecutive Winter Olympics.

Armand Denicola - A decorated Second World War veteran, he passed in March at age 96. Denicola earned many medals of honour and was awarded the National Order of the Legion of Honour from France for his part in the liberation of France.

Robert Frederick - a Lheidli T’enneh elder, he passed in May at age 69.

A Lejac residential school survivor, he devoted his adult life to restoring cultural traditions, focussing on teaching others the art of building traditional cottonwood dugout canoes. A fibreglass replica of one of his creations is permanently installed at City Hall.

Gary Samis - “The Commish” passed suddenly on May 13 but the longtime sports organizer left an incredible legacy in the local sports community for his work with the Prince George Cougars, the 2015 Canada Winter Games and many others.

Roz Thorn - Born and raised in Prince George, she passed away in October at age 70. She spent 48 years with the Prince George Construction Association and was recoginzed in 2008 with the B.C. Construction Association’s Distinguished Service Award.

Kathi Travers - there was “no malarkey” whenever this lady was around, right up until her sudden passing in October.

A longtime Citizen columnist and CFISFM radio show host, she was best known for the New England twang in her voice, her many connections and friendships in the community and her unending devotion to animals and their welfare.

We lost three other noteworthy individuals this year: Jack Ross, Vern Norbraten and Dianne Stepski.

For all of these great people and the many others I neglected to mention, thank you for everything you did for this city.

Mary Gouchie

Kathi Travers

Robert Frederick

Roz Thorn

Armand Denicola

NEIL GODBOUT

Charity on ice

The Prince George Spruce Kings and the Prince George Cougars held their annual Christmas giving games last weekend, with the Kings holding their Drop The Gloves and Sock It To ‘Em game on Friday and the Cougars hosting their annual Teddy Bear And Toque Toss game Saturday. Top, helpers carry the hundreds of teddys, toques, and other items off the ice during the teddy and toque toss game on saturday night at Cn Centre. Right, prince George spruce Kings players and players bench peewee silverbacks players pick up warm gloves, toques, socks, and other items thrown onto the ice during the team’s annual Drop the Gloves and sock it to ‘em game on Friday night at Rolling mix Concrete arena. bottom right, prince George Cougars players Vladislav mikhalchuk, left, and tyson Upper, right, pose for a photo with the teddy and toque toss goal scorer ilijah Colina. bottom left, prince George Cougars players Reid perepeluk, left, and mitchell Kohner with the minnie and mickey mouse toys they picked up.

Citizen photos by James Doyle

Students butcher moose to learn life skills

The AssociATed Press

Students at an Alaska high school have received lessons in anatomy, life skills and Alaska cultural traditions through an unusual study source: a moose carcass. About 30 Chugiak High School students de-boned, separated, ground and packaged the animal during a recent World Discovery Seminar class.

Teacher Brian Mason provided an interactive lesson on moose anatomy that produced some squeamish moments. The students processed about 100 kg of moose meat. They plan to cook and eat some of the meat at a dinner and donate the rest to charity.

Chugiak High School said the program with about 125 students and four teachers emphasizes in-depth learning and hands-on activities to enable students to become “multifaceted thinkers.”

The seminar program emphasizes experiential learning - the approach used when the students butchered the cow moose carcass that delivered in his pickup truck.

“You can learn certainly about anatomy

from diagrams and textbooks and videos. But getting your hands on an animal is a big part of the science aspect of it,”

Mason said.

Mason killed the moose using a special Cultural Educational Harvest Permit from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which allows game animals to be killed for educational purposes. Up to 40 permits are issued annually,

primarily to schools and villages. Most are for moose, though some are for caribou, deer, black bears and mountain goats, said Tim Spivey of Alaska Fish and Game.

The permit limited Mason to shooting a moose without antlers that was not a calf or a cow with a calf.

Mason had to submit a report describing the animal and his hunt and within

30 days must submit another report detailing the educational or cultural activities that took place using the animal.

The program gives participants better insight into the subjects they study, student Ryley Edwards said.

“We do a lot of things that are more interactive than other classes,” she said. “It’s more fun for learning stuff instead of just on paper.”

AP photo Eris Soellers, left, and Lydia McDougall trim moose meat at Chugiak High School in Anchorage, Alaska.

Low-cost meal delivery supports needed

AFOOD FOR THOUGHT KELSEY LECKOVIC

s a dietitian in hospital, I often receive referrals for elderly patients who have been struggling to eat enough at home. In following-up with these referrals, I regularly find that once these patients are in a supportive environment, where meals are prepared and provided, they are able to meet their needs, maintain their weight and prevent a greater level of malnutrition.

A hospital environment can create the false impression that a patient’s issues with malnutrition have resolved, when all that has happened is that the patient has now been provided with healthy, safe, personally acceptable food and, as a result, is able to eat enough for what they require. While it’s wonderful to see a patient’s health improve as their nutritional intake improves, this environment is only temporarily addressing a larger issue for that patient: they couldn’t provide themselves with enough food to meet their needs while living independently.

When I’m presented with patients like this, I have many questions regarding why they were not meeting their nutritional needs at home.

Why were they losing weight/deteriorating at home?

Could they access a grocery store?

Are there food security/affordability issues? Are they lacking food skills?

Do they have cognitive issues (i.e. dementia)? Is a medical condition affecting their ability to purchase and prepare meals?

A lack of appetite is not always the reason for inadequate intake.

The answer to ensuring that an elderly patient has issues relating to poor intake addressed sometimes seems simple: remove the barriers that are preventing that patient from eating enough while they are living independently at home. The simple answer is a tall order to ask for an elderly individual living in Prince George.

Family members who are concerned about their loved one’s nutrition often have three, less- than-ideal options.

Option 1 - friends and family can commit the time and effort to preparing and providing all of their loved one’s meals, which is sometimes an impossible option since they may need to deliver meals three times per day.

Option 2 - if they can afford to do so, the family can pay a private-care provider to assist their loved one with grocery shopping and daily meal preparation.

Option 3 - the family may need to consider a higher level of care if options 1 and 2 are not feasible.

When a senior cannot receive assistance with meal preparation at home, meal deliv-

ery is the next logical option. However, Prince George only has one low-cost meal delivery program: Meals on Wheels. Although the program is providing a valuable service to this community, they are not currently able to meet the needs of all those who require their service, partially due to volunteer constraints and a lengthy waitlist.

While there are restaurants, shelters, food banks, hampers and centres that provide low-cost or free meals in Prince George, an individual would need to be able to travel to those locations to access

those services.

This is a huge barrier for many seniors.

Better Meals, which is a Burnaby-based low-cost meal delivery service, offers delivery to many communities in British Columbia, including quite a few outside the Lower Mainland. Unfortunately, the company does not currently offer their services to Prince George residents, but said they would be open to expanding their delivery to Prince George if there was an increase in demand. In other words, more people would have to voice their need for this service.

This, once again, tells me that if malnutrition, especially in the elderly, is seen as an issue and concern is raised regarding a lack of resources for this population, the problem is more likely to be addressed. If this is an issue that continues to be neglected, then it seems as if many seniors will only continue to either struggle with malnutrition while living at home or need to be assessed for long-term care because of the issue.

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

Ashley Wood, left, and lynne peppler help sort cans of food for hampers for the prince Gerorge Council of Seniors on Dec. 16, 2016

New business deals in salvaged materials

Mark NielseN Citizen staff

Call it a thrift store with a construction twist.

Wall to Wall - Renovate, Recycle and Restore, a new business that opened last week - takes in scrap building materials from local contractors and puts those items up for sale at well-below retail prices.

If you are sensing similarities to Habitat for Humanity, there is a reason. In 2005, proprietor Christina Wall and her two children were the second family in Prince George to get a home through the program and she worked at the ReStore for a time.

Following a long and ugly struggle with the national organization, the local chapter was shut down in 2016. It left a void Wall is

seeking to refill.

“I do know the need in Prince George for a store like this,” Wall said.

She’s secured a 2,100-square-foot space in unit 12B at 1839-1st Ave., in the Cariboo Estates industrial area. Turn in at Rogers Custom Meats; it’s across the street from the Prince George Humane Society.

There, Wall accepts “anything you can build a house with.”

It has led in particular to a trove of odds and ends - door knobs, lighting, bathroom fixtures - to go along with doors, windows and trim and a bit of lumber.

Starting in the new year, she will be accepting appliances in good working order and also takes in wood furniture.

However, she won’t take in anything

accepted at a typical thrift store, such as clothing, dishes and housewares and furniture with material on it, like couches.

It’s a for-profit venture but one where homebuilders and renovators who drop off their excess and salvaged material save on

tipping fees at the landfill, which Wall said she’s been told can account for as much as eight per cent of a project’s cost.

On the other end, homeowners have a way to find savings, “especially on renovating which can also be very expensive.”

prince george citizen staff photo

christina Wall has opened Wall to Wall, a business that specializes in salvaged building materials.

Brochure brought Corcorans to B.C.

The end of December marks the 90th birthday of retired teacher, school principal and school district superintendent Owen Corcoran. Owen was born in the Longreach Region of Queensland, Australia in 1929.

The oldest of 10 children, he grew up during the Great Depression.

Times were hard but his parents made sure he received a good education.

Owen went to a Christian elementary school and graduated from the Toowoomba State High School.

In Grade 11 he was eligible to join a teachers’ scholarship class and two years later he went on to the Training College to complete his teacher training.

He worked as a head teacher in Queensland for many years.

During that time, he met and married Ellen Tootell.

Ellen, the daughter of a First World War veteran and a dairy farmer, was born in 1932.

She said, “We grew up poor, but everyone else was poor too so it really didn’t matter. I didn’t have electricity until I was 21. I was out of school at the age of 16 and I went into nursing. I did general nursing at the hospital for nearly five years and then one year in midwifery. Along with my training, I had to deliver

40 babies to complete my certification. There was a high standard of training at the hospital and they were strict with all

of us.

“My parents boarded many teachers over the years. When another one was leaving, I said I was going to marry the next teacher that came to board at our house. I met Owen at a movie and because we were friends, I talked my mom into boarding him at our home. When I came home on my days off to visit my parents, I got to know Owen quite well; we got married in 1957.

“After working nine years in my profession we started our family of four children; Peter (Kristy), Marian (Frank), Paul (Gina) and Kate (Jim). I became a stay at home mom and now we have five grandchildren and one great grandchild.”

Owen explained, “In 1969, I was Head Teacher of a K-10 school in Western Queensland. I saw a brochure advertising teaching careers in Canada. Canada was hiring teachers from anywhere in the British Commonwealth.

“The children were getting older and soon they would have to take correspondence or go to a boarding school which was 50 miles away. Neither Ellen nor I wanted someone else looking after our children so their well-being became the deciding factor that brought us to Canada.

“We decided to apply and I was accepted. I was making $4,000 a year and we had no money. We had six mouths to feed and a second hand car. I cashed in my long service leave pay, sold our car and a household of goods and after paying for our airfare we had $1,200 to our name.

“We landed in Prince George and quickly learned that no one wanted to rent to us because we had four children. At first, we walked everywhere; six months later we managed to buy a second hand Chevy and I had to learn to drive on the right-hand side of the road.

“My first job was teaching at Austin Road. I car pooled with other teachers

until we bought that Chevy.” Owen’s educational background spans two continents and slightly more than six decades.

He was a teacher and principal in Queensland, Australia and teacher, principal, Coordinator of Professional Development in School District 57 Prince George before going on to be Superintendent of Schools in S.D. 87 Stikine (from 1980 to 1985) and S.D. 55 Burns Lake (from 1985 to 1993).

He retired from the superintendency in December 1993 and accepted a secondment to the Ministry of Education as the Regional Coordinator (Field Services) for the Northern Region, a position he held until June 1996.

This assignment involved working with the 13 northern school districts and focused on the implementation of the K12 Education Plan in all facets.

He has been president of the Prince George District Teachers Association and the British Columbia School Superintendents’ Association, and second vice-, first vice- and president of the British Columbia Retired Teachers’ Association and the Prince George Retired Teachers Association.

He is fully retired now after a stint as secretary of the Prince George Retired Teachers Association and working privately as a Practicum Supervisor with UNBC.

Ellen concluded by saying, “We have been married for 62 years. We go to the gym at least four days a week and we have been exercising together for the past 45 years. When the children were small, I started a day care service and took in boarders to be able to be a stay at home mom. We had no money and our entertainment was a drive out to the airport to watch the planes land.

“We have appreciated everything and each other all these years, and now when we get up in the morning, we appreciate every new day.”

Citizen photo by James Doyle

Ellen and Owen Corcoran at their Prince George home.

Power Pole collisions on the rise, hydro says

The Canadian Press

BC Hydro says it’s seeing a rise in the number of car accidents involving its power poles and other electrical equipment and is offering tips to avoid injury.

The utility says it responded to more than 2,100 accidents involving its equipment last year, which is 13 per cent higher than the five-year average.

The region with the largest spike in collisions was the Lower Mainland at 16 per cent.

All other regions also saw more collisions with the exception of the central Interior, which saw a two per cent decrease.

In the event of an accident involving electrical equipment, BC Hydro recommends driving out from under the power line and at least 10 metres away, or the

length of a bus, from the source of electricity if it is safe to do so.

If it’s unsafe to do so because of injury or because the vehicle is inoperable, occupants should remain in the vehicle, phone 911 and wait for BC Hydro crews to arrive.

If staying in the car is not an option due to fire or other emergencies, BC Hydro says you should remove loosefitting clothing like jackets and scarves to reduce the risk of contact.

The utility then recommends opening the door and standing behind it, then jumping out and away from the vehicle without touching any part of the vehicle at the same time as the ground.

Land with feet together and shuffle heel-toe away from the vehicle and call

911, it says.

BC Hydro says these types of accidents make up four per cent of its “trouble”

calls throughout the year and led to more than 970 power outages for customers in the province.

A garbage truck took out a power pole in a parking lot on Ospika Boulevard North in March 2018. The driver stayed in the truck until BC Hydro crews arrived to remove the powerline.

Amputees have local support

Christine hinZMAnn CitiZen stAff

“I don’ t expect to change everybody’s lives but if just one person doesn’t shoot themselves in the face because I helped them, then that’s made my life pretty freakin’ special,” Kia Johnsen, an amputee peer support person, said.

Johnsen had her leg amputated in May 2013 because chronic pain from repeated injury was so severe she simply couldn’t function any more.

“When I had my leg amputated, there were no support resources,” Johnsen said. “I did all the research and I thought I was ready but nothing prepared me for the reality of it.”

At one point during the process, she felt so low she believed life was not worth living.

“And no one should think that,” Johnsen said. “We don’t want that for anyone or their families. That was my saving gracemy kids. I couldn’t leave them because I’d miss too much. I want to see my grandbabies.”

And from having been at that low point comes the willingness to help other amputees.

“That’s why I do what I do,” Johnsen said. “And so I talk to a lot of people - and actually, I shouldn’t say that - I don’t do a lot of talking - I do a lot of listening. I do say ‘only you can help yourself’. So tell me what you want - resources or you want to know how to help yourself - I’ll be therewhenever - I don’t care when it is - when you decide, you call me.”

Johnsen said she had suffered a long

time before she made the ultimate decision to have the amputation above the knee. She’d been using crutches for years and then, six years before the surgery, she was confined to a wheelchair.

“After the gamut of nerve blockers, anti-imflammatories, narcotics, opioids, alcohol - I kinda did the whole spread and then I just quit all of it because I knew I was going to end up dead and my kids were just teenagers then and I couldn’t work any more,” Johnsen said.

She had quit taking any medication a

year before the amputation so the pain quotient was high.

“When I woke up from the surgery, I didn’t have that pain any more,” Johnsen said.

Complications arise that make it very difficult to use prosthetics, so most mature women who get amputations find using a wheelchair much easier, Johnsen explained. She was told that women of a certain age just didn’t wear prosthetics.

“And I said watch me,” Johnsen laughed.

When she tried to use the traditional prosthetic, she experienced repeated skin break down that resulted in open wounds that took weeks to heal. Johnsen decided to go to another option called osseointegration surgery, which permanently anchors an artificial limb to the human skeleton. In a surgical procedure a titanium implant is inserted into the bone. The implant penetrates through the skin. The artificial limb is easily attached to this implant with a connector. Johnsen had the procedure done in Australia.

During this whole process, Johnsen sought out support for amputees and found some Facebook pages but none of them seemed to offer enough information on how to navigate as a new amputee. She found Ontario and Quebec have huge peer-support systems in place including in-person meetings and group activities.

She decided there had to be something more on a local level.

Johnsen took training in Nanaimo to become certified as an amputee peer support person through the Amputee Coalition of Canada. She is also the Amputee Coalition of Canada regional manager at Northern Health Authority and works at the Carrier Sekani Youth Services.

“We as adult amputees do so much better emotionally and physically when we meet others like us,” Johnsen said. “Often this doesn’t just happen naturally, more often than not we feel secluded and alone and I don’t want that for anyone.”

For support and information about how to access resources call Johnsen at 250569-7161.

safe drug site needed, advocate urges

Nansi Long says the time is now for the city to consider setting up a 24-hour safe drug consumption site.

It’s not the answer to get people off drugs, but she says it will give drug users an alternative to loitering in the entranceways of downtown businesses when they are injecting and smoking their drugs.

“I know a 24-hour safe consumption site is a really unpopular idea because people think if you have a place where people can do drugs, they’re going to do more drugs,” said Long, the activity centre co-ordinator for the Prince George branch of the B.C. Schizophrenia Society. “That’s not the case. It’s going to get them out of the doorways. People are saying, ‘They’re doing it in front of my business, I’m afraid to show it to my children.’ They are using in our doorways because they are lighted.”

Long is convinced a 24-hour site would reduce the risk of overdoses and would also reduce the number of needles drug users discard on city streets.

“They need a place where they can go to get their drugs tested, so they can be assured their supply is safe,” said Long. “They can connect with people who may have something to offer them. What it is mostly is about disconnection, they’re disconnected from us as a community, they’ve disconnected from their families, we have so many people that are hurting but we do have the solution within our community.”

Long chairs the Prince George Mental

Health and Addictions Advisory Committee and is part of the Prince George Community Action Team. A scheduling conflict kept her from participating in the team’s work detail on Dec. 2, where volunteers walked the streets of downtown armed with gloves, garbage bags and containers for drug needles.

Long was among more than 30 presenters who spoke to city council at the Dec. 2 public meeting at City Hall to try to find solutions to the problems connected to street people in the downtown core.

“We don’t have to endlessly meet and talk about these things, we just need to get doing,” said Long. “When we talk about housing, we don’t need big housing projects, we need small housing projects. We need neighbourhoods and we need people to become a community again and stop thinking that it’s us versus them. It’s not. How we heal people is we include them.”

She said the city should consider increasing its budget to allow for more for policing. She’s called the RCMP to her downtown office to deal with unruly people and the wait times for help to arrive have been frightening to her and her staff.

She blames the justice system for failing to deal with perpetrators of crime in ways that make them bear responsibility for what they’ve done and make restitution to their victims.

“The police can only do so much,” said Long. “They go through the  justice system and they’re back out in two hours. There’s no responsibility on them because we’re not asking to undo the harm that they’ve done. There are no consequences.”

ted ClArke CitiZen stAff

Citizen Photo by James Doyle

Kia Johnsen is an amputee peer support person and is the amputee Coalition of Canada’s regional representative with the northern health authority.

Teen wins international speech arts award

Christine hinZMAnn Citizen staff

She’s a different kind of triple threat. She plays piano, she sings and she talks really well, too.

Grace Li is 14 years old and just returned from an international speech arts competition at Carnegie Hall in New York. She won and also was named the most promising performer in the intermediate category.

Grace said what sparked her interest in speech arts was her two older sisters, Katherine and Nancy. Both sisters are currently attending university.

Grace said she saw her sisters competing and thought she should try it, too.

Grace chose to do a scene at the Carnegie Hall competition where she was in the dramatic performance intermediate category at the Magnum Opus International Speech and Drama competition. Other categories included poetry and prose and youth were placed in junior, intermediate and senior categories depending on their age.

Grace chose to perform a monologue called Why I Want To Be Your Junior Asian Miss.

“So basically I am in a beauty pageant for Asian girls and I’m not the best at answering the questions even though I might have the looks,” Grace explained. “It was meant to be funny and in the end it just had a nice message about it not really being about how smart you are, it’s about if you try.”

Debbie McGladdery is Grace’s speech arts teacher and has been teaching the Li family for the last 14 years.

To prepare for a competition at an international level, Grace looks at a piece with a unique perspective.

“I always go over the material with Mrs.

McGladdery and she gives me things to work on and then I read it over and see what parts I think I can change and make different than what people would usually do.”

Grace said when she got to perform at Carnegie Hall it was really fun and she

wore a red evening gown as part of the look she wanted for her beauty pageant contestant monologue.

“I think a lot of emotion goes into it and naturalness,” Grace said about a successful speech arts piece. “I was really nervous before going on stage but I didn’t show that in my performance - I don’t think.”

Grace, who is a D.P. Todd secondary school student, is also an accomplished singer under teacher Robin Norman’s instruction and Grace also excels in piano under teacher Laurie Elder’s instruction.

It all starts with success at the local festivals and Grace had the opportunity to choose which of three disciplines, speech arts, singing and piano in which to continue to move up to the provincial level. She could only pick one.

Grace practices and competes in all three disciplines and she chose to continue pursuing excellence in speech arts this year.

Grace’s parents are very supportive of all their daughters’ endeavours as demonstrated by the many medals and awards proudly displayed in the family home.

Despite being busy with all her extra curricular activities, Grace still finds time to hang out with friends and she also plays volleyball.

Grace said she loves singing, piano and speech arts and can’t pick a favourite between them.

“I love them all,” she said.

Documentary gets $20,000 boost from storyHive

Christine hinZMAnn Citizen staff

A local filmmaker got $20,000 from Telus Storyhive to produce a pilot for a documentary web series called A Piece of History: How It All Started in Prince George.

Ze Helios is researching how the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a key stakeholder in the creation of Prince George and the pilot will showcase the plans designed by the American architectural firm Brett, Hall & Co., as they designed the new city while local surveyor Fred Burden helped with mapping and layout. Helios of Uniters Media was one of 40 filmmakers who was selected from 326 applications to get the funding from

Telus Storyhive Web Series Edition that supports storytellers as they create, pitch and produce comedy, drama and documentary web series pilots that reflect their local communities.

But that’s not all. The best pilot from both B.C. and Alberta will get $60,000 more to help bring their series to life.

Helios was raised in Montreal and Vancouver and then moved to Prince George with his family 15 years ago.

Helios owns Uniters Media, a production company and uses Prince George as his home base.

He’s always loved film and studied at UBC to get his master’s.

“I’ve been making films and doing branding and marketing ever since,”

Helios said.

Canada has a lot of beautiful cities and towns that are like gems, he added.

“Prince George has a lot of interesting stories about how the city was built,” Helios said. “When I researched it I wanted to make a story. There’s a strong community here and that comes with great stories.”

Helios said he wouldn’t get into too much detail about the pilot because he doesn’t want to spoil it.

“It’s going to be a nice surprise,” Helios said.

The whole project is a six-part series and the 12-minute pilot, he said, is the most intriguing.

“It might be longer because we’re

going to make it like a cinematic film,” he added.

Moving forward with the project it’s now all about the research and then putting the project together.

“It’s been a lot of work so far and we’ve been working on it for a long time,” Helios said.

The pilot has to be ready for June 2020 when it gets presented to judges who will then decide who is awarded $60,000 to help complete their web series.

“I love filmmaking,” Helios said. “I want to thank StoryHive for supporting us. It’s very difficult to get grants and we are very grateful.”

For more information visit storyhive. com.

Citizen photo by James Doyle

Grace li shows off the certificate and plaque she received for finishing first place in the intermediate Dramatic performance category of the magnum opus international speech and Drama competition, which took place in Carnegie hall in new york.

Winterfest offered gifts for all

Christine hinZMAnn Citizen staff

She’s got to keep busy.

Especially this time of year.

Heather Kovachich lost her husband George two years ago on Christmas eve. You can see the sadness in her eyes but she keeps on going. Her dear sister-inlaw makes sure that happens because she feels the loss, too. After all Patsy Meehan lost her brother that day.

So they take care of each other and keep moving forward.

Heather and Patsy were selling very unique artwork at the Winterfest Market last weekend with about 100 or so other vendors.

River Stone Art by Heather sees Heather going rock picking on the Nechako to collect what will be turned into clean, simple artwork that speaks volumes about who she is.

Along with her assembled found art supplies are quips like ‘mermaid hair, don’t care’ and ‘three dog night’ and there’s even ‘sweet and sour pork’ - can you guess what she had for dinner that night? - and with a little imagination there it is, all laid out in stones, rocks, driftwood and twigs. And the art is simply stunning.

When Heather first had the River Stone Art idea three years ago her late husband George was a bit skeptical.

“George thought it was silly,” Heather said. “And then Patsy thought we should try selling at a craft fair.”

When Heather came back from her first craft fair with a fist full of cash George suddenly became a believer.

Being crafty himself, George made two display easels for Heather to show-

case her work. The sturdy pieces are a reminder to both Heather and Patsy that George is still near and dear to them.

Whenever Heather sells at a craft fair she can’t believe the reaction she gets from passersby.

“I am just so humbled by people’s reactions,” Heather said about all the lovely compliments she gets. “I think it’s because when people see the images and read the messages it makes them happy. When people laugh out loud I think ‘yes, I did it’.”

Heather said a lot of her sayings come directly from experience.

Her sister has a cat that without fail will leap into Heather’s lap and then immediately put her butt in Heather’s face, hence the artwork that depicts that image and the saying is ‘isn’t my butt cute?’

“She turns the obvious into art,” Patsy said.

Heather was inspired to start making her art on a very happy day. Her son got married in Barkerville and as Heather strolled along Lightning Creek she noticed a stone that looked like a Christmas stocking.

“The more I looked the more I liked,” Heather explained. “So the very first one I ever made was a Christmas scene with the stocking and from there away I went.”

Visit River Stone Art by Heather on Facebook to see all her work. She accepts special orders, too.

The Winterfest saw mostly local artisans with some out of towners, too. There was felted items and knitwear, metal work and wood work, hand sewn products and lots of food stuffs. There were trinkets and treasures for everyone.

Visitor Heather Traxler brought along

Citizen staff photo

Patsy Meehan, left, and Heather Kovachich, of River Stone Art by Heather had their booth set up at the Winterfest Market at the Civic Centre last weekend. her two sons Hudson, 3, and Hunter, 1, and Grandma Deb from Kelowna joined in the fun. Hudson was pretty anxious to get home so he could make his hot chocolate that came in solids that would soon turn into liquid deliciousness when hot water was added to the conconction.

The chocolate marshmallow combination looked very tempting.

“It’s a lovely event,” Traxler said. “I love that there’s a combination of vendors that are local and there’s also homebased businesses. That’s pretty awesome.”

Cabaret is a tribute to PrinCe george

Margaret Rose is Away From Home and will bring her cabaret to Prince George as a tribute to her home town at ArtSpace on Jan. 4.

Rose grew up in Prince George and studied musical theatre at Excalibur Theatre Arts and after a short stint as a contemporary dancer in Vancouver in 2012, she moved to Toronto a year later to pursue her true calling as a musical theatre performer.

She graduated from Toronto’s Randolph College for Performing Arts in 2015 and then became a professional entertainer, showcasing her singing, dancing and acting chops, working in southern Ontario.

When she made the decision to come home for the holidays after a three-year absence Rose said she started to really

think about her home town and that inspired the theme for the cabaret she’s been thinking about doing for a while now.

“I’ve been living in Toronto for so long now and I thought it’s very interesting how I haven’t lived in Prince George for seven or eight years now and it’s still so much my home,” Rose said.

“Part of that is because my parents are still there and I have friends there but it’s also because of the community and the place itself.”

That’s when she started writing, she said, about home and the concept of home and about what that means, especially to a performer who might lead a more transient lifestyle in an effort to get educated and pursue a career.

“So I started writing this thing and I thought I’d really, really like to do this for the Prince George audience as a sort of

a thank you for making my home such a beautiful place that I’m still so excited to go back to,” Rose said.

The show Away From Home will be an evening of song and storytelling, Rose said.

Accompanying Rose will be Jim Sayle and Peter Stevenson.

“The three of us together are going to be exploring different elements of home,” Rose said.

“It’s going to be a very informal evening and it’s a tribute to Prince George.”

Check out Books & Co.’s Facebook page for more information and tickets.

handout photo

Margaret Rose, a former Prince George resident, will bring her original cabaret Away from Home to the ArtSpace stage on Jan. 4.

Christine hinZMAnn Citizen staff

Around town

AROUND TOWN COMMUNITY CALENDAR

OperatiOn red nOse

Friday, dec. 20 and 21 and new year’s eve, operation red nose Prince George allows party-goers to get themselves home safely, and their vehicles too. The safe ride home service is organized by the rotary club of Prince Georgenechako in partnership with icbc and the Prince George rcmP and is by donation. donations received from clients stay in Prince George and go towards local youth and amateur sport organizations. To get a ride between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m., call 250-962-7433.

abOut tOwn

Friday, dec. 20 from noon to 1 p.m. at Trinity downtown, 1448 Fifth ave., alban classical Presents about Town, a free concert which features erica skowron on oboe, simon cole on clarinet, Jose delgado-Guevara on viola. contact: 250-563-4693 | admin@albanclassical.org

santa skate

sunday, dec. 22 from 1 to 3 p.m. at ridgeview rink on ridgeview drive. Family and friends are invited to come and celebrate christmas with neighbours. enjoy some hot chocolate, treats and have some fun. This free community event is generously sponsored by Tim hortons on the hart. For safety reasons there will be no hockey during this event. For more information visit www.hartcommunity.ca.

This is the front page from the december 24, 1999 edition of the Prince George citizen. you can search all of The citizen’s archives online at pgnewspapers.pgpl.ca

CaledOnia ramblers snOwshOe

sunday, dec. 22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the caledonia ramblers are hosting a snowshoe from the boxcar to the beaver pond on Tabor mountain. it’s rated easy to moderate (b2c) with a distance of 7-10 kilometres over gentle slopes. it should take 3-4 hours. Participants should be equipped with the proper attire for a winter’s day, including a daypack carrying lunch, snacks and something hot to drink as well as extra clothing. meet at the city hall parking lot 10 minutes before the 9 a.m. departure time. The trailhead is a short drive east of the city and the carpool fee is $3. For more information go to caledoniaramblers. ca.

ring Of fire

until monday, dec. 23 at 8 p.m. at #36-556 north nechako rd., Theatre northWest presents ring of Fire: The music of Johnny cash, which features five actors, 10 instruments and more than 30 songs played live to tell the amazing true life story of Johnny cash through song. Tickets at theatrenorthwest.com.

light up the OrChard

until monday, dec. 23 from 4 to 9 p.m. northern Lights estate Winery, 745 PG Pulpmill rd., enjoy a family-friendly walking tour and get into the spirit of the holidays with a stunning lights display in the winery’s orchards. Kids receive a complimentary hot chocolate and treat while the adults get to enjoy $3 off a bottle of wine to take home. concession will be available with adult and kid-friendly beverages as well as snacks. admission is $5 for adults, $4 for wine club/seniors 65 and older, a toonie for children two to 14, which includes a hot chocolate and small treat, children under two years old are free. Family rate is $12 for two adults, up to three children, all plus GsT. The orchard will be closed dec. 4 and 19. For more information call 250-564-1112.

CelebratiOn Of lights

Wednesday, dec. 18 to monday, dec. 23 from 4 to 8 p.m., dec. 24 from 2 to 6 p.m. and Friday, dec. 27 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the central bc railway and Forestry museum, 850 river rd., the museum transforms during its celebration of Lights event. enjoy a walk taking in the sight of more than 100,000 christmas lights or hop onto the cottonwood minirail express to explore the eight-acre park for a small fee. Guests are invited to roast hot dogs and marshmallows over a bonfire or have a meal from the concession for purchase. People can enjoy a visit with the special guest in a red suit and live entertainment. on dec. 18 admission to the park will be with donation of a non-perishable food items. For more information visit www.pgrfm.bc.ca.

the nutCraCker

Thursday, dec. 19 to sunday, dec. 22 at 7:30 p.m. and sunday at 2 p.m. at Vanier hall,

2901 Griffiths ave., Judy russell Presents the nutcracker, the seasonal favourite. Treat the family to this beloved local tradition this holiday season, featuring the Prince George symphony orchestra. Tickets at centralinteriortickets. com. contact: 250-563-2902 | judydance@ shawcable.com

grieving parents

Christmas dinner

sunday, dec. 22 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the omineca art centre, 369 Victoria st., the Grieving Parents united organization is inviting those who have lost an infant or experienced loss in pregnancy to gather together to enjoy a traditional turkey dinner together. during the free event guests are invited to create memory boxes that will be donated to the hospital. everyone is welcome to attend the dinner, including those with living children who can show their support and help raise awareness for this kind of loss. Guests must rsVP by emailing shayla mena at shaylamena@outlook.com or natasha saunders at tashtalkshealing@gmail.com.

adult band

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

dJ danCe nights

Thursdays until dec. 26 from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at omineca arts centre, 369 Victoria st., Thursday dJ dance nights are presented to get a body grooving and keep spirits and energies high. There are licenced and dry dJ nights each month featuring local, regional and touring dJs. entry is by suggested donation of between $5 and $20, but no one is turned away due to lack of funds. For details visit www.ominecaartscentre.com. contact: 250-552-0826

heartbeat meetings

on the third monday of the month at the Foundry, 1148 seventh ave., at 5:15 to 6:30 p.m. for youth between 12 and 24 and for adults at 6:45 to 8 p.m., there is a peer support group meeting offering empathy, encouragement and direction for those who have lost a loved one by suicide. if the door is locked, please knock. For more information contact sandra Galletti at galletti@telus.net or call 250961-9330.

Christmas lights around the City

Citizen photos by James doyle

The Christmas light display at 2896 Andres Road.

Citizen photos by James doyle

The Christmas light display at 9610 Old Cariboo Highway.

Citizen photos by James doyle

The entrance to Candy Cane Lane off of Upland Street.

Citizen photos by James doyle

The Christmas light display at 6070 Buckhorn Lake Road.

Citizen photos by James doyle

The Christmas light display at 175 Aitken Crescent.

Citizen photos by James Doyle

The Christmas light display at 9610 Old Cariboo Highway.

Citizen photos by James Doyle

The Christmas light display at 9610 Old Cariboo Highway.

Citizen

photos by James Doyle

The Christmas light display at 6070 Buckhorn Lake Road.

Citizen photos by James Doyle

The Christmas light display at 164 McKenzie Avenue.

Celebrate more this Christmas

BUSINESS COACH

DAVE FULLER

It’s coming to the end of the year and a time when many people celebrate religious holidays like Christmas or Hanukah, New Year’s, or Festivals of Lights. Even if you aren’t religious, you probably celebrate Christmas with gift giving or a family gathering and a large meal. When we were younger, these celebrations filled our imaginations and our minds with wonder.

However as we grow older, we become more cynical, tired and plain ol’ grumpy! Not only are we like this with our families but we are like this with our work and businesses.

Yet what are we missing by rushing through the holidays and celebrations and skipping the festivities?

I remember, when I was a child, Christmas was a big event.

Not only did it have religious significance in our family, but we spent four weeks preparing for the big day and the

birth of Jesus. I couldn’t wait to get up on Christmas morning to see what Santa had brought.

As a child, I didn’t see the work my mother put into Christmas preparations preparing or the cost of gifts that my father worked hard to provide.

What I do remember is the food, the gifts and the visitors that came for dinner. For days after Christmas, we spent hours lazing around playing board games and sledding in the snow.

Those were days where the wonder of Christmas seemed to drift on forever and the spell was only broken when we had to return to school and the mundane tasks of ordinary life.

But ordinary life can take over if we let it.

Days can run into weeks without fun, games, feasts and friends. If you are in retail at this time of year, I guarantee you are tired.

I know from 30 years of retail experience that exhaustion can set in from the long hours, long lines and cranky customers.

So often in every business, we get to the end of the year and we are tired of thinking about the work.

We can become weary of people, and sometimes we see the holidays as a waste of time, money, and energy. We see them as a burden of awkwardness around bonuses, and gifts, small talk and staff parties.

What if you were to see it through a child’s eyes again?

Could you take a few minutes each day to look forward to some time off and dream up a few ideas about what you would like to do?

What would happen if you didn’t have preconceived notions about what was going to happen this Christmas?

Imagine how much fun you could have if you didn’t think about what Uncle Albert was going to say when he had a few drinks or how you hate staff parties?

That negative thinking isn’t going to make things better and you know it. Celebrations can infuse our body with energy and leave us feeling rejuvenated if we let them.

We can take the time to spend enjoying our family and friends if we put our minds to it. Looking for the good in others, and considering the deeper meaning of the seasons, can be reinvigorating to our spirits.

Consider all the great things that did happen to you this year that you might want to celebrate: the great staff you work with; the fact that your customers keep coming back; those suppliers that have become friends. And don’t forget about your family who support you despite your grumpiness, tiredness, and excesses and those friends who know nothing about your job but want to spend time with you!

This year at Christmas, take some time without rushing through the holidays to let your thoughts be diverted from the burdens of work to the joyfulness of the season.

Let your mind be rested with extra sleep and the pleasurable distractions that you have missed throughout the past year. Enjoy your family and friends because this time next year there may be less of them. Try for even a few minutes to remember what it was like when you were a child again when you were surprised by joy.

— Dave Fuller, MBA, is an award-winning business coach and the author of the book Profit Yourself Healthy. Fuller will celebrate if you email him at dave@ profityourselfhealthy.com.

Not another Trudeau onstage

Once referring to his boss as “Mr. Theatre,” former Canadian ambassador and small-l liberal Allan Gotlieb wrote a brilliant, very frank memoir of his time serving in Washington as Canada’s ambassador in the 1980s.

The Washington Diaries included Gotlieb’s tenure during the Ronald ReaganMargaret Thatcher years.

The much-loved-and-hated conservative dynamic duo of the 80s was always in the news and the Canadian embassy in Washington had become somewhat of a hangout – due in no small part to Mrs. Gotlieb’s skill and sharp wit.

She had a humour column in The Washington Post and her uncanny sense of comedic frankness nearly always worked, like when she quipped:

“For some reason a glaze passes over people’s faces when you say ‘Canada.’ Maybe we should invade South Dakota or something.”

In May 1983, Reagan defied most world experts by taking a provocative stance in head-to-head disarmament negotiations with the Soviet Union, which he had called “an evil empire.”

This was the cold war at a particularly chilling moment. Around this time, Sting was penning the lyrics for his haunting critique, “I hope the Russians Love their Children Too.”

Gotlieb notes that his boss, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was very intelligent and could out-debate most of his G-7 contemporaries, but that Trudeau’s arrogance often got in the way.

Of one particularly intense meeting with Thatcher and Reagan, Gotlieb said: “Our prime minister, true to form, is playing… a rather immodest role... There is so much in his performance that now smacks of personal interest… Members of the Canadian team make little cracks about Reagan and the Americans, in the characteristic Canadian manner of looking down one’s nose at the Americans.”

Famously, Reagan’s strategy with the Russians worked and was a precursor to the dismantling of the Iron Curtain.

Fast-forward to Justin Trudeau and the

recent NATO summit in the UK. Nobody would accuse him of being the brightest light in the room but he does seem to have inherited his father’s sense of inherent superiority.

Giggling and gossiping, behind the back of our biggest trading partner, led by a president who is notoriously thinskinned and vindictive?

He can think anything he wants about Trump, but if he was working for me and got caught ridiculing one of my most important clients, he’d be packing up his desk today.

The Economists Special Karma twopack arrived on Trudeau’s porch a couple of days later.

In Canada last month, we lost 71,000 jobs, while the US added 266,000. Ouch.

The Canadian labour market shrinkage was due to a retracement of a public administration jobs boost in October that was probably related to the federal election that month.

The unemployment rate surged up to 5.9 per cent from 5.5 per cent in October.

The 0.4 percentage point increase is the largest since early 2009.

And manufacturing jobs are down

more than 50K over the last two months combined.

Dang.

The U.S. unemployment rate edged back down to 3.5 per cent.

The strong rebound in job growth reflected upward revisions to earlier months, a lower unemployment rate, and still-solid (though not accelerating) wage growth.

Low jobless claims and still-elevated vacancies suggest lack of labour supply is a big part of the story.

Overall job gains have remained strong enough to push the unemployment rate to new, multi-decade lows.

Asked to comment on the two contrasting reports, Trudeau was tongue-tied.

— Mark Ryan is an investment advisor with RBC Dominion Securities Inc. (Member–Canadian Investor Protection Fund), and these are Ryan’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 Ryan’s website at dir.rbcinvestments.com/mark.ryan.

Veloster rockets up the road motoring

Pedro ArrAis Glacier Media

The 2020 Veloster N punches above its weight in the hot-hatch segment of the market.

The South Korean manufacturer has pulled out all the stops to show off its engineering prowess, with a vehicle capable of winning a high-stakes shootout with the best in the world.

The Veloster N is a high-performance beast conceived with one goal — to knock off traditional hot hatches such as the Volkswagen Golf R and the Honda Civic Type R. Others include the Ford Focus RS and the (non-hatch) Subaru WRX.

I had the opportunity to take one for hot laps on a track as well as spirited runs on the highway.

The Veloster N clocks in at $34,999, which is $7,500 less than the Golf R and $6,690 less than the Civic Type R.

In Canada, there is no base or top-ofthe-line model. (In the U.S., you can order a base or an upgraded engine).

All Canadian cars come with the more powerful powerplant, a turbocharged 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine producing 275 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque.

Like the Civic, the Veloster is only available in front-wheel drive (the Golf R is all-wheel drive).

There is only one transmission, a slickshifting six-speed manual.

You can change the powertrain’s throttle response, adaptive suspension and steering feel, rev matching and exhaust note via a drive selector. You can choose between the regular pre-set modes such as Eco, Normal or Sport. In the N custom mode, you can tailor-make your own blend of variables to suit your comfort and driving needs.

The Civic is more powerful and faster than the Veloster, but we are talking about just three-tenths of a second less than the 5.2 seconds it takes the Veloster to sprint to 100 kilometres an hour, according to Car and Driver.

The engine’s 260 pound-feet of torque comes on early, starting at a low 1,450 rpm. It keeps pulling (as long as there is pavement ahead of it) all the way up to its 6,750-rpm redline.

Spectators at a track will audibly know

whenever a driver of an N takes their foot off the accelerator, by the barks and pops emanating from the exhaust.

It is equipped with a set of beefy, lowprofile 235/35 R19 Pirelli P Zero PZ4s. The ample rubber footprint helps with getting all that power to the ground, as well as keeping the Veloster planted while cornering.

The cabin is both welcoming and intuitive. Controls are where they should be, falling easily to hand. The front seats are nicely bolstered to hold you snugly when cornering. The Civic’s front seats are

more aggressive, but less comfortable for day-to-day driving.

All three cars have back seats, but the Veloster’s holds only two occupants. The Veloster is unique in the fact that it has three doors, the third located behind the front passenger-side door. (You have to look hard to see the back door the first time, as the handle is visually camouflaged.)

This means that at least one person has to scuttle over to get to their seat — not exactly occupant-friendly. Although it can carry adults in the back, you should

only consider taking them on short trips. There is a hatchback to load cargo, but the deep well requires you to lift objects from the trunk. It is not helped by a narrow opening.

The trunk swallows 566 litres of cargo, a bit less than its competitors — but not by much.

The angle of the rear window hatch also hinders rearward visibility when driving. I can’t imagine trying to parallel park without the backup camera.

The infotainment system centres around an eight-inch touchscreen perched on the top of the centre console. It powers a premium sound system that includes a subwoofer.

The system includes Hyundai’s Blue Link, which includes in-vehicle diagnostics and enhanced roadside assistance. It also allows you to pre-heat the interior or remotely lock and unlock the doors.

The Veloster is not Hyundai’s first foray into the coupe market — the company fielded the Tiburon and Genesis in past years.

But the game changer is the inclusion of Hyundai’s N performance division in its debut into the North American market.

The N on the Veloster has transformed an everyday transportation vehicle into a hot hatch — a car worthy of serious consideration, especially if you factor in the price difference against the competition.

SPEC SHEET

Type: Compact three-door hatchback, front engine, front-wheel-drive

Engine: Turbocharged 2.0-litre fourcylinder, 275 hp at 6,000 r.p.m., 260 lb.ft. of torque at 1,450 to 4,700 r.p.m.

Transmission: Six-speed manual

Dimensions (mm): Length, 4,265; width, 1,811; height, 1,394; wheelbase, 2,649

Curb weight (kg): 1,409

Price (base/as tested): $34,999/ $36,809 (includes $1,710 freight and PDI and $100 AC tax)

Options: Nil

Tires: 235/35 R19 on alloy wheels

Fuel type: Premium

Fuel economy (L/100km): 10.6 city/ 9.6 highway

Warranty: Five years/100,000 km new car, powertrain and five years/ unlimited km roadside assistance.

Photos courtesy Hyundai

The exterior, above, and interior, below, of the 2019 Hyundai Veloster N.

THE PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

David Warren Girroir was born in Prince George on July 22, 1974 and passed away Dec 5, 2019. David is survived by parents Jack Girroir and mother Jessie Massettoe, sister Cheryl Girroir and daughters Clarissa Adolph and Shania Egnell, and grandchildren Nicolas Adolph and Tyler Adolph. He is also survived by numerous aunts and uncles and many relatives. David is predeceased by his grandparents George Archibald and Doris Judge, Amos and Nettie Massettoe, sister Wendy Girroir and brothers Wilbert Girroir, Jonathan Girroir, and his soul mate Donna Prince.

A funeral service will be held on Monday, December 23, 2019 at 1 pm at Assman’s Funeral Chapel.

Joanne Dunphy (Deane)

November 26, 1952November 30, 2019

It is with great sadness we announce the sudden passing of our beloved wife, mother, sister, grandmother, aunt, great grandmother and dear friend on November 30, 2019.

Darlene was born a twin on November 26, 1952 in Vanderhoof BC. She spent her younger years on Vancouver Island and some of her life in Prince Rupert and Quesnel before purchasing the Willow River General Store with her husband, and children in tow, in 1985. There, they built up a successful business and were very active in her community for 34 years. She loved her horses and all animals. You could find her happiest in her garden or in her home surrounded by family. She missed the warmth and salt air of “The Island” the most.

She is predeceased by her father Alfred Edgar Deane and mother Verna Gertrude Deane, nee Stevens.

Darlene is survived by her loving husband Kevin Dunphy, children; Derek, Shannon (Bruce), Erin (Craig), Michelle (Paul), her twin brother Darrel, sisters; Sharol and Sandra, grandchildren; Kyle, Breanne, Brylee, Aiden, Logan, Kiah, Jorja, Jaxon and Kacey, great granddaughter Vanessa and numerous nieces, nephews, family, friends and her horses.

A Celebration of her Life will be held on December 21, 2019 at Ferndale Hall, 3595 Upper Fraser Rd. Doors will open at 1:00pm, and service will start at 2:00pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks you donate to Prince George Hospice Society in her name. Condolences may be offered at www.LakewoodFH.com

Popovich

March 23, 1931December 10, 2019

Vivian Popovich passed away on December 10, 2019. She is predeceased by her husband Lawrence, sisters Gloria (Jimmy) Zimmaro, Josephine (Clive) Black and Geraldine (Paul) Weglin. She is also predeceased by her brother-in-law Harold Mahy, nieces Lorlie Black and Jo-Anne Cole (and her husband Darwin). Vivian is survived by her sister Rosemarie Mahy, sister-in-law Helen (Del) Blackstock. She was an aunt, great aunt and great-great aunt and was also known as “auntie” to many of her friend’s children. The smell of perked coffee, treats on the table and great chats will fondly be remembered by her dear friends. Family dinners were legendary and left lasting memories for those who loved her. The family would like to express their sincere gratitude to Heather, Chris, Doreen and Roseanne for their devotion to her care. Special thanks to Dr. Cabbage and the staff at Simon Fraser Lodge for their professional care, compassion and support. Funeral service to be held January 4, 2020 at 11:00 AM at Sacred Heart Cathedral.

LYNNE SCHMIDT

2x74.3

PGC001938

SCHMIDT,George April25,1928-December01,2019 ItiswithgreatsadnessthatweannouncethatGeorge RudolfSchmidtpassedawayonDecember1,2019. Georgewillbelovinglyrememberedbyhiswife,Grace; son,Edward;grandson,Kody;daughter,LynneUlrich (Steve);grandson,Tanner;andson,Stephen(Angie). Georgewaspredeceasedbyhisparents,Rudolfand Emilie;sisters,Anne,Hilde,andIlsa;andbrothersHans. GeorgewasborninWinnipeg,Manitoba.Whenhewas 14,thefamilymovedtoPrinceRupert,BC.Heworkedin thedrydockbuildingshipsforafewyearsandthen endedupfishing.Eventually,heandsomepartners boughtafishingboatandtheyfishedhalibutintheBering Sea.HemarriedGraceinDecember1962.Whenchildren camealong,GeorgewenttoworkforCNasamachinist, workingonlocomotives.In1987,theshopsclosed,and hemovedhisfamilytoPrinceGeorge,BC,andcontinued workingforCNuntilhisretirementin1993.Heenjoyed spendingtimeinhisshopmakingthingsonhislathes, includingsteamengines.

ManyheartfeltthankstothosewhocaredforGeorgein hislastdays,thedoctorsandnursesintheER,andon SurgeryNorth,aswellaseveryoneattheHospiceHouse. TheytreatedGeorgeandhisfamilywithcareand compassion. DonationsmaybemadetothePrinceGeorgeRotary HospiceHouse,Heart&StrokeFoundation,oracharityof yourchoice.Acelebrationoflifewilltakeplaceatalater date.

Born on June 26, 1935 in Driftpile Alberta. On December 7th Annie went to join her husband Anton and her son, Michel Chalifoux. Making this journey with her son Steve Chalifoux (September 29, 1958 - December 7, 2019). Survived by her many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and many friends and family. Annie’s service will be held at Assman’s Funeral Chapel Friday, December 20th, 2019 at 10AM, interment to follow at Prince George Cemetery. On Saturday December 21, 2019 come join us for soup and bannock light lunch at Prince George Native Friendship Centre from 11:00-12:30PM in Annie and Steve’s memory.

Sharon-Anne Tagami

July 29, 1943November 30, 2019

It is with deep sadness that my father and I share the news that his loving wife, my mother, and nana SharonAnne Tagami passed away peacefully at Hospice House on Saturday, November 30, 2019 after living with Type 1 diabetes for over 54 years and recently kidney disease.

Sharon was born on July 29, 1943 in Winnipeg, Manitoba to Michael and Eileen Lobe.

Sharon was predeceased by her mother Eileen Mary (Lynne) and her grandmother Jane, her father Michael, stepfather Ian Sutherland and her infant son Todd Newton.

Sharon is survived by her husband Gary and daughter Jocelyne (Brian), granddaughters Brynne, Drew and Kenna, her twin sister Karen (Wayne), stepsisters Linda Sutherland, Janice (Ted) Spry, brother-in-law Terry (Judy) Tagami, Bob Tagami, sister-in-law Joan Tagami and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Sharon loved life and all the wonderful things it brought to her, especially family.

Sharon was known for her infectious smile, sense of humour and love for all who knew her. She loved her close friends that she played Canasta with, singing with the Sweet Adeline’s for many years and fishing with her husband.

Special thanks to Dr. Higgens and Dr. MacRitchie, nurses and staff in hemodialysis, nurses and staff on 3rd floor surgery south A & B. There will be no service at this time, but there will be a Celebration of Life announced in the spring.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Rotary Hospice House, Canadian Diabetes Association and the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

Mom...Good-byes are not forever, are not the end, it simply means “I’ll miss you” until we meet again....Love you Forever.

David Girroir

Annie Stadelmann

Darlene

Vivian

Jones, Samuel George

May 26, 1923 – Dec 4, 2019

Sam Jones long-time resident of Prince George, BC passed away peacefully in the early hours of December 4th, 2019 at the age of 96. Sam was married twice and was predeceased by both wives Jean (nee Black) in 1993 and Jean (nee Hickenbotham) in 2017. Sam is survived by his children Sid (Hazel), Susan (Stuart), Alana (Art) and stepchildren Lauren (Greg) and Greg (Sherry) and extended family of grandchildren and great grandchildren and many many friends he met along the way.

Sam was born in London, England May 26, 1923 the youngest of three children. He attended school there and went on to apprentice at the Gestetner plant where duplicating machines were manufactured. With the outbreak of WWII Sam at the age of 17 joined the Royal Navy in 1939 where he served as a gunnery rating on a number of vessels his favourite being the Tribal class destroyer HMS Zulu. He served mainly in the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans.

In early 1944 Sam was among a large number of Royal Navy personnel shipped to North America landing in New Jersey then travelling by train to Seattle to man the newly built Escort Carriers lend leased from the Americans to the Royal Navy. These they steamed up to Vancouver to be modified at Burrard dry dock to Admiralty requirements. His first memories of arriving in Canada was sailing under the Lions Gate Bridge with Stanley Park on the starboard and the North Shore mountains on the port.

While on leave he met Jean Black and they decided to marry and have a family. Sam did not want to return to the UK and leave his new wife, so he left the navy and enlisted in the Canadian Army Engineers he was demobilized at the wars end; later he became a Canadian Citizen. He and his wife built a home in Surrey with the assistance of the VLA and worked for a number of years for the BC corrections service as a guard. He and his wife loved their children and never missed taking them on a summer vacation camping holiday. He was transferred to the Prince George jail and while working there fell in love with the area with its hunting, fishing and wilderness opportunities.

Sam returned to his apprenticeship background and became a millwright gaining employment at the PG pulp mill when it opened. Sam worked at both PG and Intercontinental mills until his retirement in 1988 eventually becoming a maintenance supervisor.

Sam loved his Navy experience, so he volunteered his time to join in the leadership of the Navy Cadet Core RCSCC Grizzly first as it’s gunnery and ultimately commanding officer he is still fondly remembered by many of the cadets he had influence on. He was also a lifetime member of Royal Canadian Legion and never missed a Remembrance Day parade until just this year.

After his first wife’s death he met Jean Boyd and took her to the UK to be married. Together they purchased a Motorhome and spent many winters travelling to Lake Havasu City, Arizona where they had numerous friends. They joined the B.C. Bus Nuts a motor coach association and attended many rallies.

They also became members of the local chapter of the Navy Association and regularly participated in the Battle of Atlantic ceremonies as well as other activities.

Sam loved a pint with some Fish and Chips, he was always the life of the party and his wit and humour will be sadly missed.

Special thanks are given to the excellent staff of the Hospital as well as all his home care givers and any other support staff who provided care and understanding for Sam and his family.

A celebration of life will be held at 11:00 AM on March 14th, 2020 at the Royal Canadian Legion 1116 Sixth Avenue, Prince George BC.

Donald passed away peacefully at Rotary Hospice House on Friday Dec. 6, 2019, at the age of 89. He is survived by his loving wife Melita, daughter Catherine Christensen, son Peter (Kathy), grandchildren: Brad Christensen (Zuza), Sheldon (Stefanie), Matthew, Maria (Brett), Carlie (Scott), Aaron (Loan), Sharon (Nolan), Shelby (Austin), Ciara, Xander, Chance, Tommy, Steven and numerous nieces and nephews.

Predeceased by:

Parents: Frederick and Jeanie (MacKay) Higgins

Brothers: David (Reggie), Eric (Edna), Arthur, Bert (Gerry), Kenneth (Bernice), Allan.

Sisters: Melissa (Roy) Stevens, Laura (Wes) Imre.

We are grateful for the years we were blessed with this loving and caring person we proudly call husband, brother, dad, grandpa, relative and friend. Our heartfelt thanks go out to Rev Dr Bob K Fillier who officiated the celebration of Donald’s life on Monday, December 9, 2019 at Trinity United Church in Prince George, BC. The service is archived at trinitypg.ca - thank you to Donald’s nephew Les Stevens (Eva) and son Brian for being there with us.

Donald lived an amazing 89 years and has been a great example and inspiration to his family and friends. Born May 22, 1930, he grew up on a homestead farm in southern Manitoba. He enlisted in the Navy in 1948, serving in the Korean War. At the end of his tour he came down with tuberculosis and had a lengthy treatment and rehabilitation that included the removal of two thirds of his right lung! Being such a strong and determined young man, he healed and kept himself fit and healthy throughout his life. He met Melita in December 1955 when he began working at the Unemployment Insurance office in Winnipeg. They began dating in 1957 and married on June 18, 1958, the anniversary of their first date. Through the years they raised Catherine and Peter while Donald worked his way up through the ranks in his career with the federal government. His thirst for learning led him to complete high school through evening courses and achieve a GED. He was ambitious and meticulous in his work and also willing to relocate as opportunities for promotion were available. The family moved many times to cities within Western Canada, until ending up in Prince George, BC in 1971. Donald reached a level in his career that he was happy with and the family found that this was a great place to live. They remained ever since and put down deep roots in the community. Although Donald enjoyed his career and gave it his all, he also planned ahead for retirement very carefully and with great enthusiasm. His plan came together and he retired at age 55. Amazingly he spent more years in retirement than in the career that earned it for him! One of his great passions and pastimes was golf. He certainly played a tremendous amount of golf through the years. Donald and Melita were also avid Square Dancers for many years, something they really enjoyed doing together. Donald studied Foot Reflexology and practiced for 25 years, helping many people experience healing and wellness. Some of his other interests included parapsychology, reading, and gardening, telling corny jokes, watching Star Trek and playing games including Chess, Cribbage, Hearts and Bridge to satisfy his competitive nature.

He kept himself plenty busy and wondered how he had ever had time for a job all those years. Humour was always a delightful part of Donald’s personality. He loved to make up puns and tell jokes to make people laugh or groan. He would laugh heartily until he had tears upon hearing an exceptionally funny joke! Donald’s good health held up until about age 82 before it started to change. By that time early stages of dementia were beginning in his body but going unnoticed. His last several years living with dementia have been starkly different than the great many years that came before. Melita has been so amazing in her care for him with such love and dedication. Donald’s last few years have been with the wonderful care givers at Gateway Complex Care as his needs were so great. On Dec. 2, 2019 he had a fall that caused injuries that did not seem life threatening but his body could no longer heal itself and he was moved to the Rotary Hospice House. The staff is incredibly gentle and compassionate, providing comfort as Donald lived his final few days. He passed quietly on the evening of Dec.6, 2019. Melita and Peter were holding his hands as he took his last breath. The loss is heartbreaking but he is now free from the pain and frustration of a body that could no longer work for him and a mind that could no longer think clearly. His family miss him deeply, but have been so lucky to have had such a great husband, father and grandfather. Donald was fiercely independent and strong willed and lived by high morals and principals. He was extremely caring and protective of his family and encouraged them to do their best. He always expressed pride in his children and was very involved with their parenting. His family feels so lucky to have him as a role model and know that he inspired them to try to live up to his example. Donald’s life was a life well lived and he will long be remembered with love.

A special thanks to all the wonderful staff at Gateway Lodge and Rotary Hospice House, as well as Dr Turski, Dr Siemens and Dr Shepherd who looked after Donald in such a caring and compassionate way.

In lieu of flowers please donate to Prince George Hospice Society or Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation.

Donald Edward Higgins

Established Franchise Photography Business Serving Northern B.C for over 35 years

Gross Revenues of $150.000 plus annually from seasonal work

Lots of opportunity to expand the business. Transition support available to the right buyer

Serious Enquiries Only

Office 250-596-9199 Cell 250-981-1472

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

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

Gross Revenues of $85,000 to $90,000 Annually and Potential to expand revenues in a growing economy.

Transition support available for the right buyer.

Serious Inquires Only

Office (250)997-9003

Home (250)997-5538 Cell (250)990-0152

Wearelookingfortwoexperiencedjourneyman plumberstojoinourserviceteam;weofferacompetitive benefitspackage.Ifthisopportunityissomethingyou wouldbeinterestedin,pleaseemailyourresumetoBrett atoffice@mayfairinc.comoraccounts@mayfairinc.com.

Milieu has exciting career opportunities for you! Apply today to discover the life changing difference you can make!

• Child and Youth Workers for Full Time, Part Time, and Casual positions; Wage range $20.78-24.208

• Awake Residential Night Worker for Full Time, Part Time, and Casual positions; Wage range of $17.27-20.11

• Community Support Workers for

ANNUAL PUBLIC MEETING

NOTICE OF RATE INCREASE

Effective January 1, 2020

Long term parking rates at the Prince George Airport will be increasing:

Tuesday May 5, 2015 4:00pm to 6:00 pm Central BC Railway and Forestry Museum 850 River Road

$14/day from $13/day

$70/week from $65/week

$175/month from $165/month

General Public and all interested parties are invited to attend the presentation of the Prince George Airport Authority’s Annual Report and 2014 Operational Overview

Full rates and charges can be found on our website: www.pgairport.ca R0011754818

The Prince George Urban Aboriginal Justice Society is accepting applications from interested community members to serve on the Board of Directors.

The Board is a governance body that provides support and direction to the Executive Director who is responsible for planning, organizing, directing, controlling, and evaluating all services and programs provided by the Society. UAJS is expanding services, which includes the BC First Nation Justice Council. The BCFNJC influences change in Indigenous Justice policies. This is an exciting time to become a UAJS board member, responsible for serving Indigenous people of the North.

If you are interested please download an application from our website: pguajs.ca and mail to: The Board of Directors, Attention: Chair / Confidential / #102 - 1268 5th Ave, Prince George, BC V2L 3L2

to S.41 of BC Human Rights Code, preference may

applicants.

Maintenance Planner

Babine Forest Products is currently searching for a full time Maintenance Planner to join our Burns Lake operation.

The successful candidate will have strong communication, mathematic, organization and problem solving skills. Red Seal certification in industrial mechanics (Millwright) is preferred. Good hand-eye coordination and a strong understanding of mechanical and engineering concepts are required. You should be detail oriented with an ability to meet deadlines and oversee teams, and have advanced knowledge of Microsoft applications (specifically Excel). Understanding basic financial concepts (estimating and budgeting) would be an asset.

Core responsibilities include: creating maintenance schedules for all plant equipment, determining tools and supplies needed for each piece of equipment, maintaining spare parts inventory, developing maintenance and training manuals, estimating labour and parts costs for industrial equipment.

Babine Forest Products, working jointly with First Nations, provides equal opportunity for employment including First Nation status privileges. All applicants will receive consideration for employment. We offer competitive compensation, benefits and the potential for career advancement. Resumes will be accepted until January 3, 2020. We wish to thank all those who apply; however only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Please forward your resume to: Anne Currie, Human Resources Assistant Babine Forest Products Limited 503-291-5591 (Confidential Fax) #HRCanada@hamptonlumber.com Babine Forest Products Limited, Burns Lake BC

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

Forest Stewardship Plan (FSP) The Forest Stewardship Plan (FSP) for Woodland License N1T (Nak’azdli First Nation) is available for review and comment. This is a new FSP that

to an area in the vicinity of Inzana Lake as well as Great Beaver Lake, within the Fort St. James Forest District. This plan can be reviewed Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm at the KDL office located at 561 Stuart Drive. Questions or comments are received by: John-Paul Wenger, RPF at jwenger@kdlgroup.net (250) 996-8032 ext. 33

Each

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.