When Prince George liquor baron Cameron Thun published a collection of real-life short stories that documented his time as co-owner of a strip club/brothel/car wash in the Dominican Republic, he had no idea his book was about to spark the interest of Hollywood film producers intent on making it into a TV series.
But apparently it has.
The book has inspired two scripts written for a film production, based on Thun’s adventures in the booze and sex industry in the Caribbean and the colourful characters his bar attracted. The project includes elements of Thun’s life in Prince George, working for his parents in their downtown hotel and bars, which could bring filmmakers to the city to shoot the series.
“I’m dying to bring production back to Prince George, and we would have already been there but COVID stepped in the way,” Thun said. “I want to bring economic development back to Prince George. I’d love to see film crews come in and Tammy and I be responsible for millions of dollars coming through Prince George and it’s right there. It’s so close to being done.”
In 2003, while on their honeymoon in the Dominican, Thun and his wife Tammy got the idea to buy a nightclub, which they remodeled into a 400-seat venue they called The Maneater Club.
Having grown up in Prince George as the son of Al and Pauline Thun, owners of the National Hotel on First Avenue, Thun has been familiar with the liquor industry since he was eight years old. By the time
he opened the Maneater, he already had decades of experience as the holder of six permanent liquor licences for liquor stores and pubs in the city.
At the Maneater, the twin runways of stripper stage were built into the shape of the male anatomy and the bar became famous for its live sex shows. He and Tammy endeared themselves to the club’s staff, mostly Dominicans and Haitians, and improved working conditions by paying for their health care and providing lodging and food
But after 18 months of dealing with prostitutes and their customers, machine gun-toting thugs, police bribes, corrupt politicians and narcotics agents, and some questionable behaviour from Thun’s business partner, a Colombian he refers to in the book as Snake #1, the Thuns decided to get out of the business. They sold their half-interest in the club for $100,000 US to an 85-year-old Colombian man (Snake #2), who gave Thun a $30,000 deposit.
The business deal went sour when the prospective new owner tried to keep Thun from returning to the country. The man used falsified documents and accusations to trump up eight fraud charges, which were tested in court and proven to be groundless. Eventually the club was bulldozed to make room for a four-lane highway and Thun never received the $70,000 he was owed.
“It’s so corrupt over there,” Thun said “I was extorted, there was mafia, we’ve got crooked government, drugs, weapons, prostitution, everything you could think of in this, and it’s all true.”
See IT’S A PRETTY WILD TALE on page 4
ENTERTAINERS UPBEAT FOR NEW YEAR – PAGE 7
COLD DIP FOR COLD
CASH Carol
react to the temperature of the icy water of Ness Lake on New Year’s Day afternoon during their unofficial Polar Bear Dip fundraiser at Ness Lake Bible Camp. The Stofers raised $20,561, which will be used to help send kids to camp.
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE/LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE.
and Mark Stofer
WHAT:
CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF ROAD CLOSURE APPLICATION
City Council consideration of application:
•Proposed “City of Prince George 2851 Gogolin Road Closure Phase II Bylaw No. 9152, 2020”
WHEN:
6:00 p.m., Monday, January11, 2021
WHERE:
Council ChambersofCity Hall, 2nd Floor,1100 Patricia Boulevard, Prince George, BC PROPOSAL:
1.
“City of Prince George 2851 Gogolin RoadClosure Phase II BylawNo. 9152, 2020”
Applicant: City of Prince George
Pursuant to section 40 of the Community Charter,the City of Prince George intends to close an approximate 83.8 square metres (m²) portion of road dedicated on Plan 3034, as shown on Reference Plan EPP93591, adjacent to the property legally described as Lot 16, District Lot 1433, Cariboo District, Plan 30304 and Lot 5, District Lot 1433, Cariboo District, Plan 10848 and remove the road dedication, as shown outlined in bold black on Location Map #1 below
The purpose of the road closure is to enable the sale of the closed road area to the adjacent property owners. The proposed closure and sale provides the property ownersthe ability to consolidate the closed road area with their adjacent property and rectify an existing encroachment.
Location Map#1 2851 Gogolin Road Closure Phase II
HOWCAN IPROVIDE COMMENT?
Residents are invited to provide comment in writing.
As aresult of the COVID-19 pandemic, City Council at their meeting held April 6, 2020 passed aresolution to discontinue informal hearings for certain Bylaws and all other applications where such hearings are not legally required to be held.
As apartofthe Provincial Health Officer order issued on December 7, 2020, members of the public are prohibited from attending City Council meetings and Public Hearings. These meetings are live streamed on the City’swebsite www.princegeorge.ca and the recordings are archived for viewing at anytime.
Residents are encouraged to provide written comments to Council to be included in the Council meeting agenda package and available for public viewing on the City’swebsite.
Forsubmissions to be included on the agenda for Council’sreviewinadvance of the meeting date, theymust be received by the Corporate Officer no later than 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, January5,2021.Submissions received after the noted deadline and before 3:00 p.m., Monday, January11, 2021,will be provided to Council on the dayofthe meeting for their consideration during deliberations on the application.
Submissions maybesent by email to cityclerk@princegeorge.ca, faxed to (250) 561-0183, mailed or delivered to the address noted below
Please note that written submissions for all applications will formpartofthe Council agenda, become public record and are posted on the City’swebsite. By making a written submission you are consenting to the disclosure of anypersonal information that you provide.
Authority
Personal information is collected under the authority of section 26(g) and disclosed under the authority of section 33.1(1) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). Forinformation or questions, contact the City’sFIPPACoordinator at (250)561-7600 or 1100 Patricia Boulevard, Prince George, BC, V2L 3V9.
NEED MORE INFORMATION?
Acopyofthe proposed Bylawand anyrelated documents will be available for review by the public on the City’swebsite www.princegeorge.ca under ‘News and Notices’ beginning December 30, 2020.These documents mayalso be reviewedatthe Development Services office on the 2nd Floor of City Hall on December 30, 31, 2020, January4,5,6,7,8 and 11, 2021, between the hoursof 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
WHO CAN ISPEAK TO?
Formore information with regards to Road Closures, please contact Real Estate Services, by telephone at (250) 561-7611 or by email to realestate@princegeorge.ca.
COVID-19 Resources
The City of Prince George has been in regular conversation with NorthernHealth about the most reliable sources of information on novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and any assistance the City can provide residents and visitorswith reliable information about measures that can be taken to prevent the spread and stayhealthy.
People are advised to takeall necessaryprecautions to prevent exposure such as staying home when sick, disinfecting surfaces, washing their hands, and coughing and sneezing into the crook of their arms.
Formore information:
•Visit the BC Centre for Disease Control website
•Visit the BC Transit COVID-19 website
•Visit the BC MinistryofHealth webpage on Pandemic Preparedness
•Visit the Government of Canada’swebsite on COVID-19
•Visit the HealthlinkBC website
•Visit the WorldHealth Organization website
•Download the BC MinistryofHealth’sAdvice on Recreational Facilities -March 13, 2020 [PDF]
NorthernHealth COVID-19 Update
NorthernHealth has launched aCOVID-19 Online Clinic and Information Line to help answer questions and concerns from NorthernB.C. residents. The NH COVID-19 Online Clinic and Information Line can be reached at 1-844-645-7811.
20 good things that happened in 2020
CHRISTINE HINZMANN
Citizen staff
Despite all of the negatives the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the world in 2020, there were still local highlights to celebrate and we shouldn’t lose sight of them.
So here are 20 good things that happened in Prince George last year:
• In the early days of January, the Woodpecker Church doors were opened for a winter service for the first time in 30 years. The bells rang to call 21 members of its congregation into the unheated, unlit tiny church to hear Vicar Alexis Saunders give a message of love, peace and hope.
• As has been the case for a few years now, volunteers with Ducks Unlimited Canada feed the ducks that winter in Prince George. Every day for months, Paul Cailleaux and Brock Bailey coordinate the feeding at Cottonwood Island Park and the community continues to help by donating duck food from Spruce Capital.
• The Bird and the Bees, a play presented by Miracle Theatre with proceeds going to charity, was a huge hit in February just before the pandemic hit This year marked a milestone that saw more than $100,000 donated to charity over the years by Miracle Theatre.
• Prince George resident Bailey Grose created Hearts of PG to help keep her children engaged during self-isolation where social distancing was being adhered to during the first wave of COVID-19.
• In April, Marty Anderson, a Prince George resident, had his short story called My Wife Tried to Kill Me published in Laughter is the Best Medicine, the first humour-based book in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
• Mr Berry, a documentary about longtime Prince George math tutor Brij Berry, won Best of Fest in the Yorkton Film Festival. Writer/director Daniel Stark and producer Jason Hamborg of 6ix Sigma Productions created the documentary. The film was in the category of Documentary
CITIZEN FILE PHOTOS
Some of the people behind 20 good things in Prince George in 2020 were, top row, left to right - Paul Cailleaux and Brock Bailey, Frances Flanagan and Wally MacKinnon, and Brij Berry - and bottom row, left to right - Madison Smith, Grace Dove, Julia Mackey and William Kuklis.
History & Biography, in which it was also recognized with top honours.
• Madison Smith, a successful actor who grew up in Prince George, won a Leo Award for supporting actor in a television movie The Leo Awards are presented by the British Columbia television and film industry and Smith was honoured for his role in the Hallmark movie Write Before Christmas.
• Kiani Wilkinson, a local 23-year-old hockey player, signed a contract in August to play with the Kunlun Red Star professional women’s hockey team in Shenzhen, Guangdon, China.
• Faith (nee Wil) Fundal of CBC Daybreak North created and hosted a new podcast series called They & Us that talks about gender identity The informative podcast series garnered national attention. On the negative side, Fundal moved to Winnipeg at the end of the year to take on a new role with CBC Manitoba.
• The Prince George Symphony Orchestra held a successful fall season, adhering to all the protocols aduring that time that allowed up to 50 people to gather at an
KACE THE FACE OF 2021
Northern B.C.’s first baby of 2021 is from Quesnel but was born in Prince George.
Baby Kace arrived at 4:11 a.m. on New Year’s Day at University Hospital of Northern B.C. - a seven-pound, 11-ounce bundle of joy for parents Jessica Penner and Kenneth Wray Kace is the newest addition to a family that includes his half-brothers Jacob and Nathan. “They were going to induce her and it would have taken a couple days to kick in but
the baby decided, nope I’m out of here,” said Geraldine Penner, Jessica’s mother. “She had a really rough pregnancy because of her rare blood type and when she got pregnant it was like an invasion in her body so she had to have RhoGAM shots
indoor event while social distancing.
• Local staff members at School District 57 were able to create an online resource about concussions to guide students, parents, coaches and teachers on how to support the injured person.
• Wheely Funny Garden Parties saw local comedians and their teams visit people in their backyards to bring them live shows to provide some safe entertainment during the pandemic. Their summer-long effort raised $8,640 for the BC Cancer Foundation and cancer research.
• Grace Dove, who grew up in Prince George, starred in the feature film Monkey Beach, which played at the local Cineplex Theatre this October The movie was filmed in Kitimat. Monkey Beach is the long-awaited film adaptation of Eden Robinson’s award-winning novel directed by Loretta S. Todd.
• Stage readings offered an alternative to full-set stage productions at Theatre NorthWest, giving community playwrights and actors a way to be heard by small, socially distanced audiences during the pandemic.
“He’s a very lucky baby to be here and she’s lucky to have carried him I didn’t think she’d ever have children, it’s just amazing. It’s almost like a miracle.”
• William Kuklis, a local actor and singer/ songwriter, is the voice of classic villain Dennis Nedry in LEGO Jurassic World: The Legend of Isla Nublar, an animated series currently available on Netflix.
• Christmas hampers were still provided to more than 1,000 Prince George residents in need this year. It looked a little different but four key organizations, including the Prince George Council of Seniors, the Prince George Native Friendship Centre, St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Salvation Army all managed to help those in need this holiday season.
• The Celebration of Lights at the Central BC Railway and Forestry Museum went ahead as a drive-thru event. The annual fundraiser was adapted to a COVID-friendly event to accommodate as many people as possible as safely as possible.
• Carrier Sekani Family Services Sk’ai Zeh Yah Youth Centre, Children of Chiefs House, opened recently in downtown Prince George to serve everyone eight to 29 years old. There is always a need for donations for socks, boots and coats that can be dropped off at the centre located at 1575 Second Ave.
• The Salmon Valley Community Association and Volunteer Fire Department replaced its annual Santa’s Breakfast with visits to neighbourhood children at the end of their driveways as teams delivered goodie bags to all the boys and girls in a COVID-friendly way
• Two wonderful people retired from their significant roles in the community Artist Ken Ferris has retired from his longtime role as the manager of volunteer and corporate fundraising for Ducks Unlimited in Northern B.C. Kathy Nadalin retired from her regular Seniors Scene column in The Citizen after more than eight years of weekly profiles of amazing local seniors
Whatever 2021 brings, let’s all take the time to celebrate the good things and the great people that make them possible Please add to the list of good things of 2020 Drop us a line at letters@pgcitizen.ca.
NEW HAZELTON WOMAN WINS $126K
Linda Stephens of New Hazelton got an early Christmas present Dec. 21, winning the $126,500 progressive jackpot on Odds of the Gods, her favourite online slot game on PlayNow.com
“I was playing and it said I won the progressive jackpot, I just didn’t know how much I won,” says Stephens.
“When I went back to the main page it said I had an extra $126,500 in my
account and that’s when I started yelling for my husband who was working downstairs.”
How’s this for lucky – it was only her second spin playing the game. Stephens, who owns and operates a small business with her husband in New Hazelton, says most of the win will go towards savings, but down the road will look at replacing her car
‘IT’S A PRETTY WILD TALE’
The idea to make a film version grew out of chance meeting two years ago with TV producer Chris Nasiff and his girlfriend while on vacation in Palm Springs, Calif., which at the time was hosting an international film festival.
“I said I’ve got these three stupid books, and I gave them to him and he didn’t read them but his girlfriend did,” Thun said. “She called them ‘gold’ and they’ve written two scripts and they’re pitching them to Showtime, HBO and Netflix.”
Richard Brandes, a producer, director and writer whose films include Jeepers Creepers 3, Ugly Betty, Penny Dreadful, Out For Blood and Dead Cold, is Nasiff’s business partner and after meeting the Thuns he was sold on the idea of bringing life to the stories behind Down Low in the D.R.
“It’s a pretty wild tale, obviously,” said Brandes, from his home in Los Angeles. “We’re not interested in checking it all out to confirm every detail, we just primarily wanted to explore and exploit the crazy nature of it and the potential of it to be an ongoing series.
“This couple goes to the Dominican Republic on their honeymoon and they end up running a brothel and a bar and a car wash and hijinks and mayhem ensue. I went to Palm Springs and spent an evening talking with Cam and Tammy, getting familiar with what the story was and I just said this thing’s got great potential. I saw
in it a little bit of (Netflix series) Ozark and a little bit of these other far-fetched stories that are supposedly true and are always fascinating for people The audience out there loves that stuff.”
Brandes scrapped the original script and rewrote it about a year ago. He showed the new script to a friend, a hotel owner in the Dominican, whose own business dealings were strikingly familiar to that of the Thun’s and he told Brandes he wants to get involved in filming the project in that country once the pandemic threat ends.
“COVID pretty much put the brakes on a lot of things,” said Brandes. “The coronavirus hit the industry pretty hard in terms of keeping things on track (but) the intention’s still there and we’re working in spite of it to pull it together to where we can get it into production after the first of the year
“I have some good friends and associates who are in the series world, they have a number of series on Netflix and various other venues and they expressed an interest in it and being involved and that’s kind of how things work, you just try to put the pieces of the puzzle together to try to make it happen.”
Brandes, an executive producer of Watchtower (aka Cruel and Unusual), a 2001 movie starring Tom Beringer shot on Vancouver Island, says Canada has done a better job than the United States to contain the virus and with its better exchange rate and tax incentives that makes the province cost-effective for film productions. He con-
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firmed Prince George is on his radar
“It makes a lot of sense to shoot it there, I don’t know what would behoove us not to do that,” Brandes said.
The real-life characters depicted in Thun’s books leave no shortage of material for Brandes to work with developing his scripts.
“It almost writes itself,” said Brandes.
“You could sustain a series for a number of years with all the characters in that particular setting. A place like that lends itself to all kinds of behind-the-scenes craziness and drama The girls (of the brothel) and their lives and what they’re going through and what they do to try to make their lives better, there’s a lot there to try to shine a light on that and make them sympathetic and help people understand who they are and what motivates them. Then you’ve got the antagonists, the corrupt politicians and cops and the crazy tourists and drug cartels, it’s just on and on.”
With its increasing potential to reach mass audiences, more A-list actors are taking on projects for television and streaming platforms and Brandes is confident the characters of Down Low in the D.R will draw some big names
“Sam Rockwell would be great to play Cam, that’s who I’ve seen in that role since the beginning,” said Brandes. “Cam is obviously a very colourful person with a unique personality and Sam Rockwell is great at those kind of roles. I think he could bring across the craziness of it all but also make it a very sympathetic and relatable. (Thun’s) background and how he grew up is going to factor in. That’s the fun of it.
“I love the fact his mother’s there, working with him and helping him. I could see Kathy Bates playing her and she’s someone we could interest in the role. For Tammy, it would be nice to have Reese Witherspoon. I’m obviously aiming high, but there’s no reason not to nowadays ”
Local filmmaker Norm Coyne of Barker Street Cinema was approached by Thun for his advice on how to sell Down Low in the D.R. and Coyne is convinced it has the potential to be a hit.
“Right now especially, if you look at what’s killing it as far as content and everything like that, it’s true stories,” said Coyne. “Documentaries are bigger than they’ve ever been. Look at Tiger King, and Cam’s story is in the same vein as Tiger
Cameron and Tammy Thun in the Dominican Republic.
King. It’s ground in fact and it actually happened
“Cam is a larger-than-life character and I’m not surprised so many people have responded As far as authenticity goes, he’s non-negotiable on that, this has to be filmed in Prince George and that’s attracting the industry here. It’s a super-big deal.” Prince George was last featured in a major Hollywood movie when the Stephen King horror flick Dreamcatcher was filmed in the city in January and February 2002. Those weeks of shooting brought millions of dollars to the city’s economy and Coyne says Down Low in the D.R. could have a similar effect.
“It’s a huge win for the city,” said Coyne. “When film production companies come here, they’re occupying hotel rooms, they’re eating in restaurants, they’re buying gear from the stores. Beyond that, there is a very palpable civic pride that is attached to having a film production in your city, and we’ve seen that. When Ben Affleck and Charlize Theron and everybody was here for Reindeer Games, everyone was pumped There is a very tangible excitement that is completely undeniable and that gives people a pride of place.”
SUBMITTED PHOTO
How COVID affected Prince George in 2020
ARTHUR WILLIAMS Citizen staff
While 2020 was an eventful year, there was no story that dominated the news more than the COVID-19 pandemic.
Transmission of COVID-19 in the community has prompted exposures and outbreaks at schools, hospitals, long-term care homes and industrial sites throughout northern B.C. Nearly 20 COVID exposure events were reported at Prince George schools in December alone.
The University Hospital of Northern B.C had two outbreaks in December, and outbreaks have been reported at the Jubilee Lodge and Gateway Lodge long-term care homes this month. Work camps linked to the LNG Canada, Coastal GasLink and Site C dam projects have all reported COVID-19 outbreaks over the year
While less than 2,000 people in the Northern Health region have had COVID-19, the measures put in place to control the pandemic have impacted nearly everyone. Limits on visitors have been in effect for most of the year at long-term care and assisted-living homes in the province, in an attempt to prevent the disease from infecting those most at risk
On March 17, B.C provincial health officer Dr Bonnie Henry declared the pandemic a public health emergency Since then gatherings of 50 or more people have been banned.
Many businesses, including bars, pubs and casinos were ordered to close. Other
businesses were required to offer delivery or take-out options only
In response to Henry’s order, the City of Prince George closed CN Centre, the Prince George Aquatic Centre, Four Seasons Leisure Pool, Elksentre Arena, Rolling Mix Concrete Arena, Kin centres and Prince George Conference and Civic Centre.
The Four Seasons pool, civic centre and Elksentre remain closed, but the remaining facilities began reopening in the fall after requests from local user groups.
Likewise, man businesses were allowed to reopen, with COVID-19 safety plans in place – including measures like plexiglass barriers between staff and customers, seating limits,restricted hours of liquor service, etc. In November, after receiving requests from groups including United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1518 – a union representing grocery workers in Prince George and B.C. – Henry imposed a public health order requiring British Columbians to wear masks in all public buildings.
Those measures prompted push back from some customers and members of the public. In November, Rocky Mountain Chocolate owner Trent Derrick said his staff took abuse on a nearly daily basis for awhile as they tried to enforce their COVID safety plan.
“We’ve had people yell at our staff. We’ve had people yell at us,” Derrick said. “For awhile, it was happening once or twice a day. It has slowed down to once or twice a week, now.”
Police probe homicide
Citizen staff
Less than two hours into the new year, Prince George RCMP had the city’s first homicide on their hands
At about 1:45 a.m. Friday, police received a tip and were sent to a house in the 2800 block of 15th Avenue, where they discovered a 50-year-old man dead in the residence.
Believed to be a targeted killing, the scene was secured and the RCMP’s Serious Crime Unit was brought to the scene to lead the investigation, which is still in the early stages.
Several neighbours reported police have previously visited the house. The house
received frequent visitors prior to the killing and there was a least one incidence of a fist fight in the yard.
One neighbour the Citizen interviewed suspects there was drug activity at the victim’s house based on what he saw when police last came to the house about a year ago and restricted access to it as a crime scene.
“We don’t associate with those people whatsoever, we don’t know who they are but we know what it is,” he said. “Of course it’s (drug related), it’s got to be.
“It’s happened before The cops have been there tons of times and the alley’s been blocked off.”
NOTICE OF MEETING
The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George BoardofDirectors will commence 2021 budget deliberations at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday,January 20, 2021. TheCommittee of the Whole agenda containing budget matters will be available at www.rdffg.bc.ca beginning on January 15, 2021. Individuals or organizations who wish to provide comment on Regional District budget matters may do so as follows:
•bycommenting by email to budget@rdffg.bc.ca
•bycommenting thru the Regional District’sFacebook page
•bycommenting thru Twitter using the hashtag #RDFFGbudget.
K. Jensen
General Manager of Legislative and Corporate Services
The economic impact of the pandemic saw the city’s unemployment rate peak at 11.8 per cent in May and hovered just below 10 per cent for much of the summer By November, the unemployment rate had recovered to 8.1 per cent – the lowest level since February, before the pandemic’s impact had been fully felt.
Restrictions on international travel have been in place much of the year, with periods where all travel – even within the province – have been restricted.
That’s had an impact on tourism operators and the Prince George Airport.
In a report to city council earlier this year, airport president and CEO Gordon Duke said he expects it could takes years for airline travel to fully recovery. Passenger numbers through the airport have collapsed since March.
“We’re sitting about 70 per cent below where we were last year. That’s been fairly consistent since August,” Duke said. “We are seeing significant losses every month. So much of our costs are fixed. We will likely, after the winter, be in some type of reduced hours.”
With passenger loads on flights to and from Prince George hovering around 45 per cent, Duke said he wouldn’t be surprised to see airlines cut service to the city
Live entertainment, arts, sports and fundraising events have all been impacted by the pandemic. The majority of the annual events that make up the city’s social calendar have been cancelled, or forced to
move to online-only formats.
The rapid development and approval of vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the bright spots of the year
Pfizer’s vaccine was approved for use by Health Canada in early December, and the first doses were distributed in British Columbia mid-month. The first shipment of 1,950 doses of the Pfizer vaccine arrived at the University Hospital of Northern B.C. on Dec. 21, and on Dec 22 Jubilee Lodge care aide Biserka Becker became the first person in the Northern Health region to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Doses of the vaccine are only being administered at nine locations in the province - with UHNBC being the only location in the Northern Health region.
However, the first doses of a second vaccine approved for use in Canada – made by Moderna – arrived in B.C. on Dec. 29. The Moderna vaccine is much easier to handle and store, meaning it can be more easily distributed and administered in smaller communities, Henry said
“The Moderna vaccine will be used in the north, and interior, and parts of the island, to deliver to smaller long-term care homes,” Henry said. “(And) it will be going to a number of remote and indigenous communities.
“As we are ramping up vaccination, we are looking at how to get to level that breaks transmission. We hope to reach that level by summer (of 2021), fall at the latest.”
Schools put to the test in 2020
TED CLARKE
Citizen staff
Friday the 13th has a reputation, deserved or not, for bringing bad luck.
It certainly was the start of something sinister for Prince George students when the calendar struck 13 back in March.
After that, nothing was ever normal again about school days in 2020.
When grade schools in the province shut down at the end of that second week of March for what was supposed to be a twoweek spring break, COVID-19 was just starting to clobber the globe and the outbreaks continued to fester across Canada while B.C. students were taking a breather from their studies.
To contain the virus, schools were shut down in an effort the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918. The world was turned upside-down while society struggled to deal with the most disruptive calamity since the Second World War. The threat of the pandemic kept B.C. schools shuttered for the first time since a three-day teachers’ strike in 2012, and this time the closure lasted twoand-a-half months .
“With strikes, there’s a playbook, we all know what we have to do and when we have to do it,” said Joanne Hapke, president of the Prince George District Teachers’ Association. “With this, there is no playbook, it’s being developed.
“Everyone’s situation is unique, one size
will not fit all. People have questions and they are worried.”
School closures forced parents, those who were still working, to scramble to find care for their kids.
The switch to online learning and teleconference calls to connect teachers with students brought glitches. The challenges and limitations of technology tested the abilities of teachers, school administrators and school board trustees to find solutions. Some kids fell through the cracks and their grades tumbled as they struggled with turning their homes into makeshift classrooms with only a computer or a phone line to connect them with their teachers.
In-class learning was gradually re-introduced as an option in June, but only 40 per cent of students in the Prince George school district came back for the hour or two per week of class time. It was a long lonely summer for kids, discouraged from getting together with their school chums with most social gatherings frowned upon by health authorities. Graduation ceremonies were virtual events in empty halls and Grade 12 students walking the stage to receive their diplomas with only a video camera present to embed that memory in the minds of parents, families and friends
When the new school term rolled around in September, schools were much different places to be. Varsity sports, club functions and school trips to foreign countries
“Some things that can be answered with a simple question and answer from a teacher, you might spend 15 minutes looking it up online.”
were cancelled and most extracurricular activities put on hold. Student populations were divided into groups and each of those cohorts were kept together for their core subjects, separate from the other students. Hand sanitizing stations were in every classroom and mask wearing was mandatory in hallways and where students of different cohorts mixed with each other. When the kids left for the day, custodians armed by $5,000 sanitizing machines got their sprayers in motion to eradicate the germs.
Teachers came back to their workplace unsure how vulnerable they were to COVID-19 infections and thankfully their fears were not confirmed. While some schools have had a positive case or two, the transmission rate has so far been negligible.
As isolated as K-12 students had to become during the pandemic, postsecondary learning was a shell of its former self. Most courses at the University of Northern B.C.
and the College of New Caledonia (with the exception of trades training) went online only. Labs became interactive video exercises, midterms and final exams were open-book tests written from home and the daily interactions of campus life vanished and common areas where students tend to gather were empty As UNBC civil engineering student Chris Ross found outthis fall, having to depend on Zoom connections and teleconferencing has its limitations while trying to keep up with the demands of his five courses.
“It’s tough, I’m in the civil program so a lot of the stuff we do out of textbooks is OK but the stuff you really miss are the labs and the hands-on stuff,” said Ross. “Some things that can be answered with a simple question and answer from a teacher, you might spend 15 minutes looking it up online. You have to email them and wait for their responses; it’s not the same as being in the classroom.”
UNBC health sciences student Madison Landry had to interact with a cartoon avatar used to illustrate how to test the knee reflexes of a patient.
“It’s bizarre, but they found a way to do it all online and it’s working so far,” she said “Some of the lectures are pre-recorded and some of them you have to tune in at a certain time. I didn’t realize how big of a social aspect (school) was until you don’t have to go every day and see all the people in your program.”
AREA ATHLETES STILL SHONE IN 2020
TED CLARKE
Citizen staff
Tyrell Laing couldn’t save the UNBC Timberwolves from meeting a non-playoff fate in 2020.
It certainly wasn’t for a lack of trying.
The 21-year-old Prince George Secondary School graduate found his groove at point guard and continued to hone his talents in his fourth season playing U Sports basketball. His ability to find the twine from all angles turned him into the Canada West scoring champion. Laing averaged a UNBC program-best 21.9 points over the course of a 20-game season to claim his crown.
Laing could not prevent an 11-game losing streak that dropped the team out of playoff contention but he certainly did enough to merit his selection as The Citizen’s athlete of the year for 2020.
The pandemic exploded across the globe the week 12 teams arrived in Prince George to contest the World Women’s Curling Championship. A small army of volunteers was assembled and the ice at CN Centre was perfectly pebbled for the nine-day tournament when the plug was pulled the day before it was set to begin. Kelly Einarson’s Team Canada crew was joined by some of the volunteers for a mini-bonspiel to salvage some joy after their work was wiped out by the growing threat of the virus.
“It’s heartbreaking to be part of something for two-and-a-half years and to get
so close to really being able to roll it out,” said then-CN Centre general manager Glen Mikkelsen, vice-chair of the host committee. “Then, with circumstances changing around the globe that needed to be responded to, it was hard to see it coming apart before our eyes.”
Other victims of the pandemic were the Western Canadian Ringette Championships in March, the Canadian Masters Badminton Championships in April-May, the Kelly Cup Men’s Bonspiel/Prince George Ladies Bonspiel in April and the Canadian Native Fastball Championships in August. In September, the Prince George Iceman organizing committee announced the popular mid-winter multi-sport endurance race will not be happening in 2021 and in November the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club pulled the plug on the world youth/junior biathlon trials.
In one of the most cruel turns of fate, Prince George resident Ethan O’Rourke, a centre in his final season in the B.C Hockey League, had his championship dream shattered when the season was cancelled just before the start of the second round of playoffs, denying O’Rourke’s powerhouse Coquitlam Express their real chance to win a national title.
Professional baseball player Jared Young was stopped short in his climb up the ladder of the Chicago Cubs’ organization when all minor leagues were shut down. Just before COVID hit in February, the
Duchess Park Condors, trying to repeat the success of the 1980 Condors when they became the first team from outside the Lower Mainland to win the higher-tier B.C. boys basketball crown, fell one win short. Ranked No. 1 in the province virtually all season, the Condors advanced to the triple-A championship game in Langley but had to settle for silver after a 79-67 loss to the G.W. Graham Grizzlies of Chilliwack.
Thirteen-year-old Ben Konwicki, a member of the Prince George Blizzard Speed Skating Club, dominated his age class at the Canadian Youth Long Track Championships in Red Deer, winning every race he entered and he wrapped up the month of February with four medals (gold, two silver and a bronze) at the B.C. Winter Games in Fort St. John.
Konwicki became the first Cariboo-North East athlete selected for the W.R. Bennett Award over more than 1,000 other athletes for his career athletic accomplishments, leadership qualities and community involvement.
The UNBC women’s basketball team defied the odds in 2020 and advanced to the second round of playoffs on the strength of nine straight wins.
That hot streak happened despite injuries that left them with only a couple spares in their second-round two-game matchup against Calgary, where the topranked Dinos ended their season. Canada West First Team All-Star Maria Mongomo,
in her fifth and final season, and Third Team selection Madison Landry put the T-wolves on their shoulders and delivered the first-ever winning season for the UNBC women’s team in eight seasons in Canada West.
In September, after two months of playoffs sequestered in the bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton, Prince George-born-andraised Jon Cooper guided the Tampa Bay Lightning to their Stanley Cup win in a six-game series over the Dallas Stars. The 53-year-old Cooper has won championships at every level he’s coached and the now has his first NHL title to celebrate.
The local community lost a couple of well-known sports people in 2020 whose contributions made the city a better place to watch and take part in athletic events.
On March 9, Chad Staley, a forward who captained the Prince George Spruce Kings in his third and final season in Prince George before moving on to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and later a pro hockey career in Germany and Italy, died suddenly at age 25 of an unspecified cause
On Nov 6, Christine Cooper, the mother of Jon Cooper, died at age 77 at her home in Prince George after a lengthy illness. She was a longtime volunteer with the Prince George Minor Hockey Association and Prince George Minor Lacrosse Association and for many years was the chief organizer of the Simon Fraser Open golf tournament.
($1,200savings
Spanish flu hit area hard, Citizen archives show
TED CLARKE
Citizen staff
The COVID-19 pandemic that has so far caused more than 84 million infections and 1.85 million deaths has a precedent.
The Spanish influenza infected nearly 30 per cent of the world’s population from 1918-20 and is believed to have caused the deaths of up to 50 million people, more than double the 20 million who died in the four years of the First World War. The flu clamed 55,000 Canadians and at least 77 of those deaths between October 1918 and April 1919 were people from the Prince George area, The Citizen archives show.
The 1918 flu was ruthless. Patients who woke up healthy were sometimes dead before the day was over. Most of the dead ranged in age from 20-40 and most died of pneumonia, a secondary infection caused by the flu. Prince George, with a population of about 7,000 in 1918, avoided the initial wave of infections that first appeared in eastern port cities – Quebec City, Montreal and Halifax – before the plague spread westward. By Sept. 27, when the flu was first mentioned in the Citizen, Montreal had 12 deaths and several thousand cases.
The virus mutated and during the second wave in the fall it targeted young and healthy people. Ninety per cent of the deaths in the world happened during that second wave. Deadly outbreaks in Eastern Canada prompted Prince George Mayor Harry Perry to seek provincial permission to close schools, churches, and theatres
CITIZEN ARCHIVES
This provincial police ad appeared in the pages of the Prince George Citizen in October 1918, during the height of the Spanish flu pandemic.
if any cases were reported in the city By the following week, Prince George had 22 confirmed infections and on Oct. 16 local health authorities ordered all schools, poolrooms and public meeting places closed until the danger was passed. All public assemblies were forbidden.
On Oct. 17, the Connaught Hotel was turned into a temporary hospital staffed initially by volunteers and operated by the province and it opened with 15 influenza patients cared for by a nurse and an orderly
The following week, the province increased patient capacity to 60 beds with the addition of a makeshift hospital downtown at the Third Avenue Union Rooms. A few days later, the city set up a temporary
emergency ward at the Millar Addition Elementary School.
The Prince George fire chief and assistant chief, as well as a majority of the local staff of the Grant Trunk Railway, were stricken with the flu. The virus spread through lumber camps east of the city and labour shortages forced some sawmills to temporarily suspend operations. Health orders shuttered non-essential businesses as they city went into a lockdown, as reported in the Oct. 18 Citizen.
Prince George passengers traveling by train to Alberta were warned they had to wear masks as a precaution, by order of the provincial health authority, and that the order would be strictly enforced with nobody allowed to board a train without a mask.
influenza have in many cases been serious and often fatal. It remains then for people to pay particular heed to the warning given by the experience of other sections and resume normal habits and exposures with care.”
At its worst, in October 1918, the mortality rate around the city spiked to more than four deaths per 1,000 people. As of Oct. 28, there were 21 deaths in the city and all but six of the fatalities to that point were people who came in from rural areas in the region. By Nov. 1, the city was treating 72 cases of influenza at three temporary hospitals – 25 at the Connaught Hotel, 24 at Millar School and 23 at the Union Rooms on Third Avenue. Two of the dead were the wife and 17-month-old son of J.A Feren, the Grand Trunk Railway station agent for Prince George, who was left with five children to raise.
On Nov 13, Catholic priest Nicolas Coccola, a physician, returned from his medical mission in at Stoney Creek (Saik’uz First Nation) southwest of Vanderhoof and reported influenza was responsible for 43 deaths and that all of the aboriginal people on the reserve were afflicted with the disease. Most of the victims were elderly or in frail condition. By Dec. 24, 154 aboriginal people in the district out of a population of about 1,400 had died from the flu-related conditions. Many of those who survived were left in a weakened state, unable to care for themselves.
Much like the advice given now by provincial health authorities to lessen the chance of COVID transmission, people were told to avoid contact with others, especially indoors, and to stay away from anyone suffering from a cold, sore throat or a cough
They were not allowed to spit in public places, told to avoid chills, sleep and work in a well-ventilated room, and keep hands clean and away from the mouth. Handkerchiefs were to be used to cover a sneeze or cough and those cloths were to be disinfected frequently by boiling or washing with soap and water
Those who already had the flu were told to go to bed immediately under the care of a physician in a warm ventilated room for at least three days until the fever passes and to stay away from people and avoid kissing. To keep from developing pneumonia, patients were advised to remain in bed until they felt better
The Lhedli T’enneh community, then known as the Fort George Indian Reserve in Shelley, was hit hard and the virus killed Chief Louis Qua. Sub-chief Joseph Qua, 61, and his two children, Antoine, 37 and Virginia, 35, left the reserve to try to escape the plague and were later found dead a few miles away in a tent along the Fraser River Restrictions on public gatherings were officially lifted by provincial police on Nov. 15. Police didn’t enforce the order a few days earlier when on Nov, 11 armistice was declared and the First World War ended. The news from Europe was celebrated in front of two large bonfires on George Street by a crowd of people who brought out the reserves of alcohol to toast the occasion.
“There was a general uncovering of ‘flu eradicator’ in the city amid the tooting of locomotive whistles, the discords of a tin-can orchestra and the cheers of the multitude in general,” according to a Nov. 12 Citizen story.
The B.C Provincial Police stated there were 1,800 reported cases of Spanish flu and 220 pneumonia-related deaths in the area along the rail line bordered to the east at the Alberta border at Lucerne and to the west at Kitsalas near Terrace. The actual numbers were likely higher because not all First Nations communities were included in the reports.
In late October of 1918, infection rates were starting to decline in Prince George, as they were in most parts of the world, and it was believed the lockdown measures had worked. Some patients still suffered long after their symptoms went away and for some the longer-term effects of influenza were worse than the disease. Citizen readers were warned about that possibility when they read the Oct 25th edition.
“It is generally believed that, locally, the high point of the epidemic has passed. There remains, however, the convalescent period of the majority of those affected and this period is stated by medical authorities to be fraught with the greatest danger. The ‘after effects’ of this particular
In December 1918, provincial police deputy inspector Parsons counted 117 deaths at Saik’uz and the indigenous communities in the Fort St. James area (Nak’azdli Whut’en, Yekooche, Tl’axt’en and Takla), with some of the reserves near Hazelton reporting nearly a quarter of their populations had been wiped out A provincial police survey revealed mortality among all the native bands in B.C. reached 714 out of a population of 21,567.
LETTERS
Tax shifting
The last thing most of us want to hear about is another increase in residential property taxes. The question that citizens and our elected leaders are never willing to discuss is why are residential taxes the only taxes on the rise when there is little to no increase in industrial taxes?
It is almost a forbidden subject. Not only have most industrial taxes not gone up, some areas in the city have actually seen a decrease in taxes. All this in addition to deferments on taxes for industry, which equates to a free loan from the city. Why is the tax burden slowly being shifted to the average citizen? While arguments were being made against improving city infrastructure and services, taxes for industry were not increasing to keep up with inflation. Some industry taxes have even quietly been reduced, along with very favourable deferments.
We’ve always been told we need to keep taxes for industry low in order to create jobs and spur economic development.The great part about this theory is that we’ve already tried this and the results over the years is that there are fewer well-paying jobs, closed mills, shuttered businesses and a downtown that everyone avoids.
CItizens and council have not been willing to ask industry to put a little more in the collection plate. Instead, we have been busy debating whether kids should have a pool or whether we should have a new fire station. Some would have us believe that this endless increase in residential
property taxes is due to some kind of vast conspiracy or circus atmosphere at city hall, worthy of some kind of investigative news report. These same people have been saying this for years and councillors have even campaigned on this.
This speculation has only served as a distraction while the tax burden shifts from industry to you and me I’m not against industry, but I do ask that they pay a little more than a coupon and a IOU.
Consider this next time you get your tax bill in the mail. Remember that the increased amount is due to a ever increasing unwillingness to ask industry to pay their tax share. Industry got a tax break while your taxes went up.
Sean Kealy, Prince George
Teachers safe in class
I am writing in response to the letter sent by the Prince George Teacher’s Association (PGDTA) to Dr Bonnie Henry on Dec. 16 I am a Prince George teacher concerned that this letter is representing my voice when I disagree strongly with the message. I recognize the PGDTA has a role to represent the union members and their concerns As I neither sought to voice my contentment with the current protocols or was asked my opinion, I will share it now and work to remedy this situation in future
I feel this letter was based on fear instead of the facts at hand. The rate or transmission from asymptomatic people within the same household is very low, approximately 0.7 per cent. In addition, the CDC has stated that you need to be within a distance of six feet for a length of 15 minutes for possible transfer of the virus to take place. If the child is under
the age of ten they are half as likely to get COVID-19 and half as likely to transmit the virus Based on the above information, the risk of infection is low, compared to many other professions.
There are many disadvantages to using a mask in the general population, which would also be applicable and possibly even more so in children and adolescents. This includes headache and/or breathing difficulties, development of facial skin lesions and irritant dermatitis, difficulty with communicating clearly, touching their faces more and a false sense of security.
A mask also creates a humid habitat where SARS-CoV-2 can remain active due to breathing providing continuous water vapour captured by the mask This increases viral load and can cause an increase in infections. At this time, I have not located any long-term studies on the health effects of masking on children. Without further data and study, I feel the PGDTA letter is demanding children trade their health for other’s health and I cannot support this.
Children need to be in school and they need to be able to socialize with their peers (especially at the pre-teen and adolescent stage) for their mental health. We’ve seen the statistics on abuse, the increase in calls to the children’s help line, and the increase in suicides in youth this year The current COVID-19 pandemic has created a constant culture of change and uncertainty School is possibly the only dependable and unchanging thing in some children’s lives. At the beginning of a typical school year, I would agree that reduced class sizes benefit children. However, with the timing and during a pandemic I cannot possibly support this suggestion
I recognize the balance that the PGDTA and by extension the BCTF has in valuing their union members voices and health, but encourage them to gather more information. In Spain, it was found that 87 per cent of the school staff who tested positive were single cases; they did not infect anyone. A study from Norway also found that elementary school teachers had a 1.5 in 1,000 chance and high school teachers were found to have a 1.2 in 1,000 chance of contracting COVID through the workplace during the first wave of COVID-19. How does this compare to Canada and B C ?
I encourage the PGDTA and BCTF to request the province to provide teachers with more detailed information regarding hospitalization, ICU stays and recovery of teachers. I believe more information needs to be gathered prior to demanding changes to our current protocols in place.
My personal experience in the classroom and school has been safe and supported by the school district and my student’s families. Families do not send their children to school sick. If their child becomes sick, they are typically picked up immediately. Each school has a health and safety committee that should be utilized by employees if there are concerns. Our district is following protocols and cleaning continues to take place Families are following Northern Health guidelines I believe we need to continue the balanced approach that is already in place moving forward into 2021. Teachers need to take personal responsibility for their own health and not place the impact of response on the health and future of the youth of today.
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Entertainers cautiously upbeat for 2021
CHRISTINE HINZMANN
Citizen staff
The Prince George Symphony Orchestra is doing it.
Theatre NorthWest and Gypsy Entertainment Group are doing it, too, while Judy Russell Presents had to take a different approach.
Providing live entertainment during a pandemic comes with plenty of challenges but it seems that the face of live entertainment is still smiling in Prince George.
The Prince George Symphony Orchestra (PGSO) had their Autumn Revival Bringing Back the Joy of Live Music, fall season featuring four concerts sponsored with a free venue at the Prestige Treasure Cove Hotel.
Maestro Michael Hall leads the Brass Ensemble in November at the Prestige Treasure Cove Resort Ballroom during the afternoon performance of Prince George Symphony Orchestra’s presentation Autumn Revival III.
Following COVID guidelines and restrictions during the fall, the PGSO enjoyed a successful if adapted season and hope to do the same thing in the spring of 2021 for the start of the new season.
“That’s been our motto - we’re going to go forward until we can’t,” said Teresa
Saunders, general manager for the PGSO.
“These live concerts have been very well received by people who are just so grateful to have live music back in their lives and who have a place to go outside their homes to do something enjoyable and in a sense something social as they are with other people.”
The next season will echo what worked during the last COVID-restricted season.
“Every concert had four performances and each performance was an hour to an hour and a half with no intermission,” Saunders explained.
PGSO conducted a survey of patrons who attended the shows and 99 per cent of people said they felt safe in that environment and some even preferred the seating style and musical experience to the traditional concert that saw a big orchestra on stage with hundreds in the audience, Saunders said.
The series was a sellout.
“This style of presenting the music has brought in an audience of a younger age and we’re so happy about that,” Saunders said. “It’s appealed to people beyond the seniors and the seniors were the very first people to buy tickets, which was quite amazing considering the state we were in in September.”
Theatre NorthWest remains positive but is realistic about the coming year.
“First and foremost we are always going to be in compliance with provincial and regional health orders,” Marnie Hamagami, general manager of Theatre NorthWest, said. “We are not going to go ahead with any production with things as they are.”
It’s also not financially feasible for the professional theatre company to present full-scale productions when the safety protocols restrict seating to only 50 patrons in the audience for each show as was done in the fall.
“Live productions cost quite a bit of money, the bulk of the cost is not the live actors on stage but everything that comes before that so we will need to take that into consideration before we decide to go forward or not,” Hamagami said.
One positive that comes out of the pandemic for Theatre NorthWest is to continue to host stage readings as a way to showcase local artists, including actors, playrwrights and directors.
“The stage readings were so wonderful for us - there are so many positive aspects - I think that’s a program that we will continue well into the future.”
As far as getting back to full-scale live productions go, it will be a wait and see.
“The tradition of attending live theatre is literally ten of thousands of years old and it’s survived plagues and wars and it’s survived human history in a way that really shows the importance of live art and entertainment in our society I think that there a lot of people who when it is safe again will be excited to come back to see live theatre, live music, to go to art galleries, return to dance classes, and all of that kind of stuff.”
Judy Russell Presents has had to put their usual full stage live productions on hold and, depending on the type of COVID restrictions, the dance studio remains open either providing in-person lessons or those that can be taught virtually
“We all want to consider that we’re going to return to normal and that’s an awesome thought but the problem is when is that going to happen,” Russell said. “That makes planning almost impossible. I have discussed with the symphony that next year is a Nutcracker year (Judy Russell presents The Nutcracker every other year to local residents) and they are desirous of moving forward on that project. I have booked time for dance recitals for the end of June and I might be a little premature on that but it might still look a little different. We lost everything (all live shows) in 2020 and I think we’re going to have to be really careful about what we plan for 2021. We need to not be surprised if we’re pushing into winter of ‘21 and then really 2022 when we see our world recover in a healthy way when events will be able to go ahead.”
Russell said her concern is that it’s never going to be the same.
“Mankind has managed to survive and not without huge setbacks and this of course is very serious and we know that because we are so connected these days we all understand the magnitude of this disaster and that puts it on a different footing,” Russell said.
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE/LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE
ThankYou
Spirit of theNorth Healthcare Foundation is proud to present the Festival of Trees as it’slargest annualfundraising event each year.Thisevent wouldnot be possible withoutthe ongoing support from our community. We sincerely appreciateour many sponsors, donors, designers, corporatepartners, and all the volunteerswho truly bringthe Festival of Treestolifeeachyear!
BY THE NUMBERS
PEOPLESCHOICEWINNERS
Funds raised arebeing applied to the ongoing Dedicated Molecular Diagnostic Lab Campaign
41 Decorated Trees, Wreaths, LittleHouses and CreativePieces
Immeasurable Community Supportand Involvement
Thank youfor Reimagining the 27th Annual Festival of Trees with us.
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2020 IN PHOTOS
Page 12 - left, longtime employee Peter Mueller locks the doors at Northern Hardware for the final time. Middle left, the Duchess Park Condors celebrate their fifth consecutive Prince George Senior Boys High School Basketball City Championship. Bottom left, Old Dominion performs at CN Centre. Bottom right, Chris and Amanda Holmes say their wedding vows at centre ice during the Prince George Cougars Vegas Night game.
Page 13 - top, Foothills Elementary students get ready to race their gravity cars at CNC during the Regional Skills Competition Middle left, Snotty Nose Rez Kids perform at Ramada Prince George during Coldsnap. Middle right, a crowd watches the final round of Art Battle Prince George at the Bob Harkins branch of the Prince George Public Library Bottom, sentries stand guard at the cenotaph in front of city hall at the Prince George Remembrance Day ceremony
SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF THIS
Christmas and New Year’s are often the times many people “catch up” on their sleep.
But there is a stereotype in the modern world that sleep is a sign of weakness, laziness and advancing age
Both statements are wrong.
As Matthew Walker points out in his excellent book Why We Sleep, there is no such thing as catching up on sleep.
Every day is a new day and every night is a new night to sleep.
Getting four hours of sleep one night will affect your mind and body for days to come.
If you sleep ten hours the following night, those effects may be diminished but they won’t go away
Furthermore, getting a good amount of quality sleep every night is as valuable to physical and mental health as eating vegetables and regular exercise.
Despite the fact sleep takes up about one-third of our lives, scientists largely ignored sleep for centuries as a field of study.
Except for a curiosity about the meaning of dreams, sleep was dismissed as necessary downtime for recharging.
It was only in modern times, as biologists saw the diversity of sleeping habits across the animal kingdom and neuroscientists could use machines to peek into the human brain while sleeping, that curiosity increased about sleep.
These days, sleep has become as much of a health obsession as dieting, with a lucrative industry to match.
Along with the drugs, the supplements, the fancy pillows and the smart beds, there are the books and the apps
Most cell phones dim and soften the screen light in the evening, for example.
In his book, Walker encourages people to use their phones to give them an alarm not to wake up but to chime when it’s time to get ready for bed.
Going to bed at a regular time eliminates the need for a wake-up alarm for many people, who naturally wake up right around their usual time.
Comparing sleep to diet is important, Walker stresses, because the science shows they both play a huge role in physical and mental health
A growing amount of studies show a significant connection between sleep and obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes,
depression and Alzheimer’s.
Sleep helps regulate our appetite and our metabolism, as well as boosting our immune system and our ability to think calmly and rationally
Learning and memory are directly tied to sleeping, both in the ability to absorb new information in the short-term and retain it in the long-term.
Like food, there is bad sleep and good sleep.
Bad sleep is slumber while under the influence of caffeine and/or alcohol, too much noise and/or light, too warm or too cold and too many interruptions.
Napping is like snacking.
If necessary, it’s best in small portions in the middle of the day.
A good night’s sleep is as beneficial as an hour of brisk exercise and it provides the same peaceful, exhilarating feelings when it happens.
That’s why professional sports teams, particularly the ones on Pacific time like the Seattle Seahawks and the Vancouver Canucks that frequently have to travel to play the majority of the teams located in the Eastern time zone, now make sleep part of the overall fitness and nutrition rou-
The joy that comes with the truth
American educator and philosopher Cornel West said, “If you are always trying to do something for a cause bigger than you – connected with serving others – then it’s hard to be guilty.”
I can’t listen to Dr West without feeling inspired and joyful, yet he is not a man who compromises the truth when he speaks.
As an African American, he sees the reality of racism in his own country and around the world. He sees the economic and political inequalities, as well as the beauty of our common humanity
Social justice issues have been a part of my life since I was 18.
At first, I was angry when I learned about covert wars in Latin America and economic injustice.
I felt that I had been lied to by the media and the education system. The western world was not defending democracy and freedom; we were creating fear and tyranny.
LESSONS IN LEARNING
GERRY CHIDIAC
As I grew, I became aware of the fact that if the world was going to change, I needed to change. If I wasn’t going to be a source of peace and justice to those around me, then how could I even begin to talk about doing the right thing?
As the years went by, I also noticed that slowly but surely, the world actually was changing for the better I began to understand the words so often stated by Dr Martin Luther King, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
While I was very frustrated by the level of blatant racism that was accepted as the norm in my own country during the Oka crisis of 1990, I watched Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially apologize for the
tine for their players.
Walker’s suggestions to improve sleep are as common sense as cutting back on junk food and couch surfing – don’t drink booze or coffee in the evening, don’t exercise or nap after dinner and don’t eat before bed.
Relaxing before tucking in for the night (a warm bath, a book, listening to music) and making the bedroom dark, quiet, cool and free of gadgets are essential ingredients to quality slumber time.
And don’t lie in bed awake.
Sleep should be a positive experience, Walker emphasizes, so if you can’t fall asleep, then get up and do something relaxing that doesn’t involve electronics or bright light.
As most know from experience, the stress of not being able to fall asleep just makes it harder to fall asleep.
If two of your New Year’s resolutions are eating better and getting more exercise, start with a good sleep each night at a regular bedtime.
That alone will give you more energy and willpower to lay off the junk food and get up off the couch
Editor-in-chief Neil Godbout
residential school system 18 years later. I also read the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015. There is still a tremendous amount of work to do, but we are indeed bending the moral arc toward justice.
Today, I teach and write regularly about genocide and crimes against humanity I am on a constant quest for truth, and I try to empower others with the message I learned so long ago, that each of us is part of the solution.
What I did not understand, however, was the joy I experienced in this quest Then I heard Cornel West speak with the same enthusiasm.
As I began to research the topic, I found several studies that point out a correlation between social activism and happiness
What is not clear is whether social activism brings happiness or whether we tend to be socially active because we are happy
This is also not to say that social activism automatically correlates with happiness.
The late Abbie Hoffman, for example,
inspired many in the anti-Vietnam War movement, yet tragically committed suicide in 1989.
I can only speak for myself. I know my happiness is rooted in the fact that I am a part of something much greater than Gerry.
I don’t know all the answers, yet the truth constantly comes into clearer focus.
I sincerely try to do the right thing and I’m constantly asking, “Am I doing enough to move the moral arc toward justice?”
Living in this mindful way, I find it difficult to be bogged down by guilt or to feel dissatisfied with life.
As I see it, a person who strives for social justice is like a proverbial blues musician You unearth the most horrendous information regarding our inhumanity to one another, knowing that there is something powerful and liberating in truth.
Yet, you are also aware that no matter how terrible the truth may be, love remains the most powerful force on earth. And truth, just like the blues, simply has a way of making you feel better
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Pandemic numbers give cloudy picture
Several months ago, I highlighted some of the unintended consequences of the pandemic restrictions: people dying alone, delayed surgeries, long-term care residents consigned to their rooms with few if any visitors allowed, increased overdose deaths and delayed medical exams and tests.
These are the prices our government decided were needed to stop the pandemic from killing too many of us. These consequences would all be justifiable if the numbers warranted it.
That’s where it gets tricky In part, the question becomes one of balance. How does one weigh COVID against heart disease and cancer? COVID against drug overdoses? COVID against delayed testing and exams? Denying constitutional freedoms to Canadians should not be done on
THINKING ALOUD
TRUDY KLASSEN
a feeling or fear Good science (including the science of mental health) needs to be the guiding factor
In the first few weeks of the pandemic, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out for myself how deadly the pandemic really was. I quickly realized that without recent numbers of deaths, it was virtually impossible to make any sense out of the numbers we were hearing I looked for a baseline of deaths, but couldn’t find recent information on deaths in Canada. At the time I think I could only find numbers for 2016. Lo, and behold, some numbers have ap-
peared. For instance, these numbers from the provincial government show 2020 total deaths, up to December 28, 2020.
2020: 39,467
2019: 38,379
2018: 38,273
2017: 38,300
2016: 36, 470
2015: 35,054
2014: 33,626
2013: 33,059
2012: 32,366
2011: 31,790
2010: 31,160
So, what do those numbers mean? On the surface it appears that much was sacrificed for no real change in the numbers of people dying. Does that mean the restrictions are an unmitigated success? How to tell? Removing the increase of 850 deaths of (mostly) young people dying by overdose, would bring 2020 deaths to 238
Goodbye to the best therapy dog
It has been said many times that great things come in small packages.
This was definitely my dog Ebony, who was an 8-lb Chihuahua Tragically and unexpectedly, I had to say goodbye to her shortly before Christmas. She was 13-anda-half years old.
Two years ago, Ebony and her sister Ivory came to live with us after their human mama and my bestie Lori passed away. At the time, my symptoms from brain injury were quite severe. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to take care of them properly. However, the thought of them being re-homed somewhere else was out of the question due to their age and medical issues. I called Ebony and Ivory “the girls.” To me, they were humans and I’m sure they thought the same. I spent a lot of time with them on the couch, snuggling and sleeping. Back then, I was sleeping between 12-18 hours a day Ebony would bark if they needed to go outside, remind me to feed
Science
There is little doubt this past year will be remembered for SARSCoV-2, more commonly called COVID-19.
The pandemic dominated our newscasts, our political discourse, our social engagement, our economic analysis, and was the topic of well-over 65,000 scientific journal articles. COVID-19 was the big story in science.
This shouldn’t really come as a surprise
With over 1.8 million people dead due to the disease and another 80,000,000 infected, it has awakened the world to the potential of viruses. People who might never have considered what a coronavirus is or
BOGGLED
DIANE NAKAMURA
them their meals and treats. I am a very heavy sleeper Ebony would pounce on me and bounce around, lick my face and bark until I woke up. Every morning, Ebony would kick my bedroom door open and scratch my side of the bed and shriek until I got up. In the beginning, I found this quite annoying. I would tell her “go to bed” and she would, but she always came back to stalk me. Ebony was relentless. She was also my shadow. Wherever I went in the house she followed me, including the bathroom. Ebony had no boundaries and I had no privacy But I didn’t mind because she was such great company
Ebony’s perch was on top of the couch
in front of the living room window Every human, dog, cat and bird that went by received greetings from Ebony It was a common sight to see her little face pressed up against the window. When I left the house, she would sit on her perch until I came home Every time I parked in the driveway, I would look up and see Ebony’s happy face and wagging tail.
Chihuahuas are known to be yappy little things and Ebony was no exception. With me, she was like a drill sergeant. Ebony was the boss. She told me what to do, no exceptions. She was very bossy! I never had a dog that was so strong-willed and demanding as her At the same time she was so loving that I allowed her to think she was my boss.
Ebony was extremely smart She knew I wasn’t well. She had a face that was always full of expression. On my bad days, her lips were pursed and she didn’t bark as much. When I had better days, Ebony would prance around in circles (like Chihuahuas
more than 2019. Compare other years with nearly 2,000 more deaths from one year to another Is this worth a $1.6 trillion hit across Canada to our economy, and people dying from undiagnosed diseases and delays in surgeries, and people dying alone?
What would the numbers have been if we hadn’t imposed severe restrictions? Will we ever know?
Without other recent data on other causes of death, it is hard to know, because we won’t be able to know of the unintended effects of the restrictions for some time.
Former federal health minister Dr Jane Philpot wrote in Macleans on the problem with our numbers, or rather lack of them. In order to make scientific decisions regarding pandemic restrictions, she writes, we have to have timely access to the cause of death
We don’t have that, so our politicians and Dr Henry are shooting in the dark.
do) happily shriek to get fed, be taken for a walk or picked up for a snuggle. Thanks to Ebony and Ivory, they provided me routine, structure and emotional connection that I badly needed. Because I wasn’t able to talk much, having conversations with humans was not a common occurrence. Ebony and Ivory didn’t care if I stuttered or was at a loss for words. They were accepting of me wherever I was at that time. This meant the world to me during a period when I regarded myself so poorly I believe there are no coincidences and that everything happens for a reason. Ebony came into my life to help me and my purpose was to provide her a loving home for the last chapter of her life. She used the last of her energy to lick my face before she crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. We were both blessed to have each other. Even though I feel it wasn’t long enough, I wouldn’t trade what we had together for anything.
what it could do, now are familiar with the spiked balls of genetic information. First reported in early January, and with some cases perhaps occurring in early December 2019, it took very little time for researchers to both identify the pathogen and sequence its genetic code A Chinese-Australian team posted the virus’
genetic sequence in an open access forum on January 11.
By February, scientists had determined it latches on to the ACE-2 receptor - a very common receptor site found on the surface of many different types of cells in the body but particularly abundant in the lungs and the guts.
They were also able to show the disease can be transmitted from person-to-person by the inhalation of tiny aerosol particles We all breathe tiny droplets in and out with each breath - this is the reason your glasses steam up when wearing a mask. The virus can ride within these droplets and make its way to another person’s lungs
Masks can help to reduce the dispersion of these aerosols, which is why they are now mandatory in public. More recently, reports have demonstrated transmission of the virus occurs prior to a person showing symptoms. It is estimated half of all cases originate from people not showing any symptoms. Asymptomatic transmission is a new trick for viral transmission and part of the reason we are having such difficulty quashing the disease. Too many people are willing to engage in public activities because they feel fine when, in fact, they are sick.
Filled with hope for 2021
Is there reason to hope? I believe so. And I’d argue that is due to, rather than in spite of, 2020. An audacious claim, but I ask that you indulge my argument, as the calendar marks mine and the planet’s new revolution.
There have been a few moments in my short life where I ignored the signs that a course correction was in order. Thankfully, none of those instances breached catastrophic failure, but I would be lying if I said there was no collateral damage. Learning from these mistakes has made for better choices in the future, as any maturing adult can attest. My thesis is simple - 2020 has given us a foretaste of how bad things can get; our hope lies in taking these lessons to heart.
There is no excuse for any of us to shrug off or drop what life has been throwing at us over these last few months, even if the pandemic ends tomorrow. Not a soul has been left unaffected by the virus, the countermeasures, and ensuing fallout; the
RIGHT OF CENTRE NATHAN GIEDE
tenuousness of our world has been made plain. It is a delusion that things were any better before COVID-19; they were just better hidden, or a few degrees shy of their boiling point
Centralized authority did not stop the virus; mandates did not arrest cases; put blunty, technocracy did not save us Yet they have the gall to declare that upon our glorious dead still not properly mourned, we will build anew - the “great reset” as they call it. “Virus gonna virus,” ought to have been their watchword, with a few recommendations and stoic steadfastness. Instead, they’re doubling down on their own failures.
The managerial, administrative, regulatory, and therapeutic apparatuses did not
save us, and the economic system they govern left us totally unprepared for this disaster Medicine and masks had to arrive from elsewhere; big box stores thrived while family owned businesses died; constitutional rights that predate our nation were trampled; people were divided into new classes - essential vs. non-essential workers, working from home vs. forbidden from earning an income.
Combine all this with those pre-pandemic problems - stagnant wages, high amounts of personal/public/student debt, housing costs, political polarization, abdication of leadership, gross negligence and atrophy within every institution, etc.and it is little wonder that the costs of our chosen cure will almost certainly be far worse than the disease. As the year that witnessed all this passes away and a new annum dawns, where then lies our path towards a better future?
If there were any heroes in this bleak time, they were those who continued to serve and help one another while others abandoned their posts. As every crisis in
Screwed up? It’s OK to be honest
When I was, a brash and self-assured 21-year-old, I announced at a family dinner with my aunt and cousin that I would be a millionaire by the time I was 30. I had found investors and had just started a business. I thought I was invincible living in the big city and figured I could set the world on fire with my new products.
It would have been a great story to be able to tell you that over the next nine years I built an empire through my hard work and ingenuity, lived lavishly and saved the world by eliminating poverty with my earnings, however the truth was much different. Within two years, I was back living with my parents, trying to scrape two dimes together to put gas in my car and stressing about how I was going to pay back my investors. I was teased about
More 2020 science
from page 15
But science in 2020 wasn’t all about COVID-19. For example, the research into climate change has continued.
There is little doubt in the minds of serious scientists that we are seeing the effects of climate change in the wildfires that devastated Australia last January and the subsequent wildfires that ate up huge swathes of Brazil, Siberia, and California. Indeed, it has been estimated as much as four per cent of California went up in smoke this past year.
Moreover, such fires are a self-reinforcing cycle as they pump carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, further enhancing climate change.
BUSINESS COACH
DAVE FULLER
my million-dollar brag by my aunt and cousin for years to come.
“You are always telling on yourself. I don’t get it,” said one of the regular readers of my column after reading my article that explained my failure in listening and losing a sale. I think I could finish his thoughts like this: “Aren’t you supposed to be some big business expert who is all successful?”
To many, I would be considered successful. I have built and sold a multi-million-dollar business, I am happily married and have a beautiful family with three wonderful daughters and a son. I live in a nice house in a good neighbourhood, drive nice
While the shutdown in the world’s industrial activity and transportation sectors by the pandemic did induce a drop of around seven per cent in overall carbon dioxide emissions, forest fires made up about one-fifth of all emissions. It will be decades before all of the carbon dioxide released in the fires can be sequestered by the regeneration of the forests.
Meteorologists studying weather patterns in 2020 saw some 30 named Atlantic hurricanes, including the unprecedented occurrences of three storms simultaneously. Researchers tracking the Arctic sea ice saw the sheet shrink to the second smallest size on record. And scientists in Antarctica were able to explore under the ice shelf, using drone submarines, to discover a shift in ocean currents now bringing
human history proves, it is the indomitable nature of our spirit that is the true mark of our species Our hope lies in finally admitting experts cannot save us - we can only save each other Thus it is imperative we make more room for personal, NGO, and non-corporate initiatives in our socio-econo-political system.
The impetus for such a change is finally here because enough of us are suffering. Those of us who sounded the alarm long before any viruses arrived on our shores are thankful to finally have swelling ranks of willing comrades in the fight for a more human existence. 2020 gave us what shouting from the rooftops could not: authorities proving their ineptitude in facing an existential threat, which flipped the bell curve from apathy to anger and deep concern. There is no temporal salvation outside of the democratic political will to manifest a more perfect confederation of decentralized government. If this is ever to be achieved, it will occur due to, not in spite of, 2020. In that spirit of great hope, I sincerely wish everyone a Happy New Year.
cars and have money in the bank. I have written a book and continue to work for myself doing what I love, which is helping people reduce their stress and earn money with their businesses.
I could tell stories about how I had a great year, how our firm tripled our sales in a concerted effort over 90 days, how we successfully on boarded staff. I might even brag about how some of our clients were staggeringly successful. However, the reality of the fact is that I too had sleepless nights worrying about my business; that I made mistakes in hiring; that some of my clients didn’t have a stellar year It is hard for people to relate to us if they think we are perfect Our kids don’t want to hear that we never made mistakes when we were teenagers; that we weren’t lost as young adults; that we were perfect parents; that we made a million, or a billion or a trillion dollars by the time we were 30
warm water to the Thwaites glacier. This mass of ice is increasingly unstable and will likely collapse in the near future.
But not all science news is bad. Science has now given us vaccines to fight COVID-19 and climate change can be managed with international cooperation.
Physicists have also been able to create a room temperature superconductor, the holy grail of condensed matter physics Such a compound could allow for power transmission without loss, floating trains and levitating cars, and much more efficient electronic devices. Unfortunately, there is one catch - the material is only superconducting at extremely high pressures equivalent to those experienced at the centre of Earth! But the research continues In the world of biochemistry, one of the
and never even broke a sweat. Our friends, co-workers, and staff don’t want us telling them that we have it all together and that they are losers.
The human condition is one of brokenness. When we can relate to a friend or a colleague, employee, a business leader or even our own children, letting them know that we understand what they are going through because we had a similar experience and can share their pain, it makes us more human to them.
It would be nice if we could read a story and automatically learn not to repeat the same blunder, but it doesn’t always happen that way. In business and in life, we all make errors in judgement and it’s through these mistakes that we are enabled to learn and hopefully grow. It’s through the honesty in saying “I made a mistake, I am not perfect”, that keeps us humble and able to relate to others.
major puzzles is understanding how and why proteins fold the way they do. Protein structure is often critically important to understanding function This past year, cryo-electron microscopy finally achieved single atom resolution allowing for the structure of proteins to be examined more readily And machine learning algorithms have allowed AI to understand how proteins fold in the first place
Perhaps one of the most interesting science stories is the discovery humans are not the only animals to domesticate other species of animals. The Longfin damselfish farm algae as food and employ shrimp as labourers to help tend the farm. In return, they provide protection from predators. If nothing else, 2020 has taught us there is much more to learn about science
The first doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to agroup of high-risk health care workers in Prince George today
The first person to receive the vaccine in the Northern Health region was BiserkaBecker, acare aide at Jubilee Lodge in Prince George. Biserkawas vaccinated along with agroup of health care workers from University Hospital of Northern BC,and the nearby Jubilee Lodge long-term care facility
Dr.Marietije Slabbert, the physician lead for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at UHNBC, was also among group to receive the vaccine.
Healthy Living
Dr.Slabbert is considered ahigh-risk health care worker because of her work in the ICU
“This has been areally long journey for people working in health care, and the community at large, and it’s wonderful that this vaccine has finally arrived in the North; it’s likethe best Christmas present ever,” said Dr.Slabbert. “The teams of physicians, nurses, care aides, cleaners everybody has been working so hard, and we’ll continue working hard to get this vaccine to every person in the North who wants to be vaccinated.”
Northern Health administers first COVID-19vaccinesinPrinceGeorge
Northern Health is distributing the vaccine in accordance with the priority vaccine groups as recommended by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, beginning with:
•High-risk health care workers
•Long-term care and assisted living residents
As more vaccines are approved by Health Canada, more communities and more groups of people will receive the COVID-19 vaccine. We expect to be able to immunize all Northern BC residents who wish to have the vaccine by the end of 2021.
With social distancing measures in place due to COVID-19, more people are using substances alone at home. People who use drugs alone are at higher risk of overdosing Here are some tips to stay safer:
•Most overdoses are happening in people’s homes. If you think someone you care about is using substances, reach out to them. Youcould save alife.
•Ifyou aregoing to use drugs, use with a
All COVID-19 vaccines will be free to everyone in British Columbia.
Formoreinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines, vaccine research, priority populations, and the provincial rollout plan, visit the Government of British Columbia’s COVID-19 Vaccines website at www.gov.bc.ca/covidvaccine.
buddy or at an overdose prevention site. If you choose to use alone, get someone to look in on you and call for help if needed.
•Carry naloxone and get training on how to use it so you can be prepared if an overdose happens.
•Download the free Lifeguard app: https:// lifeguarddh.com/. The app helps you connect with an emergency contact number in case of an overdose.
The first person to receive the vaccine in the Northern Health region was BiserkaBecker,acare aide at Jubilee Lodge in Prince George.
SC OP ES &P
Enlarge
Pout 10. Part of a whole
Hold back
Like freezing rain
PUZZLE NO. 799
HOW TO PLAY:
Fill in the grid so that every row, every columnand every 3x3 box contains the numbers 1through9 only once
Cover, as gifts
Moray or electric
Keen 24. Purpose 25. “____ Light Up My Life” 26. Sooner than, to abard
28. Frequently, to Keats
29. Beer’s bitter kin
30. Animal’s coat
mineral 7. Most unsatisfactory
33. Least tight 34. Day’s beginning
37. Sticky roofing material
39. Rods
41. Dawdled 42. Facial cosmetic
43. President’s Office
44. Workbench jaws
45. Side of New York
47. Cut
48. Game of chance
49. Forwarded 52. Clump
Each 3x3 box is outlined with adarker line. You already have afew numbers to get you started. Remember: you must not repeat the numbers 1through 9inthe same line, column or 3x3 box.
Anton Adriaan Hendriks
February 14, 1937 – December 5, 2020
After a long bout with kidney disease, Anton passed away peacefully in his sleep on December 5, 2020.
Anton was born in The Netherlands on Valentine’s Day 1937. During the war and occupation, formal education was limited, but that did not stop Anton. He started his apprenticeship for finishing carpentry at the age of 12. He later joined the Royal Netherlands Army, Regiment Stoottroepen Prins Bernhard. He served until his immigration to Canada in 1958.
Anton settled in the lower mainland, learning English and doing carpentry After having his own family, they moved to Vanderhoof where Anton first worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Subsequently, he was hired by School District #91 (Nechako) as building and maintenance superintendent. He and his family built a home on Sinkut Lake.
In 1984, Anton moved to Gibsons and assumed the same role for School District #46 (Sunshine Coast). He also worked with the Sechelt Indian Band, Powell River School District as well as being an independent contractor
Anton’s passions not only included woodworking but also sailing, travelling, and Volkswagen vehicles – especially his 1971 white Karmann Ghia convertible. He enjoyed volunteering, particularly for S.A.R. Vanderhoof (B.C. Emergency Programme), the Gibsons branch of the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, and ringing a bell and accepting kettle donations at Christmas for the Salvation Army He also loved acting in pantos and musicals put on by community theatre, and sang in Lyn Vernon’s choir
Anton will be lovingly remembered by wife Priscilla, daughter Carmen (Kelvin), son Martin (Tannis) and son Eric (Jennifer), brother Ed (Cor) and sister Ada, as well as many nephews, nieces, grandchildren and friends. He was predeceased by brothers Joe and Rudy
A celebration of life will be held at a future date. Donations in memory of Anton gratefully accepted to The Kidney Foundation of Canada, BC & Yukon branch, www.kidney.ca or the charity of your choice.
Barrie Douglas Barlow, born March 20, 1935, passed away December 21st, 2020 at the age of 85. He will be greatly missed by Barbara his life friend and wife of 63 years and his children Mark, Monica and Carrie and their families. He is survived by his sister Bernice and leaves behind his lifelong friend Earl Mellish and many of his BC Rail pals including George and Gordon. “Poppi’s” 8 grandchildren will also miss his fun, little games, stories and kindness always! Son of Charles “Bud” and mother Eva “Blanche”, Barrie is also predeceased by his son James, and the “Barlow Boys” cousins Norman, Dean and Buddy.
Bares was a sweet quiet unassuming man, he loved anything to do with nature, made planning a practical joke an art, had a passion for jogging or riding his bike until he couldn’t, the smell of many new cars, tea no matter where you were and always a good newspaper. He loved being at the Cabin at Ness Lake, in the pool in Palm Springs, the back deck at Pender Harbour or sitting on the porch at home - just anywhere he could watch the birds or feed the squirrels. We will forever miss his inside jokes, little sneaky pranks, his nick names and inability to say a bad thing about anyone, his shyness, his care in assisting others and how he always stopped and talked to the elderly…so many little things made him so big to us.
We will each celebrate him alone until we can be together. Rest up Bares, you are free to run or ride again. And we got it covered, bird seed in the feeders, peanuts for the squirrels. We love you so much.
A huge thank you to the hard working and caring staff at Jubilee Lodge that were so much a part of Barb and Barrie’s life these past few years. In memory or in lieu of flowers, we ask that you donate to the Kidney Foundation BC Yukon https://kidney.ca/Support
David leaves behind his children: Michelle and her wife Stacey Hewlett, son David, his wife Catherine (Vantol), and their daughter Kaylen and son Michael and his partner Jenna Anderson. He will be lovingly be remembered by his brother Alex.
He was predeceased by his sister Margaret ( Sabell), and his parents Joseph (Steve) and Constance (Connie).
David was born and raised in Victoria B.C.and graduated from Victoria High School. He moved to Prince George in his early 20’s where he married Susan (Guest) and had his family. There he worked for CNN, Norm White’s Glass, and did woodworking with Lyn Black where he found his passion.
David and Ross Pullan started up Yorkshire Woodworking in the early 80’s. It was a thriving business until the early 90’s. David was a rotary member during this time.
David moved back to Victoria in the mid-90’s where he worked in finishing carpentry for a while. He eventually retired from the grocery industry and moved to Nanoose Bay. Although time got in the way, he loved gardening and had developed a talent for wood carving, both of which he pursued during his time in Nanoose Bay.
Condolences and messages of remembrance may be left at firstmemorialsaanich.com
With broken hearts, we announce the passing of our dear husband, father, grandfather, brother-in-law, uncle, and friend, Ed.
Ed was born in New Westminster, BC and died December 28th at UHNBC due to cardiac arrest.
Most of Ed’s working life was spent in construction and carpentry. After retirement, Ed’s most enjoyable moments were spent with his loving wife Irmgard, visiting his family, socializing with friends, and going for long walks with his dog Sam.
Ed is survived by his wife Irmgard, son Brent (Brandy), daughter Michelle (Lorne), and grandchildren Riley (Elayne), Gavin, Gabrielle, Grayson (Amber) and Gage.
Ed was a most generous man who offered a helping hand to anyone and everyone who needed it. In honour of his life and legacy of giving, in lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation, Cardiac Fund.
Many thanks to the doctors and nurses in Emergency and the ICU for their compassionate care.
Due to COVID, there will be no service. Condolences can be expressed at www.legacy.com
We will miss Ed terribly. Always loved and never forgotten.
deck sections, 4 function control pendant with function lock outs (mattress not included) $2000 250 964-9417 pics at http://invacare.ca/doc_files/Etu de_Booklet.pdf
Apartments / Condos-For
SelectYourSmartHomeDevices
Marketed by
Marketed by Jasmine LeBrun
If you’re contemplating getting asmart home security system as well as smartsmoke/carbon monoxide detector,makesurethey integratewith each otherbeforeyoubuy.Thisway,youwon’thavetousetwoseparateappsandsystemsto controlthem.This canbedone by verifying thatthey’reabletobothworkwiththesame assistant. Ideally,you’llwant to access all of your devicesthrough asingleapp on your phone,so select your smarthome devices carefully
Smartsmokeandcarbonmonoxidedetectors
Unliketraditional monitors, these Internet-connected smokeand carbon monoxide detectors can send notifications to your phone with details about whatwas detected if they’reset offoriftheir batteries arelow.Some caneven contact aneighbor or emergencycontactwhenyou’reoutof town.Combinedwithyoursmartsecuritysystem and doorbell, these easy-to-install smartdevices give you smartphone access to your home at any time —and peace of mind in the process.
Smartthermostats
Another advantage to asmart home setup is thatitcan save you money on electric and heating bills. Aconnected thermostatthatautomatically adjuststoyour schedule can save you around $150 ayear. And your savings go hand-in-hand with another unbeatable feature—ahome that’salways the perfect temperature. Likesmart doorbells, theinstallation requires some basic electrical work. But with the advice of aprofessionalelectrician, you can gear your grid to handle an entiresuite of smarthome accessories
Smartlightingsystems
Smartlightingisanothergreatwaytoreduceyourenergybill.Whenitcomestolighting, you can choose betweenbulbs thatconnect to Wi-Fiorswitches. Installing aWi-Fibulb is as simple as screwing it in and connecting it to the Internet or Bluetooth,while connecting bulbs to switches requires moreintensive electrical work.
Donna Badowski***
Workingfromhomecanbechallenging. Here are some helpful tips to make your officea productive, comfortable and functionalplacetowork
1. INVEST IN A GOOD CHAIR
Considering the number of hours you’ll likelyspend sitting at your desk per week, it’sworth taking the time to select a chair that’sagoodfit.Payattentiontoback,thigh andarm support On the other hand, you maywant to consider investing in a standingdesk
2. USE ERGONOMICS TO STAY COMFORTABLE
Whetheryousitorstandwhileyouwork, keep your back and neck straight and ensureyour computer screen is at eye level. Choosea mouse and keyboard that are a good sizeand effortless to operate. Also, use ergonomicpads to protect your wrists. Avoid slouchingor keeping your arms at
5 hardwood floor finishes and what they’re best for
Do you need to refinish your hardwood floors? If so, here’s a brief guide to five common typesthatareavailable
1.Water-based polyurethane is ideal for floors in need of a quick-drying, clear finish.This is a product that’s low in VOCs and ages without yellowing. However,itdoeslittletohidescratches.
2.Oil-based polyurethane is best for floors in high-traffic areas. It’s highly durable and easy to maintain. On the downside,it’sslowtodry,highinVOCs andyellowsovertime.
3.Moisture cure urethane is well suitedtofloorsthatrequireaverytough finish. It resists moisture, scratches, stains andgeneral wear However,ithas high levels ofVOCs and applyingitrequiresyoutovacateyourhome.
4.Waxisgreatanywhereyouwantalowsheenfinish.Unfortunately, it’s not very durableandtendstodarkenovertime.It can scuff and scratch easily and doesn’t
mixwellwithwater.
5.Penetrating oil sealer is ideal for subtly highlighting the natural grain of wood, especially in a historic home. Thisproductneedstobereappliedevery fewyearsandrequiresawaxtopcoat.
You’ll find these products at your local hardware store. For top-notch results, consider hiring a professional to strip and sand your wood floors and then expertly apply thefinish.
Foundation cracks: when to worry
The best way to ensure a crack in your foundation doesn’t threaten the structural integrity of your home is to consult an expert. However, some general guidelines can help you determine if you have a seriousproblem.
HAIRLINE CRACKS
Concrete shrinks slightly as it cures, and hairlinecracks(aboutthewidthofsewing thread) are a normal result of it settling. They pose no structural threat and tend to appear within a year of construction. However, you should take steps to patch them.
NARROW CRACKS
Vertical or diagonal cracks that can’t be classifiedashairlinebutarenowiderthan 1/4ofaninchareunlikely to be a serious problem. However, this is only the case if thecracksarestableandaren’tcontinuingto expand. Thin cracks can be filled with grout, and slightly wider ones should be filled with a caulk that’s compatible with concrete.
WIDE CRACKS
Any crack that’s wider than 1/2 an inch
should be inspected by a professional. In particular,thosewithabulgemayindicate structural problems. Additionally, a crack in your foundation that’s horizontal rather than vertical or diagonal presents more ofarisk.
Ifyouhavewidecracks,horizontalcracks or cracks that are getting worse, be sure to call a foundation contractor or structural engineer
Andy Wilhelmsen
Helena Samzadeh
Brandden Shandler
Creek
Rylee Schlamp
Exterior siding: how long do various types last?
Sidingprotectsyourhomefromtheelementsbutinevitablytakes a beating in the process. Your choice of material, however, will determine how long this partofyourhouseendures.
• Vinyl typically lasts 20 to 40 years andiseasytomaintain.Thegradeand thickness of the panels will impact their durability If damaged, vinyl panelsareeasytorepairorreplace.
• Wood siding (usually cedar) can last anywherefrom15to40years.Itoffers unrivalled beauty but also requiresmuch more maintenance than other types of siding. The wood should be resealed every five years and inspected annually to stave off potentialrotandpestinfestations.
• Aluminumhasalifespanofabout30
to 50 years. However, expect the painttopeelafterabout15years.Fortunately, aluminum siding can be repainted. Though it’s possible for aluminum panels to be scratched, dented or pitted, they can usually be fixedorreplaced
• Fibre cement planks have a lifespan of about 25 to 40 years.Their colour may eventually fade but the planks can be repainted. Fibre cement can resemble wood but is resistant to termites and rot. This type of siding requires little maintenance.
Sidingshouldalwaysbereplacedwhen it can no longer protect the internal structure of your home. However, it may deteriorate long before this and should be replaced once it becomes shabby,brittleordiscoloured.
4 tips for homeowners upgrading their garage door
Replacing your garage door is a home renovationprojectwithahighreturnon investment. Here are some things to keep in mind if you’re making this upgrade.
1.Use manufacturer websites. Choose a door design you like by perusing your options online. Many manufacturershavesoftwareontheir website that lets you upload a photo ofyourhomeandtryondifferentgaragedoorstyles.
2.Investingoodinsulation.Theeffectivenessofagaragedoor’sinsulation is referred to by its R-value. The higherthenumber,thebetterthedoor
prevents heat transfer Garage doors insulated with polyurethane are the mostefficient.
3.Opt for the best springs. Springs are what hold the weight of your garage door and allow it to effortlessly move up and down. Standard torsion springsareratedforabout10,000cycles,butthoseratedfor20,000cycles are only a little bit more expensive andwellworththeextracost.
4.Buy an opener at the same time. If your opener is showing its age or youwantonewiththelatestfeatures, this is the perfect time to replace it. You can save on installation costsby having your contractor put in the door and openeratthesametime.
Finally, make sure you hire a professional to install your garage door as this job can be complex, time-consuming anddangerous.
JOHN HART PEACE RIVER HIGHWAY CHETWYND
52 unit Days Inn good occupancy and with 50 unit RV park beside the hotel for sale as well. Great location on the highway an attractive investment opportunity with all the economic activity in the Peace. For further information on financials and contact listing realtors. $7,000,000 MLS 184582
BRUNSWICK ST FOR LEASE
4,000 sq ft Restaurant space located in the Marriott Courtyard, Prince George’snewest full service Hotel 5152 AIRPORT
RD VANDERHOOF
100’ x120’ modern airport hanger.Includes office, board room and living quarters. Direct access to runway.More details available. MLS #C8027895
HART PEACE RIVER HIGHWAY
50 unit RV park on 7acres great highway exposure beside the Days Inn. The RV has lots of room for expansion to expand this investment and grow your cash flow with servicing available.For further information contact listing realtors for financials and occupancy an well worth looking at.$1,300,000 MLS 184583
1777-3RD AVE. FOR LEASE
CARIBOO ESTATES
1,800 block of 1st Ave. Industrial zoned with RETAIL/OFFICE applications. Highway access. Various locations and sizes available.
757 PRESTON RD.
1.76 Acres in City Limits. Zoned RM1 (Multiple Residential). Price $499,000 MLS #C8033659
How to style your curtains
Areyouconsideringupdatingyourcurtains? If so, here’s what’s fashionable when it comes to this window treatment.
HANG HIGH
Installingcurtainrodsclosertotheceilingwillmaketheroomfeellarger The extra height visually increases the vertical space occupied by the windows and creates the illusion of a higher ceiling. If possible, hang your curtains 10 to15centimetresabovethewindowsto maximizetheirimpact.
GO LOW
Contemporary curtains are long and should hit the floor or even puddle onto it. However, puddling curtains are best reservedfordrapesthatstayopen since they need to be restyled every time they’re opened or closed.Curtains that skim the floor shouldn’t hang more than 1.5centimetresaboveit.
GET WIDE
Add visual width to your windows by opting to go broad withyourcurtains.Mountrods that extend 7.5 to 15 centimetres past the window
How to make room for a home office
frame on either side. Although you can go even wider, the curtain rod shouldn’t be more than one-and-onethirdthewidthofthewindow.
GO FULL
Curtainslookbestwhenthey’refull,so make sure you have enough fabric to adequatelycovertheintendedarea.The rule of thumb is that the combined width of the panels should be two to two-and-a-half times the width of the window
To find curtains you love or the fabric to make them, shop at stores in your area.
Have you recently started working from home? If you need a good-size office space but don’t have a spare room,hereareafewoptionstoexplore.
•Basement As long as it has adequate headroom,yourfinishedbasement(or aportionofit)canbeagreatplacefor an office. However, this isn’t the best solution if your basement has moistureissues.
•Attic. Some attics can be converted into usable living space. This isn’t a small renovation, however, and you may need to install electrical outlets, solid flooring and much more to supportyoursetup.
•Garage.Ifyourarelyuseyourgarage to park your car, it can be made into an office. You’ll undoubtedly need to investinanumberofupdatestomake it a comfortable space to work.
•Addition. This isn’t a budget-friendlyoption,butitcouldaddpermanent value toyourhome.Additionscanbe built above, behind or to the side of a house.
•Outbuilding. An office space that’s completely separate from the main house may offer the ultimate distraction-free work zone. However, thiscanbeacostlyproject.Thefunds
may be better allocated if spent on renovationstothemainhouse.
When deciding how best to make room foryour home office, besure to assess all of yourneeds.Furthermore,findoutifthe renovationswillaffecttheresalevalueof your home.
MLSR2519756
Welcome home! This home is a must see situated in apark like setting in the exclusive Valleyview Subdivision. All the benefits of rancher living but with afull basement as well. Thelaundry, bedrooms, kitchen, 3bathrooms, dining and living room are on the main. Theliving room and master suite open onto amassive 20’X 50’deck and ultra private back yard. Downstairs you will find aspacious theater room, arec room, as well as afun in home hockey arena! Additionally,downstairs, you will find alarge cold room and plentiful storage. Huge semi-detached garage which allows for lots of room to work in this spacious shop, wired and ready for welders out there. Theyard is beautifully landscaped offering an underground sprinkler system. Updates include the main bathrooms upstairs with new tub, sinks, toilets, and vanity,new countertops and much more. This home is ideal for family gatherings inside and out or an oasis away from the city.Check out the virtual tour.(25139478)
What is grandmillennial style?
Grandmillennial style, also known asgrannychic,offersanewtakeon anoldtradition.Inoppositiontominimalist white spaces, this eclectic style embraces patterns, ruffles and heirloom furniture but juxtaposes them with abstract art and modern accents.
GET THE LOOK
Raidyourparents’orgrandparents’ basementorheadtolocalfleamarkets, thrift stores and furniture shopstostockuponthefollowing:
•Patterned everything. Curtains, rugs and furniture in classicprintsliketoile,floralandplaid areamust.
•Embellished items. Lookforaccessories, lamps and other decor with ruffles, pleats, fringe and scalloped edges. Extravagant chandeliersandornatemirrorsare alsoontheme.
•Traditional collections. Unearth that old collection of decorative china, antique figurines or bohemian crystal and proudly display it.
•Needlepoint pillows. Without a doubt, no grandmillennial bedroom or living roomwouldbecompletewithoutatleastoneofthese.Bonuspointsifit’sinscribedwithasassysaying.
Keep in mind that the colour scheme of grandmillennial style is generally monochromatic or analogous. This allows the space to be layered yet still feelcohesive.
