THURSDAY, July 20, 2023
Patience urged with baby gulls
HANNA PETERSEN Citizen staff
The last couple of years have seen more and more gulls coming to Prince George and nesting in Parkwood Mall, but this year it has culminated in a dangerous situation for many young gulls.
Dayna Slater from Good Caws Crow Rescue, a small home-based rescue dedicated to helping orphaned and injured corvids, has been overwhelmed with dozens of injured gulls over the past few weeks from Parkwood Mall.
She said at the end of May she received a call about a baby gull that had fallen off the roof and when she saw how many gulls were nesting there and flying above, she knew it was going to be a bad year.
“It’s a very busy place and the gulls are not that smart this young. There’s a lot less now but there was quite a
few more babies on the ground, and they were getting in the way. People we’re running them over because they just they don’t move that fast They’re unfamiliar with cars.”
She said she’s seen cases of dehydration, broken bones, and birds that have clearly been caught up under wheel wells with cars
See THEY’RE NOT GOING on page 2
City facing Level 4 drought
ARTHUR WILLIAMS Citizen staff
Prince George is facing Level 4 drought conditions, meaning “adverse impacts to socio-economic or ecosystem values are likely,” according to information released by the B.C. Drought Information Portal.
The City of Prince George and provincial government are urging residents to conserve water
“Right now, you can take great pride in a brown lawn. Brown is the new green,” a social media post by the City of Prince George said. “Our region is at a level four out of five on the drought rating scale right now That means we all need to conserve water where we can.”
Residents are urged to conserve water by watering lawns in the early morning or in the evening to avoid evaporation, using only one inch of water per week
See FRASER RIVER on page 3
CITIZEN STAFF PHOTO
Gulls gather in the parking lot at Parkwood Mall
‘They’re not going to be there all
Continued from page 1
Slater noted the birds need to be near water, but because they are nesting at Parkwood Mall the only place for the babies to go is into traffic until they learn to fly
“They look like should be able to just take off because the babies are quite large, but they just haven’t figured it out yet They just need a little bit of time A little bit of patience.”
The birds have been identified as ringbilled gulls, which are more likely to be found inland, and are protected under Canada’s Migratory Birds Convention Act
This means its unlawful to harm or disturb the birds’ nests or eggs
Parkwood Mall has since put up signs warning the public that seagulls are in the area and marking off sections of the parking lot where the birds are congregating
“I’ve been trying to inform the public about it The mall seems to have started doing some things. They have some gull signs up to warn people that they’re in the area and there’s been water put out,” said Slater
She added that she has a couple of volunteers who are driving through the mall trying spot any injured birds and noted that employees of the mall have been bringing gulls to the rescue as well.
“The babies are starting to leave and some of them are starting to fly. It’s starting to dwindle now Thank goodness ”
Slater said next year she’s hoping to work with the management of Parkwood Mall to set up nesting deterrents to stop
summer’
the birds from nesting there altogether or at least making sure very few birds nest at the mall.
“They’re not going to be there all summer. The babies fledge at about five to six weeks old That is when they decide to leave the nest and then it’s a week or two on the ground after that they take off ”
While the young gulls have been wandering through the parking lot, there’s also been rumours circulating online of malicious intent towards the gulls, but Slater says she has not seen any proof of such behaviour
“If anybody can produce any proof of what they’ve seen, especially with the accusations of pressure washing off the roof or people throwing the birds off the roof If that’s happening, I would love to see footage of it, because then I can take it to the Ministry of Fish and Wildlife and we can work on it from there,” said Slater.
“But we don’t we don’t have any proof that, and I’m not out on a on a witch hunt to go after somebody who accidentally runs over a bird. Accidents are going to happen You’ve got a whole bunch of wildlife in a really public place.”
Slater added that she appreciates Parkwood Mall’s efforts to make more people aware of the birds in the parking lot
“This is a new situation for Prince George We’ve never we’ve never had gulls here in this capacity. We never used to have them here at all So, this is this is a learning thing for everybody.”
The Prince George Citizen reached out to Parkwood Mall for comment.
Youth crime targeted
The City of Prince George has received $1.8 million in federal funding to launch a crime prevention program aimed at keeping kids in high-crime neighbourhoods from falling into gang life and addiction.
The junior STRIVE program is an in-school program offered at elementary schools in high-crime areas of the city, that provides education about gang life, gun crime, drug and alcohol awareness, online safety and restorative justice principles.
Each year the STRIVE program will take 15 to 20 Grade 8 students who participated in the junior STRIVE program, and offer mentorship, team building, experiential learning, cultural and recreational activities and more.
The students will continue through the program as a group until Grade 12. The federal funding will allow the program to take in a new group of Grade 8 students each year until 2026
Fraser River level ‘well below normal’
Continued from page 1
Residents can also save water by keeping showers to five minutes or less and only running full loads of laundry and dishwashers
More tips on ways to conserve water are available on the City of Prince George website
“Sprinkling (lawns) is allowed for even house numbers on even-numbered dates and odd house numbers on odd-numbered dates,” the City of Prince George social media post said
“Sprinkling is not allowed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Western Acres and from noon to 5 p m in all other areas ”
Level 4 drought conditions are reported in the Upper Fraser Basin West and Upper Fraser Basin East which bracket the city, as well as in the Parsnip and Middle Fraser basins north and south of the city
Drought conditions have worsened since June 23, when the local water basins were rated at Level 3 and Level 2 drought conditions
The water level on the Fraser River at the South Fort George monitoring station was at 5 11 metres last Thursday, down three centimetres from the previous day and 1 6 metres below normal for this time of year, according to information listed on the provincial website.
The water level on the Fraser was categorized as “well below normal.”
limit watering their lawns
The water level is ranked “well below normal” on the Nechako River at the Isle Pierre monitoring station (1.02 m below normal) and on the Salmon River near Prince George (0.32 m below normal).
Trafficking denied
The B.C. government is denying a Prince George woman’s allegation that the Ministry of Children and Family Services failed to come to her aid when she was coerced into prostitution as a 15-year-old girl.
The response was filed in response to a lawsuit filed in April.
The Citizen has opted against publishing her name and current vocation.
The allegations have not been tested in court.
Throughout the province, four of 34 water basins in the province are rated as Drought Level 5, the highest level, while a further 18 water basins are at Drought Level 4.
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The City of Prince George is urging homeowners to
Sports court under construction
HANNA PETERSEN Citizen staff
Those who’ve driven along Massey Drive lately may have noticed that construction is underway at Carrie Jane Gray Park for the new Jumpstart Multisport Court.
Located across from Fire Hall No 1, it will be a new fully-accessible park that will be set up for basketball, volleyball, hockey, tennis, pickle ball, badminton, hopscotch and four square.
Crews are currently landscaping and working on the irrigation system.
Back in 2022, city council earmarked $475,000 and The Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charity contributed $950,000 to get the project built
The Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charity contacted the City of Prince George in spring 2021 and proposed building an inclusive play project in the community
Founded in 2005, Jumpstart Charities work with municipalities across Canada to build facilities that help children overcome financial and accessibility barriers to sport and recreation
The charity agreed to build the court and contribute $950,000 (initially valued at $500,000 in 2021) in associated construction services, equipment, and materials.
In February 2023, the city and Jumpstart also entered into a gift agreement that summarized each partner’s construction responsibilities, addresses annual maintenance requirements
The city’s financial commitment, which is drawn from
reserve provincial grant money awarded several years back, went towards demolition and removal of existing site materials and amenities, geotechnical investigations to confirm site suitability, site grading, landscaping, pedestrian walkway and site security.
The Jumpstart Multisport Court is now under construction across from Fire Hall No 1
Home prices rebound, figures show
MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff
Single-family homes have sold for $500,925 on average so far this year, according to B.C. Northern Real Estate Board figures issued last week.
The figure is still below the $530,900 reached by the same point last year, but is well up from $484,406 as of the end of Q1 2023. The number of sales stood at 330, well down from 479 by midway through 2022.
Activity, as measured by average price multiplied by number of sales, stood at $165 3 million, compared to $254 3 million by midpoint 2022.
Coinciding with ongoing hikes in interest rates, the average price and number of sales had been on a steady decline since the second quarter of 2022 when the average price for that period peaked at $536,179 on 209 sales for $112.1 million.
For Q3 2022, average price declined to $521,904 on 203 sales for $105.9 million and for Q4 2022, the figures dropped further to $509,982 and 137 sales for $69.6 million The market bottomed out during Q1 2023, when the average price stood at $484,406 on 107 sales, working out to $51 8 million of activity
For strictly the second quarter of 2023,
the average price stood at $508,851 on 223 sales, for $113 5 million, according to an analysis by the Citizen.
The latest numbers reflected a trend seen across the region and the province, according to BCNREB, but the organization is hedging its bets.
“Despite this recovery, there is the possibility of a softer summer, as rates are likely to remain high and continue sapping demand,” BCNREB said.
Looking at properties of all types, 542 properties worth $252.5 million have changed hands so far this year, compared with 803 properties worth $369 7 million in the first six months of last year
In the western part of the city, the median price of the 111 single-family homes sold through the Multiple Listing Service was $455,000
In the area east of the bypass, the 67 single-family homes that sold had a median price of $375,000.
In the northern part of the city, 61 single-family homes sold with a median price of $520,000
The 91 single-family homes that sold in the southwest section of the city had a median sale price of $570,000.
At the end of June, there were 704 properties of all types available for purchase through the MLS in Prince George
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Cancer centre leading in innovation
HANNA PETERSEN Citizen staff
The BC Cancer Centre for the North in Prince George not only continues to provide life-saving care closer to home, also continues to be a hub of innovation.
“It’s pretty exciting to think that we’ve now been open for 10 years and that we have been able to treat more patients in the north closer to home than we thought we would be able to,” said Dr Stacy Miller, executive medical director at BC Cancer Prince George
She said two-third of the patients the centre serves live more than an hour from Prince George
Dr Robert Olson was the first physician hired to the Centre for the North and moved from Vancouver to help open it back in November 2012
Now he is research lead at the centre and his work in precision radiation therapy has become world renowned.
“We’re trying to use innovation and the technology that we have, as well as the
treatment planning developments, many of which were developed here on site, to help to improve technology and improve the treatment that we’re delivering,” explained Miller.
She said the Cancer Centre for the North was built by a team that, right
periods of time,” explained Miller.
“That’s really important when you’re thinking about travelling from a distance for care ”
She said some treatments they’re now able to do in five treatments which would have previously taken four weeks.
“It’s been so exciting to see progression and radiation, technology, radiation innovation, but also chemotherapy drugs,” said Dr. Miller.
“Right now there are more than 500 different chemotherapy recipes that we can deliver In a small centre, one may feel like ‘well, maybe we can only deliver a certain part of that or do we need to be travelling away from home to deliver these more complex protocols?’ And no, we don’t ”
from the beginning, valued care closer to home, treatment in a beautifully, culturally safe space, and implementing research and teaching
“What we know is that when we’re doing exciting research, our goal is to be patient care. But we’re also attracting professionals who want to come and work on Dr. Olsen’s team.”
She said one of things that has improved over the past 10 years of cancer care is the ability to shorten treatment times.
“Patients would have one treatment every day for multiple weeks and some types of cancers still need that daily treatment, over or up to seven weeks. But for some cancers, we’re now able to deliver that treatment over a much shorter
She added that one of the exciting things that the centre would like to work on in the future is having chemotherapywhich is also known as systemic therapy - trials come to Prince George.
“So that way we can be attracting the same kind of talent and enthusiasm for research that we have from the radiation zone. How can we do that to build medical oncology clinical trials as well? And then even better than that, how do we use systemic therapy and radiation together to even improve outcomes further? So there’s lots of exciting work to do.”
The Centre for the North is one of six regional centres across the province, and provides care and support to patients with cancer across Northern B.C.
CITIZEN STAFF PHOTO
Dr Stacy Miller is the executive medical director at BC Cancer Centre for the North
Early detection key for colon cancer
TED CLARKE Citizen staff
On the average day in Canada, 67 people will be diagnosed with colon cancer. Also known as colorectal cancer, it’s the third most-common type of cancer in Canada It accounts for 11 per cent of all of the country’s annual cancer deaths.
Almost always, it starts with non-cancerous polyps, small growths that occur in the colon, bowel or rectum
“There are often no symptoms in the early stages, but if it is picked up early the outcomes with treatment are much better than if the diagnosis is delayed,” said Dr
Paul Mullins, Northern Health’s medical lead for colon screening
“This is why screening for it is so important Screening can save lives in two ways. Polyps in the colon or rectum can be seen and removed before they develop into cancer. Early cancers can be identified, and by early detection more treatment options are available with better outcomes ”
In Canada, 93 per cent of colon cancers are in people aged 50 or older Men have a one in 14 chance of getting it in their lifetime and it’s one in 18 chance for women
Of those who do get it, 65 per will survive at least five years after that diagnosis
Age, family history, inactivity/obesity, smoking/alcohol use, a diet rich in red and processed meat raise the risk factor. People with colorectal polyps or who have had inflammatory bowel disease are also more at risk Race can also increase the likelihood. Colorectal cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among black people in the U.S. Mullins advises people to consult their family physician or other primary care provider to arrange for colorectal cancer screening. Patients will receive a fecal immunochemical (FIT) test kit to collect a stool sample and return it to the lab, which tests for the presence of blood, an
early cancer sign.
Since 2015, Northern Health has followed a primary care provider-led approach The health-care provider orders the screening and refers those patients with a positive test directly to a specialist for a colonoscopy.
Unattached patients can get screening requisitions from a doctor at a walk-in clinic or from a virtual health provider and that person will receive the test results and will follow up with the patient
Outside of Northern Health, the other four health authorities in B C provide colon cancer screening services administered through a provincial program
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
LACK OF SUPPORT FOR FIRST RESPONDERS
I just wanted to relay some thoughts to the homelessness crisis currently affecting our city.
I do understand the situation is dynamic and involves many people working hard to improve living conditions amongst our homeless
While people seem to understand the need for access to housing and are working hard, I do feel that service delivery needs to challenge itself in order to overcome needs.
My thoughts are not so much a critique but a challenging suggestion that may be helpful
The majority of services provided occur during regular working hours generally.
Unfortunately, many of the people needing services require them on a 24-hour basis
The homeless community is vibrant and does not just stop at 5 p m when the bureaucracy involved goes home.
During a visit several months ago for a medical emergency at University Hospital, it was evident to me that many people in there were not there for medical reasons
They were there looking for services that were unavailable during those hours.
Many of these people overwhelm our medical, police and emergency service, which affects the financial bottom line
of the taxpayer and the ability of these places to properly exact their mandated responsibilities.
We have no after-hour services to assist a community that is quite active after hours Perhaps the appetite is not there amongst the agencies involved to be involved I don’t know
It does surprise that with all of the agencies and levels of government involved this hasn’t been discussed as a possible remedy
Not to fix everything completely but make things manageable to those working hard during the days.
Perhaps referral services being included for the daytime agencies with specialized expertise
Of course, this could not occur without financial commitments and identifying individuals willing to be involved off hours
Batons for bylaw enforcement officers and temporary shelters are but stop gap
measures.
We must be willing to think globally and outside of the box which would involve innovative ideas
Maybe this is happening but I’m not seeing it nor hearing of it
We need to be innovative.
As the saying goes if you can’t bring Mohammed to the mountain maybe we need to bring the mountain to Mohammed.
Harley
Desjarlais, Prince George
We acknowledge the financial support of the government of Canada.
Nous reconnaissons l’appui financier du gouvernement du Canada.
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Secrecy surrounds forest spraying
From Athenian democracy to the Magna Carta, it is a fundamental democratic principle that the taxpayer may scrutinize the public expenses they contribute to.
So why don’t they let us see what we are brushing and spraying?
It’s our money private companies are spending to grow dried out, herbicide-contaminated pine farms
Every cent that is spent doing this could have instead been collected through stumpage to pay for hospitals, schools, and fighting fires
So you’d think, as a basic requirement of democratic transparency, that we’d have a right to see how and where our money is being used Right?
But you don’t
Those spray maps and brushing maps showing the locations where this public money is being spent, which Stop the Spray BC demanded two years ago, are
HE BACK TORY
MES STEIDLE
still not published, despite new reporting requirements in forestry
It’s not like they can’t do it. The Ministry of Environment in fact gets the maps before spraying. They just don’t have to alert the public And indeed they don’t
Worse, there are no reporting requirements for proposed manual brushing If a cutblock is getting simplified with brush saws, and no herbicides are being used, maps don’t have to be submitted to government after the fact
So what happens when companies frivolously waste your money spraying and brushing things that don’t need to be sprayed or brushed?
Who keeps tabs?
It’s 100 percent legal, by the way, to treat an entire cutblock with not a single competing broadleaf on it. It’s also 100 percent legal to kill above and beyond what is legally necessary to achieve the “free growing” criteria (you can actually have quite a few broadleaf mixed in).
So companies can legally waste your money. And, as the Forest Practices Board discovered in a 2017 investigation, they do.
Back in 2018, when I got the spray maps directly from Canfor, I publicized a cutblock that shouldn’t have been marked for spraying
And what do you know? The company backed out of spraying it
This oversight saved taxpayers thousands of dollars and saved the moose a few aspen.
But it wouldn’t have happened without the maps.
Naturally, Canfor stopped giving me the
We all need to be vigilant of
The acronym DARVO is becoming more common in the public lexicon It stands for deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender. It’s most commonly used to help us to recognize the behaviours of abusive individuals and institutions, but after listening to an interview with Jennifer Freyd, Ph.D., the personwhocoinedtheterm,Irealizedthat the concept has far broader implications.
To understand how DARVO functions, we can examine the actions of Harvey Weinstein When his predatory behaviour first came to light, he denied the allegations He then used the press to attack and discredit the women who had come forward By the time Weinstein’s case came to trial, he was a shriveled-up man, barely able to walk, claiming that he had done so much to advance the careers of these people, and now they had turned on him.
Why do people like Weinstein use DARVO? Because it creates great confusion and often works Last year, we watched the celebrity trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard The courts were not able to definitively determine who the perpetrator was, but it is
LESSONS IN LEARNING
interesting to note that Depp began the proceedings in response to an article written by Heard
We also see DARVO on the institutional level The Catholic Church denied that members of its clergy were sexually abusing children It tried to attack the people pressing charges claiming that they just wanted the church’s money They portrayed the abusers as “men who had given so much to their communities and now were being humiliated and forced to stand trial ”
Corporations use DARVO when they are accused of causing environmental disasters, and the legal system has even allowed them to lay charges against the land defenders who bring their crimes to light
It can even be argued that our society is built on DARVO To this day, colonizers commit crimes against humanity and then shoot people when they stand up
maps after that.
You’d think the Westminster tradition that we’ve inherited, with its comptroller generals and financial reporting requirements, would be keen to have some extra eyes on the public purse and the public forests.
You would be wrong
Unelected bureaucrats, probably in tandem with corporate lobbyists, have created a despotic system that shields from public scrutiny the private expenditure of roughly $10 million of your dollars out in the bush, year after year
Maybe it’s better they brazenly undermine our democracy
After all, who wants to witness the sad and completely worthless practice of eliminating the landscape-cooling, fire-repelling broadleaf forest type in an era of megafires, dry lightning, and weeks of heat?
James Steidle is a Prince George writer
DARVO
for their rights They then say, “We did so much for you. You are such ungrateful heathens!”
The Oka crisis 33 years ago was classic DARVO Mohawk rights to their territory were denied. The Sûreté du Québec attacked the Mohawks when they refused to leave their land, and eventually, the Canadian Army was called out Oh, but the white citizens of Oka and the Montréal area were the victims because they were inconvenienced by Mohawk blockades
We can also see DARVO in Florida. Educators created a curriculum to teach children about racism and ways to respond to it proactively The state denied that there is anything racist in their history that children need to know, and attacked educators and the curriculum, even banning books Those who ban books then claim to be concerned adults looking out for the welfare of children Thank goodness Rhonda Santos is there to defend everyone from the “woke mob ” Freyd has done the world a tremendous service by giving us a conceptual framework for understanding the reaction of abusive individuals and institutions She
has made their behaviour predictable When we know what to expect, we can respond in a proactive manner
Lawyers, counselors, and judges can be trained to deal effectively with DARVO in families. When corrupt corporations pillage the environment, we can expect a coverup and counter-allegations. We can expect the same from powerful governments oppressing Indigenous populations, and from racist groups targeting minorities.
Of course, there are honest and reasonable individuals, governments, corporations, and citizen groups They will normally respond to accusations with an open ear, accept accountability when necessary, and try to resolve the issue in a mutually beneficial manner Canadian parliamentarians from opposing parties, for example, used to collaborate and came up with solutions that were good for ordinary citizens
Reacting with denial, attacking the victim, and then making oneself out to be the victim is classic DARVO, and a virtual admission of guilt We need to see it as such.
Gerry Chidiac is a Prince George writer
GERRY CHIDIAC
Ticks are gross but it’s not your blood they want
TED CLARKE Citizen staff
When it comes to ticks, you’re lucky in Prince George if you’re a human or a dog.
The ticks we have in this area want nothing to do with you
But if you’re a moose, you’re one of the favourite host targets of those nasty blood-sucking parasites
Northern B C is home to winter ticks, which latch on to moose, large deer, caribou or bison in the fall, digging into the skin to feed through the winter on the animal’s blood
Ben Spitz, a UNBC researcher and PhD student in wildlife health and disease biology, moved to Prince George from Arkansas in January 2021.
He’s particularly studying winter ticks to try to determine how widespread the problem is for moose populations already
dealing with a warming climate and landscape change related to mountain pine beetle outbreak.
“Prince George is where the moose are,” said Spitz. “What I’m looking at is filling in the research gaps here on winter tick prevalence here because not much is known about the west There’s a lot of moving parts right now and we don’t know the context of winter tick infestations during this flux between cutblocks and just the way the climate is changing around.”
Infestations of winter ticks can result in tens of thousands of the insects attaching to a single moose and in the worst cases some moose have been known to have more 100,000 of them buried in their hides
“It can cause hair loss and anemia and it’s really bad for the calves,” said Spitz “They’re not used to them, they’re small, surviving the winters, and that can be a huge issue.”
In fact, winter ticks are one of the
Prince George loses 800 jobs in a month
ARTHUR WILLIAMS Citizen staff
Prince George’s unemployment rate rose nearly a full percentage point to 8.8 per cent in June, up from 7.9 per cent in May, according to data released by Statistics Canada.
The number of people employed in the city dropped from approximately 49,300 in May to 48,500 in June The number of people seeking work increased from 4,200 to
4,700 over the same period
The city’s labour force participation rate, the percentage of people working or actively seeking work, dropped from 63.8 per cent in May to 63.3 per cent in June.
In June 2022, there were 54,600 people working the city, 2,600 people were seeking work, the unemployment rate was 4 5 per cent and the labour force participation rate stood at 69.2 per cent.
Prince George’s unemployment rate was significantly higher than the provincial (5.6 per cent) and national (5.4
leading causes of infant moose mortality in the northeastern U S and Newfoundland.
“We want to be careful and research around here so if that does happen we have the appropriate tools and understanding to combat it,” said Spitz, who focuses his studies south of Prince George and at the John Prince Research Forest near Fort St James
“I’m working to identify those areas where maybe winter ticks don’t do so well, or maybe you do some controlled burns on areas we do know where they survive ”
According to the BC Centre For Disease Control, the type of tick that does attach to humans and can cause Lyme disease is limited in its range to southern B.C.
Spitz said ticks that carry disease are mainly located in the Lower Mainland and parts of Vancouver Island
per cent) averages
“Earlier today, Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey reported that B C ’s economy is holding steady with a decrease in part-time jobs and increase in full-time jobs in June, with a total of 28,400 full-time jobs added to the economy so far this year,” B.C. Jobs Minister Brenda Bailey said in a statement issued Friday “With global inflation and labour shortages, we recognize this is a challenging time for many, but our economy remains strong.”
Bridge repair in works
The City of Prince George is closing a section of University Way between Aug. 8 and Sept. 1 for the Shane Creek Bridge Deck Resurfacing project.
The road will close between Foothills and the entrance to the university.
The project, which has a budget of $1 2 million, is funded by the General Infrastructure Reinvestment Fund, and will see the old bridge deck being replaced.
The deck resurfacing is needed as the existing deck has reached the end of its useful life
The concrete bridge panels have been designed and constructed to be easily removed from the substructure to limit impacts to the motoring public, and to reduce construction times often experienced with this type of remedial work. During construction, the university entrance will still be accessible via Tyner Boulevard but the walking trail under the bridge may be intermittently closed. Transit service will be impacted by this road closure, which requires a detour for Route 15 UNBC/Downtown
HANDOUT PHOTO BY TAYLOR MCELDERRY
UNBC researcher Ben Spitz collects winter ticks on a flannel sheet he attaches to a pole
$100,000 ring seized in raid deemed a proceed of crime
MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff
A diamond ring police seized from a Prince George home as part of an investigation into a major drug-trafficking operation has been deemed a proceed of crime.
B.C.’s civil forfeiture office secured a court order July 6 to take possession of the item, seized in February 2021 from 6695 Westmount Cres. in southwest Prince George when members of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit executed a series of search warrants on locations in and around the city
Police have valued the ring at more than $100,000
One of the home’s occupants, Garth Clarence Goodkey, has since pleaded guilty to one count each of trafficking in a controlled substance and trafficking in a firearm, according to court records Derek Charles MacNicol Timmins and Daniel David Wilson continue to face charges
The Civil Forfeiture Office also has its eyes on four properties - 12855 Eaglenest Cres in the Hart, 18795 Cariboo Hwy. in Buckhorn-Red Rock and 51035 and 51055 Cluculz Place at Cluculz Lake - according to a notice of claim filed a year ago.
The CFSEU also executed search warrants at 1590 Fir St. and 7805 Latrobe Cres.
According to the claim, grow operations adding up to more than 900 plants were uncovered, as well as 168 kilograms of processed cannabis along with $45,570 in cash, 28 grams of psilocybin, 11 grams of MDMA, some 150 pills of the anabolic steroid oxandrolone, 64 tablets of LSD and 384 tablets of tadalafil, used to treat erectile dysfunction.
Quantities of yohimbrine, also used to treat erectile dysfunction, the weight loss pill sibutramine and caffeine pills were also seized as was an assortment of allegedly drug-related paraphernalia.
As well, a handgun was seized from the Fir Street property and a total of 21 rifles and six shotguns along with assorted types of ammunition were seized from the Cariboo Highway property, according to the claim
The notice of claim was filed five days after CFSEU issued a press release saying four men and one woman had been arrested in connection with the execution of seven search warrants in February 2021 Charges against Goodkey, Timmins and Wilson were approved in December 2022
Proceeds from the sale of items deemed proceeds of crime go towards various crime reduction initiatives In May, 11 projects based in Prince George received a total of $483,203 generated through the province’s civil forfeiture grant program.
Mall developer breaking ground
A Kelowna-based developer is starting work on a retail centre near the intersection of Boundary Road and Highway 97.
Troika Management Corp was scheduled to break ground on the Caribou Crossing project located at 7373 Boundary Rd this Wednesday
The developer says Caribou Crossing will add over 80,000 square feet of commercial retail space and is positioned to serve south Prince George and transient highway traffic
A development permit was approved January 2022 and construction is estimated to conclude in the fall
Information released by Troika Developments in 2021 stated that phase one of the development was expected to include a gas station, convenience store, and drivethru restaurants or other commercial stores built to suit the tenants.
Restaurants, a grocery store, hotel, and professional services were listed as potential tenants for Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the project
The project is expected to serve the roughly 14,600 vehicles per day passing by on Highway 97, as well as businesses in the Prince George Global Logistics Park, airport area, and surrounding neighbourhood
Home builder donates big
Prince George homebuilder Copper Falls Custom Homes donated $140,000 to the Spirit of the North Healthcare foundation last week.
The funding came from the company’s Copper Project, which built and sold a home in the Aberdeen Glen subdivision. Over the past four years, the project has raised more than $450,000 to support healthcare at the
University Hospital of Northern B C (UHNBC) through the foundation.
The funds will be used to support the installation of a Tovertafel System in the short-term stay unit at UHNBC, infusions pumps for the littlest patients at UHNBC, and the remainder will be put towards the Regional Cardiac Strategy
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Child hospitalized after eating toxic mushroom
STEFAN LABBE Glacier Media
A child in the Vancouver Coastal Health region has been sent to hospital after eating a piece of a toxic death cap mushroom.
Raymond Li, a pharmacist at the B.C. Poison Control Centre, confirmed to Glacier Media the poisoning took place in Vancouver at Kits Point, home to the popular Kitsilano Beach The child has since recovered after receiving medical attention.
The incident was unusual for this time of year, and has prompted officials to warn the public to exercise caution Normally, the death cap mushroom (known in Latin as Amanita phalloides) doesn’t pop up until the wet fall months But authorities suspect urban irrigation has set the conditions for the potentially deadly mushroom to show up early this year
Often found in urban environments, in the past, death cap mushrooms have been spotted across B.C.’s Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland, as well as on the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island most recently in Greater Victoria and Comox Li said the location of the latest poisoning in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood is less important than the kind of tree species that line the city’s streets and fill in its parks.
The mushrooms are not native to B.C., but are thought to have come to the province from Europe on the roots of urban trees, including chestnuts, oaks, hazelnut and beech species Those trees often have long root systems that reach across property lines.
“So if people are irrigating say their own gardens or landscaping, that may produce the conditions that allow them to actually pop up,” Li said
Once ingested, the toxins from death caps can damage the liver and kidney Six to 12 hours after eating the mushroom, people often feel cramps and abdominal pain The mushrooms can also induce vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration.
Some of those symptoms may diminish after 24 hours, but the toxins remain in the body, and can trigger a second wave of symptoms potentially leading to severe illness and organ failure after 72 hours
“Medical treatment and organ transplants may be required to prevent death,” warns the Provincial Health Services Authority.
“Kids and pets finding a random mushroom on the lawn most times it’s not going to be a big deal. So parents shouldn’t panic However, if any ingestion does occur, they should certainly call Poison Control Centre right away,” said Li
The Drug and Poison Information Centre recommends
collecting the whole mushroom including its base, or taking high-quality pictures of it (including the cap, gills, stem and base). Li added it’s also important to note the trees it was growing on or near to help identify it later
Anyone suspecting a case of mushroom poisoning is encouraged to call poison control at 1-800-567-8911
There are over 3,000 species of mushroom in B.C., but Li says there isn’t a lot of information on many of them The death cap mushroom stands out as “particularly nasty,” Li said
“For people who are interested in foraging and eating wild mushrooms, be careful Do not eat anything that is not properly identified as being edible,” he said. “Don’t guess Be sure ”
If you find a death cap mushroom but nobody has eaten it, consider reporting it to authorities using the following checklist:
Note the location, take careful photographs, and report it to government
Remove the whole mushrooms, bag them, and dispose of them in the garbage If ingested, save the remains of the mushroom and call poison control.
Do not dispose of death cap mushrooms in your home compost.
Touching death caps is not a risk but gloves are recommended.
Single-use plastics being phased out
THE CANADIAN PRESS
British Columbia is phasing out the use of a range of single-use and disposable plastics with businesses given six months to use up their inventory.
Environment Minister George Heyman says the new regulation comes into effect in December and will cover plastic shopping bags, disposable food service accessories, degradable plastics and any packaging made of hard-to-recycle plastics
The move will coincide with a federal government ban on the sales of plastic checkout bags, drinking straws, cutlery, stir sticks, ring carriers and food ware made from plastics.
Imports of these items were banned by the federal government in December last year
Heyman says the province is also investing in technologies to turn used
plastic into new products, which he says can create a healthier and more resilient environment for all British Columbians
He says the province has already seen a number of business owners making shifts to reduce the use of plastic items, including restaurants using paper straws
Heyman says the Single-Use and Plastic Waste Prevention Regulation is part of the government’s broader CleanBC Plastics Action Plan, which includes a range of actions to reduce plastic waste.
“Focusing on hard-to-recycle single-use and plastic items will help move B.C. to a circular economy where waste and pollution are eliminated, products and materials are kept in the economy through reuse, and natural systems are regenerated,” Heyman said in a statement
You’re going to lose access to local news on Facebook and Google.
Dear readers,
Your access to local, provincial and national news is going to be revoked on Google, Facebook and Instagram.
And it’s not because of anything we’ve done.
Recently, Canada passed the Online News Act, also known as Bill C-18, which has led to a standoff between the government, Google and Meta the parent company behind Facebook and Instagram
Both Google and Meta have said they plan to cut ties with the news industry in Canada as a result.
This means Meta will block the posting and sharing of our news articles on Facebook and Instagram Google will also remove links to our sites and articles in Google News, Discover and search results They’ll also cancel significant content licensing agreements already in place with our parent company, Glacier Media.
Undoubtedly, this will have a huge impact not solely on us but, more importantly, on people like yourself who may use these platforms to discover what’s happening in your community and to get context to events happening in your own backyard
We’re not planning on going anywhere, but here’s how you can help:
1. Sign up for our free daily newsletter by scanning the QR code. (And encourage your family and friends to do the same.)
2. Follow us on Twitter.
3. Bookmark our website as the homepage on your devices.
4 Consider becoming a member if you aren’t already Your support will help us continue to cover local stories, by locals
5. If you own/operate a local business, consider supporting local by placing ads with 100% Canadian-owned media outlets, like us.
With your help, more people will be able to get their local news from a trusted source In today’s age of misinformation, that’s more important than ever
Thank you. We appreciate you.
Sincerely,
The Prince George Citizen team
Northern B.C. man fined for igniting wildfire
STEFAN LABBE
Glacier Media
A Northern B.C. man has been ordered to pay the province $100,688 for what it cost the government to fight a wildfire he ignited in 2019.
The decision, upheld by the Forest Appeals Commission, came following a complaint by the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), after they responded to a 2019 wildfire in the Kispiox Valley of B C ’s Skeena-Stikine region. The decision comes amid one of B C ’s worst wildfire seasons on record and shows the liability individuals can face when they don’t plan before lighting a fire
“The gravity and magnitude of the contravention is high, or serious,” wrote the commission panel chair Cynthia Lu in her decision
“The total area burned was 11.5 hectares but could have been much larger if BCWS was not immediately dispatched and on the scene within the hour ”
The incident dates back to March 31, 2019, when Eldon Whalen lit a burn pile on his property. Over the coming weeks, he returned regularly with buckets of water and hand tools to monitor the fire, according to the decision
But 40 days later, Whalen was driving by the pile when he saw smoke and flames. He called 911 and told dispatchers he didn’t have the gear or water to fight the fire. Firefighters arrived with helicopters, ground crews, air tankers and fire retardant.
It took six days for the BC Wildfire Service to get the fire “under control,” during which locals notified neighbours and helped move animals out of the path
of the flames. Five weeks later, the fire was extinguished having burned mostly private land, threatening homes and infrastructure and burning fence lines
Later investigations determined the wildfire was sparked by the open fire “left unattended and not extinguished, which smouldered and escaped due to fire creep and gusting winds weeks after its initial ignition ”
According to B.C.’s Wildfire Act, the government can levy administrative penalties, charge for the value of damaged timber and other resources, and recoup the costs of firefighting if the wildfire started in contravention of a burn ban or other fire-prevention provisions.
The law states that an individual may “light, fuel or use a category 2 open fire in or within 1 km of forest land or grass land” if they are not banned from doing so by some other prohibition, it’s safe to do so, and if the person makes a fuel
break around the burn area.
While a fire is burning, they must maintain the fuel break, make sure they have an adequate fire suppression system on hand, and watch and patrol with at least one firefighting hand tool to ensure the fire doesn’t escape. And before leaving the burn area, they must ensure the fire is extinguished.
Whalen, for his part, contended the burn pile was not left unattended and that he satisfied the provisions in the Wildfire Act. He said he believed “embers travelled underground, through watersoaked ground through some fuels before reaching the forest ”
B.C. government submitted Whalen provided “no credible evidence” that the fire was extinguished before he left the area They pointed to the findings of wildfire investigators who said the burn pile was not extinguished and was unattended when it escaped, creeping with the wind.
The province submitted that as a real estate agent, Whalen should have had an “above average understanding of rules and regulations regarding use of land,” though Whalen disputed that claim.
In her decision, Lu found the Wildfire Act makes no mention of “embers” and that Whalen failed to show the commission why they should not be included in the definition of “fire ” Lu said she saw no evidence that suggests “fire” should be restricted to visible flames or smoke, or that it must burn above ground.
Whalen “has not provided any expert evidence that suggests it is reasonable to believe, a fire can be considered extinguished due to the lack of visible smoke,” Lu wrote
The decision also notes that photos taken a day before the fire spread showed there was no snow on the ground, something that contradicted Whalen’s claim he used snow and water as a fire break
“Prior to the burn, the [Whalen] did not contact any relevant authorities, including the local fire department, the Ministry of Forests, or BCWS, in order to learn more about open burning regulations, expectations, hazards, and potential consequences,” found Lu.
“Relying on self-directed online research and the anecdotal knowledge of neighbours does not demonstrate a reasonable standard of care.”
On top of the firefighting costs, the commission ordered Whalen to pay a $3,000 administrative penalty due to the “gravity and magnitude” of the contravention.
Lu provided a list of what Whalen could have done to ensure the burn pile was safe, noting none of it required a “superhuman” effort.
BC WILDFIRE SERVICE/FACEBOOK
It took the BC Wildfire Service six days to get the blaze “under control ”
Healthy North
Wildfire Resources
Wildfires and smoky conditions continue to affect communities across the Northern Health region. Smoke from wildfires can affect your health and safety in many ways.
Take steps to keep you and your loved ones safe and healthy.
• Reduce the amount of time spent outdoors
• Stay hydrated
• Avoid rigorous outdoor activities, like exercise
• Keep windows closed in vehicles and homes
• If you have one, use an indoor air cleaner or filtration system, or recirculate indoor air in a forced air system that is filtered (turn on your furnace fan)
Stay up to date on current wildfire information, find a list of current wildfires, get tips on wildfire preparedness, and access Provincial information bulletins here: northernhealth.ca/health-topics/wildfires-andyour-health
HealthElife
HealthElife gives you 24/7 secure online access to review select services that have been scheduled in the hospital setting and review your hospital digital health information from any computer or smartphone. You can also access the information and services of any adult or elderly family member you may be supporting in care.
HealthElife lets you manage your care from anywhere
• View your lab results, including most COVID-19 tests
• View your x-ray, ultrasound and other medical imaging reports
• View scheduled hospital lab and medical imaging appointments, with more appointment types coming soon
• Check in online for walk-in lab and other outpatient services
• Share your health information
• Book lab appointments at select medical
Find more info and register onlinenorthernhealth.ca/services/digital-health/healthelife
Is the ER the right place for you?
For life-threatening emergencies like chest pains, difficulty breathing, broken bones, or severe bleeding, the ER is the place to be.
For routine health checkups, pharmaceutical renewals, or less urgent health concerns – call your family care provider, 8-1-1, or the Northern Health Virtual Clinic (1-844-645-7811) for advice.
HOROSCOPES
ARIES
A makeover will make you feel better in your own skin. New clothes will make you look good and will be useful for your new work duties. You must draw on your personable nature to impress new clients.
TAURUS
You’ll be promoted when you return to work from vacation. This will help you settle your debts. You’ll work several hours of overtime to improve your financial situation. Don’t neglect your health; take the time to care for your significant other
GEMINI
Your charisma will influence a few people to tag along with you to do some fun activities. You’ll be in the spotlight this week. Your outspokenness will be admired. You’ll achieve something eat and eceive praise fo
CANCER
You cherish family time. You’ll help restore the peace between relatives who’ve been in conflict for a long time. You could perform a heroic act and save someone from an unfortunate situation.
LEO
If you’ve moved recently, take the time to explore your surroundings. You’ll make some great discoveries. You’ll be on the move this week and may play taxi with your children. Your phone and messages are constantly distracting you.
VIRGO
Summer is the perfect time to renegotiate your salary and working conditions. Your boss will make you an offer you can’t refuse. If you run your own business, you’ll onboard al new clients.
LIBRA
Things are happening! Prepare for a few pleasant surprises. You’ll be involved in some very exciting activities. Let yourself be guided by the pleasure and joy of being surrounded by good company
SCORPIO
Be careful about what you share on social media. During a conflict, one of your friends will show their true nature. However, this will allow you to determine who your real friends are. Sports activities will also be popular among your group of friends.
SAGITTARIUS
CAPRICORN
Whether alone, with your significant other, colleagues or family members, you’ll break ground on an important project. If you’re on vacation, don’t be surprised if you get a call from your boss about an emergency that can’t be solved without you.
AQUARIUS
Even if you’re already on vacation, that won’t stop you from planning your next adventure. You could also decide to take a training course to increase your career opportunities.
PISCES
Don’t be afraid of change; it’s good for you. A romantic getaway or family adventure will round out your summer vacation. You’ll make unforgettable memories.
You’ll be responsible for organizing an event that attracts all your friends. It’ll be a huge success! You can expect a few people to leave you wanting more. You’ll discover new and interesting friendships.
classifieds
REMEMBRANCES
IDA NIKKEL(HUMPHREY) nee;BUCHI
In remembrance and celebration of her life, family and friends bring memories and stories to the Hart Pioneer Centre, 6986 Hart Highway, Prince George, BC on Friday July 28, 2023 from 1:30pm to4:30pm
Inlovingmemoryof DianeStepski
Dec25,1948Jul22,2019
InLovingMemoryof LindaCampbell
July5,2023
Eventhoughyouarenolongerwithus, weknowthatyoustillwalkwithus eachdayandwefindcomfort inknowingthatyouwillalwaysbethere toguideandwatchoverus
Weloveyouandmissyou Verymuch
Love&Laughter Justin&Zachary
Andrew left us far too soon, at the age of 37, after a very short but fierce battle with cancer Andy endured more health issues in his short life than anyone deserves, especially someone as gentle, quietandconsiderateashewas
Andrew is survived, and greatly missed, by his parents Dee Burden and Chuck Butcher, brother Bert (Kristen) and his best friend Curt Brown. Andrew is also survived by a half-brother and 2 half-sisters in Alberta, numerous aunts, uncles, cousins,niecesandnephews
He was predeceased by his grandparents Jack and BettyButcherandBillandLoretaBurden.
Thank you to all the doctors, nurses and other practitioners who did their best to keep him comfortable during his stays in the hospital. Thank you to the paramedics and ER staff who treatedhimwithcareandrespect
Deathisnothingatall Ihaveonlyslippedintothenextroom Whateverweweretoeachother Westillare Callmebymyoldfamiliarname Speaktomeinthesamewayyoualwayshave Laughaswealwayslaughedatthelittlejokeswe enjoyedtogether Play,smile,thinkofme,prayforme
You’rereallymissedbyyourfamilyandfriends
No service by request but a birthday celebration was held on July 11th, again at his request
Donations may be made to UHNBC as Andrew wasappalledbyhowrundownourhospitalis
As
LarryAlvinDoyle
1924-2023
It is with sadness that we must announce the passing of Larry Alvin Doyle, on the evening of July 5th after battling pneumonia and other complications, at the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia. Larrydisplayedanamazingstrengthandresilienceforaman98yearsold.
Larry experienced one of the most profound eras of civilized achievements He was born in Moose Jaw, SK in 1924, and was the middle son of Matt and Elizabeth Doyle He is survived by his loving wife Gladys; his two sisters Joanna, being the oldest, and Dorothy, the youngest; his sister-in-lawClara.
He was predeceased by Joe (Vi), Don (Irene), Chester (Evelyn), Leonard, Ted (Kay), Mike (Evelyn), Luella (Ed), Nora (Bill), Marg (Bill), Edna (Roy), Archie and Ethel, Meagan (Granddaughter) and his Mom and Dad,MattandElizabeth.
Larry leaves to mourn his passing Gladys, his true love (My Gladdy, he always said to her as an endearment) and their combined families: Laney (Marlene, Cameron, Michael, Naysa, Rylee, John), Michael (Jasmine, Natasha, Tony, Dani), Kim (Andy, Stewart, Jacquie, Tyler), Janette, (Wade, Monica, Wyatt, Melissa, Riaz), Lance, Nancy (Trevor, Kathleen, Austin, (Predeceased by Meagan), Myki, Sarah, and Paige (Scott, Tessa, Meagan(Meggie)
HewaslovedasaSon,Brother,Father,GrandfatherandhehadthehonourofabeingaGreat-Grandfather.
Larry worked alongside his father and brothers on the farm and in the logging industry At the age of fourteen, he was responsible for two, two-teams’ horses, forwarding logs out of the bush to the sawmill When he was old enough, he enlisted in the Canadian Army to fight in WWII After the war, Larry and his family resided mainly in the Cranbrook and Prince George, BC, regions He was proud of his work and he loved driving big rigs, low beds and heavy hauling. He would go on to haul logs out of logging blocks, mastering countlessswitchbacksinmountainousregionsaswellasstartinghisownbusiness,Larry’sHeavyHauling.
Throughout his life, Larry loved participating in outdoor activities. He was a remarkable marksman and enjoyed guiding and hunting, sometimes on horseback in the mountains, for big game, as well as hunting pheasants with his beloved Labrador dogs at his side Larry won many trophies as an accomplished trap shooter at Rod & Gun Club Events throughout BC Larry also really enjoyed camping,fishingandeventookupthegameofgolf
But of all these activities, Larry will be most missed as the family Patriarch as he truly cherished his time with family and friends There were many days spent playing Yahtzee, Cards (Kaizer, Nickels), One-Eyed Jacks, watching Curling and sharing amazing meals We will miss his countless stories of his past experiences that he shared with the people he and Gladys welcomed into their home His presence will truly be missed by so many. It’s often said, “they don’t make them like they used to,” .... and this certainly can be said of ourLarry
We, as a family, would like to take this moment to graciously extend our heartfelt thank you to Dr Weisgerber, Dr Paterson and the healthcareteamthathavealwayshelpedLarrythroughouthisillnesses Yourrespect,kindness,anddedicationwasalwaysablessing.
A Memorial Celebration will be held at the Royal Canadian Legion on August 8th, 2023, starting at 1:00pm (Doors open at noon.) Pleasejoinusforalunchaftertheservice.
Inlieuofflowers,kindlyconsideradonationinhonorofLarry’smemory,totheBCCancer-PrinceGeorge(CentrefortheNorth.)
Condolencesmaybeofferedatwww.AssmansFuneralChapel.com
Trask, Roy G. July 1, 1927 - June 22, 2023
Roy passed peacefully just shy of his 96th birthday at the Bby General Hospice. Roy made many friends through bridge, Morse Code Club, dancing, and through his years working for CNR and coaching, volunteering and playing hockey in Hazelton and Prince George. Survived by his daughters Glenna and Debbie, son Bill, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Roy lived in Surrey for the past 33 years.
A private gathering will be held at a later date.
1950-2023
It is with true sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Roy Edward Randle, a longtime resident of Prince George, British Columbia, who passed away on July 14th/2023. Ed was born August 16th/1950 in Prince George, British Columbia to Roy and Isabelle Randle. He was known for his love of baseball and his devotion to his family For over 40 years Ed worked as a millwright at Canfor Intercom where he built a name for himself and was respected by many for hishardworkethicandkindnature
Ed was preceded in death by his parents, Roy and Isabelle; sisters, Hazel and Bernice; brother, Reginald;andstepson,Christopher. Ed survived by his wife, Yvonne; stepchildren, Wesley, Arlette, Leonard, and Nadina along with their partners and children; and great nephews, RonnieandAaron.
At Ed’s request, no service will be held to the public There will be a private celebration of life to honor Ed and to provide closure to his close friendsandfamilyduringthissensitivetime
You will always be in our hearts “Fast Eddy”.
RoyEdward Randle
Obituaries
MervinElwoodSenum
1946-2023
It is with heavy hearts, we announce the passing of a great man, Mervin Elwood Senum Merv passed peacefully on July 2nd with the sun shining, and Sheri, his wife and best friend of 54 years at his side. Left to mourn is his favourite son, Tobin (Jennifer) and his #1 daughter, Tanis (Ed) His siblings, Maureen & Terry, grandkids Cole & Rylee, as well as numerous friends and relatives Pre deceased by his parents, Earling & Myrtle Merv was born May 16, 1946 in Duncan BC and spent his childhood in Shellbrook SK He raised his family, worked and played in Prince George for 40 years, then retired and divided his time between Kelowna and Arizona Merv always had a story to tell and lived a full and happy life until the last few painful years but he never complained. He will be remembered for his love of his family, golf, hockey, curling and music especially his rendition of Hello Dolly He was a social guy who loved talking to everyone and made friends everywhere hewent.
Swervin Mervin is now pain free, at peace, and telling his stories to a new audience
A celebration of Merv’s life will be held later this summer
Celebrate the lives of loved ones with your stories, photographs and tributes
REMEMBRANCES
Obituaries
BrianWilliamThair
1945-2023
Brian William Thair, PhD, 77, passed away at Prince George Hospice House on June 23, 2023.
Brian was born on December 23, 1945, in Ottawa, ON He is survived by his brother Steven Thair (Linda), former wife Maree Thair and their daughters Simone Thair (Hendrick) and Adrienne Foster (Andrew) and grandsons Theodore and Cameron His nieces and nephew will also miss him (Melissa Durrell, Michael Durrell and Jacqueline Thair)
Brian received a PhD from Latrobe University, Melbourne, Australia and completed his post-doctoral training at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC Hewasbelovedbymanystudentsduringhis30yearcareerintheBiology department at the College of New Caledonia, Prince George Brian enjoyed many hobbies: drawing, painting, photography and was a licensed pyrotechnician He used these talents to create sets for the dance studio his daughters attended; one way he connected with them He enjoyed the natural world; hunting and fishing Apassion he shared with his long time partner Helena Adamowicz (deceased) He taught himself to play guitar and banjo Hewasanexcellentchefandmadewineformanyyears Laterinlifehe took up wood carving with many pieces inspired by indigenous art from around BC.
The family is deeply grateful to all those who cared for Brian, especially the staff at Prince George Rotary Hospice House, McBride hospital staff and paramedics, Robson Valley Community Services, University Hospital of Northern British Columbia and many generous and caring individuals of McBrideandPrinceGeorge Brianwillbedeeplymissedbyallwhoknewand loved him May his soul rest in eternal peace A Celebration of Life will be held in McBride (date TBD)
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to A Living Tribute https://wwwalivingtribute ca/ or Prince George Rotary Hospice House
Turn Again To Life
by Mary Lee Hall
If I should die, and leave you here awhile
Be not like others sore undone, who keep
Long vigils by the silent dust and weep.
For my sake, turn again to life, and smile,
Nerving thy heart and trembling hand to do
Something to comfort weaker hearts than thine.
Complete these dear unfinished tasks of mine,
And I, perchance, may therein comfort you!
Josephine“Josie”Doerksen
Josephine Doerksen passed away peacefully July 9, 2023 with her daughter Doreen by her side Josephine is survived by her daughter Doreen (widowed) Doreen’s children, grandchildren. Son Kevin (Denise) granddaughters Miranda, Abby. Funeral will be held at Fort George Baptist Church July 21, 2023 at 11:00 am A viewing will be held prior to service at Prince George Funeral Home from 10-1030 am. Graveside service at 12 pm at City Cemetery with tea to follow at church. Please come celebrate her life with us In lieu of flowers please donate to St Vincent de Paul, FortGeorgeBaptistchurchorluvforpaws.
Celebrate the lives of loved ones with your stories, photographs and tributes
REMEMBRANCES
KimThompson
It is with sadness we announce that on June 1st 2023, Kim passed away Born in Moose Jaw, SK Kim grew up playing in Lovering Lake throughout her childhood before eventually moving to Prince George with her family A highly respected surgical nurse in UHNBC for 30 years she never failed to make those around her smile and offerahugwhenneeded.
Her Celebration of Life is being held on July 22nd, 1230 hr at the Hart Pioneer Centre, 6986 HART HWY, Prince George, food and non-alcoholicbeverageswillbeprovided.
We’re asking for any donations to be sent to Prince George Animal rescue, pganimalrescue@gmail Our family is grateful to know that Kim is finally at peace She will be fondly remembered and sorely missed.
William(Bill)Dawson
1958-2023
After a lengthy battle, Will passed peacefully at Hospice onJuly3rd,surroundedbyhisfamily
Will is survived by his loving and devoted wife Wanda, father Ken, children James (Cheryl) and Jody (Kim), stepdaughters Danielle and Dominique and nine grandchildren. Will is also survived by his siblings, Brenda, Bev and Tim (Patty). Will was predeceased by hismotherBeatriceandhisbrother-in-lawReg.
A celebration of Will’s life is being held August 2nd, 3-7pm at the Bon Voyage banquet room Bring your favorite memories to share All that knew and loved Will areinvitedtoattend.
KeithEdwardBellamy
February19,1957toMarch20,2023
Lovingly remembered by his three sons Brian, Shawn and Michael, his partner Carla, and numerous family and friends A celebration of his life will be held on August 13, 2023 from 1pmto5pmat2716Lonsdalestreet
NOTICE OF AGM - NOTICE is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Members of the Prince George Humane Society is called for and will be held at the Prince George Humane Society, Unit 11- 1839 1st Ave, Prince George, BC, on July 25th, 2023, at 6:00 pm. 250-640-7415 info@pghumanesociety.ca
Established Franchise Photography Business Serving Northern B.C for over 35 years
Gross Revenues of $150.000 plus annually from seasonal work Lots of opportunity to expand the business Transition support available to the right buyer Serious Enquiries Only Office 250-596-9199 Cell 250-981-1472
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
Established Franchise Tax Preparation Business servicingMackenzie and McLeod Lake area for over 30 years.
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Transition support available for the right buyer Serious Inquires Only Office (250)997-9003 Home (250)997-5538 Cell (250)990-0152
TO: VEDAGAIL ELDER
TAKE NOTICE THAT on July 13, 2023, an order was made for another method of service on you of a Notice of Claim, Address for Service, a blank Reply and a blank Address for Service, issued from the Nanaimo Registry of the Provincial Court of British Columbia (Small Claims Court) in proceeding number 97832, by way of this notice
You must file a Reply within 21 days failing which further proceedings, including judgment, may be taken without notice to you
You may obtain, from the Nanaimo Registry at 35 Front Street, Nanaimo British Columbia, V9R 5J4, a copy of the Notice of Claim and Address for Service, which is c/o Stuart Wood, Warsh Law, 109 – 335, Wesley Street, Nanaimo BC V9R 2T5, or email to: stuart@warshlaw.com.
TRUTH IN ''EMPLOYMENT'' ADVERTISING
Glacier Media Group makes every effort to ensure you are responding to a reputab e and legit mate job opportunity If you suspect that an ad to wh ch you
misleading, here are some
Legitimate employers do not ask for money as part of the application process; do not send money; do not g ve any credit card information; or call a 900 number in order to respond to an employment ad Job opportunity ads are salary based and do not require an investment
If you have responded to an ad which you bel eve to be misleading please call the Better Business Bureau at 604-682-2711, Monday to Friday, 9am - 3pm or email inquiries@bbbvan.org and they wil investigate
4 ways to make the most of a small yard
a small yard, landscaping can
a challenge Here are four tips to help you maximize your space and createanoutdooroasis
1. FURNISH WISELY
Multifunctional pieces are ideal for small areas For example, a sturdy deck box can be used as both storage and seating Modular furniture is another option, as it can easilyberearrangedandadaptedtosuitawkwardspaces
2. DESIGN VERTICALLY
Growingvinesupawall,fenceortrellisisagreatwayto add greenery to your yard without using up a lot of floor space You can also hang planters, string fairy lights, installatreeswingandstoregardentoolsonhooksalongthe fence
3. USE CORNERS
Nooks and crannies have a lot of potential, so use them wisely Increaseyourseatingwithawoodencornerbench ortakeadvantageofanunusualangletohighlightadecorativepiecesuchasasculpture,shruborfountain.
4. CREATE DEPTH
Ifyouhaveanarrowyard,optforlong,thinpaversrather thansquareonestodrawyoureyetowardthebackofthe yard Alternatively, create a winding path to make the spaceappearwider.Placeplantswithsmall,darkfoliageat therearofyourgarden,andchoosered,orangeandyellow flowerswithbig,boldleavesforthefront Findeverythingyouneedtomakethemostofasmallyard atyourlocalgardencentreandhardwarestore
Make your yard a paradise for pollinators
Habitat loss is one of the main causes of decline in the population of bumblebees and other pollinators If you want to help protect these vital species, consider growing nectar plants in your yard. This willprovideafoodsource for the insects and birds that pollinate your community’s gardens, orchards andfields.
CHOOSING PLANTS
Therearemanykindsoffloweringspecies that can beautify your yard while also creating an inviting space for pollinators Sunflowers, anemones, goldenrods, echinacea and hydrangeas are all great picks Pollinators are attracted to a number of annuals as well, including borage, centaury and cosmos
Ifyouprefertogrowfood in your garden, consider planting aromatic herbs like oregano, sage and thyme Fruit trees and plants,suchasapple,blueberry and strawberry are a good source of nectar in spring
ADDITIONAL ADVICE
If you want to attract pol-
linatorstoyouryard,besureto:
•Grownectarplantsinareasthatare shelteredfromthewind
•Includewhiteflowersinyourgarden toattractnocturnalpollinators
•Provideasourceofwatersuchasa smallfountainorbirdbath
•Avoidweedingdandelions,clovers andivy;they’rerichinnectar
•Plantspecieswithvariedbloomtimes soyouhaveflowersfromspringtofall
By following these tips, you’re sure to create a welcoming environment for all kinds of pollinators
Bring your houseplants outside this summer
This summer, consider bringing your houseplants outdoors. Doing so will enhance the appearance of your garden and provideyourplantswithmorelighttogrow
In particular, cacti, spurges and succulents will benefit from time spent outside You can transplant them into flower beds orarrangetheminpots.
Hanging plants such as ivy, pothos and spider plants are a great way to adorn a pergolaorgazebo.Ifyouhavelargepotted plants, use them as accent pieces for your deckorpatiodecor
GIVE THEM TIME TO ADAPT
Remember that your plants need time to acclimate to outdoor weather conditions before being exposed to the elements full time Start by placing them outside for a few hours a day Make sure the temperature is above 12 C and that they’re protectedfromwind,rainanddirectsunlight
Gradually, you can increase the time your plants spend outdoors. This process should take about two weeks However, be sure to wait until overnight temperatures remain above 12 C before you leave your plantsoutsidefortherestoftheseason.
PLANT INSPECTION
Beforeyoubringyourhouseplants backinside,checkthemthoroughly forbugs Showertheminwarmwater, including the underside of the leaves,towashawayanyunwanted pests Ifnecessary,repotyourplants priortobringingthemindoors
Design the perfect outdoor lounge area!
Oh,howgreatitfeelstorelaxarounda cozyfire.Doyouownanoutdoor fireplace?Perhapsyou’rethinkingof investinginone?Firstofall,makesure thatyourfireplacecomplies with your local bylaws, as well as any local fire bans All set?Hereareseveraltipsfor designingtheperfectoutdoorloungearea.
First,makesureyou’vededicatedenough spaceforyourgueststorelax comfortably.Adirondack chairs, swings, wooden benches,wickerloungers, hammocks optforvariety!Anddon’t forgettoincludeenoughblanketsand cushionstocreateasoft,cozy environment
Next,placeoneormoresidetables aroundtheseatingareasothatyouand yourguestscansetdownglasses,plates,
phonesandanyotherobjectsyoupreferto keepcloseathand.
Finally,hanggarlandsoftwinklinglights inyourtrees,andlinethepathbetween yourhouseandyourloungeareawith decorativelanterns This way, you’ll create a space that’s not only warm but also safe to enjoy at night!
A FESTIVE TOUCH
To create lasting memories under a starlitsky,don’tforgettobuyplenty of skewers for roasting sausages and marshmallows And why not bring out your bongo drums, harmonica or guitartosingaroundthecracklingfire? (when there are no fire bans in your area)
