97/16 - Prince George's Weekly News

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Ski trails ruined Tabor Mountain ski trails wrecked by snowmobile tracks Thursday, March 14, 2019

Prince George’s weekly news

4-H weighs in for Spring christine hinzmann 97/16 staff

During a sunny Sunday morning, the Agriplex was a busy place for cows.

The local 4-H community came together to do their spring beef weigh-ins to start off youth projects that are monitored from the start of the care of the animal to the last day they are weighed, auctioned off at the B.C. Northern Exhibition and put in a buyer’s freezer.

BreeAnna MacDonald, 21, is a 4-H B.C. ambassador and was pushing fencing together before the young cows were led into the pen for safe keeping to wait their turn on the weigh scale.

MacDonald’s been doing projects for the last nine years. She started out with swine and then took on several beef projects during that time.

She explained that at the end of the beef project each animal gets weighed and the difference from now until August is recorded.

The math is done to see what the total weight gain is and the animal that shows the biggest gain is designated as the grand champion, second place is reserve grand champion.

4-H’s mission it to empower youth to be responsible, caring and contributing leaders that effect positive change in the world around them.

Synchronized swimmer and vegetarian Kennedy Moore, 10, is making her first attempt at a beef project and took on a swine project for the second year just to keep things interesting.

Kennedy said she’s OK with doing the animal projects despite not eating meat herself because she treats the animals well throughout their lives and Melman the cow and Bacon Bits the pig then go to feed someone’s family.

Kennedy is following in big brother Cameron’s foot steps. He’s 15 and doing a beef project so Kennedy thought it would be a good idea to give it a try, too.

Getting the about 500 pound Mel-

97/16 photo by James Doyle

Ten-year-old Kennedy Moore poses with her cow Melman as he gets weighed during the annual 4-H weigh-ins on Sunday at the Agriplex. man off the trailer in preparation for the weigh-in went off without a hitch.

“It was pretty good,” Kennedy said of the experience. “Cows are way easier than pigs.”

Cows have a lead by which they are controlled but with pigs they are untethered so pig-wrangling is a hands-on adventure.

“Last year my pig slipped and he landed in all the poo,” Kennedy said. “It took me two hours to wash him off after.”

That wasn’t Kennedy’s first poop rodeo.

She was showing a chicken a while back and that required her wearing a white shirt and holding the chicken. During the showing the chicken pooped all over her. She’s not quite sure why these things keep happening to her but she seems to take it in stride.

Kennedy’s mom Erica thinks being involved with 4-H is a good learning experience.

“It’s important for kids to be respon-

sible,” Erica said. “It’s important for them to learn farming practices. It’s a ton of work.”

Kennedy is a busy child, attending synchronized swimming three times a week, caring for her cow and pig, attending meetings for each animal, the general 4-H meetings and everything that goes with the projects including days like Sunday where the animal is weighed.

“Hey, it’s better than sitting on the couch,” Kennedy said with a smile.

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local Humane Society names new director frank peebles 97/16 staff

The Prince George Humane Society (PGHS) is changing bosses.

The only executive director the society has ever known, co-founder Angela McLaren, is moving on. The society’s new E.D. is Melissa Garner who said “Angela is so appreciated here and did such amazing work, and she is leaving with our full support. Everything is amicable.”

The PGHS’s board president Leah Coghlan said McLaren was heading into a new venture “with First Nation communities and animal welfare” that dovetailed to her work with the Humane Society.

“Over the past 11 years Angela has continued to work collaboratively with these communities to create and individualize animal management programs, while developing methods designed to reduce the large, stray dog population,” Coghlan said. “Under Angela’s leadership, thousands of animals’ lives have been saved

and she continues to show an unwavering commitment to our furry friends.”

To fill McLaren’s departure, the society looked from within.

“I’ve been working with the Humane Society for a long time now, so it’s not like I’m coming on board completely green,” Garner said. “But this will be a new challenge for me, definitely a step up in an organization I care about so much. It’s a real honour.”

Garner started volunteering with the PGHS in 2016, said Coghlan, “both in a daily operational setting, along with being a member of the Board of Directors. Melissa has a strong understanding regarding the mission of the Prince George Humane Society, and is educated in animal safety and welfare. She also has a successful background in business and has a huge passion for animals. With Melissa’s experience and dedication to the growth of the Humane Society, we look forward in continuing our goal of helping animals while providing compassionate education to our community.”

Selfie fail as jaguar attacks woman at zoo 97/16 wire service

A woman was attacked by a jaguar as she was apparently trying to get a photo outside the big cat’s enclosure at Wildlife World Zoo in Arizona, authorities said.

Shawn Gilleland, a spokesman for the Rural Metro Fire Department, said that the woman, who is in her 30s, climbed over a barrier at the zoo on the weekend to get closer to the jaguar’s enclosure so that she could get a selfie with the animal.

The jaguar reached out and grabbed her arm with its paw, leaving lacerations, Gilleland said.

Gilleland said the woman, who was not publicly identified, was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not lifethreatening.

Officials with Wildlife World Zoo said in a statement that a guest was injured by a female jaguar at the zoo in Litchfield Park, not far from Phoenix.

Officials said the attack is under investigation but noted that the animal was not outside her enclosure at any time.

“Please understand why barriers are put in place,” officials tweeted. “Sending prayers to the family tonight.”

One witness, Adam Wilkerson, told AZFamily.com that he and his mother heard the woman scream Saturday evening and ran to help.

“My mom runs up and takes her water bottle and shoves it through the cage near where the jaguar is, and the jaguar goes to let go of the girl to take the water bottle, and the claw just catches this girl’s sweater,” he told the news organization.

“So at that point I see that it’s no longer attached to the girl’s actual arm, only on her sweater, so I grab the girl on her torso and I pull her back.”

Wilkerson, who captured some of the aftermath on video, added that the woman was “lying on the ground, screaming in agony.”

Zoo owner Mickey Ollson told AZFamily.com that about a year ago, the big cat scratched another guest who also had

crossed the barrier.

“There’s no way to fix people crossing barriers,” Ollson told the news organization. “That happens occasionally. And we put substantial barriers there and if people cross them, they can get in trouble.”

Last summer, a male jaguar escaped from an enclosure at Audubon Zoo in New Orleans and went on a rampage, killing nine other animals at the zoo: five alpaca, three foxes and an emu.

The Post’s Cleve R. Wootson Jr. reported at the time: “Jaguars are opportunistic hunters that prey on more than 85 species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Their habitat ranges from the jungles of Central and South America, where they are considered ‘near threatened’ by the IUCN, to the southern regions of Arizona and New Mexico, where they are listed as an endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Lions and tigers are the only big cats that are bigger than jaguars, making the felines the biggest in the Americas.”

The president of the Humane Society of the United States urged zoos to “set a higher standard to protect people and to respect wildlife from a safe distance.”

People get the mistaken idea that wild animals are approachable,” Kitty Block said in a statement. “Throw in a healthy dose of poor judgment, and incidents like this are bound to happen.”

Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium houses more than 600 species, and the aquarium has more than 75 exhibits, including stingrays, penguins and sharks, according to the zoo’s Facebook page. Ollson told AZFamily.com that zoo officials will look at whether more barriers should be added to the exhibits to keep guests away from the animals.

On Sunday, the zoo assured people that “nothing will happen to our jaguar.”

“She’s a wild animal and there were proper barriers in place to keep our guests safe,” the zoo tweeted. “Not a wild animal’s fault when barriers are crossed.”

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Thursday, March 14, 2019 | 3

Snowmobile tracks ruin Tabor Mountain ski trails christine hinzmann 97/16 staff

97/16 photo by Christine Hinzmann

Diane and Norm Clark, avid back country skiers and members of the Hickory Wing Touring Ski Club and the Tabor Mountain Recreation Society, discovered the ski and snowshoe trails on Tabor Mountain were ruined a few days ago by a snowmobiler who broke the lock to get through the gate to gain access to the trails and then drove all over them. Below right photo provided by Norm Clark shows the signs on the gate with a new lock in place.

This is the map showing the trail system designated for skiers and snowshoers.

It takes a lot of hardlabour volunteer hours to maintain the pristine trails.

People might not think a snowmobile could damage a ski trail but it does.

Especially on the steep Tabor Mountain trail where traversing up the mountain might not be too treacherous but navigating back down the mountain over ridged snow-machine tracks certainly is not safe for skiers.

“When we went up there the other day we were expecting a nice layer of about 12 inches of snow to ski in but that wasn’t the case,” Norm Clark, president of the Hickory Wing Ski Touring Club, and member of the umbrella organization the Tabor Mountain Recreation Society, said.

Sometime during the previous few days, snowmobilers smashed the lock to release the chain that held the gate shut to gain access to the pristine ski and snowshoe trails groomed and maintained by the Tabor Mountain Recreation Society and the Hickory Wing Ski Touring Club, which works under the authority of Recreation Sites and Trails B.C. “As soon as it’s packed down it gets really slick for us,” Diane Clark, a member of the society and club who is also Norm’s wife, said. “And that’s not safe for us.”

The skiers and snowshoers only have about 30 km of trails on Tabor Mountain, while the rest of the 200+ kilometres of trails are there for the snow machine crowd.

Why ruin the skiing trails?

“Because they are really nicely groomed, wide open trails,” Diane said.

“When we go up to groom the trails, we take chain saws with us.”

Norm said sometimes there’s as many as six chain saws present during one of their many work parties where some of the 40 or so members of Hickory Wing spend hundreds of hours grooming the trails for hiking, skiing and snowshoeing.

Only to be ruined when snowmobilers decide to ride the trails, he added.

For many years the trails on the east side of the tower road have been designated a “non-motorized winter use area” and there are signs posted in several places to reflect this, Norm explained.

The main trailhead is located along Highway 16, five kilometres east of Tabor Mountain Resort in a parking area on the south side of the highway where there is an old BC Rail Boxcar, Norm added.

There is also access to the trails from Groveburn Road which runs along the east side of Tabor Lake.

This road is maintained only to the Groveburn gravel pit during the winter months. In the summer the road offers access to the communication towers at the top of the mountain.

In the winter months the Hickory Wing group leads twice-weekly ski outings, usually Sundays and Wednesdays.

“Tabor Mountain is our home away from home,” Norm said. “We spend a lot of time there because we enjoy it. Is it too much to ask that people respect our little area on the mountain so that we can ski and snowshoe safely?”

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In praise of our youth

I

have had the pleasure of driving high school students to phys ed classes at various locations in Prince George and that has had me loitering in the hallways while waiting for the students to collect.

This has afforded me the opportunity to see what happens during this period between classes.

Here is what I have witnessed the three times I have done this: the vast majority of students are walking down the hallway chatting with friends, on their phones talking to someone or alone.

Perhaps one or two kids were looking down at their phone.

One or two.

This goes contrary to the popular belief

Thinking aloud Trudy klassen

that the youth of today are abandoning all personal relationships for screen time.

A casual observation does not scientific research make but I was encouraged and reminded that while we may wring our hands in concern for our future generations, we need to give our youth the respect of acknowledging that they aren’t planning a life of disengagement, despondence, or ignorance, or of whatever we accuse them of.

These youth were chatting, making plans, cracking jokes, complaining, or whatever, just like generations before them. Times change, which means that the values of one generation are ordered differently than previous generations, but people don’t really change. The val-

ues people hold most important fluctuate over time.

If parents stress the value of hard work, their kids tend to value time off work.

If parents stress “taking one for the team,” their children may see the value in speaking up.

When parents value stuff, the next generation may value experiences.

When it seems that justice is not served and too many people get away with bad behaviour, the next generation focuses on impartiality and justice.

While that ebb and flow is natural, we do need to consider what it is we (those of us past high school) are leaving our youth to work with.

The decisions we make, or don’t make, have far-reaching effects for the future.

Not every mistake is equal in consequence and not every decision is equally easy to reverse.

When we overspend as a society and borrow from our grandchildren, for example, we are hobbling their freedom

to react to the concerns of their age. This is why the most important legacy we can leave is maximum freedom, in all its forms.

Perhaps in a future column I can explore the idea of looking at things through a long-term lens, but for now, go and hug, kiss, high-five, or whatever, the young student in your life.

They are in a difficult stage in life, with so many choices to make, and like anyone, can use a friendly smile.

••• UNBC students and other young adults are hosting Political Week at UNBC. Come check out what they are doing on March 15th from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at a talk with four different political views challenged by their own proponents, titled: What Conservatives (and everyone else) Get Wrong, in Room 7-238 at UNBC. Let’s hope there is a prize for the person who can most honestly trash his own political party’s errors.

This should be fun.

The town that kept a secret

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ullies are to be found everywhere.

So much so that a special day – April 27 – has been designated International Pink Day (Feb. 27 was Pink Shirt Day) to remind all that bullies can and must be stopped.

In schools, where bullies were accepted as a normal part of life, students have

the storeowner once and for all. At the banded together to stop bullying in its same time, most of the men of the town tracks. sidebars were meeting at the town hall in an But no to history community attempt to resolve the growing threat. willow arune The men present knew they had to act to has taken this as far as the small town of prevent a murder as the law was helpless Skidmore, Missouri (pop. 300). to stop the bully.

Matters there came to ahead one sumThe sheriff, unable to convince the mer day in 1981. A local bully by the men to follow the law, left the meeting name of Ken McElroy had terrorized the and drove out of town. town for ten years. From arson to theft, Leaving the town hall, the townsmen from rape to rustling, and various forms of intimidation and harassment, McElroy headed over to the saloon where McElroy was still drinking. Still blustering about had managed to avoid any charge using revenge, McElroy left the bar carrying his his faithful lawyer –and a bit of witness rifle and a six-pack of beer and got into tampering. his pickup, his wife Having left school in the passenger in Grade 5, McElroy The first shot rang out seat. could not read or followed by a few more.

The first shot rang write. His lawyer, McElroy, shot twice, was out followed by a it was said, was his few more. McElroy, only friend. dead or bleeding out. No shot twice, was dead One day in 1980, one called for an ambulance or bleeding out. No McElroy stopped by one called for an the town’s grocery nor did anyone bother to ambulance nor did store, a mom and shut off the running pickup. anyone bother to pop operation, and shut off the running sent his daughter pickup. and young son in to The later investigations found 46 witpick up a few things. A clerk spotted the nesses to the shooting, none of whom boy shoplifting some candy and ordered saw anything. All claimed to have hit the him out of the store. This was enough to ground following the first shot. McElroy’s enrage McElroy. He was out for revenge. wife tentatively identified one of the Later, he ambushed and shot the shooters but there was not enough evistoreowner at the rear of the grocery store. For the first time, he was criminally dence to lay charges. She did start a civil suit against one resident and the town, charged – with attempted murder. which was settled for under $20,000. A Legal footwork reduced this charge bully’s life does not have much value, it to assault and McElroy was convicted. seems.

His lawyer immediately appealed and Skidmore has kept its secret now for McElroy was released on $40,000 bail almost four decades. pending a further hearing. Immediately, Not one resident has come forward harassment of the grocery storeowner, either to confess or identify the shooters. his wife, and any potential witnesses Most of the 43 witnesses have died or left started. This was standard practice for town. anyone who crossed McElroy’s path.

As many bullies find out, the patience The D&G Saloon was one of the few and toleration of others never lasts amenities in the small farming commuforever. nity. On June 10, 1981, McElroy entered Eventually, the victims and others react carrying a bayoneted rifle graphically to shut the bully down. telling all that he was going to finish off

News Tip? Call 250-562-2441

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Thursday, March 14, 2019 | 5

Let’s listen to young voices

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elson Mandela said, “there can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way it treats its children.”

American news and social media were recently stirred up by a video of children meeting with Sen. Dianne Feinstein which has gone viral. The children represented a youth organization known as the Sunrise Movement, which advocates political action on climate change. They are strong supporters of the Green New Deal, currently being discussed in the American Congress.

In the shortened version of the video, Feinstein seems condescending with the young people who come into her constituency office in California. In the longer version of the video, however, one can see that, though she appears frustrated, Feinstein is trying to find common ground with the youth. Toward the end of the video, she is even seen helping one outspoken older teen to channel her political passion into an internship, presumably in her office.

As a professional educator, what I find most disturbing about this issue is the attitude toward the children expressed in the media. American journalists

Lessons in learning Gerry Chidiac

Chuck Todd and Andrea Mitchell, on the program Meet the Press, discussed how the incident made them uncomfortable.

Conservative activist Al Cardenas added, “I… would have resented anybody in their school pounding my kids with propaganda either left or right of any political issue.”

There are several things these commentators don’t seem to understand.

First of all, teachers follow a code of ethics which does not allow us to “pound kids with propaganda.”

According to my union, the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation, “the member speaks and acts toward students with respect and dignity, and deals judiciously with them, always mindful of their individual rights and sensibilities.”

It further states, “a privileged relationship exists between members and students. The member refrains from

exploiting that relationship for material, ideological, or other advantage.”

We present important issues to our students, but we must remain as unbiased as possible. If we do not, we can be disciplined.

Secondly, our young people are very passionate about the world around them and their place in it. They really do want to make the world better, and as the Sunrise Movement demonstrates, they are often willing to take an active role.

There is nothing uncomfortable about children taking a political stand. In fact, it is inspiring, and history is riddled with amazing and courageous young people. Craig and Marc Kielburger were in middle school when they began their activism. Their advocacy has grown into the Me to We movement, which is present in schools across the country and continues to empower youth to make the world better.

Malala Yousafzai began speaking out for the educational rights of girls in her country of Pakistan, and has become the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

The students of Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida re-

sponded to a school shooting by organizing the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C. in 2018.

As a teacher, I am appreciative when students challenge issues. Perhaps the reason why some adults are uncomfortable when young people speak is because they hold us accountable. If I am not living the ideals I am teaching, such as honesty and respect, they will certainly let me know.

My students hold me to a high standard and this not only makes me a better teacher, it makes me a better person.

The fact of the matter is that our young people look at the problems in the world and say, “let’s do something.”

They see beyond the political gerrymandering and self-interest and understand the impact certain issues can have on the future, their future.

We need not fear the voices of our children and youth. They have a wisdom and idealism which is potent and powerful. Let’s listen to them and give them the respect they deserve.

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

Novo Voce set for Sister Act frank peebles 97/16 staff

The award-winning local singing group Nove Voce won the right to represent Canadian choirs at the European Choral Games coming up this summer in Sweden.

The all-female ensemble is back to old habits for a fundraising show to offset the travel costs. They are hosting a doublefeature movie night with some creative twists added.

Fans are invited to come watch a couple of old choral singing cinematic favourites, Sister Act and Sister Act II: Back in the Habit, the franchise that left nun behind in the fun.

“Costumes are encouraged, singing along highly encouraged,” said event host Catherine Higgins, one of the members of the singing group. “There will be a costume contest, door prizes, popcorn and treats, and other games and prizes.”

The singalong to the sisters on screen happens March 29, 7 p.m., at the Stan

Shaffer Theater (Room 1-306) at the College of New Caledonia where Cinema CNC shows its series of movies.

These popular musical comedy films from the 1990s have an all-star cast of actors led by Whoopi Goldberg alongside Maggie Smith, Lauren Hill, Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, Mary Wickes, and appearances by Harvey Keitel, James Coburn, a young Jennifer Love Hewitt and many others.

Also starring in both these movies are their soundtracks, with great tunes played prominently like Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Get Up Offa That Thing, Dancing in the Street, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, Rescue Me, Shout and many others.

Sister Act will screen at 7 p.m., and the sequel at 9:30 p.m.

Tickets are $15 adults or $10 children and students for one film, or $20/$15 for both films.

They are available from any member of Nove Voce and on Monday they go on sale at Books & Company.

Have a sports tip? Call 250-562-2441

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Heritage elementary does Pink Day right Feb. 27 was Pink Day. Leadership students at Heritage Elementary School showed their support of this day in several ways.

They put up posters reminding all the school population to wear pink.

Leadership students went to classes and explained how Pink Day came into being.

They explained what bullying was and offered strategies for those being bullied and for bystanders who witnessed bullying.

They followed this with a skit that reenacted the pink shirt bullying situation that started the whole Pink Shirt day phenomeneon.

Every teacher was given a set of materials to review these ideas with their class and every student was given a “No Bullying Zone” colouring sheet.

In one intermediate class, a teacher, Ms. Beers, followed up with an assignment which asked students to consider bullying from three different perspectives, the bully, the victim and the bystander. They produced some amazing poems.

Here’s a sample:

The Bullied

by Dante Meyer I wonder if this will ever stop I hear their mean jokes I see their faces I want them to stop I am the bullied I pretend everything is OK I feel their punches

I wonder what she is feeling I hear her cries as she runs away I want to help but I am scared I am the bystander I pretend I don’t notice I feel useless I touch her shoulder to comfort her I worry the bullying will get worse I cry with her when we talk I am the bystander I understand the bully is only human I say kind words to comfort her I dream of a perfect world I try to help her but I get laughed at I hope I am not the only one seeing this I am the bystander

The Bully 97/16 photo by Brent Braaten

Heritage Elementary Grade 6 students are seen here with their poems they wrote for Pink Shirt Day. The poems considered bullying from three perspectives, the bully, the victim and the bystander. Left to right Dante Meyer, 11, (The Bullied), Ciara Collie, 11, (The Bystander) and Dylan Geriach, 11, (The Bully).

I touch my heart I worry if I even matter I cry myself to sleep I am the bullied I understand it will probably never stop I say, “I’m OK.” I dream that it will stop I try to make it stop

I hope that it will stop I am the bullied

The Bystander

by Ciara Collie I am the bystander

by Dylan Gerlach I am the bully I wonder why I bully I hear the pain in others I see my problems I want to stop I am the bully I pretend that it’s a joke I feel my anger I touch my heart and hope I learn from my mistakes I worry it won’t stop I am the bully I cry in my head I understand that it hurts them I know that I need help I dream that I stop I try to care I hope that it ends I am the bully

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Thursday, March 14, 2019 | 7

Sports

Are the Capitals ever going to the White House?

97/16 wire service

It’s been nine months since the Washington Capitals hoisted the Stanley Cup for the first time as a franchise, and while it took just a few days to parade the chalice down Constitution Avenue, they have yet to take it to the White House, as has become tradition for title-winning teams.

Now the Capitals have just one month left to complete that last bit of ceremony.

The organization remains in talks with the White House about a possible date to visit, according to a person with knowledge of situation, but time is running out with the regular season finale on April 6.

That’s an unofficial deadline for the Capitals, who are poised to be in the playoffs, at which point teams try to limit distractions for their players. If a date can be agreed on for a visit, it will most likely be at the end of this month, perhaps during Washington’s four-game homestand March 20-26.

The Clemson Tigers football team visited the White House just a week after their Jan. 7 victory over Alabama in the College Football Playoff national championship game, but that turnaround was considered abnormally quick. Most major professional championship teams have received invitations in recent years, though they’ve been met with some controversy during President Donald Trump’s administration.

Trump canceled the 2018 Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles’ visit to the White House after some players said they would skip the ceremony to protest the president and his rhetoric.

When the Golden State Warriors won the 2017 NBA championship, multiple players, including Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, said they would not visit the White House. They were later disinvited by Trump. The Warriors won another title last year, and rather than visit the White House during their trip to Washington in late January, they met with former president Barack Obama.

The team visited the National Museum of African-American History and Culture during their trip to Washington the previous February.

“I think we’ll have the Caps. I mean, we’ll see,” Trump said in June. “You know, my attitude is if they want to be here, the greatest place on Earth, I’m here. If they don’t want to be here, I don’t want them.”

97/16 file photo by Brent Braaten

Brett Connolly carries the Stanley Cup out of the Prince George Cougars dressing room prior to showing it off to 2,500 fans inside CN Centre last August.

After the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2017, they visited in October, a day before their game against the Capitals. Visiting the White House should be more convenient for a team based in Washington, but the limited options for an out-of-town club makes for a simpler choice of date and adds a sense of urgency.

The Capitals and the White House are believed to have discussed dates in January and February to no avail.

“What I have said is, we’re in Washington, D.C., and the players and the coaching staff have to decide,” team owner Ted Leonsis said in October. “I’m not going to influence, and if we go to the White

House, I will go to the White House...

I’m sure at some point as the season gets started, there’ll be a team meeting, and they’ll talk about it and come out and tell us what to do.”

The subject hasn’t been brought up within Washington’s locker room to this point, and in the week after they won the Stanley Cup, most Capitals players said they would want to visit the White House. “Can’t wait,” captain Alex Ovechkin said in June.

Forward Devante Smith-Pelly, who is black and Canadian, was the first to say he would not want to be part of a White House ceremony because “the things that [Trump] spews are straight-up racist and

sexist,” he said Smith-Pelly is no longer with the Capitals after he was waived and sent down to the American Hockey League in a salary cap-clearing move two weeks ago. Forward Brett Connolly later joined Smith-Pelly in saying he would also skip a White House visit.

“I don’t think it’s the right thing to do,” Connolly said, noting that “it has nothing to do with politics.”

“Everyone is entitled to their opinion,” added Connolly, who brought the Stanley Cup to Prince George in August.

“I think there’ll be a few guys not going, too. Like I said, it has nothing to do with politics. It’s about what’s right and wrong, and we’ll leave it at that.”

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Female refs coming to the NHL 97/16 wire service

Paul Stewart grew impatient waiting for Katie Guay to feel comfortable making history, so he finally did it for her.

The director of officiating for the Eastern College Athletic Conference’s (ECAC) hockey programs, Stewart informed Guay he scheduled her to referee a game between Union and Sacred Heart in 2015. She figured it was a routine women’s college hockey assignment – until he told her it was actually a men’s game, a step she had been reluctant to take.

“I don’t know if I’m ready,” she told him.

“Now you’re second-guessing me?” he fired back.

And just like that, Guay became the first woman to officiate in Division I men’s college hockey. Then last month, she served as a referee for a game between Harvard and Boston College in the Beanpot, the first woman official in the history of the prominent tournament.

Might she also become the first woman to referee an NHL game one day?

Of the five major professional sports, the NHL is the only major league to not have a woman officiate on its stage, exhibition or otherwise, and it is actively looking to change that. To help identify potential future officiating talent for the NHL and other professional leagues, the NHL has been encouraging women to participate in its annual combine.

NHL Director of Officiating Stephen Walkom said the league plans to reach out to Division I hockey coaches this year

97/16 news service photo

Referee Katie Guay watches a Boston College change during their Beanpot Tournament game against Harvard in an NCAA hockey game, Feb 4 in Boston.

She became the first female to referee a Beanpot Tournament game. for help spreading the word about the NHL Exposure Combine to their seniors, women in particular. The ideal candidate is a strong skater, to keep up in a game that’s as fast as it’s ever been. The appeal to players it’s a way to stay in hockey after their college career is over. Walkom even tried to sell Kendall Coyne Schofield on it as an option for the future after the U.S. women’s national team forward posted an impressive lap of 14.346 seconds in the NHL’s fastest skater competi-

tion at the All-Star Game in January.

Guay was one of seven women who were invited to the combine this past August, but she and two others had scheduling conflicts.

“I don’t think we really have a deadline for putting a woman [official] in the NHL,” Walkom said. “I think we want the most talented individuals doing our games regardless of who they are or where they’re from. Our big goal is to just deepen the pool of aspiring young officials, men and women, and get them involved and get them to try officiating, especially those that are great athletes and great skaters who played at a pretty high level. And then I know one day, somebody is going to like it enough and be good at it that one day we see them in pro hockey.”

Violet Palmer became the first woman to call an NBA game in 1997, and after Sarah Thomas made her debut as an NFL referee in 2015, she officiated a playoff game between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Chargers in January.

While there hasn’t been a female umpire in an MLB game, women have worked spring training games. Sandra Hunt, Nancy Lay and Kari Seitz all worked as centre referees in the MLS roughly two decades ago.

“What it comes down to is, it doesn’t take an X or a Y chromosome to stick your hand in the air and call a penalty,” said Stewart, who called more than 1,000 NHL games over two decades.

“Which lavatory you use doesn’t really matter to me. When I hire you, I hire you for your ability to recognize penalties and skate and get in shape and be where you need to be to make the call.”

Guay became a referee in 2006, when gas prices had just spiked and she needed some extra cash to recoup the money she was spending driving to and from women’s league games. She had played four years of college hockey at Brown, and she missed being in the rink. But what started as a part-time gig shifted to something more serious when Guay realized that officiating could lead her to international tournaments.

Stewart said he has six women on his officiating roster, including Guay, and he’s recruited them personally, constantly handing out his business card. Though Guay initially laughed off Stewart’s suggestion that she referee men’s Division I

games, she now works an equal amount of men’s and women’s games. After Guay refereed that Beanpot game between Boston College and Harvard, legendary Eagles coach Jerry York had some unsolicited feedback for Stewart. “She’s superb. What a great skater and good demeanor,” York told him.

“This isn’t a gimmick,” Stewart said.

“She’s got the right stuff.”

While the focal point will be the NHL level, Guay believes the path for adding more female officials needs to begin at the game’s lesser levels.

“I do think it’ll happen in my lifetime for a female to get out there in the NHL, but I think in order for it to happen, assigners at the lower level, the junior level, need to provide opportunities to females in order for us to see a female referee in the NHL,” Guay said. “As players develop and grow and make it to the show, officials are put on a similar path, so they need to be given the development at the lower levels first in order for them to work their way up... That’s something that I’m hoping, me being out there at the college level will open not only young kids’ eyes to realize that there’s potential out there, but also assigners’ eyes in providing more opportunities for females in the boys’ and men’s game.”

Two NHL players interviewed for this story were supportive of women refereeing their games, but they wondered if a woman could be a linesman, since that official is tasked with breaking up post-whistle scrums and fights. Elizabeth Mantha, who attended the NHL Exposure Combine in August, has worked as both a referee and a linesman in Quebec, and she said she’s had to break up a few fights in games with 15- to 17-year-old boys.

“But I’m 5-foot-10 almost, so for me, it’s OK,” she said. “I may not be as strong as a man, but I was able to do something at least... Sometimes you just need to talk in a fight and tell the players and guys to stop and just speak with them and work with them. Sometimes you can get away with that. We have tactics.”

Said Walkom: “We have less and less fighting in the game now than we ever have. You just need to be agile and quick and a great backwards skater and a great communicator as a linesman with some good hockey sense. I wouldn’t rule out one position over the other.”

Every official, man or woman, has had to deal with criticism and the occasional verbal abuse over their calls – and that’s part of the reason it’s so hard to not only recruit people to be officials but then get them to stick with it. Hockey Canada’s officiating registration for the 2017-18 season was 28,937 males and 2,024 females, and USA Hockey has 25,272 males and 1,561 females for 2018-19.

Mantha said she’s the only woman who officiates men’s games in Quebec, which puts and even bigger spotlight on her “It’s really a hard world to be in,” she said. “They’re going to try to take advantage of the fact that we’re women and think maybe that we’re maybe more soft and we don’t apply the rules and we can get run over.”

Guay is often asked about how male coaches and players regard her. Her answer is that she’s usually treated like any other official, which is all she wants.

“Getting a few f-bombs is really a sign of respect because that means they’re not treating me any differently than any of the other officials out there,” she said.

“It’s been a lot of fun.”

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Bordens hit the right notes Seniors’ Scene Kathy Nadalin

J

im Borden was born in 1943, in Grand Prairie, Alta. His mother had to travel by train from Demmitt to the hospital in Grand Prairie for the delivery and then back home again by train with her new baby. Jim was the fourth of five children. His father was a homesteader and life was not easy on the farm or in the small town where he grew up.

Jim said, “There was no electricity in the school or in the family home. There was no running water and in fact we used to laugh and call the river our artesian well.”

Jim was born a few days before Christmas and he always quips that he was the best Christmas present his mom ever received.

He graduated from high school in Demmitt, attended the B.C. Institute of Technology (BCIT) and earned his Class A electrical contractor’s license and his interprovincial ticket.

In 1963 Jim was working in Fort St. John as an electrician’s helper. He was sent to Giscome for a two-day job to add updates to the electrical system for the area sawmill.

He finished the job in Giscome and never returned to his job in Fort St. John.

Instead he was hired as an electrical helper by the Electric Power Equipment

he was 10 years old, he made a baptismal font for the church in his hometown and as far as he knows the font is still there.

When he was 12, he built an 8x12 detached bedroom because he wanted to live independently.

Jim always succeeded at whatever he did – mainly because if it didn’t work out the first time he tried again and again until it did work out. He maintained a can-do attitude in all that he did both during his entire working career and into his retirement.

He built his own shop in 1990 and spends much of his time puttering away with a variety of new ideas or perfecting old ideas.

He is a perfectionist in all aspects of his woodworking. He can make anything from cabinets right down to musical instruments.

His first attempt at making a musical instrument was when he ordered a kit to 97/16 photos by Brent Braaten make a mandolin.

Jim said, “The parts were not accurate Jim and Brenda Borden are seen in Jim’s shop where he makes guitars, violins and they were poorly built. The manand other instruments. dolin ended up with no quality at all so I threw it in the fireplace and built one from scratch. Right then and there I was Prince George looking for work. company in Prince George for the next hooked on making musical instruments.

She was working in the office of the 10 years.

“I started sourcing out my own wood Electric Power Equipment company It was during this time that he met and from local trees. Then I dried it, sawed it when she met future husband. married Brenda Barry. Brenda was born and graded it. That was just the first step Jim said, “She was there for awhile in Dryden, Ont. and raised in Kimberley. toward a finished before I spotted her.

When she was six months old, Brenda product. I had an My work took me and her mother traveled by train to understanding of out of town a lot so Kimberley to join her father who was an end-grain and an I was just lucky to working in the Sullivan Mine. edge-grain and that have met her. To Brenda graduated from high school is the secret and the and along with some friends, she came to make a long story art of understanding short we met, we the configuration of got married, built wood structure.” our family home in Over the years 1972 and the rest is he built more than history.”

40 mandolins, 25 Jim worked for H. guitars, 20 fiddles, N. Smith Electric for two mandola’s and five years. Later he a base fiddle (also formed a partnerknown as a dogship and bought house) just to name Bater Electric. They a few. closed the company He not only builds eight years later. stringed musical Jim and Albert instruments, he is Tosoff partnered also known all over and formed Borden B.C. for his ability to and Tosoff Electric. repair them.

After 18 years, they Years ago, Jim was closed the company invited to appear on and Jim retired. a local TV show to Jim and Brenda talk about his projhave three sons; ects and to explain Doug (Gillian), Dan the steps involved and Brian (Kirby) in making musical who in turn gave instruments. them five grandsons. Mandolin built by Jim Borden.

There is no sign Jim said, “Brenda of Jim retiring because now there is a was a stay-at-home mom for 16 years. demand for ukuleles.

During that time, she taught our boys to He volunteered and was part of the be resilient, compassionate and how to Andy Mackie project for four years. stand on their own two feet. The family The project consisted of a group that always came first. She was creative in made small learning guitars that were their activities and always tried to make donated to be used as a teaching tool for every event interesting and fun. We are children. both proud to say that our boys turned He volunteered to assist in the electriout just fine.” cal wiring for the Little League conBrenda started working at the Prince cession stand and their score keeping George Public Library in 1984 and then buildings. He also assisted in the building moved to the Nechako Branch Library in and the wiring of the Emmanuel United the Hart Highway area until she retired Church on the Hart.

30 years later.

Jim has been a member of the Old She has been active at her church and volunteered with anything to do with her Time Fiddlers for nearly 25 years.

I asked Jim what the difference was three boys. between a violin and a fiddle and his oneWoodworking has always been Jim’s word answer was “attitude.” passion pretty much all of his life. When

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Health

Pregnancy finally getting research attention 97/16 wire service

For two years, a group of world-class scientists pitched their idea for a hot new biotech company to investors: a start-up focused on a promising therapy for preeclampsia, a serious pregnancy complication that can become life-threatening.

It was cutting-edge science, backed by a Nobel laureate, a Harvard kidney specialist, a leading chemist and a biologist with both expertise and personal experience.

Eventually, they gave up – not on the science, and not on preeclampsia – but on the investors.

“We talked to so many different venture capitalists and other companies. The scientists and doctors would get excited,” said Melissa Moore, a University of Massachusetts Medical School scientist who began working on preeclampsia after she suffered from it in 2003 and was put on bed rest for more than a month, only to give birth seven weeks early to a baby girl who weighed less than four pounds.

“But as soon as their lawyers heard ‘sick, pregnant women,’ nothing happened,” Moore said. “There’s such a sense of liability.”

Moore and her colleagues’ experience highlights a persistent problem in medical research. The effect of medicines on pregnant women and their fetuses is rarely studied. Basic understanding of pregnancy itself is full of gaping scientific holes, mysteries that include how the placenta forms and what, exactly, controls the timing of birth. Some pregnancy experts call the placenta, an organ that is necessary for all human reproduction, the Rodney Dangerfield of the human body because it gets “no respect.”

The default assumption has long been – and, to a large extent, still is – that it’s essential to protect pregnant women from research, rather than ensure they benefit from its rapid progress. But concerted pressure from scientists and advocates is slowly beginning to change policy and research culture.

Activists successfully pushed for more women to be included in medical research in the 1990s, but pregnant and lactating women have largely been left behind. Now, another round of activism that began a decade ago is pushing new thinking on pregnancy.

Some researchers note that pregnant women are increasingly being studied in their own right – and not just as the environment in which a fetus develops.

Recent evidence suggests that pregnancy complications may predict women’s susceptibility to dementia or heart disease decades later.

The medical attitude toward pregnancy was shaped more than half a century ago by the thalidomide crisis, when women who took the medication for morning sickness had babies with birth defects.

The incident helped launch the modern era of U.S. drug regulation, with requirements to prove the effectiveness and safe-

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Stephanie Hinze holds her son Harrison, 2, at home in Gainesville, Ga. Hinze, who suffers from spina bifida, is five months pregnant with her third child. ty of drugs before they could be approved for sale. Pregnant women, however, are typically left out of such research.

One study found that the risks to human pregnancy were “undetermined” in 98 per cent of prescription drugs approved between 2000 and 2010. An analysis of historical data showed it took nearly three decades to get more precise risk information. That’s despite the fact that of the six million women in the United States who are pregnant each year, 90 per cent take at least one medication.

Anne Drapkin Lyerly, a bioethicist and obstetrician at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that there is a deep-seated norm to leave pregnant women out of clinical trials, reinforced by policies that have classified them as “vulnerable” and institutional rules that have made it easier to avoid considering the potential risks and benefits altogether.

“If you want to exclude a pregnant woman from research, all you’ve got to do is check the box; she’s excluded, no explanation needed,” Lyerly said. “If you want to include her, there’s a whole slew of paperwork and decisions, and you have to justify your decision.”

Taking women out of the vulnerable category is a long way from changing their access to drug trials or changing the incentives drug companies have to include them, but advocates say it’s a long-overdue start. Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also released draft guidance on when to include women in clinical trials, laying out the case that there is a “critical public health need” for more information on how to

use drugs safely in pregnant women.

For people who are pregnant or hope to conceive, the unknowns extend far beyond what drugs women can safely take.

The National Institutes of Health, which tracks its research funding on nearly 300 health categories, ranging from rare Batten disease to ubiquitous allergies, only began breaking out its spending on pregnancy, maternal health and breastfeeding in 2017.

Stephanie Hinze, 37, of Atlanta, suffers from spina bifida and has used a wheelchair since she was eight years old.

When she and her husband decided to conceive, there was little information for her to rely on – except for an informal network of other women with disabilities who had already had children. Concerns included whether it was safe to carry a child at all; fertility questions; whether she was gaining weight at the right rate, given that doctor’s offices weren’t equipped with accessible scales; and what to do when she couldn’t feel the baby moving due to a decreased lack of sensation in her abdomen.

Hinze, who has two sons, one of whom is adopted, is now pregnant for the second time. She says she was lucky – her first pregnancy went smoothly and her medical team was supportive, contrasting with anecdotes she has heard from others. But at each step, they were solving new puzzles.

My doctor, while he was great and very receptive, didn’t know everything to expect. As things happened, during the pregnancy, he’d say, ‘Let’s deal with this issue and let’s figure this out.’ “ Hinze said. “You don’t want to go in and your

doctor’s not entirely sure what the solution will be for what’s going on.”

NIH last year partnered with the CDC to survey how disabled women experience pregnancy. The questions they hope to answer include: are they more likely to develop complications? Does disability affect women’s ability to breast-feed?

What is their basic experience of pregnancy like?

“We don’t know,” said Alison Cernich, director of the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research, describing the evidence gap around disability and pregnancy that she attributes to a “quadfecta” of barriers for women: Women’s health is often overlooked, many disabled women belong to ethnic groups that do not receive optimal care due to bias, many disabled people experience poverty, and disabilities are often stigmatized.

The basic science of pregnancy, too, is getting a closer look, as NIH has so far funded $76 million in research projects to study the human placenta, the temporary organ that provides oxygen and nutrients to the fetus. The recent discovery that it is possible to grow a miniature version of the placenta in a laboratory setting may help scientists understand fundamental questions about how it develops, in part in response to secretions from the uterus.

“Even in the 21st century, we don’t know what’s in the secretions, we don’t know the composition of them, which the whole of the future of the human species depends on,” said Graham Burton, a professor of the physiology of reproduction at the University of Cambridge.

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Great team behind MLA Bond christine hinzmann 97/16 staff

Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond credits her team for her successful career in politics.

Bond’s team includes Dorothy Titchener, who is in charge of Bond’s very busy schedule, setting up events and meetings. Titchener also meets with concerned constituents seeking help from their MLA and representing Bond when she is unable to attend public events.

Luckily for Titchener, who has worked with Bond since 2007, the other full-time member of the team, Krystine Iley, who is the frontline worker at the office, will soon be taking over some of the speaking engagements once relegated to Titchener.

Iley, who joined the team in 2016, enjoys taking on the challenge of public speaking and considers it part of her professional development.

Rounding out the team is Tegan Raines, who has worked one day a week for up to five hours since 2013 doing electronic filing, event research and odd jobs like shredding, creating front-window posters and filling the photo copier.

Raines takes her job very seriously and always wants to help.

She is a great asset to the team especially when it comes to the many events hosted by Bond.

Raines puts up posters around town and canvasses for door prizes and gifts for Bond’s annual Seniors tea.

a great work environment, a great relationship with the people you work with, is so important.”

Bond is very aware having an intergenerational staff is an important component.

Iley is a busy mom of two young children, while going to school and managing a full-time job.

Seeing Iley navigate her life is a really good reminder about what a typical family looks like in today’s society, Bond said.

“Krystine brings a very important perspective to files that’s very pragmatic so Dorothy and I also learn from her and we value that,” Bond said. “I have appreciated my own personal growth and watching the two of them grow has been really energizing for me.”

Iley has two children, three-year-old Scarlette and one-year-old Lincoln and is attending UNBC with a major in accounting and minor in economics.

“I love working for Shirley but I don’t think I could do her job,” Iley said.

“Working here I have learned so much about our provincial government, the structure of it, how it works, how ministries operate with one another and MLA offices. I have a big interest in political 97/16 photo by Brent Braaten science now and how our government The team behind MLA Shirley Bond, centre, includes Dorothy Titchener, left, operates, which I didn’t think I would be and Christine Iley. interested in but I am very much interested in it, so I would like to follow along this path politically and stay in this type really need in this office is people who “The strength of our team – first of all of constituency work.” are committed to serving the public. So we’re friends, as well as employee and Iley said no day is ever the same and while I might be the elected person, my employer,” Bond said. “I think what we she likes that. team works so hard behind the scenes A big part of the job is helping people and directly with constituents to solve find their way through bureaucracy and problems.” advocating for them.

Bond said that getting to yes is always They celebrate the victories when they the priority and getting a no only presare able to help the ents a challenge that single mom, the seneeds to be over“I have appreciated my own nior and the woman come. who lost her purse.

Each victory is cel- personal growth and Bond and her ebrated as if it were watching the two of them team not only host their own, because grow has been really events like the when a problem is Seniors’ Tea and the solved for a person energizing for me.”

International Womin need, it’s a win Shirley Bond, MLA en’s Day Breakfast for everyone. but also participate Bond said Titchin many fundraisers ener and Iley always within the commugo the extra mile. nity like the Relay for Life, Kidney Walk, “My team has a great deal of caring Alzheimer’s Walk and the Big Bike for and a passion for solving the problem,” Heart and Stroke.

Bond said, who started out as a school “One of the many benefits of this job trustee and was chair for a term before is that we’ve gotten to know the many she started her provincial political career organizations in this community,” Bond in 2001. She is currently in her fifth term said. “We love our community and we as an MLA. Working under Bond’s guidance, Titch- feel strongly about giving back.”

Bond said a big part of the motivation ener said she has developed into a person to keep doing her job is that she lives she never thought she could become.

“I never would have believed in me like here, too.

“And I care deeply,” Bond said. “This she has,” Titchener said of rising up to is not a 9-to-5 job. I take my work home the many challenges that come with bewith me and so does my team and I’m so ing part of a public-service team. grateful for that.”

“That’s one of the things we really When Bond must appear in the legislaenjoy about being part of this team is ture that means she is only in the Prince watching each other grow,” Bond said.

George office on Fridays.

“And that includes me. They also chalShe takes a homework bag with her to lenge me to think realistically. I can be be completed by Sunday evening, returns a really great ideas person and then we it to the office and after that she stays in have to figure out how to deliver that.” touch with her team from Victoria.

Bond said she’s seen both Titchener “While I may be the face of the orgaand Iley grow throughout their jobs and nization this office would not operate they encourage her growth as well. without great staff,” she added. “They “To be honest they give a me a lot of work tirelessly to meet the needs of constrength every day,” Bond said. “Because stituents who come through the door. I when you come in to the office and there’s a lot of work on your plate, having am very blessed to have my team.”

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Scene

Exhibit offers glimpse into farm life frank peebles 97/16 staff

Cliff Mann knows from experience that chickens aren’t always the charmingly oblivious strutters of the barnyard.

The one he painted as the lead image for his new art exhibition is the kind of chicken he knew back in childhood, the one that looks you in the eye with a “you want a piece of me?” attitude – the Alpha Chicken. You can find Grade A chicken at the butcher shop, but you’ll find this Type-A chicken at his upcoming event.

“This bird means business. Look at it, it’s staring into your soul,” said a chuckling Lisa Redpath, the curator of the Community Arts Council’s feature gallery at Studio 2880. Redpath has booked Mann for previous art shows, he was once the CAC’s artist-in-residence, and he is also a past Art Battle champion. He is one of the city’s preeminent painters.

“I knew he was up for a challenge,” Redpath said. “We have been able to develop a unique and close working relationship with Cliff over the years, and if anyone could take on a challenge like this, it was him.”

That’s some bold barnyard talk.

The chicken led to discussions about a series and that theme comes unveiled on March 14. Animal Farm may have been a bestselling satire novel in the hands of George Orwell, but it’s a colourful depiction of local rural life under the brush of Cliff Mann. And it all got hatched because of that engrossing gallina.

“Some family members sent me a photo of a chicken and I loved it, it grabbed my attention right away, and I thought ‘one day I’m going to have to paint this’,” said Mann. “Half an hour later, it became someday. Once you’re rolling, you start thinking about it, turning ideas over in your mind, one thing leads to another, and before I knew it I had nine paintings and I have more in the works.”

Mann is a watercolour specialist, but transitioned there several years ago from oil and other painting genres. He has done street-scapes and nudes using his new style. He has done speed-painting events like Art Battle and deliberately careful activities like book illustrations.

He makes watercolour do things wide outside the usual scenes of that style (see: florals, long-distance landscapes, semiabstract conceptual images).

“I don’t like the pale, pasty, old-English styles of watercolour we grew up with,” he said. “I want to play with the colour palette, with achieving detail, and treat watercolour more like an oil painter would approach the craft.”

The evidence of this blurring of boundaries, said Redpath, is in the way the filaments of a feather or the strands of hair are represented by Mann. S he said his animals “appear like ones you’d recognize if you walked onto their farm and saw them standing there.

There’s nothing cartoonish about any of them.”

You actually can walk onto the farm of many of these animals in the Cliff Mann Animal Farm. There’s a portrait of Penny, a real horse rescued from abuse near Fraser Lake. There’s a horse saddled and ready for a ride into the backcountry near Houston. There’s a rabbit at Huble Farm. Some of these critters he knows personally, and some are friends of friends who sent him photos.

Some photos he even got from a callout he posted on Facebook. Only one of those responses he refuses to paint.

“I was sent an alpaca photo, and I am just not there yet. Too difficult,” he said.

“It’s an amazing picture, I was blown away, but the hair of an alpaca is unique and I’m going to have to work up to it. If I can pull off an alpaca, I’ll have done my job.”

Mann grew up on a farm about two hours west of Prince George, where cows were milked and eggs were gathered and predators would do the murder of the circle of life. Farms are pastoral and idyllic settings, but they are also places where pain and loss and difficulty grow as naturally as the hay and vegetables.

These conditions are subliminally imbedded into these animal scenes, as Mann contends with realism in the dabs and slashes of paint.

Animal Farm opens its gates today at Studio 2880 (located in the gift shop at 2880 15th Ave.) with a free public reception starting at 5 p.m.

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Cliff Mann created this image of a chicken using water colour. This painting and many other works can be seen in an exhibit at Studio 2880.

Captain Marvel cheers theatres after a dismal start to 2019 97/16 wire service

Oscar winner Brie Larson delivered a superhero-sized jolt to theatres with her portrayal of the comic-book character Captain Marvel, waking up fans of blockbuster movies from their long winter slumber.

The film from Walt Disney Co.’s Marvel division opened with North American weekend sales of $153 million, researcher Comscore Inc. estimated Sunday in an email. Forecasts ranged from a low of

$125 million from Disney to $175 million, the mean projection from Box Office Pro. Captain Marvel also opened in international markets, and Disney estimated the global weekend take at $455 million, the sixth-biggest ever.

The domestic tally makes Captain Marvel the biggest opening of the year and could signal a rebound for theatre owners, whose sales were down 26 per cent year to date as of last weekend. Disney, the box-office leader in recent years, has several potential blockbusters lined

up in coming weeks, including a Dumbo live-action remake later this month and Avengers: Endgame in late April.

It’s been a longish dry spell for fans of big action films, which explains the drought in sales for theatre owners. So far this year, the biggest weekend film was How to Train Your Dragon at $55 million in February. The last big hit was Warner Bros.’s Aquaman opened in late December to $68 million and went on to collect $1.14 billion worldwide.

Captain Marvel breaks new ground for

Disney. It’s the first female-led superhero movie from Marvel, the master of bigscreen comic-book films.

The studio also enlisted a woman to co-direct the picture, in another first for the company.

Not surprisingly, no other major studio opened a new film in competition with Captain Marvel.

Larson, 29, won the Oscar for best actress in 2016 for Room, about a woman and her young son who were held captive for seven years.

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Events for this week Youth-Centred Performance

BC Old Time Fiddlers’ Dance

Tonight from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Omineca Arts Centre, 369 Victoria St., attend the youth-centred evening of performances with Kym Gouchie and Francis Arevalo on healthy environments and communities. The event will be held with free admission. Contact 250-508-3410 or vanessa.sloan.morgan@gmail.com

Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Elks Community Hall (old Moose Hall), 663 Douglas St., enjoy toe-tapping live music to swing your partner. A chance to do the old-time dances like polka, waltz, schottishe, barn dance, 7 step, two step. Ticket includes a light lunch. Cash bar. Contact 250-5631025 or beth.bressette@telus.net.

Scalawag album release show

Family Gaming Afternoons

Tonight from 8 to 10 p.m. at Nancy O’s, 1261 Third Ave., Scalawag, a solo musician, offers an eclectic mix of genres and distinct vocals. Admission is by minimum $5 at the door. Contact 250-643-3576 or thescalawagmusic@gmail.com.

Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. at Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way, bring the whole family to this gaming afternoon. Choose from tabletop board games or video games. Contact 250-563-9251 or ask@ pgpl.ca .

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Theatre NorthWest, 556 North Nechako Rd., based on the 1988 slap-stick comedy starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels follows the story of two men who con their way through a series of beautiful women on the French Riviera. This show features catchy songs, farcical humour, and a plot twist. Tickets are $10 for UNBC and CNC students with valid ID, and $15 for non-students. For tickets visit tickets.theatrenorthwest.com.

Open Drum Circle

Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. at Omineca Arts Centre, 369 Victoria St, there is an Open Drum Circle to build community.

This is an inclusive activity exploring drum ceremony as we use it to learn and promote Indigenous and Dakelh languages, knowledge, cultures and histories. Everyone is welcome to participate, share, dance, learn or observe.

For more information visit www.ominecaartscentre.com.

New Horizons Adult Band

Every Monday until June 24 at 5 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 483 Gillett St., Alban Classical New Horizons Adult Band is welcoming musicians. Contact: 250563-4693 | admin@albanclassical.org

Minecraft Monday

Monday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Bob Harkins Branch, Sky Lab, 888 Canada Games Way, children between the ages of five and 12 are invited to join in the fun.

Limited registration.

Contact: 250-563-9251 ext. 108 | ask@pgpl.ca

Stitch ‘n’ b!tch

Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Omineca Arts Centre, 369 Victoria St., attend a cozy evening of crafting and tea. Bring projects or try something new. Drop-in by donation. For more information visit www.ominecaartscentre.com.

Wheelchair Basketball

Every Monday until April 15 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Northern Sports Centre (NSC), 3333 University Way, P.G. LumberJacks wheelchair basketball is a Rec North drop-in program at the Northern Sports Centre. No experience is necessary and all equipment including sports wheelchairs is available. Everyone welcome. Free for NSC members and youth under 13 years or $6 drop-in rate for non-members. Call 250-613-5187 or email pgwheelchairbball@gmail.com.

Teen Tabletop Meet Up

Every Monday until May 27 from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way, try your hand at a variety of tabletop games. All experience levels welcome. Bring your own decks for MtG, Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh. For 13 to 18 yrs.

For more information call 250-563-9251 or email ask@pgpl.ca.

Conscious Dance

Tuesday from 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. at Omineca Arts Centre, 369 Victoria St., conscious dance/authentic movement for mental, physical, social, spiritual and cultural rebalancing for every body will be offered. This inclusive event is

open and beneficial to every community member. Bring a yoga mat or blanket, warm socks, water bottle, comfy clothes – whatever you like to wear and come as you are. This movement is about being non judgmental, about reconnecting with body, mind, community space through rhythm and music. Hosted by Sacredsouldance. Admission is by donation. For more information visit www. ominecaartscentre.com.

Wheelchair Rugby

Every Tuesday until May 28 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the College of New Caledonia , 3330 22 Ave., wheelchair rugby program runs weekly. No experience is necessary and all equipment including sports wheelchairs are available. Everyone welcome. BC Wheelchair Sports annual membership is $10. In this full-contact sport, athletes play in tank-like wheelchairs and hit each others’ chairs in an attempt to carry a ball across the line. For more information call 250-649-9501 or email Northern@bcwheelchairsports.com.

A Day with Kym Gouchie

Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bob Harkins Branch, Prince George Public Library, 888 Canada Games Way, everyone is invited to join Kym Gouchie, a member of the Lheidli T’enneh, will share her music and art, tell soul-touching stories about the land and the people, while promoting reconciliation.

From 10 a.m. to noon everyone is welcome at this creative workshop featuring shaker-making and rock painting.

Bring your own special rocks. From 1 to 2 p.m. bring your shakers and enjoy Kym Gouchie’s inspirational music. Contact 250-563-9251 or ask@pgpl.ca.

Tea ‘n’ Beads ‘n’ Bannock

Wednesday from 7 to 10 p.m. at Omineca Arts Centre, 369 Victoria St., there is a community beading circle hosted by Lynette La Fontaine, a Metis artist who blends traditional art and teachings with contemporary flair in the form of acrylic paintings and beadwork.

This is not a class, but a place to bring beading projects and sit together to inspire, connect and learn from one another. Everyone is welcome.

Admission is by donation.

For more information visit www.ominecaartscentre.com.

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News

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This is the front page of the Wednesday March 12, 1919 edition of the Prince George Citizen.

The Citizen archives are available at the Prince George Library’s website at pgnewspapers.pgpl.ca

News

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T h u r s d a y , M a r c h 1 4 , 2 0 1 9 | 19

First time down the waterslide Home Again Megan kuklIs

W

ith the impending destruction and rebuild of the Four Seasons Leisure Pool, I have been feeling rather nostalgic about the ol’ girl. She has been well-loved. The roof tiles are stained, the floors are less than sparkly but, in her bones, the Four Seasons still gives it her all to the community.

When I was growing up, the Four Seasons was all we had, except for birthday parties at Esther’s Inn and we loved to go.

Swimming lessons were a part of our school curriculum and we spent ages at the pool begging the lifeguards to turn on the waterslide and the water fountain.

Now I still spend ages at the pool but in a different capacity: mom on the sidelines.

As a child, I did not understand the appeal of sitting on the bench with your socks off and your pants rolled up when you could be swimming instead. I still don’t understand the appeal. It is hot, muggy, my glasses fog up and the floor is sloshy.

I have become the incredibly lame superhero “Mom Who Carries the Bags of Stuff and Makes Sure You Are Listening to the Instructor.”

It is not a glamourous job but someone has to do it – like my husband, next

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The Four Seasons Leisure Pool is seen in 2017. week.

And sitting on the sidelines is often preferable to getting in your swimsuit, getting in the pool, getting out of the pool and getting dressed again, all within a half hour.

Although being the Mom Who Carries the Bags is not my ideal way to spend an evening (which would be alone, reading), it can provide a wonderful opportunity to watch your kids grow and develop confidence in themselves.

After the panic at the pool last week (where I lost sight of my son when he

New ALS support group starts April 10 97/16 staff

A Prince George woman is ready to facilitate a support group for those living with ALS. Deborah Miller has just completed her training, the ALS Society of B.C. said.

The meetings will be held the second Wednesday of the month. The first meeting will be on April 10 at St. Giles’ Presbyterian Church, 1500 Edmonton St., 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

The groups provide an open, friendly and safe environment for ALS patients, family members, friends and caregivers to discuss issues related to living with ALS. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a degenerative disease that affects the brain and spinal cord and causes a loss of control of voluntary muscles.

For more information, call Miller at 250-230-4742.

went into the changeroom), I am really trying not to overreact and to allow the kids to expand their boundaries even though it makes my heart hurt.

So when my son asked me if he can go on the waterslide, I told him yes (he still had to wear a lifejacket because he is not the strongest swimmer yet). He looked at me, surprised, I imagine, and asked if I could go down the water slide with him.

Carrying all the stuff and wearing my regular clothes, I gently explained that I wasn’t wearing a bathing suit so if he wanted to go, he would have to go down

by himself. He looked worried.

He put on his lifejacket and watched the kids go down. He looked up at the top of the slide. He bobbed a bit, standing there in his lifejacket, jittering with indecision. Finally, he took off his lifejacket and went back into the pool.

We talked a bit about how it was okay to be nervous and that he would be able to do it eventually. Three more kids came down the slide laughing and he couldn’t handle it anymore so he jumped out of the pool, pulled on a lifejacket and hurried up the stairs.

The lifeguard, a young woman who was perfect with my son, encouraged him when he started to get scared at the top of the slide. When it looked like he wasn’t going to go down, she asked him if he wanted to watch some of the other kids go down so he knew what it was going to be like.

I went to the bottom of the stairs so he could see me and the lifeguard said that it was okay, he was just getting comfortable.

I gave him a thumbs up and waved to him and, I swear, the whole pool cheered when he went down (even if they didn’t, I certainly did).

I was so proud of him.

He came down the slide and waved at me enthusiastically right before slamming into the pool.

He swam over to the edge and ran right back up the slide for another go.

Next up, more adventures in letting go – his sister still needs to go down by herself, too.

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