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P.G. hosting three-day rock fest Citizen staff Classic rock fans had best strap in. Pacific Western Brewing, in partnership with CN Centre and RG concerts, is expanding its popular yearly concert to become a full three-day festival featuring a lineup of 11 fabled bands. The lineup will include the Australian classic rock staple Little River Band, former Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive frontman Randy Bachman and B.C.’s own alt-rock legends 54-40. The Cariboo Rocks The North festival will be held at Exhibition Park from Aug. 10-12. Organizers hope to draw 4,000 music fans from throughout the north and the interior. Tickets for the full-day pass will run for $149.50, while advance day passes will cost $59.50. The mostly-Canadian lineup will feature Prism, Headpins,
Honeymoon Suite, Nick Gilder & Sweeney Todd, Toronto, Little River Band, Kim Mitchell, Harlequin, Platinum Blonde, 54-40, and Randy Bachman. “As far as I know, nothing of this scale has ever been done on this site, and it is likely the largest music festival ever held on the Prince George city limits,” said CN general manager Glen Mikkelsen. The event is the third installment of the yearly PWB-sponsored festival. Last year’s concert at the Pacific Western Brewery featured Can-rock legends Trooper and April Wine. Tickets sold out in 27 hours. Mikkelsen said the festival hopes to build on the success of other classic rock festivals in the region, including Rock the River in Saskatoon and Rock the Lake in Kelowna. Tickets can be purchased at ticketsnorth.ca, or by calling 1-888293-6613.
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54-40 returns to Prince George in August to play the three-day Cariboo Rocks the North festival at Exhibition Park from Aug. 10-12.
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Indigenous elder housing centre opens Citizen staff B.C.’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing was on hand or the official opening of a new housing complex intended to provide low-income indigenous elders and seniors a place to call home. Located at 1811 Spruce, St. in Prince George, Ts’oo Yoh, or House of Spruce, is being operated by the Aboriginal Housing Society of Prince George. The three-story building contains 27 one-bedroom units with rental rates from $667 to $765 per month. Most, but not all, of the units are now occupied. Accommodation like this is “desperately needed throughout the province,” Selina Robinson said in a speech to about 30 people in the
complex’s courtyard. The project was made possible through a partnership between four entities: - The province provided $4.3 million in capital funding and $1.25 million in construction financing; - The AHSPG contributed land equity valued at $276,000, and $1 million cash equity; - The city provided a 10-year municipal tax exemption on the value of the improvements and waived the development cost charges and development fees; - M’akola Development Services, which guided the project through the process of securing funding and permits, contributed in-kind services of $250,000. Ts’oo Yoh could be just the beginning as Robinson highlighted
the fact that $7 billion over 10 years was committed in February to created 114,000 new homes across the province and noted proposals for indigenous housing are being accepted right now. “That’s a very strong hint to get them in,” Robinson added. Also, starting Sept. 1, more than 17,000 low-income seniors will see their rent supplements increase by an average $930 per year, and 700 new senior households will become eligible for the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters program. “We want seniors to be able to stay in their communities, we want them to be able to stay where their supports and their friends and their family are, where they’re familiar and where it’s affordable,” Robinson said.
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Ts’oo Yoh, the House of Spruce, a 27-unit Indigenous seniors housing complex run by the Aboriginal Housing Society of Prince George is now open.
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Grieving nephew hits road on Walk to Remember Citizen staff It’s been nine months since Frances Brown went missing in Smithers after she failed to return from a mushroom picking excursion near the Highway of Tears. She was separated from the group. They all returned to the truck. She did not. After a series of extensive searches was headed up by RCMP, no trace of Brown was found. Nephew Matthew Jefferson decided things need to be different and is making the trek from the Pacific to the Atlantic to renew awareness for the murdered and missing Indigenous women in Canada on his Walk to Remember. He started his journey June 1 from Victoria, making his way to Tofino as part of his training, and will end his walk in St. John’s, Newfoundland in March. Jefferson walked into Prince George earlier this month, making a stop at
the Lheidli T’enneh House of Ancestors on Third Avenue where he was able to reunite with his grandmother, several aunties and other relatives. It was a poignant moment as Frances’ mother, Irene Brown, with few words and many tears wrapped her arms around her grandson, Jefferson, to share the burden of grief over her missing child. “It’s overwhelming to be here with my family and the love we share for each other and we all have to pull together,” Jefferson said. “To see my grandmother, it’s just huge.” Jefferson is only weeks into his very long journey and will take time off to be with relatives. “This is the icing on the cake,” he said. “This is a beautiful reception with so many of my aunties.” Jefferson wants to be able to reach more people to let them know the issue of murdered and missing Indigenous women is ongoing. “I have met thousands of people so
far and I have yet tens of thousands to meet,” Jefferson said. “Change needs to happen.” That’s on top of the biggest message he wants to send out. “Work together,” Jefferson said. “Tear down whatever wall you put up. Work together and love one another.” Irene Brown had no words to share in the midst of her grief and looked to her oldest daughter and sister to Frances, Virginia deWit, to speak on behalf of the family. “This is very, very emotional because there is no closure,” deWit said. “But we still have hope that soon we will bring Frances home. This past nine months has been like a roller coaster of emotion. You don’t know what it’s like until you walk through it. I know there are many missing Aboriginal persons. As we go through this grieving we go through it with others who are grieving their missing loved ones, too. That’s what this walk is all about.”
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Matthew Jefferson wraps his arms around his grandmother Irene Brown as he stops in Prince George during his cross-country Walk to Remember.
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Trio sentenced for drug-related murder Citizen staff The victim of a drug-related murder is being remembered as a big-hearted young man who did not deserve his untimely death. Jordan Taylor McLeod was just 24 years old when he was shot to death on the night of Jan. 16, 2015, after he jumped out of a moving pickup truck just as it had turned onto Upper Fraser Road from Highway 16 to escape his assailants. Found guilty of second-degree murder, Darren Cayley Daniel Sundman, 36, and Sebastian Blake Martin, 45, were respectively sentenced to 16 and 13 years without eligibility to apply for parole while Kurtis Riley Sundman, 29, was sentenced to a further seven years, seven months and 15 days for manslaughter.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice James Williams took slightly more than an hour to deliver his reasons for the sentencings. “To say the facts and circumstances surrounding this case are sad would be a tremendous understatement,” he commented and added McLeod’s life was “ended in a cruel and senseless way.” In reviewing the circumstances, Williams said the Sundmans, Martin, McLeod and a key witness at the subsequent trial, Stacey Stevenson, were in a pickup truck heading east on Highway 16 after the men had tried to collect a drug debt at a home on the Saik’uz reserve south of Vanderhoof earlier that day. Kurtis Sundman drove the truck, while McLeod sat in the front passenger seat with Darren Sundman behind him, Stevenson
in the middle rear and Martin in the driver’s side rear. Both Sundmans were armed with handguns while Martin held a shotgun between his legs and McLeod and Stevenson were unarmed. While the precise details are not known, Williams said Darren Sundman held grievances against McLeod and began striking him on the side of the head with his handgun. Kurtis Sundman, meanwhile, taunted McLeod as he sped the truck along the highway. McLeod did not fight back and was only able to escape his tormentors when the truck was was slowed to turn onto Upper Fraser Road. But Kurtis Sundman quickly pulled the truck over and the trio went after McLeod while Stevenson remained in the truck. Williams found Darren Sundman shot McLeod three times
before Martin fired twice, killing McLeod almost instantly. As to how Martin came into the role he did, Williams said he was perplexed but was unable to “ascribe any great credence” to the claim he was somehow coerced into the situation. From there, they put McLeod in the back of the truck and drove to the Kaykay Forest Service Road west of the city and dumped his body. Martin was later dropped off at his home in Saik’uz and, with Stevenson in tow, they took the car McLeod had rented for the drive out to Vanderhoof and drove it south before ditching it and setting it on fire near the Quesnel River. The Sundmans and Stevenson were arrested the next day following a failed attempt to steal an ATV in Quesnel that led to a police chase.
McLeod’s body was found about a month later while, after some initial apprehension, Stevenson cooperated with police. In being found guilty of seconddegree murder, Darren Sundman and Martin were automatically issued life sentences. At issue was how much time they must serve before they can apply for parole and if parole is granted, they will remain under supervision for the rest of their lives, Williams said. Crown had been seeking 13 to 17 years for both of them while defence argued for 10 to 12 years in the case of Sundman and 12 years in the case of Martin. As for Kurtis Sundman, he was sentenced to 12 years but received credit of four years four months and 15 days, based on 1 1/2 days for each day in custody prior to sentencing.
Treasure jumps to fifth national title Citizen staff Alyx Treasure has added another accomplishment to her storied career as a high jumper. She’s now a five-time national senior champion. The 26-year-old from Prince George cleared 1.85 metres on her second attempt to win the event at the Canadian track and field championships.
Noocille Jean of Montreal claimed silver, while Dallyssa Huggins of Markham, Ont., was the bronze medalist. They both cleared 1.75m. Treasure will compete at IIAF events in Ireland, England and Norway, then plans to return to Canada to train for the North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships at her home base in Toronto, Aug. 10-12.
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Arden, Potted Potter set for Vanier Hall Citizen staff Jann Arden is coming back to Prince George. The chanteuse known as much for her witty banter as her stylish songs hasn’t been to P.G. for a number of years, but These Are The Days for her to return. She’ll be at Vanier Hall on Oct. 27. These Are The Days is the new album that has her soaring again in the public eye. She was already world famous for her debut album Time For Mercy featuring the hit singles I Would Die for You and Will You Remember Me, plus the smash record Living Under June with the hits Could I Be Your Girl, Good Mother and the global Top 10 track Insensitive. She’s had nine albums between then and now, the latest getting applause for her signature vocals,
savvy songwriting and the production style of mega-producer Bob Rock. In addition to music, Arden has written four books, the most recent being the Canadian bestseller Feeding My Mother. Jann Arden was a favourite guest on CBC’s Rick Mercer Report, is much in demand as a public speaker, and is a frequent guest host on CTV’s The Social. Her humour is almost as acclaimed as her music. Tickets to see Arden live in Prince George are available via TicketsNorth service (online or at the CN Centre box office). Charge By phone at 1-888-293-6613. It might feel a bit like flashing up a Diagon Alley floo or plasmatically passing onto Platform Nine And Three Quarters. J.K. Rowling fans are about to go on a theatrical broomstick ride through the
arden story of Harry Potter. Potted Potter – The Unauthorized Harry Experience – A Parody is a long name, but this play is all about condensing. The whole seven-book series gets compressed into a wild whirl lasting 70 hilarious minutes. It is billed as
a live fantasy thrill for the whole family. “Potted Potter is perfect for ages six to Dumbledore, who is very old indeed,” said show organizers. “Even if you don’t know the difference between a horcrux and a Hufflepuff, Potted Potter will make you roar with laughter.” Potted Potter will be at Vanier Hall for a two-day stand Oct. 10-11. Only two actors do the work of whole Hogwarts houses. Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner are known well as the comedy duo Dan & Jeff, regulars on Children’s BBC network, plus other TV shows like Blue Peter and Nuts TV. They have been twice nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award, one of the most prestigious trophies in British theatre. It takes that kind of stage skill
to rollercoaster through seven books, 360 characters, pull a dragon out of a hat (so to speak), and get in a game of Quidditch. Dan & Jeff have sold this wizardry out in London, Toronto, Chicago, New York, Brisbane, all over the world, and now it comes to Prince George. Who could have waved such a magic wand and brought this spellbinding show to local audiences? The folks at Northern FanCon have their ways. They keep their secrets locked up tighter than Gringotts’ vault, but they have let Potted Potter out into the Prince George world like a hippogriff out to stretch its wings. Tickets to see Potted Potter are available on the TicketsNorth website. Prices are tickets $49, $59 and $69 (plus s/c’s).
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Stanley Cup coming to P.G. Citizen staff Prince George has a date with Lord Stanley’s mug. The Prince George Cougars will host alumnus Brett Connolly when he brings the Stanley Cup to Prince George on Aug. 20. The Washington Capitals forward will be bringing the Stanley Cup to CN Centre for a public rally at noon. that Monday. “We are working closely with Brett and his family to organize this rally. I can tell you that all of us are extremely excited, but none more so than Brett, to have him back in Prince George, where
he played for the Prince George Cougars, Cariboo Cougars, and Prince George Minor Hockey,” said Cougars vice president Andy Beesley. “Bringing the cup back home to Prince George is a dream of Brett’s that came true, and he wants to share it with as many people as possible.” At the rally, the public will have an opportunity to greet Brett and get their picture taken with the Stanley Cup. Brett has emphasized he wants to share this unique experience with as many people as possible, so don’t miss out.
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Brett Connolly of the Washington Capitals celebrates after scoring a goal against the New York Rangers on Feb. 28, 2017. Connolly is set to bring the Stanley Cup to Prince George on Aug. 20.
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Hydration essential for good health
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ust like our bodies need fuel to function at their best, fluids are equally as important. The average adult needs approximately 2-3 litres (9-12 cups) of fluids every day to stay hydrated. Physical activity can increase needs depending on the exercise you do, the intensity, the weather and your individual sweat rate. You could lose anywhere from 0.3 to 2.4 litres (approximately 1 ¼ to 10 cups) of sweat per hour based on these factors. If these losses are not replaced you could be left tired, overheated and unable to exercise to the best of your ability. Severe dehydration can lead to an increased risk of heat-related illness and heat stroke so it’s important to be able to spot the signs of dehydration and address them as soon as possible. Signs include
Food for Thought Kelsey Leckovic thirst, dizziness, headache and muscle cramps. Check the colour of your urine to ensure you’re not dehydrated before and after exercising; pale yellow signifies adequate hydration, while a dark yellow, apple juice colour could mean you’re dehydrated. One way to determine your fluid losses during exercise is to weight yourself just before and right after physical activity. Remember to empty your bladder and remove any sweaty clothing before weighing. If you lose more than two per cent of your body weight during exercise, it means you need to drink more than your
2-3 litre per day requirement. Remember that weight loss immediately following exercise is water loss, not fat loss. Water is the best option for replacing fluid losses but sports drinks can be useful following intense exercise, activities lasting longer than an hour, when working out in hot weather or when wearing heavy sports equipment, such as in hockey. In these situations, fluid losses can be greater and contribute to an increased need for electrolytes (primarily sodium and potassium). The carbohydrates in sports drinks can also help to provide a source of energy during intense exercise. Sweat rates and sweat sodium concentrations can vary between individuals. Athletes with a high sweat rate (greater than 1.2 litres per hour), salty sweat or those exercising for more than two hours
may want to think about including sodium, or salt, in their fluids during exercise. Unless you’re working-out at a high intensity or for an extended period of time (greater than two hours) it is not necessary to supplement with additional potassium. An example of a homemade sports drink with a good balance of both sodium and potassium would include 500mL apple juice, 500mL water and ¼ tsp. salt. Try to avoid carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, fullstrength juice and fruit drinks during exercise, which can all be too high in sugar, drawing water into the digestive system and hindering absorption. The body can only absorb fluids at a rate of 10-15mL per kg of body weight per hour so be sure to sip your fluids throughout the day, and during exercise, rather than gulping them down.
Dietitians of Canada also has several recommendations: 1. Four hours before exercise, drink 250-500mL (1-2 cups) of fluid. 2. Two hours or less before exercise, drink 125-375mL (½ to 1 ½ cups) of fluid if you’re showing signs of dehydration such as darkcoloured urine. 3. During exercise, sip fluid during your activity but avoid gaining weight during exercise, which can be a sign of overhydration. 4. Immediately after exercise, drink 500-750mL (2-3 cups) of fluid per 0.5kg (1lb) of weight lost. If you were sipping throughout your workout and did not lose any weight, it is not necessary to drink additional fluids post workout. — Kelsey Leckovic is a registered dietitian with Northern Health in chronic disease management.
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UNBC student off to national pageant Citizen staff The Miss World Canada competition is a national platform for most, but Angela Han has international aspirations. The Prince George resident recently won the title of Miss Northern British Columbia World during preliminary qualifying in Vancouver. (Marissa Hill of Terrace held this region’s crown in 2017.) Han is now off to Toronto for the grand finale in July. The pressure of the finals won’t be as intense as this past semester when Han was completing her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and political science at UNBC while also advancing through the Miss World Canada qualifiers. She was also simultaneously earning her way into Harvard Extension School to pursue a master’s de-
gree in museum studies beginning this fall. Oh, and there is the small matter of being an intercultural business liaison. Her father is an investment banker based in Shanghai and her life-long residency in Canada created a sense in Han that she could help her two nations as part of the family business. “He would like to bring many investors from China to northern B.C., and I am helping be a bridge between people my father knows there and people here in this area,” said Han, 22. She spent her early childhood between Shanghai and Vancouver but moved full-time to Canada six years ago to focus on post-secondary education. She fell in love with UNBC when she saw it and now considers it
the home of her heart. “I can say Prince George is my favourite town on earth,” she said. “Living in Vancouver and Shanghai has been nice, but I felt crowded in those places. When I came to Prince George, the spaces were amazing, the people were all friendly to me, the bus drivers say ‘good morning’ and strangers smile at you. People are having happy days and they encourage you to be happy. Prince George also had the opportunities and the personalities that suit what is important in my life.” The wilderness is an obvious trait of Prince George, and B.C. in general. She embraced the great outdoors by tackling one of Canada’s best-known camping excursions, the Pacific Crest Trail that extends all the way to Mexico. Han hiked the 4,265 km trail
in 2016 and used the adventure to raise awareness of environmental degradation. Applying her personal skills to philanthropy is a constant mission in Han’s life. She applied her philanthropy at UNBC to raising funds for clean water in remote villages and school supplies for children in need. Harvard has a relationship with an organization in China that Han has taken to heart. The Stepping Stones agency helps disadvantaged kids in China and Han has taken special note of the disconnected children of criminals cut off from their parents. Stepping Stones works to provide those children with the basics of life and, when possible, support a relationship with the incarcerated parent. “These children are like or-
phans, but not typically defined orphans,” Han said. “They have a parent, but one that’s unable to provide the supports of life, and these children have no other people looking after them, so it is to fill those needs for those children. The most important part of what’s provided to them is education, so a difficult upbringing can be overcome, and in many cases their parents can also receive mentorship.” Han is an enthusiastic supporter of the causes affiliated with the Miss World Canada organization: the Cardiac Kids initiative of SickKids Foundation and the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada. She has taken part in fundraising and awareness raising as part of her advancements towards the Miss World Canada finals. — See MISS on page 11
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Miss World Canada events set for next week in Toronto — from page 10 “This experience is a way for me to develop my personal confidence and learn more skills for building community,” she said. “I want northern B.C. to do more business, attract more investment, and be part of a positive future here in this place I love.” Han is a week away from the Toronto finals. She invited northern B.C. residents interested in being tourists in Toronto to come at that time. Perhaps catch a Toronto Blue Jays game. Perhaps attend Canada’s Wonderland or catch a major concert,
and while there take in the Miss World Canada events running July 22-28. She urged her supporters to consider voting for her in the online poll that can leapfrog Han past some of the qualifiers in the Miss World Canada finals. Go to the event’s website to vote from July 25-28. “I want to help my community, so if there are events going on that I could attend, to help draw attention and raise money for charities, I am happy for you to contact me,” she said. Han can be reached at missnorthernbc@gmail.com. Citizen staff photo
Miss Northern British Columbia, Angela Han, is off to Toronto next week to take part in Miss World Canada events. Area residents can vote for her on the event website from July 25-28.
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New children’s book a reality check Citizen staff The cloud over Jessica Williams has, like a plodding caterpillar, metamorphosed and taken flight. Its wings are the colourful pages of a bright, new children’s book that talks about the darkness of motherhood. When Williams and her husband Brad welcomed their first child a few years ago, a daughter named Neeve, the new mother was well aware of all the happy, sentimental, positive books for children that depicted loving,
active parents. She just didn’t see herself in those stories. She was a different kind of mom. She was also, she found out, shockingly common. Where was the children’s book that talked about mom’s postpartum depression? Where was the bedtime story about the piercing blues that seemed to suck the joy out of mommy’s life for weeks or months on end? Mama’s Cloud was Williams’ creative and charming response to these conditions of parenthood.
She wrote it from the point of view of a helpful little girl doing her best to rescue her mom from the grip of shadowy sadness. The little girl imagined herself to be a superhero, a unicorn, a wizard, and other epic beings who might be able to bring back the happy mom she once knew. The story, despite its dark theme, is a pleasant read and keeps a positive outlook from beginning to end. “It started off with the fairy and the pixie, and that’s because I had a daughter who was into all that,
I was in the thick of it with her,” Williams said. “I got the imagination by osmosis, really, just picking things up from her, but I also started to feel it was heading too much towards girly-girl things and I wanted it to be relatable to all genders, all interests, the parents of any kids.” Williams was a first-time writer on Mama’s Cloud but she was a career storyteller who understood the nuances of human communication. She now lives in Saskatchewan but residents will remember Williams from her days on the air
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as a reporter and news anchor for the Vista Radio stations. She and her family reside now in Swift Current. Her parents reside in Smithers. They flew mom and babe back to northern B.C. for a prolonged duration when Neeve was still tiny, because Neeve wouldn’t stop crying. Their daughter was suffering from postpartum depression and anxiety, and their granddaughter was absolutely suffering from colic. This combination has been known to be deadly. — See CHILDREN’S on page 13
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Mama’s Cloud, a children’s book from former Northern B.C. broadcaster Jessica Williams, chronicles her battle with postpartum depression while her baby daughter was suffering from colic.
Children’s book wasn’t planned — from page 12 Through the staunch support of Brad, the intervention of her parents and other loved ones, the resources provided by healthcare professionals who also spotted the situation, and her own fortitude, Williams was able to battle the demons of the mind until Neeve got passed the colic and she counselled through her own chronic downturn with the help of effective medication. “I don’t know about instant but it was over the span of a few months I was seeing the counsellor and it was awesome,” she said. “I got a lot of really helpful information, and that, combined with allowing myself to go on some anti-anxiety, antidepression medication compounded the helpfulness. Once I finally did, it gave me the clarity to ask myself why did I wait this long? And it’s not because I have any judgment about mental health issues, but I did think for a long while that I should just be able to do it myself. But I did come to a realization that I wasn’t enjoying things I ought to be.” That realization was recognition of the cloud that became the basis for the book. It was seeing herself in the midst of a good thing, a good event, but aware that, for some reason, she could not shake her ever present misery. What leaned her writing – something she’d been hobbying at for years – towards these topics were the other women who disclosed to her their own bouts of postpartum disorders or mental health conditions while new to motherhood. “It was all unintentional, I think. I started looking into writing kids’ books a couple of
years ago, but didn’t pursue it because, life. But in October I came back to the idea and started working on stories. I have a number of them in various states of completion. I don’t know where the idea for Mama’s Cloud came from, but a line must have triggered me to think about it. I know of so many women who have different kinds of mental health issues and some of them are around motherhood. It is such a big thing that effects so many people, but it’s also such a big concept to impart on these little people. It’s hard to explain all those aspects to kids. I was thinking about what these compassionate little people might be thinking. When I stub my toe, my daughter wants to come kiss it better. If a child skins a knee in daycare, they all come mobbing to give love to that hurt friend. That’s how kids are, so how could I relate this to those exceptionally compassionate little people with exceptional imaginations.” Page by page, she found a way. Then she went looking for an artist. She found painter Mateya Ark in Bulgaria and struck up an online relationship, since the artist was keen to share the project. “Every time she sent me a new image I’d burst into tears. The happy ones. It was a constant feeling of ‘you’re getting it, you’re getting it.’ And I just love how it all turned out,” Williams said. Mama’s Cloud is a happy and informative children’s story. It is published in hardcover, paperback and electronic forms by All Write Here Publishing. For more information about the author and the book, visit her website at www.jessicawilliamsonline.com.
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The significance of every human life
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t is fascinating how certain ideas can unite all people, yet we can be so unaware of their presence. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Personalism posits ultimate reality and value in personhood – human as well as (at least for most personalists) divine. It emphasizes the significance, uniqueness and inviolability of the person, as well as the person’s essentially relational or social dimension.” In other words, the philosophy of personalism begins with the belief that every human life is sacred and significant, and that we are all interconnected. It embraces a healthy love of self and extends to a love for all humanity. I am loved and worthy of love. My life has a purpose. I have a contribution to make for the betterment of humanity. You are my sister. You are my brother. You are sacred as well, and you too have a significant contribution to make. Let’s embrace the power of love and work together for peace and prosperity. Personalism stands in stark contrast to the ideal of individualism, where each person is an island and needs to “look out for number one.” It also contradicts the collectivist ideal of sacrificing the rights and responsibilities of the individual “for the good of the cause.” Though the word “personalism” was not used until the 20th century, the idea is
Lessons in Learning Gerry Chidiac ancient and can be seen in the writings of Plato and many great philosophers. It also transcends the concept of religion. There are Christian personalists, Islamic personalists, Buddhist personalists, and even atheistic personalists. It is a thread of truth that weaves through all of humanity, as evidenced not only by its persistence, but by its enduring and positive impact. Many of the greatest and most beloved leaders of our time embraced this philosophy. Civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. actively studied and incorporated personalism. This clearly resonates in all of his words and actions. One of the most prolific writers on personalism was the Polish philosopher Karol Wojtyla. He stated, “The person is a good towards which the only proper and adequate attitude is love.” Wojtyla went on to become Pope John Paul II. As people listened to his words and embraced his philosophy in every corner of the world, we entered a new era of human history as the iron curtain collapsed. — See PERSONALISM on page 15
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In this March 28, 1968, file photo, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Ralph Abernathy, right, lead a march on behalf of striking Memphis sanitation workers.
Personalism puts people first — from page 14 Though Canadians tend to keep their religious beliefs to themselves, some of the most influential and iconic leaders of the 20th century were Christian personalists. For example, Pierre Trudeau, the man who spearheaded official multiculturalism in Canada, was strongly influenced by the personalism he studied and discussed in forward thinking Catholic institutions. The ideas of Personalism remain prominent in Canada today. They echo many of the First Nations teachings which are growing in prominence. They also resonate with the beliefs numerous Canadians. Because it is a philosophy, personalism is not exclusive to any religion. Because the ideas are universal, it is not attached to any particular culture. It is therefore a concept which brings people together. In studying our past, especially the history of the 20th century, we can see that the
further the paradigm of a government lies from the ideals of personalism, the more destructive it becomes. It is very tempting to see the world in terms of “us and them”, denying the humanity of those we blame for our problems. It is also very tempting to place “the cause” ahead of the sacredness and freedom of the individual. These ideas, however, have always led to failure. Personalism embraces the goodness in each and every one of us. It encourages us to become our best selves, and it requires love and respect for each individual sharing the planet with us. As we take time to explore and expand on these principles together, we are able to create a world which we are proud to leave to our children, a world where everyone can thrive. Gerry Chidiac is a champion for social enlightenment, inspiring others to find their greatness in making the world a better place. For more, go to www.gerrychidiac.com
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