Prince George Citizen July 4, 2019

A cut above

Naomi Appiah, 9, cuts out her pillow case she will sew at Theatre Northwest Sewing Camps Wednesday morning. This is the third year this highly successful program has been in existence and they are offering some new classes.

Double murder witness feared for his life, court hears

Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff

mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca

An eyewitness who unwittingly drove the culprits to the scene of a double murder recalled what he saw and heard as a B.C. Supreme Court trial for one of the accused entered its second day Wednesday. Perry Andrew Charlie faces two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Thomas Burt Reed of Burns Lake and David Laurin Franks of Prince George and a count of attempted murder with a firearm in relation to Bradley Knight, the soul survivor of the Jan. 25, 2017 targeted shooting.

Co-accused Seaver Tye Miller and Joshua Steven West have each pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and Aaron Ryan Moore to two counts of criminal negligence causing death. They all await sentencing.

Testifying at the Prince George courthouse, Thomas Lee said he owned a van with sliding doors on both the driver and passenger sides and had been driving for hire at the time. At Miller’s request, Lee told the court he had picked up the four and drove them to a

pullout on Foothills Boulevard, a short distance north of North Nechako Road.

He said they waited a short time and then a car holding three men pulled alongside.

Miller, who was sitting in the front passenger seat beside Lee, told the others to get ready and then threatened Lee and a friend he had brought along and was sitting in the very back of the van.

“He looked at me and said, ‘if you say anything to anyone, I will f--g kill you and your friend,’” Lee told the court.

Lee said he saw West pull two shotguns out of a duffel bag and hand one to Miller. They exited the van, appeared to have taken the safeties off the shotguns and seconds later, they started firing, Lee said.

An avid hunter, Lee said he heard 15-20 rounds fired over about 30 seconds and while most of them sounded like buckshot, he said he heard one “really loud bang” he believed was a slug round.

Asked if he heard anything from the victims, Lee said he heard one say “they’re going to shoot us, go, go, go!”

He said that was when their at-

tackers opened fire.

“I heard him say ‘oh no, no, no, oh god, oh god, and then it just went quiet,” Lee testified and added he heard glass shattering and what sounded like bullets hitting the car’s hood.

He said the victims’ car revved a couple of times and went silent.

Lee also said Charlie had been sitting directly behind him when they arrived and that he also heard what sounded like small-calibre rounds being fired from outside the driver’s side of the van.

But Lee said he did not see who was firing them. He initially said he did not recall hearing the driver’s-side slide door being opened but, after he was given an opportunity to read a portion of testimony he gave during a preliminary inquiry, said he did remember hearing the sound.

“Somebody else had gotten out, that’s pretty much all of it,” Lee said and then confirmed he did not see the person who had left.

After the gunfire stopped, Lee said Miller picked up some spent shells and folded them into a rubber mechanic’s gloves he had been wearing and had peeled off in the process.

He and West then jumped back

into the van and West put the shotguns back into the duffel bag.

Lee said he did not hear any of the other doors being opened or closed.

“I was just so traumatized that I just looked forward and pretty much just blocked it out,” Lee said and confirmed he did not look into the back when the events were going on.

He said West told him to “go, go, go, go” so Lee backed up, turned around and headed to Miller’s home on Diamond Drive in the Hart. Miller told him to step on it, but Lee said he made a point of sticking to the posted speed limit.

During the drive, Lee said he heard West say, “see guys, I told you I had the grapes,” and Miller say that he and the victims were friends but it was “something that had to be done.”

Neither Charlie nor Moore said anything, Lee testified.

When they arrived at Miller’s home, the four accused went inside while Lee and his friend were told to wait. Asked why they didn’t leave, Lee said he was told to stay and was “very much in fear for my life.”

After about 20 minutes he said

Moore and West came back out and got into the van. Miller followed and told Lee he would drop by later and pay him for his help, and told him to drive Moore and West home. By that time, Miller and Moore were dressed differently, he said.

As they headed into downtown Prince George, RCMP pulled the van over. Lee said he was “very nervous” by that time and did not tell police what happened when he was taken to the detachment.

“Honestly, I didn’t know what I should say, what I should do or anything,” Lee said.

“The reason why I didn’t was because I was honestly still fearing for my life.”

Lee said he has since moved “more than once” and continues to fear for his life “a little bit.”

It is Crown prosecution’s theory that Franks had offended someone in the local drug culture, a hit had been ordered on him and he was lured to the spot under the pretext of carrying out a drug deal. Reed had offered to drive Franks to the site and Knight was along for the ride.

The trial before a judge alone continues Thursday.

Exotic cats kept in dark, dirty trailers seized from B.C. breeder

The Canadian Press

LITTLE FORT — The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says it has seized 13 exotic cats that were found in “horrific conditions” north of Kamloops.

The SPCA says in a statement that 10 adult serval cats and three kittens were taken from a breeder in Little Fort after it received complaints of sick and injured animals being sold.

It says most of the African cats were being kept in RV trailers on the property and were exposed to high levels of ammonia from urine, with litter boxes overflowing with feces.

The SPCA says there was no proper ventilation or access to water despite high

temperatures, and no natural light because the windows were covered.

The animals were removed with the help of a conservation officer and are being cared for at an undisclosed location.

Marcie Moriarty, chief prevention and enforcement officer, says in a statement that the African cats require extensive space to run and a highly enriched environment to express natural play and hunting behaviours.

“They are carnivores and require a very specialized diet to meet their physical needs, including proper bone development,” she says. “The idea of these beautiful wild animals being confined in captivity is disturbing enough, but in this case, the animals were kept indoors in substandard

conditions without access to the outdoors or exercise.”

Moriarty says the case fits with a trend of substandard breeders who have very attractive websites so buyers are unaware of how distressing the actual living conditions are for the animals.

All interactions are online and buyers never visit the property, she says.

In addition the 13 exotic cats, the SPCA also seized two dogs and one domestic cat in distress from the same property.

Serval cats are not included in the provincial controlled alien species legislation, which means their breeding is not regulated.

The investigation is ongoing but the SPCA says it will recommend charges of animal cruelty in the case.

CP FILE PHOTO

A serval cat is seen in this undated handout photo.

Daylight savings time still up for debate through survey

The province says it is seeing record feedback from British Columbians on daylight savings time. More than 158,000 responses have been received a week into an online survey, the province said Wednesday.

“It’s clear there is no shortage of views on how we should observe time in British Columbia,” Premier John Horgan said in a statement.

“I’m very pleased so many people have already taken part in this engagement to help determine the best way forward for B.C., and I encourage everyone to take the

survey and let us know what they think.”

Most of B.C. “springs forward” into daylight saving time during summer months, and “falls back” to standard time in the winter. The Peace region does not observe daylight savings, and instead observes mountain standard time

year-round. A referendum on switching to Pacific time was put to North and South Peace residents in the 1972 provincial election, however, that referendum did not pass. A proposal to stop observing daylight saving time in British Columbia was narrowly approved by Union

of B.C. Municipalities delegates last September. The resolution said daylight saving time and the resulting time changes twice a year no longer serves a purpose and affects people’s health when time changes.

The survey runs until July 19 at engage.gov.bc.ca/daylightsavingtime.

Metro Vancouver’s benchmark home price falls below $1M

The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — Metro Vancouver’s once hot housing market is experiencing an “expectation gap” between buyers and sellers as the benchmark property price fell under $1 million for the first time since May 2017.

“Sellers are often trying to get yesterday’s values for their homes, while buyers are taking a cautious, wait-and-see approach,” Ashley Smith, the real estate board’s president, said in a statement.

The composite benchmark price for detached houses, townhomes and condos in Metro Vancouver was $998,700 in June, said the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. That’s down 9.6 per cent from the same time last year and 0.8 per cent from May.

Detached houses saw the biggest drop, falling 10.9 per cent from June 2018 to $1,423,500. However, the price inched forward month-over-month, up 0.1 per cent since May.

Townhomes fell 8.6 per cent to $774,700 and condos dropped 8.9 per cent to $654,700. Both also saw month-overmonth drops with townhomes losing 0.6 per cent and condos 1.4 per cent compared to May.

Prices dropped as the area recorded the lowest number of home sales last month than any June in nearly two decades.

The board says 2,077 homes sold in June

2019 – down 14.4 per cent from the same month last year, down 34.7 per cent from the 10-year June sales average and the lowest June total since 2000.

Condos experienced the biggest slow down. In June, sales of condos fell 24.1 per cent compared with a year ago to 941. Meanwhile, townhome sales last month dropped nearly seven per cent and detached home sales fell 2.6 per cent compared with June 2018.

The number of newly listed homes also fell, dropping 10 per cent from June 2018 to 4,751 homes across all categories.

However, the total number of homes listed for sale rose 25.3 per cent from June 2018 to 14,968 homes in June 2019.

The sales-to-active-listings ratio, a key measure that indicates whether it’s a buyers’ or sellers’ market, was 13.9 per cent for all property types in June.

It dropped to 11.4 per cent for just detached homes, but rose to 15.8 per cent for townhomes and 15.7 per cent for condos.

A ratio under 12 per cent for a sustained period suggested downward pressure on home prices will occur, while upward pressure is expected when the ratio exceeds 20 per cent for several months.

“Home buyers haven’t had this much selection to choose from in five years,” said Smith, adding sellers need to price their homes accordingly to be successful in the current market.

New Zealand singer set for La Boheme

Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

Vocalist and director Melanie Nicol couldn’t wait to bring La Boheme to the city, nor could she wait to bring some of the opera talent Canada has to offer.

That talent would come to Prince George no other way, were it not for Fraser Lyric Opera, the performance society Nicol helped found in 2014. Opera was not completely unprecedented in this city, but it was certainly not a regular part of any other performance programming in the region. Nicol changed that with productions of Béatrice & Bénédict, The Barber of Seville, a workshop appearance by international soprano Kathleen Morrison, and now the Puccini masterpiece La Boheme. She is also bringing in professional singers from across Canada and blending them with highly curated local talent.

One of those incoming opera pros is baritone Bradley Christensen who has an active career in productions all across Canada, in the United States, and started in his home country of New Zealand (early childhood in Masterton, then Auckland before moving at

25 to Toronto for university). He started in the performing arts as a violinist but found a love for singing and gave it full commitment once he left high school, hooked on musicals and striving to develop the best organic instrument he could muster.

“I listen to pop, R&B, rock, all kinds of music in my spare time, but I feel the power of the voice and the power of the music behind those stories that is only really available in opera,” he said. “Opera is the culmination of all the performing arts. You have the sets, the costumes, the makeup, the lighting, the musicians, the singers, all working together to create something unique and spontaneous as live performance is, and at the pinnacle of what the human voice can do. I have the desire to keep climbing that Everest to see how high I can go.”

Christensen is part of the largest assembly of incoming professionals yet assembled by Fraser Lyric Opera.

Nicol sought out eight from the nation’s stable of established opera singers to lead the La Boheme charge. Also here from across the country are Vania Margani, Scott Rumble, Paul Winklemans, Ian Fundytus,

Aria Umezawa, Grant Harville and Kim Bartczak.

Augmenting this pro core in name roles are local singers of high repute Paige Marriott, Barry Booth, Ronald Prochot, Nicol, and both an adult and children’s chorus.

“You can’t help but love what Melanie has created here, and it’s an honour to be a part of a production like this that isn’t just here to entertain, but it is also filling a role in the local culture. It is bringing opera to a higher place,” said Christensen. “We would be in a much better situation, culturally, if everyone sang, learned to play music, and if politicians supported the arts.”

Those from Prince George in the adult chorus include Catherine Cantin, Valerie Chatterson, Jennifer Foxcroft, Katherine Gordon, Aine Hogan, Maureen Hogan, Tashina Ketlo-Shaw, Erika Lacaille, Pat Preston, Lisa Price, John Smith, Tammy Stever, Marian Tamkin, Terri Walker, Todd Walker, and Brenna Jacobson.

In even more formative in this production are children’s chorus members Jessica Fowlie, Rachel Fowlie, Devon Wall, Ava Phair, Asha Phair, Eloise Hobbi and Lara Hobbi.

“It is probably the biggest cast we’ve ever had, and I am loving the chemistry developing, especially among the four male leads, the boys, they are just so funny,” said Nicol. “I can’t wait to show Prince George what local performers can do, when you put them alongside these fantastic singers from across Canada.”

“It might not be mainstream, but opera is highly accessible,” said Christensen, encouraging local residents to come out. “We don’t use microphones, we are not auto-tuned, nothing about the singers is synthesized. This is our raw voice, it’s real, it comes out of our bodies and goes into the audience straight from the voice to the ear. That is a simple but unbelievable connection.”

La Boheme is a story of friendship, of complicated romance, of the role the arts plays in our lives, how people interact with each other and generate the big emotions like laughter and tears, joy and tragedy.

La Boheme will be performed at Theatre Northwest with shows on Friday (7 p.m.), Saturday (7 p.m.) and Sunday (2 p.m.). Tickets can be purchased online at the TNW website or at the Books & Company front desk.

Downtown Summerfest delights

Stacey Moen, sous chef at Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Prince George, puts the final touches on a curry beef sloppy joe that will be one of the items available at the Cornerstone booth at the Canadian Western Bank Taste Pavilion at Downtown Summerfest on July 14. Local VIPs were able to get a sneak peek and taste of all the delicious offerings from the 26 restaurants and food trucks participating this year. Summerfest will go from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Dad acquitted in death of baby daughter

The

NEWS IN BRIEF

Citizen staff/The Canadian Press

Remains identified

Warren Baader was found not guilty in a Port Alberni court on Tuesday in the death of his daughter Molly in October 2016. Justice Robin Baird told the court that although most medical

Police are considering suspicious the death of a man whose remains were found in the Miworth area last week.

The remains were identified as those of Brent Alan Fulljames, 32, Prince George RCMP said Wednesday, and the detachment’s serious crimes section is now leading the investigation.

Fulljames had been missing since May 20.

Anyone with information on where Fulljames’ activities at that time is asked to contact the Prince George RCMP at 250561-3300 or anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca (English only).

Indecent act charges laid

A 26-year-old man has been charged with 10 counts of committing an indecent act in

experts said the baby’s broken skull and brain hemorrhages could not have happened by dropping her, other experts said there was a slight chance. The girl’s mother testified in

relation to a string of alleged incidents near UNBC. Frank Levi Stojkovic is to appear in court on July 31.

Prince George RCMP said the charges are from incidents reported between July 2017 and September 2018, prompting an investigation led by the detachment’s sex crime unit. An arrest warrant was issued at the time of charge approval and upon being notified, Stojkovic turned himself into the Prince George courthouse on Wednesday.

Fraser slide blocking fish

The Fisheries Department says fish blocked from migrating upstream to spawning grounds could be trucked above an obstruction following a rock slide in British Columbia’s Fraser River. Salmon were blocked after the slide happened around June 21 or 22 in a remote area near Big Bar, northwest of Kamloops. Staff are monitoring by helicopter because it’s unsafe for crews to do any work.

April that she found Baader in the living room rocking their daughter’s lifeless body and called 911. Because Baader didn’t testify, Baird said only he knows what happened to Molly that day.

Long-term care choices on the way

The Canadian Press Seniors in British Columbia will have more long-term care options and choices starting this month.

Health Minister Adrian Dix says beginning July 15, seniors requiring long-term care no longer have to accept the first available bed and can instead choose from three preferred options while waiting in their own homes for the right placement.

Dix says people want to be able to choose a long-term care home that works for them and their families.

He says the changes will ensure that people who have been on a wait list the longest get the highest priority in care-home placements.

Dix says they will also ensure seniors are providing their consent to live at a long-term care home, addressing access recommendations made by seniors advocate Isobel Mackenzie in a 2015 housing report.

Mackenzie said offering seniors more choice and options to longterm care helps them and their families.

The B.C. Care Providers Association says in a statement the changes also ensure a senior who accepts an interim care-home placement will not lose their space on a wait list for their preferred home.

“This will make it more likely they will be admitted to the care home of their choosing and the wait for admission will be shorter,” Dix said at a news conference on Wednesday.

The Canadian Press

father of a two-month-old girl accused of manslaughter in her death has been acquitted by a B.C. Supreme Court judge.

Vets face long wait for benefits

The Canadian Press

The long delays many veterans face when applying to the government for assistance for service-related injuries have reached a new milestone.

Former service members have long been promised that most will know within 16 weeks whether they are eligible for financial compensation or medical treatment.

But Veterans Affairs Canada says the average wait time for initial applications is now twice as long – 32 weeks – as requests for assistance continue to outpace the department’s ability to process them.

That represents a dramatic increase from December when, according to secret briefing notes provided to then-veterans affairs minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, the average wait time for such applications was 24 weeks.

The increase comes amid concerns about the impact such delays have on veterans, including added stress and frustration that can be particularly detrimental to those

suffering from psychological injuries and trauma.

Veterans ombudsman Craig Dalton told a parliamentary committee last month that wait times were the “No. 1 complaint” that former service members make to his office.

The government is hoping to rein in the ever-growing wait times, which have also resulted in a 40,000-case backlog, after hiring and training hundreds of temporary staff.

While the staff were hired through a one-time, $42-million cash injection in last year’s federal budget to specifically address the backlog, they have only recently been deemed ready to start making a dent in the problem.

The department has also implemented a number of measures to cut red tape and speed up decision-making so veterans can more quickly access services and get benefits.

“Ensuring veterans receive the benefits they deserve is a top priority for our govern-

ment,” Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay’s spokesman, Alex Wellstead, said in an email.

“We’ve made good progress in the last four years by increasing the benefits and services available, however we know timeliness is an area we need to improve.”

Yet Virginia Vaillancourt, national president of the Union of Veterans Affairs Employees, says what is really needed is more full-time staff as the department’s operational budget has not kept up with demand for services.

Hundreds of positions at Veterans Affairs Canada were axed under the previous Conservative government as it tried to eliminate the federal deficit. While some have since been hired back, the department hasn’t fully recovered.

A report tabled in the House of Commons in March showed the department planned to have around 3,200 employees this fiscal year, which is where it stood in a decade ago, excluding staff at Ste. Anne’s hospital in Quebec.

The hospital and its staff were transferred to the province in 2016.

Yet the same report projected staffing levels to fall again next year by around 300 positions, which it linked to the end of the temporary funding for addressing the backlog and implementing programs like a new pension system.

The report also shows the department’s budget declining beginning next year “due to the ending of temporary funding related to the Budget 2018 initiative to increase service-delivery capacity and expedite repairs to graves.”

While the government could opt to extend the funding for temporary staff, Vaillancourt said the only solution is to hire more full-time employees as demand continues to increase for services.

“We know that even with that additional 300 staff that are there, we still are not meeting the standards that are in place,” she said. “So they don’t need to get rid of the 300, they need to add and make them permanent.”

Fuel suppliers coy on profit margins

The Canadian Press

Most gas suppliers in British Columbia are refusing to share how they set prices at the pump just days before hearings on the issue are set to begin at a public inquiry.

The B.C. Utilities Commission has been ordered to review the last four years of gas and diesel pricing in the province and asked suppliers to complete a questionnaire about various business aspects including their profit margins.

Commission CEO David Morton said the inquiry panel is working to determine if it needs the financial information and to assure the companies that it won’t release confidential information.

“I don’t think there’s any cause for alarm,” Morton said in an interview on Wednesday.

The suppliers range from Shell and Imperial to Suncor, Husky, Super Save and 7-11, but documents submitted to the commission show that only 7-11 has responded with details about how it sets the price per litre at the pumps. It has requested the information not be released publicly and the utilities commission has complied, posting a redacted version of 7-11’s questionnaire response on its website.

The other suppliers offered almost identical reasons for withholding profit margin data, with Husky’s submission citing “commercially sensitive information” that is “not shared publicly or between refiners.”

As the price of a litre of regular gasoline climbed above $1.70 in Vancouver in mid-May, Premier John Horgan ordered the probe, saying that gas and diesel price increases were “alarming, increasingly out of line with the rest of Canada, and people in B.C. deserve answers.”

The inquiry timetable calls for the release of the second phase of the utilities commission consultant report by next Wednesday, followed by up to four days of oral submissions, where panel members can question industry

representatives, including gas and diesel suppliers. Bruce Ralston, minister of jobs, trade and technology, said in a statement that he’s disappointed with the companies that refused to provide the information and urged them to co-operate.

“People deserve to know why the price of gasoline in B.C. has seen such wild swings,” Ralston said.

But Morton said he’s not surprised that most of the companies withheld the information.

The utilities commission has established procedures for dealing with confidential information, including commercial information around prices that would harm the

company if released, but it typically works with gas and electric utilities.

“Many of the participants aren’t as familiar with our approach to confidentiality so we understand there may be some apprehension around it,” Morton said.

If the organizations can show they would experience harm because a competitive price became public, then the utilities commission would typically honour that, he said.

“If there’s information critical to the inquiry of that nature, then the panel would review that information and we would make a decision but we wouldn’t make a reference to any of those numbers

in the decision.” The commission generally tries to avoid confidential information in its proceedings because it means decisions may have to be redacted, which it doesn’t consider to be “the best outcome,” Morton said.

Morton, who is on the inquiry panel, said they are in the process of reviewing the submissions and may determine that they don’t actually need specific numbers to answer the inquiry’s questions of why B.C.’s gas prices are different from the rest of the country and why the prices swing.

If the panel determines the figures are vital to the inquiry, and the companies still refuse to share

them, the commission can apply through the B.C. Supreme Court for access.

That would set back the inquiry’s timeline but it remains on schedule so far, Morton said. When the commission unveiled the process for the inquiry in May, the utilities commission said it would explore factors potentially affecting prices in B.C. since 2015, including competition and the amount of fuel in storage. It is also expected to examine mechanisms that could be used to moderate price fluctuations and increases.

The three-person inquiry panel must submit its final report by Aug. 30.

Conservatives top Liberals in federal fundraising

The Canadian Press

The federal Conservatives entered this election year having outpaced the Liberals in fundraising by more than $8.3 million in 2018, and with extra cash in the bank, the party’s financial returns show.

The Conservatives raised about $24.2 million from 104,000 donors in 2018, more than the $15.9 million the Liberals raised from 66,000 people, leaving the Tories with almost $9.9 million in cash compared to the $2.3 million held by the Liberals.

The Greens raised $3.1 million last year from 16,700 donors – their best showing in a non-election year – leaving them with about $1.1 million in cash, a small bump from 2017.

It was the fourth consecutive year that the Tories have out-fundraised the Liberals, based on a review of annual returns filed with Elections Canada. The parties must submit their annual numbers by July unless they receive extensions, as the New Democrats did this year.

The figures provide a window on the financial health of the parties as they ramped up fundraising efforts ahead of this fall’s federal election, when donations tend to jump as supporters rush to fill campaign war chests. And they are also used by the parties to fuel calls for further donations and partisan attacks on their opponents.

The Liberals took aim at the amount the Conservatives spent to raise money, which the Tory documents list as being almost

$8.5 million in 2018, up from the almost $7.2 million the party spent in 2017.

The Liberals spent almost $3.4 million to raise money in 2018, up from almost $2.8 million in 2017, which spokesman Parker Lund said shows the party delivers “far more value” for individual donations. For the Conservatives, the target was the two loans the Liberals took out last year through their lines of credit at two banks, which totalled $1.34 million. The Liberals also got more money sent to central party coffers from local candidates and riding associations, which pads the overall revenue figures.

Conservative spokesman Cory Hann said the Liberals will have to “dip further into their line of credit in order to run a campaign” and go further into debt unless they shed expenses – noting the Liberal government’s budget deficits in his critique. Now the push is on for more money, with only a summer barbecue circuit standing between the parties and the official start of the fall campaign, expected in early September. Election day is scheduled for Oct. 21. For 2019, the only data on party fundraising covers the first three months of the year, with the second quarter wrapping up at the end of June. What the figures from Elections Canada show is that between January and March, the Conservatives raised about $8 million, the Liberals almost $3.9 million, the NDP about $1.2 million and the Greens about $783,000.

CP PHOTO

A man looks at his phone while fuelling up a truck at a Shell gas station in Vancouver in April 2018.

Hunger strike ends as Algonquin guaranteed space in Indigenous centre

Christian PAAS-LANG

The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — The Algonquin Nation will be guaranteed a space in a major Indigenous centre in Ottawa after an agreement with the federal government ended a grand chief’s hunger strike.

Verna Polson of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council had refused both food and water starting early Monday and extending into Tuesday evening. Polson was protesting the limited role the Algonquins were playing in the development of the Indigenous Peoples Space, a project that encompasses a prime area near Parliament Hill centred on the former U.S. Embassy.

The project is run by three national Indigenous organizations. Polson said the Algonquin deserve

equal standing because the building is on unceded traditional Algonquin land.

Under the agreement struck Tuesday between the Algonquin Nation and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, the Algonquin Nation will have a space in the Indigenous Peoples Space guaranteed for its use.

The Algonquins will have control of space between the former embassy and a building on the next block occupied by a bank.

Frankie Cote, a band councillor for an Algonquin community near Ottawa who participated in the meetings with the government, said the Algonquins would likely construct a building in the infill space.

He said it’s important to the Algonquins that they have their own area in the project and he is glad

the two parties came to an agreement as soon as they did.

“We were working hard, 12 hours on Canada Day, because of the utmost concern for Grand Chief Polson’s health,” Cote said.

“We were trying to come to a resolution that would get her out of the wigwam and drinking water.”

Discussions with the government had been going for several weeks before Polson’s hunger strike increased pressure on the talks, he said.

In an emailed statement, the office of Crown-Indigenous Relations MinisterCarolyn Bennett said they “fully support the participation of the Algonquin people.”

The statement said it will be up to the Algonquin Nation to determine how to develop the space, and the federal government

Coroner probes death of senior who spent 36 hours on balcony

Sidhartha BANERJEE The Canadian Press

MONTREAL — The family of a 93-yearold Quebec woman who died after spending about 36 hours inert on her balcony at a seniors’ residence wants to see better surveillance for the elderly in such establishments.

Marie-Rose Gauthier lived in an autonomous living apartment at a seniors’ home in Saguenay, Que., and her family believes she fell on the eve of the June 24 Fete Nationale holiday and was unable to get up. She was discovered on June 25, dehydrated and suffering from hypothermia and died three days later in hospital on June 28.

Denise Ouellet, Gauthier’s daughter, said her mother had all her faculties, but was prone to falls and due to her knees had difficulty getting up. She wasn’t wearing her bracelet alarm to alert anyone she’d fallen.

“She was a 93-year-old woman who still had a level of autonomy – she even made her own meals,” Ouellet recounted Wednesday.

“Yes, she was 93 – but she could have lived to be 100.”

Ouellet and her brother had gone to see their mother earlier that Sunday afternoon and when her brother called to check on her later that evening, their mother was on the balcony enjoying a drink before dinner.

on the door might have meant a different fate for her mother.

“A little tock tock on the door, ‘Madame Gauthier, how are you doing today?’,” Ouellet said.

“What we’re saying that if there was a person who knocked during the day and at night – a human presence – at least she wouldn’t have spent a full day and two nights on the balcony.”

The issue of seniors’ security has been front and centre, and last month a coroner ruled the hypothermia death of a 93-yearold woman last January was accidental, but video footage of the woman trying to reenter the luxury seniors’ residence from the enclosed courtyard where she died shows it was preventable as well.

Helene Rowley Hotte Duceppe, mother of former Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe, died of hypothermia on Jan. 20, on a bitterly cold, snowy morning when she was lured outside by what turned out to be a false fire alarm and became trapped.

“She’d described to me what she would be eating for supper and when they found her on the Tuesday morning, the meal was on the counter so she didn’t come in to eat.”

“She’d described to me what she would be eating for supper and when they found her on the Tuesday morning, the meal was on the counter so she didn’t come in to eat,” Ouellet said.

— Denise Ouellet, daughter

“My mother fell on her balcony – she fell a lot.” Typically her mother wore a bracelet that alerted staff to any problems, Ouellet said.

“Mom wore her bracelet – but on the day of the 23rd, she wasn’t wearing it,” Ouellet said. “It was on her night table.” Given several falls and some downturns in her health, Ouellet said she and her siblings had been concerned about their mother’s safety and arranged for her to move into a supervised unit, but she refused. Her daughter said that Gauthier had also cancelled a free service in the past month that had volunteers checking in twice daily over the phone, a cancellation they only discovered after the fact.

Ouellet said she’d like to see new measures to avoid anyone else ending up in a similar situation. Those include a better definition of autonomy in leases, as it can change drastically from year to year. She also advocated for increased security at seniors’ residences, noting a little knock

Seniors’ Minister Marguerite Blais is reviewing the rules surrounding seniors’ homes, but the province wouldn’t comment on the death until the coroner’s probe is complete.

But a provincial seniors’ rights group said the solution may be for seniors to take responsibility for their own safety and take advantage of available tracking technology instead of asking the government to legislate.

“It’s a situation that’s sad, that could have been avoided without adding a layer of legislation,” said Patrice St-Pierre, general manager of the local chapter of FADOQ in the region, a seniors’ rights organization.

“She wasn’t wearing a bracelet and refused to move to an apartment that would have provided more assistance.”

St-Pierre said he believes the responsibility lies in seniors and their families setting up networks with neighbours and others to stay connected.

“It’s the kind of thing that could have happened in a private home without any surveillance,” St-Pierre added.

“That’s why it’s important for people to develop links with relatives and neighbours to check in with them.”

For Ouellet, she said the responsibility can’t only fall on family or the seniors themselves. She said the matter merits discussion and she’ll be interested to see the coroner’s recommendations.

“If this happened, what more can we do?”

Ouellet said.

“It’s a question we need to ask.”

has committed to work with the Algonquins to “ensure it will fully reflect their vision.”

The dedication of the space to the Algonquin Nation sets the stage for further discussions between the Algonquins and the current Indigenous partners leading the project: the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Metis National Council.

While the Algonquins secured a dedicated space, the agreement with the government did not guarantee the Algonquin Nation an equal seat at the table in the overall decision-making on the project – one of Polson’s stated goals in her hunger strike.

The government’s position prior to Polson’s hunger strike was that the Indigenous groups responsible for the project should determine its governance structure themselves.

But Cote said the government has reiterated a commitment not to open the space until the Algonquins’ concerns are dealt with. The Assembly of First Nations strongly supported Polson’s and Cote’s view, but the groups representing Inuit and Metis peoples had opposed the proposal to give equal standing to the Algonquin Nation.

Cote said discussions between the Algonquins and the national groups will continue to determine what role the Algonquin Nation will play.

The AFN’s national chief Perry Bellegarde said Tuesday a series of memorandums of understanding had been drafted with the help of Assembly of First Nations staff and might form the basis of an agreement between the Algonquin Nation and the national organizations.

A man and his dog walk past a wigwam where Verna Polson, grand chief of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council, was hunger striking on Monday, due to a lack of consultations regarding the former U.S. Embassy building which was dedicated to Indigenous people.

Insects as food a growing trend

Does the idea of eating insects bug you?

Well, think about this: the United Nations predicts that by 2050, if current trends continue, the world’s population will reach 9.8 billion. As a result, global demand for food and feed is expected to increase by 70 per cent, putting additional pressure on already overexploited agricultural resources.

Global demand for meat in particular will continue to increase as dietary habits in developing countries change, due to rapid urbanization and economic growth.

The oceans are already over-exploited and climate change will have a profound impact on food production.

Meanwhile, nearly one billion people worldwide suffer from chronic food deprivation.

Among the possible solutions, one is quietly making its way into the public’s attention: eating insects.

To meet current and future food challenges, the agri-food sector needs to be rethought. We need to find new ways to grow food, address inefficiencies and develop new approaches to production methods.

In addition to population growth, urbanization and the rise of the middle class in

developing countries are increasing global demand for food, especially animal protein. The production of traditional feed ingredients such as cereals, fish meal and oilseeds must be reduced and substitutes found to make more efficient use of resources.

Livestock

The billions of animals raised each year for food are putting increasing pressure on land and water resources and contributing to climate change and other negative environmental impacts.

Livestock farming for meat production puts considerable pressure on global land and water use.

At present, a large proportion of the protein produced for livestock feed comes from sources that are sometimes unsustainable and harmful to the environment.

To meet the considerable challenge of ensuring food security for the future, it is imperative to find alternative and sustainable sources of protein, both for direct human consumption and for animal feed. Insectderived proteins are one possible solution. Insects, especially fly larvae, have many qualities that make them well adapted to animal feed.

For example, insects are already a natural

source of food for pigs and poultry as well as for many fish species.

In addition, insect larvae are generally high in protein and are rich in other beneficial nutrients such as fats, minerals and vitamins.

As a source of protein for direct human consumption, insects offer several advantages over traditional sources of meat.

They have a significantly higher feed conversion rate than other livestock, which means they are more effective at converting the ingredients used to feed them into nutrients.

In addition, insect production is more environmentally friendly than conventional livestock production. Insects release much lower amounts of greenhouse gases and ammonia into the atmosphere per kilogram of meat than cattle or pigs.

Insect larvae, in particular, are efficient consumers of a wide range of organic materials. They have the ability to “overcycle” relatively low quality organic residues as feedstock into valuable proteins and lipids.

Although direct human consumption of insects is not widespread in Western countries, raising insects to transform organic

YOUR LETTERS

Comics feedback

Well, today is the big reveal of the “new and better” Citizen. We have been subscribers at our present address for 49 years, and have seen a lot of changes come and go over the years.

The new font for The Citizen looks like it’s from a bygone era, which is not necessarily a bad thing – just strikingly different. Usually the horoscopes give me a laugh, but today, they gave me exercise, as I went to look for a magnifying glass.

You do realize, don’t you, that many of your readers still cling to the paper copy of The Citizen because they are getting on in years, and prefer this old style of communication over an electronic version? In this age group, sharp vision isn’t the norm, so I hope that the teeny tiny print in the horoscopes will grow over time.

Then we came to the comics. Hi and Lois and Hagar are old friends, but even with two install-

ments of the new Mother Goose and Grimm, I could see nothing funny, or even intelligible. Bizarro is bizarre, but tolerable. If we are going Canadian, how about bringing back For Better or Worse?

Staying on the same page, thanks for leaving the crossword unchanged.

We enjoy receiving our paper at the front door five days a week and hope to continue to do so for a few more years to come.

Carol Johnson Prince George

Caring for creation

With all due respect to pastor Ed Drewlo and his decades of ministry in P.G., I would like to suggest that his view of theology and climate change is not the only Christian perspective on this topic.

Many Christian scholars/scientists/ecologists have come to different conclusions.

Much could be said in response

to the thoughts expressed in Ed’s recent clergy comment article; here are three comments:

1. Disagreements and questioning have always been a part of the scientific process. But as evidence accumulates, dissenting voices no longer have the same credibility.

2. Certainly God is Creator and Sustainer, but as in our individual lives we (mostly) live with the consequences of our actions, so also for our collective actions on the global scale.

3. The climate cycles of the recent past appear nowhere near the order of magnitude of what we are experiencing today. In that sense, it no longer seems natural.

For those of us in the pews, let us encourage one another to be the good stewards of creation that Ed suggests we be, not only individually, but as we are able, to also address the broader issues pollution and energy use.

Dave Rempel Prince George

LETTERS WELCOME: The Prince George Citizen welcomes letters to the editor from our readers. Submissions should be sent by email to: letters@pgcitizen.ca. No attachments, please. They can also be faxed to 250-960-2766, or mailed to 201-1777 Third Ave., Prince George, B.C. V2L 3G7. Maximum length is 750 words and writers are limited to one submission every week. We will edit letters only to ensure clarity, good taste, for legal reasons, and occasionally for length. Although we will not include your address and telephone number in the paper, we need both for verification purposes. Unsigned or handwritten letters will not be published. The Prince George Citizen is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to deal with acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please contact Neil Godbout (ngodbout@pgcitizen. ca or 250-960-2759). If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, visit the web site at mediacouncil.ca or call toll-free 1-844-877-1163 for additional information.

waste streams offers an interesting opportunity to produce food ingredients for animal production.

In particular, the larvae of the black soldier fly has a nutritional profile that makes them a potential ingredient to replace traditional food ingredients intended for human consumption. The cultivation of insects raised specifically for domestic animals and fish has been the subject of sporadic assessments for several decades.

However, the widespread adoption and commercialization of these approaches remains difficult. The methods are still artisanal and have been mainly developed and deployed in emerging countries with limited resources.

However, a convergence of factors has revived interest in this area, particularly from a number of multinationals in the agri-food sector.

A combination of new municipal regulations limiting organic waste disposal and the need to find sustainable ingredients for animal feed have led to renewed interest in insects and their ability to transform organic waste into valuable food resources. — Grant Vandenberg is a professor in agricultural science at Laval University. This article first appeared in The Conversation. See related story on page 8

Residents remain behind TMX pipeline

The federal government has re-approved the proposed expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, in a decision that was widely expected. Public opinion in British Columbia had been trending in favour of the project when Ottawa announced in May 2018 that it was purchasing the existing pipeline and its expansion for $4.5 billion.

In the most recent Research Co. survey, 56 per cent of British Columbians agreed with the federal government’s decision to re-approve the pipeline expansion, while 33 per cent disagreed and 11 per cent were undecided.

The re-approval has not made the project suddenly uncontentious.

Our survey also outlined health and safety concerns from residents, a massive expectation of job creation, disappointment with the federal government and wide skepticism in the Alberta government’s view that a pipeline would undoubtedly bring lower gas prices to British Columbia.

On the political front, only 41 per cent of British Columbians believe the provincial government should do anything necessary to ensure that the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion does not happen.

British Columbians are split on whether the pipeline expansion threatens the health and safety of residents (46 per cent agree and 44 per cent disagree).

The level of concern with detrimental side effects is highest among women (56 per cent), residents aged 18 to 34 (58 per cent) and Metro Vancouverites (50 per cent).

These are significant proportions, but are well below the level of animosity that the project provoked before it was purchased by Ottawa.

Speaking of the federal government, three in five British Columbians (59 per cent) are disappointed with the way it has handled the Trans Mountain expansion.

This includes, unsurprisingly, 95 per cent of those who are “strongly opposed” to the project and 75 per cent of those who are “moderately opposed.” But among “moderate” and “strong” supporters of the project, 50 per cent are dissatisfied with how this file has been dealt with.

Our survey also shows that just 30 per cent of British Columbians recall being exposed to the advertising campaign initiated by the new government of Alberta in an attempt to pressure British

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Columbia to endorse the pipeline expansion.

Among those who saw the ads, just one third (32 per cent) said they were more likely to support the expansion – a proportion that includes many who already did. The campaign did little to engage with all British Columbians. Recall of the ads is satisfactory among “strong” supporters of the project (47 per cent), but negligible among “moderate” supporters (28 per cent), “moderate” opponents (25 per cent) and “strong” opponents (21 per cent).

In addition, residents are not fully persuaded by one of the key messages of the campaign. While 39 per cent of British Columbians believe that gas prices would be lower in British Columbia now that the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has been re-approved, 33 per cent disagree and 28 per cent are undecided.

The aftermath of this campaign recalls the 1993 movie Dave, where the title character played by Kevin Kline is impersonating the president of the United States and is desperately trying to find room in the budget for a project.

During a cabinet meeting, Dave asks the secretary of commerce why he’s spending on an ad campaign to “boost consumer confidence in the American auto industry.”

The cabinet member replies, “It’s designed to bolster individual confidence in a previous domestic automotive purchase,” Dave retorts.

“So we’re spending $47 million dollars to make people feel better about a car they’ve already bought?” Seconds later, the disbursement is effectually scratched from the budget.

This is precisely what the new government of Alberta has accomplished in attempting to engage British Columbians on the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion. The campaign succeeded in making some residents more supportive of a project that a majority was already supporting.

It would seem that Alberta’s premier needs to be more like Dave – especially at a time when economic uncertainty continues to affect many families in the province that he actually governs – and leave “war room” theatrics where they belong: in the realm of fiction.

Shawn Cornell, director of advertising: 250-960-2757 scornell@pgcitizen.ca

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THE NUMBERS

MARIO CANSECO

Kiefer Sutherland gets personal during music tour

his country-rock album Reckless & Me this week.

Victoria AHEARN The Canadian Press

TORONTO — When Kiefer Sutherland starts touring Canada for his country-rock album Reckless & Me this week, audiences will see a vulnerable side that he admits took some getting used to sharing.

The Toronto-raised 24 and Designated Survivor star says the highlight for him on the tour, which hits Winnipeg on Thursday after performances in Europe and the U.S., has been connecting with fans in intimate venues by explaining what he was going through when writing his songs.

But it also had the Golden Globe winner feeling exposed in a way he didn’t anticipate in the beginning, he said, noting he’d previously been able to hide behind his onscreen characters.

“I made the terrible miscalculation that if I had 35 years of experience onstage and in front of the camera, that that would somehow help me in live performance musically,” Sutherland, 52, said in a phone interview from a tour stop in Pittsburgh.

“The terrible miscalculation is that the songs are very personal and I’m saying things that I normally would never, ever have said in an interview, let alone to 500 strangers in a bar... It took 20 shows to get to a place where I felt really comfortable about doing that.”

Among the personal songs is the title track, which reflects on both himself and his days as a team roper on the rodeo circuit in the 1990s.

“It was really a wonderful time in my life,

and one of the things that I really enjoyed was packing up from one rodeo, loading up your horses in the tack and just driving through the night to the next one, and all the excitement of what that next town might bring,” Sutherland recalled.

“So I started writing a song about that, and this horse that I had, Reckless. And before I knew it, I couldn’t figure out if I was writing about the horse or if I was writing about this part of my own personality that I’ve had to try to keep in check and can be a bit reckless. So while I’m telling that story in the show, I say to the audience, ‘It’s up to you to decide.”’

The 10-song Reckless & Me album is the followup to Sutherland’s 2016 debut album, Down In A Hole.

His signature raspy vocals and guitar playing are backed by four other band members on tour: guitar player Austin Vallejo, bass player Joseph De La O, drummer Jess Calcaterra, and multi-instrumentalist Phil Parlapiano.

Tour stops have included Riga, Moscow and Helsinki, where Sutherland opened for Muse for stadium audiences – a much bigger showcase than his usual crowd of about 500 to 1,000.

The Canadian tour will also hit Saskatoon (July 6), Edmonton (July 7), Calgary (July 8), Kelowna, B.C. (July 9), Vancouver (July 10), Ottawa (August 23) and Montreal (August 24).

The son of actors Shirley Douglas and Donald Sutherland said he didn’t catch the musical bug from his family but rather the

Dion, Paltrow mingle with Valentino couture

Thomas ADAMSON

The Associated Press

PARIS — Celine Dion and Gwyneth Paltrow added star power to the finale of Paris couture week by gracing the verdant Valentino collection.

Meanwhile, Jean Paul Gaultier followed through on his pledge to go fur free, as Elie Saab reached a creative high with inspiration from China.

Here are some highlights from Wednesday’s fall-winter 2019 couture displays.

Valentino is original

Luscious green trees that were installed inside the Valentino venue scraped the ceiling, wafted in fresh air and provided some shade for celebrities Paltrow, Dion, Naomi Campbell and Kristin Scott Thomas as the Paris sun scorched guests.

This season, Pierpaolo Piccioli celebrated the organic. In its literal sense, through floral and bird-shaped embroideries, and figuratively, with ethnic fringes, crystals, gold baubles and sections that seemed to grow out of dresses and headpieces.

It made for a highly original show.

Collar bands that were constructed with beautiful black feathers mixed with long, Renaissance-looking “intarsia” capes. There was even a loose, pink sequined gown that looked ready for the disco.

It was a diverse show that brimmed with ideas, but one that was sometimes hard to pin down as a whole.

Piccioli included a disclaimer in the program notes: “Trying to explain it all... would be betraying the deepest meaning of the journey.”

The standing ovation followed, and as the soundtrack blasted, a smiling Dion mouthed the words, “You make me feel like a beautiful woman.”

Jean Paul Gaultier fakes it Fake fur and authentic celebrities got all the attention at Gaultier.

In a corseted gown, singer Christina Aguilera held court with RuPaul’s Drag Race stars Violet Chachki and Miss Fame, as well as French cinema icon Catherine Deneuve at the fur-free show.

Last November, animal rights groups

hailed Gaultier’s announcement that he is joining the growing ranks of designers to ban animal fur from their collections.

The designer used this as a muse for a playful fall-winter collection that used feathers to mimic real fur on 1980s-themed looks with a funky retro soundtrack and flashes of bright colour.

An oversize Russian winter fur hat, or chapka, looked initially like the genuine article and shimmered alongside a red “fox” bubble jacket.

They were, so said the program notes, all constructed in marabou feathers.

Leopard print graced a billowing chiffon gown, geometric zebra stripes jazzed up diaphanous pant look, and all this was followed by a “panther” coat with oversize collar that was made with jacquard.

A blood red silk coat, which was the strongest look in an excessively theatrical display, opened up with its wide

collar as if to evoke a carcass cut open, albeit in a very elegant way.

Gaultier has humorous program notes

Gaultier’s program notes have become legendary over the years.

Each season, guests pour over the house cards that humorously detail the couture looks with tongue-in-cheek word plays and rhyming puns.

Downtown Abyss, Black Panther, Grey of Thrones and Mein Hair were among some of the quirky couture look titles in this season’s lot – all the work of wordsmith Raphael Ciotti.

Ciotti, a 36-year-old screen and stage writer who co-wrote the Gaultier Fashion Freak Show musical, says he has been penning the couture notes for several years after first meeting the humour-loving designer during a television show a decade ago.

“He realized we had exactly the same sense of humour and so asked me to write his program notes. He just tells me the show theme and then (I) have free creative rein,” Ciotti said.

“I try to make as many jokes as possible in each look.”

Sustainability in fashion

The fashion industry can be a polluting one, as it puts myriad editors on airplanes across the world for fashion seasons that promote clothes to be discarded as soon as they get passe.

But there are some moments of ecological reflection.

One initiative at Elie Saab had front row editors impressed.

This season, there were no program notes on the seats, ones which comprise wads of thick, colour-printed photos and detailed texts, and end up in the trash as soon as the critics have finished their reviews.

In their place Wednesday was a giant – and mysterious – barcode on each invitation.

It provoked bemusement from invitees.

Each guest was instructed by Saab’s staff to hover their phone camera over the barcode, and then an option automatically appeared to load up the notes electronically to a web browser, saving plenty of trees in the process.

violin lessons his mother made him take when he was young. He’s “acutely aware of the stigma of an actor doing music” but has found audiences drop their preconceived notions when they come to his shows.

“I think I’ve finally got to a point in my life where, A: I’ve felt my songs had something to say, and B: if someone is going to make fun of me for it, if I can’t take that at this point, then that’s on me,” said Sutherland, whose films include Stand by Me, The Lost Boys and Flatliners.

“And yet the reality of what has happened is very different than that. I felt like that when we started, and I think that maybe is a little more cynical than it needed to be. The audiences that we’ve had have been extraordinary and incredibly generous, not only with their time but their energy.” Sutherland said he’s approaching his music career “one show at a time” with “no agenda” and no plans “to sell a billion records” or play stadiums. He also has no plans to give up acting, he said, noting he juggles both his career onscreen and onstage simultaneously. He even toured with his band during his days off from shooting Designated Survivor in Toronto.

“I’m an actor to the death, it’s the thing that I really love,” Sutherland said.

“This is another way to tell the story and on a more personal level, and I love playing with this band, so that’s why we keep doing it.

CP PHOTO

When Kiefer Sutherland, shown in a handout photo, starts touring Canada for

AP PHOTO BY KAMIL ZIHNIOGLU

A model wears a creation for the Valentino Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2020 fashion collection presented in Paris on Wednesday.

Maggots could revolutionize food supply

The Washington Post

It may be hard to understand the appeal of plunging your hands into a pile of writhing maggots. But the sensation is uniquely tactile, not at all unpleasant, as thousands of soft, plump grubs, each the size of a grain of rice, wriggle against your skin, tiny mouthparts gently poking your flesh. For Lauren Taranow and her employees, it’s just another day at work.

Taranow is the president of Symton BSF, where the larvae of black soldier flies are harvested and sold as food for exotic pets such as lizards, birds, even hedgehogs. Her “maggot farm,” as she styles it, is part of a burgeoning industry, one with the potential to revolutionize the way we feed the world. That’s because of the black soldier fly larva’s remarkable ability to transform nearly any kind of organic waste – cafeteria refuse, manure, even toxic algae – into high-quality protein, all while leaving a smaller carbon footprint than it found.

In one year, a single acre of black soldier fly larvae can produce more protein than 3,000 acres of cattle or 130 acres of soybeans. Such yields, combined with the need to find cheap, reliable protein for a global population projected to jump 30 percent, to 9.8 billion by 2050, present big opportunity for the black soldier fly. The United Nations, which already warns that animal-rich diets cannot stretch that far long term, is encouraging governments and businesses to turn to insects to fulfill the planet’s protein needs.

People who’ve seen what black soldier fly larvae can do often speak of them in evangelical tones. Jeff Tomberlin, a professor of entomology at Texas A&M University, said the bug industry could “save lives, stabilize economies, create jobs and protect the environment.”

“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be doing this at some scale throughout the world,” he said.

So why aren’t we?

When the LED lights are flipped on in the fly-breeding room at Evo Conversion Systems, the whir of thousands of tiny wings fills the air as flies careen about their screened-in enclosures in search of a mate. Evo, which was founded by Tomberlin, shares a wall with Symton. The companies are separate but symbiotic: Evo hatches fly larvae and sells them to Symton, which fattens them up on a proprietary grain blend that ensures optimal nutrition for the

animals that eventually will consume them.

The adult flies resemble small black wasps, minus a stinger and are generally harmless to humans. After they’ve mated, the females deposit clutches of several hundred eggs into small pieces of corrugated cardboard. Evo employees collect the cardboard and deposit them into glass Mason jars to incubate. Several days later, a brood of maggots – each no bigger than a speck of pepper – hatches.

Entomologists have known of the soldier fly’s promise for decades. Researchers proposed using them to convert manure into protein as early as the 1970s. But raising them at anything approaching a commercial scale seemed like a dead end: no one knew how to get captive flies to reliably mate and deposit eggs.

That changed in 2002 with the publication of a paper by Tomberlin, his adviser D. Craig Sheppard and others, which described a system for raising the insects in captivity. The key, they found, was finding the precise mixture of temperature, humidity and, especially, lighting to stimulate the flies to breed.

Before the paper, “people thought we were crazy” for trying to grow soldier flies, Tomberlin said. The fact that the technology to properly cultivate fly colonies didn’t even exist 20 years ago underscores how new the industry is, he added.

A black soldier fly larva can consume twice its weight in food each day. On its 14-

day journey from hatchling to pupa, a single larva will grow nearly an inch long and increase its weight by a factor of 10,000. That’s akin to an eight-pound baby swelling to the size of a 40-ton humpback whale. They binge eat to store up nutrients for their two-week life span as adults, when they typically don’t eat anything at all.

The larvae at Evo feast on spent grains from a handful of Texas distilleries and breweries, as much as 15 tons of it each month. Nathan Barkman of Rio Brazos Distillery said Evo eliminates close to half of his company’s weekly output of waste. It’s hot, sopping wet, highly acidic and sticky – “like lava,” he said – making it difficult to dispose. Local sanitation companies won’t take it. Pig farmers sometimes will, but the closest farms are miles outside of town, and nobody wants to be driving molten grain mash that far.

The flies, however, love it.

Their ability to rapidly devour waste has inspired a number of commercial applications. A pilot program at Louisiana State University deploys a small colony of soldier flies to consume the food its students toss out at one dining hall. The entomologist overseeing the project hopes it will be expanded to eliminate all campus food waste by the end of the year.

Using larvae to eliminate food waste could be an ecological game-changer. A 2011 U.N. report detailed how rotting food emits millions of tons of carbon dioxide into

Dogs own us with their eyes

Nothing in Biology Makes Sense except in the Light of Evolution is the title of a paper by Dr. Theodosius Dobzhansky written for The American Biology Teacher.

It is not a particularly long paper nor is it highly technical. Rather it is a reaffirmation that evolutionary principles are the foundational basis for all of biology – from the interaction of molecules to the behavior of whole herds of wildebeest. Simply put, evolution rules. There are many people who still want to treat evolution as “just a theory” in much the same way as we use in public discourse. In explaining some events, such as an ice cream cone falling to the ground, someone will say “I have a theory as to why that happened”. In fact, they have an explanation and it usually boils down to inattention by the person eating the ice cream cone.

Theories in science – the ones which last for long periods of

RELATIVITY

TODD WHITCOMBE

time – are much more than just a simple explanation. They are a framework into which all of the existing data fits. They allow us to make meaningful predictions and to test predictions against theory.

One of the hallmarks of good science is the facts always win. If facts are discovered which contradict a theory, then the theory is modified. If it can’t be modified in a way which will incorporate the new data, then the theory is the thing which goes. It is called a paradigm shift and major shifts are infrequent but do happen.

The theory of evolution by natural selection was just such a paradigm shift. When Charles Darwin outlined his thesis in On the Origins of Species, he broke with the common view that species had existed forever or at least since the Earth was created. His explana-

tion of how evolution could occur through natural selection provided a mechanism for speciation.

Of course, no one at the time knew anything about DNA or genes or the genome or epigenetics or a whole bunch of molecular biology which ultimately manifests in life. It could be argued all of the wonders of living organisms would have been uncovered in due course without the push the theory of evolution provided but that is not how history has unfolded.

The essential principle behind evolution is life will adapt to changes in the environment, albeit over many generations. It is the generational shift which is critical. Evolution acts by making an individual more or less fit to produce the next generation. Well-adapted organisms reproduce and their genes get carried to the next generation. Those not well adapted get weeded out of the gene pool.

Some organisms, such as bacteria, have very short generational spans. Single celled creatures can produce a whole new generation every 20 minutes or so.

the atmosphere, accounting for about seven percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. But when maggots consume food waste, they take all that carbon with them.

Soldier flies are “where carbon goes to die,” Tomberlin said. “It goes into this system and comes out the other end as all these beneficial ingredients.”

Such as food for animals.

“Insect protein feed can be a solution and a renewable source of protein to feed fish and ultimately feed the world,” said Maye Walraven, InnovaFeed’s head of business development, in a video announcing the partnership.

The UN agrees. It forecast in a 2013 report that insect farming would have to play a key role – both as animal feed and to feed people – if the world is going to be fed sustainably in coming decades.

Back at Symton, Taranow pops a couple of oven-dried soldier fly larvae into her mouth.

“Honestly, they taste like Fritos,” she said. They have a pleasant, neutral, nutty flavour to them.

Close to two billion people worldwide already include insects in their diets, according to the 2013 U.N. report. Insect-based snacks are commonly seen in open-air markets in places such as Thailand and China, for instance.

The practice hasn’t caught on in Europe or the United States, in part, because of longstanding cultural attitudes toward insects. This is somewhat puzzling, considering many Westerners happily consume foods such as crab and lobster, which are really just giant sea bugs.

“I absolutely think there will be applications [for the soldier fly] in the human food market,” said EnviroFlight’s Koutsos.

“The challenge is getting over the cringe factor.”

One potential path to human consumption is via insect-based protein powders, which can be mixed with other foods, thus lessening the ick factor.

Several companies are already doing this with crickets.

“There’s been a lot of effort put into cricket flour or mealworms for protein ingredients for everything from pasta to cookies to chips,” Tomberlin said. He expects soldier fly protein to follow a similar path.

“When you walk in these facilities in the next 10 years, we’ll look back at this era and say we were just getting started.”

This can result in rapid evolution particularly when it is combined with DNA able to mutate or adopt genes from surrounding species. Bacteria are constantly evolving, which is how we have ended up with super bugs resistant to many common antibiotics. They have been under evolutionary pressure brought about by a change in their environment – the introduction of an antibiotic – and only the ones which could deal with the drug survived to produce the next generation. None of this requires the intervention of any other organism. Or perhaps a better way to put it is evolution occurs naturally because of interactions between an organism and everything else in its environment, including other organisms.

This has recently been demonstrated for our faithful friends, dogs. In a recent paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences, Julianne Kaminski and colleagues present a case for the evolution of facial muscle anatomy in dogs. Her work examines the facial muscle structure of dogs

and compares it to their close relative the wolf. Dogs have evolved a muscle which allows them to open their eyes wider – to give us and others their puppy dog eyes. Anyone who has ever owned a dog knows they have very expressive faces. They are able to give us a look which we interpret as sadness or longing. This is particularly true for puppies which can melt even the hardest of hearts with a single glance.

While the muscle involved is a very small one, it is a major evolutionary distinction between wolves and dogs. In wolves, the same region contains only a bundle of undifferentiated tissue. Wolves can’t produce the same expression.

It is likely the expressive eyebrows and puppy dog eyes of their earliest ancestors which facilitated the domestication of wild dogs in the first place. Over the course of the last 30,000+ years, we have bred dogs to enhance the trait but it was evolution which allowed them to succeed in the first place and become one of the dominant life forms on this planet.

PHOTO FOR THE WASHINGTON POST BY LOREN ELLIOT

Jonathan Cammack, chief operating officer at EVO Conversion Systems, displays dried black soldier fly larvae at the company’s facilities in College Station, Texas.

Sports

‘All about the bannock and the ball’

Canada

Day tourney keeps fastball alive

Ted CLARKE Citizen staff tclarke@pgcitizen.ca

For the better part of 40 years, Bruce “Huckle” Giroux has had Prince George circled on his map of holiday destinations every July 1st long weekend.

Fastball is in his blood and he and his family have a long tradition of making the 10-hour trek west from their home in Driftpile, Alta., to play ball and renew family ties in their pilgrimage to Spruce City Stadium, home of the Canada Day Fastpitch Tournament.

Now 59, Giroux has been coming to the tournament since 1975, when he was 15, and vows he’ll be back to play in it with his grandchildren, the oldest of whom is now 10.

“Every year it comes back and I want to keep playing until my grandkids are old enough,” he said.

It’s already a family affair for the Driftpile clan. Huckle’s sons Ian and Brydon play on the team, so does his brother Brian and their cousin George Chalifoux.

All of them are related to the Potskin family in Prince George, who helped start the tournament in 1969.

“It’s like a family tradition for us, always coming out here, I love it,” said Ian Giroux, 34.

“We made a team happen just so my dad can play and we can play. It’s a family tradition to keep alive. Being able to step on the field with my dad was something I dreamed about.”

Spruce City Stadium opened in 1969, the year of the first Prince George native fastball tournament, and for Ian Giroux it has that classic ballpark feel to it – the Fenway Park of northern B.C.

“I was one when I came here the first year,” he said.

“I know this place so well, it’s like home, and we look forward to this every year.”

The Girouxs and their Driftpile LTA Cree teammates did their nation proud Sunday. They won three straight games on the B-side, including a nine-inning thriller against Canoe Lake, before their tournament ended three wins shy of the title in a 7-4 defeat at the hands of Custom Edge Sports, one of the two Prince George teams in the 13-team men’s tournament.

Huckle Giroux lacks the speed he once possessed as a national team calibre shortstop when he ran the bases at Spruce City Stadium with the Driftpile Swingers. But he’s still got the tools to play first base and he’s a tough out, as Custom Edge pitcher Josh Anderson was reminded in the fifth inning when Giroux’s infield hit drove in Driftpile’s first run of game.

Gone are the days when the Driftpile team used to bring a camp kitchen and their own cooks to set up in the old KOA campground (now Rotary Soccer Fields), where they’d crash for the night between games. 1986 was a monumental year for Driftpile; the

Swingers beat the Prince George Lumber Kings in the final to win the tournament.

“We lost the first game and came back and won seven games in a row – we were all seizing up,” said Giroux.

Driftpile lost 7-0 Saturday afternoon to the Big Guy Lake Kings of Prince George. Most of the players on either team are related and that gave special meaning to the postgame handshakes, high-fives and hugs. It wasn’t just a ball game, it was more a family reunion on the field in a three-day gathering of native clans.

“You don’t see that in your typical tournaments at all, this is more a cultural event and it’s all about the bannock and the ball,” said Harley Desjarlais, whose son Lane plays for Custom Edge Sports.

“Prince George has been a destination point for a lot of the families and the tournament is a chance to see each other. It’s like Kentucky basketball, the fans really know the game, they know the players and they know the personalities.

“When we started it was the grandfathers playing and now our sons are starting to play, too. Just watching that legacy go down through the generations is pretty rewarding. The young kids now take such good care of themselves, they’re different athletes now. They spend a lot of time working out and looking after themselves and they’re a lot more disciplined than my generation was.”

The Nak’azdli Pirates and Takla Lakers brought their legions of fans from nearby Fort St. James , as did the Witset Arrows of Moricetown and the two Burns Lake teams – Redskins and Woyenne Nation. All came to Prince George intent on turning their $750 entry fee into a $7,000 payday for winning the whole shebang.

For a young Chad Ghostkeeper, those three tournament days were his chance to make some money. He’d retrieve foul balls at 25 cents a pop and one day brought home $40. By the time he was 15, he was playing in it on a team his Uncle Charlie started and that year came one hit shy of the tournament batting title.

“It was very intimidating because you had big boys throwing hard at you,” said Ghostkeeper, now 47.

Charlie Ghostkeeper was the driving force behind the tournament until he died of cancer in 2012 and before he died his brother Peter promised him he’d keep it going at least until the 50th year. Rick Charette of Regina started making the trip with a combined Meadow Lake-North Battleford team in 1981 and remembers Charlie phoning once a week in the months leading up to the Canada Day weekend to make sure they were coming.

“They used to have 16 or 20 teams for the A event and you’d have 15 teams in the B event and the stands here were full all the way through,” said Charette.

“They had motorhomes all along the back wall and people would sit on their lawn chairs and drink beer and watch the games right from there.

“We just made it a tradition and we still bring a team (the Regina Golden Hawks).”

Randy Potskin grew up watching the tournament as a kid and was just 12 when his uncles – Joe, Leonard and George – turned him from batboy to outfielder for a game in Pouce Coupe.

“They put me in left field and told me, ‘Just stand out there,’ and I got two balls,” he said.

“Then they tried to hide me in right field and another ball came at me and I caught that one too. I got up to bat and they said, “Don’t swing, just crouch down.’ Three pitches later I was out. I didn’t even swing. Next bat, I got to swing and I actually got a hit.”

Not long after that, Potskin became a regular on the men’s field at Spruce City Stadium.

Now at 50, he’s missed a few of those tournaments but not many, and he’s had too many hits to count. The tradition of playing on Canada Day weekend is like a steelyard magnet and he’s powerless to resist, especially now that his sons Jarrett and Nicholas play with him on Custom Edge Sports.

“Ever since I started playing, there was no going back, being from a family that all played,” Potskin said.

“It’s just the people, it’s families, it’s friends, and once you start

something that’s gone on that long, people just expect to be going to it every year. Probably half that (Driftpile) team are my relatives and it’s different when you play them, you’re kind of more relaxed. You don’t want to make them look bad but on the same token you don’t want to lose to them.”

Barry Seymour played in the tournament in the ’70s and ’80’s. He watched his son Trent pitch for the Big Guy Lake Blazers junior team until Trent was seriously injured in a hunting accident five years ago.

The number of teams has diminished over the past couple decades but the quality of play on the field has held strong and the tournament has remains a powerful drawing card that still brings teams from different time zones to Prince George.

“For the longest period of time it was considered the Western Canadians for ball, it always attracted the best teams in the west,” said Seymour, a former chief of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation.

“There was a bit of downfall when slo-pitch came in, but we’ve managed to maintain fastpitch in Prince George.

“It’s mostly Indigenous because we got involved (in the Spruce City Fastball Association executive) and we’re still developing the young kids. My (four) kids grew up around the ball park and I think it’s still an important part of our community.”

Spruce Kings release regular season schedule

Citizen staff

The Prince George Spruce Kings will raise their championship banners in Rolling Mix Concrete Arena at the first home game of the 2019-20 B.C. Hockey League season on Sept. 6. That night, before playing the Surrey Eagles, the banners as 2019 champions of the Fred Page Cup for winning the BCHL title and the Doyle Cup for defeating the Alberta champion will be hoisted. Their first home game will be on Sept. 6, when they host the Surrey Eagles and celebrate.

Purchase of a five-game plan will guarantee a seat at the game and to four more feature games.

Single-game tickets do not go on sale until Sept. 3.

A rematch of the Coastal Conference final is set for Sept. 13 when they take on the Victoria Grizzlies, before the visiting Penticton Vees make their lone stop the following night. The Spruce Kings will see division rival

Chilliwack on Oct. 18 and 19, with the Friday night game featuring the second game of the five-game plan, with a special jersey to be worn one night only. It is the first of three featured jersey nights. The Fred Page Cup rematch goes Nov. 13 against the Vernon Vipers. The annual Drop the Gloves and Sock it to Em night will be held Dec. 13 with the second featured jersey being worn, as the Coquitlam Express make their first visit of the season. On Jan. 17, it will be Turn Back the Clock night, honouring the team’s past history with a third and final featured jersey, The Langley Rivermen will be the opponents. The regular season will finish in Prince George on Feb. 21 and 22 against the Coquitlam Express. Fan appreciation night is set for the first of those two games. Season tickets are still available and five-game plans are on sale until Aug. 1: Adult five-game plans are $65, senior five-game plans are $50, and youth fivegame plans are $40.

Big Guy Lake Kings player Colin Ghostkeeper hits a fly ball into left field against Driftpile LTA Cree on Saturday afternoon at Spruce City Stadium as the two teams met in a round-robin game at the 50th annual Canada Day Fastpitch tournament.

HANDOUT PHOTO Spruce Kings captain Ben Poisson hoists the Fred Page Cup after the team won the BCHL championship in Vernon in April.

Dutch to face U.S. for World Cup

The Associated Press

When Jackie Groenen received the ball, even though she was outside the penalty area, the Dutch midfielder knew she had to seize her opening.

It was 99 minutes into a grueling Women’s World Cup semifinal, and neither the Netherlands nor Sweden was finding a clear path to the goal Wednesday night.

“I saw a nice angle,” Groenen said. “We’ve been discussing this for a couple of weeks now that I need to take shots more often. The ball just came really nicely, and I thought, ‘Let’s do this.”’

A slick passing sequence ended with Groenen driving a shot past goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl. A first shot on target in France produced her first goal of the tournament.

“I’m not much of a scorer,” she said. “But I’m very happy today I got to score.”

It sent the Netherlands into its first Women’s World Cup final, where the Dutch will face the United States on Sunday, back in the Stade de Lyon.

Two years after the Dutch won their first major trophy – the European Championship – Groenen is already dreaming of a first world title in only their second attempt.

“It kind of went through my mind as soon as I got off the pitch,” she said. “The Americans are massive, they have massive players. They are the biggest team in the world but I can’t wait to play.”

Progress for the Dutch has been rapid after reaching the round of 16 during their World Cup debut four years ago.

“The potential for the Netherlands has been there for a long time,” Netherlands coach Sarina Wiegman said. “Since 2007, when the Eredivisie started and players got better facilities and could train more, the players developed so much that they improved. And then when you’re at big tournaments, like European Championships and World Cups, they develop even more. They made transfers to big clubs in Europe.”

Players like Groenen, who became the first overseas signing

for Manchester United after the recently formed women’s team was promoted to England’s Super League in May. Before she pulls on a red jersey, Groenen could become a world

champion in orange by beating the defending champions.

“We are very down to earth but they have their own qualities and we have ours,” she said.

The finalists have something in

common: female coaches. With Jill Ellis coaching the U.S. and Wiegman in charge of the Netherlands, the run of three finals featuring a male coach comes to an end.

“It’s important that women have

the opportunity to develop as players, as coaches and in society,” Wiegman said.

After a draining game in sweltering central France, the Dutch have one less day than the Americans to prepare for the title game and they will have to be more potent up front to overcome the athletic three-time champions.

The second semifinal was no match for the drama, tension and high energy of the previous night when the U.S. beat England 2-1.

The game featured few scoring chances and was only lit up by the goalkeeping in regulation time –particularly in the second half.

A shot from Nilla Fischer was creeping into the net in the 56th minute until Netherlands goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal tipped it onto the post.

It was the crossbar that denied the Dutch in the 64th minute when a header from Vivianne Miedema was pushed onto the frame by Lindahl’s fingertips.

“I felt like we had a golden opportunity to take this team to the final, and we didn’t take it,” Lindahl said. “Very disappointed.”

The goalkeepers wouldn’t be relied on for a penalty shootout thanks to Groenen’s moment of brilliance, leaving the Swedes having to settle for bronze if they can beat England on Saturday in Nice.

“It was a really tight game tonight. It was really tough,” Netherlands forward Lieke Martens said. “I thought we had really good character. We really played until the last minute. We worked 200%. The effort was so big today. I’m really proud of the girls.”

The priority for Martens now is recovering from an ongoing foot injury that forced her off at halftime.

“If I’m not 100 per cent fit then I want another girl to come in and give 100 per cent,” she said.

“That’s the most important thing. It’s easy. As a player, you always want to play the biggest game of your career and this is one of the biggest ones I hopefully am going to play. I’m going to do the recovery. I really believe in the medical staff.”

Lions QB shares mental health challenges

One of the CFL’s toughest players says he’s no longer afraid to face his mental health.

More than a year and a half after experiencing a terrifying bout of panic attacks and anxiety, B.C. Lions quarterback Mike Reilly shared his experience in a stark piece for CFL.ca on Wednesday, saying he hopes it helps others dealing with similar issues.

“I just hope that (my story) empowers people to know that it’s not taboo and it’s not something people should frown upon,” the 34 year old told reporters at the Lions’ suburban training facility on Wednesday, just hours after the piece went live online. “People should celebrate that you’re strong enough to be able to get help instead of worrying about how tough you are or how big your ego is or how scared you are.” Reilly experienced his first panic attack at his off-season home in Seattle in January 2018. He was coming off another season as the league’s top passer, having thrown for 5,830 yards and 30 touchdowns for the Edmonton Eskimos in 2017.

He and his wife Emily had one infant daughter and another on the way when, one night, the football star lay down in bed

only to find himself unable to breathe, his heart racing, gripped by the fear that he was about to die.

“The scariest part was that it was something new for me and something I hadn’t dealt with before,” Reilly said. “I was scared that I was going to feel that way every day for the rest of my life. That’s a pretty rough place to be in.”

Over the next month, the 2015 Grey Cup MVP struggled with reconciling his recurring panic attacks and persistent anxiety with his image of being one of the CFL’s toughest athletes. He didn’t want to tell anyone – including his wife or his brother, a psychologist – what he was really going through. He worried with how he’d be viewed and that any issue would automatically be linked to a head injury.

“I thought of myself as a super tough guy. But there’s a difference between being tough and being dumb,” Reilly explained.

“Being tough is one thing when you’re fighting through something on your own. But that was not a scenario where I was going to be able to just fight through and pretend it wasn’t happening. Once I finally realized that and got the help that I needed, it was life changing.”

Eventually he reached out, received sup-

p.m. Colorado at Arizona, 9:10 p.m. San Diego at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m. St. Louis at San Francisco, 10:15 p.m. TENNIS

WIMBLEDON Men’s Singles Second Round Novak Djokovic (1), Serbia, def. Denis Kudla, United States, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Hubert Hurkacz, Poland, def. Leonardo Mayer, Argentina, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 7-6 (7), 6-3. Felix Auger Aliassime (19), Canada, def. Corentin Moutet, France, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Ugo Humbert, France, def. Marcel Granollers, Spain, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-5. Daniil Medvedev (11), Russia, def. Alexei Popyrin, Australia, 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. David Goffin (21), Belgium, def. Jeremy Chardy, France, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3. Fernando Verdasco, Spain, def. Kyle Edmund (30), Britain, 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-4. Thomas Fabbiano, Italy, def. Ivo Karlovic, Croatia, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4. Kevin Anderson (4), South Africa, def. Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-4. Guido Pella (26), Argentina, def. Andreas Seppi, Italy, 6-4, 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. Reilly Opelka, United States, def. Stan Wawrinka (22), Switzerland, 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 8-6. Milos Raonic (15), Canada, def. Robin Haase, Netherlands, 7-6 (1), 7-5, 7-6 (4). Karen Khachanov (10), Russia, def. Feliciano Lopez Diaz-Guerra, Spain, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4. Roberto Bautista-Agut (23), Spain, def. Steve Darcis, Belgium, 6-3, 6-2, 4-2, ret. Benoit Paire (28), France, def. Miomir Kecmanovic, Serbia, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 0-0, ret. Jiri Vesely, Czech Republic, def. Pablo Cuevas, Uruguay, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4. Women’s Singles Second Round Elina Svitolina (8), Ukraine, def. Margarita Gasparyan, Russia, 5-7, 6-5, ret. Maria Sakkari (31), Greece, def. Marie Bouzkova, Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-1. Petra Martic (24), Croatia, def. Anastasia Potapova,

port and learned various treatment tools, including journaling. The dark feelings and panic attacks quickly dissipated and he continued working to keep them at bay.

Reilly, who signed with the Lions as a free agent in February, said he hasn’t experienced any symptoms in more than a year and a half, but he still uses some of the tools and techniques he learned.

Today he has confidence that if anxiety ever encroaches again, he’ll be prepared.

“I don’t worry about it now during the day because I know that if I start to feel a little bit off, I can go and talk to people and it’s not going to be something where I’m going to be judged or I’m going to lose my career for it or things like that,” he said.

The experience has flipped how Reilly views mental health, from something that can be fought through by those who are tough enough to a medical condition that needs outside help.

“It’s something that didn’t square in my mind in the beginning and now when I look back on it, I can’t believe how wrong I was,” he said. “It was a life lesson for me, for sure, and one that I’m fortunate to have had the pieces and people in place to get me the help that I needed.”

Now Reilly is joining a handful of other

Russia, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Danielle Rose Collins, United States, def. Anastasija Sevastova (12), Latvia, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Karolina Muchova, Czech Republic, def. Madison Brengle, United States, 6-3, 6-4. Anett Kontaveit (20), Estonia, def. Heather Watson, Britain, 7-5, 6-1. Su-Wei Hsieh (28), Chinese Taipei, def. Kirsten Flipkens, Belgium, 7-6 (3), 6-3. Karolina Pliskova (3), Czech Republic, def. Monica Puig, Puerto Rico, 6-0, 6-4. Simona Halep (7), Romania, def. Mihaela Buzarnescu, Romania, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, def. Ajla Tomljanovic, Australia, 6-2, 6-0. Polona Hercog, Slovenia, def. Madison Keys (17), United States, 6-2, 6-4. Cori Gauff, United States, def. Magdalena Rybarikova, Slovakia, 6-3, 6-3. Caroline Wozniacki (14), Denmark, def. Veronika Kudermetova, Russia, 7-6 (5), 6-3. Shuai Zhang, China, def. Yanina Wickmayer, Belgium, 6-3, 6-2. Dayana Yastremska, Ukraine, def. Sofia Kenin (27), United States, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. Viktorija Golubic, Switzerland, def. Yulia Putintseva, Kazakhstan, 6-4, 7-6 (3). Men’s Doubles First Round Lukasz Kubot, Poland and Marcelo Melo (1), Brazil, def. Jan-Lennard Struff, Germany and Ben Mclachlan, Japan, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5. Matt Reid, Australia and Alex de Minaur, Australia, def. Federico Delbonis, Argentina and Andres Molteni, Argentina, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Sander Gille, Belgium and Joran Vliegen, Belgium, def. Guillermo Duran, Argentina and Juan Ignacio Londero, Argentina, 6-2, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-2. Marcelo Demoliner, Brazil and Divij Sharan, India, def. Kevin Krawietz, Germany and Andreas Mies (13), Germany, 7-5, 6-4, 7-5. Bruno Soares, Brazil and Mate Pavic (4), Croatia, def. Matwe Middelkoop, Netherlands and Sander Arends, Netherlands, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3. Cameron Norrie, Britain and Jaume Antoni Munar Clar, Spain, def. Austin Krajicek, United States and Dominic Inglot (15), Britain, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (11), 6-3. Nikola Mektic, Croatia and Franko Skugor (6), Croatia, def. Ricardas Berankis, Lithuania and Marton Fucsovics, Hungary, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. Matthew Ebden, Australia and Vasek Pospisil, Canada, def. Filip Krajinovic, Serbia and Dusan Lajovic, Serbia, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Rajeev Ram, United States and Joe Salisbury (12),

male professional athletes speaking about their journey in a bid to break down the stigma that still surrounds mental health.

NBA players DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love have shared their own battles, while NHL goalie Robin Lehner recently spoke out about struggling with addiction, suicidal thoughts and bipolar disorder.

Reilly is also helping others by working with the B.C. arm of the Canadian Mental Health Association, and putting the $25,000 donation he earned from being last year’s top player of the week toward Foundry B.C., a group that helps youth access various mental health care and various other supports.

Speaking publicly has brought up some nerves for the quarterback, who prefers to keep his personal life personal.

“It’s kind of uncharted territory for me,” Reilly said. “Any time I’ve been hurt, physically, I don’t talk about it. I’ve played through a lot of different injuries and I generally don’t like to talk about them. It’s generally something I deal with on my own.

“But this is not a physical injury. This is something that can and will affect a lot of people. Mental health touches so many different people and you don’t even know about it.”

Britain, def. Malek Jaziri, Tunisia and Radu Albot, Moldova, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Ken Skupski, Britain and John-Patrick Smith, Australia, def. James Ward, Britain and Jay Clarke, Britain, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia and Jordan Thompson, Australia, def. Purav Raja, India and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, India, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. Michael Venus, New Zealand and Raven Klaasen (3), South Africa, def. Jonny O Mara, Britain and Luke Bambridge, Britain, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-4. Maximo Gonzalez, Argentina and Horacio Zeballos (9), Argentina, def. Jonathan Erlich, Israel and Artem Sitak, New Zealand, 7-5, 7-6 (5), 6-3. Jurgen Melzer, Austria and Oliver Marach (14), Austria, def. Cheng-Peng Hsieh, Chinese Taipei and Christopher Rungkat, Indonesia, 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 2-6, 11-9. Mikhail Kukushkin, Kazakhstan and Alexander Bublik, Kazakhstan, def. Leander Paes, India and Benoit Paire, France, 4-6, 6-7 (1), 6-3, 7-6 (4), 9-7. Robert Farah, Colombia and Juan Sebastian Cabal (2), Colombia, def. Paul Jubb, Britain and Jack Draper, Britain, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. Women’s Doubles First Round Kristina Mladenovic, France and Timea Babos (1), Hungary, def. Jessica Pegula, United States and Maria Sanchez, United States, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Galina Voskoboeva, Kazakhstan and Sorana Cirstea, Romania, def. Eden Silva, Britain and Sarah Beth Grey, Britain, 6-0, 6-3. Kirsten Flipkens, Belgium and Johanna Larsson (12), Sweden, def. Belinda Bencic, Switzerland and Viktoria Kuzmova, Slovakia, 7-6 (4), 6-4. Desirae Krawczyk,

Dutch players celebrate after winning the Women’s World Cup semifinal soccer match against Sweden at the Stade de Lyon outside Lyon, France, on Wednesday.

The Canadian Press

Telus makes big change in wireless pricing

David PADDON The Canadian Press

TORONTO — Telus’s decision to offer wireless plans with unlimited amounts of data for a fixed monthly price, starting at $75 for 10 gigabytes, is the latest evidence of a fundamental change in how Canada’s mobile phone industry does business.

As with similar unlimited data plans offered by Freedom Mobile, Rogers and Bell, the new Telus data plans will reduce data transfer speeds rather than charge extra money if usage is above a certain level specified in the plan. Freedom Mobile has claimed the Big Three are just following its Big Gig pricing strategy, announced in October 2017, but Telus and Rogers say they’re actually getting ready for higher data traffic on their fifth-generation networks.

Jim Senko, president of Telus Mobility Solutions, says that the Vancouver-based company has struck a balance between satisfying the growing demand for wireless data and the capabilities of the network that delivers it.

As a result, he says, Telus chose to slow data transfer rates to 512

kilobits per second if usage goes above the plan’s full-speed limit –rather than 256 kbps as its rivals are doing.

“Our customers, at 512 kbps, can have a good experience opening a web page, engaging in social media, (or) stream music at that speed,” Senko says.

“What it really limits is that one user that is hitting video really hard. That creates problems in (network) performance for other customers.”

Senko also says that customers who sign up for one of its new service plans will initially be getting fourth-generation transfer speeds, until the throttling begins, but unthrottled speeds will be 10 times as fast with 5G networks.

“5G is coming next year and 5G changes the whole paradigm in terms of how customers use the network,” he says.

“So the reason we’re going to the Peace of Mind plan is because it future-proofs our customers for

when 5G comes.”

Telus will offer several plans that replace overage fees with throttling, with the higherpriced plans providing more unthrottled data per month before transfer speeds are slowed to 512 kbps.

The company is also making a couple of other changes that reflect how Canada’s big national wireless carriers are responding to pressure from competitors, policy makers and consumers.

Telus technically became the first of the national carriers on Wednesday to embrace a hardware pricing strategy that’s been used by Freedom Mobile and Eastlink.

But Rogers announced within hours that it will also begin offering zero-down, zero-interest financing for new phones starting next week - a move that Rogers had said previously that it would do this summer.

Telus is also adjusting its strategy for families.

In addition to offering pools of data that can be shared by two or more people, it’s also offering price discounts when a family opts for two or more unlimited data plans.

Quebec developer Group Mach out of running to buy Transat

Julien ARSENAULT The Canadian Press

MONTREAL — Group Mach said Wednesday it is no longer in the running to buy Transat A.T., stating the tour operator chose to ignore its proposal even though it featured a higher price than Air Canada’s offer. Alfred Bugge, head of mergers and acquisitions at Group Mach, said Transat was well aware of the Quebec developer’s $14-per-share offer last week but forged ahead with an Air Canada takeover agreement priced at $13 per share.

“We have no intention of submitting a superior proposal as defined in the definitive agreement between the two companies,” Bugge told The Canadian Press.

“Transat did not even take the time to communicate with us. We had no acknowledgment, no phone call, zero,” he said.

“Why would we submit a higher proposal again? It would be ridiculous.”

Under the agreement, Transat shareholders will convene by Aug. 26 to vote on the Air Canada deal, valued at $520 million. Until then Transat can accept competing offers of at least $14 per share on top of a $15-million break fee for Air Canada, which could

“We believe Air Canada’s offer doesn’t reflect the value of Air Transat.”

— Amar Pandya, PenerFund portfolio manager

opt to match the superior bid.

The current deal faces legal and regulatory scrutiny along with resistance from Transat shareholders Letko, Brosseau and Associates and PenderFund Capital Management, which jointly own a 22.06 per cent stake.

The withdrawal may concern some major shareholders who say Air Canada’s successful bid is too low and want more offers on the table.

“We believe Air Canada’s offer doesn’t reflect the value of Air Transat,” PenderFund portfolio manager Amar Pandya said in an email last week.

Montreal-based FNC Capital and Quebecor Inc. chief executive Pierre Karl Peladeau have previously expressed interest in Transat.

“We would encourage those interested parties to make a formal offer to the board of directors,” Pandya said.

Transat declined to comment on whether the tour operator has received other proposals since last week.

Spokesman Christophe Hennebelle said then that Group Mach’s offer was technically void following the announcement of the Air Canada deal, since a condition of the Group Mach proposal was that Transat hold off on an agreement with the nation’s largest airline.

The two companies announced the transaction last Thursday, which will preserve the Transat and Air Transat brands and keep the head office and key functions in Montreal.

Transat shares dropped $1.10 or more than eight per cent to close at $12.39 on the Toronto Stock Exchange Wednesday.

Canopy Growth’s Bruce Linton resigns as co-CEO and board chair

Armina LIGAYA The Canadian Press

TORONTO — Canopy Growth Corp.

co-chief executive Bruce Linton is stepping down from the cannabis company’s top job and his role as board chairman, effective immediately.

The Smiths Falls, Ont.-based cannabis company announced Wednesday that cochief executive Mark Zekulin will become the sole CEO and will work with the board to begin a search to find a new leader to guide the company in its next phase.

Linton, who also stepped down as chairman and a director of Canopy Rivers Inc., has been the public face of the company as it has grown into a leader in the cannabis industry.

“Creating Canopy Growth began with an abandoned chocolate factory and a vision,” Linton said in a statement.

“The board decided today, and I agreed, my turn is over.”

Linton noted that he had “full confidence in the team at Canopy.”

Canopy was founded in 2013 and recently received a $5 billion investment from Constellation Brands, the massive alcohol company whose brands include Corona Beer and Kim Crawford Wines.

The announcement comes after Canopy last month reported a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter net loss attributable to shareholders of $335.6 million or 98 cents per share, despite a jump in net revenue to $94.1 million that beat market estimates.

In reporting the results, Linton said Canopy invested heavily during the quarter for longer-term growth, such as boosting its production capacity and preparing for the launch of edibles and other next-generation pot products once legal later this year.

Constellation Brands, Canopy’s biggest shareholder, said last week that it was “not pleased” with Canopy’s recent year-end re-

sults as it recorded a loss in its own financial first quarter in connection with its stake in the Canadian cannabis company.

With Constellation’s vocal disappointment with Canopy’s earnings, the move is not surprising, Cowen analyst Vivien Azer said Wednesday.

“The magnitude of losses for WEED (Canopy) has expanded far more than we had expected, and while we commend Linton for his vision in establishing the world’s leading cannabis company, we believe new leadership will be a welcome change,” she said in a note to clients.

Zekulin said Canopy will never be the same without Linton.

“I personally remain committed to a successful transition over the coming year as we begin a process to identify new leadership that will drive our collective vision forward,” he said in a statement.

“I know the company will continue to thrive as the Canopy story continues on for years to come.”

As part of the change, Rade Kovacevic, who has been leading the company’s Canadian operations and recreational strategy, was named president.

The board also appointed John Bell to replace Linton as chairman. Bell has served on the board as lead director for five years.

interest rate cuts later this month. The S&P/TSX composite index rose 104.91 points to 16,576.20. That’s less than 100 points below April’s record intraday high.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 179.32 points at 26,966.00, an all-time high after closing early ahead of the July 4 holiday. The S&P 500 index was up 22.81 points at 2,995.82, just a fraction below the intraday record, while the Nasdaq composite was up 61.14 points at 8,170.23, a record closing.

The Canadian dollar traded for 76.49 cents US compared with an average of 76.25 cents US on Tuesday due to a weaker U.S. dollar, higher oil prices and strong trade data with the balance swinging back into surplus territory for the first time in 10 months.

Health care was up as Canopy Growth Corp. shares rose 1.7 per cent after the ousting of its co-CEO Bruce Linton.

The heavyweight financial sector gained 0.6 per cent with U.S. 10-year treasuries sinking below two per cent to their lowest level since November 2016.

Energy increased with TC Energy Corp. gaining 2.4 per cent after signing a deal to sell its U.S. midstream assets in Appalachian Basin for $1.7 billion.

The August crude contract recovered from Tuesday’s steep drop to climb US$1.09 at US$57.34 per barrel and the August natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.29 per mmBTU. The materials sector fell 0.32 per cent with Teck Resources Ltd. and Goldcorp Inc. falling two and 1.6 per cent respectively. The decreases came despite a rise in metals prices, including gold reaching its highest level since May 2013. The August gold contract was up US$12.90 at US$1,420.90 an ounce and the September copper contract was up 1.9 cents at US$2.68 a pound. Thursday trading in Toronto is expected

CP FILE PHOTO

People are silhouetted at the telecom company’s annual general meeting in Vancouver in 2014.

LINTON

KREUZER passed away peacefully in hospital on June 25, 2019 at the age of 93 years. Irma was born in Vienna Austria May 6, 1926. She came to Canada and lived her life in Prince George where she made many friends. She will be missed. A funeral service for Irma will be held on Friday July 5, 2019 at 10:00 am at Assman’s Funeral Chapel. Interment will follow in Prince George Memorial Park Cemetery.

Thomas Donald Fairbairn March 25,1932, Sexsmith, AB June 7, 2019 Prince George, BC Tom was predeceased by his wife Geri and grandsons Jeremy Statham and Brian Fairbairn. He will be missed by his family Gord (Susie), Mona (Glenn Statham), James (Wendy). His grandchildren and great grandchildren, Ainslie (Chris Ford, Grayson, Emersyn), Jason Statham (Martina, Felix and Jaxson), Thomas Fairbairn, Dorothy Fairbairn (Chris) and Amanda Fairbairn. His sister Anne (Pete Brady) and brother Bill Fairbairn (Sherry). Tom worked as an engineer for Canadian Pacific Airlines for 30 years. He played hockey into his seventies and for a number of years went on his annual duck hunting trips with a group of friends and the families got to enjoy? The ‘Annual Duck Dinner’. He had a love for old cars, especially Mustangs. Tom lived in Penticton for 20 years and shared many happy hours with friends at the Elks Club. How lucky we are to have had him in our lives and his memory will live on in the hearts of those he touched. For someone loved is never lost. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, July 13, 2019 from 1-4pm at the BX Pub (upstairs) 433 Carney Prince George. In lieu flowers, donations to the Canadian Diabetes Association would be appreciated.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Frances Jean Wagar, née Bolton, formerly Wheeler on June 11, 2019 at University Hospital of Northern British Columbia. Jean was predeceased by her parents, Ida and Helmer Bolton, her first husband, Clifford Wheeler, second husband John (Jack) Edward Wagar, and daughter Donna MacGregor. She is survived by son Leonard Terrance Wheeler, grandson Charles MacGregor (wife Nancy), great grandson Erick, sisters Rita Robertson, Fay Harrison (Morley) and numerous nieces and nephews. Jean was born in southern Saskatchewan and when she was three moved north with her parents to the Cater area, in a Model A to escape the “Dirty Thirties”. She attended several rural schools in the area, which she reached via horseback. Often her father was the teacher. The war was on, so many items were scarce. She and her family lived on a farm, worked hard, but were never hungry. When she left school she moved to North Battleford, where she met and married Cliff Wheeler. They lived in Red Deer, Edmonton (where Donna was born), Whitehorse, Dawson Creek (where Terry was born), then settled in Prince George. Jean loved her garden, reading books, music and her dogs. After the death of her first husband Jean married Jack Wagar. She will be dearly missed by her family and friends. We love you Grandma. Watch over us from Heaven. The guardian angels of life fly so high as to be beyond our sight, but they are always looking down upon us. Celebration of Life for Jean will be held at the Prince George Evangelical Free Church, 4590 5th Ave, Prince George on Tuesday, July 9 at 11:00 am. Eulogy and interment to follow at Memorial Park Cemetery, 3300 Memorial Park Lane. Thereafter refreshments back at Prince George Evangelical Free Church. Flowers and/or donations to the charity of your choice would be appreciated.

Adult & Youth Newspaper Carriers Needed in the Following areas:

• Hart Area • Driftwood Rd, Dawson Rd, Seton Cres,

• Austin Rd.

• Lower College Heights O’Grady Rd and Park, Brock, Selkirk,

• Oxford, Simon Fraser Trent, Fairmont, Guelph, Gladstone,Hartford, Harvard, Imperial, Kingsley, Jean De Brebeuf Cres, Loyola, Latrobe, Leicester Pl, Princeton Cres, Prince Edward Cres, Newcastle, Melbourne, Loedel, Marine Pl, Hough Pl, Guerrier Pl, Sarah Pl, Lancaster, Lemoyne,

• • Upper College Heights • St Barbara, St Bernadette, Southridge, St Anne Ave, Bernard, St Clare St, St Gerald Pl, Creekside, Stillwater. • • Full Time and Temporary Routes Available. Contact for Details 250-562-3301 or rss@pgcitizen.ca

Carefree Society requires a permanent part-time Assistant to the Executive Director, who under the direction of the Executive Director will primarily be responsible to oversee the operations of the organization, including human resources, payroll and accounting. Applicants must have a diploma in accounting or a related field and several years’ experience in accounting and office administration. Carefree Society offers a competitive salary package, an incredible work environment and career advancement opportunities.

Submit your resume in person to 2832 Queensway Street, Prince George, BC V2L 4M5

ROSS, Yvonne lost her battle with cancer Sunday June 30th at home surrounded by her loving family. Yvonne was born August 22, 1946 in Leask, Saskatchewan to George & Leona Lucier. Survived by her husband Tommy of 55 years, her sons Duane, Ken (Karen) and daughter Laurie (Zeke aka Philip) her grandchildren Kourtney Kragt, Justin, Josh & Jarron Fillion and her great grandchildren Henrik & Kaden Kragt. She also leaves behind her sister Rita Wettlaufer and many many Nieces, Nephews and Friends. Predeceased by her parents George & Leona Lucier, brother Albert Lucier and sisters Helen Bourasa, Emma Lucier, Noreen Ambridge and Blanche Hourie.

Services will be held this Saturday July 6th at Sacred Heart Cathedral at 11am. Luncheon at Sacred Heart to follow after interment. The family wishes to express their gratitude and thanks to Yvonne’s home care nurses Karen, Diane and Bonnie and her home care aids In lieu of flowers please donate to PG Minor Hockey or PG Youth Baseball. As she wanted kids to have the joy of playing hockey and baseball as her kids and grandkids did.

IRMA

Obituaries

4

Comedy clash goes Saturday

THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2019

‘NEVER A DULL MOMENT’

Thelma (Jackson) Sadowick, the youngest of five children, was born in Rosetown, Sask. in 1932.

Thelma said, “My mother was born in Ontario and my father was born in Ireland. We lived in a hotel that my maternal grandmother owned in Fisk, Sask. As children, we never had any pets because they were not allowed at the hotel. I never knew what I missed by growing up in a hotel until I was older and had a family of my own.

“My father was a blacksmith and during the hungry thirties (a time of mass unemployment and hunger marches) he always said that we would never go hungry and we would have three meals a day because someone would always need a horse shod or the ring on a wooden wagon wheel would need fixing.

“My dad used to feed people in exchange for their labour but I never understood. To tell you the truth I didn’t know there were hungry people in the world until many years later when my kids went to school and brought home stories about school mates with no lunch and no mittens in the winter.”

The family moved to Flin Flon, Man., when Thelma was three years old. She said, “When I went to school, we walked both ways. No one had a telephone or a television in their house so we just went outside and played kick the can, hop scotch, hide and seek and we all knew how to play Ante-I-Over and walk on stilts. I was pretty good on stilts and I would walk all over just for fun.

“I was the baby of the family; I didn’t have to do any work because I was so spoiled.

“When I was 12, we moved to Prince Rupert where my dad worked as a welder on the war ships.

“At the age of 14, I moved back to Flin Flon to live with my sister until I was 17. moved to Prince George in 1949 and lived

with my parents who were now living on Burden Street. My mother worked as a cook for the City Café on George Street and I landed a job as a waitress. I think the only reason my mom gave me the job was so that she could keep an eye on me.

“I met Frank Sadowick, who was born in Roblin, Man in 1923. We got married in 1950 and we moved to Roblin to live with his parents on a farm. I had never been on a farm and this was the first time I had ever seen a milk cow, chickens or pigs. I learned how to gather eggs and feed the pigs.

“We lived on the farm for two years and during that time I had two of my ten children. We moved back to Prince George in 1952. Frank bought a truck and a sawmill; he drove truck in the summer and worked in the sawmill in the winter.

“We lived on the Hart, sold the property and moved to Six Mile Lake and then Tabor Lake. When we sold the property on the Hart, they built the Overwaitea store where our house used to be.

“We were married for 40 years before Frank passed away in 1990 because of

“We had ten children: Emily, Franky,

Richard, Betty, Mervin, Leone, Thelma, Doris, Frances and Gordon. I have 25 grandchildren, 44 great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren and I am proud to say that this makes five generations. I have four children over the age of 65. It is hard to believe that some of my children are now receiving their Canada pension. I had to wait a long time to collect mine.

“We had five boys and five girls and they were the best kids in the world as far as I was concerned. My sisters and brothers are now all deceased. My life went by fast and it hasn’t always been easy but I got through it all with the help of my family. The children always stuck together and never tattled on one another. When they were all adults, we would sit around and reminisce and then the stories would come out – things I never knew about. I suppose that is why I now have white hair.

“When I look back, I was proud that I was raising ten children. It was always fun to watch them take their first step and then watch them learn to walk. The older ones helped look after the younger ones and there was never a dull moment. Their

dinner was always on the table when they came home from school and they all had lots of things to talk about.”

Thelma, who has always been full of energy and a bit spunky, volunteered in the Blackburn school library for three years and now enjoys floor curling on a regular basis at the Pineview Hall and at the Brunswick Street senior centre. She finds time to work on her counted needle point projects, crochet and knitting socks all of which she finds very relaxing and productive. She used to spin her own wool which took longer than knitting the socks. ***

July

Birthdays that I know about are: Bonnie Pauley, Scott Pauley, Marilyn Shelest, Jack Tremblay, Meg Imrich, Joan Buchi, Fred Buchi (95), Evie Padalec, Gloria Thorpe, Della Walker, Mildred Green, Lavinia Ouellet, Gary Kwast, Roy Green, Bernice Carrier, Carole Pitchko, Helen Sarrazin, Henri LeFebvre, Richard LeFebvre, Eugene Fichtner, Delores Baza, Phil Girard, Catherine Gladwin, Karen Kryzanowski, George Lipke, Barbara Mulock, Mary Taschner, Pat Sexsmith, Alice Westra, Red McKenzie, Karen McKenzie, Leonard Duperron, Doris Bolduc, Eileen Slusarenko, Isobel Blair, Carmen Foucher, Bob Collison, Mary Radke, Elmer Braun, Dyanne Hoff, Pam Hoechrel, Reina Mcafee, Ernestine Schreiner, Linda Moore, Kathleen Boyes, Shirley Dewald, Joyce Kennedy, Ta Mackay, Alan Nunweiler, Ben Wilson, Pete Goodall, Gervin Halladay, Ken Schroeder, Norma Raycraft, Leone Sadowick, Dyanne Hoff, Carol Hunter, Robert Wright, Linda Letawski, Dorcas Raines, Garry Doucette, Garth Grunerud, Mavis Kenmuir, Cyril Beaulieu, Connie Halvorson, Robert Whitehead, Wally Worthington, Joan Castle, Ted Heyninck and Gail Gromball ***

July Anniversaries: 64 years for Wil and Elsie Wiens, 61 years for Heinz and Ruth Kwiatkowski, 58 years for Rudy and Velma Wortman, 57 years for Don and Joyce Grantham, 54 years for Walter and Joyce Hanik, 53 years for Dawn and Clarence Wigmore, 49 years for Tony and Dodie Bond, 48 years for Linda and Andy Horwath, 40 years for Chuck and Sue Chin and 16 years for Eugene and Hilda Fichtner.

97/16 photo by Brent Braaten

Thelma Sadowick keeps herself busy floor

AROUND TOWN

Petunia’s Vipers

July 5

Enigmatic but beloved band Petunia & The Vipers comes to Prince George for a rare concert appearance. Their last four consecutive albums have gone to No. 1 on the Canadian Folk/Blues/Americana charts. Petunia and his snaky road crew perform a wide hybrid of musical sounds dating back to the 1920s but all the way up to ‘70s radio gold, including in the mix elements of country, blues, swing, alt-country-rock, Mexicana, French cabaret, Romanian, ragtime, jazz, punk and folk. In addition to frontman Petunia, the group also includes acclaimed players Stephen Nikleva on electric guitar and Jimmy Roy on the lap steel guitar. Others have been known to join. Catch them at The Legion. Doors at 8:30, showtime 9:30. Cover is $15.

Homemade Funny

July 5

Prince George’s Funniest Person With A Day-Job comes back to the Sonar Comedy & Nightclub stage. If you have the material, come out for the big reveal. Limited number of spots available. Contact Sonar to sign up.

KidzArt Dayz

July 5 & 6

A big happy mess gets made downtown each summer. It’s time again for BMO KidzArt Dayz on inside and out front of the Two Rivers Gallery. This creative blast brings art, music, movement and family fellowship into Canada Games Plaza where everything is hands on and high fun, all for free. It runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days, and gallery memberships will be for sale for half-price to get families connected to year-round creativity at the region’s top visual arts facility.

Fraser Opera

July 5-7

The opera classic La Boheme is presented live at Theatre NorthWest for three days only. Fraser Lyric Opera presents Giacomo Puccini’s beloved opera La Bohème, the story of four starving artists living in a garret apartment in Paris and their passion and fight for art and love. It is a universal story interlaced with powerful music that audiences cannot help but feel drawn into.

Shows at 7 p.m. on July 5 and 6, or 2 p.m. on July 7. Get tickets online at the TNW website, at the Books & Company desk, or at the door while supplies last.

Pride Parade

July 6

One of the city’s favourite downtown events unfurls its rainbow flag and multicoloured personality. The Pride Parade is a flamboyant statement made on behalf of welcoming, embracing and celebrating diversity or all kinds, and standing up for safety of person and discussion. It is led by sexuality and gender equality but applies to all facets of Prince George culture and society. It starts at 11 a.m., moves through the downtown, and finishes with an afternoon festival at City Hall until 3 p.m. It is free to attend. To join the parade, contact the PG Pride Society.

Monster Trucks

July 6-7

The PGARA Speedway is truly the play-

ground of power. The Malicious Monster Truck Insanity Tour comes to Prince George for a pair of shows (6 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday) with a wild herd of mega-machines, unique vehicle entertainment, and a pit party. Get tickets at all TicketsNorth platforms.

Fishing Education

July 6

Learn to fish at West Lake Provincial Park from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. It’s free, no registration required, all ages welcome. Presented through Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC, this introductory program is appropriate for kids 5-15 and their families. The half-day course will teach you the basics of how, when and where to catch fish in fresh water. Instructors will touch on identifying kinds of fish, rods and reels, casting, fishing ethics, and more.

Board Games

July 8

The Prince George Public Library rolls the dice on the social power of board games. Kick back, eat snacks, and play board games with old friends or new ones at this evening social for those aged 19-30. Drop in from 7-8:30 p.m. No charge.

Tween Action

July 9

Double Digits is a crafts, games, and friendship session for those aged 10-12. It’s at the Bob Harkins Branch of the Prince George Library for only an hour starting at 1:30 p.m. It happens weekly through the summer.

Beastly Beauty

July 11-27

Judy Russell Presents brings incredibly popular musical theatre show Beauty & The Beast to the Prince George Playhouse stage for 15 shows. See the best of the city’s homegrown stage talent and the storytelling power of Disney in a live summer blockbuster. Get tickets at all Central Interior Tickets platforms.

July 12

DOA is returning to Prince George. The iconic punk band, a natural treasure of Canadian counterculture, will be at The Legion along with local openers Children Of The Wave. Tickets are $15 in advance (at Handsome Cabin Boy Tattoo) or $20 at the door, while supplies last.

CrossRoads Music

July 13

The Chris Buck Band is the headliner, with opening acts Bralorne, SubTotal at the July edition of the CrossRoads Street Festival Series. These fun and safe adultoriented evenings will feature local craft beer, street food, outdoor party games and live music. This is a ticketed event for those 19+. The daytime all-ages street recreation event goes 10-3 for free, with a focus on the themes of motorsports, motocross and jetboating. Contact CrossRoads for more info. It’s all at 5th and George.

Downtown Summerfest

July 14

Downtown Prince George’s signature event in the summertime is a celebration of food, entertainment and activities for the whole family. Live music, merchant booths, arts and culture displays and much more make this a day to circle on the calendar, headlined by the popular food pavilion. The extravaganza runs 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Canada Games Plaza.

Writer’s Workshop

July 18

Internationally renowned Canadian writer George Elliott Clarke will teach the writing craft at Island Mountain Arts in Wells. He’s calling his seminar Rooting Deep And Branching Out: Seeding The Poetic Imagination. Class size is limited to 10 seats for the four days.

Live Stagg

July 24

Popular local painter Erin Stagg will set up her easel at Café Voltaire from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a live painting demonstration that is part instructive and part entertaining. “Come watch Erin bop to tunes and create a painting start to finish.

It’s magical,” said organizers. “Erin Stagg is best known for her diverse range of colourful acrylic and oil paintings. Her style ranges from thoughtful, such as her Flora and Fauna collection to light-hearted and comical, like her Yoga animal collection.” Free to attend. Enjoy the food and browse the shelves at Books & Company.

ArtsWells

Aug. 25

All arts of all descriptions are alive and dancing on the stages, floors and fields of Wells during the annual ArtsWells Festival of All Things Arts. Music is the main draw each summer, with scores of acts from all over Canada and the world, plus local talent given a stellar showcase on the doorstep of historic Barkerville. Weekend passes start at $160 and are available from www.artswells.com (children aged 12 and under are free). This year all pass holders get free entrance to Barkerville Historic Town! And every adult weekend pass includes a $15 voucher to spend at the festival merch booth. A sample of this years acts includes: Sarah Burton, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Al Simmons, Elage Diouf, Hannah Epperson, Doug Cox, Mip, Rae Spoon, Yael Wand, Hachey The Mouthpiece, Linda McRae and many more. Add in visual artists, theatre performers, writers, and many more and it makes up the ArtsWells extravaganza.

97/16 file photo

Rock Star puts on a show for the fans at PGARA Motor Speedway during the 2018 Malicious Monster Truck Tour. The tour returns to PGARA this weekend.

TAKE THIS TEST TO SEE IF YOU’RE TRAPPED IN A CAGE

Ireviewed some interesting stats about Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). I apologize for it being American based but it is still somewhat noteworthy and relevant to consider in our way of being today:

• 88,000 people died of alcohol related accidents and illness between 2006 –2011 compared to 33,000 who died from opioid overdose in 2015.

• Alcohol Use Disorder is the third leading cause of preventable deaths in the U.S.

• AUD affects moreE people than diabetes and produces more early mortality than heart diseases and costs as much as Alzheimer’s disease.

• 25 per cent of Americans over the age of 12 binge drank during the past 30 days (2016 Surgeon General Report)

• Alcohol Use Disorder is the seventh leading factor for death overall for people ages 15–49.

• Only seven per cent seek help for Alcohol Use Disorder despite scientific facts and evidence based treatment approaches.

• 40 to 70 per cent risk of Substance Use Disorder is genetic.

• People who use alcohol before the

age of 15 are four times more likely to become addicted to some substance compared to those who have their first drink at age 20 or older.

Interesting statistics, especially the low percentage – seven per cent – of people who seek help. This means 93 per cent of people out there are suffering with a treatable disease and not seeking medical attention.

Medicine has advanced greatly in the field of addiction, but unfortunately most general practitioners are not aware of what treatments help best. Perhaps this is why many don’t reach out. More education is needed. For example, with Alcohol Use Disorders, medications can be prescribed to address craving and use – Naltrexone, Acamprosate and Disufirsam are only some examples of what can be done.

It greatly pains me that despite these unwieldy facts, addiction/substance abuse disorders remain under reported,

underfunded and under/untreated. Prevention is key. Given the statistics that 25 per cent of people over age 12 regularly binge drink and that those who use alcohol before age 15 are four times more likely to become addicted to some substance in life, imagine what impact education could have if we taught more about alcohol/drug use before students enter this crucial stage.

In my elementary and high school days, I clearly recall classes on hygiene and nutrition but nothing at all about substance abuse. This is unreal, considering that alcohol use disorder is the third leading cause of prevenable death.

Thus, in order to educate now, I present what all doctors should ask if they ever question the presence of a substance abuse disorder. You can do it yourself right now or even at a party with friends. It can be eyeopening, especially for anyone who has the disease of addiction. It is simple, easy and consists of four short questions to ask (to remember this quiz, imagine what happens when one is addicted, we become entrapped in a CAGE).

CAGE:

1. Have you ever tried to CUT down?

2. Have you ever become ANNOYED

when someone mentions your use?

3. Have you ever experienced GUILT after use?

4. Have you ever had an EYE OPENER to settle your nerves, treat your hangover or to prevent a withdrawal from use?

Answering yes to two or more is indicative of a possible substance use disorder. I wish someone in the education system would have taken time to teach me about drugs (and yes, alcohol is most certainly a drug). I don’t know if it would have made a difference but at least I would have been made aware that if I, as a teen was drinking five or more drinks a week (for males) or four or more drinks per week (for females), that I was at a high risk for developing substance abuse disorder (and I was, I drank more than that every weekend when being a teen).

This is not rocket science, it is based on scientific fact.

Planting this seed early might not have stopped me from drinking but it might have made a difference in the length of time I have lost.

– Questions for Ann? Send your submissions (anonymously, if you choose) to columns@pgcitizen.ca and we’ll pass them along.

COMEDY CLASH GOES SATURDAY AT SONAR

It’s a complete comedic smash-down. A battle royal is brewing between Prince George and Kamloops, and it’s a grudge match for the ages. The two motley crews are putting the glad in gladiator as improvisational comedy group Improv Shmimprov Canada takes on the undefeated challengers from The Freudian Slips.

“We started really looking at doing a collaborative effort,” said Improv Shmimprov’s co-founder Stephen St. Laurent . “We went down to Kamloops to do that, we went head to head, we had some of their community dignitaries as the judges.”

The Kamloops squad won that first match “and now we are doing it here.”

Two of the confirmed judges in Prince George include live theatre maven Judy Russell and Birgit Zorzi of the Hurly Burly Booty burlesque comedy group.

“We’ve been working at having some of the northern groups forming an association and this is taking it further down that path,” said St. Laurent. “There is a group out of Vernon that is semi-active, I know there is a newer group out of Williams Lake becoming active, I’ve had some interested out of Quesnel for form-

ing a group out of there, and we have the two more established groups in Prince George and Kamloops. We’d like to establish an environment where we could all work together, learn new games from each other, and form sympaticos.”

Losing the first head-to-head battle was a motivator for the P.G. theatre sports athletes, St. Laurent said, so they are going into this next bout with their heads held high and a flinty gleam in their eye. They are out for home turf vengeance.

“This will be the first time the impov group has worked at Sonar Comedy Club,” St. Laurent said. “I’ve done a couple of other comedy shows there, but this is the first time for Improv Shmimprov. Jason (Luke, Sonar’s proprietor) has been trying to build something downtown, get a nightlife scene going, so we thought we would give it a go, community building, getting more people working together. We will always work with Artspace, but we want to maximize all the opportunities at hand.”

The comedy tournament is Saturday at 8 p.m.

PHILOSOPHER’S STONE RIGHT IN FRONT OF US

There is a medieval legend about an alchemist who discovers how to turn common materials into gold. Of course, we know that adding a piece of the philosopher’s stone to molten lead will not turn it into gold, yet the story provides a beautiful metaphor for life. If we look at the life of any great and inspirational person, we almost always find that they passed through a time of hardship. Many endured years of torment before coming out on the other side. Could it be that suffering is the valueless material, the great discovery that one comes to is the philosopher’s stone, and the eventual triumph is gold? In other words, is the legend of the alchemist the story of finding the meaning to life?

One of the most misunderstood writers and philosophers regarding human suffering is Friedrich Nietzsche. It is interesting to note that Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl borrowed heavily from Nietzsche’s work as he tried to make sense of the hell he experienced as a Jew in Nazi Germany.

LESSONS IN LEARNING

GERRY CHIDIAC

Nietzsche wrote of “amor fati”, or the love of fate. In other words, when we embrace an attitude of accepting all that happens to us in life, including things we find unpleasant, we are able to grow from the experience and find meaning in our suffering. Nietzsche’s words, “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how,” resonated deeply with Frankl and his fellow inmates.

Nietzsche also stated, “What does not kill us makes us stronger.” This is not a masochism that seeks out suffering, it is a strength of spirit which recognizes our capacity to triumph despite unforeseen and unmerited challenges. It is the philosopher’s stone, which allows us to turn lead into gold.

Let’s take a look at a popular character from the past. Surveys among political

scientists, historians and the American public consistently rank Abraham Lincoln as the most highly esteemed president in their history. This is astounding, given that Lincoln led the United States through the most divisive period in their history.

Though there is much debate as to the exact details of Lincoln’s life, we know that he faced many challenges. Lincoln lived much of his life in poverty and experienced significant political setbacks. It is also likely he struggled with depression. Though Lincoln did not profess to any religion, he lived his life guided by solid moral principles, primarily compassion and integrity. Could that be the key to his personal triumph and the fact that he is still rightly admired more than 150 years after his death?

Lincoln was not unique in his triumph over diversity.

Nelson Mandela was humiliated in prison for 27 years before becoming the first black president of South Africa and a great diplomat. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. suffered the indignities of being a

REVENGE OF THE ANTS

It has been close to a month and no fish has died at our house yet.

A delightful little tank, our aquarium has brought us a lot of joy and stress. We are learning about the nitrogen cycle and that we should change the water on a more regular basis, otherwise the fishies start looking a little peaked.

I have also discovered that my houseplants and hanging baskets love dirty fish water. My spider plants look like they are jacked up on steroids. Building on our success with the fish, we have also acquired a new “pet” in the house: sugar ants.

Some of you may remember that my husband is not a huge fan of the outdoors and regularly wages war with the insect world outside. We had a giant ant hill in our backyard some years ago and neither of us have really recovered.

You can imagine my total delight to discover a small a pile of wee ants beside our banister in the front room. I squashed them with my slipper and they dissolved into nothingness. I looked up to see a small handful of ants scurrying around the floor trying to escape the wrath of the shoe.

They were unsuccessful.

Feeling rather desperate to take care of the problem before my husband came home and burned down the house, I flipped the couches over and set the kids to squishing ants. It

HOME AGAIN

MEGAN KUKLIS

eventually seemed like we got the little buggers (pun intended) and I put the living room back together and hoped that was it.

It was not.

My mom picked up the kids from one of the last days of school and brought them back to our house to meet us after work. I received a panicked phone call from my mom asking me where all these ants were coming from. In the background of the phone call, I could hear giggling and loud thumps as the kids were taking care of business, only occasionally arguing about who got the “good” slipper or who could kill more ants.

My husband and I came home and, together with my mom, we tried to find out how the ants were getting in. We have a split level house and the ants are nowhere near a wall or a doorway – they appear to be coming out of the length of the banister. We doused the whole area with a powdery ant killer that says that it won’t stain the floors and my mom went and bought a whole box of ant traps that she placed around the house, upside down.

My biggest fear is finding a leftover snack that the kids have thoughtfully left on the floor or hidden somewhere and having that little piece of compost be swarming with ants. I also worry that there are ants in the floorboards or the walls and that we are surrounded by insects that will somehow mutate and do not appreciate their brethren being

black man in racist America. The Dalai Lama is a refugee who will likely never return to his native Tibet.

We see the same greatness all around us. Many of the finest teachers I know dealt with learning disabilities as students. All of the Holocaust survivors I have had the privilege to meet have a deeper dimension to their being, though words to describe this are difficult to find. One sees the same wisdom in Indigenous elders who teach us and our children, largely by their quiet example.

Life is a beautiful thing. We are all on a unique journey to find the philosopher’s stone. The key to finding it, however, is not to run away from life but to embrace every challenge, to find its meaning and the lesson it has to offer us. If we can do so, we will find the eternal elixir, that which turns what is undesirable into the greatest of treasures.

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.

squished by grade schoolers.

Then we would be a tragic newspaper headline like, “Family killed by revengeful insects,” or “House eaten by bugs.”

The struggle is real.

If no one hears from us in a few days, the battle has not gone well and we’ve burned the whole thing down for insurance money.

At the heart of every community, you’ll find organizations fuelled by committed people who are passionate about building a better future for us all. We are inspired by our friends at the Prince George Pride Society and proud to take part in the 2019 Prince George Pride Parade and Festival The

Platt blends the ingredients of a lemon cake in a mixing bowl at his home in Bowie, Maryland, while his mother, Danita Platt watches.

TEEN STARTS HOME-BASED BAKERY

Michaels Desserts. He left out the apostrophe as a reminder that he is baking for others, not himself.

From a young age, Michael C. Platt loved two things: Martin Luther King Jr. and cupcakes.

He lingered by the “I Have a Dream” poster in his grandparents’ house, imagining ways he too could fight for justice. He memorized statistics about income inequality and childhood hunger. But he also spent afternoons at his computer in his Bowie, Maryland, home, awestruck by YouTube bakers who transformed a base of eggs, flour and water into edible works of art. When his parents gave him a pair of Toms shoes for Christmas three years ago, Michael saw a way to connect his twin passions. At age 11, he founded a bakery that operates on the Toms one-for-one model: for every cupcake, cake or cookie that Michael sells, he donates another to the homeless and the hungry. Twice a month, he heads to locations including domestic violence shelters, transitional housing and McPherson Square in the District of Columbia to pass out goodies. Michael, now 13, said he especially enjoys handing out cupcakes to kids. “I know I like cupcakes, but also cupcakes are part of a child’s childhood so they should get them,” said Michael, noting that he always eats a whippedicing cupcake on his own birthday. Michael calls his baking business

“I always wanted to have a purpose for what I do,” he said. “It’s all about helping people – not just having a purpose for yourself, but thinking about, ‘How does this touch other things?’”

When Michael founded the business two years ago, his parents chipped in to purchase supplies and get things going. Nowadays, though, the homebased bakery funds itself, said his mother, Danita Platt, 42.

Most customers place their orders via Facebook, though Michael recently set up a website for the business. He sells roughly 75 cupcakes a month (four for $15), along with a dozen cookies and a dozen “chef’s choice” items – which, of course, means he must also make more than 100 treats to give away.

Most often, Michael fills orders placed by local strangers – people who live in the area and who heard about his business through social media or by word of mouth – though he did once ship a crate of goodies to Tennessee.

Michael bakes both for individuals and for events such as anniversaries and weddings, his mother said, though the most common request is that he produce cakes or cupcakes for nearby birthdays.

Sometimes Michael bakes to raise

money for hunger-fighting nonprofit groups, too. He spent a morning last weekend teaching a baking class (with a suggested price of $30 per person) at a Williams Sonoma in Annapolis to raise money for No Kid Hungry.

He can keep up with his baking in part because he is home-schooled by his mother, who quit her job as a parent adviser for the Prince George’s County school system in Maryland to take care of Michael full-time. This setup was not the family’s first choice. Michael withdrew from public school – and his mother from her job – after he was diagnosed with epilepsy in sixth grade. His seizures became too severe and too frequent to allow him to sit in a classroom, his mother explained.

“It was a very, very difficult time,” she said of the period after the diagnosis, during which Michael had to restrict his physical activity. “He had to stop everything he loved: gymnastics, climbing trees, diving.

“So that’s when he kind of threw himself into baking,” she added.

Michael said that baking makes him feel calm.

But when he started the bakery, he knew from the beginning that he wanted his business to do more than make money. That’s why the bedrock of Michaels Desserts is its mission of fighting hunger and giving back, which Michael accomplishes through

his giveaways and through the very design of the treats he sells.

Michael offers customers three kinds of goodies each month: they can choose between shortbread cookies, a staple; a “chef’s choice” item that Michael invents anew every four weeks; and that month’s edition of what Michael calls his “freedom fighter cupcakes.”

“So I choose a person to base a cupcake off for each month,” Michael said. “And each month I have a flavour that represents them – and I’ll tell their story on my Instagram page.”

June’s freedom fighter was Maya Angelou, who got a banana pudding cupcake because she loved that dessert, Michael said. October is reserved for Harriet Tubman, whose cupcake is mint chocolate chip because her nickname was “Minty”; Nelson Mandela, meanwhile, earns November and a “classic chocolate” cupcake because Michael likes to shape the dark frosting to resemble Mandela’s hair. Martin Luther King Jr. is the only person to receive two months: January and February. His cupcake is stuffed with sweet potato pie filling because “that’s a traditional African American pie,” his mother explained.

Michael hopes his cupcakes spread awareness of the past and inspire others to work for social equality.

His interest in food blossomed early. Even as a baby, Michael was happi-

HANNAH NATANSON

The Washington Post

Washington Post photo

Michael

PROFITS USED TO HELP HOMELESS

est when his mother woke him in the morning with “a pancake at his lips,” she said. When he baked for the first time at age nine – helping his grandmother, Sarah Johnson, prepare an Almond Joy cake for a family dinner –it was love at first whisk.

He has not stopped baking since. Recent accomplishments include his first full-blown wedding cake, chocolate mousse shaped in a rose mold and “Cereal Milk Ice Cream.”

No matter how complicated the bakes become, family remains at the heart of Michael’s craft.

When he’s not filling orders for his company or baking for the homeless, he’s finessing family favorites: vanilla cake with chocolate icing for his mother and older brother, Gabriel; chocolate cake for his father, De’Maryo; lemon merengue pie for his grandmother. Thanksgiving, with its promise of apple pie – which Michael loves to prepare and to eat – is his favorite.

He does all his baking in the kitchen at the front of his family’s three-story home. He shares the kitchen with his mother, who cooks the Platts’ meals there.

Both say the partnership is harmonious: Michael calls his mom his “baking consultant.” Though Michael’s recipes are entirely his own invention, Danita Platt provides support and supervision.

As Michael whipped together a

lemon layer cake with fruit filling and delicate icing rosettes on a rainy Thursday last week, he turned to his mother – or called to her over his shoulder – every couple of minutes.

“The six-inch or the nine-inch pan, mom?”

“You think it’s ready, momma?”

“Oops, sorry mom, I didn’t mean to spill that.”

Michael said he will never get over how “cool” it is that you can start with flour and eggs and wind up with a “whole entire cake” – a cake, if sold by Michaels Desserts, that is likely decorated according to very exact standards.

“I don’t know about ‘perfectionist,’” Michael said last week, pausing with spatula in hand. “But I have an idea and I don’t like to stray away from it much.” (Standing behind her son, his mother shook her head and mouthed, “Oh yes he is.”)

Sometimes, Michael admits, he grows tired of being in the kitchen.

Then he remembers the homeless boy he met once while handing out cupcakes. A couple of days afterward, the boy’s father messaged Michael on Facebook to say that his son, encouraged by Michael’s example, now aspired to become a baker.

“That inspired me,” Michael said. He smiled.

He looked down.

He popped the lemon cake in the oven.

Washington Post photo Michael Platt pours the ingredients of a lemon cake into a baking dish at his home in Bowie, Maryland.

MEET THE RESEARCHERS WHO STUDY TERRORISTS UP CLOSE

CHRISTINA STURDIVANT SANI Special To The Washington Post

He typed the names of his targets on a spreadsheet: “sheila jackson ... Chris hayes ... ilhan omar.” He searched online for the best ways to kill black people and for the addresses of a couple of U.S. Supreme Court justices. By the time federal authorities arrested U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Christopher Hasson at his house in Silver Spring, Maryland, in February and began to release details of his alleged plot to kill prominent politicians and journalists in court filings, Hasson had been stockpiling weapons for at least a decade.

News of his arrest reached the public in typical fashion, on Twitter. But the source was not typical. Instead of the U.S. Department of Justice or a major media outlet, it was a little-known researcher in Washington, D.C., named Seamus Hughes.

Hughes, 35, is the deputy director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, a research group that collects information about radicalism and terrorism in the United States, then turns it into reports, graphics and other easily digestible forms. It tends to find newsworthy tidbits by accident, rather than by design, according to the program’s director, Lorenzo Vidino. “We don’t want to steal your job,” he said with a

laugh when I spoke to him earlier this year. “Because of the work that we do, we come across a lot of interesting information.”

Vidino and Hughes rely on a variety of sources. They mine public databases, passively monitor Islamic State propaganda online and track the group’s members on encrypted messaging apps like Telegram. “[Lorenzo] and I will wake up – at our separate homes – at 5 a.m. and nerd-out on a case or write up a five-page report really quickly because it’s really interesting to us,” Hughes told me one morning in March over his second cup of coffee. “For us, it’s not necessarily a job – it’s much more fun than that. You have a challenge of trying to figure out how to answer the question of why a guy in

related cases, when he stumbled upon Hasson’s detention memo. When he comes across an interesting case that the program doesn’t have the time or resources to pursue, he turns to Twitter. “We throw it out in the wind and hope The Washington Post or somebody else runs with it,” he says. Hughes also finds notable cases that are unrelated to the program’s work. For instance, in January, he broke news on Twitter of the FBI’s investigation into Los Angeles City Council member Jose Huizar for bribery and money laundering. While releasing such material isn’t part of his job, doing so is “a welcome respite,” he says. “If you look at beheading videos every day, at some point you’re going to need a break, and that’s part of my break.”

Hughes

New York decided to join ISIS.”

A self-proclaimed digger, Hughes is a master of PACER, a database of federal court documents that can be hard to navigate. Hughes happened to be trawling PACER, looking for terrorism-

Hughes began investigating terrorism cases in the aughts, first as an intern and later as a staff member for the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. In 2011, he went to work for the National Counterterrorism Center. In 2015, a former Senate colleague introduced him to Vidino, who hired him to work at the newly launched Program on Extremism. Vidino, 42, started the program after holding positions at Harvard University, the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Rand Corp. “We thought there was an appetite for some nonpartisan research and analysis on extremism, particularly on religiously inspired extremism, looking mostly at the domestic scene,” he says. “Paradoxically, you’ll find a lot of research being done

Washinghton Post photo Seamus Hughes is the deputy director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. His group broke news of U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Christopher Hasson’s alleged plot to kill prominent liberal politicians and journalists.

TEACHING JOURNALISTS HOW TO MINE DATABASES

much on the process of radicalization of Americans.” The program is funded by foundations, Hughes says, “the Mellons of the world.”

By carving out this niche, the program has become a standout in the close-knit terrorism research community, which includes academic centers and think tanks. Hughes and Vidino have created “an amazing clearinghouse of information... that puts them in a position where they can be literally the most authoritative voices out there talking about extremism in the United States – and that’s a tremendous resource for the rest of us,” says Nicholas Rasmussen, the senior director for national security and counterterrorism programs at the McCain Institute for International Leadership, a think tank in Washington.

Vidino and Hughes are joined by seven other staffers at GW and oversee more than a dozen nonresident fellows who are scattered across the country. Since the program began, the centre’s researchers have uncovered about 20,000 pages of legal documents –pertaining to everyone who’s ever been arrested for international terrorism in the United States – and pulled about 1.5 million English-language tweets about the Islamic State.

“You’ve got to put it in context. I’m the parent of two kids, so if I’m sitting across the room from a mother whose son just joined al-Shabab, I can think of myself and how I would feel if my son did the same thing,”

Hughes

Vidino is currently leading a research project in partnership with the New York Times where he’s tasked with digitizing, translating and publishing roughly 15,000 pages of internal Islamic State documents. The project was “very much in line with our focus and expertise and we were naturally happy to partner with them,” Vidino says, adding that the program works with many domestic and international media outlets. He is also a frequent contributor to the BBC.

The program’s research goes beyond documents and social media. It includes interviews with former Islamic State members, relatives of terrorists, FBI agents and attorneys. Encounters with family members of Islamic State militants, in particular, can be difficult and require sensitivity. “You’ve got to put it in context. I’m the parent of two kids, so if I’m sitting across the room from a mother whose son just joined al-Shabab, I can think of myself and how I would feel if my son did the same thing,” Hughes says. “You can’t discount that the individual

that

joined a foreign terrorist organization that’s doing horrible things to a lot of people, but you also can’t discount the human cost of those who are left behind after that decision is made.”

The work could soon become more labor-intensive: lately, social media platforms have come under fire for not removing extremist content, as happened after a video of the attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March was widely shared on Facebook. If the platforms take down this content, Hughes says, they are likely to drive the material to a larger number of smaller sites – an outcome that would create new challenges for researchers. For law enforcement, meanwhile, such a change would probably have both drawbacks and benefits, he explains: “It does make the intelligence and law enforcement jobs more difficult from the standpoint of looking at a target, but probably better from the standpoint of not getting more recruits.”

Will there be more scoops coming from Hughes? Maybe not quite as many, since he is sharing his PACER techniques with more journalists. In the past two months, he has trained more than 500 reporters across the country on how to use the site. And they, in turn, have shared tips on filing Freedom of Information Act requests.

“I wasn’t expecting that level of response; it’s been mildly overwhelming,” he says. “And it’s been really interesting to me and quite useful to exchange notes with reporters, because in many ways the tips that they have when it comes to doing investigations are skill sets that I didn’t necessarily have.”

Washington Post photo Books

Seamus Hughes keeps on his office bookshelf.

USING POWERPOINT TO GET A DATE

“This is a single 27-year-old heterosexual male,” Sean Keller hollered to a crowd of 200 people at the bar Franklin Hall on Friday night.

That heterosexual male was Chris Gillespie, who stood near his friend’s PowerPoint presentation, a wide smile plastered on his face. Gillespie figured the speech would be good, but he was oblivious to what was coming. He didn’t expect the photo of himself in a halfway buttoned-up shirt (“Chris isn’t afraid of a low V”) or the screenshot from his hacked Facebook account (“He’s so cultured that his hacked account got a job in Cairo”).

“He’s an outdoorsy dude with a sense of humour, down-to-earth and educated,” Keller continued.

The flattery went on and on, drawing casual laughs. But the goal wasn’t comedy. It was to get Gillespie a date (or dates) by the end of the night. His friends carefully curated each slide of their three-minute presentation, hoping someone in the crowd would find Gillespie attractive.

The speech was part of Franklin Hall’s first Pitch a Friend night, which enlisted 12 on-the-market locals to be hawked by their friends – as the bar’s Facebook page noted, it was like Shark Tank for singles. Finding dates via PowerPoint sounded suitable for Washington, a city in which “everyone is Type A,” said bar co-owner Peter Bayne. Tinder and similar dating apps have more matchmaking power than

ever, as relationships are increasingly initiated online. But these apps can be overwhelming. Profiles are filled with poorly lit selfies, basic quips from The Office and photos with Joe Biden. How can a person be reduced to a 500-character bio?

Daters are now asking their morethan-willing friends for help. Ship, a dating app launched in January, lets users invite friends to swipe through profiles and chat on their behalf. In Facebook groups like Subtle Asian Dating, users can tout their friends by posting flattering photos, personality descriptions and links to their social media accounts. Pitch a Friend night was just one more example of how eager friends are to play the role of wingman for the Tinder era.

Daters have always utilized their social circle, according to Jordana Abraham, co-founder of Ship. It’s natural for people to be more comfortable meeting someone who is approved, or at least vetted, by another person. As recently as 2009, that was the most common way to date, research shows. In D.C., people used to bring their friends to a matchmaking party to speed date through FriendSwap, which was founded in 2002 and ran for a decade.

“For most people, their ideal way to meet is in person – at a bar, a function or doing something they enjoy,” Abraham said.

Gillespie, who is on the dating apps, agrees – but meeting in person requires charisma.

Washington Post photo Sean Keller used pictures and fun facts to sell his friend Chris Gillespie to the audience at the Franklin Hall bar in Washington, D.C.

Washington Post photo

The audience at Washington, D.C., bar Franklin Hall’s Pitch a Friend night watch to see which PowerPoint presentations captured their attention.

SHARK TANK FOR SINGLES

“It’s hard to approach women at a bar because they might have plans for the night,” he said. “And I don’t want to intrude on that.”

Friday night at Franklin Hall, beer in hand, Gillespie didn’t have to extend much effort. Five different women approached him within five minutes of the presentation, striking up conversations about the memorable bits. And yes, it helped that his friends had passed around a flier with tear-off strips with his phone number, conveniently leaving the last digit blank. “Chris has a pen if you’re interested,” one of the presenters yelled before slipping offstage.

Olivia Duggan, a frequent patron at Franklin Hall, emailed Bayne the idea for the event months ago. She was inspired by DateMyFriend.ppt, a similar pitch night her friends had attended in Boston.

“There’s nothing like a good friend who can reveal your idiosyncrasies,” Duggan said. “It makes the stakes in dating seem lower.”

During the presentations, she was seated on one of the bar’s long communal benches, eyeing the clock and commanding the air horn, promptly tooting it after three minutes of frenetic friend-pitching.

Alex Waddell pitched his friend Julian Cowell, in the format of a civil court case with “Julian is a good person” as his closing argument.

“You’re only eight simple letters from the best decision of your entire life,” proclaimed Jacob Comer, switching to a slide that showed his friend Matthew Gruber’s Instagram handle.

“It’s like entertainment,” said Shivangi Jain, an attendee who had just heard of the event that day and didn’t appear to be shopping for a date. “It seems

An hour into the pitches, it became impossible to speak without yelling. People flocked to the bar, drink tickets in hand, to knock back beers. Even after hearing the pitches, some preferred to chat within their circles.

very casual, and I just came to watch the presentations.”

An hour into the pitches, it became impossible to speak without yelling. People flocked to the bar, drink tickets in hand, to knock back beers. Even after hearing the pitches, some preferred to chat within their circles.

Colleen Moore, one of the first people to be pitched, ended her night in the far-left corner of the hall, intently watching a baseball game on the large television.

“I would’ve been watching the game if they hadn’t told me to come out for this,” she said, gesturing to her friends in conversation nearby. A few guys did approach her as she wandered the bar, Moore said, but her priority was still the game.

Because really, in the age of online dating, who really wants to have an in-person conversation at a bar – even after PowerPoints break the ice?

“I mean, if you don’t meet anyone here, it’s a joke,” muttered one patron to his friend about the event. “If you do, you can say it was something serious.”

Washington Post photo Chris Gillespie acknowledges the audience after his friend Sean Keller’s presentation to try to get him a date. At right is the event’s emcee, Sean McGrath.

n a clear night, the sky is filled with sparking lights. Some seem to stay still while others shoot across the sky. Asteroids and meteors are called shooting stars as they move quickly across the sky. Comets often look like fuzzy stars and you have to watch night after night to see their movement.

What is a comet? A Visit to a Comet

A comet is a chunk of ice, rock, and gas flying through space. When they get close to the sun, they heat up. We can see their glow and long tails.

Halley’s Comet

Halley’s Comet passes around earth about every 75 years. The last time it passed us was in 1986. Scientists think it will pass by Earth again in the year 1986 + 75 = ____________ .

Make a Comet on a Stick

In this activity from the NASA Space Place website, you’ll make your own comet that can fly around the room! You’ll need:

chopsticks or a popsicle stick

• around the end of your chopsticks or popsicle stick.

Use the Kid Scoop Secret Decoder Ring to discover the name of this book by Chris Van Dusen, which is available at the library.

This is the Comet Hale-Bopp. It passed through our galaxy in 1997. Scientists estimate that it won’t pass by again until the year 4380!

of ribbon: two long pieces, two medium-size pieces, and one short red piece.

Visit the NASA Space Place at spaceplace.nasa.gov

If you have three different colors, you can make a very accurate comet. Comets have a nucleus, which is the main body of the comet. They have a coma, which is the glowing part around the nucleus, the red ribbon. Then they have two tails: a dust tail and a gas tail the gold and silver ribbons.

Follow the instuctions below to make your comet.

Cut three pieces of tin foil so they’re roughly square shaped. Gather the foil around the end of the stick. the ribbon tail off to the side. Repeat with two more sheets of foil.

For more ideas, visit the NASA Space Place online.

Randy loves two things: science and baseball. When it comes to the solar system, the constellations, and all things robot, he is a genius. But on the baseball diamond? Not so much. He tries but whiffs every time. Then one night, Randy sees something shocking through his Space Boy telescope: it’s a fireball, and it’s headed right for his town! He does the math, summons all of his science smarts, and devises a plan that will save the day in a spectacular way.

To discover the name of this book, find the letter on the outer ring, then replace it with the letter below it on the inner ring.

G P F W N G B V T N K G T P V V N Y B A C B D Comets Don’t Last Forever

Every time Halley’s comet travels around the sun, it loses 250 million tons of ice and dust! Scientists think it only has about 2,200 more trips around the sun before it vanishes in about 170,000 years.

2019 by Vicki Whiting, Editor Jeff Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 35, No. 30

CANADIANS OWE A DEBT TO MRS. BROWN

Happy belated Canada Day everyone! Regardless of your political persuasion or history, this is a time to come together to celebrate our shared country and the people that we share it with. Canada as a united country with an initial four provinces was first established over 150 years ago. The fact that this union, so long in forming, with such a fractious beginning, still exists in relative peace is reason enough to celebrate.

Canada has managed to absorb immigrants from around the world, making it one of the top 20 most multicultural countries in the world, according to Pew Research.) How well we continue this great experiment will be determined by how well we manage to honour the truth of our differences, while at the same time rallying around our shared values of, well, we don’t really know as we don’t have a document telling us our shared values. I would guess most of us would agree that we value freedom, people, our land, democracy, equality, etc. That in itself, is something to celebrate.

For my bit to commemorate Canada

THINKING ALOUD

TRUDY KLASSEN

Day, here are my thoughts about a rarely mentioned individual: Ann Nelson Brown.

Historians may disagree but, based on my knowledge of wise men and a bit of history, I would like to up-end, or at the very least, I would like to cause interest in reconsidering your view of the 1867 Fathers of Confederation. Perhaps, as historian Frank Underhill says in the Canadian Encyclopedia: “Perhaps the real father of Confederation was Mrs. Brown.”

Brown is buried in Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her grave is marked by a nice headstone, but no mention is made of the mark she made on Canadian history. The graveyard attendants sadly had no knowledge of her history or significance when I visited in 2016.

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She became the wife of George Brown, politician, Father of Confederation and founder of the Globe newspaper. The story seems to be that under threat of absorption into America (it’s been a problem for a long time,) George Brown and his most hated opponent John A. Macdonald had to find a way to get along in what was at the time the province of Canada. Mr. Brown was vehement that the French not be granted special rights, while John. A. insisted upon it. It seems that the eventual compromise that was found had significant influence from

SOLUTION TO: MODEL CITIZENS

Mrs. Brown.

She was Scottish and knew what living as a conquered people was like, so she encouraged George to soften his position toward the French. An entertaining introduction to the story is available in a movie called “John A: Birth of a Nation.”

We don’t know very much more of Ann Nelson Brown, but she was at the very least an informed woman who took an interest in the troubles of her times and spoke up.

A good example to follow, even so many years later