nce 1916
Rotating strike targets Canfor’s P.G. Sawmill
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
Canfor’s Prince George Sawmill and chip plant were targeted Thursday as the union representing Northern B.C.’s sawmill workers continued a campaign of rotating strikes.
The move came the same day Canfor said their earnings for the third-quarter doubled from the year before despite lower lumber prices.
The company’s net profit stood at $125.3 million for the quarter, raising the year-todate total to $407.3 million.
On Monday, West Fraser said its earnings for the quarter were $238 million, pushing its year-to-date total to $781 million. However, both figures are down from the previous quarter, when Canfor took in $169.8 million and West Fraser $346 million.
As of Monday, the price of top-quality two-by-fours at the Prince George Inland Container Terminal stood at US$356 per thousand board feet, down from US$446 at the same point last year, according to Madison’s Lumber Reporter.
“We’ve known all along the employers have been doing quite well this last while and we’re cognizance of the fact that lumber has slid down somewhat from where it was but we’re just hoping we can get a fair agreement that the membership can accept,” United Steelworkers Local 1-2017 business agent Brian O’Rourke said.
Members of United Steelworkers Local 1-2017, which represents 13 sawmills across Northern B.C., have been in a legal strike position since Oct. 6.
Ten days later, Tolko’s Lakeview Lumber in Williams Lake was the scene of the first of a series of rotating strikes.
Negotiations between the local and the employers’ bargaining agent, the Council on Northern Interior Forest Employment Relations (CONIFER), have been at a standstill since mediated talks broke off at the start of this month. O’Rourke said the focus now is on the southern Interior where sawmill workers in that region are conducting votes on whether to give their bargaining committee a strike mandate and the results should be out by Friday. He said they’re scheduled to be back at
the table with the Interior Forest Labour Relations Association, the employer’s bargaining agent for 16 sawmills in that region, on Tuesday.
Three CONIFER members sit on the IFLRA bargaining committee, O’Rourke added.
“We’ll see how things go down there and if things go sideways, then we’ll be back here at the table, I would have to presume,” he said.
CONIFER has offered a five-year contract with two-per-cent wage increases in each of
Crews pave Winnipeg Street at Carney Street on Wednesday morning. Winnipeg Street has been closed for several weeks as crews repair a leaking pipe that caused a sink hole.
Sinkhole repair nearly done
The Winnipeg Street sinkhole saga is about to come to an end. Paving of the site is underway and the street should be completely reopened to traffic by next week, city hall said Thursday. Pedestrian traffic on the east side of Winnipeg Street could be delayed for a few days longer as crews also have to pour new concrete to form sidewalks,” the city said.
“Residents are encouraged continue to stay vigilant and follow construction signs in the area as some operations, such as cleanup, will be still be occurring in the coming days.”
Last month, crews installed a nine metre by 4.8 metre concrete chamber to replace a failed section of pipe, which caused several sinkholes at the location over the past few years.
That project followed an extensive operation to remove ground-
water from around the pipe that involved installing dams and three high capacity pumps to drain water from the site.
Following a large rainstorm this spring, crews discovered eight metres of pipe had completely deteriorated.
The city believes the deterioration was caused by turbulence from the discharge of storm water from the Carney Street storm sewer that enters the pipe at the location of the failed pipe.
those years. CONIFER and USW Local 1-2017 negotiating on behalf of 13 sawmills that employ roughly 1,600 workers: Canfor’s PG Sawmill and Isle Pierre operations as well as its sawmills in Houston and Fort St.
Lakeland Mills in Prince George; Dunkley Lumber Ltd. south of Hixon; Conifex’s mills in Fort St. James and Mackenzie; Babine Forest Products in Burns Lake; Tolko’s Lakeview Lumber and Soda Creek mills in Williams Lake and Quest Wood in Quesnel; and West Fraser’s Williams Lake Planer.
Mass murderer granted full parole
Citizen news service
A 100 Mile House man who murdered four people as a teenager and left his two-month-old niece in a room with her dead mother has been granted full parole.
James Ruscitti is serving a life sentence for the 1996 executionstyle slayings of his adoptive parents, his brother’s 17-yearold girlfriend and a boarder who lived in their home near 100 Mile House.
Ruscitti was 15 and a drug user when he and a 14-yearold accomplice committed the crime, though the Parole Board of Canada has said he was sober when he shot the victims, leaving the baby near death.
The board says in its written decision granting Ruscitti full parole that it is concerned the 37-year-old man is still unclear about what motivated him to kill four people, though it is satisfied he’s struggling to understand his actions.
Ruscitti is considered a moderate risk to reoffend, but the board says the positive aspects
of his life include a full-time job as an electrician and plans to live with his girlfriend and her daughter in their townhouse on Vancouver Island.
His parole comes with several conditions, including that he not consume alcohol or non-prescribed drugs nor have any contact with the victims or anyone in their families, and immediately report all relationships and friendships with females to his parole supervisor. In its written decision dated Oct. 4, the board says a psychiatric assessment from 1996 prepared for trial indicated the offence was directly linked to Ruscitti’s strong antisocial and narcissistic personality. However, the board says Ruscitti has remained compliant with conditions of his release and respectful to his parole supervisors in the three years since he was granted day parole. He completed communitybased programming while he was on day parole, but the board also outlined some issues of concern.
— see ‘YOU DENIED, page 3
Joh;
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
United Steel Workers were on strike at Canfor’s Prince George Sawmill on Thursday.
Citizen staff
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
FanCon announces first headliner
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
Northern FanCon has beamed some new ideas into the Prince George hyperspace.
The pop-culture convention is still going to be an unprecedented gathering of celebrities, artists, writers, film and music professionals, comic and toy enthusiasts, and a costume player (cosplay) wonderland, but this coming edition is the fifth anniversary of the all-local fan fair, so event director Norm Coyne wanted it to be special.
“It’s now not so much an event as a legacy,” he said on Thursday when the first celebrity headliner for this coming year was announced.
That personality came directly from popular demand.
“We have a poll each year to find out who local people want to see, and this guest was the third most requested name, he was one of the stars people are always asking for, and this year we worked it out to get him here,” Coyne said. “We are very proud and excited to announce Alan Tudyk, who was in Con Man, he was in Firefly, he was K-2SO in Rogue One, his list of credits is just amazing. The collective gross for his films is more than $2 billion.”
He is appealing to the fans of movie
drama, but also gamers and animation fans because of his voice-over work. He reprised his K-2SO role in the Star Wars: Battlefront video game, as well as Master Of Orion: Conquer The Stars, Infinite Crisis, Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and many more console franchises. In animation circles he starred in the Chozen series, the Ice Age films, Big Hero 6, Wreck-It Ralph, Astro Boy, Good Vibes, Young Justice, Trip Tank, The Adventures of Puss in Boots, The Tick,
American Dad, Robot Chicken and, speaking of fowl, he was also HeiHei the trusty clucker in Moana. His voice is constantly being altered for his cartoon roles, but fans of film also have familiarity for his face, as Van Wayne in Powerless, as Wray Nerely in Con Man, as Reagan in Newsreaders, as Pastor Veal in Arrested Development, as Officer Elwood in Napoleon Dynamite, as Doc Potter in 3:10 To Yuma, as Wat in
A Knight’s Tale and perhaps most of all as Wash in Firefly.
Also coming to this year’s Northern FanCon celebrity roster, the return of pop culture commentator and YouTube personality Ming Chen, cosplay star Ivy Doomkitty, and master costume creator and film industry personality Evil Ted whose credits include The Walking Dead and The Fifth Element, as well as being a leader in the cosplay industry.
This year’s Northern FanCon will be held on a new date, which capitalizes on the Star Wars aspect of popular culture. It will take over CN Centre on May the Fourth.
Tickets go on sale today. Until Nov. 6 the three-day pass can be purchased for $50 and the VIP pass for $175, deep discounts on the regular price that will kick in as of Nov. 7. This sale is a prime time to get Christmas gifts of FanCon passes for the fan in your family.
NEWS IN BRIEF
UNBC cafeteria workers ratify new contract
UNBC’s cafeteria workers have unanimously ratified a new agreement with the university’s food provider, their union said Thursday.
The settlement averts a strike after members of Unite Here Local 40 issued 72-hour strike notice three weeks ago against their employer, Compass Group.
Workers at UNBC’s Agora dining hall and Tim Hortons will get raises of at least $2 per hour and bonus pay while entry-level wages will increase substantially, the union said.
The agreement establishes a new pension benefit for workers, significantly improves medical benefits and enshrines strong anti-harassment and anti-discrimination standards.
Members also achieved a path to job security.
The contract will reopen in January if UNBC does not extend its contract with Compass by Dec. 31.
“We are very pleased that these issues could be resolved before it came to a strike,” said Jeannie Gilbert, a cook at the dining hall. “We feel this agreement addresses our concerns and allows us to continue providing service to the students who rely on us.”
Thieves targeting hunters’ guns in parked vehicles
Prince George RCMP are asking hunters to take steps to secure their firearms following a surge of thefts from vehicles parked at local hotels.
Police have received four reports of such thefts over the last two-and-a-half weeks, all at night and at different hotels “leaving investigators to believe that no hotel is immune to these crimes. “ In all, eight long guns along with ammunition were stolen.
“In most cases windows are being smashed to gain access to the guns,” RCMP said. “In one case, the vehicle had been left unlocked.”
Police are asking hunters to take their firearms and ammunition into hotel room for the night.
“Hotel staff are being asked to advise patrons to take their firearms, ammunition and anything of value into their rooms with them,” RCMP added. Anyone with information on who is behind the thefts is asked to contact the Prince George RCMP at 250-561-3300 or anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca (English only). You do not have to reveal your identity to Crime Stoppers.
If you provide information that leads to an arrest or the recovery of stolen property, you could be eligible for a cash reward.
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
Norm Coyne makes Fancon announcements Thursday afternoon in CN Centre.
TUDYK
District energy
The City of Prince George marked Bioenergy Day with an open house Wednesday at the distribution centre of its Downtown Renewable Energy System located at 215 George St. The system takes water heated with sawmill residue at Lakeland Mills and distributes it to heat 11 buildings downtown.
Woman guilty of assault for grabbing boy’s hand
Beachamp what she was doing but could not remember the reply.
They went home and, after a conversation with her father, called police the next day.
‘You denied simply leaving the child in the room with one of the victims’
— from page 1
“Reportedly, your greatest identified challenge was managing your risky thinking,” it says.
“Your most recent correctional plan update was completed in June 2018. It indicates you require a moderate need for improvement in the areas of personal/ emotional orientation and marital/family issues,” the board says.
It also says when Ruscitti was asked about the murders, he initially told the board they were not planned but later said he thought about carrying them out for a day or so.
“You added that around that time you were suffering from panic attacks and severe anxiety and that you hated yourself. You denied simply leaving the child in the room with one of the victims but said that you had left food for the child and had later tried to get close family members to go to the residence to help her.”
The child was found in the home two days after the murders and doctors said she was hours from death because of dehydration.
The child was found in the home two days after the murders and doctors said she was hours from death because of dehydration.
The board says Ruscitti also mentioned day parole was a very big transition for him and important changes are very stressful for him.
However, it says Ruscitti managed to handle a stressful situation appropriately when the Children’s Ministry initially refused to allow him contact with his girlfriend’s child and suggested the girl would be removed from her if she continued the relationship.
“You appealed the decision and are now able to have contact with both the mother and the child.”
Ruscitti’s accomplice, Chad Bucknell, has also been granted full parole and the board lifted an alcohol restriction imposed on him last year.
A Prince George woman was found guilty Wednesday of assault for grabbing the hand of a six-year-old boy she did not know and nearly leading him out of a local convenience store.
Corina Lynn Beauchamp, 48, had also faced a count of abduction but in issuing his verdict, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ron Tindale found Crown prosecution had not proved that charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
The outcome stems from a March 21 incident when the boy and his mother had gone to the 20th Avenue 7-11. When the mother went to the rear of the store to get a treat for her son, he went to the hot chocolate vending machine at the front but was still within eyesight of his mother.
After awhile, Beauchamp came over to where the boy was. A talkative type, the boy began speaking to the woman although she was a stranger, suggesting she should try the hot chocolate, the mother testified during a trial held last week.
When the mother was ready to leave, she looked around and could not see her son. She walked to the front door where she found Beauchamp and the boy.
She called her son over and asked
Beauchamp testified she was trying to find the boy’s mother but Tindale did not accept her story. Video evidence showed they walked right past the boy’s mother yet Beauchamp did not ask the woman if the boy was hers, he noted.
However, Tindale also noted Beauchamp let go of the boy’s hand and remained in the store for some time afterwards, despite being banned from the location for previous trouble.
Video showed Beachamp walking by the front entrance twice before entering while the clerk was looking the other way.
She also returned to the store after the incident, which Tindale said shows Beauchamp was not following the two.
On that basis, Tindale found Beauchamp not guilty of abduction.
But he found Beauchamp intentionally applied force when she grabbed the boy’s hand without his consent and noted a power imbalance between an adult and a young boy. Beauchamp had no lawful reason to take control of the boy, Tindale said, and found her guilty of assault.
Beauchamp will be sentenced at a later date once a pre-sentence report has been completed.
Bella Coola man charged by mother grizzly bear
Postmedia News
A man trying to scare away a female griz-
zly bear and its cubs foraging for food on his B.C. property narrowly avoided getting mauled by the charging animal.
A man trying to scare away a female grizzly and its cubs foraging for food on his B.C. property narrowly avoided getting mauled by the charging animal.
The scary scene, captured by the man’s wife from inside the family’s Bella Coola home, went viral after it was posted to YouTube in mid-October.
Lawrence Michalchuk explained in the video’s caption that he and his wife had just returned home from a weeklong trip. His in-laws, who were taking care of their children, told him bears were climbing fruit trees, digging holes looking for roots and leaving poop on his property.
The in-laws had tried to scare away the bears by shaking a bucket of nuts and bolts, but were unsuccessful.
The next morning, Michalchuk’s dog began barking when the bears returned. He then grabbed his shotgun and three birdshot shells and went outside to scare off the animals.
After firing the first shot from below his front deck, Michalchuk saw the sow charging at him so he ran inside the house.
When the bears began to walk away, he went outside again and fired a second shot. He also yelled at the sow to get her to depart faster.
Then the mama bear turned around and started charging at Michalchuk again.
“I waited as long as I could, back-pedalling and losing my right Croc, almost tripping me up, until she was just across the driveway and then I shot, which did trip her up so I turned and ran inside the house,” he wrote.
Michalchuk made it safely inside his home, while the sow appeared to be stunned before running away with its cubs.
He later tracked the bear down off his property and wrote he didn’t find any blood or hair in the area that would indicate it was injured.
“I’m just glad it was me and not the kids out there,” he added.
Michalchuk, who said he has dealt with bears while working the last three-plus decades with the Department of Fisheries, reported the terrifying incident to B.C. conservation officers.
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff
mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
Not all PR systems equal
Mail-in ballots for B.C.’s referendum on electoral reform began appearing in mailboxes across the province this week.
Voters will have to answer not one but two important questions: do we want to adopt a form of proportional representation and, if so, which of the three proposed options do we want?
Whether you intend to vote yes or no to the first question, it’s import to take the time to answer the second as well. Not all systems of proportional representation are made equal – and that is especially true for northern voters, because two of the three proposed systems will treat rural voters differently than urban ones.
So let’s look at the three proportional representation systems on the ballot, with an eye on what they mean for northern voters: Dual Member Proportional (DMP)
This system was invented in Canada and isn’t used by any level of government anywhere in the world.
Under DMP, urban and semi-urban districts would be combined into larger districts served by two MLAs. Parties would run a primary and secondary candidate in each district. The primary candidate that receives the most votes in each district would be elected to the first seat in the district. The second seat in each district would be awarded to a secondary candidate so that each party’s share of the seats in the legislature roughly matches its share of the province-wide popular vote.
Like all three of the systems proposed, only parties that receive at least five per
cent of the popular vote would get any of the secondary seats.
However, large rural districts like those in the north will remain roughly the same size and get only one MLA, elected just like in the first past the post system. In short, if you live in the north and like proportional representation you’re out of luck in this system – no PR for you.
Yes, your vote will count towards the provincial popular vote, but those votes will be used to appoint MLAs in the Lower Mainland who will likely never set foot in Prince George.
This system would further concentrate B.C.’s political power in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island areas, at the cost of the north and rural B.C. And when it comes time to hand out the grease, each urban district will have two squeaky wheels while northern and rural ridings will have one.
Rural-Urban Proportional (RUP)
Like Dr. Frankenstein’s monster, this proposed system is a one-of-a-kind creation stitched together from spare parts brought back from the dead.
Under RUP, urban and rural districts would elect MLAs using two completely different voting methods.
Urban districts would be combined to create larger districts served by multiple MLAs using a Single-Transferable Vote (STV) system.
For those who don’t recall, STV was the system proposed in B.C.’s 2005 and 2009 referendums on electoral reform. In 2005 STV received 57.7 per cent support, but fell short of the 60 per cent needed to be approved. In 2009, British Columbians voted
60.9 per cent against adopting an STV system. But here it is again, dug up from the electoral graveyard for another go in 2018. STV works by allowing each party to run a number of candidates in each district, up to the total number of seats available. Voters rank the candidates first, second, third, fourth, etc. and through a complex, multi-stage counting process the MLAs are elected.
The good and bad news is that under RUP, rural districts would have a completely different way of electing MLAs: they’d use a Mixed Member Proportional system (which I’ll get into below). The idea of having two completely different ways of counting votes and electing MLAs, based on where you live in the province, seems unnecessarily complicated and fraught with unintended consequences. One of those consequences is that single-MLA rural districts would be competing to get heard against urban districts with three, five or more MLAs.
Mixed Member Proportional (MMP)
This system has been used successfully for decades in places like Germany, New Zealand, Boliva, Lesotho, and the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales in the United Kingdom.
Under MMP, each district elects a local MLA in the same manner as the first past the post system – making up at least 60 per cent of the total MLAs in the legislature. In addition, there would be regional MLAs appointed to represent defined regions –northern B.C. would likely be one region –who are drawn from a list provided by each party. Those regional seats would be allocated to ensure each party which received
PR screaming
There have finally been a few reasoned letters in the Citizen about proportional representation, but I hope some of my fellow citizens will find it useful to hear another perspective. As I see it, there are two ways to consider PR and what it means for you. Stepping back and thinking about it calmly, the choice really comes down to how important it is to you that government has the power to unilaterally implement legislation. This isn’t a bad thing – it ensures that whoever gets elected, regardless of how little popular support they have, can move forward with their agenda. This is great if they are your party, less great if not. If giving the governing party free rein is the most important consideration for you, then you should vote for the current firstpast-the-post system.
On the other side, you may feel it is more important that MLAs fairly represent the electorate. Why should the Greens, for example, only get five per cent of the seats when they have 15 per cent of the vote? PR is designed to fix this by ensuring that MLAs are elected in proportion to the number of people who vote for them. If fairness in representation is your issue, then you should support PR.
Of course there is another, wholly different way to think about this. Who is screaming the loudest and what are they screaming about?
Given the derangement the B.C. Liberals are showing over the PR vote, you don’t have to understand anything about PR to know that they think it will disadvantage them. Their hysteria about “unelected political insiders” and “radical fringe parties” makes it clear that they are terrified. So if you believe that all voters should be represented in the legislature, or if you just want to vote against the B.C. Liberals, then PR is the choice for you. It is for me.
Stephen D. Rader Prince George
More democratic way
The main reason I’m voting for proportional representation is because it is more democratic than first past the post. I want my government to have more then 50 per cent of the people of B.C. supporting them, Not 37 per cent like what often happens under first past the post. I want bills passed in legislature that have support of at least 50 per cent of the population, not 37 per cent like what often happens under first past the post. The false majorities or undemocratic govern-
ments of B.C. under first past the post is what I don’t want.
Out of all the arguments against proportional representation, rarely have I seen, or never have I been convinced, that first past the post is more democratic. You will not hear that argument in this debate.
If you do, it won’t be backed by any reasonable argument. The NDP in the 90s had a false majority, the Liberal party had false majorities in all except one election since then. Proportional representation is not about giving any party an advantage, it’s about giving all parties a fair shot at earning their seats.
Most arguments I hear against proportional representation are speculation, a twist of the truth, or sometimes outright lies. It isn’t an attack on local representation since all three proportional representation options keep a majority of local representation. I’d argue that independents are more likely to be elected under rural urban PR, or even MMP.
I hope the citizens of B.C. will look closely at both sides of the argument and find what is important to them. I’m hoping you will see that proportional representation is just a better and more democratic way to elect our government.
Daniel Kelly Prince George
Mailing address: 201-1777 Third Ave. Prince George, B.C. V2L 3G7 Office hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday General switchboard: 250-562-2441 info@pgcitizen.ca General news: news@pgcitizen.ca Sports inquiries: 250-960-2764 sports@pgcitizen.ca Classifieds advertising: 250-562-6666 cls@pgcitizen.ca
at least five per cent of the vote provincially has roughly the same percentage of seats in the legislature as their share of the popular vote.
This system has the advantage of treating all voters in the province equally, ensuring each district has one – and only one – MLA dedicated to it and a proven international track record.
The downsides of this proposed system is that the individual districts will be somewhat larger than they are currently, regional MLAs will be drawn from some type of party list rather than elected directly and some of the important details remain to be hammered out.
Would voters have one vote or two?
Would B.C. adopt an open list, closed list or an open list with party option?
Those are the sort of questions the government should have answered before putting the issue to referendum, along with the proposed district boundaries for all three proposed proportional systems. Unfortunately, they didn’t and voters can only rank the proposed systems based on the information currently at hand.
Ultimately, whether B.C. stays with first past the post or adopts MMP, we’ll be wellserved by an imperfect, but functional, electoral system. Which of the two you prefer is a matter of which benefits and drawbacks you place more importance on.
As for DMP and RUP, both are unproven systems which will leave rural B.C. voters looking in from the outside.
For more information on the referendum and proposed options, go online to elections.bc.ca/referendum/. — News editor Arthur Williams
Online comments from pgcitizen.ca
Re: B.C. to subsidize health care for international students
Well, are we surprised? We have border jumpers receivng free medical so now they want to pay for foreign students when there have been Canadians asking for expensive drugs to fight cancer that medical will not cover. As a senior citizen I have to have permission to receive a prescription for an expensive thyroid medication but our government can afford to cover others who have not put in one cent toward the taxes to support all our programs.
— lollie34
If an international student can afford to study here, they can afford private insurance.
— notyou
That is just plainly incorrect. There are heaps of additional costs to being an international student and benefits we cannot obtain (i.e. numerous scholarships and grants). MSP premiums are an additional burden. Additionally, international students can only work 20 hrs/week during fall and winter semesters and thus, do not have the same ability as domestic students to make additional money. Finally, students dump a lot of money into the local economy that certainly more directly benefits Prince George than MSP payments do.
— drinkcoffee
Why do you feel entitled to Canadian scholarships and grants as an international student?
Do you not check the country and its laws etc. before you come to Canada?
Do you pay personal taxes in this country as well as your own?
I have no qualms for international students going to Canadian establishments but I do when when there is a problem with entitlements.
— questionperiod
Re: Nathan Giede, A second kick at the can?
Say what you will about Justin, but Scheer is just Canada’s version of Trump.
He mirrors Trump’s policies and will no doubt use similar tactics as the election grows closer. I may not agree with all of what the Liberals have done in the past few years but with Scheer as the alternative my vote will go to the Liberals, even in this Tory riding.
— Willow C. Arune
Scheer a Canadian version of Trump? Seriously? Wow, Trump must be a lot milder than I thought. It’s true that neither of them are conservative, but saying they’re alike? Come on, that’s just too silly.
— artbetke
You’ve been campaigning against Trudeau since October 2015, Nathan, so pardon me if I don’t find your glee or commentary very interesting. No doubt your fans will continue to cheer you on in support of whatever self-delusion you’ve scribed. With or without my square glasses, I am not all that pleased by Justin and his gang, but in any event know well that this region would vote in a yellow dog without vital signs so long as it had Conservative tacked to its hide, no matter how well or poorly more liberal and progressive parties and candidates performed.
— ndale27
On election day, I’m gonna Kick Justin’s butt to the curb. A guy that praises Castro, plays Mr. Dressup in India to name a couple embarrassing things he’s done, not only to himself but to Canadians, does not deserve to lead our country. — Slim ABT in 2019. Let’s kick this disaster of a government to the curb. — PG_Resident As a “square glass” person I have mixed feelings about Trudeau because my wife and I fall into that sweet spot that he’s been throwing cash at. We’re probably net cash ahead under Trudeau – and the old age goodies are within sight for us. Out of pure self interest I’d vote for him again – except. Fifteen years from now when the bills for everything Trudeau has spent now, have to be paid, the generation of taxpayer’s supporting me and my ilk, may collapse under the combined weight of our social entitlements and and public debt that demands repayment. It may be 15 years from now when I can at least afford a change in the rules of the game, they will indeed change and my OAS may be severely cut back, my CPP might be even be deindexed – yes, they can do that with consent of the provinces. So, that’s why I want to vote him out – not for how it affects me now, but how his decisions will affect me in the future.
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Member of the National Newsmedia Council A division of Glacier Media
— Mytwobits2017
Hate rhetoric leads to terrorism
The gesture was small, but it contained multitudes. At a raucous rally in Montana last week, a Trump supporter –juiced up by the president’s crude praise of a congressman who body-slammed a reporter – looked directly at CNN reporter Jim Acosta. Then he ran his thumb across his throat. And laughed.
Later, Acosta described “the Trump effect.”
“It has normalized and sanitized nastiness and cruelty in a way that I just never thought I would see,” he said, shortly after that Montana rally.
The Trump effect is a straight line from years of his hateful rhetoric to real-world danger. It’s a line that goes directly from disrespect to pipe bomb.
And – almost inevitably – it will eventually go from failed attempt to spilled blood.
If you can’t see it, you aren’t looking. But on Wednesday, plenty of people weren’t looking.
The news reports of bombs sent to the most frequent objects of President Donald Trump’s sustained criticism brought a torrent of nonsense. This was a false-flag operation, some charged, instigated by Trump’s enemies to bring sympathy.
Ann Coulter tweeted that bombs have been, throughout history, “a liberal tactic.” And Rush Limbaugh, as quoted in HuffPost, jumped in with his view that Republicans don’t do this sort of thing, and a Democratic operative was the more likely culprit. But let’s get real.
Everyone targeted by the pipe bombs had been the subject of endless hours of Fox News commentary. The list of targets read like Sean Hannity’s pre-broadcast crib notes: Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama and former CIA chief John Brennan –and, as the representative of evil mainstream media, CNN.
As usual, Trump himself projected blame everywhere but where it belongs.
In what the New York Times described as the president’s “rhetorical jujitsu,” he combined swipes at the news media and Democrats with a call to “come together in peace and harmony.”
And in a reprehensible Thursday morning tweet, Trump doubled down: “A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News. ... Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!”
There is no story now – even one about terrorist acts – that doesn’t devolve into the hyperpartisan blame game, led by the president.
In this case, placing the blame appropriately required nothing but common sense.
CNN boss Jeff Zucker got it right: “There is a total and complete lack of understanding at the White House about the seriousness of their continued attacks on the media.
The President, and especially the White House Press Secretary, should understand their words matter. Thus far, they have shown no comprehension of that.”
There’s real danger in these assaults.
There’s danger in “lock her up,” in birtherism, in retaliating against former CIA director Brennan by revoking his security clearance.
There’s danger in calling reporters “the enemy of the people” and in celebrating Montana Congressman Greg Gianforte for roughing up Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs.
And the danger only grows.
Last week, a Montana Republican official resigned her post after not only cheering Gianforte’s bodyslam but, in remarks on a radio show, taking it an ugly step further: “If that kid had done to me what he did to Greg, I would have shot him,” she said. When a gunman shot and killed five employees of the Capital Gazette last summer in Annapolis, Maryland, it seemed wise not to tie the tragedy to Trump’s anti-media assaults. After all, Jarrod Ramos had been harassing journalists at the small daily newspaper for years, carrying a grudge about coverage of him he found unfair.
Now I’m not so sure. Trump’s rhetoric makes the unthinkable seem possible.
Special to The Citizen
MARGARET SULLIVAN
Worthy of a second thought – or more. What I am certain of is that the danger that came from the top – from Trump – will worsen unless he does everything in his
power to change. To model, in words and actions, the peace and unity that he tepidly endorsed on Wednesday. To recognize his own gargantuan role in the problem, to honestly confront “the Trump effect.”
Of course, there’s no reason to think that will happen.
And so – dreadful as it is to say –we know what will.
UNBC women tackle Manitoba in playoff soccer
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff tclarke@pgcitizen.ca
Even if the U Sports Canada West women’s soccer season ends tonight for the UNBC Timberwolves with a playoff loss to the Manitoba Bisons on the field at Thunderbird Stadium there will be no blame and no shame. Not for a team nobody expected to qualify for the postseason.
Getting there for the second time in the school’s short university history in backto-back seasons was an unexpected bonus for Neil Sedgwick’s young squad, made up predominantly of first- and second-year players. Whatever happens in their game tonight, the T-wolves plan to use the experience to their advantage as they try to mold themselves into a championship contender. They’re not quite there yet, as their 3-8-3 season record would attest, but the T-wolves saved their best for last, beating Thompson Rivers University and UBCOkanagan in their final games of the season to emerge from a three-team logjam and claim the final playoff spot.
Fifth-year midfielder Madison Emmond,
one of two graduating T-wolves, along with defender Kylie Erb, relishes the chance to extend her career at least for one more week as a result of their surprise playoff run.
“We definitely lost some key players last year but we had some girls who just worked really hard in the preseason and they was definitely some building but everyone came together and we created a new team and we pulled it off,” said Emmond.
“I think our team really does perform under pressure. There’s been lots of times where we sit in the change room and everyone is on the same line and we get it done.”
Emmond joined the team as a Prince George youth soccer recruit in 2014, when UNBC’s university program was heading into its third season. For those first few years of her Canada West career, wins were blue-moon occasions. But in the past two seasons the T-wolves have put their struggles to become competitive behind them. Just one of their eight losses (7-0 to UBC) could be classed as a blowout.
“Credit to all those girls (on previous years’ teams) because they worked hard and we couldn’t be here without them,” said Emmond. “I think we just needed someone
like Neil to come in and mesh us together and that’s exactly what he did.”
The T-wolves are hoping the two-hour time change will have a negative effect on the Bisons, who have made the trip from Winnipeg. The winner goes on to face UBC (10-3-1, second in Pacific Division) in a quarterfinal playoff on Sunday. The last time the T-wolves played at Thunderbird Stadium, a year ago, they pulled off an upset when they tied UBC 1-1.
UNBC and Manitoba did not play each other this year. They did meet in each of the previous two seasons and Sedgwick has seen enough game film to know how they like to operate.
“Manitoba is a good matchup for us, they’ll be tough,” said Sedgwick. “The last time we played them, last year in Winnipeg, we won 1-nil, so that’s more positive thoughts for the girls returning and should be a good game.”
“Last year they got a chance to go to the playoffs for the first time and this year they have (another) chance now and can they be at the level where they can get past the first round. We’ll try to keep them focused there on that possibility.”
The Bisons (6-5-3) finished third in the
Prairie Division. In those 14 games they scored as many goals (15) as they allowed. Bruna Mavignier, a fifth-year midfielder from Brazil, accounted for five of those goals.
“They have some strong players on attack and they’ve always been quite solid defensively and I think that’s how they rose to the top of their division,” said Sedgwick. “We’ll have to watch for (Mavignier), she’s very good and very technical and we’ll have to watch for her because she brings something that perhaps the players haven’t seen throughout the season.”
The T-wolves totaled 19 goals this season, 10 more than last year, and it was defence (31 goals allowed, 10 more than in 2017) which proved their nemesis. Paige Payne led the T-wolves with eight goals and rookie Sofia Jones was next in line with four goals.
“I remember my first year we’d score maybe three goals in a season and now it’s cool to see girls are scoring more than three goals themselves in a season,” said Erb. “We’re getting goals from a lot of players and that shows how much the program has grown.”
Game time tonight is 6 p.m. The webcast is available on Canada West TV.
Male Timberwolves banking on veterans
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
Four or five years ago they were raw rookies. Now, even though they’re still in their early 20s, they’re the old guys on the UNBC Timberwolves, whose U Sports men’s basketball wisdom and proficiency gives the T-wolves cause for optimism they will be a dominant force on the court this season.
Long in experience and deep in talent, the T-wolves are counting heavily on their seniors – four in their fifth year and two about to begin their fourth university season – to move the gold and green to into the high-rent district of the Canada West Conference.
Guards Jovan Leamy and James Agyeman, and forwards Vaggelis Loukas and Austin Chandler are UNBC’s Big Four heading into their last season. Guards Anthony Hokanson and Sage Gosal are the two fourth-year guys. Combined with steady influence of thirdyear guard Vova Pluzhnikov, they give head coach Todd Jordan plenty to work with in his starting-five rotation.
“Our biggest strength is just a lot of experience returning for us this year,” said Jordan.
Our biggest strength is just a lot of experience returning for us this year.
— Todd Jordan, Timberwolves head coach
“We lost(fifth-year starters) Dan Stark and Marcus MacKay to graduation but we still return the majority of our core group, guys who are a year more experienced and that goes a long way.
“We’ve had a fairly productive preseason... there was definite value in us winning those games. It does show progress in our program that we can have a 5-1 preseason. We do want some confidence and some swagger going into the season and it does help.”
The Timberwolves tip off their seventh U Sport/CIS season tonight in Calgary against the Mount Royal Cougars in the first of a twogame set.
Leamy moved to Prince George from Toronto last year after a year away from the game and found his stride as a T-wolf. Despite starting just four of their 20 games he led UNBC in scoring, averaging 15.1 points through 15 games playing an average of 22 minutes per game.
“He’s a really talented guy and it took him a while to get his feet under him,” said Jordan.
“It was a big lifestyle change coming from Toronto and him coming back this year with a year of experience with the team, which has helped him to settle a lot better. His body is in a better place than it was a year ago just from working with our strength staff and just having that consistency of a year of training with the team, he’s looking good.”
The six-foot-six Chandler missed all of last season after ankle surgery but has fully recovered. He brings a defensive presence and adds to the height factor on a team not blessed with an abundance of tall trees. Loukas, who stands six-foot-five, is poised to break Dennis Stark’s all-time record as the T-wolves top rebounder.
Headed by third-year guard Tyrell Laing, the T-wolves have plenty of bench strength.
— see ‘WE’RE AS VERSATILE, page 8
Ted
Citizen staff
Logan Jewell of Prince George finished 16th out of 25 entries in Saturday’s Senator’s Cup Fall Classic Super Late Model stock car race in Las Vegas.
Racing on the three-eighthsmile track at the Bullring at Las Motor Speedway, the 28-year-old Jewell finished the 150-lap main event on the lead lap, 9.356 seconds behind race winner Jeremy Doss of Upper Lake, Calif. Jewell averaged 87.19 miles per hour, finishing in one hour eight minutes and 45 seconds. He qualified 14th and finished third in the heat race on Friday.
CLARKE
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE
Graduating players Kyllie Erb, left, and Madison Emmond, were all smiles last Sunday after helping the UNBC Timberwolves women’s soccer team clinch a second-consecutive playoff berth in a 1-0 defeat of the UBC-Okanagan Heat. The T-wolves take on the Manitoba Bisons in a sudden-death playoff game tonight in Vancouver.
Canadians make record medal haul at wrestling world championships
Citizen news service
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Canada’s
Diana Weicker earned a bronze medal in the women’s the 53-kg event Wednesday at the world wrestling championships. Weicker, a native of Kentville, N.S., who wrestles out of St. Catharines, Ont., defeated Zhuldyz Eshimova of Kazakhstan 3-2 in the bout for bronze. The medal was the fourth for Canada, the most the team has ever captured at a world championship.
“I can’t describe it,” Weicker said. “It just all finally pays off, for everything you do. I put the work in over years and years and just didn’t know that there is an outcome.”
The medal capped off the most successful world championships for a Canadian women’s team. On Wednesday, Justina Di Stasio (Burnaby, 72 kilograms) won
(Stittsville, Ont., 76 kg) took home bronze.
“It’s so inspiring,” Weicker said of her teammates. “There are so many girls who are so good and we are all like a unit together and its fun. It makes it so much more of a family and we are all there for each other no matter what. Its just so inspiring to have so many good girls in one sport.”
Earlier, Toronto’s Alexandria Town wrestled in the 57 kg repechage in an attempt to qualify for the bronze medal match. She led 9-4 before Kateryna Zhydachevska of Russia caught Town in a head and arm lock, and pinned Town to the mat.
“I feel so privileged to be here,” said Town, who is competing at her first world championships. “I feel like I deserved everything single bit of it and I’m so excited to continue from here.”
‘We’re as versatile as we’ve ever been’
— from page 7
Laing will be counted upon to eat some big minutes and proved last season in games against UVic and UBC-Okanagan he’s capable of sparking the offence like he did so often his high school career at PGSS.
He’s learned what it takes to be a factor on defence at the university level.
The list of newcomers includes Kyler Eckess, a second-year guard from Prince Rupert who didn’t play last year, and Kaelen Mcneight of Vancouver, who redshirted with the T-wolves last season.
Chris Ross of North Vancouver, a shooting guard and provincial all-star who led his Seacove high school team to a double-A provincial bronze medal, is getting his feet wet this season in U Sports, as is Duchess Park grad Colburn Pearce, whose athleticism and tenacity is pointing to an eventual starting role with the T-wolves. Six-foot-seven forward
It’s right up there with as strong of a team on paper as we’ve ever had. If the guys bring it every night the potential is there to have a very solid season.
— Todd Jordan
Spencer Ledoux of Kamloops complete the UNBC rookie crop. Saymon Loki, a six-foot-six single-A provincial MVP from Smithers, will red-shirt at UNBC this season.
“We’re as versatile as we’ve ever been, we have a group of guys who can switch stuff a lot more defensively than we have in the past and guys came in in really
good shape so we’re excited about the dynamics of what we can do with our roster,” said Jordan. “It’s right up there with as strong of a team on paper as we’ve ever had. If the guys bring it every night the potential is there to have a very solid season.”
Off and on, Jordan has been associated with the T-wolves since 2001 – first as a player and then as as an assistant coach in the B.C. college league. He’s was hired as head coach in 2010 and was at the helm when UNBC joined the Canada West pack in 2012. Aaron Brouwer, Dale Dergousoff and Nav Parmar return as the assistant coaches.
The T-wolves finished 10th in Canada West last year and made the playoffs with a 10-10 record.
They’ll make their home debut next weekend when they host the Winnipeg Wesmen in a two-game series at the Northern Sport Centre.
Blue Jays name Montoyo
Citizen news service
as manager
TORONTO — Charlie Montoyo has been named the new manager of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Montoyo becomes the 13th manager in Blue Jays history, agreeing to a three-year deal through 2021 with a team option for 2022. Montoyo managed the triple-A Durham Bulls from 2007-14 before joining the Tampa Bay Rays as third base coach in 2015.
He was promoted to Tampa’s bench coach this season. The Blue Jays will officially introduce Montoyo during a news conference Monday at Rogers Centre.
“I am extremely honoured and humbled to join the Toronto Blue Jays organization,” Montoyo said in a statement.
“Managing a team that represents an entire nation is incredibly special.
“My family and I look forward to working towards the
ultimate goal of winning a championship for this city. I also want to recognize the entire Tampa Bay Rays organization for giving me the chance to start my coaching career.”
The Blue Jays are coming off a 73-89 regular season under John Gibbons. The team announced at the end of the campaign that Gibbons would not be returning to the position in 2019.
“We are thrilled to announce Charlie as the new manager of the Toronto Blue Jays,” GM Ross Atkins said.
“Charlie is a highly regarded leader by so many individuals in the game and we were thoroughly impressed by his experiences and approach as we learned more about him during the interview process.
“Charlie is passionate about the game, with a superior ability to connect and relate and we are confident he will have an overwhelmingly positive influence on Blue Jays players and staff. On a personal level, I am looking forward to working with him as we continue to build and sustain a championship organization.”
Added Toronto president Mark Shapiro: “Charlie possesses the warmth, authenticity, and extensive experience that will help foster a championship culture in our clubhouse and throughout the Blue Jays organization. His collaborative nature and leadership ability will undoubtedly have a broad impact across the club.”
Montoyo, 53, retired as a player after the 1996 season. He spent 10 years as an infielder in the Milwaukee Brewers, Montreal Expos and Philadelphia Phillies organizations.
His lone big-league experience as a player came in 1993 with the Expos when he appeared in four games. Montoyo was a sixth-round selection by Milwaukee in the 1987 first-year player draft.
The native of Florida, Puerto Rico, has managed teams at every classification in the Rays’ system. He was named International League manager of the year in 2010 and 2013.
Montoyo compiled a 1,266-1,142 (.526) minor-league managerial record. He also coached Team Puerto Rico in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
Montoyo won a Southern League title with the double-A Montgomery Biscuits in 2006 and a Short-A division crown with Hudson Valley in 1998 Gibbons, 56, first managed the Blue Jays from August 2004 to June 2008. He was rehired in November 2012 and guided the team back to the playoffs in 2015, ending the franchise’s 22-year post-season drought.
gold, Danielle Lappage (Olds, Alta., 65 kg) captured silver, and Erica Wiebe
AP PHOTO
Diana Weicker of Canada battles Zhuldyz Eshimova of Kazakhstan in the bronze medal match of the women’s 53kg category of the Wrestling World Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Thursday.
DI STASIO
MONTOYO
UNBC women finish 8-0 in preseason
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
tclarke@pgcitizen.ca
Don’t let their 8-0 preseason record fool you. It doesn’t count in the standings but what happens in the U Sports exhibition season does indeed have a carryover effect into the regular season and the UNBC Timberwolves are living proof of that. Their winning ways the past month have left them brimming with confidence as they head into the 201819 regular season tonight in Calgary against the Mount Royal Cougars.
The T-wolves went on an eastern swing for preseason challenges in Ontario a few weeks ago and reeled off wins over the Laurier Golden Hawks in Waterloo and the Western Mustangs in London. UNBC also beat UVic twice and finished the exhibition season last week, beating Thompson Rivers and UBC-Okanagan (twice).
“They were able to compete with really good teams, they beat Victoria twice, which never happened before, and they beat Western, all very tight games and I’m happy with how they played,” said T-wolves head coach Sergey Shchepotkin. “The girls showed their character and didn’t give up. They fought to the end and that was nice to see.”
Shchepotkin says the T-wolves are gaining a reputation as a tough team to play and the proof was in the number of invitations the team received to play in out-of-town preseason tournaments. Backed by their preseason record, they have to be considered one of the teams to beat in Canada West.
“All the big schools wanted us to play in tournaments, which is a good sign,” he said.
“All teams takes us really serious, which is good.”
UNBC’s world revolves around six-footfour post Vasiliki Louka, speedy guard Ma-
ria Mongomo and third-year homegrown forward Madison Landry. Louka turned in a spectacular season leading the T-wolves into the playoffs for the second-straight season. The native of Athens, Greece averaged 18.2 points (fourth in the conference) 12.2 rebounds (second in Canada West, fifth in the country) and was named to the Canada West second all-star team.
Mongomo was hampered by a knee injury last year but still managed 18.1 points per
game (fifth in Canada West) and was good for 8.3 rebounds each night. She’s one of the quickest guards in Canada and led the T-wolves in steals, averaging 3.1 per game.
“Maria and Vasiliki are more mature and they’re team players this year, they play for their teammates, and you can see with their experience their games just get better,” said Shchepotkin.
Landry, a Duchess Park secondary school graduate about to begin her third season,
Spruce Kings take on Trail tonight
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
It’s a long road from Prince George to Trail and tonight’s game against the Smoke Eaters is only the start of it for the Prince George Spruce Kings. They also visit Wenatchee on Saturday and Salmon Arm Sunday afternoon in their Interior Division tour. Totaling 2,463 kilometres, it rates as the longest B.C. Hockey League roadtrip of the season for the Spruce Kings.
“We have three good teams we’re playing this weekend and we just have to make sure we’re bringing a good road mentality in all three games,” said Spruce Kings head coach Adam Maglio. All three opponents this weekend sport winning records. The Wenatchee Wild (8-6-2-0) are third in the Interior, tied in points with the second-place Penticton Vees (8-5-0-2) and the fourth-place Smoke Eaters (7-6-3-1). The Salmon Arm Silverbacks (8-6-1-0, fifth place) are only one point behind those other three Interior teams.
Last weekend, in another three-game, three-day trip, the Kings won two of the three games, beating Coquitlam and Langley before losing the rematch Sunday afternoon against the Express in Coquitlam.
“It was a little bit of a letdown after being up 2-0 on Sunday,” said Maglio. “Our goal is to win every game we play in and two out of three is good, but certainly
our expectation is to get all three.” Kings right winger Ben Brar was the player of the week with four goals and two assists, including two gamewinners, in the three games. The soon-to-be 20-year-old has several NCAA full-ride scholarship offers on the table and Maglio says it’s just a matter of Brar deciding which one provides the best fit.
Now playing on a line with Ben Poisson and Patrick Cozzi, Brar leads the Kings in scoring with 11 goals and five assists. Poisson, the Kings’ captain, is battling an illness and might not be ready to play in Trail. In the Mainland Division, the thirdplace Spruce Kings (10-5-0-1) fell four points behind second-place Coquitlam (12-5-1-0). The Express increased the gap following a 3-2 shootout victory Wednesday in Penticton. The defending RBC Cup champion Chilliwack Chiefs (13-5-0-0) lead the division with the best record in the BCHL, five points ahead of the Spruce Kings. Prince George has played two fewer games than Chilliwack and Coquitlam.
The Smoke Eaters are coming off a 5-4 loss Wednesday in Wenatchee.
“Trail has some good young talented team and they retained some of their high-end veterans,” said Maglio. “They play hard and they’re getting (offensive) contributions throughout the lineup.”
Maglio says a key to success tonight is to try to limit the number of power-play
chances his team gives the Smoke Eaters. They’re second only to the West Kelowna Warriors in power-play success, striking at a 24.7 per cent rate. What the Kings have going for them is they are the leastpenalized team in the league with just 138 penalty minutes through 16 games, an average 8.6 minutes per game.
The Spruce Kings’ power play (22.1 per cent) ranks third in the 17-team BCHL, while their penalty killing (78.9 per cent) is 11th best. Maglio isn’t concerned about their PK efficiency, knowing they don’t often play shorthanded.
“Our special teams have been pretty good over the last four or five games,” said Maglio.
Tonight’s game will be the first for 17-year-old Spruce Kings winger Sean Donaldson against his former teammates on the Smoke Eaters.
The Kings acquired the University of Connecticut recruit in a trade last week that sent 18-year-old winger Layne Sniher and future considerations to Trail. In two games with the Kings since then, Donaldson has been held without a point, playing on a line with Dustin Manz and Nolan Welsh.
“Sean brings an offensive element, something that we probably need from more guys and I think he will be one of those guys who can step up and chip in and play in all roles,” said Maglio. “He’s only 17 and he’s still learning, we’re not putting a ton of pressure on him.”
emerged as a dependable shooter last year, averaging 14.7 points. Emily Holmes, a fourth-year Duchess Park product, has answered the call of duty as the starting point guard and gives the T-wolves another accurate weapon from three-point range. Shooting guard Abby Gibb, who started her U Spots career at Mount Royal, is back for a second season at UNBC, now in her fifth year of eligibility.
“Right now we have a good mix of experienced players and new players and it works pretty well,” said Shchepotkin, who will have help from assistant coaches Dave and Louise Holmes and Jami Guenther.
One of the new players to watch is Julia Gallant a third-year guard who played the past two seasons in the PacWest Athletic Association for the now-defunct Squamishbased Quest University Kermodes. The native of Victoria averaged 8.3 points in 17 games last season with the Kermodes. The T-wolves have four international students on the roster, including Louka, Mongomo, second-year guard Alina Shakirova of Moscow, Russia, and rookie guard Sierra Gallego, a native of Avondale, Ariz. Alexis Magrath, a forward who played her high school career with the D.P. Todd Trojans, and guard Kyla Giesbrecht, a former Cedars Christian Eagle, provide local content as Canada West sophomores. The other first-year recruits, all guards, are Lucy Guan of Vancouver (Britannia), Devon Wood of North Vancouver (Windsor) and six-foot Cevanna Carlson of Turner Valley, Alta. (Foothills Composite).
Last season the T-wolves finished 9-11 and made it into the postseason as a 10thplace team and lost a first-round singleelimination game to the Winnipeg Wesmen 82-65. They’ll be back on their home court next weekend to play the Wesmen in a twogame series at the Northern Sport Centre.
High school football semifinals tonight
Citizen staff
The double-A varsity high school football semifinal matchups are set and only the winners will get to play for the Matt Pearce Memorial Trophy. At stake is a berth in the B.C. Secondary School Football Association Northern Conference championship, also known as the P.G. Bowl, set for Nov. 2. The undefeated first-place Prince George Polars (3-0) are heavily favoured to beat the winless Nechako Valley Vikings of Vanderhoof (0-3) in their semifinal today (5 p.m. kickoff) at Masich Place Stadium. In their only other meeting this season, Sept. 29 in Vanderhoof, the Polars cruised to a 34-6 victory. The late game tonight (7:30 start) pits the second-place Kelly Road Roadrunners (1-1-1) against the third-place College Heights Cougars (1-1-1). The teams met each other in the first game of the season, Sept. 13, and played to a 12-12 tie.
PGSS is coming off a 39-13 win over Kelly Road last week. College Heights won its first game of the season Saturday in Vanderhoof, defeating the Vikings 37-8.
Meanwhile, in the North Division junior varsity playoffs, College Heights and Nechako Valley will play for the league championship next Tuesday at Masich. In playoff semifinals Wednesday, the top-ranked Cougars improved to 5-0 on the season with a 50-12 triumph over the Duchess Park Condors. In the other semifinal, the third-place Vikings topped the second-place Roadrunners 40-34. Kelly Road will play Duchess Park in the third-place playoff Tuesday at 5 p.m., followed by the Cougars-Vikings championship game at 7:30.
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE
UNBC Timberwolves point guard Vasiliki Louka attempts a lay-up past the block of TRU Wolfpack forward Emily Vilac at the Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Gusts up to 80 km/h forecast for today
Hold on your hat – gusty southwesterly winds are expected to blow through the region today, Environment Canada issued a special weather statement.
“A Pacific low pressure system will land on the B.C. coast near Prince Rupert Friday morning and track across the northern interior, reaching the Fort Nelson area that evening,” the agency said.
“Following the track of the low, strong southwesterly winds gusting upwards of 80 km/h are possible Friday afternoon over parts of the central and northern interior including the northern Chilcotin, Prince George, Bulkley Valley and the Lakes, Williston and McGregor area.
“The strong winds will spread to the BC Peace River region Friday night.”
— Citizen staff
Vehicle impounded for excessive speed
The vehicle of a woman who was clocked at over 130 km/h in an 80 km/h zone along Giscome Road on Monday morning was impounded for seven days, RCMP said. She was also issued a ticket carrying a $368 fine and three demerit points after she was pulled over without incident by a North District RCMP traffic services member. Depending on her driving history, the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles could issue a further licence suspension, RCMP added.
“Police remind all drivers to obey posted speed limits –slowing down reduces the likelihood you will be injured or killed in a collision,” RCMP said.
“Certainly it is not worth the fines, inconvenience of having your car impounded and possible licence suspension.”
— Citizen staff
Hwy. 16 upgrade project complete
The series of improvements from Bunce Road to Blackwater Road on Highway 16 East have been completed, the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said Thursday.
The project features a new four-laned segment and a new median barrier to prevent crossover collisions. The upgrades also provide safer opportunities for highway merging, exiting and passing. Specific improvements include 3.4 kilometres of new four-laning on Highway 16 from Bunce Road to east of Jensen Road and intersection upgrades at Bunce Road/Gauthier Road including a new deceleration lane onto Gauthier Road, Haldi Road including a reconfiguration to prevent left turns from Haldi Road onto the highway and Blackwater Road, Sykes Road West/East including adding new traffic signals.
It also features an extension of Buckingham Road to connect with Purdue Road West and extended pedestrian underpass, new sidewalk and sidewalk lighting at Bunce Road.
— Citizen staff
Bamford brings Jojo Mason to P.G. show
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
Gord Bamford is the headliner tonight at Heartbreakers, but he is not on the stage alone. The country music star has a couple of rising talents, both with their own growing list of hits.
One of those names is Jojo Mason, the uprising young Victoria singer who has popped out hits like Good Kinda Love, Red Dress, It’s All Good, Something To Wrap My Heart Around and others.
“Jojo was my first pick to be on tour with me because of what he brings to the table – the music and the kind of person he is,” Bamford told The Citizen. “He’s just a positive person, a great guy, and his music is really good, so to have him is exciting.”
He’s the kind of guy who blushes when he finds out that Bamford has been saying such things. Mason said he was enthused to be out on tour with one of the most awarded country artists in Canadian history (they are also sharing tonight’s stage in Prince George with buzz-artist Jade Eagleson), he felt he could learn a lot from Bamford, and he expected wild audiences.
“Dreams, man, I’m telling you,” said Mason, figuratively pinching himself over the good fortune.
But it is only partially attributable to luck. Mason has been earning abundant industry praise for his easygoing musical atmosphere, his catchy singles, and the progressive energy that can only show up in his songs if it’s real in his life.
However, yes, kismet indeed played some cards in the game.
He recalled one fateful night most of all, after a patch of luck most people would consider very bad. He did, too, at the time, until he woke up in the party clothes he’d been wearing the night before and managed to brush off the hangover fog just enough to remember a life-changing offer from a stranger.
“Let me give you the short backstory on it,” Mason said. “So, I was playing hockey in Victoria (a blueliner for the Saanich Jr. Braves of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League). I herniated a disc in my back that cut my playing career very short – I was about 17 or 18. I went down a kind of slippery slope, battled all kinds of depression, and once I was able to get myself out of my own little rock bottom I’d created for myself, I started bartending in Vancouver. I did eight or nine months of really tough rehab for my back to get my health better, and I got invited to a Christmas party by a friend of mine. I showed up with a jar of moonshine.”
That moonshine had a splash of stardust in it. A music industry professional was at the same party and spotted Mason’s liquor receptacle. That stranger told Mason he and some songwriters had just been discussing a particular line in a song they were writing. The line mentioned drinking booze out of a jar. Some in the group were convinced that was just a redneck caricature, while he was of the opinion that people did indeed still really use jars as their preferred cup. He wanted to snap some selfies with Mason to show them it was true.
The stranger and Mason started chatting about other related things. His new acquaintance told Mason that there was something about him, a charisma if anything, that suggested he should be on stage himself. He gave Mason the offer of a lifetime: come to the office and sing for me.
Despite having no formal training in music, Mason screwed up the hangover courage to make that call. One rendition of the Zac Brown hit Chicken Fried convinced the music man that Mason had something more than what was in his jar. Mason was an unearthed strike of gold.
“From there we had four Top 10s together, a Top 15 and a Top 20,” Mason said. “I never sang in front of anybody. I had no confidence. My dream was to sing for my high school talent show, and I never did it. I never did it.”
The school that never heard Mason sing was Reynolds Secondary School. It’s also the alma mater of actor Chad Willett, who also counts Prince George as a hometown, and there is another local connection, one that has Mason practically dancing in the streets with anticipation.
“What’s cool about the Prince George show is, my best friend from high school now lives in P.G.,” said Mason. “I am so excited to come up and play there because she hasn’t seen me play in a long time. I can’t wait to see her. I texted her as soon as I found out we were booked there. I’m really, really happy this show got added.
She’s been my best friend since Grade 9.”
Her name is Liz Wass. She
moved to Prince George about four years ago for the outdoors and the university. All of Mason’s country fame has come since she’s been here, and this is the first time in that burgeoning career that he’s been scheduled to perform here. He is bringing along his brand new single, the smooth and peppy tune Future. It’s so new there isn’t even a video out for it, yet, but it is scoring at radio on its first shift. Scoring was something Mason used to strive for on the ice, and he sniped another for the video of his song Edge Of The Night, a little tune movie he and his crew filmed in Kamloops on a day off while touring. It’s a quintessentially Canadian homage, with its trees and rivers and real snow. He even planted a little Easter egg in the part where he walks down a suburban street, grabs a stick and snaps a forehand into a streethockey net as he saunters along singing. The tiny detail was the left-shot curve on his right-hand shot. Only a real hockey fan, he said, would ever spot that detail. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t give to play some competitive puck again,” he said. “That was a time for me, I’m tellin’ ya. I miss it all the time. However, I would not give this up at all.”
He likens his record contract with 604 Records (the same label as Marianas Trench, Carly Rae Jepson, Dallas Smith, Dani & Lizzy, etc.) to getting called up to play pro hockey.
“I wake up every day and I count ‘em all, every day,” he said of his blessings. He counts Prince George among them for the first time, tonight at Heartbreakers Nightclub.
Social housing project gets approval
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
The Prince George Elizabeth Fry Society’s quest to build a social housing complex next to Studio 2880 on 15th Avenue was advanced a step Thursday when it was among a dozen from across B.C. for which the provincial government gave the go-ahead.
PGEFS executive director Kathi Heim said final costs are still being nailed down but a Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing spokesperson said $15.6 million has been approved for the project. It will come out of Building B.C.: Women’s Transition Fund through which $734 million over 10 years has been earmarked for 1,500 units of such housing.
The hope is to start construction by spring
next year on an 18-bed transition house, 16 units of second-stage housing and 21 townhouses, all directed at women and children, “now that we got approval to start going for the development permits and building permits.”
Heim said it will provide the “full continuum” of housing for women and children in need of stable, safe and supported places to stay. Transitional or “immediate crisis” housing typically lasts about 30 days while secondstage housing is the next step and is usually good for one to two years. The townhouses can be permanent with monthly rent based on the client’s ability to pay.
“The purpose of this housing is to take barriers away from women so that they aren’t going to be challenged to find housing so it will be quite affordable,” Heim said.
City council approved rezoning of the site along the 2700 and 2800 block of 15th Avenue in March 2017 about four months after Elizabeth Fry received $1.6 million from the provincial government to help get the project off the ground.
“It’s been about two years and it’s morphed and it’s changed and it’s been around the block a few times and we weren’t even expecting to get announced just yet so this was quite a surprise to us so it is very welcome and we’re just so appreciative,” Heim said. “It’s great for Prince George.” Studio 2880 is in the process of moving to the old Bank of Montreal building at Third Avenue and Quebec Street downtown, which it will share with the Prince George Farmers’ Market.
Gord Bamford performs during the 2013 Canadian Country Music Awards in Edmonton.
Air Canada loses price-fixing appeal
The Supreme Court of Canada has cleared the way for a broader class-action lawsuit against Air Canada and British Airways by refusing to hear an appeal requested by Canada’s largest airline in a decade-long price-fixing case.
Air Canada had sought to overturn a 2017 Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that provincial courts could hear a class-action case that includes foreign claimants that purchased Air Canada’s air freight services, rather than limiting it to mainly Canadian companies.
Launched in 2008, the lawsuit from three companies alleges price fixing on international cargo shipments by major airlines between 2000 and 2006.
Linda Visser, a lawyer for the plaintiffs,
says they have reached settlements totalling more than $29 million with all 14 defendants except Air Canada and British Airways.
“From an access to justice perspective it’s a significant decision, because there are few jurisdictions that actually have class-action regimes. And often these types of claims are not economical to bring on an individual basis,” Visser said.
The lawsuit involves up to tens of thousands of class members, many of them foreign exporters and freight forwarders that handle shipments ranging from flowers to fruit to zoo animals, she said. The plaintiffs are Ontario’s Airia Brands Inc., Britain’s StarTech.com Ltd. and Germany’s Quick Cargo Service.
Air Canada declined to comment, saying the case is before the courts.
“The case confirms that the Ontario courts
are a place where foreign claimants from around the world can come and start class actions,” said Ranjan Agarwal, a class-action defence lawyer at Bennett Jones.
In 2012, Air Canada paid $8 million in a U.S. class-action settlement agreement following allegations of anti-competitive air freight pricing, though the company did not admit liability. In March 2017, the European Commission fined Air Canada $30 million – 11 airlines were fined about $1.2 billion in total – for allegedly running a price-fixing cartel on cargo fuel and security surcharges between 1999 and 2006. An appeal to the General Court of the European Union is pending.
Earlier investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and Canada’s Competition Bureau into alleged price fixing wrapped up without charges.
Business lessons from an election loss
Isit here writing this article eating my humble pie and managing my political hangover. You see, I just lost a local city council election, coming ninth place in the bid for the eight council seats.
I was told going into the municipal race by several politicians that I might lose the first time. However, I thought differently because, I was “playing to win.” The truth of politics is that most politicians lose before they win. Jack Layton lost three times before he was elected to Parliament. Barack Obama, George Bush, Bill Clinton, Bill Vander Zalm, all lost at least once before they went on to win in politics. I just write that to make myself feel better, not that I have any plans to run again for political office. So, what went wrong, and what could businesses learn from a political loss?
1. Understand the Rules of the Game. Running a campaign is similar to business. We are in business to win and to be profitable, consequently, we need to understand the rules of the game. I learned that there is political intelligence just like emotional or business intelligence. Some people go to school to learn this. I have now learned some political intelligence through the school of hard knocks. I realize in hindsight, that I said and did some things during the campaign that may have sabotaged my campaign.
Often when we start a business or buy a business, we think we know what we are doing. Unfortunately, we don’t. We fail to make investments of time to learn the seven areas businesses need to focus on to be profitable (send me an email and I will send you my article). We fail to understand what drives our industry and how the market reacts in order to make purchase decisions. Business competence or intelligence and truly understanding how to win or make profit is a deciding factor in our success.
2. Don’t underestimate your competition and take the time to do a SWOT analysis. I
honestly underestimated my competition. I thought my name recognition and the history of what I had done for the community would carry me to a seat on council. I failed to sit down and do a written SWOT analysis (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats). Had I done so, I would have better compensated for the fact that seven out of the eight winners had union support. I would have done a better job of compensating for my weaknesses and created better alliances with some of the incumbents. I also failed to scan the political horizon and recognize that there were some people, aside from the candidates, who were real threats to my political run.
In business, this happens all the time. We fail to really comprehend how our organization could completely lead the marketplace because often we focus on our strengths but forget that we need to overcome our weaknesses to get ahead of our competition. We underestimate our competition and their support and we fail to see dangers in the marketplace.
3. Get the Message Right. Part of the reason I lost is because my message wasn’t right. I knew early in the campaign that most people were happy with the current council. The incumbents stuck together and focused on their track record. Instead of supporting that message, my message was that the city needed a second set of eyes to oversee and ask tough questions. While this might have garnered some support, I underestimated the fact that people really trusted the current government and didn’t want change. There were rumours that I was against science, vaccines, and the
establishment in general. I never took the time to formulate a story that clearly told people that I do have my kids vaccinated that I use science regularly and can play in a sandbox with other kids. Instead I stayed with the facts.
Tom Peters, one of the great authors on business leadership, says that we need to throw out the manuals and facts and tell stories that captivate the minds and hearts of people. I failed in this regard as do many business owners. We tell ‘the what’ we do, but not ‘the why.’ Finally, in business just as in politics, we are going to make mistakes. People are going to make comments because our business did something silly in the past, or we screwed up an advertisement or handled an employee situation poorly, or God forbid, closed our doors and quit.
However, I can’t say it any better than Theodore Roosevelt’ in his “The Man in the Arena” speech. “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly... and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
In running for council I won by making some new friends, having some great conversations and being pushed beyond my comfort zone. I had some incredible support from my friends and family and had thousands of people trust me enough to vote for me, even though I had never met them. For all of this I am truly grateful and rewarded despite my loss.
Dave Fuller, MBA, is an award-winning certified professional business coach and the author of the book Profit Yourself Healthy. Dave would love to hear from you email dave@profityourselfhealthy.com
“Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.” — Mark Twain
OTTAWA -
North American markets recovered some of the prior day’s deep losses, continuing the volatility of recent weeks.
There was a pretty solid rebound Thursday overall, said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist for SIA Wealth Management.
“Not only did we see stocks come back but we saw oil come back, which I thought also was encouraging since both of them had been hammered pretty badly in the last week,” he said in an interview.
The December crude contract was up 51 cents at US$67.33 per barrel. That’s still the third-lowest level in two months.
“I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet and I still think there’s going to be bumpy and choppy 13 more weeks but it’s definitely really encouraging to see investors step up and for markets to hang onto their gains.”
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 14.95 points at 14,924.08 after losing 376.04 points on Wednesday. It hit an intraday high of 15,009.91 on 296.8 million shares traded.
The cannabis-heavy health care sector led, gaining 2.8 per cent, followed by the technology and energy sectors.
Gold was one of four sectors that lost ground, along with materials, utilities and telecom. Financials and real estate were in the middle, gaining less than half a per cent on the day.
Cieszynski said he expected financials could struggle with interest rates on the rise.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 401.12 points to 24,984.55 after Wednesday’s selloff pushed the market to a loss for the year. The S&P 500 index was up 49.47 points to 2,705.57, while the Nasdaq composite was up 209.93 points or almost three per cent to 7,318.34. Although markets are going through a period of high volatility, they will likely recover later in the year, added Cieszynski. He noted that corporate results have generally been positive even though some haven’t met expectations.
The upcoming U.S. midterm elections could cause further uncertainty and contribute to volatility dragging well into November, he added.
The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 76.48 cents US compared with an average of 76.75 cents US on Wednesday.
The December natural gas contract was up 2.9 of a cent at US$3.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$1.30 at US$1,232.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was down 0.3 of a cent at US$2.75 a pound.
Citizen news service
CITIZEN NEWS SERVICE PHOTO
A model airplane is seen in front of the newly revealed Air Canada Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft at a hangar at the Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ont., in 2017.
DAVE FULLER
Business Coach
It is with tremendous sadness that we announce the passing of Brian John Fairbairn who was born and raised in Prince George. Brian died peacefully in his sleep in Vancouver on October 4, 2018 at the age of 28. He will always be remembered for his infectious smile, beautiful eyes and kind heart, his passion, pride and the love and happiness he spread. A life ended much too soon. He is so incredibly missed by his parents Gord and Susie, sister Ainsllie (Chris Ford), his brother Tom, Grandpa Tom, nephew Grayson, niece Emersyn. He will also be remembered by his many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends, as well as his cat Enzo. We will celebrate Brian’s life on Saturday, November 3rd at 1pm at the Hart Community Center in Prince George. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy can be made in Brian’s name to some of his favorite charities: SPCA, Children’s Hospital, Crohns & Colitis.
Rea,Margaret(Peggy) March11,1954-October17,2018
Margaret(Peggy)ReapassedawayonOctober17, 2018attheageof64,morethanalittlepeevedthat shewasnevergoingtogetanOldAgeSecurity payment.Shespentthefirst30yearsofherlifein Torontoandthelast34fallinginlovewithPrince Georgeandallthefriendshipsshemadeandkept. Torontohadbecomeachaotictouristdestination wherefamilyandothergoodfriendsstillhappenedto betrapped.DiagnosedwithStage4OvarianCancera yearago,shelivedwiththediseaseandtreatment (ChemotherapyandSurgery)asbestshecould.Asa familyweoscillatedbetweenfear,hope,anger, acceptance,despairandhumor.Withsupportof familyandfriends,bothnearandfar,thegooddays outweighedthebad.Shewillbemissedbyallthat knewher,andwillbemisseddailybyherhusbandof 40years,Bill,herdaughter,Shannonandson,Sean. StillforMargaret,itwasworseforher."You’rejust losingme,I’mlosingeveryone." InPrinceGeorge,Margaretwasanursethathelda widevarietyofpositionsinpsychiatry,community mentalhealth,education,counselling,eating disordersandaddictions.Sheusedtojokethatin Torontoshehadalsodone"real"nursingininternal medicineandpalliativecare.Manyhavetoldmethat shewasacompetent,compassionateandhard workingnurse;Ipersonallyknowofthemanyuntold andunpaidhoursshespentupgradingandextending herknowledgebaseandskills. Margaretlovedmostkindsofmusic-opera, classical,bluegrass,theblues,jazz,rock,folk,world, andevenafew(veryfew)rapsongs.Whennot feedingheraddictiontomysterynovels,shewould readalmostanythingthatshethoughtwaswell written.Itwasdifficultforhertogetthroughaday withoutdoingatleastonecrosswordpuzzle. Margaretlovedcruises,campingandtravellingto citieswithgoodmuseumsandartgalleries.In anotherlife,shewouldhavebecomeanArthistorian, withmorethanapassingnodtofashionasArt.This onlytouchesonhermanyandvariedinterests.Of course,aboveall,familyandfriendswereherabiding passion. Wewillbeholdingamemorialserviceandreception intheCranbrookBallroomoftheRamadaHotelon Sunday,October28,2018from1until4p.m.
“Trapper Jack” James Martin Bruvall
Jack was born in Canora, Ontario on December 15, 1936 where he grew up and met his wife, they had three children, two boys James Thomas Bruvall and Keith Richard Bruvall and one daughter Laurie Ann Bruvall. Jack and his wife divorced when his kids were young and he got on a train and came from Ontario to Prince George and then to Mackenzie in late 70’s early 80’s where he got a job with CN Rail as a conductor where he worked till he retired. Jack died at the age of 82 peacefully at the Mackenzie Hospital. He is predeceased by his mother Borghild Bruvall, father Bernt Alf Mathiassen Bruvall, and son Keith Richard Bruvall. He has left behind a son and daughter, and 10 grandchildren. Jack had many friends and everyone who knew Jack loved him. He will be dearly missed by all who had the pleasure of meeting him. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, October 27, 2018 from 12pm until 3pm at the Elk’s building in Mackenzie, BC.
Edna May Oryshchuk (nee Rice)
Passed away at home on September 13, 2018 after a two year battle with cancer. Edna was predeceased by her husband James Oryshchuk, son Blake Oryshchuk, parents Don and Genevieve Rice, sisters Mary Veitch and Ila Rice, and brother-in-laws John Oryshchuk, Mike Shymkiw and Bob Watson. Mother and Father in law Peter and Anna Oryshchuk, Sister in law Elsie Oryshchuk. Edna is survived by her daughter Deanna (Jonathan) Brady, grandchildren Scott, Kelty, Jackson and Brydee-Lea Brady, sisters Alice (Bob) Sigurdson, Helen Watson, Frances (Rick) Oulette, Jenny (Clarence) Richard, brother Donald Rice, sister-inlaw Katherine Symnkiw, Joyce Oryshchuk, and brother-in-law Mike Oryshchuk as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews and extended family the Rahiers. Edna will be remembered for being a loyal friend, a strong community supporter and a committed volunteer. She was an active member on the Hospital Auxiliary, serving as President for over 20 years. During that time she was apart of the “OR” Enhancement Project and was instrumental in organizing the Candy Stripers Program at St. John’s Hospital. Edna expanded her Auxiliary work by sitting on both Regional and Provincial boards. Most recently she become a strong advocate of the new Aquatic Center in Vanderhoof and worked tirelessly to raise funds for this project. She loved gardening, visiting with friends, family and puttering around the house. Edna was proud of her own children - Blake and Deanna and loved when they could all be together. However, “Baba” was intensely proud of her grandchildren. She loved taking road trips to see them perform in Christmas concerts, livestock shows, start school or go on vacation with them. A special thank you to Dr. Davy Dhillon for your outstanding compassion, care and friendship. To Yvonne Thalheimer and Yvette Appletonyour care, compassion and steadfast support allowed Edna the ability to stay in the home she loved. A Celebration of Life will be held on October 27th @ 1pm at the Northside Mennonite Church Gymnasium. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Vanderhoof Hospital Auxiliary.
JACK PICKRELL
North Nechako’s most eligible bachelor, has passed away peacefully in his sleep on October 21, 2018
Elmer Ladd Enders, born in Nipawin, Saskatchewan, June 18th, 1924, passed away at home on Friday, Oct 19th, 7:30pm, at the age of 94. Elmer is survived by Helen, his loving wife of 70 years, daughter Rita, sons Garry/Suzanne, Rocky, 3 grandchildren - Corina/Philip, Jen/Mike, Jess/Brandon and 3 great grandchildren - Dagon, Evan and Henley. He was predeceased by his daughter Valerie in 2008. Elmer and Helen were known for putting smiles on many faces with their music and Elmer’s home made custom instruments. He will be greatly missed but will live on in our memories. At his request there will be no service, but the family will host a social gathering with light refreshments at the Pineview Community Hall on Bendixon Road from 12:00 - 3:00pm Sunday Oct 28, 2018.
“Cita” Princicita Mercader Bjorklund July 9, 1959October 18, 2018
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Cita who passed away at the UHNBC, surrounded by her loving family and will be greatly missed. She is survived by her husband Carl Bjorklund, children Sharon Skibinski (Bill), Lloyd Bjorklund (Ruby), Vince Murphy, Karl Bjorklund, Donna Bjorklund, Duwayne Bjorklund, Cheryl Ryan (Mike), and Curtis Bjorklund, many grandchildren, greatgrandchildren, numerous family in the Philippines and her good friends. Cita was predeceased by her parents Felino and Paciencia Gaspan. Cita left the Philippines and moved to Canada on her own at a very young age. She worked very hard and dedicated her time to helping others. She enjoyed her life to the fullest but most of all she loved to be surrounded by her family and friends whom she cherished so much. A funeral service will be held on Friday, October 26, 2018 at 1:30pm at St. Mary’s Parish, with a viewing held prior starting at 12:30pm, 1088 Gillett Street, Prince George, BC, with Father Gilbert Bertrand OMI and Father Ken Anderson OMI officiating. Cita will be laid to rest in the Prince George Memorial Park Cemetery. Following the interment, friends are welcome to join the family at St. Mary’s Parish for some snacks and refreshments.
Barrie Lorne McKinley Aug 20, 1949 to Oct 2, 2018
Barrie passed away on October 2, 2018 at age 69. Raised in Prince George, B.C., a long time resident of Hope BC. Son of loving parents Jack and Eveline McKinley (predeceased). Siblings Gail Martinson (Robert Martinson predeceased), Rocky McKinley (Angelika), Charlene Wall (McKinley), Melody McKinley. Nieces & Nephews Darcy Martinson (predeceased), Dawn Mckay (Nathan), Jason Martinson, Crystal Jones (Joel), Amy Wall, Brandi Wall, Joel Marchand, Daniel Marchand, Bailey Bencher. Numerous Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. A small family gathering will be held on a future date.
Robert Dorman Weed January 23, 1939October 17, 2018 It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Robert Dorman Weed on October 17, 2018 at
ROBERT
Penalty for cancelling Saudi arms deal ‘in billions’
Joan BRYDEN Citizen news service
OTTAWA — The price for registering Canada’s outrage over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi went up exponentially Thursday, as Justin Trudeau revealed the penalty for cancelling a $15-billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia would be “in the billions of dollars.”
The prime minister blamed Stephen Harper’s previous Conservative government – which signed the contract to sell light armoured vehicles to the desert kingdom – for making it so costly to cancel and for making it impossible for him to publicly reveal the exact figure. But he was accused by the NDP of inventing numbers to justify not cancelling the contract.
Earlier this week, Trudeau signalled his reluctance to cancel the deal, saying he didn’t want “to leave Canadians holding a billion-dollar bill because we are trying to move forward on doing the right thing.”
During a news conference Thursday with Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Trudeau was pressed to say if
that was a precise figure. He said the “extremely difficult contract” signed by the Harper government included a requirement for “total confidentiality” which prevents him from disclosing details. But he added: “Suffice it to say possible penalties would be in the billions of dollars but that is something we are looking at right now.”
Trudeau also said that the government is “actively reviewing existing export permits” for arms to Saudi Arabia.
While that review is underway, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said no new export permits will be approved.
Canada temporarily suspended approvals of new export permits to the Gulf kingdom in 2017, while the government investigated allegations that Saudi Arabia had used Canadian-made armoured vehicles against its minority Shia Muslim population.
Khashoggi disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Saudi Arabia initially insisted he’d left the consulate, then said he’d been killed in a fist fight inside the consulate and, on Thursday, finally admitted his murder had been premeditated.
More mail bombs intercepted
Devlin BARRETT, Mark BERMAN, and Cleve R. WOOTSON JR. Citizen news service
Authorities investigating a wave of pipe bombs mailed to prominent figures across the United States said Thursday that they have found 10 similar packages, including two sent to former vice president Joe Biden and another mailed to the actor Robert De Niro.
These latest packages set off new alarms amid a sprawling investigation into explosive devices mailed to a string of politicians –including former president Barack Obama and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton – who have all criticized U.S. President Donald Trump. Like the others, the packages sent to Biden and De Niro were intercepted before reaching their intended targets and did not detonate. They also prompted a further surge of law enforcement activity as the effort to find the culprit or culprits, along with any other possible explosives, expanded farther across the country.
The devices have prompted unease and heightened security nationwide. Police have increased patrols of high-profile people, areas and organizations that could be targeted, and authorities have warned some prominent figures –including former president Jimmy Carter – to be on alert. Investigators were also exploring whether at least some of the 10 packages were mailed from Florida, a law enforcement official said.
The search for answers behind the bombs pushed into a fourth day Thursday, after investigators in a Delaware mail facility found a package addressed to Biden similar to the others that contained pipe bombs, according to a law enforcement official. The package was apparently not delivered to Biden’s home and may have been on its way to being returned to the person listed on the return address of the envelope, the official said.
A second package sent to Biden, similar to the others, was also found in Delaware, the FBI said.
The FBI declined to elaborate beyond saying that local and state police, along with U.S. Postal Service investigators and FBI agents, were “responding this morning to a United States Postal facility in Delaware to conduct law enforcement activity.”
A similar package was also found addressed to De Niro, an Oscar-winning actor who has publicly clashed with Trump, at his production offices in Manhattan, according to the authorities.
An X-ray of the package indicated a similar pipe bomb inside, and
The fact that none of the bombs exploded is of keen interest to the FBI and ATF, who were working to determine if that was intentional or the result of inexpert work, a person familiar with the matter said.
investigators suspect it was sent by the same person who sent the other explosives, a law enforcement official said.
Authorities said the device found at De Niro’s office was discovered due to the images of the packages that have circulated since Wednesday morning. John Miller, deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism at the New York City Police Department, said a retired detective up early Thursday saw this packaging on the news and realized it “looked very much like a package he had seen on Tuesday in mail he was to screen” at De Niro’s office. That former detective called the bomb squad, which took the device away.
The fact that none of the bombs exploded is of keen interest to the FBI and ATF, who were working to determine if that was intentional or the result of inexpert work, a person familiar with the matter said. Because the bombs were intact, investigators have been able to glean significant forensic evidence from each of them, the person said.
Officials declined to say whether the devices were intended to detonate or were meant to scare people, but they repeatedly urged the public to view them as if they could pose a threat, with the head of the New York City Police Department describing them “as suspected explosive devices.”
“This is something that should be taken seriously,” James O’Neill, the New York City police commissioner, said at a news briefing. “We are treating them as live devices.”
One lead being pursued by investigators was that some of the devices may have been mailed from Florida, but officials were cautious Thursday in urging the public to call in with tips from anywhere that might be relevant to their investigation.
William Sweeney Jr., assistant director in charge of the FBI New York field office, said investigators were actively probing messages
they had received from the public. He asked people to remain vigilant, warning that more devices “have been or could be mailed,” and he said any suspicious package should be considered dangerous until proven otherwise. Sweeney urged anyone who finds one to contact law enforcement.
The U.S. Postal Service has inspectors who are trained to recognize suspicious mail and utilize X-ray machines as part of a screening process, officials said. Philip Bartlett, inspector in charge of U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s New York division, said Thursday afternoon at the news briefing that the postal service had found no new packages since early that morning, leaving the tally at 10 recovered so far.
While the first explosive device was found Monday – at the New York home of George Soros, a billionaire activist known to fund pro-democracy and liberal political groups – it was not until early Wednesday that it became apparent investigators were hunting a serial bomber. The Secret Service said it had intercepted two bombs – one addressed to Clinton at the New York home she shares with former president Bill Clinton and another addressed to Obama. Neither bomb included a written message, law enforcement officials said.
Law enforcement officials described the devices as pipes stuffed with explosive material and wrapped in electrical wire and tape, but they provided no detail on how they would have been detonated. At least two of the devices appeared to have been hand-delivered, according to law enforcement officials, while others were found in the mail.
The FBI said the packages found so far had shared characteristics, including manila envelopes with bubble-wrapped interiors. They all also had a half-dozen Forever stamps, computer-printed address labels and return addresses bearing the misspelled name of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, DFla., who chaired the Democratic National Committee during part of the 2016 presidential campaign. Officials do not think she had anything to do with the packages and believe she was a possible victim. Other packages were soon discovered, including two sent to Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., one sent to CNN’s New York offices and addressed to John Brennan, the former CIA director, and another addressed to Eric Holder Jr., Obama’s first attorney general. That package had an incorrect address, so it was “returned” to Wasserman Schultz’s office in Sunrise, Fla., and recovered there.
AP PHOTO
Members of the media report from outside the offices of the Tribeca Film Center in New York City on Thursday. A police bomb squad recovered a suspicious package addressed to Robert DeNiro.
