The tidal wave of abuse and pain suffered at the hands of those in charge at residential schools will stop with her generation, Stephanie Jack said during an Orange Shirt Day event held at CNC’s Prince George campus Friday.
CNC held similar events at all its campuses to acknowledge the need for Canadians to get informed about the history of residential schools and the intergenerational trauma which has impacted Aboriginal people.
“This is a very emotional event,” Jack said after she offered a few words to those gathered at the event. “I believe the trauma crossed over the generations. My great grandparents suffered through it, my grandparents suffered through it and my parents suffered because their parents became alcoholics to cope and they beat them. In turn, my parents became alcoholics and drug abusers, which definitely impacted me and my life. But I’m definitely taking a stand now. I don’t want this kind of thing to continue on.”
Jack told the story of how Orange Shirt Day got started. Phyllis Webstad was one of the thousands of children who were sent to residential school. Webstad was excited to begin her education, and to mark her first day of mission school when she was six years old her grandmother bought her a
bright orange lace shirt.
Much to her dismay, Phyllis was stripped of all her clothing, including her beloved orange shirt, and it was never returned to her, Jack recounted.
“She didn’t understand why they didn’t give it back to her,” Jack said. “It was hers, after all. Since the colour orange always reminded Webstad of that she says her feelings didn’t matter because no one cared about how she felt – like
she was worth nothing.’”
Jack explained that because that’s how Webstad felt at the time and continued to feel that way for years to come, she now tells this story so people can learn about residential schools and hopefully it will bring some understanding. Jack said Webstad shared her story to perhaps encourage survivors of residential school to share their stories.
— see ‘IT’S A SYMBOL, page 3
Cannabis bylaws set for public hearing
Mark
NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
A public hearing will be held Monday for a series of amended bylaws and a revised policy setting out how the city will treat cannabis sellers and growers.
Pending council approval, cannabis retailers will be able to set up shop within select commercial zones but must apply for rezoning on a case-by-case basis which means each and every proposal will have to go through a public hearing. Also, no store will be any closer than 1.6 kilometres from another – similar to the policy in place for liquor stores – and their hours will be set at 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., with council reserving the power to increase or decrease them also on a case-bycase basis.
In passing the related bylaws and policy through the first two readings on Sept. 17, council voted 6-3 to lower the fee for a business licence to $1,000 from $5,000 for both retailers and growers.
As for growers, the provisos remain the same as for those currently in place for producing medical marijuana and the term “cannabis” will replace “marijuana” in the existing bylaws.
Part of a regular meeting, the public hearing will start at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at city hall.
Pending council approval, cannabis retailers will be able to set up shop within select commercial zones...
Also on the agenda:
• A report on the effectiveness of a graffiti removal service will be presented to council.
From May 1 to Aug. 31, the B.C. New Hope Society, which operates Baldy Hughes Therapeutic Community and Farm, provided the service to private property under an agreement with the city. Over that time, 34 graffiti removal efforts were completed while five remain incomplete due to ongoing interaction with bylaw services or delay in receiving the owner’s consent to remove the graffiti.
• Council will consider granting a one-year temporary use permit to Solutions Staffing Inc., which offers support services for recruitment and training of health care professionals, for 1224 Houston Lane.
An informal public hearing is scheduled for the matter at 7 p.m., prior to the formal hearing on the cannabis bylaws. The full agenda is posted on the city website at www.princegeorge.ca.
CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHRISTINE HINZMANN
Stephanie Jack speaks about how she has been affected by residential schools during Orange Shirt Day at the Prince George campus of the College of New Caledonia on Friday.
Majumdar dons whiteface in TNW double-feature
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
The loops of symbolism spin like a DNA strand, colours spiraling like listless flags of nations.
In the double feature on now at Theatre Northwest, the audience is introduced to a character name Candice. She is a prototypical suburban blonde “girl next door” portrayed by Anita Majumdar.
Were Majumdar playing the part of Shakespear’es Ophelia or the title character in Jack Grinhaus’s Hedda Noir we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
Were Candice being played by Saoirse Ronan or Sarah Gadon, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
But Majumdar wrote the script for Candice, deliberately cast herself, and proceeded to paint on a layer of makeup as part of Candice’s first on-stage action. Majumdar’s visibly brown skin was now white, as was Candice’s ethnicity.
Majumdar was knowingly engaged in an act of whiteface, the flipping of the script in response to the now reviled practice of Caucasian actors doing blackface.
Twisting this incident even more tightly was how the character of Candice was fully engaged in chasing her dream of being a Bollywood dancer, enjoyed painting her hands with henna art, and was blissfully thoughtless in her full embrace of appropriating the culture of India for herself.
It was a brown actor playing a white character aping a foreign culture. It’s dizzying.
“We do like to stir the pot, yes,” said Grinhaus, who brought Majumdar to Prince George to perform the one-two punch of Fish Eyes and Let Me Borrow That Top, a pair of interconnected stories about growing up on opposite sides of the all-too-real ethnic divide inside suburban Canadian high school.
“She does whiteface and she knows that will bring up the response of ‘why is it OK for you to do whiteface but it’s not OK for a white actor to do blackface?’ That’s a valid question. And there is a valid answer. And it has everything to do with who is in a position of cultural power when this is done.”
“My experience growing up in Port Moody as a young person in high school, I felt very disempowered,” Majumdar told The Citizen. “I felt either it (incidents of prejudice) was happening to me, or it was happening to friends, or people I didn’t know at all. I felt like I couldn’t do anything about it. I didn’t have the language, I didn’t have the expression to understand how to combat this. How do I stand up to these people, whom I’m afraid of? If I intervene for my friend or stand up for myself, that could cause more problems for me. Tack onto that not only am I a person of colour, I’m also a woman of colour.”
Majumdar said the hammers of prejudice
and blatant ethnic bias continued to strike her throughout university, throughout additional theatre schooling, and still to this day in commonplace adult life. It was not a coincidence that she channeled her anger into her art. Majumdar is famous, now, from coast to coast for playing high profile roles on stage and screen, almost all of them of Indian descent.
For example, in the CBC TV movie Murder Unveiled she played an Indo-Canadian bride murdered after she wed a lower-caste man against her family’s wishes. She won the Best Female Performance award at the Asian Festival of First Films in Singapore then turned the same role into a play called The Misfit which won it’s own Dora Mavor Moore Award. She was featured in the acclaimed film Midnight’s Children, starred at The Stratford Festival in the 2011 production of Rice Boy, and co-starred with Leon Aureus in the play Aisha n’ Ben which again she wrote and included in her character’s storyline an Indian woman’s obsession with skin lightening.
Pushing her ethnicity into the bright white spotlight is about winning back lost ground, she said, and underlining the purported values of Canada that all walks of life are welcome to do all things on an equal basis. She learned expressionism skills via theatre training, and she’s using them to depict a more accurate picture of Canadian culture by taking a noticeable place within the images emanating from TV, film and
live drama.
Since prejudice is so prevalent in the lives of those apparently different, backhanding the blackface theatre tradition is one way of getting the attention of the blissfully, ignorantly privileged.
“Blackface comes from a long-standing, horrible tradition of a class of people who were white, and they stood in a position of power and entitlement, who made fun of their slaves – people they brought over on boats (through means of violent kidnapping) and made work for them, with no rights, weren’t even considered human,” said Majumdar who, in addition to being a writer and actor, has a B.A. in English, Theatre, and South Asian Languages from the University of British Columbia, and is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada.
“They would create these stage shows, and put themselves in blackface, and pretend to be black slaves, mimicking lazy behaviour, mimicking how stupid they were. The blackface model as a theatrical device was meant to make fun of. And we still see people doing it. There are still theatrical forms that use that device and think it’s ok.
“Within our context, the whiteface in our show is a kind of reclamation. Having to listen to people do Indian accents at me, inaccurately, takes on that mimicry of making fun of someone stupid.
In our show, I don’t think Candice is stupid. I think she’s quite the opposite.
“The device of whiteface is a callout to
that racist tradition. It is also a part of the model of the show, that being Candice doing a makeup tutorial for YouTube. She’s putting on her foundation. That’s how the character looks when she puts on her palest of pale foundation.
“What I think our version of blackface is, in the form of whiteface, is that we are in fact extremely charitable to Candice. We show both sides. I’m extremely unapologetic as I play her. She is who she is. You don’t want to be her friend, but there is something charismatic about her. She’s a leader, she knows what she wants, she’s a teenaged girl who plans her own grad and decides she wants to be the greatest Indian dancer in the world, and pursues that goal even though it’s appropriative.
“She’s a complicated person, which is the opposite of what blackface does. Blackface supposes a person to be a flat image, they are stupid and they are lazy because of their race. Our play does the exact opposite while borrowing a form that is extremely offensive and hurtful.”
What’s especially remarkable, within the framing of Fish Eyes and Let Me Borrow That Top is the laughter these plays elicit. They are, despite the heavy load of the subject matter, comedies. Powerful social commentary can be funny.
“Hahaha. Who knew?” said Majumdar, enjoying the paradox. “But it doesn’t feel funny when it’s happening, that’s for sure.”
Majumdar is on stage at Theatre Northwest until Oct. 7.
HANDOUT FILE PHOTO
Anita Majumdar dons whiteface for the role of Candice in double feature, Fish Eyes and Let Me Borrow That Top, running at Theatre Northwest until Oct. 7.
Second big windfall for lotto winner
Citizen staff
Fredrick Greene has more than doubled his lottery winnings.
After winning $249,000 on Lotto 6/49 in 2014, Greene won $500,00 playing the Extra on the Sept. 14 Lotto Max draw.
“I’m still a little shocked when I think about it, but I feel very grateful,” he said.
Greene was surprised because he already knew there were no jackpot winners on the Lotto Max draw when he checked his ticket.
“I scanned it on my Lotto App and was stunned to see I had won on the Extra,” he said, adding that he immediately shared the good news with his wife.
“She questioned if it was real and asked me to scan it again.”
The Walmart Supercentre in Prince George sold the Lotto Max Extra winning ticket.
Greene plans on spending his winnings on a well-deserved holiday.
“It’s been a while since I went on a long vacation. I would like to go to Costa Rica,” he said.
“By winning the lottery twice and this time on the Extra, I now have ‘Extra’ spare time to enjoy the things I love,” he joked.
Province carries on with Employers Health Tax
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
The provincial government appears steadfast in seeing through its plan for implementing the Employer Health Tax despite pleas from local politicians and the business community to reconsider.
To replace the Medical Services Premium, the EHT comes into effect on Jan. 1, 2019. Businesses with payrolls under $500,000 are exempt from the tax, but for companies with payrolls over $500,000 who did not pay premiums for their employees, it will be a new expense.
Moreover, complete elimination of MSP premiums won’t occur until Jan. 1, 2020, although it was cut by 50 per cent this year, leading to accusations that the government is “double dipping.”
The Prince George Chamber of Commerce estimated the EHT will amount to a $150,000 hit to an average member business each year and twice that during the double dip years of 2018-19.
It was a concern it brought to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services when it was in Prince George on Sept. 18, taking submissions in advance of the provincial government’s next budget.
“They’re feeling that the responsibility for provincial health care is falling on the backs of businesses, and it’s really impacting their ability to continue to employ individuals locally,”
Chamber president Lorna Wendling told the committee. “Any additional dollar they’re paying in tax is taking away from their ability to contribute to our economy in that way.”
Likewise, Coun. Garth Frizzell reiterated council’s position on the issue – that it will cost the city more than $700,000 per year and translate into a 0.69 per cent increase in the property tax levy. He also noted the provincial government achieved a $300-million surplus for 2017-18 – the third surplus year in a row.
“But by off-loading the health funding to employers like us while the government of B.C. is in a budget surplus position without considering that it may hurt rather than help people, particularly the disadvantaged, this action is going to result in an unnecessarily higher financial burden to our taxpayers,” Frizzell said.
“We emphatically ask again that Prince George and all B.C. local governments be exempt from B.C. EHT.”
NDP MLA Nicholas Simmons responded with something of a rebuke.
“Tell that to someone who’s not paying $1,800 in MSP. Tell that to some individual who’s not paying $900 in MSP,” he said.
“I don’t really buy that argument, but I
understand the position you’re in. I just think that, as the only province left with most regressive form of taxation for medical services, we’ve done a really good thing to say: ‘It’s the lowest EHT in the country as well.’
“So that’s just pointing out that with the employer health tax, other provinces have that as well. Ours being low, I think it actually puts British Columbia in a good position.”
In an emailed response to The Citizen regarding the concern over double dipping, Finance Minister Carole James continued in the same vein.
“The immediate 50-per-cent cut to MSP premiums in 2018 also means that employers that pay MSP premiums will see savings this year and next,” she said.
“B.C. is the last province to have regressive MSP premiums, and as done by other provinces, we’re taking a fairer approach. Transiting to EHT represents a net tax cut of $800 million annually, and B.C.’s EHT will be the lowest rate in Canada. We’ve delivered on our promise to eliminate MSP premiums in a way that is fiscally responsible, improves fairness, and protects small businesses.”
In a previous response to request for comment, the ministry said the hike for the average Prince George household would work out to $1.17 per month in 2020 if the city chose to cover the cost entirely through the levy.
‘It’s a symbol of many losses and experiences’
— from page 1
“She says ‘I want my orange shirt back,’” Jack said. “‘It’s a symbol of many losses and experiences of those who went to residential school.’”
The story is told to ensure that everyone is heard, everyone matters and no one should be forgotten.
Bruce Allan, CNC Aboriginal studies instructor, spoke briefly during the event as a man whose family was affected by their experiences at Lejac residential school, located 150 kilometres west of Prince George. Allan himself was one of the children who was bused to school each
day. He said he knows his father, Augustine Allan, saved Bruce from abuse when together they paid a visit to the school one fateful Saturday. Augustine identified Bruce as his son.
That was the last day Bruce ever interacted with one of the known abusers at the school.
These stories were heard at Orange Shirt Day at CNC to emphasize the need for reconciliation for all those who were affected by residential schools. During the event, organizers shared bannock and tea with those in attendance.
Resume pipeline construction immediately, poll takers say
During the last online Citizen poll we asked “what should the federal government do after the Trans Mountain court ruling requiring further consultation with First Nations?”
By a convincing lead with 47 per cent and 486 votes was the response “Invoke the notwithstanding clause in the Constitution to allow construction to immediately resume,” followed by “follow the court’s instructions on consultation and continue with the pipeline plans,” which took 26 per cent and 275 votes.
A close third “cancel the pipeline,” took 22 per cent and 233 votes while trailing with five per cent and 47 votes was “challenge the ruling to the Supreme Court.”
Total votes was 1,041. Remember this is not a scientific poll. Next question “there are three more all-candidates forums for mayoral and city council candidates.
What issues would you like them to address?”
To make your vote count visit www.pgcitizen.ca.
Autism Network hosts workshop Saturday
Canucks Autism Network, an organization which strives to create more inclusive environments, is hosting a workshop today from 9 a.m. to noon called Supporting Positive Behaviours in Sports and Recreation at the Northern Sport Centre.
The event will offer tips and tools to support all participants in sports and recreation. The goal is to create an environment where individuals and families living with autism can feel accepted and understood in a range of community activities and locations.
The training results in building accessibility resources for many sectors, including sport, first responders, schools and other community venues.
In Canada one in 66 children is diagnosed with autism, with more than 16,000 children and youth in BC, so the need for this type of training is greater than ever.
The workshop costs $10. For more information visit www.canucksautism.ca.
HANDOUT PHOTO
Fredrick Greene holds a cheque for $500,000 after winning the Extra on Sept. 14. Greene won Lotto 6/49 in 2014 as well.
McLeod Lake First Nation leader Chingee dies
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff
fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
One of the area’s leading political and cultural figures, Harry Chingee, has passed away at the age of almost 96 years.
Chingee spent decades as an elected councillor for the McLeod Lake First Nation, much of that time as chief. Today, the MLFN is considered by many to be a national model for holding fast to his community’s traditions while also fully participating in the natural resources economy.
“Harry will be sorely missed for his kindness, smile and warmth, but his teachings will not soon be forgotten,” said a statement issued by his loved ones.
“He left us on Sept. 21, 2018 in the same graceful and gentle loving way that we’ve all come to know of him.”
Chingee used his traditional upbringing to great affect in his life. He was a professional hunting guide, using his intimate knowledge of the land plus the lessons passed down to him from his elder generations.
“When he and his wife, Patricia, were raising their 13 children at McLeod Lake, Harry’s skill as a hunter provided most of the family’s meat,” said Citizen reporter and local author Bev Christensen, writing about Chingee in 1989 in the Oct. 21 edition of Plus Magazine.
She told the story of two grizzly bear encounters he remembered well.
“I was hunting back up in the hills, hunting moose at about this time of the year,” he said. “I saw moose tracks but never saw or heard anything. I was walking around when I heard something behind me and there was an 800- or 900-pound grizzly coming right at me so I dropped my gun and pumped a shot into him and he dropped seven or eight feet from me.”
He admits he was lucky to hit the animal in the head because, if he’d hit it anywhere else, it could have killed Chingee with one swipe of his paw before it died, Christensen said.
Another time a grizzly rose up in front of him then dropped down on all fours and charged. Again he dropped it with one shot.
Chingee first became chief of the MLFN in 1950s, holding the position again in the ‘60s and ‘70s. It combined his instinctual passion for the outdoor traditional lifestyle with decision-making on behalf of future generations.
Not all members of the McLeod Lake Indian Band are hunters, he explained to Christensen, telling her some have “become ‘Safeway hunters’ because then they know they’ll get something to eat.” Chingee worried that “these young natives have ‘lost track’ of traditional hunting skills. Some are getting back to it but they need help.”
Chingee was not shy about taking strong stands on behalf of his constituents. He participated in more than one blockade of industrial activity on McLeod Lake territory. Those blockades were part of the learning done by the provincial government and private industry that is commonplace today to include First Nations in any business done
on the land.
He led by example. He and his apprentice guides (including some of his children) would take high-paying foreign hunters into the remote mountains of the region, then use the meat (foreign tourists are ineligible from taking the meat for themselves) for the benefit of the band members, using every last morsel including the nose, then also tan the hides of the game they took for making commercial leather items.
Chingee also presided over an agreement by a pulp mill operating on McLeod Lake territory to hire a set percentage of his band members as a condition of working on their then-unceded lands.
As a forest industry worker as well (he was a forestry technician by certification, and also did logging jobs), he extended that enterprise to include the formation of a logging company (it has grown to include a construction division as well, today) to carry out forestry operations on McLeod Lake’s landscape and partner with other proponents of industrial projects.
Man sentenced for possessing stolen semi
Citizen staff
An Alberta man who was found in the cab of a stolen semi-truck pulling a flatbed trailer with a bulldozer on it was sentenced Thursday to a further 36 days in jail.
Darren Robert Kelly, 45, was sentenced on three counts of possession of stolen property. He had remained in custody since he was arrested June 22, a total of 96 days.
Co-accused Grenville Clarke, 29, is to go to trial on the matter in March 2019 and also remains in custody.
Both reportedly from Edson, Alta., the two were apprehended after Prince George RCMP were tipped off that the truck, stolen from Whitecourt, Alta., was heading west on Highway 16 and nearing the city. It was pulled over on First Avenue and the two were arrested without incident.
“I think the biggest problem we have is that our people can’t get work. That’s why we want to get control of our own resources,” Chingee told Citizen reporter Gordon Clark in 1987 when he led a blockade of Carp Lake Provincial Park in answer to logging going on without permission on a nearby parcel of McLeod Lake’s land.
“All they want,” he said of the protesters, “is the chance to work like the rest of the people in Canada. White society is racist (by making it) difficult for native people to find work. You remember the recession? It was hard on whites, but it was 10 times harder (on Aboriginal people because First Nations workers are) the first to go when the times get tough. It’s hopeless for us until we can get something going on our own.”
That they did. When Chingee stopped being chief in 1997 (after a 23-year run of consecutive years in elected office), the movement was well underway to bring McLeod Lake into the Treaty 8 agreement (that was ratified in 2000), they were operating a number of successful businesses in
mutual partnership with the private sector and other forms of government, and his personal family had grown widely.
Family was fundamentally important to him, since he was forced out of his parents’ home when Aboriginal children were wrested from their homes on punishment of arrest during the residential school sweeps of his era. He spent a number of years at Lejac Residential School but no official records of his attendance survived to the modern age so Chingee was forced to go through a protracted legal process to obtain the standard compensation owed to all victims of the residential school atrocity.
Chingee was predeceased by his wife Patricia, daughters Florence, Molly, Caroline, Bernadette and Jackie. He is survived and remembered by his daughters Sheila and Anna, sons Victor, Gilbert, Ralph, Lester, Bernard, Harley and Charles plus numerous grandchildren. Some of them have taken up Harry Chingee’s place at the council table.
Two LNG Canada partners green light project: report
Alaska Highway News
Two of the five partners in LNG Canada have approved funding their share of project, Bloomberg reports.
Both PetroChina Co. and Korea Gas Corp. have made announcements, the news agency reported Friday.
PetroChina’s approval for its 15 per cent share, $3.46 billion, was announced in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange; Kogas made an announcement for its five per cent share in Seoul.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc is the lead partner in LNG Canada, with a 40 per cent stake. The company declined to comment.
Mitsubishi holds another 15 per cent stake and has yet to make a decision, a spokesperson said. Officials
at Petronas, which bought in for 25 per cent, could not be reached for comment.
Bloomberg reported earlier this week that plans were set for an Oct. 5 announcement, followed by a special event and fireworks ceremony scheduled the next day in Kitimat, the site of the proposed facility.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Royal Dutch CEO Ben van Buerden in New York on Tuesday, Sept. 25.
LNG Canada has an estimated price tag of $40 billion, considered the largest in B.C. and Canadian history. That includes TransCanada’s $4.8-billion Coastal GasLink pipeline, which will take natural gas from Northeast B.C. to the facility in Kitimat, where it would be liquefied and exported to Asia.
The project has a 40-year export licence and a production capacity of 26 million tonnes of LNG a year.
School staff sign labour deal
Citizen news service
VICTORIA — Unions representing kindergarten to Grade 12 school support staff in British Columbia have agreed to a provincial framework giving about 34,000 workers a two per cent wage increase each year for three years. The agreement covers workers in a variety of positions, including maintenance workers, custodians, education assistants, clerical, accounting and information technology. The Presidents’ Council, comprised of Canadian Union of Public Employees local presidents, along with representatives of other support-staff unions, voted this week to endorse the framework. The BC Public School Employers Association’s board of directors endorsed the framework on Friday. The agreement paves the way for further negotiations on specific contracts between the local unions and the 60 public school district employers over the next
months.
Harry Chingee spent decades as an elected councillor for the McLeod Lake First Nation. He died on Sept. 21, at the age of 96.
Mall owners seek attractions over anchor tenants
Sears Canada’s collapse a sign of the times for troubled department-
store sector
Glen Korstrom Citizen news service
Shopping centre owners are relying less on large department stores and more on innovative community events and a diverse range of compelling small tenants to attract shoppers, as e-commerce continues to transform consumer behaviour.
It is a natural progression, given the recent collapse of Sears Canada – a shutdown that earlier this year closed the last 189 Sears, Sears Home or Hometown stores.
Forward-thinking mall owner Cadillac Fairview, in 2015, twigged to the likelihood of that chain’s collapse and bought out Sears Canada’s lease on 110,000 square feet at the south end of Richmond Centre.
Tom Knoepfel, Cadillac Fairview portfolio manager for Western Canada, told Business In Vancouver in December that his company could do “something different from just the existing box,” but nothing has been announced, and the space remains shuttered.
Knoepfel told BIV earlier in August that suburban malls such as Richmond Centre face challenges that are significantly different from the relatively problem-free situation at Cadillac Fairview’s other large B.C. mall: downtown Vancouver’s Pacific Centre.
“Pacific Centre is a bit different because it is a large urban centre, as opposed to what’s viewed as a typical shopping centre in Canada,” he said.
Retail analyst and Retail Insider Media owner Craig Patterson agreed that suburban malls have a bigger challenge attracting shoppers than do downtown malls.
“You don’t need an anchor as long as you have a compelling mix of stores and a downtown location. People are already downtown. An anchor may even be distracting.”
He added that the trend in recent decades has been to have larger food courts, restaurants and service-oriented businesses. The key is that the businesses draw visitors who also want to spend money elsewhere in the mall.
Patterson and Colliers International’s retail-consulting head and vice-president, Jim Smerdon, have mixed views on gyms as good anchor tenants.
Smerdon told BIV earlier this year that they work best as a magnet for shoppers
when they are part of a co-ordinated backfill program.
“(Gyms) generate foot traffic, but the key role of an anchor isn’t simply on-site volumes of people but of shoppers.”
However, Aberdeen Centre owner Thomas Fung believes gyms attract shoppers.
“I’m not in the gym business,” said Fung, who also owns many stand-alone stores and franchises in his mall, which has 380,000 square feet of retail space. “But it seems they are doing well. When I talk to other mall operators, they’d like to bring gyms in.”
vide a collection of retailers not commonly found in other regional malls.
Fung has long been averse to having large anchor tenants. He spent $100 million in 2003 to build his mall in Richmond to pro-
Woman warning public after being followed
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
A local woman is warning the public after an incident that scared her but she is also pleading with first responders to express compassion when they attend to help.
The incident that started Erin Bauman’s experiences took place on Aug. 14 at approximately 5:30 a.m. in the vicinity of Watrous Park. Bauman and a friend had a regular walking appointment, but she was alone, on her way to the meeting, as she walked on Burden Street between Fifth and Third Avenues. That’s when she saw a lone young man of slim build riding a bike and behaving in a manner that made Bauman suspicious.
Her worried curiosity turned to fear, however, when it became apparent that the suspicious bicycler was not alone.
“I was followed to Watrous Park by an older model boxy looking black SUV,” she said.
“In the vehicle were two to four men with dark hair. The back windows were tinted so I don’t know how many men were actually in the vehicle. It was dark and I could not get close enough to the vehicle to give a more detailed description of the men inside, or get the license plate numbers and make of the vehicle without jeopardizing my own safety. They proceeded to chase me to the park with the vehicle.”
Wherever she went to evade them, the SUV followed. When she stopped at the park, to be out and seen in the open (she did not want to rush towards her home nearby and indicate to the followers where she lived), the SUV stopped also, or would sometimes circle her position.
She dialled 911 and waited for RCMP to arrive. It took about four minutes for a police car to approach. The SUV drove off when it came into view.
“I don’t know what they had planned,” she said, “I just know that I really thought I might die.” With the chemistry of intense fear coursing through her body, she was ill prepared emotionally for what happened next.
The attending RCMP officer said nothing to call her down or use words to belittle her, she said, but his attitude was one of aloof disinterest.
“He seemed flippant and rude and didn’t ask me any questions,” she told a pair of higher ranking RCMP members whom she approached later to launch a formal complaint. “It was his demeanour, his lack of caring.”
He neither made efforts to locate the recently departed SUV nor did he attempt to aid her frame of mind beyond giving her a ride away from the scene of her experience.
The two officers of higher rank agreed that such behaviour, although not specifically an offense, was indeed not the correct way to interact with someone who had just been victimized to the point of fear for life. They told Bauman as there was no level of shift fatigue or personal impression that would excuse such behaviour, and the officer in question would be personally brought into a discussion with them about it and, if necessary, additional training applied.
saurus Rex that could swish its tail, roar and bear ferocious-looking teeth.
Fung doesn’t have large big-box tenants in part because past negotiations have taught him that “they are really asking for the sky, and they don’t pay much rent, and they want to sign up for 20 years, 30 years and more.”
He has instead focused attention on his mall’s 4,000-square-foot central atrium, which is one of the region’s most popular meeting places during Chinese New Year.
Through the years, the site has also hosted things such as the large interactive dinosaur show, The Jurassic Alive, which included a 50-foot long, 22foot high, 2.8-tonne mechanical Tyranno-
That atrium also housed a Lego display of Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour skyline and a Pez Candy Inc. display of the Tower of London. It currently has on display a pandathemed exhibit that includes a 10-foot-tall origami panda, small plush pandas and panda-related art.
QuadReal Property Group’s Oakridge Centre has done similar things to attract shoppers.
Vincent van Gogh’s great-grandnephew, Willem van Gogh, visited the mall in 2016 to unveil an exhibit of replicas of the Dutch painting master’s works.
The mall now has on display a collection of luxury vehicles from brands sucn as Lotus, Lamborghini, Maserati, McLaren, Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar, and Range Rover.
“The role of having anchors has changed,” Patterson said. “It is no longer about having a large multi-brand store. It is now about having attractions that hopefully draws people in, and then also have them stay as shoppers.”
Cadillac Fairview bought out Sears Canada’s lease in 2015 but the space at Richmond Centre has since sat empty.
Exploring endless possibilities
Next September will mark the 80th anniversary of the start of the Second World War. On Sept. 1, 1939, the German Army rolled into Poland.
On the exact same day, two scientific papers were published in the prestigious academic journal Physical Review that would change the world and human understanding of the universe.
The first paper, Continued Gravitational Contraction, was written by University of California, Berkeley, physicist Robert Oppenheimer and his student Hartland Snyder. The paper calculated that after exhausting its fuel, a sufficiently large star would collapse onto itself into a stellar object with so much gravitational strength and density that even light couldn’t break free. Due to the outbreak of war, however, the implications of the paper would be ignored for 25 years, until modern astrophysics was ready to explore the strange implication of singularities or – as they became more commonly known – black holes.
The second paper received far more attention because it started the discussion that would eventually lead to the construction of the atomic bomb and the ending of the war six years later. The Mechanism of Nuclear
Fission, by Niels Bohr and John Wheeler, was the first thorough explanation why some specific types of nuclei could be split open more easily than others, releasing their energy. Ironically, Oppenheimer is far more commonly remembered for his work on turning Bohr and Wheeler’s calculations into a deadly reality, rather than introducing black holes.
The issue with singularities – then and now – is infinity. As both a mathematical and a physics concept, infinity poses a big problem. How can a black hole (or any other object with mass) be infinitely dense? How can infinity be counted and isn’t one plus infinity more than infinity?
only been located and identified, they’ve also been found to be far more common than expected and that supermassive black holes likely lie at the centre of galaxies, including our own.
As both a mathematical and a physics concept, infinity poses a big problem.
During the same period, particle and quantum physics have also been unpacking infinity, showing the flexibility of time and how instead of an arrow, it’s more like a tree with many branches, including the mind-bending possibility of going backwards in time, down into the roots of the tree.
In other words, infinity has been observed at both the very large and the very small levels.
divine way, where tiny, finite creatures like humans could – in their extremely limited lives in the vastness of time and space – not only glimpse the infinite but understand it.
Wheeler was far less optimistic.
“We live on an island surrounded by a sea of ignorance,” he wrote at the age of 81. “As our island of knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance.”
Yet that didn’t stop Wheeler from striking out away from shore and onto an ocean of endless possibilities, where the wormholes (a nickname that, like black holes, he popularized) suggested in Einstein’s general theory of relativity might form shortcuts across space-time and where we might all be “it from bit,” his clever turn of phrase to explain how existence itself, from the very small to the very large, could be digital information.
In his book The Quantum Labyrinth, physicist Paul Halpern explains how scientists, particularly Wheeler and his hugely influential and Nobel Prize-winning pupil Richard Feynman, eventually came to the startling realization that maybe there’s nothing singular about infinity, that infinity possibly surrounds existence so completely that it is the equivalent of standing in the middle of a dense forest and demanding to know where the trees are.
In the past 50 years, black holes have not
Wheeler once joked that philosophy might be too important to be left to philosophers, Halpern notes. In the modern world, it is physicists who are now drilling into the deepest of questions like – as Wheeler asked late in his life – why does existence exist.
In A Brief History of Time, the book that made Stephen Hawking famous to the world outside the physics community, he suggested physics was getting increasingly close to revealing the mind of God. He spent the rest of his life explaining that he didn’t mean that in a religious sense but rather in a
ICBC reaching into our wallets
ICBC’s new charge for “unlisted drivers” is nothing but a cash grab. I note that this additional charge will cover drivers other than the insured “listed driver” who use the vehicle under 12 times per year. Perhaps only once in the year. It would make more sense –and be much fairer – if the new rule was triggered only when an unlisted driver was allowed to use a vehicle over 12 times a year to allow for very infrequent use by others. Or even to raise all rates by $5 or so to cover unlisted drivers. There are too many reasonable circumstances in which someone other than the listed driver drives a vehicle a few times in a year. As we know, ICBC (in common with other insurance companies) will use every trick in the book to avoid paying a claim. As is presently known, the new rule appears far too restrictive. I would like to know the basis for this new rule. How many claims per year does ICBC pay out when an unlisted driver has an accident? And what do these claims cost? Does the frequency justify this new premium? Further, is this type of rule in force in any other jurisdiction in North America?
At present, I am the only listed driver for our vehicle. Being retired, it is used less than 5,000 km per year. Occasionally – no more than four times a year – a relative visits. If the relative arrives for a short visit without a vehicle, there are times when the relative needs to use the car for
an occasional outing. Do I need this extra “protection?” May I buy it 24/7 on line or by phone for a limited time? And for a nominal fee? If so, will the vehicle be instantly covered? What about those without a credit card?
A friend has a pickup and I need to take some refuse to the dump. May I borrow it for four hours without him needing this additional protection? What if my friend is in the pickup but I do the driving? What if both of us carry ICBC insurance on our own vehicles? Or if three of us need to go to Vancouver and we share the driving? What if one of us is not a B.C. resident? Or holds a valid license from another country?
My mother owns a car but lives in another B.C. city. A health problem puts her in hospital and I visit to help out and need to use her car to do so. The list of ordi-
nary everyday events in which an unlisted driver might need to drive a car owned by someone else is endless.
Owners will have only two safe choices. Either (1) a total ban of loaning a vehicle to anyone under any circumstances or (2) to purchase this new coverage on the off chance that unforeseen circumstances necessitate allowing an unlisted driver to drive it. It would be impossible to draft any regulation to exempt certain occasions when the application of this new coverage will not apply, circumstances that any rational person would say should be exempt. In short, this new premium cannot be justified on any rational basis. It is simply a way to raise insurance premiums without doing so directly.
Willow Arune Prince George
Mailing address: 201-1777 Third Ave. Prince George, B.C. V2L 3G7
The bewildering labyrinth of our lives and our experiences could be the universe itself, writ both large and small. The next turn could be anything at all, up to and including the impossible possibility of another major lottery win for Prince George’s Fredrick Greene. To use the popular sports phrase, it doesn’t matter who’s better on paper, that’s why they play the game.
Every day, every moment, every turn in the labyrinth, a new game begins.
—
Editor-in-chief
Neil Godbout
Tick tock goes NAFTA clock
Any day now, I worry, we will hear that time is up on trying to graciously appease America’s appetite anew to claw further into our domestic policies – that the three-sided North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will be bread put out of pique by the president into the toaster. With that could start a dissembling of a continental pact that has served Mexico, Canada and particularly the United States exceedingly well in stabilizing a geographically contiguous territory with globally continuous progress toward market efficiency. Jobs will be lost. Products will be more expensive. Companies will collapse or move away. Predictability will be struck down. Emotions will fray and the two friendliest countries will grow frostier.
To be sure, there are many hurdles to scale before NAFTA is gone. The U.S. has to quit the deal with six months’ notice to Canada and Mexico. Canada could wedge itself into the fledgling U.S.-Mexico deal in the next few weeks, in time for approval before Mexico’s president leaves office. Congress could push back, soon if it wants the administration to return to the table or later after mid-term elections that might recast the balance of power. But there is clear damage done now, trauma to the trade partnership that through diplomacy and common will further cemented countries with vastly more similarities than differences. Mainly because of belligerence.
ald Trump brought briefly to bear his hyperattention, got his usual chest-thumping self and unleashed his hypermasculinity on the prime minister and his misogyny on our foreign affairs minister.
His lieutenants continue to cover for the president, excusing away his irrationality as a clever negotiating tactic in his art of the deal. It is no such thing. It is a blasphemy of our history. It will stain our status as partners, even were he driven from office, because many of his Republican allies who know all too well he is walking the economy off a cliff will not bow up.
But there is clear damage done now, trauma to the trade partnership that through diplomacy and common will further cemented countries with vastly more similarities than differences.
I remember as a journalist in Ottawa the testy talks that culminated first in the Canada-U.S. breakthrough deal and later the trilateral NAFTA. The negotiators would scratch their heads at times, carefully select terms to describe progress and lack thereof, but stop short of inducing anxiety or fear amid the tension and testiness.
Justin Trudeau has not been without his inelegance in his NAFTA strategy: too obsequious at first, too indirect with us on his boundaries throughout and too smug as we closed in on the faux deadlines we knew were more notional than actual.
Still, he has not blinked – at least, not yet.
Perhaps he knows that NAFTA is a document that is not easily torn.
Canada has been a friend, a supporter, an ally in war and in less trying times, polite when we disagreed and respectful of the relationship, deserving of benefits of the doubt.
We have been open to America, shared in our commerce as no countries do, and tried to protect from its exploit so little of what we have – pieces of our culture, minor elements of our industry and, yes, a rather peculiar management of the supply of our dairy products.
And we’ve fought for a system to resolve disputes, even though courts have generally seen fit to clobber any undue tariff.
For all this, seemingly naught.
In recent days, as it became clear Canada was not capitulating, Don-
Perhaps he has faith that the members of Congress, many of them in states of economic dependence on NAFTA’s continuance, won’t abide any obsession by the White House to impose a raft of tariffs that will circumnavigate the accord. Perhaps he believes that common sense will prevail in a time of crazy-making.
He had better be right, because as we close in on the one-year countdown to an election, his term’s economic legacy cannot be a fumbling of our trading identity. He cannot expect to be forgiven if he has taken lightly the threat to our well-being that would surely come with failure to effect a better NAFTA.
— Kirk LaPointe is VP, editorial, of Glacier Media
KIRK LAPOINTE Glacier Media
Guest Column
CP FILE PHOTO
Attorney General David Eby speaks during a press conference at the Legislature in Victoria in February about changes coming to ICBC.
FBI ordered to investigate rape allegations against U.S. Supreme Court nominee
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the FBI to reopen the background investigation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh after two key Senate Republicans suggested they would not vote to confirm him to the Supreme Court without additional information on his alleged sexual misconduct while he was a teenager.
The announcement followed a vote along party lines by the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination, after securing a vote from Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who asked for a delay of up to a week before the full Senate decides the judge’s fate.
Another senator considered a swing vote on the floor, Lisa Murkowski, RAlaska, said she agrees with Flake, leaving GOP leaders little choice but to slow down the process, given their slim 51-49 margin in the chamber.
Republican leaders asked the White House to reopen the probe and Trump complied. “I’ve ordered the FBI to conduct a supplemental investigation to update Judge Kavanaugh’s file. As the Senate has requested, this update must be limited in scope and completed in less than one week,” he said in a statement late Friday.
Republicans said they still plan to move ahead with a procedural vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination today but will postpone a final vote on his confirmation that they had hoped would take place Tuesday.
The 11-to-10 committee vote came a day after hearing riveting testimony from Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who has accused Trump’s nominee of sexual assault at a house party in Maryland in the early 1980s.
Following Flake’s announcement, both Murkowski and Sen. Joe Manchin III,
Scathing report condemns
ex-Victoria police chief’s conduct
VICTORIA — The chief of the Victoria Police Department says there is still “work to do” in the wake of a scathing report that found former chief Frank Elsner committed eight acts of misconduct while in office.
“The behaviour that was described in the final report is simply unacceptable in the workplace,” Chief Const. Del Manak said Friday.
Senior managers in the department will work with the police board and union leaders to identify and address all workplace issues that made Elsner’s actions possible, he said.
“How could this behaviour have occurred in our midst?” Manak said, questioning if the force did enough to immediately identify Elsner’s misconduct and take action to prevent it from happening again. He pointed to the recently created diversity and inclusion executive committee and mandatory anti-bullying and harassment training and ethics courses as signs the department is committed to a healthier work environment. Elsner could not be reached for comment.
D-W.Va., indicated that they support his call for a delay.
“The American people have been pulled apart by this entire spectacle and we need to take time to address these claims independently, so that our country can have confidence in the outcome of this vote,” Manchin said in a statement. “It is what is right and fair for Dr. Ford, Judge Kavanaugh, and the American people.”
Through her attorneys, Ford welcomed the move. “A thorough FBI investigation is critical to developing all the relevant facts. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford welcomes this step in the process, and appreciates the efforts of Senators Flake, Murkowski, Manchin and (Sen. Susan) Collins – and all other senators who have supported an FBI investigation – to ensure it is completed before the Senate votes on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination. No artificial limits as to time or scope should be imposed on this investigation.”
In a statement from the White House,
Kavanaugh said, “Throughout this process, I’ve been interviewed by the FBI, I’ve done a number of ‘background’ calls directly with the Senate, and yesterday, I answered questions under oath about every topic the senators and their counsel asked me. I’ve done everything they have requested and will continue to cooperate.”
While the timing of the floor vote is up to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said he would advocate for Flake’s request.
“This is all a gentlemen’s and women’s agreement,” Grassley said after the committee vote.
Speaking to reporters at the White House after the committee vote, Trump continued to stand by Kavanaugh, saying he had not thought “even a little bit” about a replacement but also said he found Ford a “credible witness.”
The move by Flake, a frequent Trump critic who is retiring from the Senate after this year, was cheered by several Democrats, including Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, a fellow member of the Judiciary Committee.
“He and I don’t share a lot of political views but we share a deep concern for the health of this institution and what it means to the rest of the world and the country,” said Coons, who huddled with Flake before he announced his position. Flake is “someone who is willing to take a real political risk and upset many in his party by asking for a pause,” Coons said.
As Kavanaugh’s nomination heads to the floor, his prospects remain unclear in the full Senate.
Two other senators considered swing votes – Republican Susan Collins of Maine and Democrat Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota) – also welcomed the investigation. — see related story, page 13
Latest U.S. NAFTA deadline not firm, but window closing
Mike BLANCHFIELD Citizen news service
OTTAWA — With the release of the text of the U.S.-Mexico trade agreement expected any day, the political pressure is mounting on Canada to join a new North American Free Trade Agreement. Analysts and insiders say the latest Americanimposed deadline for Canada to join by Monday is not set in stone, and that there is still time for the Liberal government to negotiate with the Trump administration after that.
But they caution the window is closing and Canada’s time may be running out.
Mexico and the United States announced their own bilateral deal last month, sparking a renewed round of negotiations between Washington and Ottawa to bring Canada into the NAFTA fold.
The formal text of the U.S.-Mexico deal needs to be released by Sunday so it can be presented to the U.S. Congress by the end of the month and fulfil a 60-day notice requirement that would allow lawmakers to approve it by Dec. 1 – before the newly elected Mexican government takes power.
Some reports said it could come as early as Friday, but that likelihood was fading after Reuters reported that Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Mexico’s president-elect, said he’d agreed to call on the U.S. to reach an agreement with Canada.
Multiple sources tell The Canadian Press the sticking points between Ottawa and Washington include dairy, preserving Canada’s cultural exemption and Canada’s insistence on preserving Chapter 19, which allows for independent panels to resolve disputes involving companies and governments.
One source says Chapter 19 has not survived the Mexico-U.S. deal, but Chapter 20 – the government-to-government dispute settlement mechanism – has been preserved in its entirety.
Mexican ambassador Dionisio Perez Jacome said his country still wants Canada to come on board, even if the deadline of the next few days comes and goes.
“Hopefully Canada can be included already in the text. If not, then the process gets more complicated, but it’s also possible to come in... some days after,” Perez Jacome said.
Sources say Mexico is fine with the Trudeau government waiting past Monday’s Quebec election, because it understands any concession it might be willing to make on allowing greater U.S. access to dairy would be a political bombshell in the final days of the provincial campaign.
A source close to the negotiations told The Canadian Press that the vast majority of the U.S.Mexico text – more than 20 of its approximately 30 chapters – is not the least bit contentious for Canada.
That comes as no surprise to trade experts.
Laura Dawson, director of the Canada Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, said major work has been completed on most of the chapters since Canada and the U.S. resumed talks.
“They are closer now than they’ve ever been. There’s a potential landing strip in all of the negotiated areas,” Dawson said.
Meredith Lilly, an international trade expert at Carleton University in Ottawa, said there’s virtually nothing in the text that will take Canadian negotiators by surprise.
“They should have seen the text by now as part of earlier negotiations, as well as more recent bilateral negotiations,” she said.
There’s no guarantee Congress would allow U.S. President Donald Trump to move forward with a two-country deal that excludes Canada, because it originally granted him the authority to negotiate a three-country pact.
— With files from Dan Healing in Banff
Seung MIN KIM, John WAGNER Citizen news service
Protesters against Brett Kavanaugh shout during a rally at the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building in Salt Lake City on Thursday.
KAVANAUGH
Citizens of the Year
The Prince George Community Foundation pays tribute to four outstanding residents
Nancy and Pat Harris are trailblazers in Prince George but the whole point of their efforts to make the city accessible is keeping those doors open for everyone.
They have worked tirelessly on changing not just community attitudes but also government policies in Prince George and throughout the province on behalf of individuals with disabilities.
Nancy and Pat worked in the partnership between SCI BC and NCLGA creating the Measuring Up The North initiative in 2007, a project that brought together Spinal Cord Injury B.C. with more than 40 Northern B.C. communities looking to make their communities more inclusive to residents and visitors.
That work now continues through Access North and most recently in Access BC, an initiative promoting universal access to all public places in every community in the region.
They have overseen auditing of more than 400 locations in Northern B.C. for accessibility and universal design, while also training and supervising 12 inspection teams.
This community advocacy work comes on top of their longstanding commitment to wheelchair sports.
Pat’s 35 years as an athlete, volunteer and coach have earned him a place in the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame.
Before coming to Prince George in 1980, Pat played for the Vancouver Cable Cars wheelchair basetball team, won a Canadian championship and competed in two Paralympic Games.
Once he relocated here, Pat became a founding member of the Prince George Ti-
tans wheelchair basketball program, which continues to this day.
In his more than 20 years as a wheelchair basketball coach, many of Pat’s players have gone on to compete at provincial, national and international competitions, while Pat himself has coached at several B.C. Winter Games and Canada Winter Games.
Pat has received awards from the B.C. Wheelchair Sports Association, the B.C. Wheelchair Basketball Society, the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association and Wheelchair Basketball Canada for outstanding coaching and volunteer service.
Nancy has also devoted herself to building wheelchair sports for the last 35 years, as a coach, as a board member in both provincial and national wheelchair sports programs and as an organizer of wheelchair basketball tournaments at the provincial and national levels.
She has also volunteered in the past with the Prince George Exhibition and is the current chair of the Ness Lake Volunteer Firefighters Society, a role she has held since 2010.
Nancy was accessibility chair for the 2015 Canada Winter Games and Pat was the wheelchair basketball sports chair. Both are currently working hard in the same role for the upcoming 2019 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships. For nine days this coming February, Prince George will host the top 140 Paralympic skiers in the world from 20 different countries, along with hundreds of coaches and thousands of spectators.
For their longtime and ongoing efforts to promote wheelchair sports and universal access for all residents, Nancy and Pat Harris are 2018 Citizens of the Year.
Nancy and Pat Harris - Access for all
Join us on October 12th to recognize the 2018 recipients
The Prince George Community Foundation is pleased to be hosting the 21st Annual Citizens of the Year Gala on October 12th. This year we are proud to be honouring four more than deserving individuals: Dr. Charles Jago, Pat & Nancy Harris and Les Waldie. Together, the 2018 recipients have
contributed thousands of volunteer hours, contributed their time, skill, knowledge and finances to local organizations. We are extremely grateful for their efforts and are pleased to be recognizing them as the 2018 Citizens of the Year. The 2018 Citizens of the Year Gala will be held at the Coast Inn of the North Banquet room. Tickets are $75 each or $600
The motto for the Order of Canada is Desiderantes Meliorem Patriam, which is Latin for “they desire a better country.” That desire to make Prince George a better community led Charles Jago to be named to the Order of Canada in 2005 and the Order of British Columbia in 2013.
He wears his lapel pins signifying his membership in the orders proudly because he’s proud that his desire to make Prince George better came to fruition.
When Charles arrived in Prince George with his wife Mary in 1995 to become president of UNBC, he immediately became an ambassador for the university, for the city, for the region and for its people.
Convincing skeptical Victoria bureaucrats that UNBC, Prince George and the residents of the Central and Northern Interior were worthy of funding and support was no easy task.
Fortunately, for all of us, Charles was up to the challenge.
Making the university grow and prosper was his job but bringing the Northern Medical Program to UNBC, to help a region suffering from a serious shortage of doctors and specialists was his passion.
After the health care rally in 2000, Charles devoted himself for the next five years to becoming a worldwide expert on rural healthcare and the training of rural physicians. With that expertise and his passionate advocacy, he convinced the doubters at UBC and the Ministry of Advanced Education that modern technology, innovate teaching practices and guidance from area doctors and specialists could train physicians in the North and for the North.
Even after the Northern Medical Program became a reality, Charles kept up his efforts with the formation of the Northern Medical Programs Trust, allowing communities and residents to provide ongoing financial support to the medical program and its students.
Along with the Northern Medical Program, Charles was instrumental in the development of the B.C. Cancer Centre for the North in Prince George, the Kordyban Lodge and the Northern Sport Centre at UNBC, which was named in his honour.
After his career at UNBC, Charles became the board chair of the Northern
Health Authority for 10 years, a position he wrapped up in 2017. During the same time period, he also chaired the board of the Fraser Basin Council, bringing together levels of government, First Nations, business leaders and environmentalists to work together on sustainability.
Charles has also served with several community groups over the years, including Initiatives Prince George, the Fraser Fort George Regional Art Gallery and Theatre Northwest. He currently is the B.C. Regional ViceChair of the Canada West Foundation, a think tank devoted to guiding major government policies, particularly as they pertain to resource-based economic development.
Charles Jago is a 2018 Citizen of the Year because he had a vision of not just what UNBC could be but what Prince George and its residents could be and the desire to turn that vision into reality.
for a table of 8. Tickets are almost sold out so do not wait if you want to help honor this year’s recipients. You can purchase tickets online through our website at www.pgcf.ca This year’s event is sure to be fantastic with four incredible honourees, a wonderful silent auction, champagne reception and great networking for all in attendance. We hope to see you there! – Prince George Community Foundation
Charles Jago - Passionate advocate Les Waldie - Steady guidance
Les Waldie has devoted himself to making a difference in Prince George since he and his wife Carol, along with their son Troy and daughter Karla, moved to the city 44 years ago. His steady, behind-the-scenes guidance during those years, particularly for amateur sports and the arts, has left an enduring legacy.
His efforts in Prince George’s sports community began in 1979, when he served for three seasons as a committee member with the Freeman Park Little League. From there, he served three years as a committee member of Prince George Babe Ruth Baseball, one of those seasons as board chair.
His work leading the Prince George host committee for the 2008 B.C. Seniors Games gave him the knowledge and experience to serve as co-chair of the bid committee for the Canada Winter Games. Once the 2015 Games were awarded to Prince George over Kamloops and Kelowna, Les got busy working to deliver the Games as a board member on the host society. Even after the Games ended, Les wasn’t done. He then chaired the legacy committee, making sure the benefits of the Games were shared throughout the community.
Les’s devotion to the arts has been equally impressive. He was a director on the host committee for the 1986 B.C. Festival of the Arts held in Prince George. When the B.C. Festival of the Arts returned to Prince George in 1998, Les and Carol were cochairs of the host committee.
The Prince George Symphony Orchestra was a huge beneficiary of Les’s guidance. He served on the symphony board for 11 years, from 1986 to 1997, with nine of those years as board chair. More recently, Les served for six years as a board member of the Prince George Regional Performing Arts Centre Society, with four of those years as treasurer.
Les also provided longtime assistance to the Prince George Community Foundation, including three years as board chair, and to the Prince George Airport Authority, with three years as board chair with that group as well. Les’s interests in Prince George extend beyond sports and the arts.
He has been an active member of the United Chruch from his arrival in Prince George in 1974, first with St. Andrew’s and now with Trinity. He has helped guide the church in numberous committee roles
including two years as board chair. Les has spent countless hours helping various health organizations in the Prince George area. He has served on the Northern Interior Regional Health Board and was the campaign manager for fund development that led to the completion of the Kordyban Lodge for the Canadian Cancer Society. And Les has shown little sign of slowing down in his volunteer efforts.
He continues to be an active member of the B.C. Liberals , co-chairing Shirley Bond’s campaigns in 2009 and 2013 and leading her successful victory last year. Les is a board member for the Barkerville Heritage Trust, a commitment he started six years ago, and serves on the external advisory committee for the UNBC Community Development Institute. Time and effort deliver results and Les Waldie is a 2018 Citizen of the Year for consistently delivering results during his 44 years of volunteer service in Prince George.
NANCY AND PAT HARRIS
LES WALDIE
CHARLES JAGO
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE
Prince George Cougars forward
Tyson Upper tries to control a loose puck while being checked by Kelowna Rockets player Kaedan Korczak on Friday night at CN Centre during the Cougars’ 2018-19 WHL homeopener.
Subscribe to The Citizen and get the best in local news, sports, arts and more delivered to your door five days a week Call 250-562-3301 to subscribe today
Toman helps Cats hold off Rockets
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
tclarke@pgcitizen.ca
Czech mate.
The Prince George Cougars had one up their sleeves by the name of Matej Toman and used him to back the Kelowna Rockets into an inescapable corner.
Toman, the Cougars’ fifth-overall choice in the 2018 CHL import draft, gave his team the edge it needed 8:57 into the third period, right after the Kelowna Rockets had stormed back with two goals to tie the game.
The 17-year-old Czech burst through the middle and was stuffed on the initial rush by goalie Roman Basran but gained the rebound at the side of the net and from a sharp angle banked his shot in off Rockets defenceman Brayden Chizen.
It was the first goal of Toman’s WHL career and it stood the test of time as the game-winner in a 3-2 victory in their home-opener. The Cougars let linesman Deion Foster know that puck was a valuable keepsake and he tossed it to trainer Chico Dhanjal on the bench.
The Rockets had just evened the score with goals 52 seconds apart. Conner Brug-
gen-Cate used Rhett Rhinehart as a partial screen and fired off a high wrister from the left wing that beat Taylor Gauthier high to the stick side. A few ticks later, Gauthier had no chance for the save when Nolan Foote deflected a point shot to make it 2-2.
The win improved the Cougars’ record to 2-1-0-1, while the Rockets (0-4-0-0) are still seeking their first win. The Cougars picked up where they left off Wednesday night in Kelowna, where they scored two third-period goals to beat the Rockets 4-2 for their first win of 2018-19.
Ilijah Colina popped in a rebound to give the Cats the early lead, just 5:05 in. The goal came right after Josh Curtis was denied on a point-blank shot after a giveaway in the Kelowna end. Curtis won the ensuing draw and Cole Moberg took the shot from the point, leaving Colina a tasty morsel just outside the crease to feast upon.
Ethan Browne’s magical show of deception put the Cougars ahead 2-0, just 45 seconds after Colina scored. Browne, considered by GM Mark Lamb the most skilled player on the team, gained possession deep in the right corner and had everybody in the building convinced he was going behind the net with the puck. Instead,
the 17-year-old dragged it back against the grain with an abrupt shift of his arms, with goalie Basran tracking to the opposite side, he had just enough room to slide the puck in with a forehand shove for his first goal of the season.
The teams played a scoreless second period. The Colina line, with Curtis and Tyson Upper, had the best chance early in
the period when Curtis nailed the goalpost after some extended o-zone time in front of Basran. The Cougars outshot Kelowna 10-3 in the middle period and kept the Rockets offence bottled up for 40 minutes. The teams will see a lot of each other this season with nine head-to-head meetings in a 68-game schedule. But that familiarity bred very little contempt, aside from the odd hacks and a couple of minor dust-ups. Cougars head coach Richard Matvichuk didn’t like the fact his team had to play shorthanded seven times in Wednesday’s game and preached discipline and his players followed that mantra, giving the Rockets power play just three chances.
Gauthier’s best save came 10 minutes into the third when he kicked out a labelled drive from Leif Mattson to preserve the 3-2 lead. The rematch starts tonight at 7. LOOSE PUCKS: Attendance Friday was 3,160… The Cougars have 15 returning players from last year, all but five from the 2017-18 team that finished fifth in the B.C. Division and missed the playoffs. This year’s edition is one of the youngest teams in the WHL. Seventeen of the 23 players on the roster are 18 or younger and 10 are 17 or younger.
Cougars fans make their picks for Dream Team
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
Prince George hockey fans are awfully lucky.
For 25 years they’ve had the luxury of watching some of the best hockey players in the world play their games as representatives of the city, first at the building formerly known as the Prince George Coliseum (now Rolling Mix Concrete Arena) and, ever since 1995, the Prince George Multiplex (now called CN Centre).
Many of those world-class players who have worn Prince George Cougars jerseys have gone on to play pro hockey. Some for-
Eagles edge Kings in shootout
mer Cougars have even won the Stanley Cup. There was forward/ defenceman Dustin Byfuglien in 2010 with the Chicago Blackhawks, defenceman Zdeno Chara in 2011 as captain of the Boston Bruins, and winger Brett Connolly with Washington in 2018.
Two Olympic champions – Eric Brewer in 2006 and Dan Hamhuis in 2010 – played their junior days as defencemen for the Cougars and now are part owners of the team.
So when it came down to picking the Cougars’ all-time top-25 Dream Team, those five were automatic, no-brainer choices.
Citizen staff
Shootouts are new this year in the B.C. Hockey League and on first impression the Prince George Spruce Kings probably don’t like them too much.
As one of the Cougars’ 25th anniversary projects, team staff members and a media panel put their heads together to choose 20 of the 25 Dream Team players, leaving five spots on the team up to Cougar fans. It wasn’t easy making those picks.
In no specific order, here are the top-20, as chosen by the Cougars and media.
Forwards: Connolly, Byfuglien, Blair Betts, Nick Drazenovic, Trent Hunter, Chris Falloon, Ronald Petrovicky, Troy Bourke, Quinn Hancock, Jansen Harkins, Tyler Bouck, Devin Setoguchi and Dana Tyrell. Defencemen: Brewer,
They lost their first-ever shootout 3-2 to the Surrey Eagles Friday night in front of 1,291 spectators at South Surrey Arena. Matthew McKim provided the shootout winner in the sixth round, after Kings’ Ben Brar and Eagles’
Hamhuis, Byfuglien, Chara, Christian Chartier, Joel Kwiatkowski and Sheldon Souray. Goalie: Chris Mason.
The final five on the top-25 list were chosen by Cougar fans in an online line poll posted on the Citizen website, www.pgcitizen.
ca. It was up to the fans to choose three forwards from a list of five candidates, two defenceman from a list of three, and one goalie from a list of two. The forward candidates were Eric Hunter, Mike Leclerc, Blake Robson, Derek Boogaard and Chase Witala. The defencemen listed as possibilities were David
Ty Westgard had traded shootout goals.
Koci, Martin Marincin and Ian Walterson; and the two goalie choices were Ty Edmonds and Scott Myers. Cougar fans chose Hunter, Boogaard and Witala as the three forwards for the top-25, as well as defenceman Marincin and goalie Myers.
Witala garnered the most votes among the forwards with 177, followed by Hunter (224), Boogaard (163), LeClerc (106) and Robson (105). The defencemen voting was as follows: Marincin (104), Walterson (94) and Koci (57). Myers (135) won a close race with Edmonds (124).
The win improved Surrey’s fifthplace record to 2-6-0-0, while the Spruce Kings (5-1-0-1) dropped into third place in the Mainland Division, a point behind Chilliwack and Coquitlam.
The teams played five minutes of overtime and neither could score, each generating three shots. In total, the Kings outshot the Eagles 38-31. Logan Neaton drew the start in goal for the Kings.
Rockies playoff-bound again
DENVER —
The NL Westleading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland. David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies entered the night with a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers as they try to wrap up the franchise’s first division crown.
Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.
The Rockies are headed to the post-season in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 - last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.
Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night to finish the season with a 2.40 ERA in games at the hitter-friendly ballpark. The lefty allowed two runs and 11 hits over six innings before turning it over to a staunch bullpen.
Joe Ross (0-2) allowed four runs over five innings in his third start since undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. Charlie Blackmon had a solo homer in the Rockies third.
Yankees 11 Red Sox 6
BOSTON (AP) — New York clinched home-field advantage for the AL wild-card game, hitting four homers to tie the major league single-season record and beat Boston.
Aaron Judge hit his first homer since coming off the disabled list Sept. 14, and Gary Sanchez, Aaron Hicks and Luke Voit also homered to match the mark
Grichuk gets it done for Jays
of 264 set by the 1997 Seattle Mariners.
The win in the opener of the three-game series settled the AL’s last remaining post-season question with two games to go.
The Yankees will host Oakland on Wednesday, with the winner playing Boston.
The Red Sox, who clinched the best record in baseball with a franchise-record 107 wins, were hoping to make things difficult for their archrivals – and the Athletics, too – by forcing the winner of the wild-card game to have to fly cross-country next week. The ALDS begins in Boston on Friday.
J.A. Happ (17-6) pitched three perfect innings and allowed just one hit through five. Staked to an 8-0 lead, he loaded the bases in the sixth for Steve Pearce’s grand slam, but got Rafael Devers on a groundout to end the inning. Brian Johnson (4-5) was the loser.
Cubs 8 Cardinals 4
CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Hendricks went eight innings in another strong start, Kris Bryant homered and Chicago moved closer to the NL Central championship and dealt another hit to St. Louis’ playoff hopes.
The Cubs came into the final weekend of the regular season with a franchise-record fourth straight trip to the post-season assured and their third division title in a row in sight. They maintained a one-game lead over Milwaukee, with the Brewers beating Detroit on Friday night.
St. Louis dropped its fourth in a row after being swept by Milwaukee. The Cardinals came in trailing Los Angeles by a game for the second wild card, with the Dodgers visiting San Francisco. Hendricks (14-11) gave up two runs and seven hits. He’s 5-1 with a 1.52 ERA in his past seven outings.
Bryant made it 3-0 with a long solo drive to centre against Adam Wainwright (2-4) for just his second homer in 27 games. The 2016 NL MVP sat out the previ-
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Randal Grichuk hit a pinch-hit, threerun triple and the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-6 Friday night.
Jon Berti, playing in his second bigleague game after eight years in the minors, had a two-run double for his
ous two because of a bruised left wrist and has two stints on the disabled list this season because of left shoulder inflammation.
Daniel Murphy had two hits, two runs and an RBI. He singled and scored in a two-run first, doubled and came around in the fifth, and added a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Brewers 6 Tigers 5
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ryan Braun hit two homers, the second a a solo shot in the eighth inning that bounced off right fielder Nicholas Castellanos’ glove and over the fence, and Milwaukee beat Detroit to keep pace with the NL Central-leading Cubs.
Already assured a playoff spot, the second-place Brewers (93-67) stayed one game back of Chicago, with two games left in the season. Braun also hit a solo homer in the first and doubled in the fifth. He benefited from bad luck in the eighth for Castellanos, who was tracking the high fly to the wall to his left. But the ball bounced off the glove raised over his head, then rolled over the top of the padded fence for a homer off Victor Alcantara (1-1). Jeremy Jeffress hit leadoff batter Jacoby Jones with a pitch in the forearm to lead off the ninth before retiring the next three Tigers for his 14th save.
Cleveland 14 Royals 6
KANSAS CITY (AP) — Former Blue Jay Josh Donaldson hit a grand slam and double during a 10-run seventh inning, powering Cleveland past Kansas City. AL Central champion Clevelend improved to 90-70, marking the third time in team history the team has won at least 90 in three straight years. Jason Kipnis’ homer in the Cleveland third was the game’s only run in the first six innings. But Cleveland broke loose against Ian Kennedy (3-9) for its first 10-run inning since doing it on Sept. 30, 2012, against the Royals.
first career RBIs that tied the score 4-4 in the sixth inning.
Grichuk’s first triple of the season came off Jose Alvarado (1-6) to put Toronto up 7-5 in the seventh.
Adam Moore’s first home run since 2012 drove in the final run for Tampa Bay in the eighth.
High school football hitting Masich turf
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff tclarke@pgcitizen,ca
If you want to check out some high school football action under the lights at Masich Place Stadium, tonight’s the night.
Now that Prince George has an all-weather field to play on, it’s become much easier to convince traveling teams from the southern half of the province to pack up their cleats, helmets and shoulder pads for a trip north.
The Clarence Fulton Maroons of Vernon are getting geared up to face the Kelly Road Roadrunners today at 5 p.m. at Masich in a B.C. Secondary Schools Football Association double-A varsity exhibition game.
That will be followed immediately at 7 p.m. by a clash between the Salmon Arm Golds of Salmon Arm and the College Heights Cougars, last year’s Northern Conference finalists.
Kelly Road head coach Ryan Bellamy has seen some video clips of the Maroons this season and figures his 34-player Roadrunners squad will respond well to the challenge.
“I expect some high-end, hightempo football action,” said Bellamy. “We match up really well with Clarence Fulton. We all exchange film and there are a lot of comparatives between the Interior and the North. Each team has some good athletes, some good size.
“We’re pretty well-rounded, we have one of the better defences in the north, we think.
“Clarence Fulton has a strong running game and they don’t pass the ball a lot but what they do, they do effectively.”
The Roadrunners tuned up for the game last weekend in Kamloops when they played South Kamloops Titans in an exhibition matchup. The Kelly Road seniors lost 17-0, while the junior varsity Roadrunners were defeated by the junior Titans 34-0.
“As far as the senior team, it was good experience for us – South Kam will be in the top end of the league down there and in playoff contention so it’s always good to line up against teams like that,” said Bellamy.
The Roadrunners are a little bit banged up from the Kamloops game and injuries left quarterback Josiah Harder and junior Runners QB starter Curtis Zavaglia questionable for today. But Kelly Road has good depth at the pivot position and either TJ Nyberg or Brendan Watts can line up behind centre. Watts is usually a running back/linebacker, while Nyberg is a receiver/defensive back.
The College Heights senior team roster will be fortified tonight by a bunch of players from the Cougars junior varsity team. Assistant coach Grant Erickson said about 10 players from his junior team will join the 19-member senior squad today. Five senior players, including starting defensive lineman/offensive lineman Josh Hascarl, are hurt and won’t be available. Players are limited to six quarters of game action per
Tim Mayza (2-0) got the win and Ken Giles pitched the ninth for his 26th save, converting his 31st straight successful save opportunity.
Mallex Smith tripled and Joey Wendle doubled for the Rays in a three-run first inning against Toronto starter Thomas Pannone. Tommy
week, which will limit the Cougar junior to a maximum of half the game.
The Cougars will lean heavily on quarterback Oak Adams, whose primary targets are receivers Gage Prince and Dawson Day, with help from juniors Alex Thanos and Austin Adams. Matthew Kim, Lochlan Young, Max Young and Thanos will be on hand to run the ball against Salmon Arm.
“I would think it’s going to be pretty competitive,” said Erickson, an assistant to senior team head coach Brad Paakkonen. “I know they lost Vernon (Panthers) 56-0 but Vernon’s the top-ranked team in the province and that’s not surprising.
“We’ve got that core group of seniors and they can play some good ball. Just as long as the juniors give them some backup, so they’re not out there every single play, we should be able to give them a good go. They’re ready to go.”
In a North Division matchup on Wednesday at Masich, the junior Cougars beat the Duchess Park Condors 30-8. For the Cougars, that was their first time playing on the field turf at Masich. They’d been waiting for their chance ever since last year, when the $4.6 million renovations began on the cityowned stadium.
“It was just awesome,” said Erickson. “I never thought that would ever happen, that we would ever get a turf field but it’s there now and it’s pretty awesome to play on. It’s a neat field.”
Said Bellamy: “Finally having a facility that meets and exceeds standards for football across the province definitely helps in getting teams to come up here. They’re eager to be part of being the first out-of-town teams to come up and play on the field and helping us really kick things off.”
The Cougars won both of their exhibition games against Lower Mainland opponents earlier this month and are shaping up to be a formidable provincial playoff contender. College Heights beat the Robert Bateman Timberwolves of Abbotsford 38-0 on Sept. 15, then went to North Vancouver last weekend and defeated the Argyle Pipers 22-12.
“That was a good learning experience, for sure,” said Erickson. “That’s the first out-of-town team this group has ever played. They were a little nervous going in and once we started playing we just settled in and it was good.”
The Cougars sat six of their starters for the first half of the Argyle game for disciplinary reasons.
“It was an adventure in the first half but we got out of it only down 6-0 and in the second half the starters came in and we just started rolling,” said Erickson.
The Roadrunners and Cougars seniors play in the BCSSFA Northern Conference and in their only regular-season game last week they tied each other 12-12. Today at 3 p.m. in Vanderhoof, the Nechako Valley Vikings will host the Prince George Polars in a Northern Conference game. The Polars are defending P.G. Bowl champions.
Pham also walked in the inning, extending his streak of games in which he has reached base to 30. Smith had three hits and scored twice for the Rays. Tampa Bay
starter Tyler Glasnow gave up three runs and seven hits with three walks and nine strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
Citizen news service
AP PHOTO
Chris Iannetta of the Colorado Rockies, right, celebrates his home run with Gerardo Parra during the fifth inning of Friday’s game in Denver against the Washington Nationals.
Afternoon sweep has Europe in lead
Doug FERGUSON Citizen news service
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVE-
LINES, France — Three matches in the books, three red points on the board, and Tiger Woods was still on the golf course.
This was exactly the start the Americans wanted in the Ryder Cup.
And then Europe finished even better.
Four hours later, the cheers at Le Golf National ramped up to a feverish pitch as Europe swept all four matches Friday afternoon for a 5-3. It was the first time Europe swept a session since 1989, and the first time ever at the Ryder Cup in foursomes.
“We didn’t come here to win the foursomes,” Francesco Molinari said. “We came here to win something else.”
Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood were the only Europeans to play both matches, and they won them both. They combined for five birdies over their last seven holes to polish off Woods and Patrick Reed and salvage something from a morning that belonged to the Americans. They took down Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in the afternoon.
“It was a bit of a roller-coaster ride,” European captain Thomas Bjorn said. “We know it’s a marathon, and we’re delighted with the way the day turned out because it was a fairly tough morning. We go home happy tonight, but we refocus and look forward to tomorrow.”
The change was noticeable in the body language.
The Americans walked tall and
had reason to feel as though nothing could go wrong, especially Tony Finau. It was his amazing fortune that turned the tide in the morning. He and Brooks Koepka were 1 down to Justin Rose and Jon Rahm on the par-3 16th when Finau’s 8-iron appeared headed for the water. Instead, it landed on the 12-inch wide boards that frame the green, soared into the air as the gallery gasped, and plopped down 3 feet from the hole. They wound up winning on the 18th when Rose hit into the water,
the only time Finau and Koepka led all match.
In the afternoon, the mood changed in the mild air and freshening wind. Spieth was shaking his head after all those putts that dropped in the morning slid by the edge of the cup in the afternoon. Ian Poulter’s eyes grew wider with each hole he won with Rory McIlroy in the afternoon.
“You see a change in body language,” U.S. captain Jim Furyk said. “I’m sure the Europeans’ body language significantly
changed to all smiles and boisterous and hugs and high-fives, and I’m sure the looks on some of my players were not quite the happiest, and dead opposite this morning.”
Furyk tried to see the big picture.
“It was four points out of 28 that we played for,” he said. “We are not happy with it. I think we use it as motivation tomorrow.”
The Americans are trying to end 25 years of losing the Ryder Cup in Europe, and for one morning,
Tiger-Cats set for another shot at Lions
Dan RALPH Citizen news service
HAMILTON — Nikita Whitlock is happy to face the B.C. Lions again.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats host B.C. today to complete a homeand-home series after the Lions rallied to win 35-32 in overtime last week in Vancouver. While many players loathe consecutive games against the same team, Whitlock enjoys the back-to-back encounters.
“I love them,” said the Ticats’ defensive lineman/running back. “It puts something in the air.
“It becomes an authentic rivalry game.”
One reason why many players dislike facing the same team in consecutive weeks is they overthink what tweaks or changes the opposition might made in the second game. And sometimes there’s precious little time between games, meaning little to no formal practice time to prepare.
“I don’t mind it,” said Hamilton head coach June Jones. “It’s interesting some of the things you’ve
got to tweak and have to do... for me it’s just lining up to do the next one.
“I think there’s a little of that (guessing what changes opponent might make) but at the same time you’re only as good as what you do. You can’t worry about what they’re doing, you prepare for everything.”
Even then, Jones figures those changes are minimal.
“Eighty-five to 90 per cent of packages are going be the same,” he said. “In football you can’t all of a sudden start running the wishbone or something totally different.”
Playing the same opponent in consecutive weeks is nothing new this season for Hamilton. This will mark the fourth time the Ticats will face the same team in back-toback weeks.
The Ticats have registered the sweep twice – versus Montreal and Toronto – and were swept by Saskatchewan. Hamilton (6-7) needs to earn a split with B.C. (66) to pull to within two points of the idle Ottawa Redblacks (8-5),
Curtis) 2:05 2. Prince George, Browne 2 (Rhinehart, Schoettler) 2:50 Penalties – Boyle PG (interference) 5:32, Korczak Kel (roughing) 8:45, Mattson Kel (boarding) 11:37 Second Period No scoring. Penalties – Liwiski Kel (tripping) 11:44, Gardiner Kel (double-roughing, served by Wilton), Crossley PG (roughing) 18:16, Rhinehart PGG (cross-checking) 20:00. Third Period
3. Kelowna, Bruggen-Cate 1 (Ernst, Korczak) 5:36 4. Kelowna, Foote 1 (Korczak, Zabransky) 6:28 5. Prince George, Toman 1 (Lakusta, Boyle) 8:57 Penalties – Steffler Kel (high-sticking) 2:56, Gardiner Kel (fighting), Rhinehart PG (fighting) 6:46, Zabransky Kel (fighting), Crossley PG (kneeing, served by Maser, fighting) 12:13, Topping Kel (high-sticking) 17:50. Shots on goal by Kelowna 8 3 10 -21 Prince George 10 10 9 -29 Goal – Kelowna, Basran (L,0-2-0-0); Prince George, Gauthier (W,2-1-0-1). Power plays – KEL: 0-3; PG: 1-6. Referees – Brayden Arcand, Fraser Lawrence; Linesmen – Deion Foster, Anthony Maletta. Attendance – 3,160. Scratches – Kelowna:
who are atop the East Division. After this game, Hamilton will have a bye week before heading into a crucial home-and-home series with Ottawa. Fortunately for the Ticats, they’ll have Brandon Banks back today. Hamilton’s leading receiver (69 catches, 1,033 yards, seven TDs) has missed the last two games with a groin injury.
“No, I’m nowhere near 100 per cent,” a candid Banks said. “If I’m on the field, I’m good to play.”
But Hamilton will be minus starting left tackle Jordan Avery (family issues). Fellow American Kelvin Palmer will take his position.
Banks admitted that, with the bye week coming, there was
the thought of having him skip Saturday’s game to get more time to heal. But the five-foot-seven, 155-pound Banks, a 1,000-yard receiver for the second straight season, offered a simple explanation for nixing that idea.
“My competitiveness,” he said. “I can’t sit out (any) longer.”
Banks, for one, isn’t a huge fan of back-to-backs.
“You can’t change it (schedule) once it comes out but it’s pretty tough,” he said. “Nobody wants to do it but it is what it is.
“It brings out a little bit more in you as a football player . . . it’s fun as a competitor but definitely tough.”
Ticats quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was 19-of-25 passing for 311 yards and two TDs in the loss while running four times for 37 yards. Mike Jones had three catches for 138 yards and two TDs. Masoli was also sacked five times, with former Ticat Davon Coleman registering three and eight tackles. Johnathon Jennings, starting in place of injured veteran Travis Lulay (shoulder), was 32-
it looked as though this might be the time. By the end of the day, the Americans were seeing blue, and plenty of it.
Europe took the lead in every foursomes match and never let up. Rose teamed with old partner Henrik Stenson and dismantled Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler by winning five holes in a sevenhole stretch.
Right behind them, McIlroy recovered from his awful morning by joining forces with European stalwart Poulter, who lived up to his reputation. They were 2 down early until Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson collapsed by losing four straight holes, three of them with bogeys. Phil Mickelson missed his first opening session since his rookie year in the Ryder Cup, and he was missing while in action during the afternoon. Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau were 7 down at the turn and did well to at least get to the 14th hole, where Sergio Garcia and Alex Noren closed them out.
But this was more about Europe’s great play. Garcia and Noren were 5 under at the turn, an astounding score on his golf course in these windy conditions. In his return to the Ryder Cup for the first time since 2012, Woods quickly added to his losing record. Five days after Woods won the Tour Championship for his first victory after four back surgeries, he and Patrick Reed went cold at the end.
They were 2 up until Molinari and Fleetwood went to work with a pair of Molinari birdies to tie the match, a pair of Fleetwood birdies to take the lead, and one last birdie putt from Molinari to finish them off.
of-47 passing for 347 yards and three TDs and added 26 yards rushing on four carries. Jennings and Bryan Burnham hooked up on a 20-yard TD pass, then the two-point convert late in regulation to tie the score 29-29. Ty Long’s 39-yard field goal in the second overtime earned B.C. the victory.
But offensive coordinator Jarious Jackson the Lions can’t dwell upon last week’s contest.
“You can’t carry last game into this game,” Jackson told the Lions’ website. “I think than anything we have to be more aggressive and attack more like we did in the second half.
“I think Jonathon has gotten his feet wet... there’s still growing pains, there’s still things he needs to get better at but I’m trying to take the reins off of him and let him just go compete and play football.” B.C. has won three straight, all against East Division teams (Ottawa, Toronto and Hamilton) but is 1-5 on the road. Hamilton has lost two straight and is 3-3 at home.
AP PHOTO
Europe’s Francesco Molinari celebrates after winning a Friday foursome match with his partner Tommy Fleetwood on opening day of the 42nd Ryder Cup at Le Golf National in Saint-Quentin-enYvelines, outside Paris.
Dahlin scores for Sabres in win
Citizen news service
OSHAWA, Ont. — A pair of new faces in Buffalo has given fans of the Sabres reason for optimism.
Jeff Skinner had a pair of goals and Rasmus Dahlin scored his first goal in a Sabres uniform as Buffalo defeated the New York Islanders 5-4 at Tribute Communities Centre on Friday.
Skinner scored both of his goals in the second period, while Dahlin added an assist on Skinner’s second goal.
“It’s always nice to get on the board. It’s nice to execute on offence,” Skinner said. “We have a chance to clean some things up in the next week or so and be ready for the regular season.”
Buffalo hasn’t earned a playoff berth since 2011. After several years of finishing at or near the bottom of the NHL standings, there is a sense that this could be the year Buffalo breaks through and shows significant improvement.
The optimism began this summer when Buffalo won the NHL Draft Lottery and used the first-overall selection to pick Dahlin.
“I’ve learned so many things about the systems and how the other teams are playing,” Dahlin said. “I’ve learned a lot so it’s been a great pre-season.”
The Islanders opened the scoring in the first period. After Sabres goaltender Carter Hutton saved an initial shot from the point by Devon Toews, Anthony Beauvillier picked up the rebound and passed the puck to a wide-open Josh Bailey, who beat Hutton for a 1-0 lead at 7:22.
The Sabres responded less than a minute later. Former Prince George Cougar Brendan Guhle redirected a Jason Pominville shot from the slot to beat Islanders goaltender Robin Lehner to tie the game 1-1 at 8:20.
In the second period, the Sabres opened the floodgates. Casey Nelson’s shot after a faceoff eluded Lehner to give Buffalo a 2-1 lead. Dahlin scored his first goal of the preseason for a 3-1 Sabres advantage.
“I just shot it and luckily it went in so it was good,” Dhalin said.
The Islanders cut Buffalo’s lead to 3-2 with a power-play goal from Anders Lee at 4:36.
Midway through the period, Thomas Greiss came on to play the remainder of the game in net for the Islanders.
Skinner scored the first of his two goals on the first shot Greiss faced, taking a pass from Sam Reinhart in front of the Islanders net and beating Greiss on the glove side for a 4-2 lead at 11:34. Only 90 seconds later Skinner, acquired in an off-season trade with Carolina, banked a puck off the back of Greiss and into the net at 13:04.
“I took a peek but Okie (Kyle Okposo) was still down so I’m thinking even if it doesn’t
Unbeaten Rams racking up big stats
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kurt Warner, Mike Martz and the Greatest Show on Turf never put up as many yards passing in a single game as Jared Goff and Sean McVay did Thursday night.
The St. Louis Rams had one of the greatest offences in NFL history around the turn of the century. Fifteen years later, their West Coast descendants look ready to make their own mark on the league.
After Goff passed for 465 yards and five touchdowns in Los Angeles’ 38-31 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, the Rams are 4-0 for the first time since 2001. That’s also the last season in which the Rams made the Super Bowl, and the final unofficial season of the Greatest Show on Turf – the high-octane offence masterminded by Martz and put into action by Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce and their slew of talented teammates.
Warner was watching when Goff went 26 for 33 and shattered his previous career highs for yards passing and TD passes with a dynamic performance against the Vikings. He spread the ball to three receivers who had 100-yard games, while do-everything running back Todd Gurley had 73 yards receiving, 83 yards rushing
and a TD catch.
“Time to get out the record books,” Warner tweeted, adding that the Rams and Goff are “looking to SMASH some of those GSOT numbers! Keep it up boys – it’s time!”
No wonder Warner was impressed: Goff’s performance was the third-biggest in Rams history and the most prolific since 1982, surpassing any game by Warner, Marc Bulger or Jim Everett.
“Those are quite flattering words,” McVay said Friday of Warner’s tweet, which included a hashtag hailing the “Greatest Show on Turf II.”
“It’s a reflection of the way our players are playing, but ultimately the truest measurement of performance is that consistency, and we’ve got to consistently do it,” McVay added. “We’ve done it for one quarter of the season so far where we’ve played at a pretty high level. Now the challenge is, can we continue it on when we get back for Week 5?”
The Rams are averaging 468.5 yards per game through the first quarter of the season, second-most in the league and 107 yards per game more than they put up last season, when they were the NFL’s highestscoring team.
go in, it creates some action in front and maybe somebody else gets a rebound,” Skinner said of his second goal.
“Fortunately for me, it banked off him (Greiss) and went in.”
The Islanders capped the scoring frenzy in the period when Ryan Pulock beat Hutton with a slapshot at 15:34 while on a 5-on-3 man advantage.
In the third period, Lee scored his second goal of the game with a wrist shot that beat Hutton to cut Buffalo’s lead to 5-4 at 15:18.
“I would have liked to have ended it 5-3,
the way we came into the third period, it’s a valuable lesson, not just for our young players but our whole team,” Sabres coach Phil Housley said. “When we managed it well, we’re very aggressive in the third period.”
The neutral-site pre-season game was the last for both teams before the regular season begins.
The game was scheduled back in December 2017 with the hope that John Tavares would be returning as an Islander to play in the arena where his junior career began. His banner and number hangs in the rafters of what used to be known as General Motors Centre.
On July 1, Tavares elected to leave the Islanders and signed a seven-year $77 million contract with Toronto.
NOTE: In the second period, Casey Cizikas was hit along the side boards by Jake McCabe. The Islanders forward immediately went to the dressing room and did not return to the game. The team didn’t provide an update, but through a spokesperson said they would know more about Cizikas’ status today.
Rebuilding teams leaning on youth
John WAWROW Citizen news service
Jason Botterill has experienced both sides of the spectrum in confronting the challenges of building a competitive NHL team versus trying to sustain one.
In Buffalo, the Sabres’ second-year general manager is attempting to rebuild from scratch a team in the midst of a franchiseworst, seven-year playoff drought. In his previous job as assistant GM in Pittsburgh, the test was keeping together a Sidney Crosby-led core of a team that became the first in nearly 20 years to repeat as Stanley Cup champions in 2016-17.
Botterill noted the common denominator for both comes down to scouting.
“You’re always searching for talent,” Botterill said. “So it gets back to the importance of finding players that are going to join your system.”
Teams at the bottom need to stockpile young talent, and hope it eventually gels.
The Sabres, for example, enter this season with the top new player to watch in 18-year-old defenceman Rasmus Dahlin, the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft.
Other rebuilding teams are counting on their youngsters to make immediate impacts.
In Ottawa, the Senators are turning to rookie first-round pick Brady Tkachuk.
In Vancouver, there’s centre Elias Pettersson.
The Carolina Hurricanes, meanwhile, are counting on forward Andrei Svechnikov, the No. 2 pick, to help a franchise snap a nine-season playoff drought – the NHL’s longest active streak.
There’s pressure on the league’s elite, too.
Winning teams lack the luxury of high draft picks and are required to discover hidden gems in the draft and signing European and college free agents.
As Penguins GM Jim Rutherford also noted, the NHL’s salary-cap system means successful teams have a more difficult time retaining their own talent.
“You want to keep those players, but you can’t,” Rutherford said. “We went through it two years ago when we lost a bunch of real key players. There’s nothing to do about it. You can’t.”
Valuable as they were, forward Chris Kunitz, goalie Marc Andre-Fleury, defencemen Eric Fehr and Ian Cole, and in this off-season’s case, forward Conor Sheary, were among the players the Penguins were unable to retain.
Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman, who won nine Stanley Cup titles between three teams, said the salary cap makes it more difficult to maintain a contender, though it’s not all that different since winning his first championship with the 1973 Montreal Canadiens.
“The challenge is you have to have players coming in the front door,” Bowman said. “When I was in Montreal, they had a slogan that was in the dressing room. It said ‘And the kids go marching on.’ That was 50 years ago, but it’s so much more now.”
A list of some of the top newcomers (and one familiar returnee) to watch for this season:
RASMUS DAHLIN, Buffalo Sabres defenceman
He’s a smooth-skating, heads-up playmaking Swedish-born blueliner who has shown a fearless ability of jumping into the rush. Dahlin will require time to adapt to the smaller NHL ice surface and has shown signs of being a little too cavalier with the puck in committing turnovers. He is improving as a defender and expected to quarterback the top power-play unit.
ELIAS PETTERSSON, Vancouver Canucks centre
With Vancouver’s 2018 first-round draft pick defenceman Quinn Hughes committed to playing this season at Michigan, there’s plenty of buzz over Pettersson, the No. 5 overall pick in 2017. He’s coming off a season in which he helped Vaxjo win the Swedish Elite League championship and earned regular-season and playoff MVP honours.
RYAN DONATO, Boston Bruins forward
After spending three seasons playing at Harvard for his father, former NHL player Ted Donato, the 22-year-old got a head start on his NHL career by scoring five goals and nine points in 12 games for the Bruins last season.
WARREN FOEGELE, Carolina Hurricanes left wing
Though the jury remains out as to whether Svechnikov will spend the entire season in Carolina, the Hurricanes are high on Foegele, their 2014 third-round pick.
“He’s what we want in a Hurricane,” first-year coach Rod Brind’Amour told The Charlotte Observer this week. Foegele had two goals and an assist in his first two NHL games last season, and also finished second in AHL Charlotte with 28 goals as a rookie.
BRADY TKACHUK, Ottawa Senators forward
Selected with the No. 4 pick in the draft, the son of former NHL star Keith Tkachuk is considered a key building block of a Senators team rebuilding from scratch. At 19, he overcame a slow start in his freshman year at Boston University to score eight goals and 31 points in 40 games. Ottawa’s youth movement also includes Colin White, a 2015 first-round pick, who had two goals and four assists in 21 NHL games last season.
ILYA KOVALCHUK, Los Angeles Kings left wing
He’s back. After spending the past five seasons playing in the Kontinental Hockey League, the NHL’s 2001 No. 1 draft pick has returned to North America after signing a three-year contract with the
DAHLIN
CP PHOTO
Leo Komarov of the New York Islanders battles with former Prince George Cougar and current Buffalo Sabres defenceman Brendan Guhle during a Friday NHL pre-season game in Oshawa, Ont.
Evangelicals, social conservatives rally behind accused rapist
Gabriel POGRUND,
Social conservatives gathered Friday to plot midterm election strategy, celebrate the Trump administration – and to wholly reject the allegations threatening Judge Brett Kavanaugh on his march to the Supreme Court.
“Don’t get rattled by all of this,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said from the stage of the annual Values Voter Summit. “We’re going to plow right through it and do our job.”
McConnell’s promise earned an ovation from his audience of around 2,000 faith leaders and activists, many of whom framed the current crisis in scriptural or religious terms. The summit, organized by the Family Research Council and a coalition of other social conservative groups, frequently turned into a rally for Kavanaugh and a place to vent about how attendees perceived the treatment of the court nominee.
In interviews and onstage, conservatives suggested that women like Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers, deserved a fair hearing.
None believed she was telling the truth, and many wondered whether the controversy was a setup, a last-ditch effort by an angry, out-of-control Democratic Party to prevent President Donald Trump from creating a long-term conservative majority on the na-
tion’s highest court.
“The further away they get from controlling the courts, the more desperate they become,” said Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, who said he was speaking at the conference in a personal capacity.
Carson defended Kavanaugh by telling the crowd he had once faced a frivolous paternity suit from a woman he never met, even though “the only woman I had ever slept with in my entire life was my wife” – an event he said gave him insight into how innocent people could be smeared.
In interviews with more than 20 attendees, all appeared skeptical of Ford’s allegation. Some emphasized the Christian value of forgiveness when asked how they would respond if he was found to be guilty, noting how young Kavanaugh would have been when the alleged assault occurred.
“I was molested by a priest as a young child. If it’s real, I know what it’s like to have the accuser deny it to your face,” said Cathy Marketto, 66, a patient advocate at a hospital in Seaford, Del. “If he’s guilty, they should throw the book at him. But he was seventeen. It was how many years ago?
You can’t wait that long.”
“Why in the world, why in the world would you take that long?
Why couldn’t she remember where it was or when it happened?” said Marketto, who acknowledged she, too, had waited decades before reporting her alleged abuse. She said her allegation came in a “different era” and when she was a
“child,” not a teenager.
Her views were echoed by Sandy Rios, 77, a Christian talk-radioshow host, who said that Ford’s allegation undermined survivors of “real” sex abuse and needed to be placed in the context of teenage sexual antics.
“I’ve had at least two women call my radio show and tell their stories of sexual abuse, (and) they’re very offended by this story,” Rios said. “A lot of people who have experienced real sexual abuse are offended by some trite claim.”
Rios also suggested, incorrectly, that Ford worked for the liberal billionaire George Soros – a claim echoed by several other attendees.
“I heard from a good source,” she said. “I haven’t had the chance to check it myself, but that’s pretty incriminating.”
Others dismissed Ford’s allegations and the wider Me Too movement as politically motivated.
Stories are powerful
We love a good story. Story is powerful. We are wired to tell and hear stories. Stories are how we have passed history and lessons learned from generation to generation. Stories are a far more effective way to teach principles than merely stating them as fact or as propositional statements. We can get lost in stories, either as we share the emotion of the characters as they face whatever trial they face or as we imagine ourselves as characters in the plot. It is not surprising that we love story
Clergy Comment
MICHAEL DAYKIN Central Fellowship Baptist Church
because the creation of stories is a creative act and we are made in the image of a creative God. God has revealed Himself to us through His Word, the Bible. Much of the Bible is written in narrative, aka stories. These stories tell us of how God has worked throughout history through His people and provide us with examples to follow, or in some cases, not to follow.
“I think it’s a bunch of ungodly women who don’t like the values of conservative women,” said Dayna Jones, 39, a California Realtor. “They don’t stand up for conservative women because we don’t believe in their left-wing, kill-all-the-babies motives. They think we just voted for Trump because some man told us to.”
For many attendees – and organizers – the Kavanaugh allegations amounted to political deja vu. In 2016, they had stuck with Donald Trump’s campaign even as the Republican nominee was buffeted by accusations of sexual assault.
A generation earlier, they had defended Clarence Thomas after Anita Hill accused him of sexual harassment after he was nominated to the Supreme Court. In both cases, the social conservatives said, the fight had been worth it. Onstage, they heard Secretary of State Mike Pompeo describe how the Trump administration had been a “champion for religious liberty,” and they heard author Lance Wallnau describe how Trump had fulfilled a prophecy by moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Victories like these were under threat, conservatives said, if accusations were able to derail men like Kavanaugh.
“If this tactic works, no one with our values will be willing to submit their wives or their husbands to this ordeal,” said Gary Bauer, the president of American Values, who called the Kavanaugh hearings “a political waterboarding.”
The Values Voter event, which
God knows us because He made us and because He knows us and He knows how to connect with us He gave us His Word which is not only a collection of teachings and stories of the faithful of old but also tells us the grand epic of creation, fall, redemption and renewal.
My children often get quite worried in the middle of a story when everything seems to be going wrong and hope seems out of sight. We have had to teach them that in stories, everything works out in the end and everyone gets what’s coming to them, good or bad. The amazing thing about God’s story is that we are living in
started in 2006, took its name from the 2004 presidential election exit poll. That year, 22 per cent of voters said that “moral values” was their top voting issue – and those voters backed George W. Bush by a landslide.
Social conservatives continue to organize around such issues as banning same-sex marriage, cutting funds for Planned Parenthood and protecting Israel.
“There’s a small group trying to destabilize this administration, trying to take God out of everything, who didn’t care so much when it was Bill Clinton,” said the Rev. Daniel Ulysse, a Haitian immigrant with a church in New York.
This year’s conference drew relatively few candidates; those who attended said they were hoping to provide reinforcements for the president.
They said doing so started with protecting Kavanaugh.
“It’s very questionable whether this allegation has any basis in truth, quite frankly, just when you look at the time lapse and the holes in the story,” said Mark Harris, a pastor running in an unexpectedly close House race in North Carolina.
According to Harris, the allegations against Kavanaugh had “the fragrance of politics.”
“Stay the course, press on,” he said.
“People thought the same thing about Clarence Thomas... Has it affected Clarence Thomas’ effectiveness on the Supreme Court all these years? I would say, ‘no.’”
the middle of it and though it may feel at times like everything is out of control and hopeless, we already know how things will end. We already know that in the end, good will triumph over evil and everything will be set to right.
Knowing the end gives us great hope as we face the unknown because we can have faith.
As the old hymn says “Because He lives I can face tomorrow.” Even though we should be on the losing side, if we have accepted the free gift of salvation offered through the work of Christ on the cross, we have assurance that our end is sure.
David WEIGEL Citizen news service
KAVANAUGH
AP PHOTO
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks with reporters about the confirmation for U.S. President Donald Trump’s embattled Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, following a closed-door GOP policy meeting in Washington on Tuesday.
Flat tires?
Tesla faces reckoning with Musk’s job in jeopardy
disquieting tweets and other troubling disclosures that have raised questions about whether Musk should remain at the helm of Tesla, a company valued at $46 billion.
SAN FRANCISCO
— The very attributes that have fueled a mania around Elon Musk – his vision, brash personality and willingness to take risks – could prove to be his downfall.
The Tesla CEO who made his fortune and his renegade-genius reputation by bursting through the barriers of conventional thinking faces a humiliating comedown as government regulators try to oust him from the company in a lawsuit accusing him of duping the electric car maker’s stockholders.
But extracting Musk from the company he has become synonymous with could devastate Tesla.
Musk’s fans maintain that Tesla would be insane to get rid of him, arguing it would go down as a huge mistake similar to the one Apple made in 1985 when it ousted its own visionary founder, Steve Jobs, only to bring him back with the company on the brink of bankruptcy 12 years later.
“People who create disruptive companies tend to be somewhat abnormal, and that is what leads to these Herculean accomplishments,” said Keith Rabois, a venture capitalist who used to work with Musk during one of his early incarnations at PayPal. “They are all a little bit off central casting in their own way, but that sort of is what lets them walk through these walls or over these walls when most people are terrified.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against Musk on Thursday, alleging he falsely claimed in an Aug. 7 tweet that he had secured financing to buy out Tesla and take it private at $420 per share, a substantial premium over the stock price at the time.
The SEC is asking a federal court in New York to bar Musk from serving as an officer or director of any public company. The case is not expected to go to trial until early next year. The fraud case comes amid a squall of
Musk has “gone from looking like the visionary genius to looking like the out-of-control guy who probably is on the borderline of a breakdown,” said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
Even before the SEC went after his job, Musk had raised hackles by ridiculing stock market analysts for posing fairly standard questions about Tesla’s shaky finances, and then called a diver who helped rescue 12 boys on a Thai soccer team from a flooded cave a pedophile, triggering a libel lawsuit against himself.
The challenges already facing Tesla might become even more daunting without Musk as CEO because its fortunes are inextricably tied to those of its leader.
Musk’s charisma and accomplishments as a disrupter of several industries are worth $130 per share – or about $22 billion – to Tesla, Barclays analyst Brian Johnson wrote in a note. He called it the “Musk premium.”
Given that Tesla has mostly lost money throughout its history and has had trouble meeting its own production targets while burning through cash, the company’s stock could be in danger of cratering without Musk’s aura.
That, in turn, could make it more difficult to raise more money to stay alive, particularly in the coming months, with $1.3 billion in debt payments coming due by early next year. It could also scare off consumers who are being asked for large deposits when they order the futuristic electric cars. And it could make parts suppliers skittish about doing business with the company.
Investors are already shuddering over what a Musk-less future might bode for Tesla.
The company’s stock plunged nearly $43 on Friday, or almost 14 per cent, to $264.77, erasing $7 billion in shareholder wealth. Barclay’s Johnson is predicting Tesla’s stock will
fall to $210.
That’s a 44 per cent decline from where the shares ended just hours after Musk tweeted over the summer that he had secured funding for a buyout.
The SEC alleges Musk wasn’t even close to locking up the money and based the price at a slang reference to marijuana – 420 – to amuse his girlfriend. Since that tweet, Musk has been seen on camera apparently smoking marijuana in California, where the drug is legal.
Although the SEC contends Musk’s conduct should disqualify him from remaining as CEO, the agency may have to consider the damage that would be done to Tesla’s shareholders if he were ousted, said Joseph Grundfest, a Stanford Law School professor and former SEC commissioner.
The SEC’s challenge is to “appropriately discipline Musk while not harming Tesla’s shareholders,” Grundfest said.
In an apparent effort to do that, the SEC offered Musk a settlement that would have allowed him to pay a small fine and stay on as CEO if he agreed to certain conditions, including restrictions on when he could release information publicly, according to a person knowledgeable about talks between the company and regulators.
The person, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations were private, said Friday that Musk rejected the offer because he didn’t want a blemish on his record.
For its part, Tesla’s board is standing behind him, declaring in a statement that it is “fully confident in Elon, his integrity, and his leadership of the company.”
Tesla might be able to thrive without Musk if it could replace him with a more experienced automotive or technology veteran who has been at the helm of a profitable company, said Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Kelley Blue Book.
But that might depend on Musk – who owns a roughly 20 per cent stake in Tesla – being willing to accept a less visible role at the company. “That role could be completely impossible for Elon to play,” Brauer said.
LNG Canada project would provide new market, executive says
Citizen news service
BANFF, Alta. — A positive final investment decision for LNG Canada could eventually encourage other projects to follow suit, creating demand needed to soak up Western Canada’s glut of natural gas, producers say. The projects would eventually provide a market for gas companies that are now discouraged from increasing production by low prices linked to fierce U.S. competition and Canadian pipeline capacity shortfalls, said Steve Laut, executive vice-chairman of Cana-
da’s largest natural gas producing company, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. of Calgary.
“If you get one plant through, there will be a second and third plant that will follow much easier, and that makes a difference,” he said after participating in a panel discussion at the Global Business Forum in Banff, Alta. “I think it gives confidence to the other proponents; they can see they can get through the process.”
Published reports have suggested LNG Canada, an estimated $40-billion gas liquefaction plant and pipeline that was delayed in 2016, could be officially sanctioned as early as next
week. Unconfirmed reports also suggest the federal government has agreed to waive import tariffs on steel plant modules built overseas that were estimated to add $1 billion to the cost.
But Susannah Pierce, director of external relations for the Kitimat-sited project, wouldn’t say Friday after taking part in the panel discussion whether those reports are true. She repeated the official line that the partners – Royal Dutch Shell, Mitsubishi Corp., Malaysia’s Petronas, PetroChina Co. and Korea Gas Corp. – will make a decision before the end of this year.
“Many a small thing
mists had expected in July. The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 77.25 cents US compared with an average of 76.66 cents US on Thursday, boosting expectations that the Bank of Canada would raise its key interest rate next month.
The dollar’s performance was another positive read on the Canadian economy, said Ian Scott, an equity analyst at Manulife Asset Management.
“That against the U.S. dollar on a day where U.S. consumer spending data came in a bit weaker than expected I think kind of took some of the strength of the U.S. dollar and gave some strength to the Canadian dollar,” he said.
The Canadian economy grew by 0.2 per cent in July compared to a 0.1 per cent increase expected by economists. U.S. consumer spending edged up just 0.3 per cent in August, marking a slowdown from gains of 0.4 per cent in June and July.
The TSX closed down and gold rose as investors moved to safety after Italy’s new government announced a big increase in spending that would push its budget deficit much higher than planned by the previous government. “I think it just kind of reverberated through the markets a bit today,” Scott said.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 131.48 points to 16,073.14, after hitting a low of 16,063.70 on 260.5 million shares traded.
U.S. markets were essentially flat. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 18.38 points to 26,458.31. The S&P 500 index was down 0.02 to 2,913.98, while the Nasdaq composite was up 4.38 points to 8,046.35. In Toronto, health-care, utilities and real estate sectors led.
“So a pretty defensive trade today that definitely speaks to the flight to safety you’re seeing a bit,” said Scott.
BlackBerry led the index as its shares gained 10.2 per cent after its latest financial results topped expectations and it outlined plans for growth. West Fraser Timber Co. fell the most at 6.43 per cent as lumber companies were hit by lower futures and an analyst’s downgrade.
The November crude contract was up US$1.13
Michael LIEDTKE, Tom KRISHER Citizen news service
SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk speaks on Sept. 17 in Hawthorne, Calif., after announcing Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa as the first private passenger on a trip around the moon.
‘Mr. Key West’ dies at 99
Citizen news service
In 1962, Key West, Fla., was a remote naval outpost on six square miles of limestone rock, mostly known for its proximity to Cuba at the height of nuclear tensions with the communist island. Rickety wood-frame houses lined its streets, at times threatening to collapse. The declining waterfront, once a busy trading port, offered visitors little more than a selection of weather-beaten bars.
David Wolkowsky, a developer who had returned to the city of his birth after years away, saw opportunity. For the next few decades, he devoted himself to the task of restoring the island’s dilapidated historic buildings, eventually helping Key West become a major resort destination.
Wolkowsky, 99, who became widely known as “Mr. Key West” for his role transforming the island, died Sept. 23 at a hospital in Key West. The cause was complications from pneumonia, said a nephew, photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders.
By salvaging turn-of-the-century homes, Wolkowsky helped ensure that the city of 25,000 retained a distinctive sense of character. Key West has an enduring eccentricity that prevents it from being just another wealthy seaside town: free-range roosters wander the streets with impunity, bougainvillea sprouts from yards with wild abandon, and a year-round crew of crusty burnouts provides a welcome contrast to the tourists lining up for fudge and trolley tours.
Instead of high-rise condominiums, the city offers something rarely found elsewhere in Florida: a sense of history.
“David began to renovate those buildings and really, I think, was one of the main people responsible for the historic preservation movement and for showing people that Key West’s past, its history, was worth saving, had a certain glamour to it, was beautiful,” Arlo Haskell, a local historian, told Miami-based radio station WLRN this week.
Wolkowsky’s own family was deeply embedded in that history. His grandfa-
For the next few decades, he devoted himself to the task of restoring the island’s dilapidated historic buildings, eventually helping Key West become a major resort destination.
ther Abraham was a Jewish immigrant from Russia who first arrived in Key West in the early 1880s and quickly went from being a street peddler to becoming a successful local merchant. The family business eventually included clothing stores, saloons and a billiards hall.
David William Wolkowsky was born in Key West on Aug. 25, 1919. Several years later, the city went through an economic slump after a devastating hurricane hit the island and the Navy pulled out many of its operations in the wake of the First World War.
“We left on the train when I was four and moved to Miami,” Wolkowsky told the Key West Citizen. “I can remember eating guava jelly on Saltine crackers in the dining car of the train.”
After attending the University of Pennsylvania, he spent four years in the merchant marine and settled in Philadelphia. Under the name David Williams – to avoid anti-Semitism – he began renovating and rehabilitating shabby rowhouses near Rittenhouse Square in Center City, participating in Philadelphia’s inner-city renaissance.
Wolkowsky was 42 when his father died, and he inherited a handful of aging buildings in Key West. He bought up more underappreciated properties, including a former cigar factory, a bar where writer Ernest Hemingway used to drink and an old department store. His efforts to preserve and protect ramshackle buildings went against the conventional wisdom of the 1960s.
Throughout the country, cities were bull-
Canada-U.S. bridge to open in 2024
DETROIT — Officials say a new timeline estimates that a new international bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ont., will be open in late 2024. Construction starts next week on the Gordie Howe International Bridge.
dozing blighted historic neighbourhoods in the name of urban renewal. Walkable, tightly packed commercial strips like Key West’s Duval Street were falling out of favor and were quickly being replaced by shopping centers with ample parking.
Wolkowsky instead chose to invest in Key West’s historic Old Town. In 1968, he opened the Pier House, a waterfront hotel where Jimmy Buffett played some of his earliest dates. With a keen sense of public relations, Wolkowsky invited literary celebrities including Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote to come and stay – and got national magazines to photograph them at the hotel.
Williams, who later settled in the city, “was the best PR person for Key West back then,” Wolkowsky told the Key West Citizen newspaper. “He brought the likes of Vivien Leigh, Gary Cooper and many others to Key West.”
Many years later, the Miami Herald identified the opening of the Pier House as “the turning point in Key West’s transformation from washed-up military outpost to funky tourist destination.” In the late 1970s, Wolkowsky sold the hotel for $4.6 million and invested in other properties.
Survivors include a sister.
Typically dressed in Panama hats and crisp white linen shirts, Wolkowsky rode around Key West in golf carts and a vintage Rolls-Royce. In 1974, he purchased Ballast Key, a small rocky island located roughly 13 kilometres from Key West.
“I used to come out and picnic here when it was a deserted island,” he told the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel in 1983. “And I’d see people cutting down these mangrove trees which took decades to grow, cutting them to make hot dog fires and I’d get annoyed. Then I got interested in buying the island to protect it.”
In August, the Monroe County commission voted to rename the island David Wolkowsky Key. The name change has not been made official, since the U.S. Board of Geographic Names doesn’t consider applications until five years after a person has died.
Citizen news service
AIG Global Real Estate is seeking buyers for a Manhattan hotel that could fetch more than $200 million, according to a person familiar with the matter.
AIG has hired Eastdil Secured LLC to find prospective buyers for the 310-room Embassy Suites by Hilton New York Midtown Manhattan on West 37th Street, according to the person and marketing documents that were obtained by Bloomberg.
The newly developed 39-storey hotel, which includes event space, opened in January and has been fully operational since July.
New York hotels have outperformed other big cities so far this year, with revenue per available room increasing by 4.6 per cent through August, according to lodging data provider STR Inc. That compares with 3.7 per cent growth for the top 25 U.S. markets.
Some owners have recently sought to take advantage of heightened investor interest. New York’s landmark Plaza Hotel was acquired for $600 million, Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. sold two W hotels in Manhattan for a combined $361 million and a fund managed by UBS Asset Manage-
Potential customers are reading this ad right now. Call 250-5623301 to advertise in The Citizen today
AP PHOTO
David Wolkowsky is shown at his home in Key West, Fla., in 2012.
New York by sail
Couple experiences intimate New York Harbor in wake of Justin and Sophie
Steve MacNAULL
Kelowna Daily Courier
Just like Justin and Sophie, my wife and I make a beeline for Tribeca Sailing for a sunset glide on New York Harbor.
Granted, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was on a break from signing the Paris Agreement at nearby United Nations headquarters when he appeared for his twohour sail.
My wife, Kerry, and I simply showed up after a day of Big Apple shopping and sightseeing and a swim in the pool at the Four Seasons Downtown.
Regardless of disparate circumstances, we had the same magical and relaxing experience as the prime minister and his wife, Sophie Gregoire.
“Really, it was a highlight of my life to take Justin and Sophie out,” said Tribeca Sailing Captain David Caporale.
“He had just four hours of free time from signing the Paris Agreement (in April 2016), so Sophie arranged it as a treat. They are such an awesome couple. They spent most of the sail up at the front to have some romantic time. And then came back to chat as we headed back to the marina. Apparently, a Canadian who works at the United Nations recommended me.”
Tribeca Sailing’s 35-foot 1964 gleaming wood sailboat, Tara, is one of only 117 Hinkley Custom Pilots to ever be built.
Captain David will only sail with a maximum of six people at a time for US$100 each.
Or, do as Justin and Sophie and my wife and I did and book a private excursion for US$485.
The big, clunky, tourist-laden Circle Line boats will take you past all the city’s greatest hits such as Manhattan’s otherworldly skyline, the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island and the Brooklyn Bridge.
But we wanted an exclusive look and feel for our jaunt on New York Harbor.
Captain David and Tara delivered by billowing the sails at eight knots and effortlessly skimming us over the body of water that juxtaposes outdoor adventure and one of the most populous metropolises on the planet.
Of course, we ooh and aah, sip champagne and congratulate ourselves on discovering this unique and luxurious diversion.
It’s in keeping with our conscious decision to swerve off the beaten tourist path and interact
TRIBECA SAILING HANDOUT PHOTO/ HANDOUT PHOTO/ DAVID CAPORALE PHOTO
ABOVE: Tribeca Sailing takes small groups and couples out on its 35-foot sailboat, Tara, for a different perspective of New York Harbor. INSET: Sophie Gregoire and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. RIGHT: Writer Steve MacNaull and his wife, Kerry, lounge on the bow with the Statue of Liberty in the background.
more with New York.
Rather than take in Manhattan from a double-decker bus, we ride bikes the 10-kilometre circumference of Central Park and board the eight-minute ferry with locals to Governor’s Island for beers and fish tacos at waterside Island Oyster.
An idiosyncratic itinerary calls for special accommodations and meals.
An opulent room on the 46th floor of the Mandarin Oriental overlooking Columbus Circle and Central Park and a foie gras-andhalibut dinner at the hotel’s Asiate restaurant fit the bill for the first two nights.
For the final two nights, a sleek room at the new and trendy Four Seasons Downtown and filet mignons at Cut, celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck’s steakhouse off
the lobby, is apropos. In keeping with this maxim, we flew Air Canada’s new Signature Service on the Dreamliner from Vancouver to Newark. Air Canada also flies to Newark, New Jersey (actually the closest
international airport to Manhattan) from Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Calgary. Signature Service amps up business class by also fast-tracking you through immigration and serving dishes by Vancouver celebrity chef
David Hawksworth of Hawksworth, Nightingale and Bel Cafe restaurants. Check out TribecaSailing.com, AirCanada.com, NYCGo.com, MandarinOriental.com and FourSeasons.com
Violence, suffering, sweetness
Phoenix and Reilly Western flick worth the ride
Ann HORNADAY Citizen news service
The Sisters Brothers, a Western set in Oregon and California during the febrile heights of the Gold Rush, opens with an arresting scene: a shootout filmed almost entirely in darkness, with the sparks from popping guns its only illumination. The sequence ends with a terrifying barn fire, and the spectral image of a horse running away from the carnage in flames.
From the get-go, then, it’s obvious that The Sisters Brothers will subvert typical Western spectacle even as it indulges it. A schematically familiar but gently funny picaresque reminiscent of True Grit and other mission-driven adventures, this adaptation of Patrick deWitt’s novel doesn’t necessarily break new ground. But it aerates what’s already been well-trod, offering an alternately pitiless and tenderhearted lens on such hardy themes as character, filial loyalty and American progress at its most naive and voraciously destructive.
John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix play Eli and Charlie Sisters, accomplished hit men who are enlisted by a powerful businessman named the Commodore to assassinate Hermann Kermit Warm (Riz Ahmed), who the Commodore says has stolen a piece of intellectual property from him. A detective named John Morris (Jake Gyllenhaal) is already on the case, tracking Warm so that all the assassins need to do when they meet up with their quarry is ready, aim, fire.
The Sisters Brothers traces the title characters’ event-filled journey to their appointed deed, which includes the ambushes, bar fights and visits to brothels that one would expect from a movie dedicated to the most classic conventions of its genre.
Luckily, this particular iteration also includes some amusing interactions, between Eli and Charlie – who poke and prod each other with brotherly rancor and affection – and between Warm and Morris, the latter of whom speaks with florid elegance about forming a utopian community someday (the location of his choice is one of the film’s funniest punch lines).
Directed by the fine French filmmaker Jacques Audiard from a script he wrote with Thomas Bidegain, The Sisters Brothers is spiked with sequences of bloody violence and suffering, often having to do with the horses Eli instinctively loves and has tragically poor luck with. But there’s a sweetness to the movie – underlined by Alex-
Like the John Ford and Robert Altman films it evokes, the universe of The Sisters Brothers is grand, mythic and overwhelmingly male.
andre Desplat’s gorgeously lyrical score – that gives it a beating, irresistible heart. In large part that is thanks to its superb cast, all of whom deliver playful, sincere performances, both in their two-handed sequences and when the men finally collide and the story takes some brutal and comical turns. Like the John Ford and Robert Alt-
man films it evokes, the universe of The Sisters Brothers is grand, mythic and overwhelmingly male. But, as in the similarly revisionist bagatelle Damsel that came out this summer, here the filmmakers seem more interested in critiquing traditional macho notions of ambition and impunity than valorizing them. The mid-19th century during which the film is set is a time of change and innovation; Eli becomes an early adopter of a newfangled gizmo called the toothbrush, which plays a role in a perfectly on-point moment later on. The philosophical showdown between highfalutin’ democratic ideals and Darwinian lust for money, power and prestige becomes the real center of The Sisters
Worlds collide with Vogler-Murray collaboration
Sadie DINGFELDER Citizen news service
In 2013, Bill Murray was going through airport security when he saw a man carrying a very large box.
“Are you going to be able to fit that thing in the overhead compartment?” Murray asked.
The man, who happened to be worldrenowned German cellist Jan Vogler, explained that his Stradivarius cello actually gets its own first-class seat. The conversation turned into a friendship that’s blossomed into an unlikely collaboration: a variety show, New Worlds, in which Murray sings show tunes and reads poems and excerpts from novels while accompanied by a classical chamber music trio consisting of Vogler, violinist Mira Wang and pianist Vanessa Perez.
Vogler discussed the unlikely union.
Q: How did you choose the pieces for the performance?
A: Our aim was to really make something completely new, but with elements taken from the greatest American music and literature of the last 250 years. We start with (Walt) Whitman’s Song of the Open Road and the Bach cello suite, because these pieces are contemplating life as a whole and reflecting on who we are on this planet. Then we go into James Fenimore Cooper, who describes untouched land-
as well, so we put them together. We are touching on a lot of subjects, touching on
Brothers, as each man casts his lot with a radically different – and hugely consequential – version of the future.
This is Audiard’s first Englishlanguage film, and he evinces sure instincts with both the visual and spoken vernaculars. The Sisters Brothers looks terrific and, propelled by Desplat’s beautiful music, ambles along with pleasing, if routinely episodic, ease until its unexpectedly touching conclusion.
Like the opening scenes, the finale of The Sisters Brothers is another subversion, this time by way of a dreamlike quietude and, of all things, gentleness. The sweet relief is breathtaking in its simplicity and emotional force. Three stars out of four
all the important things about humanity and about our existence – but in an entertaining way.
Q: Bill Murray seems like a surprising guy. Has he ever done anything unexpected onstage?
A: Bill is somebody who never does things twice the same. Although the show is scripted, and we don’t change the pieces we are playing or singing or reading, there is a lot of room to always change your interpretation. Plus, the show itself has an element of surprise. When we start, people are thinking, “What the hell is that?”
Q: It is unusual to have a famous comedian deadpanning poetry alongside a classical chamber trio.
A: We want to surprise people. We have gotten the comment often that this show is entirely new and people really haven’t quite seen anything like it.
Q: As I understand it, a particularly dramatic moment happens when Bill reads a selection from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, where Huck Finn grapples with his conscience.
A: That’s the most important scene from Huckleberry Finn, and maybe the most important scene from American literature in the 19th century. The message is so clear – someone who has an innocent heart, who is doing the right thing, risking his own life helping his friend escape slavery.
PHOTO BY MAGALI BRAGARD, ANNAPURNA PICTURES
Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly appear in a scene from The Sisters Brothers.
scapes in New York. Schubert, in Europe, read Cooper and was a big nature admirer
WASHINGTON POST PHOTO BY PETER RIGAUD
Bill Murray horses around with cellist Jan Vogler in their variety show, New Worlds.
Vintage lunchboxes put up for auction
Citizen news service
Look, up on the shelf! It’s Superman. There’s the king of the wild frontier himself, Davy Crockett. And over in that case is Davy Crockett again, except this time he’s Daniel Boone (we’ll explain later).
And aaaaay! It’s The Fonz and the whole Happy Days family!
A veteran auctioneer has on display a baby boomer delight: hundreds of vintage lunchboxes featuring the heroes of their childhood comic books, TV shows, cartoon strips, movies and more.
“I’ve never had anything like this,” said J. Louis Karp, whose family-run business has been part of Cincinnati since the first years after the Civil War. “This is quite different.”
Sure, you can go to any number of websites to buy old metal lunchboxes from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. But to see 250 of them in the same place, to be able to pick them up, and then spot one just like mom packed for you with a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich in Grade 1...
But back to the auction.
Karp regularly sells large estates loaded with rare artwork, antique
furniture and collectibles. He has sold vintage lunchboxes before, but never so many. The private collection’s proceeds will benefit younger generations of the owner’s family.
Weldon Adams, a collectibles expert for Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, viewed the lunchboxes online and said such a large, eclectic sale is a rarity.
“We’ve seen some sizable collections,” said Adams. “Having all of them show up at one time is truly an impressive thing.”
Younger people who like kitsch are among lunchbox buyers, Adams said, but they are particularly attractive to those who carried them as children because they are a powerful link “back to our identities of who we were as a child.”
Karp has 250 for an auction ending Sept. 30. There are another 200 he’s planning to auction before the Christmas holidays.
There are lunchboxes with the late actor Fess Parker, who played Crockett and Boone in separate TV series. There is The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family. The Addams Family and The Munsters. Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. The Bee Gees and Bobby Sherman. There are lesser-known ones:
Korg 70,000 B.C. The Guns of Will Sonnett. Goober and the Ghost Chasers.
Adams said a “wonderfully obscure” one he noticed was from Here Come The Double Deckers, a British children’s TV show. Another is from Fireball XL5, an early 1960s children’s science fiction show with a fan cult.
“I’m stunned at the breadth of it,” Adams said of the collection. Bids start at $20 each. Karp shouted upstairs to son Justin, who with his brother Jonas marks
the fifth generation of Karps in the auction business, to ask how much different lunchboxes have sold for online.
Lost In Space TV series and The Flintstones” animated series?
$225 each.
“How about Popeye?”
“Who’s with Popeye?”
“Olive Oyl, Brutus ...”
“Are they in a boat?”
“Yes, fishing.”
“$190.”
Unfortunately, Karp said, many of the lunchboxes lack the Ther-
mos beverage bottles that originally came with them. Those without could draw lower bids.
Karp, 71, reluctantly allowed his sons to bring his auctions into the internet age, and the business takes bids online from anywhere, and by email and phone. But he still enjoys his showroom-floor auctions, seeing the competitors watching one another, and the winners who finally emerge after rounds of tense bidding.
And this Sunday, he might just see some with tears in their eyes.
New trial ordered for Stairway to Heaven
Citizen news service
Led Zeppelin must go back on trial in a lawsuit that accuses the classic rock grandees of stealing the opening chords of Stairway to Heaven from an obscure 1968 instrumental.
In a stunning turn-about in a challenge to the authenticity of one of rock’s most famous songs, a federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled Friday that a 2016 trial wasn’t fair to the group Spirit and its late guitarist, Randy California, wrote the song Taurus.
When the case goes to a retrial, jurors will be able to listen to the album version of Taurus – which was not allowed in the first trial in
2016, drawing a protest from the lawyer for California’s trust.
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant both testified at the trial two years ago in Los Angeles about the band’s formative years, its U.S. touring in the late 1960s and the genesis of Stairway. Music experts testified that the descending chromatic scale in Taurus, which the band was accused of having copied, is exceedingly common in popular music and isn’t subject to copyright protection.
The judge who presided over the 2016 trial ruled that the jury could only hear renditions of Taurus performed by music experts – some live in the courtroom – instead
of the recorded version, because copyright protection at the time of composition only applied to the sheet music.
The attorney representing California, whose real name was Randy Wolfe, hailed Friday’s ruling as an opportunity to affirm his contribution to rock n’ roll history.
“Led Zeppelin obviously copied Taurus by Randy California, a musician they knew well in the 1960s – as well as several other songs from other musical pioneers,” Francis Malofiy said in an email. “We do not dispute that Led Zeppelin is one of the greatest bands in history, but their plagiarism indelibly stains their legacy.”
Warner Music Group, the publisher of Led Zeppelin’s music, declined to comment on the ruling. While allowing a new jury to hear a recording of Taurus may put Led Zeppelin at a disadvantage, the context in which the recording can now be considered by jurors will be limited. The plaintiffs can play it for Page in open court to ask him if he’d ever heard the song before writing Stairway.
Allowing “the jury to observe Page listening to the recordings would have enabled them to evaluate his demeanor while listening to the recordings as well as when answering questions,” the threejudge appeals panel said. That line of questioning would be meant to establish whether Page had “access” to the song, an element of copyright infringement.
At the same time, the jury will still be instructed only to consider the sheet music when assessing whether the two songs are “substantially similar,” the other element of infringement, the appeals court said.
The ruling may also hurt the Led Zeppelin members’ argument that the allegedly copied music was so common as to be unprotected by copyright.
The new jury instructions will say that a new arrangement of unprotected musical elements can itself be protected.
CITIZEN NEWS SERVICE PHOTO
Vintage lunchboxes are displayed at Main Auction Galleries Inc., in downtown Cincinnati last Friday.
CITIZEN
As Jack Black approaches 50, he’s not itching for a full calendar of film roles but wants to follow in the path of Jack Nicholson.
Jack Black drew his new movie
Citizen news service
The billboard is huge and Jack Black, rolling down Ventura Boulevard in a red Tesla, can’t resist taking note.
“Now you can write about how famous Jack Black is,” he says with an exaggerated pause, making it clear he finds it mildly hilarious that his mug hovers over Encino. “I wasn’t trying to drive by that. It just happened naturally.”
The ad is for The House With a Clock in Its Walls, a $42 million children’s fantasy film he’s made with actress Cate Blanchett and director Eli Roth. It ruled the box office on its opening weekend. If you press Black, he’ll kick out the kinds of quotes (“I was really excited to be a warlock; this is a character I’ve always wanted to play”) that pass for story meat at a Hollywood presser. But Clock, you should know, is not the Jack Black movie the actor is most focused on this fall.
That would be Post-Apocalypto, an animated musical that Black says cost him $58.93 in pads and pens. The stop-motion saga stars his mock rock duo, Tenacious D, as they deal with the aftermath of a nuclear catastrophe. The comedy is joyously adolescent, packed with over-the-top sex and senseless violence as well as an unexpected, political twist. How much does Black expect Post-Apocalypto to earn? Try zero.
Then again, Post-Apocalypto is not a business move. The movie, which Black and D partner Kyle Gass worked on for two years and both paid for, is being posted on YouTube, one chapter at a time. It’s a creative act and a source of artistic pride, a DIY statement from an actor whose success rarely allows him to step outside the machine.
“There wasn’t a committee on this thing,” says John Spiker, Tenacious D’s bassist and sometime producer.
“The committee was Jack and Kyle. That’s why Jack is so amped up about it. I think he feels like, for better or worse, it’s probably the purest artistic expressions he’s been able to put out to the world. It’s a thousand times smaller than a Clock in its Walls, but it feels a thousand times more his child.”
Post-Apocalypto’s first chapter arrived Sept. 28 and will unfold though the fall until the release, on Nov. 2, of the fourth Tenacious D album, the movie’s soundtrack. Black and Gass will be on tour, as well. Ask Black how he can be so focused on Post-Apocalypto at the same time as Clock and he’ll shrug.
“We’re just the little engine that could,” he says. “We need to fan those flames. The House With a Clock? It’s a huge, mega ocean liner. They don’t need me at all. But Tenacious D is this little passion project that could easily be lost in the shuffle of the billions of things that are out there on the Internet.”
The story of Post-Apocalypto is also the story of Black, who, at 49, remains as bankable as ever. His films have grossed more than $2 billion since he played a snotty record store clerk in 2000’s High Fidelity. Still, he often talks of retiring from movies, a pledge he will admit is only half-serious. He is all in when it comes to the new Tenacious D project.
For the uninitiated, the duo rocks in all forms, moving effortlessly from folk to prog to thrashy metal. And if the lyrics are often comic, the production itself is as thick as any radio hit. They’ve worked with Dave Grohl, Dust Brother John King, and also featured guests as diverse as Phish keyboardist Page McConnell and multi-instrumentalist Jon Brion. Tenacious D has also had considerable commercial success. Two of their three albums cracked the Billboard Top-10. But Post-Apocalypto is something different, planting Black and Gass– or their alter egos Jables and Rage Kage – into a road adventure across a landscape destroyed by an atomic bomb. They encounter monsters, procreating cave women, a two-headed dog named Hope and assorted real-world characters along the way, all of it testing their resolve to remain the greatest rock band that ever lived. Black could easily have farmed out the work in Post-Apocalypto, hiring illustrators to punch out his brainstorms. Instead, he did all the sketches, more than 3,000 in total, with a ballpoint pen. Spiker scanned them into his Mac so that they could be colourized.
“It took forever, but I really did enjoy the process,” Black says. “In many ways, I preferred that to going to set and working on a movie. My hope is that it’ll play like Beavis and Butt-Head. Those are bad drawings, but they’re hilarious. I secretly hope this is successful enough that I’m asked to do more drawing.”
Post-Apocalypto is the perfect Venn diagram for Black, bringing together his love of drawing, music and theatrics.
He started drawing early. Before preschool.
“And he was prolific,” says Tom Black, his father.
“We have hundreds, if not thousands, of his drawings.”
Music also became important. His older brother, Howard, a recording engineer, took him to see geek punksters Devo during the band’s Freedom of Choice tour. The theatrics, the pre-set film, all would be deeply influential. Black also became obsessed with Bobby McFerrin, punching out his own a cappella harmonies on a four-track.
“Lots of sounds and things coming out of his bedroom door,” says Linda, his stepmother. “I was like, ‘Tom, there’s something wrong with him.’ I’m from Iowa. I never raised a kid who had all that energy and creativity.”
— See ‘IF BOBBY on page 21
‘If Bobby McFerrin and Ronnie James Dio had a love child, it would be Jack Black’
— from page 20
Black did struggle.
He got into trouble at school, got into cocaine and found himself the target of a bigger kid.
His parents placed him at Poseidon, a school for troubled kids in Los Angeles.
It was there that he met one of his mentors, theatre teacher Deb Devine.
“He came into my class with his arms folded, wouldn’t cross the threshold and he slowly worked his way in over time,” Devine says. “He’ll tell you I saved his life, but I believe half of that was his own incredible talent, his own personal talent that needed to emerge. Can you imagine having Jack Black in your theatre class?”
He tried UCLA but dropped out his sophomore year, joining Tim Robbins’s Actors Gang.
That’s where Black met Gass, who was eight years older and into Neil Young and the Eagles.
Gass taught Black how to play guitar.
Black preached the power of metal.
Early on, the band wrote Tribute, a self-referential origin epic that opens with Gass plucking in a minor key and Black promising “this is the greatest and best song in the world” before revealing that it actually isn’t. Everything great about Tenacious D – soaring harmonies, thrashing guitar, goofy spoken word –can be found in that song.
“I think the one binding thing was the bravado,” Gass says. “It was the mask, it was the armour that we needed because we’re both tourists, too. We’re not really band guys. We’re shlumpy guys. We don’t look like rock stars. And I only really like to play the acoustic guitar.”
Tenacious D’s first break came on Mr. Show With Bob and David, the comedy variety program Bob Odenkirk and David Cross started in 1995. That led to a series of episodes on HBO, which began airing in 1997, and a gig in 1998 at the Viper Room. Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl was there that night. He couldn’t believe what he heard. He would effectively become the D’s studio drummer.
“If Bobby McFerrin and Ronnie James Dio had a love child, it would be Jack Black,” Grohl says. “He’s totally capable of singing like a professional opera singer. He can stretch, become someone else on screen, but the first time I met him was at the Viper Room. I spent the next 45 minutes rolling on the floor laughing but also blown away that they were so talented.”
The first time Grohl heard about Post-Apocalypto, he was confused.
“I just assumed they were going straight to Broadway with the thing,” he says. “I didn’t realize it was going to be notebook sketches animated to Tenacious D music.”
Black cooked up the idea back in 2016, even before filming Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
That film came out in 2017 and earned nearly $1 billion.
Tenacious D continued to work on what would become their first project since 2012’s Rize of the Fenix. Early on, Black pitched the concept of Post-Apocalypto to Netflix, Amazon and HBO.
“Look at this gem,” he says. “They’d be idiots not to buy this thing. Let the bidding war begin. And crickets. No one was interested.”
He is joking about it now, but Tanya Haden, his wife, could tell the rejection hurt. She gave him advice.
“I said, you can just do it yourself and put it out on YouTube,” she remembers. “Just put it anywhere you can. Just do it. Because that’s what he told me. Do it to have fun. Don’t worry about who is going to like it.”
The script wouldn’t be a script at all. Black and Gass would go for walks or head into the recording studio and just riff.
Maybe they should go to Egypt.
Maybe there would be a nasty monster or a lonely robot.
And even with just the two of them there would be tension.
Strangely enough, it was Gass, the less famous partner, who worried about image.
He thought Black’s penchant for drawing graphic sex scenes might be too much. He also felt funny about using the D to take a political stand.
There is a clear, anti-Trump thread in the film.
“Here’s what I was worried about,” Gass says. “We were going to be labeled smut peddlers and I was like: ‘Jack, are you sure you want to jeopardize the brand. Because the kids love you and the parents love you.’”
Black finds the whole thing funny.
His brand?
“This could be the reason I don’t get to be in Jumanji 2?” Black says.
“Part of me’s like, bring it. If that’s really going to happen. I almost have that defensive posture. I want to get in the fight. I want to get blacklisted. Because then you’re on this list with these other righteous people.”
A scene from Post Apocalypto.
At Home
Celebrities seek out this organizing guru
Megan BUERGER Citizen news service
There’s an infamous scene in Mommie Dearest, the 1981 cult film about Joan Crawford’s neuroses, that strikes a chord with neat freaks. Crawford, played by Faye Dunaway, discovers a dress on a wire hanger and explodes into a blind rage.
“No wire hangers!” she screams at her daughter. “Ever!”
The outburst – so spectacularly vicious it sparked skepticism from critics – made Crawford look downright unhinged. But those who share her aversion to clutter, well, they almost get it.
“Oh, it’s terrifying,” says Julie Naylon, a Los Angeles-based professional organizer to some of Hollywood’s busiest writers, directors, producers and actors, including Molly Shannon, Rashida Jones and Adam McKay.
“And absurd. But have I found myself uttering it while working with a client? Yes. And is there a special place in hell for wire hangers? Yes. So, you know, I guess I don’t think it’s that crazy.”
What Naylon thinks that scene captures best is the sense of desperation, the grappling for control. Many of us are feeling this deep down, she says, “suffocated by stuff that keeps piling up,” such as junk mail, charging cords, toys and plastic containers, even push notifications.
The load can feel particularly heavy these days when combined with mounting political chaos, ceaseless work emails and the pull to shop to cope with stress. It’s no wonder organizing evangelists like Marie Kondo, Peter Walsh and the Home Edit’s Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin are cultural sensations, armed with books, TV shows, branded social media accounts and YouTube tutorials that reframe decluttering as an almost spiritual practice.
Naylon’s approach is different. She has no breezy 10-step plan, no highly stylized Instagram feed, no e-commerce store full of handy organizing gadgets. She isn’t convinced spice jars and colour-coding will solve our larger issues with clutter.
“Habits run deep,” she says, “real deep. Boxes certainly help, but it’s like buying new clothes before you’ve lost the weight or changed your lifestyle. You need to start at the source.”
Naylon’s focus is on personal, therapeutic methods: In sessions that are often emotionally exhausting, she asks her clients intimate questions about relationships, career changes and how they ultimately want to live. Lasting transformations, she believes, are inside-out and never easy.
This makes her less like a personal trainer or stylist and more like a guru, sought out by clients who desperately want to get organized, but also to heal.
“Most people who contact me are shutting down,” Naylon says. “They’re beyond wanting an aesthetic transformation. They need help.”
For that reason, she isn’t big on beforeand-after photos and offers a nondisclosure agreement before each project.
“In this town, people appreciate that level
of trust,” she says. She doesn’t view organizing as one-sizefits-all; her strategies for each client are tailored to the issues they’re facing and the kind of life they want. And she requires some degree of participation from all clients.
“People will ask me to clear out their garage and say, ‘Whatever you think. I trust you!’ But I don’t work like that. How do you implement a system if you don’t know how the person wants to live?”
Naylon initially wanted to be a showrunner – she moved to Los Angeles in 2000 after graduating from film school in Chicago – but eventually, her passions shifted. After years working for entertainment industry titans such as Jerry Bruckheimer, Nora Ephron and Barry Sonnenfeld, she discovered she had a knack for making dizzying lives run smoothly. In 2008, after helping McKay (who wrote and directed The Big Short and is a producer on HBO’s Succession) move his family across the country and seeking advice from Julie Morgenstern, one of Oprah Winfrey’s go-to organizers, Naylon decided to start her own business.
She called it No Wire Hangers, a nod to her film career and her environmentally friendly views on stuff (including those flimsy dry-cleaner disposables).
“These days, we’re more aware of our
problems with spending and waste, but back then it really felt like a blind spot,” she says. “Still, whether you’re buying a bunch of stuff you don’t need or just hanging on to a bunch of stuff you don’t need, there’s a reason for that. Clutter is just postponed decisions. I try to find out what’s holding people back.”
That often takes heavy digging, and sessions with Naylon can be intense.
“She’s somewhere between a therapist and Mary Poppins,” says Fielding Edlow, a comic and writer who swears, only somewhat jokingly, that Naylon saved her marriage when she, her husband and their two cats moved while Edlow was pregnant in 2011.
Another client, lawyer Tamar Feder, echoed the psychologist comparison: “She asks you questions that seem silly or inconsequential, but they turn out to be genius.”
Feder, who now lives in Israel, says Naylon gently waded through every issue, including the belongings that were holding her back by taking up too much “emotional space” (also: why she had five rain jackets).
“Sometimes you just need to hear yourself say things out loud,” Feder says, “but someone needs to ask the right questions.”
A decade of insight into people’s private spaces will make you practically immune to celebrity. Stars, Naylon insists, really are
just like us.
“Everyone is the same. We’re all human,” she says. “Behind every call is someone who feels a little guilty or a little ashamed about their state of things, buried in the rubble. I tell them that there’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
More often than not, Naylon’s decluttering projects are intensely personal; clients tend to call for help with sorting through belongings after a death or divorce, or to downsize. She’s hand-delivered boxes to clients’ exes after breakups, uncovered documents during a property dispute, even helped a couple divide their belongings piece by piece after a divorce – with both of them in the room. Such instances require a particular mix of compassion and professionalism. In 2009, Conan O’Brien asked her to come on his show for an organizing intervention for one of his producers.
“His office is a fire trap,” he quipped. “We think there might be vermin in his office.” Naylon breezily shrugged it off.
“I’ve seen everything,” she said. In person, Naylon, 41, is nothing like Crawford’s harebrained, loose-cannon caricature. You get the sense that nothing could shock her, surely a quality you’d want in someone you invite into your private spaces. And unlike her more high-life clientele, many of whom employ chefs, house managers and dog walkers, Naylon is fairly down-to-earth. A working mother and her household’s breadwinner – longtime boyfriend Wes Wininger, a musician, is a stay-at-home dad – she often sees as many as three clients a day and works six days a week. She prefers to thrift rather than buy new, finding much of her furniture on Craigslist, and is a firm believer in trusting our memories rather than handcuffing ourselves to a storage locker.
“People hold on to things because they don’t want to forget them, but I believe we remember what we’re supposed to remember,” she says.
For people who find that hard to accept, she recommends taking photos.
“If that sweater really meant something to you, you probably have a picture of yourself wearing it,” she says. “Keep that, and give the sweater to someone who needs it.” Her home, a 1932 Spanish Revival in South Los Angeles, is airy, elegant and minimal. She and Wininger, 49, bought and restored it in 2016, keeping many of its original details, like the quirky yellow kitchen tiles and stained-glass sconces. With 10 1/2-foot-high ceilings, dark wood floors (discovered under carpet) and 6 1/2-foothigh windows that bathe the living room in light, it evokes a Zen feeling. Even her three-year-old daughter, Maude, speeding around the house in a tutu, has a hard time disturbing the peace as she leaves a trail of books, blocks and other tiny debris. When asked whether motherhood changed her approach to tidiness, Naylon laughs. Every house gets messy, she says, but it’s worse when you have more stuff.
“We have less stuff, so the only difference is that for us it takes 10 minutes.”
WASHINGTON POST PHOTO BY DOUGLAS HILL
Organizer Julie Naylon helps clients declutter excess stuff and find a home for the rest.
WASHINGTON POST PHOTO BY DOUGLAS HILL
Organizer Julie Naylon stands in the bedroom closet of her Los Angeles home.
Rocky Purych Mar 1, 1957 to Sept 22 ,2018
Rocky left us to go be with his soul mate Kathy. He leaves behind his 3 sons, mother, grandpa Mike, his siblings, 8 grandkids, and many other family members. He loved the outdoors especially Salmon fishing, and all his animals over the years. He loved to laugh and share a cold LGD with those laughs. Funeral services will be held at Assmans Funeral Chapel Oct 1, 2018 at 10:00am with interment to follow at Prince George Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the PG Humane Society or the Spruce City Wildlife Association on his behalf.
It’s with great sadness that we announce the passing of Angelo Bortolon on September 25, 2018 at the age of 79. He passed away peacefully at Gateway Lodge with his family by his side. Angelo will be forever remembered by his loving wife Rose (Cunningham), his adoring children, Shawn (Brent), Angela (Corey), Gina, Jenine and Randy. He is now reunited with his parents Matteo & Italia Bortolon. He is survived by his brother Gino (Silvana) Bortolon and sister Eva (Amedeo) Condotta, all of Niagara Falls Ontario. He was most proud of his grandchildren Jarrett, Nicholas, Conner, Kendra, Camryn, Ronan and Cuinn. He is also survived by many cousins, his nieces Andrea, Laura (Brett) and Julie, nephews David (Karen), Aldo (Diane) and Victor (Barbara) and many, many friends. We struggle to find the words we feel would do more than just announce Angelo’s passing but would tell the story of who he was when he was alive. We want to write about the man everyone knew. He was the most caring and devoted husband, father, daddy, brother, papa and friend. His journey started in Caselle Di Altivole in Italy on April 9th 1939. He came to Canada on September 21st 1948 with his mother Italia and his brother Gino to be reunited with his father Matteo in Niagara Falls Ontario. He came to Prince George in search of work when he was 18 and settled here to start his new life. I’m sure he would be quite upset about all of his “yard treasures” we have cleaned up as you know he might have a need for that piece of scrap 2x4 or a piece of steel one day. Angelo was a self taught truck driver, concrete finisher, plumber, barber, electrician, roofer, landlord, mechanic, landscaper, loader operator and of course a duct tape specialist. He knew he could fix anything with forethought, patience and perseverance as he usually had the part somewhere in the shed, basement, pole barn or his car. He loved to travel and enjoyed taking his motor home across Canada, the US and he motorcycled with his group of friends to Mexico. Later on, he especially loved taking his mother with him and the family on many of these jaunts in the motorhome with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Pavarotti and Neil Diamond blaring in the background. He loved to go camping with his family and was always ready to be a part of the crazy skits and parties with his friends. He loved to be spoiled by his devoted wife Rose and especially by his girls while sipping on his favourite cognac and having his dessert. Whenever he wasn’t working he could be found fishing at his favourite spot on his Queensway property or behind NRT RediMix. He would never say I love You but rather… “you too” so dad here’s to you Saluti......You Too.......You Too.......You Too.....forever! We are so grateful for the amazing care Angelo received after his stroke. Thank you to all of the nurses, care aides, doctors especially Dr Khan and Dr Ilyas. Visitation for Angelo will be on Thursday October 11th from 7 pm-9pm at Assman’s Funeral Chapel at 1908 Queensway Street. Mass to be held at Sacred Heart Church at 887 Patricia Blvd. on Friday October 12th at 10am with burial to follow at Prince George Cemetery with a celebration of his life at Pineview Hall 6470 Bendixon road from 1pm-5pm. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Heart and Stroke Fund will be greatly appreciated.
Announcements
Obituaries
In loving Memory of Margaret Holmes
The moment that you died our hearts were torn in two, one side filled with heartache, the other died with you.
We often lie awake at night, when the world is fast asleep, and take a walk down memory lane, with tears upon our cheeks. Remembering you is easy, We do it everyday, but missing you is heartache that never goes away. We hold you tightly within our hearts and
Terrance Albert Isabelle
Passed away in Surrey, B.C. on September 23 at the age of 57 years. He is survived by his loving wife Suzanne, daughter Megan (Andy) Pechin, sons; Ryan Isabelle (Megan Bartlett) and Jason Isabelle. Terry is also survived by three grandchildren; Brayden, Grace and Harrison, brothers; Richard (Rhonda) and Brian (Andrea Bittner) sisters; Janice (Ken) McRoberts, Sandra (Darrell) Bradbury and sister in law Sam Isabelle, Predeceased by his mother & father Lois and Bud Isabelle, Brother Daryle and nephew Tyler McRoberts. Funeral services for Terry will be held on Tuesday October 2, 2018 at 11:00am at Assman’s Funeral Chapel. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Prince George Branch of Navy League of Canada.
Edna May Oryshchuk
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, sisters Mary Veitch and Ila Rice, and brother-in-laws John Oryshchuk, Mike Shymkiw and Bob Watson. 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-in-law Katherine Symnkiw, Joyce Oryshchuk, and brother-in-law Mike Oryshchuk as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. 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 childrenBlake 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 Appleton - your 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.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
Established Franchise Photography Business Serving Northern B.C for over 35 years
Gross Revenues of $150.000 plus annually from seasonal work Lots of opportunity to expand the business. Transition support available to the right buyer
Serious Enquiries Only Office 250-596-9199 Cell 250-981-1472
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
Established Franchise Tax Preparation BusinessMackenzieservicing and McLeod Lake area for over 30 years.
Gross Revenues of $85,000 to $90,000
Annually and Potential to expand revenues in a growing economy. Transition support available for the right buyer.
Serious Inquires Only Office (250)997-9003 Home (250)997-5538 Cell (250)990-0152
Lawrence Marsolais
October 22, 1928 to September 14, 2018
It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to a Husband, Father, Grandfather, Great Grandfather and friend. Lawrence is now back in the loving arms of his wife, Hilda who left us in January of 2013. Survived by daughters, Cheryl and Eva; son, Art (Gretchen); grandchildren, Lecia (Tony), Opal, Lance, Mitchell; and great grandchildren: Cianna, Ivy, Payton, Gunner and Ryken as well as extended family and friends. Lawrence was the brother to Christine Thevenot, Simone Ray, Lucien Marsolais, Roseanne Peters, Connie Ducharme, Andre Marsolais. Predeceased by parents, Arthur and Celina Marsolais; brothers Tony Marsolais, Jacque Marsolais, Guy Marsolais, Martin Marsolais and sisters, Clare Fontaine, Jeanne Lloyd. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Rotary Hospice House, 3089 Clapperton Street, Prince George, BC V2L 5N4 or a charity of your choice would be appreciated. A special thank you to Dr. Attia and Dr. Geddes for their wonderful care of Lawrence. Kristi and Julie, you put a smile on his face daily, he was so lucky to have you both in his life. To celebrate Lawrence’s life the family would like to invite you to join us for a tea at the Hart Pioneer Centre (6986 Hart Hwy) on Sunday, October 14th, 2018 from 2 pm to 4 pm.
