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NEWS BRIEFS

By Jeff NagelBC Local News

The provincial government is so far holding off on a threat to try to force the B.C.Teachers’ Federa-tion to pay $5 million a month to cover the cost of its members’ benefits in response to their limited job action.

That possible financial weapon was broached earlier in the month by negotiators with the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association and Educa-tion Minister Peter Fassbender said it remains an option, particularly if the union escalates its tactics.

“The BCTF has said they’re taking this action to put pressure on us,” Fassbender said Thursday in an interview. “We may need to add some com-mensurate pressure to the BCTF if we find we’re not getting any solid options from them.”

The union has demanded pay hikes estimated at 13.5 per cent over three years, while the govern-ment has offered 6.5 per cent over the first six years of an intended 10-year deal.

Fassbender said the BCTF has made some movement in negotiations, but not a significant amount.

He expressed disappointment that despite con-tinued talks the union opted Wednesday to begin its

first-stage strike action – restricting administrative duties and supervision of students outside of class time – a move that has prompted several rural dis-tricts to cancel recess.

The BCPSEA had notified the union any strike action could trigger a call for it to cover health and welfare benefits for B.C.’s 40,000 teachers, esti-mated at $5 million a month.

“I don’t want to inflict pain on anybody,” Fass-bender said. “But there are tools available to gov-ernment as there are to the union.

“I don’t think we want to put out any threats but by the same token we need to ensure that we have stability in the classrooms. That’s our goal.”

BCTF president Jim Iker said he doubts the Labour Relations Board would approve a request ordering the union to pay benefits, noting a similar effort to make the union pay 15 per cent of wages was denied in the last teachers’ strike.

“We would see that as retaliatory and punitive for them to even think about or threaten that the union pay the cost of the benefits when teachers are in the classroom working as hard as they normally do with students,” Iker said.

Iker said it is the government that has not moved much off its position, including a refusal to bargain smaller class sizes and more access to specialist

teachers.“Our hope is we can get this deal done by the

end of June and not be going into September still at the bargaining table.”

Overshadowing the labour dispute is last year’s B.C. Supreme Court ruling that the province must restore class size and composition to what existed in 2001.

The province has appealed the decision, saying it would impose enormous costs and disrupt pro-grams.

Waiting until the fall for an appeal court ruling would be unfortunate, said Dan Laitsch, an associ-ate education professor at SFU.

“It really is kind of an all-or-nothing case,” Laitsch said. “They’re playing a fairly high stakes poker game because either side could lose big de-pending on the outcome of the appeal.”

Ideally, he said, the two sides would recognize it’s too risky to wait and instead craft a settlement that doesn’t subject schools to a months-long strike action.

Laitsch said budget shortfalls now surfacing at many districts mean the province will be under pressure to find more money for the school system regardless of the outcome of the teachers’ dispute.

Playfair named new CNC Board

Chair

Little movement as school strike starts

A new chair of CNC’s Board of Gov-ernors and a new vice-chair were named at the college’s annual general meeting Fri-day.

Keith Playfair won by acclamation as CNC’s new Board Chair after serving as vice-chair for regional campuses since April 2012.

“I am honoured to be taking on this im-portant role at CNC,” Playfair said. “We have a lot of work ahead and I am looking forward to ensuring that CNC continues to serve its communities and pro-vide excellent educa-tion.”

Playfair replaces Robert Murray, whose six year term on the board comes to an end on July 31. Murray,

who was first elected as board chair in 2011, also served a two-year term as vice-chair for regional campuses.

“Bob has been a very dedicated and ac-tive board chair and he certainly leaves some big shoes to fill,” Play-fair said. “We are look-ing forward to continu-ing his great work.”

Murray said the board made an excel-lent choice in choos-ing Playfair as his re-placement. “Keith has deep knowledge of the college and how it operates and his many years in forestry and as a business owner will greatly benefit the board and the college,” Murray said.

Long-time Prince George Lawyer Lee Ongman also won by acclamation as Prince

Northern Health Nurses rec-ognized

Six Northern Health nurses have been recog-nized in the 2014 College of Registered Nurses in British Columbia (CRNBC). In total 36 awards were pre-sented to nurses in B.C. in seven categories.

The CRNBC website says the awards program is an opportunity to “honour colleagues for their out-standing contributions to the profession and demonstrat-ing excellence in relation to the CRNBC Professional Standards for Registered Nurses and Nurse Practitio-ners.”

“Northern Health staff, including our nurses, work hard every day to pro-vide high quality care to northerners,” said Suzanne Johnston, Northern Health Vice President of Clinical Services and Chief Nursing Officer. “Having our staff recognized by the CRNBC is a big honour, and further shows the fantastic team of registered nurses working in northern B.C.”

The Northern Health award winners are:

Excellence in Nursing Administration

l Val Waymark - Regional Manager Commu-nity Care Facilities Licens-ing Public Health Protection - Prince George

Excellence in Nursing Practice

l Linda Keefe - Coor-dinator HIV / AIDS Pre-vention Program - Prince George

l Barb Schuerkamp - Head Nurse - Tumbler Ridge Health Centre

l Celia Evanson - Nurse Practitioner - Nak’azdli Health Centre

l Leslie Murphy - UHNBC Maternity Child Manager - Prince George

Rising Starl Lisa Cox – Registered

Nurse – Valemount Health Centre

The award winners will be honoured at an event in Vancouver this September.

Details about the CRNBC Awards of Excel-lence are available here: https://crnbc.ca/CRNBC/AWARDS/EXCEL-LENCE/Pages/Default.aspx

George vice-chair of the board. “Lee is very intelligent and knowl-edgeable and always asks excellent ques-tions,” Playfair said. “She will be even stron-

ger as vice-chair.”Ongman was first

appointed to the board in March, 2012. She holds a law degree from UBC and has been an adjudicator for the Ca-

nadian Human Rights Tribunal and has served more than 12 years on the board of the Prince George Native Friend-ship Centre.

Linda Smerychyn-

ski will leave her role as vice-chair Prince George to take on the vice-chair of regions role until her six year term on the board ends July 31.

On April 15 and 16, The District of Fort St. James hosted an Emergency Operations Centre Essentials course, with participants from Fort St. James, Nak’azdli, Fraser Lake, Quesnel, Nisga’a, and the Regional District of Bulkley Nechako. Participants learned the basics of emergency management. Left to right: Paul Mercer, Nicholette Prince and Emily Colombo.

Photo courtesy of District of Fort St. James

A2 www.caledoniacourier.com Wednesday, April 30, 2014 Caledonia Courier

NEWSCourier

Fort St. James Falcons Speed Skating ClubFort St. James Falcons Speed Skating Club

ANNOUNCEMENT

Annual General Meeting

Monday, May 12

David Hoy Elementary School Library

6:30 - 7:30 pm

WANTED:

Used books in good condition for a Book Sale the Seniors Centre will have in May.Please drop off donations at the Seniors Centre on

Mondays, Wednesdays &/or Fridays from 11:00am - 1:00pm.

PITCH-IN WEEKS!April 20 - May 2

Pick up your FREE garbage bags from the District Of� ce& Adopt-a-block today!

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

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Palm Sunday First Day of Passover Good Friday

Easter Monday(Australia & Canada)Easter Tax Day

Administrative Professionals Day

Arbor Day Anzac Day (Australia)

AdBuilder.comIgniting Your Ad Sales

• AdBuilder® Retail• AdBuilder® Classified• Co-op Sales Ideas

Hot Retail Co-op CategoriesBicycles, Accessories and SuppliesLawn and GardenMotorcycles and SnowmobilesOutdoor FurnishingsRecreational Vehicles

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Special EventsNCAA Men’s Final Four Championship 4 & 6NCAA Women’s Final Four Championship 5 & 7National Stress Awareness Day 16National Volunteer Week 19–25Week of the Young Child 19–25Boston Marathon 20National Jelly Bean Day 22Take Our Daughters/Sons to Work Day 23

Month-long EventsAlcohol Awareness MonthNational Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc.212-269-7797www.ncadd.org

Child Abuse Prevention MonthPrevent Child Abuse America312-663-3520www.preventchildabuse.org

Jazz Appreciation MonthSmithsonian National Museum of American History202-633-3129www.smithsonianjazz.org

National Car Care MonthCar Care Council240-333-1088www.carcare.org

National Donate Life MonthU.S. Department of Health and Human Services202-619-0257www.organdonor.gov

National Lawn Care MonthPLANET, Professional Landcare Network800-395-2522www.landcarenetwork.org

National Parkinson Awareness MonthNational Parkinson Foundation, Inc.800-327-4545www.parkinson.org

Prevention of Animal Cruelty MonthASPCA, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals212-876-7700www.aspca.org

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April, 2014District of Fort St. James Calendar

Of� ce:

477 Stuart Drive West

Email:

of� [email protected]:

250-996-8233

Like us at Facebook:

District of Fort St. JamesFollow us on Twitter:

@DFSJames

Pitch-In Weeks

10am 5th Annual Run/Walk Event from Nak’azdli Health Ctr

Pitch-In Weeks

11am Day of Mourning Ceremony

12pm Strong Start

Pitch-In Weeks

9am Strong Start

6:45pm Hoop Dance

Pitch-In Weeks

12pm Strong Start

6pm Snrs Potluck

8pm AA Mtg

12pm Strong Start

7-9pm Effective Meetings Session @

District

9-2pm Ref Clinic @ FSJSS

9am Strong Start

9am Strong Start12pm Strong Start

10am Food Bank

2:30pm Toy Lending Library

4pm Strong Start

11-6pm Career Fair @ FSJSS


4pm Strong Start7pm Hospital Aux

Mtg7pm Council Mtg

12pm Strong Start

8pm AA Mtg

12pm Strong Start

8pm AA Mtg

9am Strong Start12-3pm Composting

Workshop @ Spirit Square

12-4pm Farmers’ Market Opening Day!

9am Strong Start

12pm Farmers’ Market

Pitch-In Weeks

9am Strong Start



Mun

icip

al W

ebsit

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w.fo

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“SENIORS HELPING SENIORS” Transportation Service

Daily Services VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

More Info ! 250-996-8233

Please submit all events by W

ednesday for the next W

ednesday paper distribution.offi ce@

fortstjames.ca

27 28 29 30

1 2 3

May, 2014

Pitch-In Weeks2:30pm Toy Lending

Library4pm Strong StartDistrict Utility Bill

Discount Deadline

WATER LINES

Flushing of water lines will take place from April 27 - May 9.If you experience dirty water please run your taps for a

couple of minutes.For more info, contact Public Works Department at

(250) 996-7161.

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1715 1611 12 1413Mother’s Day

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The Community Art Council of Fort St. James Presents...

‘3 Generations of Women in Art’ ExhibitApril 22 - May 2

Celebrating Arts & Culture Week!

12pm Strong Start 9am Strong Start10am Food Bank


4pm Strong Start

12pm Strong Start

8pmAA Mtg

12pm Strong Start

8pmAA Mtg

RDBN backyard composting program launch

Have you been want-ing to start backyard com-posting for a while but haven’t had the tools or don’t know how to start? Are you having troubles with your existing back-yard composter?

Come join the Re-gional District of Bulk-ley-Nechako as they kick off the new backyard composting program in your community!

The Regional District will be hosting compost workshops in each munic-ipality within the RDBN, providing residents with a Garden Gourmet com-post bin along with a compost mixing tool at a subsidized price of $40 (an $80 value).

To be eligible for a composting package, res-idents must pre-register for the workshops. There are limited quantities, so

be sure to sign up in ad-vance!

Residents who already have compost bins are also welcome to attend the workshops!

For more details on the workshops in your area or to register, please contact the Regional Dis-trict of Bulkley-Nechako at 1-800-320-3339 or email [email protected].

The workshop in Fort

Smart meter refusal fees trimmed

By Tom FletcherBlack Press

BC Hydro customers who refuse to part with their mechanical power meters will continue to pay $32.40 a month for manual meter readings, with a refund on the balance of the $35 they’ve been pay-ing since December.

The B.C. Utilities Commission ruled on BC Hydro’s smart meter opt-out fees Friday, after an order from the B.C. gov-ernment required the regulator to approve fees covering all of BC Hydro’s costs.

A $20 a month charge will continue for BC Hydro customers who accept a digital meter with the radio transmission function turned off. The commission cut the one-time fee for disabling the meter radio to $22.60, far below BC Hydro’s proposed $100.

Most of BC Hydro’s nearly two mil-lion customers now have fully function-ing smart meters, which send daily read-ings to a collection network and signal when power goes out and comes back on.

A few customers cling to theories that the meters present a health hazard, de-

spite evidence that their signals are weak-er than the natural background of radio frequency signals even in remote areas.

BC Hydro’s meter upgrade was ex-empted from review, but the commission ruled last year on similar equipment for FortisBC’s electrical grid in the Okana-gan and Kootenay regions.

Commissioners rejected testimony from smart meter opponents, noting that their spokesmen were unquali� ed and in most cases repeating false or exaggerated claims in order to sell solutions to the purported hazards.

BC Hydro spent nearly $1 billion to upgrade its grid, forecasting savings from automatic meter reading to faster detec-tion of outages and elimination of power theft from meter bypasses.

The commission also reduced fees for customers who move and request a radio-off meter at their new address. To switch from a mechanical meter to a radio-off meter will cost $77.60, reduced from the BC Hydro’s proposed $100. Going from one radio-off meter to another will cost $132.60, down from the proposed $155 that includes activating the meter in the former residence.

St. James will be June 6, 12pm to 3pm beside the

Farmer’s Market at Spirit Square in Fort St. James.

You’ll find us at 169 STUART DRIVE, [email protected] 250-996-8618

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Located between Sowchea Bay and Paarens Beach Pro-vincial Parks. This well built, well maintained 5 bedroom, 2 bath home comes with a beautifully landscaped front yard. While the backyard boasts raspberries, huckleberries, and mature trees. Plenty of storage in the house and outside. Must see to truly appreciate this property! $246,000

NEWSCourierCaledonia Courier Wednesday, April 30, 2014 www.caledoniacourier.com A3

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Mystery Writer

Phyllis Smallman’s Sherri Travis mystery series was a Good Morning America summer read in 2010 and a Zoomer Magazine choice for a cottage read. Her � rst mystery, Margarita Nights, won the inau-gural Unhanged Arthur award from the Crime Writers of Canada. Her writing has appeared in both Spinetingler Magazine and Omni Mystery Magazine.

Before turning to a life of crime, Smallman was a potter. She divides her time between a beach in Florida and an island in the Salish Sea.

Visit her website at www.phyllissmallman.com

Good Morning America

Mystery writer Phyllis Smallmanis coming to

Fort St. James Public LibraryOn Friday May 2, 2014

From 6 – 7 PM Phyllis will talk about her books.

From 7 – 8 PM Phyllis will talk about the writing process for the benefit of budding writers in Fort St. James!

Fort St. James Public Library 425 Manson St. Fort St. James, BC Phone: 250-996-7431

You could win an opportunity to have Phyllis critique the � rst � ve pages of your � ction!

Coming to Town!Everyone Welcome!M

Mystery writer Mystery writer

Event for

Readers &

Writers Student of the Week✦ Grade 12

Fort St. James Secondary 17 years old

✦ Nominated Mrs. Stainton“She’s a wonderful, wonderful

student,” said Stainton.”

Danielle SutherlandStainton has worked with Danielle as her advisor on grad transitions and called her very talented and a “fantastic visual artist” who has also done a lot with the youth committees to bene� t other students.“I had the pleasure of watching her visual portfolio,” said Stainton. “It was stunning.”Danielle is planning on attending either Langara College or Selkirk College to study digital photography after graduation.

My name is David Black. I am the ma-jority owner of Black Press, the company that owns this newspa-per. This is the � rst of two columns address-ing what I see as the greatest threat to the BC environment in our lifetime. I am a rea-sonably sensible and conservative business-man, not an alarmist. All of the information in this column can be con� rmed from public sources.

The oil industry wants to export Al-berta bitumen to Asia via tankers. Under no circumstances should we allow that to hap-pen. A bitumen spill at sea could destroy our coastline, together with the � sh and wildlife that depend on it, for hundreds of years.

Bitumen, even if it is diluted, does not � oat in sea water if there is sediment present. This has been proven many times, most re-cently in a thorough Environment Canada study published on No-vember 30 2013. Page 51 of the study pro-vides graphic evidence of sunken bitumen. Given that there is an abundance of sediment along the BC coast, the bitumen will sink rap-idly and there will be little chance of recov-ering any of it if there is a spill. By Northern Gateway’s own admis-sion the likelihood of a bitumen spill at sea is over 10% over the next 50 years. Others say that it is much higher. We are in agreement with the position taken by the Coastal First Nations that even the slightest risk of a spill of bitumen at sea is un-acceptable.

The grounding of the Exxon Valdez in Alaska in 1989 is often held up as an example

Refinery neededof how bad an oil spill at sea can be, however, a spill of bitumen at sea would be much worse. The Exxon Valdez car-ried light crude and lost 250,000 barrels, one eighth of a tanker load. The light oil � oated and could be removed from the beaches. Even so, after four years of work with up to 11,000 work-ers and 1,400 boats in-volved, less than 10% of it was recovered. Roughly 200,000 birds and many kinds of oth-er wildlife were killed. Approximately 1,300 miles of shoreline were affected and the � shery has yet to fully recover. Bitumen is very differ-ent. It would harden up on shore and much of it would sink to the bottom, making it un-recoverable and killing virtually everything with which it came in contact. Imagine if we lost a full tanker load.

Some say that, with GPS-based navigation and double hulls, spills such as Exxon Valdez are not possible today. They are wrong. Dou-ble hulls do not prevent hull fracture if there

is a collision at speed, only if there is a gentle scrape. As for the GPS claim, most marine ac-cidents are caused by human inattention, not by a lack of knowledge about position. All ships carried systems to indicate their loca-tion before GPS came

along. The Exxon Val-dez crew could have glanced at their instru-ments to determine their location but they didn’t, neither did the crew on the Queen of the North. Marine di-sasters regularly occur and a quick search of the internet shows hu-

man error is most often the problem. Undoubt-edly there will be many more marine accidents in future. Our grand-children will not thank us if we willingly risk the destruction of the BC coast on our watch.

Fortunately there is a solution that is bene� cial for all con-cerned: all we have to do is build a re� nery at Kitimat. The re� nery will convert the bitu-men to gasoline, diesel and jet fuel which � oat and evaporate if they are spilled. Often little or no spill remediation is required. These re-� ned fuels simply do not cause the habitat destruction of con-ventional or synthetic crude oil, or anywhere near the devastation caused by bitumen.

The second part of this OPED will run in the next issue. It will discuss the enormous value-add bene� ts and environmental ad-vantages of a modern green re� nery. The pipeline from Alberta and the tanker � eet to export the re� ned fuels will also be considered.

Let me declare my biases. I am for creat-ing thousands of good permanent jobs in BC. I am for creating bil-lions of new tax dollars for government coffers. I am for reducing the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions. I am for building an oil pipeline that will never leak. I am for building a mod-ern tanker � eet that car-

ries only re� ned fuels that � oat and evaporate if spilled. I am against shipping bitumen in tankers.

If you agree that we should not put bitumen in tankers please con-tact your local MP and say so. The Canadian government makes a decision on this next month.

David Black

David Black

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Serial No. 132934

• Letter to the Editor


Protecting our watershedsAs winter ever so slowly releases its

chilling grip the ice on Stuart Lake and surrounding rivers and creeks is beginning to thin out, soon to be replaced by reflec-tions of azure blue skies and puffy white clouds, and sunbeams glistening off the water’s surface. Not far behind, boaters will be on the water in search of a wel-coming strip of shoreline to relax on, or a spot to go for a dip. The fishers, too, will be out in pursuit of those endless rainbows the Fort St. James area waters have to of-fer.

That may not be the case in the future, if the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipe-lines project is approved by the federal government. The receding ice could in-stead reveal oil, courtesy of a wintertime leak into the Necoslie or Stuart Rivers, Pitka Creek or Stuart Lake. The boaters and fishers could be working on oil clean-up rather than being able to enjoy their usual right of spring pass-times. Those were my thoughts as I prepared for ques-tioning the Enbridge Northern Gateway spill detection and response witness panel during the Joint Review Panel oral hear-ings in October 2012.

Review of two Enbridge wintertime pipeline leaks helped me formulate my questions of the panel. The first was a January 17, 2001 pipeline rupture near

Hardisty, Alberta. Although being auto-matically detected and the pipeline being shut down within minutes, approximately 3,800,000 litres of crude oil was released under an ice-covered slough. The ex-act location of the rupture was not found for 13 ½ hours despite having been both walked and flown along numerous times. The spill, contained within a 2.7-hectare area, took a minimum of five months to clean up. The second was their Norman Wells pipeline pin-hole leak that went un-detected by their automated leak detection system, being found instead by hunters in May 2011. That leak put 258, 000 litres of oil into the surrounding soil and perma-frost. Enbridge did not know how long the pipeline had been leaking.

An undetectable slow leak has the po-tential of causing as much damage as a rupture as far as I am concerned, so that was the scenario I put to the witnesses. I asked “The oil could be releasing for quite a period of time under the ice before being detected by manual methods couldn’t it?

A witness replied: “Oil will find its way to the surface at some point through cracks or fissures in the ice or along the edges of the ice. So it will show at some point.”

The reply gave me no assurance that Enbridge Northern Gateway would be

capable of detecting under-ice leaks, in a timely manner.

It was also said that Enbridge conducts emergency exercises in winter and that Northern Gateway would learn from those experiences. During one of their recent exercises Enbridge official Katie Haarsag-er said that not all the oil can be cleaned up through the ice; Enbridge crews have to return after it has thawed to look for and clean up more oil.

That gave me no assurance Enbridge Northern Gateway would be capable of responding to under-ice leaks, in a timely manner either.

All that was left to convince me that the future I see will not become a reality, was a statement made by Enbridge North-ern Gateway’s President, John Carruthers in an effort to convince Kitimat residents to vote yes in their recent plebiscite:

“Again, we’ll try to get [oil spills] as low as possible with the technol-ogy available. That’s a very solid commit-ment.”

That statement did not convince me. It did not convince the majority of the voters in Kitimat, either.

Brenda Gouglas member of

Fort St. James Sustainability GroupUnited Against Enbridge

The angst at the pump this week was predictable.Anytime somebody informs you the cost of living is

going up by a few hundred dollars, or more, during the next year, the groans are inevitable.

Unfortunately, what also seems inevitable is the resig-nation.

Gas price hikes aren’t new, or unusual. It wasn’t that long ago that prices were under a dollar per litre, and at least half the people reading this are going to remember filling up when that rate was less than 30 cents a litre.

Every time those rates jumped, people greeted the jump with the same type of response we heard Thursday.

And every time, by and large, people continued to do what they’ve always done — filled up their cars and head-ed out to the highway.

The simple fact of the situation is all of us are slaves to the gas pump. Try as we might to avoid it, our society is built around the automobile and has been for at least 60 years.

Where we live, where we work, where we learn, where we eat and where we play are often impractical and some-times impossible to link without the aid of a gas-powered vehicle.

Most of us don’t think we can do anything about it; it doesn’t occur to some of us why we should even try.

But we need to. We need to start directing our society away from its reliance on gas.

It’s easy for some to dismiss the climate change crowd as intellectual zealots, and the 100-mile diet people as trendy hipsters, but the fact remains: we can’t continue down the path.

Never mind the environmental issues, we simply will not be able to afford it financially.

The future is coming and our lives are going to be dif-ferent.

Start embracing change before change buries us all.

Gas prices are never going to

get better

NEWSCourierCaledonia Courier Wednesday, April 30, 2014 www.caledoniacourier.com A5

Hey students! Join Canfor in celebrating the 2015 Canada Winter Games taking place in Prince George from February 13 to March 1.

Visit canfor.com/Canada-Winter-Games for details on how you could attend an event for free!

Official Community Sponsor of the 2015 Canada Winter Games

Mill workers like Bill and OJ in Smithers depend on the Port of Prince Rupert. Our gateway connects their lumber to overseas markets, which means jobs and prosperity for people in northern BC. Our terminals may be located in Prince Rupert, but we’re building connections clear across Canada—and the globe. Learn about the value of trade at www.rupertport.com/connections.

Trade connects us.

Terrace Standard etc.indd 1 4/25/2014 1:09:43 PM

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Holly and Hugh were born in the Prince George Hospital af-ter an emergency run from the Fort hospital to the PG hospital via ambulance. � ey were born by emergency C-Section just before mid-night.

On March 20, a day before their older broth-er Logan’s birthday, the twins and their mother were � own to Vancou-ver (BC Childrens’ Hos-pital) for extensive care and observation. � ey were met by their father Leon who � ew West Jet.

“� e children re-ceived some procedures and excellent care at both hospitals”. said Leon Erickson.

Diana followed that sentiment with, “Yes, the nurses, doctors, fellows, support and cleaning sta� as well as the receptionists and liaisons were great and we are very thankful for everything they’ve done”.

April 9 saw the fam-ily return to Prince George NICU (Neo- In-tensive Care Unit) for follow-up care and ob-servation.

April 24 at 6:30pm the children were re-

Hugh Clark Lee Erickson born March 10 11:19pm. Holly Kara Lee Erickson born March 10 11:17pm

Photo by Diana Erickson

Leon and Diana Erickson are proud to � nally be able to bring their children home

leased from the Prince George hos-pital where Leon and Diana hap-pily brought them home.

“Hugh had some issues with Jaun-dice (a condition of an improperly working liver, com-mon among babies) and was a bit small for the hospital’s comfort. Hugh was born at 3lbs and 04 oz. Upon release Hugh weighed in at a he� y 5lbs 1oz”. (Leon)

“And Holly was born at 3lbs 14oz, but was released at a healthy 5lbs 10oz”

� e twins were born about 2 months premature. � ey were origi-nally to be born on Leon’s birthday, May 9. Being born on March 10 puts them around 31 weeks of gestation upon birth. As a result of the prematurity, there were a couple issues.

Leon stated very elo-quently, “We are very thankful for the prayers, the support and the comfort given during the twins’ (and our)

time of need”. People had sent prayers, com-fort items and even as-sisted � nancially during this time of stress.

“� e hardest part was seeing our babies hooked up to ma-chines that whirred and beeped. � e days were long and nights were worse. Sleep was not part of the equation as

much as exhaustion”. (Leon).

Logan Erickson, the twins’ older broth-er stated plainly that he will help his step-mother and his father as much as he can while they are home and is very protective of the twins.

All in all, the family is home and happy.

A6 www.caledoniacourier.com Wednesday, April 30, 2014 Caledonia CourierA10 www.caledoniacourier.com Wednesday, April 30, 2014 Caledonia Courier

Join the newest economic development project currently being constructed on the Gitanmaax Reserve. The newly constructed 17,000 sq. ft. Gitanmaax Market “Going to the Maax” is looking for the following senior positions:• Assistant Manager• Meat Manager• Pharmacist and Tech• Grocery Manager• Produce Manager• Bakery/Deli Manager• Head CashierCandidates should have a minimum 5 years managerial experience in the retail grocery trade. Knowledge of First Nations culture and/or Gitksan would be an asset. Located in the historic and pristine setting of Hazelton, BC this opportunity would appeal to those candi-dates who would enjoy living in the “Serengeti” of BC.A better than average compensation package is offered based on relevant experience, and will include a base salary, Bene t Plan Med-ical and Dental), and may also include some or all of the following;• Performance bonus• Housing allowance• elocation xpenses if necessary)For more detail on these positions please go to www.visionquestbc.ca

or email directly to [email protected]

! HELP WANTED !

Apply Today!www.tolko.com

Looking for your next great career opportunity?Do you thrive in a dynamic and challenging environment with the poten al for con nuous growth and development? At Tolko people are our most valuable resource and our success depends on innova ve individuals who are aligned with our organiza onal values.

We currently have the following career opportunity available:

HEAVY DUTY MECHANICWilliams Lake, BCPOSITION OVERVIEW:As part of a highly skilled and mo vated maintenance team the Heavy Duty Mechanic will play a key role in maintaining the mechanical reliability of site mobile equipment. This key posi on works closely with maintenance and other sta to ensure quality and overall site mobile equipment e ciency.

QUALIFICATIONS:• Commitment to working safely • Strong communica on & interpersonal skills• Ability to work independently with li le supervision • Journeyman Heavy Duty Mechanic cer ca on

Tolko o ers an uncompromising focus on safety performance, compe ve compensa on packages, sustainable business prac ces, and a progressive environment. We are an industry leader in world markets and we are looking for some great people to join our team!

Build Your Career With Us

Administrative Assistant & Reception

KDL Group is currently seeking a permanent full-time Administrative Assistant and Receptionist to join our growing team in Fort St. James. This is a salaried position at a competitive wage with excellent benefits.

The responsibilities of this dynamic position include: Greeting visitors in a professional, courteous

manner Answering all incoming calls and directing them as

required Data entry in multiple accounting areas Distributing faxes and mail Maintain & order all office supplies Assist in the preparation of special events and

meetings General office administration, filing, & system

management

Qualifications and Experience: Certificate or diploma in related field (experience

will be considered in lieu of educational experience) Minimum 1-2 years previous experience in an

office environment Excellent computer skills in MS Office – Excel,

Word, Outlook Strong attention to detail with the ability to multi-task Can-Do attitude with a desire to complete tasks

efficiently and follow through Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills

Please forward your resume and cover letter to Human Resources at [email protected] or fax to 250-996-8742.

Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

www.kdlgroup.net

Announcements

InformationIN-FLIGHT

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attractive business & tourism publication is published bi-monthly six times a year. Great

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TravelCRIMINAL RECORD? PardonServices Canada. Established

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Employment

Employment Employment

Business Opportunities

GET FREE Vending Ma-chines. Can earn $100,000 + per year. All cash-retire in just 3 years. Protected Territories. Full details call now 1-866-668-6629. www.tcvend.com.

Career Opportunities

EMPLOYERS CAN’T fi nd the work-at-home Medical Tran-scriptionists they need in Canada! Get the training you need to fi ll these positions. Visit CareerStep.ca/MT to start training for your work-at-home career today!

LEARN FROM home. Earn from home. Huge demand for CanScribe Medical Transcrip-tion graduates. Start your on-line learning today with Can-Scribe Career College. www.canscribe.com. Call 1.800.466.1535 or email to: [email protected].

QUATSINO First Nation is seeking the services of a Band Administra-tor to oversee all band programs and band related business. Post-Secondary education in Business Management, Human Resources or related fi elds is a preference. A minimum (3) years experience in administration, human resources or related fi eld or setting is required. Please direct any questions and/or your cover letter, resume complete with 3 references, and a criminal record check to: Attn: Rob Cahill 305 Quattishe Rd. Coal Harbour, BC V0N 1K0 Tel: 250-949-6245 Fax: 250-949-6249 Email: [email protected]

Education/Trade Schools

APARTMENT/CONDOMANAGER TRAINING

• Certifi ed Home Study

Course• Jobs

RegisteredAcross Canada• Gov. Certifi ed

www.RMTI.ca / 604.681.5456 or 1.800.665.8339

Employment

Help WantedSTERLING ELECTRICAL INC, in Terrace BC, has imme-diate openings for a full time Journeymen and an Appren-tice electrician. Candidates should have 2-3 years of ex-perience in commercial and residential work have the ability to work alone, with mini-mal supervision. Journey-man/Red Seal is preferred, but not required. The salary is ne-gotiable depending on experi-ence. Send resume to [email protected]. For more information call 250-635-1861 ask for Nicole.Vernon Service Company re-quires Journeyman Service Plumbers/Gasfi tters, $36.00/hr Call (250)549-4444 or fax 250-549-4416

Trades, TechnicalRV Journeyman & Apprentice Technicians required at Voy-ager RV, B.C. Interior’s Larg-est RV dealer! We’re just com-pleting a brand new RV Service shop, and need full-time Apprentice and Journey-man RV technicians now. If you have a passion to join a great service team, and want to work on the best RV brands, now is the time! Com-petitive wages, plus bonus plans and benefi ts! No lay-offs. Please send your re-sumes to [email protected] (Attn: Logan) or fax 250-766-4711.

Services

Financial ServicesDROWNING IN debt? Cut debts more than 60% & debt free in half the time! Avoid bankruptcy! Free Consultation. www.mydebtsolution.com or Toll Free 1-877-556-3500 BBB Rated A+GET BACK ON TRACK! Bad credit? Bills? Unemployed? Need Money? We Lend! If you own your own home - you qualify. Pioneer Acceptance Corp. Member BBB.

1-877-987-1420 www.pioneerwest.com

IF YOU own a home or real estate, Alpine Credits can lend you money: It’s That Simple. Your Credit / Age / Income is not an issue. 1.800.587.2161.

Legal ServicesCRIMINAL RECORD? Don’t let it block employment, travel, education, professional, certifi -cation, adoption property ren-tal opportunities. For peace of mind & a free consultation call 1-800-347-2540.

Merchandise for Sale

AuctionsBC LIVESTOCK SPRING

AUCTION SALESMay 3 – Williams Lake 10 amMay 10 – Kamloops 10:30 amMay 24 – Vanderhoof 11 amMay 31– Prince George 10 amJune 21 – Horsefl y 10 am

f.m.i. 250-573-3939www.bclivestock.bc.ca

Misc. for SaleHEAVY DUTY sled deck, pow-er tilt, hook to truck battery $2000 obo. Burns Lake call (250) 649- 8004HOT TUB (SPA) COVERS. Best price. Best quality. All shapes & colours available. 1-866-652-6837 www.thecoverguy.com/newspaper?SAWMILLS FROM only $4,397 - Make money & save money with your own bandmill - Cut lumber any dimension. In stock ready to ship. FREE Info & DVD: www.NorwoodSaw mills.com/400OT 1-800-566-6899 Ext:400OT.


Misc. for SaleSTEEL BUILDINGS/metal buildings 60% off! 20x28, 30x40, 40x62, 45x90, 50x120, 60x150, 80x100 sell for bal-ance owed! Call 1-800-457-2206 or visit us online: www.crownsteelbuildings.ca.

Misc. WantedCollectors Currently Buying:Coin Collections, Antiques,Native Art, Old Silver, Paint-ings, Jewellery etc. We Dealwith Estates 778-281-0030

Real Estate

Real EstateDON’T MISS Out! 62 acres, endless possibilities. 5500 sq. ft. house. 1500 ft. of lake-shore. www.lakeoftheprairie shome.ca www.lakeoftheprair iesproperty.ca Jackie 1-306-744-2399 1-306-744-7432 Watch online for open house.

Help Wanted

Real Estate

Recreational

Recreation Paradise Year Round!

Fishing, hiking, hunting, quadding, snowmobiling or just relaxation. Great access within 3 hours of the lower mainland, 40 km from Prince-ton and steps to Osprey Lake. 2 years new this 3 bedroom, 2 bath open concept chalet has it all & more. Includes a guest cabin with a bedroom, living/sitting area, kitchen & bathroom. New detached garage for storing the toys.

Call Adrienne (Royal Lepage Parkside Realty) at

250-809-6322 for a private viewing.

Rentals

Apt/Condo for RentHILLCREST apts. Lg. 1 &

2bdrm suites. Clean and quiet. Adult orientated,Security sys-

tem,Strict Management,no pets ph# 250-996-7854

Lakeview Apartments752 Stuart Dr. W. Fort St. James. 2bdrm apt. Newly renovated. Quiet, clean build-ing. Adult oriented. no pets R.R. Avail. 250-996-8044

TownhousesStuart Lake Townhouses Newly renovated, family oriented, 3 bdrm, 2 bath with basement, 2 parking stalls, No dogs. Ref Req’d 250-996-8044

Transportation

Cars - Domestic

2009 PONTIAC VIBEexcellent condition, 60,000 kms, fully loaded with a set of winter tires. Manual, front wheel drive. $9800Call (250) 251-4500 or

(250) 698-7533

Boats

1989 SUN RUNNER boat. 21.5 feet, 125 aq Volvo in-board motor, Merc leg, ex-cellent running condition. $7000 (250) 698-7533 leave a message we will call you back. Pictures available.

Help Wanted

Help Wanted

Help Wanted

Help Wanted

Trades, Technical Trades, Technical

Your community. Your classifi eds.

250.567.9258

fax 250.567.2070 email [email protected]

1-250-762-9447Community NewspapersWe’re at the heart of things™

Caledonia Courier Wednesday, April 30, 2014 www.caledoniacourier.com A7

Community EventsCommunity Events are free of charge as they are

sponsored by the Caledonia CourierCOMING EVENTS... Will appear as space is available, free of charge in this section. Coming events are available to non-profit organizations only. This area is not intended for thank you submissions or selling products. It is simply a place for nonprofit organizations a place to announce upcoming free activities. You can e-mail your item to [email protected] or by fax: 567-2070. Your organizations’ announcement can also be dropped off at our office located at #111-250 Stuart Drive, Fort St. James. Decision of the publisher is final.

***ST PaTrICk’S aNGlICaN ChurCh...Services at St Patrick’s Anglican Church will now take place only on the first Sunday of the month except for special occasions.

***ThE NEChakO VallEy FESTIVal OF ThE PErFOrMING arTS... has a new website. www.musicfestivalweb.com/nechako. The festival will take place from Apr. 12-25, 2014 with the festival concert happening on Apr. 27, 2014.

***FORT ST JAMES CHRISTIAN OUTREACH GROUP FOOD BANK SCHEDULE 10.00am to 12.00noon...Wednesday, January 8, 2014 Wednesday, January 22, Wednesday, February 12, Wednes-day, February 26, Wednesday, March 12, Wednesday, March 26, Wednesday, April 9, Wednes-day, April 23, Wednesday, May 7, Wednesday, May 21, Wednes-day, June 11, Wednesday, June 25, Wednesday, July 9, Wednesday, July 23, Wednesday, August 13, Wednes-day, August 27, Wednesday, Sep-tember 10, Wednesday, September 24, Wednesday, October 8, Wednes-day, October 22, Wednesday, No-vember 12, Wednesday, November 26, Wednesday, December 10.

***uNTOlD TrauMa...author seeks contributions from non-First Nations students and staff who experienced Catholic residential or day schools abuse in Northern BC. For more info email [email protected]

***FIrEwEED STOPPING ThEVIOlENCE & OuTrEaChSErVICE For those who believe all is possible!...Provides free Confidential, Safe, and Supportive counselling and outreach services for women. Hours of Service: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and every other Friday. Location: Room 203, 349 Stuart Drive, Fort St James, BC Phone: (250) 996-1214 Fax: (250) 996-7647 Email: [email protected]

***ST PaTrICk’S aNGlICaN ChurCh... hosts a free lunch every Tuesday from 11.00am - 1.00pm. All are welcome. This lunch is made possible through the generous giving of time and resources,by many people in the region, including The Roman Catholic Church, Camp Living Water, E-Free Church and many other individuals. We wish to thank all those who contribute their labour to this program as well as those who provide food and other necessities. We also run a small food bank on Tuesday morning, and are very thankful for all who contribute to this endeavor. For further information please call Gwen Andrews 567-6744.

***SErVICE TIMES... at St Patrick’s Anglican Church, Fort St James, will be 10:30 am every Sunday. Free lunch every Tues between 11-1pm with music and Prayer. Please come and join us.

***FIrEwEED ClOThES DrIVE...The Fireweed Safe Haven is doing a winter clothes drive. We are looking for jackets, boots, snow pants, mitts, hats, scarves, fleeces, etc, for men, women and children. The items will then be given to families in the community that need them. If you do not have anything at home that you can part with but still wish to contribute, you can purchase mitts, socks, or thermal underwear. Please drop items off at the Fireweed Safe Haven. For more information please contact Talia at (250) 996-8081. Every little bit helps.

***auxIlIary TO STuarT lakE hOSPITaL... Monthly

meeting 2nd Wednesday each month. Hospital Cafeteria 7:00 p.m.

***FOrT ST. JaMES PuBlIC lIBrary hOurS...

Tuesday 11:30-8:00Wednesday 11:30-4:30Thursday 11:30-4:30

Friday 11:30-8:00Saturday 11:00-3:00

***NEChakO VallEy COMMuNITy SErVICES SOCIETy...Child and Youth Mental Health and Counseling Services available at no cost. Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Call 996-7645 for appointment.

***FOrT TraP aND haNDGuN CluB... meets last Sunday of every month. Contact (Sue) at 250-996-7728 (h) for more information.

***FOrT ST. JaMES SEarCh & rESCuE... steering committee meetings first Tuesday of every month. 7:00 p.m. above the Fort St. James Firehall. Training is the third Tuesday of every month at the Firehall at 7 p.m. New members welcome. For more information please contact Paul at 250.996.7478 or Rod at 250.996.7269

***MuSIC MakErS...New members always WELCOME. Not everyone has to be on stage, there is lots of work behind the scenes. Call Heike Fonda at 250-996-7006 for more info.

***ThE ThrIFT STOrE...has a new name! “The Bargain Basement”. We are still at the same location, across from Shoppers Food Mart. Donations of clean clothing and small housewares are greatly appreciated. Please, no books or magazines. Proceeds are used for community needs. Open Wed-Sat, 12 noon to 4pm.

***PuBlIC SErVICE aNNOuNCEMENT...If you know anyone, including a child, who has been abused or harmed by a psychiatrist call the Citizens Commission on Human Rights at: 1-800-670-2247.

***

THE CHURCHESOF

FORT ST. JAMES

OUR LADY OF THE SNOWSROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

SUNDAY LITURGY: Saturday 7:30 pm & Sunday 10:30 amDAILY MASS: Monday - Friday 9:00 am

PASTORAL TEAM: FATHER FRANK SALMON 250-996-8343SR. PAT MACAULAY, SR. DIVINA PEDRO

250-996-2275

(Across from the Petrocan Station)

NEWSCourierFORT ST. JAMESAND AREA

BUSINESSDIRECTORYGRAVEL HAULING/

EXCAVATION/ WATER TREATMENT

NEWSPAPERS

BAM BAM TRUCKING Ft. St. James B.C. Call (778) 667-0346

In a Jam, call BAM BAM.

Services:

Remote Water Hauling, Water testing and Treatment. Gravel Hauling, Excavation work.

Now providing Liquid storage tanks for Water and Waste Management. For Residential and Industrial uses.

Rainwater harvesting solutions.

Suppliers:

BARR Plastic Tanks and Liquid Handling. (manufactured by Norwesco) including small and large vertical and horizontal impact resistant molded seamless polyethylene tanks. Pick up tanks, freestanding tanks, below ground tanks.

ZCL composites: Fibreglass Tanks for Long Term Storage of Wastewater. GRAF Rainwater harvesting solutions. Rainwater Harvesting, Infiltration Retention Cisterns, Drinking Water Reservoirs.

Water Delivery and Gravel Seamless Polyethylene Tanks Excavation

l Remote Water Hauling, Water testingandTreatment. GravelHauling,Excavationwork.lNowprovidingLiquidstorage tanksforWaterandWaste Management.ForResidential andIndustrialuses.lRainwaterharvestingsolutions.

BAM BAM TRUCKING Ft. St. James B.C. Call (778) 667-0346

Water Delivery and Gravel Seamless Polyethylene Tanks Excavation

In a Jam, call BAM BAM.

Serving Vanderhoof, Fort St. James, Fort Fraser and Fraser Lake

Pam BergerPublisher

150 W. Columbia StBox 1007, VanderhoofBC V0J 3A0

Tel: 250-567-9258Fax: 250-567-2070

Email: [email protected]

vertiserReaching Every DoorADSTUART

NECHAKO

Serving Vanderhoof, Fort St. James, Fort Fraser and Fraser Lake

Pam BergerPublisher

150 W. Columbia StBox 1007, VanderhoofBC V0J 3A0

Tel: 250-567-9258Fax: 250-567-2070

Email: [email protected]

Serving Fort St. James and area since 1972

Pam BergerPublisher

250-996-8482Advertising: [email protected]: [email protected]

Website: www.caledoniacourier.com

The Learning Hub puzzleApril showers bring May flowers! Here are some great flowers for our northern climate. All ages welcome to enter.

CAMPANULA

ANISE

HYSSOP

ARUNCUS ASTER

ECHINACEA

BLEEDING HEART

BLUESTAR

CENTAUREAS

YARROW

BUTTERFLY WEED

WHITEROCKCRESS

COLUMBINE

WORMWOOD

CHRYSANTHEMUM

DELPHINIUM

MONKSHOOD

ASTILBE

CERASTIUM

SNAKEROOT

LADYSMANTLE

Drop off your entry at the Learning Hub in the Goodwin Bldg #250 - 122 Stuart Dr. East before 6 p.m. and pick up a book. We are open until 6 p.m. Monday to Thursday and closed Fridays and holi-days.

You’re invited to join us for our Tuesday Gar-dening Club from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM.

Northern Bloomers

Caledonia Courier Wednesday, April 16, 2014 www.caledoniacourier.com A11Caledonia Courier Wednesday, April 16, 2014 www.caledoniacourier.com A11

NOTICE TO REMOVE PRIVATE LAND FROM WOODLOT LICENSE 665

Please be advised that Keith Playfair is proposing to remove 65 h of private land from Woodlot License 665 located in the vicinity of Airport road , Ft St James.Inquiries/comments to this proposal must be submitted to Ross Hamilton , Bag 19 , Ft St James , B.C. , V0J-1P0 by 25/04/2014. Only written inquiries received by the above date will be responded to.Information about this proposal can be obtained by contacting the above.

Legal Notices

Services

Legal ServicesCRIMINAL RECORD? PardonServices Canada. Established




Misc. for SaleHEAVY DUTY sled deck, pow-er tilt, hook to truck battery $2000 obo. Burns Lake call (250) 649- 8004HOT TUB (SPA) COVERS. Best price. Best quality. All shapes & colours available. 1-866-652-6837 www.thecoverguy.com/newspaper?KILL BED BUGS & THEIR EGGS! Buy Harris Bed Bug Killer Complete Treatment Program or Kit. Available: Hardware Stores, Buy Online: homedepot.comKILL ROACHES! Buy Harris Roach Tablets. Eliminate Bugs- Guaranteed. No Mess, Odorless, Long Lasting. Available at Ace Hardware & The Home Depot.SAWMILLS FROM only $4,897 - Make money & save money with your own bandmill - Cut lumber any dimension. In stock ready to ship. Free Info & DVD: www.NorwoodSaw mills.com/400OT 1-800-566-6899 Ext:400OT.

Misc. WantedCollectors Currently Buying:Coin Collections, Antiques,Native Art, Old Silver, Paint-ings, Jewellery etc. We Dealwith Estates 778-281-0030STEEL BUILDINGS/metal buildings 60% off! 20x28, 30x40, 40x62, 45x90, 50x120, 60x150, 80x100 sell for bal-ance owed! Call 1-800-457-2206 or visit us online www.crownsteelbuildings.ca.

Real Estate

Other Areas20 ACRES $0 Down, Only $119/mo. Owner Financing, NO CREDIT CHECKS! Near El Paso, Texas. Beautiful Mountain Views! Money Back Guarantee. Call 1-866-882-5263, Ext. 81.www.sunsetranches.net

Rentals






Transportation

Cars - Domestic


(250) 698-7533

Recreational/Sale2006 INNSBRUCK travel trail-er 26’6”. Excellent condition. With slide. $13,750.00 Phone: (250) 695-6962 or (250) 692-6013.

Boats


www.one4yacht.com

Legal Notices

FightBack.Volunteeryour time,energy andskills today.

Caledonia Courier Wednesday, April 16, 2014 www.caledoniacourier.com A11

NOTICE TO REMOVE PRIVATE LAND FROM WOODLOT LICENSE 665

Please be advised that Keith Playfair is proposing to remove 65 h of private land from Woodlot License 665 located in the vicinity of Airport road , Ft St James.Inquiries/comments to this proposal must be submitted to Ross Hamilton , Bag 19 , Ft St James , B.C. , V0J-1P0 by 25/04/2014. Only written inquiries received by the above date will be responded to.Information about this proposal can be obtained by contacting the above.

Legal Notices

Services

Legal ServicesCRIMINAL RECORD? PardonServices Canada. Established




Misc. for SaleHEAVY DUTY sled deck, pow-er tilt, hook to truck battery $2000 obo. Burns Lake call (250) 649- 8004HOT TUB (SPA) COVERS. Best price. Best quality. All shapes & colours available. 1-866-652-6837 www.thecoverguy.com/newspaper?KILL BED BUGS & THEIR EGGS! Buy Harris Bed Bug Killer Complete Treatment Program or Kit. Available: Hardware Stores, Buy Online: homedepot.comKILL ROACHES! Buy Harris Roach Tablets. Eliminate Bugs- Guaranteed. No Mess, Odorless, Long Lasting. Available at Ace Hardware & The Home Depot.SAWMILLS FROM only $4,897 - Make money & save money with your own bandmill - Cut lumber any dimension. In stock ready to ship. Free Info & DVD: www.NorwoodSaw mills.com/400OT 1-800-566-6899 Ext:400OT.

Misc. WantedCollectors Currently Buying:Coin Collections, Antiques,Native Art, Old Silver, Paint-ings, Jewellery etc. We Dealwith Estates 778-281-0030STEEL BUILDINGS/metal buildings 60% off! 20x28, 30x40, 40x62, 45x90, 50x120, 60x150, 80x100 sell for bal-ance owed! Call 1-800-457-2206 or visit us online www.crownsteelbuildings.ca.

Real Estate

Other Areas20 ACRES $0 Down, Only $119/mo. Owner Financing, NO CREDIT CHECKS! Near El Paso, Texas. Beautiful Mountain Views! Money Back Guarantee. Call 1-866-882-5263, Ext. 81.www.sunsetranches.net

Rentals






Transportation

Cars - Domestic


(250) 698-7533

Recreational/Sale2006 INNSBRUCK travel trail-er 26’6”. Excellent condition. With slide. $13,750.00 Phone: (250) 695-6962 or (250) 692-6013.

Boats


www.one4yacht.com

Legal Notices

FightBack.Volunteeryour time,energy andskills today.

Stuart/Nechako 2014

Serving...

Vanderhoof,

Fort St. James,

Fraser Lake,

Fort Fraser, Cluculz Lake,

Tachie and area

Published by

Omineca Express & Caledonia Courier

Picture by Dyanne DiMassimo

Telephone

DirectoryThe 2014 Stuart Nechako Telephone Directory may be picked up at the following locationsVanderhoof - Omineca Express - Co-op Mall - Chamber Office/ Visitors CentreFort Fraser - Petro CanFraser Lake - Village OfficeFort St. James - Overwaitea

FREE!!!

Don’t Shell Out a Lot of Cash; Use the Classifi eds.

Smart shoppers know about the bargains hid-den within the Classifi ed pages. In the Classi-

fi eds, you can track down deals on everything from travel to trailers.

It’s easy to place an ad or fi nd the items you want.

Go with your instincts and use the Classifi eds today.Call Caledonia Courier:

996-8482

This is really

easy money!

Just clean

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Andrew Hudson

Her crown came from New Mexico, but when Houston’s own Rebecca Dallaire won the fi rst-ever Smithers Rodeo Queen contest, the moment was totally Bulkley Valley.

When a stubborn sash worn by one of her fellow rodeo royalties needed a pin, it came courtesy of a spectator who happened to have a spare in his arm sling.

And high among the diamond driller’s caps and Western art given out as door prizes at the Aug.18 coronation was an egg carton fi lled with home-made fi re-starter and a bag of garden-fresh potatoes.

If that sounds too homespun a prize for such a regal event, the three girls who competed this year had plenty of sparkle on their crowns, belt buckles and metallic blue riding chaps to out-shine it.

Dallaire’s mother Bibs says the sparkling side of the contest, which combines fashion, speaking and horsemanship events, is some-thing best left to her daughter.

“She likes shiny things,” she says with a laugh. “She’s like a magpie.”

Dallaire’s father Marcel also more toward rodeo than royalty.

“I think they should all have to ride a bull,” he joked. “The one who’s under 8.2 seconds gets to keep the crown!”

But speaking with Dallaire and her fel-low rodeo princesses Amber Gregorowich and Adele Murray, it’s clear that for them too, being rodeo royalties means more than a smile and a slow wave.

Now 22 years old, Dallaire has been riding horses since before she could walk.

And while she likes to show horses, Dallaire says her biggest thrill is barrel racing.

“Your heart gets racing as soon as you come through the gate,” she says. “Everything hap-pens incredibly fast—you don’t have time to make mistakes.”

“If you mess up in your pattern and lose half or even a tenth of a second, that could change your position from fi rst to fi fth and your payout might not even happen.”

Dallaire watches rodeo and racetrack events all over North America, keeping a sharp eye on

how different horse breeds and bloodlines are doing.

Paint and quarter horses are favourites for barrel racing, she says.

“They’re built to take off from a standstill into high speed, and they handle corners really well also.”

Of the two, her mother Bibs says she likes paint horses best.

“They say on the fi fth day, God created the horse and on the sixth day he painted all the good ones.”

Rodeo princess Amber Gregorowich agrees.A confi dent speaker who won this year’s

award for speech craft, Gregorowich warns that she could talk about paints forever.

“Paint horses are my favourite breed because there one of the most versatile horses, and no two look the same,” she says.

“You can do jumping, you can do barrel rac-ing, Western pleasure, they make amazing kids’ horses, they drive, and they’re not as skittish or spooky as some other breeds.”

At 23, Gregorowich has plenty of Smithers and Terrace horse shows under her belt already, but in the next two years she hopes to scout out the world show for paint horses in Fort Worth, Texas.

“It’s the best of the best,” she says, adding that she would like nothing better than to win at Fort Worth with a Bulkley Valley-bred horse.

“If you go down to worlds with a horse that

was bred in a small town and you beat some of these big shots, it’s a great feeling,” she said.

Three months ago, her well-named horse Crayola had a foal that Gregorowich plans to train up in Alberta and Oklahoma.

“I’m hoping she can be my world contend-er,” she says.

The youngest of this year’s rodeo royals, Adele Murray says the contest was her fi rst time giving a public speech, let alone a TV in-terview.

Murray did great, says organizer Andi Houl-den, picking up the award for Most Improved Public Speaker.

At home, Murray keeps eight fi sh and a cat named Chevy along with her one and only horse, Chip.

“I was on a riding lesson and I ended up rid-ing her and fell in love,” Murray said.

“I said ‘I want this one—I don’t care about any of the others.”

Murray bugged her dad about Chip for years until one fi ne December day in 2008.

“I woke up that Christmas morning and she was standing outside,” she says.

Chip is a fast horse, Murray said, a thorough-bred and quarter-horse cross who is more into gymkhanas and barrel racing than showing.

Murray also came to the contest without a lot of show experience, but her confi dence grew after a practice session she held at her house in the weeks before.

“We had good times,” she says. Each of the girls took a practice spin down a pretend “run-way” that stretched from her kitchen to the liv-ing room, she added, with coaching from former Williams Lake rodeo queen Savannah Davies.

As for who fi nally won the queen’s crown or the princess tiaras, Murray said the three friends agreed it was no big deal.

“We’re all good,” she said, smiling.Smithereens got their fi rst chance to meet

their rodeo royals during the fall fair last week-end and Rodeo Queen Rebecca Dallaire will be riding a paint horse made for celebrity.

“He’ll defi nitely be the prettiest horse there,” says Rebecca’s mother. “He’s the Ashton Kutch-er of the horse world.”

“He thinks he’s a male model, he really does.”

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Rebecca Dallaire, front, rides in the Bulkley Valley Fall Fair on Aug. 22 with Am-ber Gregorowich, left, and Adele Murray, right.

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By Jackie Lieuwen Houston Today

Houston Search and Rescue is heading an ad-vancement which will have nation-wide impact.

The way Houston is ap-plying mapping technol-ogy to Search and Rescue (SAR) is drawing both pro-vincial and national interest, said Chris Mushumanski, Director of the B.C. Search and Rescue Association.

“The impact could be pretty significant in the SAR world.

“This is the biggest tech-nological advance I’ve seen in 17 years. It’s greater then when the very first handheld GPS came out, and that was pretty significant. This is well beyond that because it does what a GPS does plus ten times more,” he said.

Paper maps are the main tool used by SAR teams across the province, with GPS being used among teams who could afford it, Mushumanski said.

But Houston is leading a major shift.

It all started a year ago with Andy Muma, Houston Search and Rescue SAR di-rector.

Houston SAR was gear-ing up to buy several new $450 GPS devices when Muma suggested they try a few $550 iPads instead.

Muma works for the B.C. Government research-ing technology to match it with government field work.

Seeing the difference it makes in government

field work, Muma said he thought the device would be perfect for SAR.

Houston SAR bought four iPads and Muma downloaded and tailored several apps, including a mapping app, to suit SAR

needs. The Houston crew has

used iPads in three search-es since buying them in February 2013. Muma says it made a huge difference.

When a local trapper got stranded on Morice Lake

last November, a Houston SAR team made a success-ful night-time rescue, navi-gating the massive lake in a boat through the pitch black night to save the trapper.

“Without the iPad, they wouldn’t have been able to go out at night. They would have stayed and waited until morning,” Muma said.

Improved navigation is just the beginning of the changes that come with iPads.

Before the iPad, searches were done using paper maps and GPS. Muma explained the search organizing pro-cess:

RCMP would get a call that someone was missing. They would contact SAR and meet with a search manager.

Muma says RCMP often wouldn’t have a map, but would explain to the manag-er the general area where the person was last seen. The manager would then con-tact someone in forestry or government to start print-ing maps - not knowing the exact area but producing maps of the general area to be ready for searchers.

Then the maps would be rushed to the manager who would then manually sketch out search areas on the maps. He would meet with the searchers, often 25 people, and distribute the maps.

If more accurate infor-mation was received and the area changed, it would be back to the computer to print new maps.

Then the search would begin.

In contrast, the iPad takes what is often a six-hour process and shortens it to minutes.

When the RCMP get a call about a missing person, they meet with the search manager and give the point the person was last seen. The manager would docu-ment the information on the iPad app, including a description of the person and a photo if available. They would lay out search areas and label them for search leaders, and then email everything to their 25 searchers.

Searchers would load the information from the email directly into their iPad map and the search would begin.

“It’s hours the old way, and literally minutes with the iPad,” Muma said.

When searchers scour a search area, they use the iPads to navigate and docu-ment clues accurately. It avoids overlap and mistak-en documentation, which is easy when working only with paper maps and GPS, said Muma.

The iPad also brings accuracy and speed to the compiling process which follows a search.

In the past, searchers would gather with maps, scribbles in notebooks and pictures on cameras.

The search manager would manually collect the data from all 25 searchers, making sure photos are

matched with the location they were found.

“That’s where mistakes happen,” Muma said.

With the iPads, Muma says they can simply trans-fer data between iPads us-ing airdrop, which is instant and allows perfect accuracy.

Muma said the iPad is also great because it’s user-friendly, easy to train searchers on, and its com-patible with iPhones and smartphones.

It’s also replaces six dif-ferent field tools - maps, notebooks, camera, video recorder, GPS and commu-nication platform.

“It takes six jobs and puts it in one device,” Mushumanski said.

Mushumanski says it will also make a big differ-ence when teams in the re-gion work together.

After the technology was discovered, SAR ap-plied for regional funding to get iPads for all the SAR groups in the region.

The Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako funded $29,576 to the SAR groups across the region to buy iPads.

Muma is heading up a regional iPad training meet-ing on March 29. They are expecting 40 searchers from Vanderhoof, Smithers, Fort St. James, McKenzie and Prince George.

In early May, Muma will present in Prince George to 24 SAR teams from north-ern B.C. about the iPad.

“It’s a game changer,” Muma said.

Houston leads Search & Rescue game changer

6 www.houston-today.com Wednesday, March 26, 2014 Houston Today

Andy Muma, Houston Search and Rescue director, is leading a nation-wide advancement in the Search and Rescue program. Applying iPad technology to Search and Rescue significantly speeds up response time, and improves communication and accuracy in a search. “This is cutting-edge technology being applied in Search and Rescue. Northern B.C. is the place where we’re seeing this for the first time,” said B.C. SAR Director Chris Mushumanski. Photo submitted

caledonia courier, april 30, 2014

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