caledonia courier, november 26, 2014

WEDNESDAY, November 26, 2014 PHONE: 996-8482 www.caledoniacourier.com VOL. 37 NO. 39 $1.30 inc. GST

Echoes of B.C. P. 3Fort singer performs in PG P. 4

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Publications Mail Contract #: 40007759

Nathan Cullen

receives parlia-

mentary award

NEWS BRIEFS

Jesse ColeCaledonia Courier

MP for Skeena-Bulkey and New Democrat finance critic Nathan Cullen has been declared the Most Knowledge-able Parliamentarian of 2014 by his peers at an event hosted by Maclean’s maga-zine in Ottawa last Wednesday, Nov. 19.

Cullen was cho-sen out of 308 other Members of Parlia-ment to receive the award.

The awards are chosen and voted for by MP’s with each MP casting a vote for any of their col-leagues. MP’s may vote within party lines or for MP’s from op-posing parties.

There are seven categories of awards that MP’s can achieve including best constit-uency representative, most knowledgable, rising star, hardest working MP, best ora-tor and parliamentar-ian of the year.

“I’m a a bit of a loss for words,” Cul-len said of his award. “There are such a lot of amazing MPs in the House; to be singled out in this way by my colleagues is truly an honour.”

This is not the first time Cullen has re-ceived praise from his political peers, Cullen was named the favou-rite up-and-coming rookie politician in 2004, the year he was elected.

Jesse ColeCaledonia Courier

An organization raising money to help support First Nations legal challenges against Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline has increased its fundrais-ing goal from $250,000 to $300,000 by the end of December.

Pull Together, the or-ganization in question, is a grassroots fund-raising group originally former in Smithers and Terrace, B.C. in 2014.

Currently there are nine or more First Na-tions communities in-volved in legal disputes with Enbridge, and six of those Nations have joined the Pull Togeth-er campaign including the Haida Nation which only recently joined as well as the Kitasoo/

Xai’xais. Gitxaala Hei-ltsuk, Nadleh Whut’en and Nak’azdli.

President of the Hai-da Nation Peter Lantin said of joining the Pull Together group.

“The Pull Together

campaign is driven by people who care and are politically astute. They can see how the future of the country is shaping up and want to be part of it.”

The legal claims of

these nations revolve around territorial dis-putes between First Nation’s communities who are opposed to the pipeline being devel-oped on and through their traditional terri-

tories. First Nations groups

are on the forefront of legal claims against Enbridge and cite the fact that according to constitutional law, Canada must consult and accommodate First Nations groups regard-ing development on their territories.

A report conducted by the West Coast En-vironmental law group states that under con-stitutional and interna-tional law B.C. First Nations have the right to issue bans on oil pipelines in their terri-tories.

The Tsilhqot’in de-cision reached earlier this year in the Wil-liams case, in which the Canadian courts ruled

that the Tsilhqot’in First Nation had legal title rights to their ter-ritories, has set prec-edent for other First Nation’s communities who are disputing the pipeline.

Under that ruling the only times that eco-nomic development can go forward on First Na-tion’s territories with-out their consent is if the Crown can demon-strate the development is substantial and of immediate importance.

Pull Together is managed in part by the Sierra Club B.C., an environmental non-profit organization and the legal defence fund RAVEN Trust of Vic-toria.

Continued on P. 2

The movember ‘staches were out in full force at a packed house last Saturday at the Fraser Lake Arena. Thompson Creek Metals sponsored and brought their two northern mines together for an all-out hockey game to raise money for the Northern BC Friends of Children Society.

The Endako Enforcers beat Mt. Milligan 13-10 in a well fought battle that will see a rematch in the new year in Fort St. James with the opposite shifts at each mine. Stay tuned for the next game! A big thank you to the two Thompson Creek Metal facilities for all their hard work in bringing Fraser Lake together for this event and thank you to everyone who came out to support this great cause.

Sarrah Nahornoff-Storey

DROP THE PUCK: The Endako Enforcers took on Mt. Milligan’s hockey team last Saturday, Oct. 22 in Fraser Lake. The Enforcers beat Mt. Milligan with a finishing score of 13 - 10. A rematch will be held in Fort St. James in the new year.

Photo courtesy of Elaine Storey.

Endako takes on Mt. Milligan

Pull Together campaign increases fundrais-ing goal

from $250,000

to $300,000

“The Pull Together cam-paign is driven by people who

care and are po-litically astute. They can see

how the future of the country is shaping up and want to be part

of it.”

The proposed route that the Northern Gateway pipeline would take from Alberta to its port in Kitimat.

Photo via Google Images.

A2 www.caledoniacourier.com Wednesday, November 26, 2014 Caledonia Courier

NEWSCourier

JESSE COLECaledonia Courier

Three Fort St. James businesses have been nominated to take part in the 2015 Small Busi-ness B.C. Awards.

Bare Hands Landscaping & Design, MXV Integrated Health & Fitness as well as local bis-tro the Soup Wallah have been nominated for the awards.

Bare Hands Landscaping & Design have been nominated for the category of Best Com-munity Impact and Premier’s Peoples Choice award. MXV Integrated Health and Fitness has been nominated for the Best Community Impact Award and the Soup Wallah has been nominat-ed in the category of Premier’s Peoples Choice award.

Mel Chesnutt, one of the owners of Bare Hands Landscaping & Design commented on being nominated saying,

“It feels awesome and we are so grateful for the support of Fort St. James. We work hard at Bare Hands Landscaping and we look forward to growing with the community for years so come.”

The Small Business B.C. Awards began in 2003 and are an annual event that recognizes

small business entrepreneurs and the differenc-es they’re making in their communities.

For the 2014 awards 470 small businesses were nominated from 55 different communities in British Columbia.

Nominations began on Oct. 1 and nomina-tions and voting remains open until Nov. 30, 2014.

Ten categories are available for nomination including best company, best concept, best em-ployer, best online marketer, best community impact, best workplace, best international trade, Premier’s peoples choice, best immigrant entre-preneur and best emerging entrepreneur.

Nominees that make it to the top five cate-gory will face what the awards organization is calling a “Dragons Den-style” panel of judges where they will pitch to the judges why they be-lieve they should be awarded the title of best in B.C.

Winners receive a $1,500 cash prize in addi-tion to a one year all access pass to Small Busi-ness B.C. education and resources as well as a one-on-one mentorship program with advisors from the awards sponsors.

Sponsoring the 2015 awards is the Govern-ment of British Columbia as well as Vancity credit union.

Three Fort businesses nominated for awards

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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)

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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

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

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November, 2014

Dec,2014

District 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

Mun

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Santa Claus Parade!Friday November 28th

7pm from Cottonwood ParkCall 996-7023 to enter your � oat!

Festival of Trees!(At the National Historic Park)

Friday November 28th 4pm - 9pmPHOTOS with SANTA CLAUS from 4:30pm - 8:30pm

Saturday November 29th 11am - 6pm Sunday November 30th 11am - 4pm

Please submit all events by W

ednesday for the next W

ednesday paper distribution.offi ce@

fortstjames.ca

The District is seeking volunteers to participate in Winterfest 2015!

Please contact Mel at 996-8233

for more info.

SILENT AUCTION SOCIAL Fundraiser for the Christmas Toy & Food Drive

Saturday December 6th7:00pm @ North Arm Pub

EARLY BIRD (20-25% OFF) Murray Ridge Season Ski PassesAvailable at the District Of� ce

Only until December 12th!

26 27 28 29

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10am Food Bank

4pm Strong Start

7pm Council Mtg

12pm Strong Start

2pm Snrs Mtg

8pm AA Mtg

9am Strong Start4pm Kids Skating5pm Yth Hockey6pm Adlt Hockey

7:15pm Pub Skating7pm Santa Claus Parade4-9pm Festival of Trees

11-6pm Festival of Trees

11-4pm Festival of Trees

321 4 5 6

9am Strong Start

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7-9pm Meditation Classes @ FSJSS

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7-9pm Meditation Classes @ FSJSS

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4pm Strong Start 12pm Strong Start

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Continued from P. 1

In the four months that Pull Together has been operational they have managed to raise well over $200,000 with donations coming from regional, provin-cial, national, global and independent do-nors.

All donations made to the campaign, some of which total over $40,000, are being matched by an inde-pendent donor who wishes to remain anon-

ymous. The next step in the

battle to stop the pipe-line will involve gath-ering of evidence to make claims in court and Susan Smitten, the executive director of RAVEN says this step can be expensive.

“This is an exten-sive, costly legal pro-cess. The next stage in-volves gathering all of the evidence required for the Nations to make their cases at court. While all the Nations are committed to going

it alone, standing to-gether and pooling re-sources with all British Columbians ensures equal access to justice and a successful out-come with much more likelihood of success.”

The Pull Together campaign is currently offering training to community groups and individuals wishing to help through the Sierra Club BC. Those inter-ested in supporting the legal claims can donate and get involved at www.pull-together.ca

Pull Together smashes fundraising goals

Group raising money for First Nation’s legal challenges of Enbridge’s North-ern Gateway pipeline up fundraising

goal to $300,000 by Dec. 31

NEWSCourierCaledonia Courier Wednesday, November 26, 2014 www.caledoniacourier.com A3

AnnuAl GenerAl MeetinG7pM MondAy deceMber 1, 2014

HigH ScHool library

Fort St. JameS tV & radio Society

The TV SocieTy iS a non-profiT communiTy VolunTeer organizaTion

proViding TeleViSion and radio SerViceS To The region uSing SignalS

oVer-The-air receiVed By anTenna. eVeryone Welcome!

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Story of early Fort surveyor echoes the history of B.C.


14 years of research, audio tran-scriptions and hard work has amounted to two books, a radio series on CBC and an uncovered story about the origins of Fort St. James.

Echoes of British Columbia by Robert “Lucky” Budd is a compilation of stories and interviews from the history of Brit-ish Columbia over the number of decades. It includes one about the first non-aborigi-nal settlers in Fort St. James who helped to map the geography of the area and open up the provinces interior.

Budd’s project began in 2000 when the CBC contacted him in regards to dig-itizing the national audio archives.

Budd is a audio preservationist and his work in audio recording had brought him up on the CBC’s radar and he was con-scripted to digitized 2700 hours of audio recordings.

“In 2000, the CBC Radio went on a nationwide initiative to have all of their audio archives digi-tized,” said Budd. “I had just finished my undergraduate degree at the University of Victoria and I had been in a touring rock band. I had this repu-tation as the guy who records things… So I was somewhat head-hunted by the B.C. Archives as the guy who records things and the guy they wanted as their audio preservationist.”

It was during his work with the B.C. archives that Budd

stumbled upon the recordings of Imbert Orchard, a radio pro-ducer who moved to Prince George (then known as Fort George). Orchard would go on to record interviews with 998 people in northern British Columbia. It was these record-ings and interviews that would serve as the basis for his book Voices of Brit-ish Columbia and its subsequent sequel Echoes of British Columbia.

“Imbert Orchard went around Brit-ish Columbia with a sound technician named Ian Stephens from 1959 to 1966 to record what he called ‘the story of the coun-try.’,” said Budd. “He travelled the entire province by plane, foot, packhorse, mule, boats, etc. to

ECHOES: Robert “Lucky” Budd has spent the last 14 years digitizing over 2700 hours of audio recordings from the CBC. Portions of those audio recordings, including one on Fort St. James surveyor Forin Camp-bell, provided the framework for Budd’s two best sellers Voices of British Columbia and Echoes of British Columbia.

Photo courtesy of Robert Budd.

get into all these little pockets of B.C.”

During that time Orchard interviewed 998 people all of which were either first generation Brit-ish Columbians or First Nations.

In his work decod-ing the historical recordings, Budd came across the story of one Forin Camp-bell.

“That story really spoke to me,” recalls Budd. “The story is incredible. Forin Campbell, here’s this incredible person who was among the first non-aboriginal

people to come into Fort George. There were two or three other non-aboriginal people and with-out somebody like him [Campbell] our whole topography and notion of what the north is would be different.”

Forin came to the Fort George and eventually the Fort St. James area to be a cartographer and was tasked with mapping out the geography of the northern interior.

“His job was to go over every single mountain and find out what was, quote on quote, beyond the next hill,” said Budd. “In doing so he spoke to so many locals and has a perspective on northern B.C. that nobody else would ever have because he was among the first non-aboriginal people in theses places.”

Budd said that sto-ries like Campbell’s really get into the “meat and potatoes” of British Columbia’s history.

Since publishing his books, Budd has also begun work as a memoirist, taking on jobs from Canadians throughout the coun-try. His works have also been adopted by numerous school boards in British Columbia.

“...with-out some-body like him our whole

topogra-phy and notion of what the north is would be

different.”


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NEWSCourier

Northern BCFOODSAFE COUNCIL

AGMOctober 6, 2014 – 3:30pm-4:00pm

UNBC Room Admin 1007, Prince GeorgeRegular meeting after from 4:15pm-5:30pm

You can attend in person or via conference call. Please contact: Sherilynn Porter@ 778-416-7975 or email: [email protected] to make arrangements.

December 3, 2014 – 3:30pm-4:00pm

Jerusha White, of Fort St. James, played the entertainment stage at the 2014 Prince George Festival of Trees last weekend. Jerusha is currently working on an album in Victoria, B.C.

Photo courtesy of YouTube. JESSE COLECaledonia Courier

Fort St. James up-and-comer Jerusha White graced the entertainment stage of Prince George’s Festival of Trees for a second time at this years festival.

White, 20 years old, is a jazz, soul and rhythm and blues singer from Fort St. James who has found her way to success both locally and nationally.

White has already released a number of singles and an EP titled Gingerbread Boi which are all available for purchase on iTunes. She is currently working on a new, full length album with acclaimed Canadian producer Morry Stearns.

Stearns is a member of the David Foster Band and has worked with artists such as Bryan Adams, Celine Dion and more.

The 2014 festival is not White’s � rst go-round when it comes to the Festival of Trees. In 2012 White appeared on stage alongside Prince George local Curtis Abriel and former Michael Buble band member Bryant Olender to perform a few of her own songs on the outdoor stage during the festival.

At only 20 years old, jazz and soul are not the � rst genres one would expect to hear from a young singer, but White has a love for artists well above her age bracket.

In a 2014 interview with the Prince George Free Press White spoke on her in� uences as a singer saying,

“Celine Dion, Amy Winehouse, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin. Aretha Franklin was one of my fa-vourites growing up.” Adding that while she loves contemporary music like hip hop, she always re-turns to jazz and R&B.

White’s album was initially recorded in between

Vancouver and Edmonton and scheduled for a re-lease in April of 2014, but upon teaming up with Stearns the release was delayed.

White is currently � nishing her album in Vic-toria.

Fort St. James singer rocks Festival of Trees

Gov’t eases up on liqour policies


New changes to British Columbia’s li-quor laws will provide more convenience and support to citizens and businesses.

As of April 1, 2015 grocery stores through-out the province will be able to sell alcohol through a separate, “store-within-a-store” according to a report released by the British Columbia Ministry of Justice.

Also on April 1, pro-vincially owned liquor stores will be able to offer refrigeration ser-vices and remain open later and on Sundays.

Small breweries in the province will also see changes to help support growth and suc-cess in the industry by removing barriers that

have been detrimen-tal to small business growth. The changes will be a gradual in-crease in mark-up rates so that there will no longer exist a “� nan-cial” cliff when brewer-ies grow and enter into large production cat-egories.

Also starting April 1, 2015 all liquor stores in British Columbia, both provincially owned or independently owned will be required to pur-chase alcohol for the B.C. Liqour Distribu-tion Branch (BCLDB). All products sold by the BCLDB will be sold at a common, wholesale price and will level the playing � eld by remov-ing a system that al-lows some retailers to receive discounts on alcohol products based on which type of al-cohol retailer they are.

Prior to this change, in-dependent wine stores were subject to a 30 per cent discount and private liqour stores and rural agency stores were eligible for 16 and 12 per cent discounts respectively. These dis-counts were based off shelf prices at provin-cially owned BC Liqour Stores.

Suzanna Anton, who is the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, said of the changes,

“It is our expectation that, starting April 2015, these changes will cre-ate a more competitive market for retailers. The changes we’re making to the wholesale price today will enable more competition between retailers to attract Brit-ish Columbians into their stores and should not force any change in shelf prices.”

Caledonia Courier Wednesday, November 26, 2014 www.caledoniacourier.com A5

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• Column


VICTORIA – When the B.C. government announced its latest changes to liquor distri-bution, the reaction was not what I expected.

Private store repre-sentatives complained bitterly that the govern-ment is allowing fur-ther expansion of fridg-es and “cold rooms” in selected government li-quor stores, and longer operating hours that include more Sunday openings. Those hours, along with non-union staff, are the private stores’ big advantages as things stand in B.C.’s hybrid liquor retailing system.

The B.C. Govern-ment Employees’ Union didn’t seem at all perturbed that state-run stores’ key advan-tage was also going to be gone effective April 1. That would be preferential whole-sale pricing, in which the government’s mo-

nopoly wholesaler sells to them at cost and to private stores at higher rates.

How much higher? Liquor Distribution Branch officials were carefully vague on that, and it varies de-pending on which of the 22 wholesale cat-egories you look at. They released a graph that suggests the av-erage wholesale cost to government stores might be going up 10 to 15 per cent to create a “level playing field” with private stores.

That wholesale price difference is the main reason private stores have generally higher retail prices. And the majority of the province’s revenue of nearly $1 billion a year comes from this mo-nopoly wholesale busi-ness, where the hidden tax is coyly termed a “mark-up.”

When the new, sim-

plified system comes in next spring, a bottle of hard liquor will have a “mark-up” of 124 per cent. That’s right, LDB more than doubles the price with its wholesale

liquor tax. And if it’s premium booze, any-thing valued at more than $21 a litre will get an extra luxury tax on top of that.

Coolers and ciders

will see a 73 per cent mark-up. Wines are taxed at 89 per cent, with extra luxury tax on premium wines. Beer gets a per-litre tax with ascending rates

for small, medium and large breweries. Then of course there is feder-al and provincial sales tax applied to all of it. Cheers!

Premier Christy

Clark acknowledged that the first guiding principle of this over-haul is to keep that government revenue coming.

The new BCGEU

president, Stephanie Smith, doesn’t sound like your bullhorn-tot-ing socialist of yore. She insists she’s gung-ho to compete head to head with those pri-

vate interlopers and get back some lost market share, particularly on the high-volume cold beer sales.

The union has an-other ace in the hole. Its current contract stipulates that LDB can’t close stores. In some small towns there are government stores that lose money, par-ticularly since they’ve had more private com-petition. But at least for the duration of this BCGEU contract, the government retail arm will continue to operate in some places as a per-verse social program, subsidizing retail clerk jobs that pay nearly twice what private re-tail pays.

And let’s face it, running a till at a li-quor store is not rocket surgery. Private and government store staff have to take the same training, and liquor inspector sting opera-

tions have increased vigilance on ID checks in all stores.

With higher whole-sale prices applied to government stores, this kind of artificial sup-port will cost more. The only way LDB could maintain it with-out subsidizing it from the wholesale windfall would be to raise retail prices.

The LDB says this new simplified system is “not intended to im-pact consumer pric-ing.” Note the careful choice of words.

Oh, one last thing. There is another new tax in the works. It will be applied to higher-al-cohol beverages, in an effort to reduce adverse health effects.

Tom Fletcher is legis-lature reporter and col-umnist for Black Press. Twitter: @tomfletch-erbc Email: [email protected]

Liquor changes could push up prices

Alcohol will soon be available in grocery stores throughout British Co-lumbia.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons author J.D.

Caledonia Courier Wednesday, November 26, 2014 www.caledoniacourier.com A7Caledonia Courier Wednesday, November 26, 2014 www.caledoniacourier.com A7

It is with great sadness that the family of Roy Good-win announces his passing on Monday Nov. 17, 2014 at the age of 81 years.Roy was born in Fort Fraser on June 18, 1933 where he lived until he met his wife Jannette. They relocated to Fort St. James in 1954 where they made their home and raised their family.He co-owned and worked at Stuart Lake Lumber for many years until his retirement in 1999. He was an avid outdoorsman and spent many years hunting, river fi shing and in his boat on Stuart Lake.Roy was preceded in death by his loving wife Jannette, par-ents Arthur and Charlotte Goodwin, brother Robert (Janet) Goodwin, sister Bella (Norman) LePoidevin, brother–in-law Victor Gerhardi and brother–in-law Henry Unger.He is survived by his sister Emma Unger, daughters Pam (Andy) Little, Vicki (Bill) Legebokoff son Mike (Angela) Goodwin grandchildren Shannon (Brent) Rosa, Eric Little, Ryan (Ashley), Cody, Shelby Legebokoff, Carla, Dallas, Lane Goodwin great-grandchildren Ridge, Mia Rosa along with numerous other family members.He will be sadly missed, forever loved and never forgotten.Many thanks to Dr. Stent and the staff at Stuart Lake Hospi-tal, Dr. Bashir, Dr. Din, Dr. Lawry, Dr. Singh and the amaz-ing staff in the kidney dialysis unit at the University Hospital of Northern BC. Your kindness will always be appreciated.In lieu of fl owers donations may be made to the Kidney Foundation of Canada or to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Roy Goodwin

COLLEGE OF NEW CALEDONIAFort St. James CampusINDIVIDUAL SUPPORT WORKERREFERENCE NUMBER: 14-137SN

This position provides support to students who have behavioral or cognitive needsincluding those associated with FASD. Secondary disabilities such as homelessness,drug/alcohol misuse, mental health concerns, and crime related activity may also beissues that students need assistance with. Qualifications include two years’ post-secondary education in a relevant area. Must have three years of relevant workexperience and knowledge of First Nations culture.

To find out more information about this and other opportunities, and directions on how toapply, please check our website at: www.cnc.bc.ca/Human_Resources/employment.htm

Join us. We offer a supportive workplace, great benefits, and competitive salaries. And we have opportunities to grow, both within our college, and within our communities.

CNC - A COMMUNITY FOR LEARNING AND TEACHING THAT CARES, SERVES, AND LEADS

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NEWSPAPERS

Serving Fort St. James and area since 1972

Pam BergerPublisher

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

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Obituaries

FULL SERVICE Plumbing from Parker Dean. Fast, re-liable, 24/7 service. Take $50 off your next job if you present this ad. Vancouver area. Call 1-800-573-2928.

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Featuring the spirit of the local people

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As I sit down to write this community builder I am reminded of the classic Dr. Se-uss christmas story How the Grinch Stole Christmas. What jogs my memory about this particular christmas story is the portion in which the Grinch’s heart grows three sizes too large.

Jasmine Lakusta knows all about hav-ing a big heart. The humble owner of Beauty by Vengeance in Fort St. James is a dedicated humanitar-ian who spends her time doing volunteer and charity work as locally as her involve-ment in the Toy and Food Drive and as globally as her work in Nigeria providing wheelchairs for polio patients.

A native of Ques-nel, B.C., Lakusta has lived in Fort St. James for the last 14 years after moving north from Vancouver.

Lakusta’s passion for charity began with her involvement in Ro-tary International,

“In 2007 I started with Rotary Interna-

tional… I had gone on a humanitarian trip to Nigeria through them for polio vaccinations. That was the � rst major thing in this town that I did.”

Lakusta raised $5,000 for her mis-sion to Nigeria during a time when Fort St. James was economical-ly challenged and many were struggling just to get by.

“I did quite a bit of fundraising in about three weeks. It was a time when our com-munity was really hit hard economically with mills shutting down. People donated about $5,000 in two weeks to support a third world country and buy wheel-chairs for polio survi-vors.”

Lakusta says that kind of generosity makes up the fabric of Fort St. James.

“I love this commu-nity, it’s amazing, the community spirit here,” she said. Adding that even in tough econom-ic times the town still came together to raise money to help people.

It was her experi-ence both with Fort St. James and Nigeria that inspired Lakusta to get involved locally as well as globally.

“When I came back from Nigeria I was really overwhelmed by how awesome our community was and I thought it would be

good to get into lo-cal things, too,” said Lakusta.

Since then Lakusta has been involved in a plethora of activi-

ties throughout Fort St. James including work-ing with the Humane Society, the (now de-funct) Rotary, Calen-ders for a Cause, Oper-

ation Christmas Child, and the Toy and Food Drive.

Lakusta took over the Toy and Food Drive after the previous or-ganizers left town and has been organizing it in conjunction with a handful of other people for the last four years.

She says that during her � rst year running the program was very

chaotic and she’s been working on stream-lining the program so that if she is unable to be involved those who inherit the bene� t will have an easier time.

“What I’ve been

working on this last year has been putting together a hard drive of everything you need to run the Toy and Food drive,” Lakusta said. “So if something were to happen to me there is a plan for it so nobod-ies going into it blind.”

In addition to her humanitarian work Lakusta also owns and operates her own business. The sheer magnitude of energy it takes to run ones own business is ex-hausting but to add philanthropic work on top of it is enough to make anyones stress level shoot through the roof. But Lakusta � nds inspiration and energy for her work from the world around her.

“It’s a passion. I feel so fortunate for where we live and all of the things that are provided for us. I think no matter what your circumstanc-es are you can always help somebody else,” she said. “If you can change one persons day or life, that’s what life is about for me.” She adds that its not always a grand gesture needed to make a difference but the little things that often help the most.

Jasmine Lakusta has a heart three sizes too large

Jasmine Lakusta is the owner of Beauty by Vengeance in Fort St. James and an active member in the communities charitable scene.

Photo by Jesse Cole.

“It’s a passion... I think no

matter what your

circum-stances are you can al-

ways help some-

body else,

caledonia courier, november 26, 2014

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