Prince George Free Press, March 27, 2015

www.pgfreepress.com | newsline: 250.564.0005

CRIME: Former Renegades boss gunned downP

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INQUESTINTRIGUE

Coroner’s counsel John Orr questions WorkSafeBC investigation

Proceedings adjourned

Chief Coroner Lapointeadmonishes counsel

Debate rages overindependent investigation

CEO Greg Stewarttakes the stand at inquest

WorkSafeBC investigators declined an off er, in the fall of 2012, to view forensic investigative materials regarding the Lakeland Mills explosion collected by CASE Forensic, a coroner’s inquest heard Wednesday.

Th at revelation, and the fact the material from that investigation conducted by Lakeland Mills’ lawyers, was not provided to the inquest at the outset, prompted Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe to adjourn the inquest, now into its fourth week.

“I’m signifi cantly disappointed,” she said Wednesday

Bill [email protected]

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

Several people have been at the coroner’s inquest into the deaths of Glenn Roche and Alan Little every day since it began.

Included in those who have sat in the gallery every day are Ronda Roche, Glenn Roche’s widow, and Greg Stewart, CEO of the Sinclar Group, Lakeland Mills parent company.

Ronda Roche testifi ed on the fi rst day of the inquest and Stewart was the last on the stand before it adjourned Wednesday.

“Th is incident was awful for all of us. Th is has been a very, very tough event for our organization,” Stewart said and, turning to Roche, added. “We’re so sorry that this has happened and what the families have had to go through. I can’t even imagine what it has been like.”

The coroner’s inquest into the April 23, 2012 ex-plosion and fi re that killed two men and injured 22 others has taken some unexpected turns over the past few days.

When the inquest, looking into the deaths of Alan Little and Glenn Roche, adjourned on March 20, chief coroner Lisa Lapointe ruled that an investigation into the explosion conducted by legal counsel for Lakeland Mills was relevant to the inquest. However, she also ruled that the information was subject solicitor/client privilege and had given Lake-land the weekend to determine whether it would waive that privilege in order for it to be presented at the inquest.

Monday morning, however, she ruled that the informa-tion was not privileged and Lakeland Mills counsel Gavin

2 Friday, March 27, 2015 www.pgfreepress.comPrince George - NEWS - Free Press

PRINCE GEORGE2591A Vance Rd.

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VERNON200-3107 - 48th Ave.

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Friday, March 27, 2015 3www.pgfreepress.com Prince George Free Press

BILL PHILLIPS | 250.564.0005 | [email protected] | www.pgfreepress.com

Th e man killed in Sunday’s shooting on Gillett Street near Fift h Avenue was a member of the now-defunct Renegades Outlaw Motorcycle Club, according to police.

Jason Alexander Hall, 45, was shot Sunday morning and died Monday in the Uni-versity Hospital of Northern B.C. as a result of “at least one gun shot,” say police. Hall was a resident of Prince George.

At approximately 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 22, the Prince George RCMP and other emergency ser-vices were called to a report of a man down on the corner of Fift h Avenue and Gillett Street.

Offi cers arrived and found a man with serious inju-ries. He was transported by the BC Ambulance Service to the University Hospital of Northern BC where he later died.

Police believe this was a targeted act.Investigators are requesting the public’s help in locat-

ing a vehicle believed to be involved in the homicide. Th e vehicle is described as a white, four-door, 2005 Chevrolet Malibu with a B.C. licence plate AK532P

If you have any information about the Chevrolet Mal-ibu, the homicide or the person(s) responsible, please contact the Prince George RCMP at (250)561-3300 or anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1(800)222-8477, online at www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca(English only), or Text-A-Tip to CRIMES (274637) using key-word “pgtips”. You do not have to reveal your identity to Crime Stoppers. If you provide information that leads to an arrest, you could be eligible for a cash reward.

Two men are facing several charges following a shooting early Monday morning in Prince George.

At approximately 6 a.m. on Monday, March 23, the Prince George RCMP received multiple 9-1-1 calls reporting possible shots fi red in the area of

Fox Drive, off Chief Lake Road in the northern part of Prince George.

While en route to the scene, General Duty offi cers located a suspect vehicle on Foothills Boulevard. When offi cers attempted to pull the vehicle over, the driver failed to stop. A

pursuit was engaged before two suspects abandoned the vehicle and fl ed on foot off Chief Lake Road. Both male suspects were apprehended. Th e men are both 27 years old and from Prince George.

A residence on Fox Drive appears to have damage

consistent with bullet holes. Two adults and two chil-dren under the age of 12 were in the residence at the time of the shooting. No injuries were reported.

Although this investiga-tion is in its early stages, all indications are that this was a targeted incident.

A man accused of sexually assaulting a fi ve-year-old girl with cerebral palsy in 1974 in Prince George will be in court here March 27, thanks to work by police departments in Canada and the U.S.

Raymond Douglas MacLeod was turned over to Canadian authorities in Vancouver late Tues-day, culminating a nearly two-year legal eff ort by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to gain his deportation.

In September 1974, MacLeod, then 32 years old, was arrested in connection with the inci-dent, which is alleged to have taken place at a residence on Upland Street.

MacLeod was tried and found not guilty. However that verdict was appealed and a second trial was ordered. He was arrested in Burlington, Ontario in June of 1979 on unrelated charges. At that time, MacLeod was served with court documents ordering him to appear in court, but he failed to do so. A Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued in 1980, but he was never located.

Prince George RCMP contacted Interpol to acquire their assistance in locating MacLeod.

It was later determined MacLeod was alive and residing in California. Serious Crime inves-tigators from the Prince George RCMP, in part-nership with U.S. authorities, were able to con-fi rm a man arrested in California was MacLeod. Eff orts to locate MacLeod have spanned decades, involved various investigational techniques and various agencies in both Canada and the U.S.

Macleod was arrested in October 2013 by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations offi cers and Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s deputies at a San Dimas trailer park where he had been living under an assumed name. An immigration judge ordered him deported in March 2014. Macleod subsequently appealed the judge’s decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ultimately, both panels concurred with the original ruling, paving the way for this week’s extradition back to Canada.

MacLeod, now 72 years old, is facing charges of rape, indecent assault on a female, and assault causing bodily harm, which were all off ences under the Criminal Code in 1974. An additional charge of obstruction of justice has been ap-proved by Crown counsel.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Immigration and Customs EnforcementRaymond Douglas MacLeod arrives at Los Angeles International Airport Tuesday under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement escort in preparation for his departure to Canada. MacLeod will faces charges of rape, indecent assault, and assault causing bodily harm, dating back to 1974.

Man wanted in 1974 sexual assault case returned to Prince George from U.S.

Former biker gangpresidentvictim of homicide

KILLEDJASON HALL

Two men charged after Monday morning shooting

Allan WISHART/Free PressTara Slone, left, Geoff Courtnall and Kirk McLean were part of the Hotstove segment of Hometown Hockey on Sunday at the Exhibition Grounds.

Hometown Hockey

4 Friday, March 27, 2015 www.pgfreepress.comPrince George - NEWS - Free Press

three years.Jared R. Warren was found guilty of possession

of a controlled substance, fi ned $1,000 and as-sessed a victim surcharge of $300.

In Provincial Court on Jan. 29:Wayne K.H. Brown was found guilty of theft

of a motor vehicle, sentenced to 144 days in jail, placed on probation for two years, assessed a vic-tim surcharge of $100 and prohibited from driving for three years. Brown was also found guilty of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, sentenced to 30 days in jail and assessed a victim surcharge of $100. Brown was also found guilty of failing to comply with a probation order, sentenced to 15 days in jail and assessed a victim surcharge of $100.

Calvin E. Russ was found guilty of assault causing bodily harm, sentenced to 33 days in jail, placed on probation for 18 months and assessed a victim surcharge of $100. Russ was also found guilty of failing to comply with a probation order, sentenced to seven days in jail and assessed a victim surcharge of $100.

In Provincial Court on Jan. 30:Trudy M. Apsassin was found guilty of operat-

ing a motor vehicle while impaired, fi ned $1,000 and prohibited from driving for one year.

Kenneth J.L. John was found guilty of failing to comply with a probation order, sentenced to 27 days in jail and assessed a victim surcharge of $100.

Brent E. Langan was found guilty of assault, sentenced to 30 days in jail, placed on probation for 18 months and assessed a victim surcharge of $200. Langan was also found guilty of mischief and failing to comply with a condition of an un-dertaking or recognizance, sentenced to one day in jail and assessed a victim surcharge of $200.

Clayton A. Middlemiss was found guilty of two counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of traffi cking, sentenced to 60 days in jail to be served on an intermittent basic, placed on probation until the expiration of the jail sentence and assessed a victim surcharge of $200. Middlemiss was also found guilty of failing to comply with a condition of an undertaking, fi ned $500 and assessed a victim surcharge of $150.

Dean P. Paul was found guilty of driving while prohibited, fi ned $500, assessed a victim surcharge of $100 and prohibited from driving for one year. Paul was also found guilty of failing to comply with a condition of an under-taking or recognizance, sentenced to one day in jail and assessed a vic-tim surcharge of $100.

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WANTEDCrime Stoppers is asking the pub-lic’s assistance in locating the fol-lowing person who is wanted on a British Columbia wide warrant. As of 0800hrs this 25th day of March 2015, Aaron Ryan MOORE (B: 1989-09-17) is wanted on a British Co-lumbia wide warrant for ASSAULT. MOORE is described as a First Na-tions male, 183cm or 6’0” tall and weighs 90 kg or 199 lbs. MOORE has black hair and brown eyes. MOORE should be considered violent.

WANTED

WANTEDCrime Stoppers is asking the public’s assistance in locating the following person who is wanted on a British Columbia wide warrant. As of 0800hrs this 25th day of March 2015, Vernon Rudy MCKAY (B: 1994-10-20) is wanted on a British Columbia wide warrant for BREACH OF UNDERTAKING x 2. MCKAY is described as a First Nations male, 173 cm or 5’8” tall and weighs 60 kg or 133 lbs. MCKAY has black hair and brown eyes.

o

Crime Stoppers is asking the public’s assistance in locating the following person who is wanted on a British Columbia wide warrant. As of 0800hrs this 25th day of March 2015, George Edward SPONAGLE (B: 1967-02-08) is wanted on a British Columbia wide warrant for BREACH OF UNDERTAKING x 2.

SPONAGLE is described as a Cauca-sian male 168 cm or 5’6” tall, and weighs 82 kg or 181 lbs. SPONAGLE has brown hair and green eyes. SPONAGLE should be considered violent.

Aaron Ryan MOORE

183 cm or 6’0”90 kg or 199lbs

George Edward SPONAGLE

168 cm or 5’6”82 kg or 181 lbs

Vernon Rudy MCKAY

173 cm or 5’8”60 kg or 133 lbs.

Bad drivers jailedIn Provincial Court on

Jan. 28:Cameron A. Dee-

han was found guilty of mischief, placed on probation for one year, assessed a victim surcharge of $100 and ordered to make restitu-tion of $12,326.88.

Minard H. Haney was found guilty of utter-ing threats, placed on probation for one year and assessed a victim surcharge of $100.

Cherrisse B.M. Labre was found guilty of two counts of failing to comply with a condition of an undertaking or recognizance, sentenced to jail time served and assessed a victim sur-charge of $100.

Robert K. Rickett was found guilty of two counts of driving while prohibited, sentenced to 34 days in jail, fi ned $600, assessed a victim surcharge of $90 and prohibited from driving for

Allan WISHART/Free PressElla, left, and Austin Stevenson draw outlines of a maple leaf as they create thir own signs at Hometown Hockey on Sunday at the Exhibition Grounds.

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Friday, March 27, 2015 5www.pgfreepress.com Prince George - News - Free Press

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while admonishing counsel for WorkSafeBC. “… You don’t get to filter information. As a participant, you have a big-ger responsibility. You have a responsibility to bring it forward and I will determine whether it’s relevant … It’s not up to the people with an interest to decide what is important. An inquest is about finding the truth.”

Glenn Roche and Alan Little died as a result of the April 23, 2012 explosion and fire, and 22 other workers were injured.

The matter surfaced last week when it was discovered that the CASE Forensic material existed, even though a Lakeland Mills investigator was one of many who toured the mill with the initial WorkSafeBC investigator in 2012.

Coroner’s counsel John Orr said Wednesday that an e-mail thread, provided by Lakeland Mills counsel Gavin Marshall, shows the material from CASE Forensics was offered to Work-

SafeBC before the WorkSafeBC final report was completed.

“WorkSafeBC declined,” he said. “It raises the question behind the process of the Work-SafeBC investigation and the conclusions it reached.”

WorkSafeBC declined com-ment immediately after the ruling, saying it was preparing a response statement.

On March 20, Lapointe ruled the information in the CASE Forensics report was vital to the inquest, but fell under the solici-tor/client privilege and asked Lakeland Mills to waive that privilege. On Monday, however, she rescinded that ruling, stating it was not protected by solicitor/client privilege. Lakeland had already decided to waive the solicitor/client privilege.

Orr added he was concerned that the information was not shared with coroner’s counsel prior to the inquest. He added he needed time to study the CASE Forensics material and determine what impact, if any, it

would have on the WorkSafeBC report.

Orr also suggested that former WorkSafeBC CEO David Anderson testify at the inquest as to why the offer to share information was rejected. WorkSafeBC vice-presidents Al Johnson and Ian Munroe are still scheduled to testify.

Greg Stewart, CEO of Lake-land Mills’ parent company Sin-clar Group, said he was disap-pointed with the adjournment.

“We had hoped that this would be completed by the end of the week and we had some feeling that there was possibly a solution that we could work on, but unfortunately that wasn’t an option today,” he said.

Stewart spent the entire morning on the witness stand at the inquest and declined to comment specifically on the is-sue that forced the adjournment.

“This has been a long, long process,” he said. “The real victims of this adjournment are the families and employees that

No date set for resumptionFROM PAGE A1 have suffered for three

years.”There has been no

date set for the inquest to reconvene, however, Orr said it could take a few weeks. He added he was hopeful it won’t impact the inquest into the Babine Forest Prod-ucts sawmill explosion and fire. That inquest is set to start in Burns Lake in July.

Teresa MALLAM/Free PressDanica Prasad, 5, and her one-year-old brother, Casper, enjoy the Holi (Festival of Colours) festivities on Saturday at the Days Inn.

Happy at Holi

6 Friday, March 27, 2015 www.pgfreepress.comPrince George - News - Free Press

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Soltis appointedKathleen Soltis, a long-time

civic employee and city resident, has been unanimously appointed by Prince George city council to the position of city manager.

“On behalf of council, I would like to congratulate Ms. Soltis, who brings a wealth of knowl-edge and municipal expertise to the role of city manager,” said Mayor Lyn Hall, in a press re-lease. “For the past 17 years, Ms. Soltis has served as the Director of Corporate Services and as the city’s chief financial officer. As a life-long resident of Prince George, she cares deeply about this community. We look forward to the stability and experience that Ms. Soltis will bring to our organization, and we know that residents and employees will ben-efit greatly from her leadership.”

Soltis has been acting city manager since January when city and former city manager, Beth James, parted ways. According to 250News, James will be on paid leave until September. Soltis also served as acting city manager in late 2012 when Derek Bates retired.

Soltis will receive an annual salary of $222,000 plus $500 per month for a vehicle allowance. Her contract is for a three-year

period with a one-year renewal option.

She holds a master’s of business

administration from UBC and has worked for the city for nearly 29 years.

to position of city manager

Photo submittedKathleen Soltis is no longer acting city manager after being appointed to the position on a full-time basis.

Friday, March 27, 2015 7www.pgfreepress.com Prince George - NEWS - Free Press

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Marshall handed over the information.However, also on Friday, inquest counsel John

Orr referred to the suggestion that Lakeland withhold the evidence as “unconscionable.” On Monday Orr apologized for using the term.

However, that has angered Lakeland Mills, which issued a statement shortly aft er lunch Monday.

“Mr. Orr has taken a prosecutorial stance to this inquest, including describing witness testi-mony in open court as ‘incomprehensible’ and ‘unbelievable,’ and questioning the integrity of other counsel and of our company,” said Lakeland statement.

“Lakeland Mills has been owned and run by two local families in this community for over 50 years. Th e Stewarts and Andersens have proven their integrity, honesty and commitment to this community and to have it questioned by an agent of the state who is supposed to be an impartial third party is unacceptable.

“Lakeland Mills remains committed to open-ness and transparency of the process, as it has been from the day this tragedy occurred. We believe it is important to discover what happened so we can ensure nothing like this happens again. We don’t believe the current state of the informa-tion in the CASE Forensics fi le will change the outcome of the inquest.

“Th at said, Lakeland Mills has agreed to share any information that the coroner considers rel-evant.”

Th at came too late for counsel for the United Steelworkers, which withdrew from the inquest Monday morning, stating the union has lost confi dence that the inquest will answer the many outstanding questions that remain and reiterated

calls for a public inquiry into the Lakeland Mills and Babine Forest Products mill explosions.

“Over the past week, the inquest has heard how WorkSafeBC’s failure to carry out its mandate to ensure the health and safety of workers resulted in a complete mishandling of sawmill safety both before and aft er the explosion,” said USW District 3 Director Stephen Hunt in a statement issued Monday aft ernoon. “Despite this tragic failure to do its job, the agency is not being held account-able.”

Hunt added called the investigations by Work-SafeBC, the RCMP and B.C. Safety Authority “fl awed.”

“It is now clear that the inquest is not going to adequately answer any of the questions that de-mand to be answered. Th e employer’s withholding of crucial evidence would have made a diff erence as to how the USW conducted its case and we will not participate in an exercise that does such a dis-service to the families who lost loved ones and to the larger community,” said Hunt.

Earlier in his testimony, Stewart said he had just put his daughters to bed on the night of April 23, 2012 when he got the call that there had been an explosion and fi re at Lakeland Mills. He said he called mill manager Mike Richard and they headed down to the site. Th ey couldn’t get access into the site, so helped po-lice and fi re crews identify who was in the mill at the time.

He said they eventually left the site and he called the management team to tell them what was happening and then went to the hospital to wait for news on the injured men.

When asked by coroner’s counsel John Orr what went wrong, Stewart said it was a “complex” issue that could have been avoided.

“It was a dust explosion,” he said. “Th e question is how did we get to that point? Th ere were steps that individuals and companies could have taken to prevent this, and they were missed.”

When pressed about what those steps were that were missed, Stewart said it was the lack of knowledge of the hazards, not only at Lakeland, but in the industry in general.

Stewart said safety has always been a priority of his and, through a company-wide process, Sinclar

Group adopted the tagline “safety by choice, not by chance.”

He said he was aware the occupational health and safety committee was having trouble getting people to attend and following a February 6, 2012 inspection by WorkSafeBC had set up a steering committee. In December of 2011, Stewart

met with every shift at the mill to stress safety and stress to the workers that they have the right to refuse unsafe work.

However, he agreed that there is peer pressure and fear of los-ing one’s job that oft en prevents workers from coming forward.

“Th e hard part of the right to refuse work is that there has to be trust,” Stewart said, adding the company is working on a safe disclosure policy.

Stewart said he did not know that supervisor Al Little had been raising the issue of dust in the mill. Stewart was also not in-formed of two January 2012 fi res in the mill, one the day before the Babine Forest Products mill in Burns Lake exploded. He was aware, however, of a fi re in the baghouse and one in the system leading to the baghouse.

Stewart also had, at the in-quest, a copy of the company’s fi re safety plan, which has been presented to the Prince George Fire Rescue Service for review and, hopefully, adoption later this year.

Stewart says safety steps were missedFROM PAGE A1

LAKELANDGREG STEWART

Steelworkers withdraw from Lakeland inquestFROM PAGE A1

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8 Friday, March 27, 2015 www.pgfreepress.comPrince George - News - Free Press

as an on-the-ground resource for apprentic-es and employers in the Central Interior and Prince George area.

Anderson has more than 10 years of experi-ence coaching and motivating individuals towards employment as a Certified Career Development Practi-tioner. For the past 13 years she has worked primarily with the Em-ployment Assistance Services Department at the Aboriginal Com-munity Careers and Employment Services Society (ACCESS).

Anderson will join Walter Sorokovsky, who started as the apprenticeship advisor for the Central Interior and Prince George North region last year. In addition to operat-ing a construction business, Sorokovsky has more than 10 years of experience working as a millwright/ma-chinist instructor. He obtained his provincial college instructors diploma, and holds Red Seal certification

in several trades – millwright, machinist, and carpenter – along with a certificate of qualification in power engineering.

Apprenticeship advisors serve as an extension of the Industry Training

Authority customer support team, and provide regional sup-port to apprentices and sponsors in order to create a positive impact on continuation and completion rates for apprenticeship. Key responsibilities include

building knowledge of the B.C. apprenticeship system, advising ap-prentices and sponsors, boosting apprentice success, and support-ing apprentice and sponsor connections.

Anderson and So-rokovsky are two of 15 apprenticeship advisors in the province.

“They’re the boots on the ground,” said Gary Herman, Industry Train-ing Authority CEO.

Register for (CASS 110, 120, 130, 140, and 145) andearn credits towards more than one credential.

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More of Highway 97 south of Prince George will be four-laned this summer.

Work will begin on four-laning three kilo-metres of the highway this summer. Transpor-tation Minister Todd Stone made the an-nouncement last week in Prince George.

The $45 million proj-ect is located approxi-mately 29 kilometres south of Prince George and will see three kilometres of Highway 97 between Stone Creek Bridge and the Red Rock Weigh Station widened from two to four lanes. The work also includes replacing the Red Rock CN Rail overhead to accommo-date the new four-lane highway. This will also increase the height clearance to 5.5 metres, which will improve the CN railway alignment and allow greater clear-ance for larger trucks and loads.

Highway gets work

Anderson new advisor for ITAOver 70 local apprentices, em-

ployers and industry representa-tives gathered at the College of New Caledonia last week to meet Donna Anderson.

Anderson is the Industry Training Authority’s apprenticeship advisor

for the Central Interior and Prince George South.

“It’s all about connecting,” Ander-son said about her new job. “I will be working closely with apprentices and sponsors.”

In her new role, Anderson will act

Photo courtesy ITACentral Interior and Prince George South Apprenticeship Advisor Donna Anderson, left, Central Interior and Prince George North Apprenticeship Advisor Walter Sorokovsky, Minister Shirley Bond, and ITA CEO Gary Herman were at a recent meeting introducing Anderson to local apprentices.

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Educators’ group calls on CNC

Cindy Oliver will have one message for the College of New Caledonia Board of Governors this afternoon.

“When programs are cut,” the presi-dent of the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of B.C. says, “the students end up suffering.”

Oliver will be one of the presenters at a spe-cial forum called by the board to get public input on a proposal to suspend student intakes into some programs to help meet this year’s budget. The vote on the matter was sup-posed to be at today’s board meeting, but that vote has now been postponed until the April 24 meeting, and a public forum will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. in Room 1-306 at the college.

“It’s quite devastating what’s happening,” Oliver said Wednesday. “We’re seeing this played out at institutions across the prov-ince. Programs being cut, reduced oppor-

tunities for students, access to tuition-free English as a Second Language and Adult Basic Education being dropped.

“Often these programs don’t come back.”

CNC had indicated earlier this month it was suspending intakes into some dental programs as well as the Aboriginal Early Childhood Education (AECE) program.

“We realize they are looking at making changes to the programs,” Oliver says,

“but that also means they’re probably going to be charging more. Students are already staggering un-der their debt load as it is.”

She says CNC is doing what it sees necessary to make its bud-

get work under provincial guidelines, and says Victoria needs to take steps to make sure schools can give people the opportu-nities they, and the province, need.

“There is a looming skills shortage, we hear, and if they continue cutting pro-grams at B.C. schools, they’re going to have to bring these people in. The prov-ince touts its jobs plan, but they need to find ways to help smaller institutions, like CNC.

“We’re looking at the results of 14 years of chronic underfunding.”

Taking away these programs will be a blow to the community as a whole, she says.

“There are a lot of people who don’t have a dentist, who rely on the dental programs at CNC. What are they going to do if the clinic there closes?

“The dental programs are generally filled with a lot of women, and they usu-ally get jobs when they’re finished the program.

“It’s very shortsighted of CNC and the gov-ernment to take these opportunities away.”

Oliver says it wouldn’t take much money, from the government point of view, to im-prove things.

“They could take $30 million, which is 1.5 per cent of the Ministry of Advanced Educa-tion budget, and put all these programs back in place, and make Adult Basic Education tuition-free again.

“They just choose not to spend the money that way.”

She feels people need to put more pressure on the provincial government to fund post-secondary education.

“There are high-profile MLAs in this area, such as Shirley Bond. People need to start talking to her about the government’s pri-orities. They have a surplus, there are extra funds available, and they just gave away a tax break to high-income earners.

“When Naomi Yamamoto was the min-ister, all 25 institution presidents sent her a letter about the funding crisis. That was unprecedented.

“We think they need to send another letter.”

to reverse proposal on stopping student intake in programsAllan [email protected]

Cindy Oliver

when programs are cut, the

students end up suffering.

pgfreepress.com



10 Friday, March 27, 2015 drivewayPrince George Free Press

Personalizing your truck, safelyBy Ian Harwood

Purchasing a new or used truck is exciting but per-sonalizing it is even more fun!Believe me when I tell you, buying the truck is the cheap part. I have seen people over the years spend upwards of $25,000 or more on customization. One of the more popular things to do these days is to install a suspension lift along with larger tires and wheels. If you’re going to tackle this yourself, here are a few things you should know.

Installation: Many manu-facturers off er manuals for installing lift kits but some installations are quite intricate, requiring some welding or cutting in order to add some necessary components. In this case, having a mechanic or a few knowledgeable friends around will help make the job go smoothly. Additional Modifi cations: Upgrading to taller tires also means that a number of components may require part upgrades or some tuning to compensate. For instance, a truck’s engine

is tuned at specifi c gear ratios to propel the vehicle. When adding taller tires, the gear ratios must be changed accordingly, since the engine has to spin much larger, heavier tires. You will also be required to purchase a speedometer recalibration tool, so you have an accurate reading. Again, consult with more experienced individuals for further insight. Highway Driving: Larger, wider tires can sometimes result in instability on roads or a noisy, uncomfortable ride, particularly at high

speeds. Also, more aggres-sive off road tires tend to wear faster on the highway and traction might not be as great as you would expect on wet roads. Weight: larger tires are heavier, which can put a lot of strain on your suspen-sion, particularly if it is a stock suspension. Trusted, durable suspension compo-nents and lighter aluminum wheels can sometimes help to reduce the strain. Handling: Adding a truck suspension lift kit will un-doubtedly raise the vehicle’s centre of gravity, resulting

in less stable turns. Th is is a common problem when installing lift kits, but is mostly just a matter of becoming accustomed to a vehicle’s change in perfor-mance. Legality: Some lift kits cre-ate such a serious change in your suspension system that it may not be legal. Check the suspension regulations within your province to be sure.A Few Useful Accessories: Before installing a lift kit, it’s a good idea to fi rst examine if any components will be aff ected by your ve-

hicle’s new height. Here are a few useful accessories that may need to be upgraded: Brake Upgrades: Stock brakes do not always ac-commodate larger tires, or will wear easily due to the added strain. Drivetrain and Diff erential: Axles, gears, diff erential covers, lockers and more ensure that your drivetrain is up to par with your suspension. Replacement Parts: Longer Control Arms and Track Bars to compensate for the additional height of your truck.

Shocks: For those taller lift s, longer shocks will ensure the smoothest performance both on and off road. Other Parts: Steering link-age, slip yoke, drive shaft length, u-joint angle, and brake lines are all worthy of consideration before in-stalling suspension lift kits.Search the internet. Th ere are many sites which off er complete instructions on various suspension lift s. You can download a copy before you make the purchase, and know exactly what is in involved. [email protected]

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Th is week marks a bit of a milestone for me.Last night I sang my swansong at the Prince George Chamber

of Commerce. Aft er four years on the board of directors, three-and-a-half of those on the executive committee, I am no longer

on the board.It was by choice, however I did have

to deliver a fi nancial report last night, so aft er that my decision to not run again might have been timed perfect. As former Chilcotin author, columnist, newspaperman, and MP Paul St. Pierre used to say about his political career: “I retired, by popular demand.”

My time on the Chamber board, like everyone else before me and those yet to come, was interesting, challenging, and very rewarding.

I was involved in some very interest-ing things … from developing a strate-

gic plan for the Chamber to purchasing the building that houses the Chamber.

It almost goes without saying, though, that the best aspect of sitting on the Chamber board is the people you meet and work with. Th ere are few new faces on the Chamber board every year, and that’s by design. So you get to meet and work with people

from diff erent sectors of the community, and that’s exciting. Everyone brings their own perspective and the goal the Chamber board, any board for that matter, is discuss the issues of the day and then come to some sort of agreement. Th e Chamber isn’t a consensus board so votes aren’t always unanimous and if I have any advice to new board members, be prepared that the vote might not always go your way.

Th at is how a democratic board works.One of the misconceptions, and apprehensions, about join-

ing the Chamber board was that, as a business organization, the corporate world would rule the day. Th at just didn’t happen.

One of the most memorable debates I participated in at the board table was a call from the Williams Lake Chamber to sup-port Taseko Mines’ highly controversial Prosperity Project in the Chilcotin.

We had a really lively debate and, in the end, a motion to give support passed by one vote.

To all the new board members who are waking up this morn-ing wondering what they got themselves into, congratulations, you got yourself into a wonderful adventure. It will take some of your time, your energy, your smarts, and your will to make things better. Good luck.

And to all the board members and staff who have endured my comments over the past few years, thank you. It has truly been a wonderful experience.

Yes, it’s spring in Prince George, despite the little bit of snow we got on Saturday.

One easy way to tell the seasons have changed is to see the number of drivers being forced to do the pothole two-step on local streets.

Just driving in a fairly limited area on the weekend, especially Sunday, I found a few spots that had nasty-looking holes.

Th ere were a couple in the eastbound lane of 18th Avenue, just past Ospika, as well as a couple on the entrance to the Exhibition Grounds off 18th Avenue.

I have noticed a fair number of holes that have obviously been patched, especially along 15th Avenue, but this seems to be a race, as usual, the city crews can’t win. Th ey put down quick patches in one area, and new potholes appear in three other spots.

Th e recent weather hasn’t helped either, since I know from past conversations with road managers here and in other locations that the freeze-thaw cycle we are still see-ing a lot of nights does a real number on roads.

One possible benefi cial side eff ect of the potholes is that they may slow down some of the speedier drivers on our local roads. Aft er all, it can be hard enough to take evasive action around a pothole when you’re driving the speed limit, and I’ve had a couple of rather nasty jolts from potholes I couldn’t avoid.

When that happens, I sometimes smile a bit (aft er making sure all the parts of the vehicle are still attached), and think about what it would be like to hit that same pot-hole dead-on going a lot faster.

I then picture in my mind the sight of one of those vehicles possibly going airborne aft er making contact. It makes a plenty diversion as I weave my way past a few more potholes.

It will be interesting to see the city’s list of what streets will be paved this summer, since the season could be starting earlier than usual.

• One of the coolest sights this weekend was on Sunday morning at the Roll-a-Dome as the Prince George and Kamloops roller derby teams warmed up for their match at the Northern Exposure tourna-ment.

Th e PA system started playing Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson, and some of the skaters from both teams started doing some fancy moves to the music.

I remembered then watching some of those scenes of roller skaters dancing to disco songs in the 1970s (and yes, I am dating myself again).

ALLAN’S AMBLINGSALLANWISHART

Springis here

WRITER’S BLOCKBILLPHILLIPS

Good luck to all the newChamber of Commerce board members

Fitting the descriptionLesson learned.Read your own newspaper online before

you leave the offi ce. I could have been saved myself a lot

of confusion, anxiety, angst and profuse sweating had I done that.

First, just the facts.I was driving down 15th Avenue

Wednesday morning, as usual driving carefully and minding my own business – this is my story so I can tell it the way I want to – on my way to a photo assignment at the PG Railway and Forestry Museum.

As an astute reporter, I began

to feel very uneasy. I felt eyes on the back of me.I looked into my rear view mirror. Th ere was a police vehicle behind me in

the next lane.Here I should say I am known around

the offi ce and to some of my omnipotent friends for my pas de deux paranoia. I coined that phrase myself (the one time I have used my psychology degree to any use other than to psyche out my boss.) What this means is that I oft en have the feeling there is someone, like a shadow, keeping in step with me or watching over me. I am always sure there’s someone out to get me – and generally there is.

So here it was that, once again, I felt as if I was being followed, I was under some kind of surveillance. I was a person of interest. I checked my rear view mirror again. Th e police vehicle had moved up into the lane beside me. Our two vehicles were – had this been a horse race – now virtually neck and neck.

Th e light turned red. I could not move. I tried to keep my eyes looking ahead,

at the lights, but I was curious. I glanced sideways to see a set of peering eyes darting all over my vehicle. Th e offi cer appeared to be looking in both passenger side windows and checking out the con-tents of my back seat – which admittedly is full of junque de jour.

I quickly averted my glance. Why was he looking at me?Was I speeding? No. Before I stopped

for the red light, I was driving within the posted speed limit. Seat belt fastened? Check. Insurance decal missing? Not a chance, it’s on there with crazy glue (for people like who think someone’s going to rip them off .) Was the insurance up to date? Check. Dirty licence plate? No. It was raining hard so for once you could actually see that my white car was not almost black. Registration papers in glove box? Check (though I didn’t lean over to fi nd out I was l pretty sure.) What could it be? No (not ever) liquor bottles or plastic baggies or paraphernalia in sight in the back seat – or hidden – that could be mistaken for booze or drugs in the car. Check. No outstanding parking tickets? No. Check. Lights all working? Check.

Check. Check. Check.

Now I am getting nervous. I have both hands on the steering wheel. My knuck-les are white. If anybody looks guilty of something, anything, it’s me. Th e light is still red, in fact it shows no signs of chang-ing any time soon. Th en it happens. Th e offi cer pulls his vehicle over to the side of the road and (again appears to be) talking on his cell phone/radio or whatever gadget it is they have in there.

Ah-hah. He’s got them (the city) to freeze the lights so I can’t escape while he checks things out.

Th ey have the power, you know. So I’m sitting there, waiting and won-

dering what on earth I could possibly have done wrong so early in my day to attract all this unwanted attention from police.

Aft er an eternity, the light turns green, the offi cer is still busy making notes by the side of the road and I slide through the intersection. One more look into the rear view mirror shows me he’s not following me.

No pas de deux today.On my return to the offi ce I check our

website. My editor’s put up a story that the RCMP’s Serious Crime Section is on the lookout for a white Chevy Malibu, older model, in connection with the fatal shooting on Sunday. My car? White? Check. Chevy Malibu? Check. Year 2005? No check – but the model hasn’t changed signifi cantly since the year of my 2001 model.

Driver acting nervous, suspicious? Check.

Well, I think it’s time to check into re-hab. Either that or buy a new car.

leaves driver feeling nervous about police car

TEA WITH TERESATERESAMALLAM

12 Friday, March 27, 2015 www.pgfreepress.com

It is sad when our collective intelligence fails us.Th e recent labour action at the university is another

example of utilizing brute force to try to resolve a dispute. Strikes and lockout still have a place and can be useful tools in bargaining in industry. It is questionable if they are the correct tools to use as we endeavour to resolve a dispute where signifi cant collateral damage to innocent parties is the result.

In the fi elds such as education or health care and other fi elds, rather than just the employees and employers taking a severe beating, others are victimized through no fault of their own. Th ey do not get to partake in the discussions yet in many ways are the most harmed.

In an industrial dispute, customers may be inconvenienced somewhat but there are usually alternative suppliers of the goods and services normally provided by those companies and workers. In a strike or lockout situation, the employers do not make a profi t and the workers don’t take home any wages.

In the current dispute at the university, stu-dents are probably suff ering the most. Comple-tion of studies for the semester is in doubt, projects are not moving to completion, and the start of their summer break employment is delayed. While there is a fi nancial burden on the faculty members, there is also a burden on the students. Th at is not fair.

Similar situations also arise in the withdrawal of services in health care and other educational institutions. Th e dam-age done to students or the pain suff ered by those awaiting surgery or other treatment should not be ignored.

We would never wish to forbid anyone from withdraw-ing their services. Th at is a choice which must remain for everyone.

At the present time, member of the unions and associa-tions representing the collective interests of their group have few options. Th ere is no alternative to the industrial labour practices which they can utilize. It is understandable that when negotiations reach an impasse, they can only utilize

the legal tools they have at hand. Understand-able but heavy handed and less than effi cient in that it does considerable harm to others who become victims of those actions.

In our collective wisdom we should be able to create a diff erent method of resolving disputes. It would have to be fair to all parties. Some method similar to binding arbitration would be a start. To ensure fairness, there would also have to be an appeal mechanism so mandated terms can be reviewed by a dispassionate third party. Th e creation of the system must include the input from all parties and the initial application must also have a process to review and modify the agreed rules. Eventually, with experience, a

credible system could be put in place.As a civilized society we utilize a number of dispute reso-

lution processes including the courts. We do not gather our friends together and go out and beat up the other party.

A workable system may even replace the somewhat unrefi ned industrial model we now utilize. Th at would be a bonus, but the most important dividend would be the avoid-ance of harm to innocent third parties. If we don’t try, we will never know.

While the majority of the province’s popu-lation is in urban centres, the majority of wealth is generated by resource develop-ment in rural areas.”

Forests minister Steve Th omson could not have been more right when he uttered those words last September in announcing the framework for a council to advise the province on rural issues.

From logging to mining to oil and gas, vast streams of revenue fl ow from rural areas to support the increasingly densely populated southern areas of the province. Th e Rio Tinto Alcan smelter at Kitimat, for instance, is the largest single contributor to the provincial economy

And what comes back in return?Not terribly much, it seems.Premier Christy Clark during the 2013 provincial

election promised to create something called the rural dividend, tossing out the fi gure of $25 million annually beginning this year.

Pushing through the rural dividend is one of the jobs of Mr. Th omson’s rural advisory council. He’s even gone so far as to call for an “equitable share in the economic benefi ts generated from resource-based industries.”

Rural British Columbians should only have the best of wishes for Mr. Th omson and his rural council.

If the premier’s $25 million is to be considered “equi-table,” Mr. Th omson and his council have a long, long road to travel.

- Terrace Standard

Find a better way

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This Prince George Free Press is a member of the British Columbia Press Council, a self-regulatory body governing the province’s newspaper industry. The council considers complaints from the public about the conduct of member newspapers. Directors oversee the mediation of complaints, with input from both the newspaper and the complaint holder. If talking with the editor or publisher does not resolve your complaint about coverage or story treatment, you may contact the B.C. Press Council. Your written concern, with documentation, should be sent within 45 days to B.C. Press Council, 201 Selby St., Nanaimo, B.C. V9R 2R2. For information, phone 888-687-2213 or go to www.bcpresscouncil.org * Based on Stats Canada average of 2.2 person per household. ** CCAB Audit March 2013.

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Ron DrillenGeneralManager


Rural dividealive and well in B.C.

Inquestgoes off track

ONSIDEVICBOWMAN

It is truly a shame that the inquest into the deaths of Glenn Roche and Alan Little has gone so far off the rails.

As Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe pointed out Wednesday, inquests are not trials. Th ey are supposed to be adversarial. Th ey are about the “public need for ascer-taining the facts.”

She also pointed out that participants testifying at an inquest are protected. In other words, what they say at an inquest cannot be used against them somewhere else. It’s a key part of the process.

However, we should have known on Day 1 that this process was going to go sideways.

Everyone involved was, to use the term, “lawyered up.”Th e coroner had two lawyers, WorksafeBC had three,

Lakeland Mills had two, the United Steelworkers had two, and the British Columbia Safety Authority had one.

While the goal of an inquest is to get to the truth sur-rounding the deaths of Alan Little and Glenn Roche, all the lawyers in the room were there to protect the interests of those who were paying them and, sadly, that’s the road they all went down.

Hopefully this is simply a delay. And, more hopefully, when the inquest sits again, it can do the job it’s supposed to ... fi nd the truth.


www.pgfreepress.com

Editor:Regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling that Canadians have the right

to have doctor-assisted suicide, and its directive to the federal govern-ment that, within in a year, it must have enacted regulations for this ruling.

I find this ruling surprising. This court’s job is not to make laws, but to interpret laws. Twenty-three years ago, when they looked at this same issue, they found it is unlawful for someone to help another to kill himself or herself.

In our Constitution it says that Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law. And we have the right to life, liberty and the security of the person. It says nothing about having a right to have someone else help kill us. Yet the court says its decision is based on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. What about Canada being founded under the supremacy of God? According to the Bible, murder is clearly against God’s law.

I do not believe the people of Canada favour doctor-assisted suicide, if palliative care with effective pain control is available. I hear stories coming out of Europe about sick and elderly people being put

to death with the flimsiest of evidence that this law was their wish. Would the same thing happen here? Of course, dead people cannot talk.

The Supreme Court rules that it is not only people with a terminal ill-ness, but also people who fear “lingering, helpless death” that can be put to death with the help of a doctor.

To base this decision the Supreme Court appears to have sampled opinions, which means they are making laws, and that is parliament’s job. Therefore the “not withstanding” clause should be used to overturn this court order.

Because governments have always shied away from using this tool, it is now time for the people of Canada to speak up. We should circulate a petition for the right to have a referendum across Canada on this and other issues that governments have been reluctant to deal with. If we had the signature of 10 per cent of the people asking for such a referen-dum, it would be difficult for the federal government to not allow it.

Svend SerupPrince George

Editor:We, the Northern British Columbia

Dental Hygienists Society are writ-ing this letter in response to the CNC executive’s recommendation to suspend the dental assisting and dental hygiene programs. Like many others who heard this news, we were stunned by such a thought. These programs have brought much needed oral health education and employment to the north. As a society of more than 140 dental hygiene members from the north, almost all of us were educated at CNC over the past 28 years. Most of us are also employed in north-ern dental offices along with dental assis-tants whom were also educated at CNC. We have seen that individuals trained in the north stay in the north. In an effort to attract and keep dental professionals working in the north, sending students south for their education does not make sense. This will substantially change the employment pool for dentists in the north. It doesn’t make sense to suspend any educational programs that have full intakes each year and whose graduates are employed, at wages that contribute greatly to the economy in the north.

We have heard that the executives have said that the CNC dental clinic requires substantial upgrades to con-tinue operation. We believe this is very untrue. Firstly, we know that many students along with faculty and staff did extensive fundraising on their own this past winter to upgrade the clinic with computers for digital capabilities, charting, and patient scheduling. We understand that this goal was met and as such these computers are scheduled to be installed for the next class intake. It would be a shame now to suspend these programs when they have this upgrade set to go. Secondly, we know that these programs recently received a seven-year accreditation. This also would not be possible if the clinic was outdated and the students’ clinical education did not meet their standards.

As graduates from the CNC dental hy-giene program we know the rigor of this program and the high standards that this program demands. This program meets the national competencies and as such its graduates have achieved a 100% pass rate on the national board exam.

It seems like things do not add up. If a budget deficit is the problem that CNC executives are facing, then they need to look at different ways of making up this deficit. Approaching the Minister of Ad-vanced Education for additional funding could be a start. Perhaps they should be actively seeking additional funding sources. The idea of suspending these valued programs with no concrete plan in place for reopening needs to be recon-sidered. There are always options, and alternative options need to be explored before suspending these programs.

Pammy Pawaron behalf of the Northern British

Columbia Dental Hygienists Society

Keep the dental school

Editor:This past week the air in Prince George has been putrid to put it

mildly.A number of years ago Canfor decided to be a ‘good neighbour’

and installed systems that removed a large percentage of their pollut-ants from the airshed.

However there are more industries in this area that pollute and they do not seem to have taken on the challenge … industries such as rail companies, refineries, auto body shops, businesses using toxic chemicals.

History has shown that governments are not interested in saving the health and well being of the average citizen.

They support big business and that means not rocking the boat, not demanding the necessary changes.

We will never get rid our of reputation of a stinky city unless we do it ourselves and that means each of us individually to restrict our driving as much as possible, to not burn wood, to not use toxic chemicals in our gardens.

Perhaps its time to re energize PACHA (People’s Action Committee For Healthy Air).

Perhaps we need to ask industries in person to be a ‘good neigh-bour’ and be one ourselves.

Wendy BartelukPrince George

Air quality still an issue

Referendum on assisted suicide

Editor:Some of us are gregarious and love city life, and

some of us prefer space and a natural environ-ment in which to raise our children.

In 1973, B.C. boasted 4.6 per cent agricultural land in the province, but that has eroded signifi-cantly. No one knows how much No. 1, 2 and 3 farmland has been taken out (mostly to make our cities happy) and how much No. 5, 6, and 7 non-farmland has been added to the Agricultural Reserve (to make it look good), because those figures stay in the Land Commission’s file cabinet.

None-the-less, that leaves 95 per cent of the province that is not agriculture land, that we could enjoy without eroding our foodland. Calgary and Los Angeles are two clear examples of cities that can attribute their size and fame to the fact that many people prefer sprawl to being packed like sardines in a can.

If we have 95 per cent of our province that is not food land, is there someone in our present government that can explain why our cities are not encouraged to grow on this non-agricultural land? Instead of taking all the farmland sur-rounding the city that were all founded by farm-ers on the choicest farmland out of the reserve for concentric city growth? To use common sense, this would, at the same time, allow the people to have the space they want.

City halls like to keep the tax dollars and busi-nesses close for reasons of their own.

They use the rationale that sprawl is not the

most economical way to supply services – so, who cares? Those that want economy can live in the established cities and those people who want more space can live in the sprawl areas and pay more – after all, the people will be paying the bills anyways – not the city, nor the government, nor the Agricultural Land Commission.

Both Los Angeles and Calgary are very popular cities – it’s time to give the “sprawl thing” a rest and let the people live where they want without the Agricultural Land Commission trying to force them into this new, squared city boundary policy - the way Richmond usurped our No. 1 farmland.

Dear Premier Christy Clark, you need to direct our Agricultural Land Commission to either save food land, or to help the city politicians stop sprawl and drop the food land policy, because both are obviously not possible. For the last 30 of their 42-year reign, they seem to be confused about this. On the contrary, there’s an old ad-age my father used to quote, ”when something doesn’t make sense, you can be sure there is money involved.”

Jo MiddletonFort St. John

Editor:I suggest (Union of British Co-

lumbia Indian Chiefs Grand Chief Stewart) Phillip ask himself that question (Is this man a terrorist, Free Press, March 13), without the bias of being First Nations.

You are correct sir, you are not a terrorist because of your beliefs. Chaining yourself to a tree or put-ting up a blockades also are not acts of terrorism, so why must you believe what this bill “really” is? If you care and respect this land then don’t make everything about your people.

This bill is to secure and protect the land and the people of this na-tion. By all means stop pipelines, stop rail, stop mining and forestry.

In the meantime leave the cell-phones at home, stop driving your vehicle, by all means watch sports, but go to the game (only outdoors). Look in the mirror, sir, and ask that question again because your actions do not make me think you are a ter-rorist, blowing up and murdering people however will.

Don’t put yourself or your people in that category we are all fighting the same fight.

Not everything is about you.Rick Eye

Prince George

Not all about the First Nations

We should besaving agricultural land

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voices

14 Friday, March 27, 2015 www.pgfreepress.comPrince George - VOICES - Free Press

Bullying can have long-term effects

In recent years, school authorities and many mem-bers of the general public have paid more attention to bullying in and around schools, and have demand-ed action. Anti-bullying policies have been put into eff ect. It is less clear whether as much has been done in the corporate and admin-istrative worlds, especially in this era of downsizing. Still, there has been some progress during the past 15 years.

Yet there continues to be a strong undercurrent of Western North Ameri-can machismo and also a conservative religious view that the experience of being bullied prepares boys for the real world of intense competition in a business environment or for the hard knocks suff ered during ba-sic training in the military. People subscribing to these beliefs contend that bullies are a necessary evil because they perform the essential function of separating the men from the boys, or help turn boys into men.

Th e adage “adversity builds character” is oft en

the religious justifi cation for such ideas. In Romans 5: 3-4, St. Paul says “. . . we know that suff ering pro-duces perseverance, [and] perseverance, character.” Friedrich Nietzsche, anti-Christian but the son of a Lutheran pastor, essentially took St. Paul’s view one step further when he wrote, “Th at which does not kill us, makes us stronger.”

To make reference to personal experience, while I was walking home during the fi rst week of Grade 9 [not at a school in this prov-ince], I was set upon by two beefy bullies who soon had me on the ground pounding my head against the con-crete of the sidewalk. Th e mother of another student stopped her car and ordered an end to the attack. “You two are both way bigger than him,” she said. “Get off him and leave right now.”

Th e attackers probably each weighed 160 pounds or more. I had skipped Grade 3, and at around 110 pounds I was thinner and smaller than most Grade 9 students. I don’t know what drew the bullies’ attention, whether it was my thinness or a small soft -leather briefcase I was carrying.

If the attack had contin-

ued, I would have certainly gotten a concussion or even suff ered brain damage. What would the residual eff ects of concussion or brain damage caused by these bullies done to help me compete more eff ectively in adult life, in a hostile business world or bear up better during basic train-ing? How did this bullying incident promote strength and development of char-acter? (About fi ve months aft er this attack, four high school students in the same city beat another student senseless, causing him permanent, disabling brain damage.)

I found out that aft er attacks by bullies in school that the victim is oft en blamed, disbelieved or held responsible for some of the circumstances of the attack. He is questioned skeptically by relatives, teachers and school administrators. He is subjected to questions like “What did you do to make him angry?” or “What was it that you did that attracted their attention?”

In their submission to B.C.’s MLA Task Force to Help Improve School Safety, members of Quesnel School District No. 28 said, “much of the unacceptable behav-

iour is covert and is oft en performed by the perpetra-tor when staff members are not in the vicinity. Usu-ally the activity takes place out of class time – before school, at recess, lunch or aft er school.”

It’s oft en overlooked that many men and male teens experience bullying and physical assaults they did nothing to attract. Boys are

oft en set upon by bullies for reasons that they oft en don’t understand.

Because of bullying, some students experience life-long psychological damage from their years in middle school or junior secondary school. Dr. Urie Bronfen-brenner, child development specialist at Cornell Univer-sity, once told a U.S. Senate committee that “the junior

high years are probably the most critical to the devel-opment of a child’s mental health.”

Much progress has been made. Many of the recom-mendations of B.C.’s safe schools task force were taken to heart, and the atmosphere has improved in many schools. But much remains to be done – and in the adult work world, too.

Paul StricklandSpecial to Free Press

Teresa MALLAM/Free PressBarb Ward-Burkitt, right, executive director, Prince George Native Friendship Centre and Jennifer Harrington, director of PGNFC supportive housing, offer fresh bannock made at the Smokehouse Restaurant to visitors at the 2015 Trades Expo on Monday.

Bannock, anyone?

Up until March 28 MARDI GRAS $1000 CASH LOTTERY DRAWONGOING, Draw 28/3/2015Tickets are $21529 8TH AVENUE, “Know your limit play within it” licence 69248 March 28 WENDY’S KIDS FUN FAIRMarch 28, 2015 10 AM - 4 PMFREE - CONNAUGHT YOUTH CENTRETh eme “Disney” come dressed as your favourite character.Food and game tickets $0.50Games, face-painting, craft s and more ECRA GOSPEL CHOIR CONCERTMarch 28, 2015, 2:00 PM$10ECRA ON 10TH AVENUEMarch 29, 2015, 2:00 PM$10

March 28 DANCE SPECIAL DELIVERYMarch 28, 2015, 8:00 PM HART PIONEER CENTRE 962-6712 April 18 MARDI GRAS MURDER MYSTERY “TASTE FOR WINE”April 18, 2015, 6:00 PM COAST INN OF THE NORTH

Schedule of EventsSchedule of Events

Thank Thank you you

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39 ththAnnual

Th e newly crowned Mr. PG, Chris Holmes, with Shirley Gratton, organizer of the event.

Albert Koehler, suited, cutting the birthday cake with Mr. PG contestants.


ACROSS1. “Lost in ____”6. Spider’s

handiwork9. Curious12. Reveals13. Paddle’s cousin14. Flying formation15. Watering hole16. Baseball stat17. Tavern brew18. Teenage dance19. Legitimate21. Pouch24. Emulate Ali25. Buddy28. Couch30. Resound34. Wonderment35. Christmas

decoration37. Brawl38. Skirt opening40. Melt together41. Desire42. Existed44. Donkey

46. Salivate49. Journey53. Electrifi ed atom54. Citrus cooler57. Eat away at58. Eavesdrop59. Polish60. Title giver61. Curse62. Horde63. Perspire

DOWN1. Cease to go2. Anjou, e.g.3. And4. Scale5. Initial for

Superman6. Trouble7. Jug handle8. Hurrah9. Oblong10. Hero store11. House document20. Wood chopper22. Blond shade

23. Blunders24. Light wood25. Mas’ mates26. Drill27. Island welcome29. Winter ailment31. Shed tears32. Weed33. Personal36. Sure!39. 1 + 143. Clock feature45. Drinking tube46. Platter47. Cowboy’s gear48. Black stone50. Capital of Italy51. Brainchild52. Brash55. Couple56. Lessen57. Printers’

measures

PUZZLE NO. 761

HOW TO PLAY :Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9 only once.

Each 3x3 box is outlined with a darker line. You already have a few numbers to get you started. Remember: You must not repeat the numbers 1 through 9 in the same line, column, or 3x3 box.

Answers in Classi eds Copyright © 2014, Penny Press

PUZZLE NO. 488

THE LUCKIEST SIGNS THIS WEEK:SAGITTARIUS, CAPRICORN AND AQUARIUS.

YOUR HOROSCOPEWeek of

March 29 to April 4, 2015

YOUR HOROSCOPE

ARIES - MAR. 22 - APR. 21Don’t be afraid of change on a professional level. You come out a winner even if you have to take a trai ning course that makes for a very busy schedule.

TAURUS - APR. 22 - MAY 21Now that it’s time to renew your lease, you consider the option of mo ving soon and buying a property. You need to be comfortable in or der to be happy.

GEMINI - MAY 22 - JUN. 21You have to be careful about what you say in order to avoid exacerbating confl ict between your loved ones. You can build harmony everywhere you go.

CANCER - JUN. 22 - JUL. 21The spring clothing sales have star ted and you can’t resist the temp tation to renew your ward robe this week.

LEO - JUL. 22 - AUG. 21You begin the week in Leo, which makes you feel ready to conquer the world and experi-ence some ad ventures. If you have a trip in mind, try to consult the right people.

VIRGO - AUG. 22 - SEP. 21You’ll see lots of activity with fa mily mem-bers. You could be thin king about a business project, which will soon prove to be very profi table.

LIBRA - SEPT. 22 - OCT. 21If you’re suffering from accumulated fatigue, let yourself be pampered by your family, especially your be loved. You deserve to be spoiled a bit.

SCORPIO - OCT. 22 - NOV. 21You receive lots of invitations to participate in a variety of activities. If you’re single, some of your suitors show lots of imagination in their at tempts to impress you.

SAGITTARIUS - NOV. 22 - DEC. 21You’re overfl owing with projects and opti-mism. Sometimes you’re a drea mer, but you’re fi rst and foremost a person of action and you will make your dreams come true.

CAPRICORN - DEC. 22 - JAN. 21You might feel some seasonal blues. This motivates you to start looking for bargains and treat yourself to a last-minute trip.

AQUARIUS - JAN. 22 - FEB. 21A few changes in your circle of friends is essential. You want to avoid crowds and much prefer tackling all those little things that you’re always procrastinating on.

PISCES - FEB. 22 - MAR. 21 There’s sure to be a great promotion waiting for you at work. How ever, there are lots of responsibilities to deal with at fi rst, and so a bit of perseverance is required.

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A general definition of elder abuse is any inten-tional or neglectful act by a trusted individual or caregiver that leads to – or may lead to – harm of a vulnerable elder.

Abuse may take many different forms, including physical, psychological, sexual, and neglect. Seniors are particularly vulnerable to financial abuse where others make improper use of their finances or resources, and financial abuse seldom happens without accompanying psychological abuse.

What are the risk factors for elder abuse? There are many. In some cases, strained family relationships worsen with the stress and frustration of caring for increasingly dependent elders until abuse occurs. Seniors isolated because of physical changes or loss of friends and social networks are at a sig-nificantly higher risk of mistreatment. Cultur-ally, we tend to view seniors as frail, weak, dependent, and in need of management, thus setting the scene for se-niors to see themselves as powerless. And who do bullies pick on? The powerless.

Public awareness is crucial in preventing elder abuse and neglect. June 15 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, and the PG Council of

Seniors is planning an entire week of activities in recognition of that important day. Watch for details in the com-ing months.

In the meantime, here are some things, as suggested by the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), that anyone can do to prevent elder abuse:

• Call or visit an elderly neighbour or loved one and ask how he or she is doing. Maintaining commu-nication helps decrease isolation.

• Provide a respite break for a caregiver.

• Ask your bank or credit union manager to train tellers on how to detect elder financial abuse.

• Ask your doctor to ask you and all other senior patients about possible family violence in their lives

• Ask your religious congregation’s leader to give a talk about elder abuse at a service, or to put a message about el-der abuse in the service bulletin.

• Volunteer. There are local opportunities to become involved in programs that provide assistance and support

for seniors.• Send a letter to your

local media suggesting that they cover World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

• Help raise aware-ness by talking about this issue.

Don’t forget that seniors (age 55 or older) can access income tax preparation at the Seniors Resource Centre – 721 Victoria St. -– Monday and Wednesday mornings between 10 and 11:30 a.m. This service is lim-ited to individuals with income below $30,000, or couples with income below $40,000. Volun-teers do not prepare returns for deceased persons, bankrupt indi-viduals, self-employed individuals, or anyone reporting capital gains or losses, employment expenses, or business rental income or ex-penses. This free service will be available until the end of April.

Lola-Dawn Fennell is a young-at-heart grandmother, UNBC graduate, and general manager of the Prince George Council of Seniors.

Prince George Free Press

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Facing the truth of senior abuse

The horror of elder abuse recently popped its ugly head up in our office.

It’s hard to hear about and even harder to witness – especially when the victim is a fragile senior in our community. Elder abuse seldom seems to catch public attention or go viral on social media in the same way child abuse or even animal abuse does. Why is that?

According to the World Health Organization, between four and six per cent of elderly people have experienced some form of abuse in the home. According to the last Ca-

nadian census, there are over 21,000 individuals aged 55 or older in Prince George. Applying the World Health Organization’s lowest estimate (four per cent) to that number suggests around 844 Prince George seniors have experienced some form of abuse in their homes.

How can that be possible? How could that many of our friends, neighbours and loved ones have such horrible experiences without an enormous public outcry? Remember, the number of cases reported may be like icebergs where more is hidden than what we actually see.

Is it possible that the average person – senior or senior-in-training – is not aware of what elder abuse is?

Loal-Dawn FennellP.G. Council of Seniors

Teresa MALLAM/Free PressMusician/singers John Rogers and Carolyn Hastey provide a musi-cal treat for the early-morning crowd attending the Pioneers and Pancakes Seniors’ Appreciation Pancake breakfast at Pine Centre Mall on Wednesday. One of the organizers, Shelley Sivell, said they hope to make it a monthly event. Vendors in the Food Court provided the breakfast and beverages.

Pioneers and Pancakes


TERESA MALLAM | 250.564.0005 | [email protected] | www.pgfreepress.com

Elder Citizen’s Rec-reation Association (ECRA) Gospel Singers will present their concert: A Shelter in Life’s Storms on Saturday, March 28 at 7 p.m. and on Sun-day, March 29 at 2 p.m. Featuring vocalist Marie Moore accompanied by Glen Callieou on guitar and the Synergy School Hand Bell Choir. Admis-sion is $10 adult, children five to 12 years $5. Tick-ets are available at ECRA office and at the door. Hard of hearing headsets available. Refreshments served after the show.

As part of Snow Daze Mardi Gras of Winter events on March 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. is Wendy’s Kids Fun Fair. Theme is Disney so come dressed as your favou-rite character. Entrance is free, food and game tickets 50 cents. Games, face-painting, crafts and more.

Juno and Latin Gram-my award winning artist Alex Cuba is coming back to Prince George to perform at Artspace on Wednesday, April 1. Show starts at 8 p.m. He will be launching his new album Healer and he would love to have his fans come out to help him celebrate. Tickets for the event are $25. Check out and share the Facebook Event: Alex Cuba CD Release Party at Artspace.

Legendary rock artist John Fogerty returns to play CN Centre on Sun-day, July 26 when he will be performing the songs of Credence Clearwater Revival during one of the band’s extraordinary years – 1969. Tickets for the Fogerty concert go on sale at all Ticketmaster outlets including the CN centre ticket office on Fri-day, March 27 at 10 a.m.

gospel songs

john fogerty

kids’ fair

alex cuba

Gladys McKay lives through pain

There are many stories that come to the Free Press which show triumph over adversity, and, as reporters, we never fail to be inspired by them and we hope readers will be as well.

Gladys McKay has lived in Prince George since 1952 when sidewalks downtown were still made of wooden planks, and when the hos-pital was located in the old army barracks.

She remembers harsh win-ters back then with tempera-tures that dipped to 45 de-grees below and with “snow so high that you couldn’t see out our windows.”

Looking back over her 90 years of life, most of it spent in Prince George, Gladys McKay is as amazed as anyone who knows her how much personal tragedy she has overcome.

There is no rule book, she says, which helps guides people through life or gives them the willpower to carry on as she did after losing her teenaged daughter in a car crash in the summer of 1971 – then, two months later, burying her husband.

Both incidents came without warning, she said.

“We were playing cards with our neighbours, my husband was dealing cards, and he just fell over onto the floor. He’d had a stroke. He got over that first one not too badly but then he had other strokes – after the last one he couldn’t walk and ended up in a wheelchair.”

The couple had been liv-ing in a little house located in a rural setting on the Old Quesnel Highway.

It had no indoor plumb-ing and after her husband’s stroke, McKay decided they should move into the city so she could better take care of him.

“I looked after my husband at home for four years. He could no longer work, he’d been a labourer but hed been injured in an accident. After that he started to have pain in his right hand so the doctor gave him painkillers.

“One day, the tip of his

finger went black and fell off and we found out he had gangrene.”

Surgeons had to remove all four fingers (they left the thumb intact), said McKay.

“They taught him how to use his hand again but when he came home he was struggling even to put on his shirt. They told me not to help him, so he’d learn to let him do it himself. But I felt he’d been through too much already so I helped him.”

Little did she know her life was going to be turned upside down again.

“I had two children, a boy and a girl. As soon as she was out of high school, my daughter Fern went to work for B.C. Tel. We had just bought a new car together now that she was earning money.

“Fern was helping us out with our expenses to help us make ends meet. She’d always been a good daugh-ter growing up and never gave us any problems.”

Fern was 19 years old when she made the fateful decision in July 1971 to join her friends for a day at the lake.

“It was a nice day in July. Fern asked me if I minded if she used the car so she and her boyfriend could go out to Bear Lake with some friends. And I said yes.”

That was the last time McKay would see her daughter alive.

“At that time the highway wasn’t in so you had to go by Summit Lake. Fern was on her way home and there was a driver on his way to Mackenzie and he didn’t make the turn and hit her vehicle. Fern was the only one killed. Her boyfriend had some injuries.

“I lost half my life that day but I had to go on because I still had my son Herman – and I loved both my children to death.”

To this day, her son, who lives in the Lower Main-land, phones once a week and, along with his wife, visits McKay and helps her with household chores.

“They came in and wall-papered my cupboards and did spring cleaning,” said McKay, who’s lived in the same apartment block in Prince George for 28 years.

These days, despite glaucoma which is slowly robbing her of sight and a “bad leg” which prevents her from walking any distance, McKay says she likes to “keep busy and keep moving.”

It’s important in later years especially, she says, to socialize with friends and other seniors and join in their activities.

Recently she went for an outing at the first Pioneers and Pancakes Seniors’ Ap-

preciation breakfast at Pine Centre Mall.

She likes company but that doesn’t mean that she’s in any hurry to move into a seniors’ residence.

“I like my independence,” she says, smiling.

Senior finds renewed joy in life – and inspires other people

teresa [email protected]

Teresa MALLAM/Free Pressgladys Mckay, 90, uses her limited vision to look at old black and white photo-graphs of her late daughter, fern, and her son herman when they were children. on the left are photographs of her grandson as a young boy.

18 Friday, March 27, 2015 www.pgfreepress.comPrince George - COMMUNITY - Free Press

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Should the idea of Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond be followed, in future years we could be celebrating Holi (Festival of Colours) in a much bigger way, by singing and dancing in the streets of downtown.

Bond was a guest at the Happy Holi celebrations hosted by the Prince George Hindu Society Satur-

day at the Day's Inn. She told guests that in her re-

search of the festival, she found out that Holi is about putting negative things behind you, forgiving others and moving forward. She suggested that "the city, the province – the whole world" could stand to use this sentiments of the festival (with its meaning) and usher in the celebra-tion by "bringing the colour, music and dancing into the streets."

Her suggestion was met with ap-plause from the audience.

Bond suggests Holi be expanded

Holi is a spring festival which began as an ancient Hindu religious festival. Baljit Sethi, executive director of Immigrant and Multicultural Services So-ciety, was on hand Saturday to explain how the traditional Holi was celebrated when she was a child growing up in her native India. Th ey had fun, she said, noting that kind of mischief

would be frowned upon today. "In India I remember we had

a big bucket of colours and we would go over to our friends' houses and they would run away and hide – but we would fi nd them and then put all the colours on them. Th en they would come and join us in our singing and dancing."

Traditionally, the festival

continued for a few days, said Sethi.

Th e vibrant colours are meant to signify the coming of spring but even more impor-tantly perhaps, the festival is one of friendship, love and forgiveness, she said, adding that Holi is an opportunity for people to set aside their diff er-ences.

Teresa MALLAM/Free PressMr. Prince George Pageant 2015 winner Chris Holmes, Mr. Hunter (centre), is joined by runner-up Larry Townsend, Mr. Rail Conductor, and Mr. Congeniality, Tim Thompson, Mr. Curling for a photo opportunity at the Railway and Forestry Museum on Wednesday. The event is part of Mardi Gras Snow Daze. This year, Mr. P.G. contestents portrayed the history of sports and culture in celebration of our city’s 100th birthday. Holmes was awarded the Mr. P.G. title on Friday; other candidates included Alex McIntosh, Lewis MacDonald, Brian Wich, and Selen Alpay.

Mr. PG winners

Teresa [email protected]

Teresa MALLAM/Free PressMina Bhandari (left) and Madhu Singh carry a tray with hot pink powders to put on the faces of participating guests at Holi (Festival of Colours) celebrations on Saturday at Days Inn. When the colours go on, tradition has it that gripes and grievances go away, replaced by love and forgiveness of others.

Loop sampling, foot percussion and searing vocals.

Th at’s Windborn, Crawford Bay native Jeff Pike’s one man band with a full band sound. And he’s bringing friends Goodnightmare, Crones and Sean Wesley Wood for a show Sun-day, March 29 at 7 p.m. at Artspace.

Tickets are $10 in advance avail-able at Books and Company and at the door for $12.

Catch Windborn at Artspace

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Razor’s Edge is excited to announce the return of Master Hairstylist, Karen Simpson. We invite all former clients to connect with Karen for all your hair care needs.

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Friday, March 27, 2015 19www.pgfreepress.com Prince George - COMMUNITY - Free Press

Jacob returning to national stage

Violinist Gabrielle Jacob leaves June 21 to join the Na-tional Youth Orchestra Canada for a summer training session and concert tour.

Th is is the Duchess Park Grade 12 student’s second time (the fi rst was in 2014) being chosen to become part of a 100-strong professional training orchestra for emerging artists.

“I’m very proud to be a part of this,” said Jacob. “Being ac-cepted into the NYOC means you can learn so much more and see so much more of the music world. I learned a lot from my peers and the conduc-tor last time – and this time we’ll be playing a whole new repertoire. It’s such a gift to play in huge concert halls and with such a large orchestra and to get to perform in front of big audiences, playing in diff er-ent venues with their diff erent acoustics.”

Th is year, 28 violinists from across Canada were accepted out of the 500 musicians who auditioned to be part of NYOC

2015, she said. “To audition, you make a

video of your performance and put it on YouTube – you have to do it in one take. I heard in February that I’d been ac-cepted.”

Musicians aged 16 to 28 are eligible to compete. Jacob, who is 17, is already excited about her plans for her summer or-chestra experience.

“We start at the University of Kitchener,” she said. “We rehearse for the fi rst few weeks, working in smaller groups on chamber music. Th en we spend two and a half weeks with the entire orchestra. During the fi nal week, the conductor comes in to work with us and then we go on a two-week tour of [Canadian] cities. We will be performing at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, so that’s very exciting.”

Th e NYOC tour includes stops in Ottawa, Toronto, Mon-treal, Edmonton, Kelowna and Vancouver. Th ey will record a CD at McGill University.

Jacob is well known in Prince George for her beautiful violin playing (her mother Carolyn Jacob is a violin teacher) and

she oft en performs at commu-nity special events as well as with the local orchestra.

“I started as a ‘side-by-side’ player (mentoring program) with the Prince George Symphony Orchestra. Now I’m a community player with the PGSO. I also played with the Northern Orchestra with conductor Gordon Lucas. My teacher, Nancy Di Novo, helped prepare me for the auditions,” she said.

Next year, Jacob plans on entering University of North-ern British Columbia and then she will apply to the Northern Medical Program. She hopes to become a doctor living in the North and perhaps playing in a chamber group.

Founded in 1960, the NYOC was created by Maestro Walter Susskind and has since evolved into Canada’s foremost orches-tral fi nishing school provid-ing a comprehensive training program, concert tour and recording session for young classical musicians, with no tuition required.

For more information about the orchestra and its programs, visit www.NYOC.org.

Teresa MALLAM/Free PressGabrielle Jacob plays sweet violin music during the Charar Shanbeh Soori (Festival of Fire) celebrations held outside Zaffron Cuisine res-taurant earlier this month.


20 Friday, March 27, 2015 www.pgfreepress.comPrince George - COMMUNITY - Free Press

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Spencer rebuilds Everest pieceArtist Jeannette Spencer

cringes as she tells her tale of mystery and intrigue.

“I know it sounds unbe-lievable but it happened. It’s such a strange twist of fate.”

Spencer is referring to the made-for-Hollywood background story of how her original stained glass piece “Everest Reborn” came to be recreated and installed at the Rebirth group exhibition at the Rustad Galleria.

In January, Spencer an-swered a call for artists put out by Two Rivers Gallery. The theme of the exhibit was Earthly and Spencer decided to do a stained glass piece of the most earthy subject she could think of: Earth’s highest mountain (at 29,035 feet high) Mount Everest.

She had no connection with the mountain range whose summit borders on Nepal to the south and China to the north.

She’s not a mountain climber and had never even visited the area.

“I didn’t know anything about Mount Everest but I

did all the research, it was very time consuming but I wanted to get it right. I looked at photographs and chose a side of the mountain that I liked best and started work on the piece. I called it Elements of Everest and, when I was finished, I submitted it.

“There were lots of en-tries and I got a letter from the assistant curator telling me mine wasn’t accepted. I was disappointed but I put it away and forgot about it.”

On April 18, Spencer’s thoughts turned once again to the piece she’d put away from sight – and out of her mind.

“I was watching the news unfold about an avalanche on Mount Everest which had claimed the lives of 16 (some accounts say the number was 13) Nepalese Sherpa guides – making it the deadliest disaster in Everest’s history.”

Spencer said chills went up her spine. She retrieved her “rejected” piece and set it up to compare it with the maps being shown on T.V. of exactly where the disas-ter had taken place.

The artist was stunned to discover that the side she had represented in her

piece was the Nepal side where so many people had lost their lives.

Far from just uncanny, Spencer said the news left her feeling “shaken,” and she finally understood her connection with Mount Everest. However the strangest part was yet to come.

“I was just sitting there on the couch, looking from my piece to the news im-ages, comparing it to maps they had on the screen when the piece suddenly slid forward, then fell over onto the floor and shat-tered,” said Spencer.

“When I went over, I saw the only thing left was the landscape at the bottom. It was so eerie.

“I couldn’t believe it.”There was nothing to

explain why it had fallen, said Spencer, because she had placed there securely. She calls it her “shock and awe” moment.

“It defies any logical explanation. The nature of stained glass is that you do get breakages – but not like that. It was completely shattered.”

For a while, Spencer mulled over whether or not she should try to “rebuild” it.

“Then I thought, these men (who died) have no chance to rebuild their lives but I have the chance to make the piece whole again.”

So she picked up the pieces, literally, using what few bits she could to restore the piece but basically had to start all over again.

Now Everest Reborn hangs on the wall at Rustad Galleria.

It has glorious colours, turquoise, light mauve and purple white snow capped mountains, white “swirled” snow and at the top, a vivid dark blue sky.

“The new piece that I made for Rebirth is dedicated to the upcoming anniversary (April 18) of the Mount Everest disaster,” said Spencer.

“This strong connection of circumstances gave me

every reason to pick up the pieces,” she says in her art-ist’s statement.

“Everest Reborn is a tribute to remember those who lost their lives that fateful day and those whose lives are forever changed because of it.”

For more information on Everest Reborn, visit Jean-nette Spencer’s website at www.glasscrayons.com.


Teresa MALLAM/Free PressArtist Jeannette Spencer with her work Everest Reborn. The stained glass work, which is showing in the group exhibit Rebirth on display at Rustad Gallery in Two Rivers Gallery, has its own amazing story of rebirth.

Friday, March 27, 2015 21www.pgfreepress.com Prince George - COMMUNITY - Free Press

For Information on theMétis Public Health Surveillance Program call Gail Parenteau at,Phone: 250-550-6436 or email [email protected] for information on the Métis Citizenship Registry oranything Métis please contact MNBC at30691 Simpson Road, Abbotsford, BC V2T 6C7Toll free: 1.800.940.1150Lower Mainland: 604.557.5851

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Share Your Identity

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Kishchee tey mo’yawn aen li Michif wi’yawn (Proud to be Métis)

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For Paul Raines, it’s a taxing jobWe may be moving towards

an increasingly paperless society in which – at this time of year – e-fi ling tax returns is common-place.

However, on Wednesday at the Salvation Army location, Paul Raines is happy to be amid piles of paper, helping seniors and others with low earnings – and lots of questions – fi ll out their income tax returns. Raines is one of 16,000 volunteers in Canada who annually support the Com-munity Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP).

“When I retired from teaching 10 years ago (he was a principal and vice-principal for School District 57 for several years) I decided I wanted to do only things I really enjoyed so that meant working with the Special Olympics, coaching my favourite sport, lacrosse, and I wanted to do this (tax returns for people.). I had the accounting back-ground and I think it’s nice to help people,” said Raines.

He likes volunteering and helping people and notes the CVITP program is a very neces-sary service because those on low incomes can’t aff ord to pay to get their taxes done – and so might put off fi ling their income taxes – oft en, people aren’t even aware of some of the tax “breaks” or savings incentives for which they are eligible.

“Some people don’t know they can get the guaranteed income supplements for seniors (over 65

years of age) or even that they need to apply for old age security pensions.

“I work at AiMHi (Prince George Association for Com-munity Living) as well and one of the rewards for me in doing this is being able to tell people what they are entitled to when it comes to things like disability tax credits and government sav-ings plans they can enrol in.”

At the Salvation Army loca-tion, Raines says he and two other volunteers have completed between 80 and 100 tax returns in the past month.

Since he began with the program in 2005, Raines has worked at several other loca-tions around Prince George. He encourages people to check and fi nd out what locations are nearest for them. Th e deadline is April 30 to fi le income tax with

the community-based outreach program. Th ere are income restrictions, ($30,000 maximum for single people, $40,000 for a couple, etc.).

Also the tax returns must be “straight forward.”

“We are all trained by Revenue Canada through webinars that teach us about tax returns and any particular things we need to know about tax exemptions of rules that apply to groups like seniors, First Nations and new Canadians.”

Th e Community Volunteer Income Tax Program has been in existence since 1971 and Canadians have volunteered their time and eff ort individually or while working with organi-zations to help people in their communities.

To date they have fi led over 600,000 tax returns for people

Teresa MALLAM/Free PressFrancisca Leeson talks taxes with longtime volunteer Paul Raines on Wednesday at the Salvation Army location. Raines, a retired teacher and principal with School District 57, is participating in the free community income tax preparation program.

and helped by preserving benefi ts and other fi nancial entitlements for fi lers as well as providing peace of mind for individuals in meeting their tax fi ling obligations.

Th e objective of the program is to help eligible individuals who are not able to prepare their in-come tax and benefi t returns by themselves.

A listing of all volunteer tax preparation clinics in the Prince George area can be found on the Canada Revenue Agency website at the follow-ing link: www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/vlntr/clncs/princegeorge-bc-eng.html.


pgfreepress.com




FridayBridge, Fridays, 1

p.m., Elder Citizens Recreation Centre.

Mini Bingo, Fridays, 1:30 p.m., Elder Citizens Recreation Centre.

Meat draw, Fridays, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Royal Canadian Legion, 1116 Sixth Ave.

Whist, Fridays, 7 p.m., Elder Citizens Recreation Centre.

Crown Market,

Fridays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 3955 Hart Highway.

Read-to-me Storytime, Fridays, 10-10:45 a.m., South Fort George Family Resource Centre, 1200 La Salle. Information: 250-614-0684.

Dance, Fridays, 8 p.m.-midnight, Royal Canadian Legion, 1116 Sixth Ave.Saturday

Dance to Special Delivery, March 28, 8 p.m., Hart Pioneer Centre.

Easter bazaar, March 28, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., St. George’s Ukrainian Catholic Church (Vanier and Massey). Information: Rose Marie 250-564-3577.

A Shelter in Life’s Storms, March 28, 7 p.m., ECRA,1692 10th Ave. Concert by ECRA Gospel Singers. Tickets at office and at door.

Nechako Public Market, Saturdays, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., 5100 North Nechako Rd.

A Butler’s Market, Saturdays, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., 1156 Fourth Ave.

Meat draw, Saturdays, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Royal Canadian Legion, 1116 Sixth Ave.

Crown Market, Saturdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 3955 Hart Highway.

Dance, Saturdays, 8 p.m.-midnight, Royal Canadian Legion, 1116 Sixth Ave.Sunday

A Shelter in Life’s Storms, March 29, 2 p.m., ECRA,1692 10th Ave. Concert by ECRA Gospel Singers. Tickets at office and at door.

Sunrise Ridge Senior Housing meeting, March 29, 2 p.m., Pineview Hall. Information: 250-963-7056.

Nechako Public Market, Sundays, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., 5100 North Nechako Rd.

A Butler’s Market, Sundays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., 1156 Fourth Ave.

Crown Market, Sundays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 3955 Hart Highway.

MondayCanasta, 7 p.m., March

30, Hart Pioneer Centre.Royal Purple Ladies,

meet second and fourth Monday of every month, 7:30 p.m., Studio 2880.

Canasta, Mondays, 1 p.m., Elder Citizens Recreation Centre.

Tai Chi, Mondays, 1:30 p.m., Spruce Capital Seniors Centre, 3701 Rainbow Dr.

Bean bag toss, Mondays, 2 p.m., Elder Citizens Recreation Centre.Tuesday

Line dancing, Tuesdays, 9 a.m., Elder Citizens Recreation Centre.

Bridge, Tuesdays, 1 p.m., Spruce Capital Seniors Centre, 3701 Rainbow Dr.

Cribbage, Tuesdays, 7 p.m., Elder Citizens Recreation Centre.

Buddhist meditation class, Tuesdays, 7:15-8;45 p.m., 320 Vancouver St. Information: 250-962-6876 or [email protected].

ACBL duplicate bridge, Tuesdays, 7 p.m., 425 Brunswick St. Information: 250-561-1685.

Sweet Adelines women’s four-part chorus meets Tuesdays, 7:30 p.m., Studio 2880. New members welcome. Information: Kathy 250-563-5170.Wednesday

Bingo, Wednesdays, 1-3 p.m., Spruce Capital Senior Recreation Centre, 3701 Rainbow Dr.

TOPS meeting, Wednesdays, 6:15 p.m., Kordyban Lodge dining room. Information: Jessie 250-613-5933.

Whist, Wednesdays, 7 p.m., Activity Centre, 425 Brunswick St.

TOPS meets Wednesday, 11:30 a.m.,

AiMHi, 950 Kerry St. Information: Dianne 250-964-6072, Faye 778-416-0908.

CNC Retirees meet last Wednesday of the month, 9 a.m., D’Lanos. Information: Lois 250-563-6928.Thursday

Bingo, April 2, 12:30 p.m., Hart Pioneer Centre.

Whist, April 2, 7 p.m., Hart Pioneer Centre.

Tai Chi, Thursday, 7-9 p.m., Knox United Church, 1448 Fifth Ave. Information: 250-964-3849.

Central Interior Darts Club, meets Thursday, 6:30 p.m., P.G. Legion, 1116 Sixth Ave.

Crown Market, Sundays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 3955 Hart Highway.

Bridge, Thursdays, 1-3 p.m., Spruce Capital Seniors’ Centre, 3701 Rainbow Dr. Information: 250-563-6450.

Little Artists, Thursdays, 10:30-11:30 a.m., South Fort George Family Resource Centre, 1200 La Salle. 250-614-0684.

Old Time Fiddlers jam, Thursday, 7-10 p.m. Elder Citizens Rec Centre, 1692 10th Ave.

ECRA Forever Young

Chorus meet Thursdays, 12:45 p.m., ECRA, 1692 10th Ave.

Support Groups

Metis Elders Craft group, Th ursday, 10 a.m.-noon, Prince George Metis Elders Society offi ce, 117 – 1600 Th ird Ave. (Prince George Native Friend-ship Centre).

Wednesday evening Tops (take off pounds sensibly), Spruceland Baptist Church, 1901 Ogilvie St. Information: Leona 250-962-8802.

P.G. COPD Support Group meets Wednes-days, 1-3 p.m., AIMHI gymnasium, 950 Kerry St. Information: www.pgcopdsupportgroup.ca.

Prince George Stroke Survivors Group meets Wednesdays, 9:30-11:30 a.m., Elder Citizens Recreation Association, 1692 10th Ave. Information: Julia 250-563-3819, Roland 250-562-1747.

La Leche League breast feeding support group meets the second Thursday of every month 7 p.m., 176 Aitken Cres. Information: Tammy 250-612-0085.

Al-Anon New Hope AFG meets Fridays,

1:15-2:30 p.m., First Baptist Church, 483 Gillett St. Information: 250-561-3244.

Al-Anon Hart Serenity AFG meets Mondays, 7:30-8:30 p.m., Knox United Church, 1448 Fifth Ave. Information: 250-561-3244.

Al-Anon PG Beginners AFG meets Tuesdays, 7-7:45 p.m., Knox United Church, 1448 Fifth Ave. Information: 250-561-3244.

Al-Anon Hart Courage AFG meets Wednesdays, 7-8:30 p.m., Knox United Church, 1448 Fifth Ave. Information: 250-561-3244.

Al-Anon Mustard Seed AFG meets Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 p.m., St. Michael’s Anglican Church, 1505 Fifth Ave. Information: 250-561-3244.

Prince George ATV Club meets third Tuesday of month, 7 p.m. Carmel Restaurant meeting room.

Information: George 250-964-7907.

Royal Purple meets second and fourth Mondays, 7:30 p.m. Information: Dianne 250-596-0125 or Jeanette 250-563-9362.

Prince George Quil-ters Guild meets fourth Tuesday of the month, Connaught Youth Centre, 1491 17th Ave. Registration 6:30 p.m., meeting 7 p.m. Infor-mation: Barb Friesen 250-564-6288 or e-mail [email protected].

Prince George Genealogical Society meets the third Tuesday of the month, St. Giles Presbyterian Church, 1500 Edmonton St.

PGRH retirees breakfast, first Tuesday of the month, Prince George Golf and Curling Club. Information: 250-563-2885.

Cariboo Toastmasters meet Mondays, 7:30-9:30 p.m., Ramada Hotel, 444 George St. Information: caribootoastmasters.com or Laura (250) 961-3477.

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Rolling Mix Concrete is celebrating 50 years in business. The long-time Prince George business hosted a well-attended open house at their Foothills Boulevard location on Friday.

w w w . p g f r e e p r e s s . c o m

Datebook

The Community Datebook provides free community event listings every Friday. Submissions are accepted in written

form only – dropped off, mailed or emailed –No Phone Calls please. Datebook runs as space allows,

there is no guarantee of publication.Mail to 1773 South Lyon St., Prince George BC V2N 1T3.

E-mail [email protected]

?Are you new to Prince George?

?Have you delivered a baby in the last 3 months?

Or know someone who is pregnant?

www.welcomewagon.ca

Northern Region & Surrounding AreaCall: 1.844.299.2466

Call: Leandra Hooker-Armstrong [email protected]

Welcome Wagon has information and gifts to

present on these occasions. Visits are done by appointment

“GIVE A LITTLE…GAIN A LOT!”

For information on volunteering with more than 100 non-profi t organizations in Prince George, contact Volunteer Prince George

250-564-0224www.volunteerpg.com

Canadian Cancer Society Mar 27 – Apr 18

Seeking helpers for the Daffodil Campaign. 2 hour

shifts selling daffodil fl owers and pins weekends between March 27 - April 18. Nancy

250-645-2368

Salvation Army Community Services

NEW LOCATION at 3500 - 18th Ave. Food Bank,

Thrift Store, Electronics Recycling, Return-It

& Donation Centre. To volunteer, Sharon 250-564-4000

NBC Centre for Skating - March 27

5th Annual Ice ShowFri, March 27 at 6 pm at

the Coliseum, by donation. Presented by the Northern

BC Centre for Skating. Rory 250-962-1993


250.564.0005 | [email protected] | www.pgfreepress.com

Mark Holick isn’t sure how more there is to learn about the Victoria Royals.

“We played them enough this year,” the coach of the Prince George Cougars says of their opponents in the fi rst round the WHL playoff s. “We’re going to prepare like it’s a regular game.”

Th e Cougars clinched third place in the B.C. Division of the Western Conference last Friday with a 3-1 win over the Kam-loops Blazers.

“It was nice to win that game Friday,” Holick said. “You don’t want to be in a one-game, winner-take-all situation.”

As it was, the Cougars were able to rest

several players for Saturday’s regular-season fi nale, a 5-2 loss to the Blazers in Kamloops. Although the Blazers won that game, they missed the playoff s when the Tri-Amercians picked up enough points on the weekend to claim the second wild-card spot.

With the playoff opener set for tonight (Friday) in Victoria, Holick said the coaches were taking a slower approach to practices this week.

“We took Sunday off , then had a good practice on Monday, We take off Tuesday and get to Vancouver. We’ll have a skate Wednesday in Vancouver, then head over to the Island.”

Th e Cougars play in Victoria tonight and Saturday, then come back to the CN Centre for games April 1 and 2.

“It’s nice to have those extra couple of days off before we play here again,” Holick said, “because if the series goes long, it gets pretty busy. It’s a long trip between here and Victoria, and we need to take care of the guys.”

Holick says the key to success in the playoff s is straightforward, and one the Cougars have been putting into practice for the past several weeks.

“We’ve had to be more disciplined and not take needless penalties. You’re not going to win in the playoff s sitting in the penalty box.”

Game 5, if needed, would be in Victoria on April 4, with Game 6 at the CN Centre on April 6 and a fi nal Game 7 set for Victo-ria on April 8.

Year-end Awards

Before the game Friday, the Cougars handed out eight new awards for the top players on this year’s squad.

Jared Bethune received the Brett Con-nolly Award as the rookie of the year; Shane Collins received the Dr. Jeff Zorn Award as the scholastic player of the year; Ty Edmonds received the Chris Mason Award for the most 3 Star Selection points; Chase Witala won the Dorothy John-son memorial as the fan favourite; Zach Pochiro received the Troy Bourke Award as off ensive player of the year; Sam Ruopp received the Eric Brewer Award as the defensive player of the year; Tyler Mrkon-jic won the Michael Fogolin Memorial as the players’ award; and Jansen Harkins won the Dan Hamhuis Award as the most valuable player.

Allan [email protected]

Cougars take advantage of time off before starting playoffs in Victoria

Northern Cougars win league titleBack-to-back shutouts by Roberts send team to Alberta for next round

Kelsey Roberts kept turn-ing around Sunday aft er-noon to look at the game clock in Kin 2.

“I was hoping the time would go quicker,” said the goalie for the Northern Cougars, as they faced the Fraser Valley Phantoms in the deciding game in the Female Midget AAA provincial championship series..

Th e last time she turned around, there were 3.6 sec-onds showing, and she had just come back to the net from a timeout.

Th e other numbers on the scoreboard were just as im-portant: Home 1 Visitor 0.

“We just wanted to make sure we won the faceoff ,” Roberts said aft er the Cou-gars did just that and hung on for the 1-0 win and the league title.

Th en came the on-ice celebration, as the rest of the team rushed the net.

“Obviously, we were all pretty excited,” she said of disappearing under a pile of her teammates. “Th is was what we had been working for all year.”

Th e fi nal game followed the same script as the fi rst two games in the fi nal se-ries, but shorter. Th e Phan-toms won the fi rst game 2-1 in double overtime, before the Cougars won the second game 1-0 in triple overtime. Cougars coach Mario Desjardins said the series played out the way he

fi gured it would – sort of.“I expected an overtime

game at some point, but not double and triple. It was a pretty stressful weekend for the players, the coaches and the fans.”

When that fi nal faceoff came to the left of Rob-erts, Desjardins felt fairly confi dent.

“We had been doing a good job on faceoff s all game. I told the girls in the timeout, ‘Win the draw, and shoot the puck down the ice if you can’.”

Roberts had been split-ting time in the Cougars net most of the season, but Desjardins and the rest of the coaching staff decided before the fi nal series to give her the full load.

“Kelsey is really on her game now. She needs to be our best player.”

And Roberts repaid that trust with the back-to-back shutouts. In Sunday’s fi nal, she said, it seemed to come easy.

“Everything was kind of hitting me,” she said. “I was able to get good angles, and my teammates were a big part of it. Th ey made sure I could see the shots coming and that there was nobody in front of the net.”

Now, the Cougars face something a little unusual – games on the road. Roberts has to think for a second when asked when their last road games were.

“I guess it was the least games of the regular season, back at the beginning of February.”

Th at will change next

weekend, as the Cougars head to Alberta to face an Edmonton team for the Pacifi c title and the right to play in the Canadian cham-pionships in Red Deer.

“I was actually kind of hoping Red Deer won the

Alberta title,” Desjardins said, “because then we would have been guaran-teed a spot in the Canadi-ans.”

Now, while he knows who they will be playing, he isn’t sure where.

“Th e last I heard, they were having trouble fi nding ice time in Edmonton for the Easter weekend, so they may be looking to play the games in some place like St Albert.”

Roberts says they know

a little something about the Edmonton team they’ll be facing.

“We played them twice at a tournament in Fraser Valley. We tied them in the round robin, then they beat us 5-3 in the semifi nal.”


Allan WISHART/Free PressSomewhere in that group of Northern Cougars is goalie Kelsey Roberts, who backstopped them to a 1-0 win over the Fraser Valley Phantoms on Sunday afternoon at Kin 2. The win gave the Cougars the B.C. Female Midget League title, as they downed the Phantoms two games to one in the final series. The Phantoms won game one 2-1 in double overtime before the Cougars tied the series with a 1-0 win in triple overtime.

24 Friday, March 27, 2015 www.pgfreepress.comPrince George - SPORTS - Free Press

Due to the faculty strike at UNBC, the date and the venue for BC Wheelchair Sports’ Have a Go Days in Prince George has been changed.

Th e event, which was supposed to take place last weekend, will now be held on April 24 and 25 at Duchess Park Secondary.

Th e Have a Go Days seek to capitalize on the excitement surrounding wheelchair sports built up by the 2015 Canada Winter Games. Wheelchair

basketball enjoyed great community support at the Canada Games, and BC Wheelchair Sports Associa-tion is eager to expand its programs in the area.

Not only will the Have a Go Days off er partici-pants a chance to try a wide variety of wheelchair sports, but it will also serve as the launch for the new Prince George wheelchair rugby club. Th is is the fi rst time that wheelchair rugby has been off ered in Prince George.

Th e weekend has two parts:Wheelchair Rugby Camp:Th is is a free event for potential athletes, coaches

and volunteers looking to get involved in wheel-chair rugby. Wheelchair rugby is a full-contact sport that welcomes both male and female athletes with a disability. BC’s best wheelchair rugby coaches will be on hand to demonstrate the sport. No experience is necessary and all equipment, including sports wheelchairs, will be provided. Th e camp takes place on Friday, April 24 from 6 - 9 p.m. and Saturday, April 25 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Duchess Park Secondary.

Wheelchair Sports Have a Go Day:Come try a wide range of wheelchair sports in

a fun, supportive environment. You’ll have the opportunity to try wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair athletics and snowsports. People of all ages, experience levels, and disabilities are welcome to attend this free event. Able-bodied people are also welcome. No experience is necessary and all equipment, including sports wheelchairs, is provided. Th e event takes place on Saturday, April 25 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at Duchess Park Secondary.

For more information and to register, go to pacifi csportnorthernbc.com and click on the Register Now link.

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Give wheelchair sports a try in April

Gold medallist hereRichard Peter brought some

mementoes of his basketball career to the Centre for Learn-ing Alternatives (CLA) in Prince George last week.

“Th at’s the gold medal we won in London,” he said, passing the medal to the students he was talking to. “You know how the Olympic medals have the fi ve rings on them? Th e Paralympic ones have what I call the ‘nike swooshes’.

“And if you run your fi ngers over it, you can feel some raised bumps. Th at’s Braille, for the ath-letes who are blind.”

As a member of the Canadian men’s wheelchair basketball team, Peter has collected four Olympic medals, three gold and one silver.

“Th e women’s program in Canada just dominated in the world in the early 90s,” he told the students. “Th e men’s team wanted to match what they were doing.”

Peter was at the CLA, the former John McInnis Junior Secondary, to talk to the stu-dents about how disabled and able-bodied athletes could work together in sports.

“I’ve been in a wheelchair since I was four years old. I was run over by a bus. It only broke two bones – my hip and my spine. I can stand for a second or two, but most of the time, I’m in the chair.”

He was living on Vancouver Island at the time, but realized if he wanted to play wheelchair

basketball at a higher level he would have to move to Vancou-ver, so he did. Th e decision paid off .

“I was a member of the men’s national team for about 20 years. I retired aft er the Paralympics in 2012 in London.”

He talked to the students about the diff erent kinds of wheelchairs available, with Prince George wheelchair bas-ketball player Avril Harris acting as the demonstrator.

“You can see how the wheels on Avril’s chair are cambered, they’re tilted in. Th at makes it easier to turn in a hurry. Th ere’s also a caster wheel on the back of his chair, so he can lean back a lot further than I could without falling over.”

Peter works at a rehab centre in Vancouver, and has a recent local connection with Prince George.

“Trent Seymour, who some of

you probably know, was down at the centre where I work, and I got the chance to meet him and work with him. Hopefully, we can get him on the basketball court with us soon.”

As the students decided to try their hand at wheelchair dodge-ball, Peter said he thought it was important to spread the message about wheelchair sports not be-ing just for the disabled.

“It’s good for everybody to give this a try,” he said. “We need more participation, and that’s one of the things I’m trying to do with these talks is to get more people out and giving it a try.”

If basketball doesn’t sound like your sport, Peter says there are a lot of other wheelchair sports available.

“I tried them all. I played tennis, racquetball, badminton. Basketball was the team sport I had the most fun with, so that’s the one I stuck with.”


Allan WISHART/Free PressWheelchair basketball player Richard Peter speaks to a group of students at the Centre for Learning Alternatives on March 19, while another group waits to get back into a dodgeball game.

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Friday, March 27, 2015 25www.pgfreepress.com Prince George - SPORTS - Free Press

Our weekend here may be over, but our support for community hockey is here to stay.Thank you, Prince George, for making our Rogers™ Hometown Hockey™ stop one for the record books.This weekend, hockey-loving families came out to celebrate Canada’s game, kids learned the value of team, and smiles were as warm as the hot chocolate. This weekend, you proved that The 5th Season* is about more than just hockey.

Share your favourite photos and hockey moments using #The5thSeason

NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. © NHL 2014. All Rights Reserved. ™ Trademark(s) of Rogers Communications, used under license or with permission. All rights reserved. © 2014. ®*Registered trademarks of The Bank of Nova Scotia. * Trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia.

www.scotiabank.com/the5thseason

Northstars third in own derby event

Th e day aft er the North-ern Exposure tournament ended, Pandamonia is still feeling the eff ects.

“I’m tired and sore,” says Pandamonia (also known as Amanda Vliegenthart), a member of the Rated PG Northstars. “It was a very emotional weekend.”

Th e Northstars hosted the seven-team tournament at the Roll-a-Dome and came in third, losing the A fi nal to Kamloops and then being eliminated by Saskatoon.

“It was good to get through to the A fi nal,” Pan-damonia says, “because it gave us that one game off to get some rest before we had to skate again.”

She’s one of the newer members of the team, only having played in bouts for about a year.

“I started the Fresh Meat program in September 2013,” she says, “and was benchmarked in March 2014. I played a few games with the house team, and I sort of jammed a bit, but on the Northstars, I’m a blocker.

“I want to be a jammer, but I know I have to earn my spot on the team. I have to

learn to jibe with the rest of the team.”

What makes it easier to spend some time in the pack as a blocker is something she realized fairly quickly aft er moving up to the North-stars.

“I’m so glad for the jam-mers we have. I learn a lot just watching them on the track.”

Pandamonia had been interested in getting into roller derby for a few years, but, “When I asked about it, they basically said, ‘You’re too small’, so I let it go for a while.”

Th en, walking through Pine Centre Mall with her family, she saw a booth for the Rated PG Rollergirls, with one of the skaters hold-ing a skate.

“I said, ‘I want to try that,’ and I convinced my hus-band to let me try out for the team and the Fresh Meat program.

“I loved it.”Th e fi rst three games for

the Northstars this weekend were against Grande Prairie, Saskatoon and Kamloops, three solid teams.

“Th is was the fi rst time I had really played any of them. I played Kamloops at Chilliwack, but that was

more of a fun tournament, so I didn’t think of it as a real game against them.”

She likes being with the Northstars for the team’s general attitude, which can sometimes surprise other teams.

“We’re really fun and friendly. In the match against Saskatoon, one of their girls was obviously having a bad day and she was crying, so we went out to give her and the rest of the team a group hug.

“You could see some of the Saskatoon players going, ‘What is going on here?’”

To get in some more track time, Pandamonia has been skating with the house team for Rated PG as well, which means she’ll be back on the

track on April 4 when they host Gold Pain City from Quesnel at the Roll-a-Dome.

“My sister plays for Quesnel,” she says, “so there’s probably going to be some family rivalry stuff happen-ing.”


Allan WISHART/Free PressIt was a hard-hitting affair between the Rated PG Northstars in orange and the Tournament City Derby Dolls from Kamloops during the Northern Exposure tournament at the Roll-a-Dome on the weekend. Tournament City won this match and downed Saskatoon for the title.

26 Friday, March 27, 2015 www.pgfreepress.comPrince George - SPORTS - Free Press

For Chantal Pazdzierski-Litke, this week has been a little crazy.

“We’ve got the ice show coming up, so I’m

working on my part in that,” says Pazdzierski-Lit-ke of To the Tune of Sport, which takes to the ice tonight (Friday) at 6 p.m. at the Coliseum. “I’m also coaching some of the junior skaters in the show, and we’ve got a test day on Saturday.”

Pazdzierski-Litke can’t count how many years she’s been skating, and added coaching to her list about three years ago.

“It was a one-day decision,” she says. “I hadn’t really thought about it much while I was just skat-ing. It can be pretty time-consuming, especially for the full-time coaches at the club.”

Th is is the fi rst time Pazdzierski-Litke will be coaching and performing in the show put on by the Northern B.C. Centre for Skating.

“I’m not worried about the junior skaters,” she says with a smile. “It’s a really fun thing for them, and even though you hope nothing happens, if one of them falls, it’s not a big thing.”

Pazdzierski-Litke will be skating with some of the other senior skaters to a Shakira song during the show, and says there’s quite a mix of music.

“Th e junior girls are skating to Cotton-Eye Joe. It’s a real mix. We had actually been training in our routine for about a week before (head coach) Rory (Allen) let us hear the music.”

She says she looks forward to the ice show because it’s a break from routine.

“We don’t get a chance to perform like this in front of friends and family very oft en, and we hardly ever get the chance to perform together.”

Pazdzierski-Litke doesn’t see her skating ending any time soon.

“I just started skating and went into CanSkate, then they pulled me out of that for Junior Acad-emy, and I just kept going.

“I’ve always loved it.”She has one advantage on some of the other

skaters in the club, since she knows she’ll be able to see at least two of the routines as she takes part

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By the time the Prince George Spruce Kings hold their Prospects Camp on April 10, there may be a new head coach watching.

Dave Dupas resigned from the position on March 20 aft er four and a half years, and general manager Mike Hawes says there was immediate interest.

“Th e world has got-ten smaller because of technology,” Hawes said, “and the hockey world is even smaller. Within a couple of hours of the announcement, I was getting calls and texts from people interested in the position.”

Dupas resigned to be closer to his family in the Okanagan, and Hawes says it wasn’t a complete surprise. His wife and two children had remained in West Kelowna aft er he took the Spruce Kings job partway through the 2010-11 season.

“It wasn’t a shock. It’s always a tough situation when you’re away from your family for that long. Four and a half years is a long time to be in that situation.”

Hawes says there is a good chance the team will have hired a new coach by the time the Prospects Camp starts.

“I’ve kind of overseen the Pros-pects Camp in the past, so it’s not necessary that we have a coach in place, but there’s a very good chance we will.”

Th e Prospects Camp will give the Spruce Kings executive and coaching staff a chance to look at players who will possibly be with the team next season.

“We have 12 players eligible to return next

season,” Hawes said. “All 12 would be key contributors. We have one goalie, four defencemen and seven forwards.

“Th at’s part of my job as general manager, to try and make sure we have a good nucleus of players com-ing back”


Spruce Kings looking for newcoach after Dupas resignation

RESIGNEDDAVE DUPAS

www.pgfreepress.com

Chantal ready to skate and coachin them.

“I might be able to sneak a peek at some of the other skaters. It depends so much on the schedule for who’s on the ice when.”

Andrea Ludditt, the centre’s director of competitive develop-ment, says there will be close to 100 skaters taking part in the show.

“It’s my job to fi gure out a theme and then pick the songs we want to use. A lot of the hype this year has been the Canada Winter Games, and I was watching some of the events and heard the music they used, and I thought, ‘Th at would be a good idea for the show’.”

She agrees with Pazdzierski-Litke that the timing has made it a bit harder than usual to get the show routines down.

“We’ve only had three or three and a half weeks of practice. We want to keep the numbers ‘craft y’ so the skaters can show the skills they’ve been working on.

“It’s a fun night for

the kids.”To the Tune of Sport

starts at 6 p.m. on

March 27 at the Coli-seum. Admission is by donation.


Allan WISHART/Free PressChantal Pazdzierski-Litke has a busy week-end ahead, as she will be skating in an ice show tonight at the Coliseum, coaching a group of junior skaters in the show, and then taking skating tests tomorrow.

Friday, March 27, 2015 27www.pgfreepress.com Prince George - SPORTS - Free Press

Sure, mission was accomplished by earning a playoff spot for the fi rst time in four years, but can the Prince George Cougars win a series for the fi rst time in eight years?

Th e Victoria Royals are defi nite favourites in the best of seven Western Conference quarter-fi nal series that begins this weekend on the Island. Th e

Royals had more wins (39-31), more points (82-67), more goals for (244-222), fewer goals against (219-295), a better power play (sixth at 22 per cent compared to 19th at 15.9 per cent), and a more effi cient penalty kill (11th at 80 per cent compared to 22nd at 79.1 per cent). In addition, Victoria took 311 less penalty minutes (999 compared to league-high 1310).

Th e Royals also have a veteran roster with many players who have WHL playoff experience, while the Cats have just fi ve.

Did I mention that Coleman Vollrath of the Roy-als was a recent CHL Goaltender of the week for the week ending March 15 aft er posting a 3-0 record with a goals-against-average of 1.00 and a save percentage of .970? Vollrath was also 4-0 this season against P.G.

On paper, one could argue that is series is a mismatch, but I have yet to see any team awarded a victory based on stats. In fact, numbers can oft en be misleading.

Th e intangibles are on the Cougars side which can close the gap immensely. Victoria has home-ice advantage with the so-called better team, which means the pressure is squarely on the Royals. Th e Royals have not played a “key” game all season. Victoria was locked into second place in the B.C. dDivision since well before Christmas with virtually no opportunity to move up or down in the stand-ings. Th ey never had to play any of their 72 games with “urgency”.

Th e Cougars, on the other hand, had little room for error aft er the awful 12-game slide in January. Th ey played their best in the last quarter of the season to fi nish ahead of Tri-City, Kamloops and Vancouver.

Yes, the Cats are battle tested and won their fi nal two home games against Kamloops to be assured of a post-season berth.

If the Royals are really that much better than Prince George, then why did P.G. earn eight points in eight head to head games against Victoria? Th e last two match-ups are fresh in our minds. March 6, the Cats trailed the Royals 2-0 on home ice late in the second period, yet P.G. pulled out a 4-3 victory. Th e next night, March 7, was one of the best games of the season at CN Centre. 5,404 fans watched the Cougars erase a 3-0 defi cit before falling 4-3 aft er 11 rounds of the shootout. Th e atmosphere was elec-tric with a team record 50-50 jackpot in excess of $67,000, half of which went to the Shelly Mrkonjic ALS fund. It’s hard to gauge the mental eff ect those games will have on Victoria having blown substan-

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Cougars definite undercats

HART BEATHARTLEYMILLER

tial leads, but it should reinforce to both sides no matter how much the Royals are ahead, no lead is safe.

Player for player Victoria seems stronger, particularly on the back end. Th e Cats don’t have a world junior gold medalist like Joe Hicketts (64 points in 62 games), a second team Western Conference all-star. Travis Brown (57 points) and Jack Walker (55 points) are other high-end de-fencemen.

Up front, Brandon Magee has 44 points in 36 career games against the Cougars. Austin Carroll notched a team high 77 points this season, nine of them against Prince George. Ex-Cougar Alex Forsberg and former Hitmen sniper Greg Chase were acquired in trades to help load up the Victoria off ense.

In the playoff s, individual per-formance is overshadowed by team play. Th e Cougars are 11-5-1-2 since February 1. In that same stretch, Ty Edmonds has a save percentage of .920 and Cats scoring leader Jansen Harkins along with Zach Pochiro and Chase Witala have formed one of the better lines in the league. Captain Sam Ruopp has anchored a gritty defence that rallied together.

As underdogs, this is a role the Cougars can embrace. Th ey can use as motivation the fact none of their play-ers were selected as an awards fi nalist or were named to the league all-star teams.

Each year the lure of the upset keeps fans engaged. In the Western

Conference, Kelowna seems a safe bet to beat Tri-City and Everett appears to have a decided advantage over Spokane. Portland has been the most dangerous team in 2015 and looks like a solid choice over Seattle. Th is leaves Victoria and Prince George. Are all series really going to go to the higher seed? If not, which team pulls off the big surprise? Th e answer is why we watch and listen for nearly the next two weeks.

From The Quote Rack: Pete Rose has submitted a reinstate-

ment appeal to the Commissioner. Unfortunately, it was on the back of a betting slip.

Robert Kraft says that there was no ‘smoking gun’ in Defl ategate. How about an air gun?

Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California

Th e NFL has announced that they will lift the league TV blackout policy for one year on a trial basis. Bad news for fans in Oakland. Th ey now have no excuse not to watch the Raiders.

Contributor Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California (www.left coastsports-

babe.com)Hartley Miller is the sports director

and morning news anchor for 94.3 the Goat. He also writes for myprincege-orgenow.com. Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to [email protected]

Follow him on twitter: @Hart-ley_Miller

28 Friday, March 27, 2015 www.pgfreepress.comPrince George Free Press

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Prince George Free PressDescriptionWe are seeking a team player with a professional attitude to work and learn in a fast paced, business environment.Quali cationsThe ideal candidate must be motivated and take the initiative to sell multiple media products, including on-line advertising and special products, work with existing customers and develop new customers. Strong interpersonal skills and a strong knowledge of sales and marketing are required. Above average communication skills, valid driver’s licence and a reliable vehicle are necessary.If a rewarding challenge resonates with you, contact us today. Please submit your resume and cover letter to:

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Outside Advertising Sales Representative

AberdeenPublishing.com778-754-5722

The Prince George Free Press is seeking a full time Inside Sales Representative to handle sales of Print and On-Line advertising and to manage an existing account list. This individual will work out of our Prince George office and will be responsible for building strong relationships with current clients, develop new business to increase revenue and perform to sales goals set by management. The position requires solid communication skills, creativity and attention to detail. Prior advertising knowledge and media experience are both a big plus, but not required. To qualify, you must be outgoing and driven to succeed. Other responsibilities include problem solving and the ability to multitask.

If working in a positive, goal oriented team environment, with state of the art equipment appeals to you, submit your resume in confi dence to:

Ron Drillen, General ManagerThe Prince George Free Press1773 South Lyon Street V2N 1T3Fax: 250-562-0025Email: [email protected]

Inside Sales Representative

AberdeenPublishing.com778-754-5722

Announcements

In Memoriam Gifts

BC Cancer Foundation1215 Lethbridge Street

Prince George, BC V2N 7E9

Please include your name and mailing address for the tax

receipt, the name of the person you’re remembering

and the name and address of person to notify.

250.645.7300 ext. 687469bccancerfoundation.com

InformationALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUSDo you think you may have a problem with Alcohol? Alcohol Anonymous, Box 1257, Prince George, BC V2L 4V5Call 250-564-7550

CANADA BENEFIT Group - Do you or someone you know suffer from a disability? Get up to $40,000 from the Canadian Government. Toll-free 1-888-511-2250 or www.canada benefi t.ca/free-assessment

DO YOU have a disability? Physical or mental. We can help you get up to $40,000 back from the Canadian Gov-ernment. For details check out our website: disabilitygroup canada.com or call us today Toll-Free 1-888-875-4787.

Employment

Business Opportunities

HIGH CASH producing vend-ing machines. $1.00 Vend = .70 Profi t. All on location in your area. Selling due to ill-ness. Call 1-866-668-6629 for details.

HIP OR knee replacement? Problems walking or getting dressed? The Disability Tax Credit $1,500 Yearly Tax Credit. $15,000 Lump Sum Refund (on avg). For assis-tance Call: 1-844-453-5372.

Career Opportunities

Employment

Business Opportunities

TCG, MORTGAGE lenders since 1960s, seeks Local Re-ferral Partners to introduce in-vestors to our capital preser-vation focused monthly income trust, returning 6-8%. Referral fee compensation. [email protected].


PATHFINDER EndeavoursLtd. is excepting resumes for NATURAL RESOURCE AND FIELD TECHNICIANS. Path-fi nder is an equal opportunity employer that offers a com-petitive salary, set shift sched-ule, and ongoing training for career minded individuals. Vis-it our website for full job de-scriptionswww.pathfi nderltd.ca. Submit resumes to careers@pathfi n-derltd.ca

TREATY COORDINATORRequired - Gitga’at First Na-tion, Hartley Bay, B.C. For full job description visit www.fi rst nationsjobsonline.com send resumes to [email protected]

Education/Trade Schools

INTERIOR HEAVY EQUIP-MENT OPERATOR SCHOOL.

NO Simulators. In-the-seat training. Real world tasks.

Weekly start dates. Job board! Funding options.

SignUp online! iheschool.com 1-866-399-3853


Employment


Diane Rosebrugh & Dick Rosebrugh, B.Ed.

FOODSAFETY In Home • Food Handlers Volunteers • Care Givers

ABC Food Safety [email protected]

250-563-2585Fax: 250-563-2572

Classes Run 8:30–5:00pmIMSS Building, 1270 2nd Ave

BC Foodsafe Level 1

Thursday April 9, 2015

National Food Safety Program

Saturday April 25, 2015

BC Foodsafe Level 1

Wednesday May 6, 2015

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Fo

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Help WantedFRONT DESK CLERK

Fraser Bridge Inn & R.V Park located at 100 Ewing Ave, Quesnel, BC is looking for 1 FRONT DESK CLERK.

Duties: Welcome guest & reg-ister rooms & RV spaces, an-swer telephone calls, make reservations, change or cancel reservations, process pay-ment, provide information on motel & RV facilities and rent. Salary $ 13.50 per hour. High School Education & workable Spoken and written English is required. Email your resume to [email protected]

THAI Cleaning requires Full-time English/Thai speaking work-ers. fax resume to 250-563-8522(no diploma necessary)or call

250-617-7218



Employment


Employment


Employment

250.564.0005

INDEX IN BRIEF

“Advertise across Northern BC in the 32 best-read

community newspapers!”

AGREEMENTIt is agreed by any Display or Clas-si ed Advertiser requesting space that the liability of the paper in the event of failure to publish an advertisement shall be limited to the amount paid by the advertiser for that portion of the advertising space occupied by the incorrect item only, and that there shall be no liability in any event beyond the amount paid for such advertise-ment. The publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typo-graphical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement.

bcclassi ed.com cannot be responsible for errors after the rst day of publication of any adver-tisement. Notice of errors on the rst day should immediately be called to the attention of the Clas-si ed Department to be corrected for the following edition.

bcclassi ed.com reserves the right to revise, edit, classify or reject any advertisement and to retain any answers directed to the bcclassi ed.com Box Reply Service and to repay the customer the sum paid for the advertisement and box rental.

DISCRIMINATORY LEGIS-LATIONAdvertisers are reminded that Pro-vincial legislation forbids the publi-cation of any advertisement which discriminates against any person because of race, religion, sex, col-or, nationality, ancestry or place of origin, or age, unless the condition is justi ed by a bona de require-ment for the work involved.

COPYRIGHTCopyright and/or properties sub-sist in all advertisements and in all other material appearing in this edition of bcclassi ed.com. Per-mission to reproduce wholly or in part and in any form whatsoever, particularly by a photographic or offset process in a publication must be obtained in writing from the publisher. Any unauthorized reproduction will be subject to re-course in law.

Free PrFree PressessPrince George

FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENTS

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

CHILDREN

EMPLOYMENT

SERVICE GUIDE - PERSONAL

BUSINESS SERVICES

PETS / LIVESTOCK

ITEMS FOR SALE / WANTED

REAL ESTATE

RENTALS

TRANSPORTATION

MARINE

LEGALS

BCDaily

Register Online atwww.bcdailydeals.com




Community Newspapers

We’re at the heart of

things™

The Kidney Foundation of Canada, BC Branch 200-4940 Canada Way, Burnaby, BC V5G 4K6 1(800) 567-8112

Did you know?• Kidney Disease causes death in many people with diabetes and high blood pressure, and raises the risk of a heart attack? • Healthy kidneys reduce the risk of heart attacks and high blood pressure?If detected early, Chronic Kidney Disease can be treated, thereby reducing the risk of complications of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart attacks.

anada Way, Burnaby, BC V5G 4K6 1(800)

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Friday, March 27, 2015 29www.pgfreepress.com Prince George - CLASSIFIEDS - Free Press

MECHANIC (Service Truck Position, Burns Lake)Want to work out of a good quality service truck,

with some shop work? The successful candidate will be a leader in safety and efficiency and will be able work in

difficult situations with an upbeat attitude.

Year around work available in the Burns Lake Area!

Contact Stephan Posselt email: [email protected] Phone: 778-669-1010

Starting wage $38.00/hr. 50 hrs per week and possibly more. Benefits package available!

Huckleberry Mines Ltd. is an 18,000 TPD open pit copper molybdenum mine located 120 km south of Houston in west central British Columbia. We are currently recruiting for the following position to join our mine site team:

ASSAYERHuckleberry Mines is seeking an assayer. Reporting to the Senior Metallurgist, this position is responsible for the analysis of samples from the mill and pit using atomic absorption, a spectrophotometer and Leco analyzer. Methods to be trained on include acid digestion ith an nish on lo grade pulps and a wide range of ABA analytical methods. The successful applicant’s primary focus will be on ABA testing which is done on a daily basis due to requirements of our current mining plan. The Assayer will also be required to be well versed in the bucking duties in order to provide coverage for the bucker.

The successful candidate will hold a B Assayer’s erti cate or a diploma in analytical chemistry or, a minimum of ve year assay experience and computer experience with Microsoft Excel and Access. Good interpersonal and communication skills are a must. QA/QC knowledge and supervisory experience will be considered an asset.

Huckleberry Mines is located approximately two hours driving time from Houston, British Columbia. Employees live in a camp environment on their days of work, and the schedule for this position is either 7 x 7 (seven days on, seven days off) or 4 days on, 3 days off (Monday to Thursday). Transportation to and from the mine site is provided from Houston and while at the mine site all meals and accommodations are provided free of charge to employees.

Houston and Smithers are located in the scenic Bulkley Valley on TransCanada Highway 16, an excellent area to raise a family and has exceptional outdoor recreational activities. More information on the area is available at www.smithers.ca, www.houston.ca and www.rdbn.bc.ca

Huckleberry Mines Ltd. offers a competitive salary and a full range of bene ts including medical, life, disability income and RRSP savings plan.

We thank all applicants for their interest in Huckleberry Mines Ltd., but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

PRINCE GEORGE NATIVE FRIENDSHIP CENTRE

Our People make a difference in the community

The Prince George Native Friendship Centre, a visionary non-profi t society, has been serving the needs of the entire community for the past 43+ years.

We are seeking candidates for the following position(s)within our organization:

HEALTH DEPARTMENT

Aboriginal Supported Child Development Coordinator Closing March 30, 2015.

FAMILY WELLNESS PROGRAMS DEPARTMENT

Aboriginal Infant & Family Development Program Outreach Consultant – Closing April 6, 2015

A hard copy listing the roles, responsibilities and qualifi cations of the position are available from the Prince George Native Friendship Centre’s web site at www.pgnfc.com (click on Join Our Team / Careers).

To apply, submit a resume, cover letter and three (3) references detailing which position you are applying for, to: Prince George Native Friendship Centre 1600 Third Avenue Prince George, BC V2L 3G6 Fax: (250) 563-0924 E-mail: [email protected]

Applications will be accepted until dates noted on postings, no telephone inquiries please. We thank all applicants, however, only those selected for interviews will be contacted.

Huckleberry Mines Ltd. is an 18,000 TPD open pit copper molybdenum mine located 120 km south of Houston in west central British Columbia. We are currently recruiting for the following position to join our mine site team:

EXPEDITERThe successful candidate will report to the Purchasing Agent and provide support to the buyers to ensure the on time delivery of contracts, services and goods. Responsibilities will include:

Preparation of service agreement and contracts Manage contract manifests Expedite purchase orders Create purchase orders and ensure the timely return of

equipment sent off site for repair Assist accounts payable with invoicing problems Re-order stock inventory items as required Manage freight bills Vacation relief for the buyer and inventory analyst

Applicants require a minimum two years of experience in expediting, procurement or related elds. Working knowledge of Guardian, Word, and Excel software would be considered an asset. Excellent organizational, planning, and computer skills are required as is an attention to detail.

Huckleberry Mines is located approximately two hours driving time from Houston, British Columbia. Employees live in a camp environment on their days of work, and the schedule for this position is 4 days on, 3 days off (Monday to Thursday). Transportation to and from the mine site is provided from Houston and while at the mine site all meals and accommodations are provided free of charge to employees.

Houston and Smithers are located in the scenic Bulkley Valley on TransCanada Highway 16, an excellent area to raise a family and has exceptional outdoor recreational activities. More information on the area is available at www.smithers.ca, www.houston.ca and www.rdbn.bc.ca

Huckleberry Mines is a remote mine where its employees live in a camp environment on their days of work.

Huckleberry Mines Ltd. offers a competitive salary and a full range of bene ts including medical, life, disability income and RRSP savings plan.

We thank all applicants for their interest in Huckleberry Mines Ltd., but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

FULL-TIME COMMERCIAL TRANSPORT MECHANICLEVEL 2 OR HIGHER

We are a growing, progressive and well respected carrier operating a full repair and maintenance facility at our head office in Coquitlam.

REQUIREMENTS: Must be physically fit, communicates well in English, full certification.

WE OFFER: Attractive compensation package which includes group benefits.

Please email resume: [email protected] or Fax: (1) 604-472-2136

Do you wish to teach lifesaving skills to your

community?

Are you interested in earning additional income?

St. John Ambulance, leader in rst aid training and community

services is looking for a number of contract instructors.

Great team environment and exible schedule!

Please visit our website atwww.sja.ca for more information.

PROJECT MANAGER / ESTIMATOR

Kentron Construction, part of the YCS Holdings Ltd. group, is seeking a Project Manager / Estimator. YCS Holdings Ltd. is a division of Terus Construction Ltd., a leader in the construction industry in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory.

This person will play a key role in nding business opportunities and in the development of new market for Kentron Construction. The incumbent will be responsible for all aspects of the project management life cycle, including startup, obtaining building permits, preparing tenders, allocation of adequate resources, scheduling, documentation, budgets, estimates and close out documentation. The incumbent will work with in house and external construction personnel to ensure project construction is executed in a timely and ef cient manner while maintaining integrity of design, and will work closely with the organization to ensure feasibility and costing of projects.

Employment Requirements: P. Eng or CET in Civil Construction with years in eld

experience or A minimum of 10 years of experience in Project Supervision Relevant experience in the construction industry Ability to read and understand engineered plans and contract

documents Establish strong liaison with the customer base To be able to work well with others, “people skills” Good communication skills both verbal and written Valid class 5 driver’s license and clean current drivers abstract Surveying skills is an asset Computer skills: Excel, Word, Project and engineering programs

We offer a competitive compensation package with a comprehensive ene t plan an a pension plan n

a ition the ompany offers many evelopment opportunities through tailore training programs

For a full job description please visit our website:www terusconstruction ca

Please send your resume stating position to the Human Resources department: hr terusconstruction ca

or by fax: 604 575-3691

We would like to thank all applicants for submitting their resume. However, only applicants selected to be interviewed will be contacted.

OK Tire is hiring. Please apply in person toOK Tire in Prince George. If unable to apply in person, resumes will be accepted by email [email protected]

• Tire Technician • Service Advisor • Automotive Service Technician

Employment

Help WantedFull time retail sales Person for

home improvement store. Great hours and working environment. Will train.

Visit our website at www.mcInnislighting.com

Fax resume to 250-564-1490 or e-mail [email protected]

THE LEMARE Group is accepting applications for experienced grader-men. Candidates will have a mini-mum of 5 years coastal logging road experience as well as public road works. Resumes to be submit-ted with covering letter via email at offi [email protected] or via fax: 250-956-4888. We thank all candidates in advance for their interest, but only those shortlisted will be con-tacted.

Home Care/SupportBAYSHORE Home Health is hiring HCAs, LPNs and RNs in Prince George area. Competi-tive wage, benefi ts and fl exibility. Own vehicle and BCDL an asset. Help us make a difference in your commu-nity. Apply [email protected], visit www.bayshore.ca.

Hotel, Restaurant, Food Services

FRONT DESK CLERKGold Pan Motel located at 855 Front St. Quesnel BC

Duties include register guests and assign rooms, take, book, cancel & change room reservations, process telephone calls, provide info on motel facilities, rent, & services, process payments etc. Salary $ 13.50 per hour. High School Education and workable Spoken and written English is required. Email resume to:

[email protected]

JanitorialAcme Janitorial Service

1960 Robertson Rd250 564-4302

Medical/DentalMEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONis an in-demand career in Canada! Employers have work-at-home positions available. Get the online train-ing you need from an employ-er-trusted program. Visit: CareerStep.ca/MT or 1-855-768-3362 to start training for your work-at-home career to-day!







Employment Employment Employment Employment Employment Employment

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30 Friday, March 27, 2015 www.pgfreepress.comPrince George - CLASSIFIEDS - Free Press

REGISTERED NURSE – HOME MANAGER

Prince George, BCTCS is a social services agency that provides services to individuals with developmental disabilities in a number of communities in the Province of BC. We possess an unwavering commitment to care, innovation and highly individualized, solution-focused services for individuals and their families. Fundamental to our purpose is the selection and support of committed staff members. TCS is establishing a home in Prince George for individuals with complex health care needs and developmental disabilities. As the RN / Home Manager you will be responsible for the provision of all aspects of care in the home as well as supervision, training and leadership of staff members, administrative management, communication and liaison with professionals in the community. You will also have extensive experience in a variety of health care settings and supervisory experience. As a team player you must be able to build relationships, be an excellent interpersonal communicator and be able to maintain a flexible schedule as necessary.

We offer competitive salary with an excellent benefit package. Please submit resumes by April 3, 2015 to Kristine DeMonte at [email protected]

Service, Commitment, LeadershipThompson Community Services

www.thompsoncommunityservices.com

GROUP HOME MANAGER Prince George, BC

At Thompson Community Services we offer highly individualized, solution-focused services for individuals with developmental disabilities, families and funders. Fundamental to our purpose is the selection and support of committed staff members. We are seeking skilled, experienced and self-directed individuals to fill the following position. As a Home Manager, you will have extensive experience as a Community Service Worker in residential settings and supervisory experience. You must have a sincere commitment to providing quality services to individuals with developmental disabilities, challenging behaviour and have experience with individuals with autism. As a team player you must be able to build relationships, be an excellent interpersonal communicator and be able to maintain a flexible schedule as necessary. This position is based in Prince George.

We offer competitive wages with an excellent benefit package including pension.

Please send your cover letter and resume by April 10, 2015 to Kristine Demonte, Regional Director :

Email: [email protected] Fax: 1-250-372-7544. For further information please call 1-250-828-1508.



COMMUNITY SUPPORT WORKERS Prince George, BC

We are currently seeking skilled individuals in the Prince George area to work with clients with developmental disabilities. Experience with challenging behaviours would be an asset. Applicants must be committed to service of the highest quality and display a positive and helpful attitude. Shift work is involved. We are an accredited agency and an equal opportunity employer.Skill Requirements:

disabilities is preferred. Compensation: As per BCGEU Collective Agreement including pension.

Please send your cover letter and resume by April 10, 2015 to Kristine Demonte, Regional Director : Email: [email protected]

Fax: 1-250-372-7544. For further information please call 1-250-828-1508.



JOIN THE AXIS TEAM IN PRINCE GEORGE!We are seeking a male and female facilitator in a contracted position for our Parenting After Separation program to provide parenting information to mothers and fathers who are referred either on a voluntary or mandatory basis in the community of Prince George. Those referred will have experienced a relationship breakdown/separation, may have experienced family violence and require information on parenting positively after separation. There will be 2 facilitators per session; one male and one female. 30 sessions will be provided throughout the year. The PAS Facilitator requires an understanding of relationship breakdown/separation and family violence within the family to effectively share information on parenting positively after separation.

For further information refer to our website www.axis.bc.ca under jobs. Email resume with cover letter to [email protected] or fax (250) 851-2977.

We are a growing, progressive and well respected carrier specializing in the transportation of perishable and dry freight, since 1957. We are currently looking for an individual to support our Founding Values for future success at our Coquitlam Terminal. We are currently looking for F/T Company Town & Highway Drivers. Requires a Class 1 license with 6 -12 months of previous driving experience required. Consistent hours and start times.

We offer competitive wages with group benefits and a group RRSP plan.

Fax Resume & abstract to (1)604-472-2136 or email to: [email protected]




Financial ServicesGET 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.

TAX FREE MONEYis available, if you are a homeowner, today! We can easily approve you by phone. 1st, 2nd or 3rd mort-gage money is available right now. Rates start at Prime. Equity counts. We don’t rely on credit, age or income.

Call Anytime1-800-639-2274 or

604-430-1498. Apply online www.capitaldirect.ca

DrywallEX-CEL ACOUSTICS

774-3rd Ave250 614-8297

ElectricalDubrule Electrical &

Automotive4838 Crest Rd250 565-4777

Excavating & Drainage

D.R.T. Mini Excavating Ltd.Sweeper, Skidsteer & Dump

Truck Avail. call Mark 250-614-3028 or

[email protected]

Home ImprovementsRoger’s Renos

We do basement suites, kitchens, bathrooms, decks and fences. Looking forward to helping you with all your home reno needs. Call 250-552-0471

Home RepairsHandyman Services- Painting, carpentry, fl ooring, repairs etc. Very experienced. Good rates. Dan 250-613-3991

LandscapingWINTER MAINTANCESNOW & GARBAGE

REMOVALCall Pal:

250-961-3612 or 250-964-4758 res

Yard SERVICESTree prune/removal under

35ft,power rake

cedar trim, gutters, junk removal

PG Yard Service 250.552.2122

RepairsRonan Reno’s

Experience Guaranteed250 612-9780

Antiques / VintageBLUENOSE Coins & Pre-cious Metals buys and sells Canadian & US Coins and Banknotes, Gold and Silver Maple Leafs, Bars, Vintage Sports Card, Fine Watches (Rolex), Large quality Dia-monds, and much more!! We pay the most and sell at the best prices, shop and com-pare, family owned and life time member of the RCNA. Penticton 1-866-493-6515.

Firewood/FuelFIREWOOD

Driest wood in town split & delivered.$200/cord (250)964-2020.

Misc. for SaleFor Sale

-135 Gallon aquarium with stand $700.00

Call :250 563-5565

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.

STEEL BUILDINGS. “Spring sales with hot savings!” All steel building models and siz-es are now on sale. Get your building deal while it’s hot. Pio-neer Steel 1-800-668-5422 www.pioneersteel.ca

Misc. WantedCoin Collector in PG PayingTop Prices for Collections,Olympic, Silver & Gold Coins,Bills etc. Chad 778-281-0030

Private Collector Looking toBuy Coin Collections, Silver,Antiques, Native Art, Estates +Chad: 778-281-0030 Local

Drivers/Courier/Trucking

Drivers/Courier/Trucking







Be a part of your community paper.

Comment online.


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Friday, March 27, 2015 31www.pgfreepress.com Prince George - CLASSIFIEDS - Free Press

6894351

Public NoticeProposed Rogers Communications Inc

30m Telecommunications Tower

TYPICAL TOWER PROFILE SITE LOCATION MAP

SUBJECT:ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS INC FILE # W3536 HERITAGE

30m Telecommunications TowerThis proposed site will provide enhanced wireless voice and data services to the Central

Heritage and Highglen neighbourhoods and the surrounding area in Prince George. There are no suitable co-location opportunities within the vicinity of the proposed location.

Location: 100 Tabor Boulevard, Prince GeorgeCoordinates: N 53° 55’ 32.39”, W 122° 48’ 08.56”. Site is zoned C4l.The facility will include a locked equipment shelter within the 6m x 10.5m leased area within

a fenced compound that will be secure from public access via lock and key. All necessary Transport Canada and NAV Canada approvals will be obtained by Rogers Communications Inc

and its agents and provided upon request to any members of the community.With respect to this matter, the public is invited to provide written comments by April 15, 2015 to the contact information shown below.

Please include a return address.CAVALIER LAND LTD

ATTN: Michael Cameron400 - 440 2 Avenue SW

Calgary, AB T2P [email protected]

If you have and questions regarding the policies and installation of telecommunications facilities please contact:

Industry Canada - Spectrum Management and Telecommunications

Northern British Columbia and Yukon Office280 Victoria Street, Room 203

Prince George, BC V2L 4X31-800-667-3780

[email protected] you have any Zoning related questions for the City of Prince George please contact:

The City of Prince GeorgeATTN: Hillary Morgan, Planner

1100 Patricia BoulevardPrince George, BC V2L 3V9

[email protected]

W3536

1ST AVE

TABO

R BLV

D

1ST AVE

MCLEANMCEACHERN PL

TABOR PLAZA

EXPLORER CRES

DRIVE

GORDON BRYANT

PARK

ANSWER TO PUZZLE NO. 488ANSWER TO PUZZLE NO. 761

X CROSSWORD

Boats

SPACE FOR RENT10,860 sq.ft. of Of ce & Warehouse space

Industrial areaacross from CNC

Call Ron at 250-564-0005 Ext.115

Rentals

Apt/Condo for Rent

Midtowne

To Rent Call:250-561-1447

• 1 & 2 bedroom apartments available

• Close to hospital & downtown

• Rent includes heat, hot water• Elevator to undercover

parking • Fridge, stove, quality carpets,

drapes • Laundry on each fl oor • No pets

1 bdrm. apt. $600.Bachelor suites $550. Includes heat & h/w 1601 Queensway St.

250-612-7199 250-596-4275

Apartments For RentBachelor, 1 & 2 bedroom

apartments for rent. Heat/hot water included, coin laundry on site, elevator and

parking, On main bus route, and close

to downtown. Call for availability

250-561-1446

HILLSBOROUGH AptsNewly updated, spacious 3

bdrm suite. Clean, quiet, secure entrance. Close to

schools and College No Pets. Includes H/W

Utilities extra. Available Immed.

Phone 250-596-4555

JUBILEE Apt’s1 & 2 bedrooms Adult orien-

tated, close to downtown & bus route. N/S, N/P. Parking. Call: (250) 562-7172

Pine Grove Apartments

Clean 1 bedroom suites available

Student incentives No Pets

Phone 250-563-2221

SUMMIT APTS2666 Upland Street

1 & 2 bedroom apts. Rentincludes: hydro, heat, hot

water, appliances, drapes and parking. Quiet, no pets

250-564-3162

Commercial/Industrial

Space available for rentFor all your rental needs

Call 562-8343 or 562-RENT

Majestic Management(1981) Ltd.

• OFFICE

• COMMERCIAL

• RETAIL

WAREHOUSE FOR RENT2080 sq ft warehouse

space aval $1200.00 per month. For more info call Ron 250 564-0005 ext 115.

TransportationTransportation

Auto ServicesB & F Auto Services

1702 S Lyon St250 562-0766

Transportation

Scrap Car Removal

FREE SCRAP CARREMOVAL

within 15 kmP & R

250-963-3435Email: prfl [email protected]

MEMBER OF

AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLER’S

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOC.

“DO’IN IT RIGHT”

Transportation

Wrecker/Used Parts

USED TIRESCars & Trucks

$25 & upMost Sizes Available

15270 Hwy 97 South250.963.3435

Legal

Legal NoticesNOTICE OF AGM Buckhorn Improvement District AGM and Election of Trustees Tuesday, April 7th at 7pm Buckhorn Ele-mentary School

TRY A CLASSIFIED ADTRY A CLASSIFIED AD

Legal Notices Legal Notices



Keep your baby safe in the car.

Learn how to choose the right child car seat. Call 1-877-247-5551 or visit ChildSeatInfo.ca

“We’re having a baby!”

Drive to Save Lives

Rentals Rentals

Includes:Address listing on the map3 lines of sale items (approx 20 words)Signs, balloons, tips for selling

Booking deadline: 4 p.m. Tuesdays

Call 250-564-0005

Weather watch guarantee!If your sale is cancelled due to weather, we will put you back on the map the next week – for free! Sorry, no refunds.

Only

$2495Plus tax

32 Friday, March 27, 2015 www.pgfreepress.comPrince George Free Press

Offer ends March 31, 2015. Available with compatible devices within network coverage areas available from Bell Mobility; see bell.ca/coverage. One-time connection charge ($15) and SIM card charge ($4.95) may apply. 9-1-1 government monthly fee in NL: $0.75 (effective March 1, 2015), NS: $0.43, PEI: $0.70, NB: $0.53, AB: $0.44. Taxes extra. Other conditions apply. If you end your Commitment Period early, a Cancellation Fee applies; see your Agreement for details. Subject to change without notice. (1) Based on total square kms of coverage on the shared LTE network available from Bell vs. Rogers’ LTE network. See bell.ca/LTE for details. (2) Available with new activations or upgrades of the 16 GB model with $80/mo. spend before tax. Promotional pricing may apply; visit bell.ca/rateplans for details. (3) Supports personal email accounts and HTML & WAP browsing and tethering. Corporate email integration and other corporate-type solutions not available. (4) At participating locations. Must be 18 yrs. or older and the legal owner of the phone traded in. Max. 1 phone per trade-in. Rebate applies at the time of purchase on the price of the device and/or accessories in-store after taxes. Amount of rebate depends on the value of the phone; not all phones will get a rebate. Apple and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc.

Enjoy blazing-fast download speeds and amazing coverage on Canada’s largest LTE network.

Get 1.5 GB of data3, 300 anytime local minutes and more for only $80/month.

Have you considered trading-in your current phone? Visit any Bell store for a quick appraisal and get up to $250 towards your new iPhone.4

The highly advanced iPhone 5s is not only loaded with features and innovations, it’s an incredible value.

Enjoy iPhone 5s on Canada’s largest LTE network.1

$02

2-yr. Plus plan with data $639.95 No term

trading up

just got

better

Get expert advice today. Visit a Bell store near you:

PRINCE GEORGEPine Centre250-277-7060

Also available at:

Prince George Free Press, March 27, 2015

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Transcript of Prince George Free Press, March 27, 2015