THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2017 Vol. 74, No. 46
Serving Fort St. John, B.C. and Surrounding Communities
$1.50 inc. gst.
alaskahighwaynews.ca
“The Only Newspaper in the World That Gives a Tinker’s Dam About the North Peace.”
leadership plans pitched
verses of their universe
reflecting on the u17 tourney
politics A4/A5
Arts A14
sports b1
in honour and remembrance
When You Are Out in the Field, Time IS Money. QUALITY PARTS, EXPERT SERVICE! HoursMon-Fri: 8am - 5pm Sat: 8am - Noon
9224 100 Street, Fort St. John, BC (250) 785-0463
matt preprost Photo
Captain Geoff Bough, commanding officer of the 2276 Royal Canadian Army Cadets, leads the Remembrance Day parade to the cenotaph outside the Fort St. John Legion on Saturday, Nov. 11. For more on this year’s services throughout the North Peace, turn to B9.
After Hours - Leave Message
CONTACT US
phone 250-785-5631 fax 250-785-3522 email circulation@ahnfsj.ca online alaskahighwaynews.ca facebook AlaskaHighwayNews twitter @AHNnewspaper
No new tension cracks at Site C, BC Hydro says Site C opponents say a new photograph of the contentious dam site is evidence of continued geotechnical problems and cracks causing headaches for builders of the $9-billion project, but BC Hydro says their concerns are simply remnants of routine excavation and construction. An aerial photograph taken Oct. 28 by former independent MLA candidate Bob Fedderly has been circulating widely across social networking sites, marked up to show what opponents say are new tension cracks and erosion problems on the north bank of the Peace River. “A third major tension crack and on-going erosion is evident at the Site C construction site,” a caption reads. “Clearly BCUC’s concern that the project would exceed even $10 billion due to geological unknowns and instability at the site is valid.” See TENSION on A11
Bat researchers turn focus to Alwin Holland Park tom summer Alaska Highway News
A three-year bat monitoring project in the Peace Region is entering its final year of study, and scientists are hoping to learn more about bat hibernation habits and the deadly disease that threatens to wipe out local species. Though there are eight species of bats found in Northeast B.C., biologists are focused on tracking two endangered species in particular—the northern myotis and little brown myotis. Most of the species found in the region migrate south for the winter, but the northern and little brown myotis stay here to hibernate. See BATS on A12
matt preprost Photo
Sylvia Lane and Amanda Trotter of the Fort St. John Women’s Resource Society.
New plan aims to strengthen safety of indigenous women and girls matt preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca
The Women’s Resource Society in Fort St. John is beginning to lay the building blocks of a new safety plan for indigenous women and girls in the city. The Law Foundation of BC has granted the society $45,000 to launch the first stage of a threeyear plan the society says will identify the risks facing the community, and develop a response plan that prevents emergency response delays when complaints
PAVING 100 Canadian
Residential • Commercial • Industrial Roads • Driveways • Parking Lots
are filed to police. “Every study that has come forward, from the Highway of Tears symposium, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Amnesty International, all of that has stated a comprehensive safety plan for a community needs to be implemented in order to look at preventative measures and intervention measures for somebody of aboriginal descent who goes missing,” said Sylvia Lane, a poverty law advocate for the society. The plan was born
out of an Amnesty International forum held in the city last November exploring the impacts of resource development on indigenous women in Northeast B.C., Lane said. With the funding, the society has welcomed Shelly McPhee into the fold as an aboriginal liaison. Her job will be to bring together aboriginal communities, and form a group to develop and oversee the plan alongside first responders and social service providers. See SAFETY on A16
FREE ESTIMATES
250.719.0686
% COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL GRAVEL SALES AND DELIVERY
Owned
Serving Dawson Creek, Chetwynd, Fort St. John & Surrounding Areas
33490