THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016 VOL. 73, NO.77
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.�
KOWALSKY BREAKS DRAG RECORD
PEACE REGION A RENTERS’ MARKET
BUSINESS A9
FOOD FOR THOUGHT AT THE BEAM
SPORTS B1
CULTURE B5
R0011217497
HOPING FOR A BULLSEYE
Hudson’s Hope without a doctor for August
When You Are Out in the Field, Time IS Money.
MATT PREPROST editor@ahnfsj.ca
Call Us For ALL Your OilďŹ eld Needs QUALITY PARTS, EXPERT SERVICE!
PATRICE VILLENEUVE/SYMBOLS CREATIVE INTEGRITY PHOTO
Doig River First Nation was a hub of cultural festivities July 22 to 24, with a traditional tea dance, hand games, a music festival, a cultural camp, and demonstrations by Glenn Stewart of the Horse Ranch, as part of its Cultural Days Festival. Miss the event? See more on B15.
With LNG projects stalled, northeast leaders look for Plan B Petrochemicals, plastics, and methanol potential outlets for B.C. gas, group says CONTACT US
phone 250-785-5631 fax 250-785-3522 email circulation@ahnfsj.ca online alaskahighwaynews.ca facebook AlaskaHighwayNews twitter @AHNnewspaper
JONNY WAKEFIELD reporter@dcdn.ca
Northeast B.C. mayors and the province’s natural gas ministry are looking for alternative markets for B.C. petroleum products after a string of bad news for B.C.’s stalled LNG export industry. Natural gas minister Rich Coleman and members of the Northeast B.C. Resource Municipalities Coalition have been in discussions about attracting investment in “value-added� industries that could use B.C. gas, according to a July 19 news release from
the coalition. Those industries could include petrochemicals, plastics, methanol, gas to liquids, and natural gas for transportation uses, the coalition said. “The coalition will be having further meetings with Minister Coleman and his senior staff to examine opportunities to develop a sophisticated natural gas processing industry in the northeast, well beyond extracting natural gas liquids,� Fort St. John Mayor Lori Ackerman said in the release, noting those industries “could spur a steady
source of jobs and taxation for the northeast.� The coalition’s statements come after major setbacks for B.C.’s LNG export plans. Earlier this month, Shellled LNG Canada, a proposed export plant in Kitimat, announced it would not be making an investment decision this year as planned. A deal to export B.C. gas to Hawaii through an existing plant on Tilbury Island fell through. Pacific NorthWest LNG, the project many analysts say has the best chance of being built, won’t have an answer on its federal environmental assessment until mid-September. See PLAN B on A8
Fort St. John jumps in crime severity rankings JONNY WAKEFIELD reporter@dcdn.ca
Dawson Creek had the highest rates of severe crime in the Peace Region last year, but overall crime in Northeast B.C. continues to decline. That’s according to Statistics Canada’s annual index of police-reported crime statistics, released July 20. The Mile Zero City had a crime severity index score of 179.35 in 2015, compared to Fort St. John’s score of 165.46. Statistics Canada
calculates the severity of crime in an area based on police statistics adjusted for population. Violent crimes are given more weight in arriving at an overall score. It is not the same as a crime rate, which measures the volume of police-reported crime relative to population. Dawson Creek and Fort St. John ranked 10th and 13th in Canada for crime severity, up from 18th and 17th place in 2014. North Battleford, Sask., had Canada’s highest crime severity score with 320.94,
followed by Prince Albert, Sask. (235.32), Yellowknife (234.5) and Williams Lake (224.55). Grande Prairie ranked sixth with a score of 211.57. Fort St. John saw an increase in robberies, theft and mischief in 2015, while Dawson Creek experienced with an uptick in violence in the city’s drug trade. Some tied the spike in crime to a downturn in the economy, but RCMP say it’s hard to say for certain what was driving the increase.
PAVING 100 Canadian
Residential • Commercial • Industrial Roads • Driveways • Parking Lots
See CRIME on A11
Residents in Hudson’s Hope will need to travel to Chetwynd or Fort St. John for medical care during August, Northern Health says. That’s because the district will be without a doctor for the month as tries to recruit a new doctor to the community. “While the Hudson’s Hope Health Centre will remain open, there will not be a physician in the community during the month of August,� Northern Health spokesman Jonathon Dyck said. “During this time, residents of Hudson’s Hope will have to access medical services from physicians elsewhere in the region for instance, Chetwynd or Fort St. John. Northern Health does have physician coverage for September and October, and is working to secure longer term coverage.� The health authority is also recruiting a nurse practitioner to the community, Dyck said. See DOC on A8
Prospectors seek gold rush at Peace Island ZOĂ‹ DUCKLOW reporter@ahnfsj.ca
Get ready for a rush, Taylor. The gold panners are coming to town. The 44th annual Worlds Invitational Gold Panning Championships takes place July 29 to 31 at Peace Island Park. The pros will race to find gold in their pans, and amateurs won’t be far behind. An annual parade will kick off the event on Friday, with decorated floats, dignitaries, old cars and good candy winding through Taylor, starting and ending at the arena. “It’s a really great family event,� said Taylor’s community services director, Laura Prosko. “Plus there’s good candy. We throw good candy from the floats, not the cheap stuff.� Wondering what a professional gold panner does? It’s about being quick and careful. The first competitor to find the gold in their pan won’t win if they’ve been careless and sloshed out some gold flakes. Each pan gets a set amount of gold added to a mixture of gravel and black sand. There’s a 15-flake round, 5-flake round, and the speedy gold-nugget round. See GOLD on A3
FREE ESTIMATES
250.719.0686
% COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL GRAVEL SALES AND DELIVERY
Owned
Serving Dawson Creek, Chetwynd, Fort St. John & Surrounding Areas
33490