THURSDAY, october 19, 2017 Vol. 74, No. 42
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.”
NEAT TEAM GETS THRIFTY
Trackers catch early season lead
youth have their way with words
NEWS A4
SPORTS B1
COMMUNITY B8
In vino veritas
School catchments changing
When You Are Out in the Field, Time IS Money. QUALITY PARTS, EXPERT SERVICE! HoursMon-Fri: 8am - 5pm Sat: 8am - Noon eve petford Photos
The Fort St. John Association for Community Living held another successful Of The Vine fundraiser on Oct. 14, raising an estimated $40,000 — with donations up roughly $5,000 from 2016. Left: Natasha Wallin enjoys a taste of the many delicious appetizers prepared and served by volunteers paired with Wild Goose Autumn Gold wine. Right: Shania Twin entertained the audience with her spot on tribute to Shania Twain.
9224 100 Street, Fort St. John, BC (250) 785-0463
After Hours - Leave Message
Fort Nelson forestry talk Thursday meeting to update residents on plans to start community forest
CONTACT US
phone 250-785-5631 fax 250-785-3522 email circulation@ahnfsj.ca online alaskahighwaynews.ca facebook AlaskaHighwayNews twitter @AHNnewspaper
What’s a community forest? What’s involved, who’s involved, and what are the benefits? Residents in the Northern Rockies are encouraged to attend an open house Thursday night at the Phoenix Theatre to learn those answers and more about the push to develop a community forest in the region. The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality has partnered with the Fort Nelson First Nation to try to secure a 25-year provincial community forest agreement that would allow the partnership an annual allowable cut of 185,000 cubic metres of timber. “At its core, community forestry is about local control over and enjoyment of the monetary and non-monetary benefits offered by local forest resources,” reads a information package from the partnership. “Many rural communities and First Nations see Community Forests as a tool to help support their local economies and provide long term employment opportunities.” There are 56 long-term community forests in B.C. with a total tenure of 2.2 million cubic metres. The annual allowable cut for the Fort Nelson Community Forest would be the largest in B.C.
It’s estimated community forests create one full-time job for every 3,000 cubic metres of wood harvested, with average total sales of $2.3 million in communities with 3,000 people or less. The partnership plans to submit a final application with site selection to the province by March 15, 2018. A ministerial decision would be made by May 15. In the meantime, the two governments are working to establish a limited partnership agreement to support the forestry partnership and agreement. The community meeting is set for Oct. 19 at the Phoenix Theatre at 6 p.m. Representatives from both the NRRM and Fort Nelson First Nation are expected to speak, along with reps from the BC Community Forest Association, Little Prairie Community Forest Inc., and the Mackenzie McLeod Lake Community Forest.
Sixty layoffs at Site C, with more to come Sixty Site C workers were laid off over the Thanksgiving weekend, and more layoffs are expected as specialized concrete work shuts down for the winter. The layoffs are due to the completion of roller-compacted concrete (RCC) work, a Peace River Hydro Partners official said last week. See LAYOFFS onA3
Commission sifts through Site C thoughts The deadline for final comments on the BC Utilities Commission’s preliminary report on Site C closed on Wednesday, Oct. 11. In its submissions, BC Hydro maintains Site C is the most “cost effective” and “lowest risk” option to meet future provincial power needs, and supports multiple climate change objectives. “A world in which there is significant switching to low carbon electricity sources would mean that we would need much more clean energy and capacity than could be provided by Site C alone,” BC Hydro says. “Site C is unmatched by any other resource in terms of the firming, shaping and storage benefits the project provides that are key to integrating other intermittent renewable energy sources like solar and wind into BC Hydro’s resource options.” Terminating the project could spark litigation with contractors, the utility says, while ratepayers would pay for 36 per cent of the project “without anything to show for it.” A suspension with the option to resume by 2024 would impact the utility’s the ability to deliver the project. “A complex infrastructure project cannot simply be ‘paused’ for a number of years and then taken up again without substantial challenges to execution,” BC Hydro says. See SITE C on A10
PAVING 100 Canadian
Residential • Commercial • Industrial Roads • Driveways • Parking Lots
With the Margaret ‘Ma’ Murray Community School slated to open next September, changes to the catchment boundaries are expected by the end of this year. The changes will impact students that attend CM Finch, Ecole Central, Charlie Lake, and Bert Ambrose schools. School District 60 trustees are looking for feedback and have scheduled three public meetings to hear from those impacted. “Part of the planning process requires the redrawing of some elementary school catchment area boundaries in order to populate the new school,” chair Ida Campbell said in a letter to parents. “It is very important that trustees gather public input on all of the issues and variables to be taken into consideration as the planning process proceeds.” The $26.6-million school, currently under construction in Sunset Ridge, will accommodate 40 kindergarten and 325 elementary students. The first meeting will be at Ecole Central Elementary at 7 p.m. on Oct. 30. The second meeting takes place at CM Finch Elementary at 7 p.m. on Nov. 9, and the third meeting will be at the School District board office at 7 p.m. on Nov. 28. Written submissions will be accepted at the board office until Dec. 22.
Mayor proposes voters list The City of Fort St. John is looking into creating an official voters list for the community as it struggles with declining turnout at the polls. Fort St. John Mayor Lori Ackerman expressed interest in seeing a full list of all eligible voters within city limits. There are provincial and federal voters lists, but not a municipal list for Fort St. John. “We don’t have a voters list, I don’t know if other communities that have them see a higher turnout,” said Ackerman at a recent council meeting. See VOTERS 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