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$1.34 Inc. HST Vol. 35 No. 02
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Serving Vanderhoof ● Fort Fraser ● Fraser Lake & Area www.ominecaexpress.com
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Walk and smudge aims to Bears take zones despite purge local violence hardships
Jonas Gagnon Caledonia Courier
Apryl Veld
Spring ahead Daylight savings - 2 a.m. Sunday March 11 clocks “spring forward” one hour. Move clocks one hour ahead before going to bed on Saturday night.
March is Colon Cancer month Talk to your doctor and take a simple test because not knowing is not the answer.
Fashion Show March 9, at 7 p.m. The latest snappy outfits modelled at NVSS high school. Fundraiser for Vanderhoof Children’s Theatre
Get tested at the clinic A PAP Clinic for Cervical Cancer Screening is being held on Wednesday, March 21 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Omineca Medical Clinic in Vanderhoof
Kwah Hall was filled with people and a somber air on Saturday, February 25. “We were overwhelmed by the turnout,” said Eileen Bjornson, Fribjon Bjornson’s mother. People from all over the province, as far south as Vancouver according to Bjornson, crowded the hall, leaving people to stand at the back. “Turnout was higher then expected,” said Reuban Blackwater, Nak’azdli band manager. At the hall there was a short speech by Fribjon’s parents, a slideshow in memory of Fribjon and a speech by the family of Perry Sebastian, who is currently missing. About 600 people attended, according to Bjornson. The line of people on the walk nearly stretched from the Kwah Hall to the march’s destination. As the line of people turned the corner at the historic site the tail end of the march was still moving across the highway from Kwah Hall,
Omineca Express
600 people joined a walk and smudge in Fort St. James to show support for families of victims of violence and call for change in communities. causing a small backup on the highway. “We had to block traffic temporarily,” said Blackwater. The walk ended at the Lower Rd. house where Fribjon Bjornson’s body was found. There Fribjon’s family ‘washed’ themselves in the smoke of a small smudge, which was followed by a cleansing of the house with the same smudge, a Carrier tradition meant to help Fribjon’s spirit leave the house. During the ceremony Nak’azdli drummers played and sang. But it was more than just British Columbians affected by Bjornson’s desire to speak
out against violence. In an age of digital communication the desire to speak out against violence made it’s way across Canada in the form of small, more personal protests. “I had many people contact me on Facebook that they were lighting candles as far away as Toronto,” said Bjornson. The walk was organized by Bjornson as a way of giving voice to the community to combat the fear and lethargy in the community. “That’s what bothers me the most, the code of silence that everyone keeps,” said Bjornson. Bjornson has become frustrated by the
quietness of her son’s case, and the dead ends she’s seen stall other cases like it. The dead air surrounding these events frightens her. “This feels dangerous, this lack of doing anything,” said Bjornson. So she’s putting out the call to all member’s of the community. “It’s up to each and every one of us to make sure (this country) is safe,” said Bjornson. With this explosion of people making their voices heard Bjornson is looking to the future, and an awakening in communities. “I hope something good comes from it,” said Bjornson.
Vanderhoof/Fort St. James peewee Bears hockey team won zones in Kitimat, and now will represent this region at the provincial championships. With a lot of commitment from all involved inwith the peewee team, and in spite of some tough breaks, the Bears pulled off a major upset at the Kitimat zone tournament. They won all of their games though they had not played much together, and had much less sleep than they should have. Vanderhoof and Fort St. James peewee hockey teams faced a trying position this year because the Fort’s team didn’t have enough players, and asked the Vanderhoof team if they could join up with them, as some teams from these sibling towns have arranged to do in the past. It was going to create some challenges for both teams to band together, but the alternative was not good either. If they didn’t agree to meld the teams, then that would mean kids from the Fort would have to hang up their sticks for the winter. “That would be like saying, I’m sorry, you can’t play hockey, and that woudn’t do,” peewee player parent Dy deVos said. So they went to the B.C. hockey association and figured out a plan. They would band the two team’s players together into two full teams to play regular season games as a tier 4 team. “Both tier 4 teams played very well together during the league games,” deVos noted. That should have been all the fanagling a bunch of kids and their families needed, but it wasn’t. To play in zone and provincial tournaments, they’d need to become a tier 3 team, according to league rules. It was decided they would have to pick the strongest players from both teams to play as a tier 3 group, as they can only have so many players on a team, and it woudn’t make sense to send two lessstrong teams.
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