Go Carol Huynh! Go Canada! Carol competes Wed., Aug 8th
LEGACY CLEAN UP
DIRT DEVILS
The Town of Smithers is cleaning up the Centennial Legacy site.
The SMA hosted a BCMA-sanctioned race on the weekend.
NEWS/A3
NEWS/A9 S
THE INTERIOR NEWS 105th th Year - Week 31
Smithers,, B.C.
Wednesday, y, August g 1,, 2012
www.interior-news.com
Single g Copy py • $1.34 (($1.20 $1.20 + 14¢ HST))
Feds freeze funding Aboriginal youth and workers lose
CHRIS WORRELL Getting in the line of fire is his job.
By Percy N. Hébert
OUR TOWN/A5
Smithers/Interior News
INSIDE OUR TOWN A5 LETTERS A7 SPORTS A9 COMMUNITY A15 THREE RIVERS B1 CLASSIFIEDS B4
FEATURES INVESTORS GROUPA8 HANDS & LANDS A4
WEATHER Wednesday HIGH: 14 LOW: 7
Thursday HIGH: 19 LOW: 7
SAFETY PROTEST Peggy Muir and other residents from Hazelton made their way to the Hudson Bay Lodge Monday morning to protest the National Energy Board’s decision to relocate the joint review panel session to Smithers from Hazelton due to safety concerns. Dan Mesec photo
Friday HIGH: 19 LOW: 8
Saturday HIGH: 24 LOW: 8
Sunday HIGH: 23 LOW: 9
Drunk driving law back in full force By Andrew Hudson Smithers/Interior News
Anyone caught drinking and driving in B.C. now faces the full force of what’s been called the toughest drunk driving law in Canada. First introduced in September 2010, the law gives police the power to immediately impound cars and fine drivers whose blood-alcohol level hits
the 0.5 to 0.8 “warn” range or crosses into a .08 or higher “fail.” Police will still prosecute drunk drivers through criminal courts if they have a history of drunk driving, or if they injure or kill someone. But last December, B.C.’s Supreme Court ruled the roadside penalties for drivers who hit the “fail” zone unconstitutional because drivers had no
meaningful way to challenge their breath-test results. Earlier this month, the B.C. government reinstated all the new rules with some fixes— police must now tell drivers of their right to a second breath test, and the lower reading of those two tests will prevail. Before the change, the higher of the two tests was the one that counted. See LAW on Page A2
It may not sound like much money, but for the Cultural Connections for Aboriginal Youth program in Smithers, $75,000 is everything. “It’s closed our doors,” Executive Director of the Dze L K’ant Friendship Centre Annette Morgan said of a federal government decision to freeze funds for the national CCAY program. “It’s the only aboriginal youth service we have in our community. “It’s devastating.” The CCAY program in Smithers, opened its door eight years ago, offering a variety of services to local aboriginal youth, all with the goal of promoting cultural and community engagement for youths aged 10 - 24, Morgan, who is also president of the B.C. association of aboriginal friendship centres, explained. The CCAY program was doubly important in Smithers, Morgan said, because unlike larger centres, Smithers does not have other agencies such as Big Brothers Big Sisters and the YMCA which could provide alternate services for the youth affected by the current funding freeze. In Smithers, the CCAY program is a drop in service that could be accessed by 300 - 500 youths every year. An important part of the Smithers CCAY program was a referral system for addictions services across the province. “It’s a safe, age-appropriate service which makes it unique,” Morgan said. Rather than entering a traditional addiction service, the CCAY referral system has youth with addictions meet with youth counselors they already have a relationship with. “They [youth with addictions] go to places that they trust,” Morgan said. “They’ll go through addiction services, but they have a support network guiding them,” Morgan said. See CCAY on p. A4
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