REMEMBRANCE DAY: Lest We Forget
COMMUNITY: Topley Volunteer Fire Department
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2012
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Moose hunters charged for violations By Jackie Lieuwen Houston Today
LADIES Night Out
Jackie Lieuwen/Houston Today
Laughing and joking and visiting together, Deana Couldwell, Terry Arky and Marni Laroque thoroughly enjoyed each others company at the figure skating club fund raiser last Friday, an annual ladies-only evening with dinner and auction.
The recent moose hunting season had conservation officers hard at work, each checking about 200 hunters a day and together issuing around 45 tickets and 30 warnings. Kevin Nixon, S e r g e a n t Conservation Officer for the Skeena region, Dease Lake to Smithers, says conservation staff were out patrolling for the full seven days, Oct. 20 to 26. “You name it, we had it,” said Nixon, adding that tickets were issued for hunting outside of prescribed areas, having loaded firearms in vehicles, firing in no shooting areas and discharging firearms from a vehicle, as well as littering and liquor tickets. Several big fines
were charged to one assistant guide, who was caught guiding an American client outside of his guide territory, said Nixon. When asked if there were any poaching charges, Nixon said they seized a moose from some hunters near Burns Lake and also found one shot and left cow moose, with very few leads as to who was responsible. “The compliance rate was definitely lower than last year, and we wrote way more liquor tickets this year than we have in the past,” said Nixon. He said that there is zero-tolerance for alcohol and guns, and even driving around with a beer in the cup holder of the truck when you’re hunting is not allowed. The week-long open moose hunting
season drew lots of people from the Lower Mainland and Vancouver, and the hunter success was normal, with good success in the first two days tapering off near the end, Nixon said. The season started on a Saturday, and Nixon said everybody was out there early, but when Monday hit and the logging and slash burning started, it curbed a lot of the activity and by Wednesday they noticed a lot of camps packing up and heading home. Nixon says the hunting pressure will continue right through November with the limitedentry moose season and the four-point mule deer season. If anyone sees or encounters any violations, they are asked to call it in at 1-877-952-7277.
Small business minister seeks to help Houston business By Jackie Lieuwen Houston Today
Naomi Yamamoto, recently appointed Minister of State for Small Businesses, came to Houston and met with over 30 Houston business owners, presenting her plans and asking about ways the provincial
government can help small businesses. Yamamoto has 22 years of experience as a small business owner and was 1997 chair of B.C. Chamber of Commerce, so she feels she can hit the ground running, she said. But her experience doesn’t help her know what it’s like to be a
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small business owner outside of the Lower Mainland, she said. Visiting Houston and other towns in the North, Yamamoto says she is working to develop a small business accord, similar to a bill of rights for small businesses, to help improve government services and help small
“Finning has six apprentices now.”
businesses by reducing red tape and getting rid of unnecessary r e g u l a t i o n requirements.
ONLY ONE TRUCK
TOWED ENDEAVOUR.
- Mayor Bill Holmberg B.C. leads the country in job creation in the last year, with 57,000 more people working in B.C. than
there were 12 months ago, said Yamamoto. B.C. also has the highest number of small businesses per capita, four of five started by women and many from their homes, she added. But the provincial government wants to hear suggestions about ways they can help and make
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things easier for small businesses, said Yamamoto. More than anything, small businesses want big businesses to succeed, because when a big business does well, small businesses do as well, she said. Houston Mayor Bill Holmberg agreed. See WORK on Page 2
www.glaciertoyota.ca 1-866-844-6723
The Toyota Tundra used had no modifications and towed Endeavour for a short distance. Total weight: 292,500 lbs.