Inside
u Milligan Tour P. 16 u Blackberry Wood P. 6
u Shockingly obvious P. 5 u Beyond stereotypes P. 9
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WEDNESDAY, February 6, 2013
NEWS BRIEFS
Indecent exposure leads to arrest
A man suspected to have exposed himself to two young girls was taken into custody and will be facing charges. On Jan. 24, two 12-year-olds girls were walking after school near the David Hoy Elementary School. According to the two girls, an adult male then exposed himself to them, which they then reported to their parents. The RCMP received the complaint the same evening, and based on their description, located the man they believed involved in the incident. The man, a resident of Fort St. James, was then arrested and will be charged for indecent exposure, according to RCMP. The man has been released on conditions to protect the public based on the circumstances of the case until he appears in court.
ER remains open The Stuart Lake Hospital emergency room will remain open throughout February. So far, scheduling has filled the required oncall positions in order to maintain the emergency service for the community. Three new physicians are now working in the community raising the local number to four, with one more physician to come this year.
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Logging truck accident
A loaded logging truck went off the North Road near Fort St. James on the “S” curve on Monday, Jan. 28. No one is believed to have been injured in the crash, as the RCMP and emergency services were not called to the scene, but the truck spent the day there before it was pulled out, serving as a warning for other drivers to drive carefully through the section, where local residents share the road with many industry users.
Close call
Berit Christensen Photo
Snowmobile accident results in back injury Ruth Lloyd Caledonia Courier One man is in hospital in Vancouver after a serious back injury caused by a snowmobile collision on Jan. 26. The victim has since undergone surgery and there does not appear to be injury to the spinal cord. A group of twelve reportedly went out for a day of sledding off the Leo Creek Road near Fort St. James on Saturday, Jan. 26 and were on their way back to their vehicles the same evening when a crash took place. One of those involved in the crash, Sky Perreault, said he was struck from behind by someone in their group as he was riding down the trail alongside another snowmobile from the group. RCMP said snow being thrown up from the leading sleds may have re-
duced visibility for those following. The second snowmobile was carrying two people, and all three were thrown from their sleds. “The next thing I know I just hear ‘crunch,’ -that’s what I rememberand I’m flying through the air,” said Perreault. “I kept asking ‘What happened?” A third snowmobiler was then unable to avoid striking one of the accident victims with his machine as he was laying on the trail. The young man who sustained serious injury to his back was taken by ambulance to Prince George and then flown to Vancouver early in the morning Jan. 27, where he underwent surgery. The other persons involved in the crash were not seriously injured, and were checked by medical personnel and released. The injured man’s hel-
met was broken into pieces in the collision, and it likely saved his life, in combination with the first aid training of the rest of the group, who kept the injured man immobile while waiting for medical assistance. As well, a good samaritan, unknown to the group was instrumental in helping to get the injured man to the ambulance, by stopping and offering the assistance of his snowmobile and skimmer which they used to transport the patient. RCMP attended and do not believe alcohol to be a factor in the accident but are cautioning snowmobilers to keep safe riding distances between sleds, especially in white-outlike conditions with flying snow. Tl’azt’en First Nation also responded to the The helmet of a man injured in a snowmobile crash was broscene with their fire crew, ken into pieces by the impact, but likely saved his life. Caledonia Courier which the RCMP said was appreciated.