Inside
u Wildfire protection plan P. 9 u One Day at a Time P. 6
u Joe Bob P. 8 u Rumours unhelpful P. 3
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PHONE: 996-8482 www.caledoniacourier.com
WEDNESDAY, February 13, 2013
NEWS BRIEFS
RCMP search for accident witnesses Prince George Regional Provincial Traffic Services continue their investigation into a fatal collision that occurred on Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. The crash on Highway 97 South at Woodpecker, B.C. claimed the life of Balwinder Gill. Police would like to speak with anyone who may have seen this crash happen, or came upon the scene after the collision had taken place. If you have any information that may assist in the investigation, you are urged to contact the RCMP at 250 649-4004.
STOP the violence A voluntary program aimed at stopping domestic violence is taking place at the Alternate Justice Centre. The program, called Stop taking it out on your partner (STOP), involve one evening per week for 15 weeks. The program began in January, and will run through to May 17, and is every Friday from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m.. The program is sponsored by the John Howard Society of Northern BC and is led by two qualified an experienced leaders, one male and one female. For more information contact 250-9960003.
Abandoned vehicle leads to search
An abandoned vehicle located near Fort St. James has led to an investigation into a missing Prince George man. Gary Allan Wain, a 61-year-old Prince George resident is believed to have been missing for at least two weeks. On Feb. 1 the Prince George RCMP received a request from Fort St. James RCMP to attempt to locate the owner of an abandoned pickup found around 18 km on the Necoslie Forest Service Road. The vehicle had been there for some time, as it was snowed in and no longer accessible by wheeled vehicle, and officers reached the vehicle by snowmobile in order to investigate further. Prince George RCMP General Duty officers attended the registered owner’s residence on Redwood Street in Prince George to check on his well being, but he was not located. Further checks were made with neighbours, friends and family, all with negative results. As a result of these checks, Prince George RCMP entered into a missing person investigation. Since Friday investigators have attended many locations and spoken to dozens of people, without success. It is believed that Wain has not been seen in the Prince George area in over two weeks. Wain knows
Ruth Lloyd Caledonia Courier
people throughout northern B.C. including Fraser Lake, Vanderhoof and the Peace River region. Wain is described as: • Caucasian male • 175 cm (5’9”) • 82 kg (181 lbs) • Grey hair • Blue eyes • Moustache • Glasses On the morning of Wednesday Feb. 6, Fort St. James Search & Rescue began to search the rural area outside Fort St. James where Mr. Wain’s vehicle was located. This search is still underway and includes the assistance of the RCMP’s Air Services Section. If you have any information about Garry Allan Wain or where he might be, please contact the RCMP at (250)996-8269 or the nearest RCMP Detachment or Police Force of jurisdiction in your area.
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Fort riders dominate at zones
Sara King #6 aims for the next gate during her second run at the High School Ski and Snowboard Zones at Murray Ridge on Feb. 7. King’s two runs earned her second place overall among the girl snowboarders with a total time of 53.3 seconds. For the full story and more pictures see Page 2. Ruth Lloyd/Caledonia Courier
Tl’azt’en tackles housing deficit
A housing forum was held at the Eugene Joseph School to try and address an over $800,000 housing budget deficit within the Tl’azt’en First Nation. Community members, Chief Ralph Pierre, administrators and some councillors came together to attend the twoday event in Tache, with an attendance on the second day of around 35 people.
Chief Ralph Pierre worked to explain some of the problems the First Nation is struggling with regarding housing costs. Right now, Tl’azt’en reportedly pays around $58,000 per month towards mortgages and insurance for housing on the reserve. However, the band is only able to collect around $32,000 per month from tenants towards these payments because some members are not paying their rent or insurance bills. Over the
course of a year, this means the band is putting out $312,000 per year on housing out of their budget from other areas. “That definitely hurts the bottom line,” said Pierre. He said the band has cut eight positions this year and are planning on further cutbacks to try and address the shortfall. In addition, Pierre said the band is talking to industry to look at some joint venture opportunities which
might help create some income for the community. The band also received a $40,000 grant to explore developing an energy project using wood waste. The housing forum was to try and give the community members an opportunity to become informed on what was going on and to help develop a process and some policies to deal with tenancy issues when residents are not paying their housing costs. Continued on Page 3