Inside
u New principal for FSJSS P. 3 u Court report P. 3
u Into the wilderness P. 6 u Beijing Camp P. 7
Publications Mail Contract #: 40007759
PHONE: 996-8482 www.caledoniacourier.com
WEDNESDAY, July 17, 2013
VOL. 36 NO. 20 $1.30 inc. GST
Artist in residence
NEWS BRIEFS Stolen truck recovered A truck stolen from Sampson Road was found with extensive damage on July 1 on Necoslie Road. The grey, 1997 Dodge Ram pickup was taken from Sampson Road sometime on June 28 or 29 while the owner was at the Nation Lakes. The truck was then found at kilometre 11 on the Necoslie Road, along the side of the road. The vehicle had gone off the road and hit a tree, doing extensive damage to the front end. RCMP have no suspects at this time, but are asking anyone who has any information on the incident to call Fort St. James RCMP at 996-8269 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
MoM gets some $ The Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT) has approved $1,463 in grant funding for the young Music on the Mountain (MoM) festival. The funds will be awarded once other funding sources are confirmed. The District of Fort St. James mayor and council voted two to one in favour of a $3,500 grant-in-aid to MoM as well. The money will help with this year’s MoM music and art festival at the Murray Ridge Ski Area, taking place on the last weekend in August.
ABOVE: Artist Claire Singleton is the newest addition to the Fort St. James National Historic Site and will be creating art on site for two days a week throughout most of this season.
Ruth Lloyd/Caledonia Courier
Ruth Lloyd Caledonia Courier If you were to stop in and visit the Fort St. James National Historic Site on a Tuesday or Wednesday this summer, you may be surprised. You could come across a working artist - the new artist in residence at the site for the summer - Endako painter Claire Singleton. The program is not just a surprise for visitors, it was also a pleasant surprise to the new Visitor Experience Product Development Officer for the site, April Hilland. Hilland had been hoping to develop an artist in residence program for the site, but was expecting to have to conduct a search to find an appropriate artist who was interested.
However, one day Singleton stopped in at the historic site and got to talking with Hilland about the possibility of doing some painting at the site. “It was kismet; it was amazing,” said Hilland. “I’m so excited.” Singleton was just as pleased as Hilland about the arrangement, as she has a keen interest in painting history and has been working on personal projects for years which involve painting or other art forms depicting historical places and writing combined. “I’m a story-artist, I record community,” explained Singleton. “You’re not doing these things because you want to make money, you’re doing it because your interested in the history.” As a person who has always been fascinated by the past, Singleton her-
self is an interesting source of historical information. She lives in Endako without running water and power and uses her dog to sled in her supplies each winter. “I like to live what I do,” she said, meaning she likes to live history in order to learn from it. “If I can somehow glean from that and transfer (this) through my work.” Singleton is a living example of the benefit of following your dreams, as she speaks passionately about her work and the path she has chosen, which while she admits it has been difficult, the rewards are significant. “It’s all about attitude,” she said. “You can make it work if you want to.” Singleton will be working and staying on site at the park Tuesdays
and Wednesdays all season (except for a short break in August), working on pieces for a show to present at the inseason grand opening of the “Stranger’s and Swan’s Down”’ visitor centre exhibit. She is painting buildings and interpreters on site and will also be developing three workshops to offer during the season. Workshop ideas include creating mini-sketches in the manner of early cartographers in watercolour, creating three-dimensional models of the fish-house in paper, and creating animal models looking at the role of animals in the way of life in the old Fort. For more information on the artist in residence program or the upcoming workshops, contact April Hilland at 250-996-7191 ext. 27.
Fort St. James drivers coming up clean RCMP road checks have been going on fairly consistantly in and around Fort St. James since May, with one last week on Friday, July 5. With over 300 vehicles checked at the roadside stops, no impaired drivers have been encountered
through the program. RCMP are pleased with the low numbers, and while there have been some other warnings and tickets issued, the lack of drinking and driving on Fort St. James roads being detected is considered a good sign.
Drinking and driving violations have been picked up in other instances, but the roadside checks are keeping the presence out there and RCMP will be continuing with the program through the rest of the summer.