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WEDNESDAY, August 6, 2014
NEWS BRIEFS Northern Health Connections transportation services down for maintenance
VOL. 37 NO. 23 $1.30 inc. GST
Wi-Fi comes to Cottonwood Park
JESSE COLE Caledonia Courier
Northern Health’s Connections program which provides transport for patients travelling to non-life threatening health services outside their immediate communities has announced changes to it’s regular transportation schedule for the month of August. The change of schedule is to accommodate maintenance on buses used to transport patients. August was chosen as the month with the least impact for patients as the service has less usage during the summer months. The change of schedule will be in effect from Aug. 10 to 23 wherein the connections program will not run the previously used routes. Aug. 9 will see the connections program complete it’s last transportation before the two week break for maintenance and services will resume on Aug. 24. Affected areas include the Burns Lake to Prince George via Fort St. James route which will stop running on Aug. 6 and resume operations on Aug. 27, 2014. The northern health connections call centre will still be running as regular. a full listing of the modified schedule can be found at www.northernhealth.ca
The Fort St. James TV and Radio Society, represented here by Chester Heibert, Bob Hughes and Dave Birdi, have teamed up with local internet service providers to make Wi-Fi available throughout Cottonwood Park and Marina.
Photo by Jesse Cole
JESSE COLE Caledonia Courier
The Fort St. James TV and Radio Society has recently brought Wi-Fi internet to Cottonwood Park and marina located on the shores of Stuart Lake. Keeping in tradition with the TV and Radio Society’s founding which was the result of a referendum, the addition of the Wi-Fi comes after the TV Society deemed it a matter of interest from the towns people. The service is free to use for the public and is not password protected. “It was something the community has expressed an interest and desire,” said Chester Heibert, a director with the TV and Radio Society. The Wi-Fi is a cooperative effort between the TV and Radio Society and the regional internet service provider. By working together they can provide a clear and strong signal that benefits all those who visit the park. The TV and Radio Society also have plans to increase their Wi-Fi availability throughout the town with the next place on their list being the town
medical clinic. Money for the Wi-Fi services and others are funded through the TV and Radio’s tax base as well as profits from their television and radio services. The group which is also heavily invested in the town are planning to start a mentorship program that encourages youth in the community to get involved in the society, be it radio, television, internet or electronics. Volunteer run, the organization and efforts such as the Wi-Fi are labours of love, when asked why they volunteer, Chester Heibert said, “the quality of a community is measured by the number of societies that exist to serve it.” The TV Society is responsible for numerous other services in the area and Wi-Fi is only their latest initiative. They operate a locally owned and volunteer run television service provider that covers local and international content as well as six different radio stations through the region - they can do this because of the three broadcasting towers they have built on the towns three largest mounts, Murray Ridge, Mt. Dickenson and Mt. Neal.
RDBN business forum coming to Fort St. James in September JESSE COLE Caledonia Courier
Fort St. James will be hosting the Bulkley-Nechako regions yearly business forum in September of this year. The business forum will take place on Sept. 12 and 3 at the Nak’Albun elementary school in Fort St. James. Designed to bring together regional businesses the forum offers seminars and presentations about current opportunities, trends and improved business strategies. The forum typically focuses on helping to improve business strategies in the region and increasing company value, there are also seminars on facing
and overcoming current challenges faced by businesses in the region. The forum is open to all businesses, both for and non-profit alike and will have information and presentations applicable to both business models. This years forum will feature presentations about networking opportunities and presentations and panel discussions from regional businesses. There will also be specifically oriented workshops geared towards nonprofit businesses. One-on-one meetings with business presenters will also be available. All guests will be treated to a gala dinner. Previous regional business forums have been held in Vanderhoof and Burns Lake in 2010 and 2011, respectively.