Inside
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TRAIN WHISTLE P. 3 EDITORIAL P. 6
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BC HUNTERS P. 5 PUZZLE PAGE P. 12
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Wednesday, October 1, 2014
BC Rivers day in Vanderhoof
Photo by Rebecca Watson
PADDLING: Vanderhoof celebrated BC Rivers Day on Sunday Sept. 28 with a free barbecue in Riverside Park accompanied by numerous booths about Vanderhoof’s cherished rivers, paddling demonstrations in the Nechako waters, and games for the kids. Jaimee and Denae Ventin are seen here practising their stand-up paddle as part of an introductory lesson. “They started on their knees and worked up to standing. The beauty of the stand up is that it’s so healthy. It’s good for the core and hip muscles always balancing,” said their instructor.
Skate and BMX park plans rolling along Rebecca Watson Omineca Express The idea of a skatepark in Vanderhoof has been thought of numerous times but never followed through, until now.
“These kinds of initiatives only get legs when people in the community get involved. [This idea] came from a pile of people who are just coming together now,” said Mayor Gerry Thiessen.
Orlanthia Habsburg, 34, a single mom of three boys who moved from Fraser Lake last year, is one of the dedicated parents pushing for the park. Ever since arriving in Vanderhoof it has been one of her
personal missions to have a skatepark put in. “I thought there was one here but when we moved I realized there wasn’t and my son got mad at me,” joked Ms. Habsburg. “It was such a long summer with
school being out, so my middle son Josh 11, has been skateboarding all around. I don’t know where he goes and that’s the problem.” In the past, the idea to build a skatepark fell flat because the town
had trouble identifying people who would use the park. Within the last year, those people have made themselves known, said Mayor Thiessen. Ms. Habsburg being one of them, has taken initiative to spear-
head a committee welcoming anyone interested. In full support, the District has so far met with the group twice to discuss what kinds of things the park should have. Continued on page 2
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