Inside
◆ Editorial P. 4 ◆ Students entertain P. 5, 6
◆ Hoop Dancer P. 7 ◆ Taekwon Do P. 8
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WEDNESDAY, June 10, 2015
VOL. 38 NO. 15 $1.30 inc. GST
NEWS BRIEFS Vehicle fire jumps to nearby house
The Fort St. James Fire Department received a call for a vehicle fire at 255 Greenview Drive on the Nak’azdli Reserve around 1 a.m., June 3. The fire was upgraded to a structure fire after flames from the burning vehicle jumped to a nearby home prior to fire crew arriving on scene said Mike Navratil, FSJ fire chief. “It was upgraded before we even got there,” he said. Navratil said the flames took over the south side of the home breaching into the attic area, he added 99 per cent of the fire was out within ten minutes. He added, due to a difficult area to get into in the attic the 14 fire crew were on the scene for approximately 2 hours. “It went into the attic a little bit, it did breach the south wall,” he said. “Knockdown was very quick but there was some extension (of the fire) into the attic that was difficult to get to.” Occupants of the home were vacated and no one was injured in the fire Navratil said. RCMP are currently investigating the incident and no further information was available at press time. – Michele Taylor
Heritage trail status sought Sharon Buck and Craig Houghton presented to council May 27 regarding Baldy Trail logging activity and to request council’s support in Please see, Trail, page 3
Michele Taylor photo
Maxz Boschman, left, and Dorian Pierre gave the valedictorian speech at the graduation cerremonies for the 2015 Grad Class, June 5.
The end is only the beginning Fort St. James Grad Class celebrates with family and friends MICHELE TAYLOR Caledonia Courier
Fort St. James Secondary School passed 45 students through the gates and into a fresh chapter in the student’s lives June 5. The afternoon highlighted the personalities and future goals of the students many who are moving on to continuing education at university or college and some who are entering the trades. Special guest speakers Manu Madhok, Director of Instruction, Lucy Duncan, School Trustee and Gretchen Vogelsang spoke to students about what lay ahead. “I felt very old watching you all come up today,” Madhok said to the graduates. “As the ex-elementary principal for many of you up here on the stage, please know how proud, I, and all your teachers are on seeing your beaming faces up here this afternoon.” Vogelsang held back tears
during her speech to her students, the Grad Class of 2015, and handed out her final lesson to the grads. The lesson came in three parts: Meaning based on emphasis of words; visual through the audience; and the uniqueness of each student graduating. “Each one of those people are filled with pride at seeing you on this stage reaching this milestone, embarking on your next journey,” Vogelsang said. “Bask in that for a moment.” The valedictorian speech was presented by Dorian Pierre and Maxz Boschman, the two grads spoke on behalf of the graduating class and thanked members of the community for always being there for the students. Boschman reminisced about the entire Grade 12 class skipping calculus and the consequences of those actions. “(Mr. Ogi) finally looked at us, and I can tell you it felt
like he was staring at every person in that room,” he said. Pierre ended the valedic-
torian address by saying, “Make mistakes, have wonderful memories, but never
ever second-guess who you are, where you have been, or how you got here.”
2015 Grad file Graduating class of 2015: James Besherse Davin Birdi Tennyson Blackmore Erica Bolton Maxz Boschman Logan Burck Nicholas Burdeniuk Hailee Burgart Hannah Burgart Aaron Calder Blake Cromarty Rachael Crook Bradley Digness Rahneisha French Rhiannon Gammon Jamie George Shelby Gramm Kainaan Greeaway Tacayla Huhn Candice John Janine Johnson Mikayla Johnson Jordan Joseph Kyle Joseph
Jay-Jay Julian Rylee Julian Alexander Kemp Rachel Klassen Kaylee Macdonald Matthew Marshall Paige McKay Mackenzie Moeller Alicia Monk Coale Monk Dayna Monk Dorian Pierre Sydney Playfair Liv Porsnuk Felicity Rivard Cheyenne Sabo Joshua Sam Steven Sam Shaelynne Sampson Reo Spooner Joscelyn Stark Jarrod Tom Zachary Unruj Eric Vinnedge Patrick Williams