New Constable “community minded”
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PROFILE: New RCMP
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By Jackie287 Lieuwen Pantone Blue Houston Today Pantone 356 Green Pantone HarvestJason ouston’s 139 new Constable
H
Wong values community and says he already likes Houston. “I like waving to people and chatting with them. Houston is a nice change,” he said. Cst. Wong grew up in Burnaby and after high school he went to Douglas College in New Westminster and Black/Grey Logo fileCoquitlam where he studied business administration. He earned his diploma in two years,
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Houston’s new Constable Jason Wong and his wife came to Houston from a five year post doing rural policing in Manitoba. Jackie Lieuwen photo
“I like to be someone that people feel comfortable coming up to and talking to,” Constable Jason Wong
studying part-time and working parttime at Safeway working as a clerk and stocking shelves. He continued working at Safeway after that and took more part-time studies at theColour BCIT Institute of technology. Logo File He earned a diploma in human resource management and a certificate in
mediation arbitration. “I just enjoyed it,” Cst. Wong said when he was asked why he took those programs. “I found it really interesting... I liked it and thought it might be applicable for my future career.” After his studies, Cst. Wong ran his
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Bulkley Valley Credit Union has been building a solid financial institution that members from Burns Lake to the Hazeltons’ have grown to rely on. People-helping-people is how we began and we strive to remain people-oriented, both in our financial services and through direct involvement with our communities. We are dedicated to local decision making and local control, key factors in providing the kinds of services that meet the financial needs of individuals and business members alike.
Maintaining a healthy and strong financial institution is only one part of our mission. Our strong financial results have allowed us to build a very strong capital base. In addition to the patronage dollars ($598,439 in 2014) that we distribute in our communities, we also distributed over $220,000 in community support, economic development and marketing funds to community groups, individuals, and associations within our service areas. Bulkley Valley Credit Union’s Board of Directors has committed $100,000 over 5 years to the Upper Skeena Recreation Centre, for the Heart of the Hazeltons’ project. We continue to make improvements in our products and services. We value the relationships we have established with our members and will continue to build more innovative remote banking access to allow those who may move away or simply require access to all products and services anytime, anywhere. Come see us today to experience the Credit Union difference.
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own small business, where he built and sold computers. He also started volunteering at the Vancouver Community Policing Centre, doing community background policing work. Cst. Wong says he worked at Safeway 16 years and was ready for a change when he applied to the RCMP. “I wanted to upgrade myself... RCMP came up and I said ‘hey, I’ll give it a try,” he said. He says he had applicable skills and it interested him and his fiancé, now wife, was supportive. Cst. Wong’s first post was in Thompson Manitoba, a city of 13,000 people, where he did general duty policing for six months. As soon as he could, he transferred into rural policing in Thompson, which meant flying out with one partner to do policing in rural aboriginal communities. “It seemed like a good challenge,” said Cst. Wong. “Rural really promotes independence because it is just you and your partner and not much chance to talk to supervisors. You kind of have to figure things out yourself.” Even communication with dispatch was a challenge, as they were often out of range for radios or cell phones. Cst. Wong says there were times they knocked on people’s doors and borrowed home phones. The job taught him independence, the importance of building partnerships and how to think outside the box, he said. After five years in Manitoba, Cst. Wong transferred to Houston. “I really wanted to get back to B.C.” he said. When he and his wife arrived, Wong says it felt fresh and was great to see the mountains again. He enjoys fishing, boating, video games, sports and reading. As an officer, Cst. Wong says he seeks to be honest, involved, and approachable. “I like to be someone that people feel comfortable coming up to and talking to,” he said. “I believe general duty members have to be involved with the people and get to know them... We have to be community minded.”
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Regional district takes over landfill
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By Xuyun Zeng Houston Today
KNOCKHOLT Landfill
Xuyun Zeng/Houston Today
Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako Environmental Services Director, Janine Dougall, and Regional District Area Chairman, Bill Miller, at the Knockholt Regional Landfill site.
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“By taking the work in-house, taxpayers will save...”
Away with the contractors; for the first time, the Regional District of BulkleyNechako will take over the management of the Knockholt Landfill which serves Burns Lake, Houston, Smithers, Telkwa and Granisle in September. The District’s spokespeople believe that by taking the work in-house, taxpayers will save anywhere from $75,000 to $180,000 yearly while maintaining services at the same level. They also predict work efficiency and service quality will increase as in-house employees will take further ownership of their work. “The staff that are hired by the Regional District, they’re longterm sustainable jobs,
-Janine Dougall
and because of that and because we have a good working relationship with our staff, they buy in to the facility,” environmental services director Janine Dougall said. “And this facility becomes part of them, and so they’re proud of working at our facilities.” Dougall spoke to this topic using her experience of taking transfer station and
See LANDFILL on Page 2
Regional district implements region-wide cardboard ban By Flavio Nienow Black Press
At the July 23, 2015, meeting of the Regional District of B u l k l e y - N e c h a ko (RDBN), the board of directors passed a motion to implement a region-wide cardboard ban starting July 1, 2016.
This means that beginning July 1, 2016, cardboard will no longer be accepted for disposal as garbage at any RDBN solid waste management facility including landfill or transfer station. The ban will apply equally to all residents, businesses, municipalities, industries and in-
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“According to the RDBN, the overall intent is to minimize the amount of waste that is ultimately landfilled.”
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