InteriorNEWS THE
109th Year - Week 3 •
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
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Calvin Johnson rushes for the puck in last weekend’s back-to-back games. The Smithers Steelheads earned first place in the Central Interior Hockey League after beating the Prince Rupert Rampage in both games, which also led to Steelheads forward Brendan DeVries becoming the top scorer of the league. Story, A8. Xuyun Zeng photo
“Hungry Hill summit” Bike path proposed for discusses transportation Smithers to Telkwa By Chris Gareau Smithers/Interior News
Smithers and Houston mayors and councillors met Thursday to discuss a range of issues for what may have been the first meeting of its kind. Top of mind was expanding public transportation to connect the two communities. This came the same week Smithers council passed a recommendation by the Smithers and District Transit Committee to send a letter to BC Transit and the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure asking to be included on the expansion list for an afternoon commuter service between Smithers and Telkwa. “We talked about how a number of people have moved from Terrace or Smithers to Houston because of the lower housing prices, and also that a lot of the services they require are in Smithers,”
said Mayor Taylor Bachrach of the meeting he said some suggested calling “the Hungry Hill summit.” “Particularly for seniors and people on low incomes, having some sort of transportation link is an important thing to think about.” Houston Mayor Shane Brienen agreed. He is a local government representative on the new ten-person Highway 16 Transportation Advisory Group created by the province on Dec. 14. “We talked a bit about the provincial government and the money that’s there and the opportunity there is to move forward and maybe get something happening on that transportation issue, and how that ties into the missing women and some low income people,” said Brienen. A key part of the province’s plan to make Highway 16 safer involves municipalities taking the lead on connecting communities from Prince George to Prince Rupert. See TELKWA on A5
By Chris Gareau Smithers/Interior News
A plan to connect Smithers and Telkwa with a bike path has been resurrected by a volunteer group who believe the revised route could become reality soon if supported. Jeremy Shriber was part of the delegation who presented the plan to Smithers council last Tuesday. “Last summer, we got together with the Ministry of Transportation, the mayor from Telkwa, representatives from the regional district, the Town of Smithers,” said Shriber.
MILL WORKERS SUE WORKSAFEBC Plaintiffs involved in 2012 Burns Lake mill explosion seek damages.
SYRIAN REFUGEES ARRIVING SOON The first family of refugees could arrive in Smithers this week.
WRINCH HOSPITAL HANDOVER Details of Northern Health takeover to be provided at public meeting.
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“We kind of had a discussion about how should we go about this, asking the government officials what’s the message to get this done.” The route proposed for a path in 2003 brought it through many private properties along the Bulkley River. Not all land owners liked the idea of using their land, and the idea was quashed. The new route would be closer to Highway 16 and use BC Hydro right-of-ways. Telkwa council was the first to unanimously pass a motion last Monday to write a letter of support in principle for the idea. See HAZELTON on A15
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