Inside
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POLICE & COURT REPORT P. 3 EDITORIAL P. 6
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WRESTLING AT NATIONALS P. 9 A LOOK BACK P. 12
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Publications Mail Contract # 40007840 Published by Black Press Ltd., 150 West Columbia Street, Vanderhoof, BC
$1.30 Inc. GST Vol. 38 No. 11
Serving Vanderhoof ● Fort Fraser ● Fraser Lake & Area www.ominecaexpress.com
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Vanderhoof chips in for Fort McMurray wildfire relief
Stealing in soccer season at Clearwater
Vivian Chui Omineca Express
BLACK PRESS photo
A member of Nechako Valley Secondary’s girls soccer team fights for the ball at a tournament in Clearwater on May 6. Clearwater won on a shootout, with each team taking about 10 shots before the winning goal is scored.
Relief efforts from Vanderhoof to families affected by the Fort McMurray wildfire ramped up last weekend through community support — individuals and businesses alike. 80,000 people had been forced to evacuate from the Albertan city so far, where a wildfire that grew from 7,500 hectares on May 4 to 85,000 hectares overnight destroyed more than 1,600 homes and buildings. On May 6, Trevor Louie and Lane Turnbull from Fraser Lake gathered two pickup trucks and a horse trailer full of in-kind donations from the community, including Vanderhoof, to Prince George, where semi trucks were transporting combined contributions from the north central B.C. region to evacuees in Buffalo Lake. Louie connected with Prince George’s Shawn Peters online, where Peters and a group of volunteers are coordinating the regional community relief effort through the Facebook page “PG Supports FTMac.” “I just thought I can help out,” said Louie, who has friends living in the fire-affected region as well as others who previously worked at Fort McMurray. “I want to send our thanks to the community for their contributions.” On May 7, Vanderhoof residents Jeff Williams and Catherine Weaver gathered more donations from the community as well for the coordinated relief effort. “It’s just a kind thing we decided to do,” Williams said. “Cause if we were in the same situation, we’d want people to help out in the same way.” Attendees to the latest fundraiser for the Vanderhoof Aquatic Centre, featuring four local bands in Vanderhoof’s arena at the Ice Out Party on May 7, also contributed to the wildfire relief, as half of the event’s proceeds would be going towards Canadian Red Cross’ Fort McMurray wildfire relief.
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