Gateway february

GATEWAY Therapy dog offers helping paw Max, a therapy dog with the RCMP Victim Services, will now be available for the Prince George Courthouse.

Journey into Ebola hotspot UNBC Assistant Professor of Nursing Dr. Greg Thomas-Reilly joined the international effort to combat the Ebola virus.

NEWS PAGE 4

Ogopogo Senior Men’s Hockey Team goalie Steve Berry helped two fellow team mates survive their sudden cardiac arrests.

health PAGE 25

WEDNESDAY February 18 2015

NEWS AND EVENTS FOR PRINCE GEORGE AND CENTRAL INTERIOR

Spruce Kings Show Home Lottery tickets still available

NEWS PAGE 3

The hockey team that saved two of its own

Your community voice for the north!

Tom Bohmer, Spruce Kings President, in the 2015 Spruce Kings Lottery Show Home.

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

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GATEWAYnews

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Colleen Sparrow Publisher

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Neil Godbout managing Editor

Therapy dog offers helping paw at courthouse Mark NIELSEN

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tail-wagging furry friend is now appearing at the Prince George courthouse to help ease the stress victims and witnesses often face when they’re about to take the stand.

Max, a seven-year-old yellow Labrador Retriever and trained therapy dog, won’t be able to accompany anyone into the actual courtroom but he can be there to provide a level of reassurance right up to that point.

He did as much on Tuesday, his first day on that particular job.

“They asked if Max would come and sit with her and keep her calm and so far so good, it went really well,” said Krista Levar, the Prince George RCMP’s victim services coordinator and the dog’s handler.“He was very welcomed over at the courthouse and I think he feels like a bit of a star going up those stairs.”

Levar pitched the idea to Judge Michael Brecknell, the administrative judge for the provincial court’s northern region, in September and Max was subsequently given courtesy access within the courthouse.

As a victim services worker, Levar said she can do only so much to settle a witness’s nerves, particularly since the law prohibits her from talking with the witness about the case at hand.

“You want to provide support but you don’t want to affect testimony. But with Max there, I think that tension is broken and sometimes you just don’t need to talk as much when a dog is there and becomes the focus of the conversation.

“They’re just calming and soothing.”

Max went through extensive training with the help of Pawsitive Horizons. Next steps include teaching him sign language so he can be commanded from a distance,

Krista Levar with Max, who is a therapy dog with the RCMP Victim Services, will now be available for the Prince George Courthouse. Citizen photo by Brent Braaten which will help in a courtroom, where verbal commands could interrupt proceedings.

Policy is also being developed around allowing therapy dogs into the courtroom during trials.

Just one other courthouse in B.C. Surrey Pretrial - allows a therapy dog past its doors and only under circumstances similar to how they’re used in Prince George. Levar said a therapy dog has been

allowed in a Canadian courtroom during a trial just once so far - that occurred in Calgary.

But it’s becoming more common in the United States and interest is growing in Canada. Levar said she’s had queries of interest from as far away as Ontario as well as from around B.C. “It’s just such a positive program that people want to be engaged and be a part of it,” Levar said.

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GATEWAYnews

Journey into Ebola hotspot Samantha WRIGHT ALLEN

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n Liberia, the story of Ebola can be told in spaces: in the distance humans must keep from each other for fear of infection and in the homes that now lie vacant, their inhabitants victim to the outbreak that has ravaged West Africa.

“We were forbidden to have any contact with one another at all. People would almost leap back if you made a gesture like you were going to offer your hand,” said Greg Thomas-Reilly, who returned to Prince George in late December from Liberia after a six-week stint as a public health worker.

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UNBC Assistant Professor of Nursing Dr. Greg ThomasReilly joined the international effort to combat the Ebola virus by travelling to Liberia in November to help train local healthcare providers and be part of a rapid response team.

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

GATEWAYnews Cont’d from page 4 Thomas-Reilly, who is on a six-month leave from his position as an assistant professor of nursing at the University of Northern B.C, is no stranger to infectious diseases.

He’s devoted much of his life to combating outbreaks like SARS, HIV, tuberculosis and influenza in a number of countries including Ethiopia, Botswana, Moldova and Romania.

But Liberia was different - the sense of heightened fear was unfamiliar.

“It was permeable from the minute you get off the plane,” he said.“There were people wearing Hazmat suits, greeting you to take your temperature and you have to wash your hands in chlorine before you can enter the airport.”

Ebola is spread between humans by direct contact with blood, secretions, and other bodily fluids of infected people, and through exposure to clothing and bedding contaminated by these fluids.

“Those are the extremes that we had to

take to keep us healthy but that weighs on you psychologically.”

Thomas-Reilly said his role in public health work, focused on “mitigation and capacity building,” kept him at low risk for contracting the disease.

His main role was supporting Liberian health care staff, primarily through education and training,“empowering them to take responsibility for their own people but to do it safely.”

He found there were still significant gaps in training, and often workers didn’t have the right equipment, which happened once while he was out with national staff on a suspected case.

“It was a lot of improvising,” he said, recalling that time crowds of a hundred people would be watching.“It was a lot of pressure on everyone.”

Worse, he said, was the feeling of helplessness when confronted by the awful reality of Ebola’s effects on the Liberian people.

“I’ve heard a lot of terrible and tragic stories, but Ebola tops them,” he said.The

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deaths of pregnant women and young children is a nearly forgone conclusion, for example.“It’s going to take some time to process those, but fortunately I had the luxury of coming back here to a safe city. Other people have to live it and they don’t get respite.”

One man Thomas-Reilly met lost everything, first his two children to Ebola, followed by his wife to suicide.Then, his village ostracized him and the man lost his job.

“He was saying ‘What am I going to do?”

Thomas-Reilly said.“There’s only so much health professionals can do. We can’t fix someone’s life.”

Everyone in Liberia has been affected, he said.

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 4,000 have died in Liberia from the infectious disease, with more than documented 8,000 cases.

Thomas-Reilly said he’s considering going to Sierra Leone, which is the new hotspot (pushing Liberia to second), with

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more than 10,000 documented cases and almost 3,000 deaths.

Liberia has less than 60 national doctors for a country of about five million people, and coming home he said he couldn’t help but be thankful for Canada’s health care system.

But back in Prince George,ThomasReilly said people are misinformed of the local risks and were quick to make mean-spirited comments once word that an unnamed person was tested this week for Ebola.

It bothered him that his choice to travel to Liberia was characterized as reckless.

The infection is only transmissible when those with Ebola are quite sick; people are not contagious during the 21-day incubation period.

“I think people need to start scaling back on some of the Ebola phobia and hysteria and start thinking what can we do from our position to… make ourselves aware,” said Thomas-Reilly, who has a clean bill of health.

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GATEWAYnews

Spruce Kings make final push for lottery show home Andrea JOHNSON The Prince George Spruce Kings lottery home is on thin financial ice. With six weeks left before the March 19 draw date, there are still 3,500 tickets ($100 each) remaining.

The Spruce Kings are a communityowned team in the B.C. Hockey League.

Net proceeds from the show home, combined with the team’s Mega 50/50 lottery, account for 75 per cent of the team’s operating costs.

Without the lottery home selling out, the team’s financial future will be in jeopardy, said team president Tom Bohmer.

“If the home doesn’t sell out, there will be a drastic change in the hockey operations department,” Bohmer said.

“We will have to make some very hard decisions.Through the show home, we are amongst the elite teams in the BCHL and that’s due to the fact we have a budget to support it. If our budget shrinks, our operating budget will too. It puts the club in jeopardy.”

Proceeds from ticket sales pay for the team’s yearly travel budget of $200,000, which is highest in the league, as well as equipment such as sticks ($30,000) and salaries for hockey operations staff.

“The Spruce Kings are run by a group of volunteers who are passionate about

hockey and the community,” said Bohmer.

The custom-built home by Scheck Construction is a 2,986-square-foot, five-bedroom, three-bath home located at 2693 Links Dr. in the Aberdeen Glen subdivision.

It features nine-foot ceilings, neutral colours, wide entry-ways, large windows and two patios.The rooms are uniquely decorated with donated items from Prince George businesses and organizations.

The main floor features a great room – a large, spacious area with an open kitchen and living room.There’s even a fireplace.

RK Furniture Gallery has donated the five stainless steel appliances for the kitchen.

A custom office, with items donated by Spee Dee Printers, is off to the side of the main entrance.

There’s also an art studio room, (sponsored by Studio 2880 and the Community Arts Council) featuring local art from Studio 2880 and the Groop Gallery.

Off the great room is a master bedroom with an ensuite bathroom (separate walk-in shower and a soaker tub) that overlooks the golf course.

Walk downstairs to the recreation room/man cave and there’s a collegiate feel.

One bedroom is a UNBC-themed room, decorated in the university’s colours of green and gold.There’s a bed throw, hoodies, flags celebrating the school’s 25th anniversary as well as the Timberwolves, who compete in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Canada West Conference.

The other bedroom is all College of New Caledonia with its traditional colours of navy, red and white.The bed is covered in a custom-made duvet by Quilts Etc. The man cave sports two framed

Spruce Kings sweaters, a clock and a 60-inch flat screen TV.There’s a replica Coliseum ice surface coffee table surrounded by comfy, oversized furniture.

To get away from the sun, a covered walk-out patio is available.

“The people who’ve bought tickets love the house, we haven’t had a negative comment,” said Bohmer.“This is a venture that requires the support of the hockey team and the community. I think the community understands the Kings and the entertainment value it provides at a reasonable cost. It’s a good fit for the community.”

Bohmer added the success of the show home year after year means the team can give tickets to schools and youth groups as well as under-privileged people.

“The impact of the hockey club far outreaches the hockey players,” he said.

“It has a social benefit to be able to give back to the community.”

So far, 6,000 tickets have been sold since they went on sale in September.

The show home is available to tour Monday to Friday from noon to 4 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Tickets, which sold out last year, are also available at Canadian Tire, Pine Centre Mall, Central Builders and Northern Hardware.

Besides the grand prize show home, there are still three early bird prizes available.

They include a $1,000 gift card from Central Builders on Thursday, a $2,000 RK Furniture gift card on Feb. 12 and a $5,000 travel voucher from Expedia Cruise ShipCenters on Feb. 19.

To purchase tickets, a 24-hour hotline is available, 250-962-4946 (IWIN).

In addition to show home lottery tickets, the Kings Period 3 Mega 50/50 lottery tickets are also on sale with the draw on March 19. Someone could win $40,000.

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GATEWAYnews

Refinery project

moves forward in Chetwynd Nelson Bennett

Two “green” oil refineries proposed for the B.C. northwest coast may have some serious competition in Chetwynd: a refinery that would make gasoline from natural gas and hydrogen, not oil.

Juergen Puetter, president of Aeolis Wind Power Corp. and CEO of Blue Fuel Energy Corp., has been quietly assembling a multibillion-dollar, two-phase plan to build a gasoline refinery in Chetwynd, followed by a methanol plant a couple of years later.

“We have the land, we have the First Nations on board, we are in the middle of permitting,” Puetter said.

The company also has two former senior Methanex Corp. executives on board: Michael Macdonald, Methanex’s former senior vice-president of global operations, and Ron Britton, former senior vice-president, who is Blue Fuel’s new chief technology officer.

The first phase of the project would be a refinery at a cost of $2 billion to $2.5 billion that would use natural gas – readily available in the Chetwynd area – and hydrogen and oxygen from water. It would be followed by a $1.8 billion methanol plant.

Using technology licensed from ExxonMobil, the plant would make methanol from natural gas, which would then be made into a low-carbon gasoline,

using the hydrogen and oxygen parsed from water.

The energy inputs to separate the hydrogen and oxygen atoms in a water molecule are high. Puetter said the Sundance Fuels project will require 150 megawatts of power (about one-seventh the capacity of the Site C dam), which it would get from the grid.

Aeolis, which developed the Bear Mountain wind farm, also has several other large wind farm prospects, and Puetter hopes that some of the power needed could eventually come from wind.

He said all of the chemical processes that would be used are tried and true, they just haven’t been put together before on any large scale to produce gasoline from natural gas.

“There are some major technological steps forward and putting it together is not easy,” he said.“We’ve been at this for five years. Nobody’s done this on this scale before.”

Such a plant would not be feasible in many other jurisdictions. But Puetter said B.C. has the right combination of resources and policies that make it viable.

In North America, natural gas is abundant and cheap. B.C. also has relatively low-cost electricity and a low carbon fuel standard.

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GATEWAYnews Con’t from page 8 Low carbon fuel standards are designed to address the life cycle of carbon dioxide produced in the process of extracting oil, refining it into gasoline and then burning it. One of the reasons Alberta oilsands bitumen has such a negative reputation is that its life cycle is more carbon-intensive than gasoline made from conventional oil, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Using “renewable” hydrogen from water would help lower the carbon intensity of the gasoline the Sundance Fuels plant would produce to meet low carbon fuel standards.

“In Alberta this wouldn’t work, because if you did the same thing in Alberta, and used Alberta grid power – it’s all made from coal – the carbon intensity would go up,” Puetter said.

The site in Chetwynd is also advantageous.The company has acquired 1,065 acres of private land just outside of the town that has rail access.The fuel and

methanol it produced could therefore be shipped by rail.

“We don’t require a pipeline, so we think we’re going to be ahead of any LNG project,” Puetter said.

Chetwynd Mayor Merlin Nichols said the project would be a welcome economic development.

“We’re supportive,” he said.“The nature of the plant, the nature of the product and the nature of the jobs created – longterm, high-quality, high-paying jobs – it would be good for the town.”

Local First Nations are also on board, Puetter said. Under an agreement with First Nations, Sundance Fuels would provide waste heat, which First Nations could use in greenhouses.

“You wouldn’t normally think of building greenhouses in the Peace region, because it’s so cold,” Puetter said.“But if the energy is free, it becomes a totally different ball game because land is very cheap there and making it a fully First Nation-owned business turns out to be extraordinarily attractive.”

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GATEWAYnews

Owner of dead dog finds comfort in court Mark NIELSEN A rural Prince George woman has been able to overcome the lack of a dangerous dog bylaw in the Fraser-Fort George Regional District and rein in the owners of a dangerous dog.

It took plenty of work to gather the evidence necessary to take the case to court and it occurred only after the dog had killed her Shih Tzu, but the woman, who lives east of the city and asked that her name not be printed, was able to realize a measure of justice for her loss.

“My neighbours found out through the courts that it is possible for others to seek justice and even financial responsibility for the acts caused by their dangerous dog, even if you live outside city limits,” she said.

It all began four or five years ago when the neighbour moved into the unfenced property next door, replete with three large dogs that ran like a pack and killed cats for fun on other people’s property.

On one occasion, her then 14-year-old daughter saw the three rip a cat apart in her yard.The owners finally got rid of the three dogs “only to replace them with one very vicious pit bull.”

The dog was allowed to roam wherever it wanted to and did not back down, even if someone tried to scare it away with a broom or shovel.

“This dog would go on to circle my daughter’s vehicle so she would have to wait in her car until the dog went away or they [the owners] called it home,” the woman said.

Her two Shih Tzus, Peanut and Snoopy, used the cat door to go out and do their business. But one day, the pit bull attacked Snoopy, grabbing his back end, leaving large fang holes in both rear thighs and across his lower spine.

“Luckily, we were home and ran onto our deck, startling the pit bull, and he dropped Snoopy before the death shake that was certain to happen,” she said.

Snoopy would no longer venture off the home’s deck but in the end, that didn’t matter. One day in July 2013, while the woman was out of town and her oldest daughter was taking a shower, Snoopy went outside and was attacked and killed by the pit bull.

When her daughter came, she saw the put bull leaving the yard but had not yet seen Snoopy. A few minutes later, the youngest daughter drove into the yard

and found Snoopy’s lifeless body.

By that time, the woman was already at her wits end - the pit bull had also previously attacked Peanut and was suspected of killing two of their other pets.

She had talked to the regional district who told her that because there is no dangerous dog bylaw in place, it was a police matter. In turn, RCMP said there was not much they could do unless she had actual photographs of the pit bull attacking her dog although they did talk to the neighbour to no avail.

Following Snoopy’s death, an RCMP officer paid a visit and once again expressed his sympathy but said he could do little without evidence.

He suggested they get an autopsy performed on Snoopy and have samples of DNA extracted from the blood and saliva found on him and the family acted on his advice. Snoopy was put in a freezer overnight and the next day taken to the Murdoch Veterinary Clinic where the work was performed.

“My kids were determined to make sure we had the evidence we would later need,” the woman said.

By then, the pit bull had become a

neighbourhood terror. Other neighbours claimed it was responsible for several other attacks and the deaths of two cats and a miniature pony.

Within five weeks of Snoopy’s death, the pit bull’s owners adopted two more pit bulls and a Great Dane. Peanut, meanwhile, refused to go outside, instead curling herself up into a ball inside the home.

The woman thought about fencing her yard but the expense was high and it would not solve what had become a problem for the entire neighbourhood.

Instead, she purchased three wildlife cameras that take photos and video whenever something passes by their sensors.They produced some telling evidence and even a photo of one of the owners trespassing onto her property while she was away.

The pit bull’s owners - who had maintained their dog was not the problem - were also convinced to provide DNA samples from the dog.

Murdoch then sent the samples from the dog and from Snoopy to a lab in California and they came back as a match.

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GATEWAYnews Cont’d from page 10 Indeed, the odds that the sample came from an unrelated dog were one in 15 quadrillion and the likelihood that it was a full sibling was just one in 24 million.

The DNA and the photos were enough to convince Crown counsel to press charges, In December 2013, after almost five months of gathering evidence, the court awarded a destruction order for the dog.

“Unfortunately, we were a week late as they had just had the dog shot because it finally harmed one of their own dogs,” the woman said.

It didn’t stop there.

In February, she successfully sued them in civil court for the cost of the veterinary services, Snoopy’s burial, the cameras, getting the DNA samples tested and the gates she had installed on her deck to keep the dogs out.

The neighbours, meanwhile, acted on advice that it would be in their best interest to build a fence to contain their three remaining dogs. Since then, there

has been no trouble and Crown counsel subsequently dropped the criminal charges the neighbours were facing.

“Although I have mixed feeling about Crown counsel’s decision, the neighbours have so far continued to contain their dogs to their own property and have not bothered me since,” the woman said.

But she would like to see a dangerous dog bylaw in the regional district and maintains action would have been taken much more quickly if one had been put in place. In 2000, an effort to get one established in electoral area D (Tabor Lake-Stone Creek) was dropped due to extensive opposition during public hearings on the issue.

The woman added she does not hold a grudge against pit bulls and believes they can be a good dog when properly trained and cared for.

She is welcoming people seeking advice on dealing with similar trouble to e-mail her at justiceforsnoopy@hotmail. com.They can also share their stories and provide comments, both good and bad, at the same address.

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GATEWAYnews

Professor co-authors book on northern development A new eBook co-edited by a local author looks at northern development in rural communities and represents “a decade of international collaboration.”

Greg Halseth, a geography professor at University of Northern B.C., and Tor Gjertsen, an associate professor at The Arctic University of Norway, present “a more holistic and integrated approach to local and regional development gained from examples in Canada, Russia and the Nordic countries.”

The release said the book’s main themes are governance, community, economic, development in indigenous communities and social and economic development.

Sustainable Development in the Circumpolar North’s online publication is timed with the tenth anniversary of the Gargia Conferences, which brings the international community together every year to discuss local and regional development in the circumpolar north.

Halseth is co-director of the Community Development Institute and also the Canada Research Chair in rural and small town studies.

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Takla Lake First Nation now in compliance Arthur WILLIAMS

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he Takla Lake First Nation is now in compliance with the First Nations Financial Transparency Act, after the federal government threatened to withhold funding for nonessential

programs and services.

Audited financial statements dated Dec. 19 filed with the federal government showed Chief Anita Williams earned $78,372 in the financial year that ended on on March 31, 2014.Williams, who served as a councillor for four months of the

financial year, also spent $17,124 on travel.

Former chief Dolly Abraham, who only served four months of the fiscal year, earned $95,562 and spent $8,644 in travel expenses.

It was unclear from the documents if Abraham also worked for the First Nation as a paid employee for any portion of the year.

Unlike municipal, regional district, school district, provincial and federal governments – which prohibit elected representatives from being paid employees of the government – it is common practice for chiefs and councillors to also work as paid employees of the First Nation.

According to financial statements posted online by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, all members of the Yakooche First Nation council were also paid employees for some portion of the year, earning between $452 and $25,831

in wages.

All four councillors of the Tsay Keh Dene First Nation were also paid employees for some portion of the year, earning between between $1,551 and $71,944 in wages.

Takla Lake councillors Eike Lepka,Ann Abraham, Colin Teegee, Sandra Teegee, Sylvia Jack and John Allen French earned between $28,69 and $46,259 during the 2013-14 fiscal year, and recorded between $2,457 and $12,984 in travel expenses.

Lepka, the only councillor to serve a full 12 months during the fiscal year, earned $41,831 in 2013-14.

Takla Lake was one of 307 First Nations across the country that failed to meet the July 29 deadline required by the act to disclose its audited financial statements, and what its chief and council were paid, to the federal government.

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GATEWAYnews Cont’d from page 14 Under the act, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada posts the information online on its website (http:// bit.ly/1BwQf0u).

Of the five First Nations with offices in Prince George – Kwadacha, Lheidli T’enneh,Tsay Keh Dene,Takla Lake and Yakooche – only the Kwadacha Nation complied with the July deadline.

Regionally, only 12 of 20 First Nations in the broader central B.C. area were in compliance by the deadline.

On Nov. 26 aboriginal affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt issued a statement saying the federal government would withhold funding from 52 First Nations – including Takla Lake – still not in compliance with the legislation.

Valcourt said the government would begin withholding funding to noncompliant First Nations for nonessential programs, services and activities; as well as withholding new funding for nonessential program

proposals; and seeking court orders to force First Nations governments that have indicated they will not comply with the legislation to comply.

According to the federal government, 34 First Nations – including 10 in B.C. – were still not in compliance with the act on Dec. 31.

According to information released by the federal government the Takla Lake First Nation has a registered population of 765 people, of which 397 live in the nation’s 17 reserves and settlements.

Although the nation has a financial services office based in Prince George, the majority of the settlements are located near Takla Lake, about 360 kilometres northwest of the city.

According to the First Nation’s financial statements, its total revenue for 2014 was approximately $5.6 million, with more than $3.7 million coming from the federal and provincial government.

Takla Lake Chief Anita Williams did not return calls as of press time.

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GATEWAYlife Roads are bisecting moose habitats Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

Samantha WRIGHT ALLEN

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orthern B.C. is in the middle of its peak time for moose-vehicle collisions.

That makes it prime time for UNBC researcher Roy Rea’s talk Friday on the matter.

“Most collisions happen at night, so when there is less visibility. It’s harder for drivers to see and animals tend to be more active.

“You’ve got this black road and there’s a black background and you’ve got this big, dark brown moose that jumps up on the road and it’s hard to see until you’re right on top of it,” says Rea, adding much of the talk will focus on his

current research looking into world-wide accident trends and answering why the time of year for moose collisions shifts from region to region.

While time of day is a constant factor, the seasonal spikes vary and Rea aims to answer why.

In the prairies and eastern United States, the peak is in the mid summer and Europe, Rea says, is a “mixed bag.” In B.C. and Alaska, the peak is in the winter - December and January - with another uptick in June and July to coincide with the movement of pregnant cows.

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GATEWAYlife Cont’d from page 18 In mountainous regions, like northern B.C., Rea says his working theory is that elevational migration comes in to play.

“Moose move up to high elevations in the summer time, so that they’re away from the roads,” he says, but come winter, moose move to lower ground out of deep snowpack.

“We tend to build our roads along river bottoms and valley bottoms,” says Rea, where moose feed on willows and dogwoods.“It just happens that the roads are bisecting those habitats.”

According to the Wildlife Collision Prevention Program, moose represent seven per cent of all wildlife collisions in B.C., and often lead to human death given their massive size. An adult male moose can weigh up to 500 kilograms.

Rea, a senior laboratory instructor at UNBC, previously used data from 2000 to 2005 to determine collision hotspots in northern B.C. Though his study was just published this summer, Rea has been working with the Ministry of Transportation for years to apply his recommendations, like removing outdated road signs and making sure the bright yellow road signs are in the right spots.

Rea found a correlation of collisions and the accumulation of salt on the sides of the road, an attractive draw for wildlife.

“In areas where we’ve covered the licks with rocks, or we’ve put a fence around a lick, or with pine beetle trees, the animals decrease their visitations to those areas,” “It’s working,” says Rea of the strategy, which also includes taking care to cut roadside shrubbery during specific seasons.“If you cut plants at one time of the year, it produces really yummy succulent brows.”

Some places - not Prince George - have employed more creative, albeit expensive, options: sprinkling cayenne pepper in the road salt.

Though the ministry updates its moose-collision “hot-spots” every five years, the most recent publicly available reported 410 accidents in 2007.

That only covers a fraction of the problem; the ministry estimates that reported numbers represent a mere 25 to 30 per cent of the actual number of wildlife collisions.

That’s because workers only count the animals found on the asphalt, says Rea, adding predators are quick to smell carcasses and drag them from the accident site.

“If goes in the ditch, if it drops off the side of cliff or into a lake, or if to the animals gets hit and then wanders off into the woods, it’s never recorded.”

Rea’s talk is Friday at 3:30 p.m. at UNBC’s Weldwood Theatre.

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GATEWAYlife Physiotherapist fills position in Vanderhoof A physiotherapist is now working in Vanderhoof, filling a health posting that had been vacant for more than six years.

Kaley Hopps earned her masters of physical therapy degree in November, graduating from the first Northern and Rural Cohort of the University of British Columbia’s program.

Hopps is now working at St. John Hospital and Stuart Nechako Manor.

“The recruitment of Kaley Hopps is great news for Vanderhoof and area residents,” said John Rustad, Nechako Lakes MLA.“Physiotherapist positions have been difficult to recruit in many rural areas across the province, including the north. Kaley’s arrival provides increased and more accessible services for our region’s patients.”

The Northern and Rural Cohort was designed for those interested in becoming physiotherapists to think about working in northern B.C.

As part of the training, students get instruction at the University of Northern B.C.’s Physiotherapy Plinth Lab located at the Prince George campus.They do their clinical training in northern and rural communities across the province.

One of 16 students in the first cohort, Hopps, who grew up in Port Alberni, attended the University of Alaska, earning a bachelor of science in physical education before deciding to become a physiotherapist.

“I had my mind set on working in a smaller community setting and have been really enjoying my time here so far,” said Hopps in a news release.“The support from my co-workers has been great. My husband Jesse and I have met so many wonderful people and we’ve already started volunteering for various local organizations. It’s a whole new area to explore for us, which was a big draw for me.”

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GATEWAYcareers

Tips to help women succeed in corporate leadership

T

here has been an increase in the number of female leadership opportunities across a variety of industries over the past few years, yet women still face many challenges when it comes to advancing their careers.

According to a recent survey commissioned

by American Express Canada, 71% of Canadians agree that “glass ceilings” still exist for women in most

workplaces today and 74% agree that it takes women longer than men to advance up the corporate ladder.

So, what’s standing in their way? As ranked by Canadians, the top three barriers to women advancing in business are workplace attitudes towards female leaders (37%), family obligations (31%) and lack of upward growth opportunities (8%).

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GATEWAYcareers Cont’d from page 22 Here are some tips to help you succeed in any leadership position and overcome workplace barriers: Plan ahead and set goals: Short and long-term career goals are crucial for success. Know what you want to achieve and create a plan to make this happen. Speak with peers in your industry whose career path you’ve admired and ask for advice.

This allows you to take control over your own future and will help to guide your decisions throughout your career journey.

Seek the right employer: An organization with positive attitudes towards female leadership will likely offer more upward growth opportunities, provide more female role models, and be more invested in your success as a leader.

Julie Hay, vice

president and general manager of World Service at American Express Canada can attest to the positive impact her employer has had on her career.“I’m fortunate to work in a company where supporting female leadership is truly ingrained in its corporate culture,” she says.“I work with a number of female leaders who act both as role models and as a network of support.”

Look for development opportunities: Many companies offer specific programs to foster female leadership within their

organizations, from education programs, employee networks, mentorship, and flexible work options. For instance, to encourage a balance between work and family obligations many employers offer programs such as employee networks that act as a forum for employees to share stories, tactics and parenting philosophies. Additionally, mentors are a valuable resource for career guidance and often act as role models in achieving worklife balance. www.newscanada.com

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GATEWAYhealth

Meet the hockey team that saved two of its own The Ogopogo Senior Men’s Hockey Team proved that ordinary guys can do extraordinary things. The team jumped into action not once, but twice, and two teammates are alive as a result.

Defenseman Dennis Savage had a cardiac arrest on the ice in March 2014, and five months later Dave Jenkins went down. Both times, their teammates knew what to do – and they saved their fellow players’ lives.

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GATEWAYhealth

Ogopogo Senior Men’s Hockey Team goalie Steve Berry, left, is two for two in helping fellow team mates, Dave Jenkins, centre, and Dennis Savage survive their sudden cardiac arrests.

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GATEWAYhealth Cont’d from page 24 The players had prepared for just such an emergency long before they were called on to act.They had all learned CPR and had even purchased a team AED (automatic external defibrillator - a small, portable device that is used to reset the heart’s rhythm).

“I thought it was absolutely incredible,” says Bob Kusch, manager of recreation and culture for the District of West Kelowna in British Columbia.“They’ve taken it upon themselves to get trained in CPR and AEDs and frankly saved both of their teammates lives.”

Both players have learned that their hockey careers should not end because of their on-ice incidents. Staying as active as possible is among the recommendations from their doctors and lifestyle coaches, and Jenkins intends to return to the ice, just as Savage has already done.

“This story reinforces the fact that bystanders can make a difference and that early, effective defibrillation does work,” adds Mike Hoffman, the manager of national AED programs for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.“We want to save more lives and we can do that by placing more AEDs in our communities.”

Is your local recreation facility or hockey rink prepared for a cardiac arrest?

Just like the Ogopogo team, you can help save a life by making sure your local facility is AED-equipped.Through funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Heart and Stroke Foundation can provide a fully-funded defibrillator and training. Even if your facility already has an AED, it may be eligible for a replacement or an additional unit – at no cost, depending on the size of the facility and the age of the current defibrillator.

If you would like to be a hero too, more information is available at www. heartandstroke.ca/AED. www.newscanada.com

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GATEWAYgrill

Surprise your kids with

nutritious and delicious food choices

Children are picky eaters and as a parent it can be easy to settle for a trip to a fast food chain rather than spending time cooking only to have them refuse what’s on their plate. In the spirit of Nutrition Month, aspire to help your family try new foods and make healthier lifestyle choices.

To help parents ensure the development of healthy lifestyle changes the T-fal cookware brand is launching their annual award-winning Healthy Cooking for Healthy Kids Program.The 30-day challenge runs throughout the month of March, offering free printable resources including a live chat with a

leading nutritionist, kid-friendly recipes, portion control placemats, grocery lists and healthy living charts, all available on t-fal.ca/nutritionmonth.

Healthy lifestyle choices are simplified when you have appliances that make preparing delicious, healthy foods easy.

The T-fal Actifry allows you to prepare all of your kid’s favourite dishes at home, like chicken nuggets and french fries, using only 1 tablespoon of cooking oil (look for low-fat oils such as canola or grapeseed).

This cuts down on fat content and overall calories, preventing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

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GATEWAYgrill

Cont’d from page 28 The entire family will enjoy this recipe at only 197 calories per serving:

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Ingredients: • 36 frozen lean beef or turkey meatballs • 1 each, red and green pepper, cubed • 1 cup fresh or frozen mango chunks • 1/2 cup (125 mL) water • 4 Actifry spoons of ketchup • 1 Actifry spoon of each: mustard, maple syrup or brown sugar, cider vinegar, grated onion • 1 clove garlic, minced • 1 tsp cornstarch • Chopped fresh coriander leaves (optional) Directions: 1. Place meatballs, peppers and mango in Actifry pan.

2. Whisk water, ketchup, mustard, maple syrup, vinegar, onion, garlic and cornstarch. Add to Actifry pan.

3. Cook for 20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through and sauce is thickened (add more water if sauce becomes too thick). Garnish with coriander if desired.

For more information on the Healthy Cooking for Healthy Kids Program and to view more recipes, visit t-fal.ca/nutritionmonth. www.newscanada.com

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