Prince George Citizen - Thursday, July 23, 2026

THURSDAY,

Pipeline expansion: $4B and thousands of jobs

Enbridge launches major transmission upgrade in PG

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

A $4-billion pipeline expansion is expected to bring more than 1,300 local jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue to Prince George and Northern BC.

Construction began earlier this month on the Sunrise Expansion Project, which will add pipeline segments to increase natural gas capacity and install additional compressor units at existing facilities.

Three of the four compressor units will be powered by electricity, requiring the installation of new power lines.

Enbridge’s Westcoast Pipeline is a 2,900-kilometre natural gas transmission system in British Columbia that

Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson (left), Matthew Akman, Enbridge’s executive vice-president of gas transmission, Mayor Simon Yu, Minister of Jobs and Economic Development Ravi Kahlon and Enbridge president and CEO Greg Ebel take part in the launch of the Sunrise Expansion Project on Monday, July 20.

supplies natural gas to BC, Alberta and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

The expansion will add approximately

140 kilometres of new pipeline through the construction of 11 looping segments running parallel to the existing line.

“Looping” is like four-laning a highway; the process expands the transmission capability of an existing line.

Construction is underway in the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, including site clearing, road access work, foundation preparation for new equipment, and upgrades and modifications at existing compressor stations near Azouzetta Lake, Summit Lake and Hixon.

The project is expected to create more than 1,200 jobs in Northern BC and 2,300 jobs province-wide during construction.

Once complete, the expansion is expected to add 300 million cubic feet per day of natural gas transportation capacity to the pipeline system. That additional capacity is expected to support the generation of two gigawatts of electricity, enough to power an estimated 1.5 million homes.

Pipeline project will generate $700M in tax revenue

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Enbridge expects half of the additional natural gas capacity to serve communities in BC, with the remainder destined for the Pacific Northwest.

The project is also expected to contribute more than $3 billion to Canada’s GDP and generate $700 million in tax revenue for local roads, hospitals and schools.

The launch was held Monday, July 20 at the Sunrise Prince George stockpile site. Enbridge employees were joined by federal Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, BC Jobs and Economic Development Minister Ravi Kahlon, Lheidli T’enneh First Nation Chief Dolleen Logan and Mayor Simon Yu at a ceremony marking the official start of construction.

“This project will help put Canada’s economic and energy future in its own hands,” Hodgson said during his remarks. “Today tells a simple story, one that is central to everything your federal government is doing. Because energy security is economic security and is national security. Without reliable energy infrastructure, life is unaffordable, growth stalls, and industry does not prosper. Without reliable energy infrastructure, we rely on imported fuels, putting our future in someone else’s hands. Without reliable infrastructure, we’re not getting our energy to domestic and international markets to make the most of what we’ve been naturally blessed with.”

Hodgson also highlighted the pace of the project, noting the expansion moved from approval to construction much faster than is typical.

“The Sunrise expansion program has gone from approval to ground-breaking in just three months,” said Hodgson. “Showing how, in 2026, Canada has gone from delay to delivery while not losing sight of environmental protection or Indigenous rights and partnerships. This is what Team Canada looks like at its best. First Nations, labour, local communities, industry, and the federal and provincial governments rowing toward a shared goal, building a stronger, more

prosperous and more energy-secure Canada, and being an energy superpower that benefits all Canadians.”

During a media availability, Enbridge president and CEO Greg Ebel said the project could signal broader opportunities for the region and the country.

“Canada is going to become more relied upon by our partners, not just in North America but beyond North America,” said Ebel. “That’s the opportunity that’s presented here for Canadians and British Columbians and workers and Indigenous communities, not just the North.”

During the same media availability, Kahlon said increased investment in trades training will be essential if Canada is to capitalize on current and future energy opportunities.

“Quite frankly, the thing that stresses me out most from all the economic development is how are we going to train enough people up for those opportunities?” said Kahlon. “In the budget, we announced doubling the funding for trades training in British Columbia. That’s a significantly dramatic increase in trades training funding ... The funding is there ... but it’s vitally important that we not only scale up the workers that we have coming through, but retool those that perhaps have been displaced

from one industry to make sure that we’re capturing this moment.”

The expansion project also aims to maximize Canadian industrial participation by using domestically produced materials, including 100 per cent Canadian melted-and-poured steel supplied by InterPro Pipe and Steel in Saskatchewan.

Hodgson said the focus on Canadian energy projects will help strengthen the economy amid deteriorating relations and an ongoing trade war with the United States.

“For the last 80 years, the way we organized ourselves is we integrated our economy more and more with the United States,” said Hodgson. “That was the route to prosperity. It created the two most prosperous countries in the world. Today, we’re the most integrated economy in the world and that is being weaponized against us. We can’t control what the Americans are going to do, but we can control what we do. And what we do is build for Canada.”

He said using Canadian products in Canadian projects is one way the country can respond to the trade dispute.

“We’re in the middle of a trade war we didn’t ask for, but we need to win,” said Hodgson. “Specific sectors of our

economy are being targeted because they know it hurts ... We can respond and we can respond in a way where we build for the benefit of Canadians. This project is a perfect example. At a time when there’s a pulp mill closing in Prince George and 300 people are losing their jobs, you heard today that more than 1,250 jobs are opening up for the same sorts of work that you would see in a mill.”

Hodgson said the emphasis on Canadian products is already creating jobs, noting the project has led to the hiring of more than 600 workers at InterPro Pipe and Steel.

“We now have a new major order for steel from Canadian mills and pipe that’s being rolled in Canadian pipe plants,” said Hodgson. “If you go up and take a look at the pipes here, the head of InterPro was showing me that there are 600 workers they hired to roll this pipe. They’ve all signed a thank-you saying, ‘Hey, we now have jobs.’ In this challenging world we’re in, being a clean and conventional energy superpower is a key part of our response; there’s no more meaningful place to be, from my perspective, than doing the work that we’re doing right now.”

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Enbridge leadership, union workers and event attendees sign their names on a pipe during the launch of the Sunrise Expansion Project on Monday, July 20.

First Natons are partners in Sunrise expansion plan

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Recent discussions about diversifying Northern BC’s economy have highlighted the potential for energy projects to help fill critical gaps.

Hodgson told The Citizen the project is part of broader efforts to attract more competitive and diversified industry to Northern British Columbia.

He said the expansion will also allow more natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be transported throughout the province.

“The Sunrise Expansion Project is allowing British Columbia to take more gas from northeastern British Columbia, move that to markets in the lower mainland, move that to markets in the Pacific Northwest, and it will enable more LNG through facilities like Woodfibre LNG through to Tilbury LNG plants by Delta,” Hodgson said. “One of the things that’s really interesting about the Tilbury project is we’re going to use LNG to replace diesel on BC ferries. If we do that, we’re going to dramatically reduce the emissions footprint of the BC ferries.”

Another focus of this project is the partnership of local and provincial First Nations with 38 Indigenous communities in British Columbia acquiring a 12.5 per cent ownership interest in Enbridge’s Westcoast natural gas pipeline system. This was supported by the first-ever federal Indigenous Loan Guarantee.

Logan, during the opening remarks at the ceremony, stressed that First

Nations involvement will help better both communities through economic development.

“Responsible resource development and environmental stewardship are not competing ideas. They can and must exist together,” she said. “Projects like Sunrise create opportunities for Indigenous businesses, local contractors, skilled trades, and for future generations. We have built economic capacities that allow First Nations to invest in housing, education, culture, health and community priorities. Strong communities are built on strong economics. Economic reconciliation creates opportunities that Indigenous Nations help lead and not just simply participate in.”

Hodgson said he hopes the project’s partnership with First Nations will build relations between the two communities.

“Enbridge has already spent $52 million with Indigenous contractors on this project that’s creating all kinds of jobs,” said Hodgson.

“When Indigenous people see themselves in projects; when they see an opportunity to participate in projects, what I’ve always found is people figure out a way to work constructively together. I saw that in my old role before I got into politics, where I was the chair of a company that built transmission lines in partnership with First Nations. What I found is that when that partnership works, stuff gets done on time and on budget. That’s what we want in this country.”

The expansion project is estimated to be completed in the fourth quarter of

CITIZEN PHOTO BY MATTHEW HILLIER

Hundreds of pipes from InterPro Pipe and Steel in Saskatchewan await installation at the Sunrise Prince George stockpile site on Monday, July 20.

Council approves rezoning of part of Moore’s Meadow

COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

Amidst opposition from administration and support from more than 220 letter writers, Prince George city council voted to rezone a 4.4-hectare portion of Moore’s Meadow as parkland at its Monday, July 20 meeting.

The parcel in question was not the main part of the public park, but a chunk of the property to its northeast that remains undeveloped.

During discussions over Prince George’s new Official Community Plan in 2025, many residents expressed a desire for protections for Moore’s Meadow and Ginter’s Green during public hearings.

In the aftermath, council voted at a July 14, 2025 special meeting to direct administration to prepare a rezoning application that would change a 4.4-hectare section of Moore’s Meadow from its current designation as AF: Agriculture and Forestry to P1: Parks and Recreation.

More than a year later on July 20, 2026, administration returned with that application but urged council not to approve it.

Staff’s report said that in 1995, the area in question was identified in a Heritage North Subdivision Plan as the potential third phase of development in the area.

Phase 1 happened in 1995, when 67 lots were rezoned and subdivided for residential use on Clare Crescent, Strom Place and parts of Otway Road.

Phase 2, located to the north of Phase 1, saw another parcel of land subdivided and sold for private development, resulting in a 34-lot development on Rebelo Drive and Ryser Avenue.

The area proposed for Phase 3 “has remained undeveloped pending completion of aggregate extraction.”

“The lands retained the AF: Agriculture and Forestry zoning designation to provide flexibility for future rezoning and subdivision design in response to market conditions. At the time, conceptual development plans illustrated the potential for approximately 34 to 40

The city is rezoning the section of Moore’s Meadow outlined in red. This view is looking west from Otway Road.

residential lots; however, these plans were intended to demonstrate development potential only and do not represent a final subdivision layout.”

The site, staff said, is “not currently maintained for park or other uses.”

They argued that the current AF zoning keeps the city’s options open for the future use of the land and allows for ongoing aggregate extraction.

“Rezoning the subject area to P1 at this stage would establish a parks and recreation land use expectation before the city has completed the technical analysis necessary to determine the most appropriate long-term use of the lands,” the report said.

Ahead of the meeting, 221 letters were received from the public. Huge packages bound with alligator clips containing these letters and a few for a couple of other agenda items were available for the audience to look at during the meeting.

Most of them simply indicated support for the rezoning proposal while others went into a bit more detail.

For example, Andrew Gingerich of Lemoyne Drive said the rezoning would ensure that there would be public consultation before the city could sell it in the future.

wrote Cody Jacques of Winston Road. “This space is critical for the long-term mental well-being of the citizenship and we do not want this space to be lost.”

Due to the interest in the issue, council amended the meeting order to have the Moore’s Meadow discussion come first on the agenda.

Director of planning and development Deanna Wasnik went over the situation as described in the report, using maps to illustrate the subject parcel’s location and planning, before council’s debate started.

She said administration’s primary reason for recommending denial of the rezoning was that the city has not yet completed the exploratory work for the parcel’s suitability as future park land, nor explored other potential resource uses and other development for the property.

Catherine King of Hammond Avenue said she supported “this measure as we need to maintain a wildlife corridor and green space for all users. It will be important for generations to come.”

Kathy Dewijn of Explorer Crescent said it “is an important wildlife corridor to the river.”

“People and wildlife need the green spaces!” said Leonor von Baer of Chatwell Avenue.

Mica Jorgenson of Claxton Crescent said that nearby residents refer to the land in question as “the gravel pit.”

“Over the years, we have watched nature reclaim the space. It is a wonderful area to walk and bike in the summer and very fun to toboggan and ski in the winter. The proposed zoning bylaw amendment to P1 seems to support this use.”

While a handful of letter writers said they opposed the proposal, most in this group appeared to be under the impression that what was up for debate was an active proposal to develop the land in question, which was not the case.

“I am against this as there is no explanation of the purpose behind it and knowing how untrustworthy our council are, we cannot trust that this is in the best interests of the citizens of PG,”

When the debate started, Coun. Trudy Klassen immediately put forward a motion to approve the first three readings of a bylaw rezoning the property.

Coun. Brian Skakun said that on top of the more than 220 letters, councillors also received a lot of phone calls and emails about the subject. He said in their correspondence and during last year’s OCP public hearing, the public made it clear that it wanted protections for this land and he supported the rezoning.

Coun. Garth Frizzell said he was leaning towards approval of the rezoning but asked about the potential consequences of approving it.

Wasnik said administration would maintain the status quo of the parcel until further directions from council are received.

Frizzell said he would request a report for future consequences and options for the property once the rezoning vote was complete.

Coun. Cori Ramsay said she was prepared to move the bylaw forward if Klassen hadn’t and noted that the rezoning would not affect the ability to harvest gravel from the property, which protects that municipal asset.

CITY OF PRINCE GEORGE PHOTO

Skakun, Polillo appointed to Blackwater Gold commitee

COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

Councillors Brian Skakun and Ron Polillo were appointed as the City of Prince George’s representative and alternate representative to Blackwater Gold mine’s community liaison committee at city council’s Monday, July 20 meeting.

City manager Walter Babicz told council that Blackwater Gold has invited the city to appoint a representative to its community liaison committee.

The establishment of that committee, he said, was one of the conditions of the mine receiving its environmental assessment certificate.

The mine, which was officially opened on May 30, 2025 by Artemis Gold Inc., is located about 160 kilometres southwest of Prince George.

“The purpose of the CLC is to provide information to BW Gold on project effects in members’ communities, to provide advice to BW Gold on mitigation measures to address social and economic effects and review and comment on the community effects monitoring and management plan and the plan’s implementation,” Babicz said.

Babicz noted that some local governments have appointed elected officials to the committee while others appointed staff members.

Vanderhoof and the Cariboo Regional District also appointed elected officials, while the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako, Fort St. James, Fraser Lake, Burns Lake and the City of Quesnel appointed staff members.

The terms of reference for the committee state that invitations will be sent to the College of New Caledonia,

Vanderhoof, Connexus Community Resources, School District 91, Nazko First Nation, Northern Health, Ulkatcho First Nation, Lhoosk’uz Dene Nation, Nadleh Whut’en First Nation, Stellat’en First Nation and Saik’uz First Nation to appoint representatives as well.

The committee will meet virtually for one hour every quarter, with the next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, July 29.

During the meeting, Skakun and

Polillo were nominated respectively as the representative and alternate representative for the committee. Both nominations were approved unanimously.

Vote summary

Motion: Council appoints Coun. Brian Skakun and Coun. Ron Polillo as the City of Prince George’s representative and alternate representative to the community liaison committee for Blackwater Gold mine.

Result: Approved unanimously

Public contacts councillors with concerns about changes

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She said that the parcel is a prime opportunity to add parkland within the city’s boundary and the chance to extract the aggregate could help offset future development costs.

Coun. Ron Polillo said last year, council committed to making the change during the OCP process. A year later and knowing that the use of the aggregate could be protected, he said following through on that promise was a win-win scenario.

Pointing to the large packages of letters, he said there was clearly public support for the move.

Coun. Tim Bennett said that there’s a

lot of land already allocated for future subdivision growth in that neighbourhood, meaning it’s important to protect potential parkland. He thanked the members of the public who started the advocacy campaign on the matter during the OCP development process.

Coun. Kyle Sampson said he agreed with his colleagues and thanked staff for the amount of work needed to create the report, even if their recommendation wasn’t being followed.

Mayor Simon Yu asked what would need to happen to convert the parcel from its current state as a gravel pit into parkland.

City manager Walter Babicz said that staff wouldn’t work on further activity at

the site without additional council direction. Prior to harvesting gravel, he said a report would come back to council on future remediation efforts that would be needed.

First three readings of the rezoning bylaw passed unanimously.

Ramsay then moved to have staff create a report on the gravel situation and return to council at a future meeting.

Frizzell asked for the report to include environmental considerations, the quantity and quality of gravel that could be extracted, the feasibility of gravel extraction and potential implications for future park use.

Skakun said any gravel removal would need to come before the next council

before starting.

The second vote passed unanimously as well.

Vote summary

Motion: Council approves first three readings of a bylaw rezoning a 4.4-hectare portion of Moore’s Meadow from AF: Agriculture and Forestry to P1: Parks and Recreation.

Result: Approved unanimously

Motion: Council directs staff to write a report on the feasibility, quality, quantity of gravel extraction at the Moore’s Meadow gravel pit as well as environmental concerns and the work needed to turn it into parkland.

Result: Approved unanimously

Excavators pick up rocks to be processed in the crusher units at Blackwater Gold mine. The Citizen was given a tour of the site 160 kilometres southwest of Prince George in May 2025.

Council decides smoking on stage might be permited

COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

Artistic performances in public buildings and places of assembly will now be eligible to apply for exemptions to the city’s bylaw banning smoking and vaping after council approved an amendment at its Monday, July 20 meeting.

The first three readings of the amendment to Prince George’s Smoke and Vape Free Places Bylaw were approved at council’s July 6 meeting.

At that meeting, city staff explained that theatrical productions occasionally request exemptions so performers can smoke herbal cigarettes, rather than tobacco products, in areas where smoking is otherwise prohibited.

Director of administrative services Eric Depenau told council several BC municipalities already allow exemptions for artistic performances, noting smoking is sometimes used to accurately portray social norms in period productions.

Staff recommended allowing exemptions in Prince George, provided written permission is obtained from the city in advance.

Following third reading, a representative of the Canadian Cancer Society contacted The Citizen to express concerns about the proposed amendment before council considered fourth and final reading.

Senior policy analyst Rob Cunningham said the exemption runs counter to efforts to create smoke-free public spaces.

“We’ve heard a lot about how there has been a resurgence on social media repopularizing smoking,” Cunningham said in a phone interview. “We shouldn’t be doing that in our communities.”

Although the exemption would continue to prohibit tobacco cigarettes, Cunningham said second-hand smoke from herbal cigarettes could still pose health risks to performers, theatre workers and audience members.

While the issue was not on Monday’s

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meeting agenda, Cunningham provided The Citizen with a copy of a letter sent to council by the society’s manager of advocacy for BC and Yukon, Charles Arullah, dated July 16.

“If smoking is allowed, many members of the community will not be able to attend, perform or work at the premises because their health condition means that they cannot be exposed to second-hand smoke,” Arullah wrote. “This includes asthma (with the possibility of asthma attacks), other respiratory conditions, and cardiovascular conditions. Women who are pregnant would not want to expose the baby to harm.”

Arullah added that ventilation systems and devices such as air purifiers cannot remove all toxins found in second-hand smoke.

“There is no need to permit an actual lit cigarette to be smoked,” Arullah wrote. “An unlit cigarette could be used. Or a fake (unlit) cigarette could be used.

As a parallel, in a play a real bullet is not fired from a gun; a simulation is used.”

During the meeting, Coun. Cori Ramsay asked Depenau to confirm the exemption applies only to non-tobacco products.

Depenau confirmed tobacco products remain prohibited under the bylaw but acknowledged that any smoke carries health risks.

Council approved the amendment by a vote of 6-2.

Vote summary

Motion: Council approves fourth and final reading of an amendment to the Smoke and Vape Free Spaces bylaw allowing for artistic exemptions to rules prohibiting smoking in public buildings or places of assembly.

• In favour: Ramsay, Polillo, Scott, Yu, Frizzell and Sampson

• Against: Skakun, Bennett Result: Approved 6 to 2, with Coun. Trudy Klassen absent.

Studio 2880 building up for sale

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

The property Studio 2880 sits on is being put up for sale as work to redevelop the site continues, the City of Prince George announced on Wednesday, July 15.

The rezoning of the property was finalized at the Monday, May 25 city council meeting as part of the process to convert the 80-year-old building into a mixed-use apartment building, with up to six stories of housing planned.

At the Monday, June 8 council meeting, representatives from the facility’s main tenant, the Community Arts Council (CAC), asked that any proceeds from the sale of the property be reinvested into the local arts community.

The city has set an asking price of $1.5 million minus demolition costs for the property located at 2820 and 2880 15th Ave.

Expressions of interest are being accepted until Friday, Sept. 4, 2026.

The new owners will be expected to ensure the long-term occupancy of the CAC on the first floor of the new building. The current building has served the arts community for eight decades but is nearing the end of its life cycle.

“The CAC has a long-standing history on the site and is a staple for arts in northern BC,” said director of planning and development Deanna Wasnik.

“The rezoning and disposition of this property allows the city to meet two goals: increase the local housing supply and ensure the CAC can continue delivering arts and culture programming from the space that has been integral to the organization for decades. The City has worked closely with the CAC throughout this process.”

Interested parties can access the request for expressions of interest on tender websites BC Bid and Bids and Tenders.

Nurses say they’re being intmidated

More than 50 nurses rally outside the University Hospital of Northern BC on Friday, July 17. As part of an ongoing labour dispute, the BC Nurses’ Union has banned nurses from performing non-nursing duties, including cleaning, handing out meals, pharmacy deliveries and other tasks. In a media release, the BCNU said nurses across the province have faced widespread intimidation and retaliation for participating in the ban. Since the ban began July 2, the BCNU says it has received 4,500 reports of intimidation. ‘We take the allegations of intimidation seriously,’ Northern Health told The Citizen in an emailed statement. ‘They are best addressed by the Labour Relations Board, where both sides can seek a resolution.’

CITIZEN STAFF

British Columbia is removing the requirement for a second road test for new drivers.

BC changing licensing process Vanderhoof International Airshow

The province is making changes to its Graduated Licensing Program (GLP), replacing the second road test with a driving record assessment while introducing a new 12-month restricted period for Class 5 licence holders. The changes, announced Monday, July 20, will take effect on Oct. 19. Under the new system, drivers who complete the novice stage will no longer need to pass a second road test to obtain a Class 5 licence. Instead, they will undergo a driving record assessment that evaluates whether they have gained sufficient experience and maintained a safe driving record.

Drivers with offences such as excessive speeding or distracted driving convictions could be required to restart their novice period.

The province said all drivers who move to a Class 5 licence through the new assessment process will enter a 12-month restricted period during which they must maintain a zero blood-alcohol and drug level and will face stricter consequences for traffic violations than experienced drivers.

Drivers under 25 who complete an ICBC-approved GLP training course will continue to qualify for a reduced novice period of 18 months.

There are other elements to the overhaul. The province will lower the age of consent to apply for a driver’s licence from 19 to 18, expand access to driving record assessments at Service BC offices, driver licensing agents and ICBC licensing offices, and introduce an immediate family exemption to passen ger restrictions.

Drivers who are currently in the GLP will begin receiving letters from ICBC in early fall explaining how the new rules affect them.

SATURDAY & SUNDAY • JULY 25-26

Look to the future when good news follows bad

KENNEDY GORDON Citizen Managing Editor

Two major news stories, separated by less than a week, shine a light on Prince George’s future more clearly than any economic report ever could.

The first was a heartbreaker, but hardly surprising. Canfor announced it will permanently close Northwood Pulp, eliminating roughly 300 direct jobs while sending shockwaves through every other corner of the local economy.

We know how this goes in PG. The ripple effects will be felt by contractors, truck drivers, restaurants, retailers, machine shops and small businesses. It’s sad to see another pillar of Prince George’s forestry economy disappearing.

The second big story was the polar opposite of the first. Construction officially began on Enbridge’s $4-billion Sunrise Expansion Project, a pipeline plan expected to create more than 1,200 jobs across Northern BC, generate hundreds of millions in tax revenue and help position the region at the centre of Canada’s growing liquefied natural gas (LNG) economy.

That’s two signs of a region in transition.

Prince George was built on forestry. The mills paid mortgages, sponsored sports teams, filled community halls and created a middle class that shaped the city.

You have every reason to mourn the gradual erosion of that industry.

As Enbridge management and workers, elected officials and visiting dignitaries signed their names to the pipe that will be used for the Sunrise Expansion Project during its launch on Monday, July 20, Mayor Simon Yu added a Mr. PG.

Thousands of families have built their lives around it.

But hoping for a return to the forestry economy of the past isn’t realistic.

The reality of U.S. lumber tariffs, declining fibre supply, provincial government regulations and changes to land use policies have severely impacted the industry.

That doesn’t mean Prince George’s best days are behind it. It means its next chapter will be written differently.

Northern BC is becoming the centre of Canada’s next generation of resource development. LNG projects are moving ahead. Mining investment continues to grow. Critical minerals are becoming strategically important. New transmission lines, pipelines and transportation infrastructure (roads and rail) are being

planned at a pace that would have seemed unimaginable only a few years ago.

The Sunrise Expansion Project fits right into that picture.

Beyond the estimated 1,200-plus immediate construction jobs in the North, the Sunrise project increases natural gas capacity, supports LNG exports, strengthens domestic energy security and creates opportunities for Indigenous ownership and partnership.

It also signals something equally important: major investors once again see Northern BC as a place worth putting billions of dollars to work. Let’s make sure we attract and hold onto those investments.

Communities across Northern BC will compete to become service centres for mining, LNG and energy development. The communities that win will be the ones with available housing, skilled workers, efficient permitting, transportation infrastructure, industrial land and governments willing to think beyond the next election cycle.

Prince George already has the advantage. We have a decent airport, major highway and rail connections, post-secondary institutions, a skilled-trades workforce and decades of experience supporting major industrial projects.

We’re already the regional hub for this new economy.

But staying in that top spot will require strong leadership.

Our next council has to recognize that Northern BC is experiencing a major

economic realignment. Campaigning on preserving yesterday’s economy is no longer enough. Voters should ask potential leaders for a clear plan to attract investment, expand housing, attract workers, improve infrastructure and position Prince George as the headquarters for the industries that are growing.

That doesn’t mean abandoning forestry. A healthy forest sector remains vital to the region and deserves every effort to remain competitive. But it does mean accepting that wood products alone can’t carry Prince George’s economy as they once did.

The closure of Northwood is painful. Every lost job represents a family facing uncertainty, and those workers deserve every support and opportunity to transition into the industries now expanding across the North.

Fortunately, those opportunities are starting to appear.

The smell of money may gradually fade from Prince George’s airshed, but the city’s future won’t fade with it. If anything, these past few days have shown that a different economy is already taking shape. Let’s elect leaders who will help it grow.

Correction

Coun. Brian Skakun didn’t speak to The Citizen about infrastructure-related advocacy during a conversation about the Local Government Development Approvals Program. Last week’s editorial had incorrect information. We apologize for the error.

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Premier announces involuntary care centre in Prince George

“…and too often a brain injury associated with that addiction,” Eby said.

A brain injury associated with that addiction — imagine that. Is he stigmatizing drug use?

I wonder how many brain injuries and deaths could be linked back to the brilliant safe supply program. I think David Eby might have a brain injury. Poor, poor Kyle Sampson had to forgo a vacation with his partner so he could attend an announcement where Eby commended his herculean advocacy efforts. Hopefully, he can take a permanent vacation from local politics in the near future.

Hmm, 24 beds, 150 professionals — sounds like a government operation, all right. It reminds me of the youth detention centre. But a facility like this can’t have enough wellness navigators and smudging practitioners.

I would love for this to work, but considering our government can’t seem to have functional health or education systems, I am skeptical. Zangief

Canfor closing Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George Canfor has been in the process over the last 15 years of slowly but surely extricating its business from BC.

First were the sawmills, then PG Pulp, then Northwood “B side” and now Northwood “A side.”

Next to follow will be Intercon Pulp and PG Papermill by 2030.

If Canfor had its way, it would have preferred to close everything in one fell swoop but instead decided to do it piecemeal, which, although very hard on those affected, is not as harsh as closing the entire business all at once.

The effect on PG will be drastic.

The City of Prince George will not exist on public-sector jobs alone.

BGeez

Canfor closing Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George What a devastating blow for the community. That’s more than 300 high-paying jobs gone. I can’t even guess at the peripheral job losses: construction, scaffolding and mechanical contractors, maintenance companies and rentals, truck drivers, hydrovac operators, suppliers, etc. I wonder what will happen with the hydrogen peroxide supplier now that it has lost a large consumer.

I had heard it’s been running great, even exceeding its target, which is more than Intercon can claim. It gives you an idea how far the value of pulp has fallen.

I hope I am wrong, but I don’t see a future for any of the pulp mills moving forward with the state of the market. Having worked in all three mills over the years, I can say Intercon is in the worst condition by far.

Zangief

Proposed smoking ban exception has cancer society concerned

I am not convinced that a performer smoking because the habit was common in the era the story is from really does much to improve the show.

The vast majority of people today are fully aware of the

negative impacts of tobacco use, and research I have seen raises serious concerns about vaping as well.

We know that the “do as I say, not as I do” teaching method was a failure, so how about we have performers be good examples as much as possible? If the acting is lower quality, I don’t see smoking or vaping coming to save the day. It would be a poor example for youth, especially.

RenoGuy24

Nurses rally after reports of intimidation at Northern Health

It makes me so darn sad to read this. Not only are nurses experiencing violence and intimidation from some patients, they also have to put up with managers’ threats and intimidation.

The job they have chosen is to help patients, sometimes at the worst time in their lives, consoling and comforting patients and their families, which is tough on top of the duties they are trained to perform.

I have lived experience with nurses in PG and Vancouver many times because of my wife’s medical issues and now some of my own. I hold them in such high esteem that I call them our Guardian Angels.

To place more duties on them is completely wrong and demoralizing. No wonder there is burnout.

On top of that, we have a government that, it is said, is on the side of the unions. Not anymore. The government has squandered billions that could have given public servants a good wage and attracted more nurses while also working to eliminate workplace violence.

Such a sad place to be.

Fred Vinson

Financial planner launches campaign for city council

Dan McLaren says recent budget talks inspired him to run

COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

After a 35-year break, the founder of a local financial firm is making a bid to be on Prince George city council.

Dan McLaren, president of Commonwealth Financial, was scheduled to officially announce his run to be a councillor on the morning of Tuesday, July 21.

As that event takes place after The Citizen’s deadline for the Thursday, July 23 print edition, McLaren sat down for an embargoed interview on Friday, July 17.

McLaren ran twice for city council, the last time in the 1990s, and was unsuccessful both times.

McLaren said he was inspired to put himself forward after watching budget deliberations over the past couple of years.

In 2025, McLaren said Prince George Fire Rescue asked for an increase to its budget but couldn’t answer a question about how many fires its members attend compared to medical calls.

“Then they went on to approve the resolution,” McLaren said. “If I would have been there, I probably would have said ‘come back with the numbers

and then let’s have a better-quality discussion.’”

City departments, he said, are used to receiving funding increases and should be asked to prepare scenarios for unchanged funding for each department each year or even funding decreases.

He said he’s also worried about the state of the local economy, especially after Canfor’s recent announcement that it will shut down Northwood Pulp Mill by the end of this year.

“We are going to have to do a fullcourt press on marketing to replace those jobs and our little domestic GDP,” McLaren said. “That’s going to mean

some work, I think, in advancing more robust economic development programs. Are we making the right phone calls to the right places?”

When it comes to the city’s economic development strategy, McLaren said it was a mistake for Initiatives Prince George to be shuttered and economic development to be brought entirely in-house.

As an arms-length entity, McLaren said Initiatives Prince George had participation from people in the private sector who were able to help make connections and bring their experience to the table.

The city currently sends representatives from council and its staff to Victoria and Ottawa to meet with higher levels of government, but McLaren said Prince George should be also going to bigger centres like Beijing, Los Angeles, Boston and Toronto with local businesspeople to make economic connections. Regarding downtown safety, McLaren said he’s had three of his own buildings blow up or catch fire.

He said Coun. Trudy Klassen’s push for a downtown navigation centre to help people experiencing addiction or homelessness access services they need was a good one, having seen positive results from similar centres in Alberta.

Recently, Downtown Prince George asked the City of Prince George for $150,000 to expand its downtown security camera pilot project for an 18-month period.

“It’s a great idea,” McLaren said. “We should support it entirely. If you want safety on streets, you have to have eyes on streets.”

Currently, McLaren’s wife Roberta serves as Mayor Simon Yu’s executive assistant.

McLaren said he reached out to city manager Walter Babicz to inquire whether it would pose a problem if he were to be elected and was told it wouldn’t be since she wouldn’t work directly for him.

City’s second-quarter consultant spending nears $800K

The City of Prince George spent almost $800,000 on consultants and received almost $300,000 in grant funding in the second quarter of this year, according to documents presented at the Monday, July 20 city council meeting.

A report on second-quarter consultants spending showed that the city spent a total of $792,619 for the services of 31 different consultants.

The five consultants paid the most:

• Onsite Engineering Ltd., which received $90,306 for six items including $24,839 for work relating to the replacement of a watermain beneath Southridge Avenue,

• Small Housing, which received $89,415 for economic development work,

• McElhanney Inc., which received $76,549 for four projects, including $57,242 for work on a roundabout planned for the intersection of Ospika and Tyner

boulevards,

• FaulknerBrowns Architects, which received $76,549 for architectural and engineering services at the Prince George Aquatic Centre and CN Centre and

• L&M Engineering Limited, which received $63,771 for work on a sanitary lift station topographical survey and design as well as the relocation of a pressure reducing valve at another facility Another report outlined which city grant applications were successful in

the second quarter.

There were three successful grants worth a collective $285,000, including:

• $200,000 from the Ministry of Forests and the Union of BC Municipalities for FireSmart community funding and supports,

• $50,000 from the Northern Development Initiative Trust for economic development capacity building and

• $35,000 from Heritage Canada for Canada Day celebrations at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY COLIN SLARK

Dan McLaren, president of Commonwealth Financial, was due to officially launch his campaign for city council on Tuesday, July 21.

COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

Fewer bear sightngs so far this summer in the city

But precautions still matter, Northern Bear Awareness Society members say

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

This is proving to be a good summer to be a bear ... so far.

Prince George usually sees a lot of bears wander into town during the summer in search of food or to escape wildfires, but this year has seen far fewer visits.

The Northern Bear Awareness Society (NBAS) reports that about 33 bears a year have to be killed in and around Prince George.

In 2023, 81 bears were put down.

As of this July 13, however, the society reports that only one bear has been killed after being classified as a Category 1 public safety concern. Two others were euthanized because of severe injuries sustained in motor vehicle collisions.

Laura Balkwill, education outreach coordinator for NBAS, said in an interview with The Citizen that a lack of wildfires in the area and an abundance of berries, including Saskatoon berries, in the woods are among the reasons bears have had little reason to enter city limits.

When they do, Balkwill said, they’re usually looking for food. This can lead to them becoming “food-conditioned,” or accustomed to humans, which can be a death sentence.

“When a bear becomes food conditioned, they become a public safety concern,” she said. “Generally it means that they are not the least bit concerned about humans or they are coming closer and closer to people’s houses. When a bear is no longer acting naturally, that’s when it becomes unsafe.”

She said Prince George residents are, for the most part, getting the message by keeping garbage and other bear attractants secure.

“We’ve heard that there are a lot

fewer signs of bears, like garbage being dragged into neighbours’ yards,” said Balkwill. “But we have to keep securing attractants because that’s just going to bring them right back, and we don’t want another year like 2023.”

Part of the approach is to make sure apple trees aren’t too tempting. The society has been working with community partners, including the Gleaning Abundance Program run by Everyone at the Table and Northern Lights Winery, to collect apples and put them to good use, including feeding those in need and making wine.

While apples are the second-biggest attractant in town, garbage remains the biggest. Under Bylaw 7661, garbage must remain secured until at least 4 a.m. on collection day.

To help address the issue, NBAS has developed an awareness program for neighbourhoods where bear encounters are more likely.

“There is garbage tagging,” Balkwill said. “My coworker and I go out the night before, around 8 or 9 p.m., and we tag any garbage that is left on the curb. We’re not fining people. We’re just saying, hey, ‘you could be fined and you’re attracting bears.’”

Garbage tagging takes place in neighbourhoods that have experienced higher-than-average urban bear sightings or have historically had high numbers of

bear encounters.

The program has produced positive results, Balkwill said.

“We’ve been revisiting the houses that we’ve had to tag,” she said. “Last week we went back there and every single one of them no longer had their garbage out the night before.”

NBAS has also been going door-todoor in neighbourhoods with bear sightings, reminding Prince George residents to be bear safe.

“Generally, it’s well received,” said Balkwill. “But we find that a lot of people that actually answer their doors are the ones that have been living in the neighbourhood for 30 years and they say, ‘Obviously I’m not gonna put my garbage out.’ But it’s nice to just be able to talk to people face-to-face and then they can ask us questions that they wouldn’t normally reach out or email us or call us to ask. They’ll say, ‘oh, by the way, is a hummingbird feeder an attractant?’ And we’ll say, yeah, it actually is. Otherwise they may not know, especially if they’re not on social media.”

Balkwill said some of the biggest bear attractants are not always the most obvious.

Less well-known attractants include hummingbird feeders, bird feeders and compost bins left outside.

NBAS also recommends that Prince George homeowners store garbage in a

garage or shed, or secure garbage cans with a ratchet strap until collection day.

Homeowners should also remove or replace fruit-bearing trees if they are unable to pick or donate ripe fruit.

Balkwill added that she and other NBAS staff can visit neighbourhoods experiencing frequent bear activity to help residents secure attractants and prevent bear-human encounters.

“If you know of somewhere that is getting a lot of bears,” said Balkwill, “you can give us a call and say ‘Hey, I’m noticing this area is having trouble securing their attractants,’ we’ll go out there … and help you guys out with securing these attractants.”

The society’s number is 778-281-BEAR (2327).

In addition to its door-to-door canvassing, NBAS has visited local schools to promote bear safety.

The organization has also set up booths at community events, including the Northern BC Multicultural Children’s Festival, Walk PG, the Pride Picnic and farmers’ markets.

Canvassing, school presentations and the garbage-tagging program were carried out this summer by two newly hired NBAS summer students, including Balkwill, with funding from Canada Summer Jobs.

Learn more at www.northernbearawareness.com

JOYCE MURRAY PHOTO

Berries, fruit trees and garbage bins are the prime attractants for bears wandering into Prince George neighbourhoods this summer, weeks earlier than they normally do.

Driver pleads guilty to obstructng police ofcer

He yelled ‘you want to ght’ after RCMP pulled him over

BOB MACKIN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A 54-year-old man’s Motor Vehicle Act violation on May 8, 2025, led to criminal charges.

James Michael Henry pleaded guilty in Prince George Provincial Court on July 13 to resisting or obstructing a

‘Logjam’ on Highway 97

A crew prepares to move a tipped-over logging truck with a heavy-duty tow truck on Friday, July 17 at the intersection of highways 97 and 16. There were no injuries, and no logs spilled onto the road when the truck tipped over. Southbound traffic was blocked after the incident at Prince George’s busiest intersection shortly after 11 a.m.

Prince George RCMP officer. Judge Martin Nadon ordered a pre-sentencing report and an Indigenous background report and set Oct. 14 as the next court appearance.

According to an agreed statement of facts, two officers from the RCMP’s downtown safety unit noticed Henry’s vehicle at about 10 a.m. after he turned left onto Dominion Street without activating his turn signal. Henry also turned right onto Seventh Avenue without indicating.

Officers followed him for several blocks before activating their

emergency lights.

Henry repeatedly accelerated and decelerated before finally stopping the vehicle at the intersection of Brunswick Street and 10th Avenue.

An officer asked for his licence and registration documents, but Henry refused until he was told the reason for the traffic stop.

“I’m not stepping out of anywhere,” he responded.

The officer again asked Henry to exit the vehicle and took hold of his left arm.

Henry pulled away and began honking

the horn. He failed to comply with commands and yelled “You want to fight?” at the officers.

Henry eventually exited the vehicle, but an officer ordered him to get on the ground. Henry backed away from the officers, one of whom then handcuffed him.

“Mr. Henry agrees that his conduct amounted to obstruction of a peace officer,” the statement said.

Henry pleaded guilty to the obstruction charge. He was also charged with assaulting a peace officer and uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm.

Helmetless motorbike rider admits violatng driving ban

BOB MACKIN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A man caught driving a motorcycle without a helmet last September while banned from driving has been sentenced in Prince George Provincial Court to 60 days’ time served.

Judge Cassandra Malfair also fined Robert Donald Davis $500, payable within two years, and banned him from driving for one year on July 14.

Davis, who remains in custody, was also scheduled to appear in court on charges of possessing a firearm without a licence or registration and possessing

a firearm contrary to a court order.

Crown prosecutor Rodney Withall said the charges stem from a search warrant related to a drive-by shooting investigation.

“Yesterday, the police received DNA evidence from swabs on those handguns,” Withall told the court.

“That DNA evidence is to a male. It could very well be Mr. Davis, it could very well be somebody else. So that is the reason why (the file) is not included today.”

Davis’s court file shows the charges stem from a Feb. 12 incident in Prince George. His next court appearance is

scheduled for Aug. 19.

The court heard that an RCMP officer pulled Davis over on Sept. 9, 2025, near Diefenbaker Avenue and Pine Street while he was driving a Yamaha motorcycle without headgear.

The officer confirmed Davis’s licence had been cancelled and found he possessed a small pocket knife and 9.2 grams of suspected crystal meth. Davis was released on a promise to appear in court.

Then, on Jan. 8 and 9 of this year, police found Davis in the driver’s seat of a truck at a McDonald’s on the Hart Highway and the Wesco gas station on

Spruce Street, respectively.

In October 2024, Davis, who was born in 1988, was convicted of assault and theft and sentenced to time served and 12 months’ probation.

Davis had been prohibited from driving since July 4, 2023, but has a history of violations.

Withall said Davis was caught driving contrary to a licence restriction in 2012 and drove without a licence in 2018 and 2023. In 2022, Davis also drove without insurance.

“There is a pattern here of not being properly licenced and not being properly insured,” Withall said.

Conditonal discharge for driver in road rage case

BOB MACKIN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A Prince George man will have no criminal record stemming from a road rage incident if he successfully completes a 12-month probation order.

In Provincial Court on July 13, Joshua James Dalton, 37, pleaded guilty to mischief under $5,000 for getting out of his vehicle at an intersection on Jan. 18 and smashing the windshield and rear passenger windows of a former neighbour’s vehicle.

Witnesses recorded video of Dalton committing the offence.

The Crown and defence proposed a conditional discharge, a year-long probation order, a no-contact order with the victim and six hours of community service.

However, during the hearing, they disagreed about the weapon used. A Crown lawyer said it was a crowbar, while the defence lawyer called it a wrench.

Judge David Simpkin approved the proposal, citing Dalton’s lack of a criminal record and his early guilty plea.

“This is the first time he’s found himself before the courts,” Simpkin said. “He appears to have acted in a totally uncharacteristic way.”

The court heard that on the day of the incident, Dalton was shovelling snow when the other man drove by his house and the two exchanged profanities. The man turned around, drove by quickly and swerved toward Dalton, causing him to jump over a snowbank in his yard.

Later, the man swerved toward him in a Walmart parking lot and cut Dalton off in traffic as Dalton was driving to Real Canadian Superstore.

Dalton’s lawyer, Connor Carleton, told Simpkin his client, who moved from Newfoundland in 2023, recognized that his response was inappropriate.

“He should have taken other actions in the circumstance, such as calling police,” Carleton said.

Expert says accused is now mentally ft to stand trial

dangerous purpose, and escaping lawful custody or being unlawfully at large.

UNTIL AUGUST 31ST

A man accused of assaulting a peace officer and possessing a weapon has been found fit to stand trial, but a court hearing is required to confirm the decision.

On July 13 in Prince George Provincial Court, Peter Joseph Leonard said he wanted to plead guilty, but Judge David Simpkin told him “it’s a little more complicated process than that.”

Leonard, who was born in 1982, was charged following a Feb. 14 incident in Hixon with assaulting a peace officer, wilfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer, possessing a weapon for a

Crown prosecutor Rodney Withall told Simpkin that Judge Stella Frame found Leonard unfit to stand trial on April 22 and referred him to the BC Review Board.

However, on June 18, the board and a psychiatrist determined Leonard was fit.

He is currently being held at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital.

“We need to set something fairly urgently for a trial of his fitness, and then only then can Mr. Leonard proceed to trial or disposition,” Withall said.

Simpkin adjourned the matter to July 15 for scheduling.

BOB MACKIN Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Prince George murder conspiracy trial delayed again

BOB MACKIN Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The BC Supreme Court trial for a man charged with conspiracy to commit murder in connection with a 2021 incident in a neighbourhood off the Hart Highway has been delayed until 2027.

Shahram Tokhy was scheduled to stand trial before Justice Matthew Kirchner at the end of August. However, during a July 14 hearing in Vancouver, his lawyer withdrew from the case.

“There’s been a breakdown of the lawyer-client relationship,” lawyer David Jenkins told Kirchner.

“I’m submitting that it is of such a nature that there’s been a serious loss of confidence between lawyer and client. In my estimation, I don’t believe the relationship is irreparable at this time.”

Jenkins also told Kirchner he had been seeking an adjournment of the

scheduled trial dates for his client. He did not elaborate on the breakdown, saying only that “it’s of a serious nature.”

Tokhy, who is representing himself for the time being, then read a prepared letter to the judge “to explain what has been happening in my life, so the court understands that I have not been ignoring my responsibilities or wasting time on purpose.”

“I desperately need a one-level, wheelchair-accessible home,” Tokhy said. He told the court he has been struggling with serious physical and mental health challenges stemming from a spinal cord injury that has confined him to a wheelchair “for a long time.” Because his bathroom is on a different floor, he said he must transfer from his wheelchair, scoot up the stairs on his buttocks and transfer again, causing skin and shoulder damage.

Tokhy also said his parents are elderly, so he relies on his younger sister as his caregiver. On July 9, he said, he suffered a high fever and dizziness and was taken to a hospital emergency room.

Tokhy’s trial was originally scheduled to begin in April 2025.

Jenkins became Tokhy’s lawyer after Jason LeBlond was appointed a Provincial Court judge on June 13.

“Everything changed,” Tokhy said.

Crown prosecutor Simone McCallum noted that Tokhy has now parted ways with three defence lawyers.

“We’re not very optimistic that, even if new counsel is secured, that they will be ready to deal with this matter in anything like a reasonable amount of time, given the age of this case,” McCallum said.

Tokhy’s trial is now scheduled for Jan. 11 to Feb. 26, 2027. His next court

appearance, a pre-trial conference, is set for July 22.

The Coquitlam man was charged in April 2023 in connection with an incident on Cook Crescent on May 25, 2021. The alleged target, Anthony Graham, disappeared.

Graham and Wade Cudmore were accused of murdering brothers Carlos and Erick Fryer in May 2021. In 2024, Cudmore was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 18 years after being convicted of two counts of second-degree murder.

Cudmore’s mother, Kathleen Richardson, was murdered in Naramata in June 2021.

James Falk pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 16 years. Ekene Anigbo is awaiting a verdict after his first-degree murder trial ended in June.

Man found guilty of assault, not guilty of sexual assault

BOB MACKIN Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

An on-again, off-again relationship resulted in a man being convicted of assault, assault by choking and uttering threats on July 17 in BC Supreme Court in Prince George.

However, Justice Carla Forth acquitted the man of sexual assault and additional charges of assault and uttering threats. Names of the man and his girlfriend are protected by a publication ban. The accused pleaded not guilty. He denied sexual assault, but agreed he uttered a threat while in a vehicle and probably threatened the woman in a basement suite.

Forth said the main issue after hearing the case was the credibility and reliability of the accused and the complainant.

“He denies the other allegations of choking, slapping and spitting,” Forth said. “He suggests that the complainant is not a reliable witness and therefore the court should disbelieve her evidence.”

A flashpoint came late in the couple’s five-year relationship, when the Prince George woman learned she was pregnant with the man’s child, which caused family conflict.

The witnesses agreed that, on the evening of Aug. 16, 2024, he grasped the woman’s lips to forcefully close them, she recoiled and he smacked or slapped her face.

The accused went on his phone and Googled how much time one would be sentenced for domestic abuse.

There were significant differences

about their evidence about Aug. 17, 2024, but they agreed the accused watched pornography on his phone and later they went back to sleep, woke up around 2 p.m., argued with his girlfriend again and then went for coffee.

The man did slap and choke her on two occasions on the night of Aug. 16, 2024, but Forth was not persuaded that an assault took place the next day. The woman, she said, gave “inconsistent and illogical evidence” about when she noticed a bruise caused by punching him during a fight about a broken door.

As for the sexual assault, “the context

of the whole story, the sequence of events lacks logic,” the judge stated. The woman testified it happened after the choking and threatening to rape her sister that he suddenly touched her vagina without consent.

After considering the complainant’s evidence in totality, Forth said she was telling the truth about the events of Aug. 16, 2024 and accepted her evidence — except when it came to the sexual assault. Forth was also concerned about the reliability of the evidence around the next morning.

“In conclusion, at the end of the evidence, I’m left with the word of two individuals.”

Forth ruled the man was guilty of Aug. 16, 2024 offences of assault, assault by choking and threatening to kill. But he was not guilty of sexual assault on Aug. 16, 2024 or assault and uttering threats on Aug. 17.

Forth ordered a pre-sentencing report along with a psychiatric risk assessment and set Oct. 14 for a case management conference.

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

Criminal proceedings in Prince George are held in the courthouse in the city’s downtown.

Northwood Pulp workers facing an uncertain future

Local forestry takes another hit as Canfor announces closure

TED CLARKE Citizen Staff

Chuck LeBlanc was not surprised when Canfor announced on Tuesday, July 14 afternoon that it’s closing Northwood Pulp Mill.

LeBlanc has been through it all before, not long ago.

He was the president of Local 9 of the Public and Private Workers of Canada in January 2023 when Canfor decided to shut down one of the two pulp lines at Prince George Pulp and Paper Mill, a move that resulted in the loss of nearly 300 jobs.

LeBlanc also watched the trickle-down effects of the May 2024 curtailment that shut down one of Northwood’s production lines in Prince George which came with a loss of 240 jobs.

With BC’s forestry industry continuing to wither under the strain of low demand for pulp on global markets, compounded by the lack of economic fibre for sawmills that provide the chips which feed the pulp industry’s engine, it was only a matter of time before another mill closure was announced.

That day came on July 14.

“We’ve been hearing that Canfor Pulp has been working hard to keep the mills running and we knew there was pressure on mills in our province and the modelling shows there was a couple more yet to go,” said LeBlanc, now the PPWC national rep. “But any time it’s in your community and people you know, it’s always that surprise. It’s tough for those people.”

The latest Northwood closure, which will take effect late this year, will mean between 244 unionized workers involved in production and operations will lose their positions, with dozens more managers, supervisors and engineers getting chopped, which LeBlanc says will likely push the mill job losses past 300, and it doesn’t stop there.

Tradespeople, truck drivers,

mechanics, suppliers, restaurants, retail outlets, machine shops, and other service industries depend on the mill and the loss of annual taxes to the city’s tax base will mean everybody in the city will ultimately be affected by the closure.

“Usually it’s two or three jobs (lost) for every pulp mill job, it’s a lot more than just 300,” said LeBlanc.

“You always hope that some of them will be able to move down to (Intercontinental Pulp), but I’m not sure if we have any vacancies down there, it’s still pretty early. Our members who work at our pulp mills are highly-skilled people, whether they’re operations or trades. In the trades, if you’ve got a ticket you’re going to work. It may not be in Prince George.”

The demand for tradespeople in the province could be absorbed by job openings in the expanding mining sector or to work on upcoming oil and

applications on Feb. 26, 2025, the provincial program paid forestry workers 55 and older up to $75,000 in retirement funding.

“There’s money out there but they haven’t announced the program yet,” said LeBlanc. “Now’s the time, we’ve got to get these programs out there to absorb some of these people. They’ve earmarked money, they just haven’t announced Bridging to Retirement.

“It’s an incentive (to retire early) and that opens up a spot and hopefully saves another job.”

Fingers are pointed at the BC government for not doing enough to extend a lifeline to the forest industry but there’s a lot more to it than that, LeBlanc explained.

“They’ve become really good at looking after you after your mill has closed, they’ve got a system set up there, but the reality is we’re still working off of old forest policy that hasn’t caught up to the 2020s and it shows,” said LeBlanc. “The NDP government keeps talking about Trump tariffs but only a small part of our pulp and paper goes down into the States, a lot of it goes over to Europe and China and that’s where the real problems are.”

gas pipelines, but that will take those workers out of the city, either temporarily or permanently, and they won’t have leisure time to spend building the community.

“The sports teams, the sports leagues, the coaches, that’s what these people do,” said LeBlanc.

“There isn’t a part of our community that doesn’t get touched one way or another.”

To qualify for severance, Northwood employees will have to remain on the job until chip deliveries stop in November and the piles are worked through the system. That could make for some difficult choices for workers wanting to get started lining up another job before winter hits.

LeBlanc plans to speak with BC Labour Minister Jennifer Whiteside to discuss making the Bridging to Retirement Program available again to laid-off mill workers. Until it closed to new

LeBlanc said advances on technology adopted in countries such as China and their Indo-Pacific neighbours now allow mills in those countries to make high-quality products out of low-quality pulp and that’s resulted in a glut that has caused pulp price to fall on world markets.

“We’ve got long, very strong fibres in our pulp, while China can take that cheap pulp from Brazil or their own plantations and through processes they’ve developed now that pulp is almost as strong as ours,” said LeBlanc. “They need so little of our pulp now. That sustained downward pressure on prices and our costs, from shipping to the chemicals that goes into the pulp mill, are way ahead of that. They’re producing at a dollar but are only getting 80 cents for that tonne of pulp.

“Forest policy is not helping us, but the economics of the world are also against us.”

CITIZEN PHOTO BY TED CLARKE

Canfor announced on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 its plan to permanently close Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George.

Mill closure called a harsh reminder of need for change

COFI president calls out ‘inaction’ by the province as forestry industry shrinks

TED CLARKE Citizen Staff

It used to be that Prince George residents would complain about that odorous pulp mill pong.

Strangers wondering what that funky smell was were told by locals, “It’s the smell of money being made — PG perfume.”

As harsh as that sulphurous air is on the nostrils on those foggy days when it drifts into town, we’re in real danger of forever losing that nostalgic peculiarity — a stinky symbol of the city’s 60-year history as a pulp mill town.

The announcement from Canadian Forest Products (Canfor) on Tuesday, July 14, that it will close Northwood Pulp Mill by the end of this year is yet another gut punch to the city’s forestry-dependent economy.

Close to 300 people earning good salaries at the largest pulp mill in North America will be scrambling to find work. Some will find jobs at remote mine or pipeline sites and commute back to their homes in the city, but others will be forced to relocate with their families to another city or province.

The city’s annual tax base is also likely to take a significant hit with the permanent closure of a business assessed at $110 million.

Where Prince George was once home to four pulp mills, there will soon be only one pulp production line.

A city whose backbone was built on mills that once thrived throughout the surrounding forests will be left with a skeleton crew of just three sawmills (PG Sawmill, Lakeland Mills and Carrier Lumber’s Tabor Sawmill), one pulp line (Intercontinental Pulp), one paper-making line (PG Pulp and Paper Mill) and one secondary finger-joint lumber manufacturer (Brink Forest Products), which has already curtailed operations while waiting for a major turnaround in

the industry.

The Northwood announcement is the latest in a long line of pulp mill closures that have decimated communities across BC this century. It comes less than a year after Domtar permanently closed its Crofton mill on Vancouver Island in December.

The list of northern BC pulp mills that have closed since 2000 includes: Skeena Cellulose (Prince Rupert, 2001); Mackenzie TMP Abitibi (Mackenzie, 2008); Eurocan Pulp and Paper (Kitimat, 2010); Mackenzie Pulp Mill (Mackenzie, 2021); Taylor BCTMP Pulp Mill (Taylor, 2023); one production line at PG Pulp and Paper (Prince George, 2023); one production line at Northwood Pulp Mill (Prince George, 2024); and the second production line at Northwood Pulp Mill (Prince George, 2026).

Where there were 25 pulp mills in 1999, by the time the chip trucks stop rolling along Northwood Pulpmill Road late this fall, there will be just nine operating pulp mills left in the province.

Kim Haakstad, president and CEO of the BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI), said there is no replacing those mills — the economic lifeblood of many communities. She said BC has not done enough to make the industry profitable for forestry companies, many of which have operated in the province for decades.

“For too many people across this province, the consequences of inaction for the struggling forestry sector are happening in real time,” said Haakstad.

“It underscores the urgency of working together on short-term action to stabi lize the sector, ensuring mills stay open, people stay employed and forestry con tinues to anchor rural, urban and First Nations communities across BC.

“Forestry is a very integrated ecosys tem. Every time we lose one facility, it has additional impacts throughout the broader supply chain, and that’s also concerning.”

Transformation Task Force to develop a 25-year strategy for Canada.

The study, released in April, concluded that while softwood lumber duties, global market shifts (particularly in the pulp industry), wildfires and insect infestations have created challenges for forest product producers, the most significant barriers to competitiveness are homegrown.

The inability to access a stable supply of economical fibre (wood and sawmill residuals), along with regulatory burdens that outweigh the risks of harvesting, were identified as major challenges facing BC producers.

Virtually every mill closure cites a lack of economical fibre as the primary factor. According to COFI, the forestry sector employs 100,000 British Columbians and generated $17.4 billion in provincial gross domestic product and $9.1 billion in wages, salaries and benefits in 2025.

Haakstad said that rather than assigning blame, provincial and federal

governments must work with industry to streamline processes and make the regulatory changes needed to improve the business environment and help prevent further mill closures.

“It’s less about blame and more about what we can control in British Columbia and Canada, and that’s the business operating environment and investment conditions,” said Haakstad. “We really have to look at the fact that mobile capital is investing in other jurisdictions and not here. We’ve had 21 lumber mills close since 2023, and this (Northwood) is the second pulp mill in eight months.

“We really have to look at how we are making BC a place where people want to invest. Right now, companies are finding it very hard to be profitable. A few months ago, the senior leader of a forest company said to me, ‘I wake up every day trying to lose less money than I did yesterday.’ That’s unfortunately the situation we’re in right now, and it doesn’t have to be that way.”

To address concerns about BC’s forest industry becoming globally uncompetitive and unable to attract foreign investment, the federal government commissioned the Forest Sector

New legislation will make it easier for BC contractors to collect money they’re owed.

Builders welcome BC’s prompt payment legislaton

New law makes sure contractors are paid for their work

TED CLARKE Citizen Staff

The BC Construction Association (BCCA) is urging the provincial government to follow through on its plan to implement prompt payment legislation during the current fiscal year.

The Construction Prompt Payment Act is intended to ensure contractors are paid for the work they perform by establishing payment deadlines and prescribed interest rates for overdue payments.

“Ambiguous or poorly defined regulations invite inconsistent interpretation,” BCCA president Chris Atchison said in a submission sent to the provincial government on July 7. “For an industry already under financial strain, that kind of uncertainty could have serious unintended consequences.

“We need the provincial government to prioritize getting this work done, getting the regulatory details right in close consultation with industry, and bringing the Act into force in full, for everyone, at the same time.”

Atchison said implementing the legislation will require little additional government spending while strengthening the construction sector, supporting BC communities and benefiting the provincial economy.

“The submission is unequivocal that

the Act must apply to the entirety of the construction industry and come into force at one time,” Atchison said.

“Education and industry resources, not exemptions or delayed implementation, are the appropriate response to support industry through this transition.”

The submission follows months of consultation with stakeholders and industry associations and represents about 5,000 companies involved in single-family and multi-family residential, commercial, industrial and civil construction across the province.

The proposed legislation would affect an industry that employs about 260,000 British Columbians and contributes $29 billion annually to the provincial economy.

James Morrison, vice-president of IDL Projects in Prince George, said the legislation draws on lessons learned in other provinces while being tailored to the needs of BC’s construction industry.

“IDL’s role has been to participate constructively alongside government and industry stakeholders to help develop legislation that reflects the realities of British Columbia’s construction industry,” Morrison said. “We believe prompt payment legislation can strengthen certainty, accountability and collaboration across the construction supply chain, benefiting owners, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and, ultimately, the successful delivery of projects.

“It is essential that the legislation establishes a practical, efficient and balanced framework that addresses the

interests of all parties. Getting the legislation right from the outset is critical to ensuring a smooth implementation and successful adoption when it comes into force.”

Morrison said payment delays rarely affect project completion timelines but can place unnecessary financial strain on contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and owners.

He said the legislation should improve certainty, accountability and consistency across the industry as participants become familiar with the new rules.

“As with any significant legislative change, there may be an initial period where participants seek legal guidance to understand the new requirements,” Morrison said. “Over time, however, our hope is that clear expectations, defined timelines and structured dispute resolution will reduce disputes, not increase them.

“Our focus is on ensuring the legislation creates a practical, balanced framework that minimizes disputes and administrative burden while improving collaboration and construction execution across the industry.”

The proposed legislation would also establish interest charges for overdue payments to discourage lengthy payment delays.

The proposed rate is two percentage points above the prime rate for the first 60 days and four percentage points above prime after that.

Joe Myatovic, owner of Myatovic Construction, said the legislation will

provide contractors and suppliers with a clearer process for resolving payment disputes.

“It’s good for the industry because there was really no control of that. It was kind of wishy-washy,” Myatovic said.

“Bonded jobs were not a problem because that’s guaranteed the money’s there. But smaller jobs, like housing, are probably the worst. A guy will get you to build a house and he’s, ‘I’m not going to pay you interest. You’re taking too long. I’m not going to pay you the extras.’ It’s a tough racket to be in. It’ll tighten up the interest because there are all kinds of contractors taking advantage of things like that.

“The key is to make sure the financing is in place before you start the job.”

Myatovic said the interest provisions will not affect his business because he pays subcontractors within 30 days. However, he said he would prefer to see a 60-day grace period before the two-per-cent-above-prime interest rate takes effect.

He also cautioned that the legislation will not eliminate payment disputes and could increase costs for project owners.

“You’re still going to have issues,” Myatovic said.

“People that owe them money are going to say, ‘It’s a law, so I better pay this guy.’ Before it was a weak point. But if you don’t get paid, you’re still going to have to go legally, and it’ll cost you more. As soon as there’s more paperwork, the costs are more. It’s probably going to create more legal issues.”

Coastal GasLink staton targets fall completon

A new compressor station that will help boost the capacity of a pipeline carrying natural gas to Kitimat for distribution to other countries is expected to be finished construction by October, the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George board of directors heard at its Thursday, July 17 meeting.

Present at the meeting was Tamara Trevelyan, community relations project advisor with TC Energy, who provided an update on operations for the Coastal GasLink pipeline and efforts to increase its capacity.

Coastal GasLink, which started operations in November 2024, carries LNG from Dawson Creek to the Kitimat area, where it is liquified and loaded onto cargo vessels at the LNG Canada plant.

There are 20 personnel on TC Energy’s operations team for the pipeline, located at various points like Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Prince George and Kitimat.

Going forward, she said the company wants to expand the pipeline’s capacity so that it delivers natural gas to the future Cedar LNG facility, also located near Kitimat and co-owned by the Haisla Nation.

To make that happen, a few new components are needed.

As natural gas travels through a pipeline, friction slows down the gas over time, which drops the pressure within the line. To keep the gas moving, compressor stations can be placed along the pipeline to restore pressure.

One of these compressor stations is being built near Mount Bracey, located 198 kilometres northeast of Prince George and 66 km east of McLeod Lake.

Construction started in June 2025, Trevelyan said, and is expected to finish in October and then be commissioned into service next spring.

Once complete, she said, the compressor station would boost the flow of gas in the pipeline by 400 million cubic feet per day.

The Cedar Link project is also planned to include a connector pipeline between LNG Canada and the Cedar LNG facility and a meter station.

However, Trevelyan explained that at the request of LNG Canada, TC Energy is looking at a Phase 2 expansion project for Coastal GasLink.

This expansion would not see any more pipes installed but rather the construction of up to five more compressor stations, including one inside of Fraser-Fort George.

That station is targeted for construction at Raccoon Lake, 80 km northeast of Prince George. A permit approving construction of this station has been received from the BC Energy Regulator.

Asking questions after the presenta tion, Director Art Kaehn (Woodpeck er-Hixon) wondered what the rules are for farmers letting livestock graze around pipeline sites.

Trevelyan said she didn’t know off-hand.

Director Simon Yu (City of Prince George) asked whether TC Energy antic ipates any challenges finding the labour needed for the second phase of the project, especially with Enbridge working on expanding its Westcoast Pipeline System going to the Lower Mainland.

Skilled labour is something that the company is concerned about for all its projects, Trevelyan said, reiterating that phase two is still proposed and not a certainty. However, she said the company would do its best to hire locally if it comes to pass.

Alternate Director Jesse Wright (District of Mackenzie) and Director Jerrilyn Kirk (Crooked River-Parsnip) both thanked TC Energy for making donations to fire departments in their areas.

Director Kyle Sampson (City of Prince George) asked if Trevelyan and her team could make an informal presentation to Prince George city council so that he and his colleagues could better understand it and work on related advocacy. She said she would follow-up on arranging something.

COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

Regional district directors vote against pay changes

Rural directors would see a raise, urban directors a decrease

COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

Pay increases for directors on the board of the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George are no longer going forward after a bylaw amendment was defeated at a Thursday, July 16 meeting.

The vote on July 16 reversed a decision made back on Feb. 26 to increase

rural directors’ base pay as well as the premiums paid to both the chair and vice-chair, while also dropping pay for municipal directors.

The changes would have seen rural directors’ base pay increase from $26,100 to $30,100, the vice-chair’s premium from $4,000 to $5,100 and the chair’s premium from $23,400 to $27,900 while directors from municipalities within the region would have their pay cut from $16,900 to $15,400.

The new rates would have gone into effect the day after BC’s local elections are scheduled on Saturday, Oct. 17.

When the matter came up for

discussion on Thursday, Director Brian Skakun (City of Prince George) said he wouldn’t support the changes, especially given job losses being faced at the soon-to-close Northwood Pulp Mill, and asked his rural counterparts to convince him that the municipal directors’ work was worth less.

Director Art Kaehn (Woodpecker-Hixon) said he didn’t think it was the right time for a pay increase and said he wouldn’t support the changes.

Director Victor Mobley (Salmon River-Lakes) said he agreed with Kaehn and Skakun and would oppose the changes.

Director Cori Ramsay (City of Prince George) said she felt current remuneration levels were appropriate as-is.

Director Owen Torgerson (Village of Valemount) reminded his colleagues that they were voting to change pay for the next board, not the current one. By a narrow margin, the bylaw amendments were defeated.

The net impact would have been an extra $23,100 in director remuneration per year.

Directors will still receive annual pay adjustments based on inflation as measured by the consumer price index each year on Jan. 1.

Jail tme for man banished by Skidegate band council

BOB MACKIN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A man convicted in May 2025 of possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and marijuana for the purpose of selling was sentenced on July 9 to two-and-a-half years in jail.

In Prince George, BC Supreme Court Justice Christopher Greenwood gave Shaun Jackson Smith credit for 170 days spent in pre-sentence custody. Greenwood found Smith was not entitled to enhanced credit because he had caused delays in the proceedings, including by failing to appear for sentencing hearings.

Crown and defence lawyers agreed Smith should receive a custodial sentence rather than a conditional sentence to be served in the community, but they disagreed on its length. The Crown sought 30 months for the cocaine offence and a concurrent six-month sentence for the marijuana offence, less credit for pre-sentence custody. The defence sought a sentence of 15 to 24 months and enhanced credit for time spent in custody.

On Nov. 25, 2022, RCMP officers responded to a report of a domestic assault in progress at Smith’s home. Smith was handcuffed after a brief struggle. During a safety search, an

officer found nine individually wrapped half-gram bags of crack cocaine in the pocket of Smith’s sweatpants.

An officer entered the home to check on the well-being of Smith’s girlfriend before obtaining a search warrant for the residence. Officers found 30.5 grams of crack cocaine concealed in a modified Heinz tomato can. They also seized a box containing packaging material and a drug-processing kit with two scales bearing residue, two pairs of nitrile gloves and a white plastic container.

Police also discovered Smith was operating an illegal marijuana dispensary.

“There was a large number of cannabis products and paraphernalia for sale in the home, some with price tags,” Greenwood said. “There was also a point-of-sale terminal in the laundry room.”

Smith’s criminal record included convictions for assault causing bodily harm, breach of probation, possession

of a firearm and possession for the purpose of trafficking. Greenwood said the previous trafficking conviction carried particular weight because Smith committed new drug offences less than two months after completing a 10-month jail sentence.

Smith, who was born in Skidegate, is estranged from his family and Indigenous culture. The Skidegate Band Council took the unusual step of banishing him from its lands.

During the sentencing hearing on July 8, Deputy Chief Councillor Trent Moraes submitted a community impact statement urging Greenwood to impose a jail sentence. Moraes said Smith’s actions caused women to fear for their safety and left community members reluctant to report concerns because they feared retaliation.

A pre-sentence report said Smith had experimented with drugs and alcohol but “does not draw a straight line between the impacts of the residential

school system and other facets of the disadvantages imposed on Indigenous people.”

Greenwood found that, although Indigenous sentencing factors reduced Smith’s moral blameworthiness to some extent, they did not outweigh the aggravating circumstances.

“He was not feeding a drug habit, was trafficking for profit and did so despite having been recently released from custody for similar offences,” Greenwood said.

“In my view, the sheer number of aggravating factors, Mr. Smith’s prior record, the nature of the drug, the fact that he was trafficking in a small community, as well as the financial motivation behind the offences, outweigh those mitigating factors that are present,” Greenwood concluded.

Greenwood also prohibited Smith from possessing firearms and explosives and ordered him to provide a DNA sample.

The Crown supported a defence request that Greenwood recommend Smith serve his sentence at Kwìkwèxwelhp Healing Village, a minimum-security institution for Indigenous men near Harrison Mills.

“It seems logical to conclude that he would benefit,” Greenwood said. “And so might society.”

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

A drug dealer who was banished from his Haida Gwaii community was sentenced in Prince George court on July 9.

Hospital district approves $3.5M in funding requests

COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

The Fraser-Fort George Regional Hospital District board approved almost $3.5 million in funding requests from Northern Health for the 2026 fiscal year at its Thursday, July 16 meeting.

Requests included almost $2.2 million in contributions towards equipment purchases and renovations, more than $1.1 million in minor capital grants and $100,000 for building integrity work.

Each regional district in BC has a corresponding regional hospital district, which is responsible for collecting taxes to contribute to the cost of capital projects for medical facilities within its boundaries.

In 2026, Fraser-Fort George set a contribution limit of $7.5 million for capital projects.

At Thursday’s meeting, Regional

District of Fraser-Fort George general manager of financial services told directors that this round of Northern Health was targeted to use the rest of that $7.5 million.

To fit within those constraints, she said the bulk of costs for laundry equipment replacements at the University Hospital of Northern BC in Prince George were being deferred to the 2027 budget.

The list of approved funding requests included:

• $114,800 for two new electroencephalographs (EEG) for the University Hospital of Northern BC. Northern Health said the current system will be sent to another facility to improve system capacity as UHNBC is currently the only one performing EEGs in the north

• $316,000 for a new X-ray machine to replace a dated model at the Victoria Medical Building in

New foor set for Bear

COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

The Bear Lake Community Hall is set to get a new floor after the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George board of directors awarded a $55,000 contract at its Thursday, July 16 meeting.

A report written by district staff for the meeting said that the hall was built in 1967 and while there have been several upgrades in the intervening years, several elements need replacement or further improvements.

To help pay for the flooring replacement, the regional district applied for and received a $30,000 grant from the Northern Development Initiative Trust’s Prince George regional development account.

A letter to the district from NDIT dated June 25 said the approval is valid for 12 months. Any changes to the budget or scope of the project will require written permission from NDIT to keep the funding.

Prince George

• $148,000 for two new ultrasound machines for UHNBC’s diagnostic imaging department

• $339,200 to replace a dishwasher at UHNBC. Northern Health said the current machine is 14 years old and works 15 hours a day, every day

• $171,200 for an immunohistochemistry stainer for UHNBC, which is a machine that processes tissue samples to look for antibodies

• $209,600 for a new chemistry analyzer for UHNBC, which would be installed during ongoing renovations at a hospital laboratory

• $465,600 for laundry equipment replacement at UHNBC, with another $1,028,000 requested for 2027

• $222,400 for an operating room video system replacement at UHNBC

Lake hall

The remainder of the funding will be taken from the regional district’s Bear Lake Recreation Facilities service area Northern Capital Planning Grant Reserve, which currently has a balance of $42,994.36.

The report also explained that there were four bids, but that staff recommend that a mid-range bid be accepted over the cheapest one.

“The key considerations include the additional services provided in the quotation, including moving and replacing furniture and other items in preparation for the project,” the report said. “The additional service is greatly appreciated by (Bear Lake Recreation Association) volunteers.”

The selected bid worth $55,000 was from Jonathan Littler, with supplies being purchased from Flooring Superstore.

The recommended bid was approved unanimously by directors without debate.

• $202,000 for leasehold improvements at a First Avenue housing and health facility

• $1,136,000 in minor capital grants covering 82 different minor projects

• $100,000 in minor building integrity grants

During discussion over the EEG replacements, Director Art Kaehn (Woodpecker-Hixon) wondered how useful the machine being moved out of Prince George would be given that it’s at the end of its life and Chair Kyle Sampson (City of Prince George) asked whether the regional hospital district would be compensated for it being moved outside of its jurisdiction.

Sampson asked chief administrative officer Chris Calder to look into the matter and come back with information in the future.

All the financial requests were approved unanimously.

COMMUNITY

What’s happening in PG

Dana Sipos: Music in the Park goes Thursday, July 23 at 6:30 p.m. at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park. Sipos is an acclaimed Canadian songwriter living on Vancouver Island. Her captivatingly nuanced songs are filled with a haunting surrealism. A consummate performer, Sipos toured extensively across North America, Europe and Australia.

Sonic Symmetry with Anomalist and Blood to Ash goes Friday, July 24 at 8 p.m. at Omineca Arts Centre, 369 Victoria St. Two great local bands that will perform at this all ages event. $15 at the door. Doors open at 7 p.m. Free community barbecue appreciation event hosted by Canadian Mental Health Association of Northern BC goes Friday, July 24, 2026 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Connections Wellness Centre, 2816 Norwood St. The event is open to centre members, their families, and anyone interested in connecting with the community. Admission is free. An optional donation box will be available for those who wish to support the centre.

Lovingly Yours, Nellie Book Signing goes Friday, July 24 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Books & Co., 1685 Third Ave. Meet local authors Sandra Hyslop & Pat Klassen, who took letters and articles discovered by her grandchildren, that depict their grandmother’s life story during the early settling of Saskatchewan & British Columbia.

Movie Night in the Orchard: Mamma Mia! goes Friday, July 24 at 9:45 p.m. at Northern Estates Winery, 745 Prince George Pulpmill Road. Get ready for a night of music, laughter and island vibes in the orchard at the winery. Join us for a special outdoor screening of Mamma Mia and sing along to all your favourite ABBA hits under the stars. Family-friendly fun for all ages. For all the details and tickets visit www.eventbrite. ca/e/movie-night-in-the-orchard-mamma-mia-tickets

Hallowed Be Thy Name goes Saturday, July 25 at 7 p.m. at the Legion 43 PG, 101-1116 Sixth Ave. On July 20, 2025 Deanna Lemky lost her battle with

cancer. Hosted by Madloon Promotions, Plagued by Fire, including Deanna’s husband Steve Lemky, are putting on a show to honour her memory and raise money with all proceeds going towards cancer research. With LOWR — The Lich of Willow River, and Infectious. This is a 19+ event — no tickets, entry by donation minimum of $10.

2026 Ladies Club Championship

Golf goes Saturday, July 25 and Sunday July 26 at the Prince George Golf & Curling Club, 2601 Recplace Drive. 36 hole flighted stroke play tournament, open to all PGGCC female members who have an established handicap. No entry fee. Gross and net prizes. Play with members in your own handicap range. Sign up until July 22 at the Pro Shop.

BCNE Renaissance Faire goes Saturday, July 25 from noon to 8 p.m. and Sunday, July 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

at the BCNE Outdoor Ag Arena beside CN Centre. This is an outdoor celebration of Renaissance life to educate and entertain guests. There will be entertainers, food, costuming, stalls of wares including, jewelry, soap, trinkets, arts and crafts, clothing, leather working and costumes. There will be demonstrations, a battle arena, and other festivities including a face painter, a kids zone and animals. Guests are welcome to attend in costume. Admission is $2 and 16 and under are free. For more information visit https://www.bcne.ca/ rodeo-grounds

Cultural Connections with The Pounds Project goes Tuesday, July 28 and Wednesday, July 29 at 1 to 4 p.m. at Prince George Sexual Assault Centre, 1460 Fourth Avenue. Tracy Peters, Interior Salish-Ts’Kw’AylaxW First Nation in St’at’imc Territory Jingle Dress Dancer will lead this two-day workshop

to create beautiful wheel pins while exploring cultural significance. Traditional feast provided. For more information visit www.facebook.com/events/ poundsproject

Ladies Night at PG Humane Society Thrift Store goes Wednesday, July 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. at 1445 Tenth Ave. Grab some friends and join in the exclusive evening. There will be refreshments, new stock and featured items, door prizes, silent auction items and the cat room will have adorable kittens welcoming all visitors. Entry to the event is $10 with all donations and proceeds going to help the animals in need in Prince George.Tickets are limited. Stop by the Community Thrift Store at 144510th Avenue to make a $10 donation and secure a VIP ticket.

Orchestra North Summer Program goes from Aug. 3 to 7 in partnership with the Prince George Symphony Orchestra and the Conservatory of Music, 3555 Fifth Ave. This includes five wonderful days of music for all ages, including adults. For all the details visit www.orchestranorth.com/registration/ summerprogram

Music in the Park goes Thursday, July 30, Aug. 6 and 20 at 6 p.m. at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park Pavilion. Enjoy free live music on Thursdays throughout the summer. These events are sponsored by the City of Prince George and BCLC.

Hospice Country Music Festival 2026 goes Thursday, Aug. 6 at the Prince George Rodeo Grounds at CN Centre starring chart-topper Aaron Goodvin and featuring local favourites Chris Goodwin, Rick Stavely and YXS and is a fundraiser for the Prince George Hospice Palliative Care Society. Along with the entertainment there will be food trucks, a local vendor market, beer gardens, games and activities, like hot-air balloon rides. For more information and tickets starting at $65 visit www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/ hospice-country-music-festival

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CHRIS DUFOUR PHOTO

Vancouver Island singer-songwriter Dana Sipos performs Thursday, July 23 at 6:30 p.m. at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park.

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Sunita Staneslow Harp Workshop goes Saturday, Aug. 8 at 3 p.m. at the Prince George Conservatory of Music, 3555 Fifth Ave. Learn to create instant beauty with glissandos and beautiful improvisations. It is easy if you focus on what makes a phrase. Participants will work on turning interesting arpeggios into a soundscape of floating colour. The suspended chords and adding the ninth are the secret ingredients. It is all about the flow. This is for all levels. For more information and to register visit www.pgconservatory.ca/event/ harpworkshop

Create Space Sundays at Two Rivers Gallery goes Sunday, Aug. 9, 16, 23 and 30 from 1 to 4 p.m. An artful afternoon to let your creativity soar. Come alone, with family or friends. Aug. 9 - Cool Clay Beads, Aug. 16 Butterfly Suncatcher Aug 23 Recycling Sculpture and on Aug. 30 Colourful Woven Turtles. Pre-register and pay at the Creative Space Sunday sessions. $9 per adult, $5 per child, $18 per family. Free for members. These Sunday sessions continue for the rest of the year. For more information and to register visit www.tworiversgallery.ca/series/ creative-space-sundays

50th Duchess Park Secondary School Reunion goes Sept. 18 and 19 at the Coast Hotel, 770 Brunswick St. Friday night is a casual gathering with doors open at 6 p.m. and welcome at 7 p.m. and Saturday night will be the bigger celebration with dinner, dance and unveiling of the time capsule starting at 5 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m. Special rates deadline for hotel rooms is August 10 and for early bird prices for events register on or before June 30. For more information visit Duchess Park Class of 1976 50th Reunion Facebook page and visit the Files page for all the details or email 1976duchesspark50@gmail.com

BCNE 2026 with the theme Spooktacular – a four-day Halloween Party – goes Thursday, Aug. 13 to Sunday, Thursday, 16. This event is presented

by the Prince George Agricultural and Historical Association. The BC Northern Exhibition is celebrating its 113th year. For all the details visit www.bcne.ca/ bcne

Summer’s Rot goes Saturday, Aug. 15 at Omineca Arts Centre, 369 Victoria St. This event brings three metal bands together including Plagued by Fire, LOWR – Lich of Willow River and headlined by Tortion from Kamloops. This is an all ages show with doors at 7 and show at 8 p.m. Entry at the door is $25. Canadian Cancer Society is looking for Wheels of Hope drivers who make a significant impact on the lives of those battling cancer. By providing crucial transportation to treatment appointments volunteers offer not only a ride but also a supportive presence. This role involves flexible scheduling, confirming travel arrangements, ensuring client safety while adhering to CCS policies. CCS will provide training as volunteers join a dedicated team of more than 1600 drivers. Commit to a minimum of half a day to one day per week and be part of a mission to support and uplift those in need. For more information contact Wheels of Hope at 1-800-939-3333 or email volunteer@cancer.ca or visit www.cancer. ca//living-with-cancer/how-we-can-help/ cancer-travel-and-accommodation-services-bc

Craft & Chat at the main branch of the Prince George Public Library goes every Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. in the magazine corner, second floor, where fibre artists are invited to bring their latest projects to share, vent frustrations, brag about successes, get and give help and join in lively discussions. Snacks provided. This event is in partnership with Great Northwest Fibre Fest.

Myeloma Support Group goes every third Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. at Commonwealth Financial, 575 Victoria St. Everyone is welcome who has been diagnosed, those who are caregivers, family members and friends. Wheelchair accessible parking at the back of

the building. For more information call Viv Lougheed at 250-981-2618.

Trivia Night at Nancy O’s goes every other Wednesday at 8 p.m., 1261 Third Ave. There are three rounds per game, each round has five themed questions and five music questions. There’s something for everyone. The winning team gets a custom Nancy O’s Trivia trophy and a round of drinks, their photo on the wall that goes into the winners’ book after two weeks. Those caught cheating will be publicly shamed and labelled as cheaters — good wholesome fun. Book a spot by calling ahead at 250-562-8066. Open Mic at Nancy O’s goes every other Wednesday from 8 to 11 p.m. Open mic is hosted by Danny Bell and friends. Come on down and share songs, poetry, dance, stories, and anything else you can think to do on stage. All are welcome.

Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to noon at Studio 2880, 1880-15th Ave. Presented by the Community Arts Council Prince George & District these sessions feature a variety of artists. July 27 Watercolour Splash & Flow with Liana Ziemer takes place, T-shirt Madness with Cat Sivertsen goes Aug. 19, Acrylic on Canvas with Marylin Schmaus goes Aug. 12 and Art Journaling with Si Transken goes July 29 and Aug. 5. Each session is $50 and these events are geared for those ages 13 to 17. For more information and to register visit www.studio2880. com/programs/youth-programs/ summer-arts-camp

If you’ve got an event coming up email us at news@pgcitizen.ca to offer details

Non-profts throw a ‘thank-you’ party

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

More than 40 non-profits and volunteer organizations gathered in the CN Centre parking lot July 17 as part of the third annual Thank You PG Party.

The party was organized and sponsored by WorkBC Prince George Centre and the Salvation Army Prince George as a way to celebrate community non-profits and volunteer organizations.

The event was held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and featured a community barbecue hosted by the Salvation Army, live music, a bouncy castle, games, prizes and even a car smash.

Among the organizations at the event were the BC SPCA, Association Advocating for Women and Community, the PG Council of Seniors, Northern Health Volunteer Resources, PG Hospice, Big Brothers Big Sisters and KOPAR Administration.

Hundreds of Prince George residents filled the CN Centre parking lot despite the hot weather and learned more about the non-profits that support the community.

Terra Laflamme, community engagement coordinator for the Salvation Army and a member of the Thank You PG Party planning committee, spoke to The Citizen at the event.

“The idea behind this is to thank Prince George for all the support that it gives to all the nonprofits in our city,” said Laflamme.

“So I think there’s about 40 nonprofit agencies represented here today, all have booths set up, all with activities. The point is to get everybody together to have some fun and to support the community.”

She said thanking the city and its residents is essential because every nonprofit represented at the event depends on community support.

“I think it’s important to thank our city because your donors are our donors, are their donors,” said Laflamme.

“Everybody getting together, showing that we’re working together, is positive for our community, and think we need to do more of it.”

Laflamme also thanked the volunteers who help keep non-profits operating.

“Every agency would not run without the use of its volunteers,” said Laflamme. “People giving their time and their energy to the nonprofits is absolutely amazing and really important for them to continue to do the amazing work that they’re doing.”

Leona Tanguay, job developer at WorkBC and a member of the planning committee, thanked Prince George residents for their support.

“Thank you, Prince George,” said Tanguay.

“This has just been a wonderful event and it was so easy. These guys were just all over it when we offered an opportunity to say thank you to Prince George. So I want to thank the service providers as well for all showing up and being part of such a great event. We couldn’t have done it without them.”

She said the event provided an opportunity to recognize the community’s role in supporting non-profits.

“They’re the reason that we are in business, that I have a job and I love my

job and I love working with people and helping them succeed,” said Tanguay.

“This is an opportunity to say thanks.

No expectation here.”

One of the organizations expressing its appreciation was Special Olympics, which relies on volunteers year-round.

“We are so grateful for all of the people who step up to either coach or volunteer,” said Shirley Bond, former MLA and mentor for the adult athlete leadership council.

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“The programs make a difference; they change people’s lives. We’re very grateful for the volunteers. We always welcome more. We have an aging demographic in our coaching ranks, so we’d love to see new coaches come out and participate.”

Bond said volunteers are essential to the success of community organizations.

“Many of these organizations, if not all of them, would not exist or thrive without volunteers,” said Bond. “Prince George is amazing. It’s often been

referred to as the volunteer capital of British Columbia because, when people know there’s a need, they step up.

That’s certainly true for Special Olympics. And we were so glad to see a real surge in volunteers after we hosted the games last year. That’s been fantastic.”

Another organization active in the volunteer community is Volunteer PG, which helps connect residents with volunteer opportunities.

Dakota Chang of Volunteer PG explained the organization’s role.

“Essentially what we do is we help individuals who want to volunteer,

but perhaps they don’t know what opportunities are out there or what’s available,” said Chang. “We try to help counsel them on what their interests, goals, availabilities and such are. Then we try to match them with the best volunteer opportunity given those sorts of reflections.”

Lisa Traicoff, assistant vice-president, said events such as the Thank You PG Party help raise awareness of volunteer opportunities across the city.

“There’s also a small percentage of people that come to these events that know nothing about volunteering or the

opportunities that are available,” said Traicoff. “And all they have to do is go on our website. It’s easy to access; there are no passwords, there’s no sign-up, and you can just see all the opportunities that are available in Prince George. So whether you want to volunteer for one event or if you’re looking for a weekly opportunity, there’s tons to do here in Prince George.”

ABOVE: Athletes and members of PG Special Olympics pose for a photo during the Thank You PG Party. RIGHT: Local bands fill the CN Centre parking lot with music.

LEFT: The Thank You PG Party takes place in the CN Centre parking lot on Friday, July 17.

ABOVE CENTRE: Mascots dance to the music.

ABOVE RIGHT: Staff members at the Pounds Project Society pose for a photo. CITIZEN PHOTOS

Book lovers putng Litle Free Libraries on the map

CHRISTINE DALGLEISH Citizen Staff

As a fun summertime activity, a couple of teacher-librarians spent the day recently checking out the Little Free Libraries around town.

Tina Cousins and Jessica Bonin have been tracking the locations of the Little Free Libraries and have discovered 42 at last count. On the Little Free Libraries of PG Facebook page Bonin created a map of all the locations so everyone can hit the literacy trail, too.

Cousins’ Little Free Library is No. 14 and Bonin’s is No.1 on the map.

The concept of Little Free Libraries was created in the U.S. with the idea of accessibility being key. It’s a “take a book, leave a book” honour system, but you can take a book one day and eventually return it another day, or take a book and bring another one later to keep shelves stocked for the next people who visit.

Not all the libraries hold books, though.

“There really are 42 but some of them are rock exchanges like the one on Burden Street and Hospice has a vase swap,” Cousins said.

“We did that one in my mum’s memory. Donna Flood reached out to say they wanted a Little Free Library but they were going to put vases in it and I told her ‘whelp, I got people!’ so yeah, there are some people who have taken it to a different level as well.”

Cousins said many of the libraries are not registered members of the Little Free Libraries organization, which is a global movement, but follow the same principles of providing a service to their neighbourhood. Everyone who has asked has been included in the online map, she added.

Cousins had set a Little Free Library at Rainbow Park thinking that would be an ideal location but the City of Prince George took it down, as it was reported on May 20, 2020.

“I learned you can’t fight city hall so I put one on my own fence and that way I could control it and it would be safe,” Cousins said.

“And now it’s one of the busiest Free Little Libraries in town. I can tell ya — it’s a going concern morning ‘til night. There’s always somebody popping by. They really enjoy it and I have seniors down the street and one man comes and tidies it up for me on a regular basis. One day I got jam left at my door at Christmas with a note that said ‘thank you for bringing the library to the community – it really helps.”

a chat about their experiences and offer guidance on how to maintain and protect their libraries.

“This provides easy access to books and sometimes people, especially seniors, who can’t get out so this is a way they can get something to read,” Cousins said.

“And children’s books are really hard to keep because whoa, as soon as I put out children’s books in 24 hours they are gone, which is great. They always go fast.”

Cousins said over the years she’s only had an incidence of vandalism once.

“And now I’ve put in a plexiglass window and haven’t had any problems since,” Cousins said.

Cousins’ father-in-law Al Pringle built her Little Free Library and she and her husband maintain it.

“It’s great to have handy people around,” Cousins said.

Cousins said summer is a great time to go exploring and especially during the Prince George Public Library’s Summer Reading Club challenge, which includes visiting a Little Free Library.

“And so that’s kinda cool, too,” Cousins said.

“The Little Free Libraries are busy places, it’s free access to books in our community and it brings communities together.”

An example of that happened when Jessica Bonin’s Little Free Library on 10th Avenue was destroyed last November and the whole community came together to help, Cousins added.

Even during the pandemic it was popular. Cousins accommodated safety concerns by putting sanitizer in the cabinet and people would gather around at a safe distance to have chats, she said.

“And it is an amazing thing how it brings people together,” Cousins said.

Cousins said the increase in the Little Free Libraries in Prince George can be credited to their Facebook page where people can access information or have

Bonin started her little library on Monday, July 25, 2016 and had a grand opening I attended to cover the big little event. Even then-mayor Lyn Hall came to offer his support of the project that promotes literacy on the ground level, offering accessibility to books for everyone.

During the interview with Bonin in 2016, she said it was popular with everyone from seniors to children.

Then something happened.

“It was November 2025 when my Little Free Library was torched,” Bonin said.

LITTLE FREE LIBRARIES/FACEBOOK

Little Free Libraries have popped up in and around Prince George. This one is on McTavish.

Festval North 2026 promises to fll the city with music

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

Orchestra North, the Prince George Conservatory of Music and the Prince George Symphony Orchestra (PGSO) are planning a city-wide festival that will bring together Northern musicians, performers and artists.

Festival North 2026 is a multi-day community music and arts festival that will be held at venues across Prince George from Aug. 3 to 8. The event has been held annually since 2016, originally in Smithers, before moving to Prince George in 2025.

The festival will feature 22 events, including concerts, workshops, masterclasses and folk dances.

Highlights include the finale concert for this year’s Orchestra North Summer Program, bringing together more than 70 musicians. Public workshops will offer learning opportunities, including sessions on Métis music and culture.

The festival will also debut Classics in the City, featuring 70 musicians performing in the downtown plaza with the goal of filling the downtown core with music.

Festival North’s annual family folk dance will return and feature Métis dancer Alessandra Delaporte. An evening of jazz is also planned at Northern Lights Winery.

Featured artists include guitarist Clint Pelletier, trombonist Jeremy Berkman of the award-winning Turning Point Ensemble, Europe-based harpist Sunita Staneslow, and violinist Calvin Dyck, former concertmaster of the Vancouver Island Symphony and a current Orchestra North faculty member.

“Music can express who we are,” said Roxi Dykstra, founder and artistic director of Festival North. “A festival right here in the north allows all of us to deepen our appreciation for who we are as a community. We’re especially proud to feature performers from our own

Facebook page is a guide to where to fnd good reads

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

“It was early morning and a neighbour threw snow on it to try to stop it. Luckily in didn’t spread to my fence or my house or anything like that and I was very thankful for that but it was torched on the inside, the books were burned, it smelled bad, and it was singed. So I thought it was time for a re-do. It had been almost 10 years and so I took it down and that was hard because there was an outcry throughout the community –— ‘we need this back!’”

Neighbours came together and dropped off a gift card to a building supply store and a bottle of wine.

“There was a note attached: ‘Let us know what you need to rebuild’ because I was feeling quite defeated and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to rebuild after that.”

Bonin said she’s had some recent health issues that led to surgeries so

This Little Free Library, with a selection of children’s books, can be found in the Heritage area.

that’s why there has been such a delay but she’s gathered community around the cause and will soon host a grand re-opening in the coming weeks, which I made sure I was invited to cover this one like for the first one 10 years ago. For now check out the Little Free Libraries in PG Facebook page for information about all 42 listed on the map and be sure to check out the reel Cousins created of her and Bonin’s recent tour around the city to see many charming sites.

Flamenco guitarist Esteban Figueroa performs during Festival North in 2025.

region as well as guest musicians with personal or professional connections to Northern BC.”

One of the festival’s key partners is the Orchestra North Summer Program, which runs during the same week as Festival North.

The program invites musicians of all skill levels to develop their abilities under the instruction of expert faculty representing a wide range of

instruments.

After performing at Festival North, Orchestra North Summer Program faculty members will head out on tour with stops in Quesnel, Williams Lake and Mackenzie.

“We at the Prince George Symphony are so thrilled to partner with Orchestra North and the Prince George Conservatory of Music to put on this festival. It’s such a wonderful celebration of music and really showcases the talent and passion right here in the north,” said Ken Hall, executive director of the PGSO. “We invite everyone in Prince George to come out and enjoy. They might just experience music in ways they may not have had the chance to before.”

Festival passes and tickets for individual events are available at https:// tickets.pgso.com/.

For more information about Festival North 2026 and a complete schedule of events, visit https://festivalnorth.com/

No talent? This new art class will take the pressure of

CHRISTINE DALGLEISH Citizen Staff

“I can’t draw a friggin’ stick man!”

When Liana Ziemer heard that lament come from so many mouths it triggered an idea (and a name).

As an experienced artist, she now hosts classes called Can’t Draw a Friggin’ Stick Man? This Class is for YOU! The next one is set for Tuesday, July 28 at Studio 2880 where the Community Arts Council of Prince George and District is headquartered.

“I’ve always been creative, I suppose, but I picked up my first water colour paint brush in 2007,” Ziemer said.

“That’s when I took some art classes at the Artists’ Co-Op and then, of course, YouTube and all those things became a reality for everyone. So it’s pretty easy to learn if you want to.”

The sessions she offers now started with Ziemer doing Wine and Paint Nights about 15 years ago, she added.

The idea came to her during a family reunion at Sheridan Lake.

“We went to it and I thought I would just bring my paints in case I found my family boring,” Ziemer joked.

“So I was sitting at the picnic table painting one day and my sister-in-law and my daughter and my mum were all like ‘I wanna paint!’ so I just squeezed out some paint on paper plates for them and we painted a little picture. A lot of my family is from Kamloops and that Christmas we visited over the holidays and every single one of them had their summer painting on their fridges and that’s when I thought ‘I’m onto something here!’ They obviously enjoyed that and were happy with what they did.”

Back then Ziemer was painting greeting cards as a fundraiser for her Prince George Relay for Life team.

“So rather than paint 300 greeting cards myself I just developed this into a kind of ‘paint your own’ thing,” Ziemer said.

“I did that for a number of years and then our team disbanded somewhere along the line. I just had all the stuff and I really loved doing it so I just have continued with it. In my paint parties I always provide a template for people

Artist Liana Ziemer offers Can’t Draw a Friggin’ Stick Man art sessions for those who just want to have a little fun when they create. This is one of the images that was created during a recent session.

because, quite honestly, drawing terrifies some people but even though I provide a template I cannot tell you how many times I had nervous people walk into the room saying “I can’t draw a friggin’ stick man’ so that’s where these classes evolved from.”

And there’s a different vibe to these classes compared to what the Paint Parties had been, she added.

“There’s no pressure and we work fairly small — a 20-inch blank canvas is pretty intimidating to even seasoned artists — so we work on small things and we create, usually, at least two things in each class,” Ziemer said.

“Because they are small pieces of paper it’s like ‘if I screw it up who cares?’ and that just takes some of the pressure off and I think that’s probably what’s been really attractive for people with these classes. These classes are just fun and there is no expectation.”

Ziemer said she does want to teach people.

“But more I just wanna release them to create,” she said. “I think we are all

designed to create but sometimes we need a little shove to get going.”

And there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing happy people at the end of a session, Ziemer added.

“And sometimes I will bump into people who took the class later and they will tell me that they went out and bought paints and they have just taken off with it and you know, I just love that feeling when I hear that.”

Ziemer makes her sessions easy for participants. She provides everything they need.

“So they just need to come and be creative for the evening without having to purchase anything,” Ziemer said.

“My ultimate goal is that at the end of the class everyone says ‘holy crap, I can’t believe I made that!’”

And if you’re too busy this summer there are four sessions beginning in September where you can explore your artistic side.

“It’s a four-week session but you can take as many or as few as you want,” Ziemer explained.

“They will all be standalone classes and they’ll have fresh content and we’ll just be throwing down paint.”

Ziemer wanted to make something very clear.

“There are people in town who can teach you proper techniques and colour theory and composition and all that stuff if you want to become an artist but that’s not me,” Ziemer laughed.

“I’m offering sessions for people who just want to pick up a brush and throw down some colour and you can call it a piece of art and just have a fun evening and ... to my knowledge I have never made anyone cry in class!”

Can’t Draw a Friggin’ Stick Man? This Class is for YOU! is set for Tuesday, July 28 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in the Upstairs Workshop Zone at Studio 2880, 288015th Ave. This fun evening will see participants working with watercolour and a sharpie. Sessions are $35 per person, text or call Liana from Wet Paint Dry Humour at 250-649-6986 to register and to see what’s next visit her Wet Paint Dry Humour Facebook page.

COMMUNITY

Sewing Camp sttches together creatvity, community

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

Theatre Northwest is once again hosting its annual Sewing Camp, introducing young people to a practical skill that encourages creativity, self-expression and community building.

About 50 students of all ages have registered for this year’s camps, which run from June 29 to July 24.

Designed for participants of all experience levels, the camps teach everything from basic sewing machine operation to more advanced skills, including taking measurements, reading pattern pieces and making basic garment alterations.

Theatre Northwest says the program also helps develop creativity, fine motor skills, problem-solving, independence and planning.

When the camps wrap up on Friday, July 24, students will take home completed projects ranging from plushies, beanies, bags and fabric envelopes to larger items such as dresses.

The program has become one of Theatre Northwest’s most popular summer offerings, with many students returning year after year.

One of those returning students is 11-year-old Charlotte Belcher, who attended the mixed-level sewing camp.

“I started hand sewing when I was eight because I was in Girl Guides,” Belcher said.

“My first year of sewing camp was last year when I was 10, and since then I’ve been doing hand sewing very often at after-school care. I only machine sew at sewing camp.”

Nine-year-old Mabel Jepson attended this year’s camp after friends encouraged her to sign up. She said she enjoys both the creative process and learning to use a sewing machine.

“I like how the sewing machine works, and I like just cutting out the fabric and doing the craft,” Jepson said. “So far I’ve cut out my pieces for my narwhal and I’m just about to sew them.”

Jepson proudly showed The Citizen the narwhal plushie she was creating.

Accessibility co-ordinator Heidi Klepsch has taught Theatre Northwest’s

Students work on projects during Theatre Northwest’s summer Sewing Camps on Tuesday, July 14.

sewing camps since 2021.

She said one of the most rewarding parts of teaching is watching students gain confidence as they develop new skills.

“I loved seeing the friendships develop between the students over the week,” Klepsch said. “Seeing people who came in not knowing how to sew or being really intimidated by the machine realize this is something they can do, and seeing how proud they are of their projects, was always really lovely.”

Klepsch said the program encourages young people to develop a valuable life skill that could even lead to future opportunities in theatre.

“Our hope is that we can teach local young people how to sew and that some of them might be inspired to pursue the skill and one day want to work for us in wardrobe or as a costume designer,” Klepsch said. “Prince George needs more homegrown artistic talent and, of course, for our productions, artistic talent is more than just the actors on stage.”

She told The Citizen sewing is a skill participants can use throughout their lives while providing a creative outlet.

One of her favourite memories involved a group of young campers who became determined to make accessories for their stuffed animals.

“Even with our youngest group, once they realize that they can put two pieces of fabric together and make a thing, they get so excited,” Klepsch said. “There was a group of girls who just wanted to make pillows for their stuffed animals, and so they just went pillow crazy and made so many pillows.”

Many of the fabrics, supplies and even some of the sewing machines used in the camps have been donated by community members over the years.

“We purchased most of the machines that we still have in use here about 10 years ago,” Klepsch said. “But about a third of the machines are donations from community members, and then all of our fabric, buttons, thread and tools like scissors and pins come from really generous community members

who had excess fabric or, for example, whose grandmother passed away and left an extensive collection of sewing equipment. People have brought that to us in hopes that we can use it, and we certainly do. We couldn’t do this without the support and generosity of the community.”

Anyone wishing to donate sewing supplies can drop them off in the Theatre Northwest lobby during regular operating hours.

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You will be part of a team ensuring a smooth and accessible voting process. Professionalism is required and you must be comfortable working with the public while following election procedures and maintaining confdentiality. You must also attend a training session, and be able to travel throughout the region and work for an extended period of time. Compensation includes an hourly wage, paid training time and mileage.

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Good Caws crew helps save crow trapped in chimney

Prince George Fire Rescue is called in to help the bird, now named ‘Asher’

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

One crow has a new lease on life after being rescued from a chimney by members of the Good Caws Rescue Society.

The crow, named Asher by the rescue team, was trapped inside the chimney of a Prince George home for several days before the homeowners noticed and called Good Caws.

Dana Plane was just beginning her first day off from the rescue in some time when she got the call on Monday, July 13, that a crow had been trapped in a homeowner’s chimney since at least July 10.

Board vice-president and head volunteer Mandy Calvert responded to the call but quickly realized she would need additional help.

“I felt really bad because there really was nothing I could do at the time,”

Calvert said. “I didn’t have the tools. I don’t have the experience or the knowhow to get into a chimney. So I tried to explain to the lady that, as much as I would love to, we really need to find somebody that knows what they’re doing.”

Good Caws contacted Prince George Fire Rescue. A firefighter responded and opened the chimney flue, then deferred to the rescue volunteers’ expertise to remove the bird.

Calvert returned to the home and managed to reach the frightened and hungry crow.

“I had to lie down, put my head right inside the fireplace, and I saw him,” Calvert said. “But as soon as I went to reach for him, ashes and soot got in my face and in my eyes. So I’m just blind reaching for this crow, and I eventually was able to get my hand around pretty much his full body. He was so skinny ... he didn’t bite at all. He just had a death grip on my fingers with his little feet. He would not let go. I think he knew that this was being saved.”

Based on Asher’s condition, Good Caws estimates he had been trapped for four days. The bird is now in the

rescue’s care and is making a speedy recovery.

Founder and operator Dana Plane said that, aside from being understandably hungry and covered in soot, the crow was in good health.

“He was very skinny, but he’s calm,” Plane said. “I think he’s just kind of traumatized. He’s very reserved. He’s very quiet and very tall. He’s in my medical shed, so he’s in a quiet, safe place with food and water, and it’s clean, just letting him decompress from everything that he went through, with minimal handling. There are no broken bones, no scrapes, no nothing, just really emaciated from not eating.”

Plane said Asher needed several baths to remove the soot but is now clean and recovering well.

Fire Chief Brian Burley said firefighters occasionally assist with animal

rescues when resources allow.

“From time to time we do participate in those types of calls for help, where and when we can,” Burley said. “Obviously, emergency incidents take precedence and we’re not always readily available. That’s why we don’t openly advertise to call us when your cat’s in a tree, so to speak.”

Good Caws has seen a dramatic increase in birds needing rescue since some of the organization’s better-known birds attracted widespread media attention.

Those birds include Riven, a crow that has learned to survive in Prince George despite missing half of its beak, and Huxley, the rescue’s resident raven ambassador, who has learned to imitate Plane’s sneeze and say his own name.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

Asher, seen here after being rescued, was stuck in a chimney for approximately four days.

Mandy Calvert, vice-president of the board of Good Caws Rescue Society and head volunteer, and a local firefighter who assisted with the rescue talk after saving a crow from a chimney.

COMMUNITY

Rescue society has taken in 100 birds in past four months

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“Because of Riven and Huxley and the publicity that happened with that, that went pretty much all across Canada,” Plane said. “We’re getting birds from everywhere now. It’s not just Quesnel, Vanderhoof and PG. It’s Fort St. John, Fort St. James, Dawson Creek, Chetwynd, Bear Lake, Terrace and Smithers. We’re getting birds from everywhere. So now our load has tripled this year in the number of birds that we’re getting.”

Plane said Riven continues to thrive in Prince George and jokingly refers to the bird as a “mob boss,” with a territory stretching from North Nechako to Rainbow Park, 15th Avenue and Central Street, and all the way to Ferry Avenue.

Before the rescue’s popularity increased, Good Caws typically cared for about 150 birds a year. In 2026 alone, the organization has already taken in about 100 birds in the past four months.

Interest in Good Caws has spread internationally, with people from around the world contacting Plane for advice on rescuing corvids.

“I had a message from a guy in Ireland,” Plane said. “I’ve had messages from Ireland, Egypt and Europe. People in Europe will literally call me just to get information. They know I’m in Canada, but they can’t find anybody that can explain to them what’s happening with this bird or what to do or anything like that. So I’ve been literally giving information to people from around the world. It’s nuts.”

The rescue has also cared for a variety of other birds, including two injured bald eagles and several woodpeckers.

With nearly three times the workload, the need for funding has also grown. Plane said community support has remained strong.

“There are lots of donations when we really need it, and if we make a post about a particular animal, people will donate,” Plane said.

“There’s been a lot of good response for our T-shirts that we’re putting out this year. We’re doing pre-orders. We’ll have our tent with T-shirts, little coffee mugs and little stuffed crows at the event, and if we make a post on Facebook, people just come flocking because Prince George loves crows. Especially since this whole Riven thing, who’s still out and about doing her thing. People have been way more invested.”

Good Caws can currently house about 40 crows at a time. Plane said the rescue hopes to expand as demand grows and currently has room for three additional enclosures.

The need for volunteers is also increasing, with Plane and Calvert doing much of the work themselves.

“We’re always having a hard time hanging on to volunteers or finding people who have as much time or want to put in as much time as we do,” Plane said. “Especially in the summer because it’s summer — they want to be at a lake. We don’t get to do that. It’s been 16- to 18-hour days every day for me since the end of May. Every day. Even on my own wedding day, I was still doing stuff at the rescue.”

Good Caws will also be at the Métis community picnic on Sunday, Aug. 23, and invites bird lovers to stop by and say hello.

To donate to Good Caws, send an e-transfer or PayPal donation to goodcaws@outlook.com. Donations can also be made to the rescue’s account at Birchwood Veterinary Clinic or by donating refundable containers at Nechako Bottle Depot under account No. 831.

Good Caws doesn’t just help injured crows and ravens. Here,

holds a bald eagle that was brought to the

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Riven, a bird with a broken beak, is thriving despite the injury and is often spotted around Prince

Mandy Calvert

rescue group.

Duchess Park student singing at internatonal festval

Salimata Andrews-Cisse is proud to represent Prince George’s francophone community

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

A Grade 9 Duchess Park student has been chosen to represent BC at an international music festival in Granby, Que., thanks to her multilingual singing talent.

Local singer Salimata Andrews-Cisse, an active member of Prince George’s francophone community, was selected by the British Columbia Francophone Youth Council (BCFYC) to represent the province during the 65th annual Granby International Song Festival.

Andrews-Cisse will perform Aug. 16 as part of the festival’s Jamais Trop Tôt program, which translates to “Never Too Early.”

The festival brings together French-language performers from across the country for a 10-day celebration that includes a singing competition, performances by francophone music industry professionals from Europe and North America, and other events.

She will leave for Granby on Aug. 10 and spend the week leading up to the performance working with up to 24 other young artists to produce a concert of original songs. Each performer will sing with a professional band and stage crew at the Palace de Granby on Aug. 16.

Andrews-Cisse has been part of Prince George’s francophone community her entire life. She attended École Franco-Nord and is now enrolled in the French immersion program at Duchess Park Secondary School.

She said she was surprised to be selected to represent BC.

“It took a second for it to hit,” Andrews-Cisse said. “I’m kind of scared, but I’m really excited, though. This is a big opportunity for me ... I’m really glad that I can be that person to represent my community, especially the French Centre, because they’re a big part of my music.”

She said BCFYC talent scouts selected her during the Crescendo workshop

in Vancouver, where she participated alongside 25 other BC youth, including several classmates.

“We basically just picked our own songs, went there, did a workshop for a couple days, then there was a big show at the end,” Andrews-Cisse said. “Apparently it was a competition, but we didn’t know it was a competition, and then I got picked to go to Granby.”

Andrews-Cisse has been singing and performing in French for nearly her entire life. She sang in the choir at École Franco-Nord and hopes to continue developing her stage presence through musical theatre performances at Duchess Park.

She is also an accomplished clarinet player and is teaching herself guitar, allowing her to perform original songs and cover tunes at open mics around the city.

“I wanted to do open mics because I could play an instrument,” AndrewsCisse said. “I’ve been going to the John McInnis Centre open mics and also an open mic at the library (and at) Books and Company. I’ve always wanted to be a singer of some sort. Those are places that give me a lot of opportunity for exposure, learning to play in front of people and gaining confidence.”

She has also trained and competed in classical voice and musical theatre at this year’s Prince George and District Music Festival.

One of her favourite performances was at a talent show hosted by the francophone community that has supported her throughout her musical journey.

“My first time performing a big song in front of anybody was at the French Association,” Andrews-Cisse said. “It was a talent show. It really put into perspective what singing could be for me because everybody was really supportive, and I felt like I did pretty good. That was just a big moment for me.”

Donna Andrews, Andrews-Cisse’s mother, said she is both excited and

nervous to watch her daughter pursue music.

“It’s exciting and scary,” Andrews said. “I do everything I can to support her and encourage her music. I think I probably held back for a lot of years trying to be like, ‘No, it’s okay, we don’t need to do that.’ But she’s sort of taken off on her own. It’s exciting, but it’s scary to think where this could lead, what opportunities might come from this and how we’re gonna continue to support that dream and those goals.”

Andrews told The Citizen Prince George’s francophone community may be small, but it is close-knit and continues to grow.

“It’s a smaller community, but quite regularly I think they have up to 200 or 300 people participating in events at the French-Canadian Association,” Andrews said. “It’s getting bigger, and it seems to be getting bigger every year.”

She added that her daughter and many other French-language students have grown up together at both École Franco-Nord and Duchess Park.

“They’re really supportive,” AndrewsCisse said of her friends. “I have great friends. I’ve got other musical friends too, who I’ve done open mics with and also done school talent shows with, and it’s just been really great to have a good support system.”

DONNA ANDREWS PHOTO

Salimata Andrews-Cisse performs at an open mic at Books and Company in Prince George.

A night of music for Prince George’s lovers of opera

Fraser Lyric Opera performs at Knox Performance Centre

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

It was another night at the opera at the Knox Performance Centre on Saturday, July 18.

Fraser Lyric Opera presented Voices Uplifted: Opera of the North, a celebration of talent and the culmination of a week of training for participants in the Fraser Lyric Opera Adult Opera Camp.

In the week leading up to the performance, 21 participants of all singing experience levels trained with Fraser Lyric Opera professionals to prepare for the concert.

Camp participants learned to perform well-known solo repertoire and collaborative choral works. They also received instruction in vocal technique, performance skills and stage artistry to prepare them for performances at Knox and beyond.

Former student and current Fraser Lyric Opera teacher and performer Paige Marriott said participants had already made significant progress.

“The skills that our attendees have learned throughout the week,” Marriott said. “It’s already taken hold. We’ve seen major growth in just a short period of time, and that’s kind of the goal throughout the week, is to allow people to just open up and be willing to try new things, scary things, but at the same time have a great, fun experience for an entire week.”

Marriott also performed in Voices Uplifted: Opera of the North, alongside pianist Deena Grier and local opera singers Melanie Nicol and Brenna Jacobson. They were joined by guest performer Canadian mezzo-soprano Megan Reimer, one of Canada’s standout opera performers.

Reimer has performed as an oratorio soloist in projects including The Requiem and Requiem in D Minor in Winnipeg, as well as cantatas by J.S. Bach and performances of Allegri’s

Miserere, Händel’s Coronation Anthems, Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de Confessore and Händel’s Messiah

She has also performed with Camerata Nova, The Professor Bach Project, the Winnipeg Soloists Choir, the Mennonite Festival Chorus, the Winnipeg Singers and Manitoba Underground Opera.

Ahead of the performance, the featured performers gave a preview for local media, performing The Barcarolle from Les Contes d’Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) by Jacques Offenbach and Dôme épais (the Flower Duet) from Lakmé by Léo Delibes.

Marriott said audience members would see both experienced performers and camp participants share the stage.

“Everybody will get to see our society members and camp participants perform these chorus pieces together,” she said. “Melanie Nicol, Megan Reimer and I will be performing and will be accompanied by Deena Grier. We’ll be singing solo pieces, some duets and some trio stuff as well, and we’ll be featured in these group performances as well.”

For Marriott, one of the most rewarding aspects of the program was passing along the skills she learned as a student to singers from a variety of backgrounds and experience levels.

“It’s very rewarding and gratifying for me to get to take what I’ve experienced

throughout my growth as a performer and share that with others,” Marriott said. “And help them through maybe some difficult situations when we’re learning really hard pieces and really being able to help walk them through it so that at the end of the day they’re better for it.”

Marriott, who holds a degree in musical theatre, said she has seen people from across the musical spectrum embrace opera training.

“We actually have quite a strong community of opera lovers and just music performance lovers in Prince George,” Marriott said. “There is a bit of crossover. I myself live in both worlds. I also work at Sound Factory and I teach voice there, so I see a lot of metalheads coming through and wanting to learn how to do screamo stuff. They actually learn what I learned when I went to university and what I learned when I was learning how to sing classical opera as well. It’s all connected.”

Nicol, who is also the artistic director of Fraser Lyric Opera, helped organize this year’s program at the Knox Performance Centre.

She said the camp and concert help emerging singers build confidence.

“Opera can be intimidating and scary,” Nicol said. “Everybody has come with a really open mind and a lot of enthusiasm for learning something new,

and everybody has been rewarded for that. There’s been a ton of growth and we’ve seen singers come out of their shells and take risks, and it’s been wonderful to hear them all sing and grow this week.”

Nicol said this year’s camp attracted a record number of participants, reflecting the continued growth of the local opera community.

“We had record attendance both at last year’s concert and for this year’s camp as well,” Nicol said. “This is the most participants we’ve had. We’re really feeling the momentum grow for opera in town. I even see it grow with the number of professional musicians we have that specialize specifically in opera in town has really grown this last couple of years.”

Reimer also taught at the camp during the week leading up to the performance and said participants’ willingness to be vulnerable stood out.

“Their courage,” Reimer said. “It is the most vulnerable thing to just open the voice and open the body to the sound that we all make and we all desire to make. To see that courage and that growth as they learn more about how to do it, and then they take this giant leap to put their talents in front of people. That is the most encouraging thing, and that’s what makes me come back to teaching and coaching.”

CITIZEN PHOTO BY MATTHEW HILLIER

Paige Marriott (left) and Melanie Nicol (right) peform Barcarolle from Les Contes d’Hoffman (Tales of Hoffman) by Jacques Offenbach during a preview for local media at Excalibur Theatre Arts, on Thursday, July 16.

Throwback Thursday: Week of July 23

July 23, 1970: The Citizen photographed Glen Carpenter at the Cottonwood Island spot where he and his cousin Brian Arrince spotted 18-month-old Lisa Lambert in the Nechako River. They alerted Glen’s father, Fred Carpenter, who jumped into the water, brought the near-drowned toddler back to shore and gave her arti cial respiration. Lisa, who made a full recovery, had been playing outside and wandered off, falling down a steep bank into the river about 150 metres from where she was saved. CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

July 23, 1994: Joe Haugan blasted one out of a sand trap during the 21st annual Seniors’ Tournament at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHUCK NISBETT

July 23, 1980: The Stuart family spent $200 converting a 1956 Volkswagen into a camper, then drove it from Ontario and through the Maritimes before heading west to Terrace, where they planned to settle. They decorated the vehicle to promote Canadian unity during a time when Quebec was talking about separation.

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY BROCK GABLE

July 23, 2014: With a headline reading ‘Look, Ma, no skis,’ The Citizen’s front page featured a photo of Mark Beaugie barefooting on Bednesti Lake. ‘You look for at water and go for a rip,’ he told reporter Devan Tasa. The boat was going 68 kilometres per hour; Beaugie recommended padded wetsuits for beginners.

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

Maternity nurses laugh their way through retrement

Members of OMNI meet once a month to share stories ... and to crack one another up

CHRISTINE DALGLEISH

Citizen Staff

When Shirley Shorter retired from nursing in Prince George she knew she didn’t want to lose touch with her coworkers.

After retiring at 63, she didn’t hesitate to start monthly meetings of the Old Maternity Nurses Institute (OMNI for short) and has been organizing them for the last 100 years — just wanted to see if you were paying attention — for the last 30 years. Look at me making you do math!

That’s right, Shirley is 93 years old, walks about 10 kilometres around Prince George most days and every week reads The Prince George Citizen to her 90-year-old bestie, Lavinia Ouellet, whose eyesight isn’t what it used to be.

Shirley has learned through experience that if she wants people to show up for the get-togethers she has to call everyone from her landline the Wednesday before to remind them of the Monday meeting. And why the telephone call? Because she threw out her computer. “Who needs the Internet?’ is her question, so there’s no emailing going on in her house.

She’s also learned that to give everyone a chance to speak — because there’s always chatty Kathys in every group — she offers up a theme for each meeting and everyone does some talking about it.

“The first one was ‘talk about your first boyfriend’ and boy! Did we learn a lot about each other!” Shirley laughed. “The stories I could tell…”

“Please do,” I said, leaning forward with interest. But that didn’t get me anywhere.

This meeting’s theme was much tamer and asked every retired nurse “what musical instrument would you like to learn to play?”

There are nine members of the group

sitting around the table at the House of Ancestors because everyone needs a little Indigenous-inspired artisanal baked goods like bannock with housemade raspberry chocolate ganache and speciality coffees to enjoy at the meeting. The café has wisely placed one long table right in the middle of the action as if it is there just for this very grateful retired nurses’ group.

The July meeting included Jeannette Gordon, Jane Miller, Joyce Flores, Karen La Fleur, Laurie Ens, Jeanne Hagreen, Ivy Compo, Lavinia Ouellet and Shirley Shorter.

As people filtered in, some ladies brought their nurses graduation photo with them because Shirley thought those would be fun to show off.

Shirley pulled hers out and put it down on the table.

“Aren’t I cute?” she asked us all.

“Well, you’re cute now so, of course you were cute then,” I said.

Shirley started organizing everyone to prepare to answer the question of the day.

“And I don’t think we have time for rebuttal today because we need to make sure Christine gets what she needs for her story,” Shirley said.

“Just say it — shut your mouth until it’s your turn,” Lavinia said, straight-faced.

“I did! Where were you?” was Shirley’s lightning-quick response.

I love how these two friends communicate.

The ladies took their turns talking about what instruments they would like to learn.

Jeanette said she wasn’t any good at it but she tried the trumpet. Jane was discombobulated from just making the long trek back from Campbell River after a month-long Vancouver Island adventure and didn’t have any instrument come to mind but was quick to say she loved all kinds of music, especially newly discovered genres.

Joyce said she tried to learn the piano when she was little but didn’t do the required practice to get too far, then had another kick at it after her children had learned, but she still didn’t do the work to get it done. She learned a few songs and says she now has the opportunity to practice but has no teacher now.

“So you have a piano? I could sell you mine,” Shirley asked.

Laurie Ens is a second-generation OMNI member. Her mum, Barbara Sandberg, was a member and now nurse Laurie attends in her honour and for herself. Barbara passed away in February. She was 98.

“This was a very important group to her — everyone was very special,” Laurie said.

Laurie and Shirley both wanted to learn how to play the harp for its ethereal sounds.

Ivy always wanted to play piano.

“But there’s not a musical bone in my body,” she said. “I took music for three

years and I still can’t read a note. But I love it when people play piano — to me it’s magical.”

“Do you want one? I’ve got one I can sell ya’,” Shirley jumped in.

Lavinia wanted to play the piano, too, like she used to when she was a kid.

“I fell into it when I was 12 and I lived in the country with my grandmother,” Lavinia said.

“There was a neighbour teaching and then I would practice at this little country school and I just loved it. At the end of the year we had a little concert with the 10 of us who had taken lessons.”

Lavinia spent the school year with her grandmother in Southern Alberta while her family lived in Prince George. When her mum came to pick her up she told her about the concert.

“And my mum asked me ‘how did you do?’ and I told her ‘well, I thought I was the best!’ So when I came home my mum wanted me to keep playing piano so I started lessons.”

She spent six months with a teacher who listened from her kitchen while Lavinia played piano in the living room. She made it six months and hated every minute of it. Years later she ended up with a keyboard but she never did have the opportunity to practice like she needed to so she let it go.

“Now I put my speaker on and just listen to piano music,” Lavinia said. “And now Miss Shirley.”

“I was forced to take piano lessons because mum and dad saved their pennies and bought a piano,” Shirley said.

“We were all to take piano lessons — I had three brothers — and they all took piano lessons and so did I and I hated every minute. I had a dreadful teacher. He was a dickhead. I just hated him so much!”

She turned and looked at me as I was laughing in shock at her words.

“And you can quote me on that!” Shirley said.

“I will,” I said.

“You know he just wasn’t nice and especially to children,” Shirley added. “So I didn’t learn well.”

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHRISTINE DALGLEISH

From left: Jeannette Gordon, Jane Miller, Joyce Flores, Karen La Fleur, Laurie Ens, Jeanne Hagreen, Ivy Compo, Lavinia Ouellet and Shirley Shorter gather at their retired nurses monthly meeting recently.

OMNI group has been meetng regularly for 30 years

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Shirley said there is one instrument that she would like to learn to play.

“And that’s the harp and that’s because of my mother, who was a darling who lived to be past 96 and I am trying to make it past her,” Shirley said.

Lavinia leaned forward to say “You’re going to make it to 100!”

Shirley nodded.

“We were watching TV one night, very quietly enjoying the music,” she continued.” And there was a lot of harp playing during the program. She turned to me and said ‘oh, you know, I’ve always wanted to learn how to play the harp,’ and then she says ‘well, I guess it won’t be long now.’”

And if you don’t get the reference that heavenly angels play the harp you’re probably too young to read this story! But stick around because you need to learn these things so you can share in the continued laughter that bounced off the walls in the House of Ancestors.

Shirley shook her head then with a big smile on her face.

“She never missed a thing, my mum,” Shirley said.

The conversation then turned to how Laurie and Shirley should get together to access a harp and maybe some lessons, and of course, the Prince George Conservatory of Music was mentioned as a viable option.

When nine retired maternity nurses sit around a table they can’t help but reminisce.

Everyone was trying to figure out how long they’d been coming to the OMNI meetings that Shirley started in 1996.

“I started them because everyone kept saying ‘oh, we’ll have to get together for coffee,’” Shirley said in a snarky voice like she just got the ‘we’ll do lunch!’ send off that was a very popular empty promise back in the day.

“So I said ‘no we won’t, it won’t work’ so I said pick a day — so I said the first Wednesday of every month and that was the end of that, I’ll tell ya,” Shirley said.

From the chatter around the table I gathered everyone seemed to have

trickled in soon after their retirement and some even before they retired, like Jane, who took the conversation in a whole new direction.

“I think Shirley and I have been friends the longest — we met in 1976,” Jane said.

“That’s 50 years. It makes me feel like time has slipped by and it’s nice to look across the table and see her face.”

“There is such value in this room, around this table,” Shirley said, serious for once.

“We learn from each other still and we know we can say anything we want.”

“When we were all working in the nursery we were all in one great big room,” Jane explained.

“So we would spend eight or 12 hours in that room with all those people and I think that we helped raise each other’s kids, when we were sad people helped — no matter what was happening in your life everybody supported you, whether it was with food or money or whatever you needed at the time because you couldn’t be there for 12 hours and hide your feelings if bad things were going on. If you were happy and came bouncing in everybody knew it, right? So truly, we did all of that for each other and sometimes without even knowing it because you’d walk by and patted somebody on the shoulder, you

we were all going to get banned from House of Ancestors for being too rowdy. But we weren’t, rest assured.

As the conversation continued to swirl around us Shirley leaned in to say that when people left the job there would always be a going-away party.

“And we would put our heart and soul into a skit,” Shirley said.

“And I happen to have the video of when I retired.”

“Shirley was fantastic with the skits,” Jane said.

They’d host the parties at a restaurant like McCloud Nine that was located on Central Street years ago.

And then came along the other tardy one, Karen La Fleur.

know what I mean?”

“And now we get together and still support each other through each other’s surgeries and pains,” Lavinia added. Jeannette went down memory lane to share.

“Shirley was my mentor,” she said. “So she taught me a lot of stuff.”

“It wasn’t all nursing either,” Shirley said with a Mae West-like sultry tilt to her head. (And if you don’t know who Mae West is, look it up! Great sassy lady that showed us how it was done back then.)

I imagined that Miss Shirley would not like anyone being tardy to this meeting but when Jeanne came into the building there was nothing but smiles.

And boy did she have an answer to the question.

“What musical instrument would you like to learn to play?”

“The bowed psaltery and that is a musical instrument kind of like a violin,” Jeanne explained.

It’s triangular in shape, she added.

“I have one,” she added. “I just don’t do enough with it so I would really like to learn. I can bring it along next month and show you all.”

“And I’ll bring my piano,” Shirley deadpanned.

As the group once again broke into raucous laughter, Jeannette warned that

“Karen, this is Christine Dalgleish. She’s a reporter from The Citizen and we are telling her all our sins,” Shirley confessed with a straight face, cracking everyone else up once again.

Karen wanted clarification: “We’re telling all of Shirley’s sins?” I waited.

“I worked a lot of nights,” Karen said. “And we’d get up to some antics,” Jane added.

“You mean Shirley did,” Karen quickly countered.

After the laughter died down, the group splintered off into smaller groups to catch up on each other’s news. That’s when Shirley and Lavinia’s shared a look and pounced — but this time it was directed at me.

I was happy to answer all their questions about my 26-year career at the newspaper, how I learned on the job and about all the corporations that owned the paper at one time or another and how we finally happily landed on the shoulders of Prince George business owners, Cameron Stolz and Terresa Randall-Stolz, who insist the paper is hyper-focused on local content.

“Well, we are loving the paper and we now look for stories with your name on it because now we know you!” Lavinia said.

Shirley leaned over to me after a while and smiled. She had a question: “Do you know anyone who wants to buy a piano?”

CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHRISTINE DALGLEISH

Clockwise from top left: Jane Hill, Lavinia Ouellet, Jeanne Hagreen and Shirley Shorter, share their nursing graduations photos during their July meeting of retired maternity nurses at the House of Ancestors Cafe.

Local Sports

Kodiaks add some American experience to the feld

The junior football team is gearing up for a new season

TED CLARKE Citizen Staff

After a year of playing college football in the United States, running back Xander Tabora is back on familiar Prince George turf, preparing for the new season with the junior Kodiaks.

Last year, he went south of the border to play for the NCAA Division 3 Hiram College Terriers in Hiram, Ohio, where it soon became obvious to the Shas Ti Kelly Road Secondary School graduate how insanely popular football is in that state.

“Football there is a religion,” said the 19-year-old Tabora. “Football is a culture, so to be able to go down there and experience that, the practices and the teammates and the fans, was absolutely surreal for me. Especially coming from Prince George and being that far away from Canada, it was amazing.”

Hiram is a suburb of Akron, located in northeastern Ohio between Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

The Terriers are one of 40 college football teams in Ohio, and the state is also home to the NFL’s Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. While the Terriers averaged 491 fans per game in their 2,500-seat stadium, the Ohio State Buckeyes packed an average of 104,105 into their home games in Columbus, a three-hour drive from Hiram.

“It’s crazy, the facilities they have,” he said. “Just walking into that dressing room (at Hiram) for the first time and you’ve got your own locker, your name tag and your own stool, stuff like that. Then getting to run onto the field, just the level of intensity they play at is so crazy, but also inspiring.”

The Kodiaks’ camp started July 2

and the team is working out once or twice a day to prepare for its season opener Saturday, July 25, when it hosts the Vancouver Island Raiders. Tabora is competing for reps with incumbent starting running back Gavin Halvorson and Jacob Wong, who has been with the Kodiaks since the team started in 2022.

“It’s going really good,” said Tabora, who is listed at five-foot-nine and 210 pounds.

“I’m having a lot of fun out here, lots of competition. The team is really together, we have a lot of good bonds, and when we do these hitting periods it gets nice and serious, which is just a blast.”

He studied integrated exercise science and hopes to become a high school physical education teacher.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHUCK NISBETT

Kodiaks Head coach Ryan Bellamy addresses the players along with the other coaches following a scrimmage held at Masich Place Stadium Sunday, July 12.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY TED CLARKE

Prince George Kodiaks rookies Kobe Kidd, left, and Xander Tabora are gearing up for the team’s 2026 BC Football Conference season opener July 25 at Masich Place Stadium against the Vancouver Island Raiders.

Rookies sign on for a challenging new Kodiaks season

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

“I think teaching kids how to be active and taking care of their bodies and getting them into something I loved as a kid — I was in every sport, loved sports — so to get kids to push for that kind of goal and have something that they can love, that’s the goal for me,” said Tabora.

Tabora was heading into Grade 2 when he started playing football with the Prince George Minor Football Association Axemen, where he first met Kodiaks linebacker Kobe Kidd. Tabora went on to become a four-time male athlete of the year at Shas Ti Kelly Road. He played in two games last season for the NCAA Division 3 Terriers.

Kidd left Prince George after his Grade 9 season at Shas Ti Kelly Road and played at Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School in Surrey in Grade 10. The following season, he joined the Football North prep school in Mississauga, Ont. Last year, he moved to Yelm, Wash., and finished his high school career in the South Puget Sound League with the Quad-A Tornados.

“Football is life there, we had everybody at the games,” Kidd said. “We had 4,000 to 5,000 at our games. If you’re on the street around Yelm on a Friday night you’ll probably get arrested, they’ll think you’re up to no good.

“They give the players deals at restaurants and stuff, it’s awesome.”

Kidd, 18, was recruited by the UBC Thunderbirds this year but chose to defer admission so he could save money before enrolling in the engineering program. Like Tabora, he jumped at the chance to play for his hometown Kodiaks.

“It’s a good opportunity to play with guys I’ve been playing with since I was six years old,” said Kidd.

Like Tabora, the six-foot-two, 230pound Kidd has exceptional speed. He plays linebacker because he enjoys the physicality of making tackles.

The Kodiaks endured a tumultuous off-season. Head coach and director of football operations Jamie Borham was fired after it became known the

team was $426,000 in debt and could no longer afford to pay his contract, which still has two years remaining. Borham’s dismissal and the not-for-profit club’s internal struggles led to the nine-member board of directors resigning and a new board being formed in March.

Ryan Bellamy was appointed interim head coach after serving as assistant head coach under Borham last season.

With some veterans from last year’s playoff team leaving for other clubs, the Kodiaks face a challenging season. The team has between 50 and 60 players, many with limited junior experience, but the smaller roster should also mean more playing time.

“We’ve got enough guys, guys we want,” said Tabora. “These are the guys that are committed to being here and we know who’s driving towards our goal. We’re going to get all those reps, getting the stats we want and the playing time we want, and we’ll also keep the guys here. I know for some of the other teams they had a lot of guys transfer because they didn’t get the playing time.

“I know Prince George has one of the best atmospheres (for home games) and I’m super excited to try to get those people to rally back to us, especially after all this controversy, making sure that we’ve got Prince George supporting us.”

Kidd is confident the team’s off-field

time down there but the experience of being in a college program, learning the structure of being a student-athlete, he’s definitely one of the guys who brings leadership to the team right out of the gate.”

The Kodiaks have about 50 players working out with the team, and Bellamy expects that number to grow to between 65 and 70 over the next week, with five players from the United Kingdom expected to join camp.

troubles will eventually be resolved and is focused on football. Knowing the Kodiaks have a strong following in the city that has made game nights at Masich Place Stadium memorable, he is looking forward to the season opener July 25.

“There’s going to be adversity wherever you go, really,” Kidd said. “Sure ours is a little bit harsher than others, but at the end of the day we’re out here working and we’re going to have a good team. We’re excited to show Prince George we’ve battled through adversity and maybe we’ll come out with a win on top of that.”

Bellamy coached the Shas Ti Kelly Road high school program for two decades and coached both Tabora and Kidd with the Grizzlies.

“It’s great to get Xander and Kobe back home,” said Bellamy. “Their experience playing in the States last year definitely will bring a different level of play to our practices.

“Kobe played a lot and he’s going to make an impact as a rookie. Playing in the States at the four-A level, it’s a very fast-paced game, so it’s less of a conversion than coming from Canadian high school speed. He had offers to go directly to university (at UBC and NCAA Division 1 Eastern Washington), those are things that tell you the talent’s there.

“Xander didn’t get a bunch of playing

“From the outside there were a lot of people who had question marks,” said Bellamy. “But with this group there was never any question with them. They’re committed to being here and they’re all 10 toes in, ready to go. The decision was to play with a smaller roster this year, really reward the guys for the fact they’re committed to be here so they get the development they deserve, playing meaningful reps.”

Sawyer Thiessen, the Kodiaks’ starting quarterback the past two seasons, has graduated from the junior ranks, while James Comstock, Thiessen’s backup in 2025, has moved to the Ottawa Junior Riders. Toby Plett, who took over the backup role last season when Comstock suffered a broken hand, is expected to rejoin the Kodiaks this week.

One of the new quarterbacks is Jeanathon Cheremshyanski, who was on the practice roster with the Edmonton Huskies junior team in 2024 and did not play last season. The 20-year-old played high school football two seasons ago in St. Paul, Alta., where he teamed with Kodiaks rookies Chance Leppanen, a defensive lineman, and receiver Aaron Sachko.

“I heard about the Kodiaks in Grade 11,” said Cheremshyanski. “We started following each other on Instagram and a couple of buddies from St. Paul were playing here, so I figured if there was an opportunity to come here I’d definitely like to take that on.

“It’s been super good, it’s a good community and everyone’s super nice. It’s like a city but it feels like a small town at the same time and that’s something I enjoy.”

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY CHUCK NISBETT

The Prince George Kodiaks take part in a pre-season scrimmage at Masich Place Stadium Sunday, July 12.

Winning contnues for ZD Pickering Family Farms

TED CLARKE Citizen Staff

Days after winning the World Champion Heavy Horse Hitch title at the 2026 Calgary Stampede, the ZD Pickering Family Farms Big Six team from Prince George created some hooved thunder south of the border.

Driven by teamster Tim Sparrow and his wife Britney, the Pickerings’ black geldings trotted into the arena at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in Saint Paul, Minn., and were judged reserve champions of the supreme Six Horse Hitch competition.

The overall winner was Wilson Farms of Vankleek, Ont. The World Percheron Congress event on Saturday, July 11 drew 32 entries.

The event was livestreamed and is available on YouTube. The Pickering victory lap is around 2:43:00 into the video.

The awards continued to pile up for

Pickering Family Farms of Prince George won the reserve championship at the World Percheron Congress supreme six horse hitch event in Saint Paul, Minn., on Saturday, July 11.

Pickering Farms when they entered the heavy horse pulling events on the final weekend of the 10-day Stampede.

On Saturday, Stoney and Bill, two of the prize pupils of Pickering’s stable in Pineview, won the Calgary Stampede middleweight division and they teamed up to pull 11,500 pounds.

Lenny and Goose claimed the lightweight event, dragging a stone-boat

Cougars name Rogers new director of scoutng

The Prince George Cougars have promoted longtime scout Rob Rogers to director of scouting ahead of the 202627 Western Hockey League season.

“Rob has earned this opportunity,” Bob Simmonds, the Cougars’ director of player personnel said in a press release sent out on Friday, July 17. “His attention to detail and discerning eye will allow him to hit the ground running. He is a very capable scout, and his organizational familiarity and strong relationships within our scouting team will make his transition seamless.”

Rogers, who has served as the Cougars’ BC scout since the 2019-20 season, replaces Leland Mack, who has accepted an NHL scouting position with the Boston Bruins.

“We are so happy for Leland as he

moves on to the NHL,” Simmonds said. “He has certainly earned his opportunity, and it speaks volumes about his ability and future in the game of hockey. It also shows the Prince George Cougars’ ability to develop people off the ice as well.”

The Cougars open the 2026-27 season at the CN Centre with a two-game series against the Penticton Vees on Friday, Sept. 18 and Saturday, Sept. 19.

The 2026-27 season will start on Friday, Sept. 18 and will end on Sunday, March 28, 2027 with an extra weekend added to the schedule after a vote by the league’s board of governors.

loaded with 11,000 lbs.

The heavy horse competition involves teams of two horses dragging a steel stone-boat weighed down with cement blocks. If none of the teams can reach the required 14 feet, the winner is whichever team can pull the weight furthest. Teams are also judged on their overall appearance.

The Pickerings finished second in the heavyweight pull at the Stampede. Draft horses were the working animals of Canadian farms in the early decades of the 1900s.

The heavy horse breeds — Clydesdales, Shires, Belgians and Percherons — were essential to grain farmers for their ability to move heavy loads and plough fields.

The heavy horse pull started out as a way for farmers to settle bets as to who had the strongest team and it’s become a staple competition at fairs like the Calgary Stampede and BC Northern Exhibition in Prince George.

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CITIZEN STAFF

Rogers

Armstrong wins Calgary Stampede team penning ttle

It’s the third consecutive title for the PG man

TED CLARKE Citizen Staff

Justin Armstrong completed his Calgary Stampede trifecta.

The 35-year-old from Prince George won his third consecutive team cattle penning title on Saturday, July 4, teaming up with his brother Graham of Armstrong and Tom Thorlakson of Vernon to claim the open class ahead of 90 other teams.

The winning team members each won a saddle and each took home a cash prize of more than $6,000.

“It’s great to win there,” Justin said. “Last year I just felt relieved, it just felt like a long haul and it was nice to be over with, but this year I was just elated. It’s a lot of hard work and as the years go on you’re not going to get to compete every year maybe. It’s tough competition and there’s a lot of them getting better.”

The team penning event starts with 30 cows in the arena with three riders. The cows are assigned numbers 0-9 with three each wearing the same number, which is prominently displayed on their backs so they can be easily identified by the riders.

Once the riders cross the start line the announcer calls out a specified number and the trick is to find the three cows of that number and cut them out of the herd and get them to run into a pen at the other end of the arena, all while keeping the other 27 cows from crossing the foul line. The team that does that in the least amount of time wins.

The time limit is 60 seconds and 30 seconds is considered a good time to pen all three head. To claim the open class title, the Armstrong brothers and Thorlakson went through four rounds and penned 12 cows in a total time of 126.73 seconds, nearly 17 seconds quicker than the second-place team. They finished their third round in a lightning-quick 23.59 seconds and fans

at the near-capacity 2,500-seat Nutrien Western Event Centre in Calgary let Armstrong and his team know they liked what they saw. Armstrong also competes every year at the BC provincial penning championship and the annual Canadian Team Cattle Penning Association national finals, but he says nothing beats the chance to compete at the Stampede.

“It’s my favourite for sure,” he said.

“We get the best crowd at the Calgary Stampede and it’s the best atmosphere, most energy and most prestige.

“It’s a bit of niche sport, a lot of people haven’t heard of it. Just growing up with cattle you learn a little but about reading them and how to deal with your horse and with cattle and about the energy you project on them and that was a big help for us.”

Teamwork is essential and usually one rider will go deep into the herd to separate the designated cows while the other two riders work on keeping the rest of the herd contained in the end furthest from the pen.

“You kind of feel what the other person is doing,” said Armstrong. “You’re not wondering, should I do this or if the other person is going to be there.”

Keeping the herd as calm as possible is key.

“In penning, if you get them running that causes more problems than it solves,” he said.

Justin has been crowned a Calgary Stampede penning champion eight times, most often teaming up with his identical twin brother Graham and their older brother Russell. Justin and Graham got started in the sport when they were 11 years old living on the family ranch near the town with their name — Armstrong.

Armstrong won his first saddle as 14 Division champion at the 2012 Calgary Stampede, the 100th anniversary of the annual fair, and this year marked the return of the saddles as part of the prize package

Aside from the open division there are two handicap classes, 14 Class and 7 Class. Riders are ranked 1-7 based on their level of proficiency with 1 being the least experienced and 7 being the most experienced.

To qualify as a team in either handicap class the total of the three riders ratings added together can’t exceed 14 in the 14 Division or seven in the 7 Division.

Armstrong practices team penning and sorting throughout the year indoors at the Prince George Agriplex and also keeps his penning skills sharp at events

at the Randy Opus Performance Ranch near Vanderhoof and the Rocky Hill Ranch in Fort Fraser.

He used to teach team the sport but with a four-year-old daughter and two-year-old son and a full time job as mechanical engineer/project manager of Tidewater Midstream refinery in Prince George he’s had to cut back on teaching time. He still tries to encourage younger riders to get involved and hopes his kids will eventually develop his passion for it.

His wife Allee, a 5-rated rider, was third in the open class in 2025 but didn’t place in the money this year. They each entered five different team combinations. They both rode Suzie, a six-time Stampede champion, among the four quarterhorses they brought to Calgary.

In other local results, Mike Noulett from Kawano Farms in Pineview, south of Prince George, was the reserve champion in the 7 Class. Rebecca Dahl of Prince George finished 10th in the 7 class, teaming up with Ashley Carver and Heather Stairs. Clint Dahl, Rebecca’s husband, also made the top-20 cut in the open class.

Armstrong plans to reunite with his brothers in the arena in Calgary at the Canadian Team Cattle Penning Association national finals, Oct. 7-12.

Justin Armstrong of Prince George works his way to winning his third Calgary Stampede team penning open class title on July 4 at Nutrien Western Event Centre in Calgary.

Life Events

In Loving Memory of Ty Janse

Sept 25, 2006 - July 22, 2023

July 4, 1930 - July 2, 2026

Though your smile is gone forever, and your hand we cannot touch stll we have so many memories of the one we loved so much. Your memory is our keepsake with which we will never part. God has you in His keeping we have you in our hearts. It is sad to walk the road alone, instead of side by side. But to all there comes a moment when the ways of life divide . You gave us years of happiness then came sorrow and tears but you lef us beautful memories. We will treasure through the years.

Michaela Husband (nee. Ciceri) passed away peacefully on July 2, 2026 in Armstrong, B.C. Michaela was born at Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, B.C. to Reg and Ella (nee. Simpson) Ciceri on July 4, 1930.

Michaela married her high school sweetheart from Vic High (class of 1948), Allan Husband. Her life was marked by a long and happy marriage of 72 years and by her role as a strong, loving matriarch of her family.

Loving and missing you everyday Mom, Brody, Grandma and Grandpa Janse

She lived and worked in Victoria, Prince George, and Kabul, Afghanistan. She then retred to the Shuswap region and eventually Armstrong. She was a devout reader and was highly profcient at knitng and pett-point.

Michaela is predeceased by her partner Allan, and lovingly remembered by her children, Wendy (Roy) and Bob (Margaret), her 7 grandchildren, and 9 great grandchildren.

Though hearts are heavy, family members fnd comfort in the memories we shared and the love she gave so freely. She will be deeply missed and forever remembered.

Grattude is extended to the caring staf at Pleasant Valley Manor in Armstrong, who kept Michaela comforted in the last days and weeks of her life. No service as per Michaela’s wishes.

Celebration of Life

Alice Downing

lease o n us n celeb atn the beautful l fe of l ce own n e ass on fo l fe ene os t and ndness was felt b an

e n te ou to co e and sha e ou fa ou te sto es and e o es as we honou he to ethe u f o to at the o a an uet hall echa o d a h ll ente

Chris Sloan

August 16, 1959 – June 20, 2026

Chris (William Christopher) Sloan passed away on June 20, 2026 at the Rotary Hospice House in Prince George, afe a lon ba le w th cance

h s was bo n n elowna on u ust e s ent h s l fe the e untl he o ed to ew unsw c n the s and be an h s ca ee of lon haul t uc d n e o ed bac to n the s and contnued h s ca ee n t uc d n but th s t e n lo n e wo ed for a few companies here in Prince George, most recently alla uc n e was a ounta n an h s wo ds

e s su ed b h s w fe enn ste dau hte ha on and ste andson ustn of ancou e and son a ed of ed ee and dau hte e a of ew unsw c lso su ed b othe o een of elowna s ste s na ha on and e on ca and b othe a l and an n eces ne hews and cous ns e deceased b fathe ll a e o al se ce w ll be held on atu da u ust th at at the al aton hu ch at s a l d nce eo e ef esh ents w ll be se ed afe the se ce

Michaela Husband

In Loving Memory

Emily Angela Middleton (née) Turgeon

November 26, 1954 - July 25, 2001

Remembering One Sweet Angel and Fine Lady.

Dan Middleton, The Turgeon and Niro Families, Loved ones and friends

Douglas James Robertson

May 23, 1947 - July 6, 2026

Douglas James Robertson was born in Edmonton on May 23, 1947, and died in Prince George on July 6, 2026, at age 79.

Doug was a gregarious, helpful man who loved people, especially his family.

He spent his career in sales, working in insurance, benefts, and vehicles — a good ft for his outgoing nature. He volunteered widely, serving as a board member with the Chartered Life Underwriters Associaton, the Barracuda Swim Club, and AimHi. For many years, he served lunch most Fridays at the St. Vincent de Paul Drop In Centre.

Doug is survived by his wife, Kay; his daughter, Tara, and her wife, Carolyn; and his son, James. He was a proud grandfather to James’ four children: Ella,

A life devoted to caring for others

Dianne Lea MacDonald (née Forrest)

April 30, 1947 - June 25, 2026

With great sadness, we announce the passing of Dianne Lea MacDonald (née Forrest) on June 25, 2026, at the age of 79.

Born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Dianne moved to Prince eorge as a child, growing up frst in the Island Cache before her family se led in Blac burn. She developed the quiet compassion and strong work ethic that would defne her life.

Dianne completed her icensed Practcal urse training in 1972 and began her career at Prince George Regional Hospital. During her training, she received the Fairlie Peacoc Memorial Award for Best Bedside ursing, recogni ing the exceptonal compassion that became her hallmark. She worked in Pediatrics and Emergency before choosing in 1980 to leave nursing to raise her children, Michelle and Michael, believing that caring for her family was every bit as important as caring for her patents.

On September 21, 1972, Dianne married the love of her life, Byron. Together they shared more than 50 years of marriage before Byron’s passing in 2023. They built a home on fve acres in Pineview, where family and friends were always welcomed with generous hospitality, memorable gatherings, and meals that ensured no one ever le hungry.

In , Dianne returned to nursing with Home

Being a grandmother was among her greatest joys. She lovingly cared for abriel, arre , emma, and auchlin and spent many years caring for abriel, arre , and emma a er school, creatng a home where her grandchildren always felt safe, welcome, and deeply loved. She also gave generously to her community through years of volunteer service with Highland dance and the Elder Cit ens ecreaton Associaton.

Dianne will be remembered for her unwavering indness, quiet strength, and selfess devoton to others. She faced a long ba le with C PD with remar able grace and determinaton. Even throughout her illness, those caring for her o en remar ed on her patence, politeness, and gentle spirit.

Dianne is lovingly remembered by her daughter, Michelle (Trevor); her son, Michael (Amber-Dawn); her cherished grandchildren, abriel, arre , emma, and Lauchlin; her sister, Cheryl (Byron); her brothers, George (Joanne), Kim (Stacey), and Dave; and many nieces, nephews, extended family members, and dear friends.

She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Byron MacDonald; her parents, Armand and Dorene Forrest; and her brothers, Ronald and Kendall Forrest.

The family extends hear elt than s to Dr. ooldridge and the physicians, nurses, and staf of the Primary Care Medical nit at the niversity Hospital of orthern Britsh Columbia for the exceptonal care, compassion, and dignity they showed Dianne throughout her illness.

LEGAL NOTICE:

To anyone related to Lyle Douglas Meise about the trailer MHR#062980,1971, GLENDALL, NOR’WESTERN, located at #293730 LANSDOWNE ROAD PRINCE GEORGE BC, SUNRISE VALLEY MOBILE HOME PARK, the owner of SUNRISE VALLEY MOBILE HOME PARK, 251-3381 Cambie St., Vancouver, B.C. V5Z 4R3 (604-248-7505), will dispose of the abovementoned trailer unless the person being notfed takes possession of the property and establishes a right of possession of it within 30 days from the date the notce is served on that person.

MULTI-FAMILY GARAGE SALE GARAGE SALE 4218 Jackson Cres. Sat July 25 Sun July 26 9am - 3pm

1. Which group released “Rag Doll”?

2. Name the artist who wrote and released “Dreamy Eyes.”

* 1963 - High school student Neil Young and his band, the Squires, entered a studio in Winnipeg to record their first single, “The Sultan.”

3. Which group released “GreenEyed Lady”?

4. Who wrote and released “Cracklin’ Rosie”?

5. Name the song that contains this lyric: “If I could take my pick of all the girls I’ve ever known, Then I’d come and pick you out to be my very own.”

* 1966 - Frank Sinatra went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Strangers In The Night. The LP

Answers

1. The Four Seasons, in 1964. The song spent two weeks at the top of the Hot 100 chart and reached No. 1 in Canada as well.

2. Johnny Tillotson, in 1958. The song was his first single and made it on to the Hot 100 chart. Tillotson penned several more hits over the years, including “Poetry in Motion.”

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) You face the possibility of raising your relatonship to another level. However, your partner might demand that you make promises that you’re not sure you’re ready for.

3. Sugarloaf, in 1970. A few years ago an old tape was found of the group’s live performance in 1975. It was remastered and turned into a vinyl album titled “Sugarloaf Live 1975.” It’s available online.

4. Neil Diamond, in 1970.

5. “Never Be Anyone Else But You,” by Ricky Nelson, in 1959. Nelson’s song has been covered by several artists, including internationally, over the years. The song has recently been used in a TV commercial for chicken noodle soup.

© 2024 King Features Syndicate

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) As changes contnue, expect things to get a litle more hectc at your workplace. An unexpected travel opportunity could open up new career prospects!

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Confront the person who caused your hurt feelings and demand a full explanaton for their actons. You’ll not only recover your self-esteem, but you’ll also gain the respect of others.

would be the most successful of his career, being certified Platinum for 1 million copies sold in the U.S.

* 1964 - A riot broke out during a Rolling Stones gig at The Empress Ballroom in the seaside resort town of Blackpool after Keith Richards aimed a kick at a rude audience member who was spitting at the group. Two policemen and 30 fans were injured and damage was estimated at more than £4,000, about $6,200.

* On this day in 1965, Bob Dylan performed at the Newport

Folk Festival. It was the third consecutive year Dylan had performed at Newport, where he had been well received by the audience. In 1965, however, Dylan included a selection of full-band, amplified songs in the middle of his set, including “Maggie’s Farm” and “Like a Rolling Stone.” Joe Boyd, who was production manager at Newport, estimated that onethird to half of the audience booed Dylan’s electric set. “They certainly booed, I’ll tell you that,” Dylan himself recalled at a press conference later that year. “You could hear it all over the place.”

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) A personal problem in the workplace is compounded by someone’s biased interference. Stand your ground, and you’ll soon fnd allies gathering around you.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) You don’t accept disapproval easily. But instead of hiding out in your den to lick your wounded pride, turn the critcism into a valuable lesson for future use.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) A former friend who you thought you’d cut out of your life is stll afectng other relatonships. Counter their lies with the truth. Your friends are ready to listen.

Despite the audience reaction, the 1965 Newport performance marked an important transition in Dylan’s career as he charted his own path as an artist.

*1925 - The first 50,000-watt radio station, WGY from Schenectady, New York, began transmission.

* 1959 - Introduced by Johnny Cash, 13-year-old Dolly Parton made her Grand Ole Opry debut singing George Jones’ “You Gotta Be My Baby.” She received three encores.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) What appears to be an unfair situaton might simply be the result of a misunderstanding. If you feel that something is out of balance, by all means, correct it.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) A stalled relatonship won’t budge untl you make the frst move. Your partner ofers a surprising explanaton about what got it mired down in the frst place.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) A co-worker shares some startling news, but before you use it to your advantage, make sure that it’s true. Meanhilwe, the weekend favors family maters.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Your usual conservatve approach to family situatons might not work at this tme. Keep an open mind about developments, and you might be pleasantly surprised.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Plans might have to be put on hold because of a family member’s problems. Don’t hesitate to get involved. Your help could make all the diference.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Relatonships in the home and in the workplace need your careful atenton during this period. Be careful not to allow misunderstandings to create problems.

Homes & Living

Cooling Your Home During Summer Heat

When summer temperatures climb, keeping your home cool can improve comfort, lower energy bills, and protect your health. A few practical habits can make a big difference.

Start by blocking sunlight before it enters. Close blinds, curtains, or shades on windows that face direct sun, especially in the afternoon. Blackout curtains and reflective coverings can reduce indoor heat.

Use fans to move air around your home. Ceiling fans should spin counterclockwise in summer to create a cooling breeze. Portable fans near open windows can pull in cooler air during mornings and evenings.

If you use air conditioning, keep it efficient by cleaning or replacing filters regularly. Set the thermostat to a comfortable level instead of the coldest setting, which wastes energy without cooling faster.

Avoid adding extra heat indoors. Cook outside when possible, or choose smaller appliances such as a microwave or slow cooker instead of the oven. Run dishwashers and dryers in the evening to limit heat buildup.

Seal gaps around doors and windows to keep cool air in and warm air out. If you can, add shade with trees, shrubs, or awnings. Stay hydrated and watch heat advisories during extreme weather.

At night, open windows on opposite sides of the house if outdoor temperatures drop enough to make cross-ventilation effective. Use window screens and security locks for safety. In humid climates, a dehumidifier can make rooms feel cooler by removing moisture from the air. Unplug electronics that are not in use, since they can give off heat even when idle. Finally, check on children, older adults, and pets, because they are more vulnerable to heat stress. With steady attention and a few smart adjustments, your home can stay more comfortable throughout the hottest days of summer and reduce strain on cooling systems.