Prince George Citizen January 8, 2026

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THURSDAY, January 8, 2026

Braving the cold for a good cause ... Page 24-25

End of the road for mystery hitchhiker Suspect in 2001 rest-stop killing comes back to Prince George to face justice Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

It was Sept. 10, 2001, a week after Labour Day. The night air near Hixon felt like autumn.

Two men on motorcycles visiting from the United States pulled off Highway 97 at the Woodpecker Rest Area, 46 kilometres south of Prince George.

Something caught their attention. Rustling in the bushes. A bear spray can, a hammer and two pools of blood that contained someone’s dentures.

They called 911. They didn’t know it, but those were the first clues to the killing of one American by another, a mystery that would be solved in months by cross-border law enforcement co-operation. But it would take decades to bring the killer in front of a local judge.

Prince George RCMP officers arrived and called for detectives from the North

District Major Crime Unit. They pulled out the yellow crime scene tape and went to work, finding eyeglasses, three different hammers and a folding knife with the blade open, all bloodstained.

There were drag marks in the grass beyond the parking area. Almost 60 feet down a slope, amid small rocks and bushes, a path of flattened grass and bent branches led to a man’s body in a ravine.

“Homicide shakes Hixon-area residents” was the headline in the Sept. 12, 2001, edition of The Citizen.

A murder at a rest stop in northern British Columbia, the day before al-Qaida’s terrorist attacks on New York City, the Pentagon and rural Pennsylvania killed nearly 3,000 people — the most shocking breach of United States security since Pearl Harbor in 1941.

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The RCMP circulated this drawing of a suspect on a wanted poster after an American traveller’s body was found near Hixon in 2001.

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

NEWS

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

A WW2 veteran was killed at the Woodpecker rest stop CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “You don’t expect it to happen,” a Woodpecker Rest Area neighbour told a Citizen reporter, “but then, you don’t expect the World Trade Center to blow up either.”

More than 24 years later, James Daniel Morgan, 65, is back to face justice for the murder of 74-year-old James Curtis Hamrick. On Friday, Jan. 9, in Prince George, Morgan is scheduled to plead guilty and be sentenced by a BC Supreme Court judge.

This is the story of the World War II veteran and the hitchhiker, based on jailhouse interview transcripts and sworn statements from police and prosecutors found in the files of U.S. courts.

Anchorage away Hamrick, a third class petty officer in the U.S. Navy during the war, packed up his green 1995 Dodge D250 pickup truck with an older beige camper and hitched up his homemade flatbed utility box trailer with pine wood sides.

He kept an eye on the time with the Rolex Oyster Perpetual watch on his left wrist. It was Sept. 8 when he left the modest apartment building near Anchorage’s football stadium and hockey arena, with his poodle, Muffy, as his companion.

Hamrick’s daughter in Arizona was expecting him to arrive a week later, to live with her while he got back surgery to repair chronic pain.

Hamrick relied on a $730 monthly Social Security cheque. He had no credit cards, so he withdrew $600 from Wells Fargo Bank to pay for gas and food. It wasn’t the only cash for this trip.

About six hours later, around dinner time, he stopped in Tok, an Alaska town of about 1,200 at the junction of the Alaska and Glenn highways, 144 kilometres from the Alcan border crossing to Beaver Creek, Yukon.

Hamrick spotted a tall, skinny, bearded man with unkempt hair, wearing a khaki trench coat, getting soaked in the rain. The man told him he had been refused entry to Canada because he was short of cash.

CITIZEN FILES

The Citizen covered the slaying of James Curtis Hamrick and the search for the hitchhiker seen with him before his body was found at the Woodpecker Rest Area near Hixon in 2001.

Hamrick felt sorry for the hitchhiker and decided to give him a ride.

The two of them eventually crossed the border into Yukon and stopped for a meal at the Koldern River Lodge in Beaver Creek before heading to Stewart, BC, where Hamrick’s friend, Virginia Wood, hosted them on Sept. 9.

Morgan told people he was Daniel Curtis or Daniel Clark. His driver’s licence said something else.

He didn’t say much to Wood, except that he came from Spokane, Wash., and muttered something about Idaho and the white supremacist movement. Hamrick spent the night in his camper, but Morgan slept in a makeshift shed.

When nobody was looking, he stole some hammers. But he would not use the tools to build or fix.

The next morning, Sept. 10, Hamrick replaced a damaged fender on his truck with a piece of cream-coloured aluminum siding and got back on the road around 11:30 a.m.

There was some tension between the men. At the 7-Eleven Esso in Smithers, a gas station attendant noticed Hamrick lose his patience when Morgan peeked under the tarp that covered personal items in the trailer. Hamrick mentioned that it was the second time he had done so. He also told her they were supposed to part company at Hazelton.

By early evening, Morgan passed through Prince George and drove the truck into the rest stop near Hixon, with

Hamrick asleep in the passenger seat.

The vehicle came to a stop. Hamrick awoke. They went different directions to find spots to urinate.

Morgan’s mind turned to Hamrick’s cash.

After placing a can of bear spray in his coat pocket he went to find one of the stolen hammers.

He stepped between the truck and trailer and approached the five-footeight, 180-pound Hamrick, who wore a blue T-shirt and beige pants, as he relieved himself in the grass.

Morgan, only two inches taller but 30 pounds lighter, struck the elderly man on the crown of his head. Hamrick fell to the ground. Somehow he crawled to the passenger door of his truck and asked Morgan why he was doing this to him.

Morgan was too afraid to reply.

Instead, he sprayed Hamrick in the face and hit him two or three more times with the hammer. When that didn’t work, he got back in the truck with thoughts of running him over.

Hamrick sat on a rock, in the headlights, soaked in blood. Morgan pulled a cloth-coated bungee cord from the back of the truck and tried to choke him. He hit him with a hammer again and raided Hamrick’s pockets, stuffing hundreds of American dollars and a two-ounce bar of gold into his own, but he did not get Hamrick’s Rolex or Masonic ring.

Then he grabbed Hamrick by the ankles, tossed him into the woods and

got back into the truck.

As he departed the rest area, the two motorcyclists arrived.

While driving, Morgan noticed his own face was bloodied and running over the steering wheel.

Run for the border Morgan abandoned Hamrick’s utility trailer and dog in Quesnel. The poodle was found in a shopping plaza. Morgan stopped near Boston Bar en route to Vancouver, where he dumped the truck and camper on Powell Street just a few blocks from the Vancouver Police Department’s headquarters.

He left the keys inside, hoping someone would steal it and put their fingerprints all over the interior. But he missed the blood marks that were low on the exterior of the passenger side.

Morgan used some of the cash he stole to buy crack cocaine in front of the police station. Tired and high, he went with a woman to her apartment in the Washington Hotel near the busiest intersection of the Downtown Eastside. One of her friends came along and remarked that the World Trade Center had been bombed.

Morgan stayed all day and most of the night before making his way a kilometre south to Pacific Central Station, Vancouver’s intercity bus and train terminal, on Sept. 12, to buy a ticket and board the Greyhound bus to Seattle.

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PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

NEWS

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

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Killer is currently serving a sentence in a Colorado prison Postscript

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE The motorcoach arrived during the noon hour at the Pacific border crossing to Blaine, Wash., where passengers disembarked for U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspection.

Morgan carried a knapsack with his dirty clothes, toothbrush and hairbrush inside and a sleeping bag attached to the outside.

He showed a customs officer his driver’s licence, identifying himself as 1953-born Daniel Walter Schmidt of Chattaroy, Wash. He claimed to have come from a funeral in Victoria, but did not say whose life was celebrated.

He told the officer that he paid his bills by delivering RVs to customers, but wanted to buy a commercial fishing boat. Inside his front left jeans pocket was a roll of American hundred-dollar bills totalling $2,300.

Morgan returned to the bus, which rolled across the 49th parallel into a country stunned by the previous day’s images of the collapsed Twin Towers in New York City. By order of President George W. Bush, the Stars and Stripes flags were half-staffed.

The same day, back in Anchorage, Hamrick’s stepson filed a missing person’s report with local police. The body would be positively identified on Sept. 13.

Mounties in Boston Bar told the Prince George detachment they found Hamrick’s personal items, including his walking cane and an envelope containing X-rays and a label with Hamrick’s home address, dumped at a Trans-Canada Highway rest stop.

When he got off the bus in Seattle, Morgan bought more cocaine, a set of new clothes and rented a motel room.

He even bought a used car — a used Daihatsu Charade three-door hatchback — for $1,000 cash from Fraser Auto Sales on Aurora Avenue North.

He drove it across Washington to his sister’s house. While he was in Spokane, he converted a diamond ring he stole from Hamrick into $200 cash at the Empire pawn shop.

Back in Vancouver, on Sept. 15, police

GOOGLE MAPS PHOTO

The Woodpecker Rest Stop between Prince George and Hixon was the scene of the crime in 2001.

found Hamrick’s truck with a bylaw violation ticket on the windshield. They recovered Morgan’s DNA from the steering column and a toothpick.

A sheriff arrested Morgan on Sept. 17 in Pullman, Wash., for driving under the influence and marijuana possession and booked him as Schmidt.

Morgan later told RCMP officers that he was let go after a couple of hours, so he continued driving to Idaho. Instead of fixing the faulty transmission on his car, he gave it away and reverted to hitchhiking. Florida beckoned, but he went only as far as the Midwest before turning around to Denver with a potential job waiting in Portland.

Instead, he found himself in Sacramento.

“That town has always, somehow stopped me,” he exhaled during an early 2002 interview with police officers. “I called it the methamphetamine capital of the world.”

He ended his solo journey with a breakdown.

“I find it impossible to live with myself. And I felt this way on Oct. 18 last year.”

He said he turned himself in to a Sacramento police officer and told him he was wanted for a parole violation. He also said he confessed to killing a man in BC and another in a Denver motel room. He was officially arrested for a parole violation, misdemeanor warrants and possession of hypodermic needles.

“Since then,” Morgan said during the jailhouse interview, “I’ve been waiting for you guys and other people to show up.”

By the end of October 2001, the Washington State Homicide Task Force told the RCMP that Schmidt was really James Daniel Morgan, born April 11, 1960.

The search ended when they discovered Morgan was already in custody in Sacramento.

At the end of January 2002, two FBI agents, George Fong and Tom Anzelmo, along with two RCMP officers, Wayne Gordey and Bill Fordy, visited Morgan in the Deuel Vocational Institution state jail near San Francisco.

Morgan confessed to Hamrick’s murder and the Denver murder during the recorded interview. DNA samples obtained with a warrant were sent to an RCMP lab in Edmonton. Hamrick’s DNA was on Morgan’s left boot.

Morgan told the officers he considered throwing away the boots, but for some reason he didn’t.

“I didn’t even wash them,” he said.

In Prince George on June 4, 2002, Morgan was charged with Hamrick’s first-degree murder and an arrest warrant was issued.

He pleaded guilty to the Denver second-degree murder on Nov. 29, 2004. A judge sentenced him to 48 years in a Colorado prison, minus 927 days served.

The Canadian government formally asked for extradition under the treaty with the U.S. in 2006 and a U.S. judge ruled Morgan was eligible to be sent north in 2007.

A Canadian Department of Justice spokesperson told The Citizen that the U.S. exercised its prerogative to surrender Morgan only after the end of his Colorado sentence.

Canada sought Morgan’s temporary surrender and the U.S. agreed in late November 2025.

Once the case is resolved in Prince George, Morgan will be returned to jail in Colorado.

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

NEWS

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

Average PG home assessment jumps 2% in 2026 While most assessed property values are up, a few neighbourhoods saw a decrease COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

Single-family homes in the City of Prince George were among the least affected by property value increases in north-central BC in 2026, with BC Assessment reporting an average four per cent jump in figures released early in the new year.

In 2025, the typical single-family home in Prince George was valued at $451,000.

In 2026, the average has increased by two per cent to $459,000.

It’s the fourth-highest average in the north central region, which spans from 100 Mile House in the south to the Yukon border to the north and from Haida Gwaii in the west to the Alberta border in the east. That covers about 70 per cent of the entirety of BC. Only these communities have higher average assessed values for single-family homes: • Town of Smithers: $527,000 (up from $506,000 in 2025) • City of Terrace: $506,000 (up from $484,000 in 2025) • Village of Telkwa: $478,000 (up from $434,000 in 2025) The community with the lowest average assessed value is the Village of Granisle, located on Babine Lake, with an average of $113,000.

The average single-family home in Prince George had its assessed value increase by two per cent from 2025 to 2026, placing it among the bottom of the pack percentage-wise.

Only one community in the north central district saw an average decrease, the District of Tumbler Ridge, which saw a decrease of two per cent.

The District of 100 Mile House and District of Stewart saw their average remain the same, while the District of Vanderhoof and the District of Houston had one per cent increases to their

cent increase Strip Commercial: 2.1 per cent increase (includes 9.3 per cent decrease in the value of single-family homes) • Hart Highway: 1.5 per cent increase • Southwest Prince George: 1.5 per cent increase • Highglen/Heritage/Lakewood: 1.4 per cent increase • Downtown Residential: 1.3 per cent increase • Northwest Prince George: one per cent increase (includes a 6.2 per cent drop in the value of strata properties) • College Heights: one per cent increase • Millar Addition: one per cent decrease • Northeast Prince George: 1.5 per cent decrease • Central/Crescents: three per cent decrease • VLA: 8.4 per cent decrease While the overall business/commercial property value change is not listed, searching BC Assessment’s database for properties affected by fire in 2025 shows steep drops in property value.

In early August, Spotless Uniform and Linen Service at 3942 Kenworth Rd. East burned down. That property dropped in value from around $2.45 million to $1.076 million.

At 508 George St., where CrossRoads Brewing and Distillery was destroyed by fire in September, the property value dropped by 81 per cent from around $1.85 million to $353,000.

Later that same month, the Nechako Bottle Depot at 1922 First Ave. burned down. Its property value dropped by 64 per cent from around $2.7 million to $985,000.

•

BC ASSESSMENT MAP

This map from BC Assessment shows the percentage increase for assessed property values per class in the City of Prince George for 2026.

averages.

Elsewhere in the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, the District of Mackenzie saw a six per cent increase, the Village of Valemount and two per cent jump and the Village of McBride an 11 per cent hike.

The three communities with the largest increases to their averages were the Village of Port Clements, the District of Taylor and the District of Port Edward with respective increases of 16, 17 and 18 per cent.

BC Assessment figures also list the average assessed value for strata residential properties like condos and townhouses for seven communities.

Prince George is in the middle of the pack in terms of both the average and the 2026 increase, coming in at $273,000 and three per cent respectively.

The Town of Smithers has by far the highest average assessed value at $408,000, but that amount is unchanged from 2025.

Both the City of Fort St. John and the District of Kitimat led the pack percentage-wise with six per cent increases.

Online tools provided by BC Assessment also let users drill down further into trends within specific regions,

communities and sometimes even neighbourhoods.

In the City of Prince George, the various property classes saw the following increases to their overall assessed value: • Residential: 1.3 per cent • Single-family dwelling: 1.1 per cent • Strata: 0.7 per cent • Business/other: five per cent • Light industry: 12.3 per cent Here’s the breakdown by Prince George neighbourhood for residential property values, sorted from highest percentage increase to lowest: Cranbrook Hill: 9.4 per cent increase • Southeast Prince George: 5.2 per cent increase • South Fort George: 4.8 per cent increase • Upland/Lansdowne: 3.6 per cent increase • Downtown Commercial: 3.6 per cent increase • Quinson/Spruceland: 3.2 per cent increase • Charella/Starlane/Tyner: 2.7 per cent increase • Peden Hill: 2.5 per cent increase • Westwood/Pinewood: 2.3 per

What’s in an assessment?

It should be noted that the assessed value of a property is made up of two components: the value of the land and the value of the buildings on the land.

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PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

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If you want to appeal an assessment, best to act quickly CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Highest-value properties

For instance, 1100 Patricia Blvd. — the location of Prince George City Hall — is valued at $8.459 million in 2026.

Of that, $1.308 million is because of the land itself and the other $7.151 million is from the buildings.

BC Assessment notes that “assessments are the estimate of a property’s market value as of July 1, 2025 and physical condition as of October 31, 2025.

This common valuation date ensures there is an equitable property assessment base for property taxation.”

Assessments are based both on real estate sales in a given area as well as the size, age, quality, condition, view and location of a property.

As in previous years, no Prince George properties made it onto BC Assessment’s list of the 500 residential properties with the highest assessed values.

That list is dominated by communities in Metro Vancouver, Whistler and Greater Victoria.

Of the 100 highest-value residential properties in the north central district, 28 of them are in the City of Prince George with another 12 in the rural areas around the city.

For the second year in a row, the highest-value residential property in north central BC is an acreage on Moberly Lake valued at around $4.7 million.

The second-highest assessed property is a College Heights home in Prince George valued at $3.8 million.

Regional District Within the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George’s rural electoral areas, BC Assessment noted a 4.1 per cent increase in residential property values, a 3.4 per cent increase for single-family dwellings, a 6.2 per cent increase for business/other properties and 13 per cent increase for light industrial properties.

The District of Mackenzie saw a 5.3 per cent increase to residential property values and a 3.9 per cent increase for business properties.

The Village of Valemount had a 0.3 per cent decrease in residential property values and 1.8 per cent increase for business properties.

The Village of McBride saw a huge 9.8 per cent increase in the overall value of residential properties and a 2.5 per cent jump for business properties.

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Included with BC Assessment’s media releases for the various regions of the province is a brief explainer of how the assessed value of a property affects the owner’s tax burden.

If a property’s change in value is lower than the average for its class, the taxes will likely decrease.

BC has residential, utility, supportive housing, major industry, light industry, business, managed forest land, recreational and farm property classes.

If a property’s change in value is close to the average for its class, taxes will likely remain the same or similar.

If a property’s value increases beyond the average for its class, taxes will likely increase.

The next piece of the property tax puzzle will come later in January as

Prince George city council debates its 2026 budget at meetings on Monday, Jan. 26 and Wednesday, Jan. 28.

That process will determine how much the city needs to increase its tax revenue to run a balanced budget as well as the specific property tax increase for each property class.

How do I appeal my assessment?

Those unhappy with their property’s 2026 assessed value have less than a month to take action.

BC Assessment recommends that property owners reach out through contact information provided on their notice of assessment to speak with an appraiser if they are concerned by the result or feel incorrect information has been included.

If they are still not satisfied, they must submit a notice of complaint by Monday, Feb. 2 to have their case reviewed by a property assessment review panel.

These panels are appointed each year by the provincial government, hearing formal complaints between early February and mid-March.

BC Assessment can be reached toll-free at 1-866-825-8322 or by visiting bcassessment.ca.

How can I get some tax relief?

Property owners in BC can apply for a homeowner grant from the provincial government to offset some of their property tax bill.

Homeowners can get grants of up to $770 for their properties except for those in the Capital Regional District, the Fraser Valley Regional District and the Metro Vancouver Regional District, which are limited to grants of up to $570.

Seniors, veterans and people with disabilities can get higher grants of $1,045 in most of the province and up to $845 in the CRD, FVRD and the MVRD. A Friday, Jan. 2 media release sent out by the province said that “the best time to apply is in May after property tax notices have been received and before the property-tax due date, typically in July.”

Only one owner can apply for the grant for a property each year.

Full grants are available for residential properties valued up to $2.075 million.

After that threshold, the maximum available grant is reduced by $5 for each $1,000 of assessed value.

Complete details of the grant and how to apply are available online at gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/ property-taxes/annual-property-tax/ home-owner-grant

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How will this affect my taxes?

According to BC Assessment, more than 98 per cent of property owners do not appeal their assessments

More information on appeals can be found at gov.bc.ca/gov/content/ housing-tenancy/owning-a-home/ property-assessment-review-panels2 According to BC Assessment, more than 98 per cent of property owners do not appeal their assessments.

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

NEWS

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

Seniors planning rally outside city council meeting Funding for local centres has become a political issue in recent weeks COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

A couple of local seniors’ centres are planning to rally in front of Prince George City Hall ahead of the next city council meeting, but not all local centres are on board with the idea.

As previously reported by The Citizen, Hart Pioneer Centre president Lorraine Prouse said she was working on arranging a rally in protest of council’s Dec. 15, 2025 decision not to split its remaining contingency funds for the year to the city’s five seniors’ centres.

Mayor Simon Yu came into the meeting proposing the $17,691 left in contingency funds be distributed to the downtown Prince George & District Senior Citizens Activity Centre in the face of a funding shortfall.

After getting objections from the city’s other seniors’ centres who said they faced similar challenges, he pivoted to proposing the funds be split evenly.

However, council rejected that proposal in a six to three vote, with some opponents voicing concerns over setting a precedent of allowing some non-profits to bypass the city’s grant application process and offering a shortterm fix instead of a long-term solution.

Council also voted to spend up to $5,000 to facilitate a meeting between the city and the five centres to discuss their long-term needs.

Among those at the Dec. 15 council meeting were several members of the Spruce Capital Seniors’ Recreation Centre on Rainbow Drive.

The centre has been around since 1980, occupying the bottom floor of the Rainbow Lodge long-term care home operated by Northern Health.

Shirley Morin, the centre’s administrator, said in a Tuesday, Dec. 30 interview that the original members borrowed $177,000 to renovate the space back in

CITIZEN PHOTO BY COLIN SLARK

Fern Morin, Shirley Morin and Jeff Walsh of the Spruce Capital Seniors’ Recreation Centre stand in front of the centre’s Christmas tree on Tuesday, Dec. 30.

1979 — the last time it had any major work.

When the mayor’s initial proposal was announced, Morin said she was frustrated that her centre wasn’t included.

While Spruce Capital received a $3,500 grant from the city in 2025, it was only for targeted programming because Prince George’s grant programs do not cover capital costs or staffing.

Morin said she was glad the mayor changed course on his proposal, as she felt the three seniors’ centres outside the downtown core are frequently excluded from conversations despite having similar needs.

If it had gone forward, Yu’s proposal would have seen each centre get $3,538.20.

That would have a big boost to Spruce Capital, Morin said. The terms of the rent from Northern Health are good, but the centre also has costs from three employees, food, utilities, security and more.

She said those employees, including herself, are frequently doing work

outside of their job descriptions and work more hours than they are paid for.

Annual insurance costs are around $8,000 alone.

“The rental insurance here, that has gone up almost $1,700 in the last two years,” she said.

Membership has been trending upwards in recent years. Morin said they had 80 members in 2023 and something like 156 at present.

To keep access affordable, members are only charged $25 per year and people aged 90 and older get free memberships.

“Most seniors are only living on $1,800 a month,” Morin said. “When you pay rent, groceries, car insurance, gas, they’re not left with a lot of money, so they come here. This is their home, they come here and they eat, they get clothing, they get whatever they need.”

Morin attributes some of the increase in memberships to their programming, including a cardio drumming program and a massage therapist who rents a room in the building.

Jeff Walsh, the centre’s janitor and a member of the board of directors, said the atmosphere of camaraderie helps visitors feel less alone.

Pointing at two women sitting at another table, Morin said her mother was catching up with a friend she had lost touch with 57 years ago.

Council’s decision to reject the funding proposal, Morin said, was shocking because as they were in the lobby waiting for the meeting to begin, multiple councillors told them they would be voting in favour of the motion before reversing course.

She also had concerns about Coun.

Susan Scott voting on the item as she is a member of three of the centres, including Spruce Capital.

Discussing the proposed meeting between seniors’ centres and the city, Morin said she didn’t understand why such a budget was allocated as they would be happy to host the event at their centre for free.

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Private donors have stepped in to support local clubs CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

If the meeting does take place, she said she’ll tell council the city’s grant programs need to cover operational costs so she doesn’t have to beg people to donate and work 90 to 100 hours a week due to a lack of funds.

The week after the Dec. 15 council meeting, councillors Trudy Klassen and Brian Skakun said they are considering proposing to their colleagues that council’s entire 2026 contingency fund of $50,000 should be split evenly between the five centres.

“I’m hoping they will seriously consider their last vote and realize that this $10,000 is a life-saving, big shining light at the end of the tunnel for us,” Morin said. “I truly can’t tell you how much that money would mean to us.”

She said it would allow her to give Walsh more hours, open the centre for more hours with fewer restrictions and reduce some of the stress of constant fundraising.

At the Jan. 12 rally, Morin said many members of the centre will be in attendance wearing their blue Spruce Capital shirts and hoped members of the other centres would be there as well.

Reached by phone on Monday, Jan. 5, Elder Citizens Recreation Association vice-president Cindy Baur said she wasn’t personally disappointed by council’s Dec. 15 decision on contingency funds but was sorry for the other centres in greater need of funding.

“I have empathy for all the centres,” Baur said. “It’s hard out there. It’s hard to get volunteers. It’s hard to watch sale prices on stuff. It’s hard to keep up with everything unless you’ve got good people looking after finances and budgets and projections and all that.”

ECRA, located at 1692 10th Ave., opened in February 1992. Like the downtown Prince George & District Senior Citizens Activity Centre, ECRA leases its building from the City of Prince George.

However, like her peers, Baur said she was glad the mayor changed course and tried to disburse the funding between all the seniors’ centres.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY COLIN SLARK

Members of the Spruce Capital Seniors’ Recreation Centre plan to wear their blue club colours when the hold a rally outside city hall.

“Whether it’s $5 or $3,500, it’s always helpful,” Baur said. “We have a list of things that we need to replace in the centre, like a Mixmaster and the blinds are falling apart. The slats are broken, some of the tracks are broken. There’s always all that little stuff that does add up.”

Like Spruce Capital, ECRA has three paid employees. Baur said insurance is one of their biggest expenses, as well as utilities and janitorial work. Snow removal in the parking lot is handled by the city, but ECRA is responsible for sidewalks and entrances.

The last time ECRA’s lease with the city was renewed, Baur said the terms were changed so it pays for interior maintenance like electrical work.

Overall, though, Baur said ECRA is doing okay financially, which she partially attributed to their status as a nonprofit.

She said she thought a meeting between the city and all the centres is a good first step, though up to $5,000 in expenses might be a little rich and individual meetings with all the centres would also be warranted.

As for Skakun and Klassen’s proposal, Baur said she thinks council should only discuss how to use the money after they’ve met with all the seniors’ centres to see where the funds are most needed.

When she spoke with The Citizen, Baur said she had not heard about the plan from the other centres to hold a rally.

“I don’t think a rally at this point is really called for,” Baur said. “All that does is show that the centres just want money, in my opinion, instead of changes.”

In the basement of College Heights Baptist Church at 5401 Moriarty Cres., the North Central Seniors Association rents space on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to host meals, social events and other programming for its 200 members.

President Simone Halpin said while the NCSA was also glad the mayor changed course and disappointed that his revised motion didn’t pass, they also had concerns that there might have been strings attached to it like oversight of their operations from the city.

“We’re always disappointed we can’t get money,” Halpin said. “We need money to run our programs.”

She said due to rising costs and restrictions placed on some grants they apply for, the NCSA has had to consider hiking prices on some of its programs this year. Getting the $3,500 would have helped them look at new programs or maintaining their existing ones.

Running programs, she said, represent their biggest costs. Beyond some

7

of their social events like cards, they also offer luncheons, guest speakers, foot care sessions and computer lessons.

They charge a $15 annual membership fee — $7.50 for those 80 and older — which is intentionally kept low to keep the programming accessible. As well, they have to pay for rent, insurance and the rising cost of groceries for their meals.

“All of it has gone up so much that we just have to really watch where we spend our money and how we can get the best result for the seniors that participate,” Halpin said.

Halpin said she thought a meeting between the city and the various centres would be helpful so the city can better understand the challenges they’re facing and evaluate whether they need to change their grant programming to make them more accessible to them.

As for Skakun and Klassen’s proposal, she said she would love to see it go forward but she had some concerns about using up the available funds and preventing other worthy causes from getting anything.

Like Baur, she said she had not heard about the other centres planning a rally and she’d have to speak with her board of directors before deciding on whether to attend.

Just before Christmas, Treasure Cove Casino announced it had responded to the mayor’s call for private donations to local seniors’ centres and would be providing $2,500 cheques to each of the five centres in town.

Coun. Kyle Sampson also announced he would give $500 donations to each centre.

All three of the centres contacted for this article confirmed they had received the donations from the casino or had set up appointments to receive them and said they were grateful.

Spruce Capital and ECRA said they had received Sampson’s donation, while NCSA said it had yet to hear from him.

However, NCSA was closed for the holidays and wasn’t scheduled to reopen until Jan. 12.

8

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

OPINION

Municipal election year: Our mission statement KENNEDY GORDON Citizen Managing Editor

Happy New Year from all of us at The Prince George Citizen.

Almost four years ago, Prince George voters elected the current mayor and council. On Oct. 17, you will be asked to cast your vote once more.

Municipal government affects our lives more directly than any other level of government, yet it is also where scrutiny is thinnest and public engagement is weakest.

That combination is dangerous.

In 2022, 15,310 of 58,289 eligible voters cast ballots — 26.3 per cent, or just over one person in four.

When oversight fades, so does accountability. And it is us — taxpayers, renters, workers and business owners — who pay the price.

Over the coming year, we will focus on detailed, sustained coverage of how this city is governed and how decisions are made. As election day approaches, we will provide comprehensive coverage of the people asking for your vote — real background reporting on mayoral and council candidates, incumbents and newcomers alike.

Voters deserve critical information about those running for municipal office. What experience do they bring to the table? Who do they answer to?

What have they actually accomplished — while in office or out? Casting your ballot should come from an informed

This Citizen editorial cartoon was created by a human artist using a combination of digital illustration and artificial intelligence art tools.

position rather than name recognition.

Democracy only works when you, the voter, know more than rehearsed talking points and campaign signs.

Our goal is for you to have a better understanding of where candidates stand on the issues that matter to you

and why showing up with an informed vote is important.

Alongside our coverage, we will host a series of all-candidates forums ahead of the October vote, giving residents the chance to hear directly from those seeking office, to compare ideas and to

hear answers to hard questions. These forums are not theatre. They are a public service, designed to cut through the noise and put substance front and centre.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

OFFICE (8:30a - 4:30p) 505 Fourth Avenue Prince George, B.C. V2L 3H2 We acknowledge the financial support of the government of Canada.

FRONT DESK AND CLASSIFIED frontdesk@pgcitizen.ca 250-562-2441

Nous reconnaissons l’appui financier du gouvernement du Canada.

NEWS AND SPORTS news@pgcitizen.ca Cameron Stolz Owner / Publisher

Terresa Randall-Stolz Owner

Kennedy Gordon Managing Editor

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR editor@pgcitizen.ca OWNER / PUBLISHER owner@pgcitizen.ca

Letters to the editor are welcome. The maximum length is 300 words.

Letters may be subject to editing for length, clarity, grammar, spelling and legalities prior to publication. Please include your daytime contact information.

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

OPINION

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

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We will help you cast informed ballots this October CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE Our work has already begun with detailed coverage of what happens at city hall. At the end of each council report, we list the motion and tally how each councillor voted so you know where they stand in comparison to what they may have said during the meeting or posted on social media afterward.

We will be diving deep into the city budget. The budget reveals council’s priorities more clearly than any campaign slogan. Examining the numbers will help answer questions about councillors’ true priorities while explaining the trade-offs they are asking residents to accept. We will not settle for vague assurances or flashy buzzwords. You deserve to know where your elected officials are — or are not — spending your tax dollars.

We will also be clear about our editorial position, which is separate from our objective news reporting: The Citizen does not believe the city is in a position to budget for zero per cent tax increases. The only outcome of doing so will be continued degradation and failure of infrastructure and significant service cuts.

This is just the beginning of our coverage, but the facts are simple: costs rise and cities must either cut expenses or generate new revenue.

With no proverbial couch cushions left to check, a municipality has three ways to increase revenue: increasing user fees (for example, pool admissions, ice time and facility rentals); property taxes through new construction or higher tax rates; and provincial funding through fair-share agreements.

That third option — fair-share agreements — is a critical tool that must be aggressively pursued by the next council. A fair-share agreement can generate new, sustainable revenue for Prince George. Hosting workers for major industrial activity that drives British Columbia comes with real costs, costs other communities across the province have recognized.

In July 2024, the province signed the Northwest BC Resource Benefits Alliance with 21 local governments, stretching west from Vanderhoof to Port Clements, securing $250 million in new funding over five years. Prince George, under the previous council led

by Lyn Hall, declined to participate. Five members of that council were re-elected in 2022.

Since then, those five councillors — Garth Frizzell, Cori Ramsay, Kyle Sampson, Susan Scott and Brian Skakun — alongside the newly elected mayor and councillors, have again failed to pursue a fair-share agreement for the community, leaving user fees and property taxes to make up for rising costs.

That inaction stands in direct contradiction to the city’s own 2023-26 strategic plan, which explicitly committed to “pursu(ing), in collaboration with partner organizations, an agreement with the provincial government on the sharing of benefits from industrial investment in central British Columbia.”

When it comes to pursuing a fairshare agreement — similar to those in the Peace River region or the deal secured by communities to the west — the response has been indifference.

Not even a preliminary effort to explore collaboration with neighbouring communities north to Mackenzie or south to Quesnel and Wells has materialized.

No committees have been struck, no mayor’s task force established, no motions brought forward by the standing committee on intergovernmental affairs, and no visible engagement from the standing committee on finance and audit.

This silence is especially striking given council’s demonstrated willingness to form committees for far less consequential matters, such as recognizing a citizen of the year, hosting FIFA watch parties or meeting to discuss how to fund seniors’ centres instead of funding seniors’ centres.

In 2026, we will help residents filter through the noise and memes on social media and assist in informed debate — about pay, performance, transparency

and accountability. These are the conversations voters deserve, and they are what we will provide through our coverage.

We should all be concerned when an elected official, a city employee or a member of a city committee complains about public scrutiny. It means one thing: there are things they do not want you to know.

In a municipal election year, it is more important than ever to have an independent set of eyes on what is happening at city hall and at the school board.

As Prince George prepares to choose who will fill those seats next, our role at The Citizen is simple: watch, inquire, report.

This work matters in our city more than in most places because voter turnout in Prince George municipal elections remains abysmally low — whether because of apathy, frustration or complacency.

We hope that by providing fulsome, engaging coverage, you — the voter — will understand which candidates stand for the issues that matter to you and be able to make a confident, informed decision and show your civic pride on Oct. 17 by voting.

Complaining after the fact is not participating — voting is.

Locally owned, community focused, with a special eye on local elections.

That’s our mission for 2026.

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

Municipal election signs line Queensway heading into downtown in this 2022 photo. Expect to see signs again later this year, some with new names and others with familiar ones — but take the time to look past the photos and slogans before casting your votes.

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

OPINION

A revived Monroe Doctrine and BC’s economic future Do we have to be concerned?

I am briefly swinging into U.S. politics before looking at BC and the Central Interior.

President Donald Trump has unveiled his National Security Strategy, drawing significant inspiration from the Monroe Doctrine.

President James Monroe first introduced the Monroe Doctrine in his annual address to the U.S. Congress back in 1823.

Monroe warned the European powers not to interfere in affairs of the Western Hemisphere.

Later U.S. presidents, such as John F. Kennedy, did not adopt the Monroe Doctrine, but Trump revived it, emphasizing U.S. dominance and prioritizing trade over democratic values.

Worth mentioning are eye-catching claims that the European continent is heading for “civilization erasure” and could look unrecognizable in 20 years or less.

The most aggressive language is found

in its operational directive “demanding establishing or expanding access in strategically important locations,” where the military would be permitted to secure strategic locations or passages, referring to the North American half of the hemisphere, which includes Canada and the Northwest Passage.

Although the term “51st State” does not explicitly come up, Trump has not let go of it yet.

What does the U.S. National Security Strategy mean for Canada and, more importantly, how can we strengthen and protect our economy?

My suggestion is to remain vigilant and avoid giving in to fear, ensuring that raw materials are neither traded

irresponsibly nor acquired by large corporations.

Although Trump’s strategy paper clearly confirms that the U.S. should work with Canadian companies and exert influence wherever possible, we must, in my mind, be strong, diversify and focus on what can be done to drastically reduce unemployment numbers and make Prince George and the region the most attractive place where people want to be.

Currently, our economy in North BC is not extraordinarily strong, and the outlook is not encouraging when considering our faltering forestry-based economy.

Please allow me a flashback: When my

wife and I travelled in 1978 from Calgary via Prince George to Prince Rupert, both of us said, “I see unlimited economic opportunities here.”

Unfortunately, our industry and decision-makers failed to adapt and did not see it early enough or admit that our forest economy is going downhill. Many in our community foresaw this result 20 years ago.

I personally got involved in getting an engineering program going at the university and lobbied for value-added manufacturing. It is regrettable that our government and educational institutions did not seize the opportunity to prioritize education and advance value-added manufacturing within the forest economy.

We could be the centre of mass timber manufacturing, for instance, and be a place of excellence with a reputation that would draw others to live and work here.

Our BC Central Interior is the best place I can imagine. Let us harvest the unlimited opportunities right before us.

Albert Koehler, P.Eng. is former city councillor.

Council members have shown us who they are with recent votes

LETTERS tothe EDITOR

As she lied about no funds for the Legion and states the contingency fund isn`t a slush fund. Then what is it?

Coun. Tim Bennett, was worried that a precedent would be established, knowing an amendment could be attached.

Also, how it would tie into deliberations concerning property tax increase of 5.96 per cent.

Hopefully council will redirect management to put forth a zero per cent. In this economical difficult year.

Coun. Ron Polillo seemed to forget seniors were asking for just this year.

Unsustainable fix doesn`t equate to what was happening.

The taxpayers contingency fund would be better spent on a grant system rather than seniors.

Coun. Garth Frizzell wants to table a motion for the following year. Too late

for the help needed this year. Defer and deflect common practice.

Voted in favour: Mayor Simon Yu, Coun. Trudy Klassen and Coun. Brian Skakun have not forgotten why they were elected.

Seniors in the gallery shocked and angry abruptly left, adding a few comments on their way.

Sampson realizing the anger and a coming election, wanted to walk back the defeat. As did the other councillors by voting in favour of an appeasing added motion. The same as the legion, do damage control after the fact.

Six councillors have painted themselves into a corner, narcissism, theatrics and power got in the way of doing the right thing.

MILTON MAHONEY Prince George

ALBERT KOEHLER Guest Columnist

Council has no respect for our seniors or the Royal Canadian Legion and all it stands for.

The six councilors have struck again.

First, denying the legion needed funds and now seniors. Again, the same six councilors voted against funding the seniors’ needs for this year end. All six had their own reasoning.

They could have ended 2025 on a positive note. But instead angered the seniors of our city. These people who have worked hard and paid their taxes, paid their dues, proud people, deserve respect.

Voted against seniors: Coun. Kyle Sampson in his redirect is concerned money from contingency fund could be better spent. Then changed the

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

The Prince George area is seen from the air on Dec. 28. Albert Koehler explores the impact of the current U.S. regime on the economy of the Central Interior in a column today.

narrative. What a bunch of political double talk. Trying to skirt issue with theatrics, gaslighting, creating a process of confusion.

Coun. Susan Scott is a member of three of senior organizations and spoke against funding. Also refused legion funding (while being a chaplain for the legion), sad. With 11 years as councillor there should be no problem explaining to seniors.

Coun. Cori Ramsay (chair of finance) must now divert contexts, she hasn’t time to review which seniors’ centres received permissive tax exemptions from city or leased buildings from the city, which has no relevance. This is truly self-serving, who cherishes power.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

OPINION Driving an electric vehicle in Prince George and the North: Is it viable?

I have to admit, a future with some type of electric vehicle dominating the roadways, does have its appeal.

Internal combustion engines do release emissions into our living space and I do have to wonder about the health impact of thousands of idling vehicles on our streets endlessly.

Although I don’t find most vehicles to be obnoxiously loud, maybe a shift towards electric will reduce the unnecessary noise pollution.

On the other hand, with electric cars being a fledgling technology, I wonder where the technology is headed?

What will the cars be like in ten years, will they be replaced by newer superior technology?

I would like to see more indepth honest interviews with electric car owners.

What does long range travel look like?

How has it impacted their hydro usage?

VIDEO: New water flows through Prince George’s Cottonwood Island Park

Council considers next steps for downtown business safety

Take a look back at the 100 most-read Prince George Citizen stories of 2025

Money well spent. Anything that promotes a level of tourism is a great idea for Prince George.

Why should the businesses have to fund this, they are the victims here. They already face soaring insurance rates to cover break-ins and broken windows.

That is if they can even get insurance or face deductibles so high it makes coverage pointless.

I appreciate the great coverage the Citizen has done. From politics, sports to farmers markets! Well done

I would encourage continuing the motivation in expanding this project to include a suspension bridge connecting the winery to the trail system.

This would allow individuals to enjoy the city’s walking paths and also enjoy some beverage during there outings if they choose to do so.

Any positive changes that promote a safe area to enjoy while encouraging exercise for our aging population is a welcome thought.

Something positive for a change is a far better look for our city than the current human zoo created by government and administration that allowed this environment to fester to what it has become today.

Mike with concerns

Repair cost snd availability?

Impact of cold weather?

And please, less of this “waking up the neighbourhood or burning expensive fuel unhealthy for children or anyone.”

Zangief

Share your views on our stories at pgcitizen.ca

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Editorial: A Christmas look back at Prince George’s positives of 2025 I feel one of the good news stories is the emergence of The Citizen newspaper’s editor as a source of important information and insight into issues that concern the taxpayers of this city.

Thanks for a job well done and MERRY Christmas.

Randy Flavel

The risk arson leaves them with many a sleepless night

Brian Skakun Public safety committee pitched on non-profit coalition

The solution lies at the doors of the courthouse.

Glad to see this initiative. The public money that is thrown at this is phenomenal, and much of it disappears into a void.

It’s turned into an industry, we just have to look at the money involved in Vancouver to see what can happen.

People being released before the ink is dry on the charging documents must end. Judges have to start locking up people who breach release conditions.

People would be shocked at the per capita (persons in need) that is spent. Accountability is expected but is lacking in many cases.

Getting more probation after breaching probation is a joke!

As the article points out many of these agencies or groups frequently operate in silos, working at cross purposes to each other, not necessarily deliberately, but through lack of coordination.

Some customers are avoiding downtown and who could blame them?

Many are struggling just to stay afloat as it is

Repeat offenders must be barred from downtown or from Prince George entirely if they come from elsewhere Pouring more and more money into policing the CBD is futile if those causing the problem are not held to account.

Bobs your uncle

Take a look back at the 100 most-read Prince George Citizen stories of 2025 Thank you for all your hard work and Merry Christmas to the staff at The Citizen. PG is fortunate to have The Citizen.

Mr Science

An executive group funded by a bit from each group could better coordinate and communicate amongst them to better utilize the funding coming from taxpayers.

A city representative should sit on the board so that the public, through the city, can be aware of what is going on.

Funding for any group should be conditional on working within the oversight of the program.

B1

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

NEWS

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

Symphony manager seen at white nationalist event The PGSO suspended her after Canadian Anti-Hate Network shared her photo MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

The Prince George Symphony Orchestra (PGSO) is currently in the midst of an ongoing investigation into the actions of operations manager Thea Coburn.

Coburn was reportedly photographed at a white nationalist networking event in Vancouver by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network (CAHN), which took photos of the attendees and uploaded them to its website for identification.

The event took place on July 26, 2025, with approximately 50 attendees, and was titled “Exiles of the Golden Age.” Coburn was identified by CAHN from a tip from a member of the public on Dec. 22.

CAHN reports the event was organized by white nationalists, including Robertson De Chazal and Karsen Miller, with whom Coburn was photographed entering the venue.

De Chazal has previously been charged in connection with a series of alleged hate crimes, with police alleging he was a member of the white supremacist group Blood and Honour.

These charges include an incident in 2009 in which a sleeping Filipino man was allegedly sprayed with a flammable liquid and set on fire. However,

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY CHUCK NISBETT

Thea Coburn performs onstage during Canada Day celebrations at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park on July 1, 2025.

De Chazai was later cleared of these charges.

Miller is reportedly tied to Vinland Battlewear, a suspected white supremacist clothing brand, through Northern War Cult, whose designs have been seen on Vinland Battlewear’s social media pages.

CAHN also states that organizers of the event have ties to Vinland Hammerskins, the Canadian chapter of the Hammerskin Nation, a global white supremacist group.

Social media posts from organizers collected by CAHN state the event would have a performance during the conference and its VIP afterparty from “BC’s own Folk and Fiddle.” It is unknown whether Coburn was a

performer; however, photographs show her entering the building with a violin.

PGSO has released the following statement regarding Coburn’s involvement in the event.

“A report was published by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network (antihate.ca) on Dec. 22, 2025, tying PGSO operations manager Thea Coburn to the event Exiles of the Golden Age. “Prince George Symphony Orchestra management was made aware of the report by a patron on the afternoon of Dec. 22. We had no prior knowledge of the report nor of Coburn’s attendance at the event.

“As the PGSO is still in the process of an internal review, we cannot make any

CANADIAN ANTI-HATE NETWORK PHOTO

Thea Coburn, operations manager of the Prince George Symphony Orchestra, is seen at a white nationalist event last summer in Vancouver. She was identified after photos of her and other attendees were shared by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network.

further comment at this time. Coburn is on paid administrative leave until this process has been completed.

“We ask for the public’s patience during our investigation process, but reaffirm that the PGSO values diversity and inclusion. We are committed to upholding the values of universal human rights, fair treatment, and equal opportunity for all.”

The Citizen has been unable to contact Coburn for comment.

Aquatic Centre begins two-year closure for extensive renovations COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

If spending more time swimming is on your list of new year’s resolutions for 2026, it won’t be at the Prince George Aquatic Centre.

As of Thursday, Jan. 1, the pool officially closed down for two or more years of renovations, leaving just the

downtown Canfor Leisure Pool operational during that time.

That closure came despite concerns expressed by user groups like the Barracuda Swim Club and a late push by Mayor Simon Yu to find an alternative path forward.

The $37 million worth of work will include energy efficiency, insulation, accessibility and exterior improvements,

structural repairs, a new dive tank sparger system, health and safety-related fixes and building envelope fixes.

While the Aquatic Centre is closed, the Canfor Leisure Pool will be open seven days a week with extended hours.

Public swimming will take place between 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 to 10 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays, 12:30 to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

on Sundays.

Visitors to the CLP can park for free in the gravel lot across the street that used to be the location of the Four Seasons Leisure Pool by either scanning a QR code or registering their license plate inside the pool building.

Those entering the building must store their shoes in a locker, which require the returnable deposit of a loonie.

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

NEWS

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

Pineview family displaced after house trailer fire

13

TED CLARKE Citizen Staff

The Christmas holidays brought tragedy to a young Prince George family when their rented house trailer caught fire on Monday, Dec. 29, forcing them out of their Pineview home.

Justine Brown, her boyfriend Justin Daumont and her eight-year-old daughter Mary-Ann had just left their home to drive into the city for groceries around 3 p.m. Monday when Justine got a call from her landlord to inform her their home was on fire.

Three volunteer fire departments responded and extinguished the blaze but the firefighters were too late to save one of the back bedrooms and bathroom, which were destroyed by the flames. The other bedroom was severely damaged by fire and the rest of the trailer suffered extensive smoke and water damage.

A passer-by, William, saw the smoke and knocked on the door to the trailer while it was burning and he got the family’s three dogs and two cats safely out of the building. But a four-monthold kitten, Hermes, and a lizard died of smoke inhalation.

The fire is believed to have started in the wall of Mary-Ann’s bedroom. Furniture, Mary-Ann’s bed, clothes, toys, Christmas presents and other personal items were lost in the fire.

Justine, who turned 32 on Tuesday, has a home-based business as a nail technician and is temporarily out of work until she finds a new long-term rental home. They haven’t been allowed in the trailer since the fire but it’s believed her nail manicure supplies and equipment were lost.

Justin, 28, a CN Rail employee, works part-time as a disc jockey and uses his laptop computer to store his music which was also destroyed by the fire.

He had a New Year’s Eve gig lined up that’s was cancelled but he has another event lined up and friends have offered to let him use their equipment.

“My niece has lost all of her clothes, toys, Christmas presents, her bed and sadly her and my sister’s boyfriend’s

SUBMITTED PHOTOS

Justine Brown, her eight-year-old daughter and Justine’s boyfriend were forced out of their Pineview home after a fire on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025 severely damaged it and destroyed many of their belongings. Justine’s sister Paige has established a Go Fund Me fundraising campaign to help them recover.

cat perished in the fire,” said Justine’s sister, Paige Brown.

“My sister and her boyfriend lost their clothes, sentimental items and furniture as the smoke damage rendered them as unusable. They are now placed in a difficult financial position to be able to afford a new rental along with damage deposit as well as new furniture, toys and anything else that was damaged in this fire.

“My sister always jumps at the opportunity to help her family and friends and I ask at this time to help out in any way you can as we are thankful for anything.”

The family and their pets are staying with family members until they find a permanent place to live. Mary-Ann attends Grade 3 classes at Foothills Elementary School, close to where her grandmother lives.

“They’re couch-surfing right now,” said Paige. “I live in only a

one-bedroom so I’ve taken one of her cats. We have to kind of split up the animals for the time being. They’re staying back and forth between Justin’s mom’s house and some friends that have a holiday trailer they’ve let them stay in as well.”

They like living in rural Pineview but are willing to move anywhere in the city that they can afford which will allow them to live together with their pets.

Paige has started a GoFundMe campaign, which so far has raised about $2,000 of the goal of $10,000. If you would like to contribute go to the page at www.gofundme.com/f/house-fire-recovery-for-my-sister-and-niece.

The family has received some donated items but Paige is asking for donors to hold off on that until they have a place to store them. Once they get settled she plans to update the Go Fund Me post to let people know what they most urgently need.

“We’ve been so grateful, this incomparable rallying from the community has been phenomenal,” said Paige.

“My one sister lives in Valemount and people there are asking how they can help. It’s just showcased so much community, not only in Prince George but outside, it’s so touching. We’re thankful for anything we receive.”

14

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

NEWS

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

Family dealt terrible blow in fatal Willow River fire Wife and mother Alyssa Kunka, 29, died on Dec. 21.

COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

Friends, family and neighbours are lending their support to a father and son in Willow River after a young mother died and their house was destroyed in a fire just a few days before Christmas.

Scott Kunka told The Citizen in a Monday, Dec. 29 interview that he believes the fire that killed his 29-year-old wife Alyssa was electrical in nature, starting at around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 21.

Willow River is located roughly 50 kilometres northeast of Prince George.

He said after the initial blaze was put out and his wife’s body was found, no one was watching for spot fires and the home is now gone as a result.

“I don’t know how we’re ever going to rebuild or what we’re going to do,” Kunka said.

The Lee Street property is now an empty space surrounded by singed outbuildings and sheds. Yellow police tape still blocks off access to some areas.

At the end of the street, a parking area for the home has two partially melted snowmobiles that were dragged away from the heat.

As previously reported by The Citizen, the RCMP does not consider the fire to be suspicious in nature.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY COLIN SLARK

Scott Kunka and his four-year-old son Alex stand in front of their property in Willow River, BC on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. On Sunday, Dec. 21, a fire burnt down their home, claiming the life of Alyssa Kunka, 29 (below).

Now the mechanic and his four-yearold son Alex are splitting their time between his mother’s cabin in Willow River and his in-laws’ home in the Shelley area.

“Great wife, great mother,” Scott said of Alyssa. “Looked after us so well. She looked after everything. She was always there for us.”

The couple had known each other for 5 1/2 to six years and were married for 3 1/2 years.

“She used to go with one of my

buddy’s cousins and she’s got family out here,” Scott said. “She was hanging out, bored, one day and he told her to come over and visit. (She) never left.”

Scott said Alyssa was always in a good mood with a smile on her face. He recalled happy memories of the couple riding all-terrain vehicles in the woods, camping and hanging out by the river in the summer.

“We both grew up here in the country, it’s where we belong,” he said.

A few days after the fire, a family member set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money to allow Scott and Alex to rebuild.

When this edition of The Citizen went to press, it had already raised almost $13,000 of its $16,000 goal. The fundraiser page notes that the home was not insured.

Some donors have given as much as $1,000 to the fundraising campaign. On top of that, members of the community have been dropping off supplies.

“People were dropping off piles of clothes immediately,” Scott said. “We’ve got everything we need there. The donations have been great.”

He said they’re still in need of some household essentials, though offers of support are still coming in.

Much of the effort to help the Kunkas is being managed through The East Line Community group on Facebook.

There are posts in that group outlining what donations are still needed and how to get in touch with the family.

The fundraiser can be found at gofundme.com/f/please-help-the-kunkas.

Odour leads to temporary evacuation of courthouse COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

The courthouse in downtown Prince George was temporarily evacuated after a foul smell was detected in the building in the early afternoon of Monday, Dec. 29.

A spokesperson for FortisBC told The Citizen that the company received an emergency call reporting the smell

around 12:10 p.m. and its crews arrived on site around 12:45 p.m.

When they arrived, Prince George Fire Rescue was already on scene and had evacuated the building.

“When our technician was there, they were doing some readings and they found a battery bank connected to a generator was releasing gases inside the generator room (in the courthouse),”

the spokesperson said.

“The fire department disconnected the batteries to stop the off-gassing.

They used the rooftop to clear the air and then once the smell dissipated, our crews were cleared to leave the site around 2 p.m.”

The spokesperson said that if someone smells something like rotten eggs or hears the sound of escaping gas,

they should stop what they’re doing, go outside and call 911 or FortisBC’s emergency line at 1-800-663-9911.

The incident was the second time this year that the courthouse has been evacuated.

On Aug. 21, both the Prince George and Williams Lake courthouses were evacuated due to bomb threats. No explosives were found by RCMP.

NEWS

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

Two fires on Boxing Day

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

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Two Boxing Day fires kept Prince George Fire Rescue crews busy.

The first was called in Friday, Dec. 26 at about 10:30 a.m., and it extensively damaged a house trailer at the Lombardy Mobile Home Park in Prince George. The trailer was vacant and nobody was inside when firefighters got there.

The first arriving crew reported heavy flame and with thick black smoke coming from the windows.

There were no injuries and damage is estimated at $20,000. The second fire was reported around 9 p.m.

Friday and crews were dispatched to a house in the 1000 block of Douglas Street. Firefighters found heavy smoke coming from the rear of the residence with fire in the basement, which was quickly extinguished. Two people were transported by ambulance to hospital suffering smoke inhalation.

Damage is estimated at $150,000.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHUCK NISBETT

Driving ban and fine for hit-and-run rear-ender BOB MACKIN Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A man charged under the Criminal Code with impaired driving pleaded guilty Jan. 2 in Prince George Provincial Court to the lesser and included charge of driving without due care and attention under the Motor Vehicle Act. Shamil Shaman-Ka-Tex Azizov, 25, rear-ended a taxi with his truck on Nov. 15, 2024 and did not stop to exchange information with the other driver. He was later located and charged under the Motor Vehicle Act. Judge Cassandra Malfair fined Azizov $500 and set April 30 as the deadline to pay.

She also banned Azizov from driving for a year and ordered him to serve oneyear on probation.

The accused has had other run-ins with the law over his driving.

Malfair said Azizov had prior convictions in August 2023 for driving without insurance and in October 2024 for driving without a licence or insurance while prohibited or suspended.

On Aug. 13 last year, Judge Michael Brecknell ordered a conditional discharge and one-year probation for Azizov, who pleaded guilty to the Sept.

8, 2024 assault of a security guard at University Hospital of Northern BC in Prince George.

Brecknell said at that time that he accepted that Azizov was “in a bad space as a result of a car accident,” but that was no excuse for misbehaviour at a hospital where security guards “make sure that order is maintained in the emergency room.”

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

NEWS

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

Man goes to jail for sexual offences that led to suicide BOB MACKIN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A 67-year-old man convicted of the 2021 sexual assault and sexual touching of a girl under 16 was sentenced Dec. 5 by a judge in Fort St. John to four-and-ahalf years in jail.

“This type of sexualized violence committed against a vulnerable girl in her own home is absolutely intolerable,” said BC Supreme Court Justice Michael Brundrett.

The sentencing decision was, coincidentally, published on Dec. 23, the fourth anniversary of the victim’s suicide.

The Crown asked for a five-year

sentence. Brundrett emphatically rejected the defence’s proposal of two years less a day, with two years probation, or two-to-three years jail. He called it too low for the serious crime which had such a profound effect on the victim.

“The offences took an incredible mental, emotional, and physical toll on her, to the point where she felt overwhelming trauma and ultimately committed suicide,” Brundrett said.

A publication ban protects the identities of the victim and witnesses.

Brundrett referred to the guilty man as Mr. H and said he violated a position of trust as the girl’s great uncle.

The girl lived with her grandmother,

who is Mr. H’s sister, since shortly after her birth, because her mother was unable to care for her.

On the night of the crime, Oct. 6, 2021, Mr. H bought alcohol for the girl. She became drunk and fell asleep in the basement.

He proceeded to exploit the girl, a member of the same First Nation.

Brundrett acknowledged Mr. H’s aboriginal heritage. He grew up as a child of an alcoholic, did not complete elementary school, committed crimes and became an addict.

His record does not include related convictions and he was deemed a low risk of reoffending, but he showed no remorse.

“I expect that his rehabilitation may be challenging given that he continues to deny the offence,” the judge said.

Brundrett gave Mr. H credit for two days time served, banned him from possessing firearms for 10 years and added him to the national sex offender registry for a term of 20 years.

The sexual assault charge was stayed in favour of the more-serious sexual interference offence due to a court rule against double convictions for the same incident.

Help is available anytime at 988, the national suicide crisis helpline, or crisis-centre.ca, the Crisis Prevention, Intervention and Information Centre for Northern BC.

Man sentenced to time served for breaching sentence BOB MACKIN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A man sentenced to 20 months of home confinement for sexual assault last June pleaded guilty Dec. 29 in Prince George Provincial Court to breaching his conditional sentence order twice.

A publication ban covers the name of the guilty man and his victim.

The man originally pleaded guilty on Oct. 24, 2024 to having sex with a woman after she withdrew consent because he was not wearing a condom on the night of Oct. 3, 2021.

During a June 25 sentencing hearing, Judge Judith Doulis required the man to spend 16 months under house arrest, with limited allowance to leave for personal business and urgent medical care, and then four months of a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

Doulis’s order included several conditions, two of which the man breached last summer.

He came before Doulis again on Dec. 29 and she agreed to a joint proposal from Crown and defence lawyers for time served.

She said the man’s conditional sentence order stopped running between

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

A man who was found guilty of sexual assault breached his conditional release conditions, a judge has determined.

July 17 and Dec. 29, so he has 552 days — or 18 months and four days — remaining to serve.

On July 9, he failed to report as directed to his conditional sentence officer and was held in custody on July 23 and 24.

He was directed on Aug. 12 to report to intake for a forensic sex offenders

program, a task which could have taken place online. He was arrested for failing to do so and kept in jail again, this time from Sept. 13 to Oct. 8. Court heard that he fell back into the waitlist for the program and has not been enrolled yet.

When she sentenced the man, Doulis described him as a “youthful Indigenous offender with no criminal record” who

has attended a residential treatment facility for alcohol addiction. A report to the court said he had suffered due to his Indigenous heritage, lengthy periods of homelessness and unemployment.

The man apologized to the victim after the incident and admitted it to police. The victim did not provide an impact statement.

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

NEWS

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

Repeat sex offender could be imprisoned indefinitely BOB MACKIN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A judge in Prince George Provincial Court decided Dec. 24 that a repeat sex offender would be assessed to determine whether he should be designated a dangerous or long-term offender.

Last January, Louie Tommy, 58, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a woman near the Prince George Public Library in summer 2024.

Judge Martin Nadon agreed with the Crown that there is a “relatively low threshold” in this case because of Louie’s most-recent guilty plea and that he has three prior convictions for sexual

assault, including sexual assault with a weapon in 2008.

“On that conviction, he was ultimately designated as a long-term offender and put on long-term supervision for 10 years,” Nadon said. “And so I think, given all of that, I’m of the view that the test has been met.”

Nadon ordered Louie be assessed over a period of 60 days and then gave another 60 days for the report.

A long-term offender designation would mean a minimum two-year jail term and an order for supervision for up to 10 years. If deemed a dangerous offender, the jail term would be indefinite.

Repetitive or persistent aggressive behaviour, the nature and seriousness of the crimes and the likelihood of reoffending are all factors considered in determining such a designation.

The next hearing in the case is March 25.

When Tommy pleaded guilty last January, the court heard that a witness saw him appearing to perform chest compressions on a woman at a green space near the library.

When the witness approached, she found Tommy’s hands down the front of the woman’s pants, trying to take them off.

When she stepped away to call

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the RCMP, the witness said she saw Tommy jump back on top of the victim.

RCMP officers found Tommy next to the victim, who was grossly intoxicated and barely responsive. She was partially exposed below the waist and needed medical help. Tommy’s belt was undone and the zipper on his pants pulled down.

The victim later told police that Tommy was a friend that she ran into on a night of drinking cocktails with her husband.

She woke up in the hospital with a sore shoulder, scratched cheek and feeling as if someone had punched her.

Accused not criminally responsible for assault on mother BOB MACKIN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

After a hearing in Prince George, a BC Review Board tribunal conditionally discharged a mentally ill drug addict found not criminally responsible for assaulting and threatening his mother in 2013 in Kamloops.

The case of Luke Jonathan Charbonneau was held Oct. 15 at the Prince George Forensic Psychiatric Services Clinic, but the decision not published until Jan. 2. The tribunal, chaired by Ingrid Friesen, decided that Charbonneau, 41, could live at a residence approved by the director of Forensic

Psychiatric Services, but he is prohibited from possessing weapons and consuming drugs. He remains subject to urine drug screening.

The board ruled that Charbonneau continues to be a significant threat to the public and it is necessary for him to live under board oversight. The decision was based partly on an expert report that concluded Charbonneau remains at risk of discontinuing medications, experiencing mental deterioration and acting violently towards others.

In Kamloops in October 2013, Provincial Court Judge Roy Dickey deemed Charbonneau to be not criminally responsible due to mental disorder for

uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, assault, failing to comply with a probation order and wilfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer.

Charbonneau had a prior record of breaching court orders, theft, mischief, uttering threats, assault with a weapon, possessing prohibited weapons or ammunition and wilfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer.

He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, and is dependent on methamphetamine and cannabis.

Prolonged use of crystal meth “has left him with significant cognitive deficits,” said the decision.

Charbonneau was originally transferred to the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital (FPH) in Coquitlam and the board made its first custodial order. In 2017, it decided on conditional discharge so he could live with his mother in Kamloops, but was returned to FPH due to mental deterioration and drug use.

The board found that Charbonneau is abstaining from substance use, complying with treatment, is non-violent and has “fair insight.”

However, “It is concerning to the Board that Mr. Charbonneau has reported valuing his religious delusions to the point where he would become upset if told that they were not real.”

Man admits ignoring order to stay away from his alleged victim BOB MACKIN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A man accused of sexual interference of a person under 16 in Prince George pleaded guilty Dec. 30 to breaching court orders to have no contact with the complainant.

On April 2 around 10:20 p.m., near Stewart Drive and Fifth Avenue, a group home worker noticed a girl enter a

vehicle with a man and witnessed an apparent verbal altercation.

The man turned out to be Austin Riley Zwiers, 26. He was arrested and spent one day in jail.

On July 11 at 11 p.m., a Prince George RCMP officer noticed a car with a burned-out headlight. Zwiers identified himself to the officer after he was pulled over.

The officer saw a female in the

passenger seat visibly shaking.

He arrested Zwiers, who spent another six days in jail.

Provincial Court Judge Judith Doulis agreed to the joint Crown and defence proposal for a time served sentence plus 12 months probation.

Zwiers apologized to the court for his actions.

His defence lawyer Airi Cipelletti, told Doulis that Zwiers is Indigenous with no

criminal conviction history.

However, he suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

The online court file shows Zwiers was scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 6 on a charge of sexual interference that allegedly occurred July 1, 2024 in Prince George and a charge of sexual assault that allegedly occurred March 7, 2025 in Prince George.

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

BUSINESS

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

WESTERN LNG GRAPHIC

This map shows the planned route for the PRGT natural gas pipeline that will run from a compressor station between Mackenzie and Chetwynd to BC’s North Coast.

PRGT pipeline expecting final investment decision Once operational, it’s expected to export 12 million tonnes of LNG to Asian countries COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

The Ksi Lisims LNG project on BC’s north coast is expected a final investment decision in early 2026, the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George’s board of directors heard at its final meeting of 2025 on Thursday, Dec. 11.

As the pipeline feeding the coastal facility dips through the regional district as it heads towards BC’s north coast, Western LNG’s Natasha Westover and Heather Taylor were on hand to give the board of directors a progress update.

While it’s called the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline, Westover said it will be renamed because the terminus is no longer planned to be built in Prince Rupert.

Instead, the end of the 750-kilometre-long and 42-inch diameter pipeline will be further north up the coast, in Nisga’a territory, at the planned Ksi Lisims LNG terminal. It has an estimated construction cost of $10 billion.

Ksi Lisims is co-owned by the Nisga’a Nation, Western LNG and Rockies LNG. Once operational, it’s expected to export 12 million tonnes of LNG to Asian

countries.

The facility, Westover said, received both an environmental assessment certificate from the BC Government and a positive decision statement from the federal government in September 2025.

She said it was “wonderful news” that Ksi Lisims was on the list of projects being forwarded to the federal Major Projects Officer by Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Rockies LNG, Westover explained, is a consortium of various upstream natural gas producers in northeast BC. The PRGT is co-owned by the Nisga’a Nation and Western LNG and also has a $10 billion estimated capital cost for the construction. It was purchased from TC Energy, which owns the Coastal GasLink pipeline that feeds the LNG Canada facility near Kitimat, in 2024.

According to the presentation, 15 out of 20 First Nations along the corridor the pipeline passes through have signed agreements for equity opportunities.

Construction of the pipeline began in 2024 and has continued in 2025. That has involved the construction of nine permanent bridges, 47 kilometres of access roads and clearing 42-kilometres

of right of way.

The route has the pipeline running from a compressor station roughly halfway between Mackenzie and Chetwynd.

The line will run southwest until it gets below Williston Lake, then proceeds west until it reaches Trembleur Lake, at which point it heads towards the northwest. Once it hits the Nass River, it descends to the southwest again until it reaches the terminus on the coast.

After the purchase from TC Energy, Westover said the route was amended from its original 900-kilometre path.

This means it does not go through any larger towns or cities, passing north of Prince George, Fort St. James, Burns Lake, Houston, Smithers, Hazelton, Kitimat, Terrace and Prince Rupert as it heads north.

Another component is the Nass Valley Transmission Line. Also co-owned by the Nisga’a Nation and Western LNG, the 120-kilometre-long, 287-kilovolt power line is intended to connect Ksi Lisims to BC Hydro’s high-voltage transmission grid.

This includes a 15-kilometre portion of the line going under water as it approaches the floating facility. Construction on this line is expected to start in the second quarter of 2026.

The electrification from hydroelectric

sources means that the facility will produce net-zero emissions from the start, Westover said.

The Western LNG representatives told the board that it expects the construction of Ksi Lisims to contribute $3.9 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product while the PRGT will contribute a further $1 billion.

Over the 30-year lifecycle of Ksi Lisims, they said it is projected to contribute $16.8 billion to the Canadian economy and $15.5 billion directly to the BC economy.

During that same period, the PRGT is projected to contribute $1.1 billion in federal tax revenues, $1.3 billion to provincial tax revenues and $700 million in tax revenues for local governments.

The construction of Ksi Lisims is expected to employ more than 5,000 people and more than 1,000 after it starts operating. The construction of the PRGT is projected to create 6,000 to 8,000 jobs.

To accommodate workers building the PRGT, 15 accommodation sites have been approved along the route with capacity for 400 to 1,100 per site.

The first of these sites, called the Nass Camp, has been built in Nisga’a territory.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

BUSINESS

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

Ksi Lisims LNG will run to coast north of Prince Rupert CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE Taylor said the projects have management plans to deal with environmental, social, health, waste and transportation concerns.

A final investment decision from funding partners is still pending. Taylor said once that happens, Western will start identifying contractors to build Ksi Lisims, with construction likely to begin in the latter part of 2026.

“Basically, there needs to be sign-off from the government, two thumbs up that you’re ready to build,” Westover said.

“And then also our investors have to say ‘yes, we’re ready to give you the funds to be able to build the projects.’

We’re anticipating that in early 2026 we’ll have an FID.” After the construction of Coastal GasLink and the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, Taylor said the partners involved with Ksi Lisims and PRGT are fortunate to have access to a workforce experienced in that kind of work.

After the presentation, members of the regional district board had questions for the Western LNG representatives.

Director Brian Skakun (City of Prince George) asked if the project had greater leeway to hire local contractors since it’s not bound by the same procurement rules that governments are.

Taylor said that they’ll be rolling out procurement websites with information specific to various aspects of the construction and that contractors can already reach out to express their interest in participating.

Skakun also asked whether BC Hydro has committed to providing enough electricity to serve Ksi Lisims’ needs.

“We can’t really comment on how much power there’s going to be, that’s out of our area,” Westover said. “The province has said there will be power for these projects, so we hope that’s the case. We’re building that transmission line with the hope there will be that power.”

“We will be ready, they may not,” Taylor said.

... we heard from people that they don’t want work camps close to their communities. It does not make fiscal sense to build a whole lot of houses for a fouryear project and then to leave them empty.”

Director Simon Yu (City of Prince George) said the project includes offices in Mackenzie and Prince George.

Should power from BC’s grid not be available when Ksi Lisims and the pipeline are ready to operate, he wondered if they would use LNG to power the pumps.

Taylor said they’re looking “at some form of a power barge as a temporary solution” should the provincial grid not be available yet, but the plant will be ready for electrification from day one.

She added that they wouldn’t need any other compression stations other than the one between Chetwynd and Mackenzie.

Director Dannielle Alan (Robson Valley-Canoe) asked how many tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions the plant would produce once operational.

Westover said she didn’t have those figures on hand, but that it’s her understanding that it would produce three to five million fewer tonnes of emissions than a typical facility.

Alan also said that after some large resource projects finish construction, the companies pull out and leave a lot of problems behind without investing in the communities being affected. She asked why the PRGT chose a camp model rather than invest in infrastructure in various communities along the route.

There are multiple reasons, Taylor said, including that as shown on the route map, the pipeline is sometimes quite a distance from the closest

community.

“We want to co-locate the workers closer to the work fronts,” Taylor said.

“To add the driving on a daily basis from a time out to the site increases road transport risk and other issues.

And also, basically, through a lot of consultation, we heard from people that they don’t want work camps close to their communities. It does not make fiscal sense to build a whole lot of houses for a four-year project and then to leave them empty.”

Another factor, she said, was that they wanted to avoid having workers take up available rental properties in communities and drive up the average rental price as a result.

She added that they have other plans to invest in communities located near the route.

For her final question, Alan brought up the issue of municipal taxation generated by the project.

She said that over the previous

AT

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decade, pipeline companies had been lobbying the province to reduce the valuation of their pipeline properties in order to reduce their tax burden.

At the board’s November meeting directors heard that a proposal to do just that by BC Assessment could reduce the property values of pipelines in the regional district by 16 to 30 per cent.

Alan asked how much that change would benefit the PRGT and its shareholders.

“Is it enough for a Ferrari or just, say, a turtle-shaped yacht?” she said.

Westover said that she wasn’t aware of Western LNG having been a part of any such lobbying and couldn’t speak to the matter. Taylor said they could take that question back and find an answer for Alan.

The week after the Dec. 13 board meeting, BC Assessment confirmed to The Citizen that it was backtracking on the proposal for 2026.

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

REGIONAL

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

UNBC planning to move to a larger campus in Terrace COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

The University of Northern British Columbia is looking to sell its Terrace campus, but the school’s provost says it’s due to a need to expand rather than downsize.

As originally reported by The Terrace Standard, the university is looking to sell its Terrace campus at 4837 Keith Ave., which opened in 2007 after it outgrew its previous home on Park Avenue.

The Terrace campus offers in-person education, nursing and social work programming and provides remote access to other classes for both students and instructors.

Michel Beaulieu, UNBC’s provost, told The Citizen in a Monday, Jan. 5 phone interview that the school has been looking for a home that better meets its needs in Terrace since before he joined the organization last October.

Despite a federally-mandated drop in the number of international students allowed into the country that has hit institutions like the College of New Caledonia hard in terms of enrolment, Beaulieu said there’s been growth in the Terrace campus both in the number of staff operating out of it as well as the

UNBC PHOTO

The University of Northern British Columbia has a campus in Terrace but is selling the building in order to move to a larger space.

amount of research being done there.

“We’ve outgrown maybe not even in the physical square footage sense, but we’ve outgrown just the facility and how it had been renovated to do what it was designed to do and where our programming and staffing needs are at,” Beaulieu said.

He said he was limited in what information he could divulge as there are a number of negotiations in the works, but several options including building a new facility from scratch and renovating an existing facility have been

considered.

Once that process is farther along, he said UNBC will be able to release more information to the public.

This winter, Beaulieu said the university is working on a strategy for its regional campuses, which will include consultations with the communities and First Nations they serve. That process will include a re-evaluation of the courses offered at those campuses and whether they meet local needs.

Beyond the Prince George campus, UNBC also has campuses in Prince

Rupert, Fort St. John and Quesnel as well as a partnership with the Wilp Wilxo’oskwhl Nisga’a Institute in Gitwinksihlkw roughly 105 kilometres northwest of Terrace.

As one example of changes to regional programming, Beaulieu said the Fort St. John campus will offer some master of business administration programming this year.

“This regional strategic planning that we’re about to undergo isn’t just a oneoff,” he said.

“What it’s going to be doing is kickstarting a recommitment of the university of to all of Northern British Columbia for continual discussion as we look at how we can be number and meet the needs of the region,” Beaulieu said. “I’m convinced from every fibre of my being that this is the time of the north.”

Whichever path is chosen for the Terrace campus, Beaulieu said the goal is to minimize disruptions for students by having the bulk of the move happen after the main part of the academic year has finished during the summer months.

“That way, students who arrive next fall will begin their studies, they won’t see basically any chance to what they’re doing except improvements,” he said.

Woman asks court to declare missing fisherman dead Jason George Fulton was lost on Great Slave Lake in 2019 BOB MACKIN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The wife of a fisherman who went missing on Great Slave Lake more than six years ago is asking a judge in Prince George to declare him dead under the Presumption of Death Act. BC Supreme Court Justice Ronald Tindale heard from Tanya Terri Stump’s lawyer on Jan. 5 but adjourned the application until Jan. 19.

Last April, Stump filed a petition

stating she married Jason George Fulton in 2005, they had three children together and separated in 2017.

The sole reason for Stump’s petition is to obtain a death certificate to support her 12-year-old son’s passport application.

Fulton went fishing on the vast Northwest Territories lake on Sept. 29, 2019, with Stacy Linington, 59, Daniel Courtoreille, 51, and Michael Courtoreille, 50, but they did not make it back to shore in Hay River.

A rescue mission became a recovery mission.

“Hay River RCMP, Canadian Coast Guard and Department of Fisheries and Oceans searched the lake for four days

looking for Jason and the others,” said the petition. “The fishing boat Jason was aboard was found partially submerged on Oct. 1, 2019. There was no other trace of Jason or the others. Search efforts were scaled back after four days. Search efforts ceased shortly thereafter.”

Fulton, according to Stump, had no known affiliation with gangs or organized crime, and she has no reason to believe he or the others on the vessel had any reason to intentionally disappear.

While Stump has travelled extensively and has family members in Washington state, she would like to vacation abroad with her son, but he is unable to do so without a valid Canadian passport.

Stump’s lawyer, Kyle Parker of Carrier Sekani Family Services, told Tindale his client cannot obtain a death certificate without a declaration that Fulton is dead. Parents are required to participate in the application process, but if one is deceased, a death certificate must be provided.

Parker told Tindale that the Hay River RCMP has not responded to Stump’s letters seeking official confirmation of Fulton’s disappearance. Tindale asked for at least a further affidavit from Stump detailing her efforts to obtain the letter from the RCMP. Great Slave Lake, the world’s 10th-largest lake, is the deepest in North America at 614 metres.

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

REGIONAL

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

Snowmobiler dies in avalanche near Tumbler Ridge CITIZEN STAFF

A snowmobiler has died after being caught and buried in an avalanche north of Prince George.

The incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 30 in the Bullmoose riding area, approximately 35 kilometres southwest of Tumbler Ridge, according to information from Avalanche Canada.

Three snowmobilers were riding in the area when the avalanche was remotely triggered from the base of a slope.

One member of the group was caught in the slide and fully buried. Despite a rapid companion rescue effort, the snowmobiler did not survive.

No further information about the snowmobiler’s identity was made public.

The area is about 350 kilometres from Prince George.

Avalanche Canada reported the avalanche was substantial, measuring roughly 300 metres wide and running about 240 metres downslope. The crown — the fracture line at the top of the slide — ranged from 75 centimetres to as much as two metres thick. The terrain had been heavily affected by wind.

Investigators believe the avalanche failed on a persistent weak layer, a rain crust that formed in mid-December and was buried about 75 centimetres below

the snow surface. The avalanche was classified as a size 2.5 persistent slab, a type known for its ability to be triggered remotely and for producing large, dangerous slides.

At the time of the incident, the regional avalanche danger rating was listed as “considerable,” meaning dangerous avalanche conditions were present and human-triggered avalanches were likely.

Weather conditions were also deteriorating. Reports from the area indicated heavy snowfall, strong winds and rising temperatures. Search and rescue personnel responding to the scene recorded temperatures above freezing,

21

around 3 C. The avalanche occurred on a northeast-facing alpine slope at an elevation of approximately 1,720 metres in the Rocky Mountains.

Avalanche Canada reminds backcountry users that persistent slab problems can remain dangerous for extended periods, especially during storms, wind loading and warming temperatures. The organization urges snowmobilers, skiers and snowboarders to check current avalanche forecasts, avoid steep windloaded terrain during elevated danger ratings and carry appropriate rescue gear when travelling in avalanche terrain.

Bear found with burns is recovering at rescue centre She may have been trying to hibernate in a slash pile ED HITCHINS

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

SMITHERS, BC — The wildlife organization which rescued a bear from the cold off the highway near Dawson Creek has noted the bear has gained weight and is doing well in its latest update.

Northern Lights Wildlife Society (NLWS) took the bear in after it was discovered in the freezing cold on Sunday, Dec. 21 off 188 Road in Dawson Creek, said Northern Lights Wildlife Society (NLWS) manager Angelika Langen.

According to Langen, the NLWS is a shelter for injured and orphaned wildlife, servicing all the mammals of BC, except those in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.

“The gentleman saw the bear a couple of times on the road,” Langen told Energeticcity.ca. “He then saw it on Sunday night, sleeping in the middle of the road, all curled up.

“He shooed it off the road, underneath a tree. Then it curled up again. He could see it was in distress.”

With temperatures plummeting to -35

C with windchill that day, the motorist — identified by Langen as a man named Sean Jackson — contacted the NLWS. After receiving government permission to recover the animal, Jackson and NLWS volunteer Renata Debolt returned to rescue the bear, placing it in a crate.

It was taken to Debolt’s residence to allow it to warm up, with the footage being captured in a social media video.

The bear was then transported to NLWS, where it will be examined on Tuesday, Dec. 23.

“Renata took him to her home for a slow warm up,” said Langen. “You have to do that very carefully. It’s very much like when a human is half frozen to death. You can’t just make them all warm and cozy right away.”

Langen says without the intervention of Jackson and the NLWS, the bear might have had a darker fate.

“It would not have lasted the night,” said Langen.

Langen added rescues such as this are a community effort.

“If the public is not observant and lets us know where help is needed, then we can’t assist,” said Langen.

“It is a huge group of people that make this all happen, from the person that reports it to the government giving

NORTHERN LIGHTS WILDLIFE SOCIETY/FACEBOOK PHOTO

A bear found with burns near Dawson Creek is recovering with the help of trained professionals in Smithers.

permission to volunteers to help capture and transport donors who make it possible to take care of them. It’s a community that makes rescues possible.”

A pair of new photos posted to NLWS’ Facebook on Dec. 29 show the bear — now named Valkyrie following a naming contest — is “doing well under the circumstances.”

The animal’s ears are burned and her paws are bandaged up.

“She has burns on all four paws,” said Langen. “ The affected skin is now sloughing off, which is a normal process. It looks a little worse than it did before, but it’s actually part of the healing process.

“She will need weeks of treatment. We are reaching out to different authorities and burn specialists to see if there are other things than what we’re already doing that we could add.”

Langen told Energeticcity.ca the animal’s facial scars are due to burns, possibly due to hibernating in a slash pile of wood, which is logging debris burned in the wintertime.

“It is what happens so often in the winter, and many animals make those piles their winter home,” said Langen.

“She was probably sleeping in there with some others when the whole thing got lit up.”

Langen said they expect Valkyrie to make a full recovery and plan to release the bear by the summer of 2026.

More details about the NLWS are available on the organization’s Facebook page and website.

This story originally appeared at energeticcity.ca.

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What’s happening in PG Snowed in Comedy Tour goes Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. at Vanier Hall, 2901 Griffiths Ave. This event features Dan Quinn (Just for Laughs winner and tour founder), Paul Myrehaug (Great Canadian Laugh Off champion), Pete Zedlacher (six-time Canadian Comedian of the Year nominee) and Erica Sigurdson (beloved Debaters regular with over 70 appearances). For more information www.snowedincomedytour.com/show Elevate 2026 goes Saturday, Jan. 10 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Coast Inn of the North, 770 Brunswick St. This event is presented by Repiphany Counselling. Join Registered Professional Counsellor and international speaker Christina Bianchini for a day of inspiration, connection, and insight. Through fun, interactive sessions and guided reflection, you’ll explore how to live with more authenticity, purpose, and fulfillment. Includes a catered lunch and morning coffee & tea. Early bird cost is $169 before Dec. 15, regular ticket price is $199. Table of six is $895. For more information and to register visit https:// www.repiphany.com/elevate-2026/ Crones & Examine the Bore goes Saturday, Jan. 10 at 9 p.m. at Legion 43 PG, #101-1116 Sixth Ave. Legendary rock psych-alternative legends Crones joined by alt. indie band Examine the Bore.

Time to boogie! Garage party energy coming to the Legion! For 19+. Tickets at the door are $20 or in$15 in advance at madloon.ca SMArt (Saturday Morning Art) Series goes Saturday, Jan,.10 to March 7 at 10 .m. at Two Rivers Gallery. For children five to seven years old to celebrate self expression on the weekend with art class. Learn new ways to make, play and imagine. Painting, sculpture, and many more creative adventures await. Join Facilitator Chad on a time travelling journey of art through the ages. Learn about the Renaissance, Pop Art and other really fun art movements through different mediums. Cost is $190 for eight sessions.

No class on Jan. 31. To register visit tworiversgallery.ca/programs/smart-5-7 Golden Girls, The Laughs Continue

DAVEED BENITO PHOTO

The Offspring come to Prince George on Jan. 27, playing at the CN Centre. The American punk band, known for hits like Come Out And Play, is bringing along opening act Bad Religion.

presented by Murray & Peter goes Saturday, Jan. 17 at 3 p.m. at CN Centre.

The Golden Girls are back in an all-new 18+ only show and giving you a chance to relive the heartfelt hilarity of four ladies who never stopped being your friends.

Don’t miss this show that’s played New York, Boston and Chicago - and is now coming to Prince George. For more information and tickets visit www.ticketsnorth. ca/event/golden-girls-the-laughs-continue/ princegeorge Daytime Clubbing goes Saturday, Jan. 17 from 4 to 9 p.m. at Ignite Nightclub, 1232 Third Ave. Step into a time machine of retro beats and feel-good nostalgia during an unforgettable daytime party in Prince George, packed with the biggest 80s & 90s anthems. A friendly, upbeat atmosphere designed for fun. For more information and tickets visit www.fatsoma.com/ daytime-clubbing-prince-george Highbush Caribou and The Goomahs goes Saturday, Jan. 17 at 9 p.m. at Legion 43 PG, 101-1116 Sixth Avenue. Join Northwest coastal spooky surf band Highbush Caribou for a night with local alt. rock outfit The Goomahs.

From a dark foggy coastal forest party to the distant New York garage party of the early 2000s, the music will pull you into wildly different landscapes. Tickets are $20 at the door or $15 presale at madloon.ca/tickets Robbie Burns Night goes Saturday, Jan. 24 at 5:39 p.m. at The Coast, 770 Brunswick Ave. Prince George’s

annual celebration of Scottish culture is a fundraising dinner for the Prince George Symphony Orchestra.

Highland dance, Scottish fiddling, dinner, dancing, auctions, and more!

Welcoming performances by PG Old Time Fiddlers and Excalibur Theatre Arts. For more information and tickets visit www.tickets.pgso.com/tickets/ robbie-burns-night-2026 Rachel Therrien’s Latin Jazz Project goes Saturday, Jan. 24 at Knox Performance Centre, 1448 Fifth Ave. Therrien’s Latin Jazz Project is the result of her postgraduate studies at the Instituto Superior de Arte, in Havana, and is also informed by her many musical experiences in Latin America and the Caribbean. With this exceptional ensemble, she offers a festive repertoire featuring original works and Afro-Latin jazz classics. From salsa to danzón and rumba to chachacha, Rachel and her band of virtuosos invite you to groove to the lively rhythms of Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, and Haiti. For more information and tickets visit www.knoxcentre.ca/event/ rachel-therrien The Offspring: Supercharged Worldwide in 2026 goes Tuesday, Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m. at CN Centre. Offspring invite you to Come Out and Play.

Selling more than 45 million records and winning 16 different awards, The Offspring are one of the best selling and most successful punk rock bands of all time. Special guest Bad Religion will start the evening’s entertainment.

For more information and tickets visit www.ticketsnorth.ca/event/ offspring-supercharged-worldwide-2026 Live Pro Wrestling goes Friday, Jan. 30 and Saturday, Jan. 31 from 5:45 to 9:15 p.m. at the Prince George Civic Centre, 808 Canada Games Plaza. Presented

by Primetime Entertainment and features many great bouts including Vance Nevada’s last match ever. For tickets and more information visit https://www. ticketseller.ca/live-pro-westling Rural Roots, Coldsnap Music Festival show goes Sunday, Feb. 8 at Knox Performance Centre, 1448 Fifth Ave at 7 p.m. includes performances from Pharis & Jason Romero, Sarah Jane Scouten and The Bentalls. Expect songs that draw on Canadiana and old-time genres, weaving stories of rural life, love and resilience with conviction and delicacy. For more information and tickets visit www.coldsnapfestival.tickit.ca/ ruralroots 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.

Parkinson Support Group meetings are the first Saturday of each month at 1 p.m. at the Spruce Capital Seniors Centre, 3701 Rainbow Drive. Meetings are informal and are for sharing information about slowing down the progression of PD. There are guest speakers, special events and biweekly exercise sessions and positive social interaction. Use lower parking lot beside ball diamond to access the seniors centre.

If you’ve got an event coming up email us at news@pgcitizen.ca to offer details including name of the event, the date, time and location, ticket price and where to get them and a little bit about what’s happening, too. LOCF

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Newborn Stormy Shaw was flown from Prince George to Vancouver on New Year’s Day because of respiratory concerns.

Prince George’s New Year’s baby: Stormy Shaw MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

Prince George welcomed its first baby of 2026, born on Jan. 1 at 8:48 a.m. at UHNBC. Stormy was born to proud parents Kiana and Jason and was welcomed by her older sister. The family resides in Dawson Creek. Stormy weighed in at five pounds, four ounces.

Stormy and her parents were taken by air ambulance to BC Children’s Hospital due to respiratory issues shortly after her birth.

“She has some respiratory problems, and then they weren’t sure if it was cardiovascular or if it was respiratory,” said her father, Jason Shaw. “So we’ve been ruling out and working through the problems here at the Vancouver Children’s Hospital, and they are doing amazing work here, and we’re making some real headway, and we are on an upward trend now. It’s been a trying four days and we’ve been dealt a pretty tough card, but little Stormy is a fighter, and she’s still fighting hard.”

Shaw added that the Ronald McDonald House has been essential to supporting the family during this difficult time and urged locals to donate to support the organization.

“They’re just such an outstanding program and organization that they have here,” said Shaw. “So if anyone feels like they ever want to donate, then I would strongly suggest donating to the Ronald

McDonald House because I just had no idea to what extent they go to look after folks and take care of them when it comes to lodging and food and taking the stress off your full plate already with having a child in the hospital. I just can’t advocate enough … it doesn’t get near the credit that it deserves because it’s been outstanding, and I’ll definitely be going forward with pushing to donate and help out with this charity whenever I can.”

Shaw said it is currently a wait-andsee situation to determine when Stormy will fully recover but that she is making excellent progress and that he is optimistic all will be well in the coming weeks.

“Thoughts and prayers are welcome and we’ll be up and running in no time at a playground here near you,” said Shaw.

Stormy wasn’t the only baby born on New Year’s Day, as Dawson Creek saw the next New Year’s baby born six minutes later at 8:54 a.m.

Baby Bradley was born at Dawson Creek and District Hospital to parents Amanda and Dylan, along with older sister Neveah, of Groundbirch. He weighed in at eight pounds, 11 ounces.

However, the very first baby born in North BC was a girl named Molina, weighing in at seven pounds, nine ounces, delivered at Ksyen Regional Hospital in Terrace on Jan. 1 at 2:25 a.m.

She was welcomed by her parents Chantel and Robert, of Terrace, and her siblings Robert, Maybelline, Alanna and Alexander.

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Aladean Kheroufi • Aleksi Campagne The Bentalls • Beppie Brianna Lizotte Corbin Spensley • FONTINE GARRET T. Willie • Jesse roper kayla williams & the yacht daddies limelight • linda mcrae & Northern Line Missy D • moonriivr • Morgan toney • Petunia & the vipers pharis & Jason Romero • Rich aucoin sam tudor • Sarah jane scouten simbiyez wilson • Spier Theo story • the vaudevillian

Details on our free-to-attend daytime events now available!

For the full schedule and tickets, visit

www.coldsnapfestival.com

Coldsnap is honoured to be hosted on the unceded lands of the Lheidli T’enneh. Artists and venues subject to change

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You might feel a chill just looking at these photos from Ness Lake Bible Camp’s 25th annual Polar Bear Dip ...

CITIZEN PHOTOS BY CHUCK NISBETT

ABOVE: Chris Charters, son Eli, 9, wife Mary and son Roenick, 13, dash eagerly into the lake.

ABOVE: Once you are in an overwhelming desire to complete the trip to the bell and back quickly comes over many of the participants.

BELOW: Members of the Rocky Mountain Rangers walk steadily into the icy waters. About $30,000 was raised during the event, with proceeds going to help kids attend the camp.

ABOVE: The first group takes the plunge at the Ness Lake Bible Camp’s 25th Polar Bear Dip on Thursday, Jan. 1.

LEFT: Brooklyn Wilson, 25, (participating for her third time) was in the first group to take a dip and showed just how cold it is as she exits the lake and is checked by NLVFD firefighter Carolyn Davenport.

ABOVE: Some smile, some grin and bear it, some scream and get it done.

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Eli Klasner says farewell to Community Arts Council CHRISTINE DALGLEISH Citizen Staff

Eli Klasner, best known in Prince George for his position as executive director at the Prince George & District Community Arts Council, is moving on.

After 10 years, Klasner will focus his energy on other endeavours throughout the province.

“In the nonprofit world of leaders, executive directors have to keep a really close check on ‘am I still the right person for this organization?’ and I had that conversation with myself after five years at the arts council and there was still lots of things I wanted to do, but I think now it’s time,” Klasner explained.

“It’s time to let somebody else try their hand at it and put their own vision into place, and so it’s good. So now I’m going to be working more in Jewish cultural organizations and projects in different communities, but I’m planning on keeping my presence here and keeping my residence here.”

He will continue to stay close to the people in the community.

“There are wonderful, wonderful people I have built long-lasting bonds and relationships with, and I will still help out with some community projects as those appear,” Klasner said.

“I just have to say I really fell in love with Prince George. I fell in love with the openness — the willingness of people to work with all kinds of different people. I never found it to be a cliquey town. I was given opportunities to work on so many amazing projects and initiatives. I’ve had so much fun here in Prince George over the last 10 years and I found it to be relatively safe and open. I always laugh when I go grocery shopping because I could be done in 20 minutes, but I’m probably going to be an hour because you stop and talk to people — even if you don’t know who they are.”

Klasner looked back at some of the successes enjoyed within the arts community.

“And these certainly are not my successes. These were collaborations with talented people who work at

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

Eli Klasner, Prince George and District Community Arts Council executive director, is moving on.

the community arts council and all the other arts and culture leaders in the city, and I’ve had great work with city administrative staff and all the elected officials here in Prince George, who have always been really, really supportive of these plans and visions we’ve had. So that’s really unique — once in a lifetime — to have that solidarity around what this community needs and what do we want and what can we afford, and we got that,” Klasner said.

“I think for me, being involved with the creation of the Knox Performance Centre — that was such an interesting thing. I remember soon after the Knox United Church congregation left there, I got a phone call from somebody from the planning department at the City asking if we wanted to try to do something with the Knox United Church, and I was like, ‘Would I!’” Some of Klasner’s favourite concert experiences were in places of worship, he shared.

“So we created these wonderful new concert series at the Playhouse and at Knox,” Klasner said.

“And I think back to the honour I had to help create the Northern Indigenous

Arts Council, and at the time it was the only nongovernmental Indigenous arts council west of Ontario, and we did it here in Prince George.”

Klasner talked about the way he and program manager at the Community Arts Council Lisa Redpath were able to help grow the largest adjudicated artisan craft fair in the North, Studio Fair, over the years.

“It’s three times as big as it was when I first started with it,” Klasner said.

“There’s just been a lot of good work that’s been done. We revitalized the Playhouse that was sitting empty for several years, and it’s up and running and it’s a fabulous venue again. It needs to be replaced, and it’s been a lot of fun kind of leading that community-based exploratory group we had looking to create a new entertainment complex in the downtown civic core, and we actually have a framework for how we’re going to develop and execute that plan with city administration and eventually with the elected officials, so that’s really coming along well. We modernized the Artisan Gift Shoppe at Studio 2880, we built the online shop and have done lots of new arts programs for youth and seniors. We created the Arts North

Digital Studio, and that was a great success as well.”

A lot of those things were done during the pandemic, as the Community Arts Council used the opportunity to not only respond to the pandemic but use that time to modernize programs and create new ones, he added.

“Eli has been an integral part of the blossoming of the Community Arts Council during his tenure,” Noreen Rustad said.

“He has brought the arts council to the fore, supporting a great many community projects, including our hope for a downtown core project, the possibility of a building to replace the aging Studio 2880, and the performance concert series using the Knox Performance Centre and the Playhouse. Because of his connections in the classical world of music, we have had many exceptional musicians perform in our city. He and his expertise will be greatly missed.”

Klasner talked about being able to throw out the old playbook and create a new one to move into the future.

“So I’m not leaving with any regrets,” Klasner said.

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Lighting up the night sky Pyrotechnicians Randi Masich and Chris Bennett stand among the firework launchers in the driveway of their Vanier Drive home following their fourth annual New Year’s Eve Fireworks show. The show started at 7 p.m. so kids could attend, with about 700 people turning out to watch the sky light up.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHUCK NISBETT

Klasner’s efforts helped raise much-needed funds for the arts CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE “We worked really hard, and another thing I really enjoyed doing was helping maybe share my skills in fundraising around town and certainly getting involved personally as a sponsor of a lot of events and programs in Prince George.”

One of Klasner’s sponsorships came in 2023, when he kick-started Miracle Theatre’s fundraising efforts with a $20,000 donation for the Refugee and Hope Endowment Fund of Prince George, created in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The funding continues to be available to those seeking refuge in Prince George from violence or destruction, whether they come from across the globe or down the street.

Earlier this year, the Prince George Conservatory of Music was on the homestretch of its fundraising effort to

buy a new Yamaha C3X 6’1” grand piano worth more than $60,000 when Klasner pledged to match funds up to $5,000 to end the campaign on a positive note.

“Eli had been an outstanding supporter of the Prince George Conservatory of Music,” Shoshanna Godber said.

“He has contributed generously to our bursary and scholarship fund, waived his adjudication fee for our annual scholarship competition and even offered an additional spontaneous donation so that every adult participant could receive a scholarship. His matching gift to our Piano Fund helped us surpass our goal for a new grand piano. On a personal note, he has been a trusted mentor, always willing to listen and offer thoughtful advice.”

Klasner said he has had a wonderful time in the city’s arts community.

“And I look forward to keeping my connections here in Prince George,” Klasner said.

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Meet some of Prince George’s most inspiring people CHRISTINE DALGLEISH Citizen Staff

There are some truly wonderful people from Prince George who I have had the privilege of writing about in 2025. Here’s a glimpse into what I get to see when I interview these remarkable people.

Let’s start off with who made me smile hugely in December.

Izaak Smith spent his formative years in Prince George at Judy Russell’s Enchainment Dance Studio exploring his dance skills and acting chops.

Izaak reminded me during our most recent interview about playing Herr Drosselmeier in The Nutcracker again that I was the first reporter to interview him.

He had just been given the role of the Prince in the early 2000s. During this interview and being his charming self, Izaak flipped the script and started interviewing me.

Something that doesn’t/shouldn’t happen during a reporter’s interview but as Izaak reminded me, we’ve been through it. We went down memory lane together and hit the highlights of his career in dance and acting. This kind and generous soul has been lighting up our television screens, movie theatre screens, our television screens, pops up on our social media platforms and hits of floorboards of Vanier Hall and each and every time he never ceases to amaze with his talent.

Now I’ll go back to February when I asked the manager of Spruce Capital Seniors, Shirley Morin, to let me do a story about her and her increasingly popular Pound class where people sit and use drumsticks to beat on an inflated exercise ball in a Morin laundry basket.

As I attended the class there were countless stories of people who could barely lift their arms when they started who now rock out to

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY MATTHEW HILLIER

Anne McLaughlin and Ted Price of Miracle Theatre have been giving back to the community for 30 years.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Here Izaak Smith was seen during a dress rehearsal the last time he was Herr Drosselmeier in The Nutcracker a couple of years back.

the beat with Shirley and enjoy a better quality of life because of the unique exercise class. Shirley, with her unending enthusiasm, makes it look easy and encourages everyone to be better for their health’s sake. Changing lives one drumbeat at a time, Shirley is making it happen.

Forever known now as Juno-nominated musician Kym Gouchie, the acclaimed Indigenous singer-songwriter, said she was so honoured when she got the nod in the Children’s Album of the Year category for her latest album, Shun Beh Nats’ujeh/ We Are Healing Through Songs.

Gouchie Gouchie was able to share the language of her people by showcasing it throughout the album, reflecting her deep connection between young listeners and Indigenous culture.

Kym is a kind and gentle soul and she’s just feisty enough to take on the challenges of sharing her knowledge and talent by appearing in schools in and around Prince George and performing events throughout the province and the nation.

I first met Michelle Miller, registered nurse, during a seminar where she, as a mom grieving the loss of her son because of toxic drug poisoning, was raising awareness that this was not just happening on the streets of Prince George.

It was happening in homes across the city.

Miller To help raise awareness about the toxic drug crisis, Miller, who belongs to the group Broken Hearts of Fentanyl and Moms Stop the Harm, presented a round table discussion at MLA for Prince George-Valemount Shirley Bond’s office in 2024 and this year offered free naloxone training.

Miller as an advocate in the community was invited to sit on Foundry’s family advisory committee and continues to steadfastly do the hard thing. She keeps talking about her son Tanner’s death in 2019 in the hopes of preventing such a heartbreaking tragedy to take place in your family.

Ted Price and Anne McLaughlin of Miracle Theatre have a 30-year long history of professional theatre in Prince George. I had the privilege of taking a

trip down memory lane with them earlier this year and the impact they had on the community’s theatre arts and now with their most recent accomplishment of fundraising more than $200,000 for a Seniors’ Emergency Fund, they have raised in total more than $1 million for Prince George causes over several years through endowment funds held in trust at the Prince George Community Foundation.

Their efforts are unparalleled in this community combining a high calibre theatre experience with award winning fundraising efforts. So glad they were presented with the BC Medal of Good Citizenship this fall by Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Kelly Green. I kept saying they deserved a medal for their efforts.

So glad they got actually got one!

Duchess Park drama teacher Jackie Friesen pulls out all the stops for her students by presenting over-the-top productions that see student involvement from set creation, lighting, to prop management and theatre directors, while others take to centre stage to Friesen explore theatre options as possible career paths.

Friesen walks a fine line between friend and teacher with her mindfulness that builds community from which there was none.

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It was a privilege to share some of their stories in 2025 CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE Friesen invites her peers to join in the fun and most recently had vice-principal Dennie Hicks share the role of Glinda the Good Witch with student Sophia Deni in their production of The Wizard of Oz. Intentionally building that bridge between administrator and student was invaluable as they recognized the theatre kid in each other. Friesen approaches her craft with an insightfulness that grows the theatre community exponentially that is inclusive to all.

Athlete and artist Chase Caron, who not only created the art used to beautify the medal’s ribbon for the Special Olympics BC Summer Games held last summer in Prince George, but also participated as a member of Prince George’s basketball team. Chase chose to play on a Caron team rather than participate as an individual in track and field. Chase is a multi-talented person who also took on the role of being one of three ambassadors of the games and continues to lead by example of how sport and art can be showcased in the most remarkable way.

Oh my heart, Sylvia Masich, coach at the Prince George Track & Field Club, took on the role of assistant director to help organize the track and field meet for the Special Olympics athletes who participated in the BC Summer Games held in Prince George from July 10 to 12.

Masich She was also the Special Olympics athletes’ coach.

Her joie de vivre is a treat to behold as she builds a strong connection with everyone around her, celebrating her athletes’ efforts and achievements with unbridled enthusiasm that radiates through her infectious smile.

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY CHRISTINE DALGLEISH

Shirley Bond and Selen Alpay hosted a barbecue for Parkinson PG on Saturday, Sept. 6 at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park.

Lee Painchaud, retired Prince George firefighter, talking about the little girl he saved on his first day of work was so impactful. Lee reached out to see if we could help him find the little girl as he has always wondered about her. Unfortunately, we never did hear from her or her family but Painchaud the story about the rescue resonated with a lot of people in the community who reached out to let me know how Lee had impacted their lives as he spent years as a firefighter and then later went into schools to talk about fire prevention.

Lee is a hero to many, not only for his life-saving efforts, but also for sharing his knowledge with the children of Prince George.

Selen Alpay, who continues to be a most generous philanthropist, took on the challenge of being the face of Parkinson’s disease in an effort to raise awareness and funds for the cause. Selen was officially diagnosed in January 2025 with Parkinson’s disease. Selen is a man filled with a cheeky sense of humour and his

joyful spirit continues to dominate as he takes on what I dare say is the biggest challenge of his life with determination and caring, sweeping everyone along with him who is on a similar journey.

Because of his efforts the fundraising record of $18,000 was easily broken, with the 2025 Parkinson’s SuperWalk raising $51,464.94.

I am sure Selen will continue to be his most generous self and I look forward to seeing healthcare improvements available to those in Prince George because he is such an unrelenting advocate.

Shirley Bond continues to amaze with the extraordinary energy she puts into her volunteerism and participation at so many charity events.

Shirley is everywhere, from the lead up and execution of the Special Olympics BC Summer Games held in Prince George in July, Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation fundraisers, sharing in the celebrations of community members like those who received the King Charles III Coronation Medal, International Women’s Day, showing her love and support to so many sports teams in Prince George, supporting countless fundraising raffles, fundraisers for families in crisis, supporting Legion 43 PG, Goodsir Nature Park,

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animal welfare societies, Prince George Community Foundation, Heart & Stroke, Miracle Theatre and the list goes on and on.

Shirley is a mover and shaker in this town and, as I said last year, I can’t wait to see what she does next. She never disappoints.

One of the most wise and wonderful women in our community comes gift wrapped as Elder Darlene McIntosh. To say she is a force of nature is an understatement.

Her gifts include her encompassing serenity, wisdom and willingness to share her knowledge of McIntosh Mother Earth and lessons on how we can reconcile our history and make better choices for all as we grow as an inclusive community. McIntosh is the UNBC chancellor, CNC cultural advisor, Elder advisor to the National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health and a respected member of the Lheidli T’enneh and I am truly honoured to know her. Anytime I am in her presence she is a grounding influence — and how often can you say that about a person in this day and age?

There are countless others that should be on this list as these are just a few I have had the pleasure to encounter in 2025.

The people of Prince George continue to inspire me to be kinder, gentler, more mindful, more involved and choose better. They have taught me by example what to worry about, where to put my efforts, how to let go of what is not serving me and how to just keep doing what I love because it’s so worth it.

So I encourage you all to do the same. Look for that inspiration, feel the love others direct to their causes, choose wisely and as Elder Darlene would remind me right now ‘close your eyes, take a breath and feel the ground beneath your feet in gratitude’ because we’re all still here, aren’t we? Happy new year!

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Local soapmaker wants to provide a clean alternative She says her products are much healthier than what’s in stores CHRISTINE DALGLEISH Citizen Staff

From gravel truck owner-operator to soap maker, one Prince George resident wants to provide personal care items that aren’t going to kill you.

No, really. Every time Cheryl Guimona did a deep dive researching the ingredients in her store-bought soap, shampoo, moisturizer, deodorant, lip balm and even her dish and laundry soap, she found cancer-causing ingredients in each and every one of them.

Not wanting to spend her hard-earned money on things that could potentially harm her family, she decided to learn how to make safe, effective products that also offer peace of mind, as essential oils are known for their calming properties.

Walking into her workshop — a pole barn her husband converted for her on the five-acre property where they live outside of town — a beautiful cacophony of scents — raspberry, spearmint, lime, coconut and shea butter, along with essential oils known for healing properties — comes together in a deep sigh of contentment.

Offering me a seat at the table, Guimona talked about how the vintage set once belonged to her grandfather as she patted the surface affectionately.

A glance beyond the Formica tabletop reveals the vintage high chair that saw each and every baby in the family take a seat at grandpa’s table.

You have to love the sentiment that sends a clear message that family is everything to Guimona.

“And that’s how I started — just making items for my family to use,” Guimona said.

Before that, she owned and operated a gravel truck for 25 years. She was a single mom raising four children.

“And it was scary,” Guimona said with a little shudder.

“As a little girl, it was something I had

CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHRISTINE DALGLEISH

Cheryl Guimona from Pineview Soaps, is seen here cutting her Spearmint Lime soap before she takes it to the Indoor Farmers’ Market in downtown Prince George.

always wanted to do, and the opportunity came up, so I bought the truck without any work and ended up in a full-time position down in the Lower Mainland. I worked with a group of many men and I had 15 different crews, and they all became my brothers — they were like family — and that part was great. But after a time, I got bored. I needed more.”

She went to school on the weekends to learn how to make soaps, creams, balms and whatever else she needed.

“Soap was the first thing I learned to make and then it was all the creams,” Guimona said.

“To back things up a bit, I should tell you that in 1995 I got an autoimmune disease, and no, it wasn’t a bad thing — it was what got me going. Things all fall into place the way they’re supposed to. By going to a homeopath and a naturopath, I was able to get better, and then I started looking. Even in health food stores, I couldn’t find anything that didn’t have cancer-causing chemicals in it. So that’s what sent me on this path.”

Guimona was born in Prince George, so once she left the gravel truck world behind, she moved back to be closer to family in 2014. She rented for a while, taking her time to find the right place.

“Not my dream home, but definitely a nice property,” Guimona said with a smile.

She is very close to her grandchildren, which is ideal for her.

It’s no surprise that some of the products she has created were inspired by loved ones.

The shaving soap was made for her son, who has rosacea.

“The pain cream I made for my mom because she had bursitis and could hardly walk anymore, and she can run now,” Guimona said.

“It’s just crazy how things all work. I’m always looking for things to heal, fix and repair, right? I don’t do this for financial gain. I do this for everybody’s health because this is what we need. When I source my products, I want the unrefined, the virgin — the ones that haven’t been altered — because as soon as it’s refined, so much of the goodness has already been taken out of it.”

Her best seller is the foot cream because it heals cracked skin.

“People use it for their feet and hands and everything else,” Guimona said.

“There’s no petroleum in there, so it’s absorbed right into your skin. It doesn’t sit on top. The face cream is also popular, and it has raspberry seed and rosehip oil in it. And Mom’s pain cream works great. All it is is a combination of different essential oils that work together. I create everything using low heat to keep the integrity of the

ingredients.”

Many people don’t realize the risk they are taking by using products that are on the market today.

“Those pods we put in our dishwasher — we don’t realize what’s left on our plates,” Guimona said, shaking her head.

Placing many of her handmade items on the table, there is a rainbow soap called Splash of Colour.

“My grandkids come and help me with that one,” Guimona said with a smile.

“It’s all my extras that we put in and make a design because people wanted a soap with a little bit of everything in it.

So we just take it and put it all together, and every single time they come out different.”

Guimona said proudly that she does everything the old-fashioned way.

“I do all my own labels, and my daughter designed them,” she said.

“My prices are low because that way more people can afford my stuff. My goal is to get healthy products out to as many people as I can.”

Pineview Soaps is at the Year-Round Indoor Farmers’ Market every Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1310 Third Ave., at the corner of Third and Quebec.

For more information, visit Facebook at www.facebook.com/pineviewsoaps

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

COMMUNITY

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

31

Exploration Place charted a new path forward in 2025 COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

It was a year of transition for the Exploration Place.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the first-floor gallery at the museum and science centre was renovated to remove some of the interactive elements like the riverboat-styled playground and dig pit where kids could unearth fossils.

The former lecture space was renovated into a kitchen serving customers at the museum and catering outside events.

However, after these renovations took place, the museum started to encounter cash flow problems and asked for cash advances from its operating grants from the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George in 2023 and 2024.

Then, in April 2024, the museum received a $500,000 loan from the regional district.

When executive director Alyssa Leier gave an update to the regional district board in April 2025, documents showed the organization was behind schedule on paying down its line of credit.

Under the terms of the $500,000 loan, the museum had to pay down its line of credit to certain balances by specific dates. By the end of 2024, it was supposed to have a balance of $175,000 or less. At that point, the balance was closer to $200,000.

Leier told the board that in the six months between her return from maternity leave and the end of 2024, it had been “nearly impossible” to meet the line of credit target but said she was confident to have things back on track by the end of the year.

Documents presented at the Nov. 20 board meeting showed the museum is now exceeding its line of credit target and the entire balance is expected to be paid off in the first quarter of 2026.

Speaking with The Citizen on Nov. 24, Leier explained her goal was to earn a $20,000 cash surplus in 2025.

That meant layoffs as well as some new spending and grant applications to create a new second-floor gallery incorporating some hands-on science

CITIZEN PHOTO BY COLIN SLARK

Kids with Preschool North are blown away by an air vent in the explorations gallery of the Exploration Place on Monday, Nov. 24.

learning elements.

The new explorations gallery opened in October. It includes a wall-mounted Lite-Brite, a Lego wall, a series of pipes with air current running through them and more.

Leier said the new gallery has been successful enough that more staff have been hired to anticipate a winter rush and run a pop-up kiosk being set up at Pine Centre Mall during the holiday shopping season.

Since the new gallery opened, she said new memberships and admissions have doubled.

Another boon has been the opening of the Lheidli Littles Lodge daycare near the museum back in May. “We have a partnership with Lheidli Littles Lodge that allows them to come in free of charge and access our programming and access our exhibit spaces,” Leier said.

“We also have Preschool North that’s located upstairs now and that certainly has changed the entire organization.

Having the small preschoolers in the space just adds to the excitement and the fun, but it also accounts for some of the increase in revenues with

memberships and café sales because those parents are coming in twice a day.”

In October 2024, the old playground at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park was dismantled in preparation for archeological work and the construction of a new one. It opened in a Nov. 7 ceremony.

“Having the playground closed during the peak season certainly didn’t help our visitation here in the building but also with the operation of the Little Prince train,” Leier said.

“So, we do anticipate with this brand new beautiful playground next year that visitation will increase as well.”

The Little Prince is a small steam engine train built in 1912 to help with the construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway through the Prince George area. It was donated by CN Rail to the City of Prince George in the 1970s.

Since then, the Exploration Place has been contracted to run both the train and the tracks, though they are still owned by the city. The 2.2-kilometre track it runs on is the smallest railroad regulated by Transport Canada.

In 2025, the future of the train has been much discussed. The shelter building the train is stored and maintained in is old and leaking.

Prince George city council asked administration to investigate a longterm operating agreement for the train in July. Staff reported back in September the museum would only be interested if a new shelter is built.

“All of the staff, myself included, love the Little Prince,” Leier said.

“It’s an iconic train. There’s not really anything else like it in the entire world.

It certainly impacted the development of Prince George, so we see the significance of it … we would love to continue to operate the Little Prince, but for the safety of my staff, we need a better building.”

She said workers inside the shelter have to work in damp and dark conditions that are unsafe for both them and the train itself.

Some members of the public have questioned the $1.2 million estimated price tag for what they see as a shed.

Leier said she disliked it being referred to as such, saying the train runs on a fully operational railway and needs to be treated as such.

In the late summer, the city’s Heritage Commission set up shop in the historic schoolhouse next to the Little Prince’s on days when the train operated to engage visitors on local history.

Leier said the museum was excited both to have the commission spend time in a heritage building and to formally assume a seat on the body after city council amended a bylaw to mandate representatives from both the Exploration Place and the Prince George Public Library.

For those looking for things to do during the holiday season, Leier said the museum hosted Science Alliance day camps during the school break, a Christmas party for members and some programs put on in partnership with Science World.

A fossil dig pit is expected to be installed by the end of the year. As for January and the new year, Leier said she has some surprises in store.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

Throwback Thursday: Week of January 8

Jan. 8, 1970: Stephen Bathy of Prince George was featured on the front page with some of the model airplanes from his extensive collection. Bathy, who had 150 models of British, German, Italian, Japanese and American combat planes, had won awards through International Plastic Modellers Society.

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

Jan. 9, 1996: Smoking Task Force member Dr. Bill Lancashire and Alex Michalos spoke to city council about significant changes to the city’s smoking bylaw that were set to take effect. While the new rules mandated non-smoking areas in public places, the 13-member task force told council the new rules didn’t go far enough. It would take several more years for a complete ban on smoking in public places would take effect. CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

6,000

Jan. 8, 1987: Charlene Kachuk, Peter Bihun, Dianne Bihun, Gerry Davies and Jeannette Orydzuk sang traditional Ukrainian Christmas carols before enjoying a 12-course meal on Ukrainan Christmas Eve. Until 2023, Ukrainians used the old Julian calendar and celebrated Christmas on Jan. 7. CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY BROCK GABLE

Jan. 8, 2013: Noah Videgain, 7, and Keenan Videgain, 13, slid down Carney Hill on an inner tube. They were two of the many local kids enjoying the snowy weather as the new year began.

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

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PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

HEALTH

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

Stuffed animal donations help brighten the holidays ETHAN READY Northern Health

The holidays were a bit softer and cuddlier this season.

PetSmart Prince George has been running the PetSmart Charities Holiday Chance & Friends Program fundraiser since 2013, with children in UHNBC’s pediatric ward receiving stuffed animals around the holidays — a way to make their hospital experience a bit more joyful. However, this year, the effort has grown substantially.

“It’s been a way for PetSmart to give back to the communities that support our stores all year long,” said Sydney Gish, store manager of the Prince George location.

What started small has grown to become a nationwide holiday tradition, with more than 22 million toys donated to fire and police departments, retirement homes and locations like UHNBC’s pediatric ward.

Whether they’re in the hospital longterm or simply there for a checkup or immunization, children visiting the hospital have received a toy around the holidays.

“Our associates and store leaders bring this program to life each year with incredible passion,” said Gish, making the program possible year after year.

This year, the program has expanded beyond Prince George, including nearly every community within the Northern Health region.

PetSmart has seen the impact, with people coming through its Prince George location and seeing the program come full circle.

“They say their son or daughter got this stuffy when they were sick, when they were born,” said Gish. “So, to see that expand to other hospitals — to hospitals that don’t have that support already — it means a lot.”

The biggest reason the program has been able to grow to support more communities has been overall community support. A couple of years ago, about 500 stuffies were collected. By starting the fundraiser a bit earlier than usual, organizers have already surpassed

NORTHERN HEALTH PHOTO

PetSmart has collected more than 1,200 teddy bears, which will be delivered to pediatric patients across Northern BC.

1,000 and look to continue the effort leading up to the holidays.

PetSmart has raised more than 1,200 teddy bears, which will be delivered to pediatric patients across Northern BC. “It’s been exciting. We’re so pleased to help the kids in the smaller Northern hospitals that don’t have a program like this to support them,” said Taleah Cristea, assistant store manager at the Prince George location. “Having the chance to help these kids have this comfort — this little bit of support they can hold on to — is really special.

Now to see it travel even further is just fantastic. I’m so excited that the kids get this little toy — something they can hug that might give them a little support and help them feel more comforted.

Something special that will hopefully give them good memories of being in the hospital.”

The collaboration doesn’t stop there.

As the program has grown, the question of how the stuffed animals would find their new homes became more pressing. In the past, PetSmart covered the cost of shipping. However, Sarah Christensen, a child life specialist at UHNBC, had an idea that would make the process far more efficient — making use of NH Connections.

The NH Connections medical bus service is a health transportation service established in 2006 to help people access medical and health services not available in or near their home communities.

“I wrote the email, and I think within 10 minutes I had an ‘absolutely, yes — let’s work this out,’” said Christensen. “I think it speaks to the idea that it takes a village to help and support kids. It’s phenomenal to be part of an initiative that can bring smiles and happiness to sick kids.”

33

Nicolas Fricke, operations manager for Pacific Western Charters, oversees the Northern Health Connections bus lines and said getting involved was a happy accident.

“It’s such an amazing program to help these young ones that jumping onboard — with the routes we have across Northern BC — was easy,” said Fricke.

“We already go to hospitals and care facilities to drop patients off, so putting teddy bears onboard and giving them a ride to where they need to go was really easy.”

This year alone, PetSmart has collected more than 1,200 teddy bears to be delivered to sick children across the North.

“If the little bit it takes for us to move a teddy bear from point A to point B makes a difference in somebody’s winter season, that’s a no-brainer for us,” said Fricke.

“We’re in. We’re going to help any chance we can.”

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

HEALTH

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

Canadian food safety agency warns of risks ahead BC ostrich cull serves as an example of the types of challenges NATASHA BULOWSKI

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Canada’s food safety agency doubts it could adequately protect the food supply in the next two years if the country is hit with several concurrent emergencies, such as animal disease outbreaks or food safety recalls.

The problem is exacerbated by climate change, with the agency warning the crisis could impact its infrastructure while boosting the risk of disease and pest outbreaks.

The warning is laid out in a 2024-27 corporate risk assessment the Canadian Food Inspection Agency completed last year and which was obtained by Canada’s National Observer through an access to information request. Failures in the agency’s aging infrastructure, and the inability to meet inspection standards or stay financially viable, are also listed as top concerns.

The threats are significant enough that senior officials assigned each so-called “critical risk” its own vice-president within the agency and emphasized that “every CFIA employee has a role to play.”

“The CFIA is increasingly worried about being able to handle multiple situations at once at precisely the moment when they can be expected to have multiple situations to handle,” said Lawrence Goodridge, director of the Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety and a professor at the University of Guelph.

This year alone, the agency has been dealt a salmonella crisis involving Iranian pistachios that required extensive testing and import limits, and a monthslong battle to cull a herd of ostriches in BC, which culminated in a lengthy, police-protected takeover of the farm.

Last year, the agency scrambled to contain a listeriosis outbreak in plantbased beverages that sent 15 people to hospital and killed three.

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency outlines critical risks it may have to deal with over the next two years in a report.

The risk assessment notes the CFIA is facing about $200 million in deferred maintenance costs and “lacks sufficient funding to replace or modernize its infrastructure.” These costs are on top of inflation, supply chain disruptions and a suite of other rising costs which, taken together, make it likely the agency will run out of money before 2027.

“When governments are cutting back funding and personnel but our disease risks are going up, and the expectations internationally for what we do are going up, it’s not a good combination,” said Scott Weese, professor at the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph and director of the Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses.

“Where it gets even worse is when you get an emerging disease, because the playbook isn’t there.”

When a new zoonotic disease

appears, it’s important to take a proactive approach to figure out what the problems might be. But being proactive is expensive, and “if you’re barely able to keep up with the stuff you’re regularly doing, something’s going to drop,” Weese said. That includes aggressively containing diseases like avian flu, which has a roughly 52 per cent mortality rate when it spreads to humans.

“It’s hard to handle multiple situations at once, and it’s very hard to handle an emerging situation where you really have to try to figure out what’s going on while you’re already dealing with a problem.”

The BC ostrich situation Take this year’s ostrich saga, where CFIA officials spent months trying to cull a herd of BC ostriches that were infected with avian flu last December.

The agency needed to figure out how to apply its avian flu protocols — which are designed for commercial poultry — to more than 300 potentially deadly ostriches.

It also had to deal with unprecedented public scrutiny, a storm of disinformation and hate stoked by far-right influencers supporting the farm, and a months-long protest camp.

Threats are also wafting across the U.S. border.

Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, his administration has cut critical staff protecting the country’s food supply. Because Canada relies heavily on American farmers and processors for its food supply, those cuts will impact Canada’s food safety, Goodridge said.

“We don’t think of food security as a national security issue, but it is,” he said. The agency is worried enough about the threat that it created a dedicated task force to deal with it earlier this year.

The threats come as Ottawa is on a mission to cut the public service by up to 15 per cent in the coming years, with the CFIA predicting it will reduce costs by about $44.8 million by 2027, according to a ministerial transition booklet.

The 2026 federal budget requires the agency to reduce redundancies, including by reducing lab facilities and staff, while allocating about $118 million to the agency over the next five years to integrate AI into its work to increase international trade.

As the agency cuts back, the risks it’s facing aren’t going anywhere.

“In a growing world, there are more mouths to feed, there are more animals out there, there’s more movement, there are climate stresses or ecological stresses or emerging diseases, but the things that we’re dealing with right now — some of them didn’t exist, or we didn’t know about them 30 years ago,” Weese said.

“We haven’t dropped many things off the agenda, but we’re continually adding things.”

This story originally appeared in Canada’s National Observer.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

35

Local Sports

Mauro’s legacy cemented with PGYSA honours Player, ref, coach and leader was one of the best in the city over his decades-long-year career TED CLARKE Citizen Staff

On Dec. 7, Gaetano Mauro became a lifetime member of the Prince George Youth Soccer Association, an exclusive club of only five people.

For 64 of his 79 years, Mauro has been involved in soccer in Prince George.

Mauro moved to Prince George with his parents from Italy in 1960 when he was 14, and he and John DaSilva were co-founders of the PGYSA. They started with two teams and within five years, 600 kids were playing in the Prince George Soccer League.

In a 40-year playing career in PG, he was one of the best soccer goaltenders the city has ever produced, and he was a key figure in the North Cariboo Senior Soccer League as a coach, referee and administrator. With Mauro guarding the goal, Labatt’s United, a team he formed in 1967, won multiple NCCSL championships and provincial tournament titles.

“He has diligently served as the director for all soccer organizations in Prince George and in my opinion he’s a very worthy candidate for this prestigious award,” said Shafeed Rahman, who shares the lifetime membership honour with Mauro, Gale Russell, Mike Labonte and Ben Shelest.

“Gaetano’s spent over 60 years in a sport he loves and cares about, the development of it all, and that’s admirable. He was very outspoken, but at the same time played a critical role in the development of soccer at all levels.”

Two years ago, Mauro helped mend the rift that brought Northern United Football Club back into the PGYSA fold to bind the city’s youth soccer community together again under one umbrella organization.

“It’s Gaetano’s longevity and commitment to the game — he’s been involved in soccer in various capacities in Prince

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Gaetano Mauro, left, was a fixture in goal for Labatts United a team that won seven consecutive North Cariboo Senior Soccer League titles in Prince George in the 1970s.

George for decades,” said PGYSA president Ryan Beer. “That’s pretty significant. You don’t see that a lot. You often see people involved in building the game as long as they’re in the game or their kids are in the game, but he’s made it part of his life.

“He was part of the early days of Rotary Field when they started out.

Then he was part of referee development, goalkeeper development and coaching, and so many different aspects, and he made a huge impact.”

Recognizing the need to develop officials on the field, Mauro co-founded the Prince George Referees Association and was part of that for 50 years. He oversaw the development of Alain Ruch,

who achieved his national certification, and Carly Shaw-MacLaren, now a FIFA-certified referee based in Ottawa.

“I had Carly since she was 12 years old and she had a big smile on her face.

She was like a sponge and I could see she was going to become somebody,” said Mauro.

Mauro is also a strong advocate for school soccer and was a key figure in organizing the Blackburn Cup girls soccer tournament and the Terry Wilson Memorial Cup Catholic school tournament.

For years, he collected used soccer equipment in Prince George and sent it to Mexico, then the African nation Burundi, where he continues to send soccer donations for a friend who runs

a school there. He remembered what it was like to have nothing, and it took him back to the gravel parking lots in Margone, a small Italian village where he spent most of his youth.

So what is it that drives him to stay involved in such a big way in soccer for so long?

“Being able to teach them and being able to see the improvement that they make, not just in the soccer world, but when I coached and was involved with kids and taught the officiating part, it’s the big smiles on their faces because they’re enjoying what they’re doing. To me, it’s satisfaction,” Mauro said.

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

SPORTS

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

Sixty-plus years later, Mauro still giving back to soccer CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE “It brings me back memories of my childhood, because I was involved in the game since I was five years old. I was playing in the streets and on real bad fields. A lot of people were asking, how can you play on cobblestone roads? But it improves your ability to play. We couldn’t afford a soccer ball so you played with a rubber ball that was always bouncing up and down or sideways, so you really had to improve your skills catching that type of ball.”

He played for Columbus FC in the Pacific Coast League and also played in the Vancouver Metro League and Okanagan all-star league.

Mauro’s connections with the Lenarduzzi family led to exhibition games that brought the Vancouver Whitecaps (twice) and Vancouver 86ers (once) to Prince George. He was in his mid-20s, in the prime of his career, and played in all three of those games as part of local all-star teams, and he shut them out.

“The Whitecaps didn’t bring their reserves, they brought their first-stringers and they were a good team,” Mauro said. “I played against them three times and they didn’t score on me. I would play 55 or 60 minutes of the 90. But because it was a showcase, Jimmy Briggs, our coach, would pull me for the second half because our other guy was dying to get in the game, and they filled the net up.”

From 2004-22, Mauro was the PGYSA’s goalkeeping technical instructor, and he took coaching courses offered by Gordon Banks, England’s World Cup-winning goalie in 1966, and Tony Waiters, a goalie for the English national team in the ’60s, who went on to manage the Whitecaps the year they won the NASL championship in 1979 and Canada’s national team that played in the 1986 World Cup. “Waiters said I had the softest hands he’d ever experienced in his life, because I don’t have big hands and nothing dropped on me. I could catch it and hold, and there’s a technique to it,” Mauro said. “A lot of goalies attack the ball, and I absorbed the ball. You catch

SUBMITTED PHOTO

On Dec. 7, 2025, the Prince George Youth Soccer Association presented Gaetano Mauro (holding sign) with a lifetime membership. From left, front row are PGYSA president Ryan Beer and PGYSA technical director Neil Sedgwick. In back row from left are PGYSA vice-president Kollin Spencer and Shafeed Rahman.

and you move backwards with your hands so you absorb the shot.”

Mauro played competitive soccer until he was 28, when he broke his leg in a game.

“If I had stayed in Italy and not come over here, I think I would have played pro, but the opportunity came because I was fantasizing about the Western world,” Mauro said.

“I’m glad I did come here. The country has been great to me. The game has

been great to me.”

Mauro got back into coaching in 2004, and for the next 12 years he was the coach of select teams of 14- to 16-yearolds he took to tournaments in BC and Alberta, also serving as goalie coach for Pro-Touch Academy, which put on goalie clinics for local players and sent Prince George teams to tournaments in the U.S. Mauro, who worked as a welder and tradesman for Finning Tractor, helped

SUBMITTED PHOTO

In 1990, Gaetano Mauro went back to his native Italy for the World Cup of Soccer.

make soccer a four-season sport in the city through his involvement as a coach and referee and director for the men’s and women’s BC Indoor Soccer League.

“Even today I see parents of kids I taught. They say, ‘Thanks Gaetano for what you did for my kid,’ and then I put it together. It’s not just soccer and teaching the skills of the game,” he said. “It’s teaching the skills of life.

I believed in respect and I believed in punctuality, lifetime skills. Sometimes kids don’t listen to parents, they listen to a stranger or somebody else who’s not related.”

Before a leg ailment forced him to give it up, he worked closely with PGYSA’s top goalies, some of whom became varsity team starters with the UNBC Timberwolves, including Kyle Flannigan, Mitch MacFarlane and Jordan Hall, and Prince George was known as one of the hotbeds for producing provincial-calibre goalies.

Mauro was one of the founders of Northern United, a second youth soccer organization that formed in 2017 as a result of philosophical differences between the PGYSA and how it was being run at the time, and the split turned a lot of kids and their parents off soccer.

“PGYSA went from 3,200 kids to 2,250. They made some big mistakes and kids didn’t want to play and it dropped to not even 500,” said Mauro.

“Northern United had 600, but I could see the problem and I was all in favour of amalgamating to bring it back to the standard it should be.

“I would not be involved now if the board was not going in the right direction. I’m pleased the board has made some big decisions and they’re on the right track. Neil Sedgwick makes a big difference, as well as the technical director. I have a lot of respect for Neil.”

Mauro’s lack of mobility limits what he can do on the field, but PGYSA supplies him with a cart so he can still get out to evaluate referees. He’s also part of the North Cariboo disciplinary committee and remains the head referee for the BC Indoor Soccer League.

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

SPORTS

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

37

Calgary hits town for a win over Cougars at CN Centre TED CLARKE Citizen Staff

Calgary Hitmen centre Kale Dach gets the same question all the time.

When you’re a hockey player who excels at his craft, like he did Saturday against the Prince George Cougars, and you come from Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. (population 30,000), the same hometown as NHL forwards Kirby and Colton Dach (both former Saskatoon Blades), it’s easy to fall under the perception Kale is wired with similar genetics.

Turns out he’s not related at all.

“Absolutely no relation. I skate with them in the summers and I work out with them during the summers as well, but no relation,” said Dach. “It’s not a very common last name — it’s just us in Fort Saskatchewan — it’s pretty ironic. I played with their sister (Callie) growing up so I know the family.”

It’s easy to make that mistake when you watch him play the game.

Dach, the Kale variety, the guy the Pittsburgh Penguins drafted last year in the seventh round, looked rather professional all night against the Cougars.

He drew the primary assists on three of the four goals the Hitmen scored in a 4-2 win in front of a CN Centre crowd of 3,739 on Saturday, Jan. 3.

First, he set up defenceman Hunter Aura with a pass back to the point for the first Calgary goal that tied the game 1-1 in the first period.

Then Dach got his hands on the go-ahead goal, making a tape-to-tape goalmouth pass to Calder Hamilton, who rapped it into the net to start the second period.

But the nicest primary assist on the night was yet to come for Dach. At 13:31 of the third period, he converted a 2-on-1 with a sweet saucer pass to Keaton Jundt, who had goalie Alexander Levshyn at his mercy and made it count for the game-winner.

“I thought at the end of our road trip it was our team’s best game. Every single line was going, every player, and I thought we were really going tonight,” said the 18-year-old Dach.

The Hitmen (19-10-5-1) had 10

CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHUCK NISBETT

Cougars goalie Alexander Levshyn deflects a shot as Hitmen forward Andrei Molgachev swoops in to chase the puck at CN Centre Saturday, Jan. 3.

17-year-olds and two 16-year-olds in the lineup Saturday and are the youngest team in the league, but on Saturday they looked like smooth veterans, moving the puck out of their own end with crisp passing. They responded quickly to puck-possession transitions and were rarely caught out of position.

“We don’t even really think about being young. We’re just all about getting better every single day and if we have youth, we’re not thinking about that, and we can compete with every single team,” said Dach.

The Hitmen started the game with the WHL’s seventh-best power play (28.6 per cent), and Dach is a big part of it.

He collected 14 points in December as the WHL’s rookie of the month, having joined the Hitmen this season after two years in the BCHL with the Sherwood Park Crusaders. He had 22 goals and 87 points in junior A in 2024-25 and is on

pace for an 88-point season in the WHL, already with 21 goals and 45 points in 35 games.

Dach is committed to Penn State University for 2026-27 and the Hitmen hope he’ll stick around in the Dub for at least one more season.

“He’s a big driver for our group offensively and probably doesn’t get enough recognition for what he does, like heavy lifting and playing away from the puck on the D side,” said Hitmen head coach Dustin Friesen.

“He’s really coming in that area of his game, which is going to help him translate to the next level. He’s a twoway forward and he’s doing well. We’re super happy to have him and want to keep him as long as possible. He’s a big part of our team.”

The Cougars got into penalty trouble early in the game and that set a disturbing tone for a team trying to shake

itself out of its worst losing trend of the season. They played seven of the opening 20 minutes shorthanded and after allowing Aura’s goal, the Cougar penalty killers still had nearly two minutes left on a five-minute major penalty handed to Riley Ashe that carried over to the second period.

Ashe nailed Hitmen 20-year-old forward Harrison Lodewyk with an open-ice hit just as he accepted a pass skating up the middle and both players went flying as they made leg-to-leg contact. Lodewyk, who had 10 goals and 23 points in the previous 31 games, had to be helped off the ice and was not putting any weight on his left leg as he hobbled off to the dressing room. Ashe was assessed a kneeing major and game misconduct and could face supplementary discipline.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

38

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

SPORTS

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

Spruce Kings back on home ice after Blackfalds bruising TED CLARKE Citizen Staff

The Prince George Spruce Kings’ first visit to Blackfalds, Alta., won’t be remembered as one of the highlights of their BCHL season.

They got bitten by the Bulldogs for seven goals Saturday in a 7-3 defeat.

Antoine Gauthier scored two goals

for Blackfalds and Nikita Ivashchenko contributed a goal and two assists to lift the Bulldogs to their 23rd win in 32 games.

Dean Tospkos, Matthew Croxall, Joey Mello and Danny Hussa also scored for the Interior East Division leaders, who improved to 23-8-1-0.

Ben Vreugdenhil had two goals and Carter Hesselgrave fired a single for the

Spruce Kings (16-13-1-0), who slipped to third place in the Coastal East Division.

Carson Mertz made 20 stops in goal for the Bulldogs. They outshot the Kings 35-23.

Ryder Green was in net for all seven Bulldog goals while making 22 saves.

Colin Reay played the final 9:37 of the game and stopped all six shots he faced.

The Spruce Kings will be back at Kopar Memorial Arena Friday and Saturday to face the Langley Rivermen.

The Rivermen beat the Chiefs 4-3 Saturday in Chilliwack to leapfrog the Spruce Kings into second place, one point ahead of Prince George.

The Kings started their Alberta trip with a 4-2 loss to the Spruce Grove Saints.

Cougars’ top spot at risk as downward spiral continues CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE The Cougars were leading 1-0 on a goal from Brock Souch when the Ashe hit occurred. Souch was in perfect position, standing just outside the Calgary crease, to accept a behind-the-net pass from defenceman Eli Johnson, who got the carom off the end boards on a shoot-in from Terik Parascak.

Levshyn looked sharp from the opening puck drop and was the Cougars’ best player all night while making 36 saves. The Cats were outshot 17-6 in the first period and nine of those Hitmen shots came while they were on penalty-kill duty.

The game ended with the Hitmen on a four-minute power play after Parascak’s follow-through with his stick cut the face of Ben MacBeath behind the Calgary net, and Andrei Molgachev fired one in from the slot. The Hitmen went 3-for-8 on the power play.

Hamilton’s goal came with Cougars rookie 16-year-old defenceman Cooper Braatten serving a cross-checking penalty, his second minor of the game.

The Cougars called up Braatten from the Regina Pat Canadians U18s for his first WHL game, with Cougar captain Bauer Dumanski out with an injury he sustained late in the first period of Thursday’s game in Penticton.

The Cougars were also missing goalie Joshua Ravensbergen and defenceman Carson Carfels, both with Team Canada at the world junior tournament, and they’re battling a flu bug that’s crept into the team. But Souch said losing

CHERIE MORGAN PHOTO

Cougars defenceman Elie Johnson moves the puck out of the defensive zone, watched by goalie Alexander Levshyn during their game against the Vees in Penticton on Thursday, Jan. 1. The Cougars lost 6-5 in overtime.

three of their best players doesn’t explain his team’s inability to play up to the standard they set the first three months of the season.

“They’re big players for us and it hurts when they’re out, but we’ve got to find a way. Guys have to step up and we’ve got to find a way to win games,” said Souch. “It doesn’t help when not everybody’s going all the time and we can’t roll lines when we’re taking penalties. We’ve got to figure out our discipline. We’ve got to figure out a lot of things.

“We’re one of the top teams in the league and no matter who’s in and who’s out of the lineup, we’ve got to take charge and find a way to win, no matter if it’s against Everett or against

one of the worst teams in the league.”

The Cougars finally clicked again on offence 12 minutes into the second period. Kooper Gizowski dragged the puck into the Hitmen zone and fed Lee Shurgot, who had a clear lane to the slot and unleashed a high shot into the top corner behind goalie Eric Tu. Tu, who played 16 games as a 16-yearold in 2024-25, didn’t get a lot of work, facing just 22 shots, but had good rebound control on the rubber that did get through, which helped negate the Cougars’ offence.

The Cats had a chance for the equalizer on a late-game power play. They had pressure in the Calgary end and managed three shots on net but were unable to create anything dangerous.

“It’s just not good enough. We know we’re not up to our standards. We’re not playing well defensively or offensively and we’ve got to figure it out.

The answers are within the room,” said Souch.

The Cougars (23-12-2-0) have lost seven of their last eight games and showed no signs they’ll be pulling out of that downward spiral anytime soon.

“The whole night was a struggle. Not a good start. We couldn’t execute any plays. The power plays, we had nothing there,” said Cougars head coach and general manager Mark Lamb. “We’re a pretty beat-up lineup right now. We’re really sick and missing some players.

We’re playing some tough teams and the Christmas stretch is tough. We haven’t had any practice and we’ve been sick.

You can tell our team had no energy.

“Our two or three best players aren’t here, but that’s not what makes us lose.

We had no energy. We had nothing. We have a lot of guys under the weather right now and you could see it. You need that to play this game. It’s a real hard game to play and you need to have that juice.”

LOOSE PUCKS: After Penticton’s 5-1 win Saturday in Spokane, the Vees are just one point behind Prince George atop the BC Division standings. The Cougars hosted the expansion Vees for the first time Tuesday and Wednesday, after this edition of The Citizen went to press, at CN Centre. The Vees beat the Cats 5-4 in overtime on New Year’s Day and also won 5-2 in Penticton on Dec. 17.

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

SPORTS

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

Cougars earn high marks from Team Canada coach TED CLARKE Citizen Staff

Prince George Cougars goalie Josh Ravensbergen did not get the chance to play in the IIHF World Junior Championship.

But after nearly a month being fully immersed with his age-group peers performing at the top of their game against the best the hockey world has to offer, that’s the kind of stuff he hopes will put him on a fast track to the NHL. As the third wheel on the Canada goaltending depth chart behind the two incumbents, Jack Ivankovic and Carter George, Ravensbergen’s game-time experience was limited to relief duty in one pre-tournament test Dec. 23 against Denmark.

He backed up Ivankovic for the Latvia game Dec. 27 and was on the bench Monday in St. Paul, ready to step in for George if needed. But Canada had no need to switch goalies while securing a 6-3 win over Finland in the bronzemedal matchup.

Ravensbergen didn’t factor into the games, but he earned every bit of that bronze medal he had wrapped around his neck on the ice Monday, after days of trying to stop shots in practice whipped at him from the likes of Canadian shooters Gavin McKenna, Zayne Parekh, Michael Hage and Tij Iginla, as well as Carson Carels, his Prince George teammate.

“It is cool definitely to win a medal for your country and just being part of the whole thing is super cool,” said Ravensbergen. “I’ve watched the tournament, obviously, and it is cool to be bringing something back home.”

The heartbreak of losing 6-4 to Czechia in the semifinal round Sunday was pushed aside and Canada returned to the medal podium after going two years without, following a gold-medal win in 2023.

“We did a really good job of just refocusing and I’m proud of the boys for coming back early in the morning and giving our all in today’s game. We played our hearts out and were able to walk away with a medal,” Ravensbergen

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Canada’s world junior team goaltending consultant Dan De Palma, left, shows off his bronze medal with PG Cougars goalie Josh Ravensbergen, centre and Carson Carels, after they beat Finland 6-3 Monday, Jan. 5 in St. Paul, Minn.

said.

Drafted 30th overall last June in the first round of the 2025 NHL draft by the San Jose Sharks, despite not playing in the tournament, Ravensbergen’s world junior experience ranks right up there as a highlight in his already stellar career as one of the WHL’s top goalies.

“Obviously you want to play, but it is what it is and you just try to do your best to help the team,” he said.

Dan De Palma was Canada’s goaltending consultant for a second year, on loan from the Kamloops Blazers, and he said nothing was predetermined about which goalies would play when Canada convened its training camp in Niagara Falls.

“Yeah, you’ve got two returning guys and there’s value in that for sure,” De Palma said. “People who have done something before and handled it pretty well, you’re going to give them the opportunity to be part of it. But that doesn’t mean you close the door on everybody else.

“A lot of guys across the country were considered and Josh was just better than all of them. He had a great start to the year and earned his way there, and then it was who would earn their way into the crease as we went along. It was just hard to choose between them and the staff did their best to try to pick the right guys in the moments.

“The decisions you make early on, if

they go well, it keeps things going that way, and if they don’t go as well for one of the guys then it opens the door for somebody else. I guess Ivankovic and George never closed the door on themselves and really opened it for Josh.”

Canada scored more goals (42) than any other team, and De Palma said Ravensbergen had a hand in that, making Canada’s shooters work that much harder in practice to try to beat him.

“Rather than look at it that Josh didn’t play, I look at it at what he accomplished — that’s a hard team to make.

I don’t care if you’re one, two or three, just making that team is an incredible accomplishment,” said De Palma.

“His attitude was amazing and he was a treat to work with. When you’re practicing with the best players in your peer group, for sure they’re going to make you better. They get lots of time and space in the drills and you’re tested hard. The flip to that is Josh made them better. He works his tail off and he just wouldn’t quit. No matter what the drill was, he was always in there taking shots and he made them better. We scored a lot of goals and it takes a team to do that. If you practice hard against your peers, it’s going to make them better and Josh made them better.”

De Palma said his team just had a bad day at the rink in their semifinal loss and the bronze-medal win softened the blow of not playing for the title.

39

“The bronze medal is the best we could do today and we did that, so there’s a lot of pride in that,” he said.

“You know the importance everybody puts on it, the importance the whole country does and the people that support it, and for Hockey Canada it’s obviously important to them.

“The players have looked forward to this their entire lives and the ones that are fortunate enough to do it, it’s real important. Everybody wants to win and everybody wants you to win and the pressure is there to win, so you want to teach them to be winners and competitors and you’re learning as you go. Sometimes you learn in a loss and that was yesterday, and today we learned in a win and I think every guy in that room will be better off for what happened here.”

De Palma, a native of Prince George, was not surprised to see Carels raise his NHL draft stock at the tournament, having seen what he was capable of at the U18 world championship in Dallas last spring.

“The Cougars with Jim Playfair and Mark Lamb have done a good job.

They’re real good, so he’s got good coaches and he’s a good player and that combination usually gets good results,” said De Palma.

“He’s done real well. I don’t think he was on anyone’s radar to be part of this thing, and I don’t mean Hockey Canada.

The rest of the world didn’t really have him on the radar, and look what he did.

He’s a great kid, he’s respectful and we have that common Prince George connection and he embraces it. He loves Prince George and I love that about him.”

Ravensbergen watched the 17-yearold Carels get tested against world junior opponents and continues to be impressed at the pace of his development into one of the country’s premier defencemen.

“I thought he handled himself real well. He’s very mature for his age and I’m proud of how he was able to go out there and help our team,” said Ravensbergen. “I think he played a big role and was a big part of it and I’m excited to keep watching him grow.”

40

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

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25 Small ammo 26 Wish undone 27 Coach Parseghian 29 Physique 30 “-- was saying ...”

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39 Small plateau 40 Cameo stone 41 Single 43 Legal document 45 Plane reservation 46 Pot starter 47 Incubator noise 49 Bovary’s title (Abbr.)

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

Life Events In Memory of Ben Burbee

If you ask us how many times you have crossed our minds in 30 years, we would say “once”, because you never really left!

Forever in our minds & hearts Love Pat and family

Janet Marie Schwab

December 19, 1965 - December 16, 2025 It is with a deep profound sadness that we announce that our beautiful an el anet chwab assed away in her slee at her home on the evenin of ec anet was the kindest, most entle lovin erson he en oyed s endin time with anny and the two of them were inse arable, whether travelin , a endin concerts, s ortin events, or ust s endin time at the lake er real hi hli hts however were her two ama in randkids, alker, and ummer he cherished their visits he will be reatly missed by her usband anny, hildren ndrew ley , dam atherine , olan onica , leah Peter , her reatest treasure, her randkids alker and ummer, her other ose, rother Lloyd ichele ister eannine rend , other in law eor ina, ister in laws ebbie, elly van , arol Larry , andra, rother in laws ennis Lesley , odd, numerous nieces, ne hews and their li le ones who all loved untie anet and many very close friends celebration of life will be held for anet at her favorite lace, the lake on ay 30

Honouring

those who have touched our lives email: frontdesk@pgcitizen.ca or call 250.562.2441

Nick Stunder It is with heavy hearts that the family of Nick Stunder announces his passing on December 21, 2025, at his home in Prince George, with family by his side. He leaves behind his beloved wife of 67 years, Joyce; his children Blair (Maxine), Shelley (Billy Richards), and Lorrie (Rod Myers); his four grandsons; and three great-grandchildren, each holding cherished memories of life with him.

The third of seven children born to George and Tina Stunder, Nick grew up on the family homestead in Saskatchewan, where he learned early the values of hard work, perseverance, and integrity. As a young man, he headed west and eventually se led in Prince eor e in 0 here he o ened rctic uto ody, which rew into rctic anufacturin becomin one of ritish Columbia’s largest producers of logging trailers.

Nick took pride in honest work and in building a business that supported the local forestry community.

Nick had a lifelong love of the outdoors and found oy in ardenin , huntin , cam in , and es ecially shin nyone who knew him knew his shin stories told with a twinkle in his eye and yes, there was truth in most of them. He took great pleasure in running his jet river boat and never hesitated to hel stranded shermen is sense of humour was warm and ever-present, and he always seemed to have just the right joke for the moment.

N E Z I F T I C ROO P

Nick had a quiet faith and was a regular churchgoer who enjoyed bringing a smile to those he reeted Friday ni hts often found him watching Hymn Sing on television.

Beyond being a dedicated businessman and devoted family man, Nick believed in giving back. He served on local improvement projects, supported sports teams, and lent a hand wherever he felt he could make a di erence ith dee rief and ratitude for a life well lived, the family held a celebration of ick s life on January 7, 2026.

Larry Vernon Peters

June 15, 1952 - December 11, 2025 Larry Vernon Peters passed away surrounded by family at Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody on Dec. 11, 2025, at the age of 73.

Larry was predeceased by his parents, Irving and Helen, his siblings Barry, Sally and Willie, and his wife Donna (Chrobak).

He leaves behind his loving wife of the past 25 years, arlene, his children hristian arah and Jessica, and his step-children Treena and Trent. He also leaves behind his grandchildren: Taran, Connor, Lucas, Dylan, Cohen, Keaton, Kyah and Jake.

Larry was born in Prince George on June 15, 1952 and grew up on The Island Cache and later Buckhorn Road, where he developed many cherished, lifelong friendships. His childhood – along with 25 years of taxi driving — would become fodder for many entertaining stories.

Later in life, Larry obtained an arts degree from the University of Northern B.C. and a bachelor of education from imon Fraser niversity ith that education, he went on to teach at Leaf a ids ducation entre, c losky lementary and North Delta Secondary. Larry was proud of his work with children e eriencin multi le barriers to learnin and had a knack for connectin with and bringing out the best in his students.

He and Darlene have shared 25 wonderful years. hey en oyed a life lled with cam in and adventure, including their move to Manitoba for his rst full time teachin osition hey loved s endin time with their children and randchildren, and their do s, ena and u y Larry loved the arts, and had been a talented amateur photographer and guitar player in his youn er years hen he retired, he was able to devote time to his artistic assions, includin aintin and layin uitar e was an avid history bu , researchin his own family history He was also a published research author on the topic of Barkerville. Larry bravely fought against the e ects of Parkinson s disease and lym homa for the last 0 years In lieu of owers, arlene asks that you consider donatin to Parkinson s anada, or ancer Foundation for lym homa research. A private family gathering will be held in the Lower ainland in anuary celebration of life will be held in Prince George in the spring.

Dates to be announced.

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

LIFE EVENTS

Brittany Marie Gagnon

Cameron Douglas Sutherland 1950 - 2025

Cameron passed peacefully away at Prince George Hospice Dec. 21, 2025.

Cameron was predeceased by his granddaughter, Kallie, in Prince George, his parents Doug and Mary Sutherland of Kelowna, aunt Jean Heitt in Prince George and his brother-in-law Christopher Smith of High River.

Cameron is survived by his wife, Marilyn Hinton Sutherland; son Jeff Hinton [Wendy], son Cal Hinton[Niki] and children Nevada [Carter], and their daughter Raea, Payden [Brett], son Jay Hinton [Robbin]and their children: Taylor, Jaymie, Ty, and Mason and nieces Maxine and Dianne and their families. Also surviving is Cameron’s sister Christine and her children Kim, her daughters Charley and Lemmy and son Tyler [Leanne] and daughter Maisie.

Family and close friends will be getting together to celebrate Cameron’s life later in March.

Should friends so desire a donation to one of the local charities supported by his beloved Spruce City Lions would be appropriate.

Please, no flowers.

Grace Memorial Funeral Home in Vanderhoof is in charge of arrangements.

t i with dee orrow and ratit de for her hort ti e with that we anno n e that ri an arie a non da hter of hoebe Ca i el and a id ierre a non ha a ed on onda e e ber . he i r i ed b her other hoebe Ca i el father a id a non her two on la e hwart and rand in eod. er i ter eli ia Ca i el and brother heldon Ca i el and athew a non all her Co in who were rai ed alon with her Charit orri lian rt a la rt le rt randon rt and their fa ilie . he al o lea e her rand arent bert and arie Ca i el ir inia and ate eter a non and their fa il . an e ber of the rt Ca i el a non fa ilie in rin e eor e rn a e ra lain he lea e behind an e ber of the a non fa il in l din ar el a non obert a non. he lea e an heri hed e orie of her hort life in l din her lo e for e er one e e iall her fa il who he wa rai ed with he lo ed to in a a o n lad and erfor ed at ra lain and did o e odelin for the a in rin e eor e a er he e f ll o leted a odelin o r e. ll he rela ed to e er one i that he lo ed e er one he alwa re inded of that we lo e o ab irl fore er. neral er i e will be held on an ar at at ir t e orial neral er i e a ewood Cha el i a .

In Loving Memory

Marion Nordquist

June 28, 1937 - December 15, 2025 It is with sadness that we announce the passing of our mom, Marion Nordquist on December 15, 2025 in Victoria, BC. arion wa born in i le C rrent ntario. he o ed to rin e eor e C with her o n fa il in where he rai ed fo r hildren. ater he o ed to enti ton and then to i toria. he lea e behind her fo r hildren and their artner i rand hildren two reat rand hildren and her e h band. arion wa a re ilient intelli ent and ele ant wo an who will be fondl re e bered b her fa il and n ero wonderf l friend . elebration of life will be held at a e a ori on en ie t i toria C at on January 10, 2026.

ew

November 9, 1930 - December 30, 2025

McCONNACHIE, RN and her beloved daughter

CARRIE McCONNACHIE

They are lovingly remembered by their family, who e li e the ontin e to to h a ro eneration . ro three hildren to nine rand hildren and now a r t reat rand on born thi a t August, their legacy of love lives on. ore er in o r heart r e Conna hie and family

43

Arthur Grant Truman

LOUISE CARRIE MARIE

December 23, 1995 Thirty years have passed since Louise and Carrie were taken from us far too soon.

Louise, a graduate of the Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing, was devoted to her hildren a ti e in her o nit and nown for her kindness, strength, and love of family.

Carrie was a joyful and talented young girl whose love of dance, music, and animals brightened the lives of all who knew her.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

Harvey James Sims

May 15, 1934 – December 22, 2025

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Harvey James Sims, beloved husband, father, brother, and friend. Harvey passed away peacefully on December 22, 2025, at the age of 91.

A Memorial Service will be held in Harvey’s honour at Assman’s Funeral Chapel (1908 Queensway) on Friday, January 2, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. To send a personal condolence, please visit www.assmansfuneralchapel.com

Honouring

those who have touched our lives email: frontdesk@pgcitizen.ca or call 250.562.2441

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Art Truman who passed away peacefully on December 30th, 2025.

Art was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Elsie, in 2015.

He is survived by his daughter Cheryl (Robb) and his son Deryl (Brenda); grandchildren Leah (Billy), Breanne (Eric), Derae (Spencer), Corbin (Ashley), Colby (Zoe), and Kegan (Kylie); and greatgrandchildren Avery, Emery, Ivy, Logan, Peyton, Heath, Theodore, Halle, and Isabel.

He is also survived by his loving companion, Lorea, who shared many cherished years with him.

Art’s memory will live on through the love he shared, the values he passed down, and the many lives he touched. He will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.

Celebration of life will be held at a later date.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

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* On Jan. 19, 1977, First Lady and ERA supporter Ford, Nat on aTurner, whim and • On Nov.Betty 11, 1831, an American slave on her final dayand as aeducated residentminister of the who believed he’d been chosen by White House,that jumped on the Cabinet God lead and his people freedom, Roomtotable struck into a pose.

At that was hanged in Jerusalem, Virginia, time, just three women ever sat for leading a revolt with had 75 followers at that table as presidential cabinet through Southampton County, killing

about 60 white people.

• On Nov. 12, 1969, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh revealed the extent of the U.S. Army’s charges against 1st Lt. William L. Calley at My Lai, Vietnam, in a cable picked up by (March more than sayARIES 21 30 to newspapers, April 19) Events ing that “Theadventurous Army says he [Calley] could inspire Lambs who deliberately at least 109 are looking tomurdered make a major career or Vietnamese civilians during a searchpersonal move.

But as always, get all the and-destroy mission in March 1968, facts before rushing into any sort of deal in a Viet Cong stronghold known as or commitment.

‘Pinkville.’”

• On Nov. 13, 1979, Philadelphia TAURUS (AprilDarryl 20 to Dawkins May 20) What 76ers center leaped over Kansas Kings forward could Bill seems to be aCity great opportunity Robinzine a memorable dunk cause evenfor usually practicalslam Taureans that shattered the fiberglass backto ignore their inner caution cues.

Best board.

His equally memorable comto move carefully to avoid falling into ment on the move, which was not his unseen last andtraps. the sound of which spectators likened to a bomb going off: “It wasn’t GEMINI (Maything 21 totoJune 20)itNeed really a safe do, but was aa holiday now thatthing the seasonal Darryl Dawkins to do.” festivities are• behind you?

Plan to go On Nov. 14, Good 1882, idea! outlaw Frank “Buckskin” shot andYou’ll killedreturn Bilto someplaceLeslie wonderful. ly “The Kid” hadfor pubrefreshed andClaiborne, more thanwho ready a liclychallenge. challenged him, in Tombstone, new Arizona.

• On Nov. 15, 1984, Baby Fae, a month old infant who received the world’s first baboon heart transplant, died at California’s Loma Linda University 20 days after the operation.

Three other people had received animal heart transplants, but none survived longer than a few days.

• On Nov. 16, 2001, British author J.K. Rowling’s most famous and beloved creation, the bespectacled boy wizard Harry Potter (played by Daniel Radcliffe in his first major role), made his silver-screen debut in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” which went on to become one of the highestgrossing movies in history.

• On Nov. 17, 1903, the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party split into two factions: the majority Bolsheviks and minority Mensheviks. The Bolsheviks went on to become the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. © 2024 King Features Synd., Inc.

* On Jan. 20, 2001, Donald Rumsfeld, who in 1975 was America’s youngest Secretary of Defense at age 43 when he served under Gerald Ford, became the oldest Secretary of Defense when he was appointed to that job 26 years later by George W. Bush. * On Jan. 21, 2009, after more than 70 years as the world’s largest automaker, General Motors finally lost the title when it announced worldwide sales of

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Progress continues to be made on that pesky workplace problem. Meanwhile, don’t assume that a personal situation will work itself out. Best to get more involved earlier rather than later.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Catnaps are definitely recommended for LEOs and LEOnas who had been going at a hectic pace over the holidays. Adding relaxation time to your schedule helps restore your overdrawn energy reserves.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Sure, some of the new friends you made during the holidays might move out of your life at some point. But at least one might show significant “staying power” with some encouragement.

8.36 million cars and trucks in 2008, compared with Toyota’s 8.97 million vehicle sales that same year. * On Jan. 22, 1779, famed Tory outlaw Claudius Smith met his maker at the end of a rope in Goshen, New York, giving patriot civilians of the American Revolution hope for relief from guerrilla warfare in upstate New York. * On Jan. 23, 1960, the first two humans to reach the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench descended 36,000

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Encourage family members to join you in supporting a relative who could be facing a difficult emotional challenge in the New Year. Showing your love and concern helps keep this person’s hopes up.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) While a long-deferred decision might suddenly take on some urgency after news on a related matter, you still need to weigh all the factors carefully before deciding one way or the other.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) This is a good time to reassess the earlier plan you made for the New Year. Some elements you felt you could depend on to make it work might no longer carry this assurance.

45

feet in a submersible to the deepest part of the ocean -- more than a mile deeper than the height of Mt. Everest -- fortified with 15 chocolate bars for the trip. * On Jan. 24, 1922, Christian K. Nelson was inspired by a boy who came into his confectionery shop and couldn’t decide between chocolate and ice cream. He combined the sweet treats and received a patent for the Eskimo bar, originally marketed as the “I-Scream” bar.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Forming a renewed connection with a former associate is only the first step toward working out your new plans. Be prepared for problems and deal with them as soon as they arise.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) A romantic situation that was going smoothly not too long ago might take a new turn. Be honest about your feelings before you decide whether to follow it or take another path.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) The wise PISCES (that’s you, of course) will make sure that everyone knows your plan to keep your options open and will listen to all sides of the situation before making any decisions.

46

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

Homes & Living

A Canadian tradition: Neighbours helping neighbours clear snow together (NC) Winter can be a test of patience, endurance and community spirit. When the first big snowfall hits, it’s not unusual to see neighbours bundled up and on their street lending a hand to help others clear their driveways, sidewalks and porches. Clearing snow can be more than a chore; it can become an act of kindness that brings neighbours closer as they face the season together.

Shovelling a walkway for a senior or digging out a friend’s car before work are as much a part of Canadian culture as hockey or maple syrup.

Across neighbourhoods, snow

removal often becomes a shared effort, turning an otherwise cold and tiring task into something warmer and more meaningful.

Make sure to use proper tools and technique Many hands may make light work, but clearing snow can still be strenuous. Wherever possible, push snow instead of lifting, to avoid back and shoulder strain. Make sure to take frequent breaks, even short ones, and drink plenty of water— cold weather can dehydrate you just as easily as summer heat can.

By choosing well-made, easyto-use equipment, you can help

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your neighbours more safely and efficiently. You can also increase your efficiency with a cordless electric snowblower, like many that are available, some models have heated grips and long-lasting runtimes.

A cleared driveway might seem like a small gesture, but on a freezing winter morning, it can mean a great deal. Snow blankets us in solitude, but clearing it, especially when we do it for others, reminds us that we’re never truly alone. You can learn more at garant.com.

SNOW REMOVAL:

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I know that real estate is about much more than houses — it’s about people, trust, and I know that realsellestate is about helping families their long-time family much home or find the place— they’ll more than houses it’scall about people, their nexthelping home. trust, and families sell their long-

time family home or find the place they’ll call their next home.

As I begin chapter two, I’m bringing that experience and dedication to every client I work with.

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778.349.4026 don.gowan@century21.ca

YOUR TRUSTED ADVISOR FOR RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE YOUR TRUSTED ADVISOR FOR RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

Landscaping Ltd. Russ Hill • 250.563.7062

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

47

The Benefits of Winter Walking and Hiking When winter arrives, many people retreat indoors, trading fresh air and movement for warm couches and screens. Yet winter walking and hiking offer a wide range of physical, mental, and emotional benefits that are often overlooked. With the right preparation and mindset, colder months can become one of the most rewarding times to get outside.

Physical Health Benefits One of the most immediate advantages of winter walking and hiking is improved physical fitness.

Cold weather makes your body work harder to maintain its core temperature, which increases calorie burn compared to walking the same distance in warmer conditions.

Snow, ice, and uneven winter terrain also engage stabilizing muscles in the legs, hips, and core, helping to improve balance and strength.

Winter walking is particularly beneficial for cardiovascular health. Brisk movement in cold air encourages deeper breathing, which can improve lung capacity and circulation. Regular outdoor activity during winter helps maintain blood pressure, manage weight, and reduce the risk of heart disease— especially important during a season often associated with indulgent eating and reduced activity.

Additionally, winter walking helps preserve mobility and joint health.

Cold weather can make joints feel stiff, but gentle, consistent

movement keeps them lubricated and flexible. For many people, walking is a low-impact activity that can be sustained year-round with minimal strain.

Mental Health and Mood Boosts Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and winter blues are common during shorter, darker days. Winter walking and hiking offer a natural antidote.

Exposure to daylight—even on overcast days—helps regulate circadian rhythms and boosts serotonin levels, improving mood and energy.

Walking in winter landscapes also promotes mindfulness. Snowcovered trails, quiet forests, and crisp air encourage slower pacing and heightened awareness of surroundings. This can reduce stress, calm anxious thoughts, and create a sense of mental clarity that is harder to find indoors.

Research consistently shows that time spent in nature lowers cortisol levels and improves overall mental well-being. Winter environments, often quieter and less crowded, amplify these benefits by offering solitude and a deeper sense of connection to the natural world.

Immune System Support Regular moderate exercise, including walking, strengthens the immune system. During winter months—when colds and flu are more common—maintaining an active lifestyle can help the body defend itself against illness. Fresh air and sunlight contribute to vitamin D production, which plays a key role in immune function and bone health.

Unlike indoor gyms, outdoor winter walking reduces exposure to shared surfaces and enclosed spaces, lowering the risk of picking up seasonal viruses.

Building Consistency and Resilience Winter walking builds mental toughness and consistency.

Choosing to get outside despite cold temperatures, wind, or light snowfall reinforces discipline and resilience.

This mindset often carries over into other areas of life, improving motivation and confidence.

Maintaining an active routine through winter also makes it easier

to transition into spring and summer activities. Instead of starting over after months of inactivity, winter walkers enter warmer seasons already fit and energized.

Unique Seasonal Beauty Winter transforms familiar trails into entirely new experiences.

Snow muffles sound, creating peaceful silence. Ice crystals sparkle in sunlight, animal tracks tell hidden stories, and bare trees reveal landscapes often obscured in summer. These visual rewards provide a sense of adventure and novelty, even on well-known routes.

For photographers, artists, and nature enthusiasts, winter walking offers endless inspiration. The simplicity and contrast of winter scenes sharpen observation and appreciation for small details.

Practical Considerations for Safety To fully enjoy winter walking and hiking, preparation is essential.

Dressing in layers allows for temperature regulation, while

moisture-wicking fabrics help keep sweat from chilling the body. Proper footwear with good traction—or traction aids—reduces the risk of slips and falls.

Staying hydrated, protecting exposed skin, and being mindful of shorter daylight hours are also important. Letting someone know your route and timing adds an extra layer of safety, particularly on remote trails.

Winter walking and hiking offer far more than just exercise. They support physical health, strengthen the immune system, boost mental well-being, and cultivate resilience during a season that can otherwise feel limiting. Rather than seeing winter as an obstacle, embracing it as an opportunity to stay active and connected to nature can transform the cold months into a time of renewal and quiet strength.

With thoughtful preparation and an open mindset, winter walking becomes not only manageable—but deeply rewarding.

FIVE TIPS TO ENSURE YOUR MORTGAGE APPLICATION IS APPROVED THE FIRST TIME CHECK YOUR CREDIT SCORE MAINTAIN A STABLE INCOME SAVE UP FOR A DOWNPAYMENT SPEAK WITH A MORTGAGE BROKER MAINTAIN PROPER DOCUMENTATION

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Every office is independently owned and operated

48

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026

250-562-6228 Mike Hurrell Realtor® P.R.E.C. Managing Broker 250-981-3100 10 yrs MLS Sales Award Winner 2007, 2009-2022

Matt Petkau Realtor® 250-617-8179

1

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

out .95% FULL SERVICE MLS LISTING* Check full listing SERVICE information FREE FULL AT A at MARKET FAIR PRICE MaxSave.ca EVALUATION ®

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Zaviery Dodd Realtor® 250-649-8097

2845 VISTA RIDGE DR.- City Services R3049220 - $159,900

MLS# R3046873

MLS# R3050510

8487 PETER RD. $289,900 MLS# R3046088

#11-5164 HART HWY $299,900

10315 GLENMARY RD $395,000 MLS# R3044388

7788 THOMPSON DR., $580,000 MLS# R3061922

2502 LAURENTIAN PL., $769,900

MLS# R3051667

Amit Luthra Realtor® 250-981-9090

MLS# R3046955

D SOLEC IN D LOT B MIWORTH RD., R3029674 $119,900

Grace Purdey Realtor® 250-612-2238

LOT 2 COLUMBIA RD  4.15 AC R3029704 - $395,000

MLS# R3053625

4602 GANNET RD $190,000

2440 - 15TH AVE., $224,900

MLS# R3054343

MLS# C8068791

D SOLCT IN O

D SOLCT IN O

824 GILLET ST., $359,900

686 DOUGLAS ST., $360,000

MLS# R3043869

D SOLCT IN O

MLS# R3074495

7346 BEAR RD $389,900 MLS# R3071827

G

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DIN N E P

9147 NORTH KELLY RD. $499,999

479 DORNBIERER $449,900

MLS# R3061187

MLS# C8073664

MLS# R3041191

Western Properties

Lot 1, $219,900 - 1.2 Acres R2837615 Lot 2, $219,900 - 1.13 Acres R2837574 Lot 3, $219,900 - 1.06 Acres R2837575 Lot 4, $219,900 - 1.06 Acres R2837578 Lot 5, $219,900 - 1.06 Acres R2837583 Lot 6, $219,900 - 1.06 Acres R2837586 Lot 7, $199,900 - 1.06 Acres R2837601 Lot 8, $189,900 $174,900 R2837609 Lot 9, $219,900 - 1.06 Acres R2837613 Lot 10, $219,900 - 1.06 Acres R2837615

SOLD SOLD

SOLD

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42 RESIDENTIAL LOTS STARTING AT $250,000

#115-4393 COWART RD., $620,000

1917 SPRUCE ST., $659,000

18745 TROUT RD., $740,000

MLS# R2985052

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MLS# R3062657

393 CARNEY ST., $1,100,000

D SOL V O IN N

ING D N E

7170 GUELPH PL. $449,900

16685 CHIEF LAKE RD $849,900

MLS# R3054738

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***All Lots fully City Serviced, 0% Financing available O.A.C for Licensed Builders, Cash Discounts available.*** Located on Western Rd.

169 AITKEN CRES $419,000

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D SOLEC IN D

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PRE-REGISTER AT www.TynerRidgeEstates.ca