Red Dress Campaign takes to highways
Christine HINZMANN Citizen staff chinzmann@pgcitizen.ca
She seemed a bit surprised at her own tears as she listed those murdered and missing women who she was honouring Sunday afternoon during the Red Dress Campaign which started with a stand-in at the junction of Highways 16 and 97.
Sandra McArthur remembers her high school chum Doreen Jack who went missing from Prince George with her entire family, including husband Ronald and children Ryan and Russell, in 1989. McArthur remembers Madison Scott who went missing in 2011 from the Vanderhoof area. Then as she spoke of her distant cousin Mackie Basil of Fort St. James who went missing in 2013.
“Where is she? She’s out there,” McArthur said. “This event is about bringing the awareness to these people – some of them have been missing for 29 years and we need them to come home.”
McArthur said it’s the overwhelming reality of it that brings the tears even after so many years.
“This event isn’t just for Indigenous women but for all women,” McArthur said. What needs to be fought is the perception that women are dispensable beings, she added. Looking around at the 60 or so people who were in attendance at the highway event that began at Mr. P.G., McArthur said it felt empowering to see the support as the majority of people were holding a red dress to symbolize the vibrant life of each woman, which had now been taken away.
During the event at the highway, there was a prayer and singing as everyone stood in a circle. Then in a long procession people stood along Highway 97 with dresses raised in honour of their fallen sisters as the Khast’an Drummers performed.
The event then moved to the Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park pavilion where organizer Tammy Meise said a few words of welcome and she and others spoke about their personal experiences that led them to the Red Dress Campaign.
During the event, Kelsey Abraham and his
Kelsey Abraham performs a men’s northern traditional dance on Sunday afternoon at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park as part of the Prince George Red Dress Campaign. Abraham had incorporated photos of some of the missing and murdered women into his regalia.
seven-year-old daughter Bella Rain performed traditional dances.
Abraham said this event is especially important to recognize all missing and murdered women but it really brought it home as they honoured their family members who have been murdered or are missing.
“My daughter is seven years old and her style of dance is one of healing – the junior girls’ jingle,” Abraham explained.
Abraham takes opportunities like the Prince George Red Dress Campaign to talk to Bella about her personal safety as she would like to walk home alone from school. Dad doesn’t think it’s such a good idea.
To keep the murdered and missing women
in their hearts Abraham said his daughter honours them often.
“So we say her little prayers for the murdered and missing women – not only Indigenous, but women in general. To me that’s important,” said Abraham, who was dressed in traditional First Nations dance regalia.
“To always remember them we attend important events like this one and we have placed pictures of the murdered and missing women on my regalia and on Bella Rain’s dress, as well. We need to keep praying for the murdered and missing women. My prayers are with my family today and all the other missing and murdered women and the families out there who need these prayers.”
Frank
PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
Chilliwack police are searching for a missing person who also has strong family ties to the northern interior.
“Chilliwack RCMP is requesting the public’s assistance in locating Kahlilah Angeline Ketlo, 21, of Chilliwack. Ms. Ketlo was in contact with family members on Aug. 22,” said Cpl. Mike Rail, spokesperson for the Upper Fraser Valley Regional Detachment based in Chilliwack.
Ketlo also has substantial family and social connections in this area.
“RCMP investigators believe Ms. Ketlo is travelling around the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley,” said Rail. “Police and family are concerned for Kahlilah’s well-being.” According to police, she was reported missing on Sept. 1 and was last seen in the East Vancouver area.
Ketlo is described as an Aborigional woman, five-footfour, 133 pounds, with brown hair and eyes. She is known to wear stylish nonprescription eye glasses, baggy clothing and a hat.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Ketlo is urged to contact their local police department or, should you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-8477 (TIPS).
Trio jailed for armed robbery RCMP seek missing woman
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff
Three men were sentenced Monday to significant time behind bars for their roles in an armed robbery of a Prince George convenience store.
Both Donovan Arthur Carter-Laliberte, 24, and Wilfred Patrick Prince, 28, were sentenced to six years and Andrew Dane Gifford, 26, was sentenced to five years during a hearing at the courthouse. — see HANDGUN, page 3
KETLO
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE
Roughly 60 men, women and children hold up red dresses at the junction of Highway 97 and Highway 16 on Sunday afternoon as part of the third annual Red Dress Campaign.
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE
Pops in the Park
Steampunk art show appears in the ether
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff
fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
An art show is on now in a computer near you, after it got bumped out of its physical space and bumped down the calendar by this summer’s wildfires.
The Steampunk Visual Art Display & Competition could perhaps be better called smokepunk, after suffering this summer’s nasty burning sensation.
It was slated to be based at the Railway & Forestry Museum for in-person viewing but the air was too polluted, and there was no way of predicting when it would clear.
Instead, organizers at Ridge Side Art put the call out to the region’s artists to submit their best steampunk stuff and it was photographed
for an online display that is now up for viewing on both Facebook and Instagram.
“It is not up in physical form, it is only virtual,” said Christina Watts, curator of the show and competition.
“They will hold future events for steampunk at the Railway & Forestry Museum, but I think everybody understands how the fires affected things. But we had already gotten so much positive feedback about holding this art event that we went ahead and did it this way. It got a great response, I’m so impressed by all the pieces we received, and it sure gives us a hint about what’s to come in future years when we can do the full partnership with the museum.”
Twenty-five pieces were submitted. Each artist could enter a maximum of three pieces of art. Each one has its own snapshot on the
Facebook and Instagram event page, and the artwork that receives the most likes will win the competition. Voting is open now (only one overall vote per person, please) and closes on Saturday.
All the artists are local, from varying backgrounds and experience levels.
“You can also inquire if the piece is available for sale,” said Watts.
“You can message us through the event page, or call up Ridge Side Art’s page, and we can put you in touch with the artist. Or you can put a message right there in the thread beside each piece.”
Some of the submissions are traditional fine art, and some double as functional art (clocks, candelabra, pencil holder, etc.) but all are created using the steampunk aesthetic theme.
before settling in Prince George in the late 1980s. According to Klassen’s brochure, she believes every student needs an education to help them be their best, a place to grow if they are gifted, a teacher who is supported. She said teaching assistants should be available if required and school supplies and science equipment should be accessible deposit-free. She would like to see free school sport team participation and schools should be accessible even if students live in a remote area. To contact Klassen for more information call 250-6138299 or email info@trudyklassen.com or visit www.trudyklassen.com.
Citizen staff
Trudy Klassen is running for school trustee for Prince George electoral area 1. Klassen grew up in rural northern Alberta and she and her husband Isaac moved to Mackenzie
Maestro Michael Hall leads the Prince George Symphony Orchestra on Sunday afternoon at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park during the symphony’s annual Pops in the Park concert.
Handgun pointed at clerk’s face
— from page 1
Less credit for time served prior to sentencing, Carter-Laliberte and Prince each have about 3 1/2 years to go while Gifford has about 2 1/2 years left for the Dec. 16, 2016 incident at a 7-11 at First Avenue and Tabor Boulevard.
Video from the store’s surveillance cameras showed three masked men approach the store’s entrance shortly after 9 p.m. One, later identified as Gifford, held the door open while another, who turned out to be Prince, prevented a woman from entering the store by pointing a can of bear spray at her face. Both were wearing bandanas over their faces.
Inside, Carter-Laliberte, who was wearing a hoodie and a hockey goalie’s mask, pointed a .357 Magnum handgun at the clerk’s face and demanded the cash trays and lottery tickets. But in the rush to get out of the store, the tickets were left behind.
As they piled into a stolen minivan, Prince slipped and broke one of the vehicle’s taillights.
RCMP arrived on the scene minutes later and it just so happened that one of them owned a minivan of the same make and model and so was able to identify the type of vehicle from the remains of the taillight that had been left behind.
The minivan was later spotted heading along Foothills and into the Hart Highlands subdivision where, the court was told, it meandered through the neighbourhood in an attempt to evade police.
Prince leapt out and was quickly apprehended. Both the bear spray and the handgun, which turned out to be loaded with four blank cartridges, were found in his backpack.
With Carter-Laliberte behind the wheel, the remaining two made their way out back out to Chief Lake Road where they ran over a spike belt police had laid down. Unaware that the gun had been recovered, police treated the arrest of the two as a high-risk takedown.
Inside, CarterLaliberte, who was wearing a hoodie and a hockey goalie’s mask, pointed a .357 Magnum handgun at the clerk’s face and demanded the cash trays and lottery tickets. But in the rush to get out of the store, the tickets were left behind.
Carter-Laliberte was apprehended with the help of a police service dog, who grabbed onto his arm.
When Carter-Laliberte started hitting the dog, an officer struck him. Gifford, meanwhile, reached down to his leg as he was being arrested, prompting the arresting officer to strike him, knocking out two of Gifford’s teeth.
The woman Prince pointed the bear spray at was never found but the event left the clerk traumatized and he no longer works at the store, the court was told.
All three offenders had remained in custody since their arrests and later pleaded guilty to a number of offences, the most significant being use of a restricted or prohibited firearm in a robbery, which carries a minimum five years in federal prison.
In sentencing the three, provincial court judge Cassandra Malfair agreed to joint submissions from Crown and defence counsels. Carter-Laliberte and Prince were issued longer terms due to their lengthier criminal records and the fact they had wielded weapons.
The three had hatched the plan in an effort to feed their addictions to opioids. In all, they made off with less than $100, mostly in coins, the court was told.
Workshop offers tips on bear-smart fences
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff
fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
Homeowners can have their apples, gooseberries, chickens and honey and eat it too, even in bear country. You don’t have to sacrifice household agriculture because of the very real concern over bear conflicts.
Prince George and Vanderhoof both have high populations of bears interfacing with humans at virtually every corner of the respective municipality. Each will get a visit from Gillian Sanders of an organization called Grizzly Bear Coexistence Solutions, a B.C. agency that specializes in keeping crops and critters separate from each other.
“The workshop focuses on effective fence designs to benefit food producers and to keep bears out of trouble,” said Sanders.
“I don’t sell anything or promote any one brand of electric fencing for bears. I simply educate on how to install effective fencing to protect chicken coops, bee yards, fruit trees, small livestock, and even carcass disposal areas from grizzly and black bears.”
Sanders will deliver a workshop on Friday evening in Prince George and Saturday morning in Vanderhoof to map out the options.
Prince George’s Conservation Officer Service is one of the proponents of the workshops. Sgt. Steve Ackles said Sanders’ organization “has helped install more than 200 electric fences to successfully protect livestock and crops from black and grizzly bears. She has excellent knowledge for bee keepers, people with backyard fruit trees, whatever attractants might draw in the bears.”
The workshop will discuss a variety of options, like permanent fences versus temporary fences and plug-in fences versus off-grid fences powered by alternative electricity sources.
Pitfalls and common errors will also be examined, after years of tracking the fences that have been installed with the help of the organization.
Sanders will also be open to discussing your specific fencing options at your property.
The event in Prince George takes place Friday at the Spruce City Wildlife Association headquarters (1384 River Rd.) from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The event in Vanderhoof takes place Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Braeside Community Hall (17908 Braeside Rd.).
These events are free of charge to attend.
Detachment demolition
Snow in forecast this week
Alaska Highway News/Citizen staff
Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for Northeast B.C., saying early season snowfall should bring up to 10 centimetres of snow today.
“A cold front is forecast to drop southward out of the Northwest Territories bringing unseasonably cold temperatures,” the weather agency reports. “Rain will quickly change over to snow as the front passes.”
Between two to 10 centimetres of heavy, wet
snow is predicted to fall, though accumulations will vary. The forecast will be updated and snowfall warnings issued if necessary.
Motorists travelling through the Pine Pass and along Highway 97 are advised to prepare for rapidly changing weather and road conditions, and to drive accordingly.
The City of Fort St. John says snow plows and sand trucks are on standby.
In Prince George, Wednesday’s high is expected to be just 7 C, with an overnight low of -3 and a 40 per cent chance of precipitation.
The former RCMP detachment on Brunswick Street has been reduced to a pile of rubble as demolition work continues.
Gravedigger gives drowned migrants dignified burial
Sudarsan RAGHAVAN Citizen news service
ARZIS, Tunisia — Chamseddine
ZMarzoug placed a red toy car atop an unmarked grave. Under the small mound of yellow dirt lay the sea-battered bones of a child migrant. Next to it was the grave of a woman.
“I found their bodies washed up on the beach, the child next to the woman,” Marzoug said, after spreading fresh flowers over the graves. “Perhaps, she was his mother. So out of consideration for her, I decided to bury them next to each other.”
Even as the European Union tightens its rules to prevent migrants from reaching its borders, thousands keep boarding rickety boats in search of a better life. And many still drown in the Mediterranean Sea, their bloated bodies ending up on the shores of North Africa with no family members to claim them.
Marzoug gives the migrants in death what they failed to receive in life: a recognition of their worth.
Every morning, the 52-year-old former fisherman scours the beaches of this Tunisian town for bodies. When he finds one, he puts it in a body bag. He delivers the bodies to the hospital for a medical report. Later, he washes the corpses and takes them to the graveyard – marked by a sign displayed in six languages: Cemetery for Unknown –where he has dug the graves with a spade and pickax. Before, he said, the bodies were taken away in “a rubbish truck” and dumped “in a hole and then sand was thrown into it.”
“Now, when we bury them, we give them dignity,” said Marzoug, who is slim and sunbaked with a pepper-coloured beard.
Today, there are more than 400 graves in the cemetery.
No one pays Marzoug, not the municipality or any aid group. He is motivated, he said, by outrage at the plight and treatment of the mostly African migrants. He also works out of necessity.
“Nobody really wants this job,” he explained.
Bodies on the shore
Marzoug buried his first migrant 12 years ago. When he would go fishing, he would be moved by the sight of bodies washing up on the shore.
“They didn’t have any families to care for them,” he said. “So I decided to become their family.” Marzoug has five children and three grandchildren of his own.
In 2005, he cleared a portion of a trash dump on the outskirts of Zarzis. That became the cemetery. He used his earnings from fishing and, later, from driving a taxi,
for the site’s upkeep, as well as for the flowers and the small toy cars.
“He’s a humanitarian,” said Mongi Slim, head of the regional Red Crescent.
“Not a lot of people want to take the bodies from the sea, carry them to the hospital and then bury them.”
“The municipality doesn’t want to do it,” he added. “They don’t have the capacity.”
Last year, Marzoug buried 81 corpses. So far this year, he said, he has found 12 bodies. Stricter border policies enacted by the EU and African governments, as well as tens of millions of dollars spent on training and equipping the Libyan coast guard, have led to a sharp decline in the number of migrants trying to reach Europe, especially Italy.
But Marzoug is seeing more of his countrymen leaving. More than 3,000 Tunisians have reached Italy this year by jumping on smugglers’ overcrowded boats sailing from Tunisian towns like Zarzis, more than any other nationality, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Tunisia is struggling with economic and political turmoil. Unemployment, especially among youth, is soaring, particularly in the impoverished south.
“We are in a new phenomenon in Tuni-
sia,” said Patrice Bergamini, the EU’s ambassador to the country. “It’s easier to move away from Tunisia’s reality than to stay on the ground and change this reality.”
Human traffickers have been increasingly using Tunisia as a starting point for voyages to Italy since Libya’s coast guard began stopping scores of boats and placing migrants in sordid detention centers.
Two of Marzoug’s sons – Firaz and Ilyes –smuggled themselves on boats to Italy and are now working in France. They didn’t tell him ahead of time, he said, because they knew he would have stopped them.
He’s convinced that his work in the cemetery prevented his sons from drowning.
“I believe the bodies of the migrants I buried prayed to God that my sons would reach Europe safely,” Marzoug said with a slight smile.
But more and more Tunisians are drowning at sea. More than 100 migrants, mostly Tunisians, drowned in June after their boat pushed off from the coast.
Marzoug suspects he has buried a few Tunisians. But by the time he sees the corpses, they are so disfigured and discoloured by the water, he said, that it’s impossible to determine their race and nationality.
“I don’t care whether they are Muslim, Christian or Jewish,” he said.
‘She died on the boat’
On a recent morning, Marzoug was back at the beach, searching for bodies and seek-
ing the smell of death. He visited the spot where, a few weeks earlier, he had found the headless torso of a woman. He poked around the sandbanks, looking for pieces of wood, clothes and the plastic bags that migrants use on the boats to protect their cellphones and valuables. Usually, he said, those items wash up before the bodies do.
“When migrants drown, the waves peel the clothes off the bodies,” Marzoug said.
“Sometimes you find bodies with T-shirts wrapped on their necks.”
For the next 45 minutes, he scoured the beach, including areas where it was covered in trash. “I am sure if they clean up this place, they will find more body parts,” he remarked.
On this day, he found none. But he was sure that more bodies would wash ashore before long. He had heard reports that several ships had sunk this summer with hundreds of migrants aboard. Typically, a wind-driven current pushes debris onto the shores, but that had not happened yet this year, he said.
“When this current happens, the bodies will all arrive ashore in Tunisia,” Marzoug predicted.
Back at the cemetery, there’s only one grave with a headstone. It reads: Rose-Marie, Nigeria, 27-5-2017
On that fateful day last year, her boat capsized off the coast of Zarzis. Her boyfriend, Amadine Nosa, survived. He now lives at a dormitory run by the Red Crescent.
In an interview, he said Rose-Marie had traveled the route taken by thousands of migrants – from Nigeria, through Niger, and then to Libya. In Libya, he said, Rose-Marie was held in custody by a militia involved in smuggling and forced her to prostitute herself to pay for her place on the boat to Italy. But by the time they began the journey, she had fallen ill. When the boat started to sink, she couldn’t swim, and even had she been able to, she was too weak.
“She died on the boat,” said Nosa, 33, breaking down in tears.
“That’s how I lost Rose-Marie.”
With so many other victims remaining anonymous, Marzoug is lobbying local authorities for DNA testing kits to identify the dead and bring a measure of closure for their families.
He’s also seeking more space for his cemetery. It is so full that many graves have bodies buried one atop another.
The town’s new mayor, Mekki Laarayedh, said the municipality is looking for additional space.
These days, Marzoug feels even greater urgency – and anger – in his job. He has read about how migrants are enslaved and forced into prostitution in Libya, and he has watched the growing strength of populist political groups in Europe bent on blocking the migrants.
“These are people who were oppressed in their countries, went to Libya where they were oppressed even more, and then took a boat to their death,” Marzoug said.
“When I see the graves, I feel the discrimination and the hate.”
Baby revived at U.S. border crossing
WASHINGTON POST PHOTO BY AMINE LANDOULSI The cemetery improvised by Chamseddine Marzoug has grown so full that many graves have bodies buried one atop another.
WASHINGTON POST PHOTO BY AMINE LANDOULSI
Chamseddine Marzoug, a former fisherman, built the Cemetery for Unknown for migrants who died attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea.
BLAINE, Wash. — American border officers managed to revive a baby girl who stopped breathing while she and her mother were in line to cross into the United States. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection office says the mother and her infant were waiting on Friday at the crossing in Blaine, Wash., when the mother noticed her daughter wasn’t breathing and appeared to be turning blue.
as they prepare for Hurricane Florence on Monday. Hurricane Florence, now a category 3 hurricane, is expected to make landfall somewhere along the North Carolina coastline towards the end of the week.
Hurricane Florence could hit with force not seen in 60 years
Emery P. DALESIO Citizen news service
RALEIGH, N.C. — The last time the midsection of the East Coast stared down a hurricane like this, Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House and Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio were newlyweds.
Hurricane Florence could inflict the hardest hurricane punch the Carolinas have seen in more than 60 years, with rain and wind of more than 209 km/h. North Carolina has been hit by only one other Category 4 storm since reliable record keeping began in the 1850s. That was Hurricane Hazel in 1954.
In comparison, Florida, which is closer to the equator and in line with the part of the Atlantic where hurricanes are born, off the African coast, has had at least five hurricanes in the past century of Category 4 or greater, including Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Hazel’s winds were clocked at 241 km/h at the North Carolina coast and kept roaring inland. They were only slightly diminished by the time the storm reached Raleigh, 240 km inland. Nineteen people died in North Carolina. The storm destroyed an estimated 15,000 buildings.
“Hazel stands as a benchmark storm in North Carolina’s history,” said Jay Barnes, author of books on the hurricane histories of both North Carolina and Florida.
“We had a tremendous amount of destruction all across the state.”
Twelve hours after its landfall, Hazel was in Buffalo, New York, and had ripped through seven states with winds still swirling at 100 mph or more.
Few people have experienced the ferocity of a storm like Hazel, which also was blamed for at least 60 deaths in Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York state.
Jerry Helms, 86, was on his honeymoon on a barrier island off the North Carolina coast when Hazel hit on the evening of Oct. 14, 1954. He and his new bride had been to a roller skating rink and missed the evacuation warnings from police officers who went door to door.
Hazel obliterated all but five of 357 buildings in the beach community now known as
Oak Island. The Helmses barely survived.
As the storm crashed ashore, they abandoned their mobile home for a two-story frame house. Before long, it was collapsing under the waves and “the house was falling in, and all the furniture was falling out through the floor,” Helms recalled Monday.
He thought the roof of a neighbouring cinderblock house might be safer, but soon a big wave went over that house.
When the wave went out, the house was gone, Helms said.
“There was another house – a wooden house that was coming down the road more or less – and it had some guy in that thing and he’s hollering for help,” he said.
Helms pushed a mattress through the top-floor window, and they hung on as it bobbed in the raging water.
What lessons is he applying now that a similarly powerful hurricane is coming?
“I didn’t feel like it was going to be bad enough to leave,” Helms said.
“I don’t know. I just felt better about staying here than I did leaving.”
He doesn’t have a safer destination in mind, and having recently broken ribs in a fall, Helms fears getting stuck as thousands abandon the coast.
Meanwhile, Aida Havel and her husband, John, made preparations Monday to evacuate their home in the Outer Banks village of Salvo, where they’ve lived for about a year. They are heading about 320 km inland to their former hometown of Raleigh, where Hurricane Fran hit in 1996. Fran took a similar inland path to what forecasters are calling for with Florence.
“I had a tree that smashed my car down in my driveway,” Aida Havel said.
“Even though that was 22 years ago, I have never gotten over it.”
The throngs of vehicles heading inland demonstrate the big difference between Hazel’s impact and the damage Florence could cause, Barnes said.
“Today, we have thousands and thousands of permanent residents on our barrier beaches,” he said.
“It’s a totally different scenario with regard to human impact.”
Trans Mountain a frustrating process: Notley
Citizen news service
FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. — Alberta
Premier Rachel Notley says the challenges facing the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion shows her province can do everything by the book and still get shortchanged. Notley says the recent Federal Court of Appeal decision quashing the expansion project has provoked frustration and anger in Alberta, but her government will continue to fight to get it built. She says without it, the ongoing pipeline bottlenecks will continue to cost Canada $40 million a day in a discounted price for oil.
“I know I speak for everyone here in this room and every Albertan in saying that we are frustrated and, let’s go with it, angry about the recent court decision on Trans Mountain,” Notley said at the official
opening of Suncor’s new Fort Hills oilsands extraction site, north of Fort McMurray on Monday.
“Alberta and Albertans have done everything right and so far it hasn’t worked, but you know what we are not going to let it rest. We are going to keep fighting.”
The Appeal Court recently struck down the pipeline on the grounds the federal government did not consult properly with First Nations and did not take into account the impact of tanker traffic on marine life.
The Trans Mountain project would double the existing line from Alberta to B.C. to triple the amount of oil shipped to the coast, allowing producers to sell to Pacific Rim markets and fetch a better price.
The Alberta government says lack of pipeline access is forcing its producers to sell exclusively to the U.S. market at a substantial price reduction.
Fishing lodge runs aground on Haida Gwaii
Citizen news service
QUEEN CHARLOTTE — The company that owns a floating fishing lodge that ran aground in British Columbia near the Haida Gwaii village of Queen Charlotte says it poses no current environmental threat.
In a news release, HaiCo says it’s still unclear how its Westcoast Resorts’ Hippa barge anchored at Alliford Bay came loose from its mooring Saturday night with one staff member aboard.
It says after drifting over several hours toward Skidgate Inlet, the barge became beached and fractured its hull. HaiCo says no diesel has leaked and there is no impact to the marine environment, however
that could change with the tides.
A specialized contractor certified in handling hazardous materials in confined spaces was scheduled to arrive Monday to assess a possibly ruptured gas fuel line over concerns that it released explosive vapours into the barge. Officials in Queen Charlotte say the coast guard has established an emergency zone around the vessel because it is considered an explosion hazard.
The coast guard posted on social media that it is on scene working to keep the site safe and reduce any environmental risk. The coast guard says it is working with the owners of the lodge and local contractors to develop a plan to stabilize and salvage the barge.
AP PHOTO
Rob Quinn boards up Lagerheads Tavern in Wrightsville Beach, N.C.,
Please let your name stand
Where are you, Debora Munoz?
What are you up to, Bryan Mix?
How’s it going, Trent Derrick, Jason Luke, Monica Peacock, Ron Gallo and Roy Spooner?
We hope the last four years have been good to you since you put your name forward as a candidate for city council. Although you weren’t selected by the voters of Prince George last time, every single one of you has a long record of community service and activism that is certainly appreciated. So would any of you please consider running again?
In fact, would anyone reading this who thinks they have something to offer to make our municipal government better please proceed directly to city hall, fill out the paperwork, have two friends and/or relatives nominate you and let your name stand for city councillor.
As of Monday morning, there are just nine people seeking one of the eight seats on city council. There are just three new faces – Dave Fuller, Cori Ramsay and Kyle Sampson – competing against six incumbents: Frank Everitt, Garth Frizzell, Murry Krause, Terri McConnachie, Susan Scott
and Brian Skakun.
The nomination deadline is this Friday at 4 p.m. To put these low numbers into context, the 2014 municipal election saw 25 names on the ballot for those eight positions, offering plenty of choice for local voters on the individuals they felt should have a seat at the city council table.
When it comes to voting options for local government representatives, more is more.
And better.
As of Monday morning, there are just nine people seeking one of the eight seats on city council.
What’s been made clear at the public events held by Mayor Lyn Hall and the incumbent councillors seeking re-election is that this group of seven is running as an unofficial slate. While they have diverse political views and local priorities, they have plenty more in common and the last four years have shown their ability to work well together, particularly on infrastructure upgrades, community engagement and targeting problem properties and their owners.
Voters should have a choice, depending on how they feel this group has performed over the past four years. If they are
unhappy, ideally there would be enough quality candidates on the ballot to vote out all of the incumbents. If they are happy with some incumbents but less satisfied with others and would like some change, ideally there would be enough quality candidates to do so.
And with two open seats with the departure of Albert Koehler and Jillian Merrick, even voters completely satisfied with the status quo should have the choice of candidates who will challenge the current group to be better and who will speak up fearlessly when they feel the direction is wrong but will also be hardworking teammates that will come together on common interests.
The same goes for School District 57 and the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, where there also hasn’t been a rush of candidates so far.
Some would say that a lack of candidate interest speaks to a general satisfaction from residents, that the current levels of government are doing a good job and nobody needs to be shown the door. Political history at all levels demonstrates a strong tendency to vote people out of office, as
Smoothing the pipeline waters
Standing beside a small array of equipment that, to a layman, looked more suitable to power-washing your driveway than cleaning up after the Exxon Valdez, Canada’s fisheries and oceans minister tried last Friday to soothe West Coast oil-spill fears.
“Our government understands that, in order to support a thriving economy and healthy coastal communities, we must ensure that our oceans and our marine ecosystems are kept safe,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, extolling Ottawa’s investment in equipment such as that on show at the Canadian Coast Guard station in James Bay.
It’s all part of Ottawa’s campaign to smooth the waters (as it were) as Canada’s pipeline storm continues to rage.
“In the modern world, economic progress and economic sustainability must go hand in hand,” Wilkinson said. “Safeguarding Canada’s greatest natural resource for future generations is an essential component of this mantra.”
It echoed the message delivered at the same spot by Justin Trudeau in April, when the prime minister pitched a pipeline to the coast, the oceans plan and a carbon tax as all being pieces of the same puzzle.
To be fair, the booms, skimmers and other bits on display Friday represented just a fraction of the $600,000 worth new gear at the base, with more to come there and at 80 other bases as the coast guard upgrades its spill-response capabilities. And those upgrades represent just one part of the $1.5 billion Ocean Protection Plan
rolled out by the Trudeau government last November, shortly before it approved the Trans Mountain pipeline project.
The oceans plan – along with a tanker ban on the north coast –was a response to the fears West Coasters expressed during the drawn-out pipeline debate, first as it applied to the (now-dead) Northern Gateway proposal, then to the (now-stalled) Trans Mountain expansion.
On this coast, the plan’s measures include a new environmental-response depot at Port Hardy and a handful of new lifeboat stations on Vancouver Island. The coast guard is getting new spillresponse gear and its vessels will get better towing ability. Among other things, there’s money for fish habitat restoration, and for systems that would help ships avoid whales and lessen the noise impact on orcas.
What’s now in doubt, though, is $150 million worth of spillresponse facilities whose construction is related directly to the Trans Mountain work. As a condition of National Energy Board approval of the project, the pipeline owners must build half a dozen spill-response centres, including four on Vancouver Island – on the Saanich Peninsula, at Becher Bay, in Nanaimo and a joint one for Port Alberni-Ucluelet – where 100 of the 135 associated new jobs would be based.
When a court ruling halted the Trans Mountain project last week, work on the bases (which aren’t part of the federal oceans plan) were put on hold, too. Western Canada Marine Response Corp., the industryfunded body that would run the facilities, said leases have been signed for Port Alberni, Nanaimo and in Vancouver Harbour and on the Fraser River, but construction has not started.
Some people would like to see those new bases built even without a go-ahead for Trans Mountain, for if there’s one thing to emerge from the pipeline debate it has been a certain nervousness about the vulnerability of the coast. Whether or not we see extra oil tanker traffic – perhaps 350 vessels a year – as a result of an expanded pipeline, we’ll still be left with several thousand big ships sliding past Victoria’s doorstep annually. As Wilkinson pointed out, the Marathassa spill that dumped 2,700 litres of bunker fuel into English Bay in 2015 involved a bulk carrier, not an oil tanker. Likewise, the biggest spills to hit Vancouver Island have come not from oil tankers but other vessels. When 875,000 litres of oil escaped from the fuel barge Nestucca off Grays Harbor, Wash., in 1988, it fouled beaches from Sooke to Nootka Sound, killing up to 56,000 birds, even though the spill was only 1/50th the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster. In 1991, fuel spread to Oregon after the Japanese fish processor Tenyo Maru sank after colliding with a Chinese freighter at Swiftsure Bank. Oil tankers or not, the threat of spills will always be an issue.
opposed to electing the best the ballot has to offer.
A less optimistic observer would argue that a lack of candidates points to a population so dissatisfied with politics, so disillusioned with politicians and so distrustful in governments that work for people and not for the bureaucracy that they’d rather stay home and see what’s on Netflix.
What’s the point in running or even voting? Nothing changes but the names and the annual tax bill, which is always higher than it was the year before.
If that’s your defeatist attitude, then you may as well stop caring about democracy, the rule of law, your community and your country. The best alternative is to make both outlooks wrong.
Whether you’re happy, unhappy or somewhere in between with your elected local representatives, it is your duty and your democratic responsibility to vote.
And if you honestly believe you could do as good or better than those who came before, it is your duty and your democratic responsibility to seek public office.
Let nothing but fear that you might actually win and have to work on behalf of your fellow citizens stop you.
Neil Godbout
— Editor-in-chief
Do we still live in a democracy?
Democracy. It is a word we all use but I am not sure everyone would give the same meaning if asked.
The dictionary definition is derived from the Greek origins for the word: “A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.”
Or: “A state governed by a democracy.”
Or: “Control of an organization or group by the majority of its members.” According to Polity IV – a dataset used by political scientists – we live in a “full democracy” but it is a “representative democracy.” We elect people to engage in the actual business of governing for us. We don’t participate in the actual formulation of laws or policies or initiatives. We don’t submit bills or legislation. We place an inherent trust in our elected representatives to govern.
This differs from the origins of the democratic process. Some anthropologists believe early human tribal groups operated on a “majority-rule” approach. Failing to go along with the majority would result in a member being ostracized or a split in the tribe resulting in a portion of the population establishing a separate community. We can certainly imagine how this approach could have resulted in the development of diverse and separate populations.
But a majority rules approach means a minority who do not get things done their way. It can lead to discord within a community unless everyone recognizes the basic principles of democracy. It certainly helps to have rules for how governance will work.
One of the earliest forms of citizen rule was in the Greek city-state of Sparta where political power was divided between four bodies: two elected kings who co-ruled, a Council of Elders which included the kings, an assembly composed of all Spartan citizens, and the ephors who oversaw the actions taken by the kings and the bureaucracy. The ephors had the power to turf anyone, including the kings, if they were not doing their job.
The Spartans even set up a public education system where all citizens received the same education. They gave women some rights which many early societies (and some much more recent) did not. They had freedom to criticize those in power – a sort of “freedom of the press” – and a dedication to equality and liberty for all. But the
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society was structured as a military camp and lacked some of the personal freedoms we take for granted. In any case, the structure was built around the central principle all citizens have the right and obligation to participate in the collective governance of the city. The structure had a ruling hierarchy but it also demanded the participation of its citizens.
Similarly, in Athens which is often thought as the birthplace of modern democracy, participating in the governance of the city state was a natural expectation for all citizens. Term limits were enforced for those in public office. Positions were open to anyone. Indeed, Aristotle eventually came to define democracy as rule by the many as opposed to an oligarchy which is rule by the few and tyranny which is rule by the one. The interesting question is where does a representational democracy sit in the scheme of things?
We are no longer city-states with a few thousands or tens of thousands people. We no longer restrict citizenship to male property owners over a certain age. We do not have the access to public discourse in the same way as ancient Greeks.
Our civilization has evolved. But does this mean we still live in a democracy?
We certainly profess to the core values of liberty and equality although I suspect there are some who would argue they are missing. We certainly are allowed to critique our leaders. We still have mechanisms – albeit cumbersome – to depose those in positions of power who we do not want as part of the government.
But we hand off much of the responsibility and authority for governance to a select few. It does not matter what voting system is involved – single-member plurality, list proportional representation, single transferable vote – as most of us hand over our power at the voting booth.
We expect our representatives to do their jobs and to make their decisions using a majority rules approach within the legislature. And yes, this still generates discord when one group is continually on the outside looking in, but none of this has to do with the way we vote. It is an inherent feature of democracy. Or, at least, it is in the way I would define it.
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TODD
JACK KNOX
Victoria Times Colonist
Guest Column
CP FILE PHOTO
The sun shines on Iqaluit, Nunavut on April 25, 2015. The federal government says there is a lack of information about the movement of dangerous goods in the Canadian north.
Info lacking about dangerous goods in north
Jim BRONSKILL Citizen news service
OTTAWA — The federal government says it doesn’t know enough about how, when and where dangerous goods move through the Canadian North, highlighting the potential risks of a major spill or other disaster.
As a result, the possible effects on public safety and the environment are also unclear, Transport Canada acknowledges.
The department is commissioning a study to help fill in the knowledge gaps and improve readiness when it comes to movement of goods ranging from explosives and flammable liquids to infectious substances and radioactive materials.
The effort will focus on regions north of the 55th parallel as well as on more southerly, but isolated, areas in eastern Manitoba and northern Ontario, says a newly issued call for bids to carry out the study.
The overall goal is to fully identify the hazardous substances transported throughout these areas and the major hubs that link to relevant airports, marine ports, ice roads, railroads, mines,
refining sites, manufacturing plants and warehouses.
The information will help Transport Canada pinpoint potential risks and make decisions concerning safety regulations and compliance, the tender notice says.
A stark reminder of the difficulty of moving goods in northern Canada came when the only rail line to Churchill, Man., was flooded and it became impossible to deliver freight overland until an ice road was built.
There are also virtually no freight rail lines north of the 60th parallel, except for rail access to Hay River in the Northwest Territories, the notice says. Considering the seasonal nature of ice roads and ports, there are limited routes for movement of dangerous goods in or out of northern Canada and other remote areas, it adds.
The tenuous nature of northern transportation systems mean there are “gaps in information” about the kinds of dangerous goods transported, the volume of shipments and the sort of emergency response systems available.
“We continuously examine ways to
make transportation in Canada safer for all and this assessment is part of our effort to ensure even greater knowledge regarding the handling of goods in the North,” said Transport Canada spokeswoman Annie Joannette.
She declined to provide additional information given the competitive tender process underway.
The most valuable element of the exercise could be the educational process of better informing people about the risks of transporting dangerous substances, said Rob Huebert, a northern studies expert at the University of Calgary.
“It’s always about the follow-through,” he said.
“Because you can have all these exercises through the ying-yang, but if you’re not setting up the system properly and then maintaining the system, what’s the point of having it?”
Until now, Canada’s emergency preparedness efforts have largely been focused on maritime response and less on land-based accidents, he said.
“I think a lot of people always forget that the North is an area that is just so different from every place else.”
Armed forces equipment, troops prepare to leave B.C. after wildfires
Citizen news service
VANCOUVER — Military aircraft and many of the armed forces personnel loaned to British Columbia by the federal government at the height of the wildfire season are preparing to return to their home bases.
A news release from the Department of National Defence says most federal resources will be sent home as officials in B.C. determine there’s no longer a need for mop-up support on wildfires in the Okanagan.
About 100 personnel, mostly reservists from three separate Canadian brigade groups, will stay in southern B.C. to help with a fire near Princeton.
Canadian Armed Forces planes carried more than 47,000 kilograms of freight, transported 115 passengers and conducted 49 reconnaissance flights and other missions over the wildfires in the weeks after B.C. requested assistance on Aug. 13.
More than 400 soldiers and other personnel assisted with mop-up, aircraft maintenance and various other duties during the deployment.
B.C. declared a provincial state of emergency as hundreds of wildfires flared in August, but rescinded the order last Friday as all but the southeastern corner of the province is now listed at a low to very low risk of further fires.
The BC Wildfire Service says more than 13,300 square kilometres of woodland has been charred by more than 2,000 wildfires since April.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says his thoughts are with those affected and he is pleased members of the armed forces could assist.
“Though the damage is devastating, I am proud of the contribution our Canadian Armed Forces have made during this time of need,” Sajjan says in the release.
“From transporting equipment and firefighters, to containing the fire’s spread through mop-up operations, our women and men in uniform demonstrated their professionalism and readiness to answer the call to serve and protect their fellow Canadians,” he says.
Syrian man charged in murder of 13-year-old girl
Camille BAINS
Citizen news service
SURREY — A man has been charged with murdering a 13-year-old girl whose body was found in a Metro Vancouver park over a year ago in a crime that caused people in the community to feel unsafe, police said Monday.
Marrisa Shen was last seen in the evening of July 18, 2017. When she didn’t return home, her mother called police, and officers found her body in a wooded area of Central Park in Burnaby early the next morning.
On Monday, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team announced Ibrahim Ali, 28, had been charged with first-degree murder,
two weeks after police became aware of him.
Supt. Donna Richardson, the officer in charge of the team, said Ali is a Syrian national who moved to Burnaby as a refugee 17 months ago. She said the permanent resident of Canada is employed and has family in Canada but she couldn’t provide any other details pending the judicial process for the man who is scheduled to make his next court appearance on Friday.
None of the allegations in the case have been tested in court.
Richardson said the investigation that involved 600 interviews and the elimination of over 2,000 persons of interest was one of the largest in the history of the team
since its formation in 2003.
“We still believe this crime was a random act, meaning that Marrisa did not know the suspect and vice versa,” Richardson told a news conference, adding the investigation involved multiple RCMP detachments and municipal police forces.
Chief Supt. Deanne Burleigh, the officer in charge of the Burnaby RCMP detachment, offered condolences to Shen’s family.
“While I understand that there is some relief at the announcement of an arrest I am mindful of the devastating loss that they have suffered since the day of Marrisa’s murder,” Burleigh said.
“To our community in Burnaby I want to express my gratitude for
your patience. Throughout this investigation Marrisa’s murder shook our community and it questioned the safety of the park. We have, and we continue to conduct, high visibility patrols on foot, on bikes and in our vehicles to ensure everyone can continue to feel safe in our parks.”
Shen’s family thanked the public for their ongoing support in a statement read by Cpl. Frank Jang of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.
“We are aware that so many people reached out to the police to provide information and we are so grateful for that,” the family said as they asked for privacy.
“We hope that justice will now be served and that Marrisa can
finally be at peace in heaven.” Shen was seen on security video entering a Tim Hortons about 10 minutes after she left home at 6 p.m. and she was last seen around 7:30 p.m. walking near the coffee shop. Shen’s mother reported her missing at 11:30 p.m. and the girl’s body was found 90 minutes later, police have said. Her family has said the girl planned to travel and visit friends in China the summer she was killed.
A year after her death, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team held a news conference near where Shen’s body was found and appealed for help from the public as police had no suspects, despite following up on 200 tips.
Humboldt crash survivor has long recovery ahead
SASKATOON (CP) — A Humboldt Broncos player who suffered a brain injury in a hockey bus crash in Saskatchewan still has a long road to recovery.
The family of Morgan Gobeil says in a statement the 19-yearold is recovering but will still be in hospital for a few more months.
They say he suffered a significant brain injury in April when the Broncos team bus and transport truck collided at a highway crossing, and that the months since the crash have been difficult.
Sixteen people, including 10 players, were killed and 13 players were injured.
Gobeil’s family says they believe he’s getting better every day.
“We have said that from day one,” said the statement from his family. “We also know his journey is a long one.”
They say Gobeil knows he was in a bus accident, but he doesn’t know the extent of what happened.
Last week, the family of Layne
Matechuk said he also isn’t fully aware of what happened on the night of the crash. Matechuk, 18, also suffered a brain injury from the collision and is struggling to get his speech back.
Both families have expressed gratitude to the first responders at the scene and medical staff in the hospital. The Gobeil family also addressed the ongoing support from people around the world in their statement.
“Because Morgan does not yet know the gravity of the accident, he is unaware of the overwhelming support that has poured in from across the world,” they said. “However, we want everyone to know that we, his family, are.”
The latest update comes as the Broncos prepare to play their home opener against the Nipawin Hawks this Wednesday.
The Broncos were on their way to a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoff game against Nipawin when the crash occurred April 6.
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Hand ball sparks Spartans to victory
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff tclarke@pgcitizen.ca
For 69 minutes, the UNBC Timberwolves had what they wanted. They had a 1-0 lead over the Trinity Western University Spartans and goalie Rob Goodey was making his five-foot-10 body look larger than the net as far as the Spartans were concerned.
UNBC went into defensive mode trying to make the slimmest of leads hold Saturday night under the lights at Masich Place Stadium and it almost worked.
Almost, but not quite.
A corner kick from Caleb Johnson found the forehead of Matthew Roxburgh standing in front of Goodey and the ball bounced in just inside the right post to tie the game at the 67:41 mark.
Two minutes later, Johnson took the penalty shot after a ball directed at the UNBC net from Luke Fulton hit the hand of T-wolves midfielder Jonah Smith inside the 18-yard box. Johnson, who missed on a penalty shot in Friday’s 3-3 tie with UNBC, found nothing but net, giving the Spartans what they needed to clinch a 2-1 victory, completing a four-point weekend on UNBC turf.
“It was pretty nervewracking going up to take (the shot) again but knew I had to step up and take it again because if I didn’t it would have shown a little less character in me if I just missed one and didn’t step up for the second one,” said Johnson, a native of Strathmore, Alta.
Roxburgh’s goal was one of 11 set pieces the Spartans had. They limited UNBC to three corner kicks, including the one which led to the T-wolves goal. Francesco Bartolillo put the ball in play and Conrad Rowlands headed it in to give UNBC the lead in the 37th minute.
“It was a hard-fought game, minute-to-minute, and we got unlucky a couple times and so did they,” said Rowlands. “The (handball call) was really unfortunate. Depending on the referee, there’s all sorts of ambiguity on whether the hand’s in a natural position or not and it’s all in the heat of the play and happening quick. The
referee, if they don’t have a good look, sometimes just go off their gut and you never know how it’s going to turn out.”
But the official ruled the hand contact was deliberate, and that left Goodey in a vulnerable spot. The game-winner was shot from only 10 metres away.
“Rob was fantastic,” said Rowlands. “He really kept us in it with come crucial saves and we’re hoping he keeps going like that the entire season.”
Just as they did in Friday’s game, the Spartans controlled the ball through much of the first half. Unlike their game Friday, when they took a 2-0 lead into the intermission, the visitors from Abbotsford had nothing to show for their first-half dominance. Goodey was the reason for that. The third-year goalkeeper from Bishop’s Stortford, England, was busy from start to finish, stopping 10 of the 12
shots the Spartans fired his way. UNBC had just one shot on net and scored on it.
“We struggled (Friday) on set
Cats improve to 3-1 in preseason
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
Preseason games do not count for points in the standings and that’s too bad for the Prince George Cougars.
They’ve won three of their four games in exhibition play.
Their latest victory, a 3-2 triumph Sunday afternoon in Langley, came at the expense of the previously undefeated Victoria Royals, who started with four straight wins.
“Of course we want to establish a winning culture, especially with the young group that we have, and I thought our compete level the last 48 hours was good,” said Cougars head coach Richard Matvichuk.
“We’ve learned that if we play a high pace with the energy and commitment we want to play at, we’re going to be competitive every night, regardless of what our age is. Our transition game and our defence and forwards have to stay tight together and when we play like that it’s going to give us a good chance to win.”
Ryan Schoettler and Kjell Kjemhus sparked the Cats’ offence, each with first-period goals, and Josh Maser found the net in the second period for his first of the preseason. Alex Bolshakov, early in the second period, and Ty Yoder, on a third-period power play, countered for Victoria.
The Cougars successfully killed seven of the eight Victoria power-play chances, including a 90-second 5-on-3 disadvantage with less than five minutes left in the third period.
Maser, 19, played on a line with Vladislav Mikhalchuk and Ethan Browne and was picked as the game’s first star Sunday. Although Maser was bypassed in the NHL draft in his first year of eligibility the six-foot-two, 207-pound native of Houston is intent on making hockey his livelihood and Matvichuk says he’s on the right track.
“I liked his energy – he’s a physical player and he’s like a bull in a china shop,” said Matvichuk. “He’s out there doing the right things and saying the right things and playing the right way and it’s really encouraging knowing he’s
We’ve learned that if we play a high pace with the energy and commitment we want to play at, we’re going to be competitive every night.
— Richard Matvichuk
one of those guys we see playing a huge part in our organization and eventually being a guy who turns into a pro hockey player.
“Just because you don’t get drafted at 18 the chance is there to be drafted as a 19-year-old and he’s opening eyes.”
Isaiah DiLaura drew the start in goal for Prince George and made 27 saves as his team outshot the Royals 29-28. Royals goalie Dean McNabb allowed three goals on 16 shots and was replaced for the third period by Connor Martin, who stopped all 13 shots he faced.
The Cougars’ Tyson Phare, 16, the 18th overall pick in the 2017 WHL bantam draft, made the switch from forward to defence part way through training camp and has looked more comfortable lining up on the back end, the position he played throughout the majority of his minor hockey career. The offensive-minded Phare drew an assist on Kjemhus’s goal.
“He’s getting better every day and we feel the way he sees the ice and the opportunity he has to play that position, he’s been doing everything we asked,” said Matvichuk.
“We like him where he’s at right now.
pieces and counterattacks and (Simonson) saw that as a way to get at us and they got the first goal,” said Spartans head coach Mike Shearon. “Our whole season so far has been all about trying to stop counters and they got the set piece off us so we had to fight back and I was excited for the guys to continue to keep going with the way we wanted to play and it worked out in the end.
“(Goodey) made some tremendous saves tonight and I can’t speak more highly of what he did and the resilience of the UNBC boys. They defended hard and we didn’t take our chances as well as we should have.”
After Johnson’s go-ahead blast, the T-wolves tried to go on the offensive but had very little success getting through to the Spartans’ net defended by Sebastien Colyn. Friday’s game was wild, from start to finish. Cody Fransen
He’s a 16-year-old young man trying to crack the lineup and it’s a pleasant surprise to see him back there. He moves really well and we can have more offence that way. We want to attack as a four- or five-man unit, not just three forwards.”
The Cats skated to a 7-3 win Saturday night over the Vancouver Giants.
Max Kryski had a four-point game with two goals and two assists. Mikhalchuk, Tyson Upper, Josh Curtis, Ilijah Colina (shorthanded) and Cole Moberg fired singles. Yannick Valenti, James Malm and Tyler Ho were the Giants’ goalscorers. Taylor Gauthier stopped 28 of 31 shots in the Cougar nets. Brady Euerny and Drew Sim combined to make 33 saves for Vancouver.
The Cougars now sport a 3-1-0-0 record in preseason play, which began last weekend with a 5-0 loss to the Blazers in Kamloops, followed by a 4-2 victory in Kelowna.
The Cats still have 27 players on the roster and have a week of practice ahead of them as they prepare for their final preseason game Saturday at CN Centre against Kamloops. They open the franchise’s 25th season Sept. 21-22 in Victoria and play one more road game on Wednesday, Sept. 26 in Kelowna before they host the Rockets in a two-game set in Prince George, Sept. 28-29. Two Cougars are skating this week in NHL rookie camps.
Winger Jackson Leppard is in Estero, Fla., playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the 19-year-old suited up for the Bolts in Sunday’s 5-3 loss to the Nashville Predators. Defenceman Joel Lakusta, 20, is with the St. Louis Blues at the rookie tournament in Traverse City, Mich., and was in the lineup Saturday for the Blues’ 5-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“Leppard said it was fast but he played well and I spoke to Lakusta and he thought he played well too,” said Matvichuk. “Those are encouraging signs that they’re up there at the highest level possible and when they’re there they’re doing a lot of learning too, which is great.”
scored for TWU just 47 seconds into the game and Vaggeli Boucas made it a 2-0 count in the 22nd minute. The T-wolves rallied in the second half with goals from Cody Gyspers, rookie Anthony Preston and Bartolillo (who scored in the 89th minute) to go up 3-2. But with time nearly expired, Joel Waterman scored the tying goal on Goodey, just 27 seconds after Bartolillo’s goal, to leave the teams deadlocked.
“That was a whirlwind of emotions – going to 3-2 from two-nil down at halftime was incredible and 20 seconds later it’s 3-3,” said Goodey. “It was heartbreaking but we looked at that as a fantastic achievement for what we did, coming back from two-nil down. Yeah, it was upsetting we didn’t get the win but we take the positives we got and our attacking was fantastic in that game.”
— see PLAY, page 10
Cougars add brawn to lineup
Jason PETERS Citizen Sports Editor jpeters@pgcitizen.ca
Most of Mike MacLean’s opponents look up to him. Considering he’s six-foot-seven, that’s a pure and simple fact.
The mountainous MacLean became a member of the WHL’s Prince George Cougars on Monday. The 20-year-old forward, who carries 234 pounds on his lengthy frame, was acquired from the Seattle Thunderbirds along with 16-year-old defence prospect Sam Schoenfeld and a conditional draft pick.
In the trade, Seattle picked up 17-year-old forward Keegan Craik, chosen by the Cougars in the fifth round (98th overall) in the 2016 bantam draft. The Thunderbirds also got a fifth-round selection in the 2019 draft. MacLean, from Penticton, split last season between the T-birds (38 games) and the Lloydminster Bobcats of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Not surprisingly, he’s expected to add a physical element to the Cougars’ lineup.
“MacLean is a big, physical winger who’s a late bloomer and someone we think still has a lot of untapped potential,” said Cougars general manager Mark Lamb in a media release.
Seattle general manager Bil La Forge said on the Thunderbirds website that MacLean was the victim of a numbers crunch.
“Mike has been a valued contributor for the T-birds who has really developed with us in the last year,” La Forge said. “But with only three 20-year-old spots available we had to make a move. With this trade we were able to find a team for Mike to continue playing in the WHL. We are excited to add Keegan as he is a player who will add depth to our team.”
In his time with Seattle last season, MacLean had two goals, two assists and 42 minutes in penalties. In five playoff games, he added a goal and an assist.
This preseason, MacLean has one goal and one helper in five games.
Schoenfeld, meanwhile, attended Seattle’s training camp and, according to the team’s website, “had an impressive showing.” Last season, he skated in 32 games with the Okanagan Hockey Academy Elite 15s and put up one goal and eight assists. At sixfoot-three and 180 pounds, he already has good size. Schoenfeld’s hometown is Calgary. Craik, from Brentwood Bay, appeared in two games for the Cougars in 2017-18 and was held without a point. As a member of the Delta Hockey Academy, he registered 13 goals and 29 points in 27 games.
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE
UNBC Timberwolves midfielder Josh McAvoy and Trinity Western University Spartans defender Noah Kroeker battle for a loose ball on Saturday night at Masich Place Stadium.
Play versus TWU
‘huge
credit’ to program: coach
from page 9
T-wolves head coach Steve Simonson said his players learned a harsh lesson in the first game that they can’t afford to get into a scoring slugfest. That’s why he ordered his players, once they had their lead, to try to put a blanket over the Spartans.
“On (Friday) night we went toe-to-toe and they ripped us in the first 45 minutes, so we tried to go ultra-compact and limit shots to unthreatening areas, which I thought we did a pretty good job of,” said Simonson.
“In the second half we had some leaks and Rob had to make some big saves and ultimately they undid us when they scored. As much as it wasn’t entertaining, there were a lot of good things we did for 70 minutes against a team that was ranked number 10 in the country. For us to do what we did this weekend is a huge credit to where our program has gone to, because this (Spartan) team has won national championships.”
Saturday’s win moved Trinity Western (2-1-1) into third place in the Canada West men’s soccer standings, while the T-wolves (0-1-2) head to Saskatchewan this weekend still seeking their first win.
UNBC ties
Heat, loses in Kamloops
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
Trailing 3-0 Sunday afternoon in Kamloops, the UNBC Timberwolves women’s soccer team outshot and outchanced the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack for the next hour but the damage was already done.
The WolfPack was already feasting on the spoils of a 3-0 lead, all scored in the first half-hour of the game.
The T-wolves made some adjustments late in the first half and finally sank their canines in with a goal from California native Sofia Jones – her first U Sports Canada West Conference strike – but that’s as close as it got.
They fell 3-1 to their Canada West conference Pacific Division rivals, a day after starting the season in Kelowna with a 2-2 deadlock with the UBC Okanagan Heat.
WolfPack shooters Chantal Gammie, Abbie Simms and Marisa Mendonca (on a penalty shot) all found the net behind UNBC goalie Madi Doyle, who stopped two of the five shots she faced in the game.
UNBC took 19 shots and eight of them were on goal. Danielle Robertson made six saves in goal for the TRU, including a breakaway showstopper to thwart Jones. see JONES, page 11
Kozlowski kickstarts Kings
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff tclarke@pgcitizen.ca
It certainly wasn’t pretty but the Prince George Spruce Kings got the job done. Locked in a scoreless draw heading into the third period Saturday against the Chilliwack Chiefs, the same team they beat handily 5-1 the previous night, there was no sense of panic on the Spruce Kings’ bench.
They did their best to take over the game in the final 20 minutes but the Chiefs refused to go away quietly. The visitors came out of it one goal shy, losing 2-1, and in the process put the fear of doubt into the defending B.C. Hockey League Coastal Conference champions.
All the scoring happened in the third period.
Sam Kozlowski and Patrick Cozzi had the Kings goals. Kevin Wall struck for the Chiefs.
Kozlowski is in his last season of junior before he makes the jump to U.S. college hockey next season at RIT in Rochester, N.Y. The 20-year-old from Delta was acquired Tuesday in a trade that sent the rights to forward Ethan O’Rourke and future considerations to the Chiefs.
Kozlowski’s first week with his new team could not have played out much better, as he scored in both games to help the Kings get off to 2-0 start.
“It’s been an awesome experience, I really enjoy it here so far – I love the guys and the coaching staff has been awesome,” said Kozlowski, who opened the scoring Saturday on the power play when he put in the rebound of a Liam Watson-Brawn point shot, 4:52
into the third period.
“It was a hard-fought battle for the first 40 and in the last 20 we just played it simple and got pucks to the net and I think that’s how we won. This team has plenty of depth and it’s just really fun to play with these guys.”
Cozzi doubled the lead 6:13 into the final period, collaborating on a 2-on-1 with Nick Poisson. Poisson fed the pass across to the right side and Cozzi cruised in and delayed his shot, waiting for the hole to open up behind goalie Mathieu Caron. It was the first of the season for Cozzi, one of 13 returning Kings from last year’s BCHL finalists.
Wall’s second goal of the weekend came on a Chilliwack power play with 4:45 left. Logan Neaton made the first save but kicked out a rebound to Wall and he slipped the puck into the open side before the Kings’ goalie could get across to cover up.
The shot count favoured the Kings, 37-23.
The Chiefs had a few sniffs at the net in the late stages but Neaton was flawless the rest of the way, picking up his second career BCHL victory, allowing just two goals in the two weekend games.
Brian Maloney has just seven players back from the Chiefs team he inherited after the Spruce Kings eliminated Chilliwack in the first round of the BCHL playoffs. Maloney, a former Chiefs captain, replaced Jason Tatarnic as head coach and guided the RBC Cup hosts to the national championship, nearly two months after they lost that opening series to Prince George.
“It’s a new group with lots of new faces and we’re just trying to teach them how to defend, really, and I thought they did that tonight,”
said Maloney, whose assistant is Cam Keith, who took the Trail Smoke Eaters to the Interior Conference final last year.
“The next step will be creating more offence, but if we can start defending like that I like our chances. (The Spruce Kings) are a heck of a squad and will be one of the powerhouses in the league this year. They’ve got a lot of returnees, and we’ve got to feel good about it. I liked our compete level. This was a good character test for lots of these guys, who haven’t been around this league or this atmosphere.”
Guilty of trying to stick-check the speedy Kings too often in Friday’s game, in the rematch the Chiefs tightened up their zone defence and took away a lot of the ice, giving the partisan crowd of 823 at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena little to cheer about for two periods.
“Both teams played well defensively in the first (period), there wasn’t a lot of ice out there and they did a better job with some gap control through the neutral zone,” said Spruce Kings head coach Adam Maglio.
“We started turning some pucks over and it was a little bit sloppy. That team is young this year but they work hard and playing backto-back games, they’re never going to be the same games and I think it’s good learning for us. You’ve got to bring it each night.
“Sam certainly helped our power play tonight and I know that’s going to be a big piece for him, contributing on the man advantage for us. He’s a smart player and he’s got a good shot and good footspeed.”
The Spruce Kings host the Coquitlam Express, Kozlowski’s former team, in a two-game set at RMCA this Friday and Saturday.
to four-year contract extension
LAS VEGAS — The Golden Knights wasted little time in making sure Max Pacioretty will be around for the long haul after pulling off the trade that is bringing the former Montreal Canadiens captain to Las Vegas.
The team announced Monday that it had signed Pacioretty to a $28 million, fouryear contract extension that runs through the 2022-23 season. The 29-year-old Pacioretty was entering the final season of a six-year deal.
“He can score goals, he’s a productive player, he brings speed, he brings some size and he fits our club,” Vegas general manager George McPhee said. “He fits the personality of this club. He’s a very good two-way player. He can play in a lot of different situations.”
The Stanley Cup runner-up Golden Knights acquired the all-star forward Sunday night from the Canadiens for Tomas Tatar, prospect Nick Suzuki and a 2019 second-round pick.
The additions of Pacioretty and veteran centre Paul Stastny, whom the Knights signed earlier this year, upgrades a line that lost James Neal and David Perron to free agency over the summer. It also includes Alex Tuch, who enjoyed a breakout rookie season during the Golden Knights’ run to the Stanley Cup final.
“We’ve added a couple of players in Stastny and Pacioretty that are very good two-way players, very good character people,” McPhee said. “I hope we’re a better team than we were last year.”
Pacioretty, who scored 226 goals and added 222 assists in 626 career games with Montreal, is expected to arrive in Las Vegas this week. He’s already familiar with Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant, who was an assistant coach with the Canadiens under Michel Therrien in 2012.
Stastny has already been getting familiar with his new teammates during optional workouts and team scrimmages.
“Everyone has kind of opened their arms up and helped me out with anything I
need,” said Stastny, who had 16 goals and 37 assists last season and helped Winnipeg reach the Western Conference final. “It’s always nice to get out here, get a couple of skates and get to know the guys a little bit. Once camp rolls around I’ll be a lot more comfortable.”
Speaking after a team workout Monday, Tuch lauded Pacioretty.
“He’s great on the faceoff dot, good defensively and a solid all-around player; he’s one of the top players in the game right now, especially with his goal-scoring ability,” Tuch said.
Tavares confident Nylander will be in camp
MILTON, Ont. (CP) — John Tavares got a glimpse of William Nylander’s skill at informal practices and scrimmages this summer.
With clock ticking down to training camp, Toronto’s new star centre is confident the winger with silky-smooth hands and a bullet shot to match will be there when the Maple Leafs hit the ice for real later this week.
Nylander, a restricted free agent, remains unsigned with players set to report for physicals and testing Thursday before the team travels to Niagara Falls, Ont., to get down to business the following morning. As of now, the 22-year-old Nylander won’t be making the trip.
“Willy’s obviously a big part of the team and a big part of the future,” Tavares said Monday. “Guys in this situation, it always seems to come down to the wire a little bit. We believe we’re going to have Willy here to start camp.
“Hopefully it can get done very soon and we can get him in.”
Nylander had 20 goals and 41 assists in 82 games in 2017-18 for Toronto, including the club’s second-most points at even strength with 49 (15 goals, 34 assists). In 185 career games, he has 48 goals and 87 assists, with back-to-back 61-point seasons.
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE
Prince George Spruce Kings forward Spencer Chapman doesn’t give up on the puck while being checked by Chilliwack Chiefs defenceman Marcus Tesink on Saturday night at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
Rookie QB leads Jets to whipping of Lions
Citizen news service
DETROIT — Sam Darnold rolled right and made a rookie move, lobbing a football across the field that was picked off and returned for a touchdown.
It might’ve been his only mistake all night.
Darnold made a stellar debut after throwing a pick-six on his first NFL snap, and the New York Jets intercepted five passes and also scored on special teams in a 48-17 rout over the Detroit Lions on Monday night.
The 21-year-old Darnold became the youngest quarterback to start a season opener since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, and looked his age on the first play.
“Licking my chops a little bit too much, I think, on that play,” he said.
Quandre Diggs intercepted his ill-advised pass and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown 20 seconds into the game.
“On that interception, I was pretty nervous,” Darnold said. “After that, I put it behind me.”
The former USC star, drafted No. 3 overall, shook off the nerves and finished 16 of 21 for 198 yards and two touchdowns.
“He didn’t flinch,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said. “He didn’t even blink.”
Darnold helped the Jets set a franchise record for points on the road, surpassing the 47 they scored in 1967 against the Boston Patriots.
New York Jets defensive back Jamal Adams returns an interception against the Detroit Lions during the second half of Monday night’s game in Detroit.
He also outplayed 30-year-old Matthew Stafford. Stafford threw four interceptions – one shy of his career high – and left the game briefly in the third quarter after being hit from the front and back by the swarm-
ing, hard-hitting Jets.
“We wanted to make sure we came out and made a statement in this game,” New York linebacker Darron Lee said.
Stafford was 27 of 46 for 286 yards and a TD pass to Golden
Tate early in the third quarter to tie it at 17. He was mercifully taken out midway through the fourth quarter and replaced by Matt Cassel with Detroit down 31.
“Story of the game’s turnovers,
U.S. Open champions jump in rankings
Citizen news service
NEW YORK — The Big 3 is once again 1-2-3. Novak Djokovic’s U.S. Open title moved him up three spots to No. 3 in the ATP rankings Monday, behind Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, making that trio the top three for the first time in 3 1/2 years. Naomi Osaka jumped 12 places to a career-high No. 7 in the WTA standings thanks to her first Grand Slam title. The runner-up, Serena Williams, is back in the top 20 at No. 16, after being No. 26 before the U.S. Open – and outside the top 400 as recently as May, following the former No. 1’s time away because she had a baby.
Djokovic’s rise from No. 6 thanks to claiming his 14th Grand Slam title continues his own steady progress in recent months. After having elbow surgery in February and starting the season 6-6, he fell to No. 22 in May, his first time out of the top 20 since 2006. But with consecutive major trophies at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows, where he beat Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets in Sunday’s final, Djokovic returns to the top three after being out of that range since June 2017. He can also take aim at trying to finish the season at No. 1, something he did in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015.
“Now we can expect him to really challenge to be No. 1 by end
of the year,” said Djokovic’s coach, Marian Vajda. “But it’s still far away.”
Nadal stayed at No. 1 despite retiring from his semifinal last week, and Federer remained No. 2 after a fourth-round loss in New York. Nadal, Federer and Djokovic last occupied the top three spots in the rankings in April 2015. They are also atop another important ranking: most career Grand Slam titles by a man. Federer holds the record of 20, followed by Nadal with 17, and Djokovic, who equaled Pete Sampras at 14.
Some strong showings at the U.S. Open helped several men achieve career-best rankings, including Borna Coric to No. 18, Karen Khachanov to No. 25 and John Millman – who upset Federer – to No. 37.
Jones strikes for first-ever Canada West goal
— from page 10
you know?” he asked. “We had too many of them, I had too many of them.”
The Jets dominated in all phases.
They scored 31 straight in the third quarter to pull away, sending Detroit’s fans for the exits and setting off a jolly green party in the Motor City. It was the highestscoring third quarter in team history and trailed only the 34-point second quarter the Brett Favreled team scored in 2008 against Arizona.
New York scored on the ground and through the air, on defence and on a punt return by former Lion Andre Roberts. The Jets could’ve piled on even more in the final minutes but turned the ball over on downs after kneeling to take time off the clock. Darnold flipped the ball to a referee after the final kneel down, and the official gave it right back before shaking the rookie’s hand. Darnold was still holding the ball while talking briefly with Stafford on the field.
Detroit coach Matt Patricia, meanwhile, will want to forget his debut as an NFL head coach.
“We’ve got to coach this a lot better than what we did,” he said. “We’ve got to go out and execute a lot better on the field. It’s a team game, and it starts with me.”
New NFL head coaches dropped to 0-6 in Week 1, with Oakland’s Jon Gruden the group’s final hope for an opening victory in the Monday nightcap.
Osaka’s top-10 debut makes her the highest-ranked Japanese woman since Kimiko Date in October 1996. Also marking a career-best ranking Monday is Caroline Garcia, who rose to No. 4, the highest for a woman from France since Amelie Mauresmo held that same spot in June 2007.
Sloane Stephens, who won last year’s U.S. Open and lost in the quarterfinals last week, dropped from No. 3 to No. 9. No. 1 Simona Halep retained the top spot even though she became the first No. 1 seed to lose in the first round of the U.S. Open, and Caroline Wozniacki stayed at No. 2 after her second-round exit.
Jones, a second-year college player from San Francisco, notched her first U Sports Canada West goal in the 45th minute when she unloaded a left-foot half-volley while turning and it sailed in from 20 yards out. “We were actually very good at the beginning,” said T-wolves head coach Neil Sedgwick. “We created some good opportunities early on, and we outshot them (10-6) in the first half and 19-7 overall. We had the run of play in the second half but couldn’t score. Their goalkeeper was good and they defended tough.
“I was proud of the way the girls played and their effort,” he added. “It will serve us well at some point down the road, just the way they competed and the way they played. We just didn’t get the result and the goals today.”
Paige Payne was the UNBC scoring hero Saturday, collecting her first two goals of the season. The third-year forward from Kitimat tied the game 1-1 about a minute after Lindsey Berthelsen slipped in behind
the UNBC defence and beat goalie Brooke Molby to open the scoring just 66 seconds into the game. Payne gave UNBC the lead at 58:48, but the T-wolves were unable to hold off Emma Terrillon, who fired the equalizer in the 76th minute.
“Obviously it was messy start,” said Sedgwick. “They scored in the first minute and we scored in the second minute but the girls had a lot of resilience to take the lead and almost had it at 3-1, and they scored to tie it up.
“If you look at the two games, we’re creating more goal-scoring than we ever have. Unfortunately we conceded five goals in the two games. But if we look at the weekend as a whole there was a lot of growth and we’re excited about next weekend with Regina and Saskatchewan. This is by no means the finished product with this group of players.” The T-wolves host the Regina Cougars Friday night in their first-ever game at Masich Place Stadium, then take on the Saskatchewan Huskies Sunday afternoon.
DJOKOVIC
‘Wake-up call’
Jennifer PELTZ Citizen news service
NEW YORK — On 9-11, Stephen Feuerman saw the World Trade centre aflame through the window of his Empire State Building office and watched, transfixed, as a second fireball burst from the twin towers.
He ran through the 78th floor urging everyone to get out, thinking their skyscraper could be next. With transit hubs shut down, he couldn’t get home to his family in suburban Westchester for hours.
Shaken by the experience, the apparel broker, his wife and their two small children moved within four months to a gracious South Florida suburb they figured would be safer than New York.
So it was until this past Valentine’s Day, when mass violence tore into Parkland, Fla., too.
“There really is no safe place,” says Feuerman, whose children survived but lost friends in the massacre that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
He still feels the family made a good move after 9-11, and he feels all the more attached to Parkland since the shooting plunged him into a whirlwind of events and advocacy on school safety and other issues.
“We’ve had a good life here,” he says. “And again, this could have happened anywhere.”
The Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks prompted the Feuermans and an uncounted number of others to move quietly away from their lives near the hijacked-plane strikes that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.
Some sought safety. Some placed a new importance on living near family. Others re-evaluated what they wanted from life.
As the attacks’ 17th anniversary approached, The Associated Press caught up with some who left and asked: Have they found what they were looking for?
‘It really made us have a wake-up call’
About 30 weeks a year, Scott Dacey drives from his home near New Bern, N.C., to Washington for a few days. The 563-kilometre trips are a price the federal lobbyist pays for peace of mind after Sept. 11.
He and his wife, Jennifer, once expected to stay in the Washington area for years. Then came the strike on the Pentagon and the new feeling of living under heavy security in northern Virginia.
“It really made us have a wakeup call: ‘How do we want to live our lives?”’ Scott says. “Do we want to be up here in this rat race of Washington, D.C.?” Or raising kids somewhere less on-guard and closer to family?
The couple’s 2002 move meant
9-11 prompted some to move away and start new lives
extra costs, including a Washington apartment. Jennifer, already a lawyer, had to take a second bar exam in North Carolina.
But the move also opened new opportunities. Scott is a county commissioner and ran for Congress; a Republican, he never considered seeking office when they lived in Democratic-leaning northern Virginia. And their children, 17 and 15, grew up in a town ranked among the state’s safest.
“It would not be for everybody, but for us, it’s been the right fit,” Jennifer says. “We’re outside the bubble, and this is how America really lives.”
‘You’re only going to change your life when things are bad’
There had to be a better way to live, Michael and Margery Koveleski thought.
A furniture designer, Michael sensed emotional burnout surrounding him as he worked in lower Manhattan after 9-11. Security measures lengthened his commute from Queens, devouring his time with the children. And two months after the terror attacks, American Airlines Flight 587 crashed near the Koveleskis’ home, killing 265 people.
Some sought safety. Some placed a new importance on living near family. Others re-evaluated what they wanted from life.
The next spring they moved to Springfield, Ohio, where they had church friends.
If a better way, it wasn’t always smooth. It was initially a challenge for the Koveleskis’ children to be the new, mixed-race kids – Michael is white, while Margery has Haitian heritage – in an area less diverse than Queens. And Michael struggled to find work in the shaky post-9-11 economy.
He found it by founding his own business, Design Sleep, which sells natural latex mattresses and platform beds. It’s now in its 14th year.
“You’re only going to change your life when things are bad –or terrible,” Michael says. “I am thrilled at the way it came out.”
‘We try to echo some of what we loved’
Heather and Tom LaGarde loved New York and didn’t want
to leave, even after she watched the twin towers burn from their rooftop on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
But over time, “we were very unmoored by 9-11,” Heather says.
“Even though I wasn’t physically harmed, just to see it that close changes your perspective. ... Your priorities change.”
It felt harder and harder to stay in New York. Their non-profit work – hers in human rights, his running a roller basketball program for neighbourhood kids he’d founded after playing for the Denver Nuggets and other NBA teams – depended on fundraising that lagged in the rocky economy after the attacks. Friends moved away.
At first, the ramshackle North Carolina farm they spotted online in 2002 was only going to be an occasional getaway.
But in 2004, the LaGardes moved into the farm near smalltown Saxapahaw with two children, a few months’ consulting work for Heather and no plan beyond that.
Having no plan evolved into starting an architectural salvage company; a popular free music series and farmers’ market; a humanitarian innovation conference; and the Haw River Ballroom, a music venue in an old mill the couple helped renovate.
“We try to echo some of what we
loved” in New York, Heather says, “but living in an easier, simpler, more natural place.”
‘Freedom,
my country, my home’
Georgios Takos rides through northern Wyoming in the Greek Station, his food truck, with a souvenir New York license plate on the wall.
It’s a reminder of the place he once thought would bring his American dream to life.
Growing up in Greece’s northern Kastoria region, Takos longed to live in the America he saw in movies. He was elated to get to New York City in 1986. There were tears in his eyes as he left 15 years later, days after 9-11 shattered his sense of safety and the city. He headed for restaurant work in Arizona, then California, where he met his wife, Karine, a teacher.
On a visit to her home state of Montana, he found the wideopen America he’d imagined. The couple moved to nearby Powell, Wy.
Takos still appreciates what New York taught him about working hard.
But by leaving it, “I now have found what I was looking for,” he says. “Freedom, my country, my home!”
World must prevent runaway climate change by 2020: UN chief
Citizen news service
CAMEROON, Cameroon — Secretary-
General Antonio Guterres warned Monday that the world is facing “a direct existential threat” and must rapidly shift from dependence on fossil fuels by 2020 to prevent “runaway climate change.”
The UN chief called the crisis urgent and decried the lack of global leadership to address global warming.
He said people everywhere are experiencing record-breaking temperatures – and extreme heatwaves, wildfires, storms and floods “are leaving a trail of death and devastation.”
As examples, Guterres pointed to Kerala, India’s worst monsoon flooding in recent history, almost 3,000 deaths from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last year, disap-
“Climate change is moving faster than we are,” Guterres said. “We need to put the brake on deadly greenhouse gas emissions and drive climate action.”
pearing Arctic sea ice, some wildfires so big that they send ash around the world, oceans becoming more acidic threatening food chains, and high carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere threatening food security for billions of people.
Guterres said scientists have been warning about global warming for decades, but “far too many leaders have refused to listen – far too few have acted with the vision the science demands.”
When some 190 nations signed the 2015
Paris agreement on climate change they agreed to limit the global temperature increase by 2100 to less than 2 C and as close as possible to 1.5 degrees.
“These targets were the bare minimum to avoid the worst impacts of climate change,” Guterres said. “But scientists tell us that we are far off track.”
“According to a UN study, the commitments made so far by parties to the Paris agreement represent just one-third of what is needed,” the secretary-general said.
AP PHOTO
Stephen Feuerman, who was at work in the Empire State Building on the day of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, poses in front of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School sign in Parkland, Fla., on Aug. 27. He and his family now live in Parkland, and his children attend Marjory Stoneman.
A&E IN BRIEF
Newton-John has cancer again
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Olivia
Newton-John says she has been diagnosed with cancer for the third time in three decades.
The four-time Grammy winner, who will turn 70 on Sept. 26, told Australian news program Sunday Night that doctors found a tumour in her lower back in 2017.
Newton-John says she’s “treating it naturally and doing really well.” The Grease star says for pain, she is taking cannabis oil, made from marijuana her husband grows in California. She has undergone radiation treatments and has cut sugar out of her diet.
She said, “I believe I will win over it.”
She said she hopes her native Australia will legalize medical marijuana.
Newton-John was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, undergoing a partial mastectomy and reconstruction. She was diagnosed with breast cancer again in 2013.
Cirque du Soleil offers refunds
REDMOND, Wash. (AP) — A mechanical problem during a Cirque du Soleil show caused a portion of the audience, as well as performers on stage, to be sprayed with vegetable oil.
The Seattle Times reports the Canadian entertainment company says it will reimburse all audience members from Friday night’s opening show at Marymoor Park in Redmond, Wash.
Cirque du Soleil said in a statement that the show was cancelled during the first half of the 8 p.m. performance after a mechanical problem in the hydraulic system led a hose to break loose, spewing “some vegetable-based oil” onto the stage and onto some people in the audience.
The company apologized for the incident and said no one was injured and that the oil “posed no risk for the health of the guests or the employees.”
Hayek says equal pay is next
TORONTO (CP) — Actress Salma Hayek says the #MeToo movement has led to unprecedented progress in demanding respect for women in the workplace, but that change needs to be reflected in their pay cheques.
Hayek says many of her Hollywood dreams seemed impossible when she started her career, but she has since seen a “transformation” in how women and minorities are represented on- and off-screen. She says there are more strong roles for women than ever before, like the take-noprisoners Wall Street warrior she plays in The Hummingbird Project, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday.
Hayek says the chorus of celebrities – herself among them – who have spoken out about the widespread mistreatment of women in Hollywood has had ripple effects throughout the entertainment industry and beyond.
Last December, Hayek penned an op-ed in the New York Times alleging she was repeatedly sexually harassed by former film mogul Harvey Weinstein, which his lawyers responded to with a full denial. Hayek says she thinks the next frontier will be stars using their spotlight to call for equal pay for equal work between men and women in all professions.
Parrish weds in Hawaii
WAIKANE, Hawaii (AP) — Pretty Little Liars star Janel Parrish and longtime boyfriend Chris Long have gotten married. The wedding took place Saturday in Hawaii, where she was born. The 29-year-old posted a photo on Instagram of the couple kissing at their rehearsal dinner. Parrish wrote she was “loving my husband so much.” Parrish played Mona Vanderwaal on the teen drama series.
Knightley finds strength in historical roles
Cassandra SZKLARSKI Citizen news service
TORONTO — The director of Keira Knightley’s latest historical drama says he was keen to secure a diverse cast, despite the genre’s reputation for a lack of onscreen diversity.
Knightley stars in Colette as the eponymous French novelist whose provocative stories become a sensation in France, but were falsely credited to her husband.
The film traces her battle for recognition and equality while challenging social and gender norms, and sexual taboos.
“It’s interesting that the strongest characters that I’ve found have been in the period roles. I’m not saying that’s throughout the industry, obviously it’s not, but just for me, that has been the case,” Knightley told a press conference at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday.
“And you can never discount your own taste.
The idea of breathing life into what is dead and done, it’s kind of resurrecting the dead in a funny way, doing a period film. And I find that, as far as the imagination goes, I find my imagination just goes wild going, ‘God, let’s bring them back, this is amazing.”’
In keeping with the spirit of his revolutionary protagonist, director Wash Westmoreland says it was important the film break “a lot of the rules of traditional period pieces.”
“A lot of period pieces they spend two hours waiting to get engaged... with this, they’re in the barn on the haystack within five minutes and it’s kind of like: ‘No, this is a much more sort of direct sexual period piece,” said Westmoreland, last at the festival with Still Alice, which he co-wrote and co-directed with his late husband, Richard Glatzer.
“And then also with the casting, we tried an approach I don’t believe has really been tried before of just having a very inclusive cast.”
Westmoreland described traditional period pieces as “a bastion of a kind of whiteness.” He says it’s time to change that.
“We have trans men playing cis-gendered characters, we have trans women playing cisgendered women, we have an out lesbian actor playing a heterosexual, we have a gay actor
playing someone who said he was heterosexual, we’re not quite sure,” Westmoreland said to chuckles from the assembled media.
“We have Asian-British actors playing characters who have been historically white, we have a black actor playing someone who in history was white and guess what? It all works.”
Moonves latest exec felled in #MeToo era
NEW YORK (AP) — The #MeToo movement fighting sexual misconduct had already claimed one of Hollywood’s top movie moguls in Harvey Weinstein. Now it has done the same for Leslie Moonves, one of the television industry’s most powerful executives.
The CBS Corp. announced its chairman’s exit late Sunday, hours after The New Yorker magazine posted a story with a second round of ugly accusations against Moonves. A total of 12 women have alleged mistreatment, including forced oral sex, groping and retaliation if they resisted him. Moonves denied the charges in a pair of statements, although he said he had
consensual relations with three of the women.
CBS said $20 million will be donated to one or more organizations that support #MeToo and workplace equality for women. That sum will be deducted from any severance due Moonves, a figure that won’t be determined until an outside investigation led by a pair of law firms is finished.
The network’s chief operating officer, Joseph Ianniello, will take over Moonves’ duties as president and CEO until its board of directors can find a permanent replacement, CBS said. It has been nearly a year since Pulitzer Prizewinning articles by The New York Times and
the New Yorker exposed a pattern of misconduct by Weinstein, who now faces sex crime charges in New York. Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose and Kevin Spacey are among others who lost jobs after men and women came forward with their own stories, often on social media with the hashtag MeToo, about sexually inappropriate behaviour by powerful men.
Moonves ruled first the programming, then the full network and other corporate entities such as Showtime for two decades.
He’s been paid handsomely for his success, earning just under $70 million in both 2017 and 2016.
CP PHOTO
Director Wash Westmoreland and actor Keira Knightley attend a press conference to promote the movie Colette during the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival on Monday.
Parcels and mail await delivery in the mail room at the Canada Post Gateway location in Mississauga, Ont., on Jan. 24. Main service could be disrupted starting on Sept. 26 if members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers approved strike action in a vote over the weekend. Results of the vote are expected to be released today.
Possible postal strike could disrupt mail
Terry PEDWELL Citizen news service
OTTAWA — While postal workers waited Monday to find out whether they’ll be on picket lines later this month, some of Canada Post’s clients weren’t taking chances on whether there would be a strike or lockout at the Crown agency. Members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, CUPW, wrapped up voting Sunday on a call by the union for a strike mandate after months of contract talks failed to produce a collective agreement. Results of two separate votes are expected to be released today. But even before the final votes were cast, companies like Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc. were encouraging customers to register for online billing, noting that bills must still be paid, regardless of whether paper copies could be delivered to households.
If CUPW members voted in favour of job action, they could legally strike by Sept. 26 after a “cooling off” period, but Canada
Post would also be legally able to lock them out on the same date.
Neither side has said it would take such action.
CUPW said it received wideranging contract offers on Friday that it called “unacceptable.”
One offer covering urban employees included proposed wage increases of 1.5 per cent for each year of a four-year deal.
The union said the offer also included what it described as “Trojan horse” language around job security.
Canada Post wants the ability to use temporary employees to cover vacancies, but for a potentially unlimited duration, the union said in a statement to its members Friday.
“There is no limit as to how long they could hold these vacancies and use temporary employees to cover these positions,” the statement said.
The urban offer would also reduce vacation time and eliminate pre-retirement leave for future employees, CUPW said.
The union said another offer to rural carriers would not settle key issues including job security and work hours.
“This offer does nothing to address the issues that are important to (rural carriers),” known as RSMCs, the statement said.
“True respect means full equality for RSMCs.”
Collective agreements governing working conditions for both sets of workers expired in December 2017. Contract talks, aided by a third party conciliator, ramped up in early June and were moved to an undisclosed hotel in Ottawa.
A spokesman for Canada Post said the Crown agency would not comment on negotiations, except to say both sides were working hard to find common ground.
CUPW national president Mike Palecek warned early last month that union members should be prepared for “some type of job action” if contract talks fail.
A pay equity dispute involving the carriers’ 8,000 rural and 42,000 urban workers was also at the heart of the negotiations.
Arbitrator Maureen Flynn criticized the pay discrepancies at Canada Post as “fundamentally flawed” in a May ruling, in which she gave both sides until the end
of August to reach a pay equity settlement.
That deadline has passed and Flynn is expected to impose a solution, although CUPW said there are other pay equity issues left to resolve outside of the arbitration process.
Canada Post, in issuing its second quarter financial statement last month, estimated that a settlement could saddle the agency with a one-time hit to its bottom line in the range of a quarter billion dollars.
The agency has recently seen a boom in its parcel distribution business while letter mail volumes have plummeted.
Among its demands at the bargaining table, CUPW also wants the Crown agency to bolster its line of services, including the return of postal banking to communities under-served by banks and other lending institutions.
Canada Post employees were last locked out in 2011, but were quickly legislated back to work by the previous Conservative government. In 2016, an Ontario judge ruled that legislation was unconstitutional.
NAFTA talks resume today in U.S.
Andy BLATCHFORD Citizen news service
OTTAWA — Canada and the United States will restart high-level talks today on the North American Free Trade Agreement as Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland returns to Washington in hope of making progress on stubborn differences.
Freeland and her counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, left the bargaining table Friday without a deal following two weeks of what she has described as intense, but productive, negotiations.
The trip to Washington is expected to be short. Freeland is scheduled to attend the Liberals’ caucus retreat Wednesday in Saskatoon and it’s unclear whether she will return to the U.S. capital late in the week. Ottawa and Washington are trying to reach an agreement that could be submitted to the U.S. Congress by month’s end. A deal would see Canada join a preliminary trade agreement the Trump administration struck last month with Mexico.
The two sides have so far been unable to break an impasse over, among other issues, U.S. access to the Canadian dairy market, a cultural exemption for Canada and the Chapter 19 dispute resolution mechanism.
A Canadian source with knowledge of the NAFTA discussions said an agreement is within reach – but they stressed that getting there will require flexibility from all sides.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the negotiations.
The renegotiation of the 24-year-old NAFTA, which also includes Mexico and is integral to the continent’s economy, has dragged on for 13 months.
With so much uncertainty, Freeland and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have regularly been dogged by questions about the fate of NAFTA. On Monday, Trudeau provided little information when asked by prominent U.S. journalist Katie Couric for an update on the
negotiations during an on-stage interview.
“What’s the latest with NAFTA?” Couric asked Trudeau during the Women in the World Canada summit in Toronto.
The audience laughed and so did the prime minister, who wiped his forehead. Couric continued: “I’m trying to make a little news here people.”
Trudeau replied, “Sorry to disappoint, but we continue to work hard and we are positively optimistic that we can get a winwin-win for all three countries.”
Freeland also appeared at the women’s summit Monday, while Lighthizer was overseas to meet with European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom.
Even with the top players away from the table, negotiators have continued their efforts to find common ground on a NAFTA 2.0.
After emerging from her meeting with Lighthizer on Friday, Freeland said the negotiations had entered a “very intense” phase, during which officials have been meeting “24-7.” Freeland said she would meet with Lighthizer when negotiators found issues that needed to be elevated to the ministerial level.
She has declined to discuss specifics about the talks, noting she and Lighthizer have agreed to refrain from negotiating in public.
Trudeau has said Canada could be willing to be flexible on dairy. But Larry Kudlow, the director of U.S. President Donald Trump’s National Economic Council, suggested Friday that Canada isn’t offering enough.
Trump added a layer of urgency to the negotiations late last month after announcing his deal with Mexico. His announcement came with an ultimatum for Canada – join the U.S.-Mexico pact or suffer the consequences of punishing American tariffs on the auto sector. He also warned that the U.S. and Mexico would move forward bilaterally without Canada.
TORONTO (CP) — Canada’s main stock index started the week losing ground for a seventh-straight session amid an off-day for any headlines on NAFTA as negotiations are set to resume today. It was a rather directionless day for equities with some pockets of strength and weakness, said Craig Fehr, Canadian markets strategist for Edward Jones.
He expects political drama and issues over trade and tariffs will probably spook the markets sporadically but otherwise return to fundamentals such as economic growth on light news days.
“You put those together and on days when there’s not the distraction of political drama or policy risks, I think that is probably where the markets will gravitate back to which again absent the headline risks probably leads the markets higher over time,” he said in an interview.
The United States has enjoyed strong corporate earnings and economic data, including last week’s labour report. Canada’s employment report was weaker with 51,600 net jobs lost last month that drove the national unemployment rate to six per cent, up from 5.8 per cent in July.
While weekend tweets from U.S. President Donald Trump about China stoked some fears, markets didn’t overreact because the trade dispute between the two countries will simmer for awhile, Fehr said.
The S&P/TSX composite index lost 33.18 points to close at 16,057.09, after reaching a low of 16,057.09 on 200.7 million shares traded.
The stock market is down about two per cent since Aug. 29.
Monday’s session saw major sectors like gold fall 1.78 per cent and energy move down one per cent. Materials, metals, consumer staples and financials also lost ground. The cannabis-heavy healthcare sector led, rising 1.5 per cent. Information technology, consumer discretionary, real estate, utilities and telecom services were up.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down
“Pat” Patricia Anne Caldwell
With deeply sadden hearts, we regret to announce the passing of Patricia Anne Caldwell/Couchman. Born Apr. 15, 1951 in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Angels came to earth to recruit Pat for the next journey of her existence on Sept. 6, 2018 in Prince George, BC. She is survived by her husband William, children Ruth, Barb (Dean), and Jason (Lesley). Along with grandchildren Melissa, Paige, Alex, Patience, and Aero. Siblings Adele, John, and Rick and their families. Patricia left this earth for a much better place in her sleep due to natural causes. She will be missed very much. A service will be held for her at Lakewood Funeral Home on Ospika Blvd. Prince George, BC, on Wed. Sept. 12, 2018 at 3:00pm.
Colin Wilson August 31st, 1933September 7th, 2018
In the early morning hours of Friday September 7th Colin Wilson passed away peacefully surrounded by his family after a short, but courageous fight with cancer. Colin is survived by his wife and soulmate
Anne the love of his life through 62 years of marriage. Also left to grieve are his son Al, daughter Fern Russell (Gary), daughter Colette and daughter in law Lorette Wilson (Harry). Colin was predeceased by his eldest son Grant Wilson, daughter in law Miranda Pastore, five brothers and two sisters. Colin biggest joy was his grand children Catherine Aasen (Richard), Megan Baxter (Steve), Miranda Wilson, Hailey Russell, Courtney Howard, Sam Russell, Bradley Howard and great grand children Madelen, Lucas, Owen and Quinn.
Colin was born into a farming family in northern Saskatchewan, but in his teen years got the bug to follow his brothers and moved west to Prince George in 1949 and Anne soon followed in 1955. “Red” was a career truck driver who owned his own logging truck then gravel truck. There wasn’t a road in the North that Colin hadn’t hauled on or help build. After his retirement Colin went to work part time with his friends at Kode Contracting. Colin loved to help people and had a mechanical gift that he shared with neighbours and friends. There wasn’t a week that went by where you wouldn’t hear Colin on the phone saying “just bring it up to the shop and I’ll have a look”. Over the years Colin and Anne were blessed to have so many great neighbours and amazing friends. Anne would like to invite everyone to a Celebration of Colin’s Life this Tuesday September 11th, 2pm to 4pm at Elder Citizens Recreation Association, 1692 10th Ave, Prince George. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Elder Citizens Recreation Association.
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William “Bill” John Patterson July 1st, 1940August 25, 2018
Bill grew up in Pine Falls, MB. He married Elizabeth Patterson (predeceased) and they had three daughters together. He moved his family to BC to follow work as an electrician and stayed until 2006. Bill passed away peacefully on August 25, in Nicola Lodge, Coquitlam BC, after battling with Parkinson disease for nearly 30 years. He was determined to be social and active right up until his last birthday, when he was shooting his last game of pool and spending time with his daughters and son-in-law. He is survived by his three daughters, Dawn, Robina, Patricia, and his grandson Cary. Bill also leaves behind his youngest sister Loretta and many nieces and nephews. A quiet ceremony will be held in Victoria, BC in late September. The family would like to thank all of his caregivers and those who may wish to do so, can donate to the Parkinson Society of British Columbia. Condolences and tributes may be sent to the family by visiting www.burquitlamfuneralhome.ca
