Hall makes it official
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
tclarke@pgcitizen.ca
Four years ago, Lyn Hall announced he was running for mayor of Prince George.
On Thursday, he announced he has no intention of leaving that position.
He is the first and only mayoral candidate to declare he will run in the Oct. 20 municipal election.
“It’s a great job and I feel so humbled to be able to do it,” said the 63-year-old Hall.
“I am absolutely passionate about this community. It’s a vibrant city and it’s a city that has so much to offer everyone.”
Hall says infrastructure improvements remain a top priority and he highlighted the need to work together with the federal government to secure grants to help the city pay for paving roads, building bridges, improving electrical, sewer and water services and upgrading telecommunications. His wish list includes hav-
I am absolutely passionate about this community.
It’s a vibrant city and it’s a city that has so much to offer everyone.
— Mayor Lyn Hall
ing the city secure the investment needed to build a data centre, which he said would create local jobs and boost the city’s technology sector.
“Over the last four years we’ve invested over $24 million in refurbishing our roads, over $3 million in sidewalks, $150,000 in walkways, and $27 million in snow removal – these numbers are important and it’s important to talk about these issues because they’re the ones we hear loud and clear, year after year as city
councilors,” said Hall.
Flanked by his wife Lorrelle and daughters Sydney and Jordan, Hall chose the front lawn of city hall to announce his candidacy, as he did when he ran in the 2011 and 2014 elections.
He hired a sound crew to set up speakers he thought would be needed to make his voice heard above the construction noise generated by the adjacent Park House condominium development.
But he said construction crews agreed to shut down their activity while he made his announcement.
He pointed to the site of the 153-unit condo development and the permanent residents it will attract as an example of downtown revitalization.
“The Park House condo development is something we are extremely proud to have here in Prince George, it was a necessity,” Hall said.
“We needed housing in the downtown and here we have it.”
— see ‘NOW PRINCE, page 3
Pioneer doctor, author mourned
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
It tells quite a story when being the author of seven books is not the most notable thing in the final chapter of a person’s life. Dr. Eldon Lee won a Jeanne Clarke Memorial Local History Award for his efforts with the pen, leaving behind a library of a legacy, but his accomplishments as a writer and historian are on the inner pages of his life.
The chief attribute of Lee’s life are the thousands of babies that were born into his hands, and the thousands of women who entrusted their healthcare to this dedicated physician-surgeon.
Lee was devoted to northern B.C., based in Prince George since 1962 but responsible for patients across the breadth of the region.
He was, when he first settled here, the only obstetrics/gynaecology specialist north of Kamloops.
His family, despite their grief, spotted a comical glint when he happened to pass away this past Monday, on Labour Day.
As devoted as Lee was to his day to day profession, he was also a champion for northern medicine in the broader sense. As a pilot, he knew better than most the value of building healthcare professional capacity in this area. He was an early advocate for the Northern Medical Program now thriving at UNBC (plus the additional medical professions at UNBC and CNC that complement the doctor training).
For all his efforts and articulations, he was inducted into the Northern Medical Hall of Fame in 2017.
His roots in this area dig deeply, back to his time growing up on a ranch in the Williams Lake area of the Cariboo. Coming to Prince George was like a trip to the big city, back in 1929 when he was but a boy of six.
His first job, in fact, was for the Prince George Citizen when he moved to Prince George that year. He sold newspapers for five cents apiece, usually giving the
money to his mother for family matters but sometimes pinching a few coins for himself, buying the occasional candy bar at Candy Allen’s Confection Store on George Street. He even saved enough (75 cents) to get a pair of roller skates from Jake Leith, who had a hardware store on Third Avenue and, according to Lee, probably regretted the transaction thereafter since the boy “made a nuisance of myself” skating up and down the wooden sidewalks.
“I came to Prince George for schooling and to Millar Addition School I went,” Lee told The Citizen in a 1999 feature story.
“The school was situated just west of Connaught Hill and here my academic path was shaped in the formidable presence of Miss Eliza Milligan. She firmly believed that sparing the rod spoiled the child, particularly boys, and soon discerned that my education needed attention particularly when I said zee instead of zed.” He was born American, so it was a natural mistake. Lee was born on May 5, 1923 in Happy Valley, Chico, California. His immersion into Canadian culture was forged by the Second World War. Lee flew bombers for the Royal Canadian Air Force, enlisting at age 19 and participating in overseas missions. — see ‘I RECEIVED, page 3 and related story, page 2
Hot wheels
Prince George firefighters were called to put out a car fire on Highway 16 West in the Gateway on
LEE
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
Lyn Hall announces his re-election campaign for mayor on Thursday on the steps of city hall.
Lee called ‘father of modern obstetrics’ in northern B.C.
Seniors Scene columnist Kathy Nadalin profiled Dr. Eldon Lee and his wife Marjorie in her Aug. 17, 2017 column in The Citizen Extra. Lee died on Monday. Here is Nadalin’s piece on the couple in its entirety:
Retired gynecologist Dr. Eldon Lee often referred to as the “father of modern obstetrics in northern British Columbia” delivered more than 10,000 babies in his 32 years of medical practice.
Sixty-five years ago, he married Marjorie Cartmell, the love of his life; he has always recognized the major role his wife has played in his successful professional life. Here is their story:
Marjorie was born in 1929 in Nelson. Her father was an officer in the Salvation Army also known as a Salvationist.
A Salvationist is an ordained minister of Christian faith; trained, ordained and commissioned to serve and lead and given a quasi-military rank. A Salvationist fulfills many other roles not usually filled by clergy of other denominations.
Marjorie is proud of the role her father played to help the children left behind during the Doukhobor – Sons of Freedom unrest during the late 1920s; events which included nude protests, parades and in some cases bombings of buildings.
She said, “The children of the protesters were loaded on a bus and delivered to my father at the Salvation Army Hall to be cared for while the adults went to jail.
“A bus load of children including young mothers with babies on the breast arrived at my fathers’ doorstep with an official request to look after them all. They were all upset and crying and to make a long story short my father got them all organized with the help of Big Fanny Storgeoff and started them singing in Russian which calmed them down. For the next ten days he looked after them all until they were released to return to their rude houses in their isolated community.”
Noteworthy is that in the middle of that crisis, Marjorie was born.
Her mother died in 1936 when Marjorie was only seven years old; she was cared for by her aunts in Chilliwack. In 1939, her father remarried a nurse within the Salvation Army.
Marjorie began her nurse’s training at the Royal Columbian Hospital in 1949 and graduated in 1952. She met Eldon Lee by accident while attending nurse’s training school.
She was 18 and riding her bike to dinner at her aunt’s house on a foggy Chilliwack evening when her bicycle was bumped by a car. Fortunately, there were no injuries and no damage to either the car or the bike.
The driver of the car got out, found her to be OK and gave her a lecture about the dangers of being out alone on the bike in these foggy conditions and then went on his way.
Eldon said, “I fell in love with her the minute I saw her when I got out of my car. I
Seniors’ Scene
couldn’t get her out of my mind as I arrived at my aunt’s house for dinner that night. I wasn’t there very long and to my surprise in walked Marjorie. She was still a bit annoyed at me because of the bike incident but mostly because of the lecture but she got over it and I invited her for dinner again the next night. I just knew that this girl was for me.”
They were engaged for the next three years and married in 1952 when Marjorie graduated from nursing school. It was a rule back then that a student was not allowed to get married while in training so they just had to wait.
Marjorie said, “During those three years Eldon used to visit me in Chilliwack and we would sit by the Fraser River talking and listening to the current dance orchestras on the car radio.”
Arthur Cartmell in 1952.
At the age of 23, Marjorie not only graduated from nurse’s training but she found the time and had the skill to make her very own wedding dress.
She said, “I made my own wedding dress on a Singer treadle sewing machine in a very small room and I still have the dress 65 years later.”
Eldon explained, “Back in 1912 two of my great uncles, with the last name of McLane came to Prince George; the one from California was in real estate and the one from North Dakota was a sod buster.
When she graduated, Eldon was in his second year of medical training in the University of Washington Medical School in Seattle.
Eldon reflected back and with a twinkle in his eye he said, “I can remember our wedding day very well. Marjorie was 40 minutes late for the ceremony and I broke out with all the classic symptoms of Da Costa’s syndrome.” I checked out what sounded to me like a pretty serious affliction and here is what I learned both from Wikipedia and from Eldon.
The World Health Organization classifies this condition as a somatoform autonomic dysfunction; a type of psychosomatic disorder listed under non-psychotic mental disorders.
The condition was named after Jacob Mendes Da Costa who first described the disorder during the American Civil War. He called it irritable heart or soldier’s heart. Symptoms include shortness of breath, palpitations, sweating and chest pain. Physical examination reveals no physical abnormalities; causing the symptom and treatment is primarily behavioral modifications.
Marjorie eventually arrived and they were married in Chilliwack by her father Brig.
“The McLane brothers lived here before Prince George became a registered city. They are both buried in the Prince George cemetery. The father of the late Dr. Jack McKenzie was the executor of the James McLane estate. A portion of the estate went to pay my tuition fees at the University of Washington. What goes round comes round.”
Eldon was born in Chico, California in 1923. In 1929, Eldon, his mother, grandparents, aunts and uncles and his younger brother Todd all moved to a ranch in the Cariboo.
It was during the Great Depression and times were not easy, however the family was strong and their faith in God carried them through it all.
Eldon was a home schooled high school graduate, a cowboy and a rancher.
In the 1940s, Eldon left the family ranch to join the air force and became an RCAF bomber pilot. After the war, he returned to ranching with his brother Todd only to discover medical needs that his rural life was lacking.
At the age of 25 and with a hunger for knowledge and a profession, he headed to Seattle Pacific College to begin his studies. He graduated from the University of Washington Medical School in 1952 and spent his internship and residency years at Vancouver General and Shaughnessy hospitals in Vancouver.
After completing his medical training, Eldon embarked on his first stint as a rural doctor.
In 1957, he answered a medical calling and accepted a position west of Prince George in the Hazelton area.
Subsequent to his two years in Hazelton at the Wrinch Memorial Hospital, Eldon specialized in obstetrics and gynecology
training at the Vancouver General Hospital and his final year as registrar at Marston Green Maternity Hospital in England. In Eldon’s 13th year of studies, Dr. Larry Maxwell, the head surgeon in Prince George, invited him to come to Prince George where he started his own practice at the Prince George Medical Clinic at 575 Quebec St. Upon his return to North America in 1962, Eldon was the first and for many years the only obstetrician and gynecologist in central B.C. and as the years went by he was referred to as the father of modern obstetrics in northern British Columbia. It was in Prince George that Eldon and Marjorie raised their children.
Eldon said, “When we first got married we talked about a family; I wanted three children and Marjorie wanted three children so naturally we produced six. Our children are: Gerry (deceased), Vickie (Art) Brown, Barbara (George) Cruwys, Peter (Chris), Robert (deceased) and Stuart (Michelle) who in turn gave us 11 grandchildren and five great grandchildren with one more on the way.”
Marjorie was a stay-at-home mom until the youngest child finished high school and then she managed Eldon’s office until he retired in 1994.
Over the years, Eldon earned the following degrees: Bachelor of Science, Doctor of Medicine, Fellow of Canadian Surgical Society and Fellow of American Surgical Society. In 2017, he was inducted into The Northern Medical Hall of Fame.
He is a life member of various medical colleges, associations and societies. He first devoted his retirement years to recreational flying, teaching Sunday school and his interest in fiction and non-fiction writing.
Eldon has written and published seven books. His books include a mixture of archival and personal photos and provide an informative description of the Cariboo region and those who resided within it.
Eldon was presented with the Jeanne Clarke Memorial Local History Award in 1998 for his numerous local history publications. If you are interested in an account of his years in Hazelton, just check out his book published in 1996, entitled A Western Doctor’s Odyssey, From Cariboo to Kos. In addition, Eldon later earned post-graduate credits in Ancient Greek from Regent College at the University of British Columbia. He has been teaching weekly classes in the ancient Greek language at his home. In conclusion, Eldon and Marjorie both agree, “The years have passed by quickly. We are always busy with family and thankfully most of them are here in Prince George. We are active in St. Giles Presbyterian Church. We can both still drive but we dread the day when we won’t be able to have the independence of driving. We have great friends and a truly great family; who could ask for anything more.”
LEE
KATHY NADALIN
New road
Crews from Lafarge pave the new part of Rec Place Drive between Pine Centre Mall and the Prince George Golf and Curling Club on Thursday morning.
‘I received a lot of love, encouragement’
— from page 1
His international service to society continued with his education years. He went to universities in the United States and England on his path to medical letters.
The language of medicine is Greek and Lee also became a scholar of Greek (and Latin), holding regular instructional meetings in Prince George for decades as he sparked modern interest in these classic tongues so important still in the world of academia.
His passions for medicine, northern living, agricultural lifestyle,
lifelong education, historical story and books was easily matched by his love of family.
He and life-love Marjorie Cartmell celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary on Aug. 22.
Along with Marjorie, he is survived by children Vickie (Art) Brown, Barbara (George) Cruwys, Peter (Christine), Stuart (Michelle); grandchildren Sarah, Laura, Ben, Elicia, Brianna, Erin, Amy, Mike, James, Jonah, Emersyn; great-grandchildren Taylor, Kayden, Evan, Mya, Olivia, Robert; and was predeceased by
mother Shirley, brother Todd, sons Gerry and Robert.
In 1999 Lee said, “They say it takes a whole village to raise a child and my own experiences seem to confirm this, for I received a lot of love, encouragement and direction from the experiences encountered in Prince George. I trust that this atmosphere continues to this day.”
A celebration of Lee’s life will be held on Sept. 15 at 3 p.m. at St. Giles Presbyterian Church where he was a regular member for many years. A reception will follow.
‘Now Prince George is on the map’
— from page 1
During his term as mayor, Hall said more than $400 million worth of building development has been poured into the city. He’s seen the city’s unemployment rate drop from 4.1 per cent, a decrease of 1.7 per cent from July 2017. He oversaw last year’s referendum which resulted in voters giving the green light to build a new fire hall and replace the Four Seasons Pool.
Asked what he considered his proudest accomplishment as mayor he mentioned a phone call he made to A&T Project Developments of Kamloops in January 2015 which he said helped pave the way for construction of the RiverBend seniors housing complex on Oak Street.
“That’s the one that really started our ability to attract development to Prince George and we’re seeing it across the way here,” said Hall.
BC Business magazine ranks Prince George as the best city in the province for housing affordability and Hall said he and his council will continue to work with non-profit organizations, the province and the federal government to attract investment in projects for low-income residents and seniors as a means to improve the downtown core.
“When we take a look at the issues we’re having downtown from a social perspective we’re very close to having some more opportunity for people downtown to utilize different resources and we’re working diligently on that,” he said.
“But this is one of the toughest things for any municipality to deal with. I’d like to see a wraparound service model where we provide those services in one single location. There’s no question there’s more work to do in our downtown. We deal with the homelessness issue, the mental health issue, the drug issue and we’re dealing with that head on.”
The city’s role in hosting the 2015 Canada Winter Games and its efforts to provide a safe haven
for thousands of wildfire evacuees the past two summers gave Prince George national media attention, with Hall in a prominent role as the city’s representative, and he hopes to be given a new mandate from voters to continue to spread the word to outsiders what the city has to offer.
“That was a rallying point last year, over 10,000 evacuees and we had national coverage about what a fantastic city we are and what a fantastic job we did in making sure those evacuees were comfortable and were helped,”
Hall said. “That was a big moment for this city, it really showed the rest of the county what we’re made of.
“We became known for our location geographically and people started to take notice. Now Prince George is on the map and we just continue to foster that and build on that. People understand and realized very quickly that this is a great place to invest and we’re starting to see investment from the coast and the Okanagan now because that’s just the trend.”
Hall took some heat during the 2017 wildfires for a policy which allowed senior city managers to charge overtime to deal with the
Cluculz Lake Jamboree returns
Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
Today marks the first day of the Cluculz Lake Jamboree, and it marks a new beginning for the resurgent event. The country music festival is in its second year, and yet it is also an old favourite for the community about 30 minutes west of Prince George. It went into a short hiatus after one of the key organizers, George Garbutt of the Lakeside Ramblers Bluegrass Band, passed away in 2013. The first edition of the event was in 1997, and at that time it was held in spring. The Lakeside Ramblers were the perennial host band. Garbutt produced the event for 15 years.
Last year the concert event was re-launched as both a restored festival and a tribute to Garbutt.
“This is officially the second annual, it’s still quite new in that sense, but it is always going to be linked to George Garbutt and all the festivals he helped organize,” said Roy Spooner, president of the Cluculz Lake Community Association that hosts the festival at the community hall on Lund Road.
This year’s music lineup starts with today’s concerts (first band at 3 p.m.) by LSR Revival, Rossetta & Friends, Chainsaw Jammers, The Gypsy Rovers, The B Side, Cariboo Thunder, Country Calibre, and a ’50s/60s rock set that begins at 9 p.m.
On Saturday the lineup starts with a 10 a.m. open mic followed by Rossetta & Friends, Good News Band, Playing For Keeps, The B Side, Chainsaw Jammers, The Bressettes & Friends, Bob & Heather Ferris, LSR Revival, a community dinner, Country Calibre, Cariboo Thunder, Blackwater Express and Barn Yard Schrapnel starting at 8:45 p.m.
The Sunday activities begin with a pancake breakfast at 8 a.m.
The first music showcase unfolds from 9:45 a.m. with the Good News Band, The Bressettes & Friends, Rossetta & Friends, Country Calibre, Cariboo Thunder, The Gypsy Rovers, LSR Revival, The B Side, and a grand finale starting at 3 p.m.
Tickets are $15 each (children under 12 are free) per day or $30 for a weekend pass.
This is officially the second annual, it’s still quite new in that sense, but it is always going to be linked to George Garbutt and all the festivals he helped organize.
— Roy Spooner, Cluculz Lake Community Association
The services nearby to the hall include full-service camping, store and meals at the Brookside Resort, and The Cabin restaurant and store.
The hall is located at 3385 Lund Road and Spooner said it is becoming its own attraction since, like this fundraiser festival, it got a modern facelift.
“The hall is having its own rebirth since we did a renovation, or actually a series of renovations,” he said.
“The first phase was ready for last year’s jamboree. That was about $250,000 worth of upgrades. We took the hall basically right down to the foundation and rebuilt it on the existing frame. For this year’s festival, we can show the community the second phase, which is a whole upgrade to all the bathrooms and better accessibility for the whole building. There’s also better lighting, better sound. And we’re excited to start the third phase which is a new kitchen.”
Spooner said these upgrades were thanks to private sector donors led by Integris and Vanderhoof Co-op, and public sector grants from the Northern Development Initiative Trust and Regional District of Bulkley Nechako.
Fundraiser events like the Cluculz Lake Country Music Jamboree are important for showing sponsors and donors that the community is behind the revamped hall, and it is moving into the future with renewed momentum, like the next verse of a good song.
month-long crisis but declined to offer specifics on whether he intends to change that policy if reelected.
“It will depend on council, we’ll see what happens after October 20th,” he said.
He said he will continue to make council members and city department managers accessible and accountable to the community through town hall meetings such as the weekly Talktober sessions he started in 2015.
Hall won the mayor’s seat after serving one three-year term on council and 10 years as a School District 57 school trustee. In 2014 he defeated Don Zurowski with 10,463 votes, winning by a 1,613vote margin.
So far, Hall is the only mayoral candidate for the Oct. 20 election, with nobody else in sight to contest him.
“We’re not second-guessing on who might throw their hat in the ring, we’re primarily concerned with how we run our campaign and that’s what we’re focused on,” he said. “As a matter of fact, the team is going out today to put up signs and we’re going to open up a campaign office in the next week or 10 days.”
Two men injured in Quesnel shooting
Frank
Gunfire in Quesnel has put two men in hospital and launched a sizable RCMP effort to find those responsible. The shots were reported to police at about 4:30 a.m. Thursday. Reports from the public were called in, directing police to the 900 block of Abbott Drive.
“Police responded and located evidence of a shooting in that area,” said Sgt. Chris Riddle of the Quesnel RCMP detachment. “This investigation is in its early stages and remains active.” It didn’t take long for initial investigators to find early clues. According to Riddle, the first signs of the case were found shortly after the first early-
morning inquiries were launched.
“Patrolling police officers located a vehicle believed to be involved in the incident parked in the 500 block of Doherty Drive,” Riddle said. “Inquiries at a neighbouring apartment building located two men suffering from gunshot wounds. Both men were transported to hospital with what are believed to be non-life threatening injuries.” The North District Emergency Response Team, Police Dog Services from Prince George as well as a Forensic Identification Team from Williams Lake were all dispatched to provide assistance to the Quesnel Detachment.
“The general public is not believed to be at risk at this time,” said Riddle, based on the early evidence of the case.
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PEEBLES Citizen staff
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
Lyn Hall speaks to the media after announcing he will run for reelection on Thursday at city hall.
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
Opinion
Just two questions for Oct. 20
During Lyn Hall’s formal announcement Thursday that he will be seeking a second term as the mayor of Prince George, The Citizen asked him two questions.
First, will he review the city’s overtime policy for senior management (officially known as the Exempt Employee Overtime Administrative Procedure) which pays the city’s top bureaucrats double their normal hourly wage to respond to special emergencies like wildfire evacuees?
Second, will he approve a 15 per cent wage increase for the city manager as recommended in a consultant’s report commissioned by the City of Prince George?
Just so everyone is clear, those are the two questions The Citizen will be asking of every mayoral and city council candidate between now and Oct. 20, when residents go to the ballot box.
There is no rolling back the substantial pay raises handed out to senior staff over the past four years that were far greater than the 1.5 and two per cent increases awarded to unionized city employees. There is no turning back the clock on the restructuring and expansion of the senior management team to justify those pay
increases without inviting costly constructive dismissal lawsuits. There is no clawing back the $235 an hour overtime pay city manager Kathleen Soltis received for 70 hours of work when more than 10,000 wildfire evacuees descended upon the city last summer.
That being said, it’s entirely reasonable for concerned local voters to ask Hall and the six incumbent city councillors seeking re-election how all this happened under their watch and what their plans are to rectify the situation should they earn another four years at the council table.
They certainly weren’t very forthcoming in their guest editorial The Citizen published on Aug. 21. Their letter – of which a significant portion was lifted from previous emails sent to The Citizen by director of external relations Rob van Adrichem and senior communications officer Michael Kellett – simply stated the obvious and missed the entire point of the series of editorials criticizing the wage increases and overtime for senior management.
The more than 500 city employees who worked more than 35,000 hours to accommodate the unprecedented crisis of taking in more than 10,000 wildfire evacuees last summer did an amazing job under difficult circumstances. No one doubts that.
No one questions the fairness of union-
ized city employees earning overtime pay under their collective agreements, which was paid for by the B.C. government, to do the essential work needed to accommodate those individuals who had fled their homes.
No one also questions the leadership shown by Soltis and her team during the crisis, as well as the many hours they put in, over and above their regular duties.
The written response from city council ignored the real questions, which have been asked before and will be asked again: how was the distinction between regular hours and OT hours made in terms of billing the province for the work of senior managers? Who oversaw that process and did city council oversee that process for the city manager, who billed out 113.5 hours (roughly three work weeks) in regular time towards the wildfire response, along with her 70 hours of overtime?
Same goes for the hefty wage hikes for the city’s senior management team.
No one doubts the significant responsibilities these individuals have. No one questions their expertise or how deserving they are of a salary that reflects both their expertise and their responsibilities. The distinction between salary and remuneration (salary plus other sources of income, such as overtime, vacation payouts and other
Open discussion, please
The federal government’s approval of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion was overturned by the Federal Court of Appeal last week, handing a victory to First Nations and environmental groups.
The court’s decision was unanimous. And, aside from a scathing review of the National Energy Board’s review of the proposal, the judges made one thing abundantly clear: Ottawa did not engage in “meaningful consultations” with First Nations before attempting to “get to yes.” Back in May, after the federal government expressed its willingness to “indemnify the Trans Mountain expansion against unnecessary delays,” but before Ottawa announced that it was buying the existing pipeline and its expansion project for $4.5 billion, British Columbians appeared uneasy.
On the one hand, most residents (57 per cent) thought Ottawa made the wrong decision in announcing it would use taxpayer money to indemnify Kinder Morgan’s backers for any financial loss. Three-in-four (76 per cent) acknowledged feeling uncomfortable with the notion of the federal government using taxpayer money to subsidize a foreign company.
The way in which projects are reviewed, and the avenues that a community has to provide input, have changed drastically over the past two decades. The days of assembling chairs in rows and allowing speakers to grab a microphone are nearly over. Technology, whether through citizen
engagement or polling, has allowed residents to have their say in more productive ways.
In August, before the Federal Court of Appeal rendered its verdict on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, Research Co. asked British Columbians if actions taken by a specific venture, facility proponent or project developer would influence their support.
Only two actions would sway at least three-in-five British Columbians to be more supportive of a project: job creation in their community (63 per cent) and economic benefits to their community, in the form of sponsorships, infrastructure and investments (60 per cent). If these two actions are present in a proposal – and explained in a transparent and modest fashion – they would both provide reassurance to supportive British Columbians and soften opposition.
Some lower-ranked actions that could move the needle are early engagement in project design (46 per cent), regular updates from the proponent throughout the project (45 per cent), local representation from the company in the community to answer questions (43 per cent), and endorsements from non-profit groups and other community-based organizations (32 per cent).
The two lowest-ranked actions have to do with the delivery of communications and the involve-
ment of public officials. Only 28 per cent of British Columbians say receiving a letter from the company to their home address informing them of the project would sway their views.
Even fewer residents (18 per cent) say the endorsement of a project from government representatives would make them more supportive. It turns out that politicians are the least successful “salespeople” of projects. They are ranked significantly lower than non-profit groups, and are less effective than a letter from the proponents.
In the case of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, there was a need for more transparency on the part of the original proponent on job creation and economic benefits.
This is a message that would have moved the needle, and precisely one of the elements of the proposal that was chastised by the Federal Court of Appeal.
This process is not over, and there may be more time in court ahead for proponents and opponents. However, the lesson that companies and politicians can learn from this recent experience is simple. Drop the platitudes, be ready to have an open discussion about benefits and drawbacks, and do not act in a way that makes you look boastful in the eyes of voters and taxpayers. The country is not “closed for business” as some commentators would have us believe. A federal court is asking corporations and governments to do better. And they should.
— Mario Canseco is president of Research Co. and writes a column exclusive to Glacier Media newspapers
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benefits) has been made repeatedly. The written response from city council ignored the real questions, which have been asked before and will be asked again: what was the justification for the restructuring of the senior management team in 2015 with new titles, responsibilities and salary grids? Were mayor and council part of that process? If so, to what degree and if not, why not? Were all of the newly created positions posted externally or were they just filled? What data was used to justify the salary increases and why were they so much more than what unionized employees received? Why hire a consultant in 2017 to do a comparison of city manager and senior staff salaries in Prince George to other similar B.C. municipalities if there is no consistency on corporate structures between municipal governments and a comparison can’t be made internally at the City of Prince George between 2017 and 2014, before the restructuring?
So there are only two questions going forward to ask all mayoral and city council candidates but there remain many more significant and relevant questions for the current mayor and city councillors to address. It’s now up to every voter that feels this issue deserves more attention to keep asking for answers.
—
Editor-in-chief
Neil Godbout
Sasquatch gets the last laugh
There’s a lot of snickering and snide jokes about the B.C. Supreme Court decision this week to not recognize the sasquatch. But it doesn’t take an outdoor-education degree to tell who’s laughing the hardest – the sasquatch himself. This judicial endorsement of a provincial coverup plays right into his big, hairy hands.
He’s free to continue skulking around in the old-growth to his heart’s content, foraging for berries, rodents and German tourists. Based on this week’s ruling, he’ll continue lurking in the bush with no regard for modern-day wildlife expectations.
You’d think a regulation-happy, process-oriented NDP government would be the first to recognize the need for a wildlife-management plan and lots more studies of these creatures.
This province has an official management plan for the twocentimetre-long warty jumping slug, for God’s sake. Officials would jump at the chance to plan the sasquatch’s life. Just citing the need for sasquatch habitat protection could open an exciting new chapter in the battle over the pipeline.
But shockingly, the Forests Ministry is continuing to pretend they don’t exist. It contested sasquatchhunter Todd Standing’s case, and it won in court.
Conspiracy theories all develop the same way. First, you develop an unusual belief – that giant, secretive ape-creatures inhabit the B.C. wilderness, for instance. Then you take your belief to friends and neighbours, and when they ignore it, you list them as suppressing the truth. Then you take it to the authorities, and when they don’t take it seriously, you add them, too. Same goes for the media.
(And shame on the CBC for reporting that Standing’s suit was “sas-quashed.” The national broadcaster shouldn’t be trivializing this vital case.)
The Golden, B.C., investigator has now reached the point where the government and the courts are on the list of conspirators. They’re all in on it.
All he wanted was a ruling that the sasquatch exists, that the government infringed his fundamental human rights relating to his concerns and that the government is shirking its duty to recognize sasquatches.
But B.C. retaliated that his suit was unnecessary, scandalous, frivolous and vexatious. That’s an
awful lot of adjectives to throw up against a guy just because he believes in Bigfoot.
It said the case is based on assumptions and speculation and “lacks an air of reality.”
That sums up every question period ever held in the legislature. But you don’t see the court declaring that MLAs don’t exist.
As if it’s not clear already, the suit shows that Standing has a lot of imagination. He claimed he was unable to share information on where sasquatch sightings occur because there are no safeguards in place to protect the species from being killed. So therefore, his rights to freedom of expression are being violated.
But the judge said the government’s non-acknowledgement of sasquatches doesn’t have any impact on his ability to express his views.
Standing claimed cruel and unusual punishment and treatment as well. The verdict said he wasn’t being punished and there was no “treatment.”
He also claimed he was being discriminated against on the basis of his beliefs. The judge tossed that as well.
“A belief in the existence of the sasquatch is not an immutable personal characteristic… it’s not a political matter. Where religion can be an element core to a person’s state of being… the same cannot be said of a belief in the existence of the sasquatch.”
Strike three, you’re out.
But the decision ignores a few things. Standing has some video posted online that includes “two PhDs talking” about sasquatches. It’s on YouTube, so it must be true. And the judge referred to sasquatch’s Latin name, Giganto horridus hominoid. That might have been a critical slip. They don’t give Latin names to imaginary creatures, do they?
It’s not for me to speculate on why the authorities are pretending the sasquatch doesn’t exist. But it’s clear that’s the way he wants it. Once you make the species-atrisk list, it’s all paperwork and bureaucracy. You start edging closer to town to get Wi-Fi, and pretty soon you’ve got caseworkers nagging you and tourists taking selfies. Better to live free, and keep the wild in wildlife.
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LES LEYNE
In the Fast Leyne
MARIO CANSECO Glacier Media
Guest Column
AP FILE PHOTO
Oxycodone pills are displayed on a counter in New York. The federal government announced $71.7 million in funding for B.C. to combat the opioid crisis.
Feds, province tackling opioid crisis
TORONTO — One of the provinces hardest hit by what health officials consider a national opioid crisis is receiving tens of millions of dollars to increase access to treatment for substance abuse.
The federal government signed a bilateral agreement Thursday with British Columbia that will see $71.7 million go towards addressing the opioids issue, with $33.98 million coming from Ottawa and the balance from the province.
Federal Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor said the money was part of an emergency treatment fund included in the 2018 federal budget. In total, the provinces and territories will receive $150 million for opioid-related initiatives, she said.
“This funding will enhance treatment and recovery options for individuals in British Columbia,” said Petitpas Taylor, who made the announcement alongside B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Judy Darcy at an opioid symposium in Toronto.
“The funding provides concrete help for people who need it.” Darcy welcomed the federal funding.
“British Columbia is in the midst of the worst public health emergency in decades,” she said. “Before the end of this day, three to four people... will die, each of them leaving behind family, friends,
loved ones and communities that are devastated by their loss.”
The federal funding will help increase supports for youth and Indigenous people living with addiction, expand and enhance treatment options for opioids abuse and fill in the gaps between treating people for overdoses in emergency rooms and connecting them with addictions treatment and recovery services, she said.
“It’s critically important to understand how and why people seek treatment but also how and why they may leave treatment so that we can do everything in our power to prevent people from falling through the cracks and going back to a poisoned drug supply on the street,”
Darcy said.
The money will also help create 25 supportive residential treatment beds, which offer 90 days of opioid substitution treatment, psychosocial care, life skills training and aftercare support, she said.
Petitpas Taylor said it is the fourth such agreement regarding the opioids issue and Ottawa will be negotiating with the remaining provinces and territories, including Ontario, in the coming months.
Thursday’s announcement came as Ontario grapples with the future of its overdose prevention facilities, after the provincial government announced last
month it would halt the opening of new sites while it conducts a review of their effectiveness.
The moratorium was condemned by more than 100 health groups, who said the move was putting lives at risk.
Advocates said a string of overdose deaths in Toronto last month shows there is urgent need for more facilities, and urged the province to reverse its decision.
Petitpas Taylor said on Wednesday that her ministry intends to share with Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government its data showing that overdose prevention sites and supervised consumption sites work.
British Columbia offered to share its experience with the sites as well on Thursday, saying nearly 2,000 overdoses had been reversed – and no lives lost – at the province’s facilities in the last year.
“So the evidence is there, we certainly look forward to sharing that with the province of Ontario,” the minister said.
Premier Doug Ford has said Ontario is reaching out to experts to get their input on overdose prevention sites.
He has also said the government’s goal is to save lives and get people off drugs and into rehab.
More than 3,800 people died from opioids in Canada in 2017, compared to 2,978 in 2016, according to the latest figures published by Health Canada.
High school stabber hears voices hourly
Citizen news service
COQUITLAM — A man with schizophrenia accused of fatally stabbing a 13-year-old girl inside a high school in Abbotsford says he’s eager to face the charges against him but he still hears voices.
Gabriel Klein, 22, mumbled short answers to questions during a review board hearing Thursday at a forensic psychiatric hospital to determine his mental fitness to
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Police searching for mass shooting suspect
Citizen news service
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — Police searched for at least one armed suspect Thursday following a daytime shooting in St. Catharines, Ont., that sent three people to hospital, one of them in critical condition.
Niagara regional police said officers were looking at a number of residences in a downtown area of the city west of Toronto in what they described as a “slow, methodical process.”
Const. Phil Gavin initially tweeted investigators were seeking multiple suspects but said in a news conference later that the number of suspects remained unknown.
He said police do not know whether the shooting was targeted, nor did they have a description of the suspect or suspects.
Those injured in the shooting have not been publicly identified, but authorities said one was flown to a trauma centre, another was taken to a local hospital in critical condition while a third had non-life threatening injuries.
stand trial.
He wants a trial as soon as possible, he said, but added court is “stressful” and he has trouble concentrating because the voices are perpetually distracting him.
“I experience it every day, every hour of the day,” said Klein, his eyes glassy and hair unkempt.
Klein is charged with seconddegree murder in the death of the teen and aggravated assault for an attack on another girl in Novem-
ber 2016. The identities of the two Grade 9 students are protected by a publication ban.
A judge ruled he was unfit to stand trial in April due to his schizophrenia, auditory hallucinations and disordered thinking.
The review board was ordered to reassess his fitness in 90 days.
It adjourned a hearing in July to get a second opinion on his mental state and reconvened on Thursday.
Paola LORIGGIO Citizen news service
White House officials deny writing ‘resistance’ op-ed
One after another, U.S. President Donald Trump’s top lieutenants stepped forward Thursday to declare, “Not me.”
They lined up to deny writing an incendiary New York Times opinion piece that was purportedly submitted by a member of an administration “resistance” movement straining to thwart Trump’s most dangerous impulses.
By email, by tweet and on camera, the denials paraded in from Cabinet-level officials – and even Vice-President Mike Pence – apparently crafted for an audience of one, seated in the Oval Office.
Senior officials in key national security and economic policy roles charged the article’s writer with cowardice, disloyalty and acting against America’s interests in harsh terms that mimicked the president’s own words.
Trump was incensed about the column, calling around to confidants to vent about the author, solicit guesses as to his or her identity and fume that a “deep state” within the administration was conspiring against him. He ordered aides to unmask the writer, and issued an extraordinary demand that the newspaper reveal the author to the government.
As striking as the essay was the long list of officials who plausibly could have been its author. Many have privately shared some of the article’s same concerns about Trump with colleagues, friends and reporters.
With such a wide circle of potential suspicion, Trump’s men and women felt they had no choice but to speak out. The denials and condemnations came in from far and wide: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis denied authorship on a visit to India; Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke chimed in from American Samoa.
In Washington, the claims of “not me” echoed from Vice-President Pence’s office, from Energy Secretary Rick Perry, from Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman from Dan Coats, director of national intelligence, and other Cabinet members.
The author professed to be a member of that same inner circle. So could the denials be trusted? There was no surefire way to know, and that only deepened the president’s frustrations.
On Twitter, Trump charged “The Deep State and the Left, and their vehicle, the Fake News Media, are going Crazy - & they don’t know what to do.”
White House officials did not respond to requests to elaborate on Trump’s call for the
writer to be turned over to the government or on the unsupported national security grounds of his demand. Some who agreed with the writer’s points suggested the president’s reaction actually confirmed the author’s concerns.
Rudy Giuliani, the president’s attorney, suggested that it “would be appropriate” for Trump to ask for a formal investigation into the identity of the op-ed author.
“Let’s assume it’s a person with a security clearance. If they feel writing this is appropriate, maybe they feel it would be appropriate to disclose national security secrets, too. That person should be found out and stopped,” Giuliani said.
As the initial scramble to unmask the writer proved fruitless, attention turned to the questions the article raised, which have been whispered in Washington for more than a year: is Trump truly in charge, and could a divided executive branch pose a danger to the country?
Former CIA Director John Brennan, a fierce Trump critic, called the op-ed “active insubordination... born out of loyalty to the country.”
“This is not sustainable to have an ex-
ecutive branch where individuals are not following the orders of the chief executive,”
Brennan told NBC’s Today show.
“I don’t know how Donald Trump is going to react to this. A wounded lion is a very dangerous animal, and I think Donald Trump is wounded.”
The anonymous author, claiming to be part of the resistance “working diligently from within” the administration, said, “Many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump’s more misguided impulses until he is out of office.”
“It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room,” the author continued.
“We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do what’s right even when Donald Trump won’t.”
First lady Melania Trump issued a statement backing her husband. She praised the free press as “important to our democracy” but assailed the writer, saying, “You are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions.”
The Beltway guessing game seeped into
the White House, as current and former staffers traded calls and texts trying to figure out who could have written the piece, some turning to reporters and asking them for clues.
In a rare step, Pence’s communications director Jarrod Agen tweeted early Thursday that “The Vice-President puts his name on his Op-Eds. The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts.”
With many prominent administration members delivering on-the-record denials, the focus could now fall on other senior aides to do the same, with questions raised about those who stay silent.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tried to head off reporters’ inquiries of Trump officials, tweeting that the questions should be aimed at the Times, which she said was “complicit in this deceitful act.”
The anonymous author wrote that where Trump has had successes, they have come “despite – not because of – the president’s leadership style, which is impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective.”
Zeke MILLER, Jonathan LEMIRE Citizen news service
U.S. President Donald Trump walks up the steps of Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., on Thursday.
Prince George Spruce Kings forward Jarod Hovde battles with Kyle Yewchuk of the Chilliwack Chiefs during Game 7 of a first-round BCHL playoff series last March at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena. The Kings won the game 3-1 and ended up marching all the way to the championship series against the Wenatchee Wild. The Spruce Kings and Chiefs – who hosted and won the national championship tournament – start the new season tonight at RMCA. Hovde is now a BCHL graduate.
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Kings shooting for BCHL crown
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
tclarke@pgcitizen.ca
The Prince George Spruce Kings set the bar high last season when, for the first time in more than two decades of playing in the B.C. Hockey League, they made it all the way to the league championship series. It was a historic, unexpected achievement for a Spruce Kings franchise that had never won any kind of BCHL title.
This season, there will be no surprise attacks. All 16 opposing teams will know they’re playing the team that got within three wins of the championship five short months ago. Can they get there again and win it this time around? The 13 returning Kings need no convincing they have what it takes. But until they see what the rest of the league has in store, nobody really knows for sure.
The Chilliwack Chiefs will provide that first test tonight when the Spruce Kings open their 23rd BCHL season at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena in the first of a two-game weekend set against the defending national champions.
“We’re fast,” said Kings captain
T-wolves
Ben Poisson, heading into his third junior A season. “We’re younger but we’re definitely fast. Our team is one of the fastest teams in the league and you’ll notice how well we work together. We’re pretty well-bonded – earlier than we were last year.
Tuesday was the first test and the UNBC Timberwolves men’s soccer team earned a passing grade.
In their season-opener on the turf of the new-and-improved Masich Place Stadium, the T-wolves owned the ball longer than the Victoria Vikes, outshot them 15-9, but had to settle for a 1-1 tie.
One point out of a possible three? Not bad. Certainly room for improvement.
“They came in with a pretty clear gameplan – they gave up (multiple) goals in their first two games and made sure they didn’t do that,” said Timberwolves head coach
Steve Simonson.
CITIZEN FILE PHOTO
Chays Ruddy of the Spruce Kings breaks in on Wenatchee Wild goaltender Austin Park during last season’s playoff championship series.
“Our veteran guys have been in the league awhile and know what it takes to win and they’ve already showed our younger and new guys what we’re going to have to do.”
The Kings have adopted more of a shoot-first mentality and that philosophy plays to Poisson’s
“They were very stingy defensively and worked hard and stayed compact at the back and really didn’t give us any chances to manoeuvre high up the park. We scored one early (from Owen Stewart) and they just battened down the hatches. They made life very difficult for us.”
The T-wolves’ season was a week late getting started due to wildfire smoke which forced postponement of their two-game set with Victoria, Aug. 24-25. Simonson said his team probably deserved a better fate against a Victoria team that was outscored 11-1 in its first two games.
“Overall we were the team that was in
strengths. Enemy defencemen and his own teammates running netfront duty cringe when he winds up to take a shot.
“You can’t score if you don’t shoot and we’re trying to take out that extra pass that is risky and can lead to a turnover. (We’d rather)
possession and a lot of that is what you do with that and their tactic was win the game without being the team in possession,” he said. “I learned we’re a good team that can play against these teams and dominate possession and we got in the really good areas to create but didn’t have the final product on the day, partly from their own undoing and partly from their quality defensively.
“We were very dominant and controlled the vast majority of the second half, but just couldn’t find the goal we needed.”
The T-wolves (0-0-1) will find out how much better they can be tonight at Masich (6 p.m. start) when the Trinity Western Spartans (1-1-1) come calling. They’ll have
just throw it on net and crash the net and try to score that way,” said Poisson.
Veteran forwards Ethan de Jong, Kyle Johnson, Blake Hayward and Jarod Hovde have moved on but there’s still plenty of firepower up front with the likes of Poisson centring the Kings’ top line with Ben Brar and right winger Nolan Welsh. Americans Dustin Manz and Patrick Cozzi worked well together last year and they’ve got a new linemate with hard-shooting point producer Layne Sniher moving west from the Calgary Buffaloes midget ranks. Chong Min Lee is now one of the older guys at 19 and has looked great in training camp lining up with New York recruit Michael Conlin and Spencer Chapman.
— see TEAM, page 8
to be wary of a Spartans team that thrashed Victoria 7-1 last weekend on home field in Abbotsford. TWU scored seven goals on nine shots in that game.
“We’ve played them many times and I know their shape, know their players, know their coach (Mike Shearon) and it will be a good matchup,” predicted Simonson. “We had two draws with them last year, one was a bit cagey, 0-0, the other was a bit more open, 2-2. We played them (in spring exhibition games). They’re familiar with us, we’re familiar with them and I think it will be a good game of soccer. I think we fit each other well.”
— see ‘THEY HAVE, page 8
Ted CLARKE Citizen staff
Team leaning on new tandem in net
from page 7
P.G. boys Corey Cunningham and Craig MacDonald have proven they belong and they’ll be fighting for playing time with fellow rookies Tyler Schleppe and Nick Poisson, both products of the Burnaby Winter Club pipeline that continues to supply high-octane talent to the Spruce Kings.
“I think they’re going to be a very entertaining, hardworking team very similar to last year’s group – there’s going to be a big carryover from what we learned last year in our long playoff run with those players who have returned,” said Kings general manager Mike Hawes.
“We had a quick team last year and we wanted to have another fast team and I think we’ve accomplished that. The game has trended toward puck possession and when you have a fast team the puck possession part of it goes hand-in-hand with the speed and it’s nice to have those attributes on the team.”
The Kings lost one of their primary recruits, 20-year-old winger Jack Hoey, who aggravated a shoulder injury during training camp and returned to his home in Connecticut. To replace him they traded for speedy winger Sam Kozlowski, a 20-year-old RIT recruit from Delta, who had 30 points in 55 games last year for the Coquitlam Express.
The Kings defence could rate as one of the league’s best with four returnees – Layton Ahac, Liam Watson-Brawn, Dylan Anhorn and Jay Keranen – all of whom played big minutes for the team last year. The first three already have NCAA scholarships lined up while Keranen, a physical d-man who turned especially ferocious in the second half, will soon be college material. Max Coyle, a 20-year-old from Tilsonburg, Ont., is a character guy with an offensive upside who fills the role junior grad Chays Ruddy had. Spruce Kings fans will like what they see out
of rookies Nick Bochen (Burnaby Winter Club) and homebrew Brennan Malgunas (Cariboo Cougars).
“We have a lot of returning players, a ton of impact guys and that’s exciting,” said Anhorn. “The theme of our defence in general is we’re fast-paced and we like to move the puck and it helps our team generate a lot of stuff on the offensive end.
“Some of our recruits this year look like they’re going to be contributors as well this year and it looks like they’re eager to start. I think we’re going to have a real strong group throughout the lineup. We have a lot of the grit we brought to the playoffs last year returning and a good structure laid out by the coaches.”
Evan DeBrouwer almost singlehandedly won games for the Kings
in his only season in Prince George and played a huge role in keeping the Kings alive long enough to see four playoff rounds. He’s now off to Arizona State and that leaves the netminding duties to a pair of 19-year-olds – Brad Cooper, who put up respectable numbers and posted back-to-back shutouts, showing he was ready to play in the league in limited duty as the Kings’ backup last season, and Logan Neaton, who got used to winning a lot of games in the NAHL with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs.
“Evan did a tremendous job for us last year and when it all shook down I would argue he was probably the best goalie in our league,” said Hawes. “Logan and Brad aren’t tasked with filling Evan’s shoes. They’re here to have their own identity and play their own
Eagles stop Falcons in NFL opener
Citizen news service
PHILADELPHIA — Matt Ryan to Julio Jones failed again.
Jay Ajayi had a pair of touchdown runs, Nick Foles caught another pass to jump-start a sputtering offence and the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles needed another defensive stand to open the season with an 18-12 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night.
A sloppy, mistake-filled game that featured 26 penalties came down to Ryan throwing an incomplete pass to Jones in the left corner of the end zone on the final play from Philadelphia’s five-yard-line. Jones couldn’t come down with Ryan’s pass from the two in the right corner of the end zone in Atlanta’s 15-10 loss in the divisional round in January.
A weather delay pushed the kickoff back 45 minutes, forcing fans to wait for the unveiling of the “world champions” banner following the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory. The defence fed off that energy with a strong goal-line stand on the
opening series, stopping the Falcons three times at the one. They did it again at the end.
After Ajayi’s 11-yard TD run and twopoint conversion gave the Eagles a lead with 2:25 left, Ryan led the Falcons down the field. He completed a 36-yard pass to Jones and connected with him again for 18 yards on third-and-17.
The Falcons had a first down at the 10 but Ryan threw four straight incomplete passes. But a penalty on Jordan Hicks gave them one more chance and the Eagles held again. Needing a spark on offence, Eagles coach Doug Pederson resorted to the “Philly Special” play that helped the Eagles beat the New England Patriots 41-33 in the Super Bowl. This time, Foles caught a 15-yard pass from Nelson Agholor to extend a drive that ended with Ajayi scoring a go-ahead one-yard TD run in the third quarter. On a hot, muggy night, it looked more like an August preseason game than a playoff rematch.
the league as part of the new wave of young 30-something BCHL bench bosses.
“Last year, as a first-year coach, you just prepare as well as you can and hope you can fall back on your preparation throughout the year and hope that you have the right structure and the right players and it worked last year,” said Maglio.
“It’s an adjustment because as coaches you always want to be better every year or improve in areas you thought lacked last year. So I think there’s a little more pressure in Year 2 to improve in those areas and be as good if not better in the areas you were already good in.”
The expectation is there, and Maglio has plenty to work with to once again shape the Spruce Kings into a contender for the crown.
game and we have confidence in both of them.”
As did DeBrouwer, Cooper and Neaton will benefit from the luxury of having a full-time goalie coach around with former college puckstopper Alex Evin back for a second season as the assistant to head coach Adam Maglio.
It was a big surprise when Maglio was named as the guy to replace Chad van Diemen in the spring of 2017. Just 10 years older than some of his players, taking the reins after two seasons as an assistant, Maglio proved he has what it takes to blend a group of teenaged athletes and mold them into a winning team in what ranks as the top junior A hockey league in Canada. He went through some growing pains, just like his players, but he’s earned the respect of
“Our guys are now a year older and they’ve gotten bigger, stronger, faster over that year and that’s going to really help our transition game, and the way we defend, I hope we can even give up less than we did last year,” said Maglio. “Our seven defencemen can all play any given night and all be contributors. Both our goalies are capable of playing and doing well each night and they’ll push each other.
“I think early on teams will get after us right away. They’re looking to set the bar with us from last season, so there won’t be any easy nights for us.”
Last season the Kings succeeded beyond everyone’s wildest expectations and that winning habit will be tough to replicate. But, it is possible with this group of playoffsavvy veterans, who have every intention of running the table all the way to the Fred Page Cup.
Tonight’s festivities at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena start with a barbecue in front of the rink at 5:30.
Before the puck drops for the 7 p.m. game start, the Kings will raise their first BCHL banners and the Humboldt Broncos commemorative flag to the RMCA rafters.
‘They have the ability to bury teams’
from page 7
Sandwiched around their blowout win over Victoria, the Spartans started the season with a 1-1 draw with UBC Okanagan and in their most recent game Sunday at UBC lost 3-0 to the Thunderbirds.
“Everything they touched against Victoria went in and we know if they’re playing well they have the ability to bury teams, so we have to be on our best,” said Simonson. “We’re not interested in just trying to defend and just squeak out wins, we want to try and play and build our program to a team that can dominate games and build our program and be up there with the best.”
A crowd of about 500 turned out to watch
UNBC play its first home game in the revamped stadium.
“(The players) enjoyed the surface and the facility and it was quite nice to see a crowd out there, made for a fun environment that night,” said Simonson. “I think if we had rewarded them with another goal the fans would have loved it but there was definitely lots to watch and it was an entertaining spectacle for sure.”
The Spartans and T-wolves play again Saturday night at Masich.
• Saturday afternoon at 1 in Kelowna the UNBC women kick off their season against the UBC Okanagan Heat. The T-wolves will be in Kamloops Sunday afternoon to play the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack.
Lindor swings big bat for Cleveland
TORONTO (CP) — Francisco Lindor had a pair of solo home runs and added a tiebreaking RBI single as Cleveland downed the Toronto Blue Jays 9-4 on Thursday.
Cleveland removed its controversial Chief Wahoo logo for the series opener, taking the caricature of a First Nations man off the left sleeve of its jerseys and wearing hats with a red C on a navy blue field instead. The team plans to stop using the logo entirely for the 2019 season.
Jason Kipnis added a late three-run bomb for Cleveland (80-60) to back starting pitcher Shane Bieber (9-3), who allowed four runs – three earned – and struck out six in 6 1/3 innings of work. Relievers Tyler Olson, Alan Cimber, Cody Allen and Dan Otero didn’t allow a run the rest of the way.
Rookie Rowdy Tellez had three doubles and drove in a run in his second career game with Toronto (63-77). Teoscar Hernandez added an RBI double of his own.
who made his Blue Jays debut as a pinch hitter on Wednesday night, became the first player to have an extra-base hit in his first three plate appearances since Major League Baseball’s live-ball era began in 1920.
Prince George Spruce Kings forward Chong Min Lee fires a wrist shot while being checked by Merritt Centennials forward Frazer Dodd during a preseason game on Aug. 29 at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE
UNBC Timberwolves midfielder Owen Stewart works against Sylvain Taghaoussi of the University of Victoria Vikes during Tuesday’s season-opening game at Masich Place Stadium.
Tellez,
Sam Gaviglio (3-8) threw 4 1/3 innings for the Blue Jays, striking out four but giving up five runs on six hits. Jose Fernandez, Justin Shafer, Danny Barnes, David Paulino and Mark Leiter Jr., came out of the bullpen for Toronto. Shafer allowed one unearned run in his inning of work, while Leiter gave up a three-run home run in the ninth.
Nash entering Hall of Fame as innovator
Kyle HIGHTOWER
Citizen news service
BOSTON — There were few times in Steve Nash’s basketball career when he wasn’t an underdog. Before there were players like Stephen Curry and James Harden captivating NBA audiences with a free-wheeling, open-court style, Nash, a six-foot-three Canadian, was laying the groundwork for what would become the league’s “point guard era.”
From starring at St. Michaels High School in Victoria, to playing college ball at tiny Santa Clara, Nash was never supposed to an innovator in a game long dominated by much taller players.
But after spending nearly two decades in the NBA, becoming a two-time MVP, eight-time All-Star and one of its most creative passers along the way, it’s undeniable that Nash helped to remake both his position and the way it’s played by an entire generation today. And when he’s inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame today, even the player described as “painfully humble” by former teammate Grant Hill won’t be able to deny his impact on the game.
“I recognize that it’s not a common list on someone’s resume,” Nash said.
Nash will be inducted by Don Nelson, the coach he blossomed under while playing in Dallas for six seasons, from 1998 to 2004. But he is equally thankful for the time he spent in the fast-paced Phoenix offence of Mike D’Antoni, who coached the Suns when Nash won the first of his back-to-back league MVP honours in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
“I’m very grateful,” Nash said. “I played on some great teams with a great coach, and we had a great bond and we meshed very well and played at a very high level. Those were some of the best times of my life.”
Nash will share the stage with Hill, a teammate in Phoenix, as well as former Suns executive Rick Welts, now the president and chief operating officer of the Golden State Warriors.
Welts not only sees a lot of Nash in Curry, he also remembers how quickly Nash’s game went to a different level in Phoenix.
“You have to remember the Phoenix Suns won 29 games (in 2003-04) and traded their best
player, Stephon Marbury, to the Knicks right before the July 1 signing of Steve Nash to a Suns’ contract,” Welts said. “And that 29-win team won 62 games the next year – still the biggest swing in the history of the NBA. So he and Mike D’Antoni reinvented the game of basketball.”
Welts said the impact of that tandem is undeniable.
“The style of game they played brought so many people to the
Williams into ninth U.S. Open final
Citizen news service
NEW YORK — Serena Williams was a bit shaky at the start of her U.S. Open semifinal.
For all of six minutes.
That’s how long it took her to drop the opening two games Thursday night. Williams spent the next hour playing flawlessly, particularly up at the net, grabbing 12 of 13 games to beat No. 19 seed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 6-3, 6-0 and reach her ninth final at Flushing Meadows and 31st at all Grand Slam tournaments.
“I’ve been working hard on my volleys. I have won a few doubles championships, so I know how to volley,” Williams said with a laugh, before adding this punch line: “I just usually come in only to shake hands.”
With one more victory, Williams will earn her seventh U.S. Open
championship and her 24th major singles trophy, equaling Margaret Court for the most in tennis history. Williams already owns the mark for the most in the halfcentury professional era; Court won some of hers against amateur competition.
On Saturday, Williams will face No. 20 seed Naomi Osaka, a 20-year-old who is the first Japanese woman to reach a Grand Slam final.
Osaka saved all 13 break points she faced Thursday and defeated 2017 runner-up Madison Keys 6-2, 6-4. Asked during her on-court interview how she managed to stave off all of those break chances, Osaka replied with a laugh, “This is going to sound really bad, but I was just thinking, ‘I really want to play Serena.”’ Why?
“Because she’s Serena,” Osaka
said. “Like, what do you mean?” Williams had lost in the semifinals in her previous two trips to New York – against Roberta Vinci in 2015 while bidding for a calendar-year Grand Slam, and against Karolina Pliskova in 2016.
A year ago, Williams missed the U.S. Open because she gave birth to her daughter, Olympia, during the tournament. She then dealt with complications related to blood clots.
The American returned to the tour in February and to Grand Slam action at the French Open in May, when she had to withdraw from the field with an injured chest muscle. At her second major back, Wimbledon, she was the runner-up.
Now comes a chance to take a title and become, a few weeks shy of turning 37, the oldest woman to win a Slam in singles.
game, that had either left the game or were no longer interested or discovered the game because of the way those Suns teams played,” Welts said.
While Nash could be a prolific scorer, his legacy is his ability to distribute the ball to his teammates. Nash racked up 10,335 career assists, third on the NBA’s all-time list.
Hill said to play with Nash was to play with a teammate who was your biggest advocate on the court.
“It was never about him,” Hill said. “I think with him, I think if he could have it his way he’d never shoot. It was always about his teammates and making them look good. Sometimes as teammates we had to encourage him and say, ‘Look man, for us to win you gotta shoot.’
“For a guy who was as big of a player, the face of the franchise during those years – you would never know.”
Nash said one thing he does have now is a deeper appreciation for his humble beginnings.
“I was an underdog,” Nash said.
Nash racked up 10,335 career assists, third on the NBA’s all-time list.
“I scrapped and clawed my way into college and did the same again in the NBA. And I just never stopped and I kept working my way up. Eventually, I had the type of career that allowed me to be here. But when I came into the league I don’t think there was anyone – myself included – that would have thought this was the effect of my playing skills and ability.” Nash said he’s using this time to remember his journey.
“It takes a weekend like this to really look back at the beginning, the middle the end and see what some of those markers were and how disproportionate they are to this moment,” Nash said. “To a fault, I shy away from not just the attention, but also the reflection. ... But there are just so many people to share in the celebration and the thanks.”
Nadal in for tough match
Citizen news service
NEW YORK — When Rafael Nadal finally finished a nearly five-hour climb into the U.S. Open semifinals, he thought backward as much as ahead.
His victory over Dominic Thiem reminded him of Wimbledon, where he outlasted Juan Martin del Potro in five sets in the quarterfinals before Novak Djokovic edged him in a 10-8 fifth set in the next round.
“When you win or when you lose like this,” Nadal said, “you come back home with the feeling that you did all the things that you can do.” Now, Nadal might have to face those same two players again to defend his title in Flushing Meadows.
The top-ranked Spaniard plays third-seeded del Potro, and No. 6 seed Djokovic meets No. 21
Kei Nishikori in today’s other semifinal.
All four players have reached the U.S. Open final – only Nishikori hasn’t won it – to make this the first Grand Slam final four since the 2012 Australian Open in which all four players were past finalists. Djokovic, bidding for his second straight major title, would seem to have the easier road to the final. He is 14-2 against Nishikori, including a victory in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. He has won the last 13 meetings, such a run of dominance that the Japan native didn’t recall that he beat Djokovic in Flushing Meadows in the 2014 semifinals, adding that maybe he should rewatch the match.
“Yeah, for sure it’s going to give me good confidence,” Nishikori said, “even though I (don’t) remember.”
In this April 2012 photo, Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash plays against the San Antonio Spurs during an NBA game in Phoenix.
AP PHOTO
Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Steve Nash hugs a fan after a news conference at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Thursday in Springfield, Mass.
A&E IN BRIEF
Oscars dump popular film idea
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The organization that bestows the Academy Awards says it is suspending plans to award a new Oscar for popular films amid widespread backlash to the idea.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says it will further study plans for the category. It wrote in a statement that it recognized that implementing a new award three quarters of the way into the year creates challenges for films that have already been released.
The film academy announced the new category for “outstanding achievement in popular film” last month.
It prompted an immediate outcry, with many inside and outside the film industry wondering how it would impact critically and commercially popular films such as Black Panther. The superhero blockbuster has been cited as a possible best picture contender.
Exhibit tells story of Moe Berg
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (AP) —
The Baseball Hall of Fame has opened a new exhibit on Moe Berg, the major league catcher-
turned-spy whose story was the subject of a Hollywood film released this summer.
Moe Berg: Big League Spy recently opened at the museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.
The New York City-born son of Russian-Jewish immigrants was an Ivy League graduate who played more than 660 games over 15 seasons for the Dodgers, White Sox, Indians, Senators and Red Sox. During the Second World War he joined the Office of Strategic Services, predecessor to the CIA.
The exhibit chronicles his athletic and espionage exploits through his baseball artifacts and wartime documents. The movie The Catcher Was a Spy was released in June, with Berg portrayed by Paul Rudd. Berg died in 1972 at 70.
Fox cuts scene from The Predator
Actor in movie a registered sex offender
TORONTO — Just hours before the premiere of The Predator at the Toronto International Film Festival, Twentieth Century Fox said it removed a scene from the film with actor Steven Wilder Striegel after learning he is a registered sex offender.
A spokesperson for Fox on Thursday said Striegel’s single scene in the film was promptly cut after the studio learned of Striegel’s background. Fox said it didn’t know of the actor’s history because of legal imitations on running background checks on actors.
“Our studio was not aware of Mr. Striegel’s background when he was hired,” said the spokesper-
son. “Several weeks ago, when the studio learned the details, his one scene in the film was removed within 24 hours.”
Shane Black, director of the fourth installment in the sci-fi action franchise, has long been a friend of Striegel’s and has frequently cast him in his films.
Black said in a statement, “Having read this morning’s news reports, it has sadly become clear to me that I was misled by a friend I really wanted to believe was telling me the truth when he described the circumstances of his conviction. I believe strongly in giving people second chances –but sometimes you discover that chance is not as warranted as you may have hoped.
“After learning more about the affidavit, transcripts and additional details surrounding Steve Striegel’s sentence, I am deeply disappointed in myself. I apologize to all of those, past and present,
Captain Marvel details emerging
Michael CAVNA Citizen news service
Marvel Studios and Entertainment Weekly teamed up Wednesday to begin unfurling promotional teases for next year’s Captain Marvel – hey there, Brie Larson – and it prompted fans to inspect the morsels like catnip.
Marvel will dole them out slowly, of course, but especially because the third Avengers film ended on such a cliffhanger this summer, the geek internet is hungry to know what Captain Marvel holds when it comes out in March, before we finally get the fourth Avengers.
Starforce, the Kree Empire’s crack fighting unit, made their debut in Avengers more than a quarter-century ago but have mostly flown relatively low on the radar in the comics.
With that in mind, there were some interesting nuggets – including confirmation of Carol Danvers’s modern red, blue and gold suit – but one of the most striking revelations was the introduction of its cinematic military team.
Get ready for your closeup, Starforce. Starforce, the Kree Empire’s crack fighting unit, made their debut in Avengers more than a quartercentury ago but have mostly flown relatively low on the radar in the comics.
The team’s debut issue (No. 346), penned by Bob Harras with art by Steven Epting and Tom Palmer, introduced us to the assembled Captain Atlas, Doctor Minerva, Korath, Shatterax, Supremor and Ultimus. For the movie, we learn in Entertainment Weekly that Marvel has brought together an elite team likely led by Jude Law’s Kree warrior Mar-Vell. He, of course, is the Stan Lee and Gene Colan creation whom Jim Starlin memorably killed off in 1982’s story The Death of Captain Marvel.
I’ve let down by having Steve around them without giving them a voice in the decision.”
The Los Angeles Times first reported the re-editing of The Predator to remove Striegel. It said that Fox was alerted to Striegel’s background by actress Olivia Munn.
Munn stars in the film, and played opposite Striegel in his one scene.
Striegel plead guilty in 2010 for attempting to entice a 14-year-old female into a sexual relationship via the internet.
He served six months in jail.
The former Melrose Place actor has previously appeared in Black’s 2013 film Iron Man 3 and his 2016 comedy The Nice Guys.
Black told The Los Angeles Times: “I personally chose to help a friend. I can understand others might disapprove, as his conviction was on a sensitive charge and not to be taken lightly.”
The film’s Starforce adds Lee Pace as warlord Ronan the Accuser, reprising his role from 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Also reprising his Guardians role is Djimon Hounsou as Korath the Pursuer. Elsewhere, Algenis Perez Soto is Att-lass, Rune Temte is Bron-Char and Gemma Chan is Minn-Erva. They’ll join Danvers, the military pilot who wages a crucial battle within – between her
Jake COYLE Citizen news service
This image released by Twentieth Century Fox shows a scene from The Predator.
human and superpowered Kree traits.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MARVEL COMICS
Captain Marvel will suit up in her own solo movie next March, and in the sequel to Avengers: Infinity War, next May.
BERG
Goodbye to The Bandit
Iconic actor Burt Reynolds dies at 82
John ROGERS Citizen news service
Burt Reynolds, the handsome film and television star known for his acclaimed performances in Deliverance and Boogie Nights, commercial hits such as Smokey and the Bandit and for an active off-screen love life which included relationships with Loni Anderson and Sally Field, has died at age 82. His death was confirmed Thursday by his agent Todd Eisner. In a statement, his niece, Nancy Lee Hess, called his death “totally unexpected,” although she acknowledged he had health issues.
“He was tough. Anyone who breaks their tail bone on a river and finishes the movie is tough. And that’s who he was. My uncle was looking forward to working with Quentin Tarantino, and the amazing cast that was assembled,” she said, referring to the upcoming film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt.
Hess noted her uncle’s kindness and generosity, and thanked “all of his amazing fans who have always supported and cheered him on, through all of the hills and valleys of his life and career.”
The mustachioed, smirking Reynolds inspired a wide range of responses over his long, erratic career: critical acclaim and critical scorn, popular success and box office bombs. Reynolds made scores of movies, ranging from lightweight fare such as the hits The Cannonball Run and Smokey and the Bandit to more serious films like The Longest Yard and The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing.
He received some of the film world’s highest and lowest honors. He was nominated for an Oscar for Boogie Nights, the Paul Thomas Anderson film about the pornography industry; won an Emmy for the TV series Evening Shade, and was praised for his starring role in Deliverance.
But he also was a frequent nominee for the Razzie, the tongue-in-cheek award for Hollywood’s worst performance, and his personal life provided ongoing drama, particularly after an acrimonious divorce from Anderson in 1995. He had a troubled marriage to Judy Carne, a romance with Dinah Shore and a relationship with Field damaged by his acknowledged jealousy of her success.
Through it all he presented a genial persona, often the first to make fun of his own conflicted image.
“My career is not like a regular chart, mine looks like a heart attack,” he told The Associated Press in 2001. “I’ve done over 100 films, and I’m the only actor who has been canned by all three networks. I epitomize longevity.”
Reynolds was candid about his flops, his regrets and about his many famous friends. He would call posing nude for Cosmopolitan one of his biggest mistakes because it undermined the respect he had gained for Deliverance. He revered Spencer Tracy as an early mentor and came to know Johnny Carson, Clint Eastwood, Frank Sinatra and many others.
“Burt Reynolds was one of my heroes,” tweeted Arnold Schwarzenegger. “He was a trailblazer. He showed the way to transition from being an athlete to being the highest paid actor, and he always
inspired me. He also had a great sense of humor – check out his Tonight Show clips. My thoughts are with his family.”
Born in Lansing, Mich., and raised in Florida, he was an allSouthern Conference running back at Florida State University in the 1950s. Reynolds appeared headed to the NFL until a knee injury and an automobile accident ended his chances. He dropped out of college and drifted to New York, where he worked as a dockhand, dance-hall bouncer, bodyguard and dish washer before returning to Florida in 1957 and enrolling in acting classes at Palm Beach Junior College.
He won the Florida Drama Award in 1958 for his performance in the role John Garfield made famous in Outward Bound. He was subsequently discovered by a talent agent at New York’s Hyde Park Playhouse.
Early theater roles included performances in Mister Roberts and Look: We’ve Come Through.
After moving to Hollywood, he found work as a stuntman, including one job that consisted of flying through a glass window. As a star, he often performed his own stunts, and he played a stuntman in the 1978 film Hooper, one of his better reviewed films.
Because of his dark features, he was cast frequently as an Indian early in his career, including the title role in the 1967 spaghetti western Navajo Joe. He also played Iroquois Indian detective
John Hawk in the short-lived 1966 TV series Hawk. In the 1960s he made dozens of guest-star appearances on such TV shows as Bonanza, The Twilight Zone and Perry Mason. His first film role came in 1961’s Angel Baby, and he followed it with numerous other mediocre movies, the kind, he liked to joke, that were shown in airplanes and prisons.
He did become famous enough to make frequent appearances on The Tonight Show, leading to his most cherished film role and to his greatest folly.
In the early 1970s, director John Boorman was impressed by how confidently Reynolds handled himself when subbing for Carson as host of The Tonight Show. Boorman thought he might be right for a film adaptation of James Dickey’s novel Deliverance.
Reynolds starred as Lewis Medlock, the intrepid leader of an ill-fated whitewater canoe trip. When he and three other Atlanta businessmen are ambushed by violent backwoodsmen, Reynolds must guide the group to safety.
Deliverance was an Oscar nominee for best picture and no film made him prouder. In his 2015 memoir But Enough About Me, he wrote that Deliverance would be his choice could he put one of his movies in a time capsule.
“It proved I could act,” he wrote.
But soon after filming was completed, he made a decision he never stopped regretting. While
appearing on The Tonight Show with Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown, he agreed to her invitation, offered during a commercial break, to be the first male centerfold for her magazine.
“I was flattered and intrigued,” Reynolds wrote in his memoir.
The April 1972 issue of Cosmopolitan quickly sold more than 1 million copies, but turned his life into a “carnival.” The centerfold would appear on T-shirts, panties and other merchandise and Reynolds began receiving obscene fan mail. Reynolds’ performance in Deliverance was snubbed by the movie academy.
“It was a total fiasco,” he wrote.
“I thought people would be able to separate the fun-loving side of me from the serious actor, but I was wrong.”
He did remain an A-list movie star, starring in such films as Shamus, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and three popular Smokey and the Bandit comedies, with co-stars including Field and Jackie Gleason.
Reynolds also directed a few of the films he starred in, including Gator, Sharky’s Machine and Stick, and made cameo appearances in the Hollywood spoof The Player and Woody Allen’s Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask).
One of his first encounters with the tabloids came in 1973 with the mysterious death of Sarah Miles’ manager during filming of The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing. Reynolds testified during a highly publicized inquest; the death was eventually ruled a suicide.
His romance with Shore, 20 years his senior, brought intense media scrutiny. The two met when Reynolds made a surprise appearance on her talk show, bursting out of a closet on the set.
In the 1980s, his career was nearly destroyed when false rumors surfaced that he was infected with the AIDS virus, in the height of hysteria over the disease. He had injured his jaw making the 1984 comedy City Heat with Clint Eastwood. Barely able to eat, he lost 50 pounds and suddenly looked ill and emaciated.
“For two years I couldn’t get a job,” he told the AP in 1990. “I had
He was a trailblazer. He showed the way to transition from being an athlete to being the highest paid actor, and he always inspired me.
— Arnold Schwarzenegger
to take five physicals to get a job. I had to take the pictures that were offered to me. I did action pictures because I was trying to prove that I was well.”
He eventually regained his health, and in 1988 he married Anderson. The actress, one of the stars of the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, had met him on a talk show.
The couple divorced in 1995, and their breakup was an embarrassing public spectacle, with the pair exchanging insults in print interviews and on television shows. Reynolds finally paid her a $2 million settlement and a vacation home to settle the divorce.
He rebounded once again, this time with the role of porn movie impresario Jack Horner in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights, which brought him some of his best reviews even though he felt ambivalent about his character and felt limited rapport with the director.
He won a Golden Globe for best supporting actor and received an Oscar nomination. Convinced he would win, he was devastated when the Oscar went to Robin Williams for Good Will Hunting.
“I once said that I’d rather have a Heisman Trophy than an Oscar,” he wrote in his memoir. “I lied.” Reynolds had previously won a Golden Globe in 1992 for Evening Shade, in which he played Wood Newton, a former professional football player who returns to his Arkansas hometown to coach the high school team. He also received an Emmy for the role in 1991.
He was back in the tabloids again in 2005 after he appeared in a remake of The Longest Yard, which starred Adam Sandler in Reynolds’ old role as an imprisoned former football star. Reynolds co-starred as the warden, the role Eddie Albert had in the original film.
At a premiere in New York, a studio publicist admitted he hadn’t seen either movie, and Reynolds responded by slapping him across the face. He joked later that it was just a “love tap.”
Burton Leon Reynolds was born on Feb. 11, 1936, the son of a police chief who looked down on his son’s ambitions to become an actor. After several years in California, he returned in 1969 to Florida, where he had gone to college. He bought eight acres of waterfront property in the wealthy community of Jupiter and spent most of the rest of his life there, devoting much of his later years to his only son, Quinton, whom he had adopted with Anderson. He opened the Burt Reynolds Jupiter Theatre and a Burt Reynolds and Friends Museum, where he displayed his memorabilia and sometimes lectured to drama students.
ABOVE: Burt Reynolds sits on a 1977 Pontiac Trans-Am at the world premiere of The Bandit at the Paramount Theatre during the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2016 in Austin, Texas.
BELOW: In this photo from March 1987, Reynolds and Loni Anderson appear at a polo match in Boca Raton, Fla.
Wylie,Anne October4,1923-August17,2018
BorninBedford,EnglandthesecondchildofMaurice andFrancesWillson.Annehadalongandvaried careerinnursingbeginningwithtraininginLondon duringtheBlitz,interruptedbymotherhood,and endingasaDeputyCoronerinPrinceGeorge.Along thewayshewashonouredtobecomeoneofthefirst NursePractitionersinBC.Shewasalsoknownasa devotedmotherandgrandmother,aloyalfriend,a committedvolunteerandaconcernedcitizen.
AnnewaspredeceasedbyherbrotherMichaelin 1939andherhusbandNeilin2010.Sheissurvived by:childrenJames(Anne),Sarah,Piers(Robynn) andThomas;grandchildrenAlyson(Jason),Hayden, Owen,Jacob,Harrison,GabrielleandSimon;andby great-grandsonWilliam.
Agreenburialandgravesideservicewasheldin RoyalOak,BC.TherewillbeacelebrationofAnne’s lifeinSidney,BCduringtheThanksgivingweekend. Inlieuofflowersordonations,pleasemakeasmall steptoreduceyourimpactontheplanet-inAnne’s honour.
FOUCHER, Carmen Noëlla Grace (LeFebvre) born July 8th, 1944 in Edmonton, AB and passed peacefully at home on August 31st, 2018 with her children by her side. Carmen is survived by her daughter Bernadette Kipping, sons Daniel (Sandra Morris), Philip (Denise) & Michael (Trish Schiedel), grandchildren, Jared Kipping (Kelly Pratt), Kendra Kipping (Jeremy Goertzen), Marc Foucher (Sarah Rollins), Conrad Foucher (Erika Aspen), Celine Foucher, India and Amara SchiedelFoucher. Also survived by her siblings and in-laws Henri LeFebvre (Cecile), Dolores Baza, Alan Collie, Richard (Louise), Suzanne, Noel (Judi), Alain (Susan), Florent (Sandi) Foucher and Jeannine (Lance) Allard and many, many nieces, nephews, cousins, and close friends. Predeceased by husband Alain Foucher, parents Louis and Marie-Ange, baby brother Jean Paul, sister Patricia, brother Louis and sister-in-law Bernardine. Carmen retired from BC Hydro after 25 years and then became active with the Power Pioneers. She was a CWL member for 55 years and it played a major role in her spiritual and social life. Carmen was a devoted wife, mother, sister, grandmother and aunt. A visitation and prayer service will be held Friday, September 7th at 6:30 pm at St. Mary’s Catholic Church (1088 Gillett St.). Funeral Mass will follow Saturday, September 8th at 11:00 am. Please feel free to leave messages of condolences at carmenfoucher.weebly.com. In loving memory of Carmen, donations to the Prince George Community Foundation.
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ANNA ROWE
Anna passed away Sunday, September 2, 2018. May she rest in peace. No service by request. Family gathering at a later date.
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Marion Buckland on Tuesday, August 7, at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops at the age of 75 years.
Marion is survived by her husband Myron, children Leona Janot, of Prince George and Leslie Janot of Kelowna. She is also survived by her siblings Sylvia, Carol, Karen and Danna as well as her four grandchildren and her two greatgrandchildren. Marion was predeceased by her parents Clark Foster and Ruth Pomeroy and her brother Brian Foster. A Celebration of Life will be held on September 8th at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club at 2:00 pm.
Marion loved her family dearly and always looked forward to spending quality time with them. She loved nothing more than taking care of those close to her. She was especially fond of her many camping and fishing trips with her husband, children and grandchildren.
GORDON JUBB August 17, 1949September 3, 2018
Raymond passed away peacefully with family by his side. He was predeceased by mother Joyce, father Gordon and sisters Mary Lou & Diane. Ray is survived by his best friend, soul mate and loving wife Beatrice, daughter Cecelia (Roger), sons Randy (Sandy), Ivan (Dana), Rob (Erin), grandchildren Tori (Craig), Nicholas, great grandchildren Jack, Bentley, Ryker. Ray was also loved by many other grandchildren and great grandchildren Angela (Jamie, Addison, Aiden), Justin (Ashley, Madalyn, Sandra Rae, Elena, Abigal), Keenan, Kaisley, Ashley (Kevin, Isabelle, Alex), Macaulay, AJ & Talia.
The family would like to thank the amazing staff at Gateway Complex Care. You all are truly angels in uniform. Thank you for always making Ray feel he was home. You were all his friends and became his family. No service by request. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to BC Children’s Hospital or Ronald McDonald House.
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RAYMOND
Johnny Roy Pius
October 28, 1946 - August 31, 2018 Band member Lheidli T’enneh Born in Prince George Memorial Service to be held
Friday, September 7, 2018 at 1:00pm at Uda Dune Baiyoh at 377 Vancouver St. Dinner to follow.
NAFTA talks continue, despite White House circus
Mike
BLANCHFIELD Citizen news service
WASHINGTON — A bombshell claim of “resistance” to Donald Trump’s presidency inside the White House inserted itself Thursday into Canada’s painstaking march toward a deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland’s two hours of talks with her U.S. counterpart, trade czar Robert Lighthizer, barely registered in the American capital despite the high-stakes for the continent’s economy.
As Trump fumed, and a hunt was launched to find the identity of the anonymous author of a New York Times op-ed piece (see story, page 6), Lighthizer was drawn into the stranger-than-fiction drama, joining a series of Trump administration officials who publicly denied authorship and declared their loyalty to the president.
“It does not reflect my views at all, and it does not reflect the views of anyone I know in the administration. It is a complete and total fabrication,” Lighthizer said in a written statement.
He joined Vice-President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, and others in issuing his disclaimer to being Washington’s most famous anonymous Beltway politico since Deep Throat during the Watergate scandal.
A block from the White House, where a furious Trump was Tweeting fire at the disloyalty from his inner circle, Freeland and Lighthizer pushed on with talks that cut to the core of North American prosperity.
They issued fresh marching orders for their respective negotiating teams. Freeland maintained the same upbeat tone she has held since arriving in Washington this week to reboot talks with the Trump administration.
“We really are confident, as we have been from the outset, that a deal which is good for Canada, good for the United States and good for Mexico is possible,” Freeland said, as she departed the office of the U.S. Trade Representative on her way to the Canadian Embassy.
Freeland added that officials “were given some instructions at this meeting and they will con-
tinue to work and our negotiations continue.”
But with the economic fate of workers and industries in three North American countries hanging in the balance, the New York Times piece sparked questions about how the fallout would affect the bump-and-grind of the NAFTA negotiations.
Derek Burney, who was former prime minister Brian Mulroney’s chief of staff during the original 1988 Canada-U.S. free trade negotiations, said any direct impact was unlikely but Trump remained “the big wild card” in the negotiation.
“We have to hope to catch him between tantrums to get a deal,” said Burney, who along with Mulroney has advised the current Trudeau government on how to negotiate with Trump.
Trump is likely “feeling pressure on many fronts these days and may be frustrated to learn the limits to his authority on trade, hence his warning to Congress ‘not to interfere’,” said Burney, who became Canada’s U.S. ambassador after the original free trade deal.
Canada and the U.S. need to present an agreed-upon text to the U.S. Congress by Oct. 1 in order to join the deal the Trump administration signed with Mexico.
Trump is threatening to move ahead on a deal that excludes Canada, but he also needs a win on trade ahead of midterm elections in November that will test his ability to keep control of Congress.
Flavio Volpe, the president of the Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, said he didn’t think the latest bombshell would directly affect the negotiators inside the room.
“But it certainly underscores for all of us observing the talks that it’s not that easy to do this negotiation. It’s a compressed timeline with an ever-changing counterparty,” said Volpe, who was in Washington on Thursday for meetings with auto industry representatives on the possible impact of Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Canadian automobiles.
Trump has already imposed hefty tariffs on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum, using a section of U.S. trade law
that gives him executive authority to do that in the name of national security.
Freeland reiterated her view Thursday that the fate of those tariffs was separate from the NAFTA talks, and she urged the administration to lift the “unjustified and illegal” action.
During the day, she and Lighthizer pored over results from their front-line negotiators who held a long stretch of talks that started Wednesday night and finished in the early morning hours of Thursday.
Freeland offered few specifics, sticking to her mantra of not wanting to negotiate in public – an agreement struck with the tough-talking Lighthizer as an act of good faith.
The two sides still have to resolve differences on three key issues: dairy, culture and the Chapter 19 dispute resolution mechanism.
The goal of this week’s talks is to reach a deal by Dec. 1 so Congress can give its approval to a revised three-country NAFTA before Mexico’s new president takes office.
BoC concerned about trade uncertainty
Andy BLATCHFORD Citizen news service
OTTAWA — The unknown consequences of ongoing trade tensions were “front and centre” in the Bank of Canada’s decision this week to leave its key interest rate unchanged, a top Bank of Canada official said Thursday.
In a speech one day after the rate announcement, senior deputy governor Carolyn Wilkins acknowledged it’s difficult for the central bank to estimate the “highly uncertain” economic fallout from tit-for-tat tariffs between Canada and the U.S., and the resulting blow to business confidence.
“The implications of the current trade environment were front and centre,” Wilkins told the Saskatchewan Trade & Export Partnership as she provided a sense of the deliberations behind the interest rate decision. “The trade environment... has been top of mind for some time given its importance to economic prospects here at home and abroad. And, while Canadian officials have been working hard to resolve the issues, a lot of uncertainty remains.”
The Bank of Canada held its trend-setting interest rate at 1.5 per cent Wednesday. It made a quarter-point increase at its July policy meeting and has hiked it a total of four times since mid-2017.
With Canada’s economy operating close to full tilt, many experts predict bank gover-
nor Stephen Poloz to raise the rate again at the Oct. 24 meeting.
Taking all the uncertainty into consideration, Poloz has followed what he’s described as a “gradual approach” to lifting the rate up from historically low levels.
On Thursday, however, Wilkins said the governing council debated whether the gradual approach continued to be appropriate, which suggests the bank considered either intensifying the pace of its interestrate increases or slowing it down.
In the end, she said the group agreed the current, go-slow approach remained the best way to proceed.
In her address, Wilkins noted how the Canadian economy has shown signs that it can adapt to higher rates. The economy has continued to perform well, with much of the growth fuelled by stronger exports, consumption and improving business investment, she said.
But unpredictable trade conditions have had consequences, Wilkins said.
The central bank estimates the tariffs already in place, combined with business uncertainty, will trim about two-thirds of a percentage point from Canada’s gross domestic product by 2020.
After just a couple of months, the tangible effects of the cross-border tariffs on steel, aluminum and consumer goods have already started showing up in the economic data, Wilkins said.
uncertainty about trade talks.
“That’s essentially due to the concern that global demand will slow because of the economic challenges in emerging markets and the ongoing trade disputes that are just happening between the U.S. and China, and the U.S. and other countries,” said Anish Chopra, managing director with Portfolio Management Corp. The October crude contract was down 95 cents at US$67.77 per barrel.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 36.63 points to 16,100.94, after reaching a low of 16,077.40 on 229.2 million shares traded.
Base metals, energy and information technology sectors closed down by as much as 2.3 per cent.
The cannabis-heavy healthcare sector, materials and gold also ended the day in the red. Consumer staples had the largest gain, rising about one per cent on a 4.5 per cent increase in shares of Alimentation Couche-Tard after it posted strong quarterly results. The Canadian dollar was essentially flat on the heels of comments from the Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Wilkins about uncertain economic implications from tit-for-tat tariffs between Canada and the U.S. that has been a blow to business confidence.
It closed the session at 75.83 cents US, down from Wednesday’s close of 75.84 cents US.
The loonie has bounced around depending on news coming out of Canada-U.S. trade talks, Chopra said in an interview.
“If the newsflow is modestly positive you get a bid on the Canadian dollar whereas if the newsflow is negative then the Canadian dollar loses ground.” Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland wrapped up two hours of talks Thursday with her U.S. counterpart, which resulted in fresh marching orders for their respective negotiating teams.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 20.88
AP FILE PHOTO
United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer arrives at his office in Washington on Tuesday, ahead of the arrival of Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland.