Prince George Citizen, Thursday August 6, 2026

Spooky season at the BCNE

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

The British Columbia Northern Exhibition (BCNE) is adding an autumn twist this summer.

The 114th BCNE, hosted by the Prince George Agricultural and Historical Association (PGAHA), runs Aug. 13 to 16 at Exhibition Park.

It has a Halloween theme this year, with organizers encouraging families and visitors of all ages to wear costumes and take part in Halloween-themed events over the four days of the exhibition.

PGAHA/BCNE president Amy Heise told The Citizen the idea to celebrate the spooky season grew out of the popularity of dressing up at this year’s Renaissance Fair.

A midway attraction lights up the night in this photo taken during the 2024 British Columbia Northern Exhibition. This year’s BCNE has a Halloween theme.

Visitors are encouraged to wear costumes to BCNE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“I know, having kids, that they get to watch all the fun Halloween movies and they see all the kids doing outdoor stuff during Halloween,” said Heise. “We can’t always promise that here. We thought we should give everybody a chance to come dressed in their costumes. After the Renaissance Fair was so popular, we saw how much people love to dress up. The more chances people have to wear costumes, the better as far as we’re concerned.”

Halloween-themed attractions include the SuperDogs shows and local magician Clinton Gray’s Halloween-themed magic show.

SuperDogs will perform all four days of the BCNE, with shows Aug. 13 to 15 at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. On Aug. 16, performances are scheduled for 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Gray’s performances are scheduled for:

• Aug. 13, 1:45 to 2:45 p.m.

• Aug. 14, 1 to 2 p.m.

• Aug. 15, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

• Aug. 16, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

The BCNE will also host three dances in Kin 3:

• Spooktacular Dance, Aug. 15, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

• Early Bedtime Dance, Aug. 15, 4 to 8 p.m.

• Spooktacular Family Dance, Aug. 16, noon to 4 p.m.

Each dance will feature a Halloween theme and costume contest.

“The family dance is actually going to be modelled after a toddler rave,” said Heise. “They have these events online that sell out in big cities. It’s basically a rave for little kids with kid-friendly rave music. We’ll have costume prizes and things like that for the family dance and the adult dances as well. That’s a bit different because last year we were still doing Alefest, so we switched it up this year to include a dance.”

The BCNE will also host an onlineonly pet costume contest, since pets are not permitted in Exhibition Park. More details are expected to be announced soon.

The Halloween theme will extend throughout the grounds.

“We’re going to put up Halloween inflatables and decorate for Halloween,” said Heise. “We’re going to do a little trick-or-treating with some of the vendors for the kids. We’re really trying to focus on family-friendly gate admission and making it more affordable for families.”

Along with the Halloween attractions, visitors can expect the midway, entertainment, vendors, food trucks and equine competitions.

Other attractions include Cariboo Stock Dogs demonstrations Aug. 15 and 16, live historical demonstrations on Heritage Lane, Seniors Day on Aug. 13, 4-H club demonstrations throughout the exhibition and a kids-only Gymkhana in the BCNE Ag Arena Aug. 13 and 14.

Local musicians will provide all of the entertainment on the main stage.

“All of our main stage acts and musical acts are local this year,” said Heise. “We’ve got some different performers than usual because we rotate them in and out, so there are a few new ones. They’re all from Prince George this year, which is exciting.”

Family remains the board’s primary focus, while also trying to attract adults whose children have grown up.

“We have two focuses,” said Heise. “One is family because the fair is something families do together. You bring grandma and grandpa, uncles and aunts. It’s a time to spend together. We also want to get the empty nesters to come back because that’s a group we’re missing right now. Once their kids are older, they think there’s nothing for them to do, but there’s lots to do.”

Heise said the board has also seen renewed interest in the home arts and horticulture sections and plans to build on that momentum.

“We’ve seen a little bit of a resurgence in our home arts and horticulture sections,” said Heise. “We’ve got more people bringing in displays and we had a seed giveaway, so we’re trying to get everybody to bring back the plants they grew from the seeds we gave away.”

The BCNE predates the city itself. The first exhibition was held in 1912, while Prince George became a township in 1915.

Heise said carrying on that legacy is both rewarding and challenging.

“It’s definitely a privilege for us to carry on the legacy of something like this,” said Heise. “From time to time it weighs a bit heavily because fairs have morphed into something else. It used to be that farmers would get together to sell their products and then have some fun with potato sack races or horse races.

“It’s become something much bigger now. We’re really trying to bring the agriculture part back, which is why we did the seed giveaway and are encouraging people to enter their horticulture projects. At the same time, the fair has taken on a life of its own. People expect certain things. They remember the mini doughnuts, riding the wagon and visiting the animals in the 4-H barns. Everybody comes for their own memories and to make new ones, and I think that’s a big part of what makes the fair special.”

Tickets for the BCNE are now available. Early-bird all-day ride passes are on sale until Aug. 11.

For tickets or more information, visit www.showpass.com/o/ prince-george-agricultural-and-historical-association/

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY CHUCK NISBETT

The junior and senior members of the 4-H Horse program await the outcome of judging in the Agriplex at the BCNE Saturday, August 16, 2025. Agricultural programs are the centrepiece of the annual exhibition, which is older than the city itself.

PG’s Selen Alpay named to Order of Britsh Columbia

CITIZEN STAFF

Longtime Prince George business owner and philanthropist Selen Alpay has been appointed to the Order of British Columbia, the province’s highest honour, recognizing more than three decades of service, mentorship and generosity that have strengthened communities across Northern BC.

Alpay is among 12 British Columbians named to the 2026 Order of British Columbia, an honour recognizing individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the province and beyond.

Recipients will be invested during a ceremony at Government House in Victoria on Sept. 24.

A Canadian Tire dealer for more than 33 years, Alpay has become known not only for his business leadership but also for his unwavering commitment to improving the lives of others.

Throughout his career, he has supported a wide range of organizations, including Big Brothers Big Sisters, the YMCA, School District 57, St. Vincent de Paul, the Prince George Native Friendship Centre and the Prince George Parkinson’s Society.

His leadership has also extended to numerous community boards, including the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation for the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia, Elizabeth Fry and Baldy Hughes.

He has played key mentoring and volunteer roles in major events such as the Canada Winter Games, the BC Summer Games, the Special Olympics and the Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

Alpay received BC’s Medal of Good Citizenship in 2019.

Known for his personal philosophy of “doing the right thing,” Alpay has earned national recognition, including the Canadian Tire Award of Excellence. Beyond financial support, he has remained actively involved in initiatives ranging from cancer fundraising and senior volunteer programs to food security efforts, wildfire

emergency relief and youth recreation through Jumpstart and the Pinball Foundation.

The Order of British Columbia citation recognizes Alpay “for strengthening lives across Northern BC through years of generosity, mentorship and hands-on service.”

Established in 1989, the Order of British Columbia is the province’s highest honour, recognizing individuals who have made exceptional contributions to BC and beyond.

“It is a profound privilege to recognize 12 outstanding individuals being welcomed into the order,” Lieut. Gov. Wendy Cocchia said in announcing the appointments.

“As chancellor of the Order of British Columbia, and in my role as the Crown’s representative, their achievements reflect the very best of our province’s spirit — one of compassion, innovation and dedication to the common good. By inspiring others through their actions, they are helping to build a brighter future for British Columbia.”

“Each Order of British Columbia recipient has made an outstanding contribution to our province and to the world beyond,” Premier David Eby said in a statement.

“Their hard work and their innovation

exemplify the extraordinary leadership found in our province. They inspire us, and we congratulate them on this special honour.”

Order of BC recipients, 2026

• Gail S. Anderson, Township of Langley — recognized for establishing forensic entomology in Canada and advancing criminal investigations through research and global leadership

• Marc Bains, Vancouver — honoured for turning personal adversity into support and research that has advanced cardiac care in BC and around the world

• Robert Bauman, Vancouver — recognized for strengthening access to justice and modernizing BC’s legal system through decades of public service

• Jill Bodkin, Vancouver — honoured for leadership in public service, finance and entrepreneurship, while advancing trade, investment and clean-energy innovation

• Stephanie Cadieux, Surrey — recognized for advancing public policy and empowering people with disabilities across Canada

• Dr. Jim Christenson, Vancouver

— honoured for transforming emergency medicine through innovation, advances in prehospital care and advocacy for remote Indigenous communities

• Bristol Foster, Salt Spring Island — recognized for decades of research and environmental stewardship protecting BC’s ecosystems

• Marianne Ignace (Guliihlgad), Savona — honoured for advancing Indigenous language revitalization through research, education and community partnerships

• Patrick Kelly (T’esóts’en), Victoria — recognized for strengthening reconciliation by bringing communities together to resolve conflicts and foster lasting change

• Elio Luongo, Burnaby — honoured for contributing to BC’s economy and communities through business leadership, innovation and public service

• Vittorio Montagliani, West Vancouver — recognized for helping grow soccer from the local to the international stage and for bringing the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2026 FIFA World Cup to BC and Canada

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE

Selen Alpay, owner of Canadian Tire, has been named to the Order of BC. The owner of the Prince George Canadian Tire store was honoured for his tireless dedication to local causes.

Carrier Sekani raising earthquake funds for Venezuela

The South American country was rocked by two quakes in June

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

Staff at Carrier Sekani Family Services (CSFS) have been raising money internally for the Canadian Red Cross to support earthquake relief efforts in Venezuela.

On June 24, 2026, north-central Venezuela was struck by two earthquakes 39 seconds apart. The earthquakes are believed to be the country’s worst natural disaster in decades, damaging hundreds of buildings.

Recovery efforts continue, but critical damage to transportation, communications and health infrastructure remains. Total damage is estimated at $19.6 billion.

The estimated death toll stands at 5,500, with 16,700 people injured and tens of thousands displaced.

CSFS staff have donated $3,090 of their own money to the Canadian Red Cross through the organization’s ongoing internal charitable giving program. The initiative was launched by Carrier Sekani chief executive officer Warner Adam, who wanted to help after seeing the devastation caused by the disaster.

Venezuela is not the first international

for more than 35 years. We’re here to support the communities we work with, and part of that is making sure the values we hold are consistent with the traditional laws of the Carrier people.”

Morgan-Gottschall said the Carrier potlatch system plays an important role in shaping the organization’s charitable spirit.

“When we look at the potlatch system, it’s the governance system for Carrier people,” said Morgan-Gottschall. “It includes their laws, how you conduct yourself and the stewardship of the territories. A lot of it is about maintaining kinship and the relationships we have within the communities and the nation. That’s how we pay it forward by showing our respect and appreciation for those relationships.”

relief effort supported by staff. In 2025, they donated $3,379 of their own money to the Canadian Red Cross to assist with disaster relief in the Philippines.

The organization’s charitable efforts also extend closer to home. Staff contribute personal funds to colleagues experiencing hardships and host monthly healing fires for vulnerable unhoused people in Prince George.

“This is just CSFS’s way of helping people in need,” said Benna Rathburn, executive assistant for housing capital and infrastructure at Carrier Sekani Family Services. “We do this for all of

our staff.”

Jason Morgan-Gottschall, executive director of capital housing and infrastructure, said charitable giving is a core part of the organization’s culture.

“A lot of it is just based on the act of giving,” said Morgan-Gottschall. “Having lived and worked with unhoused people here and participating in the Carrier potlatch system, a lot of it is based on showing appreciation and showing people you respect them. I think it comes down to the principles that govern this organization.

“Carrier Sekani has been in existence

Carrier Sekani is also challenging other organizations to match or exceed its contribution.

“We want them to meet or beat our challenge,” said Rathburn. “It would be nice to see other organizations participate. Many of them are bigger than we are, and with the small staff we have, it would be amazing to see them try to beat us.”

Morgan-Gottschall said giving is its own reward.

“It’s not so much what you accumulate in this world,” he said. “You also want to be measured by what you give. I think having a spirit of giving is a reward unto itself.”

Daycare eyed for former Lutheran church on Ospika

The former Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church site on Dufferin Avenue could soon become a daycare operated by Carrier Sekani Family Services (CSFS).

On Monday, July 20, CSFS started soliciting bids for the construction of a 42-space modular child-care centre at 3590 Dufferin Ave, located at that street’s intersection with Ospika Boulevard.

CSFS’ website describes the

organization’s mission as providing holistic wellness services for Carrier and Sekani people, originally being created to “reclaim First Nations authority over justice, health, social and family services.”

The listing for the tender said that the facility is intended to “accommodate 29 children aged three to five and 13 infants and toddlers.”

While the publicly available information does not include the desired specifications of the building, the listing does state that bidders must include

information on how they will include Indigenous participation in the construction process.

The goal is to have the building ready to occupy by March 31, 2027. Whether the former church building will be demolished as part of the project is not specified.

BC Assessment states that the property sold for $2.1 million on June 26, 2025. At the time, the property had an assessed value of $816,400. Since the sale, the 2026 assessed value of the property soared to $1,827,000, an

increase of 124 per cent.

The website for Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church states that worship services are now held three times per month at Grace Anglican Parish at 2640 Goheen St.

Reached for comment by email, a spokesperson for CSFS told The Citizen that the organization had no comment on the project at this time, but would have more to say once some milestones have been reached.

Bidding for the project closed at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 5.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY MATTHEW HILLIER

Jason Morgan-Gottschall (left), executive director of capital housing and infrastructure, and Benna Rathburn, executive assistant for housing capital and infrastructure of Carrier Sekani Family Services are part of a fundraising effort for Venezuelan earthquake relief.

COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

MLA confrms leader asked her to give up PG seat

COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

The Conservative MLA for Prince George-Valemount has confirmed she rejected a request to step down to give the party’s new leader a chance to run for a seat in the BC Legislature.

On the morning of Wednesday, July 29, former BC Liberal MLA Jas Johal, now a Lower Mainland radio show host, posted to his X account (formerly Twitter) that three Tory MLAs had rejected requests to step aside for Kerry-Lynne Findlay: Rosalyn Bird of Prince George-Valemount, Lynne Block of West-Vancouver Capilano and Ian Paton of Delta South.

Findlay, a former federal Conservative cabinet minister, won the party’s leadership race on May 31.

She was one of several candidates for the leadership of the Conservative Party of BC who was not a sitting MLA.

Reached by phone on Wednesday,

July 29, Bird said the specifics of her conversations with Findlay are confidential and she’s not sure how Johal got the information but confirmed she was asked to give up her seat.

“I respectfully declined,” Bird told The Citizen

“I talked to friends and family and a number of stakeholders about it. I got very positive feedback and people asked me to continue doing what I’m doing. I love my job.”

She said her focus remains on her constituents.

“I am highly committed to Prince George and all of the communities that I represent through the Robson Valley,” she said. “I’ve worked very hard to accomplish the things I have in the last year and a half, I worked hard during the election and I’m highly committed to trying to make the province a better place.”

She added that discussions over finding a newly elected party leader a seat are not uncommon.

Bird said as she had taken some weeks off to deal with personal matters, she was not sure who else inside the party had been approached to step aside for Findlay.

First veterans’ crosswalk painted

CITIZEN STAFF

The first of Prince George’s three commemorative military crosswalks is nearing completion on Ospika Boulevard, marking the start of a citywide project honouring Canadians who died in military service.

The crosswalk, located at the access road to CN Centre, is expected to be the first finished after city council unanimously approved the initiative in May. The location was chosen because the area was once home to a military base during the Second World War.

Spearheaded by Royal Canadian

Legion Branch 43, the crosswalk features alternating red and white stripes, black silhouettes of soldiers at either end, Canada’s maple leaf and the words “Lest we forget.” Poppies were intentionally left out of the design because they are not meant to be walked on.

Two additional commemorative crosswalks are planned for George Street and Sixth Avenue, leading to Veterans Plaza, and at Dagg Road and Glenview Drive near Cpl. Darren Fitzpatrick Bravery Park.

The city approved $24,000 for the project through its 2026 road operating budget.

Bird

New $7M turf being installed at Carrie Jane Gray Park

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

Carrie Jane Gray Park will have new turf thanks to $7 million in new federal funding.

The money comes through the Build Communities Strong — Strategic Priorities Fund, which supports improvements to local community infrastructure. It will be administered by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities’ Strategic Priorities Fund.

The City of Prince George announced the news Thursday, July 30.

Multi-sport artificial turf will be installed between the beach volleyball court and Citizen Field.

In a press release, the city said the new artificial turf field is one of the most important components of the park’s multi-phase master plan and will extend the park’s usable season from April to October.

“Carrie Jane Gray Park is a premier athletic hub that plays a key role in our community’s sport and recreation network,” said recreation and events supervisor Robyn McConkey in a press release. “Investment in the park continues to build the city’s capacity for local sports and to serve as northern BC’s showcase for hosting diverse competitive sporting events and tournaments at every level.”

McConkey said the existing synthetic turf field at Masich Place Stadium is always heavily booked and the demand

for more field space, from local groups and organizers of tournaments featuring visiting athletes, is high.

The funding will cover site preparation and construction of the synthetic turf field. The remaining estimated $4 million cost is pending council approval during the next budget cycle.

Mayor Simon Yu welcomed the funding announcement in a city press release.

“Projects like the work we’re doing at Carrie Jane Gray Park really highlight the importance of facilities that bring people together, support health and well-being, and add life to this athletic corridor,” Yu said.

“This next phase with this funding is a big step forward for our bold vision for this space.”

This phase of the project also includes the new multi-sport field, field

lighting and 5,200 square metres of flex/ warmup space. The city said work will begin after the existing BMX track has been relocated, which is expected to be completed in the summer of 2027.

During 2025 budget deliberations, council approved $1.9 million for the first phase of construction, which includes the design and construction of the new BMX track, along with security fencing and lighting.

The city said revisions to the BMX site design have been completed to minimize earthwork and keep construction of the track within the pre-design budget estimate.

In August, crews will begin installing new water and sanitary sewer services for the BMX and synthetic turf sites. The work will also include a new conventional gravity sanitary sewer service for Ron Wiley Field to replace the existing septic holding tanks.

Other communities receiving funds through the Build Communities Strong Strategic Priorities Fund:

• Quesnel: $824,375 for a solid waste landfill gas control project

• Fort St. James: $7 million for the James & Nak’azdli Whut’en Water Treatment Facility

• Vanderhoof: $7 million for storage and distribution improvements to the northside water system

• McBride: $280,000 for the McBride Parks and Recreation Plan

Canfor Leisure Pool to be closed for three weeks in August

MATTHEW

Citizen Staff

HILLIER

The City of Prince George is providing early notice that the Canfor Leisure Pool will close for maintenance for three weeks in August.

The pool will undergo regular maintenance from Aug. 17 to Sept. 6.

The city reported that, because the Aquatic Centre is currently closed for a two-year renovation and repair project,

the work schedule has been condensed to return users to Canfor Leisure Pool as soon as possible.

The pools will be drained, all areas will be deep-cleaned, equipment will be inspected and repaired, and work will begin on the pools’ HVAC improvement project.

With the Aquatic Centre closed for renovations for the foreseeable future, the city will be without indoor swimming facilities during the maintenance

period.

Civic facilities and events director Andy Beesley said the work is essential. “The city scheduled this work to take place during the end of summer when there is a regular break in swimming lessons and local swim club use while having an abundance of outdoor activities to enjoy,” he said. “We know that reducing pool availability isn’t welcome news, but annual maintenance is important work that must be done. City staff have

worked hard to reduce the length of the closure from four weeks to three, which is the shortest amount of time possible for crews to complete this work. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to the pool on Labour Day.”

To stay up to date on Aquatic Centre renovations, visit getinvolved.princegeorge.ca/AquaticCentre

For more information on aquatic programs, visit: www.princegeorge.ca/ parks-recreation/aquatics

CITY OF PRINCE GEORGE IMAGE

An aerial view of the city shows Carrie Jane Gray Park. Masich Place Stadium is at top left.

Building envelope work ongoing at CNC campus

COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

As the summer break for post-secondary students continues, crews are hard at work on the building envelope at the College of New Caledonia’s Prince George campus.

A post on the college’s website about the program dated Wednesday, July 29 stated that initial preparation and construction for the project began in 2025.

Funding for the project has been provided by the provincial Ministry of Infrastructure.

Interior and exterior finishing was worked on last winter and through the spring and summer of this year, contractors are completing major exterior upgrades across campus.

As reported by The Citizen back in May, much of the work is intended to improve the energy efficiency of the campus and refresh elements dating back to when the school first opened back in the 1960s.

The July 29 update said that work going on now through late August involves replacing windows, upgrading exterior walls, installing siding, landscaping, painting and exterior finishing.

The exterior work has included the installation of new flat metal siding. An earlier June 17 post about the project said that some members of the college community have noticed a waviness or rippling on the metal.

This effect, the post said, is called oil canning, commonly seen on flat metal panels.

“It is a common and widely recog nized characteristic of modern metal cladding systems used on commercial, institutional, and educational buildings,” the post said.

“Oil canning can result from a combi nation of factors, including manufactur ing processes, installation conditions, material properties, and environmen tal conditions such as temperature changes.”

The college added that the canning “does not affect the strength, safety, durability or weather resistance of the siding” and is more visible depending on outdoor conditions. It is expected to dim in intensity over time.

During construction, visitors to campus are warned to expect noise in the campus’ 300 and 400 blocks and temporary barriers blocking access to some areas.

In early August, window replacement is expected to begin, but it is being scheduled for evenings to reduce the impact on operations.

This phase of work is expected to last until Monday, Aug. 24. The whole project is expected to be completed by March 31, 2027.

The first day of classes at the college’s Prince George, Burns Lake, Mackenzie, Quesnel and Vanderhoof campuses after the current summer break is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 8.

Contractors carry out building envelope improvements at College of New Cale donia’s campus in Prince George, BC on Thursday, July 30.

There’s more to farmers’ markets than fresh veggies

KENNEDY GORDON Citizen Managing Editor

Why aren’t you shopping at one of our local farmers’ markets?

OK, maybe you are, but the odds are you aren’t, according to a recent report by the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets.

Prince George has not one but two farmers’ markets, both located just down the street from each other on Third Avenue downtown.

Yet, despite the convenience, many residents are sticking with their favourite grocery store without considering what they might be missing.

Maybe it’s time to rethink that habit.

For years, one of the arguments against shopping at farmers’ markets was price. There was a perception that buying fresh and local meant paying a premium.

But in today’s economy, that argument doesn’t carry nearly anywhere near as much weight. Grocery prices have climbed sharply over the past few years, narrowing that gap and, in many cases, eliminating it altogether.

The bigger surprise may be just how much Northern BC has to offer.

We often define our region by mountains, forests, lakes and rivers. Our natural wonders deserve the attention they receive, but they overshadow another strength: Northern BC is home to a thriving agricultural community.

Local farms produce vegetables, fruit, meat, honey, baked goods and all kinds

of artisan products that deserve a place on our tables.

Supporting those producers means supporting an industry that helps strengthen food security while keeping local dollars circulating in our own communities.

The BC Association of Farmers’ Markets recently reported that nearly one million visitors generated more than $232 million in economic activity at farmers’ markets across the province in 2025.

Northern BC accounted for $10.7 million of that total, with shoppers spending an average of just over $39 per visit. The benefits extended well beyond the markets themselves, with neighbouring businesses seeing additional spending as visitors went to nearby shops and restaurants.

One statistic from the association’s earlier Northern BC economic impact study stood out: Vanderhoof recorded the highest number of shoppers per hour of any market in the region, well ahead of Prince George.

Before anyone decides this means Prince George is doing something wrong, there’s an important explanation.

Prince George’s attendance is divided between two Saturday markets operating simultaneously, while Vanderhoof has a single Thursday market drawing the community together. This is not an apples-to-apples comparison.

There’s another big difference. Vanderhoof has far fewer grocery options than Prince George, making its farmers’ market an even more important part of many people’s weekly shopping routine.

That should not discourage Prince George. If anything, it should encourage more people to make farmers’ markets part of their routine.

Another thing — shopping at a farmers’ market is not an either-or proposition. Nobody is suggesting you abandon your favourite grocery store.

Most families will continue to buy staples from supermarkets. But adding a stop at a local market for fresh produce, meat, baking or specialty products is both practical and economically wise.

Every dollar spent locally has a ripple effect. It supports family farms, entrepreneurs, downtown businesses and the broader local economy at a time when many small businesses need that support more than ever.

And for those who still hesitate because of their impressions of the downtown core, consider this: anyone who has spent time at Prince George’s farmers’ markets knows they are welcoming, safe, clean and healthy community gathering places. They are full of families, neighbours, musicians, local growers and small-business owners who take pride in what they produce.

Northern BC growers produce far more than people realize. The next time Saturday morning rolls around, skip one aisle at the supermarket and stroll through one of Prince George’s two farmers’ markets instead.

You might discover that shopping local isn’t just good for the community. It’s also good for your wallet, your pantry and your perspective.

We acknowledge the fnancial support of the government of Canada.

Nous reconnaissons l’appui fnancier du gouvernement du Canada.

Kennedy Gordon Managing Editor

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CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY CHUCK NISBETT

Local musician Scott La Pointe performs on a hay bale stage during the Prince George Farmer’s Market in the summer of 2024. Live music is just one of the bonuses visitors to area farmers’ markets may find.

Cameron Stolz Owner / Publisher

Terresa Randall-Stolz Owner

Beyond our boundaries: Who shoulders the burden?

Part 2 of a series called The Prince George Paradox

ELI KLASNER Guest Columnist

A few days after Part 1 of this series appeared, I was speaking with a friend in Prince George about the reaction it had generated. She paused for a moment before saying something that struck me.

“I just want my city back. I want it clean and safe, and I want fair spending of my tax dollars.”

Then she added something equally important.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t care about people who are struggling.”

I suspect she isn’t alone.

Many residents care deeply about people experiencing homelessness, addiction and mental illness while also expressing legitimate concerns about public safety, downtown revitalization and whether public resources are producing the outcomes our community expects.

Those values are not contradictory. Compassion and accountability are not opposites, and a healthy community should be able to insist on both.

Last week, I suggested Prince George needs to be brave enough to ask the questions we have stopped asking. One of those questions, I believe, goes to the heart of almost every discussion about homelessness, public safety and the future of our downtown.

If these challenges extend across northern BC, are we assigning responsibility in the right places?

Prince George serves as the commercial, educational, health-care and service centre for much of Northern BC. People come here every day for work, education, medical care, housing and support.

That role has brought enormous benefits to our city, but it has also

concentrated many of the region’s most difficult social challenges within our municipal boundaries.

One source of information that may help answer that question is the annual point-in-time count, a survey that provides a snapshot of people experiencing homelessness in our community. While public attention usually focuses on the total number of people counted, I found myself drawn to some of the information behind the headline.

The 2024 point-in-time count identified 206 people experiencing homelessness during the survey period. Three-quarters of respondents identified as Indigenous, the median age was 41, nearly half reported a history in foster care, and only about one-quarter said they had always lived in Prince George.

Those statistics don’t provide simple answers, nor should they be interpreted to mean everyone who has not always lived here recently arrived or lacks

meaningful ties to Prince George. They do, however, remind us the circumstances leading to homelessness begin long before someone appears on a downtown street. Childhood experiences, family circumstances, housing shortages, addiction, mental illness, economic pressures and movement between communities all become part of the picture.

But it is the statistic about connections to Prince George that stands out.

If only about one-quarter of respondents reported they had always lived in Prince George, what does that tell us about the regional nature of the challenge?

When someone leaves one community and begins receiving essential services in another, where does responsibility begin and where does it end?

Should the municipality where the problem becomes most visible also continue to carry most of the financial and operational costs?

These are not questions about blaming people who are struggling, nor are they criticisms of the organizations working every day to support them. They are questions about governance, funding and shared responsibility. Being compassionate toward vulnerable people should never prevent us from asking whether governments and communities are sharing those responsibilities fairly.

This October, Prince George voters will elect a new city council. Shortly afterward, another point-in-time count is expected to provide a fresh snapshot of homelessness in our community. That timing presents an opportunity. I hope this year’s campaign focuses less on promises and more on accountability.

We should ask how candidates intend to measure success, how they will work with neighbouring communities and local governments to address challenges that extend beyond our boundaries, and how they will ensure public policy is guided by evidence rather than assumption.

Prince George cannot withdraw from its role as Northern BC’s regional centre, nor should it want to. But being a regional centre should not mean accepting sole responsibility for every regional challenge.

If homelessness is shaped by circumstances that cross community boundaries, then prevention, treatment, funding and accountability must cross those boundaries as well.

Perhaps getting our city back doesn’t begin with choosing between compassion and accountability. Perhaps it begins by recognizing we need both — and by making sure responsibility is shared as broadly as the challenges themselves.

Eli Klasner writes about community development, civic infrastructure, and the role of culture in building strong communities. Look for Part 3 of this series next week.

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY CHUCK NISBETT

Prince George residents listen as Dr. Barbara Kane talks of the causes of the homeless and drug addiction problems facing many cities in BC at the Safe Streets PG Rally at CN Centre Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.

OPINION

Letter to the editor: PG’s parking policy leaves poor impression

Unfortunately, parking tickets are a cash cow for PG. Your fine is steep and should, at the very least, be reduced for early payment, like what is done for tickets handed out in the city centre.

A parking infraction in the city is $50 and, with early payment, is reduced to $25.

I learned a hard lesson after I rented a commercial spot just after moving to PG and did not realize that three-hour parking is actually three hours per calendar day, so moving your car every three hours was useless.

What’s maddening is there is no clear signage explaining this, and after 1½ years of doing this, I was ticketed. When I questioned it, I was told I got lucky that I had been missed.

Like you, I came from a city much, much larger than little PG, where parking is an actual problem. You can see this is a cash cow, and it’s disappointing. I am so sorry you went through this.

Lesley Ann Tomei

City responds to visitor’s letter: Parking rules are for everyone

Dear Ms. Christine Kinnie, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback regarding your recent visit to Prince George and your experience with parking enforcement. We appreciate hearing from visitors and value the opportunity to consider their perspectives.

We are sorry to hear your visit ended on what you felt was a disappointing

New turf coming to Carrie Jane Gray Park with $7M in funding

I live in this area and go to the Y regularly. Sorry to say, hardly anyone uses this area. Seems like a waste of money. Who even asked for this? It’s frustrating to see this level of government spending when my property taxes have nearly doubled. They can’t even manage the properties they own or keep them free from vandalism. But let’s put synthetic turf in a field people use twice a year and upgrade the BMX track people use once a year. Do people still use BMX bikes?

Zangief

Robot ‘counsellor’ working with kids at camps this summer

Positive technology. Well done. Parents could meet educators halfway and confiscate iPhones from their children. Need that electronic verbal leash for your kids? Go with a flip phone or dumb phone. Many youngsters would soon improve their performance in school.

Mr. Science

note. We understand that receiving a parking ticket can be frustrating, particularly when you believed you were making a reasonable effort to comply with the parking restrictions. After reviewing the circumstances of your dispute, the ticket was determined to be a valid offence under the city’s parking regulations. While we appreciate that your actions were not intended to cause

$21,850 in nes issued for illegal camp res in BC

People who break the fire ban regulations, in my opinion, should face steep financial penalties and/or jail time. Otherwise, they will never learn. This includes smokers because they are a big cause of fires related to human activity.

I have seen way too many people throw lit cigarettes out the windows of moving vehicles in tinder-dry conditions and have reported more than a few of them to the relevant authorities. No skin off my back if they get nailed with stiff fines. If you’re not smart enough to follow the rules, then you should do the time.

Dearth

inconvenience or obstruction, parking regulations must be applied consistently and fairly to everyone, regardless of whether they are residents or visitors. For this reason, the penalty was upheld.

The city’s bylaws and parking enforcement procedures are designed to ensure public safety, maintain access and provide equitable treatment for all residents and visitors.

While we recognize that honest mistakes can occur, discretion must be exercised within the framework of

$21,850 in nes issued for illegal camp res in BC “Open liquor in a public place” ... How is this an infraction?

Are you telling me if you are in a campground and are having a beer at your campsite in a lawn chair that is illegal?

Or if you are out camping in the bush, which is a public place, you are not allowed to have a drink after coming back from fishing or hunting?

And who says you are legally bound to carry ID at all times? Sounds like a lot of overreach to me.

If you are fishing, yes, you need to provide ID to confirm your fishing licence is yours, but simply sitting by a river or lake, or even out in a boat paddling, shouldn’t automatically make it mandatory to have ID on you. More overreach by our dear gov’t.

Chestor

the applicable bylaws and established enforcement practices.

Your comments regarding visitor experience, customer service, and the balance between enforcement and discretion have been noted.

Thank you again for taking the time to write. We appreciate your visit to Prince George and wish you all the best in your future travels.

Ravneet Dhillon

Administrative and parking control co-ordinator, City of Prince George

Judge fnds faws in involuntary care laws

BOB MACKIN Citizen Staff

In a landmark ruling, a BC Supreme Court judge has declared unconstitutional aspects of three intersecting laws governing involuntary mental health treatment.

The Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) sued British Columbia’s attorney general in 2016 over sections of the Mental Health Act (MHA), Consent Act (CA) and Representation Agreement Act (RAA), claiming they violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In her lengthy written ruling issued Wednesday, July 28, Justice Lauren Blake said CCD did not challenge involuntary admission in general or the importance of psychiatric treatment.

“Rather, CCD challenges only the portion of BC’s legislative regime that removes the presumption of capacity for patients who are involuntarily admitted,” Blake wrote. “And that purport to give the director of a mental health facility the authority to consent to psychiatric treatment on behalf of a person who has been involuntarily admitted and detained.”

The MHA governs the delivery of mental health services. The CA and RAA address how British Columbians consent to medical treatment and how others may legally do so on their behalf, the judge explained.

Blake found certain sections of the three laws “unjustifiably infringe upon the rights to life, liberty and security of the person of those British Columbians

who are involuntarily apprehended for mental health treatment.” She continued: “And they unjustifiably infringe their equality rights.”

However, Blake suspended her ruling for six months to allow the NDP government to draft “Charter-compliant legislation.”

Every capable adult has the right to refuse unwanted medical treatment, but Blake said how society cares for those who are a danger to themselves or others is complicated. Evidence showed that in BC, 8,900 patients were involuntarily admitted in 2005-06. By 2023-24, that number had nearly doubled to 16,569.

“Individuals suffering from serious mental disorders are highly vulnerable and are frequently at risk of being betrayed by that fundamental human trait — the ability to clearly think and reason,” she wrote.

The case was heard intermittently at the Law Courts in Vancouver from May to November and for two days in January. Blake accepted the purpose of the legislation was “pressing and substantial.”

“But there are less drastic means to achieve that legislative purpose,” she wrote, citing the approaches used in every other province and territory.

“BC is an outlier in Canada in this regard,” Blake said. “It is the only jurisdiction in Canada whose mental health legislation: a) has no statutory requirement or framework to assess an involuntary patient’s capacity to make decisions about their psychiatric

treatment; b) grants the detaining facility a unilateral power to treat a capable involuntary patient against their will; and c) has no independent oversight of a physician’s assessment that an involuntary patient is incapable of making psychiatric treatment decisions.”

The decision came less than three weeks after Premier David Eby announced in Prince George that construction would begin in September on a $92-million involuntary care facility at the former youth correctional facility on Gunn Road.

The first phase of the 72-bed facility, with 24 beds, is scheduled to open in December 2027. It is modelled after the Red Fish Healing Centre for Mental Health and Addiction in Coquitlam.

“This facility will particularly focus on people who, because of their mental health issues, their serious addiction challenges and too often a brain injury associated with that addiction, are unable to ask for help,” Eby said July 10. “And who need the opportunity to stabilize and then transition into the voluntary care system.”

Conservative critic Claire Rattee called the project a step in the right direction but said people in need cannot afford the delay.

“The NDP spent years dismissing calls for mandatory care before reversing course only after it became impossible to ignore the consequences of failed policies like decriminalization and prescribed alternatives without adequate treatment,” Rattee said.

With files from Colin Slark

Report shows drop in local crime rate

The Prince George RCMP say a drop in the city’s Crime Severity Index (CSI) is due in part to the work of more public-facing policing units.

The Crime Severity Index measures both the volume and severity of crime in an area over the course of a year.

When calculating the overall CSI, violent crimes are weighted much more heavily than non-violent offences.

For example, one homicide carries 280 times the weight of a non-violent property theft.

In 2025, Prince George’s violent Crime Severity Index dropped 7.1 per cent from 2024, falling from 241.11 to 224.07. The non-violent Crime Severity Index fell 1.6 per cent, from 186.23 in 2024 to 183.28 in 2025.

Overall, Prince George’s CSI has declined from 232.70 in 2023 to 193.75 in 2025.

Weighted clearance rates also increased. The weighted clearance rate for non-violent crime rose from 26.70 to 27.51, while the weighted clearance rate for violent crime increased from 34.17 in 2024 to 34.51 in 2025.

Clearance rates are calculated using the same weighting system as the Crime Severity Index, with more serious offences carrying greater weight than less serious ones.

“While crime trends have many factors that influence them, we know that our work with our community partners such as city bylaw (officers), BC Housing and many others, continues to make a positive impact in our community,” said Supt. Darin Rappel, officer in charge of the Prince George RCMP.

The RCMP said public-facing policing units, including the Downtown Safety Unit, Problem-Oriented Policing Team and Downtown OT units, have also contributed to the decline.

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

The former youth detention centre on Gunn Road will be turned into new involuntary care treatment centre for people dealing with mental health and addiction issues. It’s set to open in late 2027.

Judge reserves decision in parents’ Snapchat lawsuit

Parents sued social media company after their son took his own life

BOB MACKIN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A BC Supreme Court judge in Prince George has reserved decision about an application by the company behind Snapchat to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the parents of a 12-year-old boy who died of suicide after using the app in 2023.

“I’ll provide written reasons in due course,” Justice Ronald Tindale said July 29, after hearing arguments for a day-and-a-half.

Nicola Smith and Ryan Cleland sued Snap Inc. last October for negligence, failure to warn and negligent or fraudulent misrepresentation. Their son, Carson, fatally shot himself in the head on Oct.

12, 2023 due to a sextortionist who contacted him on the social media app.

Their lawyer, Claire Hunter, said that, in the course of exchanges with the defendants since October, the plaintiffs have been “completely open with Snap about the information that they have.”

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“What is clear on the record, Snap has not done the same,” Hunter said.

Hunter emphasized Snap’s lack of response to the notice of civil claim. Instead, it filed the application to strike the lawsuit entirely. The California company’s Toronto law firm, Torys LLP, argued it should be thrown out due to alleged gaps and flaws. In court on July 28, defence lawyer Linda Plumpton introduced an affidavit from a Snap legal department employee that said Carson registered in 2018 when he was seven years old and claimed to be 36.

Hunter called that a “very selective and, I will say, misleading affidavit.” The only accounts examined were the ones held by Carson and his parents.

“There’s no review of the bad actor that’s referred to as ‘Kendra Boo,’ and apparently no review of any other actors who communicated with Carson by Snapchat,” Hunter said.

Kendra Boo was the handle used by someone that claimed to be a 17-year-old girl in New Jersey, but was actually a male in Nigeria.

That person coerced Carson to send nude photos of himself and then threatened to distribute the photos if Carson did not send money or gift cards.

Hunter said heavily redacted documents released by the RCMP about the investigation showed the suspect communicated with Carson via Snapchat and Google Gmail. The suspect was traced to Nigeria and used the MTN

Nigeria network in the Ojota region. Information was provided to Nigerian police, via a liaison officer.

“They made attempts to locate, but were unable,” the RCMP synopsis said. While there are references to other forms of communication, the initial connection occurred on Snapchat, when the user was placed in Carson’s friends list.

“The platform permitted the connection to be made with a sexual predator in Nigeria of a person who, it is pled, Snapchat knew or ought to have known was a minor,” Hunter said.

Parents of minor age Snapchat users, including the plaintiffs, relied on Snapchat representations to believe it was safe for their children to hold accounts and determine the degree of supervision. Snapchat, Hunter said, has the capacity to detect adult users who are contacting minor age users for the purpose of sexual exploitation, but failed to do so.

“This pleading gets it right or right enough for this stage of a proceeding, and it provides enough particularity for the defendant to plead in response — and they should be required to do so,” Hunter concluded.

In her reply, Plumpton said at the heart of the defence application is a question to the judge, about whether the plaintiffs failed to plead facts necessary to establish duty of care.

“We say that the answer remains that they have not,” Plumpton said.

The parents of a Prince George boy who took his own life after falling prey to online extortion on Snapchat are suing the American social media company.

Setlement expected in fatal motel fre class acton

BOB MACKIN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The BC Supreme Court judge in the class action lawsuit over the 2020 Econo Lodge Motel fire that killed three people is expected to decide whether to approve a proposed settlement on Friday, Aug. 7.

Justice Marguerite Church heard from lawyers for the class members on July 30. They explained the efforts they took to negotiate with the defendants in order to reach the $5.25 million settlement.

“I am mindful of the fact that time is an issue, certainly as it relates to the class members,” Church said.

In March, CFM Lawyers LLP and Dick Byl Law Corp. announced the settlement for the July 8, 2020 fire. One of the occupants, Leonard Hay, is the representative plaintiff. Under the terms of three separate agreements, Mundi 910 Victoria Enterprises Ltd. and Choice Hotels Canada Inc. would pay $4.5 million in damages, City of Prince George $550,000 and All Points Fire Protection Ltd. $200,000.

If approved, the claims will be settled without a trial. The settlements do not

find fault and the parties do not admit wrongdoing.

In his August 2020-filed claim, Hay accused landlord Mundi, Econo Lodge parent Choice, the city hall and Allpoints of negligence.

Church deemed Hay a suitable representative of those affected by the fire and certified his lawsuit as a class action. The settlement proposes a $5,000 honorarium for Hay.

Only member of the class has objected to the settlement.

In May 2023, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Margot Fleming acquitted suspect Kyle Aster of arson and criminal negligence causing death.

The case relied on a video showing Aster in the area around the time the fire broke out. But the video evidence did not show anyone actually setting the fire. Investigators could not determine how the blaze was set.

June 3 was the deadline for anyone to contact the class action lawyers if they were registered guests or otherwise present at the hotel and/or Yolks All-Day Family Restaurant at the time of the fire or family members of the three people who died in the fire, Amos Miller, Curtis Fraser and Maryann Sanders.

UNTIL AUGUST 31ST

A fatal fire at the Econo Lodge Motel on July 8, 2020 is the focus of an ongoing lawsuit.

Notice of Nomination for Electoral Areas

Public notice is hereby given to the electors of the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George that a General Local Election will be held on Saturday October 17, 2026 to elect:

• Electoral Area A Director (one to be elected)

• Electoral Area C Director (one to be elected)

• Electoral Area D Director (one to be elected)

• Electoral Area E Director (one to be elected)

• Electoral Area F Director (one to be elected)

• Electoral Area G Director (one to be elected)

• Electoral Area H Director (one to be elected)

Nominations will be received by the Chief Election Ofcer or Deputy Chief Election Ofcers from Tuesday September 1, 2026 at 9 am until Friday September 11, 2026 at 4 pm by:

• mail, hand or delivery service 155 George Street, Prince George BC V2L 1P8

• fax 250-563-7520

• email election@rdfg.bc.ca

Nomination documents are available from Monday July 27, 2026 until Friday September 11, 2026 at rdfg.ca/election or in-person:

• Electoral Area A, C, D, E, F, G or H Director Regional District of Fraser-Fort George 155 George Street, Prince George BC Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm*

• Electoral Area G Director District of Mackenzie 1 Mackenzie Boulevard, Mackenzie BC Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm*

Bear Lake Community Commission 353 Grizzly Avenue, Bear Lake BC Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9 am to 1 pm

• Electoral Area H Director

Qualifcations for offce

Village of McBride 100 Robson Centre, McBride BC

Monday, Tuesday Thursday and Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Wednesday 10 am to 4:30 pm*

Village of Valemount 735 Cranberry Lake Road, Valemount BC Monday to Friday 8:45 am to 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm to 4:15 pm*

*excluding statutory holidays

A person is qualifed to be nominated, elected and to hold ofce as an electoral area director if they meet the following criteria:

• Canadian Citizen

• 18 years of age or older on general voting day Saturday October 17, 2026

• resident of British Columbia for at least six months immediately before the day nomination papers are fled

• not disqualifed by the Local Government Act or any other enactment from voting in an election in British Columbia or being nominated for, being elected to or holding the ofce, or be otherwise disqualifed by law

Campaign period expense limits

In accordance with the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act, for the 2026 general local election, the candidate expense limit is $6,161.89 for Electoral Area A, C, D, E, F, G or H Directors during the campaign period.

Third party advertising expense limits

In accordance with the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act, for the 2026 general local election, the third party advertising expense limit is $924.28 for Electoral Area A, C, D, E, F, G or H Directors.

For more info on campaign period and third party advertising expense limits contact Elections BC at 1-800-661-8683, electoral.fnance@elections.bc.ca or elections.bc.ca

2026 GENERAL LOCAL ELECTION

Notice of Nomination for Bear Lake Local Community Commission

Public notice is hereby given to the electors of the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George that a General Local Election will be held on Saturday October 17, 2026 to elect four Commissioners for the Bear Lake Local Community Commission.

Nominations will be received by the Chief Election Ofcer or Deputy Chief Election Ofcers from Tuesday September 1, 2026 at 9 am until Friday September 11, 2026 at 4 pm by:

• mail, hand or delivery service 155 George Street, Prince George BC V2L 1P8

• fax 250-563-7520

• email election@rdfg.bc.ca

Nomination documents are available from Monday July 27, 2026 until Friday September 11, 2026 at rdfg.ca/election or in-person:

• Regional District 155 George Street, Prince George BC Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, excluding statutory holidays

• Bear Lake Community Commission 353 Grizzly Avenue, Bear Lake BC Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9 am to 1 pm

Qualifcations for offce

A person is qualifed to be nominated, elected and to hold ofce as a Commissioner if they meet the following criteria:

• Canadian Citizen

• 18 years of age or older on general voting day Saturday October 17, 2026

• resident of British Columbia for at least six months immediately before the day nomination papers are fled

• not disqualifed by the Local Government Act or any other enactment from voting in an election in British Columbia or being nominated for, being elected to or holding the ofce, or be otherwise disqualifed by law

For more info on nominations contact Chief Election Offcer Maureen Connelly or Deputy Election Offcers Dayna Hegel and Aileen Singh at 250-960-4400 or election@rdffg.bc.ca

Campaign period expense limits

In accordance with the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act, for the 2026 general local election, the candidate expense limit is $6,161.89 for Local Community Commissioners during the campaign period.

Third party advertising expense limits

In accordance with the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act, for the 2026 general local election, the third party advertising expense limit is $924.28 for Local Community Commissioners.

For more info on campaign period and third party advertising expense limits contact Elections BC at 1-800-661-8683, electoral.fnance@elections.bc.ca or elections.bc.ca

Probaton for youth who assaulted his younger sister

This story contains sensitive details about a criminal case

BOB MACKIN Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A judge in Prince George Provincial Court sentenced a young offender on July 20 to a two-year probation order for sexually assaulting his sister when she was eight years old.

The boy, whose identity is protected by a publication ban under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, also pleaded guilty to inviting or bribing the girl to perform oral sex on him.

Crown and defence lawyers both proposed the sentence.

“I believe it is appropriate that you be placed on conditions to help you again on your path to becoming a happy, healthy adult, learning from this experience and putting it behind you,” Judge

A young offender sexually assaulted his sister while taking care of her, Prince George court heard.

Cassandra Malfair told the boy, who was 14 at the time of the crime and not attending school.

The boy often babysat his sister, which put him in a position of trust,

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Malfair said. The invasive nature of the sexual touching and the girl’s young age were aggravating factors.

She said the boy’s relative youth, acceptance of responsibility and lack of

criminal record were mitigating factors.

A pre-sentencing report said he was subjected to violence and neglect at home.

He has been referred to an assessment for fetal alcohol syndrome. He scores on the low range of IQ and was diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. However, Malfair said he is being more pro-social.

The report also said he had been in foster care and lived with his grandmother because his mother was concerned that he posed a threat to his siblings.

“The author concludes that he’s at risk for committing further sexual assault, and that he receive treatment through Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services,” Malfair said.

The sentence includes no contact with the victim and no contact directly or indirectly with anyone under 12, except at school or in a public place where adults are present.

Publicaton ban now put in efect for sexual assault case

The trial has been elevated from Provincial Court to Supreme Court

BOB MACKIN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A man whose Provincial Court sexual assault charge was elevated to BC Supreme Court is now subject to a publication ban.

The accused, born in 1988, is charged with a crime alleged to have occurred May 1, 2024, in Prince George. He last appeared in Provincial Court on July 8 before appearing in BC Supreme Court on July 20.

The Crown is proceeding by direct indictment.

The self-represented accused

appeared by phone before Justice Marguerite Church, who asked how long it would be before he retained a lawyer.

“I’m not sure, but I can try my best three weeks to a month at the most,” he said.

“I’m hoping.”

Church set the next hearing for Aug. 24.

The publication ban applies to the complainant, witnesses and the accused.

The BC Prosecution Service policy manual says the attorney general or deputy attorney general may prefer an indictment when a preliminary inquiry has not been held or has been commenced but not concluded.

In this case, the court heard that the indictment was signed by the deputy attorney general.

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

Crown seeks more jail tme for man caught in stolen car

BOB MACKIN Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Crown is seeking another 117 days in jail and one year of probation for a man who admitted being a passenger in a stolen vehicle and fleeing from police.

Nathan Mark Dejonghe, 38, pleaded guilty to possessing a stolen motor vehicle valued at less than $5,000, knowing it had been obtained through the commission of an offence. Judge David Simpkin heard an agreed statement of facts July 30 in Prince George provincial court.

On March 11 in Prince George, a woman reported her 1999 Toyota Corolla stolen after parking on Ospika Boulevard.

She had left the vehicle running with the key in the ignition while shopping at Liquor on 5th and 7-Eleven. When she exited the latter store, the vehicle was gone.

Surveillance footage showed two men

walking on the sidewalk, one of whom was Dejonghe, wearing a black Los Angeles Lakers jacket.

An unidentified man drove away in the vehicle. A police officer later observed the Corolla pass in front of him with only one occupant.

After the officer activated his emergency lights, the driver accelerated to 150 km/h. The officer was directed to terminate the pursuit and deactivate the emergency equipment.

RCMP later deployed a drone and located the vehicle parked and unoccupied.

Officers found footprints in the snow on the passenger side. A police service dog tracked the scent for 7.2 kilometres before an officer located and arrested Dejonghe.

He identified himself as a passenger in the vehicle.

At an earlier court appearance on June 3, Dejonghe pleaded guilty to fleeing from police on Aug. 26, 2025.

A man tracked by a service dog during a stolen vehicle investigation ended entered a plea of guilt and will serve time in jail.

Dejonghe has been in custody since March 11. He has accumulated 142 days of pretrial custody, credited as 213 days after enhanced credit. The Crown asked Simpkin to impose a total sentence of 330 days.

Dejonghe’s criminal record includes a 2020 conviction for wilfully resisting or obstructing a police officer, for which he received a four-month jail sentence. In 2021, he was sentenced to 68 days

for fleeing from police and 60 days for wilfully resisting or obstructing a police officer. In December 2024, he was sentenced to seven days in jail for wilfully resisting or obstructing a police officer. He also has eight theft convictions and one previous conviction for possession of stolen property.

Simpkin was expected to deliver his decision Aug. 4, after this edition of The Citizen went to press.

Time served and fne for man who wasn’t supposed to drive TOYS • COMICS • GAMES

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A 40-year-old man banned from driving, who was caught at the wheel of an SUV in the Pine Centre Mall parking lot, received another year-long driving ban and $500 fine.

On July 24 in Prince George Provincial Court, Landon David Dick pleaded guilty and was also sentenced to 14 days time served.

Judge Cassandra Malfair heard that, at 3:50 p.m. on Oct. 17, 2024, a Prince George RCMP officer noticed a black Dodge Durango suddenly accelerating and driving erratically.

The officer stopped the vehicle near the BC Liquor store located in the mall’s parklng lot.

Dick provided his name and the officer confirmed he was prohibited from driving.

Dick’s record includes two 2019 offences, for which he was banned from driving one-year each.

He was sentenced to a 14-day jail sentence in 2021.

Malfair accepted the sentence, jointly proposed by Crown and defence.

Defence lawyer Connor Carleton said Dick is under “significant bail conditions,” including house arrest and electronic monitoring, that are affecting his client’s ability to hold an industrial job. Dick told Malfair he wants to move to Alberta and work in the oil patch.

Dick is scheduled to be back in Prince George court for trial on Aug. 31 on charges from April and May 2025 that include uttering threats, assault, theft under $5,000 and five counts of breach of release.

BOB MACKIN

Conservatves call for change in mill closure’s wake

Federal critic joined by local elected of cials outside Canfor mill

COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

Standing in the pouring rain in front of Canfor’s Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George, provincial and federal opposition members called on their respective levels of government to do more to assist BC and Canada’s struggling forestry industry on Tuesday, July 28.

Canfor announced it would close the facility by the end of the year two weeks prior on Tuesday, July 14, citing competition in global markets, challenges accessing fibre and financial losses among the factors contributing to that decision.

Tamara Jansen, the Conservative MP for Cloverdale-Langley City and her party’s critic for Pacific economic development, said that the closure announcement isn’t isolated but a story that’s repeated itself across BC over the last several years.

“And what makes this particularly difficult is that many people genuinely believed that things were going to change,” Jansen said.

“Last summer, we travelled through the forestry communities across Vancouver Island, we sat down with mill owners, workers and local leaders and there was certainly frustration but there was optimism.

“People were hopeful because the new prime minister had spoken about rebuilding Canada’s relationship with the U.S., he spoke about getting a softwood lumber agreement.”

However, Jansen said Prime Minister Mark Carney had yet to resolve that situation, disappointing businesses, communities and families who believed it would be addressed.

Jansen called on the federal government to reduce red tape, eliminate the industrial carbon tax that remains in place after the consumer version was repealed and change other factors preventing Canadian industries like the pulp sector from being competitive.

Cloverdale-Langley City Conservative MP Tamara Jansen speaks in front of Canfor’s Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George, BC on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 as other elected officials like Prince George Coun. Trudy Klassen (left), Prince George-Mackenzie Conservative MLA Rosalyn Bird (second from left), Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies Conservative MP Bob Zimmer (third from left), Prince George Mayor Simon Yu (third from right), Prince George Coun. Brian Skakun (second from right) and Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Kiel Giddens (right) look on.

She claimed that representatives from local businesses were invited to speak at the availability but declined privately as they felt there would be consequences for speaking out.

Asked to clarify what federal red tape she’d like to see removed, Jansen said the government needs to make it easier to get permits and encourage provinces to use the resources at their disposal.

Bob Zimmer, the longtime Conservative MP for Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies, said that even though forestry is the biggest contributor to BC’s gross domestic process in terms of natural resources, it’s declining rapidly because of the lack of a softwood lumber agreement with the U.S.

Even though trade tensions between Canada and the U.S. have escalated since the re-election of President Donald Trump in 2024, Zimmer said the problem has gone on since the federal Liberals took power in 2015 and have failed to secure an agreement.

“Mark Carney promised all of you that ‘Donald Trump’s the problem and I’m going to be the solution,’” Zimmer said. “What’s that gotten us so far? Just another mill closure in Northern BC.”

With wildfires ravaging BC’s interior,

event because the city signed a memorandum of understanding with its provincial and federal elected officials to work together on files like public safety and economic development.

“When it comes to anything that affects Prince George, we stand here as one team to make sure our families are looked after,” Yu said. “We want these pulp mills back online.”

After the press conference, The Citizen spoke with Prince George-Valemount and Prince George-Mackenzie Conservative MLAs Rosalyn Bird and Kiel Giddens, who were present.

They said that the previous week, they sent a letter to ministers outlining some concerns that workers at the mill have brought up, like the former Bridging to Retirement program not being in effect anymore, federal EI support for tariff-affected workers ending in October before the mill’s closure and the need to stabilize the sector.

Zimmer said that better forest management and allowing companies to harvest material for pulp and paper would help prevent them.

Zimmer said that there’s still potential for the pulp industry, but companies like Canfor need to be able to access fibre economically.

Despite his criticism for the federal government, Zimmer also took aim at the provincial government, saying that BC has a role to play in making it easier for companies to get its wood to market.

“We equally call on Premier (David) Eby to look at (his government’s) radical policies, instead of closing down the forest and watching them burn,” Zimmer said.

“They say they care about carbon going into the air, but how about we proactively invite our forest companies to log those forests and get some of that carbon sequestered in a two-by-four where we can keep it in a house for at least 50 to 100 years?”

Invited to provide a brief remark, Mayor Simon Yu said he worked as an engineer at Northwood for many years and knows that the pulp it produces is top-quality, used for products like automotive air filters.

He said he was participating in the

“With the loss of a pulp mill, it’s also the loss of a market for chips for sawmills,” Giddens said.

“We have pulp chipping operations as far as Mackenzie that could end up closing if we don’t find a solution for pulp logs and a market for chips … we think that forestry needs to be treated like a major project in this province to get this back on track.”

Bird said it’s not just pulp mill workers who will be affected by the closure, but all the businesses that do businesses with the mill.

“These are conversations we’re having with the business associations, with the chamber of commerce, with the mayor and councillors,” Bird said.

“There’s a residual effect any time something like this happens in our region and we have to be cognizant of that. These are families and these are individuals with good paying jobs that support the local community and smaller companies around the region. It’s going to impact logistics companies, it’s going to impact supply companies and small businesses that offer products in the local area.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY COLIN SLARK

Forests minister says NDP exploring ‘structural changes’

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Reached by phone in the early evening, provincial Forest Minister Ravi Parmar told The Citizen that his government has held discussions with industry partners about long-term transformation of the industry to combat low-priced competition from countries like China, Brazil and Indonesia and in response to a new 50 per cent tariff on Canadian products announced by Trump on Monday, July 20.

“We are exploring a number of structural changes that we believe in the long run will lead towards a more stable working forest that can last generations, that can move us away from boom and bust to stability and certainty,” Parmar said.

“We’ll be working with the federal government and private capital partners to be able to build that sector. As an example, I’ve had discussions with Dunkley (Lumber), with Sinclar (Group) and Carrier Lumber operators as well as with Canfor and we’re all committed to certainly supporting the operations that exist today and making the necessary steps in the short-term and the longterm towards building out that residual economy that is dearly needed with the impending loss of this facility.”

Among the changes being considered, he said, is moving away from a cut block-based permitting process to a full rotation, area-based management system that some companies have said would reduce their costs in the long run.

He also said his government is looking to eliminate red tape where it can while maintaining high standards.

In response to Zimmer’s comments about forest management and wildfires, Parmar said life must be easy for him to “go out and make flamboyant statements like that without having any repercussions.”

“We are without a doubt taking necessary steps to be able to do more commercial thinning projects,” Parmar

CITIZEN PHOTO BY COLIN SLARK

Canfor’s Northwood Pulp Mill is set for closure, putting about 300 people out of work.

said. “I’ll be in Prince George in a couple of weeks announcing a transition from volume-based to area-based management in the case of BC Timber Sales.”

The minister urged federal Conservatives to join a “Team Canada” approach to getting a softwood lumber deal with the United States while taking a shot at provincial Conservatives for advocating for American liquor to be returned to BC Liquor Store shelves amidst the ongoing trade war.

While Parmar said the industrial carbon tax isn’t part of a portfolio, he said his ministry did create some efficiencies and reduce taxation surrounding lime kilns this past April and that it lead to “significant savings to the tune of millions of dollars for the pulp sector.”

Before and after the closure was announced, Parmar said he has been in touch with union workers at the mill and Canfor as well as representatives from operators, sawmills and value-added facilities to discuss the impact of the move.

As for the Bridging to Retirement program, Parmar said the government is considering reviving it, but he didn’t have anything to announced on that front at this time.

High-speed internet being installed at Cluculz Lake

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

Residents of Cluculz Lake will soon gain access to high-speed fibre-optic internet, TV and phone services as CityWest expands its fibre network to the area.

Cluculz Lake is located between Prince George and Vanderhoof, about 60 kilometres west of Prince George. The area is home to more than 400 permanent residents, while many people from Vanderhoof and Prince George also own vacation homes or cabins on the lake.

In a press release, CityWest said construction is underway and residents should expect to see crews working throughout the area as the network expansion continues.

“People in the Cluculz Lake area know how important a reliable internet connection is to everyday life,” said Citizens’ Services Minister Diana Gibson. “Whether it’s running a business,

learning online, accessing services or staying connected with loved ones, better connectivity creates more opportunities closer to home.

The expansion is supported by $1.8 million in funding from the Government of Canada through the Universal Broadband Fund and the Province of BC through the Connecting British Columbia program.

The Universal Broadband Fund is a $3.225-billion program that supports high-speed internet projects in rural and remote communities across Canada. According to the Government of Canada, the projects are designed to bring internet speeds of 50/10 megabits per second (Mbps) to those communities.

More than $724,000 has also been provided by the Province of BC through the Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT).

“Continued investment by the federal and provincial governments into

high-speed connectivity for rural and remote areas is an important piece in ensuring that all British Columbians have access to the same resources and opportunities that our digital world provides,” said Northern Development chief executive officer Ben Campbell in a press release. “The installation of fibre to the community of Cluculz Lake will facilitate reliable connections, allowing people to stay up to date with friends, family, learning, work and other aspects of their life while enjoying the benefits of rural living.”

Shirley Moon, director of Electoral Area F for the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako, which includes Cluculz Lake, also welcomed the expansion in an emailed statement.

“Broadband improvements in rural areas have been a priority of the RDBN board for many years,” Moon wrote. “It is wonderful to see this project coming to fruition to serve the residents of Cluculz Lake. This improvement in

connectivity will ensure that 420 more homes have access to the service they need for health care, education, work and social connection.”

Vanderhoof Mayor Kevin Moutray also told The Citizen the expansion is welcome news.

“It’s a great news story,” Moutray said.

“It’s great to have that rural area connected, and I’m looking forward to the project being completed.”

Moutray said his family owns a cabin in the area and that he has seen the construction firsthand. He expects better internet access will add convenience for people using the area for recreation, tourism and business.

“You want to make sure that everybody has equal access and whether it’s for business or for pleasure,” he said. “It’s a very important part of our lives.” For more information or to sign up for CityWest internet services, visit www. citywest.ca/cluculz-lake

BC Hydro starts reconnectng communites in wildfre zone

assessments.

BC Hydro has begun preliminary restoration work and is conducting damage assessments in areas affected by the Big Bar Complex and Brunswick Complex wildfires.

Preliminary assessments have identified significant damage to energy infrastructure.

BC Hydro says approximately 230 distribution poles and 200 transmission poles were damaged. Areas affected include Clinton, 70 Mile House, parts of the Cache Creek area, Big Bar Lake and the Highway 97 corridor between 70 Mile House and Loon Lake, south of Clinton.

Crews have begun preliminary restoration activities, including civil work, access preparation and material staging, while continuing damage

BC Hydro says active wildfire conditions continue to restrict access to affected areas, preventing crews from fully assessing all damaged power infrastructure.

The utility warns that ongoing wildfire activity could cause additional damage to power infrastructure and that the full extent of the impacts is not yet known.

Given the scale of damage to distribution and transmission poles, BC Hydro says restoring power will require rebuilding large sections of infrastructure rather than repairing isolated outages.

BC Hydro’s preliminary estimate is that Clinton, an area heavily damaged by the Pear Lake wildfire, could be re-energized in about a week.

The Brunswick Wildfire Complex is another area where BC Hydro crews are preparing to begin restoration work.

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

5.0 your competton . your competton . your competton

What’s happening in PG

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

Music in the Park goes Thursday, Aug. 6 and 20 at 6 p.m. at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park Pavilion. Enjoy free live music on Thursdays throughout the summer. These events are sponsored by the City of Prince George and BCLC. Hospice Country Music Festival 2026 goes Thursday, Aug. 6 at the Prince George Rodeo Grounds at CN Centre starring chart-topper Aaron Goodvin and featuring local favourites Chris Goodwin, Rick Stavely and YXS and is a fundraiser for the Prince George Hospice Palliative Care Society. Along with the entertainment there will be food trucks, a local vendors market, beer gardens, games and activities, like hot-air balloon rides. For more information and tickets starting at $65 visit www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/ hospice-country-music-festival

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

Creative Space Sundays at Two Rivers Gallery goes Sunday, Aug. 9, 16, 23 and 30 from 1 to 4 p.m. An artful afternoon to let your creativity soar. Come alone, with family and friends. Aug. 9 - Cool Clay Beads; Aug. 16 Butterfly Suncatcher; Aug 23 Recycling Sculpture and on Aug. 30 Colourful

Woven Turtles. Pre-register then pay at the Creative Space Sunday sessions. $9 per adult, $5 per child, $18 per family. Free for members. These Sunday sessions continue for the rest of the year. For more information and to register visit www.tworiversgallery.ca/series/ creative-space-sundays

Sharlene Wallace Harp Concert: I Looked to the Stars and They Winked Back at Me goes Saturday, Aug. 15 at 7 p.m. at Trinity United Church, 3555 15th Avenue, behind Spruceland Mall. Drawing from original compositions, Celtic and folk traditions and classical inspirations, this concert offers music that is spacious, beautiful, rhythmic and deeply evocative. Wallace is a Canadian lever and pedal harpist, composer and educator whose music is inspired by nature, space, and intuition. A two-time international lever harp competition winner, she has performed around the world. Admission is pay-what-you-can at the door.

Big Rig Rumble goes Saturday, Aug. 15 from noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 16 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the PGARA Speedway, 3645 Highway 16

East. This is a family-friendly truck show featuring big rigs of all kinds from the local community and across BC. Everyone is welcome to celebrate the rigs, the drivers and the passion behind the industry. There is a light show on Saturday at 9 p.m. There will be food trucks on site throughout the event. All donated proceeds will be split between the PGARA Speedway and the Prince George Hospice House. Minimum donation is $2 per person, children under 10 are free.

BBQ for Parkinson PG goes Thursday, Aug. 20 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Canadian Tire. This is the second annual event in support of the Parkinson PG SuperWalk that will be held on Saturday, Sept 12 at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park. Save On Foods has generously donated hot dogs, burgers, chips and drinks and there are prizes. For more information about participating in the SuperWalk visit www.support. parkinson.bc.ca/site/

Two Rivers Gallery Summer Activity Camps go weekly until Monday, Aug. 24 at 725 Canada Games Way. These camps are geared for children

between six and 12 years old. On the Stage goes Aug. 4 where participants will play with improv, create their own set, and think about all the art making that goes into bringing stories to life. Art in Movement starts Aug. 10 where children can explore motion in art making. Capturing movement in animals, the human body and in nature. On Aug. 17 the week’s theme is Around the World in 80 Days and children can make artwork inspired by global artists to learn about different cultures and art traditions. On Aug. 24 it’s time to look Through the Lens and leap into the world of photography. For all the details and to register visit www. tworiversgallery.ca/series/camps 50th Duchess Park Secondary School Reunion goes Sept. 18 and 19 at the Coast Hotel, 770 Brunswick St. Friday night is a casual gathering with doors open at 6 p.m. and welcome at 7 p.m. and Saturday night will be the bigger celebration with dinner, dance and unveiling of the time capsule starting at 5 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m. Special rates deadline for hotel rooms is August 10 and for early bird prices for events register on or before June 30. For more information visit Duchess Park Class of 1976 50th Reunion Facebook page and visit the Files page for all the details or email 1976duchesspark50@gmail.com

BCNE 2026 with the theme Spooktacular: a Four-day Halloween Party – goes Thursday, Aug. 13 to Sunday, Aug. 16. This event is presented by the Prince George Agricultural and Historical Association. The BC Northern Exhibition is celebrating its 113th year. For all the details visit www.bcne.ca/bcne Summer’s Rot goes Saturday, Aug. 15 at Omineca Arts Centre, 369 Victoria St. This event brings three metal bands together including Plagued by Fire, LOWR – Lich of Willow River and headlined by Tortion from Kamloops. This is an all ages show with doors at 7 and show at 8 p.m. Entry at the door is $25.

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SUNITA STANESLOW/FACEBOOK PHOTO

Sunita Staneslow hosts a Harp Workshop on Saturday, Aug. 8 at 3 p.m. at the Prince George Conservatory of Music.

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Movie Night in the Orchard – Barbie goes Friday, Aug. 21 at 9:15 p.m. at Northern Lights Estate Winery orchard, 745 Prince George Pulpmill Road. Grab your besties, dress in pink and get ready for a magical outdoor screening of Barbie at the winery. Enjoy a fun-filled summer evening under the stars with plenty of laughs, great company and favourite movie snacks. Doors open at 8:15 across the street from the winery. Family-friendly, bring lawn chairs or blankets and bug spray just in case. For all the details and tickets that must be purchased in advance visit www.eventbrite.ca/e/ movie-night-in-the-orchard-barbie-tickets

Metis Community Picnic goes Sunday, Aug. 23 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1200 LeSalle Avenue. This event will see Indigenous vendors and musicians on site and a treat, Bannock, available. This is in partnership with the Fraser Fort George Family Resource Centre and Niwikowin Métis Family Services to bring the community together. The call for a community picnic has been heard. Bring a lawn chair. To register call 236-423-3455 or email princegeorgecc@ mnbc.ca.

Sweater Weather Market goes Saturday, Sept. 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at CN Centre. This is an outdoor fall market that will see about 100 vendors at the event. This event is free for visitors to attend and be sure to wear your favourite funky fall sweater. Vendors interested in participating can register at www.justsugarcookies.ca

Prince George Rock N’ Gem Show goes Friday, Sept. 11 to Sunday Sep. 13 at the Prince George Civic Centre presented by Can Gems Western Canada. Hours are Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is a marketplace filled with crystals, minerals, fossils, gemstones, handcrafted jewelry, beads, carvings, lapidary supplies, and unique treasures brought in by vendors from across Canada. Visitors will have the opportunity

to meet passionate small business owners, artisans, collectors and rockhounds who enjoy sharing the stories, history and beauty behind the pieces they carry. Entry is $3 per person, $7 per family and those five and under are free. There is a special feature UV Exclusive Event on Friday from 8 to 10 p.m. Experience the brilliance of minerals that glow under ultraviolet light during this captivating after-hours event. RSVP recommended by calling 587-377-5722. Walk-ins welcome.

Coldsnap presents Dan Mangan on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. at Knox Performance Centre, 1448 Fifth Ave. The Prince George Folkfest Society is offering this concert as the first of three in the series and begins with two-time Juno Award-winning musician and songwriter Dan Mangan, who hasn’t performed in Prince George since 2010. His performance is a part of the Natural Light Tour. The ninth studio album for Mangan, Natural Light was released in 2025 and marks a return to folk music’s classic underpinnings of political

resistance. Mangan sings for his kids, his wife and a society in existential crisis. For more information and tickets visit www.coldsnapfestival.tickit.ca/ dan-mangan

PWR/UP, Canada’s premier AC/ DC tribute concert goes Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Prince George Playhouse, 2626 Recplace Drive. PWR/ UP are lads with a devilish obsession for AC/DC, bringing all the attitude and power of 1980 when AC/DC was Young and Hungry. For more information and tickets visit www.eventbrite.ca/e/ pwrup-acdc-canadas-premier-tributeconcert-prince-george Great Northwest Fibre Fest goes Sunday, Sept. 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ramada Hotel, 444 George Street. There will be 28 different vendors geared for fibre arts from all over BC and Alberta. There will be crafting and social gathering places to relax and visit with friends, old and new. The PG Quilters Guild will have a display of their beautiful work and are available to chat about their craft. Sandwiches,

snacks and cold drinks will be available for purchase. There is a free draw to win a bundle of goodies donated by the vendors. Admission is free.

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

Myeloma Support Group goes every third Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. at Commonwealth Financial, 575 Victoria St. Everyone is welcome who has been diagnosed, those who are caregivers, family members and friends. Wheelchair accessible parking at the back of the building. For more information call Viv Lougheed at 250-981-2618.

Chronic Condition Support Group takes place the first Tuesday of every month from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Nechako Branch of the Prince George Public Library, 6547 John Hart Hwy. This is a community social group where people with any chronic condition can come together to socialize, connect and learn from each other. This is a free drop-in event.

Trivia Night at Nancy O’s goes every other Wednesday at 8 p.m., 1261 Third Ave. There are three rounds per game, each round has five themed questions and five music questions. Book a spot by calling ahead at 250-562-8066. Open Mic at Nancy O’s goes every other Wednesday from 8 to 11 p.m. Open mic is hosted by Danny Bell and friends. Come on down and share songs, poetry, dance, stories, and anything else you can think to do on stage. All are welcome.

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

DAN MANGAN/FACEBOOK PHOTO

Coldsnap presents Dan Mangan on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. at Knox Performance Centre. The Juno winner is on his Natural Light Tour.

FARMER’S MARKETS

A new report explores the local economic impact of the weekly community gatherings

across Northern BC

Of the 15 farmers’ markets across Northern BC, two are in Prince George and just down the street from each other on Third Avenue.

The BC Association of Farmers’ Markets recently issued a report on the economic impact of farmers’ markets. According to the study there were close to one million visitors to BC farmers’ markets who generated more than $232 million in 2025 for the economy.

Drilling it down to Northern BC, the annual economic impact was $10.7 million. The average shopper spent $39.05 per market visit with 191,000 shoppers visiting 254,000 times.

Something people might not think about is the benefits to neighbouring businesses, which report generating an additional $6.7 million when shoppers explore the area before and after they stop at the farmers’ market.

Taking a look at the study and then narrowing it down to Northern BC, it took a few clicks to find the 2023 BC Farmers’ Market Economic Impact Study for Northern BC. It was conducted in collaboration with the University of Northern British Columbia, with David J. Connell taking the lead, and there was a little chart on Page 6 that was rather surprising.

The average number of shoppers per hour in peak market season ranged from the lowest at 24 shoppers per hour at Tlell Farmers’ Market on Haida Gwaii, not so surprising, but what did raise my eyebrows was seeing the highest number was Vanderhoof Farmers’ Market with 565 shoppers per hour, beating out Skeena Valley with 416, Bulkley Valley with 228 and even Prince George with 201 visitors per hour.

What’s Vanderhoof’s secret?

Googled and found the Vanderhoof

I visited the Vanderhoof Farmers’ Market website and it showcased a happy little market in Ferland Park so then I swooshed on over to their Facebook page where they showcased a variety of activities and products offered. There were bouncy castles and snow cones a couple of weeks ago — that’s a bunch of fun.

There’s real fruit ice cream, haskaps by the tiny basket, handmade dog leashes, bannock, GCM Catering offering sushi bowls, a singer playing guitar to entertain the crowd, homemade creams and lotions, fresh grown vegetables and flowers and baked goods — sounds just like what’s offered at both our local markets except for the bouncy castles.

Farmers’ Market online and it’s not even a Saturday event. It’s held on Thursdays between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Well, that was even more intriguing, so I quickly reached out to the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets (BCAFM) to see if someone could speak to what I could only think of as an anomaly.

Do people go there during their lunch hour from work? And what’s at the Vanderhoof Farmer’s Market that’s the big draw? What do those numbers really look like considering Vanderhoof’s population?

I am always baffled by numbers and percentages but this time I made the exception and did that math. So according to the Northern Health’s website for population numbers (because they need to keep track of the people they serve so I figured it’s a good source of information) Vanderhoof has 4,500 residents and as 565 people showed up in one hour to visit the Farmers’ Market that means 12.56 per cent of the population went to the Farmers’ Market.

Compare that to Prince George that

has 100,127 people — again according to Northern Health — with 201 going to the Farmers’ Market which means 0.200075 per cent attended. That’s a pittance compared to the Vanderhoof numbers.

What does Vanderhoof have that is so very appealing that so many members of community show up? And more importantly, what have they got that Prince George doesn’t? And what could Prince George do to make that happen here?

Is that what it is? Is our market geared for the enjoyment of little ones? Family friendly? Do kids want to visit with their grown ups?

It’s summer so it took a while to co-ordinate with the BC Farmers’ Market people to speak to my people — well, to me.

Heather O’Hara, executive director of the BCAFM, chatted with me and this is what I learned.

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“There’s a couple things at play here and I am just speculating but market days are concentrated for four hours and for most markets people will come at the beginning because then they get the most variety and especially when it’s peak season when the vegetables and fruit are at their best and farmers often sell out early,” she said. “So they want to have the best choices and that’s probably why they got a pile of people all at once. In terms of Prince George there are two Farmers’ Markets and they run at once.”

Prince George has the Wilson Square Community Market, which runs Saturdays from 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. at Third Avenue and George Street from May to October.

Meanwhile, the Prince George Farmers’ Market runs year-round (indoors in winter) on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. along Third Avenue downtown.

That might explain Prince George’s lower numbers — the numbers are split between the two farmers’ markets so I panicked for nothing. Oh well, at least I got my answer. Prince George isn’t doing anything wrong. Only one farmers’ market was in the study. It’s as simple as that.

“There’s all kinds of reasons why

entrepreneurship, including tourism and community social gathering and so forth. They are special places.”

The BC Association of Farmers’ Markets is the member association that strengthens and promotes all of their member markets across the province and they run an annual online campaign where people can find a farmers’ market in British Columbia and all the special things that go with them, O’Hara said.

Not only are the details communicated, including hours of operations and even where to park, there ares also vendor profiles and details about what makes that market special.

people do what they do in terms of attendance,” O’Hara said. So now we veer back on track for the main reason for this story.

“These farmers’ markets that operate in all communities, including Prince George and Vanderhoof and others in the North, are a big draw for people who live in the area who are looking to buy local fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, honey and other artisanal goods but they are also important for tourism,” O’Hara said.

“That varies from place to place but these are real assets to bring people into the downtown core (like in Prince George) or wherever the market operates and by virtue of whoever is coming to those farmers’ markets they also spend money and time at adjacent businesses. That is a huge win for both the market and the community or city or town where there are businesses near them because people spend almost as much money as they do at the market at the adjacent businesses.”

O’Hara noted that there are not many community hubs for tasting and experiencing a place like a farmers’ market.

“People get to taste the flavours, they get to meet locals and frankly, it’s free — you don’t have to buy things to experience a place but of course we love when they do,” O’Hara said.

“But it’s a real community gathering place that is quite unique. It’s community-based, grassroots. These are local people who are committed to making these farmers’ markets go so they are really valuable for many reasons, including economic impact, including

The BCAFM has a Tasting Passport, a collaboration with Tourism PG and other destinations marketing offices in the province, which is an interactive way to explore and taste their way through communities in BC that include both farmers’ markets and local restaurants.

By downloading and using the app, visitors can earn points to reach “Super Foodie” status and redeem their points for exclusive merchandise. It’s a fun and engaging way to encourage deeper exploration of local communities and support small-scale producers during BC’s peak travel season.

“I think it’s really important for people to know that farmers’ markets matter,” O’Hara said.

“They are good for food security, they are good for our food systems and we also have the BC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Coupon program all across the province where lower income families, seniors and elders can access fresh, local food for free. Farmers’ Markets are fun, community gathering spaces, they have economic impact and they draw people into the community so they are really important places.”

For more information visit bcfarmersmarket.org/

CHRISTINE DALGLEISH Citizen Staff

markets aren’t just about fresh things to eat. Scarves for Hope proprietor Rikki Patterson was set up on Quebec Street for the downtown market in 2025.

COMMUNITY

Cancer centre’s neighbours sharing a litle garden love

CHRISTINE DALGLEISH Citizen Staff

Cancer Centre for the North and UHNBC patients will often take the time to pause and reflect when looking at the beautiful garden that’s just a gaze away from them.

Even the Simon Fraser Lodge residents, with a little help from their friends, will come to take in the impressive garden that borders Marilou and Larry Marquez’s yard at the corner of 12th Avenue and Lethbridge Street.

A letter of gratitude for the lovely gardens that bring comfort and maybe even a little peace to the patients found its way into Marilou’s mailbox and she promptly shared the little note on social media.

It was a sweet note that said “I’ve been going to the cancer clinic for six years now and your yard and garden are one of the best things about that. It’s obvious that you love your plants and that love is shared with all of us who get to enjoy the fruits of your work. Thank you for making this part of Prince George more beautiful.”

Marilou wrote on her Facebook page “Larry and I will continue making improvements of our garden to help people feel better when they go in and out of the Hospital and the Cancer Clinic, and of course those people who are working 12-hour shifts at the hospital to have a stress-free condition when they go in and out of work. Thank you and enjoy.”

The place is filled with poppies and lavender, hydrangeas, bleeding heart and dahlias and the other d-word — what are those ones called? Delphiniums! And those yellow flowers and those other yellow ones on those cute round shrubs and then there’s those red ones and the lilies and the peonies and the roses, oh the roses.

“We moved here about 17 years ago and Larry started a little bit of garden here,” Marilou said.

Then the neighbours got together and sent in a request for a city grant so they could put hanging plants up, Marilou said. The city installed the poles and

now Marilou and Larry continue to put up their own hanging baskets to fill the space.

But each year, without fail, Marilou and Larry added more and more garden space.

“When people are passing by they will say ‘I cannot wait for your garden! I cannot wait to see your flowers again’! But I keep telling Larry that I think I will have to stop planting flowers because I am not that young any more.”’

Marilou said she has a full-time job and the garden is her other full-time job.

“But I will keep doing it until I can’t do it anymore,” Marilou laughed.

“People really love it and I think it helps a lot of people and whenever we see people stopping to look at the flowers they always seem really, really happy. It’s a stress-reliever – even for me.”

Marilou said she takes advantage of the flower sales around town to continue to grow the garden and Larry invests in the dirt and fertilizer even though he’s retired now.

The round bush with the yellow blooms is called the Potentilla — I looked it up because as Marilou and I made our way around the garden it came up again.

“I love these little bushes!” she said.

“And I said ‘And so do the bees!’

“When the poppies are here a lot of bees and butterflies visit,” Marilou said as we moved along the biggest expanse of the garden on Lethbridge Street.

“They love it.”

In the past many neighbours took the time to beautify the area but as people have come and gone it seems Marilou and Larry are the only massive gardeners left. So the sign provided by the city long ago remains on the corner of their property declaring ‘The Gardens 12th Avenue’ looks like it’s in the right place as it is appropriately dwarfed by all the plants lovingly placed in their garden.

“We’ll keep doing it for as long as we can,” Marilou said.

To see a video showcasing the garden and to reach out to Marilou visit her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/marilary.marquez

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CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHRISTINE DALGLEISH

Marilou Marquez stands beside her expansive garden in front of the Cancer Centre for the North and near the hospital and down the block from Simon Fraser Lodge.

Northern writers connect with launch of anthologies

Authors celebrate publication of two new books with a night of readings

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

Northern BC’s writing community has new reasons to celebrate following the launch of two new anthology series featuring the talents, perspectives and lived experiences of writers and poets from Prince George and beyond.

As part of the month-long North BC Writers Fest, presented by the Northern BC Writers Association, a dual book launch was held at the Prince George Public Library on Tuesday, July 28.

The first book launched at the event was the fifth volume of Pulp Mill Fiction, a University of Northern British Columbia student- and alumni-led anthology series that publishes poetry, creative writing, fiction and non-fiction. A total of 14 students are featured in the fifth volume.

The second was We Make the Village, an anthology centred on stories of community, edited by local author Asha Jade Goodwin and featuring her work alongside that of other writers.

More than 30 members of the Prince George community attended the launch and readings, hearing poetry and prose exploring the lives of university students, the importance of community, first love in the David Douglas Botanical Garden, the healing qualities of nature, the impact of close friendships in middle age and a satirical tale about the election of a neighbourhood a------, among many other topics.

UNBC student Daniella Furlan, who read from her piece David Douglas Botanical Garden, told The Citizen that having the opportunity and space to write in post-secondary education helped her recognize her talent.

“I hadn’t written in a long time, since I was in elementary school, and then high school was just all about having to do assignments so you can go to college,” said Furlan. “Having a space

in university where it was shown that, well, writing’s not stupid, actually, was really helpful.”

Furlan said one of her biggest inspirations was UNBC poetry teacher Robert Budde, who helped her realize she did not have to be the best in the world to have a voice and express herself.

“Whenever you hear of a young poet, it’s like the best young poet in the world,” said Furlan. “When in reality, we can’t all be the best poet in the world, but we can be young and still write poetry. It’s just you don’t hear about authors unless they’re like already successful. And often enough it takes time to build that kind of career. For example, Robert Budde, I really appreciate that he’s using his classes to help people know that there are younger people that want to write poetry, and we’re not all exactly blessed with the talent to do it. We’re just still learning.”

Emily MacLise, who read her poems Subterrestrial Quarry and Self-Portrait in a Series of Unsolicited Feedback, echoed Furlan, saying young creatives need to see there is a place for writers like them in the broader literary community.

“I used to write a lot of poetry when I was in my teens,” said MacLise. “Then I gave it up completely for many years because I wasn’t Margaret Atwood or Adrienne Rich, and I found that

unforgivable in myself. Then, as I got older, I had a desire to start writing again and doing so has been very empowering. I think it’s a good way to find your own voice and honour the part of yourself that enjoys being heard.”

Miles Wolff, who read two of his poems featured in Pulp Mill Fiction — Tako 4:45 p.m. and Questions for Rebecca — said the anthology gives writers from Northern BC a platform to share their work and inspire others.

“From a Northern BC perspective, I feel like it’s important for people to realize that you can do this,” said Wolff. “Just because you are from Northern BC, just because you think that nobody knows you. Just because you think that this place is nowhere, that doesn’t mean that you can’t do this. That doesn’t mean that this doesn’t matter because it does. These are people’s voices who are being amplified by this book. And yes, it’s a really great way for you to start. Yes, it’s a really great way for students to get involved with this, but it’s also important for the Northern BC literary scene because it can’t just be the well-established poets. There has to be some newer people to come in and kind of take up the torch.”

MacLise said the anthology also gives

emerging writers the opportunity to learn from their peers and encounter less conventional approaches to poetry.

“I think there are a lot of people who say that poetry is dead in the age of social media and TikTok,” said MacLise. “I think we’re proof that it’s not and that there is still an interest in it. Among the younger generation, a lot are at the start of our writing journeys. It’s those perspectives that aren’t necessarily represented in a lot of the established literary magazines that do cater, I think, to a more polished, arguably elitist type of writing … I think anthologies like this are an important platform for young writers who are early on in their careers to start getting their work published, gaining that confidence, and normalizing having their writing out in the world.”

Writers from Northern BC whose work appears in We Make the Village also read selections from the anthology. Goodwin, editor of We Make the Village, told The Citizen the idea grew out of conversations about community taking place across Canada.

“I was bumping around the idea of what it’s like on the pulse of what Canadians are really thinking about and concerned about,” said Goodwin.

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CITIZEN PHOTO BY MATTHEW HILLIER

UNBC students with work featured in Pulp Mill Fiction include (from left) Emily MacLise, Kiara Mills, Daniella Furlan, and Miles Wolff. Not pictured is Aubrey Potschka.

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“It’s been community. There have been tons of conversations about community in the past couple of years. For instance, how are we forming our communities? The loneliness epidemic, and how people are coming away from each other, and the increased polarization and segmentation of society. I wanted to address that.”

Goodwin initially invited submissions from Canadian writers using the prompt “it takes a Village...” in the hope contributors would centre their work on ideas of community.

She spent about two years collecting essays, poems, stories and interviews exploring the meaning and importance of community from writers across Canada. She later refined the prompt to We Make the Village, which became the anthology’s title.

Goodwin has contributed to and led writing groups in Prince George for more than a decade. She reflected on bringing writers together for both the anthology and the local writing community.

“I’ve connected with many writers over the years,” said Goodwin. “People go through phases of life where they can write for a while and then they can’t for a while. I knew these people were

out there, and I knew there were more people than ever, because not many writers have come to a writing group. They might think they just want to write on their own. So I expected it, but I just didn’t know where to find them. I had to ferret them out or something like that. Chase them out of all the little holes they’re hiding in and get them to come out and meet each other.”

Goodwin said the anthology explores several concepts of community, including community as preventative medicine, community as third places, community as the more-than-human and community as place.

A lifelong resident of Northern BC, Goodwin said contributors from the region brought a distinctive perspective to the anthology.

“With a lot of our Northern BC writers, community as place and as the more than human are like the two common denominators for the majority of their work,” said Goodwin. “Connecting as community isn’t just talking to other people. It’s also connecting in the different places or the animals that are in our life. Not even just our pets, but the wildlife. In Prince George in particular, wildlife is actually a significant portion of consideration. In September, when the bears come through our house or through our yards, we need to know

She hopes readers leave with a renewed appreciation for meaningful human connection.

“I hope they take away the need for connection and the need for connection more than just like in a technological sense,” said Goodwin. “We can go and like each other on Instagram or send each other a quick message, but that’s not the level of connection that actually we need. People need to be in person. I think everybody that showed up here tonight, they’ll have come away feeling even better and happier because they had a chance to connect with each other and get to be in community and be in communion with each other.”

To purchase We Make the Village, visit: vaiana.jorema.shop/ index.php?route=product/ product&product_id=238632301

CITIZEN PHOTO BY MATTHEW HILLIER

The Prince George writers with works featured are, from left, Jeff Smedley, Andrew Burton, Asha Jade Goodwin and Chelsea Hann.

Living her life with a creatve art, mind, heart and soul

Retired

teacher

Suzie Vogt shares her whimsical art with people she loves

CHRISTINE DALGLEISH Citizen Staff

Walking up the stairs into the artist’s home, I knew I was in the right place.

There were so many canvases with whimsical images on the walls of moose, a cat person with her basket of blooms, the girl with navy blue Pippi Longstocking braids standing amongst her flock of purple, orange and yellow kitties and a herd of cats in Kitty Land created with hearts and leaves and the perfect kitty couple in their crazy-coloured home filled with baking and love.

That’s what Suzie Vogt’s world looks like and that’s not all.

We came around the corner of the living room, beyond the dining room and kitchen to finally discover her studio — the true heart of her home. Windows galore, red and white gingham valances on the windows clashing lovingly with the blue-patterned wallpaper, so many colours tumbling over one another on every surface seemingly rushing to compete for her attention were seen in artwork, textiles and tiny ceramics and all the materials it took to create them. But even as they seemed to all be vying for her attention you knew she eventually gave them all the love, it’s written all over Vogt’s glowingly happy face.

There’s creatively constructed wearable textile art as Vogt puts personal touches on already cool items of clothing. A black dress with light spots needs stripey pockets and a swath at the bottom that added some length to it for modesty’s sake.

“Because everything needs pockets and that special something to make it unique,” Vogt smiled.

Recently Vogt posted on her Facebook page that she embellished a newto-her dress by upcycling and feared she went too far, ending up with a Holly Hobbie dress. But everyone’s reaction in the comment section was one of

Sherri’s Gazebo is one of those art pieces the viewer can take some time getting lost in. This

to friends.

encouragement as Vogt had schjuzzed up the dress with funky pockets and ruffles and added a big red heart necklace to complete her look. A picture perfect reflection of who she is.

“I have a strong heritage filled with women who could knit and sew and stuff.”

So as a tribute to honour them she made a beautiful collage of tiny works of art, including felting, knitting, embroidering, crocheting, macrame-ing, if that can be a word and cross-stitching her way through time and space.

“And that’s my sampler thing-a-ma-jiggy.”

And she makes jewelry as uniquely creative as everything else she does.

“In the 1990s — believe it or not — I was extremely, extremely shy and I thought to make art you had to be

special and it was magical or something and should be realistic so I did some and I know I had the ability to do it but it hurt my brain too hard,” Vogt explained.

“It was almost like a physical pain because I had to realllllly foooooocus so I just thought I would do myself a favour and give myself permission to do my own thing and I am still a little bit apologetic about what I do because ‘oh, it’s cartoony and whimsical and blah, blah, blah’ and when I look at the other artists in the Canadian Federation of Artists (as she is a member) and they are very realistic and they are amazing but it’s all about self-acceptance and doing your own thing — what gives you joy — so that’s what I do. Just stuff that gives me joy.”

Vogt offered me a glimpse of things I

could not possibly have access to, like the murals and artwork she has gifted her people.

We sat down at her laptop and scrolled through so many images, all filled with meaning and thoughtfulness and high regard and love as she described who the pieces were for and what moved her to create these tributes to all the people who are lucky enough to be in her orbit.

“It’s much easier for me to do what I like — so stylized, fun, colourful and I love cats, of course,” Vogt said as we scrolled through her images.

She continued to click through images on the laptop and swept right past one that captured not only my imagination but also my heart.

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CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHRISTINE DALGLEISH

is one of the many works Suzie Vogt has gifted

COMMUNITY

Artst has fun when people want their homes ‘Suzie-fed’

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

“Can we please go back to that last image?” I asked.

“Sure!” Vogt said.

I took the artwork in for another moment or 30 before exclaiming, “I want to live there!”

The piece is called Sherri’s Gazebo and I thought this cacophony of colour bursting from the page would’ve been depicting somewhere exotic but nope. Sherri is a friend of Vogt’s who lives right here in Prince George and apparently has a dragon, some crows and a very sweet cat I would really like to meet, while sitting on the comfy furniture, maybe cuddling up under one of the wonderful throws up against a softas-kitten’s-fur pillow. (Just giving you a heads up now, Sherri! I will be reaching out!)

After literally shaking my head out of that fantasy, we then got back to scrolling through Vogt’s artwork.

“And I have done a few things like that for gifts that are similar stylized versions of their home and I thought for a while ‘what if I did that for people — do you want an image of your home Suzie-fied?’ but I haven’t pursued that yet,” Vogt explained in almost a stream of consciousness way.

“But I am an idea person — I always have more ideas than time.”

In 2001, after taking steps to change her life, Vogt went back to school.

“It was a secret dream I had to be an elementary school teacher that I thought I would never get a chance to do,” Vogt said.

Once she was ready to start her new job she moved to Prince George.

“Then I did more art but it was all just as gifts and I would do colouring sheets for the children in the classroom and it was just all spur-of-the-moment things,” Vogt said.

Some of her students would ask her to draw a picture they could colour during free time, she explained.

Then in another chapter of her life Vogt decided that her home would be a complete reflection of her creativity.

“So in 2013 I bought my own little

house in College Heights and that became my art house,” Vogt said.

She took me through a series of photos that reflected a completely unique way of decorating, making the walls of the house the artwork — inside and out.

“So then I painted — a little blue bird of happiness, my number sign, a little jewelry, little wooden panels around the bay window and it was so fun,” Vogt said.

“Then I had someone with machinery help me make the flower beds, and yeah, so I really got a lot of that out,” and then she paused and took a breath.

“Now the inside is scary but I had to express it,” she warned as she clicked through to the next photo.

It was a hodgepodge of colour, flow, shapes and so very many things on her walls.

Vogt laughed hard at the image.

“This is the living room and it’s filled with pattern and colour,” Vogt said.

Vogt said.

It was a lot about pattern and colour for her, she added.

“It was all about goats, happy kitties, stars, happy kitty land and Ope! More kitties! Whaddya know!!” Vogt talked about the art during that time of her life.

“There’s dancing kitties and bathing kitties and the mouse is helping them out because they are all friendly, of course,” Vogt added.

“Oh, and here’s cats in space and the mouse gets to come along, too.”

Vogt never used to show any of her work but as time passed and people would express their delight when in her home or being gifted creative works by her something changed.

“A friend and I shared a booth together at Studio Fair in 2022,” Vogt said.

“Sales were really slow. I think I was able to cover my share of the table costs with what I sold but I was just putting it out there. I was getting older and a little bit wiser — hopefully — and I was just like ‘this is who I am and this is what I do and that’s OK.’”

Vogt shared what an art teacher said: If you can sign your name, you can draw.

“And I did this big mural thing and it started here and went way over there,” indicating it spanned the walls. She wrote home sweet home over the fireplace and did murals representing the four seasons.

“It could be a bit overwhelming,” Vogt understated.

“There’s kitties, sun and moon — hearts and stars are kinda my favourite symbols. And this was kinda fun — there’s little fish and kitty is really happy to be in fish land and then the fish flow to the bees and then they go off into the flowers. So it’s a bit eccentric and it certainly wouldn’t be for everyone but it was nice to have the freedom to do that and when it was time to sell I painted everything white.”

During the pandemic Vogt said she stayed home a lot and got little canvases from dollar stores.

“So I did a lot of painting and it was just for fun and they were very simple,”

“Everyone’s signature looks different so everyone’s art will be different and I found that very encouraging,” she said. “And then I thought about Dr. Seuss and his art, which is very bizarre and different and certainly not realistic. How well loved is Dr. Seuss? Things like that sort of gave me permission while that same art teacher said ‘the eye loves a curve’ and so many people would say they couldn’t draw a straight line. A curvy path and curvy characters suits my organic approach. So yeah, just thinking about those things and a bit of experience and people can look at my art and I know I’m not going to die and it’s OK and I’m not doing it for money — I am doing it for joy and I am just expressing myself.”

Vogt is now happily retired from teaching and living her best life.

“And now I have the luxury of time,” she said, “and I don’t take that for granted.”

CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHRISTINE DALGLEISH

Suzie Vogt, Prince George artist and retired elementary school teacher, uses her creative talent in every aspect of her life.

New book shares history of the Hart Highlands Ski Hill

Author Myrna Lemky collected people’s memories for her project

CHRISTINE DALGLEISH Citizen Staff

When people reflect on their lives, they often think about the biggest influences during their childhood.

For Myrna Lemky, those memories centre on the Hart Highlands Ski Hill, built in the middle of her neighbourhood, and the way the community rallied around the winter club to help develop it into what it is today.

Lemky recently published Hart Highlands Ski Hill: The First Fifty Years, 1968-2018 with the support of the Hart Highlands Winter Club.

“The 50th anniversary came up, and I thought, ‘Does anyone know the history of this hill?’” Lemky said.

“So I contacted the president and general manager and asked if they knew the history. They said no. Then I talked to everyone else, and nobody knew the history of the hill. So I said, ‘Here I am. I have this information. Would you like to hear this story?’ The answer was yes. They told me to come to the anniversary dinner and dance, and after that I decided I was going to start writing down what I remembered. That’s how it got started.”

The Hart Highlands Ski Hill is a defining part of her life, Lemky said.

“My family helped start this hill,” Lemky said. “Nobody knows this history from 50 years ago, and when I realized it was going to be lost forever, I just started writing it down.”

As the project grew into a book, the ski hill’s president and general manager offered their support.

“And we just kept going,” Lemky said. Lemky knew nothing about publishing, so she asked club members for help. She also dedicated all proceeds from the book to the club to help cover the ski hill’s operating costs.

She completed the manuscript in 2022, but finding the right publisher

took time.

“It took three years to write it and more to publish,” Lemky said. “Now we’re finally done.”

Contributors also shared their own memories of the ski hill, which were included in the book.

“The first chapter is all about how it got started,” Lemky said. “Then all these other folks put in their information to bring us through the years, and that was so helpful because I wouldn’t have known that information.

“So this was a collaborative effort. Without those folks, this wouldn’t have happened.”

The Hart Highlands Winter Club began with 12 founding families in 1971 and has grown to more than 2,000 members.

The story began with land developer Ted Sadler, who moved to Prince George from Vancouver in 1966 and brought his passion for skiing with him, Lemky said.

According to the book, Sadler’s

company, Norcan Developments Ltd., created the 1,200-lot Hart Highlands subdivision between 1967 and 1973. He donated the land and provided funding to develop the Hart Highlands Ski Club.

“When Ted Sadler saw the natural bowl in the land, he wanted to buy it and build a ski hill,” Lemky said. “Folks would be encouraged to buy a house in that subdivision, so it was a good plan all the way around.”

Lemky’s father, Howard McLachlan, cleared six acres with his D8 Caterpillar and built the ski hill below Crown Drive.

“When the ski hill first started up, no one in the community had ever skied before,” Lemky said.

“So it was a real learning experience. Thankfully, Ted Sadler, who initiated this hill, was a professional skier and had even ski-jumped in Vancouver before moving to Prince George. He gave us all a quick little lesson, and away we went. Then we just helped everybody else.

“My brothers and I were the first

to run the tow rope, so we were the employees and we ran everything. That’s how we got started. It’s really a big part of my family history.”

For the first year and a half, Lemky, then 14, skied on the hill while her older brothers worked there.

Her older brother Ken, 16, earned 50 cents an hour, while David, 15, made 25 cents an hour.

When Lemky later joined them, she also earned 25 cents an hour.

“It actually only cost 50 cents to ski the entire day,” Lemky said. “Or 25 cents to ski half a day or during the evening.

“Where else would you get that? It was the greatest babysitting service we could have provided because parents would drop off their kids in the morning and pick them up in the evening. Even better, kids who lived in the neighbourhood would ski down, stay all day and walk home afterwards. It was amazing.”

After her brothers moved on to other jobs, Lemky took over alongside Terry Colebank and Richard Schreiner.

“So we ran it for a few years, and then it just carried on,” she said.

In those days, the only way to reach the top of the hill was by tow rope, and learning how to use it took practice.

Lemky recalled scooping up young children and guiding them up the hill to help them avoid taking a tumble.

An artist, Lemky spent 30 years working for School District 57 before devoting more time to painting in retirement. Over the years, she has donated artwork to the Hart Highlands Winter Club for its silent auction fundraisers.

One of her paintings, depicting the original ski hut and rope tow, is framed with barn board and trimmed with a piece of the original 50-year-old tow rope. It hangs in the Hart Ski Hill Lodge in honour of the club’s founding members.

“I do all I can to support the ski hill,” Lemky said. “I’m happy the book came together.”

The book is available through the Hart Highlands Winter Club or online at Square Store.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHRISTINE DALGLEISH

Myrna Lemky wrote a book called Hart Highlands Ski Hill: The First Fifty Years, that is available now for readers to enjoy.

Throwback Thursday: Week of August 6

Aug. 4, 2012: The two people at the right were rescued by a civilian boat and Prince George Fire Rescue after they ran into trouble while oating down the Nechako River on an in atable tube. They were found on an island between the Foothills Bridge and the John Hart Bridge, and were reached with the help of a nearby resident who had a boat close by. CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

BY BRENT BRAATEN

Aug. 6, 1985: One contestant tried to jump from one hand-built vessel to another during the Simon Fraser Days raft race. The paper reported that 35 rafts were entered, including one team from Edmonton. Other activities included tree planting, a picnic in the park and more. CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

Aug. 5, 1970: ‘Watch that board,’ library staffer Bev Welsh warned construction worker Nat Torcutti as library staff shuf ed books to make way for major alterations at the old Brunswick Street branch. The library had been closed since July 23 of that year and was due to open at the end of August. The library would eventually move to its current home on Canada Games Way. CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

Aug. 2, 1996: The Prince George Nechako All-Stars were hosting the national Little League championship that year. The home team included, in the back row, from left, manager Brian McNaughton, Jake MacPherson, Angelo Desantis, Anthony Heath, Alex Castley, Cassidy Dahl, David Yorke and coach Terry Bonnar. In the front row, from left, were Shane Morris, Noah Glene, Blake Fillion, Ben Mitten, Marshall Heggelund, Kenny McKinley, Ben Wood and Jared Fillion. Teams came to PG from Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta to play against the All-Stars and the BC champions from Walley-Surrey.

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

Weight-loss journey started with a wake-up call from son

CHRISTINE DALGLEISH Citizen Staff

When her youngest son told her he just wanted his mom back it shook Tammy Dillabough to her core.

For years after she lost her oldest on, Ryan, to cancer at 22 years of age in 2009, Dillabough grieved the terrible loss and turned to food for comfort.

She and her husband, Joe, moved away from Prince George thinking that would help ease the pain.

They moved to Cranbrook when Joe took a new job but they discovered there’s no running away from the grief of losing a child.

“We lived there for 12 years,” Dillabough said.

“I was lonely and grieving and I didn’t know anybody there and I gained weight steadily over the years and after my younger son, Darren, returned to Prince George we made the decision to come home as well.”

And that was when Dillabough heard those fateful words.

“Darren said he just wanted his mom back and he didn’t mean in Prince George and that was my wake-up call,” Dillabough explained.

“I knew I had to do something so I joined the TOPS chapter (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) that I had gone to prior to my son’s illness, knowing I had supportive friends there.”

The meeting Dillabough goes to is at the Hart Pioneer Centre on Tuesdays and it’s the TOPS BC 5315 chapter.

TOPS is a non-commercial weight loss, education and support organization.

“I joined TOPS on January 16, 2024, weighing in at my highest weight ever,” Dillabough said.

“I reached my goal weight on January 28, 2025, having lost 76.8 pounds and have maintained that ever since. My husband and family have given me support and encouragement throughout my journey. Darren is so proud of me. He’s so happy to have his mom back –his happy, fun-loving mom.”

As a result of her weight loss, Tammy was named the 2025 TOPS British

Columbia Queen, meaning she lost more weight than any other female TOPS member in the province to achieve her goal weight.

(We’ll talk about that more later because rest assured there is a tiara involved!)

Dillabough has a long history with the BC 5315 chapter of TOPS. She first joined the group when her children were young, she said.

When she returned to the chapter in 2024 after having moved back to Prince George from Cranbrook she took on the role of facilitator.

eating and snacking. I try to keep lots of healthy snacks on hand and now use exercise to cope with stress instead of food.”

Dillabough walks for at least an hour every day.

“And I try to move all the time now instead of sitting on the couch,” Dillabough said.

“I get in at least 10,000 steps a day and try for more and as far as tips go the most important advice I can give is to find a group of like-minded people to support you and TOPS is a great place to start. Another tip is just to move — do as much as you can comfortably, do it as often as you can and build on it –find an activity you enjoy — swimming or exercising in a pool is a great start because it’s a low-impact workout and as far as food intake I stick to 12 to 1400 calories but that, of course, is different for everybody.”

Dillabough said it really helped to track her food intake and exercise on an app.

There’s accountability that way.

“And I drank lots of water,” Dillabough said.

One of the keys for Dillabough was eliminating highly processed foods from her diet, including bread.

“When I cut the processed foods out of my diet it was like — oh, wow,” Dillabough said.

The two big ones for her were bread and pasta, she added.

“And I still don’t eat bread because if I eat bread I wanna eat more bread,” Dillabough said with a sigh.

“I went back to them because I knew that I needed companionship and I knew people there that I wanted to spend time with,” Dillabough explained.

Over the years Dillabough has learned a few things about herself.

“The hardest habit to break was snacking in the evenings,” Dillabough said.

“I started doing crafts to keep my hands busy and wouldn’t let myself eat after dinner, reminding myself I was making that choice for myself and my family. I still struggle with stress

“It’s so quick and easy — bread is simple — have a sandwich and pasta is just a favourite food and pizza is another one I’ve cut out and I don’t do fast food anymore — again the hidden calories are just crazy.”

Dillabough said she also weighs and measures her food.

“Because you would be shocked at how many servings of pasta are in your restaurant order and so I weigh and measure my food so that I am not overdoing it,” Dillabough said.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Tammy Dillabough from Prince George is the 2025 TOPS British Columbia Queen because she lost 76.8 pounds last year. Tammy is seen here with her husband Joe after the celebration that was held in Quesnel recently.

Northern recreaton therapists form new connectons

ETHAN READY Northern Health

For Maegen Chamberlain, recreation therapy is more than activities and event calendars. It’s about connection, collaboration and helping residents continue to engage with the people, interests and experiences that make them who they are.

Chamberlain has worked with Northern Health (NH) for 17 years in various roles. She is now recreation therapy supervisor, overseeing services at Jubilee Lodge, Parkside Care Home and Rainbow Lodge in Prince George, BC. Throughout her career, she has seen how strong workplace relationships and a supportive team culture can create rewarding, long-term careers.

“Over the years, we’ve all gotten to know each other,” says Chamberlain. “It’s been amazing, just the support to one another.”

Recreation therapists may be spread across hundreds of kilometres, but they remain closely connected. Staff meet regularly to share ideas, discuss programming, learn from one another’s experiences and collaborate on ways to support residents across the region. Those connections have grown into lasting professional relationships and

friendships, creating a sense of community despite the distance.

For Chamberlain, that support network is especially valuable because recreation therapy is a relatively small profession.

“I definitely appreciate having other people to reach out to,” she says. “Having each other across the region allows us to feel supported and heard.”

That spirit of collaboration extends beyond recreation therapy teams. In long-term care homes, recreation therapists work alongside nurses, care aides, housekeeping staff and other members of the interdisciplinary team to support residents’ overall well-being.

“I’m a big believer in teamwork,”

says Chamberlain. “Supporting other departments and working together as a big team is really important.”

At the heart of recreation therapy is helping residents maintain meaningful connections to the activities, hobbies and experiences they enjoy. Programming can include everything from gardening and cooking to social events, community outings and opportunities that reflect a resident’s life history and interests.

“We really try to bring out what interests them,” says Chamberlain. “It’s bringing out who that person is.”

The work requires creativity, energy and a genuine interest in getting to know people. Recreation therapists learn residents’ stories, discover their

passions and create opportunities for them to reconnect with activities that continue to bring purpose and joy.

“We get to see people’s best sides,” says Chamberlain. “We get to bring out the best in people.”

It’s also a career that inspires people to stay. During a recent gathering of recreation therapists from across NH, staff reflected on the decades of collective experience represented around the table. The reunion highlighted not only strong professional connections but also the lasting impact colleagues can have on one another throughout their careers.

For Chamberlain, the number of long-serving recreation therapists speaks volumes about both the profession and the organization.

“I think it says a lot about Northern Health,” she says. “It’s a great place to be.”

That sense of support continues to motivate her every day.

“I love my job,” says Chamberlain. “I love my career. I love the people I work with. You come back motivated.”

As recreation therapy continues to grow, Chamberlain hopes more people discover a profession that combines creativity, teamwork and the opportunity to make meaningful connections every day.

Prince George woman is crowned TOPS’ BC Queen

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

And now let’s talk about what’s really important about being crowned.

“Yes, there is a tiara,” Dillabough laughed. She is the 2025 TOPS British Columbia Queen after all.

Dillabough was honoured at a provincial recognition ceremony held in Quesnel for BC Central North TOPS members because she met her weight loss goal and lost the most weight out of any other female TOPS member in BC in 2025.

“I feel so privileged and so honoured. I worked so hard to reach my goal and to be recognized for it is just amazing

because now I am happy and healthy and now I’ve got the opportunity to inspire and motivate other people. It’s just an amazing feeling because when you can give back it makes the privilege even more.”

Dillabough wanted to make one thing clear.

“I did it for myself,” Dillabough said.

“I knew I needed to and I did it for myself. Someone else can provide that initial motivation but you still have to do it for you.”

Dillabough asked me to be sure to mention Gary Munroe of Surrey, who dropped 69.8 pounds, who was named the 2025 TOPS British Columbia King

and was celebrated in a ceremony in his area.

“All of us in TOPS are immensely proud of our members’ weight-loss achievements,” Rick Danforth, TOPS president, said.

“Through their TOPS membership, these individuals can honour their life-altering successes, other members and those who have preceded them. By maintaining their allegiance to lifestyle modifications, a hallmark of TOPS’ winning formula, TOPS members apply the tools they’re provided and the backing of their peers to attain their weight loss goals.”

Statistics say one in four Canadian

adults is obese and British Columbia has an obesity rate of 23.2 per cent. Obesity can cause many medical conditions, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and even certain types of cancer.

By committing to a healthier lifestyle people can achieve weight loss and overall wellness. the TOPS media release said.

In 2025, British Columbia TOPS members lost a total of 7,917 pounds. TOPS is not a diet. It is a lifestyle change for a lifetime. For more information about local chapters of TOPS, including where Dillabough is a facilitator, visit https:// www.tops.org/find-a-meeting

NORTHERN HEALTH PHOTO

Recreation Therapists from across the Northern Health region recently held a face-to-face social gathering in Prince George.

Local Sports Oshwegan claims ttle in rain-delayed fastball fnal

Weekend weather pushes championship game well past 2 a.m.

TED CLARKE Citizen Staff

It was well past 2 a.m. when pitcher Steve Normand strode to the mound to try to nail down another Canadian Native Fastball Championship for the Oshwegan Redmen.

The host Prince George River Kings were down to their last three outs, trailing the Redmen 5-1 in the senior men’s final, which stretched into the early hours after torrential rain Saturday wreaked havoc on the 55-team tournament.

Just as he had in last year’s championship game, Normand delivered, retiring Ethan Lans, Brian Nicholas and Jarrett Potskin in order to secure the Hamilton, Ont.-based Redmen’s second consecutive national native title early Monday morning.

The River Kings had lost 8-1 to the Redmen less than a day earlier, forcing the host team to play four games in fewer than 24 hours as part of a compressed schedule after Saturday’s slate was washed out.

The Redmen, meanwhile, were rested, having played just three games before taking the field shortly after midnight. They watched the River Kings battle back for a semifinal victory over the CCIC Goldenhawks of Regina, a game that ended only about 30 minutes before the championship final.

“Definitely we took the right route this year as opposed to last year,” said Normand. “It was much less taxing on the body. Those guys are a good team over there as well and, fortunately for us, we did it the easy way this year and had to play one less game than them. Last year we played eight games.”

Pinch-hitter Robert Bomberry’s

two-run home run in the fourth inning gave the Redmen a 3-1 lead. In the sixth, designated player Jordie Gagnon took a Josh Anderson pitch for a ride, adding a two-run shot to cap the scoring.

Oshwegan manager Darrell Anderson followed his instincts by sending Bomberry to the plate in place of Brenden Anderson. Bomberry rewarded the move by crushing Josh Anderson’s first pitch over the centre-field fence.

“He’s an old veteran that’s been a great ball player all his life,” said Normand, who was named the tournament’s top pitcher and most valuable player. “He’s no stranger to coming in and hitting big hits like that. He’s the right man for the job.”

The 32-year-old Calgary resident was also the winning pitcher last year in Winnipeg, where Oshwegan defeated Peguis, Man., in the final.

Josh Anderson, 30, has travelled from Vancouver to play for Prince George teams in native tournaments since he was 17. He had hoped this would be the year the River Kings finally won the national native title on home soil.

“A couple tight arms, a lot of games,” he said. “This was our fifth today and it

was a good pitcher we faced. It was just a couple pitches that made the difference, that’s all it was. They’re a great team. We can’t hang our heads. Wish we won it. Nothing would have been better than winning in front of the home fans.”

Prince George native Jessin Potskin, now of West Kelowna and in his second season with Oshwegan, opened the scoring with a first-inning RBI groundout that brought home Trent Jones.

“I wouldn’t want to win this anywhere else,” said Potskin, 37, who was selected the tournament’s top infielder. “We’re really good hitters, tenacious and patient, and Steve was getting better as the game went along. It was tough waiting around because of Saturday’s weather, but we made good use of the time and we came ready to play today.”

The son of Morgan Wood and Joanne Potskin grew up playing with and against his Potskin and Ghostkeeper cousins in the Spruce City Men’s Fastball Association and travelling with them on Prince George teams.

Potskin will reunite with many of them this weekend, beginning Saturday, Aug. 8, when the Redmen, River Kings and Brokenbow Blazers meet again at

the International Softball Congress tournament in Melbourne, Ont. Oshwegan enters the tournament ranked 12th.

Shortstop Nicholas Potskin, like his River Kings teammates, struggled to solve Normand’s pitching but shone defensively. His best play came in the fifth inning when he robbed Travis Jones of a hit before stepping on second and throwing to first to complete a double play.

“It was awesome having the crowd behind us and playing in front of my family,” he said. “It was a great experience and I look forward to more tournaments here. We kept it close. Josh did an amazing job pitching. We just couldn’t get the hits in the gaps. We were making contact, it just wasn’t enough.”

The Redmen claimed the $9,500 first prize.

The River Kings and Redmen also met in the Canadian Native championship in 2022 in Regina, when Prince George prevailed. Weather delayed that game as well, with the final ending at 4 a.m., just in time for the River Kings to catch their 5:30 a.m. flight home.

Prince George needed late-game heroics to edge the Goldenhawks 6-5 in the semifinal. The River Kings scored four runs after trailing 5-1 to complete the comeback.

Scott Leiph surrendered a home run to Kian Poitras and Prince George fell behind 4-0 after two innings before settling in as the offence came alive.

Les George was pitching his sixth game of the day for the Goldenhawks and carried a 5-1 lead into the fifth inning. He appeared to injure his leg while delivering a pitch to leadoff hitter Tyson Ghostkeeper but remained in the game.

Ghostkeeper ignited the rally with a double before Ethan Lans drove him home.

DYLAN FRASER-LIST PHOTO

The Oshwegan Redmen celebrate their 5-1 win over the Prince George River Kings in the senior men’s final at the Canadian Native Fastball Championships at Spruce City Stadium early in the morning on Monday, Aug. 3.

Prince George Giants claim U23 men’s fastball ttle

TED CLARKE Citizen Staff

The Prince George Giants were reeling, clinging to the ropes in their final stand at the Canadian Native Fastball Championships when Colby Jefferies delivered the knockout punch.

The 19-year-old Prince George player picked an opportune time to blast a tworun home run, giving United Nations the 15-run cushion needed to secure a 17-1 mercy-rule victory in three innings and the under-23 men’s title Monday at Spruce City Stadium.

“That was fun, I had a blast,” said the 19-year-old Jefferies. “Obviously it was quite exciting playing against the hometown team, playing against my brother. He can’t talk back no more.”

Cameron Jefferies, 17, played left field and batted second for the Giants, but he and his teammates had no answer for Colby’s first — and only — home run of the tournament, a drive that easily cleared the centre-field fence.

United Nations scored two runs in the first inning, six in the second and added eight more in the third, highlighted by home runs from Jefferies and Norm Lacquette-McKay of Peguis, Man.

The United Nations roster included players from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia. Jefferies helped the team complete a perfect 5-0 run to the championship.

“We’ve got guys picked up from all over,” he said. “It’s a dream team, honestly. We’ve got stars from all across

Giants left fielder Cameron Jeffries lays down a bunt to advance to first base against the Cross Lake Mets in the semi-final game of the U23 division at the Canadian Native Fastball Championships in Spruce City Stadium Monday, Aug. 3.

Canada. We started the sticks early today.”

Jefferies plays alongside his brother with the Prince George Giants in the Spruce City Men’s Fastball League, but this was his first opportunity in several years to play a tournament game at Spruce City Stadium.

“I’m glad we got to play them in the final,” he said.

The under-23 tournament was halted after Friday’s games because of the rainstorms that swamped Prince George on Saturday. None of the 11 teams played again until Sunday.

Early Monday morning, the Giants lost 11-4 to United Nations after surrendering six runs in the first inning. The loss forced Prince George into a

sudden-death semifinal against the Cross Lake Mets of Manitoba at noon.

Prince George won that game 10-3 behind the pitching of Indian Brook, N.S., import Brody Knockwood but ran out of steam in the final.

“That team just smashed the ball against us today,” said Giants coach Derek Wood. “You can’t defend home runs or gap shots and they hit the ball well. They scored a bunch of runs in the second and we came down and never got back after that.

“The boys are feeling they didn’t compete very well, but they’re second in the nation. They really did have a good weekend. It’ll take some time for them to get over it, but they’ve got to be proud of themselves. We hit the ball

well all weekend, but today we hit into players and they didn’t.”

Giants pitcher Denny Higginbottom doubled in the top of the first inning to score Kobe Fulton with Prince George’s lone run. Luthor Clair put United Nations ahead in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run hit that scored Sage Roberts and Kalib Stonefish, and United Nations never looked back.

After allowing just one hit, Caley Whiteye retired the Prince George batters in order in the second and third innings. Whiteye, from Bucktown, Ont., near Sarnia, pitched all five games for United Nations and was named the tournament’s top pitcher and most valuable player.

Higginbottom, who lives in Lillooet, earned top hitter honours. He had just one at-bat in the final and turned it into a double. He also helped the Giants win the John Cho Cup under-23 title in Prince George on June 28.

“It was a lot of fun playing with the boys and playing for the home crowd,” said the 16-year-old Higginbottom. “It’s awesome to play in the big stadium, definitely a big honour. Of course it would have been amazing to have that (national title) as well, it just didn’t go our way, I guess.

“They’re just good contact hitters, getting the bat on the ball.”

In the masters men’s final Monday afternoon at Ron Wiley Field, Treaty 4 Snappers of Regina defeated Team Bigman of Skownan, Man., 6-5 in eight innings.

Rainy rematch for River Kings and Redmen ends 5-1

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Jarrett Potskin then walked to put runners on first and third, prompting Wacey Strongeagle to replace George. With two outs, Brayden Thomas delivered a two-run single. Robbie Antoine followed with a shallow fly ball to left that resulted in an errant throw to first, allowing Thomas to score from second and tie the game 5-5.

The Goldenhawks threatened again with runners on second and third and two outs in the seventh before Antoine raced in from right field to make a running catch on a shallow fly ball off the bat of Strongeagle.

In the bottom of the seventh, Gus Wilson drew a leadoff walk, stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball.

The Goldenhawks intentionally

walked Ethan Lans and Eli Jules to load the bases and pitch to Jarrett Potskin with one out. Potskin worked the count full before Strongeagle uncorked a wild pitch that skipped past the catcher, allowing Wilson to score the winning run.

“We got off to a bit of a slow start,” said Antoine. “One thing about us is we didn’t give up. That’s a big attribute of our team. Nothing’s better than playing

at Spruce City late at night in front of a big crowd. That’s what you live for.”

In other finals Sunday, the BC Ravens of Victoria completed a perfect tournament by defeating Layne’s Stars of Dauphin, Man., 8-0 to capture the senior women’s title and the $9,000 first prize.

In the masters women’s final, Six Nations of Ontario defeated Cote’s Selects of Kamsack, Sask., 3-1.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHUCK NISBETT

Unlucky strike: Being an umpire can be a dangerous job

James Nikal took a hit to the clavicle during a game

TED CLARKE Citizen Staff

In 45 years of playing fastball, James Nikal had suffered a few bumps and bruises, but never a broken bone.

Until he decided to become an umpire.

Not long into this season, during the second week of May, he was standing behind home plate calling balls and strikes at a Prince George Women’s Softball Association game at Freeman Park when a hard-hit foul tip found its way through his chest protector and broke his collarbone.

He finished the game despite the pain and didn’t learn the bone was broken until he got to the hospital.

“It wasn’t healing, so I had surgery about a week and a half ago,” said Nikal. “They put a plate in and a couple of screws. That’s the first time I got hurt in three years.”

Now in his third season as an umpire, Nikal didn’t want to miss the action this weekend at the Canadian Native Fastball Championships and joined the 22-member crew assigned to the 56-team tournament.

He is still a month to six weeks away from a full recovery and this weekend is limited to working the bases, keeping him close to the action without having to go behind home plate.

The 51-year-old Nikal is also player-coach of the Lheidli T’enneh Reds (Big Guy Lake). Had he not been injured, he would have been playing this weekend as an infielder in the masters men’s division.

Nikal first signed up for an umpire clinic three years ago and continues to participate in the annual clinics offered by Softball BC.

“I just want to stay in the game,” he said. “Ken Edwards and Brian Fitzpatrick have been showing me the ropes. I did their clinic at the university in May.”

Six of the umpires working the Canadian Native tournament are from Prince George: Nikal, Brendan Pawliw, Bernie Lapointe, Artur Clejka, Gerry Van Caeseele and one other. Eight are from Vancouver, four from the Okanagan, one from Vancouver Island, one from Alberta and two from Saskatchewan.

All games except the division finals had two umpires, with a third added for the five championship games Sunday. They are paid $60 per game, for a total of nearly $14,000 for working 121 games over the three-day tournament.

Spruce Kings player

CITIZEN STAFF

Prince George Spruce Kings forward

Ryan Wachtel has committed to play

NCAA Division I hockey at Army West

get 22 umpires,” said Brown. “And we got 22 umpires.”

Brown and McLaren both plan to work the Canadian Men’s Fastball Championship Aug. 26-30 in Saskatoon. Although they have travelled across Canada and the United States and worked international tournaments in Australia, South America, the Dominican Republic and the Netherlands, neither had been to Prince George before this week.

Prince George hosts the John Cho Cup every Canada Day weekend, but it overlaps with the Canada Cup women’s tournament in Vancouver, where Brown and McLaren usually work.

Brendon Moar, of Regina Beach, Sask., returned to Prince George to umpire at the Canadian Native championships for the second time. When the city hosted the tournament in 2022, there was a shortage of umpires and Moar worked 18 games. With a full crew this year, his workload was reduced to 11 games.

“I drive home every day. I’m a halfhour from Regina,” said Moar. “We are the prototypical joke. It’s nothing but prairie and you can see your dog run away for three days. But what we have that you guys don’t have is the biggest sky in the world. This is absolutely gorgeous here, but I miss the sky.”

Ian Brown of Peachland and Scott McLaren of Penticton split the duties as umpires-in-chief, overseeing the officiating crew, assigning games, making travel arrangements and ensuring everyone was well looked after during their stay in the city.

“The goal for Scott and myself was to

“I’ve never been up here and I love it,” said the 76-year-old Brown. “This is a nice complex with lots of good fields. I see Prince George players at our tournaments in the Okanagan, so it’s nice to come up here and see them on their turf. Spruce City Stadium is an iconic fastball stadium and the multiple diamonds really help. It’s nice to have everybody together and, from the umpires’ perspective, you get a chance to socialize with your crew. Usually, most cities don’t have a complex with five diamonds in one area, with lights.”

McLaren, 50, of Penticton, was named the World Baseball Softball Confederation umpire of the year in 2017.

“I’ve always looked forward to seeing this park,” said McLaren, who likened Spruce City Stadium to Canada’s fastball version of Fenway Park. “It’s one of the historical stadiums in BC you’ve heard about. It has a long history, so it’s exciting to see it. Just looking around, all that green wood, there’s that era and it feels homey. It’s good to be here. You want to see these historical places.”

signs with Army West Point for 2027-28 season

Point beginning with the 2027-28 season.

The 20-year-old has spent the past two seasons with the BCHL club, recording 28 goals and 29 assists in 102 regular-season games. He broke out

offensively in 2025-26, scoring 23 goals after netting five as a rookie the previous season.

Wachtel has also appeared in 25 career playoff games, collecting four goals and 10 assists.

He will return to the Spruce Kings for a third season in 2026-27, joining Mason Loewen and Ryder Green as the club’s only third-year players.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY TED CLARKE

James Nikal of Prince George shows off his ‘war wound’ after he underwent surgery to repair a broken clavicle, an injury he suffered in May working as an umpire behind home plate at a game in the Prince George Women’s Softball Association.

Kodiaks buck Kamloops in decisive home-feld victory

Young

team shows

growth in second game of the season

TED CLARKE Citizen Staff

After getting seriously clawed in an embarrassing 47-point loss in their BC Football Conference season opener the previous week, the Prince George Kodiaks were a wounded bear — unpredictable and extremely dangerous.

The Kamloops Broncos learned that the hard way in a 65-6 drubbing Saturday, Aug. 1, at Masich Place Stadium. After allowing the opening touchdown, it was all Kodiaks the rest of the way. They hitched their wagon to rookie quarterback Toby Plett and there was no stopping them. Prince George answered Kamloops’ opening score with 36 unanswered points in the first half.

Plett, who was used sparingly last year as the third-string quarterback, got the start and, before being replaced in the fourth quarter, threw for 349 yards and two touchdowns. He also scored twice on short runs and was intercepted once.

Several Kodiaks turned in standout performances in the team’s first win of the season.

Defensive backs Dillon and Taeman Piddocke stood out with their pass coverage and special-teams play, returning kicks, recovering onside kicks and helping force turnovers. Dillon, the younger of the two brothers at 18, recorded two interceptions, while Aiden Leslie picked off three Broncos passes.

“It feels great. We play them three times, so it was important to set the tone,” said Dillon Piddocke. “Guys rallied and the offence stepped up. It doesn’t really matter what I do if the guys around me don’t do their jobs, so props to them.

“It’s amazing we have a team this year. All the people behind the scenes have worked their butts off, all the returning players who have faith in this program, hats off to them. We’re an

older team and the game plan was to come out and be physical, and we did that.”

Rookie kicker Maxim Murphy nailed three field goals in the opening quarter, including a 42-yarder. His short kickoffs also kept the Broncos guessing, resulting in three onside recoveries.

Nik Martinez hauled in an 18-yard touchdown pass to give the Kodiaks their first major of the season and a 9-6 lead.

Not long afterward, Plett plunged over from the one-yard line after a catch by Martinez in double coverage and a 15-yard face-masking penalty moved the ball to the goal line.

The Kodiaks added a safety to make it 23-6 before Plett continued finding receivers downfield. Completions to Sidney Nancarrow and Xander Tabora moved Prince George into the red zone before an unnecessary roughness penalty left the Kodiaks one yard from the goal line. Two plays later, Plett scored his second rushing touchdown with 49 seconds remaining in the half.

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CITIZEN PBOTO BY TED CLARKE

Kodiaks running back Gavin Halvorson keeps the ball tight to his chest as he breaks the tackles of the swarming Bronco defenders at Masich Place Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 1. The Kodiaks won 65-6.

Up next for the Kodiaks: Langley Rams to visit Masich

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

The Kodiaks weren’t finished. Kobe Kidd recovered a short kickoff to regain possession. After a quick two-and-out, Murphy’s punt deep into Kamloops territory slipped through the arms of returner Truman Ciepliski, and Hayden Devauld recovered the loose ball with 9.2 seconds left. Plett then found Andrew Brown in the end zone.

After having three convert attempts blocked, Murphy finally put one through the uprights to send the Kodiaks into halftime with a 30-6 lead.

Prince George kept rolling after the break.

Taeman Piddocke opened the second half with a long kickoff return to the Kodiaks’ 40-yard line. Brown followed with a 33-yard reception before Levi Nugent hauled in another pass to move the ball to the eight-yard line. Running back Gavin Halvorson scored two plays later for his first touchdown of the season.

Plett later connected with Brown on a 20-yard touchdown before backup quarterback Nathan Demyan entered the game.

In his first BCFC action, Demyan completed a 75-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass to Nugent. He nearly had another long touchdown pass, but Nancarrow was caught from behind after an 83-yard gain. A couple of plays later, Demyan scored on a nine-yard run, with Murphy adding the convert to complete the scoring.

“It’s always nice to get the first one. The boys came out and cleaned up the problems we had in the last game and really just played the way we knew they could,” said Ryan Bellamy, Kodiaks head coach. “It was a great team effort. The whole team played today, so that was awesome. The defence played phenomenal out there, just like they did in the last game, we just didn’t give them enough support with the offence and special teams.

“Special teams really showed up this week and they shined. Coach Teegan Morin did a great job getting them

prepared. On offence, we made our blocks where they were needed and caught the balls we were dropping last game, and our running backs pounded the ball hard. Toby settled in there great and took leadership of it, and he should be really proud of the game he put forward today.”

Plett, a 19-year-old from Steinbach, Man., saw only limited action during his rookie season. If Saturday’s performance was any indication, he has moved to the front of the line to replace graduated quarterback Sawyer Thiessen.

“It feels amazing. There’s no better feeling than winning a football game,” said Plett. “I was trusting my receivers. Bad decisions are made in a football game and I threw a pick, then came back on the field and we scored a touchdown. You’ve got to trust the guys

pass coverage.

“It’s a young team, and every opponent is going to be a new experience for them,” said Jay Daniels, Broncos head coach. “This team came out hungry and ready to play, and our team came out a bit undisciplined in the first half, and that really caught us off guard.

“Teams aren’t going to win when they’re undisciplined. At the end of the day, it’s about fundamental mistakes, and we made more mistakes than the other team and they capitalized on it. So it’s back to the drawing board for us next week, and we look forward to playing Westshore at home.”

Even with the outcome decided, the Kodiaks continued to play aggressively.

Broncos backup quarterback Colt Kardash entered the game in the fourth quarter after Rigler left with a leg injury. On Kamloops’ final possession, the Broncos advanced to the one-yard line.

Prince George’s short-yardage defence held firm as Keandre Williams made a key block to free Jesse Hawman for a 16-yard sack. Kamloops failed to score on the final two plays.

around you to do their job. They’ll mess up, but they’ll do their job for you.

“It starts on the line, the big boys up front. I give them all my trust, and my receivers are really good football players.”

Coming off an 0-10 season, the Broncos are one of the youngest and least experienced teams in the BCFC, with only 12 returning players, a rookie quarterback and a first-year head coach.

Cole Rigler, who led the South Kamloops Titans’ pass-heavy offence last season and guided the team to within one game of the BC AA high school championship, opened the scoring with a 44-yard touchdown pass to Lloyd Heggen.

After that, however, the Kodiaks’ defence took control. Prince George forced five interceptions and two fumbles with relentless pressure and tight

“We have a great group of guys who played every last drive like it’s their last,” said Williams, now in his fourth season with the Kodiaks. “They got it to the one-yard line and we got that QB sack right after. It’s little things like those we try to practise and keep habitual.

“All off-season we worked on getting the qualities it takes to have a winning team, and we have all the qualities. Our first game wasn’t what we wanted, but we came back the second game and we hit harder. That’s how we play. There’s a lot of returning guys, and people don’t understand the guys who are here. We were a big part of the playoff team last year, and we’re going to make this a playoff team as well.”

The Kodiaks return to Masich Place Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 8, to wrap up their three-game homestand against the first-place Langley Rams.

The Rams, who opened the season with a 72-1 win over Kamloops, improved to 3-0 with a 54-3 victory over the Valley Huskers on Saturday in Chilliwack.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHUCK NISBETT

Kodiaks receiver Andrew Brown leaps high to make the final touchdown reception of the first half at Masich Place Stadium Saturday, Aug. 1.

Life Events

Sheila Margaret Johnston née Ridley (BEd UBC 1986)

June 27, 1947 - June 19, 2026

Sheila passed away in the early hours of June 19, 2026 at Simon Fraser Lodge.

Sheila was born in Prince George to Mabel and Nelson Ridley on June 27, 1947. She came home to her older sister Helen and was later joined by her brothers Ed and David (Del).

Sheila grew up and lived on Elm Street untl she lef to begin her married life with David Johnston in 1967. They welcomed their son Greg in December. Sheila was an educator and taught at Van Bien Elementary from the spring of 1968 untl her retrement in 2003.

Sheila was a Girl Guide and the guide captain of 1st Fort George Guide company. Sheila was dedicated to her home and family. Nothing gave her more joy than spending some one on one tme with the younger members of the family and some books.

She will be deeply missed by her husband, David, Son Gregory, daughter in law, Susan, grand children Grace and Duncan and extended family and friends

She is survived by her siblings Helen, Ed, and Del. Special thanks to the staf of Simon Fraser Lodge and John and Judy for their support and care of Sheila.

As per Sheila’s request, there will be no service.

Ray Denluck

March 7, 1942 - June 15, 2026

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Ray Denluck on June 15, 2026 at the age of 84.

Ray is predeceased by his wife Seleen (1995) and wife Sherri (2021) and is survived by his children Wayne (Lisa), Catherine, Jennifer (Mark), Stepson Darryn e ie rothers ene e e and rant anice and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and friends.

fer retring in rince eorge ay Sherri packed up the house and shop and relocated to Adams Lake where Ray enjoyed the sunshine, lake and many friends.

Fondest memories of ay include camping shing der ies uilding a re creatng treasures in his shop being a husband, father, grandfather and friend to many. Ray will always be remembered for giving a helping hand leaving many un nished pro ects and sharing a beer or two and gossip with anyone who stopped by to visit.

Although Ray is gone from our sight, he will never be gone from our hearts.

ele raton of Life will e held on ugust 1 2026 at 1:00 at Wayne and Lisa’s house 9101 ld Summit Lake oad rince eorge .

Michel Labonte

September 19, 1942 - July 17, 2026

It is with heavy hearts and profound love that we announce the passing of Michel “Mike” Labonté, 83, of Prince George, BC. Mike passed away at his home on Friday, July 17th, 2026.

Born Joseph André Wilfrid Michel in Morinville, Alberta on September 19, 1942 to Lucien and Honorine Labonté, Mike was the fourth of eleven children. He moved to Prince George in the late ‘60s as a salesman for Gainers Meats. He married Kathleen Glasser July 11, 1970 and together they raised ve children. e worked as a salesman and sales manager for Malkins and Sunspun Foods for over two decades, then operated his own catering and concession stand business.

He was a loving and devoted husband, father, and ep re as well as an actve mem er of his church and community. He was a member of St. Mary’s parish for nearly six decades, led several fundraising campaigns for the Church and Elementary school, and was a proud contri utng mem er of the nights of Columbus. He was also a driving force behind the growth of youth soccer in the city rst as a coach then as a one manager and ultmately as the chair of rince eorge outh Soccer ssociaton where he in colla oraton with his oard created the soccer elds now used by youth players across the city. One of the elds is named for him.

Mike is survived by his wife Kathleen, his daughters Michelle (Jack) and Karen, his sons Chris (Michelle), Daniel, and Mark (Roberta), as well as his grandchildren Paul, James, Sophie, Simon, Elliot, Megan, Owen, Juliet, and Jolene. He is also survived by his sisters Evangeline (Louis), Rogelle (Willie), Denise, Yvonne (Tom), and Marie (Gerry), and his rother oger ernade e .

PUBLIC NOTICE FOREST OPERATIONS MAP REVIEW

Sinclar Group Forest Products Ltd (Lakeland Mills and inton Global) proposed forest operatons map ( OM), ID: 59, will be available for public review and comment from August 7, 2026, untl September 6, 2026.

The OM is valid for three years and may be relied upon for cu ng road permits to harvest a cutbloc or construct a road shown on the OM. It may be accessed comments may be submited at the following website: orest Operatons Map (gov.bc.ca).

To discuss the OM with a Sinclar representatve, schedule an appointment during business hours, Mon ri between 8: 0am : 0pm.

Contact Emma Duncan, RPF at 250-570-9245 or emma.duncan@sinclar.com to schedule.

Writen comments can be mailed to: mma uncan, Sinclar Woodlands, 1515 Nicholson St S, Prince George, BC, V2N 1V7

PUBLIC NOTICE FOREST OPERATIONS MAP REVIEW

PUBLIC NOTICE FOREST OPERATIONS MAP REVIEW

Carrier Lumber Ltd., invites the public to review its Forest Operations Maps (FOM ID: 1628) which provides development plans within the George Timber Supply Area and administered from the Prince George Natural Resource District. The FOM(s) have been prepared in accordance with the Forest and Range Practices Act and describe areas planned for Cutting Permit and Road Permit development within the next three years. The public may provide comments on the FOM(s) at any point during the review and comment period, which starts July 11, 2024 ends August 9, 2024.

The FOM(s) is accessible for public review and comment submissions online at the following website address: Forest Operations Map (gov.bc.ca) or https://fom.nrs.gov.bc.ca/public/projects#publicNotices

LEGAL NOTICE

Notce is hereby given to BRIAN ROBERT GIBSON he may contact Dale Sands, lawyer for Julie Mae Morin, Executor and Trustee for the Estate of Cliford Anthony Gibson, Deceased at: Dale Sands, Barrister & Solicitor 32540 Logan Avenue Mission, B.C. V2V 6G3 1-604-820-4056 or dale@dalesandslaw.ca,

Alternatively, in-person review and comment of FOM(s) can be completed, by appointment to ensure a Carrier Lumber woodlands staff will be available, at the following locations during regular office hours (8:30 am to 4:00 pm):

4722 Continental Way, Prince George BC V2N 5S5

FOM(s) comments may also be submitted by mail to the above address or by phone at (250) 563-9271 or by email at fom.pg@carrierlumber.ca

to obtain a November 17, 2025 leter by Julie Mae Morin to him enclosing a Notce Of Proposed Applicaton In Relaton To Estate (dated November 17, 2025) and a copy of the Deceased’s last will and testament (dated April 8, 2025), as well as obtaining a copy of the June 29, 2026 Supreme Court of Britsh Columbia Order, entered July 7, 2026, he may be served substtutonally with the aforesaid November 17, 2025 leter and its enclosures.

Carrier Lumber Ltd. in partnership with Tse’ khene Timber Ltd., invites the public to review its Forest Operatons Maps ( OM ID: 58) which provides development plans within the Prince George Timber Supply Area and administered from the Prince George Natural Resource District. The OM(s) have been prepared in accordance with the Forest and Range Practces Act and describe areas planned for Cu ng Permit and Road Permit development within the next three years. The public may provide comments on the OM(s) at any point during the review and comment period, which starts August 6, 2026 and ends September 4, 2026.

The OM(s) is accessible for public review and comment submissions online at the following website address: Forest Operatons Map (gov.bc.ca) or htps://fom.nrs. gov.bc.ca/public/projects#publicNotces

Alternatvely, in person review and comment of OM(s) can be completed, by appointment to ensure a Carrier umber woodlands staf member will be available, at the following locatons during regular o ce hours (8: 0 am to :00 pm):

4722 Contnental Way, Prince George BC V2N 5S5 FOM(s) comments may also be submited by mail to the above address or by phone at (250) 563-9271 or by email at fom.pg@carrierlumber.ca

heartily disapproved of the idea of a French king, and two years later Elizabeth declined the proposal with what appears to have been genuine regret. She remained single for the rest of her life.

Candler Theatre. It ran for 365 performances and became famous for pioneering the use of the cinematic “flashback” and reverse chronology on stage.

animal-rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was incorporated in a basement office in Takoma Park, Maryland.

* On Aug. 17, 1579, Francois, Duke of Alencon and Anjou, visited Queen Elizabeth I of England with the design of winning her hand in marriage -- the only suitor to court her in person. He was 23 and Elizabeth 45. Though they became quite close, the queen’s subjects

• On Aug. 10, 30 B.C., Cleopatra, queen of Egypt and the lover of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, died by suicide — according to legend, by the bite of a poisonous snake — after her forces against Octavian, Rome’s future first emperor, were defeated.

• On Aug. 11, 1984, President Ronald Reagan made a controversial quip while he tested a microphone prior to a scheduled radio address, saying, “My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you today that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.” His approval rating suffered a slight drop, but he went on to serve a second term.

(March 21 to April 19) Someone who knows you to be courageous and generous asks for help in getng through a crisis. Be prepared for some difcultes, but be assured that you’ll overcome them.

* On Aug. 18, 1826, Scottish explorer Alexander Gordon Laing made his way across the Sahara and became the first European to reach the fabled trading city of Timbuktu. Merely weeks after leaving it, he was murdered in his sleep by his own Arab escorts.

* On Aug. 19, 1914, Elmer Rice’s courtroom drama “On Trial” debuted at New York City’s

* On Aug. 20, 1957, the U.S. Air Force’s ultra-high balloon flight Project Manhigh broke the existing altitude record by reaching 101,516 feet over Minnesota and South Dakota with physician and scientist David G. Simons in an aluminum capsule suspended from a helium balloon. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for the achievement.

* On Aug. 21, 1980, the

* On Aug. 22, 1992, FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi, while aiming at a fleeing suspect, shot and killed Vicki Weaver during an 11-day siege at her home at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. Weaver was unarmed and holding her infant daughter behind the door of her cabin. Horiuchi was initially charged with manslaughter but the charges were dismissed.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Forget about people who are ungrateful despite all that you’ve done for them. Reward yourself for being the fne person you are. Buy something wonderful and have fun!

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Your need for stability is evident as you face some unsetling choices. Weigh the pros and cons of each on a one-by-one basis untl you know enough to make a decision.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) A personal relatonship will contnue to be tense and troubled, untl you surprise everyone by making a rare (for you!) frst move to smooth things over.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Music and merriment dominate at this tme. Go ahead and have fun -- you’ve earned it! Meanwhile, don’t be surprised if a LEO is there to share the good tmes with you.

• On Aug. 12, 1964, Charlie Wilson, part of the group responsible for the 1963 Great Train Robbery, one of the biggest thefts of its kind, escaped from the Winson Green Prison in Birmingham, England, with the aid of several men who broke into the facility for that express purpose. He was not recaptured until 1968.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Believe in yourself, and your intrepid nature will win out over any lingering tmidity that has you wavering over taking a new job. Then go out and celebrate!

• On Aug. 13, 1995, former New York Yankees star Mickey Mantle died of liver cancer in Dallas at the age of 63. At the time of his passing, he held many World Series records, including most home runs.

• On Aug. 14, 1585, England’s Queen Elizabeth I refused sovereignty of the Netherlands to avoid a commitment to war with Spain, fearing financial losses and a dangerous precedent of supporting subjects in rebellion against their rightful monarch, Philip II of Spain.

• On Aug. 15, 2021, two weeks before American troops were set to officially withdraw from Afghanistan, Taliban leaders entered its capital, Kabul, and reclaimed power with little resistance. Video footage documented chaos during and after the withdrawal, including scenes of the Taliban celebrating with gunfire and frantic citizens chasing and clinging to departing American military planes.

• On Aug. 16, 1942, a Navy blimp flying over San Francisco Bay, searching for Japanese submarines, crash landed on a street in nearby Daly City. Though rescuers raced to the scene, they found only an empty ship, with no sign of its two pilots. Their disappear-

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Someone you thought had the same warm feelings for you as you do for them suddenly turns cool. Don’t press for an explanaton now; this will come later.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) A new path opens as you work your way through a difcult problem. Friends and family will be there to walk with you. Things begin to get brighter soon.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21)

A family situaton contnues to tax your patence, but it’s soon resolved. Stay with it. Meanwhile, someone is waitng for you to follow up on some promises.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) A long-awaited career move fnally gets started. Meanwhile, a family member’s health problem causes some concern, but a doctor has a reassuring diagnosis.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Most folks perceive you as a serious, no-nonsense type. But surprise them by revealing the fun-loving side of yourself. Meanwhile, an ARIES has romantc ideas!

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) A new relatonship grows stronger, but don’t be pushed into a commitment before you feel like you’re ready. It’s beter to tread water than to dive in over your head.

Homes & Living

Diferent Ways to Patch a Leaky Roof

A leaky roof can quickly turn from a minor nuisance into a major home repair if left untreated. Even a small drip can damage insulation, stain ceilings, encourage mold growth, and weaken the structure of your home.

While some roofing problems require professional attention, many minor leaks can be patched temporarily—or even permanently— with the right materials and techniques.

Safety should always come first. Never attempt roof repairs during rain, snow, high winds, or icy conditions. Use a sturdy ladder, wear non-slip footwear, and avoid working alone whenever possible.

If the roof is steep or the damage appears extensive, it’s best to call a qualified roofing contractor.

One of the most common repair products is roofing cement. This thick, waterproof compound works well for sealing small cracks, holes, and damaged flashing. After cleaning away dirt and loose material, apply the cement with a putty knife, pressing it firmly into the damaged area.

For larger cracks, reinforcing the repair with roofing fabric before adding another layer of cement creates a stronger, longer-lasting seal. Roof repair tape offers another quick solution for emergency leaks. Designed with a waterproof adhesive backing, the tape sticks to many roofing materials, including asphalt shingles, metal roofing, and rubber membranes.

Once the surface is clean and dry, apply the tape over the damaged area and press it firmly into place. While highly effective, repair tape is generally considered a temporary fix until more permanent repairs can be completed.

Missing or damaged shingles are one of the leading causes of roof leaks. If a shingle has cracked, curled, or blown away during a storm, replacing it is usually the best option.

Carefully remove the damaged shingle, slide a matching replacement into place, secure it with roofing nails, and seal the nail heads with roofing cement to prevent water from entering.

Leaks frequently develop around flashing—the metal installed around chimneys, skylights, vents, and roof valleys. Over time, flashing can loosen or rust, allowing water to seep underneath.

Small gaps can often be sealed using a high-quality roofing sealant, while badly corroded flashing may need to be replaced entirely.

Flat roofs require a different approach. Liquid rubber or elastomeric roof coatings can be rolled or brushed onto the surface to create a seamless waterproof barrier. These coatings seal small cracks while also protecting the roof from future weather damage, making them a popular maintenance option for both residential and commercial buildings.

Sometimes the source of a leak isn’t damaged roofing material at all. Blocked gutters can cause rainwater to back up beneath shingles, especially during heavy downpours.

Cleaning leaves, twigs, and other debris from gutters and downspouts helps water drain properly and reduces the risk of leaks. Trimming tree branches that rub against the roof can also prevent damage to shingles over time.

Before making any repair, inspect your attic if possible. Water often travels along rafters before dripping onto ceilings, meaning the visible leak inside the home may not be directly

below the damaged area.

Look for water stains, damp insulation, or daylight coming through the roof decking to help locate the problem.

Although many small leaks can be repaired by homeowners, recurring leaks, widespread storm damage, sagging roof sections, or structural issues should always be assessed by a professional roofer.

Routine inspections in the spring and fall, combined with prompt repairs, are the best ways to extend the life of your roof and avoid costly water damage. A little preventative maintenance today can save thousands of dollars in repairs tomorrow.