Prince George Citizen, Thursday October 2, 2025

Another major downtown fire

Prince George firefighters work art the scene of a fire at the Nechako Bottle Depot on First Avenue early on Sunday, Sept. 28. Only a few support beams were left of the Return-It recycling location by later that morning. Nobody was in the building when the fire broke out and there were no injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation. There was no immediate word on the cost of damages. It was the second major downtown fire this month after CrossRoads Brewing and Distillery burned down on Sept. 5.

Involuntary care facility announced for Prince George

Premier shares the news at UBCM after reading letter from CrossRoads owner

COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

After promising the City of Prince George would get an involuntary care facility back in January, Premier David Eby said a site has been identified for one while addressing the Union of BC Municipalities annual convention in Victoria on Friday, Sept. 26.

Elected officials from Prince George praised the move, especially in the wake of the fire that burnt down CrossRoads Brewing and Distillery’s George Street location earlier in the month.

“I did talk to Prince George (Thursday) about the brewery, the CrossRoads Brewing facility that burnt down downtown,” Eby said during his speech.

“This is a core facility, a core gathering place in Prince George allegedly burnt down by an individual with a long rap sheet. Examples of crime like this in communities in BC break my heart, break the hearts of the community and must be addressed.

“It’s also not safe for the people who are living outside in obvious distress and ill health.”

In response to this, Eby said, the province is training and hiring more police officers, giving police more resources to fight crime and violent crime and fighting for tougher bail laws from the federal government.

On that last note, he said he understands that the federal government will be introducing changes to the criminal code this fall.

He later brought up the introduction of involuntary care facilities for mental health and addictions.

On top of the facilities in Maple Ridge and Surrey that have already opened at the sites of prisons, he said additional sites have been identified in Prince George and Surrey for the next two facilities.

These two sites will add 100 more

involuntary care beds in total.

“Core to the sites is that the buildings already exist and can be opened quickly,” Eby said.

On the infrastructure front, Eby brought up the North Coast transmission line aimed at doubling the capacity of the electrical transmission lines going from Prince George to Terrace.

This fall, he said, the province will introduce legislation to facilitate the construction of the transmission line.

“This transmission line will give companies access to clean power,” he said.

“We’re going to make sure it’s not just driving down emissions but creating jobs across the province. It’s going to strengthen our partnerships with First Nations. It means billions of dollars in investments and good union jobs for northern and rural communities.”

Also during his speech, Eby said he understands that the City of Prince George would like to host the UBCM conference in 2026.

“I fully endorse it,” he said. “Who with me thinks Prince George would do an amazing job next year hosting the UBCM? I think so too.”

The Citizen requested information from the premier’s office on the location, size and expected opening date of the facility. A response was sent by email from the Ministry of Health that provided no new information beyond what the premier had said during his

Also on the topic of public safety, Yu said the Prince George delegation spoke with Yung about potentially getting funding to fill in RCMP service gaps from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.

At the last city council meeting before the convention, council approved a request to lobby the provincial government for $400,000 to establish overnight private security patrols in the downtown core. Yu said the province wants to see more details from a proposal before making a funding decision.

Other meetings the Yu said he and city representatives had during the week included:

speech, except that each of the new involuntary care facilities “will include a significant number of beds to help people living in the region.”

“We look forward to sharing more information soon.”

Later in the day, Mayor Simon Yu told The Citizen by phone from Victoria that the announcement was a surprise, though some hints were dropped in meetings with the premier and Minister of State for Community Safety Terry Yung earlier in the week.

“We have not been given (the exact site),” Yu said. “The community as a whole, our Indigenous partners, we all know there’s a couple of choices in Prince George. We have a couple of facilities we can go to. The existing facilities require some form of renovation, a little bit of a retrofit, but I’m just glad it’s been chosen for Prince George.”

During the meeting with Eby on Sept. 25, Yu said he directly handed over a letter written by CrossRoads co-owners Daryl Leiski and Cindy Zurowski outlining the impacts of the fire and calling for bail reform, among other things.

“He read it immediately and I think it hit home,” Yu said. “This publicized incident has really given urgency for him to talk to the federal government through the attorney general to make sure the (bail) reform is going to be taking place in October.”

• Attending Forest Minister Ravi Parmar’s announcement on the findings of a review into BC Timber Sales

• Speaking with the Ministry of Infrastructure about the Infrastructure Projects Act and the need for a bridge to connect Lheidli T’enneh First Nation’s reserves separated by the Fraser River

• Attorney General Niki Sharma on public safety and the CrossRoads fire

• Energy Minister Adrian Dix on Prince George’s future as part of a hydrogen corridor

• Housing and Municipal Affairs Minister Christine Boyle on building affordable housing in Prince George in partnership with the federal government

• Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon on the need for economic growth and finding opportunities in the current trade war between the U.S. and Canada

• Representatives from various mining companies and C3 Alliance on positioning Prince George as an industry leader and on next January’s edition of the BC Natural Resources Forum

• Federal Housing Minister Gregor Robinson on having Prince George be a centre for modular home manufacturing

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UBCM PHOTO

Premier David Eby speaks to the Union of BC Municipalities convention in Victoria on Friday, Sept. 26.

News offers hope to community, says Dr. Barbara Kane

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On Sept. 26, Coun. Cori Ramsay was officially installed as the new UBCM president. Yu said that Prince George will benefit from the advocacy work she carries out and have access to information she receives as part of her duties.

After getting back to Prince George, Yu said he would look to continue working on public safety and the details of the new care facility as well as the role the city can play in upcoming major products like an expansion of LNG facilities and new mining opportunities.

As for the potential of Prince George hosting next year’s UBCM convention, Yu said he wasn’t sure the city had the accommodations ready for 3,000 delegates but wondered whether the work could get done to make it happen.

Statement from the city

In a statement issued later in the day, the City of Prince George issued a press release saying that an involuntary care facility was a central focus of their Sept. 25 meeting with the premier.

In that release, the mayor celebrated the announcement.

“We are committed to our role as a regional service hub, and today’s announcement will help ensure people with long-term, concurrent mental health and addictions challenges can access the care they need,” Yu said.

“This does not solve all of the challenges we are facing, but it is certainly a step in the right direction. A secure mental health and complex care facility has been the ask from this council for a number of years. Seeing the provincial government commit to this today demonstrates the importance of partnerships between all levels of government.”

City manager Walter Babicz was quoted as saying he welcomed the announcement.

“There has been a tremendous amount of advocacy work on this file, and we have consistently pushed for a site in Prince George to serve as the regional hub for northern BC,” Babicz said.

Potential sites have been selected for the new involuntary care centre in Prince George, but they haven’t been announced. However, the former youth corrections centre on Gunn Road has been proposed in the past.

“This facility will play a crucial role in meeting the needs of individuals who are struggling with mental health and addiction issues in our community and the broader region. We are pleased to see this progress.”

Dr. Barbara Kane’s petition

In August 2024, the head of the University Hospital of Northern BC’s psychiatric department, Dr. Barbara Kane, started a petition calling for the construction of a psychiatric hospital in Prince George.

Reached by phone, Kane said she was “very pleased” to hear Eby’s announcement.

“It really does give not only me, but other people as well some hope that there’s going to be somewhere that we can have the right facilities for people with really severe mental illnesses and brain injuries that need secure care, they need involuntary care,” Kane said.

Currently, she said, some of these patients are kept at UHNBC and it’s not good for them or the other patients in the ward. Some of them, she said, are intermittently violent.

“The fact that we have what looks like this facility coming really gives me and others a lot of hope that we’ll be able to take people who shouldn’t be in our hospital and put them somewhere where it’ll be better for them as well, because we’re not designed for that kind of really chronic care for people with that level of mental illness or brain injuries,” she said.

“We’ve got a lot of people now with

substance use disorders who’ve also got brain injuries either from overdoses or violence on the street or just from the drugs themselves, like crystal meth.”

Kane said she thinks the government would be looking at retrofitting the former Prince George Youth Custody Centre for the facility as politicians have toured it in the past. It was also originally developed as a correctional facility like the two involuntary care facilities that have already opened down south.

She said she couldn’t discount the potential difficulty of finding qualified personnel to staff the facility, but wondered if former staff from the youth custody centre who might have received some amount of mental health training might be interested in working at it.

She also said it was likely that the Prince George facility would receive patients from elsewhere in Northern Health, especially from the other two psychiatric units in Terrace and Dawson Creek.

“I would presume that we’ll get people from Quesnel and north,” she said. “Hopefully, people from Williams Lake and south are going to go somewhere else.”

There’s also a chance, she said, that some patients originally from the north who have been at the forensic psychiatric hospital in Port Coquitlam get transferred to the new facility.

“I want to thank all the people who helped in advocating for this,” Kane said. “There are about 5,000 people who signed the petition asking for the

psychiatric hospital in the north. I think the politicians in the north have been very vocal about saying we needed something like this.”

However, she cautioned that this facility is only part of the solution, saying that bail reform and issues surrounding homelessness still need to be addressed by the provincial and federal governments.

MLAs comment on announcement

Speaking to The Citizen by phone after the announcement, Prince George-Valemount Conservative MLA Rosalyn Bird said it was “exciting news.”

Bird also said she was glad to hear the premier say that action must be taken to address intimate partner violence and endorse Prince George hosting next year’s UBCM convention.

Prince George-Mackenzie Conservative MLA Kiel Giddens said by phone that he attended meetings with both the City of Prince George and District of Mackenzie’s delegations.

“I think for the City of Prince George’s part, they did an excellent job of highlighting some of the biggest problems plaguing our downtown in particular,” Giddens said.

Giddens said the fire that destroyed CrossRoads was a well-known story among convention attendees.

Prince George-North Cariboo Conservative MLA Sheldon Clare said he sat in on meetings with representatives from municipalities not just from his electoral district during the convention but from elsewhere in the province, as well as with corporations and consuls general from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan and Ireland.

“I’d like to have more details about it, but that’s very encouraging because it shows a bit of a change from (Eby’s) provincial policies,” Clare said about the involuntary care announcement.

“If he’s actually starting to listen to the BC Conservatives about the need for some solutions to the problems that safe supply and decriminalization and the rapidly deteriorating health-care system that’s been suffering … I’m all in favour of it.”

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

Grey collar jobs: Artificial intelligence goes to work

TED CLARKE Citizen Staff

Whether we like it or not, artificial intelligence is not going away.

Like the advent of personal computers in the 1980s and the connective internet world that became pervasive in the ’90s, use of AI is growing exponentially as a problem-solving tool that understands human language and can think and provide immediate feedback.

Generative AI apps such as ChatGPT have been available to the public for only three years, but they are rapidly changing the face of the workplace. Companies that want to stay on top of the business world are investing time and money into computer systems designed to make them more competitive and reduce the need for humans to perform repetitive, labour-intensive tasks.

The payoff from AI investments has yet to materialize. A recent Massachusetts Institute of Technology study found that despite US$30–40 billion being poured into AI initiatives, 95 per cent of those organizations report zero return.

But that’s likely a temporary blip. Technology, for those who embrace it, is rapidly replacing human grunt work with quicker, more accurate data that comes from thinking machines — and the revolution is already well underway in robotics to use machines to perform physical tasks.

So, does that mean some jobs will become obsolete and humans soon won’t be required to fill those positions? Most definitely — but there’s no need to panic.

“It’s not just about cutting jobs, it’s about reshaping work,” said Subodha Kumar, Paul R. Anderson distinguished chair and professor of statistics, operations and data science at the Fox School of Business at Temple University in Philadelphia.

“On one hand there will be cost reduction and automation, but it also has the potential to create a lot of new jobs and also create economic opportunities. AI is going in almost every industry and the kind of jobs which will go away first — are going away

already — is something that can be easily automated, like call centres, data entry jobs, scheduling jobs, warehouse automation, logistics — we are seeing a lot of jobs going away.

“Drafting of legal documents? AI is doing a pretty good job or even better. We are seeing a lot of entry-level jobs in top IT companies are disappearing or reducing big time, because for a lot of initial software codes, you don’t need computer science grads to write them anymore.”

Human resources departments are embracing AI for onboarding new employees — bringing them up to speed on company practices — using interactive programs to train new hires so they feel a more immediate sense of belonging.

that gap very nicely.

“We can automate some of the tasks and, if we are able to retrain our workforce correctly, so many of these jobs can come back without sacrificing on cost.”

Health authorities across Canada are struggling with labour shortages. One of the ways to address that is to devise AI applications for doctors and nurses to make it easier to input exam observations or test results and save time.

“I don’t see in the near future that healthcare jobs will disappear,” said Kumar. “It’s not about if AI can do those jobs or not. There are a lot of regulations around healthcare that will not make it happen.

“Healthcare has a lot of pressure on seeing more patients in a limited time and that is burning out radiologists and all kinds of specialties. What AI is going to do is reduce their workload, because it will provide a lot of assistance. And the second thing is it will improve the quality of care. It can give (medical staff) suggestions they might not have thought about.”

In North America, new “hybrid grey collar” jobs are being created for technicians and office workers in healthcare, skilled trades and cybersecurity occupations where AI handles repetitive tasks such as call-taking, scheduling and sending emails — allowing workers more opportunities to use their experience and technical knowledge.

“We need less people, but the training is very different,” said Kumar. “A lot of companies are hiring people who are experts in getting results fast from AI — and better results.

“A lot of North American companies lost out in manufacturing because it was going overseas and the reason was we didn’t have the workforce, and it was very costly and sometimes they were missing skills also. Actually, AI can fill

AI is creating efficiencies in the forestry, mining and energy sectors — used to explain complex procedures to employees and alert workers about predictive maintenance requirements to improve safety. Automation will continue with advancements in robotics — and that will mean fewer jobs in sawmills and mining operations.

“In the short term, there will be a lot of displacement of jobs and we cannot deny that,” he said. “Each individual in the world right now has to start thinking how they can retool themselves and utilize all the resources that they can have. That’s the only way to excel in the new world. AI will only take away those jobs who are not using AI. If you are using AI, you’ll be fine.”

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BEYZAA YURTKURAN/PEXELS PHOTO

OpenAI’s ChatGPT was one of the first mainstream user-friendly artificial intelligence tours. Others, including Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini are becoming more commonly used as business applications.

Kumar

UNBC is learning how to adapt to AI in the classroom

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Agentic AI — which has the ability to learn, reason and make decisions — has the potential, with its software applications, to streamline workflows and increase productivity because it can manage complex tasks. Kumar says the pharmaceutical industry is using agentic AI to direct research and find more effective drugs.

Agentic AI is brand new, having just become available a few months ago, but a report by marketing research experts Gartner Inc. predicts one-third of companies will be using it by 2028. As the cost of computing continues to drop exponentially, Kumar says more industries will take advantage of it.

“AI is the most powerful tool that North American businesses have seen in our lifetime,” said Kumar.

“The cost of drilling for oil is very high and the whole generative AI/agentic AI (innovation) has huge potential to reduce that cost,” he said. “It has not happened yet, but I’m quite sure it will happen. Sometimes it will suggest things we’re not thinking about.

“It will cut costs, but it can also improve job growth and even bring industries back home. The challenge is make sure we invest in people as much as technology — and that is my advice to all the companies right now.”

Universities are at a crossroads, coming to grips with shortcuts to learning being uncovered by smart machines. Now that students can easily access AI, how do you test their knowledge of course material? How do you rewire professors with decades of teaching

particular field, AI is still in its infancy, and the answers it gives to prompts are often insufficient or flawed.

“Now if you have expertise, it’s easy for you to delineate between good work and B.S.,” said Kafui Monu, chair of UNBC’s School of Business.

“The utopian dream in business is that you will only get better marketing plans (by using AI). I can easily generate a mediocre one within minutes and use my expertise to say, maybe I should add this or add that.”

experience and get them to radically change how they assess students?

“You can’t use the older methods of evaluation — that is not meaningful, because that is not how they’re going to use it in companies,” said Kumar. “So how can you create this man-machine collaboration to get the best out of AI?

“At Temple, we are experimenting with a lot of new ideas, and there’s a lot of pushback, and they see it as a kneejerk reaction. But if we don’t do that, it will be too late and we will be the culprit. The colleges are moving slower than what I would like to happen. However, I see a lot of push is coming from the top level, and I hope the needle will move.”

In Prince George, more than 100 UNBC instructors took part in a two-day teaching and learning conference just before classes began in September to discuss generative AI and how it’s

being used in the classroom — a hot-button topic on the Cranbrook Hill campus.

“AI is not going to leave us, so how do we teach students to use it appropriately, to acknowledge when they’re using it, and when it’s not appropriate — and that is a challenging discussion,” said Bill Owen, UNBC vice-president academic. “Changing our assessment techniques is part of the discussion that’s going on today.”

ChatGPT, an app now pervasive on mobile phones, is great for filling in the blanks and providing basic information to people who know little about the subject matter. But for experts in a

AI has industrialized cheating in classrooms, and for the past two school years, Monu has had to change how he assesses student assignments. They have to show the work they used to prompt the system — because in the working world, that’s how their knowledge will be applied.

“With AI, simply putting out something that’s coherent isn’t good enough anymore — the specifics of the question will need to be answered for the case. I want to know that you’ve read it,” said Monu.

“Honestly, we’re in the beginning days of this. Our entrepreneurship class is our first stab at that. Instead of making assignments that are ‘AI-proof,’ we are going to use the system in class and be very clear to students that it’s not wrong to use the system — but there are flaws in them, and to be employed, you’re going to have to be better than them.”

Owen

Monu

GOOGLE GEMINI IMAGE

The online AI tool Google Gemini was asked to create an image of the University of Northern BC’s Prince George campus. It came up with this, making it clear that artificial intelligence isn’t quite up to some jobs.

Local band Good

Party time: CN Centre turns 30

Thirty years after the opening of the CN Centre, the entertainment and sports hub formerly known as the Prince George Multiplex welcomes families for a birthday party to cap off a week of great performances, including Bryan Adams, Brent Butt and Trooper

during the party celebrating the 30th birthday of the CN Centre on Sunday,

LEFT: Mr. PG greets fans on the ice at CN Centre while celebrating the 30th birthday of the former Multiplex.

BELOW: Mom Karen Printzen watches as daughter Mia, 4, gets her balance at centre ice as they join the free skating.

ABOVE:

Juju plays

Sept. 28.

Northern Health proposes rezoning UHNBC property

The property bordered in black is the University Hospital of Northern BC in Prince George. At the Monday, Oct. 6, city council meeting, first consideration will be given to rezoning the property.

COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

Prince George city council will consider some zoning changes requested by Northern Health to facilitate the construction of the planned acute care tower at the University Hospital of Northern BC at its next meeting on Monday, Oct. 6.

On Friday, Sept. 26, the city gave notice that council would be considering the first three readings of a zoning bylaw requested by PlanIt First Consultants on behalf of Northern Health on Oct. 6.

If passed, the bylaw would amend the city’s existing zoning bylaw to create a new zone called P7: University Hospital of Northern BC and rezone the hospital property at 1475 Edmonton St. from P3: Major Institutional to this new zone.

A copy of the bylaw attached to the notice said that the bylaw would “facilitate the development of two proposed acute care towers on the subject property, or other uses, pursuant to the ‘P7: University Hospital of Northern British Columbia’ zoning designation.”

Under the new P7 zone, permitted principal land uses include health services (community outreach, major and minor), community outreach, community

New name for former Central Interior Native Health Society

CITIZEN STAFF

Central Interior Native Health Society has officially changed its name to Soonats’ooneh (SOO-nats-oh-neh), a Dakelh phrase meaning “let’s all get well.”

The new name — gifted to the organization by a circle of respected matriarchs in August 2024, led by the late Elder Edie Frederick ‘uzdani’ of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation — marks a significant shift for the Indigenous-led health centre as it deepens its commitment to culturally safe, trauma-responsive and community-driven care.

“This is more than a name. It’s a guiding principle,” said Shobha Sharma, executive director of Soonats’ooneh, in a press release.

“It reflects our belief that wellness is collective, and that healing must be rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing and being.”

The name change and accompanying visual rebrand are the result of an intentional re-envisioning process that engaged clients, staff, board members and community members.

Through listening circles and cultural guidance, the organization reaffirmed its identity as a centre focused on whole-person wellness, cultural healing and community connection.

The name Soonats’ooneh emerged through a process of language reclamation led by a circle of matriarchs: Elder Lucy Duncan, Elder Nellie Prince, Elder Rose Thomas, Elder Cathy Joseph, Elder Mystri Badis-Daniel and the late Elder Edie Frederick ‘uzdani’.

The new logo, created by Dakelh and Lheidli T’enneh Nation member and artist Jennifer Annaïs Pighin, features symbols such as water, feathers, medicine plants and hands — each representing teaching, healing, protection and balance.

care facilities (major, minor and specialized), education (commercial and higher), emergency services and massage therapy.

Allowed secondary uses would be offices, restaurants and retail (convenience and general).

The minimum lot width would be 20 metres and the minimum lot area one square kilometre.

The maximum allowable site coverage is 100 per cent, building height is 100 metres, minimum front, side and rear yards three metres and minimum setback 4.5 meters. Under the P3 zone, maximum allowed building heights are just 15 metres and maximum site coverage is 50 per cent.

As the rezoning application is considered consistent with Prince George’s Official Community Plan, there will be no public hearing on the matter. However, residents can still submit written comments for council to consider during the Oct. 6 meeting.

Comments must be sent in person to the corporate officer on the fifth floor of city hall or emailed to cityclerk@princegeorge.ca by noon on Oct. 6.

Council meetings start at 6 p.m. in chambers on the second floor of Prince George City Hall. For those unable to attend in person, council meetings are livestreamed on princegeorge.ca.

World Teachers´

Involuntary care: Local voices are heard in Victoria

KENNEDY GORDON Citizen Managing Editor

Finally! The province has taken a real step toward addressing one of Prince George’s most pressing public safety and health care challenges: the need for an involuntary mental health and addictions care facility in Northern BC.

The announcement came with few specifics. We know a site has been selected (we’re guessing it’s the old youth detention centre on Gunn Road, but there’s no official word on that) and no date announced.

Regardless, Premier David Eby’s confirmation at the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention last Thursday that a site in Prince George has been selected is nevertheless an important milestone.

This didn’t just happen, and while the premier announced it, this was a concerted local effort that was heard in Victoria. The political will, spurred by public outcry and local advocacy, made this happen.

A lot of that momentum can be traced directly to the efforts of Dr. Barbara Kane, head of the psychiatric department at the University Hospital of Northern BC.

Kane’s public campaign, which included a petition signed by 3,783 people, helped crystallize the need for secure, specialized care for individuals with severe mental illnesses, brain injuries and addictions, many of whom are

currently being held in hospital wards that are not designed for such complex and chronic cases.

“It really does give not only me, but other people as well some hope,” Kane said following the announcement.

That hope is something we need here in our city for residents, for care providers and for those who have too often fallen through the cracks.

To that end, credit must also be given to Mayor Simon Yu and city council, whose advocacy clearly kept this issue on the province’s radar.

Yu’s direct engagement with the premier and other ministers — including the hand delivery to Eby of a letter from CrossRoads Brewing co-owners Cindy Zurowski and Daryl Leiski — appears to have helped push this issue over the line.

CrossRoads, tragically, became the symbol of a crisis that has long been simmering beneath the surface. The fire that destroyed its downtown location — allegedly set by a person with a long criminal record and complex health issues — served as a painful, public reminder of what’s at stake.

That business and its owners did not ask to be part of this story, but the $1.8-million fire has sparked action that may ultimately protect many others.

We’d be remiss not to mention our own role in amplifying these concerns through extensive reporting on issues around homelessness, addiction and crime and in multiple editorials over the past 18 months calling for major change.

Our coverage and calls to action

regarding the city’s public safety and health care crises, from downtown street disorder to the strain on hospital staff, has reflected the community’s fear, frustration and hope for better days ahead.

That fear and frustration has been heard, and that hope now feels a little more justified.

While the province’s plan includes 100 new involuntary care beds across Prince George and Surrey and makes use of existing infrastructure for quicker deployment, the work is far from over.

Questions about staffing, long-term funding and how these facilities will interface with local health systems still needs to be unveiled by Health Minister Josie Osborne.

And remember, please, that this facility is not a silver bullet. Kane is right to caution that bail reform, housing and federal policy will all have to play key roles.

But this announcement is a long-overdue acknowledgment that Prince George — and the entire northern region — deserves better access to specialized care.

Now we can continue the push for more mental health and addiction services for women and children, another area where the North is drastically underserved.

We applaud the province for taking this step. And we thank those who have fought so hard to make it happen.

editor@pgcitizen.ca

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Nous reconnaissons l’appui financier du gouvernement du

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CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY TED CLARKE

City of Prince George bylaw officers talk to a resident at Moccasin Flats earlier this year. The province has committed to opening an involuntary care facility in Prince George to address issues relating to mental health, addiction and homelessness.

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Canada.

Canada.

Little Prince’s new home will be more than just a ‘shed’

ALYSSA LEIER Guest Columnist

The Little Prince is more than a locomotive. For over a century, this six-ton engine has been part of Prince George’s journey — first helping carve the railway grade that built our region, then delighting generations of children and families in Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park.

For decades, the Little Prince has stood as a testament to Prince George’s enduring connection to Canada’s railway history.

That history is complex, but it is an important story, and it deserves to be told in full.

Built in 1912, the Dinkie engines were pioneers of biofuel in our region, burning wood instead of coal and helping carve the railway grade from Tête Jaune Cache to Prince Rupert.

Our engine, painstakingly repaired by volunteers from pieces of all five original locomotives, became a fixture at the railway station as early as 1926.

When CN donated the engine to the city in 1971, Mayor Harold Moffat accepted it “for the use and enjoyment of the citizens, especially the children of the area.”

Since then, volunteers, engineers and community members have poured their time, skill and love into keeping it alive.

The Little Prince isn’t an amusement park novelty. It is a licensed Canadian

Don’t waste taxpayer money on useless FIFA parties

Spending taxpayer money on watch parties is unacceptable.

Downtown Prince George is a crimeand filth-riddled waste-land.

Businesses are struggling. It is unsafe to bring children to many parts of the downtown core. Garbage and filth flood the streets.

What is being done? Meetings and consultations. Very little action.

railway engine that meets strict national standards, requiring trained and certified staff, including our engineers and conductors.

It has been restored and maintained through dedication and sacrifice. It runs on a rare narrow-gauge track and functions differently than any other train currently operating.

Because it is a licensed and active Canadian railway, it needs to comply with the Canadian Railroad Operating Regulations, as well as with the BC Safety Authority’s Antique Show Boiler Regulations.

The track repairs need to be up to provincial industry and safety standards — and are located in an archaeological site.

All maintenance requires specially machined parts and incredible expertise, as the train is exceptionally rare and more than 100 years old.

It is currently housed in a long Quonset hut that was assembled incorrectly back in the early 1970s.

LETTERS

The roof leaks every time it rains, and the interior rails have settled into the ground over the last 50 years, allowing runoff, snow melt and rain to pour into the structure along the ground.

This results in the train freezing solid onto the rails each winter, with water at least halfway up the engine’s wheels. Combined with the rainwater pouring in on top of this important artifact, the humidity is causing rust and rot, and we cannot protect it to the necessary standards.

Because of the substandard nature of the building envelope and interior environment, it is impossible for the steam engineers to work on the train in the shed.

The gravel floor is typically wet and covered in grease and oil; lighting is abysmal. Tools and chemicals cannot be stored over winter in the shed, nor can certain parts of the train itself, like the brass fittings, steam injectors and gauges.

Additionally, there isn’t adequate

room to properly store the wood the train burns to operate — leading to additional frustrations for engineers.

To lose the Little Prince would be to erase a piece of who we are.

Heritage like this cannot be replaced. It is where intergenerational memories are made. It is what visitors remember when they go home and tell stories about Prince George. It is pride, identity and community rolled onto a set of tracks.

Yes, the train needs care. The building that houses it is failing, and without investment, the damage will only grow worse.

The answer is the same as it was in the 1920s, the 1970s and every decade since: community willpower, vision and pride.

Whatever the design looks like, it needs to be made clear that this building is more than just a “shed.” It needs to be up to provincial, federal and industry standards.

The Exploration Place is not responsible for building design or construction; we are responsible for the operation. It is no longer feasible to operate out of this building.

We are simply asking for a safe and operational building to store and work on the Little Prince.

The Little Prince belongs to all of us, and once it is gone, it is impossible to replace it.

Alyssa Leier is the executive director of The Exploration Place.

EDITOR to

the

This message is being sent on your website from a browser. Please email me if the format is off.

I ask you to reprioritize the way money is spent in this town that you have been tasked with managing. I will not be voting for any current members unless some-thing changes fast.

I hope you receive many more emails like this.

Do better!

Dustin Meroniuk Prince George

Removing Connaught Hill stairs would mean criminals win

As a longtime resident of Prince George — I have lived here since 1972 — these stairs are part of our city heritage.

They were built for a practical purpose but soon became a city icon, as much as Mr. PG. There are endless paintings of them. They were yellow for over 40 years and, in my opinion, they should have stayed that way.

If you remove them, once again the criminals and vagrants have bullied us — and are ruining what used to be a great place to live.

Terrylee Kendall Prince George

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

The Little Prince is a popular attraction at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park.

OPINION

Letter to the editor: Connaught Hill staircase has become a magnet for trouble

I don t think that removing those steps will cure the problem. These people are sick. They will make a fire wherever they please.

I think we should follow Alberta’s way of helping the street people. They are sick, very sick.

PG needs a place where mental health addicted people can stay, under supervision of med staff, counseling...the whole nine yards, and not just one month. I’m talking at least one year.

A whole program that would also teach them living skills: to cook, to work, to garden.

I am a Christian so I believe the Bible should be taught as well, so they learn that they are loved and they are worth it.

No free drugs! That is their downfall. We are slowly killing them. We are not helping them.

Perhaps Christian organizations should be contacted and involved in this program.

The difficulty with this, I think, would be the gov s laws, that would infringe on these people s rights.

It looks like the street people’s rights are more important than the citizen’s rights. WWJD?

Monique Rheault Carlson

Share your views on our stories at

Letter to the editor:

Connaught Hill staircase has become a magnet for trouble

I spent most of my formative years in the bowl and have many found memories of the big yellow (in my mind they will always be yellow ) stairs, in fact there’s quite a few of these large metal staircases in adjoining neighborhoods.

City council shouldn’t even consider removing walkable infrastructure in the downtown area and instead focus all available resources into preventing the unhoused from building a campfire complete with logs anywhere!

I speak from experience when I say that dragging a log down a sidewalk in my youth guaranteed a conversation with a passing constable.

I’m always a little stunned that for the amount of officers we have in this town they’re never where you’d expect them to be... J3R3my

Editorial: Enough is enough when it comes to downtown Prince George crime

Excellent editorial. The takeaway for me is: “Treatment beds and mental health beds need to be available when the person finally hits their bottom.”

There is no use trying to help people if there is no facility to get them mentally in the right place. They are building a treatment centre on Tachick Lake on native land and this centre should take some pressure off of PG unless it is just for locals.

Rural Redhead

Site chosen for Prince George involuntary care facility, premier says

It’s encouraging to hear Premier Eby finally address the crime and health crises impacting Prince George.

However, after years of watching our community suffer, residents and business owners are understandably skeptical.

We’ve lost multiple buildings downtown while a catch-andrelease justice system provides no consequences for repeat offenders who commit crimes to fuel their addictions — a situation many believe is a direct result of the NDP and Dr. Henry’s failed harm reduction experiment. So, while we’re told this building ‘can be opened quickly,’ our optimism is limited.

This is a long-overdue step, but our community needs to see this facility operating, and a justice system that works, before we can call it a success.

Keiser

Editorial: Enough is enough when it comes to downtown Prince George crime

You are absolutely right. Involuntary placement to wellrun and funded treatment centres and mental health hospitals is the only answer that will truly clean up and reduce crime in the city.

We have no problem committing people with severe dementia (for their own safety) to secure nursing homes, why is this different?

Retired Librarian

Site chosen for Prince George involuntary care facility, premier says

The problem with what the feds announced is that it focused on extremely violent crimes and those involving weapons.

Granted that those that commit those crimes should be held in custody until trial (without two for one credit this time).

What is happening in downtown is death by a thousand cuts. The same people committing small crimes and/or acts of vandalism again and again at times minutes after being cut lose

In court they are sentenced to probation with conditions, only to breach conditions, appear in court, be sentenced to more probation with conditions, breach those conditions,appear in court ... and around it goes like a snake eating its tail

There must be consequences for breaching court-ordered conditions! Starting point 30 days in jail for each count.

As it stands the criminals are just laughing at the toothless court system and weak kneed judges

Bobs your uncle

Neighbour describes fleeing as log home catches fire

CHRISTINE DALGLEISH Citizen Staff

It was about 8:30 p.m. when a neighbour called Joanne Stewart as she relaxed in her home near Ruby Lake on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025.

“I looked out the door and I saw the flames shooting up at the corner of the house,” Stewart said.

“It was a log house that was on fire and I don’t know how it started but this house was fully engulfed and apparently the family — they have two little kids — were all able to get out including their pets.”

The area is densely treed and the log house is two houses away from Stewart’s, which she guesstimated to be about a quarter mile away.

There is no fire protection service in that area so the neighbours knew they had to take action to save themselves.

“Another neighbour called and said ‘we have to get outta here because this is a huge fire,’” Stewart recalled.

“At that point I guess someone contacted the forestry department and they eventually came out but the police came out first and as far as I know they went from door to door and told everyone to go to Nukko Lake school and that’s where they all met.”

Stewart said she believes there were six families evacuated.

“They didn’t even have time to put on coats over their night clothes, they just ran out of the house as fast as they could,” Stewart said with a disbelieving shake of her head.

“I was given notice and was told by police if the fire spread any more that they would come back and tell me to evacuate my home, too,” Stewart said.

Her two cats were her priority as she packed up her essentials, she added.

When forestry representatives arrived at the scene they accessed Ruby Lake by way of another neighbour’s property so they could pump water from the lake onto the fire, Stewart explained.

“I think what saved the fire from growng was there was a lake to access to help put out the flames,” Stewart said.

“All night I kept running down to the road and kept watching the flames to see if they were coming my way and, of course, the cats slept right through it. I was worried and I was up until about 3 o’clock.”

Not long after that a wind came up.

“And I had ash everywhere — huge chunks as big as my hand — all over the

place,” Stewart recalled.

“Thank goodness no ash carried any embers with it so there was no fire at my place.”

The power was out for 17 hours during the ordeal, she added.

Stewart said she felt compelled to come into The Citizen’s office to talk about the fire as an online news report the paper published about a wildfire in that area didn’t mention the house fire.

The Citizen hasn’t confirmed whether the wildfire reported by the BC Wildfire Service and the house fire were connected.

After the fire is out Stewart, who owns the lot across from the property affected, said she went there a couple of days later and all that’s left are a few chickens running around.

“The house is completely gone and I saw a truck that had been on fire,” Stewart said.

Nothing will really change for Stewart even after an experience like that but she knows one thing for sure.

“We need fire protection out there,” Stewart said.

She speculated about creating a fire break by cutting some of the trees from around her house.

“But really I don’t think it would make a difference,” Stewart said.

“I know I have a lot of cottonwood and poplar and those leaves didn’t burn up — they just turned black — and there’s something to that. It does make a difference. But looking at it all ... it was pretty scary.”

Stewart said she’s left with one idea in her head after this close-call experience.

“Be prepared because until it happens you’re always thinking ‘I’ll get ready’ but that’s what I’ll take away from this — be prepared, that’s all I can say,” Stewart said.

Local man wanted by RCMP on five theft charges

Prince George RCMP are asking the public to keep an eye out for 30-year-old Corbin Jaimie Garry Lemky. Lemky is wanted on two endorsed and two unendorsed warrants for the

CRIME NOTES

following:

• Theft under $5,000 (five counts)

• Breach of undertaking He is described as:

• Caucasian male

• 6’1” (185 cm)

• 161 lb (73 kg)

• Brown hair

• Brown eyes

If you have any information about

Lemky’s whereabouts contact Prince George RCMP at 250-561-3300. If you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

New toxic drug alert issued for Prince George area

Northern Health has released a new toxic drug alert for the entirety of the Northern Region.

This drug — sold as “down” — has tested positive for fentanyl, benzos and medetomidine, with samples linked to

overdose events in the North.

Down is described as a purple paste or sample. Overdose symptoms linked to this drug may require multiple doses of naloxone — or may not respond to naloxone at all.

Medetomidine is described as a non-opioid sedative that can increase the risk of overdose and fatal overdose. It can cause complex drug poisoning, which involves deep and prolonged sedation and a very low or absent pulse. This alert expires on Oct. 7.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHRISTINE DALGLEISH

A burned-out pickup truck and a foundation are all that’s left after a house fire in an area northwest of the city near Ruby Lake on Sept. 16.

Lemky

Expert witness details murder accused’s mental illness

BOB MACKIN Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A forensic psychiatrist called as an expert witness for the defence recounted his fall 2023 meeting with first-degree murder suspect Zain Xavier Wood.

Wood, 25, is on trial in BC Supreme Court in Prince George. He pleaded not guilty to the charge that he planned to kill Isabelle Thomas on July 18, 2023. Before Justice Michael Tammen on Sept. 25, Dr. Tyler Oswald said he interviewed Wood at the Prince George Regional Correctional Centre for his December 2023 report.

Oswald diagnosed Wood with antisocial personality, anxiety problems, psychosis and three drug use problems: cannabis use disorder, methamphetamine use disorder and alcohol use disorder. Oswald described Wood as alert, relaxed and casual during the interview. “It seemed he answered all my questions.”

Wood told Oswald that he heard voices of a drug cartel threatening him and his mother, since he was 17. “So that would be a combination of a hallucination, with the hearing of the voices, and a delusional idea,” Oswald explained, adding he would call that paranoia.

Wood said he was taking an anti-psychotic medication called olanzapine and had times of low mood. Oswald did not think it met criteria for a depression.

“He talked about significant substance use problems over his lifetime. Drug use problems, those would be mental health problems,” Oswald said.

Wood also reported seeing “visions of random stuff” when his eyes were closed.

“He also talked about experiencing anxiety. He said this was reaching back

across his lifetime,” Oswald said. He decided that Wood would meet the criteria for antisocial personality disorder and he had worsened due to methamphetamine use. Symptoms lasted for months beyond the time of intoxication, meaning they likely became permanent. Oswald also suggested that Wood possibly suffers from schizophrenia and that there is “very strong evidence” that the voices he heard were not reality-based.

“Mr. Wood seemed to appreciate, at

least on that level, that this is not real, that his mind is fooling and tricking him,” Oswald said.

The only symptom of substance use disorder that did not apply to Wood was what is called role failure.

“So of the 11 diagnostic criteria, one of them is, is your use of this substance causing you inability to perform your roles at work, home or school? So he felt that methamphetamine didn’t impair him in that way.”

On Sept. 17, Wood testified in his own defence that he wanted to steal former girlfriend Thomas’s PlayStation 4 game console in order to pay a legal bill. Wood said he opened the unlocked door of Thomas’s Alpine Village townhouse while high on methamphetamine, walked upstairs, stabbed her and fled.

During his testimony, Wood denied planning to cause Thomas’s death and denied fantasizing about killing the mother of two children.

Wood admitted that he went home from Thomas’s, washed his hands, took a shower and washed the clothes he was wearing. He also invited a female friend to watch a horror movie with him about a serial killer doll named Chucky.

Crown prosecutor Kristina King said it took Wood 35 seconds to kill Thomas by stabbing her 16 times in the presence of her two young children.

Woman pleads guilty to obstruction of peace officer

BOB MACKIN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A 54-year-old woman charged with flight from police instead pleaded guilty Sept. 24 to obstruction of a peace officer.

In Prince George Provincial Court, Judge Peter McDermick sentenced Lori-Ann Stoelwinder to a nine-month combination of house arrest and curfew and 12 months probation for the offence that began around 5:50 p.m. on May 14, 2024.

Crown prosecutor Anna Novakovic told McDermick that a man reported a

possible impaired driver who backed a black Jeep Liberty, with an Alberta licence plate, into trees at the Tete Jaune Lodge and Campground north of Valemount.

An RCMP officer found the vehicle near Highway 16, but the driver turned into a parking lot, looked at the officer and drove away. Police had another chance to catch Stoelwinder because the highway was closed due to an earlier collision.

The officer spotted a cloud of dust from a vehicle that went off-road and the driver running up a hill. He eventually found Stoelwinder crouched in

bushes up the trail.

Stoelwinder was arrested, banned from driving for 24 hours, ticketed for no insurance and a licence plate that did not match the registration.

Novakovic said Stoelwinder was “in the throes of addiction at the time” and has since turned her life around, has a job and needs a driver’s licence for work.

Nonetheless, she called it a serious offence that requires deterrence and denunciation, “as the public was put at risk by her behaviour.”

Defence lawyer Jeremy Jensen said his client has a history of

self-medicating due to serious traumatic experiences. But, since the offence, she has been “entirely sober.”

McDermick agreed to the joint Crown and defence sentencing proposal. The first four months of Stoelwinder’s conditional sentence will be under house arrest, with allowance to leave her residence for employment and emergency medical treatment.

For the remaining five months, she will be under an 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. She must not possess drugs or alcohol and must attend counselling as directed by a conditional sentence supervisor.

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

A local man is on trial for first-degree murder in Prince George court.

CrossRoads arson suspect pleads ‘not guilty’

A security guard keeps watch on the CrossRoads Brewing and Distillery building Sept. 11. earlier in September. Richard Alex Gordon Titchener, who was charged with arson in connection with the Sept. 5 fire, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, Sept. 24 in Prince George Provincial Court. During the hearing, Titchener, 57, chose to be tried by a judge alone in BC Supreme Court and waived his right for a preliminary inquiry. The judge adjourned the case to BC Supreme Court chambers on Oct. 14 to fix a date for Titchener’s trial. Titchener remains in custody. Damage from the Sept. 5 fire was estimated at $1.8 million and put 50 people out of work. Titchener was identified and arrested several days later.

Edmonton man pleads guilty to attacking woman with bat

Journalism Initiative Reporter

An Edmonton man who beat a woman with an aluminum baseball bat, after she broke into his pickup truck and started a fire, pleaded guilty Sept. 24 to aggravated assault.

Crown prosecutor Anna Novakovic told Judge Peter McDermick in Prince George Provincial Court that a woman confronted Mark Duwayne Haugen at 5:25 a.m. on Feb. 23 at the Canco gas station on George Street “about an issue regarding her friend.” The woman broke the rear passenger side window of Haugen’s black 2018 Dodge Ram 1500 with the bat and threw a canister into the vehicle, starting a small backseat fire. Haugen took the bat and chased the woman, who fell at Dominion Street and Second Avenue. He struck her 12 times on the head, back and arms “with

force,” Novakovic said.

The woman did not fight back, but attempted to cover her head to defend against the strikes.

When police arrived, witnesses pointed to Haugen running on Second Avenue with the bat. An RCMP officer found him placing the bat inside the Ram and arrested him for assault with a weapon at 5:43 a.m.

While in custody, Haugen was the victim of an assault and sustained a severe brain injury.

Officers found the injured woman on the street and called Emergency Health Services, which rushed her to University Hospital of Northern B.C. for treatment of a broken right elbow and elbow laceration (which required 14 stitches), swollen left temple and a concussion.

McDermick adjourned the case to Nov. 19 for a pre-sentencing report and psychological risk assessment.

THE BEST GAMING ROOM IN PG

USE AND FREE DEMO GAMES

BOB MACKIN

Local

Innovative local solar panel company earns $100K investment at inaugural Northern Angel Summit finale

Open Waters Solar was chosen from among six finalists who pitched investors

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

Almost 200 people from the Northern BC business community gathered at the Civic Centre Thursday, Sept. 25 for the finale of the Northern Angel Summit to hear live pitches from six unique and growing northern startups.

The event, run by the Northern Innovation Network, was the culmination of four months of preparation, hard work and training to select the top finalists.

The six finalists were chosen from 24 initial businesses and worked with “angels” in due diligence teams to prepare for their final pitches and to grow both their business skills and the businesses themselves.

The six northern finalists, with short descriptions of their businesses, were:

• DesignTIME Solutions Inc. — The designers of Stackd, which aims to reduce burnout and improve efficiency in engineering teams with manageable and easy-to-use software.

• Treetrack Intelligence — A Canadian agtech company that uses specially designed drones and seedpods to influence effective forest reforestation in areas affected by wildfires.

• Trueleaf Petcare Inc. — A pet food company specializing in human-grade pet food and supplements that promote pet health and use science-backed formulas for their products.

• skiKrumb Trackers Inc. — skiKrumb provides the world’s first radio GPS tracker for ski resorts. Designed for mountains and built for parents and ski instructors.

• Squiggly Greens — A

Robotics engineer Liam Connon with Open Waters Solar demonstrates the flexibility of the company’s solar panels during the Northern Angel Summit finale at the Civic Centre on Thursday, Sept 25.

self-described “small but mighty” microgreens company based in northeast BC that aims to provide fresh, nutritious fruits and vegetables even in winter — or where access to fresh produce is limited.

• Open Waters Solar — A solar company that designs lightweight, durable and resilient solar panels intended for mobile applications and capable of withstanding the toughest conditions.

Twenty-two angel investors, including Citizen owner and publisher Cameron Stolz, heard live pitches from the six finalists in a format similar to the Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank TV shows, followed by presentations from angel investors representing the finalists’ due diligence teams.

After much deliberation, the angels selected Open Waters Solar as the company to receive their $100,000 investment. Additionally, Open Waters Solar was selected by the crowd as the

winner of the People’s Choice Award for the evening.

Twenty-three-year-old Liam Connon, a robotics engineer at the Prince Georgebased Open Waters Solar, pitched his company’s product and accepted both awards on behalf of CEO Simon Angus. Connon spoke to The Citizen about how it felt to see a company he has invested so much in receive its moment in the spotlight at the Northern Angel Summit.

“It feels amazing,” said Connon. “We’re even more supported by the community and the investors. It’s awesome. Everyone thinks what we’re doing is awesome — and we think what we’re doing is awesome.”

Connon, born and raised in Prince George, said he was excited to see a local company he helped grow earn recognition. He added that the investment will go toward the company’s ongoing automation efforts and scaling up the business. During his interview with The Citizen, he explained the company’s product and how the local community has supported its growth.

“This is the lightest, strongest and most durable solar panel on the market,” said Connon. “It’s second to none in durability. We’re based in Prince George because, first of all, most of us are from Prince George — but also, there are just so many benefits to being in the North. It’s a tight community. We have connections and there are also cost-saving advantages, right? We couldn’t do this in any other place. But the community is supporting us — we’re just trying to support them.”

He added a few ways in which he hopes the company can support the North as Open Waters Solar continues to grow in the community.

“We’re currently developing our pilot plant, and once we’re up and running, we hope to bring jobs to the community,” said Connon. “We’re trying to support the community that supported us.

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CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHUCK NISBETT

‘The stuff I learned leading up to

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“For one, the connections that we’ve built here have led to connections that we have elsewhere. We currently work in the marine industry, but we’re looking to get into the trucking industry and more — and we’ve built a lot of connections within these areas through connections we already had in Prince George.

“I grew up in Prince George, and I love Prince George. I went to school here and it’s given me a lot of work outside of the company, and I think it’s the same for my CEO and my co-workers. There’s a reason we’ve stuck around — we like it here.”

Many of the finalists said they were happy for the opportunity to both learn from angel investors and showcase their businesses and brands to the community.

One of them was Nadia Mori, founder of Squiggly Greens, who shared her experiences over the past four months with The Citizen.

“Once I was on stage, it was great. I really enjoyed it and I love connecting with an audience,” said Mori. “It was a lot of fun … The stuff I learned leading up to today was tremendous, and I don’t think you could really put a price on it because it’s experience — it’s learning that will stay with me.

“And I’m not sad at all that I’m quote-unquote just a runner-up. Maybe it’s almost better not to win because I think it gives me a bit more breath to grow at a more moderate pace. So I’m quite content.”

She added some details about her microgreens company and how she hopes to impact the North with local greenhouses that can sustain the region’s produce needs through the cold winter — and bring fresh produce to food deserts across the province as the business continues to grow and develop.

“I really feel we can do so much better in quality of food,” said Mori. “We’re at the northern fringe. We have a lot of people who are frontier people, but that shouldn’t mean that we always have to

just have food that needs to be shipped in from far away and of low nutritional quality. We deserve food that’s grown right here — and we can do it. I know we can. The technology is there. I think we just need people to spearhead and do it …

“Having food that was shipped less than 100 kilometres to your grocery store is something people want. There’s such an appetite — pun intended — for local food, and usually we only get it six months of the year. We have a beautiful farmers’ market and good food during the summer — but then it all goes away for six months.”

Trevor Bolin, one of the angel investors at the Northern Angel Summit finale, spoke about why the North’s businesses should be taken seriously — and why events like this one help local entrepreneurs grow.

“Oftentimes in the North, it feels like we’re a little bit forgotten about,” said Bolin.

“We’re not in major retail centres. We’re not in the Lower Mainland. We’re not on the Island, where a lot of the focus is always given.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY CHUCK NISBETT Nadia Mori, CEO of Squiggly Greens, makes her five-minute pitch during the Northern Angel Summit finale.

Northern Angel Summit will return and grow next year

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“We’re known for high GDP growth in the North. We create a ton of jobs for the province. We create a ton of agriculture and natural gas and everything that we do. Now we’ve got LNG coming off the coast.

“Look at the northern part of the province — and I think part of this is because the North is growing stronger. Our businesses are now playing on not only a provincial but a national scale. We’ve got a ton of entrepreneurs in the North that are really setting the stage for everybody.”

Guests, angels and founders were also joined by business, engineering and computer science students from UNBC, who were excited to network and learn from the event.

Mary Mytting, executive director of the Northern Innovation Network, explained the benefit of having students attend.

“We want the entrepreneurial spirit to actually grow in this region,” she said. “If you know anything about UNBC, they’re a research university — and so we’re coming up with great concepts, but maybe not commercializing them.

“The idea of inviting business students, engineering students and also computer science students to come and have the students here is really important — so that they can learn to commercialize some of the research that’s happening.”

Mytting had much to say about business in the North and explained what made her want to bring more attention to the businesses that operate in this unique part of Canada through this summit.

“In 2023, we did a study that said that there’s a lack of private capital in northern British Columbia,” Mytting said. “I kind of already knew that because I had talked to a gentleman, Owen Miller, from Deadwood Innovation. He had taken a technology that was based in forestry.

“What he explained was that angels’ networks are often in Vancouver or Victoria — and they don’t really understand the industries that are in the North, like forestry, mining, oil and gas. He found that they are glazed over, even when there were angels willing to invest.

“He said it’s really important that we get an angel network going in northern British Columbia.”

Pitches weren’t the only thing attendees got to hear. They also listened to a pre-recorded message from Ravi Kahlon, minister of Jobs and Economic Growth, who emphasized the growing business opportunities in the North and wished the competitors luck in their pitches.

Attendees also heard from keynote speaker Michael Walsh, who has spent more than three decades

helping build small- and medium-sized businesses. Walsh spoke about the pitfalls of growing businesses, how to reliably influence people in management, and how to build lasting workplace structures.

Northern Angel Summit organizers plan to bring it back next year and are expecting to feature more entrepreneurs, more investors, and a bigger investment to top it off.

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY CHUCK NAISBETT

Grant Lawrence of the Valhalla Angels presents the Investors to the Northern Angel Summit finale at the Civic Centre on Thursday, Sept 25.

A prefab future: Builder tackling rural housing crisis

Low-quality timber is transformed into durable, high-quality lumber through company’s process

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

With Canada staring down the barrel of a housing crisis, one First Nation’s development corporation is looking to help ease the effects of this crisis in rural housing.

Nak’azdli Development Corp. will soon be unveiling a first-of-its-kind prefabricated home that was designed, built by and made for the Nak’azdli Whut’en community in Fort St. James.

These homes will be built on band territory using timber cut on Nak’azdli Whut’en community tenure, processed at Nak’azdli Whut’en mills and constructed by a Nak’azdli Whut’en workforce.

The first model of these newly designed homes is expected to be finished next month. These homes are designed to be as easy to manufacture and assemble as possible. With much of the design already prefabricated, it is possible to assemble these homes with a standard construction crew and a small crane in far less time than a traditional home.

Innovation is also a key part of this design, as partners in the project have developed a thermochemical process that takes aspen and other low-quality timber unsuitable for sawmilling and transforms it into durable, high-quality lumber. After this new home is unveiled, Nak’azdli Development Corp. and its partners are looking to complete a feasibility study to prove the project is ready for the wider housing market.

These homes were built in collaboration with Deadwood Innovations, a forestry company based in Fort St. James. Deadwood Innovations, which is responsible for designing and constructing the wall and roof panels for these homes, is also using unique community

solutions to bring homes to the Nak’azdli Whut’en community.

“As far as we know, there are no Indigenous-owned and -led industrialized housing manufacturing facilities in Canada,” said CEO Owen Miller. “It’s unique in that the development model is built on utilizing lumber produced in the region — that typically isn’t used in mass timber construction — and utilizing local resources and people in a mothballed forest industry facility that’s being repurposed.”

Deadwood currently manufactures the panels in a repurposed finger joint plant — something that aligns with the project’s goal of utilizing community resources and people.

“It used to be a finger joint plant from about 1993 to 2015,” said Miller. “Deadwood’s been in there since 2019, developing our proprietary technology. One of the biggest strategic advantages this project — or province — has for industrial project development is all the existing forest industry infrastructure.

It saves a lot of cost to repurpose brownfield infrastructure. And that’s what we’re looking to do here on this project.”

Miller concluded by emphasizing the potential impact this project can have on both the housing and forestry industries in the North.

“Deadwood co-founders and I grew up in Fort St. James. We’ve seen and lived through the decline of the forest industry and its impact on communities,” said Miller.

“We look at it as a project that can be a forestry solution and a housing solution, because the lumber is being produced regardless. If you just focus on all the challenges with building out enough affordable housing, it can overcomplicate the solutions. If we simplify it and actually execute on a project like this, we can better understand the solutions and opportunities.”

A key aspect of this project was also made possible by researchers from Prince George, particularly those at

UNBC and the Wood Innovation and Design Centre.

One of the key researchers in the design of these prefabricated homes is UNBC associate professor in wood engineering Jianhui Zhou, who helped simplify the design process using digital automation.

“We want to improve the efficiency of this process,” said Zhou. “In the early project stage, if someone comes and they just bring a rough idea of what they need, or they have a floor plan with the size of the building, that information goes into our software. Then we’ll quickly generate a 3D model for them and come up with the bill of materials or estimated cost of the construction materials.

“Then the second step of our digitalization is how we can break down all the components, and then we come up with the shop drawings that can go to the production facility.”

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MITACS PHOTO

The first timber house made by the Nak’azdli Development Corp. is seen under construction.

Community had input on how new homes would look

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Zhou noted that these unique designs and approaches to construction could help make an impact on the ongoing housing crisis in Canada.

“The technical solution there is that we need to basically do more factory-built homes through panelization, through modularization,” said Zhou. “If we want to create a solution to solve this housing crisis — besides the political and societal side — what we need to address is the lack of trades, the lack of skilled workers.

“What we need is to do more prefabrication or industrialized construction in a factory, where we first come up with a design, and then we have the shop drawings, and then everything can be automatically fabricated or semi-automatically fabricated.”

The CEO of Nak’azdli Development Corp., John-Paul Wenger, is looking forward to the development of the project and spoke to The Citizen about upcoming plans after the first home is constructed.

“The idea was to get this one out and see how everything goes, and then go back to the community and the surrounding areas and say, ‘Look, we’ve done one, we want to commercialize it now and we want to run it as a business,’” said Wenger. “The idea is, through the winter, to create the panels in an environment where you can control the conditions inside and then really be able to hit the ground running in spring and establish three, four, five of these houses with the construction company — where normally we might only be able to do one or two.

“I think the big impact on the community is you’re going to have a really, really well-built house that lasts generations. We should be able to design and build at a bit of a faster rate than we would using traditional practices.”

He added that these homes were designed to meet the unique needs of people in the community, incorporating feedback from those who may soon be living in them.

“Part of the process when we decided

to do the show home was to go to the community,” said Wenger. “We did several open houses to truly understand what people want to see — as opposed to just deciding ourselves what we think people want and building that house.

“We took the approach of going to the community, having open houses, having questionnaires go out to ask what people would like to see in a house, right? You get a broad range within that. But what people did want to see was the idea of this panelized concept, where you could add on.

“So literally, the panel construction is relatively similar for every type of house

An essential part of the project is the potential for local impact. One of the most important aspects for Wenger is job creation — particularly for those just entering the workforce in the Nak’azdli Whut’en community.

Wenger also emphasized that once this project has proved commercially viable, it may become part of the larger picture in closing the housing gap across Canada.

“There’s obviously a housing shortage all over the place, and you’ve got provincial and federal programs that are trying to generate and spur more construction to help with the housing shortage,” said Wenger. “With this project here, it’s cool to be part of the larger picture in Canada — creating those opportunities to build houses within the community. It’s a super exciting project to be part of.

“There’s still work to be done. Obviously, the first show home being built was designed to demonstrate that we could achieve it using mass timber and panelized construction. Once we’ve proved out that concept, the next part is looking at completing a feasibility study for commercialization.”

He added that seeing the Nak’azdli Whut’en community react to the initial stages of this project and its potential benefits has been particularly exciting.

— it’s just how you put them together, in what order and what size, that really dictates how big the house is going to be.

“When we refine it to what the community wants — when you look at the stewardship aspect of things, your carbon footprint — you’re not bringing in material from far and wide, trucking it to the site and then creating the house from lumber purchased from the coast or other regions.

“The community really wanted to see that stewardship aspect — we even go as far as how the harvesting occurs and the stewardship aspect of that harvesting.”

“I’ve been in the community for a really long time, and this project has spurred so much interest,” said Wenger. “We’ve had many people come forward saying, ‘Sign me up for the next house.’ Everybody’s excited for it. It generates a lot of activity — driving around the site, looking at it.

“From a holistic point of view, if you take forest licences held by Nak’azdli Whut’en in the territory, use local contractors to go up there and harvest, bring the logs to a local mill, process them, and then build a mass timber home using a Nak’azdli Whut’en workforce — everything stays within the region to create a supercluster.

“I think everybody really rallies behind that. They see there’s a tremendous benefit in keeping everything within the community.”

MITACS PHOTO

A rendering shows what the interior of the finished home will look like.

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Mackenzie hosts summer camp for neurodiverse kids

After a successful summer, the program is preparing to move to a new location

COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff

Mackenzie hosted a first-of-its-kind summer program for neurodiverse and other kids who might experience barriers in attending other events.

Cassandra Jones, an FASD (fetal alcohol spectrum disorder) key worker for Mackenzie Community Services, told The Citizen in a Sept. 2 interview that she had noticed that while there were summer programs, there wasn’t anything aimed at the kids served by her organization.

“Many of our kiddos that we serve at MCS don’t fit in those programs because of their behaviour or crisis behaviour or because of their anxiety or just some of their delays in social skills,” Jones said.

“There’s many different reasons why a kid might not be successful in a sports camp, for example.”

Working with kids who are dealing with conditions like autism and having ADHD herself, Jones said she struggled to watch kids who needed opportunities for social connection and physical output.

The goal with the program was to find a space for children who didn’t fit in the already available programming, whether it was due to experience with witnessing abuse, anxiety, neurodiversity or other factors.

Planning started in March and Jones said adjustments were being made right up until the last week. Much of the funding came from a Spectrum Supports Program offered by the Ministry of Children and Family Development, with MCS looking for other grants for next year’s edition of the camp.

On Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from July 8 to Aug. 21, anywhere from 17 to 25 kids aged six to 14 years old gathered at MCS’ building on Mackenzie Avenue from 12:30 to 4 p.m.Kids

were broken up into three groups and rotated through three stations with different activities.

The first was the movement station, which Jones said was aimed at giving the kids opportunities to let their energy out as well as learning skills, co-operating with others, managing disappointment, teamwork and communications.

The second station was creative expressions, which featured a lot of arts and crafts as well as science, technology, engineering and math activities. At one point, Jones said, the kids made their own versions of the character Forky from the movie Toy Story 4.

“It absolutely expanded into this beautiful conversation about self-acceptance and what (your quirks are),” Jones said.

The third and final station was mindfulness. There, Jones said, the kids learned about how to ground themselves, learning what might elevate their anxiety and self-exploration.

Jones talked about working with kids in the program to problem solve when they were behaving in a way that didn’t work with the rest of the group.

After they had calmed down, she said they spoke with the kids to see what was wrong and plan their active return

helping people on the autism spectrum but was told that there wasn’t anyone like that in the community.

“It’s just shown how much the community has grown in its understanding and the great work being done by some many trailblazers teaching people, the general community, about neurodivergence and about how these kiddos who are misbehaving aren’t just doing it for the sake of it,” Jones said. “There are real things going on in their brains and we can support them to be successful.”

Having local programming targeted at these kids, Jones said, is invaluable and she hopes that the level of support for them will only grow.

She also said she thinks that Mackenzie is a place that supports healthy lifestyles for neurodiverse people with plenty of opportunities to explore nature.

to their group.

One child made a hula hoop-like gesture to convey that they needed more personal space and from that point on, Jones said they were able to accommodate them when he communicated that need.

There weren’t any field trips or special events out of a desire to maintain a consistent structure for the children and establish a strong foundation for the program, but the final day of the camp did culminate with a showing of the movie Inside Out, which depicts the interplay between different emotions inside a girl’s head.

While MCS staff normally work in their own silos, Jones said the summer program was a chance for them to work together and learn from each other.

“I’m so proud of the staff that put work into this, because it really was an entire team of some very, very skilled individuals that came forward with all the tools in their tool belts,” Jones said.

Before moving to Mackenzie about three years ago, Jones said she lived and worked in a similar role on Vancouver Island.

When she first arrived in Mackenzie, she said she expressed a desire to keep

Next year, Jones said MCS is looking to bring the program back for another year. After having to turn some families away the first time around to make sure they were properly staffed, she said they hoped to expand the availability the second time around.

Instead of having all the kids be present three days a week, she also said they’re considering running the program four days a week and splitting the participants into two cohorts. The first cohort would attend on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the second on Wednesdays and Fridays.

MCS is getting ready to switch locations, with renovations in the works in anticipation of a January move-in date. Once they’re in the new buildings, Jones said they’ll figure out how many kids can be accommodated and then get to work on developing new content and strategies.

“Every year we want to get a little bit better with how we’re delivering things and … staying up to date with new research and new approaches when it comes to neurodiversity and complex behaviours and trauma,” she said. “We want to bring it all.”

She said sign-ups for the second summer program would likely start sometime in late spring 2026.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Kids in Mackenzie Community Service’s summer program engage in a “mindful eating” activity during the summer of 2025.

UNBC scientists studying impact of wildfire on soil

ABIGAIL POPPLE Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

When wildfires tear through northern BC, what most people notice are their surface-level impacts: trees burned, smoky skies, damaged infrastructure. But there are also less visible impacts on the landscape, starting with the ground beneath our feet.

Soil is a complex system of microorganisms, decaying organic material, water and minerals. The impacts of wildfire on soil are not yet well understood — but two scientists at the University of Northern BC are digging in thanks to a Discovery Grant from the federal Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.

Senior research scientist Raquel Portes specializes in studying how to measure soil erosion, and how climate and land use affect erosion.

When Portes began working at UNBC in 2024 — the year after BC’s worst recorded wildfire season — she decided to apply that expertise to the effects of wildfire on erosion.

“Considering that UNBC is a university located in the North, and for the North, my idea was to study real problems of the region,” Portes said, adding that the results of her research into wildfire’s effects on erosion can help broaden soil scientists’ understanding of wildfire in other parts of the world, too.

Her colleague and fellow soil scientist, Diogo Spinola, has a similar story. As an assistant professor of forest soils at UNBC, Spinola’s research focuses on how soil sequesters carbon.

Along with trees, seagrass and the ocean, soil stores carbon, keeping it out of the atmosphere for thousands of years.

Like Portes, Spinola began working at UNBC in 2024 and watched as 447 fires raged in the Prince George Fire Centre that summer. Moving from a job with the U.S. Forest Service in Juneau, Alaska, which is typically at low risk of wildfires, he wondered how he could use his research on soil to understand the impacts of wildfire.

“Forests in British Columbia — the

boreal forest, the coastal rainforest — are some of the most important carbon sinks worldwide. These are extremely important forests for carbon regulation,” he said. “Understanding these processes and mechanisms that make them one of the most valuable parts of our ecosystem can help us to guide land use or understanding how natural and human disturbances can impact these processes.”

When soil is disturbed by forces like wildfire — or how humans alter the land — that could have ramifications all the way into Earth’s atmosphere, according to Spinola.

“Instead of putting carbon deep in the ground, you’re starting to put it back into the atmosphere, enhancing warming, enhancing extreme climate events. You just create this feedback loop,” he said.

While carbon sequestration and erosion are understood in broad strokes, Portes and Spinola say there’s a lack of research when it comes to wildfire’s impacts on soil.

“It’s a huge gap in the literature. Nobody was studying the effects of

has unstudied downstream impacts, according to Portes.

“We don’t know how wildfires influence those processes — erosion, sedimentation,” she said. “When you have high erosion rates, materials can be transported through streams to other areas of the landscape, and they can damage, for instance, infrastructure. They can trigger landslides. They can trigger flooding.”

“In this research, we want to understand what is the impact on soil structure and how much time it takes for those two phases (erosion and sedimentation) to stabilize after the wildfire,” she continued.

wildfires on the erosion process here in BC,” Portes said.

Spinola added that wildfires can impact the soil itself, but also the types of vegetation that grow throughout forests — because plants are partially responsible for getting carbon into the soil, a change in vegetation may mean a change in how much carbon is being stored. This can add up to an avalanche of effects on the carbon cycle, Spinola says.

Understanding those effects can help ensure responsible land use and forest management, he added.

“For example, there’s been a huge debate on whether we should plant more aspens instead of spruce because aspens are less vulnerable to wildfire,” Spinola said. “But what we don’t know yet is if the carbon that aspens put into the ground is more vulnerable to decomposition than the spruce.”

When organic material in the soil decomposes faster, it means more CO2 is released into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change, Spinola said.

In the case of erosion, wildfire also

That research can help policymakers and communities develop long-term restoration strategies and identify impacts on soil properties, the chemical processes soil plays a role in, and vegetation recovery, according to Portes. It may even help protect salmon, whose habitat gets destroyed when landslides wash material into bodies of water that cover the fine sediment where salmon lay their eggs, she said.

And while soil varies from region to region, research on wildfires can have an international impact, Portes and Spinola agree.

“The impacts of wildfires [on soil] are not well studied enough to be included in long-scale models for planetary emissions,” Spinola said. “From the broader level of the scientific community down to the policymaker level … this is definitely going to be important.”

Federal funding helps make their research possible, and as the U.S. slashes funding for researchers like them, Portes and Spinola are watching with concern. Both scientists encourage Canadians to support policies that promote research.

“Our results are public — this is done for the public good,” Spinola said. “Supporting politicians whose policies support science-based information, that impacts our ability to do research and for this research to have good impacts for communities.”

This article originally appeared in The Rocky Mountain Goat.

BC WILDFIRE SERVICE PHOTO

A forest fire burns near Bearhole Lake in this 2022 photo. A team of researchers from the University of Northern BC is looking into what happens to soil after a wildfire burns through.

What’s happening in PG

Ghostly Walks go Friday and Saturdays from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Oct.3, 4, 10,11, 17, 18 and 24, 25 and on Halloween for the extra scary version goes Friday, Oct. 31. This is the spookiest month of the year to explore downtown Prince George and hear the ghost stories about so many of our buildings. Dress for the weather. There are no cancellations. Grab your tickets at www. pgghostlywalks.com

Jess Moskaluke Life For Me Tour goes Friday, Oct. 3 at 9 p.m. at Crush Nightclub, 1192 Fifth Ave. Country fans are invited to attend this concert by platinum-certified, JUNO and CCMA award-winning musician. Tickets are $42.48 each at www.showpass.com/ jess-moskaluke.

Artisan Fall Fair goes Saturday, Oct. 4 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Aboriginal Housing Society of Prince George, 191917th Ave. Enjoy a vibrant day celebrating local talent. Explore artisanal goods, stunning artwork and one-of-a-kind creations by local artists, crafters, and merchants. Food vendors on site. Family-friendly. Support community. Shop local. Celebrate creativity.

Hunniford Gardens Harvest Days Pumpkin Patch goes Saturday, Oct. 4 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is a family friendly outdoor fall event. Get dressed up, tour the pumpkin patch, walk the spooky forest trail and snap photos at decorated areas. Face painting, food vendors on site. For more information and tickets visit www.hunniford-gardens.pumpkin-patch

More or Less goes Saturday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Knox Performance Centre featuring the Prince George Symphony Orchestra. This is a mashup of modern styles and mixes the jazz-minded Milhaud with the Minimalist Moarem − and the original master Philip Glass. Chamber Socials are an intimate evening out by candlelight with food, drink, and spectacular live music performed by the principal players of the PGSO. Appetizers are included with table seats, and a cash bar is available to all. For more information and tickets visit www.pgso.

com/MoreorLess.

Dallas Smith and His Band

Unplugged goes Sunday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. at CN Centre. Canadian country powerhouse and three-time Canadian Country Music Entertainer of the year, Dallas Smith, comes to the CN Centre to perform all his hits for this One Night Only Tour. A natural showman who delivers a fast-paced energetic performance, Smith never fails to have his audiences dancing in their boots all night long. With a special Theater Setup, seats will be available exclusively on the floor. For more information and tickets visit ticketsnorth.ca.

Hunniford Gardens Harvest Day Market goes Sunday, Oct. 5 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 8845 Aquarius Road. We’re

bringing together local produce, food, art and craft vendors and food trucks on site. Guests are welcome to shop the store for fall flower bulbs, houseplants and gardening needs. There will be indoor and outdoor vendors.

Golden Age Social goes Monday, Oct. 6 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Prince George Civic Centre. This is a free afternoon social with entertainment and light refreshments. Event is presented by the Prince George Council of Seniors and the City of Prince George.

Pumpkin Bouquet is an Empty Canvas Party that goes Wednesday, Oct. 8 from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Queen of Harts, 6555 John Hart Highway. Led by artist, Melanie Baldwin, who will guide you step-by-step to create a masterpiece

using acrylic paint. Whether you’re a seasoned painter or just starting out, we’ll help you unleash your inner artist in a welcoming, stress-free environment. $35 each or bring a friend and it’s two for $30. Register at www.emptycanvasparty.com/pumpkin-bouquet

Fright Night Pumpkin Patch goes Friday, Oct. 10 from 6 to 10 p.m. at Hunniford Gardens, 8845 Aquarius Road. There are two times slots rated scary and very scary. From 6 p.m. to dusk the Spooky Forest is considered a medium scare for those nine years old and up. Once it’s dark at around 7:30 to 10 p.m. its full throttle on the fear factor, which is recommended for those 12 year and older. There will also be 30+ vendors at the Night Market filled with food trucks, local produce, clothing and crafts. Access to the market is free. For more information and tickets visit www.hunniford-gardens. fright-night.

Alexandrite Cauldron Book Ball goes Saturday, Oct. 18 from 5:30 p.m. to midnight at Sandman Hotel, 2990 Recreation Place.This is a magical event filled with enchantment, books, and dancing. Lorekeepers, Spellbinders, and Wayfarers of the Written Realms will cross the threshold between worlds, stepping out of the ordinary and into a night spun from stardust, parchment, and dreams. Myths waltz beside mortals and every guest holds the power of a protagonist. Don cloaks, crown your curiosity, wander through the Shadow Market, where traders from both the Light and Night realms offer their rarest wares. Indulge in the finest foods including magic-infused delicacies, sparkling pastries, and hearty roasts from lands far and wide. The balance between Light and Night will tip, and the new High Lord and High Lady of The Wisteria Woods will rise to lead us into a new era. For more information and tickets visit www.eventbrite.ca/e/ the-alexandrite-cauldron-book-ball.

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DALLAS SMITH/FACEBOOK PHOTO

Canadian country music star Dallas Smith will perform Sunday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. at the CN Centre.

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Pilsner! Pretzels! Pianos! Goes Saturday, Oct. 18 at CN Centre featuring the Dueling Piano Kings during a massive party featuring great beer and feelgood music. For more information and tickets visit www.ticketsnorth.ca/event/ pilsner-pretzels-pianos.

Free Food Preservation Workshops go every Thursday and is presented by PG Aboriginal Business Development Centre, 1200 LaSalle Avenue. Want to learn how to make jam or pickle fresh veggies? No experience is needed. Just bring your curiosity. Participants will learn jam-making and vegetable pickling step by step. All supplies are provided and everything made will be shared among participants to take home. Building community skills, one jar at a time. RSVP by calling Cheryl Doering at 250-562-6325 to register.

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.

Parkinson Support Group meetings are the first Saturday of each month at 1 p.m. at the Spruce Capital Seniors Centre, 3701 Rainbow Drive. here are guest speakers, special events and biweekly exercise sessions and positive social interaction. Use lower parking lot beside ball diamond to access the

The Duelling Piano Kings will be part of Pilsner! Pretzels! Pianos! on Saturday, Oct. 18 at the CN Centre. For more information and tickets visit www. ticketsnorth.ca/event/pilsner-pretzels-pianos.

seniors centre.

Trivia Night at Nancy O’s goes every other Wednesday at 8 p.m., 1261 Third Ave. There are three rounds per game, each round has five themed questions and five music questions. There’s something for everyone. The winning team gets a custom Nancy O’s Trivia trophy and a round of drinks, their photo on the wall that goes into the winners’ book after two weeks. Those caught cheating will be publicly swhamed and labelled as cheaters — good wholesome fun. Book a spot by calling ahead at 250-562-8066.

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

PRINCE GEORGE

PRINCE

Comedian Alex Mackenzie is bringing home the laughs

He’s raising funds for Hospice with a November comedy show at Vanier Hall

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

A Prince George comedian who has made a name for himself on stages around the world is coming home to raise money for a good cause.

Alex Mackenzie, founder of the Hungry for Laughs tour and a self-described “happiness cheerleader,” will be bringing his tour to Vanier Hall on Nov. 14 and 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Funds from the shows will support the Prince George Hospice Palliative Care Society — a local organization that is important to Mackenzie.

He will be joined by a lineup of talented comedians, including:

• Chris Griffin (Just for Laughs, Vancouver’s Funniest Comedian)

• Brittany Lyseng (CBC’s The Debaters, Roast Battle Canada)

• Sunee Dhaliwal (Just for Laughs, Comedy Network, opened for Bill Burr)

Mackenzie spoke with The Citizen about why he helped create this unique and charitable comedy tour.

“It started back in 2019 in Revelstoke,” said Mackenzie. “Revelstoke and Prince George were the first two shows. But I started doing it when I first started comedy — I was doing pubs and bars. Then what I noticed was that you wanted community engagement in the shows. It made them a lot better, and I wanted to get into bigger, fancier venues.

“We came up with the idea with my mother that we should do comedy that benefits the local communities, and give back to them that way, and try to make it more based around a community event. So — comedy that gives back.”

He explained that he has a personal connection to the hospice society that inspired him to support it.

“Hospice has always been a big part,” said Mackenzie. “The first year we ever did the tour, we actually gave money

Alex Mackenzie performs in Prince George in this file photo. The comic, who grew up here, is back on a local stage in November.

to the food bank — Hungry for Laughs. But then, after just seeing how well the hospice was — both my grandmothers passed away in the Prince George hospice — and having a lot of good friends and relatives go there, and seeing the quality of care…

“They’re a great organization that I think the community is very, very lucky to have. It helps people at their most difficult times. Any chance that we can help them out means a lot to me personally.”

As a Prince George native, Mackenzie said his love of the North and his hometown has deeply influenced his comedy.

“I think that people in the North are funny,” said Mackenzie. “The biggest thing, I think, is that all my friends are the funniest. I’m the only one who got on stage and started making jokes, but I think all my friends are funny — if not funnier than me.

“I grew up playing hockey, so there was a lot of locker room talk and guys joking around after games. Even still, as an adult playing recreational hockey,

of my life.

“The last comedian to do the arena here before we did it was Jimmy Carr. To get to be playing on that scale was really, really cool and very exciting …

“I remember going there, and at 6 a.m. they start working — they’re covering the ice, holding the glass, building a stage. And I was in the arena watching, and I’m like, dude, there’s forklifts flying around and construction crews — all of this so I can go tell my dumb jokes on stage.

“It was surreal to me — because I remember, when I was starting, taping a flashlight to a pole and that was my spotlight, while you’re in a laundromat.”

He said another career highlight was filming Happy Camper in Fredericton, N.B., where he received a standing ovation.

“It meant a lot to me that my comedy had reached that other side of the country and had that kind of impact. So I’ll never forget that day the rest of my life. Just at the end of the show, I’m standing on the stage, staring up to the heavens, like — I can’t believe this is real,” he said.

everyone hangs out in the parking lot after and cracks jokes. And I think that humour is just how we get by. It’s so cold up here, you know?

“You’ve got to have a way to cheer yourself up and laugh. I think everyone’s always making jokes. Same with at the mill — when I worked at the mill, everyone there was always trying to make jokes to make the day go by a little quicker. And I just think humour’s a really big part of living in the North.”

Mackenzie has been in comedy for 11 years. His special Happy Camper was recently picked up by Amazon Prime and is currently airing on the platform in both the U.S. and the U.K.

He has toured across Canada and Australia; however, he told The Citizen that one of the highlights of his career was performing at the CN Centre in Prince George.

“Playing at the CN Centre here in Prince George — it’s so cool,” said Mackenzie. “To get to do an arena show as an independent artist — that is something I will never forget for the rest

Despite his recent success, Mackenzie said he’s always excited to return home and share pieces of his life with a Prince George audience.

“I’m very, very excited … Prince George will never not be my home,” said Mackenzie. “Everywhere I go, I tell people I’m from Prince George.

“I notice when I’m in Vancouver, a lot of comedians that come from smaller communities — they say they’re from Vancouver. And I will never say I’m from Vancouver, because I’ll never not say I’m from Prince George. I love it here.

“I think we have some of the kindest, nicest people I’ve ever met, and I honestly like the lifestyle. I like playing hockey in the winter. I like the outdoors. I like hillbilly stuff. I like motorsports. If I can smell two-stroke oil burning — like, my heart rate increases …

“I can’t wait to see everyone. It’s really fun every year to come home and tell everyone what I’ve been doing.”

• For tickets to the show, visit https://hungryforlaughs.com/ tickets/

Get ready for another night in Lagos for Fall Fiesta

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

Ignite Night Club will be hosting another celebration of Nigerian culture in Prince George this fall.

Lagos in PG will return for its third event with Lagos in PG: Fall Fiesta, taking place Oct. 3.

The ticketed nightclub event is organized by Afro Prince George, a local community group dedicated to celebrating and promoting Black culture, identity and nightlife in Prince George.

The event will feature Afrobeats music from two DJs — Bad Boi and Little Sharpe — and Vancouver-based artists Damask Drumz on percussion and saxophonist Jamie Saxx, both of whom have performed at previous Lagos in PG events.

The Fall Fiesta will also showcase northern talent, including Hypeman Sazzy from Kamloops.

In addition, Ignite will be transformed with a VIP section, upgraded lighting and seating, and traditional Nigerian finger food — suya — prepared by a chef from Calgary.

The previous event in Prince George was held on the rooftop of the Canadian Brewhouse and drew more than 300 attendees, reaching the building’s capacity, as organizer Patrick Offiah explained.

“It’s a very good feeling because previously we’ve had nothing like this before, but now this is our third party this year and the turnout has been really great. It’s been very nice to have that … There was a capacity issue, but we were able to work around that, so we had 300 people at the club,” he said.

Offiah is also a member of Afro PG, which helps organize events like Lagos in PG and supports African culture in Prince George.

He told The Citizen that events like these are helping the Afro community in Prince George grow.

“Since the school semester that started in September, we had a few people move for jobs to Prince George and stuff like that,” said Offiah. “We’ve

been getting new people. I knew a student who got his visa to come to Prince George and he messaged the page and he was like, ‘Oh, have you seen your parties? I’m coming to Prince George and I want to be at the party!’

That was a nice feeling because now we are growing. People know about these things that they necessarily didn’t know before.”

A portion of the proceeds from this event will go toward supporting new students, including members of the Afro-Caribbean Society at the University of Northern British Columbia. Proceeds from previous events have helped newcomers get settled in Prince George, with support including airport pickups, assistance obtaining insurance and health cards and assistance with integrating into the community.

Offiah told The Citizen that offering this support is important to him

is our extension of Africa. We have to do it because now the people see Africa from our legendary parties, from the way we present it. It’s important to do that because Black people here, in my personal opinion, are not really as visible as that.

“But nights like this — you have over 300 Black people, 200 Black people pull up to a place and they are dancing. These are things that, before now, have never been seen. I mean, you see people go to school, but you’ve never seen them party. It seemed like that whole part of us enjoying ourselves was never really part of the picture.”

Since the first two Lagos in PG events, the initiative has gained three sponsors who are helping it grow.

Offiah added that he hopes events like this will inspire others across the city.

because it’s something he wishes had been done for him when he first arrived in Prince George.

“I remember getting to the airport and I didn’t know my way around because I didn’t know anyone,” said Offiah.

“This was my first time abroad and I feel like I’m doing the things that I wish someone did for me. Because being new in a whole city that’s cold — when I came, I had to learn on the job and figure things out by myself. So I feel like if it’s possible for me to make someone else’s journey easier, I think it gives a better sense of community.”

Offiah also said events like this are important for Black visibility and cultural celebration in the community.

“I remember people asking — because we Black people were always saying, ‘Oh, back home, the parties back home!’ — but people never really understood what it looked like because they had never been. The whole initiative around this hosting is just basically to make sure that we do it and do it the right way.

“Some people might never have the opportunity to go back to Africa. This

“We are part of the culture at this point because we eat, we walk, we play here,” said Offiah. “As long as we are seen, then we can get into important conversations. I feel like there are things that we feel like we should be doing that we’re not getting enough attention to do …

“A perfect example — when we were about to start Lagos in PG, we approached a lot of people to be like, ‘Oh, we want to use your spot. Oh, we need support with this.’

“Not everybody was interested in doing that initially because, I mean, they were like, what do you mean you’re bringing 400 Black people to fill up this spot? And they were saying, it’s never been done before. We are not willing to give you a whole night for you to try out what you think is going to happen.

“Luckily, we came to Ignite. We spoke to the owner. He was pretty receptive. I mean, everybody had doubts that we were going to be able to do this the first time.”

Currently, 80 people have signed up to attend Lagos in PG: Fall Fiesta. Tickets are $20, or $350 for a VIP booth and bottle service.

• To RSVP and reserve tables, text 250-981-3862.

AFRO PG PHOTO

Afro PG takes over the Canadian Brewhouse rooftop for Lagos in PG 2.0: Aura for Aura. Another Lagos in PG event is happening Friday, Oct. 3.

Offiah

Throwback Thursday: Week of October 2

Oct. 2, 1986: Volunteer members of the Oktoberfest decorating committee were photographed at the Coliseum with an Alpine village mural painted by students at Lakewood Junior Secondary School. From left were Phil Girard, Bob Castonguay, Shannon Barrett, Oktoberfest vice-president Myron Sambad, Jane Girard and Geoff Hughes. CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY

Oct. 2, 1999: College Heights Secondary School mascot Cougar led students from its feeder schools, including Southridge, Malaspina, Gladstone and College Heights, on the Terry Fox Run. CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY DAVE

MILNE

Oct. 5, 1970: Published on the front page under the headline ‘Santa Claus, the bare facts,’ this photo shows St. Nick turning the other cheek — literally — to criticism that he was showing up too early as he got out of a helicopter to pay a visit to kids at the Spruceland Stedman’s store. CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY DAVE MILNE

DAVE MILNE

Oct. 2, 2014: Airbrush artist Greg Gislason unveiled his Spirit of the Games mural at the Prince George Airport. Planning and funding it was a joint effort by the Community Arts Council, the Prince George Airport Authority and the 2015 Canada Winter Games. CITIZEN FILE PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

New Heart & Stroke tool will help ID warning signs

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

Recent studies have shown that nine out of 10 Canadians have at least one risk factor associated with heart disease or a potential stroke.

Furthermore, the Heart & Stroke Foundation reports that only half of the polled Canadians understand the risk factors that can contribute to possible strokes or heart disease.

This is why the Heart & Stroke has recently released a new online tool to help Canadians identify the risks that they may be facing.

This new tool is available for free on the Heart & Stroke website and will help users assess their lifestyle behaviours, medical history, sex, age, and life stages specific to women — such as pregnancy and menopause — and will provide a customized action plan.

The test itself is simple and easy to take, and it asks questions based on a brief medical history and family medical history, as well as lifestyle and diet choices.

The tool then calculates potential risk areas and generates recommendations based on those areas.

Heart health and its associated risk factors is often overlooked until problems begin to emerge.

For Richmond resident Jen Murtagh, her heart health wasn’t at the top of her priority list. As she is younger and maintains her health quite well, a quick check revealed a massive issue.

“I ended up in the hospital for a completely different reason, and while I was in the hospital I mentioned I had felt my heart had been racing, so they started investigating my heart as well,” said Murtagh. “As the other issue they were looking at, they recognized that my troponin levels were at an unusually high rate, which would indicate I was having a cardiac event.

“I was initially released from the hospital after they did an echocardiogram, but they sent me for a follow-up CT cardiac scan, which revealed that I had a 90 per cent blockage in the LAD artery in my heart, which is the largest artery

A new and free online tool can help people assess their lifestyle behaviours and provide a plan to prevent heart-related health issues.

of your heart — which was obviously a huge shock given how healthy I am. I’m still pretty young and I don’t have an extensive history of heart disease in my family.”

In her interview with The Citizen, Murtagh spoke on what she finds appealing about this new tool.

“I think most people generally think if they’re healthy, they’re fine, and so I think a lot of people don’t realize — especially women — that having things like preeclampsia and pregnancy or different complications earlier on in your life can actually contribute to higher risk factors.

“I think what’s great about this new tool is that it’s very accessible, it’s free, so from an equity perspective people can access that whether they have a doctor or not. They can start to do some of their own advocacy and research work on their heart. I think this tool could have helped me better. First of all, it would have given me the information I know I needed in order to feel more comfortable with what I should be doing in terms of my own heart health. I think it would have maybe flagged a few

regarding the heart in the late ’90s.” Mary Stambulic, director of health policy and systems for Heart & Stroke, noted how this tool can help women who may be at risk.

“Women face unique risk factors that are often related to hormonal changes over their life course,” said Stambulic. “These risk factors can start at different life stages, and they evolve over the course of their life. One great thing about this tool is that it includes these risk factors that are unique to women. For instance, when I went through the risk screening tool, I found out that having premature births can affect your risk for heart disease and stroke — which I didn’t know. And I’ve had some twins that were born prematurely, so for me, that was good to know.”

In addition, Stambulic notes that these risks should be given attention, as she has lived experience both with her work at Heart & Stroke and in her own personal life.

things that I hadn’t considered.”

One of the highest concerns for Murtagh was the difference in treatments between men and women regarding cardiology, and she was especially moved by the fact that heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States and Canada, with approximately 40 per cent of Canadian women’s deaths due to heart disease and stroke.

“Women’s heart disease and heart attacks can present very differently than men’s,” said Murtagh.

“Women also tend to not describe what is occurring for them as pain. They might describe it as discomfort. I mean, there’s a ton of research out there that shows how misdiagnosed heart disease can be in women … in Canada, there are only three women’s heart health specialists in the entire country. Three. One is based in Vancouver — Dr. Tara Sedlack. I’m not sure where the other two are. Only three are specialized in women’s hearts. Our hearts are very different than men’s hearts, and heart disease can present differently. Heart attacks can present differently. Women only started being included in research

“My mother actually had heart failure and lived with it for a number of years,” said Stambulic.

“I did see how it affected her quality of life. She managed it well, but at end stages, it became more difficult for her. My father had something called a transient ischemic attack as a result of some plaque breaking off from an artery when they did an angioplasty — but luckily it didn’t last long, and he didn’t have any disabilities as a result. And of course, working as closely as we did with Shirley Bond when she was an MLA, and how much heart disease and stroke affected her and her family. And stories like that really touch you when you see just how it impacts people’s lives and their family. We hear many stories too of people that survived their cardiac arrest.

“Those are very touching ones because survival is very low from a cardiac arrest. When people do survive one — especially if it’s due to bystander CPR or AED use — it brings a lot of purpose and meaning to the work that we do.”

If you are interested in using this tool, visit this link: https://riskscreen. heartandstroke.ca/en-CA

Strengthening care at UHNBC today and for the future

EMILY PRESTMO

Northern Health

The UHNBC Acute Care Tower in Prince George is a major investment project that brings specialized heart services closer to home so patients across the North can access life-saving care.

This expansion isn’t just about new equipment — it’s about delivering faster care, improving outcomes, and helping families stay together throughout every step of the journey.

Built for the North

We’re expanding cardiac care to meet the needs of our region. The UHNBC Acute Care Tower will have:

• Six new cardiac care beds: For patients who need close monitoring and specialized treatment

• Twenty new cardiac step-down beds: Supporting recovery and healing after cardiac events and procedures

• New cardiac clinics, procedure rooms and diagnostic services: Offering comprehensive care, from diagnosis to recovery

• Two new cardiac catheterization labs (cath labs): These labs support real-time diagnostics and life-saving interventions

Behind these new services is a team already laying the groundwork, including nurses like Jennifer Krzyczkowski, who are helping shape the future of cardiac care in the North.

Why local cardiac care matters

When Krzyczkowski, known to her colleagues and patients as Jen K, relocated from the Lower Mainland to Prince George during the pandemic, she brought with her more than two decades of experience in acute cardiac care and a master’s degree in nursing. What she didn’t expect was to find herself at the heart of a transformative movement in northern health care.

“I initially came to work in palliative care and I enjoyed the work and the team,” Krzyczkowski recalled, “but when I heard about the Acute Care Tower project, I knew I had to be part of

it. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help shape the future of cardiac care in the North.”

Now the nursing educator for the Cardiac Care Unit at UHNBC, Krzyczkowski and her team have become a driving force behind the development of a specialized cardiac nursing education program.

The Northern Health Cardiac Education Program, which she helped create, has already trained its first cohort of nurses — seven highly skilled professionals who are now delivering cardiac care right here in Prince George.

“This program is about more than just education,” Krzyczkowski explained. “It’s about building a team and a workplace that people want to be part of. We’re recruiting from across the country, and we’re creating a standard of care that compares to what you’d find in major urban centres.”

But the need is still great.

Currently, patients experiencing cardiac events in the North often have to be flown to Vancouver or other southern centres for life-saving procedures. This delay can be stressful — not just medically, but emotionally and financially for families.

“I’ve seen what it’s like for patients to be separated from their loved ones during the scariest moments of their lives,” Krzyczkowski said.

“Here in the North, we treat heart attacks with clot-busting medications, thrombolytics, which, while highly

effective, are no longer the gold standard. The best outcomes come from immediate access to a cardiac catheterization lab, where we can diagnose and intervene immediately. That’s what we’ll have with the new Acute Care Tower.”

The future cath lab will be a game changer. It will allow for real-time

diagnostics and interventional procedures that will keep people close to home. And thanks to Krzyczkowski’s leadership, the nursing team will be ready.

“We’re not just preparing for a new building,” she said. “We’re preparing for a new era in cardiac care for the North.”

A new acute care tower is planned for the University Hospital of Northern BC. The new parkade for the hospital (at right) is currently under construction.

Local Sports Spruce Kings open at home with big win

Surrey Eagles centre Nishaan Parmar tries to get a shot past Spruce Kings defender Fraser Leonard and goalie Colin Reay during the team’s home opener at Kopar Memorial Arena on Friday, Sept. 26. Prince George beat the Eagles 7-2 on goals from Tai Ushio (2), Carter Hasselgrave, Matic Percic, Kaxumo Sasaki, Mathis Laplante and Ryan Wachtel. Spruce Kings goalie Colin Reay was rock-solid between the pipes, stopping 34 of 36 shots. Ushio’s two goals and an assist earned him first star of the game, Reay was second and Hesselgrave, with a goal and assist, took third-star recognition. Ozbej Rep was named FortisBC Energy Player of the game after recording two assists. After playing the Okotoks Oilers Saturday, the Kings next play Chilliwack at home on Friday.

Local athletes to represent BC at Special Olympics ’26

CHRISTINE DALGLEISH Citizen Staff

Special Olympics BC has announced the names of athletes who are now on the training squad to prepare for the 2026 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games in Medicine Hat, Alberta from Aug. 11 to 15, 2026.

The athletes qualified for their spots on the provincial team through their performance at the 2025 Special Olympics BC Summer Games held in Prince George from July 10 to 12.

The team is comprised of more than 205 athletes with intellectual disabilities, 73 volunteer coaches and 18 mission staff from more than 42 communities across BC.

opportunities arise and the confirmation process concludes. The roster will be updated as changes are confirmed.

Right now athletes from Region 8 who are on the training squad include Mackenzie powerlifter Pierce Northcott, 16, who broke the unofficial world record for his 451-pound deadlift during the BC Summer Games held in Prince George from July 10 to 12.

From Prince George are 10-pin bowlers Barbie Conway, Greg Cole, Carol West, Emilie Snyders and Linda Renner; in golf is Josh Pudney; in rhythmic gymnastics are Angela Hills, Darcie Muzychka and Michaela Samsonoff; in swimming is David Dunn, and in track and field is Tyler Lefebvre.

Sydney Hall will be a member of the mission staff who act as liaisons for athletes. SUBMITTED

The training squad roster will see some changes in the future as additional

Tyler LeFebvre demonstrates the mini javelin, an event he took silver in at the BC Region 7&8 qualifier in Smithers on June 29. LeFebvre is on the roster of athletes headed to the 2026 Special Olympics Canada Games in Medicine Hat next August.

Weight room to be named after powerlifter and coach

Pierce Northcott of Mackenzie set a record at the BC Special Olympics

CHRISTINE DALGLEISH Citizen Staff

Pierce Northcott, a Special Olympics powerlifter, deadlifted 451 pounds to set a new — if unofficial — world record for 16- to 17-year-old males during the Special Olympics BC Summer Games held in Prince George from July 10 to 12.

To honour Northcott’s Herculean effort, the District of Mackenzie council has made the decision to honour Pierce and his accomplished coach, Bryce Surgenor.

On Sept. 8, in council chambers, it was decided that within the Mackenzie Recreation Centre, the room where all the magic happens will be named the Northcott Surgenor Weight Room.

It all started when Coun. Andy Barnes made the suggestion to name the weight room after Pierce.

“We were chitchatting about how cool it was and Coun. Barnes brought it up and I seized on the idea,” Coun. Jesse Wright explained.

Wright ran with it and reached out to the Northcott family to see how they would feel about it.

“So I reached out to Pierce’s mom Margie — I know the family as I was Pierce’s Grade 6 teacher — and Margie said they would be honoured,” Wright said.

Wright wrote the motion to be put before council, and together he and Coun. Barnes submitted it.

How it works, Wright said, is you submit the motion at one council meeting and then the decision is made during the following council meeting.

It was Coun. Victor Burmosky’s suggestion they honour Pierce’s coach, Bryce Surgenor, too — who is a national record-holding powerlifter himself.

Once Wright consulted with both families, and Pierce insisted it should happen, the motion had a “friendly amendment” suggested and accepted. It was decided it would be named the

Mackenzie’s Pierce Northcott begins his third lift during the Special Olympics BC Games powerlifting deadlift competition with a weight of 205KG at CN Centre

Friday, July 11.

Northcott Surgenor Weight Room, with a community celebration to be held in the near future, where a plaque will be mounted explaining the accomplishments of the dynamic duo — powerlifter and coach.

“Pierce said he wanted his whole family to be honoured, so asked specifically that his last name be used, and then Coun. Burmosky and I strategized how to amend the motion, which you see in the video of the council meeting where he offered a ‘friendly amendment’ — and that’s how all that came to be.”

During the council meeting, Mayor Joan Atkinson expressed her admiration for Pierce.

“Pierce’s accomplishment is being celebrated by our entire community,” Atkinson said.

“His dedication and commitment are an inspiration to all of us, but especially to the young people in Mackenzie who have witnessed firsthand the outstanding success that comes with hard work.”

Wright echoed that sentiment.

“I’m so proud of Pierce — the whole

gym, and it was Jesse and Pierce who suggested that Bryce’s name should be up there as coach.”

Pierce loves sports and works really hard at whatever he does, Margie added.

“He always gives 100 per cent,” Margie said.

“I just want to thank the mayor and town council for giving Pierce this honour. A lot of people see the medal, but they don’t see the heart and hard work behind it. Pierce spends hours working out — getting up at 6 in the morning and walking with his weighted vest, then goes to school, and after dinner spends more hours in the gym, only to come home and go for another walk or run in the evening. That’s Pierce’s life. He works hard and people are proud.”

Pierce said he was surprised when he heard about the weight room being named after him.

Pierce has always loved sports and started playing hockey when he was five years old.

community is so proud of Pierce,” Wright said.

“He’s an easy guy to root for. I have that personal connection to Pierce as his Grade 6 teacher, and to see the student I had then to the person graduating this year and seeing what he has accomplished and how dedicated he is — I am very proud of him.”

Pierce said when he was in Wright’s Grade 6 class, he was never in shape.

“And then in Grade 8 I started going to the gym,” Pierce said.

“I changed my eating habits then, too, but I never thought I was going to be a powerlifter.”

Pierce’s mom, Margie, is so happy Pierce will be honoured in this way.

The Northcott family has some history in Mackenzie that makes this recognition extra special.

“We are so happy about this honour,” Margie said.

“We’ve lived here for many years and my husband’s dad helped build the road into Mackenzie. It was really quite an honour that they would even consider putting Pierce’s name on the

He is a winger and said he loves hockey and powerlifting equally.

“But hockey is my first sport, so yeah, it’s my first love,” Pierce said.

Pierce has continued his training as he is determined to lift 500 pounds during his next competition. There is no official word about when that will happen.

Pierce knows he wouldn’t be where he is today in powerlifting without his coach, Bryce, who is a Canadian record holder in bench press with a lift of 157.7 kg, or 347.6 lbs, and who in deadlift has achieved success at 501.5 lbs.

During an earlier interview with The Citizen, Bryce said he knew Pierce would surpass him in his lifting career and was proud of that, knowing he had a hand in guiding Pierce to his success.

Pierce never stops training.

“Hockey season is starting, so I have just kept training to get ready for that,” Pierce said.

“It’s important to me that everyone knows the Northcott family name, and I’m very happy the weight room is named after me and Bryce. Everybody needs to follow their dreams.”

63-year-old runs 200 mountain miles in 98 hours

CHRISTINE DALGLEISH Citizen Staff

A 200-mile foot race — including 40,000 feet up, 40,000 feet down — completed in 100 hours or less.

That’s the challenge 63-year-old Larry Malmgren faced during the greatest endurance test of his life as he ran The Divide 200 in Castle-Crowsnest, Alberta, over four days that started on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025.

He finished the race in 98:34:00.7.

There was only one other racer older than Malmgren.

Paul Johnson is 69 years old and finished the race in 99:38:18.2.

There were 56 people registered; five didn’t show and 13 did not finish.

Malmgren has done many long-distance races — and that doesn’t mean a marathon for him.

Malmgren’s definition of long distance is Death Races like the one he did in 2023 at 61 years old. That race was 118 km long, ended on a 4,200-foot plateau and offered a 17,000-foot elevation change.

In Prince George, Malmgren is part of a group called the Trench Runners, and one day over a beer after a run, they started talking about what was next.

“I was looking to do the Fat Dog 120 (near Keremeos, BC), and I said to my fellow runners, ‘Hey, why don’t you do the shorter run and then you can crew me on the 120,’ and Steve Knowles said, ‘No, but if you do The Divide, I’ll help ya,’ and that planted the seed that was outside of my realm of concept,” Malmgren said.

“And so I ended up entering and spent the year training. I really didn’t know what I was getting into — it was a step above. So I ended up having a team of four people — a crew captain and three pacers — and we all went down in 2024 and I made it about 140 miles. I got this runner’s lean where I had this severe lean to the left and it’s a muscle thing — they attribute it to electrolyte deficiency and maybe potassium, but they really don’t know. It’s a more complete physical breakdown that shows up mostly in older athletes. I ended up not finishing. It was quite a spectacular finish. I had

hypothermia in the pouring rain on difficult trails. The pacer was worried. The last section was 12 km and it took me 10 hours. So that was how 2024 ended and I felt like I had some unfinished business, so I applied immediately again for this year.”

This time, Malmgren pulled out all the stops. He got help from high-performance coach Simon Lamarche of Engage Fitness, did a higher volume of training and more strength exercises.

“I took the approach to shotgun all the probable causes of why I was not successful in 2024,” Malmgren said.

“It monopolized my life — the training that I put in to get to that point.”

This year, Malmgren ended up with five people on the team — one crew captain and four pacers — including John Beebe, Devon Marie Herman, Marvin Friesen, Brad Bieganski and Steven Knowles.

Crew Captain Beebe set up the aid tent for Malmgren that was the envy of all runners.

“People started coming to our aid tent because they thought it was the race tent, because he had a canopy and lights and a fire,” Malmgren said. “It was

pretty amazing.”

Malmgren didn’t pick up a pacer until about 140 km into the race.

“Then I had four pacers who ran between 20 and 67 km each time, so basically they provide company, they can remind me to eat and drink, and they did a good job of keeping me on track, monitoring pace — and that’s sort of their role. It’s moral support, too. They even ended up helping other runners. They were just phenomenal, and at the finish line there wasn’t a dry eye around.”

Malmgren said he wasn’t looking for all that help.

“It just came out of the woodwork, and it was sort of a natural evolvement,” Malmgren said.

“I usually do these things solo, and it was a bit of a stretch for me to accept their help. Really, at the end of the day, this event became not so much about the run — but it did become more about the experience. The deepening of friendships and new friendships made on the trail, and it really was pretty amazing in that regard. Because of that, I had more motivation to finish it — it was more for the sake of my

team than myself.”

Malmgren made the greatest understatement at this point.

“It’s a challenging event,” he said. “It’s over 320 kilometres in 100 hours — that’s over four days — and it was a weird experience. I ran for 20 hours, took a half-hour break and then guess what? You get to run for another 20 hours. I think I slept for about 6 and a half hours in total throughout the 98 hours. In the first 100 or so kilometres, I slept for an hour and a half, and then on the third day I slept for four hours, which was a big luxury. Then just before the final stretch, I slept for an hour.”

Malmgren said he was amazed that he kept his mental clarity.

“I didn’t really hallucinate,” Malmgren said.

“As long as I kept moving, my mental clarity was there. On the physical side, again I ran into runner’s lean. I didn’t even know I had it, but when my first pacer picked me up, people were saying, ‘Hey, is he leaning?’ And this time it was to my right, and I didn’t notice it until my second pacer.”

CONTINUED

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Prince George’s Larry Malmgren hits new heights while running The Divide, a 200-mile foot race in Alberta that started on Sept. 12 and lasted four days.

The Divide is 40,000 feet up, then 40,000 feet back down

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Last year, his runner’s lean — where muscles contract on one side of the body — was on the left.

“So I was happy it was different this year — I was just resigned to the fact that it is what it is, and we’ll try to monitor the intensity of the effort to keep it at bay. And to be honest, it left my mind and it was never an issue mentally. Physically, it did require me to take breaks and do some stretching periodically to revitalize and keep going.”

The question that comes up after hearing all that was “why?” Why run 200 miles in 100 hours or less?

“There’s no simple answer to that,” Malmgren responded.

“It just arises, and it is somewhat of an evolution. Then once I start it, I have the tenacity that I feel like I have to finish it. Why do people risk their lives climbing a mountain? It’s pointless. I think it has to do with basic human striving for something, and I prefer to leave that question unanswered and just say the proverbial ‘ours is not to wonder why, ours is but to do or die’ — and seriously, that’s the best answer. What you get out of it is this bond with people when you’re trying to do something that is of great difficulty and challenge. It really brings people closer together — and not just my crew but the other runners I was with on the trail and the volunteers.”

Malmgren explained that he didn’t need to know why he was doing it. He made the commitment to do it and just did it.

“During the last day of the race, I was thinking to myself, ‘I am so done with running,’” Malmgren said.

“I got my fill. You know, I’ve been running for 10-11 years, and I didn’t choose to keep doing these endurance events — they just kind of happened. And over the last couple of years, I have been thinking to myself, when is this going to stop? When is this motivation or inclination to do these things going to stop so I can get on with other things in my life? And so I’ve finished

this race, and I am exhausted — mentally and emotionally. My body’s good — but I am still fatigued from it, and the last thing I want to do is contemplate running. But I know that it does come back, because I ran a 100-mile with a friend and he said he was done — and then two years later, he was running a 200-mile. So never say never, but I think I found my limit. I feel like I have been more of an observer of these shenanigans going on, and I really get the sense that that was enough — and maybe it’s time to look into multi-day hiking and fastpacking in the mountains.”

Fastpacking is an adventure sport blending trail running and ultralight backpacking to cover long distances in the backcountry with very little gear.

Malmgren said he would like to take a little more time enjoying the spectacular views rather than what he’s done in the extreme races — spending long nights running in the dark.

To train for The Divide 200, Malmgren went to Mount Robson and spent about two weeks fastpacking for eight hours a day.

“I explored some amazing scenery and met people from all over the world, and it was fun.”

The Divide 200 was a mixed bag of weather challenges, where Malmgren was exposed to high temperatures in direct sunlight along a mountain ridge for nine hours — risking heat stroke — to a long night of frigid temperatures in torrential downpours, risking hypothermia.

“Cold is another trigger for the runner’s lean, so I feel very fortunate that I actually completed the race despite having this runner’s lean,” said Malmgren, who never considered quitting the race for even a moment.

“I got a little bitchy at points when it was cold and wet, and I started counting miles — which is a terrible thing to do because then it all takes forever. But through it all, I had clarity and knew I was being irate. I am so glad that it’s behind me, and I’m so glad it had a positive outcome — so now I can relax and get on with my life.”

SUBMITTED PHOTOS

ABOVE: Larry Malmgren, waving, starts out on The Divide, a 200-mile foot race in Alberta that started on Sept. 12, 2025 and lasted four days.

BELOW: Larry Malmgren takes a break after a day of running.

Track & Field Club honours top athletes with awards

CHRISTINE DALGLEISH Citizen Staff

Outstanding athletes were celebrated during the Prince George Track & Field Club’s annual awards ceremony held at Cottonwood Island Park on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025.

The Prince George Track & Field Club had a remarkable season where so many records, personal bests and season’s best were achieved by athletes between the ages of nine and 80.

“I am incredibly proud of the talented athletes we have across all age divisions,” said Bryce Gladdish, Prince George Track & Field Club president. Take a look at this impressive list of achievements:

Junior Development

Outstanding Athletes

Eli Baumbach – 9 years old

• Sub Zero record holder: shot put with a throw of 5.54 metres

• Spruce Capital record holder: 60 metre hurdles with a time of 12.83, long jump 3.11m, shot put with a throw of 5.68 metres,

• Jack Brow: gold in shot put with a personal best throw of 6.08 metres,

• Junior Development Championship: gold medal for shot put, fifth in 60 metre hurdles with a personal best time of 12.21 seconds, fifth in 60 metres with a personal best time of 9.88 seconds

Emmett Baumbach – 11 years old

• Sub Zero: first in 1000 metre with a time of 3:50.83, long jump, first in shotput with a throw of 7.52 metres

• Spruce Capital record holder: 60 metre hurdles with a time of 12.31, first in shotput with a personal best throw of 6.98 metres, first in 200 metre with a time of 32.97 seconds

• Jack Brow: fourth in long jump with a personal best leap of 3.93 metres, 100m with a personal best of 15.86 seconds, third in 60 metre hurdles with a time of 11.79 seconds, 60 metre with

a personal best time of 9.99 seconds

• Junior Development Championship: tenth in 60 metre hurdles with a personal best time of 11.73 seconds

Waylan Matte – 11 years old

• Sub Zero record holder: 60 metre with a time of 10.24 seconds, first in 600 metre with a time of 2:03.46

• Spruce Capital: first in 60 metre with a personal best time of 10.04 seconds, first in 100 metre with a personal best time of 15.98 seconds, first in 600 metre with a personal best time of 2:08.45, first in 1000 metre with a personal best time of 3:45.61

Carolyn Padillia – 11 years old

• Sub Zero: meet record in shot put with a throw of 6.28 metre, meet record in javelin throw with a throw of 12.06 metres

• Spruce Capital: Meet records for high jump with a personal best leap of 1.25 metres, shot put with a personal best throw of 7.29 metres, javelin throw with a personal best throw of 16.87 metres, first in 100 metre with a time of 10.07 seconds, first in 200 metre with a personal best of 33.07 seconds, first in 60 metre hurdles with a personal best of 12.94

Alaina MacDonald – 12 years old

• Sub Zero: First in 100 metre with a time of 14.71 seconds

• Spruce Capital: First in 100 metre with a time of 14.89 seconds

• Jack Brow: personal best in 100m with a time of 14.30 seconds, personal best in 200 metre with a time of 30.22 second, long jump personal best with a jump of 3.64 metres

• Junior Development Championship: 18th in 100 metre (43 entered)

Charlotte Prosk – 12 years old

• Sub Zero- Meet record 300 metre with a personal best time of 52.02 seconds

• Spruce Capital – Meet record in 80 metre hurdles with a personal best time of 15.66 seconds, first in

high jump with 1.05 metre, first in long jump with a personal best of 3.53 metres

Ella Parks – 12 years old

• Sub Zero meet records: 200 metre with a time of 31.75 seconds, 800 metres with a time of 2:49.54

• Spruce Capital meet record: 200 metre with a personal best of 31.00 seconds, 800 metres with a personal best time of 2:45.35

U14 Outstanding Athletes

Sam Hopson – 13 years old

• Sub Zero – first in 800 metre with a time of 2:41.22, first in 1200 metre with a time of 4:20.40 and first in 2000 metre with a time of 7:45.91

• Spruce Capital – Meet record in 800 metre with a personal best time of 2:36.61

• Junior Development Championship: 2000 metre with a personal best time of 7:16.72, 1200 metre with a personal best time of 4:05.63

Britta Harris – 13 years old

• Sub Zero – Meet record: shot put throw of 8.26 metres

• Spruce Capital: Meet record: shot put with a personal best throw of 8.57 metres, second in javelin throw with a personal best throw of 15.24 metres.

U16 Outstanding Athletes

Kasieobi Udumaga

• Harry Jerome indoor meet: first in 60 metre with a personal best time of 7.51 seconds

• Sub Zero: Meet record in 100 metre with a time of 12.08 seconds

• BC High School Championship: Meet record Grade 8 boys –100 metre with a time of 11.76 seconds, first in 200 metre with a time of 23.54 seconds

• Flying Angels International Championships: first in U15 in 100 metre with a time of 11.61 seconds

• Legion National Youth Track and

Field Championships: fourth place in 100 metre with a personal best time of 11.21 seconds, seventh in 200m with a time of 23.31 seconds

Nic Scarpino

• Sub Zero Meet Records: long jump with a leap of 5.76 metres, high jump with a leap of 1.65 metres

• Spruce Capital: Meet record: high jump with a leap of 1.73 metres

• High School Multi Junior Octathlon: seventh place

• BC Athletic 2025 Championship: first for U16 Pentathlon

• Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships: first for U16 Pentathlon with a personal best of 3146 points

• Team BC U15 member

Madelin Standish

• BC Athletics Indoor Championship: second for shot put with a personal best throw of 9.37 metres

• Sub Zero: Meet record in hammer throw with a throw of 38.13 metres

• High School Zones: second for hammer throw with a throw of 39.81 metres

• Spruce Capital: Meet records: hammer throw with a personal best throw of 42.96 m and in shot put a personal best throw of 9.89 metres

Isabelle

Day

• BC Athletic Indoor Championship: third in 60 metre hurdles with a personal best time of 10.71 seconds

• Sub Zero: Meet Record: 300 metre hurdles with a time of 55.03 seconds

• High School Zones: second in 300 metre hurdles with a time of 53.35 seconds

• BC Outdoor Championship: eighth place finish in 80 metre hurdles in a personal best time of 13.78, ninth place in 300 metre hurdles with a personal best time of 53.22 seconds

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

U18 Outstanding Athletes:

Abdul-Rachad Hien

• Harry Jerome Indoor meet: second medal finish 60 metre with a personal best time of 7.19 seconds

• Sub Zero: first in 100 metre with a time of 11.72 seconds and first in 200 metre with a time of 23.46 seconds

• High School Zones: first in 100 metre and first in 200 metre

• Canadian Francophone Summer Games : U19 Team BC athlete, first in 200 metre with a time of 23.18 seconds and third in 100 metre with a personal best time of 11.30 seconds

• Ocean Athletics Last One Fast One: fourth place in 200 metre with a personal best time of 23.14 seconds

Kristian Richards

• Sub Zero: first in 800 metre with a time of 2:06.35

• High School Zones: Meet record: Senior 2000 metre steeplechase with a time of 7:05.68, second in 3000 metre with a time of 10:10.42

• High School Championship: 18th place in Senior 2000m steeplechase with a personal best time of 6:48.45

• Spruce Capital: first in 800 metre with a personal best time of 2:05.09

• BC Outdoor Championship: 16th place in 1500 metre with a personal best time of 4:27.25

Sarah Aka

• BC Athletic Indoor Championship: first in 60 metre hurdles with a personal best time of 9.23 seconds and second in 60 metre with a personal best time of 8.09 seconds (Indoor Nationals - Entry Standards U20)

• Sub Zero: Meet Record: 100 metre hurdles with a time of 17.71 seconds

• High School Zones: Meet record: Junior 80 metre hurdles with a time of 12.19 seconds, first in 100 metre with a time of 13.14 seconds.

metre with a time of 2:06.26, 1500 metre with a time of 4:22.28

• BC High School Championship: ninth in 800 metre with a personal best time of 1:58.07, 16th in 1500m with a time of 4:11.21

• Spruce Capital: Meet record: 100m with a personal best time of 12.48 seconds

metre with a personal best time of 24.84 seconds

Overall Athlete

Corbin Matthews

• BC Indoor Championship: first in shot put with a personal best throw of 5.21 metres, first in 1000 metre with a personal best time of 4:23.31 and second in long jump with a leap of 2.69 metres

• BC High School Championship: second in 80 metre hurdles with a time of 11.69 seconds

• Spruce Capital: first in 100m with a personal best of 12.78 seconds

• Jack Brow: Second in 100 metre hurdles with a personal best time of 14.71 seconds

• BC Outdoor Championship: Second place in 100 metre hurdles

Kionae Roberts

• Sub Zero: Meet records in 200 metre with a time of 26.59 seconds, 400 metre in a time of 58.23 seconds

• High School Zones: Meet record: Senior 400 metre with a time of 58.74 seconds

• BC High School Championship: fifth in Senior 400 metre with a time of 57.75 seconds

• Spruce Capital: first in 800 metre

• BC Outdoor Championship: third in 400 metre with a personal best time of 57.22seconds, 200m with a personal best of 25.91 seconds

High School Zones

All relay athletes below are PGTF athletes

4X100 Senior Women Meet Record Holder: Duchess Park 52.26

• Kionae Roberts, Hana Liston, Molly Monahan, Sarah Aka 4X100 Senior Men first place finish: Duchess Park 46.73

• Wasim Aka, Jinichi Cronje, Abdul Hien, Nicolas Scarpino

U20 Outstanding Athlete

Noah Gladdish

• Gary Reed Indoor Meet: first in 1500 metre with a personal best time of 4:20.00,

• BC Indoor Championship: first in 800 metre with a personal best time of 2:12.60

• Sub Zero: Meet records: 800

• BC Outdoor Championship: ninth in 1500 metre with a personal best time of 4:10.88, fifth in 800 metre with a time of 2:01.01.

Outstanding Senior Athlete Danae McCroy

• BC Indoor Championship: first in 60 metre with a personal best time of 8.11 seconds, first in 200 metre with a personal best time of 27.3 seconds and second in long jump with a personal best leap of 4.68 metre

• Sub Zero: Meet records: 100 metre with a time of 12.58 seconds and in pole vault with a leap of 2.20m

• Spruce Capital: Meet record: pole vault with a leap of 2.30 metres

• BC Outdoor Championship: 8th place 200 metre with a time of 26.46 second

High Performance Athletes Zavier Gladdish

• BC Indoor Championship: first for 2000 metre with a personal best time of 7:00.3, second in 800 metre with a personal time of 2:25.09, second 1200 metre with a personal best time of 3:56.03 (meets Indoor Nationals-Entry Standards U16)

• Sub Zero: first in 800 metre

• BC Outdoor Championship: 8th 1200 metre with a personal best time of 3:39.57, 12th 800 metre with a personal best time of 2:17.30

• Jinichi Cronje

• Sub Zero: first in 400 metre with a time of 56.51

• High School Zones: first in Junior 400 metre with a time of 55.69 seconds

• BC High School Championship: 400 metre with a personal best time of 54.46 seconds

• Spruce Capital: second in 200

• Outdoor PB: 1000 metre with a time of 4:06.79, high jump with a leap of 0.95, shot put with a throw of 6.22 metres and javelin throw of 15.56 metres

• “Corbin is a Junior Development athlete and when we all got together to decide who we wanted to give an award to for sportsmanship, overall performance and a positive attitude during practices everyone collectively came to the conclusion that Corbin was a well-fitting athlete for that award,” Lauren Matheson, PGTF coach, said.

• “Corbin always brings the energy up wherever he goes.”

• PG Track & Field Club had three athletes competing at the Legions Canadian National U16 and U18 Championships including Nic Scarpino - Team BC U16 athlete, Kasieobi Udumaga and Kionae Roberts - Team BC U18 athletes.

Special Awards

Brian Martinson was given special recognition for his extraordinary volunteerism. Martinson has been with the Prince George Track & Field Club since its inception in 1973 and specializes in the daunting task of operating the timing booth with all its complications.

Martinson was thanked for his unrelenting accuracy and adherence to the high standards set by Athletics Canada that allows people competing in Athletics to join the ranks on the world stage.

Editor’s note: Reporter Christine Dalgleish, 62, is a master athlete and a member of the Prince George Track & Field Club. She received a special recognition award for, after two years of injury and illness, breaking BC records in the weight throw and super weight throw.

Teaching kids about the science behind popular sports

MATTHEW HILLIER Citizen Staff

Thanks to recently announced funding from the province, Science World’s On the Road team has launched a new program coming to schools across BC — The Science of Sport.

On the Road is a mobile education program that has been touring the province since 1988, bringing educational programming to schools, festivals and public events.

The new program, The Science of Sport, encourages students to “play smart” and learn the complex, hidden sciences that make sport possible.

The program — inspired by the FIFA World Cup 2026 — aims to teach students through four core segments:

• Fun and Fair Play: Explores the physics of movement, rules and ethics in sports

• Physics and Materials of Sport: Investigates the properties of sports equipment, from the design of a soccer ball to the bounce of different balls

• Human Health: Demonstrates the value of exercise on physical and mental health by exploring how muscles, lungs and the heart function

• Technology: Showcases how scientific advancements and engineering have evolved sports over time, including the use of prosthetic running blades and clap skates

The program also highlights the influence of Indigenous, national and adaptive sports, as well as career paths in sports beyond being an athlete.

Lisa Beare, the minister of education and child care, noted the importance of this program and what it brings to classrooms across the province.

“When kids are inspired by their learning, the whole classroom benefits,” said Beare. “The On the Road program has been bringing science to life for thousands of students all over BC — from big cities to small towns and remote communities — while building strong and meaningful partnerships

with BC schools. Programs like this one take hard work and an incredible team. Thanks to Science World for inspiring the next generation of scientists and problem solvers. I’m excited for what’s to come, both in the classrooms and on the playing field.”

The Citizen spoke with Stefano Giulianetti, manager of outreach programs at Science World, about what it means to “play smarter.”

“Science is often attributed with being smart,” said Giulianetti. “I don’t know that people always think about the cerebral part of sports. But man, kids — especially the younger ones — are getting more curious on how to get good quickly. We have so much media out there, reels and TikToks that help us improve our skills. I think playing smarter means being aware of why you’re doing something, knowing how you can improve and how you can make something better for yourself. And that comes with being curious, which is the core tenet of science.”

predicting, testing and repeating that to get more results. Is that any different than when you go to do your skills and drills for a soccer game and you repeat it in practice to get good and find better results for the game? That’s where we find that commonality — both practically using the equipment, understanding that air resistance applies both in science and in sports, and gravity, momentum, energy and human health. The technology of sports is fed by jobs and other discoveries in science.”

One of Giulianetti’s favourite parts of the show is taking apart a soccer ball and showing students how such a simple object of sport can be so interesting — and launching different objects like tennis balls, soccer balls and potatoes with an air cannon to demonstrate airborne behaviours and make predictions on what will happen.

The program has also been well received across BC, as Giulianetti explained.

He added that the program will likely tour the North in the second week of December, and said they are currently in talks to host a possible performance at the Exploration Place during that time for the general public.

Giulianetti also gave some insight into what students can expect during the shows.

“Anytime Science World rolls into town, we bring the fun to make the learning stick,” said Giulianetti. “I think that’s because a lot of people have a great idea of what they can see about science and what they can see about sport. What’s really wonderful is to be able to connect the dots between those two big subjects. What they’ll see is us using sports equipment, exploring, taking it apart, launching it and then going, wait, what’s happening here? Why is it doing this? What forces are at play? Why is it important? How do we measure? How do we track it?

“There are a lot of commonalities. For example, science is all about observing,

“We’re very beloved, and we appreciate that,” said Giulianetti. “I think the number one thing is it’s tricky sometimes to visit and then not be able to visit again immediately … but thanks to donors like the province of British Columbia, as well as other donors this year that are supporting us, we’re able to make it pretty consistent. We’ve been growing the program because of that enthusiastic response.”

Giulianetti also emphasized how the program aims to appeal to both students who love sports and those who love science — and hopefully help them find common ground.

“We definitely create a thirst for science and we’re really proud of that because that’s what we are aiming to do,” said Giulianetti. “We’re not there to take over the place of the teachers. We’re there to excite the kids so that they would ask for science. And that’s extra, extra cool this year because I hope the kids who are anxious about sports will see something cool about sports, and the kids who are anxious about science will see something cool — and we’ll really spark both this year.”

SCIENCE WORLD PHOTO

Schoolkids enjoy a presentation of The Science of Sport, which uses a fun, lively presentation to teach about health, physics, technology and more through sports.

Life Events

Saturday, October 11, 2025 11:00am - 1:00pm

Senior Centre 425 Brunswick St. Prince George

Lloyd Allen Bjorklund age 67 passed away peacefully on Sept 20, 2025, surrounded by the love of his family

Lloyd will be remembered for his hard-working spirit, his loyalty and the love he showed for those closest to him. His presence will be deeply missed by family friends and all those who had the privilege of knowing him.

He survived by his spouse Ruby, children Ryan, Jen-Lynn, Jasmine, Llyod, and Katrina, as well as his extended family, and friends.

Celebration of life could be held in the spring of 2026.

October 21, 1953 - September 23, 2025

Joseph Anthony Lynch October 21,1953September 23, 2025 Joe passed away in Prince George, BC surrounded with love from his entire family. Joe was a devoted, kind and loving husband to his wife Sue, they were happily married for 30 years. Joe leaves behind his two grown children, Nanette (Todd) and son Matt (Sandra). Joe was blessed to have 6 grandchildren who were his pride and joy, Rachel, Nathalie, Ashley, Bradley, Keegan and Cage. Joe will be dearly missed by his siblings Bill(Nancy), Mary, Sarah(d. John), Jane(Jim), Sue, Terry(Angela) and Steve(Sue). Also greatly missed by his loving nieces Shauna, Shannon, Sheryl, Ciara, Keelin, Brittany, Alexis, and nephews Conor, Kiernan and Tyler. Predeceased by parents Lexie (McDougal) and James Roderick Lynch, brother Glen and nephew Jamie. Joe had a long successful career as an Analytical Chemist working for some of the biggest mining companies worldwide. In his retirement Joe continued his mining adventures in the Klondike as a gold mine owner. Joe was a good man and will be remembered fondly and missed by all who knew him. Joe requested no formal services, instead, Joe would have wanted us all to go have some fun with the ones we love.

November 23, 1959 – August 21, 2025

Larry Flavel passed away peacefully at Prince George Hospice House with family at his side.

He was best known for being in constant motion: working as a tree faller; a belt mechanic; and an industrial painter or by spending time on his many projects ranging from restoring vehicles to fixing boats and building musical instruments. He was a jack-of-all-trades who believed that with enough time, tools, resourcefulness, and swear words, he could make just about anything work.

Larry loved being outdoors-fishing, horseback riding, skiing, gardening, camping-and spent many summers in Port Edward, living on his boat and taking family and friends out on the ocean to fish. Music was another passion that included playing his guitar and singing around a campfire and building instruments by hand.

Larry had a soft spot for animals, especially his longtime companion Sodie, the dog who rarely left his side; friends joked his house was a refuge for stray animals.

Larry is survived by his children Nathan Flavel (Randy Leslie), Jordan Keim, Jillian Flavel-Keim, and Logan Flavel-Keim; his cherished granddaughters, Emma and Hannah Lerch; his partner, Judy Klitch; Lana Keim, his lifelong friend and the mother of Jordan, Jillian, and Logan; and his siblings: Kathy Gill, Carol Dueck (Marshall Traplin), Christine Proulx (Thomas Proulx), and Tim Flavel (Wade Morgan). He was predeceased by his parents, Glen Flavel and Phyllis Peoples, and his brother-in-law, Ted Gill.

At Larry’s request, no service will be held. Donations in his memory may be made to Prince George Hospice House.

Joseph Anthony Lynch

Mo (Elmo) Jones Sturgeon Celebration of Life

Lawrence (Larry) David Flavel

Classifieds

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REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

I represent a Californian trust and have been given the task of finding Michelle Blacker and brother, Jonathan Blacker, whose parents came from Wales, UK, in the

If this is you, or have information to make contact please email nirojo@protonmail.com

NOTICE

Notice to anyone who was related to Susie A. Haskell. This is by Sandra Cardinal of T#91-5130 North Nechako Rd. Prince George BC V2K 4W3, 250-552-4200.

I, Sandra Cardinal will be applying for the trailer I have been living in for six years at T#91-5130 North Nechako Rd.

The application to Manufactured Home Act for seizure and sale within 30 days of this notice being published. Unless someone comes forward to pay outstanding taxes owed to the city of Prince George and claims legal ownership of the trailer.

PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER PLEASE RECYCLE

PUBLIC NOTICE

Resolution of Discipline Proceedings Aliu Olusola Adewole (also known as Sola Adewole) of Ilorin, Nigeria

In order to resolve a disciplinary proceeding before a Panel of the Disciplinary Committee concerning alleged professional misconduct against him, Aliu Olusola Adewole (also known as Sola Adewole), of Ilorin, Nigeria and formerly of Prince George, British Columbia, has agreed to voluntarily relinquish his membership in the Organization of Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (“CPABC”), effective September 25, 2025.

The professional misconduct alleged against Mr. Adewole involves breaches of the CPABC Code of Professional Conduct. In particular: over several years arranging for over 1300 unauthorized electronic wire funds transfers using his former employer’s bank account and altering corporate financial records to conceal the unauthorized transactions, all of which he knew or should have known was unlawful. Mr. Adewole has irrevocably admitted to all the allegations that CPABC has made against him.

Mr. Adewole has agreed to pay $2,800.00 towards CPABC’s costs of the disciplinary proceeding and pay a fine of $15,000.00.

As Mr. Adewole is no longer a member of CPABC, he cannot use or display the designations “Chartered Professional Accountant”, “Certified General Accountant”, or “Professional Accountant”, use or display the initials “CPA”, “CGA”, “CPA, CGA”, or “PA”, or imply, suggest, or hold out that he is a Chartered Professional Accountant or Professional Accountant.

SEKANI FOREST PRODUCTS LTD. FOREST OPERATIONS MAP #2616

Sekani Forest Products Ltd. Operations Map #2616, public review and comment from September 29, 2025 to October 29, 2025, at link below, by mail, or in person by appointment MonFri 9am-4pm. Contact the forestry department at the email or phone number below in order to schedule an appointment. This FOM is applicable for 3 years and may be relied upon to apply for a cutting or road permit to harvest a cutblock or construct a road displayed on the FOM.

Strategic Natural Resource Group

931 Great St, Prince George, BC V2N 5R7 613-453-3202

derek.mclean@snrc.ca https://fom.nrs.gov.bc.ca/public/projects

Dunkley Lumber Ltd. Forest Operations Map # DLL A18160 2024-1

Dunkley Lumber’s Forest Operations Map # DLL A18160 2025-1 is open for public review and comment from September 25 – October 25, 2025.

Use link below, or in person by appointment Mon-Fri 9am-4pm. Contact the Dunkley Lumber forestry department at the email or phone number below in order to schedule an appointment.

17000 Dunkley Rd, Hixon, BC, V0K 1S1.

This FOM is applicable for 3 years. It may be relied upon to apply for a cutting permit or road permit, or to harvest a cutblock or construct a road that is displayed on the FOM.

PH: 250-998-4421

fom@dunkleylumber.com

https://fom.nrs.gov.bc.ca/public/projects

Public Notice: Forest Operations Map Review and Invitation for Comment.

In accordance with the Forest Range and Practices Act, OBO Forest Management GP LTD. and Spectrum Resource Group invite the public to review its Forest Operations Maps (FOM ID: 2629) in the Mackenzie Natural Resource District. The FOM describes areas proposed for Cutting Permit and Road Permit development within the next three years starting on November 2nd, 2025, and ending on November 1st, 2028. We welcome your comments and feedback during the review period starting October 2nd, 2025. Please, submit your comments by November 1st, 2025.

The map is accessible for review and comment submission online at: https://fom.nrs.gov.bc.ca/public/projects#publicNotices

Alternatively, in-person review and comments can be scheduled and completed at the following location during regular office hours (Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM –4:00 PM): 1960 Robertson Road, Prince George, BC, V2N1X6

Comments may also be submitted by mail to the above address or submitted via phone or email at: 1-250-564-0383; etorres@srg.ca

3. Alan O’Day is best known for which song?

4. Which Beatle wrote and released “All Those Years Ago”?

5. Name the song that contains this lyric: “I want you to tell me why you walked out on me, I’m so lonesome every day.”

SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE (FAMILY COURT) at 59 Church Street, St. Catharines, Ontario L2R 7N8

NOTICE TO: GAGANDEEP KAUR

A CASE HAS BEEN STARTED AGAINST YOU IN COURT at 59 Church Street, St. Catharines, Ontario L2R 7N8

The next court date is November 24, 2025, at 10:20 a.m., or as soon as possible after that time at: 59 Church Street, St. Catharines, Ontario L2R 7N8

The court may make an order in this case that will affect your rights. You can get more information about this case from the court office at the address above.

You may also get information about this case from SAMANTHA PINCKNEY at 82 Hannover Drive, St. Catharines, Ontario L2W 1A4, Tel: 1-905-937-7731 ext. 3968 or toll free: 1-888-937-7731.

IF YOU DO NOT COME TO COURT, AN ORDER MAY BE MADE WITHOUT YOU AND BE ENFORCED AGAINST YOU.

Public Notice: Forest Operations Map Review and Invitation for Comment. In accordance with the Forest Range and Practices Act, Sekani Forest Products and Spectrum Resource Group invites the public to review its Forest Operations Maps (FOM ID: 2628) in the Mackenzie Natural Resource District. The FOM describes areas proposed for Cutting Permit and Road Permit development within the next three years starting on November 2nd, 2025, and ending on October 31st, 2028. We welcome your comments and feedback during the review period starting October 2nd, 2025. Please, submit your comments by November 1st, 2025.

The map is accessible for review and comment submission online at: https://fom.nrs.gov.bc.ca/public/projects#publicNotices

Alternatively, in-person review and comments can be scheduled and completed at the following location during regular office hours (Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM):

1960 Robertson Road, Prince George, BC, V2N1X6

Comments may also be submitted by mail to the above address or submitted via phone or email at:

1-250-564-0383; etorres@srg.ca

Charles, Emmylou Harris and Vince Gill.

2. Queen, in 1977, as the A-side to “We Will Rock You.” The song, written by Freddie Mercury, is often played at sports arenas to celebrate home team wins.

4. George Harrison, in 1981. The lyrics were complete, but Harrison rewrote it as a tribute to John Lennon after Lennon was murdered in 1980.

1. Which artist wrote and released “Together Again”?

1. Which group released “Rag Doll”?

2. Name the artist who wrote and released “Dreamy Eyes.”

2. Who released “We Are the Champions”?

3. Which group released “GreenEyed Lady”?

4. Who wrote and released “Cracklin’ Rosie”?

5. Name the song that contains this lyric: “If I

Answers

1. Singer-songwriter Buck Owens, in 1964. The song was later covered by several others, including Ray

3. “Undercover Angel,” in 1977. But O’Day is mostly known for writing hits for other artists. Among many others, he penned “Angie Baby” for Helen Reddy.

5. “Walk Right Back,” by The Everly Brothers, in 1961. The song was recorded before it was finished being written. Anxious to get it released, they sang the first verse twice.

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* On Oct. 13, 1773, French astronomer Charles Messier discovered the firstknown spiral galaxy and named it the Whirlpool Galaxy. It would be another three centuries before scientists confirmed that our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is also spiral shaped.

• On Nov. 11, 1831, Nat Turner, an American slave and educated minister who believed that he’d been chosen by God to lead his people into freedom, was hanged in Jerusalem, Virginia, for leading a revolt with 75 followers through Southampton County, killing about 60 white people.

• On Nov. 12, 1969, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh revealed the extent of the U.S. Army’s charges against 1st Lt. William L. Calley at My Lai, Vietnam, in a cable picked up by more than 30 newspapers, saying that “The Army says he [Calley] deliberately murdered at least 109 Vietnamese civilians during a searchand-destroy mission in March 1968, in a Viet Cong stronghold known as ‘Pinkville.’”

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Someone from your past could arrive with welcome news concerning your future. Meanwhile, avoid taking sides in a workplace confrontation until you have more facts to go on.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) A decision about a relationship could have longer-lasting consequences than you might imagine, so be sure of your facts before you act. A trusted friend can help.

On Oct. 14, 1977, pop singer, former beauty queen and spokesperson for Florida orange juice Anita Bryant was hit in the face with a pie by gay rights activist Tom Higgins while speaking at an Iowa event to promote her campaign to repeal anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBTQ people.

On Oct. 15, 1864, the world’s first successful combat submarine, the H.L. Hunley, went down in Charleston Harbor during a demo run, killing its inventor and namesake along with

seven crew members. The vessel was recovered and performed its only successful mission the following year when it sank the Yankee ship Housatonic, but sank again, taking its third ill-fated crew with it. Raised again in 2000, it is currently on exhibit in Charleston.

On Oct. 16, 1964, after conducting a successful nuclear test, China became the fifth nation with atomic bomb capability, after the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain and France.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) New facts could mean taking a new path toward a goal you’ve been hoping to reach. However, be sure that all your questions are answered before you undertake to shift directions.

On Oct. 17, 1985, magicians Penn & Teller notably responded to “Late Night” host David Letterman’s invitation to “surprise” him on their next appearance on his show by unleashing hundreds of cockroaches from a top hat onto his desk. While Letterman was unsurprisingly hardly pleased, he later admitted the stunt made “great TV.”

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) You might welcome the emphasis on openness in relationships that mark this period. But it’s a good idea to avoid sharing personal secrets with people you hardly know.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) You feel like you’re finally in control of your own life after months of making compromises and concessions you never felt comfortable with. Congratulations!

• On Nov. 13, 1979, Philadelphia 76ers center Darryl Dawkins leaped over Kansas City Kings forward Bill Robinzine for a memorable slam dunk that shattered the fiberglass backboard. His equally memorable comment on the move, which was not his last and the sound of which spectators likened to a bomb going off: “It wasn’t really a safe thing to do, but it was a Darryl Dawkins thing to do.”

LEO (July 23 to August 22) This is a good week for all you fine Felines to turn your attention to some important considerations such as your health, your job situation, and the status of important relationships.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) A strained relationship could be restored with more personal contact between the two of you. Letting others act as your go-between only adds to the ongoing estrangement.

• On Nov. 14, 1882, outlaw Frank “Buckskin” Leslie shot and killed Billy “The Kid” Claiborne, who had publicly challenged him, in Tombstone, Arizona.

• On Nov. 15, 1984, Baby Fae, a month old infant who received the world’s first baboon heart transplant, died at California’s Loma Linda University 20 days after the operation. Three other people had received animal heart transplants, but none survived longer than a few days.

• On Nov. 16, 2001, British author J.K. Rowling’s most famous and beloved creation, the bespectacled boy wizard Harry Potter (played by Daniel Radcliffe in his first major role), made his silver-screen debut in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” which went on to become one of the highestgrossing movies in history.

• On Nov. 17, 1903, the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party split into two factions: the majority Bolsheviks and minority Mensheviks. The

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Avoid making a quick decision about a matter that needs more study. Keep your mind open for possibilities, even if they don’t seem plausible -- at least not yet.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) There are still some questions that need to be asked and answered before you can feel confident enough to make a potentially life-changing decision.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Some lingering effects from a now largely resolved workplace confrontation could make things difficult for you. Act on this before it becomes serious.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) No sooner do you decide to pass on one job offer than another suddenly turns up. This one might not have everything you’re looking for, but it’s worth checking out.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Congratulations! With Jupiter’s strong influence dominating this week, don’t be surprised if you get some good news about a troubling financial matter.

Homes & Living

Winterizing Your RV: Protecting Your Investment for the Cold Season

As temperatures drop, preparing your RV for winter is essential to prevent costly damage and ensure it’s ready for adventures when warmer weather returns. Winterizing not only protects plumbing and mechanical systems but also extends the life of your RV. Start with the plumbing system, as freezing water can cause pipes and tanks to burst. Drain all water from the fresh, gray, and black tanks, then flush the lines. Afterward, use RV-safe antifreeze to protect the pipes and water heater. This step is critical to avoid expensive repairs come spring.

Next, turn your attention to the

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interior. Clean thoroughly to prevent odors and deter pests from making your RV their winter home. Remove perishable food items and wipe down surfaces. Leave cabinet doors open where plumbing runs to allow warm air to circulate, reducing the risk of freezing.

The exterior also needs care. Wash and wax your RV to protect the finish, and inspect seals, roof seams, and windows for cracks that could allow moisture in. Cover vents and tires, and consider investing in an RV cover to shield the vehicle from snow, ice, and UV damage.

Don’t forget the batteries. Either disconnect and store them in a cool,

dry location, or keep them charged using a maintenance charger. Batteries that discharge completely in cold weather can be permanently damaged.

Finally, add a fuel stabilizer to the gas tank and run the engine and generator briefly to circulate it. This helps prevent fuel breakdown during long periods of inactivity. By taking these precautions, you’ll safeguard your RV from winter’s harsh effects, saving yourself time, money, and stress. A properly winterized RV will be ready to hit the road again when spring arrives.

How to Store Patio Furniture for the Winter

When the temperatures drop and snow begins to fall, protecting your patio furniture becomes essential to prolong its lifespan. Proper storage prevents damage from moisture, freezing temperatures, and harsh winds, ensuring your outdoor set looks great when spring returns. Here are some practical tips for storing patio furniture during the winter months.

Clean Before Storing

Always start by thoroughly cleaning your furniture. Dirt, pollen, and food residue can stain or cause deterioration if left through the winter. For metal and plastic pieces, use mild soap and water. Wood furniture may require specialized cleaners or oils to preserve the finish. Be sure everything is completely dry before storing to avoid mold and mildew.

Use Protective Covers

If you don’t have indoor storage space, heavy-duty, weather-resistant covers are your best line of defense. Look for

covers designed for your specific furniture type, with features like ventilation flaps to reduce condensation. Tie them down securely so they won’t blow away in strong winds.

Find the Right Storage Location

The best option is a dry, sheltered location such as a garage, basement, or shed. Storing furniture indoors protects it from snow, ice, and extreme cold. If space is limited, consider stacking chairs or folding tables to maximize room. For large items like sectionals or dining sets, you can disassemble them for easier storage.

Protect Cushions and Fabrics

Outdoor cushions and fabrics should never be left outside in freezing conditions. Wash removable covers according to manufacturer instructions, and store cushions in breathable bags or plastic bins to keep pests and moisture away. Avoid airtight plastic bags, which can trap condensation and lead to mildew.

Care for Specialty Materials

• Wood: Apply a protective sealant or oil to guard against cracking and warping.

• Metal: Touch up any scratches with rust-resistant paint.

• Wicker: Vacuum thoroughly and wrap with a breathable cover to prevent brittleness.

Final Touches

Don’t forget smaller accessories like umbrellas, rugs, or planters. Clean them and store them in a dry place to prevent mold and weather damage. By taking the time to properly clean, protect, and store your patio furniture, you’ll extend its life, save money on replacements, and make setup a breeze when warm weather returns. Winter storage is an investment in keeping your outdoor living space beautiful year after year.

Planting Fall Bulbs for a Vibrant Spring Garden

Fall is the perfect time to plant bulbs that will bloom beautifully in spring. Crocuses, tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and alliums are just a few examples of bulbs that benefit from a cool, dormant period in the soil. Proper planning ensures a colorful, healthy display once the warmer weather arrives.

Begin by choosing a location with well-draining soil and sufficient sunlight. Most spring-blooming bulbs thrive in full to partial sun. Before planting, loosen the soil and enrich it with compost or bulb fertilizer to encourage strong root development.

Plant bulbs at a depth roughly two to three times their height, with the pointed end facing upward. Space

them according to the variety’s requirements—generally a few inches apart to allow room for growth. After planting, water thoroughly to help the bulbs settle and start root development.

Mulching with a layer of leaves or straw protects bulbs from extreme winter temperatures and helps retain soil moisture. Avoid walking on freshly planted beds, as compacted soil can hinder root growth.

By planting bulbs in the fall, you give them the chilling period they need to bloom robustly, ensuring a burst of vibrant colors in your garden that will welcome spring with ease and beauty.