Blog Watching: Week ending September 8, 2019

Summer began with a reminder of the dangers for those who transit the waters of the North Coast as the RCMP and local search groups took to the area of the Butze Rapids to respond to a boat capsizing rescuing three and searching for one remaining and missing boater.

The unofficial end of summer also delivered what is the official word of the end of Ferry service between Prince Rupert and Ketchikan, as the Alaska Marine Highway System announced that the service would stop at the end of September after no agreement could be found on staffing of armed security assistance for US Customs and Border officials at the Prince Rupert Alaska Ferry terminal.

Mayor Lee Brain will be looking to address the shocking nature of the announcement and quick timeline ahead later this month when he travels North to Alaska to discuss the situation with Alaskan officials.

North Coast Regional District took an interest in a proposed Bulk Fuels Terminal at Ridley Island over the summer, with some background on correspondences between the Regional District and the Federal Transportation Minister recently released.

Three high profile projects related to the Port of Prince Rupert are moving forward following the announcing of funding from the Federal Government which announced that 153 million dollars was destined the way of Prince Rupert for the Zanardi Bridge project, further work along the Rail Road Corridor on Ridley Island, as well as for the Metlakatla Development Corporations plans for an Import Logistics Park.

And to bring the list of five to an end, there was strong readership for our notes on how social media had responded this week to the events of late August, when an RCMP response to assist the City's Bylaw Officers with an aggressive dog in the Seal Cove area resulted in the shooting of the dog. The content of the social media posts for the most part one of sadness, anger and some confusion over the city's policy when it comes to aggressive dogs.

However, the top item of the last seven days, put the focus on an extensive search in the Fern Passage, Butze Rapids area for a missing boater.

Prince Rupert Search and Rescue, RCMP search for missing boater near Butze Rapids --  The Labour Day Monday found Prince Rupert emergency service responders working the Butze Rapids area in search of a missing boater, though no update has been delivered on the search since that time. It proved to be a busy week for the local detachment of the RCMP with a number of statements delivered for a range of files which you can review here.   (posted  September 2, 2019)

That article was followed by:

Alaska Marine Highway System to end Service to Prince Rupert on October 1st -- Six decades of Alaska Ferry service between Prince Rupert and Ketchikan seems destined to come to an end at the end of this month following an announcement from the State. However, as we learned later in the week Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain will make another pitch towards keeping the service operational when he travels North in mid September.     (posted  September 4, 2019)

Vopak Bulk Fuel Terminal plans made for summer correspondence from North Coast Regional District  -- There hasn't been a lot of news generated of late related to the Vopak Bulk Fuel terminal plans for Ridley Island, with some of the few questions raised in relation to operations of the large industrial  terminal coming through a correspondence from Regional District and the Federal Transportation Minister.    (posted September 3, 2019)

Federal Funding to help move forward three major infrastructure projects for Port of Prince Rupert --  A trio of funding announcements this week sets in motion some significant development plans for the Port of Prince Rupert and a number of partners around the Ridley Island footprint.   (posted  September 5 , 2019)

Friday incident with dog in Seal Cove churned Social media all weekend -- The shooting of what was described as an aggressive dog by Police over a week ago became one of the dominating items for comment on Social Media on the week. While emotions tended to rule most of those online commentaries, one submission, from a former dog obedience trainer did seem to offer up some constructive advice for any similar future situations.   (posted  September 3, 2019)

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