WIND WARNING issued for North Coast - Coastal Sections

Satellite imagery from Environment Canada shows
the path of a pair of weather systems
arriving for forming up off the North Coast

 Halloween evening will be a wet affair for Trick or Treaters or anyone else venturing outside, as the first of a number of Pacific Fronts crosses over the North Coast and Haida Gwaii.

But, wet and breezy as Saturday night may be, Sunday will be down right Nasty with Environment Canada issuing a WIND WARNING for both the North Coast and Haida Gwaii just before 4PM today.

The Notice notes that a vigorous frontal system will move onto the north coast Sunday afternoon. Winds over Haida Gwaii and the exposed area of north coast - coastal sections will increase to southerly 90 km/h gusting to 110 Sunday afternoon and persist through early Monday morning. 

The front will move onto the central coast on Monday. High winds may toss loose objects or cause tree branches to break. Please continue to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada. 

While the North Coast and Haida Gwaii deal with the Wind Warning, a Rainfall Warning has been issued for North Coast inland areas, with rainfall totals potentially as high as 100 mm.

You can review the full forecast for the region here.

Prince Rupert and North Coast communities should see rainfall totals towards 60 mm or more from Saturday afternoon through Sunday and into Monday morning.

For those that may be travelling inland this evening or into tomorrow, the latest road conditions can be found from the Drive BC  website or through the Drive BC Northwest twitter feed.

City of Prince Rupert/Northern Health issue Water Advisory, with a recommendation to BOIL WATER for a number of residents

The weekend weather has once again increased turbidity levels in the city's drinking water supply and as a result, the City of Prince Rupert has once again issued a Water Advisory for residents.

The notice posted to the city's website and information streams Saturday afternoon notes that Northern Health recommends that children, pregnant women, the elderly and persons with weakened immune systems drink boiled water at this time. 

In their advisory which you can review in full here, the City notes that the twin elements of Heavy rainfall and our current use of Shawatlans Lake are believed to be the contributing factors to the recent stream of increased incidences of elevated turbidity.

The message is also available on the City's Facebook page and was relayed through their mobile app.

The Mayor has also taken to his Social Media page with his own update on the current situation.

As we outlined earlier this week, the City has plans for a water treatment facility, anticipated to be completed in 2023.

More on the city's infrastructure plans can be found here.

The most recent water advisory was lifted in late September, you can retrace many of the previous water woes of this year from our archive here.

In late 2017/early 2018 Prince Rupert residents were on a Boil Water Order for 43 days with a longer lasting Water Advisory also in place through to March, you can review those past themes here.

Trifecta time ... Time Change, Halloween and a Full Moon bring October to an end

There's much to do this evening as we prepare for the final evening of October, from the handing out of Halloween treats, to changing the clocks and a little full moon gazing, though the latter is probably a doubtful experience considering the weather forecast.

As we do twice a year (for now) the time to adjust our time has arrived, with the 2AM reminder (earlier if you retire at a sensible time) to Fall Back and gain an extra hour of sleep into Sunday.

With the time change however will come the darker days and nights, where most of us will rise in the morning to head out into the day in darkness and return home later in the afternoon to much the same situation.

This year may just be the last time for the twice a year time warp however, yesterday in what has become an annual message, Premier John Horgan noted he is hopeful that  his plan to banish the need for the changing of the clocks will move forward in 2021.

Premier Horgan suggests this weekend will be the last time British Columbians switch clocks back
The pandemic is the 'ideal' moment to make daylight time permanent, says advocate
BC still awaiting US approval to eliminate daylight saving time
BC premier predicts delay in ditching seasonal time change

Though as they say, time will tell ...

While he awaits the collective moves of the south, the Premier has already been beat to the time change banishment by the neighbour to the north, with Yukon having scrapped the need for a seasonal time change.

The RCMP in British Columba took note of the unique confluence of events for tonight in a Social Media message, as well as a call for extra vigilance towards safety as the daylight hours decline.

ICBC as well are calling for increased awareness for all, noting how nearly half of all crashes involving pedestrians take place between October and January.

As we've seen in Prince Rupert in recent years, motorist/pedestrian incidents have been of concern and resulted in injuries. 

Towards more safety they have offered up some helpful notes for both pedestrian and motorist.

Tips for drivers 

Focus on the road. Always leave your phone alone while driving. 

Be ready to yield to pedestrians, especially when turning at intersections and near transit stops. 

If a vehicle is stopped in front of you or in the lane next to you, they may be yielding for a pedestrian. 

Expect the unexpected, even mid-block, as pedestrians may be jaywalking. 

 

Tips for safe walking 

Be careful at intersections. Watch for drivers turning left or right through the crosswalk. Drivers may be focused on oncoming traffic and not see you. 

Don't jaywalk - always use crosswalks and follow the pedestrian signs and traffic signals. 

Make eye contact with drivers, as it's hard to see pedestrians when visibility is poor in fall and winter. Never assume that a driver has seen you. 

Remove your headphones and take a break from your phone while crossing the road. 

Be as reflective as possible to make it easier for drivers to see you in wet weather, at dusk and at night.

You can review all of ICBC's advice here.

272 new cases of COVID-19 in BC for Friday's report, along with advice for the weekend Halloween activities

Friday's statement on COVID-19 from Doctor Bonnie Henry and Minister Adrian Dix took note of another day of increased case counts for the last 24 hours.  

With the two top Provincial health officials observing on the over 270 new cases for Friday, bringing British Columbians closer and closer to the 15,000 case level mark.

“Today, we are reporting 272 new cases, including five epi-linked cases, for a total of 14,381 cases in British Columbia. 

There are 2,390 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, 6,003 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 11,670 people who tested positive have recovered. 

Currently, 78 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, 25 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation. 

“There has been one new COVID-19 related death, for a total of 263 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Across the province, the case count to date is as follows:

4,664 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 8,219 in the Fraser Health region, 256 in the Island Health region, 741 in the Interior Health region, 412 in the Northern Health region an increase of six from yesterday.

89 cases of COVID have been recorded   in people who reside outside of Canada. 

The message for Friday, heading to the weekend was one of making for precautions for a proper distance for Saturday evening's Halloween .

“As we all enjoy Halloween tomorrow, make it about the treats and not the tricks. Respect homes that are choosing not to participate this year and give everyone the space to stay safe, both indoors and outdoors. 

There are many ways to make fun memories this fall. This weekend is a great opportunity to be outside, enjoying the fall foliage and Halloween decorations. Guidelines on how to celebrate safely are available on the BCCDC website." 

As well, Dr. Henry reinforced the province's themes of social gatherings  this fall and winter.

 “Now is not the time for parties or large gatherings in our homes. Instead, let’s spend time with others in a safe way, outside or in venues that have COVID-19 safety plans in place. 

The provincial health officer order limiting the number of people who can visit our home is in effect and surveillance will be increased for the weekend ahead. “Let’s make this weekend a safe and fun experience by keeping our groups small and by practising our COVID-19 sense.”

 You can review the COVID-19 report for Friday here. 

The BC Centre for Disease control has some valuable Coronavirus notes related to COVID-19 you can explore that information here.

You can learn more about the outbreak from both the Province and the Federal government from the links below:

Federal Government site

British Columbia Government site

The World Health Organization website also offers up the latest advisories on the global situation.

More from  Northern Health can be reviewed here 

You can review our archive of past statements and local information here.

Local governments and organizations have also provided for increased awareness of COVID-19 issues, those past advisories  can be reviewed here.

For notes from across Canada and British Columbia we have been archiving the latest items through our political portal Darcy McGee

Ottawa Observations

Victoria Viewpoints 

Hyder and Stewart get good news on Closed border as Federal Government loosens measures for the two communities

The border gate between Hyder and Stewart will reopen for local access
to school and supplies for residents of the Alaskan community, that after
the Federal Government responded to the calls of the residents of the two
communities for some compassion in this time of COVID

The Federal government has heard the calls for some slack on COVID regulations from the residents of Stewart and Hyder, announcing today that the BC and Alaska communities will be a pair of a number of border straddling communities to see some relief from quarantine regulations.

The loosening of the rules for Hyder and Stewart came this afternoon as the Federal government extended the border closure in other jurisdictions along our shared border with the United States until the end of November.

The decision to keep the doors closed for another thirty days was announced by Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and Minister of Health Patty Hajdu.

The government has also made some practical adjustments to provisions allowing limited Canada-U.S. cross-border travel, in a few specific circumstances. Effective October 31, 2020, residents of Campobello Island, New Brunswick; Stewart, British Columbia; Northwest Angle, Minnesota; and Hyder, Alaska will be exempt from mandatory 14-day quarantine only to access the necessities of life (e.g., food, medical services) from the nearest Canadian or American community. 

In addition, students from Canada and the U.S. who regularly cross the border to attend school, along with one driver, and children who are subject to shared custody arrangements, along with one parent, are exempt from mandatory 14-day quarantine. The new provisions to ease pressures related to cross-border students are conditional upon support from provincial and local public health authorities.

You can review the full statement from the Federal Government here.

As we outlined earlier this week and in the months previous, the situation on the border in the Northwest corner of the province had kept a number of Hyder children from attending school in Stewart, as well as to limit the ability of Hyder residents to stock provisions.

You can learn more about their quest towards today's welcome news from the local border sharing residents Bear Bubble Facebook page here.

Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach has been among the many Northwest residents lending their name and actions to turning the Federal government around on the local situation, he commented on the development of the day through his Social media feed.

You can review more of his work on the Hyder/Stewart file, as well as other federal notes from our House of Commons archive page.

Some Nasty weather may be brewin' up for Prince Rupert's Trick or Treaters

A Pacific weather system is forming up offshore and will
be joining trick or treaters in Prince Rupert for what could
make for a very wet Halloween evening in the city

Wicked weather seemingly is this way coming for the goblins, ghouls and witches of the North  Coast.

Enjoy the sunshine that is currently bathing the North Coast while it lasts; for a nasty weather maker could be heading our way and for one weather service it has Halloween Evening right in the centre of a very rainy weather window.

Currently there are no Alerts or Warnings for the weekend issued from Environment Canada which seems a tad more optimistic than its competitors ...

But a sneak peek at the Weather Network's forecast for the Weekend indicates a very, very, very Wet period of time is on the way through to Monday.

The Weather Network offers up
a rainy forecast for trick or treaters

If the Weather Network's Math proves right, Prince Rupert and the North Coast in a worst case scenario could see up to 165 mm of Rain by Monday afternoon, a large portion of it set for Saturday and into Sunday morning.

The Full forecast for the weekend and week ahead from Environment Canada suggests perhaps a more optimistic rainfall amount for trick or treaters on Saturday evening, you can be review their observations and access updates from their website .

For more notes on Weather events for the region see our archive page here.

Tourism Prince Rupert making plans for November 19th AGM

Prince Rupert Tourism didn't have quite as many visitors
to the Atlin Terminal Visitors Centre  this year as COVID delivered
a significant hit to the local tourism sector

With 2020 having provided for one of the most challenging years that Tourism in Prince Rupert and area has seen, next month's Annual General Meeting may offer up a helpful glimpse into how those in the tourism industry have fared as the year winds down.

The meeting set for the noon hour of November 19th will be a Zoom session and among the themes for review will be a look at how Tourism Prince Rupert worked in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how they continue to work to build Prince Rupert towards being a world class tourism destination.

You can learn more about the work of Prince Rupert Tourism from their website, as well as their Social Media footprint.

Visit Prince Rupert Facebook page

Visit Prince Rupert twitter feed

Visit Prince Rupert Instagram

For more notes on Tourism in the Northwest see our archive page here.

With COVID making its entry into Prince Rupert Schools, a timely moment for a School Board meeting arrives

COVID's not on the Agenda for the November 3
School Board session, though that could see  
some change by Tuesday

There may be a few additions to the Agenda for the November 3rd School District 52 Board meeting next week, that with the first confirmed report of a case of COVID for the District announced yesterday afternoon.

That advisory came shortly after the Board had issued its invitation to parents, guardians, staffers and anyone else who may be interested in School Board Business, with the District once again set to host  a public session by way of the Zoom platform.

As part of their notice of the meeting, they note that those interested in participating should contact Tamara Dickens to receive the Zoom link.

She can be reached at Tamara.Dickens@sd52.bc.ca

The original purpose for the November 3rd session was seemingly that of the election of a Board Chair and other officers to positions for the 2020-21 School year.

However, one imagines that the Board may wish to address parents and guardians on the current COVID situation at École Roosevelt Park School, as well as to outline the range of COVID related protocols that they have in motion this school year.

The interest in the themes of COVID in the schools may also deliver one of the larger audiences that the Trustees have had in recent years, putting the Zoom process to a significant test perhaps.

To this point, the only information released by the School District has been yesterday's Covid Exposure announcement and a copy of the letter to parents of the school, the latter posted to the École Roosevelt Park website.

More items of note on education across the Northwest can be reviewed here.

Lost to the thin air, City Council's missing Council broadcast seems gone and long forgotten

With the video archive for the
Oct 26th council session
unavailable, it's safe to say 
many 'missed' the Monday
Council meeting

The goals of transparency and accountability took a bit of a hit this week for Prince Rupert City Council which suffered some technical glitches that seemingly have resulted in the video record of their October 26th Council session to be lost and once again boldly gone to where some Council session have gone before.

Good works of hopefully good governance that are now drifting around the airwaves of the solar system we imagine, set to confound Martians or Saturnians at some point. 

Though perhaps as they view the city's efforts in governance they may like the way Mayor Lee Brain facilitates his Council sessions and drop down to ask us to take them to our leader.

Normally by Friday of a Council week we have delivered our Council Timeline Feature, which provides a bit of an expansive review of the themes of the City Council sessions, however our City Council archive collection will be incomplete for 2020, with the October 26th recording now seemingly not available.

As we noted on Tuesday, Monday's council session started promptly on time at 7 PM, but Mayor Brain had barely worked his way through the Agenda for the night, when like an episode from the old days of SCTV the screen flashed and up popped up Kitimat Mayor Phil Germuth.

The Kitimat Mayor and his council collective already digging into what was a full night of work ahead for the Kitimatians.

Prince Rupert viewers were teased a few times with the prospect of returning to the Television Studios of 424 Third Avenue West, but after oh so brief snippets of appearing and disappearing dialogue over the course of twenty minutes, the broadcast abandoned our City Council for the bright lights of Kitimat.

Towards the technical issues, the City issued a short notice to their Facebook page as the night evolved, offering up some hope of video replay at some point this week through the City's YouTube page. 

But alas as we head into the last hours of the Friday work day, the YouTube page remains in its Council time warp, with the last Council meeting entry that from October 5th.

Since the initial advisory of the 26th, the lost video appears to be something of an out of sight and out of mind thing, with no notification through the range of civic info streams of the City having given up the quest for the missing session and no acknowledgement that the broadcast is lost forever.

Nothing to see here, move along, move along please.

While they have had some apparent problems in providing for the actual video tick tock of the Mayor and Council the people's official record if you will, the Communications office has been busy with a few other themes.

Among them the city's official review of their work from Monday, which provides for some select talking points, but few details as to the full course of the nights activities.

For instance one item from the update makes note of a delegation appearing at City Council's Committee of the Whole on Monday evening, with some concerns over plans for additional Housing from BC Housing in the Kootenay area.

That short synopsis from the City, doesn't really seem to do justice to the presentation of the delegation, a portion of which actually made for some of the short moments where viewers at home were able to see the Prince Rupert session live.

When we faded in to the scene, one member of the delegation was involved in what seemed to be a very vigorous discussion on the amount of rental housing that has been concentrated in the Kootenay area ... unfortunately just as the conversation with the Mayor was heating up,  the screen again went to black before we could learn much more of their notes, or what else the Mayor had to say to them other than that a public hearing would be held at some point to address any concerns.

Hopefully the Kootenay Avenue area delegation will return for that Public hearing event, as it does seem like they were well prepared and had some valid points to deliver to the city's council members.

While the YouTube page will seemingly be short of content, such is not the case for the City's Facebook page and that of Mayor Brain's, both have been busy places this week as the City pushed a few of the themes they want to get out to residents.

First with a video presentation and update on the city's hopes for a water filtration plant by 2023, as well as a Facebook page contribution from the Mayor to highlight the recent announcement of the selection of a new location for the RCMP detachment for the City, the latest posting finding much commentary from the mayor's faithful followers.

Monday, was not the first time that a Kitimat presentation took the place of Prince Rupert council's work on the night, as we noted back in December of 2017, the very same situation popped up for Prince Rupert viewers. 

That trip back in time like the most recent one, which provided for a look at the work that the Kitimat  Council conducts in a public session.

Hopefully, the City can shake the gremlins out of their video processor by the time the November City Council sessions arrive. 

If not, we always have Kitimat to check out, though that could be something that the Prince Rupert team may not want their constituents to take explore all that much.

Digging a little deeper into the work ethic in Kitimat shows that they seem to spend more time in public session and provide for more discussion on the topics and themes that they review than their counterparts in Prince Rupert

Beyond the time that they spend in public session at the office, their Agendas seem to feature a lot of themes that Prince Rupert Councillors may want to give some thought towards; with much in the way of information sharing from the local RCMP detachment, Fire Department and other civic departments. on a monthly basis

A look at their video replays also indicates a fair bit of community engagement and participation even during these times of COVID, something which perhaps allows the Kitimat councillors and Mayor to be a little more aware of the concerns of the community.

For a glimpse of how they deliver on public governance down the road, see the Kitimat website here.

Our look at some of the past work of Prince Rupert City Council can be reviewed here.

234 new cases of COVID on Thursday for BC, as Northern Health passes by the 400 mark for case counts since January

Health Minister Adrian Dix made his return to the podium today for the Thursday edition  the COVID update, Mr. Dix was absent since September 21st owing to the provincial election campaign.

With his return, British Columbia's tag team of COVID-19 educators of Mr. Dix and Doctor Henry were joined by Doctor Victoria Lee the President and CEO of Fraser Health, the three speaking from Surrey to provide for the October 29th livestream of the daily case review.

 “Today, we are reporting 234 new cases, including four epi-linked cases, for a total of 14,109 cases in British Columbia. 

There are 2,344 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, 5,714 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 11,448 people who tested positive have recovered. 

Currently, 86 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, 24 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

There has been one new COVID-19 related death, for a total of 262 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic." 

Across the province, the Regional Health Authorities have recorded the following cases of COVID since the start of the pandemic:

4,588 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 8,036 in the Fraser Health region, 256 in the Island Health region, 734 in the Interior Health region, 406 in the Northern Health region an increase of seven from Wednesday. 

89 cases COVID have been reported of people who reside outside of Canada. 

Doctor Henry made note of the upcoming holiday season and how British Columbians will need to change their traditional activities and keep their gatherings to no more than six participants.

“Fall is a time when many holidays and celebrations occur, whether that is Halloween, Diwali or Remembrance Day. It is a time of cooler weather and increased respiratory illness. This year, we also face the added challenge of COVID-19. 

Many of the new cases we have today are directly linked to gatherings, in our homes and elsewhere, that are now resulting in community transmission of COVID-19 in communities across the province. 

This Halloween weekend, we need to celebrate in new ways. We need to keep our groups small – in our homes and on the streets. 

Trick-or-treaters are reminded to give others the space to stay safe and to respect those homes that are choosing not to participate this year. And we remind everyone that there is a provincial health officer’s order limiting the number of people who can be in your home to your household, plus no more than six. 

Despite the best of intentions to maintain our distance and use the layers of protection when going to someone’s home, it can be hard to keep up the precautions when we are talking, eating and drinking together indoors. 

Rather, if you are wanting to spend time with a small group of friends, choose a COVID-19 safe space – either outside or a location that has a comprehensive COVID-19 safety plan. 

Let’s protect our loved ones, our Elders and our communities and show them we care by staying small – this weekend and every weekend this winter.”

 You can review the COVID-19 report for Thursday here.  

The BC Centre for Disease control has some valuable Coronavirus notes related to COVID-19 you can explore that information here.

You can learn more about the outbreak from both the Province and the Federal government from the links below:

Federal Government site

British Columbia Government site

The World Health Organization website also offers up the latest advisories on the global situation.

More from  Northern Health can be reviewed here 

You can review our archive of past statements and local information here.

Local governments and organizations have also provided for increased awareness of COVID-19 issues, those past advisories  can be reviewed here.

For notes from across Canada and British Columbia we have been archiving the latest items through our political portal Darcy McGee

Ottawa Observations

Victoria Viewpoints 

Snow begins to stick along Northwest Highways east of Terrace; driving conditions may be challenging for travellers

Snow is making for challenging driving in areas from Terrace 
east to Burns Lake, North to the Nass and South to Kitimat

With a Pacific front set to make for a wet introduction tonight and through the weekend, the cooler temperatures inland are making for slick and snow covered roads from Terrace east south and north.

Environment Canada is calling for up to 20 cm of snow tonight in the Terrace/Kitimat area, as well as in the Nass Valley, Bulkley Valley and Lakes District to the east

Drive BC cameras show the current status of the snow falling on area highways.

Terrace

Onion Lake

Kitimat

Smithers

Burns Lake

To the North, snow is falling in the Nass Valley as well.

Conditions at Gitwinksihlkw tonight

Drive BC also reports that Highway 16 is currently closed near Telkwa following a vehicle incident. 

So far, there does not appear to be any snow accumulation between Prince Rupert and Terrace, though as the temperatures drop, the road conditions will become slicker as well.

You can keep up with any updates to Road Conditions across the Northwest from the Drive BC website and twitter feed.

For more notes on Highway themes across the region see our archive page here.

City of Prince Rupert issues Masks order for all Public Indoor Civic operated Facilities

Masks On at civic
facilities says the 
City of Prince Rupert 

The City of Prince Rupert has issued a local order that has put in place a requirement that masks must be worn in all public indoor-City operated facilities.

The advisory went out through all of the City's information streams just before 5PM on Thursday.

Among some of the key elements of the Civic advisory

"Face Mask Requirement Wearing a face mask is an additional measure we can take to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 and keep one another safe. 

This means that, with some exceptions, all individuals entering a City-operated building are required to wear a face mask while inside, while accessing programs/services, and conducting business or providing services while in the building. An individual’s face mask must cover the nose, mouth and chin without gapping. Face shields alone are not acceptable. 

Please note that wearing a mask should be done to compliment other recommended safety measures such as physical distancing, regular hand washing, staying home when feeling unwell and all other COVID-19 health guidelines. 

Even while wearing a mask, these important steps should be taken, and every effort should be made to maintain a 2 meter (6 foot) distance from others, and any/all other safety protocols implemented in City-operated buildings must also still be followed."

The full mandatory measure can be reviewed here.

The City's move on masks comes following the confirmation of a positive case of COVID from School District 52 which outlined the background to the case from École Roosevelt Park earlier today.

You can review more on the City's measures from the following resources:

City of Prince Rupert website

City of Prince Rupert Facebook page

Mayor Lee Brain's Facebook page

Further notes on Civic themes can be explored from our archive page here.

A wider overview of the province's measures on COVID can be found here.

SD52 advises of confirmed case of COVID-19 at Prince Rupert elementary school

A confirmed case of COVID-19 at Ecole Roosevelt Park Elementary
Schoo has been announced by SD52 and Northern Health

 Officials at School District 52 have posted an advisory for parents. students and staff of Ecole Roosevelt Park Elementary School, making note of a confirmed Case of COVID-19 for the school atop Summit in the West Central area of Prince Rupert.

(Information from SD52 click to enlarge)

The full announcement of the confirmed case of COVID from the School District can be reviewed here.

As part of their relay of information the School District has also provided background to their Exposure Control plan which was put into place in September of this year.

Northern Health also relayed some background to the confirmed case, noting that testing is not recommended if you or your child is not showing symptoms of the coronavirus. 

They provided the details of their approach through  their Prince Rupert Focused Facebook page to share the information.

(Information from Northern Health click to enlarge)

The Roosevelt case is now included as part of the Provincial School Exposures listings, with the exposure dates listed as October 21 to 23.

Northern Health's letter to parents/guardians at École Roosevelt Park School can be found here.

More notes related to School District 52 can be explored here.

More items of note from Northern Health can be reviewed here.

Further themes on COVID from the provincial response can be examined from our archive page here.

Mechanical issues sideline Northern Expedition

The Northern Expedition will hold in Prince Rupert today
as technicians work on vessel repairs

If a ship can't see, a ship can't go out to sea ...

That appears to be the guiding principle for BC Ferries today, with a Service announcement issued that owing to a problem with the radar system for the Northern Expedition, the vessel will not be sailing today from Prince Rupert.

The 2:30 crossing to Haida Gwaii and its subsequent return from Skidegaet was cancelled last evening by the Ferry Service, which promises a further update on the situation through the Service Notices page of the BC Ferries website.

Passengers with quesitons related to the Northern Services can contact BC Ferries at 1-888-223-3779. 

More notes on Marine Transportation on the North Coast and Haida Gwaii can be explored from our archive page.

BC CDC provides guide to new Social Gathering measures

Two new public orders were put in place this week as health officials in the province continue to expand their work in trying to keep British Columbians safe in these times of increasing COVID case reports.

At her Monday briefing Doctor Bonnie Henry introduced two new public orders, the first related to Gatherings and Events, the second focused on owners and patrons of food and liquor serving premises.

To follow up on the Public Health Officers new measures, the BC Centre for Disease Control has expanded on Dr. Henry's notes with some suggestions for how we can all move towards our safer social interactions.

First with some things to keep in mind in our day to day activities

As well as to how we approach our social groups.

You can review the full range of material on Social Distancing from BC CDC here.

All of the Centres items of note on COVID can be accessed here. 

The complete list of existing Provincial orders related to COVID-19 is available here.

This week has delivered a steady stream of case counts that are significantly higher than what British Columbia saw only a month ago, with the province currently in the midst of what has been called the second wave.

The Wednesday snapshot of COVID-19 in BC from 
the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control

As of yesterday, the province has recorded a total of 13,875 cases of COVID since the coronavirus arrived in the province earlier this year, the totals for Northern Health are just one shy of 400 from the start of the pandemic.

In the most recent data released by the BC CDC , only two confirmed cases of COVID had been recorded in the Prince Rupert area, that report as of the end of September.

Doctor Henry will deliver a live stream update on COVID-19 in British Columbia later today, you can watch that live stream from the BC government Facebook page, the briefings normally start after 3PM.

For more notes on COVID-19 see our archive page here.

Nathan Cullen doesn't know Jack ...

Stikine MLA Nathan Cullen thanking voters 
(From the MLA's FB page)

Stikine MLA Nathan Cullen is getting a quick reminder on the speed of message delivery from twitter, with a short note from the MLA this morning on some controversial support for American President Donald Trump getting him some notice.

In his morning tweet on American politics, Mr. Cullen commented on a tweet from Globe and Mail columnist Gary Mason who had expressed his disappointment at the support golfer Jack Nicklaus had offered to the President's campaign by way of an endorsement letter.

The Stikine MLA seemingly confusing the golfer with actor Jack Nicholson, who as Mr. Cullen notes is a frequent feature attraction at the games of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers.

The letter from the golfing legend has become a hot topic on twitter through the morning, with many of those engaged in the social media platform expressing their surprise and disappointment at the political commentary and endorsement from Mr. Nicklaus.

As for the Stikine MLA, he has moved on from the Nicklaus story and taken to other themes of note for social media on the day. 

(Though the comments suggest that those who follow his account haven't)

Mr. Cullen's days of idle tweeting may soon be coming to an end however, with John Horgan currently in the process of putting together a cabinet for his new government. 

As the Premier ponders his options, many political observers believe that the former MP and now new MLA will be shoe in for a position, one of a number of high profile candidates that the NDP will be looking to included around the cabinet table.

Update: The MLA corrected the twitter Hansard at just after 1130 this morning

For more notes on the provincial political scene see our archive page here.

 

October a busy month for volunteers of Oldfield Creek Hatchery

Volunteers collecting the broodstock
for the Oldfield Creek hatchery
last weekend
(from Oldfield Creek FB page)

It's the busy season at the Oldfield Creek Fish Hatchery, with a group of dedicated volunteers helping out last weekend to round up the COHO broodstock for the fall.

In a fascinating string of submissions to their Facebook page, the work of collecting the broodstock and then the taking of the milt and eggs, as well as the fertilization provides for one of the best tutorials on their work that there is.

The non profit organization has long been active in educating the public on all things salmon, outlining its mission statement of sorts as follows:

Increase salmon populations in local streams through science-based enhancement efforts • Increase community awareness of enhancement and stream stewardship 

Educate the community on salmon and their roles within ecosystems and the environment, as well as salmon stewardship through community involvement programs 

Increase tourism in Prince Rupert by offering tours of the facility

You can review the full presentation of photos and video from their Facebook page here.

Those looking to get involved in a career position with the Hatchery should check out this job opportunity for an Operations Manager.

The facility is located on Wantage Road across from  the City of Prince Rupert public works yard.

If you just wish to lend a hand as a volunteer  you can find out more about what the have to offer by giving them a call at 250-624-6733

For more notes on Community events see our archive page here.