Prosperity the hope, as Prince Rupert and Port Edward sign agreement

Mayors Pond and Bjorndal sign off on the recently concluded
agreement, while City of Prince Rupert City Manager Robert Buchan
and Port Edward Interim CAO Elsie Lemke look on
(Photo from City of PR)

An agreement that has been in the works for a while, finally came to fruition on Tuesday, as the City of Prince Rupert and the District of Port Edward mayors affixed their signatures to a Shared Prosperity Agreement.

The notes towards the project were first indicated at the State of the City event of last summer hosted by then Mayor Lee Brain, who brought Port Edward Mayor Knut Bjorndal up to the stage to share some comments towards the project.

Mr. Brain has departed from the political scene, but Mr. Bjorndal noted of the successful conclusion to the work earlier this month, advising his residents that a singing ceremony was on the horizon.

Today, the I's were dotted the t's crossed and the agreement was put into motion by the Port Edward Mayor and Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond, who took office in the October 2022 election.

In comments to go along with the official announcement, Mayor Bjorndal observed of what he sees as a bright future for both communities.

This agreement was a long time in coming. There is a bright future for our communities in working closely together on the challenges we both face. We are connected together as never before and need a united voice to becoming the prosperous communities our present and future residents are entitled to.”

For his part, Mayor Pond observed of the need for the two communities to work together.

“This is a big step forward for our two communities. We both understand and share the same challenges of providing for isolated Northern communities. As neighbours it’s important that we work together to better the position of the region as a whole.”

Among the elements of the agreement:

The Agreement includes the introduction of parameters for negotiating a Shared Service Agreement, commitment to provide long term fire service mutual aid, as well as commitment to a continued water supply to Watson Island. 

The latter two Agreements having additional formal terms that were signed off on in May of 2022.

The Agreement also commits to working together on shared regional interests like attracting housing, recreation, tourism, infrastructure renewal, highway considerations, land use planning, and attraction and retention of workers. 

It also commits to a jointly considered appointment to the Prince Rupert Port Authority Board of Directors.

The renewed commitment towards togetherness brings the City of Prince Rupert a fair distance from four years ago, when the two communities weren't even on the same book, let alone the same page, when it came to communal relations.

The amplified rhetoric of the times, putting both council's on edge. 

With the agreement today, those tensions now appear well in the past, as both communities look to the future.

While the Port Edward Council noted the success of the agreement earlier this month, Prince Rupert Council members did not mention the pending conclusion to the process through their first month of meetings.

More notes on Prince Rupert Council themes can be found here.

The same for Port Edward is available here.

 

Prince Rupert Library seeking volunteers to help out with February Book Sale

With the Popular Annual Prince Rupert Library Book Sale on the horizon for February, the Library is looking to recruit some volunteers to lend a hand with the event.

With a volume of books that are up for sale for 2023 the work will begin on February 9th with the set up for the sale, followed by the event itself which takes place from February 10-19 this year at the Sixth Avenue West House of Reading ... (and good book deals)

If you can help out, drop into the Library or give them a call at 250-627-1345 to see how you can fit into the schedule.

Follow the Prince Rupert Library's social media feed for updates as the Sale gets near.

More items on community themes can be reviewed through our Community Notes feature.

Shipping container use in Prince Rupert area up for Public Hearing process on February 6

The public will have its last chance for a say on the issue of
container use in the city as part of a Public Hearing secheduled
for Monday, February 6th at City Hall

The first week of February could finally bring some finality to Prince Rupert City Council's work towards a Bylaw on Shipping containers in the community, that as City Council hosts a Public Hearing on Monday, February 6th at 6 PM in City Council chambers. 

The scope of what City Council is proposing can be reviewed from the Notice posted to the City website on Friday.

The documentation up for review includes six conditions for use for those with thoughts of placing one of the steel boxes on their property.

click to enlarge

As we outlined back in December, the process to what council hopes will be the final word on container use for the next while was put in place at the last Council Session for 2022, with the Public Hearing called for at that time.

As part of our notes on the topic, we included some history towards the issue, you can review that background material here.

If you can't attend the Public Hearing on Monday, the city offers these guidelines towards comment.

Direct comments in writing by 4:30 p.m. on February 3rd, 2023 to: Rosamaria Miller, Corporate Administrator 424 3rd Avenue West Prince Rupert, BC V8J 1L7 Phone: (250)-627-0963 Email: rosamaria.miller@princerupert.ca

More notes on past Council Discussion themes are available for review here.

Northern Savings seeking Board Nominations for 2023

The Northwest financial institution Northern Savings is on the quest for nominations for its Board of Directors, with four seats available for applicants for this year.

The outline the areas for representation and how they will consider applications is explained below:

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The nomination period opened in mid January and will continue until February 10th.

You can find out more on eligibility, responsibilities and such from this information page from Northern Savings Credit Union. 

Should you have questions towards the nomination process contact heidiharris@northsave.com for more information.

Northern Savings has a head office in Prince Rupert and serves the North Coast, Haida Gwaii and the Terrace regions of the Northwest.

Follow their social media feed for updates on the Board of Directors process ahead.

More on the region's Commercial Sector can be reviewed from our archive page.

Information from public leads to RCMP seizure of drugs and guns on Haida Gwaii

Information from the public led Masset Mounties to the waterfront area
and the seizure of weapons and drugs on Friday

Haida Gwaii Mounties are sharing word of the execution of a Search Warrant on Friday January 27th, that resulted in the seizure of drugs and weapons from two people on board a live aboard vessel at the Masset Fisherman's Wharf.

The RCMP statement issued on Monday outlines the scope of the investigation:

On Friday, January 13, 2023 Masset RCMP executed a search warrant on a liveaboard vessel moored at the Masset Fisherman’s Wharf. 

 Police received information regarding activity consistent with drug trafficking and began an investigation that included surveillance by the RCMP. 

Through evidence obtained, police executed a search warrant on the vessel and two people were arrested. 

 During the search police seized 20 grams of suspected cocaine, marijuana, prepackaged marihuana gummies, other marijuana concentrates and over two thousand dollars in cash. 

Police also located five firearms including two carbine rifles, a semi-automatic shotgun, prohibited devices and ammunition.

"These suspected drugs and firearms posed a significant safety risk to community and public safety" -- Cpl Evan Hobbs, Masset RCMP. 

The collection of drugs and weapons seized as part of an investigaiton
in Masset, Haida Gwaii last week

The Masset RCMP note that the investigation continues and the individuals arrested have been released. 

Charges under the Controlled Drugs and Substance Act, Cannabis Act and Criminal Code for Firearm Offences are being pursued. 

The Masset detachment also want to encourage community members to continue to report suspicious activity to their local police or Crime Stoppers, as small pieces of information can have an overall big impact in making communities safer. 

 If you have any information about this contact the Masset RCMP at (250) 626-3991.

The ease file report can be reviewed here.

More notes on the work of Emergency Responders in the region can be explored through our archive page.

IIO completes investigation into Kitimat RCMP incident of early January

The Independent Investigations Office which investigates incidents involving members of  law enforcement in the province, has wrapped up their review of an incident from earlier this month.

The case file one which was related to a call for service for members of the Kitimat detachment of the RCMP with the findings by investigators determining that police actions did not bear responsibility for a serious injury that was suffered by a male as a result of the interaction.

The IIO report which was released on Friday,  notes of the background to the situation the led to the required investigation.

Shortly after 5:00 a.m. on January 13, 2023, police were called to an alleged break and enter at a business in the 200-block of City Centre. Officers called out to a man nearby who was believed to have been involved, and the man attempted to leave the area. 

The man later confirmed to IIO Investigators that when he attempted to leave using an icy path, the slippery conditions caused him to fall. The man sustained a serious injury in the fall and was transported to the hospital for treatment.

The report concludes with a statement from the Chief Civilian Director which determine that the police actions were not responsible towards the injuries.

The Chief Civilian Director has reviewed the evidence – including a statement from the affected person, medical information, scene photos, and police records – and determined that police actions were not responsible for the man’s injury. 

Although it was the officer’s initial call to the man that caused him to attempt to leave quickly, the officers were roughly 50 metres away when the fall occurred, and the officer’s actions in asking the man to stop for police were justified.

The full overview of the file is available here.

The investigation by the IIO was the first required in the Northwest for 2023.

More notes on the work of Emergency Responders in the region can be explored through our archive page.

With return of Parliament, Skeena Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach takes up cause of airline passengers once again

The House of Commons returned to its duties on Monday and anong
those speaking in Question Period was Skeena-Bukley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach

The turmoil of the air transportation system in Canada and a lack of respect for those who travel as part of it, made for the opening salvo of the new session of Parliament for Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach on Monday.

The NDP's Transportation Critic noted of the over 33,000 air passenger complaints so far towards airline  Service and not a dollar in fines levied on the airlines by the Federal Government. 

Mr. Bachrach directed his questions on the lack of compensation for air travellers by the airlines to Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, with Mr. Bachrach observing that the Minster may be misreading his role in the government.

"Why is it the Canada seems to have a Minister for airlines, but no minister for air passengers"

The Federal Legislation noted by the Minister so far seems somewhat of a toothless document, which hasn't served the travelling public as much as the Government would seem to think it has.

In response, the Minister noted of some of the challenges for the airlines post pandemic and how the government continues to work with the industry.

Some of the Chaos of air travel was weather related in recent months, though staffing issues and other areas of labour have also impacted on the industry in that period of time.

More on aviation through the Northwest can be explored here.

A look at the work of Mr. Bachrach in Ottawa can be reviewed from our archive page.

City looks to sell property adjacent Digby Tower

The City of Prince Rupert has posted notice to the civic website of its plans to sell a parcel of land located adjacent to the Digby Tower complex on a stretch of road identified as Prince Rupert Boulevard.

The area of the Boulevard is that which leads towards McBride and runs along the apartment complex.

The sale is proposed to Michael Shore for the appraised value of $72,000

Should any residents have inquiries regarding the proposed property disposition by the city, they are asked to contact Rosamaria Miller, Corporate Administrator for the City of Prince Rupert.

Any correspondences should be directed by email to rosamaria.miller@princerupert.ca 

The deadline to submit such is set for February 10th.

The same area has been the subject of a road dedication bylaw process through City Council in recent meetings.

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

Weekend split keeps race tight in CIHL West for Rampage, River Kings

Two games with identical scores, with wins for two western rivals mean that not much has change in the CIHL west as the final push to playoff time arrives.

This past weekend saw the home and home series between the Prince Rupert Rampage and the Terrace River Kings go the way of the visitors in each instance with scores of 4-3 in each instance the final score line.

Friday night the Rampage were on the road in Terrace, where a fast paced affair saw the Rhino's take an early lead and then settle in for what became a last shot wins affair, with extra time required to sort it all out.

Hunter Johnson opened the scoring Friday night for the Rhinos at 4:27 of the first period with Judd Repole and Brody Ward picking up the helpers.

The River Kings reversed that karma two minutes later, adding a second goal at just before fourteen minutes of play in the first.

The Rampage answered and tied the game up at 18:42 of the period, with Reid Lindsay finding the twine, with assists going to Judd Repole and Marcus Atchison, sending the two teams to intermission knotted up at 2-2.

The Second period went the way of the River Kings who scored the only goal of the middle frame to take the lead after forty minutes.

The Prince Rupert side closed that gap at 5:50 of the third period, the only marker of the period going to Reid Lindsay, with his second of the game the assist going to Cole Atchison.

That set the stage for a frantic first few minutes of Overtime, with the Rampage coming out on top, Lindsay again part of the winning play, this time as a play maker assisting Hunter Johnson on the OT marker to take the win.

All things considered it was a quiet night on the penalty front, with the Rampage assessed 14 minutes on 7 infractions, the River Kings had 12 minutes in the penalty box, on six infractions.

Kieran Sharpe picked up the win in the nets, turning aside 38 of the 41 shots that went his way.

721 fans took in the match up at the Terrace Ice Arena

The full review of the scoresheet can be explored here.

The largest crowd of the year so far, took in the River Kings/Rampage 
match up Saturday night at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre Arena

Less than twenty four hours later, the two team renewed their acquaintances at the Jim, with a boisterous crowd of 985 just fifteen short of 1,000 fans taking in the physical and penalty filled contest.

The two teams were taking the measure of each other in the first which had no scoring to record, but the start of the penalty parade with a number of penalties assessed to both team in the opening frame.

The majority of the goal scoring came in the middle frame, with the River Kings taking a 2 goal lead by the midway point, the Rampage gained one back at 10:24 when Cole Atchison scored an unassisted marker to make the score 2-1.

Terrace was quick to get that back holding a 3-1 lead until Hunter Atchison scored at 18:05 assisted by Dustin Johnson and Judd Repole.

That sent the two teams to the dressing room with Terrace in the lead 3-2 with twenty minutes to play.

The visitors built on the lead at the midway point of the final period, setting the stage for strong, but ultimately unsuccessful push by the home side to find an equalizer and send the game to extra time.

Brody Hemrich, got one back at 13.49 assisted by Austin Weir and Tyler Ostrom, but the comeback was snuffed out by Terrace which closed its ranks and shut down the Rampage attack, making for a 4-3 final in favour the River Kings.

As noted above, the play was physical and the penalties frequent, with the River Kings assessed the larger share with 36 minutes on 10 infractions, while the Rampage served 26 minutes to time on 9 infractions.

The two teams who have seen each other often this last month, now won't have a chance to renew acquaintances until the playoffs, should the stars align accordingly.

Kieran Sharpe was tagged with the loss, facing 28 shots with four finding the range to secure victory for Terrace.

The full scoresheet can be reviewed here.

click to enlarge

The results did nothing to change the standings in the West, which see Rupert atop the division with 20 Points just one ahead of their fierce rivals of the Skeena Valley.

Both teams however are now off the pace set by the league leading Quesnel Kangaroos and the Williams Lake  Stampeders who are 1 and 2 in the CIHL with 24 and 23 points respectively.

While the home side didn't pick up the two points on the night in the Standings, the Rampage and their volunteers work on behalf of the Fight against Cancer were the big winners on the night.

A final total has yet to be release, but just by the surging volume of community support outlined through the team's Social media stream, the final night of their January fundraising should have been one that more than exceeded their hopes at the start of the month. 

The Regular season wraps up next weekend and the Rampage start things off with a road trip to Kitimat Friday night. 

Saturday the team is back at home at the Jim to take on the Smithers Steelheads, with the final puck drop of the Regular season set for 7PM.

The four points of the final weekend something that will be key towards playoff placements in the weeks ahead.

You can keep up with CIHL notes through our archive page here.

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice makes plans for Coffee Klatch for Friday

A chance to catch up on things with North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice comes up this Friday as Ms. Rice hosts a Coffee and chat session at @javadotcup on Third West across from the Capital Mall.

The ninety minute get together is set for 10 AM to 11:30 AM

As a  bit of a conversation starter, the MLA recently released her latest constituency newsletter, the email offering up a review of some her activities in the region over the last few weeks.

Included is a look at the new Supportive Housing facility Crane's Crossing, which after some significant delays towards completion, finally received its official opening last week. 

Ms. Rice also shares some photos from her lunch with City of Prince Rupert workers, that to acknowledge their hard work on water infrastructure issues in recent weeks.

Other topics that might make for sone conversation at the coffee session this week, the ongoing concerns over renovictions and the lac of affordable housing in Prince Rupert, with a one hour review from City Council last week perhaps a starting point towards those themes.

As well, as we noted last week, the MLA has been appointed to a new Parliamentary Secretary Post. with Ms, Rice now working on the Rural Health file.

As she takes to that new task, we could see some of Prince Rupert's ongoing health service concerns hopefully gaining a wider level of interest from the Ministry of Health. 

Wth the MLA taking her experience from last year's Health Forum in Prince Rupert to the provincial issues of note for Rural communities.

Keep up with the planning for the coffee session through the MLA's social media page.

More notes on that work from the Legislature can be explored through our archive page.

District of Port Edward puts land up for Disposition, with plans for sale to Pacific Aurora Construction Management Ltd.

A recent notice from the District of Port Edward has outlined the area of interest towards a proposed Disposition of Municipal land, with the District identifying a parcel of land of 2,911 square feet to offered for sale in fee Simple to Pacific Aurora Construction Management Limited.

The purchase price for the property is noted as 11 dollars per square foot.

The lot in question is bordered by Alder  and Cedar, Pacific and Evergreen.

A Map from the BC Land Title Office shows the parcel of land
up for Disposition in Port Edward

The District has not advised what plans that Pacific Aurora Construction may have for the location.

But the builder has been busy in the District as plans continue forward for more housing in the community.

April 2022 -- Port Edward ready to move forward with housing for Alder Avenue Subdivision

Pacific Aurora Construction also had plans at one time for a significant housing development in Prince Rupert just off of Prince Rupert Boulevard at Drake Crescent.

However, those plans have stalled for quite a while, with no explanation from the Prince Rupert City Council as to why that project  and the prospect of additional housing for the community had seemingly come to a standstill.

In March of last year, Pacific Aurora principal Kevin Stunder had expressed some concern over the rezoning of a property directly across from the Drake Crescent proposal, concerns which council for the most part acknowledged but did not accept as seemingly valid enough to stop the rezoning plans.

More notes from the District of Port Edward can be reviewed here.

A wider overview of Housing themes is available here.

50 Earthquake Sensors to be placed in high risk seismic areas of British Columbia

The Earthquakes Canada 
Map of Quakes from
1627-2021 for BC

The science of earthquake prediction will take another leap forward soon in British Columbia, with the Provincial and Federal governments announcing plans to install  up to 50 earthquake early warning sensors in high risk seismic areas of the province.

The sensors will connect to the national Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system that will be operational in 2024, supplementing and complementing several hundred sensors already installed by Natural Resources Canada. 

 The system will give seconds to tens of seconds of warning before the strongest shaking arrives at coastal communities in British Columbia and will assist in the protection of critical transportation infrastructure in British Columbia. 

The expansion of the system in British Columbia follows on an initial placement back in 2022 at the BC Ferries Terminal at Horseshoe Bay. 

The full BC system which will be part of a nationwide connection is expected to see installation complete and in service by 2024.

As both governments note from their Announcement, alerts from the EEW system could also be used towards infrastructure safety systems, allowing for automatic action, among the areas of note for that include:

Triggering trains to slow down
Stopping traffic from driving onto bridges or into tunnels
Diverting incoming air traffic
Allowing surgeons to stop surgery
Closing gas valves
Opening fire hall and ambulance bay doors

The placement of the sensors was hailed  as a critical addition to the system by Bowinn Ma, BC's Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Change.

“The Cascadia Megathrust Earthquake that occurred on January 26, 1700, was one of the world’s strongest earthquakes, causing widespread destruction to coastal Indigenous communities and producing a tsunami that swept across the Pacific Ocean. 

An early earthquake warning system is critical to our ability to help British Columbians mitigate the impacts of another major seismic event. By installing these sensors, we will help provide critical seconds of notice in the event of an earthquake, so that people, businesses and automated systems can take protective action.”

The list of locations where the sensors will be placed in British Columbia was not released as part of the announcement.

One location destined for some of the recording stations will be Haida Gwaii, which is one of the most seismically active regions in the province.

The region was the host of one of the most powerful earthquakes in recent history back on October 27th of 2012, when a 7.7 magnitude quake struct just after 8PM.

It also hosted the title for the largest quake in BC, an 8.1 magnitude event back in August of 1949.

You can learn more about the initiative here.

More notes on seismic activity on the North Coast and Haida Gwaii can be reviewed through our archive page. 

All Native Basketball Tourney Draw listings released as countdown to ANBT 2023 gets underway

As we make the final few turns towards February, the countdown to the Annual All Native Basketball Tournament is underway, with the start of the 63rd event less that two weeks away now.

The tournament that brings the Nations together from across British Columbia and points beyond is set for a one week run from February 11th to 18th at both the Russell Gamble Gymnasium and the Arena in the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre complex.

Tournament organizers released the Draws over the weekend for the four divisions for tournament time.

The Women's side opens up on Sunday, February 12th at 11 AM with Hesquiaht and Kitkatla taking the first tip off,. 

Defending Champion Vancouver will see action one day later, when they take to the court to play either Hartley bay or Massett.

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The Intermediate play starts on Saturday at 11AM as Massett and Kincolith hit the court, with Burnaby not in their years event the path is open for a new Champion for the 2023 edition of ANBT.

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The legends of the game, or those contesting for that status will see their first play on Sunday with an 8AM start, that as the Masters Division opens play. 

Skidegate and Kitamaat have the honours of the opening tip off, defining champs New Aiyansh will see their defence of the title begin on February 13th, taking on either Hartley Bay or Bella Coola.

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The Senior Men's Division Ice breaker takes place Sunday at 11 AM which Similkameen and Bella Coola on the court in the Main Gymnasium.

The Championship title holders from Kitkatla see their first action on Valentines Day with a match up with either Hazelton or New Aiyansh.

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The Week long festival of hoops culminates with the Showdowns of Finals Saturday, February 18th with all games to take place in the Russell Gamble Gymnasium.

Along with the action on the courts, the week will feature the Opening Ceremonies and Hall of Fame inductions, as well as a marketplace in the Auditorium area of the complex. 

You can follow along with all the last minute preparations for tournament time from the ANBT Facebook page and website.

Check our archive page as the tournament,  gets closer for more notes on the week of high tempo basketball and other activities that make Prince Rupert the place to be for the middle of February.

School Board Session hears of Mental Health Literacy, plans for Budget consultation

The Booth Building Meeting Space hosted the first
SD52 Board meeting for 2023 this month

The first Public School District 52 Board session took place mid month, with the short update from the Board outlining some of their key talking points from the January 17th meeting at the Booth Meeting Space.

 Among the items that the District has noted from their session was an update from CHSS student Natalie DeMille who share her passion towards helping students address mental health, sharing with the Board of Education some of the needs for students.

Those include:

Education of students and staff about mental health
Advocacy to encourage more people to support student's needs
Equipping students with skills and knowledge
Supporting students in a variety of ways

As well, a quick synopsis of the "Plant Parenthood" program provided a look at how the project encourages students to reflect on their own mental health as they care for their 'baby plants'

The presentation was well received by the Board, with Board Chair Kate Toye noting of Ms. DeMille's success and how it could expand.

“Ms. DeMille took from her own experience a passion for this initiative, The Board of Education looks forward to seeing her efforts spread across the district, across the country and around the world.”

The Board also set the blueprint for they Annual Budget consultation process for the months ahead, the engagement period starts tomorrow January 31st and has five elements in total, wrapping up on April 20th when the District will look to approve the budget at they Board Meeting.

The January 31st session is an online event, with the need to request a link to the session  contact tamara.dickens@sd52.bc.ca to receive you link to the night's session.

(see our article here for a wider overview of the Budget process)

The Board of Education also noted of two Registration periods ahead for parents/guardians in the School District.

Kindergarten registration is open at the district’s elementary schools. Children who will turn 5 by December 31, 2023 need to be registered in the school in your catchment area. A map of catchment areas is on the district website, under Parents/Student Registration. If your preference is for your child to attend a different school, you will also need to compete a cross-boundary application form.

Parents are encouraged to consider the option of enrolling students in kindergarten in the French Immersion program at École Roosevelt Park Community School. Pre-school students can attend a fun Monday Morning activity class on January 30th. Parent Information sessions are being held at the school from 7-8 p.m. on Wednesday, February 18 and Thursday, February 19.

The SD52 review of their work of January 17th wrapped up with a notice that they are seeking input from partner groups on revisions towards 3 policies

1320 Communicable Diseases and Immunizations Policy 

1350 Student Medications Policy 

1380 Anaphylaxis Policy

The Board of Education notes can be reviewed from their website here.

While there was more than likely more to the Agenda, that information sheet for the January board session still hasn't been posted to the SD52 website; nor has the video archive of their January 17th meeting which provides the record of their work, been provided for review of parents or guardians who may not have been able to have attended the Zoom session.

Update: Since our story of January 30th, the School District has provided for the video of the session which you can review here.

More notes on SD52 can be explored through our archive page.

Three month SD52 Budget consultation process set to start tomorrow evening

The path to a financial blue print for 2023 for SD52 begins tomorrow evening, with the first of a number of consultation or information sessions to get underway tomorrow evening, the opening session designed to outline the process ahead and to host a Talking Circle Consultation.

From that opening session, four more dates of note chart the path ahead towards the final decision making for the School District. which will wrap up with the approval of a Budget on April 20th.

The first bit of consultation comes by way of a 2023-23 Budge Proposal Form available to be downloaded from the SD52 website as part of their Financial and Budgeting section.

The proposal form offers a checklist of areas towards savings and or spending, as well as space to expand on how the areas can help towards accomplishing School District Goals.

All of the information to date available towards budget consultation can be reviewed here.

Crafting a budget has been a challenging thing for the Schoo District for the past two years, as financial surprises sent them back to drafting board over the last three years.

A tour of our archive pages from those years offers up a glimpse of some of the past troubles the District had towards the budget process. The Budget discussions covered the first half of each year.

2019-20

2020-21

2021-2022

Barring a similar disclosure of any unanticipated financial surprises for this years budget preparation period, the 2022-23 version should be ready for approval of the Board at the end of April.

Hopefully, the Board will be posting videos of their Budget planning and other notes related to the process so those parents and guardians who can make it to the sessions on the date scheduled can still have some idea of what the Board is up against as it looks to create the financial plan for the years ahead.

SD52 Video Archive page

As for the First Meeting set for tomorrow evening, the note below offers up guidance as to how you can participate in the online stream for the session.

More notes on Education can e reviewed from our archive page here.

Real Estate Tracker: Week ending January 29, 2023

The final week for 2023, was much the same as the previous six,  with the North Coast finding no change to our list of ten  properties for sale over the last seven days.

A lull in the sales market that has the listings remaining constant since before the Christmas break period.

The range of the week's listings again runs from the top end of $1.149 million to $745,000.

The distribution of our list of ten brings six properties to the west side of city,  compared to the east side's four.

The real estate review below is purely a snapshot for information purposes and reflective of our weekly check on Sunday evening. 

Properties can ebb and flow from the listings through the week,  for further background on the properties recorded, see our links pages for access to the individual real estate listings, to consult them on a daily basis.

The Archive for our weekly review can be found here.     

Our list of the top ten priced homes for the week ending  January 29, 2023 can be explored below:

Real Estate Listings for the East Side of Prince Rupert 
for the week ending January 29

Real Estate Listings for the West Side of Prince Rupert 
for the week ending January 29

The lowest mark for the review of the week is at $745,000  while our top end is marked  at the price point of   $1,149,000

Total value of the listings for our ten this week is noted at $8,393,000

Below find our findings as of the Week ending January 29 , 2022

2044 Graham Avenue.                    $1,149,000 --  Remax

1042 Edward Avenue                     $869,000  --     Realty Executives

535 East 4th Avenue                       $829,000 --     Remax

239 Heron Road                             $829,000 --      Realty Executives

104 Barrow Place                           $829,000 --      Remax 

1527 Atlin Avenue                          $799,000 --      Remax

1531 Atlin Avenue                          $799,000 --      Remax

2025 Graham Avenue                     $795,000 --      Realty Executives

1063 Ambrose Avenue                   $750,000 --       Remax

1425 West 2nd Avenue                   $745,000 --       Remax

For more items related to Real Estate see our archive pages here.

For background on Housing issues in the Prince Rupert area see our archive here.

Prince Rupert RCMP seek public help on stolen boat/trailer file from Port Edward

The Prince Rupert RCMP is asking the public for help as they continue an investigation into a stolen boat and trailer from the Port Edward area early Saturday morning.

In an information release, the detachment outlines the nature of the theft and a description of the stolen items:

On January 28, 2023 just after midnight, a boat and trailer were stolen from the North King Lodge in Port Edward on Boundary Drive. 

The boat is described as a 16' welded aluminium banana boat bearing hull number 6K15041 and the name North King Lodge. 

The trailer is described as a grey Tuff LT boat trailer bearing VIN 1T9BB6B609F952007.

(see photos below)

Should you have any information about these items or video surveillance of the area between midnight and 01:00 am on January 28, 2023, you are asked to contact the Prince Rupert RCMP  

Call the detachment at 250-624-2136 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). 

The case file can be reviewed here.

More notes on the work of Emergency Responders across the region can be reviewed here.

Blog Watching: Week ending January 29, 2023

This past week being a City Council session week, a number of themes from the final public session for January on Monday evening made for list of the five most read items for the week.

Housing and the dire situation facing many that are looking for the affordable version of it  made for a number of themes on the week. 

With one item of note from the last seven days, that of a call by the City for Expressions of interest towards two non-market housing proposals.

How the city handled the recent snow fall provided for a few comments from the Council session.

Also finding a strong level of interest was our look at CityWest and the lack to this point of an announcement towards the annual Distribution payment to the City of Prince Rupert.

Some remediation work on the city's east side captured som attention from readers as we offered an update on the work to rebuild the 11th Avenue sidewalk area at Conrad, that after the slope underneath it had given way last week.

To wrap up our list of five on the week, our notes related to current and future hiring plans for the City also was also a much reviewed piece over the last week.

From the weeks review the most read of our pieces, was that which noted of a civic initiative that could help reduce some of the stresses towards affordable housing.

City of Prince Rupert Bid request looks to plan for potential Non-Market Housing options in community -- In a week which saw the topic of the dire need for more affordable housing in Prince Rupert explored at a Council session.  A pair of proposals submitted by the City of Prince Rupert to the BC Bid website may offer some relief to the issue. Our notes of Tuesday explored the items up for review, a topic which the city made a public announcement towards on Thursday.  (posted January 24, 2023) 

 That article was followed by: 

Snow Removal discussion at City Council brings praise for City workers, concerns over private property owners --  As seems to be the case after every large snowfall event, the post mortem on last weeks storm featured some familiar themes.    (posted January 25 , 2023) 

As January nears end, still no word on a CityWest Distribution payment back to its sole shareholder  -- How much CityWest will return to its owners at City Hall has yet to be determined by the growing Communication company.  (posted January 27 , 2023) 

East side Slope remediation work moving quickly  -- City work crews have addressed the recent slide along 11th Avenue East which took out the sidewalk down the hill from Conrad.  (posted January 23, 2023) 

Hiring times for the future and the present on the to do list for City Hall -- Our preview of a presentation to Prince Rupert City Council related to a quest for a grant for a Human Resources post at City Hall. The discussion towards that quest at the Council session that night, found a few additional notes of interest to be shared when it comes to Human Resources at the City.  (posted January 23, 2023) 

You can find our weekly Blog watching feature posted every Sunday morning by 9AM, making for a handy way to catch up to the week that was, at a leisurely weekend pace. 

 

You can also review the full listings of the week just past, from our Blog Archive index page found on the right hand side of the page. 

For updates on new items posted daily to the blog, we direct you to our CharlesMHays Twitter feed, where we post notification of new stories as we post them. 

Our archive of weekly Blog Watching can be found here.

 To view the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.