Prince Rupert's Centennial Golf Course to celebrate August with a number of specials

A number of special golf opportunities
are being offered starting in August
at the Prince Rupert Golf course

The Prince Rupert Centennial Golf Course is heading into the dog days of summer with some interesting opportunities to save some money on your North Coast golfing experience.

And while July has for the most part not been the best when it comes to golf weather, with a little luck, the North Coast will once again recapture the weather patterns of May and June making for a chance for residents and visitors to take advantage of a number of specials set for the month of August at the Golf course.

Starting August 4th Northwest golfers can take to the course through a number of opportunities that will carry through into the end of summer.

Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays provide for a deal on the use of carts with your round of eighteen, with special prices in effect from 12:30 to 3:30 for Two Players with a  cart and four players with a cart, with potential savings of up to 100 dollars. Those looking to take advantage of the Cart special must book a tee time and reserve a cart prior to arrival at the Course.

Senior's can take advantage of Special Pricing as well from 8:30 to 11:30 each morning Monday through Friday, with a Special Senior's Play and Ride option available for 18 or 9 holes of golf. As with the Regular Cart Special, tee times and cart reservations must be made in advance.

Friday's are also getting the special treatment, as the Centennial Course offers up its Fabulous Friday special, where two players walking or riding can access special prices for nine holes around the course. Those interested in the evening round will need to book a tee time and reserve a cart if desired prior to their arrival.

As well as the specials in place for August, the Prince Rupert course is reminding North Coast residents of the range of golf opportunities that they offer, from Men's and Ladies nights to Junior Coaching and Camps and Golf lessons for those looking to tune up their game.

For those that just want to work on their swing, the Driving Range is always open to the public for a chance to shake off the rust and bring that hook under control.

You can find out the details for the August opportunities as well as find out more about what the Centennial Course has to offer by giving them a call at 250-624-2000.

The Prince Rupert course recently announced the hiring of their new Manager/Professional, hosting a meet and Greet to introduce Dave Belling and his wife Dianne to the members of the club.

Mr. Belling has 34 years experience since turning pro and is looking to bring the course back to a standard that Prince Rupert's golfing community will be proud of.

For updates on special events and other golf related notes see their Facebook page.

More items related to golfing across the Northwest can be found on our archive page.

Pacific Future Energy announces partnership for proposed North Coast Oil refinery

The proponent of what has been described as the world's greenest oil refinery on Canada's west coast made a fairly significant announcement today, as Pacific Future Energy expanded on the creation of a partnership to move forward their plans for refinery development near Prince Rupert.

In a statement released today, Pacific Future Energy outlined the background on their partnership with the First Nations Business group A-in-Chut Business Group and the engineering company SNC Lavalin, offering up the first update on their plans since earlier this year.

A-in-Chut Business Group is a First Nations business investment group which features Shawn Atleo, the former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations as one of its principles. Mr. Atleo is also listed as a member of the management team at the company, noted as the Senior Advisor for Partnerships with Pacific Future Energy.

The nature of today's announcement highlights the process ahead to assist in pre-engineering work on the terminal project, while building on and supporting First Nation partnerships in the development.

 “PFEC’s goal is to provide access to the Asian market for Canada’s bitumen, while protecting British Columbia’s Pacific coast, by building the world’s greenest refinery, in full partnership with First Nations ... We also believe that community support must be earned before – not after — finalizing our plans. For one of Canada’s oldest engineering firms to agree with this approach and work with A-in-Chut Business Group to invest in this development process is a strong vote of confidence.” -- Robert Delamar, Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Future Energy Corporation, outlining the background to this mornings announcement

For its part the A-in-Chut Business Group noted the nature of change that the project could deliver to the region and beyond.

"This refinery will be transformative and innovative in both the approach and the technology. First and foremost, we recognize and respect the role of First Nations partners and their rights and title in resource development. We will work in full partnership with our First Nations partners, as Nations, to build a responsible, sustainable project that includes our collective values and our interests"-- Mike Bonshor President, A-in-Cut Business Group.

Bringing SNC-Lavalin, a major industrial engineering firm onboard for the project is also fairly significant development for the terminal project.

With the firm set to bring its experience when it comes to large industrial projects to the North Coast, offering up perhaps the first indication that the refinery plan may yet move forward towards the development stage in the region.

“SNC-Lavalin is very pleased to be a part of a project that will contribute to the important imperative of bringing Canadian resources to markets and produce one of the most energy efficient refineries ever built,” said Robert G. Card, President and Chief Executive Officer, SNC-Lavalin. “We are proud to be associated with PFEC and together with our First Nations partners, advance the project. This project will help open up Asian markets for Canada’s energy sector, while building key infrastructure on Canada’s west coast.” --- Robert G. Card, President and Chief Executive Officer, SNC-Lavalin.

An infographic from the Pacific
Future Energy website
notes the scope of the project

Today's announcement is the first major update on the proposed terminal to be seen since January, though Pacific Future Energy did make an interesting addition to their advisory board in May.

Bringing onboard Mr. Dave Coles, a well known face in the labour movement as an advisor the company, with the May announcement of his addition to the Board, highlighting the prospect of long term jobs that a  refined in Canada terminal could offer the region and the west.

To this point a location for the proposed terminal has not been outlined by Pacific Future Energy and the company has yet to provide much background on their plans to the community either by way of an Open House or community engagement session.

More information related to the Pacific Future Energy plans can be found from their website.

You can also review more background and media notes on the proposed Terminal project from our archive page here.

Pacific Future is one of two proposed oil shipment terminals that have been suggested for the North Coast, Eagle Spirit Energy has also been in the news of late, putting forward their plans for a terminal development in the region, a proposal that has proven to be somewhat controversial in the community of Lax Kw'alaams.

You can review the background on the Eagle Spirit proposal here.

Also in the mix in the Northwest, is the Kitimat Clean oil refinery proposal, the project championed by newspaper publisher David Black would see bitumen refined in Kitimat for shipment to Asian markets, though of late there has not been much in the way of updates provided on that proposed development.

Northern Health Connections Bus heads for summer schedule

The Northern Health Connections bus
will be parked for two weeks in August

The annual break for operators of the Northern Connections Health Care bus system is about to take place, with the system set for a modified schedule that will see service stop for a bit over two weeks in August.

For the main Prince Rupert to Prince George run, the schedule is as follows:

The final trip before the break to Prince Rupert will take place on Friday August 7th. While the final run into Prince George from the North Coast will take place on Saturday August 28th.

Service to Prince Rupert resumes on Sunday, August 23rd, while the first run post break to Prince George will be on Monday, August 24th.

The full schedule modification for August for all routes can be reviewed here.

You can learn more about the Northern Health Connections Service from the Northern health website.

More items related to Northern Health can be found on our archive page.

MLA Rice's voice is missing from Banks Island conversation

The Banks Island mining site
falls in the middle of the
North Coast riding of
MLA Jennifer Rice

Considering the location of the Banks Island mining project and the current concerns related to potential pollution from it, the lack of comment on recent events from North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice seems somewhat surprising.

Banks Island, which is located just south of Kitkatla falls within the North Coast MLA's constituency and the environment has long been a concern of Ms. Rice's going back to before her time on Prince Rupert City Council.

So to take note of a lack of awareness, or comment with an ongoing situation that should be right in her political wheel house makes for a puzzling thing.

And while the Legislature is on summer vacation once again, with the workload obviously somewhat reduced for our elected officials, Ms. Rice still could have at least offered up a statement of concern when it comes to the environmental issues that have been raised in recent weeks.

Taking the opportunity to note for her constituents that she is watching the developments with interest, if for no other reason, than to reassure those in the Gitxaala Nation that she's keeping the topic at the top of her watch list.

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice
in the Legislature earlier this month

However, a ramble through her various and widely used information portals of a Facebook page, twitter feed, You Tube video archive and constituency website find no mention of the Banks Island incidents that have now led to a review of the practices in place at the mining site.

Nor to this point, has there been any comment from the MLA noted in the growing list of media items related to the recently announced review by Environment Canada into the situation at Banks Island.

That interest picked up significantly over the last two weeks, as a number of media organizations  became aware of the incidents and the moves from the Province of British Columbia to examine them further.

As we outlined on the blog yesterday, the first notice of possible concern over those mining practices was raised in early July, when the NDP mines critic noted his interest in the developments.

Al Hoffman, the Province of British Columbia's Chief Inspector of Mines told Global News this week that he had received photos from NDP MLA Norm MacDonald on July 9th, outlining the concerns that the NDP critic for Energy and Mines had forwarded to his office regarding the mining project on Banks Island.

If that timeline is correct, that would suggest that the topic could have been of some discussion in the NDP caucus room in Victoria anytime between July 13 and the 21st when the Legislature met in summer session.

And while mining is not part of Ms. Rice's NDP oversight in the Legislature, events near Kitkatla and the area surrounding Banks Island should be something that she must be aware of, making for an issue that the MLA should have something to offer towards when it comes to the current discussion.

Perhaps Mr. MacDonald, who represents a riding near Revelstoke should contact Ms. Rice and give her the heads up and more background on what's happening in her own backyard.

When you look at some of her previous comments of concern over environmental issues over the years, one would think that the Banks Island mining situation could be an issue she might want to look into a bit further.

You can review more items related to mining in the Northwest from our archive page here.

Further background on the North Coast MLA's efforts in Victoria can be reviewed from our Legislature Archive page.


Update: Shortly after 4 PM on Friday afternoon, the North Coast MLA issued this statement on the Banks Island Gold Mine situation.

Rampage ready to ramp things up for upcoming CIHL Season

The Civic Centre ice maker is looking at mid August to have the city's sheet of ice in place at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre and once that highly anticipated bit of work is complete, the sound of skates hitting ice won't be too far behind.

And with the ice on the way, the Prince Rupert Rampage the North Coast entry in the Central Interior Hockey League will be heading into training camp season, looking to head into 2015-16 with a new focus for delivering a championship for the loyal Rampage fans that regularly pack the Jim.

While there may be a few position spots on the roster to fill in, as they make ready for the on ice battles ahead, one area where the Rampage is looking for help right now is with its off ice information presentation.

Earlier this week, the Rampage put out the call through their Facebook page for those with computer design skills to offer up some time to help maintain the team's website, offering up a good chance to help make the team the tops when it comes to information delivery and presentation in the CIHL.

The website which hasn't had much action since the 2013 season has much potential for someone with the time to dedicate to the project.

Those interested in the challenge, can look over the current model here and then contact the Rampage at 250-600-6428 to share some thoughts on the Rampage info portal.

The Rampage will open training camp on August 17th with the Lou Lemire Hockey Skills Camp, leading up to a 2015-16 that sees a significant change to the playoff format for the CIHL.

This year features a revision to the playoff system for the league, with all seven teams in the leaguequalifying for playoff action. A situation which will see the Western Division rivals of Terrace, Smithers and Kitimat ready to battle the Rampage in the standings and the opportunity to host the road out of the division towards the championship.

So far the CIHL has not released the schedule for 2015-16, but if past years are any indication, puck drop for a brand new year most likely comes sometime in the first week of October.

As we move closer to the start of the new season, we'll add more items to our archive pages for CIHL results and features.

CIHL News 2015-16

Our archive of news items from the Central Interior Hockey League for the 2015-16 season, with particular note given to the Prince Rupert Rampage.

Our Schedule and Game Summaries pages can be found below:

Prince Rupert Rampage Results page 2015-16
Prince Rupert Rampage Schedule 2015-16

For those looking for more information on the Rampage, the team provides background on its latest developments from their, Website,  Facebook Page and Twitter Feed.

North Coast Review items

March

March 22 -- Terrace River Kings play the host as Coy Cup launches tonight 

February

February 10 -- Second Period push from Terrace sends Rampage to sidelines for 2016
February 5 -- Rampage season hinges on 24 hours in Terrace
February 2 -- Salvation Army gains over $4,000 from Rapage and Port initiative
February 1 -- Terrace claims first game of Best of Three, with 5-2 victory over the Rampage

January

January 29 -- As CIHL Playoffs get underway, Rampage ready for a Saturday Night Black Out at the Jim
January 19 -- Rampage to face Terrace in CIHL playoff series opener January 30th
January 15 -- Rampage to wrap up Regular Season on the road
January 12 -- Rampage take twin wins to gain momentum down final stretch of regular season

December
January 8 -- Rampage back on the ice for 2016 with back to back games tonight and tomorrow
December 21 -- Steelheads strengthen lead atop CIHL West with 6-3 victory over Rampage
December 18 -- Rampage face off with Steelheads this weekend
December 16 --Rampage hosting New Years Eve Bash at the North Coast Meeting and Convention Centre
December 14 -- Rampage dominate Ice Demons in weekend CIHL action
December 11 -- Rampage look to climb back towards the top in the West with weekend matchup against Kitimat
December 4 -- Rampage back on the road looking to close gap in CIHL West
December 2 -- Rampage drop two on tough Cariboo trek

November

November 27 -- Rampage return to ice with lengthy Cariboo road trip
November 25 -- Planning in motion for Popular Skate with the Rampage afternoon
November 10 -- Rampage vault back into first place after weekend win over Lac La Hache
November 6 -- Rampage back on the ice Saturday with Lac La Hache in town


October

October 29 -- Shift in the standings for CIHL West following weekend play
October 23 -- Rampage look to continue to rule the roost after this weekend's match up with Terrace
October 21 -- Rampage remain atop CIHL West following weekend split
October 16 -- Rampage look to gain some distance in West with home and home series against Kitimat
October 14 -- Rampage claim 7-4 victory over Terrace in first road game of the season
October 9 -- Rampage take to the highway for first road game this weekend
October 8 -- Prince Rupert Port Authority and Rampage team up again this year to assist Salvation Army
October 7 -- Rampage split opening weekend in shoot out fashion!
October 2 -- Rampage set to open 2015-16 with two for the weekend 

September

September 28 -- Terrace River Kings looking at bid for 2016 Coy Cup
September 22 -- Rampage return to the ice Saturday night in exhibition contest with Terrace
September 2 -- Rampage Schedule highlights a challenging year ahead for Prince Rupert's CIHL squad

August 

August 31 -- Rampage release home schedule for 2015-16

July

July 30 -- Rampage ready to ramp things up for upcoming CIHL season
July 16 -- Rampage Golf Scramble nearing tee off

Items of interest from other regional sources

March

March 19 -- Terrace River Kings rally for Coy Cup
March 10 -- Steelheads claim CIHL playoff championship in win over Stamps
March 8 -- Smithers Steelheads win CIHL trophy
March 7 -- Steelheads win CIHL title
March 1 -- Steelheads take 1-0 lead in CIHL final

February

February 29 -- Steels take Series Opener 4-1
February 23 -- Stampeders advance to CIHL playoff final
February 23 -- River Kings halted by Steelheads
February 22 -- Steelheads Eliminate River Kings, Play Williams Lake in Final
February 21 -- Smithers Steelheads win against Terrace River Kings
February 16 -- Stampeders look to close our East Division final
February 15 -- River Kings edge Steelheads in Double Overtime to Win Game 1 of Western Final
February 15 -- Steelheads Open West Finals with 6-5 Double OT loss
February 11 -- Stamps host Kangaroos in CIHL playoffs
February 13 -- Steelheads Begin Round 2 Tonight in Terrace
February 9 -- River Kings finish off the Rampage 7-2
February 6 -- Steelheads could advance with Win at Home Saturday
February 5 -- River Kings face off in second playoff game here tomorrow
February 3 -- Port/Rampage Goals assist for Salvation Army (video)
February 3 -- Rampage on the brink of elimination
February 3 -- Rampage, Port Authority ramp up community presence as 2015-16 playoffs begin
February 1 -- Terrace River Kings victorious in first playoff game against Prince Rupert Rampage
February 1 -- Davies' 5 points lead fish to 9-4, Game 1 win

January 

January 30 -- Steelheads begin playoffs in Kitimat
January 26 -- River Kings launch into playoffs Saturday
January 26 -- Back in Black: Rampage look to knock off defending champ River Kings
January 19 -- River Kings dominate final season game
January 19 -- Steelheads win Lightning Cup after Perfect weekend
January 15 -- River Kings face Kitimat in final season game tomorrow
January 14 -- Steelheads finishing season with home doubleheader this weekend
January 13 -- Kings of old honoured
January 13 -- Rampage sizzling as playoffs near
January 11 -- Steelheads win in Kitimat, 2 More for Home Ice in Playoffs
January 8 -- 3 Wins Guarantees CIHL Top Spot for Steelheads
January 8 -- Important West Division Games This weekend as Season winds down
January 8 -- Kings return to Jim Ciccone ice

December

December 23 -- Stamps host "Stamp out Hunger"
December 21 -- Steelheads effective power play spells a win on the coast
December 21 -- Steelheads, River Kings continue to Battle for Top
December 18 -- Steelheads coast bound to finish 2015
December 18 -- CIHL Weekend Lookahead
December 15 -- Rampage demolish Ice Demons
December 14 -- Devries' Natural Hat Trick, 5 Pts Helps Steelheads to 5th Straight win
December 14 -- Rampage beat Ice Demons; Steelheads, River Kings Win Twice in Weekend action
December 11 -- Non-Perishable admission to Steelheads Game Sunday
December 9 -- River Kings shut out Rupert rivals
December 8 -- River Kings blank Rampage
December 7 -- Steelheads Goalies shine in Perfect Roadtrip
December 4 -- Steelheads Road Trip East To Begin Season's Second Half
December 3 -- Stampeders extend lead in CIHL
December 2 -- Terrace River Kings to host Coy Cup in March
December 1 -- Rampage winless on eastern road trip

November

November 27 -- River Kings gearing up to defend top rank
November 24 -- Stamps take two; extend division lead
November 20 -- History Promising many PIM on Saturday
November 17 -- Stampeders split weekend set with 'Roos, 'Hawks
November 16 -- Steelheads fall 2-1 in Kitimat Saturday
November 14 -- Terrace River Kings trump Kitimat Ice Demons 7-3
November 12 -- Terrace River Kings climbing CIHL ranks
November 10 -- Slugfest overshadows Rampage win
November 3 -- Stamps get into Halloween spirit

October 

October 27 -- River Kings shut down Prince Rupert Rampage offence
October 26 -- Steelheads take Western lead with 5-4 win Friday
October 23 -- First Steelheads home game since October 2 tonight
October 20 -- Stamps edge Tomahawks in divisional matchup
October 20 -- DeVries helps Steelheads win twice on road trip east
October 16 -- River Kings gelling and building experience
October 15 -- Steelheads hit the road for weekend east
October 14 -- Rampage roll over River Kings
October 13 -- Stamps thump 'Roos in home opener
October 7 -- Terrace River Kings kick off season
October 6 -- Steelheads split weekend series to Start season
October 6 -- Stampeders split season openers
October 6 -- Prince Rupert Rampage split shootout series
October 2 -- Steelheads Season starts tonight
October 2 -- CIHL season begins this weekend

September

September 30 -- Rampage raise more than $5,300 for Frank Pyde
September 28 -- Rupert Rampage return in style
September 24 -- Prince Rupert Rampage Exhibition Game Fundraiser Saturday  (video)
September 15 -- Steelheads Tryouts begin Saturday

August

August 11 -- Playoff format to change in 2015/16 CIHL season
August 10 -- Skills the emphasis for Lou Lemire Camp

July

July 29 -- Rampage, fans hit the greens 
July 20 -- Rampage headed back to the playoffs

June

June 24 -- Rampage, Hays team up to mould junior golfers

Archive of past years

2014-15
2013-14
2012-13

Riverboat Days expanding schedule spans ten days

Terrace's popular
Riverboat Days
starts Friday

Organizers in Terrace are building this years Riverboat Days as the largest community festival in Northwest British Columbia and with a schedule of events that takes in ten days of activities, finding things to do probably won't be a hard thing to accomplish.

Celebrating the Spirit of the Skeena, organizers have listed over 60 events for residents and visitors to take in over the tend days.

Things kick off on Friday evening and continue on until Sunday, August 9th, in between the Riverboat Days Society has pretty well something for everyone.

While the festival may run ten days, the upcoming long weekend is packed with many of the events with Friday launching the weekend with a number of sports tournaments in the Terrace area as well as the official opening of River Boat Days taking place at 7 PM at the Spirit Square at George Little Memorial Park.

The Sports events continue to dominate the Saturday schedule, though the highlight events will be the Riverboat Days Legion Parade, starting at 11 AM from the Terrace City Hall, the parade will travel along Lakelse Avenue and taking the participants to the Legion. 

Music will be the focus of the Spirit Square stage at George Little Park, with a day full of entertainment from a range of Northwest bands, leading up to the Saturday nigh showcase of Kenny Shields and Streetheart at 7 PM.

The jam packed Saturday schedule comes to an end at 11 PM with the Fireworks Extravaganza from Ferry Island providing for a spectacular Northwest backdrop to the always popular fireworks display.

Sunday provides for more of the sporting events across the city, as well as Open Houses at a number of Terrace attractions, the Terrace Ministerial Association will also be hosting Church in the Park from 11 AM to 12:15 at George Little Memorial Park.

The Riverboat Days Society has published a helpful guide
to the many events in Terrace from July 31-August 9

The themes of Open Houses, Sports activities and other community events make up the schedule from Monday to Sunday August 9th. With a Street Fair from 9 to Noon and a 3 PM Kiddies Parade at 4600 Lakelse Avenue among the highlights of the second Saturday of Riverboat Days.

The full schedule of events for the ten days of activities can be found here.