The Prince Rupert detachment of the RCMP has disclosed some background to an incident on the Prince Rupert waterfront on October 24th, when a number of vehicles parked at the Metlakatla Ferry Docks on the Prince Rupert side were damaged by acts of vandalism.
The Dock which is located between the Northland Cruise ship Terminal and Rotary Waterfront Park, has a number of parking spaces for those that travel back and forth between Metlakatla and Prince Rupert.
The incidents took place sometime between 4:30 and 5:30 AM with six vehicles vandalized with extensive damage, the estimated amount related to the incident is some 10,000 dollars.
Six cars parked along the Cow Bay Road at the Metlakatla Ferry Dock were damaged in a vandalism spree on October 24th
As they move forward with their investigation, the RCMP is seeking the assistance of the public, with a particular interest if anyone may have seen four males and two females in the area at the time of the vandalism spree. Those six are considered to be of interest to the investigation.
Should you have information related to the incidents you are asked to contact the RCMP at 250-627-0700 or through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS
In what has become a bit of a North Coast tradition of late, AFFNO, the Association des Francophones et Francophiles du Nord-Ouest is once again inviting resents of the region to what could be a live action version of the game of Clue.
Featuring an evening of Love and Marriage and Murder, with those in attendance not just the audience, but active in the night as key participants.
The popular annual Murder Mystery evening host by the organization comes up this Saturday in the BC Room at the Crest Hotel, with the first of the mysterious events on the night set to start at 7 PM, with doors opening at 6:30 to allow you to settle in for the night.
The November 7th event which will be licensed, will feature a number of prizes to be awarded through the night and there will also be a silent auction included on the program as part of the evening's fundraiser.
Money raised through the fundraiser event is directed to the organization which offers programs and events around the North Coast through the year.
For those that might be thinking that they need to brush up on their French language skills, AFFNO has something to put your mind at ease, with word that Saturday's event will be a Murder Mystery in English.
Though no doubt you can expect a few Pink Panther moments from the amateur Clouseau's in attendance on the night.
Tickets which go for 30 dollars in advance and 35 at the door are available at Cook's Jewellers as well as through the AFFNO office at Number 206 - 208 First Avenue.
You can seek out more information about the night by contacting the group at affno@citywest.ca or by telephone at 1-250-627-1313
More background on what AFFNO is all about on the North Coast can be found here.
One of the city's largest property owners, Macro Properties is working with the Prince Rupert Regional Community Foundation to fund a number of initiatives in the Prince Rupert region.
As the two groups look for community input and submissions for a pair of education grants and a third that looks to parks and wilderness initiatives.
Applications are now being received for the Coast Partnership Grant program, which is designed to deliver grant opportunities to the community in the areas of Early Childhood Education, Aboriginal Education and Parks and Wilderness.
According to the background of the grant process, the average amount that the two groups have pegged as the anticipated range for the proposals is somewhere towards 5,000 dollars.
Among some of the key elements of information that will be required are a Project Summary, Project Description and explanation of Objectives, some background on your organization as well as any previous activity and successes.
The focus of the Coastal Partnership Grants will have to meet three objectives, those include:
1. Supporting families by
providing quality early childhood education opportunities 2. Empowering Aboriginal youth
through improved Aboriginal education 3. Protecting and creating parks and wilderness
spaces in and around Canadian communities.
Some background on the key staff from your organization, as well as who will be the project leader for your proposed project, will also be required as part of the application process.
As well, items related to the amount requested, a timetable for the proposed project, along with Community assessments and support notes regarding any proposal submitted, are all part of the application process.
The deadline for applications is November 18th.
Applicants interested in making a submission must be a registered society or charity.
You can email your applications to norbreez@citytel.net or by mail to:
Macro Properties, 115 3rd Street, Prince Rupert BC V8J 4C4
Mark your submission with: Grant Application
You can learn more about the Partnership Grant and the Prince Rupert Regional Community Foundation from this item from the Foundation's website
The release of a large volume of documents on Monday related to issues along the Highway 16 corridor found Transportation Todd Stone in the line of fire on Tuesday, as a number of NDP MLA's outlined their concerns on the way the Minister and the Liberal Government have handled the issue, tied as it has become to the recent disclosures of deleted files from government offices.
The deleted files concerns go back to May of this year, when it was disclosed by a Transportation staff member, that he had been ordered by a superior to destroy a number of e mails related to the Highway of Tears issue.
That shocking disclosure led to a much larger review of deleted emails and government information processes which resulted in a scathing report from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner last month. In her report, Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham noted that the the incident related to the deleted Highway of Tears correspondences has now been handed over to the RCMP for further investigation.
The deleted files controversy and ongoing efforts to access more information related to the Government's handling of the Highway 16 concerns made for much of the background for Question Period on Tuesday, as opposition members called Minister Stone to account for the state of concern over his department.
Making use of the newly released information NDP MLA Maurine Karagianis noted that some of the new material appears to provide a different story than what the Liberal Government had previously observed on the Highway 16 file.
In particular, she noted some of the comments culled from stakeholder meetings with one quote in particular hammering home the message of the desire to see some form of public transit system created for the Northwest.
"There might be opportunities to create an interconnected network through which passengers might travel from Prince Rupert to Smithers, for example, and then connect to another bus."
Another quote highlighted by the NDP MLA noted that the government had received feedback from the public indicating that there was "A need to develop B.C. Transit in smaller communities."
As part of the Tuesday Question period inquiries, North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice joined in with Ms. Karagianis on the topic, taking a number of her concerns directly to the Transportation Minister.
For Ms. Rice the theme of her line of questions was focused on the long trail of extensions and non disclosures when it came to opposition requests for a number of documents related to the Ministry of Transportation community stakeholder sessions held across Northern BC.
Those stakeholder meetings were designed to review a number of topics related to Highway 16 safety issues for residents of the region, including the concept of creating a shuttle bus system to link the communities of Highway 16.
Ms. Rice dismissed the Government's approach on the issue as one of deception and spin, observing that it was only through the NDP efforts over the last number of months that the government had finally been forced to release more information.
The response of Minister Stone for the most part provided for a listing of the number of documents that have been made public since 2012, numbering some 600 pages, with Mr. Stone stating that any suggestions that the government has not been attempting to provide information are simply not true.
Though if we read through some of the revelations through the files provided on Monday, it would seem to suggest that the provincial government wasn't in any hurry to share some information, particularly those notes that might offer up a different narrative than what they had been constructing up until the spring of this year.
The response from Minister Stone did not do much to satisfy the North Coast MLA, who followed up on the theme of shuttle bus options as outlined by MLA Karagianis, highlighting for Mr. Stone that information that has since been released indicated that there was growing support for a public transportation option to connect the communities of the Highway 16 region, in order to provide for a safe environment to go to work, or get groceries.
Going further, Ms. Rice asked how the Minister could get up in the House time after time and have such a disregard for First Nations communities and the families of of the murdered and missing along the highway of Tears.
For his part, Minister Stone returned to his themes of continuing engagement with First Nations and communities across the region, expanding on the measures that the government has taken regarding Highway 16 to this point, as they continue seek out ways to make the corridor safer.
As a final note on the topic for the NDP MLA, the Minister observed for Ms. Rice on the theme of a safety symposium coming up later this month in Smithers, where there will be more discussion to review many of the issues of the region.
The volume of information released Monday by the Provincial Government through a Freedom of Information release and referenced during Tuesday's Legislative session can be reviewed here
You can read over the back and forth related to the Highway 16 issue through the Legislature archive here, it comes at the end of the Tuesday morning Question Period at the 10:40 mark.
The exchange between the Minister and MLA Rice in the Legislature can be found below:
For more on Ms. Rice's efforts on the Highway 16 issues and other items of note in the Legislature see our archive page here.
The industrial auction house Aucto will be holding a two day online auction later this month to dispose of the assets of the old Skeena mill
The next phase of the City of Prince Rupert's plans related to the clean up of the old Watson Island pulp mill site will arrive later this month, when the industrial action company AUCTO.com hosts an online auction to liquidate the assets of the mill site.
NRI Global Industrial which the City selected earlier this year to handle its affairs related to the disposal of pulp mill assets and decommissioning of a large portion of the site will be hosting the auction.
For its part, NRI has turned the auction process over to AUCTO which will conduct the auction by way of a webcast.
Viewing dates for those that wish to review what is being offered for sale will take place from November 13th to 17th.
A large number of items from the old mill will be up for auction on November 18 and 19
The forward movement related to the old Watson Island site comes up less than a week after the industrial site once again became newsworthy, as a former owner from the SunWave days returned to the conversation through a full page advertisement in the weekly newspaper.
As we outlined last week on the blog, through his notice to the City of Prince Rupert, Mr. NI. Ritao outlined a number of his concerns related to the the settlement agreement of 2013 and an arbitration award of 2015 between Sun Wave and the City.
As part of his open letter to the community, the former owner proclaimed that he considers both of those items to be null and void. His return to the Watson Island conversation as well as his efforts through the paper provided for this response from the City of Prince Rupert.
The arrival of November reminds us that Prince Rupert's popular Kaien Island Craft Fair is getting closer, with this years event at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre scheduled for Friday November 20th and Saturday November 21st.
The annual Craft Fair provides not only a good opportunity to pick up some pre holiday season gift ideas, but also offers up a sample of some the creative works of those that call the North Coast home.
Each year showcases the wide range of talent when it comes to the various forms of arts and crafts in the region, as well as some of the creations that come out of North Coast kitchens.
And while spots are going fast, you may be able to secure a place at the Civic Centre prior to the third weekend of the month. Those interested however, should make note of some of the requirements for participation as outlined on this application form for this years event.
As of late October spots were filling up fast for this years Kaien Island Craft Fair November 20 and 21
One key aspect of this years Craft Fair is the requirement of vendors to participate in both days of the weekend event, those that fail to show up for the Friday evening session will find that their table or tables have been reassigned for the following day with no refunds provided.
The hours for the Craft Fair run from 6 until 9 PM on Friday the 20th, while Saturday the 21st provides for the longer of the two days with doors opening at 9AM and the craft fair running until 5 PM.
You can find out more information on this years event by contacting prcraftfair2015@gmail.com
