Northern Savings awards INSPIRE Bursaries for 2016

A Northern Savings Credit Union program to provide financial assistance to Northwest students is now in its fourth year and interest continues to grow in the INSPIRE Bursary program, with 19 applications received as part of the 2016 call out which started in June.

Covering all of the branches of the Northwest Savings system, the applications were reviewed by a selection committee which determined which of the 19 best met the key criteria of community volunteerism, financial need and the content of an inspirational essay that was required as part of the application process.

Earlier this week Northern Savings announced this years successful awardees with three bursaries for 2016 distributed to Northwest students.

Savanna Naylor -- $1,500
Desiree Webber -- $1,000
Megan Adams -- $500

More on this years Bursary award can be found here.

Further background on the Northwest Commercial sector can be found on our archive page.

Popular hockey camp start date fast approaching

The first signs of the North Coast hockey season are now upon us, as the popular Lou Lemire Summer Hockey Skills Camp puts in place the final preparations for the 2016 edition at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre.

Scheduled for Monday, August 15 to Friday, August 19 the five day hockey camp which has been part of the Prince Rupert hockey scene for a decade now puts players through skill development, power skating sessions and a range of off ice activities.

Registration for the Camp is set at 460 dollars which covers the five days of instruction, with room for two groups as part of the day long programs.

The Penticton based camp will also offer up sessions for Adult Recreational Hockey players and members of the Prince Rupert Rampage during their week long stay on the North Coast.

More background from the PRMHA on the Lou Lemire Hockey Camp can be found here, while a wider overview of the plans for the Prince Rupert hockey camp can be explored from the Lou Lemire website.

With the hockey season just over the horizon, you can find more items of interest related to the Prince Rupert Minor Hockey Association from their website, which provides a number of links related to the upcoming Minor Hockey season on the North Coast.

We'll provide further updates on events from the PRMHA through the year by way of our archive page which you can review here.

PRMHA Archives 2016-17

Our archive of items related to the Prince Rupert Minor Hockey Association and other Minor Hockey developments across the Northwest for the 2016-17 season.

Prince Rupert Minor Hockey Association Website
Prince Rupert Minor Hockey Association Facebook Page

Minor Hockey Notes for 2016-17

March 24 -- Prince Rupert Seawolves finish second in Tier 4 Championship in Fernie  NCR
March 23 -- Peewee Seawolves head to Championship game at Tier 4 Provincials  NCR
March 23 -- Nomination period for PRMHA positions comes to an end Monday  NCR
March 17 -- Prince Rupert PeeWees in quest for Championship at Fernie Tournament  NCR
March 10 -- Rupert Seawovles are bound for provincials
March 16 -- Terrace Pee Wees hit the road for provincials
March 14 -- Terrace midgets eager and ready for provincials
March 9 -- Coastal Classic

February 28 -- Terrace  PeeWees heading to provincials
February 10 -- Terrace PeeWees outshoot higher level teams
February 6 -- Young stars initiation squad takes the ice
February 1 -- A quiet passion - Noah Aceto

January 31 -- Midgets faulter in tourney
January 27 -- Terrace Midgets facing off in home tournament this weekend
January 23 -- Terrace midgets hosting provincials
January 22 -- Terrace novice players having a blast
January 20 -- Terrace hockey youngsters hitting the ice
January 17 -- Seawolves fall to Bears in final tune-up
January 11 -- Seawolves nab silver in Bantam House tourney
January 4 -- Kraft Hockeyville campaign underway, with Haida Gwaii the first in Northwest to submit a community bid  NCR

December 21 -- PRMHA to host Goalie Camp over Christmas holidays  NCR
December 12 -- Seawolves are Golden
December 12 -- Prince Rupert Hockey Academy programs to host two information nights in January  NCR
December 9 -- Prince Rupert Minor hockey hosting Pee Wee Rep Tourney this weekend  NCR
December 8 --  Seawolves trounce Bruins, stay perfect
December 8 -- Hockey Academy combines sport with school

November 29 -- Talented Terrace team takes Atom Tournament title
November 23 -- Excitement growing for Hockey Day in Hazelton
November 2 -- Terrace peewees dominate in northern B.C.

October 28 -- Get your hockey fix at the Pre-halloween Atom Tourney this weekend NCR
October 27 -- Terrace peewees dominate at home tournament
October 26 -- Bantam Seawolves shut out in home opener
October 21 -- Seawolves devour Fraser Lake opponents
October 20 -- Bantam hockey featured attraction this weekend at Civic Centre  NCR
October 18 -- Hazelton Minor hockey to get new equipment from Vancouver Canucks (video)
October 17 -- KidSport funding for Prince Rupert (video)
October 12 -- KidSport options for the North Coast to be revealed at information session October 17 NCR

September 15 -- Councillor Cunningham seeks review of food truck spot rentals at Civic Centre  NCR
September 14 -- Ice fees issue resolved, now a yearly increase
September 12 -- Council approves new user fee forumla for Civic Centre ice time  NCR
September 8 -- City Council to review Recreation Centre Ice Fee options at Special Council session today  NCR
September 2 -- PRMHA notes high level of interest in Rep Team program tryouts for 2016-17  NCR
September 1 -- Council to consider commemorating Dr. Frank Pyde with Arena name change NCR
September 1 --  Massive Ice fee increase under scrutiny
September 1 -- Ice Fees issues send the city's Recreation Commission back to the drawing board  NCR

August 31 -- Frank Pyde, new name for rink?
August 26 -- Rupert kids impress Lemire at hockey camp
August 9 -- PRMHA re-launches the Big Assist hockey registration program  NCR
August 5 -- Popular hockey camp start date fast approaching  NCR


As well as tracking the local scene, you can also keep up to date on the graduates from Prince Rupert Minor Hockey as they take their skills to various Junior A, B, College, University and international levels.

That Archive of past PRMHA players (and others from the Northwest) can be found here, any notes related to their development through the season will be updated through that page as we discover them.

A little closer to home and of note for those following PRMHA grads, Notes and Updates on Prince Rupert's CIHL Team the Rampage can be found here.

News Archive from previous years

2015-16
2014 and previous

Metlakatla, B.C. the focus of two part Alaska Public Radio series on the Two Metlakatla's

Metlakatla BC circa 1879
The community is the focus of 
two part KRBD public radio series
(From the Metklatla website, photo
courtesy of BC archives)

A look at how the North Pacific Coast came to have two settlements called Metlakatla is the focus of a two part Public Radio series from Ketchikan's KRBD this week, with British Columbia's side of the A-B line the featured story of Part One.

Metlakatla, Alaska is preparing to celebrate its Founders Day this Sunday, commemorating the 129th year since the community was founded when Tsimshian members from the southern settlement travelled northbound to Alaska.

As part of the backdrop to those celebrations, Alaska Public Radio's Leila Kheiry has been putting together the elements of the series since the fall of 2015.

First with a trip to the British Columbia community, followed up by a shorter, more recent journey from Ketchikan to the Alaska community complete her research of the historical story of the two Metlakatla's.

The opening review puts the spotlight on the original settlement of Metlakatla and features an extensive interview with Clarence Nelson who traces much of the history of the Canadian settlement and the ties that continue to keep the two communities linked along the North Pacific coast.

The second part of the series examines the creation of the Alaska settlement in 1887, when more than 800 members, roughly half of the original community left B. C., after the Anglican church put in motion plans to reign in the community.

The KRBD series offers up an interesting overview of some of the history of the region at the time, focusing on the events that sent many of the Tsimshian north.

The journey and arrival of the Tsimshian on Annette Island brings the radio presentation to an end, with a turn towards the weekend events offering residents of Southeast Alaska a glimpse of a history that many may not be well versed in.

You can review Part One of the story here.

Part Two which focuses on the Northern side of the Metlakatla story can be reviewed here.

For more items related to the modern day events and news out of Metlakatla, BC see our archive page here.

City of Prince Rupert seeks Community Planner

While a few of the proposed large scale industrial projects have been abandoned or face delay, the City of Prince Rupert is still holding to the prospect of major development in the region. With the City of Prince Rupert moving forward with its plans to fill some office space down at City Hall, with the latest position posted to the city's Help Wanted listings that of a Community Planner.

The job opportunity posted yesterday, outlines that with the City "experiencing development opportunities caused by Major Projects" there is now a need for A Community Planner  to be responsible for the processing of development and building applications, as well as to offer urban design advice, with a focus on planning an residential and commercial bylaw advice for the public, staff and applicants.

The staff position which is union exempt lists a salary expectation of 70,000 to 80,000 dollars based on experience.  The successful applicant requires an undergraduate degree in planning recognized by the Canadian Institute of Planners, and 2 to 5 years of municipal planning experience or equivalent.

The full outline of Duties and Qualifications is available from the Job Posting and can be reviewed below, the position is listed as to remain open until filled.

The August job posting for a Community Planner marks the second job opportunity listed by the City related to urban planning this summer, in June the City listed the position of City Planner 1 which had a deadline for applications of July 18th.

The Twin postings might leave some in the community to wonder to the status of  Zeno Krekic among the staff hierarchy at City Hall.  Regular readers of the blog will have noted that from our reports from Council, it has been the City Planner who, through the Office of Planning and Development Services has for the most part provided counsel to City Council on the many planning and development issues that they have considered over the last number of years.

A full review of the current and past Job opportunities with the City of Prince Rupert can be found from our Employment and Labour archive page here.

More background on City Council discussions can be examined from our Council Archive page.

Petronas to review investment plans on Pacific NorthWest LNG following delivery of CEAA report

Pacific NorthWest LNG's parent
company Petronas will review the fate
of the proposed LNG development
following the conclusion of the CEAA
assessment process and Federal decision.

Officials with the Malaysia energy company Petronas finally provided comment to the latest rumours swirling around the proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG project, outlining in a media release of Thursday that they will consider the fate of the project further once the federal environmental process has been delivered.

As we've noted on the blog over the last three weeks, reports have started to percolate that suggest a delay may be in the works for the ambitious plan to create LNG infrastructure on the North Coast, the most recent report that of a Wall Street Journal story from Tuesday which we outlined here.

The current economic climate in the oil and gas industry and current supply and demand concerns from Asia have put a number of the proposed BC LNG projects on the sidelines in recent months, while many others are still in the very early investigative stage.

The Globe and Mail provided an expansive look at the latest twist in the LNG story in Northwestern BC through a story yesterday, noting the tone of the media statement out of Kuala Lumpur, which offered up two key areas of interest for those on the North Coast looking for some form of indication where the project stands.

As the Globe reports:

"Upon the finalization of the report, we (Petronas) will need to conduct a total review of the proposed project prior to tabling it to the project's partners for a final investment decision."

Petronas the principle investor in the project at 62 percent, has put together a list of co-investors from Japan, China, India and Brunei to fill out the remainder of the investment pool required to move the project forward.

The media statement obtained by the Globe and Mail also notes:

 "Petronas reiterates that a project of this magnitude requires coherent support from the various relevant stakeholders to work within a reasonable time frame for successful implementation"

The full Globe and Mail story which explores a number of themes related to the Petronas project can be examined here.

The CEAA report is expected to be delivered to the Federal cabinet by October, with the Liberal government expected to announce its decision on the fate of the 11 billion dollar terminal project following that report.

The Petronas media statement has not to this point been posted to the either the Pacific Northwest LNG website or Facebook page, or to the Malaysian energy company's international portal.

More items related to the Pacific NorthWest LNG project proposed Lelu Island development can be found from our archive page here.

A full overview of the range of proposed LNG projects for the Northwest can be found from our LNG Archive.

Prince Rupert Search and Rescue to share in provincial funding

Five Northwest Search and Rescue groups will be receiving a share of provincial funding in Northern British Columbia that is designed to be put towards training, administrative support and equipment renewals.

The Province announced the funding this morning, allocating 363,000 dollars to eight groups across Northern British Columbia.

In the Northwest, funding has been directed towards Prince Rupert Search and Rescue, along with groups in Terrace, Kitimat and Stewart.

The funding is part of the province's 10 million dollar commitment in one time funding towards the needs of Search and Rescue Groups in British Columbia. The funding delivered today builds on previous provincial contributions towards training, equipment costs, insurance and liability for the 80 groups across BC that provide Search and Rescue services.

The full announcement related to the current funding and future plans to increase investment in Search and Rescue in the province can be found here.

You can learn more about the work of the Prince Rupert Search and Rescue group from their Facebook page here.

More background on the work of all Emergency Responders in the Northwest can be found on our archive page.