North Coast residents, members of BC Liberal Party remembering Don Silversides upon his passing

From Remembering.ca

Don Silversides is being mourned in many corners of the province today, with the word of his passing earlier this month gaining a relay from many directions.

The highly acclaimed Prince Rupert lawyer passed away on November 16th following a battle with pancreatic cancer, an obituary from the Remembering.ca website providing a fascinating glimpse into his life and times.

Born and raised in Prince Rupert, he went away for schooling at age 13 returning to the community to practice law for over 50 years.

Known not only for his legal work in the community, but for his community spirit, Mr. Silversides had a wide reach across the community. 

Serving both as a Housing Society Director with the Muks-Kum-Ol Housing Society and with the Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce.

A life-long Liberal, he answered the call of the party a number of times and up to his passing was serving as Acting  Party President and involved in the ongoing Leadership contest that will come to an end in February.

The Party paying their tribute on Monday with a Social Media post.

Mr. Silversides service is set for Tuesday, December 7th at the First United Church on Sixth Avenue West in Prince Rupert. 

He is survived by his spouse, Rhoda Witherly, her children Michael (Stacy) and Kate (Chris) and grandchildren Sophia, Violet, Natalie, and William. Don is also survived by sister Kathy (Ron) and niece Nicole. 

Memorial donations are asked to be made out to the Prince Rupert Salvation Army for their Christmas Appeal 

Mayor Lee Brain provided from an official note from the City with a tribute to his Social media page earlier today.

You can pay your respects through the Remembering.ca guestbook, which is already quickly filling up with memories and salutes.

More notes on community themes can be reviewed here. 

Lax Kw'alaams makes plans for community wide financial gift distribution

Residents of the community of Lax Kw'alaams will see a little extra cash to start off the new year, as the Band Council outlines its plans for a one time gift of $500 per member set to be awarded by the Council.

A notice on the Lax Kw'alaams Band Website and Facebook page provides the details of the program which will require members make application once the gift application period opens and the forms are posted to the Lax Kw'alaams website, the link as of yet not posted to that site.

The program has become somewhat of an annual bit of sharing, with the same amount offered up as a gift in 2020.

For more notes on items of interest from Lax Kw'alaams see our archive page here.

Charles Hays Theatre returns to the Lester Centre Stage this weekend

A welcome billboard has been going up around the city in recent weeks, notice of the next presentation of the Charles Hays Theatre program and this years production of the Musical Matilda.

The much anticipated event set for its three day run from Thursday to Saturday at the Lester Centre of the Arts, the 2021 musical the first live stage production before an audience in two years.

This years feature presentation is the story of an extraordinary girl who dares to take a stand and change her own destiny,  a wee bit of a primer on the original script can be explored here.

Roald Dahl's creative genius is taken from the book by Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics from Tim Minchin.

The production is once again helmed by Alison O'Toole and the talented cast, crew and musicians from Charles Hays Secondary, along with a few helpers from local theatre and music to round out the ensemble and those behind the scenes.

The 2020 production did not have a live audience and instead was streamed online, a unique solution to the then challenging COVID  times. 

This year however will allow the cast and crew to receive that instantaneous feedback that a live audience can bring to an event, so anticipation must be high for those that have been involved in the project through the fall.

From the early development of September, through the auditions, rehearsals, set building and other odds and ends of a major undertaking; the cast of 24, musical contingent of 15 and those working with them all no doubt look forward to the curtain rising on Thursday with three shows to deliver.

Tickets are available for 11 dollars for Students and Seniors 16 for adults you can purchase them through Cooks Jewellers, the Lester Centre or online.  

The three shows take place at 7:30 PM on December 2nd and 3rd and at 2PM on December 4th.

The usual COVID protocols will be in place for anyone planning to take in the production. With the audience required to wear masks and have vaccine passports on hand for admittance.

With the additional time required for those protocols, audience members are asked to arrive early to allow for and easier admittance process.

When the houselights come up at the end of each show, Rupertites will also have an opportunity to not only reward the cast, crew and musicians with applause, but provide for a salute to the Head of the Charles Hays Drama Department, providing appreciation for the work of Ms. O'Toole, recently recognized as the BC Drama Teacher of the year.

There seems no better venue to hail the talented Ms. O'Toole than on the stage of the Lester at one of Prince Rupert's most cherished of events, one thankfully back and ready to welcome audiences starting Thursday.

More notes on Community Arts and Entertainment can be reviewed from our archive page here.

City to explore 'options' on peat and hog fuel resources on city owned land

It's been the topic of a few Council sessions in the last year or so, just what to do about all that peat and stockpiles of hogfuel on city owned lands.

The issue of accessing that land that consists of muskeg and other factors that have provided challenges for development was part of the City's list of Housing actions for approval in June of this year.

The role that muskeg and such has had in those housing challenges has been a topic raised frequently by City Councillor Wade Niesh, who has often noted of the vast amount of city land that could be available once those elements were removed as an obstacle.

With this latest Request for Expressions of Interest to the BC Bid site, the City of Prince Rupert appears ready to turn an impediment for land development into a resource development option.

The request for Proposal was posted to the BC Bid website on Monday and outlines the city's focus for the potential harvesting of the resources.

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The Peat Moss locations are identified by two maps included in the Bid Package from the City.

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The Hog Fuel component of the city's plans are found on the Watson Intermodal Trade and Logistics Park.

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Some of the background and the city's conditions related to the harvesting of the resource are outlined in the Bid documentation as well.

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City Manager Robert Buchan is handling the file for the City, with a Closing date for any expressions of interest on the Peat and Hogfuel Harvesting plans set for 2PM on January 31st.

You can review the full documentation package from the City from the BC Bid Website.

For more notes on past City of Prince Rupert Requests for Bids and Expressions of interest see our archive page here.

Northern Health charts out COVID-19 vaccination program until January

Thursdays and Fridays through the first three weeks of December will be the schedule for COVID-19 vaccinations in Prince Rupert from Northern Health, with the Health Authority releasing it's plan for the month through its Prince Rupert Facebook page on Monday.

The vaccinations take place in Room 260 of the Ocean Centre, with jabs being offered between 9 AM and 4 PM with the exception of a one hour break from Noon to 1PM.

The vaccination program is by appointment only.

In addition to first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, the clinics will also be in operation for those eligible for the third dose booster shot if eligible.

The clinic will be closed from December 20th until January 4th for the holiday period

The where you can get vaccinated page from the Northern Health website has additional information and guidance on the 12+ and 5-11 vaccination programs, which takes place at the Prince Rupert Health Unit 300 Third Avenue West

You can find any updates to the information flow from Northern Health available through their Prince Rupert Facebook page.

To contact the Prince Rupert Health unit call 250-622-6380

More notes on health care in Prince Rupert can be explored from our archive pages.

Special Weather Statement alerts North Coast and Haida Gwaii to more strong winds

The weather forecasting app Windy tracks
the wind direction and speed for Tuesday 

Another wind event is forming up for the North Coast and Haida Gwaii, with Environment Canada issuing a Special Weather Statement Monday afternoon. 

The advisory noting of Southwest Winds from 10 to 80 km/h gusting to 100 km/h arriving in the morning and continuing through to the early afternoon period, when the winds will abate as the low weakens.

Last Wednesday, a Wind Event resulted in some structural damage and a number of incidents of note on land and water around the region.

Also of note with the approaching system is a GALE WARNING currently in place for Hecate Strait, with Winds of up to 45 knots expected by Tuesday morning subsiding by the afternoon. Seas will be up to 4 metres early Tuesday as the weather front passes through.

Updates on the weather system can be followed through the Environment Canada website.

Road information can be reviewed through the Drive BC website, or Drive BCNW twitter feed.

You can also access the regional Highway Camera network through our feature here.

You can review some of the past weather events for the Northwest from our archive page here.

Another 14 days for BC's State of Emergency

British Columbia will remain on a State of Emergency for another fourteen days, that as Deputy Premier and Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth outlined the still precarious situation of the province's fuel supplies to the south and ongoing work to shore up and replace damaged infrastructure, all while another weather system makes its approach to the province tonight.

“People in our province have been affected by the devastating floods and while we’re making major progress in our recovery, we’re still in a volatile situation. I want to thank British Columbians for doing their part so that essential vehicles can continue to operate. The fuel conservation measures are working but with another storm on its way, we are extending the order to ensure that we prioritize emergency services for another two weeks.”

It's a range of measures that haven't had too much impact on the Northwest, with much of the area of concern located in the Southwest and Interior regions.

To put some of the situaaion into focus, Mr. Farnworth outlined both tally of properties facing either an evacuation order or alert the vast majority of them in Southern British Columbia. 

Since the initial atmospheric river from Nov. 14-16, a series of storms has worsened existing flooding and created new flooding and landslides in southwestern B.C. 

There are currently 3,606 properties on evacuation orders and 7,402 properties on evacuation alert. The fuel order applies to all fuel suppliers in the Lower Mainland-to-Hope region, the Sea-to-Sky region, Sunshine Coast, the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island. 

Essential vehicles will continue to have unrestricted access to fuel as required, using predominately commercial trucking gas stations (cardlock gas stations).

The Full statement from the province can be reviewed here.

The Information session with reporters of earlier today can be reviewed below:

Stikine MLA Nathan Cullen and North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice were also relaying some notes this day, noting that the Northwest is in store for another pacific system as well.

You can follow the latest weather updates from Environment Canada here.

Updates from the River Forecast Centre are available here.

More notes from the Legislature can be explored here.