Prince Rupert Fire/Resuce join in on Green Sleeves Campaign

Prince Rupert Firefighters holding the Green Sleeves packages that
they and other Emergency Responders hope that Seniors and Elders in
the Prince Rupert area will fill out and keep in a prominent place at home
(photo from PRFD Facebook page)

An initiative launched in the middle of February that has its focus on Seniors over the age of 60 in Prince Rupert is getting an extra assist from the members of the Prince Rupert Fire/Rescue. 

That as the crews of the First Avenue West Fire Hall spread word of the Green Sleeves campaign, using their Social Media Forum this week to make note of the program.

The project found a champion in Jessica Friesen from the BC Emergency Paramedic Service in the city, with Ms. Friesen was busy through February helping to launch the program sharing of some of the elements that are a part of it.

The program is one which provides for easily accessible information for emergency responders when it comes to residents in their homes, with a small package in a green sleeve available in a prominent place to provide key information for responders to review.

Among some of the key parts for those Seniors living at home include:

As part of the program residents will place small sticker on their front door which will indicate to the EMTs that you have a Green Sleeve in the home. 

When you first pick up your Green Sleeve, it will contain a fillable form which requires your name, Public Health Number, birth date, medications, conditions, allergies. As well as any other patient specific information  such  as Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) / MOST of your wishes - and emergency contact info. 

The focus for the Green Sleeves program is to encourage those using the program to understand their medical history, and help first responders by having that information conveniently assembled and accessible . It is recommended to fill out these forms with your doctor for your most recent medical records. 

You can contact the Prince Rupert Seniors Centre, or Crows Nest Lodge to learn more about the program or to pick up your Green Sleeves Kit.

Organizers are hoping to secure additional funding to expand on the 1,000 kits currently on hand, so they'll be able to reach out to more of the Seniors and Elders on the North Coast.

More notes on the work of Emergency Responders in the Northwest can be reviewed here.

Further Community Notes for Prince Rupert can be explored here.

Long popular Sporting goods store in Terrace to close its doors

A fixture for the Northwest retail scene for near fifty years will be
closing its doors later this month

One of the must stops for any shopping trip to Terrace has long been Big Bob's, All Seasons' Source for Sports, the sporting goods and much more store in the downtown core of the Skeena Valley City has been the destination for many Rupertites looking for equipment for whatever pursuit they are into.

From Soccer Season to Hockey, Basketball to Slow-pitch or Baseball, if you needed something or just wanted to see what was new it was the place to go, 

And most likely in your travels,  you most inevitably were going to run into another Rupertite as you wandered the smallish but well stocked two floors at Lakelse and Kalum.

For many, a stop in at the store came from the wonderful sense of humour that Big Bob brought to his many TV7 commercials of the past, for others the location provided for an opportunity to chat, or catch up as the years and seasons moved forward.

However, those trips to Terrace will soon take All Season's Source for Sports off the travel itinerary, with Bob announcing his retirement plans through his social media feed this week, with a Store Closing date set for March 26th.

A video posted to his Social Media stream shares some thoughts from the owner, who reflects on his near fifty years in the retails sector in the Terrace area and beyond.

His Facebook post has become the forum for fond farewells and thank you's, closing in on 400 of them to date as customers and friends from around the Northwest and beyond drop in for a final farewell.

You can explore it all here.

More notes on the Northwest Commercial sector can be reviewed here.

ILWU members across British Columbia stand with Ukraine

Prince Rupert's Fairview Terminal is just one of a number maritime
facilities  along the BC Coast hat are now part of a total ban on Russian vessels
in response to that country attack on Ukraine
(photo from PRPA library)

Harbour watchers won't be seeing any Russian flagged vessels or Russian products making their way through the Port of Prince Rupert for what could be a very long time. 

That as both the Union which represents port workers and Canadian government work to send a strong message to the Russian President Vladimir Putin, that his violence on the Ukrainian people must end.

This week the Members of the International Longshore Workers Union, who work the docks in Prince Rupert as well as along the BC coast  took a stand against the continued Russian aggression towards Ukraine. 

With the ILWU issuing a notice on Monday that ILWU Canada had put a ban in place that will see its membership refuse to work any Russian vessels and cargo coming into the Ports of British Columbia. 

The correspondence which was addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also called on Canada to issue a ban for all Russian owned, Russian Flagged and Russian Chartered vessels, with the exception of any marine safety incidents, though they observed that too should be addressed with caution.

As events evolved, that suggestion was already in the works by the Federal government, with a Tuesday announcement from Omar Alghabra  the Minister of Transport, who declared the Canadian ban on Russian Maritime Traffic through the Special Economic Measures Act.

“Russia must be held accountable for its aggression in Ukraine. Canada will continue to do what is necessary to respond. Today, we are taking steps to close Canadian ports and internal waters to Russian-owned or registered ships. The Government of Canada condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and we will continue to take action to stand with Ukraine.”  -- Omar Alghabra,Minister of Transport

The Canadian moves on shipping, is just one element of a global effort of sanctions, bans and other measures to address the invasion and ongoing attack on the nation of Ukraine, with more measures announced each day that the Russian forces remain on Ukrainian soil.

More notes on shipping through the Port of Prince Rupert can be reviewed through our archive page here.

Contract awards mark another step forward towards new RCMP detachment in Prince Rupert

The City's Chief Financial Officer outlined some background towards two
contract awards for the new RCMP detachment in Prince Rupert

Prince Rupert City council approved two contract awards on Monday night, providing some certainty for the cost evaluation and commissioning elements for the construction of the new RCMP detachment at McBride Street and Third Avenue East.

Ms. Corinne Bomben, the City's Chief Financial Officer delivered a verbal report to Council that outlined the scope of both contract awards. 

"This report seeks to award two RFP's that were undertaken to make up part of the specialized members of the project team for the RCMP Detachment project.

A cost consultant is utilized to provide a more refined estimate of what a project should cost, which is   then used as a reference point for project construction bids and validation at construction milestones. 

A commissioning consultant will lead the commissioning process for all construction divisions, as well as assist with testing, and oversee the implementation of the building systems used."

The CFO then outlined the recommendations of the Bid evaluation team, with  the Cost Consulting contract to be awarded to the BTY Group at cost of $48,030 plus GST; while the Commissioning contract should be awarded to CES Engineering Ltd.  their bid came in at $128,097.50.

We provided a preview of her Report to Council prior to Monday's Council session which you can review here.

The report published in the Agenda package for the night noted that six proposals had been received for the Cost Consultant competition and three were received for the Commissioning Consultant competition. There were no local submissions.

Not mentioned in the verbal report of Monday evening, but part of the report from the Agenda package is a note towards a cost overage  from the two contract awards.

The fee proposed by BTY is $12,000 below the estimated budget for these services. 

The fee proposed by C.E.S. is $28,000 over the estimated budget for these services. 

The high ratings of C.E.S. amongst all evaluators prompted the recommendation from the evaluation team given the quality of the expected service. 

Overall, combining the two, the overage is $16,000 for these two service components of the project.

The report from the agenda does note that efforts will be made to absorb that additional cost through other project line items and contingency. 

Following her presentation of Monday night, the Council members had no questions, nor did they offer any comments towards the two contract awards.  

With the membership  then voting to approve the recommendation of the awards.

You can review her verbal report to Council from the City's Video archive starting at just before the 1 hour 20 minute mark.

More notes on Monday's Council Session from our Council Timeline feature.

A wider overview of the path towards a new RCMP detachment can be explored through our Infrastructure archive.

Further notes on the work of City Council can be reviewed by way of our Council Discussion archive.

DP World moves forward with planing and permitting phase for Fairview Facility Project 1B

A map highlighting some of the additions and changes to the
Fairview footprint in the planning by DP World and the PRPA
(From DP World information package)

While a significant amount of attention has been directed to the announcement in February of a two year feasibility study into the development of a new Container handling facility for the southern end of Kaien Island, a more modest but immediate expansion program to add more elements to the existing footprint is moving forward at the Fairview terminal site off of Scott Road.

An update on the PRPA/DP World plans has been provided to the DP World Projects page which notes that the Stage 1B Project is now moving into its planning and permitting process.

That project will provide the Fairview facility new service, storage and equipment facilities, along with expansions for the intermodal yard, Container yard and personal parking area.

The Fairview site will also see a realignment of Scott Road as part of the work ahead.

As noted above, the plan for the expansion requires a move the current southern portion of the Fairview Floats Small Craft harbour further to the north, in the direction towards the Prince Rupert Airport Ferry side of the harbour area.

The current small Craft Floats at Fairview (top map)
will be relocated North as part of the project (bottom map)
(From DP World info package)

The full prospects of the plans ahead can be reviewed below:

click to enlarge

One all permits are in hand, Construction is scheduled to start this fall, with a completion date anticipated to be sometime in the summer of 2024.

Towards the progress for the project, DP World notes the following: 

The Stage 1B expansion does not require an impact assessment under the Impact Assessment Act because it does not exceed thresholds defined under the Physical Activities Regulations (SOR/2019-285). 

However, given the location of the Project on Schedule B federal lands and Schedule A waters under the jurisdiction of the PRPA, approval to proceed will require an Environment Effects Evaluation (EEE) under Section 82 of the Impact Assessment Act (2019). 

The Project may also require the following federal permits and authorizations: 

Fisheries Act for marine fish habitat impacts 

Canadian Navigable Waters Act for impacts to navigation 

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada Website can be explored here. 

More information from DP World on the project is available here.

Further items of interest related to DP World in Prince Rupert can be reviewed from our archive page.

Another surge up for Gas Prices in Prince Rupert

Chevron on Second Avenue West was a popular spot last night
as some Prince Rupert motorists filled up before prices
spiked on Thursday morning

The wise motorist in Prince Rupert was the one comparison shopping on Wednesday night for the best value at the pump, which had most flocking to the Chevron and it's price point of $1.62.9 per litre, a number now long gone as morning arrived.

Today's shock at the pump finds a large difference between downtown to Hays Cove and then to the Industrial park.

As of 8AM the highest price per gallon was posted at the Hays Cove Petro Can, which is charging $1.81.9 per litre for those pulling in to refresh their tanks. 

** Note later Thursday they too posted a price point of  1.72.9 per litre to match the other stations

The three other gas stations in the city are nine cents below that ask, with Chevron, 7-11 Esso and the Industrial Park Petro Canada all posting a price point of 1.72.9 per litre as of this morning.

A quick tour of Prince Rupert's gas stations delivered the 
following results for Thursday morning

Across the Northwest the price point as of this post, looks as follows as provided by Gas Buddy.

Terrace -- ranges from $1.62.9 to  $1.76.9

Smithers-- ranges from $1.54.9 to $1.68.9

Burns Lake -- ranges from $1.59.9 to $1.63.9

Kitimat -- $1.66.9 at all locations

Global uncertainty stemming from Russia's attack on Ukraine and the impact on supply of oil is being singled out as the main reason for the current surge in pricing, with oil market observers noting that the prices are likely destined to rise further.

More notes on past gas prices can be explored from our Highway 16 archive and Commercial sector archive.

COVID case count numbers continue to decline for Prince Rupert, Northwest

Local Health Authority COVID review by region 
for February 20-26

A significant decline in COVID cases was recorded for Prince Rupert in the latest reporting period from the BC CDC, with the region which had 40 cases one week ago, dropping to single digits with only 7 cases recorded from February 20-26.

The results for Prince Rupert were mirrored for much of the Northwest, with only Terrace hosting a still significant amount of cases from the data review

The Skeena Valley city did realize a drop in case counts over the last seven days,  but still hosts the highest count for the region now listed at 46 cases, down from 58 last week.

Only Haida Gwaii saw an increase for the reporting peiord increasing by one, to a total of 13

The full review across the region for the week of February 20-26  from the BC CDC looks as follows:

Terrace -- 46 cases
Haida Gwaii --  13 cases 
Nechako --   12 cases

Smithers -- 11 cases

Kitimat --  8 cases
Bella Coola Valley --  7 cases

Central Coast -- 7 cases

Bella Coola Valley --  7 cases

Prince Rupert -- 7 cases

Snow Country-Stikine-Telegraph Creek -- 6 cases

Burns Lake -- 6 cases

Nisga'a Region --  4 cases

Upper Skeena --  4 cases

Wednesday's provincial report lists  59 new cases of COVID for the Northern Health region.

For the Northern Health Region in total as of Wednesday, 42 patients are listed as in hospital which is a decline of 24 from last week,  with 7 noted as in Critical Care, which half the total of last week.

The  breakdown of hospitalizations by community in the Northern Health region is not included in the data release information.

COVID review for March 2
Northern Health Region

COVID review for March 2
BC Wide

The full report from the Province for Wednesday can be reviewed here.  

The larger BC CDC Data release is available here.

Past information statements on COVID and other notes on the Northwest response can be reviewed from our archive page.