Prince Rupert Fire/Rescue pumper on its way to the North Coast

Shiny and new and heading to Prince Rupert to join the fleet!
The newest addition for the Prince Rupert Fire/Rescue service.

The latest addition to the fleet at the Prince Rupert Fire Hall is making its way west to the North Coast, as Fire Chief Dave McKenzie took possession of the new apparatus last week from the Rocky Mountain Phoenix Factory in Minnesota.

The handover notes were posted to the Rocky Mountain Facebook page this week, offering a glimpse for local residents to the state of the art equipment that local fire fighters will soon be able to put to use in the community.

The specifications for the Crossfire EXT Rosenbauer pumper can be reviewed here.

The process of seeking out a replacement for the current pumper began in May of 2016, with the City of Prince Rupert putting the request for bid out to tender.

The acquisition was included as part of the City's Capital projects list for 2017. 

The contract  was awarded to Rocky Mountain Phoenix in mid 2016.

Some photos of the new generation of equipment for the Prince Rupert Fire Department can be found below, courtesy of the Rocky Mountain Phoenix Facebook page, the full slide show of photos can reviewed here.

Prince Rupert Fire Chief Dave McKenzie gives the city's new pumper
a once over at the factory before taking possession.

A number of photos featuring different aspects
of the city's new Crossfire Pumper
(all photos from the Rocky Mountain Phoenix website)

The soon to be replaced pumper is currently listed as For Sale on the Rocky Mountain Phoenix website, one final glimpse of its abilities can be viewed here.

More notes on the work of the Prince Rupert Fire/Rescue Service can be found on our monthly review pages here.

SD52 recognizes long serving and retiring employees

As the 2017 School year heads into the final few days on the North Coast, there will be many farewells for class mates, teachers and school officials, some for the summer, others for a much longer period, with a number of SD52 teachers set to retire as this month comes to an end.

Earlier this month, the School District hosted a Recognition Ceremony on June 12th to pay tribute to those teachers and staff members that are retiring from their active duties with the District, as well as to salute those that have achieved milestones in education service so far on the North Coast.

Among those who have closed the books on their full time career with SD 52 are:

Mel Blois -- 38 years
Sharon Trew -- 36 years
Nick Adey -- 34 years
Dianne Rabel -- 34 years
Malerie Burton -- 31 years
Sandra Jones -- 30 years
Kathy Dann -- 30 years
Myrna Salo -- 30 years
Cindy Stephens -- 29 years
Brent Krieger -- 28 years
Maria Elsa Kollar -- 27 years
Delores Moore -- 27 years
Theresa Cann -- 26 years
Halina Castelli -- 25 years
Bonnie Dollimount -- 24 years
Lauren Miller -- 21 years
Deb Taylor -- 13 years
Susan Neilson -- 10 years
Tom Taylor -- 3 years

In addition to the salute to the retirees, the School District also paid recognition to those on staff, from teachers, assistants, administrators, maintenance and support staff who have achieved continuous service levels with SD52 the North Coast.

25 Years Plus Service

Don Davies -- 37 years
Barrie Girbav -- 37 years
Dale Boyle -- 35 years
Ellen Braid -- 35 years
Sally Marr -- 35 years
Kathy Offutt -- 35 years
Cindy Paul -- 33 years
Carmel Pepin -- 32 years
Barb Spencer-Dias -- 32 years
Marlene Clifton -- 31 years
Debra Fabbi -- 31 years
Laila Leach -- 31 years 
Karen Martin-Vandette -- 31 years
Dave Salyn -- 31 years
Don Nicholson -- 30 years
Mae Jong-Bowles -- 29 years
Claudette Hornsby -- 29 years
Jacqueline Jackson -- 29 years
Susan Kobza -- 29 years
Kevin Leach -- 29 years
Paul Paling -- 29 years
Beth Palmer -- 29 years
Tamara Thomson -- 29 years
Teresa Weismiller -- 29 years
Wes Baker -- 28 years
Gabriel Bureau -- 28 years
Maria Davies -- 28 years
Sal Magliocchi -- 28 years
Ken Minette -- 28 years
Kerry Savinkoff -- 28 years
Mike Cavin -- 27 years
Yvette Lebedick -- 27 years
Coretta O'Brien -- 27 years
Linda Polsson --27 years
Anna Ashley -- 26 years
Kerry Carpenter -- 26 years
Margaret Cavin --26 years
Kevin MacIlory -- 26 years
Michael Mackey -- 26 years
Andrée Michaud -- 26 years
Shauna Moore -- 26 years
Tasha Parker -- 26 years 

25 Years Continuous Service

Halina Casetlli
Alison Cormack
Kathy Murphy
Deborah Sanders

15 Years Continuous Service

Brenda Deacon
Ana Pereira
Raegan Sawka
Darlene Wilson

5 Years Continuous Service

Charlotte Angus
Joyce Begley
Steve Einarson
Jennifer Gale
MacKenzie Hubbell
Arianne Loranger-Saindon
Genevive Mah
Jenna Mayer
Donna McNeil-Clark
Vonda Robinson
Trevor Stovel

As noted in the retirement recognition, Sandra Jones, the Superintendent for School District 52 is set to take her leave from the School District. Ms. Jones announced her decision to retire back in February of this year.

At that time through a media release the School District noted the long career and achievements for Ms. Jones in the community.

As well, as part of that information release, the School District named Mr. Ken Minette as the new Superintendent, taking on his new duties as of August 1st.

The Schools of SD52 will reopen for the new school year on September 5th, following the Labour Day holiday, a glimpse at the 2017-18 school calendar can be viewed here.

For more items from the last year from both School District 52 and the Independent School Annunciation see our archive page here.

MLA Rice calls for confidence vote in Legislature; seeks progress on PRMS replacement issue

The political machinations currently at play at the British Columbia Legislature are making for some high drama in Victoria, but when it comes to tangible movement on major issues, the wheels of governance are moving at a more glacial speed.

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice made her first comments of the post election period in the Legislature on Tuesday and used her time in the House to call for the Christy Clark government to step aside, to allow for the NDP to move forward with many of their policy initiatives, including working towards replacement of aging schools across the province.

Ms. Rice spoke to the need for a replacement for the Prince Rupert Middle School and recounted some of the recent discussion on the theme and concerns from the community, as well as the desire that the project move forward.

Going further, the North Coast MLA then tied the issue into the ongoing efforts of the NDP to force a confidence vote on the status of the current BC Liberal government.

" The School District knows its a problem, the Minister knows its a problem but he refuses to act, through you Mr. Speaker, will the Premier call a confidence motion in this House today, so that a new government can get to work fixing schools across this province" 

For his part, Education Minister Mike Bernier reviewed some of his recent travels across the province to explore the concerns from local School Districts and in the case of the Prince Rupert Middle school noted the current seismic upgrading plan for the building and the funding in place for future development of education facilities across the province.

You can review the discussion from the Legislature on Tuesday from Ms. Rice's Facebook page.

Political observers in Victoria note that a vote of non confidence in the BC Liberal government is expected to be introduced by the NDP by the end of the week.

That move will deliver the next step in the political drama in the capital, but is also something which will leave any tangible legislation on a range of important issues left to simmer on the back burner while the political manoeuvres continue on.

For more notes related to the work of Ms. Rice in the Legislature see our archive page here.

A wider review of the British Columbia political scene can be found on our D'Arcy McGee portal

City of Prince Rupert puts Landfill project out for tender

The next phase of work for the City's Ridley Island Access Road landfill
site is motion, with the Request for Bids process now underway

The next significant project for the Ridley Island Land fill site is at the request for tender stage as the City of Prince Rupert releases it's prospectus for the work ahead to close off one segment of the landfill and create a new cell.

In documentation posted to the BC Bid website, the City has provided an outline of the scope of work that will be required of the successful bidder.

The work to be done is identified as the Prince Rupert Landfill Leachate Lagoon Construction Project.

Among some of the tasks listed for the work ahead includes site preparation, excavation, drilling, blasting, shotcrete application and other earth works.

Also included in the overview is work related to HDPE and PVC pipe work, geotextile and geomembrane installation.

The work ahead will also include the decommissioning and reuse of existing infrastructure including pipes, manholes and casings. It also includes electric actuated valves, surface aerators, aluminum gangways, anchors, supports and bollards and includes work related to the electrical transformer with auxiliary equipment, electric kiosk and infrastructure, trenches, conduits and cables is also on the to do list.

Site map of the work ahead for the Prince Rupert Landfill site on Ridley Island

Bid submissions are being directed to a consulting firm in North Vancouver, with the deadline for bids noted as July 10th. A mandatory site visit has been arranged for those interested in the project and has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 4th at the Ridley Island facility.

The timeline for the process ahead would see notice of award delivered by July 14th, with Notice to proceed expected buy July 21st. 

The notes from the city's information package note that the liner installation related to the project is to be in place by August 25th, with substantial performance on the work expected on or before October 27th of this year.

You can review the full documentation for the project from the BC Bid website.

The need for landfill expansion first appeared on the agenda for Prince Rupert City Council back in 2014. Some of the notes related to the ongoing initiatives when it comes to our waste disposal site can be found below:

May 8, 2017 -- City Council Timeline
March 8, 2017 -- Familiar themes and a mill rate increase mark Budget presentation to Council
December 14, 2016 -- Capital Projects for 2017 outline for City Council
June 12, 2015 -- City Council Timeline
June 8, 2015 -- Council looks to award contract for landfill expansion project this evening
August 1, 2014 -- Council hears of Landfill expansion requirements
August 1, 2014 -- City council Timeline

A look at more of the major infrastructure projects underway with the City can be found on our archive page here.

More background on City of Prince Rupert items can be found on our Council Discussion page.

Fraser Institute's Secondary School's report card places CHSS in lower tier of achievement

Students across the North Coast will be receiving their final report cards for the year over the final days of June as the 2016-17 school year comes to a close.

The annual ritual indicating areas where work may be needed for when September arrives and studies resume, or for those Grads moving on, the report cards deliver the final documentation from their high school years.

And like the students, the education system itself has also been measured, with last months release of the Annual Secondary School review from the Fraser Institute.

For Prince Rupert those notes would appear to highlight areas where work is required with the statistical review from the Vancouver based research organization noting that Prince Rupert's Charles Hays Secondary is listed at 241 out of  the293 schools that were surveyed.

For the review period based on results from 2015-16, CHSS was marked with a 4.4 out of ten in overall ratings based on results in a number of categories.

Among the notes indicated from the report was a Grade 12 enrollment of 178.

Results from the survey provided for an average exam mark of 63.5 percent, with 15.7 percent of exams failed.

The Graduation rate for CHSS is noted at 93.5 percent, while the Delayed advancement rate was noted to be at 4.4 per cent. Both of which are areas where SD52 has seen improvement from pas years.

However declines were noted in such categories as the English Gender Gap and Math Gender Gap.

Other Secondary schools in the Northwest region included schools in the Haida Gwaii, Coast Mountains and the Bulkley Valley School Districts

Overall Charles Hays runs middle of the pack for the Northwest, with the top honours from the Fraser Institute this year heading towards the Bulkley Valley, where the Bulkley Valley Christian School moved close to Top Fifty status, achieving a ranking of 67 out of the 293 schools reviewed.

The list for the Northwest looks as follows:

Smithers -- Bulkley Valley Christian School --  67/293   Overall 7.2 out of 10
Terrace -- Caledonia Secondary -- 161/293  Overall 5.9 out of 10
Smithers -- Smithers Secondary -- 167/293   Overall 5.8 out of 10
Houston --  Houston Secondary --   167/293  Overall 5.8 out of 10
Queen Charlotte -- Queen Charlotte Secondary -- 236/293  Overall 4.5 out of 10
Prince Rupert -- Charles Hays Secondary -- 241/293  Overall 4.4 out of 10
Kitimat --  Mount Elizabeth Secondary -- 219/293  Overall 4.9 out of 10
Masset -- George M Dawson Secondary -- 275/293  Overall 2.9 out of 10
Hazelton -- Hazelton Secondary -- 293/293  Overall 0.0 out 10

A Graphing tool from the Fraser Institute findings shows the five year path that many of the Northwest schools have taken in a number of categories from the annual assessments.

You can review the individual snapshots from across the Northwest below:

The full Fraser Institute Report can be accessed here.

The introduction to the report provides some notes from authors Peter Cowley and Stephen Easton as well as background to how they have compiled the rankings.

More notes on education across the Northwest can be found on our archive page here.

Piles, upon piles of garbage at the recycling centre making for conversation theme on Facebook

The theme of respect for our surroundings is one that had become an ongoing issue long before the Kaien Island Regional Recycling Centre introduced its after hours bins at the Kaien Road facility a few years ago.

And like it was then, the main observation today is, that when it comes to that respect, a number of those of us who call this region home aren't showing much of it.

The photo above was posted to the Facebook page Prince Rupert Customer Review by Grainne Barthe and from the time Ms. Barthe clicked on post, it has spawned an energetic debate about how North Coast residents do their recycling, with many it would seem inclined to dump and run, rather than schedule their recycling time for when the centre is open for business.

The concept of the introduction of the after hours bins was one which would accept a few household items that residents might have stored up and could drop off in between those times when the Centre is open for regular business.

However as the photo would seem to indicate, more than a few folks are just tossing large volumes of items onto the loading docks or surrounding pavement, leaving it to the weather gods as to final distribution.

In the past, the situation seemed to be more prevalent during the course of long weekends, when the Centre is closed for that one extra day, however as the recent conversation would indicate, the problems with overflowing garbage seem to be more and more constant.

And now as we head into the warmer months the situation seems to becoming more and more prevalent regardless of the day as North Coast residents apparently start to clean up their own properties.

The Facebook discussion is spawning some interesting debate on how the City and Regional District should approach the topic of recycling and what measures might be used to try and rein in the apparent slovenly ways of some who make use of the Kaien Road facility.

Among some of the suggestions to be offered up so far,  closing the after hours option down, extending the hours of service at the Centre and a call for the return to the blue box recycling program for homes across the city.

As for the more immediate problem of the giant mess that staff have to clean up, the installation of cameras at the after hours bins has been suggested, in order to identify those that may be abusing the situation.

Over fifty comments have been added to the discussion to this point, including thoughts from City Councillor Wade Niesh and Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce head Michelle Bryant-Gravelle.

You can review the theme and contribute yourself here.

As we outlined on the blog earlier this month, Regional District officials are currently reviewing their Strategic Priorities Fund which would see a number of renovations take place at the Kaien road facility, more on those plans can be examined here.

More items related to the North Coast Regional District can be reviewed here.

Lax Kw'alaams Graduation celebrated far beyond the North Coast

First ever in their class! The first Grade 12 graduates from the Coast Tsimshian Academy
at Lax Kw'alaams. The celebration of achievement took place June 17th
(photo from Lax Kw'alaams Facebook feed)

The first ever Grade 12 graduating class for the Coast Tsimshian Academy is making a bit of North Coast History and word of the success for the ten students was being shared far and wide over the last week.

Regular readers of the blog will have noted some of the previous interest in the milestone moment for the North Coast community, as we tracked some of the stories that traced the countdown to Graduation Day for Lax Kw'alaams as well as their recent journey to Ontario and Quebec.

Along with their sight seeing adventures in Central Canada, the grads appeared on the Toronto morning Show Breakfast Television and were treated to a shopping spree at one Yorkdale Mall one of Toronto's most popular shopping centres, where the latest in Grad fashions made their way back to the North Coast.

More on their journey to Ontario and Quebec can be explored on the Coast Tsimshian Facebook page.

As for the big day, it arrived in mid June with the first ever convocation celebration at the Reginald Sampson Memorial Gymnasium and with it the local and national media took note.

With a number of stories to salute the graduates and their hard work that led to their final moments at the Coast Tsimshian Academy.

Lax Kw'alaams community celebrates first ever graduation
Lax Kw'alaams school celebrates first graduates
First Nation community of Lax Kw'alaams sees first Grade 12 graduation

You can relive the Graduation ceremony from the Coast Tsimshian Academy Facebook page, which features a rebroadcast of the June 17th event..

More notes on events from Lax Kw'alaams can be found on our archive page.