MLA Rice delivers Legislature tribute to Wild William Wesley

William Wesley on location
with CFNR Radio
(Facebook)

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice used some of the time for statements on Monday at the Legislature to pay tribute to a larger than life personality of the Northwest and a key figure of the All Native Basketball Tournament.

As part of the Afternoon Session of the legislature, Ms. Rice regaled the Chamber with the story of Wild William Wesley, the well known voice of radio station CFNR and someone who has been a part of the All Native Tournament experience dating back to the early 1960's

Her presentation to the Chamber offered up a glimpse of both Mr. Wesley's storied career as well as the vibrancy of the tournament and how it has become one of the most important of sporting and cultural events of the Northwest.

Now, anyone that knows basketball on the north coast knows the voice of the tournament, Wild William Wesley from CFNR radio. He has been broadcasting with Canada's First Nations radio station since its inception 30 years ago.

Before broadcasting tournament games, William Wesley was an athlete playing in the tournament from 1964 to 1976. He used to shoot all his baskets from the three-point range, but they were worth only two points back then. He quips: "Can you imagine the points I'd get nowadays?" In his best game, he scored 48 points.

In 1989, just before the women's and masters division were created, he started providing commentary for the games and has done so ever since. Always threatening to retire but never quite yet, the voice of Wild William Wesley could be heard calling games again this year. Between games, I spent a few minutes chatting with our local personality, where Wesley reminisced about people coming together over basketball over the years.

The tournament is held in February. That was the best time for fishermen and for cannery workers because it was the off-season. Sitting on a bench together with William, it was like hanging out with a celebrity, a big family reunion, over and over again, with players, spectators and friends from all over, getting his take on the latest up-and-comers and the predicted winning teams.

This year, during its 60th year, Wild William Wesley joined family members, former teammates and elite ball players when he was inducted into the tournament's hall of fame. Humbly, he dedicated his hall of fame award to his wife, Marlene.

Wild William Wesley is cherished by players, fans and CFNR radio listeners, and the All-Native Basketball Tournament is not complete without his voice of the tournament.

The statement which is now part of the Legislature's record, was also made available through the MLA's Social Media portal of Facebook.



 For more items of note related to the work of the Northwest MLA's in Victoria see our archive pages below:

North Coast

Skeena


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Full day of fun for all comes Saturday with 28th Annual Children's Festival

As we put February behind us, the weekend will bring an opportunity for day of family fun at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre with the arrival of the Children's Festival, this year marking the 28th year that the Special Events Society has put on the festival.

The event which starts at 11 AM Saturday and continues until 4 PM offers a range of activities for the whole family with Arts and Crafts and Games for all ages. The Bouncy Castle will be back and no doubt will be a popular spot, while the City's Rock Climbing Wall will be available for those that wish to get some elevation on the day's events.

A featured attraction this year is Fizzical Fizzicks, which is an interactive show that showcases the science of motion, with a show time from 1 to 2 PM.

Also taking part in this years Festival is the Charles Hays Secondary School Band which will be performing from 11:15 AM to 12:15 PM, while the Fellowship Baptist Choir will perform at 2:30 PM.

The Jim Cicconne Civic Centre in Prince Rupert is the destination for fun
this Saturday for the 28th Annual Children's Festival

The Children's Festival like all of the events that are put on by the Special Events Society runs on the spirit of volunteers and this year the Society could use a few extra hands for the day long event.

They need some help for set up on Friday, as well as for the event itself all day Saturday and when it comes time to take it all down for another year.

For students at CHSS the Children's Event offers a chance fulfill some of the 10 hours of volunteer time that is required for bursary time, perhaps almost all of them from this one event.

If anyone wants to help out, student or not, you can contact the Special Events Society at 250-624-9118 or by email at prspecialevents@citywest.ca

Explore more of what's ahead for Saturday from the Special Events website or Facebook page.

For more items of interest about Community Events around the North Coast see our archive page here.

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Nathan Cullen keeps heat on Liberals over SNC-Lavalin issues

Nathan Cullen calling for the Justice Committee appearance
of former Justice MinisterJody Raybould-Wilson
to be moved to Wednesday morning.
(CPAC screenshot)

Tomorrow could be a pivotal day for the Committee on Justice and Human Rights, with the House of Commons body having  issued its invitation to former Justice Minister and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould.

Scheduling her for an appearance at the Wednesday afternoon session of their ongoing hearings, putting her name on the testimony list for 3:15 PM Ottawa time, 12:15 in BC.

However, that 3:15 PM call to committee could see some change, should Skeena-Bulkley Valley Nathan Cullen, a member of the committee find success with a request from today asking for a shift in time for that testimony.

In comments outside of the House of Commons chamber this afternoon, Mr. Cullen suggested that Ms. Raybould-Wilson's testimony should take place in the morning and not the afternoon.

The NDP MP observed that should the existing schedule hold, the former Justice Minister's comments would come thirty minutes after the Wednesday Question Period in the House chamber.

Which as things turn out by way of the existing parliamentary procedure, will then see three weeks pass by from tomorrow, before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would have to face further questions in the House for Question Period.

Towards that quirk of the parliamentary schedule, the Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP also noted that should the testimony take place in the morning, it would then allow MP's to take note of her overview of the events related to SNC-Lavalin and discussions with the Prime Minister and Senior Staff and then  bring them to the Prime Minister's Question Period tomorrow.

"I think it would be much better for Canadians if we could hear from Ms. Jody Wilson-Raybould first and then be able to hold up her concerns, her answers to questions to the Prime Minister minutes later"

You can review Mr. Cullen's complete commentary of this afternoon from CPAC here.

As we outlined earlier this month, the Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP has been quite effective in his committee work following the fallout of the Justice Minister's resignation from cabinet and the growing interest in the SNC-Lavalin file.

The story picked up some increased attention on February 18th when the Prime Minister's Principle Secretary Gerald Butts submitted his resignation, adding on to the interest level of the Justice and Human Rights Committee hearings.

You can follow the proceedings of Committee on Justice and Human Rights from their House of Commons website home page here.

More background on the political developments in Ottawa can be explored through our political portal D'ArcyMcGee

For an overview of the work of the Skeena-Bulkley MP see our House of Commons archive page here.

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Familiar name returns to the ballot for CHP for Fall election

CHP Leader is back in Skeean-
Bulkley Valley as Rod Taylor
will be their candidate for this
falls federal election

Those who support the Christian Heritage Party, will be very familiar with their candidate for this fall's General Federal election, with Rod Taylor once again securing the CHP nomination for Skeena-Bulkley Valley.

As we noted back in 2016, Mr. Taylor is somewhat of a perpetual candidate, often found whenever a by-election is called and a regular fixture on ballots whenever the General vote is called.

He has however had a fairly strong attachment to the Skeena-Bulkley Valley riding having run for office in it four times from 2004 to 2011, hitting the road after that for some cross country attempts to gain a seat in the House of Commons.

Most recently he ran in the 2017 by-election in South Surrey-White Rock.

The Elections Canada database provides the travel itinerary for candidate Taylor over the last fifteen years.

The party which has yet to ever elect a Member of Parliament, for the most part seems to make use of the election campaigns as an awareness raising process towards many of their themes.

You can explore those themes through their website and Facebook pages.

Taylor who is also the Leader of the Christian Heritage Party,  makes for the second declared candidate in the riding for the fall vote.

Last weekend Conservatives in Skeena-Bulkley Valley selected Claire Ratée as their candidate.

The Liberal and Green parties have yet to indicate when they will select their candidates for the election campaign ahead.

Incumbent MP Nathan Cullen has yet to indicate if he plans on contesting the 2019 election, Cullen has been the NDP Member of Parliament for Skeena-Bulkley Valley since 2004 and contested and won elections on five occasions.

For more items of note related to Federal politics see our House of Commons archive here.

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Rainmaker icon Mel Bishop heads to Basketball BC Hall of Fame

Mel Bishop being honoured in 2015 with a plaque from
Sarah McChesney, celebrating his then thirty years of dedication
to basketball in Prince Rupert. In May Bishop will join the
BC Basketball Hall of Fame

Check off another honour of the list of many, for long time Rainmaker coach Mel Bishop as the city's Dean of Basketball Instruction makes his plans to attend the 2019 Award Ceremony at Richmond's River Rock Casino and Resort in Mid May.

Bishop who has been the foundation of Rainmaker basketball at both Charles Hays and Prince Rupert Secondary before it, will enter the Hall as a Coach as it should be, though he probably qualifies for the trifecta of player, coach and builder, such has been the highlight reel of his many years and many areas of involvement with the sport.

The names destined for induction in May were released by Basketball BC on February11th,

Joining Mr. Bishop on the list of those to be honoured include:

Ms. Lori Clarke -- Vancouver --  Athlete 
Mr. Len Corben -- North Vancouver -- Builder 
Mr. Bill Denney --  Vancouver --  Official 
Mr. Andrew Mavis -- Anmore -- Athlete 
The UBC Men 1971-72  --  Vancouver --Team

The Charles Hays coach joins long time friend and former Rainmaker Ken Shields in the Hall,  he was inducted back in 2006. Shields like Bishop has had a life long commitment to the sport and found much success at the University level.

Before the Rainmaker coach heads off to the River Rock for May 11th, he has one other important trek to the Vancouver area in mind.

Mr. Bishop, along with co-coach and son Ryan, as well as the 2019 edition of the Senior Boys Rainmakers are all heading to Langley in the first week of March for the Senior AA Provincials.

The latest of a number of journeys that the Rainmaker coach has made through his thirty three years of coaching with high school basketball in the city.

You can learn more about some of the past inductees here.

For more notes on the Charles Hays Rainmaker program see our archive page here.

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Pinnacle plant fire in Alberta impacts on product levels for shipment

A vessel at the Westview Terminal taking on wood pellets for export

The shipment levels out of the Westview Terminal on the Prince Rupert waterfront may see a dip over the next few months, that after a fire at one of Pinnacle Pellet's processing plants has taken one of the newest of the company's facilities off line for at least a month.

The fire which took place on February 11th at the Entwistle, Alberta facility sent one employee to hospital and injured several others and as Pinnacle noted in an information release last week has resulted in the temporary halt to production at the production facility.

The cause of the incident is still under investigation by the Occupational Health and Safety Office of Alberta, with the industrial site was handed back over to Pinnacle last week.

However, to date the company has not outlined any details as of yet related to the damage to the facility; while company officials have indicated to Alberta media services that work is expected to resume sometime in March.

The Pinnacle Pellet processing plant near Edmonton is the newest
facility for the BC based company and ships its finished product
through the Port of Prince Rupert.

Statistics from the Port of Prince Rupert indicated that prior to the Entwistle incident, shipments were already down slightly from those found at this time last year. The reduction in supply may provide for a continuation of that trend for the short term period ahead.

The halt to production at the Alberta facility comes as Pinnacle released a financial summary of it's financial results from 2018 and the first thirteen weeks of 2019, with the notes highlighting the growing list of clients that the company has secured for its energy product.

More background on Pinnacle Pellet, as well as the fire that shut down the Entwistle facility can be found from our archive page here.

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Alaska Marine Highway Service subject of Review to determine its future

The MV Malaspina is back on the Run to Rupert, following a winter
hiatus for the AMHS schedule

It's been just over two months since we last saw the MV Malaspina at the Alaska Marine Highway Terminal in Prince Rupert, with the AMHS service having gone into hibernation until last night, when service between Southeast Alaska and British Columbia resumed.

However, as the sailings resume, they do so under some cloudy skies and choppy seas for the Alaska Marine Highway, with the service currently the subject of an extensive review that may significantly change the way that marine transportation operates along the Alaskan coast as the Alaskan government explores ways to cut costs.

Last Thursday the Alaska Department of Transportation outlined how the amended budget will impact on the AMHS system, with service only guaranteed until the end of August.

The fiscal year 2020 Governor's amended budget proposes to change the Alaska Marine Highway System to 84.8 operating weeks of service. The published 2019 summer sailing schedule remains intact through the end of August. 

Service on the Bellingham, northern Lynn Canal, and Ketchikan-Annette Bay routes would continue through the end of September. Details on routes and sailings are available at FerryAlaska.com. 

Per the Governor’s AMHS Directive, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities will enlist the assistance of a qualified marine consultant to identify potential reductions of the state’s financial obligation and/or liability as they relate to the AMHS. 

The project will include an analysis of options available for reshaping the system, such as through a public/private partnership, and a determination of the various options’ feasibility, with targeted implementation by July 1, 2020.

Earlier this month, the Alaska House of representatives were provided a review of the economic impacts of the Alaska Marine Highway System with a February 5th presentation.

The financial impact notes are part of a wider AMHS Reform initiative hosted by the Southeast Conference, the umbrella group  for communities up and down the Alaska panhandle, which also includes the City of Prince Rupert.

To put some kind of a timeline to the review, Governor Michael Dunleavy issued a directive on February 12th which indicated that all options are on the table for consideration.

Said to be included on the list of options  is the potential for the privatization of the AMHS service.

August 1st is the deadline for the report that will help to provide some kind of clearer vision as to the path ahead for the State's major transportation provider.

As they continue on with their deliberations, the fate of the north-South link between Prince Rupert and Kethcikan, like the entire system north of Ketchikan will remain in a twilight zone of planning.

With stakeholders, passengers and host communities all waiting for the process to deliver some answers and an indication as to the future for the service that saw its start in 1951 and reached it's peak years of travellers in the early to mid 1990's.

You can review current and past notes of interest related to the service can be found from our archive page here.

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