City looks to replace some Public Works machinery through latest bid calls

The City of Prince Rupert Public Works department is on the
hunt for some replacement equipment

The City of Prince Rupert is ready to write some cheques, with two Calls for Bids released last week for some equipment replacement plans for the City's Public Works department.

The first is a plan for the replacement of a 1995 CAT Loader.

The City is looking to replace the current Loader with machinery that has equivalent or similar capabilities, New or Used, to adequately suit the needs of day to day operations within the municipality.

The Request for proposals notes that suppliers can offer up multiple equivalent style loaders  with optional equipment, with the City to choose the best equipment for daily operations.

Among the requirements:

Air Conditioned Cab
4x4
Rock Bucket 
Clean Up Bucket
Snow Plow
Forks
Loader will be used for loading gravel trucks, mixing salt, sand and snow plowing in the winter  Maintenance Program Options
Warranty Options
New or Used Unit
Preference will be given to local Northwest distributers for Serviceability and warranty works
Trade in Option for 1995 CAT IT28F Loader with Plow

Deadline for proposals is 2 PM March 3rd

The Second piece of equipment up for replacement is a John Deer Backhoe.

The City is looking to replace the current Backhoe with machinery that has equivalent or similar capabilities, New or Used, to adequately suit the needs of day to day operations within the municipality.

The Request for proposals notes that suppliers can offer up multiple equivalent style loaders  with optional equipment, with the City to choose the best equipment for daily operations.

Among the requirements

Air Conditioned Cab w/Heat 
Extendable Boom 
4 way front bucket 
4x4 
Hammer 
Rock Bucket 
Clean Up Bucket 
Snow Plow 
Forks 
Hydraulic Compactor/Hoe Package 
Hydraulic Thumb 
Planer (Asphalt) 
Light Package 
Light Package
Warranty Options 
New or Used Unit 
Preference will be given to local Northwest distributers for Serviceability and warranty works 
Must be same or similar to the capabilities, size and weight to a John Deere 310SG

Deadline for proposals is 2 PM March 3rd

The full Request for Bids notes can be found from the Bid BC website.

For a look at some of the past Requests for Proposals from the City of Prince Rupert see our archive page here.

Senior Girls Rainmakers Langley Bound for Provincials next week

Heading for Langley! The Charles Hays Senior Girls Rainmakers are
off to the Provincial Basketball championships next week

With a little last minute fundraising underway off the court and a couple of more practices to go before departure, the Senior Girls Basketball Rainmakers are almost set for their journey to Langley and their shot a provincial banner.

The tournament takes place at the Langley Events Centre from February 26 to 29 and this week the 'Makers received news of their first match up for the tourney.

With the Senior Girls set to take on Okanagan Mission in the Icebreaker on Wednesday, February 26th with a tip off at 8PM at teh Centre Court of the Langley Events Centre.

The opener will make for a tough opening challenge for the Charles Hays squad, with the Okanagan Mission team listed as the Number Two seed for the AAA Girls Tournament.

As is the case for all of the Provincial Tournaments, fans of the Rainmaker Girls can follow their path of next week through a streaming video service offered by the Tournament organizers.

You can learn more about the streaming options here.

As the tourney gets underway, we'll keep up to date on the results and notes from the Senior Girls event, with updates found here.

You can review the AAA Girls Tournament website here, while a good resource of notes on the Tournament can be found through the Varsity Letters blog created by long time Vancouver sports observer Howard Tsumura.

For updates on the Senior Girls and all of the Rainmaker teams follow these twitter feeds.

CHSS Rainmakers

CHSS School twitter feed

A reminder, there is some basketball at the Charles Hays Gym this weekend, that as the Senior Boys host the Northwest Zones, with Smithers and Caledonia from Terrace in town for the double knock out event, with the winner off to Provincials in March.

For more items of note on Rainmaker Athletics see our archive page here.

2020 AAA Senior Girls Provincial Tournament Archive

Our notes on the travels of the Charles Hays Senior Girls Rainmakers, who are in Langley for Provincial Zones February 26-29

Friday, February 28 6:30 PM Tip Off
Charles Hays Rainmakers  76 vs Magee 66  (OT)  (Boxscore)

Friday February 28 ( 8:30 AM)
Mark Isfeld 78 vs Charles Hays Rainmakers 52 (Boxscore)

Thursday, February 27
Pitt Meadows 66 vs Charles Hays Rainmakers 47 (Boxscore N/A)

Wednesday, February 26
Charles Hays Rainmakers 22 vs Okanagan Mission 116 (Boxscore)


Notes of interest on the tournament can be found below:

February 21 -- Senior Girls Rainmakers Langley bound for Provincials next week  NCR


Live Streaming info available here.

For more on the Rainmaker Athletics programs see our archive page here.

Carole James's 2020 Provincial Budget moves Mills Memorial Hospital closer to the finish line

It was but a single half line from a list of provincial spending outlined in the Tuesday budget delivered by Finance Minister Carole James, but for supporters of plans for a new Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace, the Finance Minister's words made for yet another benchmark for the long anticipated new Medical Facility for the Northwest.

Skeena MLA Ellis Ross made note of the good news through his Social media feed on Wednesday, with the Liberal MLA benefiting in the way of congratulations for the progress for the project.

In amidst all the praise for the positive momentum for the hospital, was a comment from Prince Rupert however, that while perhaps misdirected towards the Skeena MLA's social media stream; still does provide a glimpse as to some of the concern in Prince Rupert as to the fate for local medical services on the North Coast with the prospect of a larger more advanced medical facility soon to be built.

"Are there any plans from Northern Health to implement a hub and spoke model that will remove surgical services from Prince Rupert and centralize them in Terrace?"

It is probably a question that Mr. Lambourne, or others in the community may wish to take to their own MLA, representatives of Northern Health or Prince Rupert City Council.

Perhaps asking the latter to become a bit more vocal towards ensuring that Prince Rupert Regional Hospital and medical care in Prince Rupert doesn't see any erosion.

It has been a topic in the past that Councillor Barry Cunningham occasionally has brought to Council's attention, most recently in the May of 2019.

"I'm a little concerned about us possibly losing some of our services and as we discussed once before, bringing up a health advisory group, and I wold like to maybe in the next meeting discuss that or actually bring the points to do that"

Though, as things have evolved, we never seem to hear any follow up notes from the Mayor or Council, when it comes to whether they have secured any reassurances from provincial officials.

Since they seem to have some troubles when it comes to creating and filling council Agendas these days, what with Council meetings of seven and fourteen minutes of late.

Perhaps Council could invite both MLA Jennifer Rice and officials from Northern Health to Council for a public presentation on how the new facility in Terrace will work in concert with Prince Rupert.

Providing a chance for the Council members to maybe ask a few questions on behalf of residents as to future plans in Prince Rupert and to secure some reassurances that local medical care won't decline once the shiny, new facility in Terrace rises on its foundation.

More notes on Northern Health can be explored here.

A wider overview of City Council Discussion themes can be reviewed through our Council Discussion Archive.

Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Award presentations launch tonight

With the Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce having now put down the cameras and finished off the editing, Tonight marks the roll out if the video presentations for this years finalists in the 2020 Business Excellence Awards.

The videos will air on City West Community Television Channels 10SD and 310HD as well as through  the Chamber's Facebook Page.

Tonight's presentations will showcase a number of the first wave of nominees, followed by your chance to cast your vote for which local business or organization you believe merits the accolades for 2020.

The first of the showcase episodes airs at 7PM this evening and the text or phone numbers to vote will appear on your screen, along with the finalist code required for you to mark your vote.

Up for your review for night number one will be the nominees for the following categories:

You can learn more about tonight's presentations from the Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce Facebook Page.

As they release the schedule for the remainder of the nominees we'll follow up on the first round tonight, with further notes on those to come.

For more items of interest on the city's business sector see our archive page here.

Charles Hays set to host Senior Boys Basketball Zones this weekend

The Charles Hays Gyn on the city's east side will be host for this years
Northwest Senior Boys Basketball Zones set for Friday-Sunday

The long but rewarding regular season of basketball came to an end last week for the Charles Hays Senior Boys, with a pair of victories over the  DP Todd Trojans from Prince George sending the Senior Rainmakers on to Zones on a winning note.

This weekend they will look to advance to Provincials, as they host the Northwest Zones with Smithers and Caledonia from Terrace in town to try and scupper the Charles Hays ambitions.

The Round Robin Double Knockout Showcase features at least four games of fast paced basketball through Friday and Saturday, with a Sunday date kept open just in case its required.

The 2020 Northwest Zones Schedule looks as follows:

Friday 2 PM -- Charles Hays 67 vs Caledonia 26

Friday 7 PM -- Charles Hays 71 vs Smithers 39

Saturday 10 AM -- Caledonia  68 vs Smithers 45

Saturday 5PM -- Charles Hays 87 vs Caledonia 37

Senior Boys Claim Northwest Zones and now move on to provincials in early March

If required there will be a Sunday match up at 1 PM to determine the Northwest Representative for the 75th Anniversary Season of Provincials set once again for the Langley Events Centre from March 4-7.

As long as the results keep coming our way we'll keep the scoreboard above updated through the weekend.

The Charles Hays Senior Boys are no doubt looking forward for the basketball mad crowd in Prince Rupert to pack the gym on the Prince Rupert Boulevard campus all weekend long, there in numbers to help push that home town advantage and the Rainmakers towards Provincials.

The Senior Boys will be the last of the Charles Hays Basketball teams looking to control their fate for the wrap up to the 2019-20 basketball season.

Earlier today we highlighted the travels south of the Junior Boys Rainmakers who start their Provincial tourney in Langley on Saturday.

Tomorrow, be sure to check the blog out for our look at the path ahead for the CHSS Senior Girls Rainmakers who will be heading south next week for their shot at Provincial Banner.

For more notes on CHSS athletics see our archive page here.

City hosts Child Care Action Plan Open House tonight at Lester Centre

Child Care in Prince Rupert is the theme for an Open House
tonight at the Lester Centre from 6-9 PM

Tonight's the night for a first glance at some of the work moving ahead towards creating a Child Care Action Plan in Prince Rupert, as the City of Prince Rupert hosts an Open House tonight at the Lester Centre of the Arts.

The Open House is part of a wider engagement process that has been underway, with the City releasing its Draft Study on Childcare earlier this month, providing the 47 page review of their findings to the public for review.

The project was compiled by Watson Projects, working in collaboration with the City of Prince Rupert, Kate Toye, Liliana Dragowska Planning and Engagement and Cherie Enns Consulting.

The Draft program came together following interviews and feedback with a number of participants including parents, children, child care providers, city staff, elected officials and other stakeholders.

We dug a little further into the information release of early February here.

Once you have had a chance to explore the Draft Plan and take in tonight's Open House, the City of Prince Rupert would like to hear from you.

Part of their engagement process includes this Child Care Survey, now available for participation on through the Rupert Talks platform.

As for tonight's Open House at the Lester Centre, those attending the event which takes place from 6 to 9PM, will hear about the success stories that have been found in other communities and if they wish can participate in the discussion on what residents in Prince Rupert may wish to see.

All of those that drop into the Open House tonight will be entered in a draw for a $500 RESP provided by Northern Savings.

You can learn more about tonight's event here, as well as from the City of Prince Rupert Facebook page.

For more items of interest on City of Prince Rupert initiatives see our archive page here.