Know it now
HAIDA GWAII—A fragment of the famed Golden Spruce, the much celebrated tree which was leveled in a bizarre act of ecoterrorism, has made its way into a high-profile musical instrument which was played during Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill and presented to Canada as a gift. George Rizsanyi, of Pinehurst, Nova Scotia, received the wood from the Haida after a special ceremony. He incorporated it into his hand-crafted “Six String Nation” guitar, which incorporates 64 historically charged pieces of wood from all over Canada.
HAIDA GWAII – The president of the Haida Nation will be honoured July 19 with a major award for indigenous leadership. Guujaaw will be presented with a $25,000 award by Ecotrust, at a ceremony in Portland, Oregon.x
FRASER LAKE – A Worksafe B.C. investigation recently concluded that the June 24, 2005 death of millworker Manuel DaSilva was due to multiple causes. The investigation found that a lubricant bin, estimated to weigh more than 3,400 kilograms, was improperly jacked. The bin was being lifted when it toppled and pinned DaSilva between the wall and another bin.
SMITHERS – Helena, the cougar who was rescued as a cub from the Kelowna forest fires of 2004, is getting a new lease on life. Thanks to a $10,000 donation in June to the Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter in Smithers (by a woman who prefers only to be known as A. Kossegg), the cougar will be given a permanent enclosure to live in. Had funds not materialized by July 1, the cougar would have faced death, on order of wildlife authorities.
VANDERHOOF – Construction will begin this summer for the first of TallOil Canada Inc.’s four wood pellet plants planned for north-central B.C. The company also intends to build plants in Fraser Lake and Quesnel. They’re seen as part of B.C.’s new bioenergy development strategy, which hopes to develop new uses for beetle-killed timber.
NORTHWEST – Twenty-four police officers will be setting out Sept. 6 from Prince George on the Canadian Cancer Society’s Tour de North. The seven-day tour will cover more than 826 km between Prince George, Fort St. John and Prince Rupert to raise money for research and support for children with cancer.
BURNS LAKE – The artistic traditions of the Lake Babine Nation have found their way into the collection of a high-profile fan. Larry Rosso, a native of Burns Lake who now calls Richmond home, recently sold four of his northwest coast cedar bent-wood boxes to jazz diva Diana Krall. Rosso cites carvers Lloyd Wadhams, Amos Dawson and Robert Davidson as the source of his inspiration and training.
TELKWA – A residents’ group is insisting that the B.C. government allow adequate time for residents to become informed about, and meaningfully participate in, the decision-making process around the development of coal bed methane in the Telkwa area. Citizens Concerned About Coal Bed Methane supports the local Community Resource Board’s request to extend the public information process—currently scheduled to end in early August—to November 15, to allow the community to become adequately informed.
VANDERHOOF – Vanderhoof residents are justifiably proud of Carla Funk’s appointment in June as the first poet laureate of the City of Victoria. Currently, only six Canadian cities have poets laureate. Funk, who teaches creative writing at the University of Victoria, marked the occasion at Victoria City Council chambers by reciting The Sewing Room, a poem inspired by her mother and her Mennonite upbringing in Vanderhoof.
TERRACE – In a disciplinary hearing in June, Terrace RCMP officer Corporal Brendan McKenna received a formal reprimand and forfeited five days’ pay after being convicted of using excessive force. McKenna ordered a subordinate, Const. Bryden Hennessey, to taser a man in custody who was suspected of driving while impaired and refusing to be fingerprinted. The man was tasered three times. Both officers were also charged criminally and convicted of assault, and ordered to do community service hours.
By: Amos Rosso
20 January 2008