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| The historic Grace United Church in Lax Kw'alaams was destroyed by fire early Saturday morning (photo from Grace United Church Facebook) |
Residents of Lax Kw'alaams are in shock this evening, following an early morning fire in the community that has destroyed a North Coast landmark.
Grace United Church, a fixture in the community which traces its history back to the 1800's was reported to officials as on fire shortly before 5:30 this morning.
The Lax Kw'alaams Fire First Responders arrived on scene to the structure ablaze and while working hard through the early morning hours the building was quickly consumed by the blaze.
Social media has been accumulating a growing list of material related to the fire, including photos and videos added through the day; that as Lax Kw'alaams members share their memories of the many purposes that the Church provided for in the community.
Some of the remembrances note of the history of the Church, the current one a replacement of one which also suffered a fire in 1934.
The Pacific Mountain Regional Council of the United Church of Canada has shared word of the sad news from Lax Kw'alaams through their website.
The fire call came with the community in the midst of a water advisory, with the Lax Kw'alaams Band having issued a notice for residents to conserve water on Friday owing to a water supply issue from the water plant.
Maintenance workers were continuing their efforts for repairs today, with water for home consumption having been scheduled for arrival earlier today.
There were no injuries reported from the fire, the RCMP has noted that the incident is considered suspicious.
The accounts of the community can be explored through Facebook
For more notes related to Lax Kw'alaams see our archive page here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
The final report for the week from Doctor Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix did not stray much from the pattern of the last five days, with a case count in the low 500's and an update on the provincial vaccination program that continues to slow down as supplies dwindle.
Today's report streamed live from Vancouver as the two top health officials covered a range of themes.
“Today, we are reporting 514 new cases, including six epi-linked cases, for a total of 66,779 cases in British Columbia.“Any travel beyond your local community, unless it is absolutely essential for work or medical care, is strongly discouraged right now. This applies to everyone in British Columbia and anyone considering a visit to our province. Now is not the time to travel.
We all need to hold off on our travel plans until we can be sure we won’t be bringing the virus with us or bringing it back to our families and communities.
Our layers of protection are a combination of the provincial public health restrictions, our personal actions and precautions, and supporting each other to do the right thing – with no exception. This combined effort is what will push our curve down.
By working together while staying part and always following the measures we have in place, we are able to keep our restaurants open, our ski hills open, our kids going to school and to keep our health-care system working.
This time is about each of us choosing to do all we can. This is what allows us to keep as much as is safe open and also slow the spread of COVID-19. Staying apart, small and local. That’s the path we need to stay on right now.”
You can can review more of today's COVID statement here.
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| BC CDC data for British Columbia as of January 29 2021 |
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| BC CDC data for Northern Health Region as of January 29 2021 |
You can learn more about the outbreak from both the Province and the Federal government from the links below:
Federal Government site
British Columbia Government site
The World Health Organization website also offers up the latest advisories on the global situation.
More from Northern Health can be reviewed here
You can review our archive of past statements and local information here.
Local governments and organizations have also provided for increased awareness of COVID-19 issues, those past advisories can be reviewed here.
For notes from across Canada and British Columbia we have been archiving the latest items through our political portal Darcy McGee
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| Northern Health has updated the situation at Acropolis Manor with the sad news of two more passings |
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| Development of a 'downtown area' of commercial options for Port Edward was part of an expansive community survey that wrapped up earlier this month |
Consideration of how the District of Port Edward may look in the future is well underway, as members of the District Council received a report this week into the findings from a fairly extensive community survey.
A consultation period which came to an end in mid January has provided Port Edward Council members with some reading material for the next little while, with the results and a large volume of comments now in from the Harbourview Neighbourhood Concept Plan.
As we noted in December, the proposed area for developing is in the area of the current General Store, with a wider footprint of commercial development a possibility should the District move forward after reviewing the findings.
In total, 28 participants provided for some feedback, responding a range of questions and offering up many observations, comments and suggestions along the way.
Among them the opening talking point as to whether it's important for Port Edward to have a Downtown or Common, central focus point for the community, with more than 80 percent of the respondents saying yes.
When it comes to what Port Edward residents would like to see in the way of commercial services, the prospect of such amenities as a Grocery Store, Take out or Dine In Restaurants, Delicatessen, Coffee shop or food trucks were favoured by 93 percentage, with seven percent having no opinion one way or the other.
Towards those options the largest response indicated a preference for a grocery store or convenience store, with Take Out food options also a popular theme.
The concept of providing for a public gathering space such as a plaza or square, as well as development of a boardwalk, pier or walking trails found much approval as well, with over 92 percent agreeing that those elements would be worth exploring for the community.
Holding on to some of the character of the District was also part of the survey, with 92 percent of those participating stating that was a theme that should be noted by Council.
Adding to community options is also seen as key to attracting and retaining workers and residents for the District, with only one reply disagreeing with the idea of expanding amenities to attract residents.
Of the larger number who believe such measures are required, the two key themes were for more commercial options and an expansion of housing in the District.
Other themes explored included what shape the downtown core could take and how the downtown should also connect to the waterfront, allowing the District to make for more use of that area of town.
How to create more features and attractions for tourism also gained some interesting feedback, with both the existing features of the District and some new ideas such as an expansion of hiking trails and beach access among the themes provided.
The District's survey also included a Vision Statement that notes the District would like to "Create a focal point for the community that provides a strong sense of place that draws the community together and becomes a significant asset that aids in the sustainable, long term economic development for the District"
In reply, 85 percent endorsed that sentiment, while fifteen percent weren't quite sure.
You can explore all of the data, including a wealth of information from the comments sections through the Agenda of the Port Edward Council session from Tuesday.
The themes and potential action on the results of the survey will make for more than a few conversations for the District in the months to come.
For more notes related to the District of Port Edward see our archive page here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
Thursday night Mayor Lee Brain offered the condolences of the City and larger community through his civic Facebook page, a forum which has also allowed for some residents to offer their own words of support for the family, as well as the residents and staff at Acropolis Manor.
Yesterday, the City of Prince Rupert offered a reminder to residents of the range of protocols in place when it comes to conducting business at City Hall and some of the options available for social distancing when it comes to civic functions.
The Prince Rupert School District will provide for the first instalment of a three month process of consultation towards their 2021 Budge preparation next month, with the First of three public engagement opportunities to take place on Thursday, February 4th.
The meeting will provide for the opportunity to provide some input towards the preliminary budget discussion for 2021-22 and give the School Board trustees and officials an indication towards community interest and concerns towards the budget.
To participate contact Tamara Dickens at tamara.dickens@sd52.bc.ca to request the zoom link if you wish to be involved.
The February 4th session, will be followed two weeks later by a Partner Group Presentation session, with the Annual Budget Consultation process continuing on into March and session scheduled for March 29th.
Updates on the process ahead will be relayed through the SD52 website and Rupert Schools Social media streams.
The next SD52 Board meeting for regular business is scheduled for Tuesday, February 9th.
More notes on education in the Prince Rupert area can be explored from our archive page.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
The most recent update to the BC CDC / Northern Health COVID exposure listings is that for Gudangaay Tlaats'gaa Naay Secondary School in Masset, the exposure alert was added to the data base for all Schools in British Columbia today.
The Exposure date is listed as having been on January 22nd 2021.
So far, there has been no further information related to the advisory posted to any of the School District 50 information sharing options.
SD50 Facebook
SD50 website
Gudangaay Tlaats'gaa Naay Secondary School Facebook
The listing of the Haida Gwaii school, makes for the latest in a string of similar advisories issued across Northwestern British Columbia, with SD52 in Prince Rupert currently in the midst of a multi school exposure situation since mid month.
For more notes on Education across the Northwest see our archive page here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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| When it comes to public Council meetings these days, for the most part residents have been taken back to the days of radio, with audio only participation by Council members |
The members of Prince Rupert City Council have been giving some attention these last few days towards how they can further engage with the community during these unusual circumstances of COVID.
The collective seemingly enthusiastic to show of the work done with consultants iPlan in recent months towards the Official Community Plan.
That wide ranging revision to the current document making for one area of effort where there is some desire to find a way to work through the measures of COVID to share the new version and vision forward.
As we noted yesterday, Council is hopeful of returning to some kind of a community engagement process of a Public Hearing, mulling over the situation at Monday's Council session, though it's a plan that has for now been deferred at least month as they play it by ear to see how the measures from the province evolve.
However, if they want to get a head start on sharing word of their work, they may want to reconsider how they present it every two weeks.
With the current call it in theme to the meetings put in place with the November 23rd session making for a less than efficient process of providing for the Regular City Council sessions twice a month and an approach that pales in comparison to how other communities keep their residents informed.
For Council their communication strategy of late, is one that appears to have Prince Rupert taking a rather throw back approach to the golden age of radio style of communication.
For those that follow the city's governance through the City of Prince Rupert You Tube video archives, the only instrument of community engagement between Council and its residents has been to have the Mayor and Senior staff gather in the Council Chambers; the mayor seemingly taking on the role of our new talk show host, with the Council members calling in their contributions, some apparently with more to share for the public than others.
In other communities around the Northwest, when it comes to the Regular Council meeting and in some cases a range of other official gatherings, the approach that has been taken is quite varied.
Some still meet in person or in a hybrid style complete with social distancing measures and public participation by video conference, others follow the same template as Prince Rupert though with some significant changes.
That with the Mayor and senior staff in the Council chamber, but they then take the communication plan to the current century, with a giant Zoom style wall of Council members and others scheduled to make a presentation on the night brought in with a video stream.
Terrace City Council
District of Kitimat Council
Smithers Town Council
By comparison, Prince Rupert has travelled back in time to the days of the CityTel Party line, with clicks and clacks, lots of ambient noise from the home offices and a less than helpful audio presentation, one that at times leaves some of the contributions of the Council members somewhat lost in translation.
Considering that the City of Prince Rupert is the sole shareholder in a growing Northwest Communication company, the standard of presentation at the moment probably isn't the best advertisement for the city's investment.
As for the continuity of the council session, the audio only concept does not seem to foster much in the way engagement from the Council members.
While a few do venture into the mix of discussion, since the shift away from the in the building meetings, the participation level of the membership has seen some decline and the opportunity for a flow in back and forth discussion for the most part is lost as council members wait for a cue or a chance to jump in to the mix.
Among the many concerns that the current communication plan provides for, the largest of them is that the public has been for the most part put to the sidelines since October.
With the Committee of the Whole process, which allows for public participation either eliminated as it was this month, or reduced to having residents send the corporate administrator a letter or email which she would read out for the record.
As well, the current approach of audio only, and the reticence it seems of some council members to join in on the conversation, means that on any given Council night we have no real indication as to who may or may not be in attendance.
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| If Social distancing is a concern for City Council, one option may be to take their Council sessions to a larger venue which offers the space for the membership to at least gather in person again. |
With the COVID Related Measures seemingly to be with us for a fair bit of time yet, City Council should start to consider some new ideas when it comes to providing for the record of their public sessions.
That could mean some consideration to taking the meetings to a larger venue such as the Civic Centre or Lester Centre, where a wider zone of social distancing could be put in place, as well both facilities are also wired up, to allow for the continuation of the streaming of the City Council proceedings.
Or, if they are still of mind to keep some physical distance, an upgrade to the way the currently do things might be worth considering, taking the plunge and adding video and some way to include the public into the process every two weeks.
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| The gang's not all here ... Council has been meeting remotely over the last few months owing to COVID-19 |
As they do now, they should continue to stream their work live on the city website and perhaps consider using the City of Prince Rupert Facebook feed, much like Smithers does, to provide for wider distribution of the live stream of their public sessions.
On Monday night, Mayor Brain offered up a comment for Council to reflect that he wasn't keen on using such technology as Zoom for Public Hearings, though he didn't expand too much on those hesitations and whether he extends those thoughts to the delivery of Regular Council sessions as well.
Having Prince Rupert's Council members take a tour of the options used by other Northwest communities could provide for an interesting look towards how they have managed to remain engaged with the public.
The key item of note being the much larger volume of monthly meetings that are held and the length of time Council puts into sessions than those found in Prince Rupert.
Along with a much wider level of past material available by way of video archive for the public to review when it comes to that work.
If the Council members want to make sure that they aren't perceived as a distant group that is working often in closed sessions and out of sight of the public; then they may want to actually find a way to be front and centre at least twice a month (if not more) and maybe begin to expand on what they are willing to share with the public.
You can review Monday's Council session from our Council Timeline feature here.
All of our notes on the past Council sessions can be reviewed through our archive page.
A wider overview of past Council Discussions is available on our Council Discussion page.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
