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MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013
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City looking for feedback on drain fee
Charelle EVELYN Citizen staff cevelyn@pgcitizen.ca
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CITIZEN PHOTO BY DAVID MAH
Cadet Caleb Reurink, 14, of the 2618 Rocky Mountain Ranger Army Cadet Corps, and four other cadets placed Canadian flags by graves of veterans Saturday at the Memorial Park Cemetery.
Flags for the fallen
Arthur WILLIAMS Citizen staff awUliams@pgcitizen.ca
Canadian flags mark the graves of soldiers who served their country in times of war at the Memorial Park Cemetery.
The flags were placed by members of the 2618 Rocky Mountain Ranger Army Cadet Corps on Saturday to commemorate the service of Prince George’s veterans ahead of Remembrance Day on Nov. 11.
“It means a lot to me. It reminds us why exactly we do what we do,” cadet Master Cpl. Jordan Morrell said. “It brings us closer to those who did sacrifice their lives. Some of us are pursuing a military occupation, so this is sort of special because of that.”
Officer Cadet Gary Archibald said it is important to remind younger generations of the courage and sacri-
fice of Canadian soldiers and military personnel - especially as there are fewer and fewer Second World War and Korean War veterans still alive to speak about their experiences.
“It brings up their awareness of part of what the cadet movement is all about. Some of the younger cadets don’t have a feel of what remembrance means,” Archibald said.
“Anything we can do to improve that is good.”
For Archibald there was personal meaning in the Saturday’s ceremony. His father’s grave stone was one of the dozens that received a flag.
Leonard Archibald served with the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps from 1940 to 1945 and achieved the rank of sub-conductor of ordnance.
In addition, Archibald’s son is a master corporal in the regular forces serving with a field ambulance group and did a tour in Afghanistan.
Archibald’s daughter is an army reservist in Prince George with the Rocky Mountain Rangers.
“From the time I could walk, Remembrance Day was a special day in my house,” Archibald said.
The cadet corps will be taking part in the annual Remembrance Day parade, but are also expecting to participate in a church parade prior to Remembrance Day. The church parade takes place in the cemetery and, “honours veterans in their place,” Archibald said.
Memorial Park Cemetery caretaker Linda Wilson said the city-run cemetery was pleased to help honour Prince George residents who have served and sacrificed for their country.
“We get some people who come and look for markers [of veteran’s graves],” she said. “We feel it’s important that people don’t forget.”
Uncertainty over larger storm events and the need to stay on top of aging infrastructure are among the issues the public is being asked to take into consideration when giving input into a proposed new utility fee.
Residents are asked to give their feedback to a plan to create a separate utility fee to manage drainage from snow and rainwater. The proposed rate structure is based on a tiered framework, where properties are charged according to their amount of impervious (or hard) surface area, such as driveways, roofs and parking lots. The average single-family home has about 313 square metres of impervious area, as measured by the consultants at AECOM. That base rate would be about $85.20 per year, with properties categorized as small charged
$57.74 and [The] base rate would be about $85.20 per year, with properties categorized as small charged $57.74 and large properties $116.22.
large properties $116.22.
Non-resi-dential properties would be charged the average rate of $85.20 per 313 square metres of non-impervious area.
Residential properties would pay about 52 per cent of the utility, which is projected to need an average of $3.8 million per year over five years to cover all expenses including operating, capital and reinvestment costs.
One of the advantages of having a separate fund outside of the general tax levy is there’s an element of transparency, said AECOM project manager Nancy Hill. “There’s no sense of, ‘Where are my tax dollars going?’” she said.
Roughly 80 per cent of homes are considered to fall into the average category, and the tiered system means small improvements such as adding a shed or a patio isn’t likely to move a property into another rate class, said Hill.
Some sites in the city already have mitigation tools, such as tension ponds at UNBC or the casino’s infiltration system that takes their storm water and puts it back into the ground.
One of the issues where the team putting together the bylaw for council’s approval is looking for input on is whether there should be some sort of rebate system for properties with some kind of system in place and what it should look like, said Gina Layte-Liston, city wastewater collection supervisor.
—see BILL, page 3
BodyBreak pair offer ways to keep fit, have fun
Charelle EVELYN Citizen staff cevelyn@pgcitizen.ca
They may have felt guilty for indulging in dessert the night before, but Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod were unrepentant in their enthusiasm for healthy living.
That attitude set up the pair, made famous by their BodyBreak fitness television spots, as a fitting and popular draw for Sunday’s Healthier You Expo at the Civic Centre.
“You’re so lucky Prince George, you have an amazing playground to be active in,” said McLeod.
Johnson and McLeod’s hour-long presentation in front of a full house outlined a variety of ways people can keep fit and have fun, interspersed with personal anecdotes about their 25-year healthy-living partnership and their experience on the Amazing Race Canada.
“It was really about trying to get all Cana-
dians - regardless of your ethnicity, regardless of your ability, of where you lived in Canada - all Canadians can live work and play together,” said Johnson.
“And that really was the essence of BodyBreak and why we thought we could bring it together.”
The seventh annual event was put on by The Citizen, Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond and the Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society.
In addition to the headliners, the expo also featured presentations on topics such as: a gluten-free diet by Candice Manahan; yoga for seniors by Emma Faulkner; stress prevention by Dr. Faiza Jabbar; wellness in the workplace by Kerensa Medhurst; and diabetes prevention by Dr. Tahir Chaudhry.
Bond said she was pleased with the turnout.
“It’s been busy right from the beginning,” she said.
— see THEME, page 3
CITIZEN PHOTOS BY DAVID MAH
Hal Johnston and Joanne MacLeod appeared at the Healthier You Expo Sunday. For more images of the expo, turn to page 17.
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