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Had the opportunity to chat with an old buddy last week who has moved, somewhat, to the national stage. As the Tribal Chair of the Tsilhqot’in National Government, which is at the epicenter of the landmark Supreme Court ruling on aboriginal title, Joe Alphonse is moving more into the spotlight. I’ve known Joe for a long time. We’ve had some battles, debates, and I’ve quoted him many, many times (some of them might have even been accurate). One time Joe and the rest of the Tsilhqot’in chiefs...

VICTORIA – The B.C. government has made a formal apology in the legislature to the Tsilhqot’in Nation for the arrest and hanging of six of its war chiefs at Quesnel in 1864. Tsilhqot’in tribal chair Chief Joe Alphonse and vice-chair Chief Roger William visited the legislature Thursday to hear Premier Christy Clark make a formal statement on the historic events often referred to as the Chilcotin War or the Bute Inlet massacre. The Tsilhqot’in Nation’s historical...

Roy Spooner has been named Prince George Citizen of the Year. “I was very surprised – and honoured to be chosen,” said Spooner on Wednesday. “I think the most important thing that happened Friday – next to my family members saying I deserved it after all my hard work – was when fellow nominee Andrew Burton [Street Spirits] came up to me after the announcement. “He told me the award was well deserved and that if it wasn’t for people like me, he couldn’t do the work that he does. That comment...

Opposition Finance Critic Nathan Cullen will be in Prince George Friday to encourage area residents to pressure MPs Dick Harris and Bob Zimmer to get onside with British Columbians who want to ban oil supertankers from North Coast waters. “We’ve set ourselves a goal of 100 days to collect 100,000 signatures to convince 10 BC Conservative MPs to support this proposed legislation that would put a full and final stop to the Enbridge Northern Gateway project,” Cullen said. “Enbridge will...

Editor: Well done Prince George. What an amazing second annual Inside Ride in Prince George that took place at John McInnis Centre. We bicycled hard and raised the roof with enthusiasm. Thank you to all participants for making it such a success. To date we have raised $18,742.79 with money still coming in. Thank you to Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation for choosing the Canadian Cancer Society Camp Goodtimes as a charity to support. Camp Goodtimes is an internationally acclaimed...

Editor: On Saturday, October 18, I attended the debate between UNBC’s Todd Whitcombe and Paul Connett, a peripatetic American billed as an expert on fluoride as applied to drinking water. Both men hold PhDs in chemistry but they have diametrically opposed views on addition of this element to our water supply. Before the debate, Dr. Connett, who makes a crusade of opposing fluoride, gave a 90-minute lecture complete with PowerPoint graphics and quotations. We were overwhelmed with statistics...

Editor: The gist of my last letter was that if you didn’t have an Anglo-Norman name you probably wouldn’t become mayor of Prince George. So, Mr. Hall will probably be mayor. Once, way back when one of those political scientists up at the university said I was a thinking man, what was I thinking? Actually, I wasn’t thinking. That last letter was penned with my right hand. This letter is penned with my left hand so perhaps I’ll be in my right mind for a change. Mr. Zurowski hasn’t got an...