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It is truly a sad day for us here at the Prince George Free Press, and for the community of Prince George. As of May 1, the Prince George Free Press will cease publishing. The first issue of the Free Press hit the streets on October 31, 1994 and the last issue today, May 1, 2015 … just over 20 years of telling the stories of Prince George. But it’s sad for the community as well. Two newspapers is good for a community. Having two newspapers provides readers with different perspectives on the...

Back before computers ruled the day in newspaper offices, reporters would type -30- at the end of each story. It was done to inform the typesetters that they had reached the end of the story. Well … this is the end. Friday is the final issue of the Prince George Free Press. Aberdeen Publishing owner Bob Doull announced to staff Thursday that the Free Press will cease publishing as of May 1. The reason? Declining revenues. “It’s not the fault of anyone at the paper,” he said. “We had...

They were playing for a different team, based in a different city, playing on a different continent, under different rules. But for three local lacrosse players, those differences didn’t mean much when they came home with gold medals. Jamie Bellamy, Andrew Schwab and Pierce Watson all play for the Devils in the Prince George Senior Men’s Lacrosse League, but last week they were playing for the Vancouver Pioneers in a tournament in Prague, Czech Republic. “I played junior lacrosse with their...

Kenny Lally will have a familiar face in his corner for his next boxing match. “I’ll be fighting in May in Regina,” the local boxer said, “and (coach) Bob (Pegues) has his daughter and grandkids there, so he’s making the trip with me, and will be in my corner.” The event in May is a doubleheader, with members of the Canadian team squaring off against American fighters. “We fight at the Ken Goff Memorial the first night, which is a big dinner show, and then I face the same guy a couple of...

The Wheelin’ Warriors of the North are getting ready to roll, but first they have to eat. The local cycling team, which will take part in the Ride to Conquer Cancer in August, is hosting its annual Free Wheelin’ dinner and dance tomorrow, May 2 at the Treasure Cove. “It’s been a hectic week,” team captain Karen Piche says. “The tickets for the dinner are pretty well sold out.” The dinner features a silent auction, with items such as a family...

The Best Damn Little Art Auction Ever has gotten too big for its original home. After being held the past two years at the Groop Gallery, the auction will be held tonight (May 1) in the Keith Gordon Room at the Prince George Public Library. “It wasn’t so much there was too much art,” Groop Gallery owner Melanie Desjardines said, “as there were too many people for safety. There was only one exit from the room we were holding it in.” So the Community Arts Council started looking for a new...

Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne took his audience on a joyful journey into the deep South last Thursday night at Shiraz Cafe and Restaurant. With songs like Kansas City, Georgia on My Mind, New Orleans and, my request, Rainy Night in Georgia, the award-winning boogie-woogie piano player put on a great show and gained a few new fans along the way. During the break, a woman visiting from Fort St. James came up to Wayne during the break and invited him to play in their community. He also got a few...

It is incredibly incongruous that just three days after the College of New Caledonia board made the agonizing decision to student intakes for the dental assistant and dental hygiene programs and suspend the Aboriginal Early Childhood Education on-line program that Victoria gives the college $330,496. The money won’t help the dental program. Instead it is going to fund 64 trade seats to reduce wait times for students entering an “in-demand” trade profession. Apparently dental hygienists and...

Right now, there are 15 secondary-school classes in School District 57 which are over the 30-student limit established by the School Act. Superintendent Brian Pepper says that number is higher than it has been recently, but not out of line. “It’s higher than we’ve had the past couple of semesters, but I would call it the high side of usual.” He says in some cases the class is designed so the instructor actually prefers more students. “It may be a peer helping class, or a leadership class,...