Opinion

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...

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...

Whenever I see emails in my inbox from Humane Society International, I try not to open them. I know reading them is going to be painful. Brutal. Sometimes, I leave them until the end of the day so that I can be informed without being sick to my stomach. The issue is an emotional one for a lot of people. One that tugs at my heartstrings no matter how hard I try to turn the other way or how deep into the tar sands I bury my head. I pray that it will go away but prayer doesn’t always...

Where in the world can you hear about Cottagers, Gunners and Monkey Hangers all within a few minutes? Well, if you’re listening to a football (soccer) update from the United Kingdom, those are three team nicknames you might hear. Admittedly, there are a lot of teams over there with rather … well … boring nicknames. There are a lot of Blues, for instance, who wear home uniforms (or kit, as they call it in the United Kingdom) which are, yes, blue. The group of teams called...

As spring takes its slow path into summer; the dreams of gardens bursting with flowers and vegetables are constantly on the minds of many.  We now actually believe summer will arrive. The process begins with the general cleanup of the debris left behind from last year.  There are lawns that have to be cleared of the evergreen cones and the last leaves of autumn, which refused to leave the trees until well after the first snow was on the ground.  This is when many of us realize we are...

I have to start this week with what may have been the most dangerous Blacktop Blockhead I have seen in some time. On Tuesday evening, I was driving on Victoria Street. I came to the lights at Seventh Avenue. It was red, so I stopped, as did the vehicle next to me. A few seconds later, the light turns green, and we both proceed. I can see the light at Sixth Avenue is red and is probably going to stay that way, so I start to ease off the gas well ahead of time. The vehicle beside me, however,...

Editor: We are writing this letter in regards to the impending abrupt closure of the Dental Studies Programs at the College of New Caledonia.  We are strongly urging the President and the Board of Governors of CNC to reconsider the closure of the Dental Hygiene and Dental Assisting programs. Both of these programs represent jewels in the dental education community and are involved in serving the entire Northern half of the province with well-trained dental professionals. Closure will create...

Editor: Please help us get the word out Bill C-51 must be stopped. If this bill is allowed to go through, within a few short years we will lose every freedom we currently enjoy. This bill will open the door to more drastic abuse from our government and the corporations that control them. In this day when a large percentage of Canadians have access to Internet, all people should have the right to vote on any and all bills, corporate contracts and any thing else that will effect the people of...

  Paul Strickland Special to the Free Press New trade agreements further contribute to the trend toward dissolving national boundaries and removing protections for Canada’s labour force. Corporations show no loyalty to the safe, stable country that helped them build up their holdings to the point that they could compete internationally. Despite some changes last year, negative impacts from the Temporary Foreign Worker Program continue. This is at a time of a 13-per-cent youth...

I feel like I’m in the dentist’s chair. Waiting in suspended silence with my dry mouth draped and dammed. I can’t talk. Every attempt to speak is blocked by warm black latex and muffled by the hiss of a suction tube. The anticipation is the worst part. I know this latest session is likely to put me in at least some pain no matter how much freezing goes into my gums or roof of my mouth. I’ve decided that I have sensitive teeth. Or maybe I’m just sensitive. The dentist is off in another...