Massive bread shipment arrives in northwest B.C.
More than 1,600 pounds of frozen bread arrived in Terrace Dec. 6, 2024, bound for distribution within the city and throughout the region.
The shipment of sliced and packaged sourdough, rye and other varieties came via Second Harvest, a national organization that distributes foods declared surplus for various reasons to avoid it being discarded.
Terrace woman raising money for puppy's surgery
Trigger, a seven-month-old purebred dwarf beagle, needed an expensive surgery on his front two legs before he turned eight months old.
"If he doesn't get the surgery, it's very likely that he will get arthritis at a super young age. He's already showing signs of discomfort and when he does run around, sometimes his paw gives out which is a sign of lameness," said Catherine Laforest, Trigger's owner.
Through donations and sales of handmade goods to friends and family, Laforest was able to get Trigger the surgery estimated at $5,000.
Red Chris Mine hospitality workers vote 99% to approve first union contract
Hospitality workers at the Red Chris copper-gold mine near the village of Iskut overwhelmingly voted in favour of their first union contract in December with UNITE HERE Local 40.
The contract, which 99 per cent of workers supported, establishes a new benchmark for wages and working conditions for camp workers in the province, according to the union.
Wages for camp workers will rise by more than 40 per cent over the next 18 months. Housekeepers at the mine will earn over $30 per hour by the end of the contract term. Work schedules will also be more manageable and equitable going forward, they said.
Help on way for undermanned RCMP detachments
The move to create a standalone police force in Surrey is making hundreds of RCMP officers now posted there available for duties elsewhere.
Exactly how many of the approximately 800 RCMP officers who are gradually turning over policing responsibilities to the Surrey Police Service may be available to fill vacancies is now being worked out, said Staff Sergeant Kris Clark who speaks for the RCMP in B.C.
Officer shortages ranging in the 20 per cent range to close to 30 per cent have been routinely reported in Terrace in the past several years, a situation that has frustrated Terrace city council members who raise the matter constantly with provincial officials.
New funding announced to attract livestock veterinarians to northern B.C.
The B.C. government says ranchers and farmers in northern B.C. will get more timely and better access to animal care with a new program to attract and retain livestock veterinarians.
The program will help existing veterinary clinics that provide livestock care to recruit and retain vets and registered veterinary technologists. The clinics will also receive funding for equipment and training. Each clinic can receive a maximum of $25,000, which they can use in a variety of ways:
- hiring bonuses for new veterinarians and technologists who commit to contracts of one year or longer (up to $25,000);
- recruiting expenses in the form of advertising, recruitment services and travel expenses for interviews (up to $5,000);
- software and training to improve a clinic's telemedicine capacity (up to $3,000);
- support for local planning for sustainably delivering vet services in under-serviced areas (up to $10,000);
- and herd health services or extra staffing during calving and lamb season (up to $25,000).
Skeena region Christmas tree farm owner scales back business
Don Coburn, owner of Skeena Valley Christmas Tree Farm, is scaling down the business after years of supplying the region and province.
"Next year, it'll be for local people, just the U-cut. Hopefully I'll have a enough," Coburn shared. Since he had an excess of trees for a few years, he did not plant as many.
Coburn is unsure how long he will stay in the business.
"I don't really know, but it's fun. There's no money to be made basically, but it's fun to do. As long as I can hobble around and hire people I guess."
Coburn scaling down the farm will have a ripple affect in B.C.s northern communities, but for local residents, the Christmas tradition of going to his farm to cut their own tree will continue.
