Santa Claus comes to town
And potential unmarked graves at a residential school site west of town
Hope you’re enjoying shoveling! I was trying to figure out why I felt like I’d been working out yesterday and realized I’d done several loads of snow, plus helped push a guy who was stuck on the street for about half a block (he kept getting stuck…. buy your winter tires, folks) — plus the core workout of just being in the snow walking around. Here’s a thread of people trying to measure how much snow fell.
I also headed downtown for the Santa Claus parade which was a huge success, bringing out by my estimate at least 3,000 people and quite likely more than 4,000. Then there was the skating rink downtown and basically it was a Hallmark movie — I don’t have a lot more to add that wasn’t already in Darrin Rigo’s newsletter but, yeah, it gives you a glimpse of what our downtown could be. And it again, really, emphasizes to me the value of moving the visitor centre to the plaza…. on the one hand, sure, people in RVs might be less likely to stop by. On the other hand, you have families taking their kids out to skate and play hockey in the city centre which is maybe less valuable for the tourist stopping by for 15 minutes but much more valuable to anyone with grandchildren visiting over the holidays or locals looking for winter activities. Again, it’s about what you feel the primary function should be — serving tourists taking a bathroom break or enticing people to stay a little longer and generally have a better experience with a longer-term stay? Anyways, here’s some pictures of the parade, plaza and Festival of Trees:
That’s the mayor beside Rowdy Cat.
City councillors Brian Skakun and Cori Ramsay’s dogs.
More photos of the festive weekend:
Potential unmarked graves identified at B.C.'s Lejac residential school: First Nation:
The First Nation has always known children were buried at the church-run institution because many of their graves were marked in a cemetery that had been there since 1922, when the school opened. However, the survey's findings suggest a number of unmarked graves as well, said Nadleh Whut'en Chief Beverly Ketlo at a news conference.
…
An estimated 7,850 Indigenous children were forced to attend the residential school, which operated about 140 kilometres west of Prince George, B.C., from 1922 until 1976, according to the nation.
The story that always sticks with me about Lejac is the fact that it made national headlines in 1937 when four boys, all under ten, tried to runaway and froze to death. This prompted a public backlash and multiple investigations that uncovered evidence of abuse in the residential school system and yet, reforms weren’t made, and the residential school system carried on as the story fell out of the spotlight for nearly a century.
News roundup:
Snow to cease in Prince George, but rain to follow. BOOOOOO!!!
As previously mentioned, council is meeting tonight. City Council to discuss downtown public washroom access.
Budget survey shows Prince George taxpayers want status quo spending in 2025.
Tourism Industry Night in Prince George spotlights ‘regenerative tourism’.
Tickets remain for Dream Home lottery to support the Prince George Hospice.
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Send feedback by emailing northerncapitalnews@gmail.com. Find me online at akurjata.ca.
https://open.substack.com/pub/billionairbear/p/santa-lets-get-the-story-straight?r=1g5bw0&utm_medium=ios