ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2023 | VOL. 79 NO. 11
For all the news we couldn’t fit into print:
The only newspaper in the world that gives a tinker’s dam about the North Peace. Est. 1944
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WILDLIFE FINES
LOOKS TO REPEAT
Hudson’s Hope man sentenced for caging live wildlife
Huskies off to NWJHL finals to defending their 2022 title against Grande Prairie
LABOUR NEWS Site C workforce grows but so too does regional unemployment
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ROCK-A-BYE-KITTIES — The students at Ecole Central Elementary put on quite the show last week, their production of Disney’s The Aristocats KIDS presented to sold out audiences at the North Peace Cultural Centre March 8 and 9. Turn to page A14 to see more pictures from the show
‘Where’s the consequences, the fines, the penalties?’ Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca
CARE FOR ABBEYFIELD
100 Women charity group raises $33K for local seniors home NEWS h A3
REFLECTIONS ON... ... an unforgettable provincials for Bert Bowes basketball
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Health and property management officials were a no-show last Tuesday night, March 7, as two dozen Charlie Lake residents met to discuss a drinking water crisis in their mobile home park. Residents of Shady Acres say for three years they’ve been dealing with dangerous levels of manganese minerals in their water. Updated federal guidelines set maximum acceptable concentrations to 0.12 milligrams per litre in 2019 “to protect the health of Canadians,” and residents say local operators were told levels were too high and to fix the park’s water system in February 2020. But samples have consistently tested above allowable limits, even after a new treatment system was finally installed last year. Samples taken between May and October 2022 ranged from 1.2 and 2.0 mg/L, according to residents. In January of this year, samples tested at 1.8 mg/L — still more than 1,000 times above the limit. “How is it possible that three years later, literally al-
MATT PREPROST PHOTO
Residents of Shady Acres in Charlie Lake met at the community hall Tuesday, March 7, to discuss ongoing issues with their drinking water.
most to the day, we’re still in the same boat? Nothing’s been changed and nobody’s doing anything other than [saying] ‘we’re working on it’,” said Cassandra Ross, who organized the public meeting for concerned residents at the community hall. “Where’s the fire that needs to be lit?” she said. “Where’s the consequences, the fines, the penalties?” Though manganese is found naturally in the environment, too much can
have a serious effect on a person’s health. Chronic overexposure in contaminated water is a particular risk to infants, according to Health Canada, causing neurological and behavioural effects as well as deficits in memory, attention, and motor skills. Other research has found manganese toxicity affects the central nervous system, causing disorders similar to Parkinson’s disease, among other conditions. Residents at the meeting reported a foul
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sulphur smell in their water, and say it has been thinning out their hair and causing bald spots. Northern Health and Sterling Management Services, which runs the park, were invited to the meeting but weren’t in attendance. Residents were disappointed but not surprised; Ross says she’s even written to the premier’s office and health minister Adrian Dix to no avail.
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