Issuu

Friday, March 29, 2019 | Your community newspaper since 1916

Still-working realtor celebrates 90th Kathy NADALIN Special to The Citizen Prince George developer and commercial property real estate agent Harry Backlin is celebrating his 90th birthday today. Harry said, “I wanted to take a trip and just go away for my 90th birthday but my friends and family had other ideas for me. They were busy putting together a surprise party for an all-inclusive evening at the Moxies Lounge and since Moxies is a special place for me, I agreed to stay and take in the party.” Harry was born in 1929 in Sandy Lake, Man. He completed high school and went on to university in Winnipeg because his father wanted him to be a doctor. He attended the University of Manitoba medical program for two years and decided a career as a doctor was not for him. His father suggested that he should study to be a teacher so he attended the Winnipeg College of Teachers. There were 380 students studying to become teachers and in no time at all the popular Harry was elected as the student body president. He earned his diploma and taught Grades 1 to 8 at his hometown rural school for the next three years. He walked to and from school as the teacher. His father was a business man, a notary public, an auctioneer, a real estate agent and a member of the local school board. Harry went back to university to be a professor, earned his bachelor of arts degree and went on to law school to become a lawyer. — see ‘HE IS A LEGEND, page 3

CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

Local real estate agent and developer Harry Backlin turns 90 on Friday.

Pump station completion coming UNBC to honour none too soon for Vellencher residents Archibald, Brink Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca

Citizen staff

A final loose end on the project to improve water service to the Hart will soon be tied off, according to the city. Construction of a new pump station off Vellencher Road will be completed next month, city spokesperson Mike Kellett said, following a year-long delay caused by provincewide supply delays and issues with the equipment. Completing the project will come none too soon for Tara Bleich and Sandy Thomas. Both own homes on Vellencher bordering on where the work has been taking place and have had to put up with their share of hardship as a result. For a year-and-a-half, Bleich said she had been denied access to her workshop facing out onto the alley behind her home. It is where she stores her all-terrain vehicles. Moreover, Bleich said workers had set up a large generator with spotlights and let it run around the clock. The lights would shine through the window of her daughter’s bedroom and her house would shake from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Saturday. “It was just ridiculous,” she said. After about four months, the city agreed to move the generator

Today’s Weather Hi +5° Low -3° See page 2 for more details and short-term forecasts

CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

Construction of a new pump station on Vellencher Road off will be completed next month. to a spot behind the pump station which muffled the sound. “But now they have the lights on the building that shine into our house, all night long,” Bleich said. But perhaps most important, both Thomas and Bleich say cracks have appeared in their homes’ walls and they blame the pounding from the nearby work. Thomas said she has had to put up with “terrible drafts” coming through her windows during the winter, adding the heavy equipment had been operating less than 20 feet from her home. She also

LOCAL HOROSCOPE NEWS OPINION HEALTH MONEY

1-3 2 4-5 6 7 8

SPORTS A&E COMICS CROSSWORD CLASSIFIEDS

noticed a leak in her roof in the spring, “which I believe is related to heavy vibrations during the process, as my roof is only 10 years old and has no visible damage.” The vibration has been so bad that Thomas said a cup fell off a shelf at one point. When Bleich approached the city about the damage, she was told to file a claim with her insurance company, a move she had been reluctant to make over concern her premiums would go up as a result. — see ‘THE EXISTING, page 3

9-10 11-12 12 12 13-16

A renowned Indigenous scholar and a noted Prince George businessperson will received honorary degrees during this year’s University of Northern British Columbia convocation. Dr. Jo-ann Archibald and John Brink will be presented with Doctor of Laws degrees on May 31. Archibald, Q’um Q’um Xiiem, is a professor emeritus in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia and is from the Stó:l and St’at’imc First Nations. Archibald said she has worked with colleagues at UNBC over the years. “I was always impressed with the university commitment to Indigenous peoples and their communities,” she said. “At the same time, I admired and valued the expertise, scholarship, and work of the faculty, staff, and students. This honorary degree makes me feel like a very proud extended family member of UNBC.” Brink is the chief executive officer of Brink Forest Products, the largest secondary wood manufacturing company in Canada and 13th largest forest

SNC-Lavalin threatened to leave NEWS 4

www.pgcitizen.ca

company in B.C. He established the business in 1975 with a lumber re-manufacturing and finger-jointing plant – the first of its type in Canada. “Arriving in Canada in 1965 at the age of 24, I had a dream of building a sawmill. I had one suitcase, the clothing on my back and $25.47 in my pocket. Most importantly, I had a dream I would never give up on,” Brink said. “With a positive attitude, relentless passion and undying work ethic, I pushed hard towards my dream and succeeded. Today, nearly 55 years later, I see these exact same characteristics driving UNBC’s vision of becoming Canada’s leading destination university.” Archibald will receive her honorary degree at the College of Arts, Social and Health Sciences ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Brink will receive his honorary degree at the College of Science and Management ceremony at 2:30 p.m. In addition to the ceremonies in Prince George, UNBC is scheduled to hold regional celebrations in Gitwinksihlkw on June 3, Terrace on June 4, Quesnel on June 6 and Fort St. John on June 7.

Newsstand $2.00 incl. tax Home Delivered 95¢/day

58307

00200