Thursday, May 23, 2019 | Your community newspaper since 1916
CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE
First fire fight Prince George Airport Authority fire fighter trainee Roger Masse uses the Oshkosh Striker airport fire truck to put out a simulated aircraft fire on Wednesday during training at the airport. This was the first fire for Masse, and it was also the first time the Striker was used to put out a fire since it was acquired in late fall 2018.
Local sports organizer mourned Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca The power sports has in society is reflected in the power sports had in the life of Gary Samis. It was more than athletics, more than competition, in fact those were almost side-effects in his mind. To him, sports was about how community came together in a shared experience. Now, the Prince George community is coming together to mourn the passing of a popular figure who stood at that intersection. Gary Samis has always been a fan of sports. He watched them all. He organized pools for some of them. He cheered on his kids and grandkids as they played. He was one of the stalwart volunteers for
the 2015 Canada Winter Games, and won a Legacy Sport Difference Maker Award for those efforts. He was affectionately known as “The Commish” for his total fandom. And after his retirement, he got himself his dream job with the Prince George Cougars as corporate sales manager. He fatally suffered a massive heart attack on May 13. “I got lucky, that I had a dad like him,” said his son Ryan, on behalf of Samis’s wife of 44 years, Theresa, daughter Allison, six grandchildren, plus many other relatives and loved ones. “He was such a nice individual. People obviously give their condolences, but what I’ve noticed is that people are genuinely upset, there are tears, big hugs, and I have experienced death before so
SAMIS I know a little about how people are in those moments, but this is crazy – the amount of people who knew him and felt affected. I can’t go anywhere without being met by that, and that’s awesome, he
would be proud of that. That right there is an accomplishment in his eyes, just to be remembered as a good person. That’s why we’re here. That’s what he was good at – so many people loved him.” After he retired from his 32-year career with PetroCanada-Suncor, he was getting antsy to do something productive, said Ryan, so he and his friend Ken Goss turned the annual Prince George Cougars golf tournament into a fundraiser event for the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation. That was seven years ago. The lives and trajectories of families and communities have been forever changed as a result of the effective work Samis poured into that task. “It is one of the biggest charity golf tournaments in our city’s
history,” said Andy Beesley, vice-president of business for the Prince George Cougars Hockey Club. “It has tallied north of half a million dollars, unbelievably successful, and even though there is much that Gary could crow about, he never once took centre stage over any of it. He preferred to create, to motivate, to build, to manage, but not bask in any of it.” Beesley said his pleasant, affable attitude was no front, no affectation. He spent inordinate amounts of time with Samis and found the decency to be to the man’s core. “The day-to-day way he approached people, acted as a role model, mentored, advised, helped – all these words that pile up like grains of sand into this mountain,” said Beesley. — see ‘HE LEFT, page 3
Coroners inquest scheduled for Man jailed for fleeing police death of man in RCMP standoff A Quesnel man was sentenced Tuesday to 395 days in jail for leading police on a wild and lengthy chase while behind the wheel of a stolen pickup truck. Eric Roger Johnson, 27, was also sentenced to 18 months probation and issued a twoyear driving prohibition for the February 10 incident that began when Quesnel RCMP got a report that a pickup had gone missing from a parking lot in the community 116 kilometres south of Quesnel. An officer spotted the vehicle on Highway 97 heading north. When the member tried to pull Johnson over, he took off. In the name of public safety, RCMP chose not to pursue him but Prince George and North District RCMP were alerted and an RCMP helicopter was deployed. RCMP tried for a second time to pull Johnson over at Red Rock but without success and he kept on going. With RCMP converg-
ing and the helicopter overhead, Johnson’s ride ended at Ginter’s Field where he tried but failed to flee on foot. Johnson was driving like an “absolute madman” according to a witness. “He did a couple 360s and ended up swerving in behind me so I pulled over,” Britt Bruneau told the Citizen at the time. No one was injured but Johnson did collide with a marked RCMP vehicle during the pursuit. Johnson, who has remained in custody since his arrest for a total of 99 days, was sentenced on four counts. He received 395 days for dangerous driving, and concurrent terms of 213 days for fleeing police and motor vehicle theft. He was also convicted of driving with a blood-alcohol level over .08. The probation applies to all the counts and the driving prohibition to all but the theft count. — with files from Frank Peebles
Contact Us
Newsstand $2.00 incl. tax Home Delivered 95¢/day
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff The B.C. Coroners Service has scheduled an inquest for a man who was shot to death in a standoff with RCMP at a remote cabin south of Valemount. Starting on July 15 at the Prince George courthouse, coroner Donita Kuzma and a jury will hear evidence from witnesses regarding the circumstances surrounding death of John Robert Buehler. Buehler was killed on Sept. 17, 2014 while his daughter, Shanna, was seriously wounded during a confrontation with RCMP after the two began squatting in a trapper’s cabin near Kinbasket Lake about 120 kilometres south of Valemount. Described as a victim of a violent and abusive father who had come to believe he was a prophet of God and that the end-time was nearing, Shanna Buehler was sentenced in November 2017 to 18 months probation with a condi-
Today’s Weather Hi +17° Low +7° See page 2 for more details and short-term forecasts
An armed John Buehler returned and charged towards the cabin, refusing to stop despite rounds of beanbag shots and flash-bang devices. tional discharge. During her sentencing hearing, the court heard that when the cabin’s owner had shown up to prepare for the trapping season, John Buehler confronted him and said he wasn’t going to leave. RCMP, who had a previous run-in with Buehler, deployed two emergency response teams and a crisis negotiation team but made no headway. On the evening of his death, the
LOCAL HOROSCOPE NEWS OPINION SCIENCE MONEY
13 2 45 6 7 8
SPORTS A&E COMICS CROSSWORD CLASSIFIEDS
Buehlers drove about two kilometres away from the cabin on small all-terrain vehicles and an RCMP emergency response team moved in to prevent the two from returning to the cabin. As they took up positions around the building, the sun set and the site was in total darkness. An armed John Buehler returned and charged towards the cabin, refusing to stop despite rounds of beanbag shots and flash-bang devices. RCMP shot him dead when he attempted to use his rifles on police. A month after Shanna Buehler was sentenced, the B.C. Prosecution Service said it would not pursue charges against members of the ERT. The inquest jury will have the opportunity to make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances. The B.C. Coroners Service is not a fault-finding agency.
910 1112 12 12 1316
Town still under fire threat NEWS 5
www.pgcitizen.ca
CLASSIFIED: 2505626666 READER SALES: 2505623301 SWITCHBOARD: 2505622441
0
58307
00200
5