He was really sweet to me. There was six kids. He was the oldest, and I was the youngest, she said. He played hockey and was away so much, I used to drive my mother crazy asking when David was coming home. She said every time it was like getting a kick in the pants. It was confusing for a seven year old. On May 10, 1974 18-year-olds David Walker, Bryan Weaver, Dwight McFarland, Bob Haney and Murray Sales, along with 17-year-olds Paul Trudeau and Ian Rice and 16-year-old Jeff Pick, launched from a back eddy near the Willow River Bridge 30 kilometres northeast of Prince George.
John McGinnis students will take audiences down where the seaweed sways under the sea with their April production of The Little Mermaid. The heart-warming Disney tale of Arial, a young mermaid who gives up her exquisite voice to walk with man on land, has been under construction at the junior secondary since the fall, and will be staged from April 9 to 12.
“This is an extra-curricular thing for the students so we could draw from the best talent this school has to offer,” said drama teacher and the show’s director Steve Baker.
“We had over 30 people audition for the part of Arial. We were looking for a really strong voice because the story’s all about a girl who has a magnificent voice and loses it. We couldn’t have an Arial with a weak voice.”
Seven public consultation meetings have been held, numerous impassioned speeches have been given and plans presented to keep local schools open. But what chance do they have of reversing the board’s decision to close 11 district schools by the fall?
The outlook isn’t good. The school board needs to overcome a $9.2 million deficit for the 2002/2003 school year budget. They’re hoping $2.3 million of that comes from closing schools. The recent decision to take Springwood Elementary off the closure list because the school its students were slated to move to Wildwood has severe structural problems, puts them behind on those savings. And so far at least one trustee isn’t convinced the solutions they’ve seen from parents can produce the same savings as closing schools.
The Prince George Rivers Day Committee is in the throes of producing the eighth annual B.C. Rivers Day Music Festival, the annual celebration of BC Rivers Day September 27-28.
The 2008 event will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Simon Fraser’s journey down the river that was eventually named for him, together with a celebration of BC’s 150th anniversary. The community booths and the children’s activities will incorporate historical aspects in their displays and activities. Food, family and the beautiful natural setting of Fort George Park is the site for this celebration.
On Saturday September 27, the concert at Vanier Hall will open with the Holly Arntzen & Kevin Wright and the Voices Nature with Quinson Elementary School Choir and will feature the 2007 Canadian Idol runner up JayDee Bixby.
Bruce Cockburn returns to Prince George for an intimate night of songs and music.
An Evening with Bruce Cockburn is on Thursday, May 6. For over 35 years, the Ottawa-born musician has recorded almost as many albums while earning respect for his charitable and activist work.
“My job is to try and trap the spirit of things in the scratches of pen on paper, in the pulling of notes out of metal,” Cockburn said when he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
He was also made an Officer of the Order of Canada and has been the recipient of honourary degrees in letters and music from several North American universities. His many other awards include the Tenco Award for Lifetime Achievement in Italy and 20 gold and platinum awards in Canada.