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Vanderhoof RCMP is asking for assistance in locating a 28-year-old female. 

Chelsey Amanda Quaw is described as: 

• Indigenous female 
• 28 years old, 
• 175 cm (5’10) tall 
• 55 kg (120 lbs) 
• Brown hair, brown eyes. 
• Possibly wearing blue jeans and a purple winter jacket. 

According to police, Quaw walked away from her residence on the Saik’uz First Nation yesterday morning (Wednesday). 

Anyone with information is asked to contact Vanderhoof RMCP.

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From Alaska to Panama in 150 days.

That is how Robert Fletcher has decided to celebrate his 80th birthday, and celebrate joining the Royal Academy of Octogenarian Cyclists.

This is not the first athletic feat Fletcher has undertaken since retiring from teaching in Edmonton 25 years ago.

He has visited over 100 countries, during which he has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, hiked 125km through the Riff Valley in Kenya, and ran five marathons, just to start.

"Most of my life I have been very active through different sports" Fletcher says. "Life isn't over at retirement. There is lots of time left for all sorts of activity, keep yourself busy and keep your mind active."

Fletcher passed through Prince George last week, and is currently just north of Vancouver as he continues to work down the pacific coast.

He is also using this ride as an opportunity to fundraise.

"One of my friends suggested 'if you are starting in North Pole where Santa Claus has his house, why don't you raise some money for Christmas presents for the children in Panama.'"

Over $1,500 have been raised so far.

For more information on the fundraiser, the ride, and the book Fletcher is releasing, click here.

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“We were really surprised and disappointed to hear that mask mandates everywhere else is going to be lifted tomorrow.”

That was BC Teacher Federation President Teri Mooring’s reaction to Dr. Bonnie Henry’s announcement today (Thursday) that masking mandates are being lifted.

For most of the general population, masks will come off tomorrow (Friday), but the mandate won’t be lifted in schools until after the Spring Break.

Mooring said lifting the mandate for masking in schools after the Spring Break gives them time to prepare, it’s going to cause confusion.

“It’s going to leave schools scrambling today, to figure out how they are going to deal with the situation tomorrow,” Mooring said.

“It’s hard to understand this discrepancy, we were recommending that masks be lifted later in March, and at the same time so that this confusion would not be caused.”

Mooring says the Teacher’s Federation is still calling on School Districts to and the Provincial Government to supply N95 masks to students and staff who need or want to wear them.

“We don’t know who amongst us might have underlying medical conditions themselves, or have loved ones with underlying medical conditions, and that’s something that needs to be respected,” Mooring said.

“We don’t want to see this being a barrier to some students or teachers to continue to be at school.”

Mooring added they’re still concerned about low vaccination rates among the 5-11 age group, particularly in Northern Health.

She says they’re hoping for vaccine clinics to become more readily available.

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Some big rigs in downtown Ottawa are moving out voluntarily this afternoon as police continue to push into the epicentre of the Freedom Convoy protest.

Meanwhile, Ottawa Police say they have arrested more than 70 people and have towed at least 21 vehicles.

Some protesters are kneeling on the ground and are hugging each other yelling “Freedom.”

Ottawa Police tweeted earlier Friday that some protesters have put children between the line of officers and the protest site.  According to the police, those children will be taken to a safe place.  But Interim Chief Steve Bell says so far, they have had no reason to engage Children’s Aid to remove children from the crowd, "We implore all parents with kids there, get your kids out of there.”

As well another self-proclaimed leader of the Freedom Convoy has been arrested.

A Facebook Live video on his personal page shows Pat King being arrested on four charges including mischief, counselling to obstruct a police officer, and counselling to disobey a court order.

Earlier in the protest, the organizers of the convoy disavowed King saying he was not authorized to speak on behalf of the group.

Unconfirmed reports suggest another organizer Daniel Bulford has turned himself into police.

On Thursday night, two organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber were arrested and are awaiting a bail hearing Friday. Another main organizer B.J. Dichter has not yet been detained.

Meanwhile, remaining organizers of the Freedom Convoy are calling on protesters to take a stand. In a press conference streamed on the convoy’s Facebook page, Friday afternoon Tom Reisler, a retired Canadian Military Officer told demonstrators to still come to Ottawa.  He said, “you will win if you come and show your support.”

He also said that many intersections are blocked but there are still ways into the city’s core.  Almost simultaneously, another organizer was telling protestors it's time to leave.

In a tweet, co-organizer BJ Dichter asks the Ottawa police to allow the remaining trucks to leave peacefully.

The tweet was made after Dichter claimed to have witnessed police smashing the window of a protestor’s truck, drawing guns, and dragging the truck driver out.

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UNBC Communications Officer Andrea Johnson has passed away.

She died suddenly on January 31st.

According to a news release, Andrea joined the university back in 2015 and used her background in journalism to tell the story of UNBC through her words and photographs.

Manager of Communications, Matt Wood worked with Andrea at the university since she was hired in 2015 and told Vista Radio her commitment to the school was second-to-none.

"Andrea was a beloved colleague of all of us here at UNBC. What strikes me about Andrea is that she was working on so many things and was so involved in the university community that oftentimes I didn't know what she was working on until it came on to my desk. That is the level of her commitment to this place."

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Alberta and a Diploma in Journalism from Mount Royal University.

Johnson also worked behind the scenes on many University events, projects, and initiatives, including Convocation, Green Day, and many others.

With great sadness, we share the news of the sudden passing of our friend and colleague Andrea Johnson.
Andrea worked as a Communications Officer at UNBC, sharing our story with the world through her words, photographs and social media posts.
/1 pic.twitter.com/ypGRnTRgBo

— University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) (@UNBC) February 7, 2022

She also had a lifelong connection to rural Alberta, where she was born and raised on a farm near Consort.

Johnson developed deep roots in northern B.C., a region she called home for 16 years.

Before joining UNBC, Andrea worked as the editor at the Quesnel Cariboo Observer and reporter at the Prince George Citizen as well as the College of New Caledonia where she was also a Communications Officer.

Jason Peters became friends with Johnson in 2010 and was also the former Sports Editor (2014-2019) at the Citizen where she was employed.

He mentioned Andrea was very easy to be around.

"Andrea was one of those people who was easy to like. She always had a smile on her face, she was always unfailingly positive,pr and being around Andrea you just picked up on that vibe she had."

"I will miss her tremendously. I am still having a hard time processing this as is my wife who was extremely close with Andrea. She was like a member of our family."

Johnson was also involved with the Rotary Club of Prince George Nechako, including the annual Operation Red Nose designated driver service.

The UNBC flags are at half-mast today (Monday).

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The province hit a grim COVID-19 milestone as 2,505 COVID-19 deaths have been reported since the start of the pandemic.

This comes as the province reported 13 new deaths today (Wednesday).

2,387 new cases of COVID-19 were reported today, and the province is down to 35,770 active cases.

Of the active cases, a record 895 COVID-positive individuals are currently in hospital, 115 of them are in intensive care.

Northern Health took a jump in cases, as 260 new cases were reported in the region. There are now 1,504 active cases in the region.

92.4% of eligible people 12 and older have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, 89.7% have received a second, and 35.5% have received a third.

The new/active cases include:

• 814 new cases in Fraser Health
  Total active cases: 17,441
• 487 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health
  Total active cases: 8,945
• 550 new cases in Interior Health
  Total active cases: 5,769
• 260 new cases in Northern Health
  Total active cases: 1,504
• 275 new cases in Island Health
  Total active cases: 2,095
• one new case of a person who resides outside of Canada
  Total active cases: 16

In the past 24 hours, 13 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,505.

The new deaths include:

• Fraser Health: six
• Vancouver Coastal Health: four
• Interior Health: one
• Island Health: two

From Jan. 11-17, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 25.9% of cases and from Jan. 4-17, they accounted for 31.8% of hospitalizations.

Past week cases (Jan. 11-17) – Total 14,934

• Not vaccinated: 3,208 (21.5%)
• Partially vaccinated: 662 (4.4%)
• Fully vaccinated: 11,064 (74.1%)

Past two weeks cases hospitalized (Jan. 4-17) – Total 1,062

• Not vaccinated: 286 (26.9%)
• Partially vaccinated: 52 (4.9%)
• Fully vaccinated: 724 (68.2%)

Past week, cases per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Jan. 11-17)

• Not vaccinated: 428.5
• Partially vaccinated: 186.4
• Fully vaccinated: 311.5

Past two weeks, cases hospitalized per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Jan. 4-17)

• Not vaccinated: 70.5
• Partially vaccinated: 41.4
• Fully vaccinated: 15.5

Since December 2020, the Province has administered 10,217,498 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Pfizer Pediatric COVID-19 vaccines.

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The BC Government has set the BC Home Owner Grant threshold at $1.975 million for this year.

The grant lowers the amount of property taxes people pay on their principal residence.

According to the province, that threshold ensures 92% of residential properties are covered by the grant that lowers the amount of property taxes people pay on their principal residence.

Homeowners in northern and rural areas can receive as much as $770, or as much as $1,045 for seniors or people who have a disability.

The grant is reduced by $5 for every $1,000 of assessed value above the threshold. Low-income seniors, veterans and people with disabilities who lost some or all of their grant due to the high value of their home can apply for a separate low-income grant supplement that can replace any grant amount lost due to the threshold.

BC residents can apply for the grant online at the BC government’s website.

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A major roadway between Hope and Merritt has reopened to essential commercial vehicles only following extensive repairs.

The Coquihalla Highway was closed due to multiple washouts last month.

"The people who build and maintain roads in B.C. have a reputation second to none, and their response to the recent disaster has been remarkable," said Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

"Ministry teams, maintenance contractors and hundreds of workers going flat out in challenging conditions have allowed us to reopen the Coquihalla Highway today, giving B.C.'s commercial drivers a safe, efficient route between the coast and Interior."

Effective today (Monday), Highway 5 is available to commercial vehicles with a minimum licensed gross vehicle weight of 11,794 kilograms.

In addition, travel restrictions will be lifted from Highway 3 at 8 a.m. tomorrow (Tuesday), allowing the route between Hope and Princeton to be used for non-essential travel.

Travel restrictions have also been lifted from Highway 99 between Pemberton and Lillooet.

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