A trip to the playground, a preview of the horses and their riders and a glass half full in real estate highlight the Wednesday edition of the Daily News..
PORT EDWARD IS THE LITTLE COMMUNITY THAT COULD-- The opening of Port Edward's new playground is given full coverage as the front page, headline story in Wednesday's paper (see story below)
Other items of note in the Wednesday paper include a look at the behind the scenes requirements to bring the two night's of the famed Musical Ride to Prince Rupert, the show which takes place at the Doug Kerr Field at the Civic Centre, is a world famous exhibition of horse handling. Prince Rupert is the first stop on a lengthy itinerary of British Columbia cities and towns this summer.
Interpreation of the real estate numbers of this week is also part of the Daily News agenda for Wednesday, with the Daily taking the approach that Prince Rupert has hit the bottom and is now on the move up. A different slant when compared to the findings of the Northern View earlier this week, which reviewed the numbers in terms of a slump. You can read the Northern View article here and the Daily news article here and do your own comparisons as to which paper is providing the best interpretation of the statistics.
The Wednesday paper also featured it's regular City Hall council scorecard, providing a voting chart for Rupertites to follow as our elected officials voted on the key items of the recent counil meeting. (see this blog's council post, including the scorecard here)
The Sports section examined the recent NHL Free Agency signings as well as a review of the Prince Rupert Seamen's recent visit to Williams Lake and a preview of an upcoming tournament in Prince George.
Total pages in the Wednesday edition (14)
Front page, headline story:
PORT EDWARD IS THE LITTLE COMMUNITY THAT COULD
By Wendy Webb
The Daily News
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Pages one and eight
There was an air of excitement at the port Edward school grounds this past Saturday.
The new playground equipment had arrived on schedule and over twenty volunteers were busy setting up the poles and platforms~ Port Edward is the first grant recipient in School District 52 to have their project up and running.
Niki Kristoff, President of the Parents Advisory committee, spoke of their successful acquisition through the Provincial government's recreational funding program.
The PAC was turned down last year, but upon re-applying this time round their request was approved. Kristoff believes this was because the PAC emphasized the playground's benefit to the entire community, not only the school, and pointed out that in a small, somewhat isolated community, available play facilities for children were more limited.
News of the grant approval was received near the end of March, with the caveat that the equipment must be up and operational by the start of school in September 2009 - a short turnover time indeed.
"We worked feverishly with so much to do in such a short, time. At first I thought they must have made a mistake and meant September 2010, but when I phoned, the lady said, no, it had to be ready by September of this year or we had to return the funding,” said Kristoff.
The committee went into high gear, researching and ordering equipment, gathering support around the community and prepping the site.
And it has truly been a community wide effort.
Kristoff Trucking donated the transport of the equipment from Vancouver to Port Edward.
The District of Port Edward contributed the use of heavy equipment needed for site prep and equipment installation and the drivers volunteered their time.
Port Edward Volunteer Fire Department showed up to help with raising the playground and put on a barbeque Saturday evening to celebrate the completion of the project 0 and a bevy of volunteers contributed their muscle power throughout the day.
Snacks were provided by volunteers and ad Port Edward Mayor Dave MacDonald and his to wife Audrey arrived with an enormous pot of homemade soup. Businesses in Port Edward and Prince Rupert contributed food for lunch and the evening barbeque.
PAC Treasurer, Shelley McMillan had devoted a lot of energy towards organizing the whole project. "The installation has gone so smoothly, we're all so excited," said McMillan with a broad smile.
“We tried to make sure every angle was covered. We hired Shawn Wilson who is professional playground installer and he is so knowledgeable. Without his instruction this project would have taken us 4 or 5 days instead of one to put up,” Kristoff said.
And up the playground went indeed. By Sunday morning the kids of Port Ed had and octopus net, rock climbing wall, two slides, double rings, floating pads, monkey bars and more. All that was left to do was the setting of cement and a layer of pea gravel to finish it off.
The Port Edward Advisory Council would like to thank Overwaitea, Safeway, Tim Hortins, Mavericks Food, Port Edward Volunteer Fire Department, District of Port Edward, Prince Rupert Port Authority, Kristoff Trucking, Harbour Machining, Doy’s Welding, Phillips Welding and the numerous volunteers who worked so hard to make their dream a reality. Port Edward PAC gratefully acknowledges funding support for this project from the Province of B. C.
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