Podunk Below the Masthead, Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Remembrance Day items dominate the local media on Tuesday, the Weekly plays catch up with some recent stories of importance to the North coast, some of the items of note in the Tuesday media dispatches.

Daily News, front page, headline story
PRINCE RUPERT'S ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION-- The Daily News starts off a complete edition dedicated to Remembrance Day with a feature article on the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. While they no longer have a building to call home, the local members still find ways to make sure that the annual Remembrance Day observance takes place in the city. This years salute to the fallen through the years, will begin at the Safeway parking lot at 10:30 as the participants make their way to the Court House lawn for the 11 am ceremonies.

The local Kwe Unglis Haida Dancers will be hosting a pot luck dinner at Fisherman's Hall on Wednesday as they pay honour to veterans both First Nations and non First Nations, their commemoration will take place at 5 pm.

Tuesday's sports section provided a review of the recent vollyeball playdowns as well as a look back at the Old Timers hockey tournament held in the city over the weekend.

( Daily News Archive Articles for November 10 )

The Northern View
Remembrance Day: Honouring the sacrifice of Canadian soldiers and recognizing local contribution to the war effort-- The weekly provides its tribute to Canada's War dead and provides some background on Prince Rupert's contribution to the past wars that this country has fought (see article here)

The Northern View
Prince Rupert to be given 'equal consideration' for Canpotex development following stakeholder meeting-- They're a little behind the news curve on a story that at one time they were in the lead on. That as the Weekly plays catch up with the details of a recent meeting in Vancouver designed to better improve communication between representatives of Lax Kw'alaams, Canpotex, the Port and Mayor Jack Mussallem. (see article here)

The Northern View
Report outlines municipal spending, staffing-- The local weekly offers up its review of a recent study from the Candian Federation of Business, (which we first outlined on this blog last Friday) they revisit that reports findings in muncipal per capita spending totals and how the report highlighted Prince Rupert's place in the listings. (see article here)

The Northern View
Report raises B.C. Ferries concerns-- The recent release of the Comptroller General's report into Transportation is featured on the Northern View website. That report (a report that we first detailed through our blog on Sunday), has proven to be a rather controversial review of the state of BC Ferries and its approach to high level remuneration (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
(No new items posted to their website on Tuesday)

CBC News Northern BC, Daybreak North
(No items updated on their website due to technical difficulties)

Daily News, front page, headline story
Prince Rupert’s Royal Canadian Legion
By Monica Lamb-Yorski
The Daily News
Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Remembrance Day is always a big day for Legions across Canada and Prince Rupert is no exception. While the local chapter continues to meet regularly without a building, the executive has been planning this year’s Remembrance Day service. The parade will begin at the Safeway parking lot at 10:30 a.m. with Derry Bott as the Sergeant-At-Arms.

“Taking the salute will be Veteran Comrade Walter Smith,” said Legion president Dorothy Millington-Jones.

From Safeway the parade will march to the cenotaph at the provincial courthouse and afterwards adults will meet at the Moose Lodge and students will be served by the Legion Ladies Auxiliary at the Seniors’ Centre.

For Millington-Jones the day is an opportunity to pay respect to fallen comrades that fought in both world wars and today’s war in Afghanistan.

“We lost another boy [in Afghanistan] yesterday and we don’t need that,” Millington-Jones said last week.

Millington-Jones has been an Associate Member of the Legion for 23 years. Her husband was a veteran who joined the British Royal Navy in 1941. The couple immigrated to Canada in 1957.

Hazel Bott became an Associate Member five years ago and said it was a matter of getting around to it. “I was in girl guides, grew up with neighbours in the airforce and my sister was a commanding officer of air cadets who was very involved with the Legion.

Thirteen year Affiliate Member Keith Isherwood was brought in because his brother was a member, but the push to join came from peer pressure while curling with Legion members and veterans for years. “They were surrounding me and telling me I should join,” Isherwood said smiling.

In the past affiliates didn’t have voting privileges immediately, but after a few years of membership they would gain that right. Now affiliates have the vote immediately, explained Millington-Jones.

Martin Schwab, a member for 29-years, said he was in sea cadets and his father, Mike, was president of the Legion for ten years.

For Mike Lamb, it was his father that twisted his arm to join in 1974 in advance of Remembrance Day. “My dad was a parade marshal from 1972 to 1983.”

Lamb’s dad was in the Signal Corps. He wanted to join the air force as a pilot, but his colour-blindness disqualified him so he joined the army.

“Later they discovered that people with colour blindness could distinguish between camouflage and natural foliage and the air force wanted him as a spotter, but he turned them down.”

Bruce Remple joined the Legion in 1981 through is father, who had been a bombardier in Lancaster. Rempel’s father, who passed away two years ago, didn’t share many of his war memories with his son.