ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS

The Street Enforcement Team (SET) of the Fort St. John RCMP recently conducted a search warrant at a residence in the North Peace, resulting in several suspects being arrested briefly. Photo from the RCMP media release According to the RCMP, they conducted a search warrant at a residence on the 9400 block of 105 Avenue on May 21 in Fort St. John, which they claim is part of their ongoing efforts to target illicit drug trafficking while suppressing gang-related activity. Inv

A new exhibit at Peace Gallery North is inviting visitors to see the Peace Region through the eyes of local artists, with the latest monthly showcase exploring what the idea of “home” means across the region. The gallery recently opened ‘Peace River: Home is...’, an exhibit featuring artists from the Peace River Chapter of the Federation of Canadian Artists. The exhibit began with a well-attended grand opening on May 9, where locals came to view the collection and meet some o

From Mile Zero in Dawson Creek to the edge of the Yukon near Beaver Creek, one local artist is turning a lifetime of Alaska Highway memories into art. Becky of Blind Creek Studios opens The Highway That Built the North on June 6, a collection of eight layered wood pieces inspired by places that have helped shape her journey through the North. Photo by Kim Rose The eight piece collection of layered wood artworks follows the Alaska Highway, hanging through the gallery from sout

Bear Flat Dispatch. May 14, 2026 Arlene and I have had a semi-official private museum here at Bear Flat for about 20 years that has generally operated by word of mouth. It started from a combination of homesteading type artifacts mostly from her family (the Bentley’s), and my log building restoration skills, and has slowly grown from there. When Highway 29 was moved due to the Site C reservoir, our collection of old log buildings suddenly became very visible to the traveling

A Tumbler Ridge volunteer is being recognized for time and energy he has poured into the maintenance of trails around the Tumbler Ridge area this spring. Photo of Chris Van Dijk with his saw at a trail end. Recently the Tumbler Ridge Outdoor Recreation Association named Chris Van Dijk their Volunteer of the Week, highlighting work he has accomplished as the Wolverine Nordic and Mountain Society’s new Trail Maintenance and Work Bee Coordinator. According to the association, Va

As more than 50,000 nurses voted 98 percent in favor of strike action, the healthcare crisis continues to fester according to a release from the Conservative Party of British Columbia. Nurse at BC Children's Hospital with Bensyn and Luna during a long stay during 2025. Six months of negotiations have yet to produce any real or meaningful offer, and the B.C nurses have made it clear they are ready to fight for better working conditions within our province. “Nurses are being pu

Heartfelt vocals ring out from Festival Plaza in Centennial Park, sung by a talented youth whose generational home has become a war-torn country. Brightly coloured flags in various colours and patterns flap proudly in the southwest winds of the Peace Region. Smells to captivate the senses drift from the beautifully decorated tables inside Festival Plaza. The aroma of delicate spices and flavourful bites draw people inside. Visitors hold out their “passport,” determined to col

Written by Karla Marsh Win Baker was a newlywed when she travelled her first mile on the Alaska Highway. Win, along with her husband and two brothers, left their home in Ontario after seeing an ad in a newspaper looking for workers to build the 1500 mile long road. Photo of Winnis and Garnet Baker from Fort St. John North Peace Museum When they reached the huge project, Win’s husband started work as a cat operator for a civilian construction company while Win set up housekeep

The future of the Taylor Bridge isn’t some distant policy debate, it’s a real, immediate concern for people living and working in the Peace. An op-ed written by Chris Gardner, president and CEO of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association raised serious questions about the condition of the aging structure. The 65-year-old bridge is not just a piece of infrastructure, it’s a lifeline for industry, agriculture, and everyday travel in northeastern B.C. while it carr

Westcoast Energy Limited Partnership which is an affiliate of Enbridge, has filed an application with the Canada Energy Regulator to expand the northern section of its natural gas pipeline system according to officials. The proposal is known as the Birch Grove Program and is intended to address growing regional demand for natural gas and support potential west coast LNG exports. The project would include the installation of around 32 kilometers of 36-inch pipeline running p

Peace Gallery North held the grand opening for their most recent exhibit, showcasing a unique collection of art. The newest exhibit to grace the walls of Peace Gallery North is ‘Pretty Expiry’, which is an amazing collection that was painted by local artist Celina Forbes. The well attended grand opening was held on April 10, where Forbes and her family spent the evening interacting with guests while giving the odd guided tour of the show. Forbes was chosen as the 2025 Art

The building of dreams: By Karla Marsh In 1942, young Ernie Scanlon left his jos at an aircraft manufacturing plant in Ontario and signed on with a construction company contracted to work on the Alaska Highway. With the company paying the travel expenses, Ernie boarded a train for a long trip across Canada. He met other men on the train destined to labor on the great road and together they arrived at Dawson Creek, the end of the railhead, on July 8, 1942. Ernie was first

By Karla Marsh Ruby Schubert had one of the most interesting jobs a soldier could have on the Alaska Highway. He spent his days on the Trail of ’42 working as a photographer. Although born in Canada, Rudy travelled to the United States to join the U.S. Army. He had tried to enlist in the Canadian Army, but was refused by an officer who objected to Schubert’s German heritage. But it wasn’t long before Rudy returned to Canada. His regiment, the 341 st Engineers, received order

Jake Gardner is currently sitting at the top of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) standings for bull riding, making the North Peace proud through boots, grit, and glory. Jake Gardner shows off his championship buckle after winning the bull riding title at RodeoHouston, turning a last-minute opportunity into a career defining moment. - Jake Gardner's Facebook Gardner wasn’t originally scheduled to compete at RodeoHouston but got the call to be a replacement ri

By Margaret Cavers May As spring inches its way into the North Peace, for young performing artists in the region, that means one thing; it’s festival time! After learning and polishing their performances for many months, it is time for hundreds of musicians, singers, dancers and speech artists to hit the stage at the North Peace Cultural Centre to show off the fruits of their hard work to audiences and adjudicators. The festival, in one form or another, has been a part of thi

For the first time in more than 50 years, humans are getting ready to head back toward the Moon onboard the Orion spacecraft. Photo of the ship during final preperations, before taking four of the bravest astronaughts on a journey around the moon and back from NASA.gov NASA’s Artemis II mission is scheduled to launch April 1, and if everything lines up, tomorrow four astronauts will be heading farther from Earth than any crew has gone in decades. It’s the kind of thing we hav

Emergency services were called to an area near the high school in Fort St. John early this morning following reports of gunshots. Witnesses report an ambulance arriving around 3:30 a.m., with one person transported to hospital. Early, unconfirmed reports suggested the incident involved a shooting and a black Ford vehicle. In an update, Fort St. John RCMP say the incident occurred at approximately 3:15 a.m. in the 9700 block of 86th Street. Police conducted a traffic stop invo

Bear Flat Dispatch. March 26, 2026 Every year the Canada Geese will consistently start showing up here at Bear Flat around March 15th give or take a couple days. That always worked out for them because even if the weather was nasty, they always had open water on the river. That changed with the flooding of the reservoir as it is now all frozen over. However, I guess old habits are hard to kick because the geese are still showing up here at the same time as before. Last year,

A wareness isn’t just about understanding a diagnosis, it’s about seeing the person and celebrating their life while creating a world where everyone belongs. Bensyn Buck during his admission at BC Children's Hospital. There are moments in life which will shape your journey in ways you don’t fully understand at the time, for our family, that moment came when we learned Benny would be born with Down Syndrome. It didn’t change our love for him, not even for a second, but it di

By Karla Marsh Oil exploration was just beginning in the Peace country when the Americans arrived to build the Alaska Highway. It was 1942 and the derrick of the first drilling rig had been raised into the sky between Dawson Creek and Fort St. John. Photo of Rosie and Nels Westergaard, Fort St. John North Peace Museum. Rosie Westergaard was a cook for the first oil rig crew. She was busy turning out three square meals a day for oilmen when another crew stopped at the camp t