ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS

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

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. Photo by Kim Rose 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

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

There are so many benefits to participating in an art program. The social benefit of spending time with community are significant. One can get lost in art as a form of meditation or present moment awareness. This reduces anxiety and stress. One of the greatest benefits is being creative. Supplied photograph of the birdhouse Edwina made at the NP Potters Guild. I have often been a trail blazer in life which is a skill that has served me well in adjusting to thriving with visio

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

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

Spring in the North is here… kind of. Expect a little bit of everything, just like your week. Photo of the northern lights in Pink Mountain, taken and submitted by Tristan Dille from the Pink Mountain Store. Aries (March 21 – April 19) You’re full of energy, but like a melting snowbank, it’s going everywhere at once. Focus it before you flood your own plans. Taurus (April 20 – May 20) You’re craving stability, but this week’s about as predictable as April weather. Roll with i

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

The future is so bright I’ve got to wear shades. Why would a blind woman with no light perception feel she needs to wear shades? Good question. Let’s dive into the answer. Although I still have great conversational etiquette, I sometimes have difficulty making eye contact during a conversation. The sunglasses help remove this awkward barrier for the sighted person who is used to eye contact when conversing. Glasses also protect my eyes when navigating in the wild. I am sure

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

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

Bear Flat Dispatch. March 14, 2026. Occasionally my mind will wander somewhat as I wonder about things. This may prompt me to voice my curiosity or reflection with a somewhat rhetorical question such as “With all of this snow, I wonder what the spring melt and runoff will be like?” Ah yes, rhetorical questions, where there may not be an actual answer required. AI gave me this definition: “A rhetorical question is a question asked to make a point rather than to receive an a

'1942 U.S. Army Visit was fun' By Karla Marsh It was a pleasant time for 11-year-old Elsie Becker and her family when the U.S. Army made a camp near the family's farm at Montney, in 1942. For a brief period of time, the lives of American boys far from home and the lives of a pioneering family would be gently intertwined. There were about one hundred men in the camp, Elsie (now Myhre) recalls, and she remembers them being kind and very friendly towards the family.

Freshwater fishing licenses will be available online through the Wildlife Information and Licensing Data (WILD) system this spring, giving anglers the option of getting their license online or in person. The streamlined service designed for the angling community has arrived ahead of the 2026-27 season, which begins April 1, allowing freshwater fishing licenses to be purchased online through WILD for the first time. Registration for a Fish and Wildlife ID (FWID) is required be

Sunday, March 8, 2026 will be the last time British Columbians see their clocks ‘spring’ forward an hour as B.C. adopts permanent daylight-saving time (DST) and says goodbye to twice a year time change. British Columbian clocks will move ahead an hour for the last time on March 8, beginning the transition to a shared year-round daylight-saving time which will be completed on November 1, when clocks cease to fall back. This will effectively bring many communities in eastern Br