ALASKA HIGHWAY NEWS

Prince George family celebrates another Calgary Stampede triumph while preserving a way of life Winning at the Calgary Stampede is something most people in the draft horse world spend a lifetime chasing. This summer, Zane and Diane Pickering found themselves back at the top once again after winning the Lightweight class, another milestone for a Prince George family that's spent years building one of the strongest draft horse programs in the country. The Prince George family

The steady buzz of a tattoo machine fills Soulfire Tattoo as Olivia "Liv" Desor leans over another piece, carefully wiping away fresh ink before studying the lines one more time. For the Fort St. John artist, tattooing may still be new, but creating art certainly isn't. Long before she picked up a tattoo machine, Liv spent years sketching, painting and experimenting with everything from acrylics and oils to alcohol-based markers. Art was always part of who she was. Tattooing

Walk through any bookstore and you'll find thousands of stories waiting on the shelves, but every once in a while you get the chance to meet the person who wrote one and hear how it all began. That was the case Saturday afternoon at Coles in Totem Mall, where Fort St. John author Emily Fehr spent the afternoon meeting readers, signing books and sharing the story behind her first children's book, I Like Killer Whales the Best! Like many good ideas, this one started at home. Fe

It doesn't take long after a rodeo wraps up before somebody around the North Peace is asking how Jake Gardner made out. With the season the Fort St. John bull rider has been putting together, it's really no surprise. Supplied photo Gardner has spent much of the year riding against some of the best bull riders in the world, putting together a string of solid rides and keeping himself firmly in the conversation for a trip to his first National Finals Rodeo. His biggest payday

By Karla MarshSpecial to the AHN Before the surveyors and trailblazers could cut a line marking the right-of-way for the Alaska Highway, the road first needed to be “located.” The highway was to connect the existing airbases at Fort St. John, Fort Nelson, Watson Lake, Whitehorse, Big Delta and Fairbanks, known together as the Northwest Staging Route. However, although It was known which towns and villages the route would connect, the actual location of the road between th

Halfway River First Nation welcomed NHL defenceman Ethan Bear to the community last Saturday, giving local youth and families a chance to hear from him, meet him and take home an autograph. Photo supplied of of Riley Rivey, Kaizyn Tsakoza, Ethan Bear, Kirk and Nikki, and Lenasia Bear. Bear was at the Halfway River Arbour on July 11 for a community event that included a presentation and autograph signing. Among those who made the trip out was Alaska Highway News junior repor

By Kim Rose Photo credit: Kyle (James) Wolf Forty-three years. Think about that for a moment. For more than four decades, the Fort St. John Petroleum Association Trap Shoot has brought together people from across our region for a weekend that has become about far more than breaking clay targets. It's become a tradition. This year's event was another reminder that while companies, careers, and even entire industries evolve over time, community has a remarkable way of staying r

By Karla Marsh Special to the AHN Photo of Bill McDonald supplied by the North Peace Museum Bill McDonald was just a boy of eight in the summer of 1942. His older brother had joined the army the summer before and he suspects his family was concerned about events overseas. But to Bill, “the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the war seemed like another world.” Bill’s mother had taught school at Moberly Lake that year and when she and young Bill returned to Fort St. John at the

Firefighters from First Nations across British Columbia were in Fort St. John last week for the 41st Annual B.C. Indigenous Firefighter Competition, bringing teams from across the province to the North Peace for three days of training, teamwork and competition. Photos by Richard Olak The event, hosted by the First Nations’ Emergency Services Society, has been running for more than four decades and gives Indigenous fire departments a chance to train together, learn from one an

A 37-year-old Fort St. John man was arrested after RCMP executed a search warrant on 105 Avenue June 18 as part of a drug trafficking investigation. Photo from Fort St. John RCMP media release According to police, members of the Fort St. John Street Enforcement Team uncovered what they describe as a 3D-printed firearm manufacturing operation during the search. RCMP say roughly 20 firearms were found, some completed and others still being assembled. Sergeant Ian Rissanen, comm

By Karla Marsh Life could be pretty wild and woolly in the Peace Country in 1942 and 43, according to Ernie Jarvis. Ernie moved camps for the Public Road Administration and although he spent a lot of his time in the bush, he did have opportunities to travel the new Alaska Highway and to observe town busting at the seams with soldiers. This photo is of Ernie Jarvis, Clarence Crook and Julius Stokke when they came to the Peace Region in 1928. From what Ernie saw, things were

June is Filipino Heritage Month across Canada, and one of the ways Fort St. John is marking the occasion is through the 8th Annual Filipino Canadian Art and Photography Exhibit currently on display at Peace Gallery North. Curated by Ovvian Castrillo Hill and co-curated by Nixxio Castrillo, the exhibit brings together artists from Fort St. John's Filipino-Canadian community and offers visitors a chance to learn a little more about their neighbours through their work. One of

Between the music, the market and the giant prints being rolled out in the parking lot, there was no shortage of reasons to stop by Bright Nights in June. Artists prepare and apply ink using rollers before being its layed out for a construction roller to make the final roll, successfully creating wonderful prints on Big Print Day in thew North Peace. The annual three-day event was held at the North Peace Cultural Centre and drew a strong turnout throughout the weekend. Art St

For many families in the Peace, the cadet program has become a family tradition, with multiple generations passing through the same organization over the past 80 years. Supplied photo - 2276 RCACC receives the Freedom of the City Proclamation. Current and former cadets, volunteers, officers and supporters all came together in Fort St. John recently to celebrate 80 years of a program that has been part of the community for generations. The celebrations brought together current

Athletes from the Halfway River First Nations Taekwondo program were back on the road at the end of May, travelling to Red Deer, Alberta to compete in the Champions Challenge tournament and take part in a training seminar led by a world-class coach. Back row: Kaitlyn Gladue bronze- poomsae, silver-sparring, Zachary Souvie gold -poomsae silver-sparring Coach Brooklyn Jodoin

The North Peace Rod & Gun Club welcomed shooters from around the region last weekend for the 2026 P.I.T.A. Ram Buckle Shoot. Photo credits: Captured Moments Photography - By Kim Rose According to the club, the event saw a great turnout, with competitors, volunteers and supporters coming together for a busy weekend on the trap line. Like most successful community events, there was plenty happening behind the scenes. The club extended its thanks to the volunteers, scorekeepers,

By Karla Marsh In 1942, Rose Mould had an unusual occupation for a lady. She was a Trapper. Rose Mould sitting on the tree trunk with her husband, Tom, standing and Mrs. Moore in the foreground - Photo from the Fort St. John North Peace Museum Rose and her husband spent their winters harvesting furs and in the spring they travelled to the old Fort Nelson site to take their furs to the trader. In the spring of 1942, when Rose and her husband were coming in from the trapli

Festival Plaza was full with colour, music, food, and good conversation on Sunday afternoon as locals gathered for the annual World Fair in Fort St. John. Residents from the community came together on May 31 to explore various cultural displays, performances, meet local organizations, and learn a bit more about the people who call the North Peace home. Visitors traveled from table to table Inside and around the plaza, collecting passport stamps while stopping to chat with v

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