Whether it's courts and crime or a particularly inspiring Prince George resident, certain stories seemed to resonate in this city and reverberate outwards. Here is a snapshot of some of the Citizen’s most viewed stories online in 2015:
With more than double the clicks to the next closest story, British Columbians were hot to trot about what hogging the left lane would cost them starting June of this year.
The new provincial legislation covered drivers on multi-lane highways where the speed is more than 80 kilometres per hour. Drivers found in the left lane who weren’t passing could be fined $167 and three driver penalty points.
Family and friends left to mourn loss of local BMX rider
Tyrese Van Koughnett-Melanson died at age 13, not long after getting knocked out and having a seizure on the BMX track. Two weeks later the young up-and-coming rider fell in the water water while tubing and had another seizure. This time his brain was so swollen it had stopped receiving blood and there were no signs of brain function. While the cause of death is not known, the family challenged the medical treatment he received in the hours and days following his head injury.
At age five little Lexi Shymanski captivated local hearts, who dubbed her a little hero for her quick-thinking efforts that saved her mother and baby brother after a crash down a 40-foot embankment. She scrambled up that slope in barefeet - after finding her way out of her five-point harness - and flagged a car down while her mother was still unconscious (and suffering from a broken back and internal injuries).
Since the June accident Shymanski was given a medal for bravery from the Governor General and locally handed certificates of achievement from Premier Christy Clark, MLA Shirley Bond and the City of Prince George for her bravery.
Student’s hair cut by school worker without parents’ permission
The headline says it all - and readers alternated between outrage and a shoulder shrug, some upset about what it said about boundaries and others surprised a few snips deserved a full story in the newspaper.
Regardless, mother Lorretta LaFortune was furious her six-year-old son had his hair cut by a Hart Highlands Elementary worker. LaFortune said a note in the worker’s file was not punishment enough and was considering getting legal counsel.
The first news that a search was underway for two missing pilots destined for Prince George garnered much local attention. In the following days investigators learned both Brandt, the captain, and Kevin Wang, 32, the first officer, died after the Carson Air cargo plane crashed April 13 shortly after it took off from Vancouver. Post-mortem testing revealed Robert Brandt, 34, had a blood-alcohol limit of .24 per cent, according to the B.C. Coroners Service.
Local dealership fined for deceptive practices
The B.C. Motor Vehicle Sales Authority fined the owners of Northland Chrysler Jeep Dodge $44,000 and its former principal, Brent Marshall, $3,550 for engaging in deceptive practices. The penalties, issued Aug. 13, were in relation to the sale of four used vehicles advertised in a June 2013 flyer distributed to communities outside of Prince George.
Woof Stock organizer takes blame for chaos
Woof Stock Music Festival’s principal organizer Jordan Corrigal sat down with the Citizen after the five-day festival faced low ticket sales and lots of community criticism. The late August event was marketed as a festival plus SPCA fundraiser but instead ended up in debt, owing about $18,000 to various musicians and another $15,000 in bills to service providers, Corrigal said.
Stuck for 14 hours after crash, nurse relies on experience to save her broken legs
Stacie Reis earned international attention after taking the Citizen step-by-step through a crash and the survival instincts that kicked in over the course of a 14-hour wait. The northern nurse, trapped in the wreckage of her car that had crashed down a 40-foot embankment, saved her broken legs by straightening them herself.
Teacher disciplined for inappropriate touching
A School District 57 teacher was sanctioned for inappropriate touching that included squeezing girls by the arm, patting boys and girls on the back, putting his arms around them and giving girls a brief shoulder and neck massage. David Elton Ganner agreed to take a boundaries course and had already been suspended several times in 2013 and 2014 without pay before the July 2015 summary by the Commissioner for Teacher Regulation Branch was published.
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