A group of students have found the light in a dark community tragedy.
On Nov. 4, 2011, Nolan Alexis, a Grade 6 student at Fort St. James's David Hoy elementary school, was hit and killed by a vehicle as he ran across a dark and busy Highway 27.
The tragedy affected everyone in the Fort St. James and Nak'azkli First Nation community, but the students who knew Alexis were focused on turning the negative into a positive and the Be Seen Be Safe project was born.
Students in the Grade 6/7 class at Sowchea school wanted to prevent something like this from happening again and decided to purchase reflective bracelets for every child in Fort. St. James, Nak'azdli, Tl'azten and Yekooche First Nations.
"These students amazed me with their passion and determination," said Const. Jeff Lance of the Fort St. James detachment. Lance, a school liaison officer, met with the students early on and provided guidance and support to set their plan in motion. "They have created a project that the entire community has embraced and I truly believe they have made a difference."
The students met with a number of community service agencies to request letters of support as well as Georgina Alexis, Nolan's mother, which helped bolster their commitment to the project after hearing her expression of sadness over the loss of her son.
After soliciting support from various business and organizations, and organizing a family movie night fundraiser, the group was soon armed with an order for 2,000 reflective bracelets.
They gave their first Be Seen Be Safe presentation to Eugene Joseph school in Nolan's home community of Tache.
The movement spread to the high school level and the bracelets were introduced at Fort St. James secondary school.
"Regardless if it is for fashion or for safety, students are wearing the reflective bracelets and can now be seen by motorists and are safe when following the traffic laws," said North District RCMP media relation officer Const. Lesley Smith.
