In 2014, there was the trial of the century for Cody Legebokoff, who would receive a life sentence for murdering three women and a teenaged girl before his 21st birthday.
In 2015, Prince George hosted the sporting event of the century, the Canada Winter Games.
Although there may be a less obvious choice in 2016 for top news story and newsmaker of the year, there were still some compelling stories to tell in Prince George this past year.
January started with the arrival of the Tohme family, the first Syrian refugees to arrive in Prince George. Although their flight didn't arrive until the early morning hours of a January night, dozens of local residents, including Mayor Lyn Hall, were on hand to welcome them to their new home.
For Grace Dove, the end of 2015 and the start of 2016 was also a journey on a new and unexpected path.
The Kelly Road grad and one time Funchaser reporter for CKPG played a small role in The Revenant starring Leonardo DiCaprio but the touching image of one of Hollywood's biggest stars pressing his face against hers was used extensively in the promotion of the film.
Dove wasn't the only young woman thrust into the spotlight in 2016.
Julianna Ferguson, 17, was told she was no longer welcome to volunteer at Ness Lake Bible Camp because she had posted LGBTQ-positive comments on her Facebook page. She was told she could still volunteer at Ness Lake, just in the kitchen or cleaning, not mentoring young campers as she had in the past. The teenager admitted she lost some friends as the result of her principled and public stance but felt she had to stand up to what she felt was right and in accordance to her own religious beliefs.
Alyx Treasure also set the bar high this year. The first Prince George athlete to ever compete in the Summer Olympic Games, the 24-year-old Treasure not only made the Canadian team, she made the Olympic final in the women's high jump with a personal-best leap of 1.94 metres (six feet, 4.37 inches). She finished 17th overall and returned to Prince George after the Games to offer some inspiration to the members of the Prince George Track and Field Club, where she got her start.
Chase Witala's athletic accomplishments took longer to achieve but were no less worthy of praise. Witala played his entire five-year junior hockey career in front of family and friends with the Prince George Cougars.
By the time the 2015-2016 season was over, he had set new franchise career records for goals with 120 and points with 239. His stellar work as a 20-year-old (40 goals, 39 assists) and team captain earned him a spot at the WHL all-star game.
Developer Rod McLeod has also been working for years towards his goal.
He first announced his new hotel project for downtown Prince George in 2012 but construction came to an abrupt stop in early 2014. After more than two years with nothing but a concrete foundation and exposed rebar to show for his dream, construction resumed this past July with new partners and a modified design.
The City of Prince George was criticized, however, for its efforts to extract more than $5 million in grant money from the Northern Development Initiative Trust for an interest-free loan to kickstart the development.
That uproar was minor compared to the fuss in the spring over the appointment of James Moore as the new chancellor of UNBC. Although the position is ceremonial in nature and Moore is the first UNBC graduate named to the post, a significant number of faculty, students and alumni signed a petition against Moore, due to his prominent role as a cabinet minister in Stephen Harper's Conservative government.
The blowback made provincial and national headlines.
As usual, we're leaving it up to Citizen readers and local residents to decide who was the newsmaker of the year.
Choosing from the above nominees - the Tohme family, Grace Dove, Julianna Ferguson, Alyx Treasure, Chase Witala, Rod McLeod and James Moore - please send me an email at [email protected]a with your pick and why he or she should be the newsmaker of the year.
We're also collecting votes in an online poll on the home page of our website at www.pgcitizen.ca.We'll name Prince George's 2016 newsmaker of the year, as chosen by you, on Tuesday, Jan. 3.
-- Managing editor Neil Godbout
