Events
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Illiano, Lil June, Keeyz and O.g. Zigz of ‘OBT (Oak Bay Tribe)Records’ performed a live youth rally concert in Boitanio Park today for about 200 people.
The OBT group has travelled and performed in several Manitoba and Ontario locations with sold out audiences at the majority of their shows. In January of 2012, OBT released their second CD called ‘Resurrection’.
(Click on the image to visit the OBT Records YouTube page.)
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The first and hopefully annual ‘Cowboy Carnival’ was a huge hit with young cowboys and cowgirls in Williams Lake this morning as they got take part in rodeo events like hay-bale roping, miniature pony petting, and barrel racing which consisted of three 3-gallon buckets and hobby horse that the kids had to ‘ride’ around the course.
The barrel bull riding stations were extremely popular, however, of the ten events the most popular stop ended up being one that wasn’t even planned. A skidsteer and farm tractor which were used for arena preparation and maintenance were the big draw! Kids clambered all over the pieces of equipment, honking horns, engaging the back-up beeper and mock-driving the cool farm machines.
(Photo: Children from ‘Wiggles and Giggles Daycare’ gather with Williams Lake Stampede Queen Alexis Forseille, Williams Lake Stampede Princess Terris Billyboy and 2013 Miss Rodeo Canada Gillian Shields.)
Big Brothers and Big Sisters Bowl For Kid’s Sake
Big Brothers and Big Sisters Bowl For Kid’s Sake took place this past weekend and successfully raised $20,200.00.
Bowl for Kids Sake has become one of the best-attended (and most fun) social fun events of the year for businesses, individuals and organizations, and this year was no exception. The 'Big Birthday Bash' theme was popular, inspiring festive, bright and exciting great costumes.
The top fundraiser, Crystal Innes, won a stay for two at the fabulous Dean on Nimpo, including a flightseeing tour with Tweedsmuir Air, while Bridgette Pinchbeck (second highest fundraiser) won a set of dishes courtesy of The Brick plus a Paderno Pan courtesy of Laketown Furnishing. A Nintendo 3 DS donated by Staples Business Depot was the prize for the third highest fundraiser, Krista Gerrior.
(Photo: The prize for Best Dressed Team went to Amanda Tanner and Sherie Cameron from Barton Insurance.)
Williams Lake Girl Guides and Scouts held a 'Hike for Hunger'
The Williams Lake Girl Guides and Scouts held a 'Hike for Hunger' on April 13.
The youths carried donated food through town, stopping at grocery stores along the way before ending at the Salvation Army.
Central Cariboo Search and Rescue hopes to raise funds for TIC’s
A unique, modern and forward-thinking fundraising campaign kicks off in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region today with an online bidding auction.
The Cariboo Regional District’s Central Cariboo Search and Rescue (CCSAR) team is hoping to raise enough funds to acquire at least one Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC) – a very sensitive piece of equipment that is used to detect the differing temperature of objects, specifically people. This camera will enable the CCSAR crews to locate persons who are lost or injured in various scenarios.
Ice Road Trucker visits James Western Star in Williams Lake
Star of the popular TV series, Alex Debogorski was in Williams Lake on Tuesday. James Western Star Sterling Ltd. hosted the reality TV star with a display of promotional items and a delicious BBQ lunch to give the public a chance to meet and chat with Mr. Debogorski. Fans of all ages gathered to have their photo taken with Alex, who was incredibly friendly and chatted with each one.
(Photo: 13 year old Derrick Schindle got the inside scoop that Alex would be there today, as his Dad is the local Western Star dealership’s branch manager. Derrick came to see Alex today because he watches him on TV and really likes the way he drives his truck. He feels Alex "goes with everything, instead of against it -- just for the sake of grumbling. He’s easy going." Derrick is planning on being a heavy duty mechanic when he grows up.)
Alex is taking advantage of some rare spare time to do a bit of travelling, since they’ve just finished filming the seventh season of Ice Road Truckers, which premier in June. It’s also spring break-up for him in Yellowknife, NWT, where he hauls gravel and topsoil .
You may see Alex around the Cariboo from time-to-time because he has a gold mine in the Likely area which he purchased in the 70’s. He comes to ‘visit it’ more than work it, and he likes to help out the other local miners as well as learn from them.
He was on CBC early Tuesday morning and today he was in Vancouver, featured on the Global TV Morning Show. He will visit a Freightliner and a Western Star dealership there, before enjoying a visit with a dear aunt.
(Photo: Shannon and Caleb Sheppard with their 5 month old daughter Molly.)
Alex will head back home next week to get ready for spring, “getting the ‘ol John Deere” ready to work. He has 150-200 vehicles at home that always need fixing, adding that all of his hobbies seem to revolve around his work. “We have 11 children and 13 grandchildren, so that keeps us busy, too. We’ve got half a dozen grandkids in the basement at any given time, and he jokes that “we let them out on Wednesdays.”
He brought some hats, t-shirts, calendars and posters which were the hot-ticket items for everyone to get autographed. Visitors and staff of the dealership noted that his book ‘King of the Road: True Tales from a Legendary Ice Road Trucker’, was also a popular item.
Amazon describes the book as “The highest-rated reality show ever to hit History Television, Ice Road Truckers follows the heart-pounding adventures of the tough-as-nails truckers who risk peril every day to deliver goods and supplies in Alaska and across Canada's frozen north. shares tales of his adventures, and misadventures, in the north, and explains, in his own entertaining voice, how he got to where he is today—a working-class hero, bona fide celebrity, and the improbable star of a smash-hit television show. Debogorski is a natural storyteller who knows how to spin tales about his colourful life growing up in the backwoods. Whether he's recounting tales about his hair-raising confrontations with bears, calculating the strength of newly formed ice, divulging the secrets of providing security in a barroom full of combative, drunken miners, or saving the life of another trucker, he keeps readers wanting more. King of the Road gives fans of Ice Road Truckers a deep look inside the life and times of the show's biggest rising star.
If you missed his visit Tuesday, you have an opportunity to pick up a couple of the items, as Alex generously donated an autographed book, an XL t-shirt and a Yellowknife pin to the upcoming Central Cariboo Search and Rescue online auction. Alex has agreed to personalise the autograph for whoever wins the bid on this item, the next time he is back in town.
(Photo: Autographed book, t-shirt and pin up for grabs on the CCSAR online auction beginning April 15, 2013.)
One of the highlights of Alex’s visits happened when Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement officer Ed Marshall arrived to show Alex what a violation ticket looked like. There were no infractions, but Alex was good enough to ‘autograph’ a ticket and wrote ‘sorry’ under his signature – in case he ever has an incident in the future.
(Photo: CVSE Officer Ed Marshall now has a violation ticket autographed by Ice Road Trucker star, Alex Debogorski and it didn’t even cost Alex anything – this time.)
Likely, BC restaurant owner, Diane Gibson, is Alex’s agent in BC. She said he just walked in the restaurant one day and they hit it off, and she has been promoting him ever since. Diane says Alex is available to do promotions and endorsements. He was most recently involved with California’s Maxwell Technologies promoting their Engine Start Module. Alex will appear in Maxwell's marketing campaign for the new Engine Start Module that features new technology designed to ensure reliable starting for the trucking and transportation industry, especially in cold weather.
Alex will be back in Williams Lake during the annual Stampede.
(Photo: Alex gathers with the employees and management at James Western Star, the host of this execellent community event.)
View a much larger photo album on our Facebook page: 'Williams Lake News and Events'.
National Film Board Screening of 'Who Cares?'
The Williams Lake Library winter 2013 National Film Board screenings continue this month with 'Who Cares?'
Award-winning master of vérité cinema, Rosie Dransfeld enters the gritty and dangerous world of Edmonton’s sex trade workers to craft a powerful new film about women caught in a heartbreaking cycle of addiction, violence and prostitution.
Courtney, known as the 'prostitute from 107th Avenue', struggles to stay clean; Shelly takes care of everyone but herself when she’s not on crystal meth; and Nancy, a sweet young girl, explains her bruises away as accidents. They drop into the Reno Pub to get out of the cold, shoot a game of pool and swap stories with the bartender about their lives and their dreams of getting straight.
WLIB to host signing ceremony to celebrate Participation Agreement with Gibraltar
The Williams Lake Indian Band (WLIB) and Gibraltar Mines Ltd., recently announced that they have concluded a Participation and Cooperation agreement with respect to Taseko’s Gibraltar copper-molybdenum mine.
The agreement addresses a variety of issues, ranging from environmental management, employment and contracting, to economic benefits flowing from the operation of Gibraltar Mine. The agreement is intended to establish a cooperative and mutually respectful working relationship which will allow both parties to meet their respective obligations and protect their rights, values and interests.
Spicing Up the Cariboo
By Sage Birchwater
Williams Lake has often been passed off as a rough and ready sawmill and cow town, and its people pegged in the broad stereotype of cultural sameness, like the featureless lodgepole pine forests that blanket the landscape.
But beneath the surface, like the rich biodiversity that is so much a part of the Cariboo Chilcotin region, the citizens of Williams Lake are a surprisingly rich multicultural mix. This book will attest to that.
My task in this book’s creation was to help edit the stories collected by Tom Salley, Marilyn Livingston and Margaret-Anne Enders. I confess that oral history is one of my sweet joys as a writer in this region. Every one of us has a story, and each of us comes from somewhere unique, and brings the essence of our background and traditions with us. Nothing better reflects who we are than the food we eat.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride come to Williams Lake
One of Canada's most recognized icons, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride, will be performing at the Williams Lake Stampede Grounds on July 18th, 2013.
First Nations youth rally to save Fish Lake
First Nations youth were encouraged to gather with posters, drums and rattles to join a peaceful march through Williams Lake today.
Approximately 80 people met at Cariboo Memorial Parking lot for a group sage smudging at 10:30 and then drummers and singers performed the Men's Warrior Song as they began walking to Herb Gardner Park. The Women's Warrior Song was performed before youth speeches took place.
