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B.C. long weekend travellers warned to plan for more waits after massive line-ups – CBC.ca

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Authorities are warning British Columbians still hoping to head out of the province for the long weekend to prepare for long delays, after many travellers waited for hours at the province’s land, sea and air terminals on Friday.

It was a frustrating day for many drivers trying to cross into the U.S. as people tried to take advantage of one of the first holidays with eased travel restrictions.

At several U.S.-Canada border crossings, motorists told CBC News they waited for more than 2.5 hours to move less than a block; others said they planned to turn back and try leaving another time.

“This is my first time driving across in ages,” Jake Hanevelt told CBC News while waiting in his car Friday, where he had moved less than one block in an hour on his way to Seattle. “I don’t know if I’m encouraged to drive any time soon.”

But although he would reconsider taking a land route in future after his long wait this weekend, he said the easing of travel restrictions is a sign of hope.

“It feels like we’re getting back to normal,” he said. “I’m excited for it.”

Surrey RCMP warned the public of “much longer than usual waits” to enter the United States at both the Peace Arch and Pacific Highway border crossings.

The force asked motorists not to block streets, driveways and intersections as they wait to reach the border, because residents “need to access their homes,” staff sergeant Andrea McKinney said in a statement Friday.

Motorists line up for hours at B.C.’s Pacific Border Crossing between Canada and the U.S. ahead of the long weekend on Friday, April 15, 2022. (CBC News)

The long line-ups were expected on the first long weekend since Canada eased its pandemic re-entry restrictions; as of April 1, travellers who are fully vaccinated no longer need to get a negative PCR test for COVID-19 before entering the country by land, air or sea.

“This is unusual, usually it’s so fast to get across the border during COVID,” motorist Nancy Livingston told CBC News, after waiting for 2.5 hours in line at the border only halfway to the crossing on her way to visit U.S. family members. “This is the worst I’ve ever seen it, even pre-COVID.”

Travellers including these vehicles at the Aldergrove border crossing waited hours longer than usual on Friday, April 15. The long line-ups were expected on the first long weekend since Canada eased its pandemic re-entry restrictions. (Rhianna Schmunk/CBC)

The rush to take advantage of a weekend away also hit the skies, with the Vancouver International Airport reporting its most travellers in two years.

“We are going to be averaging about 46,000 passengers a day through the airport, which is a very encouraging sign of recovery,” said YVR spokesperson Mike McNaney in an interview.

The airport authority also advised travellers in a tweet to “arrive at the airport extra early.”

The Canadian Border Services Agency acknowledged that COVID-19 protocols could lead to longer waits, but said in a statement it won’t compromise the health and safety of Canadians just to avoid backups.

B.C. Ferries also warned travelers to prepare for delays in coming days, saying on Twitter it was “expecting a busy weekend of travel on the coast,” particularly on Friday and Monday.

It recommended travellers get to terminals early, and to make reservations or they may experience sailing waits, or if “plans are flexible … travel at less busy times.”

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A linebacker at West Virginia State is fatally shot on the eve of a game against his old school

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.

The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.

Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.

West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.

Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.

“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”

Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.

West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.

“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”

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AP college football: and

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Hall of Famer Joe Schmidt, who helped Detroit Lions win 2 NFL titles, dies at 92

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DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.

The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.

One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.

“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”

Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.

“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”

Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.

Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.

In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.

“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”

Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.

Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.

Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.

“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”

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Coastal GasLink fined $590K by B.C. environment office over pipeline build

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VICTORIA – British Columbia’s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.

The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.

It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.

The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.

Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.

The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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