From No. 10 to No. 1, here are the most viewed stories of this past year in the Quesnel Cariboo Observer.
Number 10
Posted April 28
Warnings issued for Quesnel and Cariboo region - Flood information from B.C. gov
This story was about preparing for the possibility of rivers flooding. Only isolated high water situations occurred, in the end, but warm temperatures combined with snow conditions at the low- and mid-elevation levels caused concern. Provincial, municipal and First Nations governments worked together to mitigate the threat, and remind homeowners to do their part.
Read it by clicking RIGHT HERE
Number 9
Posted July 30
Quesnel carjackers quickly caught in Williams Lake
Two were soon in custody after a late-night armed incident the day before in Quesnel, at a Maple Drive convenience store. It was reported that a man and woman approached two youths, presented a firearm, and demanded their wallets and car keys. The youths complied and the suspects fled in the youth’s 2013 grey Chevrolet Malibu. They were apprehended in Williams Lake.
Read it by clicking RIGHT HERE
Number 8
Posted Jan. 23
Blinding sunlight cause of multi-vehicle collision on Highway 97 near Quesnel
Altogether, eight vehicles were damaged in the morning commute, including an RCMP vehicle rear-ended in the chain of events. The responding police officers noted the sun was blinding the southbound drivers as they climbed the wintery hill.
Read it by clicking RIGHT HERE
Number 7
Posted April 10
Quesnel River Pulp site of wandering fire
West Fraser’s pulp mill on Finning Road was the scene of an Easter Monday incident for Quesnel Fire Department, and it wasn’t just a drill. Some of the flame was in the walls, some in the ducts, some in the roof structure. None were large, but it took diligence, as there were simultaneous outbreaks on the main floor, third floor and roof.
Read it by clicking RIGHT HERE
Number 6
Posted Jan. 7
Quesnel RCMP look for suspect wanted in armed robbery of Husky gas station
A robber struck the downtown Husky, and the bold clerk who faced the assailant told the Quesnel Observer they carried on with business following the arrival of police. Police confirmed later it was an imitation handgun.
It didn’t make the Top 10, but the 16th most clicked story of the year was how Mounties later arrested this suspect (also the suspect in a stickup at an ATM).
Read it by clicking RIGHT HERE
And - why not, eh? - read the arrest story RIGHT HERE
Number 5
Posted Nov. 26
Two Quesnel youths die in crash - School district on standby as grieving youth respond
This story will never cease to hurt those who wrote it, those who read it, and the enormous circle of loved ones affected by the death of Lane Wiggins and Tayler Bennett. They were deeply loved, and will be deeply grieved by the entire community, plus neighbouring places where they were also known and appreciated.
Read it by clicking RIGHT HERE
Number 4
Posted Jan. 11
Williams Lake RCMP seek assistance locating missing woman
This may not have been a story from directly inside Quesnel, but local people were quick to gather information on this story from our neighbouring town, so close are our intertwined communities. The woman was soon confirmed to be safe and sound.
Read it by clicking RIGHT HERE
Number 3
Posted Feb. 7
Almost 2 dozen golden retriever puppies surrendered to SPCA in Quesnel
A Quesnel dog breeder took responsible steps to proactively surrender almost two dozen animals (17 of them puppies) for their wellbeing. “The individual did the right thing for the dogs by reaching out to us so that we could find new, loving homes for them,” said Eileen Drever, senior officer of protection and stakeholder relations for the BC SPCA.
Read it by clicking RIGHT HERE
Number 2
Posted April 2
Quesnel is the place to buy a home: nation says so - National rankings puts Cariboo city No. 1 outside of Quebec
This story outlined how digital real estate brokerage Nesto did a ranking of the best cities in which to buy a home, for the kind of property you get for your money. Their research indicated three of the Top 5 were communities in Quebec, one in Ontario, and the other place was the quaint little city of Quesnel, B.C. Ever heard of it?
Read it by clicking RIGHT HERE
Number 1
Posted July 23
Unexpected hazard at Quesnel golf course - Occupant extricated by emergency responders near pond
This story talked of the vehicle and its two occupants that lost control on the road and tumbled down an embankment, coming to rest near the pond at the Quesnel Golf Club. The Bouchie Lake Volunteer Fire Department, RCMP, BC Ambulance and North Cariboo Highway Rescue took part together in responding to the incident.
Read it by clicking RIGHT HERE
Some interesting high scores…
Two local sports stories made their way into the Top 35 for the year’s most clicked headlines. There were also some decidedly happy stories that made the list, in case the impression prevailed that only so-called “hard” news was all that Quesnel residents were interested in.
The Observer’s online readers were keen to know that local hockey product Mitch Love made the NHL as an assistant coach of the Washington Capitals. That story was posted on June 22. Read it by clicking RIGHT HERE
Readers also clicked heavily on the story of Corina McClure, the local college softball pitcher who was called to throw for Team BC at the North American Indigenous Games, posted on July 19. Read it by clicking RIGHT HERE
On the purely “good news” front, readers wanted to know about the Cariboo cowboy who was picked for the reality TV show Farming For Love but couldn’t eventually appear, due to logistics. Read it by clicking RIGHT HERE
The Observer eventually tracked down the cowboy himself and he told his wide ranging story. Read it by clicking RIGHT HERE
Another Top 35 story was how Emcon Services obtained a unique piece of heavy machinery to chew up highway ice. Read it by clicking RIGHT HERE
Popularity also ensued for the support shown to Quesnel by the City of Prince George for the proposed Highway 97 Interconnector project. Read it by clicking RIGHT HERE
Maybe it was a hard news story of a sort, but it had a very happy ending, and people loved reading about how one local resident had his (very nice) truck stolen, but a witness followed and directed police to retrieve it unscathed, plus arrest the suspect. Read it by clicking RIGHT HERE
And just to remind the world that this is indeed the Heart of Gold City, built and based on the gold rush of yestercentury that still goes on today, one of the most popular stories of the year was the profile done on local mining company Green River. Read it by clicking RIGHT HERE
With 2024 already supplying us with news, sports, arts, culture and local lifestyle stories, lets see if the community can click past the 2-million mark in the year ahead. You can begin today at quesnelobserver.com.