The Bulkley Valley Credit Union recently celebrated their 70th anniversary in April and as part of that they decided to give back $70,000 split between the four communities they serve.
Groups with community minded projects were asked to submit a short application to each branch’s Community Support Committee where they then shortlisted what they felt were the top three projects in each community.
In the Hazeltons the three that were chosen were; The Hazelton Gun Club which had applied to build a gun and archery range where hunters, target shooters, firearms enthusiasts, law enforcement agencies and archers could shoot their firearms and bows in a properly constructed safe range facility.
The Roche View Lodge applied so they could develop the front entrance of the lodge to be more accessible to seniors and visitors by building a new sidewalk, installing automatic doors and constructing a heated place to house and recharge scooters.
The third successful applicant was the Skeena Steamers who wanted to purchase and install outdoor fitness equipment at numerous points from Old Hazelton to New Hazelton along the Eagle Down Trail to encourage healthy living in the Hazeltons.
From there it was up to the community to decide the winner and there was a ballot box and ballots in the New Hazelton Branch for a few weeks. The group with the most votes was chosen as the winner which was announced at their Annual General Meeting held the last week in April.
The lucky winner was the Roche View Lodge, which was presented with a cheque for $17,500 last week.