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Hello FSJ

Introduction to the new reporter/photographer for the community.
Jonas Gagnon
Jonas Gagnon will be the new local reporter/photographer for the next seven weeks.

Ruth Lloyd, The Courier’s regular reporter/photographer, is headed to Bolivia for two months and she is handing her beloved paper off to me while she is away. I know I have some big shoes to fill but she’s been putting me through Fort St. James boot camp to get me up to speed.

I’ve been up here barely a week, fresh from the chaos of Christmas, so I still have a lot to learn, and a lot of people to meet. I’ll introduce myself first; that way when you see me walking around town, trying to get the scoop, you can come up and introduce yourself.

I’m a Prince George boy, born and raised.

I spent over 18 years tramping around the backwoods of my parents property and snowmobiling in the mountains in the winter.

After flying the coop I spent time living, and planting trees, all around B.C., from Nanaimo to Fort St. James and doing a few far flung trips when I could.

My education followed my rambling ways. I started a degree at UNBC, and ended with Bachelors in Journalism at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops.

Now my wandering has landed me in the north once again, though it hardly feels that way this winter.

Landing here I was impressed by a town that looks alive, and bustling, even with the grey weather we’re trapped in.

The more I learn, and fill up my schedule, the more I realize how true that initial reaction was. I’m looking forward to the diversity of reporting which the broad range of events in the community has to offer. Hopefully all the outdoor activity buzzing around me will inspire me to get back into shape.

Unfortunately my time here will be short, and I’ll probably be saying goodbye once I really get my feet under me, but it looks like it will be a good time.

I hope you can find it in your hearts to have mercy on ‘the new guy’. And if you see a guy with a lost look in his eyes and a pen and a pad of paper in his hands, don’t hesitate to introduce yourself.

By Jonas Gagnon