Houston, British Columbia

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Houston, British Columbia, Canada

Motto: Where the welcome is warm and the wilderness beckons
Houston, British Columbia, Canada.
Census division
Regional District	Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako
Area:	72.83 km²
Founded
Incorporated	1957
Population District Municipality Population	3,600 (2006)
Population density	51.3/km²
Time zone	Pacific: UTC -8
Postal code span
Latitude Longitude	54°24′2″N, 126°37′18″W
Elevation	~500  m MSL
Highways	Highway 16
Waterways
Mayor
Governing body
1(sc) According to the Canada 2001 Census. 2(gr) Geographic references.

Coordinates: 54°23′55.7″N, 126°38′37.8″W Houston is a forestry, mining and tourism town in the north-central portion of British Columbia, Canada. Its urban population is approximately 3600 people, with approximately 2000 in the surrounding rural area. It is known as the "Steelhead Capital" and claims that it has the world's largest flyfishing rod. Houstons tourism industry is largely based on eco-tourism and Steelhead Park, situated along Highway 16

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Politics 4 Recreation 5 News 6 Schools 7 Trivia 8 External links

[edit] History

The Morice area was first chartered by amateur cartographer and geologist, Father Adrien Gabriel Morice. Father Morice came as a missionary to the native people and was the first 'white man' to see most of the area.

[edit] Geography

• Location: latitude-54.39635,longitude-126.665497 [1]
• Time Zone: Pacific Standard Time

Houston is located near the confluence of the Bulkley and Morice Rivers approx. 60km south of Smithers along highway 16.

The area is in a rainshadow of the Coast Mountains, however due to being dominated by a low pressure region, Houston receives a mid-range volume of precipitation annually.

Beautiful Morice Lake is located just 80km south along the Morive River FSR. Nestled into the Coast Mountains, many Houstonites use this area for recreational camping and fishing.

Nearby Communities:

• Perow
• Topley
• Buck Flats
• Barrett
• Smithers
• Burns Lake

[edit] Politics

• Houston is located in the federal electoral district of Skeena-Bulkley Valley, which is held by incumbent Nathan Cullen of the New Democratic Party of Canada.
• Provincially Houston is located in the Bulkley Valley-Stikine electoral district which is held by incumbent Denis McKay of the British Columbia Liberal Party.

On December 10, 2003, Houston's first female mayor, Sharon Smith made international news [2] when naked photos of her were illegally disseminated on the internet. Allegedly copied from her home computer during a house party thrown by her children, the photos showed her in the chair of her mayoral office wearing only the Chain of Office.

[edit] Recreation

• The Morice Mountain Nordic Ski Club is a volunteer Non-Profit Society. The MMNSC is responsible for all developments and trail grooming as well as maintenance of the facilities, and for trail users fee collections.The ski trails are situated 8km south of Houston on Buck Flats Rd. Skiing enthusiasts are able to explore over 45 kms of challenging and beginner trails covering a rolling topography around Silverthorne Lake

• Many locals frequent the Nanika-Kidprice Lakes Basin canoe route. This basin lies on the eastern slope of the Coastal Mountain Range and forms the upper watershed of the Morice-Bulkley Rivers. The basin area is 920 meters above sea level and is surrounded by glaciated and snow-capped peaks that rise as high as 2400 meters. The 30km route takes about 3-4 days to complete. There is approx. 4km of portages between three lakes.

• The recently constructed Houston Leisure facility holds a pool, hot-tub, sauna and fitness gym.
• Houston has two 9-hole golf courses
• Forestry Tours are a guided tour and see for yourself how the forests are being reforested, harvested and utilized.

[edit] News

On October 9 2005 Ian Bush, 22 was shot dead by an RCMP officer in the back of the head at close range. Ian had been taken into custody during a Houston Luckies hockey game. Standing outside with an open beer, he had been asked for his name by a new officer in town. When Ian gave a false name, the other attending officer said that it was not his name and Ian was arrested for obstructing a police officer. That was about 9:30 pm on Saturday, October 29, 2005.

The family also learned that Ian had gone peacefully with the officers for his ride to the local detachment. But by about 10 pm, Ian was dead. [3]. There have been investigations on the conduct of the officer involved in the death of Ian Bush under speculation that Ian's death was not justified.

[edit] Schools

Houston is located in School District 54 Bulkley Valley and has three public schools and one privatly run Christian denominational school.

Elementary Schools:

• Silverthorne Elementary School
• Twain Sullivan Elementary School

Secondary Schools:

• Houston Secondary School

The Houston Christian School teaches from K-12.

[edit] Trivia

• The Bulkley, a smaller stream running through Houston and the Morice join just west of Houston. At the point of their joining they become the Bulkley, not the Morice despite the fact the Morice is larger. This was done by Poudrier, a government cartographer whom, it is rumoured, never saw the region.

• The Bulkley, is named for Col. S. Bulkley, one of the surveyors on the Telegraph line through the Pleasant Valley.

[edit] External links

• District of Houston
• Houston On-Line
• HBCC UFO Research