PROVING LIBRA*
An Independent Semi-Weekly Newspaper Devoted to the Interest of Central and Northern British Colt
38; No. 35
(Two Sections)
Prince George, B.C., MONDAY, May 2, 1955
ity Heads Leave or Power Parley
Commission Advocates New Type Unit
.$4.00 per year
per copy
0rJtjSh Columbia Power Commission officials are advocatl installation of a new type of diesel-generating unit for !er expansion of the city's electrical utility, it was learned
the
le t
.,��. i , nine just one week] them -this year is the. first the
' ' � .'....in ulnnt was CltV has hilfl.
the city s main plant was I ))V j,' second power unit Son in l^s than four
ths.
.route i<< Victoria and talks 0VVL.r commission heads to-
!"
May"1 nt Supe
Cordon Bryant, rintendent* J. A.
fman
W
nuance chairman I.). Ferry ami Pow-meiriber Alderman Ferguson.
ie (.jiy council hatf already ijihiepdeil- llle purchase of a i IP-cylinder opposed-piston ,| Unit from National Steel emi Conjuration of Los Am
cciirilhiR t" reliable reports
commission contacted city rials lust week and stated I they ���'<�' considering the (hast' of ;i "heavier" type of which to continue iiisinii �t Ki'iii'i-ating capa-
here.
ittlie. city's viewpoint is that use diced i.s only a stop-gap are designed to serve- the nunity until hydro power is (able, the. new equipment ;kl be the cheSpest available. ic city is.concerned because u.-t cany the capital and in-it payments on money spent he commission on purchase' 'ditional generating units. � janwhile. the mystery which iideti the exact cause of last power unit failure has
cleared away. �. echanics-who 'dismantle*!!' the y machine found that a verti-
rive shaft had sheared off. .
disintegrating metal gener-siifficlent heat to ignite hi**" (ing oil*vapor in the crank-
thus causing an explosion" Ih sent five-pound steel, in-Ition covers flying like bul-'
pe shaft transfers power from
city has had.
One of the power commission's points in its arguments for a different make of unit will be that it must find a use for the ma- j chines after Prince George gets j its hydro supply. Commission of- '� ficials have said that the units in
service moved.
here will to other
probably be communities
throughout the province when the day comes.
|top row
cylinders to the
driveshaft. A new part is
Band Conductor Lavish With Praise For Civic Centre
The highest praise was none .too good for Prince George Civic Centre last week when the conductor of a Royal Canadian Air Force band told a parks board official "this is the best auditorium we have ever played in."
Oct. 31 Birthday For
School Beginners
__October 31 has again been set as deadline date for birthdays of six-year-old youngsters who will be starting school in September.
School trustees set the October 31 deadline, * to be effective throughout the school district, at a regular meeting last week.
A provision to the' ruling will allow special exceptions to be made in the rural areas at the discretion of the. principal or inspec-
tor. The October 31
deadline has
been in effect in the city for the past three years. In previous years rural youngsters were accepted if their sixth birthdays were reached by December 31.
School Inspector Gordon Johnson asked that more weight be given to readiness of the child for school than to age.
"Some children are ready to start their formal education at four, others are not ready at six," he pointed out.
The botfrd indicated approval of a suggestion that readiness tests be � given where possible to beginning pupils.
Company Will Hire 150 For PGE Work
Labor force to be employed here this summer by GenergI Construction Co. Ltd., holders of two contracts for PGE grade construction, may reach 150 men, a spokesman for the company disclosed late last week. Clearing and grubbing
along
the first two miles of the northern extension right of way is already complete and the third section, where work is being done by a sub-contractor, is about two-' thirds complete.
General Construction holds contracts for 38 miles of the roadbed worth well over a million dollars.
The contracts call for clearing, grubbing, burning, grading and construction of small timber or pile trestles. An* ballasting will be carried out by the railroad's own crews employing a novel method whereby ties and tracks are laid on the bare roadbed, covered with ballast, then lifted to the surface.
An official.of the construction company said that progress, and size of the work force, will depend to a great extent on prevailing weather conditions.
"If conditions are right we may have 150 rnen on the job this summer," said Doug Welsh, project engineer for General.
Superintendent for the company on the PGE extension work is Jack Crane, and office manager is Bill Dunlop. General superin-
tendent for the company is George Harkness.
So far the company has not decided whether it willi use mobile .camps for its crews or work directly out of Prince George and one semi-permanent camp situated at about the mid-point of the 38-mile section. - .
Only a token shipment of-equipment which will be employed on the job has been received here to date. This includes six large tractors and two scrapers.
Men and machines may work s on the contracts if
MRS J, S. BLACK of Prince Rupert is president of ftC. and Northwestern States Command, Ladies' Auxiliary tq^the.Can-
He said that Prince George .will I adian Legion. She will be in Prince George May 30-Junel to
w-elcome delegates/to the 1955 convention of the auxiliary.
have "the best auditorium in Canada" when the huge structure is completed late this year.
Accoustics of the building are quite good, Flight Lt. Leo Corcoran said, 'in spite of the fact that the big trusses which support the roof have not yet been covered in.
He thought that seating capacity of the centre's main auditorium was its chief attraction, and he expressed the hope it would never be reduced by dividing the hall into separate parts.
RCN Recruiting Team In Pr. George Today
......Among arrivals from Vancouver on the CPA plane today was Lieut. George W. Tanner, who is chief recruiting officer for the Royal Canadian Navy in B.C.
He was joined here by Petty Officer John Foster of Prince .Ru.
machined here and the � pert, who i.s in charge of recruiting in this area and makes.frequent visits to Prince George.
The two RCN officers will remain In the city today and leave for Vanderhoof tomorrow before continuing west to Burns Lake, Smithers and Terrace.
They are contacting civic leaders with a view to spurring interest in a.naval career among young men in this region. Lieut. Tanner stated the "senior service" has many opportunities to offer boys and young men with the necessary education or a minimum of Grade 8, and that the development of nuclear weapons has opened up new fjelds for technical "training for the._young recruit.
I will be back in operation in |w days. Cost of the damage Inot lii.rii assessed. I'iclcnec at the scene of the ieate.s that it developed Sroater fnrce than the etfplos-[which almost resulted in de-pion of the entire power.plant January. In-the January in-only half a dozen inspec-| covers were blown from the e's craiikcase. Last Monday 10 out of 20 of the heavy - plates, went whistling Sh ihc" building, but fire 5c was kept to an absolute |nuim.
British Columbia Power �ssion may be advocating Installation of a Cooper-Besse-lll�it similar to those in serv-its Quesiiel plant, lough the latter was nearly by fire two weeks ago, ' units themselves were ' hlainc.
icorgc installed the first
52. AH of the five are, � "nits which saw
P during world War II in rooms of the U.S. K:aiul Marine landing craft. 1(s wore all rebuilt be-, to civilian use and encountered with
{rouble
Clouds-, Showers Is Weather Outlook Here
Cloudy skies and scattered showers arc looked for in the Prince George district on Tuesday.
Airport weatherman says mostly clear tonight becoming cloudy Tuesday with scattered showers in the afternoon.
Not much change in temperature is looked for and winds will be light, j-
Low and'high readings at Rrincc George tonight and tomorrow 28 and 55.
Wising Young City Surgeon W Thursday In Vancouver
a ZTKln�lfcal'and8urRi.-:," Wiis cut .short last week
Lh
P�n Ross
Ral i foin
hort last week i(;'!h of Dr. Robert
Lytton, B.C.
��old Prince lied in Vancouver ";
Dr. Ross arrived in Prince George last August and opened an office in the ^Professional Centre. The same month.he join* ed the staff of Prince George hos-
Trade Board Demands Action On Cariboo And Hart Roads
Because the Cariboo and John Hart Highways combine to.form the only" all-B.C. route to Alaska, the provincial government should give top priority to reconstruction of the former between Prince George and McLeese Lake, a Prince George Board of Trade resolution reads:
Addressed, to members"<>f th& provincial cabinet, the resolution asks not only top priority for
reconstruction, but immediate attention for sections of both highways where traffic is brought to a standstill each spring.
Both highways are erroneously referred to as "all-weather routes" by the government and the B.C. Travel Bureau, the board of trade resolution points ouA.
Harry Loder, trade board president, said in connection with the resolution that the government is "simply deluding the people by calling these two roads all-weather routes."
"It seems strange indeed that two all-weather highways should be subject to complete disruption of commercial traffic and interruption of private traffic every spring," be stated.
The condition of certain parts of both highways is "causing much hardship and adverse publicity to the province in general," the resolution reads.
B.C. Trumpeter Swan jies En IUK Refuge
One of five rare trumpeter swans which drew curious crowds at Prince George Airport four
Radiotelephone Towers Will Link City With Peace River
City Collector lack After Lengthy Illness
City Collector A. S. Cqlliqs is back at his desk at-City -Hall this morning � following an al> sence of four months due to ili-ness.
He will work only half time for a period while he regains his strength. �
Mr. Collins started with the municipal staff in 1943 and three years ago. was appointed to the ' visit the area this month. They
All classes of business in the Peace River and Central B.C. will have closer links and the charges for long-distance telephone conversations between the two regions will be slashed considerably' as the result of plans now under consideration by B.C. 'Telephone lompany and its affiliate, Northwest Telephone, which serves Prince George.
Plans arp being mad* to establish radiotelephone circuits between Prince George and Dawson Creek.
The project is still in the planning stage, and no date has been set for a start on construction of the radio beam towers stretching between the two cities.
The circuits would provide telephone and ..teletype service and woukl - cut - the mileage between the two communities from over J700 miles by way of Edmonton to 163 mile's.
As a preliminary move to establishing the faster and cheaper service between this city and Dawson Creek, B.C. Telephone will soon survey the Federal-Government's telephone system in the Peace River Block with a view to making an offer to purchase it. V
Three company engineers, accompanied by a representative of the Department of Transport, will
position of city collector.
will appraise the government sys-
festival will take place in the high school auditorium Wednesday evening, when Mayor Gordon Bryant will officiate at a brief ceremony.
Soloists, choruses and instru-years ago when they changed hnentali�ts fmm Prince "George
Music Festival To Open At Connaught Wednesday
Music section of the nine-day Prince George Music and Drama Festival will get underway in the Connaught School auditqri-um on Wednesday afternoon. Official n]iening of the spring
tern and forecast the growth possibilities.
The federal communication system. includes telephone ex-" changes at Dawson Creek, Fort St. John and Pouce Coupe.
B.C. Telephone Company bought the Federal Government's telephone system west of the Rockies about a year ago.
planes en-route to England'as a presenf to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, has died.
The swans were a present to Her Majesty from the Dominion of Canada and were captured at Lonesome Lake in-the-Chi-lcot-ins.
A Central B.C. Airways plane (now. Pacific Western)' flew the birds to Prince George for transfer to Canadian Pacific Airlines. At Vancouver the five biff swans again changed planes, this time
to Trans Canada Airlines.
Tories. Disciplin B.C. Dissidents
VICTORIA, May 2 (CP)�Federal Progressive Conservative leaders have been charged with striking names of leading members of the B.C. Progressive Conservative Association from party records because they opposed nationalMead-er George Drew.
Saanich Progressive Conservative Association officials said a meeting of the association passed a resolution charging followers of 'Mr. Drew with "imposing a complete veil of secrecx~at national conservative headquarters."
CoTiFcrvatiV(BS~Avith~more�than-�10 years' membership in the party; Conservative candidates in the last federal election,' Conservative, association officers and official B.C. delegates to Ottawa have had. their names, stricken from the records of the party for
Dital and rapidly became popular "daring to protest George Drew's among his associates and mem- lack of leadership," the resolution bers of the staff.
and the outlying districts will compete for some 22 trophies during the nine-day music and drama event. Four of the awards have been established for the first time this year.
Adjudicator of the music section of the festival, .whichc ends Saturday, will be Sherwood Rob-son, well known Vancouver musician and one of the few adjudicators in Canada capable of judging both vocal and instrumental "classes. CONTESTANTS
Contestants will come from as far away as Pendleton Bay on Babine Lake to compete in the Prince George festival.
Contestants tiave also been registered from Vanderhoof, Strath-naver and Giscome.
Music/ section of the festival will be hold from May 4 to 7. with tiro final evening reserved for honor performances of contestants who obtain highest marks in the various classes.
Eight classes of; junior solos will be heard when the music"festival opens at 1:30 Wednesday afternoon in the Connaught Auditorium.
Following the official opening in thcycven i tig�a-variety-of-vocal-solos, bios and choirs will be presented. CHORUSES
School choruses will be heard in. the Cunnaught auditorium Thursday morning, while Thursday .afternooji's performances in the high school auditorium will consist of high school choruses. �
Classes of vocal duet, solo, piano
accordion, adult vocal solo, band and concert orchestra will be heard during Thursday evening's program in the high school auditorium.
At Connaught� .auditorium Friday morning pianoforte classes will he heard; while Friday afternoon's program, also at Connaught, will continue classes of piano duct, vocal duet, rhythm band and wind instruments. VARIED PROGRAM
Rural school choruses, bands, pianoforte, mixed, -quartet and instrumental classes will be heard on "the varied program Friday evening in the high school auditorium, while Saturday's program, also in the high school, will consist of piano accordian classes.
Pianoforte classes will be concluded on.Saturday afternoon. �
An honor performance in the high school auditorium Saturday evening will bring to a climax the music section of the festival.
Drama section of the festival will be held from May 10 to 14. TICKKT3-
Tickets for the festival, serving bcith music and drama sections with the exception of honor-performances, may be obtained for $1 at the Hudson's Bay Co., H. H. Douglas, the city Library or from Miss Doris Harman, Lyoh's Building.
Individual sessions may be attended without a season ticket, For.25 cents for day sessions and
Response To Housing Plan Disappointing
Enthusiasm for development of a government-financed residential project here has not been over abundant, a City Hall source disclosed this morning.
So far only 10 would-be builders have given the city $25 deposits on $1800 home sites in the proposed residential development.
�City Clerk D. T. Williams said this morning that response to the plan thus far has been disappointing.
Some 150 home sites are available in a choice location on the site of the^former Canadian Army divisional headquarters camp overlooking the Nechako River.
With Federal and Provincial government assistance the area would be completely serviced with paved streets, concrete sidewalks, streetlights, sewers, watermains, power, parks and a storm drain system.
Sites in the project would measure about 70 by 120 feet and price of the lots would be included as part of the down-payment on NHA mortgaged homes.
Purchasers of the lots would be given one full building season in which to get construction advanced to the first-floor stage. Homes would have to embrace at least 900 square feet on the ground floor.
Deposits are being accepted at City Hall and the lots are going
50-centtJ
even ing;�
7
Admittance'.to honor performances will be 50 cents at the door.
Mrs. George Gibbins is hardworking president of the Festival Association. Vice-president is Mrs. Jack Beech; secretary, Miss Doris Harman; treasurer, Mrs. George Riggs; .entry secretary, Mrs. R. F. Corless, and awards chairman, Mrs. Cecil Glass.
weather i.s suitable. Construction of the bare grade over 38 miles should be completed sometime next summer.
General Construction has opened an office and engineering headquarters on First Avenue.
All hiring will be done through he National Employment. Service and the two unions having juris-liction. The latter are Local 115 of the Operating Engineers Union, and Local 213 of the Teamsters Union.
The general public will not be directly aware of PGE grade contraction here until the work crews reach Mile 20 along the route, where the railroad will make its first crossing of the John Hart Highway. This will be at a point a short distance north of the Salmon River Bridge.
Access to the section of grade being worked on today is by a government road which runs along the top of the cutbanks fac-ng the city to the north.
Telephone Company Plans New System
Effective July 1, North-west Telephone Company operators will no longer ask for the name of the calling party on long dis-ance calls. Operators will record, this name only if the calling party volunteers it.
This means that after the above date, the toll statement which svibscribers receive for long distance calls will not show the names of persons placing toll calls. The statement will continue to show the date1 of the call, the name of the place called and charge for the call.
This-type of toll billing is now being used by all major telephone companies in Canada and the United States. North-west has decided to adopt it in order to reduce the load on long distance operators, thereby permitting faster service.
No Council Meeting Tonight Due Absences
A City Hall spokesman announced , this morning that the regular city council meeting scheduled for this evening has been cancelled,
Cancellation of the meeting resulted from the absence of Mayor jordon Bryant, Alderman W. D. Ferry and Alderman R. S. Fergu-
>n.
The three are in Victoria today* � engaged in talks-with the British Columbia Power Commission over choice of new power units for the city electrical utility. " (See story elsewhere'in this issue).
A special meeting of the council was held Thursday to give two readings to a $1245,000 waterworks -bylaw and three readings to the
on a" first-come-first-serve basis. 1055 levy bylaw.
Off The Wires^Today
Canadian Press, Monday, May 2, 1955
Attempted Murder Suspect Freed On $25,000 Bail
VANCOUVER�Eddie Shcrban, accused of attempted murder, was released from custody on $25,000 bail.
He is charged with attempted murder in the gangland-style shooting" of William Semenick, 52-year-old convicted drug trafficker.
Semenick was wounded by a bullet in the groin, in-5tanley Park last November 4. .
Joseph Morcous is still in custody. A request for reduction of $60,000 bail was refused.
Overpowered Boat Caused Death Of Nanaimo Pair
NANAIMO�Use of an overpowered motorboat was blamed for the dcoth hy_ drowning of Herbert Veasey, 4 5, and his daughter, Mrs. Suzanne Squair, 21, off Nanoosc last Wednesday.
A coroner's jury said Saturday the deaths were accidental and came about . through a mishap with on overpowered boat in rough weather i ; The body of Mrs. Squair has not yet been recovered.
Driver, Two Boys Injured When Racing Car Leaves Track
NANAIMO^�Two young Nanaimo boys were injured here Sunday and a Seattle driver suffered shock when two speeding sports cars ripped into a crowd of 5,000 spectators at a meet at Cassidy airport.
Sidney Forrester suffered a possible fractured jawand spinal injuries and Bobby Miller was cut and bruised. Both are about 12 years old.
Hank Tubbman,~of~tho Seattle Sports Car Club, was treated for severe shock. .-.i
Tubbmon's vehicle and another car went out of control on a corner and ran into the crowd.
VANCOUVER�All time record of 6,000,000 was paid in old age pension and family allowance benefits in British Columbia during April. = W. R. Bone, regional director of the Health and Welfare Deportment, said that cheques were sent to 90,535 pensioners and 188,744 family allowance recipients.
ARMSTRONG-�Two elderly people were killed in a hcad-oncollision near here Saturday night. They were J. C. Hopkins, 91 and his wif�, 71�