LIBRA
An Independent S.ml-Wwkly Newpeper D.,.*,, ,� �,, lntmtt ., C.ntn.1 and
38, No-
(Two Settion.)
prince
Octobor
jty Firm Awarded lillion Dollar Job
Largest single contract ever let to a Prince George comp-.^ been awarded to. Ben Ginter Construction Co. Ltd., First Avenue, for construction of 18.25 miles of the
..Canada Highway.
inter
si.ni.
Cons
was also for the let to one comp-ll.C. section of the I'fjute so far. � n-uction was low iroject with a price'
rk
for the on the
company
new sec- merce.
,11 staVi
1(1 Will
tbe winter bcrinit.
in a week to 10 continue through-if weather condi-
jact
-, |, ;n be built under T: i!i--('anada contract the city firm runs i. reck to Lemonade
for the work in-ictipn and grading lint; of 1'IS,000 cubic anil 1.200,000 cubic �I- material. iy is already Jit work i- .section of the n Balmoral and :imately -18 miles imloops. Hid on this as SI 17,892.
Trans-Canada Highway let in Ginter Construe-yvii fulfilled and involv-Itlins rive ii)ilcs of hlgh-Kamloops at a cost of
ion date for the 18.25 . just let is October
hcess, Townsend Hot Marry
I,(IM�ii\, Capt,
Three Suspects Held In Bank Looting
VANCOUVER (CP) _ Police Sunday were hold ing three men in connection with last week's $26,000 raid of a suburban branch of the Canadian Bank of, Corn-
One of the men had been picked up earlier hut was released after questioning.
Charged in the robbery is Catharine Pilling, 22, of New Westminster.
man, Henry A. Clarke
of Sunev va?\ .y.A- Carke ousahd g or burre>, was released on bail, be taken.
$735 Damage Caused By Slippery Streets
Two motor vehicle accidents resulting in damages totalling $73o happened on city streets during the week-end.
Yesterday's light snowfall and the slippery condition of the streets resulted in a car driven by Howard Williamson of Willow River and another vehicle driven by, Alvirj Macholz of this city colliding at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Wainwright Street.
A total of $233 damages was done to both vehicles.
Saturday night, Willie Kwiath-, kowskl, Prince George, ran into the rear fender of a car driven by Annette Taylor of Quesnel. Daiiiage was estimated at $500. �
RCMP warn that because the thoroughfares have become more slippery with the first signs of winter, driving is more hazard-greater precaution should
City Voters'List doses Today
Prince George residents who have acquired city property during the last year, trades licence holders and spouses have only until 5 p.m. today to apply at the City Hall to have their names included in a new municipal voters' list.
Those falling to take this action will be ineligible to vote at the municipal elections next month, acting city clerk warned today.
Names of property owners and the authorized agents of firms owning property in the city are retained on the list from year to year, unless the city clerk has been advised or becomes aware that they are no longer eligible by reason of property sales.
Spouses and holders of trades licences must register every year for Inclusion in the voters' list;
A spouse is defined as any male or female who is the full age of 21 years, a British subject, and the husband or wife of the owner of land or land and improvements in the municipality.
Trade licence holders include any person who is 21 years of age, a British subject, and 'the holder or being a partner in a Subsisting trades licence issued by the city.
test Season Yef Reason
ir Highway Improvements
An estimated $275,000 worth of "highway improvements pleted this summer can be credited to favorable weather ditions, District Engineer D. F. Martin said at the weekend.
rThi- i- the best season we Fehail for ,i. number of years," nmentetl.1
t year, plans for a turnoff
alng at the airport and an-
deviation at Peden's Hill,
thi'iY miles west of the
*erc shelved because of- the
ten( wet weather which
throughout the summer
lall. �;'..- �
Lhe John- Hart Highway, o- north to Summit Lake, 3 is completed to Mile was done by City Con-Co. Lid.
8 of the grade for the �:^i whlclr begins a few past the airport gate* and '''�� '�'< Mile i) is now com-inij last graveUlijg opera-fe lu-inj,' done.
ut'l!:* "f this stretch of �>' nest summer will de-111 ;> i! be completed before eek-eml.
V(!'- regular traffic is now he road; '
Airport project, is a con-
tinuation of work which began last year but was delayed because of the wet weather.
The Peden's Hill project was also delayed for the same, reason. ,'.
� Still to l)e completed is some patching on the south traffic Jane of the Fraser River bridge. The north lane Was completely resurfaced thur summer with specially treated lumber.
Other projects which have been worked on by Department of High\yjays crews this season are the Mud River, Salmon River and Chief Lake roads.
improvements to Highway 10 leading east to Giscdme totalled $25,000 and the northern tran.s-provlncial- east of McBrlde received $30,000 worth of Improvements. A three-mile deviation for this road was also constructed this summer.
Evan McGowan, 21, Found Guilty Of Breaking And Entry
Evan McGowan, 21, was found guilty of breaking and entering the Hudson's Bay Company's general store at Lower Post, B.C. and was sentenced to two years imprisonment at the B.C. penitentiary.
The sentence was handed down Thursday afternoon by Judge Henry Castillou following a trial which lasted more than a day.
The Hudson's Bay Company store was broken into and the office safe removed from the building on May 7 of this year.
Evidence given at the trial showed that the vault was remov-""ed from a room at:the'rear of the IJiiihling after being z-olled to sty rage room. It was then taken to'a gravel pit and later dumped into the Liard River.
It was recovered from the rivei with contents missing.
McGowan has already served a -10-day sentence for escaping from custody.
He was one of the four men who escaped from the provincial jail here on August 17.
The quartette were later ar rested at Giscome just ten minutes before an castbound freight train was to pass that point.
� the cc, ablest si
�^'KLL, national lead-
,pany
one of
,y and one of �? s in lhe House
? he
pfV! 'VlU be lieard
at
at a Hall o'clock.
Anderson Co. Gels Second PGE Job
Contract for construction of an additional 27 miles of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway's northern extension was let last week to Emil Anderson Construction Co. Ltd.
The new section will take the grade to Mile 109 in the vicinity of Azouzetta Lake, approximately 93 air miles due north of Prince George.
Starting point of the latest section to he let is at Mile R2,Vhore Mannlx Ltd. will complete construction of a. 25 mile section of grade next September.
The Anderson firm, already holds a PGE contract covering construction of grade from Mile 38 to Mile '37.
Weekend Snowfall Cues Late Winter
The week-end snowfall may have prompted many home-owners to light their furnaces for lhe first time this season, but it couldrilt have been the earliest occasion for sueh'an operation on record.
For example, if you were living here in 1926, you have seen 5.2 inches or snow fall in the month of September.
During October of last year, .2 inches of snow came down, while in. September of this year a negligible 0.1 inches fell.
These are comfortable comparisons with other years such as 1945 and l!>.r>l when 1.2 Inches and 2.-1 inches respectively fell during last month.
During September of 1945, V.2 inches came down, while nine years later, September 1954, not a single flake fell on the city.
In October, 1952, meteorological records show that a mere "trace" full. That was the year when Prince George had perhaps the only "bki.ck" Christmas on- record.
First heavy snowfqll which remained on the ground as a pcr-m:inent reminder of winter fell almost a week after Christmas that year.
In October of this year, providing il doesn't snow before midnight tonight, the snowfall added up. to 2.1 inches,-bringing the total to 2.5 inches this season.
Jail Under Fire
Guards Seek Removal 01 William Irani
Charges of mistreatment of prisoners and arbitrary dismissal of staff members were hurled at Warden William F. Trant of the Prince George Provincial Ja�l here last week when a B.C. jail official undertook an investigation at the request of. 21 prison guards. \---------------------------------------
FIVE UP AND TWO TO GO � Sixty-five foot boom of a mobile hoist soars skyward to lift into place the seven graceful Gothic arches for the new Knox United Church in Prince George. It's fhe first phase of a $120,000 building project started last summer. The laminated Douglas fir arches and beams were fabricated in Vancouver and cost $9,300. City Construction Co. carpenters are now erecting the walls in preparation for the next stage of construction.
Road Route Blocked; VLA Builder Halted
Further evidence of the government's decision to build a $3,000,000 bridge and highway system which will skirt Prince George to the south was received today with word that a World War II veteran has been ordered to stop construction on his partly built home in o nearby VLA development because
Brutality Charged
Jiggers! The Cops Are Coming!
There will'be no moratorium tonight on sections of the Criminal Code dealir-g with Ihc theft and wilful destruction of privotc property, a senior officer of the RCMP's city de-_ tachmenr worried a few hours before the ushering in of All Hallow's Eve.
Sergeant L. E. Rosberg stoted he has arrahged for extra constables to be* on duty tonight to discourage the activities of over-zealous Hollowe en celebrants.
He said that regular shifts will be doubled and constant patrols will be maintained in both the business and residential sections of the city.
Meantime, ft is expected there will be the usual rounds of city homes by bog-toting youngsters ond the customary sooping of store windows.
But police officers state that property damage and theft is "no soap' tonight.
it is on the route of the new road.
First concrete evidence that the Department of Highways intended to biilld the long-rumored rofute arouna the. eity to link the Cariboo and'Jbhn Hart Highways came in late August when government officials notified the Prince'George Curling Club of the proximity of the right-of-way to the new curling rink site.
Ordered through a VLA official to stop work on his home here last week was Denny Dunne, an employee of Finning Tractor & Equipment Co. Ltd."
Mr. Dunne, whose home was to be situated in the third VLA project to be commenced here, had advanced construction to the pouring of the basement walls and laying of floor, joists when the stop order came through.
He told The Citizen he did not know what course of action he would take now that work on his new home has been stopped, and added that the amount of compensation granted to him by the government would have a bearing on his plans.
The veteran explained that under the VLA system, of land development he does not hold title to the property on which his home was being built, so he can only expect compensation for the value of the materials and labor which has gone into it.
He said that in compliance with a request from the VLA office here he is preparing a statement of costs incurred so farv
The highway which will pass over the site of his home will be a link between two high-level bridges whose cost is estimated at more than SI,000,000 each.
One must span the Fraser River a short distance south of South Fort George and the other will span the Xechako just West of the city limits.
The linking highway will bisect the old airport site a half mile south of the city and will pass over the fairway on number one hole of the Prince George Golf & Country Club's course adjacent to the airport.
A major arterial intersection will be created half a mile south of the city where the Cariboo Highway and Northern Trans-Provincial Highway will join. -
When completed the new high way will enable all through-traffic in this area to circumvent Prince Geoi'ge.
Major objective of the development is to eliminate the two big gest traffic bottlenecks in the
highway system adjacent to Prince George; namely the Fraser River and Nechako River bridges.
It also avoids the engineering problems inherent in building a
The Investigation was conducted by E. G. Stevens, B.C. Inspector of Jails, following, the preparation of a petition addressed to Deputy Attorney General H. A. MacLean.
A spokesman for the 21 guards who signed the petition stated during the week-end that the investigation wa.s not complete and that the signers of the petition are convinced they will be discriminated against for their action. BRUTALITV
Late last week The Citizen interviewed a former prisoner of the new half-million-dollar jail here and heard evidence that a young inmate of the institution was thrown to the ground so hard when he refused to wash a floor that his body bent the metal pail which he fell upon.
The ex-prisoner's statement was .corroherated by the guards' spokesman, and he went on to state that other similar cases of unnecessary brutality have occurred.
The former jail Inmate said that he was dragged along a corridor by his hair before being subjected to four strokes of the paddle. This too was substantiated by the spokesman.
Some 40 prisoners were confined to. the new jail for almost two months without outside exercise periods, he stated, and this' condition was only alleviated when the inspector of jails was contacted during the warden's absence.
Prisoners threatened to riot on this occasion and the acting war-len summoned Sheriff Arnold Davis and Government Agent Stan Calling for advice in handling the situation. GOT ACTION
The men were protesting the lack of exercise and the meals. Davis and Carllng recommended that the acting warden contact the inspector ol jails and ask foi further advice.
As a result of a telephone call to the inspector in Vancouver the
\yere increased.
The guards' spokesman said that members of the staff are told one day that their work is acceptable and are fired the next day without cause.
Under the employment system used by B.C. jails tbe warden has the right to suspend any member of the staff. Following suspension a report on the staff member is submitted to Vancouver and tbe warden's recommendations are usually carried out.
Guards are frequently threatened with dismissal and receive no
learing when are are suspended',
he spokesman said. SENIOR GUARD QUIT One senior guard has resigned
lis post because of alleged bru-
ality to prisoners and lack of
security in his position.
Text of the petition which precipitated last week's enquiry into conditions at the jail follows:
October 7th, 1955.
"As provided for in section 72 of the Civil Service Act 1945, he undersigned guards employed at the Prince George Gaol make �epresentatlons to have working sonditions and the conduct <>f Warden YV. Trant towards guards ind prisoners be subject to a full enquiry,
"Guards with many years of �xperience have come to the contusion that duo to Warden ["rant's peculiar and unreasonable ittitude there is mo security eith-�r for them or new guards. In he past guards have been fired or no apparent reason and have no idea why they have been dis-riissed. During meetings with he warden their opinions are (See JAIL WARDEN, Page 8)
Snow Flurries, North Winds Today, Tomorrow
A few snow flurries and cold winds1 are'predicted for the remainder of today.
Tomorrow it will .again be cloudy and cold, and north, winds will reach, gusts of 15 miles an hour.
Low tonight and high tomorrow at Prince George will be 10 and 25; Quesnel, Smithers 15 and 28.
p
stable road surface down the Air- prisoners weve allowed out for port Hill. exercise the next day and rations
Construction Here Will Hit $3rO00FO00 By End Of Year
A goal undreamed of in Prince Geroge only a few years ago will be attained by the end of 1955 when municipal build-ng permits for the year will have been issued for construction worth $3,000,000.
Injured Minister Reiurns To Ottawa
. yA N CJDU V ER�F.i ertier>i M i n-is'er Sinclair, heavily blanketed on a stretcher, boarded an RCAF North Star aircarft al Vancouver International Airport Saturday for a fliu'ht to Ottawa.
The plane left at !�:iii a.m. ami was scheduled to land at Ottawa ;it !>: 11 p.m.
Mr. Sinclair, recovered >n Van-:ouver General Hospital from K\^ mil back Injuries and an attack >f jaundice following an accident n Siberia, will join his wife and family in Ottawa.
The minister, while* on a tour of . Russia last August visited Siberian fishing operation where a scaffold collapsed.
City building officials disclosed oday that construction permits covering $195,000 worth of new wildings were issued during Oc-ober to bring the year's total so ar to $2,723,220.
By year's end when the figure w.ill amount .to approximately $3.-000*000 the city will have had a J3 per cent increase over "the previous record year when per-nits totalled $2,000,000.
During October the largest single projects cohered, by munl-:ipal permits were a $20,000 project for Rose's Ice Cream Ltd. and a $20,000 building1 for the Evangelical Free Church.
Predictions of a 1955 construction boom in Prince George were made as early as April this year when the building season was in its infancy.
Markin * Acquitted OS
Breaking And Entry
Nicholas Markin was acquitted of a charge of breaking and en tering by His Honor Judge Henry Castillou in County Court here Friday.
Earlier last week, Evan McGowan wa.s found guilty of an identical charge and was sentenced to two years in the B.C. Penitentiary. Last Wednesday Robert Staats was found not guilty and acquitted of a charge which arose from the same incident.
Charge of breaking and entering was laid against the three you.ng men after a raid on the Hudson's Bay Company's store at Lower Post, B.C., on May 7 of this year.
However, Markin still has to serve another seven months in jail. He was sentenced to nine months imprisonment after pleading guilty to a charge of escaping from lawful custody.
Markin was one of the four men who escaped from the jail here in the middle of August and later picked up by police at Gis-come.
Off The Wires Today
(Canodion Press, Monday, October 31) Social Crediters Abandon Plans For Drug Cost Probe
VANCOUVER�Roods, health, highways and public works were discussed here Saturday as delegates to the seventh onnuol B.C. Social Credit League convention wound up their two-day meeting