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An Independent Semi-Weekly Newspaper Devote V ^ Intereett of Central and Northern British Columbia
WEATHER
Sunny toddy, sunny with cloudy periods tomorrow, little change in temperature, winds light. Low tonight 40,. predicted high tomorrow 70.
Prince George, B.C., TUESDAY, May 22, 1956
$4.00 per year
5c per copy
30 FIRES BURNING
ft
Through [Forests
Company Uses 6,000,000 Board Feet
Northern British Columbia is on fire.
The period of crossed fingers came to an end fc r foresters late last week as the woods practically exploded into,flame at dozens of points.
T,he fires failed to take time off over the holiday week-end
ItONp, a federal govern-n�nt employee is "100 per cent ""hind the Hoard of Trade's alter-"i proposal.'?
said the trade board had "any gook a telephone poll of city bus-
ssmen.' asking�ti>6 ' qifeWUwi:
t'hat do you think of the oner
y street proposal which would
i five street*; and avenues in the lowntown area open to one-way Traffic only?"
I BILL BKLIiOB, Prince George lld;timer and contractor replied:
This country is very big: Such i move by council is premature."
Hi* said the traffic problem is Jot serious in this city and "It pay look like a saving right now m in the years ahead one-way bffie will be devastating to the pole business center.
"We're not crawling yet. We're lot like Vancouver or Seattle," Ur. Bellos explained.
CLARK HUCKABAY, operator 'f a -Fourth Ayenue .garage and jerylce station, .felt that . Prince
eorge was'� not' ready "for one-ray streets. ' |.Mr. Iluckahay said that such
street plan today would create
jerlous1 bottle-neck, only bring-h about a drop in business on streets effected.
"It would not he to the general
intajic," he slated;
15. < .UtTKR, ohairrn.*n.-iof; the n Planning Commission, told -Citizen tfiat Prince George ^definitely not prepared for
1000 Attend Opening Of City's Swim Pool
for Prmce George is premature and Is undesirable at the present time.
Mr. Smith said the situation deserves a scrulinous survey by a traffic expert to determine the_ current needs.
Last Monday evening city council accepted a Board of Trade resolution urging the abolition of the one-way traffic proposal without comment.
The trade board civic affairs committee, headed by*Ralph Zel mar, presented the resolution to the hoard'* membership at a gen eral meeting 10 days ago.
Members whole-heartedly en dorsed the resolution, along with proposals referring to commercial loading and parking areas in the business section of the city.
council
utl�n ancl hoped cjty
heed its advice. �'. v. ihiixiph, district for-*�*. expressed the opinion' that fncway traffic here Was..not >ary at the present time. � i PARK, Third Avenue gro-*Ti sajd that one-way streets in rlnce George should bV "tsb6o". aid city-owhed parking areas nouid.be provided downtown and i?*1 Present parking*vregulations [houid be rigidly enforced.
ne traffic must be kept mov-One-way streets will only e more congestion to the ^noicd.s of out-of-town shoppers wine to the city at the
- park also felt that the traf- � should allo ight
[
p
� should allow a right- turn on a ted light, tie said as often seen cars lined up ength of a block waiting for JJP light to turn tfreen.
taiM LAiy*0*T. an acco
l�� th
accountant.
**T. an accountant. that one way streets *were good idea in larger citfes but py-would definitely be a bit con-
�ir>S here"
�ir>S here.
Lti, th� local and
Big Traffic Sign Program Imminent
Between 150 and 2Q0 traffic control signs will be erected on city streets within the next few weeks.
Qhairman of the traffic com-juiltee of the city council, Alderman Ken Jack, told the Citizen today that the signs will be order ed and placed on the thoroughfares very Soon.
The signs will control traffic in school zones and pedestrian cross
Jack said all stop signs'on avenues intersecting with Vancouver treet will be removed.
Several new school" zones have been created in the committee's move,' spurred by a report from. Staff Sgt. L. E. Rosberg.of the RCitfF two weeks ago.
One pblice constable undertook a marathon survey of the'.traffic situation in this city and the report, urging the erection of almost 200 signs, was one result of the study.
Contrdl signs will also be placed in the 'environs of civic playgrounds'and other areas where a large number of children congre-
Total school population of 'rince George, from grades one o nine inclusive, turned out in lull cry on Sunday to storm the jpening of this city's proudest lew adornment; the sparkling, panking new swimming pool at the foot of Watrous St.
Perhaps there were not quite that many children on hand�it was difficult to take an accurate count, they skittered � around, so much�tjut to civic dignitaries and pool authorities alike their numbers justified, if justification was needed, the construction of the $85,000 pool.
It was a day the kids will remember.
jy crowded- the,-Hiain en-
trance, and fidgeted and ..fussed through Mayor J. R. Morrison's sdnsibly-brief address; held their patience while official representatives of the Parks Board and the contractors were introduced; and could scarcely contain themselves as Aid. C. J. Gray cut the ribbon, Inserted a key into the door", declaring the building officially open.
First, swimmer to break the surface' of the sparkling water was Queen Scout Terri Fleming, 2235 Laurier Crescent, who was the first participant in an hour-Jong program arranged for the
Close to a thousand spectators lined the high ground outside the pool enclosure as the activities got underway. � .
A light downpour of. rain failed to halt the festivities that in-, eluded a demonstration of swimming styles by Jimmy Johnson, fornier Aluej;ta swim champion and now a- former instructor of the RCMP here.
An outstanding solo wafer ballet drew admiration from the crowd fur pretty Dutch immigrant Greta Petrus. v
Show stealers were Tommy
grees. The water, is chlorinated and is constantly changing.
\V. F. Robertson, superintendent of Beaver Construction Co. of Vancouver, general contractors for the building, said that 185 children could swim in safety at one time, in the pool. It is 10 feet deep at the deepest end and three feet at the shallow end.
Other officials 'attending the opening were S. Perry, parks board chairman, W. Montgomery, Associated Engineering, and pool manager John Brown.
Norton and Jack Hogan, who fully s clothed, clowned their, way �through a comedy routine of high-diving.
Purity of the water in the 105 foot by 45 foot pool was testified to by. Dr.. H. M. Brown, of the Cariboo Health Unit, who downed a tumbler-full- ibr the benefit of wary mothers. /.--
A full staff was on hand includ-
gate
between 8 a.m. and 5 p.ni.
Before Ihe signs become legally effectlye they will have to be registered, in county court and put in the form of an appendix to the present traffic bylaw. : Meanwhile, arrangements have not yet been completed for the service of a special RCMP constable here who will work with traffic exclusively.
City's, contract with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police expires in June and it is expected the extra officer will be �mploy�d at mat time.
ing, two guards
attendants
ing, two guards dind atten when the eager youngsters were finally given' the use; of 'the pool by recreational director Charles Bell, recently arrived here from Vancouver. -
Water for the pool is pumped from the cooling system of the Prince George lighting plant on First Ave. and is injected into the pool at a temperature of 70 de-
Man Robbed Of $200 While Boarding Train
A man who was "boarding the train here ~ Saturday night told police yesterday, he was knocked out' and robbed' of $200.
He told RCMP here that he was just stepping on the east-bound passenger, shortly after 6 p.m., when a man stepped behind him and hit him over the head. . When he regained consciousness, he found that his pockets had been emptied and the money in his Wallet, about $200, had been stolen.
City Goes Ahead. Wilh Schema For One-Way Streets
City council's traffic committee will not be "scared" into abandon ing its doe way street plan by the ' Prince George Board of Trade's concerted opposition to the the scheme.
"We're, not going to let anything like that scare us," Alderman Ken Jack said today in reference to a Board of Trade resolution urging the abolition of the three-week-old one-way street proposal.
Jack, chairman of the city council's traffic committee, stated that Fourth Avenue will be made a one-way street as soon as the necessary sighs arrive.
They are expected in about a week.
Meanwhile, the trade board's civic affairs committee is at odds with the plan and has recommended to council that it be temporarily shelved.
The committee, it" has been learned, is taking a move this week which will increase the volume of their argument against the proposed program.
But details of the move were not released today.
If council forges ahead with its' original plan, Second, Fourth and Sixth Avenues as well as Dominion and Brunswick streets will be open to one-way traffic only.
Typhoid 'Outbreak' Debunked By Doctor
A radio report that typhoid fev-er, ihe dread killer disease of half a century ago, had broken out in the Prince George district, 30 miles west of Quesnel, was refuted today as "completely erroneous" by Dr. H. M. Brown, merical director of the Cariboo Health Unit.
Dr. Brown, who- was reported investigating the typhoid out-1 break, told the Citizen today that the instance was merely a case of dysentry. � \ 4
Four men have been hospitalized as a result, he said.
The - outbreak occurred at a lumber mill on the Nazko road and Is usually due, he explained, to poor, personal hygiene. A sanitary-inspector has.baeri sent to the area to inspect the conditions there.
Typhoid is considered veryrare-in these days of chlorinated water supplies and innoculations, the doctor said. He has encountered only three separate cases during the five years he has been with the Health unit here.
as fire-fighting crews of the B.C. forest service fought an around-the-clock schedule to hold back more than 30 fiercely burning conflagations in the Prince George forest district.
The outbreaks that are wiping
out tinder-dry forests from as far
north as Fort Nelson to Tagai
Lake west of Quesnel in the south,
re estimated to be burning more
acreage than were consumed dur-
ng the whole of last year, district
orester W. C. Phillips told The
Citizen this morning.
Total cost of the havoc caused jy" the fires is as yet incalculable, said Mr. Phillips, but will un-loubtedly run into "hundreds of housands of dollars."
A total of 400 men were fight-ng the scattered blazes at press time including at least "a couple of dozen bulldozers."
Most serious fires, all.of which )roke out late Friday when the temperature in I'rince George reached over 80 degfees, broke out in the following places:
South of Fort Fraser where the mill of the J. & J*. Lumber Co. mill was completely destroyed including 100,000 feet of rough lumber. The fire is burning there over an area of some 8,000 acres of valuable timber.
At Tae'ieeda Lake, about 50 miles north of Prince George where 6 million feet of cold decked logs, owned by the Pas Luiu- djtion ber Oct. Uta^* were almost completely destroyed.
At Fort Nelson, all available men, plus 12 to It tractors are fighting a fierce blaze that is
well under control," said Mr. Phillips, but the only help the weary ft h hd th l
foresters have had was the cool cover of cloud that settled over the area yesterday.
In the meantime a ban was placed on all burning permits and this includes burning thai was being* carried on by Pacific "Great Eastern Railway slashing crews working on the gas pipeline. .
At least- two days of continued cool weather is needed to bring the fire threat to an end.
"Complete negligence and utter carelessness," is the sole cause
Vancouver Figure To Speak At Convention
Howard T. Mitchell of the Mitchell Press in Vancouver will be guest speaker at the Associated Boards of Trade convention here June 22 and 2:5. , .
At least 150 delegates representing trade boards throughout central B.C. are expected to come to this city for the meeting.
of the current outbreaks, the for-
Man Held For False Cheque
William Wallace Macleod, no fixed address, appeared in police court late last week on a charge of obtaining goods through false pretenses.
Macleod allegedly cashed a S50 worthless- cheque at the down-town branch of the Royal Bank
(See FOREST FIRES, Page 6) of Canada on Monday, May 14.
U.S. Air Force Pilots Save n Life Of Ailing Quesnel Bahfy
A seven-month-old Quesnel baby who doctors gave only two hours to live is today well and recovering from a serious lung condition in Vancouver's St. Paul's Hospital.
Ronald Kline, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Kline, was rushed to Vancouver on an emergency (light early Saturday evening.
Only the quick work of members of the United States Air Force AC & W squadron near Prince George is credited with .saving hi.s life.
A Quesnel doctor Saturday evening pronounced. Ronald's con-and said, that "only Vancouver
ripping through 5500 acres of virgin ttmberland.
And at' Tagai Lake, west of .Quesnel where 8,000 acres are ablaze.
Most of the fires" are "pretty
a mercy flight to would save his life.
The baby suffered from a serious lung condition which, In a few hours, would take hw lite.
Shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday the Quesnel airport notified the Prince George radio range of the emergency.
Airport officials here tried in vain to marshall a privately-own-
ed or commercial aircraft to undertake the flight.
As a last resort, the USAF was notified and Captains Robert Wells and Bernard Ghristensen, manned the aircraft to Vancouver.-j The plane arrived in Que.snel | at (5:30, the child and special nurse boarded the aircraft al 7 p.m.; and It landed In Vancouver at 7:30.
Ronald made the trip In a stretcher with an oxygen mask over his head.
Miss Anne Breen, a nurse at the Quesnel hospital, accompanied the child to Vancouver.
According to reports.today from Quesnel hospital authorities, Ronald is making a slow but steady recovery from the ailment.
He was given surgery upon- arrival in Vancouver.
Presidents, past and present of the Northern Interior Lumbermen's Association, got together briefly during the association's 16th annual convention last week. Past president, F. W. Dob-son (right), introduces new president T. H. Dilworth to presidential routing. Mr. Dilworth, 46, is a director, and general superintendent of Prince George Planing Mills Ltd. and has been in the Prince George district for the past 23 years. His first job as president of the, lumbermen's, .association will be to conduct^bargaining between his, body and spokesmen for the International Woodworkers of America whose wage contract comes up for renewal in September.
� - � v �Wally West Studios
Dilworth Heads New Slate For Lumbermen
...Thomas H. Dilworth, general superintendent, Prince George Planing Mills Ltd., was elected president of the North-err) Interior Lumbermen's Association. Friday, the concluding day of the organization's 16th annual convention held at Prince
George.
Alfred W. Strom, manager of Tabor Creek Sawmills, was-chos-. en as vice-president.
Mr. Dilworth, who lives at 67& Burden St. succeeds F. W.. Dob-Bon, an, associate in the same company.
Other officers elected includ*
Beg. Hilton, labor committee chairman, C. T. Clare, finance chalrnum~.G_ordon Styles, safety; A. J .Trick; membership; and R. \V. McGiliivray, G. JBeav'eri, Hans Roine and past. president F. W.
Connaughl Park Due For Development
Rotary Club, working with the parks board, will develop the Con-naught Hill park site this summer.
The service qhib has budgeted $1000 toward the completl6n of the area as a park.
In previous years Rotary undertook the task of clearing and providing accesses to the territory.
Last week parks board decided to gravel, regrade and erect signs on the roadways as well as finish off the picnic site prapved on the top of the hill by JtoUry.