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Prince George
An Independent Semi-Weekly Newspaper Devoted to the    Interest of Ccr.Wa' and Xerthern Errllish Columbia
THE WEATHER
Cloudj' with a few showers tonight and Tuesday. Little change in temperature. Light winds. Low tonight and high tomorrow, 32 and 45.
Vol.  40;     No.  26
Prince George, B.C. MONDAY, April ~\, "1?57
(Two Sections, 12 Pages)
$4.00 per year
5c per copy
Second Look Sought
Arena Name May Change
Mayor Will Ask Council To Reconsider 'Coliseum'
Mayor John Morrison will ask city council at its next meeting to reconsider the choice of the name "Coliseum" for the proposed new civic arena.
The name was chosen a week ago when His Worship was in Victoria making representations to the provincial government in an effort to reduce, local school costs.
Earlier he had told newsmen that he personally favored the name "Spruce Gardens."
"1 think I will ask the committee which proposed 'Coliseum' to take Ihe matter back and give it .some more study," he told The Citizen today.
He said he was partly responsible for the name "Coliseum" because he used the word frequently in connection with the project during the stage when the city was disposing of the $455,000 worth of municipal bonds with which to finance it.
"I didn't particularly intend it as a name," said the mayor, "but merely used it as a  descriptive
term in order to dispel any impression that the building would be a skating rink pure and simple."
Mayor Morrison said the com mittee he set up to choose a name did not seem to be enthusiastic about the possibility of staging a public contest for that purpose.
Earlier, Alderman C. E. Cranston, chairman of the special name-choosing committee, claimed he was misquoted in a news story which attributed to him a statement that "Coliseum" was an "overwhelming" public choice.
He said that what he actually told council was that it was the "overwhelming" choice among those who had been asked to express any opinion on the subject. Those polled were mostly members of the bond-selling committee, he added.
RCMPCpl. Named George Medal Winner
OTTAWA (CP) � The Queen has granted the George Medal to RCMP. Corporal M. C. (Bud) Johnstone for his bravery in thwarting a bank robbery at Coquitlam, B.C., April 3,1956.
The award was announced inlfil>e at him and Johnstone rcturn-thc Commons Saturday By Fi- c.d tnoi<" flrc from a I)r�ne P�si-riuncc Minister Harris, acting ("or.
State Secretary Pinard.
Mr. Harris said Canada always expects devoted, daring and courageous service from the RCMP, but some cases deserved special recognition. Cpl. Johnstone's. action in the abortive bank robbery was one of these.
In a rapid "exchange of fire with three of the four bandits involved, .lohnstono was wounded eight times. One bandit was killed, one wounded and another surrendered
tion.
A third bandit ran from the back of the bank towards the front door and fired point-blank at Johnstono as he passed him. The officer's wounds stopped him momentarily from continuing bis fire and two of the bandits escaped from the bank.
Though suffering from bis eight bullet wounds and haying fired all his ammunition, Johnstone followed them outside, where   they all  collapsed   to  the
HANDCUFFED to an RCMP constable, FredJirick Chaliiotux,   22,  charged  with   the February 7 slaying of U.S. tourist diaries Ekington in. Prince George, is led to the provincial government building Saturday moriulftg as preliminary hearing entered second day before Police Magistrate P. J. Moran.
pavement. One was dead and the other wounded. A third bandit walked out and surrendered to Johnstone.
on the scene to Johnstone.
T h e   policeman's   gun   was empty.   A fourth  bandit,  sitting nearby in a get-away truck, was i captured later.                                           ~        "           ]     \
When Johnstcnc,    then a con-� Interior  AsSOCIdtion stable,  entered  the    bank in re-sponse to an alarm given by the brink manager, he was  felled by
a bullet from the revolver of one of the bandits.   A second opened
Second Man In Week Killed By Train
Max Pious, aged 41, of Fort St. James, was instantly killed when struck by a freight engine ori the CNR tracks near Willow River IS miles east of Prince George, about nine p.m. Saturday night.
An enquiry will be conducted by S, M. Curling, assistant coroner.
Pious i,s the -second man within a week to die under the wheels of a train, at or near Prince George. Last Wednesday the body of Vincent McDonald was recovered from under the wheels of a train at the CNR yards in the city.
City of Prince George will host
delegates of the North Central British Columbia Municipal Association when it meets here April 27.
Alderman Ken Jack, vice-president of the association requested city council to sponsor a noon banquet for representatives from central interior points including Vanderhoof, McBride, Quesncl, Burns Lake and Smithers.
The association nvas formed last fall to promote development and mutual interests of communities in the north central interior.
A city restaurant operator was fined $50 in police court this morning when lie pleaded guilty to a charge of having liquor on his premises without a licence. He told the court that the two bottles of beer found in his refrigerator were for his own use and were not for sale.
Arbitration Set To Start As District 57 Appoints Nominee
Arbitration proceedings involving a dispiirtc between the City of Prince George and School District SI over the 1957 school budget moved a step closer to inencs.
He said the wound had taken a diagonal course in "an inward, upward and medial direction." The left ventricle of the heart was found to be penetrated three-eighths of an inch. The wound, he said, could have been caused by a knife, blade three inches in lringih. lie estimntfed death to have taken place between 12 and 15 hours prior to the time of examination.
Dr. Agnew stated that he had conducted a post mortem at 2:30 p.m. February 8 in association with Dr. A. L. Chambers at the Assman   Funeral  chapel.
He described the body of the murdered man as that of a well-proportioned young man of 23, weighing approximately 190 lbs. MOKE TIME   NEEDED
Lawrence 1$. Blundell, counsel for defence, asked witness whether "he was not presuming" the weapon to be a knife, and suggested possibility of .some other (Sec MURDER HEARING, Pogc 8)
Building Permit Yalues Down 39 Per Csnt From Last Year
Building in P'lincc George Or the first three months of the year has fa died to keep pace with last year's building bonanza but isiiever-the-less, holding its own, reports E. S. Howarth, ckly building inspector.
Frost And Floods May Wipe Out City Paving
One of the worst flood conditions in the City of Prince George in a number of years may see the disappearance this year of at least 25 per cent of the city's paved roads.
Value of pom its Isaliea during .March this 2>'ear totalled $33,900 compared to $170,110 lor the same month in 1956.
Total value of pemnits issued for the first three xn-Jiths of the year, S12O.3O0, is aritfut 3d) per cent less than the Hue of permits for the same period last year.
Two permits in ilatrih this year helped to boost the t-.olal into six figures. One for SI-I,-JO is for a building on Fourth Avenue for the Prince George Fajity Sausage Company; the o-thex Is a $12,000 office and sales iddi .lion to Northern Hardware & Furniture.
"There is no lniicarlito yet that this is. going to tie aiatuu..,an.din�S
buckling year," said Mr. Howarth. "So far there is nothing concrete in  Hie offing."
He said that there is very little activity in new housing starts. So far this year only "two or three" permits have been issued for new hone?.
Chief outlay, he estimated, womld be spent by homeowners wishing to bring their dwellings up to standard from sub-standard area for additions to homes.
He said that a "good number" of Ewmeowncrs have been making cnguiries regarding the addition of  basement suites to homes.
However, he said that basement suites do not provide the answer  city's, housing needs'* .. .  .
This gloomy forecast wa.s made today by City Engineer George Harford as waterworks crews worked overtime in a futile attempt to remove tons of water from flooded � basements, streets and private property.
Damage to private homes in the residential areas of the city is expected to run into thousands of dollars.
Damage to the city's streets, both paved and gravel cannot yet be estimated.
But Mr. Harford said that the damage to much of the paved roads in residential areas is ir-remedial.
He said that a good 25 per cent of paving will have to be ripped up this year because of the damage from frost and water. LITTLE HOPE
And there is little or no likelihood that funds will be available in the city treasury to replace it this year.
Hardest hit street in the city is Patricia Boulevard, the entire paved portion of which may have to be ripped from its bed.
Even if money were available to repair the damaged streets there would be little point in doing so, said Mr. Harford, until the city is able to install storm^ sewers.
Lack of storm sewers is the basic problem and the source of many of the city's ills at this time of year, the engineer stated.
Although the city's paving has been deteriorating over a period yf years, due mostly to a poor
.sub grade, this year's deep frost is administering the coup-dc-grace.
it is because of the frost that .so much water is still on the ground, unable to escape because of the frozen ground below.
Many old-time residents say it is the longest period they have seen water remain above ground.
For this reason, road beds are so   soft   the   enginering  departt-ment can do little else but rip up what pavement will remain. SET C ITV BACK
"Meanwhile there is no use repaying until we get storm sewers," said Mr.  Harford.
Only storm sewer program scheduled for this year will see sewers installed on a local improvement basis in a section of the downtown area and a portion of the .Millar Addition.
Meanwhile distressed residents in most residential areas are looking for help from the city's waterworks department.
Flooded basements and septic tanks arc causing thousands of dollars worth of damage, but in most cases the city is unable to do much about it for the lack of storm sewers to take the water away.
Depth of frost is not known, but it is hoped that flooding has reached its peak.
The flooding Nechako River, which last week swepj away a temporary falsework , bridge at the site of the new Nechako span, has dropped four feet during the past eix days.-