The
Citizen
4
15e
Copy
Tuesday,
May
17,1977
Vol.
21;
No.
96
Prince
George,
British
Columbia
Ogopogo
hunt
slated
KELOWNA,
B.C.
(CP)
-A
Vancouver
businessman
said
Monday
he
is
rounding
up
an
Ogopogo
expedition
to
flush
the
legendary
creature
to
the
surface
of
Okanagan
Lake
in
early
July.
Ed
Fletcher,
a
sales
representative
for
Benwell-Atkins
Ltd.
of
Vancouver,
claimed
to
have
photographed
a
snake-like,
75foot
creature
in
the
lake
on
Aug.
3,
1976.
He
said
he
and
his
friends
plan
to
use
electrodes
to
attract
the
animal.
CUPE
blasts
'waste'
by
JAN-UDO
WENZEL
Citizen
Staff
Reporter
The
city
has
wasted
taxpayers'
money
by
spending
$1.7
million
on
contracting
out
work
which
could
have
been
done
by
city
crews,
the
Canadian
Union
of
Public
Employees
charged
Monday.
Gerrit
van
der
Geest,
president
of
CUPE
Local
1048
representing
inside
workers,
said
"they
are
spending
a
lot
of
taxpayers'
money
needlessly
and
blame
the
employees
for
being
responsible
for
tax
increases."
He
said
the
city
spent
more
than
$500,000
on
truck
rentals
and
more
than
$1.1
million
renting
other
equipment.
Contract
negotiations
between
the
city
and
its
employees
start
Thursday
and
a
meeting
of
CUPE
representatives
agreed
Monday
the
workers
are
unhappy
with
the
city
administration.
Van
der
Geest
suggests
the
$1.7
million
could
have
been
spent
to
double
the
amount
of
equipment
owned
by
the
city
and
it
would
save
money
because
city
crews
can
do
the
necessary
jobs
cheaper.
The
figures
I
am
talking
about
are
not
union
figures
but
figures
arrived
at
by
the
administration,"
he
said.
"We
are
fed
up
with
being
blamed
for
tax
increases
which
are
due
only
to
inefficient
management,"
another
union
official
said.
Van
der
Geest
said
the
administration
shows
a
lack
of
confidence
in
its
employees
and
prefers
to
contract
out
more
and
more
work.
He
spoke
of
former
employees
who
went
into
business
for
themselves
by
buying
equipment
and
hiring
it
out
to
the
city.
"In
spite
of
the
huge
costs
of
heavy
equipment
such
as
loaders
and
trucks,
they
are
now
making
a
better
living
than
when
they
worked
for
the
city,"
he
said.
CUPE
staff
representative
Cliff
LeTendre
said
union
studies
show
that
with
greater
efficiency
and
planning
the
city
could
have
a
tax
surplus
and
does
not
need
to
increase
taxes.
"But
the
administration
is
still
being
run
as
it
was
when
Prince
George
had
10,000
people
in
its
borders,"
he
said.
Van
der
Geest
feels
the
administration
is
a
sort
of
"old
boy
club"
holding
on
to
ways
which
had
allowed
it
for
years
to
wield
the
real
power
in
the
city.
"We
still
have
scores
of
people
reporting
directly
to
top
management
instead
of
having
proper
channels
of
responsibility,"
he
said.
According
to
management
studies
an
executive
should
not
be
responsibile
for
more
than
six
people
directly,
who
in
turn
then
have
their
subalterns.
"Here
we
have
a
mushrooming
on
the
bottom,
instead
of
a
pyramid
style
of
management.
It's
strictly
a
bush-league
administration,"
van
der
Geest
said.
Steve
Head,
another
CUPE
official
said
morale
among
city
employees
is
low
because
of
the
treatment
afforded
them
by
the
administration.
"The
city's
labor
relations
are
about
six
years
behind
times,"
he
said.
He
said
the
city
is
hiring
experts
in
various
fields
only
to
shunt
them
aside
when
their
advice
does
not
coincide
with
what
members
of
upper
management
have
already
decided.
City
officials
could
not
be
reached
for
comment
on
the
union's
statement.
Citizen
photo
by
Douf
Weller
The
smell
of
the
blossoms,
the
warmth
of
the
sun,
good
company
and
a
Rlnccnm
Sme
CUP
C0Ifee
make
a
pleasant
break
in
the
daily
routines
of
Judy
Ken-D,0S50m
"e
nedy)
left)
and
Renate
Hoogstraten
of
Prince
George.
The
blossoms
are
those
of
a
huge
crabapple
tree
growing
on
the
Kennedy
property.
NEW
AREAS
OF
Tax
review
promised
by
TOM
NIXON
Citizen
Staff
Reporter
Residents
of
the
new
areas
of
the
city
could
get
the
tax
breaks
they've
been
arguing
for
since
fast
year.
Council
decided
Monday
that
later
this
summer,
it
will
review
the
city's
tax
area
boundaries
and
the
tax
level
equalization
formula
worked
out
at
amalgamation
two
years
ago.
Residents
of
outlying
areas
have
been
complaining
that
rural
and
suburban
tax
rates
are
too
high,
compared
to
services.
They
also
dispute
the
levels
as
they
apply
to
different
areas.
BLACK
HOCKEY
PLAYER
Manslaughter
appeal
lost
OTTAWA
(CP)
-
Paul
Smithers,
a
Toronto-area
black
youth
convicted
of
killing
another
youth
in
a
1973
fight
that
had
strong
racial
overtones,
lost
his
final
appeal
before
the
Supreme
Court
of
Canada
today.
The
high
court
ruled
9
to
0
against
his
appeal
to
have
a
manslaughter
conviction
reversed.
He
now
must
begin
serving
a
six-month
jail
term
imposed
by
the
judge
at
his
1974
trial.
Smithers
was
16
when
the
City
man,
63,
killed
in
crash
HAZELTON
-
Walter
Ashton
Birch,
63,
of
570
Gillette
St.,
Prince
George,
was
killed
Monday
here
when
the
vehicle
he
was
driving
ran
into
a
ditch.
Birch
was
pinned
in
the
vehicle,
RCMP
said.
Passenger
Agnes
Birch
is
in
Terrace
Hospital
with
serious
Injuries.
Police
said
the
accident
took
place
about
2
;
30
p.m.
and
the
cause
is
not
known.
CITY
The
city
has
officially
adopted
a
$34.5
million,
1977
budget
involving
a
10-per-cent
tax
increase
for
most
residents.
Mill
rates
were
also
given
final
reading
Monday,
Urban
millrate
is
52;
suburban
rate,
38;
and
rural
28.
Suburban
and
rural
rates
increased
8.25
mills,
four
millsof
which
is
the
equalization
increase,
Alderman
Elmer
Mercier
(College
Heights-Vanway)
told
council
it
is
time
for
rethinking
the
taxation
system
in
the
city.
"What
we
have
to
do
is
get
off
the
pot
about
this
equalization,"
he
said.
fight
occurred
outside
the
Cawthra
Park
Arena
at
Mis-sissauga,
Ont.,
where
two
midget
hockey
teams
had
been
playing.
He
was
a
player
on
one
team
while
the
victim,
Mercier
said
taxpayers
should
have
to
pay
for
what
they
get,
He
said
maybe
a
specified
area
type
of
structure
could
be
set
up
with
tax
rates
for
services.
Alderman
Art
Stauble
agreed
the
tax
structures
should
be
reviewed.
He
has
been
pushing
for
a
revision
for
almost
a
year.
Aldermen
from
the
city's
outlying
wards
have
complained
that
this
year's
tax
increases,
coupled
to
the
taxation
equalization
which
adds
four
mills
to
the
increase
for
rural
and
suburban
areas,
is
too
much
for
new
area
residents
to
afford.
Barrie
Cobby,
16,
was
on
the
opposing
team.
Evidence
at
the
trial
indicated
that
Smithers
had
been
subjected
to
racial
slurs
throughout
the
season,
TORY
WANTS
CASINO
Gambling
for
Victoria?
VICTORIA
(CP).
-
Progressive
Conservative
leader
Scott
Wallace
said
Monday
that
he
would
like
to
see
the
British
Columbia
government
study
the
idea
of
operating
a
gambling
casino
here.
Speaking
to
a
service
club
luncheon,
Wallace
said
a
government-run
operation
"could
be
as
free
from
Mafia
Infiltration
as
provincial
lotteries
have
proved
to
be."
Wallace
said
after
his
speech
that
he
expected
to
receive
some
"tut-tutting
from
some
people"
but
he
was
convinced
his
support
for
the
casino
was
sound.
"It
has
been
confirmed
that,
years
after
its
conception,
the
lotteries
system
shows
no
signs
of
being
infiltrated
by
organized
crime,"
he
said.
"So
it
could
be
with
a
government-operated
casino,
strictly
supervised
and
con
Rail
plan
applauded
by
Davis
VICTORIA
(CP)
-
Jack
Davis,
British
Columbia
transport
minister,
said
Monday
that
recommendations
in
the
Hall
Commission
report
will
constitute
a
great
breakthrough
for
B.C.
if
they
are
implemented
by
Ottawa.
The
report,
released
Mon
day
in
Saskatoon,
calls
for
radical
changes
designed
to
update
the
Prairie
grain-handling
and
transportation
system,
including
creation
of
a
Prairie
rail
authority
and
an
Arctic
railway.
Davis
said
such
recommendations
will
mean
"more
development
in
the
North
and
they
point
to
more
business
for
West
Coast
ports
in
the
future."
The
minister
said
that
Mr.
Justice
Emmett
Hall,
who
headed
the
commission,
had
accepted
many
ideas
put
forward
by
the
B.C.
government
when
the
Grain
Handling
and
Transportation
Committee
held
its
hearings
in
Vancouver
last
October.
More
details
page
6
trolled
just
as
lotteries,
horse-racing
and
liquor
distribution
are
controlled
today."
The
Conservative
leader
said
it
is
hypocritical
to
support
or
tolerate
government-run
lot-teries
while
opposing
a
casino.
"There
are
fewer
subjects
when
even
governments
practise
hypocrisy
with'
such
flare
as
on
the
issue
of
gambling,"
Wallace
said.
"The
suggestion
that
the
government
should
explore
the
possibility
of
establishing
a
gambling
casino
in
Victoria
will
likely
incite
the
greatest
self-righteous
indignation
in
most,
if
not
all,
of
our
cabinet
ministers.
"Yet.
at
the
same
time,
we
find
the
government
spending
government
revenue
advertising
in
most
blatant
fashion
the
winners
of
provincial
lotteries."
'BALD'
MINISTER
ASKED
City
wants
cool
million
Prince
George
is
sending
a
bill
for
almost
$1
million
to
the
federal
government
for
a
60-per-cent
payment
on
recreation
facilities
built
since
amalgamation.
Mayor
Harold
Moffat
wants
the
bill
to
go
to
"that
bald-headed
minister"
who
gave
Vancouver
almost
$1
million
for
reconstruction
of
a
"swimming
hole"
in
Kitsi-lano.
The
bald
minister
is
Justice
Minister
Ron
Basford,
who
is
MP
for
a
Vancouver
riding.
Moffat
told
council
if
the
federal
government
can
give
Vancouver
money
for
"swimming
holes",
it
can
help
SUPREME
COURT
Sex
shop
fight
lost
by
council
Citizen
News
Services
The
Supreme"
Court
of
Canada
ruled
today
that
a
sex
shop
can
operate
in
Prince
George,
but
a
bitter
Mayor
Harold
Moffat
says
it
could
cost
at
least
$3,000
to
license
such
an
operation.
The
Supreme
Court
ruling
upholds
a
B.C.
appeal
court
decision
in
August,
1975.
Meanwhile,
Joe
Payne,
the
co-owner
of
the
Garden
of
Eden
Adult
Boutique
that
started
the
two
and
a
half-year-old
battle'
by
applying
for
a
licence,
said
today
he's
not
sure
if
he
still
wants
to
open
a
shop
here.
In
a
5-0
decision,
the
Supreme
Court
of
Canada
ruled
a
municipal
council
is
not
empowered
to
withhold
a
business
licence
on
grounds
of
protecting
community
joral
welfare.
The
court
said
Prince
George's
city
council
wrongly
refused
to
issue
a
licence
to
the
Garden
of
Eden.
The
Garden
of
Eden
of
Victoria
has
been
fighting
the
city
since
the
fall
of
1974
to
establish
a
sex
shop
in
the
city.
The
shop
would
sell
sex
aides
and
devices.
Moffat
said
today
that
he
was
disappointed
with
the
news
but
"the
city
has
a
recourse."
The
recourse,
he
said,
would
be
to
set
a
licence
fee
so
high
that
it
would
deter
the
shop
from
operating
here.
Moffat
said
other
cities
charge
"
about
$3
,000
for
a
business
licence
for
such
shops"
and
city
council
here
could
charge
at
least
that
much.
He
pointed
out
that
no
category
currently
exists
in
the
busi-
See
SEX
SHOP
page
2
Polluters
to
face
stiff
fine
OTTAWA
(CP)
Salmon
poachers
and
water
polluters
will
soon
pay
a
lot
more
for
their
sins
than
they
now
do,
Fisheries
Minister
Romeo
Le
Blanc
said
Monday.
Poachers
will
risk
having
their
boats
and
gear
seized
instead
of
light
fines.
Wilful
polluters
of
inland
and
coastal
waterways
may
be
fined
up
to
$100,000
under
the
legislation
given
second
reading
in
the
Commons.
It
now
goes
to
committee
for
detailed
study.
In
some
eastern
rivers
that
once
teemed
with
Atlantic
salmon,
fish
that
reach
the
spawning
grounds
now
number
only
in
the
low
thousands,
LeBlanc
said.
"To
reach
the
spawning
grounds,
they
must
pass
poachers
who
have
used
everything
from
pitchforks
to
dynamite."
But
poaching
is
not
the
only
threat
to
fish
life
the
bill
deals
with:
It
also
attacks
water
pollution
and
the
destruction
of
fish
habitats.
Several
species
are
threatened,
LeBlanc
said,
"not
the
cute-looking
seal,
a
thriving
and
increasing
species
off
in
its
deep
water,
but
homelier
and
truly
endangered
species
in
our
rivers
such
as
the
shortnose
sturgeon,
which
attracts
no
glamorous
i
BASFORD
TODAY
(featured
inside)
Is
world
heavyweight
boxing
champion
Muhammad
Ali
fading
fast,
or
did
he
simply
carry
another
unknown
through
15
rounds?
Page
15.
Bridge
22
Business
8
City,
B.C
2,
3,
29
Classified
18-27
Comics
10
Crossword
20
Editorial
4
c
THE
WEATHER
A
low-pressure
area
centred
in
Alberta
is
spreading
cloud
westward
over
most
of
B.C.,
which
should
bring
Prince
George
mainly
cloudy
skies
and
scattered
showers
today.
Wednesday
is'
expected
to
be
mainly
sunny
with
some
cloudy
periods.
The
expected
high
today
14
;
the
low
1.
Monday's
high
was
12;
the
low
2,
with
no
precipitation.
On
this
date
last
year
the
high
was
13;
the
low
2.
(
NOW
HEAR
THIS)
Sometimes
newsmen
wonder
if
anyone
"out
there"
really
reads
anything
they've
written.
But
some
lines
from
a
civic
properties
and
recreation
report
to
council
show
someone
there
reads
The
Citizen.
"It's
hard
to
be
humble
about
Prince
George,"
the
Northern
Games
report
reads,
"It's
a
city
with
a
fairy
godmother
that
never
hears
the
clock
strike
midnight,
It's
a
city
that
hums
with
optimism,
a
city
with
a
curious
balance
of
frontier
tenacity
and
big
city
cultural
development,"
Although
not
credited,
it's
word
for
word
from
The
Citizen's
growth
and
development
edition,
March
26,
1976.
Space
station
HOUSTON,
Tex.
(AP)
-The
Soviet
Union
and
the
United
States
have
signed
an
agreement
that
might
lead
to
the
first
international
space
station,
a
spokesman
for
the
Johnson
Spacecraft
Centre
said
Monday.
Officials
said
the
agreement
is
designed
to
extend
the
partnership
that
resulted
in
the
Apollo-Soyuz
Test
Project,
in
the
same
way
with
Prince
George's
huge
bill
for
new
recreation
facilities.
Two
new
ice
rinks
and
a
livestock
arena
cost
almost
$2
million
and
people
want
another
enclosed
swimming
pool.
Civic
properties
reports
say
Four
Seasons
Pool
is
the
most
utilized
civic
pool
in
Canada.
Alderman
Bob
Martin
called
the
federal
grant
to
Vancouver
a
"real
pork
barrel"
and
said
Prince
George
deserves
some
of
it,
too.
"Let's
treat
this
as
a
serious
request,"
said
Alderman
Trent
Beatty,
"because
I
think
it
is
a
serious
motion."
Wow
that's
what
I
call
arms
limitation!'
Family
12,
13
Horoscopes
11
International
5
National
2
Sports
15-17
Television
11
J
S3
agreement
set
which
Soviet
and
American
capsules
linked
in
space.
Under
the
agreement,
officials
said,
scientists
and
engineers
from
the
two
countries
will
form,
working
groups
to
study
the
feasibility
of
the
international
space
station,
ways
to
use
the
space
shuttle
and
other
applications
of
space
science.