AUCTION
OF
PROPERTY
IN
CITY
BOWL
FOOD
COST
HEARINGS
HELD
IN
CITY
Prime
farmland
lies
idle
in
Prince
George
area
by
JOHN
POPE
Citizen
Staff
Reporter
About
144,000
acres
of
the
"best
agricultural
Crown
land
in
the
Prince
George
and
Quesnel
areas
is
not
being
developed
due
to
a
lack
of
government
planning.
This
fact
emerged
Wednesday
after
a
presentation
to
the
legislature's
food
inquiry
committee
from
the
Northern
Interior
Lumber
Sector
of
the
Council
of
Forest
Industries.
The
committee
was
told
this
was
land
in
the
1.2
million
acre
Prince
George
Special
Sales
Area
that
is
being
administered
solely
on
a
"liquidation"
basis
whereby
timber
harvesting
rights
are
sold
without
,
the
usual
obligation
to
re-forest
or
develop
the
land.
COFI
official
Martin
Litchfield
explained
in
an
interview
after
the
presentation
of
the
brief
that
the
official
intent
was
to
put
land
from
the
SSA
into
a
holding
situation
for
possible
urban
development,
"but
we've
outlived
this
and
need
to
decide
how
much
agricultural
land
is
needed
and
where
it
is
to
be
developed.
The
way
the
SSAs
are
managed
encourages
farmers
to
get
special
licences
to
log
marginal
farmland
for
the
value
of
the
timber
on
it,
and
then
develop
this
marginal
land
rather
than
the
best
farmland,
said
Litchfield.
"The
long-term
implications
of
this
are
pretty
serious,"
said
Litchfield.
"So
someone
had
better
develop
an
over-all
plan
of
how
much
agricultural
land
is
needed
and
where
it
will
be
developed."
The
15"
Copy
Citizen
Thursday,
August
25,
1977
Vol.
21;
No.
165
Prince
George,
British
Columbia
The
brief
states
that
the
SSA's
in
Prince
George,
Fort
St.
James
and
Dawson
Creek
areas
should
be
an
"embarrassment"
to
all
professional
resource
managers
in
the
province.
In
the
Prince
George
SSA
12.1
per
cent
of
the
land
Is
"best"
suited
for
agriculture,
while
61
per
cent
is
rated
best
for
forestry
and
a
further
3.6
and
12.2
per
cent
is
best
for
recreation
and
ungulates
(hoofed
mammals).
Obviously,
the
COFI
brief
adds,
the
forest
service
is
reluctant
to
spend
more
money
to
generate
a
new
forest
crop
because
it
does
not
know
if
or
when
that
land
will
be
alienated
to
agriculture
or
urban
development.
"The
forest
service
would
look
silly,"
explained
Litchfield,
"if
they
reforested
it
then
found
out
a
few
years
later
that
it
was
going
to
be
made
into
a
residential
area
with
all
the
trees
plowed
under."
Submissions
concerning
land
use
and
development
dominated
the
first
day
of
public
hearings
here
Wednesday
as
the
B.C.
government
continued
its
study
of
food
costs.
The
legislature's
select
standing
committee
on
agriculture
heard
submissions
from
six
organizations
and
two
private
individuals
involved
in
the
forest
and
agriculture
industry.
Committee
chairman
Len
Bawtree
(SC-Shushwap)
said
he
was
pleased
with
briefs
presented
during
the
first
day
of
the
two-day
hearing
at
the
Inn
of
the
North.
But
he
said
he
was
suprised
that
more
attention
was
not
focused
on
consumer-oriented
issues
like
merchandising
methods
and
pricing
practices.
He
said
the
committee
also
wants
to
hear
submissions
relat
ing
to
all
phases
of
processing
and
handling
B.C.
produced
and
competitive
food.
This
Is
the
fifth
of
13
communities
to
be
visited
by
the
committee
this
summer
as
it
prepares
a
report
expected
later
this
year.
The
committee's
main
purpose
is
to
obtain
public
input
on
the
present
and
future
requirements
of
agricultural
land
in
the
province,
the
cost
of
agricultural
production
and
the
impact
of
marketing
boards
on
producers
and
consumers
as
well
pricing
practices
and
merchandising
methodsof
all
phases
of
food
processing
and
handling.
The
briefs
presented
Thursday
were
from
the
B.C.
Land
Commission.
Fraser-Fort
George
Regional
District,
the
Council
of
Forest
Industries,
the
Mud
River
and
Beaverly
Farmers
Institute,
the
Prince
George
Cattlemen's
Association
and
the
Punchaw
Livestock
Association.
Private
briefs
were
presented
by
local
Mud
River
rancher
Gerry
Visser
and
Hugh
J.
Goodman,
a
professional
forester
from
Quesnel.
At
least
four
more
briefs
are
expected
to
be
presented
today.
Other
committee
members
are:
Harvy
Schroeder
(SC-Chilliwack),
Don
Phillips,
minister
of
economic
development,
Jim
Hewitt,
minister
of
agriculture,
Walter
Davidson
(SC-Delta),
Cyril
Shelford
(SC-Skeena-),
.
Gerry
Strongman
(SC-Vancouver
South),
Chris
D'Archy
(NDP-Rossland-Trail),
Dave
Stupich
(NDP-Nanaimo)
and
Barbara
Wallace
(NDP-Cowichan-Malahat.)
All
but
Phillips
are
at
the
hearings
here.
See
also
page
3
Lot
prices
pushed
to
$15,000
KINDERGARTEN,
GRADE
7
Young
pupils
integrated
by
HOLLY
BOTHAM
Citizen
Staff
Reporter
Kindergarten
and
Grade
1
pupils
will
be
integrated
in
at
least
a
dozen
classrooms
this
fall,
according
to
School
District
57
superintendent
Carl
Daneliuk.
The
concept,
while
a
first
for
the
Prince
George-area
district,
(although
some
classrooms
here
combine
students
of
other
levels
such
as
Grades
3
and
4)
has
been
tried
successfully
in
Coquitlam,
Richmond,
Alberta,
Saskatchewan
and
England.
In
England,
kindergarten
students
may
join
children
up
to
Grade
4
at
the
same
lessons.
Here,
the
move
is
necessitated
in
part
by
enrolment
forecasts
which
will
make
it
awkward
to
maintain
normal
individual
classroom
sizes
of
20
for
kindergarten
and
25
in
Grade
1.
"We
foresee
a"situation
where
we
may
have
REFERENCES
TO
MAYOR
29
kindergarten
students
enrolled.
Rather
than
splitting
them
up
into
two
small
classes,
or
making
one
large
class,
we
can
join
them
with
Grade
1
classes
which
may
also
have
the
same
enrolment
problems,"
explains
Daneliuk.
He
said
it
is
expected
that
integrated
classrooms
will
contain
22
or
23
students.
Each
class
will
be
taught
by
a
teacher
and
have
the
back-up
resource
of
a
teacher's
aide.
The
addition
of
the
aide
is
expected
to
make
the
cost
of
the
program
about
the
same
as
traditional,
separated
classes.
While
admitting
that
some
parents
may
be
skeptical
of
the
concept
at
first,
Daneliuk
is
confident
integration
will
give
schools
more
flexibility
and
be
of
benefit
to
students.
The
superintendent
says
the
exact
locations
of
the
integrated
classes
will
not
be
known
until
registration
of
students
is
completed.
AALA's
words
'twisted'
by
ELI
SOPOW
Citizen
Staff
Reporter
Howard
Lloyd,
Socred
MLA
for
Fort
George,
said
today
his
criticisms
of
Mayor
Harold
Moffat
in
the
legislature
Wednesday
were
taken
out
of
context
and
Moffat
is
actually
"a
spunky
little
guy"
with
concern
for
the
city.
Press
reports
from
Victoria
indicate
Lloyd
took
a
strip
off
the
local
mayor
during
debate
in
the
legislature
on
a
section
of
Bill
42
which
gives
Municipal
Affairs
Minister
Hugh
Curtis
veto
power
over
municipal
bylaws.
B.C.
STATISTICS
Lloyd
is
quoted
as
saying
the
section
gives
people
a
"court
of
appeal"
in
controversial
municipal
matters.
He
said
the
recent
zoning
and
subdivision
controversy
here
involving
alleged
wrongdoing
by
civic
officials
was
a
good
example
of
the
need
for
"checks
and
balances."
The
local
MLA
also
said
the
section
provided
more
flexibility
in
government
and
that
"if
Prince
George
Mayor
Harold
Moffat
had
his
way,
he'd
want
to
control
the
entire
northern
part
of
the
province."
The
attack
by
Lloyd
Inflation
slowed
VANCOUVER
(CP)
-Inflation
and
soaring
wage
increases
appear
to
have
been
held
in
check
in
British
Columbia
during
the
first
18
months
of
the
federal
anti-inflation
program,
says
a
provincial
government
study.
The
study
by
Jerry
Meadows,
a
labor
department
researcher,
shows
that
both
inflation
and
wage
increases
have
slowed
since
the
program
began
Oct.
14,
1975.
Under
the
program,
the
federal
government
set
limits
on
employee
wage
increases
and
company
profits.
Prime
Minister
Trudeau
said
last
week
there
would
be
no
early
end
to
the
controls
hpnancp
th
Pana.
dian
Labor
Congress
has
refused
to
participate
in
a
voluntary
restraint
program.
The
Meadows
study
found
that
wage
settlements
for
unionized
workers
averaged
17.8
per
cent
a
year
in
the
18
months
before
controls.
Since
controls
were
imposed,
wage
raises,
before
most
board-ordered
decreases,
averaged
10.5
per
cent.
Meadows
found
that
before
controls,
wages
for
organized
and
non-organized
workers
in
B.C.
were
rising
at
an
average
of
14.2
per
cent
a
year.
In
the
18
months
since
controls,
the
rate
dropped
to
12.7
per
cent
yearly.
TODAY
'How
about
helping
me?'
2
prompted
NDP
MLA
Gary
Lauk
to
say
Moffat
was
one
of
the
greatest
mayors
in
the
history
of
B.C.,
and
cited
the
many
pulp
mills
here
as
an
indication
of
the
mayor's
ability.
Lauk
said
in
all
likelihood,
Moffat
would
do
a
better
job
of
running
the
north
than
Curtis
would.
Liberal
MLA
Gordon
Gibson
said
Lloyd's
comments
meant
"democracy,
but
not
too
far."
Lloyd
said
in
a
telephone
interview
from
Victoria
today
that
opposition
members
twisted
his
words
around
in
an
effort
to
turn
municipalities
and
regional
districts
against
the
government.
"What
I
really
meant
was
that
Moffat
has
always
been
in
favor
of
a
system
of
bordering
district
municipalities
in
the
north,"
he
said.
In
explaining
his
comments
about
land
deals
here,
Lloyd
said
the
city
has
a
lot
of
private
land
within
its
boundaries
and
people
should
have
an
avenue
of
appeal
against
council
decisions.
He
dismissed
the
chance
the
government
might
be
lobbied
by
big
developers
anxious
to
have
city
bylaws
overruled
in
their
favor.
Lloyd
said
that
kind
of
lobbying
is
more
likely
to
occur
at
the
municipal
or
regional
district
level.
"
It's
a
hell
of
a
lot
more
prevalent
at
the
local
level
than
the
provincial
level,"
he
said.
Cltiien
pho4o
by
Doug
W.llr
Fort
George
Railway
locomotive
No.
1
gets
another
polish
by
engineer
Tom
McLennan
while
the
railway
waits
for
insurance.
Mini-railway
hits
snag
The
much-delayed
Fort
George
Railway
has
hit
a
final
snag
insurance
companies
panic
at
the
mention
of
the
line's
live-steam
locomotive.
Public
works
superintendent
Bill
Jones,
who
designed
much
of
the
equipment
for
Canada's
shortest
charter
railway,
said
the
rail
line
through
Fort
George
Park
is
ready
to
carry
passengers
but
still
needs
additional
public
liability
insurance.
Teachers
are
using
students'
desks
this
week
in
Prince
George.
Page
3.
A
truck
driver
surivves
an'hour-long
ordeal
trapped
in
his
burning
vehicle.
Page
2.
The
Hamilton
TigerCats
did
the
B.C.'Lions
a
big
favor
Wednesday,
Page
8.
Bridge
17
Family
.32-33
Business
.....6
Gardening
11
City,
B.C
2,
3,
12,
34
Horoscopes
23
Classified
....13-22
International
7
Comics
26
National
5
Crossword
.....IS
Sports
8-10
Editorial
4
Television
23
Entertainment
22-26
As
soon
as
insurance
is
arrange
a
"last
spike"
ceremony
will
be
organized
and
the
line
opened
tor
rail
fans,
he
said.
"They
(insurance
companies)
don't
understand
steam,"
Jones
said.
"Mention
steam
and
they
get
worried."
Jones
has
been
fighting
red
tape
and
government
regulations
about
railways
and
steam
engines
since
the
project
was
begun
more
than
three
years
ago.
A
low-pressure
area
over
the
province
is
expected
to
bring
Prince
George
cloudy
skies
with
showers
today.
The
forecast
for
Friday
is
cloudy
skies
with
some
sunny
periods.
The
expected
high
today
Is
17,
the
low
7.
The
high
Wednesday
was
17,
the
low
7
with
.6
mm
of
precipitation.
On
this
date
last
year
the
high
was
18,
the
low
5.
by
TOM
NIXON
Citizen
Staff
Reporter
Small
house-building
companies
again
boosted
city
lot
prices
today
as
bidding
at
the
city
lot
auction
soared
'
into
the
$15,000
range
for
lots
that
sold
last
year
for
two-thirds
that
amount.
The
high
prices,
more
than
$4,000
over
upset
prices,
were
blamed
on
an
increasing
scarcity
of
city
bowl
area
building
lots.
Fewer
than
100
builders,
few
of
them
representing
companies
that
build
more
than
10
houses
a
year,
attended
the
auction
in
a
usually-jammed
city
council
chamber.
Dirk
Loedel,
Housing
and
Urban
Development
Association
of
Canada
local
president,
said
the
builders
were
willing
to
pay
the
extreme
prices
because
they
need
a
few
lots
to
keep
working
even
if
they
make
less
profit
on
the
house
they
build.
.
Loedel
also
said
the
prices
are
rising
as
the
last
of
the
bowl
area
lots
are
sold.
Builders
were
told
before
the
auction
began
that
the
next
city
auction
will
be
of
about
50
lots
for
sale
late
next
spring.
It's
estimated
that
about
120
city
bowl
area
lots
will
be
sold
'
next
year.
Loedel
said
the
few
larger
builders
willing
to
pay
high
prices
today
don't
care
how
much
the
lots
cost
because
the
size
of
the
company
means
they
can
stand
smaller
profits.
Springer
Constructlonwas
Al
If-
one
large
company
buying
lots
We
I
tare
today.
janitor
idea
hit
VANCOUVER
(CP)
-Charges
of
headline-hunting,
unrealistic
thinking
and
premature
action
greeted
Human
Resources
Minister
Bill
Vander
Zalm's
proposal
Wednesday
to
put
thousands
of
welfare
recipients
to
work
in
British
Columbia
schools
to
combat
vandalism.
Schools
and
labor
representatives
joined
with
education
and
anti-poverty
spokesmen
to
denounce
Vander
Zalm's
proposal
to
hire
people
on
welfare
to
serve
as
janitors
inside
schools
to
discourage
vandals.
"They
(Welfare
recipients)
are
not
going
to
.work
if
the
schools
at
our
expense,"
said
Doug
Eastwood,
spokesman
for
the
International
Union
of
Operating
Engineers,
Local
963.
"We
have
certification
in
the
schools.
If
they
want
to
come
in
that's
OK.
But
they'll
have
to
belong
to
the
union."
"Vander
Zalm
is
grasping
at
straws
to
make
headlines,"
said
Gary
Pogrow,
former
official
of
the
Federated
Anti-Povert
Groups
of
B.C.
"Welfare
recipients
shouldn't
have
to
be
cops
in
schools."
Vander
Zalm
said
the
anti-vandalism
program,
called
Operation
Vandal
Stop,
has
his
full
backing.
But
it
still
requires
the
approval
of
Education
Minister
Pat
McGeer,
who
is
vacationing
in
Norway
and
negotiations
with
the
federal
government
will
be
necessary
to
ensure
Ottawa
shares
the
costs.
In
addition,
he
said,
the
program
will
have
to
be
approved
by
any
unions
whose
Jurisdiction
is
involved.
While
city
lots
were
selling
for
$15,000-516,000
inside
council
chambers,
real
estate
salesmen
outside
the
room
working
for
a
North
Nechako
developer
were
offering
larger
lots
with
similar
services
for
$12,650.
The
offer
by
Mount
Alder
Estates,
on
the
Hart
Highway,
did
not
seem
to
attract
much
attention
from
builders
going
in
to
the
city
auction.
Lots
of
similar
size
and
services
to
the
city
lots,
in
College
Heights
also
are
available
to
small
house-building
companies
but
few
small
builders
seem
interested
in
buying
them.
"The
myth
of
the
bowl
area
still
is
making
builders
wan;
lots
here,"
said
Loedel.
"The
fact
is
that
bowl
area
lots
are
running
out."
Indians
to
get
million
acres
OTTAWA
(CP)
An
agreement
to
fulfill
century-old
treaties
by
transferring
about
one
million
acres
of
Saskatchewan
land
to
Indians
has
been
reached,
federal
Indian
Affairs
Minister
Warren
Allmand
said
Wednesday.
In
a
statement
released
here
and
in
Regina,
Allmand
said
the
agreement
follows
more
than
two
years
of
negotiations
between
the
federal
and
provincial
governments
and
the
Federation
of
Saskatchewan
Indians
(FSI).
The
agreement
establishes
a
formula
for
settling
land
claims.
It
works
out
to
128
acres
of
provincial
Crown
land
for
each
member
of
up
to
68
Indian
bands.
FEATURED
INSIDE)
(
THE
WEATHER
)
(
NOW
HEAR
THIS)
The
fever
of
an
auction
infects
the
blood
of
even
the
coolest
businessman
when
the
bidding
for
city
lots
gets
hot
and
heavy.
"1
bid
$16,000."
shouted
one
fevered
house-builder
during
bidding
today
that
had
climbed
into
the
high$12,000
range.
"Do
you
mean
that?"
asked
city
collector
Karl
Zandberg,
"Or
do
you
mean
$13,000?
"
The
builder
hastily
agreed
to
the
lesser
bid.
City
businessmen
Ed
Harder
was
surprised
when
he
picked
up
the
phone
and
was
requested
to
send
a
taxi
to
a
certain
address.
"I
suggest
you
call
a
taxi,
not
a
taxidermist,"
Harder
told
the
caller.
Seen
scrawled
in
the
dust
on
the
back
of
a
concrete
truck:
"We
dry
harder."
A
load
of
two
by
fours
was
stolen
from
a
construction
site
at
First
Ave.
and
Brunswick
Wednesday
night.
A
local
wit
said
they
had
probably
lumbered
off
somewhere.