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TUESDAY, JUNE 23,1992
Phone: 562-2441 Classified: 562-6666 Circulation: 562-3301
EXHIBITION SITE
Pool and arena aet council nod
by BERNICE TRICK Citizen Staff
Prince George city council took a major first step Monday towards a new swimming pool and ice arena by approving in principle Exhibition Park as a site and handing over $4,500 lo draft an initial plan.
The concept plan of Exhibition Park will target locations, road network and site servicing for the facilities.
The interim report by the Major Facilities Task Force was referred to city departments of finance, development services and engineering for information on financing options, costs, planning and timeframes.
The proposal in no way jeopardizes any plans for an art gallery or performing arts theatre, said Aid. Anne Martin, chairman of the task force, who’s had a number of calls since the report was made public Saturday in The Citizen.
“The trouble seems to be that those in the arts community who are upset didn’t bother to read past the headline. They needed to read the whole article,” Martin said.
Like the art gallery and performing arts theatre, there is no timeframe for construction of the arena or pool, but the city could have a clearer picture by late fall when all studies are in and reviewed.
Council will then decide which facility will be built first.
For the past year the facilities group has been dealing with long-range plans to provide the four facilities, which were secondary desires of the community identified in 1989 surveys and in a 1990 civic facilities report.
The first choice was a new civic centre-plaza complex, which is under construction near the public library.
While the task force has been working on the concept for the arena and pool, consultants were commissioned to prepare feasibility studies for die other two facilities. The theatre study is expected soon and the art gallery study this fall.
To keep the Coliseum in service, council approved $900,000 in renovations and improvements in 1993 for improved dressing rooms, washrooms, concession handicapped access, exits, sound system, foyer and storage.
■ Initial plans for a new arena show an NHL-sized ice surface (200 by 85 feet) with potential to expand it to an Olympic-sized (200 by 100 feet) surface with seating for 5,000 to 6,500 spectators.
The preferred site is centrally located in the Exhibition Grounds with good street access and parking space.
Costs are estimated from $15 to $17 million, and the project would probably be financed by an internal loan.
A major tenant of the arena would be the Spruce Kings junior hockey team, which has indicated a desire and willingness to seek a Western Hockey League major junior franchise for the city if a new facility is built.
A new arena would put the city in a favorable position to attract high-quality shows. The marketability of the Coliseum is diminishing due to concerns of performer expectations, promoter requirements and public comfort.
■ Initial plans for the aquatic centre propose an eight-lane, 50-metre pool with one-metre and three-metre diving boards, leisure pool, water slides and recreational games space.
The preferred site is at the comer of Ospika Boulevard and 22nd Avenue within the Exhibition Grounds.
Financing of the estimated $8.4-million facility is based on the assumption of a partnership with the school district and possibly the College of New Caledonia and University of Northern B.C.
by Southam News
OTTAWA — There was a broad-based recovery in retail sales in April and the bankruptcy toll continued to decline in May, a double dose of good economic news.
Retail sales climbed by 0.8 per cent in April to $15.2 billion, following a 0.5-per-cent decline in March, Statistics Canada said today. Eleven of 16 retail trade groups recorded gains.
The increase is a signal that consumers may finally be starting to open up their wallets. Analysts have long said that’s what’s needed to get the recovery rolling.
Meanwhile, Consumer and Corporate Affairs reported that the number of bankruptcies slid for the second straight month and are down from a record high in March.
There were 4,891 personal bankruptcies down 8.4 per cent from April and 1,077 business failures down 7.1 per cent.
The number of bankruptcies was also lower than in May ’91. The count for the first five months of the year, however, was 32,877, 3.5 per cent higher than during the same period in 1991, which was a record year for financial failures.
The reports on the increase in store sales plus the slowdown in the rate of bankruptcies follows news that the economy is finally showing signs of escaping from recession.
The economy expanded at an annual rate of 1.7 per cent during the first three months of the year, the first quarterly gain since the false recovery in mid-1991.
The sharp drop in interest rates to their lowest levels in two decades should also encourage more consumers spend money on big-ticket items while easing the debt burden for many businesses and consumers and in turn helping to further slow the bankruptcy rate.
High levels of unemployment, however, are expected to act as a drag on the recovery from what has been a two-year recession.
‘QUICK-START COURSES
University prepares to sign up students
by BEV CHRISTENSEN Citizen Staff
The long wait of northern B.C. residents for locally controlled university courses will end July 6 when the University of Northern B.C. signs up its first students for quick-start courses.
Three third-year English, history and psychology courses will be offered throughout the region for the 1992-93 school year, says Dr. Ken Coates, UNBC’s academic vice-president.
The courses were chosen because they are consistent with the university’s goals of stressing northern and aboriginal issues and because they were identified as what a large number of people need to complete their degrees, he said Monday.
The number of quick-start courses will be increased in 1994.
All the courses are at the third-year university level which require that students have completed the prerequisite first- and second-year courses.
The courses will be offered regardless of the number of students who enrol. People will be able to audit courses if space is available.
Students auditing university courses pay a smaller course fee. They attend lectures, do the required reading and take part in the discussions but are not required to write essays and do not receive credits for the course.
“It’s an excellent way to draw older students into the university environment,” Coates said. “Often when auditing a course they realize they can handle the material.”
The places at which the university calendars can be picked up, course fees, the times and places of the registration and the classroom locations will be announced later.
Evening and Saturday classes
Registration will continue until July 17. Course fees will be consistent with what is charged in other universities — between $1,600 ahd $1,900 plus lab fees for a full course load of five courses per semester, Coates said.
All courses will be offered at evening and Saturday classes to enable working people to attend.
The courses to be delivered in each community by face-to-face instruction during the first semester are:
■ Prince George and Terrace: Shakespeare I, Canadian literature, history of women in Canada prior to 1900, history of B.C., social psychology, abnormal psychology.
■ Fort Sl John: Shakespeare I, history of B.C., social psychology, history of aboriginal people in Canada.
■ Dawson Creek: Canadian literature, history of women in Canada prior to 1900, abnormal psychology, Shakespeare II, social psychology II.
Three distance education courses will be offered in the first semester literature of Northern Canada, history of Northern Canada and behavior and drugs I.
These courses will be offered in conjunction with the Open Learning Authority. Students will receive a package of study materials and the name of the personal tutor they can contact to discuss their work. They will also take part in conference discussions, Coates said.
The courses in the second semester which will be offered by face-to-face instruction in each community are:
■ Prince George and Terrace: Shakespeare II, History of Women in Canada from 1900 to the present, social psychology II.
■ Fort St. John: history of aboriginal people in Canada.
■ Dawson Creek: Shakespeare II, social psychology II.
The distance education courses offered during UNBC’s second semester are: literature of Canada’s First Nations, literature of the British Commonwealth, history of women in Canada from 1900 to the present, history of northern Canada II, behavior and drugs II and human sexuality.
UNBC’s main campus in Prince George is scheduled to open in September, 1994.
Citizen photo by Dave Milne
Scott DeBianchi, 5, is dwarfed by a colorful dinosaur which seems to be protecting its eggs. The dinosaur was made by Scott’s Primary 1 (formerly kindergarten) class, which is taught by Kathy Bloomfield and Lis Hedges. The display was part of an art show at Pinewood Elementary School.
Prehistoric art
Court changes proposed
broad reform of the way the Criminal Code deals with sentencing, intended to make the system fairer and more consistent.
The proposals won’t become law for some time — the Commons rises today for a summer break — but Campbell tabled them to allow public discussion.
Under the reforms, the Criminal Code would, for the first time, contain many of the principles of sentencing that judges now apply on an ad hoc basis.
Currently, the code has no clear guidelines for judges about what they should consider when imposing a penalty for a crime. Sentences can vary wildly from one court to another.
— can be diverted from the courts for minor crimes.
For example, a youth who vandalizes property might be assigned to repair the property and to work for the owner or do other community service.
Introducing similar ways of dealing with adults could divert cases from crowded court calendars, freeing up courts to deal with more serious offences, justice officials said.
The proposals are part of a
OTTAWA (CP) — Some adult criminals could be dealt with outside normal court proceedings under Criminal Code reforms proposed today by Justice Minister Kim Campbell.
Under the legislation tabled in the Commons, each province would be allowed to set up and administer alternative programs for adult offenders.
Currently, the Criminal Code has no such provision, though young offenders — those under 18
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Beaver Lumber strike is over
Ten warehousemen at Beaver lumber, on strike for more than a month, are back at work today, with a first contract.
A two-year agreement has been negotiated, Beaver manager Grant Skelly and Teamsters Union representative John Ellis said today.
The new agreement was ratified this moming by union members.
No further details are being released at this time.
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