PRINCE GEORGE
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Citizen
                                                                Serving the Central Interior since 1916
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5,1995
                                                                                    80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 48 CENTS A DAY)
Coal mine could mean jobs in North
                                                                                   by PAUL STRICKLAND Citizen Staff
   One hundred new jobs could be created in the North if B.C. Rail and two other firms develop a coal mine north of Prince George.
   Initial production levels if the mine proceeds, possibly as early as 1997, will be at least 600,000 tonnes a year.
   “This will call for B.C. Rail to create new jobs and operate at least one dedicated unit train weekly,” the Crown corporation said in a release.
   “It’s part of what I see as a increase in mining ventures in general in the northern part of
the province,” said Dale McMann, general manager of the Prince George Region Development Corporation.
   The railway has reached an agreement in principle with Mitsui Matsushima Co. Ltd. and Globaltex Industries Inc. to help pay jointly for studies to determine the feasibility of developing coal deposits at Globaltex’s Willow Creek property.
   The land is about 50 kilometres west of Chetwynd, along the Hart Highway and the B.C. Rail main line.
   Globaltex is a B.C. company listed on the Vancouver Stock Exchange. Matsui Matsushima
is a long-established Japanese coal-mining company, says B.C. Rail.
   “We’re starting to see renewed interest in the mining sector,” McMann said Monday. “This is all important to this city and this region because we are going to be the primary supply and resource centre for all of the region.
   “In the case of this particular operation, if it is developed, it will go a long way to producing new jobs and protecting existing jobs in the coal sector and on the railway.
   “This project is of major importance to the Prince George area.”
   The feasibility studies will examine the
prospect of producing 1.2 million tonnes a year, B.C. Rail said.
   “Most of the coal will be carried to tidewater for export through a terminal which has yet to be determined,” the railway said in the release. B.C. Rail trains have to come through Prince George to get to Prince Rupert or North Vancouver.
   The feasibility study is expected to be completed by the end of next year.
   B.C. Rail, Globaltex and Matsui Matsushima will each have one-third interest in the mine, although the Japanese firm will have the exclusive right to market the coal.
Assault on girlfriend nets man four years
                                                                                                by DAVID HEYMAN Citizen staff
   Anvil said goodbye with a wink and a smile. His ex-girlfriend just shook her head in disgust.
   Joseph Kevin (Anvil) Nicholson was sentenced Monday to four years in jail in B.C. Supreme Court in Prince George for assault causing bodily harm, unlawful confinement and uttering threats of death against the same woman in the courtroom.
   “The abuse of women is a cowardly act,” said Mr. Justice Donald Clancy who took into consideration the fact Nicholson has a history of abusing women he is involved with.
   Nicholson has already been convicted of assault and sexual assault against his first wife in two separate incidents in 1938 and 1989. Charges of threatening his second wife have not come to trial, yet and he’s been ordered not to have any contact with her.
   In addition to the jail time, Nicholson won’t be eligible for parole until he’s served at least
one-half of his sentence and he’s also been barred from possessing firearms, ammunition or explosives for the rest ofjiis life.
   When Nicholson’s girlfriend returned home April 23, 1994, Nicholson repeatedly punched her and threatened her with torture and death before they drove to Ontario the next day. Their pickup truck was stopped by Ontario Provincial Police in Kenora, near the Manitoba border.
   Crown counsel Neil Lauder argued Monday that Nicholson should get seven to 10 years in jail and that protection of the public and deterrence should be the top two considerations of the sentencing.
   The defence said two to three years would be appropriate and that rehabilitation should also be considered. Furthermore, it was pointed out Nicholson suffered a severe head injury during a car accident several years ago and since then gets irritated over minor matters and tends to be a perfectionist.
B.C. rapped over welfare
   VICTORIA (CP) — The federal government’s spat with British Columbia over the province’s crackdown on welfare erupted Monday as Ottawa issued new threats of financial penalties.
  • Human Resources Minister Lloyd Axworthy said the province’s plan to impose a minimum three-month residency requirement for welfare benefits is illegal and will have dire consequences.
   He suggested the federal government is set to hit the province where it hurts most — in the
treasury.
   “It’s a cheap political trick they’re playing,” ;;aid Axworthy, who has the power to cut federal transfer payments to B.C. if the province won’t back down.
   “We can negotiate,” he said in Ottawa. “If not, I’ll have to respond according to the law.”
   But the provincial NDP government showed no signs of cancelling the crackdown, which it says is aimed at welfare scammers fleeing scaled-back assistance rates in Ontario and Alberta.
Hike became overnight ordeal
   ABBOTSFORD, B.C. (CP) — An afternoon hike turned into an overnight ordeal for a man and his two sons when they became lost on Sumas Mountain in the Central Fraser Valley.
   Henry Eising, 44, and his sons, aged 11 and 15, walked to safety Monday, more than 20 hours after they started up the mountain across the freeway from their Abbotsford home.
   Searchers were called in after Eising’s wife reported that her family had failed to return
from the hike. But the trio made their way out of the bush unaided.
   The father and sons are inexperienced hikers and were ill-prepared for a night of sub-zero temperatures and howling winds.
   “We were chattering all night,” Eising said. “We huddled together, got up every hour to keep moving a bit and drank some water.”
   They suffered only minor hypothermia and were checked at hospital and released.
 COUNTRY MUSIC
Ann Landers ...   ........14  
Bridge........    ........20  
Business ......   ......16,17 
City, B.C........ ..2,3,13,15 
Comics........    .........9  
Coming events .   ........14  
Commentary ..     .........5  
Crossword ....    ........19  
Entertainment .   .........9  
Horoscope ----    ........20  
Lifestyles......  ........14  
Marketplace ...   .....18-22  
Movies........    .........9  
Nation........    .........6  
Sports ........   .....10-12  
Television.....   ........22  
World ........    .........7  
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  ■ Singer Vince Gill has toughened his pretty-boy image with a shaved head and goatee, but he’s still a laid-back nice guy. Page 9
                                                                        WORKPLACE
  ■ Welfare rates are front and centre because we have the highest
minuten
-V;
proportion of the population on it than ever before. Columnist Roslyn Kunin takes a look. Page 8
                                                                               ANN LANDERS
  ■ It looked like true love. Then, she asked him to take an AIDS test. Page 14
                                                                                   NATION
  ■ A Nova Scotia hunter thought he was shooting a buck, but the deer he killed was actually a “buckette”. He got the surprise of his life when he examined the eight-pointer and discovered it was a doe. A doe with 24-point antlers was shot recently in
Kentucky. Page 6
   ■ A coroner’s inquest in Toronto is breaking new ground by looking into the case for self-extinguishing cigarettes. A non-smokers’ group is using a fatal fire to push its point. Page 6
                                                                                          WORLD
   ■ Foreign ministers from NATO alliance countries are meeting to discuss a new role as peacekeeper in the former Yugoslavia. They’ll also discuss criteria for allowing several former east bloc countries to join, and will be asked to confirm Javier Solona as their new secretary general. Page 7
                                                                          COMMUNITY
  ■ Always wanted that sheepskin, but never had the grades to qualify? CNC has set up a system to give adults credit for what they’ve learned through job experience, volunteer work or personal study. Find out about Prior Learning Assessment on page 13.
                                                                            SPORTS
  ■ The Prince George Spruce Kings are the most-honored team in the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League. Six Kings and coach Gus Greco were named to play in the RMJHL’s all-star game Dec. 30 in Castlegar. Page 11
  ■ Patrick Roy wept at a press conference held Monday in Montreal as he said there is no chance he and the Canadiens can reconcile the difference that led to his suspension Sunday. Page 12
                                                                     Singfest
The Singfest Nights of Christmas Music got off to a rousing start Monday night at Vanier Hall with the choirs of Lakewood Primary and Intermediate, Sacred Heart, College Heights Primary and (pictured) College Heights Intermediate. Some 350 to 400 people turned out to listen to the five choirs belt out Christmas carols. The event runs again tonight and Wednesday at 7. Tonight’s lineup features the choirs of Foothills Primary and Intermediate as well as Hart Highlands Primary and Intermediate. On tap for Wednesday night are Heritage, Quinson and Haldi Road Choirs. There is a silver collection at the door.
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