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PRINCE GEORGE
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Citizen
Serving the Central Interior since 1916
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13,2001
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Police mystified after art thieves ransack home
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by KAREN KWAN Citizen staff
RCMP are asking residents to keep an eye out for Native artwork stolen in one of the largest art thefts in the city’s history.
Police said the suspect or suspects recently broke into a home on Moran Crescent and removed 18 pieces of custom-framed Native art from the walls — 17 of which were by renowned Gitksan-Carrier artist Robert Sebastian, a former Prince George resident. The culprits took only the paintings and left some larger art pieces and the
home otherwise untouched, police said.
“We’ve had art stolen before, but it’s usually associated with a break-in where other items were also stolen. This is the first I can remember where they’ve gone in and strictly targeted the art. Someone was very specific,” said spokesperson Const. Mike Herchuk. Art thefts are not common in Prince George, he said.
The theft occurred between 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. May 18, but police appealed to the public this week after the investigation hit a dead end.
The purloined paintings are together worth
$4,500 to $5,000. Many of the pieces are limited-edition prints and some were painted up to 20 years ago. One of the pieces was by Glen Rabena.
In break-ins where specific items were target-ted, RCMP suspect culprits are filling orders for black-market clients, Herchuk said, although he said those cases aren’t common and are difficult to substantiate. While there’s no known art fence in the city, he said most people who purchase stolen goods for re-sale will consider buying anything of value.
Carolyn Kendall of Kumbayaz Native Arts said
she gets a lot of requests for Sebastian’s work, but doesn’t believe they would be valued at more than $300 to $400 for a limited-edition print. For some reason, she said, many of his pieces end up in local pawn shops, which sell them at low prices.
Cindy Stanker, managing director of the Two Rivers Art Gallery, described Sebastian as one of the most outstanding Native artists and is well known, particularly in the North. “He’s one of our featured artists in our gallery shop and all his pieces sell well here,” she said.
Citizen photo by Dave Milne
ALL HANDS ON DECK — Mike Milkovich hoses down the bright green deck of reinforcing bar of the new twin bridge over the Nechako River prior to the concrete being poured over the steel. Concrete pouring began last night and will continue for a week before the deck is complete. The iron rebar is treated so it will not rust within the concrete deck over the years.
Tourism P.G.
closes doors
TODAY
by Baldwin
“I just don’t think you would be happy working here."
Ann Landers .... ........17
Bridge......... ........14
Business ....... .....18-20
City, B.C........ .. .3,5,6,13
Classified ...... .....21-24
Comics ........ ........16
Coming Events ..
Crossword .....
Entertainment .. ........17
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Nation......... ......7,14
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canada.com
Hill backs effort to dump Day
Quesnel group loses court battle
by SCOTT STANFIELD Citizen staff
Members of the Greater Prince George Visitor and Convention Bureau Society, which operates as Tourism Prince George, voted Ttiesday in favour of a resolution to dissolve the organization and cease all operations by the end of the year.
The resolution, as put forth by the 29 members and eight board members who attended the meeting at the Days Inn, also called for remaining assets such as computer equipment to be transferred to the Northern B.C. Tourism Association, once the society’s debts are paid off.
The responsibilities of Tourism Prince George, which was established in 1984, will now be transferred to the Prince George Development Corporation.
“Change is opportunity,” said Stieg Hoeg, one of six board members in favour of the resolution.
Part of the reason the resolution was put forth is due to the restructured development corporation, which has a new focus to market and promote the city instead of the entire region.
“The city has said their number one
priority is the marketing of the City of Prince George,” said Dale McMann, the chief executive officer of the development corporation. “We clearly see tourism as a vital and important part of that.”
Some of Tliesday’s crowd, however, question whether the city can do a better job than the society.
“I’m very disappointed in the decision,” said Jack Hooper, who served as Tourism Prince George’s general manager from 1989 to 1995. “By dissolving they’re giving up their voice.”
Tourism Prince George operated mainly on an annual $245,000 promotional grant from the city, along with employment grants and some fee-for-service and sales revenues.
The organization, which previously had a staff of seven before downsizing in late 1999 and again in 2000, includes an executive director and three full-time employees.
The. tourist information centres on Victoria Street and at the junction of Highways 16 and 97 will continue operating as is for the rest of this summer and fall.
Board members were unsure what will happen to the buildings.
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff
Dissident Canadian Alliance MP Jay Hill says he’s backing a campaign launched on Ttiesday to unseat leader Stockwell Day.
Grassroots for the Canadian Alliance — a counterpoint to Grassroots for Day, launched last month — announced in Ottawa it will begin raising support to get a majority vote in favour of a leadership review at the party’s convention in Edmonton next April.
Hill, Prince George-Peace River MP, was one of eight dissident MPs who called on Day last month to step down as leader for the good of the party, saying Day, as a result of a series of political gaffes, had become a liability to the party
Hill said he’ll continue to push for Day to resign immediately, but said he’ll also work with the new grassroots group.
“Among the vast majority of the Cana-
tional convention, when there will be an automatic vote on whether to hold a race.
Day challenged his detractors to a three-month truce, during which the party could focus on Opposition, arguing die popularity of the party would increase.
Recent public-opinion surveys indicate the party’s stipport has dropped to 9% of decided voters from a high of 25% in last November’s election.
Hill dismissed Day’s call for a truce, calling on the leader to step aside for 90 days to see what happens to the party’s popularity.
Party whip Dick Harris (Prince George-Bulkley Valley) said he believes Day’s detractors are simply trying to refight last year’s leadership race, and charged the party’s popularity was at 19% in the polls until the dissidents launched their attack.
Hill had backed former Reform leader
No legal justification to challenge against relocation plan for city hail, judge rules
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff
A Quesnel citizens group opposed to the lease-purchase and renovation of a downtown building that is to house city hall lost a court challenge this week to overturn the $8.5-million deal.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice G. P. Fraser ruled the challenge — brought by Quesnel citizens Pat Morton and Ron Campbell — had no legal basis as the city had not broken any laws.
The judge did not make the citizens pay Tor the cost of the case, which the city had requested.
Quesnel mayor Steve Wallace said Tuesday he doesn’t believe the ruling will end the fight against the lease-purchase of Place St. Laurent.
He said the “small” group is made up of his political enemies, noting Pat Morton’s husband ran against him for mayor and she launched an unsuccessful court action in 1995 to unseat him.
“We didn’t know how much it was going to cost (renovating Place St. Laurent), and we planned for it poorly and we’ve atoned for that. And I have apol- lA/A1. An-
ogized for that,” said Wallace. Wallace
“But these guys they don’t want to get past that. It’s tough. We really do have an opposition force in the community.”
Citizens Concerned About Place St. Laurent plan to continue to remind the public of the cost of the deal and its impact on citizens through tax hikes, group chair Dean Peters said Ttiesday. “One battle is over, but not the war,” he said.
The citizens had argued the city violated B.C. Municipal Act rules in putting together the $4.7-mil-lion lease-purchase deal for the downtown building.
The petition said the city should have prepared a loan authorization bylaw and given voters a chance to petition against it, which, if successful, would lead to a referendum on the project.
The court challenge was the latest controversy to surround the city’s lease-purchase of Place St. Laurent, a downtown building that had stood vacant for more than a decade.
The citizens group launched its protest over concerns about costs and a lack of information. Initial renovation estimates have more than tripled to an estimated $3.8-million for the building, which is expected to house the public library as well as city hall. Gold’s Gym is already a tenant.
The citizens group had called for the mayor and council’s resignation after a critical report by auditor Ron Parks, commissioned by city council, was released in February.
The Parks audit concluded the city did not first determine whether it needed more city hall space, did not have an independent appraisal done on the vacant building and didn’t prepare an adequate business plan.
The initial renovation estimate of $800,000 to $900,000 was “never realistic,” said Parks.
“Day is no longer... a pros~ pective prime minister.”
—JayHill
dian electorate, (Day) is no longer viewed as a prospective prime minister,” Hill said from Ottawa. “He’s the greatest impediment to the future success of the party.”
In a pre-emptive strike Monday, Day criticized the group as a “minority” that had trouble accepting he has the right to stay on as leader until next April’s na-
“It wouldn’t matter if Stock was to walk on water...”
—Dick Harris
Preston Manning for the leadership.
“I say to these dissenters, if you want to know who has driven the polls down to 10% for the Alliance party, take a look in the mirror,” said Harris, who backed Day in last year’s leadership race. “It wouldn’t matter if Stock was to walk on water tomorrow, they still wouldn’t accept him as the leader.”
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