PRINCE GEORGE
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Citizen
Serving the Central Interior since 1916
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2003
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Residents voice their concerns
Van Bien community not happy with casino move to Mr. PG. site
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff
Convincing nearby residents building a casino at the intersection of Highway 16 and 97 is a good thing is going to be a tough sell for proponent John Major.
Other than to say that development at the location — about 12 acres behind the Mr. P.G. mascot — is probably inevitable, none of the home owners living along Aitken Crescent who were contacted Sunday were willing to give outright support.
“I think it sucks,” said Melvin Melen-ka, whose concerns centred largely on the impact the increased traffic may have on the area, and of a business that operates well into the night.
June Sakamoto said Major should look harder downtown.
“That’s where you’re customers are,” she said. “I can’t see why they’re picking up here.”
The offer of a treed, 100-foot green-belt left Keith Nakashima less than impressed.
“A hundred feet, I mean, what is that?” he said. “In the wintertime especially, there’s no leaves on the trees and you see right through it.”
He added the traffic from the highway can still be heard despite a buffer.
Major said last week he has abandoned plans to relocate the downtown Casino Hollywood to the Pine Valley driving range and instead wants to purchase Crown land behind Mr. P.G. and build a $20-million casino and hotel complex. The move would allow Major to expand the casino from 220 to 300 slots and add more gaming tables.
Jim De Laurier, who was a spokesperson when, in 1996, Van Bien residents successfully fought a proposed retail development on the site
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INDEX
Annie’s Mailbox .............17
Bridge.......................22
City, B.C 3,5,13,15,16
Classified................20-23
Comics.......................18
Coming Events..............2,16
Crossword....................18
Entertainment.............18,19
Horoscope....................22
Lifestyles...................17
Nation......................6,7
Sports.....................8-12
Television ..................19
World........................14
which would have included a motel, restaurants, a bank and a cinema, said he’s heard nothing but opposition.
“The neighbours I’ve talked to, they’re opposed to it for sure,” he said.
A pamphlet and map on the proposal has already been distributed to residents, but De Laurier said there will still be plenty of questions when the proponents meet with residents on Feb. 26 at Van Bien elementary school, 7 p.m. start.
“There’s not specifics other than how good this is going to be for the city,” he said.
Meanwhile, Initiatives Prince George president Gerry Offet said outside of downtown the latest location that Major is suggesting is probably the best site for it.
“In that capacity, we’re essentially wearing our tourism hat, that’s where our seasonal tourism information centre is” he said. “We’d like to see the access to that improve and we’d like to be a part of something that on its own attracted tourists.”
Councillors contacted Sunday generally refrained from expressing either support or opposition.
Councillors Don Bassermann and Cliff Dezell said they wanted to wait until they’ve heard from the stakeholders, while Glen (Moose) Scott offered that on the surface it seemed like a good proposal but he wants to get a closer look at the plans and to hear from those on either side of the issue.
Coun. Murry Krause came closest to taking a side.
“It seems to me like he’s almost jumping from the frying pan into the fire here,” he said of Major. “It might be a very attractive place for a development of this nature, but there’s been long-standing concerns from that neighbourhood about what might be located there.”
Harris takes another shot at gun law
Citizen staff
Prince George-Bulkley Valley MP Dick Harris has taken another shot at the Liberals gun registry — this time over allegations money is being siphoned away from other sources to finance the program, now slated to cost over $1 billion.
Just a day after the auditor general confirmed that number in December, the House rejected a request for an additional $78 million to keep the registry going. But since then, it looks like Justice Minister Martin Cauchon has funneled over $100 million into the registry.
“Here’s a guy who’s been told he cannot have the money and he’s taking it anyway, and that, to me, equates him with a common thief,” Harris said.
Despite the fact it won’t work, Harris said the Liberals simply refuse to give up.
“There’s an old saying, that if you want to get out of a hole the first thing you do is stop digging,” he said.
He went on to say history will show that this government is the most corrupt the country has ever known.
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Jarman and Kitchen earn history honours
by BERNICE TRICK Citizen staff
The winners of the Jeanne Clarke Memorial Local History Award for 2003 are Joan Jarman, public relations officer at the Prince George Public Library and Rip Kitchen, a pioneer of the region.
Jarman won a service award for her continued commitment to preserving Prince George’s local history and for being instrumental in planning and promoting the library’s first local history program in 1984.
That first program, called The History of Rail, captured the prestigious John Cotton Dana Public Relations Award by the American Library Association.
Kitchen, a homesteader on the banks of the Crooked River, received a service award for his lifetime of service to the community. He captured the flavour of homestead life in a series of articles called “The Crooked River Chronicles”, published in the mid 1980s, and has contributed many hours to the Prince George Railway and Forestry Museum.
He’s was made a lifetime member of the Huble Homestead/Giscome Portage Heritage Society after giving many years of dedicated service.
Jarman, in 1993 was one of the key organizers of the Alexander Mackenzie Bicentennial, and in 2000, it was her enthusiasm and determination that resulted in the publication of the book Past Perfect: Prince George History and How to Find It in a tribute to the late Keith Gordon.
Ernie Kaesmodel, a library board trustee, presented the awards Sunday at the library. The Jeanne Clarke Local History Awards have been presented annually since 1985 to individuals making outstanding contributions in the field of local history.
Citizen photo by Brent Braaten
MARCH FOR PEACE — Adil Afilal, 10, holds a sign during a peace march Saturday afternoon. About 200 people gathered at the Court House and then marched to City Hall. The march was one of many around the country as Saturday was an international day of protest against the impending war on Iraq.
First
school
closure
meeting
Tuesday
Citizen staff
The first in a series of 12 school-clo-sure public consultation meetings takes place Hiesday at Lakewood elementary school.
The session starts at 7 p.m. in the school gymnasium. A speaker’s list will be available.
The board will first hear a presentation by senior administrators about the financial situation of the district and their reasons for seeking some school closures as an economy measure. Then the board will hear from speakers who earlier applied for permission to speak or who signed the speakers’ list at the start of the meeting. Afterwards they will hear comments from anyone who wishes to come forward to the microphones from the floor.
Another public consultation meeting will be held Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Foothills elementary school. And on Thursday another consultation session will be conducted at Heritage elementary school.
Lakewood, Foothills and Heritage elementary schools are all on a list of 12 schools the district is contemplating closing this fall. The board can realistically close only a maximum of eight, because some schools are listed in mutually exclusive packages of amalgamations and closures.
Heidt wins Cl
Citizen staff
There is no cause for concern, Cher. You have nothing to worry about.
Although an impersonation of the flamboyant diva was part of his event-winning performance at the Mr. RG. contest, Randall Heidt figures it wasn’t so much talent as pity that put him ahead of the rest of the pack.
“I think they felt sorry for me, because I made for a really, really ugly woman,” he deadpanned following the contest.
The city editor at the Prince George Citizen was among a dozen men competing for the title Friday night at the Civic Centre as part of the Snow Daze winter festival.
Heidt said he was reluctant to participate, but once he got together with the rest of the contestants, it turned out to be a worthwhile experience.
“It was almost like a team,” he said. “We got together and we joked hround a lot and had a lot of fun.”
He was also impressed by the calibre of the competition.
“All their talents were really quite good and I think anyone could’ve won,” Heidt said.
Along with performing a specific “talent” assigned to each of them before the contest, they were judged in three other areas: a choreographed dance segment, a modeling segment, and a question-and-answer segment.
Sprott-Shaw admissions advisor Joe Girard was first runner-up, Bank of Montreal manager Harold Spensley was chosen Mr. Congeniality, and at $750, Prince George Mill Supplies president Gerry Bergeron drew the highest bid at the slave auction that followed.
Organizer JoAnne Niwranski, of Special Events Creators, said the event was a success that nearly packed the house.
“It was a good audience,” she said.
Like Heidt, Niwranski was also impressed by the contestants.
Citizen photo by Dave Milne
Citizen city editor Randall Heidt struts his stuff as the infamous Cher during the talent portion of the Mr. RG. contest at the Civic Centre.
“All of the guys really put an effort into what they were doing,” she said.
Proceeds from the event go to Snow Daze. Meanwhile, Niwranski said, as Mr. P.G., Heidt, who is married and the father of one, soon to be two, will be. asked to attend other events throughout the year to represent the Snow Daze festival.
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