PRINCE GEORGE
 High today: 14 Low tonight: 6 Details page 2
Citizen i I
 Serving the Central Interior since 1916
ESTI
THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 2003
                                                                                                         Citizen staff
    There will be plenty of new attractions to go along with the new name for the province’s second-largest home show, which runs this weekend in Prince George.
    The three-day Northern British Columbia Home, Garden and Leisure Show starts Friday, 4 to 9 p.m., continues through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and finishes up on Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Kin Centres and Exhibition Park.
    Show chairman Gordon Johnson said sales of exhibitor space have been brisk and expects a sell-out by the time the show starts. About 300 exhibitors are anticipated for the show, which is expected to draw up to 25,000 people.
    Johnson said the new name reflects Prince George’s role as B.C.’s Northern Capital — and the growing importance of the city as a major retail and service provider in the Interior, and the inclusion of the words garden and leisure will expand the range of exhibitors. Visitors and exhibitors will notice a number of changes to the show from previous years, Johnson said, including different exhibit layouts and a more diverse display of home and garden exhibitors.
    The theme for the 2003 event is “Design” and in keeping, the stage area in Kin 1 will feature a designer
  showcase, a cutaway of a 1,200-square-foot bungalow that will display major rooms, including kitchen, living room, bedroom and bath — professionally designed. Dozens of exhibitors have contributed fixtures, flooring and accessories to the showcase.
    “We’re putting the home back in the home show,” Johnson said.
    The stage at Kin 1 will also be a busy spot.
    Jon Eakes, host of the Home and Garden TV series “Just Ask Jon Eakes” will make appearances there over the three days. His “Get It In Writing” seminar will focus on how to avoid the hassle and expense of hidden costs or surprises when dealing with contractors, trades or suppliers. He’ll make that presentation on Friday at 6 p.m., on Saturday at 3 p.m., and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Eakes will also deliver a seminar, “The House as a System” on Saturday at noon and 7 p.m., and on Sunday, at 11:30 p.m.
    Hourly door prizes are featured throughout the show, with a grand door prize of a family houseboat vacation and a stainless steel natural gas barbecue. Your ticket stub is your door prize entry.
    Kids under 12 are allowed in at no charge, and adult tickets are $6 — although you can save $1 with a coupon clipped from The Citizen.
80 CENTS (HOME.DELIVERED: 54 CENTS A DAY)
Area groups praise grad rule changes
                                                                                                      by KAREN KWAN Citizen staff
    Local groups are lauding a government decision to backtrack on some controversial changes to high school-graduation requirements.
    The revisions introduced Wednesday were applauded as much for what wasn’t changed as for what was introduced. Education Minister Christy Clark said public concern over changes proposed last September prompted a relaxation of some standards that were under consideration.
    “I think it boils down to some fairly good changes, and I certainly hope it’s going to improve things for kids,” said Bev Hosker, chair of the District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC).
    The new graduation program will be phased in over three years, beginning with Grade 10 students in September 2004. Students now in Grades 9 to 12 will not be affected.
    The government dropped its proposal to make physical education mandatory for Grades 11 and 12, backed off on forcing students into a chosen study area, and decided not to require schools to offer three types of math courses in Grade 11. It’s also eliminating the career and personal planning classes, which are currently required in the final two years of high school, and is replacing mandatory provincial exams in many Grade 12 courses with five required exams that will be spread out between Grades 10 and 12.
  B.C. RAIL
    “One of the fears was that if P.E. classes were mandatory in Grade 11 and 12, schools were not going to be able to accommodate all the classes,” Hosker said. She said the elimination of required career and personal planning classes in Grades 11 and 12, which many students felt were not useftil, will allow students to take other courses they want.
    And making Grade 12 provincial exams optional for many courses will save money, she said, while relieving pressure on students and teachers during the final year. Students can still choose to take provincial exams in those courses, if they plan to take post-secondary education.
    But Hosker said she was disappointed that non-school activities, such as music and sports, won’t count toward graduation, as many parents recommended. “We suggested that kids on sports teams are getting far more exercise than in a P.E. course,” she said. “We’re still pushing for this.”
    School board chair Bill Christie said he believes the changes will result in a more balanced education for students by increasing their flexibility in choosing courses and offering more options.
    “I think it’s a good news story,” he said. The new requirement for “graduation portfolios,” where students demonstrate their abilities in areas that aren’t measured by tests, such as community involvement and employment skills, has a lot of potential, he said.
    “It’s probably the most innovative
 NEW REQUIREMENTS
  ■ Some Grade 10 courses will now count toward graduation requirements, instead of just Grade 11 and 12 classes.
  ■ Students must write five provincial exams in language arts, science, social studies and math, between Grades 10 and 12. Students are currently required to write one language arts exam in Grade 12, as well as Grade 12 exams for any courses that require them.
  ■ Students must now complete a graduation portfolio.
  ■ Students must complete P.E. 10 and at least 80 hours of physical exercise in Grades 11 and 12 for their graduation portfolio.
  ■ Students no longer have to take career and personal planning in Grades 11 and 12, but must now take planning class in Grade 10.
  change, where they would be looking at the whole person to produce a well-rounded student,” Christie said.
    He said he’s pleased the ministry didn’t force schools to offer three Grade 11 math courses, which would have been difficult for smaller schools.
    The government began its review of graduation requirements after a 2001 survey found only half of graduates believed their high-school education had prepared them for life after Grade 12.
Keep line intact, mayor says
                                                                                            by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff
    Prince George Mayor Colin Kinsley on Wednesday told a B.C. Rail-provincial government committee a private rail line operator should not be allowed to rip up any of the tracks along the 2,300-km line.
    'They must maintain the line in its entirety. There should be no shutting it down between North Vancouver and 100 Mile House, or Whistler, because there's that rumour," said Kinsley, following a closed-door session with more than a dozen other mayors at the Coast Inn of the North.
    Kinsley said he also insisted the government retain ownership of the rail bed and tracks, something the Liberals have already said they will do, as well as ensuring a private operator accommodate passenger service.
    The mayors -- including those from Fort St. James, Mackenzie and Quesnel -- had been invited to give input into a request for proposal seeking a private operator being developed by the B.C. Rail-provincial government committee appointed by the Liberal government. The evaluation committee will make recommendations to TVansportation Minister Judith Reid. The committee includes B.C. Rail chairman John McLemon and director Brian Kenning, as well as deputy minister of revenue Chris Trumpy and assistant deputy minister of finance David Morhart.
    The evaluation committee will be getting input from a mayors' council and a shipper's council during the next several weeks. Kinsley has been named to the nine-member mayors' council, which meets again with the evaluation committee in
  Prince George on May 5.
    The liberal government says B.C. Rail is suffering under a mountain of debt and not providing an adequate service. Premier Gord Campbell announced in his state of the province address on Feb. 12 he was going to seek a private operator for the rail line. McLemon, who attended the input meeting in Prince George, said the request for proposal could be ready by the summer, with negotiations with potential operators taking place through the fall.
    Outside the Coast Inn of the North, the Council of Trade Unions on B.C. Rail, which represents about 1,200 workers, protested that for the second time they had been excluded from an important meeting on the future of B.C. Rail. The union was locked out of a meeting that included mayors, Liberal MLAs and B.C. Rail, CN Rail, CP Rail and U.S.-giant Burlington Northem-Santa Fe last November. A handful of union members handed out leaflets that declared: "Why does Gordon Campbell keep bad mouthing this money maker? B.C. Rail made $76.8 million in 2002. Company forecasts to make nearly $200 million over the next three years."
    Fred Carroll, president of IWA local 1-424, one of the seven unions represented by the council, said he doesn't believe a private operator will protect the interests of communities or workers, which will likely include job cuts. But he said it's tough to know exactly what's going on because they are being shut out by the Liberal government. 'We're not unreasonable people," said Carroll. 'Well dress up in suits. We'll put on ties. Well polish our shoes, if that's what it takes to get in and find out what's going on."
                                                   INDEX
Annie’s Mailbox..............15
Bridge.......................22
Business .................16-18
City, B.C................3,5,13
Classified ...............20-23
Comics ......................14
Coming Events.................2
Crossword ...................14
Entertainment................15
Horoscope ...................24
Lotteries....................19
Nation........................6
Sports ....................8-12
Television...................15
World.....................19,24
Producers keen on region, film commissioner says
                                                                                              by BERNICE TRICK Citizen staff
  Movie producers are more interested than ever in northern B.C. thanks to new tax incentives announced by the B.C. government, said Karen Cameron, the new commissioner with Film Prince George.
  Cameron was among local representatives who traveled to Los Angeles last week to market Northern B.C. as a filming location.
  "1 feel positive about the contacts we made, especially since the province has come out with its regional production service tax credit," said Cameron.
  She explained that if a movie company shoots 50 per cent of a movie in a B.C. region, it is entitled to about a six-per-cent tax rebate on its B.C. labour costs.
  That rebate is in addition to the province's 11-per-cent production services tax credit which has been offered for awhile.
  As well, the federal government has increased its tax rebate on costs of Canadian labour to 16 from 11 per cent, Cameron noted.
  "We met with key industry contacts at Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers and with producers from independent production companies, and they are all interested in northern B.C.," Cameron said.
  "Everyone is looking for the same thing for their project - the right location at the right place.
  "Most have a good grasp of where northern B.C. is and the locations we offer, but many were unaware of the new tax incentives to reduce costs of filming in our area," said Cameron.
  As well as meeting with producers, Film Prince George staff participated in Locations Expo, an international trade show that promotes film locations around the world.
  "Overall, I'm very pleased with the results from our trip to L.A.," said Cameron, who's now following up on leads and making plans for similar trips in the future.
  She said "trips like this are a vital part of marketing a film commission" and a way of promoting northern B.C. to the industry.
  Prince George's third full-length movie, Miracle,
will begin filming in the Multiplex about May 20 to the end of June. It's about the story of the U.S. hockey team's Olympic gold victory in 1980 at Lake Placid. Filming was scheduled to start on May 9 in Prince George, but the film's star, Kurt Russell, was ill for a few days, and unable to be on the set, so filming was delayed in Vancouver and thus here, Lisa Ratke, casting film director in Vancouver said Wednesday. Russell plays the role of U.S. hockey coach, Herb Brooks.
  The Disney production attracted about 1,100 local and regional residents during a recent casting call to play the roles of 800 hockey fans at the Olympic Games.
  Ratke said the phone team is about half-way through contacting successful extras.
  On May 24 and 25, the entire city of Prince George will be invited to become hockey fans to fill the stands during filming of the gold medal winning moment and the medal presentations.
  "It's also a promotional event during which the fans will have the opportunity to win door prizes with tickets they get as they enter," said Ratke.
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 Carpenters from Jim Wallace Custom Homes, left to right, Glno Sirlos, Mark Wiebe and Bob Doyer, put together the demonstration house in the middle of Kin 1. The house will feature products from Home Builders Association members. The home show opens to the public on Friday at 4 p.m. with displays in all three Kin Centres.
 Home show takes stage
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