PRINCE GEORGE
High today: 21 Low tonight: 7 Details page 2
Citizen
Serving the Central Interior since 1916
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 2003
80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 54 CENTS A DAY
Ranchers hope beef market can bounce back
by KAREN KWAN Citizen Staff
The absence of mad cow disease on three B.C. farms —including one near Prince George — is small comfort for ranchers worried about the collapsing cattle market, says an industry representative.
Preliminary tests on about 60 slaughtered cows and 30 goats show no signs of mad cow disease, but additional tests are still being done to confirm the results, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Tliesday. The farms, which received feed made
from the remains of a diseased Alberta cow, remain under quarantine pending the outcome of the final tests and disinfection of the farms.
Mark Grafton of the Prince George Cattlemen’s Association said the latest development is good news, because any additional mad cow cases would extend border closures to Canadian beef and generate fear among consumers.
“Now, really what would make a difference is when they get the (U.S.) border open,” he said. The U.S. is Canada’s largest export market, ac-
counting for 75 per cent of the country’s $4-billion beef and cattle industry. “Even if they don’t find any more cases, which it looks like they won’t, we need to get the border open,” he said. So far, only one case of mad cow disease has been found, in an animal from northwestern Alberta.
The border closures, which include most of Canada’s largest beef trading partners, are now in their third week and are backing up cattle on feedlots as markets slow to a trickle, Grafton said.
“Prices are down significantly...
Canada can only take 40 to 50 per cent of the fat cattle (for domestic markets),” he said.
The B.C. Cattlemen’s Association has about 365 members who keep 56,000 cattle between Terrace and Prince George.
Final test results on the B.C. herds could take a few days or longer, because further testing of Alberta cattle for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) must be done after DNA analysis proved inconclusive. CFIA investigators had been trying to pinpoint the sick cow’s forebears to limit
slaughter to a specific farm, since BSE testing is done on the brains of dead animals. The federal government says it will compensate ranchers for their slaughtered herds.
The B.C. farms were sealed off May 23 when inspectors said they couldn’t conclude whether cattle had eaten poultry feed made from the infected cow. Since 1997, it’s been illegal in Canada to give cows feed made from cattle or other ruminants, but poultry can be fed those substances because thpy’re not susceptible to the illness.
Accountants upbeat for future of mining
Citizen staff
Chartered accountants in B.C.’s North and Interior are predicting a bright future for mining in the province, according to a poll commissioned by the Chartered Accountants of British Columbia.
An Ipsos-Reid survey of chartered accountants in the regions about the contributions of various industries to the B.C. economy found that 14 per cent currently see mining as a major contributor but 21 per cent expect it will be a key industry in five years. This is higher than the rest of the province where 12 per cent expect mining to be key five years from now.
“There is a sense of optimism surrounding the mining industry in B.C.,” said Dale Peniuk, a chartered accountant in charge of the mining practice with KPMG LLP in Vancouver.
“The rise in the price of gold is important, and government policy changes have helped a fair bit. The government has tried to help encourage investment by cutting permitting hurdles and reducing red tape. But one big unknown for the industry remains the settlement of land claims.”
Prince George North MLA Pat Bell said several junior mining companies will be pursuing exploration this summer, and Prince George should benefit. In answer to con-cerns about land claims, Bell said progress has been made on several fronts, most notably the completion of the McLeod Lake Indian Band treaty and the agreement in principle with the Lheidli T’enneh.
“I think people are recognizing that we’ve made significant progress on successfully dealing with some of the First Nations issues,” he said.
Chartered accountants in the region also see big growth in oil and gas — 33 per cent see the industry as a significant industry today and 41 per cent think it will be a key to the economy over the next five years. Likewise, they see promise in high-tech.
Today, 21 per cent feel it is important to the province, but over the next five years 40 per cent think it will be a key industry.
"We’ve made significant progress on successfully dealing with some of the First Nations issues.”
—MLA Pat Bell
Land reserve exemption sought to get zoo going
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff
Starting with smaller animals and then moving to larger, more exotic species, a zoo is being planned for about 40 acres in the Buckhorn-Pineview area — but there will be plenty of hoops to jump through first.
During their May meeting, Fraser-Fort George Regional District directors forwarded a proposal from Maureen Schulting to the Agricultural Land Commission.
Should it win the commission’s approval, the proposal will still have to go through the public hearing process because it requires amendments to the regional district’s official community plan and zoning bylaw.
“We have plans for a good zoo, but we have to do it in stages,” Schulting said.
Schulting was reluctant to give more details, saying more information will come out at the proposal process.
But according to a report from the regional district’s development services department, the zoo would start out with smaller animals and birds, such as parrots, snakes, sheep and miniature donkeys. Eventually, larger exotic animals appropriate to the region’s climate, such as Siberian tigers, would be added to the mix to make it a full-fledged zoo.
The proposed zoo would be located just north of McRinney Road near Highway 97 South, about one kilometre south of Art Knapp’s Plant-land. Because the application is so unique, directors voted to forward it without a recommendation to either approve or deny, and let the commission decide.
. J
1 - ■ -v » j V
J A t
-J
m *
3
imer jr
Citizen photo by Dave Milne
WET ADVENTURES — Jaden Saunders, 3, left and friend Emma Boldt, 3, are dressed for the sun at the Fort George Park water park but are not quite ready to brave the cold water spray. The warm weather and sunny skies are expected to last all week.
Sad day for Joy
Provincial NDP leader Joy MacPhail announced Tliesday she won’t run for the party leadership and plans to quit politics.
— See story on page 5
MacPHAIL
INDEX
Annie’s Mailbox.............17
Bridge......................24
Business ................18-20
City, B.C...............3,5,13
Classified ..............22-25
Comics .....................16
Coming Events................2
Crossword ..................16
Entertainment...............17
Horoscope ..................24
Lifestyles..................26
Nation ...................6,14
Sports ...................8-12
Television..................17
World....................15,21
UNBC student awarded $45,000 research grant
by PAUL STRICKLAND Citizen staff
UNBC student David Nordstokke has been awarded $45,000 over two years to investigate possible answers to a question linking psychology and physical health, says a research foundation representative.
This is the first time anyone from UNBC has qualified for funding from a research trainee competition sponsored by the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, which uses a rigorous scientific peer-review process to rank applicants, said Alison Osborne, communications manager for the foundation.
Nordstokke, who is working toward his master’s degree in psychology, will receive $20,000 per year for two years, plus a research and travel allowance of $5,000 over two years that will enable him to attend scientific meetings and conferences, Osborne said Tliesday from Vancouver.
The Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research is B.C.’s premier health research support organization, she said.
The question Nordstokke will investigate is as follows: Can a person’s facial expressions provide early clues to their risk for chronic stress or heart disease?
“Our faces tell people a great deal about how we are experiencing life,” he said.
“Through my research iraining, I hope to identify markers related to facial expressions and body
movements that may possibly give information concerning the Internal wellness of the individual.”
Nordstokke and dozens of promising B.C. health research trainees were honoured at a ceremony Tliesday in Vancouver.
“These awards reflect the growing capacity of B.C.’s youngest university for conducting world-class, significant health research, and for providing an excellent training ground for the next generation of researchers,” said Dr. Aubrey Tingle, foundation president and CEO.
Nordstokke is one of two trainees connected with UNBC to receive funding from the foundation.
Fellow award recipient Elizabete Rocha, a postdoctoral fellow currendy completing a clinical psychology internship in Halifax, will be working with Nordstokke under UNBC psychology professor Dr. Ken Prkachin this September.
Prkachin is a renowned, nationally-funded researcher in psychology who studies how certain human behaviours can indicate underlying stress, pain and disease.
Since she already has her PhD from the University of Saskatchewan, Rocha will receive a higher level of funding while at UNBC — $39,000 per year for two years and a travel and research allowance of $4,000 per year, Osborne said.
The foundation is named to honour the late Dr. Michael Smith, a renowned teacher and mentor who was awarded B.C.’s only Nobel Prize for his research contributions to genetics.
SWITCHBOARD: 562-2441
CLASSIFIED: 562-16666
Worshippers urged to keep watch for theft
Citizen staff
Congregation members are being warned to keep a close eye on their belongings following a purse-snatching during a service at a local church.
Bulletins have been circulated to area churches following a theft on May 22 from St. Giles Presbyterian Church at 1500 Edmonton St., across 15th Avenue from Prince George Regional Hospital.
A woman who contacted The Citizen about the incident said a man carrying what appeared to be a white lab coat and a small backpack walked into the church claiming to be a visitor from Chilliwack.
She said the man, about five-feet, 10-inches tall with gray hair in a ponytail with bad and missing teeth, may have been scoping out the church for an easy theft. He soon left with the coat on, apparently telling the doormen he’d been called to the hospital.
Prince George RCMP Const. Mike Caira said police received reports not only about that incident but about another one on May 25, purses going missing both times.
No reports of similar incidents at other churches have been received, he said, but advised churchgoers to keep an eye on their belongings and to be on the lookout for suspicious behav-
READER SALES: 562-3301
m
19
058307001008