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CITIZEN
Serving the Central Interior since 1916

PRINCE GEORGE

TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2003

80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 54 CENTS A DAY)

Housing starts down, but resale market on rise
by PAUL STRICKLAND Citizen staff Starts on single-family homes were down in Prince George last month compared to July 2002, but the resale market is looking good, according to an expert. Charles King, manager of the CMHC market analysis department, said many property owners are renovating their current homes rather than purchase a new one right now. He said the local home construction industry is on hold rather than in decline. "Where we see promise is in the resale market," King said. "We're seeing good numbers and seeing the prices hold firm. I would be nervous if prices were falling, but prices are not falling in the Prince George market at all," he said. "Our view is that, while starts are low, demand is there, and for now that is reflected in the renovations market," he said. Total starts in all housing categories this year will remain limited while there is still no resolution to the softwood lumber dispute with the U.S., King said from Vancouver. "It is a concern in the North, but that will change one day," he said. Work started on eight single-detached homes in July, compared to 19 during the same month last year, according to statistics from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. However, on a year-to-date basis figures are holding more or less steady, with 48 starts this year compared to 51 last year. "The outlook is for around 100 starts this year," King said. While many homes in Vancouver may be 80 years old or older, so that buyers tear them down and replace them with new construction, the housing stock in Kelowna and Prince George is still relatively new and it makes sense for many couples to hold on to their homes for the time being and renovate them or add on to them. "In situations like Prince George and Kelowna, we see a lot of good numbers on the renovation side," King said. City statistics show that 106 permits were issued last month for renovations and alterations to single-family homes, up from 105 in July last year. -- For related story, see page 5

Drive-by rocks McCullagh Ave.
"When I heard about it this morning, I said by KAREN KWAN `we're moving'. I can't have that with my kids Citizen staff A drive-by revenge shooting on McCullagh Av- around here," said neighbour Jesse, who has two enue early Monday has left some neighbourhood kids under the age of two. The shooting is only the latest problem in the crime-ridden neighresidents fearing for their safety. Shortly after midnight, a single shotgun bourhood where crack houses, break-ins and blast was fired at the front window of a home theft have police making daily calls to the area, in the 1400 block, RCMP said. The shot shat- he said. "I grew up in Longworth, (a rural area tered the glass but the residents, who were east of Prince George), where you don't have to lock your doors or worhome at the time, esr y a b o u t c r i m e . We caped injury. come here and you Police said it appears have to lock everything the shooting was in reup and wear a bullettaliation for a conflict proof vest," said the over a stolen bicycle man, who moved to the and continue to investineighbourhood three gate. months ago. A man who lives in Another resident said the house that was tarthe shooting reinforces geted said he heard a her earlier decision to commotion outside his move due to financial house and went outside reasons. "I'm glad I'm to investigate. "Ten guys moving out of the in a truck came by (last neighbourhood. It 's night). They yelled at us kind of freaky," she a n d I c a m e o u t ," h e said. said. "Then they shot But Rob, another the window" from the McCullagh Avenue resiroad, said the man who d e c l i n e d to g i ve h i s Citizen photo by Dave Milne d e n t , w h o h a s t w o name. A window of a house on McCullagh Avenue young children and another on the way, said He said a group of was hit by a shotgun blast early Monday. while the shooting four men attacked him for his bike a couple of days ago, and in return makes him uneasy, he's confident the attack was he rounded up a threesome to swarm one of directed toward specific individuals. "That's why the per petrators. The man, who had just I left Toronto," he said. "Sure, it's a scary thing. moved into the house on the weekend, said the There could be kids walking around," he said, landlord will probably evict him over the dam- but added it's still much safer compared to big cities. age. Last November, a drive-by shooting on Quince He said he doesn't believe he's in danger, but his neighbours take a different view. McCullagh Street -- in the same area of the city -- wounded Avenue residents were reluctant to be identified a woman in the leg, but these types of attacks are still fairly uncommon in Prince George. for fear of being targeted, however.

Citizen photo by Dave Milne

RIGHT DOWN THE PIPE -- Brett Glazier, 14, pitches to friend Kalvin Barton while Tyler Funk covers second base, first base and the entire outfield on a sunny Monday afternoon. Glazier also patrolled the field, that is, until his wheelchair batteries ran out. Then it was time to head home for a charge.

Council to follow up on business-friendly strategies
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff A series of strategies designed to make city hall more business friendly gained approval in principal from city council on Monday night. The strategies come out of a report drafted by the five-person Service Delivery to Business Customers Task Force with the help of two Edmonton-based consulting firms, hired in January for $52,000. The strategies, 26 in all, touch on procurement, planning and development, communication, public land holdings, economic development and alternate ways to deliver services. But some items are more immediate than others. In making a presentation to council, Initiatives Prince George president Gerry Offet, who chaired the task force, stressed a need for quicker action on rewriting the city's zoning bylaw. According to the report, the bylaw is "one of the larger regulatory impediments to investment in the community." Originally drafted in the 1970s, the bylaw has become out-of-date over the last two decades, the report states. About 40 members of two Canadian Union of Public Employee locals representing the city's inside and outside workers showed up for the presentation, all wearing white T-shirts saying "Keep PG Strong." The locals had raised concerns about aspects of the report, particularly suggestions about expanding the number of services the city should contract out. Both issues were raised during council's discussion of the report. Coun. Glen Scott drew applause from the employees for echoing their concerns. "We have to make sure that we look after our city staff," he said. But Scott also earned a rebuke from Coun. Don Zurowski, who said a healthy economy is the key to maintaining and increasing the number of jobs at city hall. Council also agreed a broader range of stakeholders should be consulted, including city employees, in following up on the report. The report also sets out a suggested timeline for carrying out each of the strategies. However, city manager George Paul said some of the suggestions raised in the report have already been implemented by the city, while others may fit in with other schemes being pursued. In addition to Offet, the task force also consists of Bruce Sutherland of P.G. Mill Supplies, Rosalind Thorne of the Prince George Construction Association, Ted Moffatt of Northern Hardware and Bob Cooper of Cooper Construction. The initiative comes out of a motion council passed in April, 2002 that approved up to $30,000 to defray the costs of a task force review to improve the level of service to business customers. In November, the outgoing council gave staff direction to increase the budget, and the consultants, Western Management Consultants and Urban Systems Ltd., were hired.

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Local volunteer firefighters return from `war zone'
Crew of 25, five trucks help battle forest fires in Kamloops region
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff Both Bryant Kemble and Bruce Perrin have seen their share of fires, but nothing compares to what they encountered north of Kamloops where wildfires have been reaping devastation for several days now. They are among the 25 volunteer firefighters, along with five fire trucks, from the Prince George region who made the trip down to the area to relieve firefighters who had been working around t he cloc k to prevent homes and businesses from burning down. As the chief of the fire department in Ferndale-Tabor, Kemble spent most of the week in the fire commissioner's office in Kamloops assembling resources and establishing rotations. But he did get into Bar riere one evening and saw where the wildfires passed through. "A war zone," was how Kemble described the scene. "It burned so hot, so quick, there wasn't a hope for anything. The houses it took, it took completely. There's not a thing." Perrin was stationed in Barriere where he helped spread fire retardant on and around homes that remained standing and deal with spot fires in the vicinity. There wasn't much to see for all the smoke, he said, which was so thick that smoke alarms constantly went off. But at night there was the orange flow of the wildfire on the outskirts of the community. "Three hundred and sixty degrees around you, you could see nothing but fire on the hills," he said. "There was basically a glow, but every once in a while a tree would go up, they call it candling, and you could see these great-big flames." One of the odder sights was a flower

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FACTBOX
 There are 814 firefighters, 112 pieces of heavy equipment and 12 helicopters battling the McLure-Barriere fire.  More than 120 volunteer firefighters and 34 fire trucks were also on the scene to protect buildings from the blaze.  As of Monday, the fire covered about 19,256 square hectares and was 50 per cent contained.  Total structural damage totalled $8.2 million as of Thursday evening. garden or a home completely unscathed amid all the ruin, but there is an explanation. While practically nothing had a chance if it was in the path of a wildfire itself -- an entire sawmill in Louis Creek, just south of Barriere, was completely razed -- the difference between destruction and survival of a

INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . 24 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-18 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . . . 3,5,13 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . 20-23 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Coming Events . . . . . . . . . . 2 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Entertainment . . . . . . . 14,15 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Lifestyles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-12 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

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building was often whether it had a watered lawn or garden around it. "If it was just a ground fire burning towards the house, it would stop if there was a lawn," Perrin said. "A lot people would make a nice lawn around the front and the side of the house, but they'd forget the back, and they'd get dead grass and it would burn right up to the house." It was one of the several lessons firefighters will take back with them. Once everyone is back home by the end of this week, they'll get together to review their contingency plans for dealing with wildfires in the context of what they saw. In addition to maintaining a wellkept lawn or clear area of about 100 feet around the home, Perrin said a driveway wide enough and straight enough to allow a fire truck to be driven up to the home could make the difference. "If the fire departments can get to the home ahead of time they can slow it down and put fire retardants on the roof," he said.

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