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CITIZEN
Serving the Central Interior since 1916

PRINCE GEORGE

SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2004

80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 56 CENTS A DAY)

Tapping into tourism's potential
Ideas and opportunities abound on how to entice visitors to Northern B.C.
Part four of a five-part series on our new and emerging economy. by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff Swift-flowing rivers, canyons, rapids, deer, elk, moose, black bears and stories of the past. Did you know the CN rail bridge across the Fraser River is the oldest and longest structure of its kind in Canada, built while paddlewheelers still travelled the river in the early part of the last century? It's one of the historical tidbits Vic Mazur tells his guests on jet boat tours of the Fraser and Nechako rivers. Mazur also recounts stories about the explorers Alexander Mackenzie ern B.C.'s tourism triumvirate -- wilderness, wildlife and history. In its seventh year of operation, River Jet Boat Safaris provides guided tours of northern B.C.'s largest river systems, which also includes the Parsnip, McGregor and Skeena watersheds. Two to four-hour tr ips are available -- launched from the Cameron Street Bridge area in Prince George -- as well as overnight-trips farther afield. Mazur's business is part of a hard-todecipher tourism sector in the Prince George region, one that may pump as much as $483 million a year into the Prince George economy according to estimates from Tourism Prince George. An analysis produced for the Winter Cities Forum in 1999 -- using 1995-96 data gathered by Tourism B.C. -- provides a more conservative view of the impact. It estimated travellers spend $269 million in the Prince George area, including Vanderhoof. Either way, the figures are significant, contributing more to the area's economy than either post-secondary education, hi-tech or the airport, which were profiled in the first three installments of this series. While there's a strong belief among those in the tourism sector that there is potential for growth, life in their world is not simple. Mazur says his third year of operation was his best, and adds that he must maintain his day job at the Prince George Pulp Mill as the tourist trade isn't lucrative enough to rely on for a livelihood. His business was hit both by the tourist chill following the Sept. 11 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York in 2001, and the shutdown of passenger rail service on B.C. Rail in 2002. The rail service was a good source of hard-to-come-by European customers who are particularly interested in the wilderness and wildlife in northern B.C. "It's very tough," says Mazur. "But I'm persistent." -- Please turn to page 13 and Simon Fraser, the first non-natives to use the rivers to penetrate this region -- Mackenzie in 1789 and Fraser in 1807. It's an effort to tap into north-

Lumber, pulp prices continue to increase
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff Forest product prices for lumber, panel products and pulp are all strong or on a push upward, say industry observers. Lumber has been strengthening since the beginning of the year, and continued that trend this week. Both oriented strandboard (OSB) and plywood are also strong. Pulp is also continuing an upward trend from last year. The benchmark thousand board feet of random length spruce, pine or fir twoby-fours hit $456 US this week, one of its highest levels in the past decade, according to Madison's Canadian Lumber Reporter. The $456 level is one of the highest since prices went to $475 US in 1993. Lumber briefly reached $440 US in the summer of 1999. Madison's publisher Laurie Cater said low interest rates which fuel housing construction have created strong demand for lumber. The construction season isn't in full swing in the U.S. because of cool weather in the east and fires in California, which means there's little chance prices will fall off before fall, noted Cater. Another factor pressuring prices is continuing rail transportation delays in getting lumber to the U.S. Eastern Seaboard. Where it used to take about three weeks to rail lumber to the U.S. east, it's taking up to six weeks now, he said. "While it exists, it pressures prices," he said. The increasing prices will help offset steep tariffs on softwood lumber exports and an increase in the value of the Canadian dollar which Northern Interior lumber producers, and their Canadian counterparts, are facing. Pulp has been on steady slow, steady increase from $430 US at the beginning of 2003. It's averaging $650 US and could go higher, according to Paul Quinn, a paper and forest products analyst for Salman Partners. "We note that a number of NBSK (North American softwood pulp) producers have recently announced a $30 US per tonne price increase in North America and $40 US per tonne in Europe, effective June 1," said Quinn. "If implemented, and we think this prices increase will be successful, NBSK prices will be $680 US per tonne both in Europe and North America."

Citizen photo by Dave Milne

CINDERELLA SCENE -- Ashley Siddals as Cinderella, left, prepares the hair for one of her wicked step-sisters, Elephanta, played by Karisa McCann, while the other two step-sisters, Exema, played by Sananna Bakala, and Euphoria, played by Sara Patterson, act up. The disapproving step-mother, played by Dana Beebe, monitors the situation. The PGSS play runs June 5 and 6 at Vanier Hall.

Teens arrested for arson at closed school
by KAREN KWAN Citizen staff Five teenagers have been arrested in an arson at South Fort George elementary, RCMP said Friday. Several small fires were set inside the vacant school on La Salle Avenue Thursday evening, but the building's sprinkler system kept the blaze from spreading and damage was minimal, police said. Four girls between the ages of 13 and 15, as well as a 17-year-old boy, face charges and were released to their parents' care. The school is one of 14 closed over the past two years to battle budget shortfalls within the district. South Fort George elementary is the second school to be targeted by arsonists in the past year. In Thursday's fire, sprinklers caused water damage to a small number of ceiling tiles and soaked boxes of items stored in the hallway, said Nino Maletta, general manager of maintenance with the school district. "Other than that and a smoky smell in the school, there's really not any damage," he said. "It really is because the building worked the way it was designed. The sprinkler system, which is designed to protect the property and save lives, went on," he said. By Thursday night, the school had been cleaned up. Damage is expected to be limited to a couple of thousand dollars, Maletta said, but since insurance requires a $3,000 deductible, the district will probably have to absorb the cost. Maletta said it appears the suspects broke into the school through the vent that leads into the mechanical room. "They tore off a mesh grill that we have covering over the opening and then they broke or punched out the ventilation grill as well, which is behind that, and got in that way," he said. Fires were started in the hallway and in a washroom at the north end of the building. Closed schools are still equipped with an alarm system monitored by a security company, he said, and windows and doors are boarded up. The district follows education ministry guidelines on school security, but no extra measures are taken, Maletta said. Eight closed schools in the district remain vacant, while others have been sold or leased. Maletta said the fire could have been far more serious, especially since the gas and hydro lines are still operating. The building is being maintained because the district is negotiating to lease the school for a community centre. "They could have lit a fire in the boiler room and that would have been pretty catastrophic. They could have ended up injuring themselves quite seriously or causing an explosion," he said. Last May, fire and vandalism caused more than $30,000 damage to Meadow elementary on Dornbierer Crescent, which was scheduled to be closed at the end of that school year. Two 17-year-old boys pleaded guilty to the arson and were given brief jail sentences, then placed under intensive supervision.

INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . .21 Business . . . . . . . . . . . .32-34 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . . .3,5,13 Classified . . . . . . . . . . .41-46 Comics . . . . . . . . . . .27,47,48 Entertainment . . . . . . .28,29 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6,7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-12 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14,15

City jobless rate remains at 14 per cent
by PAUL STRICKLAND Citizen staff The unemployment rate in Prince George stayed the same last month as in March -- at 14 per cent. The main reason is that a decrease in the number of jobs available in the city was offset by a comparable decline in the size of the labour force, says Dwayne Prokopowich, labour market analyst. In April 2003 the jobless rate was also in the same range -- 14.1 per cent, he said. Last month, the total number of jobs held in Prince George was 37,000, down from 37,500 in March. But last month's figure was still 1,100 higher than the 35,900 jobs held in the city in April 2003, Prokopowich said. Of the job total for last month 31,600 were full time, the same as in March, but in April 2003 there were only 30,000 full-time jobs held in the city. "And so we're still 1,600 to the good, year over year," Prokopowich said. "Where we lost jobs was in the part-time sector." Last month, 5,400 people were in part-time jobs in Prince George, down from 5,900 in March. The number of part-time jobs held a year ago was also 5,900, he noted. While the jobless rate in the city stayed the same, the unemployment rate in the Cariboo region as a whole -- which includes Prince George, Mackenzie, Quesnel, Williams Lake and 100 Mile House -- rose one per cent. It was 13.1 per cent in April, compared to 12.1 per cent in March and 12.5 per cent a year ago. The Cariboo region had the second highest unemployment rate in B.C. It was surpassed only by the North CoastNechako region that includes Vanderhoof; that region had a 13.9-per-cent jobless rate last month. For the other regions of the B.C. the jobless rates were as follows: Vancouver Island (9.6), Lower Mainland (7.2), Thompson-Okanagan (7.8), Kootenay (11.2) and the Northeast, which includes Dawson Creek and Fort St. John (5.0). In B.C., the jobless rate last month was 8.1 per cent, down from 8.2 a month earlier. The Canada-wide unemployment rate was 7.8 per cent last month, down from 7.9 per cent in March.

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