High school basketball heats up /8
Network attaches Muslim disclaimer to hit show /17

Dresden bombing remembered /15
PM to testify today before sponsorship inquiry /7

CITIZEN
Serving the Central Interior since 1916
by FRANK PEEBLES Citizen staff FORT ST. JAMES -- At the mouth of the Stuart River, white swans dotted the open water. At the front of Kwah Hall, overlooking Stuart Lake, Father Frank Salmon was a mere speck to many of the mourners who jammed into the community centre. More than 1,000 people took time off school and work Wednesday morning to celebrate the life of 16-year-old Kora-Lee Prince and grieve her tragic death. Many could get no closer than the entrance. Prince was found at the bottom of Stuart Lake on Feb. 2, alongside the snowmobile she was riding. Her boyfr iend, 19-year-old Matt hew Karey, was also on the snowmobile but the underwater search continues for his body. They had been missing since late at night on Christmas Day. The community rallied around the search and it was hard to imagine anyone in the community was not there at the emotional service. "We give thanks for forming us together as one community through this tragedy," said Father Salmon, and indeed the room was packed with young and old, rich and poor, aboriginals of all area nations and Caucasians. Nak'azdli Chief Leonard Thomas also spoke, saying he was astonished at the human kindness that has emerged from Fort St. James within the last 46 days. "I know there has been some criticisms over the way some agencies have handled things," said Thomas, "But this is the very first time we've ever been faced with this kind of tragedy. When this started, no one knew how to approach it. Our communities put their heads together, worked together to find out what happened on the ice that night, and we are closer now." Fort St. James is a young town and

PRINCE GEORGE

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2005

80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 57 CENTS A DAY)

Huge crowd mourns teen accident victim

Citizen photo by Frank Peebles

More than 1,000 people turned out Wednesday for the funeral of KoraLee Prince in Fort St. James. The 16-year-old died in a snowmobiling accident Christmas Day.
Thomas aimed a comment at the large youth contingent assembled at the hall -- a group openly wounded at losing one of its own. "This is a day for your generation to remember," the chief said. "When you look to the person beside you, realize that you are looking at a survivor." Many of the teens who knew Prince and Karey were sobbing openly, clutching at each other. The knowing looks between them, the clips of conversation, the forlorn looks at the ceiling gave every indication they understood how easily it could have been them taken from their loved ones while just out on a typical lark. There was also much comfort taken in the arms of grandparents, buddies, moms and dads and lifelong friends. This sentiment was captured by Tim Erickson, Prince's uncle, who spoke to the gathering with quivering voice and strong words. "On Jan. 2 we went out on that ice for the first time as a community," he said. "All we had was two hand augers, a drop camera, some fish-finders and stove pipes. The elements were terrible; it was minus-40. But Fort St. James, you kept us warm. You made sure no searcher went hungry because Fort St. James, you fed us." E r i c k s o n a d d e d a n i mp o r t a n t thought that was on everyone's mind but thus far unspoken. "We will drill another 20,000 holes in that ice to bring Matt home," he said. "Matt, your sleeping beauty is here waiting. We're coming to get you, too."

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

ALL THE RIGHT MOVES -- Brad Pichler, 15, does a "360 tire tap" move Wednesday while riding at the Rotary Skate Park.

High : 2 Low : -2 page 2

Family's anguish won't fade quickly
by FRANK PEEBLES Citizen staff Dirt landed with a heartbreaking thud as Kora-Lee Prince was buried by her friends and family. Emotion poured from the eyes and voices of the hundreds assembled on the hill where Prince was being returned to dust, a spot overlooking the lake that took her life. As Amazing Grace was sung in Carrier and as native drummers kept rhythm with the shovels, there was a palpable relief that it was dirt and not ice water that now enveloped the girl. More anguish is still ahead for the family, however. When the funeral and internment was over, Prince's mother, Melody, confided to the Citizen, "There is no closure for us. We are back out there on that ice tomorrow and every day after that until we find Matt. Even though we've had the service, everybody in the family is just on hold waiting for Matt. It must just be heartbreaking for (his family), I can't image what they're going through right now." She confesses that she feels pangs of anger and hatred for the lake that looms so large on the Fort St. James landscape. Prince's father Evan was resigned to the relationship between the townspeople and the lake. "It is a provider, but it can also take away," he said simply. Its vastness is overwhelming to him as he thinks about the ongoing search for Matthew Karey. "There are so many holes out there already, and just so much of the lake hasn't been touched yet. You really appreciate its power this way." Gloria Duncan is a teacher at the high school and a relation by marriage to the Prince family. She said another factor will unfairly revisit Kora-Lee's death on her family time after time. She and Matthew went missing on Christmas Day. "Christmas isn't likely to be celebrated by the immediate family. They've said that Kora-Lee was such a highlight of Christmas for them that it will never be the same again," Duncan said. "It has hit everybody. The whole town, every teacher and every student, has felt this at their core. She was so known to everybody." One of those who knew her best was Ashley Beauchamp, otherwise known as The Triplet. Prince was a twin, and the third point on their triangle was Beauchamp. "It doesn't surprise me that so many people are here today," Beauchamp said. "I'm thinking now about her smile, the way she would walk into a room and light it up, the way she could make you feel happy even when you were sad. She was cared about by everybody." So often the words "unfair" and "parent's nightmare" floated through the community gathering on Wednesday. One family member said "I remember asking KoraLee on Dec. 20 if she and Matt were on again or off again, and she said `We will be together forever.' I didn't imagine this kind of forever." On the other hand, said her parents, how many families get to really see the love of a community for their child. That is one significant gift that has cut through the ice-cold loss.

COMMUNITY

PAGE 13

Students urged to vote

INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . .17 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Business . . . . . . . . . . . .22-24 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . .3,5,6,13 Classified . . . . . . . . . . .18-21 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Coming Events . . . . . . . . . . .2 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . .17 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6,7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-11 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Lumber retaliation warranted, minister says
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff B.C. Forests Minister Mike de Jong said Wednesday it's time for Canada to retaliate in the softwood lumber dispute because the U.S. has left the country with no choice. "If they're not going to abide by the NAFTA panels rulings and they're going to hang onto money they're not entitled to, the government of Canada has to look at different ways to repatriate that money," de Jong told The Citizen. "The U.S. needs to know there are consequences." De Jong has taken strong exception to recent comments by U.S. government trade officials that tariffs already collected by the U.S. would not be returned even if Canada won a last-ditch American challenge to a key NAFTA dispute panel decision. About $4 billion in tariffs have been collected on deposit with U.S. customs, about half of that from British Columbia. De Jong said he has talked to International Trade Minister Jim Peterson, and his provincial counterparts in Ontario and Quebec, in the past few days. It's time for Peterson and Prime Minister Paul Martin to find out from the Americans whether they are "in or out of NAFTA," said de Jong. If NAFTA is going to continue to work, countries can't just decide to pick and choose which dispute panel decisions they will abide by, he said. In other trade areas, the U.S. and Canada have abided by NAFTA dispute panel rulings, noted de Jong. For example, in 1991, in the case of fresh, chilled and frozen pork from Canada, the U.S. Department of Commerce revoked the duty as directed by a dispute panel and refunded the cash deposits. In 2000, Canada grieved imports of X-ray chemicals, but then returned duties to the U.S. as result of its own administrative review of the case. -- See related story on page 7

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