Hot fuss follows The Killers /26
Star wrestler to run for B.C. Liberals /5

Cupid's arrows missing smokers /31
Charles, Camilla to wed in April /15

CITIZEN
Serving the Central Interior since 1916
high-quality cocaine. "This was a straight seizure. There was no undercover work at the time of the arrest," said RCMP spokesperson Const. Mike Caira. "We don't like to speak on the money issues around drugs, the possible street values of drugs, but this is considerable." The source of the cocaine and its destination are now being checked by police. They believe the drugs were connected to local organized crime. It is the first major bust since six members of the Renegades motorcycle club were arrested in January along with four Vancouver Hells Angels as part of a 20-month investigation. Caira said the full effects of those arrests likely won't be felt for awhile. "It is still early in that," he said. "Should those

PRINCE GEORGE

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2005

$1.00 (HOME DELIVERED: 57 CENTS A DAY)

Police make huge cocaine bust
by FRANK PEEBLES Citizen staff Prince George RCMP and the North District drug section took four kilograms of cocaine out of circulation Wednesday and arrested one man in the process. Nathan Robert Mraz was driving on Highway 97 just south of the city when police pulled him over. Inside the vehicle was about nine pounds of arrests lead to convictions, we will have certainly made a good dent in local organized crime. Seizures like this will definitely have some effect." Mraz is a resident of Summerland. His connection, if any, to outlaw biker gangs or other organized crime groups in the province are being looked into. He is facing a charge of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. -- See related story on page 5

Truckers can't get Canfor to bargain
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff The Prince George Truckers Association and the United SteelworkersIWA have been unsuccessful in getting Canfor Corp. to agree to bargain with them directly for better rates and working conditions. Canfor president and CEO Jim Shepherd responded this week to the independent truckers in a letter reiterating the company's position that it negotiates with logging contractors, who in turn negotiate with sub-contractors such as truckers. The truckers, in turn, have fired another letter back to Canfor encouraging it to bargain with them directly. "It has to move ahead quickly, or we will have to take further measures," trucking association president Dan Henry said Thursday. Some truckers in Chetwynd and Houston wanted to shut down at midnight Thursday, said SteelworkersIWA local 1-424 president Frank Everitt. The truckers are eyeing lower-thannormal timber supply at sawmills as possible leverage in their push to get forest companies to bargain. "As I understand it, we have some mills with five days of timber supply, others with 30 days," said Everitt. The union and independent truckers have planned a rally for Saturday, starting on First Avenue at 10 a.m. Truckers are planning to drive their rigs through downtown, ending at deputy premier Shirley Bond's office on Fifth Avenue. "Quite frankly, I think they're going to try to force everybody to work this weekend," said Everitt. "That's so they won't be at the rally that is going to get the log haulers to gel together." The Citizen requested an interview with Shepherd on Thursday, but Canfor spokesman Lee Coonfer declined, saying the company has said enough on the issue. Canfor official Mark Feldinger has twice spoken to The Citizen on the truckers demands, as well as the involvement of the Steelworkers-IWA. "I guess what I would say to you, is you have a copy of Jim (Shepherd's) letter (to the truckers)," said Coonfer from Vancouver. "There you go, that's our public comment." The trucking association is demanding about a 40-per-cent increase in trucking rates, as well as $92 per hour if they have to wait longer than one hour to be loaded in the woods or unloaded at mill yards. They are also seeking a $200-per-month fee to provide a benefit package. The trucking association -- which does not represent all of the estimated 500 truckers in Prince George -- contends that stagnant trucking rates and escalating costs have combined to prevent truckers from making enough money to survive. As a result, the fast pace and long hours have also made it unsafe on the highways and logging roads, says the association. The financial pressure on independent truckers is taking place at a time when companies like Canfor are making record profits, says the association. Canfor just released its 2004 financial results, posting a record profit of $420.9 million. The trucking association has targeted Canfor as the biggest forest company in northern B.C., but has sent letters with its demands to other forest companies in the Prince George area including West Fraser, Abitibi-Consolidated, Louisiana Pacific, the Sinclar group and smaller operations like Dunkley Lumber and Carrier Lumber. Canfor said earlier this week it is more than willing to talk with the independent truckers about safety issues, but rates will have to be taken up with the logging contractors. Feldinger, the Canfor official who responded to the independent truckers' demands, said there was nothing in the "marketplace" to indicate a 40per-cent trucking rate increase is necessary. Feldinger also characterized the truckers demands as "posturing" because of the United Steelworkers-IWA involvement.

Citizen photo by Dave Milne

Prince George firefighter Cliff Warner dives into the Nechako River to rescue colleague Kevin Woodhouse during a winter water/ice rescue training exercise Thursday.

Firefighters learn ice rescues
by FRANK PEEBLES Citizen staff Prince George firefighters have been in the classroom and on the water this week learning the nuances of ice rescues, particularly on rivers. "The fire department has a swift water and ice rescue team established. About 20 firefighters have gone through the course over the last four years, but they are spread over four firehalls and four shifts," said Larry Obst, one of the course trainers and a local firefighter (the other instructor is Parks Canada warden Joe Storms). "In 2004, to the best of our calculations, there were 11 incidents involving water or ice in the city." The Fraser and Nechako Rivers dominate the water bodies of the city. Most of the time they flow by at about a class-one level, the lowest hazard rating for a river. However when ice covers the water, the rating jumps to class-six, the highest danger level a river can have. Obst says emergency personnel have to be ready to go in these conditions since swift water and ice rescues have only small windows of opportunity to save a life. "We haven't got much time for preplanning and it is a high-pressure situation," said Obst. "The characteristics of ice on rivers are hard to predict and could go from very stable to unable to support a single person in only a couple-dozen feet, or less. The river looks calm, especially in winter, but the power of that water going by is huge, and that is compounded by the cold." For that reason, Obst is trying to train as many firefighters as possible in swift water and ice-rescue techniques. He also stresses that anyone who ventures out on the ice even once -- ice fishing, snowmobiling, skiing, skating, generally playing around -- should never do it without taking some precautions. Anyone on the ice ought to be wearing a set of ice awls, small ice picks that fasten easily onto clothing, so they are available to help climb out of broken ice. He also suggests a "floater jacket" which is a coat with floatation properties built in. Throw bags (floating rope with a small float at the end) are also an option. Having a football, capped plastic bottle, or some other simple floatation device that can be thrown to someone in the water is also a potential lifesaver. The main lifesaver item is information, Obst said. Courses are available through Rescue Canada (1-800-6638931) that can raise awareness about ice and its dangers. Learning to gauge ice conditions can save ones' self and others. "Sixty per cent of confined-space fatalities are would-be rescuers," said Obst, noting most are Good Samaritans and some are professionals. "To do a rescue in a hazardous environment, if you are not adequately prepared, creates the risk of more fatalities, instead of a successful rescue." According to the Canadian Red Cross, 450 people in Canada died after falling through ice between from 1991 to 2000. Half of those victims were snowmobiling. A funeral was held Wednesday in Fort St. James for Kora-Lee Prince, 16, and searching continues today on Stuart Lake for Matthew Karey, 19. The couple fell through the ice on the lake while snowmobiling on Christmas Day.

High : 6 Low : -2 page 2

Residents oppose gay marriage, MP says
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff The same-sex marriage issue has struck a chord in Cariboo-Prince George, says MP Dick Harris. Harris says his office has been deluged with emails, faxes, letters and phone calls in support of the Conservative Party's efforts to uphold the traditional definition of marriage. Harris said the stream of messages that began in early December when the Supreme Court sent the issue back to parliament, has turned into a flood. "In the last month it's been just thousands and thousands of e-mails and letters and either original written letters or letters that have been sent out in mass mailings where people put their name and address and sign t hem," he said. American Christian groups have been contacting Canadian MPs, but they've been few and f a r b et we e n fo r H a r r i s , a l though he's been getting messages from across Canada. "But the bulk of them are coming from Cariboo-Prince George," he said. The outpouring is consistent HARRIS wit h sur vey results he's received over the past 11 years, he added. Harris has long made it clear he'll be voting against Bill C-38, which he said does not reflect the feelings of the vast majority of Canadians, and will continue to lobby Liberal backbenchers to oppose the bill as well. Bill C-38, or the Civil Marriage Act, which seeks to extend marriage rights to gays and lesbians, was introduced in Ottawa last week. Harris also suspects the legislation will be introduced in the House of Commons just when the fallout from the Gomery commission into the sponsorship scandal reaches its peak. "They're using it, in my opinion, as a diversion to things like the adscam or health care and stuff like that," he said. "They can sure push those headlines off with the same-sex issue."

INDEX
City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . .3,5,6,13 Classified . . . . . . . . . . .18-23 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Entertainment . . . . . . .25-27 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-12

0

58307

00200

5

Go Cougars...
SATURDAY IS PORTER DELTA CABLE NIGH T!

Tonight 7:30pm at the Multiplex!
Rematch Saturday 7:30 pm
"Wear Red on Saturday to support the Heart and Stroke Foundation". Prizes to the best dressed in red.

IT'S FRIDAY NIGH T!
00467383

VS

Tickets available at Multiplex or Ticket Master 564-5585 � Vouchers available at all Save On Foods locations � pgcougars.com

SWITCHBOARD: 562-2441

CLASSIFIED: 562-6666

READER SALES: 562-3301