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CITIZEN
Serving the Central Interior since 1916

PRINCE GEORGE

SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2005

80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 57 CENTS A DAY)

College slashes budget
by BERNICE TRICK Citizen staff The College of New Caledonia's board of directors cut staff and faculty positions, as well as slashed programs and courses Friday but spared its volleyball program as long as the community is willing to fund it. Directors approved about $1.3 million worth of proposed cuts in staff and programs to balance its $40.7 million operating budget. CNC vice president Ben Malcolm said there's no room in the college's 2005-06 operating budget for volleyball. For more details on the future of CNC's volleyball program, see page 8. Cuts projected for both full and part-time staff include include six operational staff-- one each in co-op education, continuing education, employment centre and gymnasium and reduced hours of staff in continuing education and wood technology. Among faculty, 20 layoff notices were issued, but three have already been rescinded so 17 are still under layoff notice, said Malcolm, explaining layoffs do not become effective until July 31. That's because student enrolment could still increase in those programs that currently have too low enrolments to continue. In administration, two positions have been eliminated -- the manager of employment centre and co-operative education, and a position in human resources. Programs suspended for the fall term include the electronics advance common core, wood technology and wood manufacturing at the Quesnel campus and the Computer Information Systems program while a number of other programs with low enrolments have had their budgets and course sections reduced. Among the courses affected are English as a second language, new media technology, and university transfer courses in English, philosophy and mathematics. -- See FACULTY on page 3

SATURDAY REPORT

Weighing the B.C. Rail deal
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff With the May 17 provincial election campaign in full swing, there's little doubt the $1-billion sale of B.C. Rail's operations to CN is going to come up. The issue was a hot one for the B.C. Liberal government for the better part of two years, starting when it shut down passenger services in fall of 2002. The B.C. Liberals had said a private operator was needed for the railway because it was debt-ridden and didn't provide adequate service. The Liberals have also touted the sale as being a boon to the North. The proceeds of the sale have been used to set up a $135-million fund that will be invested in northern B.C. A proposed $500-million Prince Rupert container terminal has also been touted as one of the benefits. A coalition of Prince George political, labour and business representatives contended Premier Gordon Campbell broke a 2001 election promise not to sell or privatize the railway. The group also said the province is giving up control of an important economic development tool in the North. The NDP are already blaming the deal for rail car shortages. In this week's Saturday Report on page 13, The Citizen examines the economic aspects of the deal for Prince George.

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

HEAVY METAL -- Jerrico McDonald, 11, a Grade 6 student from Harwin elementary, tries welding under the guidance of Ralph Madsen at the Praxair booth during the Construction Trades Career Fair at CNC on Friday. The fair continues today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Federal gas revenues to city worth millions
Citizen staff The city will get nearly $976,000 in each of the first two years if the federal government's budget is passed before an election is called. The money would come out of the five-year plan to give municipalities a share of the federal gas tax, starting at 1.5 cents a litre in the first and second years and reaching five cents a litre in the fifth. In year three, the city would get $1.3 million, followed by $1.6 million in year four and $3.3 million in year five for a total of $8.2 million over five years. To put that in perspective, a one-per-cent increase in the city's property tax levy works out to $480,000 in 2005. However, the plan is part of the federal budget, which has not been passed yet, while opposition parties are threatening to force an election in the wake of damaging testimony from the Gomery inquiry into the sponsorship scandal. The Conservatives may introduce a vote of non-confidence in the federal Liberal government as early as May 3, sending voters to the polls in early June and putting the budget in limbo. The numbers were provided by federal Industry Minister David Emerson's office.

High : 21 Low : 4 page 2

Cancer study disappoints directors
by BERNICE TRICK Citizen staff Two Fraser-Fort George Regional District directors put the heat on the Northern Health Authority during a presentation this week and stressed the importance of a radiation cancer clinic in Prince George. FFGRD hospital district director Betty Abbs said she "was quite appalled that Northern Health has chosen to consider the one-size-fits-all concept" when it comes to locating the next cancer clinic in B.C. Abbs was referring to a recent study by the NHA and B.C. Cancer Agency that suggested the population is too sparse in the North to support a radiation clinic. "The NHA should consider the fact that the North sends all its resources to the south, and that should drive the next placement," Abbs told The Citizen after the FFGRD meeting. "I know they are trying to improve people's access to cancer care, but access isn't the problem. It's about our people and the hardships they endure, given our geographic location. That should have a bearing on where the next clinic should be going," said Abbs, who was talking about family members being away from home for as long as six weeks, not to mention separation, travel and accommodation expenses as well as the lack of family support during a tough time. NHA CEO Malcolm Maxwell said the new study is designed to find out more about cancer patterns in the North so better planning, care and treatment can be given. "We know cancer happens more frequently in the North due to smoking and diet, but there are differences between the North and the South, such as people in the North have poorer five-year survival rates -- maybe due to later diagnosis and later treatment or maybe because there is less care for terminally ill people," Maxwell said. "One thing we know it probably isn't, is radiation treatment because northern patients are treated at about the same rate as other people in the province." To summarize recommendations from the first study, Maxwell cited needs for good prevention and screening programs, the right diagnostic tools for patients, expanding treatment like chemotherapy, sorting out the best strategy for radiation therapy in the future and improved palliative care. Nevertheless, FFGRD director Don Zurowski said he was frustrated with the recent announcement that Abbotsford would be getting a cancer clinic. "It doesn't sound rational to me," he said, and later told The Citizen he's "disappointed" that there's no cancer clinic slated for the North. "I'm being patient to find out just what the barriers are, but based on hardship and geography, there's certainly a need for a centre in the North," said Zurowski. Maxwell said estimated numbers show about 250 people in the North would use a radiation clinic at this time, and that number is expected to increase to about 750 by 2015. He said user numbers are about 950 in Thunder Bay, Ont., 1,160 in Saskatoon, 2,940 in Edmonton and about 1,500 each in Kelowna, Surrey and Abbotsford.

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2005

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INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . .41 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Business . . . . . . . . . . . .32-34 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . .3,5,6,13 Classified . . . . . . . . . . .18-23 Comics . . . . . . . . . . .28,35,36 Coming Events . . . . . . . .2,41 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Entertainment . . . . . . .25-27 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26,27 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-11 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15,16

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

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NICE CATCH -- The weather continued to remain warm enough Friday afternoon for Melanie Rodriguez to play some Frisbee in Fort George Park. On Thursday, the temperature peaked at 25.4 degrees Celsius, shattering the old mark of 21.9 reached in 1991. Friday's high was 16 degrees, below the record of 19.5 set in 1980. The forecast for the weekend is for highs of 21 today and 19 on Sunday.

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