Marriage plans off for Jude Law /16

Cereal restaurant chain coming to Canada /46
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2005

Big changes sought to curb street crime /6

Hunter hat trick blows away Lethbridge /8
80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 57 CENTS A DAY)

School district plans for longer strike
by PAUL STRICKLA N D Citizen st ff a Administrators in the Prince George school district are planning for the possibility that the teachers' strike might continue into next week. Principals were in their schools Wednesday catching up on paperwork, said superintendent Dick Chambers. "In anticipation of the strike lasting into next week, we are planning on a number of meetings of administrators that would have taken place later in the year, but which we will now hold sooner," he said. "Picket lines will be up (today) and for the foreseeable future," said Matt Pearce, first vice-president of the Prince George District Teachers' Association. "I haven't seen any report of anyone willing to sit down and discuss the contract." Chambers said students' classroom time lost to the strike cannot be made up later in the school year. "There is no `making up' for a strike -- that is, there is no change to the rest of the school year," he said. "It is `lost work'." Madam Justice Brenda Brown of the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver is to conduct a hearing today on the level of fines to be applied to the teachers' union for conducting an illegal strike, said Prince George-Mount Robson MLA Shirley Bond. Brown rendered the original decision Sunday that the BCTF would be in contempt of court if it disregarded a B.C. Labour Relations Board ruling declaring any strike action illegal. -- See relate st d ory on page 6

Ministers question teachers' support
by PAUL STRICK LA N D Citizen staff Government ministers and local teachers' union representatives differed Wednesday on the level of support for the strike called by the B.C. Teachers' Federation. Education Minister Shirley Bond said only about 50 per cent of the province's teachers voted on the Oct. 4 ballot t hat asked if t he union should take strike action. Labour Minister Mike de Jong said only about 60 per cent of teachers cast ballots in the strike vote and contended many oppose the job action. Meanwhile, Prince George District Teachers' Association President Karen MacKay said 72 per cent of local teachers turned out for the vote. MacKay said 650 teachers out of about 900 PGDTA members who live in Prince George turned out for the Oct. 4 general meeting to approve strike action. "So that is a 72-per-cent turnout on less than 24 hours' notice," she said. The PGDTA has about 1,200 members, including teachers on call, throughout the entire school district. However, sub-locals representing members in Mackenzie and in the Robson Valley (McBride, Dunster and Valemount) held their own votes that were not included in the Prince George city total, MacKay said. The Liberal government legislated a contract on B.C.'s 42,000 teachers last week. During the long weekend, teachers were found in contempt of court for walking off the job despite a B.C. Labour Relations Board ruling that their strike would be illegal. Bond said it's clear there are a lot of teachers in the province who want to be back in the classrooms. "It's time the B.C. Teachers' Federation actually listened to the voice of not just parents, but many classroom teachers who are expressing that view," Bond said. For the original strike vote of Sept. 21, turnout in the Prince George school district was better than 88 per cent, MacKay said. But that vote was announced weeks in advance, and there were ballot boxes at each work site. "Every teacher voted where they worked, and we had a really high turnout." With the Oct. 4 general meeting called on short notice, "some people had other commitments and couldn't make the meeting," she said. MacKay said local results in terms of breakdown of yes and no votes are unavailable. "But we had a really high turnout," she said. -- See TEACHERS on page 3

Citizen photo by Dave Milne

ALL THE RIGHT MOVES -- National Ballet School teacher and former principal dancer Raymond Smith auditions prospective dancers Wednesday at Judy Russell's Enchainement Dance Centre. More than 1,000 dancers will audition across the country, with about 50 being chosen. Former Prince George residents Christopher Larsen and Brent Parolin are graduates while Mark Dennis is currently with the school.

Officer guns down attacking dog
Citizen st ff a Police shot a Rottweiler Thursday morning in Prince George after it killed another dog and then allegedly attacked other people in the area. RCMP said the incident began when the Rottweiler, running loose, attacked the smaller dog as it was being walked in the area of Queensway and Regents Crescent. Police say the owner of the smaller dog was injured when he tried to intervene in the attack. He got away only after a nearby motorist used her vehicle to get between the owner and the Rottweiler. The Rottweiler followed the vehicle and then chased the two women who were in the vehicle to the back door of their home, police said in a press release. The Rottweiler was still running loose when an RCMP member and the victim arrived at the home of the alleged owner. The Rottweiler emerged a short distance away and the member placed himself between the victim and the dog. "The officer, having no other option, discharged his service firearm at the Rottweiler, striking the dog with multiple shots until the dog was stopped," police said.

High : 10 Low : 0 page 2

Few candidates up for school trustee
by PAUL STRICKLA N D Citizen st ff a Although the Friday 4 p.m. deadline for filing nomination papers for school trustee is fast approaching, only five people have declared their intention to run for one of the seven seats on the Prince George school board. As of late Wednesday afternoon, Trish Bella, Linda Chartier, Lyn Hall, Michelle Marrelli and Roxanne Ricard had let their names stand for school trustee in the Nov. 19 civic elections, said Wendy De Marsh, returning officer. Hall is currently board vice-chair, and Marrelli is also an incumbent trustee. Bella is chair of the Austin Road elementary school parent advisory council, Ricard is a former DPAC chair and Chartier lobbied against closure of Lakewood junior secondary school. If at least seven people have not filed nomination papers by the deadline, the nomination period will be extended until 4 p.m. Monday. If there are still not enough candidates, those who have let their names stand will be declared elected by acclamation and the education minister can appoint people to fill the remaining vacancies, De Marsh said. -- See relate st d ories on page 3

LIVE ree!
F
FOR A YEAR

C O N T E S T

INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . . 32 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-20 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . 3,6,13,34 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . 21-23 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . 16 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6,7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-11 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,15

Vandals hit Vanway elementary
by PAUL STRICKLA N D Citizen st ff a Vandals struck Vanway elementary school Tuesday night, breaking all but about six windows, says the secretary-treasurer of the Prince George school district. Damage is significant and the cost of repairs will be well above the district's $3,000 insurance deductible, Bryan Mix said Wednesday. "The vandals threw rocks through most of the windows," he said. "It's just malicious. There's considerable concern about the destructiveness of it." The damage was not from random rock-throwing, he said. "It's very wilful." For example, the vandals pushed in durable, break-resistant glass that is very expensive to replace. The culprits spared some large, single-pane windows "but they threw rocks through most of the rest," Mix said. Not many repairs can be carried out because maintenance staff will not cross the teachers' picket lines. The district's only choice for the moment was to board up the broken windows Wednesday afternoon. "We don't have the staff to repair the damage," Mix said. About two weeks ago, nine Prince George schools were struck by vandals. -- See POLICE on page 3

0

58307

00100

8

TOOL TIME'S 6th ANNIVERSARY SALE!
Saturday Oct. 15th Only
SWITCHBOARD: 562-2441
LOCALL Y OWNED & OPERAT ED

Come in enjoy extra savings on Gift most 3680 OPIE CRESCENT � 562-5577 tes Certifica REGULAR HOURS: Available everything!
Mon. - Fri.: 8:00 am - 5:30 pm � Sat.: 9:00 am - 5:30 pm � Toll Free: 1-877-662-5577 Fax: 561-0313
00477776

CLASSIFIED: 562-6666

READER SALES: 562-3301