World's largest optical telescope proposed /5 Telecom giant slashing thousands of jobs /18
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2005

Layton may sink PM, Liberals /7

Cougars walk over Ice /8
80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 59 CENTS A DAY)

More beetle aid sought
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff The B.C. government is drafting a proposal asking for more mountain pine beetle funding, which will be presented to the federal government early this month, a document obtained by the provincial NDP shows. The five-page document -- called Mountain Pine Beetle Emergency Response: Canada-B.C. Implementation Strategy -- indicates the B.C. government intends to present a "refreshed" beetle strategy in early November during a visit to Ottawa. In its latest pitch to Ottawa, the province is considering three funding requests. They may ask for the balance of the $1 billion originally requested over a 15-year period, or ramp up the request to $3 billion to $5 billion over 35 years. A third option could include a combination of the first two options. According to the document, the province had set a oneweek timeline, which ended last Friday, for input from groups like First Nations, industry, communities, ranchers, ministry officials and research institutes and universities. The final draft is scheduled to be ready on Friday. NDP forestry critic Bob Simpson criticized the Liberal government's planning, saying the draft document shows the B.C. government still doesn't have a comprehensive costed-out plan it can take to Ottawa. "This says they don't have a substantive plan to put in front of the federal government," said Simpson, MLA for Cariboo North. If there was a plan, the province would know exactly how much funding it needed, stressed Simpson, who lives in Quesnel. He also said the one-week timeline for input from stakeholders was too tight. Forests Minister Rich Coleman scoffed at Simpson's assertion the province doesn't have a plan. "He's completely wrong," said Coleman. He pointed out the province has two community beetle action committees in place in north-central B.C., has agreed to fund a First Nations' plan and has increased the timber harvest to salvage beetle-killed pine. The province also has a beetle action plan that is constantly being updated, and has put in place a response team to come up with additional out-of-the-box ideas, said Coleman. The document outlining the province's plan on what to present to Ottawa is part of ongoing work to seek additional money from the federal government, he said. The province's inter-government relations department had simply identified a window to talk to Ottawa, which is the reason for the timelines, added Coleman. He noted that the pitch for involvement of Ottawa in the beetle epidemic takes place every time he meets with a federal minister. Coleman said he has received support from both the federal Liberals and the Conservatives. The federal government has already contributed $100 million to B.C. to help combat the impact of the massive, expanding epidemic, the largest of its kind ever in Canada. The B.C. government recently announced its plan on how it will spend that $100 million over three years. Federal Industry Minister David Emerson had characterized the $100 million funding as a "good start" and said, if needed, Ottawa's help could be extended and expanded.

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

Firefighters tackled a major blaze Wednesday morning at Northern Linen.

Fire destroys offices
Northern Linen hit for second time in three months
by FRANK PEEBLES Citizen staff The owner of Northern Linen was on his way to a California vacation Wednesday, sent by his family and staff to relieve stress after fire destroyed the contents of his business in August. Herb Millar had worked himself into a bundle of nerves, said his staff, carrying on in piecemeal locations around the city. "His plane touched down in L.A. when he got the call to come home, because his other building was on fire," said manager Paul Neff. "He's stressed right out." The fire on Wednesday morning hit Northern Linen's temporary office headquarters in a former building it inhabited at the corner of Second Avenue and Victoria Street. Neff said the building is a total loss, but it will be business as usual on Thursday morning due in part to luck and the network the company set up after the fire in August. "All our working inventory, we got 99.9 per cent out of the building," he said. "All our drivers were on the road with all the rest of the inventory, and the cleaning itself is being done at a different location." The downtown building was home to Northern Linen's main corporate offices, the basement was storage for a large supply of mats, coveralls and other items which were frantically trucked out Wednesday before smoke forced staff to leave the rest behind. The fire was already going when staff arrived for work at 8 a.m., but they didn't realize it right away. "One of the office girls flagged me down and said she smelled smoke," said employee Rick Oakley. "Just as we were talking, the window a few feet away popped and cracked. She ran to call 911 and I ran around to the corner door to go in and get Jody (Cusack), who I was pretty sure would be in the stock room." After Cusack was out, Oakley tuned his attention to driver Jason Highland who had just pulled his truck up to the rear bay doors. "I was loading up and Rick came and told me to get away, the place was on fire," said Highland. "I almost drilled him. I thought that was a pretty sick joke to play on someone. But holy man, there really was a fire." Investigators have not announced a definite cause of Northern Linen's fire in August. Deputy fire chief Dale Kronebusch points out that neither fire appears suspicious but investigations will continue for both. "It seems to have started or gotten a good foothold in the attic," Kronebusch said. "The building was built in the 1940s, there had been numerous renovations over time, there were a lot of false floors and false ceilings and things like that that prevented our crews from getting directly at the fire. "When we first got there we noticed the windows were popping and cracking. That is an indication that the fire is starving for oxygen, and you run the risk of backdraft. Very dangerous. It says the fire had been likely burning quite a while," Kronebusch said. Four firehalls and 20 firefighters responded to the call. The alarm was sounded at 7:58 a.m. and they were still on-scene in the late afternoon, although the flames were licked by about noon. Kronebusch marvelled at how well the firewall between the Northern Linen section of the building did its job to keep the rest of the complex from burning. -- See related story on page 3; photos on page 14

High : 6 Low : -4 page 2

Gunshot killed man in police custody
by FRANK PEEBLES Citizen staff The 22-year-old man who died while in police custody Saturday night in Houston was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head, the coroner and police said Wednesday. An earlier RCMP report said Ian Bush died while in the process of being released from custody. Details surrounding the Houston man's death are being withheld by RCMP, who have begun an internal investigation into the matter. "This has hit us all very hard," said Cpl. Tom Seaman, spokesperson from RCMP `E' Division headquarters in Vancouver. "It is a tragic occurrence for the family first and foremost, but it hits our members as well. None of our members takes this lightly, least of all the ones who are involved in the investigation." Seaman also stressed that, "We won't be passing on any information about (the officer at the centre of the investigation) or his status at this time." Renee Bush, the deceased man's sister, told The Citizen all the family has learned so far is the pathologist's assessment of cause of death and some of the lead-up to Bush being taken into initial custody outside the Houston Arena between periods at a weekend hockey game. "From the information we have been given, Ian was approached by officers because he had an open beer," the Bush family said in a statement on Wednesday. "He was put into the police car and asked what his name was. Apparently, Ian jokingly said his friend's name. Another officer from the Houston detachment who was at Ian's sister 's wedding in September identified Ian. Upon this, the officer dealing wit h Ian placed Ian under arrest for obstruction of justice. He was handcuffed, BUSH placed in the police car, and taken the two blocks to the police station. "Reportedly, for an unknown reason, an altercation occurred between the officer and Ian. Constable Lorne Wood (of North District headquarters in Prince George) has informed the family that as a result of this altercation, Ian was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head. This is the only information we have right now. The investigation is continuing." Forensic pathologist Dr. John Stefanelli of Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops conducted Bush's autopsy on Tuesday. Coroner Shane DeMeyer said that the cause of death is all that will be disclosed at the moment. "There was also a toxicology analysis ordered and it will be at least four weeks for that to be finished," said DeMeyer. "Dr. Stefanelli will marry the toxicology report with the findings of the autopsy for a final report that will be at least six weeks from now." DeMeyer said a coroner's inquest is not automatic in this case. "The RCMP will do their criminal investigation first and that will be done before I announce an inquest," he told The Citizen.

LIVE ree!
F
FOR A YEAR

C O N T E S T

INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . . 16 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-20 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . . .3,5,13 Classifi ed . . . . . . . . . . .21-23 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . 16 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-12

0

58307

00100

8

00478934

SWITCHBOARD: 562-2441

CLASSIFIED: 562-6666

READER SALES: 562-3301