Vintage toys making a comeback /29

Sip from the $3,000 martini /24

Sharks eliminate Canucks from playoffs /9

Local pastor set to perform one-man Easter play /13
$1.00 (HOME DELIVERED: 59 CENTS A DAY)

FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 2006

Local volunteer wins top award
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff A local woman is among 80 people across the nation up for the Governor General's Caring Canadian Award for her work as a volunteer in the RCMP's victim services unit and crime prevention programs. Helen Schwartz said she was both "humbled and overwhelmed" by the news. She has been a volunteer in victim services, where she helps victims of crime and major vehicle accidents, since about 1990, interspersed by a stint in the crime prevention program. "I was a stay-at-home wife and mother for many years -- my husband and I ran businesses through the home, here -- and once my children were grown up and on their own, I thought it was time I got out," she said. She heard about the victim services program through Const. Gary Godwin, now the detachment's media liaison, when he came out to Mud River to give a presentation on the rural Crime Watch program. She's remained a volunteer, usually devoting at least two days a week to victim services, because she's found reaching out to help people going through "probably some of the most traumatic periods in their lives" to be rewarding. "You just try as much as you can to help them over a rough situation," she said. "You know it's not going to help make the hurt go away, but perhaps you can be there to listen and hold their hand during some of those times." -- See OUTSTANDING on page 3

211 number to offer health services
by BERNICE TRICK Citizen staff The province-wide phone numbers of 911 and 411 will soon be joined by 211, a new provincewide service designed to link people to non-emergency health and social services. The plan is underway for the BC211 number through funds of $600,000 from the province and $300,000 from United Way organizations across the province. In making the announcement, Ida Chong, community services minister, said the easy-to-remember number will allow residents to access a full range of services offered by community agencies and the government. Staffed by information and referral specialists, the service will be free, confidential, multilingual and accessible online. United Way of B.C. representative Michael McKnight said, "211 will benefit anyone seeking information about community and government services, from a senior citizen wanting home support to a recent immigrant needing language and employment training, and much more." The final implementation plan for BC211 is expected to be ready to present at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in October in Victoria.

Canada, U.S. praise WTO lumber ruling
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff Canada and the U.S. both claimed victory over the latest World Trade Organization ruling released Thursday in the long-running softwood lumber dispute. Canadian political and industry representatives focused on the fact the WTO appeal body reversed an earlier WTO panel ruling. The WTO appeal body agreed with Canada that the earlier panel had failed to properly review the measure that the U.S. claimed set the basis for countervailing and anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber. Canada had appealed a Nov. 15, 2005, WTO panel decision that said the U.S. International Trade Commission's second affirmative threat of injury ruling brought the U.S. into compliance with international trade law. -- See FORESTRY on page 3
Citizen photo by Dave Milne

SAFE LANDING -- Ecole Austin Road Grade 5 students Stephany Thompson, left, and Olivia Purnell shows the balloons and carton that protected their egg when it was dropped from the top of the school by firefighter Darrell Andreychuck during the school's annual egg drop contest.

Call centres planning hiring binge
by PAUL STRICKLAND Citizen staff Two separate call centres in Prince George are preparing to hire significant numbers of new personnel. OSI Recovery Solutions Inc. expects to hire 180 people, most of them full-time, by the end of the year, says Laura Webster, human resources administrative assistant. The company will run training sessions every four weeks from now through December, with 20 in each class, she said Thursday. Currently the OSI facility in Prince George, housed in the front portion of the former Kresge's Building at Third and Brunswick, has 75 employees. Renovations will be done to the back portion later in the year to accommodate additional work stations, Webster said. The company focuses on debt collection. OSI's headquarters is in Missouri, but there are other OSI centres in the U.S. The Prince George facility is the only one in Canada. "We are an American company based in Prince George calling American customers on behalf of American clients," she said. "We are not collecting on Canadian debt." Meanwhile, Synovate's call centre may expand to a staff as large as 250 employees from the 175 it currently employs, says the senior facility manager. The company, located in t he 300 bloc k of Brunswick Street on the east side of the former Kresge's building, is fully booked through the end of the year with work that has to be done, and it is in a hiring mode, said Elizabeth Doerksen. "We are currently at 80 to 90 per cent of capacity, and we could be staffed at 120 per cent," she said. "We are just a bit short-staffed at the moment, but everybody is hiring these days. "Right now, for the month of April we are offering a hiring bonus for new hires." The bonus is paid at the end of the third month on the job, Doerksen said. Staff members do research for companies by surveying consumers to learn about levels of customer satisfaction. Some also conduct higher-level research by interviewing officers of businesses from the middle-management level right up through executive officers including vice-presidents, presidents and CEOs, she said. Most Synovate employees are classified as parttime, but some work full-time hours, and sometimes overtime is offered, she said. "There is now a lot more opportunity for advancement at our company than even last year," Doerksen said.

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INDEX
Ann Landers . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-22 City, B.C. . . . . . . 3,5,13,34,35 Classifi ed . . . . . . . . .15-19,23 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Coming Events . . . . . . . . . . 36 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Entertainment . . . .25,26,28 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6,7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-12 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,14

Power pole fire causes outage
by FRANK PEEBLES Citizen staff A fire on a Queensway transformer pole caused a power outage from the Fraser River to about Upland Street Thursday morning. A cracked insulator is initially suspected as the cause, according to BC Hydro. The fire started at the top of a pole and eventually snapped off where the lines were attached. Three transformers were attached to the pole just below the point of the fire. "It will be under investigation," said David Conway, northern community relations manager for BC Hydro. "Our staff do that, and it is possible the transformer will be sent to our Powertech lab in the Lower Mainland. The investigations generally take a period of time, not something that produces answers the same day." The power went out at 10:14 a.m. and was restored around 1 p.m. A total of 1,600 homes and businesses were affected. No injuries were reported, in relation to the outage, but it did affect the Victoria Medical Building and one person was reportedly trapped for a short time in an elevator in the Queensway Towers apartment building. "Once it was isolated and safe, the fire department put the fire out," said Ed Elliott, BC Hydro's distribution field manager in Prince George. "We had six personnel in total, a line truck and a bucket truck on-site to do the necessary work. We made some temporary repairs there to get the power back on to the neighbourhood, and that's all. We still have stuff to do there." Elliott said no final repair work would be done until consultation could be held on what the developmental future of that intersection, Seventeenth Avenue and Queensway, might hold. That would be at least next week before those meetings could be held.
Citizen photo by Dave Milne

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A fire on a power pole along Queensway caused the pole to snap and a power outage to occur in the area.

April 5th to April 23rd

Professional Theatre
Living with a grandma like no other leads two boys to a year they will never forget.

at the Parkhill Centre
00494144

Tickets available at Books & Company and Studio 2880. Call 614-0039 and 563-2880.

SWITCHBOARD: 562-2441

CLASSIFIED: 562-6666

READER SALES: 562-3301