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NHL PLAYOFFS
Golden Violin coming for May concert /17

Dallas leads best-of-seven series 3-0

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Pittsburgh leads best-of-seven series 3-0

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Detroit leads best-of-seven series 3-0

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MICHENER AWARD WINNER FOR PUBLIC SERVICE JOURNALISM

Tories criticized for slowing effort to beat polio /25

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2008

www.princegeorgecitizen.com

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Public art planned for new bridge
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff City council voted 7-1 Monday night to spend $14,000 to add public art to the Simon Fraser Bridge. The money will come out of the Festival of the Arts-Discovery Place reserve and will pay for a series of 15 relief images cast into the concrete parapet separating the sidewalk from the road along the bridge. Each of the images will be 210 centimetres by 70 cm (about the size of a coffee table or desk) and will commemorate the initial establishment of the city's predecessor, Fort George, by Simon Fraser in 1807 and the legacy of that. Coun. Glen Scott was the lone council member to vote against the idea. "To spend $14,000 on public art for four to 10 people -- and I'll go on the high side at 10 people -- walking across the Simon Fraser Bridge on a daily basis, in my mind doesn't make any sense," he said. Other council members were much more supportive. Coun. Murry Krause said it's an opportunity the city should seize and Coun. Brian Skakun said the art work may draw more pedestrians to the bridge. "It's about community pride and it's a worthwhile investment in our community," Skakun said. "Public art is important not only to council, but to many people in the community and they have said that over and over again." The bridge will feature a wider sidewalk than the previous version to make it easier for cyclists and pedestrians, Coun. Sherry Sethen noted, "and this is just the icing on the cake." -- See HISTORICAL on page 2

River Road berm to stay in place until summer
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff The chance of another flood striking may be back to normal, but River Road will remain raised to act as a form of flood protection until the spring runoff is over, city council was told Monday night. Asked about t he possibility of flooding this spring, city manager Derek Bates said the provincial environment ministry is forecasting a "neutral" chance of the Nechako or the Fraser breaking their banks. "That is, it's no more or less likely to occur than normal," Bates said. However, he said River Road will remain in its current condition until the spring runoff is over and the results from the first phase of a study into the risk of f looding is better known, "so that we can determine whether or not long-term control measures may include diking in that area in the future." If the road is lowered back to its original level, the provincial government will foot the bill through the Provincial Emergency Prog ram, council was told. Meanwhile, it's expected Northwest Hydraulic Consultants will start work on the data-collection phase within the next few weeks once warmer weather allows venturing into the river. City development and operations general manager Bob Radloff said results from the first phase of the study will take several months to generate, but added that at the request of the Nechako River Industrial Group, the consultant will give an early look at moving the berm closer to the river. -- See CONSIDER on page 2

Canfor Pulp posts quarterly profit
by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff Canfor Pulp posted a profit of $43.5 million in the first three months of 2008, riding continued strong pulp prices and a more stable dollar. The company's results, on sales of $211.4 million, are improved from the previous quarter when the company had a profit of $12.1 million on sales of $215.1 million. The sales and net income, however, were down from the same period last year, a result of a stronger Canadian dollar and higher wood fibre costs, which more than offset the increase in pulp prices, the company said. Lower production and sales volumes in the first quarter were a result of a fire at the Prince George Pulp and Paper mill. Included in the earnings is $11.4 million for business interruption insurance and an $8.5-million net gain from property damage coverage. -- See PRICES on page 2

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

SPRUCING UP -- Sue Kiteley with the City of Prince George parks department cleans up a path in Fort George Park Tuesday morning. With the cool spring, parks are about two weeks behind normal.

In the mood for the Moo Crew
Special-needs students run milk program at Hart Highlands
by FRANK PEEBLES Citizen staff The milk wagon at Hart Highlands elementary school is pulled by some very special students. The four special-needs children at the school have taken on the task of delivering milk three times a week to the rest of the school. "I've been doing this for 100 years and this is so exciting to see these kids doing all this fabulous stuff," said special-needs program co-ordinator Dona Hartman. "It made one of our teachers cry. It strikes a real chord." Kindergarten student Amy Sigfusson, Grade 4 student Jarod Byer, and Grade 5 kids Jenna Dukacz and Hailey Whitcomb are the Moo Crew. The program allows the other teachers and students to continue with their regular studies, instead of handling the three-times weekly milk orders, and it gives the Moo Crew a practical set of lessons. "It has taught them to sequence numbers. They have had to learn how to tell time. It gives them social interaction knocking on all the classroom doors when they make their rounds. They become well-known around the school, so it meets a lot of objectives," Hartman said. It takes a team of adults to supervise the students, all of whom have some form of developmental challenge, but all of them have proven themselves up to the task. Teacher assistants Gwen Tindill, Betty Gray and Kim Smith work directly with the Moo Crew. Parent Renee Dukacz helps with the ordering of the milk, which comes from the B.C. Dairy Foundation's school milk initiative. Hartman said a number of other teachers, principal Rick Urquhart, and the rest of the school have embraced the special-needs students for doing the job. -- See STUDENTS on page 2

Submitted photo

Milk at Hart Highlands is delivered to students by the Moo Crew -- Jenna Dukacz, left, Hailey Whitcomb, Jarod Byer and Amy Sigfusson.

INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . 21 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Business. . . .. . . . . . . . . 14-16 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . . 2,3,5,17 Classifi ed . . . . . . . . . . .27-31 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . 20 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-13 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,19

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