He grew up going to the PGX. Next month, comedian Matt Billon takes the stage at the fair /17
FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2008 www.princegeorgecitizen.com $1.25 (HOME DELIVERED: 61 CENTS A DAY)

Driving carnage soaring
by FRANK PEEBLES Citizen staff The number of people who died on roads in northern B.C. in July is almost equal to the national and provincial averages for the entire year. Eight people have died so far this month, including three in a head-on collision in Beaverly, three in Williams Lake one on the Alaska Highway and one in another Williams Lake crash. The national rate of motor vehicle deaths each year is 9 per 100,000; the rate in B.C. is slightly higher at 10.2 traffic deaths each year per 100,000 people, according to Statistics Canada data released Thursday. However in northern B.C., with a population of about 364,000 between the Alberta border, Yukon border, Pacific Ocean and 100 Mile House, the rate is double that. There have been 71 people killed in each of the past two years in the RCMP's North District region. There is a bright spot, though. "In 2002, we lost 92 lives on northern highways," said RCMP Staff Sgt. Gord Flewelling, citing a rapidly improving public attitude as the reason for the drop. "That's a lot of saved lives in a pretty short period of time. And there were some serious multiple-fatality crashes in the last couple of years that would have brought those numbers down even more, if we could have prevented just a few more crashes." He said there are four main killers on the highways and streets, factoring into 90 per cent of all traffic deaths: excessive speeding, aggressive driving, driving while impaired and failing to wear seatbelts. The July 5 crash just outside Prince George that killed three Burns Lake teens and injured another motorist was a perfect storm, he said, with all four elements in play. -- See JULY on page 2

Budget surplus reported
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff The provincial government closed the last fiscal year with a budget surplus more than seven times higher than original estimates, according to an update released Thursday by Finance Minister Colin Hansen. The books closed on the 2007-08 fiscal year showing a surplus of $2.9 billion, as opposed to the conservative $400 million estimated when the budget was delivered last year. Hansen says the audited financial statements for last year show the surplus is mostly due to higher tax revenues and better than expected earnings by the province's Crown corporations. The $2.9-billion surplus is the fourth year in a row the province's books have been in the black, which Prince George-Omineca MLA John Rustad attributed to prudent financial management. -- See EXTRA on page 2

Abuse treatment program praised
by BERNICE TRICK Citizen staff A man who's helped implement substance abuse recovery programs throughout the world says the Baldy Hughes Therapeutic Community near Prince George is on the right track to success. "I can't tell you how impressed I am with this therapeutic community" and how much it's achieved in a short time, said Fred Tent, who has been leading a five-day conference at the site, located 27 kilometres southwest of Prince George. "It usually takes from three to five years to establish a (therapeutic) community so it's stable enough to stimulate those who come into it," said Tent, who attributes the success of the first TENT seven months to the leadership and vision of Vancouver-Burrard MLA Lorne Mayencourt, who founded the program. The focus of the conference is to learn and understand how and why a therapeutic community with a three-year program works for those recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. -- See CONFERENCE on page 2

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

BERRY TASTY -- Maya Helgason, 4, and Olina Helgason, 2, pick wild saskatoon barries along Otway Road Thursday afternoon. Maya said "they are very juicy" and by looking at how many her sister ate, she must be right.

INDEX
0

58307

00200

5

Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . 35 Business. . . .. . . . . . . . . 14-16 Careers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,23 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . 2,3,5,6,17

Classified . . . . . . . . . . .24-32 Coming Events . . ... . . . . . .40 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . 34

Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-13 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,19

High : 21 Low : 10 page 2

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