Mission of mercy
 Robson Valley helps Haiti /17
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                                                                           Inside today!
 Friday,
 February 12, 2010
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Helmet hallelujah
Boy uses headgear, saves no
 Bernice Trick Citizen staff
   Wearing a helmet while soaring down a ski hill is being credited for saving a young boy’s life.
   When six-year-old Isaiah Wald-ner of Prince George came barreling down the Hart Highlands ski hill Feb. 6 on a snowboard, he smacked head first into a pole with such impact it caused his helmet to crack and split.
   Isaiah’s father Richard, who was with Isaiah, said the pole -about three feet high - was located on the side of the hill where it is used as an anchor for the net barricade.
   Those rushing over to Isaiah found him on his knees hanging on to the pole and screaming.
   “His face was cut up quite badly, and the hit to his head caused him to throw up and give him a migraine headache,” his mother Brianna told The Citizen.
   The ambulance was called and the patrol ski team took good care of the boy until it arrived, fitting him with a neck brace and ensuring he remained still to prevent any potential injuries to his spinal area, Brianna said.
   “Everyone at the hospital said they certainly would not have wanted to see his head if he had not had a helmet on. They credited it with saving his life.”
   Isaiah was given a CT scan and an x-ray of his pelvic area and was discharged within a day.
   “He’s still sore, but is asking to go back on the hill.”
   Richard said he’s afraid to let
  Isaiah Waldner, 6, holds the helmet that cracked open when he hit a pole on Hart Ski Hill.
  Citizen photo by Chuck Nisbett
 Isaiah out of his sight now since the incident occurred due to a lack of communication.
   Richard explained he was on the T-bar behind Isaiah who fell off the lift.
   “I tried to tell him I’d get off and he should come up to meet me, but he thought I was telling him to ski down the hill.
   “His bindings were done up, and he immediately took off. I jumped off right away, but had to do up one of my bindings before I could go after him.
   “He went straight down, never slowing up and I estimate he was going 30 to 40 km an hour when he hit.”
   So, a new helmet has been or-
 dered and Isaiah will be back on the hill shortly.
   In the meantime, he is showing his broken helmet at school to promote safety, and then it will be given to the Hart Highlands Ski Hill staff to create awareness about the value of wearing helmets.
   The Waldners are firm believers in helmet safety.
   Isaiah has one each for skating, biking and tobogganing as well as skiing.
   The ski industry has no mandatory regulations regarding helmets for skiers and snow boarders, “but we all strongly promote it,” said Mike Gareau, president of the Hart Highlands Ski Hill.
   Gareau said the industry also strongly promotes adhering to the safety code which provides 10 general safety rules to follow on the slopes.
   He added “promoting it in a positive manner” is paying off at the Hart Highlands hill with at least 70 per cent of his customers now wearing helmets.
   He said Isaiah’s head injury is rare in the sport in which only one-half of one per cent of injuries are head-related.
   The vast majority of injuries occur to legs and arms, he said
   On Wednesday, a spokesman from the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General said the province is working to develop legislation mandating the use of helmets for recreational alpine sports and establish recommendations on how we can best support alpine sports safety.
                       Why you need to watch Iran’s Olympic team tonight /10
Mum’s the word
 Canwest Olympic Team
 Tonight’s Olympic hush-hush start attracting much chatter
                                          have to wait to see. You can find out for yourself when the ceremony begins at 6 p.m. Coverage is available on CTV and NBC.
                                            In the meantime, you can find more on the Olympic games on pages 3, 4,
                                          6-7, 9-10, 12. Also look to the Prince George Citizen for full Olympic coverage throughout the games.
   VANCOUVER — Your friends may all claim to know what is happening at tonight’s top-secret Olympic opening ceremony.Vancouver Organizing Committee CEO John Furling urged people Thursday to ignore all the hype, saying some of it is wrong and to learn the truth, you’ll
UNBC names new chancellor
  Citizen staff
    A leading international figure in space science, technology, and renewable energy will be the University of Northern British Columbia’s fifth chancellor.
    John S. MacDonald, who was born and raised in Prince Rupert and went on to establish MacDonald Dettwiler, one of Canada’s most successful companies, was named to the post on Thursday and will be officially installed at the May 28 convocation ceremony.
    The chancellor is the ceremonial head of the university and a primary duty is granting degrees at annual convocation ceremonies, but MacDonald hopes to make a contribution to UNBC in other ways.
    During his “attempt at retirement,” MacDonald has developed an interest in renewable energy and the special opportunity B.C. has to be a glob-
 al leader in this field.
    And he believes UNBC can play a role.
    “Renewable energy has the potential to define the 21st century the way the automobile defined the last century,” he said.
    “If that ends up happening, an institution like UNBC has the potential to
 help the north play a major role in developing new forms of renewable energy technology.
                                                                             “This university can produce and attract the brainpower necessary to move northern B.C. into
                                                                   JOHN S. MACDONALD
 the mainstream of a new 21st century industry.”
   UNBC president George Iwama said it’s an honour to have MacDonald as a chancellor and called him a “global leader and one of the great minds of the B.C. technology industry.”
   “John MacDonald is a northerner, entrepreneur, educator, researcher, and visionary who will provide incredible guidance to me and to UNBC as we grow and fully realize our potential as Canada’s Green University,” he said.
   MacDonald earned a doctorate in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a member of the faculty at both MIT and the University of British Columbia before entering the business world.
   Also an officer of the Order of Canada, MacDonald follows Iona Campagnolo, George Pedersen, Peter Bentley and Alex Michalos as chancellors of UNBC.
   IThe Citizen and Commonwealth Financial is proud to present the Wealth Expo Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Coast Inn of the North Ballroom. This is a free event and everyone is welcome to attend. We all want to live life to the fullest. We all have burning questions. Get expert advice on your investment, retirement and real estate questions in one convenient location.
  2 The best of Canadian film is about to hit the big screen at the 14th annual Cinema CNC Film Festival this weekend at the Prince George Playhouse. The festival weekend at the Playhouse (2833 Recreation Place) begins Friday at 7:30 p.m. and concludes Sunday at 9:30 p.m. For more information visit www.cnc.bc.ca.
  3 The Indoor Farmers’ Market takes place the third Saturday of each month at St. Michael’s Church hall, Fifth and Victoria St. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  Come browse the fresh produce, baked goods, preserves, and other local products and crafts. For more information e-mail info@farmersmarketpg.ca.
  4 Theatre North West presents Thy Neighbour’s Wife until Feb. 23. The ingredients for this thrilling adaptation of a true story are an Irish immigrant, a proper young wife, a thoroughly rotten scoundrel and a conniving, attractive, and remarkably libidinous neighbour. This is all blended into a mystery story set in Wetaskiwin, Alberta. In this story, ‘who done it’ is obvious. The mystery to be solved is why such an astonishing thing was done. Tickets available at Books & Co. or at Theatre North West in the Parkhill Plaza.
  5 Three Amigos will perform at Cafe Voltaire,
          Books & Co., Sunday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Come celebrate Valentine’s Day with a London Fog and one of the delicious desserts available. Michael Vigano, Curtis Abriel and Tony Tabora will sing their hearts out on the new Cafe stage.
    They’ve planned an afternoon of soft, sweet love songs that will soothe your soul and melt your heart.
    The event is free.
 diversions
 Annie’s Mailbox . . .2
 Bridge ...........13
 Comics ...........14
 Crossword    .....14
 Horoscope     .... 2
 Classifieds  . . . 19-22
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