What goes down, must come up?
Cats' recap /11, 12
Golden reward for P.G. student
Chapman /31
Tuesday,
March 16, 2010
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PIPELINE
PROMISE?
A Prince George Citizen special report
Info inflow
Enbridge, eco-groups clash over the $4.5 billion Northern Gateway pipeline
Gordon Hoekstra Citizen staff
There is a battle underway.
It’s being waged at the ground level, in community meetings, but also in the corporate world, and using the Internet and social media.
The objective: To influence the public’s opinion on Enbridge’s proposed $4.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline.
On one side is Enbridge, and its business and municipal supporters, arguing the risks of the pipeline are manageable, and that the project will provide a tremendous economic boost to northern B.C.
On the other side is a coalition of environmental groups - some of them based in northern B.C. but others headquartered farther afield, in Victoria, Vancouver and even San Francisco - arguing the risks are too great, and pale in comparison to any longterm economic benefit.
Enbridge has considerable resources to promote its project - $100 million from the backing of unnamed prospective shippers and consumers of the oil and condensate.
It has hired former northern B.C. politicians - including former northwest B.C. Liberal MLA Roger Harris and former Prince George mayor Colin Kinsley - to assist in the promotion of the project. Enbridge has also created and backed the Northern Gateway Alliance, which includes a collection of northern B.C. mayors and business leaders. Alliance supporters include Prince George mayor Dan Rogers, Kitimat mayor Joanne Monaghan, Mackenzie mayor Stephanie Killam, and Prince George economic development advocate, Initiatives Prince George CEO Tim McEwan.
The group also has support from the B.C. Chamber of Commerce.
The alliance’s website boasts 450 members as of last week. Enbridge’s officials have also delivered many presentations to business groups, including chambers of commerce and rotaries in northern B.C.Enbridge has also been active as a corporate sponsor, supporting baseball tournaments, native softball tournaments, an aboriginal dance troupe, a native band’s proposed geothermal project, a First Nation cultural camp, a sock-eye recovery program, a native community gathering and a First Nation golf tournament.
— See THEIR GIMMICK on page 10
p^citizen
george it's what matters to you
Honorine Appiach, a new Ecole Franco-Nord StrongStart Program teacher, helps Shaylee Hirt, 1 1/2, roll out dough, while Taylor Dawson, 4, follows suit. A new StrongStart program, one of more than 300 in the province, opened at the school on Monday, with 42 students expected to participate.
Citizen photo by David Mah
A strong start, indeed
Program unveiled at Ecole Franco-Nord
Bernice Trick Citizen staff
Ecole Franco-Nord, Prince George’s French school, is now officially inaugurated among the newest StrongStart outreach programs in B.C.
During Monday’s announcement Shirley Bond, MLA for Prince George-Valemount, said the Prince George site “is a great addition to our StrongStart programs which help prepare preschool aged children for school in a fun, interactive and learning environment.”
StrongStart is a free early learning program for children accompanied by a parent or caregiver, and is taught by early childhood educators who lead activities in stories, music and art to help children grow emotionally and socially as they become comfortable in a school-like setting.
“The program helps to increase literacy, promote community and gives children a safe and nurturing environment in which to thrive,” said Pat Bell, MLA for Prince George North.
StrongStart, which operated in 300 B.C. Englishspeaking schools and two French-speaking schools, has now been extended to four more French-speaking schools in Prince George, Nelson, Penticton and Delta. Conseil scolaire francophone (CSF), which is B.C.’s Francophone school district No. 93, now op-
erates six StrongStart programs.
Marie Bourgeois, CSF board chair, said the official opening of the Prince George area program “recognizes the vitality of francophone schools in B.C. and the fact that CSF enrolment has continued to grow since its creation in 1995.”
CSF received $100,000 from the province to operate the four StrongStart outreach programs by preparing in-school space through renovations, new equipment, learning materials, staff, professional development, supplies and healthy snacks.
The latest StrongStart program at Ecole Franco-Nord brings the total number of StrongStart and outreach programs to 15 in the Prince George area.
Since 2001, the province has invested $1.4 billion in literacy initiatives like StrongStart, about $18 million to operate the Ready-Set-Learn kindergarten readiness program, and $2.7 million for LEAP which encourages literacy, physical activity and healthy eating among preschoolers.
The province has committed $280 million over three years to implement full-day kindergarten for all five-year-olds in B.C. This year more than 50 per cent of kindergarten students will attend full day classes, and in 2011 all other five-year-olds starting school will follow suit.
btrick@pgcitizen.ca
Beware of Internet puppy scam: RCMP
Citizen staff
Quesnel RCMP advise people to be aware of several Internet scams.
One involves giving away puppies in which responders are asked to pay only the transport charges.
“The respondents were then sent an e-mail from petravelservices@aol.com or pettravelcargoltd@in.com about the shipping and expenses,” said RCMP Cst. Jenny Collins.
Then the respondent was informed that the puppy was stuck in customs and $600 must be
sent to receive the dog. The e-mail sites are scam sites implicated in a puppy fraud out of Cameroon. Collins said a second scam comes from the e-mail of mattpennington1@google-mail.com in which Pennington claims to be the solicitor of an estate of a deceased client. He asks the receiver of the e-mail to assist with the delivery of the estate proceeds for a 40-per-cent cut of the profits.
Collins advises readers that, since scam artists are “all over the Internet,” to do their homework on sellers before sending money to anyone. The RCMP file number is 2010-1374.
sports
Birdies in the air /12
celebrity
‘Titanic' star floats free /7
education
Tuition costs a ‘scandal of epic proportions' /19
diversions
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