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What’s in a number? Lots, apparently
news /7
Friday,
July 23, 2010
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Senior city staff member charged
Frank Peebles Citizen staff
The Citizen has learned that a senior staff person with the City of Prince George has been charged with violating the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Sandra Caffrey, a senior advisor in the Human Resources and Labour Relations department, is charged under section 30.4 of the provincial act. This section states:
Unauthorized disclosure prohibited
30.4 An employee, officer or director of a public body or an employee or associate of a service provider who has access, whether authorized or unauthorized, to personal information in the custody or control of a public body, must not disclose that information except as authorized under this Act.
This is the same section that has city councillor Brian Skakun involved in court proceedings as well.
Calls were placed to Caffrey, mayor Dan Rogers and city manager Derek Bates to discuss the matter but they were not available as of deadline.
It is unknown if there is any connection between Caffrey’s matter and Skakun’s.
Caffrey’s case was in Prince George Provincial Court on Wednesday and a further appearance is scheduled for August 10.
p^citizen
george it's what matters to you
Child saves mom
Toddler alerts family, drowning parent revived
Sarah Makowsky Citizen staff
Emma Wiebe may only be one-and-a-half years old, but when she saw her mom draped over the bathtub, head submerged in water, she knew how to save her.
The little girl ran into the bedroom where her grandma’ Linda Wiebe was changing the cover on her duvet. Emma kept saying “Momma, momma,” in a certain tone that indicated something wasn’t right, said Linda.
She rushed into the bathroom to discover her daughter, Krystal Wiebe on her knees, bent over the bathtub with her face in the water. Linda quickly pulled Krystal’s upper body from the tub and laid her on the bathroom floor. Luckily, Krystal didn’t sustain any injuries from this terrifying incident nearly two weeks ago.
Had Emma not alerted her grandma right away, the outcome might not have been so positive.
Krystal will occasionally lose consciousness without warning. Medical professionals still aren’t certain what causes these episodes, so for now, the family is ‘walking hand in hand every day,” said Linda.
These episodes, which began roughly two years ago, have led to a lifestyle change for Krystal. To ensure Emma’s safety, Krystal isn’t left alone in the house with her daughter. Other small adjustments have been required, like Krystal doesn’t lean over Emma or walk in front of her while ascending or descending the stairs.
“I also keep her in a routine,” said Krystal. Emma goes to day-
Emma Wiebe,18 months old,is being hailed as a hero for saving her mother Krystal, who was submerged in the bathtub.
Citizen staff photo
care and does all the typical activities associated with 18-month-old children.
Krystal and her mom tried to shelter Emma from the episodes in the beginning, but of course they don’t always occur at the most convenient times.
Witnessing her mom’s episodes taught Emma to seek help from someone nearby. “I can tell, just by the tone in her voice,” Linda said in reference to
how Emma gets her attention.
Even though her daughter is young, Krystal knows Emma is perceptive for her age.
“People tell me that she’s so young, she doesn’t remember anything, but that isn’t true.”
She said kids in general know what’s going on, even if adults don’t think they do. “They may not be able to tell you, but they still show you.”
smakowsky@pgcitizen.ca
Jet ski thief apprehended by police
Frank Peebles Citizen staff
A casual crook tried to make off with a pair of expensive toys on Thursday but eyes were on him almost the entire time, right up to the handcuffs snapping around his wrists.
A staff member at Prince George Yamaha had the suspect spotted while he was still in the act and police were quick to follow the information up.
“She was going for lunch, this truck was blocking the way for her for a minute, and when he pulled away he had these watercraft behind his truck and she knew he didn’t buy them,” said sales manager Wayne Hamilton. “She basically watched him hook a trailer onto his truck and leave. He nonchalantly drove off with them.” Prince George RCMP spokesman Gary Godwin said the information from Yamaha staff was very clear and got them going in the correct direction. “Some darn good police work by one of our senior members” then took place.
A staff sergeant, one of the Prince George detachment’s watch
RCMP landed stolen goods in a tactical traffic stop on Highway 16 near Marleau Road on Thursday.
commanders, was out on the road in an unmarked police vehicle at the time. When he heard on the radio what had taken place at Yamaha and what direction of travel the suspect was moving in, he took a guess that the pickup with the two jet ski machines would be heading for the Mr. PG intersection. He set himself up there and waited, guessing that the suspect might head south towards the Cariboo and Vancouver.
The suspect did not. The Moun-tie spotted the suspicious vehicle with its stolen load head west instead, in the direction of Vander-
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hoof and Prince Rupert. He wheeled around to follow, causing a bit of a scene when he did not engage his emergency lights and siren. Godwin said this was unusual, but had positive safety implications for the public.
“He was afraid at that point that he might spook them into a high speed escape. We get that a lot in these type of situations,” Godwin said. “It turns out the truck was stolen out of Fort St. John, with two stolen jet skis in tow. A suspect like that will often flee in a dangerous manner as soon as the police are noticed. In that spot on
. *■ M
Highway 16, you don’t want that.
It could have been very dangerous to the public to have a high-speed suspect blowing through Ferry Avenue and Vance Road and Do-mano Boulevard, those would have been the likely intersections.” Instead, the staff sergeant was able to tail the unsuspecting suspect until other Mounties could close in. At an opportune spot in the Westgate area of the city, they swarmed the stolen vehicle in a tactical formation that allowed no escape.
The lone male taken into custody was a 47-year-old man with a Chetwynd address. The GMC pickup he drove was reported stolen from a church in Fort St. John on July 13.
The recovered jet ski pair and the trailer were worth a combined $34,000.
“So many people criticize the police for not doing this or not responding to that, but in this case, stupendous. What a fantastic job. Thank you,” said Hamilton.
The suspect will be named once charges are formally sworn. He is expected to be in Prince George court sometime today.
fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
ICafe Voltaire presents performer/UNBC professor Kevin Hutchings
tonight. The show is free and starts at 8 p.m. in Cafe Voltaire, in Books & Co., 1685 Third Avenue.
2JJ Guy is in concert with Prince George’s young fiddlers opening the show, presented by Prince George Old Time Fiddlers today at 7 p.m. at Pineview Hall, 6470 Bendixon Road. Tickets $12 in advance or $15 at the door. For more information call 250-962-6825.
3 Hart Family Fun Day
will take place Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Glenview Park behind Eagle’s Hall.
Enjoy a barbecue, free family games and contests, water balloon toss, music, face painting and prizes. For more information visit www.hartcommunity.ca.
4 The Jordan World Circus will present shows at CN Centre Saturday at 3 and 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale at Ticket-master outlets.
5Kidz Day at the Farmers’ Market is on
Saturday at Third and George. There will be face painting, a story teller from the Prince George Library, plays and much more.
Kidz Day is organized in partnership with BC Hydro who will hold Information sessions on energy savings and make kits available at 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. and will hold an energy savings and energy IQ information session at the market at 9:30 a.m.
6 Celebrate art in nature and the nature of art Sunday during the eighth annual Artists in the Garden Tour. This fundraising event showcases regional artists, craftspeople and musicians in five unique landscapes throughout Prince George from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine. Tickets are $34, including HST. For more information visit the Two Rivers Gallery or call to reserve tickets at 250-614-7800.
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