*
  r) You better not pout, you better not cry... I’mjielling
A you why /17 I
   Look cnside i0dn r
 P4f*r for UOur ^ s copy of
CenLn
 Gucde
Saturday,
December 4, 2010
Newsstand $1.75 Home Delivered 67C/day www.pgcitizen.ca
Classified: 250-562-6666 Reader Sales: 250-562-3301 Switchboard: 250-562-2441
p^citizen
george it's what matters to you
                                                                                      DE JONG
 Education, economy go hand in hand — de Jong
 Gordon Hoekstra Citizen staff ghoekstra@pgcitizen.ca
   Mike de Jong, a former forests minister and candidate for the B.C. Liberal leadership, says educational opportunities are as important as economic ones in northern B.C.
   “Without one, the other is a problem,” de Jong told The Citizen Friday.
   De Jong will be in Prince George today to meet with some supporters quietly, coming back later for a formal, public event. He’s the second leadership candidate to visit Prince George, albeit taking a quieter first approach than Kevin Falcon’s northern launch earlier this week in front of a crowd of supporters.
   De Jong, in responding to a question about northern B.C.’s importance to the province, said critical revenues are being generated in the region in its natural resource industries, including the emerging energy sector.
   “It’s amplified its importance,” said de Jong, who supports continued infrastructure investment in northern B.C. to spark economic activity and job creation, although he has not rolled out any kind of detailed leadership platform.
   He said it’s important to create a process that fosters an economy that is environmentally responsible, and discharges the province’s duty to First Nations, but he stressed it also has to recognize that a community’s success depends on jobs.
   A number of projects that have faced strong environmental and First Nations’ opposition in north and central B.C. have been rejected in federal regulatory approval processes, including, recently, the $800-million Prosperity mine near Williams Lake, and in 2007, the $200-million Kemess North mine.
   There is also increasing opposition to En-bridge’s proposed $5.5-billion oil and condensate pipeline.
   The 1,170-kilometre pipeline faces opposition from First Nations, environmental groups and some communities. Recently, the Union of B.C. Municipalities passed a pair of motions at is annual meeting opposing the project that would open up Asian markets to Alberta oil sands crude via tanker traffic from Kitimat.
   “While it’s easy to say no, the question I ask of those who are protesting, is what’s the alternative?” observed de Jong.
   De Jong is planning to hold open-mic town-hall meetings during his campaign, the first of which was held Thursday evening in Kamloops.
   The idea is to listen to the ideas of people directly, although de Jong also has some questions of his own.
   He wants to know, for example, what the public wants to do on taxation and services when the referendum on the harmonized sales tax delivers a no vote, an outcome that de Jong believes is inevitable.
   De Jong has already said he wants to see the HST referendum moved up as quickly as possible, and also executed as cheaply as possible, perhaps through a mail-in ballot or some other technological means. That’s in part to avoid the $30-million cost of a vote involving polling stations.
   The Liberals popularity has tumbled since introducing the HST.
   The Liberal leadership opened up when Campbell announced suddenly four weeks ago he was stepping down halfway through his third term. Campbell acknowledged he had become a lightning rod for public anger, largely over the HST.
   Other candidates in the race include George Abbott and Moria Stilwell, who quit their jobs as cabinet minister to run.
 RCMP Const. Michael McLaughlin, right, and Darryl Plecas of the University of the Fraser Valley's School of Criminology address the media about the battle against grow-ops and drug trafficking in the Cariboo region.
 Citizen staff photo
 The war on drugs
 Police beef up efforts to target marijuana grow-ops in the north
Bernice Trick Citizen staff btrick@pgcitizen.ca
  B.C. federal RCMP have launched the Cariboo Region Integrated Marijuana Enforcement Task Force to fight the problem of commercial-scale marijuana grow-ops in the areas of Prince George, Quesnel, Williams Lake and 100 Mile House.
  The CRIME task force stems from a 300 per cent increase in complaints by people living in these areas and a 60-per-cent jump in numbers of investigations into marijuana grow-ops, said Const. Michael McLaughlin, Federal Operations media relations officer.
  “The grow-ops are 33 per cent bigger than they used to be. Clearly, organized crime is fueling the increase, and the people of the Cariboo have told the RCMP’s Drug Enforcement Branch they want the criminals gone.”
  So far, 24 people, the majority of whom are newcomers to the Cariboo, are facing possible charges.
  Since Sept. 7 when the project was launched, 27 marijuana grow operations have been taken down which translates into more than 54,000 marijuana plants. In addition, six unregistered firearms have been seized.
  There are more takedowns and arrests to come, and the federal RCMP is actively targeting the senior leaders of these criminal operations, said McLaughlin.
  “Our goal is to enforce Canadian law against marijuana growers whose current operations occupy the North.
  “These newcomers to the pristine Cariboo region have no regard for the land that they occupy.
  “Streams are being diverted, growth-enhancing chemicals and pesticides are leaching into the soil, and garbage is being left behind.”
  The task force works closely with RCMP regional drug sections, local detachments, and Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit.
  The project targets the large, commercial operations that have direct links to the international trade of guns and cocaine, said McLaugh-
                                                                             Tell-tale signs of a marijuana operation
  Citizen staff
    Marijuana grow operators don’t exactly go out of their way to advertise what they’re doing but there are tell-tale signs to look for, both in-town and out in the bush.
    Signs that a house may be home to a grow-op include indications it’s not being lived in, foggy windows and no snow on the roof during the winter “because so much heat is escaping,” said federal RCMP Const. Michael McLaughlin.
    And because the grow lamps require so much electricity, they’re usually associated with hydro theft. “So if you see someone tinkering with the hydro box, that may be another sign,” McLaughlin added.
    Indications of an operation out in a rural area include the sound of a generator out in the middle of nowhere, said North District RCMP Supt. Barry Clark said.
    “If you’re on a logging road that you’ve travelled on before and you suddenly see it barricaded with gates and big signs saying ‘don’t enter,’ that’s a sign of interest to us,” Clark added.
    While urban grow-ops are well known for ruining houses, the rural ones create messes of their own type.
    If you come across something suspicious your best move is to turn around and get out of the area, McLaughlin warned, because the operators are often armed.
    The next step is to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca.
lin, adding, among the goals is “to ensure these criminal networks are not comfortable with their efforts to expand into the north.”
 Major recent takedowns by RCMP
  RCMP have reported three marijuana grow-op takedowns in the Prince George area since the Cariboo Region Integrated Marijuana Enforcement task force started work in early September.
  — On Sept. 25, about 1,500 pot plants with a street value of $560,000 were seized from a home in the 11000 block of Christopher Road near Miworth. A 47-year-old Lower Mainland man was arrested and is now facing charges of production of marijuana and theft of hydro.
  — On Oct. 14, 2,634 plants and 31 pounds of
dried and bagged marijuana were seized from a home on Horrock Road south of Prince George.
  One man was arrested and an all-terrain vehicle stolen in Alberta was seized.
  — On Oct. 16, police responded to a report of two underfed and mistreated dogs at a home on Highplain Road near Shelly and came across 2,100 plants as well as 8 1/2 pounds of dried marijuana. No one was found at the house, but a German shepherd and her pup were taken to the SPCA.
news
Balanced-budget plan develops vertigo /23
sports
Politics dogs FIFA after World Cup decisions /11
books
‘Everyone was putting the needle into
                                                                    /15
me
                                                       diversions
Annie’s Mailbox 2
Bridge...............13
Comics ..............15
Crossword............14
Horoscope ............2
Classifieds ......25-28
58307 00200
058307002005