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SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 2011
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Part II of the Citizen's Hospice series examines the front lines of palliative care special report 17
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OPINION 6
Sidewalks, posties and city spending
LETTERS 6-7
MAKING A HOME IN VICTORIA
AT HOME 33
Clark objects to ship bid extension
B.C. 14
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
CYCLIST STRUCK — A 21-year woman was injured after she was hit by a car while riding her bicycle through the intersection of Ospika Boulevard and Fifth Avenue. RCMP spokesman Gary Godwin said the woman was riding her bicycle south on Ospika Boulevard when she ran a yellow light at the intersection. "The light turned red on her while she was crossing the intersection," Godwin said. "She was hit by an eastbound motorist proceeding on a green light." The cyclist was transported to hospital with a concussion and non-life-threatening injuries. Police charged her for failing to wear a helmet.
KIN 4
Mayor triggers new vote on arena
Arthur WILLIAMS Citizen staff awilliams@pgcitizen.ca
City council will have a chance to reconsider its decision to build a stand-alone arena adjacent to the Kin Centre on Monday.
Mayor Dan Rogers used his authority under the Community Charter to bring a reconsideration motion before council. On June 13 city council voted to build the standalone arena south of the existing Kin Centre, at a projected cost $22.2 million, instead of rebuilding the Kin 1 arena as planned.
The rebuild of Kin 1 was part of the city’s bid package for the 2015 Canada Winter Games and had a projected cost of $15.8 million.
Rogers could not be reached for comment as of press time, but in his report to council he said, “... I have been approached by many within the community who do not fully understand what council has decided to do, nor do they understand the potential impact on other city projects and priorities,” Rogers wrote. “Some feel we should go ahead even if it costs $6.5 million more, others feel it should be attached to another facility to potentially save money, others only support another sheet of ice if it doesn’t cost any more money than already allocated and still others prefer that if there are additional funds they should be spent on other priorities.”
Rogers urged council to either return to the original plan to rebuild Kin 1, or propose a clear set of con-
ditions required for the city to go ahead with a stand-alone arena.
Rogers and Coun. Don Basser-mann voted against pursuing a stand-alone arena on June 13.
Councillors Shari Green and Cameron Stolz spearheaded the initiative to build the stand-alone arena. Councillors Brian Skakun, Garth Frizzell and Debora Munoz supported the move.
Councilors Murry Krause and Dave Wilbur were absent from the June 13 meeting.
Not all members of council believe there is a need to bring the issue back.
Stolz said the discussion on Monday night will be the third time council has debated the issue. City council requested a feasibility study on a new arena after a presentation from hockey and arena user groups in March.
The study was presented to council in the June 13 meeting, Stolz said.
“Council has already reconsidered this. This will be the third time this has come before council, and we will see if council will do [it] now,” Stolz said. “We’ve had this discussion and debate already.”
Skakun said council also proposed a working group to consider cost reduction measures, including a review of the city’s capital plan.
“I think it’s unfortunate that the mayor brought it back before the working group has had it’s first meeting,” Skakun said. “I continue to support a new arena and the work of the working group.”
Granddad jailed for sex crime
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
A Prince George man was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail Friday for sexually interfering with his granddaughter when she lived in his home between the ages of six and 10.
There is a ban on publication of the man’s name because it could identify the victim.
Now 70 years old, he was found to have made continual sexual advances against the girl between December 1999 and April 2003 after she moved into the home to live with him and his common-law wife.
The victim, now 17 years old, did not tell anyone until she had reunited with her mother in Ontario roughly six years later and then went to police when she became concerned that her younger sister, who also lived in the home, may have become sexually abused.
In a victim impact statement, the girl said she continues to suffer from constant anxiety and fear and tried to hang herself on one occasion.
“I have a lot of anger inside me and I feel betrayed by my grandfather and abandoned by my mother for leaving me there,” she said.
According to a pre-sentence report, the offender had an abusive childhood and a history of depression and was described as a caring, hardworking and faithful husband. However, the court also learned he had an extensive criminal record including a one-year sentence for abduction and a seven-year term for a rape involving a 15-year-old girl, both issued in the 1970s.
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