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THE
PRINCE
GEORGE
CITIZEN
  TUESDAY, AUGUST 7 , 2012
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 Farrier Ryan Clarke trims Kantana's hooves as Gwen Tomra, whose daughter Dezeray owns the horse, holds him steady in the horse barns at the exhibition ground Monday afternoon. Volunteers have been working all weekend to get the grounds ready for the influx of people and animals for the 100th PGX, which opens Wednesday.
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 Prince George Exhibition president Nancy Loreth will be celebrating two milestone anniversaries when the annual fair opens on Wednesday.
                   Not only will she be presiding over the 100th edition of the Prince George Agricultural & Historical Association’s festival, she’s also reflecting on her visit to the fair 50 years ago - it was the first date with her future husband Bob.
    “The grounds certainly weren’t what they are now, they were all gravel,” she recalled.
    “I remember him showing me the beef and at that time I was a city girl and I’m going ‘Ugh.’ It wasn’t too impressive because I didn’t know anything about beef.”
    Now Loreth lives on a beef farm and is intimately involved the planning for this year’s PGX. She has spent the months leading up to the fair putting together a special centennial exhibit. Divided into decades, the display chronicles the fair’s history, the development of the Prince George region and key moments in world history over the past century.
    “They were very good at taking photos in
 m Organizers know what parts to keep the same, because it's a tradition. It will always be a partnering of the rural and urban communities, that's always been the mainstay."
 1912,” Loreth said. “Which is very nice for us now because a lot of years we don’t have photos.”
   Highlights include a hat from one of the fair’s founders, R.J. Blackburn, a re-created gas station from 1920 and a chuck wagon from the 1960s.
   The centennial exhibit shows how the event has changed and evolved over the years, but general manager Terri McConnachie said the fair has never deviated from its original mandate.
   “Organizers know what parts to keep the same, because it’s a tradition,” she said. “It will always be a partnering of the rural and urban communities, that’s always been the mainstay.”
   All the old PGX favourites like concerts, the Bull Riders Ball and the tractor parade are back this year, but some new additions to the
 — Terri McConnachie
 fair’s lineup include barrel racing, gymkhana and a saloon for all five days of the event. Also pig and duck races return after a four-year absence.
   McConnachie said one of the can’t-miss events this year is the fireworks display set for Friday night, produced by Starlight FX.
   “It’s going to be the largest fireworks show we’ve seen in northern B.C.,” she said. “We’ve been planning this a long time and you’ll be able to see it right from the fairgrounds.”
   Loreth is looking forward to a trip down memory lane at the Legacy Banquet on Thursday. Past directors, staff and volunteers have been invited for a reunion.
   “We’ve got managers that have worked with us through (the years), presidents, directors. R.J. Blackburn’s family is coming — the whole family,” she said.
                                                                                                                                                                      — see LAST YEAR’S, page 4
 MISSING
Fisherman lost on lake
WHAT A THRILL
SENIORS 17
Peter JAMES Citizen staff
  A Prince George man is missing after jumping out of his fishing boat in Carp Lake on Sunday afternoon to retrieve a lost hat.
  The boat was travelling at a slow, trolling speed on the lake located two hours north of Prince George when the man jumped in.
  By the time his two fishing mates had turned the boat around to try to retrieve him, they were unable to locate him.
  After making several attempts to find him, they returned to shore and called police.
  The man wasn’t wearing a life jacket when he went overboard.
  “I can honestly tell you from what I know if it so far, [this was] an entirely
preventable type of incident, if somebody’s just wearing a life jacket,” Sgt. Sydney Lecky, the RCMP detachment commander in Mackenzie, said.
  Four RCMP officers, including the pilot of a float plane from Prince George as well as six search and rescue personnel in two boats conducted aerial, water and shoreline searches on Monday, but were unable to find the man.
  An underwater recovery team is expected to begin its search on Tuesday.
  Lecky said the weather was excellent at the time of the incident and alcohol didn’t play a factor in the incident. No foul play is suspected.
  Police have not released the name of the man at the request of his family.
LONG WEEKEND
Fort George Park site of holiday fun
Peter JAMES Citizen staff
  For some Prince George residents, the best way to beat the heat this weekend was to face it head on.
  With the sun shinning, Fort George Park was hopping on Monday for B.C. Day celebrations organized by the Prince George Knights Society. Shade was at a premium around the band shell in the afternoon as patrons tried to stay out of the direct heat while enjoying the family-themed entertainment.
  When even that got too hot, the water park was a popular destination for children and adults alike.
  “This is unbelievable for Prince George,” Antonio Vera said of the weather as he supervised his family cooling down on the splash pad.
  Vera said the inflatable rides were a hit, but the concessions held the secret to keeping the heat at bay. “Lots of ice cream,” he said, laughing. Face painting and a variety of games for children also brought people out to the park Monday and the weather made it all the more popular given the rainy summer of 2011.
                                                                                                                                         — see ‘WE, page 3
 Today's Weather
 Hi +29° Low +14°
  See page 2 for more details and short-term forecasts
ANNIE'S MAILBOX 25 A&E         25-26 WORLD NEWS 19-21 
BRIDGE          25 CLASSIFIEDS 22-24 SPORTS      9-12 
HOROSCOPE        2 LETTERS         6 OPINION        6 
COMICS          26 B.C. NEWS       7                  
CROSSWORD       26 CANADA NEWS 13-15                  
                                                      
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