june 13, 2012 - free press

COUNCIL: Stolz doesnt support Frizzell election bid A3Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Newsline 250-564-0005

w w w . p g f r e e p r e s s . c o m

Good turnout for annual Multiple Sclerosis walk in Prince George

A18

DeLyNDA [email protected]

Almost $2 million will be added to the road rehabilitation budget this year after city staff, follow-ing a recommendation from coun-cil, researched reserve funds to find money to transfer so more of the worst of city streets can be repaired.

Council has been looking at both short and long term strategies to find money to dump into road repair, an issue that has been of great concern to citizens. However, during a previous council meeting, it was agreed that something, if possible, must be done immedi-ately to plump up a budget that is only half, at $3.5 million, of what it needs to be just to maintain city streets.

The money is coming from a local area service reserve fund in the 2012 capital expenditure plan called Fourth Ave. reconstruction.

The opening balance of the fund is $2,323,280. Since the city doesnt have a funding source for its por-tion of the of the projects cost, the project is unfunded.

Coun. Dave Wilbur, who expressed concern over taking money from a reserve fund and transferring it to road rehabilita-

tion when the idea was brought up previously, since the money needs to be paid back or another project will go undone, said he was impressed by the work of admin-istration.

I was concerned about the con-sequences. With this fund there is just a loose attachment to some unfunded project, he said.

However, though there is no requirement to pay the funds back, Coun. Cameron Stolz added it is prudent to do so.

This is not sustainable. It is a one off, he said, adding the finance and audit committee will continue to look into more per-manent solutions to the funding issue.

Mayor Shari Green added the extra funding is a short term solu-tion for an emergency situation.

Coun. Lyn Hall, who made the motion to go forward with trans-ferring the money, also expressed concern about the impact.

This is unprecedented. We are borrowing from reserves, he said.

The money will be used to fix Ospika Blvd. from Range to Davis ($453,000), Ospika Blvd from Davis to Tyner ($473,000), Foothills Blvd. from North Nechako to the Foot-hills bridge ($550,000) and Tabor Blvd. from First to Fifth ($417,000).

CIty StreetS

Council adds$2 million to paving planFour streets set for new blacktop

Bil l PHILLIPS/Free Press

Free Press sales manager Roy Spooner mixes up his wonderful batch of chili for annual Prince George Arts Council and Potters Guild chili cook-off Saturday. MLAs Pat Bell and Shirley Bond were voted with the best chili. As has been said before, when you are No. 2 you just have to try harder, said Spooner. Our current champion taught us a lesson about crafting great chile and even more about getting out the vote. See story on Page 19.

The Chili was hoT

A2 Wednesday, June 13, 2012 www.pgfreepress.comPrince George Free Press

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Wednesday, June 13, 2012 A3 www.pgfreepress.com

BIOENERGY: International conference in city starts today A10


They were running all over Prince George to honour Dick Voneugen

A12BILL PHILLIPS 250-564-0005 [email protected]

Up Front

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A woman and girl are lucky to be alive today after falling in the cresting Fraser River Friday.

Police believe a 22-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl were sitting with their feet over an embankment when they fell in at about 5 p.m. Making matters worse, the pair, according to police, were both severely intoxicated.

Three plainclothes members of the Prince George RCMPs Crime Reduction Team and two general duty officers were the first to arrive on the scene. Once on scene, officers located a female in the water struggling to keep hold of the erod-ing bank. A second female was observed in the water a few metres downstream holding on to vegetation.

The officers utilized the winch from the SUV police vehicle and lowered one of the plainclothes officers down the approxi-mate 15-foot embankment to the girl. The officer secured her to the winch, while attempting to control her panicked grab-bing and scratching.

Prince George Fire/Rescue attended the scene and provided assistance secur-

ing the woman. Both Prince George residents were suc-

cessfully removed from the high, fast-flowing river water and transported by the BC Ambulance Service to the Univer-sity Hospital of Northern BC for treatment of hypothermia and minor injuries. One officer suffered minor injuries but did not need medical treatment.

Pair rescued after falling into Fraser River

Q EXPERIENCE CITED

Stolz doesnt back Frizzell for FCM VPThough council voted unani-

mously to support Coun. Garth Frizzell when he sought election to the Federation of Canadian Munic-ipalities board, Coun. Cameron Stolz chose to endorse Raymond Louie, a councillor from city of Vancouver, at the FCM meeting.

Louie won the position of third vice-chair.

Council endorsed Coun. Garth Frizzell running for board of FCM, and I supported that motion, and council supported my participation on FCM committees, Stolz said.

This years endorsement, he added, was the same as other years with the slight modification that Frizzell asked and received endorsement for the duration of his term on council.

However, Stolz said he felt Louie was better able to take on the duties of third vice-president, an executive position, because he has experience lobbying the federal government especially regarding the massive issue of crumbling infrastructure most Canadian municipalities are facing.

Coun. Louie has been the chair or co-chair of the municipal infra-structure committee for the Fed-eration of Canadian Municipalities for the last three years. In running for third vice president, the per-

son whos doing that needs to be looking at it from a national point of view. They lobby the federal government on a number of issues and do so on behalf of municipali-ties all across Canada, Stolz said. It is the executive that will be working with federal government on helping draft the new infra-structure agreement that will be coming into place in 2015. Crum-bling infrastructure is the single biggest challenge municipalities across Canada are facing. The next agreement with the federal gov-ernment will be key in moving forward to repair that issue. From my perspective we must have the best person for the job talking to the feds, and Louie has experience already. Frizzells experience is in the international wing. He repre-sented the city well, and did lots of good work there, but in looking at the executive I felt it important to have somebody who has been leading the message with the fed-eral government already, and thats Raymond Louie.

Stolz added hes had the oppor-tunity to see Louie in action.

My committee work has included working on the commit-tee he co-chairs, he said. Ive seen him work first-hand and sit down with cabinet ministers, explain the issue, then get a posi-tive response.

Stolz, who has taken some heat

for his decision to back Louie rather than Frizzell, said some-times the right decision isnt the popular one.

When making decisions you feel are in the best interest of every-one, they are not necessarily the most popular decision, he said. I met with most of my council col-leagues and let them know I would

support someone other than Coun. Frizzell.

However, he hasnt yet had the chance to speak with Frizzell regarding the matter.

We have not talked about this, he said. We havent had much of an opportunity to get together.

He added hes happy to explain why he voted the way he did and

understands every decision a coun-cillor makes will be unpopular with someone.

With every decision there are people you please and people that are upset by that decision . Ive always tried to vote in a way thats in the best interest of the commu-nity, or for the best person possible to fill a position.

DELYNDA [email protected] FRESH FLOWERS

Bil l PHILLIPS/Free Press

Shawn Mueller (left) and Dylan Field with the wonderful flowers they painted at the Chili Cook Off Saturday. The flowers were part of the Prince George Community Foundations Youth in Philanthropy group and the two were part of the Future Cents team.

A4 Wednesday, June 13, 2012 www.pgfreepress.comPrince George - News - Free Press

Its been five years since Gina Degerness has seen her boy, and the emotions still well up when she speaks of the day he went missing.

The thing that worries me most is he knew how much I worried and he always e-mailed me or phoned, and I never got that. That worries me most. It was totally out of character for him.

Gina spoke about the day her son, Lucas, went missing at a press conference Thursday afternoon. She said they went together on June 7, 2007, to his school, Prince George Second-ary, to talk to the vice principal about his grades.

He thought he was failing, but he wasnt, she said.

However, he was failing one class so Gina and he agreed hed take it in summer school.

He was not happy, but he agreed.

Lucas was sent back to class. After making arrangements with the vice-principal both decided to look in on him.

He wasnt there.They searched the school

together, checking every nook and cranny the vice-principal was aware of, but there was no sign of Lucas. Gina went over to the mall, knowing that

if one of the youth supposed to be in school wasnt there, the mall was a likely place to find him.

I scoured Pine Centre Mall, then I went home to my n i n e - m o n t h - o l d daughter, she said.

The next morning Lucas was reported missing to the RCMP.

They discovered he spent the eve-ning with a friend, but Lucas trail ends there. Supposed sightings turned out to be false. A tip that lead to the police searching the Hudson Bay Slough turned up nothing.

Its a baffling case, Ted Davis, an investigator with the Missing Childrens Society of Canada, said. Weve investigated this since shortly after Lucas went missing. Its not a normal case.

Tips have come in from peo-ple saying they spoke to Lucas a week after he went missing. As it turned out, the call was made a week before the boy disap-peared. Other tipsters reported sightings of Lucas, but the per-son they saw was another boy

who looked like him.Currently investigators are

following up on a tip placing Lucas in the Lower Mainland.

Every tip regardless of its credibility on the surface gets investigated until its elimi-nated completely, Davis said.

Davis said it is the most baf-fling case he has investigated in 15 years.

But I dont quit and I will not on this case. Theres some-body out there and I think its somebody in this community

that has the piece of the puzzle that we can put together with information we have and solve this case. Thats what were look-ing for. Lucas has been gone for five years, and thats a long time. Lucas is missed by his family, as is evi-denced by the

people here, and wed like to get this solved.

Its time to bring Lucas home. Its time to bring answers. Dont be quiet. Were asking you to be brave for Lucas and his family, Amanda Pick, executive direc-tor of the society, said.

We miss him dearly. We love him, Gina said, pleading for anyone with information to come forward.

She said Lucas has missed so much, so many family events.

His little sister is growing up without his input.

She added that Lucas has ties to Edmonton, a city they lived in for about eight months before moving to Prince George. While Gina was at home with a new-born baby, she said Lucas made friends there she didnt meet.

Anyone with information about Lucas James Degerness or where he might be, please contact the Prince George RCMP at 250-561-3300, anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca, or Text-A-Tip to 274637.

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Still waiting for news of LucasDELYNDA [email protected]

DeLynda PILON/Free Press

Gina Degerness, holding her daughter, Jade, plead for anyone with information on her son, Lucas, whos beeing missing five years, to come forward during a press conference last week.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012 A5 www.pgfreepress.com Prince George - News - Free Press

While the snow

packs in the Upper Fraser and Nechako watersheds are still well above average,

the head of the River Forecast Centre says that may not be the best way to assess the

risk of flooding.In some ways,

David Campbell said Monday, the per-

centages of normal are not a good mea-sure. More relevant is that the packs are about 70 per cent of what the peak level was on May 1.

Campbell was in the region while the June 1 snow pack data was being collected, and did a couple of flyovers of some of the snow packs.

Weve seen pretty dramatic melt rates in the Upper Fraser in the past couple of weeks, he said.

Campbell said they estimate about 35 per cent of the snow pack has melted now.

We normally con-sider the peak to occur when about 40 per cent of the pack has melted, so your region isnt quite there yet.

He said the story was the same on the Nechako, but with even less of the pack having melted.

The June 1 snow survey shows both the Upper Fraser and Nechako snow packs as being 178 per cent of normal. The report says the

delayed snow melt has also delayed the flood season in many regions.

It may be late June before the elevated risk subsides through

the Upper Fraser, Nechako, Kootenay, Peace, Skeena-Nass and overall Fraser basin, where peak flows typically occur in early June.

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Test: Please share your new knowledge about HIV with others, and please encourage everyone to get an HIV test.

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HIV is a real concern within our communities. You can contract HIV primarily through unprotected sex and by sharing needles. HIV can live in your body for years without you knowing and all the while you can be passing it to others. At least 25 per cent of people who are HIV+ do not know and these 25 per cent are estimated to be responsible for 75 per cent of new infections. Northern Health, in collaboration with its community partners, is working with the Province of BC to prevent the spread of HIV by expanding HIV testing, treatment, and support services to British Columbians.

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Snow melting, but peak not reached yet

DeLynda PILON/Free Press

Leidli Tenneh Councillor Louella Nome, Mayor Shari Green, MLAs Shirley Bond and Pat Bell along with BC Hydro V.P. of Field Operations and Safety, David Lebeter, broke ground for the new BC Hydro building Monday morning, a structure that will be one of the first to use cross laminated timber in the province.

MAKING IT OFFICIAL

ALLAN [email protected]


A B O R I G I N A L T R A I N I N G f o r E M P L O Y M E N T P R O G R A M

Where are YOU in the JOB MARKET??

Need Some Help To Succeed?

Are YOU Committed to YOUR FUTURE??

For More Information Contact Prince George Native Friendship Centre

Marvene Layte, Coordinator

250-564-3568-Local 213 or Email: [email protected] 1600 Third Ave, Prince George, BC

You could be eligible for the Aboriginal Training for Employment Program if you are Aboriginal and at least 18 years old and either:

Unemployed and not received EI in the last 3 years or 5 years in the case of parental leave; or

Employed without a high school diploma or lacking certification Applications are being accepted for July 10, 2012

Funding provided through the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Agreement

Omnibus meeting setNDP Opposition house leader

Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cul-len is partnering with local cit-izens and utilizing his social media presence to bolster oppo-sition to Bill C-38, the omnibus budget bill.

Citizens Environmental Advocacy Group is hosting a community hall about the bill on Friday. It is part of a nation-wide campaign initiated by Cullen. The meeting comes on the heels of two protests at the offices of local MPs Dick Harris and Bob Zimmer, organized by Leadnow, which is asking Con-

servative MPs to break ranks and vote against Bill C-38.

We are a non-partisan group, said Bruce Edson of the Citizens Environmental Advo-cacy Group. But have no prob-lem with supporting initiatives that promote the integrity of our democracy and our envi-ronment. This is a great oppor-tunity for citizens to be heard and help out the official Oppo-sition in its efforts against the elements of this bill that make it such an abuse of parliamentary process.

Cullen organized the cam-paign called Our Canada, Our Budget through his social media outlets. Video and photographic

messages produced at the meet-ing will be posted to his Face-book account, in an effort to oppose the bill. Even though the Conservatives appear to be largely ignoring the outcry over the bill, Edson is optimistic.

We need to keep up pres-sure, he said. This massive bill is being forced through the House and Senate with so little scrutiny. We need Conserva-tives to do the right thing and break ranks. We need people to stand up and voice their con-cerns right now to turn this around.

The meeting will be held at Artspace on Friday, June 15, at 7 p.m.

DELYNDA [email protected]

Accidental shot nets flat tireAn accidental dis-

charge of a firearm Thursday resulted in a flat tire and three guns being confiscated.

The Prince George RCMP received a report at about 10 a.m. that a vehicles tire had been shot with a firearm by a group of hunters staying in the area of the 10000 block of Hart Highway.

Officers attended the area and spoke with a group of four men about the incident. Through the investi-

gation it was learned that one of the man, a 54-year-old Richmond resident, had a loaded rifle inside a parked vehicle. It appears that the firearm was acci-dently discharged and the bullet went through the door of the vehicle and directly into the tire of a second vehicle parked beside it.

As a result of the inci-dent, charges of care-less use of a firearm and unsafe storage of a firearm are being rec-ommended against the

man.Three firearms were

seized by police.The BC Conserva-

tion Office Service was called to the scene and assisted with the inves-tigation.

On June 5, at approxi-

mately 7:30 a.m., the Prince George RCMP received a report of a theft of copper wire at a business in the area of the 6000 block of Otway Road in Prince George. It appears that the cop-per wire was taken

sometime between 7 p.m. on June 4 and 7 a.m. on June 5.

It is believed that the thieves used an all-ter-rain vehicle or vehicles to access the business and steal the copper wire. The person or per-sons responsible for this theft may have tried to remove wires that were in use. This is dangerous and requires training.

The police believe that the person or per-sons responsible for the theft may potentially be living in the area.

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Regional SECURITY

Thank You,Prince George!

Thank you to the business community, sponsors, volunteers and walkersfor helping make this years Scotiabank MS Walk so fun and successful.Shirley Bond - MLA Prince George/Valemount and Minister of Public Safety & Solicitor General

Scotia Bank - Heather Larsen, Trevor Lutes and Employees

Panago Pizza, Westwood Drive, Billy JanjuaDave Rubadeau, The Sound FactoryEntertainment by Deuces WildCanadian Cylinder & Gases Inc.Canadian TireIts Party Time Rentals Ltd.Shane Loughran and the Fun ChaserDebbie Malm, Tina Cyr - Photographers

Magnetsigns Prince GeorgeAl Work - The Roll-A-DomeElder Citizens Recreation Assn.City of Prince George - Scott Hunyadi and staffGlen (Moose) Scott and familyMS Society Prince George Chapter Board of Directors

Carl Haughland, Ron Edgar, Laura Sandberg,Mike and Louise Bundock, Joann Smiley

BC Hydro Community Outreach TeamPiper - Quinn Green, PG Pipe BandLouis Kutin

Special thanks to all our wonderful Volunteers!

PLEDGES CAN STILL BE ACCEPTED UNTIL JUNE 22, 2012Watch for the 2013 Scotiabank MS Walk coming June 9, 2013

We raised $25,000 and counting

Wednesday, June 13, 2012 A7 www.pgfreepress.com Prince George - News - Free Press

In Provincial Court in Prince George on April 13:

Travis I. Basil was found guilty of assault with a weapon, received a conditional sentence of nine months and was assessed a victim surcharge of $50. Basil was also found guilty of breach of recogni-zance, sentenced to one day in jail and assessed a victim sur-charge of $50.

Virginia A. Basil was found guilty of theft of property with a value less than $5,000, sentenced to 39 days in jail and placed on probation for one year. Basil was also found guilty of four counts of failing to comply with a probation order and sentenced to 39 days in jail.

Charles R. West was found guilty of theft of property with a value less than $5,000, sen-tenced to 20 days in jail and placed on probation for one year. West was also found guilty of failing to comply with a probation order and sentenced to 20 days in jail.


Tara M. Lolly was found guilty of theft of property with a value less than $5,000, sentenced to one day in jail and placed on probation for one year. Lolly was also found guilty of two counts of failing to comply with a probation order and sentenced to one day in jail.

Warren T. West was found guilty of failing to comply with a pro-bation order and sen-tenced to four days in jail.


Karl D. Joseph was found guilty of resist-ing a peace officer and two counts of theft of property with a value less than $5,000, sen-tenced to 110 days in jail and placed on pro-bation for 12 months.

Kirk J. Teegee was found guilty of mis-chief and failing to comply with a condi-tion of an undertaking or recognizance and placed on probation for 12 months.


Jeremy J. Baker was found guilty of failing

to comply with a pro-bation order, sentenced

to one day in jail and f i n e d $200.

W a r -ren A.

Beattie was found guilty of failing to

comply with a condi-tion of an undertaking and sentenced to 60 days in jail.

Reginald J. Davis was found guilty of resisting a peace offi-cer and sentenced to 14 days in jail.

Calvin R. Dyrland was found guilty

of uttering threats, received a condi-tional sentence of four months, was placed on probation for 18 months, assessed a vic-tim surcharge of $50 and prohibited from possessing firearms for 10 years. Dyrland was also found guilty

of two counts of failing to comply with a con-dition of an undertak-ing or recognizance, received a condi-tional sentence of four months, was placed on probation for 18 months and assessed a victim surcharge of $50.

www.harveysmuffl er.com

Know Your RightsC. Keith Aartsen

Criminal Defence LawyerWith over 30 years of experience, I can help you preserve your freedom, reputation and livelihood.

For an appointment call 564-4454980 Fourth Avenue, Prince George aartsenlaw.com

Thefts result in jail time

Allan WISHART/Free Press

The Espressos finish their ride on the Big Bike for Heart and Stroke on Saturday. The group of Italian-heritage riders raised almost $2,000 on the ride. The Big Bike will be back in Prince George on June 22, and some spots are still available for teams. Go to www.bigbike.ca for information.

FINISHING KICK

Free Press

Court docket

Winner of 11 International

Awards

Community Alert

If you have information regarding these crimes call CRIMESTOPPERS

www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.caYou will remain anonymous. You may be eligible for a cash reward.

Remember... We dont need your name - just your information

1-800-222-TIPS (8477)

presents

WANTEDCrime Stoppers is asking the publics assistance in locating the following person who is wanted on a British Columbia wide warrant. As of 0850 hrs this 12th day of June 2012, Eric Walter THOMAS (B: 1968-09-22) is wanted on a British Columbia wide warrant for FAIL TO COMPLY. THOMAS is described as a Non-White male, 178 cm or 510 tall and weighs 65 kg or 144 lbs. THOMAS has brown hair and brown eyes. THOMAS should be considered violent.

WANTED

WANTEDCrime Stoppers is asking the publics assistance in locating the following person who is wanted on a British Columbia wide warrant. As of 0850 hrs this 12th day of June 2012, Patrick Rylie SPENCER (B: 1990-09-30) is wanted on a British Columbia wide warrant for THEFT UNDER $5000. SPENCER is described as a Caucasian male , 183 cm or 60 tall and weighs 73 kg or 161 lbs. SPENCER has blonde hair and blue eyes.

CapChWww

Patrick Rylie SPENCER

183 cm or 60 73 kg or 161 lbs.

Crime Stoppers is asking the publics assistance in locating the following person who is wanted on a British Columbia wide warrant. As of 0850 hrs this 12th day of June 2012,Shawn Dallas TOMAH (B: 1980-05-05) is wanted on a British Columbia wide warrant for FAIL TO COMPLY x 2. TOMAH is described as a First Nations male, 168 cm or 56 tall and weighs 68 kg or 150 lbs. TOMAH has brown hair and brown eyes. TOMAH should be considered violent.

Eric Walter THOMAS

178 cm or 510 65 kg or 144 lbs.

Shawn Dallas TOMAH

168 cm or 56 68 kg or 150 lbs.


A B O R I G I N A L T R A I N I N G f o r E M P L O Y M E N T P R O G R A M

Where are YOU in the JOB MARKET??

Need Some Help To Succeed?

Are YOU Committed to YOUR FUTURE??

For More Information Contact Prince George Native Friendship Centre

Marvene Layte, Coordinator

250-564-3568-Local 213 or Email: [email protected] 1600 Third Ave, Prince George, BC

You could be eligible for the Aboriginal Training for Employment Program if you are Aboriginal and at least 18 years old and either:

Unemployed and not received EI in the last 3 years or 5 years in the case of parental leave; or

Employed without a high school diploma or lacking certification Applications are being accepted for July 10, 2012

Funding provided through the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Agreement

Omnibus meeting setNDP Opposition house leader

Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cul-len is partnering with local cit-izens and utilizing his social media presence to bolster oppo-sition to Bill C-38, the omnibus budget bill.

Citizens Environmental Advocacy Group is hosting a community hall about the bill on Friday. It is part of a nation-wide campaign initiated by Cullen. The meeting comes on the heels of two protests at the offices of local MPs Dick Harris and Bob Zimmer, organized by Leadnow, which is asking Con-

servative MPs to break ranks and vote against Bill C-38.

We are a non-partisan group, said Bruce Edson of the Citizens Environmental Advo-cacy Group. But have no prob-lem with supporting initiatives that promote the integrity of our democracy and our envi-ronment. This is a great oppor-tunity for citizens to be heard and help out the official Oppo-sition in its efforts against the elements of this bill that make it such an abuse of parliamentary process.

Cullen organized the cam-paign called Our Canada, Our Budget through his social media outlets. Video and photographic

messages produced at the meet-ing will be posted to his Face-book account, in an effort to oppose the bill. Even though the Conservatives appear to be largely ignoring the outcry over the bill, Edson is optimistic.

We need to keep up pres-sure, he said. This massive bill is being forced through the House and Senate with so little scrutiny. We need Conserva-tives to do the right thing and break ranks. We need people to stand up and voice their con-cerns right now to turn this around.

The meeting will be held at Artspace on Friday, June 15, at 7 p.m.

DELYNDA [email protected]

Accidental shot nets flat tireAn accidental dis-

charge of a firearm Thursday resulted in a flat tire and three guns being confiscated.

The Prince George RCMP received a report at about 10 a.m. that a vehicles tire had been shot with a firearm by a group of hunters staying in the area of the 10000 block of Hart Highway.

Officers attended the area and spoke with a group of four men about the incident. Through the investi-

gation it was learned that one of the man, a 54-year-old Richmond resident, had a loaded rifle inside a parked vehicle. It appears that the firearm was acci-dently discharged and the bullet went through the door of the vehicle and directly into the tire of a second vehicle parked beside it.

As a result of the inci-dent, charges of care-less use of a firearm and unsafe storage of a firearm are being rec-ommended against the

man.Three firearms were

seized by police.The BC Conserva-

tion Office Service was called to the scene and assisted with the inves-tigation.

On June 5, at approxi-

mately 7:30 a.m., the Prince George RCMP received a report of a theft of copper wire at a business in the area of the 6000 block of Otway Road in Prince George. It appears that the cop-per wire was taken

sometime between 7 p.m. on June 4 and 7 a.m. on June 5.

It is believed that the thieves used an all-ter-rain vehicle or vehicles to access the business and steal the copper wire. The person or per-sons responsible for this theft may have tried to remove wires that were in use. This is dangerous and requires training.

The police believe that the person or per-sons responsible for the theft may potentially be living in the area.

Lace up for someone

you love

Regional SECURITY

Thank You,Prince George!

Thank you to the business community, sponsors, volunteers and walkersfor helping make this years Scotiabank MS Walk so fun and successful.Shirley Bond - MLA Prince George/Valemount and Minister of Public Safety & Solicitor General

Scotia Bank - Heather Larsen, Trevor Lutes and Employees

Panago Pizza, Westwood Drive, Billy JanjuaDave Rubadeau, The Sound FactoryEntertainment by Deuces WildCanadian Cylinder & Gases Inc.Canadian TireIts Party Time Rentals Ltd.Shane Loughran and the Fun ChaserDebbie Malm, Tina Cyr - Photographers

Magnetsigns Prince GeorgeAl Work - The Roll-A-DomeElder Citizens Recreation Assn.City of Prince George - Scott Hunyadi and staffGlen (Moose) Scott and familyMS Society Prince George Chapter Board of Directors

Carl Haughland, Ron Edgar, Laura Sandberg,Mike and Louise Bundock, Joann Smiley

BC Hydro Community Outreach TeamPiper - Quinn Green, PG Pipe BandLouis Kutin

Special thanks to all our wonderful Volunteers!

PLEDGES CAN STILL BE ACCEPTED UNTIL JUNE 22, 2012Watch for the 2013 Scotiabank MS Walk coming June 9, 2013

We raised $25,000 and counting

A8 Wednesday, June 13, 2012 www.pgfreepress.com

Citys image takes a hitQ OPINION

WritersBlock

BILLPHILLIPS

The Prince George Free Press, founded in 1994,is published every Wednesday and Friday inPrince George by Prince George PublicationLimited Partnership. Contents copyright of

Prince George Publication Limited Partnership.


Opinion

BillPhillips

Regional Editor

AwardWinner

Circulation Manager .......................Heather TrenamanEmail: [email protected] .............250-564-0504

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Proudly serving more than 62,000 readers* through bi-weekly delivery to over 28,000 homes, businesses and apartments** in B.C.s Northern Capital.

This Prince George Free Press is a member of the British Columbia Press Council, a self-regulatory body governing the provinces newspaper industry. The council considers complaints from the public about the conduct of member newspapers. Directors oversee the mediation of complaints, with input from both the newspaper and the complaint holder. If talking with the editor or publisher does not resolve your complaint about coverage or story treatment, you may contact the B.C. Press Council. Your written concern, with documentation, should be sent within 45 days to B.C. Press Council, 201 Selby St., Nanaimo, B.C. V9R 2R2. For information, phone 888-687-2213 or go to www.bcpresscouncil.org* Based on Stats Canada average of 2.2 person per household. ** CCAB Audit March 2009.

RoySpooner

Sales Manager

Arent these the people who are supposed to be combating Prince Georges negative image?

One would think that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities is a great place for our local councillors to do that.

Instead, Coun. Cameron Stolz votes against fellow Coun. Garth Frizzells bid to become third vice-president of the group.

Talk about raising eyebrows on the national stage as the rubes from the Interior forget to leave local squabbles behind. Granted, Stolz says he feels Vancouver city councillor Raymound Louie is better suited to sit across the table from Prime Minister Stephen Harper when arguing for munici-palities at the federal level.

However, the snub of Frizzell by his council-mate goes much deeper than that or at least the last few months indicate such.

For some reason Frizzell has fallen out of favour with the power base at city hall.

I suspect it has something to do with some of the rapid changes instituted by Mayor Shari Green and staunchly supported by Stolz since this administra-tion was elected last fall.

It was Frizzell who threw up a cautionary hand over the costs of the core review and was steam-rolled for it. A motion by Frizzell to make the citys financial reporting more transparent was also quashed.

His stance has landed him in the doghouse with some of his fellow councillors. It happens. And they

can hash it out around the council table, or behind the scenes.

But to vote against Frizzell at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities just seems like petty penalization.

Yes, Stolz is certainly within his right to vote for anyone he desires. But the reality is that it just makes the city look bad. Its embarrassing.

Given that he didnt vote for Frizzell, its a given that he also didnt lobby for him at the convention, which is what happens prior to the actual vote. Did he actively lobby for Louie, or against Frizzell? If so, that makes the city look even more ridiculous.

It also brings into question whether Green and Coun. Frank Everitt, who also attended, lobbied for Frizzell.

Stolz, along with the rest of council, voted to support Frizzells run for the FCM board. On his Facebook page, Stolz posted that Frizzell didnt seek an additional motion asking support for his run for third vice-president.

Oh, already mentioned petty.If Stolz wanted to make a point, or to simply dis

Frizzell, he should have voted against sending him to FCM at the council table. After all, it was known then that Frizzell was going to seek the third-vice president position.

The kicker in all this is that Frizzell is the kind of city councillor who wont let this hamper how he acts, or votes, at the council table.

Politics is all about debate (or at least it used to be when politicians actually debated issues).Debate, as we all know, is about arguing a position, whether we believe it or not. So when you reach the pinnacle of politics, you should be able to debate an issue. And we have a couple of the best in Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Premier Christy Clark.

There is plenty of debate this week over the Conserva-tive governments omnibus budget bill. The government has lumped a multitude of items together into one bill in order to get them rapidly passed through the House of Commons.

Debate on the actual items is severely limited.Harper and his gang arent the first to do this. In fact many

governments have used this loophole in our due process to push items through.

The Liberals did it when Harper was leader of the Official Opposition. He debated then that lumping items together into an omnibus bill does not serve democracy. Now, he argues, its necessary to pass the budget so the government can get a handle on the deficit.

Then theres Premier Christy Clark. Earlier this week the provincial media pressed her to take a stand on the Northern Gateway pipeline project. She restated her position that Victoria will wait the environmental review process run its course before taking a stand. While making the comments she also praised the environmental review process as being thorough and rigorous. Who would want to pre-judge the process?

This is the same environmental review process that she panned vociferously a few months ago when it rejected the Prosperity Mine project west of Williams Lake.

Yes, it is good to be able to debate both sides of an argument. But when youre not in the debating club, it just comes across as being two-faced.

Two sidesof the debate

We knew they could do it. Its never an easy task to go back into a budget and see what can be changed.However, city staff and council did just that. The result was an additional $2 million added to road rehabili-tation work this year. Thats almost a 50 per cent increase in the budget, which had been set at $3.5 million.

Its a matter of priorities and fixing the citys roads has to be, and is, a priority of council.

It wasnt easy but they did it, at the expense of what has to be a favoured project of Mayor Shari Green fixing up Fourth Avenue.

If there is one thing, at least this year, that the community has stated loud and clear, its that fixing the roads is a priority. Council has obviously heard the message and acted on it.

Good job.The caveat, of course, is that at $5.5 million the road reha-

bilitation budget is still less than the $7 million city staff say is needed to keep up. And, the $2 million extra this year is a one-time solution. The city will be in the same boat next year ... struggling to find ways to increase the road rehabilitation bud-get. Its a problem that wont be solved all at once, but the $2 million allocated Monday is a step in the right direction.

Two millionfewer potholes


Editor:When I hear certain pro-

vincial and federal politi-cians speak about the need for economic growth (I frequently hear this), I question whether this para-digm is not only an increas-ingly outdated way of thinking but also danger-ous as a constant barrage of environmental crises and concerns (e.g. water short-ages and contamination, pollution, climate change)

hits the planet.Economic growth, it

seems to me, has come to be viewed as a kind of religion providing justifi-cation and rationale for: weakening environmental protections (e.g. removal of protection for fish habitat in federal Conservative Bill C-38 budget bill); promot-ing increasing unfettered industrial activity across the landscape without sig-nificant overview of cumu-

lative impacts (mining, oil and gas); externalizing environmental damage costs from profit-taking big businesses; and export-ing of raw resources while diminishing value-adding jobs in Canada.

There is a growing realization that we need to rethink the concept of economic growth that contains an assumption of available infinite resources (see, for instance, Richard

Heinberg, Jeff Rubin). As we are discovering,

our world is indeed finite and in major need of safe-guarding if only for the sake of our descendants. Is it possible to rethink the economy to put the water-sheds, health of the land, people, plants and animals at the forefront of any and all policy decisions?

The prevalent economic growth before all else approach to government decision-making and prior-ity setting has led to such ideas as establishment of anti-terrorism squads designed to protect oil

and gas operations in the tar sands and numerous examples of far-reaching potential health risks to persons and other sentient beings existing in and around major industrial enterprises.

A question we need to collectively ask ourselves is: what do we as a society hold as sacred? Is it all about the almighty dol-lar and a growing-forever economy wherein we are relegated to being hyper-consumers? Or rather, is sacred somehow about stopping to appreciate all that we are so fortunate

to already have around us - the water, the land, the natural food sources from the region and the incred-ible remaining wilderness.

My hope is that the politicians to whom we have given such power to make decisions for us will consider the possibil-ity that we can create a world wherein economy is secondary to those fac-tors that promote peoples happiness and health, in particular a healthy natural environment and protected watersheds.

Mary MacDonaldPrince George

Free Press reserves the right to reject unsigned letters. Letters are edited for brevity, legality and taste. Contact Editor Bill Phillips, 250-564-0005

The Prince George Free Presswelcomes letters from our readers.

Send submissions to 1773 South LyonStreet, Prince George, B.C. V2N 1T3.

e-mail - [email protected]


Viewpoints

Coffee with a reporterStories come to reporters in a variety of ways. News

releases, press conferences and phone calls are some. Sometimes you might think whatever story you have in mind isnt worth a phone call or visit to the news-papers office, but is it worth a cup of coffee?

Reporter DeLynda Pilon would like the chance to hear what you have to say so every Friday at 11 a.m. she will be having a coffee break at Zoes Java House at 1251 Fourth Ave., and is hoping you will drop by to chat. Or just stop in and introduce yourself.

11:00 am Fridays at Zoes Java House at 1251 - 4th AvenueDELYNDAPILON

How will fans of the NHL fill this horrible void in their lives between now and the Entry Draft, which doesnt happen for another nine days?

I have heard hockey fans complain about how long the baseball season is, but at least baseball holds its draft during the season, instead of prolonging things by holding it a whole week after the playoffs finish.

Shall we amble on over to the soccer pitch, where hockey fans might some-thing to entertain themselves during this long dry spell?

The Euro 2012 competition got off

to what the British would call a crack-ing start on Friday. The 16-team soccer tournament featured co-hosts Poland

(along with Ukraine) against Greece in the opening game. Poland took a 1-0 lead and then Greece had a player given a red card, all before halftime.

Should be pretty easy sailing for Poland, right? A goal up

and playing with an extra man.Wrong. Greek substitute Dimitris

Salpingidis comes on at halftime and scores about six minutes into the sec-ond half to tie things up. With about 20 minutes to go, he corrals a long pass forward and beats the Polish goal-keeper, who trips him, and is sent off.

So now Poland has to bring in a sub-stitute keeper with no warmup to face a penalty kick in a 1-1 tie.

Advantage Greece, right?Wrong. Substitute goalie Przemys-

law Tyton (and my spellchecker just quit and went home) makes himself an instant hero by saving the penalty.

As a side note, when the starting lineups for the teams were posted, I had to resist the temptation to take what looked like extra vowels in the Greek names and put them in the Pol-ish names, which seemed to have an incredible shortage of them.

Oh, by the way, the game ended 1-1, but it sure set a high level of excitement for the other games in the tournament.

Most of the comments Ive seen say the Euro competition, which is held every four years on the opposite sched-ule from the World Cup, is much better soccer than the World Cup.

The main reason, commentators say, is there are just 16 teams in the com-petition (although that number will be going up for 2016), which means there are really no weak sides.

When you consider those 16 teams have to go through about two years of qualifying play to get here, you can appreciate how good they have to be.

And just think, a lot of these same players will be on display in a few short months when the Olympics come to London.

European Championship gets off to flying start

AllansAmblings

ALLANWISHART

Economic growth isnt always the best idea

Editor:Regarding this Water Fluoridation

Business:I do not see much hope for P.G. citi-

zens, on any issue, with civic leadership whose worldview is so crippled that they have not known that for decades now, there have been millions of people in countries where the natural fluoride in their only water supply is such that, to protect these people, the authori-ties have had to build water treatment plants that remove fluoride to prevent the disease and the crippling that they know will result from this pollution. And, apparently, if this civic leadership of ours does find this out, they are like deer caught in headlights and are unable to think beyond the demands made

by so-called health authorities whose motives are obviously not public health.

Nature has blessed P.G. with water that has a miniscule amount of natu-ral fluoride and this civic leadership is allowing it to be brought up to over one-hundred times that amount. And not with a natural occurring fluoride, I might add; that would be much too expensive. You do not want to know what they are using. simply import your water or get the filters that will get it out. The military Berkey or Doulton are probably the least expensive, gravity driven and even if not cheap; you will feel better almost immediately and for a lot longer.

James Van DorenPrince George

Get rid of the fluorideLAST DAY

The Prince George Exhibition Grounds was packed with MegaSale vehi-cles Saturday afternoon, the last day of the annual sale. Alistair McINNIS/Free Press



In Focus twitter.com/ pgfreepressThe world could use a cowboy or twoPrince George especially the VLA

(which everybody, except the politically correct, calls the hood) needs a few more cowboys.

Besides conquering the Durango Trail and kill-ing scurvy little critters like mice (Yep, Jack and Chris got another one. It was hiding out in the lin-ing of a recliner when they heard it skittering, flipped the chair and commenced beating on it till the critter dropped dead likely of fear), the cow-boys have taken it upon themselves to clean up the trailer-hood.

It started simply enough. Just being neighbourly and wandering around, they noticed crack pipes and spent needles peppering green spaces and lying along the side of the road. Because cowboys love children (and ladies small ladies, tall ladies, big ladies, bald ladies oh, ya, and beer warm beer, cold beer, tall cans,

short cans, and bottles if thats whats available) theyd gather the junk and dis-pose of it appropriately, but not without cussing out the dirty little crackerjacks

who dumped their parapher-nalia there and then didnt even have the consideration to think of the dozens of kids who call the trailer-hood home and who play freely, as children do, on the street and in yards.

That was strike one against the cracker-jacks.

Simultaneously the boys got grumpy about the speeders who rip through the trailer-hood, tires throwing up gravel, gunning their engines like it was race day (and they werent all buckled safe in some piece of do-do rust bucket).

Jack: (Sneering) Slow down! Chris: (Hands on hips, eyes grimly

laser-beaming the disappearing vehicle) Yep. Going for crack.

Uh oh. And that was a big strike two

against the crackerjacks.I dont think they actually planned it

but now both of them have a tendency to yell out the appropriate speed limit to passing vehicles. And you know what? Now most of these guys are slowing down. Of course if a pair of cowboys who top six feet easy, all lanky and muscular, were yelling at me to slow down, I likely would too.

Most recently, the boys got to talking with the lady who manages the trailer-hood and found out how hard shes trying to get rid of a few occupants who locals know are providers of crack and pretty much any other vice an addict craves. Jack and Chris didnt need to call a referendum or strike a committee or even hire a con-sultant to help them figure out what to do.

Instead it was strike three, crackerjack, and yerrr outta the park. (In other words, time to put the trailer-hood in your rear view mirror, buddy.)

See, with the power of cowboy logic,

which is kind of like common sense on steroids, these guys know in their gut the difference between good people who might be having a bit of a hard time, and drug addicts, miscreants and bad actors.

So far, one trailer rife with those sorts of characters has been dealt with. The boys figure in a few months the trailer-hood will be among the safest neighbourhoods in town. With them walking around, being neighbourly, helping people with everything from re-doing siding to laying floors, its a wonder either have time for the job theyve chosen to take on.

But theyre making time. So when youre in a certain trailerhood

in the VLA, crackerjacks, you best drive slow. In fact, maybe you best just turn yourself right around and find another place to score the poison that makes you not only numb, but dumb.

Cause the trailerhoods got a couple of new sheriffs in town. And they got their eyes right on you.

Life inthe fatlane

DELYNDAPILON

Don Gowan, who has served as CEO of the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation for the past two years, has resigned effective June 29.

Gowan will be joining Finning Canada in the role of regional general manager. Gowan said that while he was not out look-ing for this role, it is an incredible career opportunity.

He says he feels the work the foundation does to enhance and improve healthcare in northern B.C. is very important and he would like to continue to work with the foundation, hopefully serving as a director on the vol-unteer board.

It has been an honour to work for the Spirit of the North and see firsthand the tremendous

outcomes that donor donations allow the foundation to assist with, he said in a press release. The decision to leave was a very tough one but the opportunity to return to the private sector with a company like Finning Canada was something that I could not say no to. I wish the foundation nothing but the best of success in the future.

During Gowans tenure, the foundation raised over $5.6 mil-lion in revenue and distributed more than $2.7 million in grants.

The board is forming a search committee and will conduct a search to find Gowans replace-ment. The volunteer executive will be assisting in managing the foundation until a new CEO is found.

Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation exists to facilitate philanthropic investment in the enhancement of healthcare throughout the referral area of the University Hospital of North-ern BC, previously known as the Prince George Regional Hospi-tal. The foundation is one of the regions largest grant distribu-tors.

Gowan resigns as CEO of Spirit of the NorthQ JOINING FINNING

POTHOLE PATROL

City crews were out patching pot-holes Monday, a seemingly never ending task in Prince George. Even though crews patch up to 600 potholes a day, every street seems to need more attention.DeLynda PILON/Free Press



In Focus twitter.com/ pgfreepressThe world could use a cowboy or twoPrince George especially the VLA

(which everybody, except the politically correct, calls the hood) needs a few more cowboys.

Besides conquering the Durango Trail and kill-ing scurvy little critters like mice (Yep, Jack and Chris got another one. It was hiding out in the lin-ing of a recliner when they heard it skittering, flipped the chair and commenced beating on it till the critter dropped dead likely of fear), the cow-boys have taken it upon themselves to clean up the trailer-hood.

It started simply enough. Just being neighbourly and wandering around, they noticed crack pipes and spent needles peppering green spaces and lying along the side of the road. Because cowboys love children (and ladies small ladies, tall ladies, big ladies, bald ladies oh, ya, and beer warm beer, cold beer, tall cans,

short cans, and bottles if thats whats available) theyd gather the junk and dis-pose of it appropriately, but not without cussing out the dirty little crackerjacks

who dumped their parapher-nalia there and then didnt even have the consideration to think of the dozens of kids who call the trailer-hood home and who play freely, as children do, on the street and in yards.

That was strike one against the cracker-jacks.

Simultaneously the boys got grumpy about the speeders who rip through the trailer-hood, tires throwing up gravel, gunning their engines like it was race day (and they werent all buckled safe in some piece of do-do rust bucket).

Jack: (Sneering) Slow down! Chris: (Hands on hips, eyes grimly

laser-beaming the disappearing vehicle) Yep. Going for crack.

Uh oh. And that was a big strike two

against the crackerjacks.I dont think they actually planned it

but now both of them have a tendency to yell out the appropriate speed limit to passing vehicles. And you know what? Now most of these guys are slowing down. Of course if a pair of cowboys who top six feet easy, all lanky and muscular, were yelling at me to slow down, I likely would too.

Most recently, the boys got to talking with the lady who manages the trailer-hood and found out how hard shes trying to get rid of a few occupants who locals know are providers of crack and pretty much any other vice an addict craves. Jack and Chris didnt need to call a referendum or strike a committee or even hire a con-sultant to help them figure out what to do.

Instead it was strike three, crackerjack, and yerrr outta the park. (In other words, time to put the trailer-hood in your rear view mirror, buddy.)

See, with the power of cowboy logic,

which is kind of like common sense on steroids, these guys know in their gut the difference between good people who might be having a bit of a hard time, and drug addicts, miscreants and bad actors.

So far, one trailer rife with those sorts of characters has been dealt with. The boys figure in a few months the trailer-hood will be among the safest neighbourhoods in town. With them walking around, being neighbourly, helping people with everything from re-doing siding to laying floors, its a wonder either have time for the job theyve chosen to take on.

But theyre making time. So when youre in a certain trailerhood

in the VLA, crackerjacks, you best drive slow. In fact, maybe you best just turn yourself right around and find another place to score the poison that makes you not only numb, but dumb.

Cause the trailerhoods got a couple of new sheriffs in town. And they got their eyes right on you.

Life inthe fatlane

DELYNDAPILON

Don Gowan, who has served as CEO of the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation for the past two years, has resigned effective June 29.

Gowan will be joining Finning Canada in the role of regional general manager. Gowan said that while he was not out look-ing for this role, it is an incredible career opportunity.

He says he feels the work the foundation does to enhance and improve healthcare in northern B.C. is very important and he would like to continue to work with the foundation, hopefully serving as a director on the vol-unteer board.

It has been an honour to work for the Spirit of the North and see firsthand the tremendous

outcomes that donor donations allow the foundation to assist with, he said in a press release. The decision to leave was a very tough one but the opportunity to return to the private sector with a company like Finning Canada was something that I could not say no to. I wish the foundation nothing but the best of success in the future.

During Gowans tenure, the foundation raised over $5.6 mil-lion in revenue and distributed more than $2.7 million in grants.

The board is forming a search committee and will conduct a search to find Gowans replace-ment. The volunteer executive will be assisting in managing the foundation until a new CEO is found.

Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation exists to facilitate philanthropic investment in the enhancement of healthcare throughout the referral area of the University Hospital of North-ern BC, previously known as the Prince George Regional Hospi-tal. The foundation is one of the regions largest grant distribu-tors.

Gowan resigns as CEO of Spirit of the NorthQ JOINING FINNING

POTHOLE PATROL

City crews were out patching pot-holes Monday, a seemingly never ending task in Prince George. Even though crews patch up to 600 potholes a day, every street seems to need more attention.DeLynda PILON/Free Press


COLUMN: And at last, the Kings reign supreme A16


Young and old alike got together for a run to cel-ebrate Dick Voneugen

A12ALISTAIR MCINNIS 250-564-0005 [email protected]

Sports

The clock is ticking, and the UNBC bas-ketball teams continue approaching their next level of competition.

Guiding the Northern Timberwolves through their most significant transition since the programs were formed more than a decade ago, coaches Todd Jordan and Loralyn Murdoch are actively evalu-ating talent and shaping their rosters for their first Canada West campaigns.

On the mens side, Jordan will be boosted by a strong core of fifth-year returning guards, as Jose Araujo, Francis Rowe, Sam Raphael and Joel Rybachuk

all enter their final year of eligibility. Two players eligible to compete in their fourth seasons, guard/forward Charles Barton and post Gabe Aubertin, may also be counted on to play major roles.

On the recruiting end, Jordan has secured the services of three newcomers for the 2012-13 campaign: forward Gagan Sahota of Surrey, Victoria guard Elliot Rowe and Prince George guard Nolan Hanson. A 2011 graduate of Tamanawis Secondary, Sahota trained at Las Vegas-based Impact Prep Academy last year. Hanson, from College Heights, and Elliot Rowe, from Mount Douglas, are Grade 12 graduates finishing high school this month.

Elliot is the younger brother of return-ing guard Francis.

The mens squad will also welcome back Josh Jebose, a Calgary product who stands 6-foot-7 and suited up in the 2010-11 cam-paign but took last season off.

Jordan notes that theyre already strong in numbers, as he expects nine players from last seasons active roster to be back in uniform.

Im still trying to add a little bit of size to our roster, he says.

At the moment, the womens list of players is a little shorter.

Our roster sits at 10 right now and Im still actively recruiting, Murdoch says.

Murdoch has secured commitments

from four newcomers this offseason: 5-foot-11 post Kellie Fluit of Lynden, Wash., 5-foot-5 guard Jordyn Rabbit of Salmon Arm, 5-foot-10 Houston forward Allison Seinen and 5-foot-10 Maple Ridge guard Lauren Lamont.

Among the womens most experienced players next season may be fifth-year guard Kady Dandeneau and a trio of fourth-year players: guard Mercedes Van Koughnett, guard Jennifer Bruce and for-ward Emily Kaehn.

As part of their pre-season, both teams will compete in a Canadian Interuniversity Sport exhibition tournament in Ontario at the University of Waterloo from Oct. 11 to 13.

ALISTAIR [email protected]

T-wolves coaches add recruits to basketball mix

UNBC starts CWUAA hoops season on roadThe UNBC Northern

Timberwolves inaugural Canada West basketball campaign will begin with six consecutive games against Pacific Division rivals.

For the men and women, their 22-game schedule opens with a road double-header against the geo-graphically closest oppos-ing team, Nov. 2 and 3 in Kamloops against the Thompson Rivers Univer-sity WolfPack. They begin their 2012-13 Canada West Universities Athletic Asso-ciation (CWUAA) home schedule the following weekend, Nov. 9 and 10 against the Trinity Western Spartans of Langley.

At home two weekends in a row, the Timberwolves host the UBC-Okanagan Heat of Kelowna on Nov. 16 and 17.

I think especially early on theres obviously going to be a little bit of a rivalry between some of the newer institutions in Canada West, UNBC mens bas-ketball head coach Todd Jordan says.

The WolfPack and Heat are two of those other teams which, compared to long-standing CWUAA members like UBC in Van-couver and the University of Alberta in Edmonton, have had short tenures in the Canadian Interuniver-sity Sport (CIS) branch. TRU joined in 2005 while the 2011-12 campaign

marked UBC-Okanagans first Canada West season. The Fraser Valley Cascades entered the fold in 2006 while the 2012-13 season will also be the first in the CWUAA for the Mount Royal Cougars of Calgary.

The Timberwolves visit Alberta for their first week-end against non-divisional foes, playing at Lethbridge against the Pronghorns on Nov. 23 and in Calgary against the Dinos on Nov. 24. They wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule at home against two other squads from the Prairie Division, Nov. 29 against the Alberta Golden Bears of Edmonton and Dec. 1 against the Saskatchewan Huskies of Saskatoon.

The final date of the regular season is Feb. 16. The Timberwolves wrap up their schedule at home against the other expansion team, Mount Royal, which visits the Northern Sport Centre for a doubleheader on Feb. 15 and 16.

Although theyre based in the same city as the Dinos, Mount Royal joins the Pacific to balance the schedules with two eight-team divisions. The other Pacific squads are the Vic-toria Vikes, the UBC Thun-derbirds and the Fraser Valley Cascades of Abbots-ford.

The Prairie Division is rounded out by one other Saskatchewan squad, the Regina Cougars, and three teams from Manitoba: the Winnipeg Wesmen, Mani-toba Bisons (Winnipeg)

and Brandon Bobcats. All 16 teams in the CWUAA will meet divisional rivals twice and non-divisional squads once.

The Timberwolves home schedule includes visits from Winnipeg (Jan. 17) and Manitoba (Jan. 19), and a doubleheader against the Thunderbirds on Feb. 8 and 9. Theyll also play at Regina (Jan. 11), Brandon (Jan. 12), Fraser Valley (Jan. 25 and 26) and Victoria (Feb. 1 and 2).

Obviously itll be fun for the people of Prince George to have those teams and those bigger schools come up to our place for home games, Jordan says.

Four additional week-ends are scheduled for playoffs: Feb. 22 to 24 - Canada West mens and womens quarterfinals; March 1 and 2 - Canada West mens and womens final four; March 8 to 10 - CIS mens basketball Final 8 in Ottawa and Round 1

of CIS womens basketball championship; and March 15 to 17 - CIS womens bas-ketball Final 8 in Regina.

UNBC basketball home start times will be the same as previous seasons, with the women starting at 6 p.m. and the men follow-ing at 8 p.m. at the NSC. All but two home dates will be on Friday or Sat-urday nights. The Nov. 29 and Jan. 17 games fall on Thursday evenings.

At the college level, the

Timberwolves played reg-ular-season games on Fri-day and Saturday nights, so the Thursday games will be a new experience.

Thatll be a little bit dif-ferent with the day off in between, UNBC wom-ens basketball head coach Loralyn Murdoch says. But its great so you can prepare for that other team and possibly even watch their game tape from the night before when they play Mount Royal.

ALISTAIR [email protected] OVER EASY

Jacqueline Richards rides Dessie Doo over a hurdle during a show-jumping competition on Saturday at the Agriplex. Alistair McINNIS/Free Press

A12 Wednesday, June 13, 2012 www.pgfreepress.comPrince George - Sports - Free Press

Dick Voneugen doesnt turn 80 until

July 24.But on Sunday, he got

an early birthday pres-ent. Under sunshine and warm weather,

more than 50 runners completed the Voneu-gen Birthday Fun Run.

In honour of Voneu-gens milestone year, an 80-kilometre route was mapped out. Six differ-ent starting points and times were set for par-ticipants to complete 80 km, 50 km, 42.2 km, 25 km, 19 km and 7.5 km distances. The start-ing points were set to allow all participants to complete the course in front of the Otway Nordic Centre parking lot together at nearly the same time.

A pair of Prince George ultra mara-thoners, Jeff Hunter and Reid Roberts, com-pleted the entire 80 km course. They started at 7 a.m. at Otway and finished just after 4 p.m., the major loop course taking them back to where they started close to nine hours earlier.

Hunter, who special-izes in multi-terrain mountain runs, took

a leading role in orga-nizing the Voneugen Birthday Fun Run. Voneugen followed the course on Sunday in a mobile aid station.

Im touched by it. It was such a gener-ous offer, for some-body to give up their whole day mind you, its a training run for him, Voneugen said of Hunters efforts. But to put that back to when we did have my birthday run is awe-

some, and you see so many people join in.

Sunday marked the rebirth of an event that was held annually by Voneugen until 2004. He began running the kilometres of his age on his birthday with friends in his late 40s. He began alternating between Mount Rob-son and the Cranbrook Hill Greenway, a trail system he played a leading role in devel-oping.

But Voneugen, who was inducted into the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 as a builder and admin-istrator, began having a harder time keeping up to his years. After running 60 km in 1992, he began decreasing the run by a kilome-tre each year until he turned 72.

After participants completed the course, they gathered to cel-ebrate the completion of the event. Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond pre-sented Voneugen with a certificate from Pre-mier Christy Clark.

Organizers are hope-ful the event will be back in 2013 in hon-our of Voneugens 81st birthday. Hunter and Roberts both plan on returning.

I also think once people sort of see what this was all about, youre going to get more people and more people doing the lon-ger distances as well, Roberts said.

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A16 Wednesday, June 13, 2012 www.pgfreepress.comPrince George - Sports - Free Press

Another NHL offseason is underway, as the Los Angeles Kings 6-1 triumph over the New Jersey Devils on Monday evening put an end to the 2011-12 campaign.

OK, theres the NHL Entry Draft on June 22 and 23 in Pitts-burgh. Then comes free agency starting July 1.

But, barring another lockout (note: the owners and NHL Players Association need to work out another new collective bargaining agreement before the current CBA expires on Sept. 15), no meaningful NHL games will be held until the 2012-13 season begins in October.

That noted, here are Cup notes as we take a closer look at the Kings championship.

Home ice The Kings had a higher winning percentage on the road than on home ice these playoffs, yet ultimately completed their suc-cessful run to the Cup at the Staples Centre. Mondays victory improved their playoff home

record to 6-3. They finished 10-1 on the road for a 16-4 postseason record.

Apathy Any hockey fan with some knowl-edge of the NHL and familiarity of its history

could look at this years final with little excitement.

The Kings and Devils werent tradi-tional rivals and had a limited head-to-head history. It showed on the ice. There was some trash talking, hitting, and show of hatred between players. But that paled in comparison to last

years final between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins, a battle between a Canadian squad and Original 6 franchise. Do you remem-ber the tire-pumping comments between the goalies, the biting incident by Canucks forward Alex Burrows, Canuck Aaron Romes hit on Bruins Nathan Horton, the overtime games in Vancouver and blowouts in Boston? And it had a Game 7 to boot.

Not helping matters this year was the Kings quick 3-0 lead in the series. The Devils come-back attempt may have helped since, after rat-ings drops through the series, NBC reported an uptick for Game 6.

Droughts ending Each of the last three Stanley Cup playoffs have seen teams end lengthy Cup droughts. First off, Mondays tri-umph marked the Kings first NHL title in their 45-year history. They came into the league in 1967, and the closest they came prior to this spring was in 1993 when, led by Wayne Gretzky, they fell short against the Montreal Canadiens.

Last years title by the Bruins was their first since 1972. Prior to their successful Cup run in 2010, the Chicago Blackhawks were owners of the leagues longest drought, as their previous title came in 1961. Now that title belongs to the Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues, at 45 years and counting.

Through Vancouver Each of the past three playoffs saw the Cup winners eliminate the Canucks en route to the title. In 2010, the Black-hawks eliminated the Canucks in six games in Round 2. A year ago, the Bruins took seven to down them in the final. Then in Round 1 of this year, the eighth-seeded Kings upset the Presi-dents Trophy winners in five games.

So lets have some fun with this, and just imagine for a minute, a 2013 Cup playoffs which sees the Canucks get swept in four games by the eventual Cup winners in the Western Confer-ence final. Another team with a lengthy drought perhaps? How about the Blues?

Sorry, but Im only going by the numbers.

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