INDEX Annie’s Mailbox.............37 Bridge......................21 Business ................40-43 City, B.C.............3,5,7,13 Classified ..............18-23 Comics ....................30 Coming Events...............36 Crossword ..................30 Entertainment............25-28 Horoscope ..................21 Lifestyles...............36,37 Movies......................26 Nation ...................6,15 Sports ...................8-11 Television..................27 World ......................14 Kelly Road teachers threatened by PAUL STRICKLAND Citizen staff A few teachers at Kelly Road secondary school have received written threats of bodily harm from students, the principal said Thursday. “According to district policy, when there is a threat of a serious nature to a student or staff member, the police are involved and the Student Conduct Review Committee is also involved,” Sharon Cairns said. Cairns said she could not confirm how many written threats had been received by teachers and how many students were involved. Asked if the students had been suspended pending an investigation, she said she was not at liberty to com- ment. Kerry Firth, School District 57 assistant superintendent, also said he could not comment specifically on the reported incidents at Kelly Road, but only about general policy regarding threats. If a threat is deemed to be serious, “we would proceed in a certain manner, and part of that would be some contact with the RCMP, and part of that would be a referral to the Student Conduct Review Committee,” Firth said. “Both of those groups would be involved.” Carolyn Rowland, president of the Prince George District Teachers’ Association, said that, to her knowledge, there had been three separate inci- dents of teachers being threatened by students. “The students have been dealt with according to the processes put in place by the administration of the school and the district,” she said. “Threats against teachers have occurred in the past. It’s unusual, though, to have so many at one school over such a short period of time,” Rowland said. “It is, as you can imagine, very traumatic for the teachers involved, and unsettling, to say the least, for the whole staff. “Due to the world we live in, each threat needs to be fully investigated,” she said. “No one can afford to assume a threat won’t be carried out. It’s unfortunate that threats happen at r.ll — it’s devastating if they are ever followed through,” Rowland said. “It’s important that, if a threat is made, the employer responds swiftly, calls the RCMP if warranted and undertakes a thorough investigation,” she added. Disciplinary action can vary depending on the offence — from calls home to parents to extended suspensions, she said. “Offences of a serious nature can (and I believe should) be referred to the district’s Student Conduct Review Committee which reviews the incident and determines the discipline to be taken,” Rowland said. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2002 $1.00 (HOME DELIVERED: 54 CENTSA DAY,) GEORGE, 564-2020 www.bringyourmoneytolife.com High today:-1 Low tonight:-10 I Details page 2 PRINCE GEORGE Citizen Serving the Central Interior since 1916 Special prosecutor reviews allegations by KAREN KWAN Citizen Staff A special prosecutor is reviewing a series of criminal allegations against a provincial court judge involving incidents in Prince George. RCMP are investigating the accusations and have forwarded a report to the Attorney General’s criminal justice branch, detailing the allegations, but no charges have been laid, justice branch spokesperson Brian Rendell said Thursday. Neither the attorney general’s ministry nor the RCMP released details of the allegations and the judge was not identified. No one with the province’s judicial council returned calls Thursday to clarify the judge’s current status. Const. Mike Herchuk said Prince George RCMP began its probe more than a year ago, and the investigation is not over yet. “This is a huge investigation,” he said. Accusations have been made by a number of complainants against a male, Herchuk said, but police don’t know whether there could be more alleged victims. “We just don’t know how deep that’s going to go,” he said. Although he wouldn’t disclose details of the allegations, he did say they involve offences against people rather than property crimes or fraud, and are alleged to have occurred in Prince George. “Any time you have a criminal investigation involving offences against the person and a special prosecutor is involved it would indicate the charges are serious," Herchuk said. “There is no threat to public safety. We know the identity and the whereabouts of the person alleged to be involved,” he added. Dennis Murray, a senior criminal lawyer from Victoria, has been appointed special prosecutor. Murray will offer legal advice to police if necessary during any further investigation and will determine whether to lay charges. The assistant deputy attorney general appoints special prosecutors in cases where there might be a public perception of improper influence. “This is the only case involving a judge I can think of right now, but there may be others. Appointing a special prosecutor is relatively rare. It happens a couple of times a year, perhaps,” said Rendell of the criminal justice branch. Jon Swainger, who teaches criminal history at the University of Northern B.C., said the allegations could raise a number of concerns. If the allegations involve the judge in an official capacity it could bring the administration of justice into disrepute, he said. On the other hand, any wrongdoing outside of the job could reflect on how carefully judges are screened before they’re appointed. “In both instances it’s troubling,” he said. Swainger pointed out the public tends to hold the judiciary to a higher level of accountability and any misconduct could create a mistrust of the system, he said. “Obviously the impression is problematic, but we’ve got to be carefol of measuring the entirety of the system by the (wrongdoing) of a single individual,” Swainger cautioned. Premier admits to 'mistakes’ at helm it’s not about the money... it’s about what the money can do.,, tell us your dreams and goals and we’ll help you get there, bring your money to life! Isabel Fleck Investment Funds Advisors Cariboo train makes last run by PAUL STRICKLAND Citizen staff ! Prince George felt the disappearingfailway blues Thursday, to paraphrase Arlo Guthrie’s City of New Orleans. Under high fog and dim pre-dawn light, the last Cariboo Prospector, the [B.C. Rail passenger train, left from the terminal in the BCR Industrial Site at 7 [a.m. with 72 passengers. ■ Station personnel said more passengers would be picked up at Quesnei, Williams Lake and other centres, and jthe two Budd cars would be full by the ifne the train reached Lillooet. But ore cars would be added on there for ’P p> the trip to North Vancouver, where the train was expected to arrive around 10 p.m. Thursday. Dave Johnson, a director of Rail-America Tours, was in charge of 23 U.S. tourists who were among the passengers in the front Budd car. He said they were railway enthusiasts who had specifically travelled to Prince George to take the trip on the last Cariboo Prospector. At 6:55 a.m. the metal platforms for passengers to step on the train were pulled up for the last time as conductors called out, “All aboard!” Cameras flashed both inside the train and on the platform as people sought to record the historic last departure. As the train started to move out, a woman working in the still open baggage compartment said hopefully to well-wishers on the platform, “We’U be back! We’ll be back!” Station personnel on the platform embraced and many broke into tears as the train moved out past the platform on its last run. Citizen photo by Dave Milne The last passengers disembark from the last B.C. Rail passenger train to arrive In Prince George on Wednesday night. Southam Newspapers Premier Gordon Campbell says his government should have done more, earlier in its mandate, to put B.C. on a stronger footing. “Any time you’ve been at work for 16 months, you’re bound to have made some mistakes,” Campbell said yesterday. “The critical thing is that we’re on track. We’ve created 89,500 new jobs this year.” Campbell was responding to questions on a public opinion poll that shows his personal'popularity has dropped from 37 per cent in August to 31 per cent now. Support for the B.C. Liberals dropped from 48 to 40 per cent in the McIntyre & Mustel survey of 500 people, conducted Oct. 10-23. Police investigation targets court judge CANDY CAPERS — Teagan Olson, 2, left, and cousin Bradley, 5, prepare to set out on their trick-and-treat mission under the watchful eye of their moms and a friend. Their yard on Fifth Avenue was decked out with skulls, skeletons and spooky pumpkins. 058307002005