2
THE
CITIZEN,
Prince
George
Monday,
June
27,
1977
BCRys
'great
fiasco7
lost
$74m
in
6
years
FORT
NELSON,
B.C.
(CP)
The
royal
commission
on
British
Columbia
Railway
affairs
was
unable
to
discover
at
its
hearing
here
Friday
who
the
"someone
on
high"
was
who
gave
the
order
to
build
the
250mi!e
rail
Jink
from
here
to
Fort
St.
John,
B.C.
The
hearing
was
told
the
extension
was
"one
of
the
greatest
railway
fiascos
of
our
time"
and
that
in
just
six
years
of
operation
the
line
has
run
up
$74
million
in
losses,
which
represents
$100,000
for
each
of
the
700
Fort
Nelson
jobs
dependent
on
B.C.
Rail.
The
total
loss
projected
by
1981
is
$111
million
plus
$50
million
for
planned
upgrading.
The
line
has
experienced
a
staggering
270
derailments
in
the
last
two
years
and
a
total
of
75
operation
disruptions.
The
latest,
at
Elian
Lake
last
week,
will
put
the
line
out
of
action
for
at
least
four
weeks
and
could
cost
more
than
$500,000
to
repair.
More
than
INTERIOR
TRAVELWAYS
130
lumber
mill
workers
In
Fort
Nelson
have
been
laid
off
as
mills
seek
alternative
means
of
transportation.
The
decision
to
build
was
made
July
8,
19C8.
B.C.
Rail
officials
testified
Friday
that
they
were
given
a
tight
completion
time
which
was
apparently
met
by
September,
1971,
when
the
line
was
ready
for
use.
Gordon
Ritchie,
executive
assistant
to
B.C.
Rail
vice-president
Mac
Norris,
said
he
had
no
idea
who
set
the
completion
date
in
1968.
"It
was
someone
on
high,"
said
Ritchie.
"As
a
management
group
we
were
told
to
build
the
extension
at
the
same
time
we
were
told
to
start
the
work
on
the
line
toward
Dease
Lake."
Ritchie
said
instructions
were
given
by
former
B.C.
Rail
vkepresident
J.
S.
Broadbent
but
it
was
not
known
where
those
orders
originated.
The
Crown
railway's
board
ASHCROFT
FIRE
Police
suspect
arson
ASHCROFT,
B.C.
(CP
Police
said
today
arson
is
now
suspected
by
fire
authorities
as
the
cause
of
Thursday
night's
fire
which
devastated
a
block
of
downtown
Ashcroft.
RCM
P
Sergeant
Jim
Aird
said
a
representative
from
the
provincial
fire
marshall's
office
found
indications
that
a
flammable
material
started
the
blaze,
which
began
in
a
small
empty
shed.
He
said
no
official
damage
estimate
will
be
available
until
next
week.
Eight
businesses
and
three
dwellings
were
destroyed
in
the
fire
and
police
now
say
six
personsvere
left
homeless.
Meanwhile,
Mayor
Mike
Yewchin
said
council
decided
Friday
to
help
the
merchants
affected
rebuild.
Dr.
H.
G.
Wirges
Announces
the
relocation
of
his
office
to:
No.
207
1669
Victoria
St.
EFFECTIVE
JUNE
27th
Phone
564-4356
CP
Air
CP
AIR'S
NON
ANNOUNCES
NOON
SERVICE
TO
VANCOUVER
With
convenient
connections
to:
Eastern
Canada,
California,
Europe
and
Hawaii
-
STOP
SCHEDULE
TO
VANCOUVER
FLIGHT
FREQUENCY
DEPART
ARRIVE
MEAL
SERVICE
CP4143
DAILY
9:10
a.m.
10:10
a.m.
COFFEE
&
DANISH
CP
16
EXCEPT
SAT.
12:10
p.m.
1:10
p.m.
HOT
LUNCH
&
SUN.
CP
26
DAILY
5:00
P-m
6:00
p,m'
C0LD
DINNER
CP
22
SAT.
8:50
p.m.
9:50
p.m.
REFRESHMENTS
CP
28
EXCEPT
SAT.
11:00
p.m.
11:59
p.m.
REFRESHMENTS
For
information
and
CP
AIR
reservations
contact
your
Travel
Agent
or
Orange
Is
Beautiful
1553-3rd
Ave.
(Oppoiite
the
Permanent)
563-0315
(Closed
Sat.)
CP
Seven
Secu7vel
1488
Fourth
Avenue
562-4374
(Ground
Floor
Scotia
Bank
Building)
PINE
CENTRE
MALL
562-7327
at
the
time
included
Social
Credit
cabinet
ministers
and
was
chaired
by
former
premier
W.
A,
C.
Bennett.
Expected
use
of
the
line
was
based
on
four
studies,
Ritchie
said,
which
predicted
B.C.
Rail
revenues
of
$20
million
by
1977.
In
reality,
the
projected
revenue
for
this
year
stands
at
$5
million.
Walter
Shtenko,
chief
of
the
railway's
engineering
services,
tesitified
that
problems
increased
on
the
line
with
the
laying
of
track
without
ballasting.
This
created
depressions.
"During
the
laying
of
steel,
plywood
was
placed
on
one
large
section
of
the
grade
under
the
ties
in
order
to
sustain
the
loads,"
said
Shtenko,
who
added
the
line
was
so
poor
at
one
time
that
repair
crews
followed
freight
trains
on
the
line
and
waited
for
derailments.
Shtenko
agreed
the
line
could
be
called
"one
of
the
greatest
railroading
fiascos
of
our
time"
and
estimated
it
would
cost
$375
million
today
to
build
the
line
from
scratch.
In
other
testimony
Friday,
Walter
Young,
B.C.
Rail
marketing
director,
said
rail
development
emphasis
has
switched
toward
the
south
with
the
advent
of
coal
developments
and
this
means
no
new
developments
going
ahead
north
of
Fort
Nelson.
Friday's
hearing
marked
the
end
of
a
16-day
tour
of
communitis
along
the
B.C.
Rail
route
which
begins
at
North
Vancouver
and
ends
in
this
northern
community.
The
hearings
continue
today
in
Vancouver.
(
WEATHER)
VANCOUVER
(CPl
-
High-low
temperatures
issued
Mon
day
by
the
weather
office
and
precipitation
I
In
millimetres
I
MACKENZIE
MALL
Mackenzie,
B.C.
997-6300
hours:
28
11
-
27
11
24
11
18
19
10
15
8
30
16
9
0.4
17
10
06
13
10
32
20
11
-22
11
15
5
06
15
9
90
27
12
TR
19
7
5.4
20
8
19
7
Cranbrook
Penticton
Revelstoke
Vancouver
Prince
Hupert
Stewart
Port
Hardy
Tofino
Comox
Victoria
Prince
George
Blue
River
Kamlnops
Dawson
City
Whitehorse
Fort
St.
John
leasing
LEASE
RATES
FLEET
PRICES
Get
Our
Quote
TWEEDSMUIR
LEASING
563-8117
A
ir
PARKWOOD
SHOPPING
CENTRE
563-1591
Star
power
grace
McCarthy
Weed
program
defended
PENTICTON,
B.C.
(CP)
Provincial
secretary
Grace
McCarthy
said
Sunday
that
criticism
of
the
province's
program
to
use
2,4-D
on
weeds
in
the
Okanagan
Lakes
amounts
to
harassment
of
tourists
in
the
area.
Speaking
at
the
25th
annual
convention
of
the
Florists'
Transworld
Delivery
Association,
she
said,
"go
and
tell
your
friends
that
the
Okanagan
is
beautiful,
clean,
and
that
it
welcomes
you.
"This
part
of
the
province
has
received
bad
publicity
.
.
.
from
people
who
feel
they
cannot
live
with
the
water,
but
rather
than
leave,
choose
to
ALCOHOL
PROBLEM
Indians
VANCOUVER
(CP)
-
The
Indian
co-ordinator
of
an
alcohol
and
drug
abuse
program
said
Friday
white
men
can't
solve
the
Indian
drinking
problem
because
"we
hare
to
do
the
job
ourselves."
Michael
Thrasher,
coordinator
for
the
prison
program
of
the
Nechi
Institute
on
Drug
and
Alcohol
Abuse,
was
speaking
to
a
graduating
class
of
24
Nechi
trainees
who
will
SEARS
AD
CORRECTION
In
June
22nd
edition
of
the
Citizen,
the
Sears
advertisement
for
a
16
hp
tractor,
the
tractor
insignia
should
read
16
hp
not
18
hp
as
in
picture.
We
apologize
for
any
inconvenience
to
our
customers
Simpsons-Sears
Ltd.
CAREER
OPPORTUNITY
REGIONAL
COORDINATOR
The
Canadian
Red
Cross
invites
applications
for
the
position
or
Regional
Coordinator,
Northern,
B.C.
Responsibilities
to
include
liaison
with,
and
development
of,
community
volunteers
as
well
as
the
promotion
of
varied
programs
and
services.
Applicants
should
possess
a
good
public
speaking
ability,
have
a
professional
background,
and
should
be
prepared
to
travel
when
called
upon.
Salary
is
competitive
graduate.
Please
phone
562-4767
for
interview
arrangements.
Inquiries
held
in
strict
confidence.
HV
k
Citizen
photo
by
Dave
Milne
Singer
Pat
Boone
gestures
to
an
enthusiastic
Coliseum
audience
Friday
night.
Boone
entertained
about
2,500
people
in
a
two-hour
program
of
Christian
songs
and
testimony.
harass
the
people
who
do
come
here."
She
was
referring
to
the
efforts
of
the
Okanagan
En-'
vironmental
Coalition
to
inform
Okanagan
residents
and
visitors
that
some
of
the
lakes
in
the
valley
have
been
treated
with
the
herbicide.
The
coalition,
a
group
of
citizens
who
opposed
the
use
of
2,40
in
the
fight
against
the
Eurasian
milfoil
water
weed,
have
indicated
they
will
hand
out
pamphlets
in
the
Okanagan
and
pay
for
advertisements
in
B.C.
and
Alberta
warning
people
that
the
chemical
has
been
used.
The
herbicide
was
put
into
yhave
to
return
to
their
reserves
to
do
counselling
on
alcohol
problems.
"We
were
given
alcohol,"
said
Thrasher,
"but
we
weren't
told
how
to
use
it,
It's
not
part
of
our
culture."
Nechi
has
three
recovery
centres,
Thrasher
said
and
three
alcohol
treatment
centres
in
Alberta
that
"are
always
full."
If
the
program
is
a
success,
attractive
to
university
the
northeastern
part
of
Skaha
Lake
last
week.
Beaches
on
the
lake
have
been
posted
and
fenced
off
to
prevent
the
public
from
entering
the
water.
Coalition
spokesman
Tina
Kramer
said
Sunday
that
police
have
failed
to
patrol
the
area
of
Skaha
Lake
treated
with
2,4-D
and
that
eager
swimmers
have
rolled
up
portions
of
the
snow
fence
erected
to
keep
them
out.
Ms.
Kramer
said
swimmers
invaded
the
mile-long
stretch
of
beach
only
hours
after
government
officials
treated
the
water
with
herbicide
impregnated
in
clay
pellets.
do
job'
someday
he'll
be
out
of
a
job,
he
told
the
graduates.
Seventy-three
counsellors
have
graduated
from
the
Nechi
program
since
April,
1976.
Gordon
Butler,
director
of
the
Pacific
region
medical
services
of
Health
and
Welfare
Canada,
said
all
the
government
can
do
"is
supply
the
money
so
the
Indians
can
help
themselves."
Butler
said
that
last
week
he
visited
a
reserve
where
a
Nechi
counsellor
had
just
started
a
program
and
"an
Alcoholics
Anonymous
had
already
been
formed
and
seven
people
were
attending.
"The
only
way
to
treat
Indian
alcohol
abuse
is
to
use
Indian,
"he
said.
"I
don't
think
white
people
can
do
it."
Nechi
is
an
Alberta-based
organization
funded
jointly
by
Healthand
Welfare
and
the
department
of
Indian
affairs.
1974
DODGE
4x4
V8,
auto,
ps,
pb.
n"'
Citizen
Provincial
HOTEL
VANCOUVER
Picket
violence
prompts
closure
VANCOUVER
(CP)
Signs
were
posted
on
all
doors
at
the
Hotel
Vancouver
Sunday
night
announcing
that
the
building
was
closed.
Accommodation
had
been
found
for
all
but
a
handful
of
the
guests
at
other
hotels
and
these
will
be
gone
in
a
day
or
two.
"Everything
was
very
orderly
at
the
weekend
as
the
last
of
the
conventions
ended
and
all
of
the
delegates
returned
to
their
home
town,"
a
management
spokesman
said.
A
decision
to
close
the
hotel
was
made
Friday
when
violence
flared
on
the
picket
line
and
hotel
general
manager
Denis
Buchanan
said
the
closure
was
in
the
interests
of
preventing
injury
or
possible
death.
It
was
the
first
time
the
hotel
has
closed
since
it
opened
in
1939
for
the
visit
of
George
VI
and
Queen
Elizabeth,
mother
of
the
present
queen.
The
hotel
was
built
about
10
years
earlier
but
never
opened
because
of
the
Depression.
Spokesmen
for
the
475
members
of
Canadian
Brotherhood
of
Railway,
Transport
and
General
Workers
local
275
which
has
been
on
strike
since
June
12,
say
they
don't
believe
the
hotel
will
close
perma
nently.
They
said
Canadian
Na-
Six
killed
accidentally
in
province
The
Canadian
Press
At
least
six
people
died
accidentally
in
British
Columbia
during
the
weekend,
three
by
drowning
and
one
in
traffic,
Another
person
died
in
a
boating
accident
and
a
sixth
person
died
when
her
parachute
failed
to
open
during
a
sport
jump.
Susane
Aitzetmueller,
22,
of
Vancouver
,
died
Saturday
in
the
parachute
mishap
at
the
Fraser
Valley
community
of
Abbotsford.
Police
said
she
did
not
pull
her
reserve
chute
in
time
after
her
mam
parachute
became
entangled
in
its
lines.
It
was
her
first
jump.
Gladys
Marion
Gillespie,
64,
of
Surrey,
died
following
a
twocar
collision
Saturday
in
Surrey.
The
body
of
Bradley
Clarence
Longmore,
22,
was
recovered
Saturday
from
the
Cow-ichan
River
near
the
Vancouver
Island
community
of
Duncan.
Foul
play
was
not
suspected.
A
22-year-old
Vancouver
man
drowned
Sunday
while
swimming
with
friends
in
Cul-tus
Lake,
about
five
miles
south
of
the
Fraser
Valley
community
of
Chilliwack.
RCMP
recovered
the
body
but
withheld
the
victim's
name.
A
search
was
underway
for
an
18-year-old
man
missing
and
presumed
drowned
in
Tzenzaicut
Lake,
25
miles
southwest
of
Quesnel
in
the
Cariboo.
Police
withheld
the
name
of
the
man,
who
went
missing
early
Sunday.
A
20-year-old
Kelowna
man
died
Sunday
in
a
boating
accident
on
Okanagan
Lake.
Police
withheld
the
name
of
the
man,
who
died
after
colliding
with
rocks
while
being
towed
in
an
innertube
by
a
speedboat.
The
Canadian
Press
survey,
from
6
p.m.
Friday
to
midnight
Sunday
local
times,
does
not
include
murders,
known
suicides
or
industrial
accidents.
RAMCHARGER
3965
ONNAUGHT-AUTO
SALES
J
795
Victoria
Street.
Phone
562.1341
DOISUA'
tional
Railways
recently
spent
$20
million
for
renovations
and
will
protect
this
investment.
The
strike
began
when
the
company
refused
to
offer
a
wage
increase
in
new
contract
proposals.
The
hotel
offered
a
dental
plan
and
improved
working
conditions
but
said
a
slump
in
the
city
hotel
business
prevented
an
increase
in
wages.
The
hotel
had
hired
nonunion
workers
to
replace
the
strikers.
No
further
talks
are
planned.
The
province
BRIEFLY
Social
workers
ask
for
delay
VANCOUVER
(CP)
-
The
British
Columbia
Association
of
Social
Workers
called
Friday
for
a
three-month
postponement
of
proposed
provincial
legislation
to
create
juvenile
jails.
The
social
workers
say
B.C.'s
experience
with
juvenile
jails
is
dismal,
and
asked
that
proposed
legislation
be
reviewed
by
a
legislative
committee
and
regional
justice
councils,
which
operate
under
the
attorney-general's
department.
Grapes
okay
VANCOUVER
(CP)
-
A
nineyear
hot
declaration
by
the
British
Columbia
Federation
of
Labor
on
all
California
grapes
was
lifted
Friday.
Len
Guy,,
secretary-treasurer
of
the
labor
federation,
said
United
Farm
Workers
leader
Cesar
Chavez
recently
told
the
federation
it
would
be
appropriate
to
lift
the
ban
following
an
agreement
between
the
U.F.W.U.
and
the
Teamsters
Union
over
representation
of
California
farmworkers.
'Racism
fostered'
VANCOUVER
(CP)
-
A
Toronto
lawyer
said
Friday
that
the
federal
government
is
encouraging
discrimination
by
fostering
the
belief
that
immigrants
worsen
the
unemployment
situation.
Charles
Roach,
an
official
of
the
International
Committee
Against
Racism,
said
people
create
jobs
"they
tend
to
con-,
sume
just
like
everyone
else.
TOURIST
ALERT
VANCOUVER
(CP)
-
Monday's
tourist,
alert
issued
by
the
RCMP.
Following
persons
are
asked
to
contact
the
nearest
detachment
of
the
RCMP
for
an
urgent
personal
message:
Tom
and
Irene
Britton
of
Centralia,
Wash.
Timothy
Douglas
Harshbar-ger
of
Oregon
Vernon
Gerald
O'Shell
of
Vancouver
Alexander
Gerald
Shinn
of
Kelowna,
B.C.
Damages
may
reach
$180,000
ALEXIS
CREEK,
B.C.
(CP)
Police
say
damage
to
the
historic
Chilcotin
Hotel,
which
burned
to
the
ground
early
Saturday
could
go
as
high
as
$180,000.
A
police
spokesman
said
cause
of
the
fire
is
not
yet
known,
but
a
fire
inspector
from
Vancouver
was
to
be
in
this
Central
Interior
town
today
to
investigate
the
blaze,
Police
said
the
50-year-old
hotel
was
unoccupied
when
the
fire
broke
out
around
1:10
a.m.
The
adjacent
Indian
Health
Services
Hospital,
which
also
was
unoccupied,
suffered
damage
to
one
wall.
A
store
on
the
other
side
of
the
hotel
suffered
smoke
damage.
There
were
no
injuries.
Police
said
the
hotel
owners
have
not
decided
whether
to
rebuild
the
three-storey
structure.