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City editor: 562*2441, local
"'Citizen
Wednesday, August 28,1985 — 3
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Wind whips water in huge Williston Lake.
FLOATING LOGS> HIGH WAVES
Man-made lake can be a killer
by CARLA WILSON Staff reporter
   Williston Lake can be treacherous and unforgiving.
   Submerged and floating logs, standing trees and roots make the giant reservoir risky for boaters. There’s an added danger along parts of the shoreline because in places it’s difficult for boaters to get within 30 metres of shore because of driftwood.
   Winds can create waves three metres high in the 1,775 square-kilometre lake, one of the world’s largest reservoirs. In some places the lake, created to store water for B.C. Hydro’s W.A.C. Bennett dam, is more than 90 metres deep.
   Mackenzie police have a list of eight persons missing and believed to have drowned in the lake since 1970.
   “Williston Lake is not renowned for giving up bodies. It seems to keep them,” said RCMP Sgt. Jack Keddy.
   The majority of moose hunting occurs between September and early November and that, along with good fishing, attracts people to the lake.
   The worst area is at Finlay Forks where the wind can come from north, south, east or west, Keddy said.
  B.C. Hydro, which has jurisdiction for regulating the water level of the lake, has printed a Williston Lake boaters guide available at such tourist information booths, hotels and airports.
 To help prevent future tragedies, Keddy has a few simple recommendations for boaters:
  •	Be familiar with your boat.
 •	Have proper equipment.
  •	Don’t overload the boat.
 •	Tell someone where you are leaving from, where you are going and when you expect to return.
  •	It’s also a good idea to take a spare propeller in case the one on the boat is damaged by logs. Also, take spare hoses for the motor.
 Not everyone who has a boating accident on Williston Lake dies — but some have come close.
 In 1969, four men were rescued after spending 40 hours in the water hanging onto a tree, tneir overturned boat and a log.
 Their aluminum boat was hit by a wave breaking over the back of the vessel, “then a log hit and down she went,” said survivor Dennis Spoklie shortly after the rescue.
  A tug boat operator eventually spotted the four men and brought them to safety.
   All four suffered from shock and exposure in the numbing, cold water of the lake.
   Those men were luckier than a 39-year-old Nelson man who drowned in 1983. His partner survived by clinging to the boat for 14 hours until he was rescued by a pilot who landed amid floating logs in rough water.
   Joseph Milton Barry Truax and a companion were returning from a hunting trip in a four-metre fibreglas boat laden with two moose, camping gear and gas. They were trying to cross the Peace Arm of Williston Lake in the midst of four-foot swells.
   Truax didn’t make it.
   He moved to the back of the boat, changing the weight distribution and the boat sank stern-first. When the boat overturned, neither man was able to put on a life jacket.
   Truax’s companion described his ordeal as a “terrifying experience.”
   “I just hung on — that’s all.”
   He told The Citizen he tried to cling to the top of the boat. Throughout the night, waves periodically rocked the boat and ne slipped back into the water.
   His thin summer sweater was soaking wet and his only additional cover was a tarpaulin which he wrapped around himself when he was on top of the boat.
OPERATIONS DELAYED
Lumber firm standing pat
by DARLENE RUDE Staff reporter
  There’s a high-stakes poker game going on between the provincial government, Carrier Lumber Ltd. of Prince George and the Chilcotin Survival Coalition in Anahim Lake.
   A forest service official has confirmed the Ministry of Forests sent Carrier a letter saying the company had until Sept. 1 to “use it or lose it” on a 10-year licence to log beetle-infested timber near Anahim Lake, 220 kilometres west of Williams Lake.
   “They can’t force it,’’ said Brian La-Pointe, woods manager for Carrier Lumber. ‘‘It’s not reasonable at all.”
   The forest service official, who asked not to be identified, confirmed the ministry ‘‘will not send a telegram Sept. 1, saying ‘You lost your licence.’”
   But he added, “We would like them to do something.”
   Since winning the licence in December 1984, Carrier has delayed operations because of poor timber markets, loud opposition from local residents, and a declaration of independence made in May by the Anahim Lake-based Ulkatcho Indian Band, which says no logging can take place on the lands it claims without its permission.
  In the meantime, however, the Coalition — an association of area guides, ranchers, residents and the Ulkatchos — is drafting a court injunction to prevent Carrier from starting any operations.
   The coalition would like to conduct an environmental impact
 study because it believes logging will destroy the area, said coalition co-ordinator Wayne Escott.
   The injunction will be filed after the coalition meets with forestry officials later this week.
   Escott said the coalition moved on an injunction after Carrier officials visited the town last week to discuss plans for setting up cutting areas west of Anahim Lake.
  He added concern was sparked after the
 provincial government awarded an additional $2 million worth of cutting permits between Alexis Creek and Anahim Lake.
  The forest service official said government lawyers have indicated the coalition does not have sufficient grounds to win an injunction.
  LaPointe criticized the Ulkatchos for using a “double-edge sword” in asking for an injunction but declaring themselves beyond the jurisdiction
 of the province.
   Escott said he had been told Carrier’s chances of winning future forest permits could be jeopardized if the company did not act soon.
   However, LaPointe called the claim “conjecture,” and said the ministry has indicated in letters that Carrier will be given additional time for negotiations.
   “We have told the government we will give them a definite
 plan if they clear the air,” LaPointe said.
  “We would like the blessing of the people.”
  However, both the federal and provincial government nave indicated they will not negotiate sovereignty with the Ulkatchos.
  Carrier Lumber has invested close to $500,000 in rent and annual fees and will lose an additional $125,000 in fees for each year operations are delayed.
OLI classes popular here
  For some students returning to school in Northern and Central B.C. next month, the classroom could be anywhere from a bunkhouse to the kitchen table.
  They’re the 800 to 1,000 students in the northern region who are taking correspondence courses through the Open Learning Institute (OLI).
   Although the final figures are not yet available, registration for courses beginning in September has been brisk, says northern co-ordinator Greg Dal-limore.
  Last year, more than 14,500 students from throughout B.C. were registered in the institute’s courses, which include adult basic education for students wishing to complete Grades 10 to 12, career, technical and vocational programs and university-transfer programs.
  This year, through the open university consortium offered through OLI in conjunction with UBC,
 SFU and UVic, it is possible to take university-transfer courses which are not available at CNC, he said.
  “As a result we seem to be getting some flow, back and forth from CNC,” he said.
   A representative of OLI will attend the
 three-days of registration at CNC, which begins Wednesday, so students with extra study time can pick up courses offered through the institute.
  Students should be prepared to spend eight to 10 hours per week working on each course they take through the institute,
 Dallimore said.
 OLI registers students in July, September, November, January, March and May.
Escort
licences
retained
  VANCOUVER (CP) — Police lost a bid to ban escort services in the city after council failed to vote unanimously Tuesday to prohibit issuing business licences to such operations.
   The city’s charter requires a unanimous vote of council to prohibit a type of business.
   Police officials have said investigations show the escort services are “nothing but call-girl operations.”
   Roger Hebert, city permits and licences director, had suggested prohibiting escort services as one way of dealing with the problem.
  Council had been told there are 15 licensed escort services in the city.
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Student job centre has a bumper year
   It’s been a bumper year at the Canada Employment Centre for Students.
  Job placements at the Prince George office jumped 53 per cent from last year, centre supervisor Greg Springall said Tuesday.
  “This exceeds my wildest expectations. . .I’ve been sitting here trying to figure it out.”
   From May 1 to Aug. 23, the centre generated 1,070 jobs — 594 regular jobs and 476 casual jobs lasting five days or less.
   Under the Challenge ‘85 program, which subsidizes employers who hire students, 257 jobs were created.
   ‘‘I think the economy is coming back a bit,” said Springall, who also attributed the successful season to the centre’s location at the College of New Caledonia.
  “The good summer we had seemed to help in getting people to do landscaping and yard-work,” he added.
   Last year, 700 jobs were found, 392 regular and 308 casual.
   Springall said the centre exceeded the 1,000 placement mark for the first time in five years.
Boy, 4, injured
   A four-year-old boy is in serious condition in Prince George Regional Hospital after he was hit by a van on Upland Street about 5:45 p.m. Monday.
   Police believe that Dustin St. Pierre ran onto the road without looking and was then struck by the van.
FIRE DEPT.
New chief named
  Ed Parent will become the city’s new fire chief on Nov. 1.
  Parent, the current deputy fire chief, replaces Harold Dornbierer, who retires Oct. 31.
  Parent, 50, started with the department 29 years ago as a firefighter and rose through the ranks as a lieutenant, captain and deputy chief.
  The appointment, which was made by city council Monday at an in-camera meeting, was announced this morning.
  “I’m pretty happy about it,” Parent told The Citizen today.
Crash kills city man
 A 65-year-old Prince George man died Monday as a result of a two-vehicle accident about 4:45 p.m. on Highway 16, approximately 14 km west of Burns Lake.
RCMP said John
Wilbur Murray was travelling east on the highway when his car was involved in a collision with a pickup truck. The two people in the truck weren’t injured.
  Police are investigating.
Man hurt in mishap
  Andreas Ziegen-hagen, 26, of Prince George, is in satisfactory condition in Prince George Regional Hospital after the truck he was driving went off the Hart Highway and rolled over at 9:15 p.m. Tuesday. ____
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