Local news The Prince George Citizen — Friday, May 19, 1989 — 3 BOB MILLER 562-2441 City editor Local 503 City's youth survey earns praise by BEV CHRISTENSEN Staff reporter Your survey is on the right track, the keynote ; "speaker told more than 200 delegates attending the ^opening session of the Youth Matters conference " here Thursday. “Cities like Prince George that listen and hear :what youth are saying and figure out how to work with them and temper their ideas with wisdom, have "a tremendous future,” Seattle pediatrician Dr. Robert Aldrich said following his opening-day speech at the College of New Caledonia. " He was commenting on the results of a youth sur-“ vey which revealed drug and alcohol abuse and peer "pressure were the main problems identified by the - 4,491 youths aged 12 to 17 who responded to a survey .conducted by the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Youth. Although the survey results also revealed the ^city’s youth want more activities, Aldrich said he ~ was surprised by their switch from athletic to more social and cultural activities. “That’s a wonderful thing to have happen because it’s a step toward the citizens establishing more social and cultural activities,” he said. When asked to identify the three activities they enjoyed most, 4,279 of the respondents included social and cultural activities, 2,983 included non-team sports and 1,654 included team sports. The vouth conference concluded at noon today after delegates heard a summary of the workshops dealing with teenagers and politics, youth rights, developing self esteem, resisting negative peer pressure and communication. During his speech, Aldrich used Seattle as an example of a city which has paid attention to its youth. Seattle, too, began a move toward a more youth-oriented city by conducting a survey, he said. He urged Prince George to follow Seattle’s example by establishing an action committee to develop a five-year plan based on the survey results, build awareness of the positive contribution youth make to the city and begin lobbying for the things the city requires to make it a healthy safe environment in which to raise children. In Seattle, the survey led to the establishment of the KidsPlace program by the YMCA, the Junior League and city council, a program which places logos on buses and businesses identified as safe places for youth. Safety was one of the major issues identified as concerning the vouth of Seattle. As a result of the Seattle survey, city council there established six task forces which produced 31 recommendations acting on the needs and problems identified by the youth. The mayor has appointed youth to the board of directors responsible for the operation of Seattle Centre, an amusement park which the city’s youth had identified as one of their favorite city-owned sites. Seattle also established a commission on children and youth, which Aldrich described as a “very powerful commission” with its own budget. “They produced a youth policy plan which is being used by tne city council as a sort of Magna Carta to see if the city’s planning and budget fits that policy,” he said. As a result of the efforts of the commission, the city produces an analysis of its budget to show where money is being spent on children and youth. On the positive side, Seattle youth identified the importance of the beauty of the city’s parks as well as nelping the poor and needy. Aldrich says wherever he goes he finds an upwel-ling of youthful support for the underprivileged and the environment. “I don’t know what that means, but obviously something is happening in the minds of youth,” he said. The results of the Prince George survey released Thursday did not include information on these issues. The committee expects to present a full report on the survey to city council here in September. Seattle’s KidsPlace program and efforts to include youth in civic activities has attracted the interest of more than 100 cities in North America and 16 cities in Europe. The Japanese cabinet invited Aldrich to come to that country to explain the program to them. An international meeting of all cities with KidsPlace activities is being planned for 1990, Aldrich said. “I hope to see representatives from Prince George there,” he said. Ski development gets initial okay ■Fraser-Fort George Regional district directors have taken a ffl-st step towards installing a large water and sewer system at the dbwder King Ski Hill area in the FJne Pass. ■Directors gave first three readings Thursday to a bylaw which vfruld allow borrowing of $351,440 from the Municipal Finance Authority for the construction, which is expected to go ahead this sjmmer in conjunction with a day lodge and condominium project. jUnder a specified taxation area, the money is to be paid back annually by Powder King ski development ($55,000 the first year) and other users of the service. Before approving final reading next month, directors want to hear advice from FFGRD’s lawyer on an agreement between Powder King developer Peter Graham and ttie province of B.C. * Graham said the general terms of the agreement are that the province has agreed to take over the operation should it fail as a private operation. In such a case, the prov-ttice would "offer Tt to another company or operate it itself. _ Graham was reluctant to allow the businesfagreement to become a public document at the meeting Thursday, but agreed to hand it over to the board’s solicitors, Wilson and King. * FFGRD director Bob Headrich (Tabor Lake-Stone Creek electoral area) opposed the bylaw, fearing that if the project fails, the taxpayers will be stuck with the cost of the sewer and water system. '• “If taxpayers are going to be in-\Jolved in this Azu project, they sjhould know what’s in the agree- ■ * Board backs *9]I7 service * Fraser Fort George Regional District members are fully supportive ol a move to bring the 911 emer-f$ncy telephone system to Prince George. Ijrectors agreed Thursday to join vrjth Prince George city council in ac cost-sharing project to investigate capital and operating costs to establish the service throughout the regional district as well as vfithin city limits. T|ie 911 number has been designated throughout North America fflr access to emergency service through a central answering point. FVaser-Fort George chairman Cfclin Kinsley said persons, includ-iifg children who find the number easy to remember, can call ambulance, police, fire and emergency a(jl — without confusion — regard-loss of familiarity of telephone numbers or the community. When FFGRD director Art Kaehn (tyo&dpecker-Hixon electoral area) sijggjested maybe another number weuld be easier, it was pointed out tKe ill number is not only known irflerjiationally, but can be dialed through feeling in the dark or by sightless persons. “thd nine is at one end of the tele-ptton£ dial and the one is at the other end," said director Jim Scott ((J-ooked River-Parsnip electoral ai^aj. ment,” Headrich said. FFGRD does have a letter from the Ministry of Crown Lands confirming the ski agreement with Powder King. Plans for Powder King include an 80-bed, hotel-day lodge complex estimated at $3.3 million along with condominium units and a residential subdivision entailing 14 single-family cabins. The old Azu Village ski lift is to be added to a triple chairlift and two T-bars now in operation. In the past four years, the area about 200 kilometres north of Prince George has attracted about 50,000 skiers annually, with about 80 per cent coming from outside this regional district. Facilities now include a group of trailers — nicknamed Chateua Atco — to accommodate overnight stays, day lodge, ski shop and rental facility. Planner ivo ;su V4. vi | iuo&isa* irqi leaves district TRIMMER Derek Trimmer, Fraser-Fort George Regional District director of planning, has resigned his position after 11 years of service. Trimmer is leaving Prince George to assume duties as an organizational analyst with the province’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs. He said his job involves working with communities around the province as well as broad policy such as will arise from new regional district legislation. His resignation is effective June 16. Trimmer joined the FFGRD staff in 1978 as a planning technician. Four months later he was promoted as planning assistant to then-planner Yvonne Harris. In 1981 he became the FFGRD planning officer with senior responsibilities and one year later, replaced Harris as director of planning. Chairman Colin Kinsley said Trimmer’s strength has been in giving assistance to rural and unincorporated areas. “He’s very well respected and will be missed by the rural residents,” Kinsley said. Cruise Video Night June 21st, 1989 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. Learn about cruises around the world and American Express Cruise discounts. Seven, Seat 7'iavel Representative No One Knows Travel Better. : : CITY OF PRINCE GEORGE 11 ANIMAL CONTROL CENTRE L WILL BE CLOSED =For Maintenance Sunday and Monday, May 21st & 22nd -S3----------------------------- AREA GETS CELLULAR PHONES Prince George will get cellular phone sefvice next year as part of a five-year, $100-million expansion program announced Thursday by B.C. Cellular. The cordless phones will be introduced to the city in 1990 and to Dawson Creek and Fort St. John the following year, said Michelle Gaudette, B.C. Cellular’s marketing communications manager. In 1992, transmitters will be put in place to deliver cellular service along the highway corridors from Fort St. John to Prince George through to Kamloops, Gaudette said. But cellular phones won’t replace Autotel, a BC Tel service used extensively in the forestry industry, which allows mobile phone calls on a limited number of channels in the Prince George region, she said. “Autotel is not going to disappear by any means — it will ultimately replace two-way radios.” B. or Cellular., -.a wholly-owned subsidiary of B.C. Tel, is expanding along the main business and recreation corridors in B.C., said company chairman Lynn PatterSbn at a press conference in Vancouver. The expansion will create 1,000 new jobs by 1993, Patterson said. The company currently serves Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and southern Vancouver Island. Starting in June, corridor service will be extended to Duncan and Campbell River on Vancouver Island, Kamloops and the corridor from Vernon through Kelowna to Penticton in the Okanagan. Staff will increase to about 200 from 60. Despite the high cost of cellular phones, which range from $900 to more than $2,000, B.C. Cellular has grown rapidly since its startup in January, 1986. There are an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 cellular phones in B.C., stated Gaudette. By 1993, the number is expected to climb to 140,000, she said. Cantel, B.C. Cellular’s only competitor, has not announced any plans for the Northern Interior. Cantel was selected by the federal government in 1983 to offer cellular telephone service across Canada in competition with local telephone companies. SUNDAY, MAY 21st 7:30 P.M. at the Prince George Playhouse “THE VACANT THRONE IN THE MIDDLE EAST” Speaker: Harry Tennant (London, England) Coal mine's president optimistic about sales Japanese steel mills will continue to need metallurgical coal from British Columbia for the forseeable future, says Paul Kostuik, president of Quintette Coal. Responding to reports the Japanese are using more low-quality coking coals to make steel, Kostuik predicted they will continue to Dismissal protested Members of the Telecommunications Workers Union staged a noon-hour demonstration Thursday in front of the B.C. Tel building on Sixth Avenue to protest the termination of a fellow employee. B.C. Tel clerical worker John Heffel, who has 25 years of service with the company, was fired Tuesday afternoon after an altercation with a supervisor. Heffel, who has an ongoing medical problem and is’ due to go intd hospital next week for surgery, received no severance pay because it was a “straight termination.” Z HeffeT is a member of Local 26, made up of inside clerical workers. The 25 inside workers donating their lunch hour to the sidewalk protest were later joined by members from two other locals covering B.C. Tel employees — Local 9 for plant workers, installers and linemen and Local 18, which covers traffic operators. Arbitration on the matter is pending. Commenting for the telephone company, B.C. Tel public affairs manager Kathy Mears said: “I can tell you that in the company’s estimation there was grounds for dismissal. “As it is now going before arbitration, it would be unfair to the employee and to the company to comment further on the matter.” SAVE OVER 50% on Econo Color reprints and enlargements when ordering 10 or more prints from the same negative. print 5ar more 10 or man 3’/2x5 .... 69 .49 .29 5x7 . . $1.49 .99 • .75 8x10 .. . . $5.99 $3.49 $1.99 11x14 . . . $9.99 $5.99 $3.99 16x20 . . $14.99 $12.99 $8.99 20x30 . . $19.99 $14.99 $12.99 24x36 . . $29.99 $24.99 $19.99 30x40 . . $39.99 $29.99 $24.99 Sotters 1204 - 2nd Ave., 563-0882 1633 - 15th Ave., 562-7381 _ k $300-0®6Sl0 Ttt'S Jn F^,nut*cW'*'L f tan** ot™> ““'Hon. '<«*' Tet** H* .SM* BEST VALUE OPTICAL 1055 E. 5th Ave.________________ No other discount or coupon accopiod. i of comparable value., §§® 562-8099 prsocrttpton applied to both glasses need B.C.’s coal until well into the next century. “Quintette’s and B.C.’s coals are of extremely high quality,” Kostuik admitted Thursday, but “until the economics of new steel-making technology are straightened out, they are going to be required for blast furnace use.” In any event, Quinette, a $2-bil-lion mine at Tumbler Ridge, isn’t affected because it has long-term contracts to supply coal to the Japanese until 1998, he said. Minoru Hashimoto, managing director of NKK Corporation, Japan’s second-largest steel-maker, warned a Canadian coal conference this week that a new system of making steel will eliminate the need for hard coking coal. B.C. Mines, including Quintette, produce mostly this kind of metallurgical coal. But Kostuik, in a telephone interview from Vancouver, said various countries have been working to reduce or eliminate coking coal in the steel-making process for several years. SPRING CLEANING? Don’t Forget Your Carpets! For Efficient, Courteous and Quality Service Call Carl’s Clean Care 561-0320 “It’s not a new technology; it’s been going on since 1980 and before,” he said. Japanese steel mills have been able to use more low-quality coking coal for their steel furnaces precisely because of the high quality coal they’re able to get from B.C., he said. However, under the current-blast-furnace technology, they’ve-reached a threshold as to how: much low-quality coal they can use, Kostuik said. The move to eliminate coking coal altogether is a completely different technology that could take 20 years or more to develop economically, he said. “These technologies in application are a long way down the road.” Kostuik said Hashimoto in mak-1 ing his remarks is engaging in “gamesmanship and astute buying practices.” NKK Corp. is one of the lead Japanese steel companies' that look after buying coal from Quintette, which is 10-per-cent owned by a consortium of Japanese steel firms. PRE4NVENTMV SALE CONTINUES SAVE f 60% AND MORE I <0/brTey1& (Serbs' I 1541 THIRD AVENUE 562-5816 THE CITY PROFESSIONALS WE’RE WORKING FOR YOU! CURT FLYNN 564-2121 PETER TENNANT 563-2608 §1^]. 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