PACE FRANTIC AT MUSIC FESTIVAL SITE
by ARNOLD OLSON Citizen Staff
The feeling at the BL Ranch these days is like a news room an hour before deadline — frantic.
The deadline for getting the stage and other facilities ready for the third annual Salmon Valley Music Festival this weekend is approaching with the speed of light. They get more work done in daytime than at night but the days aren’t long enough.
Gerald Pattison and his workers have been busy patching and filling the drywall, getting it ready for painting. The chalky dust from sanding hung heavily in the air during an interview.
“We’ll use a roller for painting,” he said, “because you start spraying and you get it ail over the place.”
He refused to be specific, but said the stage and adjoining
facilities are probably worth more than $500,000.
Their huge 83x40-foot stage was built last year, but they discovered the power they needed was far beyond what they had.
This year they have a 600-amp electrical service — three times the power they had last year.
The locally provided sound equipment — perfect for every other venue in this region — was just a bit short of what they need for this year. This time they’ll have sound equipment and personnel from Vancouver.
The backstage dressing rooms and lounge area (1,400 square feet) are being upgraded. Most of the performing artists interviewed last year were happy about the bright new rooms offered at Salmon Valley, because many other venues they had used are dark cubbyholes.
Pattison said the key to maintaining a healthy festival is the continual service given the banks of public toilets brought in. Many are posted around the audience grounds and others where recreational vehicles, campers and tents are located.
“There’s no use having twice as many units if nobody’s servicing them. But what we’ve done this year, basically, is to take every toilet unit available in Prince George. We’ve doubled the service on them — we’ve got two trucks.”
The three-day festival beginning Friday offers a host of country music performers, including Michelle Wright, Charlie Daniels, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Murray McLaughlan, George Fox and former Prince George resident Gary Fjellgaard.
Origami lesson
Citizen photo by Chuck Nisbett
Masayuki Hori, 17, shows Megan Bartkowski, 9, of Prince George the intricacies of the Japanese art of origami (folding paper into exotic shapes). They were making shining stars and cranes at Studio 2880 as part of the Summer Day Camp of the Arts for kids aged six to 12. He is one of 40 Japanese students, accompanied by three teachers, here until Aug. 4 as part of the Cultural Homestay International exchange program.
PROVINCIAL FIGURE
14% report disabilities
OTTAWA (CP) — Statistics Canada says 14 per cent of working-age people in British Columbia reported disabilities in 1991, up from 11 per cent in 1986.
Of the nearly 300,000 people reporting disabilities in British Columbia, 53 per cent were employed, 11 per cent were unemployed and seeking work, and 36 per cent were not in the workforce, the agency reported Tuesday.
More men with disabilities were employed than women with disabilities, 60 per cent compred to 46 per cent.
For those reporting no disabilities in 1991, 75 per cent were employed, eight per cent were unemployed and looking for work, and 17 per cent were not in the workforce.
Tolls urged to spark transit use
VANCOUVER (CP) — Tolls should be placed on all bridges leading into Vancouver and Burnaby, fuel taxes hiked and parking fees increased to try to get people out of their cars and into transit, says a regional transportation report.
The report was prepared by planners and officials from the Greater Vancouver regional district and the B.C. government.
It says commuter taxes and tolls are needed to combat gridlock on Greater Vancouver streets and pay for $10 billion in transportation improvements over the next 30 years.
The charges recommended would generate $1.1 billion in annual revenue by the time they are fully implemented in 2021.
That revenue will be needed to fund $10 billion in road and transit improvements the plan also proposes over the same period.
The plan goes to the regional district board for consideration Friday.
Two years in the making, the plan goes beyond traditional transportation studies to tackle growth issues.
It is based on a strategy of concentrating many of the 1.2 million new residents expected in Greater Vancouver over the next 30 years in suburban town centres.
Bank rate
OTTAWA (CP) — The Bank of Canada bank rate fell today to 4.41 per cent from 4.53 per cent last week.
by Canadian Press
VANCOUVER — Not everyone thinks Canada won a clearcut victory Monday in its longstanding dispute with the United States over Canadian softwood lumber exports.
A binational panel ordered U.S. International trade Commission to reconsider a decision that slapped a 6.51 per cent duly on imported Canadian softwood lumber.
The panel, part of the Canada-U.S. free-trade agreement, told the commission to review its year-old ruling which concluded a duty on Canadian fir, pine and other softwood was justified because the allegedly subsidized imports hurt U.S. producers.
“The panel concludes that the commission’s determination of material injury by reason of subsidized Canadian imports is not supported by substantial evidence on the record,” it said.
But B.C. Forests Minister Dan Miller said he has been pessimistic all along about the final resolution of the softwood case.
Miller said the ruling could not be described as a victory for Canada. British "Columbia, most af-
fected by the duty, is no further ahead since the tariff stays until the trade commission looks at its own ruling.
“It means nothing,” said Miller from Victoria. “As with the previous decision (by the U.S. Commerce Depart-ment in May), ppPH' the decision is
f '* iH	back
f *	* w* to the original
panel.” i	There are	two
binational panels fM	ll	at work, Miller
MILLER	explained.
The Canada-U.S. panel in May ordered the U.S. Commerce Department to rework its ruling that imports of Canadian softwood lumber are unfairly subsidized.
The ruling Monday involves a binational panel ordering the U.S. International Trade Commission to rework its numbers.
“They could in theory rule that the duty be increased to 15 per cent,” said Miller. “We could have to go through the whole process again.
But Mike Apsey, president of the Council of Forest Industries of B.C., was jubilant.
“It is an extremely strong ruling in favor of Canada,” he said, urging the U.S. administration to drop the case.
The federal minister for international trade said he was pleased with the decision.
“This panel decision proves once again that this FTA panel process is objective,” Tom Hockin said from London, OnL “It’s effective and it’s an enormous improvement over what we had before the FTA, which was nothing.
“It’s a real vindication of the process.”
Some $250 million in countervail duties will have to be refunded to the Canadian industry, said Hockin.	^
“I’m quite confident that by the end of October this issue will be over with.”
Editorial, page 4
HIDING THE HYDRO LINES
Beautification costly
by BERNICE TRICK Citizen Staff
Prince George taxpayers can expect to pay $257,800 in 1994 to bury and beautify an “unsightly” B.C. Hydro line along a main route leading to the University of Northern B.C.
Prince George city council agreed Monday to share a $515,600 cost with B.C. Hydro to place underground and landscape the power line running along the north side of 15th Avenue — known as the gateway to UNBC.
Council unanimously approved third reading of bylaws which allow development of a B.C. Hydro power substation to serve the west side of the city and a new power line, plus improvements to existing lines.
Tied in with the new substation, improvements include:
■ Placing underground the existing line along the north side of 15th Avenue between Ospika and Foothills boulevards.
■ Building a new transmission line (above ground) from the substation north to 15th Avenue and along the the south side of 15 th Avenue to Ospika Boulevard.
■ Replacing wooden poles with metal poles and ornamental 1am-
pstands along Ospika Boulevard between 15th and 22nd avenues at an additional cost of $181,000 to the city.
■ Future removal of all overhead transmission lines in Exhibition Park to provide flexibility to build future facilities like the proposed arena and aquatic centre.
The idea of the city and B.C. Hydro equally sharing costs of the underground line came about after the B.C. government rejected a city request for a beautification grant.
The city would have been eligible for the grant next year when work is due to start, but the beautification program has been rendered inactive for 1994 and possibly forever, Kent Sedgwick, city senior planner, told council.
Coun. Colin Kinsley, at the July 12 meeting, requested the postponement of third reading of the bylaws for more information on the costs to the city.
He was still leery Monday whether B.C. Hydro will come through with its share.
“May be prepared’ is not good enough,” Kinsley said about a reported statement that Hydro “may be prepared to
consider sharing costs with the city on an equal basis.”
On the other hand Mayor John Backhouse eagerly supported the underground project.
“I will support it to prevent an eyesore, an unsightly sighL It will cost money, but it will create a nice appearance along our gateway to the university.”
But Kinsley is “not convinced that taxpayers should pay when it’s a B.C. Hydro pro-jecL”
Countering Kinsley’s remarks, B.C. Hydro project manager David Spurrell said it isn’t his company’s idea to place the line underground. “B.C. Hydro has no need or desire to touch that circuit,” he said, adding that it’s the wish of city hall and residents in the area.
“There’s no reason why we should underground that circuit at our cost,” said Spurrell.
However, B.C. Hydro managers have indicated they’re prepared to support the proposal, Spurell told council.
The two bylaws, which still require final reading, amend the Offical Community Plan.
Work on the substation, south of the 15 th Avenue and Foothills Boulevard intersection, is to begin next year.
The Prince George
Citizen
Women fight old roles	5
Bald is beautiful	11
Racing family	13
Army cooks popular	24
TUESDAY, JULY 27,1993	51	CENTS	HigMomorrow: 19 Phone: 562-2441 Classified: 562-0566 Circulation: 562-3301
(Plus GST)	6
DUTY ON SOFTWOOD
Lumber ruling: Victory or flop?
The percentage of British Columbia residents aged 15 to 64 reporting disabilities was higher than the national percentage.
• The agency says 13 per cent of all working-age Canadians reported disability when surveyed in 1991. That’s up from 10 per cent in 1986. The figures do not include residents of institutions.
The national figures indicate that 48 per cent of people with disabilities were employed, eight per cent were unemployed and seeking work, and 44 per cent were not in the workforce.
INDEX
Ann Landers .... 17
Bridge..................21
Business...............8,9
City, B.C...............23
Classified ....	19-23
Comics..................18
Commentary...............5
Crossword...............20
Entertainment .	. . 18
Family..................17
Horoscope...............21
International............7
Lotteries...............
Movies..................18
National.................6
Sports..........13-16
Television..............22
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