2 - The Prince George Citizen - Monday, May 8, 2000 Good Morning City Focus Citizen photo by Brent Braaten GET YOUR MOTOR RUNNING — Prince George Secondary students Jon Hooker and Vince Trenaman sharpened their auto technician skills at PG Motors in preparation for the Hands On provincial challenge this past Saturday in Burnaby. They competed with nine other teams from across the province to diagnose malfunctions deliberately installed into vehicles. ©CIIUVSI I K FIVE STAR SERVICE 4, 4. 4. J, J, GREAT PEOPLE GREAT SERVICE LUBE, OIL { & FILTER * 'Applicable to most Chrysler Canada vehicles. Taxes extra. Ask for details. Afghans play hard at goat grabbing PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Whips clenched in their teeth, dozens of shouting men on horseback race toward a headless goat lying in the centre of the field. The riders push and struggle to get in position to try to lift up the 65-kilogram carcass, then carry it to the scoring area. This is “buzkashi,” which means “goat grabbing” in the Dari language spoken throughout neighbouring Afghanistan, where it is considered the national sport. The competitors in Peshawar are all Afghan refugees who fled their homeland because of the civil war or problems with the taliban religious army that controls about 90 per cent of Afghanistan. For them the game is a way of remembering and reinforcing their national identity It took two years for them to arrange permission to hold buzkashi competitions. Pakistani authorities let them play for only two months every year — one month in the winter, one month in the summer. Many historians believe buzkashi began with the Turkic-Mongol people. Traditionally, the game is played at festive events like the start of the new year or wedding parties, at which matches can last several days. About 40 horsemen take part in an average game, which has two halves of 45 minutes each and is played over an area usually about 189 metres long. The game is fierce, and the winner receives prizes ranging from cash to fine turbans or cloth that are donated by sponsors. A headless goat is placed in the centre of a circle and surrounded by horsemen from two opposing teams. The object of the game is to get control of the carcass and get it to the scoring area. It seems a simple task, but isn’t. Only the most masterful players — known as “chapandaz” — ever get close to the carcass. To achieve the skills of a chapandaz requires long years of difficult training. The best chapandaz are usually over 40 years old. HERMAN® by Jim Unger “Grandma, I can see where Dad gets his whiskers!” AIR QUALITY Highest hourly readings for TRS and S02, and average PM reading, in 24 hours leading to 4 p.m. yesterday. Area Downtown College Hts Lakewood Hart Highld BCR Site PM 12 10 n/a 10 TRS n/a n/a n/a S02 n/a n/a n/a n/a GOOD.....................0-25 FAIR....................26-50 POOR...................51-100 VERY POOR................100+ PM: Fine particulate matter. Includes fine dust and smoke and can contribute to respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and emphysema. Risk of these effects increases with numbers higher than the “good” range. TRS: Total reduced sulphur. Produces a rotten egg smell at levels in the “fair” or “poor” categories and can cause respiratory effects at “ve/y poor” levels. S02: Sulphur dioxide. Can damage vegetation at “fair” levels and levels in the “poor" range can cause discomfort from taste and odor. Respiratory health effects can occur at “very poor” levels. Results provided by B.C. Environment. Current results can be obtained by calling the Air Quality Index Line at 565-6457. TRAFFIC ADVISORY FOR MAY 8th John Hart Bridge and Interchange New pavement has been laid on North Nechako Road; as well new lines have been painted on the roadway. Motorists are to be aware of these changes and drive with caution. The speed limit in the construction zone on North Nechako Road has been reduced to 30 kilometres per hour. Expect delays due to construction work on North Nechako Road. Single lane traffic in each direction on Highway 97 between 5th Avenue and the John Hart Bridge. Expect delays between 7:00 - 9:00am and 4:00 -5:30 pm. Commuter traffic is advised to use Foothills Boulevard and 15th Avenue as an alternate route. For further information, call the Walter/Sandwell Info Line: 561-1222 Listen to 620 CJCI Traffic | Advisory each morning at “ 7:15 am and 8:15 am Ol IIKN s| I It FIVE STAR SERVICE Xr X- A Xr MORTHLANh II PLYMOUTH - CHRYSLER V GREAT PEOPLE GREAT SERVICE jJORTHLANn II PLYMOUTH - CHRYSLER U "Whin People (fake the Differ*nc«” Internet child prodigy rides wave of success TORONTO (CP) — Keith Peiris was only three when he first started fiddling around on a computer. Three years later, at age six, neighbours were calling him to install Windows 95 on their hard drives. Last July, Keith, then age 11, became president and chief executive officer of Cyberteks Design. The budding entrepreneur designs Web sites for companies that want an Internet presence. What distinguishes the Grade 6 student’s pages from others is how creatively he uses a computer software program called Macromedia Flash that incorporates animated graphics with sound to produce lively pages that can be quickly downloaded for view. “What inspired me to start the company was it enables you to broadcast your art in vast ways to the world. “That was my main focus, and to maybe make a little money,” says Keith. PEIRIS Since July, Cyberteks Design has had revenues of about $100,000 with 15 customers who are mostly American. Keith’s site, at www.cyberteks.net, averages more than 1,000 hits each day. Keith’s father, Deepal Peiris, 50, helps him run the company located in the basement of their London, Ont., home. They have plans to hire five Web designers by the spring of 2001 and eventually take the company public. After Keith came home from school one recent afternoon in April, father and son were about to interview a potential employee. The boy dismissed any suggestion of conflict between a 12-year-old boss and employees two to three times his age. “I really don’t care. And the people around me don’t care. They just consider me a normal person. There is no difference (among us), except maybe in skill but that has nothing to do with age,” he says. Saint’s blood liquefies in biannual ‘miracle’ NAPLES, Italy (Reuters) — The substance some Neapolitans believe is the dried blood of their patron, St. Gennaro, liquefied on cue on the weekend in a twice-yearly event the faithful believe is a miracle. The powdery substance, stored in a glass vial in Naples cathedral, liquefied on Saturday afternoon and was carried through the streets of the southern city’s old quarter in a traditional procession. The powder mysteriously turns to liquid twice a year — on the saint’s feast day on Sept. 19 and on the first Saturday in May. The event has been recorded on the two days almost without fail for the last 600 years. Superstitious Neapolitans believe that if the blood of the fourth-century martyr fails to lique- fy, it is a harbinger of looming disaster. Disaster has struck on at least five occasions after the blood failed to liquefy, including in 1527 when tens of thousands of people died from the plague and in 1980 when 3,000 people died after a earthquake that devastated southern Italy. Before the blood liquefied, many Neapolitans played lottery numbers connected to the event — six for Saturday’s date, 19 for the saint’s feast day, 18 for blood and 66 for miracle. Neapolitans routinely assign numbers to things, events, and emotions. • One of the numbers — 66 — was drawn in the national lottery on Saturday night. Italian scientists have confirmed that the substance inside the closed vial is blood but cannot explain why it liquefies regularly. If you did not receive your flyer please call The C itizen Reader Sales Department at 562-3301. (Mon - I'ri 5:30am ■ 5:00pm & Saturdays 5:30am - 12noon) AT YOUR rff fzlN SERVICE adivisionof Hollinger Canadian Newspapers, L.P WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU If you’d like to suggest a news story, want to subscribe, need to place an advertisement or have questions about how The Citizen serves you, call us. SWITCHBOARD: 562-2441 Del Laverdure Publisher, Business Manager Local 756 John Harding, Editor...................759 Ian Jensen, Reader Sales...............753 Bill Jones, Advertising................757 150 Brunswick St., P.O. Box 5700 Prince George, B.C., V2L 5K9 news@prg.southam.ca (Editorial Dept) cls@prg.southam.ca (Classified Dept) pgcads@pgonline.com (Advertising Dept) pgccirc@prg.southam.ca (Circulation Dept) Visit our web page at: http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com COPYRIGHT The contents of this newspaper are protected by copyright and may be used only for your personal non-commercial purposes. All other rights are reserved and commercial use is prohibited. 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ADVERTISING INFORMATION For details about advertising rates and deadlines in our daily newspaper, TV Times, special editions, out-of-town shopper or flyers, call our retail advertising department between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily except Sunday. Phone: 562-2441 Fax: 562-9201 PLACING A CLASSIFIED AD? Call our Classified department between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Phone: 562-6666 Fax: 960-2762 SPOT A MISTAKE? We make every effort to present news accurately and fairly. If we have erred or misrepresented something, please let us know. NEWS TIPS/INQUIRIES Do you have a news tip or a story idea? Is there something you feel should be explained? We welcome your suggestions call 562-2441 and ask for the newsroom. COMMUNITY City Desk.........................Local 382 Reporter Bernice Trick............Local 395 Photography.......................Local 382 SPORTS The Prince George Citizen is the only source for complete daily sports scores and activities. Call our sports staff at 562-2441 Jim Swanson.......................Local 400 Ted Clarke........................Local 401 Brian Drewry......................Local 402 Direct Line........................562-3101 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR We publish letters from readers about news and community issues. Please keep them brief, sign them and include your telephone number. We print all views. Fax us at 562-7453. Or e-mail: news@prg.southam.ca ____________________________________ 364073 © Jim Ungor/dist by United Media, 2000 IN TODAYS CITIZEN • The Act Cinetnage Group * ' ' ' k)'" - f'ls'iyuSs IN YOUR NEXT CITIZEN • Forest Expo • Fields* • Saan* UdUSTZDt"