MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2011 | WWW.PGCITIZEN.CA 3 PG. News Trustee candidate pulls out of race Charelle EVELYN Citizen staff cevelyn@pgcitizen. ca A week before election day saw the field of candidates vying for a position on School District 57’s board of trustees narrow. Candidate Kris Benson withdrew from the race Saturday after accepting a new career opportunity in Edmonton. “It was very last minute. I totally wasn’t expecting anything to come through this quickly and was hoping to be able to base my decision on whether I was elected or not, but when it came to how rushed they were to hire someone and to make the decision, it panned out that way,” Benson said. “Had I been elected, I would have declined the position in Alberta.” Benson, who was born and raised in Prince George, said he saw a lot of opportunity for change within SD 57, having observed the district’s challenges which he saw as a result of poor financial management practices. “The reason I was interested in running for school board here in Prince George was because some drastic changes are needed and I see myself as someone who could make those happen and that certainly was my main motivation for running,” Benson told The Citizen, en route to go house hunting in Edmonton. He and his family will likely make the move in early December and he wishes his fellow candidates all the best of success. “It was one of those things, where I wish I didn’t have to do it, but it’s just how things pan out,” Benson said. “I’d love to be able to do both, but the law doesn’t allow it.” According to SD 57 chief electoral officer Fred McLeod, Benson’s name will remain on the ballot, as they have already been printed and advance polling has already begun. “Because of the timing, we need to have approval from the Ministry of Education for Kris’ name to be withdrawn,” said McLeod, who will be submitting Benson’s withdrawal as well as an explanation of the circumstances in hopes of having any votes cast for him nullified. McLeod is unable to post any signage to remind voters not to vote for Benson at the polling stations without ministry approval as well. “If I don’t get approval, and he is elected to one of the positions, it would push us into a by-election,” McLeod explained. Earlier in the election process, the CEO had to appeal to the ministry to deal with the withdrawal of candidate Chris Taylor. MacLeod said it took more than week for that to come through. “I’m hoping it will be expedited,” he said. At this point, Benson said he is unsure whether or not he will seek any sort of office in Edmonton. “What I saw in School District 57 was a lot of opportunity for change. I don’t know Edmonton’s situation when it comes to that. So it really depends on whether I’m needed there or not. At this point, I have no idea of the political climate or the school climate there so either option isn’t one I’m necessarily seeking at this point,” Benson said. I ■ Trucker tagged by texter Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca Someone might have gotten a panicked smartphone message on Thursday afternoon, after a motor vehicle incident in Prince George. Witnesses blamed a texting driver. Police at the scene traced a line of destruction along a short stretch of Highway 16 not far from Marleau Road. It ended at a cube van that got in the way of a tractor trailer. “Investigators believe the driver of a white cube van went off Marleau Road into the ditch, over a street sign at the intersection of Highway 16 West and collided with the passenger side of an eastbound tractor trailer,” said Prince George RCMP spokesman Cpl. Craig Douglass. “Witnesses advised police that the driver of the cube van was texting at the time of the collision. Speed was also a factor. No one was hurt in the collision.” The 3 p.m. collision slowed traffic for a short period of time but the scene was soon cleared of damaged vehicles and normal vehicle flows restored. “Multiple charges under the BC Motor Vehicle Act have been laid against the 24-year-old male Prince George resident that was driving the cube van,” said Douglass. CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN RED NOSES LEAD THE WAY — Sue Peters, with Integris Credit Union, helps out at the Operation Red Nose booth during Thursday's UNBC Volunteer Fair. Operation Red Nose has about 120 volunteers but is hoping to get 350 to help out with offering free, safe rides home during the holiday season. ELECTION Candidates converge for coffee chat Charelle EVELYN Citizen staff Although the snowy conditions kept many from taking advantage of it, those in the running for city government were all in favour of a new style of voter engagement. Council candidate Frank Everitt organized two meet-and-greet style events this weekend, open to all candidates to have some face time with Prince George voters in an informal setting. “It’s part of the platform I’m running on,” explained Everitt, who has a goal of reconnecting the public to those elected. The two sessions - Saturday at Columbus Community Centre and Sunday at the Hart Community Centre between 2 and 5 p.m. - brought out a sizeable number of candidates looking to be able to meet people and explain their positions in more detail than is allowed in a 30-second forum response. On Saturday, unsavoury road conditions likely kept a majority of people from attending, but Everitt had higher hopes for Sunday’s three-hour session. Everitt said he was pleased to see the candidates turn out for the event and how well they embraced the idea. “The overall objective is that is what city council will do that, as opposed to me as an individual,” he said. Council candidate Brad Gagnon said it was a good opportunity for residents to ask general questions and get fully fleshed out answers. “ [In the forum setting] you don’t really get a chance to respond,” Gagnon said. Lyn Hall said he fielded questions about how his council campaign was going and discussed his ideas about issues regarding downtown. “There was a good cross section,” he said of the people coming from the two locations in College Heights and the Hart. Council candidate Myrt Turner said she appreciated the opportunity to have a two-way conversation with people directly.“E-mail is not a two-way conversation. Often, I reply to a person and never heard back from them again.” The ability to have an open dialogue and hear concerns help to fill gaps in her own knowledge. “I learned a long time ago that I don’t know everything and you don’t know what you don’t know,” Turner said. Incumbent councillors Brian Skakun and Debora Munoz were also in agreement over the advantages of such an open setting. “It’s a great idea,” Skakun said. “We go to all these forums in the last three to four weeks and the candidates do all the talking.” He added that the more down-to-earth approach is something that should catch on in future elections. “We need to do more of this on an ongoing basis,” Munoz said, noting municipal politicians are already more accessible than their provincial and federal counterparts. “I think it’s a wonderful opportunity,” said Kathi Travers, who came to the session with her husband Joachim Graber. “It’s pretty tough [to get answers] at the forums and this is wonderful.” Travers said the informal setting allowed her to see who was approachable and who wasn’t. “Here, you might trip them up, but you get to see the real deal.” That accessibility and community engagement is something council has already been working on, said Garth Frizzell and Cameron Stolz. This summer, council held several neighbourhood engagement sessions as a part of the myPG process - the city’s community sustainability plan. “The intention from the city’s point of view when the election is over is to go back to community engagement,” Stolz said. “I think this is building on that success and all credit goes to Frank.” While Stolz said people are more likely to sit and have a cup of coffee with someone that have their input through avenues such as social media, Frizzell, who is embracing technology within his own campaign sees it differently. He recently hosted an online townhall question-and-answer session. “This isn’t Star Trek stuff anymore, it’s meat-and-potatoes technology. We just have to start using it,” Frizzell said. I I NEWS IN BRIEF Construction cash Building construction students now enrolled in a postsecondary or apprenticeship training program have been granted a deadline extension, one that could save them some money. They now have until Tuesday to apply for the Prince George Construction Association scholarship and bursary program. There are three $1,000 bursaries available (Joe Paolucci Memorial, Ron Slager Memorial, PGCA award), as well as two $500 bursaries (Arne Skuggedal Memorial and Trond Skuggedal Memorial) and two $500 PGCA scholarships. Applications for the awards are available online at www. pgca.bc.ca or at the PGCA office at 3851-18th Ave. Award winners will be contacted Wednesday and Thursday and will be invited to the PGCA annual general meeting in December, which will be attended by prospective employers from the local construction industry. For more information, call 614-1729. Suspect remains on lam A man facing firearms and drug-related charges remains on the lam after a warrant was issued for his arrest was issued Nov. 2 for failing to appear in court. Dean Reginald Anderson, 34, is described as six-foot-two and weighing 221 pounds with a receding hairline and possibly a goatee. Anderson was released on a $1,000 recognizance on Sept. 2, the day after he and two others were arrested and police seized drugs and firearms from a home in the 2200 block of Norwood Street. Police said at the time a “significant amount” of methamphetamine, heroin, morphine and pills believed to be ecstacy, as well as drug trafficking paraphernalia, including scales and packaging material, were seized. Also recovered, according to police, were a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun with a pistol grip hidden in a compartment in the residence and a laptop computer stolen earlier in the day at a break-and-enter on the 1600 block of Edmonton Street. Anderson faces charges of possession of a controlled substance, careless use of a firearm, unauthorized possession of a firearm and two counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.