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Sex assault in city park
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Wyatt Sturgeon is cruising during the Touch a Truck event at the Civic Plaza Friday when all kinds of oversized and emergency vehicles were available for children to see what it feels like to sit in the drivers seat. D e Ly n d a P I L O N / F re e P re s s
Homeowners hit with tax hike DELYNDA PILON newsroom@pgfreepress.com
Council decided what this year’s tax changes will be for each property classification in the city at Monday’s council meeting. A general 3.5 per cent tax increase was approved several weeks ago, however the second step in the process is to decide how that increase affects each class of property within the city. After some debate, the committee-of-thewhole chose to recommend council increase home tax to 3.5 per cent, reduce major industry by 1.89 per cent, decrease light industry, business and farm tax rates by 4.64 per cent, with the utility rate decreasing by 2.61 per cent. Coun. Albert Koehler voted against the
increase at the committee stage and again when it came before council Monday night. “This motion is based on an average tax increase of 3.5 per cent,� Koehler said. “It’s known I advocated for tax increases to equal inflation.� He said the idea was integral to his campaign, and though the cost of everything continues to increase, the city is in the midst of finding efficiencies which can lessen the financial burden on the city in a manner that doesn’t involve increasing taxes. “We should keep the taxes as low as possible,� he said, adding the tax bylaw requires more work. “Why don’t we agree on a tax levy first? It would cut through every increase in the tax pile and force us to be more fiscally prudent.� Coun. Brian Skakun directed his remarks
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to Koehler, saying the levy was discussed at length and he should have come up with solutions before the 11th hour. Coun. Cameron Stolz said he felt council did a great job fixing the tax rate, adding most of the increase would pay for improving roads and establishing a fund for renewing aging infrastructure. He said .65 per cent is the actual increase while 1.85 per cent of it is for roads and 1.8 per cent is for general infrastructure. “I think we did an excellent job and kept it below inflation,� he said. Koehler pointed out he is entitled to his opinion and added he’s been careful not to vote in favour of anything that would require a tax increase. “I think this gets us what we want without causing tax shock,� Coun. Garth Frizzell said.
Police are investigating a sexual assault that occurred in Lorne Park Saturday night. RCMP say a woman was walking through the park when she was accosted by a man who was demanding money. The woman refused and was punched and kicked before being sexually assaulted. A nearby neighbor heard the woman scream and came to help. Together, with the victim, they were able to end the attack. The victim was taken to hospital and treated for a number of injuries before being released. Before entering Lorne Park, the victim was walking with another woman who had noticed the man earlier and was concerned for her safety. The police are interested in talking with this woman. Police would also like to speak to anyone that may have had an uncomfortable encounter with a male of a similar description recently, especially in the area bound by: Massey Drive to the north, Westwood Drive to the east, Ferry Avenue to the south, Ospika Boulevard to the west. At this point the man has not been identified. Through a number of inquiries it has been noted that the man has approached a number of females, including children. The suspect is described as: Male with a medium complexion; approximately 20 years old; six feet tall and stocky; large dark coloured tattoo on his left arm; wearing a hat, dark shorts, white high top basketball shoes with Velcro type fasteners and a backpack. “The Prince George RCMP do not take these reports lightly,� said Prince George RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Craig Douglass. “We have deployed a number of resources to this investigation and will continue to follow up on every tip and every bit of evidence. Please call us if you have any information to offer.�
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