HEY: We’re giving away a car ... you could win it A3 Wednesday, May 29, 2013 Taking a look back at 12 years in the political spotlight A5
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Assaults prompt warning Prince George RCMP are urging the public to be extra cautious after recent reports of sexual assaults in the city. The most recent attack occurred Sunday evening when a 10-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by a male youth in Foot Park, near the corner of Foot Street and Massey Drive. The girl was in the park with other children when she was approached and inappropriately touched by an unknown male. The girl advised caregivers who called police. Patrols of the area and a police service dog search of the park, did not locate the suspect. The suspect is described as: First Nations male, 13 to 15 years old, moustache and beard, baggy red shirt. This assault follows a similar assault in the same area on Friday. In this incident, a female jogger was in the area of Massey Drive and Ospika Boulevard when she was inappropriately touched by a man on a bicycle. The suspect in this investigation is described as: First Nations male; 20 to 25 years old; 5’6”; obese, short (buzz cut) dark hair, peach fuzz moustache, wearing black clothing, riding a black and white mountain bike The Prince George RCMP recognize the similarities in these incidents including the suspect description and the geographical area in which they occurred. The investigation is continuing. Police are requesting help from the public and urging persons to exercise caution.
Phone 250-563-6444 Toll Free 1-800-219-6327 910 Third Avenue, Prince George, BC Email polarrefrig@telus.net polarrefrig.ca
Breathing a little easier
CREEPY CRAWLIES
DELYNDA PILON
newsroom@pgfreeepress.com
Teresa MA LLA M/ Free Press
Caterpillars blanket a birch tree in downtown Prince George. The city has been inundated with the critters for the past week as they eat foliage everywhere they go.
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Those who grew up in the city might have heard it called the smell of money, but sulphur was anything but a pleasant odour permeating Prince George in past decades. Terry Robert, executive director of the Prince George Air Improvement Roundtable, explained to council Monday that, though unpleasant, the scent of sulphur has little effect on human health. Nevertheless they have succeeded in significantly lowering that particulate, not only because the smell lends the city a certain reputation but because the odour is usually experienced during an inversion, which means other, more dangerous fine particulates are also in the air, though people may not smell them. Robert said the group aspires to reduce all significant emission sources by 40 per cent by 2016, adding the organization is an interagency collaboration composed of volunteers. “We want to get below the provincial objective,” he said. Thus far, the group has succeeded in improving air quality over time, with a series of sensors on top of the Ramada providing realtime data so they can better strategize projects to help them reach their goal. The general trend, Robert said, is a continuous reduction in fine particulate matter in the city with a few spikes noted throughout the years. For instance, in 2010 there was a bit of a spike. “That was due to the high forest fire season,” Robert said, adding things like the weather also affect air quality, and is also beyond the group’s ability to control. Education is an important part of what PGAIR does, as is providing incentives to help local businesses and residents further reduce the amount of particulates they emit. For example, Robert said 51 rebates, 34 to residents of the city, have been issued in the wood stove exchange program. “Many people have difficulty storing the wood,” Robert said. “We are working on a community wood stacking program.” Robert said another project is the volatile organic compound odour characteristic study, being conducted since formaldehyde was discovered in the Millar Addition. The findings from that study should be available mid-June. Education and Research make up 37 per cent of PGAIR’s budget (22 per cent and 15 per cent) while operations take 17 per cent and monitoring 16 per cent. “For every dollar we get from the City of Prince George, we leverage $3,” Robert said. He added, as things look now, the group has about a 50/50 chance not having an air quality advisory during the Canada Winter Games.