Issuu

Wednesday, April 10, 2019 | Your community newspaper since 1916

CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

If the shoe fits... Ferrier Ryan Clarke prepares the hooves of Ben for a new set of shoes at the Exhibition Grounds on Tuesday morning.

Hot spots ID’d in wildfire protection plan Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca

CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

A group plays pickle ball at the Tennis Club courts at Prince George Golf and Curling Club Tuesday morning.

City staff looking at funding possibilities for pickleball project Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff The pickleball is in the city’s court. City council directed staff on Monday night to come up with options to help fund installation of six tournament-level pickleball courts at the Prince George Tennis-Pickleball Club. The club is seeking as much as $45,000 from the city to go along with $15,000 it is to receive from Northern Development Initiative Trust if a contract to carry out the work is signed by Jan. 21, 2020. The plan is to convert two of the club’s existing tennis courts into pickleball courts. Between 120 and 150 club members play the game, board member Dan Teichroeb told council.

He said the popularity of tennis has waned while interest in pickleball, which is played on a smaller court with paddles and a perforated ball, has grown among seniors. “It’s a game that’s totally different from tennis,” Teichroeb said. “You don’t have to be able to run at breakneck speed from one side of the court to the other. We usually play four on four, it’s much more of a strategic game than the game of tennis.” With proper courts, qualified instructors and good marketing, the club’s membership could grow by 10 to 15 per cent a year, Teichroeb also said. Providing the money out of council’s contingency budget was briefly consid-

ered before councillors learned there is only $50,000 left in that account. From there, the item was referred to staff to come back with suggestions which could include finding the money from another source within the city’s existing coffers or add it to the so-called enhancements council will consider when setting the property tax levy for 2020. In the meantime, councillors suggested the club could do some additional fundraising to offset the cost, although Coun. Frank Everitt likened the project to work the city typically carries out on its arenas and fields and Coun. Murry Krause suggested the money could be found in the city’s existing recreation budget.

Shooting suspects arrested, two remain at large Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff Prince George RCMP now have in custody two of the four men suspected of participating in Friday’s armed conflict that left one man with a gunshot wound. Still at large are Kenneth Ricardo Munroe and Eric Vern West. Munroe is described as First Nations, 33 years old, five-foot-10, 161 pounds with

Today’s Weather Hi +5° Low -3° See page 2 for more details and short-term forecasts

black hair, brown eyes and the letters KRM tattooed on his neck. West is described as First Nations, 38 years old, fivefoot-11, 180 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. At about 4:15 p.m., RCMP received multiple reports of gun shots on the 2200 block of Quince Street and, upon arrival, were led to believe the source was an alley. — see ‘THIS, page 3

LOCAL HOROSCOPE NEWS OPINION MONEY

1-3 2 4-5,7 6 8

SPORTS A&E COMICS CROSSWORD CLASSIFIEDS

MUNROE

9-10 11-12 12 12 13-16

WEST

Red tape hard at work EDITORIAL 6

www.pgcitizen.ca

A campaign to thin out the most fire-prone timber in the area is part of a wide-ranging plan to protect Prince George from wildfires. In the process of developing the strategy, presented to city council on Monday night, 14 sites adding up to nearly 580 acres of Crown land in and around the city were identified as high-priority sites for the work. The concentrations of coniferous, dead and dying trees and the steepness of the slope were the criteria for choosing the locations, Mike Coulthard of Diamond Head Consulting Ltd. told council. While scattered about, he said most are north of the Nechako River. “The idea is to go into the stands and thin them out,” Coulthard said. “Break up the canopy and try and create breaks between the crowns of the trees so that if a fire does take place it’s not able to get into the top of the trees and sort of roll through the forest.” So-called crown fires, that spit out embers ahead of the main blaze, were the type seen in Fort McMurray and the Okanagan, he said. “Those are the real damaging fires that are hard to suppress,” Coulthard said. “Generally, crews are able to take hold and manage ground fires but if it reaches the top of the trees, those are the problem fires.” The plan also calls for a large fuel break just north of the Nechako Bench, where there has been an outbreak of Douglas fir beetle. With the exception of a large ravine in the middle, conifer trees would be cleared along a swath at least 100 metres wide and extending to farmland to the north. A permanent road would put through the middle and a stand of more fire-resistant deciduous trees would be planted in the zone, according to the plan. Sites treated prior to 2013 will also get attention. As for privately-owned land, the plan also calls for a FireSmart education campaign to encourage property owners to take steps to protect their homes and prevent the spread of wildfires. Officials are also in the process of developing an evacuation plan for the city and surrounding communities that should be ready by June. In all, the plan features 36 recommendations tailored towards securing funding from the provincial government, five of them listed as high priority. The full plan is posted with this story at www. pgcitizen.ca.

Newsstand $2.00 incl. tax Home Delivered 95¢/day

58307

00200