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Friday, March 8, 2019 | Your community newspaper since 1916

CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN

RCMP emergency response team members prepare to take a male into custody at a home on Hadlen Road Thursday afternoon.

Police incident puts schools on lockdown Citizen staff Students at two Hart area schools were kept indoors as an RCMP emergency response team was called about midday

Thursday to a report of a man in mental distress at a nearby home. Because the incident appeared to involve a firearm, both Kelly Road Secondary School and Heather Park Elementary

School were placed on forms of lockdown. By about 1:20 p.m. the man was in custody and subsequently taken to hospital, RCMP said. Shortly afterwards, the schools were

listed as “all clear.” “The Prince George RCMP want to thank the public, school staff, students and parents, for their patience during this incident,” RCMP said.

CITIZEN STAFF PHOTO

Commuters heading along Third Avenue make their way as water gushes up through the pavement on Wednesday.

Third Avenue reopened Citizen staff

CITIZEN FILE PHOTO

A bulldozer moves snow up the pile at the city snow dump at 17th Avenue and Foothills Boulevard in January.

Retired city manager to review snow control Citizen staff A retired senior manager has been brought in to review the city’s snow control operations in the wake of the heavy snowfall that struck the city early in the new year. Frank Blues, who managed snow removal and budgeting for the majority of his 30 years with the city, will also look at how other municipalities carry out the work. The aim is to bring recommendations to city council by the end of May, city engineering and public works manager Dave Dyer said in a report to council, included in the agenda package for this Monday’s meeting. He said the decision to hire Blues was made in response to an “after action review” of the major

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Suspicious truck seen near school Citizen staff

snowfall that struck the city. Starting on Dec. 30, snowfall totalling 42 centimetres fell on the city and was immediately followed by rainfall and then temperatures to -25 C. The timeframe for clearing of all 700 kilometres of roads and 200 km of sidewalks was seven days and during that time 487 service requests were received, Dyer said. A similar review was conducted after 90 centimetres of snow fell on the city over five days in February 2018, Dyer added. He said it led to a number of recommendations that were then “examined by the divisions and detailed actions and timelines were assigned,” he said. “One of those recommendations for continuous improvement was to review the snow and ice control council procedure and propose updates for council’s consideration.”

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Third Avenue was completely reopened to traffic by midday Thursday after city workers brought gushing water from a broken water main under control. They were brought in after the water main, installed in 1956 and made of cast iron, ruptured Wednesday at about 4 p.m., forcing a closure of Third from Winnipeg to Rupert Streets. Small fountains of water gushed up through the pavement for a time. Workers and heavy equipment were brought in to

dig down to the water main, replace the damaged section and to remove ice and snow from catch basins so water could drain into the storm sewer system. By about midday, the hole had been refilled and the section patched up with gravel. It should be repaved by March 22, the city said in a press release issued Thursday. Just under a kilometre of water mains are scheduled for replacement this year, the city added, with the work funded out of revenue generated from the utility bills sent to property owners twice a year.

Prince George RCMP have received another report of a driver allegedly prowling near a local elementary school. The latest incident occurred on Friday near Quinson Elementary School on Ogilvie Street and similar to past reports, the suspect vehicle was described as a white pickup truck. The truck, which also had a very dirty tailgate, was seen looping slowly around the school, RCMP were told. The occurrence is similar to ones reported on Feb. 19 and 25 near Heritage Elementary

McLachlin leading investigation

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School on Anderson Street, about two kilometres to the east, police added. In both of those incidents, RCMP said, a man driving a white truck had approached children after school. No description of the driver was available for this latest one. Anyone who may have information about the incidents is asked to contact the Prince George RCMP at 250-561-3300 or anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.pgcrimestoppers. bc.ca. You do not have to reveal your identity to Crime Stoppers.

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