Friday, May 10, 2019 | Your community newspaper since 1916
BX Pub wins game of throne Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
Larry Johnson has finally sold the throne that has been for sale in The Citizen classified section since February 2013. The BX Pub owners bought the chair.
The BX Pub was next in line for the throne. The local bar and grill is now the proud owner of the city’s most famous chair and they have made it available to the public. Instead of warring and scheming to be ensconced upon some palatial iron cathedra, there is now an ornate wooden one that sits as the primary seat of any party at the pub. “It looks great in here, with all the wooden interiors,” said Larry Johnson, who bought the wooden throne about 18 years ago from an antique fair at the Coast Inn of the North. It was a replica of a regal chair attributed to Sir Stamford Raffles, an early 19th century British colonial leader known for his pursuit of natural sciences and vehement anti-slavery views. The throne features an ornate, tall back and lions fronting both arm rests. Johnson put it up for sale in the Prince George Citizen classifieds in 20013 for a one-time fee on an indefinite schedule. A dozen years later, it finally sold. “I’m going to be a little bit sad,” he said. “There’s an empty space in my house, now. It was a conversation piece, just sitting there looking good.” Many called him to make offers, but he had one price in mind and never wavered. “I’d usually get two or three calls a year, but just in the last two weeks I had four calls. I always said I was firm on the price and if it didn’t sell, I’d get buried in it. But when the BX people called, they didn’t dicker with me at all. It was an easy deal to make.” It never would have happened were it not for all those years in The Citizen classifieds, said BX Pub proprietors Julie and Justin Mousseau. “We’ve talked about this throne with friends and family and customers, and we have a good sense of humour,” said Justin, who said it was about a year of regular conversations about buying the opulent chair. “One day we were talking about it and Julie basically just said ‘enough’s enough, we should buy this thing and get it here, so it can be our birthday throne.’” They hefted the big chair into their main floorspace and before they’d even posted their news on social media, customers were
recognizing it from the paper and wanting to sit in it themselves. “It was famous. People recognized it right away,” Justin said. “The picture in the classifieds didn’t even really do it justice, it really is a beautiful throne, and I’m glad we got it and thought to do a (public service announcement) about it. I think it’s good for Prince George to know what happened to it and where they can come and finally see it in person. I think if it just disappeared from the paper it would drive people crazy. People really needed to know about this thing.” Prince George Citizen classifieds supervisor Derek Springall said “the first call I got on Monday morning was someone asking me if the rumours were true, that someone had finally bought the wooden throne.” It was within the paper’s rights to cease running the ad, under the terms of advertising, but Springall said there was no reason to stop and the chair had become a public touchstone. “We actually put a ‘sold’ sign on the ad, we’re going to run that a few times just to give people a chance to get used to the idea it’ll be gone,” Springall said. “People have made it a talking point over the years, and I guarantee it wouldn’t have sold had it been advertised on social media. Our classifieds turned it into an inanimate celebrity. “The classifieds in the local paper gave it a legitimacy and a special kind of buzz. I’ve gotten so many phone calls over the years, people just wanting to ask about it.” Johnson agreed that it was the local classified ads that did the trick, since it was a particularly niche item that did not have a widespread market. The Mousseaus also said it was the constant presence of the chair in the daily classifieds that nudged them towards this purchase and it is already paying off. They had a party booked the same day they got the chair into their special event room and people were lined up for selfies on the throne. “We have a lot of milestone events, people book our place for parties and now we will have a booking process for the throne so we don’t end up double-booking it,” said Justin. “We don’t want to disappoint people. We’ve already heard from our customers that this is a popular feature.”
Low B.C. snowpacks reduce flood UNBC offering early risk, hike chance of droughts retirement packages The Canadian Press/Prince George Citizen
Snowpacks across British Columbia are below normal this year, reducing the likelihood of flooding but raising the spectre of dry conditions this summer. The River Forecast Centre has released its latest Snow Survey and Water Supply Bulletin showing the average of all mountain snowpacks in B.C. is calculated at just 79 per cent of normal. The Upper Fraser West stood at 98 per cent of normal, Upper Fraser East at 92 per cent and the Nechako at 87 per cent, according to the bulletin dated May 1. “Close to normal seasonal flood risk is expected,” in the Upper Fraser. The northwest, Vancouver Island, Nicola and Similkameen regions have snowpacks below 60 per cent of normal. The Skagit, which lies along the United States border between Hope and Princeton, has a snowpack level of just 15 per cent of normal, while the report says no regions in B.C. have above normal snow levels. Melting, especially at the low- to mid-level in the southern Interior, has been well ahead of schedule while the bulletin warns that limited runoff across Vancouver Island, the south coast and Lower Fraser regions could create low flow issues in rivers this summer. It also flags the well-below normal snowpack in the northwest and Stikine regions as an
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University of Northern British Columbia faculty members are being offered early retirement packages in a bid to lower costs at the university. In a letter to faculty, UNBC president Daniel Weeks said the intent is to close the salary gap with comparator universities. The overall number of faculty will remain the same, he stressed. “If 20 faculty members choose to take advantage of the proposal, 20 new faculty will replace them,” Weeks said. Those interested in taking up the offer must be at least 55 years old and have been at UNBC at least 15 years as of the end of this year. They would receive a month’s pay for each year of service to a maximum of 18 months. The UNBC Faculty Association has agreed to the arrangement. Weeks’ letter was issued March 2, just as bargaining began March 5 on a new contract with the UNBC Faculty Association. The current contract expires on June 30. “The faculty association and university agree that this is as an opportunity for those who have made significant contributions to UNBC over their long, productive careers, while safeguarding those who plan to continue doing so in the future,” Weeks
said. “Moreover, the ERO (early retirement offer) will provide budget savings to be used exclusively to help close the salary gap through the new compensation framework agreement between the faculty association and the university.” Faculty originally had until April 30 to apply, with the provost giving approval by May 10. But the deadlines have since been extended to May 15 and May 31. Those who accept the package have the option of retiring on June 30 or Dec. 30 or no later than June 30, 2020, for those with extenuating circumstances, including program needs. And, if the number of applications exceed one-third of tenured and continuing members in any department, retirement dates will be staggered to make sure no more than one-third of those positions are vacant at any one time. As well, $4,000 will be added to the post-retirement fund for every offer that has been accepted. A similar offer is also in place for the school of education. Referred to as a voluntary exit package, it has no limits on age and years of service and UNBC is committed to replacing each of those who leave within one year of departure. The deadline to apply was April 30 and the deadline for provost approval is on Friday.
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Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
CITIZEN FILE PHOTO
A bulldozer moves snow up the pile at the city snow dump at 17th Avenue and Foothills Boulevard in January. indication for the potential for low seasonal runoff. Although the unseasonably early snowmelt pattern and skimpy overall snowpacks could affect river levels in July and August, the immediate forecast likely offers some relief to Okanagan and southern B.C. communities ravaged by floods last spring. “At this stage in the season there is no elevated flood risk present in the current snowpack across the province,” the report states. The peak freshet season is due to arrive in watersheds, including the Kettle River through Grand Forks, Mission Creek near Kelowna and the Similkameen River around Princeton, within the next week or two. The centre cautioned that usually wet conditions across B.C. in May and June could quickly
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alter its predictions. “Weather during the freshet season also plays a key role, and flooding is possible in years with near normal or low snowpack,” the report says. “In areas with low snowpack, key flood risks shift towards heavy precipitation events, either short-duration events or prolonged periods of wet weather.” Heavy rains could extend the flood season in the Rockies and northeast into July, the report says, although it also notes that seasonal forecasts from Environment Canada are currently calling for a period of warmer weather across British Columbia. The River Forecast Centre will issue another update on the flood risk forecast May 22. — with files from Mark Nielsen
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See page 2 for more details and short-term forecasts
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