City Gets 166K For Trails

Monday, November 10, 2008 11:21 AM

l-r Minister of Forests and Range Pat Bell,Councillors Murry Krause and Sherry Sethen, Mayor Colin Kinsley, Councillors Don Basserman and Shirley Graton and Deputy Premier, Minister of Education, Shirley Bond

PRINCE GEORGE - Through the Job Opportunities Program, Prince George will receive $166,411 to improve safety on the Cranbrook Hill Greenway trails, Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell announced today. The Project will employ up to six displace forest workers. The project will be done in partnership with the Cranbrook Hill Greenway Society.

Mayor Colin Kinsley says this will open the door for bigger funds for other projects. "This is just a start" the Mayor said.

Prince George will receive $166,411 from the Community Development Trust's Job Opportunity Program to remove mountain pine beetle-killed trees and hazard trees with root-rot on the Greenway Trail, improve safety for trail users and reduce fire hazards.

"These funds are a bridging resource to deal with the severe economic challenges facing mill dependent communities," said Bell. "Prince George has been hard hit by the downturn and I'm inspired to see they saw the value of this opportunity to create employment and focus on key city projects."

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Posted on Monday, November 10, 2008 11:21 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: downnotout on November 10 2008 11:31 AM

will employ 6 displaced mill workers for how long. At best this is a very small bandaid. Get real and develope jobs that matter oh I forgot you don't have to worry. You are set with your wage increases and pension plans. You can afford to screw others. Wonder how Grodos boots taste. The MLA's of this area have been licking them often enough.

Posted by: BCRacer on November 10 2008 11:51 AM

Without much thought I am sure there are numerous things this city needs more urgently than more trails....but I suppose someone knows someone who wants this...

Posted by: zoopdingle on November 10 2008 12:39 PM

I wonder how much of that $166,411 will be lost in the bureaucratic nightmare that is municipal government?

As well, how many displaced mill workers are qualified to be cutting down trees? Why not spend the money training them for something that has a future?

Posted by: willowynde on November 10 2008 1:55 PM

Guess the homeless can always pitch a tent on the trails and sleep there....

Posted by: diplomat on November 10 2008 3:55 PM

"...Without much thought I am sure there are numerous things this city needs more urgently than more trails..."

Not far from Mr. Bell's office (within view) we urgently need a right hand exit lane of proper length (going north on Central) from Central to 5th Avenue!

It is only ONE car length long - too short! And this is not the only place on Central where right hand exit lanes are too short.

Through traffic on a green light is often held up long enough by vehicles lined up to make a right hand exit that the right hand lane is blocked for those who want to proceed straight ahead so that they must wait for another traffic light cycle before they finally make it through.

Trails are fine and any money for them is great - but what about basic traffic flow on a provincial thoroughfare?

Give us a break, Mr. Bell!

Posted by: robichal on November 10 2008 4:03 PM

Not that this matters...but the article said "displaced Forest workers" not mill workers - big difference.

Posted by: zoopdingle on November 10 2008 4:19 PM

quote:

"Not that this matters...but the article said "displaced Forest workers" not mill workers - big difference."

Perhaps someone edited the story when they added the picture? This is not exactly a professional news venue.

Posted by: meisner on November 10 2008 4:46 PM

Kindly read the information from the province with respect to today�s announcement... Forest workers is obviously who they are directing the money towards... We at Opinion250 don�t make up news we report it.

said Lekstrom. "This project
will help forest workers, and at the same time build recreational and
tourism assets in Prince George."

"The many skilled forestry workers living Prince George deserve the
opportunity to stay in our community as we wait for the industry's
inevitable upturn," said Prince George MLA Shirley Bond layoffs on workers directly employed in the forest industry, retain
skilled forestry workers.
The objectives of the program are to reduce the impact of current
layoffs on workers directly employed in the forest industry, retain
skilled forestry workers for the anticipated future upturn, and
preserve the characteristics of the labour force in forestry-dependent
communities
Do you think the government had in mind forestry workers?

Posted by: BCRacer on November 10 2008 6:08 PM

Know you only report the news there Ben, but I still think this money could be spent on things much more needed...
Couldn't the diplaced ones be taught how to fill pot holes or some other such task...one thought and I am sure a lot more are out there...
I think the government is waving a little cash around only because a provincial election is not that far away....
a little taste for those beyond HOPE

Posted by: astro on November 10 2008 6:23 PM

It says displaced forest workers. This does not mean tree planters who are displaced silvaculture workers. Much money for replanting cut trees and dead trees from the pine beetle is not been spent on planting trees. Some of the money allocated for replanting went to extend the runway so PG can have 747's land here. Good luck with that great plan. It's time the present politicians got their heads out of the sand and started to do some good or else get out of office. This is not a bad idea but much more needs to be done to revive our forests so they are sustainable.

Posted by: interceptor on November 10 2008 7:57 PM

Youre kidding right Diplomat? URGENTLY? You must be one of the impatient goofs I see driving over the curb and bouncing through the holes in the meridian to get to 5th ave. Heres an idea, leave a few minutes earlier or take a different route...

Posted by: zoop on November 10 2008 9:15 PM

quote:
"Kindly read the information from the province with respect to today�s announcement... Forest workers is obviously who they are directing the money towards... We at Opinion250 don�t make up news we report it."

I would respond under my normal account but I guess "meisner" doesn't like anyone pointing out that he's just a pathetic old man who doesn't realize that his relevancy is zero.

Meisner wouldn't know news if it bit him on the ass...'Golly gee..hee ick...I bought me some radio time! I must be important"....more like impotent... Why not assemble your mediocre following and run for office?

Posted by: Eagleone on November 11 2008 5:12 AM

Zoop you have no class. Why shoot the messenger with what amounts to a vicious personal attack and then hide behind your pseudonym? You're not even man enough to specify why it is you've made things so personal... which IMO is a real sign of a sour coward. Grow up dude and relax a little bit, and don't take things so seriously, and if you have a real problem then be a man about it (use your name, specify the issue) if you're trying to prove who is more relevant you and your pseudonym... or Ben.

For everyone else please note what it looks like to be a foolish boy that foams at the mouth thinking the more crude the comment the more relevant it becomes. Obviously those kind of people are nobodies with anger management issues... and as such those comments are the real ones that are irrelevant.

Thanks zoop for this opportunity to recognize what it means to post as a fool.

Cheers

Posted by: Eagleone on November 11 2008 5:18 AM

I think the money was well spent. Tax dollars going directly to the workers to be spent back in our local economy improving the community quality of life infrastructure with no on-going service costs and no user fees for anybody in the community that wishes to benefit from the trails and the project provides utility in its fire break objective that is a legitimate safety concern. How can anybody legitimately argue with that unless they are using hypothetical win/lose scenarios where no one ever wins?

Honesty I don't like all the actors involved, but if they want to get their picture taken and look good then great I say if I agree with the announcement. To bad the announcement is in the week of an election though....

Posted by: BCRacer on November 11 2008 5:57 AM

Yje money helping out the workers is fine...but I don't think we need these "trails"..and that is my issue not the money....

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on November 11 2008 7:18 AM

Trails ... Hmm, now which mayorality candidate wants to spend the city taxes on making trails as his pet project?
Province, OK. But I want my city taxes decreased as much as the province has done, if the city starts building trails.

I'm not voting for trails in the city election, sorry.

Posted by: diplomat on November 11 2008 7:20 AM

Interceptor:"Youre kidding right Diplomat? URGENTLY? You must be one of the impatient goofs I see driving over the curb and bouncing through the holes in the meridian to get to 5th ave. Heres an idea, leave a few minutes earlier or take a different route..."

Thank you for your educated remarks! I am neither a goof nor am I impatient. I leave early enough and I have time to wait. And I do wait because I have no choice. While I am waiting my engine is idling and so are the engines of others who can't get going.

My concern is about keeping the traffic flowing by providing proper highways with proper exit lanes. It's also about unnecessary air pollution!

You yourself can see that people are frustrated by the lack of a proper exit lane and *drive over the curb and bounce through holes in the meridian to get to 5th Ave.*

Of course, we can all just forget about the government providing proper highways with our tax money and just keep driving over curbs and churning up the adjacent landscape.

The money can go to other cities where people actually demand and get proper highways.

It's a serious matter and nothing to be kidding about.

Posted by: active on November 11 2008 12:03 PM

trails = quality of life.
If we don't have quality of life, forget about having any doctors or teachers or university professors living here.
Forget about getting another #1 McLean's ranking for our university.
For that matter, forget about a large part of our economy.

Posted by: BCRacer on November 11 2008 1:59 PM

Okay active you pay for them...
and collect a fee from those who want to use them..
I really don't feel i should pay for your amusement...
but enjoy ...if you must...but not on my coin...

Posted by: Chester on November 11 2008 2:40 PM

The Greenway trails have been there for 15 years. Our Rotary Club sponsored a section of the trail and put in some bridges. They are used by many people. Putting a few people to work for a few months to keep the trails safe is a great use of govenment money. These folks could be sitting home watching TV and doing nothing except collecting welfare or EI. So, what is wrong with a little more employment? Everyone needs to work. Some work is better than no work in my opinion.

Posted by: NMG on November 11 2008 4:50 PM

"Okay active you pay for them and collect a fee from those who want to use them. I really don't feel i should pay for your amusement but enjoy if you must but not on my coin"

Is that really your logic? Okay then, here we go:

- I haven't had anyone close to me die lately so I don't want to pay for any cemetary maintenance
- I don't know anyone that was laid off from a mill job so I don't want my tax dolars going for re-training initiatives
- I never play slow pitch so I don't want my money going towards the ball diamonds
- I don't drive up on the Hart, so I don't want to pay for road maintenace up there
- I don't have any kids so I want a refund on all those school taxes I've paid

I could go on and on and on. The point obviously being that when it comes to tax dollars we oftentimes have to pony up for things that as individuals, we will never benefit from. That's pretty much the way our entire society works when it comes to taxes. Don't like how the money is being spent? Wait for the next election, find like minded people and get enough support to change the government. It would be relatively simple if there were enough people that shared your opinion. Thankfully, there probably aren't.

Posted by: diplomat on November 12 2008 7:34 AM

Taxes are collected from everybody. Are there things that Prince George needs more urgently than more trails? Of course. That doesn't mean that more trails is a bad idea or not a good thing.

We should be aware of priorities.

Posted by: BCRacer on November 12 2008 9:22 AM

amen diplomat...
priorities....