A mistrial was declared late Friday in the proceedings for Lochlan Stanley Ferguson, 20, charged with being a party to the offence of robbery.Prince George provincial court judge Darrell O'Byrne determined there had been a mistrial after a discussion with lawyers about whether the accused, after his arrest, had been fully apprised of his right to speedy access to counsel under the Charter of ...

The names of the two people found murdered in a Webber Crescent home this week are Garett John McComb, 23, and Brittany Joan Giese, 19. Both are residents of Prince George.Police were called to a home in the 2300 block of Webber Crescent on Tuesday night with information that something was amiss inside. Police knew the home from a previous raid less than a month ago that turned up handguns ...

Today's Citizen Reader Photo of the Day was sent to us by Debbie Robinson."On the way home to Prince George from Kamloops we saw this just passed Quesnel in a paddock, made us laugh."If you have a photo you'd like to share, whether it be cute or newsy, send it to rheidt@pgcitizen.ca with a caption that includes your name and a description of the photo.

The city's unemployment rate was down slightly last month from the month before, StatsCan figures show.However, it was up significantly from comparable figures from last fall, said Vincent Ferrao, labour market analyst for Statistics Canada.In September Prince George's unemployment rate was 8.2 per cent, down 0.5 of a percentage point from 8.7 per cent in August but up 2.6 percentage points from ...

Today is the final day for nominations for board of education candidates. As of press time on Thursday, the election was short one candidate for trustee."We now have six confirmed candidates," said School District 57's deputy chief election officer Wendy De Marsh. "We are hopeful for more by (tonight's 4 p.m.) deadline; we have given out 13 nomination packages so there are some that remain out ...

The Free Spirit Conservation Tour is on at The Exploration Place. The traveling exhibit -- based on the Free Spirit: Stories of You, Me and B.C. exhibition at the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria -- celebrates the province's 150 year-history. The idea of the traveling version is to engage the entire province.It runs from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and Saturday. Admission is free. ----AiMHi’s Community ...

Thousands of spiders southwest of Vanderhoof have produced enough silk to cover alfalfa fields with white strands."At times it almost seems as if the fields are under water, but we know there's no water out there," said Lynn Weinhardt, who with her family runs sheep, cattle, a llama and two goats on 1,500 acres near Kenney Dam and Telegraph roads. Sometimes the wet webs and silk strands ...

Now is the time to put on snow tires. Mounties are urging the public to put the proper footwear on your vehicles as soon as possible. The overnight fall of snow was the best warning the driving public could receive, said RCMP Sgt. Pat McTiernan. "The tire shops were really busy on Thursday morning, I understand," he said. "This is the time of year you can expect anything. It is OK to put snow ...

PORTLAND, ORE. -- From paying for stepped-up security patrols to establishing a daytime gathering place for the homeless, downtown Portland merchants have put their money into schemes and strategies to ensure their patrons come away from the area feeling they would like to come back.They may not be the only reason pedestrian traffic jumped 25 per cent during the 2007 Christmas shopping season, ...

PORTLAND, ORE. -- As someone who's worked with the homeless for more than 20 years now, Erika Silver speaks in glowing terms about the city's Housing First strategy.Rather than making housing the end-point, the approach emphasizes getting the homeless into stable accommodation and then providing the services to deal with their problems and make them productive members of society."It's just ...

Full-tournament passes to what stands to be the highest-calibre baseball event in the city’s history go on sale next Thursday.The World Baseball Challenge will bring to Prince George Citizen Field a lineup that includes Canada’s national team, the national teams of Cuba and Taiwan, the semi-pro Reno Astros, and the host Prince George Axemen.Tickets will be available at all Ticketmaster outlets ...

Because the Prince George Cougars have played five of their first seven games at home, the resurgent franchise has yet to reveal to the rest of the league its latest weapons.Sure, WHL clubs know all about overager Kevin Armstrong, the netminder of record in every game of the team’s 6-1-0-0 mark -- he’s been around for four years, and this is his third stop.The rest of the league is also well ...

When the Kelly Road Roadrunners manage to stay within the rules of the game, they’re a pretty good football team.But too many times this season in the Northern High School Football League, the Roadrunners have ruffled the feathers of the referees and paid steep penalties.It got so bad on opening day against the College Heights Cougars, the Roadrunners’ penalty yards doubled the total yards ...

Brent Martin was in familiar surroundings on Wednesday, yet stuck in a dapper suit and tie he was strangely uncomfortable.Martin, a 16-year-old left-winger with the Prince Albert Raiders, had been at CN Centre many times before -- as a season-ticket user for Prince George Cougars games, or on the ice. But never as a disappointed and injured scratched player for the visiting team.Martin, a ...

Colby Haviland of the Prince George Polars blocks the net on the court opposite to College Heights Cougars setter Christian Dougherty during a tournament-opening match at the Jon Bragg Memorial senior boys volleyball tournament at College Heights secondary school. College Heights went on to win in three sets (25-16, 24-26, 15-7). In the other match, the Duchess Park Condors swept the Kelly ...

As a lead-in to the Canadian Finals Rodeo, the West of the Rockies Pro Rodeo Finals are once again attracting a star-studded cast of characters to CN Centre for the three-day event, Oct. 17-19.Russ Hallaby of Airdrie, Alta, the winningest bareback rider in Canada, heads the list of rough stock riders, and he’ll have some tough company in bareback taking on Clayton Bunney of Cessford, Alta., ...

The names of the two people found murdered in a Webber Crescent home this week are Garett John McComb, 23, and Brittany Joan Giese, 19. Both are residents of Prince George.Police were called to a home in the 2300 block of Webber on Tuesday night with information that something was amiss inside. Police knew the home from a previous raid less than a month ago that turned up handguns and five ...

A crash between a dump truck and a pickup has seriously injured one driver at the Norman Lake turnoff on Highway 16 West. The first on the scene happened to be ambulance paramedics and RCMP said that was a "very lucky" turn of events inside the incident. "Both vehicles were westbound on Highway 16 and looks to be a rear-end collision of the pickup into the back end of the dump truck's pup ...

The victims of Tuesday's homicides have still not been identified publicly, but police have disclosed that they are a 19-year-old female and a 23-year-old male. Police held the scene in stasis for most of Wednesday before the search warrant process allowed them to enter and begin the forensic evidence collection. The bodies were transported from the home in the 2300 block of Webber ...

The present is also the future, or vice versa -- and it looks awfully good on the Prince George Cougars.The Cougars, led by stellar games from veteran Dana Tyrell and rookie Brett Connolly, scored two goals in the third period Wednesday to skate out of town with a 3-2 over the Prince Albert Raiders.The Cougars, who now embark on a nine-game road swing that starts Friday in Kamloops, are ...