Flats. iy WRECKAGE of an ultralight airplane is half hid- den in dense bush near a field in Jackpine Flats. Man killed in ultralight crash A TERRACE MAN was killed last week when the ultralight airplane he was flying crashed in Jackpine Police say 60-year-old Clarence Baker suffered mas- sive head and body injuries in the June 3 crash and was pronounced dead at Mills Memorial Hospital. Apparently Baker had been practicing short take-offs and landings from a small runway on his property at the end of Crystal Road. He had only recently bought the ultralight and was just testing the craft. Police say Baker may have accidentally taken off too high and lost control of the plane. He crashed into dense trees and brush only metres from the runway. - Transport Canada will investigate the crash. Citizens on Patrol to check plates A TERRACE watchdog ‘group will be given a little more bite this year to help solve auto thefts. . The group Citizens on Patrol will be receiving two hand-held computers that will provide licence. plate numbers of stolen vehicles. - Last year, the number of vehicles stolen, here. more. than doubled, from 29 in 1995 to 60 in 1996. And that has been a great con- cern for both police and ICBC. “It’s definitely a growing problem in the area,’” says constable Tracy Harvie of the Terrace detachment. ‘‘T think these computers will be a real asset.”’ There are about 20 Citizens on Patrol in Ter- race. They volunteer their time to drive around and look for any suspicious ac- tivity, which they report fo the police. “They act as an extra sct of eyes for us,’ Harvie says. “It’s a very worthwhile program.”’ Every week, the com- puters will receive updated software that lists the licence numbers of all the stolen vehicles in the area. Patrollers: simply punch in the licence number of a suspect vehicle and the computer tells them if it matches a stolen car’s plate number. Then they call the police. “They don’t have any fur- ther involvement,” says Paul MecNicholls of ICBC, which provides the com- puters. ‘'We don’t want citizens’ groups wrestling with car thieves.’’ McNicholls says the tremendous jump in auto crime here was a big con- cem for the Insurance Cor- poration, To help lower the numbers, the Combat Auto Theft program was started, and the computers were re- quested. So far this year, car thefts have actually dropped 25 per cent, from 12 in 1996 to nine in 1997. MeNicholls says that's good news, And although the numbers are still high, “they’re nothing like some communities in the pro- vince, “Williams Lake is a real hotspot,’ he says. ‘‘While we've had nine thefts this | year they've had 85,” The Terrace RCMP are also looking for new _volunteers for the Citizens on Patrol program. For more information, contact Con- stable Harvie at the Terrace detachment. The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 11, 1997 - A7 Unemployment rate here falls THE UNEMPLOYMENT rate in northwestern B.C, sank to 8.1 per cent in May. That’s one of the lowest unemploy- ment rates in the province and is well below the provincial average of 8.9 per cent, Although the figure here isn’t very impressive when compared to last May’s low rate of 6.6 per cent, labour market analyst James Gilham says 1996 was an anomaly. “Last year was really weird — it was so low that it was almost tidiculous,”’ Gilham said. ‘‘But at the same time the population of the region appears to have increased from 77,400 to 78,800.”” At the same time, the number of people wha are either employed or are currently seeking employment has also increased to 73 per cent “The increase in the participation rate is not so much a reflection of the numbers of people unemployed, but that there are more people secking employment,”’ he said. an opportunity or a need to be employed.” Gilham also added that the survey did not take into account the numbers of students seeking employment, ¢x- pected to spike in the coming weeks. “The numbers will slowly start ef- fecting the rates when the grade 12s come out,’ said Gilham about the probability of students increasing the rate of unemployment. He said province-wide stats show youths trying to find work so far are not having much success. James Gilham WILD CHASE “*More of them think that they have Police dog Cody nabs fleeing men A MANHUNT for two wanted men took police on a two-and-a-half hour marathon chase through Thornhill last week. The mounties ultimately got their men — but they needed the region’s police dog to do it, At about 3:30 p.m. June 5, police tried to ar- rest two men — one adult and one young of- fender, at a Thornhill home. The pair were wanted for assault causing bodily harm, common assault and other charges, but they fled on foot with a third youth when police approached. Luckily, Cpl. Lothar Bretfeld and police dog Cody were in town at the time, and they weré called in to track the trio. “We were really Fortunate they were here,”’ says Terrace RCMP Cpl. Anders Udsen. Cody quickly picked up the suspects’ tracks and Ied police on a chase through most of Thorhill, from Highway 16 to Krumm Road and from Highway 37 to Crescent Road. The third man was flushed out early in the chase and arrested, but the others continued to elude capture for nearly three hours. The pair were finally run to ihe ground at ap- proximately 6:30 p.m.. They gave themselves up with Cody only 200 yards behind and gain- ing. The two were arrested without a struggle. Udsen says this chase is just one example of how what the officer/dog team handles. For them to get called out at 3 a.m. is typi- cal,’ Udsen says. ‘“He (Bretfeld) is a phenomenal guy to have around and his dog is highly successful.’’ Unfortunately, Breticid and Cody only spend about one third of their time in Terrace. That’s because the pair has to cover a vast area from Bella Coola to the Yukon border and from the Queen Charlottes east all the way to Houston. The two actually drive some 80,000 kilometres every year, Udsen says Cody is excellent at tracking fugi- tives, search and rescue, sniffing out weapons and narcotics, and apprehending criminals. ‘They are indispensable,” he says. ‘People don’! give you any static when there’s a dog that’s all fang and teeth staring down at them.’’ Prince Rupert has it’s own police dog/handler team and Udsen says obtaining a full-time team for Terrace would be a huge bencfit to Terrace and to the RCMP detachment here. “This area is growing tremendously. We could easily support one more full-time dog,” he says: ‘They’re worth their weight in gold.’ ee aed conae ott y ‘ The easiest way to get into Canada’s best selling minivan. 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