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LAWNMOWER STARTED ROMANCE Page 11
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Thursday, August 20, 2020
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PRINCEGEORGECITIZEN
Assault rifle seized at standoff Citizen staff
Six people were arrested last Friday morning after a lengthy standoff with police at a home in the 2600-block of Oak Street.
CITIZEN STAFF PHOTO
The Exploration Place’s assistant director Lisa Connor rides a mechanical horse purchased by the museum, which arrived last Friday. The horse is the same model as Champion, which was located in Northern Hardware for decades before the 100-year-old store closed in February.
New Champion ready to ride
ARTHUR WILLIAMS Citizen staff
There’s a new Champion in town.
Champion, the popular mechanical horse ride, was one of the artifacts The Exploration Place acquired when Northern Hardware closed in February after 100 years of business in Prince George. But when museum checked the mechanical condition of the original Champion, it was clear it was time to put him out to pasture, The Exploration Place CEO Tracey Calogheros said. “He was not going to be able to toler-
ate the level of ridership he’d get here,” Calogheros said. With an artifact like Champion, which many people remember riding, it didn’t seem right to put it behind glass where people can’t touch it, she said. After some searching, museum staff were able to find a matching horse in usable condition for sale in Florida. “So we bought it. We had him painted to match the original Champion,” Calogheros. “When The Exploration Place opens in 2021, this one will be on the floor.” The museum still intends to preserve
and display the original Champion, along with some of the other artifacts from Northern Hardware, she added. While the original Champion was only $0.10 to ride, the new Champion is a quarter horse. “Twenty-five cents was the cheapest we could find,” Calogheros said. “I guess it’s been a long time since anything was 10 cents.” Finding the parts to convert the pay box to take dimes proved impossible, she said. But the museum will look at the possibility of getting slugs made, so riders only have to pony up 10 cents per ride.
Police were called to the scene around 4 a.m. Frontline officers secured the area, and North District RCMP’s Emergency Response Team was called in to assist. Residents in the area were warned about what was happening. At approximately 11 a.m., the occupants of the home were arrested without further incident. Five men and one woman in the home were arrested, and police seized an AK-47-type firearm. “These events take time because we’re patient. It’s public safety, public safety, public safety,” RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Craig Douglass said. “Somebody brought a firearm into that residence. Part of it is we don’t know if it’s a hostage situation, if it’s a home invasion.” No shots were fired, and the early evidence suggests that it wasn’t a hostage situation, Douglass said. However, the investigation is still in the early stages, and that could change as new information comes to light, he said. “They could have come out at any time, they knew we were there,” he said. “They chose not to.” Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Prince George RCMP at 250-561-3300. Tips can also be made anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477), or online at www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca.