‘eo a ( RUPERT STEEL & SALVAGE LTD. | (Location Seal Cove TP a ars a Seamer tt fot QONP. 77/73 yi ran 4 teeareaer te ot eee) Yuyalta Spokesman R eplies To Criticismof FireFighting Operations By Jim Morris Terry Walker of the Forest Service has taken -exception to some of the statements published in an article in the Northern Times newspaper cealing with the Forest Service's handling of the KAT Fire. . In the article the Times states ‘critics’ as saying the Forest Services’ handling of the fire was a ‘classic bungle at the beginning.’ Watker says the one thing he wants to avoid is calling down the Northern Times, but some of the statements were off base and unqualified. The Times charges the Forest Service failed to recognize the danger of the KAT fire, which they say was first reported at 400 acres, and ‘this resulted in the fire spreading to 7000 a¢res. Walker denies this. . “Tt was a small fire when it was discovered at 3:25 we had a helicopter with a 300 gallon monsoon bucket on the scene two hours later. At 6:45 the firé was estimated at 20 acres. A strong wind was blowing at the time. . “At 7:30 the wind died down and the fire was . estimated at 16 to 30 acres. It was quiet for a: couple of hours then at 9:30 the fire started running over an estimated 70 acres, We couldn't do anything. If a fire starts running you better get the hell out or you will lose a life.” Walker adds at the time this was happening, the Forest Service was busy fighting two other fires, one in the Houston area and the other in the Bella Coola area. 7 a He also disputes the claim the Forest Service didn’t mobilize a chain of command so everyone knew who was in charge and what they were supposed to do, : “We had a chain of command. It was there.” Walker says some of the confusion comes from the fact most of the fire fighting forces were men pulled off the streets. They had to train the men. nosy to fight a fire, plus select and train straw sses. “It’s mass confusion for a day, then things settle down. There’s a lot of goofs, we admit it." The Times says there was a lack of accurate information both inside the Forest Service and a. poorly handled effort to inform the public about: the fire’s activity. ae “I think that statement is utter bullshit,” says Walker. “Any reporter was welcome to come out and. see the fire.” 7 He adds in the first few days of the fire, the Forest Service was kept busy containing the blaze and had little time to inform the press about what it was doing. Later the service supplied news releases to all the medias which they could use as they saw fit. “It didn’t matter who you were, you got the same shake as everyone. We never told anyone any lies about what we were doing.” In answer to the Times saying workers were often waiting around in camp for someone to tell them what to do, Walker says there was a period when there was too much slack time. “There was an attempt to alleviate the problem. It took three days to get the system set up to send the men out.” Walker compares fighting a‘ forest fire to fighting a war. He says often the battle unex- pectedly shifts away from the area you think it - will occur and men are needed in a new location and not the old one they were assigned to. In reply to the Times calling the rest camps : inadequate, Walker says the Forest Service straightened this out as quick as it could. He says the camp was originally built for 100 men and at times was inhabited by 150 to 200 men. A new one was constructed to take the pressure off the first one. In response to criticism of the food and its quantity, Walker says, ‘‘the food I had was ex- cellent.” . : He says one kitchen suffered a breakdown of communication and found it was having more men sent to it than it could feed. In time this was straightened out as well, “There was also a lot of theft. Some workers would take more than they could eat and throw the rest away.” aw agrees there was a problem one pay y. ‘There was a fault there. It was a bad decision by the fire boss. The pay was there for those who needed it. Everyone got paid a few days later. I know of one situation where a guy got paid twice.” He adds this individual is now working the second cheque off on the fire line. Walker calls the statement made by the Times to the effect B.C. needs more effective assessment and control methods for fighting fires a “Motherhood idea” which he agrees with. He says the Forest Service is always on the lookout to improve the present methods they haye for fire protection and control and they learn from each fire they fight. “There hasn't been a fire we didn’t learn from and we. learned from this fire too.” we buy COPPER . BRASS ALL METALS & BATTERIES MOK. - SAT. OPER TIL 5 p.m. . Phone 624-5699) dail f TERRACE-KITIMAT | L THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 1978 y herald VOLUME 72 No, 140 Cdn. $ Drops After P.M. Speaks Traders attribute the sudden run on the dollar to Canada’s continued high rate of inflation and unemployment, and to the U.S. dollar's slide against the Japanese yen and major European countries. The renewed downward pressure on the dollar comes after the Bank of Canada ralsed its bank rate by half a point in an attempt to attract foreign investment ° and | up the dollar. : prep . MONTREAL (CP) — The Canadian dollar fell to its lowest level in more than three months on New York ‘money markets Wednesday, the day after Prime Minister Trudeau proposed a $2- billion effort to stimulate the economy, The dollar closed at 97.75 U.S. cents, down from Tuesday's 87.69 U.S, cents, and: ita lowest level since April 24. , -Exchatge dealers in the interbank wholesale market, where banks trade large amounts. of-currencies with each other, said market participants re ‘not or > with: Trideau’a so... ett roenipnnstaaniceens "apeech wii Trae * By THE CANADIAN PRESS i. ‘The dollar has been under- _ Environment Minister Jim Nielsen said Eurasian water milfoil will likely never be eradicated from the Okanagan Lake system unless there is some type of -heavy. downward pressure on money markets for the last week and has lost. more than a cent against ite U.S. counterpart. Ohed ia neo Winners ars Lto AR— Christine Gross, Musha, Nancy Clay, Ryder, TERRACE DOGS TOPS Some foreign exchange dealers said the central bank has intervened to prevent the dollar from falling even further, noting the Bank of Canada spent more than $350 million in July to protect the sagging dollar on New York money markets. In his address on Canada’s economic situation Tuesday, Trudeau promised his gover- ment would find ‘‘the necessary resources and political will” to create new jobs unexpected” and perhaps unexplicable biolegical reversal, . ' Nielsen said residents of the Oanagan should resign themselves. to an annual . fight just to control the weed. | Two Terrace dogs earned Companion Dog (C.D.) Utles at the Northern Interior Kennel Club Dog Shows held in Prince George on July 2ist, 22nd and 23rd. To qualify for this title, dogs are required lo attain a score of no less than 170 out of a possible 200 points at three Canadian Kennel Club licenses obedience trials under ree different licensed abedience judges. Akita, Daiken No Kuro Musha, owned and trained by Christing Cross of Terrace, earned scores of 19516, 18744 and 18912 on the three consecutive days to become one of the few Canadian Akitas with a C.D. title. Dobermann Pinscher, Rahkstadt Red Ryder, owned and trained by Nancy Clay of Terrace, earned scores of 197, 193% and 197% on the three sonsecutive days defeating 15 other dogs to take High Score in Class on the third day. Both dogs will receive additional training and will be entered in the 1979 show circuit competing for Companion Dog Excellent titles. sharetateCetatetatetstetetate fatatatetatatatotatoltatettatstebatelolereliteteseecnpeeheestan ote * ‘ | LAST DAY FOR eco eceataiebatatenaledsieaesestisatenrsesensens it and , investments. — BG. briefs. eteebaueietosonteececeasatatetotatetateteteteteteteteratetaretetesssesessssteseteteseransterololene alateletatotitaratelelitalecesel Bulletin é Basford Resigns — OTTAWA CP - Justice Minister Ron Basford has’ resigned from the federal cabinet and his place will be taken tem-, porarily by Solicitor General Jean Jacques: Blais,. the prime _— ter's office said Wednesday. am - Basford, 46, MP for Vancouver Centre for 15 years and a cabinet.minister in various posts for;10 years, had announced. last ‘January his intention to leave ‘federal politics when the next federal election was ‘ ca we: a . iB. - avs: tile ‘ £ . : Sh At Aliag time, the. general election. was.) « taehinn “expected ia’ June or July: Then there was : speculation on an autumn. election, but Prime. Minister; Trudeau said in an ‘economic statement Tuesday night that there will be no election “at this time.’” - Basford has heen justice minister and - attorney general since’ September, 1975, after serving earlier as the first minister of consumer and corporate affairs, urban affairs minister and minister of national revenue. ' . He said in January that he had decided to end his political career because “‘t is right for me and my family for strictly personal reasons, : . oy EDITOR’S COMMENT . Senior cabinet ministers are being recalled from vacations next week to ‘Put flesh on a skeleton economic recovery program’ promised by Prime Minister Trudeau in his Tuesday night surprise speech to the nation, .. ‘Trudeau's unexpected one-to-one confrontation with the public and by-passing of parliament caught pundits and veteran news-predictors with their press cards down. . Even Liberal cabinet ministers - let alone apposition leaders, were in a state of confusion, Wednesday. With Trudeau's indication - a 99 per cent certainty - that there would be no federal election until Spring, cabinet minister Ron Basford, who had stated he was with: drawing from federal politics at the end of the present term, apparently decided he would not wait for Spring, and announced his resignation forthwith. . In the Skeenn Riding, where our MP is also a cabinet minister, though not one of the Inner Circle - as yet - has had to take another look at her travel schedule (she Is due in Edmonton for the Commonwealth Games, and was éxpected to visit her riding here on the Sth.) since she may have to fly hack to Ottawa to participate in the ‘flesh-up”’ - Although the initial reaction from the Canadian business world was favourable, some analyzers see behind the Trudeau speech further proof the Canadian soft dollar and state of the economy heretofore aloughed off as a passing trend are turning out to be more serious than our government would admit. .- These prophets suggest the Canadian public is in for some massive and startling announcements as to the tu erate of the Nation’s economy, within the next few weeks. ‘1 shall return’ MONTREAL (CP) — Sus- The 24-year-old = [rish pected Irish fugitive Patrick citizen had thwarted the Vincent McCarthy, attempts of immigration manacted hand and foot, was officials to get him out of deported from Canada to his Canada since March, and native Irelandon Wednesday last month was taken off alr- aboard a Canadian Armed craft bound for Ireland on Forces aircraft. three separate occasions, scale aedsasiraceetesateregectieate weseteah Febetetatstatetatal NTRIES f eMeTteTatetetetetetetete ata erel ere etaler omer at atatateri ta yt ta alates! Two Thornhill teenagers made a dramatic rescue of a - frightened and injured horse stranded on a sandbar in the Skeena River near Queen- sway Avenue Tuesday af- ternoon. Len and Tammy Folland of 4243 Mark Avenue heard about the problem on the radio and answered the request for assistance. Both are. experienced in dealing with horses. oie URE Len and Tammy Folland They got in touch with Mrs. Gordie Howe, a local tesident active in setting up an SPCA branch in Terrace, and went down to the river where they met Mrs. Howe who had brought a halter with her. Seventeen year old Len jumped into the frigid water followed closely: by his sixteen year old sister. The tye x two found the horse to be badly frightened and with deep cuts on its legs. Tammy coaxed the horse inte the water where they all swam to the bank. The horse has since been veterinarian and ‘it is reported to be home with its owner, who has not been identified. Local Women Worried . A spokeswoman for a women’s group in the Terrace-Kitimat region told the HERALD Wednesday night there is some concern that Trudeau's announced intention of cutting $2 billion from current and future internal government spending, has s e women worried here. . “Whenever budgets are cut back, women and welfare programs are generally the first to suffer" she said. . Another phonecalter told the Herald, Wednesday afternoon, representatives from women’s groups in Terrace are planning to interview Liberal cabinet minister and local MP Ilona Campagnolo next to see whether the announced. cutback would affect federal funding of women's organizationshere. . ..Mrg. Campagnolo herself was unavallable, at the time, for questioning, since she was said to be preparing to leave for the opening of the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton. Effect here unknown Reed Paper Sells BC Interests TORONTO (CP) — Reed Paper Ltd. of Toronto plans to sell its interests in two joint-venture companies in British Columbia to Canadian Forest Praducts Ltd, of Vancouver for $60 million cash, Reed said in a news release Wednesday it has reached an agreement in principle for the sale, subject to certain conditions and third-party approvals, _ The transaction is ex- pected to be completed by the end of this year. It involves Prince George Pulp and Paper Ltd. and Intercontinental Pulp Co, SATURDAY Ria SR NE OES Lid. Each of those com- panies own 50 per cent of | Takla Forest Products Ltd. Reed and Canadian Forest Products each own 59 per cent of Prince George. Inter- continental is owned by Reed, with 37.5 per cent, Canadian Forest Products, with 37.5 per cent, and Feldmuhle AG., of Dusseldorf, West Germany, with 25 per cent. The release said the book value of Reed's Investment in the joint-venture’ com- panies was $28.5 million at Dec. 31, 1977. Canadian Forest Products has pre-emptive rights for atta oreo as pei h easiest ‘S PARADE | the purchase from its part- ners, . HAS §2,2-MILLION LOSS Reed also announced it in- curred a net loss of $2.2 million or 14 cenls per share in the second quarter of 1979. That compares with a net loss of $4.5 million, or 27 cents ashare, in the previous quarter, and a net loss of §2 million, or 13 cents a share, in the second quarter of 1977. The company has been en- gaged in a program of divesting operations which were marginial or which did not relate to its core businesses in tha forest products industry. sees 2° Pee en ee Se PRR SS OSs SSSR SOR SSNS ISL SSO SOLS SA UST SSR SO A SSR SSS