NOW IN p pieces, this high school in assia ’
new school more than.1,000 kilometres away-in: Hudson’ s Hope,
As much as possible was salvaged W hen e'scho wa S taken

ged for a

TERRACE — Nobody knows if
West Fraser will have to give up
more than 100,000 cubic metres
of wood because it it buying out a
partner.

The company this spring agreed
to purchase Enso Gutzeit Oy’s 50
per cent interest in joint venture
Eurocan Pulp and Paper.

The $165 million deal between
West Fraser and its Finnish part-
ner needs the blessing of the
forest service because it involves
wood rights and that’s where the
problem arises.

Provincial policy requires that
five per cent of wood tenure is
returned to the crown whenever it
ig gold or. when.relevant licences
come up for renewal.

The intent is to provide wood
for small business sales and to en-
courage value added wood pro-
ducts,

‘In this case the five per cent
translates into 110,000 cubic
metres of wood given that
Eurocan: holds'2:2:-million cubic
metres of wood a year under
licence.

The wood is spread through
forest licences and tree farm
licences and stretching from
Fraser Lake to Prince Rupert.

“West Fraser could also have to
pay the province five per cent in
cash on timber values in timbr
licences it holds. .

*'There’s a question mark on
this issue,’’ West Fraser official
Bruce MacNichol said last week.

“Tt doesn’! make any sense at

all.’’

He described the amount of
wood as significant, amounting ta
one-seventh of the annual capac-
ity of West Fraser’s Skeena Saw-
mills here.

West Fraser questions the forest
service position on the five per
cent take back because of the cir-
cumstances involved.

‘It’s silly. This is a situation of
two partners, when one is buying
the other out,’” said MacNichol.

West Fraser wants a response
from forest service minister Dan
Miller as soon as possible.

MacNichol said West Fraser -

hopes to have the situation
clarified by the end of September.

Prince Rupert Forest Region of-

ficial Phil Madeley said discus-

sion in the ministry centers on the

technicalities of the West Fraser
and Enso partnership.

“It's up in the air. There is still
discussion going on between the
ministry and West Fraser as to

Cont’d Page A2

er pea cima

a 9 aA REE CC

TERRACE -~ It may be one of ©

the biggest ever recycling jobs in
northern B.C,
- The Fort St. Jahn school district

has. purchased the .abandoned
“high . school in Cassiar’ and is
“using material to construct a new

. facilily:in Hudson’s Hope.

‘Tt sounds like a great deal on

“the “surface == $1. for a school
valued at $6 million when it
“opened in late 1991.

But the costs:do.add up when
considering the approximately

1,100km the material travels from

Cassiar to. Hudson's. Hope, ‘says’
Fort St. John secretary-treasurer

Edna Barber.

Yet-she does concede that the

‘Hudson’s Hope schoo! project

will ‘be cheaper when finished
than-if'a school had to be built
from scratch,

‘The $6 million high school was barely opened when the:

Cassiar asbestos mine ~— and the town — were closed in
early 1992. It’s now been sold for $1.

And Barber doubts the schol.

district .would lave. gotten. ap-- .

proval for a new school in Hud-
son’s. Hope had the Cassiar
school not become avaliable.
“The — elementary/secondary

~ school in Hudson's Hope:.was.

built 40 years ago. We needed a
new onc. This one doesn’t meet
the code,’’ she said, ‘
But the project never made it on
the list of approved capital spend-
ing authorized. by the provincial

‘government until the matter of
dhe Cassiar school came up...

The ‘rst phase of the project
has.been.to dismantle the. Casslar
schooi and ship what can be used
to.a B.C. Hydro ‘warehouse in
Hudson’s Hope.

Barber said the district is
pleased because more material
was salvaged than was firsi
thought.

Some of the structural steel
won't be used on the new project
but will be converted or sald by
the district,

“The Stikine school © district
removed all of the equipment and

eg STANDAR’

. forehand, =~

fixtures for use sin its. schools be-

“All that's left of the schoo! in
Cassiar, said Barber, ' is the struc-
tural stesh. ne

: The - Cassiar: ‘high school was

© parely’ opened before the ‘minc

and the town closed in” carly
1992.

- That followed -a- closure: of. the
Cassiar’ ‘asbestos mine went it
went into receivership. - ;

The Stikine school district had
wanted it. moved to Dease Lake
but the job, estimated at-$5 mil-
lion to $5.5 million, was consid-
ered too expensive...

The education ministry did give
the Stikine school district. $1.3
million last year to move staff,
teachers and some other buildings
to Dease Lake. from  Cassiar
where it had its headquarters.

The KITLOP

VAST, MAJESTIC, AND CONTENTIOUS. In a few short years the Kitlope River valley has
become the northwest’s biggest resource-environment confiict. A decision on its preservation
is expected in less than two years. Reporter Jeff Nagel [looks at the valley, the people who call
it their ancestral home, and what's 2 at stake for the northwest forest industry. See page AS.

Literacy effort spr eading out ©

TERRACE. —— A group of
people who want to start literacy
programs around the northwest
has received a grant to hire a co-
ordinator.

The $54,000 from the’ federal

and provincial. governments will -
be used «to ‘set up “something -
similar’ 10 a local program now
enlering its third year, °

We're: looking for . to target

two or three communities,’’ ex-

plained’ Project Literacy Terrace:

director Nat Purcell who sits on
the regional commilice.
“Our expectation is that we'll

be able to break ground in terms
of providing tutors and instruc-
tion,’’ he said.
The ultimate goal is to provide
the same opporiunities available
” with Project Literacy Terrace in
‘other places, Purcell added. -
Project Literacy Terrace runs a
tutor training program which then
places people with learners.
tL ‘also introduced an intensive
language course for new im-
nilgrants and began publishing a

_ small news weekly called North-

west Reader, now in its 14th
month, for those learning to read

and write,
Just out is Northwest Journey,
a 100-page collection of wriling
by and for new adult readers.
Purcell is happy with the results
of Northwest Reader which has a
distribution beyond Terrace,
_ “Tt not only provides Informa-.
tion on various programs but gets:
that information out in a way that’

dignifies the readership,’’ he said, -

Purcell is also pleased with the
tutor program, saying the match-
ing of a learner with a tutor is an

effective way to increase reading

and writing skills, os

Project Literacy Terrace also
hired a person to help people with
various government and other
forms and to encourage them to
sign up for tutoring sessions.

‘There was a low response lo the
effort and it won’t be carrying on
this year.

All told, Project Literacy ‘Ter-

- race spent just under $83,000 in
the past year on various -{nitia-
tives. _

Those taking advantage of the
tutor program — included a
millworker, rellred logger, con-
‘struction worker, halrdresser and

businessman, = =:

One of the challenges
past year was the languag: fain-
ing course for new immigrants in
that thase registered: wore: often
not literate in their first language,
said Purcell,

‘Success of Project Literacy Ter-.
Tace comes from people progress-"
ing to other forms of education or
by reaching petsofial goals, he
added.

Today is World Literacy Day,
set aside as a time to encourage
new learners and to promote
training programs,