Fewer steelh

TERRACE — The number of
anglers chasing steelhead are
dropping despite a perception
the sports fishery is rowing,
says the province’s hedd.
fisheries biologist in the region.

Bob Hooton says’ 1990 was
the fourth consecutive. year of

decline in those who seek ‘the -

usually-prized fish.

Because a special licence is re-
quired to catch steelhead, it was
not only possible to track the

ba kin
TERRACE — A last-minute in-
crease in students enrolling at
area schools. has averted the
need for more cuts to the school
district's budget.

School trustees were prepar-
ing to cut spending after they
were told. of a more than
100-student shortfall in enrol-
ment. The decrease from what
was forecast in the budget
meant the district was facing a
loss of at least $250,000 in pro-
vincial grants, which are direct-
ly tied to the number of students
in the district. ,

- “We've had quite a few
pupils return to school,’’ assis-
tant. schools superintendent
Marshall . Bergsma. said. last
week. :'We're: not as far down
in enrolment as.we feared we

were going to be.’}
Extra students returning

brought—- ihe” Studerii--shortage..-

down to about 60; che said, and
almost all of that | is expected to
be covered in January when.
children’: in . dual-entry
kindergarten enter the system,
“We still won’t meet our pro-
jections — I’m quite sure of
that,” Bergsma’ added. “But
there’s not expected to be any
net loss.in funds to the district.
We're’ basically at break-even
now.’?
» He vattributed much of the
sudden increase in enralment to
secondary school students who
had still been working, or
hadn't decided. until now
whether they’d return to school.
But Bergsma noted that even
with the late students, . the
school district’s total student
population to date is slightly
down from last year. ‘This is
our first real drop in enrolment
since September of 1985," he
said,

Too fast

’ TERRACE — The long arm of
the law. was out'in force earlier
this month, slowing down
speeders:; = .

Officers behind the local
RCMP"s speeding awareness
‘campaign. handed out 252
speeding tickets to motorists in
the area, and: charged seven
drivers with excessive speeding
— travelling more than: 40

‘kilometres’ per: hour : overthe --

if r

‘posted . speed, limit: .-
> Const.’ Ken’ .Harkness said
police issued a ‘total ‘of 448 iraf-
fic tickets, as well as 136, warn-
ings, - a i
‘Speeding tickets: now result i in
$75 fines ‘in: addition to ICBC
insurance: peeal ™

'

Parker to run

TERRACE _ “Skeena MLA
Dave Parker. is 50: ‘far the, only
person to say he’s. running | for |

“the Social Credit Party nomina:

tion here inthe next’ provincial
election, wt

said .

“suber « of fishermen pursuing,
‘steelhead: but also where they
lived, ¢ said.

Des tibing. iga6 BS the last
‘good year: for steclhead returns
to the: 'Skéena: system, Hooton
tthe ngling ‘effort
reflected,: that;-’
supply.|"" § Since: then, ‘declining

runs and accompanying tougher © _
two trends end showed up.in the .
‘department's
-which suggésted: fewer than

‘catch rereticts had led to the
drop.. :
: "Sport ‘ihety pressure on

~ -dramatic shift’ to fly fishing by”

‘abundant:

stecthead is also being. reduced

by what Hooton describes as ‘a

steelhead anglers: working

‘Skeena: tributaries, Particularly wa
-on its upper. ‘reaches;

“Fly fishermen. typically: “
‘don’t harveit ‘the fish, they let”
~ them go,” he explained.

The combined effect of those

1989 statistics

1,000 s steelhead were taken ‘ty
sports fishermen’ —. the Jowest

. figure since records began i in. the
1960s... +

Pointing out ‘that ‘represented
_. Jess than five per cent of Jast

year’s , estimated total ‘run. of

_, 21,062, Hooton said it was clear:

‘even. @. complete - ban:’.on.
steelhead kills in the | sports:
fishery would: make little: dif-
ference ‘to the number of. Tish.
. reaching the spawning around:

iulted ik “the? st
cae to

miner

: the Ski ruins to their waiting as Rare

(! .-conerete foundations onthe _

iheré is a, nomination than the
“floor,” ws

Parker wae’ first: elected in
"1986, He became the partia

_ tary” assist qo forests: riinister
2 Pack - Kenipf, took: over that

ortfolio in 1987-"‘arid. was
ate to, epee wn lay

“They have nothing more they
can offer up,’’ he maintained.

The sports fishery catch was
also ‘‘small potatoes'’ com-
pared to the number of fish be-
ing taken by the commercial
and native fisheries,

In 1989, the commercial fleet
reported catching nearly 3,400
steelhead or 16 per cent of the
total estimated run. While fish
and wildife figures — they are
based on the number of fish
caught in test fishery nets at

_ Inquest urges
new city policy

TERRACE - A coroner's
jury investigating the March 23
drowning of a six-year-old Ter-
race boy has called on the city to
change ils policies to prevent a
similar tragedy in the future.

Joey Parsons fell through ice
covering a pond behind Sam-
son’s Poultry Farm on the
bench. Since then city council
has been accused of not enfore-
ing an order it made in “1986
that farm owner Stan Kinkead
fill in and fence off the pond,

At Monday’s coroner’s in-
quest mayor Jack Talstra said all
the cily can do now is-“‘monitor
the situation better than we've
done in the past."”

Talstra said although the city
could have ordered the problem
fixed, it didn’t“také action
because of a grey arca between
the city's and the environment
ministry's jurisdiction, ovér
sircams running through the city.

_ tions asking it to:

glers s reported

Tyee — indicate a alight An-.
crease of approximately 3,000
in this year’s run, the reported
commercial catch swallowed up
nearly 1,900 of those extra fish.:
Total reported interception was.
5,245 fish or 22 per cent of the:
run.

And even those fi igures may:

‘not reflect the actual number of |

steelhead being taken at the‘
mouth of the Skeena, Hocton-

cont'd A2

The six-member jury: handed
the city a fists of recommenda-

© Start enforcing ‘its. water-
ways bylaw, which prohibits
changing or obstructing streams .
withoutcity permission, | -

* Correspond with the cn-
vironment ministry any time a °
violation of the bylaw may be
happening, and determine
jurisidiction. ‘

* Ensure violations of the
bylaw are rectified,

* Determine jurisdiction over
the pond near Kinkead’s proper-
ly and. if it has jurisdiction, take
appropriate action.

* Not try to mediate between :
disputing neighbours, as thatcan ¢
“give the illusion that such pro- {
blem is addressed and solved,”

« Try to establish a 911 =
emergency Lelephone service in i
Terrace and arca to improve ©
rescue response Limes. i

Cee SSR ee ee eee re © re ee

fered

ee ae ey

Library wants
meet with city |

TERRACE — The library
board wants a meeting with city
council to discuss what its chair-
man describes as ‘‘numerous
questions’’ surrounding a sug-
gestion to locate the facility in a
proposed community-
conference centre.

“We have at least 50 ques-
tions to which we have no
answers,” said Willy Schneider
last week after a meeting of the

library board.

The city-backed plan would
see the library located in a wing
of the proposed new centre, ad-
ding approximately $1 million
to the contemolated original $4
million cost of the centre.

It’s viewed as one alternative
to a library board plan to ex-
pand the current library in
Lower Little Park.’

As well, the library project
and the centre proposal were
also considered competing for
provincial lottery money. Both
efforts require a referendum
and the lottery branch has told
the library it can only entertain
one grant request from a city
that is tied to a referendum at
any one time,

Schneider said the board is
worried that a change in con-
cept for the _community-
conference. centre to one called
multi-use might mean other ac-

‘tivities could. be incompatible

with those of. the library.
“There are so many gray

areas ... the proposal by the
mayor in a letter to us has so
many pitfalls,'’ he said,

Schneider said the suggested
floorspace of 10,000 square feet
mentioned by mayor Jack
Talstra in the ietter is the same
size the library now has.

‘We hear there may be a
daycare centre and there may be
a restaurant that will serve
alcohol. Some activities that are
multi-use may not go along with
a library,’ Schneider said.

INCE RUPERT —
eugh money fo restore A,

acllity 1 optimistic.

Dave. ‘Walter, president 0
_ Cost marig

canner

se flsb' cannery at Port Edward.
oy has ran: out, the president of
-goclety looking after the. :

‘the resignation of the car
“Nery museum's manager, —

The cannery ‘ds owned. by
the. ‘Village of Port Edward:

‘and managed bys the museum
gocety,-°:: - ntieant antl
oF : that. :

an and July’ of this year. -

victed, could face fines of up:
to $1 million on each of the
four counts...”

_. The charges. stem from an
‘investigation, by. the environ-
try on burning
‘place on Jan. 31

» Three days next’ January.

: hae been: ‘et aside. for the

‘burning this fall as a way of
"preparing logged off sites for

‘Teft on logging lwntdings. -

we whatever we can to try (6 fit

‘hag ‘sald It. will not be slash

replanting. - EE, :

-; Conipany. executive. ‘Kelth

Spencer § said the decision was

based on public opiiion. : -
‘The company. will,

however, burn piles of debris

” We're going to try to do

hn. with ihe: local opin