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TERRACE — The federal
Department of Fisheries and
Oceans: (DFO). government is
considering establishing a hat-

‘ chery on the upper Skeena River

to boost low coho stocks. |
"David Griggs of the depart.
ment’s Salmonid Enhancment
Prograrti (SEP) said: fishery
managers in the region : have

been warning for some time that .

certain coho stocks are ‘‘in very
bad shape’? and that help is
needed..

_A group -has been formed to
investigate the extent of the pro-
blem and suggest possible solu-
tions. That process includes

Native
link to

centre
sought

TERRACE — The Kermode
Friendship Centre wants to add
its own proposal to the city’s
bid to build) a com-
munity/conference centre, its
president said last week.
‘Terry Brown said. the native
organization’s plans include
building a longhouse, an Indian

7 seafood restaurant, and a native

education’ centre, The construc-

"tion would likely take place on
the property that already houses

the friendship centre on Kalum
and perhaps an adjacent lot, he

; said. ty

“City: offietals: unveiled

~ preliminary drawings two weeks

ago for

combunity/cor ference . centre

within a‘ bloc

: thouse.

“Brown said: the society's cen-

ot tre.would enhance the plans for

~ the’ nearby conference facility

. and:

‘serve aS a revenue-

“producing: ‘tourist attraction.

“We would market. it outside
of. B.C. and abroad,” Brown

‘explained. “The goal would be

. self-sufficiency.” ‘It could be a

‘.real boost to tourism in the

~area,’?

He said the society will ask.

,000-square-foot

f the friendship
_céntre and just behind the cour- :

r PARLIAMENT HI.DG

\ ATTN Rav. CARLIN

Busy 1x4

discussions © with ‘commercial,
sports and native fishery groups.

‘and won’t be completed until

mid-1991, said Griggs. -
‘Once: ‘the group had ‘submit-

. ted. its. final: report; SEP would
. then absess. what stocks were in

trouble and: ‘whether the.answer

fisheries management policies.”

'. Even if-a hatchery was the

answer, : Griggs. ‘cautioned, it

must.compete with programs to

increase Fraser’ River ‘sockeye:

and Georgia Strait chinook. .
“Within, ‘the enhancement.

Program. ‘there. area large

LEGI SLAT IVE ASSEMBLY

VICTORIA BC

CAN

number of competing: demands

" for a small number of doltars,"”
‘he said,

Meanwhile, . DFO. northwest.
district supervisor Robb: Wilson
says .the it has taken ‘interim .

' measures to boost upper Skeena’ a
“coho. stocks,

Jay. in’ ‘construction of a new hat- ©
‘chery ‘or.’ ‘changes in current.

“Last year chinook. production
"targets : at: ‘SEP. hatcheries along

- the Skeena — ‘they include the
Eby. St. -

and: -Kitsumkalum
’ facilities in Terrace and Tobog-

_ gan Creek in Smithers — had.

been -reduced- in- favour of in-
| creased’ coho totals. ’:

Egas had also been collected .
from from . cupper Skeena

: governments, -individuals and m2

oo corporations for money, ;
¢The longhotise would house &

- native culture displays and serve
~~ as-what Brown called a “living
~ museum,”?

“A consultant has been hired
to prepare the proposal, he said,
and. board members will ap-

_ proach council and the chamber
of commerce. this summer,
“:+"*"Weld like to have construc-

: ;

tion underway within § a year,”

he'added.
. Doug Smith, the city’s strong

Sook communities program ‘coor-
4 dinator, said Brown has discuss-
> ed the proposal ‘with him and
8 the city intends to set up more
"meetings ‘with the Kermode
a rlendehip Soviety. .

& TERRACE = Government

~- negotiators trying to ‘buy land

oes for a new correctional .centre
here say political: pressures are

~ Making the job difficult. .

© British Columbia Buildings
Corporation (BCBC), the com-
pany:that buys land and leases

pace’ for. government services,

'- had'at first wanted to locate the
_° > ¢ehtre’on the bench but now is...
‘"s Iooking elsewhere.
me Opposition from bench

idents meant: the search. had

“to be’ extended to other aréas,
ae said © BCBC: spokesman John
— Murphys:
The bench area really isn’t
wo being considered for potential .
sites, ‘anymore,’” said Murphy.

He said the year-long search
Jand for a@ new correctional
tre‘in Terrace has: proven

‘4 one: of the: most difficult Jobs
for the corporation :

-* July. last month, ‘Murphy said,

mote time to: determine - how

Keith Ave.. immediately ¥ west, of.

‘ed. ;

streams and transported to. the
Kitimat hatchery: for rearing.

The smolts would eventually be-

returned to those same streams.
“I would expect those sorts of

_jiiterim measures would be con-

“tinued this year,” Wilson add

_ ke KRKKK

‘Yet. while construction. of a
hatchery may help declining
Skeena coho stacks, the head
provincial fish sand. wildlife
biologist: for the region says the
same won't work for steelhead,
They are considered another
declining species. |

“It’s not realistic,'’ said Bob

qi GONGENTRATION is THE KEY ji in 1 croquet. as in any sport: After all, to gat that ball through, an valk |
- o-small hoop, the player has to” accurately compute angles, terrain, grass height. not tao men-.
ton’ Postiong forthe next shat, All of which prompted Leanna Danis (above) to take q long: hard |

tions,’’ he explained.

‘The correctional centre's. cur-
rent-location — a former. motel “
on Hwy 16 — is considered in-
adequate, we

- All potential sites are now on -

hold, . Murphy. said, ~while ©

Negotiators pursue one. piece ‘of.
land in town consideréd the best.
site for the jail: A deadline for’.
deal'on the site was extended. ta

because BCBC “officials. wan

suitable the land. is. -
“He added the decision to con: |
centrate on, the. ‘site: has - ‘left |
government, negotiators . in. ae
vulterable position. aa
 That.location is believed to be,
a S3-acre parcel: of ‘land ‘on.

Accountant Alan McAlpine,
the listed owner of the company
uthat .owns the land, said last
~ week B.C, Buildings Corpora-:
“ton. (BCBC) officials-have been
“negotiating ‘for the land. He
zaald he is the © court-appointed

trustee of the property and ex-
ecutor of Poirier's estate.

“It's been a while since I've
talked to BCBC,’? McAlpine
said, ‘‘and there are other par-
ties interested i in the property.”
He declined to say. more.

oo Lon

Hooton in adding that steelhead
have to reach a certain size
before going out to sea.

That means wild fish spend
several years in fresh water
before migrating, he said:

A hatchery program would
try to accelerate that growing
process but ‘the fish would still
have to spend ‘“‘an absolute
minimum’? of one year in the
facility, said Hooton.

“We're very foolish if we

think technology is going to

‘ sdlve the problems created by

cont'd A2

TERRACE — While govert-.
ment agencies figure out.what

to ‘do about declining fish

stocks, local schools are work-
ing on small-scale enhancement

Projects,

On Page AS. you'll find °

stories about raising coho. ahd
cleaning up Howe Creek.

‘As well, guides say “they’s Te
happy with new Jirnits on. their
operations.

Oo

is $600, 0 9 ,

in the hole

TERRACE — Northwest Com-
munity College «{NWCC) of-
‘ficials are looking for ways to
cut as much as $600,000 worth
of programs and services from
the college’s $9-million budget.

College president Don Ander-
son said a meeting last week
with advanced education
minister Bruce Strachan about
the budget shortfall generated
sympathy, but not the money
the college needs. °

“There will be cuts,”’ Ander-
son said. ‘‘And by the end of .
the month there will be a
balanced budget - — hopefully -
maintaining as‘much of the pro-

grams and services that we cur- °
rently-have. as. possible." 2°.

Government officials told the .
- college only so much money ex-

ists and‘ that it can expect little
more than the $8 million it has
already been allotted, he said.
NWCC gets some money from
other areas, but administrators
had been counting on another
$600,000 from Victoria to make
up the difference, following the
province’s commitment to pro-
vide more money for post-

secondary education.
“We expected to draw on

_ more of that than has happen-

ed,”” Anderson explained, He
said the college had ‘expected
Victoria to recognize NWCC
covers a large area and can’t be
expected to offer programs as
efficiently as more centralized
southern B.C. colleges. .

Which programs are cut

_ won’t be known until the board

members approve the pared-
down budget later this month,
But Anderson said likely can-
didates include some second-
‘year university transfer courses
that were to be offered at the
Prince Rupert campus, and a

second-year business. ads... ane af

ministration Program in
Kitimat.:!--° |. '

He said he is meeting with
union and administrative of-
ficials in an effort to combine or
cut some services and -positions
that may be redundant.

He said all planned expan-
sions to programs will likely be

’ eliminated, and cuts will pro- |

bably also be made to existing
programs.

Judge tosses
acquittal out

TERRACE -- Crown pro-
secutors have succeeded in over-
turning the 1988 acquittal of a
French-Canadian man who said
he couldn’t read the English-
only fishing regulations he was
charged with violating.

Ben Belter, of Likely, B.C.,
was charged with fishing with
more than one point on ahook
while visiting Stewart. +

Trial Judge Paul R. Lawrence
f acquitted Beiter in December
1988 on the basis that he had ex-
ercised due diligence in trying to
find out what the regulations
were, Belter obtained a copy of
the provincial fishing synopsis,
but said he couldn’t read it
because it was printed only in
English, —

The ruling was struck down
by the appeal court, federal pro-
secutor Jeffrey Arndt said last
week, and a new trial has been
ordered,”

The: trial: judge erred in law’
and was “clearly wrong in fin-
ding ii defence of due

difigence,”’ county court Judge
Robert T. Errico stated in his
decision. .

In striking down. the acquit-
tal, Errico noted that ignorance
of the law is no excuse for
violating it.

and tts chain
. ai fescued from the bottom
the harbour here last week
ay effort.

chor and its chain,
Worth nal eatieaated $100,000,

rth bly. dropped. by SM Raber
whip here picking py

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