sears atl "Tienes teme, |

Via condios.

| Doug Smith leaves _

Bob Reeds has left for Mexico, but | y
not without some parting: nee
comments \NEWS A12

A job down south has attracted
| One of the northwest’s better =} -
of known people\COMMUNITY B41 eee

- Siionine ti tires and grinding metal
; ; marked: the end of another stock

car season\SPORTS BT

WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 20,

FIGURES teleased last week
show council will go into its 1996
budget deliberations sitting on ac-
cumulated surpluses of more than
$3 million:

Treasurer Keith Norman pre-
sented a rcport to a preliminary
budget meeting which projected
the general government operating
surplus would come in at $1.2
taillion at year’s end,

And it’s a similar story in both
the sewer and water accounts.

Because the amount of sewer
work done in the city has fallen
well below original projections,
Norman’s report predicted. a
$192,000 surplus for this year
keeping the accumulated balance
al more than $700,000,

'

However, those figures as-
sumed a $100,000 expenditure on
the twinning of the lines along
Griham Ave. which engineering
director Stew Christensen now
suggests won’t pet done this year
after all,

And with the well water supply
now not due to come on line until
next year (see story on page
Al), the accumulated surplus in’
that account will likely nudge the
$1 miltion mark come Dee, 31.

_ The possible $3-miflion surplus

is actually 10 per cent less: than

‘the amount council had at its dis-

posal when it went into this year.

Explaining why such a smail
dent had been made in the sur-
pluses, finance chairman David

m Fish trails
KEEPING TRACK of where returning Skeena salmon go and job is to pull all the information together. Specialized programs

how long it takes tham to get to the Spawning grounds is aided allow him to, call up data for individual rivers or the entire
these days by radio transmitter implants. Richard Alexander’s Skeena system. See page A3 for story.

Hull said it was a result of the
major reorganization departments
had gone through as part of coun-
cil’s cost cutling measures.
Referring to the climination of
jobs and combining of others, he
pointed out, ‘“This year there was
probably more change than in the
last decade or decade and a half.’
As a result of this ‘‘upheaval’’,

he admitted, ‘‘a lot of things
didn’t get done.””
The ~~ reduced ©; expenditures

resulting from that combined with -

the cost cutting measures on the
operational side had kept the ¢ sur-
plus up.

Asked about a possible percep-
tion council had left itself with a
lot of money to play with going

TERRACE

into an election year, Hull dis-
missed the idea,

“Cuts and tcorganization were
the priority this year, not being
able to pave a few roads in an
election year. Anyone who thinks

City has big bucks to play

' Thornhill residents benefit. and

this council is indulging in black-°

lop politics is;sadly, mistak n,”?
he added, mo :

While the surplus tigires ‘may
sound significant,” Hull: -pohiited
out the money: woulda’ t go: ‘very
far given the. cost of rebuilding” a
city street camie inat $67 per foot.

And. with the. ‘amount of
that needed to-be ‘done, ‘he: ‘Sug:
gested even if the city had an‘ad:

ditional $3-4 .million. at ‘its: dis-.

posal, ‘‘we would still be sing

gling ta keep up,’’

Nisga’a talks back on race

THE FEDERAL povernment
“moved mountains” to reach an
agreement with the provincial gov-
ernment that’s re-started Nisga’a
land claims talks, says one of its
senior officials,

Indian — affairs: departinent.:

director general John Watson made
the comment last weck after federal
and provincial officials concluded a

three-day session on how to share

land claims costs,

That session keyed ‘on the —

methods the provincial government
uses to put a value on timber stum-
page revenues it'll give up on lands
signed over to native groups.

in effect the provincial govern-
ment has not only convinced the
federal government to accept the
methods for a Nisga’a settlement
but to use them forall other ‘realy
settlements.

Nisga’a talks broke offi in July

when the federal government

accepted a inion tor revenue fiz igure

future treaties.

That lead to intense criticism
from the Nisga’a and bitter
exchanges between the federal and
provincial governments over who
was -to blame forthe talks
collapsing, ;
Watson said the Nisga’ a were
cauglit in the middle because they
just happened to be the farthest -

‘along (on their Jang clalas

negotiation, .
ae want to make it clear. we
moved mountains to accommodate

the new reality in terms of stum-

page,” said Watson,
That.“new_reality” came last

fall when the provincial govern- .
_ ment raised stumpage fees to pay 7

for reforestation programs.

. - This is important because’ the”
. federal and provincial governments -:

agreed in 1993 to‘a 50-50 split on.

land claims-costs but not on how
- that is to be accomplished, © ©
. Since “most. of the provincial os

less cash the province has to put up.

As tn example, the federal
government's at first valued fore-
gone timber revenue in the Nisga’a
case at $14 million while the pro-
vincial government responded with

. a figure of $75 million,”
Watson. called ‘the federal .
acceptance of the provincial calcu-.
lotion methods .a “calculated risk”.
when it came to costs on other =a

“treaties,

“Yet he said: forépone timber 6d
revenue amounts on other. trenties
might not carry the saine impact as a

they do on the Nisga’ a treaty,”

_ The two. governments: have.
two more meetings. planned on the —

timber. tevenue issue and both

expect the matter to be’: ty.
resolved by Ovt. 20 at’ which: time‘
they’ 'Il_bé ready. to piésent a final o8

“offer to the. , Nisga’ a,

"Based on last seek's sets n°,
‘the. federil and provinctal: gover :

a resoliition of thé cost shang agree:

official: Phil-Halkett said. the’ pro-

vincial government wanted. to:

avoid a case- -by- -CASE financial

negotiations scenario: on all other &

treaties,

“We're 90. per ‘cent: {toward a

ment,” “he sald last week. -

“Halkelt we :
~The’ resumption: of Nispa' a.
talks this week in ‘Tertace con-
“cenilrated on setting up.a timetable :

“ “What we wanted was to liter:
ally be able to do the come gu Wi coe

Everything. hinges of the par- ~

ties’ abil ity, oe present us with a

‘And this month’s rainfall: b the same date in 1S ihe
oo Thal of. the! curréiit record of.” And ‘on. Sept. 15,- the: maxi”
41.2. millimetres ‘set: in “1960, mum, | temperature: “teached

‘district ’ contribute ‘towards . the

; gesting the amount of money the

from the current $2,500 per year

‘need’? so-he was still leaning
“ack and two in Kitimat are ‘inter-
candidate in place by the end of :

“imoney the Reform party has. in

“pits at approximately 300 i in, the

186 PLUS 56.68

with

As council prepares to start
work on ils 1996 budget, Hull
confirmed it will be taking a hard
look at services it finances in
whole or in, part from which

to $12,000.

Smith pointed out: th Terrace
fire hall answered’: calls~"from
Thornhill . residents,’ “dispatched
the Thornhill. . Volunteer
firefighters to blazes in their arca
and responded to incidents in that
jurisdiction Which required its
‘Jaws of .Life’. and hazardous
-materials equipment. .

Hull | said the situation. was
similar with the Victims’. As-
sistance Program, a service avail-
able: to district “residents «but
financed by the provitce and city.
_ Suggesting the principle could
be extended even to things like
the city’s grant to the Beautifica-
tion Society, he explained, ‘Our
downtown is their downtown. ” :

NDP call fuels ©

deciding whether to seek a finan-
cial contribution from those -tax-
payers through the Kitimat-
Stikine regional] district.

He said the rationale would be
the same as that which secs ‘the

arena, pool and library. ©
For example, Terrace fire chief

Randy Smith had already sub.

mitted a’ memo to’ council sug-

district pays the cily be increased

Tall election fires

ANEW DEMOCRAT announce-
ment it’ has lifted its freeze on
provincial candidate ‘nominations
has local parties thinking fall
election.

Contacted in Vancouver. where
he Was taking part in party caucus
meetings, Skeena, NDP. MLA | |
Helmut Giesbrecht said ‘the an-
nouncement ‘will-mean a change
of plans for the local organiza
tion,

Noting -the Skeeiia ‘éorulitation
had been scheduled for. late No-
vember, he conceded, -.That's
obviously too late now. te a

Giesbrecht said upon his retum
to the riding this week, he would
be sitting down with the elections
planning committee, ‘

“We have to make sure we
have all the routine stuff done and
get it done quickly so'we’re ready
to roll if the premier ‘calls the
election.”’

Recalling he had” “always
predicted a spring 1996 election,
Giesbrecht admitted he was no.
longer optimistic on that score.

And referring to recent opinion
polls which show the. NDP is
gaining on the leading Liberals,
he added, “I feel a whole lot bet-
ter about it’ than ‘I did» three
months ago.”’ es

Reform : Party. - - constituency
president Ron Town agreed the
possibility of a fall election was
real, but’ added, ‘judging — from
the: polling numbers, they: (the.
NDP) don’t have | what: they: .

Helmut Giesbrecht

Sept, 27 where -they'll elect’ ‘an
- executive, Up until now, an inter-
-im executive bas been ‘in. place,
explained * party: official : Linda

Hawes. ‘‘This will’ also’-be the

time for delegate selection for our
“annual convention -Nov...14.- in.
Vancouver. And we have to give
Gordon Campbell our lea ership
_ confirmation,” she addeds ss 5 7

‘Liberal constituency. “asgocia-
“tions must have at least $6,000 in
‘the bank and sign up‘a percentage
- OF riding. voters’ as* members be-
fore . being allowed to: hold
nomination meetings. Hawes said
‘the money. has been raised. and
-that the membership requirement.
“in Skeena of 240 has Just: about
~. been mei, c

Two people have © ‘indicated
they’ re interested in the nomina-
‘tion, she said, declining to com
“ment further."

However, Kitimat: mayor’ ‘Rick
_Wozney’s name-has been bandied
about as a potential candidate, veg

Wozney, ‘a lawyer,/is:a° “long |
Aime Liberal and has taken | part ‘in.
several:local functions: at which

toward a spring 1996 election,
Town’ said two people.‘in Ter-

ested in the Reform nomination
and the local party ‘will have a

November.
* He wouldn't disclose how much

tosend a speaker... | :
: Speaking . last: week, ‘Premier
Mike Harcourt said: he wouldn't
call a vote after the. ‘end of No- .
‘veniber or before next March. =

the bank but did say membership

Skeena riding,
Provincial Skeena Liberals hold
their. annual general meeting

"WE'RE ON our way to break
ing or equalling a record for ‘of the month, we could. be}
minimum ‘rainfall in Septem ‘there,”’ he said last week, le
ber, mo, ‘”. “There were two temperature: -

“Going into the weekend, ‘only records set last week. :

: 20.3 millinietres of: rain ‘had
fallen here, well: off the aver-

» age 101.7 millimetres,

“passing the 13.3 degrees for:

‘pays federal weather. official "23.5, just’ barely. breaking th
id 1967 record |

re (23.3 degrees

‘the Liberal.party has been invited

| ag this holds up for the pare |

"One was'a high minimum of -
13.8. degrees: on Sept, 11, sure de