22 Terrace Review —- Wednesday, August 21, 1991 ‘Joss, which brings the company’s - SWINGIN’ ON A CRANE. The remaining support structure that used to hold up the old water tower by Northwest Community College is being removed at a cautious pace using a crane and chainsaw. Kitimat reps want access to Mills Memorial funding study Some Kitimat residents may be a little upset over Malcolm Walker's ongoing review of Mills Memorial Hospital’s operations and funding formula. As the Terrace Regional Health Care Society sat down with Walker last night behind closed doors to discuss an interim report on Watker’s findings, Kitimat General Hospital supporters say they’re being left in the dark. - Walker was appointed recently by the Ministry of Health to exam- ine the hospital’s budgelary re- quirements as a result of public backlash after the ministry refused requests for additional funding for the facility, forcing Mills Memorial to close more than 20 beds. - Kitimat-Stikine Regional Hospital Board director Robin Lapointe of Kitimat told his fellow directors Aug. 17 that he has tried to get a copy of the terms of reference for the MMH study and failed. "It’s difficult to get- hold of. and the " purpose is to decide what is a regional and a local hospital, and we should be informed." Alice Maitland of the Village of Hazelton agreed. "I think this says to us that we should write a letter to the minister to remind him we are here," she said. "Because it’s beeri done without any consultation from us." As a result, the board agreed to write letters to both the Ministry of Health and MMH asking for copies of the terms of reference and Walker’s findings. During the discussion that fol- lowed, director Les Watmough said it was a ministry-initiated study and the information would have to come from them. Lapointe said he had contacted the ministry, however, and been told to get the information from Mills Memorial. Chairman Jack Talstra said he had been told the same thing, and had made the request almost a week earlier but still hadn’t received a reply. Lock It or Lose It is back TERRACE — The local RCMP’s successful Lock It or Lose It anti- theft campaign will be back in action over the Labour Day week- end. During the program RCMP mem- bers and auxiliary members check vehicles parked in the downtown core. Warning notices are left on those that aren’t locked up. RCMP also note that it is a violation of the Motor Vehicle Act to leave. a vehicle unlocked; the operator can be fined up to $50. During campaigns over the past two years RCMP have noted a significant drop in theft of property from vehicles. Repap. Enterprises Inc., the Montreal-based parent company of Skeena Cellulose, reports a net loss of $34.6 million for the second quarter of 1991. During the second quarter of 1990 the company re- ported a net income of $4.2 mil- lion. _Repap cites several factors in the total losses in the first half of the year to $52.1 million. A statement Aug. 6 indicated the impact of the recession on markets for coated paper, its primary product, was largely responsible for the poor performance in the quarter, Repap also notes that volume of market pulp sold was up 24 percent, but the higher volume was more than offset by worsening prices. Interest | Repap records loss" rates combined with higher bor- rowing levels for completion of a capital works program also con- tributed to losses, but that was | partially relieved by conversion of long-term debt from Canadian to U.S. dollars and a declining trend in the interest rates during the year. A stringent cost reduction pro- gram, company official Terry McBride said, will continue to be a major focus in all of Repap’s operations. Repap’s holdings include pulp and paper mills in New Brunswick, Wisconsin and Manitoba. The company also owns the Skeena Cellulose sawmill in Terrace and a pulp mill near Prince Rupert. Orenda “=== Continued from page 1 ______ City councils in Terrace and Kitimat and the regional’ board itself came under fire. They do not have the right, said one speaker, to impose something on the electorate they don’t want. It was then sug- gested that the entire Dubose site was not suitable for industry and the industrial designation should be removed from maps showing the site. Kitimat board director Ray Brady said the board’s situation isn’t much different from that of the general public. The board can only make comments and recommenda- tions, but it is the Major Project Review Process steering committee and the Cabinet Committee on Sustainable Development who were in charge. In describing his experience with the Swan Lake proposal, Nass Valley director Harry Nyce said he believed Orenda tried to pull the wool over their eyes. He said there have been promises of jobs and big Money, but questioned how long the benefits would last. New pulp mills located in Alberta and Saskatchewan are already losing money and if there is anything to be made it will likely be in board rooms in places like Vancouver, Montreal and New York, Nyce said. In the end, two motions were passed. The regional district board will request that public meetings be held at Lakelse Lake, and they will contact the Ministry of Envi- ronment to determine if regular air quality tests are being done in the valley. If the tests are being per- formed, the regional board will request the results. Mill site == Continued from page 5 have to be reduced over a period of time to 799,000 cubic metres per year. The ministry expressed the conviction that the reduction would have little or no impact on the Orenda plant, which would require 183,000 cubic metres per year for its operations. With regard to the mill technol- ogy and Orenda’s waste manage- ment proposals, the steering com- mitice reported that federal and provincial agencies are confident that the mill will operate according to plan. B.C. Environment noted that the mill’s permits will reflect their claims for zero-effluent technology and that no permits will be issued for discharges if that technology does not work according to plan. Orenda proposed a commuting system for mill workers from Stewart thal most agencies thought unrealistic, involving a bus service that would have required at least an hour's travel in each direction. The Kitimat-Stikine Regional District was concerned about the possibility of random development in the area of the mill, but sub- missions from the Ministry of Crown Lands suggested it could be controlled through planning. Numerous {etlers of support for the project were submitted by tocal vovernment. pcople and businesses in Stewart, but many of those wanted the mill located nearer to the town site, Orenda decided against Stewart as a location, being concerned that the narrow valley would trap emissions and degrade the local air quality. The telling obstacle to the Swan lake site, however, turned out to be hydroelectric power supply. B.C. Hydro determined that the power needed during start-up of the plant — moving the mill’s huge ceramic grindstones up to speed — would cause “brown-outs" in Stewart unless special procedures were used. The utility completed its review of the first year of oper- ation for the Stewart power line and concluded that the supply would be inadequate for the plant unless a cogeneration system was installed with the mill. Orenda determined it wasn’t possible with- out either natural gas or a larger assured supply of hog fuel to power the boilers. Copies of the steering commit- tee’s report are available for public examination in the Terrace Public Library. Orenda expects to issue its new prospectus for the Dubose site south of Lakelse Lake within the next two weeks.