7 Cable company defends — Newsworld | decision TERRACE — Skeena Broad- casters, the company. that con- trols programming and distribu- az, Re Meera Ee ph St Stenntnae ey roe aan Th acelin OTE tion of cable television in ‘the © _ Northwest, , issued . a statement ’ |. recently defending its decision not to offer cable subscribers . CBC's new. all-news : channel, | Newsworld, | _ ’ The company came . public criticism earlier for turn- ing ‘down ‘the Canadian news channel while at. the same time picking up: the American news channel, Cable News Network (CNN), but. Bryan Edwards, ex- ecutive vice-president for Skeena Broadcasters, says the issue is more complex than it appears < on f the surface. Edwards pointed out in a news. release. Aug. 22 that - Newsworld and ‘CNN were of- fered to Skeena Broadcasters on different terms: Newsworld is . available only on a non- ‘discretionary basis, meaning that subscribers would have no choice about signing up for it. CNN, in contrast, will come as part of a six-channel package that subscribers can pay extra for or reject. Skeena Broadcasters estimates the cost of Newsworld, | in- cluding. federal tax, to be 49 cents per subscriber. Edwards also noted that results of a survey among subscribers taken this spring showed that 62 percent of those interviewed were not interested in watching a Canadian all-news — channel. The size of the survey was not disclosed.’ Skeena Broadcasters is a member of a national associa- . tion, the Canadian Cable Televi- sion Association, that negotiates terms between cable distribution companies and program sup- pliers. Edwards says that only one CCTA member, a cable company based in Halifax, has signed a deal with the CBC for Newsworld. ‘There may be a mistaken impression that - everyone ‘else ‘in the country is getting Newsworld except the . Pacific Northwest. That simply — is not the case,’’ he stated. The current decision does not tule out the possibility that Newsworld may be offered to Northwest cable viewers at some point in the future. Edwards said five B.C. cable systems are offering a month-long free sampler of Newsworld, at the end of which subscribers will be surveyed to gauge their reaction to the news service. ‘‘... we have a long standing policy of carefully reviewing new cable signals in other markets before bringing them on line here,’? Ed- wards said. - _ We've Touched — the Heart of : Someone | | under _ Fappy Gang this year’s Happy Tralls — — The Northwest competitors (Zone 10) in. - . B.C. Seniors’ Games gathered In front of the ~ Centre Mondey morning and- boarded he, . chartered bus for Trall, B.C., a two- day trip. Thay intend to come back with a bustoad of medals, arriving Sept. 10. Embattled steelhead catch- and- release” Continuing dismal returns for Skeena and Nass River steelhead have prompted Fish and Wildlife authorities to extend blanket protection to the re- maining fish coming up to spawn, Effective Sept. 1, sports - fishermen are required to release. any steelhead caught on the Skeena upsteam from the bridge . Work begins soon for schools’ at. Terrace and on the Nass upstream from :the Kitsault bridge. Ina statement last week Bob Hooton, head of fisheries for the Skeena. region, said the number of steelhead counted go-. _ing up the Skeena is the fifth worst return on record, and the total number of fish — including those caught in the commercial fishery — is the worst in the 26 years that records have been kept. A radio- -tagging program to track spawning steelhead has been curtailed. This year the tag-. ged fish were caught with a- gillnet rather than a seine, as in _ Previous years, and survival new exployee relations man _ Ina commitment to an era of cooperation, the board of . trustees of School District #88 has established a new position — . director of employee relations — to assist in the complex negotia- tions brought about. by the - change in status, of the local teachers’ bargaining unit from professional . association . to -union. Bruce Greenwood of Kelowna was selected’ froma - field of 36 candidates and ar- rived July 7. to assume his duties. by Nancy Orr Greenwood graduated from the University of Victoria in- 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in — Social Work arid has worked in . the Human Rights Division of . the Ministry of Labour in Vic- toria, and. afterward in Edmon- ton and Calgary with the Alber- ta Human Rights Branch and - the Labour Relations Branch. He has also attended related seminars in Edmonton and Toronto. Greenwood says he will be part of the management team of the board, consisting of the superintendent, treasurer and the assistant super- intendent; He does not see his job as a public relations posi- tion, but, as representing the board in negotiations and | related matters: with CUPE the secretary-— Employees) locals 2861 and 2831 and the Terrace and District Teachers’ Association (TDTA). _ Commenting .on the appoint- ment,’ local’ labor negotiators were non-commital. Speaking for the CUPE locals, negotiator Jim Lamb pointed out that-CUPE was just 7 completing the first year ‘of their contract which expires June 30, 1991, and that it is “too carly te to comment”. — Helmut | -Giesbrecht,. past president of TDTA, said that he “hopea - this another layer of insulation be- tween the board and the TDTA”’, and that they would have to ‘‘wait and see”’ “At the beginning of 1989, the - pupils of School District #88 were subjected-to a long and bit- ter: sttike, ending - January 30 with the intervention of mediator Vince Ready. — ’ Greenwood-and .Giesbrecht . * both said they expect negotia-.. tion on the new contract, which expires June 30, 1990, to begin in March 1990. would not be. ‘frustration amongst many sport fishermen rates after tagging . were discouraging. Poor water condi- tions, are being blamed for the current suspension. ‘‘Results from tags placed on fish caught at the test fishery continue to in- | dicate very poor survivals, only. nine of the total of 49. tags are migrating upstream at this ‘time,’” Hooton said last week. ‘Even amongst those fish which appear. to have survived,,. movements are abnormally slow,” In an earlier statement Hooton speculated that being caught in a gillnet may have been too traumatic for the fish. In the lower Skeena and Nass, the standard limit of one fish per : we day and two in possession will continue to. apply. Hooton said this part of the kill will only af- fect later components of the run which aren’t subjected to the commercial fishery. “We sympathize with the this will cause” but we are left with little choice _ until a solution can be found to - the incidental harvests of early steelhead in the commercial 'fishery,"’ Hooton concluded. “THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER. 14, Oe (Canadian Union of Public: - Jezebels. Cabaret aie GIVING AWAY 2 oe TRIP FOR TWO TO VANCOUVER, TICKETS FOR THE: | B.C. LIONS VS. WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS . GAME ON SEPTEMBER 16th and DELUXE ACCOMMODATIONS AT. _THE SENTURY PLAZA HOTEL “Sponsored by: Sigs pe Oy sip