. A116. Terrace Review — Wednesday, October 31, 1990 ~

Thornhill study goes ahead

THORNHILL — As reported in
last week’s Terrace Review, Minis-

. ter of Municipal Affairs Lyall

. . Hanson ‘has offered the Regional
‘District of . Kitimat-Stikine a deal
to begin the process of giving local
; government | to Thomhill. Such a
good deal, in fact, it might even be
“described as encouragement, or
even a small push.
According to Hanson, his minis-
try is willing to pay the total cost,
up to a maximum of $40,000, for

a restructuring study of Thornhill
and suggests they set up a commit-

tee to oversee the study. In addi-
tion, says Hanson, if Thomhill

residents do opt for their own local’

' government, the province will
' assist them in the. costs for the
transitional ‘process, road mainte-
nance, road capital, and policing.

Why such a sweet deal? Thom-

hill regional district director Les
-Watmough says he isn’t sure, but
he adds that money isn’t easy to
‘come by and this money is "falling
from heaven". Watmough says
there have been other studies that
have already considered either the

jAre You Ready |

for Winter?
SEE

‘| KAL@TIRE |
FOR

Winter Tires

HURRY!
Prices Expire Nev. 3rd
Our Price Includes
, Road Hazard Coverage
:. We Sell Chains & Batteries

‘Codartand Tire Service Ltd.

-*/ 4929 Kelth Avenue
we “Terrace, B.C.
"635-6170

incorporation of Thomhill as a

. Separate municipality or the amal-

gamation of Thornhill and Terrace
as one large community, but he
believes one more study won’t hurt
and this one is apparently already
paid for.

The next step it would seem,
then, is for the regional district to
meet with a representative of the
ministry to lay out the terms of
reference and then perhaps appoint
a restructuring committee to begin
investigating the pros and cons of
incorporation or amalgamation.
Where all this will lead is any-

one’s guess.

Kitimat director Chee Ling asked
Watmough if he . thought the
people of Thornhill would be
interested. "People there are happy
with the status quo,” was Wat-

mough’s reply. "Taxes are lower .

and some feel anything they do

_ Pete Weeber

will raise taxes." ‘Still, Watmough .
says that opposition of: the amal-:

gamation idea isn’t unanimous and .
if those opposed could be shown -
the advantages they might change —

their minds if it came to a vote. |
teiterated his
thoughts from earlier this year by

“suggesting the ministry wasn’t

happy with "large wild community
development... especially when
they’re requesting municipal ser-
vices", And, he says, Thornhill has
gone way past this.

"This is. quite- correct," admits’

_Watmough. "But on the other hand

“the regional board should bé ex-

tremely proud of what they’ve
done .in * Thornhill, and "those

people have paid for it. It’s a very ©
-well- serviced little community,

with low taxes, and this board has

‘done it."

. ae nee AS =
( -- 21 N
— sth 4 ;
THE NORTHERN. MOTOR INN
"3086 HWY. 16 EAST”
- TERRACE, B.C.

635-6375

amples:

to 184.

- As your school board, we want you to know that we are concerned with the present state of
negotiations with the Terrace District Teachers’ Association. .

On March 15th the TDTA presented the school district with some 300 proposals elu
wage increases. The board’s proposals number 48.

After 29 days of negotiations only 9 proposals have been resolved and the TDTA has
indicated the remaining items are all considered major issues.

Kirsten Chapman .
Negotiating Committee Chairperson -
School District No. 88 : -

We're concerned not only with the slow progress of our negotiations but with the ultimate
cost to you. Here are just some of the reasons we're worried: |

(1) We estimate the cost of the TDTA proposals, before they tell us about expected wage :
increases, is 6.8 million dollars.

(2) That 6.8 million dollars translates into an equivalent 55.6% increase in salaries - before
- considering the TDTA’s wage package.

(3) There are additional costs in the TOTA proposal and the dollar value is unknown.

We are also concerned with the type of issues presented in the TDTA proposals. A few ex-

(1) Through the collective agreement, the TDTA seeks to restrict rights of parents guaranteed
under the School Act, to access information on their children. The TDTA proposes that
these confidential student files not be accessible to parents.

(2) The TDTA is proposing a decrease in the number of teacher days presently available to
students. Teachers now have 5 professional development days and the TDTA is proposing
an additional 5 days away from the classroom for “curriculum implementation”. Another
day away from the classroom would be added for administration purposes. This proposal
would drop the number of school days the teacher is available to your child from 190

(3) The TDTA is currently entitled to 5 unpaid personal leave days and now propose that one
of those days be paid.

As a board elected to represent you, we are committed to the negotiating process and will work
at achieving a fair settlement. Our desire is to see an early settlement achieved without a work
stoppage and its inevitable interruption to education services. We believe it is important for you
to know where we are in negotiations and of our concerns.