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Nine-year-old Shanda Skode and Gary Parnell love

Sports
Community News.
Arts & Entertainment

Fea tures

reading. That was proven when they

topped 39 other contestants in the Terrace Public Library "Canadian Favorites" contest to take the

two first place prizes of $10 gift certificates donated by Misty River and Coles Books. To eam their

respective prizes, Shanda and Gary had to read a number of library books in order to answer
- questions based on their contents. .

Skeena River park expansion

recreational areas..

The B.C. Ministry of Parks has
suggested the Exchamsiks River
Provincial Park should be

_ increased from 18 hectares to 464,

a proposal tabled by the board to
January’s meeting, ard that several
hectares should be added to the
northern boundary of the Giinadoix
Recreation Area, a proposal that
meets with the board's approval.
The Exchamsiks River Provincial
Park, more commonly known 4s
Hote in the Wall, is located about
50 kilometres west of Terrace and

is accessible from Highway 16.

According to ihe Ministry of
Parks, additional park land is

required to protect mountain goat

habitat in the northeastern corner

of the park, to provide wildlife
viewing opportunities, to add
management capabilities to the

Skeena River boat launch, and to

provide for campground expansion
east of the existing campground.
The regional board isn’t opposed,
only cautious. A tabling motion
was made by Hazelton director
Pete Wecber, who said the board
needs more information before
approving the expansion. The
ministry is proposing a sizeable
addition to the park. Although the
terrain is rugged and not ideal
logging country, Wecber said, he
fecls the board should have a
better idea of cxactly what they are

supporting,
The 58,000 hectare Giinadoix

Department

yout. g Coy ays som

proposals greeted with caution

__ Directors of the Kitimut-Suikine
.. . Regional District board hold differ-
_ ing views on proposed ‘boundary
_ extensions to two Skeena River

Recreation Area is located on the .

other side of the Skeena River,
southeast of Exchamsiks River
Park, and is accessible only by
boat. Here the ministry has pro-
posed a boundary extension to
include the area between the cur-
rent boundary and the hydro line at
the mouth of the Gitnadoix River
where it joins the Skeena. This
addition, according to Struan
Robertson, the ministry’s northern
B.C. regional director, would
enhance the management of the
sports fishery at ihe mouth of the
Gitnadoix River. This . proposal,
says Robertson, has already

received support for ihe Ministry
of Environment, and the federal
of _ Fisheries “and
Oceans.

Sewage project
still too costly

The Thornhill sewage treatment
project is still up in the air. The
Ministry of Environment has now
approved a $216,250 High Cost
Sewage Treatment Facilities Grant
to help cover the cost of a pump-
ing station and sewage main from
Thornhill’s Queensway area to the
Terrace treatment plant. This is in
addition to a 50 percent Ministry
of Municipat Affairs grant of $2.06
million for the Queensway project,
bringing the total provincial contri-
bution up to $2.28 million. °

But that still isn’t enough,
according to Les Watmough,
Thornhill director for the Regional
District of Kitimat-Stikine. "We
want double that," says Watmough.
The problem is that the regional
district originally proposed an $8
million project that would provide
sewage services to the core area of
Thornhill as well as a portion of
Queensway.

The Ministry of Municipal
Affairs, however, divided the pro-
ject into two approximately equal
segments and said they would fund
50 percent of a Queensway project
and 25 percent of a Thornhill core

area project. Overall, this amounts
to just a little more than 38 percent
provincial funding for the entire
project.

In view of the project’s multi-
million dollar cost, the more recent
Ministry of Environment $250,000
grant makes little difference to
Thornhill residents. The average
homeowner, with the current level
of provincial funding, is facing an
annual tax burden of about $1,100.
If the Queensway portion of the
project received 75 percent fund-
ing, the amount originally
requested for the entire project, the
average tax burden would drop to
about $800 annually. But if the
entire project received 75 percent
provincial funding, Thornhill
homeowners in the service area
would only be looking at an aver-
age annual cost of around $550.

An annual cost of $550 is the
number Watmough is seeking and
the board has therefore tabled the
matter to their January meeting.
"There is another application," says
Watmough, "but they (ihe pro-
vince) scems to have lost it."

Regional board —
seeks entries in
logo contest

Last spring the Kitimat-Stikine
Regional District board of directors
agreed to spend up to $10,000 on
a logo to symbolize the local
government body. The money, it
was said at the time, would pay for
design work and the production of
a few. miscellaneous items such as
pins or buttons and stationary.

With that authority, administra-
tion sent out invitations to three
local graphic’ designers: . Totem
Press, Mark Hart and Grant Piffer.
The intent was that preliminary
designs would be considered by a
panel consisting of administration
and a few board members, and a
recommendation from this panel
would ve put before the entire
board for fina! approval.

It seems that the rules of the

‘game have now been changed,

however. Following a motion by
Kitimat director Ray Brady, the
regional district will be asking for
public submissions as well. "There
are many talented people in addi-
tion to professionals," says Brady.
"Kitimat has been very successful
in coming up with logos and I
would suggest you don’t necessar-
ily need to hire professionals. If
they. (public submissions) are not

> “aédéeptablé we can always go to the

next step (professional - sub-
missions).

The regional district is secking a
logo that will counter any con-
fusion caused by the name
"Kitimat-Stikine", will portray the
regional! district in a way that will
improve the public’s understanding

of the services they administer, and

reinforce their corporate image,
particularly where economic deve-
lopment is concerned.

. Three suggestions are offered. A
logo created from the letters
"RDKS" or "KS"; ar image which
refers to the natural features of the
area, like topography, vegetation or
animals (a special note is attached
to this suggestion: "Adverse topo-
graphy, snow or similar images
can be very negative images for
economic development promo-
tions."); and finally, a geometric
image based on the fact that the
regional district has five participat-
ing municipalities and five elec-
toral areas.

A closing date of Dec. 14 has
now been scrapped. The regional
district will be advertising . the
contest along with and a new

closing date, most. likely sometiine -

next spring.

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