:

a

~ OFe..

‘some SAAN

“hess

‘it could be properly assessed. The helicopter | is also used to carry logs.

‘Aerial truc

By MARGARET SPEIRS»
A. DRAGONEFLY-shaped,
two-rotor helicopter hauled
~ over a’ million pounds of
gold ore during its mining
‘work over the holidays.

Lakelse. Air's | Kmax

£1200 helicopter flew to.

» Stewart on Boxing Day to
_-earry gold ore out of a po-
tential. mine location.

Its six days of work were -

_ declared to be “a swimming

", success” when it.completed .

“lifting a total: of 500: tons of

‘Each | trip:ore was loaded

‘into-a bucket able to carry... ;

“4,500 Pounds, of .¢ ore”

SAAN Stores is holding a
massive liquidation sale and

‘will close locations across

the country to preserve as
much of its core activity as
possible.

Its parent company was
given creditor protection
Jan. 6, giving it time to find
‘a way to pay. bills of at least
$48 million and to figure
out how many ‘ ‘of its 223
stores need to be closed to
_then emerge as a viable op-
eration, .

The fate of B.C. SAAN
stores, including the ones in

Terrace and in Kitimat, is

not immediately known.
“The need to’ rationalize

the number of SAAN stores |

will have consequences: for

SAAN ‘regrets this but it
is unavoidable if the core
business is to be preserved,”

a company statement said

late last week. .
Money from the liquida-

ers to sort for g gold.

employees. >

After its Stewart run, the
copter returned to: McBride
for more logging work.

“U's basically an acrial
truck,” Lakelse Air owner
lan, Munson said, adding the
copter is designed for lift-’
ing.

It can lift a maximum
load of 6,500 pounds, or two
80-foot logs, during its. log-
ging work. aa

The copter is used year-
-round and. is-more environ-« ter logged 2, 100 hours flying’ of
mentally friendly than previ-

_ ous logging techniques that”

required, fallen: logs ..to be

tion sale will be used to pay
creditors and provide cash
to restructure operations.

“The financial
mance of SAAN has been
impaired by penetration
into its markets, including
its ‘core rural markets, by
competitors such as Wal-.
Mart and Giant Tiger and
the resultant change in con-
sumer shopping patterns,”
the company — statement
said. oe

It. said sales and profits
have deteriorated for the
past six years.

The company employs
3,000 people and also oper-

‘ates the Red Apple Clear-
ance Centre outlets.

SAAN has been a Ter-
race fixture since 1979, op-

’ erating a store in the Skeena

Mall until Sept. 1995 when
it moved to its current cus-
tom-built own — structure
on the corner of Greig and

Emerson creating, for a pe-

ancer takes
_ businessman

’ FAMILY and business associates are mourning the loss of

Tom Junior Gingles.

The owner of the National car rental < agency in Terrace

and a longtime member of ©

the business community
died Dec. 22 after a two-
year battle with cancer.

-Gingles emigrated from
Northern Ireland to Van-
couver with his wife Mags
in 1968 and moved to Ter-
race a year later.

He entered the car rental
business here in 1972 and
ultimately headed a busi-
‘With -outlets from
Prince Rupert to the Okana-
gan, With a fleet of hundreds
of vehicles, .

Gingles was one of eight
original Terrace ‘partners
who: financed and devel-

Oped the downhill ski oper-

ation at Shames Mountain.

A longtime Rotarian, he received the club’ s Paul Harris
Fellowship for community service.

Gingles was named the Terrace and District Chamber'‘of
Commerce's business executive of the year in 1994.

He was also a finalist one year in the New Canadian En-.

trepreneur Awards.

ain futu re

perfor-

? lifts
loads

It lifts logs off the moun-
tainside, and carries them
down onto a landing where
they’re loaded into a truck.

The copter is maneuvered .

with the “fins” on the bottom
of cach rotor and stabilized
by two horizontal stabilizer
bars near its rear.

It burns 85 gallons of jet

fuel per hour and flies for »
two hours on one tank.

~ Munson said in. an aver-

“age-yéar like 2003, the’ cop- "

Y

time, He had hopied it would -
“havé been flown -more: in
2004 and is looking-forward —
my ‘to > being busier i in 2005.

riod, a nexus of retail activ-.
ity with a Robin’s Donuts
franchise next door and the
Co-op complex across the
street. Both Robin's and the
Co-op have now closed.
The SAAN development
was regarded as a showcase
of downtown improvements
as it cleaned up an unsight-

ly piece of land in that area”

that was owned by CN.

SAAN also built its store
in Kitimat over the same
time period, spending $4
million on the 18,000 square
foot buildings.

SAAN means Surplus,’
Army, Air Force and Navy,
and was started by broth-
ers Sam and Albert Cohen
in Winnipeg as a Second
World War surplus outlet.

In the latter years it
opened 28 “power centres”

‘in large malls to compete

with big box retailers, but
the strategy did not work
oul,

OWNER (AN MUNSON poses in front of a powerful twin- bladed helicopter which « can carry very heavy loads.
_ It was used by Lakelse Air over the Christmas holidays to haul gold-bearing ore near Stewart to a place where

A benefit concert and silent auction for the Tsunami-relief fund

Presented by Terrace Performers

Saturday, January 29th ~~
7:30 p.m. ne
REM-Lee Theatre |

- Tickets: $10. 00
Avaitable at Misty River Books and Uplands Elementary
oe . ~ Starting Friday, January 14th

Featuring °°

Dr. Fishy ¢ Aurora Wind Quartet * Classical Act String Ensemble
Sophia Palahicky's Dancers * Kelly Lima ® Terrace Community Big Band
Northern Conservatory of Dance * Uplands Vocal Ensemble ® And Lots More...

STANDARD

——

a

————

MARGARET SPEIRS PHOTO

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