Stalkers

They’re the terrorists we know and
police say they come in many
different types\NEWS A5

Barely covered.

The women of the Skeena Valley
Rotary Club are revealed in a new
calendar \COMMUNITY B3

Close ones

Caledonia’s boys soccer team
lose some heartbreakers at the
provincials\SPORTS B6

WEDNESDAY
November 29,-2000

NDARD

$1.00 PLUS. 1¢ Gst
($4.40 plus 8¢ GST autside of the
Jarrace area)

VOL. 13 NO. 34

Alliance keeps grip on Skeena

Burton elected MP, Liberals form
third straight majority government

CANADIAN ALLIANCE candi-
date Andy Burton is Skeena’s
new MP, beating Liberal Rhoda
Witherly to take the riding with
42.6 per cent of the vote.
Burton, the former mayor of
Stewart, got 12,473 voles with
all but two polls reporting, well
ahead of Witherly’s 8,532
voles. or 29.2 per cent. NDP
candidate Larry Guno was third
with 6,156 votes, or 21 per cent.
The Greens’ Roger Benham
got 670 votes, George. Joseph of
the Christian Herilage Party got
333. PC candidate Devin Glo-
winski got 942 votes. and Cliff

Brown of the Natural Law Party
got 135.

Voter turnout in Skeena was
G1 per cent.

“I'm overwhelmed,” Burton
said. “The support across the
whole riding has been terrific.”

When Burton meets with the

Alltance caucus in Otlawa to-:

morrow, it will he his first time
in the nation’s capital.

Just moments after declaring
victory late Monday evening,
Burton revealed to supporters
how confident he and his wife
had been about. his chances.:
“Ann and [ actually bought a

house [in Terrace} last week.”
Burton's supporters were sur-
prised by the party’s poor show-
ing in Ontario.
Burton, nominated by the
party to replace retiring MP
Mike Scott, was able to roughly

match Scott's percentage of the —

pepular vote in 1997.

Witherly improved on her
1997 result, when she got 20.2
per cent, while Guno took 3,700
fewer NDP votes than candi-
date Isaac Sobol.

While disappointed, Wither-
ly was glad she ran a campaign
based on issues,

She was also happy the Lib-

‘erals’ fot only won a majority,

bul limited the Alliance to two
Ontario seats in central and

How Skeena voted

NDP

Liberal Alliance

PC CHP. Green

eastern Canada.

“Atlantic Canada and Ontar-
io didn’t buy into the line that
lower taxes are the be all and

end all,” she said.

Guno said the unpopularity
of the pravinctal NDP govern-
ment was a factor in his loss.

The party was also up
against an Afliance machine in
Skeena with two previous wins,

“We had an uphill battle,”
Guno said. He also said it ap-
peared gun control and tax cuts
were bigger priorities to voters

(han issues like health care and

poverty,

“There is sull a lot of. fear
and misunderstanding . of the
(realy process,” Guno added,
noting he was associated with
the Nisga‘a treaty because he's
Niseu'a,

The Liberals under Jean
Chretien cruised to a_ third
straight majority government,
with 173 seats out of 301,

The Allianee won 66. seals,

DRIVING INSTRUCTOR
Shane Illingworth gives his
students their most impor-
tant lesson by having them
stand just inside the dou-
ble-wide glass entrance
doors of his office building.

From there they have a
clear view of the four-way
stop at Lazeile and Eby.

What they see, more
often than not, are drivers
barely coming to a stop or
else going right on through.

“It just blows them
away,” says Illingworth.
“They see peopie just
about getting hit, illegal
lane changes. Some of the
stuff we've seen is unbe-
lievable.” ”

What bothers Illing-
worth the most is the role
model these drivers pre-
sent to his students,

Changes several years
apo, now mean it takes
two years for people to get
a complete driver's li-
cence.

Part of that is a com-
plete emphasis on driving
safely and awareness.

“Yet when they see dri-
vers act like they do at the
four-way, it sets a bad ex-
ample,” says Illingworth.

“Peaple just aren’! re-
specting their licence and
their bad habits are dan-
gerous.” .

And it’s not just private

DRIVING INSTRUCTOR Shane Illingworth and his students have seen many
drivers disobey the four-way stop sign at the intersection of Eby and Lazelle. |l-
lingworth makes his students sign a stop sign as a way of reinforcing the need
for safe and defensive driving at all times.

Drivers risking lives,
says local instructor

citizens breaking traffic
laws. Illingworth and his
students have seen deliv-
ery vehicles, contractors’
vehicles, buses and even
police cars violate the
four-way stop.

“Nobody can be in such
a hurry that two or three
seconds to stop can make
such a difference,” he
says.

“If you’re in such a
rush, how much time will
you have saved if you
have to fill out an accident
report and pay more for in-
surance?”

Illingworth. notes - that
the province randomly se-

Cont'd Page A2

up from,58 as Reform in. 1997,

City turns down groups
asking for more money

NO, NO AND NO.

That’s city council’s re-
sponse ta three groups
seeking increased city

‘grants next year.

The Terrace Public Li-
brary was the most ambi-
tious, seeking a $30,000
increase in its budget for
2001.

Heating costs are up
due to natural gas price
hikes and the library also
wants a 6.3 per cent wage
increase for clerical staff --
now paid $14.79 to $17.52
per hour — because their
pay lags comparable city
positions by 20 per cent. It
also wants a new telec-
phone system and securily
cameras.

“Tell them we’re hold-
ing the line on
everything,” mayor Jack
Talstra directed city staff.
“Everybody is taking a
hit.”

The city is wrestling
with dramatically in-
creased natural pas costs
for next year and a
$310,000 rise in its share
of RCMP costs.

Property tax increases
are a very real possibility,
as are service reductions
combined with fee in-
creases.

The Terrace Tourism
Council wanted the city to
boost its contribution by
$10,600 to $45,000..Much
of that would have in-
creased the hours of its
paid coordinator, who the
board says performs a full-
time job on half-time pay.

That, too, was turned
down but council plans to
maintain its current contri-
bution.

Councillor David Hull
noted the city originally
planned to phase itself
completely out of the tour-
ism council’s budget a
year ago.

“I think we have to get
out of direct funding of
tourism promotion,” he
said.

Councillor Lynne
Christiansen, who is a dir-
ector on the tourism coun-
cil as the president of the
Farmer’s Markel, defended
the proup’s budget.

“If we drop out of tour-
ism, who's going to pick it
up?” she asked. “It’s not a
handout, it’s an invest-
ment,”

Hull said local busines-
ses that benefits most from

tourism have resisted ideas

such as the two per cent
hotel room tax used by
other northwest towns.

“If it’s not important to
them, I don’t see why it
should be important to us
or all other taxpayers,” he
said.

Also rejected was a
chamber of commerce re-
quest for $5,000 more next
year from the city.

The five-year contract
between the chamber and
city to run the Tourist Info-
centre also expires’ this
year,

One group thal will get
more is the Riverboat
Days saciety. It’s tentat-
ively approved to get at
least $4,000 more to cover
a range of rising costs to
put on the event.

Those include increased
brochure costs, security
costs and a $1,000 bill to
rent the large tent it used
to get for free before the

aan

The city is also trim-
ming its awn spending
plans.

- One of the items to be
excised was a plan to
build a sidewalk connect-
ing the linear park to the
Sande Overpass, Money to
resurface tennis courts is
also gone.

Also cut is the amount
of money for pavement
patching and road recon-
striction through local im-
provement projects.

Road work still slated
to go ahead includes con-
struction of Bailey St. from
Gordon Dr. ta McConnell
Ave, and repaving of Greig
Ave. from Kalum to At-
wood.

The union that repre-
sents firefighters volun-
teered cuts of its own to
avert a planned reduction
of the city’s first responder
service, fire chief Randy

Jack Talstra

Firefighters have agreed
to reduce the amount of
standby time they'll be
paid, he said.

That will avoid plans to
reduce first responder ser-
vice during weekend and
overtime periods and also
enable search and rescue
operations to continue to
use firehall #2 on Greig

city privatized it. Smith said.

Ave.

User fees going up

EXPECT to pay more to license your pet
or go swimming and skating next year.

Those are some of the areas where city
council is approving fee increases to get
extra cash for depleted city coffers.

The cost of licensing a neutered or
spayed dog rises from $15 to $20, Licen-
sing an unfixed dog rises from $30 to $40.

Council stopped short of eliminating
the 50 per cent seniors discount for dog
licensing. “Seniors have a tough enough
time, especially ones on a fixed income,”
councillor David Hull said,

They also nixed a staff proposal to as
much as triple the cost of adopting a pet
from the animal shelter,

Councillors feared the move would
make it harder to sell unwanted animals
and increase (he number put down.

Development services director David
Trawin noted the city’s animal control
budget has doubled to more than
$150,000 over the past 10 years.

“Council has to realize there is a cost

Lawsuit move

A JUDGE has dismissed a motion by
ICBC to have a lawsuit in connection
with the death of Laura Lee heard in
Vancouver instead of Terrace.

The case, if it goes to trial, will in-
stead be heard in Terrace, the court deci-
ded Nov. 9,

Lee's parents originally filed the negli-
gent death lawsuit against Aaron Douglas

He was the driver of a speeding stolen

car that on June 22, 1999 slammed ‘into’

Lee's car, instantly killing the 17-yehirold

Caledonia grad and her boyfriend, 19-.

year-old Belgian exchange student Re-

to keeping these things in the shelter,” he
said.

Recreation superintendent Steve Scott
said fee increases are in the works for
both swimming and skating. That should
raise about $4,500 extra next year.

The city’s natural gas costs are expec-
ted to rise close to $100,000 next year,
much of that coming from costs at the
pool and arena. “We’re really getting
hammered with our utility rates,” he said.

Mayor Jack Talstra said he wants
ideas on other ways the city could raise
extra money, “We're heading towards a
four per cent increase in taxes unless we
can think of other ways to add to our re-
venue stream,” he said.

One idea that the city buy an incinera-
tor for the animal shelter and become a
regional centre in pet cremation isn’t
likely to go ahead.

Plans are already advancing for some-
thing similar through the Prince Rupert
SPCA, council was told,

bid dismissed

naud Fontaine.

When Douglas didn’t respond to the
suit, ICBC became the defendant. Dou-
glas, convicted in October on twa
of criminal negligence causing We
how serving a seven-year prison term.

The Lees are suing under the Family
Compensation Act, which allows families
to sue for damages on behalf of a de-
ceased parent, spouse or child.

‘The family is suing for more than the
standard ICBC payout of. between
$12,000 and $20,000. No date has yel
been set for the trial,