Page A10 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 25, 1993

Mega buck bingos |
loom on horizon

HAZELTON — Area bands are
waiting to hear from the provin-
cial government about plans to
increase the size of bingo prize
pay outs.

Bands here regularly give prizes
above the current legal maximum
amount of $7,500 for a session of
bingo games.

In the meantime, at least one
band will continue the practice. -

“If they want to charge us
that’s their problem. It's : not
going to solve anything,” said
Hagwilget chief counsellor Jack
Sebastian.

Mill
needs
more
money |

GITWANGAK
Gitwangak band is looking Tot
half a million dollars to restart the
old Westar Kitwanga mill it
bought recently.

“*We've purchased it, but it’s
sitting idle,’’ .band counsellor.
Gay Williams said of the saw-
mill, the community’s main
source of employment until it
closed two and half years ago.

The band completed its pur-
chase of the former Westar facil-
ily July 15 for $270,000, Final
details are still being worked out.
Now the band is looking for more
than $100,000 to refurbisk the
long-idle machinery and another
$250,000 to purchase three to
four weeks’ worth of log supply.

“That should start the cash
flow,’’ Williams said. ~

The band has hired former mill

. manager John Babcock and a
Vancouver-area consultant.to ex-
plore financing through the First
Citizens. fund and Tri-Corp,
wich backs native ‘business ven-

Bvt

NRC Hae Tommy Johnson
said the band intends to move
into value-added - manufacturing.
A plant adjacent to the sawmill —
built by Westar for that purpose is
part of the purchase deal, but it
ius no equipment: — the band
would have to buy it. -

**At least people have the hope
of it operating now that the band

- owns the mill,’ Johnson said,

The biggest problem ‘facing the.
venture is lack of wood; although
the band has a sawmill, it has no
licensed log supply. —

-Discussions are under way be-
tween the band and the forest ser-

vice about the tenure-of the Cran-
berry. “Timber “Supply Area,
formerly called Tree Farm Li-
cense 51.(TFL 51). .

The. TFL’s wood volume had
been atlached to the Kitwanga
mill when Westar operated it, but
the now-defunct timber company
lost its tree farm licence. The
wood then became part of a sepa-
rate timber supply area that has
yet to be awarded,

The Gitwangak band is also ex-
ploring how it can obtain logs
from the Gitanyow band, which is
logging on its traditional house
territories.

Opinion
sought

TERRACE — Anybody with an

opinion on the. purchase by West —
Fraser of its Finnish partner in

Eurocan Pulp and Paper has until
this Friday to put it in writing, :

 That’s the deadline established.
‘by forests minister Dan Miller for

reaction to the: sale agreement be-

tween West Fraser and Enso Gut- ;

zeit Oy worth $165 million.
Under. the Forest. Act, . the
foresis minister-must approve any
deals involving ' waod licences.
“We'll ‘be collecting all the
resporises_ and: bringing them all
together to © the. minister,”’
_ regional | forest service official
‘Steve Osborne said last week..
We. ‘Hope there'll be a decision
soon, maybe by the end of the
-Mmonth.-: depending . on. . the
_ responses ‘we get,’ he sald.
Osborne: described this transac-
tion:és:a bit different because it

involves. a. domestic: company -

buying out a foreign partner.

Involved: are various tenures _

‘covering ‘the area from . Fraser

Lake to Prince Rupert ropresent-

ing. 2.2" million. cubic metres of
wood a year. pamtare

That band is interested in estab-
lishing a mobile casino to provide
employment and income for the
area,

“The courts say: we'll have to
negotiate _(the aboriginal right to
set gambling " regulations),””
Sebastian said.

The B.C. Gaming Commission
says new regulations may be
ready by the end of October.

It recently gave approval to the
Kamloops band’s application for
a marathon licence to run 12
bingo sessions of 10 games cach,

~ back to back from noon to 2 a.m.

. UW
CANA ‘DA
SG A M E S-

‘“‘What’s happening is- (the
Kamloops band) is going to con-
duct these sessions back-to-back
to maximize the prize pay out,”’
commission spokesman Rick
‘Seville said.

The marathon license limits

single-game payouts to not more
‘than’. $1,000 and payouts for a
bingo” session. ‘cannot exceed
$7,500, or 60 per cent of the
gross take,

Seville said the marathon li-
censes are a compromise until
new licensing regulations are. in
place allowing mega-bingos.

"a “OLD DUTCH
TACO « NATCHO* TOSTADA:

| CORN ® CHEESE CRUNCHITS

You are invited to:

[GREENFEST ‘93

PROUD TO.BE A SPONSOR AND THE OFFICIAL | FOOD SUPPLIER FOR THE CANADA GAMES

Ib,
99¢/kKg }

The fourth annual music festival featuring Prince Rupert musicians performing
in support of the Prince Rupert Recycling Society

Sunday, August 29

4:00 - 7:00 p.m. at Mariners’ Park, Prince Rupert
(Across from the Visitors Bureau & Museum)

a,
\

Special events include: salmon and hot dog barbecue, children’s activities,
bake sale, craft tables and raffles with great prizes! Admission is by donation.

In case of rain, Greenfest will be held in Fishermen's Hail, 869 Fraser Street | |

“Bulk Kio

To

"SALMON.
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Poy | Qe

/100 gram

By couPON
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Limit One: Coupon Per Itern-
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” Saturday, August 29, 1983,
| Taxes whare applicable,

10771.

SKEENA MALL