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“drive to build’a second’ sheet’
>of ice sportsplex here.

_ still appeal for reconsidera-

. ing,” Talstra said. “Frankly,

‘~~ to spend in the run up to the’

Souper

Cooking up batches of
_ Steaming broth is the hot
new activity at a Thornhill

school\COMMUNITY Bi

‘Roger time

-Skeena’s MLA gives his
personal account of how he
suffered and survived heart
failure\NEWS AS

. : .

Second chance

The River Kings hop

over to Houston for their
second semifinal game

ASPORTS B12

“

$1.00 PLUS 7¢ GST
($1.10 plus 8¢ GST
outside of the Terrace area)

an)

VOL.17 NO. 46

By JEFF NAGEL:
A GROUP of
by John Ryan has reached a deal to buy

the city’s mothballed New Skeena Forest

Products ‘sawmill out of bankruptcy. and
restart it. ‘

Ryan, who owns Nechako Northcoast
Road Maintenance and the Boston Pizza
franchise here, described. the group as a
community coalition with investment part-
ners numbering in the dozens.

“Our objective was to make sure the mill 7
didn*t get broken up and sold as parts,” he

said Saturday from Vancouver, where he
celebrated the deal with Terrace’s mayor.
“We're looking forward to a new day in
Terrace,” Jack Talstra added.
Complete details are expected to be un-
veiled this week.

But the agreement calls for the Terrace

Grant
_ gone |

_By JEFF NAGEL — .
TERRACE will not get a.
green infrastructure grant that
city officials hoped would
add $1 million or more to the

The news comes at a time *
when latest construction esti-
mates have driven. the cost of
the proposed project substan-
tially past $6 million, way
more than the $4 million first
forecast.

City council had been
banking on money from
the Federation of Canadian
Municipalities based. on a
program it has which recog-
nizes new, environmentally--
friendly technology.

In this case, the city wants
‘to use geothermal heating for
the second sheet of ice as well
as forthe existing aquatic
centre and existing arena.

“The review committee
felt that the green aspect of
the proposal — the geothermal
primarily — —is no longer in-
novative enough to warrant
a grant.” mayor Jack Talstra
said. , ,

“Everybody's doing — it
these days.” he added. “This
may have washed a few years
ago when the thing had some
innovation allached to il”

Valstra said the cily could

tion of the grant application.
And he stressed that there
are other sources: of money
still being explored.
“That was one of several
avenues we have for fund-

“there are probably others that
look alot better.” ~

One. of them is a $236
million fund the B.C. Liberal
government unveiled in last
week's budget that it intends

_ Continued on AQ

_ By SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN
THE SCHOOL DISTRICT is going to
need a lot of.money from the provincial

' . government to avoid running a deficit no

matter how it.chooses to run schools this
fall.

Even if the district gets a modest $100
more per student and continues to close
schools one day a week, itll run a deficit
of $452,055, indicate figures prepared for

_ school board members. .

That extra $100 per student being used
by school district officials works out to
an anticipated budget of $46,153,115.

If the board returns to a standard five
day a week ‘opening, the deficit rises to
$2,190,716 based on expenditures of

‘Terrace businessmen fed’

buyers.to” pay $3.2 million for the sawmill

and equipment, Ryan said, plus a further
undisctosed,amount for the land.
. The City of Terrace will: lead a com-

munity investment worth around $950,000

‘= including contributions agreed to by
unionized sawmill workers and other part:

ners, mayor Jack ‘Talstra said.

He said it will mean new investment of
city money into the operations, but said it
should also result in repayment of unpaid
New Skeena taxes over a number of years.

_ Talstra said the successful purchase was
a tribute to the community’s determination
to restart the sawmill here — by putting their
own money up to make it happen.

People are apparently coming forward
willing to invest, and they’ re coming every
day,”’ he said.

Ryan . had “been in. Vancouver with

VANCOUVER-E ‘BASED piano instructor and adjudicator Yuko. Noble gives some
pointers to local pianist Brielle Dorais Fleming. Noble was here last weekend

hosting workshops for area musicians set to perform in this year’s 40th anniversay
Pacific Northwest Music Festival. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO

$48,343,831.
A third proposal for a five-day week

_With a two-week spring break would re-

sult in a $1,965,170 deficit.
A fourth proposal calls for a five--
day instructional week from September’

- through May then switching toa four-day |

week for the month of June. That would
include a two-week spring break and a
three-week winter holiday. This option
goes over budget by $1,487,403.

A fifth proposal applies only to Stew-
art where the community and teachers
there decided to keep the four-day week
but spring break will be two weeks long
to coincide with winter breakup.

Support staff and supplies account for

} racestandard.com

errace group bu

‘Talstra and city staff all last week... ,

“We've been negotiating solid for about
four days,” Talstra said.
~ A group of former Repap executives
with a long history of experience. with the
mill had previously been the fi rontrunners
to buy it,

Talstra said the city had concluded ; an
agreement on city participation with that
group, which included Harrry Papushka
and Rudy Schwartz.

But those prospective buyers were un-
able to reach a deal .with receiver. Larry
Prentice, of Ernst and Young Inc.

“We were also talking to John Ryan’s
group the entire time, and they were able
to conclude the deal,” Talstra said.

Prentice could not be reached late Sat-
urday to confirm the agreement, but had
said previously that day he s was optimistic

a deal was imminent.

_“If this transaction can come together I
would think it would be very well received

“ locally,” Prentice added. “It would be a

very good result all the way around.”

He said auction house Maynard’s is
selling the mill itself and equipment, while
ithe receiver remains in charge of selling

the land.

Prentice went ouit¢ of his way to praise
the role Talstra and Skeena MLA Roger

Ss saw!

Harris played i in bringing the deal to frui-.

tion.
He said the two conferied repeatedly

about the sawmill situation — even while »

Harris was in a hospital bed in Vancouver

in the days immediately after being med-

evaced there after his Feb.2 heart attack.
“He and Jack have worked on helping
to make this happen,” Prentice said. “They”

c

_ were working on it before he had his heart,
attack ~ but even after.” °

“Still. to be released are details. of how
“the new owners will arran ge working capi-
tal to operate the mill.

- Skeena Cellulose first went into creditor.
protection in 1997. Banks assumed owner-.
ship from former owner Repap.Enterprises
before. the NDP provincial. government
“took majority ownership.

The province cut its losses in 2002, sell-
ing to Montreal business pariners George
“Petty and Dan Veniez, who renamed it
New Skcena Forest Products.

They declared bankruptcy in Septem-
ber 2004 after failing to ‘enlist financing
partners.

‘Check our web site at www.terraces-”
tandard, com for updates as more details

become available.

Budget could bring .

By JEFF NAGEL

A $236 MILLION fund un-

veiled in last week’s provin-

cial budget may pump more:

money into Terrace’s strug-

_.gling.. second. sheet of. ice, _

sportsplex plan.
Small business and eco-

nomic development minis- .

ter John Les last week con-
firmed the money — dubbed
an election slush fund by the
opposition — could go to-
ward the second sheet of ice
project here.

“We're quite familiar
with -the Terrace applica-

tion,” Les told The Terrace °

Standard Feb. 16. “We're
re-evaluating specifically
that project in Terrace with a
view to providing some ad-
ditional funding.”

Les called,the new round

of grants an extension of the
previous federal-provincial
infrastructure program, this
-time fed by Victoria.

It must be spent before

-the province’s current fiscal

year ends on March 31.
“At the ‘moment, the

. federal. government has run

out of money to fund infra-
structure programs,” he said.
“We've decided to take part

of our surplus and put it into.

infrastructure- “type — invest-
ments.”

“We're going to start

making announcements in

the very near future.”
Other budget spending
allocations that could affect

the northwest include some”

$291 million for “gateway
initiatives,” finance minister
Colin Hansen told reporters.

The Port of Prince Rupert.

‘sonal

The. number ‘of conser-

vation officers patrolling
northwest B.C. is also ex-
pected to go up, thanks to a
budget increase.
Officials in Victoria said
extra money will go to hire
15 new conservation officers
and 25 park rangers hired
province-wide in 2005. —

But that won't be enough
to return the north. to the

~ number of conservation offi-

cers in 2001 prior to the cuts

- the Liberals made to the pro-

vincial budget early in their
mandate.

That’s because the: 15.

new positions are only sea-
eight-month posts,
said Doug Gillett, the north-
ern regional manager for the
conservation officer service.
It means the [5 are the
equivalent of 10 full-time
positions, he said, and they
will be spread across B.C.
The north alone. would
have to gain nine conserva-
tion officers and four sup-

port staff in order to recover

‘officer position in

‘to the pre- =cut levels, Gillett
said.

“In terms of the offices :
and the positions we lost and

what we'll potentially have
to share with the other re-
gions, no, | don’t anticipate
in terms of actual people that
we'll get back to that level of
what we lost,” he said.
Gillett’ said’ one vacant
conservation officer position
in Terrace, which has been
empty since last May, will
be filled, bringing the office
here back up to four officers,
including a senior conserva-
tion officer.
Beyond that no deci-
sions have yet been made on
where wildlife officers will
be deployed in the north. |
Gillett “said the . work-
load for staff in Terrace and
Smithers increased
the government closed the
Hazelton office — which had
two officers arid a secretary
-and feft one.conservation

Lake vacant.

Ambulance
hours boosted

PARAMEDICS WILL soon

be based overnight at the

-ambulance station, allowing

for faster response times.

As of March 1, two staff.

and one ambulance will re-
main at the station overnight
with a second ambulance
crew on call by pager.

~ No one works at the sta-
tion overnight now and
paramedics on standby are

seven days cach week,

“Fwo_ other: ambulances
with staff carry pagers and
respond from where’ they
are when an emergency: call
comes in.

“The only-real advantage’

is. quicker . response time
from the station,” said para-
medic Chery! Simpson, who
added ambulances could roll
out seven to 10 minutes fast-

when -

Dease_

a lot of the five-day week deficit fore-

casts.

Support staff include all Canadian
Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
members including custodians, librarians
and special services assistants.

The board projects $5,921,917 will
be spent on support staff if the four-day
instructional week remains in place. It’s
the least amount of money spent in this
category forall of the scenarios under
consideration.

Once a fifth'day is introduced the cost
of paying those workers jumps by at least
$1 million.

“Services and supplies” relate primar-
ily to the operational costs associated

and its planned container ter-
minal, as well as infrastruc- One
naren : ne
ture in Kitimat, could qualify
as Asia-Pacific gateways for
‘that money, he said. ,

with adding an extra day of busing, build-
ing utilities, natural gas heating and even

. Insurance.

“If you go back on the five days you
have to reinstate the busing, you have. to
teinstate some of the costs you have on
the fifth day,” says schoo! board treasurer
Marcel Georges. “Operationally it will
cost you more.

Those costs range from $210, 489 to

$345, 850 more than the four day sce-
nario.

- The only way the board will be able to
get back in black is if it gets an extra $300
per student from the-province.

And even-then, only the four-day op-
tion would: bring in expenses under bud-

vt

equipped with pagers.

ambulance staffed
with two paramedics work
out of the main ambulance
office from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. _ ics.

Board tackles school week once more |

er than is the case now.
The ambulance | station
here employs three full time

‘get, says board chair Lorrie Gowen.

The board is now holding mectings.

with parents and teachers to ‘discuss the
various options.

s “We hada mecting at Caledonia (Feb,
15) and there were no parents there, said
Gow en.

Another mecting at Thornhill Elemen-
tary saw three parents and two teachers
attend and a third meeting ‘at Thornhill
Junior saw 10 people show up.

Parents may attend meetings at any of
the schools. The meetings continue to-
night at Skeena Junior, March | at Park-
side Secondary, March 7 at Kiti K’ Shan,
March 8 at ET Kenney and March 9 at
Uplands Scool.

and 22 part’ time paramed- »

}}

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