A1l6 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 28, 2001 Docs collect big bucks in back pay to stay here Bargaining already underway for new pay, benefits deals GRIME > rOPPERS Terrace Crime Stoppers are asking for your assistance in solving a break, enter and theft that oscurred at a residence on Beaver Crescent, in the By ROD LINK ’ Copper River area of Terrace, B.C. TERRACE DOCTORS have quietly accepted more than Doctors Pay based Sometime between December 18, 2000 and January $800,000 since the year began. Most of it is back pay ar- on GP billing $200,000 27, 2001, unknown culprit(s) attended the residence ising from last year’s dispute with the provincial govern- Previous 6.C. govt Mediated located al 4641 Beaver Crescent, where they ment over money. system offer package proceeded to force thelr way into the house. Once The majority of the money comes from a $40 million inside, the culprit(s) proceeded to steal from the residence numerous items including Items such as video games and sports equipment. Og ° Among the items stolen from the residence are: —— ; Diving gear-including a dry suit-blue in colour Stew Christensen a.wet.suit-black and purple He’s retired US Divers regulators US Divers diving gloves, fins and mask LONG-TIME senior city official Stew Christensen a US Divers dive knife Snowmobile gloves-one pair Polaris retired Feb, 23. Christensen, 58, spent Two pairs Canadian Tire. most of his 14 years with package offered by the province. last fall to encourage doctors to stay in more rural and remate areas. Some. comes from different deals reached earlier in 2000 for on call pay. For some doctors, the payments could represent more than the amount they rejected last fall, The $40 million package is a follow-on to a separate $10 million incentive deal negotiated by the province with Prince George doctors last June after they threa- tened fo strike. Doctors there said it was impossible to fill vacancies and that physicians were leaving because they could make more in other parts of Canada and the United States. ‘ Doctors here and elsewhere at first rejected the $40 $200,000 $200,000 $200,000 AF Lum BES i su ea ayer im bonus 1,0 18228 0b IS346 G00 $240,000" Because of mediator recommendations, keep the NIA of 14 per cent and receive a reduced year- ly bonus of $21,000 for general Practitioners and $26,560 for specialists. Based on the average general practitioner billing of $200,000, the total is now $249,000 stemming from the 14 per cent NIA of $28,000 and the $21,000 bonus. In other words, the new package represents a $4,000 raise on last fall's 2 pair Scott ski goggles Bauer Ice Skates , A Rockford Fosgate car stereo amplifier million, saying it didn’t match the Prince George deal. They also said it would be impossible to find or keep doctors in smaller places because the Prince George deal was richer than an existing arrangement which paid doctors in rural areas a premium on top of normal fees. Local doctors then refused to treat all but emergency cases at Mills Memorial Hospital, forcing it to send out patients for care. They were also angry at being asked ta sign a personal services contract agreeing to not go on strike in return for receiving the money. The appointment of a three-member mediation panel last October ended the dispute. It recommended changes to the $40 million package. And it Suggested doctors and the province revive their talks in negotiations now un- derway for a new wage and benefits package covering all provincial physicians to come into place April 1. The province, as withdrew the no-strike, personal services contract condi- lion. “We said that if doctars gave a verbal assurance, they could then receive the ackage,” health ministry official Jeff Gaulin said. The province late last year began to cut a series of cheques to local community health councils, which are administering the package, paving the way for the pay- ments which have now taken place. All told, more than $800,000 has been paid out as of mid January, says Terrace Area Health Council finance director Paul Manhas. Had all the elements such as lump sum payments to keep doctors here, money. for their continuing education and on-call pay been in place for the entire year, the doctors would have shared just over $1,6 million, he said. The amount of money each doctor is receiving has changed from what was originally proposed in the fall, Back then doctors were told they had to choose between the existing 14 per cent Northern Isolation Allowance (NIA) top up of normal billings or take lump sums of $45,000 for general practitioners or $56,000 for special- ists. An average general practitioner billed $200,000 last year and with the NIA premium, would have had a total pay package of $228,000. A doctor in this case would have made more by taking the $45,000 lump sum for a total of $245,000, a clear financial gain. But the advant- age diminishes the more a doctor bills. SF connecting canadians he incredible upport of TELUS and its employees ag helped Computers or Schools donate ver 20,000 computers to needy schools : “ Computers for Schéals, 4 national initative, part of the mediation efforts, also ' Computers for Schools . ‘. HIELPING KIDS GET @ TECHNOLOGY For mate information, call Computers for Schools @ 1-800-665-7222 _ foundad by the Canadien Government and the Telephone Floneérs of America proposal, Tn addition to the NIA premium and retention pay- ments, both general practitioners and specialists naw re- ceive $10 an hour for every hour they are on call in ad- dition to whatever fees they may bill. These are covered under separate agreements to the retention/NIA program. For each specialty at Mills, the on-call sum works out to $4,638 a month which is then divided amongst the re- levant specialists according to how many hours they were on call. In any event, all of the above agreements are now being re-negotiated by doctors and the province povern- ment because they expire the end of March. They'll start with a master agreement covering gen- eral fees, benefits, pensions and continuing education ‘monies and then hammer out specific side deals con- cerning rural retention payments and on-call monies. Doctors have already served notice they want all gen- eral practitioners, regardless if they are in a rural area or not, to be paid for being on call. And they've said speci- fic on call agreements for rural doctors will be in addi- tion to that province-wide on call payment schedule. _’ But Dr. Marshall Dahl, the president of the British Columbia Medical Association which bargains for doc- tors, was reluctant to say if doctors in rural and Temote areas want to at least match the Prince George deal. The province and the doctors have until March 31 to conclude their agreements. If that doesn’t happen, they’ve agreed to binding arbitration, Why Did the Salmon Cross the Road? Located near the confluence of the Lakelse and Skeena Rivers, Killutsal Creek has heen impacted by development and by beaver activity, During flood or high water events, water ran down the well-travelled White Creek Forest Road. ‘This water gave salmon temporary access to the road and adult fish wera seen ‘spawning, juvenile fish were living on and even crossing the road. When the water receded, the juveniles were stranded and eventually died due to lack of water and high water temperature. The eggs that were spawned onto the road obviously never made it to the next Spring. It was determined by the Ministry of Environment that by enhancing the existing beaver ponds, water could be directed away from the road. This would increase the salmon’s rearing habitat and allow them to migrate freoly to the river without using the road. a The Kitsumkalum Band Council, leader of the - Killutea! Creek Rearing Pond Enhancement Project, obtained funding from Fisheries Renewal BC through Terrace and Kitimat Partners for Salmonids. With the ‘participation of BC Hydro, Pacific Northern Gag, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Forests, Skeena Cellulose Inc. and Weat Fraser Sawmills Ltd, work on the project began in early September and was concluded by month’s end (2000). ‘. Prior to construction, the araa was extensively “fish-salvaged” - using traps and an electroshocker, fish were gathered and moved to a safe location. The main channel of Killutsai Creek was diverted into an old, historic channel go the construction area would be isolated. Silt fencing was used to contain the sediment and minimize its release into the creek during construction. : This project was succeasfully completed and monitoring the effectiveness of the dams through visual checks, photographs. taken at permanent Pholo points, and observations of beaver activity will continue through the summer of 2001. BC Hydro BC Gas oS y Government of BC Government of Canada | IBM Canada Limited Science Couneil of BO 0. SLH Transport OES ra Workers’ Compensation Board of BC the city as its engineering director and was special projects director leading up to his retirement. His plans involve golf- ing and avoiding major challenges or projects’ for several months. “We're going to stay right here in Terrace,” Christensen said, “There's not a better place around to live. Why would I move?” He’s seen much change and many projects — from a new city well to ‘compost pickup — but his strongest memories are of the people he’s worked with. “There are some real superstars that are working for the city and it’s been a privilege to work with them,” Christensen said. Misc. old coins 10 misc. CDs Workout gloves a ; 5 Sony Playstation games-Final Fantasy Mechwarrior I.) -: Tiger Shark” “Panzer General Il Star. Wars. The total value being estimated at approximately $4500.00 ¥ you have any information about this or any other similar incidents, or if you know the identity of the person or persons responsible far this, (or any other), crime, Crime Stoppers would like to hear from you. Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward of up to $1,000.00 lor Information leading to an arrest and charges being fald against an Individual in this or other unsolved crime. If you heave any Information call Crime Stoppers at 635-TIPS that’s 636-8477. 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