terme Forwesl graders — there are three of them now fe 1AD : By y MALCOLM BAXTER “OW DO YOU increase the value of a piece of lumber more than aves all Easy, run. it through the Forwest mill, the new secondary manufacturing op- “eration across Frank St. from Skeena Sawmills. - Of course, il’s not quite thatsimple, ~-The..bald.figures are impressive: .a.utility grade: 2x8 or 2x12 worth $200 US per thousand board fect -- is tumed into a product worth as much as $700 US “per thou’. -But, as Skeena Sawmills manager Don Chesley: : ry “points out, it took three and half years of market de- velopment and a $2 million investment to get there. ‘Even then, it won’t work unless you've got the wood supply. In the case of Forwest — a joint venture between! - Forstar Trading of New Westminster and West ~ Fraser, Skeena Sawmills parent campany — the :. wood comes from a successful bid on a Morice area timber sale that netted them 125, 009 Cl.m. over a - five year period. ; os Not that Forwest fells the trees. They get West Fraser lo-do, that under contract, And those trees inever actually get here, instead being processed by West Fraser’s PIR mill in Houston. ; In return for those trees, Skeena Sawmills sup- plies an equivalent amount of kiln dried, surfaced- two-sides hemlock and balsam to Forwest. -Once in the Forwest door, Chesley said the lum- ber is run through ils planer where it is split intor, 90mm and 140mm widths by 40mm. Any that fail tun through again at 30mm. > From: the planer, the boards go to the graders. ~ Chesley points out the grading system is different} “a ‘from the sawmill where they deal with broad grades “that are recognized industry-wide. KD: ‘and a fourth is about to be added — look at the fe ‘ean pnaertereena enol mateenth mers ™ wood with the individual customer’s specifications Fa nad Brees matk the wood accordingly. That informa- tion is detailed ina spec sheet the graders receive - before cach run. , As each board comes to them, they mark the: .. defects that need to be cut out on its face and the |) ~~ grade on the side, 7 ': From.there it’s on to the Optimizer, a sophisti-’ qcated camera-compuler equipped saw, The com-; the customer is looking for. i Ag overhead: ‘camera reads off the location o % defects and a side-mounted camera reads the grade. . The computer then decides how the best value can be realized and cuts to lengths accordingly. “ Orice cut, -the pieces head down. a conveyor belt _ ‘where’ sensors automatically kick them off into, the oe appropriate bin. The outfeed from. the saw. is "> capable of running 700 feet per minute. «From the bin they are slacked in readiness for “packaging bul before that happens, Chesley points ~ out, there is one more check, ‘‘Every person piling - has the option to regrade,”’ he explains. _ The range of product includes clears 3ft-7ft long for doors and windows, spindle slock both in clears “and #2, and finger joints in both clear and a lower core grade, ~ = Japan: is: the destination for 65 per cent of For- . wesl’s product with the U.S. accounting for another - 20 percent while the rest goes to B.C. customers. * Last-week the first three-shipments were being "loaded at the port of Vancouver. -. .)-At-full stretch, the plant can produce 40,000 ft. ». per shift, Chesley says it’s running at about 70 per ~. cent of its design level now but that'll change over the next five or six wecks as (Hcy work the: bugs oul. And once everything is running smoothly, he hopes to offer tours, particularly for local school eroups, to make that (iickness are put on one side and later (ij puter has also been fed the specifications for this... particular order including. the percentage of lengthse*"7" Don Chesley Forwest employs 16 hourly paid workers and two staff but he notes there are also another seven workers at Skeena Sawmills whose jobs are depen-~ dent on the Forwest operation -- they sort, strip and kiln dry the wood for the value-added plant." > And, Chesley emphasizes, those are jobs that used. to belong to workers in the Lower Mainland; Over. the three and half years developing the markets: Forwest now supplies, be explains, the same wood’ = from Skeena Sawmills was being shipped south to be turned into the same product in plants 1 theres As for future growth, “‘We're going to: explore 5 every avenue for expansion, but we'll need the oe wood to do that.’ , GRADERS MAKE their marks (left) as another order goes’ through the new Forwest value-added operation. Grading is: done on a customer-specific basis then it’s up to a sophisti- cated camera-computer set-up to ensure the wood is cut in the most economical way. At right, the cut pieces leave the saw on a conveyor belt where small arms automatically kick them off into the appropriate bin. The mill has provided 25 jobs that would otherwise go to Lower Mainland workers, The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 7, 1994 - AS CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD The Mail Bag Groups out of focus An open letter to: Hon. John Cashore, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Dear Sir: We have questions about focus group research being done by your ministry in this community on attitudes to Jand claims, _What was the purpose and ulility of the research? We understand it was to assess attitudes, but how will that information be used? ” We are disturbed that the purpose was never revealed to those par- ticipating in the research. ; What was the process for selecting participants? It appeared that the researcher was attempting to select certain types of people. The - questions used to screen participants had racist overtones - what was: the rationale of this? We understand that only people with phones were potential participants. How did the research account for the reality that this method excludes many First Nations people. Also, were researchers aware that many First Nations people would feel they had to represent their nation/community in their participation and responses, For non-aboriginal people, they tend to participate as individuals rather than representatives of their com- munilies. How did the research account for this? The experience of a focus group participant was that the research questions and process, whether by design or not, had the effect of inciting a negative attitude to land claims settlement. The use of video and audio, with unknown observers behind con- wcealed doors, had the effect of creating an unsafe environment. _While the researcher guaranteed confidentiality, this was fairly ‘meaningless as participants were not told who all would have av- cess to the data. What does confidentiality mean in this instance? Why was written consent for participation not sought from participants? It is accepted ethical practice in the conduct of ro- search to obtain informed consent of those participating, Is there no ‘mechanism within your government or ministry for reviewing pro- . posed research for ethical considerations? , Why was there no debriefing or educational componeat to the focus groups? The effect of asking questions of participants is not a harmless activity. It acted as an intervention in this community that stirred up negative feelings, often based on lack of information. The approach used fosters misunderstanding and misconception. Indi- viduals feelings and emotions are built up based on ‘ack of educa- tion and awareness. _ Finally, why wasn’t such information as reflected by these ques- _tion shared with participants. The offer to participants to receive the , fesults of the research through the Freedom of Information Act rang ' hollow. It did not foster a sense of trust or accountability between " researcher and participants. Sincerely, ; Northwest Band Social Work students and instructors. Kitlope a slap in the face Dear Sir: The Kitlope decision is just another slap in the face to the working -people of the northwest region of our province. Before this large ‘area was set aside, our region already had 12.75 percent of our are set aside as protected areas. We seem to be controlled by outside interests from foreign coun: tries. Eco-trust and Vice president Al Gore seem to have more input ~ with our provincial government than do the good citizens‘who’ ‘live and work in this area. -. In recent years South Moresby has been set aside as well as the Tatshenshini. Two very large area with the potential for many jobs for our children. Alas this is not to be. . . Our region is becoming set aside to be the recreation area for the elite from all over the world. Areas where the local people find it very difficult and expensive to get to. ' There was a grizzly bear hunting moratorium placed on the Kit- lope Valley because of ‘‘govermment to government’ ‘negotiations -_-by the Haisla. Last year there was a regional wildlife committee formed meeting, in Smithers. This was open to anyone who chose to apply and ha’ good representation from across the region. Special invitations were . Sent to all the band councils but none of those groups chose to at- “tend. This committee was not consulted prior to the moratorium » being instituted. There is-also a Kalum South resource committee in Terrace tha: . has been meeting for several years. This committee has been deal- . ing with numerous land use concerns in our area. We discussed the provinces (PAS) protected’area strategy at length but there was not a consensus. The majority was opposed to any more large arcas being set aside, This committee was not consulted, ‘either, proper to the decision to " set aside the Kitlope, more jobs lost. The government of the day says that they are consulting, but with whom. In our region there are many groups of volunteer com- mittees either elected (Kalum south) or appointed (Nisga’a third party advisory board) that are being totally ignored while other self appointed lobby groups seem lo have direct access fo the politicians. When will our governments (provincial aud federal) start listening to the majority or the citizens in our area. - ; Bo 7 ~. Gil Payne, . Re plonal President, B. c. Wildlife Federation, Terrace, B.C. THE START IS FOR PEOPLE LEARNING TO READ The Start © Lots of wasps Watch out! Be careful when you are outside this year. oe That’s because there are lots of wasps out there this: year. They become more active in late summer, What. they are doing is getting ready for winter. And they are also getting bigger. Stores have been selling lois of cans of spray 10 deal with the wasps. People have also been calling pest control com- panies. Wasp nests can be found under the overhang of a house. They can also be found inside walls. If you can see a nest, it is easier to spray it, If a nest is hidden, poison powder can be used, That way, wasps will take the powder back to the nest. Dealing with wasps can be dangerous. While bees sting, wasps bite. This means they can bite several limes and that can hurt, Some nests can hold "Pt to 10, oad wasps They also can sur- vive winters.