tee ee ee, ee eel aon ee Hungry times College students band together to make their money stretch a little bit farther\NEWS A7 | Emu-sing new business Two ina row Australian big birds find new home in northwestern British Columbia\COMMUNITY B1 Terrace Ringetters move up a division but still emerge as champions\SPORTS C1 WEDNESDAY. APRIL 12,1995 Band By JEFF NAGEL A $1.5 MILLION settlement has been reached to compensate the Kitsumkalum band for land ex- Propriated for construction of the railway and Highway 16. The money is being granted by the federal government, accord- ing to federal treaty negotiator Peter Vranjkovic, The - province is contributing 100 acres of land adjacent to Kit- sumkalum reserve #2 on the Kalum road, and $60,000, Federal and provincial negotia- tors agrecd the band was in- adequately compensated. Whea railway surveyors Jaid out the route in 1908, they de- cided to run it right through the band’s graveyard. Deep Creek nets count contract THE TERRACE Satmonid En- hancement society will be keep- ing an cye on Kalum River chinook stocks again this year. Jim Culp, “manager: of.. he’. society’s*-Deep™ Creek” hatchery, received confirmation Friday it's contract to monitor the fish had been renewed, The $100,000 contract is almost entirely financed under the Canada-US, Salmon Treaty which earmarks the Kalum as a “keystream”’, explained Culp. Monitoring those streams year-to- year makes it possible to spot population trends, If decHning populations are detected, ‘‘it shows something’s wrong out there,”’ said Culp. The monitoring involves cap- turing and tagging returning chinook adults in the Kalum, then carrying out a dead count in the fall. Using the number of carcas- sess found and the number of them that have tags, it is possible to estimate populations for the system, he said. Scale samples are also taken to determine the age of the fish and length measurements are te- corded, , Culp said this year’s survey may also shed more light on returns of the famed giants of the Kalum system, Based on the ‘results of the past couple of years, “‘We're not sure we're secing as many of the seven-year-old fish as We used to.” However, it was not possible to draw firm conclusions based on only two years’ results, ‘It could just be a blip,”’ he painted out. “This year could tell us more,”’ Other tasks this year will in- clude the annual collection of eggs — approximately 75,000 — from spring run Cedar River chinook in the society’s continu- ing effort to rebuild populations there, That project, however, relics on volunteers to capture the fish and collect the eggs and donations to cover the cost of fish food. Native cultural centre A CULTURE and heritage centre is being proposed to showcase the rich history and talent of north- west natives, Kitselas band chief councillor Mel Bevan came up with the idea and it’s being pursued under the - auspices of the band-owned Kit- selas Development Corporation, “It’s a very ambitious project,’ says Clarence Nyce, manager of ihe development corporation. -. "He gad the goal-is to eniharice and shate aboriginal culture and A month-long standoff ensued with Gitksan and Kitselas natives Supporting the Kitsumkalum protesters. But federal officials refused to intervene on behalf of ihe band. Only a few Kitsumkalum families lived there then, as most band members had moved to Port Essington in the 1860s and didn’t return until 1962, The graves were moved to a new location — but that tuned out to be the site engineers would later use for the highway in 1941, The graves were dug up and moved a second time and the road was built, amid fears that not all the graves had been relocated. The railway and highway made the band’s ‘riverfront land in- Ukrainian egg making at Wallinda Crafts accessible and undevelopable, greatly reducing its value. But it also meant the band was no longer able. to prevent erosion by. the river, and a village site with longhouses and totem poles washed away. The Kitsumkalum band wasn’t paid compensation for the railway expropriation or the construction of the highway, which was built during the Second World War un- der the War Measures Act, Provincial negotiator Don Windross said the band received about $10,500 in the 1970s when the wider present-day highway route was built adjacent to the railway, he said. That freed up the old highway section where the graves were. = A deft touch LINDA MACK carelully draws a strip of wax ona Ukrainian Easter Egg, She taught a class on last week, in preparation for Easter festivities. It can take over five hours to create one intricately dyed egg. Ukrainian eggs come from a pagan background and were traditionally exchanged to celebrate spring. Legend held that you had to make new Ukrainian eggs each year, or an evil force would be loosed in the world. In an cffort to restore the Staveyard, Windross said, the highways ministry last fall built a -fence around the section of old highway where the graves are believed to be. They also re- '. seeded the area, ‘He said highways — ministry workers found nothing when they scanned the old roadbed with ground penetrating radar, putting to rest the old fears that there were still graves underneath. The settlement also addresses compensation for gravel and tim- ber taken from Kitsumkalum land for the highway and railway con- struction, It took five years of active ne- goliations to reach the deal, Vranjkovic said. The deal resolves two specific land claims against the highway and railway. Bled in 1986 by the Kitsumkalum band. Specific land claims are ones that seck redress for specific wrongs, They’re different from comprehensive Jand claims, in which native groups claim title to the large areas they traditionally occupied. Vranjkovic said the deal guar- antees continued use of part of the band’s land for the highway and railway. “Tt represents a final redress of . the — grievance,”’ noted. - The band had a negotiating Vranjkovic team and the lawyer, he added, Signs $1.5M claims deal © Band members ratified the deal: . in votes that took place Feb.:25 in Prince Rupert and Mar, 8-in ‘Ter- race, he said, a “We recognize the highway, had been in trespass since the | built,” © war, since it was Windzoss said. ‘‘And it needed to: be addressed,’’ zs Kitsumkalum band spokesman — Alex Bolton said he could not’ comment until after he: meets with band members later’ this month. Poe But it’s expected the band will - use some of the money to create safer access routes for pedestrians . - walking between the village’s. subdivisions. 4 Ex-owner to intervene at Terrace Inn By JEFF NAGEL THE MAN WHO holds the mortgage on the troubled Terrace Inn says he will take legal actionto._ ensure creditors and employees pet paid. _ owner of the hotel, told the Standard Monday his options include petitioning current owner Amarjit Sidhu into bankruptcy and asking the court to appoint. a Teceiver. - But he said he’s been advised - by his lawyer to first give Sidhu.’ another chance to pay creditors argest creditor, confirmed Sidhu: ‘has made only minimal payments under a court-administered process. Oe “We're trying to get bim: to pay all the people,” Georgilas-said in .a phone interview from Burnaby, “If he pays all the people — through: the courts, everybody's’ happy.” Sidhu failed to deliver on pro- mises to pay his 50 employees at. ° various stages over the weekend. Picket lines went up around the hotel Friday when payday arrived and no cheques were issued. ; Sidhu had no comment when questioned Monday afternoon as he pounded on the front doors in an unsuccessful effort to get — someone inside to untock them, Bi Sidhu’s Ohio hotel in.” receivership — Page A3_ _ paycheques.”. >: 2 © ae He had no answers for:his “picketing employees either, who John Georgilas, the former. “emanded to know when’ they would be paid. ©: “Give me a break,” Sidhu told. | them. “Give. us. a'-break,”, one’ responded, “You wait five minutes: - for a ‘key ‘and. you’re frustrated. ‘We're waiting four days for our: ~- Georgilas, who is the:hotel’s ‘on the $1.9 million morgage.” >»: “He owes me alot of money.” ‘Georgilas said, declining to ‘say: ~ - exactly how much is outstanding, : He said he’s getting phone with a -crazy: guy,” Georgilas added. “It’s beyond the imagina- tion. He tells everybody “Tomor- row, tomorrow, tomorrow.’"" He said:he didn’t anticipate any trouble when he sold the hotel toSidnu. “I checked him, his credit was | : Continued Page A2 create jobs for local native people. A feasability study is to start within the next six weeks to determine whether the idea could work, he added, Nyce said the initial concept is to build the centre in a Jong-house style and locate it somewhere in the Terrace area, A museum featuring aboriginal artifacts would be the: main: at-. “taction, Nyce said, adding. they’ hope to find other partners in the proposed railway, fishery and forest in- . ment agencies and northwest na- dustries to join the project. ‘Something like that has really not been approached before,” he said, = There would also be a live per- Stage: area where. various’ tribal groups could perform. Other possibilitles include a restaurant and perhaps even a convention centre, Nyce said... . Nyce said the idea ‘is: receiving. live organizations. o. He said it’s not meant to detract from or compete with the ‘K’san Village site in Old Hazelton, _ “Ksan village is far enough _ away that I think it will enhance’ - ‘it rather than detract from it” - He stressed that the centre has to be an economicat entesprise, “It has to stand on its own as a. Private business,’*-he, explained, , ||: “; “an enthusiastic response from the TE the feasability .study.‘says it": City of Terrace, various govern- can't, it won't go ahead? wee td TERRACE could lose its status as a city and go back to being a district if amalgama- tion with Thomhil] takes place. _ That’s because technically, under the Municipal Act, the “elty”? designation requires at least 5,000 people, an area of less than 800. hectares, and:a population density of more than five people per hectare, - Hallsor:said ‘a combined: 'Ter- ‘race and: Thornhill have ‘no problem exceeding the first re- quirement, with thelr popula- ti Se yhars 2 municipal status © “sounded better for promotion “purposes. City administrator © Bob 's the reason Wwe Wanted .to_ change,” he. said, Tura] area asa district, of hav-. ong more: ofa stredmlined city.’ “operation.” hectares and would have too low.a population density to. qualify: 00 ee The municipal affairs minis- ter can recommend that city status continue. Ce a, Terrace changed from being’. a. district to. a city about.10 .. | years. ago, he said, -because ‘it “That's the only reason we” ‘It waa more of an economic’ development tool. It gave the connotation of not being such a ° calls in Burnaby from people in. - ». Terrace asking him to step.in.: ; “St looks like'all of us got stuck::. .