APRIL CITY COUNCIL approved plans to rezone a prop- erty on Keith Ave. to commercial in anticipation of a giant 37,000 square-foot commercial develop- Ment there, The store was later identified as a Real Canadian Wholesale Club outlet. Construction is expected to begin in the new year. PROMINENT Nisga’a politician Frank Calder teceived a lifetime achievement award as part of the 1996 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards. HIGHWAYS officials set May I to July 15 for repaving of all nine kilometres of Hwy 16 through Terrace, AFTER MONTHS of dispute with the regional dis- tricl, Thomhill landlord Helmut Reinert gave in and gave eviction natices to five tenants on Old Lakelse Lake Dr, Reinert bad more trailers on the property than was legal for the zoning. CITY PARKS superintendent Steve Scott tabled a park plan aimed at adding civic parkland and im- proving the access and quality to the parks the city already has. SKEENA MP Mike Scott objected to race-based questions on the 1996 census form, advocating con- ‘stituents identify themselves as ‘Martians’ in protest. ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS minister John Cashore promised final Nisga’a treaty talks will be open to the public. CUSTOMS OFFICIALS contemplated the pos- sibility of a manned border post between Stewart and Hyder to curb smuggling there. MILLS MEMORIAL Hospital got word its budget won't be cut this year, but elected to continue with plans to cut costs, SCHOOL DISTRICT officials confirmed a 28-acre parcel of land on the bench could be the future site of a new Skeena Jr. Secondary school. CBC RADIO ended its direct radio news presence in the northwest by moving its last news reporter from Prince Rupert to Vancouver. THE PROVINCE announced the amalgamation of the Terrace and Kitimat school districts, along with 32 others across the province. The move was met by opposilion in Kitimat. GOV’T OFFICIALS admitted it could cost ten Keith Ave. property owners millions of ‘dollars to comply with an order to clean up contaminants left by an old pole yard. ; CITY COUNCIL adopted a budget that would Spend a record $4.25 million on capital projects in- cluding road recosistruction. Taxes would remain steady, or decline, for taxpayers whose assessments had not increased dramatically. , MAY NURSES UNION officials condemned a plan to lay off up to 10 nurses at Mills Memorial Hospital. THE CANADIAN AUTO WORKERS union, Tepresenting Alcan workers in Kitimat, voted to give $10,000 ta Skeena MLA Helmut Giesbrecht’s re-election campaign. A $2.4 million retooling of Forwest Wood Specialties was announced to transform the value- ‘added mill into a vencer-slicing plants. ROYAL OAK’s proposed $400 million Kemess South gold and copper mine got the province’s ap- ‘proval to go ahead. Production is scheduled to be- gin in 1998. TWO SASKATCHEWAN men died when the single-engine Otter they were flying from Prince Rupert to Saskatchewan slammed into a mountain in the Telkwa pass. ‘UPLANDS ELEMENTARY school pushed for government acceptance of the need for a new elementary school on the bench. Parents had begua ‘registering newborn babies for kindergarten there -as soon as they are born, RCMP OFFICERS here switched over to new 9mm handguns, retiring their old .38 calibre revolvers. THE SCHOOL BOARD decided to spend $1.1 mil- lion on native education next year. A LATE snow melt drove river levels high. The - weather cooperated, however, and the food danger passed, “VICTORY HUG: Skeena MLA Helmut Gies- : brecht takes an embrace from Social Credit ‘challenger Dave Serry on election night, Re edaie Lo or Bey : . : AGREEMENT AT LAST: The Nisga'a celebrated in March while federal Indian affairs minister Ron Irwin, Nisga’a Tribal Council pres- Ident Joe Gosnell and B.C. aboriginal affairs minister John Cashore signed the Nisga’a agreement-in-principle. Negotiations toward a final treaty resumed in the fall. TESTS FROM parts of the south side showed con- taminants from an old Keith Ave. pole treatment yard are lowing under the highway, bencath homes further to the south. A BOOMING economy here drove unemployment to its lowest level ever in the northwest. The rate dipped to 3.7 per cent in April, down from 10.8 per cent a year earlier. LAKELSE LAKE director Sandy Sandhals raised concerns about the lake being polluted by in- adequate septic systems, AN ENVIRONMENTAL group laid charges under the Fisheries Act against Cominco Ltd. and Prime Resources for damaging fish habitat in the Stikine River with a hovercraft the companies use to ser- vice their Snip gold mike. CITY COUNCIL decided against holding a referendum on water fluoridation. POLLS PLACED the NDP ahead in several key northern ridings, including Skeena. Local polls showed the NDP’s Helmut Giesbrecht with 45 per cent here, followed by Reform B.C, and the B.C. Liberals, Later polls showed growing Liberal sup- port in Skeena at the expense of Reform B.C. THE NISGA’A land claim deal, Alcan, government _ spending and forestry issues dominated the Local all - candidatés' forum between provincial election can- didates, Incumbent MLA Helmut Giesbrecht WHEN THE votes were counted, NDP candidate Helmut Giesbrecht was re-elected MLA for Skeena, with 4 600-vote margin over Liberal candidate Rick Wozney. Giesbrecht attributed the win to support from native villages and workers in Kitimat. His opponents blamed the split of the right-wing vole “between the Liberals and Reform B.C. That trend held up through the northwest, with neighbouring ridings also electing NDP MLAs, contributing to Glen Clark’s narrow election victory. JUNE FOREST RENEWAL B.C. doled out $30 million in forestry project grants to the region. LOCALS RUSHED to buy groceries before gr0- cery stores closed and employees were locked out. The lockout later turned into a strike. THREE KEITH Ave. businesses defied orders from B.C. Environment to file plans to clean up con- tamination on their property that came from an old pole treatment yard. WEST FRASER’s Bruce MacNicol warned Skeena Sawmills workers to be prepared for a possible ex- tended mill shutdown in the summer. He said the mill needed to avoid exceeding its quota for exports lo the USS. PRINCETON Mining announced plans to procecd wilh its Huckleberry copper mine development. CENTRAL MOUNTAIN Air allied itself with Air B.C., and laid off ground crews and counter staff here and at other bases across the interior. TSIMSHIAN land claim talks bogged down on the issue of bow easy it will be to split off issues that are Specific lo one band or village. THE PROVINCE put ils New Direclions health care regionalization program on hold pending a review. SKEENA MLA Helmut Giesbrecht took on Repap and the company’s policy of delaying payment to its truck loggers and contractors here. CAR DEALERS here were incensed by the City of Terrace’s decision to standardize its fleet to strictly GM vehicles, GILLNETTERS geared up for what was expected to be an exceptionally strong sockeye salmon retum to the Skeena River, UNBC began efforts to trim its administration in recognition that the amount of money it's been receiving through its startup phase won’t last forever. More next week The second half of our year end in review news feature will be published Jan, 8, 1997. IXXETITX YIVELISITEXITIXIZ aN YEAR'S) EYIIIXUILVITIIIITIT IIE Seyowe WARH HOUDAY WISHES YOUR WAY Here's hoping your holiday delivers loads of love, laughter and cheer. Thank you for visiting us this past year.” Season's Greetings & Happy New Year to all our wonderful customers! AGA =| GREG "/RIACE TRUCKS Best Wishes From All The Staff At; TERRACE