Kemano, Kemano, Kemano _

Reaction to the death of the’ os
project keeps rolling in by fax, mail |
and personal delivery/NEWS A5

She loved the outdoors

Vicki Kryklywyj, the heart and soul
of local hikers, is
remembered/COMMUNITY B1

Bountiful harvest

Northern B.C. Winter Games.
athletes cleaned up in Williams . |
Lake this year/SPORTS C1

_WEDNESDAY
FEBRUARY 15, 1996

Orenda tip of unknown iceberg

LIKE ALL deals in the world of
high finance, the proposed amal-
gamation of Orenda Forest Pro-
ducts with a mostly American
company is more complicated
than it first seems,

Aad the stated purpose of re-
opening a closed newsprint mill
on Vancouver Island is not yet a
sure thing.

While the majority of Orenda’s
Sharcholders have approved an
amalgamation with OFP Acquisi-

By JEFF NAGEL

IT’S LIKE A JIGSAW puzzle
tal’s slowly coming together,

When cily recreation direc-
tor Steve Scott looks down at
a map of cily parkland, he
sees a band of green space'
along the escarpment with a
fow key gaps in it

“We've been piccing to-
gcther the park quictly as we
go along,”’ Scott explains.

felf into place Jast month

Another piece of the puzzle _

when the city gained Jand at,

tion Corp. effective April 30, the
transfer of Orenda’s forest licence
must be approved by the provin-
cial government,

There’s growing opposition to
the move to take wood from the
northwest and ship it south.

OFP itself, a joint venture by a
group of companies which bought
the debt of the owners of the
Gold River newsprint mill,
doesn’t have title to the building
or its facilities,

That tide is still held by original
owners Avenor Inc. of Montreal
and a group of American newspa-
per companies,

The partnership built the mill in
the late 1980s but closed it in the
face of mounting debt in Decem-
ber 1993,

Avenor and its American news-
paper partners are considered in
default of their debt but no court
action has been started yet to
change that.

1). OF. operation:
"| engineering and silviculture.

| City slams
| Rafe Mair

councillor

CITY REG director Steve Scott is a key ally official involved In assembling greenspace.

Green belt slowly
coming together

the foot of the bench when
two bench properties amal-
gamated,

The cily also gained park-
land along Howe Creek when
the Rowland subdivision west
of DeJong Cres, was devel-
oped,

Another. 50-foot creekside
buffer was added when anoth-
er subdivision took place West
of Rowland.

If complete, the trail system
would. extend from Christy,

Park near Kalum St to. the _

foot of Lanfear Hill,

‘A lot of it Js already
green,’’ notes Scott.

But there’s a big difference
between it belng undeveloped
bush and being city-owned
paikland that can be devel:
oped and maintained.

There are now only four
pieces missing from the park
puzzle:

@ A 10-acre parcel bebind
Christy Park that extends

Cont'd Page A12

- ae

“They've phoned us and have
requested a meeting but there’s
been no confirmation of a time
for that meeting,’’ said Avenor
official Norman . Lord from
Montreal last week.

Avenor also figures as a major
player as it owns 51 per cent of
Pacific Forest Products which op-
erates a kraft pulp mill at Gold
River.

The newsprint mill is on the
same properly as the kraft mill

and the majority of its services,
including steam and effluent
treattient, are tied to the latter,

Avenor also owns and controls
docking facilities and a chipper at
Gold River.

And should the deal ‘with
Orenda go through, not all of
Orenda’s wood would be im-
mediately available.

That’s because more than half
of Orenda’s annual allowable cut
is under contract to Skeena Cel-

lulose for its Prince Rupert pulp
milt for the next two years,

Even should all of the Grenda

pulp fibre end up at Gold River, it

still will falf short of the 500,000 _

cubic metres a yeat the paper mill
can process...

Excess pulp fibre is a scarce.
commodity in the province
nowadays and there are predic-
tions the supply is going to
tighten up even further.

There’s more Orenda coverage
on PageA2 and Page Al3.

Petter promises close
look at planned sale |

FORESTS MINISTER Andrew
Petter is promising a full review
of the deal to sell Orenda Forest
Products and its forest licence,
Speaking last week, Petter said

he'll be examining the deal with

an eye to protecting jobs and
community stability and looking’
at plans for future Use of the
wood.

_ Thatinchudes’ public: bearlngs:taec. cae
determine

comments and |
opinions from northwesterners.

“I have ihe authority to protect
the public’s interest, to look at
jobs and community stability,”’
said Petter,

Although Petter wouldn't com-

ment on the specifics of the

Orenda deal because no official
transfer request has been made
yel, be did’ say he'd look at
Orenda’s licence performance to

date.
“‘As I understand it the licence
Orenda. has is subject to a condi-

tion to build'a processing facility —

that is satisfactory to the licensor,
the government,’’ said Petter.
“That condition doesn’t have to
be met until 1996 but it will be
part of ‘the considerations, "" he
said...

has and whether those conditions
were satisfied,”’ Petter added.’

. “if conditions in a licence are
not satisfactorily met, the govern-
ment has certain rights and these
include revocation of — the
licence,” he said,

That licence condition caused
Orenda. four’ years ago to begin

planning fora pulp and paper mill

i eHioi ig ‘whether the.
public should allow a company to
profit under licence conditions it.

between Terrace and Kitimat.

Although Orenda ed
with the technical design and en-"" |.
vironmental approvals. for the;
pulp and paper mill, it struggled 7

to find financing...

It had asked the ‘provincial -
goverument for 2.$100 million

loan. guarantee to attract private:

- financing... a
But the province has’ aid ik first :

wanted Orenda to line up that pri-

vate, financing before considering ;

any assistance. -
Petter: expects the i issue of wood

leaving one region for another to’

come up in the deliberations over

the Orenda deal.

He noted that’ some com-"
munities object to wood leaving.

their area for another yet at. the

same time have facilities that pro-

cess wood from someplace else.”

Forest office changes. shape

THE KALUM Forest district’s
new zone fonnat should be fully

in place by the end of next month, .

says district
Downie. ; ;

Under the new system, the dis-
trict has been divided into four
zones Skeena,
Stewart and the Smull Business

manager Brian

, Program.

Downie said each zone team

consists of technicians and forest-

ers covering the three basic areas
harvesting,

THE CITY OF TERRACE
fas been declared a “Rafe
Mair Free Zone.”

City council © passed

councillor: Gordon ~
opposed.

Mair is the CKNW radio talk
show host--who led and

crystallized much of the

southern opposition to Alcdn’s .

$1.3. billion’ Kemuno
Completion Project, kilied last
month by premier Mike
Harcourt,

“Rafe Mair-has continued to

badger and downplay ‘the
importance “of Alcan to: the ©

northwest,” told
council,
_“Day after day,’ program
after «program, Rafe - Mair

Graydon

continves to.reach in-and- rip.
the heart out of the forthwest.” .

- The .city won't ban Mair

from ils streets or prevent him

‘from hunting of fishing here.

But councell-will ask Skeena .
stop.
brondéasting Mair’ 5 "talk: Show - .

Broadcasters {0.:

in the northwest “The

‘ Kitimat, .

. Ed Graydon’s -
motion by a 5-1 margin, with |
Hull

The Skeena team will have 15.
members, Kitimat 11, Stewart”
eight and the Small Busiriess Pro-
gram nine.

He said some personnel have
already been assigned to their
new areas but some positions in
each remain to be filled. ~

Each team will be responsible
for all projects within its zone and
have its own supervisor and for-

‘ester who will report to a zone

manager.
The new format emerged from
an cight-month re-examination of

the forest service’s organization,

The idea is that ‘having a ‘team.

looking after.a specific aréa will
result in better continuity from

planning through cutting to Sil
vicultural work.

Downie also anticipated . the
public would find ihe zone. sys-.

tem more to’their Ilking because:

there would be a specific ‘team

clearly linked to theit particular.

area.
Better service to the public and

quicker resolution of issues were’

other advantages he expected.

BAKE A cake and break out
the candles.

-sary of our flag.
Parliament Hill on Feb, 15,
white. background. represents

and England (white),
‘Those two countries used

the Crusades.
The ‘maple ‘leaf has ‘long

Today "is the 30th anniver--
Raised for the frst time on.
1965, the red maple leaf on a

; the colours of France (red).

ted and white dating back to.

been associated with this
= country and appeared on coins,
»,. and-.slamps - connected “with.
: Abe, first. French and Eagle

Happy birthday |
_to country’s flag

colonies.

In 1868, the maple leaf was
incorporated into the coats of
arms of Quebee and Ontario. | -
. Canadian soldiers. wore the
maple leaf on uniforms during
the Fint and Second World

As with’ most things: “Cana-
dian, the Maple Leaf was: not:
adopted without comtiroversy..

Progressive. Conservative
tender Tot John Diefenbaker op-
posed replacing the old flag,

the Red Enaigity when Prime [> |.

Minister Lester Pearson began
a search | for a’ new ‘Hag. in.
1964,” ~

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