What will it be?

Perfect pooches

| That time of year —

The future of Thornhill isthe a

next week\NEWS A8

__| Trainers offer advice on how to
prepare your dog for
show\COMMUNITY Bi

‘Spring means golf and today Ss the
first official tee off for the new -
season\SPORTS C1 .

WEDNESDAY
APRIL 19, 1995

TERRACE INN employees are
back at work but they still don’t
have their back pay or medical
coverage,

_ The picket lines came down
‘April 13, hours after a B.C
Supreme Court Fustice agreed to
appoint an interim receiver for
the hotel.

Inn. owner Amarjit Sidhu left
town: the same moming amid
promises he will return and sort
everything out

The striking employees had
walked. off the job April 7 and
vowed to stay out until someone
— be it Sidhu or the receiver —
paid them and remitted their

St

Terrace Inn doors o

deducted contributions for pen-
sion and benefits, so that medical
coverage would be reinstated.

But they agreed to go back to
work under the management of
receiver Smythe McMahon Inc,
and wait until April 24 when the
court will hear an application to
declare Sidhu’s numbered com-
pany bankrupt.

Smythe McMahon Inc, a law .

firm, was appointed at the request

‘of Georgilas Investments Ltd.,

Sidhu’s largest creditor.

If Sidhu docsn’t pay his debts
by April 24, any assets will be
used to pay off the line of
creditors, including the employ-

weeThe staff are not happy,
they’re not happy at all,” said
Wilma Redpath, business agent
for local 40 of the Hotel,
Restaurant, Culinary Employees
and Bartenders Union,

“It’s a case of go back to work
and wait for the courts. Or don’t
go back to work and you don’t
have any job,” she said,

The move to appoint an interim
receiver for the hotel came be-

cause electricity and heat and’

been cut off to the hotel and its
heating system would be
damaged if the shutdown con-
Hnued longer,

« Relatively simple

GRANTED BOWLING Isn't really very simple when you're Amanda Stefanik's size, but it gets
relatively easier when Grandma Gall is on there to lend a helping hand. The Stefanik dynamic
duo have been among those to enjoy the Snoopy Bowling Buddies program this season.

Mills Memorial is eying
new specialist for region

ONE OF the first moves aimed at
changing the way northwest
health care is provided is un-
derway,

Mills Memorial Hospital: has
started talks with Wrinch
Memorial Hospital in Hazelton to
move its eye care ophthalmology
service here.

The transfer will centralize the
service, making lt more —con-

venient for more people-in the ,” add
_ been talked ‘about: aid. “recom " C

northwest, says Mills hospital of-

ficial Michael Leisinger.
It’s being sparked by a decision
of Wrinch’s -current . oplithal-

mologist to take a fellowship in —

Alberta,

“We're still very much at the —
‘beginning stages, There’s' the
question of transferrlng the equlp- ;
“Ment ftom Hazelton “and “the —

budgetary. Issue,’?. said Leisinger
last weeks: © (3+. .
‘Such.a: transfor of serv:

mended for several years,

Mills is to play host the end of
this month to. an Ottawa-based
ophthalmologist interested in

. Working here,

Lelsinger said Wrinch is ‘agree-
able to: the move but does want

“regular visiting, clinics in the

Hazdltons. ©

“We have no robe with ihat B
a “ha in!

The power shutdown resulted in
spoiled food in the kitchen and a
big mess to clean up when em-
ployees returned to work.

John Georgilas of Georgilas In-
vestnents sold the hotel to Sidhu
last September and claimed in
court Sidhu owes $1.68 million,

Yvonne Vance, an employee of
interim receiver Smythe
McMahon Inc., said Georgilas is
first in the line: of secured
creditors should Sidhu’s firm go
bankrupt

Next in line are the federal and
provincial governments followed
by the employees under provi-
sions of the Employment Stan-

NDARD

pen again »

scheduled payments 1 to  Geonitas

dards Act,

A lien against assets on behalf
of employees was posted by the
provincial employment standards
branch a day before receivership
was granted,

Vance said it’s still possible for
Sidhu to keep control of the hotel.

“Tf Mr. Sidhu somehow gets an
investor and walks back into the
hotel, everything changes,”’ she
said.

Vance said employees have
agreed to cooperate and return to
work, thereby preventing the
hotel ‘from losing more money.

Georgilas’ lawyer, Andrew
Bury, said Sidhu made all his

Education spending

75¢ PLUS 5¢.GST
VOL. 8:.NO, 1:

until the April
bounced,

But other creditors Pricr to that
were asking for ‘payment of
monies owed,

The temporary closure of the
hotel last week meant a loss of
business in the form of workers in

Ist. _ cheque

~ the area to do maintenance work

at the Eurocan pulp and ‘paper
mill in Kitimat,

Terrace and District Chamber
of Commerce: president John
Evans said he hoped the situation
will soon be resolved.

For more of the events last
week tied to The Terrace Inn,
see Page A2,

creates divisions —

A NATIVE ADVISORY group
and School District 88 are
$500,000 apart on how monies
should be spent on native stu-
dents, ;

At the heart of the dispute is a
decision by the education minis-
try last year to target monies spe-
cifically for native students,

That’s been a general policy for
some time, but new rules last year
lightened areas in which. the
money could be spent,

As a result the Su sit aackt Na-
tive Education Council, formed to
give advice on how the money’s
used, and the district disagree on
how over $200,000 was spent last
year and how $300, 000 is to be
spent the next school year.

The total budget targeted for
native students in the school dis-

trict, which covers Terrace and
Hazelton, for the coming year is.

$1.4 million,

Education council member
Terry Brown says the council felt
there was an unequal split last
year between spending. on native
students in Hazelton when com-
pared to Terrace. _

Hazelton was allotted $806, 000
of the $1.3 million. budget. for
aboriginal cducation’ last year
while Terrace received $581,000,

In the upcoming school year, a
50/50 split between Terrace and
Hazelton has been accepted,

Brown also said the advisory
council disagrees with $200,000
spent last yaer on language as-
sistance teachers.

He says this shouldn't be al-
lowed under the native spending
amount as all students benefit,

And he’s unhappy with. the
amount spent on administration
of monies for native students,

“They spent 10-11 per cent on
administration — fees,” — says
Brown, ‘With a budget of $1.389
inillion, that’s too much,”? :

Failure of the advisory group
and the school district to come to
an understanding of how the
Money was spent last year and
how more money should be spent
(his year could create problems,

Brown plans to meet with the
other native education council
members this week, but says ‘‘]
don’t think an agreement is im-
minent,”?

School board chairman John.

Pousetie hopes an agreement will

be reached but says lie is “'very

loathe {o state any opinions while
negotiations are in progress,”’

Even if the board and the coun-
cil come to an agreement, the
board will still be $300,000 short
for the next school year.

‘That's the amount the school
‘board agreed to spend on reduc- »
Ang: class’ sizes with - its teachers. |
anion,” thinking it Would ‘come’ |
“ftom. (hie) budget’ given for the malnytent ‘Kale
. aboriginal education: Be pes ep

The education ministry now

‘refuses to let the board spend

aboriginal monies to reduce class
sizes. -
. And that means the school dis-

trict will-:-have. to. find the @
$300,000 someplace else to mect

the contract it has with teachers,

Brown thinks the whole situa-
tion. might have been avoided.
“Even in the 94/95 school year,
(aboriginal education) targeted
funding was not supposed to be
used to reduce class sizes,” says
Brown,

“Historically (aboriginal educa-
tion) funds were used to deliver
extra Itarning assistance and to
reduce class size,” says Skip
Bergsma, assistant superintendent
of schools, by way of explana-
tion.

He adds that the education min-
istry hadn’t clarified the rules on

’. how the native education money

was to be spent when the district
mades its class size reduction de-
cision.

And ‘he’ says “there “has been

strong’ support: from. the. native |

community, for reducing class
sizes, particularly ‘when. large

numbers of native students are in- :

Terry Brown

volved.

However education ministry. ok 2

ficial John Webb = says. it told

school districts last year not to.

spent native education. money on

class sizes or ‘on n teaching ase

sistant.

Salmon

IF YOU'RE a crack salmon
fishermen; don't mind releas-
ing your catch and are inter-
ested in furthering knowledge
about Kalum chinook, the
Terrace Salmonid society
could have a place for you,
The sociely is in the early
days of a Program which will

nin chinook from the Kalum
system.

Jim Culp, manager of the
soclety’s Deep Creek
hatchery is manager of the
project which is being
financed up to $24,000 under
the federal Green Plan,

He said the project is feasi-
ble at this low figure because
it will be able to use up radio
lags left over from last year’s
Steelhead and colo ‘ageing

program, |

. _ Once volunteer anglers have
hauled in the fish and> “they
have been: implanted with a
radio tag, be ‘explained. the

- chinook will bé monitored on
their way to the Spanning
grounds. ay

Culp: anlicipated

“tecelvers ‘would-be’ ‘laced 0 on

celebs on. radio —

“into the Cedar and its :

involve radio tagging SO carly ‘

program

* The’ project was due to be- )
_gin-over the weekend bul he”
“admitted its success depended
‘on getting “a Bend crew vo of

j.aniother _; can be cont

become -

upstreaia of Kalum Lake. and :
one more on the Cedar River, |?

A primary. objective of the -
project. is to find: out where |
the chinook are spawning, | .

He said the assumption had :
‘been these carly run fish went .,

tributaries. .

However, there was now a
suspicion _isome may. :
spawning in the Kalum itself.
“We need to know that to.
mariage the fishery propeily, ae
hesaid,

He explained current regula- ~

tions on fishing the system «|.

were based on the idea: these: -

particular chinook had: moved |

out of the Kalum and’ there-
fore would not be. Prey to “,
angles. =

If the results of the radio tag.
Show © otherwise, ‘
Cillp said it miy be necessary”
to te-tXamine those regula: .
tions.’ ‘e

volunteers’’,

be tT