‘Signs meeded Riverboat sports The results are in Braun's islanders want bigger :-warning signs for bad : Wwater\NEWS A7: Check out who won everything from tennis to the Senior’s mile\SPORTS B4 How’d your favourite float doin. this year’s parade?\COMMUNITY WEDNESDAY. August 11, 1999 $1.00 PLUS 7¢ GST- (51.10 plus B¢ GST outside of the . |. 4 Terrace area} ms VOL. 12'NO, 18 City gambles on multiplex vote Also hanging over the deliberations is said spending _—the available. April8setas date =v for the referendum By JEFF NAGEL April 8 to approve or reject construc- tion of a $7.5 million multiplex. And city council is on the verge of | betling up to $375,000 on the out- come. will be defeated if the referendum is held. Voters would then know exactly what how much it will cost them before mark- . ing their ballots. VOTERS will go to the polls next : ing their ballots The cost of the design and prep work ‘to be done up front is loosely estimated : at as much as five per cent of total pro- | jeet costs — or $375,000. the 1995 referendum defeat of a pro- , kind of project they'll get and exactly posed $2.8 million secondsheet of ice project. “What we don’t want to do is go out there and have (his thing sink,” said councillor Rich McDaniel. “I feel a bit like (Quebec premier) _{ Lucien Bouchard,’’ added councillor Val _ It amounts. to a huge gamble on the George, '*We really want to create the oulcome of the referendum because the winning. condilions before we go to Most city councillors fear the project money will be lost if voters reject the referendum.” project, in November with only the rough con-,,/ The plan was debated at an Aug. 6 ceptual designs and cost estimates, meeting of cily councillors and regional prepared to date, . . Instead they want to spend hundreds of . hire an architect, prepare detailed plans and even pre-tender the construction : district representatives. Councillors David Hull, Val George thousands of dollars before the vote to. and Rich McDaniel agreed that although the idea is unorthodox and risky, it is . also the best shot at securing a yes vate. ‘| Previous city projects have been dogged by credibility problems, Hull said, particularly the library and pool ex- pansions where bids came in too high and components were then carved out of the approved design to reduce costs. “You never got what you thought you were going to get,’” he said, preliminary money up front will also be, a powerful signal of city support and conumilment to the project — something’ proponents say they need in order to crank up a massive fund-raising drive. The initial suggestion of shifting the - referendum date to the spring came from mayor Jack Talstra. He said that would give more time to “explore governnient graits asd other ‘sources of money lo reduce the tax- * payers’ share of the project, noting that a ‘November referendum locks local tax- payers into footing the entire bill. But Talstra is hesitant about spending ‘money in advance of the referendum, ad- “ding a final council decision on that will ‘be made in September when beiter cost - estimates for the preliminary work are “The question arises as to whether q ‘thal’s a smart or even lawful thing to do . .lo commit and spend the money for a ‘bunch of plans if we don’t even know if we're going to proceed or not,’” Talstra said. “The worst case scenario could be we'd be stuck with $375,000 blown away,” he added. ‘'If council decides to spend this money, it does so at its own. peri, ; Talstra said it’s even possible a new, “council elected in November could © quash the referendum. “With great difficulty after we've al- ready spent the moncy,’’ noted George. Continued Page A2 NICE CATCH: German tourist Monty Hertreiter spent the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 5, fly-fishing at Ferry Island. The 26- year-old is spending five weeks fishing and sightseeing several northwest hot spots including Terrace, Stewart and Alaska. More Europeans stop here THE NUMBER of tourists stopping at the in- focentre increased this July compared to July 1998 and a jump in European visitors seems to be the reason. Last July, 209 Europeans visited the in- focentre compared to 424 this July. Within thal category, Germans dominate, says Karyn Audet, one of the travel counsellors at the in- focentre. “German people are telling us they're hear ing about us from word of mouth,’’ said Audel. ‘Tf they hear (here’s a German fishing lodge, and we have those, the word spreads,"” Maria McGowan from the Tourism Terrace Council said website advertising as also helped, as did entertaining a group of German travel agents on a tour here this fall. Total visitors increased from 3,089 in July 1998 to 3,236 this July. Although tourists from Asia remain few and far between up north, 25 did stop at the infocentre las! month conipared to just four in July 1998. More people this past July gave sightsceing as a reason for visiling Terrace than they did last July. And more people this past July said they were here to visil friends and relatives than was the case in July 1998. From January to July 1999, 6,606 people stopped at the infocentre, an increase over (he 6,511 who did so for the same period in 1998. Nursing shortage to last months MILLS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL administrators now say admission restrictions because of a nursing, shortage will #o on for months. . When first announced Jast month, admission restrictions were to last several weeks. They were then extended to the ' end of the summer. ; But the nursing shortage is far from over because vacant full-time and part-time nursing positions are being filled by casual nurses, those who are only called in when they’re needed to Glin when regular nurses take leaves or holidays. So while Mills may reach a full complement of penmanent nurses, ils casual pool will be depleted even further, says Tom Novak, the man brought in by the pro- vince to fix the hospital’s Anancial problems. Wilhout an adequate number of casual nurses, shortages will continue because there won't be enough to call on when necded, he said. “Tf there’s any sick leave we’re in trouble,”’ Novak said. “Tt’s going to a problem for a whilc.’” Mills has cut the number of available beds on its main medical ward to 15 when the baby nursery is open and to 20 when il is closed. The hospital needs 1o find creative ways to solve the staffing shortage problem, said Novak. He says nursing shortages are affecting hospitals across Canada, If there’s any sick leave we’re in trouble,’? Novak said. Fewer people entering the nursing profession and those wha dy are often enticed to work in the U.S, where they are paid higher wages. ‘We have to try to make the profession more attrac live,”’ said Novak. Novak adinitted it is increasingly difficult to bring casual nurses up north since most people arcn’t prepared to move without permanent employment, Hospitals have been relying on casual nurses as a cost saving measure because they aren't paid benefits, To make matters worse, it is estimated that 30 per cent of all nurses in Canada will be retiring in the next decade, Novak believes the nursing shortage can be fixed, “It just lakes time to attract people,’? said Novak. He said he's looking for inventive ways to staff the hos- pital without having to rely on casuals too much. Mills slammed for fly-in staff DOCTOR LANI Almas wants to know why Mills Memorial Hospital will spend thousands of dollars flying au administrator back and forth from Vancouver when i can’l afford to provide better patient care, Almas is referring to the decision to fly Juanita Barrett for two days each week in and out of Terrace for four months so she can complete the hospilal’s quallty im- provement reports, - Barrett is resigning from her job as director of paticnt Services at Mills the end of the month, to start a new one al. Riverview psychiatric hospital in Vancouver. - Tom Novak, the bospital’s financial troubleshootcr, said Mills will fly Barrett here until Christmas because she ts the only administrator with the skills to complete quality improvement reports, _ “Nobody else knows how to do (the job),” Novak said. “She has strong skills in that arca,”’ - The reports involve evaluating the work the hospital is doing, reviewing audits and analyzing patient satisfaction Surveys, Navak said, w _ But Almas, an obstetrician, said it’s ridicujous for the hospital to spend money on flights, hotels, food and other expenses when it can’t afford to provide services which directly affect patients. ‘They are spending money foolishly,’? Almas said. The hospital is so broke, she said, that there isn’t enough money to hire more full-time nurses, which would open up more beds for patients, “The hospital is falling apart,’ Alas said, “We only have enough nurses for 15 beds, We need to be properly funded,’’ Due to budget restraints, the hospital has refused to pay for a temporary replacement when either Almas or the city’s second obstetrician, Dr. Sheila Watson, go on holl- days. Without temporary help, the remaining obstetrician {s then constantly on call, Almas said she and Watson had to find a replacement, called a locum, themselves who is then paid on a fee for service basis. “We're paying the locum’'s housing {ces. That’s how we have a locum here," she said. Novak said Mills Memorial will save money flying Bar- rett up to Terrace because she'll only be on a working part time basis. Almas wants physicians to be more involved in making the decisions that affect patient care, “Certainly physicians [cel out of the loop,” she said. Novak agreed that physicians should be involved in deci- ‘slons, But that means they must also be held accountable for those decisions, he added. ‘We don't point fingers al each other,’ Novak said. ‘We point at ourselves,’” There’s no decision yet on whether Barrett's position will be filled after Chrisunas, **You have to look at what you can do with what money you have,” said Novak. me He’s also promising more budget-cutting measures, in- cluding chopping one tton-tnionized administrative posi- tion at Mills, : Tom Novak