Fine rebels refi

TERRACE — The city’s rebel
parking violators are starting to
pay their tickets,

Roughly 58 per cent. of
ticketed drivers have now paid
up, according to city permits
director Bob Lafleur. That’s a
big improvement over: the only
41 per cent-who had paid their
tickets as of late November.

The city’s two bylaw enforce- _

ment officers — Fern Sweeting
and Frank Bowsher — started
issuing tickets on July 3, follow-
ing lengthy delays while tickets
were rewritten and reprinted.

pty The Norman. Conquests.

Since then they’ve issued
more than 430, Lafleur said.

At 58 per cent, the payment
rate is still well below the pro-
vincial average of 70 to 80 per
cent,

The main reason. for * that,
Lafleur says, is that the two of-
ficers are only working a: total
of 15 hours a week on ‘parking
bylaw enforcement.

“It’s a matter of: following
them up,’’ he said.

Most ticket welshers pay up
as soon as they're reminded or
when a court summons arrives,

“Togeter. ‘The two. are played by real life ‘husband- and-wife ac wale duc a .
«Marian ‘Brorup- “Weston, The play, directed oy theatre group. Veteran Ken. Mor
BC te

he said. But finding a car’s
registered owner, doing the
paperwork, and serving them
with a court summons all takes
time.

‘We have time to puta ticket
on a windshield, but we don’t
have time to chase them if they
don’t pay,’ Lafleur explained.
‘“‘But the = situation § is
improving.”

He said he’s also requesting
more money from the city’s
1992 budget for bylaw enforce-
ment, which, if granted, could
make it even harder to beat the

fey

Port ‘glimmers” on

TERRACE — There seems to
be a small chance that the
Kitimat port plan will stay alive,
says -Skeena MLA Helmut
Giesbrecht.

‘He says there seems to be “‘a
glimmer of hope” in a letter
from federal fisheries minister
John Crosbie to Kitimat mayor
Rick Wozney outlining the

Department of Fisheries and

Oceans (DFO) stance on the $63
million port'proposal. ~

The letter says DFO is ‘fon ©

record as having rejected ‘the
proposal as it now stands,’’.

And although a public review ©

of: the project. would be
premature,
ween federal and. provincial
technical personnel and the pro-
ponent should be_ held,’’

Crosbie. said.

‘Aftet those discussions and if
the province still wants a public

review: of the. proposal, then.
DFO ‘would agree to. participate

in a joint : federal-provincial
Teview, the" minister continued.

"discussions bet- |

Giesbrecht called the letter a
“slight opening of the door in
terms of what the next step
should be.’*

“Tt sounds hopeful,” he said.

“We'll have to smoke them out
on what it means.’’
. Apparent opposition from
DFO. on participating in the
province's Major: Project
Review Process seems to in-
dicate any future submission of
a revised port prospectus might
be better off going through the
federal Environmental Assess-
ment and Review Process,
Giesbrecht said.

The difficulty with that, he
said, is (he expense —- which
Kitimat’ can't afford — of
studies that would have to be
carried out. .

_. The port plan has been mired
since DFO rejected it as being
‘unacceptable’ last spring

’ because of potential damage to

fish habitat. :
The provincial. government

“wants to put”: the “proposal
through reals hearings and has '

asked the federal government to
participate.

Prince Rupert. DFO_ habitat
biologist Leslie Powell said he
tas heard nothing of any possi-
ble meetings between federal
and provincial technical person-

nel, as mentioned in the Crosbie.

letter.

‘eat

Despite appearances, the $25
parking tickets aren’t a money-
making venture for the city.
Lafleur says about $5,100 worth
of revenue has been generated
from parking tickets, while the
various costs — tickets, . en-
forcement officers’ salaries and
administration — now top
$22,000.

*‘We're doing it as a service
for businesses,” he: said. ‘I
don’t think the ticket revenue is
ever going to balance costs.”

elem

TERRACE — Local weather
records continued to tumble
as January went into the
books as the dimmest and
dampest ever recorded at the
airport weather office.

A grand total of just 72
minutes sunshine made the
previous darkest January —
14.5 hours in 1976 — look
positively bright.

And the unrelenting rain

Worst month
for weather

surpassed an even older
mark. The 216.8mm
measured at the airport easily
eclipsed the 1958 record of
183,9mm., ,

It was also more than four
times the normal amount of
rain received during the
month.

For more information ona
dreary month, see Weather
Watch on page Bi.

Thornhill makes
polluters’ list

TERRACE — Thornhill's
sewage problems have put the
Terrace area on the the provin-
cial pollution concern list for
the first time.

B.C, Environment cites the
Kitimat-Stikine regional district
on its pollution concern list,
released last week, for sewage
effluent from Thornhill homes.

The entry points to raw
sewage surfacing in local ditches
and backyards, or backing up in
residences due to high water
tables, poor soil conditions and
slow percolation.

It notes the regional district is
seeking provincial grants to pro-
vide sewage collection and treat-
ment for the area.

The problem — resulting
from deteriorating septic Lanks
and fields in Thornhill — has

plagued the regional, district. for
-a.number of years.” _ 3
The last time regional ditec.

tors studied the problem they
rejected a proposed $8 million
sewage system as being too ex-
pensive — homeowners might

“each pay as much as $1,100 a

year — without some kind of
subsidy from Victoria.

The northwest’s most chronic
heavy industrial polluters —
Alcan, Eurocan and Skeena
Cellulose — all receive mention
on the environment ministry’s
list of persistent violators for
the fourth straight time.

Alean’s Kitimat aluminum
smelter appears on the list of
polluters in ‘significant non-
compliance’” of their waste
management permits.

It says Alcan exceeded permit
levels for pH, dissolved
fluorides and iron on several oc-
casions in 1991, The company

-Esso,..in changlg |
' petroleum ~ products

has been ordered to intercon-
nect its dry scrubbers to
eliminate the backup wet scrub-
ber, which is the major source

of effluent contamination.

The company has ceased its
practice of dumping cooling
water into Moore Creek, and
has diveried that water to a
main settling lagoon. An action
plan to resolve the remaining
problems has been negotiated
and the environment ministry
will issue Alcan with an amend-
ed permit soon.

Eurocan Pulp and Paper is
also on the list for air pollution
from its Kitimat pulp mill.

Air emissions from the mill’s
recovery boiler exceeded permit
limits for total reduced sulphur
on seven days last year. A warn-
ing letter was issued for the July
and August permit violations.

Skeena Cellulose is also cited
for air emissions at its Port Ed-
ward pulp mill. The mill exceed-
ed permit levels for total reduc-
ed sulphur and total particulate

cont’d A2

Oil companies
ponder changes

TERRACE —Two, _oil com-
panies could follow: 1s

distributed in the northwest.

Shell Canada and Chevron
Canada spokesmen said - last
week the companies are think-
ing of basing their distribution
depots here instead of in Prince
Rupert.

That would match Esso’s
plans to add to jts agent’s ex-
isting tank farm here and bring
in products by rail from Ed-
monton instead of barging them
up .from the coast to Prince
Rupert.

Oil tanker trucks now fill up
in Prince Rupert before heading
to various northwestern points.

And one of those companies,
Shell, is talking with Esso about

’ sharing the latter’s planned new

facilities in this city.
“We are in negotiations and
we’re looking at all sorts of op-

Officer charged
| for pit-lamping

TERRACE — A _ Terrace
RCMP officer is facing a charge
of night hunting with the aid of
a light in contection with an in-
cident on the Nov. 11 long
weekend.

The charge was laid against
Corporal Richard Senft and one

other man last week after pro- ,

secutors reviewed the case for
nearly two months to determine
if the charge should be approv-
ed,

The two were arrested as a
result of a pit-lamping sting
operation run by local conserya-
tion officers. It is alleged that

the two were observed shooting
at a remote-controlled
mechanical moose decoy.

Night hunting with the aid of

a light, commonly referred to as ©

pit-lamping, is a violation of the
Wildlife Act.

It’s not yet known what will
happen to the officer as a result
of the poaching allegation.

- Terrace RCMP inspector
Lawrence Yeske said it will be
up to the RCMP’s internal af-
fairs department in Ottawa to
decide whether Senft will re-
main on the job at this detach-
ment while the charge is before
the courts.

are”

tions,’’ said Shell spokesman
Jan Rowley. “We want to have
a decision by the end of the first
quarter (of this year) of what
direction we'll take."

Rowley said the sharing of
storage or other facilities bet-
ween oil companies is not rare,

“You can expect to see some
changes. We are looking at our
operations in the northwest,’’
said Chevron spokesman Lynn
Rogers.

She and Rowley said continu-
ing, declining petroleum profits
mean that companies are look-
ing at ways to reduce costs and
that distribution is one of the
areas being examined.

“It’s no longer efficient to
barge small amounts (cf pro-
duct) up and down the coast,’
said Rogers.

Rowley and Rogers also said
different distribution methods
will also ‘lower environmen-
tal risks.

Northwest Roundup _

-PRINCE RUPERT — “Up to
20: of the clly’s outside
workers will be laid off if a
provisional budget fs ae
cepted,
That's because the city will
freeze caplial projects.
_ The ‘only way this. will
change is Lf the city is able to
- collect $750,000 In outstan-

- Island coal port,

ding: taxes from the Ridley

"SMITHERS ~ ~The: erie

‘rate here rose by 16 per cent
last year over 1996. a

RCMP officers handled |

1,915 criminal complaints In
1991 compared to 1,479 the
year before.

Assaulis increased to 294
from 241 while crimes
agalnst property rose from:
666 to Ba.

ot the: “Two.

HAZELTON: A house fre a

has once again raised the
issue of fire. protection for
unorganized Areas,

Although they didn't have

to, Hazelton firemen went (o
the Jan. 20 blaze because
they thought there might be
people inside the house.
Two Mile ‘residents: last

year turned dows ‘tax: in-
* greases which would have ex-:
ended - fire - protection. ‘fo.:

HOUSTON — Council

members ‘here have: rejected
the: idea. of declaring

_ municipal offices a smoke-
‘free area. —

Ald. . Terry Gautron sald
council didn’t have the right .
to impose its values on others
and that it -might’. make
‘smokers feel unwelcome at
+ the fe munlelpal oie