Suilding stats healthy Beit up! Terrace city officials report more of than $20 million in construction’ occurred in 1993/NEWS A8 fe First baby born this year gets a. : gift that could prove tobea — | lifesaver/COMMUNITY B1 Super finale Curling’ Ss super league playoff ended up being’a very. short. game Indeed/SPORTS. B4 WEDNESDAY JANUARY 5, 1994 THIS WEEK sces the beginning of a crackdown on commercial wehicles which have not been ji- censed as such. Under the province’s Motor Carier Act, all vehicles used for business or commercial purposes must Carty a motor carer or commercial vehicle decal. The same Act requires a special municipal decal for any commer- clal vehicle operating off an arterial highway and within city Drinking drivers | caught RCMP HAD charged 11 people with impaixed driving and had issued 17 24-hour roadside suspensions leading into the last weekend of the Christmas CounterAttack campaign. And each person charged adds toa 1993 total far that for 1992, Final 1993 figures could sce more than 150 people Charged with impaired driving. «. That’s a 40 per cent increase over the 1992 total of 105. RCMP could also issue 170 24- hour roadside suspensions for 1993, ai increase over the 136 issued in 1992, RCMP Staff Sergeant John Veldman said he wasn't surprised by the CounterAttack figures. “We still have a problem out there. It’s not going away,’’ he sald. The final 1993 figures will be, on average, with impaired charges and suspensions issued in 1991 and in 1990, kk kkk Police continue to battle a large numbers of break-ins this winter, RCMP Const. Chris Swanson said the perpetrators are usually youths, In early December, police ar- rested two groups of young of- fenders who carried out a series of break-ins. The two groups are believed responsible for at least seven break-ins each, said Swanson, and a series of charges were laid for each incident. - But not all of them got the mes- sage, All of them were released on their promises to be of goad be- haviour and sppear in court. Two were promptly caught after two more break-ins were reported. They’re now being held in custody, said Swanson, “They're school kids,’’ she sald. ““They skip school and do B-and-B’s in the daytime.’ “They’re doing it to get cash for drugs, usually for pot,’ she said. One youth stole a 357 magnum revolver from one house and still had it stuck in his belt when he " was apprehended by police. “Tt was a potentially dangerous- situation,’’ Swanson said, Thornhill urged to mend way: REGIONAL DISTRICT directors are talking tough about making Thornhill stand on lis own. The 6,000-strong unincorporated community is big- ger than the town of Smithers yet has no ¢lecied town council of city hall. - Municipal-type government ser: vices are” provided’ “by ~ the Kitimat-Stikine Regional District i limits. Until a designated truck route is established by council, that means commercial vehicies using any road here except Hwy16 or Kalum Lake Drive. For example, logging trucks running into Skeena Collulose.are affected as are commercial vehicles which are driven to a lo- cal business or residence. not lo- cated on the highway. It also applies to less obvious: vehicles such as taxis, fast food delivery cars, pickups used by contractors, ¢ven private vehicles if" making —_ business-related ' deliveries, warns local by-law en- forcement officer Frank Bowsher. He also cautioned a municipal licence only covered . vehicles _ When they operaled within the city. “The moment they leave town they need a motor carrier plate (decai),’” he pointed out, adding TERRACE thal meant any vehicle making a delivery to Thornhill, The crackdown comes from the local RCMP traffic section and it will spearhead any crackdown, said Bowsher. - He will only be ticketing parked offenders when he comes across them. -Decals cost between $25 and $40 depending on the weight of the vehicle, except for feels where the rate is $25 per vehicle, his duties. » Do your best FIREFIGHTER FOR an evening, Dennis Fowler of the 7th Terrace Cubs got to ty on the headgear of Thornhill volunteer firefighter Brian Champlain when he dropped in to talk about PHOTO — ERIC HARKONEN . "The problens. Thornhill elects: one director to represent the community on the regional district board. That has taxed the resources of the district and has fostered the impression it some areas that the regional district spends’ most. of its time looking after Thombill. gro and growing, liad growing,*” dald ‘Ara C: director, “Sandy. Sindbis: wing, Ip: me Telegraph Creek area “director al Saturday’ s board mecting. “The time is coming that we have to face the facls and do something about it.”? “It’s lime these people have lo .. Slart aking responsibility for their own. actions,” Stowart: director. ‘Andy. “Burton . told’. ‘the’ “board. dite behooves this: b ié sonic aciion.’ Dave Brocklebank contrasted Thornhi!l] with Lxase Lake, which is considering incorpora- _ tion in response to rapid growth it has oxperienced with the closure — Of Cassiar, .. -“Herewe have a community of 2 control of the 900 people saying the: sheed to. dliny, -couricli, tho regio “ahd still we have: a: ‘Much larger 5 sohummilly ‘that hs not sat down e Fines for not having a municipal decal are $50, $200 in the case of missing motor carricr or commercial vehicle licences, Municipal decais can be -ob- tained. at city hall, the others through ICBC or Auto Plan agents, Bowsher said he and the RCMP had visited numerous local businesses which would be af- fected to advise them of ihe planned enforcement campaign -78¢ PLUS B¢ GST. VOL. 6 NO. 38 Most, he added, had. no 0 objec- tion to the move. Some even sug-. gested ‘‘it is about time you guys. .got your act logether, me : ; He also emphasized s some com:. panies had: always Purchased the appropriate decals. 2 : While ‘municipal decals. will apply to Terrace only, Bowsher~ said motor carrier or commercial vehicle licences would be ‘good province-widé, . 3 7 Unclaimed — food puzzling THE SALVATION Anny is puzzled by the large number of people who didn’t pick up a Christmas food hamper. Approximately 50 hampers out . of 420 requested and readied. weren’t claimed. during Christmas week, ‘says Lieutenant Norm Hamelin. Demand was also down a8 ‘be-’ tween 450 and’ 500 Applications were expected.’ “Twas really surprised by the number of peoplé who’d come in and say they needed a hamper and'then not make an ‘effort to come down and ‘get it,’ ‘said Hamelin. The Lieutenant expected io have about a dozen hampers. un- claimed by the time Christmas ¢ ar- tived. He thinks one reason for the ‘leftovers is that people’ were asked to pick theirs up this year. from the Army’s hamper prepara- tionoffice. Some last minute applicants Dec, 23 were asked to come back later so as to not take hampers from people who had. filled ‘out applications on time. - ““We told them to come ‘back later, Some showed up and some . didn’t,’’ said Hamelin. All of this has him wondering about possible changes lo next, Food bank ready TL alte matathe, IY THE TERRACE Churches Food | Bank opens its doors next week with enough food to handleian- expected large number of people. Caught unawares by a flood of people: in: November, the’ food organizer Terri Elkiw. The amount’ of food: on~ hand give the food bank a comfortable start for February but Elkiw. 8 less sure about March and April.’ bank has ‘been the recipient of -" we donations in cash: and-kind, says. the | Secale s “Chita and cash donations should. also. :. gency use throughout the: ‘year. ’ bills comé due... * . We just’ couldn’! keep year's hamper program. “Maybe we should do.a bit More screening 2s far as applica- tions go;”’ sald Hamelin. .. : “Maybe: ‘we-should find. out if a person is a viable applicant. This year we didn’t go into'a person’ 8 background,”’ he added. . Hamelin’ said “the * number ‘of hampers left does: taise ‘questions about the demand in this a - Petia we eRe” : fede on necd isn’t as: realy” wi tinued. mee Hamelin was s disappointed that nearly half of those who'said they . would come to’ tlic “Army” s. Christmas: Day singles dinner’ did. not show up. “We had’ 45 at the dinnéf’and.” tat gt tad were expecting in the’ noighbol hood of 80 ta 100,”* he said. *** One piece of goad news is that’ the Terrace Churches Food‘ Bank: will benefit by the Christmas hamper surplus. And the. Amy will ‘have. a healthy amount of food: for emer: Hamelin said ‘he was’ able return some of: the : perishable food items’ in’ the” unclaimed hampers to stores. ~~ Perishable food’ that couldn’ t be returned was lfaken to the Army’s thrift store last week and made available to patrons, - when winter: heating an the numbers;’” said: eee be are for yong hamper program.” Just under 380 bags. of -food bs were distributed in November to approximately 700 people. + - i That was more than double a. normal November and ts about be average for January. Such a demand left‘ the food bank short and predicting it will -~ heed much more for ey . and taken care of its own prob- lems.’’ The lalest drive towards Thom- hill’s incorporation or else amal- gamation with Terrace falted, - “The. Greater ‘Terrace ‘Restruc- ture Committee: was set up-with representatives: from Terrace cliy: | ein a Ci 1 las . pressing desire by lth _ be pursitig- it at that. .. regional act ._ Bob: ‘Marcellin, pes ate “too “malty” other” urgent 118 day is for people’ who inissed the first three, faye o a *T don’t think : distric being dealt onal.