a EA — ~eehbars UNCERTAIN FUTURE: B.C. Tel sales reps Linda Stewart, Dawn Patterson, ‘Rita Ames, Unda Sippel, Cheryl Enright and Debbie Scarborough are among the local workers who tace the difficult choice of transfer out of town or a buyout package. Longtime B.C. Tel workers shocked at office closure LAST WEDNESDAY’ S announcement of the closure of B,C. Tel’s commercial sales office in Terrace left employees here shocked and mad. ““T pul my whole life into’ this company,’’ said Linda Stewart. Shie’s worked: for B.C. Tel for 26 years." The eleven women who work in the. office have more than 200 years combined’ experience with B.C. Tel. Their workplace is located in the massive B.C. Tel building on Lazelle Ave. The commercial office handles residential sales, such as custom calling and call wailing * and forwarding. The staff takes ‘calls: from all over the province. Their. offi ce. is s slated lo close by Oct. 17, - B.C. Tel said it’s cutting the sales office’s 11 employees and 13 other workers from other de- partments in Terrace. in order to cut costs. “‘] feel like it’s a slap in the face,”’ said Dawn Pailerson, another longtime worker. She says the announcement is even more of a shock, con- sidering the sales record of the Terrace office. Employees here surpassed their sales objective by 151 per cent from July to December last year. The Terrace office ranked second among other offices in the province, The women in the Terrace office, along with many other B.C, Tel employees, have been of- fered a voluntary separation package. They have until March 15 to accept it, Those who choose not to face an uncertain future with the company. “It's not voluntary at all,”’ said Patierson, “It’s take what they’re offering or go to the lower mainland,’ said Rita Ames, another long- time employee. For many of the women in the Terrace office, that isn’t an option. Most have families here, and spouses with jobs. The B.C. Tel employees are also angry that they ’ve been given such a short time in which to make such an important decision. “They've set a deadline thal’s pretty un- Tealistic,’’ said Patterson, Now the women say their only hope is the Telecommunication Workers’ Union. They’re hoping the union will force the company to change its mind. If the ‘union isn’t successful, staff at the Ter- race office don’t’ know what they'll do. Many of the employees there are in their forties. ‘We've been trained by B.C. Tel,’’ said Pat- terson. “‘Thal’s all we know. I don’t know what’s out there for us.”’ News In Brief Local NDP delegates split THE SKEENA riding is sending 15 delegates to the NDP convention in Vancouver and their support ap- pears to be divided between the two frontrunners. “Generally they’re purposely irying to stay un- decided,”* says constituency association president Rob Goffinet, ‘*ButI believe they’re leaning in two directions, Glen Clark and Corky Evans. At a recent mecting there was an attempt made to bind the vote, but that didn’t go through.’” Goffinet says workers at those two offices are spend- ing a Jot of Gme on the phone with the delegates. Six of the 15 delegates are from Terrace, They are MLA Helmut Giesbrecht, Shelley Ander- son, Andy Klingner, Gail Murray, Waller McConnell and Judy Chrysler. The convention starts Feb. 16, Wanna buy some chips? SOMEONE MUST be planning to throw an awfully big party — and when they do, they'll have plenty of polato chips. Unknown thieves broke into a van parked overnight Feb. 8 at Totem Beverages and made off with 27 cases of Old Dutch potato chips. Totem’s Rick McDanicl pegged the value of the chips at $500 and says it was quile unusual for the snacks lo be left in a vehicle overnight. Anyone with information is asked 1o call Terrace RCMP or Crimestoppers. Ambush was amazing THE CITY delegalion to Victoria smacked more of electioneering than an effort to support Mills Memorial Hospital, says heath minister Paul Ramsey. Mayor Jack Talstra and councillor David Hull — down south for a mining conference two weeks ago — emered the legislature through an wilocked door and camped out beside Ramsey’s office door until the min- ister arrived. ‘Lam amazed they found it necessary to Jay in wait in the corridors at the legislature to get information that the local MLA could have given them,’’ Ramsey told The Standard. “But I guess we are into the election season.’ Both Talstra and Hull were among those who al- tended the Skeena Liberal nomination, where Rick Wozney was acclaimed as the party’s choice of candi- date to try to unseat NDP MLA Helmut Giesbrecht. Amalgamate the south REFORM CANDIDATE Ron Town says school dis- trict amalgamation makes more sense in urban ridings than it does in the north. He said there are probably ways for northern school districts to become more efficient without amalagama- tion. “Duplication for duplication’ s sake without studying whether it’s effective is not on in this day and age ei- ther,’” he said. ; He suggested coordinated block. buying.in northern purchasing departments, plus accounting are areas where districts could pool efforts. Town said amalagamation makes the most sense in densely populated urban centres, but nal across the vast distances of northern B.C. TERRACE STANDARD ULRICH - Tickets: - 1st Prize: Present In Concert HENDERSON + Saturday, February 24, 1996 = 8 p.m. R.E.M. Lee Theatre $18 available at Uniglobe Travel ENTER TO WIN 2 Tickets, CD, Back Stage Pass Secondary Prizes: 3 Sets of Tickets for 2 Terrace Little Theatre spas I FORBES TERRACE STANDARD Bring or mail you entry to 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. V8G 5R2 Winners will be drawn at random from all entries received, Prizes must be accepted as awarded and have no cash equivalent. (W) “Objective Advice” Tory deVivetros, Assistant Manager Terrace Conmmunity Branch “At Northern Savings, we offer expertise | In personalized RRSP planning.” Introducing The Primer Northern Savings takes the worry out of rate fluctuations with the Primer. The rate paid on The Primer is set at prime minus 1% and if the prime rate increases, so will the rate you earn. Plus, the rate is guaranteed to never fall below 6.5%. The Primer is available for terms of three to five years. Enjoy flexibility and rate protection with The Primer. Call your local branch today for full details. f NORTHERN SAVINGS Terrace Community Branch Phone: 638-7822