- City crews were busy last week burying the sewer line from the east bench area to the base of Skeenaview hill. Accor-
. ding to a city spokesman, the line remained on the surface for a number of years until Public Works staff were confi-

dent the hillside was stable. The city is also busy installing a storm sewer to Spring Creek on Thomas St. north of

Halilweli before falt weather hits.

| Mill — continued trom page 2

mill-was shut down, but it will be
easier for them. They’ll have the
committee and various other
resources to help them.””

He said the same approach

has been taken in retraining,

which involves identifying over
30. areas of new expertise,

analyzing the kind of new skills

that are required, determining
where the required training is
available and evaluating the
cost.
“Tt requires major planning,”
he said, ‘to develop the skills
that we don’t already have in
computer optimization and new
hydraulic machinery.”

Davis said it is this ability for
the union and management to

work: together that made the
project possible.

‘‘When you ask.a company to_

invest $25,000,000 in a project,
there’s more than just how much
lumber you will cut; will it be
quality lumber, and will you
make money that goes into the
request?

-“They’ve got to have a lot of
faith that there will be some
stability in the people involved,
and I’m really happy to say that
when I went to my leaders for
the money to build this project, I
was able to stand on a soap box
and say we've got excellent peo-

Terrace Review — Wednesday, Septembér 30, 1987 17

Municipality wee

venture capital.
fund launch >

TERRACE — With $9,000 in
seed money from the City of
Terrace, Venture Capital Cor-
poration (VCC) spokesman Rob
Greno_ says ‘they are ‘Teady to
meet with potential’ board

members and chart a course for

local economic development
assistance, .

Greno said organizers have
contacted the Ministry of

Municipal Affairs and establish-

ed an ‘‘official format’? for the
development of the VCC, which
they will be discussing at their
first meeting scheduled for 7:30
p.m., Oct. 1 at City Hall.

He explained that a VCC
operates
Business Venture Capital
(SBVC) Act and is a ‘special
status holding company which
has proven to be an effective
tool in pooling investor dollars
for local economic
development’’,

At the heart of the program he
said, is a 30 percent incentive to

investors providing eligible in-'

vestors with a provincial income
tax credit equal to-30 percent of

' their equity investment. -

Also, certain non-taxable en-

tities such as pension funds may |

be entitled to receive a grant
equal to 30 percent of the
amount paid for shares in a
vec,

He added that tax credits to
individuals have an annual limit
of $60,000 but in the event the

” investor, ‘corporate or otherwise,-- .
is unable to fully utilize the tax

credit in any taxation year the
balance may be carried forward
to the four subsequent years.
Eligible small businesses
which may receive investment
capital from the VCC, said

_Greno, include any which are

substantially engaged in
manufacturing and _- processing,
research and development,
tourism, sound recording, film
production, book publishing,
Oceanography or aquaculture.

ple i in Terrace.
We've got the cooperation
of the plant committee. The

IWA is supportive. And we'll be |

able to work through any of the
layoffs and retraining in a fair
and reasonable manner because
they’re good people and it’s a
reasonable union to work with.”’

COMPUTERIZATION MEANS
PRODUCING MORE FROM
THE SAME LOG

Davis said that when the new
mill begins production, he ex-
pects a 20 percent increase in
production, but he. said that

won’t mean increased logging

activity,

He said the old mill had been
made as efficient as. possible by
cutting logs with a blade only
180 thousandths of an inch
thick, far below the industry
standard of 250 thousandths,
but a better standard was re-
quired if the mill was to operate
profitably.

“Over the last three years we
have worked hard with people
and machinery and we’ve done
everything we can to make the
mill profitable by quality con-
trol.

“It’s just that we hit the wall
on how far we could go with the
people and systems we had.”’.

Now, according to Davis, by
using computer optimization
and a cant saw system with a 150
thousandths cut (this will even-

tually be reduced to 115 thou-.

sandths). ‘“We’ll get the maxi-
mum out of every. piece of
wood,”’

“A thinner cut means less
sawdust,”’ he explained.

Davis also said that the com-
puter controlled mill-could turn
out lumber ‘to individual speci-

fications, ‘making them more

competitive on both the interna-
tional and Canadian market.
This will also mean that if sec-

ondary industry were to develop

in the area and provide a great
enough demand for special cuts
of lumber, the new mill could
easily meet that demand.
‘“‘We’ve already a_ market
leader in export markets in
Japan and the United Kingdom
and, if anybody in the future is

' going to cut value added prod-

ucts, I think you might find
Skeena Cellulose doing it first,’’
said Davis.

TIMBER SUPPLY
QUARANTEED
It’s often been said that the
Terrace area is “‘logged out’’, or
the trees that are left are ‘‘too
old to be of any value’’..

However, both Forests Minis-
ter Dave Parker and Jim Davis
disagree with those pessimistic
remarks,

‘*Theoretically, we have a
steady
forever," said Davis.

He explained that by working
with an allowable annual cut
based on a sustained yield, ‘“The
amount you are allowed to cut is
based on the time it takes the
forest to regenerate,”’

“You never allow yourself to
cut more than what's coming in
behind you,”’ he said. ‘‘The

forestry and the logging com-

panies determine that.’’

Davis explained, ‘‘In our area
we may have first growth, deca-
dent timber, but that simply
means you have to go farther up
the mountainside.”

Parker expressed the same
concept earlier when he said, ‘‘It
will be local loggers doing the
work. They'll just be commuting
farther.”’

According to Davis, “If the
forest is managed properly, and
the allowable annual cut is main-
tained, there should be trees for
generations.”

under the. Small

supply of timber —

Greno explained that in order

for a VCC to be registered ‘it -
must be incorporated under the "
Company Act of British Colum- .

bia.

He said that the investors, the 7

VCC, eligible: small businesses
and the provincial government
forma partnership in the SBVC
program prior to applying for
registration,

investment capital and is now
obligated to increase this capital
to $50,000 during the first year
of operation.

The primary objective of the |
VCC, Greno said, is to allow .. :

small businesses access to .a

ready supply of equity capital. ve
He added that dollars invested in -
the VCC will provide Capital to ©
local business and the ‘money -

stays in the community,

Greno said the Oct. 1 inceting |

is primarily intended to be for
orientation and: the establish-
ment of a process for working

toward the registration of a Ter-. -
race VCC and to discuss the -

types of projects most suitable
to Terrace. _ a,
He explained that attendance

‘at the meeting is by invitation:

only, but he’ said, ‘If there's

some one wanting to attend and

offer something, we would be

‘happy to receive them.”

For. further information, con-

tact Rob Greno at 635-6511, or:

John McMynn i at 635- 6126.

te it cua fay. Bae

the. Terrace: VCC.
was required to raise $25,000 in ..

The Skeena. Valley
Ladies’ Golf Club
would like to thank
_ the following
‘businesses for their
“generous support of
our tournaments this .
season: °
Bank of Montreal
Elegance Fashions
Trigo’s Footwear &
Repair Service
Haida Travel
C.F.T.K.
SpeeDee Printers
First Choice Travel
Grace Fell Florists
Terrace Travel
Skeena Sawmills
Skeena Cellulose
Abracadabra
Northern Drugs
Rudy’s Boots N’
Shoes
Safeway
All West Glass
Overwaitea 7
Bert’s Delicatessen
Telkwa Roofing
All Seasons
The Bavarian Inn
Gemma's Bath
Boutique
Pizza Hut
Erwin Jewellers
Northern Motor Inn _
Hair Gallery.
Carmen's Kitchen
Rosey’s Pro Shop
Northern Accents
Terrace Honda
Lynn Cooper

Tournament
— Chairman

cote

eye)