4 Page AG — Terrace Standard, Wednesday, January 3, 1990 ng a ame ie i tg A Ay Poa sec, Pn . es THE SANDE OVERPASS didn't figure prominently in a report on ways to improve transporiation in the northwest. But the way throught the city was highlighted in an earlier provincial study as a route with more accidents than average. William Roy Hutchison was sentenced to two years less a day after pleading guilty to 15 counts Of sexual assault, bug- gery and gross indecency against five adolescent boys bet- ween 1978 and 1987. Described as a respected pillar of the com- munity, Hutchison had been IWA business agent and Nor- thwest Community College board chairman during the 25 years he lived in Terrace. kk kk Bill McRae was made a Freeman of the City, only the second local resident to be given the title. Keke A by-pass to route industrial traffic away from the Sande Overpass did not figure pro- minently in a report on regional transportation needs. Instead, it gave priority to upgrading Hwy 37 from Meziadin Jct. to the Yukon border and the road to the Nass Valley, Suggesting those im- provements would inevitably draw more heavy traffic to Ter- face, mayor Jack Talstra said failing to give priority to a new overpass made no sense, kk hik The Sunday shopping issue resurfaced with the appearance of a delegation before council calling for a by-law requiring local businesses to close by noon on Sundays. Spokesman July George Clark pointed out such a by-law was already in place in Quesnels ; The suggestion began a months-long ' debate culminating in October’s coun- cil decision not to consider the by-law, After their colleagues - had split two-two on the issue, aldermen Bob Cooper and Dan- ny Sheridan voted against, maintaining it would not sur- vive a court challenge. kkkkk Gitksan-Wet'suwet’en Tribal Council president Don Ryan warned Skeena Cellulose against building logging roads leading from its new bridge across the Skeena into Gitksan territory, saying they would be blocked. The bridge had been built to provide access to 10,000ha of land from which the company planned to harvest 20 million cubic metres of wood over the next 20 years. In response, Skeena Cellulose said it wanted to avoid a con- frontation and suggested the two sides meet for talks. kekk* Soccer practices at E.T, Ken- ney school field were cancelled following an incident in which an unidentified person fired a shot into a group of crows only 30 feet away from the players, KKK While Skeena MLA Dave Parker offered assurances it was only a formality, Shames Mountain Ski corporation was still waiting for word on its ac- cess road money. kkk . Mills Memorial hospital nurses ignored a union bargain- ing committee recommendation and voted to reject an offer of a new three-year contract. ' kkkik . Aldermen were quick to remedy a health hazard iden- tified by local ministry officials, The problem was fishermen relieving themselves in the Ferry Island bushes, The solution was installation of two portable . toilets. kkwke The Northwest Community College board appointed Don Anderson president and chief executive officer. He had been an interim presi- dent and was offered the posi- 989 - The Year in Review wen ne rs tion after many within the col- lege wanted him to stay, said college chairman Hans Wagner. rs te Terraceview Lodge officially opened its 20-bed extended care wing. The first clients moved in- to the $1 million extension three weeks later. kkekkek Local RCMP crime preven- tion/community coordinator Ct. Ewen Harvie left Terrace to take up new duties with the Kelowna detachment. Ex- highway patrolman Cst. Ken Harkness was named to the position. kekekek A former Skeena MLA is one . of those appointed to the forest ministry's new forest resources commission. . Cyril Shelford, who served as agriculture minister under W.A.C. and Bill Bennett, is to look at specific forestry prac- tices as decided by the forests minister. akin Northwest drivers got the word this month that fines will accompany points given for motor vehicle act offences. The fines were to have started next year, but an administrative error in Victoria resulted in ap- propriate legislation coming in- to force earlier than expected. Almost all infractions now carry a $75 fine. ; The long, hot summer had its downside — low water levels in the Deep Creek reservoir forced the city to impose sprinkling restrictions. Engineering direc- tor Stew Christensen said water consumption was more than three times the average daily amount in winter. kkewekk Transport Canada _ turned down an airport advisory com- mittee request to carry out a test of an instrument landing system at the airport because the facili- ty was slated to get a more modern microwave landing system in 1994. ; #That: proposed installation slater changed to 1996." ; an +? 2 oe 7 a The Kitselas and Kit- sumkalum native bands and Tsimshian tribal council said they would oppose any effort to divert Herman Creek, a tributary of the Lakelse River. Récreational and government fishery bodies were also sharply critical of the idea, A month earlier Skeena MLA Dave Parker had suggested the move in response to residents complaints a gravel bar at the mouth of the creek was acting as a dam and raising lake levels during periods of high water. kreeke When one of the sons kicked the object out of the ground, the Bulleid family found a stone in the path they had been using for 20 years was in fact a smoke mortar bomb. A disposal team from CFB Chilliwack was called August in to blow up the device. kkekikk After an 18-month wait, Shames Mountain Ski Corpora- tion finally received confirma- tion the provincial government would come up with $2.4 million to build the final four kilometres of access road to the proposed ski hill and improve the 9km stretch connecting it to Hwyl6. , nS 2 oo ae - Council rejected a plan for a neighbourhood pub on the city’s southside — it would have been the community's first — following an outcry from those living near the proposed Haugland Ave, location. wkK KK The Kitselas band announced plans to develop a 180-lot sub- division at Kitselas canyon near Usk and establish a historical park on the site of three one- time villages. Also proposed was a museum of artifacts to be located at the sub-division. Meanwhile, work on 18 new homes at the Kitsumkalum village was under way. The new development would increase the number of homes there to 57 and bring the population up ta 223. KkeKkKKS The Terrace Rod and Gun club offered a reward for infor- mation leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or per- sons responsible for the shooting of three grizdly bear cubs. The frozen bodies of the cubs had been found in garbage bags at the Thornhill dump. Local conservation — officer Terry McGunigle later revealed the cubs were the same three he had authorized’ killed in 1987 because “their “ mother represented a threat to workers at the Union Bay logging camp. kakkkk Two Lakelse families got sad news from the Vancouver Game Farm — one of the bear cubs they had nurtured earlier in the year had died. Although the game farm was able to confirm the youngster died of twisted in- nards, it could not say whether it was Baby or Echo that had perished. kk kkk Skeena MLA Dave Parker found himself in the midst of a storm after remarks in which he described AIDS as a_ self- inflicted disease and suggested some environmentalists were being manipulated by Moscow. Responding to the criticism, Parker refused to apologize and promised to continue speaking his mind. LISA WEBBER on Desa was one of thase representing Heritage Park as the 1989 Riverboat Days 4 parade took to the streets. A large number of floats and other entertainment was offered to trhe crowds who line Lakelse Ave, September The city won a 50 per cent reduction in a $7,500 fine assessed by the Workers Com- pensation Board for a breach of shoring regulations during a Sept, 1988 drainage project. In granting the reduction, the WCB noted a ‘'significant reduction” in accidents in re- cent years despite the increased amount of work being carried out. kek Northwest Community Col- lege returned from Vancouver empty handed following a recruitment drive aimed at per- suading southern students to enrol at the local institution. However, registrar Brian Loptson said enrolment from within the northwest region was up 20 per cent on last year. In- creased enrolment was also the story at local schools with enrol- ment up 150 from 1988 with up to a 100 more still expected. kekik Regional head biologist Bob Hooton said the fish and wildlife branch might have to abandon its steel head-related programs urless something was done io solve the problem of the ‘incidental catch by the commer. cial fishery, ae His remarks came following one of the poorest recorded steel head returns to the Skeena (less than 20,000 compared to 46,000 in 1988.) Later in the month, a local fishing lodge announced the lack of steelhead had forced it to shut down for the rest of the SEASON, ake The trial of school trustee Delbert Morgan and others he was charged with operating an illegal bingo came to an abrupt aud unexpected end when the Crown prosecutor requested a stay opf proceedings. « | . Morgan said the turnaround came when the judge indicated he would allow the defence to argue the charges were un- constitutional under the aboriginal rights clause. kkk Skylink flight 070 slammed into trees just west of Terrace- Kitimat airport runway 15-33 killing all seven people aboard. Subsequently, the airline’s operating licence was. pulled after Transport Canada said it was not being given ali the documents it required to carry out an audit ordered by federal Transport minister Benoit Bouchard. - A Canadian Aviation Safety Board investigation. ta deter- mine the cause of the crash con- tinues at this date but it will likely be April before its. fin- dings are made public. - cont'd A7 ALL SEVEN ABOARD Skylink flig q\4 ' wie we ht 070 were killed Sept. 26 when the Metroliner aircraft struck the ground besida the Terrace alrport. The company’s licence was subsequently pulled and an Investiga- _ tlon continues. October wag ig a = nH ana ay mY An overwhelming majority (90 per cent) of respondents toa regional health survey tagged alcohol abuse as the number one problem in the northwest. The Skeena Health Unit reported drug abuse (60 per cent) ranked second, kkkke A Kalum forest district of- ficial said the long, dry summer was expected to increase the seedling mortality rate by as much as half a million. Silviculture officer Bob Wilson forecast only a 75 per ‘ cent survival rate compared to the 85 per cent norm. However, he added, there would probably be areas where most seedlings didn’t make it and a full replan- ting would be required. kkk A Cancer Control Agency report revealed Jong term potline workers at Alcan’s Kitimat smelter were five times more likely to contract bladder cancer, wk Former Terrace lawyer Bruce McColl was named a: new Justice of the B.C, Supreme Court. A graduate of Skeena . ’ Secondary school, McColl also taught there before being admit- ted to the bar in 1966. : wkkik Union building trades members called on others to joia their boycott of the Co-op store to protest its decision to award the renovation project contract to Kermodei Construc- tion, Co-op spokesmen explain- ed the Kermodei bid was $200,000 less than the only other received. Although the district labour council later agreed to join the boycott, Co-op general manager: Lawrence - Gosselin said the store had recorded record sales for the three-week period to mid-October. kk kik The city’s new by-law en. forcement officer, B.C. Corps of Commisionaires member Fern Sweeting, took up her duties. = oe. ee Spokesman Don Ryan warn- ed the Gitksan-Wet’suwet’en would: extend their policy of blockading any: new resource development ‘on Jand.it claims to include Alcan's ‘-Kemano Completion project.. He said the blockades would start in -the spring of 1990, WR te Although figures released by the local RCMP showed a more than 15 per cent increase in sex- ual assault cases, Staff Sat. “Woods suggested the jump was the result of more victims com- ing forward rather than a teal increase in the number of in- cidents. cont'd rv)