Film fodder = Our region is a treasure trove of great locations for movies, one scout Extended family A Japanese student learns about Canada from the inside — a local family\COMMUNITY B1 Go for gold © A Terrace contingent is off to compete at the B.C. Senior Games in. | Chilliwack\SPORTS B5 $1.00 pus 7¢ GST _ _ ($1.10 plus 86 GST outside of the Terrace area) By JEFF NAGEL SEPTEMBER 15 has emerged as a deadline for New Skeena Forest Pro- ducts to get its remaining financing in place or risk losing the $20 million Prince Rupert has committed to restart the operations. Prince Rupert city council! voted last week to approve the plan to bor- row the money to buy the former Skeena Cellulose pulp mill and fibre supply and lease them back to New Skeena. That’s considered the first crucial financing chunk that would smooth the way for other skittish investors to put up more money. The city money still won't be re- leased, mayor Herb Pond says, until the other money-New Skeena needs is in place. That money - around $30 million according to New Skeena officials — could come from a variety of sources, from conventional lending to direct in- vestment to the sale of some assets. “We need to see proof positive by Sept. 15 that the other money is there,” Pond said, The deadline is the latest in a ser- ies over the past few, years in the on- going attempt to restart operations. Prince Rupert voters in a June ref- erendum gave city council there au- thority to inject the $20 million into New Skeena, but patience is running “There has to be an end time where you say as worthwhile as this is, we need to move on,” says Prince Rupert mayor Herb Pond. low. , “People want a conclusion and they’re prepared to live with whatever that result is,” Pond said. “There has to be an end time where you say as worthwhile as this is, we need to move on.” Wednesday, September 3; 2003.- | Yet another Skeena deadline looms It has been al least 18 months since New Skeena’s owners began trying to raise money to buy Skeenn Cellulose — which they did in April, 2002. He noted it has now been more than a year since New Skeena first prom- ised to have the pulp mill up and run- ning if unionized pulp and sawmill workers agreed to concessions. “There was always the sense that if somebody else did something they would be able to raise their financing, whether it was the PPWC or the IWA or the city,” Pond said. “The community feels very much all those things have been put into place, so let’s do it. Let's get the mill running.” New Skeena vice-president Don Stuart called the Rupert council’s deadline “somewhat artificial.” “[ don’t think the citizens of Prince Rupert voted that if we put it together on the 16th or 17th of September there’s a real problem,” he said. - He said the company has made real progress since the referendum. “We're in serious discussions with a number of folks,” he said, Those talks have included the mas- sive Ontario Teachers’ Pension Fund. Stuart confirmed the fund is among the potential investors very interested in being possibly the second, third or fourth major investor — but not the first. Cont'd Page A2 Le i ehiaas haa 269 ) Support pours in for Mackenzie IT DIDN'T take long for help to arrive when word got out that one-year-ald Mackenzie Agnew was diagnosed with bone cancer, requiring extensive treatment in Vancouver. There are plenty of expenses covering medical care and travel to cover, Employees at Zellers, wheré Mackenzie's father Don works, and at Safeway, where one of her grandmothers works, have organized ways of raising money. Ben Knull, 7, and sister Allison, 5, were among those helping to organize a garage sale held in the Safeway parking lot last Saturday, Aug. 30. Even a kitchen sink was dropped off for sale. JENNIFER LANG PHOTO New school tours offered PEOPLE WHO WANT to know what the inside of Ter- race’s newest school looks like will be allowed inside Skeena Junior Secondary for an informal tour this Friday. Principal Dave Bartley said parents are curious to sec $11,8 million school, which neared completion last week on schedule. The school will be open Sept. 5 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. so people can take a walk through the new building. : * People will be greeted at the front entrance, but they won't be offered a formal tour. Instead, they'll be en- couraged to explore the school on their own, using maps that will be provided. The school will host an official opening at same point this year, but for now, Bartley is focusing on the needs of students and staff, who are adjusting to the. building. A number of people showed up at last Wednesday's registration at the school hoping to take @ look around. Bartley said some were under the mistaken impression that school tours were being offered. “! believe the kids should see it first,” he said, adding as of fast week, the school was still considered a con- struction site. Skeena Junior Secondary, built to replace the 50- year-old original that was torn down on the same: site this summer, is the first new to open in Térrace in more than 30 years. Mountainview Elementary, a $3.2 million elementary’ school located on Bailey St, on the Bench, was com- pleted last year, but it never opened. Coast Mountains school trustees said they were forced to cancel the planned Sept. 2002 opening due to budget. constraints and declining enrolment, 7 coe WALK THE same halls as principal Dave Bartley of Skeena Junior Secondary does on Friday when the doors open to a public showing of the new $11.8 mil- lion bullding. There wan't be guided tours but people will be given a map of the School and encouraged to explore on their own. Bear kill ban motion withers By JEFF NAGEL TERRACE city council is ignoring a cal? to ban bear hunting in this region to protect Kermode bear popula- tions. Councillor David Hull proposed a permanent morato- rium on killing black bears — by hunters or conservation officers — because some of those black-coloured bears carry the Kermode pene and can give birth to white cubs. ' But his motion to ask Victoria for such a ban died without debate Aug. 25 for lack of a seconder. Hunting of white Kermode bears is already banned but Hull said an additional ban on black bear, killing would also protect black-coloured Kermodes. The leading scientist on the subject, UBC's Dr. Ker- mit Ritland, estimates 10 per cent of black bears in the Terrace area carry the Kermode gene. . Several councillors said they didn’t second the mo- tion because they didn’t have enough information. “I’m going to be looking for more information,” said Carol Leclere. Marylin Davies said she felt without strong scientific evidence one way-or another the status quo — hunting — should be maintained. “What happens when we have an abundance of bears?" Davies asked. “Maybe there may need to be a cull.” ‘ Stew Christensen and Rich McDaniel said Hull's mo- tion would have limited conservation officers’ ability to , ’ deal with problem bears. “The number of bears killed by hunters is minimal Christensen added. “They certainly aren't endangered in any way.” Most councillors said they aren’t eager to investigate the idea further, “If it becomes a community concern sure, but I don’t think it's our job to do that,” McDaniel said. Hull says he won’t give up. He said’ a northwest bear hunting ban is a simple step that could go far to ensure the long-term survival of white Kermode bears. “What we have in this area is a world-class rarity,” Hull said. “It would be stupid to have to say that for want of a pelt on somebody's walk the Kermode bear is gone.” ; And he says it's ridiculous for Terrace — the city of the Kermode bear which is also pushing for the white bear ta be the symbol of the 2010 Olympics - not to work to stop the killing. A hunter himself, Hull said few people eat bear meat. “There isn’t much good reason to shoot black bears anyway,” he said, Hull also says he'll urge the province to provide more money to allow conservation officers to relocate problem black bears, rather than just simply shoot them as budget constraints have dictated in recent years. Are you one of the 200? LETTERS ARE going out this week to 200 people in the Skeena riding, ultimately locking for two people who will help determine if the way we elect provincial politiciansshould be changed. The 200 people, balanced by age group and by gender, must first agree to be part of the Citizen’s Assembly on Electoral Reform which begins its work next January. OF those who do agree, 20 will be selected at random and asked to attend an information meet- ing. For those who still agree after that, a further random draw will select the final two in late fall. Each of the province's 79 ridings will send two people to be part of the assembly. It'll have until December 2004 to finish its work. If it does recom- mend an electoral change, the recommendation will be put to a referendum as part of the May 2004 provincial election, Names of the 200 people chosen per riding were taken from the provincial voters list.