UNBC
total
dips

, UNBCIS blaming the lower '
than expected number of
‘students registered in Ter-
race for its decision to cut
. staff fo just one instructor
~ here.

-- Just seven students here
have registered with the
_ University of Northern B.C.

‘. “We had planned to put
_an-extra person in Terrace,
‘ but the registrations were
‘|. very low,’” said UNBC aca-

~}, demic vice-president Ken

Coates,

**Offering courses without
students is not very
: sustainable,’’ he said.
~ Eight students enrolled in
f UNBC courses here during
- the spring semester.

: "The only UNBC instructor
‘here this semester is English
professor David Heineman,
~The university had two in-

-$ttuctors here last year —

‘| history .. professor Jon
Swainger: and English
professor Dee Horne.

‘The seven students here
pare flaking two or three
“UNBC courses each, says

: Sheila Brigadier.
~~ Courses are being offered
in Terrace both face-to-face
"and by distance education.
|... The courses in the so-
‘called “‘quick start’’. pack-
_ age include history, English,
psychology, business ad-
ministration and environ-
- mental studies, she said.
UNEC is to begin Full op-
. erations in the fall of 1994,
' Meanwhile the university
is still. seeking a northwest
tegional coordinator, who

would be based in Terrace. .

It-has been a year and a
half since UNBC first an-
nounced plans to hire the
regional coordinators, in
response to the recom-
mendations of a task force
-Of northern MLAs.

-UNBC _ assistant registrar,

Union and district
locked in dispute

A MENTALLY handicapped
worker has become a pawn in a
battle between the school board
and ils unionized maintenance
workers,

The man has worked for the
school district for 22 years and
could scon lose his job over the
wrangle.

CUPE Local 2861 president
Rick King has given the school
board notice ending a 1989 agree-
ment allowing the man to work
without being a union member.

The 1989 agreement formalized
an informal arrangement that had
been in place since 1971, school
district sectetary-treasurcr Barry
Piersdorf£ told tiustees at last
week's school board meeting.

The union wants the board to
Te-post the job as a union job.

If no other union member takes
the job, says King, the man could
then be accepted into the union
and receive union wages,

But Piersdorff said even if he
was allowed into the union, he
would be ‘‘low man on lhe totem
pole” and first victim of any
seniority-based layoff, Piersdorft
said.

“What we have in essence is
the support being pulled out from
under a mentally challenged em-
ployee,” Piersdorff said. ‘‘I have

Rick King
to assume Mr. King has the sup-
port of his members,”

Because the job never really ex-
isted, as a regular union job, he
said, the board likely won't creale
a union position, but will simply
allocate the work to the other ex-
isting union staff members.

King said if the man loses his
job it will be the board's fault.

“My first obligation is to the
members of the union,’’ he said,

If the board were to bring the
job into the union and not impose
further layoffs, he said the man
could join the union and receive a
major pay increase as well as all

the other benefits of membership.

The man is paid about $10 per
hour to perform manual labour —
sweeping parking lots, shoveling
snow, cutting grass. Starting
union rate is $16 per hour.

“If the board is under the fiscal
restraints they say they are it’s a
postition they can’t afford ahead
of our membership,’’ King said, ©

“We're under fiscal attack,’’ he
explained. ‘‘We have people who
are facing possible layoffs.’’

“They’re telling us it’s bad and
it’s going to get worse.”

Piersdorff said the next step is
up to the union.

He suggested the board will

- continuc to employ the man

despite the withdrawal of the Ict-
ter of agreement until such time
as the union files a grievance,

He added the school district is
the only one in the province that
has created a spccial position to
employ a person with mental
handicaps.

‘We've had calls from three
other districts thinking of starting
up a program like _ this,’’
Piersdorff said.

Piersdorff said the board would
save $16,000 per year if the posi-
tion was cul,

The cost of bringing him into
union would be $45,000 per year.

Fish food being grown

A LOCAL society hopes to repair,

what it’s calling the broken food
chain that supports salmon popu-
lations up here.

The Lake and Stream Biologi-
cal Habitat Enhancement Society
has received a federal fisheries
grant to grow shrimp and other

_ creatures caten by salmon,

And local residents get a chance
to learn more about what’s going

on Oct. 22 and 23 at the Skeena

Mall.

Speaking for the society is
Alois Schillinger, a long time fish
culturist and critic of the way
governments have managed the
fishery.

‘*There has been destruction of

keg Eee CURE aad bs ood Os ab al, ER aa G big st

the food chain. We've found a
way to put it together,” said
Schilfinger.

The idea is to naturally grow,
without artificial boosts, shrimp
and other creatures and then in-
troduce them into salmon bearing

“waters.

Included on the list are
planktons and aquatic plants.

‘Werte doing exactly the way
it is in nature,” said Schillinger.
“There are no chemicals in our

project.””
All this avoids the problem of
artificially - boosting salmon

Stocks without ensuring there is
enough food to support them, he
said. ;

vm

‘eat ‘
4

Alols Schillinger

ppedbeleghagh tes alice te secgep om tay!
aedidabl Gales nove ny

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 20, 1993 - A7

Centre opens

THE COMMUNITY of

_ Stewart celebrated the offi-
cial opening of its new
health centre Oct. 14.

The $5 million structure
replaces a building damaged
by a propane explosion in
1991.

It’s being called a symbol
of the new way health care
is being looked at in B.C.
because of.the multitude of
activities gathered together
under one roof.

The 2,300 square foot-
single-storey building not.
only contains hospital beds
but a physicians’ clinic,
emergency: room, public
health offices, dental of-
fices, an ambulance station,
offices for alcohol and drug
prevention counselling,
mental health counselling,
home support offices and
space. for visiting op-
tometrisis and massage
therapists.

Those services previously
had been scattered through-
out the community,

Stewart Community
Health Association chief ex-
ecutive officer Denise
Moore said the centre will
serve as a welcome place
from which community
health services can operate.

Although enough space is
being set aside for cight
hospital acute. care beds,
only three will be set up
when the facility opens. —

That fits the provincial
government guidelines of
having 2.75 beds for every
1,000 people in the arca a

~ hospital services,

The idea is to have room
for expansion as the com-
munity grows. .

There wili' also be two
long term care beds,

The emergency room will
have two beds and there is a
birthing room.

Mike Scott

REFORM,

PARTY OF RM EZ

Tired of the same old political gang?
And the same old fear mongering?

The Reform Party vil not eliminate the Canadian Health Care plan!

We believe that every Canadian should be entitled to health care.
We would continue our full transfer payments to the provinces - and
we would allow them to administer the plan giving you a say on how
Medicare would work best for you. After ail it's your plan,

OLD AGE PENSIONS ©

We will ensure that every Canadian making less than 54 thousand
dollars per year would receive old age security, That means people
like Jim Fulton retiring at age 43 with a whopping 2.8 million dollar
pension probably should not be allowed to collect an additional

cheque.

NO WONDER THEY DON’T LIKE OUR PLAN

an

Authorized by Wanda Csen official aoe for Mike Scott

Co ee :
sda dais ie
age lonasi ar

fe
. !
i
t

e \

Here at the Skeena Mall we're proud to have been a part of the
community for the past 15 years and we want to hear your story. +

i
ai wid

" ut
an fs |

ll

all |

Courtesy of the Skeena Mall and its merchants.

and you could v win

Traveling Expenses
(Up to $1,500) ©

SO you can enjoy a family reunion ofy your very own

” iy write to us and tell us in 500 words of less why you have enose
- Terrace as your home, and what keeps you here. |

Join Us November ist
at 4 pm for

Birthday Cake