Religion or culture? Thumbs up Softball stars Fired teacher's assistant wonders if native religion is being taught in schools\NEWS A9 First-ever dry grad called awesome by grade 12 Caledonia students\COMMUNITY B3 Terrace hosts the province’s best in weekend softball = championships \SPORTS B4 WEDNESDAY. » JULY 9; 1997. "936 PLUS 7¢,GST VOL. 10 NO. 13 Gay tolerance splits churches . By CRIS LEYKAUF A CRUSADE against teaching tolerance of homosexuality in schools is dividing local churches. Notices for a forum next Wednesday featuring an activist who opposes such plans, say “‘leaders of all major religious faiths’ have been invited. But three of the city’s mainline Protestant churches are going out of their way to make it clear they are not con- nected to the rally against teaching gay tolerance. Knox United Church Rev. Michael Hare, Lutheran Church of Christ pastor Terry Simonson, and St. Matthew's Anglican Church rector Dean Houghton all say they have not been invited and that their churches will not endorse Langley-based activist Kari Simpson’s rally or her stance against gay tolerance instruction in schools. “This simply sends the wrong message as to what the church and Christianity is all about,’’ Simonson said of Simpson who is a founding director of the Citizen’s Research Institute. Simonson tackled the issue head-on in last Sunday's sermon to his Lutheran congregation. *T said this is not what we are about. This is not how we understand the Chris- tian faith,’” he said. “] don’t think the appropriate role for Christians is to go around being in judg- ment of other people, trying to control the politica] agenda and call the shots.”’ ‘‘We are called to bring the good news of God’s love to people and be servants and jn particular to be on the side of those who are disenfranchised.”’ Simonson says he believes gay people fall into that disenfranchised category, because they face discrimination In terms of physical violence as well as finding jobs and housing. Hare was first to go public with state- ments his church isn’t endorsing the ral- ly. : The United Church of Canada has been the most direct in taking on homosexual Tights issues in the past. The church went through a major debate in 1988 before deciding to ordain homosexual ministers. And Hare said the church actively campaigns for human rights legislation prohibiting discrimination against gays and lesbians, The United Church hasn’t specifically addressed the issue of teaching tolerance of gays in schools, but Fare predicts the church would support the idea. “We would be inclined to be in favour of it,”’ he said. He said the issue is a difficult one, ad- ding not everyone in his congregation will see it the same way. “Some will attend the rally, some won't,”’ Hare said. , Gordon Schuss, one of the key organizers of the rally, said some church leaders haven't been invited to the forum because ‘‘their offical stance on homosexuality would probably cause them not to want to be there.” He said ia those cases, an invitation would be inappropriate. However, he added all pastors, no matter what their views, are welcome to attend. OF the churches supporting the Kari Simpson forum, Schuss says he has ‘witnessed only an oulpouring of love and deep concen for the cry of suffering that has been sent out by the homosexual community.” Supporting churches include the Cath- olic Church’s Sacred Heart Parish and the Terrace Full Gospel Christian Fel- lowship, Ministers with those churches brought copies of a family rights declaration to the Terrace Ministerial Association meeting last month. The organization, which represents local churches, has not taken a stand. The declaration is for parents to tell schools they don’t want their children laking part in classes which portray homosexuality as something which is normal. Cont'd Page A6 fe - 4 ry - Journeys 1997 AFTER A long trip from Hazelton, canoelsts were greeted with songs at Kitsumkalum last Thursday. It was the first stop of their month long voyage to the Victoria inner harbour in time far the opening of the North American Indigenous Games by August 3. Their goal is to raise money for a drug and alcohol recovery centre, Standing at the back of the canoe, Tsimshian artist Roy Henry Vickers asks the elders for permission to come ashore, Vickers is organizing the journey along with the RCMP. Waiting game now underway Union statements fuel optimism for settlement of Skeena Cellulose crisis PLAYERS in the Skeena Cellulose crisis say they are now in a waiting game while the demands of the banks are analyzed. The Toronto Dominion and Royal banks want the province to inject more than $100 million to help modemize the Prince Rupert pulp mill, and they want unionized workers there to agree to cut 250 jobs. : The prospect of a deal with the Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada (PPWC) local 4 look brighter after union statements last week that it could cut close to 190 jobs there without stripping the collective agreement. About 175 of the cuts would come through technological change provisions. That reduces to 44 the number of members who would lose their jobs if the union agrees to addition- al concessions. so Both the province and the union afe having con- sultants review the banks' proposals. The report to the province is expected near the end of July. No deal is predicted until that report is in cabinet's hands, and there’s the makings of a deal with the union. “This is the phase where everybody holds their breath for a while,” Skeena Cellulose vice-president Rudy Schwartz said, The PPWC has hired Keilin and Company, a New York-based investment banking firm that specializ- es in restructuring schemes that involve employees buying into the company. The firm helped orchestrate successful employee buy-ins at Algoma Steel and St. Mary’s paper, both in Ontario. The union’s choice of Keilin has fuelled specula- tion that an employee buy-in plan might now be a prime option for the restructuring of Skeena Cellulose. Job Protection Commissioner Doug Kerley is one of those left wondering if the union is now open to that idea. ; Kerley put the possibility to the union about two months ago but met a cool response. “They were quite emphatic that they weren't interested in that,” he sald Monday. Kerley said he is encouraged that the union “has publicly recognized the reality of job loss.” “They don’t want to be seen to be doing something now that they took a strike over.” PPWC officials in Prince Rupert did not return the Standard’s calls. Kerley said another complication is that the indus- try-wide bargaining is underway. “Some of the issues being discussed in Prince Rupert are part of these other negotiations,” Kerley said. “So the rlegotiations in Prince Rupert are play- ing out against that backdrop.” _ ‘That puts added pressure on the union, Kerley said, especially in light of the 110-day strike it carried out in 1995. “They don’t want to be seen to be doing someth- ingnow that they took a strike over,” he said. Although the Terrace sawmill shuts down Friday, Schwartz says planer mill operations and office staff will remain until the remaining lumber is cut up and sold. That’s expected to last until about the second week of August, he said. tluman Resources Development Canada (HRDC) officials are exploring the option of work sharing to spread the remaining planer jobs around to cover the rest of the mill workers. If successful, that could mean most mill workers here would stay on the job at least a couple of days a week until all operations end in August. Workers would get employment insurance for the days they don’t have work. HRDC spokesman Shirley Kimery said there are a seties of complications, including a requirement _ that the situation be a temporary one, and was not certain a work share program could be put in place, Skeena Cellulose’s head office in Vancouver is now taking a hit as well. “We're doing a permanent reduction at head office from about 41 people down to 31,” Schwartz said. He said pulp and lumber marketing activity there will continue to decline as the company grinds to a full halt. , “Once we're out of things to sell, people will be asked to take. their vacations and then, hopefully, there will be some kind of program.” Fishing fee uproar was anticipated Documents show staffurged. officials to delay increases By DAVID TAYLOR TOP ENVIRONMENT ministry bureaucrats ordered fish- ing licence fees to be hiked earlier this year against the ad- vice of senior ministry staff, including the Director of Fisheries. Documents obtained by the Standard under the Freedom of Information Act indicate that Harvey Andrusak, then Director of Fisheries, advised top level administrators to hold off with licence fee increases until stakcholders had a chance to comment. That advice was not followed and it was the final straw for Andrusak, who left bis ministry in disgust. It has been without a Director of Fisheries ever since. “TET can’t give good advice or they won’t accept it then what's the point of me being there?’’ Andrusak told the Standard last week. ‘'I might as well leave.”’ At Issue were the decisions to increase guide fees from $1 per rod day to $11 per day and to hike non resident licence fees in classified waters to $40 per day, on top of annual licence fees which were also raised, The new fees came into effect April 1, then were rolled- back aftcr weeks of protest from guides and those involved in tourism businesses, especially those in the Terrace area. Continued Page A8 Local recycler defies the law A THORNHILL resident says he'll continue to recycle junk at the dump there, in spite of a bylaw preventing it. Lionel Sears was recently ticketed and fined $100 for recycling pop bottles and cans at the Thornhill ‘dump. But he says that’s not going to stop him from going in and helping himself, others and the environment by recycling other people's garbage. “Te's one of the oldest sayings around,” Sears says. “One person’s junk is another person’s treasure.”’ Sears was ticketed by regional district bylaw enforce- ment officer Don Oldham on March 19 of this year. He fought the ticket in court two weeks ago, but lost. “The judge was sympathetic,”’ Sears says. ‘“He took nearly an hour to deliberate before deciding the law had been written by duly elected people.’” But Sears says it’s pure bunk that he and others should be prevented from recycling by a regional dis- trict bylaw. “On the day I was fined, ] had collected 186 cans and 276 bottles,”’ he says. ‘Why should they just be buried? It just doesn’t make sense.”’ Sears says he collects all sorts of stuff from the dump that he fixes up and gives to people who need them. *T had a mother come by just before Christmas and boy was she shabbily dressed,'’ he says, ‘‘She had four kids and she needed a kitchen table, { found a table, plus clothes and a box of nearly-new toys. And I got them all from the dump.”’ Sears says he will continue to recycle at the dump and face the consequences. ‘This is ridiculous,’’ he says. ‘'There should be public meetings about recy- ‘dling. There are lots of recyclers out there, It’s not just ine,”