A6 - Tha Terrace Standard, Wednesday, January 10, 1996

BUSINESS REVIEW

m Doors
open

wilt be the name of the
game for tha three part-
ners who have formed
Appraisals Northwest.
Bill Henderson, Karan
Waldie and Keith Gocd-
win, all formerly of Lane
Appraisals, opened the
doors of their new busi-
ness last Tuesday at an
office upstairs from
Hava Java on Lakelse

the entire northwest
from the Queen Char-
lattes over to Prince
George and Kitimat to
the Yukon border,” says
Henderson. “The intent
is to provide people with
any kind of real estate
advice.”

REGIONAL SERVICE |

Brascan to shed

Westmin

THE PARENT COMPANY
of Westmin Resources,
which owns the Premier
mine in Stewart, is selling
its holdings.

Brascan’s shares are being
put on the open market and
the result will be a stand
alone company, says West-
min’s Brice McKnight.

“We're re-launching a4
new company not controlled
by Brascan,”' he said,

Brascan now owns 76 per

holdings

McKnight said there's
been a high interest in Bras-
can’s shares of Westmin.

“Before the lange pension
funds and the like couldn’t
buy into Westmin because
of the small share offering
that was available,” he said.

Brascan has also pur-
chased an option to buy
Westmin’s coal properties
in Alberta.

But Westmin will try to
find other buyers before

Thornhill Motors

4026 Highway 16, East, Tarraca oma rons
Foatunog Cars From Subaru, Hyundui & Mazda

Wishing you >
happiness and

RITCHIE MALLETT
Lease & Fleet Manager

635-7286

February 10 & 11, 1896

Celebrating 30 years of helping 8.C.'s special children

Ave, "We want ta cover |

cent of Westmin.

Twa Brascan-related
directors will also resign
from the Westmin board.

One of the replacements is
Gil Leathley, a vice presi-
dent of Homestake Mining
Company, which owns the
Eskay Creek gold mine in
the northwest and which has
a 40 per cent stake of the
Snip gold mine in the Iskut
Valley.

“‘He’ll be a valuable addi-

tion to the board,’’ said

Employee deal
boosts local
computer sales

LOCAL COMPUTER
dealers benefitted by more
than $400,000 late last year
thanks to an Alcan employ-
ec assistance program.

The company loaned em-
ployees money to buy com-
puters which is then to be
paid back over two years,

All told, 416 computers
were bought at a cost of
nearly $1.7 million.

OF that total, 262 com-
puters were bought from
seven Terrace retailers and
262 computers bought from
seven Kitimat outlets,

Kitimat retailers gathered
in just over $900,000 and
Terrace ones $436,000.
Provincial and federal sales
laxes totalled more than
$200,000.

Alcan employees in Van-
couver and Edmonton also
qualified for the program.

“We had originally of-
fered up to 300 systems but
the demand was unprece-
dented, so we adjusted the
upper cash value limit to
keep the program within
budect,’’ said Alcan spokes-
man Allan Hewitson.

Alcan set up the program
so that employees could
keep pace with the compa-
ny’s move into using more
and more computer systems
at work.

Keith Jacobs of Merlin
Solutions said the program
opened the computer use
doors ta people who might
otherwise net have consid-
ered purchases.

Fear warps

shopping

CHRISTMAS — shopping
patterns were peculiar this
year, says Skeena Mall
manager Lynda Lafleur.

“The first week of De-
cember is usually very
strong,”’ she said. ‘‘But this
year it wasn’t there, It didn’t
teally kick in until the
14th.”

People tightened up their
spending habits in anticipa-
tion of tougher times, she
said,

“All the bad news that
people heard back east real-
ly hit the psychology of
people here,’? Lafleur said.

Although B.C.’s economy
continues to boom, people
worried about their pensions
and unemployment insur-
ance cuts.

Add to that local problems
like the winter shutdown in
the woods and the failed
pine mushroom season, she
said, and it wasn’t hard to
understand.

“It was very different and
there was a lot of fear out
there.’?

But she did note stores
were unusually busy in No-
vember.

“It seems like a lot of
people did their shopping
early,”

“Even after the program
was closed the momentum
was slill there from inter-
ested people,’” be said.

Bryan Wiznuk of
Wilkinson Business Ma-
chines is predicting a big
surge in participation in the
Internet.

“Every system carried a ,

modem and that’s going to
have a large impact,’ he
said.

Retailers also said the pro-
gram is going to have a rip-
ple effect over the years as
purchasers add to their sys-
tems.

“It brought. in new
customers who can develop
into life time customers,’’
said Ken Chemko of Elec-
tronic Futures,

He added that demand for
service from new owners
will tanslate into more jobs
on the support end of the
computer business.

All retailers said the Alcan
incenlive program is the
largest single one to date in
the northwest.

Alcan required employces
to buy IBM or IBM-
compatible systems along

McKnight of LeathIey’s ap-

considering
McKnight added.

ihe option,

| Canadi»n Holidays

A WORLD OF VACATIONS

Yancouver Departures

with Microsoft software,
compatible ta systems used
by the company.

Systems had to carry a
two-year warranty.

B.C.Hydro uses, among other methods, chemical
herbicides to help keep more than 70,000
kilometres of power lines across the province
free from troublesome vegetation. However,
through innovative and environmentally friendly
vegetation control techniques, we've reduced the
use of chemicals by 90% over the past 10 years,

In partnership with environmental research
groups, we're investigating chemical-free ways
to control recurring vegetation through the

Contact us vid e-mail at: environment @belivdro.be.ca

use of naturally occurring fungi. In fact. we are
currently using mushrooms to treat alder trees
in the Prince Rupert area. This is part of an on-
g0ing provincial study to evaluate the effectiveness
of this biological control method. And, when
we do use chemical herbicides, we choose
biodegradable products which are less dainaging
to the environment.

We're the first to admit that everything isn’t per-

~ fect. But, reduced reliance on herbicides is just one of

- Bhydro

pointment. y
eae anaes PUERTO VALLARTA
RADELET & COMPANY Deport SotudaysJon.13,20.27° = Z Nights 14 Nights
Barristers & Solicitors, Vancouver, B.C. Air Only 399
Pre-Budget Crystallizations & Freezas Tropicane (ed. 1) 599 849
James W. Radelet. Phone 689-0878 idery [rn - ocean view m4 929" 1299°
Fax 689-1386 (ermal Vl Beach
Se *Canedian Dollars ct par special - ask for details.
Complimentary tennis pon
LOS CABOS
Northwest
Reat Estate Depart Saturdays & Mondays
/ Air Only $299 Sa99
Marina Cabo Plaza
Downlown San Lucas kovation
&z Complimentary continental breakfast daily
MANZANILLO
ip Depart Saturday Jon, 13 7 Nights
TANDARD Air Only 3499"
Hotel rhella sd. rm] 839
Radisson Sierra Plaza - Allincusive 1149
“The Northwest Real Estate Board and the Depart Saturday Jon. 27
Terrace Standard thank all of the sponsors Bir Only (0 14cight) 99
- P Las Resort (hol mn) 1239
and participants of the 7th Annual Complimentary golf. ask for details,
Christmas Decorating Contest. A special adisson Sierra Plaza $1289
thank you also to Terrace Totem Ford for Deport Saturdays Feb. 3 - feb. 24
providing the judges’ van.” arn rbellle fxn} pes
For yaur local UNIGLOBE offica, call:
Here are the winners:
604-638-8522
The Morrisons, 4910 Gair one
‘BEST THEME 1-800-3-UNIGLOBE
The Reicherts, 4410 Maroney INDEPENDENTLY OWNED means better personal service.
LIIGLOBE.
Forestry Contractors Travel
=r @©" Licensed edemarks of inal, le. i
oy ne on de pry endorse cs on aed
McRae Crescent sebjedl to availablity, See your local UMIGLOBE Travel Counselor for complete datalls,

the ways we're commited te improving the environment.

For more information about our environmental
initiatives, or to provide us with your comments,
please call 1-800-663-0431 throughout B.C. We.
welcome your call,

Whether we're conserving electricity or producing
it, we're working to preserve
the natural beauty of our -
province. And that’s being
Power Smart.

BRWER
SMELT

Saves More Than Money