The case for a natural creek An open letter ta: Mayor and Council City of Terrace Around 1915, Mr. and Mrs. Howe moved from New Brunss- wick to a home on the bench just above what is now the Eby Street hatchery. They moved out to B.C, __ because of the woman’s health. Unfortunately, to get walter for the home, Mrs. Howe had to go down a rough trai] her husband built on the sidehill to the spring. - OF course, she also had to pack the.waler back up. This didn’t do much for her health and, after retuming to New Brunswick, she - shortly thereafter died, This story comes from a tape made by former Caledonia High School students while interview- _ing one of Terrace’s oldiimers on - the history of Howe Creek, It is a good example of the kind of resource this waterway is. Other students have used the ara to catalogue the plant, insects and other wildlife of the area. The creek has been the focus of allention for still other students who have studied its water flows, monitored its rate of erosion and investigated its origin as a main . Channel of the ancient Skeena River, ‘In recent years, Caledonia stu- - dents have built two bridges over the creek (one at DeJong Cres- cent and the other at the property being considered for development ““at’ McConnell and Munro) and have cleaned tons of garbage out of the creek. Terrace will undoubtedly grow in population. We know from the experience of other towns and cities throughout the world that waterways like this one are very valuable assets in a city. Some jurisdictions are spending Lands Dear Sir: I would like to express my thanks lo municipal council for having held the special meeting Feb, 24 to discuss the impact of, the Coxford rezoning applications on public enjoyment of the Howe ‘Creek nature corridor. - This mesting differed from others in several respects. Coun- ‘cil members became involved in discussions and gave some direc- ’ tion as lo how they might be ex- pected to apply the Official Com- munity Plan. Both. developers expressed some interest in relocating if fair compensation and/or a land swap might be worked out. Local resi- dents were asked to consider limited development as a means of helping to finance a buy out of the remaining undeveloped land, In evaluating the suitability of the Coxford rezoning application, councillors were asked to test ils ‘validity under three possible claims: A letter from the heart Dear Sir: Four months, 23 days in a two- bedroom local matel unit. Our family of six gamely sur- passes all odds, is surviving the small surroundings, passing the -days keeping their spirits up and hoping that one day they can move to a larger home. . But so far all our efforts have been dashed by rents that are too high or being told our family is too. big for a three-bedroom - home. They should see where we teside now! I find it very distressing that ceriain people take great pleasure in dashing the hopes of poor folks. I sure hope they sleep good! . People offen ask me why I . moved my family here to Terrace. _ [tell them this is where 1 grew up _ and people were nice, then. ‘I moved here seven months ago with'all great hopes. My wife and - -] plan to return to schooi and get a-college degree. Right now we are just waiting for space to come ‘available at Northwest Com- munity College. I moved here because I did not want our children to become a meaningless statistic. It is ironic that we -have become another statistic: homeless! We have tried many. avenues, but to. no avail. People. are t it the Howe: Creek Investments and... THE MANY faces of the Howe Creek area were demonstrated by Terrace Green Belt Association to municipal officials and others during a tour last fall. big bucks to open up and restore previously culverted creeks. How has the City of Terrace treated the creek? The City of Terrace has histori- cally treated Howe Creek as a drainage ditch, and continues to do so, It became a make work project for the unemployed in Terrace’s carly days, when it was dug out by hand, from Lanfear to Kalum, to enhance drainage in ihe Horseshoe, Within the last 10 years, city machinery scraped it out between Parkside school and Labelle, Cul- verts deliver storm water from the bench. And recently, all of the walter from Terrace Mountain has been diverted into the city storm sewer at Parkside school. These changes may have made sense at the time, but we should start to reverse the process now. We all know that many people already appreciate this creck. And we ali acknowledge that it is dif- The city must Say ‘no’ ficult to say no 10. developers, particularly in a small town where we all know the people in- yolved, However, sooner or later limits lo growth are reached and saying no becomes necessary. I say it is that time now, City councillors should be look- ing afier the current and long term interests of the majority of the community, and not just the financial interests of a few investor-developers. It seems to me that a reasonable solution to the Howe Creek con- troversy would involve: 1. the mayor and city council- lors saying no to both the re- zoning applications. 2. the city creating a long term community plan for the Howe Creek corridor, including bylaws a. that encourage getting the creck out of culverts, prevents new culverting, and shortens ex- isting culverts b. that eliminates any new de- velopment between the brow of the bench on the north, and any existing development on the south ¢, that establish a budget i. for acquisition of vacant land around the creek including the two properties involved in the rezoning application. il. for the construction and maintenance of a trailand _—foot- bridges along the length of the creck, and iti. for the gradual construction of a replacement storm drain sys- tem for the Horseshoe area which temoves only excess water from the developed areas of the Horse- shoe (Le, the south side of the creek). Sincerely yours, Glenn Grieve, Terrace, B.C. needed for drainage “Loss of this area would greatly reduce the value of the Howe Creek trail as a nature @ preserve.” odin Bouse TUN iia 1, the application is of a minor technical nature that benefits the applicant without arversely affecting any innocent parties; 2. the application benefits the applicant at the expense of others bul some trade off is possible making the application acceptable lo all; 3. the application benefits the applicant at the expense of others, who find all trade offs un- acceptable, but approval of the application is considered to pro- vide a significant net benefit to the community as a whole. It was argued that the Coxford application failed under all three claims and that approval of the application would undermine the credibility of the Official Com- munity Plan. sympathellc, understanding, even helpful, but stili we have no permanent address. The local societies rattle their swords and raise their voices, but we are still here. Our primary goal is slili intact, however, We will go ta NWCC for upgrading and a college de- gree. We are trying to instill in our children that education is not im- possible, that it would have been betier if we'd Finished the first time. We will remain here for as long as it takes, We ate happy to be together as a family no matter where we stay. Buta larger home is our dream. We do have a vehicle and can travel within reason. I am a self- employed roofer, have many hob- bics and have acquired many con- struction skills. But for now my main interest is my children. They are eight to 12 years old, We do not want or need hand- outs, just someone to understand we are able to care for a home and keep it satisfactorily neat. Our fumiture is in storage and we do have our own rug and upholsiery steam cleaner. Ali we need is a larger home and [ sure hope someone out there can Help. , ceo ams Aer pees eke td pated 0G The councillors were asked to reject the application but seek some fair settlement with the developer and property owners, The arguments against the Howe Creek Investments devel- opment have been framed differ- ently from those against the Cox- ford development. The 10 acre Howe Creek In- vesiments property is an impor- tant wet land that supports a diversity of animal life and is the head water for Howe Creek. Loss of this area would greatly reduce the value of the Howe Creck trail as a nature preserve. The Howe Creek Investments land is also an important com- ponent in the Terrace storm drainage system. The wet lands act as a caich basin for water flowing from Halliwell, Skogiund and North Sparks to the north, Westview and Skeenaview to the fast, and: Kalum to the south. «.-Water..from a total of nine drainage pipes flows freely across the property before being col- lected at the southwest comer and directed to the south through the Eby storm drain or west as Howe Creek. _ The total cross sectional area of drainage pipes carrying water to ihe property exceeds the area of pipes carrying water away from the property. , During periods of heavy rain the wet lands expand and thereby increase the carrying capacity of our drainage system. As develop- ment continues, the importance of the wet lands will increase. It is hoped that municipal coun- cil can obtain these lands as part of their commitment to park de- velopment. Yours sincerely, John Campbell They need a place to live _ 4. WANTED aroReN house, duplex or NEEDED IMMEDIATELY preferred). WANTED nf FALLIN 0. 798-9504 hornhil area TWO BEDR OOM BA trailer. Reasonable oat GNT SUITE or or non-drinker and 1/94, 639.9755 ried couple, nO pets, WORKING Samuel Lincoln - MALE ACCOMMODATE ONS TO SHARE available. Call 638.0 on town. References - preparation during Cost just $8. as, The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 16, 1994 - 45 CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD The Mail Bag Upset at daycare attitude Dear Sir ; I'm very upset to learn the negative attitude toward the operation of a day care by Mickey and Sharon Broniley in the Ri zone. It states that churches and day care centers may operate ina R1 zone as a smal] business. If the objectors do not like the name day care, Maybe the Bromleys should call the facility ‘Church of the Golden Rule School’’. Children would then be allowed to attend. There are so many illegal centers in Terrace or should 1 say baby sitting centers in private homes as was stated at the Feb, 28 council meeting. One such facility confines children to a basement suite for their stay. Is this facility certified and rum by trained personnel? Does it matter to the parents of these children? Are all safety and health regulations met? If the complainers don’t wish for growth in a community they should move to the bush and complain about the wild life or go to a quiet old folks home, Murray Bromley, Kitimat, B.C. Too good to be true Re: Ed Papals’ letter Feb. 23, 1994, Dear Sir: A salesman indeed! Like all deals that sound too good to be true, this one is suspect. If peaple can easily carn a ‘‘conservative $3,840/month’’ operating a family daycare, then why do we have such a shortage of licensed spaces? For people considering this as employment, the daycare licensing office has an estimated budget for the average family daycare. The take home pay is $1,291 a month. That’s for at least nine hours a day, no lunch break, no coffee break, no medical, dental or pension and you surrender your home to accommodate the children. Ask anyone who provides care what they do to earn their living. Veralynn Munson, Terrace, B.C. In defence of teachers An open letter to: Mr. Carreiro: I’m responding as an individual, and not as a union representative, to your March 2 “Tired of whining” letter. I would like to offer a different perspective on the “facts”? which you have presented to the public. While it is true that I am expected to be instructing classes for an average of 5.5 to 6 hours per day, it is not true that I work 5.5 to 6 hours a day. Each day requires hours of additional marking and preparation time. You cannot face a group of 25-30 teenagers or children hourly without some kind of plan. The success of your in- struction, the delivery of the curriculum, greatly depends on your efforts in advance of the time that you meet your students. It is impossible (and not even desirable) to do significant subject class. In the six years that I have been at my school, ] have participated in hundreds of hours of seminars and meetings relating to my job which have occurred well beyond the hours of non-instructional days. These additional meetings are at- ranged during ‘Tuicii ‘and/or after school. Many teachers participate for their sense of professional commitment to the school, or as part of their professional duty, as the situation demands. LT usually do mark every day (for a minimum of two to three hours each day) and I still mark for several hours most weekends. During busier testing periods, it is common for me to mark for four, five, and even six hours at a time. It is not my opinion that teachers “slack off and dump their re- sponsibility in the laps of parents.’’ Though teaching has many rewards and most teachers are com- fortably paid, pursuing a career in teaching for personal gain does not seem the motivation of most of my colleagues. Many of us, I believe, have chosen teaching, and continue {n this career, because it is rewarding to work with and teach the youth of our society — “even as our schools change through time. I work in a schoo! with over 30 teachers, and. my job involves meeting other teachers. I think we are not the self-pitying lot you would have us to be. I personally find the information that you share with the public to be very damaging to the goals which should be shared by the Public, et educaiors and administrators. CA. Cebuliak, ' Terrace, B.C. THE START IS FOR PEOPLE LEARNING TO READ The Start Car contest WOULD YOU like to win a car? A fot of curlers hope to do that next month. They are taking part in the annual Loggers Bonsplel. And there’s a special event that could result in some cur- lers winning a car. Here’s how it works. There are four people in each curling rink. Hach gets to throw one rock. If all four rocks wind up in the middle of the curling circle, all four people win a car, There are also cash prizes for people who come close. The Loggers Bonspic! takes place March 30 - April 3. The car contest is sponsored by The Terrace Standard and McEwan GM, Championships here THE TOP ‘AA’ PeeWee hockey teams in B.C. will be here next week for the provincial championships. The Terrace team has a lot of first-year players but coach Steve Smyth says they have been playing well to- gether and have as good a chance as many of the teams. Smyth hopes there will be big crowds at the arena to cheer on the Terrace Pee Wees, That kind of support will give the team a big lift. The tournament starts Sunday, March 20 with the final taking place Thursday, March at 6 p.m. For only $15 you can buy a pass which gets you into all games except for Thursday’s semi-final and final. ‘Tickets for that day