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A2 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, January 22, 1997

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. 3 Bc

STOP Press

Tax rates pondered

SOME PEOPLE are going to face higher property tax-
es this year, but mayor Jack Talstra says council is ying to
keep that to a minimum.

Council was debating on Monday night what levels
tax rates should be set at to get the money the city needs.

Talstra said residential assessments have jumped an
average of seven per cent, so the average homeowner
would pay seven per cent higher property taxes if the rate
was left at last year's level. ,

Councillars agree the rate should be lowered some-
what, so the average homeowner pays no more than three
or four per cent extra in 1997. ‘

But even if council does that, the tax rate affects all
residences equally, while there’s wide variation in the
assessments of individual homes.

People whose homes have increased in assessment by
20 or 30 per cent will be facing higher taxes, said Talstra.

Councillor Tim Down said lower-valued homes have
seen their assessments increase the most, adding he’s con-
cemed the tax hike could hit south side homeowners and
those who can afford it least the hardest.

Council wants to be able to go ahead with a capital
projects budget of around $2 million to ensure roads don’t
deteriorate further.

That's down from the extraordinary $3 million they
budgetted in 1996,

But getting that cash is a problem because the provin-
cial government cut grants worth a total of $500,000 to the
city last year. , .

No to recycling

THE CITY can’t afford to carry out its share of the
Regional Solid Waste Management Plan this year.

Terrace agreed to contribute one-third of the $400,000
Startup cost for a regional recycling centre this year, and
was supposed te commit a share of the facility’s annual
$200,000 operating cost in subsequent years.

City staff asked Mayor Jack Talstra Monday night
what they should tell the local committee in charge of
implementing the pian.

“Tell that body that when the provincial government
resiores its money to us we may have some money avail-
able,” Talstra replied. He was referring to the $500,000 the
province has cut from its grants to the city,

Talstra noted that the city agreed to the plan in prinei-
ple and would work towards it “as dollars permit.”

He noted the city is having difficulty getting the dal-
lars to keep road reconstruction on pace and that it just had
to reject a proposal for a second sheet of ice,

“We just don’t think we have the money,” he said.

Thin ice accident

A MAN accidentally crashed through thin ice on the
Skeena River last Friday and had to be rescued by the Fire
Department,

Terrace RCMP responded to a suspicious occurrence
at 8 p.m. January 17, near the old bridge. They found a 19-
| year-old male floating in the river,

Department were both called and the man was rescued and
transferred to a waiting ambulance. He is listed in stable
condition at Mills Memorial Hospital.

This incident is still under investigation. Anyone with
any information is asked to contact Terrace RCMP.

Gitnadoix charges

THREE PRINCE Rupert men have been charged with
Wildlife Act offences, stemming from an October 20 hunt-
ing trip up the Gitnadoix River.

Bill Flaten, his brother Colin John Flaten and Douglas
Alfred Dyer were all charged last week with unlawful pos-
session of wildlife last week.

Colin Flaten also faces charges of exceeding his quota,
unlawfully using another person’s licence and hunting
without a valid moose licence,

Douglas Dyer also faces charges of allowing another
person to use his hunting licence. All three have their first
court appearance on February 7 in Terrace.

-NEWS-

‘~-~PhéTerrace Water Rescue Team and the Terrace Fire ~

FROM FRONT
Private ice
plan dropped

Once the series of additional costs are taken into account,
Veldman concluded, the total cost over 25 years to the city
of CFDI's proposal rises from $5.85 million to $9.8 miilion.
That's almost identical to the $9.92 million the second sheet
proposal defeated in the 1995 referendum would have cost
taxpayers over 25 years.

“There is not an appreciable cost advantage,” Veldman
concluded. “The city would be exposing itself to a signifi-
cant level of uncertainty and risk without a corresponding
expectation of significant cost savings,”

He also noted the failure of CFDI’s similar operation in
Whitecourt, Alberta, where the local municipality was left
holding the bag.

The news came in the middle of Minor Hockey Week and
on the eve of the Northern B.C, Winter Games — at which
second sheet organizers had originally hoped to be opening
anew second sheet of ice.

“We're frustrated,” said Brian Downie, “] was hopeful we
would get a little more idea of the direction council wants to
take.”

He said they had followed the city’s direction to first pre-
pare a bare bones second sheet — which was defeated by the
voters —and then to explore. a private-public partnership
idea.

“We're a little confused,” he said, adding the need for an
arena expansion continues to grow,

“Within the next year or so people will be camping out to
get their kids enrolled in hockey,” added Warren Garten.

He said all the councillors identified the second sheet of
ice as a priority in their election campaign. -

“T have to question haw much of a priority it is if they’re
putling the decision over to a recreation commission,”
Garten said. —

Mayor Talstra said the commission will likely take a cou-
ple of months to get set tip and then will likely take the rest
of the year lo listen to the people and formulate a.
recommendation. , tas

Student crisis
support ‘vital’
says school

TOO MUCH DEMAND on the school district’s spe-
cial education money has left at least one elementary
school without what it considers a vital service,

Staff at Kiti K’Shan elementary school wrote to the
schoo] board last week to complain about the reduc-
tion in elementary school counsellors.

Last year the Terrace school district had two
elementary counsellors. They offered short-term
counselling services to children in crisis, For exam-
ple, the crisis could be due to a family separation,
depression, family illness or death. The counsellors
also offered in-class supporl, and co-taught violence
prevention programs, among others.

‘If a child is in crisis, the first line of support
should be at the school,’’ wrote Kiti K’Shan staff.
Other community support services, such as mental
heaith workers are sometimes not easily accessible.

‘Our staff considers it vital that the board hire an
additional elementary counsellor.”’

Andrew Scruton, who heads up student support ser-
vices for the district, said the reduction in counsellors
was duc to an increased demand on the special educa-
tion budget.

‘The demand is big,’’ said Scruton. ‘The board
had ta decide where resources wauld go,”

And this school year the board decided to spend the
money on the Tecn Learning Centre, located on Park
Ave. It’s an alternative school, for students who can’t
fit in anywhere else in the school system.

Enrollment increased dramatically there this year,
said Scruton, and another teacher was needed. If stu-
dents weren’t attending the Teen Learning Centre,
they'd be dropouts, he explained.

But since money for the centre comes out of the
same pot as elementary counsellors, that meant some-
thing had to go.

So staff at Kiti K’Shan have asked the school board
to ry and find money for another counsellor from an-
other area.

The school board is considering the request, and
referred the matter to its budget committee at last
week's board meeting.

Fishy story nets
an elderly victim

A COMPLAINT from an elderly Terrace man early last
Thursday morning brought RCMP out to investigate a
fishy tale.

Police say an 83-year-old man in the 4700 Block of Tuck
Avenue was woken up at about 4:30 a.m. January 16 when
a female came his door, requesting to use the phone.

The gentleman let the woman inside his house,
whereupon she proceeded to try to sell him some fish.
When he declined, the woman grabbed a pair of the man’s
pants and ran, , , °

The pants contained a wallet and some keys, It is
believed that the female departed in a 1980's yellowish
pick-up truck being driven by a male accomplice.

The RCMP are requesting that the public exercise cau-
tion when dealing with strangers at the door and to not Jet
such persons into their homes.

Crime crackdown debated

RCMP crime slats have prompted one councillor to sug-
gest a major crackdown on drug enforcement would be
misguided,

Tim Down noted drug-related offences declined in 1996,
while break-and-enters have soared 50 per cent in two

ears.

, He suggested if more resources are put to any one area it
should be break-and-enters.

Counciflor David Hull, who ran on a campaign that par-
tially called for more drug enforcement, responded that
break-and-enters are often the product of drug use, a5 a
result of the need for fast cash.

By the end of November, the number of break-ins had
reached 210 — up dramatically from 146 to the same point
in 1994,

Environmental Health Issues

This is the first of whal | hope will
he o lang and mutually beneficial
relationship. As an Environmental
Health Officer and the Communicable
Disaase Specialist for the Skeena
Health Unit | track, ond ottempt to
limit the spread of disease, Almost
daily | interview people suffering
from infectious diseoses that could
have been prevented. Many of these
microorganisms ore highly communi-
coble, When they spread fo the
young, old or the immunacompra-
mised the consequences con be tragic.

Ultimately the most elfective
means of controlling autbracks is to
stop Ihem before they fake held, So
hare | om, The articles 10 Fellow will
tough on some ef the bugs that have
been ploguing our region, their
means of transmission, and what you
con do fo protect your families.

To begin I'd like to address a focal
hot topic, (hopefully withou! getting
scold}. Terrace’s new drilled well
water supply has sparked o large,

SHOPPERS
DRUG MART

4635 Lakelse Ave

ond predominatly negative outcry.
Complaints range from, “Tastes like
#AGIN" to “Soop won't lather” to
“Whot is that disgusting ring around

+ Officer for Skeena
at. Health Unit *. 2.

my teacup?” Like | said, a very con-
troversial topic.

There is on important reason why,
from ¢ public health standpoint, the
well is a preferable source fo the riv-
er. Firs, the new supply is microbio-
logically safer. As we found with the

Kelowna Cryptosporidium outbreck,
normal frealment of surface woler
moy not effectively protect us from
certain pathogens. It’s very likely
thot our elevated incidence rates for
Reover Fever and Cryptosoporidium
will drop significantly with the new
well. There will no longer be a need
to add more and more chlorine to
compensole for tha effects of dirt in
the water duting the limes of runoff
and high water.

What about the toste and sedi-
ment? The culprits ore Calcium ond
Mognesium, two minerals vilal for
healthy teeth and bones. Think of it
a5 toking a doily vitamin in a gloss,
yum. The only viable alternative is
softening the water chemically. This
procedure extracts the good guys,
ond in their place substitutes sodium
which con be harmful to those suffer-
ing from liypertension and heart dis-
ease. If you think cbout it ond giva it
some time I’m sure the new water

will graw on you.
ra

Phone: 635-7261

Note: Shoppers flyers deliverd in the Terrace/Kitimat Weekend
Advertiser on Saturday have a sale start date of Monday,

Pay only the low

$12 weekly fee.

Knox United Church

4907 Lazelle Ave., Terrace

Tuesday 7:00 p.m.

Offer valid for a limited time only, GST not included. Cannot ba combined with any
other offer andis not available far “At Work” or Cammunity Meetings. As people vary so do results,
© 1997 Weight Watchers international Inc., owner of the Registered Trademark, all rights reserved.

GRIME ||
STOPPERS

Terrace Crime Stoppers are asking for your
assistance in solving the break, enter and theft
fram the Workers Compensation Board offices at
46550 Lakelse Ave., Terrace, B.C., on the night of
December 6, 1996, between 7:40 pm and 9:00
am the following morning.

During this time, unknown culprit(s) enterred
the business through a side entrance, and aro-
ceeded to steal front office equipment, as well
as items from the company staff raom.

The following is a list of items that were stolen
from the residence:

1. AST computer - model 'PS/2 77 pe
$2780.00

2. Hewlett-Packard iaser jet printer - model 4L
$500.00 (est.)

3, Computer monitor $1000.00(est.)

4, Microwave oven $200.00

5, Sony AM/FM stereo cassette deck $200.00

If you know anything about this incident, or if
you know the identity of the person or persons
responsible for this theft of a motor vehicle,
Crime Stoppers would like to hear from you.

Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward of
up to $1.000.00 for information leading to
an arrest and charges being laid against an
individual in this or other unsolved crime. If
you have any information call Crime
Stoppers at 635-Tips that’s 635-8477.
Callers will not be required to reveal their
identity nor testify in court.

gifts.

LCOME
AGON

SINCE 1930

We would like to thank all merchants who participated in the first Christmas boby and first New Year's haby

Sight & Sound - Xmas Boby & New Years Baby 35th Anniversary Mug & pen
Do il Cenlre - Xmas Buby & New Yeor’s Baby | smoke alarm each.
Icon Business Machines - Xmas Baby & New Year's Baby 1 baby journal each

Terrace Co-op - Xmas Baby & New Year's Buby 1 night

ight each

Keenleyside Insurance - Xmas Baby & Now Year’s Boby tperi and | pocket calendar each
Golden Pond Pet Shop - Xmas Boby & New Year's Baby 1 cartoon calendar each
McEwan GM - Xinos Boby & New Yeor’s Baby 1 men’s hat each
First Choice Trovel - Xmos Boby & New Year's Baby 1 travel bog & 1 holiday magazine each
Northern Photo - Xmas Boby & New Yeor’s Baby 1 picture frome each
Northern Drugs - Xmas Baby & New Yeor’s Baby | gift bag each

Terrace Interiors - Xmos Baby & New Year’s Baby 1 gift certificate for $10.00 and 1 colendor each
Chopmon Office Supplies - Xmas Baby & New Year's Baby } ink eraser each
Class Act Consignment - Xmas Soby & New Year's Baby T gift certificate for $10,00

Welcome Wagon - Xmas Baby & New Year's Baby | basket each
Sunlife of Canada - Xmas Baby & New Year's Baby Icalendar aach

Call 635-TIPS

Gloss Slipper - Xmas Boby & New Year’s Baby | gift certificate for. $15 each

Coles Books - Xmas Baby 1 baby book

Pet World - Xmas Baby & New Yeur’s Baby 1 gift certificate for $15 each

Kid's Boutique - Xmas Baby & New Year's By! gift certificate for $10.00 each
Kmort - Xmas Boby & New Year's Baby$10 gif certificate & $20.00 gift certificate
Just Legs - Xmas Baby 2 pairs socks, New Yeor’s Baby t set booties

Mary Kay (Rose Masan) - Xmas Baby & New Yeor'’s Baby] hand cream and free facial each
Mantiqua - Xmas Baby & New Year's Baby! puir of socks each

A Buck or Two - Xmas Baby & New Year's Baby 1 gifl puck each

Hoirbusters - Xmas Baby & New Year's Boby! free shampoo | free conditioner
Carter's Jewellers - New Year's Baby 1 ree engraving certified for plaque only
Hair Gallery - Xmas Baby & New Yeor’s Baby 1 free calendar ond comb (styling)
Mead Johnson - lew Year's Baby 1 Teddy bear

Pfizer Lid - New Year's Baby | large destin tream

Guardian Angle’ - Xmas Baby & New Yeor’s Boby I knitted outfit each

Terrace Standard - Advertisement of Xmos Baby & New Year's Baby of 97

A special thanks from the Welcome Wagon hostess of Terrata ta all the spansors that donated to the Xmas
Baby Program ond New Year's Baby Program! ete Dae

eo .

Ieee ome, ee eee me