New ice cost set at $4.7m TERRACE —- An architect's estinate says a proposed accond sheet of ice Yor the city would cost $4,7 million. And that’s too much, says one member of council, "Terrace can't afford it,” §- DACs comimittes member Danny Sheridan's said of architect Royce Condle’s figure. Bue that doesn't mean the pro ject Is dead, he added, Sheridan said a close Jook-at the plans on which the figure Js based would be necessary before assegs- Ing the future of the project. “‘T don’t know if that’s the cost of a sccond sheet of ice or a sec- ond arena,”” he explained. However, he suspect the cust of basic engineering work, piping and concreting necessary for any ice surface would be high. Orenda eTroup to meet TERRACE — A_ committee being set up to monitor the Orenda Forest Products project will bave its first meeting the third week of March. The committee — made up of regional district, native and government officials — is a re- quirement of provincial approval in principle given to the project last year, It’s to oversee various aspects of the project’s construction and then operation. | Regional district economic de- velopment officer. Andrew Web- ber said the regional district has already named Lakelse director Sandy Sandhals to sit on the com- “mittee “ Also chosen is Bert Orleans from the Lakelse Community As- socialion. Representatives from the Kit- sumkalum, Kitselas and Haisla bands have yet to be announced. The City of Terrace has named its economic development officer Peter Monteith and mayor Jack Talstza to the committee. Webber said the commitice has already received copies of a ground water study done by Orenda, That study gives information on the water supply underneath the area on Which Orenda wants to build. There had been worrics that Orenda's water requirements would affect surrounding creeks. Provincial officials have not yet been named to the committee. Area natives hear about Orenda job prospects, Page A10 Spending hike no help TERRACE — The $100 million increase in education spending by the NDP government probably won’l mean any increase in dis- cretionary spending. for the Ter- race school board, says its secrelary-treasurer. . : Two-thirds of the increase is money Victoria must spend to cover expected increases in enrol- ment this year, said Barry - Piersdorff. The rest is targeted to specific programs —- for inner city schools, to support Year 2000 ed- ucation reforms. - Already? he Officially spring is still a q long .way off, : builders aren’t waiting. — NEWS + A3 Sheridan also pointed out the days when the city could expect provineial grants for such projects were apparenily gone, Provincial Lotlery/GO BC, grants used to provide up to one- third of ihe. cost of. constructing similar recreational facilities. But those grauts were axcd last year by Victosia. Although at that time the govermmcot had talked of bring- ing in a replacement grant system ‘for the ‘93-04 financial year, Sheridan said that seems unlikely given what premier. Mike Har- court and provincia] finance min- ister Glen Clark have sald about the province's finances, ‘We'd bave t assume we'd getnathing,”’ Sheridan sald, In thal case the vily would have w cover The full cost and $4,7 million would virtually exhaust what borruwing power it had Jef under the Municipal Act, While having sufficient borrow: ‘ing power was one thing, be pointed out deciding whether to use It aH Was another, In any case, he added, the ques- liun would have t go to referendum before any borrowing was donc. The $4.7 miltion suggested price tag is approximately $1 mil- lion more than the Second Sheet association predicted when it first made its plich to council last March. A report submitted to counci] at that tine estimated the cost at be- tween $3.5 and $4 million. However, recreation director Steve Scott was not surprised by Condie’s estimatc. Scott pointed out Whistler had recently built a ‘barebones’? ice Surface at a cost of approximately $3.3 million. Ju Temace's case, he said the extra mililon dollars reflected the design and location of the pro- posed second sheet Because the plan.wag to attach it wo the existing arena the in- creased (otal capacily of a joint slructure meant, for example, in- crcased = washroom facilities would be needed. Stonn drainage on what wil) be the site of the new ice surface would have lo be removed and re- placed, And parking spaces lost to the expansion would alsa have to be replaced, 30 Asa result, the block of moncy that school districls get for each Student enrolled only increases from $5,661 to $5,700. There is no change in the real moncy in the provincial block be- cause all the increase is targeted,’’ said Plersdorff.. It amounts to a budget freeze for most’ school districts because there is no baseline increase pro- vided to cover inflation, he said. “After consideration. of cost pressures and the implications of various alternatives, we have de- cided that an economic adjust- but . local COMMUNITY + B1 ment cannot be provided for the coming year,”’ education minister Anita Hagen stated in a letter to the school board, Piersdorff says that meats trustees will have difficulty find- ing moncy in their budget for teachers’ salary increases, as well as.a Whole host of other inflation- ary increases. ‘'That is going to make jt very challenging for us as we go. into the budgeting process,” he said. The district won't know the specific amount of money it will get from Victoria until Feb, 25, Barry Plersdorff ‘Terr race! SAS QUATCH . Mythical “alive, well and. living. in | "FEATURE « ‘ AS TERRACE -- The cost of the damage is bad enough, but it’s the idea of someone firing off a pellet gun in the downtown core that really has the city’s maintenance foreman worried, Brad North said four panes of glass in three different bus sheliers have been destroyed in the past week. In one case, he added, the damage clearly showed a pellet gun had been used, It also appeared the shots were being fired from a pass- ing vehicle. North conceded it’s not pos- sible to say with certainty what causcd the damage to the shelter on Lakelse Ave. in Downtown shooting scare causes concem front of the Terrace Shopping Centre because the glass shal- tered on impact. However, given all the inci- dents occurred in a short time span, he suggested a drive-by shooting ‘was. the. most likely explanation. North said the idea of some- one firing off a gun, even a pellet gun, in the downtown areca was a real cause for con- cer. ; The destroyed panes were all half-inch tempered ~ glass “which usually takes a direct hit by a rock,” he pointed out. North. estimated the cost of replacement at approximately $1,000, DA Hope ‘TERRACE — Terrace Regional Health Care Society officials ex- pect good news on their request for money to operate a CT scan -machine when health minister Elizabeth Cull visits here March 9. .The socicly has spent the last month sending information to the provincial government to back its proposal. Officials were to have met with Cull this past Monday in Victoria but that was postponed because she is touring the. province to ex- ‘plain the new plan to change the way health care operates. “We're working to have an agreenient in principle in place by March 9 so that when the minister comes, she only has to give her agreemenl,”’ . said Leisinger, chief executive officer of the Terrace Regional Health Care Society last week. Three years of community ef- fort resulted several weeks ago in the Dr REM. Lee Hospital Foundation passing its goal of raising $600,000 to Purchase a scanner, But the ministry must approve the hospital and an annual operat- ing budget of $230,000. “We're new at the CT scan game and the ministry has raised questions that need answering,”’ said Leisinger of discussions now underway. A CT scan machine is a prized diagnostic tool, offering a three- dimensional image superior to thal generated by standard x-rays. Northwest residents now have o TERRACE — It will be some time yet efore Terraceview Lodge can respond to requests by workers for a wage increase. Michael Leisinger of the Ter- race Regional Health Cure Society says it has no idea of how much money — if any — will be provided by the provin- cial government. British Columbia Govern- ment Employees Union (BCGEU) members at Ter- raceview recently voted in favour of a strike to back their demands. They, and workers at three other long term care facilities in ihe province, want pay equity and Increases equivalent to wages paid at institutions run ‘creature Michael ° nearly $150,000 in renovations at s rise for CT scan go to Prince George or to Van- couver for the service. Part of the saciety proposal keys on the saving to‘patients of transportation and accommeda- tion costs if a scanner is ‘installed at Mills Memorial Hospital. The money raised by the Lee foundation is sufficient to pur- chase a good mid-range scanner but a better quality one can be had for approximately $150, 000 more, said Leisinger: , A high - quality mid-range scanner can be. updated. more easily, We're suggesting that the ministry top off what we need: to purchase one,’’ he said. Fees for a radiologist using the CT scan would be covered by the payments from the provincial Medical Services Plan. The sociely estimates demand at between 1,200 and 2,500 users a year. The prospect of a CT scan ma- chine in Terrace brightened late last year when Prince Rupert hos« pital switched to supporting rath- er than opposing, That came after a review of northwest health care’ services said there should be a cr ‘ma- . chine in Terrace, Health care society chainnan Lacl McKeown said last.. week that putting a CT scan machine in Terrace fits the province’ ’s plan to decentralize health care, “Support of this project mikes valid the new: direction the provincial government wants to take. This would work toward a regional] health care plan,’ she said. T’ view employees wait for wage word by the provincial government. “7 would hope we would hear something soon from the. pro- vince? sald Letsinger last week, “We'll probably have to wait for the wage re-openers in the three biggest health -care unions for some kind of sign.”’ “We are right now running a balanced budget at Ter- raceview Lodge and the only wage incresse we can afford. is what will be provided for by the - ministry (of health),” he added. : There’s been no date set to. resume ‘bargaining and the- BCGEU has no plans to serve strike notice. . The BCGEU represents 57 full time and part time workers at Terraceview Lodge.