Beware those hears

A solemn oath

It's that time of year again and you

had better take the right
precautions\NEWS A12

They're back

The northwest greets new
Canadians with ceremony and
food\COMMUNITY B1

Those bad boys of floor hockey
dre once more doing their
thing\SPORTS B6

WEDNESDAY
MAY 13, 1998

S TAN DARD wat

OUR MILDER El Nino winter may leave us
wilh a pleasant after effect this summer: fewer
mosquitoes.

The key is whether the next month or two
remains relatively dry, says University of
Northern B.C. forest entomology professor Staf-
fan Lindgren.

If it stays as dry as it’s been through much of
April, he adds, there'll be a whole lot less buzz-
ing aad biting during barbecue season.

“We had quite a wet spring last year,’”
Lindgren says. ‘‘That is mosquito heaven. As
lang as you maintain puddles and flooded areas
and those Kinds of slow moving or stagnant

water bodies you get mosquito production like ~

crazy.”?
And the key months in which ponds, puddles

and the like serve as mosquito hatcheries are
April, May and June,

FI Nino meant an unseasonably warm winter,

meaning a lower than normal snowpack in the
mountains, and therefore less runoff.

That’s keeping things dricr on the ground, and
the weather this spring has also been on the dry
side.

“If you get a really dry spring they have
nowhere to breed and the papulation drops sig-
nificantly,” Lindgren added.

But, he said, the eggs don’t die just because
there’s one dry summer.

They can hatch years in the future, whenever
there’s enough water where the eggs are, and
lead to a vicious mosquilo season.

Lindgren noted the bugs can breed almost

anywhere, adding that old tires laying around .

with water in them often make ideal hatcheries,

Although the warm, dry weather helps fend
off mosquitoes, it also fucls the attack of forest
pests on trees in the woods.

Dry weather means less water for trees and

_ that reduces the amount of sap in them —~ the

prime defeuce against things like the mountain
pine beelle.

“IE it’s nice and wet and they’re not suffering
any moisture stress they can defend themselves,
and insects — bark bectles — will not do as
well when it’s cold,” Lindgren added.

“Tf it gets hot and dry the insects are active
and they attack the trees and the trees have less
of an ability to defend themselves.””

» Water wizard

THATS TERRACE Blueback Jenine Barton, middle swimmer,

weil on her way to one of her best times at the Keyano Interna-

tional swim meet in Edmonton April 30 to May 5. Barton took first

in three categories in her 11-12 age group and that elevated her
4

to the status of having national rankings. The Bluebacks were
well represented at the meet which is considered a highlight
event for young swimmers. See Page Bé for more on the meet.
PHOTO COURTESY HAROLD DEMETZER.

Thornhill residents organize

to derail dump expansion

THORNHILL AREA residents are mobilizing
to fight any possibility of expanding the Thorn-
hill dump to serve all of Terrace.

That’s exactly what they fear is going to hap-
pen in the wake of a report that indicates up-
grading the Thornhill dump would be far
cheaper over the long run than the other identi-
fied option — building a new dump just cast of
Onion Lake.

That report will be the subject of an open
house May 27 from noon to 9 p.m, where
Kitimat-Stikine regional district. officials and
consultants will outline the findings.

‘We want to give area residents an op-
portunity to meet one-on-one with the individu-
als who carried out the. studies for us,’’ ex-
plained regional district works manager Roger
Toons.

But already Art Goodwin and other people
who live near the dump suspect regional district
officials have designed that as a lengthy walk-in
walk-out session, rather than a pubtic meeting,
to minimize public opposition.

“This method of going to the public raust
have come right out of the book of Lenin,”
Goodwin said. “Right off the bat we’re fighting
a losing battle,”

Nearby residents say turning the Thornhill
landfill into a sub-regional dump for the greater

Terrace arca will resull in increased litter on
their properties, more traffic, and lower proper-
ty values.

And Goodwin says many residents fear in-
creased leachate from the dump could poison
Thornhill creek, whose headwaters are just
downstream from the dump.

“I'm totally scared of what they’re doing to
that creek not just now but for many many years
into the future,’’ he said.

Tooms noted that leachate from the dump
right now is ending up in nearby wetlands.

“The leachate that the landfill is producing is
being treated by mother nature,’” he said. ‘For
us to continue landfilling there with Terrace and
area we recognize that it would be betler for us
to engineer a facility thal would collect and treat
the leachate prior to disposal.”

The proposals to build a new dump serving
the entire town go hand in hand with plans to
close the Terrace dump within a year.

The study by Associated Engineering indi-
cates upgrading the Thornhill dump would cost
taxpayers about $27 a tonne to operate, or about
$513,000 a year, :

The Onion Lake site would cost about $40 a
tonne, or $763,000 a year on average,

That’s nearly three times the present cost of
$240,000 a year to operate both the Terrace and

Thomhill dumps.

If Kitimat were persuaded to use the site at
Onion Lake as well, the operation cosi to Ter-
race and area taxpayers could fall to $30.47 per
tonne.

Tooms said public opinions will be collected
at the May 27 meeting and through other means.

An advisory committec wiil likely meet in late
June to discuss potential sites.

He said the committee’s recommendation
should come ta the regional district board for a
vote in the latter half of the year.

Construction would likely begin next year.

Goodwin said another issue is a regional dis-
trict proposal to adjust the buffer zone surround-
ing the dump in which development is
restricted.

He said that will prevent some land owners
from subdividing their property.

“We don’t feel we should have to supply a
buffer zone for a public dump,’’ Goodwin said.
“Tt puts our land value down. It docsn’t enable
us to turn our land off in the way other people
could,’

Regional district economic development of-
ficer Andrew Webber said the proposed
changes to the buffer zone are relatively minor,
adding that anyone wanting to subdivide prop-
erty in the area would have to undergo a rezon-

ing anyway.

dy,

YOU MIGHT not be seeing a lot of this guy thls sum-.
mer. Thanks to El Nino, the mosquito population may
be smaller than has been traditionally the case. Drier
weather isn't conducive to mosquito populations.

Board turns |
down motion
on condoms

ADVOCATES OF CONDOMS in schools say they’re dis-
appointed the request was turned down by the school
board. . ,

Although the idea of having condoms in junior and
senior secondary schools was approved by the board’s ed-
ucation commiitec, the board itself voted 6-2 against doing
io at a mecting May 6 in Stewart.

Trustees Gary Tumer from Thombill and Charlie
Willson from the Hazeltons were the tvo who voted in
favour. Schooi board trusice Marg Brown was not in at-
tendance.

Terrace school board trustee Stewart Christensen was
one board member who voted against the proposal.

‘‘Morally [ disapprove of that approach,’’ Christensen
said. ‘There are many parents who don’t want coudoms in_
schools, eilher.’’ .

He said schools weren't the right places to save students
from pregnancies, AIDS and sexually transmitted discases
because they are only open nine months of the year for five
days a week, :

Although condoms are available al drug stores, students -
have said they'd be embarassed to buy them there. -
Christensen said the students would probably be more em- :
barased about buying condoms in front of peers and em-
ployees at the schools. — ‘

He also predicted a close vote on a motion now before
city council to put condom machines in city buildings.

Terrace resident Sarah de Lecuw, who brought the issue
to the board’s attention last March, said she was dis-
appointed by the decision.

“Ts a crying shame,” said de Leeuw, who works at the
Terrace Women’s Resource Centre. ‘It's a shame that the
members of the board aren’t listening to recommendations
of the (school district’s cducation) committee and the
voices of the community.”

High pregnancy and STD rates in the area worry de°
Leeuw, “I don’t know what it'll take to make people real-'
ize this is about kids’ lives,’’ she said.

Frank Rowe, head of the Terrace teacher's union, was:
also disappointed with the decision.

“]’'m disappointed because I think the reasons of the mo-.
tion were valid,’’ he said of the education committce’s mo-..
tion which indicated students would have more privacy in:
getting condoms in school and that providing them is a;
way to prevent disease and unwanted pregnancies. :

Rowe noted that condoms aren’t a big issue in Prince,
Rupert and Smithers after years of being available in:
schools. ‘Its about getting over the hurdle of implementa-'
tion,’ Rowe said. ‘And then it’s relatively smooth sailing;
after that,’” ,

City votes to install.
condom machines |

CONDOM MACHINES will be put in washrooms in city
operated buildings like the pool, arena and library.
City council voted 4-2 Monday night to instal] the machines in
its public buildings. :
Voting in favour were councillors Olga Power, David Hull,
Linda Hawes and Rich McDaniel, :
Opposed were councillors Val George and Ron Vanderlee.

waeee

“Other communities in the province have had this for 20 .

years,” snid Power, adding “anything to reduce the rate of teen
pregnancy or AIDS is worth it.” ,

Hawes, Hull and McDaniel also said their concern for the
health of the city’s youth overrode other considerations.

Vanderlee suid he believed condoms were sufficiently avail-
able elsewhere in town to people who might want them.

“If you put them in public places not only will they be avail-
able to high school age children, they'd also be available to
younger children,” said George. .

Mayor Jack Talstra did not vote - and would only have done,sa
in the event of a tie — but later indicated he was less than enthusi-
astic about the council resolution.

Continued Page A2

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