Think small The local Community Resources Board is worried by Kitlope implications/NEWS A5 | The Volunteer Bureau continues. Yolunteer power to grow by leaps and bounds/COMMUNITY B1 Mat magic big in their first | Terrace’s girl. wrestlers came up tournament/SPORTS B11 " WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 14, 1994 R 75¢ PLUS Bt GST VOL. 7 NO. ae. ~STAN ren D- YOUR SNOW © shovelling suspicions are correct, More snow fell last month than in any November since the airport weather office be- gan keeping records in 1955. The 182.5cm of white stuff broke the previous record of 167cm in November 1975 and is four times the average snowfall for the month, “We're not running at 4 record pace for December but HIGH TECH surgical laser is used by Dr, Martin Van Lierda to cure problem snoring, The procedure is relatively painless. He's pictured here practising the technique on a potatoe. The laser unit also has a range of other surgical applications. Doc starts to zap snoring patients By JEFF NAGEL A LOCAL DOCTOR is now armed with a laser in the balile against snoring. Ear, nose and _ throat Specialist Dr. Martin Van Lierde is zapping his patients wilh a high-tech carbon dioxide surgical laser to end their problem snoring. Van Lierde has shelled out $55,000 for the Sharplan 1020 unit, which is only the third of its kind in B.C. Some of us snore because the palette — a flap of skin at the back of the throat — gets looser and floppier as we prow older, When we snooze, it tends.to flap around in the wind, ‘About 20 per cent of men Snore at age 20,’? Van Lierde says. ‘‘At age 60, about 60 per cent of men snore.’* Conventional —_anti-snoring surgery involved cutting into the palette to reduce its size, and removing the uvula — the dangly bit that hangs down at the back. That method was catremely painful, was done under gen- eral anaesthetic and required about 10 days off work, Van Lierde says. The new laser technique can be done in a few minutes in the doctor's office — under local anaesthetic — and re- quires no hospital stay or time off work. ; Van Lierde says the laser is used to scar part of the palette, forming scar tissue and causing it to retract, open- ing the airway. “It takes three to five sit- tings to eliminate the snor- ing,’’ Van Lierde said of the procedure. About 20 per cent of men snore at ‘age 20. At age 60, about 60 per cent of men snore. So far five local patients have ‘come forward to end their snoring days. Not surprisingly, however, the provinciat Medical Ser- vices Plan docsn't cover all anti-snoring surgery. Only the serious cases are covered. Others determined to put an end to their siibring will have to pay about $1,000 out of pocket for the surgery. tions... Those wko would snicker at the thought that snoring is scrious simply don’t know the facts, says Van Lierde. Snoring can reduce the amount of deep sleep you get, he explained, because it tends to interrupt the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) phase of sleep. , In children, says Van Lierde, that can result in a: poor attention span and can lead to behavioural problems. In adults, it can reduce the efficiency of adult workers. And some snorets lave even died in their sleep of heart failure brought on by the par- tial blockage of air passages. ‘We assess them {fo see how serious It is,”’ Van Lierde sald. Patients sleep overnight hooked up to various monitors to determine the severlty of thelr condition. Previously northwestemers had to go to- Vancouver — a number of times — for such treatment. The new machine should make it easier for patients to get treatment here. Van Lierde says the ma- chine has a varicty of other precision surgery we're getting more than normal,’ added weather of- fice official Dan Morrison. November did not set a record for precipitation — the term for all moisture that falls from the sky. “The pattern bas changed where we would see a weather system go through and have snow tum into rain,” said Morrison, “We haven't had cold tempcratures by the mean temperature is lower than White stuff sets record normal,’” he said. The snow’s so deep on the Onion Lake cross couniry ski trails that the trail signs are going to be raised so skiers won’t have to bend down to look at the maps. Shames Mountain, manager Scott Siemens said 450cm of snow fell in November. He’s predicting the mountain will have the most snow since 1990, its first year of operation. applica Councillors delay mill kiln decision By JEFF NAGEL BRAUN STREET residents have won a reprieve in their battle to keep Terrace Precut from expanding further. City council voted Monday night to put off until January 23 a decision on whether to -allow the small sawmill to build a dry kiln next to the residential neighbourhood. The motion to table the ‘issue passed by a 3-2 vote, with councillors Ed Graydon, Ruth Hallock and Rich McDaniel in favour, and David Huli and Yat George opposed. Councillor Gordon Hull voluntarily left the table when residents accused him of being in conflict-of-interest. Two of the 12 trucks contracted or leased by Don Hull & Sons Contracting Ltd. are owned by Terrace Precut owner Mo Takhar. Hull maintained there was no conflict "’ because he pays Takhar for services, not the. other way around but ‘decided to leave to avoid any perception of conflict. Council's decision was a major reversal from Inst week when it appeared Graydon recommend council grant the permit. Most councillors Monday night said they had been prepared to accept the recommendation and grant the ‘Ed Graydon permit on the basis of a report by Urban Systems planning consultant Bruce Anderson. The city had asked Anderson to give an opinion on whether a dry kiln is a permitted use in an area zoned light industrial. Anderson said that assuming Terrace Precut is an acceptable light industrial use, then a dry kiln would be as well. But residents said that's an assumption that shoulda't be made, They noted that they -had asked council to determine whether the mill itself fits the zoning. That argument was s enough to sway councillors Ruth Hallock and Rich McDaniel, who voted with Graydon to lable the issue. “When the report came in I was sold on it,” Hallock said. But she said the. residents arguments have pursuaded her would be the only councillor opposing the development permit application. “It has encroached far enough into the neighbourhood,” Graydon told the cily's planning commitiee _ Thursday. ““By allowing this we are allowing it to encroach further ‘into™ that . neighbourhood." He said he could not vote for something that he might look back in shame upon 20 years from now, | Graydon backed residents in their contention that any further development of the site will strengthen Takhar's hand in seeking future expansion of the same site. “The more he invests in this site, the more difficult it is for him to relocate,” ° addéd resident Kaeleen Foote. =” Graydon said the case will set a precedent, sending the signal that “*neighbours don't have a say in their own neighbourhood and that a developer can bulldoze his way through." Committee members Gordon Hull and David Hull voted 2-1 against’ Graydon David Hull said it's possible council didn’t ask the right. - question of the consultant, Gov’t approves bucks © for teleradiology test THE NORTHWEST will get $400,000 to carry out a pilot project in teleradiology. The hi-tech method of transmitting x-ray images is expected to-help remote areas because it will allow a specialist far away to quickly interpret the x-ray. Health minister Paul Ramsey says the. proposal from the northwest's interim - regional health board is such a gocd idea, he wants to see il done everywhere. And because it's a pilot project for the rest of B.C.,.it won't come. out of the northwest's share of the Closer To Home Fund, as the board had originally proposed. More. money will be provided if needed to.make teleradiology work, Ramsey promised. . Ramsey says “there's -still $1.035 million set aside for, the horthwest. Se “SE look: forward: to: ‘seeing smore.. proposals, from: northwest urea," he said. Ramsey was here Monday to officially designate the northwest regional health board and to appoint five people to the board. The new addilions are Terrace’s Houston's. Daniel Parish, Telegraph Creek's Alice Hamlin-Auger; Prince. Rupert's Victor. Prystay, and Margo Hearne, ‘from the “Queen — Charlotte Islands, . But the Nass. Valley is still ‘ one big question mark. -Nisga’a leaders have been - demanding Victoria let them form a separate regional health board, distinct from the northwest.: Ramsey, however, wants. the: Nispa'a to agree’ to join. the northwest board, because the Nass is.. inextricably linked to the northwest in terms of ~. health’ services: On’ Monday, Larisa Tarwick,, . Ramsey . fejected the Nisga'a tequest:to of arena”: he asked. “The proposal for a ‘eglonal one health board just for the Nass is not on," Ramsey said. “It is not allowed within ‘the legislation." Nisga'a Valley Health Board chairman Peter Squites’ said the Nisga'a will send a representative to the northwest regional health board to act as an ‘observer only. “Why should we give bnek . what limited autonomy we've. already gained?" he said. ° - The Nisga'a will meet again in January with Ramsey. Squires sald ~~ smaller communities -- the Nass: in - particular -- will suffer as-the - _ larger centres battle it out for © ~. reglonal services, “*Look’ at. the infighting: that's already happened, " he said. - Designalion of ‘regional’ -hospitals, nuclear medicine,’ ~ and: orthopedic service. have ali pitted parts of the : region against each other, he said,” we going to have dn: that’ kind eerie Mogae eee tas