4 Terrace Review — Wednesday, Jan. 29, 1986

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A changing
school system

The various disputes Terrace and District Teachers
Association have with our school district are com-
mon to other parts of North America,

Long suffering taxpayers are giving the thumbs-
down sign to the building of new schools and the hir-
ing of more teachers to educate the boomlet wave of
another generation of students.

School districts in different areas of the U.S. are
experimenting with utilizing schools on a 12-month
basis. Students are split into three groups with two
groups being taught while the third group is on vaca-
tion. Students attend school for four months, then
have two months off. The school day is extended to
make up for the loss of 20 school days.

This system seems to work well, but like any new
concept, many parents and teachers are reluctant to

change.

School districts have found by utilizing existing
schools on a 12-month basis, they are better able to
keep class sizes to a reasonable level. Teachers in
School District 88 will probably have their concerns
addressed within the next few years by a changing
society and a changing school system.

M.S. T.

Funds released

Approval of a further
allotment of $285,750
from the provincial
Habitat Conservation
Fund has been announc-
ed by Environment Min-
ister Austin Pelton.

The minister noted
that well over $2 million
has been made available
from the fund in the cur-
rent fiscal year for the

Canadians are becoming investors

One of the most en-

couraging facts to

emerge in 1985 was the
news that Canadians,
after a lengthy period of
high savings, are again
becoming investors.

This welcome trend
across our country ex-
tends to B.C., and is a
healthy sign and proof
that our decision to im-
plement provincial pro-
rams to encourage new
investment was made at
the right time.

Our Small Business
Venture Capital Cor-
porations (SBVCC) and
our Equity Investment
Plan here in B.C. fit
right in with the national
trend.

Investor interest here
in our province is at a
very high level — we
have approved nine
VCCs to date with
another 12 nearing the
approval stage — and
our Equity Investment
Plan has been very well
received,

To date, investments
are planned in a range of
small business enter-
prises, including process-
ing, secondary manufac-
turing and value-added
wood products like fur-
niture.

The key, of course, to
their success, are tax
credits and incentives for
the people prepared to
make investments all
across our province,

by Premier
Bill Bennett

starting at the communi-
ty level.

New investment in our
small business sector and
in mew secondary and
manufacturing industries
is a key element in our
long-range plan to help
diversify our economy
and lessen our
dependence on our basic
resource industries,

Small business is one
of the most important
job-creation vehicles in
our province and I an-
ticipate that the pattern
which emerged last year
on a national level will be
surpassed in relative
terms here in B.C.

The statistics are en-
couraging. Canadians
raised a record $8.8
billion in new equity last
year, up 20 percent from
the previous year.

This upsurge in invest-
ment stems from the fact
that governments are
now recognizing that
people prepared to risk
capital must be reward-
ed.

At the 1984 First
Ministers’ Conference in
Regina, we asked the
prime minister to imple-
ment a national Equity
Investment Plan to
replace the one operating
in Quebec.

At the same time, I

stated that we were

prepared to move for- -

ward on our own if
mecessary. That in
essence, is why we mov-
ed at the provincial level
and I note that Alberta is
planning a similar pro-
gram.

The policy will pay
dividends all round — to
the people who invest, to
the businesses who can
expand, and to the
British Columbians who
will end up with jobs asa
result.

With investment on
the upswing — a sure
sign of confidence in our
economy — the
challenge facing our
private sector is to
become more productive
and cost-effective.

If we can bring these
ingredients together, we
can all be increasingly
optimistic about our
economic prospects in
terms of growth and job
creation in the years
ahead.

The situation here in
B.C. is of course enhanc-
ed by our tax cuts to
business that are wortha
billion dollars over three
years.

The new investment
that will flow from our
programs, and the ex-
posure that our province
will receive from the
world’s decision-makers
who come here for Expo,
bode well for our future.

enhancement of British
Columbia's wildlife and
freshwater fisheries,

The fund’s major
source of revenue is a $3
surcharge added to basic
hunting, fishing, guiding
and trapping licences.

Transfers of elk to the
Peace River area, Cali-
fornia bighorn sheep
within the Cariboo
district, caribou in the
Chilcotin, and mountain
goat in the Tulameen
area are planned in order
to re-establish the
animals in ranges they
have occupied historical-
ly.

Range involvement
work is slated for the
Okanagan and near
McBride, primarily to
benefit white-tailed and
mule deer, and in
Strathcona Park to
enhance Roosevelt elk
habitat. |

At Logan Lake fences
will be erected to protect
wetland habitat.

At Boundary Bay logs
and debris will be remov-
ed as a first step toward
the restoration of

. foreshore habitat of im-

portance to owls, hawks,
herons, shorebirds and
waterfowl.

Fisheries projects
planned include lake
rehabilitation projects at
Dunalter Lake in the
Skeena region, and
Kiahko Lake near Cran-
brook.

Southwest of Prince
George a small dam will
be built to raise the level
of Shesta Lake, enhanc-
ing its ability to produce
sports fish and adding to
its recreational value.

Letters to Ihe aditar will be
considered for publication
only when signed. Please
include your phone
number. The editar
reserves the right to con.
dense letters. Opinions ex:
pressed are not necessari-
ly those of the Terrace

Review

1

ore sne TFET suet

“The Terrace Review asked:

Should the
-~Kitsumkalum
Ski Hill be closed?

Don McLaren
Yes, as far as I’m
concerned it should
be closed. !f Kit-
sumkalum isn’t get-
ting enough snow to
attract skiers, what’s
the point of keeping
it open? | think the
present location was
a strange place to
put Kitsumkaium in
the first place. |
wouldn't vote for
keeping the moun-
tain open. It is losing
too much money.

Helmut Poellot
My view is that |
always, and will con-
tinue, to go to Hud-
son Bay Mountain in
Smithers. It's the
best mountain we
have .around here. |
think Kitsumkaium is
a lost cause. It does
not get the amount
of snow Hudson Bay
does in the winter. If
people in Terrace got
organized properly,
they could promote
group bus ventures
to Smithers on a
regular basis.

Rick
Schulmeister
I'm not a-skier so am
not really very con-
cerned about Kit-
sumkalum. But my
brother skils and he
goes to Smithers. He
doesn't like Kit-
sumkalum. But the
lack of good snow
conditions on the

No change

in birth rate

TERRACE — For 1985
Mills Memorial Hospital
recorded 437 births, said
hospital directer Shirley
Bently.

Except for 1980, when
480 births were recorded,
there has been no ap-
parent change since 1970
when 440 births were
recorded, Bently said.

AC 40
INteRSECEIONS

mountain doesn't
bother me.

Sheldon Richard

When the future of
Kitsumkalum Is
decided by referen-
dum | hope people
vote to close the
facility. There is no
sense keeping it
open if the mountain
is a money-losing
operation. It should
be pretty obvious
that Kitsumkalum
should be closed.

Floyd Normandy
It’s a hard question.
I'm sure young peo-
ple who are in-
terested in the sport
would have a dii-
ferent opinion than
me — Ino longer ski.
| think there should
be a ski hill available
to local residents but
It should not remain
in operation if it
means a hardship for
taxpayers.

Paulette Dube
| think the location of
the ski site should be
moved to another
area where there is
snow. The kit-
sumkalum develop-
ment is not dolng
any good where it is.

Terrace
Review

Established May 1, 1985
The Terrace Review is published
each Wednesday by Close-Up
Business Services Ltd.

Publisher:
Mark Twyford
Editor:
Maureen Barbour
Advertising:
635-4399 or 635-7840
Production:
Ted Widen
Kim Kimble
Office:
Carrie Oison
Accounting:
Mar] Twyford

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4535 Greig Avenue,
Terrace, B.C.
V8G 1M7
Phone: 635-4339
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