™

Natives to get boost

Land claims could figure in the
province’s new $2 billion forest »
renewal plan/NEWS A3.

swimmer triumphant

| The approaching Skeena zone
| drama festival features a number
of plays/COMMUNITY BL

Garth Coxford shook off an ness
_and did well at a recent swim
| meet/SPORTS C1

WEDNESDAY
APRIL 20, 1994

Jet faced

By JEFF NAGEL
PASSENGERS ON a.1990 Cana-
dian Airlines northern Hight faced
landing on a road or a field be-
cause of an extreme fuel shorlage,
a preliminary federal government
report indicates.

When the Bocing 737 with 63
crew and passengers finally made
it into the Smithers airport, there
was just six minutes of fuel left,
the Transportation Safety Board
of Canada report says.

Troubles on the Oct. 11 flight
began after jt tried to land in Ter-

race after first touching down in
Smithers on a scheduled run from
Vancouver,

Bad weather in Terrace pre-
vented the aircraft from landing
despite its crew making several
altempts. It then returned to
Smithers.

But by the time the plane ar-
rived over Smithers a snow squall
obscured the airport there,

The report says the. pilot then
made several attempts to touch
down in Smithers before finally
force-landing on the runway in

weather conditions well below
what’s authorized for landing.

It characterized as “extensive
manocuvering’’ the attempts to
land before the forced landing did
took place.

“The aircraft landed with ap-
proximately six minutes of fuel
remaining,”’ said the report. ‘The
pilot was considering an off-
airport forced landing in the event
that this approach was not suc-
cessful,”’

The report suggests Smithers
should have been cancelled as the

x Suave and sophisticated

ACTOR RUSS Sangster looks to be getting the
upper hand on things with Catherine Croucher in
this scene from “The Hand. That Cradles the
Rock," the latest production of Terrace Little
Theatre, The question is whether this scene is

real or whether it is a dream. You'll have to at-
tend the dinner theatre production — April 15-17
— of April 22-24 — to find out. Tickets are avail-
able at Carter’s. This'll be the final regular sea-
son production of Terrace Little Theatre,

plane’s alternate destination in
light of information available
about the weather there when at-
tempts to land in Terrace failed.

“Despite having been given the
weather for Smithers, the pilots
did not recognize that the condi-
flons had deteriorated below
alternate limits and that it was
necessary to change the Hight
planned alternate,’ the report
says.

‘The operator’s flight dispatch
(based in Calgary) was aware that
the weather had deteriorated after

Gold company to spend
$20 million near Stewart

LAC MINERALS of Toronto
wants to spend close to $20 mil-
lion this year on ils Red Mountain
gold property near Stewarl.

More than half that ls to Further -

develop ore reserves at the loca-
tion while the remainder - is
targeted for pre-production wark
should anticipated resulis prove
oul, says project manager George
Hope.

Lac has spent nearly $20 mil-
lion over the past several years on
the property which carries indica-
tions of containing two million
ounces of gold.

Red Mountain is one of two
major projects being underlaken
by Lac. The other is in Chile,

“We're going to be picking up
where we Icft off last year,’ said
Hope of the 1994 program,

Lac will have four of its own
employces at the site, as many as
20 contract. geologists and. other
experts and up to 25 people work-

ing for Tonto. Mining, the compa- .

ny doing the development work.
Tvl also be using the Smithers-

based firm of J.T. Thomas Drill-

If all goes according to plan, Lac Minerals wants to sub-
mit its Red Mountain gold mine plan to the provincial
government for approval this fall.

ing.

“Our trigger point is two mil-
lion ounces (of gold) of provable
reserves. Wilh that kind of
reserve, we can than work on
making a viable mine,"? sald
Hope.

If all goes according lo plan,
Lac wants this fall to submit lis
official mine development plan lo
the provincial government.

It’s anticipating a quick ap-
proval turn around period. of six
months, leading toa start of con-
struction in 1995,

That six month period is ‘ihe
length of time it took to approve
Homestake Canada’s . Eskay
Creck gold minc and Lac: is
aiming for the same, said Hope, ©

“We. anticipate on having our
approval in. April (1995). That
ties in with getting going for. the

next summer season,”’ he added.

Hope did caution that develop-
ment. plans first depend’ upon
proving up an adequate resource
upon which to develop a mine.

A key part of the plan revolves
around milling the ore, Lac has
two options — build its own mill
or use Westmin’s Premier mill,
also near Stewart.

Both options are now being
welghed for the advantages, dis-
advantages and cosis, said Hope.

“If we have to go to another
mill, it will be to Wesimin,*’ he
said.

One . disadvantage of using
Westmin's Premier mili. is that

ore-bearing trucks. will have to
first go through Stewart and then -
dn the. mine and two shifis a day
- ata mill if one is 8 built 8 at the loca-

Hyder, Hope continued...
“We estimate there. would be

60 trucks a day going one way...

There may not be a problem of
space in Stewart, but Hyder could
be more difficult,’’ he said,

That’s because there is only one
roule from Stewart to the Premier
mill -— night down the gravel
road that also serves as Hyder’s
mainstreel,

The Red Mountain location is
11km north of Stewart on Hwy37
and then 15km along a logging
road in the Bilter Creek Valley.

A tramway leading to the mine
location spanning more. than
1,000 metres from the base of the
mountain is planned. -

Employees will be taken up and
down to their jobs on the. tram-
way. _

Size and type of the. tramway
will ullimately depend upon ore
being milled at the mine site or at
another location.

Depending upon the size of a
mine, if it. gocs ahead, Lac
estimates it will need a workforce
of 150 working two shifts a day

tlon. 2

the flight departed for Terrace but
did not ensure that the crew was
nolified of the need to change the
alternate,’ the report continued.

A safety board official declined
to comment on what should have
happened, saying the preliminary
teport should be soon followed
by a final document prepared by
the board.

But Richard Newcombe did ex-
plain the term ‘‘ off-airport forced
landing.’”

“There’s not much to say. It
means landing in a field, road or

75¢ PLUS 5¢ GST
/VOLL7NO. 4

landing on road, field

whatever,’” he said,
kkk kk

Skeena MP Mike Scott is
demanding federal officials say
when they will release the final
report and recommendations. ~

“I am amazed that after three
and a half years all we have is a
one page preliminary report on an
incident thal was potentially life
threatening to 63 people,’’ said
Scott, who asked for the report on
behalf of a constituent.

Cont’d Page A11

School meal
program

in doubt -

THE SCHOOL MEAL program
for children at two Terrace
Schools has become a losing
proposition,

School trustees say they may

have to axe the program if the
situation doesn’t improve.
- Nearly 200 lunches a day are
[being provided to students at
‘Clarence Michiel Elementary and
‘E,T. Kenney Primary schools.

That’s up from about 150 lun-
ches per day last year but as-
sislant secretary treasurer Bruce
Matthews says there has been no
corresponding increase in contri-
butions from parents.

A grant from the provincial
government to pay the lion’s
share of the program is doesn’t
cover full casts.

Parents who want lunches pro-
vided for their children sign up at
the beginning of the year.

There is no requirement on the
part of parents or guardians to
pay. Those who can do make
contributions do so in such a
fashion that their identities are
nol known beyond the program
co-ordinaior. More needy
families don’t pay.

The shortfall so far is $5,400
but school district officials pro-
ject a potential $35,100 operating
deficit by the end of the school

year.

remaining surplus’ for. the “pro

gram and leave a debt of $16,500

that would have to come cut df
another part of the budget. -

Trustee Laurie Mitchell said the
program was begun with the un-
derstanding It would be reviewed
if it lost money.

“"We were not going to take ed-
ucation dollars from other pro-
grams to support this meal pro-
gram,” she said, ‘‘And [| think
we're getting close to the point
where we have to make a deci-
sion.”

Most of the money for the meal

program - now in its second year

— comes from an $80,000
provincial government — grant.
Contributions average about $300
per month and so far only account
fora fraction of the revenue.

“If people are supportive of the
program they may find a way to
pay for it,” school board
chairman Jolin Pousette said.

Coppersids Foods currently has
the contract to provide the ser-
vice, at a cost of $112,600 for the
full year.

Trustees suggested the program
will probably end when the
moncy runs out — likely around
the first week of June.

That would eat up ) the disirict’s .

SENIORS ARE going. to

‘feel the brunt of city efforts

to reduce taxpayers’ subsidy
of recreation Facilities.

Council has approved
arena and pool fee hikes that
will sce seniors pay between
55 and 70 per cent more for
a skate or a swim. The in-
creases take hold July 1,

Public skating charges for
seniors jump to $1.85 from
$1.15 and strip tickets go to
$14 from $9.

The hikes are identical for
single admissions and strip
jlickets in the pool while a
‘six month’, pass will cost
senlors $72, up $26,

While those 65 years and
older face the biggest per-
centage change, everyone
will find themselves paying
more with most running
around the 16 per cent mark.

Council recreatlon ¢om-

- explained the increases were:
part of an effort to ‘reduce
the operating deficit on both.
facilities. ose 2

ars

‘Seniors feel
fee hike bite

ceded council had to ex-

Hull sald the recreation de-
' partment had been able to.
miltce chairman David Hull :

Traditionally, revenues for
both facilities have fallen far
short of the cost of running
them.

- Hull pointed out even if
_these latest efforts achleve |
their aims, cost recovery on -
ihe pool will be only 40 per —
cent while taxes will cover
half the costs of the pool. -

“We have to try to keep
the overall tax burden down
before we ‘tax ptople out of
their homes,’’ he pointed
out, ,

‘However, he also can-

ercise caution. Given recrea-
tion facility users were also
taxpayers, ‘You've got to °
be careful you don't double —
tax peoplic.”’ &
As far as control of ex-—
penditure were concemed,

show it was doing a good

job there.
“Administration « has ” a”

clear pictiire of whore’ ovely” 7

dollar ta oe he added,” *s