‘AG Terrace Review —— Wednesday, September 4, 1991 ow that the city’s designated observers have seen operating groundwood pulp mills in person, the questions left are what they saw, how well they saw it and whether it was worth it. In mayor Jack Talstra’s words, expressed with a certain amount of concem, "It sounds too good to be true." Talstra’s concer arises from the possibility that the junket to Minnesota may be perceived by some segments of the local public as a whitewash, and in part that can be blamed on the composition of the scouting party. There was hardly anyone who could be termed a wholehearted -sceptic in the bunch, and Dan Eastman was the only pulp mill technical expert on board, with the exception of air quality expert Hoa Le, who was probably somewhat overqualified to fly several thousand miles to examine a plume of steam. Having issued a florid endorsement of the Orenda groundwood mill project only a few minutes after the site selection was announced, the city government is now seen as being predisposed toward having the plant built, whether that perception is accurate or not. The trip may have been worthwhile in allowing our representatives to speak to people in residential areas in the immediate vicinity of the Duluth and Grand Rapids mills, but their approval has to be tempered with the realization that they live in an area that has been the site of heavily polluting industries for decades, and their perception of what is environmentally acceptable might be somewhat different than ours. One thing the trip seems to have established clearly is that the technology involved in Orenda’s proposal is workable, and the mill can probably do what its pro- ponents say it can. The question left after that is more difficult to answer: what sort of managers will Orenda be? It became clear to the Duluth contingent that Lake Superior Industries is a. mode! corporate citizen. It would provide some relief to the minds of many critics if Orenda was more emphatic about establishing an office in one of the local communities. Orenda has been operating in the Northwest for over five years now but is stil! headquartered in West Vancouver. They’ve taken considerable risk bringing this expensive project to its current stage, but the community is also taking a risk if it accepts the plant without assurance that the company is here to stay. , We don’t need another absentee industrial landlord. GLEAN WP YOUR YARD BOB...1TS aes 5 ¢. che Binh dion VICTORIA -- As the days dwin- The crowded middle ground dle down to a precious few before B.C.’s general election must be called, it is not easy to find many Social Credit members prepared ' to bet on this government being re-elected. Even the most optimistic among them are hard-pressed to identify more than 25 or 30 seats that they could win out of the 75 up for grabs. . Not surprisingly, New Demo- cratic Party MLA’s and their Second-class mall registration No. 6896. All matertal (including original art work) appear- ing in the Terrace Review is protectad under Canadian copyright Registration No. 362775 and cannot legally be reproduced for any reason without parmission of the publisher. Errors and omissions. Advertising Is accepted ‘on the condition that in the avent of typographical error, that portion ot the advertis- ing space occupled by the erroneous item will not be charged for, but the batance of the adver- tisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. Advertisers must assume responsibility for ar- rors in any classified ad which Is supplied to the Terrace Review in handwritten form. In compliance with the B.C. Human Rights Act, no advertisement will be published which discriminates againat a person die to age, race, religion, color, sex, nationallty, ancestry or place of origin. Established May 1, 1985 The Terrace Review is published each Wednesday by Close-Up Business Services Ltd. Publisher: Betty Barton Editor: Michael Kelly Staff Reporters: Tod Strachan, Betty Barton National Advertising: Marjorie Twyford _. Local Advertising: Jack Beck Office/Typeseiting: Carrie Olson Production Manager: dim Hall Production: Brian Slater, Charles Costello, George McLean, Gurbax Gill, Ranjit Nizar ‘Accounting: Marj Twyford, Harminder K. Dosanjh Art and Graphics:: Marianne Brorup Weston Mark Twyford, President Close Up Business Services Ltd. 4535 Grelg Avenue, Terrace, B.C. V8G iM7 Phone: 635-7840 Fax: 635-7269 One year subscriptions: in Canada $39.00 Out of Ganada $100.00 Seniors in Terrace and District $20.00 Seniors aut of Terrace and District $33.00 GST will be added to [he above prices. Letters to the editor will be considered for publication only when signed. Please include your telephone number. The editor reserves the right to condense and workers are exuding quiet confi- dence about a victory, while some prominent, long-time Socreds are exuding not-so-quiet pessimism about a defeat. Still, there are factors at work out there which might turn that around to some degree, and most of them focus on media use and manipulation. — Both major parties will, of course, have a series of slick radio and TV ads ready to roll once the official race is underway. Watch for NDP leader Mike Harcourt to repeat and repeat _ that “it is time for a change” from the corruption, confusion and continued taxation increases of cessor. . And watch for Premier Rita Johnston to be portrayed as a common-sense, no-nonsense Mom concerned about the spend- thrift nature of the NDP (especial- ly in Ontario), whilst stressing Socred achievements of the past five years. But it is the daily news coverage which will help many voters to determine which way they are going to jump. The Socreds seem to be split on “whether an impending strike al edit letters. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Terrace Review. the province’s two largest daily the Vander Zalm era and its suc- “ The view from Victoria — by John Pifer newspapers -- The Vancouver Sun and The Province -- would work for them, or against them. Some think the absence of columns and commentary bashing the government will be a god- send; others worry that any loss of a major medium will affect their ability “to get our message out”. But whether The Sun shines or not, it is the use of television which the Socreds believe to be crucial. So much so, in fact, that they are planning to transport a portable satellite dish with Mrs. Johnston’s touring party around the province, once the campaign is up and running. That certainly would make it convenient for BCTV, CBC-TV, U.TV and CHEK-TV to beam their reports back to the West Coast from Fort St. John or the Back of Beyond, instead of seek- ing out the nearest “feed” point which could be up to 200 kilom- etres away. But the Socred strategists have _ to wonder whether 28 straight - days of Premier Johnston on the nightly news, pressing the flesh in remote B.C., will work for them, or against them. The issues’ to be tackled will be fairly basic from both parties, as they try to convince the undecid- ed and the disillusioned to vote for them. British Columbian elections ure won or lost on how the floating 10-to- 15 percent of the populace vote, The Socreds and the NDP cin count on about 40 to 44 per- cent to be solidly on their side, and they both will be out to secure that middle ground. Meanwhile, there seems to be little doubt that the election call is imminent, and that earlier consid- eration to delay it until after the Union of B.C. Municipalities’ .. convention in Victoria (Sept. 18 to 20) has been discarded. Several Cabinet ministers have told me they expect it this week, or at the latest, by Friday the 13th. And that’s a date the NDP think would be just perfect! Parting Thought: It has now been six months since special prosecutor Peter Freeman was appointed to investigate the actions of former premier Bill Vander Zalm. Freeman's probe was prompted by Vander Zalm's direct involve- ment in the sale of his religious theme park to foreign investors who were given the red carpet treatment by government. After several weeks of recent speculation that Freeman's long- overdue report was ready, it now appears that although he appears to have submitted it to Attorney- General Russ Fraser, it has yet to go before Cabinet. Could it be that politics has reared its ugly head. and that the report now will be shelved until after the election? Could it be that politicians and their advisors at the highest level believe that its findings would only do further damage to theit already shaky prospects for re- election? Uh-hult, Could be.