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This Week:
Finding
corners to cut

Herby Squish sat down at his
desk and began to type. “October
23, 1994.” He paused to gather his
thoughts, and then added, “Dear
Milton...” He had been silent for

_ 0 long, how could he explain. It

had been three-and-a-half years
since Milton Jovial had gone back
to New York and left his son in
charge of Jovial Logging Inc. This
was to be the first time Herby had
contacted Milton to express his
concerns.

“] have always served your inter-
ests well,” he began typing again.
“IT have been loyal, faithful and
conscientious. But I now find
myself compromising my most
basic beliefs and I am not sure I
can continue. The problem, Mil-
ton, is your son...”

Squish ripped the paper from his
typewriter, tore it into several
pieces, and tossed it in the waste
basket. “‘No...” he said aloud. “It
won't work.” Squish leaned back
in his chair, clasped his hands
behind his head and stared vacant-
ly at the closed office door.

Milton would never accept any
kind of an attack on his pride and
joy... Not even from Herby
Squish. He would never believe
his son, the efficiency wizard, was
an unprincipled young upstart who
put more faith in statistical theo-
ries than people.

a few

It was impossible to pinpoint
where he had lost control. Jovial
junior , Bobby to his closest
friends, RJ to all others , had start-
ed out quietly. First, he had stood
back... Observed and learned.
Then, at some undefinable point,
he began making.a few subtle
changes. One little policy or pro-
cedure after another took on a new
look, until the entire picture was
changed, molded by RJ’s hands
into an unfamiliar form that left
Squish with a sense of dismay.

Squish stood up. He began pac-
ing in frustration, then pounded
his fist decisively against the top
of his desk. “I’ve got to take this
‘straight to RJ,” he whispered
harshly, “There’s a reason I’ve
never taken my concems to Mil-
ton. I knew he wouldn’t have lis-
tened. I'm not even sure he would
have cared. He has blind trust in
his boy, and that’s really the bot-
tom line.”

In seconds Squish was down the
hall, through RJ's outer office
door, past Mercy Pringle’s desk
before she had time to even utter
the first word of “Good morning”,
and planted firmly in a chair
across the desk from a somewhat
surprised young Jovial. At a loss
for anything more intelligent to
say, RJ asked the obvious.

“You wanted to see me?”

“RJ... I cannot write you a new
five-year Management Working
Plan without first considering all
aspects of this operation. There are
things like regulations, environ-
mental concerns... basically good
management. And perhaps even
more importantly, there are peo-
ple. The public who view our
industry with distrust. Your
employees and contractors who
expect to be treated with some
degree of fairness. People, RJ. The
missing link in your management
theories.”

“Squish,” RJ glared back at
Herby. “You must be in the wrong

office. I don’t believe you would

dare talk to me in this manner and

“expect to get away with it.”

But it was an idle threat. Both
knew RJ could not fire Herby
Squish without first consulting
with his father. And his father had
made it very clear that he wanted
to keep Squish around. He was the.

only person he trusted to keep the

Terrace Review —~ Wednesday, October 23, 1991 7

[Forestry
Insights

by Tod Strachan, in consultation with Rod Arnold and Doug Davies

company's forest management
practices in line, or at least close
to being in line, with government
regulations.

Frustrated, RJ compromised his
ego. “You've got five minutes,”
he told Squish. “Teli me the nature
of your problem and then get out. I
might decide to consider what you
have to say. Or, I might not.”

Squish let out a long sigh. “RJ,”
he said finally. “You, and your
father, want me to write a new
management plan that will maxi-
mize profits for another five years.
Then you want another that will
make. this place look good for
another two or three years while
you try to sell this place. And it
won't work.”

Silence. RJ stared silently at
Squish. Herby squirmed a little,
then continued.

“There’s only one way to put up
a front like that. And it will leave

a trail of disgruntled workers,  —

Letters to the Editor

bankrupt contractors, and an out-
dated sawmill that can’t possibly
survive. Not an ideal picture of a
going financial concem.

“An ideal picture would be an
operation with satisfied workers
and a good community image. A
sawmill where profits had been
reinvested to keep pace with tech-
nological change and a forest so
well managed it would last for
hundreds of years...”

“Squish,” RJ began to laugh.
“You're pathetic. Real life is far
removed from the perfect world
you would like to build. Business
and people are not always totally
compatible. Sometimes people
need to make sacrifices so that the
business that pays their way will
survive. And as far as all this envi-
ronmental stuff is concerned...” -

“RJ. What is the point in busi-
ness if it does not address environ-
mental and human needs. No one
is happy. And the business is cer-

Continued on...Page 30

Orenda could be model of superior technology

The following is the text of a sub-
mission made to the co-chairman
of the Major Project Review Pro-
cess steering committee, David
Parsons, by Jack Talstra.
Although Talstra is both the
mayor of Terrace and the chair-
man of the Kitimat-Stikine Region-
al District board of directors, he
made this submission as a private
citizen,

Province of British Columbia

Ministry of Environment

Environmental Assessment
Branch .

3rd Floor, 777 Broughton Street

Victoria, B.C., V8V 1X5

Attention: Mr. David Parsens,
MP.R.P.

Dear Sir:

RE: Orenda Forest Products

Pulp & Paper Mill Proposal

North coast lands
holiday helpers

Fo the Editor;

North Coast Road Maintenance
Ltd. would like to thank their
employees, staff, hired equipment
operators and sub-contractors for
their considerable efforts over the
past week in dealing with difficult
conditions on the roads due to the
recent storm conditions; in the
Nass these were the worst since
1961. The inconvenience to the
travelling public and isolated com-
munities is regretted but was
unavoidable; only one complaint
was received and the tolerance and
understanding that the public has
shown has helped considerably in
enabling us to get on with our
work.

Only onc section of Highway
(Terrace to Kitimat #37) was
washed out, and after initial

appraisal of the situation traffic,
although restricted, was allowed
through.

Several bridges threatened with
damage or being washed away
were saved, often by working in
the storm and in the dark. Many
employees left turkey dinners on
Sunday evening when the Kitimat
River again threatened a major
washout; on Monday another
employee left a partly stuffed
Thanksgiving turkey to go flag-
ging. Calls to equipment operators
resulted in positive responses cven
if the operator had only had three
or four hours sleep.

Bob Mair, General Manager on
behalf of North Coast Road
Maintenance Ltd.

Terrace, B.C.

I am writing you on a personal
note to thank you for attending the
public information meeting on the
above noted project in Terrace to
allow the citizens of Terrace to
gather further information and
express their concerns with respect
to the proposed pulp and paper
mill to be located at the Dubose
Industrial Site situated between
Terrace and Kitimat.

As you may know, I was a mem-
ber of a team from Terrace who
toured the Lake Superior Pulp and
Paper Mill in Duluth, Minnesota
and the Blandin Mill located in
Grand Rapids, Minnesota. I was
extremely impressed with what I
saw and heard with respect to
those mills. I understand those
mills to be very similar to the mill

proposed by Orenda.

The general public in Duluth and
Grand Rapids, those living very
near to the mill sites, were sup-
portive of the mills and did not
view them as any threat to their
community, environment or econ-
omy. In fact, the mills were locat-
ed within city limits of both com-
munities and the people living
nearby were generally apprecia-
tive of the job opportunities and

the “good citizenship” the mill
provided for them.

I was also struck by the number
of young people who were
employed in those mills with very
good paying jobs and who seemed
excited about what they were
doing. I was impressed by the
equipment in those mills, supplied

Pro-life groups
lives new program

To the Editor;

We would like to take this oppor-
tunity to congratulate and thank
School District 88 for establishing
the Young Moms’ Program for
teenage mothers in this district.
Providing a teaching and a day-
care strand should make it much
more feasible for the young moth-
ers to be able to complete their
education and thus make a better
future for themselves and their
children.

It is programs such as this that
make it far easier for pregnant
teenagers to make a choice for life
when faced with the many diffi-
culties surrounding them. We
commend those responsible for the
foresight and caring in making this
program available for the
teenagers in our district.

Brenda Ferguson,
President, Terrace
Pro-Life Education
Association.

by Tampella of Finland, and it

seems to me, it is unfortunate, that —

the woods industry in British
Columbia cannot design that type
of superior machinery and equip-
ment, for use in British Columbia.
What a bonus to British Columbia
if we were able to be leaders in the
woods industry.

For the above noted reasons, em-
ployment and environmental en-
hancement, I feel that the Orenda

proposal is one that we should |

very much encourage in British
Columbia, and particularly at the
Dubose Industrial Site. This mill
could be used as an example with
respect to pollution abatement and
1 am sure that once this mill is in
operation, other pulp and paper
mills will look at it with a view of
raising their own standards in
terms of minimum environmental
impact. Rather than demanding
that pulp mills not be placed in my
backyard, the emphasis should be
on developing superior technology
in British Columbia to lead the
world in showing that industry and
environment can be much more
compatible in today’s world than
previously thought. It would be a
bonus to our young people to be
leaders in the ficld of environmen-

tal technology.

Again, thank you for attending at |

Terrace and I would be pleased to
discuss my thoughts further to you

should the opportunity arisc.
Sincerely yours, Jack Talstra
Terrace, B.C.

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