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Vol. 4, Issue No. 12

Hot Springs

land grab
criticized

TERRACE — Bob Brown of the
Northwest Chapter of the

Steelhead Society of B.C. told

the Kitimat-Stikine Regional
District board of directors
Saturday that an area of about
400 acres of crown land pro-
posed as a golf course for Mount

Layton Hot Springs is located _

on the “‘richest fishery for cut-
throat trout in the entire North-

.west’’,

Brown explained that there is
a ‘‘warming effect” in Lakelse
Lake that is unlike any other
lake in the Northwest and the
proposed site contained a
‘‘myriad’” of small spawning
creeks. He said the area is an im-
portant rearing. area for
steelhead, coho, pink and
sockeye salmon: which would be
‘‘severely impacted?’ by any
commercial development.

He added that the site was
also a prime feeding area for a
rapidly declining population of
grizzly bears in the area, and he
claimed that the Fish. and

‘Wildlife Branch is interested in

doing further study of the area
and the Ministry of Fisheries
and Oceans want a large area
deleted from the plan as a buffer
zone. ;

However, after asking the
board to reconsider their sup-
port for the project, Brown was
told that the role of the Regional
District in the referral process of
this type of application was only
concerning ‘‘planning matters’

and that other more appropriate |
governing bodies would address

his concerns.
Asked to comment on

_ Brown’s concerns, Jim Yardley,

Regional Lands Manager for the
Ministry of Forests and Lands in
Smithers, said the application is
under review and “the Lands

continued on page 24

YOUR HOMETOWN LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER

TERRACE, B.C., WEDNESDAY, March 23, 1988

—

a

| Legislative Library, OQ.
Parliament Buildings,

' Victoria, B.C,

V8V IX4

50 CENTS

Travelling talent

At Saturday night's wrap-up to the Pacific Northwest Music Festival, the people who will represent the region at the B.C. Festival of the Arts
in May were chosen. Shown here are Susie Dow, Liza Cote, Pam Kerr, Audrey Faber, Joseph Nelson, Glenys George and Kalth Griffioan. Also
selacted to compete in the provincial avent are Elizabeth Sluys, the Northwest Singers, the Caledonia Concert Band and the Terrace Com-

munity Band. Sae page 24 for story. :

Property taxes will be going
up, but the Board of Directors
of the Regional District of

Kitimat-Stikine want to make it -

clear that it’s not their fault.

by Tod Strachan

The board voted last Saturday
to budget $400,000 for hospital
equipment and minor capital
hospital project costs, a 100 per-
cent increase over 1987.

“‘There’s going to be a lot of
angry people that don’t know
where the blame lies,’’ said
director Les Watmough.

The reason? ‘The health
department of the government,”’
explained Watmough. ‘‘That’s
where the root of the problem is,
and I predicted last year that this

a ———

would happen. It happened to
the school boards — the govern-
ment withdrew funding and
finally they had to tax property
owners, Now they’re doing ex-
actly the same thing with
hospitals.’’

But Watmough said that when
residential property taxes went
up due to the government’s cuts
in school funding, an angry,
uninformed public blamed city

‘councils and school boards, not

the government. ‘“‘Somebody up
the line has to be made responsi-
ble,”? Watmough said referring
to the provincial government.
Regional District Health Ad-
ministrative Assistant Judy
Tracy explained that Section 20
funds were originally intended
for “‘extras”’ over and above the

provincial standard of health

care, not for replacement of.

necessary equipment.

‘““However,’’ she said, ‘‘pro-
vincial funding for maintenance,
repairs and equipment replace-
ment (i.e. a depreciation
allowance) is minimal, and in re-
cent years with the cuts in pro-
vincial operating grants the
hospitals don’t have funds to
cover the ‘local share’ for. these
items.”’ |

Even so, the recommendation
to double the Section 20 hospital
tax levy didn’t pass without a
lengthy debate, and Kitimat
directors Rick Wozney and Bev
Rodrigo both opposed the mo-
tion in a recorded vote, saying
$250,000 was more than ample.

Rodrigo said that if the mo-
tion was passed, the hospital
portion of Kitimat residential
taxes on a $60,000 home would
rise from $21.60 in 1987 to
$29.40 in 1988 — a 36.11 percent
increase. Later, Wozney refer-
red to the list of hospital needs
as an unpriorized ‘“‘wish list’’.

_. Big hike forlocal hospital taxes

The sum of $400,000 was
recommended as an appropriate
amount by the Committee of the
Whole because Alcan has in-
dicated they may be contributing
money towards the purchase of
new orthopaedic equipment for
Kitimat General Hospital, and
also because there was a $65,607
carry-over from last year’s
Section 20 budget.

The taxpayers’ share on the
list of equipment and facility
improvements includes $203,000
for Mills Memorial Hospital,
$133,333 for orthopaedic equip-
ment (the majority of which
would probably upgrade Kiti-
mat’s existing regional. ortho-
paedic facility), $107,734 for
Kitimat General Hospital,
$60,755 for Wrinch Memorial
Hospital in Hazelton and

$25,333 for Stewart General

Hospital.

The major expenses listed for
Mills Memorial Hospital include
$92,500 for a new.x-ray machine
and $14,000 for electric emer-
gency doors.

Inside
Business Guide 12
Church Directory 10
Classified Ads 21, 22, 23
Coming Events 14
Comics 20
Crossword 20
Dining Directory 2
Entertainment 2
Horoscope 16
Letters 5,6,7
Opinions -
Sports 8
Talk of the Town 5

a
Outside
Date Hi Lo Prec.
Mar. 14 8 3 nil
Mar, 15 10 «0 nit
Mar, 16 9 2 nll
Mar. 17 6 0 2.8 mm rain
Mar, 18 i 1 11mm rain
Mar, 19 10 3 trace of rain
Mar. 20 6 1 5.6 mm raln

Forecast: Mostly unsettled
weather with daytime highs of
4 to 6 and overnight lows near

0.

The Terrace and District Angling Guides, the Canada Employment Centre and the Terrace a

nd Diatrict Chamber of

Commerce have signed a joint agreement to fund and operate a comprehensive training. program for fishing

uldes. Signing the contract In the Chamber of Commerce office are {ett to right) Angling
Sim Culp, Employment Services Project Officer Chris Jennings, and

Bruce Graydon. Turn to page 24 for story.

hamber reps Bob

uldes representative

lark, Doug McLeed and

WELCOME:B.C. MIDGET |

HOCKEY FINALISTS

TERRACE ARENA, MARCH 26:29

‘|