Cemetery upgrade hits sna By JESSIE GIES PLANS to restore the city’s his- toric pioneer cemetery have hit a road block. City councillor Lynne Christ- iansen‘says local efforts to spruce up the deteriorating Kitsumgallum Cemetery are being held back by rules that gavern historic sites, “There has to be some practi- cal common sense applied,” she said. “It’s our history and heritage. It’s more than just a’ graveyard * there.” ' The city declared the old ce-' metery on Kalum Lake Drive a. heritage site in 1996, triggering provincial regulations that restrict what can be done. The graveyard, built in the early 1900s, has not been altered since. Many of the praves are sun- ken-and monuments are crumbling into the ground, “When you have headstones falling over, common sense has to prevail,” Christiansen said. “There must be.a way around the _Testrictions.” City council has asked city staff to look ‘into the problem, but the process of getting permission to alter the heritage site has not been rapid, . “We're investigating right now,” said Wade Loukes, the city parks and facilities manager. Loukes said grass-cutting and other general maintenance is being kept up, but the graves themselves pose a. problem. “Being designated a heritage site, you're restricted on what you can do,” he said. “Some sites have been damaged. and we can’t - do anything to them without tak- ing’the proper steps.” ‘City officials admit they have more questions than answers so far,-but they plan to take the mat- ter up with the provincial registrar ‘headstones YVONNE MOEN and Aileen Frank want the old Kitsumgallum Cemetery restored in time for River- boat Days and the other 75th anniversary events that will draw visitors this year. JESSIE GIES PHOTO of cemeteries. Yvonne Moen and other volun- teers are pushing for restoration. They say they want to clean up the site, put in some benches, flo- wering shrubs and pathways ~ so “When you have failing over, common sense has to prevail.” visitors are’ more comfortable about where they can walk. They also want to post a pla- que listing the names of those buried as well as a map showing where plots lay. Summer-only stat By JEFF NAGEL THE LATEST survey of local bu- sinesses has found a majority in favour of at least allowing statu- tory shopping on the ‘three big summer holidays. “Chamber of commerce presi- dent Sheila Love said she’s con- vinced there’s merchant support for. holiday shopping on Canada Day, B,C. Day and Labour Day, “The majority of our members are okay with shopping on the two or three stats in the summer,” she er sar said. The chamber’s latest poll of its members —the third it has con- ducted in recent months on stat shopping — found 49 per cent of retailers in favour of allowing stores to open on all statutory ho- lidays; A further 15 per cent backed openings on just the three summer holidays. Put together, . Love said, that -omeans-O4 per cent ‘Support’ “for'stat.” “on f shopping at least during the sum=-" *ties“ofriocal businesses: opposed:to--- mer, The remaining 36 per cent: a The cemetery doesn’t even have a sign at its entrance right now. Moen says the im- provements would help living relatives who visit the cemetery as well as tourists interes- ted in the area’s history. She and others on a restoration committee say they hope to have the site ready for visit- ors by Riverboat Days this August. City. council isn’t sure that is possible. . “We'd like. to see it done in the 75th year,” Christiansen said. “But now we're looking to the end Christiansen of the summer.” Aileen Frank, a 70-year Terrace resident who used to live on the adja- cent property, hopes something can be done. The cemetery is the resting place of her late husband, Floyd Frank, who died two years ago fas well as his mother, father, brothers and sis- ters. “I’m concerned about the cemetery,” Frank said, but added she’s optimistic planned re- pairs will réverse the historic ce- metery’s decline. “T think it’s gone to be good,” she said. shopping backed surveyed opposed any holiday openings. She said the summer holiday openings make sense. “We're trying to get the cruise business and more tourism busi- ness here,” Love said. “If you're closed on the stats, that’s when you get most of the tourists.” The new results contradict the chamber: s two previous surveys ‘found ‘majori- : + ie, Issue, whic holiday shopping. A change in provincial regula- tions will leave holiday shopping unregulated in Terrace unless city council passes its own regulations. Love said it wasn’t the cham- ber's idea to conduct another sur- vey on the issue. “The city asked us to.do this poll for them so they can do up the new bylaw,” she said. Love said the chamber won't make” any. ~fecommendatian,to the city but--merely provide: it. -with the survey results. Dawn Anderson is the Grand Prize Winner of the Terrace Standard’s it Basket consisting of a many “ envigorating products and gif coc. Thank you fo-‘everyone_. who entered and ta all. the The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - A3 News In Brief Forest fire risk eases RECENT rain has helped areas in the northwest green-up which means fire risks have gone down as well. “Things were really dry with all that sunny weather we had for two weeks, but it’s gone back to a low hazard with all the rain we've had," says Rich Forget, a forest protection assistant at the Northwest Fire Centre’s Terrace base, Four zone managers and six initial attack crew members are posted here.as part of the provincial forest ministry’s fire protection services. “We're pretty much online, ‘there’s still.a little bit of training still going on and we’re ready and waiting for summer to come this way,” Forget said last week. The Northwest Fire Centre covers Burns Lake, Houston, Kitimat, Prince Rupert, the Queen Char- lotte Islands, Smithers and Terrace, Trever Krisher, a fire contro! officer based out of Smithers, says about 70 per cent of the region has greened-up, meaning grass is growing, buds are ap- pearing on trees and vegetation is starting sprout- ing. The places in the region that still have to green- up are mostly in the north and at high elevations. Krisher said: fire crews here will scon go on stand-by in case crews in Alberta need help. Spring comes later in Alberta than here, usually toward the end of May, he said. Wal-Mart hit for violation WAL-MART violated the rights of workers at its Quesnel! store, the B.C. Labour Relations Board tuled May 8. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) accused Wal-Mart of interfering with the employees’ right to join a union guaran- teed under the Labour Code. UFCW president Brooke Sundin called Wal- mart’s behaviour “typical”, saying this is not the first complaint from workers against the big box re- tailer. The union will visit Quesnel. to speak to Wal- Mart workers about the benefits of joining a union, Wal-Mart must post the labour board’s decision on their bulletin boards, Thief pillages yard TERRACE Crimestoppers is asking for help in sol- ving a theft from a yard and shed on Balsam Ave. May 9, Some tools and a potable skill saw were stolen from the shed and a bicycle, some clothing and kitchen dishes went missing from the yard. Police say the bicycle has since been recovered. The thief or thieves apparently got into the yard by damaging a wooden fence. A window to the shed was then broken and the door was opened from the inside, said police. Anyone with any information about this theft is asked to contact Terrade Crimestoppers at 635-".