Fallers win

WCB 250 percent. _
increase in premiums
to be rolled ae
back\NEWS A110

Uphill battle a
Skeena Wildcats junior.
girls volleyball team nab
second in home tourney
\SPORTS B6

it’s a record -

with diabetes
\COMMUNITY BL

Terrace's Gen Roberts .
marks her sixth decade

$1.00 pLus 7¢-GST

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT cuts to
the civil service will take millions of dol-
lars out of the northwest at a time it
needs it the most, warns a senior official
of the B.C. Government and Services Em-
ployees’ Union (BCGEU).

Wihe Papenbrock estimates as many
as 450 positions will be cut in the north-
west over the next three years based on
the province’s own figures released last
week.

“There are 1,500 members of the
BCGEU in this area. If you take 30. per

ernment’s figures, for a cut, that's a very
high figure,” he said.

Provincial figures pul the average civil
service wage and benefits position at
$55,000 year, meaning the cuts here
could amount to as much as $24.75 mil-
lion annually once completed, as plan-
ned, by 2004.

Province-wide, the government has set
a target of eliminating up to 11,500 jobs,
or nearly one in three civil service posi-
tions. A mid-range figure used by the pro-
vince puts the total at 9,800 positions,

ers and relying on attrition will take up
2,500 positions, leaving 7,300 postions to
be cut. Of thal amount, the province esti-
mates 2,500 people will take early retire-
ment, meaning layoffs over three years
for 4,800 people.

“Can you imagine the discussions
going on over the dinner table?” said Pa-
penbrock.

“Aside from this announcement, we
don’t have any information as to the cuts
in each ministry.”

The culs were announced Nov. 21 by

ee S A N D R D
outside of the Terrace area) f

civil servant which was distributed to
government offices around the province.

“There was no human contact. It’s ab-
solutely dastardly and cowardly the gov-
ernment didn't show its face,” said Pa-
penbrock.

He said the cuts were ordered to fil the
ideology of the new B.C. Liberal govern-
ment and don't make any fiscal sense.

“Just think of the purchasing power
that won’t be going from us to small busi-
nesses,” Papenbrock continued.

a

cent, which is the mid-range of the gov-

Soggy,
soggy,
soggy

By JENNIFER LANG
SURE, THERE may have
been a few nicer days last
week, but overall it can-
tines to be a wet, wet fall.

Terrace sloshed its way

through the months of Sep- -

tember and October, when
twice as much rain fell
compared to the same
time period last year.

The wet weather trans-
lated into 165,8 mm of rain
recorded here in Septem-
ber, higher than the normal
98.5 mm.

Adding to the misery,
however, was the fact that
precipitation fell during 20
days in September.

October was worse. We
endured 26 days*of recor-
ded precipitation during
that month alone, adding
up to 219 mm of rain.

Surprisingly, that much
tain is normal for Terrace
in October, according to
Environment Canada’s cli-
mate normals, based on
three decades of records
kept between 1961 and
1990.

With all that rain, it’s
not surprising Terraciles
saw very little in the way
of sunshine in the past two
months.

October was really dis-
mal; Terrace received just
44 hours of sunshine during
the entire month.

From Sept. 5 to 30 we
received more than twice
that, logging 93 hours of
sunshine in all.

Most of that, however,
came between Sept. 6 and
15, when we saw seven
days with roughly 10 hours
of sun each.

That sun didn’t last.

The rest of the month
was pathetic in terms of
sunshine, with just one day
recording six hours of sun,
and an entire week — from
Sept, 16 to 21 - when
there was no sunshine re-
corded in Terrace at all.

During October, we saw
less than two hours of re-
corded sunshine for the
equivalent of three solid
weeks, or 22 days.

Ten of those saw no re-
corded sunshine at all over
the skies above us.

After a promising start
on Oct. 2 and 3, when

there were 10 and 7 hours:

of sun respectively, we es-
sentially entered a tunnel
of darkness,

The good news ~ at
least for skiers — is much
of the precipitation we've
seen this autumn fell as
snow at Shames Mountain,

spurring it to open -this .

week, weather permitting, «

Eliminating vacancies, auxiliary work-

aida aut a ath ‘i . be ,
re

T

e time champ
ERNIE Mil-homens has every right to be smiling.

That's because the Terrace man nabbed his
ihird consecutive World Champion title at the

Cont'd Page A2

email and by a video featuring a senior

Wiho Papenbrock

Councillors
doubt SCI vote
would pass

By JEFF NAGEL
SEVERAL CITY councillors doubt a proposed sale of
Skeena Cellulose will collapse if northwest towns don’t
step up with millions of dollars.

Mercer International has made a $20 million invest-
ment by the communities a condition of its offer to buy
Skeena Cellulose.

But Terrace councillors say local reaction has been
so overwhelmingly negative to the idea of ‘Terrace. rais-
ing a $5 million share that they doubt it would pass a re-
ferendum.

“T have not found one person to date that has said this
is a good idea for the city to invest in SCI,” said coun-
cillor David Hull, adding that includes workers and busi-
ness owners whose incomes depend on SCT.

“Some people have gone up one side of me and down
ihe other, questioning council’s sanity,” he said,

Hull said he sees no appetite from local voters to sup-
port the idea, which would be required in a referendum if
any lacal tax money is to be pul at risk.

“1 don’t think you'll get it past the taxpayer,” Hull
said. “I don’t think you could ever spin this up fast
enough.”

If the communities decide not to or are unable to put
up money, he predicted, that alone won't lead Mercer to
walk away from the deal.

Mercer’s demands for major concessions by unionized
pulp mill workers in Prince Rupert is likely a much big-
ger factor in whether the deal proceeds, he says.

And its demands that Victoria deliver forestry cost re-
ductions and relief from envirenmental liahilities may be
even bigger.

Agreements between Mercer and the pulp workers,
province and communities are all supposed to be in
place by Dec. 14. That's the date the parties must assure
a judge the complex sale has a good chance of proceed-
ing, or else bankruptcy protection could be overturned.

Hull said the Swiss-based firm has been smart to in-
sist on community buy-in once the idea was broached by
Prince Rupert officials.

But he said the main valie lo Mercer would be lock-
ing northwes! towns’ into an unswerving commitment to
the operations in the years ahead.

“They don’t want our money,” Hull said. “They want
our soul.”

“What better people to have on side than the mayors
of the northwest?”

lf the money isn’t forthcoming, he predicted Mercer
will make up the difference from other sources — if its
business plan is good enough.

“} would suspect the money is not a show-stopper,”
he said, “Hf it’s a sound business plan and it makes sense
to invest, money can be found.”

“Who would walk away from a good project for want

World Bench and Deadlift Championships in
Reno, Nevada Nov, 15-20, For more, turn to
paga BG. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO.

of 10 or 20 per cent of the capital?”

Teachers fear back-to-work order

THE PRESIDENT of the local teachers’ union
fears a legislated settlement ending the on-
going labour dispute may be imminent.

And that, Frank Rowe says, could mean
school districts will strip class size restric-
tions, remove support for special needs stu-
dents, and will make it more difficult for tea-
chers to do their jobs.

“The [labour] minister, quite frankly, is
looking for a reason to impose a settlement,”
Rowe said. Teachers, who have been without a
contract since June 30, began phase one of a
limited job action Nov. 8, :

Last week, labour minister Graham Bruce

port on the status of contract negotiations be-

_asked his own assistant deputy. minister to re-
. move things forward at the bargaining table.

tween teachers and school districts.

Richard Longpre will meet with the B.C.
Teachers’ Federation and the B.C. Public
Schools Employers’ Association and report
back by tomorrow.

“Our preference would be, if a mediator be-
came involved it would be a neutral, third
party,” Rowe said. “We don’t believe the de-
puly minister is a neutral, third party.”

Rowe interprets the decision as a sign the
labour minister — and the government — is will-
ing to force a deal on teachers.

‘Barly last week, the B.C, Teachers’ Federa-

' tion lowered its wage demand to a 22 per cent

salary increase over three years in an effort to

egy on the part of school districts to ensure

The had wanted 34 per cent.

In announcing his “fact finder’, Bruce said
he believes there is still about a $5 billion-gap
between the two sides. The association repre-
senting school districts, meanwhile, has not
withdrawn any of its contract demands.

Rowe said that might be a deliberate strat-

their demands become part of a legislated
contract if the government steps into the dis-
pule further. “Our contract demands are based
on the daily realities of what we need to do
the job,” Rowe said. a

“Removing even the degree of support that
we have now will. make the job that much
harder to do.”

Cont’d Page A14

Frank Rowe