G

eterna ee er ebm em eemtenme ee

Brave new wood world looms

TERRACE — Forests minister
Dan Miller doesn’t want to talk
aboul the numbers just yet but
they won’t be good in a report to
be released scon on the state of
the northwest forest industry.

- In broad terms it will state there
isn’t enougl: timber for the num-
ber and type of processiny,
facilities between -Smithers and

Prince Rupert, Miller told a city-:

sponsored forestry conference
here last week,

The challenge, Miller added,
will be what happens next.

He wants to form a group tak~
ing in forest companies, labour,
communities and the government.

The end result will mean a new

way for the forest industry to do
business in the northwest and
new ways for people to make a

‘living from the woods industry,

said Miller.

And while Miller won’t go as
far as to talk about job losses, he
does say the group will have to
make decisions.

“] think what we’re looking at

"here is some kind of blueprint for:

an industrial strategy, This will

not be done in a short time.

frame,’” he said.

Miller added that the decisions
may see some mills close as other
and different kinds of wood pro-
cessing facilities are developed,

“T'd expect the group will be

looking at what kind of wood
there is, where it is and what kind
of value can be obtained,’’ said
Miller.

“There are new types of invest-
ment opportunities to look al,
what kind of plants are out there
to maintain. employment,’’ he
said.

Although Miller is willing to
have the group make decisions,

-he noted thal the provincial

government has the final say 0 over
how wood is used.

‘The kinds of decisions we're
talking about do not solely rest
with the private sector. These are
the kinds of decisions in which
we all have a stake,'’ Miller con-

tinued.

“The resource does belong to
the people and we have an obliga-
tion to manage the resource.”’

Miller said the way companies
have done business in the past
will have to change.

“We have had some companies
in competition with one another
and the response has been to buy
out the competition with a reduc-
tion of the work force,’’ he said. '

The minister also conceded that:
some communities may be look-
ing al making a sacrifice to assist
another community.

But he noted that recent north-
west history on health care issues

1

THIS SATURDAY is “Fly the Flag Day” across Canada and
~ Amie.and Ricky-Hicks get into the mood by posing with the
red maple leaf, They and others will be at the Kin. Hut this

Saturday afternoon for a time of music and refreshments
, organized by local Kinettes. Full details on rege. Bi ‘in the

Around Town column.

ee Happy standard bearers

Show promoter gets day

in jail for stealing money

TERRACE _ ‘The man who
slole from children and the blind
was sentenced to one day in jail
last Thursday,

‘Fohn A. McDonald pleaded
guilty to two counts of theft over

$1,000 in connection with the

1990 disappearance of moncy
from promotions he ran ‘for the
Terrace White Cane Club and
Kitimat. Child
Centre. ~*~" ;
McDonald had ‘already served
nine months in ' prison while
awaiting trial.

Judge Ed de Walle said he
would have considered a sentence
of between 12 and 18 months in
prison if McDonald hadn’t bern
kept in custody.

The sentence was the resull of a

deal reached by Crown counsel
Al. Bates and McDonald’s

: _,, Development .

defence Tawyer.

Bates said he agreed to the deal
after considering the amount of
time McDonald had’ already
served: and in. realizing that a
planned four-weck trial to prose-

cule McDonald ‘would’ have cost.
taxpayers between $50,000 and

$100,000.
That trial was scheduled to take

_ place here this summer.
‘Two additional charges of fraud

were stayed by the Crown.

It's estimated McDonald bilked

the two groups out of 35, 000 to
$7,000-in otal. oe

Accoiding to evidence present: .

ed in court, McDonald agreed to
help the local White Cane Club
raise money by selling tickets for
a Christmas variety show. —

Expenses were to be taken off -

the top and the profits were lo be

| Magic letter

A tecent Canada Post delivery to ir

‘the-home of Deb Casey contained:
exciting 1 news for the local sixteen-
Chana!

COMMUNITY oBL

‘as. the
_ organizers who, thought ‘Iheir
group would make money on the ~

evenly split: t
and the clubs":

“It’s impossible to tell where
the money went and how it
went,” Bates said. ‘‘The book-
keeping was nonexistent.”’

He said it is clear McDonald
“converted”? some of the money
collected,

MeDonald and the people he .

hired sold tickels or. look don-

tions in exchange for tickets to. of-s 000 for
“the planned White Cane Club
“show. The balance of $5,000 was
"never accounted for.

the. White Cane Club’s Dec. 15,
1990 variety show at the REM.
Lee Theatre. .

. ~The show never happened ; and.
‘disappointed | ticket-holders were-
-. lured away é al.the door.
- . But none were as disappointed .
Club.

White | Cane‘

show. Instead they found them-
selves fielding complaints.

etween McDonald ,

The Kilimat Child Develop-.
ment Centre did hold a show of -
its own at the last minute,

Bates said there’s no question
McDonald spent some money on.
the expenses — sales commis-
sions, ticket printing, and motel
Toom rent.

He said

police estimate

McDonald may have collected -

$9,000 in sales and had expenses:

-of.samewhere around $4,000 for

‘Charges. were laid following. a
lengthy. and intricate RCMP i ins
vestigation. : :

Bates said the investi gation was

-- diffleult because Fecords weren’|

available..- oy

A’ smaller amount of money
was missing from the Kitimat in-
cident, Bates said.

:, , workload ... and.
placed on teachers,”

showed how local jealousies can
affect the larger picture.

“T think the (health) system it-
self suffered and developed some
inefficiencies we all paid for,’
Miller said. -

“Yet there is a growing amount
of support out there to do things
ina more collective manner,”” he
added. .

‘The report is being prepared by
Roger Slanyer, an ex-IWA. offi-
cial and now special consultant in
Miller’s office.

It follows on work started last
year during the debate on Repap
buying Westar’s Carnaby mill
and accompanying wood licence.

Dan Miller

School talks
set to continue

TERRACE — - Teachers and the
school district ended 17 straight
hours of mediation over the

weekend with only one major is-
sue outstanding.

They’ re scheduled to head back
into sessions with mediator Bar-
bara Sharp this week.

“We are down lo a very smail
number of issues but the one
main issue is mainstreaming,’
Terrace District Teachers’ Union
president Cathy Lambright said
over the weekend.

Mainstreaming is the word used
to describe the integration of stu-
dents with physical and other
handicaps into everyday class-
rooms.

It’s considered a crucial issue to
teachers because of the increased
_Jesponsibilities

She said board negotiators left

the sessions to prepare a response .

to the teachers” latest proposal.
“Tt is absolutely the most im-
portant issue for us,’’ sald Lam-

bright of mainsireaming. —
What still has to be decided is a
cap oon the number of

mainstreaming students that’ be
placed in _Tegular classes, she
added. . ;

Teachers. and “the board did
agrec on wage increases for a
two-year contract retroactive to
hily 1 of last year.

Those increases: are. ‘two per
cent as of July.1, 1992, an addi-
tional 0.5 per cent as of Jan. 1,
1993 and 1.8 per cent as of July
1, 1993, The contract would run
out June 30, 1994. aa

Lambright did caution that the
wage portion of the contract

hinges upon a successful conclu-

sion to all of the other issues. ::
Those wage increases match the

last offer of the school beard.
Lambright said teachers, pro-

vided there is a scttlement, hope
‘the ‘board will. reconsider the
_ elimination of teaching: positions.

Teachers’ union — negotiators
went into the talks with a'63 per
cenl- vote in’ favour of: a strike
should settlement ¢fforts fail.

OF 391 eligible teachers, 71 per
cenl or 277 lurmed oul to vote. Of

_that number 175 were in favour

of a strike, meaning that approxi-
mately 44 per cent of all teachers

indicated they were willing : ‘to

strike. -

In the meantime, school district

maintenance and . _ janitorial
workers are waiting 10 hear if the

tiations with them. gett

“They voted 77 per cent in:

favour of strike action in response

to a board plan to cut their hours.

The board wants to make the
cuts as of July 2, saying. they are
needed because of budget con-

; straints.

Canadian Union of Public Em-

‘ ployees (CUPE) Local 2861 pres-
wy ident Rick King said.one-effort:to
re-open talks, madé to school dis-

trict © secrelary-treasurer. Barty
Piersdorff, has already been. re
jected,

“We want a firm commilmént
fo some sort of ‘meeting,”’ King

- Said, warning that strike. notice

will be. issued if no answer-'is
Teceived by the end of this week:
Meanwhile inside employees
last week voted 72 per cent” ‘lo
strike. ;

TERRACE -- The federal
Royal Commission on
Aboriginal Peoples is visiling
the northwest the end of the
month.

Two commissioncrs will be
holding hearings in ‘Terrace

- and in Prince Rupert as part of
its job to find ways to recon-
cile natives with: the rest ‘of
Canada ‘and with various
governments. ;

They'll be in Terrace the be-
ginning of the. week of. May
24-28 and in Prince Rupert the
latter partofthe week.

Scheduled to be here are
commissioners Bertha Wilson,

Royal commission
to hold hearings

‘Blakeney,

ex-Supreme Courl of Canada:
justice, and Paul Chartrand,
head of native studics at (he.
University of Manitoba,

The northwest visit is part af
the third round of hearings —
held since the commission was
established. ,

The commission began with”
seven members but-Is down to.
six with the resignation several .
weeks ago of former Sas- ‘.
kalchewan = premier Allan,”

He disagreed with lhe direc:
tion of the commission, saying
it was dealing in generalities
instead of specifics.

BEST EVER

@ Peaks gymnasts play |
a big part in: setting a

new.:

northwest’ zone

standard at provincial ;

board ‘is willing 10 re-open go* we