More protest
Students took to the
Streets to demonstrate
against cuts to the ~
College\NEWS A3

Splish splash
Terrace swimmers

rack up personal bests at.
annual swim meet

here\SPORTS B4

Super supper
Preparations begin

for annual cross ©
cultural potluck |
dinner\COMMUNITY B1

$1.00 pLus 7¢ GST
{$1.10 plus 8¢ GST
outside of the Tavace © area)

Road deaths don’t justify inquest

Nothing unusual in

Stats, officials say

By SARAH A, ZIMMERMAN
THE NUMBER of highway accidents
causing fatalities in the north recently
doesn’t merit a public inquest, say of-
ficials from the B.C. Coroner’s Office.

Regional coroner David Coverdale,
based in Prince George, said a coro-
ner’s mandate is to investigate sudden
deaths on an individual basis and not
to gather them together.

Coroners either hold an inquiry,
which is an investigation conducted by
themselves, or an inquest which in-
cludes a five-person jury.

Inquests rarely happen and when:

they do they most often concern a
death in police custody.

“A big public inquiry would have to
come from someone in the political
realm,” Coverdale said.

He said the 19 deaths on northern —

roads since mid-December are only
linked by thé fact that each of the ac-
cidents were. preventable.

“They are all preventable deaths,”
Coverdale said. “But the preventable
factors are alcohol, speed, driving ap-
propriately to the conditions of the
road, proper seat belt use and driving
mechanically sound vehicles.”

' January 2002 saw 15 people die in
accidents on roads in the north, says
ICBC regional coordinator David

Dickson.

That compares to just three deaths

due to motor vehicle accidents | in Jan-
vary of last year.

Coverdale admits the number of

deaths on northern highways recently
is higher than usual but says he ex-
pects the statistics from this winter to
be on par with years passed.

“From our perspective this is not
new, this is not unusual,” he said.

Four traffic deaths in the Terrace
area since mid-December has spurred
public concern aver how highways are
maintained.

Skeena’s MLA, Roger Harris, says
he received a flurry of phone calls in
mid-December about road mainte-
hance around Terrace.

“I think the biggest concern was
that highways maintenance had been
impacted by cuts in the government
and that is absolutely untrue,” Harris

said.

But Bill Sauer, manager of the
Northwest Loggers Association, says
truckers driving the highways feel that
toad maintenance from Smithers to

Terrace is “just awful.”

“Pye talked to Peter Lansdowne at
Nechako North Coast about this and
he sald basically that they are meeting

Continued Pg. A14

Pit bull
attacker
gets jail

A TERRACE man was
found guilty Feb. 5 in a
rare case of assault with a
weapon, the weapon being
a pit-bull named Caesar.

Patrick Joseph Rinsma,
31, was sentenced to three
months in jail and three
months of time served —
he’s been in the Prince
George Correctional
Centre for the past. eight
and half months on an un-
related charge.

The assault charge
stemmed from a Nov. 2000
incident which saw Rins-
ma spur. his dog on to at-
tack 11-year-old Curtis
Spalding in downtown Ter-
race,

On the night of Nov. 10,
2000 four young boys were
walking from downtown
Terrace to the skateboard
park by the Terrace Arena
when they encountered a
man with a large dog.

Court heard the man
turned his dog loose on the
boys and laughed while
the attack took place.

“He was yelling out,
‘sick him’ and ‘get him’,”
testified one of the boys,
Michael Munroe, now 13.

Patrick Rinsma admit-
ted he was teasing the
children with his dog and
the attack was his fault -
not the dog’s,

“Tt was just a joke. It
wasn't the coolest, I
admit,” he said. “It was
just a joke.” ,

In making his decision
Judge Paul Lawrence
characterized the three
boys who testified as

“excellent” witnesses.
Lawrence said he
watched Rinsma’s demea-
nor on the stand and said
he found the ‘accused
“unresponsive and

Continued Pg. A2

E Peak performances

TERRACE snowboarders cleaned up at the Northern 8.C. Winter Games in Smilhers Feb.1- 3, Boar-
ders brought home an assortment of medals in the big air competition and the boarder cross. Shawn
above are Colin Davies, 21, and Tyler Wilson, 22, (back) and siblings Danna, 19, Jack, 16; and Leigh
Haworth, 13 in the front. For mora games coverage see page C1. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO.

Pay hikes blow hole in budget

Gov't won't cover

teachers’ raises

A LEGISLATED wage increase
for teachers could create a $2
million deficit in the Coast Moun-
tains School District.

School board vice chair Peter
King warned of impending layoffs
and increased class sizes as the
district tries to balance its 2002-
03 budget.

Last month the provincial gov-
ernment imposed a legislated
contract on B.C.'s teachers to‘end
a dispute that had lasted months.

The new contract, retroactive
to last July, introduces ‘a 7.5 per
cent wage increase over three, -
years, or 2.5 per cent each year.

The education mliistry tas told

school districts it won't pay for
the second and third years of the
wage increase.

“We'll have .to cut programs,
and, as teachérs say, go to larger
classrooms,” King said.

The new contract also gives
school districts new powers over
class size limits, -

Although ‘education minister
Christie: Clark said school districts

wanted those powers, King flatly.

denied it.

“I don’t think there is a single
school board who is happy. with
this agreement,” said King.

Coast Mountains School Dis-
trict board chair Linda Campbell
said the added responsibilities to
school boards. are: re'golng to be. very

challenging:

who brought this budget

“This is the hardest
task we've had to deal
with,” Campbell said,
adding it’s even more
difficult than amalga-
mation.

"It wasn't teachers

deficit,” she said. .
' School districts are §
still trying to figure out
what the new contracts
will) mean when it
comes to class size li-

_Mhits and other new provisions.

School districts have been told
to expect changes to the way their
budgets are allocated. —

-The province has promised

- three-year funding envelopes: for
School, districts. a but. it’s unclear

Linda
Campbell

what that will mean
f when wage increases
and declining enrol-
ments are factored in.
A meeting widely ex-
pected to shed more
light on what the B.C,
government has in mind
for school district bud-
gels was supposed to
take place last week.
That meeting: between
the education- minister
and district officials has
now been postponed until the end
of the month.

School | districts are ; -also ex-

. pecting. changes. to the funding

formula that determines: haw
much “money they. Bet t to, 0 operate

each, year.

Deadline

for sale of
SCI looms

Province open to all bids as
talks with NWBC founder

By JEFF NAGEL
THE PROVINCE is in last-minute talks with multiple
bidders this week as it tries to cut.a deal-to sell-Skeena
Cellulose before a court appearance on Friday.

That deadline now looms large after Victoria broke

off exclusive negotiations last Thursday with’ its pre-
ferred buyer, NWBC Timber and Pulp, and opened the

door to other offers.

Competition, science and enterprise minister Rick
Thorpe said the Montreal-based group failed ta fulfill a
key financial condition, which he would not reveal.

By Friday Thorpe agreed to resume talks with
NWEC, but said his officials were also in discussions
with Toronto-based Forest Capital Ltd. and @ third firm

he would not name.

“My officials are still talking to NWBC, but we are
also talking to other folks,” Thorpe said

Unless there's a deal in place by Friday or creditor
protection is extended further, Skeena Cellulose could

be forced into bankruptcy.

“We need to have a signed deal before the court on
Feb. 15,” Thorpe said. “The alternative is not a happy

alternative.”’

Thorpe said Thursday was a “very, very disappointing
day” because of the failure to sell ta NWBC,

“We're not going to give up, we're not going to quit,”
Thorpe said. “I know I’m prepared to work 24 hours a
day for the next six days to try to pet a deal.”

NWEC had been in exclusive talks since Jan. 23.

It previously offered $15 million for Skeena and said
it would invest $150 million. However its Jan. 24 offer is
significantly different, likely involving a phase-in of the
capital invesiment as there was no time to raise money.

Gov't orders plan
to aid this region

A CABINET committee
has ordered top govern-
ment officials to come up
with a‘plan to spur econo-
mic development in the
northwest.

The group of six cabinet
ministers- wants to find
ways to get various pro-
jects and proposals moving
that may be held up in re-
gulation or red tape, said
Stan Hagen, the minister
of sustainable resource
management.

Hagen, who chairs the
cabinet committee on the
economy and the environ-
menl, says premier Gordon
Campbell directed the
group to focus on what can
be done in the northwest.

Also sitting on the com-
mittee are forests minister
Mike De Jong, energy and
mines minister Richard
Neufeld, water, land and
air protection minister
Joyce. Murray, agriculture
and fishéries minister John
van Dongen, and competi-
tion, science and enter-

prise minister Rick Thorpe.

Hagen said Thorpe's
experience in trying to sell
Skeena Cellulose plus
“prodding” by northwest
MLAs has convinced the
body the region needs spe-
cial attention.

“The caucus. has been
made very aware of the
seriousness of the issues
up here," he said.

Deputy ministers from
each ministry are to craft a
plan by the end of the
month.

“All of these economic
development driven mini-
stries have instructed their
deputies to go ‘through
their files to see whatever
files there are that have a
chance of going forward,”
Hagen said.

“I went to the president
of the B.C. Assets and
Land Corporation and said
what have we got applica-
tions for land and water in
the northwest that could
become: economic deve-
lopment drivers?" ,