This is no joke Local celebration Water champs A6 Win a humour contest and have a mountain named after you\NEWS special occasion with a The Sikh community notes a Local swimmers continued their winning ways at a meet in Prince ceremony\COMMUNITY BL George\SPORTS B5 WEDNESDAY APRIL 29, 1998 By JEFF NAGEL JUST A FEW. months after Skeena Cellulose creditors were forced to swallow huge unpaid bills, the company’s new president is demauding many of those same businesses cut their prices. “We're asking every supplier to our operations to reduce the cost,’ Bill Steele told a Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday. He gave the example of chemical companies that supply the Prince Rupert pulp mill. Those firms have agreed to trim their prices to Skeena Cellulose by seven per cent, he said. Siecle suggested thal to the chemical companies, those unpaid bills — which included some of the larger amounts of the $83 million due unsecured creditors — amounted to more of a ‘‘profit reduction” rather than a “‘loss’’. “7 don’t feel bashful at all in asking people to contribute when their success has been substantial over the years,”’ ‘Steele said. He conceded that local logging contractors may not be' interested in contributing again. ‘ “h Sra He wouldn’t say that the contractors will be exempt, but only that company officials will decide what's appropriate by looking at the degree of success of those contractors over their years of dealing with SCI along with how much pain they endured recently. “Tf we recognize that they were in significant difficuvity from the historical behaviour of our company then ] would . probably say we wouldn’t ask them again,’’ Steele said. ~ “But if we thought they had taken significant profits even with that bankruptcy thing, then I’d go back and talk to them again.”’ If existing suppliers aren’t inlerested in cutting prices, Steele added, the company will be aggressive in secking lower bids to get the desired cost reductions. Steele painted the cost-cutting drive as the latest in a series of emergency measures necessary to keep the opera- tion within the tight leash of its $120 million operating line of credit. Steele said the company’s owners — the provincial ‘government and the Toronto Dominion Bank — simply don’t want to put any more money in and that means 936 PLUS 7¢ GST . Vou at Nors Skeena puts heat on suppliers dramatic measures to restrain costs. “Continuing losses are not acceptable to our owners,” he said, *‘We have to run in this curtailed mode lo keep under this $120 million credit line and to continue to supp- ly our customers.”’ “I'm asking everyone connected with our operalions to help us now.’” Stcele said other measures being taken include: @ Staff reductions at the Vancouver corporate office, the solid wood division and the pulp mill. Mf Only building logging roads as they are necessary for ‘just in time’ delivery of wood and getting the most out of areas that are already accessible, i Keeping inventories of logs, lumber and chips as low - as possible, @ Further shutdowns when nécessary to keep costs under control and to restrict production. Steele said the company will also try to think of other ways of saving money. Cont'd Page A13 » High powered assist AREA FIREFIGHTERS got a chance recently to view the latest techniques for getting people out of mangled vehicles when they firefighers were given a chance to use what they had learned. gathered for a course at Northwest Community College. The Equipment has vastly improved over the years in this area. theoretical was also accompanied by the practical as the Bi!l Steele Docs to close up shop again FOLLOWING WEEKS of hints, provincial doctors have announced more office closures tied to their fee dispute with the provincial government. Offices will be closed June 12 and June 15 and July 30 and July 31, the B.C, Medical Association (BCMA) an- nounced last week. The Grst closure period comes on either side of a weekend while the second one leads into the August long- weekend, having the effect of making them longer than they seem. ‘ Doctors closed their doors for three days earlier this year, saying the amount of money they were getting from the provincial Medical Services Plan wasn’t covering the amount they were billing for services they were providing. Although doctors did agree some time ago to fee claw- backs, the amount grew last year to more than they were prepared to handle. “Last year we donated $75 million in services to the sys- tem because these services were nat funded by the govern- ment,’’ said BCMA president Granger Avery. “This year, we are expected lo subsidize medicare by working 24 days for free, which is equal to $88 million.” Avery said the population bas increased by seven per cent over the past three years with no corresponding in- crease in budgets although the new residents have boosted taxes and medicare payments. The two closures, which amount to four-day weekends, are regarded as an escalation of the dispule between dac- lors and the province. The previous three one-day closures went off with no serious consequences. As was the case before, doctors will be on-call at hospital emergency rooms should they be needed. kkk kk IN THE meantime, health minister Penny Priddy has ap- pointed health care consultant Lucy Dobbin to make, recommendations aimed at resolving a dispute between the MLA tackles minister Gov't restores firewood THE PROVINCIAL government is putting out the blaze that erupted when it wanted to cance] firewood at two provincial parks here. Skeena NDP MLA Helmut Giesbrecht said firewood supplies and firepits will be restored at Kleanza and Ex- chamsiks camping and day use areas. The original decision, announced two weeks ago a5 a cost savings measure, resulted in protest calls and letters to government offices and to Giesbrecht. “What I did was tell them it was unacceptable,’’ said Giesbrecht of his lobbying effort to have the firewood restored, He said talk of canceling firewood was stifled last fall but that it popped up again —- to the surprise of himself and others — this spring. The problem started when the provincial Treasury Board cutback on parks spending this year so that even providing $750,000 in firewood for provincial parks became an is- suc, 4 “The minister (environment minister Cathy McGregor had no choice. She had her hands tied behind her back,” said Giesbrecht of a conversation he had with her. What made matters worse was the opposition by the premier and others at raising fees to cover expenses such as fircwood, he added, Giesbrecht said he then “raised, questioned and criti- cized the process’? under which the decision to cut out firewood was made with McGregor. The MLA said he was helped in his efforts by con- stituents telling him a modest increase in the current $9.50 basic nightly camping fee would be more than reasonable to cover firewood cast. Giesbrecht did say there might come a time when day use picnickers will have to buy a permit to use a fire pit in a day use area. “Right now they aren’t paying for the cost of cleaning up afterward,”’ he said. kakkk Meanwhile, the parks operators who look after Kleanza and Exchamsiks are in negotiations with regional parks of- ficials 19 cover the cost of firewood, Firewood will be available for campers at both parks and in their respective day use areas. Firepits will also remain at the Furlong Bay day use area. Operator Carol Glen, who had threatened to quit over the issue, says she will return to Kleanza and open the park May 1. ; This is due to the people who phoned,’’ said Glen of the reason why the province backed down from its deci- slon. ; She thinks people should continue to be vigilant over the supplying of firewood. “Otherwise we might be right back to where we were,”’ she said, Greg McDonald of Exchamsiks thinks that the result of his being able to supply firewood will be a reduction in other services in order for the province to meet its goal of cutting costs. “You might see a combination of reduction in frequency of cleaning or perhaps cutting of the grass,”’ he said. cast. government and doctors in smaller communitics to the A PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT plan to put more psychiatric care beds in Ter- race is welramie, but it should be planned properly, says the chief executive officer of the Terrace Area Health Council. What needs to happen as well are im- provements to an existing 10-bed psychiatric unit at Mills Memorial Hospi- ial, says Michael Leisinger. He made ithe comments following an- other in a series of announcements by the province to move services once housed at the huge Riverview hospital in Vancouver to the regions, The idea is ta pul services for more seriously ill psychiatric patients closer to their home communities and to provide a broader and better range of care, As many as 16 beds and accompanying services could be located on the grounds of Mills Memoriai. But that would make seuse if improve- ments to an existing 10-bed psychiatric unit at Mills are made at the same tlme, says Leisinger, "What we would be looking at is a seamless service,” hesaid. — The idea of a complete plan for better psychiatric services all around was Psych boost welcome if planning is done brought up at a recent mecting of north- west health care officials, Although the health ministry has plans in ils possession to improve the exisling psychiatric unit at Mills, there are indica- lions it hasn’t connected that with the idea of putting into the regions the kind of care once available at Riverview. Northwest health care officials have now written the health ministry asking for money to develop an all around plan. What's envisioned by northwest health care officials is cottage-style housing on the grounds at Mills for psychiatric patients. This would be financed by the Riverview downsizing. Coupling this with badly needed im- provements to the existing psychiatric ward inside the hospital would boost the idea of a comprehensive service for northwest residents, said Leisinger. Local planning for psychiatric services has been given the working name of the Seven Sisters development. A key to the success of the plan is to stretch further what monies are available by grouping services together. A common administrative structure could, for in- stance, help reduce overall costs.