Drug fears.

The RCMP and medical community
express concerns after drug
incidents.\NEWS &5 an

Howe Creek

Im-Press-ive.

A Sunday walkathon will raise -
money to extend city green
space.\COMMUNITY B6

A local lifter makes a point in her
|firstbench press
competition.\SPORTS C1 ao

WEDNESDAY
JUNE'7, 1995

THE NORTH is frozen and the
south is green when it comes to
hospital operating grants.

Mills Memorial Hospital and
most other hospitals across north-
em B.C, will face further cuts
after being held to between 0 and
0.5 per cent increases in their
1995-96 grants from Victoria.

But most southern B.C, hospi-
tals are getting increases of three
and four per cent and in some
cases as much as 6 per cent, says
Mills Memorial Hospital admin-
istrator Michael Leisinger.

“There seems to be some kind
of a northern skew here,’’ he said.
“We dida’t get the provincial
average in terms of increases,’?

In Terrace it means a fourth
straight year of an effective

Cruel
theft costs
pensioner

A SHOPPING tip tumed into a

nightmare experience for a local ~

pensioner last weck,

Last Thursday being seniors —

discount day at the Co-op, the 68-
year-old woman visited the store
where she paid for her purchases
by cashing her pension cheque,

She placed the remaining $500
in her purse which she then put in
the shopping cart which held her
groceries.

Back at her car, she loaded the
Brocerics into the trunk, then
turned to find the purse had been
vanished.

“She didn’t even sce the person
that took it,” friend Sandy
Norman said,

With rent and utility bills to be
paid out of the stolen money, the
Victim was forced to borrow to
cover them,

And athough the snatcher got
away with credit cards as well,
prompt phone calls made sure the
thief wouldn’t be able to take ad-
vantage of them.

But what cannot be so easily
made right is the loss of family
photos which she carried in the
purse, some of which were ir-
replaceable, “They have great
sentimental value, she really
wants them back,’’ Norman said.

“Et was really sad, P’ve never
seen anyone so upset in my life,”?

Noman therefore appealed to
the thief to at least retum the
black feather purse and its con-
tents,

She said the Co-op had agreed
the purse could be handed in at
their post office counter, ‘no
questions asked’’,

Pointing out the victim lived
alone and was terminally ill with
cancer, Norman added, ‘‘Maybe
we can shame (ihe thicf) into
returning it.’’

Airport deal hin

UNLESS THB province agrees to
turn over the land that the airport
alts on, the city isn't likely to
agree to take over the heavily
subsidized operation.

That's the main hurdle that now
faces negotiations expected to be-
gin later this year between the
clty and Transport Canada over
the transfer of airport ownership,

As with many other
municipalities, the city has signed
a memorandum of understanding
with Transport Canada that com-
mits it to begin negotlations over
the airport transfer, be

But city councillor David Huil
says the Terrace-Kitimat, Airport

budget freeze at Mills Memorial
Hospital. This year’s grant from
Victoria includes a 0.2 per cent
increase — or $21,000 — over
last year,

“Tm not going to send the
money back,” Leisinger says,
“but it may as well have been
zero,” And because of previously
negotiated wage increases, further
cuts will have to be made.

Every unionized worker at the
hospital got a 2.5 per cent pay
hike effective Apr. 1, he said, and
further 3.5 per cent hike for Hos-
pital Employees Union workers.

As a result, the overall wage
bil — which makes up most of
the budget — will go up by 3,2
per cent in 1995-96,

‘Leisinger said they’ll continue

iy:

weeks ago.

= What a blast

GREG CONRAD, a seventh Tetrace
grass. Canon races were just part o

efforts to contain costs and im-
prove hospital utilization. “‘We're

trying at every tum to spend
money more wisely,”’ he added.

The stmtegy remains simple:

admit fewer patients in the first

place, and get the ones you do-

back out the door as fast as pos-
sible.

Another unknown factor in the
equation — or possibly an op-,
portunity for further savings,
depending on your level of op-
timism — is the process of
regionalization underway.

“There may be ways to work
together as a region to buy
smarter,'’ Leisinger said.

Leisinger says the budget num-
bers aren’t unexpected though.

“We've known zero per cent

Cub Scout, wheels his homemade cannon through the
f the fun at Cub Camp Kikafes, held in Kitimat a few

was likely and we've been plan-
ning on a fourth year of zero.'”.

Layoffs aren’t’. expected, he
added. Instead. they hope’ to
achieve cuts through attrition, and
not replacing ‘staff who leave
voluntarily,

When vacancies happen, he
said, they’ look at ways to real-
lign, but to do so in 1 more order-
ly, less threatening way than
layoffs. oo .

Health minister Paul Ramsey
disputes the assertion that north-
ern hospitals have been sho
changed. :

“That's not accurate,”” Ramsey
said Friday, pointing to increases
of at least three per cent for hos-
pitals in Houston, Tumbler Ridge
and the Queen Charlottes, . :

is one of the few in the province
located om land leased from the
province, nther than owned out-
rightby the federal government.

Thit means the city has to not
only cut a deal with the feds, but
work out an arrangement with the
province as well,

The problem is that the lease
agreement specifically indicates
airport lands can only be used for
direct aviation activity,

If the city took over the airport,
an attaction in doing so would be
gaining about 1,000 acres of land
which could become an area for
light or heavy industelal develop-
ment well away from the city.

‘Without that opportunity, Hull
Predicts there will be litte chance
of making the airport economical-
ly viable,

“We'd be hooped,’? he says.
“And if it can't sustain itself, we
would have to take a long hard
look at whether we want to take it
over,’’

So far the provincial lands min-
istry hasn’t outright rejected the
idea of over the airport
lands, but it bas wamed the af-
fected cities to not base business
plans on getting the land free.

“If it doean't happen, it’s all

"but dead in the’ water,"? Hull

added,

The airport is presently sub-
sidized to the tune of about
$800,000 a year. But those feder-
af grants will be phased out over
the next five years.

The only way to make up the
shorifall is by a combination of
aggreasive cuts to operating costs
and boosting revenues, —

Hull said it's not a pleasant
prospect, but he’s convinced the
feds will drop the smal! airport
come the year 2000 even if no-
body takes them over,

“'They’re getting out of the alr-

_ port. business and if we don’t do

something, we'll have a Very nice
drag strip up there,'” he Bild.

|
ia

TANDARD

Hospital part of frozen north

“This government has ‘con-
Unued to increase funding for
health for the last four years," he
added, noting the federal govern-
ment is chopping transfer pay-
ments to the province by
$800,000 over the next two years,

The same day Ramsey released
the province’s new remote and
rural health strategy.

Aimed at helping northern and
rural hospitals, the paper calls for
steps to better recruit and retain
specialists,

Victoria is planning 1o bring in
a central recruitment centre for
recruiting specialists,

Various other incentives — in-
Cluding more subsidies for travel
by both patients and doctors in
remote areas — are suggested.

75¢ PLUS.5¢ GST.

Budget briefly

B Mills Memorial gets
$10.71 million from Victoria
this year, up 0.2 percent.

@ = =The hospital’s total
budget Is $12.5 million, The
difference Is made up by ex-
tra revenue from billings for
lab work, xray — tests,
nuckar medicine testing,
and out-of-province
patients.

Mm Mills Memorial treats
an average 44 patients per
day. Budget constraints

beds from 89 to 52 over the
last three years, ,

VOL. 8:NO; 8) 5 32»

have reduced the number of |

Council | urged |

to go afterCN |

IT’S TIME to crank the heat up

on CN Rail and persuade officials

there to do theif share in beautify-
ing Terrace...

That’s what members of the
Terrace Beautification Society
told city councillom Friday 1s
they pleaded for the city to help-
create 2 lincar park along the rail-
way tracks.

They originally envisioned a
narrow strip of trees, a walking
trail, and park benches extending
fom the Terrace Co-op, past the
overpass to about Frank St.

But society members have al-
ready seen that vision spoiled by
CN’s decision to sell land for a
SAAN store and Robin’s Donuts
development between the over
pass and the Co-op.

Society volunteers had planted
trees there which will now have
to be moved,

Conrad Ganzenburg told cous-
cil CN Rail has so far been a poor
corporate citizen as far as
housekeeping goes.

“Tt really looks lke no-man’s
land,” he said. “It collects litter
and garbage, with no visible im-
provement over the years,”

"We've asked them nicely to
clean up, but they won't,” be
added,

The time has come, he said, for
the cily to take a Icadership role
and find a way to secure the land
for a future park. me

“If we lose that land, I think
we're losing a golden op-

@ _portunity,"’ Ganzenburg added.

He noted CN has developed at-
tractive railside parks in places
like Jasper, Houston‘ and Prince
Rupert. ,

He suggested it’s time some-
thing similar happen here.

For visitors who atrive by high-
way or by train, the area is the
single most visible part of the

That means the city should
check out the idea and either act
or get out of the way and make
room for someone else, he added, |

So far there ian't anybody else,

The District of Kitimat and the
Kitimat-Stikine Regional District
have both indicated they want the
sirport to continue operations, but.
they want no part in running it.’

Hull says the city perhaps bas a’
bigger stake in the airport than
other nearby municipalities,

“The city looks at the airport as
an economic’ generator — as:
more than just a place to drive to
and fly away from,” he said.

Hull doésn’t envision the city

city, Ganzenburg noted,

_ Recreation committee members _
recommended’ council approach -
CN about either leasing, selling,

or donating land for a park.

City councillor Val George said. .
he strongly supports the -beauti-*:

fication society on the issue.

“Wt would do a tremendous.
amount to improve the ap-

peatance of town,’’ George said.
He said the city needs to identi-

fy various high-profile green.
Space areas to either maintain or

improve,

“This one has got to be right

near the top of the list,’’ he sald,
“If we don’t take some initiative,

there will be other encroach-.

ments,”"

Councillor David Hull said the |
land on either side of the overpass:
from the Co-op to Eby St. is.

prime commercial Jand and prob-
ably couldn’t be obtained. .

“They (CN) are generally not
easy to deal with,’ he said.

But he said the strip of land nar-
rows beyond Eby St. and could
be a viable linear park there.

Councillor Rich McDaniel said
it could cven be an ideal spot to
relocate the Big Bertha log spar
on Keith Avec., and possibly the
chamber of commerce Tourist In-
focentre.

An application for rezoning of
CN Rail Jand on the northwest
end of the Sande Overpass could
mean more commercial develop-
ment there.

Shell Canada, who leases the
land from CN and previously oc-
cupied it with a now-moved bulk
plant, wants it. rezoned from

heavy industrial to light industrial

so it can be subdivided and- sold
from the test of CN’s holdings,

That proposal will come up for
public hearing in council cham-
bers at 7:00 p.m. on Monday.

of local people,

Hull says a properly marketed |

airport could bring in more busi.
ness aad tourism to the. city,

‘He notes that Canada’s open
. travel.

of alr
could _ someday

skies _ policy
deregulation

mean direct fights to and from -

Terrace from points in the U.S,

. Hull and city economic ‘devel. .

opnient officer Ken Velditan are
off lo Kamloops June 14-15 for a
weekend workshop on the issue
of municipal airport takeovers. ..

ges oncitylandclaim |

operation steken over by some:
form of not-for-profit corporation ©