Scott gets sworn in — Skeena’s new Reform MP says he's going to change the way Ottawa works/NEWS A7 In memory of | | A waterfall is named after a local who was killed in the Second World War/COMMUNITY B1 | Clean up Skeena Angler Rob Brown recounts a moving tale of an old man and a stream/SPORTS C1 WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 10, 1993 DOWNTOWN SHOPPERS frus- trated by the lack of parking may one day be given a solution. Under consideration by the city is the construction of a paid patk- ing facllily. There’s no word yet on the cost, location or shape, says city ad- ministrator Bob Hallsor. “We have been confidentially locking at it for sometime recent- ly,”? be said last week. ‘It’s something that’s been in City ponders pai the works bul we’re not yet at the stage of any kind of plan,’’ Halisor added. ‘We haven't got any type of structure in mind. We thought we should get to Square One and that would be first acquiring the land,’’ he said. But what Hallsor does envision to start with is probably a paved over piece of land either pur- chased or leased by the city- There’s also a suggestion the parking lol be either run by the city or by someone else under a lease arrangement. The issue of parking — or rath- er lack thereof — has been grow- “ing throughout the downtown core in the past several years. The crunch is being. felt on two fronts — one from employces who need places to park each morning and shoppers. - ’ And, growth in the downtown core office and retail space in- On: Ba aT ce «New quarters INMATES AND staff alike are more than happy with the move to the recently completed animal shelter adjacent to Rotary Park. Above, animal contro! officer. Frank Bowsher pauses © during a tour of the shiny, new facility to give some attention to one of Its canine residents, The public is being Invited to come down and have a look for thamselves at this Saturday's open house. For details on some of the things they'll find there, see story on page A12. Lac likes Stewart gold A MINING company that’s spent the past two summers exploring a gold property neat Stewart may carry out work on the sitc- this winter. “We're ow evaluating whether we can do it ina safe and cost effective manner. Safety is a very important. factor,’ Pearson of Lac Minerals said. - The company has spent. more than $7 million this year explor- ing and drilling. on-Red:-Mouniain, John’. less than 30 kilometres by road from Stewart. It’s been on the property for the past several years and the amount of mineable ore it figures Is there has been growing each season. ‘The company last month played host 1o:more than 125 people. at an information session in Stewart. _ Holding such sessions isa re- quirement of the provincia) mine feview process. ‘ Ongoing work this winter ine cludes evaluating the results of this season’s drilllng program. “We're finishing up the un- derground exploration now,’’ said Pearson. It’s still too carly to say how large of a program is planned _ next year but. Pearson did say the company is pleased with its resulis todate.,-. - Red ..Mountain is one of two. large. projects being undertaken - by Lac. The'other is in Chile and ventory hasn’t been matched in recent years by an equivalent growth in off-street parking. That’s because a 1986 by-law relaxed requirements for downtown businesses to provide parking. The excluded zone-takes in the area from Emerson east to Apsley and from Greig north to Park. “Tt appeared that end of town was kind of dying, for sake of a better word,’’ said Hallsor of the "AN DARD = id parking lot reason behind the by-law. “The intent was to make it a little easier for development.” That parking exemption provi- sion was to stay in place until city council decided that parking in the area became a problem, said Hallsor. ° There is also provision in the by-law to have those businesses located within the exclusion area pay for the development of a parking lol. 756 PLUS. 5 cst: - VOL. 6 NO. 30. : That would be done through the creation of something. called.:a specified area, said Hallsor. But, he added,’ nobody ~ yet knows if that is required because the costs of the plan the city is de- veloping aren’t yet known. City building official - Bob Lafleur estimates that 92,000 square feet of commercial space has either. been built in the exclu- sion area within the last year and _ ahalf or is about to be built. TONIGHT’S THE night those pursuing council seats and the mayor's chair take to the stage at the R.E.M. Lee Theatre. The meeting is sponsored by the Skeena Valley Rotary Club and begins at 7 p.m. I’) be similar in content and form to the one held at City hopefuls on stage the theatre for the federal election. Candidates will give short speeches and they’ll then take written and oral ques- tions. First up will be the 10 people running for the six council seats. After a short break, the three people who want to be mayor have their tum. The session will be broad- cast on the community cable channel. Original plans by the club. to hold a school district and regional district candidatts =~ meeting did not work out. and it was canceled. Gov't to harness RECOMMENDATIONS ON how to monitor and control the pine mushroom industry are to be ready by March. The Pine Mushroom Task Fores — made up of officials with the forests ministry, agriculture min- istry and environment, lands, and parks ministry — is charged with investigating the pine mushroom industry. “Our main interest is how to protect the tesource we have out there to ensure sustainability,” ‘says Nelly de Geus, a forests minisiry. research officer on the task force. Although prices - were “excep: tlonal this year because of the _failure of the Korean crop, the northwest pine mushroom. crop was not particularly strong. Some researchers are concerned ‘that intense picking could wipe ". out B.C.’s pine mushrooms, de Geus sald. Options under consideration in- clude: * Providing education and in- formation. * Carry out research into pine mushroom ecology. * Developing regulations to control the mushroom trade. * Creation of a standardized grading system for pine mushrooms. The lack of a grad- ing system is a reason Japanese buyers consider B,C, mushrooms _ inferior to the Asian product. ‘We're looking at the full gam- ut of possibilities,” de Geus said of the task force, which held its second meeting last week, Revenue could be collected from licensing fecs or taxation, expenditures there are also in the $7 million range. Thore’ll be a tramway leading to the ore bearing site if it is turned into a mine. The aerial conveyance will span’ more than 1,000 metres from its base at the “bottom ~ of . Red Mountain to where the ore is. Employees will be taken up and down to their jobs on the: trami- way. ‘the site is i1km north of she said, to help pay for adminis- trative costs, and possibly to help pay for further research. Just how much government in- tervention is nceded will be a big part of the debate in the weeks ahead, de Geus said. By mid-September northwest buyers had paid out between $3 and $4 million to pickers, de Geus said. That figure, however, is a drop in the bucket compared to what the mushrooms are worth in Japan. The Japanese consumer pays big dollar business anywhere from $500 up to $5,000 per pound for the mushrooms, she said, Canadian brokers are paid $200 to $300 per pound. ‘There is a huge difference be- tween what's paid to the pickers and what the cost is in Japan,” she said. de Geus said the task force, which held its second meeting last week, is trying to gather .as much information about pine mushrooms as possible. Detailed ecological research will take at least five years, de Geus said. Alderman, son killed in accident A PROMINENT alderman, union executive and minor hockey coach is dead following a Nov. 6 single vehicle accident. Rick King and son Paul, 12, were killed when their vehicle left Hwyi6 east of the Kasiks Overpass, approximately 59km west of town. Terrace RCMP said the vehicle struck some rocks before enicring aswamp. “Both occupants were pro- nounced dead-at the scene,’ said statement from Terrace RCMP issucd Nov, 6, _ The statement said ihe accident was reported shortly after 1 p.m. King had lived in Terrace for 20 years, He was first clected to council {n 1990, Rick King property Slewart on Hwy37 and then 15km along a logging road in the Bitter Creek Valley. ‘Size and type of the tramway will ultimately depend upon ore being milled at the mine site or at another location. - Initial information gathered by 1,500 tonnes per day. ° the site or through an arrange- ment with Wesimin’s Proniler mine mill. The Premicr ‘has been operating sporadically for the past while and Westmin has fot several years sought to mill or belong- ing to other companies, « Laé iridicates there is enough ore - for an eight-yéar. operation of. Lac estimates: it will need: & - workforce of 150° working two shifts a'day in the mine: and two Milling will take place cither on stifis a day in the mall.