Carcass

concern
raised

-Stikine Regional District: has

_ solution,” he said.

cian’ Pat Georgeson said the
‘problem is-a real concern

_-Sarcasses.. .at.thely “Thorahill

. hospitals, regional districts and

‘special limed pit at the Terrace

anything."

health

TERRACE — The Kitimat-

agreed to change its practice of
dumping dead animals at the
Thornhill dump, environment
ministry officials said last week.
Dead pets from the Thornhill
Animal Shelter were being plac-
ed in garbage bags and disposed
of with the rest of the garbage at
the dump, environmental en-
forcement officer Hoa Le said.
The practice was investigated in
response to health concerns
raised by a local resident.

**The concern is that .-

scavengers or people using the
dump may be ‘exposed to
disease," Le said.’ *‘And pets
and wildlife might carry the car-
casses around and. spread
disease.’”

The bagged carcasses will
now be placed further back in
the dump, he said, and dump
workers will immediately cover
them with garbage and gravel.
“It seems to be the best interim

_ Waste management - - techni-

throughout the northwest, par-
ticularly due to-the. numbers of
animals killed -by the recent
distemper outbreak.

Its something that could be
quite ‘dangerous,'’ she said.

Many © area residents ‘algo.
dispose of dead pets and ather

dump, | she’ added. Hunted.
animals, ‘poached animals. turn
up there — you name it."
.A more permanent solution
could eventually turn up when a
biomedical ‘waste. management
plan is completed‘by northwest

veterinary clinics, she said.
The Terrace Animal Shelter
disposes. of its carcasses in a

dump, Georgeson said. But the
only way to completely
eliminate the danger of con-
tamination is to. incinerate the
carcasses — a costly procedure.

-*Jt (the limed pit) just keeps
the smell down — the lime
doesn’t actually disinfect

VICTORIA
vav 1X4

nT AT TUE ASSEMBLY
PARLIANENT BLDG
ATTN? Rae CARTNIN

BC

City goes a-wooing |

TERRACE _— Prince Rupert's
mayor says he doubts political
interference by Terrace city
council will persuade the RCMP

: ‘to ‘move its regional head-

quarters to Terrace,

‘A Terrace delegation
presented the proposal to the
RCMP subdivision’s

superintendent last Friday and

‘will: lobby the RCMP’s B,C.
commanding officer and the
* federal. solicitor-general in a
. meeting in Victoria on Friday.

“Mayor Peter Lester said any

_ decision by the RCMP to

relocate would be based on how
‘efficient. and economical the

“+ alternatives are,
{The only thing that could
_make a difference — although [

~ doubt it — would. be. political

. interference by the. provincial
- solicitor-general’s ministry,”
.. Lester said. ‘'The province pays

. quite a bit of money for’ the

operation of the subdivision

and there could be some

“pressure there. But I don’t think
the RCMP are particularly
- bound «by. political considera-
tions,’

“Terrace . alderman ‘David
Hull, who. chairs the city’s
tourism, and: economic develop-
ment . committer sald. there. ‘is

P! posal | or methods.
fe-are : Ay the. -business of

ah Ba NA pk nag Ve NS Bt BATE aR ENN emer

bit close to your chest.”

Hull. described the initiative .
as good aggressive marketing of |
the city. ‘We see this asa very
good opportunity: for.’ the
RCMP and for Terrace.” °°.

The city’s proposal’ calls for
construction of a second floor ,
at the Terrace RCMP detach-
ment at a cost of more than
$240,000. The -Almarlin.
building at the corner.of Eby |
and-:Lazelle could: temporarily
house’ the subdivision during.
construction,. or. alter-
nativelycould be its. permanent -
site. The paper outlines the ad-—
vantages that have led more.
than-30 government, agencies to
locate “in ‘Terrace, and: points
out 45 ‘per. cent of. the. -RCMP
subdivision | staff are “Already:
based. here.

Twenty-six new jobs: would.
come to, Terrace if the RCMP: *
opted to move, injecting: more -
than‘ $750,000 a year into, ‘the,
local economy. ~

~ But: Lester sald: the RCMP's
cost-benefit analysis following.a
similar proposal in 1987" ‘deter-
mined a move to Terrace was 1
to'its advantage. - Donte

“It's. a. ‘decision | that: the,"
[RCMP «= will .:have - to. make
‘themselyes,”* he. sald. 4

think:. ‘any. represetitations
other than: re-initiating t
posal "is, going: to’make: any

Bifference one way ofthe other...

nt ifthe

It’s upto -them to. find oy
would

Ot Lies Ch

. time. ”

RCMP — subdivision
superintendent Roy Pickell
‘agreedthe subdivision would

-move'to Terrace if that option
_ proved more economical and ef-
. ficient. However, he added, “‘A
’ fairly substantial study would .

have to be.done on a number of
factors before arriving at that
- conclusion,”

- Pickell said he will wait for

instruction ‘from the provincial
-commanding officer — Don

Wilson. “It-will depend on what
he thinks, If he asks me to do a
study, ‘then I'll do one.”

- Pickell: ‘said the subdivision

does want anew duilding, but
says.a move could still be as
_many_as four-years away.

“David Hull

Abuse cases
on the rise |

TERRACE — Increased
awareness of sexual assaults and
abuse continues to result in
more and more victims coming
forward, Terrace RCMP say.
**Our sexual assault case load
has at least doubled in the last
two years,’ ‘said Cpl. Don
Woodhouse, who heads. the

jocal detachment’s General In- -

vestigation Services unit.

The majority of those charg-
ed with sexual offences are what
police call multiple offenders,
he added. They are cases in
which the offender has commit-
ted several assaults, sometimes
against many different victims.

Crown counsel Laurie
Langford agreed, adding pro-
secutors are now working on 42
sexual assault files now before
the courts or under investiga-
tion,

The high caseload doesn't
represent an increase in actual
incidents, they said, but in-

_ dicates more victims are coming

forward than usually have in the
past,

Statistics for 1989 indicate a
41 per cent increase in total sex-
ual offences in the Terrace area
over the previous year. -

Woodhouse said many of the
cases are coming to light ‘as the
victims become older and decide
to deal with what happened to
them — often sexual abuse they
suffered as children.

“Because of the publicity in
the news (about sexual abuse)
more people are coming for-
ward,’? he said. ‘‘And the em-
barassment and fear of coming
forward has subsided. It’s not
the big - stigma that. it - was

before,”"
Since many cases are’: th

results of older victims. finally |
telling their stories, many. of the

cases relate to . old” offences;-
Woodhouse noted. “A lot - ‘of.

the incidents we're investigating ;

now took place in the 1970s.**
Local offenders don’t match
any one type or description, he,

said. “From what we see here

the offenders are coming from.

“every walk of life.’’
More victims are coming for-*

ward because better support
systems — such as the Sexual
Assault Centre and the Terrace
Victims’ Assistance Program —
are now available, Woodhouse
explained, and tecause society’s
view toward sexual abuse and
assault has changed.

“*The fact that it can happen
to anyone is changing attitudes.
They see that-people are here to
help them — ‘not ridicule
them.” mt °

A cycle of sexual abuse often
means the discovery of one of-
fender leads to athers, he said,
because in. many cases the of-'
fender was also abused as a
child.

Woodhouse said in one case
the victim-offender chain went
back three generations. That cy-
cle of victims becoming of-
fenders and creating more vic-
tims is the rule, not the excep-
tion, he said.

Terrace RCMP inspector
Lawrence Yeske has cited the
“dramatic upsurge of sexual
assault cases’’ in his request for
an additional officer in the
General Investigation Services
unit that handles serious crime.

‘Negotiator hired

TERRACE -— School District
88 has again ‘opted to pay a pro-
fessional negotiator to lead it in

contract negotiations with the.

Terrace District Teachers’
Association (TDTA).

Ratph Elke, of the Richmond
consulting firm Gravestock and
Elke, has been named to head
the school board’s negotiating
team.

School board chairman Edna
Cooper said the board decided
to hire Elke because Bruce
Greenwood — the school
district’s personnel director —
doesn’t have bargaining ex-
perience.

Greenwood was hired last
year after the board decided to
create the new personnel direc-
tor job. Part.of the rationale for
creating the position was ta give
the school district. a staff
member who could lead
negotiations, and avoid the
need for outside consultants.

Cooper said it was decided to
have Greenwood gain ex-
perience by learning from Elke
in this year’s negotiations.

Elke was on hand last week as
both sides met for initial talks to
set the bargaining timetable and
protocol. The school district
and teachers’ union will ex-
change their request packages
setting out their initial bargain-
ing positions in a meeting
tomorrow.

The two sides begin talks next
month and have scheduled eight
meetings from April 7 to April
23.

The district's negotiating
committee will be chaired by
trustee Kirsten Chapman, and

filled out with trustee Duncan
Etches and board chairman Ed-
na Cooper. ;

The existing two-year con-
tract reached last year following
a 19-day teacher strike runs.out
June 30.

Cooper said last week she re-
mains ‘optimistic about the
bargaining sessions ahead, and
says she doesn’t expect a repeat
of Jast year's labour strife. ‘‘]
think the people (in the TDTA)
have changed, and the attitudes
have changed since then.”

TDRTA president Greig
Houlden said it’s too early for
optimism, but said the union is
serious about bargaining.
“We're determined to do our
best,”’ he said. ‘‘We want to get

things off on as productive,

”

footing as possible

ive 0 ‘out informa: has as es
: Siautty to, case up on: ene:
emergencies secur “forcement: of air pollution .
” : standards at local mills watil
Sanday of an - they finish studies on-ways to
artinent Dbaltding “after”

_Northwest t Roundup

is. my. feeling ‘nat ‘the
have ‘been trying
but It hs mpc
misting