Telus to close store, slash workforce here THE TELUS store here will close, throwing four people out of work this fall, company officials say. And that’s just a prelude to the elimination of more than a third of ihe phone company’s Terrace-based workforce next year. “Overall in Terrace to the end of next year there will be a total of about 24 positions reduced,” Telus spokesman Doug Strachan said, The further 20 workers being eli- minated here next year are primarily technical employees who work on phone lines and Telus’ other infra- structure in the region, he said. There are 62 Telus employees who are members of the Telecom- munications Workers Union in Ter- race, Workers at the Telus retail store and many others throughout the company have until Oct,-18 to de- cide whether they will accept -buy- outs the company has offered to leave voluntarily. “We're trying to avoid layoffs,” Strachan said. Buyout offers have been made to THE TELUS store here will close by the and of the year, company ‘of ficlals say. Four Telus workers will take buyouts or face layofis. 11,000 company employees, or about 40 per cent of Telus’ total workforce. Telus has blamed its decision to pare the payroll on competition in telephone service markets and regu- lators’ rulings that it can't charge more for basic phone service in rural areas. The CRTC ordered a three- year freeze on basic phone rates. Telus is also in the midst of con- tract negotiations with its workers. Strachan said it’s unlikely laid-off workers could bump into positions elsewhere, because of the huge vo-. lume of positions being eliminated, “There’s not a lot of places for employees to go to,” he said. The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 24, 2002. ATi More rural liquor stores proposed By JOANNA WONG THREE NEARBY rural businesses are waiting for community approval to start up small liquor stores. Businesses in Meziadin Lake, Rosswood and Nass Camp have applied for Rural Agency Store (RAS) liquor licences. Those stores are estab- lished in areas not big en- ough for repular liquor Tourist By JOANNA WONG FEWER tourists are com- ing to Terrace this year, reflecting an overall pro- vincial decline. This year has seen al- most a 20 per cent de- crease in parties dropping by the. Terrace Visitor In- _ formation Centre. Only 1,375 parties stop- ped by from January to June this year, compared to 1,700 from the same time period last year. “It’s down. It should be up because we’re in prime lime naw,” said Claire Irwin, executive director of Terrace’s Visitor Info Centre. “We really don’t know why. The economy is probably the number one thing.” Irwin said the weather has had a big impact. “We've had three bad summers in a row,” she said. “The weather does affect our visitors.” Another factor is that Terrace isn’t known as a destination stop. “Thal makes a bia dif. stores. “If there’s a good com- munity infrastructure and there is a need, we see there is a business oppor- tunity there,” said Kate Pasieka, the communica- tions manager of the Li- quer Distribution Branch. According to Pasieka, RAS are intended to give people in remote and iso- lated areas of B.C. better access to alcohol products. Pasieka reports the three locations are still in the community input stage. As long as there’s no sign of opposition after a two-week period, the pro- posal is approved by the liquor distribution branch. “Usually it comes down to whether or not the com- munity sees enough of a need or negative impacts,” said Pasieka. “It’s a case- by-case basis.” This approval process, which relies on community input and a population of a least 300 people in a five- kilometre radius, is new under the Liberal govern- ment. It used to be a rural agency store had to be at least 20 km away from an urban centre. numbers down so far ference because people keep driving,” said Irwin. Irwin reports recent vi- sitors have been upset at the lack of provincial campsites. Other complaints in- clude poorly marked for- estry. campsites, “atrocious” road condi- tions. Yvonne Danroth, owner of Wild Duck RV Park, said she’s been busy, but that numbers are definitely dawn. “I’m still busy but the numbers for June are down,” said Danroth. “The Americans are down.” Some other local busi- nesses say things are fine. Pat Thompson, the manager of the Sandman Hotel, reports that this month he’s actually seen an increase in visitors. “Our count is up com- pared to last year,” said Thompson, who notes that the hotel has even re- ceived bus tours for the first time this year. “It’s up ERRACE Terrace Ringette Association early registration forms are in the (J) mail. Please fill them out “ASAP” and enjoy the “Preseason” ice. Next executive meeting is July 30, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. at the Library. Phone contacts: 635-3007 Allen Hampton 635- 6650 Karen Reumper inade- | . quate maps of the area’and |” ~ about 20 per cent.” Overall B.C, has seen a drop in visits from the U.S. and Europe, although the For more information contact Admissions and Registration at (250) 561-5867 province has seen some growth in tourism from South Korea, China and Japan. ‘Consider the CNC Advantage GSYPSs — Small Class Sizes Low Tuition Fees Quality Instruction Scholarship & Bursary Programme COLLEGE OF NEW P rng CALEDONIA a Mehta sf : PRINCE GEORGE Limited availability in the follawing programmes T * Opens the door to challenging and rewarding careers in Natural Resource Management Enginesring Design Techno! « One-year Drafting Technician Certificate » Two-year Technology Diploma * Employment opporiunitles are available in private industry and government * You canbe a member of an | engineering design team Say hello to our 3rd plane... 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