AG - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 18, 1997 ‘TERRACE STANDARD © __ Business REVIEW Out & About New construction up CONSTRUCTION took off in May with the city is- suing building permits worth nearly $5 million. Half of that figure was driven by one project — the $2.5 million Canadian Tire store under construc- Year-to-date tion on Hwy 16 West. Ten permits were issued construction in May for single-family $ millions homes, worth $1.49 mil- 16 lion in total. May’s total was well 12 above the $3.45 million recorded in the same 3 month of 1996, and puts the 1997 building season 4 well into record territory. So far this year $13.8 0 million worth of building permits have been issued, compared to $12.7 million to the same point in 1996, and $10.8 million in 1995. Commercial is so far the biggest sector, accounting for $5.2 million year-to-date. Fibre gap being plugged B.C. TEL officials say they hope to have a fibre optic connection across northwest B.C. fully in service within three months. Spokesman Ed Clark said the line is complete from Prince George to Vanderhoof and from Smithers to Terrace. But the gap between Vanderhoof and Smithers — now bridged by digital radio — will soon be plugged by more fibre. That could be as carly as August, he said. The 570- kilometre, $10.8 million line will allow transmission of audic, video and data at high speeds through phone lines. It will open up high-speed Internet access, likely under B.C. Tel net provider Sympatico, as well as things like videoconferencing and on-demand video. CN rezones land CN RAIL has requested rezonings of almost all its property cast of the Co-op parking lot on the north side of the railway tracks. Seven different properties are being rezoned from heavy industrial to light industrial. Another property is changing from heavy industrial to core commercial. The Official Community Plan is also being changed to light industrial designations. The rezonings, which have received the approval of city council, are part of CN’s plan to subdivide and sell off property it now leases to other businesses but no longer requires itself. ‘94 ‘95 ‘96 ‘97 Building permits issued by City of Tarrace to and of May Palagian confident city will ride out the bumps AMALGAMATION WITH Thornhill and improvements to the forest industry are the [ two main issues which will face the Chamber of Com- merce over the next year, [| says president-elect Sharalyn Palagian. Palagian, owner of Central £ Gifts, will be sworn in as the new president on June f 28. She takes over from § Skip Bates, manager of the ff Bank of Nova Scotia. Palagian wants to gather opinions on how businesses | _ feel about the proposed amalgamation. “ve talked to a few who feel it’s definitely a positive step to take. I’ve always thought of the two com- munities as one.’’ Palagian thinks Thornhill offers a lot of opportunity for businesses, particularly industry, As for the forest industry, Palagian thinks the lobby ef- fort to the government should continue, and she Sharalyn Palagian ther streamlining of the Forest Practices Code and more improvements to stumpage rates. *“We’re by no means at the end of it,’’ she said. In the short term, Palagian acknowledges that the busi- ness community could face deal with the union to cul costs and an influx of cash from the province. The company says it will run out of cash to operate around June 27. Palagian predicts a shut down, if it comes to that, wouldn’t last long. ‘Someone's going to have to log this area. We hold one of the largest treed areas in the north. We will work. We will cut trees down here,” However, Terrace is not solely reliant on the logging mem industry. The retail sector continues to grow, says Pal- = agian, pointing to the two new mega-stores — Cana- dian Tire and the Real Ca- nadian Wholesale Club, “That proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that we’re a hub city.” Palagian bas lived in Ter- race all her life, and is im- pressed by the cily’s growth. And now she’s looking COAST MOUNTAINS SCHOOL DISTRICT 82 3211 Kenney Street Terrace SUMMER HOURS Coast Mountains Schoo! District 82 Administration Office will be instituting summer hours effective June 30th through September 2nd, 1997 inclusive. Hours. will be 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ~ OPTIMUM HEALTH “THROUGH HERBAL ¢ ‘Coast Inn Of The Wes 5 “Hear two dynamic speakers - -who have literally transformed | their lives and the. lives - of - praises the work done by the 4 blow if Skeena Cellulose forward to having her year NW Communities Coali- shuts down, tion, She wants to see fur- to be involved in the city’s Staying open hinges on a main issues, Business awards issued THE TERRACE and District Chamber of Commerce elected a new executive last week and handed out its 1997 awards for excellence in local business. The Chamber of Commerce represents over 35} members. Sharalyn Palagian takes over the role of president from Skip Bates. Leona Klein is vice president; Doug Barrett is treasurer and Sean Braid was named secretary. New directors were elected to the board as well, Michael Leisinger, Renita Neys, Justin Rigsby, Campbell Stewart, Henry Stiksma and Pat Bolin will join existing directors Bruce MacNicol, Gerry Martin, Bob Rammage and Glen Saunders. The J newly bideted “méiibers will'be sworn into a Fe a emit alae i 4 office on June 28 at an installation dinner. * Business award recipients will also be honoured at the same dinner. Nominations were invited from the public. A new award was handed out this year — that of Rookie of the Year for a business less than three years old. It went to Cheryl Parkes of Sugar ‘N Lace Wedding Cakes. Brian Archibald of Tim Hortons was named Business Executive of the Year, while Kosta Sainis was Student of the Year. Company of the Year went to Sight and Sound and Gord McConnell. Audrey McKinnon of the Fabric Boutique was awarded for Customer Service Ex- cellence and Gordon Oates of Terrace Little Theatre was named Contributor to the Arts. NUTRITION An informative evening on herbs in the 90’s Monday June 23 7 p.m. at the ‘thousands of other people. An incredible opportunity you don't want to miss!" Guest Speakers: Jimny Kossert & Tony Neumeyer Limited Seating Gemma’s Bath Boutique Info/Tickets Call 635-6265 Tickets available at ' Admission $5.00 * Part proceeds to go to Terrace Child Development Centre process. near future. An Open Letter To The Communities Of The North West. PPWC Local four wishes to inform the North West region of some facts and also state our position with regards to the current economic crisis which affects us all. The Royal and Toronto Dominion banks have demanded massive 3 job reductions which. will have a devastating affect on all our communities. ¢ Financial investment is necessary for the long term viability of the region. ¢ The present proposal by the banks would result in massive job losses in Prince Rupert. Our view is:.this is the first step of more job losses in our region. ¢ Court appointed monitor David Bowra has publicly stated that under the banks current proposal, concessions by the Unions do not guarantee that the banks will make the required investments in this mill and the woodlands. Jobs will be lost without ensuring the long term stability of our region. This is unreasonable! ¢ PPWC local four is realistic when it comes to job losses through technological change. We understand that when capital is invested in Mill upgrading, job losses are part of the ¢ Technological change is not new to industry. However the short notice of 17 days given to the employees and communities, in which to produce an alternative solution, is both unreasonable and unrealistic considering the regional destructive ramifications. PPWC local four has extended an invitation to the banks as owners of Skeena Cellulose Inc. to meet and discuss financial commitments to the PulpMill and North West region pri- or to any reduction of jobs. A resolution to these concerns can be found within the terms of collective agreement. We expect a meeting to take place with the banks in the very i Be ee ee cme me ee es es ee em