‘Eurocan won't seek log exports

TERRACE — Euracan won't
be asking for permission to con-
tinue exporting logs from a north
coast forest licence it has, says a
company official.

It instead wants. to bring the
wood and other: timber in. the
licence to Terrace to be mn
through'its‘Skeena Sawmills op-
eration, says Bruce MacNicol.

Applying for permission to ex-

port would weaken: arguments
that it needs the wood in Terrace, a

he said,

- The. comment is. ‘the latest since
the. company late ‘last year. told.
government it -

(he » provincial.
doesn’ L want. Lo. open a mill it

Eurocan bought the Wedeene

mill out of bankruptcy and an ac-
companying forest licence in
199] on the understanding - it
would open up by November
1992.

But Eurocan says the amount of

wood it can cnt in the northwest

has dropped since 1991, making
it uneconomical to run Skeena

Sawmills and the Prince Rupert

mill at the same lime,
‘Opening up in Prince Rupert
would not only cost moncy ‘now

earmarked for improvements bere’
but lead .to: the possible | loss, of,

100: Terrace jobs. .
By concentrating on - ‘Skeena
Sawmills, : Eurocan would ‘have’

“This is not a vendeita against Eurocan. It's a business

proposition, They made certain commitments. to. get the

transfer and they can’t comply.”’

enough timber for one efficient
operation, said MacNicol.

“When we start logging in the
spring, the. plan was to ‘divert

wood to Terrace. It:would also’

reduce the. pressure. to purchase
private wood,” he said.
The’ special provincial order al-

lowing the export of logs from.

Eurocan’ 8 forest licence ends this

* month.
» That permission was granted in’

1990 fora two- year ‘period. just

before the former owners of the
Prince Rupert . mill went ‘into
bankruptcy. :

Its difficult to make an argu:
ment to-say we are short of wood ;
and-at the same time request an -
“extension to export wood,” ‘said.
_ MacNicol:
In the meantime, Price Rupert

mayor Peter Lester wants Miller

Rupert mill.

owns in Prince Rupert.

TERRACE — It’s not quite Star Trek
or Star Wars, but hi tech communica-
tions has arrived here,

Late last'month, B,C. Tel hooked up
local B,C, “Assessment Authority em-
ployees with:counterparts from across
the province ona video network for an
afternoon,

The video network reached nine

centres around the province.

Six locations could send as well as
recelye TV signals. Terrace was one of
three to have only a one-way hook up.

Assessment authority spokesman
Nigel Atkin described the video confer-
ence as an efficient way to reach more

out B.C,
“IE we can use technology to save tax-

payers money, we're interested,'’ he
sald.

video conference to pass on Informa-

tion on new assessments and what they

mean,
Atkin said the conference was

: JUST LIKE BEING THERE: Todd Zaborniak watches a video
: conference arranged by B.C. Tel for his employer, the B.C.
. Assessment Authority. The conference connected assess-

than 300 employees scattered through-

The assessment authority used. the

Welcome to the video conference

cheaper than having. to fly cimployees

to one iucation. -
**We obviously couldn't fly everyone

down for such a-meeting, and this is

one way to. reach © -everybody,’” he
7 added.

The BC. Tel. “network - already
received one .work out through the
provincial real estate institute.

' “TF we can use technology to save
taxpayers money, we’re interested.”

“The reports we heard were en-
couraging and we took up the sugges-
tion,’’ said Atkin.

The video conference used B,C, Tel’s
microwave system lo create a mini-TV
network,

_BAC. Tel has used the technology for

_ internal communications for several
years already, . .

ment authority employees in nine centres one afternoon last
month. It could be a sign of things to come as companies look
for ways to better communicate.

said the assessment authority confer-

to.cancel Eurocan’s-forcst licence

. Although. Terrace. was only hooked
up one-way, ‘the capability exists. here
for a iwo-way setup.

The video feed coming in used ‘the
equivalent microwave “space of 1,260.
telephone calls, :

B.C. Tel spokesman ‘Kathy Mears

ence is helping the company chart
What should happen next.

“We want to find out from the busi-
ness point of view how it would be
received and how they might want.to—
utilize it,’ she said,

BC, Tel does not yet have a set fee
for video conferences and but has ap-
plied to the Canadian Radio-television
and Telecommunications Commission
fora rate structure,

‘From ‘our perspective, travelling
can be quite expensive. We've found
out there is a cost saving. by doing
this,’’ said Mears.

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Cops ‘dear house at,
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Mill's future remains in limbo |

because if failed to meet the com-
mitment to open the Prince:

“TE they can’t comply with the
terms of the proposal, then they
should lose it,’’ he said,

Lester. suggested — that the
licence should. come up for bids -
again. |

And he feels the successful bid-
der should have to state’ socio-
economic benefits for Prince
Rupert and area...

_. “This is: not'a vendetta Against 7
Eurocan. It’s ‘a business proposi-
lion, They made certain commit- -

ments to get the transfer and they

can ‘tcomply,”” said Lester.
Euracan is now waiting to hear

if forests minister Dan Miller will

approve the company. plan to
keep its. Prince. Rupert mill
closed,

Miller said last week be" 5 wait-
ing for his officials: to complete

_ an analysis of the: Eurocan re-

quest.
“We want to make the best de-

cision we can on the resource for

the community,’’ he Said.

~ Miller did’ “add ~ the Eurocan

forest licence is considered a
legal document and “that any
change has to be thoroughly
studied.

Helpful. to the analysis will be
reviews now underway of norih-
west log supply and demand and
annual allowable cuts, hie said,

Assessment not
really that scary

TERRACE -- Don’t panic!

That’s the advice city treasurer
Keith Norman. has for
homeowners Who are still quak-.
ing after getting their assessment
nolices,

Last week B.C. Assessment
Authority envelopes were turning
up in local mailboxes advising
residents what valualion it had
put on their homes.

Given that municipal taxes are
based ‘on a-‘hause’s assessed
value, those envelopes contained
some scary new figures.

According to Authority figures,

homeowner in five . discovered
their assessed value had soared
more than 30 per cent.

Nearly 200 homes face hikes of
more than 50 per cent,

But, says Norman, that doesn’t
meant their tax bill wiil go up by
the sane amount.

He explained council decides its
annual budget independent’ of
whatever has happened to home
values. oo

In other words, it decides
whether it will spend more
money in the coming year and, if
so, how much without looking al
the assessments,

If, for example, council decided
to increase cily expenditure by
four per cent, Norman said it
would then be his deparlinent’s
job to calculate what tax rate was
needed to collect the amount of
money council said it needed.

The lax rate, he explained, sets

out the amount of money proper-
ty owners have to pay per thou-
sand dollars of value.

Given - assessed values of
residential = propertics = have
jumped. an average .of approxi-
mately 20 per cent,.simply keep-
ing the tax-rate the same as last
year would bring in a massive
amount of extra revenue for the
city,

But, if council. has settled on
that four per cent.example figure,
it would be, possible to cul the tax
rate and still pull in the: amount of
tax revenue the city necded.::

‘While that’s good news:’for all

“than -eiie"Ferracen* ‘heriedwiters it's particularly” io”

be welcomed .by. those. whose
homes’ value increased less than
theaverage, «=:

Norman. said they. will, Tikely
find their.-tax - bill has actually
gone down compared. to last year.

. However, if-you are one of
those who saw - their valuc
skyrocket, you're going to pay
more. . y

But, he cinphasized, the in-
crease Will not be as great as you
may have at first feared.

Another factor in tax, calcula-
tious is how council decides: to
Spread the load. -

There are several different tax
rates -- residential, light industri-
al, business, heavy industrial.

Aldermen can look at the per-
centage of total city reveniic
homeowners provided. last year
and decide to keep it: the same, in-
ercase it or decrease il, Norman
explained,

Cause of Thornhill
fire still unknown

TERRACE -— Firefighlers are
siill trying to determine the cause
of the house fire that killed five
people in Thornhill Dec. 30.

“We haven't ruled out any-
hing, except maybe electrical,”

‘ said assistant Thombill fire chief

Guy Belanger.

Jeanctte Burkett, 46, was the
only survivor of the blaze after
being pushed out a two-storcy
window by her husband,
Lawrence.

He died: inside the burning log
house, along with their three chil-

‘dren and a family friend.

‘The * house --was completely

flame . when

CO] Firefighter's diary,
+ Page AS

firefighters arrived. The roof fell
in thinutes after they arrived.

RCMP Cpl. Rob McKay said
fire commissioner Ken Dahl is in-
vesligating the possibility that the
varethane the family had used on
-the home prior toChristmas may
have caused the’ rpid. accelera-
tion of the fire, .
, Firefighters continue’.to sift
through the ruins, but finding
clues ts difficult because there is
very little left ta find.

SPORTS * BE

** This is not demo-
cracy. To me, this is.
called
And
opinion.” ,

- railroading.
this is, my.

LETTERS AS