‘ Hamper requests top 550 evrernaa THE SALVATION ARMY - met its poal of raising : $60,000 last month for its : > Christmas food hampers and : : for on-going family as- : sistance, » Going into Christmas . week, the Army = was + $20 000 short of its goal but ‘a surge of donations helped Meet ils target, said Captain ' : Norn Hamelin. « “We needed $45,000 to “be at the bare minimum but i budgeted for $60,000 and «we got it,’ said Hamelin, — ‘We'll be able to run our family services (program) «for the next year,’’ > In addition ta God, ‘Hamelin attributed the suec- “cess of the December drive ‘to a community spirit which came from all quarters. : It didn’t come from any sone place. It was spread " “throughout the com- “munily,”” he said, ;_ Private donations totalled -$14,000, corporate dona- ttions $26,000 and kettles sadded $18,000, Hamelin ‘noted, > "Students at Clarence : Michiel, for instance, had a » fundraiser and raised $1,250 “and from B,C. Tel we got “$5, 000, which was the big- “gest single donation. That «ane really gave us a boost,” * he said. * The donations helped ‘meet a demand for more ethan = 550 Christmas - hampers, 100 more than the * year previous, * Hamelin said hamper zorganizers spent several days after the official dis- _ tribution period in making sup additional ones for «people. - The Army encountered «new kinds of recipients this ~ year, including those caught «in between employment in- ‘surance and social as- » sistance, > "Some people didn’t have renovgh hours for employ- ‘ment insurance and were “waiting for social as- + sistance,’" said Hamelin. “This year we seeing mnore of the working’ poor who are just finding it economically -difficull,”’ he said. ; Christine Simmons, the Army's family services co- ordinator in Terrace, said “RE R Tee Ee a Army were’ reaches donation goal DONATIONS OF money and food helped the Salva- tion Army meet requests for more than 550 Christ- mas food hampers. That's Army family services co- were received by the dead-« line date but that 110 more were put together for those who missed registering. Oue sign of lean economic times was the.low number of people who registered but did not pick up hampers, she said, “Only eight people didn’t pick up hampers, That was - way less than in previous years,” Simmons added. Approximately. «30. volunteers assisted in pre- : paring the hampersi” The Army also did well in collecting food and Hamelin estimates it has ecnongh to help people with emergency shortages. well into late ordinator Christine Simmons with a list of what went into each hamper. They also included toys for chil- dren. The goal for December was $60,000. Food bank gets ready CHRISTMAS DONATIONS of food and money meat the Terrace Churches Food Bank is well equipped to handle ils next distribution period of Jan. 11-14, says organizer Kathy Miller. ‘People were very generous through the month of December. We had a lot of com- munity support,’* said Miller. “The Nisga’a Tribal Council, for in- ,. Stance, was generous and we had a big donation from the Legion,’’ added Miller. Another. .contributor was encouraging ‘skiers to bring a perishable item. The food bank is gearing up to prepare 600 bags of food for distribution this month, an increase over last year. Miller estimates the 600 bags will be used ton- Shames. .. Mountain. which had a free-ski. day. while... "4634 Walsh aiid people ate ‘asked*to bring’ “jdentification for themselves and for their i's a big shopping list and we're grateful for the community support,”’ she said. The food bank is run by area churches and operates one week a month during the late fall and winter with the exception of December as that’s when the Salvation Army does its Christmas hamper program. The Jan. if date is for people with last names from A- H, Jan. 12 is for those with last names from I-R, Jan. 13 is for S-Z and Jan. 14 is for those who missed the first three days. Distribution takes place from the, hall at dependents. ¥ Contributions to the food bank are wel- come by mail to The Terrace Churches Food Bank, cfo 4012 Anderson St., Ter- The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, January 6, 1999 - A3 News In Brief spring before having to dip by 1,200 people, race, B.C, V8G 212. They can also be No thank you UNIONIZED WORKERS at Skeena Broadcasters have turned down a proposal which would have scen some. of them go on a work sharing program supplemented’ by employment insurance. The proposal would have affected the radio/television | Slation’s Terrace newsroom and people in its client ser- vices department by cutting the work week to four days and one day on employment insurance, But Communication, Energy and Paperworkers union official Art Simmonds said it’s not convinced the com: pany is in any economic hardship, ; “Our view is that the company is profitable, inaybe noi as profitable as previous years, but il is profitable,” ‘ said Simmonds, “We sec no need to take advantage of taxpayer dollars.’’ Simmonds said slaffing levels are dangerously low as it is and the company is having trouble meeting its broadcasting commitments, Slight licence drop THERE WAS a four per cent drop in the number of business licences sold by the cily last year, Statistics provided indicate there were 1,291 to start off January 1998, dropping to 1240 at year’s end, That mate for 51 fewer licences overall. Those statistics also show 200 licences lapsed but that 126 new ones were issued and there were 23 renewals. The number of licences dropped ihe most in the early part of 1998, with a small recovery beginning in June. Al the peak of the drop, at the end of April, there were 85 fewer activte licences than existed at the start of the year. Building values way off THE DOLLAR value of building permits barely cracked the $8 million mark in 1998, making the year one of the smallest in recent times. By comparison, 1997 featured $21 million in permit values while 1996 clocked out at $25,8 million. One of the biggest affected areas was residential con- struction with just 23 permits issued for a value of $3,237 million. There was not a lot of commercial or indostrial ae- tivity either with $1 million in commercial renovations recorded and $1.473 million for new industrial build- ings. Calling all quitters THE B.C. LUNG Association has a free Quit Tips booklet for people who made a New Year’s resolution to butt oul. Call 1-800-665-5864, toll-free, to order one or try the assaciation’s website at wwi.belung.ca/quittips, tml Murder trial date set A ROSEDALE, B.C. man will face murder charges in a courtroom here on June 7, 1999 for the murder of "Datiicl Fagan, Wilfred Kilgren allegedly shot Fagan, who was 34 when he died, on the Copper River Forestry Road on Aug. 14, 1997. Kilgren faces two charges of second degree murder. He has been in custedy since he was arrested on Sept. 4, 1997 in Rockglen, Saskatchewan, : 450- hamper applications — into its cash reserves, ‘When you think aboul what we need, made through local churches. “| connection nonce | ft ———S—t STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT THE PRICE OF NATURAL GAS WE WISH TO CRAW YOUR rs J ' THE PRICE OF NATURAL GAS [IS INCREASING ACROSS NORTH AMERICA | ATENTONTOANEAROR GIAZF OF TERRACE | “BOXING WEEK BLOW OUT FLYER Page § - Black & Decker 2Lb Breadmaker, 43-08256. The flyer * | statas there is a mail-in rebate on this product. This is inconact. There is no mail-in rebate offer. WE SINCERELY REGRET ANY INCONVENIENCE WE MAY HAVE CAUSED YOU. sooty 4952 Al Zones. BoE SCHOOL OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT & MODELLING Bella Hepburn, School Director Watch for February 4th Opening _Tel 638-8484 for information Terrace & District Community Services Society -INTERCONNECT- | - Program Manager - Roger Leclerc “Accredited Post Secondary Training Institution with the Province of B.C. The main function j is to support employment-disadvantaged j peo- ple in Terrace by training them to find and maintain employment. “For further information regarding this program Phone: 635-7995 Or Fax: 635-1516 — \ =a How are Natural Gas Rates Determined? Natural gas rales consist of a delivery charge and a gas commodity charge. The delivery charge is the fee for delivering natural gas to the customer through the PNG distribution system. . The commodity charge is what PNG pays for natural gas. As with other commodities, natural gas prices are set hy market conditions, not ty the local distribution company.’ The cost of gas thal has been negotiated with producers is passed through directly ta customers without mark-up, When market prices increase, the utility pays more for gas and as a result the consumer pays more. When prices are lower the utility pays less and the consumer pays less. Natural gas rates are approved by the British Columbla Utilities Commission, Key Factors Affecting the Commodity Price af Natural Gas in BC Over the past year, several key economic and businass factors have had an impact on PNG and other natural gas utilities throughout North America. The major impact Is that gas commodity prices are rising and will result in higher natural gas rates, The following market fundamentals are contributing to higher gas cormmodity prices: : Tatal Annual Energy Comparison Based on 132 GJ Residential roo | 91,998 nee $ 782 Natrel Ose Vator Gos vow oes Frepawe Electric on “a 100% Eftclent ash sx We Efictent EMolsnl EM ctant Etideni Ende ® ~=Demand growth has been an important factor. Continent wide supply and demand dynamics affect prices that all North American consumers pay. While BC's economic growth Is slowing, demand for matural gas still remains relatively strong within the province, and remains slrong in many parts of the robust US economy. This strong gas demand has placed upward Pressure on prices. | © Supply of natural gas has tightened acrass North America. New gas wells in some producing segions have not produced to the extent expeciad and weak oll prices have caused many energy companies te cut back on the number of wells drilled this year. @ Weather also plays an important factor. Last year we had a warmer than normal winter and this helped to keep fast year's winter commodity prices low. ® The price of natural gas expos is increasing as Canadian producers benefit (rom operating within a continental gas marker. The price gap berween Canadian based and US based natural gas has tightened as more capacity for natural gas exports is put in place this winter, HOW THESE FACTORS WILLE AFFECT ANNUAL NATURAL GAS COSTS IN 1999, impact on Residential and Small Commercial Customers The residential and small commercial rates will increase by approximately 8%. About 6% of the increase is directly attributed ta increased natural gas prices and 2% is a result af increased costs of operation, | ewer eveeveveceerersh area ere ee ee ERT PR TRH OTT OPER ERT ER EET TR ETC RATS Terrace & District Community Services Society “SKEENA FAMILY RESOURCES- Program Manager - Eileen Howells SPECIAL SERVICES TO CHILDREN CORR HOMES PROGRAM MOTHER'S TIME OFF YOUTH GROUP ITINERANT SUPPORT WORKER RECONNECT LAKELSE JR. HIGH ADOLESCENT HEALTH PROGRAM SUPERVISED ACCESS PROGRAM For further information regarding these programs Phone: 635-7087 Or Fax: 635-7095 | HISTORY IS ON THE SIDE OF NATURAL GAS If you've bean thinking about switching to natural gas to save money, bul - don't t knaw whatthe future holds for natural gas prices, cansider this: Over the last 17 years, prices for nalural gas have been considerably lower than electricity, oil and propane; @ Even with the 1999 price increases, matural gas still remains more © economical for household heating than other (uel sources; -@ Though il is impossible to predict future prices, the past pectarmance of natural gas and other energy prices suggests that it is reasonable to anticipate a similar price gap in the foreseeable future. Natural gas prices are now determined by market forces because natural gas is a commodily that|s traded in the same way as other commodities such as canola or coffee. As the market price of natural gas changes, PNG may approach the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) for natufal gas rates to change. When the cost of natural gas increases, rate increases may be requested. When the price of natural gas decreases, there Is an opportunity far natural gas rates to decrease. {a fact there were rate decreases In 1994, 1996 and 1998 for most customers. As the price comparlson chart shows, throughout the past 7 years, natural gas has been the mast economical .cholce and, though there are no certainties in the curimodities market, IL is- expected to remain the ‘most - « economical cholee well Into the future. Competitive Fuel Prices Based on: 36.0 cll Propane. 49.3 cl Oil pat 5.77.