school’s in wort ta nazelton Terrace wrestlers head east this weekend for a challenging tourney\SPORTS B6 The Terrace Symphony Orchestra is looking for financial help\COMMUNITY B1 = _Local police take lessons in how ny to do their job in changing : times\NEWS A10 WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 4, 1996 93¢ PLUS:7¢ GST. VOL, 9 NO, 34 MP Scott suit keys on ‘racism’ SKEENA MP Mike Scott is targeting ex-MP Jim Fulton in his libel and slander lawsuit over their fierce tele- vised debate Sept. 26 on CBC Newswarld. Scott has filed a statement of claim in B.C. Supreme Court against Fulton demanding damages and court costs, Scott’s statement, filed by Vancouver lawyer David Donohoe, zeroes in on Fulton's statements on Newsworld and his later comments in an interview with The Terrace Standard. During the debate on Newsworld, Fulton said the ‘‘underlying racism’? of people like Scot! make him undeserving to serve in public office, Fulton also accused the Reform Party of an issue ‘‘they can drum around and dig those racists out of the backwocds,”’ Scott’s statement of claim contends the ‘‘acism’’ references are defamatory be- cause they paint a picture of him as someone who promotes racist objectives and ideas and who will attract electoral support from voters with racist ideas, The statement of claim also addresses Fulton’s subsequent interview with The Terrace Standard in which be accused Scott of being poorly informed and tell- ing mistruths to the public about nalive land claims. Scott contends that he was defamed by the comments because they portray him as “intellectually and morally dis- honest’’ or negligent in bis performance as MP. In his statement of claim, he also says a statement by Fulton that Scott ‘ran off like a mouse”’ after the debate was also defamatory because it implied Scott was not willing to defend or capable of defending his ideas in face-to-face debate. As a matter of law, The Terrace Stan- dard \earmed that Scoll’s statement has the legal effect of denying the facts in Fullon’s quotes. Scott alleges Fulton made the libelous Slatements to enhance is status and power within the NDP and to cause Scott’s defeat in secking re-election as MP for Skeena. Scott’s claim says Fulton is “motivated by personal spite and ill will?” and wants to ‘inflict humiliation and suffering’? on Scott. Fulton, in bis slatement of defence, ad- mits making almost all the statements cited by Scott as defamatory, But he claims his statements thal Scott has racist views are fair comment on a maller of public interest in light of Scoit’s statements on aboriginal affairs over the course of bis term in office. In particular, Fulton’s statement of defence alleges Scott bas on various oc- casions alleged that some native govern- ments are corrupt, that ordinary native people suffer injustices at the hands of their leaders, and that those lcaders aren’t to be trusted with setticments from native land claims. Fulton in bis statement of defence ad- mits a number of the statements he made to The Terrace Standard were defamatory but contends that ‘the words used are true.” “The Defendant says his intention in ultering defamatory comment about the Plaintiff was to convey to right-thinking members of society the disgust that he held for the Plaintiff's views conceming the Nisga’a treaty negotiations and the manner in which the Plaintiff was endeavouring to interfere with and frus- trate those negatiations.’’ As for the suggestion Scott '‘ran off like a mouse’', Fulton replies that Scott ‘tin fact did quickly depart from the location of the interview.”’ # Open wide — and no drooling please IF THIS IS what you saw on Monday than you were one of thou- sands of people whe took part in a survey of dental health. The survey Was conducted province-wide by the College of Dental Surgeons of BC. It will be compared to similar surveys done in December of 1991 and 1986, when 8,000 and 11,000 patients, respectively, were examined. In the five year interval between the first two studies, adults under 35 years of age demonstrated a marked decline in the average number of cavities. However, gum disease was more pronounced in the 1991 survey. Pictured here is dentist Dennis Fisher, of the Park Avenue Dental Clinic. Rental housing crunch here among highest in the north IT’S SLIGHTLY easier to find an apartment in Terrace now, but analysts say the rental market here is still undersupplied. Terrace's vacancy rate increased to 2.0 per cent in October, up from 0.9 per cent a year ear- lier. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) analysts say it's the eighth straight year Terrace has experienced an apartment shortage. It's the lowest vacancy rate of any community oe in northern B.C. The next lowest was Williams i Lake at 2.8 per cent. : Prince Rupert saw its vacancy rate jump to 8.6 per cent this year, making ils market over- Be supplied after two years of near-balanced market conditions, Kilimat’s vacancy rate went even higher — to 11.4 per cent from 9.3 per cent a year earlicr. The Kitimat market has becn oversupplied for at least a decade. Analyst Joel Balizer said renters in Terrace are not being enticed into the home ownership market by low interest rates to the degree renters are in other communities, “High house prices in Tetrace have curbed home buying intentions: for many renters,” be said. Baltzer said the supply of rental units here has remained largely unchanged, with only 64 new rental units built in the Last five years. The tight rental’ market has led to escalating rent levels in Terrace, he added. The survey reports rent increases from 1.6 per cent for bachelor units to rent bikes of 5.7 per cent for three-bedroom apartments. Average apartment rents in Terrace are now $433 for bachelors, $493 for one-bedroom units, $572 for two-bedroom units, and $667 for three-bedroom apartments. Those numbers are marginally higher than in Prince Rupert, and dramatically higher than Kitimat, where a three-bedroom apartment can be had for just $469. The $572 price for a two-bedroom apartment here is about $170 less than the provincial aver- age, which is skewed by high rents in Van- couver and Victoria. The vacancy rate breakdown for Tertace shows three-bedroom apartments are easiest to find, with a vacancy rate of 12.5 per cent. Two-bedroom units, however, had a 0.0 per cent vacancy rate, one-bedroom unils remained steady with 2.4 per cent vacant, and 5.7 per cent of the bachelor units in the market were avail- able for rent. Those numbers combine to create the average 2.0 per cent vacancy rate here, Although the CMHC stats cite only 64 units built here in five years, new construction of multifamily units has surged this year. Senior city building inspector Paul Gipps. estimales 85 new unils will come on stream - here by next year, ’ They include three suites, 12 duplexes, four four-plexes, three six-plexes, the 18-unit addi- tion to the Haugland Ave. affordable housing project and another seven-unit apartment build- ng Gipps wouldn’t predict those new units will make a big dent in the rental market here, how- ever. ‘*There’s still a lange number of people who don't have rental units,'? Gipps — said. “Everybody who built six-plexes and the like this past year have pre-rented them before they’re even in the ground, So [ think there are still a lot of rental unils to be built before Ter- race’s needs are met.'” Mayor wont raise taxes MAYOR JACK TALSTRA is promising property texes here will not be jacked to make up for a $315,000 reduc- tion in provincial grants. The cuts, announced last week, brings to nearly $500,000 the amount of revenue the City of Terrace will lose in 1997 as a result of the provincial government's actions. Previously announced cuts included $30,000 in reduced economic development graats, and a $150,000 reduction in utility properly tax revenue ordered by Victoria to give a property tax break to the railways. But Talstra says council won’t deal with it by simply passing the problem on to local taxpayers. "The last thing we’re going to do is raise taxes,’ be said. ‘Raising taxes is out of the question. We're not going to do jt,”’ And he predicted council likely won't resort to more layoffs and staff reductions cither. He said the city's budget picture may improve somewhat early in the new year when its revenue outlook grows clearer. He said city staff have been conservative in their _ estimates of both revenue from increased assessments and new development, and probable surpluses in city accounts. Talstra said that may mean some trimming ‘‘here and there’’ and some reduction of the capital budget — where $2 million is presently carmarked for road, sewer and waler projects in ’97, Although the capital projects budget isn’t part of the op- ' erating budget, Talstra said a cut there would still con- stitute a reduction in service, because it would likely mean: fewer roads repaved next year. “We'll be all right,’ Talstra said. ‘“The sad part about all this is that in the last three years we've trimmed our budget and we’ve already cut $500,000 out, and now we're looking al having to do it again.” It’s also anticipated that the city will be given responsi- bility for maintaining Kalum Lake Drive within city limits, which had been designated an arterial highway. That cost — estimated ai $31,000 — is part of the overall reduction to the city. But the provincial grant cuts could affect plans for a new-look local government here. Page Al3 Two heads for new district By CRIS LEYKAUF THE NEW AMALGAMATED Coast Mountain School District was born Monday night with two top administrators, Frank Hamilton, former Schoo! District 88 superin- tendent, was named acting superintendent of the new distriel at Monday night's inaugural board meeting. And ex-Kilimat superintendent Sharon- Beedle is assisting acting superintendent of the new district. — The future of other scnior administrators from former School District. 88 -~ such as assistant. superintendent Skip Bergsma and secretary-treasurer Bary Piersdorff - has not yet been resolved, The province has ordered amalgamating districts to determine by Feb. 15 who. wll ultimately hold senior administrative posts. - Kitimat trustee George Neumann, who was voted in as chairman of the new. board Monday night, said the board decided. to. name Haniilton acting superintendent because of his perpetual five-year contract, That con- traci, if terminated, wotild have resulted in 8 severance package in excess of $500,000. Lawyers told the board that competition for the super- intendent’s job .can only be between Hamilton arid Beedle. That's because including outside candidates In the competition could be construed us another way of terminating existing employees’ contracts. . The same’ reasoning. was behind naming former . Terrace secretary-treasurer Barry Piersdorff as acting Continued Page A2