Page 4, The Herald, Wednesday, May 9, 1978

TERRACE/KITIMAT

daily herald

General Office - 635-4957
Circulation = 633-6357

GEN. MANAGER - Knox Coupland
EDITOR - Greg Middlaton

CIRCULATION. TERRACE-Rick Kirat
KITEMAT OFFICE - 632-2747 |
Publlahed every weekday at 3212 Kalum Street,
Terrace, 8.C. A member of Verifled: Circulation. ©
Authorized as second class mall, Regisiration number -
1201, Postage pald In cash, return postage guaranteed.

NOTE OF COPYRIGHT

The Herald retains full, complete and sole copyright In
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- "Published by
Sterling Publishers

635-6957

In the Herald.

LETTERS TO |
THE EDITOR

Dear Sir;

It is now almost a month
gince the provincial election
was called and I do not know
what the issues are. I would
find it very helpful if there
could be a debate on TV
involving all four provincial
party leaders. I get the
impression that Bill Bennett
is reluctant to debate with
Dave Barrett.

Yours sincerely:
Croft Randle

Dear Sir:

I recently learned that the
Fish & Wildlife branch
budget, which was to be
increased by 2 per cent this
fiscal year, will now be a
atand-pat budget, after a
special order recently went
out ta reduce the budget by 2

per cent.

The result of this illogical
and inadequate budgeting,
will effectively see a
reduction in funding
araounting to 24 per cent —
when one considers the rate
of inflation and the rate of
growth that is required for
the Fish & Wildlife branch to
meet its responsibilities.

Last fiscal year, 1978-79,
our conservation officers in
the Skeena region, which
extends from Burns Lake to
the Queen Charlotte Islands
and’ north. to: the: Yukon
border, were out. of gas_and
vehicle maintenance funda
before the end of November,
which meant that they could
not do their normal field
patrol duties for the months
of Becember, January,
February and March. Where
does this leave the Fish &
Wildlife branch thia year?
Does it mean that the con-
servation officers will be out
of gas and vehicle money by
as early as September or
August of this year — during
the peak of our hunting and
fishing seasons?

This is incredible from a
provincial government that
promotes tourism as our
third largest industry, which
is 50 dependent upon fish,
wildlife and a clean en-
vironment, Even more
important ia the fact that in
the Skeena region, we are
almost totally dependent
upon a healthy fish and
wildlife resource for
tourism.

In my opinion, the Social
Credit government never
has and still does not care
about fish, wildlife and the
environment. They pay lip-
service to it — their record
over the past 344 years in
reducing budgets to the Fish
. & Wildlife branch; con-
frontation with the federal
gavernment over fishery-
forestry issues; low morale
in the Fish & Wildlife Branch
and virtually no par-
ticipation by the Fish &
Wildlife Branch in delicate
political isaues such as the
preposed Kitimat Oll Port
proposal, indicates thelr lack
of concern. Ina region where
more than 30 per cent of the
residents elther flesh, hunt or
do other outdoor activities —
not to mention the im-
portance of tourism to our
area, we must demand a
better deal for our fish and
wildlite and the en-
vironment.

If it means electing a naw
government to achieve this
end, then I have ao other
choice but to vote for a new
person on May 10th to
represent my views in

Victoria.
JimCulp

Dear Slr:
I wish Mr. Shelford would

alther be more specific, or
more careful, in his re,
election TV blurbs, Last
election he tried to frighten
us by asserting that the NDP
had left the province
possibly as much as a billion
dollars in the hole. Bennett
promised a complete audit to
show just how badly off we
were,

When 1 received his haif-

assed audit it showed the
province over $400 million in
the hole, but a few weeks
later an error of one hundred:

million dollars
was foun
of under $200 million, with
the notatlon that by re
arranging and re-classifying
these figures a slight surplus
might have existed.

Now he states how badly
our roads deteriorated under
the NDP, and how the
Socreds have upgraded.
them. I travel the ay
from here to Vancouver
usually twice a year and I
saw just as much road

upgrading under the NDP as
under the Socreds.
Lecally, the § NDP

upgraded four miles of
Kalum Lake Drive, and
blacktepped it; upgraded the
Kelth Avenue approach to
the new Skeena Bridge and
blacktopped it. They built
Highway 16 from the Kalum
River ta beyond the Shames

‘and blacktopped it, and we

didn’t have to travel aver
broken rock and coarse
gravel for a year as.we did
on long stretches of Highway
16 east of here under the
W.A.C, Bennett rule.

The NDP in three years,
built five steel bridges
between Terrace and

--Kwinitsa, and the new
Dudley Little Bridge at

Terrace. And at Kitwanga,
six weeks after announcing
the highway north would be
built from Kitwanga, con-
tracts were let and actual
construction commenced,
After what happened on
Highway 16 East after the
floods tast fall, the Socreds
should be the last to criticize.
Seventy-five per cent of that
damage was due to the kind
of construction under the
W.A.C, Bennett regime.

The NDP finished the
ove: at the weat end of

Fraser Lake, left half-built .

by the Socreds, for about
eight years; also, the
overpass at Houston, left
half-finished for about five
years, The narcow bridge
here forced over wide
vehicles to swing scuth at
Burns Lake toF'rancois Lake
and back to Highway 16 at
Houston. And Shelford
represented this area during
this time.

Bill Bennett, leader of the

deformed Liberal party, has -

spent most of the last three
years trylng to destroy all
the good things Barrett did,’
and calling it progress. The
Panco plant, taken over by
Barrett because closure
threatened 300 jobs, was
making good profits so
Bennett deelded it should ke
sold to private Interests. A
cooperative group of far-
mers in the valley wished to
buy itas a going concern, but
Bennett chose to sell to
Cargill, an American multi-
national company, while
stressing that B.C. was not
for sale. Evidently, in his
mind, the co-operative group
were part ot the horde of
*Natlonal Socialists,’ to those
of us who remember the
Second World War, a direct
link-up with Nazi Germany.

But Bill Bennett is relying
on Barrett initiative for his
platform. Free shares that
wouldn't be avaliable except
for Barrett's shrewd
bargaining: regular driver's
license fons for youn males
which the NDP granted
when ICBC was initiated but
taken away by Bennett,
railway extension to Alaska
belng negotiated by Barrett
and now Included aa Socred

policy.

Certainly Barrett made
mistakes, and ha ts the first
to admit [L But as a leader
and a shrewd business head
looking to better the living
conditions of the average
eltizen of the province,
rather than the 4 te of
the large business firms
Barrett standa head and
shoulders over Bill Bennett,

P. Frank

bringlng the loss >.

Dear Sir;

At a meeting on April
24th Terrace Council
adopted: a  recom-
mendation conerning a
plan to develop Lower
Little Park, The
recommendation was a5
follows:

“That tha sketch as

ted to the com-
mittee be adopted as the
basis of the plan for
development of Lower
Little Park”

A proposal to improve
Lower Lite Park has
some merit: no one would
deny. that our “parks"’
need work, The matter is
not as simple as it a
‘pears, 22 tape
_ Since. council was asked
‘to adopt a plan which
clearly required money:
some questions were in
order. It was reasonable
to expect the “sketch” to
be available for members
of council the the public to
see. Even something as
basic as the estimated
cost of the completed
project should have been
available, However, what
happened was that ab-
solutely no information
was’ made available, It
wasn't possible to see
even fy sketch of the
proposed plan.

Questions on t the
proposal fell on deaf ears
and produced a blank
stare from the chairman

ON PARK ISSUE

of the committee. When I.
finally asked if anyone
had seen the sketch there
was total silence from all
““hiembers of council and
hate present. I assumed
“fhat only the members of
_ the recreation committee
‘knew what they were
voting on but since no one
volunteered an ex-
planation, that assump-
tion ig. questionable. An
amendment to have the
matter tabled until the
.,Tecreatlon commission.
could have input on the
proposal was defeated
and the recommendation
was adopted. '

The - following day,
according to your paper,

“the ‘sketch was’ unveiled
at-a recreation com-
mission meeting. They
may very well have ob-
jecled to not being con-
sulted before the proposal
was ‘adopted by councell,
but at least they saw what
they were adopting or
rubber stamping.

My first piece of con-.
crete information came
fram your newspaper the
following Thursday, April
26th. Then on Tuesday,
May ist I attended a
recreation committee
meeting as an observer in
order to find out what
council -had adopted 1 .
week earlier. Here are
some of the fact
presented: .

- L The first phase of the

development will be the

area of Lower Litile Park

fronting on Kalum St. and

sprrounding the Library.

(asketch was available at
’ the meeting) -

2. The cost of this firat
phase is $50,000. This
money is to come from
the account which was
earlier explained, by the
chairman, to . be - for
general park develop:
ment in Terrace. .

3. The total coat of this
project is estimated by
the committee to be about

4. Only ‘phase 1 is ta be

- completed this year. The

rest o the area will be left

as is, The other three to

four : phases *:-will: .-be

completed aver the next
threé to four years. .

5. The cost of main-

tenance will be con-

sidered at a later date.

It appears that on April.
+24, council, ‘without any
information, approved a
motion which committed
the taxpayer to spending
$200,000, Certainly the
idea should have been
considered but to deny an
alderman the information
necessary to make that
decision is irresponsible
however, noble the
motives might be. We still
do not havea written
itemized breakdown of

_ Instead of reducing

-Terrace Council

‘the
.pPlications. In its haste

Terrace alderman comments!

the costs and are now left
in the position of having to
wonder about the costs.
We can always hold a
lottery for . our
“dropeaulan” dreams.
The manner in which
this action was taken. is .
only a reflection of.
council's intoxication
with their new-found
wealth. The 1979 .budget . ..
provides for an Increase
in’ municipal spending of
$796,000 (% of a million -
dollars} over the 1978
expenditures of $3,578,765
(municipal portion only).
This represents an in:
crease of 21.6 per cent.

taxation as’ the School
Board had .announced,
has
decided that they will |
wilhhold the benefits of -
an increased assessment
base from the taxpayer.
Apparently taxes are no
longer high in Terrace so
a reduction is not
ited,

Some areas of the.
municipality definitely
need extra funds but a lot
of money will he wasted if
council continues to pass
motions without knowing
financial. = im-

council may trample over
Tuch more than.a few

trees.
Very truly yours,
Helmut Giesbrecht

‘

J
ERE TONY. Nowe Syd. inc,

hy Linda Purschke

Residents of the Kalum
Lake Drive area, angry
over what they consider
government inaction, are
mounting a concerted
campaign to protest the
present alte. of the
municipal dump at, the
next meeting of Terrace

city council,
The dump is now
located about two

kilometers horthwest of
Terrace in the centre of a
sizeable
district. According to
Alderman Bob Cooper,
chairman. of the public
works committee, the aite
waa first chosen about 15
years ago, although many
of the homes were

the orlginal permit from.
the pollution control
branch was issued in
September, 1974.

Aside from the eyesore
created, which they say
resulted In a devaluation
of property, major

-concerns of the people of
the area are irritants
_ produced by the burning
of refuse; the possibility
of water contamination
and the danger to
children from bears and
other animals that are
attracted to the refuse.

“Qur home is located
one quarter of a mile
north of the landfill site,"’
said Jeff Outerbridge ina
letter to city council, ‘on
two acres of beautiful
treed land ‘where our
peace and solitude no
longer belongs to us. For
ithe’ protection of our
families - aid our in-
vestments" we
requesting . that the.
District’ of Terrace
remove its operation
from our area com-
pletely, to an entirely new
and safer location.”

Outerbridge says he
has personally policed the
gates of the dump to keep
people from dumping
refuse in the ditches and
on neighboring property
when the gates to the
dump are closed, _

The. city. keeps an’ .at-

"| ..,fandant on.the. site from.

10a.m. to? p.m., six days
a week from March to
November, and Cooper
stated that the city could
not afford to have the site
supervised 24 hours a

ye.
In the letter, Outer-
bridge describes the
problems of air pollution-
from garbage burning.
Another area resident,

supporting letter to
council, contends the clty
is incapable of controlling
the burning of garbage
because there is a build
up of uncovered refuse,
“These fumes and
smoke from this burning
garbage are not only an
’ irritant,” says Elwood,
“but algo are a danger to
‘health for the smoke is.
full of toxic gases from
the burning plastics.”
Cooper stated that he
did not feel there was a
build up of refuse, but
said that the city does
have a problem with
people who start fires at
the dump, when the at-
tendant isn’t there.
Cooper said that the city
only burns refuse in
compliance with the
Permit issued to them

from the pollution contral

-items, but’ excluding,”

residential |

established by the.tlme

-supplies to residents’

are:

. animals, “although this is.
Patrick Elwood, In a.

4

‘he
ts.

branch, sn?
This. permit, withthe“
most recent amendment -
dated Jan, 31, 1979, states!
acceptable material ‘for’?
burning may * include:?]
‘gelected -. demolition -
refuse, trees, and similar“

nuisancé-causing com: *
bustibles such as rubber, '”
plastics, tars, insulation, ‘
ele," ‘The permit also“
gates burning should be“!
done only on days when *:
the wind direction is away
from the residences, and: 2
requires that no refuse be «,
dumped within 100 meters 5
ofaresidence.
Cooper also noted that~
poth burning refuse ap:
stated in the permit and ©
burylng fit material are:
extremely difficult in the:
winter months. oad
"The residents contend"
the district la digging Into’ =
the water table to provide'a4
fill for the dump, and"
Elwood stated that he has“
pictures to document his “7
allegation that garbage*
has been buried eight feet ‘11
into'‘the water table, -°'¥
Cooper said ‘ water

would not be effected by ©
the dump site. The *'4
pollution control branch '
has done pollution tests on
four wells located at the y
dump and have also”)
tested wells belonging to:'*
the residents, but ace"
cording to Bob ‘Smart,’ |.
pollution control officer, '*'
“so far we have not’ |
documented a problem.” *|]
There may. not be"
documentation for a”
problem with , water: |
supply, but there ia’*
bountiful’ evidence ‘to,’
prove the dump attracta -
all- sorta of wildlife,“
especially bears . ‘With ”
bears regular residents of
the nelghbourhoud, many “|
people fear for the safety:
of their children, fe
“We've had occasion to *:+
trap several and shot a."
few bears out there,” said :;
Dave  Krack, con: #1
servation officer for the:«
fish and: wildlife branch. 3
One resident’: statedp~
several. bears ,bad..,been,
shot by people wha live in:
the area, including one _
rare Kermode bear. ~,
Krack sald wildlife en- . |
dangering property or.”
threatening stock can be: -:
destroyed legally, but
that the branch en-
courages daily burning or
buying of rrefuse todeter .

not always done," a
Cooper said he felt the ::
‘best solution for all
concerned would be anew >
dump site, about two
miles north of the present.
location. He stated he felt |
a co-operative effort by’
the municipality, ‘the °
regional district, and ‘the ”
sawmills to establish the”
new ' location, which
would be much larger
than the present one as .
well as provide gravel,--
should resolve _ the
residents concerns. a
In the meantime, the
situation remains con: ©
tentious and the residents -
are dissatisfied. . - oa
“There's some... :
hotheads around here’.
who don't want to go the .
paper route,” said -
Elwood. “I'm hoping:
we'll get some action.
soon.” .

by Frank Howard
(NDP)

We will get a good coastal
transportation system when
we elect a provincial
government whic
in providing Buch a service
and the mechanism for
getting such a service will be
to tap the federal govern-
ment for funds, If that fails
we will go it alone.

‘When the federal govern-
ment took action to remove
what little constal shipping
didexist in B.C, they dealt us
a blow from which recovery
will take a long time.

The federal government
has given the provincial
government some $17 million
to compensate for the loas of
ahi ping. Where did the $17
million go? It certainly
waen't used to help this
northern area, which was the
firea hurt most hy the
removal of ships.

believes:

. to ferve

Dave Barrett and the NDP
have made the committment
to bulld or buy the ships
necessary to provide us with
adequate shipping facilitles

area,

Certainly, part of that
shipping plan involves a
ferry ayatem to serve this
northwestern area through
the Port of Kitimat and we
-WIll bulld such a system,

But, more than that we
desperately need cargo ships
© up-coast com-
munities with supplies.

With tha federal govern-
ment having abandored Its
responalbliity and the
“provincial government

ving spent the $17 millicn -

on something else, our only
choice is to elect a person
and a party dedicated to
fighting for the rights of this
area and providing services
to people.

by David Serry
(Independent)

At the risk of sounding
parochial, Skeena hae to be
rt of an integrated coastal
‘ansportatlon system and
this has to be accomplished
through the port of Kitimat,
There are four basic
problem ateas that have to
declded, and deult with.
Each are equaliy important,
and development cannot
proceed without settlement
of these four basicissues as a
preréquisite.

(1) Settlement of the
Halsla Nations clalins at
Kitimat with them owning
the Jand on their side of the
basin, as equal partners and
earning revenues on thelr
land resource,

(3) Settlement by 09 year
leane, or by expropriation in
the public Intereat of Alcan
held Jands on their side of the
basin, if they refuse to allow
the use by outright purchase

‘facilities kind.

or allernatively a 99 year
lease arrangement.

(3) =The

avernment has to ob-
ectively set goals for
commencement of the ferry
service using temporary

ly offered by
Eurocan as a first step, to
ascertain the viabllity of the
service in the short run
whilst defining long range
objectives, Such a service
could be on a summer 6
basis to experiment wi
frequency of service, type of
service, etc. . :

(4) The federal govern:
ment haa to get on with the
Immediate preparation of
upgrading transportation
links during the interim or
trlal period in the areas of
rail upgrading and land
claima of the Haisla Nation
in conjunction with the
province.

provincial |

_ GANDIDATES RESPOND 8
Comments on coastal navigation

by Cyril Shelford
(Social Credit)

Thia is a very important
westion because a great
eal of work is necessary to
improve our coastal - tran-
portation system, However,
to improve that system, we
must have major develop-
ment to pay for it; and a
stable government which is
accepted by industry to be
tough, but fair.

There is no doubt that the

Queen Charlotte Islands will
have a ferry Ilnk since they
have been isolated far too

. long: -

’ KlUimat-could become the
faleway to the northwest
Pat 1 belleve, the port of
Kitimat will only go ahead as

‘a full multi purpose port or

tot at all. A start in this
direction has been mede

“r
“Sy

28

4

with the announcement of a
methanol plant, and other
industries will establish,
thera because,-as [ have!
pointed out before, Canada:
needs more western ports.

eine kw iecteare

We in British Columbia;
must put a high priority on;
the Kitimat port as the;
essential link in the northern!
transportation route to the!
Yukon and Alaska because, :-
if we don’t, Edmonton will:
replace Vancouver as the!
supply center for thelr:
developing area, J

Wehave a bright future for:
both the economy. and!
coastal transportation, but!
we can’t have ofe without !
the other; and the people;
must decide whether they:
want to stay as they are, or:
go ahead with expansion and!
development,