Not everybody gets to spend as
Christmas Day with family, friends.
and turkey\NEWS A5

| What the kids say”

Little Orchard Pre-school students | ~
give their views on Santa oe

‘Kermodes finish third in the first
| big northwest basketball tourney

WEDNESDAY,
DECEMBER 20; 1995.

_ By CRIS LEYKAUF
PARENTS, TEACHERS AND school
board trustees received more bad news
from the education ministry last week.

Already faced with cutting $30 million
by the forced amalgamation of school
districts, they face losing another $50
million, L :

And ail ofthat is to happen next year.

But the problem is that nobody knows .

how that $50 million is to be cut.

“We have‘an $80 million dollar prob-
Jem this year,’’ government representa-

tive Norm Thicssen told a gathering here
last week. He’s part of the steering com-
mittee which the government set up to
help districts with the proposed amal-
gamations,

In the northwest the ‘government
proposes to merge the Terrace, Kitimat
and Stikine school districts into one large
super-board. By doing this the govern-
ment expects to save $1.4 million.

The effecis of those cuts mean an
$800,000 reduction in money ‘spent on

programs and staff for special needs chil-
dren in the three current districts,

Cuts to administration make up the
bulk of the rest of the money.

Thiessen’s appearance in Terrace last
week was an aticmpt to explain what the
government expects. The community
was also invited to come up with altema-
tive ways to save money,

Approximately 70 people showed up at

the meeting — including a busload of 26°

from Kitimat. .

School District 88 superintendent
Frank Hamilton was concerned that edu-
cation minister Art Charbonneau hasn’t
said where he expects school districts to

‘cut that extra $50 million..

“We need to know what the minister
means by that extra $50 million dol-
lars,”’ said Hamilton. ‘‘Having to re-

adjust twice in one year is very dif-
ficult?’ : _

Piersdorff said the. cuts are ‘‘a rather

large whack against a $3.2 Dillion

Claus\COMMUNITY B1

budget’’ given the education ministry
each year.

Thiessen said he doesn’t expect any”

news from the minister until late January
at the earliest,

He did add that the education ministry
intended to cut back its own employees.
And boards unaffected by amalgamation
will probably have to make up an addi-
tional $5 million in savings. ,

Another key issue at the mecling was
the proposed cut of $800,000 here for
special needs programs.

““You’ve put 40-45 per cent of the
‘savings on the backs of the most dis-
advantaged people,”’ said an indignant
member of the audience,

The Terrace school district has more
special needs children per ‘capita than
Vancouver, said trustee Laurie Mitchell.

She was concemed that the proposed
‘District 88° secretary-treasurer Barry’

cuts would be directly. felt isi the class-
room. 7 — ae
“You take away the teacher’s support

“That is |
-wrong. Absolutely, positively wrong,”

_ [ofthe season\SPORTS.A13 _

Hey buddy. Spare $80 million

and aid for special needs kids and the

teacher’s attention will be diverted away

from normal kids,’’ she said,

Mitchell was worried teachers would
be pre-occupied with special needs chil-
dren to the point that the education of
other children would suffer.

Thiessen didn’t deny that the impact of
these cuts would probably be felt in the
classroom,

“There's no possible way that in my
view taking $30 million out of the edu-
cation process will not have some affect
on kids,”’ said Thiessen,

If the local school ‘boards decide that
$800,000 in cuts is simply too much,
Thiessen said they still have the option
of finding other ways to cut costs.

Another big concein for trustees was
whether fewer trustees (as low as seven
from the current 21 in the three districts)
could adequately represent their com-
munities. ee

“We're all stretched to the maximum
right now,’ said Mitchell: :

a"

under the Christmas tree
got,” she says, a

Jill hopes Santa will bring her a watch this. -
Christmas. Other things she likes about:
Christmas are going skiing and baking...

» Christmas morning

JILL HAWORTH, a Grade Two student at
Uplands Elementary, drew this cheery
Christmas pciture about her favourite part of
the holidays — Christmas morning.

| like the part when you go down to look
to see what you

—

chip cookies.

Christmas cookies. On Christmas Eve she
plans fo Jeave Santa a

Those cookies are bound to be enjoyed cote
by Santa. And, just perhaps, the snack wil
be enjoyed by Santa's helpers,

Jill. and other students will have plenty of...
{ime top enjoy holiday festivities. Schoo! holl-. .
. | days are underway and students ‘aren't due ©
“> back.again until the new year...

week,

tracks,

the weekend.

work,” he said,

’ accident.

‘Business will have to be done differ- -

| Stolen soldier.
| found destroyed

“A’MISSING eight-foot soldier stolen’ from. a: Christmas’: "4a

was one of two given to McGinlay by relatives. -
Thieves stole both of the figures in the early morning
hours of Dec. 4. The second one was found early on by the
highways ministry electronic information ‘sign leading
west out of town, ~ en
McGinlay’s been lighting up his home near the Wild
Duck Inn on Hwy16 for years. _ ote
The display grows each Christmas with this year’s addi.
tion being lights on a '70-foot tree behind bis house. :
Despite the theft and destruction, McGinlay’ says: he’ ll
keep on doing his display. It was officially turned on over

Early evening i
McGinlay tums the lights off lateron, 2 o> i

ently,”’ replied Thiessen. “You can’t
apply the old ways to the new struc-
ture.” He predicted advances in technol-
ogy would help in this area. *.
Mitchell disagreed, saying much of the
information she gets from schools,
parents and the community comes from
face to face meetings. .
She feels a new super-district might [a
lose touch with the community, bY
Others worried how many jobs would i
be lost through amalgamation.
But Thiessen wasn’t able to answer ex-
cept to say that there would be some jobs
lost, and that school boards would have
to deal with that, while making sure that
children still get a good education.
School districts have till April 15 to
submit altemative proposals to the edu-
cation ministry, -
The next scheduled meeting for the
three boards and the steering committee
is March 6, and more answers.from the
education ministry are, expected at that
time. — ,

Cont'd Page A2

display ata Hwy16 résidence has been found. - oo
But for owner Nelson McGinlay it was a sad. discovery
because the felt-covered wooden figure is in pieces," *
It appears that the soldier's abductors laid it across the
railway tracks close to McGinlay’s home where ‘it was ‘sub-
sequently run over by a train. © : eee
“It was smashed to bits," said McGinlay last week, ‘All
Pve got is a part of his head — brought by the police,’’ -
McGinlay learned of the whereabouts of the vatuable fig-
ure from a CN worker

and -then from the police late last

“This was a deliberate act. It didn’t walk there-by it.
self,” he said of the placement of the figure on the railroad

The plywood, red and blue felt covered figure weighs
nearly. 80 pounds and was worth an estimated $2,000, It

*T have friends come over to help me. It’s. a-lot of

“But I don’t want to leave*you with the. feeling that Pm
upset. People do show their appreciation. Last. year some-
body left a card and a bottle of wine on the doorstep,’*..

This time the display is dedicated:to the son of 8 good
friend who was severely injured this year in'an automobile

is the best time: for viewing, Bectuse

RK AK

And for those who wish to see one. of the more decorated ©
streets this season'and help the less
Crescent in the horseshoe, ~*~ a ee ee

From today until Dec. 24, residents have placed out con-
tainers to collect non perishable food items." :

They'll be given to
‘distribution in Janua

fortunate, try McRae

the Terrace Churches Food Bank for
ry fe . - ; . , f

plateful of chocolate

tdu

BATTERED HEAD is all thats left of an elghtfoot
wooden soldier stolen from Nelson McGinlay's Christ-
mas display. ithad been run ovey by atraln, <9

li

8