ie makes no sense
Propping up remote native

He’s up there
Swimmer Kevin Andolfatto is ona

fe local club provides its members

communities is futile, says Skeena
MP Mike Scott/NEWS A130

with a sense of belonging and
place/COMMUNITY B1.

list of the country’ Ss elite
athletes /SPORTS BS

"WEDNESDAY
DECEMBER ?, 1994

-STAND =

75¢ PLUS 5¢ GST
VOL. 7. NO. 3477.

‘Gold plated’ ice rink blasted

By JEFF NAGEL

ADVOCATES of a multi-million
dollar arena expansion better get
serious about cutting costs or else
take an carly trip | to the dressing
room,

That’s the message that came
out of city council last week
where the latest plans for a see-
ond shect of ice got a cool recep-
tion.

The Second Sheet of Ice
Socicly has whittled its original
$4.75 million proposal down to
about $3.9 million by eliminating
renovalions to the current arena.

But councillors say that’s still
way too much.

“They haven't gone back to

Sharpen their pencils at all,”
councillor Ed Graydon — said.
“The socicty is still asking for a
gold-plated secondary shect of
ice.”

He said they want the new rink
to become the main facility and
the exisling arena to become the
practice rink,

"*T think it should be the other
way around,” Graydon told
council, “‘We’re talking about a
second sheet of ice — not the
Montreal Forum.”

Graydon said Skeena Valley
Rotarians were recently asked by
ihe society to donate money
toward a $70,000 dressing room
planned for the new facility.

w@ Inthe pin

TERRACE WRESTLING expanded this year to include all
sludents with Skeena teacher Dave O’Brien starting the first
girls wrestling team. About 15 girls from Skeena and
Caledonia answered the call and are now training three times

“Give me a break,’ Graydon
said. ‘‘Get real and come back
with some realistic ideas.”?

“It’s a vision of prandeur, The
whole thing has gotten way out of
linc. And if they don’t believe
that they'll soon find out in a
re ferendum.”’

Val George said council
shouldn’t kill the second shect
project, but agreed further cost
reductions are needed before any
referendum or further’ expendi-
tures are considered.

“I don't think we have a project
that is realistic at the moment,’’
said Val George.

Councillors Gordon Hull and
David Hull echoed those sentin-
ments and joined Graydon and

George in voling down a recom-
mendation to begin negoliating
architectural and design fees with
Royce Condic and Associates.
Ruth Hallock was the only coun-
cillor to vote in favour,

Hallock voted noted Royce
Condic had a good track record
with the city and had come in un-
der budget on the RCMP detach-
ment building.

Going with an optimistic design
from the start, said David Hull, is
dishonest to the taxpayers, who

‘inevitably don’t get what they

voted for,

When cost overruns begin or
money fails to materialize, pro-
ject designers are forced to scale
down parts of the project.

a week In the Skeena gym. Two of these athletes giving
wrestling ashot are grade 9 Skeena student Kathleen Marsh
pinning Skeena grade 10 student Rosa Mikalotf to the mat.
See page B9 for more details on girls wrestling.

Fire vote
passes
by wide
margin

VOTERS IN areas outside Ter-
race have approved by more than
a 10:1 margin plans for an ex-
tended fire protection system.
When the ballots were tallied
following Saturday's referendum,
141 people had voted ‘yes’ with

only 13 opposed.
And that’s great news, says
North ‘Terrace resident Paul

Gipps, one of the driving forces
behind the push for the deal.
Gipps admitted he was also
telieved ta see the figures. That’s
because a telephone reminder
campaign carried out ast week

turned up a few people talking of
organizing a ‘No’ vote.

Fortunately, he added, the vote
showed they’d not had much suc-
cess,

‘Everyone’s very happy,”
Gipps said, noting the successful.
referendum was the culmination
of a year’s work.

Under the deal, Terrace’s fire
department will now respond to
calls from homes within an 8km
radius, That takes in North Ter-
race, Braun’s Island and New
Remo.

He anticipated that would be-

come effective Jan, 1 next year,

The areas covered by the fire

protection agreement should also
be able to negotiate reduced fire
insurance rates,

In his own case, Gipps said his
insurance premiums should be cut
in balf although that will be offset
to some. extent by the cost in
taxcs of the deal.

However, whatever the finan-
cial benefits, he said the main
thing was the peace of mind resi-
dents will have now.

“The biggest thing is somconce
is going ta come,’’ he explained.

“Right there we've Ict the pub-
lic dowa,’? Hull explained.

A better approach, he said, is to
boil the project down to a bare
bones second sheet of icc, but de-
Sign it in such a way that further
modules can be added to it later.

“Tt may be a pretty basic pro-
ject at the beginning, but at least
you have the project,’? Hull said.

The first step, says Hull, is to
decide what the city can afford,

“Council supports the concept.

But to have a serious look atitwe ©

have to decide what we can af-
ford,’ he said. ‘‘It's no use
dreaming of Cadillacs when
you’ve only got Chevette money
in your pocket.”’

He said the city needs to calcu-

Jate the amount. of money’ that’s
definitely available by adding the
cily’s proposed $1.3 or $1.5 mil-
lion contribution to what founda-
tion and donation money can
realistically be raised.

Then the city should proceed to
design a basic structure within
that price tag, with options for fu-
ture add-ons incorporated in the
design, said Hull,

Huil also opposed the motion to
begin negotialing fees with ar:
chilect Royce Condie.

He wants council to consider
tendering the entire project — de-

sign and construction — for a
fixed price.

There’s more about the ice
rink plans, See Page A2,

Public dubious
on restructuring

SUSPICION AND distrust.

Whatever else the restructuring
committee and consultant Eugene
Lalonde learned at last Thurs-
day’s public meeting, they were
leh in no doubt that’s what a Lot
of Thombill residents are feeling,

“No-one ever asks us, they just
push it on us,’’ Lionet Sears com-
plained,

Another questioner wondered
why Thornhill was being pres-—
sured to change. ‘‘We’re better
off the way we are.

And Lalonde’s. assurance the
restructuring committee had gone
into the process wilhout any
preconceived nolions was grected
with general laughter.

Clase to 100 residents of
Thomhill and surrounding com-
munilies braved the cold to make
their views known, a turnout
Lalonde found encouraging,

Almost all were from Thornhill
with only a few from Terrace and
surrounding smaller communities
such as Old and New Remo and
Jackpine Flats in attendance,

Despile the concerns about the
enlire process, the meeting
managed on the whole to achieve
its purpose, identifying what resi-
dents saw as the issues.

And by the time the two-and-a-
half hour session was over, repre-
senitation.and taxation had clearly
emerged as top concerns.

Representation had been tack-
led by Peggy Julseth, ‘Fhornhili’s
director on the Kitimat-Stikine-
regional district board, in her
opening remarks. Sole representa-
tive for the 5,0C0 people of that
communily, she described the
workload as ‘‘overwhelming"’,

And, referring to the current
system where decisions affecting
Thorahill require approval by the
district board, she queried
whetier the community wanted:
direclors from other

municipalities and regions
making its decisions.

Lalande noted local autonomy
was often the driving force be-
hind the incorporation of small
communities.

However, while incorporation
would give Thornhill control over
development in its boundaries
and the power of taxation to fi-
nance services, he said it would
also assume the costs of policing
and road maintenance,

Asked if it would be possible |
for road maintenance to ‘be
carried out in the same way even
after incorporation, Lalonde con-
firmed the community could
choose to contract the work out.

Most of the concems, however,
revolved around the possibility of
amalgamation with Terrace.

How much of Terrace’s debt
load would be shifted on to
Thornhill taxpayers?

Given Terrace’s population was
more than double Thornhill’s,
would Thornhill be fairly
represented on a Greater Terrace
council?

Would Thornhill’s “‘more laid
back’’ lifestyle disappear under

the weight of the new
bureaucracy?
Would Thornhill residents

simply end up paying more .
(taxes) for less (scrvices)?

Lalonde offered assurances all
these questions would be ans-
wered as part of preparing an as-
sessment of the various options.

He also confirmed the options
would include maintaining the
Status quo.

In looking at the options, the
consultancy teara will assess how
well cach addresses ihe concerns
raised by the public and their
financial implications,

There will then be another pub-
lic meeting, likely carly next
year, to discuss those findings.

Regional health board to become official

HEALTH MINISTER Paul Ram-
scy is duc in town next weck to
officially proclaim the Northwest
Regional Health Board.

Two-thirds of the members
have already been chosen from
local community health councils
and locally elected bodies.

The other one-third will be ap-
pointed directly by Ramsey,

Up until now there has been an
interim regional stecring com-
miltce gearing up for final dealg-
nation, .

The regional health board is to
lake over, in conjunction with the
new community health counells,

the major responsibility for health
care spending and decision
making in the northwest.

Along with that will be the dis-
appearance of numerous boards

and councils that now ate in.

charge of health services.
“Services provided by
physicians, the Pharmacare pro-
gram and ambulance services will
nol be affected by this re-
organization, These services will
continue to be managed at a
provincial level from Victoria,’’
sald interim regional health board
chalrman Ruséell Wieas.

“Over. the coming: year, the

board will complete a regional
health plan. It will begin to make
decisions about how the health
care system will be managed,” le
continucd,

The group working on the
regional health steering com-
mittce have been meeting for six
months, as have their community
health council counterparts, [nh
paving the way for the permanent
boards and councils.

Wiens said there’s been no de-

cision yet.on where the: head-

quarters for the regional health -:

board will be located,

That decision has been left up .

to the regional health board.
We're going to be having our
meetings in every community so
for that matter, the office could
be in Terrace, Prince Rupert,
Kitimat or Smithers,” he said.
akakek

Elections ate to take place next
week for four people who'll sit on
the area’s new health care body.

The four representatives on the -

community health councii will be
chosen froma list of nominees
assembled last weck,.

The community health. councit
-|s expected to. become official
‘Soon: and is part of the new look

to health care as the provincial
goverment moves money and
decision making out of Victoria
and to the regions.

There'll be 12 people altogether
on the community health council
— the four who will be chosen
next week, four who will be ap-
pointed by the health minister and
four selected from other local
goveming bodies, —

The latter four are
Pousette from the school district,
Peggy. Julseth’ and Sandy: Sand-

hals . from. the Kitimat-Stikine .
_ Teglonal district and Val George

from city council.

ve

| . : :
bet

John -

There’s no word yet on when
the health minister will make his
appointments.

This new community health
council is to assume control over
all health care agencies and pro-
grams within Terrace and area,

There’s also going to be a
regional health board made up of
represeniatives ‘from ihe com-
munity health councils through-
out northwestem B.C.

Those voting for the four
people next week have been sit-
ting on a health council steering
committee that's been meeting
since earlier this year