Harcourt doesn’t rule ouf mill buy TERRACE — Premier Mike Harcourt isn’t dismissing the pos- sibility of the provincial govern- ment directly buying into the Orenda Foyest Products plan to build a pulp and paper mill. But any decision to. buy or to approve a request Orenda has made for a $100 million foan guarantee will only come after careful study, Harcourt said last week, ; ‘Whatever happened to free enterprise?’ the CATCHING premier SOME RAYS responded when asked for his opinion of the $100 million re- quest. *“We have some of the best tim- ber in the world. We have in Ter- race and Kilimat two of the’ finest communilies in-B.C. for skilled workers and people familiar with the woods,”’ “We have training facilities, educational facilitics, hospilals and rcercational facilitics in place.” “It seems to me the provincial BEAM ME UP, SCOTTY! Grade 8 Centennial Christian School student Randy Toovey tests out the solar oven he made from an old mirror. Hundreds of other local students are preparing for the 28th Annual Science Fair this © weekend, There are plenty of other Sclence Week events going on iow, including the. Science World roadshows. They'll have one show for the public tonight at 7 p.m, at the Caledonia Sr. Secondary tecture theatre. _ government has already gone a long way to pravide basic ser- vices,’’ said Harcourt. “The question is where docs free enterprise. stop and govern: ment involvement . begin,” he added, ‘The téal issue is how deep. are. the pockets. of: the proponents of this project.’ Harcourt said the province first has to ensure the project offers an acceptable risk for either a loan guarantee oz for a buy-in. Joye But it won't be in time for this year And he cautioned the prospect of a buy-in might place ‘the goverment in a conflict because it also acts as a regulator of pulp and paper mills. The premier said the province has alrcady signalled its support of the project by giving. it approval-in-principle last spring. “I'm not adverse (to a buy-in) “but we are a bit gun shy. We’ve just written off $300° million in band loans from the previous So- cial Credit government,” said Harcourt. ' “These were incredibly bad, in- credibly inept loans made by the Socreds. In some cases there were no business plans, no interest was paid and no principle paid,’ he continued. Any NDP investment or loan guarantee will only be made if the proposal provides an acceptable risk for. public moncy, the premier sald. He added that investments using public moncy must be. made using the same reasons: that- - private financiers .use when making their decisions. Orenda has asked for the $100 million loan guarantee as part of a financing package to raise nearly $500 million for its planned de- velopment. Nearly $400 million is needed for mill construction and to buy the equipment needed to tem pulp into paper. Contenders lining up for shot at Jim Fulton TERRACE -~ The federal elec- tion campaign in Skeena has be- come a six-party race with the entrance of potential Tory and Liberal candidates. Smithers resident Maurie Mont- gomery’s declaration — the same day Brian Mulroney quit — that she will seck the Conservative nomination, coupled with Hazelton Liberal Mary McKenna-Wilson’s candidacy, dramatically changes the political landscape here. Now five parties are poised to contest the New Democrats in Skeena — one of their safest fed- eral ridings, held by Jim Fulton since 1979, Here’s how it Jooks so far: * Incumbent New Democrat -MP Jim Fulton, ‘a. 14-year veteran of four federal campaigns, says he is Tunning again. A nomination meeting date has yet to be set although Fulton said last week he prefers having the » Meeting just before or t right after pu clection is called: Poe Fulton took 53 per cent of the- vote in 1988, winning by an Housing land for TERRACE — With its proposed 24-unit affordable housing devel- opment now on the - drawing board, the Skeena Valley Co- operative Housing society has stepped up its lobbying of the city for Jand on which to build. The society wants to locate the development at the comer of Evergreen and Haugland, on the city’s south side. Spokesman Keith Goodwin told councillors last week the society only needs about one quarter of the five acre, city-owned proper- ly. Because the land is zoned light Government nails down school TERRACE — Teachers and school board officials have yet to resolve their differences over this year’s school calendar. But education minister Anita Hagen stepped in last week and released details of a plan to enforce one uniform schoo! calendar for the entire pro- vince, » Yet the calendar, if passed in the legislature, won’t take ef- fect until the 1993-94 school year, leaving local educators to battle out the current year’s calendar in ongoing contract negotiations. “Tt'still has to be resolved at the bargaining table with the teachérs,’* said Harold Cox, ‘the school district’s director of instruction. Hagen’s new calendar for the future calls for school to start the day after Labour Day and .to end on the last Friday in . June — unless that day is June 25 or before, in which case the school year ends on June 30, “The Schools Act presently: ‘requires 190 instructional days in each school year. A late Labour Day in the current school year prompted Victoria to reduce that requirement to 187 days of instruction, Under the new system, in- structional days will vary from 185 to 188 over the next five years, plus five professional development days each year as well as two school-community relation days in the first three years. “The new school calendar will bring stability to a system often seen. by parents as chaotic,’’ Hagen said. She called it a retum to a “traditional, predictable, stan- dardized school year.”” ‘We still have a couple of concems, but we’re happy that One year later COMMUNITY + B1 dim Fulton 8,000-vote margin. * The 700-member strong Skeena contingent of the Reform Party claims broad-based and growing support in the riding despite recent weak national poll _résults. Reformers will throw their weight -bebjnd-either’ Mike: ‘ Scott or Alan Forsyth after their nomination meeting here this Sat- urday. (See Page A7 for profiles.) * With Mulroney gone, every- thing changes for the Tories. Re-. place their biggest lability with a youthful dynamic leader and a strong local candidate and the Conservatives could yet pose a credible right-wing alternative to Reform. Smithers’ Maurie Mont- gomery is the only declared pros- pective candidate so far, The more than 200 riding mem- bers meet for the nomination March 21 in Terrace, (See Page AS for a profile on Monigomery. ): * The Liberals are in the race with Hazelton’s © Mary McKenna-Wilsom as the only. declared candidate sofar, = * Christian Heritage Party members made Smithers resident Louls Kwantes thelr candidate at the party’ s Jan. 22 nomination meeting in Smithers. * National Party organizers say: they will mn an as-yet-unnamed: candidate in Skeena. A Queen: Charlotte Islands resident is belng: considered by the party’s B.C. ‘nominating * ‘comnilttes.” ~They’t 1 in. the process of setting | MP a riding association, society seeks its development industrial at present, the society’ was also asking it be redesignated R3 multi-residential. He pointed out the R3 zoning was in line with that proposed in the land use plan which will form the basis of the new Official Community Plan. Goodwin said the society plans ta construct 1-4 bedroom homes under the B.C. Housing Manage- ment Commission’s (BCHMC) . non-profil housing program. If it is successful in its applica- tion to the commission, he ex- plained BCHMC would pay the construction costs with the resolution has been mandaled,” Terrace District Teachers Union president Cathy Lambright said of the changes, The union is opposed to the Terrace schoo! board’s deci- sion 1o arbitrarily make June 30 the end of this 1992-93 school year. Cox said the move is In line with Hagen’s new system for subsequent years. sociéty taking over ihe mortgage on the property and managing the project from there. Tenants rent would be sub-; - sidized so-that none paid more: than 30 per cent of their income. The property would be on-a: long ferm lease with the city. receiving a payment equivalent.to 75 per cent of the land’s market value up front, he added, ; While the architect and consul- tants assisting on the project had indicated the society’s application had a good chance of success, Goodwin emphasized the impor- tance of being able to confirm the availability of land. “Is a vital component,” he sald. The other was completion of a survey to show there was a need for affordable housing in the city. Confirming that was now un- derway, Goodwin said a similar survey for last year’s failed ap- plication had drawn 134 signa- tures, 80 per cent of those people falling within the commission’s maximum income guidelines. While the focus of the society’s effort to date had been providing ‘accommodation ° for ‘low-income families, he said it hoped the pro- ject could be extended to meet the housing needs of single. mothers and seniors as well. The rezoning request was referred to both council’s plan- ning committee and committce of the whole.