anna Toa ern 1 ; Face, Handover takes place March 30 Airport poised for tak IT’S TIME to stop thinking of the airport as simply a ‘Place to get on or off an air- plane, say officials of the new sociely taking over the facility the end of this ‘Month. With it being free from the - Transport Canada bureaucracy and placed in the hands of locals, the air- port will play a role in gen- erating and adding to the region’s economic health, they say, “We can take initiatives and we do have the flexibility. That simply wasn’t passible with Trans- port Canada,”’ said Frank Hamilton, the president of the Terrace-Kitimat Airport . Society, The society, which will . own the airport, its build- ings and the land upon _: Which the facilities sit, was : formed by the City of Ter- the Kitimat-Stikine : Tegional district, the Terrace - and District Chamber of : Commerce and the Kitimat : Chamber of Commerce in ” response to a federal plan to - get rid of smaller airports. ’ To not take over the air- * port wasn’t much of an op- . tion, added Doug Groves, ; the society’s vice president and a director at large from Kitimat.. “The federal government wouldn’t have walked away, the airport is too large. But _it would have been a greatly reduced facility,’” he said, As it is, the Terrace airport is the sixth largest in B.C., Tegistering 98,000 , Sengers arriving and depart- pas- ing last year. And there were 20,000 ‘aircraft landings and take ‘ offs. The new owners are get- ‘ting a $1 million start up ‘ grant ‘government to do with what ‘they wish. It’s being put in the bank for now. from the federal A $1 million annual budget to take hold April 1 ‘predicts a $50,000, surplus of But there are challenges ‘ down the road, the chief of which is resurfacing the main runway in = an THE NEW owners of the Terrace-Kitimat airport hope to provide more than just a welcome to the northwest for those using the facllity. Terrace-Kitimat Airport Sociely president Frank Hamilton, left, from Terrace, at and vice president Doug Groves from Kitimat, envi- sion the airport as being a key part of the develop- ment of the region. The official handover fram Trans- port Canada takes place March 30, estimated six years, Although the — federal government has set up a capital project assistance program for smaller air- ports, they stili have to raise a portion of the total cost. For this airport, that’s five ‘per cent and placed against a $2.5 million resurfacing job, that requirement works out to $125,000. This raises the possibility of some kind of user fee such as that paid by pas- Sengers using the Van- couver airport. “The directors have dis- cussed an airport improve- ment fee and have made no decision,” said Hamilton, He did add that the airport will carry itself and not ask its owners for any as- sistance, “Those who use the air- port should pay the costs of the airport and not the tax- payers who are -not in, ‘Volved,?'Said Hatiiilton’-«* * One revenue generating: change under discussion is doing away with a landing fee and terminal fee for large passenger aircraft. It might make more sense to charge airlines a per pas- senger fee instead, said Hamilton. “The idea is to create a partnership with the airlines. Their as interested in in- creasing passenger loads as Hamilton and Groves both say discussions with the province continue about the possibility but that nothing is close to being resolved, Along with growth in pas- Senger movements, the new society is taking aim at in- creasing cargo and other commercial flights. The Terrace-Kitimat airport Is the sixth largest in B.C., registering 98,000 pas- sengers arriving and departing last year. And there were 20,000 aircraft landings of Commerce's director, and take offs. we are,’’ added Groves, Another more tantalizing prospect rests within the lands between Beam Station Road and Highway 16. A society purchase of those lands, now owned by the provincial government, :Would provide it with the chazce to develop the arca and gencrate revenue. “We can now go out and market the airport,’ says Ken Veldman, the city’s economic development of- ficer and one of the key players in the ownership transition. And although the Kitimat municipaf government indi- cated early on it wasn’t in- terested in signing on, the Tickets $15 eac Ce 3 PAIRS Terrace Little Theatre present Featuring: Kevin Stobo & Andrew Gross Friday, April 9th & Saturday, April 10th Skeena Room - Terrace Inn F TICKETS TO BE GIVEN AWAY h at UNIGLOBE COURTESY TRAVEL 4718A Lazelle Ave. Terrace ee ee ss ee ' | Entry forms to be handed in at The Terrace Standard, 3210 Clinton St. oP ! NAME I | ADDRESS ! | PHONE I Contest closes 5:00 pm Apri] 8, 1999. Winners will be notified, ; ee ey sociely may one day ask again. “By taking the position they have, they have lost a place at the table when it comes to the future of the airport and the economic de- velopment of the region,’* said Groves. kh kkk Although two Jocal govern- ments and two chambers of commerce have set up the society, il is intended to ap- erate at anm’s length, Gerry Martin is the Ter- race and District Chamber Fraser Mackie from: Terrace is a director al large and sec- retary ueasurer, Frank Hamilton is the City of Ter- tace director, vice president Doug Groves is a director of large from Kitimat, Roger Borycki is the Kitimat Chamber of - Commerce’s director, Ken Earl is the regional district’s director and Ron Anderson is. a director at large from Ter- race. The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 24, 1999 - A3 News In Brief Missing man may have died of exposure NEW HAZELTON RCMP and the B.C, Coroner Ser- vice are investigating the death of a 23-year-old New Hazelton man who went missing Monday, March 15. Mark Allen McCrecry was last seen at 5:30 p.m. near his parent’s home in. Two Mile. When he was still missing the next morning, RCMP issued a request for public assistance and a regional police dog from Ter- Tace was sent to the scene. RCMP were concerned for McCreery’s condition becausé he was a diagnosed schizophrenic and had missed his medication. The search ended Wednesday morning when a local man found McCreery's body about one kilometre from his home at 11:30 a.m. RCMP believe he died of ex- posure after getting disoriented in the bush near his home. Foul play is not suspected, insert name here IN THE brutal world of politics, the idea is to put as mitch pressure as possible on the other party. That was the idea last week when the provincial Lib- eral party put out a press release entitled “At What Point Docs Giesbrecht Say Enough is Enough’? and in- quiring when Skeena NDP MLA Helmut Giesbrecht was going to oppose his own government. The tricky part was thal a very similar press release went out to the ridings of other NDP MLAs. All that was different in the one aimed at Bulkley Valley- Stikine NDPer Bill Goodacre, for instance, was the first sentence and the last paragraph. Giesbrecht responded by wondering if the Liberal party had lost its creativity by chuming out mass pro- duced press releases. “That’s part of their technique,’” he added. . Separation workshops THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT has set up a series of free, three-hour workshops for couples with children who are separating. Parenting After Scparation workshops are intended as an option to the court system and give information and advice on legal and other matters after separation. “A lot of people who are separation think going to court is the only option. This may be true for some’ families, but not for all,’ said attommey-general Ujjal Dosanjh. ‘‘Alternatives to court can include everything from conciliation to mediation for appropriate cases,”' “These programs help parents make informed choices and create a better future for their children,” he said. Hach workshop bas a judge in person, or on video, tell participants what might be expected if their separa- lion goes through the courts, Separating spouses can both attend a workshop, but they do not go to the same one, Last year nearly 1,700 people went through the workshops. A company called Evans and Associates in Smithers conducts workshops in Terrace, Call 1-888-847-2876. 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