Leave no stone unturned

Local rockers break up

Students looking for summer
employment are urged to search
high and low/NEWS A8 |

Gypsy Moth is calling it quits but
not without first releasing some
tunes/COMMUNITY B9

The knockout touch

Amy Kerberink wins gold at the
first ever female Golden Gloves
tourney/SPORTS C1

WEDNESDAY
MAY 25, 1994

MUTANT BEARS

Kermodei clue to cancer

By JEFF NAGEL
CLD GIMPY may be dead, but
he will live on in the world of
science.

A tissue sample taken from the
poached Kermodei bear is being
flown to a geneticist alt the Fox
Chase Cancer Centre in Philadel-
phia, Pennsylvania,

Dr. Murray Brilliant wants to
carry out tess there on the sample
to learn more about the gene he
believes causes the white colour
in Kermodeis. ;

The same gene also exists in
humans, he said in an interview
last Friday, and research into it
could produce clues about what
causes skin cancer and certain
other diseases.

Pohle
seen as
bypass

By MALCOLM BAXTER
FOR THE MOST pari, Pohle
Ave. exists only on city maps.

But in the minds of the High-
ways department, it is the city’s
by-pass of the future. =

At last week’s committee of the
whole mecting, councillors and
Highways regional planner Dave
Fisher dusted off a four-year-old
report by Hamilton and Associa-
tes.

Thal plan had examined cily
traffic patterns and come up with
four allemative through-routes in-
tended in part to get heavy traffic
off the Sande Overpass.

The quartet included Keith,
Pohle, Haugland and a new road
which would sweep south from
the new bridge, running along the
edge of the Skeena,

While the study said the current
road system was probably good
for the next 20 years, Fisher said
the city should decide on which
of the routes it wanted to see de-
veloped in the long term.

Having done that, it should {hen
ensure land along the proposed
route was kept free of develop-
ment.

Confirming his department
favoured the Pohie option, Fisher
said it would be a closed access
road with limited entry points
along the route,

In some cases, that would mean
smaller streets south of Keith
would be cut in two with no
direct access between the two
halves,

Fisher noted the study showed
such a route would not threaten
any ‘‘major structures’.

However, counciilor Ruth Hal-
Jack pointed out it would affect at
least 8 couple of homes on Braun.

Fisher agreed purchase of pri-
vate property would be required
to complete the route.

Councillors asked the public
works committee to take a closer
look at the matter and come back
with a recommendation.

Brilliant says Kermodei bears
appear to have some residual pig-
ment, and are not true albinos.

That’s consistent with unusual
colourations Brilliant has identi-
fied in other mammals.

Much of his research to date has
centred on a colleclion of what
are essentially Kermodei mice.

‘Tt causes an otherwise black
mouse to be white to cream-
coloured and to have white-
coloured cyes,”’ he said. ‘In man
and mouse -and other. creatures
like bears, that could be caused
by mutation of the P-gene.”’

Does that mean there are
Kermodei people as well?

Yes, according to Brilliant,

‘*A Caucasian might have com

silk-coloured hair, and someone
of African descent might have
yeow to orange-coloured hair
and light skin,” he explained.

“The mutation seems to lead to
dramatic reduction in pigment,
but there’s still some pigment
there.”’

The search for the mutant gene
in Terrace’s Kermodei bear
sample may take a long time,
Brilliant said.

“‘A change of one part in a
quarter million could give that ef-
fect,’ he said. “‘We’re not sure
whether it can easily be found,.
but we’re going to try.”’

If spectacularly lucky,
mutation might be

the
identified

within six months, he said, but
added it’s more likely testing will
go on for more then a year,

Most relevant to human medi-
cine is the belief that skin cancer
is linked to the behaviour of the
P-gene,

“Understanding the function of
this gene in any mammal can give
clues to understand the develop-
ment of melanome,’’ Brilliant
said.

He said research into the P-gene
Inay aiso shed clues on the char-
acteristics of other nearby penes
— which are believed to be
linked to hereditary diseases in

humans such as Angiman
Syndrome and Prader-Willi
Syndrome.

m@ Take a deep breath

FLORA AND FRIENDS: Seven-year-old Kate Kolterman breathes in a taste of spring,
courtesy of one of the geranium-selling merchants at the Skeena Valley Farmer's Market.
Bedding plants, fresh bread, preserves and produce are among the treats to be found every
Saturday morning at the market, just off Davis Ave., near the library park,

ANDARD =

75¢ PLUS 5¢ ast .
VOL. 7 NO. 6 ~

NO CHARGES have yet been
laid in the May 6th shooting of
a Kermeded bear.

But conservation officer
Martin Meleris says he’s tak-
ing the case very seriously.

“It’s a high profile case,’’ he
said last week. ‘‘We want to
make sure we're covering it in
the detail it deserves.’’

He has fielded numerous
calls from people who want to
know what’s being done.

"The investigation has been
given a high priority,”
Melderis added.

The white bear’s hide was

No charges § so far
for bear shooting

seized from a local person and
conservation officers later
retrleved the carcass from the
kill site. Melderis said a gun
was also scized.

Conservation officers are
awaiting lab results and are in-
terviewing pcople involved.

Examination of the carcass
showed the bear had a healed
scar on one hind leg, he said.

Thal’s consistent with reports
that the bear was one that
walked with a limp after being
hit by a car a few years ago.

Known to many as “Old

Cont’d Page A2

Make rules

BY-LAWS AND PENALTIES
should be the same on land con-
trolled by native governments as

,, they_.are.:in:.other areas, says

Terrace mayor Jack Talstra.

“The general public should be
able to expect certain things,”
said Talstra following a meeting
last week to discuss how
municipalities could be affected
by land claims settlements,

“Certainty is the big thing and
so is finality. Generally speaking,
the rules should be the same,”’
said Talstra.

The one exception, he con-
tinued, is if a native cultural
aspect is involved, the mayor
continued.

Talstra said the concept of same.

penalties should also extend to
the criminal code.

His comments revolved around
the idea of core lands, those
which native governments would
have title to as part of land claims
settlements,

AS an example, Talstra said na-
tive traffic laws should be the
same as the laws of other govern-
ments for vehicles passing
through core lands.

“T think what we're looking at
here is having a level playing
field — a situation where there
are the same rules,” he noted.

Taistra said the May 16 session
was valuable for helping define

‘northwestern municipal positions

for presentation to the federal and
provincial governments.

**There has to be an Inclusion
of municipal government repre-
sentation at the talks,’’ he said of
land claims negotiations,

That’s not the case now under a
deal struck on the conduct of the
Nisga’a negotlations.

“*T think municipalities have to
be involved pre-trealy, during the
treaty negotiations and post treaty
negotiations,” said Talstra,

He said municipal governments
will have to be involved in any

the same,
Says mayor

Jack Talstra..

interim protection measures
agreements set up during claims
talks

‘I also think there is a need for
community impact studies, socio-
economic studies,”  Talstra
added.

The for communities to receive
money to do the studles has al-
ready been rejected by the
provincial government but Talstra
sald the request will be made
again.

kkk

Opinions differ between Ter-
race mayor Jack Talstra and
Stewart mayor Andy Burton on
the need to hold the May 16 ses-
sion in private.

Talstra described it as a ‘‘work-
ing session”? where people should
be allowed to speak freely as op-
posed to one where speeches, are
made, .

But Burton said people
shouldn’t be ashamed of Stating
their opinions in public,

“How can we be trying to pro-

mote openness in the talks yet do
the same?’’ said Burton.
' “Sure, some things are said at
the heat of a situation. I’m always
aware of what I’m saying. If I say
something, I shouldn’t be
ashamed of it,”” he said.

ollege silent on planned cuts ©

By JEFF NAGEL
A SECRET DEBATE over cuts
to programs at Northwest Com-
munity College is continuing this
week,

The college board is expected
to make a decision on Friday on
proposed cuts to eliminate a more
than $500,000 budget deficit.

Students and instructors fear the
college’s registered nursing pro-
gram, the office career propram
and trades. progranis. such as
heavy-duty automolive may be on

the chopping block.

So far officials are refusing io
give any details about what is un-
der consideration.

Board chair Al Gorley would
only say that under the proposal,
no siudents would be admitted
into the’ registered nursing pro-
gram in December —- the pro-
gram’s next schéduled intake,

~The decision ‘on the cuts was to
have been made at last Saturday’ 8
board mecting, '

But word leaked out to students

and staff, triggering a series of
delegations to the meeting, and
prompling the board to put off ithe
decision fora week.

Instructors for several of the
programs told the board they
Tecognize changes are needed to

make: their programs more
relevant today,

But they pleaded for more time
to carry out the changes...

"We were under the impression
that we. had. another -year,’’
Trades | department coordinator

Jim Bathgate told the board.
Nursing program coordinator
Johanne Fort admitted there is a
glut of nurses right now.
_ “But our information indicates
there are jobs out there and our.
students atc being picked up for
casual arid rellef positions.”
“It will be a great loss to the
community if we delete this pro-
-gram,”’ she sald,

_, Cathay Sousa, an instructor in
the business department, called
“the office career program ‘very

successful,"

“We have employers who
phone us every two weeks and
ask us if we have students we can
recomimend,”’ she said. ‘These
are the students who don’t get
their. certificates --- because they
get jobs before they can finish.”

Most of the students in the pro-

gram are women, she said, add-.
. ding killing the program would

be. a “tremendous blow to
women in this community." ©

- All tho programs where cuts are |

under consideration are tog at
the Terrace campus. 2
"We've been talking a Jot here
about programs in Terrace,”’ said
Gorley, the board chair and riém-
ber from the Quecn Charlottes.
“But we have to make sure. pro-
grams are relevant, affordable
and equitable across the region,”'
Staff and students sald they
were frustrated because they had
heard only rumours.
“Once a decision is miade we
will make sure there aré a fuil set
of facts available,’’ Gorley said; ,