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By SARAH A.
ZIMMERMAN

SUPPORTERS of Giannino

Pretto’s: fight to get Shell

Canada’s help in cleaning up -

contamination at his Kalum
St. gas station are ramping.
up their efforts.

Supporters who had been
holding Friday moming

pickets at the station, which. ~

hasn’t sold any gas since last
November, now say they’ll
move to the city’s only other
Shell station, the Copper-

» side beside Boston Pizza on

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Hwy 16, March 31.
“We want to make sure

people know we’re boycct- :

ting Shell, not Copperside,”
says supporter Nino Roldo. .
He expects the move will
make Shell Canada. take |
them more seriously than if

they had stayed at Pretto’s

station. More than a dozen

~supporters gathered. at the

station March 17 for the third.

weekly public rally in sup- °

‘port of Pretto who believes
the _ environmental | dam-

age at the site was’ caused |

largely by. two underground
fuel tanks he was never told

about when he purchased the a

station in 1982.
Pretto’s tanks have been

tain financing because of the

dry for nearly five’ months ~
due to his inability to ob-

contamination on the site.’,

He depleted his Savings in

ti-Shell protest expands

“1

The Terrace:Standard, Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - A3

RANDOLPH Haigh pasted these signs with a poem he composed to his vehicle last week in support of Giannino ©
Pretto, the owner of the Kalum St. Shell gas station.

ae

SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO

2001 to. conduct. environ-

mental. testing and clean up

_ when he installed a new un- |
derground tank farm at the’

request of Shell.

“We just think Shell’s'g0-.

ing to care a lot more and the
owner of the. other Shell will

call’them and: say ‘hey, this :
says |

999

“is affecting me now,’
-Roldo of next week's rally..
He says they know they

-aren’t hurting Shell Canada

picketing at Pretto’s station.
Local » businesswoman

" Helen McInnes says nobody

wants to hurt another local
business but the importance -

of sending a strong message -
- to Shell supersedes concerns
“over damaging sales at the «

Copperside.
In any event, that protest
may be.a “one-shot” deal to

‘make a point. Protesters plan
- to stay on the sidewalk and

will not interfere with cus-

tomers at the’ station. The |

weekly rallies have so far
lasted about an hour each.

“All Tknow is I ran out of...
‘gas again this week and I’d

Jike to get it from Giannino,”
‘she said. 7

Roldo says there could be
protests: at other Shell sta-,

19 Gons inthe north. - ‘

a

The protesters are also.
' attending a CBC live broad-

_ cast from Cafenara this Fri-

‘day morning in hopes of.
-gaining more attention.

The Prettos are over-

whelmed by the support

_ shown ty the local commu-

nity: The couple ‘isn’t int,

volved in planning the rallies
— they’ve been organized by.

a broad spectrum of locals

“who -have-also launched: a

letter: writing campaign to’

- Shell in hopes of convincing -

it to take responsibility for -

the contamination.

They: want Shell to either

* buy Pretto out or pay to have .

the site cleaned up so it can ©

serve as collateral to once °
again obtain financing {0
purchase gas. ’

Fewer gas. users drive up overall rates _

‘ By SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN

SKEENA MLA Robin Austin says the solution to
ever increasing natural gas rates lies i in attracting

-more industry to the region.

Austin, who spearheaded a campaign resulting 4
in more, than 4,300 area signa petition opposing ,
proposed hikes by Pacific. Northern Gas (PNG),
attended rate determination meetings last week.
PNG wants a 22 per cent rate increase to the _
' fees it charges -for delivering natural gas to resi-
dential customers. It was put into effect on an in-

terim basis Jan. 1, 2006.

What residents pay for the delivery of natural
gas is largely a reflection of the number of users,
says Austin. The more industry clients a utility
has the less. it: -needs to charge residents.

* That concept took ahit when methanol produc-
er Methanex in Kitimat closed down. Although |
PNG officials originally said a resulting $23.3

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pected to cushion the residential and commercial:
_customers from any increases through until 2009,
that now doesn’t appear to be the case. PNG says’
. it is losing $10.4 million a year now that Meth-
anex isno longer acustomer. _
“As those go off-line then the costs are still
there and they have to be spread across the rest of
us to-make up the difference.” says Austin. “We.
need to figure out. how to bring more industry |
‘up to the northwest so we can get those delivery
charges down.”
Gas delivery utilities don’t mark up the cost
of the natural gas itself, but derive their profits
. through the delivery charge.
PNG’s Web site shows it is currently charg-
‘ing its local residential customers a flat monthly.
charge of $10.75 plus $9.895 for each gigajoule
used and $7.395 for each gigajoule delivered.
That’s $4.511 or two and a half times more

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_ than what Terasen customers ‘in the Lower Main-

_land pay for their delivery charge. ,

:*. The average residential user there is charged
a basic rate per month of $11.12 in addition to
a‘delivery charge of $2. 884 per gigajoule. It.also »

' charges $9.785 per gigajoule of gas.

proposed rate hikes for at least two weeks.

nS AA a.

. Based on the premise that the average Lower
Mainland «residence consumes 10, gigajoules of ©
gas per month, the average monthly- residential -
bill adds up to $137.81 before applicable taxes.
That compares to about $172.96. per month
residents here pay for the same quantity, a $35.15 .
_ difference. PNG customers here won’t learn the
" outcome of private hearings regarding the utility’s°

While Austin can’t comment on the private
im proceédings: ‘because. he signed’a confidentiality
agreement | he said his concerns were well received
even as he presented a petition from northwestern —
residents opposing the rate hike.

i

News In Brief

o

There’ s no life like it

CANADA’S LARGEST employer is here this Saturday
. looking for people to sign up.

“We need to find 10,000 people this year,” says Lt.
-. Johanna Wickie, a recruiter with the Canadian Armed
Forces based in Vancouver.

All told, the army, navy and air force have 117 job.

. Classifications ranging from the infantry, to engineers to

doctors, she said.

Wickie and another recruiter will be at the Skeena
Mall from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 25 and they'll be
holding an audio visual show at noon.

Sull with things military, on Sunday, members of.
the Naden band from Esquimalt play an appreciation

concert beginning at 1 pn mat the Kitsumkalum com-:

munity hall. -

Thefts may be related _

POLICE FOUND two stolen vehicles in Thornhill and

are on the:lookout for a motorcycle in a series of thefts . .

they believe may be related. A 1991 Nissan Pathfinder
‘stolen from a residence in.the 4200 block of Thomas
while the residents slept March 5 was recovered. ”

Another vehicle in the same area reportedly suffered
damage to its ignition column during a failed theft at-
tempt at about the same time, say Terrace RCMP.

A 1998 Dodge pickup truck stolen from the Lakelse
“Lake area March 7 was also found i in Thornhill:

Both vehicles were recovered in or near Thornhill
« Creek, say Terrace RCMP.. Police are investigating the ”
‘theft of a 1991 Honda XR100 motorcycle from a garage ©
vat a Thornhill Street residence March 7.

~ Slip, sliding away _

THREE DRIVERS went to hospital following separate

accidents that saw their vehicles :go off the road in
slippery or slushy road conditions.

A Kitimat motorist in a Ford Focus crashed. into a
Dodge Durango driven by a Terrace resident on the
hill at Kalum Lake Drive and Floyd St. March 6. The~

' drivers were taken to Mills Memorial Hospital to be

checked over.

- On March 8, a female driver in a 1995 Chevrolet:
Cavalier went off Hwy16 near the Copper River Road
during slippery road conditions. She had minor injuries.
~ and was taken to hospital. : “

Violence targeted

TWO NATIVE organizations in the ‘area are receiving
money. from - the provincial . government: aimed., at |:
stopping violence. The money is part of more: than ‘$1.

The Laxgalts’ ap Village Government in. the Nass. .

Valley is getting $20,000 for eight community work- ° “

shops concerning youth and violence.
This project will produce educational materials on.
date violence, its prevention and early detection, as well .
as referral information for victims of physical, emotion- -
al ‘and. sexual abuse...» ‘rake tyommomme ben
' [And ‘the’ Gitwangak ‘Health Authority is? , getting.
$30, 000: to invite village’ ‘elders. to be mentors for youth "
on the topics of dating and domestic violence. .”

, " : * a:

: million being spent across B.C. on similar programs. ;

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