4 Terrace Review — Wednesday, May.7, 1986 June 19 referendum — U pinions Understanding the facts TERRACE — On June 14 local residents will be asked to reply to a referendum: Are you in ‘favor of permanently closing down the Kit- sumkalum Ski Hill? by Ian Hamilton Terrace Contributor _ Why are we having a referendum? The tax- payers within the Regional District wanted to ski. However, the facility provided has been plagued by a lack of snow and hence, finan- cial difficulties. The question arises, was the ski area put in the wrong place? Of course it was! It was built before the advent of true ski area planning procedures. Hence, rather than being placed in an ‘‘alpine’’ environ- ment and altitude, it was placed at an elevation of 1200 feet above sea level. The top of the mountain is a mere 2300 feet, so it cannot be expanded higher into an “‘alpine’’ environment. These facts cannot be changed. Letters to the editor will be considered for publication only when signed. Please Include your phone number, Tha editor reserves tha right to condense and edit letters. Opinions expressed are nol necessarily those of the Terrace Review. Terrace Review Established May 1, 1985 The Terrace Review is published each Wednesday by Close-Up Business Services Ltd. Publisher: | Mark Twyford Editor: Maureen Barbour Staff Reporter: Michael Kelly Advertising: 636-4339 or 636-7840 Production: Kim Kimble Offica: ‘Carrie Olson Accounting: Marj Twyford Second-class mail reglatration No. 8886. Reproduction of this paper or any por- tlon thereof Is prohiblied without per miseton of the publisher. 4535 Grelg Avenue, Terrace, B.C. V8G 1M7 Phong, 635-4339 ee Obviously, the answer to this dilemma is to relocate the. existing facility, or build a new one, These are very ¢x- pensive ideas, so we are all, of course, supportive of a private develop- ment. Currently, I am aware of three proposed developments; Claque, Shames and Mt. Layton. jan Hamilton lan Hamilton has been a ski school director at Kit- sumkalum Mountain for the past six years. He is a graduate of the SkI Resort Operations and Manage- ment program at Sekisk Col- lege in Nelson, B.C. and Is a level three Instructor with the Canadian Ski Instructors’ Alliance. Hamilton is a level three coach with the Cana- dian Ski Coaches’ Federa- tion. These types of developments should be encouraged, A new area is the only permanent answer to the skiing dilemma. However, until such time as a new area is in place and operating, do you wish to ski or not? I conservatively estimate a minimum of three years before a new develop- ment would possibly be in place and operating. Some developers may claim to have an area in operation sooner than this, You must ask yourself, have you not heard similar statements in past years? My point is, what should be done in the next few years, while we wait hopefully for the possible advent of a new ski area? Should we have. no skiing? Should we close the area out of desperation? I think that most of us know the answer. Kitsumkalum, although by no means successful, provides winter recreation for people in our Regional area. The total loss of downhill skiing in this region would be a tragedy. We must ask ourselves, however, if the operating of Kit- sumkalum would, in fact, hinder the chance for a new: development. If you believe this, then of course you may understandably wish to close the area down. However, I do not see this as an issue. I think ~ most of us are aware that the Regional District would be more than hap- py to retire from the ski business. However, if the public vote to keep Kit- sumkalum open, then they would be obliged to offer skiing to the public until such time as a new area is in place and operating. Now, let us discuss what can be called tem- porary or ‘‘half-way’’ measures. For example, installing a mid-point loading-unloading . sta- tion on the chairlift. Also, the T-bar could possibly be relocated from its present 900 feet base to a new base of 1600 feet. These measures would increase our season length, but may or may not be ac- ceptable to local skiers. Finally, you must be aware of what the facili-. ty is costing you, the tax- payers. The average tax- payer pays $4.30 per year towards the ski area in taxes. If the area closes, the average taxpayer will still pay $2.40 toward the area’s capital debt but have no skiing The Regional District should, in my opinion, continue to operate the existing facility until such time as a new area is in place and ready to operate. At least now we have marginal skiing. Surely this is better for our Regional area as a whole than no skiing at all. Use you head. Vote “No’’, Meeting TERRACE — The next regular school board meeting of the Board of School Trustees for School District No. 88 (Terrace) will be held Tuesday, May 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the Stewart Elementary School Library Stewart, B.C. same FUNNYSIDE — “Before you married mommy, who told you whattoda?" Commentary The write stuff Peace activists protest in the front yard through ex- posure to the national media while global destruc- tion, ignored by the popular press, takes place in the back yard. Champions of the peace movement have laughed in my face when I tell them that in the U.S. alone each year concrete covers an area of grassland the size of Holland; and, the pulp and paper industry an- nually destroys enough forest to cover J amaica. Ocean plankton, which produces nearly four-fifths of the globe’s oxygen, is disappearing even faster ‘than forests and grasslands. At the same time an automobile consumes as much of the life-supporting elements as 30 humans, our planet gets one million new cars each month — and six million extra in- habitants. A jet plane uses 35 tons of oxygen in cross- ing the Atlantic; more than 3,000 of these huge planes fly regularly all over the world. Less than half the oxygen consumed in the U.S., Europe and the USSR is replaced because crops are important to pro- fits, not to survival. Also, 280 species of mammals, 250 species of birds and 20,000 plant species are in their death throes. Oh, the yuppies know that 22 million fur-bearing animals are massacred each year, but few people know that Chicago, which has the most modern treatment plants in the world, discharges as much polluted water into the Des Plaines River as a city of a million inhabitants which carries out no treatment at all. The waste water of New York contains, after treatment, 10 times more bacteria than it did 20 years ago. Water covers nearly three quarters of the globe, but only three percent of it is fresh water and most of ‘this is ice. Water is under simultaneous attack from industry and pollution. It takes 1,000 litres of water to make one kilos of milk, 900 litres to process five kilos of oil, 200 litres for one kilo of paper, 100 litres for one kileof sugar, 20,000 litres for a single gram of fissionable material. A paper mill fouls as much water in one day as does the entire population of France. Making one ton of steel requires 250 cubic metres of pure water. The butter, milk, sugar and cheese industries also discharge water full of germs and viruses that represents one-fifth of all river pollu- — tion. A treatment plant can cleanse the effluent from a single factory or even a group of buildings, but when the liquid volume is as large as that of a river, treat- ment is no longer possible. Nuclear power stations and many industrial complexes warm the water in their vicinity so it absorbs still less oxygen. Conse- quently, organic matter decomposes poorly or not at all, the flora change, the fish die, and sewage does the rest. Nearly 80 percent of the water used in the world is dirtied, colored, heated and infected before it is discharged without having any treatment at all. continued on page 14 Letter Peace in strength To the editor, Today, Canada and the United States are confronted with a con- troversy that threatens their very existence: the nuclear freeze move- ment. The free people of the world do have an enemy — communism. Many argue that communists do not seek to dominate ‘and control the world. They argue that the com- munist leaders want peace and can be reason- ed with and trusted. The facts are to the contrary. The atheist forces of communism proclaim that they will dominate and rule the world, Inter- national terrorism is one of its weapons. So is the drug trade and hundreds of other internal demoralization meth- ods, in my opinion. Their relentless march of oppression hammers out their determination. The spokesmen of the present anti-nuclear movement have failed in my -estimation, to ex- amine history. Peaceniks are strange people. It is strange that their ‘‘peace”’ protests are aimed at the Americans and the rest of the free world, even though no American or western leaders are advocating the conquest of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union presently has the biggest buildup of military power in the history of mankind. The question ‘Should Canada par- ticipate in Star Wars research if it means more jobs for Canadians?’’ was according to a ‘‘The Globe-Crop’’ Poll answered in the affir- mative by 65 percent of the Canadians. Thank God, common sense is still present. Everyone I am sure wants peace. We here in Canada too. And so do the Russians. But the popular peace movement is outlawed in Soviet Russia. The proper con- clusion, in my opinion, is very clear, We must champion peace — and peace comes only with strength. Bill Homburg, -- °- Térrace, B.C.