A Terrace Review — Wednesday, July 24, 1991 WEST FRASER- After nearly a year in receiver- ship, Wedeene River Timber of Prince Rupert has been sold to West Fraser Timber-Enso Forest Products, the joint venture partners that operate the Eurocan pulp mill in Kitimat. Jetry Miller, vice-president con- troller’ for West Fraser in Vancouver, said Monday the com- pany will spend some time analyz- ing the mill and its tenured wood- lands ‘operations before making a decision on modifications to the mill and use of the wood. "We plan to take a look at the mill, come up with some changes, mod- Hospital — provide sufficient funding at the lowest possible cost. Strachan said that the Ministry of Health will cover the full cost of the study, and both his ministry and the Terrace Regional Health Care Society board of directors have agreed to abide by Walker’s findings. "This consultant," said Strachan, "is going to work with the hospital to identify opportunities for cost savings that should identify a balanced budget and identify money for other programs." At the ‘same time, however, Strachan pointed out that if Walker iden- tifies "cost pressures" which can- not be met within the current budget, his ministry will cover the shortfall. a In. response to Strachan’s an- nouncement, board chairman David Lane said he was "absolutely delighted" with Strachan’s deci- sion, adding, "We as a group and a community believe very deeply in health care." MLA Dave Parker added, "The concerns of the com- munity are substantial... We're on track, I believe, with the services of the special consultant who will POLICE REPORT ' vinced that while Walker may find _and layoff notices. ify it to what we would sce ‘as being advantageous to us," he said. Miller said the partners paid $7.1 million for all of Wedeene’s assets; the agreement is signed between them and Peat Marwick Thorne, the receiver, but the trans- fer is still subject to approval by. the Minister of Forests. Miller said at this point he has no. idea how long the approval process might take or when the 80 million board feet per year sawmill could start up again. When the mill shut down in September of last year Wedeene owed nearly $20 million to several Continued from page A1 report to us by the middle of next month with recommendations that will see a solution to our dilemma." The announcement means, at least for the time being, an end to 24 bed closures and the withdrawal of layoff notices given six Mills Memorial registered nurses earlier this month. Annual summer bed closures, however, are normal and will remain in effect until Sept. 3. Strachan said it would be inap- propriate to speculaic on what Walker might discover, but Mills Memorial administration is con- nickels and dimes that can be saved, he will also find dollars that are badly needed. Lane says they had estimated a shorifall of $270,000 prior to the bed closures There was no mention at the press conference about the petition circulated in Terrace during the last couple of weeks. But that petition may have something to do with Strachan’s decision: over 12,000 signatures were collected in just 12 days, and as a matter of insurance the petition is still being citculated. Terrace RCMP were kept busy last Friday night and early Satur- day morning. In one incident, a 23-year-old Kitimat woman was charged under the Motor Vehicle Act for backing up when unsafe after she struck an unidentified 37- year-old Terrace man in the arena parking lot. According to RCMP Cpl. Garry Moritz, the man was taken to Mills Memorial Hospital with undetermined injuries. Most of the action in town, how- ever, fell under Section 43 of the Liquor Control and Licensing Act — being intoxicated in a public place. According ‘0 Moritz, "RCMP members responded to a total of 23 calls for service... A total.of 19 persons were registered at the local detachment lock up Friday night." Reports indicate most of the action was centred around the Terrace Arena following the Dr. Hook concert. © WCB PROBLEMS? @ Having problems with your WCB claim? @ You can get free, confidential advice, when a Workers’ Adviser visits Terrace on August 6. @ To make an appointment for a personal in- terview, call the Government Agent’s Office at 635-3200. @ The interviews will be held at the B.C. Ac- cess Center, 101 - 3220 Eby Street, Terrace. For advice without an interview, contact - Workers’ Adviser office in Richmond toll-free “at 1-800-663-4261. creditors. About 150 people, most of them Prince Rupert area resi- dents, were put out of work. -Wedeene management had unsuc- cessfully requested permission from the Ministry of Forests to export large diameter logs to main- iain the company’s cash flow. : Wedeene claimed it would use the capital to reconfigure the sawmilt machinery to handle the larger logs. The government. declined the J export application, and the com- pany went bankrupt. The mill opened in May 1988. It Ham was built at a cost of $15 million. & ENSO BUY ‘If the. sale is approved by the minister, West Fraser-Enso will obtain cutting rights to about 170,000 cubic metres of timber per year on two coastal forest licences attached to the sawmill. The joint venture partners hold tenure on Tree Farm Licence 41 with an annual allowable cut of 408,000 cubic metres, and West Fraser owns Skeena Sawmills in Terrace, S WEDEENE which holds a forest licence in the North Kalum with an annual allowable cut of 280,000 cubic metres. Miller was unable to say if or how fibre will be moved around among the three operations. He said it’s too early to comment on how the Wedeene mill will fit into the company’s northwest opera- tions. . SIGNS OF PROTEST. More than 12,000 signatures have been collected in just over a week to protest health care funding cuts to Mills Bruce Strachan announced that a consulta funding level. - Memorial Hospital. In Terrace Monday, health minister nt’s findings will be used to determine the appropriate Smithers air crash kills four A man and two youths from Smithers and ofte man from Ontario are dead after the airplane in which they were riding crashed into a mountain near Smithers July 18. Kilied in the crash were Richard Chapman, 40, his son Scott, 13, Chad Collingwood, 13, all of Smithers, and John Moyle, 40, of Don Mills, Ont. Cary Collingwood, 16, of Smithers survived Smithers RCMP said he was taken to Bulkley Valley hospital with _ internal injuries and broken bones. RCMP said the deHavilland Beaver aircraft took off from Tyhee Lake near Telkwa at 1 p.m. July 18, bound for Las Lui Lake, SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM 1 year — $39.00, plus GST Close Up magazine, $10 extra in Terrace and Thornhill Cl Cheque (© Money Order ( Master Card OC Visa Please send a subscription to: Card No. Name Address 5 Expiry Date e | none “9 Mail or bring this form to: Seniors in Terrace and District $30.00 Seniors outside of Terrace and District $33.00 Out of Canada $100.00 | the crash. . Terrace Review 4535 Greig Avenue, Terrace, B.C. V8G 1M7 location of a fishing lodge. The plane’s emergency locator trans- mitter went off at 4:31 p.m. and the wreckage was found by search crews at 7:10 p.m. Canadian Transportation Acci- dent Investigation board officials were examining the site the fol- lowing day. No official statement has been made regarding the cause of the crash. . on ee a eeee o, Amame eae ngs a ’ shonin AGAIGL AP Mg AAP RI igh oy ALAR Ghao Read th er ia cate ede a ns i aM ini EAS.