Hospital c TERRACE -- Layoffs and bed closures necessary to balance the Mills Memorial Hospital budget will be announced Friday. The hospital's budget has been frozen this year, leaving a $525,000 shortfall in what it says is needed and what the provincial government has given it. As many as 10 jobs will be lost and services cut to balance the budgel. Hospitals are not permitted to operate with deficits. Hopsital. administrator Michael Leisinger said last week thal every department’s financial position is being examined. "Some departments are being asked to give a litte, some a lot," said Leisinger. He added: that Friday's an- houncement will contain all of he cuts needed to balance the budget, Details of the coming cuts weren’t disclosed but Leisinger did discount mmours, that the pediatrics ward would be closed. "There’s no.way. There are four to six kids at any one time in the ward. It won’t be closed," he said. What might happen, Leisinger added, is combining administra- tive functions of the pediatrics and maternity ward. routs ¢ comin The hospital's budget crisis eased a bit last week when the pro- vince did give it $190,000 following a review of its operations, And the chairman of a committee which last year raised more than 14,000 names on a hospital support petition predicts itll be back in business soon. You’ll find those stories on Page A2. The $525,000 Shortfall represents a cut of approximately four per cent given that the hospi- tal calculates it needs nearly $12 million to operate, The hospital also has to pay for wage increases with the same amount of money it received last breed in captivity. BABY MACAU parrot J.J. gats lots of attention these days trom owner Jack Hamilton. Born nine weeks ago -- to Bobbi and Rosco -- the youngster is. growing bigger every day and is expected. to be bright orange in colour. An avid bird breeder, Hamilton says it’s unusual. for parrots to Hq j st Alcan holds off for now TERRACE -~- Resuming con- struction of the Kemano Comple- tion Project remains months or years away despite Alcan’s ap-, peal court victory Friday over 4 coalition of environmental and native groups, Company vice-president Bill Rich called the ruling "a vindica- tion", but said work won’t resume an the billion-dollar hydroelectric project until all avenues: for ap- peal and further court challenges by groups opposed to it are ex- hausted, The federal court of appeal rulitig reverses every aspect of the. lower court decision last spring in which. Justice Allison Walsh ordered a full public feder- al environmental review into ithe Kemano Completion Project. The ruling also restores a 1987 deal between Alcan and the fed- eral: government -- that Walsh had quashed +-. on minimum water levels ‘in © the Nechako River. The three féderal court justices. went on to find that, the Kemano Completion Project didn’t fil the Environmental As- sessment Review Process (EARP). guidelines and that no- federal review of the project is re- quired. And ‘even if the project had fit: the guidelines, they found that the {ederal cabinet did have the right to exempt the project from the Teview process. Rivers Defence Coalition spokesman Pat. Moss now wants the provincial government to hold a full public environmental review of the project -- which the NDP made. a commitment to be- fore they were elected, "We weren't prepared for this total rout," she said. "What the court Is saying is that there is no real environmental] assessment in Canada -- that a powerful corpo- ‘ration can.exert its influence and that there’s) no ‘environmental ‘Aegislation." An appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada is: being considered, she said, but added that would -.add to the organization’s already “pefty legal bill, And, she said, the appeal court ‘also ordered ‘the. coalition to pay he as- -yet- -undetermined court costs of Alcan and the federal government. - Moss said the decision to award costs will result ina “chill on cn- vironmental litigation:" "T don’t know that those groups can come up with that kind of cont'd Al2 year. Although the health ministry’s hospital budget was increased by 5.5 per cent, not all hospitals received that kind of hike. Hospital budgets in the north were frozen while those in the Okanagan, Vancouver area and Kitselas clash ~ takes new Twist TERRACE -- Kilselas band members haven't been able to kick out their band council yet, but they are in the process of tak- ing over control of a band-owned company. Band members have elected Me] Bevan president of the Kit- selas Development Corporation and Wilfred Mackenzie to the post of vice-president. Bevan was chief councillor of the band last year until] he was defeated by Ralph Wright. Mackenzie is a former manager of the band and general manager of the development corporation, He was dismissed after Wright and a new council took office. The development corporation owns the building on Queensway Ave. that house the band’s. ad- ministration office, NorthernNa- - tive Broadcasting and a carving shed on the same property. The corporation was formed four years ago ito develop businesses to help employ band members, It originally planned to tie Fraser Valley went up by 6-8 per cent. Leisinger said budgets were frozen at hospitals located in areas Where there weren’t large increases in population and in cases where there were more than 1,400 admissions per 1,000 people, Mills didn’t qualify i in either of those categories, he sald. But in contrast to previous years, the health ministry has promised to send the hospital all of the information it used in making its budget deliberations, That means the hospital will be better able to figure out the rea- open a gas station and con- venience store on Queensway, Bevan said the takeover of the corporation hasn’t become legal yet, adding there are some prob- lems to be overcome. Chief councillor Wright is also president of the corporation and band deputy chief/administrator Brian Seymour is vice president. Wright and Seymour remain the focus of a movement - timed at toppling them. The two-have ignored petitions from the majority of band elec- tors calling for their resignations. But Ron Nyce, spokesman for the protesting band members, said there are no immediate plans to resume the occupation of the band council office that began Apr. 22. The sit-in was called off . following the- ‘death: of a -band member Apr. 28. ‘He said the band council has agreed to meet this week with the protesters, adding. the- sit-in has been put on hold as a goodwill gesture. , More flooding TERRACE - With flooded basements driving people out of the 4600 block of Straume, resi- dents are demanding action from the city. And while the city is taking a look at the problem, its engineer- ing director admits a complete solution will not happen this year. Only four homes on the black are free of water resident Gabriela Raposo told the city’s planning and public works com- mittec last week. Two homes on the south side of the sirect had their furnaces blow up because of the water, she added. In an earlier presentation to council, Raposo suggested the frustration of some residents with the city’s failure to deal with the problem was reflected in the half dozen *For Sale" signs to be found on her block. "People are sclling their homes because of the water," she mainlained. One cause of the annual flaod- ing, Raposo said, was a Janc run- ning behind the homes on the south side of the. street. It was higher than the back yards which meant water flowed from there towards the homes. , Another was roadside ditches which filled with water and backed up each Spring and Fall. Pointing out she had three pumps running in her basement during last winter's steady rains, She added fear of a pump failure meant "As soon as it starts rain- ing, we don’t go anywhere." Confirming $15,000 had been set aside in this year’s city budget to do some work on the problem, engineering director Stew Christensen said lowering the Jane Was an option being studied. Installing some form of storm drainage in that lane was another. However, he warned, although those steps might bring some relief to those living on the south side of the street, it wouldn’t help those on the north, Confirming the installation of a proper storm sewer system was the only real solution, he pointed out the cost of that project would be "substantial", Raposo = replied = Straume homeowners were prepared to pay higher taxes if that’s what it took to get the problem fixed. Pointing out they already faced high tax bills each year, she added, "and what have we got, a house that floods." Christensen said he would con- tact the residents as soon as his department had decided what ac- tion it would be taking. g Friday sons the ministry used and per-. haps find areas in which more Money can be justified, ‘said Leisinger. . In the meantime, Skcena MLA Helmut Giesbrecht said Jast week he’s unhappy that health care siluations in the north aren’t being recognized. "The bottom line is that there isn’t cnough money and it’s not acceptable," said Giesbrecht. The MLA said the hospital here and the one in Kitimat face the same situation and that he'll be trying to organize a meeting be-— tween health ministry and local - hospital officials. : Mel Bevan’ Nyce says a compromise could, be possible, "I want to. work towards a wint win situation," Nyce said. "It’s going to be a give and: take. on: both sides. If ‘we have to go a confrontational route,’ ‘nobody's going to win." The protesters © want ‘election reforms, including a process for recalling band councils. The protesters blame band council incompetence for the loss this year of more than $3 million in federal grants that had’ pre- viously been approved. That money. had been earmarked. for- the band’s housing project at Kit- selas Canyon, now sct back by at. least a year. They have called on the federal Department ‘of Indian Affairs to intervene and call new elections. There is no provision for that to occur, “Northwest Roundup _ one SMITHERS -- Smithers taxpayers face increnses -in _ their tax bills to’ pay. for RCMP officers. “passed: the 5,000: mark, ac- cording to the last census, < - for their local officers...“ The popualtion of the town - ‘That's the figure: at. which | local taxpayers: Begin’ ‘paying ‘HAZELTON -- A native journalism program will be- _ pin classes here this Septem- ber. The 16-month training pro- -gram.is being put on by the “ Gitksan-Wet’suwet'en Educ: tlon Soclety. “It’s being divided into four semesters and class size Is ° care increase will eventu ily ve ‘Nmitedto15 peopl. - PRINCE RUPERT a _ The _ chly has given a business licence to an escort service.’ It cost Cynthia Gelinas: ’ $2,000 and is the first to be: granted under a new licence ~ cil, _ It collects for local recreation 7 ~ {would amount to $750,000 * category established by ef coun- so :. proving recreational access. “ < gulated throughout the cont age eof the stumapage-n revenue” programs. Warmer Jarvis said two to. three per cent of the revenue. "Efforts targeted at im.» to our outdoors could pro-* duce returns immediately,” | Jarvis has said In letters clr-.. munity.