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He’s full of PEP

Four years and a number of»
emergencies later, Rod Salem is
off to Kamloops/NEWS A10

Young ambassadors

| Your chance to learn more about’
three of this year’s
candidates/COMMUNITY B1

B.C. champs

Terrace Tweens run ring-ettes
around their. opponents at the |
provincials/SPORTS C1 ae

WEDNESDAY .
APRIL 13, 1994

MILLS MEMORIAL Hospital is
going to have to come up with
$906,000 on its own to cover an-
olher budget freeze courtesy of
the provincial government.

It’ll be the third straight budget
freeze {o hit Mills since the
provincial government began cut-
ting spending on hospitals.

Although the newest provincial
health care budget is to increase
overall hospital payments by one
per cent, Mills is basing its
spending on not getting any addi-~
tional money, says hospital offi-
cial Michael Leisinger,

Just be
careful

RESIDENTS PLANNING to do
yard clean-up this weekend better
make sure they have a permit if
that includes any burning.

That’s because the 1994 fire
season Staris Friday.

And that, pointed out Kalum
Fores! district operations manager
Erle Holt, means a permit is re-

quired for any kind of ouldoor —

burning except campfires:

For fires within municipal
boundaries, the permit can be
taken out at the local fire hall or
municipal offices.

Permits for fires in outlying
arcas can be obtained at forest
service offices in. Terrace and
Stewart.

Holt also reminded everyone of
new opening burning regulalions
introduced by the environment
ministry camé into effect April 1.

“The idea of those regulations
is to reduce smoke in and around
populated areas,”’ he said.

IV's already becn dry cnough for
the forest service to have some-
body on duty at its war room here
over the weekend.

“IVs much drier oul there than
people think,’’ Holt said,

Those new restrictions affect
the size of piles that can be
burned and the number of piles
that can be burned in a given time
span.

Holt said people could obtain a
copy of the regulations from their
local environment ministry office.

While burning without a permit
nels a $75 fine, he pointed out the
cost of an illegal burn could be
much higher than that.

For example, if the fire got
away and destroyed a neighbour's
property, the burner could face a
civil court action.

Such individuals could also be
liable to cover fire fighting costs
in the case of runaways.

However, if they had taken out
a permit and followed ali the
safety measures atiached to it, the
chances of their being prosecuted
would be substantially reduced.

Assessments drive rural tax h

THORNHILL HOMEOWNERS
could sce a significant tax in-
crease this year.

The Kitimat-Stikine Regional
District is increasing the tax rate
for Thornhili homeowners by just
1.3 per cent this year,

But increases in assessed bome
values could take a big bile out of
taxpayers’ wallets.

Assessments in Thombill rose
more than 13 per cent to $118
million this year from $104 mil-
lion in 1993. :

Some of that increase can be at-
tributed to the construction of
new homies.

But for the most Patt it refleels

The $906,000 required
represenis increased hospilal
costs due 10 wage and benefit in-
creases and inflation, says
Leisinger.

Overall, he’s predicting the cost
of mnning the hospital will in-
crease by at least three per cent
this year.

It'll try to find some of the
money by cutting the equivalent
of 4.5 full time jobs and using a
$250,000 surplus from the budget
year just finished, said Leisinger,

‘Rach department head has
been asked to find whal money

they can,’’ he added.

“*Not the least of efforts to deal
with all of this will that $250,000
surplus,’’ Leisinger said.

In total, Leisinger’s predicting
expenditure in the $12.5 million
range for the next fiscal year,

Some of the wage increases
were effective April 1 when
nurses received hikes of 2.5 per
cent,

This fall, members of the Hos-
pital Employees Union will get a
3,7 per cent increase.

Leisinger said Mills will con-
tinue to increase internal efficien-

H Going national

TRUMPETER Nathalie Dickson has been selected to perform in Europe with a national band
called Canadian Youth on Tour. She leaves for Toronto July 15 and will be touring internation-
ally for 23 days. The 14-year-old gets some of the best coaching in town from her grandfather,
Jim Ryan. She is also one of the hundreds of performers from around the northwest who will
be playing in Terrace over the next two weeks in the Pacific Northwest Music Festival, For a
schedule of the next week’s 'Fest events, see page B3,

cies in the expectation of reduc-
ing internal costs.

This March, Mills reduced its
bed count to 52, including 10
beds in ils psychiatric unit.

That’s a drop from 67 beds
which in itself is a cut from the
89 beds that were open at the has-
pital until the budget crunch hit
three years ago.

There have been corresponding
reductions in jobs at the hospital.

At last count,  Leisinger
estimated the payroll has dropped
by $1 million over the past three
years.

higher home assessments.

Thal translates into more moncy
for the regional district and high-
er taxcs for homeowners.

The Kitimat Stikine Regional
District's $6.1 million budget for
1994 Includes a $2.19 million tax
levy from residents of local towns
and unincorporated arcas.

That’s an increase of $250,000
— or nearly 13.3 per cent —
from last year.

The tax increases depend on
what. regional. district’ services
taxpayers pay for and what. their
homes were assessed at this year,

Assessed values al Lakelse

- Lake/rural Terrace (electoral area .

C) are up nearly 15 per cent this
year,

Here’s where your tax dollars
will be spent this year:

@ Thornhill Water System:
$747,604 (-3.4%). Thornhill tax
levy $17,700 — up 12.6 per cent
from ‘93 — plus $100,289 in
frontage taxes,

@ MK Bay Marina: $670,816
(no change) Loan repayments
make up $104,000 of the ex-
penses. The marina is budgeted to
eam more than $595,000 in
revenues this year, a projected in-
crease of $70,000 over ’93, That
will more than balance operating
expenses.

Levy: $29,643 from Terrace,
$23,750 from Lakelse
LakelElectoral Area C, $6,574

from Thornhill/Electoral Area E.

@ General Government Ser-
vices: $645,500  (+3.6%).
Despite an increase in spending,
the tax levy comes down nine per
cent to $314,729 —- thanks to the
use of some of a $167,000 sur-
plus that has accumulated over
the last three years.

Salaries and overhead Is the
main expense, increesing to
$230,000 this year,

Levy: $36,212 from Lakelse
LakejElectoral Area C, $17,300

. from Thornhill/Electoral Area 5

TAN DARD ~

Mills to dig down deep again |

Keke

Ons area in which Mills may
find some extra money is leasing
out land to. commercial devel-
oper.

The hospital recently placed an
ad to determine what interest
there is, said Leisinger.

“We were approached by
somebody in the private sector to
use part of our land that borders
Hwy16 so we decided to put out
some feelers,” he added.

While Leisinger doubts the hos-
pital will be able to sell vacant

75¢ PLUS 52 ast.
MOLL NO. Ls oe

land, a long term lease is” pos:
sible,

That way Mills will have the
land available sometime in the fu-
ture should it need space for a:
new facility, he said.

“‘Who knows. Some day. we
may build a facility to the norih
of where we are now that'll bring
in a whole range of health ser-
vices that fits with the provincial
government’s move to com-
munity care,’ Leisinger con-
tinued,

ONE OF the biggest un-
certainties in B.C, today is
how native rights affect
resource development,

With one major land
claims case on ils way to the
Supreme Court of Canada
and without signed agree-
ments with native groups,

Uncertain path

fesource companies and
governments don't have
clear idca of what's cx-
pected — or allowed,

On Page AS you'll find —
several stories dealing with
the issue and on some of the ©
the people most closely in-
volved.

Fish solution
still sought —

By JEFF NAGEL
CONSENSUS AMONG north
coast fishing factions looks as
elusive as a Summer-run sicel-
head right now.

But all sides still seem to think
there’s a chance to reel something
in — despite the decision of
gillnetiers to pull out of the nego-
tiations.

“We felt we could not sit there
and give away more of our
livelhood,”’ said Northern
Gillnetiers Associalion spokes-
man Des Nobels.

The challenge is to work out a
compromise that reaches the
stated goal of a 50 per cent reduc-
tion in the bycatch of steclhead
this year without gutting the
Prince Rupert-based commercial
fishery.

And even if a deal can be
feached, the sports and commer-

. ial fishing representatives may
haye a hard time selling it to

hard-liners wilhin cach group.
“We may not reach consensus
with regards to the 94 plan, but
all ths participants seem to want
to sec ihe process move forward

for the longer term,’” says John -

Brockley, the Steelhead Saciety’s
representalive {o. the Skeena
Watershed Advisory Committee.

“For the first time all groups if
not talking the same dialect are at
least talking the same language,”
said North Coast Advisory Board
chairman Greg Taylor, one of the
commercial fishing sector repre-
sentatives to the talks,

$75,151 from Terrace.

mM =6Refuse Sites: $243,200
(+8%). Although spending to run
garbage dumps in the region only
goes up marginally, homeowners
face a colossal 165 per cent tax
increase in this category this year
to help pay off a debt that has de-
veloped over several years.

A bylaw used to cap dump
taxes at $156,000, _

But in recent years the expenses
have far outstripped the maxi-
mum amount the regional distelct
was allowed to collect in taxes.

That changed last year when the:
regional district board amended ©

the bylaw to allow higher taxes,

Even Nobels didn’t rule. out
finding common ground.-He: said -
the gillnetters have offered’ to
resirict fishing to four days in Aw °
gust and 18 in July. :

“Its the most comprehensive
package we can conceivably pul
forward without bankrupting ours
selves,’ he said,

As it is, he sald, the plan Will -
see 25 gillnetters either put out of
work or forced to learn new ways -
of fishing.

The proposal would produce a
significant reduction in the inter-
ception of steelhead, bul would
fall short of the 50 per cent goal.

The gilinetters oppose introduc-
tion of deep weed lines — nets
that hang lower in the water to
avoid steelhead — because of the:
expense of changing gear. ‘The
neis would further reduce the
Steelhead Kill, but are’ also
believed to be less efficient at
netting sockeye, and cannot be
used in shallow parts of the river
mouth,

Steelheaders also want 10. seca

, reduction in the bycatch of ‘the ;

early part of the run in July, when
some of the Skeena’s most
threatened steclhead- stocks are
running.

To the sportsfishing seclor, a
net 50 per cent reduction in steel-

head kill would mean little ifthe.

already weak runs on the Copper,
Sustut, Morice and others rivers:
are driven into extinction because
of a shift in commercial. fishing.
pressure from August to July... >"

ikes _

This year’s lax increase. should
cut the dump debt in half—.
reducing it from $255,000 at the:
end of '93 to $125,000 by the end.
of this year. :

The overall tax levy goes up
more than $230,000 to $385,606.

Levy: $159,552 from Lakelse
Lake/Electoral Area C, $76,261
from Thornhili/Electoral Area E.

@ Feasibility Study Reserve
Fund: | $257,700. The. studies
fund {s down slightly from last
ycar, with nearly half being spent -
on preparation of the regional dis-.-
trict’s solid waste management.

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