News In Brief Roberts elected chief councillor STEVE ROBERTS has been elected chief council- lor at Kitsumkalum, He replaces outgoing chief councillor Diane Collins, who did not run again. Roberts got 103 votes in last Thursday’s elec- tion, defeating four other challengers by wide mar- gins. Vera Dudoward was closest with 42 yotes, followed by Susan Spalding, Arthur Collins and Ja- nice Robinson. It’s a return to a familiar role for Roberts, who has’ served in the past as the barid’s chief. council: lor, and is also the present band manager at. Kitse- las. _. Ernest Gerow topped the polls for Kitsumkaluny band councillor, with 143 votes. The remaining five band council seats went to Edward Brown, Adam McCarron, George Cooley, John David Christiansen Jr,, and Susan Spalding ~ who ran for both band councillor and chief council- lor, Four more candidates, including incumbent councillor Stewart Bolton, were unsuccessful, ~ With Christiansen the only re-elected councillor, it means Roberts has a nearly all-new team to wok - with. What a great month THE MONTH of February was relatively balmy for people in Terrace with very little snow and rain. The average temperature last month was -0.7C with the coldest day falling Feb. 24 when the tem- perature dipped to -9.3C. The warmest day was the last day of the month when the mercury hit 5.3C. The warmest February day on record came 33 years ago when the temperature hit !0C. The coldest day in February was in 1956 when the mercury fell all the way down to -25C, Precipitation levels last month were only 20 per cent of normal. Most of the precipitation fell in the form of rain as 24.1 mm fell and only 7.5 cm of snow. That compares to the most snow ever to fall in February here which was in 1972 when 234.7 cm of the white stuff piled up. The most rain on record was 183.1 mm which fell in February 1961. Making the list ‘> 4a NORTHWEST rivers, the Taku and the Iskut, are number three and six respectively on the Out- door Recreation Council of B.C.’s top ten en- dangered rivers list. Potential mines, road construction and a pro- posed independent power project were cited as reasons for the pair's inclusion. 1S YOUR WEDDING-COMING UP? cf * Noon- 5: 00 pm. ‘ee Terrace. ° 1-800- 563-4362 Mat wil your dream home look Uke 7 Need. ideas? Browse through our collection of. fabulous home plans. All designs can be customized to your needs, Call now to order your FREE copy of the new Nedwon Homes Dedvers Dreams catalogue, with over 80 plans from starter A Sxeeutive homes. ” C3500 dhe ober sine 199 1-800-661-6534 t Free offer envls March 31/03. One per household. May also order at wwwndson-homes.com Housing wait lists shifted THERE HAVE been relatively few problems so far in changing the wait list priority for long term care facili- ties, says the person in charge of the effort. Tim Rowe of the Northern Health Authority says people now ask him why it hasn’t happened before. Instead of basing admissions on. when a person is put on a wait list, the emphasis is now on the person’s needs, It means people who need the kind of care an ex- tended facility such as Terraceview Lodge here provides will be considered first, said Rowe. For others, it means emphasizing programs such as home support or places such as McConnell Estate which feature independent living with a. certain. amount of as~ sistance, “We're finding people on the list who don’t need the. kind of long term care a facility provides,” said Rowe. He and his staff are noticing that the wait list numbers of dropping as the new policy takes effect. It means wait _ lists now more properly reflect actual need, he said. Ensuring that only people who need a long term care facility are on a. wait List is also cost effective, Rowe added. “The idea is to provide care appropriate to a per- son's needs,” he said. The health authority shift won’t affect the first two people on current lists for any given facility. That's to avoid upsetting any plans those people have already made in anticipation of admission. At the end of January for Terraceview Lodge, there was one person waiting for admission to its intermediate care wing and four people for its extended care wing. Those are relatively low numbers, noted Rowe. One reason for that is the effect of the newly-opened McConnell Estate supportive housing complex adjacent to Terraceview Lodge. It provides accommodation and support for people who might otherwise be looking to Terraceview Lodge even though they don’t need such an advanced level of care, said Rowe. “McConnell Estate is more cost effective overall and more appropriate for some people,” he said. the Terrace Standard, dl, Wednesday, March 12, 2003 - A9 BC's new Fair PharmaCare program stars May 1, 2003. BC's PharmaCare p program is s being modernized to > provide fai access . to prescription drug users across the province, Under the old program many low-income British Columbians have been paying a higher portion of their prescription drug costs than those with higher incomes. program: The new program provides financial assistance | . 280,000 low-income to these who need it most: the lower your income, the more assistance the government will provide for your prescription drugs. Under the new Fair PharmaCare program, | "harmaCare program. “most BC families currently receiving support will pay the same or less for their prescription }| incomes willbe . drug costs. For the first time, young BC ~ families with lower incomes will be supported with their drug costs. _ To be eligible for their maximum level of financial assistance under the’ ia _ -| new Fair PharmaCare program, PharmaCare users will need to register, If-yo currently receive PharmaCar upport you will receive a 3 packs Fraser ‘Interior Health” i Health: Under the new Fair PharmaCare families will pay less than they do now. * 84% of all BC families will pay the same or less under the new Fair * For the first time, young - BC families with lower supported with their _ drug costs. ;