A2 - The Terraca Standard, Wednesday, September 17, 1997 FROM FRONT Sawmills to reopen soon “L think he was the key person,” said Terrace mayor Jack Talstra. “] don’t think anyone else could have put it together this way.” For his part, Miller singled out Talstra and Skeena MLA Helmut Giesbrecht as the “absolutely key” players who advised him from the sidelines to help make the deal possible. “T’d like to personally have my thanks registered to those two individuals for the help they’ve given me and the government on this file,” Miller said in an interview with the Standard Monday. It looked like all hopes for a settlement were off last Wednesday after a 16-hour marathon negotiating session ended — without handshakes. By Friday, however, Miller was able to persuade the 1 union to agree to the wage rollbacks in exchange for equity. To secure that it had to put up a share of the province's owner- ship position and agree to guarantee payment of the extra five per cent wage deferral that’s tied to financial performance. To get the banks on side the province upped its capital contzi- bution from $68 to $74 million and abandoned its demand for B.C.’s money to be secured ahead of the banks’ $96 million. If liquidation of the company happens, the banks’ and the gov- ernment’s capital contributions will now have equal status, ahead of the banks’ older stake in the company. : The province is potentially on the hook for another $8.5 mil- lion if the pulp mill doesn’t meet the banks’ goals for production cost savings. That’s the amount of an extra five per cent wage deferral over three years agreed to by the pulp mill workers that the banks wanted tied to performance as an incentive. Hf the operation makes targets, the banks will pay back the wages, otherwise they'll be covered by the province. “] gave a guarantee that they'd get their money back,” Miller said. “But if they get the kind of performance I know they can get that (the company’s success) will just happen.” The 10-per-cent rollback, with the five-per-cent guaranteed deferral was a Miller-brokered compromise between the union’s position and the banks’ demand for a 20-per-cent wage rollback, Critical to the company’s survival, said Miller, will be the development of a new relationship between management and employees and end the operation’s abysmal record on that front. “When you look at the economic value of the business run- ning, both in terms of taxation, spin off jobs, taxes paid by indi- viduals and other companies, it is just staggering,” Miller said. “On a cost-benefit basis this is not only a gocd deal but on top of it we'll make money on it.” The deal lifts a pall of gloom from the northwest, which has seen construction taper off and real estate prices drop this sum- mer as a result of the uncertainty facing nearly 3,000 of the region’s jobs. Terrace mayor Jack Talstra called the province’s share “a lot of money” and said it was more than he expected. But Talstra backed the deal. “There will be critics and the critics will be stronger as the days go along,” he said. “But the balance is more towards the good than towards the bad. It was essential that our communities get back to work. It was essential that there be a positive spirit in our communities heading into winter. I'm happy.” Even B.C. Liberal forestry critic Ted Nebbeling called it a gocd deal. “The workers getting a portion of ownership should be a great motivator,” he said. “The northwest has reason to be jubilant.” The province is expected to be able to fill three of the chairs vi haagg of directors.of the,sestructured Sompany, ..,.. illerconfigmed he, will install a pulp workers’ union repre- i as one directar, but said it’s too early to talk aboul who might appoint to the other positions. STOP P Press Man bites bar patrons TWO MEN were injured early Sunday moming after being slashed and bitten by a man ata local pub. Terrace RCMP arrested a 26-year-old resident after the incident. Police say he used a broken beer glass as a weapon and slashed another bar patron on the forearm. He also apparently bit a second man several times on the upper abdomen. Charges of ageravaled assaull and assault causing bodily harm were filed against the man Monday. Goods stolen at lake SOMEONE BROKE into a Lakelse Lake home on Monday and stole a RCA VCR, RCA satellite receiver and a Canon camera, The total value of the goods stolen was approximately $2,300. The theft took place sometime between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crimestoppers or the RCMP. FROM FRONT Greenbelters like city’s new vision sociation, “This is a great step,’’ Merrill said, ‘It incorporates a lot of our ideas and more, And it demonstrates that planning is not just a word. It can actually start {o happen in our com- munity,’" t { Merrill said the greenbelt group also strongly endorses the idea of a pedestrian overpass across the CN Rail tracks. “We really do have a problem there and to put a crossing there would really connect our communities,’”’ she said. **Then ali of a sudden you can bike, you can walk, you can access other walkways. You can talk about a walkway along the river.” In particular, Merrill likes the concepts of ‘‘greenways”’ introduced in the plan. Howe Creek is the first one the city would concentrate on, but eventually greenways (consisting of greenbelt and trails) could connect from Howe Creek to Terrace Mountain to Heek Brook then to Spring Creek, “En the future that’s going to be a nice network,’’ Merrill said. ‘We're excited and we're going to work as closely with city council as we can and with Terrace Beautifica- tion in seeing some of these come to fruition.’’ Merrill docsn’t expect the amendments will sail through without a fight, though. And she says she’s more op- timistic than other greenbelt advocates, “T think the community will reaily have to band together if it wants to see it,” she said, ‘We have to let our coutiell know how important these things are to our commiunity.’? Talstra wants at least one of the three provincially appointed directors to be from the northwest. Court-appointed monitors, who had been prepared to file for bankruptcy this week, say they will now ask the court for an extension of the Sept. 30 deadline for a restructuring plan. Martin Hyatt, of Coopers and Lybrand, said it will likely take about six weeks to put together the plan. That's expected to spell out exactly what will be offered to unsecured creditors like logging contractors — most likely a com- bination of cash and shares. Hyatt isn’t promising much, however, and warns what is offered will likely not be enough to save some small contractors and suppliers who have been struggling to fend off their own creditors. There simply isn’t much uncommitted cash within the busi- ness plan to offer, he said, and offering those unsecured credilors some of the province’s shares may be akin to “throwing a drowning man an anchor.” ' “Shares are wonderful and they may have substantial value in ‘the future,” Hyatt said. “But that future is a lot longer away than some people can manage. And I don’t know what we can do about thal within the confines of the plan.” Those contractors would have gotten nothing if no deal was reached and the company slipped into bankruptcy. But the something-is-better-than-nothing argument is small consolation for many, Hyatt said. “For some people 10 per cent or 20 per cent or 50 per cent is the same as nothing,” he said. “We may come up with a solution - that is @ solution for Skeena but is not a solution for everybody.” It’s not the first.time the mills in this region have been bailed out by government. It first happened in 1973 when former own- ers abandoned operations. The assets were scld to Repap in 1986. The restructuring package is projected to cut pulp production costs from US $650 per tonne down to about US $525 per tonne. Pulp prices have risen this year to about US $610 per tonne today from US $500 per tonne at the beginning of the year. SEPTEMBER 1997 PALAC E SEPTEMBER 1997 “SUNDAY”. MONDAY - TUESDAY WEDNESDAY “THURSDAY FRIDAY ~ SATURDA: 1 K 1 Teraoe Lite aotess. | 6, mete 1 Minor 2 fers 3, ee Theatre Society een B seme Baseball Society Volunteer Terao Art| Naga Tite Cane Koette Cub of Terrace Association Bureau Pop Tarace Lov ae eeats Canadian Sheena Jr, 7 Thornhill Terrace D kermode 1Orerace {1 roplnaye 12 Parepleje 1 oe ey Posies hace Frerdshp | Sueback | — phen [Toa d i wim Clu ; Associaton School” Assocation | S84 Gynnasies Cub alps Tarace Stating Chi}. 14 15 16 17 TB scwort 119, en jo cemeneee Gastonia | Tenace | canadian | Tora Mit woe |_Pactes ko. | arsan sce , See, inar Hockey | Paraplegic | Blueback Nisga‘a Trtal Ppa Caraie Loan School | Association ascoviaton Swim Club vom Counc arial 21 PAreae 2 5terce | 26 2 (bee PACES, 22 Minar Kemode Se Garadin : a Daycare iendship errace Lite ‘ona'a Tahal P__fansman Clu society | scsocann | Socety | orca | Tare Noga 28 30 Skeena Terrace Kermode JiSecondary | — Minot ff Friendship School Rockey Society Sat. Afternoon Games Doors 11:30am. Games 12:45 Evening Games Doors 4:30 p.m. Games 6:15 Thurs., Fri. Sat. Late NightGames Doors9:30p.m. Games 10:00 p.m. Family Bingo Every Saturday Afternoon —_ Last Wednesday of the month Is DOUBLE BINGO T.V. MONITORS SMOKE REMOVAL AISLE CONCESSION 4410 Legion, Terrace 635-2411 - THE REAL CANA D | A N Pepsi or Northern White 7-Up 2% milk 2L, case of 8 1% orskim. 4L First 1 021212F case each Pillsbury Heinz Pizza Pops 89 tomato ketchup frozen, 20's, assorled varieties, 2.24 kg 2.84 Ltin 926535F each | | 166967 Tide Ultra no name™ laundry detergent 3 9 cheese slices 16L regular, 2 kg 576132 each | | 786005 First 1 Minute Maid Kellogg's orange juice rf 9 Corn Flakes frozen, 6 x 355 mL cereal, 1.35 kg §2G4B3 each | | 258152 Maxwell House Libby's beans ground coffee v 5 with pork 1kg case of 6x 398 mL 437962 each | } 043125 Kellogg's Campbell's cream of Eo 4 Raisin Bran 5 5 mushroom soup 98 cereal, 1325 g condensed, case of 12 x 284 mL 2SSGB4 each — {041988 First 2 case Wonder DOUBLE no name club pack™ > 9@ie sandwich bread 64 evaporated milk SOR 98 white or 60% whole wheat, 900 9 each ; case of 24 x 385 mL 182501T when you buy 2 030841 case fresh Scott premium : mushrooms 60 bathroom tissue 39 product of Canada, 4.54 kg case 2-ply, 24 rolls 3 541805 case | | 03ais4 each: baker Purina Dog Chow : potatoes 98 dry dog food 99: imported, 100 count, 22 kg casa 18 kg bag : 544916 case] 9240135 each. Food 4 Service, Wholesale Groceries 8 Confection, Janitorial and Office Supplies Prices in effect until close of of business, Saturday, September 27, 1987. We reserve the ui lent eames STORE HOURS MONDAY THRU. FRIDAY OPENING 8:00 2. PM. ' SEPTEMBER 16, 1997 4524 Feeney Ave. 10:00 AM. . ‘00 P. M. Terrace, British Columbia lj “WHOLESALE = FEENEY AVE a REAL CANADIAN TOURIST BOOTH CLUB y¥ KERR ST.