| Value added Native carvers are finding their creations are bringing in overseas income\NEWS A10 Allve at night There’s now something constructive for young people to do at night\COMMUNITY B1 No holds barred | New martial arts club gearing up for ultimate challenge\SPORTS B7 ce teak WEDNESDAY. October 22, 1997 TANDAR VOL. 10 NO. 28 Talstra won’t give up on Thornhill TERRACE MAYOR Jack Talstra says he hasn’t given up on the idea of a Greer Terrace that includes Thomhill, in spite of a no vote in that community. “This was just our first try,” he says, “Aud I think it was actually quite encouraging.” Half of all eligible Thornhill voters turned out this weekend to reject the offer to create a new municipality with Terrace. Voters in Terrace were actually overwhelm- ingly in favour of joining the two communities. But according to the rules of the referen- dum, both sides had to say yes for the restruc- ture to proceed. But Talstra says a 40 per cent yes vote is very encouraging for the future of the area. “We held out our hand in friendship across the river and 40 per cent of the voters there held theirs back,” he says. “I think that’s a clear mandate for us to continue in the direc- tion we're going.” “That direction includes aquiring the airport and airport lands needed for future development. And Taistra says he will also fight to get Terrace’s share of the restructure money offered by the province for amalgamation. That works out to $1.3 milion. “T don’t know how possible it is,” he says. “But our view is that we did our part. Something should be worked out.” Thornhill regional district director Les Watmough echoed Talstra’s sentiment that the two communities should continue to work towards mutual goals. Atotal of 1,301 Thornhill voters made it to the polls Saturday. That’s one of the highest voter turn-outs in recent years, reflecting the direct impact the decision would have on residents. And the majority of voters in that commun- ity apparently saw the effects of a restructure to be negative, with 58 per cent, or 749 voters, saying no and 42 per cent casting a yes vote. The situation was opposite in Terrace, where just 1,682 people made it to the polls. That’s only 23 per cent of the population. However, less than 200 of those who voted chose the no option. A total of 87 per cent of Terrace voters, 1,483 people, chose to amal- gamate the two communities. The split vote between the two communi- ties was not a surprise to many living in Thornhill. “It went the way [ thought it would go,” says Peter Wallin, a no-voter who owns a business in Thornhill. “The taxation rates are too high in Terrace.” Wallin admits taxes were bound to go up with or without amalgamation, but he says they aren’t going {fo hit Terrace levels for some time yet. “More ground work has to be done before they can convince people,” he says Many Terrace city councillors said they weren’t surprised with the outcome either, but there was some dissappointment. “Thomhill missed their golden opportunity to join a growing and expanding community,” says councillor Rich McDaniel, who owns a business in Thormhill. “There’s no more mon- ey that could have been offered.” Other city councillors also saw the referen- dum result as a missed opportunity. “] think we've missed a good opportunity to make the area one big vibrant communi- ty,”says councillor Linda Hawes Hawes says she’s concemed that Thornhill might suffer from future government down- loading, as the province looks the the régional district to perform more functions. “Status quo is a true fairy tale,” she says. Hawes also says there was a lot of misin- formation about the issues that might have led tothenovote. - She says she spoke fo a group of Thomhill residents just days before the vote who believed that ihe the restructure figures had been deliberately manipulated to exclude the possible incorporation of Thornhill as an inde- pendent municipality. “There were also myths about water, snow- clearing and fire fighting,” she says. According to Hawes, the city wil! now con- centrate on looking to obtain the airport lands needed for future expansion. “We're plowing ahead,” she says, “And it’s ashame we're not taking Thornhill with us.” 93¢ PLUS 7¢ GST iy reales arpa Ga PHYSIOTHERAPY PATIENT Treena Romanchuk, left, is going Lori Janzen to find her treatments more expensive now that physiotherapist and others _ are opting out Physio patients latest to feel bite of health care user fees PATIENTS AT at the Kermodei Physiotherapy Clinic will be paying increased user fees as of Nov. 2. On average that means paying a $20 user fee up front instead of the current $10 fee, , The clinic is doing what's called a “‘sof op- ting out”? of the Medical Service Plan (MSP). That means patients will sign over authoriza- tion to the clinic to collect the rest of the fees from the MSP. Other clinics down south have already done a “‘hard-opt out” where patients pay the fuil fee up front, then have to collect back what they can. . The Kermodei Physiotherapy Clinic is the only place in town, aside from Mills Memorial Hospital, which offers physiotherapy services to the public, Lori Jan- zen splits the caseload with Mallory Glustien. “We're not doing this on s whim,’’ says Janzen, She says the B.C. government effec- tively cut the earnings of physiotherapists by nine per cent in August. That cut is in effect till March 1998, “The nine per cent cut would effect us quite significantly,” said Janzen. ‘‘The clinic could go under,”’ She says the government hasn't increased the amount of money available to be physiotherapists since 1995. In that time the coat of doing business has gradually climbed and will continue to do so. *“We have to see more people per hour just to pay for the cost of using the office,’’ says _ Janzen. ‘‘Then the quality of care goes into the toilet.” Right now Janzen sees anywhere from four to eight patients an hour. ‘At a certain point I just have to say enough.” Janzen has heard anguments from the government, saying physiotherapists are simp- ly spending too much, too fast. But she says that’s not true. B.C.'s population is growing and the number of people secking physiotherapy treatment is growing she says —= an average of cight per cent per year. Patients have already paid for a portion of that increased usage, she points out, The government increased physiotherapy fees in March from $7.50 to $10, That money didn’t go to clinics, Janzen says. It just meant that the government could reduce the proportion of money it gave to physiotherapists. The new nine per cent cut by the govern- ment meats the money the Medical Services Plan doles out for cach visit decreases by nine per ceat, However, the cliaic plans to double the user fee clients are paying — an increase of more than nine per cent. ; Janzen and her partner defend the increase. “We're seeing more and more complex cases offloaded from the hospital,”’ says Janzen. And that means they’re having to spend more time with patients. “We don’t rush things,” adds Glustien. “If you don’t do a good assessment you don’t know how to treat the injury.’ Janzen regularly spends 40 minutes a visit working with one client She says her take home. pay from that one-on-one work ig just $10. “It’s not just about money, but I cannot make a living doing that.’’ However, the clinic’s increased user fee won't affect WCB or ICBC clients at Kermodei Physiotherapy. They make up about haif the caseload there. ; Patients on social assistance will also have to pay user fees for the first ime, but they'll be just $5 for follow-up visits, Janzen says there are three differeat ways people can recover the new $20 user fee. Patients can claim through an extended bene- fits with an employer, or a long-term dis- ability program. Another way to recover the fee would be through income tax deductions. of the provincial medical services plan. Romanchuk ts having her arm treated here, Casino plan has support of charities By SALWA FARAH THE MAN who wants to open a casino here is betting one will be approved somewhere in the northwest. ‘So local hotel] owner John Georgiles wants this city to be in on the game, And he’s lining up local charities, who stand to benefit from a charity casion operation here, to back his cause. ‘“A casino is going to happen, if not in Terrace than in Prince Rupert,” he said, predicting the potential of lost revenue to Terrace if Prince Rupert gets a casino. Georgilas, who owns the Terrace Inn, wants to convince council of this and he'll be approaching it in the next few weeks. He wants to either put a casino in his hotel base- ment or build on nearby land wader option from CN. “They want to revitalize the area from Kalum to Clinton —- what better catalyst then to have a casino in the area?’’ he said of the area surrounding his hotel. “This is what we'll explain to council. They don’t have to ait on the side lines.”’ Georgilas also says times are changing and that gambling already exists here in various forms from lotteries to bingo. Georgilas has been soliciting the support of a number of local charities, Terrace Little Theatre is one of these. “I support the concept of a casino in this area — it's: beneficial to the city,” said Gordon Oates, president of Terrace Little Theatre. : A certain percentage of money raised from all gaming in the province will go to a collective trust fund and will be divided between charities. Oates says a casino will tap into a different market than the bingo one, increasing the total amount of moncy going to charities. One of the biggest misconceptions about casinos, Oates says, is that patrons will be rowdy, meaning increased policing costs, But he says the typical casino player is mid- dle class and non-violeat. “T’s a scare tactic. The casino operator has to allocate £0 many dollars for policing.’’ Helga Kenny from Terrace Anti-Poverty is concemed casinos will create problems for low income people. “Bingo is one of the higher up sources of gambling, but people don't hawk their houses with bingo,” ssid Kenny who doesn’t support the idea of a casino in Terrace, She says the nature of a casino is different than a bingo hall where bets are bigger and chances for winning and losing are greater. But other charities like the Terrace Curling Club, Cana- dian Cancer Society and Terrace Blueback Swim Club feel a charity casino will give them more opportunilics to gen- erate money. Mike Carlyle, manager of Terrace Blueback Swim Club, says its bingo income has dropped and he welcomes a chance to make up for lost revenue. “We're quite excited about that — it would make a huge difference If we could pick up one of those nights,” said Carlyle about the prospect of a charity casino in Terrace. Georgilas has until November 28 to submit his proposal and have it approved by city council. Recall expert here FORMER SOCRED attomey-general Bud Smith is com- ing to Terrace and Kitimat next week to talk about recall. He was one of those responsible for introducing the idea that a Member of the Legislative Assembly could be recalled by electors and a by-election called. Smith’s involvement dates back to 1991 when the Socred government which put the idea of recall and province wide referenda to voters as part of the provincial election that year. Now a lawyer in Kamloops, Smith will be speaking in Kitimat and to the Rotary club here next Monday. Smith’s visit is the latest in what is expected to be a cam- paign to recall Skeena NDP MLA Helmut Giesbrecht which can start Nov. 28, :