Miners spending golden Christmas with families | ALL EYES will be on the sky today at one of B.C.’s more remote mine sites, Arriving on two planes are more than 30 family members of Cominco Snip gold mine workers who are on shift over the Christ- mas holidays, There aren’t any roads to the mine located north of here on the Iskut River. Access is by aircraft or, during the summer months, a hovercraft which plies the waters of the Stikine and Iskut rivers to and from Wrangell, Alaska. That xemoteness can make Christmas a lonely period at the mine and is the basis behind Cominco’s policy of flying in family members at no charge, ex- plains mine manager Merlyn Royea. Cominco tries to make sure as many workers as possible go home at Christmas but there will still be 43 employees and cight catering staff working for Nation- al Caterers on site. “This is about half the normal crew size, but the mine will keep producing ore and the con- centrator will extract and process the gold — even on Christmas Day,’’ said Royea. The planes belong to Central Mauatain Air, the company that regularly flies workers in and out of the site. One Beechcraft 1900 is taking off from the Smithers airport and the other from the airport at Van- -Couver. It takes two and a half hours to make the trip to Snip from Van- couver and just under an hour from Smithers, *"We're always happy when the planes arrive and those going home are safely out,’’ notes Royea in adding that winter weather plays a factor in air trans- portation. _ The families are gathering at the two airports from all over. Some live in Smithers and in Prince George and some are com- ing from as far away as Alberta, That Alberta contingent con- sists of Bob and Edna Smithics from Delbure, just east of Red Deer, who'll be visiting daughter Laura, an essay technician at the mine. Bob Smithies helped set up the mine’s mill in 1990, used to work for Cominco and is now retired. He and Edna have spent the ‘preater part of their married life at various mines, - It'll be the second Christmas Bob and Edna have spent at the mine and they’re looking forward to doing it again. “We quite enjoyed it last year. It was a different Christmas,” said Edna. In addition to the charter flight, Cominco is paying their airfarc from the Calgary airport to Van- couver and that’s the kind of benefit not many people realize companies will do for their STEVE COHEN from J and F Distributors here in town readies a load of Christmas food and goodies headed up to the Snip gold mine in the Iskut Valley. The food’ll be served Christmas Day at a feast enjoyed by workers and their families flying in for the holidays. workers at Christmas time, she said, “Some people are. quite sur- prised. They don’t understand what Qy-in and fly-out is,”’ she said, Pastry chef Tan Kay lays claim to having the largest family visit when wife Cheryl and children David, Billy and Christine jour- ney up from Campbell River. This is the fourth family Christ- mas at the mine which opened in 1991, The visitors will spend a week at the mine enjoying its hospi- talily and going on tours. “Spending two Christmases at Snip I have found that through the efforts of several pcople the Christmas spirit is shared by friends and family alike,’? said mine worker Laura Smithies. “Christmas at Snip should not be looked at as a hardship but rather a blending of friends to make one big happy family,” she said. There'll be games, hot tub parties and sleigh rides using snowmobiles, not horses. Christmas activilies center in the dining hal] and in the mine’s “Hard Rock Chalet”? recreation centre. ‘The log fire in the big, field- stone fireplace will keep every- one warm and in the special holiday mood,” said Royea. There'll be a Christmas Eve carol sing in the centre and a feast on Christmas Day. . That feast comes courtesy of National Caterers, the company contracted by Cominco to supply food services to the mine. Catering staff are gearing up to serve approximately 120 pounds of roast turkey, a 30-pound ham and about the same quantity of ‘fantail shrimp. Dessert lovers can choose from plum pudding with brandy sauce, sherry trifle, mince meat tarts and the traditional Christmas log. . Getting all that food to the mine site requires as much planning and effort as extracting gold from ore, National Caterers makes pur- chases in Edmonton, Vancouver, Prince George, Smithers and here in Terrace through J and F Dis- tributors. Those purchases are gathered together on a five-ton truck which is then loaded onto an Alaska Marine Highway ferry in Prince Rupert and taken north to Wrangell. . The food is then flown to the mine site. Love is the very best gift By FAE COLLINS MOONEY GROWING UP I had the very best dad a girl could ever hope to have. I still do have the very best dad. My Dad. My first love. My Saata Claus. The gifts he gave me are not the kind that money buys. Nor are they made of stuff that wears out, fails apart, becomes un- fashionable or gets tossed in a comer and forgotten. My Dad. He always gives the very best - Of himself. I remember the Christmas Eve ritual when I was very young of setting out a plate of home-made cookies and a tea cup (my Santa liked tea) before going to bed that night, Snuggled down deep in my blankets I’d try desperately to slay awake, listening for the sounds of Santa’s arrival. But I never did. Sometimes, though, I would wake to hear voices in the living room, and I'd think about getting up and sneaking a peek, then drift off to sleep again... In the morning I’d find the cookie plate empty and a stain of tea in the bottom of the cup. And while wondering about just what it was that Mom and Dad and Santa lalked about last night, it always seemed to me that Santa’s voice sounded remarkably like . my Dad's, ; ¥ Dad. Of all the gifts he has Nn FAE COLLINS MOONEY is held by father Warren Collins who taught her love and respect. given me over the years, among the most cherished are these: Thanks to Dad I was born liberated, I was never treated in an inferior way because I was not a son. It never mattered that I was a daughter. I was his child and I felt valued. Thanks to Dad I learned to not fear slanding alone, apart from the crowd, Supported by his love I gained the courage to become anindividual, I learned to stand tall (even at four-foot-eleven) and to respect myself. That’s where respect for others begins, From Dad I learned to give the best of myself. And most of all, from Dad I received the very best gift: I learned to love. Because he loved my first, When I reflect back now, from this vantage point, in life, .and consider that beautiful, lasting gift bestowed. upon me by both | parents - the gift of love - I feel a bit overwhelmed. it’s a gift too big 1o wrap! And much too big to receive all at once, The gift of love, always, freely given any time of year. My hope for every little girl who has ever believed in Santa Claus is that she too can know as I have known that warm en- compassing embrace of a father’s love for his daughter. It is a special treasure. A‘ gift ~ that will last a lifetime. The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 21, 1994 - AS CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD The Mail Bag Kemano debate one-sided Dear Sir Fam a 42-year-old carpenter, born and ralsed in Prince George. The first 21 years of my life were spent there before moving to and living in Terrace ever since, The problem with Pat Moss, The Rivers Defense Coalition and various fishing groups is their one-sided, self-serving, single- niinded idealism. While growing up in Prince George in the 50s and before Alcan’s project controlled flooding all along the Nechako, I recall the Island Cache and South Fort flooding constantly. Residents were always moving out then back in. And let's not forget that our parents voted for the government that allowed Alcan the rights to develop their project. So duly elected government that was looking after and reptesent- ing the best interests of the people and economic well being of the province, made a decision that was certainly well liked and ac- cepied at the time. Do not forget that in the 50s, being just after the Second World War, there was nat a lot of work but there was a lot of manpower. I could go on and on, but to change the subject. What about the, Fraser River and all the pulp mill pollution. These mills pollute not only the river but the air as well, and they have pillaged the forest for hundreds of square miles, J recall going to work at the B.C. Rail industrial site at 4 am. and secing the Fraser River covered in white foam originating from Frince George’s Golden Geese, If they truly are a ‘‘rivers defense’? why aren’1 they defending the Fraser and trying to shut down all the pulp mills, or is that their next goal, And what of the various fishing groups, the commercial fisherman, the river guides, etc., Well, let’s sec. The commercial fleet nets the river mouths. The Skeena River, which is not affected by Alcan’s project, is in serious shape, sa, much so that we have scen catch and release only, and no fishing certain species. Try and blame that on Alcan. And what of ihe river guides. These are the handful of guys who comered the market on commercializing sport fishing. Then they tell the rest of us and our children that we have no right to get licences and compete against them. Let’s not forget native commercial river fishing - what an atro- cious idea. A million sockeye disappeared from the Fraser river. I believe that if Pat Moss and her gang truly don’t want more dams and hydro-electric projects then they should have their hydro disconnected and leave it for those of us who appreciate and want, it. I truly don’t want to see my hydro bills skyrocket because we end up having to import hydro from the United States in order to satisfy Pat's pet vendetta, Allan Grier, Terrace, B.C. Turnout a disappointment Dear Sir: Disappointing, to say the least, was the tumont for the Terrace Community Band concert Saturday, December 3. My family group of six was most excellently entertained. by. the performance directed by Jim Ryan. Each band member gives unselfishly of their time to practice and participate at many community venues throughout the year. Earlier on the morning of December 3, several members played in the Santa Parade, then came out again on the same evening to enter- fain. Most members are working people in our community and find the time for their contribution to the spirit of community. Less than two hundred attended the performance. My elght-year- old niece and six-year-old nephew were attentive throughout the concert, which tells me that it had something for everyone. For a dedicated group that has won national acclaim, let’s not have a repeat of this lack of support. Terrace, shame on you. _ Linda Frank, Terrace, B.C. Postal complaint ‘Dear Sir: , On November 24, 1994, I spoke with Lutz Budde, reglonal man- ager of the post office. He 1s the man responsible for creating the sardine can-like lobby of the post office. T told him how upset I was that the public was being treated like this — reduced service, reduced space. Mr. Budde spoke of cut- - backs, downsizing, budgets and the relative unimportance of retail to the post office. He is not planning to increase the space for post office customers. He did phone his supervisor and there was talk of possible mod- ernization of office equipment in April. This might mean more space for customers. But it still leaves us in the snow with our Christmas packages and no guaratitee of any changes in the future. Mr. Budde said that I was the only customer to complain to him about the lobby, Here is his address if you wish to add your voice to my lone complaint.Lutz Budde, 417 2nd Ave. West, Prince Rupert, V8J 1G0. ; Sincerely, Brenda Silsbe, Terrace, B.C. a A | THE START IS FOR PEOPLE LEARNING TO READ The Start Snow and more snow! DID IT ever snow in November! We had 182.5 centimetres of the white stuff, That works out to 73 inches, or just over six feet. The weather office keeps records going back to 1955. And the November snow is the most ever since that ‘time. The previous record was in 1975 when 167 centimetres fell. . Normally, about 48.7 centimetres of snow v falls in No- vember. It was also a bit colder than normal in November. This meant that the snow on the ground did not turn to mush. The weather office reports that lots of snow Is also fall- ing this month.