Vol. 4, Issue No. 35

Alaskan competition feared in
local mine servicing industry

‘““We have the most to gain —
and the most to lose.’’ This is
how Terrace alderman Bob
Jackman describes the mining
industry in the Northwest as it
relates to Terrace, and the ap-
parent lack of political support
which could cause the industry
to look towards Alaska as the
service center for the area.

by Tod Strachan

Jackman says that Terrace
council has been lobbying politi-
cians on all levels of government
for several years to recognize
and support the mining industry
through such projects as the
development of the Highway 37
corridor, building airstrips and
offering .other services which
would insure developers
recognize the potential value of
Terrace to their operations.

‘We're in an ideal position
for being the main service center
up here,"’ says Jackman. He ex-
plains that Terrace offers
established service industries, an
airport and close proximity to
three ports, ‘‘We’ve got the best
opportunity of any town in the
Northwest to really take advan-
tage of what’s going on up
there,’’ he explains.

But following the official
opening of the Johnny Moun-
tain gold mine, located about 60
miles northwest of Stewart,
Jackman wonders if the future
of Terrace is nothing more than
a dream. While Alaska was well-
represented during the opening
ceremonies, B.C. was sadly lack-
ing any real show of interest,
and he points out that Wrangell,
Alaska also offers port facilities
and is only about 40 air miles
from the mine site.

According to Jackman, some
local service industries were
represented as well as some from
Vancouver, but they were out-
numbered by their counterparts
in Wrangell. And politically, he
says, Alaska was represented by
two state senators and the
Wrangell Chamber of Com-
merce while B.C. was
represented only by one Terrace
alderman (himself), Larry Guno,
the NDP MLA for Atlin, and
Regional District of Kitimat-
Stikine administrator Bob
Marcellin.

Jackman says that there was
no representation from regional
district board members, Prince
Rupert, Kitimat, Smithers or the
province. ‘‘We need more
political drive and public rela-
tions on these levels. Our
counterparts from Wrangell
made their presence felt, and the
developers had a much better
feeling for the people from
Alaska than the people from
B.C.,"" he says.

YOUR HOMETOWN LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER

‘TERRACE,

“The Alaskans seem to be
much more aggressive — at least
politically,’’ Jackman explains.
“The merchants seem to have
that tie with their political peo-
ple and they’re getting political
support.’? One example of that
drive, which could give them the
advantage they need, says
Jackman, is the hard work cur-
rently being done by state
senators to have the status of an
Alaskan wilderness area chang-
ed to multiple use so a road
could be built from Wrangell to
B.C.

This could make Wrangell the
service center of the Northwest
while Terrace would remain as it

Inside
this week’s
Terrace Review

SAWMILL MILESTONE: It's
going to be quite a party
when Repap opens Terrace’s
Starship sawmill next
month... page 3.

GLAD TO HELP: The local
Chamber of Commerce
wouldn’t mind taking over
tourism marketing and
development from the city —
for a price... page 12B.

TEACHERS ON ICE: Profiles
of the Instructors who made
Terrace’s summer hockey
school a success... page 10.

Legislative Library,
Parliament Buildings,
Victoria, B.C.

V8V 1X4

B.C,, WEDNESDAY, August 31, 1988

is today. “I think it’s very
critical that we get on with our
Highway 37 upgrade and things
like that so we can start moving
down into some of those valleys
as well,’’ says Jackman.

He adds, however, ‘‘It is very
difficult for Terrace council to
try and influence what’s going
on with the region, but certainly
the regional district should be on
top of it and pushing it political-
ly.’* He says also, that people
like Minister of State Terry
Huberts and the heads of ap-
propriate provincial ministries
should be supporting the
development of northwestern
B.C.

Business Guide 14
Church Directory 16
ClassifiedAds 19—22
Coming Events 22
Comics 18
Crossword 18
Dining Directory 16 Whoa! Many Halliwell residents were pleased to see new
Editorial 4 — 4-way stop signs installed by Public Works staff Louis Lar-
Entertainment 10. mour and Frazer Dodd at the Hatliwell/North Thomas in-
Horoscope 2 tersection on Monday, but a city official says that extra
Letters 5 caution will be required until residents get used to the
Sports 8 Change. RCMP Inspector, Larry Yeske, says the change will
Talk of the Town 3 make this intersection by Uplands Elementary School safer

by slowing traffic and stopping east/west traffic at the
cross walk. The change was suggested by Constable Dean
Cross who monitored the intersection at the city’s request.

Weather.

PCB’s stored
in Terrace

TERRACE — Polychlorinated
biphenyls, deadly chemicals that
were once used as coolants in
electrical tranformers and for
other industrial applications,
have once again come [to na-
tional prominence with news of
a massive fire in Quebec that
forced the evacuation of more
than 3,000 people from their
homes.

The Terrace Review has
discovered that barrels of PCB's
are stored in at least three loca-
tions within the city limits — but
in much fower volumes and
under much different conditions
than those in Ste-Basil-le~Grand
in Quebec.

Alex Grant, regional environ-
mental safety officer for the
Ministry of Environment in
Smithers, said yesterday that
B.C. Hydro, Skeena Sawmills
and Skeena Cellulose all have
quantities of PCB-contaminated
liquid stored on their industrial
sites. He said, however, that the
storage conditions are regularly

Off to a good start. The hoops were the first obstacle In the Junior Olympics Obsta-Giggle
at Skeena Schoo! last week. The race also included the Rambo belly crawl, crab walk, ping
pong duck walk, bat spin, drop and roll and soccer kick. For story, see page 12A.

inspected (one to four times an-
nually) and all are in line with
specifications set by the provin-

continued on page 2