Workers want nursery fo stay TERRACE — A group of Thomhill tree nursery employees have slarted a campaign to keep it open. Decreasing demand and falling prices caused nursery owner Pa- cific Regeneration Technologies to announce last year it was phas- ing the operation out by 1994, But nursery employee Nancy Holubowski says the closure will climinate a large payroll. “We estimate the loss of $600,000 in gross payroll io the Haircut will help aircraft landings TERRACE — Transport Canada wants to give Punk Rock a hair- cut More commonly known as Littke Herman, the hill sits smack dab in the middle of the landing path leading into the Terrace- Kitimat airport from the south. It’s been a constant source of ir- ritation to pilots and passengers, drawing the blame for a jot of missed landings. That’s because pilots must be able to see the runway from 4 certain distance away before committing themselves to a land- ing. If pilots cannot sce the runway, they pull up and chances are the aircraft heads off to another air- port. Tempermental weather com- pounds the problem of visibility, says Terrace-Kitimat airport biaii- - ager Darry] Laurent. ; But now. Transport ‘Canada thinks there is-a way to’éase that ¢ frustration just a little bit, he said. A transport official looking at the approach asked one day if it was possible to take the trees off the top of Punk Rock/Litile Herman. . “We call it Punk Rock because when you're looking at it, it looks like a head with. one of those punk haircuts,”’ said Laurent. He estimates the trees are more than 60 feet high. By removing them, pilots will have an added advantage in making visual contact with the _Tunway. “Tt may not sound like a lot but we have one approach now at 500 feet,’’ said Laurent, ; “If we can do anything to make | it better,-we will,’’ he said. Transport Canada has contacted the forest service and the regional district to see what they think of the idea, TERRACE — A sewer system for Queensway got a lot cheaper and simpler last week, The -low-pressure gravity-fed system now comes in at $2.125 million. It will likely cost homeowners around. $500 a year for 20 years — possibly as little as $400-2 year if the: Kitselas band’s Kul- Spai subdivision joins the system. Thornhill regional district direc- tor Les Watniough said'a com- — ‘mittee of residents, working with engineers, found ways to cut costs down to what they consider to be a reasonable price. | They . managed. to carve community,” she said last week, “The UE rate will go up and there will be people on welfare.”’ Holubowski and the others are. writing federal and provincial politicians as part of their efforts. _ Those on the listinclude federal - Skeena. MP Jim: Fulton, ’ provin- cial ‘Skeena MLA. Helmut Gics-— brecht, forests minister Dan Mil-- ler and premier Mike Harcourt. Holubowski said the presence of a tree nursery to the arca is im- portant because of the large role ihe forest industry plays here. “Basically, ifwe pull out or cut down trees, then we should plant. with trees from a nursery in the area,”’ she said. - The group hopes to persuade. northwest: forestry _ companies. to, take-out more.seedling contracts: with the nursery, “We could: sit back and: do nothing, but af least you can try,”’ said Holubowski. The nursery employs £ five full time people and offers scasonal employment to many others, Pacific Regeneration formed by ex-provincial forest service employees in 1988 when ‘ the. provincial government. an- nounced ‘sold a large number of ’ ils nurserics as part of a privatiza- tion program. Some of the drop in demand comes from « finishing of a province-wide effort to replant arcas that had been left dormant after being logged. Pacific Regeneration was also Was . caught up in a change in provin- cial government policy concem- ing responsibilily for replanting, That policy makes the province responsible for replanting areas cut before 1987 and companies responsible for areas they cut after 1987. The companics, in an effort to save money, are now relying as much as possible on natural regeneration of logged areas be- fore buying secdlings. That means they replant to what is needed to fill gaps not covered by natural regeneration, reducing... the number of seedlings «they have to buy, Logging practices. have . also changed in the past few years, leaning. toward smaller cutblocks. and away from large clear cuts. This further reduces the seedling . demand, Pacific Regeneration will keep its consulting office here open and will continue to operate its cold storage facility. Teachers | give strike vote nod © TERRACE — Teachers here have voted to give their union leaders the power to call a strike vote at any time. The strike authorization vote passed last week with 89 per cent of teachers in favour. Contract talks between the Ter- race District Teachers Union and the school board continue, but the two sides remain far apart. The teachers have cut their wage demand down to four per cent in cach of two years. The board has offered 1.5 per cent in each year of the contract, Union president Cathy Lam- bright said teachers are angry about changes the board is secing on the mainstreaming of special needs children. She said the board would be able to put unlimited _ numbers of special. nceds. children... : in regular classes, **With the current language the board has on the table there j is no way the teachers will sign a con- tract,” Lambright vowed. The union seeks restrictions that would limit classes. to two band- icapped students, and only one of them could be severely physically handicapped or moderately men- tally handicapped. "Tv’s extremely important . that we have this protection not only for teachers but for students -as well,’’ she added. ‘If you have a Down Syndrome child coming into your class, most teachers are not trained to.deal with that.’’ In such situations, she said, the handicapped child doesn’t get proper instruction and the other students don’t get sufficient atten- tion. , “Teachers would be absolutely overwhelmed, if, some: of:.these--. things got in?? Lambright added. . Bargaining resumes Feb. 10-11. City ranks second — in housing starts TERRACE — _ Figures ‘released by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corpo- ration (CMHC) show Prince George was the only urban centre in northern B.C. to ‘secord more housing starts than Terrace in 1992. - ‘Terrace’s final tally was 111 - _ Starts compared to Prince ¥ ‘| George’s 460. - WHODUNNIT?’ Kristen Cavenaugh stars as mystery author Gillian Howard in “Terrace. tle : Theatre's ‘Thriller_of the Year. The production opens Thursday night at the McColl: Playhouse: “s ‘The Play crackles with tension and special effects, , Playing Feb, 4-6 and Feb, 14-1 Shoe a $150, 000 off the repaving costs, he noted, “The committee is happy with | this,’* he siid. JWe-b ‘believe this’. 7 can ‘be: sold,” a Lae Queensway’ Voteis will be asked in. a referendum: “this © pay for the.iew systeni. Victoria has agreed to subsidize the. sewer: system loan ex- traordinary extent — 75 per cent — ina bid-to. make’ it more affor- -dable. for residents. °° The need for a system for: the area remains pressing, ‘Health officers posted warning signs along E Bobsien Crescent last spring, whether or not they Will agree’ to year ‘because of: rw sewage from. failed septic systems that surfaces - in ditches there, The sewage: problem has_ ‘also. property values have plummeted asaresult, ° - Earlier proposals included a - plan to put in an oversized main sewer: line that-would be able to handle future expansion’ of the - system to other parts of Thomhill. That plan has been’ axed, The so-called “oversized’’ option — which would have required the approval of Thombhill voters as “Book burnings? COMMUNITY # BI well —. Was. injected by. the min- istry of municipal affairs, ‘ Although the plan would hive -. saved Thornhill thousands of dol- put! ‘the regional. district. on the _ province's list of polluted sites. ; And. homeowners complain their.” Jars’ in years ahead, Victoria was unwilling: to subsidize ihe over- sized line at the same rate it has agreed ‘to. subsidize ‘the ‘more urgent Queensway system. Now only Queensway voters will be going to referendum, The annual costs consist of cap- ital costs of $350 a year and oper- aling and maintenance costs of about $150 per year. On top of the $500 yearly pay- ment, homeowners would have to That 111 new homes i is more -than the combined figure’ for Quesnel, Williams Lake, Daw- son Creek, Fort St. . John, Kitimat and Prince Rupert, ueenswa ’ sewer system cost pay a one-time installation fee of around $1,350 to install an ap- proved seplic tank and connect it to the service line, Residents could save thousands of dollars in interest payments by - making one $2,800 lumpsome.’ payment up front. That, plus the installation fee; would put the one-time up front cost at around © $4,100. If enough. homeowners opted to pay up front, the cost of the entire system might also come down further, Watmough said. Hf approved, all residents will be required to hook up to the new ; goats, pigs, pees, | sh °P,. COWS... It’s also five more than the city’s previous best year, 1990, Terrace has averaged “80 housing starts over the past four years ‘compared to 21 in Prince Rupert and just 10 in Kitimat, 7 Across the north, a total of. - 690 new homes were started in 1992; one third more than’ the Previous year, , CMHC market analyst David Hobden attributed the jump to” the people moving to. the north __and to low interest rates, system — even if they voted against it. “For this thing to be successful we have to compel by bylaw that everybody hook up within a rea- sonable amount of time,”’ said regional district administrator Bob Marcellin. The Bobsein Queensway Sewer Committee plans ‘an open’ house © meeting Feb. 18 to. discuss’ the project. Time and place are ta be aniounced, Regional district directors hope to decide on a date for the referendum sometime later this month.