Lace up Teaching figure skating Down Under is a whole lot different than teaching im here\SPORTS B5 Getting cioser Construction under way preparing hospital wing for dialysis unit \NEWS Ai2 Parting gifts A woman died and quietly | left the town park land and $400,000 for local | charities\COMMUNITY B1 $1.00 ptus 7¢ GST ($1.10 plus &¢ GST outside of the Terrace area) “VOL. 15: NO, 2 www.terracestandard. Let Alcan sell power, MLA urges Use restricted sales to bring new industry By JEFF NAGEL ALCAN should be allowed to sell power outside Kitimat in such a way that the electricity attracts new indu- siry to the northwest, Skeena MLA Roger Harris says. He suggests some sort of mechan- ism — perhaps a transmission charge — be used to gradually inflate the price of the power the further it’s sent from Alcan’s generators at Kemano. “The further you go down the line there is less of a business case or ad- vantage to Alcan to sell it someplace like Cranbrook than in Terrace,” Har- ris said. “They become compelled by busi- ness to make decisions that work for us in the northwest and bring industry and development here.” Harris says he’s promoting the idea to both government and Alcan officials to resolve the power sales dispute. The concept would in effect create a northwest Kemano power zone, with cheap electricity that could attract a variety of new industries to the region. Allowing power sales but forcing the price of the power up with distance transmitted would let the province evade the need ta draw specific boun- daries that set out which towns are in the zone and which are outside, It would be set up so it’s much more profitable for Aican to sell the power to users in Kitimat, Terrace and Prince Rupert, Harris says, than plants in Burns Lake or Prince George. And exports to the U.S. would be priced out of contention. “I believe Alcan should have the right to sell power,” he says. “But — hang onto yourself — what I’m saying is we have to structure that in such a manner that it compels Alcan to want to sell that closer to home than further.” Harris’ elastic position on power sales is a significant break from Kiti- mat’s. Town officials there say a 1950 gw Paper perfection NORIKO SHIGA, left, gently nersuades shy Timothy Ting, 3, to take a closer look at a new mobile at the Terrace Public Li- brary. The Origami Club recently donated the mobile ~ con- — agreement giving Alcan water rights to the Nechako reservoir dictates power can only be sold for industrial pur- poses “in the vi- cinity of the works” — a phrase they read as meaning Kitimat. They say the existing contract § should simply be enforced. Force Alcan te use all the power locally, they say, and the company will build a large new smelter with close to the same number of people Roger Harris employed today. Allow power sales, they says, and 1,000 jobs could be lost if a smaller smelter is rebuilt to free up power for lucrative exports. Harris argues the “vicinity of the works” doesn’t have to be interpreted $o narrowly. “Does that mean it has to be in Ki- timat within a stone’s throw of Alcan? I don’t think so.” “I don’t buy into the argument that you have to have one community benefit over another,” he says. “I think there’s more than enough power to’ bring industry and investment into the northwest.” Harris said using Kemano power Continued Pg. A16 No logging until spring here — SCI structed using origami designs created by Terrace residents during Riverboat Days — to the library, where the club meets. See story on page B3. JENNIFER LANG PHOTO SKEENA CELLULOSE will send its Hazelton-area loggers back into the bush in Jannary. The company | an- nounced that as part of plans to restart its Prince Rupert pulp mill March 1, But SCI officials. in Terrace say logging near here likely won't resume before mid-April. That's because winter- grade roads weren’t built over the summer. “Even if we had built some road, 50 per cent of our winter volume is locked up behind the slide in the Capper,” woods manager Derrick Curtis said. The company also says the startup of the Terrace and Carnaby sawmills are separate issues that de- pend on concluding labour agreements with unionized workers at each mill. Skeena Cellulose CEO Dan Veniez said the Ha- zelton whole log chipper will run on a two-shift basis to feed chips to the pulp mill. The pulp mill also has a considerable stockpile of chips that. could likely keep it going | well into April. Veniez said a 25-week “phased and systematic” startup program to prepare the mill for production is required because it’s been down nearly 15 months. “This will ensure that our program will be carried out in a thorough and cost- effective fashion,” he said, A total of 380 hourly and staff workers are to re-_ turn to the job in Prince Rupert in early February.- Warkers will start to be Continued Pg. A2 ‘It’s Erb vs. Talstra. Loss of northwest mental health boss raises alarm By JENNIFER LANG THE B.C. Schizophrenia Soc- jety is wondering what lies ahead for mental health ser- vices in Terrace, now that the region is losing its top manager as part of a restructuring plan. Society president Eileen Calla- nan said she’s alarmed by news that Dorothy Jennings, the director of mental health services for the northwest health delivery area, has been told shell no longer have a job here by month’s end. Jennings was hired one year ago, filling a position that had gone vacant for more than a year. “I understood it was going ta be a permanent position,” said Callanan, who sat in on the hiring process last year. Jennings had taken a one- year’s secondment from her job in the Vancouver health region, That ends Oct, 31. The NHA hasn't posted Jen- nings position - nor has it filled the vacant position of northeast mental health director, Callanan said mental health — ser- vices in the northwest were improv- ing under Jen- nings’ strong leadership be- cause she was able ta coor- dinate ‘hospi- tals, families and clients. She fears without a strong imental health manager to advo- cate for services in the region, pa- tients, families and health service providers in the northwest will lose out. . “For me, it gets back to the closer to home idea — only those in the area really know what ser- vices they need.” Dorothy Jennings Jennings. was hited before the. ’ amalgamation of. smaller tegional ‘health authorities into: the. North- em Health: Authority. The B.C. Schizophre- nia Society is contracted through the NHA to oper- ate the fami- ly and com- munity edu- cation pro- pram in the region for aduit mental health. Elizabeth Tovey, the NHA’s regional director of mental health and addictions, said it’s a coinci- dence that the end of Jennings’ secondment coincides with the re- structuring taking place this fall. The- NHA is creating 10 team leaders across the region as part of a redesign of adult mental health and addiction services... - '*“We’re not eliminating any po- Elizabeth Tovey sitions, per se,” Tovey said. The goal of the restructuring is to improve access to services al ‘the community level, “There will be positions for, everybody, but there will be a shift, They will look differently - than a year ago. You may have to eliminate something to build something else.” Combined, adult mental health and addictions services account for 10.6 per cent of the NHA’s budget, Tovey said the NHA wants to make services and programs con- sistent across the north. For example, the northeast al- ready has tele-mental. heaith, something Tovey said will be in- troduced in the northwest: . ‘An electronic file system for mental health patients will also — be introduced across the ‘north, - she said. . ts they just add it into the file,” she which should reduce the workload ‘in collecting stalistica, could’ be” ‘in place by November. . for mayor’s chair LOCAL MARIHUANA PARTY activist Bob Erb has challenged long-serving mayor Jack Talstra in this fall's municipal elections. Erb, who ran in the 2001 provincial election, submitted his papers on deadline day, Oct. 11. There will also be quite a race for council with 10 people up for the six seats. With the exception of Val George, who said he was retiring. some time ago, current councillors Lynne Christiansen, Marilyn’ Davies, David again. Stew Christensen, Carol Leclerc, Don Coburn, Rusty Ljungh, and Allan Melntyre-have joined the race. Despite indications otherwise, nobady who was in- volved earlier this year in protesting provincial govern- ment cuts is running. Running for the three Coast Mountains school trustee . seats in Terrace are incumbents Diana Penner. and Hal Stedham. They are joined by Nicole. Bingham, Mike Maxim and Paul Sametz. Current trustee Marj Brown ‘did not file papers. Lorrie Gowen is running against in- cumbent Gary Turner for the Thornhill seat. ©.” Les Deacon-Rogers is Seeking re-election as. ‘school trustee in’ Stewart and Donna Caruso is running ‘against him. Hazelton incumbent ‘trustee Pleter Weeber is also running again, but is. being challenged by Jessica Miko- layezyk and Garry Marshall. There is no race for school trustee in Kitimat as only Barry Pankhurst, Peter King and Dorothy Lueze filed: Linda Campbell, currently the school district chair, | is running for Kitimat council instead... Familiar faces will be back on the Kitimat-Stikine Te- gional. district board. Nobody. filed against .Les ‘Wat- “Some people used 10 have. ip” -mough’ fot Thornhill {ares E) director and Bob Cooper be interviewed five times -.now.. “8° unopposed.as area C director, which. serves Lakelse ‘Lake,-Kitamaat Village and north Terrace, : sald, adding the new file.aystem; © ‘.-. Tacumbents Dave Brocklebank, of: Telegraph Creek, find Fred Roisum,. of, the. Kisplox, ‘an are -runnid, area, A, which serves the Nass Valley. " Election day is Nov. 16.