oavings eroded Local businessman dips into ~ RRSPs to halt erosion of his property\NEWS AS - Marasportathon Twelve local athletes prepare for the most grueling 24 hours of — their lives\COMMUNITY B1. a Oh so close Local bowlers just miss golden. debut at B.C. Winter Games in the Comox Valley\SPORTS C1 "WEDNESDAY MARCH 8, 1995 Orenda takes aim at its critics © NORTHWEST POLITICIANS are acling irresponsibly by calling for the cancellation of Orenda Forest Products’ forest licence, says a company official. The cancellation call comes from the Kitimat-Stikine regional district in response to the plan by a company to. first buy Orenda Forest Products and then ship its fibre south to help open a closed newsprint mill at Gold River on Vancouver Island. Pulling the licence would put. more than a 150 people out of work and affect suppliers, said Orenda vice president Frank Foster. “We were a litte surprised at the reaction of the politicians, particularly by the mayor of Ter- race,’’ said Foster, Terrace mayor Jack Talstra sits as a regional district director and has heavily criticized the planned Orenda sale since if was annoutc- ed in early February. “It’s pretty irresponsible to shut down an entire industry in the Stewart region,” said Foster. “We question whether haw much they know of the economic bencfit our forest licence brings lo the Stewart area and indeed to Terrace.”? , Foster said Orenda’s licence bas generated $131 million in revenue since granted in the mid- 1980s. “A lot of that business flows to Terrace. We have contractors which buy their supplies in Ter- race. Employees either live in Terrace or shop there,’’ Foster “If you consider the multiplier effect, the benefit is that much higher. | don’t know if the politicians realize the economic benefit that has come to the region.”’ Foster conceded that northwest citizens might be disappointed because the planned sale puts in severe doubt Orenda's plan to build its own pulp and paper mill between Terrace and Kitimat, “We spent $4.4 million to de- velop a project Belicve me, we tried, We're bitterly disappointed it hasn’t gone ahead.”? *‘Given the state of the situation in B.C. today, we had a very dif- ficult decision to make,’’ said Foster, But he pointed out that there will continue to be logging jobs under OFP Acquisition Corp, Orenda’s planned new owners, and more employment with the prospect of a chipper going in at Stewart. “‘OFP has already indicated it wants to bring stability to the region, And it’s indicated it won't be sending wood to: foreign markets,’’ said Foster, “What we're trying to do here is re-open a mothballed mill (at Gold River) that'll provide a 170 jobs at least someplace in B.C,”? a Family foibles DEMENTED DAUGHTERS Joelle Walker (as ‘Gail’) and Joan Sangster (as ‘Elizabeth') take to the stage in the In- timate quarters of the McColl Playhouse Thursday night for the opening of Escape From Happiness, George F. Walker's adult dark comedy also features Patrick McIntyre, Jennifer Kenney, and Terrace Little Theatre veterans Karla Hennig and Alan Weston. Tickets are $12 at Carter's Jewel- lers in the Skeena Mall. The play runs Mar. 9-11 and 17-19, Big bucks forecast to fix Lanfear Hill REBUILDING the road up Lan- fear Hill has all the potential of turning into a mulli-million dollar nightmare for taxpayers, Erosion is gradually narrowing the road, and rebuilding it has al- ready been estimated at more than $2 million. It’s not urgent yet, and city director of cnginecring Stew Christensen says the existing road could last another five or 10 years even. But it could also slide off ithe hill next week. Already, speed limits have been lowered on the hill and the sidewalk has been gradually slip- ping away. In some spots, orange plastic bag filled with sand serve as warming markers for pedestrians. “The easterly portion of that road could slide at any time,’? Christensen told cily councillors at a public works committee meeting. The problem, says Christensen, . are a series of clay ienses in the hillside that make it almost im- possible to predict stability. That’s the same sort of problem that plagued road builders in Prince George when they con- - structed a new road up Cranbrook Hilf to the University of Northern B.C. campus, The road there began sliding and construction costs cventually came in $16 million over budget, A reason for looking at the is- suc now is that city council has to decide soon whether to allow a proposed subdivision at the top of the hill. All the options listed in the Study involve going lower down the hill, rather than going further west and cutting harder into the bank, Cutting into the bank, it says, could threaten lots at the top of the hill and cause land to slide. “There are so many | in- determinate costs of going wesl, they. did. not .even make an: estimate,’’ Christensen said, Mayor Jack Talstra noted, how- ever, that ifthe city allows houses to be built at the top, it will lock them in to going with the lower routes. Councillor David Hull echoed that thought, adding that he didn’t want to be 53 years old and hear citizens complaining about ‘the dummies that allowed houses to be built. there and didn’t take more of the upper bank.” And the lower routes aren’t without difficultics, cither, be- cause of the expense of retaining walls and the proximity to Howe Creck, “The retaluing wall would go right. on top of the creek,’ Christensen said. ‘‘So there’s a problem there.”” Cartying out further detailed design of a route will likely cost the cily around $150,000. “The issue has been tabled. until tomorrow’s: planning. committee meeting, © to es Foster said Orxenda isn’t sur- prised at the opposition from Skeena Cellulose to the planned s2ale. That company has two years left on a contract to buy Orenda fibre and says losing the supply will threaten its Prince Rupert pulp mill operations, “It’s pretty clear they are out to discredit us and to block that sale and grab that fibre,” said Foster, Yet he noted that as late as last January Skeena Cellulose was telling prospective money lenders that it had an adequate supply of pulp fibre. “They knew then our fibre would net be in their fibre bas- ket,’’ seid Foster, 75¢ PLUS 5¢GsT VOLATNO. 47 2 Frank Foster Political hopefuls keep heads down, says Lib leader _ POLITICAL CANDIDATES for opposition parties can find them- selves targets of the provincial government, says Liberal leader Gordon Campbell. Speaking here last week, Camp- | bell said that’s why he doesn’t expect candidates for his party to declare themselves just right now in this riding. ” “A lot of the most capable people might be frightened — no, not frightened — but worried about the impact government can have not directly but indirecily,’’ said Campbell. ‘Tm not really talking about the impact on them directly but let's say one of them works for a forestry company, There - are things a government can do to make it difficult on that compa- ny,’’ he said. “For a candidate who is on a (municipal) council, the govern- ment can say there’s no money for something this year, perhaps next year,” Campbell made the remarks wien asked about the interest level shown here for the party’s Skeena riding nomination. The Liberal leader thinks the election won’t be held this spring and, as a conscquence, potential candidates will surface when in- dications of an clection are im- minent, Campbell said he’s talked to four people here he feels will make good candidates, . But before local Liberals can hold a nomination meeting, they must meet two. conditions of the. Liberal party. - so One is to sign up as members at least 1.5 pez cent of the Skeena riding’s population and the other is to raise at least $6,000, Also in town last week was Reform party leader Jack -Wetsgerber. See Page A&. Linda Hawes, a local busines- ‘person and member of the local Liberal riding assoclation’s inter- im executive, said 75 people have already signed party cards. | That’s under the estimated 450 people needed to meet the mem: bership requizement, - “E think we will have doubled or at least triped that figure in the next week,’’ said Hawes. Helping the recruitment campaign is a Vancouver-based Liberal party phone bank which is contacting people in the riding, : Campbell drew approximately 30 people to a meeting at the Ter- race Inn here last week. ; LOOK WAY DOWN, City councillor Val George examines one of the more eroded portions of the p the hill will be needed at a cost of more than $2 million. it's a pro- Ject that’s not only castly but complex because of what lies below t he surface,