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TERRACE — Part of the a area”

set-aside for creation of a new .

provincial park in? the Tseax

lava beds north of Terrace may:

be held in reserve for. minerat
exploration for” more than 10
years.

” Although no fi nal decision ”

has ‘been made, parks ‘ministry
planning manager. Mike Murtha
said it’s now likely at least half

of the proposed ‘park -will in- .

stead be declared: a recreation.
area td allow exploration by
mining -companies before it

pee tl pe TEP Rice Ne ae al gv aie ree gos

T BLDG

becomes part of the park:

town was reached’ last: month

’ following: several’. months -of
negotiations. between the parks vd

ministry, Skeena Cellulose and |
the “Nisga’a’ Tribal Council
which includes the area, ‘within
its native land claim. “

The : park is to be called’
Nisga’a ‘Memorial Lava Bed.
Park because more than 2,000

people were killed when the lava.
flow buried two Nisga’ a villages s

kept open to. explora

LEGISLATIVE ABSEMBLY

‘ “an estimated 250 years ago. The
Al agreement to create the -
20,000ha park. 100km -narth of: .

agreement.on the:park boun-

“dary. ‘means: Skeena Cellulose

will give up 2, 900ha of timber.

. Molybdenum : and . copper
deposits may be: present’ within

- the agreed park boundary in the

pper Tseax River valley, Mur-
ha said, and.as.a: result: mines
ministry officals want thid, area

_ Recreation : area “status for

part of the park: would. leave a

10-year window for mineral: OK
ploration, he said.

‘SAVE THE, GAMES|. Take i invan athlete!” That's the message that Jocal vole ball play t Rae elle
«Pel 3 organizers of the-Northern B.C, Winter Games are sendin : O:
Slen vp billets ariters its final push, ‘Without sufficient billets; some of Rochelle’ out-of-town cam
‘bould end up camped in a ‘snowbank with her. And if the billet total doesn’t get close
han 1,800 estimated necessary, sorrie sports may have to ba can ; here's sti
involved, ‘by calling the Games. office: at635-1991, nae

eg: campaig

sania —: The Skeena
Health: Unit will receive.

$119,009 . to ‘conduct an exten-:. ned

sive: -anti-emoking . ‘campaign’.

ealth unit ° ditector : Dr...

David :Bowering said. she got. ;
confirmation of the: gtant Fri
day’ ‘from the B.C, Health’ Care |.

even though thé. ‘grant ‘Is: ‘less

od

‘said. the. idea is. ‘tke a. science .

fair, with an anti-smoking goal.
He said the ‘project-may get

‘the: message across: better than
next. ‘yea ‘aimed at, -young peo: ‘others’ because.

teenagers, ‘spesking: ‘ta: their :

‘will be «
“peers, ' foe

a “Maybe - we'll learn ‘how ta.
-oFeach, Kids * better ‘because of .
his,” he said, mga ai

: aes solar to: statistics. that :

than the $129,000 originally re-° Sow smoking will. kill more:

quested. in very. excited
about this,”
The program — called

“‘Flame-out’ -- would involve: >

students: in: all10 secondary, ~

schools ‘in ‘the-health unit
starting: next Septembé

‘Bowering * said’ the -studenta
would: be: ‘piven: resaurces.-to
develop their: own, anti-smoking * | aiven

‘would be judged

canipaigns tha
th

15-year-old = girls’ :than . AIDS, -
motor. vehicle. accidents,

suicides. “and ‘drug: abuse gom-"

bined...
alee a huge probiem,"" he ed .

“Stilde

> nei ‘stop smoking message. . "-

The winning project right
even be toured or marketed to
other areas, he said, like last
year’s Project Squeeze in which

Skeena Jr, Secondary students

developed and then toured with
two 1 drames on 1 alcoho! abuse. |

Bere mee pe pe

aes

L

“It won't affect the lava beds
themselves,’ Murtha said,

“Everybody agrees that's to be
protected,”*

* Mines ministry mineral policy
spokesman Graeme McLaren
said the ministry blocked claim-
staking on the actual lava beds
more than 15 years ago to pre-
vent any exploration within the
actual lava flow area.

‘Any prospecting in the area
outside the flow would be sub-
ject to strict regulations to pre-
vent envirenmental . degrada-

tion, Murtha said.

J"We treat it like any other
parkland in the province — with
one exception, Companies that
wish to explore for minerals
have the right to but we jointly
set ihe rules and regulations
with mines."

For example, Murtha said,
the parks ministry usually in-
sists on complete cleanup of
equipment from exploration
sites, and can require equipment
be brought in by helicopter on-
ly.

Murtha said there has been

some sporadic exploration in
the area by three miners in, te

cent years. ;
McLaren said ‘the. lOyeair

“window .doesn’t begin ‘until

after a government-sponsored
mineral assessment of the area
is carried out. , °

“Then industry hasan oppor-
tunity to go in arid . explore’
under * some = fairly’ rigourous
guidelines ‘and ‘ under. the
understanding that if they don't
find anything, their claims can
be taken back by the Crown
without compensation.”? . '

Water, sewer cost
could be.on rise

TERRACE — Local sewer rates
will increase next year by 40 per
cent and water rates eight per
cent if aldermen accept recom-
mendations made by the city’s
treasurer.

In a memo to council, Keith
Norman said the changes were
needed to ensure rates
“reflected the true cost of the
water and sewer operations."

Past budget figures to cover...

staff costs and overheads have
been too low, he said.

While the 1990 bnidgets set.

those costs at almost $39,000,
Norman suggested a more
realistic figure would be
$150,000.

Explaining the wide variation

Rurake

TERRACE — Commencing
with the 1995 taxation year,
residents of Cedarvale, Usk and
most of the’Nass Valley wiil no
longer be able to claim the nor-
thern tax benefit.

New qualifying. criteria .an-
nounced ‘by federal finatice
minister Michael Wilson reveal
only B.C. communities north of
37 degrees 30 minutes latitude
— about halfway between Bob
Quinn Lake and Iskut — will
now fall within “the northern
zone’’ and therefore be entitled
to the full tax benefit.

That is in line with a recom-
mendation contained in the Oc-
tober, 1989 report by a

. federaliy-appointed task force.

Under the old system, the
automatic qualifying line was
even further north — the 60th

TERRACE: ~— The Terrace
Crown counsel office will con-
tinue to operate without 4
senior administrator, but it will
get a junior prosecutor to help
reduce some.of the workload,
says Ray Hall, the regional.ad-
ministrative Crown’ counsel. for
northern B,C. ce

The office has been without a
deputy regional Crown counsel
-since last spring, when Hall —.
who was occupying the position
— was. transferred, ‘back - to
Prince George.

“The deputy regional Crown

in recommended rate increases,
he pointed out water revenues
last year had been expected to
exceed expenditures by more
than $115,000.

That surplus coupled with the
extra $44,000 revenue an eight
per cent hike would generate
“should be ‘able to absorb most
of the administration fee for
1991,’ Norman added.

‘Inthe case of the sewer fund,
however, he noted an almost

” $170,000 transfer from the ac-

cumulated general revenue

surplus- had been needed to

balance last year’s budget.
Given a 40 per cent hike would
generate $175,000 in extra
revenue, Norman pointed out it

eT .
tf

 egokede we

_ formulae which allowed people

in many communities further
south to claim the benefit.

Qualification allowed tax-
payers to claim a $225 deduc-
tion per month (plus an addi-
tional $225 if they were the sole
earner in the household) to a
maximum of $5,400 per annum
or 20 per cent of total income,
whichever was the lower. That
remains unchanged under the
new system.

Wilson has now also added a
second, ‘‘intermediate zone"
which will entitle those living
between 57°30’ and 55°35’ —
that’s just south of Cranberry
Junction — to claim half the
benefit. ;

Although that is still too far
north for the focal communities

New prosecutor named

position was created in
September 1989, making Ter-
race the regional center for nor-
thwest Crown counsel offices.

“That position will remain
vacant and the regional office in
Prince George will continue to
handle those duties,’ Hall said
last week.

UBC law graduate Holly
Grueger comes to Terrace in
early January as a junior pro-
secutor to reduce the workload
encountered by the two Crown
counsels now working in the of-
fice,

would eliminate the need for
future draws from surplus.

Although that would. stiil

leave the problem of an inade- |

quate administration fee, he
suggested the shortfall could be
covered by a grant from general
revenue thus clearly identifying
the extent to which the sewer
fund was being subsidized.

The suggested increases

would see water rates rise from.

$8.80.to $9.50 per month and
sewer charges jump from $7.70
to $10.75,

Council decided to postpone
a decision on Norman’s recom-
mendations’. until discussions
begin on this year’ s budget.

reas cut out

‘paraile! — but there were also

mentioned above to qualify, the
government has decided to
soften the blow by phasing out

_ the benefit for residents over the

next four years,
They will be able to claim the
full benefit for the next two tax

years, two-thirds in 1993- and

one third in 1994, the Jast year
of the phase-out.

x. Wilson said the new criteria
would ‘‘put an end to the ar-
bitrary and divisive community-
by-community approach" of
the old system while still giving
tax assistance to residents of
“communities which are both
northern and truly isolated.”

PRINCE. RUPERT — A

-or in Port Hardy, It says.

sfitable venture, my ex
ecutives of China Steel Cor:
poration. .

ed

\ orthwest Ro unc

‘Talwanese. steel company.
won't be building a mill here

Sindies have shown the =
east of building a steet mill.
> ere won't make it a pro- |

‘The company earlier | this ;
eae ‘anounced Port Hardy -
Rupert. were the |

. two preferred locations for a
plconaed steel mill after a
a“ of a8 possible sites in

Cc.

_ Prince. Rupert Peter. Lester
i iad he was disappointed by
the arsouncement. hone
“The company had sald It
ranted to bulld-a mill pro-
on three million tonnes .

“‘gnd - fish -buylng charges:

“against two people who con-
ducted the: trausection’ In
front of the federal: fisheries
office here.

The. two, ‘Adam ‘Gagtion
“and Richard Overstail, did so -
ee 13.:t0: prove ‘a: point.

i 7 abont the: sale a fish by

_ federal fisheries officers and <

| creases snd improverten
benefits... Figures <:

ing charges to demonstrate 10:

‘to the public that people cons
travening the law: will iit
prosecution. :
BURNS LAKE — ‘Teachers
here and School District 55.
huve ratified an- agreemen
fora three-year contract, 3°.

It provides. for salary

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