Party chooses Meet the winners Rod Freeman i is the Christian. Heritage Party's person for the Here’ S your chance to meet this year’s volunteer award Crazy climbers Terrace’s new mountain biking club headed for the hills in the | federal election\NEWS Ait winners\COMMUNITY B1 year's first race\SPORTS BS WEDNESDAY APRIL 16, 1997 By DAVID TAYLOR MORE PROBLEM bears may be shot by conservation officers here this year be- cause of budget cuts, says a senior en- vironment ministry wildlife biologist. Sean Sharp says a severe reduction to the ministry’s bear relocation program will Jeave officers with only one option — that of killlng nuisance bruins, “Unless we get a drastic change in the budget we have right now, there won’t be any money to do any bear relocations this year,’’ said Sharp. ‘‘It’s definitely nota pretty sighi.”’ Sharp says the environment ministry’s northwest budget has been cut to the point that many people feel it is jeopar- dizing the ability to do their jobs. ‘‘Something’s got to give,’’ he says. “We are stretched to the point that something will have to break.” ‘We've been severely whacked in terms of numbers and people. It’s put us ina really difficult situation.’ According to Sharp, the number of bears in the region killed by conservation officers jast year was already very high, and it will likely go even higher this year, “Last year it was embarrassing,’” he says, ‘‘The number killed by the minis- try meets or exceeds hunter kills in some areas,” According to Sharp, new rules and regulations such as the Forest Practices Code and demands to meet with environ- mental and native groups are adding to an already heavy workload. “We're expected to do more and more with less and less,’’ be says, ‘“There will come a time when we'll just have to say we can’t provide certain services anymore.” Terrace conservation officer Ken Fujino is also concerned about the effect - STANDARD = Bear killings could of budget cuts. “It’s pretty scary,’’ he says, ‘We haven’t even been told what our budget is yel, but we know it will be less.”” Last year, conservation officers in this area, Which includes the communities of Terrace, Kitimat and Prince Rupert, killed 44 beats and relocated only two, after recciving 645 complaints. The previous year, they received only 357 complaints, killed 38 bears and relo- cated 27, Fujino says the number of relocations dropped because of the huge amount of 93¢ PLUS 7¢ GST VOL. 10 NO. 1 increase time it takes to move a bear far cnough away to prevent it from wandering back. T’s extremely time consuming,”’ he says. ‘‘And we were so busy last year that it just wasn’t feasible.’’ Fujino says he doesn't know how many more bears may be killed this year because he doesn’t yet know how many relocations his new budget will allow. “The budget we have right mow is what we need to operate on,” hesays. ‘I have no idea how cuts will affect ovr ability to respond to bear complaints, but buman safety is paramount.” Return for refund ALL BEVERAGE containers will soon be required to have a deposit on them to encourage recycling. Right now, only some bottles and cans have deposits, but new legislation will expand that to include liquor, ice tea and most other canned or bottled beverages. That’s Ken Senger of the Terrace Bottle Depot haul- ing returned pop cans. For more on recycling, see page AB. Controversial art show ordered down By CRIS LEYKAUF ARTISTS SHOWING nude sketches in the school district-owned R.E.M. Lee Theatre removed them ‘aver the weekend after a school district offi- cial wamed them they might lose the venue for future exhibits. The show called Life Drawings first opened Aprit 7. minus nine drawings the school district deemed were toc suggestive. , But school district secretary treasurer Barry Piersdorff then: tok the artists he wanted the exhibit removed completely, Artist and) show organizer Joanne Thomson. who fielded calls from Piersdortf -over the: .weekend. was shocked when told of the request. In notes she made of a conversa- tion with Piersdorff, she claims Piersdortf said, “if the board is backed into a corner on this, it- may not bode well for future exhibits." Thomson said the -artists took down the exhibit because they want to continue using the theatre. It’s one of only iwo places in the city sel aside for public viewings. Piersdortf said the board office had more calls and complaints about the show than anything else since the teachers’ strike of the lale 1980s. ‘Thomson. said. she asked Piersdorff for a meeting with trustees and administration, but was.told there . wasn't any point. This is the only art show in the REM Lee that has ever generated complaints, said Thomson. including a show of nude paintings in 1995 which’ was. up during’ the - music festival. a ~-- Caral Zucchiatti, president af the music festival, said Piersdorff told her she could ask to have the show taken . down, if she wanted to. “TE told him it was none of my business.” said Zucchiatti. “It’s nol our decision to make and I thought we shouldn't have even been asked about it." ° School Neumann board . chair George supported — Piersdurff"s _ this 1 would support them.” request to have the show taken down. “The feeling was on the part of these people who complained thal even what was left was too distracting for a venue where young children are going through,” said Neumann, “Tl didn’t have ‘any © particular position because ‘it’s not my com- munity and I don't. know the Terrace community. Terrace/Thornhill - trus- tees are the key ones and ‘if they feel their constituency is unhappy with suid Neumann. Trustees Roger Leclerc, Stew Christensen and Marj Brown support- eu the decision to have the art taken down, Merger vote likely Oct. 4 THE AMALGAMATION of Terrace and Thornhill will be decided by a public referendum, most likely held Oct. 4. It’s the latest date of a committee looking into the future of local goverment and the result of a meeting last week to examine the newest incentive package from the provis- cial government. The package upped the province’s restructuring as- sistance grants by $900,000 to nearly $2.9 million. That’s the cquivalent 10 a tax savings for Terrace residents of 10 per cent over one year. The offer’s deadline is Wine 30, but since it’s unlikely a referendum could be put together by that time, Thornhill representative Les Watmough says the committee will try to get an extension from the province. “If they say yes, then we'll go late summer or early fall,” he says, “If they say no, then we'll have to do some pretty fancy footwork to meet the deadline.”’ Watmough says the new package still isn’t very good, but it’s time to let the people decide. ““We have spent a lot of time and money on this,’” be says, “‘We have to send it to the people.”’ The restructure committee also agreed to have consultant Eugene Lalonde update the figures to reflect 1997 costs. “We need updated numbers to properly assess the im- pact this will have,’’ says city councillor David Hull. ‘That should take about six weeks.’’ Hull says be doubts the new figures will make the option of Thornhill incorporation any more viable. “My opinion is that it will not be an optlon,”’ he says. “And there’s no point in putting it on the ballot if it can’t happen.”* If incorporation does tum out to be too expensive, Hull says the ballot put to residents of the two communities will likely consist of just one question. “Ty comes down to, are you in favour of doing this or not?’? he says. ‘If the answer is no for Terrace or Thorn- hill, then it would mean status quo.’’ Fees protested LOCAL ANGLERS, guides and business owners are hold- ing a second rally outside of the provincial government's access centre today to protest the provincial govermment’s recent increase in angling licence fees. Liberal environment critic Christy Clark, president of the BC Sportsfishing Coalition Velma McColl and assistant deputy environment minister Don Fast are afl expected to speak at the rally. Businesses owners say they are still outraged at the provincial government's lack of response to their concerns that the 400 per cent increase in non-resident licence costs will drive away tourists. “They keep lying,’’ says Brian Patrick, owner of Misty River Tackle, ‘'The government’s line is that there haven't been any licence fee increases since 1990, That’s not true. My store’s records show three big increases since then.” Patrick also says the province should have learned from what happened when the federal government raised non- resident salt water licencing fees from $38 to $108 last car. , “Their own figures show a 60 per cent drop in non- Cont'd Page A2 Mayor wants help for local mill MAYOR JACK TALSTRA thinks Vic- toria is playing a dangerous game of chicken with forest companies like West Fraser Timber which says it’s losing money because of high logging costs. ‘They can fix this,” Talstra said of the provincia] governmical. ''But they seem fo have blindexs on, They seem to want to fault big business for their woes and they seem to think big business is bluff-_ “Cm just a humble mayor from . the north country, but I don’t think West Fraser is bluffing,” The company has said it is losing $1 million 2 month in Terrace and will not resume logging here until some relief of high logging costs is forthcoming from Victoria. Without a resumption in logging within days, its Skeena Sawmills opera-- tlon here will nin out of wood in June and be forced to Jay off workers, Talstra. met for an hour with West Fraser president. Hank Ketcham Tl at a forestry conference earlier this month in Prince George. “They're not going to take these losses forever and at same point they're going to call it,’’ Talstaa said of West Fraser’s slance. He said Ketcham has. indicated the company is prepared to modernize the Terrace sawmill — if the prospects in _B.C. improve. “He said they have plans to put about $40 million into the mill bere to modem- ize it, plus another $10 million for dry kilns,”’ Talsira said, ‘‘He indicated to us they want to make a commitment here, but they have trouble seeing light at the end of the tun- nel.” West Fraser’s cosls are running at more than $20 per cubic metre above the revenue gained from that wood,: he added, , . Modemizing the mill would belp nar- ‘row that. gap, he said, and Ketcham’s hoping changes from government would put the operation In the black. Talstra said the provincial govern- ment’s demand that the industry commit to creating 21,000 new jobs — and that those jobs be union jobs — is farfelched. “The industry is losing 4,000 to 5,000 jobs a year,”’ he said. “Mills are closing down, the latest being the chopstick fac- tory in Fort Nelson. And there’s going to be more.”’ "They secm to demand more of the in- dustry at a time when the industry needs help,’ he added. ‘I’m pessimistic as to where we’re going,’? ua ee ee ea ee