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Logo a-go

Local businesses and
agencies sign on for
Safe Harbour
\COMMUNITY B1.

Woods man

Former Skeena MLA
Roger Harris to take on
forest safety issues

\NEWS A12.

Medal up

Young players net fun»

~ and awards at hockey

tourney here

\SPORTS B4

$1.00 PLUS 7¢ GST
. 6 ($1.10 plus8¢ GST...
outside of the Terrace area) .

o

a VOL. 18 NO. 50°

- ciry COUNCIL is back ‘on the’ hunt»
for more. money. following - last week’s

~~ decision to shelve its long planned second

sheet of icé/sportsplex project.

””.. "Mayor Jack Talstra said the city would :
have had to use almost-all, of its short:
‘term borrowing capacity to close the gap
between the $4.5 million it says has it has ;

" . construction projects. .
That strategy was arrived at last’ ‘Au

‘and the $10. 5. million constriction cost..

“We didn’ t want to do that,” said Tals- -

tra adding it would have left the city with
little borrowing room for any other proj-
ect or to cope with emergency spending. -
‘It’s the,second time ina year coun-
cil has chosen not té proceed. because it
doesn’ t have enough money.

sible for the city to accept or lose the low- |
» ‘est bid price submitted. by Wayne Watson
/ Construction. :

- And it represents. a failure: of. a. city |

strategy to call for bids in-the middle of |
the winter, calculating prices would be:

cheaper than they; would be as spring
arrives and companies commit to other

gust. when the cheapest of a first series of .

bids ‘came in at $8.9 million, not includ-...

ing a $1 million contingency, reserve.

“Oh no, no, no, no. This is not ‘the end,
‘of the line,” said Talstra last week. “We -
still have that $4.5 million in the bank as ©

Www Jerracestandard.com

“We're going to take a pause and take

a step back and evaluate it. It remains, one
of our 2006 initiatives.”

That: pause. also means a renewed ef-
fort to.find more grants from senior gov-
emments, the mayor added.

° ~ “And'we will re-look ‘the design: So.

essentially this is a two- -pronged attack.

Looking at the design. and looking, for ;

more money.
As it is, ‘the design that went, out to
tender was re- -done several times in: “order
‘to shave costs,
‘Talstra said éouncil did not consider a
referendum to approve long term borrow-

_ jing as it would have gone against previ- ;

~ OUS Promises. .

“And. he felt. any referendum would,

have to include’ surrounding rural areas

as residents would. benefit also from a.
seeom ‘sheet of:ice.

. “If they use facilities, they should help

pay for it,” said Talstra.
The city’s desire for a second sheet of '
ice and/or a sportsplex facility dates back

to the early 1990s..

* A 1995 referendum to borrow close to .
$3 million for just a second sheet of ice
failed in Terrace and the rural area.

But the relative closeness of. the vote

+54 per cent said ‘no’ in Terrace and 61
"per cent said ‘no’, in Thornhill — resulted ..

in plans for a broader recreation centre in

Wednesday, N March 22, 2006

coar)

ice users.

That turned into a $7. 6. million. bor :

rowing plan in 1999 which Terrace voters’

approved by 55. per cent but which: “was

rejected by‘60 per cent of rural voters.
. Council then decided to carve off all:
but a second sheet’ of ice and smaller, °

meeting rooms and renovate portions of
” the existing arena building. ee
A design plan was then. put: together cone &
* to construct a facility between the current »"

arena and the aquatic'centre. * | =
“But as.costs rose, all but the ice ‘sheét

was eliminated and the planned construc- -

tion location changed to the northside of

the arena.
° Cont'd Page A2 we

Plex plan still alive, says ma or

“The decision c came on the last day j Pos- '

a

‘it were from grants and donations.”

aw

. Airborne

JASON ADAMS launches of a jump during the annual All Seasons slopestyle competition at Shames Mountain March 12. Adams -

2

f
a

placed fifth in the men's event. For more details on the event turn to page B4.

SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO

‘

hopes it would appeal to more than just

Power line —
‘needs native
approval ©

THE PROVINCIAL government needs to strike a deal with

the Tahitan before. any decision on extending hydro power

: north of. ‘Meziadin Junction canbe made, says.a cabinet
~- minister. »

. .ny route chosen to build a line would £0 through tradi | -
“tion ‘Tahitan’ territory, ‘triggering the “‘consult-and accom: *
. “modate” requirement policy which applies to any project af:

fecting native peoples in B.C,
Electricity north of the: Meziadin Junction on Hwy37

; North i is now provided by diesel generators but a lobby. group
of industry and local governments says only hydro power °—

§ --can unlock the potential for. mining and other, resource de- ”

Tears walkers. heading east

_By MARGARET SPEIRS

THE JOURNEY to, raise
awareness about the missing .

and murdered women along °

Hwyl16. continues to move
eastward today with several
women due in Smithers from
Moricetown.

. The quest continues to-
morrow when Matilda Wil-
‘son, mother of the late Ra-
‘mona Wilson, 16, whose
remains were’ found - near —
the Smithers airport in April
1995, 10 months after she
went missing while hitch-_
~ hiking to a friend’s home in
Smithers, will join the Gitx-
san Spirit walkers to contin-
ue to Prince George.

.; The walk to honour the
Hwy 16 families and victims
" began when Florence Naziel
of Moricetown left Prince
Rupert March 11 with sev-
eral people, including Tom
and Christine Chipman, the
father and stepmother of
missing Terrace woman Ta-
mara Chipman. .

Naziel and the group ar-
rived at the Kermode Friend-
ship Society here March 17.

“The walk went well,”

said Naziel. “We ran. into
wind and we ran into snow
but nobody wanted to give
up. It was very emotional at

: times.”

There were tears in Na-

ziels’s eyes as she'described
walking past the spot where

Alberta Williams’ body was

found Sept. 25, 1989, about. |

37 km east of Prince Rupert
near the Tyee Overpass. .

' Naziel met her goal of
walking 30 kilometres each
day and, for the last two
days, only had to trek 15 km

‘each day.
_ Naziel took two pairs of

new runners and her hiking
boots. She said she changed
her socks every hour to avoid
blisters and it worked.

While in Terrace, Naziel:

and several others placed
flowers outside the Terrace
Inn, one of the the last places
19-year-old Lana Derrick, of

FLORENCE NAZIEL talks with reporters after arriving at the Kermode Friendship. .
Society here March 17. Her mission to raise awareness about-the murdered and

missing women along Hwy16 continues east toward: Prince George.

Terrace, was seen before she
went missing Oct. 7, 1995.
Naziel also left flowers at
the bear statue near the Cop-
perside Store at the corner of
Old Lakelse Lake Road and
Hwyl6, believed to be the
last place Derrick was seen.

Naziel led the way to Kit-

- wanga from Terrace March

18. She walked the first
10km leg before tagging off
the relay to the next walker.
Six wornen took turns trek-

king to Kitwanga. The walk .

continued to Gitsegukla,

_then to Hazelton. and then to

Moricetown yesterday.

Naziel will join the group --
to: walk into. Prince George
March 30 to. a symposium

organized to deal: with the

cases of the murdered and
missing v women.

my

velopmient. . . ©.
“We're now working on a policy, to consult and accom-

” modate with the Tahltan they can live with. We need all of |
a. the items ‘lined up before we can proceed,” said Provincial ;
‘mines minister. Bill Bennett last week..
.°» ‘Costs of any proposed line can only. be determined once Se
a route has been chosen and Tahltan interests are taken into.
account, ‘he added. “The route may follow’ Hwy37 or por “
° tions of it may. not,” : “

Bennett continued.

‘ Only. when all of the factors are ‘known, ‘can Bennett atid _ ‘

others pushing for the line begin | the complicated process’ of. .
7 securing the. money needed from the province. :

“As it is, a preliminary study by the B.C. "Transmission
Corporation, anew entity formed taking the electricity. trans-

’ mission function away from B.C, Hydro, puts the cost ofa:
‘line, depending upon its size, at anywhere from $120.million
".. to more than $400 million. There are any. number of mining’
- and other projects hanging in-the balance, waiting for some
kind of word from the. provincial: goverment: .

One, the Red Chris: copper and gold mine’ ‘located wie far

from Hwy37 south of Iskut, has already. received. environ" _—

mental approval but it is only viable if power is provided. :-
“Pm working very, very hard on. it. As is (senior energy

q and mines minister} Richard Neufeld: Both of us are work-

ing hard. To Red Chris and others, I have to.say they. need to
be patient. Very, very patient,’ ” said Bennett.

~Naden naval.
| band plays here

MEMBERS OF the famous Canadian’ naval band’ .
Naden from Esquimalt are playing at Kitsumkalum this

' Canadian troops in Afghanistan.- woe
. ~ Children at a summer camp last year made. cards and :
: banners while Easter cards made by : a youth group, a
‘prenatal class and an army cadet group using ‘the com-
- munity’s hall left recently: for the Jong j journey to the:
‘ war-torn country.» ~ .
“They said: things like” “Happy. Easter.” a “Come

- Kitsumkalum assistant band manager Laura Miller. -_
The Kitsumkalum: effort. grew out of what has been,

nius, since 2003.

‘That’s when a group of government nurses, on their
own time, involved the island’s Coast Salish people in -

' ways of letting Canadian troops in Afghanistan know.

they had support back home. Since then trail mix, per- :
sonal toiletries — even baby. wipes so troops can‘clean’ |
up when in the field — have made.their way to Afghani-
stan in addition to cards, banners and chocolates.

The March 26 Naden performance is to begin at 1°
p.m. and last until 2 p.m. at the Kitsumkalum hall. -

Miller said the community is-invited and that’ pre-"
school children in the Kitsumkalum: Head Start pro-
gram will welcome the band by singing and dancing..

wee,

. Sunday in appreciation of that community’s support for to

Home Safely” and “Thanks for Protecting Us,” said J - :

taking place. among ‘the Coast. Salish’ people of Kuper} -
Island, off.the.coast of: Vancouver Island near Chema-. ye