Costly error

The city has been mistakenly
paying $200,000 too much a year
on police costs\NEWS A5 —

‘Lens of life

Racqueteering _

An award-winning local
photographer shares the secret of
her success\COMMUNITY B1 |

squash is back in business as ~
tournament ushers in new era of
twin courts\SPORTS B5

WEDNESDAY
November 15, 2000

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By JENNIFER LANG
A DECISION to chop a resource man-
agement program based at the Terrace
campus of Northwest Community Col-
lege is under fire from at least one
employer in the forest industry here.

Citing the end of a five-year forest-
Ty training grant from Forest Renewal
B.C., the college announced Nov, 10
its shutting down the integrated re-
source management program.

Instead, the program will! be moved
to the Smithers campus, replacing the
forest technology program there.

“Why would they offer it in
Smithers?” wondered Lorne Sexton,
manager of Skeena Project Services, a
forest and engineering consulting firm.

-STANDARD

College cuts resource prog

“From our point of view, we would
much rather hire local people to work
for us. We’ve had to import techni-
cians in the past and often they leave
because they’re not from here.”

As well, Sexton’s company routine-
ly hires summer students from the pro-
gram. He said he’s disappointed with
the decision and thinks the college
should reconsider the decision to move
the program from Terrace. _

“This is the centre. They should
focus on supplying a service to stu-
dents and the employers.”

The two-year integrated resource
management program is one of three
natural resource diploma programs of-
fered by NWCC and has 32 students

enrolled here. Of those, 18 are in first
year. They will be able to complete
their second year in Terrace.

“None of our current students will
be affected,” college president Ste-
phanie Forsyth said.

The decision does mean that poten-
tial students in Terrace will haye to
take the program in Smithers staring
next September.

As many as four instructors could
be affected by the decision, Forsyth
added.

With 32 full-time students, the Ter-
race-based integrated resource man-
agement program is the largest of the
three diploma programs.

There are 22 students enrolled in

coastal integrated resource manage-
ment at the Prince Rupert Campus,
and 18 forest technology students in
Smithers. |

“All natural resource programs in
ihe province are suffering significantly
lower enrolment,” said the program's
regional coordinator, Ken Downs.

The drop in student demand for the
program has occurred in the past few
years, coinciding with a downturn in
the forest economy, he said.

“Five, six, seven years ago, this
was the training to have.”

Downs is also one of the instructors
who may be affected by the change.
“It was a pretty difficult decision.”

When previous training grant sour-

$1.00 PLUS 7¢ GST
($4.10 plus 9¢ GST outside of the
- Terrace area) ”.

VOL: 13:'NO, 32

ram

ces dried up by 1997, the natural re-
source management program got a
$2.1 million boost from Forest Rene-
wal B.C., enough to salvage the pro-
gram until this year.

So last winter, the college began
looking al ways to make up for the
program’s anticipated budget shortfall.,
including shortening the program from
five to four semesters.

But that would have affected other
course offerings at the college, Forsyth
said.

Because the decision is expected to
raise questions from students and the
community, the changes will be out-
lined at an information session at the
Terrace campus at 7 p.m. Nov. 28.

Premier
reins in

oil, gas

hopes

By JEFF NAGEL
PREMIER Ujjal Dosanjh
has poured cold water on
the province’s gradual
move toward lifting the
moratorium on offshore oil
and gas exploration.

But his staff are saying
nothing has really changed
and the Northern Develop-
ment Commission's ex-
ploration of the idea conti-
nues.

The premier last week
issued a press release ti-
tled ‘Dosanjh will main-
tain offshore moratorium.’

Its first line said Do-
sanjh “will maintain the
provincial moratorium on
oil and gas development in
B.C.’s coastal waters.”

He went on to say
maintaining environmental
values in coastal waters
were his government’s tap
priorily and that oil and
gas drilling wouldn't be al-
lowed “until science is
able to address the dangers
from earthquakes and po-
tential spills.”

“There has been no
scientific or environmental
evidence to support lifting
the ban,” Dosanjh added.
“There are sound reasons
for maintaining it.”

Bul press secretary
Shari Graydon said Do-
sanjh hasn’t torpedoed the
16-month-old initiative by
northern development
commissioner John Back-
house,

“The premier is in sup-
port of the Backhouse
commission,” she said.
“He understands the pro-
cess is going ahead and
looking forward to the re-
sults of the review.”

She said the moratori-
um would only be lifted if
it can be categorically
shown drilling can proceed
without danger to the en-
vironment.

Graydon said Dosanjh's
position is nothing new.

What is new is that a
Victoria newspaper on
Nov, 6 printed comments
from new energy minister
Glenn Robertson — made
months ago when he was a

back bencher — expressing -

enthusiasm for lifting the
ban.

“There was an appear-
ance that Robertson made

Continued Pg. A2

oe Poe a = She;
ERNIE MORVEN, right, holds the distinction of
being the first to vote in Terrace Nov. 8 as the

Nisga’a held their first-ever alactions for positions on
the Lisims government. Polling stations ware set up

throughout the Nass Valley, in Prince Rupert and In
Vancouver as well as here. With Morven is Amy

Morcier, one of the local voting officials at the poll

which was held at the carpenters’ hall.

Nisga’a get down to business
now that elections are over

MEMBERS OF the new Nisga’a Lisims government
were sworn in yesterday as the elected bady begins to
govern in the Nass Valley.

The president of the government is Joe Gosnell, elec-
ted handily in voting which took place last week.

Gosnell, 64, was president of the old Nispa’a Tribal
Council, the Nisga'a body which was phased out afler
the Lisims government was created as part of the land
claims treaty signed with the provincial and federal gov-
ernments,

Nisga’a Lisims official Eric Grandison said Gosnell's
margin of victory “wasn’t even close” over two other
people running for the position. One was Kincolith chief
councillor Gary Alexcee and the other was New Aiyansh

educator Shirley Morven.

Members of the nalional Lisims government are taken
from each of the four Nisga’a villages in the Nass and
from urban associations of Nisga’a in Terrace, Prince
Rupert/Port Edwatd and Vancouver.

Also elected, to the post of chairperson with the Li-
sims government, is Herb Morven who had been the

chief councillor at New Aiyansh. He defeated Jack Cecil
of Prince Rupert in one of the closest contests of the
elections. The chair of the Council of Elders is Rod Ro-

binson who, with Gosnell, had played a prominent role °

in reaching a treaty with the federal and provincial gav-
emments.

Ed Wright, the secretary treasurer of the old Nisga’a
Tribal Council, was elected to the same position with
the Lisims government. He defeated Nass Valley econo-
mic development consultant Matthew Moore by an over-
whelming margin.

Also elected were chief councillors and councillors
for the village governments in the four Nisga’a villages
of the Nass Valley as well as representatives to the
Nisga'a Valley Health Hoard. The new chief councillor
in New Aiyansh is Brian Tait,

Although voting took place Nov. 8, official’ results
were not immediately available. Voting officials said a
number of people weren't on the voters lists so their
eligibility had to be first determined before their ballots
were tallied. . TU Be

Meet the candidates
tonight at the Lee

DON’T FORGET about tonight’s meeting to see, hear
and question (hose running in the Nov. 27 federal elec-
tion.

It begins at 7 p.m. and is sponsored by The Terrace
Standard, Terrace Toastmasters, the Terrace and District
Chamber of Commerce and the Terrace Cammunity Fa-
cilities Society.

Coffee and donuts come courtesy of local realtors be-
longing to the B.C. Northern Real Estate Board.

The moderator is Stephanie Forsyth, president of

- Northwest Community College.

Each of the candidates will be piven time to make
opening and closing statements. There will also be a
media panel asking questions of its own. In addition to
questions from the floor, written ones are welcome and
will be asked by the media panel.

In Terrace, it will also be broadcast live on Skeena
Cable 10,

Health petition
heads south

By JENNIFER LANG
A PETITION pleading for more money for Mills Memor-
ial Hospital is on its way to Premier Ujjal Dosanjh.

Copies of the petition, launched at an Oct. 13 health
care rally and as of Nov. 9 signed by more than 3,000
Terrace residents, organizers say, will also be sent to
federal health minister Allan Rock, B.C, health minister
Corky Evans, and Liberal leader Gordon Campbell.

“It’s really exciting,” said Ida Mohler, of Terrace
and Area Health Watch, the group that organized the
pctition along with the city of Terrace and the chamber
of commerce.

She views the number of people willing to sign the
petition as proof concern about health care has broad
support in the community.

“I think now people are saying, ‘Wait a sec, some-
thing’s got to change,’” Mohler said.

Mohler has also written a cover letter for the petition.
In it, she says tells Premier Ujjal Dosanjh the hospital's
main ward and intensive care unit have been subject to
periadic closures over the past two years. :

She also cites ongoing bed restrictions and surgical
wait lists, and the closure of the paediatrics ward and
nursery — eyen though the northwest’s infant mortality
rate totalled 7.8 deaths per 1,000 births in 1998 — higher
than the B,C. average of 4.0 that year, or in the northern
interior region.

As the premier and others mull over their response to
the petition, Mohler said Health Watch is waiting to see
what the results of a long-awaited internal financial
audit of Mills Memorial will be, That’s expected to be
completed and released to the public shortly.

The next goal looming on the horizon is to send a
northwest delegation to the national health summit in
Prince George hosted by the city of Prince George and
the North Central Municipal Association Jan. 18 to 20,
2001.

Meanwhile, Health Watch has asked Terrace mayor
Jack Talstra to consider appointing a health committee
modelied on a similar group that formed in Prince
George this summer.

One of the criticisms levelled at Health Watch — it-
self staunchly critical of government appointed com-
munily health councils — has been that it's a self-appoin-
ted group, Mohler said. ies

Having a wide cross section of the commute!

health committee that’s been endorsed by mayor and
council would strengthen lobbying efforts, she added.

Lynne Christiansen, city council's liaison to Health
Watch, said last week she supports the idea because il
would be useful for the city and would enhance region-
wide efforts to preserve health care.

“We're going to try and: include all of the different
bases,” she said, referring to potential appointments tw
the proposed committee. ,