Seen Team w ee ee wee eee Ready to open by June Corrections centre takes shape TERRACE — Sorry. Not in this jail. If you want to smoke, you'll have to step outside once the new Terrace Regional Correctional’ “Centre is occupied in carly sum- mer, The no-smoking regulation will be just one of the new things awaiting staff and inmates once they move in, For thase who do smoke, there'll be a tiny covered space just outside of the new facility's TY room. **You’il notice where it is — on the north side. And as anybody knows who lives here, thal's where the wind blows from in the winter. You'll have to be a dedi- cated smoker,” said corrections district director Rob Watts during a tour of the facility last week. Located off of Keith Ave., up from the Petrocaa bulk plant, the new centre will replace an old ‘motel beside the Copperside store on the west end of town. The new jail costs $1.87 mil- lion, including fixtures and finishing touches. ’. There'll be 15 rooms for in- mates -~ 10 in one section and five in another. Each is designed to hold two People, making for a maximum capacity of 30. But the most comfortable popu- lation will be 24, says Watts. One of the five rooms away from the main section is bigger than the rest and has its own washroom. It’s intended either for a person who is in a wheelchair or for the times when the centre takes in fe- males. The remaining four rooms in that section give the correctional centre. a litle more flexibility depending upon the demands jail... That's district correc- tions director Rob Watts standing outside the new correctional centre. It'll have a maximum capacity of 30 people. Unlike the current one, the new correctional centre wili have sufficient recreation and — ieisure IT JUST doesn't look like a™™ LIS placed upon it, said Watts, He's most pleased with the de- sign of the correctional centre, describing it as providing maxi- toum security with a minimum amount of staff. The current facility is not only overcrowded, with some inmates having to live in a teailer, but is not suited to maintaining security, . That's solved in the new one by having offices placed so correc- tions officers can easily look up and down corridors. Those offices are at the base of a ‘T’ from which the corridors fan out, ‘Right now it’s like a sieve,”’ said Waits of the current facility, “That staff can have trouble keeping track of people.” The ability to keep track is en- hanced by having large windows in various offices and rooms. There aren’t windows in the in- mates quarters. “We're looking not to be in- trusive, but to see what is going on,’ said Watts. The new centre has a greatly expanded series of rooms for recreation, exercise, TV watching and reading or visiting, It's much different than the cur- rent one in which a pool table is located in a hallway. There'll also be a staff meeting room that can serve as a room in which to hold parole hearings. The old centre also suffers from an inadequate entrance area which will be replaced with a reception room that is separated from the rest of the new centre with a window. Watts said that'll give the in- mates a sense of privacy to avoid unwanted exposure to people coming in from the outside, The new centre will keep ils designation as a minimum security institution, That means there won’t be bars on the windows but doors leading to the outside will be cquipped with sensors so officers know if a door is open. And the type of inmates won't change once the new cenire is open. Most of the inmates will continue to be people doing time for drinking and driving charges and for crimes that did not in- volve violence. But the centre will become home to those with longer sentences instead of having them sent to Prince George fora part of their sentence. ‘Everybody can get cabin fever. This facility has much bet- ter services than the old one,’ said Watts. He added that keeping inmates here instead of sending them to Prince George will be cheaper in the fong run. The new centre will also have much more room for inmates to cut and store firewood they sell. Inmates who cut firewood are paid an allowance of up to $7 a day depending upon the kind of work they do. Revenue from firewood sales is put back into the operation to inake it self sustaining. There'll be an open house when the correctional centre is com- plete. "Where's Frank? ‘He stopped by Benson Optical last week and picked up his new glasses - but he forgot to take his FREE set of lenses. _.(Alot of other people have FREE Jenses here also) kk kk Ke ee ‘When you buy a new pair of glasses os ~ you get a 2nd set of lenses. _-FREE- — validated and... Ifyou have a set of free lenses here - please stop by and pick them Up ~ While you are here get your clue to the ss i 7 wiere’ s Frank” Contest _ a Have yc your OFFICIAL TRACKER FORM HELP US FIND FRANK || Benson Optical Loboratories Ltd} 4608 Lakelse Ave. The Optical Pros! 638-0341 The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 24, 1993 - Page Ag Briefs Search starts The B.C. government is look- ing for people to receive the province's highest award, The Order of British Colum- bia is awarded cach year to in- dividuals who have excelled in any ficld benefiting the people of B.C, or elsewhere, “We hope to inspire others to achieve even greater suc- cesses in the future,’’ said government serviccs minister Lois Boone. Nominations close March 17. Forms are available by writing to the Order of British Colum- bia, Parliament Buildings, Vic- loria, B.C. V8V LX4. More awards Nominations are being ac- cepted for the 1993 Minister’s Environmental Awards, They are given to people who have made contributions to protecting and sustaining the environment. The award ceremony is held at Government House during Environment Week, June 5-12. Nomination forms are avail- able by contacting the environ- ment ministry’s regional office in Smithers, The deadline is April 2. 5 a Mill info Are natives now have a newsletter explaining the Orenda Forests Products pulp and paper mill plan. It’s part of an effort to first outline the project and then determine its impacts and eco- nomic benefils to natives. The four-page newsletter was produced by two consulting firms working on an impact and benefits study. It'll be used early next month at a series of workshops for the Kitsumkalum and Kitselas bands and for the Haisla of Kitammat Village. The study was one of the conditions laid down by the provincial govemment last year when if gave the project approval-in-principle. Natives have already at- tended public meetings to Ais- cuss the project |WHERE’S® | FRANK Stop In At 16D This Week To Get Your Frank Finder Card And Clues HUNGRY FOR A DOUBLE? NO TROUBLE! When you order:a fabulously flavorful burger from our regular menu, we'll stack on another mouth-watering patiy for only 49° more LOOK WAY UP, Drywaller Robert McCharles gets a unique per- spective on things while at work on the new correctional centre, The facility should be open by June. An open house is planned. Make your next A & W meal twice as enjoyable by saying “make mine a double patty” We'll jump right two it: 4ete Keith Ave, Terrace 638-0100 *