A6 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 24, 1997 = i ceeremeerereeeie ann CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD The Mail Bag Wait for better deal Dear Sir: The upcoming referendum leaves ‘Thornhill voters with two choices, to amalgamate or stay with the status quo. We.should remember several things. We have al- most twice the land base of Terrace, good water, an air- port and almost 5,000 people purchasing goods and services. , no Terrace has a shrinking land base, poor water, sig- nificant debt and one of the highest tax rates. in the Pro- vince. mom as oa : Let’s tell them we'll pass this time and wail for a bet- ler deal. If we want debt, we should create it building a future for ourselves on this side of the river. _§. Emery Help bring back ferry An open letter to Premier Glen Clark: I am writing to express our concems regarding the impasse we appear to have reached over the inclusion of the City of Prince Rupert in the Alaskan ferry schcd- ule, Prince Rupert benefits significantly from its position as the southern terminus for: the Alaskan ferries, reportedly as much as $70 million annually. This does not include the ‘‘spin off” benefits for the enlire north- west cortidor through to Prince George. These benefits are equally significant, B.C. has always enjoyed a good relationship with our neighbours in Alaska! Like all friendships, however, there are periodic dis- agreements. As you well know, our current dispute over salmon fishing is one such disagreement, The salmon fishing dispute has been ongoing. Be- cause it represents their livelihood, the fishers in Prince Rupert reacted in the only way they thought they could to bring attention to the matter. Clearly, their actions proved to be misdirected and wrong. ~ The permanent federal injunction against similar fu- ture actions, obtained by the Government of Canada, attests to this fact, The fishers also failed to fully con- sider the serious ramifications that their blockade would have on the financial well-being of Prince Rupert, the entire northwest and the state of Alaska. While the frustration experienced by the B.C, fishing industry is understandable, we do not wish to debate the complex issues of the salmon dispute here. That is quite a separate issue from the withdrawal of Alaskan ferry service from Prince Rupert. We can also understand your reaction to the drawn out salmon treaty negotiations...but now believe it is time to pul this unfortunate incident bebind us and endeavour to restore our friendship with the Alaskans to its previous form. . You can help us do so by agreeing to the Alaskan governor’s demand for an apology, aud payment of what we understand to be $1.5 million in damages. Al- though it might appear to be once again giving in to ! goliations. As for the $1.5 million in damges, this would quickly be recovered from the taxes generated by the $70M spent in Prince Rupert by the Alaskans. Please help before any further damage is done to the economy of the Northwest. Sharalyn Palagian, president Terrace District Chamber of Commerce Terrace, B.C. - Councl llors delay talk | of raising own pay CITY COUNCILLORS are going to delay a decision on whether ta give themselves a pay increase. The mayor is presently paid $20,256 a year and each city councillor gets $8,830. Those amounts haven't been raised in two years, al- though the city’s past prac- tice has been to have those rates keep pace with infla- tion. Council asked city staff to review the rates this year and compare what Terrace pays with other municipalities. But mayor Jack Talstra suggested council not make a decision until after the Oct. 18 referendum on the possible merger of Terrace, Thornhill and outlying areas, He noted the vote could mean an expanded city council, and that such a de- cision should wait until any new representatives are in place. There’s a big range in what civic politicians get elsewhere, The most lucrative place to be in muncipal politics is Prince George, where the those domineering Americans, we believe it more ap- , { piopiriate to turn the other cheek and Work ‘with all E parties to ensure the success‘of thé Salmon Treaty ne- FRBC doubles city’s request Forestry specialist to be hired THE CITY of Terrace got more than it bargained for from Forest Renewal BC. $47,000 more. The city had applied to the crown corporation several months ago for a $47,000 grant from Forest Renewal to hire a forest sector specialist. The specialist is to review forest issues in the region and make suggestions on how to make the most out of the resource. ‘*We wanted someone to develop a strategy for the com- munily,”? says Terrace economic development officer Ken Veldman. ‘Everything from following up on the North- west Task Force to investigating value-added to finding out exactly what forestry means to Terrace’s economy.” But two weeks ago, Veldman received word from Forest Renewal that they were approving a $94,000 grant — twice the amount requested. “‘We were hoping to hire someone for six months,” he says. ‘But FRBC has approved funding for a full year.” Veldman says the position wilt likely be put up to open tender and the city will hire whoever is most qualified. “‘Given the variety of things involved they could come from a number fields,” he says. ‘‘From a development background to a professional forester and everything in be- tweei.”’ Apparently the reason why the city got the extra money is because FRBC combined two programs into one. According to Pat MacKasey of FRBC, the crown corpo- ration’s forestry coordinator program was rolled into their implementation program. That resulted in a grant of $30,000 to develop a forest sector plan, plus $64,000 to implement that plan. “It’s their prerogative to spend it as they see fit,” MacK- asey says. ‘As long as they spend it wisely.”’ , , MacKasey says the city will also have to. make. quarterly ports ‘to Forest Renewal to advise them on how’ their work is proceeding. a “Tf they went out and played golf for three months, that wouldn’t be acceptable,” he says. ‘‘But if they worked to get industry, community and First Nations groups involved in a coordinated effort to stimulate mew forest-based ac- tivities, well that’s exactly what we want.” MacKasey says similar plans are also in the works for other communities in the northwest. as Look Twice. Dr. Meg it’s Motorcycle Season. 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Nov? . 28. 7 Nights Roundtrip Airfare %S29 Hotel Marbella (Standard Rm, Meal Plan) S4O4D Cabo dlanco 049 TALLINCLUSIVE} i44 EA if DIRECT NON-STOP! SATURDAY DEPARTURES ON WESTIET Oxtod - Bee 13.7.8 14 Nights aves RoundtripAirfare* ~ $499 “Ist 20 seats per Might only. Book and pay by Sept 28/97 2227 Nigh Oto. $499 Best Western Inn at Palm Springs* *Ingtudes Complimentary Continental Break fast cally. Call your UNIGLOBE cruise specials! loday, UNIGLOBE Courtesy Travel: 47164 Lozelle Avenue, Terrace 638-8522 & 800-668-0828 hove ere subiec! Jo oxplobiity. Al Rights one copodty double oteupenicy unless charges, Conadan LAO, PROTEGE SE «most interior room in its class « AM/FM stereo cassette * intermittant wipers «power steering with till mayor gets $70,720 a year and each councillor eams $15,723. At the other end of the scale is Stewart, where nei- ther the mayor nor council- lors accept any pay what- soever. They’re — strictly volunteers. In between are other northwest municipalities. Prince’ Rupert’s mayor makes $30,457 and council- lors get $7,477. Kitimat’s mayor makes a° more modest $19,689, with councillors receiving $8,652. And Smithers pays the © mayor $12,000, a deputy mayor $7,000 and council- lors $6,000, Mayor and council here are also paid money accord- ing to a schedule for ex- penses when travelling on city business. Rates here are in line with those paid else- where, RADELET & COMPANY Baristers & Solicitors - Tax Law Trusts * Corporate & Commercial Earn extra money at LAX, time. Every year, Cantadlans spend more than $100 miliion to bave their tax returns prepared. You can projit from thts sittation by becom- ing a qualified tax preparer HGR Block, Canada’s largest tax preparation firm, offers comprebensive, step-by-step training and computerized Instruction. 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