™

Natives to get boost

Land claims could figure in the province’s new $2 billion forest » renewal plan/NEWS A3.

swimmer triumphant

| The approaching Skeena zone | drama festival features a number of plays/COMMUNITY BL

Garth Coxford shook off an ness _and did well at a recent swim | meet/SPORTS C1

WEDNESDAY APRIL 20, 1994

Jet faced

By JEFF NAGEL PASSENGERS ON a.1990 Cana- dian Airlines northern Hight faced landing on a road or a field be- cause of an extreme fuel shorlage, a preliminary federal government report indicates.

When the Bocing 737 with 63 crew and passengers finally made it into the Smithers airport, there was just six minutes of fuel left, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada report says.

Troubles on the Oct. 11 flight began after jt tried to land in Ter-

race after first touching down in Smithers on a scheduled run from Vancouver,

Bad weather in Terrace pre- vented the aircraft from landing despite its crew making several altempts. It then returned to Smithers.

But by the time the plane ar- rived over Smithers a snow squall obscured the airport there,

The report says the. pilot then made several attempts to touch down in Smithers before finally force-landing on the runway in

weather conditions well below what’s authorized for landing.

It characterized as “extensive manocuvering’’ the attempts to land before the forced landing did took place.

“The aircraft landed with ap- proximately six minutes of fuel remaining,”’ said the report. ‘The pilot was considering an off- airport forced landing in the event that this approach was not suc- cessful,”’

The report suggests Smithers should have been cancelled as the

x Suave and sophisticated

ACTOR RUSS Sangster looks to be getting the upper hand on things with Catherine Croucher in this scene from “The Hand. That Cradles the Rock," the latest production of Terrace Little Theatre, The question is whether this scene is

real or whether it is a dream. You'll have to at- tend the dinner theatre production — April 15-17 — of April 22-24 — to find out. Tickets are avail- able at Carter’s. This'll be the final regular sea- son production of Terrace Little Theatre,

plane’s alternate destination in light of information available about the weather there when at- tempts to land in Terrace failed.

“Despite having been given the weather for Smithers, the pilots did not recognize that the condi- flons had deteriorated below alternate limits and that it was necessary to change the Hight planned alternate,’ the report says.

‘The operator’s flight dispatch (based in Calgary) was aware that the weather had deteriorated after

Gold company to spend $20 million near Stewart

LAC MINERALS of Toronto wants to spend close to $20 mil- lion this year on ils Red Mountain gold property near Stewarl.

More than half that ls to Further -

develop ore reserves at the loca- tion while the remainder - is targeted for pre-production wark should anticipated resulis prove oul, says project manager George Hope.

Lac has spent nearly $20 mil- lion over the past several years on the property which carries indica- tions of containing two million ounces of gold.

Red Mountain is one of two major projects being underlaken by Lac. The other is in Chile,

“We're going to be picking up where we Icft off last year,’ said Hope of the 1994 program,

Lac will have four of its own employces at the site, as many as 20 contract. geologists and. other experts and up to 25 people work-

ing for Tonto. Mining, the compa- .

ny doing the development work. Tvl also be using the Smithers-

based firm of J.T. Thomas Drill-

If all goes according to plan, Lac Minerals wants to sub- mit its Red Mountain gold mine plan to the provincial government for approval this fall.

ing.

“Our trigger point is two mil- lion ounces (of gold) of provable reserves. Wilh that kind of reserve, we can than work on making a viable mine,"? sald Hope.

If all goes according lo plan, Lac wants this fall to submit lis official mine development plan lo the provincial government.

It’s anticipating a quick ap- proval turn around period. of six months, leading toa start of con- struction in 1995,

That six month period is ‘ihe length of time it took to approve Homestake Canada’s . Eskay Creck gold minc and Lac: is aiming for the same, said Hope, ©

“We. anticipate on having our approval in. April (1995). That ties in with getting going for. the

next summer season,”’ he added.

Hope did caution that develop- ment. plans first depend’ upon proving up an adequate resource upon which to develop a mine.

A key part of the plan revolves around milling the ore, Lac has two options — build its own mill or use Westmin’s Premier mill, also near Stewart.

Both options are now being welghed for the advantages, dis- advantages and cosis, said Hope.

“If we have to go to another mill, it will be to Wesimin,*’ he said.

One . disadvantage of using Westmin's Premier mili. is that

ore-bearing trucks. will have to first go through Stewart and then - dn the. mine and two shifis a day - ata mill if one is 8 built 8 at the loca-

Hyder, Hope continued... “We estimate there. would be

60 trucks a day going one way...

There may not be a problem of space in Stewart, but Hyder could be more difficult,’’ he said,

That’s because there is only one roule from Stewart to the Premier mill -— night down the gravel road that also serves as Hyder’s mainstreel,

The Red Mountain location is 11km north of Stewart on Hwy37 and then 15km along a logging road in the Bilter Creek Valley.

A tramway leading to the mine location spanning more. than 1,000 metres from the base of the mountain is planned. -

Employees will be taken up and down to their jobs on the. tram- way. _

Size and type of the. tramway will ullimately depend upon ore being milled at the mine site or at another location.

Depending upon the size of a mine, if it. gocs ahead, Lac estimates it will need a workforce of 150 working two shifts a day

tlon. 2

the flight departed for Terrace but did not ensure that the crew was nolified of the need to change the alternate,’ the report continued.

A safety board official declined to comment on what should have happened, saying the preliminary teport should be soon followed by a final document prepared by the board.

But Richard Newcombe did ex- plain the term ‘‘ off-airport forced landing.’”

“There’s not much to say. It means landing in a field, road or

75¢ PLUS 5¢ GST /VOLL7NO. 4

landing on road, field

whatever,’” he said, kkk kk

Skeena MP Mike Scott is demanding federal officials say when they will release the final report and recommendations. ~

“I am amazed that after three and a half years all we have is a one page preliminary report on an incident thal was potentially life threatening to 63 people,’’ said Scott, who asked for the report on behalf of a constituent.

Cont’d Page A11

School meal program

in doubt -

THE SCHOOL MEAL program for children at two Terrace Schools has become a losing proposition,

School trustees say they may

have to axe the program if the situation doesn’t improve. - Nearly 200 lunches a day are [being provided to students at ‘Clarence Michiel Elementary and ‘E,T. Kenney Primary schools.

That’s up from about 150 lun- ches per day last year but as- sislant secretary treasurer Bruce Matthews says there has been no corresponding increase in contri- butions from parents.

A grant from the provincial government to pay the lion’s share of the program is doesn’t cover full casts.

Parents who want lunches pro- vided for their children sign up at the beginning of the year.

There is no requirement on the part of parents or guardians to pay. Those who can do make contributions do so in such a fashion that their identities are nol known beyond the program co-ordinaior. More needy families don’t pay.

The shortfall so far is $5,400 but school district officials pro- ject a potential $35,100 operating deficit by the end of the school

year.

remaining surplus’ for. the “pro

gram and leave a debt of $16,500

that would have to come cut df another part of the budget. -

Trustee Laurie Mitchell said the program was begun with the un- derstanding It would be reviewed if it lost money.

“"We were not going to take ed- ucation dollars from other pro- grams to support this meal pro- gram,” she said, ‘‘And [| think we're getting close to the point where we have to make a deci- sion.”

Most of the money for the meal

program - now in its second year

— comes from an $80,000 provincial government — grant. Contributions average about $300 per month and so far only account fora fraction of the revenue.

“If people are supportive of the program they may find a way to pay for it,” school board chairman Jolin Pousette said.

Coppersids Foods currently has the contract to provide the ser- vice, at a cost of $112,600 for the full year.

Trustees suggested the program will probably end when the moncy runs out — likely around the first week of June.

That would eat up ) the disirict’s .

SENIORS ARE going. to

‘feel the brunt of city efforts

to reduce taxpayers’ subsidy of recreation Facilities.

Council has approved arena and pool fee hikes that will sce seniors pay between 55 and 70 per cent more for a skate or a swim. The in- creases take hold July 1,

Public skating charges for seniors jump to $1.85 from $1.15 and strip tickets go to $14 from $9.

The hikes are identical for single admissions and strip jlickets in the pool while a ‘six month’, pass will cost senlors $72, up $26,

While those 65 years and older face the biggest per- centage change, everyone will find themselves paying more with most running around the 16 per cent mark.

Council recreatlon ¢om-

- explained the increases were: part of an effort to ‘reduce the operating deficit on both. facilities. ose 2

ars

‘Seniors feel fee hike bite

ceded council had to ex-

Hull sald the recreation de- ' partment had been able to. miltce chairman David Hull :

Traditionally, revenues for both facilities have fallen far short of the cost of running them.

- Hull pointed out even if _these latest efforts achleve | their aims, cost recovery on - ihe pool will be only 40 per — cent while taxes will cover half the costs of the pool. -

“We have to try to keep the overall tax burden down before we ‘tax ptople out of their homes,’’ he pointed out, ,

‘However, he also can-

ercise caution. Given recrea- tion facility users were also taxpayers, ‘You've got to ° be careful you don't double — tax peoplic.”’ & As far as control of ex-— penditure were concemed,

show it was doing a good

job there. “Administration « has ” a”

clear pictiire of whore’ ovely” 7

dollar ta oe he added,” *s