aoe ey tay Bartha nnee ea +

SR eEAg|

tha

A fitting feast

How a totem pole project brings students at one school closer together\

COMMUNITY B4

Prize bonanza

Golfers. lured from far and wide for tantalizing hole-in- on prizes at weekend open\SPORTS B16

Bzzz22! | Why you may not

West Nile virus this’ summer\NEWS AIG

$1.00 pus 7¢ GST ($1.10 plus 8¢ GST outside of the Terrace area)

ANNIVERSARY

2003

ERRAC

¢ STANDA

RD

7 .

nae — — —-—_ > ee >

eenmrres UD ————=

| atm meraael t 8]

——__————~T

|

|

7

Extra million for city

By JEFF NAGEL THE CITY of Terrace has just scored an unexpected million-dollar bonus.

It's come about through the early retirement of a couple of old city debts, says mayor Jack Talstra,

The city, along with most others in B.C., bor- rows money through the

Municipal Finance Au- thorily. ; Acting together, the

towns are able to borrow at low interest rates. And skilled management of the investments and debts MFA controls sometimes allows it to eliminate debts early and return money to member towns.

Talstra said that’s what has happened with $682,000 the city still owed on its RCMP build- . ing and more than $80,000 owed on the Halliwell water reservoir.

The reservoir was ta be paid off next year, but the cily was expecting to con- linue making payments of . more than $200,000 a year on the RCMP building until 2006. |

Another debt on street paving projects was also retired and MFA has also refunded to the city $151,490,

“It adds up to almost $1 million in savings coming back to us,” Talstra said.

The early debt payoffs will significantly reduce the city’s annual long term debt payments, which were $683,000 per year.

And it chops away a quarter of the city’s $3 million long-term debt.

Talstra said that debt load is very low relative to many other B.C. towns.

He said the $151,490 refund will likely be rolled into the city's surplus ac- count.

Kyoto cash eyed for north’s forests

By JEFF NAGEL ROGER HARRIS is throwing his support behind a plan by aborigi- nal leaders to replant and improve forests across northern B.C. using federal money.

Skeena’s MLA says Ottawa has earmarked $7 billion to deal

with the consequences of imple- menting the Kyoto Accord on glo- °

bal warming.

The Northwest Tribal Treaty Group has proposed that $100 mil- lion of that money be channelled into northern B.C. for a massive silviculture campaign.

Harris said that looks like an ideal way to get the north in line for a share of federal Kyoto

- Money, , “If the federal government is -‘serious about Kyoto, serious about

generating greenhouse gas credils, serious about sustainability plans - this actually meets all of those,” Harris said.

“They want to spend it - I’ve got a plan.”

Harris said the proposal could help address forest health issues in eastern areas stricken by the mountain pine beetle epidemic as well as a fungal blight now hitting

pine stands here.

He also said it could help the area catch up on thinning and spacing as part of intensive silvi- culture work that has been re- duced in recent years ~ ensuring

past work on second growth for-

ests isn’t wasted. And it would mean desperately needed work for struggling

Continued Page A2

_ would put Prince Ru-

‘position to recover

~.. Wednesday, June 25,2003.

Rupert to. vote on |

mill buy :

Aid deal to start New Skeena

By JEFF NAGEL

PRINCE RUPERT will go to referendum July. 5 on a’

plan to buy New Skeena Forest Products’ pulp mill and: main forest licence.

A-yes vote will give the city approval to borrow $20:

* million to buy the mill and Tree Farm Licence No. 1 and

then lease them back to New Skeena.

“In essence we would be a landlord,” Prince Rupert mayor Herb Pond explained after city council there last week approved moving forward with the plan.

He said the deal would give the company an infusion of cash — about half of a minimum $40 million needed to restart operations.

New Skeena has repeatedly extended its target dates for startup as it struggles to secure financing.

Pond hopes the arrangement will be temporary, with New Skeena buying back the pulp mill and timber with-. in two years.

The purchase-lease arrangement is a way around rules in the Local Government Act that prohibit municipalities from providing loans or aid directly to companies.

Pond said owner- ship of the pulp mill

pert in much better tian in the future,

should this operation not be successful, to find another operator.”

$18 million New Skeena owes in un- paid property taxes.

About $7 million in 2002 and 2003 taxes would be repaid at an accelerated pace.

Default would allow the city to sell the assets or re-. place New Skeena.

“We will be in a position in the future, should tiis operation not be successful, to find another operator,” Pond said. “If for some reason they’re unable to operate, we're in the driver’s seat for what happens next.”

The purchase will only proceed if a series of other conditions are met:

@ Proof by New Skeena that it has raised other money necessary to start up.

@ Approval of the plan by the provincial government and by the Municipal Finance Authority (MFA), which would lend Prince Rupert the money.

@ Acceptance by Rupert of New Skeena’s business plan, which would be vetted by consultants hired by the city.

HH Due dilligence studies to ensure the value of the property more than offsets environmental liabilities con- nected to the pulp mill.

“We would not advance any funds until we see the colour of their cash,” Pond stressed.

New Skeena execitive vice president of operations Don Stuart said said the company has commitments for $10 million in financing and is considering a variety of options for the balance.

“Having the first $20 million in place brings a lot of comfort to not only the other people we have lined up immediately, but the other people we're talking to,” Stuart said.

Pond and Stuart said both sides are aiming to close the deal Aug. 7.

Actual production of any pulp would be another four months away, Pond said, but added the recall of many of the 375 workers there would take place in the fall,

Continued Page A2

have to panic Ot the e =

“We will be ina posi: _

Fans revel in Potter mania

By JENNIFER LANG HARRY POTTER cast a magic spell over Terrace early Satur- day, as hundreds eagerly stood in line at the cash register for a chance to read about the boy wizard's latest adventures.

Fans rejoiced as copies of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix went on sale at midnight June 21.

Local book stores opened early to meet demand for the long-awaited book, the fifth in- stalment in a series that's spawned two blockbuster. mo- vies,

One even opened for a spe- cial midnight book launch that had children and their parents lined up outside to’ be among

the first to buy the book.

The shipments arrived the day before, sending waves of telief across town,

A warning printed on every box said anyone taking a sneak peek before the appointed hour tisked the wrath of Fluffy, a scary, three-headed dog.in the series.

“We can’t even open the boxes,” Coles book store man- ager Michele Dignard said Fri- day. “We haven’t even actually looked at it yet.”

Coles, which normally sells about two Harry Potter books a week, ordered 250 copies of The Order of the Phoenix, put- ting 76 on reserve for cuslomers who pre-ordered a copy.

The store did brisk business Saturday.

Misty River Books wel- comed fans to a festive mid- night pyjama party, giving away prizes, candy, and other goodies to children and parents.

Owner Anna Beddie said staff had wanted to give adults a chance to get their hands on the book, but plans for the wee hour event soon blossomed into something much larger.

Beddie said Misty River or- dered 210 copies, but as of Fri-

day all but 12 were spoken for,

“Just today we reserved an- other 10 copies,” she said, add-

ing customers slatted placing-

orders as soon.as they knew the book would be coming. out:

“They are truly wonderful books,” Beddie said, adding the novels make for irresistible reading because of the compel- ling tale of the central hero, Harry, an orphan who discovers he’s got magic powers,

“It's well-written -and it's done so much for literacy for kids and adults..so many more people are reading books.”

Anyone hoping to get their hands on a copy of the 760- plus-page book at the library is out of luck ~- for now,

The library has put eight co- pies of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix into circu- lation. So far, 24 people had al- ready teserved copiés.

- . Staff gave another two books

NOT JUST F FOR KIDS: Keith Jacobs is wild about Harry Pot- ter. His wife agreed to let him read The Order of the Phoe-

nix first as a Fathers’ Day treat. JENNIFER LANG PHOTO

away as prizes to children at- tending a Harry Potter party

.

heralding the arrival of the new ’ book Saturday afternoon.