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TERRACE — Part of the a area”

set-aside for creation of a new .

provincial park in? the Tseax

lava beds north of Terrace may:

be held in reserve for. minerat exploration for” more than 10 years.

” Although no fi nal decision ”

has ‘been made, parks ‘ministry planning manager. Mike Murtha said it’s now likely at least half

of the proposed ‘park -will in- .

stead be declared: a recreation. area td allow exploration by mining -companies before it

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becomes part of the park:

town was reached’ last: month

’ following: several’. months -of negotiations. between the parks vd

ministry, Skeena Cellulose and | the “Nisga’a’ Tribal Council which includes the area, ‘within its native land claim. “

The : park is to be called’ Nisga’a ‘Memorial Lava Bed. Park because more than 2,000

people were killed when the lava. flow buried two Nisga’ a villages s

kept open to. explora

LEGISLATIVE ABSEMBLY

‘ “an estimated 250 years ago. The Al agreement to create the - 20,000ha park. 100km -narth of: .

agreement.on the:park boun-

“dary. ‘means: Skeena Cellulose

will give up 2, 900ha of timber.

. Molybdenum : and . copper deposits may be: present’ within

- the agreed park boundary in the

pper Tseax River valley, Mur- ha said, and.as.a: result: mines ministry officals want thid, area

_ Recreation : area “status for

part of the park: would. leave a

10-year window for mineral: OK ploration, he said.

‘SAVE THE, GAMES|. Take i invan athlete!” That's the message that Jocal vole ball play t Rae elle «Pel 3 organizers of the-Northern B.C, Winter Games are sendin : O: Slen vp billets ariters its final push, ‘Without sufficient billets; some of Rochelle’ out-of-town cam ‘bould end up camped in a ‘snowbank with her. And if the billet total doesn’t get close han 1,800 estimated necessary, sorrie sports may have to ba can ; here's sti involved, ‘by calling the Games. office: at635-1991, nae

eg: campaig

sania —: The Skeena Health: Unit will receive.

$119,009 . to ‘conduct an exten-:. ned

sive: -anti-emoking . ‘campaign’.

ealth unit ° ditector : Dr...

David :Bowering said. she got. ; confirmation of the: gtant Fri day’ ‘from the B.C, Health’ Care |.

even though thé. ‘grant ‘Is: ‘less

od

‘said. the. idea is. ‘tke a. science .

fair, with an anti-smoking goal. He said the ‘project-may get

‘the: message across: better than next. ‘yea ‘aimed at, -young peo: ‘others’ because.

teenagers, ‘spesking: ‘ta: their :

‘will be « “peers, ' foe

a “Maybe - we'll learn ‘how ta. -oFeach, Kids * better ‘because of . his,” he said, mga ai

: aes solar to: statistics. that :

than the $129,000 originally re-° Sow smoking will. kill more:

quested. in very. excited about this,” The program — called

“‘Flame-out’ -- would involve: >

students: in: all10 secondary, ~

schools ‘in ‘the-health unit starting: next Septembé

‘Bowering * said’ the -studenta would: be: ‘piven: resaurces.-to develop their: own, anti-smoking * | aiven

‘would be judged

canipaigns tha th

15-year-old = girls’ :than . AIDS, - motor. vehicle. accidents,

suicides. “and ‘drug: abuse gom-"

bined... alee a huge probiem,"" he ed .

“Stilde

> nei ‘stop smoking message. . "-

The winning project right even be toured or marketed to other areas, he said, like last year’s Project Squeeze in which

Skeena Jr, Secondary students

developed and then toured with two 1 drames on 1 alcoho! abuse. |

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“It won't affect the lava beds themselves,’ Murtha said,

“Everybody agrees that's to be protected,”*

* Mines ministry mineral policy spokesman Graeme McLaren said the ministry blocked claim- staking on the actual lava beds more than 15 years ago to pre- vent any exploration within the actual lava flow area.

‘Any prospecting in the area outside the flow would be sub- ject to strict regulations to pre- vent envirenmental . degrada-

tion, Murtha said.

J"We treat it like any other parkland in the province — with one exception, Companies that wish to explore for minerals have the right to but we jointly set ihe rules and regulations with mines."

For example, Murtha said, the parks ministry usually in- sists on complete cleanup of equipment from exploration sites, and can require equipment be brought in by helicopter on- ly.

Murtha said there has been

some sporadic exploration in the area by three miners in, te

cent years. ; McLaren said ‘the. lOyeair

“window .doesn’t begin ‘until

after a government-sponsored mineral assessment of the area is carried out. , °

“Then industry hasan oppor- tunity to go in arid . explore’ under * some = fairly’ rigourous guidelines ‘and ‘ under. the understanding that if they don't find anything, their claims can be taken back by the Crown without compensation.”? . '

Water, sewer cost could be.on rise

TERRACE — Local sewer rates will increase next year by 40 per cent and water rates eight per cent if aldermen accept recom- mendations made by the city’s treasurer.

In a memo to council, Keith Norman said the changes were needed to ensure rates “reflected the true cost of the water and sewer operations."

Past budget figures to cover...

staff costs and overheads have been too low, he said.

While the 1990 bnidgets set.

those costs at almost $39,000, Norman suggested a more realistic figure would be $150,000.

Explaining the wide variation

Rurake

TERRACE — Commencing with the 1995 taxation year, residents of Cedarvale, Usk and most of the’Nass Valley wiil no longer be able to claim the nor- thern tax benefit.

New qualifying. criteria .an- nounced ‘by federal finatice minister Michael Wilson reveal only B.C. communities north of 37 degrees 30 minutes latitude — about halfway between Bob Quinn Lake and Iskut — will now fall within “the northern zone’’ and therefore be entitled to the full tax benefit.

That is in line with a recom- mendation contained in the Oc- tober, 1989 report by a

. federaliy-appointed task force.

Under the old system, the automatic qualifying line was even further north — the 60th

TERRACE: ~— The Terrace Crown counsel office will con- tinue to operate without 4 senior administrator, but it will get a junior prosecutor to help reduce some.of the workload, says Ray Hall, the regional.ad- ministrative Crown’ counsel. for northern B,C. ce

The office has been without a deputy regional Crown counsel -since last spring, when Hall —. who was occupying the position — was. transferred, ‘back - to Prince George.

“The deputy regional Crown

in recommended rate increases, he pointed out water revenues last year had been expected to exceed expenditures by more than $115,000.

That surplus coupled with the extra $44,000 revenue an eight per cent hike would generate “should be ‘able to absorb most of the administration fee for 1991,’ Norman added.

‘Inthe case of the sewer fund, however, he noted an almost

” $170,000 transfer from the ac-

cumulated general revenue

surplus- had been needed to

balance last year’s budget. Given a 40 per cent hike would generate $175,000 in extra revenue, Norman pointed out it

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egokede we

_ formulae which allowed people

in many communities further south to claim the benefit.

Qualification allowed tax- payers to claim a $225 deduc- tion per month (plus an addi- tional $225 if they were the sole earner in the household) to a maximum of $5,400 per annum or 20 per cent of total income, whichever was the lower. That remains unchanged under the new system.

Wilson has now also added a second, ‘‘intermediate zone" which will entitle those living between 57°30’ and 55°35’ — that’s just south of Cranberry Junction — to claim half the benefit. ;

Although that is still too far north for the focal communities

New prosecutor named

position was created in September 1989, making Ter- race the regional center for nor- thwest Crown counsel offices.

“That position will remain vacant and the regional office in Prince George will continue to handle those duties,’ Hall said last week.

UBC law graduate Holly Grueger comes to Terrace in early January as a junior pro- secutor to reduce the workload encountered by the two Crown counsels now working in the of- fice,

would eliminate the need for future draws from surplus.

Although that would. stiil

leave the problem of an inade- |

quate administration fee, he suggested the shortfall could be covered by a grant from general revenue thus clearly identifying the extent to which the sewer fund was being subsidized.

The suggested increases

would see water rates rise from.

$8.80.to $9.50 per month and sewer charges jump from $7.70 to $10.75,

Council decided to postpone a decision on Norman’s recom- mendations’. until discussions begin on this year’ s budget.

reas cut out

‘paraile! — but there were also

mentioned above to qualify, the government has decided to soften the blow by phasing out

_ the benefit for residents over the

next four years, They will be able to claim the full benefit for the next two tax

years, two-thirds in 1993- and

one third in 1994, the Jast year of the phase-out.

x. Wilson said the new criteria would ‘‘put an end to the ar- bitrary and divisive community- by-community approach" of the old system while still giving tax assistance to residents of “communities which are both northern and truly isolated.”

PRINCE. RUPERT — A

-or in Port Hardy, It says.

sfitable venture, my ex ecutives of China Steel Cor: poration. .

ed

\ orthwest Ro unc

‘Talwanese. steel company. won't be building a mill here

Sindies have shown the = east of building a steet mill. > ere won't make it a pro- |

‘The company earlier | this ; eae ‘anounced Port Hardy - Rupert. were the |

. two preferred locations for a plconaed steel mill after a a“ of a8 possible sites in

Cc.

_ Prince. Rupert Peter. Lester i iad he was disappointed by the arsouncement. hone “The company had sald It ranted to bulld-a mill pro- on three million tonnes .

“‘gnd - fish -buylng charges:

“against two people who con- ducted the: trausection’ In front of the federal: fisheries office here.

The. two, ‘Adam ‘Gagtion “and Richard Overstail, did so - ee 13.:t0: prove ‘a: point.

i 7 abont the: sale a fish by

_ federal fisheries officers and <

| creases snd improverten benefits... Figures <:

ing charges to demonstrate 10:

‘to the public that people cons travening the law: will iit prosecution. : BURNS LAKE — ‘Teachers here and School District 55. huve ratified an- agreemen fora three-year contract, 3°.

It provides. for salary

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