AB - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, a 01, 2003 Th. Yo In ‘ar In Review FLOODING affected the lowest lying properties in Terrace along Skeena St. and forced evacuations in some outlying areas in June. That's Mark Barg paddling along Robin Road in Old. Remo. May Mills Memorial Hospital is to gain 10 beds and em- ploy more nurses but lose administrative and other jobs in a three-year plan released by the Northern Health Au- thority. The addition of the beds to its main medical services floor ‘apparently comes al the expense of surrounding hospitals, such as Kitimat, which are to lose beds. Mills now has 39 beds, 10 of which are part of its re- cently refurbished psychiatric wing. The overall idea here and elsewhere in the north is to proup more specialty services in larger centres, making them more efficient and cost-effective, says health au- thority CEO Peter Warwick. « kakkik Undercover RCMP officers used promises of a lucra- tive criminal future to gain Christopher Alexander's trust, the court heard here at the first degree murder trial of the 20-year-old, He’s accused of killing Linda Le- Franc in Dec. 1998. tf Officers wanted to gain the trust of Alexander in hopes he would then confess to killing the 36-year-old, | the court heard. A jury sat for 16 hours, finding Alexander guilty of second degree murder. Mr. Justice Ronald McKinnon sentenced Alexander to life in prison with the eligibility of parole after seven years. Alexander, who was 17, when ‘LeFrane | was killed, was sentenced just one day before his 21st birthday. tect A scientific panel has concluded there's no reason why offshore oil and drilling should be banned. But the scientific report and one from a group of Lib- eral MLAs also caution that a number of major issues ‘need to be dealt with first. The reports say more knowledge about the sea basin and on marine life species must be gathered first and that there should be training for northwestern residents and, in particular, opportunities for native people. And all of this is a likely sign it could be some time yet before drilling takes place. tototoliok The provincial government has taken back five per cent of the wood held by Skeena Cellulose as part of its sale to NWBC Timber and Pulp. The take back amounts to just over 100, 000 cubic metres a year from the company’s two million cubic metres it has under licence. Timber allocation of this sort is intended to provide wood for small operators. But the provincial government did not often exercise its option to take back the wood. tohk tek The school district has laid off hundreds of its support staff and leachers in order to save money. Not all those who received notices will actually lose their jobs but the district did send them out so that those notices that will take hold, will be in effect before the start of the next school year. What happens now is a complicated situation invol- ving ‘bumping’ due to seniority provisions. As well, the district will only know the full impact of job loss when it makes its school closure decisions next month. kkkkiek Premier Gordon Campbell and his entourage avoided a small crowd of protesters when he visited the Skeena Valley Golf and Country Club to speak to the party faithful May 9. Speaking earlier, Campbell said measures he’s taking now will put the province and the northwest back into a prosperous state later on. He called the deficit an “enormous” challenge that must be dealt with before it devours the government’s fi- nances. Those who showed up at the golf and country club to protest the Campbell government actions were unhappy the premier wouldn’t speak to them. Some hissed “shame, shame.” Wht J. Fred Weber, the man who created the Tall Totem network, bringing television to the northwest through transmitters placed on rugged mountain tops, has died. Weber, 80, passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer. In 1960 Weber, already experienced in electronic communications, came to Terrace and founded Skeena Broadcasters. CFTK went on the air that August. Television followed in June 1962 thanks to a Weber- designed transmiller housing that could withstand moun- ‘tain lop weather conditions. Weber's next venture was to bring in cable television. He followed that with FM radio in 1983. © Foktatok New Skeena Cellulose owner Dan Veniez wants all of his employees to take a 20 per cent pay cut. He said the company needs to cul its expenses to put the company back to work. Veniez is committing himself to a profit sharing plan ‘he says is fair. “lf we do this right, and there’s no reason why we can’t, people will get this back and then some,” Venciz said of the wate cuts. “When we do well, everyone does well,” Skeena Cellulose sawmill workers here have rejected the idea of pay cuts in an unanimous vote The workers, members of the IWA, also fear losing their jobs and benefits through contracting out. tototcictck A $$ million dock to allow large cruise ships to visit: Prince Rupert will be built over the next two years thanks to a jolt of federal cash. _ One-third or $3 million will come from Ottawa to help. with the project, says Prince Rupert Port Authority presi- dent Don Krusel. Tourism officials are predicting the spinoff benefits will hit Terrace. June Northern doctors are to keep « bit of an income edge over their urban counterparts thanks to a tentative $392 | million deal. While on-call payments now include all doctors in the province and not just those who lived in some tural and remote areas, rural and remote physicians will still ‘ get annual bonuses for staying in rural and remote areas and an increase on top of their regular billing : income. coe cag SOOO the: threat of early summer ‘flooding. by ‘the Skeena River at first appeared to diminish early in June but then returned, causing some Old Rerno residents to leave their homes. The worry is that sudden warmer weather will cause a fast melt of the snowpack in the mountains, Robin Road resident Mark Barg used a canoe to make his way from his house. kkk Exchamsiks Provincial Park campground is to be closed, but people are still welcome to use the boat Jaunch here as well as park in the day use parking lot for - picnics and walks. The campground i is one of 32 being shut down around the province as the provincial government cuts its bud- pet. Parks officials say the campground was to be closed regardiess as large numbers of trees in it are considered dangerous. OOO Teachers here are opposed to the introduction of an anti-drug education program if it is taught by others. But the school district has approved the introduction of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) pro- gram to be taught be uniformed police officers. “You can come into our schools at any time you like. You just don’t come in and do our jobs,” teachers’ union president Frank Rowe said. took From no air service between Terrace and Prince George to two airlines covering the same route. Smithers-based Central Mountain Airlines and Alber- ta-based Peace Air both introduced east-west flights in June. Central Mountain will connect with flights south from Prince George while Peace Air will continue east into Alberta. wht hk A massive June 8 landslide that wiped out a natural gas pipeline and dammed up the Copper River will mean many weeks of work. The landslide brought down enough debris to equal the size of a city block and six storeys high. The Copper River Road was closed and workers rushed to connect up a temporary natural gas pipeline. Officials say melting ice high up triggered the slide . and warned that global warming will continue to loosen up the grip glacial ice has on alpine rack, took tobck The northwest economy could be on its way back up, says Terrace mayor Jack Talstra. in his annual state of the city address to the Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce, Talstra said things should bottom out over the summer, Long term, Talstra said he’s encouraged by the cruise ship facility proposal in Prince Rupert and the prospect of a resource road into the Omineca area. The mayor did note the city has had lo trim its own spending and services in light of reduced taxation reve- nue, toot k More than 500 households in Thornhill are being asked to boil their drinking water after microbes that might cause illness were found. Health official Doug Quibell said tests were done after residents complained about the quality of their water. Residents were informed immediately the test results were known, he said. The microbes don’t cause illness themselves but are an indicator that something has gone wrong. The water will be tested daily untli it is deemed safe. BOOK NOW. FOR YOUR CLEANING. & CHEC