Terrace Review — Wednesday, November 28, 1990 World AIDS Day is Dec. 1, and students at Skeena Junior Secondary Schoo! have made it AIDS awareness week, Among other activities is the creation of 19 quilts to comfort babies born with AIDS. Working above are Grade 9 clothing and textile students Swamjit Sidhu, Sonita Nahal and Kamala Parmar, putting the finishing touches on one of the quilts. No help for Wedeene Other than allowing the company to suspend operation of its sawmill in Prince Rupert, the provincial government has decided there’s nothing it can do for Wedeene River Contracting. The company’s sawmill went into receivership Sept. 20 and the Minister of Forests commissioned Terrace forestry expert Bill McRae to investigate the situation and recommend actions the government could take to help the debt-bur- dened operation. McRae filed his report to minister Claude Rich- mond Oct. 31. McRae first finding was, "The ‘Sawmill, as designed, is not a viable operation." He went on to _ say that even modifications to the . . mill allowing Wedeene to process the full log profile of its forest licence would not help the plant financially, particularly in view of the large debt load the company is carrying — more than $20 million. He also found some positive points in the operation, notably that its products were selling well, but said shortages of timber pre- vented Wedeene from taking full advantage of the markets it had established. He suggested that if the sawmill is shut down by the receiver the inventory of lumber should be liquidated and Wedeene be allowed to carrying on its mar- ket logging operations in the North Coast district with an export allow- ance to give the company a chance to improve .its financial position. McRae also suggested reinstating export allowances for all licensees other than Tree Farm Licence holders in the North Coast forest District to give them a_ better chance to weather the impending downtown in world lumber mar- kets. McRae finally urged the minister to attempt to strike an agreement with receiver Peat Marwick that will leave the entire operation intact for one year. He deemed it -unlikety that the mill and licence _ gould be sold as a going concern under present conditions, and if it is sold off in pieces "the reper- cussions will be loss of approxi- mately 150 full time jobs from the area, and the unsecured creditors will recoup very little of the in- vesiments... it would likely be a long time, if ever, that a sawmill is reestablished in Prince Rupert.” In a statement Nov. 21 Rich- mond said the ministry will waive the requirement that Wedeene continue operating the mill as a condition of its forest licence. Richmond suggested that the waiver would allow Wedeenc to continue logging, but there is no mention made in the statement of the receiver’s reaction. Reports out of Prince Rupert indicate the mill will be closed Nov. 30. Calls placed to Wedeene by the © Terrace Review over the past week have gone unanswered. MANY THANKS ‘to those who worked on my behalf in the recent election and those who voted for me November 17, 1990 REALLY APPRECIATED! Sandy Sandhals Director Regional District of Kitimat Stikine Area “c" J KITSELAS Limited Edition prints by Roy Henry Vickers. All proceeds from the sale of prints go towards the purchase of a CT Scanner for Mills Memorial Hospital. Available | at Northern Light Studio. © i. TERRACE 7 Ford invites You To "Take A Break" "0" Down Payment "0" Payments "0" Interest (Ford Pays Interest For 90 Days OAC) PLUS!!! Up to $700 Cash Back on Selected Models Financing and Lease Rates as Low as 8.9% or u to 1000 ¢ Back from Ford on Selected Models me § Cash . We listen better... and act! OTEM FORD 4631 KEITH AVE., TERRACE, B.C., PHONE: 635- 4984 CALL TOLL FREE - 1-800-772- 1128 FOR 90 DAYS OR DL #5548