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TERRACE — Environment
Canada’s summary of the year's
weather shows 1991 was warmer
than normal, wetter and,
believe it or not, slightly sun-
nier.

It’s understandable if
residents have a‘hard time with
that last one. After‘all, sunshine
was recorded at the Terrace-
Kitimat airport weather office
on just six.days in November
and five in December.

In terms of duration, sunny
breaks for both months com-

_ bined lasted less than 20 hours.

Based on records from
1951-1980, a normal November
would seen 56.3 hours with
another 30.1 hours in
December, . - .

So when was all this sun-
shine? You'll have to cast your
mind back to the spring, in par-
ticular April and May, each of
which had only two days when

‘COME AND ‘GET I. Margo Bane. gives ‘the Soup a stir. as the Happy. Gang. Centra’ ) “eliinary
“crew prepare to sérve’ up ‘another of their. delicious’ and economical lunches, Although: the .
Happy’ Gang Centre, is.the. most yisib esign of the city’s active pensioners, ‘Population, seniors
-are also at-work® ‘behind the. Scenes. lobbying Iocal government. ‘That story, ang a look at
- seniors’ housing needs are. on: page AS..

the sun failed to put in an ap-
pearance. April produced 181.3
hours of sunshine (148.1 is the
norm) and May 239.8 hours
(180.4).

Those figures helped boost
the year’s total to 1,438.6
hours, 34 hours more than nor-
mal. There were 109 days when
the sun failed to show itself at
ail.

Highest temperature recorded
last year was 34.2° on July. 3

i

Healthy —

TERRACE — Construction
may have taken a sharp drop
here in 1991, but the city's per-
mits director says it does not
signal the beginning of a
downward trend.

The total value of building
permits issued last year was
$11.04 million, down more than
$3.5 million from 1990,

It’s also the first reversal in .

an upward trend which began in
the mid-80s.

But Bob Lafleur pointed out
1990 had been “an. all-time

record year,'’ He also noted.

projects with an estimated value

of $10 million are already in the:

works with construction _ex-
pected to begin this year,
Those included the Safeway
expansion, the new B.C,
Building Corporation building,
the new correctional centre and,
possibly, a supportive housing .

development: beside: ee

taceview Lodge

On the housing front, Lafleur
said one developer was planning
to construct a 30-unit apartment
block (the land is already zoned
muiti-residential), two others
were looking at small con-
dominium developments and
local builders have firm orders
to construct 12 single-family
homes.

Housing saw the biggest drop
in 1991 with only 35 new homes
and one miulti-residential

; development compared to 49
and two the previous year.

Lafleur said the value of all
housing projects — that in-
cludes additions and: renova-
tions — had fallen to. approx-

“imately $5 million from more

than §8.75 million in 1990.,
Commercial activity was also
down, from $5 million in 1990

-. to $3 million, mainiy because

the number and value of new

“buildings was half that of 1990.
expansion- |

However,
“renovation projects at Kiti

K'shan and Uplands schools
helped boost institutional
figures to $2.2 million in 1991,
more than triple the previous
year.

Once again, there was no in-
dustrial development in the city.

while January 7 saw the lowest
with -22.1°. And December
went into the record books by
setting a new mark. for the
highest mean monthly
temperature at 1 .6°.

Overall, 1991 was about
three-quarters of a degree
warmer than normal with only
four months — January,
March, July and October —
cooler than usual.

191 weather a surprise

No surprise to find precipita-

tion was way above average, °

totalling 1,823.3mm
(1.313.2mm is normal), Nearly
two-thirds of that fell in the last
three months of the year with
October bringing 294.6mm
(214.9mm), November
379,6mm_ (180.3mm). and
December 441 1mm (152.4mm),

These November and
December totals also set all-time

records, _

Most rainfall i ina a single day
occurred Noy, 15 — 81.2mm —
and the greatest snowfall was on
Dec. 20 — 77.4em.

The driest month of the year
was May with 34.7mm of rain, a
Httle less than normal ..and
although May also saw 0,2cm.of
snow, that’s not unusual. Ac-
tually, 0.4cm is normal for that
month.

MLA wants review

of port proposal

TERRACE — The proposed
Kilimat port should go through
an independent review, says
Skeena MLA Helmut
Giesbrecht.

He made the statement to
provincial cabinet ministers at a
government retreat last week at
Harrison Hot Springs.

While the province has com-
mited itself to the review under
its Major Project Review Pro-
cess, the federal government has
yet to indicate if it will join in,

Progress on the port plan
stalled in the spring when the
federal Department of Fisheries
and Oceans called it ‘“unaccep-
table’? because of potential
damage to fish habitat.

‘So far the feds basically
haven’t responded,’' said
Giesbrecht. *‘And that’s unac-

ceptable because we need some..

kind of response.”’

Giesbrecht said he asked the
provincial cabinet committee on
sustainable development to do
something — either get a
response from the federal agen-
cies or else set up a process to
review it further without them.

“We need an impartial review
to say yea or nay and find out
where we stand.’*

Giesbrecht has received about
12 letters in response to a call
for immediate hearings into the
Kitimat port proposal.

The Terrace and Kitimat
economic development commis-
sions in December placed local
advertisements asking people to
write to’ Giesbrecht and MP Jim
Fullon.i in: ‘support of hearings.

“J don’t think the number (of
letters) is all that significant,”
Giesbrecht said, “But I've

walked Kitimat streets, knocked

a little bit guilty.” a

Locals gather the poop»

on a lot of doors and | think
I’ve got a pretty good sense of
how Kitimat people view the
port.”

The proposal calls for’ con-
struction of two piers and addi-
tional facilities. The initial cost
estimate for the project is $63
million, with about one-third of
the cost being borne by the pro-
vince,

Giesbrecht concedes the port
plan is a “difficult sell’? outside
the area,

But he says lobbying hard for
the port now may pay off in the
future even if the port is never
built.

“It kind of flags Kitimat as
an area where something can be
done to improve the economic

_ situation,’® he said. ‘It’s part of

the process of vial them: feel

on the airport purchase pian

TERRACE -— What would be
involved if the city decided to
purchase the Terrace-Kitimat

airport?
Members of the city’s
Tourism and Economic

Development Commission will
seck an answer to that question
Jan. 21.

On hand will be Transport
Canada representative ‘Gerry
Baker to explain the. potential
costs and benefits of a local
body taking over the federal air-
port here.

City economic development
officer Peter Monteith said
Baker was invited following the
attendance by several commis-
sion members at an airport con-
ference in Port Edward late last
year.

One of the speakers at the
conference was the manager of
the Bellingham, Wash. airport,
a locally controlled facility.

The presentation showed ‘‘a
local (airport) authority can
make a decision to forego
revenue on the basis it will
stimulate some economic activi-
ty in the town or region,” said
Monteith.

Transport Canada's aim is to
simply to run an airport as effi-
ciently as possible while getting
the maximum revenue. ‘‘It's not
in their mandate to stimulate
economic activity in Terrace. In
Bellingham, that’s: the role,’
sald Monteith.

A local authority might opt to
reduce or eliminate certain fees
or charges because doing so

Massive
interest

TERRACE — Response to a
workshop here next week on
situations that affect families is
overwhelming, —
organizer.

Benita Chapdelaine of the
Kermode Friendship Centre
said 170 registration requests
were received for the 94 seats
available by late last week.

Called “Family Healing’’,
the five-day workshop is spon-
sored by the centre’s alcohol
and drug program.

It features Alberta speakers
Rebecca Martell and Edward
Bellerose.

“The phone calls have been
coming ~ non-stop,"
Chapdelaine said.

Some had. come from as far
afield as Prince Rupert and Fort
St. John.

“I'm just overwhelmed,’ she

admitted, adding, ‘It shows’

that it’s needed."’ -

She said one noticeable dif-
ference between this and
previous workshops was the
majority of applicants this time
were non-professionals,

says its

would create economic spin-
offs, he added,

For example, charges for
small planes overnighting might
be waived because the people on
board will be spending money in
the town, Monteith explained,

Emphasizing the commission
has not taken a_ position,
Monteith said it wanis to learn
more,

- He said a report on Tuesday’ 5
meeling will be forwarded to

_ council later this month and it

will then be up to aldermen to
decide whether to take the mat-
ter any further,"

Northwest Roundup

PRINCE RUPERT —
Workers at Skeena
Cellulose’s Port Edward
pulp mill are back on the job
after: voting | to accept the
company’s final offer,

The vote ended a company
lockout instituted when
members of the Pulp, Paper

- and Woodworkers of
Canada rejected ihe com-
ae position in December:

- The vote took two forms: ~
one e fo accent an overall:

industry contract and one on
local issues,

There are no wage In-
creases on the contract which
runs out next April 30.

SMITHERS — The provin-
clal government is appealing
-acourt decision which stayed |

four pollution charges
* against the: Repap mill here,

A provinelal’ court judge

. ruled that while Repap has a

history of exceeding permit —

conditions. for its beehive
burner, ihe environment

ministry has a history of not |

enforcing the conditions.

Judge Lloyd Iverson add-

ed that the ministry and the
mill had been working ona |

solution to the burner pro- s

blem.

“employ 25 to 27 people each

wee employ: ne
full capacity

ron aes, A. new:

A product ofa wa pariaership -
between Stege Logglag aud. :
the. Japanese company’:
Isolite, the mill will make exe
port quality wood. products, |

The sawmill portion, will

shin while the Planer end can

Immediate : plans call ft
sawmill shift: aud