Terrace Review — Wednesday, January 10, +1990. Als

_ Looking ahead to the 90’s in Terrace |

ROBERT COOPER: Predicts good economic times from major industrial development at Thunderbird and port development in Kitimat.

The last decade was one of positive development in the Terrace area and there is a lot more to come in the next.

by Tod Strachan

This is according to Bob Cooper, a long-time’ Terrace resident who has worked for many years in the logging in- dustry and served as an elected public official in a number of capacities. When asked to sum- marize the last 10 years. and make a few predictions of what’s to come, Cooper im- mediately zeroed in on one thing: how Terrace is developing as a service center for the North- west. Developments in Terrace, Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Stewart and Hazelton have all had an in- fluence on our local economy, and there are other factors as well.

In Prince Rupert there ; are the Ridley Island and Fairview ter- minals for the overseas shipment of coal and grain. CNR has al- ready upgraded their northern mainline and Cooper says they will be doing a lot more. The result? The capacity of Fairview will double. Ocelot Chemicals was the major development af- fecting Kitimat in the past 10 years, but MK Bay Marina and the Kemano Completion project will both have a major effect on the Northwest economy. Both projects are already underway, ™ and while a number of Douglas Channel logging operations are already based out of MK Bay, with the completion of the cur- rent upgrade there will be many more in the coming years.

As far as the Kemano Com- pletion project is concerned, i could be the largest single factor in the development of Terrace as a service center. On its com- pletion, we will see port develop- ment in Kitimat, upgrading of CNR’s Kitimat spur line, and

the completion of the already

proposed second power line to Terrace. And the overall effect of this second power line shouldn’t be underestimated. According to Cooper, the original power line from Kitiriat was built in the mid-1960’s and

was the biggest event affecting Terrace in the past 25 years. This was the point where the develop- ment of Terrace as a service center began. ‘‘It changed every- thing,’’ says Cooper, and Stewart, having recently been connected to the Hydro grid system, will discover the same thing.

Accessing Bell-Irving valley timber and the current mining boom’ north of Stewart were followed by the recent comple- tion of the Stewart hydro line. In the coming decade, says Cooper, Stewart can expect the develop- ment of power related in- dustries, port improvement (Cooper didn’t predict port development) and increased mining activity.

The greatest event in the /Hazeltons in the past 10 years was the building of West Fraser’s Carnaby mill. Recent events seem to have Carnaby do- ing a high wire act without a net, but according to Cooper we shouldn't worry. The Sustut timber allocation debate isn’t over yet... the coming decade will bear out the prediction of Northwest industry and politi- cians. ‘Timber slated for ship- ment to Prince George will never be moved,’” says Cooper. ‘‘It’s not economically feasible. Sooner or later it will come this way.”

But what about the tie that binds these Northwest com-

munities together?’ Local development in Northwest com- munities may have little effect if they’re not tied together through

the geographical center — Ter-—

Tace.

Not to worry. Things are go- ing to happen. Upgrading Hwy. 16, with the last two railway overpasses, will be completed. The last decade saw paving to Rosswood and a bridge to Greenville, The next will see pavement to the Nass Valley and beyond and a bridge to Canyon City. We'll also see a permanent road to the Kitselas area ‘that connects with Kalum Lake Drive via a route other than Halliwell.

Cooper didn’t predict where the.

access point might be. Instead, he said, ‘‘Not necessarily on Halliwell... probably not.’’

A major development, the Telkwa Pass ‘‘industrial’’ road will become a reality. Note however, it will be an ‘“‘in- dustrial’? road. Cooper says he’s discussed this with the deputy Minister of Highways and he agrees: politicians aren’t going to support a Telkwa route that will bypass the Hazeltons. It will be built and used by industry, save millions in shipping costs over the years, and make the via- bility of overseas shipments via the Northwest more attractive. The center for this increased ac- tivity, of course, will be Terrace.

We'll see improvements at the Terrace airport with better ser- vice buildings, a longer runway, and landing limits will be re- duced even more. With the longer runway and greater re- liability, and a customs service of course, the skyways to Ter- race will become international. Aircraft such as Boeing 727’s will avoid the Vancouver con- gestion by using the Terrace air- port as a jumping off point to Alaska and other U.S. destina- tions.

But what of Terrace as the economic hub? We will offer the best recreational package in our corner of the continent. We have a good start at the Shames Mountain alpine skiing develop- ment, Mount Layton Hot Spr- ings, MK Bay Marina and the Terrace swimming pool expan- sion, and Cooper stands on solid ground predicting the comple- tion of the ski hill and marina. Due to the completion of Shames Mountain we’ll see new hotels and motels in the area, and Cooper also stands on a short limb in predicting the hotel complex at Mount Layton Hot Springs will be completed. He refused, however, to walk to the end of the limb and predict an- other swimming pool project. Will we ever have an Olympic sized pool?

The groundwork for a thriv- ing downtown core was laid last decade with the 4600 block face- lift and the construction of Skeena Mall, and this will be further enhanced by the comple- tion of Okanagan Skeena’s shopping center. We’re also go- ing to get a convention center, but it won’t be built by the city. Someone out there is going to make a major investment and tap all that international traffic passing through our airport by building one of their own.

Terrace will finally be ac- cepted as the regional health care center of the Northwest in the coming decade — the forma- tion of the Terrace Health Care Society, the first amalgamated health care body in the province, the Skeena Health Unit, the new ambulance building and Ter- raceview’s extended care wing are the framework. Coming soon will be supportive housing at Terraceview and nuclear medicine and a CT scan unit at Mills Memorial Hospital. Whether by design or not, .and

whether the rest of the North- -

west likes it or not, Mills Memorial will continue to grow

as- a: regional . hospital, - says . Cooper.

Backing up business and in- -

dustry, Terrace already offers a

good selection of support ser- vices. The new RCMP building, the court house and the Govern- ment Access Centre were all established during the last decade and we may have most of what we need. There will be a new corrections center, though, and the library expansion will go ahead, providing a _ resource center in tune with local growth.

Major developments in the in- dustrial sector in the past decade include West Fraser’s purchase of Skeena Sawmills from Westar, construction of the multi-million Skeena Cellulose mill and access to west Skeena timber. In the coming decade, a new FRDA (Forest Resource Development Agreement) will be signed, current logging practices will be proven correct, and the timber industry will continue to thrive, says Cooper. But, he says, this isn’t the big news. Because of everything above — power, transportation, ports — the Thunderbird industrial area near the airport is going to boom. “It could easily be this decade,”’ says Cooper optimis- tically, ‘‘and it’s probably going to be. fairly major. Possibly a

steel mill.’? One of the keys here is the potential for port develop- ment at Kitimat. Fairview Ter- minals has a problem, says Cooper: it’s a government run port, as opposed to an industry Tun port. For this reason, in- terior lumber concerns and Alberta industries will favor Kitimat.

But what’s in all this for the residents of Terrace? If every- thing goes according to plan, the health and support services will be a benefit. There will be more money and jobs,

The past decade has given us a better water supply, a new sew- age treatment plant, a bus ser- vice and a new fire truck. In the works and to be completed soon are a HandiDart transit system and affordable seniors’ housing. And in the coming decade look

for a larger library, a continuing

street improvement program, more residential housing on the bench and a new dog pound south of the tracks. As for a community center... who knows? Cooper says that if © comes, he doesn’t know when will be or how involved the city might be.

Books for Young Readers

by Andrea Deakin

Did you ever lie awake when all the house was still and frighten yourself by hearing unexplained noises that could only have been made by some fearsome monster? Tim Wynne-Jones must-have done so too, but his answer to the fear is a hilarious one which will quickly have the most nervous of children

giggling.

His young heroine of The Hour of the Frog imagines a frog which comes ‘‘Thlump.Thlump.Thlump.”’ up the stairs, pausing first to make himself a sandwich, ‘“‘eggs and mayo, peanut but- ter, onions and flies’?! So refreshed, he makes his way, burping pickle juice, up to her room, ‘“‘Thlump.Thiump. Thlump.’’. Sud- denly she seizes her courage and ‘‘Go, I cry.” The frog dashes thlumping for home. The tale will delight small children who can join in the thlumps, and they will surely laugh at Catherine O’Neill’s bright lively illustrations. The Hour of the Frog is published by Groundwood at $12.95.

David Booth has put together an exactly and imaginatively balanced collection of Canadian poetry for children which is - bound to give hours and hours of pleasure. Til All the Stars Have Fallen ranges from the descriptive, to the contemplative, to the witty; and the spirit of the book has been perfectly caught by Kady MacDonald Denton’s lively cheerful watercolors. This is a

- book for every family, for every library, for every classroom.

Teachers might find an author index as well as the supplied title and first line index an added advantage. Til All the Stars Have Fallen is published by Kids Can Press at $16.95.

Robert Munsch has come up with a different story told with his usual vigor, but with far more substance than some of his re- cent books. I enjoyed Giant: or Waiting for the Thursday Boat.

The Irish giant is cross with St. Patrick for getting rid of the elves and snakes from Ireland. He gets ready to take St. Patrick on, and eventually throws ali the church bells in Ireland into the sea. St. Patrick cries, ‘‘Now you’ve done it... God is coming on

the Thursday boat.”’

The Giant gets ready to meet God on the beach, but first comes a boat with a little gir] aboard it, then a boat with a king, then a boat full of soldiers. Where is God? There is a real twist to the story, and ending which Munsch leads up to with all his old skill. Giles Tibo has added translucent, witty illustrations to make this the most attractive Munsch book for some time.

Roy Gerrard’s last book was a very funny version of the story of Sir Francis Drake. His latest book Rosie and the Rustlers is

again told in a rollocking verse.

It is an uproarious story of Rosie the ranch boss, her boys, and their. encounter. with rustlers. I read this to a group. of children, who quickly joined in, guessed the line endings, anticipating the

_fun_and. revelling in.Gerrard’s witty. rhymes and beautifully . detailed comic illustrations. Gerrard’s eye for detail and wry

humor add a piquant touch to the story. Resie and the Rustlers is - published by McClelland and Stewart at $14.95.