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TERRACE STANDARD

-Bustness REVIEw

News stand folds

CUSTOMERS like Rick Rivet will have to look else for magazines. Van's News will shut down on Christmas Eve, says owner Gary Eastabrook. He says running the Terrace store means too much commuting from Smithers, where he and his wife live and run another Van's location. “I’m just spénding way too much time away from home,” he said. Eastabrook has been trying to sell the business without success. JEFF NAGEL PHOTO

By JEFF NAGEL

; THE OWNERS of New Skeena Forest Products have injected just $5.2 million

of their own money into the operations —

- and most of that has now been transferred

back to the protection of their parent company. “a. That’s disclosed in more detailed in-

“formation on New Skeena’s financing provided last week to northwest towns by court-appointed monitors.

The $5.2 million NWBC Timber and ©

Pulp had loaned New Skeena was over and above the $8 million NWBC paid to buy the operations in April 2002. That $8 million went lo the provincial govern-

~ ment, the TD Bank and to pay creditors.

A. fresh loan of $6 million in August

_ from Cellmark — New Skeena’s pulp mar-

keting partners — and a $1.3 million loan from Northern Savings Credit Union to

~. subsidiary Kitwanga Lumber are the only

additional outside sources of money, indi- cates the financial summary circulated by

_ PricewaterhouseCoopers. -

- Kitwanga Lumber, which had $3.1 mil- ‘lion. in cash when the operations changed hands, has generated further profits of $2.3 million to the end of October.

“LA: further $19.4 million that has ‘kept New Skeena afloat has come from sales of logs, lumber and other assets, the fi- nancial summary indicates,

That consists of $6 million from the sale of the Smithers mill to West Fraser, $10.2 million from timber sales, $2 mil- lion from the sale of inventory, and $1.2 _milkon from the sale of other assets.

The documents show New Skeena’s owners have withdrawn $4.1 million from the company and shifted it to NWBC - out of reach of New Skeena’s creditors.

That represents a repayment to NWBC of most of the $5.2 million it loaned New Skeena.

The latest amount was a transfer to

NWBCE of $710,000 on Nov. 12, accord-

ing to PricewaterhouseCoopers. “We are advised by New Skeena that

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Owners shield much of stake in New Skeena

they repaid the secured loans to NWBC on November 12 as a precautionary measure,”-the monitors say in a letter to the towns,

“That was done as a result of the sei- zure of the assets by the municipalities, and comments from representatives of the municipalities that all company assets that could be seized would be seized.”

The monitors note that NWBC trans-

ferred amounts totalling $240,000 back to

New Skeena on Nov. 13 and 14.

Terrace city administrator Ron Poole said the transfer of $4.1 million out of the company back to the owners means that isn’t available to repay other bills.

“They've loaned it out and they’re get- ting paid back,”.he said. “Some people are getting taken care of.”

New Skeena president Dan Veniez told the Standard the $4.1 million was withdrawn between August and November in response to the towns’ moves to sticker assets. Terrace initially. stickered equip-

ment here in early September bul didn’t

move until November to seize anything.

He said NWBC then began providing the money New Skeena required a bit at a time as needed.

The financial summary shows the big- gest expenses New Skeena has incurred are $10.9 million in wages and salaries aver the 19 months to Oct. 31, 2003.

During that period Veniez drew a sal- ary of $30,000 and New Skeena paid per- sonal expenses of his totalling $130,000, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“Daniel Veniez is currently paid no .

salary,” the monitors’ letter to the Lowns says, “No salary amounts were paid to George Petty from New Skeena.”

Total expenses for.that period total

$30.6 million, including $4.3 million to - contractors, $3.8 million for insurance, ‘

$2.7 million in advance profit-sharing payments to pulp and sawmill workets, $2.5 million in utilities and $4.5 million in ather expenses including professional fees. ‘

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‘267°

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - Al]

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CITY OF TERRACE SNOW REMOVAL.

__- NO PARKING ON STREETS From-November 15.to-April 01

Under Bylaw No. 1313-1993, and amendments thereto, every municipal street and road is designated as a snow removal route, and parking on them is prohibited during the winter months, from November 1 5th to April I st.

Any vehicle that impedes snow ramoval and/or road maintenance work on any snow removal route can be towed.

Also, it is an offence to place snow from any private

roperly onto the road Right-of-Way; it creates drainage Frockages, buries.and.plugs up fire hydrants, and interferes with routine snow plowing and/or raad maintenance,

Your cooperation is greatly appreciated CITY OF TERRACE

TERRACE

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