Coping Getting a glimpse Sweep How victims services The art gallery welcomes Annual loggers programs here are the work of a New bonspiel draws .... dealing with cuts one Hazelton photographer 30 teams from B.! year later\NEWS A5 \COMMUNITY B3 and Alberta\SPORTS B4 .... t $1,00 PLUS 7¢ GST ($1.10 plus 8¢ GST outside of the Terrace area) ,r.= 0 0 0 It) ,tO O~ I IIIIg 75 b,. kNh~kR¥ 2003 TANDARD Parent vows to fight 4-day week plan By JENNIFER LANG ders the Grand Forks district, the first among parent and employee groups for The draft calendar proposes schools would be one 20-minute recess and a PARENTS HAVE not been adequately in B.C. to go to a four-day week, the one month prior to adoption. be in session from Monday to Thurs- 45 minute lunch for high schoolers. consulted on moving to a four-day plan was ditched, Purssell says. On April 16 the board meets with day, except when Mondays are statu- The district is also reviewing bus school week, says a local morn who "I really wish they would survey district parent advisory council repre- tory holidays. " schedules to see if routes can be ad- believes it's still not too late to fight us," Purssell said. "That way, the sentatives, the Terrace and District The district says it is responding to justed to lessen the impact of a longer the school board's money-saving plan. community can speak. It appears they Teachers' Union and CUPE staff to concerns in making the school day as day on kids who take the bus. Tanis Purssell said she disagrees don't want to listen to the commun- discuss the proposed calendar. short as possible. Non-instructional :lays are still up with the proposal, expected to save ity." That's going to be a closed meet- Elementary students would go to in the air - but they won't affect the $1.4 million in operating expenses, be- School trustees plan to adopt a new ing, says acting assistant superinten- school for 50 minutes longer than pre- number of days classes are in session. cause it balances the budget on the school calendar based on a four-day dent of schools Rob Greenwood. sent, with one 15-minute break for re- Teachers and the board are still work- backs of;students. week at the May board meeting in Ki- Parents who want a say on the pro- cess and a 45-minute lunch time, add- ing out the details, Greenwood said. She said other school districts have timat. posed four-day week have until Tues- ing up to a 5.6 hour day. Trustees have also decided to con-' surveyed parents on the four-day week. Under the School Act, local school day to register their comments with Secondary students would go to duct a survey next year to determine When 60 per cent of parents said no in calendars that deviate from the regular school planning councils and parent school for 54 more minutes, making the impact of the four-day week - the Traii-Castlegar district, which bor- school calendar must be circulated advisory committees, he said. the school day 7.1 hours long. There once it's already been put into effect. Rupert eyes $15m loan New Skeena still needs cash By JEFF NAGEL forms allow the free subdi- PRINCE RUPERT city vision and sale of licences council is mulling over a make it easy to break off plan to lend $15 million to sections of timber to sell help New Skeena Forest to clear any debts. Products start up the pulp One appraisal released mill there. by ,Veniez puts the Terrace It's an idea that could sawmill's market value at leave the City of Prince $20.7 million and the Rupert owning the Terrace value of all the company's sawmill -.~:which'may se- assets at $221 million. ...... cure such a loan - if the Veniez was asked if the company failed to repay Rupert loan is critical to the money. starting up. A group of Prince Ru- "This $15 million would pert residents spent the get us there. It would guar, last several days lobbying antee our startup in Jutie. It councillors there to agree would get us over the goal. to a city-backed loan to line,', he said. "Is this. • New Skeena. make or break? We will The company is still do this somehow." short of the financing it Conventional bank fi- needs to fire up the mill nancing -even at Mgh in- and start producing pulp by terest rates - is difficult, June 1 in order to deliver it Veniez said, because of to customers by early July Skeena's reputation. as promised, New Skee- It all means financing is na's CEO says. coming in smaller chunks Dan Veniez says he a bit at a time, he said; didn't ask for the loan bat adding the company is$15 welcomes the efforts of to $20 million short of backers in Prince Rupert. what's needed for startup. "They took the initia- "We're close and we'll tive," he told the Standard. get there," he said, "Every "I was of course aware of little bit helps. It's a coali- it and supportive of it." tion of the willing 'we're Veniez said Prince Ru- putting together." pert's money would be se- Veniez said he would cure because it could be offer the city a three per backed against New Skee- cent share of the company na's first pulp sale worth for the $15 million and a WaI-Mart clearing final hurdles $60 million. seat on New Skeet/a's He said it could also be board of directors. He said By JEFF NAGEL box store can fit on the property mit at its April 28 meeting. "If it gets a clean bill of health secured against the Ter- the interest rate would be A WAL-MART store here could - up to 100,000 square feet. The tnain question mark is a it's off to the races," he said. race sawmill and the forest prime plus five per cent get final city approval by the end The loosening of that rule was detailed environmental assess- The city, developers and high- licences - as suggested by -or around 10 per cent, of this month and be under con- based on a First Pro study that ment now underway. Results ways ministry are also to meet to Rupert advocates - or tile The town would be paid settle highway access issues. struction as early as June, a city river erosion is minimal along the could be back by next week. pulp mill itself. out within two years. The developer would then fina- official predicts. Hwy 16 property just downstream Trawin said First Pro spent • "If a meteor hits, if pulp "They get a tax base lize the site plan and address any First Pro Shopping Centres of the new bridge. $60,000 on drilling to test for any markets go south, if we back, they put 400 people. further city conditions to get de- cleared a key hurdle last week, If there are no problems with contaminants that may have somehow don't manage to back at work who are paid velopment permit approval. getting provincial government ap- the remaining issues, city deve- spread underground across the do what we say we we're exceedingly well for what proval to build as close as 20 lopment services director David highway from the old Petro Cana- The city will trade its animal going to do, the security is they do, and they get the da bulk fuel plant, and for any shelter and nearby park land for a metres to the riverbank - a re- Trawin said, council could ap- there," Veniez said. economy of the commun- munitions buried underground at strip of park land along the river- laxation of the normal 60-metre prove the final rezoning and the He said new forest re- ity moving again," he said. setback. That means a larger big big box store's development per- an old Second World War bunker, bank for a riverside trail. Alcan power struggle coming here By JEFF NAGEL Slezak, the mayor and council in AlcanpowerissueinearlyMay. waiting for a presentation from Kitimat ~ ~ ~~ power sales by Alcan is coming to dents there who have so far signed the to the petition campaign here, he said, But several city councillors made t~'~,;~m~wl Terrace. petition want Victoria to block power Slezak said they also hope to meet statements during last fall's election A petition that has circulated for sales and thereby force Alcan to use Terrace's mayor and council and gain backing MLA Roger Harris' idea that weeks in Kitimat is now here and all Kemano-generated electricity to their support in pressuring Victoria. Alcan power could be sold beyond the gaining signatures, smelt aluminum. "This would have the same dire no- Kitimat area to attract more industry Spearheading the push is Ross Sic- They say that's the only way to be gative impact on Terrace residents as to the northwest generally. , , zak, the former smelter workers union assured of maintaining the current it would in Kitimat,' he said, adding That undermines'the Kmmat con- ' " .... head in Kitimat and now a Terrace re- 1,800 jobs at Alcan, which they fear the loss of families who depend on tention that Alcan's original 1950 ...,... ,-.,-, ,. t,,:. sident, ' could be slashed almost in half over Alcan would drive Terrace property agreement dictates power can only be ~ :':~"="~'~';:!;'~i~-':!i':".~.:,,,.J • ,:~,.