i3istinct advantage We're right here | remember Experience counts for A local woman says tile A Terrace man describes two net minders north is a forgotten area what the war years returning to the ice this when it comes to kidney were like for his seasonkSPOR¥S B4 dialysiskNEWS AIO family\COMMUNITY B1 i i 'v" $1.00 PLus 7¢ GST ($1.10 plus 8¢ GST outside of the Terrace areal lllll|l.~ o~ TAN[ ARD lllll 100 City in on SCI purchase proposal But if it happens it could mean a trim the amount of annual debt pay- longer 90-day period. A third bidder, described only as a Gov't picks Mercer, referendum this winter for Terrace vo- ments city taxpayers would have to The government request would give B.C. company, dropped out earlier. seeks 90 days more ters who could be asked to bankroll shoulder. it until Dec. 19 to hammer out a defi- Mercer indicated it had money in Terrace's share of up to $20 million Logging contractors have also been nitive agreement with Mercer and place to buy the company for the By JEFF NAGEL northwest communities are trying to asked to contribute a share of their re- until Feb. 15 to complete the sale, value of its working capital, expected NORTHWEST towns, unions and raise. venues that could be worth a further court documents show. to be less than $20 million. businesses are trying to raise up to An affidavit filed in court Friday by $400,000 to $600.000 per year, North- The extension is expected to be op- Mercer, which has put up a $1 mil- $20 million to help clinch a deal to Terrace mayor Jack Talstra indicates west Loggers Association vice-presi- posed again by the TD bank, which lion deposit for Skeena, also promises sell Skeena Cellulose to Mercer In- the community of Terrace.would raise dent Ken Houlden said. wants the court to declare Skeena to inject $35 million into the company ternational, The Terrace Standard $5 million forTa share purchase of $CI He cautioned contractors have bankrupt and begin a piecemeal liqui- and that the revived SCI would em- has learned, subject to a successful sale and appro- given only a "definite maybe" to the dation of its assets. bark on capital spending of not less The proposition is seen as a last val in a referendum. idea so far. Government reps have chosen than $90 million over the next five ditch effort to improve the chances of Unionized Skeena Cellulose saw- "It's an idea that is in no way soli- Swiss-based Mercer as their preferred years, court records show. selling SCI. mill workers here voted Oct. 28 to dified or committed to by anybody," buyer, court documents filed Friday "'This agreement will permit conti- It may also boost the chances of a contribute a maximum of 2.5 per cent he said. "When things are desperate also reveal. nuation of Skeena's mills' operations judge agreeing tomorrow to shield the of their wages for three years to form you reach a long ways." NWBC Timber and Pulp Co. Ltd., a in a modified form," says an affidavit. company from bankruptcy for 90 more part of the Terrace package, IWA rep Mayors. including Talstra, are to group of Montreal-based forestry exec- Word of the effort of northwest days. Surinder Malhotra said. urge the courts to approve Victoria's utives - including former Repap owner communities to band together began to The idea is evolving and is far from That would be worth $150.000 to request for a further extension of credi- George Petty - was rejected because leak out last week, prompting city certain, potential participants say. $180,000 per year, he said. and would tor protection for SCI - this time for a its proposal was subject to financing. Cont'd Page A2 Kidney dialysis freeze order leads to a call for direct action LOCAL HEALTH care advocates are calling for a re- She said there can be no better example of that then gion-wide lobbying effort to develop a kidney dialysis to have a kidney dialysis unit opened as planned at unit at Mills Memorial Hospital. Mills Memorial. The $3 million project is frozen by the provincial "For people on dialysis there is no alternative or an government's core review of capital projects and there's option. It is crucial to them," Mohler continued. no indication of when that will be done or how the pro- "I'm concerned I'm receiving mixed messages. Pa- ject will fare as a result. tients needs need to be first and it seems right now Ida Mohler of the Terrace Health Watch group said they're not." she was shocked dnd disappointed upon hearing the ~fiThere's no target date for this core review. It could news, especially after receiving encouraging reports be months or years," Mohler added. from the Northern Interior Regional Health Board in "People in the northwest need to take action. North- Prince George, which is responsible for kidney dialysis west residents should get ahold of their MLAs now." in the north, that the unit was scheduled for opening "Our voices should be loud and clear. No more review next spring. or studies. It's time to take action." "They say it's under core review. Another review, Terrace and Area Health Council chief executive of- More study of a situation we already know about,,' said ficer Dieter Kuntz said he received the bad news early Mohler. last week by way of a phone call from Prince George "The need has already been established." health care officials. Mohler said the freezing of the project is particularly "They got a call from the Ministry of Health that it difficult to understand given the pre-election statements was reviewing all of the requests," he said. of the B.C. Liberal government. "I'm sure the people who were waiting for news that "'All British Columbians must be able to access this will proceed are disappointed," Kuntz added. timely, effective public health care services, wherever The northwest is the only geographic area of the pro- they live,'" quoted Mohler from a Liberal party docu- vince not to have a hospital or clinic based kidney dia- ment called "Restoring public health care" issued a year lysis service. ago. Cont'd Page A10 Plug pulled on mammograms LOCAL WOMEN will have to go out of town for mam- vince earlier this year, mography services now that the Mills Memorial Hospital But it has now been told the replacement approval machine was ordered shut down last week. has been frozen by the provincial government because of At 12 years old, it was the oldest one still operating its core review of capital expenditures. in the province, said Dieter Kuntz of the Terrace and The shut down order followed by news of the freeze Area Health Council. came at the end of October, a cruel irony given that Oc- "A physicist came a year ago and reviewed it and he tober was national breast cancer awareness month. basically put us on notice for one more year," said A mammogram is considered the best method of de- Kuntz. tecting tumours while they are small, allowing easier "And when he came this year he felt it could no long- treatment and increased chances of survival. er be in service," Women are advised to get a mammogram every year "I don't want to imply it was dangerous. It was a between the ages of 40 and 50 and at least every second question of reliability of the results. It wasn't reliable," year after the age of 50. MAP"HELD by Ruth Mangnus has circles everywhere there is a kidney dialysis Kuntz added. Kuntz said the shut down will affect women beyond unit - everywhere that is, except for the northwest. Her husband needs dialysis The health council has put a replacement machine on Terrace and immediate area. and has been in Prince George for six months. Their story, Page A10. the top of its equipment replacement list sent to the pro- Cont'd Page A12 Track cut from school plan School strike By JENNIFER LANG isn't worth anything. place a track anywhere, so it will be unfortu- TERRACE is getting a new junior high, but "The existing track, in the eyes of the mini- nate," Terrace's Parks and Recreation Super- rules set down the community's only athletic track will be stry, was not what they would consider a intendent said. TEACHERS won't have to prepare report cards and lost in the bargain. 'running' track," school district maintenance Steve Scott said the city might consider a range of other non-teaching duties if they take And that has former Skeena Junior parents superintendent Robert Gilfillan said. getting involved in replacing the track if it job action, the Labour Relations Board (LRB) said advisory council president Bob Park fuming. "It's the only track in Terrace," he added, were part of a partnership. "We're not going to Friday, in a ruling the teachers' federation de- "Do you think Vancouver would put up with "They just don't accept that," do it alone." scribed as satisfactory. Youth and adult sport teams using Skeena's that?" Park said, reacting to news the track Gilfillan said many school tracks in B.C. B.C. Teachers' Federation President David field will also have to play somewhere else has been cut from the construction contract for are considered joint-use tracks in their com- Chudnovsky said the ruling upholds most of phase the Skeeua replacement school.