Minister Of Highways Visits District The Honourable Alex Fraser, B.C. Minister of Transportation and Highways, visited Cassiar recently while on a tour of B.C.’s_ northern highways. During his tour Mr. Fraser attended a ribbon- cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of pavement from Kitwanga to Stewart. He also officially opened the new airport at Atlin which now features a $1.8 million crushed gravel surface, The Minister said he hopes to see the airstrip paved in 1985 at an additional cost of about $500,000. Mr. Fraser said the road trip from Terrace to Watson Lake enabled him to see first hand the condition of Highway 37 and the improve- ments his ministry has completed on that route. “Since 1971 $103 million has been spent on Highway 37...About $75 million of that has been spent since 1977...Highway 37 certainly has had their share of government funding,” he said. The Minister added that the long term plan is to have a decent paved road all the way. The road is now seal-coated from Cassiar to the northern boundary. . “Seal-coating is an economic way to get a safer road. It controls dust and is easier on vehicles,” said Fraser. The Minister travelled Highway 37 after a heavy rain. He said the 340 km section of road from Meziadin to Dease Lake needs a lot of work. That section of road would cost $250,000 __ per kilometer to rebuild and pave. Mr. Fraser said the Ministry of Highways is always gradually improving the road. At the present time four bridges are under construction north of Meziadin. These will replace bailey bridges and are expected to be completed in early November. Locally, Mr. Fraser said the Ministry of High- ways re-aligned and sealed six kilometres of the Cassiar road this year and has proposed to com- plete the road next year. However, the budget for this work has not yet been passed. This is Mr. Fraser’s fourth trip to Cassiar since 1975. He was accompanied by Lorne Kelly, Highways District Manager from Dease Lake and Dan Doyle from the Ministry of High- ways in Terrace. Brinco Ltd. Chairman Tours Cassiar Operations Harry W. Macdonell, Chairman of the Board of Brinco Ltd. visited Cassiar in October. Mr. Macdonell, who is based in Toronto, toured the property with Peter Jones, Vice President, Operations, of Brinco Mining Ltd. The two men are pictured above during their tour of the mill: H.W. Macdonell, left; Peter Jones, right. This is the first time Mr. Macdonell has visited Cassiar. assiar Courier the Voice of Cassiar Country November 1984 10 cents Northern Mine Managers Meet #7 Senior management from six northern mining properties met in Cassiar in October. Attending the meeting were: Brinco Mine Manager Keith Jones, Erickson Gold Mine Manager Al Beaton, Canada Tungsten Mine Superintendent Bill Fotheringham, United Keno Hill Mine Manager Tom Dickson, Cyprus Anvil Mine Manager Denis Gregoire, and Jack Devitt, Project Manager for AMAX’s MacTung property. The northern mine managers meet twice a year to discuss problems unique to northern mines. Transportation, metal markets, power generation and townsites were among the topics discussed. ai “The wives of the mine managers also visited the area and attended the social events of the two day visit which includ- ed tours of the Brinco Resources mine and mill and the Erickson Gold mine and mill. Lands Branch Burns Local Cabin The Ministry of Lands, Parks and Housing has burned a building near the junction of the Cassiar Road and Highway 37. The building, estimated by the Lands Branch at a value of about $3000, was burned October 13th. Land Inspector Donna Humphries said the Owner was given sufficient warning of the Minis- try’s intent to destroy the property. The Ministry received no protest from the owner, she said. The property was originally settled by Steve Simonovic who held the placer claim there. Si- monovic moved two trailers onto the site in 1982 and intended to operate a jade cutting and selling business there along with a store and a cafe. The. building just burned was located adjacent to the trailers. According to the Director of the Lands and Housing Regional Operation Division in Smithers, Steve Mazur, Simonovic applied for the commer- cial rights to the property but the application was turned down. Mazur said, “We didn’t think it was a good site for a commercial property.” Simonovic then sold the placer claim and the trailers. and cabin to Ronald Fischer of White- horse. Mazur said, “‘Mr Fischer was told to remove the trailers and was advised to apply to the Minis- try of Mines for permission to use the cabin as part of his placer operation.” Fischer removed the trailers and left the cabin on site. Jack Sutherland of the Ministry of Mines in Prince George, said Fischer did not apply for permission to construct a building on the prop- erty and if he had it’s unlikely he would have re- ceived permission to do so. Sutherland said, “The rule of thumb for placer leases is that all buildings must be move- able. Also people are only allowed to live in the buildings when they are working the lease.” When Fischer failed to remove the cabin, the Ministry of Lands informed him of their intent to destroy it. This action was completed in October. Donna Humphries said one other cabin was burned in October. An abandoned cabin on Lang Lake was destroyed. The Calgary owner was in- formed of the intention of the Lands Branch to burn the cabin but he did not make any protest to them. Humphries said the cabin had been bad- ly vandalised and the roof had caved in. Humphries said the Lands Branch has been making every effort to legalise the cabins in the Cassiar area that are in trespass of crown land. Through special permission out of Victoria an op- tion unique to Cassiar was approved in July 1984. Owners of residential cabins may choose to purchase a five year license of occupation at a cost of $200 per year or they may choose to di- rectly buy the land at market value (as long as the cabin is not on a lake shore). Humphries said mar- ket value is determined by where the cabin is lo- cated, whether it has hydro, the availability of highway access to the cabin etc. Land values to date have varied between $3000 and $5000 for about an acre of land. The Land Inspector said the option to buy or lease the crown land was offered to 12 cabin dwellers. Most have responded but four have not. These people have been issued their first trespass letter. The Lands Branch is currently in the process of making land available for purchase or lease for residential, recreational and commercial purposes. There are five commercial lots available on Highway 37 just south of the junction. There are a total of 10 lots available on Cook, Vines, Sim- mons and Lang Lakes for recreational leases. These cost $200 per year for 15 years. Also, the Lands Branch is finalising their survey of land along the Cassiar Road and hope to offer residen- tial lots there’soon.