Page 2 June 1985 Cassiar Courier Negotiations Fail Mediator Sought Talks broke off Friday, May 17, 1985 between Brinco Mining Ltd. and it’s two union locals. Neither side will offer comment on the nature of the differences that caused the negotiations to break down, but will say only that they are hopeful that mediation will provide the means to get them all back to the table. Application was sent to the government on May 21, 1985 for a mediator. It is expected that he will arrive sometime in the first week of June. SCHOOL CLOSURE APPROVED Approval has been received from the Ministry to close Good Hope Lake school as of June 30, 1985. p Trustee, Sherry Sethen, advises that the Board has re- ceived a proposal from the U.N.N. Local 167 at Good Hope Lake for the buildings and a decision will probably be made at the June Board meeting. They are not anti- cipating selling the buildings as the Board has made a com- mittment that if the enrollment increases and if funding is available they would look at re-opening the school. WSTV Negotiates With Super Channel Werner Schneeberger of WSTV is presently negot- . jating with Super Channel (the Canadian pay television network) on the possibilities of bringing the Canadian service to Cassiar residents. At the present time WSTV offers BCTV, CITV, CHCH, CBC North, Knowledge Network and Channel 8 (the local community channel) which are all author- ized by the Canadian Radio, Television and Telecommun- ications Commission. However, WSTV also supplies Showtime, ESPN and WGN which are broadcast from the United States and are not authorized by the. CRTC. The Commission has recently requested that Mr. Schnee- berger inform them how he plans to rectify the problem of the unauthorized channels. Mr. Schneeberger said that until the present time Canadian Pay TV was too expensive to install locally. However, under the present negotiations Super Channel has offered Cassiar a cut rate on their services. They have said they will supply Super Channel for half the price it costs elsewhere if it is supplied to residents as part of ~ the basic TV package. Hn Super Channel consists of an all movie channel, the Much Music video channel and the Total Sports Network which features sporting events from all over the world. Although figures are not definite yet Mr. Schneeberger said he could probably offer the Canadian channels he now supplies plus the three Super Channel choices for $28.25, plus the federal tax per month. In the Cities Super Channel alone costs $17.95 plus tax per month. Cassiar residents presently pay $20.25 plus tax per month for their TV service. Mr. Schneeberger said. he does not charge subscribers for the US channels because he does not pay to broadcast them. The Super Channel movie channel does have a Can- adian content obligation. However, Mr. Schneeberger said the present requirement is so strict that Super Chan- nel says it is impossible to comply with it. Super Channel staff have studied the ruling and they say that it requires them to show (in 1986) 14 Canadian movies per month and that is not possible. They have applied to the CRTC to get the ruling changed. Mr. Schneeberger said WSTV has no choice and must comply with the CRTC regulations. If the negotiations with Super Channel are successful, and he is optimistic, then it will be at least five or six months before licenses can be obtained and the changeover to Canadian pay TV come into effect. MLA SPEAKS OUT The following is a letter from Atlin MLA AI Passarell to Al Beaton, Mine Manager of Erickson Gold Mine: Dear Al, Recently in the Legislature we debated Bill 29. This bill gives the province spending authority of 480 million dollars to cover ministry over-runs. One over-run was for $430,000 for snow removal for Scottie Gold. In debate, I questioned the wisdom of spending almost half-a-million dollars on snow removal when the company is not in operation. The Minister of Finance was caught off-guard and later stated that I was correct and the money had not been used for Scottie but was returned to General Revenue. My point is that the $430,000 wandered around aim- lessly for six months. It didn’t create jobs; it didn’t accumulate interest. It could have been used on a mine such as Erickson. Today in B.C. we have the highest mining royalties and highest taxes of any province in Canada. Taxes and royalties, as the NDP has repeatedly stated, should be re- duced during difficult times to the benefit of the mining industry. We can’t afford to throw around $430,000 when the industry is in such hard times. Yours sincerely, Al Passarell, MLA, Atlin. Recreation Conference Held In Cassiar On May 10, delegates from Whitehorse, Atlin, Iskut, Good Hope Lake, Dease Lake and Cassiar attended a Re- creation Conference in Cassiar. Gary Periard outlined the new policies of the B.C. Recreation and Parks Association. B.C. is now divided into three zones: Vancouver Island and South Coast, Fraser, Kootenays and Northeast, Northwest and The Interior. Mini-regional councils will be formed in each community and one person from each mini-council will sit on a Regional Council. The Northwest Zone has been granted $50,000 for recreation and $20,000 for travel expenses. The Mini-Council members for this area are Gary Periard, Cassiar, June Hawkins, Atlin, Tony Shaw and Reiny Dousdahl from Iskut, John Wright and Gordon Loverin from Dease Lake and Dwayne Dennis from Good Hope Lake. The members agreed that some of the programs they would like funded in their communities are Lead- ership Development, Art, music and other cultural pro- grams for youth, and clinics in hockey, boating safety, coaching, volleyball and floor hockey. The first Northern Invitational and Friendship Games were held in Tungsten in March, 1985. These games placed an emphasis on friendship and new learn- ing experiences and proved very successful. It was de- cided these games should become an annual event and Cassiar will host the next Games on March 7, 8 and 9, 1986. The sporting events offered will be according to TO THE DITOR Nw &: Dear Editor: On April 18, 1985 I met with Mr. Robert Shank of — Energy, Mines and Resources and Mr. David Graham of Regional Industrial Expansion regarding the provision of federal monies to the Baie Verte asbestos operation in Newfoundland. - The discussion related to a question put to me at a public meeting in Cassiar last year regarding the effect of providing federal assistance to an asbestos operation in competition with Brinco’s Cassiar operation. To give some description to the history of the Baie Verte operation it is worthy to note that John Mansville Ltd. were managers in the 1970’s with Advocate Asbestos as the operator. This property was expropriated by the Newfoundland government around 1980 since John Mans- — ville would not re-open. Trans Pacific Asbestos re-opened the mine with federal assistance in September, 1982 after closing their Australian operation. Between September, 1982 and January, 1984 they made use of a $13 million loan from Ottawa to open the mine. As well the federal government and province both put up $1 million and-the banks in- volved put up $2 million; to provide a $4 million line of credit against inventory. (This was September 1982.) In February of this year the officials advised me the nature of this federal line of credit was modified by Hon. Sinclair Stevens to be used for building up inventory (stockpiling). The operators of this mine, Trans Pacific Ltd., have not made any repayments against the $13 million loan and interest continues to grow on those loans. The offic- ials advise me that this operation has little if any affect on the markets of Cassiar asbestos; due primarily to the lower grades produced and marketed by the Newfound- land operation. The question that is raised and remains to be answer- ed by the federal government is at what point do loans and lines of credit get taken into account as they affect other competing mining operations in Canada. The Cons- ervative and Liberal parties seem to have little under- standing of the mining sector in Canada. While it is understandable to help refinance to re-open a mine, particularly in the interests of the workforce and regional economy, there seems to be a lack of understanding - as to the world market forces at play regarding asbestos. The Cassiar operation is only operating at partial capacity and as everyone knows price is the key factor. It seems to me about time the federal government clearly outlined its policy on mining and northern “tax benefits.” Many northern Canadians voted for the Conservatives but it seems so far that the Conservatives are no different from the days of Pierre Trudeau. | look forward to any comments you may have or wish me to pass on to Parl- iament. Sincerely, Jim Fulton, MP Skeena The Courier staff was pleased to receive this “Spring Bouquet of Tribute and Thanks” from Shirley Vickery, Grade One teacher at Snowridge Elementary. Dear Editor, I took the May Issue to my Grade One classroom. We were so thrilled to find many pictures of our- selves in the newspaper. The Courier was a wonderful incentive, for m class, to read. . Many thanks for your fine work and continuing contributions to this community. Co - he Some of the delegates at the recreation discussions in- cluded (left to right): Doug Kerr and George McPhee from Good Hope Lake, John Wong from Cassiar and Kees Ruurs from Whitehorse. facilities available in the host town and the competitors will be from ages 10 to 15 years. On May 11, 1985, recreation delegates from White- horse, Faro, Atlin, Watson Lake, Good Hope Lake, Dease Lake and Cassiar met in Good Hope Lake for the annual general meeting of the Yukon Recreation and Parks Association. Kevin Pike, Membership Chairman, B.C. Recreation and Parks Association, was a guest at this meeting. RCMP NEWS On April 19th the RCMP investigated a complaint of assault lodged by Bob Lefebvre. The matter was . investigated and police have laid charges against Kevin Charrette. The matter is scheduled for.court June 13th. . At 11:30 p.m. on April 27th Cassiar RCMP attemp- ted to stop a vehicle on Cassiar road after receiving a complaint from the security people at Cassiar mine. A high speed chase involving this vehicle and the pol- ice vehicle followed. The driver of the vehicle was eventually appre- hended by Watson Lake and Cassiar RCMP 45 miles west of the junction of Highway 37 and the Alaska Highway. Police have laid a number of charges against ‘an 18 year old Smithers man, Kevin Creyke. It was later determined that the vehicle operated by Creyke was the property of the Taurus camp at Quartz Creek. Creyke faces charges of dangerous : driving, theft of a vehicle and failing to stop for a police officer. Impaired driving charges were laid against Ian Stall- wood on April 25th and Scott Dennis on May 11th. The RCMP received good support from the commun- © ity during the May 6 — 20th traffic enforcement: blitz. However, there are still a number of motorists not wearing seatbelts and some incidents of drinking drivers are still prevalent. There is a $25 fine for motorists not using their seatbelts and a $50 fine for children under 6 years of age not using a regulation car seat. The RCMP wish to remind the public that they will be enforcing the seat belt law in the future. TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS TO DATE: May 1985 31 May 1984 19 BOAT SAFETY _ With the coming of summer holidays many local residents will be spending time at their cabins and boating on our many nearby lakes and rivers. A reminder is issued for all recreation boaters to ensure their boats and motors conform to safety regulations. Small vessels regulations require boaters carry flotation devices for all passengers, spare paddles, bailing buckets, etc. Local enforcement programs under the small vessels regulations will be put into effect this summer by the local RCMP. Ensure your boating procedures are safe ones this summer and enjoy your holidays without a tragedy. Assessment Authority In Town A crew from the B.C. Assessment Authority will be in Cassiar from June 16 to June 21, 1985. They will be doing a re-inventory of all Cassiar townsite propery and the B.C. area between Cassiar and Watson Lake. CASSIAR COURIER STAFF Lee Coran Pat Beaton x Joan Cass Thank you to all contributors to the June is- sue. We woud like to remind everyone that June 10, 1985 is the deadline for submissions for the July 1985 issue. SS 8 Lf Ne fi SaaS . Lourdes Church for the children who received CASSIAR © Bits & Pieces Another note from Mr. Schneeberger to all the drivers who must face silent miles along the northern highways. CBC promised in 1979 at the CRTC hearing in Whitehorse to install re- peaters that would ensure radio reception all along our northern routes. They still have not done so. If you would like to see this service be- gin, get in touch with CBC Radio in Whitehorse and let them know how you feel. Looks like Cassiar has its own Art Gallery these days! Watercolors and batiks by Dease Lake artist Hanni Gonzales are on sale at the Cassiar Dentist Office. They are certainly sometime cheery to look at before sitting down in “The Chair’’. Goodbye to Janet Adcock, who is going back to school in Toronto. Congratulations to Dragica Vidovic, who won the $500 Jackpot at the recent Minor Hockey Bingo. Father Pauwels has set June 9th as the “official beginning of summer’’ He’s starting his summer _ schedule that day and hopefully summer weather will start as well. Never can tell who you re going to run into in the park, can you,Marie! Pepper Cole Lister says a big “Thank You’’ to th Johnsons Puppy Stork Services. pee = ‘ : Frank Buncic, Dragica Vidovic and Dushenka Rad- ulovic take a break during the Ethnic Curling Bonspiel held recently. They prepared a complete Yugoslavian dinner for the curlers. It was superb. Dragica and Dushenka looked after the Curling Club Snack Bar during the past season and-are to be commended for the job they did. We understand Marvel Nitti has trouble distin- guishing between Brylcreem and toothpaste! 4 special Mass was held recently at Our ‘Lady of their First Holy Communion this year. During the service Father Oscar Pauwels ‘invited the children onto the altar (pictured above) to assist him during the celebration. WELCOME TO: NSS Eric Glynn-Jones, who is back in Cassiar after an absence of a year. Eric is presently the aquatic supervisor at the pool. Cliff and Marlene Shipley and children, Farrah, Sheila, Dallas and Candice. Cliff is with Finning Tractor. -GOODBYE: To John, Diane, Sherry, Jay and Elaina Zebroff. They have moved to Kamloops. Pa Fat) at —) SPF Sat DT NaF gta oT oe ati a SPRING WEDDING wn EE LITKE — KAMLAH EXCHANGE VOWS A lovely afternoon wedding was sclemnized in All Saints Anglican Church when Christine Litke became the bride of Gordon Kamlah on April 20, 1985. The double ring ceremony was conducted by the Rev. David Kalles of Watson Lake, Yukon, and was assisted by Marian Craft. Christine’s Maid of Honour was her twin sister Carla and her bridesmaid was Louise Larocque. Gordon’s Best Man was Shawn Whelan. David and Scott Smith supported him as ushers. Christine was given in marriage by her step-father, Larry Aspen. The wedding music was provided by Lil Kamlah, mother of the groom. The wedding reception followed at 7:00 p.m. in the Lions Den which was tastefully decorated in pink and white for this occation. Tan Stallwood acted.as M.C. for the evening and after many toasts and responses, Gordon thanked every- one for their presence and their generous gifts. Gordon and Chris make their home at 674 Brown St. Out of town guests were Brad and Wendy Boivin of Prince George, sister and brother-in-law of the bride. BRIDAL SHOWER A surprise bridal shower was held on Thursday even- ing, April 18, when friends and relatives gathered to ‘honour Chris Litke at her home. She returned home to the shouts of “surprise, surprise’ from her many class- mates and friends who then surrounded her with many ; lovely and useful gifts. One of the evening’s highlights was the presentation of a memory filled scrapbook to Chris of her early child- hood from her mother Ruth, and sisters Wendy and Carla. : George a Docque Tohnston's . 25 th A loving thank you to our daughters, Deborah, Katherine and Colleen for all their secrecy over the past year arrang- ing a very fabulous surprise 25th wedding anniversary party in Burnaby on April 28. In attendance were members of the bridal party, friends from Canol, Vancouver Island, Fort McMurray, and Clearbrook, along with relatives and friends from Van- couver and the lower mainland. Beautiful gifts were received — the most spectacular was the presence of the friends and relatives able to attend. A surprise well received, girls. Thank you. Mom and Dad PS. Thank you for returning our wedding picture and the chauffeured tour of Stanley Park — twice. ep Cassiar Courier June 1985 Page 3 Erickson Creek Column After a long, tough winter at Erickson everyone is enjoying the warmer weather. The motorbikes are out, spring cross country skiers have been getting sunburnt up on top of Table Mountain and barbecue smoke is once again drifting through the camp! At press time McDame Lake was still frozen but Lake Gigie was finally drying up! Seems everyone is busy. The pending business association between Erick- son and Total Eastcan has resulted in a renewed optimism for Erickson’s future and this is evident all around camp. Underground the miners have hit the Bear Vein on 14 Level and expectations are running high. Congratu- lations to the mine crew on what has been described as the “nicest piece of drift that Erickson has ever driven.” Mill Superintendent Jasman Yee and his mill crew are also to be commended this month. They have recent- ly made a really big change in the recovery procedure which is very instrumental in helping the operation, especially in these times of low gold prices. Congratulations to Bob and Rosemary Best on the birth of their third daughter, Ashley Marie, born May 15, at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. Ashley weighed in at seven pounds. Bob is a surface mechanic at Erickson. We've had a lot of snow in Cassiar Country this year. In the picture below Erickson miner Jack Hill measures a mine truck against one of the huge snowbanks near 4100 level. But it’s spring now! Have a happy one! Kathy Johnston, daughter of George and Jac-: que Johnston of Cassiar, has been attending Nursing School at Vancouver General Hospital and on April 26, 1985, graduated, along with 131 others, at ceremonies at the Queen Eliz- abeth Theatre. Kathy hopes to continue at Vancouver General Hospital for a year, either in the Intensive Care Unit or the Operating Room. Congratulations, Kathy, and best of luck in the t future. : 4 “4 Sis A