Wednesday, March 14, 2012
▼
Volume 92 - No. 11
Lakes District Secondary School snow boarding team takes top honours. p18
▼
▼
www.ldnews.net
$1.34 HST inc.
The 55 Annual Lakes District Festival of Arts on this week. p19
Hampton Affiliates preparing plans for rebuild of mill Time line set for province’s decision REBECCA BILLARD
DISASTER STRIKES Waterbridge Equipment Inc.’s storage shed on the Southside was completely destroyed last week as the result of a fire. Francois Lake ferry crew members noticed the blaze at approximately 8:15 p.m. on March 5 calling 911. The Southside Volunteer Fire Department was quickly on the scene, managing to extinguish the fire, but not before the building and its contents were destroyed. For the story turn to page 5. Submitted photo
A decision on fibre supply issues in the Lakes District needs to be made sooner, rather than later. This is the message Forest Lands and Natural Resources Operations Minister Steve Thomson brought with him to Burns Lake last week on his first visit to the community since the Babine Forest Products explosion and fire. Minister Thomson said to Lakes District News that the government is hoping to come to a decision about the fibre supply issues surrounding the possible rebuilding of the Babine Forest Products sawmill by the end of March or beginning of April. Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad was also in town to discuss the issue. Minister Thomson said he had the chance to meet with First Nations stakeholders, Hampton Affiliates chief executive officer Steve Zika, Mayor Luke Strimbold and officials at the Regional District of Bulkley Nechako during his one day visit to Burns Lake. "We had a very positive meeting with Steve Zika at the Babine Forest Products office," he said, adding that a tour of the sawmill site was not possible because of the WorkSafe B.C. investigation, as well as his time constraints. Thomson said he provided updates to all stakeholders about the work that the province is doing. "We are continuing to work towards a solution to the fibre supply issue," he said. Rustad said a firm target date for a decision has been set for the end of this month, or possibly early April.
You can upgrade your skills in Burns Lake! Industry Field Medic ............................March 19 to April 27 Residential Building Maintenance Level 2 .....................................................March 26 to June 29
Of¿ce Workplace Essential Skills ....... April 16 to June 1 Small Water Systems Workplace Essential Skills .......................................... May 7 to June 29
"We have a strong team in place and additional analytical work is still being done around the fibre supply issue," Rustad said. Minster Thomson praised the work of both former beetle bosses, Bob Clark and Ray Schultz, who have relocated to Burns Lake and are working as part of Jobs Tourism and Innovation Minister Pat Bell's economic recovery team "We are working as hard as we can to come up with potential approaches to the fibre supply issues," Minister Thomson said. "We hope that the decision we come to will provide Hampton Affiliates with an approach that will allow them to rebuild the Babine Forest Products sawmill," he added. "We are actively engaged in the discussion and we are optimistic that we can find a solution. There is still a great deal of work to be done though," Rustad added. He said that every possible option is being looked at to increase the size of the 'timber supply' pie in the Lakes Timber Supply area. "We haven't ruled out any particular thing, we have no preconceived bias and everything is on the table for discussion, including visual quality objectives. That is not to say we are going to approve everything, just that we are looking at every option," Rustad said. In terms of governmental decisions, Rustad said things are moving very quickly. "A decision like this would usually take years of consultation. We have already been thinking about the local timber supply issue for years, but the explosion and fire just accelerated everything," Rustad said. Minister Thomson said that he does More on page 3 ...
Call for funding Options
Phone: 250.692.1700 • Fax: 250.692.1750 • Toll Free: 1.866.692.1943 545 Highway 16 West • PO Box 5000, Burns Lake, BC • V0J 1E0 Email: lksdist@cnc.bc.ca • Website: www.cnc.bc.ca/lakesdistrict