Wednesday, March 28, 2012
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Volume 92 - No. 13
Province’s welfare air initiative to exclude Northern welfare recipients. p3
www.ldnews.net
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$1.34 HST inc.
Burns Lake Bruins Bantams A1 team brings the provincial title home to Burns Lake. p10
Earth Hour 2012 March 31 from 8:30-9:30 pm.
Province could relax the rules Timber supply issues being ironed out ANDREW HUDSON Forestry rules protecting scenic corridors, wildlife and old growth may have to be relaxed or abandoned to secure enough timber for a new sawmill in Burns Lake. British Columbia Liberal MLA John Rustad said that the province’s Burns Lake recovery task force, which began analyzing the timber supply weeks ago, is coming up against some hard numbers. “It’s going to be very, very difficult,” he said. Hampton Affiliates held a licence to cut 1.1 million cubic metres before a Jan. 20, 2012 explosion and fire tore through its sawmill, putting 250 out of work. In addition, Rustad said Burns Lake’s Pinnacle Pellet plant was taking in another 800,000 cubic metres of timber. Combined, the sawmill and pellet plant require between 1.4 and 1.8 million cubic metres of timber to run. But in three to ten years, Rustad said the
pine-beetle infestation in the lakes timber supply area could drop the allowable cut from two million to just 550,000 cubic metres a year. “That’s the challenge we’re facing.” Rustad was quick to add that it makes no sense for Burns Lake to take in timber that has already been allocated to neighbouring areas, such as the Morice. Even switching the small operators who use B.C. Timber Sales over to a rebuilt Hampton Affiliates sawmill would simply spread the shortage in other areas. Instead, Rustad said the province is taking a hard looking at several forestry rules to free up unallocated timber. One of the key areas will B.C.’s visual quality objectives—rules that restrict how trees are logged along scenic rivers, lake shores and roadways. If the province does relax those rules, Rustad said an extra one to three million cubic metres of timber could be freed up along the Smithers to Prince George corridor. But in the lakes timber supply area alone, he said, the same move would only free up 100,000 cubic metres.
Tragedy fund society launched Directors officially elected last week REBECCA BILLARD
STEPS TOWARDS RECOVERY Last week, local resident and Babine Forest Products sawmill worker Kenny Michell was on his feet for the first time since the Jan. 20, 2012 explosion and fire. Michell was able to stand up and take a few steps with the help of hospital staff and a walker. He has been receiving treatment at the Vancouver General Hospital since the incident. For the story turn to page 7. Submitted photo
More on page 7...
Industrial Field Medic Essential Skills
Members of the Burns Lake Tragedy Fund's temporary committee faced a barrage of questions from locals and Babine Forest Products workers during the annual general meeting, held at the College of New Caledonia on Monday. Now officially a society, the temporary committee stood down during the meeting and a new board of nine locals was elected. Temporary committee members Terri Dickson and Angelika Posselt chaired the meeting along with Mayor Luke Strimbold who explained that he was there as an impartial participant. Before the election, Dickson explained the rules of the society and said that after legal advice from local lawyer Warren Chapman, it would be a conflict of interest for anyone that intended to benefit from the fund, or their immediate family members to be elected to the execu-
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Call us!
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
tive. She said, "The fund is now a registered legal society and it has mandates and rules that have to be followed. Mr. Chapman explained to us that any person or their immediate family who intends to apply for funds from the society can't be a voting member of the society." Posselt further explained, "You can't make a motion as a member of the society to give yourself money. You could be prosecuted for doing this." Local Melvin Joseph said, "How is it that money donated to the Babine Forest Products workers can all of a sudden have a society underneath it? We get donations at Lake Babine Nation and they are used to help people pay their bills .... if the explosion and fire didn't happen, there wouldn't be any of this money in Burns Lake. I want this society to remember that many of those that were in that explosion can't go to work. They are still emotionally effected. Think about what would have happened if that roof didn't raise up and the fireball went through the sawmill ... everyone would have been killed.” “All of the workers More on page 5 ...