WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012
PROFILE: Sask. couple weathers all storms
NEWS: New hospital coming to Burns Lake
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Timber audit triggers concerns By Andrew Hudson Houston Today
Andrew Hudson/Houston Today
FEELING Pumped
Houston firefighters get a test-drive of the newest truck in the department’s line-up—a 1,500-gallon water hauler that is also well-suited to fighting grass and brush fires. For more on the shiniest truck in the fleet, turn to page 13.
Troubled by a recent Auditor-General’s report into how the B.C. manages its forests, mayors and rural directors at the Regional District of BulkleyNechako are seeking independent forestry advice. On Thursday, members of the RDBN’s forestry committee voted unanimously to hire experts for an impartial look into issues such as forest inventories and the post pinebeetle timber supply. “Some of my concern is that quite often this stuff is held behind closed doors,” said Bill Miller, committee chair and director of the Burns Lake rural area. That concern is
“ “Quite often this stuff is held behind closed doors.”
- Bill Miller
echoed in the audit, which was released in February by B.C. Auditor-General John Doyle. “The ministry has not clearly defined its timber objectives,” the report said, adding that B.C.’s forests ministry needs to set clearer, province-wide targets for timber volume, value and species diversity, and to start reporting publicly on the results. See TIMBER on Page 3
Federal budget cuts funding for public-access computers By Andrew Hudson Houston Today
Federal budget cuts could spell “Out of Order” signs for the Houston library’s public-access computers. For now, librarian Toni McKilligan says the five public computers are working well. All are less than three
years old, she said, and the library just updated their Microsoft Office software. But since Industry Canada cancelled its public computer funding on March 31, those computers are at risk of breakdown. “A few years ago, we lost all our technology funding from
“
“If enough people say yes, this is important, the government may reconsider.”
the province as well,” McKilligan said. “So if a computer or a printer or anything breaks down, we have
- Treena Decker to figure out where to get the money to fix it or replace it.” Starting in 1995, Industry Canada fund-
ed public computers at libraries and community centres across Canada as a way to bring high-speed internet access to people living in rural areas or on low incomes. On April 5, the federal agency said it was pulling the plug on its public computer program because of a
tight budget year and because the program “had successfully achieved its objectives.” But McKilligan said the Houston library’s computers are still in demand, adding that it’s not uncommon to have a waiting list, especially just after school.
“Probably the largest group that is served by it is youth who don’t have computers at home,” she said. Students often use the computers to do work-related tests or short courses, she said, such as the online Food Safe exam required for restaurant workers. See LIBRARY on Page 3