Houston Today, December 12, 2012

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Sports: Luckies Hockey

NEWS: Mill donations

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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

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Forest issues “on track” says Mayor Bill Holmberg By Jackie Lieuwen Houston Today

SIsters Celebrate

Jackie Lieuwen/Houston Today

Sisters Mary Axen and Ruby Forsyth enjoy the Christmas luncheon put on by the Legion Ladies Auxiliary last Friday. The Legion ladies made a fantastic turkey dinner and welcomed anyone from the public to come and enjoy the Christmas meal.

Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson visited Houston with Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad, to discuss the ministry focuses and needs of the forest industry. The meeting, held last week Monday at the Seniors Centre, focused on forest inventory and development of a secondary market or bio-economy to use wood supply to its fullest potential and limit waste. Thomson opened the discussion with a brief review of the ministry’s current work, highlighting three main topics: (1) contributing to B.C. jobs plan, (2) focusing on jobs, tourism and innovation, and (3) increasing market

diversification. Rustad says that in response to recommendations from the midterm timber supply committee, the ministry hopes to speed up the inventory work, doing inventory on all the areas significantly impacted by the pine beetle within the next five years, and the rest of the province within the next ten years. The ministry has approached the treasury board, and the result will come out in the February budget process, said Rustad, adding that he is optimistic significant work will start next year and ramp up. “Now that the [pine beetle] epidemic has run through and we’re seeing the forests starting to stabilize, it’s time to update the inventories, so we’ll be doing that,” said Rustad. See FOREST on Page 2

Timber deal reached to rebuild Burns Lake sawmill By Tom Fletcher Black Press

The partners in the Burns Lake sawmill destroyed in a fatal fire in January have accepted the conditions for rebuilding the mill. To the community’s relief, the announcement

comes despite last week’s decision by WorkSafeBC to refer their fire investigations at Babine Forest Products in Burns Lake and a later fire at Lakeland Mills in Prince George, to Crown counsel for possible charges. Two workers died and 42 others injured

in the two fires, which WorkSafeBC concluded were caused by dust explosions. “I’m very pleased with the decision,” said Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad, who joined officials in Burns Lake Tuesday for the announcement. He said it delivers on

a promise made by Premier Christy Clark when she visited the community in the hours after disaster struck. Steve Zika, CEO of Oregon-based Hampton Affiliates, and Albert Gerow, CEO of Burns Lake Native Development Corp., announced in

ONLY ONE TRUCK

TOWED ENDEAVOUR.

September that they would rebuild if an agreement could be reached with the B.C. government to supply enough timber in the wake of the pine beetle epidemic. Rustad chaired the committee that reviewed the timber supply and determined it could

support existing mills in the region and a reconstructed Babine sawmill. It requires all six aboriginal communities in the region to commit timber rights to the new mill, including new area-based Crown forest tenures that the B.C. government has promised to award

MINE.

TOYOTA TUNDRA AVAILABLE AT GLACIER TOYOTA - SMITHERS

under legislation that still must be passed. “I can imagine the other mills in the area would much rather have seen Hampton not rebuilt, because it means easier log access for them, and not as much competition,” Rustad said.

See MILL on Page 2

www.glaciertoyota.ca 1-866-844-6723

The Toyota Tundra used had no modifications and towed Endeavour for a short distance. Total weight: 292,500 lbs.


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