107th Year - Week14
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
www.interior-news.com
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Money raised to date:
WHAT A DIVA!
$282,645
GOAL
$400,000 NEW ARENA DONATIONS Anonymous: $1,000
Marylou Ramos Hutchinson, a member of the Ramos Crew, performs during the Smithers Art Gallery Fundraiser, Divas and Friends, Saturday night at the Della Herman Theatre.
Ryan Jensen photo
SCHUSS BOOMER Mountain hosts 30th annual event.
SPORTS/A10
Recycling contract leads to layoffs By Ryan Jensen
LITERACY CUTS Hazelton coordinator fears funding cutbacks.
THREE RIVERS/B2
INSIDE LETTERS A7 SPORTS A10 COMMUNITY A19 OUR TOWN A22 THREE RIVERS B1 CLASSIFIEDS B4
Smithers/Interior News
Add the Smithers and Area Recycling Society to the long list of organizations that are upset with the way Multi Material BC is handling the roll-out of curbside recycling in communities across the province. At the regular Town of Smithers council meeting on March 25, society members Earnie Harding and Art Mortensen made a presentation and said under the MMBC contract, the group’s facility on Tatlow
Road and their equipment will go to waste, and 10 of their 12 staff will have to be laid off. Harding and Mortenson expressed frustration with council over the signing of the contract and the fact their group wasn’t successful in becoming the post-collection facility for the Bulkley Valley. “We’ve established the largest single employment base for special needs people in the northwest,” Harding said. “They’re involved in sorting, shredding, pick-up services
“Everything we’ve worked for over the last 12 years is gone,” -Dr. Jaco Fourie BCAS advisor
and loading the recyclables. “Everything we worked for over the last 12 years is gone. The opportunity to expand and create more jobs is gone. It’s gone.” When the town signed on with MMBC, the organization would
Friday Only!
see page A-24
only say the postcollection facility would be located within 60 kilometres of Smithers. Groups had to apply to become the MMBCapproved site. At the meeting, Harding admitted the Smithers and Area Recycling Society submitted their
Brookside Acai Dark Chocolate 850 grams
application two days too late to become the area’s post-collection facility and was ultimately not selected by MMBC to provide the service. Harding said they are in talks to secure a contract from another business to collect and ship the recycling materials but as a single-stream recycling program, all that is required is collection. The Smithers and Area Recycling Society provides employment opportunities to adult with developmental disabilities and employs about , paying out more than
$80,000 in wages. Smithers Mayor Taylor Bachrach said he was taken aback by the tone of the group’s presentation. “This is coming a little bit out of left field for us, it certainly is for me,” Bachrach said. “I’m quite surprised because this is a council that has prided itself on keeping the community informed about what’s going on. We’ve been talking about this for months. I was under the impression that you folks knew what we were considering. See MMBC on A9
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