FLYER INSERTS: Houston Tourist Book and the Houston Kids Book
OFFICIAL VISITOR’S GUIDE
HOUSTON
SPORTS: HFP Golf Tournament
Houston Kids
British Columbia, Canada
... Serenity
PAGE 16
Spring/ Summer 2014
FIND...
... Fishing
... Adventure
... Hiking
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An information and resource guide for families with children 0 to 6 years
WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2014
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HFP sawmill closes Friday By Jackie Lieuwen Houston Today
LUMBER Stockpiles
Jackie Lieuwen/Houston Today
Sawmills all over B.C. are stockpiling lumber because of shortages in CN rail cars. Houston Forest Products lumber is being trucked to market as the mill closure draws near.
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Sixty-six Houston Forest Products (HFP) employees are out of work Friday, half of whom have secured employment. “It’s quiet around the mill. People seem quite somber. Nobody seems upset, they’re just very quiet,” said Tom Stringfellow, Steelworkers Union Transition Coordinator at HFP. Friday marks the beginning of the phased HFP shut down, that affects 217 employees. Tw e n t y - fo u r workers signed on to work an extra week of mill clean up, and will finish May 16. Of those, two have secured positions or are retiring. Eighty-three other workers will finish May 23 or shortly after when the planer shuts down. Of those, 29 have secured work
or are retiring. The statistics were reported by West Fraser Transition Coordinator Lori Saretsky at a recent Worker Transition Pillar meeting. Saretsky said 68 workers will be looking for work after HFP closes, preferring work in Houston or new industry. Fifty-one workers accepted employment at other West Fraser mills. Saretsky says currently 16 will transfer to Smithers, 12 to Fraser Lake, eight to Quesnel, and the others to Williams Lake, 100 Mile House, Chasm, Chetwind, Edmonton, and Edson, Alberta. Tw e n t y - s e v e n workers will retire after the closure. Ten of the sixteen workers that quit are staying in Houston and seven of the ten who found work in other companies are staying in Houston.
Houston property taxes up 2.75 percent in 2014 By Jackie Lieuwen Houston Today
Houston property taxes will increase 2.75 percent in 2014. Council held a special meeting for the first readings of the budget and taxes bylaws April 29, and adopted the bylaws Tuesday, May 6. This ends the 2014
budget process, which started last November. With the closure of Houston Forest Products, the District of Houston will lose $525,000 in tax revenue in 2015, said William Wallace, Director of Finance. Cost increases are also expected in energy and hydro, and
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District is forecasting 2.75 percent tax increases every year for the next five years.
Wallace says they’re doing cost cuts this year to save $425,000, with staff cuts making
up 80 percent of those savings. The District will make up the other $100,000 in annual tax increases, he said. Deputy Mayor Jonathan Van Barneveld said he feels the planned tax increases are “pretty reasonable.” “We’re making cuts
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“We’re making cuts on the District side of things to make up for the loss from HFP.”
Wallace estimates it will average 2.25 percent every year. In light of that, the
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on the District side of things to make up for losses from HFP,” he said. “We’re trying to keep the increases reasonable.” Other towns who have lost major industry have had much bigger tax increases, he said. “I think it’s a fairly modest approach.”
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