S TANDARD TERRACE
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VOL. 27 NO. 36
www.terracestandard.com
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
MLA sues political opponent By ANNA KILLEN SKEENA NDP MLA Robin Austin has added a political opponent to a defamation lawsuit stretching back to the May 2013 provincial election campaign. The original lawsuit, filed against Terrace resident Jim Lynch for comments made at an April 2013 all candidates meeting in which he alleged Austin abused a
foster child, has been amended to include Michael Brousseau, the BC Conservative candidate who ran against Austin in that election and also in the previous 2009 provincial election. The amended suit now says Brousseau “incited, assisted and/ or encouraged the defendant Lynch …” in the comments Lynch made at the April 30, 2014 all candidates meeting held at the Ter-
race Pentecostal Assembly. This then makes Brousseau a “joint publisher of the April 30, 2013 statements,” Austin’s suit indicates. The original suit filed against Lynch included a “John Doe” who was then described as Brousseau in the amended suit, filed Oct. 2, 2014. Lynch, in a statement contained in a question to Austin and in-
cluded as a transcript of comments made at the meeting in the court documents, said he had gotten to know a girl who was once a foster child of Austin and his wife. He said she told him of sexual abuse and when asked why she did not go to the authorities, she wondered who would believe her. “I really felt for the girl because we got to [be] buds,” the transcript of Lynch’s comments continued.
On May 10, 2013, Lynch issued a formal retraction and apology to Austin through his lawyer, according to court documents which detail a process where Lynch said he investigated the claim further and “determined that the allegations were totally false” and that his statements at the all candidates meeting were false.
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Lights, action!
MARGARET SPEIRS PHOTO
■■ Voila! ECOLE JACK Cook students Oziahs Courtney, middle, and Noah Grielens, left, help make Portuguese cookies with teacher aid Solange Rioux and the school’s former custodian Talina Dasilva, right, who made a special visit to the school to see the students and make these treats to be given out at the school’s Christmas concert. All of the school’s students took turns choosing a cookie cutter, pressing it into the dough, placing the shape on a cookie sheet and topping it with coloured sprinkles and red and green cherries.
THE TINY community of Iskut along Hwy37 North celebrated a switch from diesel-generated power to hydro-electric power Dec. 18. And thanks to 400 feet of LED icicle lights provided by B.C. Hydro for the occasion which were then strung up at the community’s administration building, the switch over marked the end of years of dependence upon diesel generation. “It was a split second,” said Iskut Band operations and maintenance manager Henry Carlick of the event which took place at 10:45 a.m. Dec. 18. “The lights blinked for a few seconds. We thought it was going to take time but I guess it was just a flick of the switch and it was done,” he said. The hydro-electric power flowing to Iskut stems from BC Hydro’s Northwest Transmission Line, a 344km 287kv line running north of Terrace to a substation at Bob Quinn on Hwy37 North. A second 287kv line, called the Iskut extension, then runs 93km north of Bob Quinn to another substation at Tatogga Lake.
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Class photos
Festive
Serious streak
Greenville students have a new take on their yearly photography session \COMMUNITY A10
‘Tis the season for our annual Christmas Greetings section \GREETINGS A14
The Terrace River Kings win two more at home and are on top of the west \SPORTS A27