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VOL. 27 NO. 42
www.terracestandard.com
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
MLA Austin hints at retirement SKEENA NDP MLA Robin Austin is hinting he may not run again in the May 2017 provincial election. First elected in 2005 and re-elected in 2009 and then again in 2013, Austin says it may be time for a change. “I was nominated when I was 46 and I’ll be 59 at the end of my term,” said Austin last week. “There just may be a need for generational change and that’s OK and I’d like to do something different in my
last years of work.” Austin said he’ll be making up his mind at the end of the spring term of the legislature. “That’s about when the [party] leader’s office will want to know who is running and who isn’t and that’s a year before the next election. They’ll need to start making preparations,” he said. Austin, a community social worker by profession, won the NDP nomination
in Skeena in early 2005 and then defeated sitting Liberal MLA Roger Harris in the provincial election that same May. Harris had previously defeated the veteran NDP MLA Helmut Giesbrecht in the 2001 provincial election. Then in the May 2009 provincial election, Austin defeated Liberal candidate Donny van Dyk and in the May 2013 provincial election defeated Liberal Carol Leclerc – now the Terrace mayor.
Looking at his years in office, Austin said he drew a lot of satisfaction from his time as chair of a legislative special standing committee on aquaculture. That involved an extensive travel schedule accompanied by hearings into the issue of whether the northern coast area and other places could safely house open fish farms containing non-local species in the ocean. “We were able to stop the inflow of fish farms on the
north coast and so prevent some of the effects of those farms on the south coast,” said Austin. He is also happy he had a role in elevating public school financing issues so that there is recognition the system needs more money. That stemmed from Austin being the opposition critic for education for a period. “I think we’ve taken a big step there,” said Austin.
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Robin Austin
New scam shows up By JOSH MASSEY
JOSH MASSEY PHOTO
THEY MAY be marked ‘urgent’ but this mail delivered to Rose Mcleod’s home telling here she has a $100 gasoline purchase credit is just another one of the many scams making the rounds.
THE CREEPIEST thing was they knew where she lived and how old she was, on top of the fact that they could have an illegal piece of mail delivered to her mailbox. These were the disconcerting feelings Thornhill resident Rose McLeod had after twice receiving cards over the last week attempting to scam her – notes with a bright message telling her she has a credit of $100 free gas at any number of gas stations, and all she had to do is phone a 1-800 number to collect it. It didn’t take her long to realize someone was trying to pull the wool over her eyes. “I don’t have any account anywhere, I mean I have a credit card which I pay off every month,” she said of the thought process upon receiving the first scam mail. It was the first time she’d received a fake message like this, and whoever sent the postcard-like piece of mail hadn’t identified themselves, which was another thing that caused her to take warning. “I just set it aside and said this can’t be right,” said McLeod. A few days later on Feb. 2 she checked her mailbox again and found another telling her to call a number and claim her gas credit. “Today in the mail I got another one exactly the same. I called the police and they said ‘yes this is a scam’.” McLeod happens to have another friend who lives on Lazelle Ave. and who also received the scam message, and she and her friend decided it’s time to get the word out. “I don’t know what they are after,” she said. “They want something from us.” The funny thing is that others on the street didn’t receive the same scam notices. But her older friend on Lazelle did. “She is a senior citizen too. So maybe they are targeting seniors.”
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Criminal comedy
Schools strategize
Shoot to win
Dinner theatre humorous with black edge, not for the faint of heart \COMMUNITY A10
Caledonia finds Grade 10 struggling and works to boost support \NEWS A5
Win record of Terrace WAKS sets hopes high for All Native tournament \SPORTS A25