Wednesday, February 17, 2016
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Volume 96 - No. 07
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www.ldnews.net
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$1.30 GST inc.
BURNS LAKE
LAKES DISTRICT NEWS
Chinook How vital is the runway resurfacing? Community Forest agreement Forest license has been issued; harvesting is expected to begin this summer
FLAVIO NIENOW
Representatives from the two local governments and six First Nations groups involved in the Chinook Community Forest gathered on Feb. 12, 2016, to sign the Chinook Community Forest agreement. During the event, which took place at the Burns Lake and District Chamber of Commerce, it was announced that the community forest licence for the Chinook Community Forest has been issued. Bill Miller, Director of Electoral Area B of the Regional District of BulkleyNechako, acknowledged the importance of the new community forest. “This community forest will help maintain the social and economic fabric of the Burns Lake area by giving many families peace of mind through sustainable employment, keeping dollars in our region, and opening up opportunities for local forest management,” he said. “Today is a momentous day and I would like to thank all the chiefs for all their hard work,” added Miller. “It’s been a long road; it’s been four years.” The Chinook Community Forest board has recognized that the process to get this project up and running has been much slower than anticipated. Greig Bethel, a Spokesperson with the B.C. Ministry of Forests, said it’s not surprising that this process would ...see CHINOOK ▼ P2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
In 2013/14, there were 52 medevacs out of the Burns Lake airport. That is one a week to have someone’s life saved. The residential tax rate increase will be $20 on a $100,000 property. Have your say, remember to get out and vote on Feb. 27, 2016.
Some residents are questioning if taxpayers should be the ones paying FLAVIO NIENOW Lakes District residents will soon decide whether or not they approve a proposed tax increase to resurface the runway at Baker Airport. With a little over a week left before the public referendum, some residents are questioning if taxpayers should be the ones paying for the proposed project. “Considering the average person does not
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own an aircraft, I find it interesting that property owners are being burdened with this tax in the first place,” said Burns Lake resident Kris Shively in a recent letter to the editor. “Should the province not be financially responsible for maintaining this facility?” “I feel that our income taxes and MSP premiums should be enough to cover the airport maintenance costs,” she added. Shively also questioned if the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako (RDBN) has considered other options aside from increasing taxation. “I will vote ‘no’ to the purposed tax increase until I am certain the RDBN has made a diligent effort in compelling the province to fulfil its healthcare obligations.” Burns Lake resident Robin Sindia, who will also be voting ‘no’ on Feb. 27, said that although she is not necessarily against the re-
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paving of the runway, she is against taxpayers paying for it. “It is only right and fair that there would be some type of user based fees [as opposed to raising taxes].” Sindia also worries that increasing taxation might become a local trend. “What other issues will there be in the future which are not going to go away and will require more tax increases to our already high tax rates?” asked Sindia. “We love Burns Lake; we chose to live here and we are worried it’s going to just get too expensive to afford to live here.” Sindia also questioned how vital the resurfacing project really is, considering that medevac aircrafts can safely land on gravel airstrips. In order to verify if this is true, Lakes District News spoke with Ron Limoges, General Manager at Alkan Air - a flight solutions company ...see AIRPORT ▼ P5
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Phone: 250.692.1700 • Fax: 250.692.1750 • Toll Free: 1.866.692.1943 545 Highway 16 West • PO Box 5000, Burns Lake, BC • V0J 1E0 Email: lksdist@cnc.bc.ca • Website: www.cnc.bc.ca/lakesdistrict