November and December 2012 year end in review

Derelict properties ordered demolished in Terrace, BC

November

LOCAL MARIJUANA advocate Bob Erb can now boast another claim to fame: lottery winner. Erb won $25 million of the $50 million Lotto Max drawn Nov. 2 and says it’s his first huge win after 43 years of buying tickets.

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A full crew of Terrace workers showed up for shift Monday as Skeena Sawmills swung into full operation Nov. 5. The sawmill, which prior to this summer hadn’t cut a log since 2007, now employs 50 local workers and is expected to hire more, according to mill officials.

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NORTHWEST COMMUNITY College has suspended its heavy duty mechanics program, citing low demand and old equipment as the prime reasons. Senior college official Beverley Moore-Garcia said applications and registrations dropped as people realized the kind of equipment they would train on was outdated compared to industry standards.

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AFTER SPENDING nearly two months in jail awaiting a hearing, David Harry Edwardsen, 49, now at the Prince George Regional Correctional Centre, is denied bail following a two-day hearing Oct. 30-31.

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A PROVINCIAL court judge has closed off one portion of a complex relationship between a local man and the RCMP by giving him a conditional discharge. Judge Christine Birnie found Shane Parker, 24, guilty of assaulting a police officer in August 2010, but if he meets a series of conditions over the next 12 months, he won’t have a criminal record.

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At around 2 a.m. Nov. 11, a person or persons broke into the back of the the Terrace Peaks Gymnastics Club gym and set off one of the club’s fire extinguishers inside the building, causing nearly $10,000 in damages.

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THE LARGEST financial obstacle to My Mountain Co-op’s purchase of the Shames Mountain ski facility is removed in late November when the provincial government approves two measures to deal with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and interest owed to it by the facility’s current owner, the Shames Mountain Ski Corporation, and by the co-op.

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RECENTLY-REOPENED Skeena Sawmills says it wants to buy all of the trees it can from those that have been cut down to make room for BC Hydro’s Northwest Transmission Line. The mill took delivery Nov. 22 of 14 truckloads of logs, purchased from the Kitsumkalum First Nation’s Kalum Ventures forestry arm.

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NORTHWEST Community College is getting $3 million to help revive its various trades training programs. The money was announced Nov. 20 and is part of a province-wide $17 million trades training equipment purchase announcement made by the province earlier this year.

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SWEARING IN ceremonies have been held for members of the Nisga’a Lisims Government who were elected in the Nisga’a Nation’s general elections held Nov. 7. Mitchell Stevens defeated two challengers in winning the election to be president of the Nisga’a Lisims Government for the next four years.

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TERRACE CITY council approves orders Nov. 26 for the owners of three derelict buildings on Little Ave.. It is decided each will have 60 days from the time of notice to tear buildings down and clean up the yards or the city will do it for them and send them the bill for the work.

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There should be a blend of public and private developments on the old Terrace Co-op site located just west of the Best Western Terrace Inn, a city task force determines. After nearly a year of research and meetings, the group’s recommendations include a hotel with restaurant and retail space, a heritage centre, green space, a brew pub and parking.

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THE LOCAL Chances Terrace gaming centre isn’t so lucky with Terrace city council Nov. 26 when its request to increase slot chines it operates is denied.

December

KAMLOOPS RCMP major crimes officers are continuing their investigation into the Dec. 5 murder of Summer Star Elizabeth Krista-Lee Fowler, 16, who had been living in Terrace and attending  Parkside Secondary School. Her body was found by a passerby in a ravine in an undeveloped part of Kamloops, touching off an intensive probe which focussed on the 12 hours prior to the discovery. Her parents then join calls for a national inquiry into missing and murdered native women, making a tearful plea at a  Dec. 12 press conference

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Three Little Ave. property owners served with demolition orders in early December file for reconsideration from the city. The owners were formally served notice by the city Dec. 4 and had 14 days to request reconsideration. The city’s next step will be to schedule hearings for the properties.

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LOCAL RCMP officer Chad King, convicted for criminal harassment, was ordered not to possess or use firearms for 10 years except for when he’s working.

 

Terrace Standard