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3 T: POT a i. ACE 2 WO Wednesday, August 27,1986 Vol. 41 No. 34 Serving Terrace Bay, Schreiber and Rossport 35° Jack L. Lavallet, Pres- uient of Kimberly-Clark + Canada, announced on \ionday that the com- pany has decided to lay- 'ff approximately 255 »ermanent and 100 tem- -orary employees in what ie described as a survival plan" for K-C's pulp mill in Terrace Bay and wood- lands operations in the Longlac area. Lavallet announced what he called a "drastic meas- ure" at a news conference held in Terrace Bay. He was accompanied by Al Chisholm, K-C's Director of Industrial Relations. Kimberly-Clark will also Suspend its woodlands op- erations for two months, beginning Septemer 2, in order to reduce wood in- ventory, Lavallet noted in a news release prepared for the conference: "'The company has ad- opted this plan as the only viable alternative to a com- plete shutdown," Lavallet added. At the moment, the mill employs 1,000 people at the mill, with about 800 in the woodlands. The lay- offs will start immediately , and are-expected to be completed before the end of- November. Lavallet cited the mill's total operating losses of $78 million, including $17 million last year, as the prime reason for the lay-off decision. "If our operations in Northwestern Ontario are to have any-chance of sur- vival and if the com- 'munities of Terrace Bay, Longlac, Nakina, Gerald- ton, and Schreiber are to continue as we know them today, these measures must be taken to help make us competitive,' he added. Chisholm told the News that the lay offs are perma- nent and will help K-C to achieve an ideal level of employment at the mill, compared to other modern pulp mills. "Compared with the others, we are over-staffed ...we can no longer go on as before," Lavallet ex- plained, adding that the on- ly alternative was to per- manently close down the mill and eliminate all 1,800 jobs. The Terrace Bay local of the United Paper- workers International could not be reached for com- ment before press time. "The positive thing, then, is.that we've saved the jobs of 1,500 people,"' Lavallet pointed out. "It is important to us to minimize the impact."' continued on page 2 An OK catch Eric Jean, 9, and David Jean, 7, wait to see how much David's pickerel weighs. It came out at one pound, two and a half ounces. Not too bad, but Eric had one earlier that was two pounds, six and a quarter ounces. It was all part of the fun that made up the Moose's second annual Fish Derby for area youngsters. Gov't support sought Lake Nipigon MPP Gilles Pouliot, in response to the August 25 announcement by Kimberly-Clark that it will lay off 355 employees at its Terrace Bay pulp mill and Ger- aldton area woodlands operations, has sent a telegram to the Premier of Ontario urg- ing him to intervene in what Pouliot has called "this emergency situation." "T would request that you do everything possible to reduce the social and economic impact of this crisis," Pouliot added in the telegram, sent out on August 25. Cochrane-Superior MP Keith Penner said that "even though we had been forewarned, the news comes as a severe shock." He said the impact will be "deeply and widely felt'? throughout the entire Northwestern Ontario area. Penner, in a prepared response delivered to the News by phone from his Ottawa office, added that the K-C job losses come at a time when the federal government is cutting back on many of its job creation programs. "It's a double whammy with (these) government cut-backs,"' the MP said. He pointed out that he will be urging several federal Ministers, including the Minister of Employ- ment and Immigration, to respond positively to the plight of the Terrace Bay workers. He added, though, that he is 'not optimistic" about receiving any help from the federal government at this time. "We may not recover for a very long time," Penner admitted in his response, released on Monday afternoon. Pouliot, in his telegram, said "today's announcement of massive lay-offs has sent shock waves"' throughout Northwestern Ontario. He asked the Premier to consider several suggestions, including supplementing the retirement benefits of those who ac- cept Kimberly-Clark's voluntary retirement package. Copies of Pouliot's telegram were also sent to the Minister of Natural Resources, the Deputy Minister of Mines, and the Treasurer of Ontario. 355 lose their jobs at K-C mill Balloon toss Sylvie Larochelle, 7, and her friend Joy Pichette, also 7, had to be very careful during a game of balloon toss to avoid winding up with a soaking, as these balloons were filled with water. The girls also took part in some The Ontario. Minister of Transportation and Com- munications has been ask- ed by Lake Nipigon MPP Gilles Pouliot to meet with the residents of Terrace Bay to discuss the single access route problem at a subdivision in the town. Pouliot, ina letter dated August 20, told Ed Fulton, the Minister of Transport- ation and Communications that "during a recent for- est fire, residents of (the) Terrace Heights subdivis- ion were thrown _ iato jeopardy." The MPP added "'due to the existence of only a single access route, that is, Highway 17, neither evac- uation of residents nor the dispatching of fire-fighting equipment could proceed with the speed and efficien- cy warranted by such a crisis." The May 21 blaze crept right to the backyards of some homes at the east end of Terrace Bay, and even- tually destroyed about 250 hectares of forest. Up to 1,000 residents had to be evacuated from 100 homes in the subdivision. After the fire had been contained, town Council made several requests to the district office of the MTC to consider a second access point,. but so far the Ministry has merely con- ducted a number of traffic studies in the area. "I would request, there- fore, that you or a senior official in your Ministry take the opportunity to meet with the residents of Terrace Bay and their rep- resentatives," Pouliot said in the letter, a copy of which was received by the News this week. 'This meeting...would lead to the initiation of a other games during the Terrace Bay Summer Play- ground Program's annual Wind-Up Fun Day, held this year on August 20. The fun and games took place in the town arena. (Photograph by Conrad Felber) Pouliot backs demand for better road access program to improve the ex- isting network of roads around Terrace Heights,"' the Terrace Bay area MPP added. Pouliot concluded the letter by telling Fulton that "if, as l expect, you share my concern for the health and safety of our citizens in Northern Ontario, you will give your unqualified sup- port to the proposal."' Pouliot is the New Dem- ocratic Party's Transporta- tion Critic. Bear alert on A report from the Ter- race Bay Police Force dated August 21 noted that several complaints about bears have been received over the past two weeks, and that caution should be taken when dealing with these animals. The local office of the Ministry of Natural Res- ources has advised that bear sightings have been more plentiful this year. In a couple of isolated in- cidents, bears had to be shot in the Terrace Bay- Schreiber area because of the immediate danger to the local population. The police release add- ed that people are advised not to shoot the bears themselves, as this could lead to charges being laid. If and when a bear is spotted in the township, the MNR and police should be notified immediately in- stead, the report noted.