Gwaii Trust Newsletter Vol.5,No.1,January,01

MASSET REC GETS A MAKE OVER

Gender equity in the change room has been set in motion with infrastructure funding from the Gwaii Trust. Only we're not talking revolution but renovation.

Over a seven week period this spring the Recreation Centre at the former military base in Masset will undergo a facelift to address health and safety concerns.

"We need to do a lot more, but for now we have been inspected and we need to address the health permit," says May Russ administrator for Old Massett. "The change rooms were very poorly designed and are below safety regulations."

The ladies change room in particular will be given immediate consideration. The change room has three enclosed shower stalls equipped with manual hot and cold taps. Down the hall, the men's change room has seven shower stalls, arranged in a central open space with temperature-controlled taps.

"You can tell this place was built by men," quips manager Jackie Vleeming, who says the goal is to upgrade the women's change room so that it is comparable to the men's in both form and function.

Throw into the mix new exit doors, repairs to the leaky roof above the pool and a vestibule for the entrance and you have a lot of little things adding up to some major work.

Plans also include new siding for the outside of the building. The painted-brown plywood has lost its resistance to water along with its charm. Cedar shakes or aluminum? The decision on what siding to use will be left to a committee of representatives from Old Massett Village Council, Village of Masset and the Greater Massett Development Corporation.

Masset Rec Centre manager Jackie Vleeming

The three partners also pooled money and resources for the renovations. Both villages invested $138,000 each from their respective Major Infrastructure funds in addition to a $100,000 All-Island Major Infrastructure grant. GMDC supplied equity in the form of labour and materials.

Despite the visible and not so visible shortcomings of the Rec Centre, Vleeming reports there have been few complaints from users. One explanation could be that many of the problems are small and go largely undetected by the public. Did people notice the lifting floor near the sauna, the pooling water in the showers or the rotting doors leading to the pool deck?

Vleeming offers another explanation for the lack of complaint.

"I think people here just appreciate what they have," she says.·

BRIEF CASES

SANDSPIT DRILLS
· Sandpit's $800,000 public water system is ready to flow. A total of four wells were drilled this year providing enough volume to supply the needs of existing and future residents. "We're still waiting for the final analysis on the exact flow rate which will tell us what we can use at the lowest times of the year," says Alex Ross, chair of the water and sewer committee. The importance of that report was underscored by the dry spell that Sandspit experienced last summer. Equally important is the quality analysis report which is expected in the new year. Funding for the project came from the Major Infrastructure program which awarded each community $1-million. Sandspit's remaining funds are ear- marked for a trail system and the Moresby Island Adventure Camp.

FUNDING DEADLINES
· The next quarterly deadline for both the Micro-Infrastructure Program and the Legacy Fund arrives March 15, 2001. The Micro-Infrastructure Program was established to fund small "community" infrastructure projects that otherwise would not get funding from other sources. The Legacy Fund covers a percentage of the costs of worthwhile projects in the fields of education, training, culture, arts, youth and senior programming. Please Note: the office will only accept faxed or hand delivered proposals up to 4 pm.

NEW AREAS
The geographical boundaries of the Islands were moved. But only around the boardroom of the Gwaii Trust.

For the past two years the Trust has grappled with the question of Area F representation on the board. The option that finally won the support at the table is to restructure the non-Haida representation on the board, leave the board of directors at eight members and adopt geographical representational areas for the Gwaii Trust.

The new areas are as follows: Graham Island North (Village of Masset, Tow Hill and Nadu North), Central (Port Clements and Tlell ) and South (Lawnhill South, Miller Creek, Skidegate Landing and Queen Charlotte City). Area E on Moresby Island remains the same.

"This redefines the areas of the participating communities," explains administrator Cliff Fregin. "Instead of Modified Area D which included all the rural areas everyone is now grouped together geographically. It just makes things clearer."

The reconfiguration of seats also marks the first time the Trust has changed its bylaws since 1994.·

SMRFA
The federal election may have cooled plans to visit Ottawa this fall but Trust directors say the campaign to bring the South Moresby Forest Replacement Account home is just heating up. Administrator Cliff Fregin says the repatriation effort will move into full swing this January/February with a lobbying trip to Victoria. The goal of the lobby effort is to persuade both the provincial and federal governments that it is in the best interest of the Islands to manage the $23-million forestry account locally.·

ARTS ENDOWMENT FUND
The Arts Endowment Fund has been put on hold.

Each year for the past two years the Gwaii Trust allocated $50,000 to the arts, providing financial support to artists so they could focus their time on education, training and art making. But there is no news on whether the endowment merits incorporation into the final Gwaii Trust business plan as a perpetual fund. The debate around the board table continues. Until the status of the Endowment Fund is resolved there will be no new monies awarded. The business plan is expected to be completed in six months.·

REPORTING TIME
The community trust fund will undergo a performance review this year. The Gwaii Trust bylaws call for the hiring of an independent consultant to review the books and management procedures of the organization every five years. Under scrutiny will be the effectiveness of the Trust's programs in meeting the overall objectives of the last business plan. Decision-makers can also expect to receive an objective reading of the level of benefit Islanders feel they receive from the Trust. Results of the review will be made public. ·

HAIDA DICTIONARY
Celebrated linguist Dr. John Enrico is expected to complete the final transcript of a Haida dictionary this spring. The dictionary, which includes lessons in Haida grammar, has been a work in progress for years but was given a cash infusion of $40,000 last year as part of the Council of the Haida Nation's major infrastructure fund. The search is on for a suitable publisher.·

A band of goblins prepare for their entrance to Waltzing Beyond. Photo: Sandy MacDonald
SHAKE YOUR BOOGIE MAN
As adults we are more likely to step onto a gym treadmill than a dancefloor for exercise. But forour children it's a whole other story. Dance, piano or soccer are often mandatory after-school activities. That may well explain the popularity of Celina Laursen's modern dance classes. Four years ago, Tai Chi was the closest thing to an organized dance class in the south-end. That was before Laursen moved to Queen Charlotte City. Since then the former figure skating champion offers dance lessons to four different age groups twice a week. Modern dance is distinct from classical ballet in several ways. While the dance borrows the basic forms and alignment of ballet, its appeal lies in its free movement and reliance on individual expression. "You're more able to work with your own body movements whereas in ballet your arms and legs have to be in certain formal positions," Laursen explains. "Modern dance can be done barefoot or in combat boots and the music runs the gambit from classical to heavy metal." Laursen received training funds through the Arts Endowment this past summer to enroll in an intensive dance workshop at Vancouver's Edam Performing Arts School. For two weeks the dance instructor-turned-student took five classes a day in modern dance and improvisation.	"That's really what it's all about,"she says. "If I want to live here and offer dance to the community then I have to keep training off-island and work within an artistic dance community. If I couldn't go off to get more training I just couldn't live here. That's the same for many disciplines in the arts." The result of that training was obvious to those who took a seat at the indescribable and thoroughly original production of Waltzing Beyond this fall. While the Halloween-timed show explored different concepts of death and after-life, it was the choreography that brought the story to life. Laursen worked with a total of 30 dancers, from the pre-schooler flies and prancing goblins to the nightmarish ballroom scene in hell. "I don't know how many hours went in to that production,"Laursen recalls. "But I know that I began renting the hall in August." The production by the Hands and Feet Performing Arts Company, of which Laursen is one of five creative directors, had a successful run of three shows in Queen Charlotte and Masset. With a total of 18 scenes, half of them choreographed, it's no wonder that Laursen has taken the next six months off to travel through India with her husband and son.·

QUESTIONS
&
ANSWERS

Jukka Efraimsson - Port Clements

What experience do you bring to the Gwaii Trust Board?

I was born in Helsinki, Finland and went to grade school and high school in Thunder Bay. I moved when I was nineteen and played semi-professional hockey for a while in Winnipeg and Duncan. I lived in Victoria for nine years and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in economics and a masters in public administration from UVIC. While attending university I got the opportunity to work for the provincial government in Victoria and the federal government in Ottawa.

What does the Gwaii Trust Board do for the Islands?

I moved to the Islands in 1989 and worked as clerk treasurer for the Village of Port Clements. Part of my job was to budget for improvements to basic municipal services. The village's ability to raise funds through its own sources is very limited so when the Gwaii Trust was established and money for capital projects became available, the burden on local taxpayers eased and the range of potential projects widened. ·

COMMUNITY FOREST

The dream of a forest owned and operated by the community is no longer a dream.

Haida Gwaii Community Futures is working with the communities to create a board and management structure for a forest development corporation to manage the community forest.

A $100,000 All-Island Major Infrastructure grant will kick-off the process of developing a vision for the corporation, the mission, and strategic goals that will guide the organization.

"Broad community involvement in this process is key to creating a successful organization," says Community Futures general manager Art Lew.

Community Futures has a successful track record of creating organizations that work effectively for the Islands. During its first year of operation, Community Futures facilitated the formation of a 10-person board representing all interests in the fishing and marine resource sectors. The Haida Gwaii Marine Resources Group Association now manages a $300,000 annual budget in partnership with Fisheries Renewal BC. Key accomplishments for the association over the past three years include the operation of a Fisheries Resource Centre, funding 40 watershed restoration and marine projects and the creation of 106 jobs.

Haida Gwaii Community Futures was founded to contribute to the socio-economic development mandate of the Gwaii Trust. ·

HUMAN INVESTMENT

The Post-Secondary Education Grant Program has been rewarding students with $1,000 grants to continue with their post-secondary education.The Trust caught up with a few students to see how they're doing:

Masset residents Rebecca Parish is in her fourth year of an undergraduate law program at Carelton University. Her brother Mac Parish is in his third year fine arts at Okanagan University in Kelowna. Sandspit resident Lee Burles is in the fourth year of a science degree in biology at the University of Calgary. His sister, Meridith Burles, is attending the same institution in her second year of a social sciences degree. Gwen Edgars, who now works reception at Chief Mathews Elementary School, took upgrading courses at Capilano College. Amanda Fradette of Tlell is in her third year of a science degree in biology-anthropology at the University of Calgary working towards a degree in medicine and Masset resident Kristi Wheeler completed her first year at college in pursuit of a law degree. ·

	The Newsletter of the Gwaii Trust Society

	Volume 5, Number 1 January 2001