Headlines from this weeks SPEC

Feb. 17, 2002

American snowmobilers love Gaspe trails
Gilles Gagne

Despite the fact that the snowmobile season was late coming, the great winter conditions of the last three weeks could make up for the lost time, thanks to the arrival of many groups of American tourists on Gaspe Peninsula trails.
Our Southern neighbors are quite impressed by the quality of these trails. As a matter of fact, a tour operator from Indiana is thinking about sending all the groups coming to the Province of Quebec next year. The Gaspe will also be the main subject of a lengthy report in a specialized snowmobile magazine.
Many American groups are currently circulating in the Gaspesian network of trails. Last week, SPEC met with a group of 27 snowmobilers from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and New York State, who stopped for lunch in Chandler, at the Sentiers Blancs Club.

Mine Closure Weighing Heavy on Those Most Involved
Charlene Eden

Although Noranda has made a proposal to the government for financial aid to modernize the mine in Murdochville, those most involved and affected by the upcoming closure have very mixed feelings about the proposal and the future of the mine.
Marc Minville, the Mayor of Murdochville and a worker at the smelter, expressed some hope for the mine's future as a result of Noranda's new proposal. However, Minville did admit that the town has received little information from Noranda about the new proposal and its parameters.
Other workers have also expressed their discontent with the lack of information they are receiving from the company. Reed Patterson, a heavy equipment mechanic at the mine since 1972, emphasized, "they (Noranda) are kind of keeping us in the dark. We don't find out a lot of information."