SPEC Headlines, March 28, 2004

Return to Sender fundraising campaign brings in $14,000
Gilles Gagné

    NEW CARLISLE - The fundraising campaign launched in January by the
Return to Sender coalition against Bennett's proposed incinerator in
Belledune has produced outstanding results. $14,000 has been collected so
far, more than the goal set at $10,000 two months ago.
    Meals, donations by various organizations, a get-together to play cards,
skiing events, music shows organized by teenagers, public speeches, the
fundraising campaign took many forms, but they all benefited the coalition.
    For example, 41 people took part in a supper held at the Bec Flûté
restaurant in Bonaventure on February 20th. and $530 was raised. Members of
the Chamber of Commerce of Saint Simeon, Bonaventure and Saint Elzéar then
decided to contribute $1,000, so the amount presented to the coalition
totaled $1,530.
    Eight days later in Saint Simeon, about 50 people got together to play
cards. They raised $245 and one of the players decided to double the
donation, so $490 was given to the coalition.

Fisheries School wants to recruit more students
Hundreds of new jobs available over the next decade
Gilles Gagné

    GRAND RIVER - Commercial fisheries offers good job opportunities for
youth and officials of the Centre spécialisé des pêches, the Fisheries
School, in Grand River want to get the message out, since hundreds of
positions will be up for grabs over the next decade in the Gaspé, Magdalen
Islands and the North Shore.
    The apparently bleak future of groundfish has a tendancy to hide the
total picture of commercial fisheries, says Fisheries School Director
General Richard Loiselle, and the reality is that good, well-paid and
sometimes year-around jobs are and will be available notably in the field of
fishing, processing, aquaculture, inspection, quality control and laboratory
work.
    "There is a problem of relief in commercial fisheries. More than one
third of fishermen are 50 years of age and older. In processing, fifty
percent of the workers are older than 45 years old. There will be a lot of
new jobs available in specialized fields, and quality jobs on top of that",
says Mr. Loiselle.

Gaspés Sanitary landfill site - to fill or not to fill
Jeanie LeLacheur

An information session concerning the potential temporary increase of solid
waste volume at the new Gaspé sanitary landfill site was held at the city
hall on Monday, March 22. Gaspé Mayor Arthur Drolet, municipal councillors
and approximately 40 citizens were present. André Simard of the engineering
firm André Simard and Associates who designed and built the sanitary
landfill site, presented the results of a study requested by the municipal
council to evaluate potential environmental social and financial impacts of
the proposed volume increase. The in-depth analysis is the result of a
request by neighboring Regional County Municipalities, Avignon, Bonaventure,
Haute Gaspesie and Matane which are experiencing difficulties with their
current sites and are suggesting that the best solution would be to truck
their garbage to the Gaspé sanitary landfill.