Ad - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 21, 1995 TERRACE STANDARD ADDRESS: 4647 Lazelle Ave., Terrace, B.C. * V8G 1S8 TELEPHONE: (604) 638-7283 + FAX: (604) 638-8432 MODEM: (604) 638-7247 Failing grade IT’S A SAD state of affairs for taxpayers when the largest single public sector body in this area — School District 88 — is also the most secre- tive. With a budget nudging $40 million, the school district’s financial affairs are a veritable maze. Even the most casual of observers can come away with a blazing headache. Some of this is not the school district’s fault. It is merely a part of a larger educational] bureaucratic conspiracy centered in Victoria whose vested interest is in self preservation — the less known by outsiders, the better it is for those inside. The one area in which clear and concise details are needed is native education, What’s been going on lately is confusing, contradictory and uncomfortable. . Several years ago the provincial government decided to.do things differently when it came to native students in public schools. Staring at statistics which place native students at the bot- tom of almost all categories, the province de- cided native students needed specific programs. A key part of the exercise was the involvement of local native parents. That didn’t happen here at first because the local native parent com- munity wasn’t as organized as it is now. What did happen, it’s been suggested, is a care- ful maneuvering of monies by the school district. These went for things which, under closer scruti- ny, didn’t fit the native educational mandate, That’s a polite way of saying the school district got cau ght. And now that local native parents have an orga- nization they are asking for more of a say in spending. decisions. The problem is that the school district, having spent money in areas it shouldn’t have,.is dodging and weaving from its responsibility to explain what happened. Almost $1.5 million is at stake each year here when it comes to native education. Attempts to determine what happened and what should hap- pen are met with silence. This is clearly an un- acceptable situation. Heads up EGADS. JUST WHEN it seems the Queen is safe from republican bounders, acts of treason pop up all over again. The latest example rests with Ontario Liberal Member of Parliament John Bryden. He wants to do — literally and figuratively — an ‘‘off with her head’’ to Queen Elizabeth II. It concerns what should appear on the federal government’s proposed $2 coin to replace the paper bill now in use. Instead of having the Queen on the back, Mr. Bryden wants the Maple Leaf. He feels it’s time to promote Canadian na- tionalism and that the Maple Leaf is the ap- propriate symbol. Be that as it may, a country’s currency is the best advertising vehicle for its history and roots. The monarchy has a rightful place in our history. Hands off, Mr. Bryden. aS PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link u ADVERTISING MANAGER: Mike L. Hamm PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS Jeff Nagel * NEWS SPORTS: Malcolm Baxter 7 COMMUNITY: Cris Leykauf OFFICE MANAGER: Rose Fisher, Terry Miller ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Sam Collier, Janet Viveiros, Tracey Tomas COMMUNITY SERVICE/TELEMARKETER: Monique Belanger ADVERTISING ASSISTANT: Helen Haselmeyer DARKROOM: Susan Credgeur COMPOSITOR: Shannon Cooper CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Karen Brunette MEMBER OF 8.€, PAESSCOUNCIL : Serving the Terrace and Thornhill area. Published on Wednesday af each weak by Cariboo Prass (1969) Lid, at 4647 Lazelte Ava.. Terrace. Brillsh Columbia. fe Stories, photographs, illustrations, designs and typestyles in tha Terrace Standard are tha property of the copyright holdars, including Cariboo Prass (1969) Lid.. Its illustration repro services and advarising agencies. . oe Reproduction In whole or in part, without written permission. is specifically prohibited. --- Authorized as second-class mall pending tha Post Office Déepament. for payment of postage incash. Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents for thelr time and talents + cona 4 SON TAOWLEE nna ind a Job... Come hellor high water... ia Zan a 7 ; Z Tey sd ia oa 4 4 ‘at, % a bey Soa | LEO 4 CUE! bY EO Gig g ~ ‘N . Pies nee F i | i ! j ! VICTORIA — Last week North Vancouver Judge Bill Rodgers refused to hear criminal cases involving goverment lawyers until he - heard that Atiormey General Colin Gabelmann ‘recognized and respected’? the indepen- dence of the judiciary. Rodgers’ unorthodox stand followed the government’s re- jection earlier of a wage in- crease for judges, recom- mended by an independent judicial compensation com- mittee. ' The committee, which was established by the NDF last year for the specific purpose of Keeping the matter of com- pensation for the judiciary at arm’s length from politics, had recommended that provincial court judges receive an 11.5- per-cent wage increase over the next three years. What worries me about this incident is that the government not only ignored the advice of an independent body, but did exactly what that body was supposed to prevent; govern- ment meddling in the judiciary, The independence of the ju- diciaty is of paramount impor- tance to the sysiem by which we have chose to govern our- selves, Rather than being elected, as is the case in the United States, our judges are appointed. And although governments, FROM THE CAPITAL - HUBERT BEYER at times, tend to appoint as judges people who haven't been exactly hostile to them, that’s where their influence ends, Thus, judges can’t be fired at the government’s whim. And they’re not subject to pressure from cither the voting public or the ruling politicians to be in tune with whatever their prevailing mood may be. I share Rodgers’ concerns and support his protest. Re- jection of the recommended pay increase was a cheap slap in the face of the judiciary, and what makes it worse is that judges can’t and won't enter into a political debate, I say cheap because the re- jection of the pay hike was politically motivated. It bad nothing to do with fiscal restraint or budgetary consider- ations. There aren’t enough provincial court judges to make even the slightest bit of difference to the government's efforts to balance the budget. I don’t even buy finance minister Elizabeth Cull’s argu- ment that giving judges a raise would send the wrong signal to the public. Most British Columbians are quite aware of the fact that judges could make two and three times their judi- cial salaries in private practice. Accepting a judgeship isn’t a matter of remuneration, but honour. Provincial court judges make $118,000 a year. That’s not ex- cessive, considering their work load and the importance of their function. The last raise they got was more than three years ago. The only reason the govern- ment rejected the recom- mendation fora pay hike was a fear that the public wouldn't like it. For the reason stated above, I don’t believe that the government’s assessment of public reaction was right in this case. Cliff Serwa, the lone Socred in the legislature, put it very well when he said it was clear that judges weren’t members of any trade union. Mind you, he, too, was against the raise. Could you imagine any hesitation by this government if the parties concerned were e unfair target powerful union bosses rather than judges? Not on your life, Where, for instance, was the NDP’s concern with costs when it devised the amend- ments to the Employment Standards Act? Where was the govermment’s concern when it brought in the Fair Wage policy? And was the NDP worried about costs when it in- troduced amendments to the Human Rights Act that will result in a bigger bureaucracy and added costs? Ym not evea necessarily arguing with the merits of the Measures I have just men- tioned. I’m just saying that costs weren’t a consideration in their implementation, Judges, on the other hand, don’t have a place on the NDP’s agenda and are, there- — fore, out of luck. At least the attorney general didn’t cave in to the demands from some quarters that Rodgers be reprimanded for having refused to hear criminal cases that day. He said reas- surances would be delivered to Rodgers that the judiciary’s in- , dependence is, indeed, being. recognized and respected, Maybe judges should seriously consider forming a union, but by that time, there may be a Liberal or Reform government. And they don’t like unions one bit How to get the lead out TODAY’S PENCILS aren’t much different from the inven- lion of 1932: reliable, in- expensive, doing one job and doing it well, All pencils are similar until you push one around several hours at a stretch. Then, like a faller’s chainsaw, Kurt Brown- Ing’s skates, or Jan Tyson’s saddle, choosing one that fits gains importance. I’m always on the look out for a darker, smoother, sharper, easier-lo-move-along lead. One of the best is a povern- ment issue pencil I've found deep in Department of High- ways truck seats. Disposable Bic pencils write smoothly, stay reasonably sharp, and resist breaking un- less pressured unduly. And Dixon’s Sensematic with its automatic lead advancer is handy, But I’ve had my cye on a Pentel propeller pencil with a fine Iead, Last week I bought one, Its 3mm lead is fine as an acupuncture needle, Lighten- ELECTIONS ARE TONIGHT ! THROUGH BIFOCALS CLAUDETTE SANDECKI HURRY SKOOK! THE COMMUNITY ing my touch so as not to snap its lead is a major preoccupa- tion, In the meantime my writ- ing tablet skitters over my desk as though on ball bearings. Twelve of these hairlike leads costs $2.50 plus taxes. At ihe rate I’m snapping them, it’s the most expensive pencil I could buy, My breast bone is denting where I tap the back end of the pencil to advance the lead. Cost is a factor as for any THIS TOWN [LE You RE NOT THERE IN PERSON !1 : basic tool, Wooden pencils range from a low ten cents each for generic models to 35 cents each for name brands such as Venus Velvet. Upkeep js another factor. All wooden pencils require a shar- pener, from an under-a-dollar hand held plastic model to an electric or battery-powered desk model closer to thirty dol- lars. Back-to-school is the best time to stock up on these Model Ts of the stationery world. Until then, I run from Stationary stores where selec- tion is most complete to bargain stores where prices are affordable. Ive always drafted columns Straight on the typewriter, using a pencil only for editing, Recently, I leamed how many successful authors rely on a pencil to capture their thoughts on paper. Robert Ludlum, author of 19 thriller novels, writes in long: hand using a #2 Ticonderoga, His secretary tums his drafts | YoU DON'T KNOW T] THEY EL ELECT You] Oe: To EVERYTHING! IL into computer printouts, Humorist Eric Nicol, one of B.C.'s Stephen Leacock humour award winners, writes in longhand with a pencil. Susan Musgrave, Salt Spring Island writer with eighteen books of poetry, fiction and - non-fiction published, writes - with a pencil on yellow legal pads, And American novelist, Joha Steinbeck, preferred a round pencil. Hexagonal shapes cut into his fingers after hours of writing, Those are just a few pencil- Using authors I know about, Chances are many more rely On particular pencils for per- sonal reasons. Choosing a pencil is a very petsonal thing, as GLK. Chesterton noted. He said, “Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling.”’ if ee CONGRATULATIONS MARTEN. Ta ee | YOU'RE CHAIRMAN AVP HEAD Te WR BOF ALL THE COMMITTEES !!