ames A4 — Tarrace Standard, Wednesday, June 20, 1990 ERRACE STANDA Publisher: " ESTABLISHEO APRIL a7, 1068 . ' Registration No. 7820 4647 Lazelle Ava., Terrace, B.C., V8G 188 (604) 698-7283 "anv Ue Terrace aro. Publhad cn Washesday oat wook by Caro Pats {1668 Le at 4647 Lazella Ave, Tortate, British Columbia. ; : Stated, photographs, iluestrations, designs and typestyics in the Terace Standard are the property of the copyright hokders, ec ain Pr (08H, its tt ” lwstration repro services: and advertising agencies. : \ Reproduction In. whale of in part, without written parmis or, 13 specifically pro‘ibited, _ Authorized 8 second-ctass mall perdnigy the Post Office Department, tor payment of postage in cash. Production Gu: 4 slim m Coser. ee Manager: ‘Edouard a Credgeur! . ae ae re | Jolt Wage = Paces Kersey — “Comipositor, | Rose Fisher. Front ortice | Manager . 7 Carolyn Andarson — TypesettingDa i vartising, Manager, danet.Vivelros — Advertising Consuk _ sport: “Mateo Baxter ~ “News, rkroom ‘i tant ape San oat cater - Aisi Concultant, Tay Maer - _ Cree Suton a Special. thanks: ny ll "gir contributors and correspondents tof: . ... theif time and: "; & 6, talents. DITORIA], = "The big question associated with city council’s proposed convention/com- munity centre is —- can the taxpayers af- ford it. At an estimated cost of between $4 and $4.5 million, the centre will stretch the ability of local taxpayers to finance it. Of course, local taxpayers won’t be asked to pay the entire cost. City council hopes to tap other sources and there’s that elusive suggestion from council that perhaps (depending upon how close the provincial election is) it can wrangle up to 50 per cent from the folks in Victoria. All this is kind of tentative and that makes council’s job of selling the pro- posal to city residents a bit more dif- ficult. It is kind of strange that unlike the way most of the rest of us do business, council hasn’t first nailed down exact costs before buying the wrapping paper and ribbon for its present to the city. There are some things council must consider before it continues further. One of the most obvious is the participation, if any, with the regional district. Since - Thank you Ona sunny Saturday afternoon last September while most people were either enjoying the: weather or doing the shopp-. - ing, two. unconnected events took:place. One was a toy run organized by the local | Roadrunners Motorcycle Club in aid of needy children. The other was a house fire on a residential street, ~ At both were the local representatives of the Salvation Army — Captain John Harker with the motorcyclists and Cap- tain Gail Harker at the house fire. One - Some questions the proposed center will be used by residents and organizations of surroun- ding areas, council must approach the tegional district with a cost sharing pro- posal. That will follow the city and regional district’s long-standing policy of cost sharing with other facilities. And there’s the question of ‘direct beneficiaries of the center. It’s said it will stimulate the local service industry by at- tracting visitors from out of town, If. that's the case, perhaps an increase in the business tax rate is in order, As well, residents will do well to ask for a break down of expected operating costs before things go too far. Will the center make a profit? If not, who will subsidize its operations and how much might that be? . Allin all, balancing costs of construc- tion and operating against tangible and intangible benefits is a difficult proposi- tion, But it’s one that is vitally important given the kind of commitment city coun- cil wants to undertake on behalf of city residents, accepted the toys on behalf of the children while the other was on hand should help be needed. -. Mas ‘It's that’ kind of} devotion | to 5 duty which has marked the stay. here of the Harkers. In addition to their regular - duties, the pair were also ready and~ available to perform the extras. They are now off to Kamloops for fur- ther work with the Salvation Army. They leave behind a community which is richer because of them. ‘Hig hway haven People are calling for addi- tional conservation officers to deter poachers from stealing our wildlife resource. More like- ly, hiring extra law enforcers will only enhance the thrill of Through Bifocals by Claudette Sandecki ¢ lawbreaking. There’s something to be said for these private enterprisers and binoculars. If we feel without their suspecting. who — without government funding, economic development advice, or taxpayers’ shares —~ have built a booming trade in animal parts with Pacific Rim countries. We seldom stop to consider, _with every animat poached, the remaining beasts. become more rare, more valuable. In addi- tion, culling wild game creates © living space for other wildlife, thus enriching the varieties of species living in any single habitat: .. To stretch the enforcement range of our few conservation officers, we must relieve them - ‘of tedious tasks such as filling out forms in quadruplicate, and waiting around court houses to -be called a3 a witness. - This can be partially achieved if we quit - snitching: ‘on ‘lawbreakers. Bear in mind, "- whenever a conservation officer cis notified of a hunting infrac- tion, he must squander precious “hours ‘visiting the crime scene, . annotating evidence, and finally * submitting detailed findings, in writing, to his superiors for pro- - -secution — so long as the a “Hedy: suspect isn't a native, (This may Fevert when land claims are set- Going» ‘for a ‘drive? Leave > behind papet, “penell, cameia, vulnerable without these ad- juncts, we should restrict their use to recording mountain scenery, birds, and wild flowers, Never focus on jacket insignias, boat registration numbers, or licence plates. We must curb our jealousy if we view a master of the muzzleloader’s antlered showpiece over the den fireplace, or. grinning grizzly skin anchored by a coffee table, Nor should we be envious of the “‘ouide” who buzzes the upper Stikine, sighting from a float plane. If we concentrate on reducing the number of poachings we report, dramatically whittle officers’ workload to manageable pro- portions, considering the vast area each officer is expected to. patrol. Spinoff dollar savings . will show up immediately, - Printing costs for ‘report _ forms will drop, Fewer.‘\file - folders will have to be bought. Neither extra filing cabinets ‘nor storage space for, them will be required.. These office savings can be converted into salities ee for additional officers. © Fortunately, we're beginning to tackle conservation creative-- “ly, Building the Iskut road is an’ innovative way to foil’ Poachers not only will we. The proposed mining road will give moose, deer, and bears an impediment-free racetrack where they'll be able to attain maximum accelleration as they elude helicopter-borne " -poachers. Flecing animals won't have to divert their trajectory dodging stumps or windfalls. This will go a long way to thwart the criminal intent of | trophy hunters, But, if the odd animal does . fall prey to a poacher’s bullet, best of all we'll have standardiz- ed highway signs and mileage markers to help us pinpoint the site for investigating conserva- tion officers. We can’t expect a- ‘single highway to end poaching, butit « will go along way toward that end. THAVESOME COODNEWS, AND THAVE SOME BADHEWS | LINED HEME ACCORD thought you had heard it all, Carol Gran hits you witha — new one. Under fire for im- — - proper use of government airs craft, Gran said she wouldn't release details of the flight logs because it might embarrass the government. The opposition, the minister was siré, would use the infor-.: mation'to rake muck anid the * media. would probably write ‘unflattering things about it. Well now, how about keep . government spending a secret? God knows, neither the op- ‘position nor the media are very ‘supportive of excessive spen- “ding and ruses such as the B.S. Fund, I can understand why Gran balked the NDP demand that she release details of the government fleet-logs, As it turns out, she is guilty of abus- ing the system. . | Government aircraft may be used by the lieutenant- governor and staff, the premier, cabinet ministers and deputy ministers, but only on official business. When the premier went to _ Washington state to meet with the governor, he travelled on a government plane, much to the surprise of Washington state officials who had great dif- ficulty trying to comprehend the idea of a state-owned fleet of aircraft. Gran should have been aware of the rules. As. minister of government services, she's in charge of the fleet of five aircraft. The rules governing their use are clear. Government aircraft are to be used if ‘no regular service is available or the time of any scheduled air service is upreasonable.” Another . ~ ' regulation stipulates that the cost of using a government plane must be ‘economical when comparéd with commer- * cial tariffs."’ Alas, Gran’s knowledge or interpretation of those rules ‘Yeft a little to be desired. She used government planes to commute almost every day, at fl suen! You'Re HUNTING DUCKS (SGA AGAIN [ WHAT OS THE | AO NEWS T.,. fBCKK Ne Gh feu * ‘ i i my VICTORIA — Just when you = ““botsford and back.’ SUBSISTENCE. WATERFOWL HUNTING HAS NEVER CEEN © RESOLVED IN CoURT AS: You Know , HERR OFFICER ATT oe From the Capital by Hubert Beyer least four times a week, bet- . “ween Vancouver. and. ‘Ab. She would take the regular run on the government aircraft to Vancouver, which is fine, but then she’d order the pilot ' to take a side trip to Ab- botsford where the car was parked. |. Gran. says she prefers the government planes because ‘she’s a “‘white-knuckle flyer.” She says she’s afraid of using commercial airlines. Hell, so am I, but can I use a government jet to go to Disneyland in August? No sir. I've got to fly the Friendly ~ Skies, and frankly, so should cabinet ministers whenever ‘possible, particularly in view -of their party’s philosophical commitment to private enter- prise. According to one estimate, which may be somewhat exag- gerated, each side trip to Ab- botsford cost $1,000. At the tate of two trips a day, four _times a week, that’s $32,000 plus a month worth of unauthorized flying by Gran. Compared with other government scandals during the last couple-of years, this one may lack punch, but I doubt that Premier Vander Zalm will find mych solace in the fact that it could be worse. What is it about political: power, real or imagined, that _ changes: people who have - formerly been quite normal in every way? Fiying Phil Gaglar- di‘was probably:an exception. Nobody before or after him abused his or her position quite so flagrantly. But what made Peter Hynd- man, a very able and in- telligent politician, take leave of his senses and charge his ex- pensive taste in wines to the abe! t Aa \K x ee = ees WN ~ taxpayers? “And what did Gran think ‘she Was doing using, a govern: ' ment aircraft to commute? ‘A: few years back; she probably: didn’t even know that the government owned a fleet-of -- aircraft. Now she tells the pilot to take her to her back door, . and never mind the cost.- “~' - The most comical aspect of the issue, however, were her. reasons for not releasing the flight logs. It was so obvious’ that she simply repeated ©.” fragments of the discussion’: that must have taken place’ in cabinet. For goodness sakes, Carol, you can’t release that informa- tion so close to an election, It would embarrass the govern-: ment. The NDP would use ‘it for muck-raking and you know what the media would do with it. Sentiments to that effect must have been expressed by: her colleagues. When she. repeated them in public, *, thereby really embarrassing the government, it didn’t take the premier very long to exercise: some damage control. He pro- mised that the flight logs. would be released, although I should add that it may take, some time before we get the... details. | : Perhaps the government. should consider making more. use of private carriers. H'm-not, saying the-fleet‘should be :, privatized, because transpor-, . ting ministers is only one of its furictions.. 6 ene According to regulations, * “the air ambulance service;. ©: shall have priority for all 23. government aircraft.” 1) 0° wouldn't want to see thats::: changed, but the politicians, can use private carriers. more” ' often. : CE pie pa Lois yet mrs acts sia: wie ILE GALLITY OF GMMERCIMFSIING AY 3 f Eos =) Ss sl ? ‘UNLIKE THE: bu Nee