Time. fe or r Books “New adventures from ~ Michener and Engel - by. Andrea Deakin ‘The end of January saw the launching of Book Tokens . ‘Canada, For over 50 years a book token scheme has flourished in - ‘the-United Kingdom, and now the Canadian Booksellers Associa- -- a tion has launched a similar scheme here. It certainly makes. it a lot easier to give a booklover the gift of their choice without duplication! It also solves the difficult problem of what to give a_ child with changing tastes, or what to present as‘a prize or a token of thanks to a guest speaker, A wide choice of gift cards covers every occasion. To these are added tokens to the value you wish to give. The recipient can take this gift certificate into any’ participating bookstore and exchange it for books to the value of the card. Nearly 50 bookstores i in British Columbia have joined the scheme already. . The story line of James Michener’s Journey was originally a part of his novel Alaska, When his U.S. publisher requested that he shorten the manuscript of that book, the suggestion was made -that he cut out a story set in Canada. James Michener was at- tached to the tale however. He had spent a considerable amount ’ of time researching this segment, and he was-distressed to feel it would not be published. He restored parts of the original ‘- manuscript which had been cut to fit Alaska, and set out to search for a Canadian publisher who would publish the story. So Journey came into-existence. Journey is the story of a group of men from England who set out for the gold fields of the Klondike. The group consisted of Lord Luton, an experienced explorer; his cousin Harry - Carpenter; his nephew. Philip Henslow; Philip’s close friend, poet Trevor Blythe, and Lord Luton’s gamekeeper, Timothy Fogarty... Lord Luton. makes one stipulation: the route must not cover - American soil. In Edmonton the group finds conflicting informa- - tion. Luton leads his group down the Athabasca and Mackenzie. Rivers through terrible conditions, It takes Luton one hundred ° " weeks to reach the Klondike, a journey others have done i in fif- '. teen weeks, and three members of the party are lost. Written in disciplined, tightly-knit prose, suggestive of similar accounts written at the turn of the century, Journey proves just how good a writer Michener can be. The atmosphere, the. = — character of the men, the pity and compelling drama of the tragedy are firmly and effectively presented. In this book, Michener has encapsulated the harsh land and the folly and - courage. of men. He has burnished and perfected the tale, and it. remains vividly in the mind. Jourtey is published by McClelland and Stewart at $24, 95. When Pambos Kiriakis hires Benny Cooperman to find a miss- | ing list, Benny has no idea how far the search will take him. The list includes the names of some of Grantham’s most influential ' citizens, citizens who have borrowed paintings at some time from Arthur Tallon’s Contemporary Gallery. Benny soon finds that art can lead to murder, ‘his client is found dead, and: the shoes peek- ing from under a curtain at the scene of the crime are Benny’ s. The trail leads from the mysterious death of Napoleon on St. ‘Helena to a massacre at Cyprus, a British officer, and back to Grantham. Howard Engel enjoys a complex plot, and A Victim | Must be Found is no exception. With great skill and ingenuity, he - weaves together all his strands, taking a sideways look at the world of art collecting and small town-rivalries on the way. Howard Engel has written one of the best Benny Cooperman mysteries to date, offering not only a lively intriguing story, but also a Benny much more in depth. It is as if the character has shed.some of his eccentricities for the real man to come through, and a most sympathetic character he has become, complex, almost uncertain about life; like many of us, part tart, sharp and brittle, part compassion and.understanding. Perhaps it is time for Benny to. leave his small town and tackle.the world. A Victim Must be-Found is published by Penguin. Books at $22.95. ARE YOU GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR COMPUTER? IF NOT... . CALL (635-3444 AND ASK FOR RAINER. ‘ONE-on-ONE Training in Most Business Applications ON-SITE Software Troubleshooting ACCOUNTING Sofiware Installation & Conversions in major packages Including ACCPAC, BEDFORD, & NEW VIEWS GENERAL COMPUTER CONSULTING and SYSTEMS SETUP RAINER GIANNELIA SYSTEMS, P.O. BOX eal, TERRACE BC, V8G 488 (604) 635-3444, Terrace Review — Wednesday, March 8, 1989 17 _ Health: labor battle brewing | ‘The next- big dustup | on the Bc. labor relations scene may * take place . in the health care "arena. On March 31 the current collective agreement between the _> Health Labour Relations Asso- cation and the. B.C. Nurses. - Union expires, . ‘The HLRA ‘represents 142 hospitals and other health care institutions, and the BCNU rep- _ resents about ° 7,000 nurses who ‘staff them. Contract’ nego- -tiations began Feb. 9, and the nurses are talking tough. Initial discussions closed with a falling-out over the issue of a media blackout on the negotia- ‘tions, with the BCNU claiming that the HLRA wanted to ex- tend the embargo to cover pub- lic discussion of all health care issues, not just the contract ~ talks. Just before a second meeting on Feb. 20, the BCNU sent out a public. summary of their bar- - gaining position: @ Average wage increases of 33 percent — general duty hospital nurses would go from $15.07 per hour to $20. the starting rate for’ ‘@A professional responsibility clause in the collective agree-: ment that would allow nurses to ‘correct patient care problems where they work, @ Shorten the work week from 37-1/2: hours to 35, allow more flexible scheduling, and reduce the number of consecutive shifts nurses are réquired to work from seven to five. @ Improved provisions for shift. differentials, call-backs and overtime, and the introduction of a weekend wage premium. . @ More exact occupational health and safety provisions, allowing nurses the right to re- fuse work in unsafe conditions; better monitoring of gases and other workplace hazards, and a formal agreement on safe staff- ing levels. @ Paid professional develop- ment time. Ursula Althaus, Terrace rep- resentative for the BCNU, said in an interview last week, “They’ve just started talks, so there hasn’t been anything earth-shattering happen. yet. They’re still going through each others’ proposals.’ Althaus said South African to speak Terrace residents interested _ in getting first-hand information on the current situation in South Africa will have their chance tomorrow night, Bafo Nyanga, a member of the South African Congress of Trade ‘Unions, will be speaking: at the Carpenters’ Hall March 9, beginning at 7:30 p.m. , Nyanga was born in the Cape - province of South Africa in 1954. While working as a lab assistant in a chloride plant that . manufactured battery elements he attempted to organize work- ers into a union, He later helped ‘organize the South African Allied Workers and became an executive member of the United Democratic. Front, and after- ward was involved in founding the South African Congress of ‘Trade Unions. a He escaped South Africa in 1985 and is now posted in Cana- | da as a representative of SACTU. in schools; public forum In addition to his appearance at the Carpenters’ Hall, Nyanga will also be speaking to students at Skeena and Caledonia schools. Nyanga’ s visit to the North- west is being sponsored by the Kitimat-Terrace and District La- bour Council and the North West Development Education Association. For more informa- tion call 635-6410 or 635-2436. + the next bargaining session was i scheduled to begin March 6: Mills Memorial. Hospital em- ‘ploys, 81: BCNU: members. The nurses are tying their “contract proposals tohealthcare . issues, saying - that anything . gained in the areas of wages, working conditions,. and. other job-related: factors for. the - BCNU will be reflected in better patiént care in B.C. hospitals, long-term care facilities and’ . other health institutions. Their figures state. that B.C. has the second lowest paid care hours - per patient day of any province in Canada,.and ranks sixth in maximum wage level for general duty nurses and fourth in start- ing wage rate. The BCNU says the B.C, health. care system is beginning to go. through a recruitment crunch for hospital nurses, with the average monthly . vacancy rate in 1988 — 467 — being the highest this decade. In a statement three days pri- “or to the last bargaining session, BCNU president Pat Savage said, “Since the early part of this decade, the system has been eroding. Today, staffing levels are in crisis, and most of our patients do not receive the quali- ty of care which we have been educated to provide. **,..We will no longer try to ‘make do’ with a chronic nurs- ing shortage that hurts us and ‘our patients. We will no longer accept intolerable conditions for ourselves and our patients. We will no longer carry the whole load when employers and the’ provincial government fail to ‘meet their responsibilities for health care.”’ PSYCHIC LLANA_ RETURNS Past, Present and Future Revealed Terrace: ‘March 19 thru 24 ‘Smithers: March’28 thru 30 One hour session $25.00 In Terrace Phone: Sharlene 635-5338 by appointment In Smithers Phone: Roxane 847-5752 DOORS OPEN AT 4:30 P.M. 6090900 __ Lucky Dollar Bingo Palace 4818 Highway 16 West ~. . SUNDAY: Terrace Athletics Association _.. MONDAY: Terrace Minor Hockey ~ “‘JUESDAY: Kermode Friendship Society -. WEDNESDAY: Terrace Blueback Swim Club -. THURSDAY: 747 Air Cadets ee Ladies of the Royal Purple ~ FRIDAY: Canadian Paraplegic Association - SATURDAY: B.C. Paraplegic Foundation Terrace Peaks Gymnastic Club 1 8 “Regular ‘Games Kinsmen (Age 14 years and up) (Alternate) EVERYONE WELCOME! Thank you! Have a Nice day!