Ad - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 1, 1998

TERRACE |

STANDARD

ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988

. PUBLISHER: ROD LINK ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. * V8G 5R2 TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 * FAX: (250) 638-8432 EMAIL: standard@kermede.net

Hands off

IT SHOULD be a relatively simple exercise. Call:

up a government ministry and ask them for in- formation on X or Y. After all, those ministries are financed by the taxpayer so a request for what we already own should not be a scary thing.

But it is. Getting information from the govern- ment has always been a problem. Knowledge is power and and who has it, rules the roost.

In 1992, the new NDP government passed en- lightened freedom of information legislation set- ting out guidelines whereby citizens and groups can apply for and then reasonably expect results.

Last fall the NDP government embarked upon a five-year review of the legislation and its work- ings. A committee has yet to report. But this spring the government did an end-run by increas- ing user fees and cutting back on the freedom of information machinery. It also suggested, in or- der to gain support for its changes, that news or- ganizations and opposition political parties were prime users simply to gain information to embar- rass the government.

Yet two-thirds of freedom of information re- quests come from individuals, people looking for information on matters affecting their own lives. News organizations, on the other hand, make up four per cent of the requests.

To cut freedom of information budgets denies citizens the fundamental right to know how government decisions affect their lives. News or- ganizations need this kind of access to keep an eye on what governments do. The government should remember this before dismantling this vi- tal service.

’

. - Be t co

~ ° Forgotten

IT WAS one of scores of press releases which

spews out weekly on the fax machines from a

‘myriad of government ministries, agencies and what not. — |

This one, from the provincial tourism ministry, advertised a new heritage passport program in which people could buy discounted tickets valid at any one of the province’s 12 designated heritage attractions.

Those 12 included marvelous Fort Steele in the Kootenays, Hat Creek Ranch near Cache Creek, Craigflower Manor and Schoolhouse in Victoria and Barkerville outside of Quesnel. Problem is that Barkerville is as far north as the list got. Zippo beyond that.

And that should sound the alarm among north- western tourism operators. With every other eco- nomic sector in trouble, tourism remains an area the northwest should seek to develop.

What about Ksan Village outside of Hazelton or the North Pacific Cannery Museum outside of Port Edward? To be sure, these are not provin- cial heritage sites. But a little pressure from the northwest should be brought to bear to include these in any future kind of heritage passport pro-

gram.

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Serving the Terrace and Thombil area, Published on Wednesday of cach woek at 3210 Clinton Street,

Terrace, British Columbla, VeG 5R2. Stories, photographs, Hlustrations, designs and typestytes in the Terrace Standard ara the property of tha copyright boldera, including Cariboo Press (1969) Ltd., lis illustration repro sorvicas and advertising

agencles. Reproduction in whole of in part, without written permission, is apecifically prohibited, Raa dca vont cieae neh ponding the Post Oca Deparment, fr payment of postage in cash. Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents:

Reflections on parenthood

VICTORIA — I hear a lot about family values lately. Re- tigious leaders use the term. Politicians want to bring fam- ily values back.

Bill Vander Zalm, in his reincarnation gs de-facto leader of the B.C. Reform Party is staking his slill tenuous politi- cal future on family values,

Having raised four children, ray wife and 1 are all in favour of family values, and ] very much want to believe that the political right’s definition of family values coincides with mine, The bruised idealist in me, however, wonders.

My wife and I have had a refresher course in Family Values 101, a course | hope few people will have to enroll in. To make my point, I will have to be rather personal.

it’s been a year and two

months since our son Roderick died. At the time, I thought my

"world was coming to anend.

As the months and years passed, the searing pain gave way to a dull ache, The tears still lowed, but less often, Life must and will triumph over death. ;

Enter Family Values 101, Roderick left behind a beauti- ful eight-year-old little girl. Our son was a single dad, and when he died, my wife and 1 became parents again. Not an

FROM THE CAPITAL HUBERT BEYER

easy undertaking when you’re in your 60s.

Last night, my wife, Pamela and I went out to celebrate Fa- ther’s Day. Pamela wore a lovely black dress my wife had bought for her. | Coa

The evening was marked by

from anecdotes about. her fa- ther to the latest hit songs by singers I’ve never heard of.

And as I kept looking at this young creature, with whose fu- ture we are entrusted, 1 was mesmerized by the changes she had undergone since she became our daughter.

When we got Pamela, she was a child. Now she is turning into a teenager, and il doesn’t take a Tot of imagination to see what she will look like as a

WHEN T GET TANT RAISE, | REALLY DONT WANT... 0D ~—TMGONNA BUY ANOTHER CAR | REALLY DONTNEED... 0 f

pay Ly iis ry

KT

young woman.

Pamela is just a month shy of eleven now, and ] can’t help but compare her intellectual development with my own at her age, There’s no com- parison.

We reviewed the sex educa- tion course before she took it in her school, and I was most impressed, Nothing was left to the imagination, but the course couldn’t have been taught with greater dignity.

It was then that I thought of former premier Bill Vander Zalm’s stubborn objection to sex education in schools. Here’s a man who insists on bringing family values back into society, but who blindly objected to sex education courses in school, Reviewing

someé course material, h¢ said | my Cope feheu ay ST MGGg i doce: at the time the whole emphasis . . "animated conversation, ranging Was Or “T Waiit'to have sex-but |

‘I don’t want'to die.”

We talk to our daughter (granddaughter) about the things many parents have dif- ficulty talking about, but both she and we know that we could never have introduced her to the miracle of creating life as well as the course she took. And for that J am grateful.

People like Vander Zalm have this unrealistic view that all families function like the Cleavers of TV fame. Well,

?

they don’t

For one thing, ‘‘Leave it to

Beaver” never touched on dif- ficult subjects such as abortion, something Vander Zalm and the entire political right. con- sider to be next to devil wor- ship.

I don’t like abortion either, but uatil society can assure every expecting mother that she and her child have a future, abortion will have te remain a valid choice. That’s what we. taught our children, and that’s what we will leach Pamela.

Yesterday, we drove to the Royal Oak Burial Grounds.on the outskirts of Victoria to put flawers on Raderick’s grave. Our oldest son, Chuck, lit a cigaretie (Rod was a pas- sionate smoker, just like me). and placed itnexttothe um. ,

would like to think she was right and her dad enjoyed that smoke, oo,

At any mate, I would like to invite any politician espousing the cause of family values’ to give me a call. I believe I can give them a few pointers.

Beyer can be reached at: Tel: (250) 920-9300; Fax:

(250) 356-9597; E-mait:

huberi@coolcom.com

Raise a stink about litter

Walking the family dog would be an ideal exercise for some- one my age if litterbugs didn’t cause my blood pressure to spike,

Walking requires no special, expensive clothing. You can choose to do it any hour of the day at your own speed, No entrance fee must be paid, no club membership gained, no reservations or appointments made.

Selecting a route is its big- gest stress, You must pick a path avoiding unfenced yards where you're likely to be chal- lenged by = snarling, un- controlled dogs.

Since a developer bulldozed 17 acres of nearby woods and fumed it into surveyed lots awaiting sale, I have to go far- ther to reach unoccupied crown land. These acres, crisscrossed by well worm ATV trails and vehicle ruts several of which have been used to haul out firewood, were new to me.

As soon as I found strewn lit-

ANP OUR PROTECT. Game WILL INCORPORATE Me IRAPITIONAL KNOLLEDGE!

W THROUGH BIFOCALS. CLAUDETTE SANDECKI ter — a pink teddy bear, a kitchen sink, an snarl of clo- thing — [ knew I'd cleared civilization. [ could remove the dogs’ leashes and let them run.

At some risk,

One or two walks were enough to recognize trail markers —- a rusted car body in a clearing, a discarded tire, a lidless plastic carton on its side, a blue plaid shirt, fold upon fold of a kids’ plastic water slide, one black running shoe, an upholstered living

BGuT WHAT

EXACTLY IS FRADITIONAL

room chair, a mound of rusted metal resembling barbells, a box spring, a truck bumper cistom-make of non-slip aluminum.

Garbage or litter, besides being unsightly, and creating an expense for whoever one day buys the iand for residen- til use, poses a risk to dogs’ feet. Broken glass, lumber slabbed through with nails, sharp metal scraps, wire — all are hazardous to animals.

Anything combustible — tires, old clothing, terry towels, lumber — makes ideal tinder

for kids Hicking their Bics. Al- .

ready Thornhill’s firefighters are too often called to brush fires started by kids. Why do lazy adults set up conditions for more fires?

Household garbage and me- chanics’ scrap don’t get left in the bush by dogwalkers or kids riding ATVs. A truck has to be used. So any truck seen going into the bush, especially as it gets dark, is suspect.

Sure, an occasional dog-

KNOWLEDGE 2

Do wquiner ||

walker will drive to the bush to save himself a long walk, or to. bypass a neighbourhood crawl- |.

ing with loose dogs. Any other tnick, take his licence number.

Most people use the landfill; is free, But one or two slobs — and that’s all it takes to lit- ter the bush —- persist. in

dumping their refuse when _

they think no oue’s watching. They should be charged and made to clean out their mess. Any alert neighbour could fin- ger them, ; More and more, citizens are

policing their own nelghbour- .

hoods. In Terrace, residents reported = someone their backyard fences. A break and enter suspect was nabbed by police moments after the crime.

‘In Vancouver, musicians have organized weekly pawn

shop visits to identify stolen ©

musical instruments. We need lo raise a-stink about dumpers and end their

mess and fire hazards in our |

backyards.

Pamela, swears. the cigarette ept glowing olf. and on, as if: someone dragged on it, and I -

hurdling