Aé - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 1, 1999 CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD Dear Sir: mecting. Dear Sir: When I came to Ter- race in 1948 to work as a nurse in the Red Cross Hospital, which was newly opened that year, we had two physicians and eleven that time about a thousand population. Later, about 1953, we had 25 beds. , Now, in 1999, we are expecting to see the num- bers of beds reduced to 15. We have numerous gen- eral physicians and spe- cialists who have made a Better lights An open letter ta: Jack Talstra, Mayor, City of Terrace Dear Sir: I am 14 years. of age and [ would like to make a complaint about the street lights in the Terrace and area. 1 feel that the street lights are too dim. My friends and I are scared for our safety because there are many possibilities of people assaulting, steal- ing, or running us over. Just the other day my friends and 1 almosi got run over because the driver couldn’t see us. We pay taxes to light our city, yet it is too dark. There should be pedestrian lights on every crosswalk that don’t have intersec- tion lights. It’s too dark and you can’t see anything in front of you until the last minute. We need brighter lights in our community and highways, especially around Terrace and Thorn- hill. Kara Leslie, Terrace, B.C. —SHOPPERS ‘DRUG MART CORRECTION Dua to quality problems, the Winne the Poch ond Barbie Jowellary in a Tin Box advertised on fe 17 of the SHOPPERS DRUG MART gift book in effet December 24, 1999 may not be ovaileble ot oll locations, We opologite for any inconventence that this moy couse. is now accepling orders far: Free Range Organic Turkeys Delivered by Dec. 18 1999 Coming soca: Oigenic Produce 635-9722 Nancy LIPO beds to serve the area, at a must After attending the mecting Nov. 13 regarding the crises al Mills Memorial Hospital, | came away wonder- ing if | should have surgery-at St..Paul’s. in. Vancouver, where they kick out-of-town patients out on the street prematurely after surgery, or, should I have it at Mills where they are so understaffed and underfunded the claim is that they are putting patients’ lives at risk. Even though he was supposed to be there, our MLA, Helmut Giesbrecht didn’t attend the public spirited A year ago I called his office and was told in no un- certain terms that there is no such thing as-a regional hospital. This must come as a surprise to Prince Rupert and Trail, which are both regional. I was told that instead of having a regional hospital, northern health care was decentralized between Terrace, Stewart, Hazelton, Prince Rupert and Kitimat. The idea being that respective specialists would serve in each of ihese hospitals and patients would be duly directed to the onc where they could find the expertise. It’s the same old story of the NDP’s uncanny ability to turn gold into lead! The reality is that in the name of great commitment to the city and its hospital. We are in danger of losing some of them if the num- ber of beds and the corre- sponding staff require- ments are not met. This is an urgent appeal to all concerned to press The Mail Bag NDP, Giesbrecht asleep when it comes to hospital efficiency the government has each of these hospitals squeezed down to a skeleton staff and cach scrambling for whatever funding scraps they can get from Victoria, -- A few months. ago when | was told that, excluding: the -- psych ward, Terrace had gone from over 90 beds in 1993 lo only 15 beds in 1999, the NDP regional office in Ter- race phoned back and toid me not to worry: Mills was getting an additional 10 beds. -. This, of course, begged the question: where does Mills get the staff 10 attend to these 10 beds, which still leaves a shortfall of 65 beds, On paper Victoria is claim- ing that Mills. has 52 beds but they only have staff on a casual/on call basis for only 15. Under these conditions benefits are not available to staff, which will not attract new nurses to Mills! That's what they call bedsheet bingogate. So you see it’s not that Helmut is afraid of Bill Mc- Rae or Jack Talstra being part of a new Crash Helmut conspiracy. He’s been suffering from narcolepsy on this issue for years. Whenever he gets a wake-up call he just hits the snooze alarm aad goes back to sleep. Brian Gregg, Terrace, B.C. for more funds to keep our hospital solvent, to make it a regional hospital, as it certainly serves more than Terrace’s and Thornhill’s residents. The governing structure needs some alteration to Urgent appeal to help Mills make it more efficient. J appeal to others to make similar requests to provide better. service to our citi- zens. Frances Perry Lindstrom, Terrace, B.C. Chie G Mle MAS TEL geore oy Yo TAKE HOME A LIVING SYMBOL OF CHRISTMAS FOR'SUST $9.99! Part of the proceeds from our Christmas trees will go to our local Salvation Army. So you'll be helping keep the Christmas spirit alive by helping families in need in our community. As a special thanks we'll reward you with a FREE Mikchurger, a dessert coupon and a $5 Gift Certificate, And keep your eyes peeled - your - ie may come with a special dinner for two coupon! Just ask us for details, sorry for quote Dear Sir: *-- The Nov. 24, 1999 arti- cle in The Terrace Stan- If you've got EMAIL, you can reach us . : electronically. We welcome letters; °°" news tips, sports and community: contributions, and feedback of all.typ "standard@kermode.net dard entitled “New health “spending plan wanted” contained some erroneous information. ‘IT was quoted as saying “But because Prince Ru- pert Regional Hospital has been unable to recruit an internist, it sends patients to Terrace’s ICU.” [ apologize to the mem- bers of the Northcoast Health Council, the medi- cal staff and the staff of The Uni-mount . snow plow fram " Western. ‘When’: you remove the ~~ plow, you remove the mount too, Quick and easy. WESTERN call us at 635-6334 | ir, ATRRONT (Ee S IMGs Te ou, SUPPLY AUTO PARTS: & SEAVICE CENTRE 4641 Keith Avanue, Terrace, B.C. V8G 1K4 the hospital for this quote. I have since been in- formed that Prince Ru- pert’s ICU is, in fact, func- tioning. I have also learned that Prince Rupert is looking to recruit additional resources for their [CU and I feel that this would greatly benefit the people of the northwest region. I was also not entirely pleased with the tone of the article. E feel some of my comments were taken out of context and did not accurately convey the message I was trying to get across. I will no longer be par- ticipating in verbal inter- views with the paper, but will be happy to reply to any questions in writing. Bob Kelly, Terrace and Area Health Council FAREWELL After 22 years of dedicated service to Totem Ford, Ron Bartlett will be leaving our team to explore a career new opportunity with CFNR- radio. Ron’s decision was made with much emotion and we wish Ron every suc- cess in his new endeavor. WESTSIDESTORY Based on a Conception of JEROME ROBBIKS sook ARTHUR LAURENTS musicty LEGNARD BERNSTEIN ricsty 9 FEPHEN SONDHEIM Entire Original Production Directed and Choreographed by JEROMEROBBINS == CALED A 2 Parental Guidance Originally Produced on Broadway by Bobert L Grilfitiiand Harold 8, Prince , OW Arrangecuant with Bayer b Slavens R. E. M. Lee Theatre Friday, December 3, 1999 Saturday, December 4, 1999 -- 1 p.m. Saturday, December 4, 1999 -- 8 p.m. Evening performances $13 (including surcharge) - ee Matinee performance $7 (including surcharge) ; Tickets available from SIGHT AND SOUND, SKEENA MALL | CALEDONIA SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL OFFICE CALEDONIA FINE ARTS STUDENTS ONIA FINE ARTS -- 8 p.m. Marcie Pritchard Terrace Sight & Sound Holly Norman Images by Karlene Trudi MacLean Keenleyside Insurance Sandra Burton SpeeDee Printers Kelly Thompson Ron Bartlet Northern Photo Stacey Buteau Totem Furniture Eunice Sabino Terrace & District Credit Union * at the merchants listed below. Coast Inn of the West/White Spot Scotia Bank Jef Davidson Terrace Builders Fred Downer - A & W Restaurants (Keith Ave, | LG. Shirey Your Decor Susan Fehr _ Tymoschuk Agencies ~~ Percy Gavronsky Aqua Clear Botlers Bob Price Canadian Tire Peter Marshall Terrace Home Hardware Ivy Sorenson Misty River Books Pendragon Computers Don Ritchey ~ River Industries Leyton Freeman Gemmo’s Boutiques Joanne S. Nielsen Terrace Subway Anita Aszody ~ Lunchbox Deli Maria Beaupre Hairwaves Sclon Frank Walker Irly Bird-First Choice Builders Nancy Inkster Mr, Mike’s Grill lrene Ritchey