Ad - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 8, 1995 —

| TERRACE §

STANDARD

ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988

ADDRESS: 4647 Lazelle Ave., Terrace, B.C. * V8G 188
TELEPHONE: (604) 638-7283 * FAX: (604) 638-8432
MODEM: (604) 638-7247

‘North divided

ITEM: “A major community celebration is
being planned by members of the Vanderhoof
Kemano Completion Project opposition coali-
tion.’’ Vanderhoof Omineca Express, Feb. 1,
1995,
ITEM: ‘‘Residents of Vanderhoof and district
who concur with the provincial government’s
decision to Kill the Kemano Completion Project
are justifiably proud of what they have accom-
plished,’ Editorial from the same edition.

And in the end, it all depends upon whose ox is
getting gored. What’s seen as a defeat here is
viewed as a victory elsewhere.

The death of the Kemanoe Completion Project is
proof once again that geography cuts across

political, philosophical, social and economic .

lines. One of the organizers of Vanderhoof’s

celebration is that community’s chamber of com- .

merce manager. Dick Harris, that area’s Reform
MP, is at odds with local Reform MP Mike
Scott. ,

Up until the Kemano decision, land use and
resource issues were generally tagged as being
rural people against urbanites, loggers against
tree huggers, NDP vs. free enterprise, north-
erners against southerners.

It made for easy news stories, easy explana-
tions, easy ways to identify friends and enemies.
It also made for convenient ways for companies,
governments and various interest groups to mas-
sage public opinion. |
But now, post-Kemano, the issue has become
one of nostherners against northerners. At a time
when the lower mainland and Victoria are rapid-
ly developing into a sophisticated urban enclave
with their own priorities and problems, we
hinterland residents are. going to have a more dif-
ficult time than ever to develop a common
identity and voice. © pa

Lost in space

“TRANSPORTER ROOM. Twe to beam up.”’

That’s. what we should all hope for when it
comes to federal revenue minister David Ander-
son and provincial municipal affairs minister
Darlene Marzari. There they were last week —
accompanied by an unidentified Klingon, lasers
and Star Trek theme music — announcing a
federal-provincial grant of $5.7 million to build
something called the Pacific Space Centre at the
H.R. MacMillan Planetarium in Vancouver.

This is to be a world class centre concentrating
on Canadian technology and Canadian space
achievements. Fair enough as far as it goes. But
what’s galling is that the money is coming from
a program originally designed for infrastructure.
That’s the long word for roads, sewers and the
like.

We question the need to spend money on glitzy
hi-tech doo-dads at a time when municipalities
are plagued with deteriorating physical facilities.

Besides, anybody who really wants to get up
close and personal with outer space only has to
visit Dease Lake and look skyward.

ey)
Cou) PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link

ADVERTISING MANAGER: Mike L. Hamm
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur
NEWS COMMUNITY: Jeff Nagel * NEWS SPORTS: Malcolm: Baxter

OFFICE MANAGER: Rose Fisher, Terry Miller
DARKROOM: Susan Credgeur
ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS:

Sam Collier, Janet Viveiros, Tracey Tomas

CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Karen Brunette |

MEMBER OF B.C. PRESS COUNCIL .

Serving the Terraca and Thembill araa, Published on Wethnesday of each week by Cariboo Prass (1969)
“Ltd. at 4647 Lazalle Ava., Terrace, British Columbia. :

Storias, photographs, illustrations, designs and (ypestyles In the Terrace Standard ate the property of the

copyright holders, Including Cariboo Press {1969} Ltd., its illustration rapro services and advertising

agencies, . :

Reprodhetion in whole or in part, withoul written permission, Is specifically prohibitad,

Authorized as Secend-class mail panding the Post Otfica Gepartment, for payment of postage in cash.

COR Ae AY

Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents
- for their time and talents :

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Miner comes up empty —

VICTORIA — “I am dis-
turbed and angered by many
actions, or inactions, of the

NDP government, but in par- .

ticular I’m offended by - their
professions of dedication to
‘open government” on the one
hand while, on the other, sup-
pressing information that clear-
ly falls in the public domain.
“Such blatant hypocrisy is
hardly unexpected with this

- administration, but I find the

following incident especially
galling.’

‘Thus writes Jay Murphy of
Kamloops in a Ielter to me.
Murphy, a professional
engineer, geologist and pros-

_ pector, had applied for funding

under the government’s Pros-
pectors Assistance Program.
His application was turned
down, but that wasn’t what got
him ‘so riled, It was the

_ bureaucratic run-around he got

afterward that set him off.
After submitting his request,
Murphy never heard back from
the mines ministry. But when
the list of names of those
whose applications had becn
approved was made public,
Murphy’s wasn’t on it) Nor
had he been informed that he
request had been tumed down.
He then wrote to a V.A,
Preto in the mines ministry, re-

‘FROM THE CAPITAL”
HUBERT BEYER

questing a list of individuals
and companies that had been
approved for funding under the
Prospectors Assistance Pro-
gram (PAP). He got a letter
back, informing him that com-
panies didn't qualify for PAP
grants and there was, therefore,
no list.

Seems Murphy got his
acronyms mixed up, because
there is also the Accelerated
Mine Exploration Program
(AMEP) and the Mineral Ex-
ploration Incentive Program
(MEIP), under which com-
panies do qualify for funding.

Next, Murphy wrote to the
Explore B.C. program man-
ager, repeating his request,
This time, he got a reply, but it
listed only the companies, not

a breakdown of the individual
grants.

The ministry then followed
up with a phone call to Mur-
phy, telling him that if the
amounts of the granis were
made. public, the companies

‘that had received the money

would be overwhelmed by in-
dividuals and services com-
panies seeking a picce of the
action.

“Tf a company is not too
proud to accept iens of thou-
sands of taxpayers’ money, it
should be prepared to field any
job applications that such good
fortune might generate, don’t
you?”?

Did he get his information?
No, that, according to the
bureaucrat who phoned him,
would have to be released by
‘a higher authority.’ Needless
to say, Murphy is not a happy
camper. Nor, according to the
sentiments expressed in his let-
ter to me, is he keen any longer
on getting a PAP grant.

“T would prefer to cmigrate,
retire or starve rather than ac-
cept a grant from any of those
socialist sons of bitches,’’ he
says.

An finally, Murphy wonders
whether his past public ut-
terances regarding the NDP
government’s mining policies

might have anything todo with —

the rejection of his PAP grant
request. ao
To back up that theory, Mur-

. phy sent along some samples.
One was a Ietter to Premier.

Harcourt, written shortly after
the government declared the
Tatshenshini area a park, kill-
ing a Dillion-dollar mine
proposal. ;

“Tsec they're giving awards
for stupidity now,”’ his letter to
the premicr starts out, ‘‘No
doubt you'll be the recipient of
many more. Your decision to
prohibit mining.in the Tat-
shenshini was a blunder of epic
proportions. ‘You said in your
acceptance speech in Washing-
ton that copper mining in the
Tat would have ‘ruined it
forever.’ That is a [ng lie,
and you know it...”

Well, I don’t know, Jay, A -
diplomat you-aren’t. But since ~
you don’t want any more hand.
outs from those socialist.

s.0.b.s, have you cver consid-
ered writing columns for a
living?

The language needs a litile
cleaning up, but you do have
the killer instinct.. Anyway, 1
thought that giving a little
publicity to your battle with

bureaucrats might lift your .

spirils.

Try giving Budge a

DISCOVERING Acom,atible
writer is too good a secret to
keep. My newest find is Budge
Wilson, author of 14 books
published in 10 ycars, three of
them for grownups.

Her three adult books - “‘The
Leaving”’, ‘'The Courtship,”
and Cordelia Clark’? — are
collections of short stories.
Each story has a beginning, a
middle and a satisfying end.
Characters are average people
living everyday lives until cap-
tured at an extraordinary -mo-
ment,

Her stories never stcop to
sexual gropings, foul language,
or words that require a com-
panion dictionary.

Because the stories are about
adults looking back on their
younger years, the books
please teenagers as well as
adults, ‘‘The Leaving,’’ which
has won much acclaim besides
the Canadian Library Associa-
tion Young Adult Book award,
is now taught in schools.

Budge Wilson lived 33 ycars
in Ontario but now lives in

THROUGH BIFOCALS

CLAUDETTE SANDECKI

Hubbards, Nova Scotia, a fish-
ing village 40 miles from
Halifax. She and husband
Alan, a history professor, have
been married 41 years. They
have two maricd daughters
and two grandsons,

During two years living in
Peterborough, she was neigh-
bour to novelist Margarct
Laurence, The two women dis-
cussed families, relationships,
life... but little writing. Before
Laurence died in 1987, she

declared  Wilson’s stories
“among the finest being pro-
duced in our country.”’

Wilson was baptized Mar-
jorie but everyone called her
Budge, though she doesn’t
know why. In fact, the nick-
name gave her such difficulty
with health cards and cashing
cheques that eventually she
legally adopted the nickname.

Though trained as a teacher,
she never taught. Instead she
worked as freelance artist-
illustiator — and as a fitness
instruclor — until failing
cyesight forced her to give up
photography at age 48,

At age, 50 Wilson began
writing. Two years later she
entered an adult story in a
CEC literary competition, and
won first prize of $2500, En-
couraged, she wrote and pub-
lished individual storics in
magazines and literary jour-
nals. These were collected in
**The Leaving”, published in
1990,

A late starter like Laurence,
Wilson has been writing

THE JAYS CAN HAVE.
THE EAGLE BECAUSE
(FRANKLY) HE'S

A POPE ! :

WE'LL (ALL A FOREST
COUNCIL TOMGHT
AND THE RAVEN
CAN BE OUR,

YES. THE GRAY JAYS
SHOULP BE CHARGED
Be £OR STEALING YOUR
fe SFEC/AL BANNOCK
Be 7TH RAISINS nit?

read

fulltime since age 56, She
writes two and a half to three
hours daily, with a pen. She
docsn’t usc a computer. The
business end of her career «

contacting editors and pub- .

lishers, answering fan mail,
and promoting her books -
lakes up to 30 hours a week.
April, May, October and No-
vember she spends ‘tripping’ -
giving readings, talks, and

workshops to scheol groups, li-

brarians, teachers, and writers.
Jf Canada Council funding
comes through, she'll be in
Vancouver and Richmond the
first week in April,

Two days before her 65th

birlhday she travelled 55 kilo-
metres by snowmobile over the

frozen sca from one northern,
Labrador community to anoth- -
er to talk to yet another Inuit.

school,

Now 67, Wilson says,‘
‘"Writing’s a lot more exciting .

than knilting afghans,”
T hope Wilson never knits.

Lo rite OS 1 imggia ceed eit Satis Ue wed a