LOTR ea eR RS re aan a A op Pe NN ee” B12 Terrace Review — Wednesday, January 17, 1990 — Who Sees : Stu Hubbard? ~ ' Stu Hubbard is celebrating his. "third anniversary -as_ head. of STU HUSBARD: Trust, respect and fellowship lead to a very good working relationship. “l can get cocaine at Skeena...”’ Parents learn about local drug trade “There isn’t anything about drugs that 1 won’t talk about.” by Stephanie Wiebe Constable Doug Martin open- ed the Clarence Michiel Parent Advistory Committee meeting with that statement last Thurs- day, Jan. 11. ‘Ill be frank. If you don’t like some of answers, I apologize, but I will give you a _ Straight answer.’’ Cst. Martin is the Terrace RCMP Drug Squad Liaison. “I will tell you what’s going on in this town,’’ he promised, and an ' open discussion about drugs, their availability and usage in ‘Terrace began. “Terrace is a hub community, business and social center, so the majority of drug conspiracies (in this region): come out of Terrace:’””> The RCMP man- power available for drug polic- ing is limited, determined by funding which is mainly federal. But the demand for policing is strong in Terrace. The parent group was told that children are aware of drugs at an early age. “‘In elementary school there is some exposure to drugs. You watch TV and see an egg fried every two minutes,”’ he said, referring to a well known anti-drug advertisement. ‘It’s better to have it wide open, talk about it freely. Put it on the table, hash it out.” Currently in Terrace, the most commonly available drugs are marijuana, hashish and cocaine. ‘*]. don’t like the amount of co- caine in this town,’” Martin said. ‘scan get cocaine at Skeena (school)? he said. Cocaine is easy to get, sold at $200 per gram (about the weight of a _. dime), and: the dealers are cut- ' ting it. into 4 and ‘A gram - weights ‘so the kids can afford ot it?” A common route for co- caine ‘is. from the dealer to a she oy buyer, the buyer then brings it to a party where it’s laid out on a table in lines and then offered to kids at a jow price per line, or even free ‘‘just for a try’. Co- caine is so addictive, says Con- stable Martin, that.a study in the U.S. determined ‘‘that there are. only two releases from coke — death or never take it’’. Cocaine is usually kept in a small square shiny paper ‘‘envelope’’, is diced up with razor blades, put in lines on a mirror, then snorted with a. rolled dollar bill for an instant **high’”’. Because of this instant effect, Martin calls it ‘‘a pig drug’’. Cocaine is often cut with something to stretch out the sup- ply — ‘‘caffeine, sucrose, Drano, whatever’s handy’’. - Crack, refined cocaine, is not as commonly used in this area. **Crack There’s a bit in Vancouver, but it’s not major.’’ Beginning in Korea, its popularity invaded Japan, and then Hawaii, but. “there’s not too much in the mainland.’’ Ice-is a chemical drug, inexpensive and. strong. One ingestion of ice will produce a 24-hour high. Constable Mar- tin says, “If you're into ice, you're finished.” A marijuana joint can be pur- chased in Terrace for $2.50, not . unaffordable to an average kid. “You can... buy a pound -of dope, divide in-down to the joint level, and triple your income.” The kids know where to get it, if they’re looking — or even if they’re not. Marijuana is some- times considered a ‘‘soft’’ drug, not thought of as dangerous or addicting. But the ‘‘high’’ is ad- dicting, and often leads to stgronger, ‘‘harder” drugs. Martin spoke of a person in Ter- race who had followed this road to a cocaine addiction. What can parents do to guide their children away from drug abuse? ‘Be aware, be conscious, evasiveness. -something’s wrong — you can’t isn’t big here yet.. keep talking to your child.’ If you suspect your child may be involved with drugs, Constable Martin even. advises discreetly looking through your child’s possessions. Watch for the signs: red eyes, drug parapha- nalia, an extreme appetite late at night, sleeping in a lot, acting drunk with no alcohol odor, and “don’t want to look at you” ‘‘Moms know fool a mother.”’ The Mental Health Centre has videos about drug abuse. All the schools in School District #88 have a set of three videos for stu- dents, supplied by the RCMP, explaining the effects of drug: usage. These films, collectively titled ‘‘The Open Flame”, are put out by the Canadian Police Chiefs’. Association in conjunc- tion .with Parents Against Drugs. ‘‘The Open Flame”’ com- .pared drug use to putting your © hand in an open flame; ‘“‘you may not feel the pain at first...’ Tt. features’ ‘kids dramatizing situations regarding drug usage, and tells the viewer ‘‘these stories are based on truth’’, _ Martin maintains, ‘‘There’s - 0 many people who will help your child — teachers, clergy,’ friends, but you can’t babysit that child every minute. He has to learn to make his own deci-: sions.’? The key to helping those _ decisions is communication. Ask questions and listen to the an- swers.. Talk about. drugs, admit you don’t know: what’s out there, try to understand. There are signs of current drug education getting through to our kids. ‘‘Maybe the TV. . messages are getting through, even the frying egg, maybe.”’ But communication is vital. Ask your child what's going on in his- school. As Martin says, ‘Try to stay with him, not against him.” municipal works in Kitsum- | kalum Village, just west of Ter- race. Prior to taking the job with ’Kitsumkalum Band, Stu worked in engineering for the Depart- ‘ment of Indian Affairs for just . under 20 years. by Betty Barton " With Indian Affairs, he work- ed as maintenance supervisor, construction supervisor and ‘head of municipal works in Kamloops, Merritt, Williams - Lake, Chase, Bella Coola and - the Terrace district. Stu is a jack of all trades and master of many. He’s mechanically mind- - ed, has plumbing, electrical and and he’s carpentry skills. especially good with people. For 10 years, engineering department of this district by himself, looking after diesel power plants in com- munities without hydro connec- tions, maintaining teacherages, putting in or upgrading water and sewer systems and main- . tenance work. One of the highlights of Stu’s time in Terrace was teaching three successful maintenance construction courses at North- west Community College. Since his retirement from In- dian Affairs in 1985, Stu has continued. doing the work he loves. He is presently overseeing phases two and three of a hous- . ing subdivision at Kitsumkalum, he recently completed a project to link Kitsumkalum’s sewer sys- tem with that of the City of Ter- race, and he will assist Pacific Northern Gas to complete their - gas line link-up to Kitsumkalum — Village. Kitsumkalum Band members provide the basic labor - force for these projects. At Kitsumkalum, Stu is -re- sponsible directly to Chief Councillor Cliff Bolton. He ad- vises and works closely: with Cliff and the council. He is in charge of sewer, water, roads and building maintenance. He | recently took over responsibility . for the 47. homes on the reserve. He does fire training and co- ordinates. village fire protection with * Kitsumkalum'’s volunteer fire department, Stu had worked: with Cliff Bolton, between 1968 and 1985, when Stu was with Indian Af- fairs and Cliff was an active member of Kitsumkalum Vil- lage. Cliff became chief coun- cillor. in 1981. As. soon.as he heard:-of Stu’s retirement, he ap- proached -him with an offer to head municipal works: at Kit- sumkalum. Says Stu, “I find my past experience with the Federal . Government (DIA) an asset to ‘tion of trust, Stu handled the carry out my responsibilities in My present position. with Kit- sumkalum Band. And, needless to say, I use it wherever possible — to the Band’s benefit.” Stu, who reached age 69 on - Christmas Day 1989, jumped. at. the chance to work for Kitsum- -kalum. He knew-he was too young and active to retire. He proudly states, ‘‘The combina- respect - and fellowship between the village residents and myself lead to a very good working relation- ship.”’ Stu and his wife Muriel take : -part in village activities. Muriel and Stu met in Williams Lake, ‘where she grew up. Their ‘son Garnet is. head cook. at ‘the -Golden Flame ‘Restaurant. Daughter Beverley, her husband and their two children live in Terrace as well, Stu was born in Revelstoke i in 1920 to English parents. He began his schooling at age seven | ‘in Three Mile, just 12 miles out of Revelstoke. He and his brother Ernie boarded with teacher Mrs. Abercrombie and her husband. Mrs. Abercrombie began her teaching career in 1924. in Three Mile. When Stu ‘and Muriel took their camper holiday in Sicamous and Revelstoke last summer, Stu was thrilled to find out that Mrs. Abercrombie was still alive — and that she’d written a book. The book .is a pictorial and personal account of life in Sicamous and area during. Mrs. Abercrombie’s . days there. When Stu heard about the book, he just had to. have'a copy of it. An old friend at the Sicamous post office gave him Mrs. Aber- crombie’s address in North Van- couver. On Boxing Day, he ‘called her. She was just as pleased to hear from him as he was to talk to her. They had a long chat and Mrs. Abercrombie offered to send him one of the ‘last copies of the 1,500 she had printed’ of: **Sicamous . and 3. : Valley. Gap’’.. Four .days ater,’ Stu had his book. There is men- . tion of his family throughout the — : book, and even a few photo- graphs, including one of Stu Hubbard and his classmates. Stu hopes to return to Revel- stoke and Sicamous again this ‘summer to renew acquaintance with old air force.and army bud- dies from World War II and to investigate further the many. anecdotes in Mrs; Abercrom- - bie’s book. Stu and Muriel are happy in ‘Terrace, though, and . have ‘no plans to move away. ‘*Terrace.is a good place to live, We know the ropes and we have good friends and family here.”’ “thats since | 1986 the CDA has provided $10,600,000 to diabetes research? For more information, contact your local Branch of the Canadian Diabetés Association or the National Office, 78 Bond Street, Toronto, Ontario M§B.2J8. Association Association canadienne du diabéte - Canadian Diabetes