PAGE 4, THE HERALD, Wednesday, December 21) 1977: EDITORIAL Who's lying? The public-including Terrace residents has heen and is being steadily fed a series of statements from B.C. government officials to the effect the rambling, “old” buildings comprising Skeenaview Lodge are virtually unfit for human habitation. Further, officials have insisted the building would cost more to renovate than a “modern'’ replacement building; that the woodwork is rotten, fire standards are questionable-and so on and on and on. One might be pardoned for wondering at the bravery of the present staff of Skeenaview at taking their lives in their hands each day they enter the building to work; how relieved they must feel on leaving at the end of their shifts; how concerned they must be for the safety of the elderly occupants. How overjoyed they would be at the realization Skeenaview might he shutdown and the patients transferred to modern, antiseptic, bright, new clean cells (parden us, -“dormitories’” or ‘‘ac- commodations”) elsewhere-such as Smithers, Maple Ridge,-and eventually Prince Rupert. LEAKED REPORT But all this talk of the high cost of renovating the present ‘decrepit Skeenaview complex could be a flagon of fertilizer; a vertable barrel of baloney; and a mish-mash of misinformation if a ‘leaked document” from the Department of Human Resources dated March only last year has any semblance of truth. That survey, reported to be made “IN COMPANY WITH HOSPITAL STAFF AND HANS MORLOCK, DIST. SUPERIN- TENDENT OF WORKS” makes a totally _ opposite evaluation. (The report is reprinted elsewhere on this page, in full). Very briefly, the report says the “rambling, ground floor configuration... lends itself well to senior citizen accommodation. There is good separation of dormitory, activity, culinary, treatment and therapeutic facilities. There is double the amount of space for patients allowed them in new buildings which lends a sense of spaciousness; far more convenient and secure for senior citizens... on and on the report goes praising the superiority of the ‘decrepit’ Skeenaview Lodge. And cost? The cost expenditure for renovations to bring the building up to a reasonable life expectancy of 20 more geod years (the study claims) would be only ONE-THIRD TO ONE- QUARTER THE COST OF A REPLACEMENT BUILDING. It additionally... lists: foundations and structure as good; kitchen and facilities-good; washrooms-good; fire protection-very good... But read the report yourself, and judge for yourself the facts of the survey made by B.C..“6 OWN GOVERNMENT DEPART: MENTS. It surely looks as if someone is lying to the public, somewhere. World Briefs SOVIET PIANIST DIES MOSCOW (AP) — Soviet pianist Yakoy Vladimirovich Flier, a professor at the Moscow Conservatory, has died at age 65, the Soviet news agency Tass reported Monday. The news agency did not say when Flier died and gave no details on the cause of his death. Flier became renowned as a virtuoso pianist at international competitions in Vienna and Brussels in the late 193s. JAILED FOR SPYING PRAGUE (Reuter) — Joseph Grohman, a former Czechoslovak deputy minister of cul- ture, was sentenced Monday to 13% years in jail for spying, the official Ceteka news agency re- ported. Grohman, 57, was accused of spying for a “foreign power’’ for mercenary reasons. No further details of the charges were given. He was arrested in November, 1976, at Prague airport. PLAN HEART COURSE MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama high- school students will be the first in the United States to take compulsory courses in first aid for heart-attack victims, an American Heart Association official said. Starting next September, classes in cardio- pulmonary resuscitation will be mandatory for 10th-grade studen throughout the state. FORMER ADMIRAL DIES TOKYO (AFP) Takeo Kurita, former vice-admiral of the defunct Japanese im- perial navy, died Mon-: day, He was 68. Admiral’ Kurita was commander of a fleet which attacked a large convoy of US. transport ships carrying troops landing on Leyte Island, in the Philippines, in 1944, RELEASE 10,000 TANJUNG KASAU, Indonesia (Reuter) — Indonesia today freed 10,000 political prisoners, held for years without trial, in a move to erase the memory of a bloody Communist coup attempt 12 years ago T prisoners at this deten- tion camp in north Su- matra looked fit, but appeared apathe towards their release. CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY MELBOURNE (AFP) Australla’s elder statesman and former prime minister, Sir Rob- ert Menzies, celebrated today his 8ist birthday quietly at his Melbourne home, Sir Robert retired from polities in 1966. DEFUSE TIME BOMB _ BEIRUT (Reuter) —A time bomb was found inside a suitcase in the Egyptian embassy Monday and defused one hour before it was due to explode, an Egyptian embassy Spokesman said. It was made from about 13 pounds of ex- plosives. FIRE KILLS FIVE DETROIT (AP) Flames raced through a north ‘ Detroit home Monday, killing five chil- dren ranging in age from one to six years old, fire officials said. The parents, 26-year -oli Council Graham and his wife Victoria, 24, suffered minor injuries in the blaze. Cause of the fire was under investigation. Leaked report From: Division of Office Administration and Public Information — DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES Parliament Buildings Victoria, B.C. To: Mr.T.D. Bingham _Desculive Dscelar of Lo nge Planning and Roig sear Deépartment of Human Resources RE: SKEENAVIEW In company with hospital staff and Hans Morlock District Superintendent of Works, the writer made a quick survey of the facility on Friday, March 26, 1876. GENERAL COMMENTS The rambiing, ground floor, exparmy ‘H-Hut” configuration, lends itself well to senior citizen accommodation. There is good separation of dor- mitory,. activity, culinary, treatment, and therapeutic facilities. Further, there is double the amount of space per patient than we ex- rience in new uildings. It lends a sense of spaciousness and is far mote convenient and secure for senior citizens than the multi-floor, elevator equipped, building we have con- as replacements uch a5 onderosa, It is an ideal] site and while replacement costs would be in the neigh-. $92 per bourhood square foot, renovations essentially of a cosmetic nature, would be a quarter to a third of that cost. With building im- provements outlined ow. a life expectancy of twenty years is not unreasonable. Because of site, general condition of building, its con- figuration, and im- rovements made to te, ‘tie writer -would - “recommend im- ~ . provements to ;the existing structure rather than replacement. That comment Is motivated by concern for the patients in the building, staff that are servicign the facility, and cost as a tax-payer. PRESENT BUILDING CONDITION 1.) Foundations land structural good. Footings completely surrounding the building were renewed three or four yearsago at a cost of approximately $60,000. At that time, post and beams bik dns hitsand any including joists and pony wall studs) that required replacing were replaced. 2.) Kitchen and food facilities — good. These were redone and except for construction of an approximately 14” x 9 brick wal] behind stock pots, all floors, ven- tilation equipment, refrigeration, preparation and etc., is good. 3.) Washrooms — geod. Some single _—staff washrooms wire re- tiling and floor re- covering but patient areas are good. 4.) Interior finish. {a) Some wards have been yedone and further redesign of patient areas could do much to ensure complete visual, and improved sound separtion. (b) Floors — much old style battleship Iino except in redone patient lounge area. 5.) Lighting — Much of the area has already been done. Power line has already been replaced but there is a requirement for more convenience outlets. 6.) Heating — There are four boilers, one of which is new to Skeenaview, this one boiler provides half the heating capacity. It is a steam system and while one opinion has it that the present system has a urther ten year life expectancy, if it was to be changed there could be some advantage in terms of staff costs to switch over to hot water system. The — present _ plant requires continuing at- tendance by a stationary engineer. 7.) Insulation and Windows — The building is not insulated, althoug there ma some minimal insulation in - ‘the roof, walls are uninsulated. All windows are the original, single glass, sliding, wooden sashes and shoud be replaced, I understand heating costs are ap- proximately $2,000 per month exclusive of staff cost. ; 8.) Exterior finish — The exterior finish is drop-siding, and appears to “be painted cedar. There is no way the paint can be kept on that siding more than two years without blistering. With no vapour barrier the condensation and moisture is blistered b summer sun wit resulting scaling. 9.) Roof — Roof requires replacement. Aluminum was put along the bottom edge and looks unsightly and probably does not improve winter melt that much. 10.) Grounds — the site with the trees, and generally flat surface is “ideal for senior citizens, but none of the roads are paved and there are a number of bulldings that no. longer serve a required need, These include some residences, water tower, garages, and service ildin wildings. 11.) Water and Sewer — Sewer-wooden stave sewer lines have been replaced and it is my understanding that the program has been completed. Adequate water is supplied through the Terrace public utility. The well and existing water tower system has been out of service for about elghteen months. 12,) Fire protection — The building has good fire separation walls throughout with heat- activated metal fire doors. Fire alarm system, including enuriciators” © provides good “coverage and is operational. Main building completely equipped with automatic sprinkler system. mergency lighting is supplied by. an I.C, emergency generator which at the present time requires manual starting. With a stationary engineer in attendance at all times, this provides good protection. There is an older, 100 gallon pumper truck on the grounds, manned by volunteers under the direction of the chief engineer. This provides first line - fire fighting capacity and would be important, particularly during a heavy show period, but major fire protection is extended by the City of Terrace department. 13.) Laundry — The laundry appears haphazard in its layout and should be redesigned. Present laundry building,. food if retained is not in- sulated and its mechanical system seems limited to a roof- mounted air exhaust fan. RECOMMENDED IMPROVEMENTS In order of priority, the writer would suggest the following inigrovements: 1.) Re-roofing of hospital with duroid shingles, New John Mansville type, giving shake effect would help soften roof lines. 2.) Insulate roof. This could be done by blowing in or opening up and laying batts, whatever is most practical at the time of re-roofing. 3.) Installation of vapour barrier, polyurethane or equivalent foam in- sulation panels and ex- terior stucco. This would go on right over the existing drop-leaf siding and would be the simplest fin way to insulate the ex- terior. ., Recommend stucco because it is relatively maintenance free and still one of the cheapest finishes. With a“psuedo-tudor" finish and the shake style duroid roof, I think the exterior of the buillding could be made quite attractive. As part of this program, win ows should replaced with thermo- A \ | al H \ 4 \\ ; | eee ih “Lh FB ate Pubwig Zo. ws se Citizen) ae pane units complete with slider or other type of opening windows and screens. 4.) Demolition and removal of unnecessary buildings, , including some of the staff housing units. Some staff housing should be maintained to provide for individuals and families, pending their relocation in the community. There are, however, a number of ildings that are not now required and should be removed. This includes the water tower which appears to be struc- turally sound, following repair work a couple of but I un- - has deteriorated and will ultimately have to come down for safety reasons. 5.)Would suggest that we put hip-roof porches on ward ends of H Hut, This would provide a place for residents to be outside in good weather and would substantially soften. the roof-line and get away from the army tuype look. ; 6.) Paving, particularly of the roads in front of the building, providing good vehicle and patient ac- cess to and from the building and particularly for patients an easy method of getting out to the park-like are in front ‘of the building and overlooking the town. Black topping of service roads at the back would be a distinct advantage or at least defining road areas and gravelling. A foot path to the Qc- cupational Terapy area would also be a decided advantage. This program should be accompanied by installation of ramps for wheelchairs in certain areas and wheelchair access to Therapy building. 7.) Laundry. There has been some discussion about establishing a regional laundry and there may have even been some preliminary planning in this area unknown to the writer. Would recommend that we examine _ the possibility of establishing @ regional laundry. This _ |. the” coul be. on Skeenaview site, as high pressure steam would available, and the ‘regional laundry. relation to replacement costs, It is the writer's opinion that we can have a very effective and appropriate program in the existing facility at substantially less capital cost than could be achieved through building replacement. Experience also indicates that the proposed savings attendant upon a modernized _ buildin have not been realiz and that patient care is not that much improved. The attitude of management and staft make programs efficient, effective, and a credit to the Department, not bricks, mortar and shiny brass nameplates. Also recommend that improvements be done on management contract basis with Department of present plant gives every appearance of being a makeshift arrangement. Certainly, the laundry facilities ‘should be modernized if the area does not proceed with a 8.) Hetaing plant. Many may argue with my priorities here, feeling that heating plants shoul be up-dated before we proceed with ‘the items above. If, however, there is no economic cash-flow advantage of changing to hot water system, then the resent system probably has another ten years life span, hein repaired as required, would recommend that a survey be done to determine the economic implications of changeover, however. Public Works acting as. CONCLUSION . general contractor. If the Department is of the opinion that the A. G, Gilmore program, will-continue in Director the Terrace area —thenI AGG-cp believe we should explore cc: Mrs, E, Bristowe _ with appropriate officials Mrs. M. Greening “and "Department > of °° Mr: Woking“! "°°. Public Works, the costs of“ ME!Bilt Robertson’ the above renovations § Mr. T.G: White ~ ~~ and improvements in Mr. H. Morlock Guest Editorial An entertainer, new to our town is appearing locally. Jack McPartlin. He is billed as a political satirist, Without attempting to fill the role of reviewer-nor to assess the callibre of humour in his patter-one cannot help but be brought up short by his predictions and warning for’ a 1978 Federal election return of the Liberal Government of Pierre Elliott Trudeau and:A reversion to the economy of the late 20's and the 30’s. And we all know what that means...It seems so unlikely, if not impossible. We’re much more in tune with circumstances teday-we know the igns-we know how to copeBUT DO WE? t us, for a moment examine a few of the current economic storm signals and consider whether or not all is well. Two shattering monthly indicators were thrust at us, almost on succeeding days, last week, The Unemployment rate for Canada reached 8.4 per cent of the labour force-the highest levels since the Great Depression. This was followed by the report of an alarming jump in the Consumer Prince Index to 9.1 per cent for the year (on.an annualized basis), Not to far short of the 10.6 per cent levels of 1975, which prompted the in- troduction,at the time, of the Federal Controls programme. We are assured, but perhaps not comforted that there are some logical explanations for the apparent unsettling posture of our economy. On the one one hand it seems that the bulk of the unemployment is found amongst our young people. Some arguments would suggest that many of those are not working-by choice. In the large work force grouping, of male, aged 25 and over, the current unemployment rate is reported to be 3.4 per cent, A level considered to be close to “theoretical’’ full unemployment or at least clost to a practical minimum under existing wnemployment insurance conditions. On the other hand, the seasonally higher cost of food because of the need toimport more at this time of year, together with considderable in- creases in transporation costs (particularly related to oi!) have reportedly pressured con- sumer prices abnormally. . Nevertheless, we are told that, federally we can look to better days ahead. Our P.M. and his nance lieutenant tell us that inflation in 1978 will fall to 6 per cent in spite of the removal of control on April 14. Apparently, by some mysterious slight of hand, wages and salaries, without controls next year, are expected to rise somewhat less than the 7.5 experienced so far this year. Unemployment will suddenly be turned around and our fragile economy will improve. All this, in the face of the ominous warnings of Statistics Canada-a department of the same Government that is assuring us things are going to be 0.K.- They say- “Unless something happily unforeseen occurs the jobless rate will remain at about 8 per cent inflation will continue to eat a significant amount of individual and corporate income and the Canadian dollar will remain devalued in terms of its U.S. Cousin. : So where does all that leave us here in British Columbia? Very, very, vulnerable. Our unemployment rates probably exceed the national average. If you’ve been shopping lately, and who hasn’t, you might well conclude that if we don’t lead the nation in escalating prices-we must be darn close. And.while the devalued Canadian dollar aids the Province’s exports, there must be a market demand for our. goods or else all the production in the world, even with favourable exchange rates, will not provide a stimulant to our economy. Quite apart from the fact that we do enjoy a reasonable abundance of natural resources, fairly high technology and a skilled workforce, the reputation that this country has in foreign markets is: that we have serious environmental constraints on resource development, our labour force is unsettled, there is significant overlap amongst Governments and their agencies and our productivity is poor. These points were brought dramatically home . to the Premier of Ontario, Mr, Davis, recently when he visited Japan. It wouldn't be surprising if Messrs. Phillips and Waterland did not hear likewise while they are there, It is foolish for us to ignore the facts. We must hide our pride, roll up our sleeves and “dig in". The world may not by out of step with us we may be with it. Out attitude and efforts will be the measure of the success of our recovery. It's time we saw it likeit is accepted the facts and cleaned up our act. No one wants a rerun of the 30's. Only we, with understanding, cooperation and determiniation, can prevent it, TERRACE daily herald General Office - 635.6357 Circulation - 635-4357 Published by Steriing Publishers PUBLISHER... W.R. (BILL) LOWELLE EDITOR ... ERNEST SENIOR . Published every weekday at 3212 Kaium St., Terrace, B.C. Amember of Varifled Circutation. Authorized as second class mall. Registratiori number 1201, Postage pald In cash, return postage guaranteed, NOTE OF COPYRIGHT The Herald retains tull, complete and sole copyright In any advertisement produced andor any editorial or photographic content pudlished in the Herald. Reproduction Is not permitted wlihovt the wrilten Permission of the Publisher.