The Terrace Standard, Wadnesday, February 21, 1996 - A3 Rowdy teens | aproblem _SHAPE UP or ship out! Thal’s the message Skeena Mall Manager Lynda Lafleur is sending to the tecnagers who spend hours ‘hanging around there. She says the ongaing problem came to a head Feb, 5 when about 50 teens congregated at the mall. Some she says were very loud, and using foul language with other people they knew who were also in the mall. “It’s a public place and we have a slandard of behavior,”’ Lafleur says. “If anyone misbehaves, we ask them to leave ‘On the ‘night i in “question, Lafleur Says she was persistent, ‘and personally asked more than 20 kids to leave. Youth addictions counscllor Greg McQuarrie says some of teens be counsels tald him they at the mall because there was supposed 1o be a fighl. He says he was told there was some pushing and shov- ‘ing, but nothing too serious came of it. '‘This just highlights the lack of things to do,’’ said McQuarrie. Lafleur agrees, saying there’s really no place for teens ta hang out in the cily. And ‘she says the kids hang out at the mall out of boredom, “But the mall doesn’t have a prob- ‘lem,’’ she says. “The community does,”’ , Lafleur’says the February 5 incident was an isolated one. “TUhasn’t happened since and if hasn’t happened before,” Lafleur says. '‘Il’s just an indicalion there’s nothing for the ‘kids to do.” McQuarrie says this is not a new problem by any stretch of the imagination, but that’s exaclly wuat it’s going to take lo come up with a solution. ~ “There needs to be a commitment among the various agencies in town to work together,’’ he says. “It’s not so much a question of dollars, as it is time.” He says is a shame that a number of youth programs have been scaled back over the past few years, and adds il’s going to take cooperation to put an end to this debate. McQuarrie says he counsels about 200 high-risk kids; those who are involved with drugs and alcohol and don’t have any positive influences in their lives. ‘‘That number is high, but we are a hub area,”” he says. Native youth and family advocate Bill Christiansen took his concerns about the incident to Terrace city council on February 12. He told council members that many of the -kids who hang out al the mall spend most of their time on the streets, and so thinks solutions could be rare, He plans to approach various committees and agencies ‘wilh the intent of coming up with something concrete. Christiansen says he hopes to organize a youth confer- ‘ence for the spring of next year. “In the meantime I'll be ‘spending a lot of time oul of the office, talking to kids on lhe street and basically trying to help them,”’ he says. ‘Lafleur says she figures she’s doing the kids a service by ‘kicking them out of the mall. ‘‘It’s really frustrating, but I -can call the home/school coordinators and when the kids ‘see them coming, they run,”’ she says. ‘I can keep them -out of the mall, but ?m worried about the town,’’ . But the director of the Terrace probation office says care ‘must by taken not to blow the issue out of proportion. “It’s not always right to assume they have nothing better But she’s quick to point out that what happened at the ‘to do when they hang around,’’ says Kerrie Reay. ‘‘That’s . ” . . 5 ; an important part of social development.” a S| ip s| I d I at away ‘ News In Brief Look way, way, way up STUDENTS AT the University of Northern British Columbia face up to a 25 per cent increase in tuition fees next year, The fees will likely be upped because UNBC is facing an cight per cent reduction in its budget, “Is pretty bad,’? admitted UNBC media officer Rob van Adrichcm, ‘But not anywhere near as bad as Ontario.”? There students might face even higher in- creases. The reason for the crunch this next fiscal year is be- cause the {ederal government is reducing the amount of moiicy it transfers lo the provinces. Right now a full time student at UNBC pays $2,257 for.a full course load each semester, That will go up to $2,820 if the increase goes through. A semester-long course costs $225, and that will rise to $282. Suill, the cost of educating a student is a Jot more than whal students actually pay, said van Adrichem, Some students bave asked why the administration can’t take more of the budget cul, but van Adrichem “says the cuts have to be spread around, “If administration paid it all, that would be a big dif- ference in the amount of service they could provide,”' said van Adrichem. Students will know for sure what kind of cuts they can expect by the end of March. The reason why the university released the informa- tion carly is to help students plan budgets for the next year. B.C. really plugged in THAT RECENT cold weather period resulted in an all- lime one-day demand for hydroelectricity, reports B.C. Hydro. It says enough electricity was used on Jan. 29 to mect the annual requirements of 17,700 homes. The amount was 8451 megawatts. By way of comparison, B.C. Hydro exported 138 megawatts to U.S, customers. One with a view, please EVER GOT up carly in the moming, raced to the next provinctal campground and drove around frantically to find a vacant spol? Those days are over at 42 provincial campgrounds as of this summer because there’s now a reservation sys- tem, I's called Discover Camping and features a toll-free number through which campers can make reservations beginning March 1. “Between 1990 and 1995, campground visits in- creased by more than 20 per cent. As a result, people who would otherwise go camping have chosen not to because of lincups and overnight waits,’? said parks minister Moe Sihota in announcing the system. None of the 42 campgrounds are in this area and the closest one is Beaumount Park, just outside of Fort Fraser. Sites can be booked as late as two days prior to ar- rival and up to three months in advance. The toll-free ‘congregate and be with peers, and there will always be a ifringe group which harass people,’’ Reay says. “If it mall can’t be condoned. “‘It is a developmental thing to THE BRIGHT SUN and warm weather last week fooled a few people into thinking it was spring. Young Dakata Sampson decided it looked like a perfect day to play on the slide. She’s hoping for an early spring. number is 1-800-689-9025, ‘doesn’t happen at the mall, it'll happen somewhere else.”’ She agrees kids in Terrace do need more social options, . bul stresses they must be affordable for everybody. asireine § BRING YOU THE Wort | Experience the Emerald Isle FR - IRELAND. ; ie Come experience the magic that [s Ireland, aa [lecir the stories and legends of the Emerald Pee = isle as you travel across its breathtaking mountalns and haunting moors, 10 day “Irish Explorer” . 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