A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 27, 1996

TERRACE

STANDARD

ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988

ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Strect Terrace, B.C. * V8G 5R2
TELEPHONE: (604) 638-7243 * FAX: (604) 638-8432
E-MAIL: terrace.standard@sasquat.com
MODEM: (604) 638-7247

Not needed

YOU HAVE to wonder if North Coast MLA
Dan Miller isn’t flexing his new cabinet posting
as employment and investment minister. His
plan for a $108 million bridge and road network
connecting his hometown of Prince Rupert with
that city’s airport on nearby Digby Island and
Port Simpson and Metlakatla is fanciful to say
the least.

In an era of high taxes, big deficits and tight
government budgets the idea seems to come
from the pages of a science fiction novel. $108
million? You can bet the final price tag will be a
lot higher — there isn’t a government project in
history that hasn’t started with one figure only to
lead to a much larger price tag once the dust
settles and the bills come in.

We're not arguing against the principle that
every British Columbian should enjoy equal
transportation access. Far from it. We’re arguing
that some things are just so expensive the costs
far outweigh the benefits. Mr. Miller’s bridge
idea fits that last category perfectly.

But politics is politics and Mr. Miller seems to
have jumped right into the swimming pool of
election preparations. Funny thing is that Mr.
Miller is extremely secure in his North Coast
riding. It would take a nuclear warhead to dis-
lodge the NDP from that seat.

Mr. Miller has proven himself to be a more than
adequate representative of his riding. Why then
would he need to propose something like this?
One answer is that the project very much rests on
receiving $30 million in federal money. There’s
little chance of that happening. So this opens the
scenario of Mr. Miller getting lots of ink in criti-

cizing the feds for not becoming involved, He

then gets to walk away ‘coddling ‘the image of’a’”

fighter who tried to help out his constituency.

In this area the suspicion is that our airport and
the one on Digby Island are going to end up ina
competitive struggle for survival once federal
subsidies end. A land connection to Digby Is-
land, goes the theory, would better position that
airport to continue operating.

But that need not be the case. The area would
scem to be large enough and economically
healthy enough to sustain two decent size air-
ports.

Mr. Miller should shelve his project before it
becomes a bridge too far.

Not the sticks

TO THOSE who regard the northwest as being
in the sticks, think again.

There’s been an amazing spurt of local and out
of town talent gracing Terrace and area
audiences lately.

UHF came to visit as did rising country super
Start Lisa Brokop. The Terrace Concert Society
has finished its run of productions for another
season and local drama continues to provide
audiences.

Top all that off with the variety of local talent
for Terrace Little Theatre’s Applause 796 and
we're blessed with more than enough op-
portunities to brighten up the days leading into
spring.

PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link
G@ona ADVERTISING MANAGER: Mike |. [lamm

PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur
NEWS Jeff Nagel » NEWS SPORTS: Kathleen Brandsma
COMMUNITY: Cris Leykauf
OFFICE MANAGER: Audra Creek
ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS:
. Sam Collier, Janet Viveiros, Tracey Tomas
ADVERTISING ASSISTANT: Emmi Law, Kelly Jean
~ DARKROOM: Susan Credgeur
CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Karen Brunette
MEMBER OF B.C. PRESS COUNCIL
Serving the Terrace and Thornhill area, Published on Wednesday cf each week by Cariboo Press (1969)
Ltd. at 3210 Clinton Streef, Terrace, British Columbia, VaG 5R2. .
Stories, phatagraphs, illustrations, designs and typestyles in the Terrace Standard are the property of the
copyright holders, including Cariboo Press (1969) Lid. its illustfation repra services and advertising
agencies. ; :

Reproduction in whote of in part, wilhout written permission, is specifically prohibited, ;
Authorized as second-class mait pending tiie Fost Office Oepartmanl, far payment of postage in cash.

CONTACIL EG

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

CMON,. KNOCK IT OFF

THIS THING 15 WEIGHING

A TON...

A father mourns for his son

VICTORIA — My dear, dear
Roderick. You were bom on a
cold winter’s night in Win-
nipeg on November 29, 1962.
You died in a spring night in
Victoria on March 13, 1996.

I sit here in the press gallery,
trying to make sense of il. All J
cam come up with is tears.
Something inside compels me
to write this. No parent should
have to bury a child, It offends
the natural order.

How gladly I would trade
places with you, I have bad a

full lite of which you were ~

sich a great and wonderful
part, But here I am, white hair,
white beard, 61 years old, and
very much alive, while you, a
beautiful young man, not even
in the prime of your life, are

dead, ("5 :
"Your "mother and*

trapped in an uncaring univer-
se, She gave birth to you, we
raised you, we loved you so
much, and now we have to
bury you. Ch, Roderick, it
hurts so much. If there is a
God, he’s never been more dis-
tant.

You told your mother and me
recently, when death was the
furthest thing from your mind,
that if anything ever happened
to you, you want us to look
after your beautiful little
daughter,

FROM THE CAPITAL*
HUBERT BEYER

This we promise you, my
boy, we will make sure that
Pamela grows up to be a
wonderful woman, And we
will keep her father’s memory

“alive,

“P "She “said what makes” “her

_Teally sad is that her daddy willl
never see her grow up now.
She, too, wonders why God al-
lowed this to happen, and I
didn’t have an answer, [
certainly am not going to tell
an eight-year-old child that
God had a reason to take her
daddy from her.

And it’s just a week ago that
Pamela said to your mother
how lucky she is that she has a
daddy who loves her so much.

Pamela is a great solace to
us. She looked out the window

yesterday and told us the ocean
hever shimmered that brightly,
“That’s my daddy saying
goodbye to me,’’ she said.
Laler that day, she spotted an

| eagle soaring overhead. | told

her that could well be her
daddy’s spirit.

The family has never been
closer. Charles, Gary and
Patricia miss their brother so
terribly. Yesterday, we remem-
bered you in stories of your
childhood and adult years. And
at the heart of whatever story
we told was your irrepressible
Spirit, your humour, your zest
for life, the total absence of
cynicism and pessimism.

I'm told it’s part of the heal-
ing process, but I don’t believe
it yet. The pain keeps washing

“+ Without family and friends it
would be nearly impossible ta
bear. And friends have been
wonderful in their support of
us. I have never been hugged
more than these past few days.
And never before did I need to
be hugged and loved as much.
The phone hasn’t stopped
ringing. Mark, your best friend
Since you were eight years old,
Phoned to say he will come
over from Vancouver to visit
wilh us. Two of your cousins
from Germany are arriving this
afternoon. Our place is ablaze

overme in great-waves. 00.

with flowers.

[ wish so much T could turn
back time. I want to hug you
one more time and tell you
how much I love you.

Now, the memories will have
lo do. And what beautiful
memories they are. When you
were a baby, you never wanted
to grow up. And in a way, you
never did, Your heart was that
of a child, You loved uncondi-
tionally,

I don’t know whether they
have newspapers where you
are now, but [ hope that some-
how, you can read this. [ hope
you can feel the love and
memories you left behind.

My dear, beautiful Roderick,
I miss you so much.

(Roderick died suddenly as a
result‘of.an accident that hap-

" pened two years ago. The rail-

ing of a sun deck collapsed and
he fell 12 feet, sustaining head
injuries. He appeared back to
normal when he suffered a
massive brain aneurysm.

Donations in his memory
may be sent to the Vancouver
Island Head Injury Society,
109-1450 Hillside Ave., Vic-
toria, B.C,, V8T 2B7).

Hubert Beyer can be
reached at: (Tel) 604-920.
9300; (Fax) 604-381-6922;
(E-mail) hbeyer@direct.ca

Taking on a boring subject

WHEN WILL someone invent

a battery-powered ear cleaner
capable of polishing a wax-
lined ear as efficiently as a
street sweeper rids pavement
of winter’s gravel?

What I’m itching for is a per-
sonal grooming gadget
modeled on Kemano II’s tun-
nel borer but capable of track-
ing a curve, made of smooth,
flexible rubber fringed with
gentle bristles, a bit like a me-

chanical version of the tiny
cleaning brush for my electric
razor. It would have a safety
stopper like a baby’s soother lo
control its working depth.
Besides the recurrent prob-
lem of wax buildup and ac-
companying itching, ears have
been known to collect dead
Mosquitocs, black flies, and in
the case of one sawmill
worker, sawdust pligs the
diameter of a lead pencil. A
brick layer ended up with both
infection and temporary deaf-

THROUGH -BIFOCALS:
CLAUDETTE SANDECKI

. thermometer.

TERRY REALLY KATED
THE BUSH WHEN HE
WAS YOUNGER

ness When flying gravel lodged
in his ear.

Such a tool would fast track
the publishing success of
would-be writers. Because
along with sharpening sharp
pencils, filing flyers, and
reviewing Channel 11, ear
cleaning ranks supreme as a
scribe’s favourite putter offer.

A battery-powered tool the

BOT NOWHE'S THIRTEEN
HE'S oof EVERY DAY NO

Shape and size of a fountain
pen would sil in the pencil
holder on my desk as un-
obtrusively as E.T. among a
closetful of teddy bears. It
would also fit neatly on a
bathroom counter beside an
electric razor and an automated
toothbrush,

With a magnetic strip em-
bedded in its barrel, a farmer
or teamsicr could keep one
within reach clamped to the

_ dash of his tractor or truck.

A Bamey version would be a
useful companion to the armpit
Babies delest
having their ears cleaned.
Lucky are the children whose
mothers ignore wax buildup,
even when it oozes like lava.
Otherwise they’re in for years
of howling as Mom immobil-
izes them in a headlock so she
can delve for offending
cerumen,

When I was a child, Q-tips
weren’t yet available, Nurses

L HATE THE
AG NorTH!

advised new mothers to clean
their baby’s cars with nothing
smaller than their elbow cov-
ered by a winter coast slecve.

Mom dredged my ears by
rolling a pinch of her thin cot-
ton apron into a Kansas
tomado funnel shape and
twisting that about, It made me
shiver, but at least it never
risked puncturing my eardrum.

We have nail buffers, and
special clippers for older men
to trim their nose and car
shrubbery. On the job there are
wire polishers that whiz on the
end of reversible drills to
remove rust; and shop vacs
that suck up everything not
held down by rebar,

Yet we make do with our
choice of Q-tips, bobby pin,
the unsulphured end of a
wooden match, or a Dolly
Parton fingernail.

Why the holdup designing a
handy dandy ear scrubber? |

am MOVIN TO
CoD | MN UNCLE 'S
E"salony WA THE ciTy!!

xe