thing they do.- ‘Tesponsible. . event”? -— “Teenagers a and d drinking in Terrace — part Il. Teen ‘parties. No one can say - these -words ‘imply . alcohol ' abuse. They-can be clean, pure, innocent fun. But if they’re not and five Skeena Junior Sec- ondary students who talked to the Terrace Review say that’s - often the case — who’ s respon- — sible? - Often, it’s the parenits, Says .. Terrace RCMP Cst. Ewen Har- . vie. According to Harvie, a par- ent who leaves a teen son or daughter in charge of the home assumes responsibilty for. every- Under-aged drinking, vandalism, drinking and driving, injury or death... under the law the parent is And this leaves everyone a lot to think about. Particularly when many teenagers say they spend most of their week just looking for a home with absentee parents so they can “‘party’’. But others assume respon- sibility for teen parties, too, Organizers of teen dances, ser- ' vice clubs who rent the building, parents who host the ‘‘weekend they’re all responsi- “ble, and under the law can be fined or sent to jail. This is a fact of parenting that can’t be ignored. It doesn’t mat- ter whether incidents of teen drinking are isolated affairs or regular events — parents have to assume responsibility. But par- ents are often at a disadvantage. Knowing exactly ‘what . their : teenagers are planning or doing: is often an impossible task, and the'teenager has the upper hand. As one parent expressed it during a recent interview, ‘‘Kids have a solidarity that parents haven’t.”” And teens agree. “Kids: have .a network,’’ says one 14-year old. ‘‘Say my par- ents are looking for me down- town. In about 30 seconds there would be kids telling me... but they wouldn't. talk to my Par- ents,”’ Or, there’s the “sleep over’’. What’s really happening? ‘‘If I want to go to a party I can tell . parents I’m spending the night somewhere,’”’ says another teen. “‘And I can get a kid to answer the phone and say, ’Oh yes, I’m her mother, your daughter’ Ss Northern student loan _ program: still in doubt | TERRACE — Skeena MLA Dave Parker discussed several items related to the recently released 1989-90 provincial budget with about two dozen voters during a ‘‘Town Hall Meeting’”’ at the Elks’ Hall last weekend — a 13 percent increase in education, an 11: percent in- crease in forestry programs, a small *‘but substantial’’ increase in health care. But an item that’s not included in the budget caught most everyone’ s atten- tion. Parker said we could soon expect to hear about a new — financial assistance program for northern students that would forgive the total student loan of those graduates who go into the teaching profession and work in the north for 10 years. ° It appears, however, that this - program is only under consider- ation at the present time, and it ‘gould be as long as a year before northerners hear anything further about it. But even under the present system there is help for rural or northern students that the gov- ernment has failed to promote. In very general terms, the gov- ernment will “‘forgive’’ all but $12,000 of a. student loan to students graduating from uni- versity, Details on this program are available from school coun- sellors or-college financial assis- tance officers. Under the new program that Parker was describing, however, even the remaining $12,000 would be forgiven if the grad- uate was going into the teach- ing profession in a rural com- munity. But Ministry of Ad- | vanced Education spokesperson -Michelle Poirier says this is an- idea from the Sullivan report and at the present time is only being considered by the student services branch of the ministry. But according to Poirier, a similar program .is. already in place in Sweden — and it works. She says the. proposal for a Rural Teacher Education Pro- gram is based on a predicted shortage of teachers by 1992. Poirier ‘says she’s ‘very op- timistic’? that the program will eventually be implemented., THE SIGN OF A GOOD BUSINESS NEIGHBOR . . . ACLU BUSINESS MELA ie ce THE SIGN OF A MERCHANT WHO CARES. ABOUT PEOPLE ... This emblem identifies the. civic-minded businessmen who sponsor “Weta gn. in the community. Terry 638-8178 Vi | 35-5672 Alma 636-1204 spending | the nigh ”, ‘But what if the parent asks to talk to their child,. or says they’re going to drop over with _ some forgotten but necessary _ item? ‘You can’t do that,”’ says one parent, ‘‘The more you start playing detective, the more you start obviously not trusting, the worse it gets.” This isn’t to say we shouldn’t _ trust our kids, Some may.be a little wild at times. But after all, ‘ they’re human — just like their parents. And some-parents say -kids have to assume some of the responsibility for their actions ‘themselves. They’re the only ones who really know what’s happening. They’re the ones | who can take some preventative action if things. are going wrong. But the law" places much of the responsibilty on the adult, and if they are to assume total responsibilty 24-hours a- . day what can they do? Trust, freedom and no guilt trips, say teenagers. Knowing exactly what's going on, say parents. And these differing views can place a great deal of stress on the family unit. As one 15-year: old puts it, “Last. year I wasn’t allowed to go to any-unchaperoned parties so I had to pull off all these little devious things... I had to pull off all these little scams in order - to do it.”” And during the inter- view, this comment forced both parents and teens ‘to face the facts and draw a solitary conclu- sion. There’s only one real an- — swer: communication. _ Next week, the conclusion of is week? ~ this series on the teen. party scene will ask teens to put :them- selves in the place of parentsand come up with solutions of their own. They, after all, know what’s happening, know how teens feel, and have an idea how it can be dealt with. - To really understand the seri- cousness of family stress .and its ultimate end — the break- down of the family unit — is the first step in preventing that ulti- mate end. And this.is the goal of the coming Skeena Theatre Arts production, to demonstrate how alcohol abuse can contribute to the breakdown of the family unit or the loss of friends. This production is attracting wide- spread attention and everyone can gain from attending one of the performances scheduled for . later this month. Government agent Randy Trombley and employee V Wilma Champlin are just a few of the ‘workers sorting out equipment and boxes of files following the move to their new quarters ~ at 101-3220 Eby St. Services at the new “one stop” location include government offices moved in from several locations. - = SCHOOL DISTRICT sane (TERRACE) ANNOUNCES | ‘I Kiti K'Shan Primary School, 4730 Graham Avenue. Students entering Immersion Grade One need NOT have had a background in French. This class is open to any students entering Grade One. Because of space limitations we request that you register early in the day. Registration of ENGLISH KINDERGARTEN students living in Terrace and Thorn- hill will be on TUESDAY, APRIL 18. All Kindergarten children registering MUST be five years old by December 31, 1989, Birth certificates and Immunization records are required. All Kindergarten children living west of Munroe Street in Terrace should régister at Parkside School, 3824 Eby Street. All other Kindergarten children should register at the primary school nearest their. home. The times for Kindergarten Registration are: KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION | DATES FOR 1989 Registration of FRENCH IMMERSION KINDERGARTEN and IMMERSION GRADE ONE students in the Terrace Area will be on MONDAY, APRIL 17 at :00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. ee ee