A4- The Terrace Slandard, Wednesday, January 3, 1996 TERRACE STANDARD ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 ADDRESS: 4647 Lavelle Ave., Terrace, B.C. * V8G 158 TELEPHONE: (604) G38-7283 © FAX: (604) 638-8432 MODEM: (604) 638-7247 Airport blues THE CITY OF Terrace must feel like the young lad in Oliver Twist. With an empty bowl held out in a trembling hand, he asks for more porridge. ‘“‘More? You want more?’’ responds the overseer of the waifs’ home in which the lad resides. That’s about the size of it when it comes to the city’s attempts to gain control of the airport. It’s not as if the city actually wants the darn thing. Instead the federal government, in its zeal to unload as many of its costs as possible, wants to rid itself of all of the small airports now under its authority. In this case, the translation of ‘small? means un- profitable — a loss of $800,000 or so at the air- port here. | The problem is that the federal government all but wants to sign over the airport and provide a subsidy that7ll decline as we head into the next century. Eventually the city will be expected to shoulder the airport’s financial burden all by it- self. And that’s why the city eyes the substantial provincial Crown lands surrounding the airport. In a bureaucratic twist that can exist only in Can- ada, the federal government runs the airport but it sits on leased land owned by the provincial government. The city reasons correctly that user fees, even if they are increased dramatically, won’t be enough to run the airport. By gaining control of the lands, the city can then develop them in the hopes of providing sufficient revenue. The province had responded to this by offering the lands, but at a price. That means any city plan to develop the lands must first take into ac- count. paying off the province. ‘This. ticks the. city off and with good reason. ‘Who needs the pressure of trying to raise money to run an airport if the first order of business is kicking over dollars to the provincial govern- ment? A proper response from a provincial govern- ment would be to try to give the city a hand — not atlempt a hijack of the city’s ability to come A tough job IF THERE’S one guy that needs a happy new year it’s Skeena NDP MLA Helmut Giesbrecht. He began 1995 under the gun from trades union members who said his government has done nothing to stop out-of-province, non-union con- tractors from coming to B.C. and leaving local people unemployed. And he bade the old year farewell under fire from yet more cuts at Mills Memorial Hospital and the moves toward wiping out northwestern school districts in favour a super entity. In between Mr. Giesbrecht took body blows over everything from land claims to forest policy. Heck, some would even try to tag him with the lousy season the Canucks are having. Problem is that none of the above are particu- larly of Mr. Giesbrecht’s doing. He’s simply paying the price of being a loyal government MLA. ae PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link Gna) ADVERTISING MANAGER: Mike L. Hamm PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS Jeil Navel * NEWS SPORTS: COMMUNITY: Cris Leykauf OFFICE MANAGER: Audra Creek ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Sam Collier, Janet Viveiros, Tracey ‘Tomas ADVERTISING ASSISTANT: Emma Law DARKROOM: Susan Credgeur COMPOSITOR: Kelly Jean CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Karen Brunctte con 4 a A omnui aT COsIng Ltt MEMBER OF 6.C, PRESS COUNCIL Serving the Terrace and Thornhill area. Published of Wednesday of each week by Cariboo Press (1969) Ltd, at 4647 Lazelle Ave., Terrace, British Cotumbia, Stones, photographs, Illustrations, designs and typestyles in the Terrace Standard are {he property of the copyright! holders, including Cariboo Press. (1969). Ltd. its iflustralion repro services and advertising agencies, . ae . : Reprodlon In whole or in part, without writtan permission, is specitically protubited. Authorized as second-class mail panding the Post Olfica Department, for payment al poslage in cash. Special ihanks to all our contributors and correspondents ~ : for thelr time and talents a ore ND HOW LONG HAVE Yo HAD THIS DESIRE TO KUN FOR THE NDP. LEADERSHIP ?,, id, It’s just what you make of it VICTORIA — Christmas is inostly what you make it, and sometimes what fate allows you to make it or what other people make it for you. For us, in the German tradi- lion, Christmas was the grand- children opening their presents at our place on Christmas Eve. tt was also watching, for the umptecnth time, A Christnas Carol, the only one I ever watch, with Alistair Sim. And speaking of watching TY, there was an abundance of wonderful Christmas programs on the specially channels such as Bravo, Arts and Entertain- meat and the Learning Cannel. Never has so litde money pro- vided so much good viewing, Christmas was family on good = fortune. After four healthy children and four equally healthy and wonderful grandchildren, it doesn't get much better. On Christmas Eve, I caught a beautiful program an CBC Radio, featuring the Cantor and choir of Amstlerdam’s main synagogue in celebration of Hanukkah, the Jewish feast that comimemorales the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, afler it had been _FROM THE CAPTTAE. HUBERT BEYER defiled by invaders. For Christians, the fact that Jews can celebrate Hanukkah in our midst without fear, Should be reason to rejoice, It was not always this way. Christianity has a lot of Jewish blood op its hands. ~On Boxing, Day, 1 went in search of other people’s Christmas stories. There was the story of a downtown Vic- loria. panhandler who ex- changed his hat waiting for change from passers-by with a Santa Claus costume, Joaquin Diaz is a familiar Sight in the 1400 block Douglas Street, He’s also well- liked by the merchants, be- cause he’s polite and friendly. In = retum = for _ people's generosity, Diaz decided to give something back to the community. Sa he donned a Santa costume and wished passers-by a merry Christmas. The kids loved it. Diaz came to Victoria to overcome a drinking problem. The 30-year-old had been going to school in Vancouver , lo get his grade 12 diploma, bul dropped out of the program because of too much drinking. He’s confident he will make it this time. He stays at a hostel, regularly attends Al- coholics Anonymous meetings and plans to re-enroll in school. Quite the Christmas story. I wish him all the best. And then there was the Grinch that stole Christmas for about 30 employees Surrey’s Sizzler restaurant. A couple of days before Christmas, they had the time of their lives ata staff party. Next day, their employer handed them their pink slips. The restaurant would close. Senior employees knew about the closure the day of the party, but the boss didn’t want to min the Chrisimas spirit for his staff, so he delayed the bad news until after the party. Not the kind of news one wants for Christmas. For hundreds of families Christmas was the happy reunion with ‘“‘the boys” of HMCS Calgary, = which steamed into Esquimalt Har- bour the Friday before Christ- mas after nearly six months at Sea, Nobody whose loved ones are with them year-round can imagine the toneliness of those Icft behind and the joy and ex- citement of anticipating the return of their husbands, lovers, sons and friends. We owe both the sailors and their families a debt of gratitude, And from afar, via the miracle of instant communica- tions, we were able to rejoice with the people of Bosnia- Herzegovina who were able to celebrate their first Christmas in relative peace. Having lived through the nightmare of air raids in Germany, T know what it is like when the sounds of war fall silent and death and destruction end. Aad finally, to those who be- lieve Christmas has become too commercial, I'd like to repeat whatI said at the outset: Christmas is mastly what you inake it. Happy New Year, Beyer can he reached at: Tel:(604) 360-6442; Fax:(604) 381+ 6922;E-Mail: - hbeyer@direct.ca Drunk driver got off too easy WHAT'S LIFE worth? ‘la the case of Jim Ciccone, his 12 year-old son and 3- year-old daughter all killed in Prince George by an impaired driver running a red light — 14 months, David Kevin Johnson pleaded guilty to three counts of impaired driving caused death, and one count of leaving the scene of an accident. Less than two and a half hours later, Judge David —— Ranisay sentenced him lo three and a half years in jail. A pushover parole board could reduce even that. Johnson had two prior con- victions for impaired driving, and was tcaring the end of a four-month sentence imposed in October for assaulting fe- males. The judge even heard hearl-wrenching victim impact stalements fram family who've had three precious, irteplace- able foved ones ripped: from them. SUL. ‘THROUGH BIFOCALS CLAUDETTE SANDECKI] prohibited from driving for eight years. Big deal. That clock began December 22. Ciccone’s widow would like the drunk’s life to be changed forever, as her family’s has been. That would require an innovative judge like Ted Poe of Houston, Texas. When a piano teacher pleaded no contest ta child molestation while giving piano lessons to young children in Oh, lest | forget, Johnson is his home, Judge Poe im- i dé ¢ GAWD! iis LATE FALL AND le re'sS STILL FLIES A BUGGING Met! ptovised a sentence keyed to the crime: The piano teacher had to hang on his front door a sign reading ‘‘No children un- der the age of 18 allowed on these premises by court order’? fo wam children away; serve 30 days in jail, 20 years proba- tion; donate his $12,000 US piano to a Houston children’s home; aad not play plano for the next 20 years, Now that’s ; change. One teenager, asked what message he took from Johnsan’s sentence, said. ‘It means We catt get away with anything.’”’ Johnson’s soft sentence has outraged many, Prince George crown counsel is reviewing transcripts of the sentence hearing for grounds to appeal. The Prince George Free Press — for the first lime ever —~ printed a front page editorial, And frustrated cilizens rallied in the streets. Ofien impaired drivers give the law Trudeau salute, swear they have the right to drink and drive, and snicker with friends when they evade charges. Once, alter agonizing for days, I snitched to RCMP ona neighbour who drove while his license was suspended. Pulled over and charged, he con- fronted me; | admilted turning him in, Tipsily, he slurred over and over, “Why did you tum me in? I never did anything to hurt you. I’m a careful driver, Pve never injured anyone while im- paired. Why did you turn me in?”? I tumed him in so he couldnt, wouldn’t do what Jolinson did. With two prior impaired con- victions, Johnsan deserves the maximum, 14 years for each death, Served consecutively. Total 42 years. Civil libertarians, take note: Victims deserve justice, too. Fourteen months for a Ciccone life isn’t justice.