his. training as

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, April 21, 1993 - Page AS:

Lots of PEP in this region:

_ TERRACE —- The back bone of
the Provincial Emergency Pro-
gram (PEP) rests with its area co-
ordinators.

. They’re the people who do the
planning, keep in touch with vari-
ous groups and prepare for the
times ‘in which they'll be called
upon to deal with situations rang-

-ing from floods to missing per-

“SONS.

= In-Terrace the area co-ordinator __

‘is Kelly Gilday, assisted by Ter-
tace fire chicf Bob Beckeit and in
Thornhill its Art Hill.

-. They deal with up to 15 groups
and agencies dedicated to dealing
with emergencies,

"But aS much as the area co-
ordinators prepare for the times

‘they are needed and deal with
those whose job is responding to

- emergencies, Gilday says nothing

can happen without what he calls

the unsung core of volunteers.

- “Just because there isn’t a blaz-
’ ing. fire or something that grabs
. the public’s attention, it doesn’t

‘mean there. aren’t people at work.
There are all those times when
people-get a call in the middle of
>the night -- these are the things
_ the public isn’t aware of,’? said
Gilday last week.

-Gilday himself is one of those
volunteers, He’s new at PEP —
‘thres months —- and brings to it
an airport
- firefighter, ambulance attendant
and part time RCMP dispatcher.
Gilday tuns the Terrace area
PEP effort from an office in the
_ fire hall and that brings him in
_ contact with his deputy, Terrace
fire chief Bob Beckett.

Together they assess the prob-

ability of disaster and how to deal
with emergencies as they arise.

O€ all the disasters that could
arise, Gilday points io the CN rail
yard as one probable location,

“There arc a lol of hazardous
materials — chemicals that cither

go through or are switched by ~

that yard,’’ said Gilday.
And while CN has developed
procedures forthe transport of

hazardous. material,. it’s. what is...|-4

slored alongside the: tracks. thal
causes worries, says Beckelt,

“I’m thinking about the chain
reaction that could result if any-
thing happens,” said Beckett.

He also points to the number of
unauthorized people who pass
through the yards as a reason to
WOITy. ,

“Those individuals could carry
out acts of malicious damage.

There’s the danger. of people

smoking near uncovered. and
overfilled chip cars in the yard,”’

- Beckett continued.

Both Gilday and. Beckett say
it’s important that northern cities
such as Terrace be prepared as
possible to deal with disasters.

That’s because the
municipalitics are relatively isola-
led. They must be prepared to
work wilh the resources at their
disposal should anything happen.

And that in turn elevates the
role of volunteers in PEP, says
Gilday.

“We pride ourselves on the
volunteer spirit and that clement
is evident in the community,”
adds Gilday in estimating there
are 300 local PEP volunteers. ‘‘]
don’t think we could get a better
level of people.”

Emergency . Preparedness
Week in the province.

You'll be able to see what's
involved April 23 from 9 a.m.
to 9 p.m. and April 24 from 9

Come and look

TERRACE — This week is .

am. to 5 p.m. at the Skeena
Mail.

On hand will be up to 10 dis-
plays ranging from the search
and rescue fo cliff rescue lo
water rescue to the RCMP.

_ Large area,
_massive job

. “TRRRACE — ‘The area covered

“by the. Terrace office of the

Provincial. Emergency Program

: = (PEP) is one of the two largest in
the province. .
But it-is the most difficult onc

; ait in which to travel and that makes

zone manager Rod Salem’s job
al] the more challenging.
“Under him are cight area co-

om -ordiniators handling the Queen
~ Charlotte Islands in the west to

- “Topley in the east and up to the

° “¥ukon border and south to Bella

~~ Ggola and Bella Bella.
“The sheer size of the zone

“Makes it hard for Salem to gather

-“fopether his co-ordinators and a

2 _Shallenge in planning for dis-—
asters.

Es “We * basically “have four
specific. volunteer disciplines,”’
‘gays Salem of the forces at his

oS ‘disposal.
“Those. groups provide aircraft,
search and rescue, emergency so-

“cial services and radio communi-

cations.”

: ~All told, Salem estimates there
- are between 800 and 1,200 PEP
volunteers in the zone. -The

my ~_ provincial total is pushing 12,000.

. And the type of disaster that can
be expected in the zone is as
- diverse asthe zone is large in

size. .
“In Salem’s three years as zone
“co-ordinator, most of his disaster
call outs have been due to floods
Or the threat of floods.

But. this immediate ‘area also

ranks in :-the fifth of. the. six

earthquake classifications.

“You don't have to be a
-yselentist to look at-the facts.
~ We're in the mountains and how

Rod Salem

are they caused — through seis-
mic activity,’’ said Salem.

**There arc hotsprings in the .
Douglas Channel and then run in|

a line to the Nass. Hotsprings are
waters heated by molien Java and

that’s tied to seismic activity.”?
**Eook what happened just 300

years ago in the -Nass,”’ added

Salem in referring the destruction

of two Nisga’a villages.

It’s this kind of potential dis-~
aster that brings into play. the —

planning aspect of PEP.
“What you do is prepare for the

worst and hope it never hap- -

pens,” said Salem.
“People look at us and ‘say

* we’re doomsayers, that the sky is:

falling, We're not. Those hazards
are already here. We didn’t pul

thém there. .We .don’l have con- ©

trol over mother nature,’’ he said,
Salem is particularly worried
that the ability to create
dangerous chemicals far out-

‘ weighs the ability lo deal. with

them if there is an emergency.

JUST ONE of many potential disasters could come from a hazardous chemical spill. And. that

LETTERS

TO THE TENA ACL STARDANL)

would bring out the special suits of the Terrace fire department. That’s firefighter Dean Prins in the
suit which fits over an airpack. Helping him is fellow firefighter Dave Jephson y while area Provincial
Emergency Program co-ordinator Kelly Gilday looks on.

ah

WATER

1. Water purification -

oO Evaporated canned

FIRST AID KIT |
Antiseptic swabs’

Bandalds (assoriad
_sizes)

Thermometer *.
‘Elastic "ace" bandage
Eye ointment

Large bum pads

Pressure pads:
Triangular bandages

Current first ald manual :

- Tweezers, scissors |
and pocket knife

‘Safely pins -
_ Non-prescription
’ medications such as

pain tablets, surgical
soap, disinfectant,

CO
O
O
CO
0
C)}
[] Abdominal pads - -
O
0
0
O
O
C)

nausea tablets, zinc > |

oxide ointment
| Prescription medication

[1 One litre per day/per
person for drinking

[] ‘Two litres per day/per
person for cooking, ete,

supplies such as
“Tincture of lodine, or
* water purification:
tablets (Check with
your local health
authorities for more
_ complete information
On water purification.)

BEVERAGES |
(J Juice boxes

milk

O Coffee, tea,
hot chocolate

sao960,

ooo0 og Doo ooo0o00

\GANNEDI/DRIED |

FOODS

Prepared meats,
poultry and seafood

Soups and sauces
Stews, baked beans,

Spaghetti. _

“Vegelablesftruits
Pastas, os

Cereals.

Nutritious cookles

Crackers

Peanut butter

COOKING/EATING
SUPPLIES |

O

oo

~ [1] Bottle and can opener

C) sat

Aluminum foil and |
“plastic wrap

O

storage

plastic cutlery”

Swiss army style
pocket knife

‘Plastic bags (assorted
_ sizes)

~ Camping stove, fuel
‘and matches

Cooking pots/pans
Cooking utensils
: Paper towels/napkins

Head and neck
coverings, gloves. 7

- Shoes and beots .
Heavy wool socks
‘Rain gear

Coats and jackets (to
match weathar)

Sealable containers for ;

Paper plates and cups,

CLOTHING/BEDDING

0

oO

. (one per person)

_. OTHER NEEDS

ooo0o00 co

OO]

“codon oo

, Extra sweaters, rugged _

pants, sweatshirts, and.
underwear

Gloves, heavy duty
Blankets ~

(two per person)
Sleeping bags -

Infant supplies).
Waterproof sheets
(two per person).
Towels .

-, Soap, detergents -

Dental care needs":
Comb, razor, mirror
Sanilary supplies and . -

" toilet paper.

Ropa, nails, hammer,
axe, shovel,

Whistla

‘Dust mask and eye .
protection -

Survival handbook: 2 a
ReadingAwriting..;) 7)

Material and games

Portable radio
Flashlight

Extra batteries
Signal flares and flag
Candles and matches

> Large washing basin
-Pre-moistened

. cleansing tissues

‘Provided by the

Provincial

- Emergency Program

-of the Ministry of
Attorney General

icc Dear Sinica

story
disliked

Dear Sir:

Your March 31 = article
regarding the falal shooting of
Keith Stokes is one we cannot
ignore.

The jury at the inquest did
nol exonerate the R.C.M.P. of
any wrong doing. The only
function of a jury at @
coroner’s inquest is to make
recommendations to improve
or help certain situations. The
jury neither has nor gives any
opinions.of guilt or innocence.
An inquest is not a trial,

Keith’s ‘‘worst nightmare”
was not the police coming to
take him away, but that medi-
cal science had nothing to offer
accept drugs,

We find your reporter's
choice of words, used’. for
sensationalism, offensive.
Keith had absolutely no argu-:
ments with any member of his
family nor did he at any time
shoot at any member’ of his
family. ,

This has been a painful time
for all concerned but to genera-
te more pain by shoddy in-
accurate reporting is | in-
excusable. One phone call
could have verified your in-
formation or had your reporter
done more than pop in and out
of the inquest, he may have
heard the correct facts.

It certainly leaves us wonder-
ing how many other news
Stories are correct. We really
feel that you owe your sub-
scribers and the general public
correct information.

Your reporter should apply
to The National Inquirer for
employment as that tabloid jis
more sulted to this type of
wiiting.

Lawrence and Francis
Stokes,
Kitwanga, B.C,

It isn’t
sport

POA EN

: Among’all- of: us - we -simply:
do not haye the brains, nor the
incentive, to look upon this
priceless heritage of the steel-
head other than as a toy to be
“played with and. then. dis-
carded, very often, brutaily,
regardless of how this ‘‘sport’”
effects their spawning efforis,
;when. they are in such sad
decline. .

To use any creature as a toy,
to satisfy a sadistic sense of:
pleasure when it is in the final
Stages of its pregnancy, is lo
me a.disgrace to the name of
sporismen, the guides and the
Steelhead society.

The revolting tales, stories
and published accounts. of
‘these people wading in to the
spawning steelhead and having
one on every cast, trampling
the fertilized eggs by the thou-
sands, holding a steclhead up
for a better picture with Filthy
fingers through its gills, should |
in my opinion be given more
publicity,

You do not need scientific
designs of lures to take these
Spawning fish, when they are
at their most protective on the
Spawning grounds.

With my clumsy way of fish-
ing I have proven that with a
No. 5 Tee Spoon, ‘*no hooks'*
that I can do the same.

Just how much damage these
Sportsmen are doing with thelr
hook and release on the spawn-
ing grounds is very much a big
question. How many of these
exhausted steclhead can com-
plete their spawning effort and
then return to the sea? No one

Con’t Page A6

Quit!
smoking.
They work for MacK-
ay’s Funeral Service.
If they have still quit by
Christmas, they — will
receive a bonus.

The bonus will be given
by MacKay’s at the

These people have quit

the Start is for people .
- learning how io read:

Christmas party.

The people say quitting
is cas But they say it is
worth it. |

Busy time

It'll be a busy week next
weck,

That’s because Terrace
will be host to the
Nispa’a Tribal Council
convention, ~—

Nearly 1,000 people ate
expected to come. .

The convention takes
place April 27-30 at the
Terrace arena: :.

This is the. 36th a annual

convention of the N isga’a
Tribal Council.

There will be lots of

speeches and reports,

This is. an important

time for the Nisga’a.

They ate the only native

group in the province

working on a land claims

deal. 7
‘The deal will.
model for others. -

be a