A8 Terrace Review — Wednesday, December 5, 1990 TALK OF THE TOWN This week the Terrace Review asked: What do you think of Santa Claus? Steven Gough “He’s okay. Yeah, I’m waiting for him at X-mas” ‘Adam Kerby “He’s not true. There’s no real Santa Claus!” Brandon Fraser “Yeah, Santa’s neat! | like Santa Claus!” Ryan Smoley “ft tike him. t talked to him today & | can’t wait for X-mas” ii (raat Man who keeps schools — supplied takes" retirement by Nancy Ort It is the end of an era as Basil Griffin, purchasing agent for School District 88, retires at the end of November. The era was the one of galloping growth in the schcol population, of never ‘knowing how many, or where, the kids would turn up at the beginning of each term, of in- credibly short funds, of youth and vigor and a sense of excite- ment and adventure. I was reminded of that.era on my way to talk to Basil before he left, as I picked my way through the mud behind the old Kalum School, now just another work- ing building for district staff. Mud. On the pavement? I caught sight of the workmen in- stalling a portable building. A portable? Surely by now the growth in the Terrace district had stabilized and there was to be no more need for portables. Portables and every other emergency measure to keep ahead of a galloping, growing school population had been a way of life in 1976 when Basil Griffin came to work in $.D. 88 in yet another effort to stream- line a ravenous budget. Since the amalgamation of Stewart with Terrace School District in 1968 (that’s another story), the popu- lation growth in District 88 grew by leaps and bounds. Numbers and budgets never seemed to re- concile. There were always more students than money in our dis- trict, and the students kept turn- ing up before a new school could be finished; there always seemed to be more students than build- ings. Every ingenious way had to be devised to provide for their accommodation and supplies. Cash Calendar or McEwan fli McEwan GM Supports C.T. Scan Anyone who purchases a new or used vehicle from McEwan G.M.. during the month of November will receive a Free 1991 Dr. R.E.M. Lee Foundation You can win cash everyday of the year! All proceeds from the calendars will go to help purchase a much needed C.T. Scanner for Mills Memorial Hospital. w10$1,000 CASH BACK 10.9% FINANCING 0O.A.C. 635-4941 TI ME MAGAZINE QUALITY DEALER The Bright Spot On Hwy 16 AWARD WINNER | Basil Griffin: It was fun... But it has become a routine now. A gocd time to leave. District 88, with its huge ap- petite for supplies, had been directing much of its purchasing through Prince George, which had its own purchasing depart- ment, in which Basil Griffin worked. The economies and ef- ficiencies in bulk purchasing became obvious, Basil was pur- suaded to join this district and set up a similar department for Terrace. “It was fun,” said Basil, - “starting from scratch, setting up all the channels, getting it go- ing, from Kispiox to Kitsumka- lum to Stewart and all the isola- ted aeas in between as well as the ° main centres. “But it has become routine now. A good time to be leaving.”’ Basil will be retiring Nov. 29 after 14 years of service to the ° District. He said his wife Hilda will move to Duncan on Van- couver Island. “We will live on Quamishan Lake,”’ he said, ‘‘Our house is nearly ready. We can watch the swans nesting and enjoying the peace and quiet.”’ “T still have one wish — to try hang-gliding—but I doubt if I will make that,’ he said. “I hope to be able to try some fly- ing, too. I still have my pilot’s license and my son has a small plane.” Flying has always been a pas- sion for Basil since he joined the RCAF at age 18 in 1942-45. After the war he went to UBC with all the other returning ser- vice men, to the temporary port- ables (still there) and the fun of “fone wild party’’. After getting a degree he con- tinued his education with a dip- loma in Certified Administrative Manager, and later at West Coast University in Los Angeles in Plastics Engineering. He became B.C.—Alberta manager for Sargent, Welch Scientific Science Supplies in. Vancouver with head office in Chicago. ‘Every time we went to Chic- ago,’” he said, ‘“‘we had to take out a map and say, ‘here’s where you are, here’s where we are.’ “We dealt mostly in school supplies, so it was an easy change for me to go to work for Prince George School District and from there to keep up my contacts and experience in Ter- race. It has been very good.”’ The Griffins have three sons: one is a chemical engineer in the east; another, an Anglican priest in Jasper; and the third, a doctor in Duncan. “Hilda and I will leave our friends with regret,’’ said Basil, but we can hardly wait for the next stage in life to begin.’’ Kin Komplaint? Phone Eric Terrace city council has approved a new five-year lease for the Kin Komplex at Halliwell and ‘North Sparks. Earlier in the year, council received a petition from area resi- denis complaining of excessive noise, but according to city ad- ministrator Bob Hallsor the club has apparently made a “concerted . effort" to alleviate any future prob- lems. In a letter to council last month, Kin Komplex chairman Eric Johanson said tocal architect Alex Inselberg had completed a study of the Kin Hut, free of charge, and determined how to best reduce noise levels. As a result, door sills have been put in place and new blinds have been installed on all windows. Work to yet be com- pleted, he says, includes baffles and insulated louvres on exhaust fans. . | As a final measure, to ensure Kin Hut neighbours are not disturbed by night-time activities there, Johanson says the club has written a new rental contract outlining firm rules of conduct and a man- datory closure time that is the earliest of any hall of its type in’ the city. The bar must close at 12:30 a.m., music must cease at 1 a.m. and the complex must be vacated no later than 2 a.m. Backing up these regulations, every neighbour who signed the July 4 petition has been given Johanson’s home phone number and an invilation to report any infractions.