CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD The Mail Bag Look in mirror Dear Sir: Although I had to agree with many of the points a let- ter writer made May 28 regarding the many downfalls inherent in the now-adopted four-day week, 1 had to work hard to maintain my sense of reality when the let- ter went on to lay the blame for the four day instruction- ‘al week at the feet of teachers. “Surely this is a rare moment in history when teachers ‘are aligned with the the provincial government on mat- ters of educational policy. , -o In. the..end,.T.believe. that the point the writer was making was that the teachers (who were somewhat im- plicit in the developing of this calendar in the first place) had the power and should have risen up and deft- ly put a stop to all of the nonsense. In other words, the writer was interested in laying blame, Let’s explore that concept for a moment. ‘Since the B.C. Liberal landslide victory of two years ago many changes have taken place in the public edu- cation system. Collective agreements between teachers and school boards were arbitrarily slashed by the govern- ment (effectively erasing all contractual provisions te- garding class size and composition) a funding formula ‘was put in place that’ severely punished rural districts (like ours) and the self regulating College of Teachers has recently been made into the College of Ministry Ap- : pointees. These are but a few of the many drastic, heavy . handed and decimating actions that this government has taken in the educational arena. > In-fact the last thing that this government thinks about ‘is asking teachers for their opinion on anything to do with educational policy. . ‘Certainly they did not ask for teacher (the em- - ployees) input when they handed out the “tools” to local school boards (the employer) to deal with - So far the “tools” that we have seen used are larger class sizes, less support for special needs students and now this local school calendar. -Oh yes, another “tool” was to put more control, over local. educational matters, in the hands of parents ‘(certainly not teachers). So if we’re looking to lay blame in this latest educa- tional policy circus why don't we all take a look in the mirror. If you see someone who voted for the B.C. Liber- als in the last provincial election you are looking at somecne to blame. _- There is only one chance to change the direction that our public education system is now heading in and that is.two years from now at the provincial election table. Don’t miss out on this opportunity for all of us to have some input that actually could make a difference. co, Richard Eckert, President, i Terrace and District Teachers’? Union, Terrace, B.C No to stat shopping Dear Sir: awhile back saying “Oh yes I think I guess if you hound the businesses every one should be open.” But not my, long enough you will get the answer business of course, because I just want you want. This of course should mean to be able to shop. Like that makes that the banks, post offices, law offic- sense. es, travel agencies, doctors’ offices, I am really not too sure about the ea the whole town should be open on our labour laws in our area, but does that Z Ae th stat holidays, - mean when we are forced to work a Ripe / June 21*-June28 Pretty pathetic when all our tourists stat we get double time? Are all the ane) . want to do is hang out in our malls. [businesses willing to pay double time? Pull Discounts out think that the tourists are-here to be on You only want the three summer ofthe Sorting Hat. aur river banks fishing, perhaps at the stats you say. Well the big box store : eg lake, al the race track or possibly at that opens in December will likely : p Reserve your the Heritage Park. take the next four because they have a> se copy today. We have'our corner stores open’'and — total disregard for city by-laws or stats. | a, one of the drug stores is always open. That leaves us, the workers only anit That should be plenty. with two. Who sticks up for our rights — Of the businesses polled, are these the tourists who needs to shop 365 the ones that want to be opened? Or days a year? So what’s next? 24/7s? are they like one business I petitioned . Diane Pipe, Terrace, B.C. sToppens 639-TIPS ~_ one killer of youth in The number one killer of youth in B.C. is car crashes. Each week one to two young people aged 13 to 21 die in motor vehicle accidents and over 200 are injured. Many are disabled, There were about 8,350 youth car crashes in 2001 resulting in 77 youth fatalities and 10,435 injured. One in five new drivers will be involved in a crash in ‘their first hwo years of driving. A large number of the ~erashes will occur on Friday or Saturday nights and passengers are taking an equal risk. The vast majority | -of crashes are the result of unsafe choices associate -with driving and being a passenger in a vehicle, Some - examples of unsafe choices are overestimating one’s ability, underestimating road risks and the perception that risk taking is socially acceptable. The major risk factors are excessive speed and dangerous driving ‘which includes driving without due care and attention and drug or alcohol impairment. Some ways to help | ‘reduce the risk are: All drivers and in particular inexperienced drivers must comply with the rules of the road. When the rules are followed drivers have a better chance of anticipating what the other driver is going to do. -+ Wearing your seal belt means you will be twice as ~ likely ta survive a crash, . _> Limit distractions. Distractions, such cs cell phones or emotionally charged conversations while driving will take attention away from the task of driving, - Reduce speed for the road canditions. Don’t lel peer - 7 pressure make you a statistic. es "+ For safe stopping leave at least hwo seconds of space > between your car and the vehicle in front. a “= Do not mix driving with the drugs and or alcohol “° consumplion. “+ Do not ride with impaired drivers and make every effort to keep them off the road. Nour Autoplan Brokers in Terrace ask that you make a concerted effort to drive safely so we can reduce injuries, deaths, property damage and our insurance rales, ~ Quitoplanbrokers NSURING.A SAFER BC for less... Western Family Dungeness Crab Beef Burgers Fud 1 Br ie g $ a _ Individually quick frozen, 44x 100g ie g oa ownle we 4. Whole,Cooked, awe J Patties, 4.4 kg Box, 19.36 22 sossds 388g es7145 ‘ Frozen, 11.00/kg 924662 oe oo : de _ works out to card price 42 | AG. Nectarines U.S. Grown, 1 .96/kg 7002-1 SO MUCH mone IN STORE Prices effective from Wednesday to Saturday, June 11 to 14, 2003. While quantities last. sont?