wo A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, April 27, 2005 s TERRACE TANDARD ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 PUBLISHER: ROD LINK — . ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B. C. « V8G 5R2 TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 + FAX: (250) 638-8432 WEB: www.terracestandard.com . EMAIL: newsroom@terracestandard. com TW s up to you | “IF THERE’ S one thing the May 2001 provincial election. taught politicians it’s that. voters, acting ~ collectively, can and will overwhelmingly regis- .ter exactly how they feel. The unprecedented thrashing given the NDP | government of the day, reducing the party to two seats versus the 77 for the provincial Liberals, was about as clear a demonstration of democratic’ will as you can get. On. May 17 we get to do it all over again — pick- ing and choosing the candidates which will deter-_ -mine the next provincial legislature. This time it’s ‘going to be different. That n mas- “sive desire to punish a government, doesn’t exist to the same measure as it did in 2001: Instead, this will be a campaign about policies and i issues ‘and how each party addresses those policies and. “issues as they. affect the individual voter. ‘It’s also going to be a campaign about geogra-. phy, what those-in political circles call the rural- -’ urban divide or more precisely, the. differences between the 604 and 250 area codes. -And that’s important for the northwest and for those of us who live here. ‘The economic wave --of prosperity.happening elsewhere hasn’t exactly _ lapped up on the shores of the northwest. Double | digit unemployment statistics continue to set us. ~ apart from the rest of the province. Those stats. would have. been much worse had thousands of people not left. the area and. the. province to seek jobs and security. elsewhere. a . But there is also a glimmer of rising expecta.” tions in the northwest. ‘Commercial construction | _in Terrace, for example, indicates a level of con- fidence not seen in past years. The container port announced Jast. week for Prince Rupert will cre- dte ‘new oppottuitities’ for a different way to make a living up here. Rising commodity prices once more make mining development attractive. “The events of the past and the hope of the fu- | * ture provide a fairly clear yardstick for voters, to - examine the policies of the parties, the issues they present and the promises they will make. All of the parties and all of the candidates know | this will-be a much different, election up here than in 2001. They’ll be working. hard to secure your _ vote, providing: the .perfect. opportunity to ask some serious questions. Are you better off than you. were, before? Will you be. better off in the next several years? How about, your neighbours? Have medical services. ‘improved? Cari. your doctor find a bed in the hos- pital “when-you need one? Is the school system in better shape? Are your children learning what they need to learn? Which party or candidate can offer what you need? You can reach Liberal candidate Roger Harris | at 635-7212, NDP candidate Robin Austin at 615- 3227 and Green candidate Patrick Hayes at 635- 7849. | | PUBLISHER/EDITOR: | Rod Link ' ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach . PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur wo, - NEWS: Sarah A. Zimmerman COMMUNITY: Dustin Quezada NEWS/SPORTS: Margaret Speirs | FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Alanna Bentham ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Bert Husband, Susan Willemen . AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik - PRODUCTION: Susan Credgeur SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: $57.94 (+$4.06 GST)=62.00 per year; ’ Seniors $50.98 (+$3.57 GST)=54.55; ~ Out of Province $65.17 (+$4.56 GST)=69. 73 Outside of Canada (6 months) $156. P1105 98 GST)=167. 89 MEMBER OF B.C. AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, oe CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION CN A. Lorn . : AND . Communay Newsrarres ‘B. C, PRESS COUNCIL (www.bepresscouncil. or) = Atte gtet es Serving the Terrace and Thornhill area. Published on Wednesday of each week at 3210 Clinton Street, Terrace, British Columbia, V8G 5R2. Stories, photographs, illustrations, designs and typestyles in the Terrace Standard are the property of the copy- right holgers, including Cariboo Press (1969) Ltd., its illustration repro services and advertising agencies. Reproduction in whole or in pect, without written permission, is specifically prohibited. ‘Authorized as second-class mail pending the Post Office Department, for payment of postage in cash. Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents seats for the . Liberals, _ NDP. «their parties’ the next four weeks. 4 hh MGV SSS a HARD AS HE TRIED, PAUL Coutb NoT LOSE Tue STRAY... VICTORIA - Here’s the start- ing point. If the election.cam- paign doesn’t: produce any surprises, or change anyone’s mind, figure a little over 50 and something over 25 for the _ Alot can happen, of course. ‘And both leaders, and all the | strategists labouring away. on wedge ‘issues and daily talk- . ‘ing points, Will. be judged on whether they .can .improve standings over - But . today, that’s. Where things stand. I’m basing that largely on a _ very recent Mustel poll, which showed the Liberals at 46 per’ cent. support among decided voters, and the NDP. at 38 per cent. That’s a statistically sig- | _nificant lead. It’s also, slightly. larger than Gordon Campbell and company had two months ago, indicating a relatively stable situation. Those results suggest about 50 seats for the Liberals. That seat forecast is also not far off the results so far from the UBC Election. Stock Mar- ket, a forecasting exercise that -- requires those involved to risk “money on the accuracy of their predictions. The stock market is a form _ of betting, but those who take part are very serious. And it’s consistent with, an informal survey I did with 27 -people from around the: prov- ince, all political watchers, none involved directly in cam- paigns. Their average forecast was 53 seats for the Liber-_ als, 26 for the NDP. (I have From th FOUR YEARS ago when Cin- di Broadus suffered extensive sulfuric acid burns from a jar- _ful thrown off an overpass, she could have died or withered’ into a recluse. She did neither. She recovered, went back - to work, wrote a book about her experience, and pushed for a State law. Broadus, grandmother of three, and her husband Jim were the only traffic that fate- ful morning as they drove ~ “home on the interstate. - Driving under an overpass near Newcastle, Oklahoma, a ~ bottle of sulfuric acid smashed through the passenger wind- ~ . shield. Acid flooded over Broadus’ face, neck, chest, and arms, ‘and splashed her husband. The instant burning was so pain- ful she thought she had died. She begged Jim to pull the car over. Wisely, Jim kept driving. At the first gas station, he had the attendant call 911. Later in the hospital, treated, bandaged, and heavily drugged with morphine, the acid con- tinued to burn deeper into her flesh. Her glasses saved her _ PAUL WILLCOCKS been reading The Wisdom of Crowds, by James Surowiecki: which argues convincingly for the power of group decision- making over experts in pro- ducing accurate forecasts and sound judgments.) It’s all good news for the’ Liberals, -who have been tied with the NDP for much of the last 18 months. The party has managed to move far enough to the middle to win over some disaffected voters. That’s been much ground over the next four weeks. Their challenge” is to hold their support, avoid ‘mistakes, and keep the NDP . on the defensive. ~ But the poll isn’t bad news for the NDP either. There’s an advantage to them in being the underdog. Many people who say they plan to vote NDP are aiming to.elect’a’ much stron- ger opposition, after four years - of a virtual single-party state. Some of them will change their vote :if they think the NDP stands a chance of being re- -elected. - And the New Democrats ' do have a chance to improve o especially helpful, the Mustel* . poll suggests, in sharply re- ducing the gender gap which saw women much less likely _ to support the Liberals. Gordon Campbell: remains unpopular - 53 per cent of those surveyed disapprove of the job he’s doing, 40 per cent approve. But that’s stabilized too. The Liberal job for the cam- handed out the’ pre-election cash and got .the headlines, and can’t really expect to gain THROUGH BIFOCALS CLAUDETTE SANDECK! : eyesight. Heavy canvas shoes protected her feet, the only area of her body where doctors could inject painkillers. Over the next few weeks surgeons took skin grafts from both her thighs. She describes the pain of the exposed nerve ending in her thighs as the most unbearable pain imagin- able. Yet six weeks after the j inci- dent she returned to work at a TV station. A series of plastic " ([know, it doesn’t sound hard. . ‘paign. is to execute. They’ve « But fire up the TV lights, and “crabby. reporters waiting for all gets difficult. ) James needs - their position. Wisely or not, Carole James put off releasing: the party’s platform. It makes an effort to shift the NDP to the middle in the same way / thé: Liberal’s’ electidri: ‘budget eased them toward the ceiitre.’ If it works, if the move seems real, that will attract voters. Much also rests on James. Right now. she’s got a 70-per- cent approval rating among people who have formed an opinion of her job perfor- mance. (Campbell is at 43 per cent.) » But more than 40 per cent of the public still haven’t formed - an opinion. That: includes a large group of people who so far plan to vote Liberal. . _ That’s. ‘a. potential upside for the NDP. James handled the party platform launch well. bring in a roomful of faintly you to make a.mistake, and it e pain comes surgeries restored, her face so she’s recognizable but scars _are still clearly visible. | - Broadus credits her recov- ery to accepting peoples’ help — and her physical limitations. . “The: healing touch of loved ones’ hugs helps. She realizes she is the same person as be- fore, only better..Far from be- ing bitter, vengeful, or sorry. for herself: She has forgiven the perpetrator. “Forgiving is a gift I: give to myself,” she says. Her brother-in-law, Dr. Phil, describes the perpetrator as a “gutless chicken, a shallow thinker who lacks the ability to understand what effect this crime could have on others be- sides the victim. Such crimi- nals are full of rage, anger, and > frustration. They aren’t happy until they have inflicted pain, injury or destruction on oth- ers.’ Dr. Phil has offered a ‘sub- stantial reward for information leading to the arrest and con- viction of the perpetrator. He . _also encouraged Cindi, a twin sister to his wife, Robin, to write a book as a way to come life The 6 big picture? I'sa Liberal win _to do the same in the debate, and every day on the cam-’ paign. Both leaders also have to convince voters that. they will‘ actually. do. what, they say., Campbell has the burden of’ broken promises; James the. i NDP’s record. . The campaign is on, with a sizable advantage for the Lib-: erals. “ stands at 10 per cent, : below‘ the share of the popular. vote . the Greens got in 2001. Despite the vacuum created : by the NDP’s near-death expe- . rience, the Greens have failed _ to convince voters they offer a: serious alternative approach, and the environment has be-' “‘conie‘a’ ‘lower priority political “issue. The Liberal effort to avoid’ mistakes is-already taking at. least one. risky form, as the; party’s representatives avoid ‘debates or discussions that in- clude New Democrats. ‘ It’s safe, but the Liberals ‘ _Tisk looking afraid to defend : » their policies and plans in front, ofthe public. ~ The Greens got stomped on by the NDP.. Adriane Carr had ' scheduled the party’s platform ‘ launch, but the NDP put out ai release saying their platform + 7 would be unveiled at the same t time. ~ An accident, said James. The Greens are not convinced. The Green platform was vague, and uncosted. willcocks @ ultranet.ca to terms with her injuries. Her Fe elt ee ee ee ee Footnotes: One surprise is. ‘how little impact. the Green’ ~ Party now. has. Party support ' _ book, A Random Act, is de-\ scribed by readers as inspira-\ Ly tional. . 4 Besides the book, Broadus : is responsible for the state of: Oklahoma passing a law ‘mak- ing it a felony to throw any ob- * ' ject from a bridge or overpass. * - The state may also light over- ' passes and bridges, or enclose them with steel mesh cages. _ So far, no one has been ar-* rested. A 17-year-old was sus- ' pected. All police found at the ; scene was a jar lid anda small . amount of acid. Kids think throwing stuff’ | off the overpasses into oncom- ing traffic is a game. With their : usual foresightedness, they fail - to comprehend the extensive : injuries that can result when a - car traveling 50 or more kilo- : : meters per hour collides with : heavy objects like a bottle: or’ a rock. ‘ B.C. should have a law! similar to Oklahoma’s. One: * motorist suffered massive in-: juries form a rock dropped on: his windshield. A TV landed - on another highway. But we lls ¥ wait for fatalities. s.