tt The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 9, 2006 - A5 rename! CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD _The Mail Bag | Forward thinking Dear Sir: In a recent letter to the editor Skeena MLA Robin Aus- tin demonstrates that he simply does not “get it” when it comes to the Alcan power sales issue. | “Mr. Austin claims that the 1950 agreement defines the “works” as “the dams, spillways, and other structures.” ' The thing is, those structures are located at the eastern end of the Nechako watershed, not at the Kitimat end. The. Nechako Watershed Committee and Nechako Develop- - ment Fund were established with this in mind. . What is most disturbing about the letter, though, is Mr. - Austin’s blind allegiance to the District of Kitimat mantra - of all power for aluminum. If Alcan modernizes its sme]t- er in Kitimat, the facility will require fewer employces’to run it. For an individual who writes about how importdnt those Alcan jobs are to Terrace, maybe he should tell us | which one of those families should sacrifice their job for”; the sake of forcing Alcan to stop selling power. yg 3 Roger Harris is not trying to represent Alcan’s inter- _ ests. He is trying to be realistic. Despite the major rgle Alcan plays here in the northwest, it is still an economic’ enterprise that must operate in the. most efficient. man- - ner possible. Alcan has several other smelters around the world that produce more bang .for the buck than Kitimat | Works, but if it modernized the facility’ here, the result would actually be job losses, not job creation... - : It should also be noted.that the executives at Alcan could simply shut down the smelter altogether. But they » are still committed to the community of Kitimat and the surrounding : area and continue to provide a ‘large number. _ of jobs in the region. Therefore, it should be no surprise. that Alcan has made the business decision to smelt only so - much aluminum at Kitimat. le . That means the power. Alcan sells is merely” surphis. - After all, there is no way Mr. Austin can stand:-before > | _Skeena constituents and guarantee. ‘them. that if Alcan were forced to stop selling power to California it would - increase its output from Kitimat Works. - i .. - From what I can see, outward thinking is what’s really behind the thinking of Mr. Harris. He suggests creating a_ a | northwest strategy and plan for the power generated by Alcan. What’s wrong with that? Such a plan couldinclude . ; many new investments that would benetit the northwest | for many years to come. : We must accept tiew. technology and, as “Mr. ‘Harris suggests, turn them into new.. opportunities. From what I can see, all that Mr. Austin and the: District of. Kitimat sl want to do is stay stuck in the past — dreaming that. Alcan ° will increase its Kitimat workforce to the size it was in the 1960s. Sorry, it simply.won’thappen. = 2 ef ake Parade Results - Best Overall: ‘Anti- -Poverty. ‘Group - Groups: . a “Non Commercial: What would have really increased the. outpiit ‘(anid = therefore, workforce) of Kitimat Works is the Kemano . : 4, Red Hat Societ _ . 1 Kermode Friendshi Socie a 2. Shamrock 4- ad 2. Pérrace Rotary. Club ty a ane But ¢ of corse: ~Mr. Austin’ s NDP cof aa 3. Totem Saddle Club we 3. Heritage Park Museum: . cagues Kille it the last time they were in government. _ . a ne _ Donny van. n Dyk, Terrace, B. Cc. Vehicle: ©. = Commercial: bed - . ric. Let’ s be Positive _ 1.TORCA/Adventure Challenge ; 1, Credit Union _Dear Sir: 5) - ,.2, Skeena Valley Cruizers co 2. Totem Ford After reading’ Claudette Sandetki’ s latest column: gn 13.1 Totem Saddle Club mo 3. NorthWest Explorers the Highway of Tears, | I am frustrated enough to finally ‘ send my point of view on her point of view. The Tears symposium was a positive way to addtess an unfortunate situation. Maybe all of the recommendations are not what you would suggest but at least they are trying to find a way to solve the problem of the hitchhikers dis- appearing. ‘You may want to try a positive outlook once - ' ina while. Here’s a few suggestions: The shuttle buses from Prince Rupert to Prince George may not be cost effective but how about a reduced fare 4 on that stretch of Hwy16 from Greyhound aimed at the “target” age group. This would also show that Greyhound is not a charity but is concerned about. the customers and: communities that support it. - on The telephone booths may be targets for vandals but if... we refused to have phone booths based on that: principle, : there wouldn’t be any: phone booths anywhere. T can t. count how many times I have tried to use a phone! booth it m this city only to find it vandalized, that doesn’ t mean we «. shouldn’t have them. What about billboards with a toll free number to > call bb 7 report hitchhiking? As concerned citizens, we could call . in to report the location of ahitchhiker. -. , _ Not all of the people hitchhiking out there are. aborigi- _nal-persons, nor are they all women, so pointing out all . ‘of the negative stereotypes on aboriginal communities isn’t really going to solve the problem. For example, dry © _reserves and the fetal alcohol. issues. All of these sug- gestions apply to all of the community. I realize that the majority of the missing women are aboriginal but hiteh- hiking is dangerous for us all. Thitchhiked myself as a teenager. living on’ the. out » skirts of Winnipeg with no bus service after 6:00. p.m. I wasn't looking for excitement or a thrill. :1 never thought |. © "anything bad could happen to me. I simply needed to get - home and the walk was long and it was darn cold. I didn't fit any of the stereotypes. I am white, grew up ina pretty _ much alcohol-free home. ‘The need for education and parental workshops area” great idea for the whole community. Mentor programs and adults looking to, start up the party in the gym are. great ways to get the whole community involved. The. free ride alongs are great ideas. That positive thinking w was - something I appreciated. - Alcohol could be a contributor whether the hitchhiker - is white or native and Claudette Sandecki’s assertions “| should be backed by proof not stereotypes. I don’t know . | the family history of everyone of the women that disap- . peared: ‘but I am not willing to:assume that they all. came from bad backgrounds. .I hitchhiked and neither’ of my ‘parents were alcoholics or drug addicts or abusive. Ising ply was a typical immortal teenager. a As for preventative measures, fetal alcohol syndrome should be addressed. This is a community issue not an’ ' aboriginal issue. : All of our children should have the right to be born drug and alcohol free as well as to have all the. tools necessary to graduate. These women-weren’t out looking for excitement. For whatever reason, they made a bad choice, something that everyone of us has done at least a few times.in our lives. - Now their family moums their loss. Let’ s show them ‘ compassion not judgement.: _ oa Katrina Maroney, Terrace B. Gc Riverboat Days Parade Photos: (Clockwise from top left) Success By 6 spells out: their message — Adam Koepke shows another side of himself in support of the Park Centre — Syntoya ~ McNamara lets everyone know how much she | loves the Anti-Poverty Group’s love. community gardens in the form of a flower. - Sean O’ Donnell is having.a blast cruising in a classic car — Sassy Skeena Scarlets from the Red Hat Society wave to _ their admirers — Matt Mageau plays his saxophone as part of the Terrace Community band — Gogo the. ‘clown takes Kermit for a ride — Torca mountain bikers Dean Campbell, Steve Roders, Kenton Matthews, Nick Lindstrom and Ryland Macdonald show how tough they are — Hali Downs and Aaron Brousseau swing. their way back to the Heritage © Park Museum, . ALL PHOTOS. BY SARAH ARTIS, DUSTIN QUEZADA and ROD LINK About the Mail Bag 7 & The Terrace Standard welcomes letters. Our address is 3210 Clinton St., Terrace, B.C. V8G 5R2. You can fax us at 250-638-8432 or e-mail us at newsroom@ terracestandard. com. No attachments, please. Name, address and phone number required for verification.