A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 27, 1996 TERRACE STANDARD ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 ADDRESS; 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. * V8G 5R2 TELEPHONE: (25()) 638-7283 * FAX: (2500) 638-8432 MODEM: (250) 638-7247 He’s back ONE OF the funniest people in Terrace is back in the mayor’s seat. There was never much of a doubt Jack Talstra would defeat challenger Gor- don Hull. Things would have pretty much have- to have been in bad shape at city hall and around the city for an incumbent to fall. But what a difference three years makes, In 1993 Mr. Talstra was considered by some to be a right wing all around bad guy faced as he was by Lynda Lafleur, a businessperson tempered with a social conscience. The third candidate, Francisco Trigo, introduced enough of a wild card to keep things interesting. Yet Mr. Talstra kept to a course of conserva- tism, didn’t waver and ultimately came out on top. Voters decided tt was better to have a mid- dle of the road conservative type than to chance an unknown quantity. This time Mr. Talstra was the person with a so- cial conscience, somebody who was a conserva- tive but with a sufficient liberal streak to act as all things to all people. It was a natural course for Mr. Talstra to take. All he had to do was let Mr. Hull’s fiercer brand of conservatism, hinting of spending cuts and prospect of some kind of upheaval rise to the top. Voters again decided to stick with a known quantity rather than to risk something else. And the interesting thing about all of this is that the candidate Talstra of this election was the same candidate Talstra of 1993. So what does Terrace have to look forward to with Mr. Talstra this time? More of a sly sense of humour often not appreciated that can cut through the mush of politics. Witness his treat- ment of Kitimat resident Dave Serry, who ran for mayor in that city, at the all candidates mecting. After a long discourse from Mr. Serry, Mr. Tal- stra simply responded by saying he thought there was an all candidates meeting in Kitimat.. And we can expect more calculated passion from Mr. Talstra. This came out — again at the all candidates meeting — in his defence of past councils when faced with Mr. Hull’s questioning of prior financial actions. Terrace is going to need a sense of humour and some of that passion as it faces the tricky issue of a new governing structure with Thornhill, the prospect of assuming control of the airport and in dealing with the no-win conundrum of the affor- dability of a second sheet of ice. shame WHAT TERRACE won’t have on its council is Gordon Hull and Bruce Hill and that’s a shame. The same reasons voters rejected Mr. Hull in his bid for mayor — perhaps too quick with a spending cut knife, perhaps a bit too stubborn — is what made him a good councillor. It’s hard to find somebody who sticks to his beliefs and deci- sions once made. Mr. Hill, endorsed by the labour council, spoke very much of the need to have more citizens in- volved in the crucial decisions facing the city as it grows into the next century. Each wouid have brought a different vision to council’s deliberations. They are visions that seem opposed to each other but, on balance, are the visions expressed by a lot of people in the city. Councils that think too much alike often don’t make for the best decision making bodies. PE RP PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Rick Passmore PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS Jetf Nagel * NEWS SPORTS: Dave Taylor COMMUNITY: Cris Leykauf OFFICE MANAGER: Kathleen Quigley ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Sam Collier, Janet Viveiros, Karen Dietrich ADVERTISING ASSISTANT: Enima Law, Kelly Jean, Shannon Cooper TYPESETTING: Sylvana Broman DARKROOM: Susan Credgeur CIRCULATION MANAGER: Karen Brunette - MEMBER OF 5.C. PRESS COUNCIL ; Serving tha Terrace and Thombil area, Published on Wadnescay of each week by Cariboo Press (1969) Lid. at 3210 Clinton Skeat, Terrace, British Columbia, V8G GAZ, Steries, pholographs, tlustrations, designs and typestyies in the Terrace Standard are the property of tha copyright holders, ‘including Cariboo Press (1969) Lid.; its ilkstratfon fepro. services and adverlising agencies, . : : Reproduction In whole or in part, without written permission, Is specifically prohibited, Authorized as second-class mail pending tha Posl Office Department, lor payment of postage in cash, Special thanks to wii our contributors and correspondents . ~ for their time and talents Comauntry Niwsearers AbbGOctRtT ON Ade Colemnla a Fatve me , fi) wae AS 18 Your captain speaking. .. “Welcome ab0drd Canadian Aiflines... we dre experiencing Some severe turbulence please fasten your seatbelts. . move your chair in 4n upright position and make Sure that your fingers Are Crosse oi tastes 4) cat AEA fag acd thas ee ” . . ea ‘ ‘ : In a land of VICTORIA — __ British Columbia is not only one of the most beautiful but one of the most prosperous places on this tortured planet. Why then, do an estimated 170,000 chil- dren in B.C. live in poverty? The estimate is reliable. It comes from Joyce Preston, British Columbia’s = om- budsman for children. In a report, the child and family ad- vocate says that 19.5 per cent of all children in British Columbia live in poverty, up from 14.5 per cent in 1989. That figure is an indictment of government in particular and saciely in general, I’m sure the kind of poverty Preston talks about cannot be compared {to conditions in Zaire,’ Rwanda- or -wherever: else human beings are starving to death. Her definition of poverty may also be disputed by the Fraser Institute, And those who remember the Great Depression may resign them- Selves to the fact that the more things change, the more they slay the same. For the record, a single parent with one child reccives about $12,000 a year in wel- fare. That’s well below the $22,000 poverty linc, And any- pee FROM THE CAPITAL HUBERT BEYER one who believes $12,000 a year is adequate hasn’t paid rent in a while, or bought groceries and children’s clothes, | Measured. against the stan- dard of living most of us enjoy, the poverty of those 170,000 children is very real and very gut-wrenching. Chances of children starving to death in British Columbia are remote. But living in poverty docsn’t mean being at risk of starving to death. Poverty means 170,000 chil- dren in Brilish Columbia do not get proper nutrition, Poverty means the parents of 170,000 children, living in a land of plenty, cannot take their children on camping trips in the summer or skiing trips in winter. Poverly means 170,000 chil- ‘dren in our midst will have a bleak «Christmas. Poverty means 170,000 children are being ignored, forgotten, by us. Government must accept some of the blame. Even the NDP, self-proclaimed champion of the poor and ad- vocate of the underdog, has made debt reduction and deficit control its shining icon, With the aim of getting wel- fare recipients back to work, the NDP has reduced social as- sisiaice rates. Fat chance of success with 10 per cent unem- ployment. Also makes them look suspiciously like Ralph Klein’s or Mike Harris’ bands’ of intrepid deficit warriors. Preston didn’t pull any pun- ches when she released her report. “‘There have been a number of changes to B.C. Benefits that I think are anli- children,” she said, although, later that day, she toned down her remarks, saying the term anti-children was a bit stronger than she had intended it to be. I think she was dead-on, Any social assistance policy that keeps 170,000 children in Chess for children — A BRITISH COLUMBIAN school teacher proposes making chess a credit course in our schools. Chess, he argues, teaches a child to reason, to think things through to a logi- cal conclusion. Though skeplical at first, after observing our four-year- old granddaughter engrossed in filling together a 48-piece, Canada Games brand Polly Pocket jigsaw puzzle, I tend to buy the teacher’s argument. Assembling a jigsaw puzzle is nol as simple as it may ap- pear, particularly for a pre- schooler. The mental gym- nastics occupy her until she’s as focused asa safecracker. Finding the right piece be- gins by identifying the clues of what's needed. Then she has the reverse problem of locating a piece that possesses as many of those features as possible. What configurations does the piece have to have? A circular bump or a circular hole; a per- pendicular ora sloping straight edge; a narrow or a broad ANIMALS «= * LEGEND SAYS RAVEN CREATED ALL THE THROUGH BIFOCALS | CLAUDETTE SANDECKI ‘elbow’? Or is part of it shaped like a rabbit’s back Foot. Which colours might the piece have? And which pat- tems —- an eye, 4 nose, the curved edge of a dish? The more distinctive features a piece has, the easier it is to lo- cale. Here’s where Polly Pock- et shines, The picture is of three little girls in pajamas sitting against a spindled headboard while the oldest reads bedtime stories, The reader has chocolate- brown _ hair, glasses, speckled with darker hears. The middle child wears a fuschia hair ribbon, slippers with fuzzy lamb faces, and holds a green mug. The youngest girl has pink ribbons on her ponytails, cuddles a teddy bear, and sits beside a clown doll, In the background are a red- handled hairbrush, a pink- based lamp with a purple, flowered shade, an alam clock, a vase full of flowers, and a picture hanging against black granny and blue pajamas bluc green-and-white striped wallpaper. Once our granddaughter knows which details she’s ex- pecting to find on a piece, she inust find a piece possessing those details. Then unless she’s 50 lucky a picce fits on the first try, she must rotate the jigsaw piece through three positions until it meshes, or is ruled out. Jigsaw puzzles offer mental stimulation in a calm almo- poverty is anti-children, There is some hope. Prime Minister Jean Chretien has vowed to end child poverty in Canada by the end of the century. He has given federal officials until December 15 to draw up a blueprint to fight child poverty. The plan, which is estimated to cost $3 billion, is expected to be included in the spring budget and could welf become a major plank in the Liberal re- election platform. Hopefully, the proposal won’t end up like the child-care plan, which was promised but never fully im- plemented. Even from a fiscal stand- point, poor children make no sense. A convincing case can be made that money ‘invested in the health and welfare of children saves money later in ihe child’s life on health care plenty, why this? expenditures. Some estimates. put thal saving at $4 dollars per child for every dollar speut. But above all, it is immoral for an affluent society to allow children in ils midst to live in poverty, Beyer can be reached at Tel: 920-9300; Fax: 385-6783; E- Mail: kubert@coolcom.com try it Sphere, which makes them ideal toys while a baby sister is napping. More than one child can participate. They make no noise, require no batteries, and babies have no taste for them. They have no sharp comers to scratch furniture orto snag upholstery, And they don’t in- dent bare feet if stepped on i the dark. Our granddaughter relishes the challenge of working alone, To help her build the - frame without assistance, we wrote one alphabet Ictter on the back of each of the 23 frame pieces in sequence. If she gets stuck, she sings the al- phabet. . After five or six comple- tion’s, she’s mentally fatigued and needs a change of pace, But playing with the puzzles is teaching her to be observant, catalogue characteristics, memorize where each special piece fits, and persist until-‘the job is done. Probably chess would teach child even more. | Seeare Does) YARE YARF WE MADE THEM iT WAS A, VARF! \_STupiID!! | MISTAKE ! YARF! ef YARF. BUT AT LEAST