44 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 14, 1996 TERRACE » STANDARD ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. * V8G 5R2 TELEPHONE: (604) 638-7283 + FAX: (604) 638-8432 MODEM: (604) 638-7247 Shadowlands FOR THE SECOND straight year, a child of our community has drank himself to death. There will be more. Those who know this ask themselves why there isn’t community will to do something, Others wonder what can be done. Painting names and faces on these victims is difficult. Yet that is what etches their stories — and the meanings of their lives and deaths — into our psyche and remind us of the need to find answers. Sandy Alexander Spencer and Leonard Victor Pavelas had lives, wants, desires, and dreams. Their parents, relatives, and friends know that. But to many others they occupied that Shadowland of teenagers who don’t stand out from the crowd, who aren’t among the select few who are certain to succeed. Out of that realm come all of us. We are parents, workers, volunteers, and community leaders. We are successes and we are failures. But above all we are survivors, Those who never escape the shadowland are the quiet victims. They don’t garner the attention that comes when someone prominent dies of cancer, suicide ora car crash. This community is capable of unspeakable good when someone is in need. The challenge is to channel that good into the shadows. The need for a youth centre in the community has been raised as one possibility and it may work wonders. However, it represents another solution from society..—.«more: in, the, line.of..the..government. agencies, bureaucrats. and-commiittees that insu- late the rest of us from these problems and ab- solve us of individual responsibility. These so-called “‘at-risk’” teens are everywhere around us. Take a chance and reach out to one. It could do us all a world of good. Healthy goals GOT SOME time on your hands next Monday and want to take a drive to Prince Rupert? The Northwest Regional Health Board is Sponsoring a one-day workshop to discuss pro- posed provincial health goals with people in this area. It’s being held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. February 19 at the Highliner Inn in Prince Rupert. The goal of the workshop is to create and dis- cuss realistic health goals that will meet the needs of people in the northwest. For instance, studies show that people living in northern and rural areas of B.C. can expect to live five years less than their counterpart in more urban, or southern parts of the province. In learning more about what affects our health, it’s hoped that gap could be narrowed sig- nificantly. This workshop is just one in a series which is being coordinated across the province. Just as important to personal health is trying to figure out how healthy our northern facilities will be in the coming years. But, as they say, that’s another story altogether. ALES PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link cona 74 GNA 5) apventising MANAGER: Mike L. Hamm w/a PRODUCTION MANAGER: Eduuard Credgeur (ee NEWS Jeff Nagel» NEWS SPORTS: " COMMUNITY: Cris Leykauf OFFICE MANAGER: Audra Creek ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Sam Collicr. Janet Viveiros, Tracey Tomas ADVERTISING ASSISTANT: Emma Law DARKROOM: Susan Credgeur COMPOSITOR: Kelly Jean CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Karen Brunette MEMBER OF 1.C,PRESS COUNCIL © Serving tha Terrace and Thornhill area. Published on Wednesday ofeach week by Cariboo Press {1969} Ltd. al 4647 Lazolla Ave., Terrace, Brilish Columbia. Stories, photographs. illustrations, designs and typestyles in ihe Terrace Standard are the property of the copyiight haides, including Cariboo Press (1969) Lid, ils ilustalion repto services and advertising agencies, . : Reproduction in whole or in part, without written permission, is specifically prohitiled, Authorized as second-class mail pending ihe Post Olfice Department, for payment of postage in cash. re CONTAC LIFE Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents Onthe bright side... ink ofthe fun the think a will have... ) 1 CBC vital to national psyche VICTORIA — My radio- alarm clock springs to life at 6:45 a.m. By that time, the CBC’s moming person already has a few hours under his belt. I get out of the shower just in time for the 7 o’clock news, and by the time | leave the house, I’m fairly well informed about world and local affairs. Of course, I have a choice. I could listen to any one of half a dozen private radio stalions. Trouble is I bate to listen to the inane chatter of radio per- sonalities, waxing tiresome about mostly nothing. ] also can’! stand the endless array of contests. I find very little joy in listening to some- __ one guess the name of a tune in- the hope of being sent to the - Grammy Awards, Nor do I have an abiding in- terest in David Letlerman’s list of ten, which is now being flogged to radio stations every- where for broadcast the morm- ing before he unleashes it on his television viewers. And to add insull to injury, instead of the news, I’m ol- fered what the atmouncer calls a 98-second news break. How do these stations get a licence? And how on earth do they hang on to il, considering that their main function seems | FROM THE CAPITAL. HUBERT BEYER to be to subtract from the sum “total of mankind’s:knowledge?.. .- “Tf 1 haven't made “myself clear yet, I'm an avid CBC listener. Aside from a well- rounded package of news, CBC Radio offers such gems as Peter Gzowski’s morning program and As It Happens in the evening. There’s a reason ]’m making this pitch for the CBC. In what has become almost a par- liamentary sport, our federal politicians are out for blood again - the CBC's blood, that is. Responding to consistent at- tacks on the public broad- casler, a three-member com- milice issued a report last week with proposals to refund Mother Corp. The problem js that the medi- cine is worse than the illness, Far from being enthused about the committce’s proposal, Ca- nadians responded with almost unanimous derision. And I can’t blame them. The committee, which con- sisis of twa CBC exccutives - Picrre Juneau and Peter Hermdorf - and communica- tions professor Catherine Mur- ray, wants Canadians to pay for the CBC via a tax on cable TV and long-distance phone calls. The problem is that the CBC attracts: only 11.4 per cent of Canada’s radio audience. Even the brilliant and hugely enter- taining and educating Gzowski tacks up a maximum of 350,000 listeners, And CEC radio is, of course, not the only oullet looking for stable funding. There’s its in- finitely more expensive TV cousin, which is also the target of more frequent attacks from politicians, particularly the op- position kind, While I don’t pretend to have a magic formula for trimming the cost of operating the Cana- dian Broadcasting Corporation, ° if trimming is indeed desirable, . there is absolutely no doubt in. my mind that the organization | vilal to the country’s survival. The CBC provides a forum ° for our concerns and ambitions “ as a nalion. More than any ; other institution, the CBC can - bring Canadians together. There are probably ways the - CBC, particularly CBC TV, : can be operated more efficient- : ly and effectively, but to sub- ' ject the institution to never-* ending pecuniary hassles that : are bound to lead to the CBC’s : eventual demise is myapic in : the extreme. 7 To flirt with silencing one of - the most important voices of healthy nationalism at a time : when Canada is ‘convulsed by fears of breaking apart is tak- ing one more step towards na- tional suicide. By proposing to finance the : CBC with surtaxes on cable : TV and long-distance phone calls, the committee hasn’t helped the public broadcaster’s cause. The CBC should continue to be funded by taxpayers out of gencral revenue, Beyer can he reached at: Tel:(604) 920-9300; Fax:(604) 381- 6922;E-Mail: hbeyer@uirect.ca hae eee Keep adventure in camping CAMPING IN B.C, is about to take on a new cachet, Instead of being the poor man’s accommodation of choice, it’s splilting into two tiers, like air travel and ocean cruises. The B.C. government is in- troducing a reservation system for fifty percent of campspaces in some forty provincial camp- grounds. Reservations can be made up to three months in advance for Stays as long as two weeks, at a reservation cost of $6 per day toa maximum of $18, The other half of camp- ground spaces will continue to be rented on a first come first serve basis, A reservation system should boost, yet even out, the overall usage of our parks and: en- courage British Columbians to spend their vacation dollars in this campgrounds, if any, could be better kriown, On the downside, as financial analysts are wont to say, a SIGH! THERE'S MARTEN'S NEU/ TRAPLINE. ... CLAUDETTE SANDECKI reservation syslem will sepa- rate the planners from the spontancous; reservations are oppesite to the spirit of camp- ing -- every man for himself, And inevitably some families holidays will be marred by computer glitches losing reser- vations. There may even be an unprincipied park manager or two. who will give a reserved spot lo a friend who shows up unannounced, HE'S DOWN THERE CUTTING LINES, HUN Tint AbD Fite le T'M OFF TO ANO eG BUSWESS MEETING! — 2’ G@* BUSINE Reservations would allow lo- cal organizers time — if they chose to use it — to set up cx- tra accommodation for peak activities such as Riverboat Days, the Fall Fair, or air shows, Any open field fitted with a bank of portable toilets and a pumper truck to supply water could park the overflow crowd, Unless there’s some govern- ment regulation against it, Bes- ides the additional income to the area, visitors would ap- preciate the extra camp space, A few seasons of reserva- tions may let government determine what adjustments to our campgrounds would be valuable, both for better look- ing after visitors, and for pro- tecting our parks for overuse, Pd like to see the map reservation-lakers will refer to while accepting reservations — Campsite 12: 35 degree slope, two cedar reals, one boulder. MEMO: OCTOBER 30 1995 ret Details of the govermment’s plan have yet to emerge, I wonder about the deadline afier which reserved campsites ' will be thrown open to last minute arrivals, Most campers have their tent up by 7 pam.. Stragglers may show up until, the gate’s closed, Holding reservations to the , fast minute without ending up. with an unused space will be a delicate cali. This reservation idea puts camping on a footing with motels and hotels, For vaca- tioners inclined to plot their itinerary to the precise second, it will be invaluable. But for those who prefer to camp wherever sleep overtakes. them, reservations rob camp- ing of half the fun. Thawing out from two weeks of the highest heating con- sumplion in our history, it’s hard to get into the mand to reserve a Victoria Day camp- Sile. '