-Victor Lepp, Letters Terrace residents are praised To the editor, Terrace _ residents should be proud to know that their com- munity has a special distinction this year, one that is recognized in the trophy case at the Legislative Buildings in Victoria. Terrace busi- nesses and individuals have contributed the largest amount of mon- ey per capita to the British Columbia youth Parliament (BCYP) in 1985. BCYP raises its mon- ey through the sale of Youth Parliament Bonds, which are tax deductible donations to the youth parliament, but are called bonds in keeping with parlia- mentary tradition. The Bond Shield, awarded each year to the member who has sold the most bonds, in terms of dollar value, was awarded to myself, Bruce Hallsor. I have been one of Skeena’s representatives since 1983 and am presently the Minister of Finance. Iam very proud of the fact that Terrace has been so supporting of the youth parliament in the last few years, but the people who should be most proud are the businesses and indi- viduals in this town who donated, and madé a commitment to the parliament and an in- vestment in the youth of B.C. Businesses thanked I would like to thank all of you who have bought bonds from me, but = especially Ack- lands, All Seasons Sporting Goods, All West Glass, Braid In- surance, Bytown Diesel, Cedarland Tire Service, Chinook Sales, Copper- side Stores, Gordon Crampton, Dr. Lou EI- orza, Finning Tractor and Equipment, Sylvia Godlinski, Independent Industrial Supply, Dr. David Maroney, McAlpine and Co., Jim McEwan, Gord McConnell, ‘Doc’ Robertson, John Rod- ers, Northern Drugs, Richard’s Cleaners, Ru- , don Enterprises, Skee- na Auto Metal, Tal- stra and Company, Ter- race Chrysler, Terrace Totem Ford, and Wightman and Smith. Your money went to- wards many diversified projects last year. It helped pay for our ses- sionin Victoria, it help- ‘tions. Members ed us put on a camp for undet-privileged child- ren this summer, it helped us with a con- ference involving the Alberta Tuxis Parlia- ment, and the Junior Statesmen of America conceming Internation- al Year of the Youth. In addition, we con- tinued to help out at neighborhood _ houses for youth, at children’s hospitals, and at many other youth projects which we participate in. Your money contribut- ed towards a workshop for Grade 5 students in the interior, about B.C.’s economy and natural resources, and as well, we continued to do our numerous small- er ‘Initiatives’, includ- ing working with Big Brothers, Scouts and Guides, youth sports, community work, and many other organiza- also represented B.C. at the National Youth Parlia- ment and the Western Canada Youth Parlia- ment. Busy year It has been a busy and successful year for our organization, and we appreciate your sup- port. This year, we will be hosting an Interna- tional Youth Parilia- ment in conjunction with Expo ’°86, and your continued support will continue to be needed, Youth Parlia- ment is a non-profit organization, entirely funded through dona- tions. We are a regis- tered charity, and give donors an officially. re- cognized tax deductible receipt. If you wish to purchase a bond this . year and make an ‘in- vestment in youth’, please don’t hesitate to write me at my UBC address listed below. And if you have any questions about us or our work, don’t hesi- tate to write or contact me in Terrace after May 1. Once again, thank you very much for play- ing such an inportant part in the success of BCYP. Bruce Hallsor, - Minister of Finance, 6050 Chancellor Blvd., UBC V6T 1L4 Better Blend Wool blended with nylon is lighter in weight and has greater durability than wool alone. A 10 to 15 percent nylon improves elasticity, resiliencé and shape retention, . To the Editor, About two years ago the Minister of Con- sumer Affairs legalized the advertising of beer on television. This was done over the protest of many responsible elect- ed bodies in B.C., in- cluding regional district boards, school boards, hospital boards, town councils, as well as many community groups, especially those concerned with alcohol problems and rehabili-. tation. While input was sought from those bodies, it was ignored and the ministry suc- cumbed to pressure from the beer produc- ers. To assuage our concerns, we were as- sured that advertising would be in the very best of taste. That no drinking would be shown in the ads and that it would be strictly generic advertising to give the producers a chance to put _ their brand names before the consumer public. We were assured again and again that there would be no so-called ‘‘life- style’’ advertising that would appeal to kids or young people. That the objective was not to promote drinking, but strictly to advertise brand names. Abandoned It now appears that those lofty aims were abandoned almost be- fore the ink on the legislation was dry, as has to be obvious to anyone who has watch- ed TV recently. Almost without exception, the ads show _ attractive young people in an endless variety of at- tractive surroundings, engaged in all kinds of sports, entertainment, fun and romance situa- tions and without ex- ception, the climax of these activities is a beer party. Picture young school children and pre- schoolers exposed to this for 15 or! more continuous years. By the time they reach legal drinking age (or sooner) they have been system- atically programmed, that fun, sports, en- tertainment and ro- mance are synonymous with drinking! Free market I believe strongly in the free market prin- ciple that business should be able to adver- tise its wares, but this principle should not ex- tend to drugs and alco- hol, at least not where the audience includes large numbers of child- ren. The social and economic devastation that results from the misuse of alcohol re- quires strong control over sales, distribution and advertising. We have a serious neath rer and growing problem with alcohol misuse here in Canada. The province of B.C. de- rives some 300 million dollars annually in rev- enue from alcohol sales. But anyone who has ever tried to. add up the other side of the ledger comes up with some truly frightening figures. There is a stag- gering health cost. A large percentage of doc- tor visits and hospital admissions are caused by alcohol misuse. Medical statistics don’t begin to reflect this, because a lot of ail- ments and deaths are not officially reported ‘ as alcohol related, but in many cases, natural death and illness from a wide variety of causes has been helped along by large quantities of booze. Policing costs Then there is the cost of policing, courts and prisons. In some small- er communities, where serious or organized crime is largely absent I have heard police state that up to 90 per cent of their time on the beat or in court is spent on alcohol related cases. In our community, one constable could easily keep the peace, were it not for alcohol. As it is, we have a seven man force with plenty to do. Imagine what this does to police costs and to the cost of courts and prisons. Even a large percentage of serious crime occurs under the influence of alcohol. Talk to welfare ad- ministrators. You will find out that much of their case load origin- ates from people with drinking problems or from people who have been affected or desert- ed by an alcoholic fam- te ag — = ene MOWERS aA oA CARTES Mamber of AFS Wire Service Shirtey Clit Terrace Review — Wednesday, Jan. 22, 1986 § Lofty aims abandoned ily member. The list is much long- er and impressive. By conservative estimates, the cost of alcohol mis- use in B.C, is over a billion dollars annually, a net $700 million loss over revenues. To geta balanced picture, we should also examine the social costs. All the misery and suffering; the sickness and death; all the innocent vic- tims. Broken families, deserted and abused children; children born with lifelong disabilities ‘because of prenatal al- cohol abuse by the mo- ther. The threat we all face from drinking drivers every time we get into a car. Soclal headache Alcohol use is an integral part of social life in our society, even though it is our biggest social headache. Only about 30 per cent of our adult population are abstainers and manage without alcohol. The last thing we want is to deliberately create more drinkers and more problems. To uniform- ly condition our next generation that alcohol use is a desirable and necessary part of every social and romantic sit- uation and an integral part of the sports scene. I say we should take a hard look at the results of the legislation that brought this about and get rid of it. If we must aim advertising at kids, let’s advertise the after- math of drinking. Let’s show skid road scenes, family fights, car wrecks and broken bo- dies, crying children and battered wives. And let’s try to condi- tion our kids and young people, as the Alberta government is doing through a TV ad cam- SI paign, that there are a lot of things that can be | done and a lot of fun can be had without alcohol. Through a_ serious campaign in schools, Starting with kids in kindergarten and Grade 1, we have greatly re- _duced the use of tobac- co. We have outlawed the very same kind of advertising we now see from the beer people, that used to turn most kids into. smoking adults and we have been highly successful in convincing youngsters that smoking is not a smart thing to do. Why not use the same ap- proach on_ alcohol, which is every bit as unhealthy and much more socially damaging than tobacco ever was. Let’s plan for the future to try and get out of that vicious cycle that leads to ever more al- cohol use and abuse, and social degenera- tion. Peter Weeber, New Hazelton. ence is not golden... You're cight! The apace isempty, There isn't any ed. If you operate a busines: and don't advertic, the silence MW anything but polden. Advertiaing ia really extending an invitation to your prowpoct and aking them to buy your products or use pour services. If you aren't advertising, you aren't seiling. if you need more business, call our business — It’s advertising. ») The Stork’s , Delivery Rook Phil and Doreen Letham are happy to announce the birth of thair daughter Brittany Anne. Brit- tany arrived on Jan. 9, 1986 and weighed in at 6 Ibs. 1 oz. Dennis and Patricia Neasloss are the proud new arents of Jason Warren who arrived Jan. 13, 1986. He weighed 7 Ibs. 9 oz. John and Lena Mann wish to announce the birth of a baby daughter, Crystal Marie. Crystal was born Jan. weighing 8 Ibs. 3 oz. Is the Stork about to visit you? Let everyone know about the happy event by having It printed In the Review. 24-hour Phone (604)635-4080 Skeena Mall