4 Terrace Review — Wednesday, July 2, 1986

this neighborhood.

parents.

blem.

the community.
.

—Editorial—
‘Solutions are needed

In a recent article in the News Adver-
tiser, it was reported that the Terrace
Recreation Centre on Greig Avenue in
Terrace was spotlighted as a danger area
‘because of the buying and selling of
drugs’®. We have operated our business
across from this centre for five years, so
we have a good idea of what goes on in

The businessman operating the Terrace
Recreation Centre has a legitimate right to
operate this business.
remarkably good job of keeping order
considering the number of youths that
frequent his premises. The RCM Police
do an excellent job of monitoring and
patrolling the area.
however, be expected to take the place of

There are problems in this area, but
what is required are constructive ideas for
solutions to these problems. The News
Advertiser, in what could be perceived as
a sensationalized article, points out very
obvious problems without providing ideas
to help solve what is a world wide pro-

The Terrace Review is committed to
showing responsibility and reporting the
{news in a manner that is constructive to

He does a

They cannot,

Letters to the editor will ba
considered for publication
only when signed. Please
Include your phone
number. The editor
raserves the right to
condense end edit jetters.
Opinions expressed are
not necessarily those of
the Terrace Review,

Terrace
Review

Established May 1, 1985
The Terrace Review Is published
each Wednesday by Close-Up
Business Services Ltd.

Publisher:
Mark Twyford
Editor:
Maureen Barbour
Staff Reporter:
Michael Kelly
Advertising:
635-4939

; or
635-7840

Production:

Klm Kimbie

Oitice:
Carrie Olson

Accounting:
Mar] Twyford

Second-class mall
registration No. 6896.

Reproduction of thia paper or any por-
tlon thereof Is prohiblied without per-
mission of the pubtisher.

4535 Greig Avenue,
Terrace, B.C.
V8G 1M7

Phone: 635-4339
ae

Guest speaker

Rick Ryan, regional director
of the Canadian Association
of Boys and Girls Clubs, was
Invited to speak to a R.A.F.T.

in Terrace last
Daniele Berquist photo

meeting
week,

Signal your
Intentions clearly

Give the professional
driver and the other
motorists time to react.

Professional drivers
stay mainly in the out-
side lanes of the major
highways, allowing
faster moving traffic to
go by. If you must pull in
front of a large vehicle,
give the driver enough
time to maintain a safe
following distance,

“Sure you're getting a golden tan...it’s costing me an ounce of
gold per square inch!”’

Youth centre options.
proposed for Terrace

TERRACE — A pro-
posal for a youth drop-in
centre was presented on
Monday, June 23 to in-
terested parties of. the
community who attend-
ed a meeting to discuss
the subject.

by Daniele Berquist

Judy Vandergucht, co-
ordinator of Responsible
Action For Teens
(R.A.F.T.) stated that
the club would provide a
positive alternative to
teens and younger
children from hanging
around town and getting
into trouble.

A representative from
the Canadian Associa-
tion of Boys and Girls
Clubs, Rick Ryan of
Vancouver, was invited
to speak in Terrace by
the steering committee
for RAFT.

Ryan, regional direc-
tor for the club, stated
that there has never been
a greater need for people
to get involved with to-
day's young people. Op-
timism, strength, leader-
ship and time, above all,
is needed to be successful
in that type of enterprise,

-noted Ryan.

He also stated that to
lean towards government
funding was not wise,
but to look at commun-
ity funding primarily in-
stead.

He added that start-
ing small, having two or
three set times a week for
the youth to meet wopld
be ideal.

A representative from
Kitimat’s Youth Pro-
gram For Kids At Risk
said that consistency of
time and place was most
important for those
children.

Rob Watts from the
Terrace Probation Of-
fice and a member of the
RAFT committee, said

that he believed the
youngsters weren’t bad
all ther lives. ‘“They were
good at one time.”
Watts stated that there
was no question about

-juvenile problems in Ter-

race. ‘‘We definitely
need = preventative
measures and a club is
ideal. Hopefully with
some effort it will get off
the ground.’’ ;

Dan Cairnie, a school
counsellor in Terrace
and member of the
RAFT committee, said
that it pains him deeply
that there are obstruc-
tions in their way. As an
educator, said Cairnie, I
can say there are dozens
of children for whom, as
a community, we could
do something. ‘It is
easier to prevent a
mishap than once it’s
been started,’? Cairnie
added.

A club could go a long
way to help these
children, he added.

Colin Elliot, member
of the RAFT committee
and a representative on
behalf of the Ministry of
Human Resources in
Terrace stated, I can on-
ly echo what the others
have already said.
Children are in desperate
need of a model role in
the home life. Too often
this is absent. A club
would be extremely valid
for our community, it
would be a positive thing
for the children, added
Elliot.

The idea of purchasing
St. Matthews church on

‘Lazelle Avenue in Ter-

race for the purpose of
the club was tossed

‘around during the

meeting. No real deci-
sions were made. A
meeting will be schedul-
ed in the fall to further
discuss project RAFT,
noted Vandergucht.

Commentary
Northwest night
includes many elements

Thank goodness for the police. And the scenario
goes even for those days when their views may not
abide on favored sides.

Laws are made and when individuals break them, a
cry of personal harassment can sometimes be heard.
The police, they say, were laying in wait for me. I’d
only hada couple of drinks. It was only a short drive
home. This isn’t fair.

And some listeners nod in sympathy,

But the narrow precipice of life can be raised to
one’s consciousness when erratic actions of a drunk
driver force you off the road. Time shifts a century
apart from a fine evening drive through the
northwest night to the sudden appearance of an on-
coming motor vehicle switching into your lane.

Potential death blows can creep forward with such
rapidity the mind barely has time to assess the pro-

blem and transmit necessary avoidance reactions.

‘First the question arises; is this really happening?

And as the eyes focus on the white sports vehicle
cruising steadily towards a head on collision, options
become clear, Swing for the ditch and hope for a
non-abrupt meeting.

Through the settling dust, the northwest night in-
cludes many elements. A stillness, green trees on the
horizon and the white motor vehicle rectifying a
missed transaction, weaving back to the right side of
the road.

I turned in pursuit of the offending vehicle which
wavered through community streets with ques-
tionable accuracy. The car came to rest in the parking
lot outside a drinking establishment. Who might
emerge from.the white wonder, I asked myself as I
approached the driver’s door. And wouldn't it be
fine if someone else were provided the privilege. of
greeting the stranger. I mean, how big might the bad
one be?

Fear dissolved into the twilight as a young male
adult stepped onto the pavement and leaned against a
nearby garbage container in an effort to remain at an
upright stance. Sir, you just ran me off the road, I
volunteered. As the gentleman swayed forward to
focus, I knew, at the depth of his thought process,
verbal dialect was not being comprehended. He slur-
red a remark and offered obliging gestures but the
vocal response could not be deciphered.

The task of communicating further, I realized, was
futile. No alternative remained but to ‘close the show
down’. But who might take that action? Me? Words
waved like a hopeless emblem and I concluded that a
scenario where people ‘take the law into their own
hands’ can provide for a bleak future.

Give me the presence of law enforcers who work to
promote civilized habits under what can. often be
termed unpleasant conditions.

Excuse me sir, I said, as the man staggered towaras
the entrance to the drinking establishment. ‘‘You’ve
been drinking and you shouldn't be driving. You’re
going to hurt someone.”’

And then he disappeared behind a closed door. B

Smart thinking rewarded

Clark at the June 23
meeting.

Incentives for in-
novative thinking are be-
ing offered to district

employees. Prizes of up
to $200 will be given to
municipal workers who
enter the best suggestions
to make the city’s opera-
tions more streamlined
and cost-effective. The
deadline for the contest
is September 1 of this
year.

Terrace council ap-
proved the concept on a
motion by Ald. George

A 238-signature peti-
tion in opposition to the
addition of sodium
flucride to the municipal
water supply was entered
in the agenda at the June
23. meeting of Terrace
council. The council
voted to have the peti-
tion filed as information,
declining to take any ac-
tion on the matter for the
present time.

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