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Page Ad — Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 18, 1990 ,.

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Registration No. 7820 4647 Lazelle Ave: Terrace, B. G, VaG 188 (603) 638-7283

sewing the Terrace area, Published on Wednesday af wach wank by Cariboo Praca (1880) Lic, at A847 kanete Ava., Terrace, Biftish Columbia. :
Stories, photographs, dustrations, dasigns and hpestyios in tm Terrace Standard up the proptity of The copyright hodars, inclcing Cariboo Pres (1969) Ltd, Hs Me

istration repre servicts: and advertising agencies.

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‘DITORIAL

Appearing on the opposite page is a
letter from a parent expressing concern
about some of the changes being in-
troduced into the local secondary junior
school.

Primarily, Wanda. Kerby is: worried
about the effect disruptive students will.
have on other members of the class who
want to learn and whether the concept of.
co-operative learning will work or not.

Setting aside the question of whether |

those fears are well-founded or not,
what is disturbing is the apparent
response to her concerns,

Kerby describes the replies as flippant
and patronizing — dismissive might also
be appropriate.

The letter brings to mind events in
March of this year when similar pro-
blems arose at Clarence Michiel school.

Granted the parents’ reaction in both
cases is based on perception and it is
perhaps not one the school system's
representatives intended to convey.
However, on sensitive issues such as
these perception can be everything.

- Kerby may well have put her finger on
the problem when she says she is worried
about the number of parents who do not
appear to care about their child’s educa-
tign.

. There is little question such parents ex-
ist..They. are doubtless.a source of much’.
frustration to teachers trying to help* '
students only to find themselves con-
tinually sending messages into a void.

Tt- would be only human nature if the

weight of. those experiences blinded —
educators to. the fact there are parents ©

out there who care very much.
-Unfortunately, even many of those
parents who do will often make little ef-
fort to get involved as long as their child
is making satisfactory progress. It would

Perceptions

therefore be understandable if educators .

got the impression these individuals were: |

also disinterested. oe,
Once an impression of parental apathy

becomes firmly established, keeping the = |

lines'‘of communication open soon seems: -

to be a waste of time — after all, is there.
anyone really listening out. there? »

Then along comes something like the
Year 2,000 program and all the changes
it brings with it. Suddenly the parents are
there, people the system long ago con-
cluded had no interest in education.

Is it therefore really surprising-if the
reaction to the unexpected onslaught is.
perhaps excessively defensive. thus.
creating the perception the parents’ ap- .
pearance is an unwarranted intrusion on

a private preserve.

It is all somewhat reminiscent of what.
has happened in recent years in the forest
industry. Long used to the idea the
general public had no interest in what
was going on in the woods, the industry
reacted predictably when people began
questioning forestry practices —_ it

withdrew behind the barricades.

' Two years ago, representatives of the
Council of Forest Industries admitted to
a gathering of newspaper editors . and

“because they ere ay iNew or no ‘effort ae.

to explain the workings of the industry.
It’s all very. different now. Both in-

- smith. ‘afta:

VICTORIA _
Huighes’ first press conference,
and I’m sure he’ll never forget
it; but neither will the reporters
covering the event.

An hour after Attorney ~

- General Bud Smith resigned

dustry and the’ ministry are falling all"

over themselves to get their message out.
Regardless of whether or not the new ap-
proach is. succeeding, it is at least an at-
tempt to dispel the previous impression .
industry had something to hide.
Perhaps there’s a lesson there for the
educators. ‘

Practice. makes perfect

Imelda Marcos has set a new

benchmark for atonement,
When a New York City jury
recently found her not guilty of
spending $200 million US
looted from her country to buy
New York skyscrapers and

Through :

Bifocals B
by Ciaudette Sandeck!

¢

works of art, Imelda celebrated
her. acquittal by crawling up the —
centre “aisle of St. Patrick's

probably fifty blocks or more

plicant silhouette to the lenses.

Cathedral and prostrating
herself in front of the altar.
_ Now,:that’s some crawl!
. St. Patrick Cathedral’s centre
aisle stretches an entire block
(deduct a few meters for the im-
posing.entrance) from Fifth to
Madison Avenue. This 4500
seat cathedral, the world’s four-
teenth largest, has been-the site
of many grand ceremonies, hap-
py‘and sad, for America’s rich
and famous. |.

"Lucky. for Imelda she didn’t
meet, up with an exciting bridal
party of cortege.

Which: suggests Imelda phon-
" ¢d-alicad to reserve aisle time in

anticipation. of an ‘acquittal.
~ You. have to give: her: credit for

staging a‘hovel stunt in surroun- -

‘dings conducive to camera

from the cathedral; Do you sup-
pose she said, ‘‘By the way, care
to join me at St. Pat’s?”

For her to’ complete her
endless crawl without scraping
her knees, scuffing her pumps,.
or strangling in her collar, Im-
elda must: have meticulously
double-checked every aspect of
the manoeuvre beforehand:
Rock from one knee to -‘the
other to free up the skirt. Lift
one leg forward so'as not to
drag down the pantyhose, Move
one rosary bead to the right. —

Her trial run no doubt in-
fluenced her choice of wardrobe
for the occasion, Non-run pan-
tyhose with neavy duty elastic

‘waistband. A dress with ease in.
the: skirt and a hemline -

measured to skim the carpet’s
braking action, Closed-toe

: ‘shoes. with elastic gores” and

polished soles.
Undoubtedly Imelda practis-
ed, too,. The National made her

, trek down the aisle look ef-

fortlessly ~ spontaneous,
However, only studious repeti-

_ tion could ingrain the individual

7 steps, leaving her to concentrate
v2) On” spursof-the-moment.-ad-.
oO justments 80 as to present: asup-

i bwenten foarte tied

Serre aa tinal

On film, Imelda appeared to
be communing with her Maker.
In reality, though, I expect she
was repeating to herself, ‘‘Rock
from side to side. Lift one leg
forward. Raise the rib cage for
lung expansion. Suck in the
tummy. Tuck the derriere
under. Slide a bead — and aim
forthe altar.’ 9. *:

Even | could duplicate each

solitary gesture fora brief time.:

- Hughes’

from -his..post, Hughes,. the
deputy: attorney - general,’..an-
nounced that, at his request, the
RCMP was investigating his
former boss to establish
whether Smith was guilty of
obstructing justice.

If the controversy leading to
Smith’s resignation had severely
bruised. the justice system,
‘conduct was in-
strumental in restoring public

* . gonfidence in it.

_.A: former judge and now
public servant, Hughes made an
impassioned plea to the public
not to lose confidence in the

» system...

But to coordinate them into one

flawless execution throughout
the length of Skeena Mall would
strain my energy, my balance —
and my credulity. ;
, Not so with Imelda.
: Gitiness, take note.

HEY" THERE'S: soneeonl : 8

“*A fair and equitable justice
system is the corner stone of our
society. Let me assure you that
steady hands of honor and in-
tegrity are at the helm of the at-
torney general's” office, ”
Hughies said,

The dramatic evenis leading
to Smith's resignation began the
day before when NDP justice
critic Moe Sihota accused Smith
in the legislature of contempt of
parliament and obstruction of
justice," ;

, Sihota’ 5 allegations were bas-
ed on..intercepted cellular
telephone conversations bet-

- ween Smith and someone refer-

red to as Mr, X, later identified
as Bill Stewart, assistant deputy
attorney general i in the criminal
justice division. A second phone
conversation, was between
Smith and CKVU reporter
Margo Sinclair, ©

There are several controver:,
sial aspects to this case. One i is
the method by which the infor-

mation was obtained, Someone
intercepted conversations by the
attorney general on his cellular
phone,

- Cellular phones aren’t like or-
dinary phones. They use radio
waves. Intercepting cellular

ve meen CAVES:

} : : .
: a : )
i arom

It was Ted _.

-. (HE'S INVENTING: A MulN Nova
JH pa DETECT AND TOKE

me) .

a SO
} we
ISS

wl

‘Deputy’s p performance
restores confidence.

bie

From the

Capital
by Hubert Beyer

calls isn’t illegal, and it’s easily
done with the help of a relative-

‘ly cheap scanner available in

any electronics store.

The other aspect is, of course,
the contents of the phone con-
versations, That they are. ex-

plosive is evident from the: fact

that Smith ‘resigned or, as he
called ‘it, ‘stepped aside” for
the duration of the investiga-
tion,

The gist of the conversation
between Smith and Stewart isn’t
really worthy’ of. an: attorney

general and am assistant deputy -

attorney general. It centres
largely on the rather unflatter-
ing assessment of a lawyer who
was representing Sihota in his
private law suit against former
provincial secretary Bill Reid.

’ The allegation of obstruction —

of justice stems from the princi-
ple that the attorney general

must not, in any way, tamper,

with the justice system, ~

“The attorney general, not
only offended the integrity"of '

his: office, but also brought -the

administation ‘of justice: into

disrepute," Sihota told the
legislature, adding that Smith
should resign, —

Well, on Wednesday, Smith
said he would do no such thing,
but next morning he had ob-
viously changed his mind, The
fact that Hughes, without con-
sulting anyone, in government,
had decided. to turn the matter
over to the RCMP, may have

had. somthing to | do with :
‘Smith's change of heart.

Lhave to conie back again to |
the ‘exemplary’ manner in which -
Hughes, acquitted himself in this : .
‘Without © him. ‘It “éceurred. to. mn
nobody gave such a‘dis
“emotional support: when
old’ Peter Dueck k resigned, 3

whole. sorry.” affair..
him, the-attorney general's of-
fice and, indeed, the whole
criminal I justice’ system might

have ended up with 3 a fae worse!
image problem.

Hughes also devised aN ex.
cellent method of dealing with

“the matter, After the RCMP.
concludes its investigation, they®.
will report to Neil McCrank,:
deputy attorney general : ‘of
Alberta, who will make recom:'
“mendations of whether or not -
Smith should be charged.

Why not have a judge make.
that decision, one reporter:
‘wanted to know. No judge -
whould accept such’ an assign-

’ Judges ‘don’t: decide
whether or not charges al are laid,”
Hughes said.

In his brief speech to. the
legislature, ,.
allegations vere false, but in the

interest of preserving the in- .
tegrity of the office, he would |
step aside. oe mo |

The fact that his telephone
calls had been subject to: pro-.
longed

“-gutveillance, “Smith. told: the
legislature, has left me empty
and with a profound feeling of.
personal violation.’’ :

The pathos of his speech in
the House, 7
prepared statement,
sharp contrast to the tone of his
telephone conversations which,’
totally aside from
substance, would’ have anyone:
with a sense of decorum weep, .

Alas, his colleagues appeared
to be swept away by his drama _.
of it all. When Smith got up to
leave the chamber after giving.

“” his resignation ‘speech, hid ‘col-
leagues lined’;up to’ sha s

hand and’ pat: hit“ oO

Smith said the

and systematic

read from = 2.
was in

the :

ign gepbeletelt