| Aa: Tha Terrace Standard, ‘Wednesday, November 1, 1995" ‘TERRACE’ TAN DARD. ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 "ADDRESS: 4647 Lazelle Ave., Terrace, B.C. * V8G 188 TELEPHONE: (604) 638-7283 » FAX: (604) 638-8432 ©. MNODEM: (604) 638-7247 RY ONCE in awhile on the American TV “news there’s footage of massive barges off the - east coast of the United States. They contain New York City’s mountains of garbage. Trailing hordes of seagulls, the barges are pushed and pulled up and down the coast. Why? Nobody _ wants. them and there’ S no place to > dump the ‘stuff. - Thats. gaite: ‘close to the image some people have: about the Kitimat-Stikine regional district’s. plan to. deal with. the. garbage we produce. In- stead of having two dumps in this area, the plan ‘is to-close the City of Terrace’s and keep open the one in Thornhill. This, combined with an ex- | tensive recycling program, will reduce over time t that’s the plan. | The fear of some people living in Thornhill is > that, the remaining dump will became a monster gulper of garbage. And as such, the area sur- rounding it will be environmentally affected by the waste generated by thousands of people. Coupled with this is the uncertainty about the stated costs, That uncertainty is rooted in the - secure. knowledge that those costs contained in the regional district’s-ambitious-sounding Solid Waste Management Plan will rise. They always do: That’s just the way things work. “Equally unnerving is the feeling that costs asso- ciated in dealing with garbage are being borne by ‘the. taxpayer and not by manufacturers who pro- duce. goods in wasteful or unrecyclable packages: in the first place, . One way. to ‘Spread that around is being pro- faye | tainer thatcan’ n be mveled and: re-used. Obvious: ly there’s self interest at work because this kind of fee now applies only to soft drink containers. Whatever happens, that old saying of ‘‘waste not, want not’? is bound to take on a higher and “more expensive meaning | in the next few years. . Fairness OBSESSED WITH cutting costs and raising fees, Terrace council has gone on a rampage tecently that’s affected almost everybody who ‘uses a city Service. But that Mongol horde approach stopped dead in its tracks when it came to the decal program | for commercial vehicles within the city. As of Jan. 1 it’]l stop charging fees of between $25 and $40.for these kinds of vehicles. Councillor David Hull said the program was a - cash grab. But that can be applied to many of the | fees and taxes charged by any government. And ‘if we are to accept Mr. Hull’s premise, council must address the questions of fairness and of equality. Is this a situation where council has bent to the wishes of a well-organized lobby? Can other groups expect their particular fees and taxes to receive'similar treatment? “-. PUBLISHER /EDITOR:! Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Mike L. Hamm PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgear NEWS Jelf Nagel * NEWS SPORTS: Malcolm Baxter _ COMMUNITY: Cris Leykaut ou a aan Lavan CONTROLLED as _ ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: am Collier, Janet Viveiros, Tracey Tomas oe DARKROOM: Susan Credgeur RCULATION SUPERVISOR: Karen Brunette. : MEMBER OF 5.0, PRESS COUNCIL SA a Ming the Tevrace end Thomhil area: Published on Wednesday of each week by Cano Pres (1969) ~-Uid"al 4647 Lazelia Ava , Terrace, British Columbia, o ris, ‘pho! mgrophe, Mustations, designs and typestyles 'n the Terrace. Standard an tha property of the o Copyiight. holders, including Gurfaoo Press (1989) Lid. its Imistralin repro services 5 and advenising * agerides ; : - Aetica in whole a inj part Vitout vaitan parnisstory Is spacifcaly pratt. ae 3 Aumaiied ‘as Secend- quiclly: Pay back $60, 000. FROM THE CAPITAL | * HUBERT BEYER —: that had flowed from the Nanaimo Commonwealth Holding Society into the cof- ou bad advice.” - ' Well, in the Hubert Beyer Thesaurus it’s listed as a cover-up. What else can you call- it? The decision to pay -back the money was made after it became obvious that the ; scandal could not be contained. Pratt is party president, and the buck stops with her. The premier’s announcement that he would appoint a com- tTaission to oversee the -affairs of the holding society is a bit ‘ridiculous, like closing the bam door after the horses have ; ~ Canada, the NDP has. always The Democrat,” was’ “not (a "cover-up, but a mistake, based bolted. The scandal is of such mag- nitude that it’s virtually im- possible to consider it in its entirety. One has to break it + into small bits to make any sense of what went on, One of the bits that has come out of the mess is Bermie Simpson’s fund-raising ac- . tivilies in corporate ‘boar- | drooms, The ’ Fraserview MLA, we're told, Vancouver- bas been acting as bagman for the party, soliciting and getting donations from corporations. With any other party, that would be an acceptable prac- tice. Not so with the NDP. Un- like any other political party in the late federal NDP leader David Lewis liked to call big. corporations. Despite the brave face the premier is showing these days, the scandal clearly has the NDP in disarray. And apart from the wimpy commission the premier said he’# appoint, there is no damage-control strategy that I can discern. Small wonder some backben- _ chers and party supporters are playing with the idea of making Harcourt the fall guy. "+ Not that it would make much - ‘been a-'swor “exiemy | of" the - “corporate welfare bums,’ as bingo of a difference to the NDP’s prospects in the next election. The scandal wili still play a big role in the campaign, no who leads the party, Both the Liberals and the Reformers will make sure that the public’ remains fully in- formed of how the’ NDP’s fund-raising arm tipped off | charilics: And’ if that’ isn’t enough, there are pests like me who keep writing about the ; damn scandal. Two-and-a-half years ago,” when the scandal first sur . faced, Harcourt didn’t accept my advice to call for a full public i inquiry, It was good ad- vice. Even a couple of cabinet ministers: have: now: _ Admitted: ‘that tone oe -Alas, it’s never too late, So , here’s my advice to the premier now: A full public in- quiry is still a goad idea. It would rob the opposition of its claims thal the NDP is still trying to keep as much of the scandal under wraps as it can, ~ Call an inquiry, get it over with, take your lumps and then Start working on the election, That’s my advice, and il’s free. You're welcome. Beyer can be. reached at: Tel: (604) 360-6442; Fax:. _ E-Mail:. - (604) 381- 6922; hbeyer@direct.ca Fifteen years of good work | .ONLY 15 YEARS. It. seems. the Terrace Wonten’s Resource Centre has existed much longer. Yet in all that. time I’ve visited the centre only once, about 1989 when-one of our daughters was working 60 or|| more hours a week asa nanny oft for $800 a month: The centre arranged forme’ | -to meet with an employment standards representative so] could express my. views. in per- son. Without the centre’ $ inter: © vention, . my” protest would. have died at the end of an un . satisfactory phone : conversa- tion with the labour minister al. the lime. Even with the centre’s back- ing the meeting didn't result in emancipation: of ‘nannies, Bul eventually their, wages rose, ; though not much. Although -Pve ‘visited . only - once, I’ve phoned the centre for advice on several occa- THANK GOP! A TRAIL ! We ae SAFE! THROUGH BIFOCALS CLAUDETTE SANDECKL : sonal sions. . 1 Once I necded to Jeam specific sleps a battcred wile could take to combat abuse from her alcoholic husband. -The centre took the trouble to explain what options. the woman had-and how best for her to achieve each. Their ad- vice was ‘clear and specific. I passed il along to. the bruised IT's GOING BuTIT'S BERER THE WRONG THAN SLOGGING- THROUGH THE BUSH ON ‘ HUNCH? "wile. On another occasion I sought the centre’s help when a young woman’s soon-to-be-ex was harassing her with a parade of destructive pranks and childish behaviour. Again the story [ told to the centre was routine - to them, Again their sugges- tions were practical and con- crete, Over the centre's 15 year ex- - istence, more than one per- acquaintance bas volunteered countless hours to the centre. Some of them. began by going there .for advice and comfort during times of family crisis, They ended up voluntecring because they saw the centre as a worthwhile xesource striving to better the lives of individual women and their families. | know the daily struggles these personal acquaintances have, their integrity, in- dustriousness, and commit- ment {0 family and com- — munily. Because these women have determined the centre earns its property tax-free status, J must conclude the centre is a com- - Taunily asset. While I do tittle to support it, won't be swayed by wild rumours and unfounded ac °° about by cusations flung” people who've visited the centre even fewer times than J have. Pm no raging feminist. Nei- ther Germaine Greer nor Betty.” Friedan are household names or guiding stars in iny firma-. ment. But I believe women >. should feel frce to pursue any : career that appeals to them. And they should leam to speak up for themselves, The centre agrees with me on”: that. ~ [wish the centre well in the future. my judgment. OKAY! you Fallow THe TRAIL AND The FoLlLow,