The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 31, 2003 - BI TERRACE. STANDARD. - COMMUNITY: INSIDE COMMUNITY EVENTS B2 MY POINT OF VIEW __ARON STRUMECK! _ An anxious hope HEN | FIRST told Jennifer, my editor, Wii I was having tronble writing col- unins lately, she replied with her usual unflappable and cheerful aplomb. 1 was woe- fully behind schedule, totally uninspired, with a brain that felt like it was filled with cotton- balls. I had several ideas rattling around in my head, and all of them were rapidly going no- where, Hey, no worries, Jen said these things hap- pen to the best of us. Tell you what; if you’re really stuck, just wrile up a year-end review. That's usually a good way to get things © going again. 1 agreed that. this was a great plan, and would start immediately, and so the first day ‘passed, with nothing much of anything happening. I went to bed with an unsettled heart and unfulfilled. mind. Inspiration was still nowhere to be found. The next morning came far too carly for my likes much as usuai. | stretched a long lazy stretch before switching on the computer and ambling into the kitchen for my uninspired rit- ual of high-powered caffeine and low-powered loast, turning over the past year in my head over and over again in search of something worth writing about. Finally convinced I was totally screwed, | flipped on the boob-tuhe, ready to massage my ‘brain with waves of thoughtlessness. Unexpectedly, ] was treated to grim unhap- py smirk of George W. Bush talking, and soon after, the. image of the man known as Saddam, the Ace of Spades. Ah yes, I muttered to myself, | remember last year now, 2003 was the year of the Bush. Think I’m crazy yet? Well, hang on a sec- ond and we'll see, because as far as I can see, the biggest hard-hitting news all had our south- erm friend wrapped well up in it. I remember-the arguments over the creeping Yankee bashing and supporting that came and went as America prepared to march to war. I saw many people in our community distressed over the internal debate over whether or not it was uppropriate to support our neighbours in what could be seen as “their time of need”, or to tell them they were out of tine. ‘A magical night of happiness, bright bangs and flashes.’ I observed our world community locked in a fierce debate thal may yet be come to be seen as the greatest pre-empted moral battle of the century; whether or we were not in fact help- ing invade Iraq in the name of liberation or corporation. Ive seen many families out of work or leaving Terrace outright. Due directly, in my mind, due to.what seems to be a hostile and belligerent argument over the continuing Soft- wood Lumber and Free Trade “deals”. Never has it been so absolutely clear that the power our neighbour to the south is quite absolute, and everything has blurred into a big gray fog of hall-told lies and hatf-baked truths. It seems like something vital has been lost between the world today and the world before September | Ith. Reminiscing, | find myself back to the cold and wind-swept beaches of Kelowna, Decem- ber 1999, back when the clock the whole world was celebrating the coming of a new century of light. ]t was a magical night one filled with both eptimism and hope and a long- ing for the promise of world-wide peace. ] remember. wandering the beaches talking lo total strangers, all of them coming together in spirit of exuberant harmony that [’d never seen before or since. It was a magical night of happiness, bright bangs and Flashes and optim- ism of a rare breed never seen before. To me then, this is my year in review, one of concern for the future, and of hope remem- bered in the past. This year has taught me to be wary, but to still remember the promise Consequently, [ find myself sitting on my chair in front of ny computer wondering what exactly the promised future of a new year holds before us, wishing things [I’ve never wished before, As you probably know, 2004 is an election. year for (he United States, and it looks to be a big one. George, W, Bush alone is expected to spend. between $200-300 million (U.S.) on-his reelection campaign. That’s why I know where.I’ll probably spending a lot of time in the new year in front of the TV seeing what's going (do happen next, Sometimes | wonder if I’m voting in the right country, but-in the end, all [ean ‘do is. hope for the hest. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Ter- race. The town rang in 2003 with a big party — and a big cake — at the arena banquet room Dec. 31, 2002, 75 years to the day after Terrace was incorporated. Local guides, like this one above, helped serve the cake lo dozens of cele- brants who turned out. JANUARY @ All Hail 2003! Prince Rupert mayor Herb Pond and mayor Rick Wozney are just two of the well-wishers who gathered at the Terrace arena banquet room New Year's Eve for an historic event: (he official opening ceremonies for Terrace’s 7th anniversary. The event is a kick-off for a year of celebratians that wrapped up Dec, 21 with a closing ceremony at Herit- ige Park Museum. Terrace was officially in- corporated on Dec, 31, 1927. M Atta girl: Sassy, a wily terrier cross, is back home with her Southside Owners after a harrowing fight for survival, The pooch was stranded on an island in the Skeena river for two months. She was so scared, she eluded rescuers two twice before they finally caught her just after Christmas. FEBRUARY M@ Nanoo, nanoo? The 2002 Canadian UFO Survey says Terrace is the top three spot in the country when it comes to the number of repor- ted sightings. A record number of sightings puls Terrace into the survey’s top 10 for the very first time. W it’s a hil: On Feb. 1, 21 women appear in a local performance of the Vagira Monologues. Direclor Marianne Weston says the event, a fundraiser for Ksan House Society’s new trans- ition house, is probably the largest all-female production ever attempted here. @ Concerned citizen: Roberta Robson or- ganizes the first of a series of ongoing peace vigils prompted by U.S. plans to invade Iraq. The silent Friday aflernoon vigils, held outside the Skeena Mall, attract up to one dozen lo- cals who are concemed about the prospect of war and what it will bring for the Iraqi people. M@ Masical magic: Uplands Elementary presents Tom Sawyer the Musical at the R.E.M. Lee Theatre for evening and matinee shows. The massive production involved the dedication of students, staff and parents. MARCH BH Brain trust: Caledonia Senior Second- SILENT PROTEST: In February, Roberta Robson, a visual artist and concerned citizen, organized weekly peace vigils outside the Skeena Mall as the U.S. prepared to invade Iraq. Say goodbye to 2003 Part | of our annual look back at some of the year’s most compelling stories KEITH Jacobs succumbs to Pottermania. ary’s Physics Olympics team returns. home from the annual brain-busting event at UBC wilb another top 10 showing. Teamwork gives Cal the edge, says teacher Allen Wootton, who's guided previous teams to Olympic glory. Sixty-six teams from across B.C. competed this year, + Hi it sure doesn’t taste chicken: 300 hun- dred people find out what an oily northern delicacy prized by the region’s First Nations. actually tastes like at the first-ever Ooclichan Festival, organized ‘by Terrace Tourista and- the village of Kitsumkalum, Ed Brown gener- ‘ously donates a load of fresh fish right from the Skeena River on the morning of the festival, APRIL Mi Bear aware: Fortress of the Grizzlies, it new book by Terrace photagrapher and conser- valionist Wendy Shymanski and co-author Dan Wakeman on the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary shoots to the lop of the B.C. bestsel- ler list when it’s released. The book features hundreds of Shymanski’s photographs, ~- MAY @ Teamwork: More than 400 people on 35: teams raise a whopping $54,000 in the fight. against cancer in the 12-hour Relay for Life at George Little Park on Mothers Day. The event SCHOOL SECRETARY Vi Timmerman, a familiar face to anyone with ties to Skeena Junior Second- ary, was just one of the well-wishers turning out for ; midnight June 2! for a launch party celebra- closes with a touching candlelight ceremony. @ Cleanest school yard: Parkside Second- ary, new home of Terrace’s alternate. high school programs, is this year’s winner of the Terrace Beautification Society’s..coveted . award. Judges say. they couldn’ t find a trace of litter anywhere. _ Bf Good health: experts: ‘of: ‘every, descrip- tion - from physicians. and surgeons io Tai Chi instructors and registered massage therapists — turn out to share their expertise with the public at a free health and wellness conference — a . gift from the B.C. Nurses Union-and the alco- hol and drug program at Kermode Friendship Society, @ Birthday bash: former students checked out their old lockers, admired the handiwork on home-sewn grad dresses and came clean on decades-old secrets (like the stunning confes- sion. about a set.of master keys to every door in the building) at a party celebrating Skeena Junior Secondary’ s 50th birthday May 31. ' The emotion-filled event was:also a chance to say goodbye to the old high school, which was then tom down in July. JUNE MClean Sweep:. the -Terrace. Little Theatre's drama, Speaking in Tongues, picks up 10 out of 15 awards al the Skeena. Zone Drama Festival May 31. The play-picks up tro- phies for best production, best direction and best actress — an award shared by. Marianne Weston and Dawn Marshall. The play went on lo compete at the provincials. @ Blockbuster: Hundreds of kids and adults: line up — ‘some of them at midnight — to buy their copy of Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix, the latest instalment of the boy wizard’s ongoing adventures, . Misty River-Books even- opens its doors at ting the arrival of the 760-plus page book, which has been the subject of unparalleled se- crecy up lo ils much- anticipated release - en- suring’ fans’ the, world over aren’t disappointed by. “spoilers” cuntil: they read the. book for themselves. the school's 50th birthday party in May. A few weeks -later, the old school was demolished to make way for the new one. IT WAS probably the largest all-women cast in Terrace theatre history. The Va- gina Monologues featured 21 local women.