PAGE 4, THE HERALD, Thursday, June 8, 1978

Editorial

Hundreds of teenagers will soon be let out of
High Schools and upper. grade schools in a few
weeks when the Annual Summer Holidays
descend upon them. In addition, scores more in
their late teens and early twenties will be
“home” in Terrace and Kitimat when the
universities close their doors for the annual long
vacation, . ; .

Many of these young people will be ‘‘walking
the streets” of Kitimat and Terrace looking for
jobs that do not exist. In desperation, some may
resort to mischief - vandalism, practical jokes
and other ways to burn up their surplus energy
and high spirits - as well as frustration.

At the same time - during the same Summer -
long period, hundreds (more_.accurately, -
thousands) of families will be taking off for their
annual vacations across Canada: and to other
lands, closing their homes for periods from two
weeks to six weeks. And many of these - like this

- writer - will be faced with the problem of what to
do with the pets - and having to board their cats
and dogs at three tofour dollars a day each - how
to have their house plants watered, their mail
taken in, their Jawns.cut, their gardens weeded

_ and watered, and, in general - their homes
securely looked after.

To have one small, well-behaved (almost)
daschund looked after during our vacation has
cost us $90.. Totting up the number of dogs and
cats, multiplied by the lowest figure of three

' dollars a day, I figured there is a market for
someone with a potential of $6,500 for a two week
period caring for the approximately 150 dogs and
cats, on the one street alone. __..

I know I would have gladly paid five dollars a
week to have our small lawn kept in trim, - less
than an hour’s work a week - and another five for
weeding and watering - which, if others went

along, would mean a market of $3,000 on our
street for a two week.period for the 150 homes.
Add another ten dollars a week for a daily,
routine security check, taking in the mai] and
any newspapers delivered by mistake, checking
the house for leaks, open windows, and watering
the plants, feeding the goldfish (if any) elc. - and
there lies another possible $3,000 forthe fortnight
if all the 150 go along with it. (Of course they all
wouldn’t - but definitely many would) —__
How nice it would have been to have come
heme and found the windows all cleaned, the
floors vacuumed, the car washed, and a number
of odd-jobs done that we had been putting off for
so long- when we returned! We have been
looking at the paint on the outside of our home for
the last couple of years, wondering how much
longer: we could put off repainting. The ideal
would be to hire a professional - but very few
appear interested in a one-house contract - even
if we could afford it, _The same with repairs to
and gravelling our driveway - which is less than
15 feet long (the last estimate.--for cement - was
$1,200!) Perhaps some students who have
gained experience in painting and odd jobs
during previous summer vacation jobs, - would

Some Jobs for Our Summ

be happy to pick up a few extra thousand dollars
by canvassing the homes. along the street, and,
when they get a sufficient number, ; sub-
contracting the work to professional painters
and construction workers. They would get their
own fee, for which they would also be expected to
oversee the work, make sure the_ property
owners received only the best of work, and the
owner’s interest was properly protected.
There is another lucrative market poing
begging, also, but this is even trickier than. the
rest, and would require the most responsible,
mature students, to properly handle. ;
Many families, when they go away on their
holidays, would have more peace of mind if they
knew their home was being properly looked after
- that is, - was being “‘lived in”. Here is where
the “house sitter” comes in. My wife and I have,
personally, “house sat’’ successfully, in the past
- and paid for the privilege. Desperate for ac-
commodation, in a northern city in the Nor-
thwest. Territories, we once_‘house sat” for a
high school principal’s spacious (government
owned) home - and looked after the family cat.
We paid $50 a week for the privilege’- and the
principal and his family were highly pleased

Cyril Shelford, M.L.A.|
Overlooked. Why? |

Reprinted by Request

In view of the many
problems confronting the
guiding industry, and the
many revelations con-
cerning irregularities
arising out of
mismanagement of the
Department of Recreation
and Conservation as
reyealed at the recently
adjourned Inquiry probe-it
is a shame that a man of the
stature of Cyril Shelford has
not been utilized to a greater
extent by the Government
than he has been up to now,
by appointing him to a
cabinet post.

Shelford for many years
prior to entering the political
arena, had been a guide
outfitter in the central in-
terior, and knows the
‘problems of the guiding
industry at first hand.

That a person with his
extensive background in the
guiding industry is allowed
to wither on the vine-in such
a secondary role as a back-
bencher is not befitting this
man. His knowledge and
advice if called upen could
be so valuable in extricating
the department from the
troubles that has befallen
that unhappy administration
over the jast decade or so.

Asa former minister of the
Department of Agriculture
under the previous Social
Credit administration of
W.A. C. Bennett, he is in an
ideal position to work on a
new program to restructure
the present Department of
Recreation ‘and Con-
servation and overhaul the

system to eliminate the
problems that has harried
the department so much in
the past. |

He knows the inner

cabinet portfolio, and
coupled with the fact he has
the full confidence of the
majority of the guiding in-
dustry, he should be per-
suaded to reconsider his
Intention of leaving govern-
ment service and. bring to
bear his considerable ex-
perience and proven ability
to avercome the problems
confronting the department
and the guiding industry.

It is unfair that the present

minister, the Honourable ~

Sam Bawlf should be so

burdened with the respon- Le 1 eee ——_
“At least I don’t feel any blame for the mess the countty’s in — I’ve never voted.”

sibilities of sevéral portfolios
ata time when so much of his
undivided attention is

needed to undertake a-

program of restructuring of
the department to improve
the service “to meet the
challenges of the future, The
rebuilding of the depleted
game resources and the
initiation | of sound
management policies must
be undertaken: as soon as
possible. Bawlf has a very
good reputation as a capable
administrator and is cer-
tainly a good cholce to
restore the. publie’s con-
fidence in the Department,
but unless he can devote his
tull attention to the problem
there is a critical need for a
knowledgeable man to be at
the helm who can, I say that
taan should be Shelfordi

Calls for Wolf Control

Cyril Shelford, the Soctat
Credit member for Skeena,
spoke out quite clearly to the
news media recently, on the
problem of = wolf
depradations on the big
game species. This problem
is occuring in many sections
of the province with a

devastating effect to the

survival of these animal
vherds,
_ This. very controversial
subject is currently oc-
cupying the attention of fish
and wildlife biologists, who
are being pressed to find a
Solution. It has become an
area of great debate as a
result of the disagreement in
philosophy between en-
vironmentalist and groups=
such as guides and outfitters
who have strong economic
interests in the caribou herds
‘that range the northern
areas of the province, The
herds are being heavily
decimated by these wolf
packa and these people feel
something must be done to
control their numbers or
they may well lose their
livelihood unless survival of
these herds Is assured,
Along with increasing
complaints lodged by sheep
and cattle ranchers, is the
queatlon of the place of the
wolf in the balancing olf of
the animal populations, a
point which has been
seriously challenged by
these people in the field. Ag

to the efficlency of the wolf in
not going beyond the limits
of eliminating only the weak
and aged members of a herd
population, It is claimed that
to the contrary, it is mostly
the healthy animals that are
being destroyed by these
predators.

In calling for a predator
control program, Shelford
urged the government to fall
back on the professional
people in the field, such as
the local trappers and
hunters of the district to
undertake this predator
control work, as the ministry
does not have sufficent
trained personnel to carry
the program out,

Shelford has claimed that
this burgeoning wolf
population unless controlled
could well kill the guiding
industry in the north in four
or five years. What he is
urging the Department of
Recreation and Con
servation todo, is in line with
suggestions I had brought
forth here in a previous
News article on this subject,
and that was to get input on
the problem from the psople
in the field, the local
inhabitants of the area.

I hope to do many other

articles covering this topic:

and report on the progress
should the department
implement such a program.

the workings of managing a Fes

= cro :

BAN,
si

DT TELL Mer”. t
| Provincial revenues cnly for

2 YOURE ATEN
ATERPHLL wR.

Ottawa ‘Offbeat |

by Richard jackson |

Ottawa,- Old stuff, what, thinking of “Fat
City” as a bureaucratic feather-bed. ;

But have you ever though of it as even softer
and richer than that--as a feather-bed on a
money-mattress? || - o
-Well, ponder it for a moment while running
oyer the recent catalogue of federal misspen-

ding. Lee, ,

The old stuff-- it emerged a couple of weeks
ago-was the overpayment of $4 million in
Unemployment Insurance benefits, with Em-
ployment Minister Bud Cullen blithely writing it
off as ‘‘just_ another human error” with no_
penalty or. disciplining of the bureaucrat who
made the costly miscalculation. | ——

Then there was. the blowing of an. initially
estimated $9 million—-reduced to an indefinite
unaccounted several thousand dollars—by the
Fitness and Amateur Sport branch plant of
National Health and Welfare. mo

Now you've got $19 million being. shot in
overpayment of bureaucrats.in overrated jobs.
_ And no “human error” this, but a calculated
fleecing of the public purse.

Who says so? | a

Well, Treasury Board ‘fesses up to the )19
million overpayment for overrated public ser-
viee positions. ; ,

_And Andrew Stewart, of all people, president
of the bureaucratic union of the Public Seryice
Alliance, comes through with the further con-
fession that some fancy “fiddling” could be
involved... _ , ;

Senior public servants here in “Fat City,” he
has been quoted in print as saying, find it “easier
to play around” witi civil service job descrip-

ons. . . teow

They know the bureaucratic “buzz-words,”’ he
says, that makes a job sound more important—
and worth more money--than it should be.

Civil service “job descriptions” long _have
been a standing joke if not an accepted racket--
in these feather-bedded and money-mattressed
parts, . . - gh

A deputy minister, his assistant, a depart-
mental director or some other public. service
boffin has a relative or friend he wants to ease
into a .well-if-not-overpaid and pension-indexed
soft, touch. _ . oy .

_But has the friend or relative the required
qualifications?

No? :

Not to worry.

Featherbeddin’ in.“Fat Gity”

Simply. to rewrite the “job description” to .
the qualifications the friend or relative happens
to possess. Lg oe
_ Imprssive what a little inventive imagination
can do.

Comes then the “quiet shakedown,” which
recently surfaced when a government contractor
disclosed that a department with which he did
business expected him to pony up some loot_for
public service golf tournaments and other social
affairs. ——:

Turned out it has become expected ‘‘accepted
practice,” if in contravention of the Criminal

But again.no penalty, disciplining or even

reprimand for another ‘“‘human  error’’--of
judgment this time”’ just a mere cease and desist
order from departmenta] deputies. ;
Finally out comes the Auditor General with the
disclosure to Parliament's Public Accounts that
public servants have beén using the Treasury as
bank for interest-free personal loans.

The Auditor General, just beginning a check of

a the books, discovered that employees in six

departments drew some $250,000 in. advance
travel funds for personal, non-travel use, later

making an accounting at thier own convenience, —

. Since the public service travel account ex-
ceeds an annual $200. million, the Auditor

- General is hot on the trail of these departmental

- fund,”’

‘goo use.”

interest-free “band accounts,” uncovering all
sorts of “fiddles,” many of them. ‘deliberate’
and, as one MP protested, “bordering on fraud.”’

Heart Fund reaches goal

Mr. GW.  ‘“Woody"
MacLaren, President of the
British Columbia Heart
Foundation Is pleased to
announce that the 1978 fund
raising campaign exceeded
its goal of $1,220,000 on June
2 and stated, ‘We can cer-
tainly put every dollar to

well as five research
fellowships for‘a total in
excess of $825,000.

Recipients include
paediatricians, phar
maceutical scientists
pathologists, chemists
anatomists, zoologists
surgeons, obstetricians.
cardiologists, biochemists

“The greater part of our
Mr. MacLaren
continued, “goes to research
Into the causes: and cures of
cardlovasciilar disease with
72 centa of every dollar going
to this life-saving program,

This year the Foundation has
awarded some thiry-five
grants in aid of research as

+

and physiologists,

“Although heart disease is
stil Canada's number one
killer, the long term effects
of this continuing research
can be seen in the fact that
the death rate from heart
disease has dropped nearly
12 percent in the past ten
years,

er Students

with the arrangement-

some families go away
there would seem to be

and so were we, Since
for months at a time,

a genuine market for

house sitting. I am told that home insurance
companies are willing to look at lower insurance
rates for properties that are not left vacant, as

"The “Home Holiday Care” market, there is no
doubt, can be a lucrative one for the ambitious,
resourceful. and genuinely responsible _ High

School and university student.

Bonding should

be no problem, if the students are serious about
performing a valuable service for a reasonable

return. — _

Other facets of thesame market include caring

for children as “‘live in”
holidays,

parents are on

parents while the true
and caring for older

persons (in-laws) when a husband and wife want
10 go on a vacation by themselves. These, of
course, require special qualifications that many

students may not have

- but some do.

Well - there it is for what its worth. Here is a
market which could absorb quite a number of
Summer holiday students, for a return of
perhaps $2,000 a month — if they are willing to

work at it.

DID YOU KNOW that
under your SOCIAL CREDIT
Government:
~ The size of the Civil
Service this year has grown
by only 19 (,024percent), and
this includes an addition of
1,50) people from the Van-

now attached
Provi.cial Government, a9
well as the staff of 6
Municipal Human Resources
Departments also taken into
the Provincial Government.
During the N.D.P.'s term in
office, the Civil Service grew
by a total of approximately
10,000, ur almost 30 percent!
- The Provincial Budget
has increased by only 25
percent in 3 years, while the
N.D.P. increased the Budget
by over 135 percont during
their three-year period.

— Of a Budget of over $4
billion, in excess of $1 billion
is going to Health, in excess
of $1 billion to Education, an
all-time record in Health and
Education services.

— In the past year alone,

the rights to explore for
natural gas and olf are
almost $200 million, com-
pared to the high of $27
Million in the best year of the
N.D.P.'s term in office, and
$17 million in their worst
year.

~ This

Province has

couver Resources Board, .
the «+ More new companies

Credit
Progress Report.

‘created more new jobs
proportionately. than any
other Province in Canada,
including Alberta, and we
have the highest im-
migration rate of the
Provinces, which to a large
‘degree explains some of our
unemployment picture.

have been incorporated this
year by far than at any other
time in our history.

- There are in excess of
1,085,000 people working in
British Columbia, an all-
time record, -

- The Province of Britiah
Columbia is the only other
Province, other than
Alberta, fo continue to in-
crease its services to people
and present a balanced
Budget at thesame time. All
other Governments are
operating on massive
deficits, including — the
Federal Government.

~- The Provincial Govern-
ment for the first me, Is
paying full municipal taxes
on Provincial properties,
and algo a revenue-sharing
formula has been introduced
to the benefit of each
municipal taxpayer—a first
in Canada.

New help for
hard of hearing

Negotiations are un-
derway between Ventora
Resources Ltd, of Van-
couver, B.C. and Specialized
Systems Inc., a private Los
Angeles, California com-
pany, For acquisition by
Ventora of interests in
specialized electronis
equipment for use in com:
munication by the deaf and
hard-of hearing.

As presently negotiated,
Ventora Resources Lid. will
Joan $500,000 to Specialized
Systems Inc., subject to.
Ventora successfully ralsng
these additional funds by
way of a public share of:-
fering or through exercise af
currently outstanding share
purchase warrants. Ventora
is to receive return of the
. $500,000 loan at the rate of $5
per unit sold by Specialized
Systems anywhere in the
world. Ventora also recel ves
the right to joint venture the
sale of the ‘Porta-Tel'
equipment everywhere in
the world except for U.5.A,,
Japan and South America,
As a further consideration
for the loan, Ventora has the
right to buy 11 percent of the
equity. of Specialized
Systems Inc, for $1,000.

General Otilce - 635-6157
Circulation - 635-6357

TERR ACE/KITIMAT

daily herald

PUBLISHER...Ocn Cramack

MANAGING EDITOR...Ernest Senior

REPORTERS...Donna Vallieres (Terrace-Thorahill)

5 REPORTERS...Scott Browes {Kitimat-Kiamaat}
KITIMAT OFFICE...Pat Zelinski - 622-747 .

Published every weekday at 3212 Kalum St., ;

B.C. Amember ol Verified Circulation Aviharesa

second class mall. Registration number 1203, Postage
§ paid In cash, return postage guaranteed, .

NOTE OF COPYRIGHT

_ The Herald retalris full, complete and sole copyright

in any advertisement produced and-or any editorial or

Photographic content published In. the Herald.
eproduction is not permitted without the written
rmission of the Publisher. .

(250,000 shares at 1 tenth of 1
cent per share.)

The ‘Porta-Te]’ equipment °

weighs about 3 pounds and is
designed to retail for about
$300 per unit. It is readily
portable with a typewriter
keyboard and a_ video
readout screen and operates
when both parties to a
telephone call have a
machine and the phone is
rested In the cradle. The
writer selects any one of the
1,200 possible codes then
types his mesceage and the
recelyer reads the message
on the screen,

Specialized Systems have
been in operation for just
over one year out
machine design, market
tests and initial
production, The test models
pave orem broduced by

wa Corporation
of Seitama, Japan. The
contract calls for delivery of
at least 1,000 units per month
starting in June 1978, Shinwa
can deliver up to 20,000 units
per month. :

Regulatory authority
approval will have to be
obtained to any agreement
reached between Ventora
and Specialized Systems Inc,

Published by
Sterling Publishers

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