Aé - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 18, 2000 ‘ CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD Dear Sir: This is in response to a recent letter | read in The Terrace Standard about bears. For the past three or more years we have had a real bear problem up here. I'm not talking about the odd black bear wandering into town, I’m talking about black hears and grizzlies, lots of them ~ all over town. You drive your kids to and from school because most of the time il’s not-safe to let them walk: Some days the. kids have to stay inside at school because there’ are bears on the grounds. The. RCMP ‘patrol the streets around the school so-you know when it’s safe ‘to: come out. Soe The kids wear bear bells (a large bell attached to vel- cro that they wear on their wrists or on their bikes.) A bear can come into your back. yard anc kill the. fa- mily pet, and you live right in the middle of town, where 20 minutes before, a three-year-old was out playing in his back yard, right next door. - ne Bears come into your carport and upset your deep freeze because they can’t gel it open, or lear apart any kind of container you might build to hold/up your garb- age cans. You get up in the morning and look out your patio doors and there is a black or a grizzly looking. in at you, and he will not leave your deck. : , In the middle of a nice afternoon you are oul working in your flower beds. You then hear a noise and you look up, guess what, a bear is standing there looking at you. You can hear a noise in your entrance way. You learn not to let your kids check it out, because you open the door and there is a black bear looking in at you. ° You can go out to bring your dog in, po through the car port, untie the dog, turn around and there is a bear between you and the door. — The truck drivers that have to walk to their trucks be- fore daylight, watch every slep of the way because you don’t know what’s between you and your truck. You have to run back in the house because you al- most iripped over a bear sleeping in the car port. You can sit in the pub one hot afternoon, doors open hoping for a breeze, and guess what you get instead - a The Mail Ba When it comes to being safe the bears will just have to go (and.thal does not happen very often). "until you have come here with a family of small children bear wandering in the back door, through the pub and on outside. These bears might be a tourist attraction, but let me say, when you live year round and your kids or grandkids are afraid to go out and roller blade, ride bike or just do what kids do, you have a problem. All of these things and more have happened here in Stewart. Most of us do try our best when it comes to garbage etc., keeping a garbage bag in the deep freeze till pick up. day, rinsing all cans and bottles, but guess what, the béars-are still here, I get pretty tired of hearing fram people from all over, Terrace, the lower mainland and even the States putting down the people of Stewart because they happened to hear about or be here when a bear had to be destroyed . These people who write have every right to their views on the matter but please do not pul down a town and lived here for one season. You just might feel different about the bears. _] hate to see bears destroyed but if it comes to the safety. of the kids in town, or the family. pet, or saving the bears, the kids and pets will win every time. 7 Kay Stewart, Stewart, B.C. - October is Community Living © Month Welcome diversity! Join us in building communities that value and support the diverse abilities of all people. 4, AX Association = for Community Living Wo www.bcaclorg lets you enjoy any food you Sarah, Duchass of York P-1)'2) Gy success : Why live with a diet that says no pizza, no cake, no fun? (Now there’s no reason to.) “ @ Now Weight Watchers easy |*2*3 Success Plan _ Every food has a POINTS® value. " Stay within your POINTS range and lose weight! &} Now! Weight Watchers has a whole new approach =" to weight loss — the 10% difference"! pew! crave! ~ WORKING FAMILIES DESERVE A LIVING WAGE, | BC’s Minimum Wage goes up November 1, 2000. : These increases will help today’s families AL It's tough to make ends meet on the mini- Join Weight Watchers and get free registration with a minimum purchase of an 8 week Commitment Plan. Cail 1-800-682-8011 for more information. share more fully in our growing economy. Like our new child care programs, the min- imum wage increase is part of the provin- | cial government's plan to provide better ° mum wage. It’s even harder for a family. That’s why BC’s minimum wage is going up to $7.60 per hour, effective November 18t, And it will go up again next year on Knox United Church (Terrace) 4907 Lazelle - Tuesday 7:00 pm Valid in British Columbia for a limited time only. Subsequent weekly fees apply. GST nor included. ©2000 Weight Watchers international, Inc, Gwner of the WEIGHT WATCHERS trademark, All rights reserved. November 15€ to $8.00 per hour. For more information on the BC government’s minimum wage increase, please call 1-800-663-3316. opportunities for today’s families. ( HELPFUL TIPS TO REDUCE HEATING COSTS we BRITISH ©) COLUMBIA TURN DOWN THE HEAT. Turn your thermostat down from 21°C to 20°C during the day and to 17°C at night to save as much as 15 per cent of your space heating costs. Turning it way down at night and cranking it way up in the morning wastes energy and doesn’t work. WEATHER-STRIP EXTERIOR DOORS. Rubber provides the best seal; felt and foam are inexpensive but much less effective and durable. CHECK FOR GAPS AND LEAKS, A 0.5-centimetre gap (approx. '/s of an inch) at the bottom of an exterior door is the same as a hole 10 cm (4 inches} square in the middle of a wall. Caulk, weatherstrip or seal any leaks around win- dows and doors, and save up to five per cent. CHECK FOR DRAFTS, CRACKS AND HOLES in unusual places, such as milk or mail chutes, laundry chutes, pet doors, attic access hatches, recessed lights and fans in Insulated ceilings, dropped ceilings above bathrooms and bulk- heads over kitchen cabinets. INSTALL A CEILING FAN in rooms with high or cathedrai ceilings ta push warm air down to where it’s needed. SHUT OFF NATURAL GAS FIREPLACE PILOT LIGHT dur- ing summer months. If you're not comfortable re-lighting your pilet light, have your heat- ing contractor re-light it at the time of your regular mainte- nance. Similarly, shut off your furnace’s standing pilct tight. HAVE YOUR FURNACE SERVICED YEARLY. When the serviceman comes to relight it, have it serviced at the same time. A maintained furnace operates much more efficiently. TURN DOWN YOUR WATER HEATER. Set the thermostat at 50°C (120°F). This tempera- ture is normally adequate for home use and will save a con- siderable ammount of energy. INSTALL LOW-FLOW SHOWER HEADS and you could save up to 5 per cent per year for each family mem: ber who takes a 10-minute shower daily. Save more by cutting back on shower time. FIX LEAKY TAPS IMMEDIATELY. A hot water Paci iff Cc iv Natlonal Northern Gas Ltd. Sy tap, dripping once every sec- ond, wastes 720 litres (160 gallons) per month - or 16 hot baths! USE FULL LOADS iN THE DISHWASHER, saving 170- 190 litres of water per year. INSTALL AERATORS on your kitchen and bathroom faucets to reduce indoor water use by as much as four per cent. WASH LAUNDRY WITH FULL LOADS, and use cold water. CHOOSE A HIGH-EFFICIENCY, OR CONDENSING FURNACE which is 90 per cent efficient. Make sure it's sized properly for your home. CHECK YOUR HOUSE FOR POOR INSULATION. Poorly insulated roofs, basement walls, floors over crawl spaces and outside walls allow a direct flow of heat to the outside. Crawl spaces and roofs are the most important areas, with walls least impartant. Insulate with high RSl-rated material. USE INSULATED EXTERIOR DOORS - not hollow ones. Fee! the Inside of the door with your hand on a cold day. If it’s much cooler than adjoining wails, consider replacing It with an insulated daor. Dafence ONE OF THE MOST REWARDING EXPERIENCES YOU'LL EVER HAVE. No previous military training necessary. The Cadet Instructors Program. Inspire young Canadians while learning valuable skills in your spare time, Training, remuneration and fulfilment. A chance to mentor 12 to 18-year-olds in a variety of outdoor activities, including gliding, camping and hiking. A unique opportunity to pass on your technical, educational and sports knowledge. It is spare time well spent. For information on becoming a cadet instructor, call 1-800-661-4255, or visit our Web site at www.dnd.ca |