_ A4~The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 21, 2005 | lowed. to continue,’ “in the speech. TERRACE S TANDARD ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 PUBLISHER: ROD LINK ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. - V8G 5R2 TELEPHONE: (250). 638-7283 "« FAX: (250) 638- 8432 WEB: www.terracestandard.com: ~ : EMAIL: ‘newsroom@terracestandard. com Premier’ S vision EVERY POLITICIAN wants to be known for - something when being judged years after they | - leave office. And that is. obviously more for the : good stuff than for the bad things that went on. It s one way of explaining the broad strokes 7 concerning ‘the province’s aboriginal people that Premier Gordon Campbell had laid out in the, Sept. 12, 2005 Speech from the Throne delivered by Lieutenant Governor Iona Campagnolo. Throne speeches are intended to provide a road map for the new session of the legislature which __ they precede. Clues are given as to what the gov-: ~-emment of the day wants to > accomplish in the ~” months ahead. Mr. Campbell provided more e than a clue i in this wo “speech and is building on a document crafted by , "his. top officials and aboriginal groups earlier this “High suicide rates, ‘lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, and intolerably high lev- els of substance abuse should not be the plight. of Canada’s aboriginal peoples: and cannot be al- ” said the Lieutenant Governor . - While that’s been said before, Mr. Campbell’s _ ‘base upon. which to change all of that is to increase "the economic presence of native peoples. From that will come jobs and from jobs will . “come. income and wealth, the vital tools which _. any group needs to overcome. any number of So- cial and other issues. 6 As much as all of this represents a challenge : for Mr. Campbell, it is also a challenge for na- tive people. Mr. Campbell, if he can provide the correct economic foundation, can then tell native people it is time to move on. So what does Mr. Campbell’s vision mean for : Terrace? A whole lot. As the hub of the north- west, Terrace has become the home for.a diverse number of native people from the region. Increasing their economic participation can only make this city a wealthier place from which other benefits will then flow. As it is, logging on the part of the Kitsumkalum . and Kitselas village governments is providing vide the fibre needed by. the recently re-opened | _ oil through either Kitimat or Prince Rupert, fur-. ther adds to the economic participation potential ‘of native peoples. . For the northwest to not grab hold of Mr. Camp- ', jobs. The purchase of Tree Farm Licence No. 1 by the Lax Kw’allams of the north coast can*pro- Terrace Lumber Company. The prospect of mineral finds up north and clos- er to Terrace will add to native economic opportu- nities. Enbridge, which wants to build a pipeline from Alberta along the Hwy16 corridor to export bell’s vision, to craft it and make it work for this area, would be a waste we cannot afford. . PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link | | ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur 7 NEWS: Sarah A. Zimmerman’, > COMMUNITY: Dustin Quezada _ NEWS/SPORTS: Margaret Speirs FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping, Carolyn Anderson CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Alanna Bentham ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Bert Husband, Susan Willemen AD. ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik ' PRODUCTION: Susan Credgeur _ SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: $57.94 (+$4.06 GST)=62.00 per year; Seniors $50.98 (+$3.57 GST)=54.55; _ Out of Province $65.17 (+$4.56 GST)=69.73 Outside of Canada (6 months) $156.91(+10.98 GST)=167.89 2005 WINNER ear ae ’ COMPETITION “ MEMBER OF B.C. AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION ; AND B.C, PRESS COUNCIL (www.bcpresscouncll.org) _ Serving the Terrace'and Thornhill area. Published on Wednesday of each week at 3210 Clinton Street, Terrace, British Columbia, V8G 5R2. Stories, photographs, illustrations, designs and typestyles in the Terrace Standard are the property of the copy-. right holders, including Cariboo Press (3969) Ltd., its illustration repro services and advertising agencies. Reproduction in whole or in part, without written permission, is specifically prohibited. _ Authorized as second-class mail pending the Post Office Department, for payment of postage incash. - Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents NEWSPAPERS - ‘© Black Press. DOES THIS MAKE MY BUTT LOOK BIG? | pe eibenas DENY ri We 1. GAMBLING AS NEN GAM D GinT pusma TY = SEREENS Go INTO B BARS = AND Fae WITH "ANOTHER munici- , pal election in front of us, it ‘seems appropriate again to start talking about something’ that raises the emotional level | of some people — Terrace and _ Thornhill amalgamation. Today Terrace is recog- nized as acommunity of about 12,000 people, not necessar- - ily a community of any great size or statue. provincially or nationally. . In most ways Terrace is — seen by the federal and pro- vincial. governments no. dif-' . . ferently than a Williams Lake, Dawson Creek or Quesnel. ' From the investment com-. munity, one look on a map ‘and we are. seen aS:a mid- size town in one of the rural regions of British Columbia, again drawing no significant _ interest. Our claim .to fame may well be that we are part of the Skeena Cellulose saga, a rep- utation we have been spend- ing a great deal of time over the last four years trying to shake... By any standard that is not the reality of Terrace today. For those who live here, we recognize that Terrace and Thornhill are an integral part of each other and operate like a community of almost 20,000.. We have emerged as “the " retail and business hub of the northwest, supplying services to.a population base of more - than 90,000. The health care services available in Terrace. separate . ‘us. not only from ,communi- ties like Quesnel and Wil- ROGER HARRIS liams Lake, but also much larger communities like Fort St. John, Prince Rupert even Cranbrook. No other community in B.C. can boast the cluster of specialists and with it services that we have here in Terrace. We are home to both the main campus of Northwest Community Collage and a campus of UNBC. Both are not just educational institu- tions offering some unique provincial programming, but are also major economic driv- ers in the region. For investors’ there is an equally. compelling reason to look at Terrace beyond just ‘the population numbers. The airport with its instru- ment landing system and now ‘the longest runway in north- em B.C., other than Prince | George, is a major asset. Our strategic location to | the container port in Prince _ Rupert“ and private port in Kitimat puts us ona ” major. " trade route between the USA and Asia. With the city’s acquisitions ~ of the airport lands, Terrace _has one of the largest inven- tories of available, accessible “industrial land ready for de- velopment. This brings us back to the - -subject at hand, which is amal- ~ gamation. The discussion and - debate on amalgamation usu- “ally revolves around local is- sues, like taxation, building codes; water and sewer. While these are critical on — “a personal and local level the - broader advantages of amal- -gamation are usually missed ‘and these are the ones that. _ bring people and investment to this area. Terrace, like most rural communities, has been work- ing hard to re-define itself, to “ broaden the economic base and. grow beyond its histori- cal roots in forestry. This is a key component to breaking the boom and . bust cycles that have plagued ‘the city and many other rural communities. . In order to get the attention of policy makers and inves- tors, the city needs to stand out and separate itself from the competition. Amalgama- | tion may be'the.vehicle to ac- complish exactly that. ~ With amalgamation, Ter-. race would be the largest city “in B.C., north. of Kamloops, other than Prince George. - We would be the recog- nized capital of the northwest and all levels of government would have to respect that This time bigger is much better stature. "Efforts to attract provincial public spending in health care, education and other | public services would significantly improve, as the argument for regional recognition becomes ‘a natural. Federal government deci- sions around where it will © invest in infrastructure would look at Terrace in the same way. : The advantage in attract- ing private sector investment equally improves. As a re- « gional ‘capital, all of the in- frastructure improvements in . rail, air and highways become more. valuable. As the gateway. to the in- © ternational marketplace, ef- ~~ forts to get the attention of the investment community improve substantially. . ‘Tt would. make Terrace’ natural location for an Asian Pacific marketing office, grabbing the interests of glob- al investors. We would be viewed as the base of any operation on Hwy3?7 for the mining, forest and other resource industries. - It would bring a greater range of professionals into ‘the community, significantly expanding the kinds of ser- vices now available. : If our long-term. goal is to _ again be a growing commu-. nity then maybe it’s time to look beyond our own back- yard. : ‘If we are to have thé cour- age to Seize the opportunities that lay before us, then maybe we need give amalgamation another chance. From bad to worse. in. Florida | “GOVERNMENT. IS_ be- nevolent in intention, diligent in application, scrupulous with regard to detail - and frequent- ly ludicrous, because it lacks | a sense of proportion.” writes .George F. Will in the Wash- ington Post. Nowhere is that - better demonstrated than in the ’ wake of Hurricane Katrina. ' When waters were rising and ‘people were scrambling to rooftops, the U.S. federal agency FEMA refused to allow ‘private boats to rescue people unless they carried full insur- - ance and one flotation vest for every soggy passenger. FEMA lacks all under- standing of the situation in and around New Orleans. One family, getting by in an im- promptu tent city, was told by ' FEMA to phone for a procure- ment number, then the family would be able to apply for fed- eral help. How was the family to . phone FEMA when phone ser- vice was out across the state, and no one had even a cell phone? Talk about stupidity writ large. ° Bonehead calls go from bad to worse. Before the hurricane THROUGH "BIFOCALS CLAUDETTE SANDECKI hit, the port supervisor ordered staff home out of range of the storm. This left port boats un- _ available for rescue duty. - America’s failure to ac- cept help from other countries also defies When Canadian naval vessels docked in the Gulf this week, our medical: teams were for- bidden to treat any American citizens. And so far I’ve not heard President Bush say yes or no to Cuba’s offer to send 1,100 doctors to aid victims. Two weeks after the storm, understanding. : ~ little government help has reached the people affected. . Fortunately. for the evacu- ees, many individuals, church groups, and rescue agencies such as the. Red Cross and Salvation Army pitched in im- © mediately closing. their eyes to red.tape. A day or two after’ Hurri: . cane Katrina swamped New . Orleans and two other Gulf: ’ states, a young Washing- ton State woman, frustrated by the ineptitude of the U.S. government, loaded her truck with food, water, and diapers and drove 13 hours straight to deliver her goods to. the front door of the Superdome where upwards of 10,000 evacuees waited in the heat, darkness, and din for food, water, medi- cal attention, and reunification with family. She outstripped FEMA to the cheers of everyone, while the U.S. has displayed its inef- ficiency to a world agape. | After 9/11 President Bush promised to protect the U.S. from terrorist attacks and other harms. He assigned the job to FEMA. But instead of planning for major disasters, in ‘good bureaucratic style FEMA spent its time rearrang- ing desks and printing name plates. Now we learn many FEMA higher-ups served ‘as Bush’s campaign workers; they have — no emergency experience even as police or firefighters. _ At last count some 300, 000 evacuees are scattered in:shel- ters across 34 states. Besides the wrench of losing their home, belongings, and in some _ cases relatives, being sent off to Minnesota or Vermont. has to shock their systems. Depres- sion will be a major legacy of this storm. Yesterday we began hearing reports of 45 patients. found dead in Memorial Hospital, and 34 patients dead - whether from illness or drowning - in Rita’s Nursing Home. For all Bush’s big talk, he had noth- ing in place when a natural di-. saster struck. ; Police were so busy res- — cuing people from drowning - they had no time to pat down evacuees before they were herded into the Superdome where: shootings and worse occurred.