Herman’s Cree

won’t be the same

; Letter

To the editor,

Pm not a logger and
don’t pretend to be an ex-
pert on the environment,
but I feel something
should be mentioned with
regard to the ‘‘clear cut-
ting’? that took place a
‘few weeks ago at
Herman’s Creek on the
Upper Lakelse River.

I have nothing against
loggers or logging when
practiced with a bit of
responsibility but I- must
take exception to what I
see on the Upper Lakelse,
‘“logged’’ area. —

For local anglers and
hikers alike, Herman’s
was a really fine spot to
get away to because of the
solitude that the many
large trees provided. This
area will never be the same
at least in our lifetime
because all those beautiful
treesare gone. i

‘Now, walking to the riv-
er from where the parking

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Terrace
Review

Established May 1, 1985

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spot used to be, is like
walking on the moon. The
trees that were nat cut,
provide a very slim buffer
which is required by regu-
lation to protect the
Lakelse River from ero-
sion and so on. But what
about Herman's Crrek?
At one point, along the
road where a vast area of
trees have been cut, Her-
man’s Creek will most cer-

tainly be affected by run-

off at certain times of the
year; it is within 20 yards
of already eroding ~ soil
where large trees once
stood. Herman’s Creek
will fill the upper Lakelse
spawning beds for sal-
mon, trout and steelhead
with even more silt which
will most certainly. not
help these headwaters.

Why did this area have
to be logged? What other
plans for the Skeena wa-
tershed does the logging -
‘industry have slated’ for
the future?. As citizens of
Terrace | think we should.
all make it our business to-
know, and to be concern--
ed,- 7 ;

Go on up to Herman’s |

sometime soon and you
decide if you would like to
see more of the same in

the few remaining havens

we have around us, local-
ly. Be
Herman’s will never be
the same, and for that I

am very sad.
Al Hassall

Terrace, B.C.

Letter

To the editor,

I would like to take this
opportunity to thank the -
people of Terrace for the
generosity they showed
during our recent Kinsmen
Mother’s March cam-
paign.

As many people are
aware, the Mother’s

’ March is one of our club’s

major projects.

This is the only fund
raising project we have
that the monies go outside
of Terrace. It is used to
finance the Kinsmen Re-
habilitation Foundation in'
Vancouver.

Every year the Founda-
tion assists many Terrace
residents. In December.
alone over $3,000 was
spent in our community.

I am pleased to an-
nounce that this year we
have. collected over
$10,000, an increase of ap-
proximately 25 percent
over last year.

This would not have
been possible without
your support.

Thank you,

| Derek Hardacker,
.... 1987 Mother’s |
‘(March Chairman,

CHAT DOES IT Ith GETTING
ONT OF THIS CNTY’

. Hubert moe
Beyer

Terrace Review
Victoria Correspondent

Increasing welfare rates is a top priority with his
government, Premier Vander Zalm said the other day,
to which I would like to.add-— it’s about time...

_ Welfare rates were last increased five years ago, and it
doesn’t take a mathematical genius to figure out that
money doesn’t go as far today as it did then. The rates

-are inadequate at best.

A family of three receives $789 a month and may, in

some cases, be eligible for an additional $70 a month in.

food and shelter allowance. .
_~For a family with a paid-for house, that amount
would be adequate but needless to say, few families on
welfare have a house, much less one that’s paid for.
And with the rent taking-up more than half of the total
welfare allowance, a family doesn’t have enough left
over to assure even good nutrition for the children.
Single persons on welfare face an even worse fate. A

single employable person receives $334 a month for the

first month, $359 for the second to eighth months and
$384 a month thereafter. There is no way anyone can
live decently on that kind of income,

~ Welfare has been one of the few growth industries in
British Columbia during the past six years. The rate at
which welfare rolls swelled since 1981 is frightening.

- In 1981, the average number of people depending on
welfare in British Columbia at any given month was
121,388. By 1986, that number had grown to 228,845,

an increase of nearly 90 percent. It wasn't until 1986 |

that the trend showed the first hesitant signs of reversal.
Last year, an average of 218,808 people received social
assistance at any given month.

Will that trend continue? Will the number of people

on welfare go back to pre-recession levels? John Cash-

ore, the NDP’s social services critic, doesn’t think so.
‘Welfare is an exasperating reality for anyone who

finds himself in that situation, and I don’t think we can

be all that optimistic. There is little chance we'll get

back to 1981 levels in the near future,’’ says the rookie

politician from Maillardville-Coquitlam.
Exasperating is a rather mild word for the hopeless-

Increase in welfare
rates long overdue

ness and despair that comes with being forced to live on
welfare. Contrary to what the Archie Bunkers of the
world would have you believe, the vast majority of
welfare recipients do not enjoy their status, They would
rather work than collect welfare.

But with the ‘seasonally unadjusted’? umemploy-

- ment still at about 15 percent, there-are no jobs to be

had, no matter how desperately people want to get off
welfare.

Still, there will always be those who speak of welfare -
- bums. And government policy reinforces those views.

Why else would the welfare rates for single employable
persons be so pitifully low? The implication here is that
the low income will force then to find work.

All of which isn’t to say that increasing welfare rates ..
‘will solve the problems people on welfare have to face.

As long as society attaches a stigma to those living on
welfare, no amount of money will make up for the
heartache and the lost self-esteem, that results from be-
ing branded a parasite. oe

. First and foremost, society must change its attitudes.
A single mother who would rather stay home with her
children should be encouraged to do so, rather than be-
ing considered a burden on the taxpayer. And a young
man or woman forced to go on welfare because there

simply are no jobs shouldn’t be branded lazy and unwil-

ling: to work. .
But equally important, governments must provide
leadership in finding new approaches to the problem of

unemployment and welfare. —
_'Job-sharing schemes should be encouraged. Many

families have two wage earners. In many cases, the
secondary wage earner might be willing to share his or

her job with someone else.

The provincial government could create auxiliary jobs
and encourage the private sector to do likewise, Their
jobs would provide work for a 20-week period only,
after which the workers would qualify for unemploy-
ment benefits... .

While raising welfare rates is necessary, it won’t ad-

dress the real problem. Ultimately, the only solution lies

- in a guaranteed annual income that will replace all the
-band aid programs, such as welfare, ‘unemployment in-

surance, income supplements and a hundred different
allowances, .

Only a broad-based program assuring Canadians of a
minimum income as a matter of right can counteract the
effect of the current: welfare system — the creation of
second-class citizens who are made to feel guilty becau
they can’t find work that isn’t there.

te a En