. oor Terrace Review — Wednesday, May 22, 1991 B15 Big Brothers and Sisters [Looking back... seek caring volunteers ‘by Betty Barton Big Brothers and Sisters, now an active organization in Terrace with an office located at 4650 Lakelse Ave., is an organization dedicated to helping in the development of children growing up in single- parent families. There are over 700,000 boys and gitls in Canada who live with one parent. Not all of them need or want another adult in.their lives — ‘but many do. Big Brothers of Canada has developed to the point where today there are 175 agencies across the country. A Big Brother or Big Sister is an adult from any walk of life, married or single, with or without children, who volunteers about four hours each week as a friend to a child. A Little Brother or Sister is a child, generally between the ages of six and 16, growing up in a single-parent family. To be in the program, both the boy or girl and his or her parent, must want a Big Brother or Sister as a friend. The goal of Big Brothers and Sisters is a good match that meets the child’s needs. Lois Stoner, local Big Brothers and Sisters caseworker, takes great care in screening potential Big Brothers and Sisters. All prospective volun- teers are carefully interviewed, and a thorough inquiry is done to ensure that they are reliable, caring aduits. The caseworker gets to know the child and his or her family, carefully noting likes, dislikes, temperament, interests, age and personality. Then, it is the caseworker’s job to decide whiclt Big .and Little make the best "match". The focus of Big Brothers and Sisters is on prevention of prob- lems, and often that is hard to measure. But success can be seen aT &, Polly’ s Cafe > _ | Pot & Western Cuisine *22 Mon.—Thurs..10:30 a.m. — midnight Fri. & Sat. 10:30 am. — 1 am. Sunday 12:00 a.m. — 10 p.m. . 4913 Keith Avenue, 638-1848 0, 638-8034 DN: ( 4643 Park Avenue GIM’S \§ RESTAURANT na” Chinese & Canadian Food it OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK Mon - Wed 11:30 am, — 10:00 pin, Thursday 11:30 am, — [1:00 pam, Frt - Sat 11:30 am. — 1;00 a.m, Sunday 12:00 at. 10:00 p.m. s ‘Al Re 635-6111 4551 Greig Avenue, Terrace, B.C. Phone: 635: 6630 TOLL-FREE: 1-800-663-8156 FAX: 635-2788 BUFFET LUNCH in AUGIE’S LOUNGE NOON - 2:00 P.M. Monday to Friday Hot Entree, Soup, Salads, Rolla & Desserts eo Stay Yay Specializing in Chinese Cuisine and Canadian Dishes 4606 Greig Ave., Terrace, 8.C. tor Take-Out a a Ph. 635-6184 | through better school work, improved behaviour, or sometimes it’s as simple as seeing a smile that was not there before. Big Brothers and Sisters are not paid. They: are volunteers along with many others who help the organiz- ation to operate. ; Volunteers are expected to be responsible and careful when shar- ing activities with their young friends so that potentially danger- ous or hurtful situations are avoided. Big Brothers and Sisters of Canada carries third party liabil- ity for Littles in the care of their Big. Some incidental costs may be incurred on outings, but volunteers are not expected to spend a lot of money on the child. A minimum commitment of a year or two is expected, but many matches carry on for a number of years. Festival competitors — ‘Continued from page B11 dramatic scene and a new narrative poem from "Revolting Rhymes" about Little Red Riding Hood. Ina brief impromptu performance, Mark had presence, good timing and expressiveness. He explains, "If you get first in your category, you perform at the Provincial Awards Night during the Festival’. All our local participants in the upcoming Festival of the Arts will be missing about five days of school. Mark, a good student according to his mum, says, “I don’t mind missing school, but 1 usually take homework with me." Mark is looking forward to adding to his hockey card collection while he’s in Vancouver. He plays hockey, floor hockey, basketball and just started taking tennis les- sons. He's a constant reader and likes rap music. The B.C. Festival of the Aris for 1991 begins today in North Vancouver. SPECIAL CHILDREN’S SHOW CASEY & FINNEGAN | appearing at: SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 1991 SHOWS: 1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m. R.E.M. LEE THEATRE Tickets $8.00 (GST Included) At: Jeans North and Bank of Montreal Presented by Child Development Centre FAREWELL TOUR FOR CASEY & FINNEGAN ooking back over the past few years, we find a common ; thread of slander and libel that binds this day in time. For this is the day the annual seven-day countdown begins... the countdown to the annual Tri-City Fitness Challenge next Wednesday. This makes for an entertaining seven days. It’s a week in which we can speak our minds... Say what we want. Belittle the general fitness and health of those basket cases living to the west and the south. "People"; using the word in the most general of terms, like those living in Sulphurville (Kitimat). A town called a city where everyone living is gasping for breath. A town... A mark on the map. A place where a successful pushup is defined as doing nothing more than getting out of bed. "People", ignoring the accepted definition of the word, like those who live in Sardine City (Prince Rupert). A place where the odour of low tide is bad... worse than that of either the Goods and Services Tax or Free Trade. Sardine City... a place where jogging east is often the only means of escape. A primary psychology, you must understand, that has earned Sardine City every one of their Tri-Citv Fitness Challenge successes in the past. City fathers... shamelessly using their electorate’s decp-down desire to escape. It’s despicable. But we have to admit it works... sometimes. Most intriguing, though, is how Sardine city fathers have carried out their work. Somehow, they’ve achieved their goal without ever allowing a single voter to defect. There may be a mild genius at work there, something perhaps worth a study or two (during an inactive week), something maybe we should not ignore. If you’re a doubter, just put yourself in the right place at the right time during the last Wednesday in May and you will hear city fathers there whisper: "Jog east... jog cast." And it works. Everyone capable is more than willing to comply. Sardine City won the Tri-City Challenge last year. Fifty-cight percent — 9,165 of their 15,755 odour-altered residents turned out for the event. The best we could do was only 38 percent. There was no joy in Sulphurville last year. It’s common knowledge in the Northwest that the Sulphurville daily ritual of a single morning pushup takes between 20 and 30 minutes... Sometimes, if the wind’s blowing the wrong way, it might take as long as 45 minutes. Since the Tri-City Challenge began, they’ve been counting every man, woman and child that made it out of bed during the day of the challenge. Generally, we have generally ignored this over the years. Like we’ve already said, this strategy failed them miserably last year... and several years before. In 1990, only 30.5 percent of the Sulphurville population actually succeed in achieving a full standing position. Yes... last year we lost. We hate to admit the truth. But last year it was Sardine City, Terrace and Sulphurville... in that order. We must do better this year. This is a matter of the highest honour and we cannot allow ourselves to fail. Last year, only 38 percent of our Terrace gods and goddesses rallied to the cause. Gods and goddesses? Yes, Sulphurites and Sardiners... It's truce. We don’t like to brag. But during the week of the countdown we must tell the truth. Our sleek bodies and fleetness of foot are legendary. People of all ages, colours creeds travel great distances in search of our secret. Most recently Tom Selleck, Don Johnson, and company. So Sulphurites and Sardiners be warned. There are other stories from this week in our past, of course. But none as important as the one above. For example, in 1988 the Ministry of Environment wanted tighter controls on the city dump... illegally set fires were a problem. In 1990, with the new regulations in place, we were still reporting dump fires and city council was getting serious about recycling as an alternative, Around town, it was 1988 that the Skeena Cellulose beehive burner belched again... even though it had been shut down the week before. Also, the Seniors Housing Society was formed, the Terrace Community Band won bronze in national competition, and the bandshell was nearly complete so we could see them perform here. In 1989 the Terrace Hotel was seeking permission to open a casino and in 1990 Lisa Lagace was crowned Miss Terrace. Around the region in 1988, AirBC was showing off the commuter jet of their choice for Northwest service, the province was hedging on their Sustut-Takla decision and the Kitselas Canyon subdivision was under way. The following year a nurses strike was imminent, a new school in Hazelton was approved, the feds wanted the Regional District to take Woodcock airstrip off their hands — again — the government Access Centre was opened, and during a convention here the United Church promised the Nisga’a $1 million to assist them in pursuit of a land claims settlement. In 1990, there were claims the north was under-represented on corporate boards, it was said the Esker overpass had rearranged a popular fishing hole, a public hearing on Pulpwood Agreement 17 was pul on hold, Kathleen Delgatty resigned from her position at the Terraceview Lodge, and world-renowned native artist Roy Vickers was in town to create a made-in-Terrace masterpiece for the 2nd annual R.E.M. Lee Hospital Foundation Celebrity Roast and Auction. As important as these other stories are, do they close to matching the significance and implications of the Tri-City Fitness Challenge?