Drug testing could occur at local jail MANDATORY DRUG testing may saon be a reality inal! provincial jails, including the Terrate Correctional Centre, That’s one of the recommendations found in two reports released the end of 1997 on drugs in B.C. jails. The reports were otdered by Attorey-General Ujjal Dosanjh in response to allegations of drug-use and inmate abuse at a lower mainland prison. But many of the report’s recommendations extend beyond that prison to include all provincial jails. “What we're looking for is common policy and con- sistency across the centres to keep drugs out of jails,’’ says attomey general’s ministry spokesperson Chris Beresford. ‘We're taking the best practices from some and applying them to others,”’ Beresford says the Terrace jail does not have what he would consider a serious drug problem. Generally, larger prisons that are close to major urban centres pose the greatest challenges to prison staff, ‘Some jails in the lower mainland have thousands of prisoners moving in and out all the time,” says Beresford. “That means thousands of opportunities to bring in drugs. Terrace simply doesn’t have those kinds of numbers.’’ But Beresford says mandatory drug testing — done by urinalysis — would help staff keep drugs out, And he says that would reduce incidents of violence in jails that often The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, January 7, 1998 - A3 ews In Brief Teen crashes into garage A TERRACE youth has been charged after a car crashed into a house last week, The car slammed into the garage of a home on the 3600 dlock of Thomas St, at about 1:40 a.m. Dec. 30. One passenger suffered minor injuries, another fled the scene. One person, a youth, was arrested by police and charged with impaired driving. Girl hit by car A SEVEN-year-old girl was lucky to escape with just some minor bruises two weeks ago after being struck by a car ata crosswalk. Police say the girl was crossing al the corner of Kalum and Scott Streets Dec. 24 when she was hit, Ap- parently the girl pushed the crosswalk button but didn’t wait for cars to stop before crossing the road. She was nol seriously injured. Thieves work year round THIEVES SEEM to have been immune to the Christ- mas spirit, preferring to take rather than give. In the early moming of Christmas Eve, the office of Highe Surveying on Cranberry Lane was broken-into. Thieves there made off with the company’s photocopier and a fax machine. The same day, several coats were stolen during a smash-and-grab at Elizabeth’s Fashions on Lakelse, And people with sticky fingers were even out on Christmas Day. A bakery oven worth about $200 was result from drug use. “It’s not the be-all end-all,’’ Beresford says. ‘‘It’s reac- tive, It doesn’t stop drugs from coming in. But it lets us know when there is a problem.” Right now, corrections officers don’t have the legal right to demand a urinalysis from a prisoner. Beresford says new legislation could make the tests legal sometime next year, They would be done regularly, and on-demand if an inmate was suspected of using drugs. “There is a cost involved,”’ he says. ‘‘So it would have to be used wisely.” But Beresford says the benefits would far outweigh the costs to help reduce the use of drugs in jails. “Tt sends the message that if you use, you will be caught And if you are caught, you will be punished.” This is normal THIS YEAR'S relative lack of snow has made things a bit less complicated for the area’s toad ang bridge maintenance company. But John Ryan of Nechako Northcoast says this winter is more normal compared to the past two ones here. “Last year’s snowfall was 42 per cent above normal and that can be kind of painful,” said Ryan. The lack of snow has also cut fuel and some operating costs. ‘I'd say the biggest reduction has been in stress,’’ said Ryan. ; _And even though there may not be much snow to plow, crews were busy patching potholes during the rainy days of what was a mild December. BEST VALUES INT ¢ Lounge Dinner Specials ot 36.95 9 Video Movie Rentals _ ¥ Complimentary Coffee * Movie Channels in in each room. each room # Aisport Limo Service ¢ TBC Betting ¢ Walking Distance to the New ¢ Adjacent tothe Parkwood Place Civic Centre ¢ Thursday, Friday. Saturday Underworld’s Allernaic Music with DJ. Jason from Vancouver . Fri, Sat, or . 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Book your appointment today, ; *Cannot be combined with other prnotionul offers. : stolen from the back of a pick-up that day in the 4400 Biock of Park Ave, Fisheries Renewal meets THE NEW CROWN Corporation, Fisheries Renewal BC, is holding a series of public meetings across the province this week to discuss their draft strategic plan. That strategy outlines how Fisheries Renewal plans to help revitalize B.C.’s fisheries and fishing com- munities. Their three key investment areas currently aim for more fish, new fisheries and higher value, more work, Four cities across the province will host the meetings Saved A CAT NAMED JOE was one happy kitty on New Year's Day after a Her- culean rescue effort to bring her down from a tree was finally success- ful. The black and white tabby had bean atop a high tree just north of the F.E.M. Lee Theatre for four days, emitting | which will involve the corporation’s board of directors, moumful cries heard | stakeholders and the public. The closest meeting 10 throughout the neighbour- Terrace will take place in Prince Rupert at Fishermen’s hood. Earlier efforts to get Hall Jan. 9. her down had been un- successful, until Dale Sarsiat, equipped with a highways bucket truck, teamed up with B.C. Hydro’s Del Michaud, who rode the bucket and then climbed to the 60- foot level armed with a hockey stick smeared ee ase with canned salmon. | #¢f08s Canada. That’s -Del in-the: bucket and at top, reuniting Joe: wilh owner Linda Gordon, Wage creeps up THE AVERAGE wage in the province crept up from last year, says the provincial finance ministry. Average weekly eamings as of October 1997 were $615.79, an increase of .2 per cent from the year be- fore. The Canadian average was $597.26, an increase of 3 per cent _ Meanwhile, the Consumer Price Index has gone up .6 ‘per cent in B.C. for the same period and .9 per cent ene pared to 6.95 per cent at the end of 1996. 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