The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, April 14, 1993 - Page AS

TTERS

Tragic death
draws response

CITY BY-LAWS

_New rules for the future |

TERRACE — ‘We're starting
fo grow and with a larger com-
munity comes a lot more respon-
sibility,’’ says by-law enforce-
ment officer Frank Bowsher.
That’s the rationale behind a
--- number of ine additions in the
“few nuisance and traffic by-laws

* eounell i ideri Dear Sir: No reference was made in
: oP ne fe i ow. swt y tee The Schizophrenia Society of the article as to why the Emer-
fojected growih of the com- the Bulkicy Valley is gency Response Team did not

‘munity was also the reason the
_- city looked ..clsewhere. for guid-
_Anee. :
‘Bowsher explained the idea had
- .been not only to deal with current
- problems, but also to anticipate
what the future might bring.
«So he contacted municipalities
thal were slightly larger than Ter-
. "race to see what problems growth
““had brought: and how they had

heartened to see the jury's
recommendations -and .com-
ments that have transpired
from the inquest of the RCMP
shooting of Keith Stokes.

One of ihe recommendations
called -for improvements of
services in remote areas such
as Hazelton io include educa-
tion for family members,

bring a medical professional to
‘scene to help de-sensitize the
situation even though the ERT
were aware. that this person
had schizophrenia. = Dis-
crepancies on the activities of
the event in the article leave
the public to question what
caused the event to occur and
who was involved.

dealt-with them. »
- That approach, Bowsher added,

“should ensure the cily doesn’t
aye to overhaul its regulations
again — a {ime-consuming pro-
".. \jeel— for the next 10-15 years.

“Among the traffic by-law addi-
tions meant to deal with today’s

“s problems is a regulation banning
thesusé of Jacobs (Jake) brakes

physicians, RCMP and the
community in mental. health;
protocol lo be established be-
tween the RCMP and local
mental health professionals as
soon as possible.

Our society would like to see
the recommendation expanded
to say: A psychiatric nurse or
psychiatric physician be avail-
able to assist the RCMP is

Persons with this iiiness live,
work “and. contribule. to our
communities and you or I may
not be aware of their disability.
An ill person and their family
may often endure this disa-
bling brain disease quite alone
and in silence partly because of
the stigma _ . surrounding
schizophrenia. .

This isolation often increases

within the city. -
‘Noting council had called for ils
inclusion, he said the move was
\. prompted by the number of com-
_-plaints they had received from lo-
‘cal residents.
“Complaints are again the reason
_ for'a.tightening up of existing
~Tegulations = on. roller. skates,
‘skateboards ‘and roller blades.
eo While, like bicycles, these have
: always been banned from local
“sidewalks, an new clause specifi-
cally’ largets their use ‘‘on any
- Street. or sidewalk within the

the despair, illness and dark-
ness; not hope, healing and

light,

dangerous and or extreme
situations.

Our society would also like
to see alternative forms of im-
mobilization utilized besides
deadly force, Throughout the
months, many persons spoke to
me and said: “Why wasi't tear
gas, knockout gas or smoke
bomb utilized; why couldn’t a
tranquilizer gun been used in-
stead of bullets?”? Tranquilizer
guns are commonly used to

_ immobilize animals. A human

“This isolation often
increases the despair, ill-
ness and darkness; not
hope, healing and light.’’

Keith was an ill person who
suffered from schizophrenia,

“Specified downtown commercial

oo area?”

_ Noting that was in line with ac-
other
. “municipalities, Bowsher added,
:. “In-other,words, you've got to
“< find @ private parking lot some-

“tion 22s ‘taken * . by

being is of greater worth.

This year, all police forces
throughout .the province will
be given training on brain
illnesses. Also in the near fu-
ture, a toll free number will be
available to the RCMP for as-
sislance when dealing with

The minimal mental health
Tesources were not able to as-
sist Keith effectively through
this illness; and before his
death, he determined not to
fake his medication anymore
or retum 10 hospital.

Side effects fom some

- wid also be making a CHALK ONE up for tougher city traffic and nuisance by-laws, They're needed, says by-law enforce- persons who have diseases of medication often create added
‘point ‘of enforcing that section. ment officer Frank Bowsher, because the city’s getting larger and more diverse, That’s him in the the - brain such as suffering for many individuals.
oe ut he pointed out that chil- photo with the ever present wheel chalking device used to tell by-law enforcement officers that a schizophrenia. Such was. Keith's case. The

< dren’s trleycles are still allowed

vehicle has been in one spot for too long.

The March 31 article on the
death of Keith Stokes and the

Stokes family and close friends
grieve the loss of this talented

rations motorists are going appearance of bare-bones re- carver and musician, — yet
AO. have to take care to observe in- Also on the prohibited listnow “It (the vehicle) has to be. explained. “I's supposed 10 take search be See te ort cle cherish the memory of him and
volves. the distance. they park is the placing of leaflets and removed from that block entire- some. pressure off the court sys- ~The foens: 0 ‘ © aii ere ra his fine gifts.
-.--from anolher vehicle. flyers on vehicle windshields, an-. ly,’’ he warned. If not, a ticket’ tem.’ - peas to veen Keith’ what
Where parallel parking on a other sore, point. with, many can still Peissued ic yay “ath ote eta may “This india eith’s greatest . Bawa. spne tet chit
oe street’ ‘a distance of 1m Gft) must “people. "> ‘While me st of, the’ ‘chan 5, in se nAssuming the, province? 5 Chief. _, fear. his indicalcs ignorange resident Lig
NME'S’ BelWeen 5 your vehicle and = And‘it will also be “agi ehns ee to .the’' “nuisance *’ “by-law "are. - Justice - approves : the. - additions, of “ihe complexity’ of ‘the dis- * Scitzdphichia ciety
“those in ftont and behind you.”- erase the chalk marks Bowsher  “‘housckceping’”’ measures; Bow- Bowsher said ‘fines of $100-500 case ‘schizophrenia and also ‘of Bulkley valley, -
“Bowsher said this was — puts on tires when out on patrol. - ‘shér noted one significant change. will now apply in cases such as stigmatizes } Keith. Smithers, -B.C.

-He also emphasized it is not
enough, once your vehicle has -
been so marked, simply to move
a couple of parking spots down
the street.

That’s the addition of 10 infrac-.
tions which -will now result in a
ticket being issued.) =

“It will mean we don’t have to
run fo the courts every time,’ he

people ‘ignoring a cily demand
they clean up weeds, brush, etc.
- from’ their. property or . sell-
ing/exploding fireworks other
than between Oct. 24 and Nov. 1.

prompted by complaints from
. people. who had parked on the |.
-4600 block of Lakelse and come
-. ‘out to find themselves ‘‘trapped’”
between vehicles.

History lesson
IS all important

~ Brain testers

The new traffic by-law contains eight sections which include 59
~. clauses. Most of the regulations in the document are not new, but
“: Row many people are aware of what those existing ones say?
oe Below, a few sample questions to test your knowledge:

1y The speed limit on all paved streets within the city is 5Okph.

op Baul what are the limits on gravel roads and Janes?

a parked?

» eurb when parked?

a 2) ‘How long can a yelicle or trailer be parked on streets other
a than those which have specific parking resttietions posted?

7 3) What's the minimum distance away from an intersection, stop -
“sign, traffic light or the: approach toa crosswalk a vehicle must be

i: 4) Commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 4 4 tonnes or
a manufacturer's rated capacity of 1 tonne or more are prohibited to
7 park ina residential area between what hours?

7 5) What's the maximum length of time a commercial vehicle

and/or trailer more than 10m in length can park on a residential

street (except when loading or unloading)?

“6 How close must the right hand wheels. of a vehicle be to the

“Ty During ihe winter, it is illegal to ‘park on “Snow Removal
Routes’’, Which city streets are designated as such? :

3) What are the minimum and maximum fines that can be levied? \

‘ANSWERS: 1) 0kph on gravel, 20kph on lancs; 2) 72 hours continuous-
ly; 3) 6m; 4) 9 p.m. and 6 a.m, the following day; 5)2 hours; 6) 30cm; 7)
S every. street in the city; 8) $25 and $2,000.

TERRACE — With the ar-
Tival of spring and the annual
rush to clean up yards, the by-
law enforcement department is
bracing ilself.

time of year always sees. a
sharp Increase in the number of
complaints . about untidy
properties.

“We get anywhere from 20-
30 aweek,’’ he added, ~~

the largeted property owner.
_ Not. all of them. are
justified,’ he pointed ~ out.
“There are pcople who'll com-
plain about the neighbour's
yard if the grass is only six in-
ches high.”
Explaining : how — the clly
said he first checks. out the

the complaint.
If he feels
enough — in the case of uncut

he advises the complainant to
put it in writing,

Frank Bowsher explains this .

_ However, Bowsher also em-
phasized a complaint. doesn’t -
automatically mean trouble for

handled complaints, Bowsher
property that is the. subject of
it is © “serious

grass, that means 3-4[t high —-

Complaints rise
in springtime

Once tlat is done, the enfor-
cement process begins, but
even then ‘‘We’re not going to
come down with a. big. stick
right away,” he said... *~:.

Siressing the city tries to be
fair in its approach, Bowsher
-said .."the ‘offending property
‘owner had to be given rea-
sonable: lime to correct the
problem.

““T have a sympathetic ¢ car,”
he added,

‘And unless there is a com-
plaint about a property, the city
“fs not going lo take b any action:
atall.:.
~- We're. not ‘going out there
looking for problems,’”’ -Bow-
sher ~said, explaining _man-
power simply didn’t allow that.

‘The city’s: sole enforcement
officer at the moment, he has
to ‘spread: his lime between
“chasing” nuisance complaints,
patrolling downtown strecls to
‘enforce. parking regulations |
and doing the paper work gen-
‘erated by both. |

~ As for how’ people react -to
his enforcement, Bowsher said
that varies,

Dear Sir:

Knowing that the colonies
would continue having to fight
the corruption of those who
wish to rule the world, Queen
Victoria installed the British
North America Act into Cana-
da.

Those who do not know their

history are destined to repeat.

it, Who is guilty of covering up
our history, hiding our con
sdtution:

All laws must conform to our’

constitution, but only if we, the
_ Teal Canadians, ‘‘Stand on
guard For thee.” .

There are several organiza-
tions forming across western
Canada to try to bring our con-
siltution out of the mothballs
and into the homes where it
belongs.

Had we read and understood
our constitution 50 years ago,
we would never have had to
put up with likes. of . the
Trudeau or Mulroney styles of
government.

Last week I heard that
charges. o£ high treason are

going to be laid against some .

politicians. Now we have news

of two (who I would consider
prime targets) stepping down,

We have been told at various
times the amount that we owe
on the national debt, at last
count I believe it was quoted at
$68,000 per man, woman and
child.

Considering the 1917 change
in the bank which comes up
for renewal this year it is little
wonder the debi keeps grow-
. ing,

If you would only get into

reading our conslitution ard

make up your own mind just
where the politicians have
been taking us for. over 80
years, you will probably come
to the conclusion that-there Is
lots of room for charges of
treason against all political
parlies.

There 1s na debi ‘of the
people, more likely a surplus
in excess of one hundred tril-
lion dollars owing to Cana-
dians. -

Your MP. should be happy
to help you get your. copy ‘of
your constitution. ;
Lionel Sears, —
Terrace, B.C.

More letters on Page A6

Ae ping “how. ta. read,

The. Start. is for péopte

Guy Mortimer is 19.
And he has bone cancer.

Guy’s mother is Patti.
Buying drugs for Guy

couver for treatment.

Cellulose. She’
_ working as much so she
can take care of Guy.

| |Helping out

cost her a-lot of money.
So does flying to Van-
. every: two weeks, -
Patti works at’ Skeena
is not

_ That means Patti: does:

not have a lot of money.

Patti’s co-workers are
helping her out.

They are taking money
from their paycheques.

It adds up to $1,000

“Tt was so incredible —.
T didn’t know what to
say,’’ Says Patti, “When I
found: out, T just started

crying,’’

Fishing
It will cost more to fish
this year.

A basic licence for a
B.C. resident will now

_ cost $19, That’s an in-

crease of $2.

And a six-day permit
will cost $12. That.is also
up by $2.

Foreign fishermen - will
also pay more. “A basic
annual licence now costs
$33. That is up from $27. -