Ad - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 25, 2002 ESTABLISHED APRIL 27. 1988 ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. * V8G 5R2 TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 ¢ FAX: (250) 638-8432 EMAIL: newsroom@terracestandard.com It's about this lot harder to say this year in Terrace and area for a lot of people. milies having to move away, with families se- parated because a breadwinner has to leave to most basic levels of assistance, December 2002 won't go down as a high point in our history. become a growth industry, when the Salvation Army has to prepare more than 500 hampers, ist Church, when agencies such as Terrace Anti Poverty report high levels of attendance for sales of books and toys for 25 cents to help others. those hampers, when children receive toys from Strangers and when food is donated for those the human act of charity and giving remaining flourishing and untouched. ceived, a Merry Christmas. The words of Tommy Douglas, a former wan and former leader of the federal New De- mocratic Party say it best: that, like the shepherds of old, we catch a vision of the world as it ought to be and not as it is. S PUBLISHER: ROD LINK WEB: www.terracestandard.com THOSE TWO words, “Merry Christmas” are a With a continued economic decline, with fa- find work, with an increasing demand for the There’s a certain quiet fury when food banks when churches such as the Seventh Day Advent- Christmas meals and when school children stage Yet when the Salvation Army is able to fill Christmas dinners, there’s comfort in having For those who gave and for those who re- Baptist minister, former premier of Saskatche- “If Christmas means anything, it should mean This is the season when we should renew our determination to do what we can,-each in our own way, to build a, world founded-on human brotherhood and concern for the needs of others.” Our future THUMBS UP to the Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce for putting the matter of how Terrace and Thornhill are governed back on the table for discussion. Granted, the chamber comes at the issue from a business standpoint. It views the current gov- eming structure as confusing and potentially damaging when it comes to attracting more bu- siness and development. But there are other very practical reasons to once again consider a merging of the two enti- ties. Day-to-day matters would be easier and it would allow the continued build up of recrea- tional and social services. The chamber wants to meet with city council early in the new year. Add Thornhill and regio- nal district officials to the list. Doing that would help avoid any feeling of Thornhill being an underdog as has happened in the past. PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS: Jeff Nagel NEWS/SPORTS Sarah Zimmerman 2002 WINNER NEWS/COMMUNITY: Jennifer Lang CCNA BETTER FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping & Carol McKay NEWSPAPERS CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Terri Gordon COMPETITION ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Bert Husband & Stacy Gyger TELEMARKETER: Stacy Gyger COMPOSING: Susan Credgeur AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: $56.25(+$3.94 GST)=60,19 per year; Seniors $49.50 (+$3,.47 GST)=52,97; Out of Province $63.22 (+$4.43 GST)=67.65 Outside of Canada (6 months) $152.34 (+$10.66 GST)=163.00 MEMBER OF B.C. AND YUKON COMMUMITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION G CNA AND B.C, PRESS COUNCIL (#ww.bcpresscouncil.org) Serving the Tarace and Thornhill area. Published on Wednesday of each week at 3210 Clinton Sireal, Terrace, British Columbia, V&G 5A2. Stories, pholographs, ustralions, designs and typastytes in the Terrace Standard are the property of the copyright holders, Including Cariboo Press (1969) Lid., ifs iliustration repro services and advarlising agencies, Reproduction in whole o- in part, without written permission, ¢ spadfically prohibited, Authorized as second-class mail pending tha Past Office Department, for paymant of pastage in cash. Fred Carentia ne taare Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents QIRCED? cermeen e es IT WAS THE DANGDEST THING. ( SHOWED HIM CLOSED HOSPITALS ANP NURSING HOMES, FooP BANK LINE-UPS AGAINST A BACKGROUND OF SNOW AND ICE, AND BE Just KEPT GRINNING AND ASKING IF IT WAS 2010 YET Tex made for interesting Christmas VICTORIA — Christmas tradi- tionally evokes warm and happy memories of the past. Memories of childhood, of one’s own children of times long gone by. Then again, for me, there are the memories of Christmas 1957, memories with a pecu- liar, and seen through the eyes of someone who had barely escaped his teenage years, surreal aspect. It was the first year ] would spend Christmas alone, away from my parents, brother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Even a phone call was out of the question, costing $10 for three minutes, when the mini- mum wage was 65 cents. I had arrived in Winnipeg that June, all of 22 years old, a refugee from boredom, | sup- pose. I had travelled Europe extensively and a new world was waiting across the Atlan- tic. . ,Winnipeg was its usual hot and humid, when Winfried and I stepped off the train that evening. | had $5 to my name, having spent some $100 my dad had given me, during the voyage over aboard the Castel Felice. I had met Winfried during the crossing and we became fast friends, The first night, we spent in an indescribably ugly room at FROM THE CAPITAL HUBERT BEYER the Nugget Hotel on Main Street. Next day, we phoned a place iat advertised board and room for immigrants. Within minutes, Frank Hirtz picked us up. By then, I had about $3 left. No matter, said Frank. My credit was good with him. I’d get a job in no time flat and be able to pay him back. + Frank's. board and room operation consisted of five houses, all two storeys plus attic. They weren’t quite in a tow. Right in the middle was one house owned by an elderly couple, There were at least 60 boarders at any one time. The meals were pood, the accommodation clean and since Frank also doubled as a supplier of beer, the evening’s entertainment was always as- sured. As Christmas approached, both Winfried and | became increasingly homesick. We de- cided to celebrate Christmas in the best of traditions, bought a tree, a couple of strings of lights and ornaments. Christmas Eve, we sat lost in our thoughts, looking at the tree, when in came Tex, fol- lowed by five or six other boarders, all of them slightly inebriated, carrying four or five cases of beer. We're talking 24 bottles to a case here. I never knew his real name, but he liked to be called Tex. Home after work. Tex wenld strap on a couple of 45 Colts he owned and practise fast draws. It never entered my mind that the things might be loa- ded, until I asked him one day and he replied, “damn right, they're loaded.” Well, there.was Tex, twir- ling his:colts in-the' best John » Wayne tradition, telling us nat. to be so glum. We had not laid * in a supply of beer that night because we wanted to spend a quiet Christmas Eve, talking about old memories. But hey, we were 22 and the a beer sounded good. A few beers later, Tex got up and took a long look at the Christmas tree. Suddenly he - whipped out his guns and in a blur shot out two of the lights. Two ornaments were next. Ten minutes later, we heard some loud knocks at the door. Two of Winnipeg’s finest told us we Were under arrest. The - bullets hadn’t just obliterated the lights and ornaments, they had gone clear through the bedroom of the elderly couple next door. We spent the next few hours in a cell. Then miraculously, | Frank Hirtz showed up to bail . us out. After getting a stern - lecture from Frank, we crashed. We were never charged, which I attribute to the fact that a senior judge was Frank’s regular poker buddy. But we apologized profusely to the couple next door. So there it is, my not so Merry Christmas. Fortunately, there would be other Christ- mases to come, the first Christ- mas with my wife, the first - Christmas with off déwbetn: son and wonderful Christmases with our four children. I have never heard from Tex again and wonder if he is still practising his fast draw. Merry Christmas. hubert@coolcom.com Beyer can be reached at: E-mail: hubert@coolcom.cam; Tel (250) 382-6900; Web kttp:/{www.hubertbeyer.com Take extra efforts to be safe EVEN BRIEF visits to craft stores can prove expensive when you reach the till. So when 1 discovered a $15.95 gadget that allows you to carve shapes out of styrofoam, I thought I had found the per- fect economical pift for do-it- yourself crafters. The working portion of the gadget consists of a wire hea- ted by a battery to a tempera- ture that melis styrofoam. And which household hasn’t a slab or two of styrofoam left from unpacking a TV or small ap- pliance. Immediately I could visua- lize our granddaughters carv- ing hearts, rectangles,and other shapes from styrofoam scraps with this dandy tool. Fortunately, I mentioned my find to the cashier within earshot of the manager. He promptly informed me using a hot wire to cut ordinary styro- foam could prove hazardous to our health, It seems ordinary styrofoam when heated, such as by a hot wire, could give off fumés which might be dangerous. we 1002 1S A Se SYMETRICAL THROUGH BIFOCALS: CLAUDETTE SANDECKI Further discussion brought out the fact something as in- nocuous as sawing abalone shells could produce a powder deadly if breathed into the lungs. In addilion, the acetone and glues used in building model planes, cars, and boats can pass through the skin and build up in the body. If quantities of the chemical build up, a debi- litating unwellness can result. Some model builders have visited their doctor with inde- So:THE NEXT ONE WON'T BE FoR HIO YEARS(! WHAT SHoULD @a UAGONA AT ié finable complaints, unable to offer any information to guide the doctor toward an accurate diagnosis. ] can understand unsafe use of risky chemicals. Frequently I work with small amounts of glues, stains and other pro- ducts bearing labels warning they should be used only in well ventilated areas and kept off the skin with gloves. I disregard these warnings. After all, I’m using only a teensy bit over a brief time. Why take precautions? I'm like the person carrying a cell phone with a weak battery. I expect the best but take no Steps to guard against the worst, That’s why we hear of stranded people such as the Nanaimo 4X4 driver who shi- vered overnight in his Nissan after sliding down massy em- bankment and hanging up on a small rack ledge resting on a tree, radiator painting straight up in the pitch black night. He managed to phone his wife to tell her he was fine but his cell phone battery died be- WAT THE ARTIFICIAL RTIFIC/ HUMAN CALENDAR HAS CREATED AN EVENT OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE LIKE THE MILLENNIUM! THE MILLENNIUM WAS A BuST! fore he could give her his loca- tion. From now on he plans to carry a spare cell phone bat- tery. Others should take heed. I've known customers to cut out in the middle of their calls. then call back and apologize for a dead battery. Doesn’t a cell phone click, like a smoke detector, or somehow warn when its battery is fading? Hf you intend your cell phone to be your lifeline in case of trouble, why leave home with- out a fully charged battery and a spare? _ Then there’s the smoke de--- tector robbed of its battery to. power a toy ar tool. Every . Christmas firefighters are called to some blaze where, in the ruins, the smoke detector is found to have been batlery-less. If you can afford to buy the cell phone or smoke detectar, go the extra bucks and stack a second batlery Keep the bat- tery for its prime purpose, I'll buy styrofoam bells and balls at 89 cents cach. Good lungs are worth the extra pen- nies. You WANT To ADMIT. THAT ALLLIFE (S MEANING LESS 7 THE NORTHERN SOLUTIONS WHEN) |, IN DOUBT. PARTY,