Abuses aired Proud history Landmark residential school abuse trial moved to Prince Rupert for April\NEWS A12 Spring swing Pacific Northwest Music boast over three decades of excellence\COMMUNITY Bi Festival Golfers prepare for what could be the earliest season ever at the local course\SPORTS B8 WEDNESDAY MARCH 11, 1998 ANGLICAN PASTOR Dean. Houghton conducted a blessing for an aircraft owned by a local compa- ny Friday at the Terrace airport. The aircraft, a On wings and prayers A LOCAL CARGO aircraft is flying the northemn skies with the comfort of a higher authority. In a short ceremony last week, owners, employees and family menibers of Hawkair Aviation Services wit- nessed Anglican pastor Dean Houghton bless its con- verted DC-4 aircraft. Called a Carvair, the aircraft has been enlarged so that its nose opens up into a huge cargo bay. . Bought last year, the aircraft was intended to spell off the company’s other aircraft, a Bristol freighter, and to expand operations, But it has been a constant source of trouble for the company so the blessing took on added significance. “'We pray for the removal of anything that prevents this plane from flying efficiently and safely,’’ said Houghton as he sprinkled water that had been blessed in the cargo bay of the aircraft. Water was also sprinkled in the plane’s cockpit, on its wings and on its engines. It’s been those engines that have provided the most trouble for Hawkaiz. Co-owner Dave Menzies said the company has re- placed an engine for each of the seven months the com- pany has been flying the Carvair. “We estimate that at the end of the day, with alll the Carvair, has brought a lot of trouble to its owners, Hawkalr Aviation Services. Company workers and family members attended the short service. costs and with down time, cach engine represents $100,000," he said. Even as the blessing was taking place, a mechanic from the Seattle company that supplies Hawkair with engines was working outside on the latest probicm. The blessing comes at a particularly crucial time for the young cargo company. A Hawkair crew and the Bristol flew to Thompson in northem Manitoba this week to fly fuel and food into tiny communities suffering shortages because ice roads across lakes and rivers disappeared due to a warm winter. That leaves the company depending on the: Carvair for at least a month to service its main contract — fer- rying in supplies and taking out gold concentrate from the Snip gold mine in the [skut Valley to the north, This is the first aircraft Houghton has blessed but the practice is not uncommon for other means of trans- portation or objects, he said. ‘We acknowledge our God is the God of all crea- tion,’? he commented in opening remarks before the blessing. Each year various church leaders in Prince Rupert gather at the waterfront to bless the commercial fishing flect. Houghton said houses have also been blessed. TANDARD 93¢ PLUS 7¢ GST VOL. 10 NO. 48 Gov't turns screws on Mills, says doc MILLS MEMORIAL Hospital’s adminis- - trators and its governing council are being held hostage by a provincial government which refuses to acknowledge the facility needs more money, says the president of _ the hospital’s medical staff. **They’re being held responsible by the - provincial government which is interested in two things — getting the budget balanced and what is public opinion,” said Dr. Phil Lin last week. And until public opinion swings behind the hospital and the medical communily here, the situation will get worse, he added. Lin’s comments follow the decision by the Terrace and Area Community Health Council, which runs Mills, to shut down is operating rooms next week to elective surgery and to close dowa its CT scan ma- chine for two weeks to save money. The closures are expected to hold the hos- pital’s deficit at approximately $170,000 — the amount it was told not to exceed by the province last year. Although Mills was in a relatively healthy financial situation going into the first months of this year, the latest reporting pe- riod posted red ink worth $140,000, And with just weeks remaining until the hospital’s fiscal year winds up March 31, the closures are intended to freeze the deficit. ; Lin said be and other physicians don’t blame Mills administrators and health council for the operating room and other closures, saying they had litte choice if they were to meet the provincial deficit ’ freeze order. “You remember what happened in Smithers when the administrator was fired and the province brought in its own,”’ he said of a dispute over financing at Bulkley Valley District Hospital several years ago. Next week was considered a good lime to close the operating rooms because it is spring break and not a lot of surgeries were booked anyway, Mills administrator Michael Leisinger. Of 10 possible operating rooms days, only four had been booked. And four were booked in a separate section which does endoscopies — the technique of examining a person’s internal organs without needing surgery. “Don’t forget that one of those days — March 18 — is a scheduled reduced activity . day,”’ said Leisinger in referring to the. three days this month when doctors are. booking off with the exception of emergen- . cies because of a fee dispute with the pro- vince. A meeting tomorrow night brings together the key players involved in health care’s growing problems here. That story, Page Aé. Lin acknowledged that next week’s oper- ating schedule was relatively light given spring break and planned time off by physicians. ; And although an ad purchased by doctors last week stated the closures were ordered without first planning for emergencies, Lin said physicians were more concemed that they weéren’t adequately contacted to give advice prior to the announcement. In actual fact, nobody talked to us,’’ said Lin. Leisinger didn’t want to get into a debate about the wording in the ad, but did say that the health council canceled only elective surgery. wk Kk Leisinger said closing the operating rooms to elective surgery will move some procedures to the new fiscal year. While that means there might not be com- plete savings from the cancellations, the surgeries which are re-scheduled will be absorbed over the course of the next year, he said. Condom petition banned at school STUDENTS WHO want condoms avail- able at Skeena Junior Secondary have been banned from circulating a petition on school grounds. ‘The decision, made by parents who at- tended a parents advisory commitice mect- ing at the school last week, angered one of the petition backers. ‘I find it really frustrating when friends come to me worried that they might be pregnant, or have an STD (sexually trans- mitted disease),”’ said Grade 10 student Diandra Oliver on why she wants condonis made available, She finds it ironic that while the school taught her how to put on a condom, it has yet to make them available. Initial plans for the petition asking for condoms were put on hold at the request of Skeena ptincipal Rob Greenwood who first wanted the opinion of parents. A meeting was then set up by Kathy Harris, the head of the parents advisory committee who phoned parents who had signed up as being interested in taking part in committee affairs. They were asked to phone other parents. But only 20 parents attended the mecting, a number Greenwood acknowledged that might not represent the parent population. Oliver, who spoke at the meeting, said many of the parents were white, middle class and belonged to Iocal churches. She felt they didn’t fully represent the school’s population. Oliver also found it frustrating that parents didn’t stick to the issue of the peti- — tion, instead debating the morality of teens using condoms. A women’s centre worker who does want condoms in schools sald the petition ban takes away the students’ right to freedom of expression. ‘‘This cntire situation is about not listening to the voices of women and teenagers,” said Sarah de Leeuw. She added she didn’t ask Oliver to start a peti- tion. There is a pro-condom petition at Caledonia. Trailer park conditions condemned By JEFF NAGEL LANDLORDS who hoped city council would hold off forcing repairs to a trailer in the North Kalum Trailer Park instead found themselves denounced as slum lords who should have trouble sleeping at night. The comments came after trailer owner Kewal Bal pleaded for more lenient treatment. But Monday night’s hearing ended with city council- lors overruling Bal’s objections and declaring unit #51 a nuisance. The move gives Bal 60 days to make the trailer fit for human habitation or see it removed at his own expense. The former tenants had already moved out. Council acted on the recommendation of building inspector Paul Gipps, who said the trailer had collapsing floors due to severe rot, extensive mold causing respira- tory problems, missing windows, a misfiring fumace and gas hot water tank falling through the rotted floar. “It’s lucky the place didn’t blow up,” observed coun- cillor David Hull. “It’s absolutely unfit for human habitation.” Hull characterized it as a case of the “rich preying upon the oppressed” and said no one should be forced to live in such “squalor.” “I'm ashamed thal anyone could be a landlord and rent outa place like thal,” Hull said. “J don’t know how the hell they can sleep at night.” Bal sald efforts had been made to have the damage tepaired, but the former tenants refused entry. Accompanying Bal were Mike Maxim and Ron Parker —two other landlords in the trailer park. - . Maxim supported Bal’s contention that the damage wasn’t excessive, adding he might be interested in buy- ing the trailer and believed it could be repaired. “It’s not falling down on anybody’s ears,” Maxim said. Gipps said the trailer could probably be fixed but expected the cost of repairs would exceed its value. “If he thinks it’s so fantastic he can have at it and try to meet the standards io make it liveable,” Hull added. “But to come here and say ‘Oh, it’s not so bad’. What a bunch of crap.” Bal said the trailer shouldn’t be singled out, as 65 per cent of the trailers in the park are in worse shape. Hull said that thought is appalling and he called on other agencies — such as the ministry of children and families and Terrace Anti Poverty Society ~ to join the city to look for ways to crack down on similar cases of Inadequate housing. “The biggest slum lord in town is really the ministry of social services,” said Hull, adding the provincial min- istry withholds the housing portions of welfare cheques and pays the owners directly for those rental units. He said the ministry is responsible for the vast major- ity of the trailers in the North Kalum Trailer Park. “If they didn’t pay for substandard places, those places would be fixed up,” Hull said. Ron Vanderlee agreed the health risks are significant and backed Hull's idea for aggressive action to combat inadequate housing. “I do believe we should do some- thing about this,” he said. :