DUSTIN QUEZADA Around Town Provincial candidates face college students * THE NORTHWEST Community College Student Association presents two ‘provincial election candidates for the Skeena riding on the campus for Q&A sessions April 12-13 from 12-1 p.m. Robin Austin, the NDP candidate, will appear Tuesday, April 12, while imcumbent Roger Harris of the BC Liberals will speak April 13, 5. - | Each candidate will give a brief introduction and summary of their platform heading into the May 17 election before fielding audience questions for the remainder of the hour. Coffee, tea and snacks will be ¢ provided by the student association. Music festival in full swing THE 40TH. Pacific Northwest Music Festival continues at the R.E.M. Lee Theatre, the Pentecostal Assembly, the Terrace Evangelical Free Church and the Alliance Church. . : Participants from throughout the northwest _ perform in the disciplines of band, choral, dance, guitar, instrumental, piano, speech arts, strings and vocal. ; Programmes, T-shirts and souvenir books may be purchased at Misty River Books and all festival venues. All performances are free to the public except the Scholarship Competition and the Gala Perfor- mance and Awards Night. The Scholarship Competition goes Friday, April 22 at 6:30 p.m. atthe R.E.M. Lee Theatre, while the Gala Pérformance and Awards Night is Saturday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m. also at R.E.M. Lee. Theatre. Tickets, $6 and $12 for both events respectively, are available at Misty River Books. ‘French immersion | reaps Hydro benefit THE FRENCH-LANGUAGE theatre company, . Théatre la Seizigme, comes to Terrace as part of a tour of B.C.’s French immersion schools. ™"""A'$5,000 BC Hydro contribution to the Canadian Parents for French (CPF) B.C. & Yukon Branch is supporting the tour that will bring two plays — one’ each for secondary and elementary schools. Les Chats Retombent Toujours Sur Leurs Patte, the elementary school production will be at Cassie Hall Elementary School on Thursday, April 14. _ A. performance date for the secondary school play, Cette fille-la, has not been determined. For project info, e-mai} info@seizieme.ca Public speaking judges deserve late thanks THE CLOVER Connections would like to extend belated thanks to judges in. their annual district’ public speaking competition held in late February. The following people graciously donated their time, ‘giving constructive observations and well-deserved encouragement in the various categories. Vicki McQuade - senior judge and pre-clubber John Crawford - senior and pre-clubber Ron Craig - senior and pre- -clubber Graeme Johnstone - - junior judge Elizabeth Esau - junior judge Rolf VanderVelde - junior judge Beautification Society’s annual perrennial | plant sale in May -MAY’ 7 is the date for the Terrace Beautification Society’s annual fundraising perrennial plant sale. This year, the event will take place at a new location — the George Little House at the foot of. Kalum St. , The sale goes from 8 a.m. until all the plants are sold. Plant donations can be dropped off at 5123 Haliwell Ave. or by phoning Debbie at 635-3555, Keri at 635-7113 or Sam at 635-0720. ; TERRACE Beautification Society's Sam Bu- chanan. DUSTIN QUEZADA PHOTO By DUSTIN QUEZADA ‘LOOKING back, Father Terry Brock «wishes he'd said something more personal to Pope John Paul Il when they TERRACE STANDARD riest reflects on papac The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - B14 met in March 1995, Though he only said his name “and where he was from, at least the picture tells a different story, says the diocesan priest of the Sacred Heart Parish. The candid photo shows the pontiff shaking Father . , Brock’s hand when they met. in. Rome while Brock was on sabbatical studies. “nt looks like he’s saying, ‘You’ re OK man, Pn with you,’”” he said three days after news of the pope’s passing. He received a rosary in return. Brock, who has presided over the church on Straume Ave. for three years, saw John Paul a total of five times, but only once did he actually meet him. And like the anecdotes and accounts filling newspapers, TV and radio after the pontif’s death, Brock said it was. —& something special to be in his presence. _ “(Hearing him speak) was like he was talking to me, like” _a father talks to a son,” said Brock. “I. felt personally vindi- cated and important as a parish priest in Terrace.” , » Headded he felt a feeling of unworthiness, partly because John Paul lived his commission to aT. ° The pope is a successor to Peter, the first man Jesus chose to lead the Catholic Church, or as. Brock puts it, “Christ — “handed him the keys.” Just as Jesus sent his disciples to all nations, said Brock, John Paul has travelled the world over — an estimated 128 coumtries.. “He has put the Catholic Church on the map ‘and put a said Brock, of the papacy. that spanned over a quarter of a century. “Everyone knows JPII. People have come to know JPII and come indirectly to know human face on the church,” the Catholic Church.” _ John Paul’s ‘reaching out to non- -Catholic communities | has inspired priests to go out to non- -Catholics i in 1 their com: Munities, Brock said. .. , “He was one voice everywhere,” ‘dom.” . The parish organized an 1 hour-long quiet adoration prayer April 7 in union with the vigil in Rome, to commemorate the Pope John Paul II, along with a morning mass April 8 with students from Veritas School. he said of the pope’s legacy. “He’s a great leader i in the world of. rights of free- John Paul I. TERRACE aircraft mechanic Don Vienneau is pictured in ina plane destined for south ; east Asia. He was responsible for maintaining the aircraft as part of a relief effort. DUSTIN QUEZADAPHOTO Terrace mechanic part of post-tsunami help > By DUSTIN QUEZADA | A SLOW winter in the Mediterranean thrust a Terrace man into the heart of the earthquake and tsunami-ravaged area of Indonesia for two months. : Don Vienneau, ‘one “of three original founders of Hawkair and an aircraft mechan- ic, returned last week from his job working for the UN’s World Food Program. Vienneau, 48, was working for Airsea Lines, anew airline linking the Greek Islands, in December when the tsunami struck. ' Desperate for machinery, the UN sought — an aircraft from the Greek company. During the Mediterranean winter, busi- ness was slow and the company complied to supply a Twin Otter aircraft. “The Twin Otter is useful, versatile and rugged,” Vienneau said. “It’s ideal for short, unprepared trips, can land in rough condi- tions like gravel and can take a good load at low speeds.” After stops in Switzerland for refitting and Slovakia for repainting the plane UN- white, Vienneau and two pilots made the transoceanic flight to Indonesia. For the flight, Vienneau had to install a long-range ferry system, increasing the flight capacity from four to ten hours. He also re- moved the float and putting on wheels for its new use in Indonesia. — Once on the island'country, Vienneau’s team flew “triangles” among the cities of Medan, Meulaboh and Banda Aceh, the city nearest the epicentre of the Dec. 26 earth- quake. Their job consisted of moving medicine, displaced people, doctors and food, as well as reconnaissance work of possible landing sites and the recall of trauma equipment. Vienneau said he was spared much of the horrific aftermath because “the death had been dealt with” and he was based. on the eastern coast of Sumatra — the side opposite the offshore earthquake. “There were mass graves — the smell was _ overpowering,” he said. “It was like living | in a petri dish of disease.” Vienneau and his Canadian co- _workers had to take 15 vaccines in Europe before the trip that made him “sicker than a poisoned dog.” While it was difficult to remain upbeat i in the face of such devastation, he said he fo- cused on his job to keep the airplane going. ’ There were six or so aircraft disasters, at least one claiming lives, said Vienneau, but his crew’s stint was error-free. The situation in Indonesia, says Vien-_ neau, is more unstable now since the gov- ernment ordered all foreign military out on _March 26. Two days later, Nias, on the west coast of ‘Sumatra-was rocked by another huge earth- quake. » Vienneau called the country a geological and political powderkeg. Vienneau, with his wife Anita, is contem- plating his next move. The UN has asked Airsea Lines to bid on a one-year contract for two planes. while its operation in Greece is another option. FATHER Terry Brock seated shows the photo of. his meeting with the late Pope “inborn OKs renovation plans — for TLT playhouse: . DUSTIN QUEZADA , THE TERRACE Little Theatre’s board has passed a motion in favour of proceeding with plans to renovate the McColl Playhouse Building. Despite earlier reports to the contrary, the board had a . quorum, or a minimum number of executives present, at the March 30 meeting and the motion was passed, said Patrick McIntyre, the theatre society’s president. . It calls for the building of an addition to the current struc- ture by removing the lean-to section of the present building, without disruption to the theatrical season. The next step is to determine’ the cost of -the project ’ through having the building plans ‘made and engineering . schematics drawn. "After that, the board can start to get quotes on the cost and select contractors through tender, said McIntyre. Along with passing the motion, the theatre’s membership granted the board permission to borrow up to $100, 000, the conservative estimateof what would be needed. The society has accumulated over $150,000, but the main source of their operational funds — a | gaming licence — has been withdrawn. It was rescinded by the gaming commission because the . provincial body felt the money was being used for operation- al costs, said Garnett Doell,.the theatre’s director of building maintenance, who tabled the expansion idea Feb, 25, 2005. “Blueprints and engineering schematics are needed for the banks to consider loaning us the money for the project," Doell said. “The executive of the TLT feels that we are s still at the . preliminary stages, and feel that we need.solid plans before we can begin soliciting the community for donations and help with fundraising, or begin the process of asking for bids’ or bor! rowing money,” McIntyre said. “However, the approval of the membership of our t pro-' posal allows us to work towards that goal, and the executive wants to do that in the best possible way.” - Whatever cost is estimated, McIntyre said the board. will g0 back to its members with enough time for a special meet- ing to be called before actual construction would begin. The hope is that no money will have to be borrowed, rather the shortfall will be made up with community grants and fundraising. The project is the latest chapter in the long- running effort by a string of theatre boards to build a new venue. Over 10 years, two different proposals came and went ' without any sod turned or structure razed." One project called for a relocation to the land now occu- pied by Wal-Mart, while the otherwould have seen the cur- rent building torn down and rebuilt. The former plan proved too costly, while the latter didn’t leave enough room for parking, said Doell. Neither of those proposals got to the blueprint stage. The renovation plan calls for an overall addition in di- mensions of 40 feet by 75 feet. The expansion includes upgrades to the stage area, the heating system, the costume room, the dressing room and the » main and second-floor warhouse spaces. The expansion of the playhouse’s storage area will allow the society to save the money it spends on renting an off-site warehouse.