, FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping, Carolyn Anderson . . Serving the Terrace and Thomhill area. Pubished on We cnesday of A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 3, 2006 “th _ m TERRACE | TANDARD © . _ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 | ‘PUBLISHER: ROD LINK | "ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. -V8G RQ) _ TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283. - FAX: (250) 638-8432 ‘WEB: www.terracestandard. com . ~ EMAIL: newsroom@terracestandard. com ‘Glock’ S ticking re TWO RECENT events ‘underscore the continuing - . agony facing. Terrace city council’ s problem’ of - -how.to build a second sheet of ice. : The. first’ concerns . money, ’ specifically” the - $450,000 or so in donations and: commitments made by individuals, businesses and community groups. | aa ov By: coincidence, ‘that’ amount - about matches’ _ what the city has spent so. far. commissioning | _ drawings and architectural plans over the years as |. the project has shrunk in scope in hopes. of even-. |. tually coming up with a design that is affordable. : “Now there’s no way council could ever give the, : innpression the donations and commitments were. "used for drawings and plans that so far 2 are gather-, os ing dust.. So: it passes a motion to deduct that expendi- a ture from the $1 million grant it received from the province’ last year for the second sheet of ice. It’s ~-»a tidy political solution for it preserves the notion _.. that local donations. and commitments remain: in-. tact. os se But it also lays bare the reality that about half a = - million bucks has been spent so far with nothing _. to show for it. And that $500,000 is still taxpayers: Pats money | no matter how you. look at it. | The second. event. is a motion introduced: at a _ downtown. Terrace Rotary, Club meeting last: ~ : COMMUNITY: Dustin Quezada -. ' NEWS/SPORTS: Margaret Speirs CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Alanna Bentham ADVERTISING: CONSULTANTS: . - Bert Husband, Ellie Higginson AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik .. ‘PRODUCTION: Susan Credgeur SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: $57.94 (+$4.06 GST)=62.00 per year; _ Seniors $50.98 (+$3.57 GST)=54.55; oe - Out of Province $65.17 (+$4.56 GST)=69.73 . . Outside of Canada (6 months) $156. 91(+10.98 GST)=167. 89 MEMBER OF BC. AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, ' CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION _ AND ; _ BE. PRESS COUNCIL (www-bcpresscouncil.org) -. each weex at 3230 Clinton Sueet, Terrace, Sritish Columbiz. V8G SR2. «S) Black Press Stories, photograohs, itustrations, designs and iypesty‘es in the Terrace Standard are the property of the copy- "fight holders, including Black Press Ltd.. its itusiration repro services and advertising agencies. © Reproduction in whole ox in part. without written permission, is spaciiically prohibited. : Authorized as second-class mait pending the Post Gifice Deparment, for bayment of postage in cash. Special thanks to ali our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents 4 WHATS Goins» \ ON? WE STOPPED _ LOWERING THE FLAG” Fb ACKNOWLEDGE “MILITARY, Loss. wa is IAT /‘srerwen WARPER'S | POPULARITY - Took A bie. a ° AS YOU drive along Highway Of 16 from Smithers into. Terrace there is a sign conspicuously ~ missing from the landscape. ‘Tt is the sign. that would ~ leave no doubt as to where you ‘are and'what is going on: . Terrace: - ' ~" Gateway To The Ports Of . Prince Rupert And « ‘Kitimat, Population 20,000. .: . ~ Now. why | is. that. so important? Well. if | you don’t carve out a vision of our fu-"* ture others will define it for : you. And you might not like." - what you’ve become. a The. CN/BC °Rail | partner- ship removed the major ob- Welcome To stacles for -moving . product between, the northwest and the rest of the continent. It removed the two big jurisdic- tional hurdles in Prince George -and Dawson Creek between . ; CN and BC Rail. It opened. up the’ transpor- tation rail-grid economically, . - that now allows goods to flow. - west to Prince Rupert and Kit- imat for the same or less cost. than into the port of Vancou- * ver. It reduced the timeline for the shipment of goods between . Asian and the North American markets that gives the north- | _ west a competitive advantage. _over ports in the south. Finally, it provided the fi- ' nancial resources from the two senior levels of government — that has started the construc- ‘tion of a container facility in - Prince Rupert. So what’ is the “problem? Ar . 5 _ROGER HARRIS _ : The lobbying. for the right to. become the. inland container~ port is in full force today. This is the place that unit trains are put together to align the right containers moving to the port at the right time to meet the right ship. - While the first phase of the . new container port is going to ‘be a welcome sight it will be limited in size and the- man- agement of containers back and forth will be critical in en- suring the smooth loading and off-loading of vessels. There is also now a signifi- Cant increase in the amount of bulk product looking for a ‘port to ship in or out of. With - Prince Rupert focused on con- tainers, ©. Kitimat °should be- come such a bulk facility. All of. this co-ordination. and scheduling of trains. will: be ‘critical in marketing the _complete northwest corridor to shippers and manufactures. Wanted: A vision for Terrace mat, “Terrace could become, “the logical center for rail’ car’™ shunting and an,access point. . ° The logical choice for an » ‘| -inland container port’ today’ - would be Prince George. Its. “physical location on the rail ‘grid and with the’ amalgama- tion of the rail yards in PG, CN has acquired more than enough. ’ Jand to create an inland port. This may work for Prince. _ Rupert and Kitimat in terms | © of..routing rail traffic, but if Prince ‘George becomes the: _-only .doorway for containers ~ . or bulk goods to access the rail - “system, it won’ t work for Ter- race. The port in Prince Rupert > ‘has already ‘stated that due to limited space,. it will not. be allowing truck traffic into the .. port. If that’s the case, poten- tially any containers that could be filled in Terrace would have : to be trucked to Prince George ; first, before. being ,transported,,,.,t by rail to Prince Rupert. The additional cost . and time required would put Ter- race at a serious disadvantage in attracting new investment. From a transportation, time . and cost aspect we would. be no closer to Prince Rupert than Vancouver. As bizarre as that sounds it would be the case. ‘That is why: the sign is so . important. and. every. word - counts for something. Terrace needs to stake out its ground as not only the geo- _ graphic gateway to the ports, but as the Northwest’s entry _ point for any containers: that _ require access to the rail grid. With only a single rail line into Prince Rupert and Kiti- for truck container traffic. This is where the population oe number is important. If we are {> to be successful in this initia- ° tive we will need the two se-: =| nior levels. of government to” : recognize that it is in their best ~: _interests to create as many ..: _acceéss points as possible for. ® ‘manufacturers and shippers to. our ports. That. is in’ fact the. whole. : purpose. of the Gateway strat-- egy. .They have the ability to influence CNs business deci- _ sions. - Amalgamation with Thorn-. ri hill would make Terrace’ the’ - ‘second largest city in northern B.C. next to Prince George, a stature that would be hard to ignore. If you want,.to,be. 7 “the. capital. of the..northwest you have to look like it... In any event, the container. port in Prince: Rupert and a 4 common carrier bulk facility = in Kitimat will benefit Terrace. But if our goal is to maximize | ‘Jj that opportunity, then this is .; the time to see the vision and -: role we can play. Our strategic ‘location to the two: ports is important. But if we don’t get. ; out there and stake our ground ‘early, decisions and: invest-. .. ments will be made and for | us: | it may be too late. _ Sometimes that vision just -. starts with a sign, but if’ we’ - don’t say it about ourselves no _ one: else will.. important tasks, leave on va- cation without vital items such as prescription drugs or out- of-town phone numbers, and _reach evening with only a por- tion of my intended deeds for the day accomplished. Some ‘days are so hectic I - have a list of lists, to remind _me to check on all my lists. - To begin each day, there’s the list of phone calls. to be ‘placed: appointments to be : made. an order for a-refill to be called in to the pharmacy, - or. a Happy Birthday visit with » a relative in Saskatchewan or. - Alberta. Then there’s the list of oc- casional jobs to do: empty the cold ashes from the stove, give - the dogs their monthly tablet to hold fleas at bay, water the © - shop plants each Wednesday. My most revised list is the - one that charts my itinerary when I drive to town. Besides naming every stop, I thought- fully plan the route to get where I must be on time, with as little backtracking as I can devise. Because usually when I drive myself it’s a sign my day _ is off kilter, I aim to park in THROUGH, BIFOCALS | CLAUDETTE SANDECKI central locations from which I rands. For instance, if I park near the library, I can drop off or pick up library books, and then. -hike to the post office to check our box for mail: Even if our - post office box is empty, the -outdoor exercise is a bonus. The most planning comes in when some. of my errands are on the Keith Avenue half of town, and the rest on the old bridge side. As though it were a mind-bending game, I . fetching or delivering, strive to make the route as one way as I can. This becomes . ‘more complicated if definite - appointment times must be \ satisfied. Always, to incorporate as much walking as I can while I park on the fringes of parking lots rather than jostle for space next to the handicap zone. Partly, I choose the fringes to” avoid -denting anyone's ve- hicle and to make driving in ‘and .out simpler for me. Our. truck’s. high-backed bucket seats impair my rear field of .vision when I’m checking for traffic all around as I prepare . . ‘to exit a parking space. can then walk to two or more. -points, thus working. in my day’s walk while. T run er- — _ My major shortcoming as a. gofer is my penchant for mentally - whittling the list as I drive into town. By the time I switch off the engine - at my first point of call, T’ve scratched off Varsol from the . hardware store, convinced my- self I'can buy elastic next Sat-. urday, and so long as I don’t. forget, next week will be soon enough to replenish the dogs’ pill supply. When it comes to the rare trip out of town, I have a list for that, too. I file it in the front of my top dresser drawer ' including clothes, | Life is all about keeping a list ; LISTS KEEP my day on track. Without lists I would forget . so I could grab it in a hurry and throw things in a suitcase and be off, reasonably confi- dent I have everything I need, medica- tions, toothbrush and the rest. Oh, who's kidding. who? I'd go over that list at least four times before I climbed into a — taxi and still be frowning at . the airport over: what. I might a have left out.’ * - My favourite list is the dai- ; | 4 ly to-do lineup often eight or _ nine chores long. It may be such diverse tasks as 1. short- en trousers 2. re-pot African violet 3. Vacuum behind the fridge 4. Haul away sawdust from under the table saw. 5. _ Change outdoor light bulb. I begin each day with verve and determination. By mid-af-- - _ternoon I’m stroking through the jobs I either can‘t t complete or. choose not to do.. These move to next day’s list, like a» cupful of sourdough starter. Ticking off each task as I complete it sparks my day. . by. bedtime I’m feeling virtu- ous enough to rise above a few incomplete tasks. I slide the next day’s burgeoning to-do _ list under the pencil holder on my desk and scour my mind of chores that await tomorrow. geographic _ "