ee

-. talk: about

6 Terrace Review — - Wednesday, August 3, 1988 |

Greens,

irons, curses |

woods,

‘Commentary — aan aE

Wouldn’t it be nice to own a
huge expanse of lawn full of
holes and have people pay you
to let them play games on ‘it?
What moron came up with the

_ idea of brandishing a long stick

to whack a small ball into a tiny

hole so far away that they need a -
flag to-mark it? And why is this.
“ magnetic force field has weaken-

bizarre activity called ‘golf’ so
enjoyable? It’s a strange world.

Just think about this odd
game for a minute. Some people
spend thousands of dollars to
play; commit hours of their
leisure time to it, read books and
magazines about it, watch it on

television occasionally, and yet

when they’re out.on the course,
you hear a multitude of cursing
and foul language over it all. 1
know... I’ve been there, cursing

. with the worst of them.

The problem lies between the

ball ‘and the hole. The ball
should simply sail up onto the
. green and roll casually into the

hole. -But it rarely works that
way. You aim so carefully, The

stupid ball goes into the trees,

into the:sand, into a lake, or on-

_ to someone’s head. There's ob-
viously a magnetic force field,
laid out under that green grass,
directing the ball anywhere but

near the hole. That’s why golfers
fwoods’? and

“rons’?. Wood cannot become

‘magnetized, and iron can, so
. . depending on how you want to
_ affect the force field, you choose

your weapon.

.- I’m impressed with . people

-. who use white balls. Myself, I
“ jike-~ those glow-in-the-dark
- Orange and yellow ones, the ones
you can easily spot in a muddy
--. swamp or the straggly branches
of a jack pine. I’m not sure
“about the people who use golf

carts. They remind me of a six-

oY year-old’s dream: a smail vehicle
-you can drive on the lawn.
a Anyway, if you can’t walk the

distance, should you really be

«playing -golf? Besides, nobody

ever lets me ride in one,
My major golfing question is

‘this: Why is it that otherwise

‘normal conservative men feel
that once they hit the fairway,

~~ they’re expected to wear pale

coral pants and a pastel sea-

green shirt? Is there a signinthe

men’s washroom that designates -

brightly colored attire? I’ve
nothing against it — just
wondered.

In Terrace, August is the
nicest time to golf. The evenings
aré generally. warm, the

ed from the summer’s use, and
the mosquitoes have learned to
duck. If you’re out. on the golf
course this month, and you.
notice a strange cursing woman
climbing a tree to retrieve her -
glow-in-the-dark orange ball, it
isn’t me, It only looks like me,

Fore!

Making a better patch on local streets calls for “Patch Master”. Rather.than ‘squaring off a
pothole with a jackhammer and filling it with hot asphalt, Patch Master uses a propane ©
heater to soften the surrounding pavement before the hole is filled. This method unites the
old.and new asphalt in a flawless repair that won't pop out with the first- heavy frost. The
Patch Master was leased from Vi-Mar, a Richmond-based company, at a cost of $9, 000 for
six weeks and will be patching up a storm untill mmicrAuguet:,

_ Ex-resident refuses to pay local taxes

Former Terrace resident Judy
Vandergucht has written to Ter-
race city council to advise that
she and her husband are with-

‘holding payment of city taxes on

a piece of property they own on
Terrace. Mountain. The prob-
lem, according to Vandergucht,
is that a portion of the Terrace
Nature Trail. passes through
their property and the city is
therefore permitting hikers to
trespass on their land.

Nuns leave
for Toronto

The Sisters of St. Joseph
order of nuns, including Veritas
School principal Mary Macoret-

ta, have left Terrace and return- ||

ed to Toronto. New principal
Francis Nuyten explained the
order no longer has the person-
nel available for teaching, and
will be focussing more on parish
duties and social work:

‘It’s happening everywhere,”
Nuyten said. ‘‘They’re not get-
ting the recruits, young people
are not going into the vocation

in the same numbers they: used .

to. a?

The present staff arid two new
lay person teachers will continue
to run the private Catholic
school.

Burial costs may rise

TERRACE —' The municipal

. factor in funeral costs may rise if

‘city council accepts a report filed
by Superintendent of Parks and
Recreation Steve Scott. Accor-
ding to Scott, cemetery rates
‘were last amended in 1983 and

. no longer cover city costs.

[f+ his suggested rates are

adopted, the cost of a plot will,
“rise: an: average of 27 percent

while services to. open and close

the: igrave-- will increase an

average of 33 percent. if the ser-

: vice happens to be after 4 p.m.,
_ -Monday to Friday, burial ser-
vices: Will-cost an’ extra $35 per
-. hour;'a drop of 30 percent, but
aifit happens to bea weekend or
“statutory holiday costs. will go
pa an additional $205, a 105 er

Finally, the installation of
memorials, which includes a $10
Care Fund Contribution, will
jump anywhere from 27 to 83
percent over the old rates. In ad-
dition, there will be a new charge

of $100 which is a ‘refundable

deposit required for contingen-
cy’.

The bottom line is that if the
new rates are adopted, burials
during city hours in an unreserv-
ed plot would cost $540 less the
$100 deposit. However, if the
funeral is on a weekend, in a
reserved plot and the headstone
is larger than 12 inches by 20 in-
ches, it would cost $848 less the
$100 deposit.. And these costs
are in addition to funeral home
charges.

Vandergucht, now a resident

‘of Pritchard; B.C. says they pur-

chased the property in 1982, and
on their first visit found “tan ob-
vious trail and trees vandalized
with bright orange paint'’. She
said it was obvious at that time

that it was a developed hiking

trail. They went to then-
Superintendent of Parks and

‘Recreation Al McNiven, who

she said promised to look into
the matter.

‘However, she says that
MeNiven left the city soon after
that, and then she contacted city
planner Rob Greno, who said he
would look into the matter.
Vandergucht writes, ‘‘We feel
that we should not be required

the trail,
‘the matter is only at the commit. .
tee level right now, the city may.

to pay taxes with the citizens of
Terrace walking through our.
property and:as ‘indicated in my ~
last letter to Mr. Hallsor, we -
have withheld.our taxes because
of the hiking trail.’ ”

"Vandergucht offers two sug:

gestions for the city to correct
- the situation: buy the property

— which is adjacent to: city: :

owned land — or eliminate the

taxes in exchange for the-lse of...
However, even. th hough,

Plein!

not be that forgiving. . ;
According to city treasurer

Keith Norman, taxes have not

been paid for the last three years

and $960 j is outstanding. And if
this outstanding amount. isn’t ;
paid by Sept. 30, Norman says
the Vandergucht’s will be ‘given
one year’s “notice before the
property will go to public auc-
‘tion,-
- City draftsman Jack Hepple- —
white says that although the trail ©
appears to enter the Vander- —
~-gucht property as it is drawn on -
a city map, ‘he is not sure that a
“professional: survey has ever
been conducted, and it is ques-
* tionable whether the trail actual-
ly enters private property or not.
The problem has been sent to the
Planning and Public’ Works
Committee for review and a
recommendation.

‘It’s becoming a tradition for the Region Five members of the B.C. Government Employees’
Union to support the Terrace Children’s Festival. Last week local BCGEU rep Bill Mikaloff
handed over $200 to Children’s Festival organizer Lori Merrill. The festival will be a day: long

affalr on Aug. 14,

- Janitorial contract awarded

D & A Janitor Service has
been selected over the previous
contractor, Skeena Building
Maintenance, to maintain Ter-
race city hall and public works
offices. D & A won the contzact

_with a low bid of $700 per

month for regular janitoriat

-work and a “per time price’’ of

$100 for stripping, sealing and
waxing. floors. and $125 for
-washing the exterior of all win-
Gows.

- Other bids were submitted by
Chris’ Janitor Service with a

monthly bid of $707 and per.

time bids of $125 for. waxing
floors. and $110 for windows;
Grewal Janitor Services with a
monthly bid of $790 and per
time bids of $295: for -waxing
floors arid $295 for windows;
Skeena Building Maintenance
witha monthly bid of $935 and
per time bids of $735 for waxing
floors and $475 for. windows;

and Executive ‘Cleaners ‘with | a
monthly bid of $1,320: and per
time bids of $475 for waxing
floors and $225 for windows. _

‘Superintendent of Public ©
Works Stew Christensen recom-
mended D & A Janitor Services ©
because they were the low bidder
and letters of referetices recom-
mended their service as being
“very good’? with ‘no prob-