A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 23, 1994 TERRACE. STANDARD ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 ADDRESS: 4647 Lazelle Ave, Terrace, B.C. * V8G 188 TELEPHONE: (604) 638-7283 * FAX: (604) 638-8432 MODEM: 638-7247 Leaders wanted FIRST FISH, then surgeons and now fish again. The apparent growing rivalry between the coast and the interior of northwestern B.C. is a silly and time consuming waste of energy. If nobody knew any better, it would seem there’s a very public and nasty form of penis envy going on. The fish situation is particularly puzzling. On one side are the commercial fishermen who say their right to catch fish at the mouth of the Skeena is sacrosanct. On the other are the recrea- tional anglers whe say they have an equal right to catch steelhead and want them protected from commercial nets. The two groups and their various sub-groups don’t deny Skeena River fish runs are taking a beating, But both, as social workers would say, live in denial of their joint and equal responsibil- ity to help solve the situation. What’s going on are too many nets and too many rods chasing too few fish. This problem is compounded because the leadership of each fac- tion refuse to recognize the need for a co- operative resolution to the issue. Much the same can be said about the spat be- tween who should get the northwest’s orthopedic surgeon. Historically, the person has been based in Kitimat. But now, because of an order issued by health minister Paul Ramsey, he is supposed to be headed off to Prince Rupert. In this case the surgeon and accompanying sup- port budget is being treated almost as a prize in a competition. It really doesn’t matter who is right or who is wrong anymore in this case. Bad things can happen in a leadership vacuum, not the least of which are divisions which become wider as -nd@ore extravagant-statements are made... as a3 Ti Kee ey nS ce \ Loud and clear HOW MANY times have commentators been heard to say an election result has “‘sent a mes- sage’’ to the politicians? And how many times does it become clear, only months after the vote, that the message has been at best forgotten or at worst, ignored? In last November’s local elections, voters sent mayor Jack Talstra just such a message. Narrow- ly returned to office, Talstra admitted the result was ‘‘a good wake-up call’’. Just how good has become clear in the months that have followed. Council committees are made up of three mem- bers of council and they are the only ones who are required to show up for its meetings. These are among the most onerous tasks council mem- bers face. There’s litile publicity or image boost- ing to be found in committee work. — As mayor, Talstra is an automatic member of all committees, but the choice to attend is his. Check out the minutes of committee meetings over the last couple of months and you'll find Talstra’s name among the attendees again and again. That’s quite a change from last year. ‘Message received and understood.’’ EE . us PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Mikc L. Hamm pp PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edoward Credgeur Sosbdesi NEWS COMMUNITY: Jett Nagel * NEWS SPORTS: Malcolm Baxter OFFICE MANAGER: Rose Fisher COMPOSING: Pam Odell DARKROOM: Susan Credyeur ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Sam Collier, Janet Viveiros CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Charlene Matthews Serving the Terrace area, Published on Wednesday of each weak by Cariboo Press (1969) Lid, at 4647 Lazalie Ave., Tertace, B:tish Columbia Slorles, photegraphs, Itvstrations, designs and typastylas in the Tarraca Slandard are the property of the copyright holders, including Cavboo Press (1969) Lid, i's illustration repra services and adverlising agendes. Raproduction in whole of in part, wihoul written permission, is specifically prohibited. Aulhorized 63 second-class mail pending the Pos! Office Departrient, for payment of postaga incash, $pectal thanks to all our contributors and correspandents - - for thelr time and talents cnerecona NEED MORE HOLES... a oe AND VERTIME COMING - -UP AGAIN.” Just another way of killing VICTORIA — I don’t know what I would do if I were faced with the terifying con- sequences of the disease that prompted Sue Rodriguez to seek a doctor’s help in ending her own life. But as I sit here in good health, writing this column, pondering Rodriguez’ death, I hope will all my heart that I would have the courage to fight death every inch of the way, I wouldn’t presume to judge Rodriguez’ final choice, I as- sume her fear of having to face the agony of a slow death was too great. So she chose to end her own life with the assistance ~ ofadoctor, But while Fam not arguing’ with what she did, I am alarmed by the effect her ‘ doctor-assisted suicide is hav- ing. Euthanasia or mercy killing is out of the close! and on the federal agenda. Members of Parliament have promised to tackle the {ssue, and justice minister Allan Rock has slated he favows a free vote on the matier, which means politicians don’t have to vole along party lines, Legalized euthanasia is fraught with danger. 1 spent my childhood years in Nazi .FROM THE CAPITAL HUBERT BEYER Germany, which used euthanasia to rid itself of tens of thousands of ‘‘unproduc- tive”? citizens, the inform, the mentally and physically- handicapped. Admittedly, that was Nazi Germany, and this is Canada. But what assurances do we have that socicty, in the future, will handle the right to kill for reasons of mercy and compas- sion with the same safeguards we may build into it? There is ihe clear danger that impressionable old and infirm people might be surreptitiously persuaded that doctor- assisted sulcide is preferable fo a slow and agonizing death. Holland allows assisted suicide. About 1,000 people are killed under that law every year. Newborn children with physical or mental disabilities can also be killed under that law. The very concept scares the hell out of me. While I followed the Sue Rodriguez story through three courts, right up to the Supreme Court of Canada, which ruled five-to-four against her campaign for assisted suicide, it often occurred to me that she had it all wrong, The incredible passion and determination she spent on being granted the right to kill herself with someone else’s help, I thought, would have been better spent on wanting to live, even knowing that, in the end, she would lose that battle. As long as Rodriguez was alive, I resisted the temptation the inject myself into the issue. Somehow, I felt ] had no right to tell a dying woman that ralher than fighting life, she should fight death. Now, it seems that what she didn’t achieve while she was alive, she might in death — have Members of Parliament ’ deal with the issue of doctor- assisted suicide. If they do, they might consider what others have contributed to the debate. They might, for instance, want to meet my friend Doug Hinkel of Quesnel who has been doing battle with AIDS for more than four years now. Doug is a hemophiliac. He's 39 years old. He contracted ihe disease through contaminaied blood before screening for HIV became mandatory. Doug is the closest [ have ever come to meeting a tc hero. His will to live, and not just so, but with joy and fervor, in spite of the ravages AIDS has inflicled on his body, is awesome and inspiring. Doug was originally given six months to a year. Through sheer courage and obstinacy, « he’s cheated death for four and. abe a half years now. That, I sub- : mit, is true heroism. To die at 43 is tragle, whether death comes naturally or by suicide. But I hope our parliamentarians will not be swept away by the wave of ad- miration for Rodriguez to the point where they will legalize mercy killing in her memory. Life should be held sacred, If someone wishes to commit suicide, so be it. But allowing others to assist in suicide is killing by another name, Naming streets gets tricky A CONCERNED _ reader wonders why is such routine business as naming streets regarded as lop secret, Well, think about it Is any- thing more personal than one’s name? Clearly, this is a per- sonnel matter. Naming strects is less routine than it first appears. It’s miles from ‘‘Eenie meenie mincy mo.” Council has a list of roughly 100 pioneer family names il can use for future strect names. In addition it has names of candidates who have lived a long while in Terrace, contrib- uted many hours of community service voluntarily, and scaled ihe totem pole of noteworthy achicvemenis, Other sugges- tions include Baby of the Year, or a turfed out mayor. Whenever council sets out to christen a street, they have a short list of maybe five names . from which to make their final choice, These names have been THROUGH BIFOCALS CLAUDETTE SANDECKI scrcenecd to make sure they don’t duplicate or sound too similar to exisling streets. To do so could confuse postal deliveries, fire calls, and am- bulance dispatchers. Preferred names are short, easy lo spell and to pronounce. Making the final selection behind closed doors spares the feclings of families whose names are not chosen, and of NOT LONG NOW aldermen reluctant to explain their choices. The Bible says, ‘Their bodies are buried in peace, but their name liveth for evermore.’’? Longer, in the minds of relatives, if it’s passed over by council asa map site. Street naming isn’t the smal- lest routine occupying coun- cils. Recenlly lwo B.C, coun- cils took on equally mystifying subjects. In January, a Creston alderman elected in November with the second hightst num- ber of votes, resigned to protest council chamber scat- ing arrangements. He objected to sharing council table with the cily administrator, whom he felt was exerting undue in- fluence on the mayor while sit- ting beside him, Then a Quesne] alderman, put off by the lalssez-faire at- tire of fellow councillors, pro- posed —— and council passed - a dress code bylaw making mandatory the wearing of sports jackcts and ties by aldermen while on city busi- ness. Were Quesnel voters aware they were electing an Alfred Sung? And how slovenly were his compatriots? Had such a by-law med Prince Rupert during Peter Lester’s 3Q-some years as mayor, he would have had to — forsake his sweater wardrobs. I expect the Quesnel. fashion plate was unaware of Linda E1- lerbee’s sentiments or fe would) have sweaters and polo shirts, American journalist Bulertec said, ‘‘How intelligent is it-to Start the. day by tying a Little. noose around your neck?’? Not very. , Could too-tight tices be responsible for aberrant coun. cil decisions? ee ANP You DIDA'T 9 BELIEVE iN settled for. - ia ee oe Force -FieLps!