Letters to the editor Highway safety is at risk Dear Sir: I must respond to an open line radio show where the highways main- lenance contractor was at- tempting to defend their performance record. The artogance came through loud and clear whenever a citizen called in to vent the frustration felt. ] share the same opi- nion as many — that the road: maintenance during ice and snow conditions have néver been worse in the district controlled by our local contractor. The level of service has clearly deteriorated over the last few years. ] am a small. business- man and travel extensively throughout several areas. of the province where the. toad maintenance is under - several different contrac- tors and there is a great difference in the level of service. when conditions. warrant it. From what I. see our local contractor reacts to a situation only whenever a serious situation arises like several accidents. In in the other areas | travel there iS a preventative reaction to road conditions. As one trucker said who called in, he couldn’t wail to get to the potato farm. | also dread the trip home as toad conditions will. be worse within the Skeena ‘region. I “have heard ‘that the government is. likely to ‘renew the highways main- tenance contracts for an- other 10 years without put-— ‘ting the contract out for tender. This should not be done. And more that is absurd Dear Sir: Greer Kaiser hit the nail on the head (“Do you want absurd?” letter to the edi- tor, Dec. 11, 2002). I feet compelled though to ask though whether we don't all contribute to the ab- surdity. Our MLA, Roger Harris, has never really backed up the community unless he feels pood and safe so it is somewhat absurd to expect him to begin now. Except for brief fer- vency to get chosen for the job, Harris has discouraged dialogue from the begin- ning, refusing to attend a‘ community forum, to meet with other than the groups of his choice because otherwise it is “non-con- structive.” He has alienated him- self ever since he chose to lock his office door and have his staffsend any protesters off his porch ra- ther than talk to them. Pretty absurd we toler- ate anemployee acting thus. Gordie Campbell's be- haviour is just as absurd. We, the citizenry, pay his salary, allow him and his buddies to run the political show, then whine when they mess up, :or when. , eet Gordie’ visits’ our “pol course, but ducks out*the back door to avoid ques- tions from his employers. Wow, wish I had an absurd job like that. On a local level, allow major corporations to duck taxes, while crying about the need to inject money into the economy. Try telling your bank or government you can't pay taxes for a few years and need a break. They will likely consider you absurd for even asking. We have managed to re-elect school trustees who can only vote on cer- tain issues, depending on: whether they are political- ly comfortable. Truly: an absurd way to promote de- mocracy and progress of our education system. CN’s problems with pedestrians crossing the holy land = splitting (he town are solved by widening a sidewalk across an overpass. There isno sidewalk on the north side of Keith Ave. between the overpass and Kalum. Folks still have to waik a long way to cross, so will still cross the tracks everywhere, despite the absurd attempts by CN to police the stretch, Folks, we are all acting absurd, and in these absurd times will continue to do Northwest Smile Design Center Dy? gr Chin he. Fri Dei fifo td, THL ® Serving the Northwest for 10 years « Full face Orthodontl Care © Invisalign» the Invisable braces « LA, Treatment # Porcelain Crowns and Veneers © Teeth Whitening Bleaching} * Latex Frea Office _Dr. Peter. A. Okimi 300-4619 Park Avenve, Terrace, B.C, VBG 1V5 (250) 635-7611. Did you keow thal a child should be seen lor tok ht exthodontic screening before get ; oe so until we make real changes, avoiding absurd decision-making by our- selves and thase we en- trust to lead us. Perhaps our children, who witness our inepti- tude, will consider these times historically absurd as well. Let’s. hope not because that would really be an absurd legacy. ’ Robert Baker, Terrace, B.C, WIN YOUR VEHICLE : pan Jaa 2, 2008 - PURORASE FINANCIiG UP 70 48 MONTHS ON VIRTUALLY © —-ALL 20038 “09% 48 MONTH. PURCHASE FINANCING ¥ suntro; vibo, drontiAm, It should go out to tender and if this does not happen then no contractor paid for by tax Don dollars Ritchey should be renewed without a com- plete performance evalua- tion by an independent firm as obviously whoever is supposed to be doing this now is asleep at the switch. Joanne Monaghan from Kitimat has started a peti- tion and is also gathering letters from people. She will hopefully put pressure to make our roads safer and help reduce the the accidents and keep our ICBC rates favourable. Don Ritchey, Terrace, B.C. Grand Prix, Bonneville, Montana, Aztek Oy Contury, fogal, LeSabre, a Park A venua, Renderve us ui Mc Satarl, Jimny, Sonoma, Envoy, Envoy My : The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 18, 2002 - A7 When she opens her holiday surprise, you'll [eel like... the Wizard of “Aaaaaah! 2003 PONTIAC ’ SUNFIRE SL SEDAN _ *6-Yeer/100,000km POWERTRAIN WARRANTY, with No Deductibla «2.2L 140 HP ECOTEC Engine - 5-Speed Getrag Manual Transmission : Theft Deterrent System ~ 60/40 Split Foiding Rear Seat'Tachometer _ DRIVE Hin wilty Rear Door Locks _ WHTHOUT PAYING |. asi punciase price “Bh a PA WOTUAAMOTTRS -* awed was . 2003 PONTIAC: F GRAND AM SEDAN A est Shes i! 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