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INSIDE
COMMUNITY
EVENTS B2

4

-MY-POINT OF VIEW .
ARON STRUMECKI

The fate of the world
T ALL STARTED when my friend
I Island popped on-line. I was in
search of a topic, a point, and some-
thing of interest to write about. Is-
land was in search of conversation of the chat-
ting kind. I instinctively cringed, knowing that
I was about to be sucked into the exact kind of
conversation I hated - pugnacious, pointless,
and thoroughly theoretical.

Island, as you might guess by the name, is
the true-blue product of hippie parenting gone
horribly wrong; one part organic orchardist,
two parts stubborn, and seven parts cynical
bastard,

Some people subsist off food, but people
like Island subsist on debate; during cur youth
I proved to be a regular snack if not a nutri-
tious meal.

He’s a hell of a guy, but when he puts his
mind to telling you how the world works, I
swear he could make a lawyer cry. Admitted-
ly, that aspect of things can be fun on the right
occasion, but it isn’t easy finding new lawyers
to feed to him. Unfortunately they usually
catch on to him after the first time.

“Hello m8,” he says with his usual aplomb,
“What you up to?”.

With a slap to my forehead and a few
choice words, I slowly type my reply.

“I’m doing research for my next column.”

“Oh,” he types, “what are you research-_

ing?”

“Well, I was thinking about something to
do with the protests at the G8 summit and de-
mocracy or something.”

“Ol weeees.” he says, “I hate writing about
politics.”

He was laying the bait, he knew it, and so
did I. I immediately resisted the urge to type
something inflammatory, that always pul me
straight into his hands. I opted for the safer
route; indirect answers.

“It can be,” I replied, feeling confident J
was safe in my mediocrity.

“Yeah, | suppose,” he said, “I doubt I could

write an article like that. I just dan’t find the

summit interesting, that’s all.”

’

My eye twitched for second or two before I
swallowed it hook, line, and sinker.

“What do you mean you don't find the sum-
mit interesting?” I said, “the guys at summits
like these are deciding the fate of the world!
That’s why people are trying to protest.”

“Yeah — but it’s so hard to get interested in
current affairs when you don’t have the time,
and you hardly know the issues.” He said off-
handedly, “I hardly get any time to relax, |
don’t want to spend it worrying aboul things
that don’t affect me.”

He might have just as well of called me a.

Liberal media hack and hit me across the head
with the proverbial gauntlet. The gloves were
off, and so was I,

“What do you mean these things don’t af-
fect you?” I yelled at the computer screen, My

typing, on the other hand, was a bit more de--

mure, and I calmly sought to lay down the is-
sues of the day, including everything from Pa-
lestine, African poverty, and glabal terrorism,

and suggested that there was always time to.

get informed about the issues of the day.
I’m sure his ears would have perked up if

they’d decided to. outlaw kids with bad names. -

“Ignorance is no excuse for inaction,” I
said, feeling proud of myself.

"Yeah, but you get paid to do your
research,” he said, “who pays me to read
about these things? Why should J care?
‘There’s nothing I can do about anything even
if I wanted to.”

Sputtering, in the most virtual way possible,
1 forcibly replied with such classics as
“knowledge is power”, “power to the people,”

and “it affects everyone.”

'

That’s when he pulled out the big guns.

“Aron,” he wrote, “you’re naive. Even if
there was a chance that the protesters could
make a difference, which they won't, the lea-

ders at those tables will just find a way to ig-.
‘nore them. Those protesters are too extreme to’

altract the mainstream, If they have any hope -

_at all, they’re going to have to figure out a

way to attract your average everyday people.” |

“Let me guess,” I replied, “people like
you?”

“Exactly, and right now, people like me
have much more interest in keeping things the
way the are. We’ve got too much tied up in
our lives and our jobs to give much effort to a
mavement like that,” he said, “Let's just
hope things don’t go too bad before People
realize what they’ve lost.” ;

t guess 1 just hope he’ 's wrongs :

. ay
rhe

_ with the aim of landing a paying singing

a Ath
eer Dn en aE

| Grinning grads

CLASS VALEDICTORIAN Riteesha Mathew and schoolmates
Rayna Braam, Sharon Anderson, Riteesha Mathew, Cole Ny-

made Terrace history June 27. The six students are the first
graduating class of Centennial Christian School, which offered
strom, Justin Voogd and Jodi Braam were all smiles as they Grade 12 for the first time this year. JOANNA WONG PHOTO

SECTION B
JENNIFER LANG
638-7283

SET a aT ee ce ne NCEE an

AT JUST 17, singer Tasha Wakaruk can't wait to sing her heart out at the PNE.

Terrace teen chases
her stardust dreams

By JENNIFER LANG
A 17-YEAR-OLD girl from Terrace
will reach for the stars later this summer
when she competes at a province-wide
talent show.

Singer and musician Tasha Wakaruk
recently learned she’s one of 45 semi fi-
nalists who will compete at the Pacific
National Exhibition,

She’ll perform at the PNE’s main con-
cert stage as part of the exhibition’s an-
nual Star Discovery contest.

Finalists perform in front of thousands
of people — and a panel of judges — during
the PNE, which runs over two weeks at
the end of the summer, from Aug,.17 to
Sept. 2 in Vancouver. .

Like many of the other. contestants liv-
ing far away from the fair grounds, Wa-
karuk auditioned by mailing in a video-
tape.

She hasn’t had time.to pick the song
she'll be singing yet. Right now, the news
is still sinking in.

Besides, the Grade
11. correspondence
school student .says,
she’s been trying to
concentrate on. her stu-
dies so she can wrap up
her school work iri time.

She’s headed to Wild Rose Country
this summer to strike out on her career
path.

She originally planned to spend the
whole summer in Edmonton, Alberta,

to B.C. a little earlier than planned,

The PNE will let her know by July 20
when she'll perform.

Thank goodness there’s still time to
figure out a tune. ‘

_ “] have no idea what kind of a song ’'l!
be singing,” Wakaruk said last week, just
days after hearing the news. “It’s absolu-
tely crazy.’

She'll be competing in the youth talent

$3,000,
The winner wins a trip to represent

petition.

An accomplished pianist,.she switched
to singing lessons after she froze at the
provincials one year. She made her sing-

hasn't looked back'since. :

past 10 months — heady stuf£-for .a-teen-

“4 have no idea what kind “Lo see.

absolutely crazy.”
Dion, Shania Twaln

distinclive, successful careers.

mance, Wakaruk proves she’s managed
to keep her feet firmly planted on- the

ser to the stratasphere,
gig during the evenings, but she’ 8 had to P

rethink her schedule.
Now, of course, she'll be cothing back

“always next year.”

tolls out |

division, which carries a top prize of

B.C. at the Canadian Youth Talent Com- .

ing debut at Riverboat Days Last. year and :

She. has been entertaining audiences at
Beasley’s Mix.at the Terrace Inn for the '

‘Kermode:
Centre to school counsei-
».. lors.

ager who’ S$ still too young ‘to hang out at’:
‘the bar, when she’s. -

She says she” ade
ofa song lll be singing. it’S mires the- singing .
abilities of- Celine.

and Jewel: —~ all: ..
strong female singers who've carved out

Looking ahead to her PNE perfor-°

ground, even though her dreams are clo-.

“Even if 1 don’t win, It’s nol really a
big deal,” she grins confidently. “There' ‘ “

Hungry kids
are a growing

problem here

Committee forms to look at
short and long term solutions

By JENNIFER LANG
A RISING number of

children are feeling the

impact of provincial gov-
ernment cuts to social pro-
grams in our town, Darlene
Westerman says.

She's a member of the
Community response to
Hungry Kids Committee, a
collection of local agen-
cies and individuals who
have been meeting since
the winter. ;

Changes to income as-
sistance are impacting fa-
milies and the rising num-
ber of kids who are living
in poverty, Westerman
says.

Welfare recipients will
be receiving less money
for rent when the province
additional
changes to welfare this
month, stretching an al-
teady tight household bud-
get to its breaking point.

“This is a critical issue
in our community,” says
Westerman, who works at
the Family Place, a one-

Darlene
Westerman

people in the Terrace area
are having difficulty, meet-
ing the the bare: minimum
when it comes to stocking
the fridge, says Wester-
man, who accompanied a
local mother to the food
bank and realized’ the
children were “jumping up

_and down because mummy

food,” Others. were noti-
cing that too, from the
Friendship

. Um talking about
agencies that don’t ‘do’
food,” she points out.

Then the health. unit's
community nutritionist

made an alarming discov-

ery ‘about life in the north-
west.
It would cost a local fa-

mily of four $700 per
month on groceries pur-

chased according to the
requirements set aut by

Canada’s food guide.

Meanwhile, more

La

stop. child was getting
care: access bread.” -
centre, “We were get- Anolher mom
The Hun- ting more requests kept her
ary . Kids at. The Famil child « home
committee ” Ld from . school
grew out of Place forfood.” — when ‘she
concern. wasnt able
“We were “ "pack
gelting. more requests at snack. food: for Tecess and
‘The. Family Place for feared someone would re-

port her to child apprehen-

sion authorities. : - :
Other. children. don’t

know. when’ they’il get

‘their. next: meal, so’ they:

pig: out when, they: Visit
friends in’ more’ affluent
homes... 7

“T-could fo ¢ on Vand on,”
Westerman says. “These
are'just some of the fami-
Hes. 8. ee,

The committee wants to
work on long-term, solu-
tions...

Meanwhile, the ‘group is
planning to set up a food
registry-and is looking into
the feasibility of stating 2 a
soup kitcherts: 3