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A4- The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 23, 2005

me TERRACE

STANDARD |

ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988

_ PUBLISHER: ROD LINK

ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. © V8G 5R2
TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 FAX: (250) 638-8432
‘ 'WEB: www.terracestandard.com
EMAIL: newsroom@terracestandard.com

- Cellbusters-

‘SCHOOL DISTRICT 82’s proposed policy ban-
ning camera-cellphones from locker rooms,
~ washrooms and other places where they might be

used to. invade. the. privacy of students caused ‘a

_ stir with reactions. from “how dare they” to “go |

for it.”

do. It’s hard to imagine any use a student might
have for a camera-cellphone in a classroom, or

. anywhere else in an institution of learning.

- This is not to suggest that every student will use
a cellphone i in an unsavoury ‘fashion. But genera=

~_ ‘tions of people. received their education and got:].
"-»along quite well thank you in the schools of their

day without requiring a phone.
- Schools are places of learning, not a downtown

- cafe or mall or even movie theatre where i inces-
- gant ringing or beeping followed by loud talking

has become the unfortunate norm.
- The real question is how the proposed policy, if

| adopted, will be.enforced. If teachers continue to
be hard-pressed in doing their regular duties and
support workers have been cut back, then having

: - the people needed to .put the muscle behind the

policy might be a problem.
The proposed policy regulating cellphone use

in schools. is one of three: the school district is

considering. ,

Also good to see is ; the proposed policy on :
‘smoking.’ Right now there’s that ages-old tradi- |
tion of the smoke pit. But no more if school trust-

ees have their way in imposing a no-puff zone of
anywhere from 50 metres to several blocks away
from school property.

_ «Phe policy suggests there-would:be-a series of "|
disciplinary 1 measures up’ to’ and including a $40
‘fine for those found in contravention of this pol-

icy. :
But while this sounds tough and uncompromis-
ing, the proof in the pudding will again be how
the policy, if adopted, is enforced.

After all, it’s been four years since the so-called
“drug free zones” were set up around schools and

__we’re not aware of one charge, let alone a convic-
tion, that stemmed from narcotics-related activity

within-these zones.

* The third policy under consideration is to con-.

duct locker searches at random for narcotics and
to bring in drug- sniffing dogs as required.

Locker searches aren’t new and drug dogs
have been used before. But the current policy

' says searches can only be justified on reasonable
grounds. There may be something a little disqui-
_ eting about the idea of random searches. But drug

use on school grounds or using schools as a safe
haven for drug stashes cannot be condoned.

Copies of the proposals are at the school district
office and the board meetings March 11.

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Serving the Terrace and Thornhill area Published on Wednesday at each week at 3210 Clinton Street, Terrace,
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Special thanks to all our contributors and
correspondents for their time and talents

And “go for it” is what school trustees should.

_ while
| something useful, even beauti-
CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Alanna Bentham

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ACCORDING

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Long term bed plan falls apart

VICTORIA - The Liberals
promised a big increase in
seniors’ long-term care beds,
saying it was urgently needed.

They haven’t delivered. In
the Northern Health Region,

no beds have been added over |

the past four years.

. The situation -- despite the
campaign promise -- is even
bleaker in the rest of the Prov-

- ince,

The Northern region. had
1,019 care beds when the Lib-

__erals took over. Since the elec-
: tion it has closed 127 beds,
mostly residential care, which —

provides more intensive medi-
cal support. It has opened 130

. assisted living beds. After four

years, the net result has been
no practical increase.
And in the Interior, there

_are now actually 333 fewer
“beds: -a'‘loss ‘of ‘about seven ~
per cent of the total the Liber-

als inherited.

The region started off with
4,700 beds. It closed 1,321
residential care beds, and has
replaced them so far with 620
residential care beds - the
highest level of care - and 368
assisted living spaces.

Overall, that leaves the re-
gion down 333 beds.

(At least that’s how the
health region’ counts them.

Health Minister Shirley Bond —

comes up with a higher num-
ber of beds by including the
extension of high-level servic-
es to 53 people who aren’t liv-
ing in care homes. The region
is also renting beds in private
facilities to help deal with the
shortage.) -

~ Overall, the Liberals prom-
ised a 20-per-cent increase in

HA
yn

Mi FROM THE CAPITALS

PAUL WILLCOCKS..

the number of available beds
by 2006, or 5, 000 additional
beds.

But in the Interior Health
Region today there are actu-
ally 333 fewer beds -- a loss of
about seven per cent. (At least

that’s how the health region |

counts them. Health Minister
Shirley Bond comes up with

a slightly higher number of”

beds.)

The quibbles over numbers
don’t really matter. The Lib-
eral promise was a 20-per-cent
increase. They said the beds
were urgently needed, and

claimed there was a 4,200-

bed shortfall at the time of the
election.

Now they have abandoned
the campaign promise. Health
Minister Shirley Bond says the
beds will be ready by 2008.

And in a period when the

number of people in the prov-

ince over 75 has increased by _

13 per cent, the government
has added -- by the most favor-.
able count - fewer than one per
cent more beds. Across B.C.,

the government claims to have
added 171 beds; the health au-

_ thorities count shows a 274-

bed decline from the time of
‘the election. .

The numbers are tiny in all
regions. The Fraser Health

Region is down a few dozen
_ beds; on. Vancouver Island,

the government has added
two beds. In the populous and
growing Vancouver Coastal
region, it has added 33 beds.
So much for the 5,000-bed
commitment.

There’s lots of enthusiasm
in the health authorities for’
the changes in seniors’ care
*currently under way. Older,
‘outmoded facilities are being
closed.

New centres offer a range
of options, from’ residential
care with full medical support
to assisted living homes*that
provide more independence.
An emphasis on supporting
people in their homes, or in
other non-medical residential
settings, is keeping people out
of care homes. All these are
positive changes that should
eventually make life better for
seniors.

But in the ‘meantime no
one is saying that the current
bed supply is’ adequate for
the needs of seniors and their
families.

Remember, the. Liberals
identified this problem in the
election campaign, pointing to
a major shortage of beds. They
promised a plan to address the
shortage. And they haven’t de-
livered. -

The result is problems
through the heath care system.
If seniors can’t get needed

residential care, they end up in
acute care hospital beds. That

means those beds aren’t avail-

able for people who need sur-

gery, or who should be admit- |

ted through emergency. In the
Interior region about 10 of
the 1,200 hospital acute care
beds are occupied by people
who should be in long-term
care.

Premier Gordon Campbell
blames the broken promise on
the NDP. The long-term care
centres were in worse shape

than expected, and more.beds
-had to be closed. ;
But the government com-.
pleted a review of all the cen-_

tres almost three years ago.
The supposed plan for 5,000
additional beds was approved
at a televised cabinet meeting
in April 2002. And until. now

the. government _ has insisted .

the plan was on track and the
deadline would be met.

That raises two concerns.
Either government manage-
ment was so poor that no one
knew the plan was off the
rails, or the government knew
and kept silent.

Either way, seniors, their
families) and anyone who

needed the health care system .

have been hurt by this broken
promise.

Footnote: The Liberals are
skittish about this issue, Which
has been a major sore point
with’ smaller communities.
The health ministry refuses to
release its count of bed clo-
sures and openings by region.

Bond .won’t say how many

beds the province needs today,

based on the ministry’s best

estimates.

Men knit? You better believe it

“MAN ENOUGH to knit;
strong enough to purl” is the

- motto of a website for men

who knit. According to an As-
‘sociated Press article, Ameri-
can men, for various reasons, .
“are taking up knitting.

Like other crafts, knitting
allows the mind. to meander
the fingers produce

ful. When you pack it up and
stab the needles through the
wool, you feel the satisfaction
of having occupied your time
well. Not so with TV. watch-

ing. ;
Doctors, musicians, even
stockbrokers find knitting

soothing after a hectic day..For
a student at the Rhode Island
School of Design, his knitting
attracts female students the
way a highway accident draws

. gawkers. For other men, their

unusual pastime serves as a
conversation springboard with
women.

Besides attracting conver-
sationalists, accomplished
knitters create personalized
gifts for friends and family. A
42-year-old New Yorker who
took up knitting after 9-1 | now

| “THROUGH BIFOCALS_
- CLAUDETTE SANDECKI

sells his homemade hats in lo-
cal stores. And snowboarders
scrimping to buy ski passes
. knit. one-of-a-kind toques and
scarves that call attention to
them on the slopes.

Teenagers and younger
boys learn the skill as part of
their school curriculums. Old-
er men gain knowledge from
reading instructional books
or websites, or by asking for
help in yarn stores. One store
reports one in five of her cus-
tomers are men.

In the experience of those

men who have “come out”,
crashing a_ knitting circle
can bring on silence.. Some-

— thing my. older brother would
have felt had his schoolmates
known.of his knitting.

Mom taught all of us to knit,
but Ron surpassed my ability.
He knitted mittens on needles
fine as a darning needle, never
dropping a stitch. When he left

~ home to work as an electrician,
he lined his leather mitts with
wool mitts he had made.

[ never managed to hold my .

‘Stitches or to follow a pattern.
Besides my work being undu-
‘ly lacy, once I began a carriage
blanket but quit when it grew
into a butterfly. Now the best
I] can manage are rectangles |
then slipstitch over the-palms
of my mittens worn bare by
snowshovelling.

My deficiency contrasts
with my family background.
Grandma knitted. Aunt Mil
knitted herself entire wool
suits, high fashion during the
Second World: War. Aunt In-
grid never sat down with out
needles in her hands. In her
final years, she turned out doz-
ens of six-inch dolls as fund-

raisers for the Eagle Ridge
Hospital.

Mom supplied Dad and the
five of us with mitts, socks,
toques, and scarves, often from

recycled yarn ripped from too- "

small sweaters. A_ knitting
project always waited on the

_ buffet handy to the kitchen:
range. Whenever Dad was a -

few minutes late for a meal,
Mom knitted a round or two.
Her style was slow and steady
~a little now, a little later.

' Men knitters gained re-

-spectability about ten years

ago when a-Los Angeles de-
signer began making colour-
ful sweaters with haphazard
designs. Every few stitches he
broke the wool and switched
to a different colour. Just lis-
tening to him describe his
technique to Peter Gzowski
made me pity the poor sap
stuck with the tedious task of
tucking in all those intentional
ends.

His “works of art’ ’ sold for
$2,000 each, roughly ten cents
an end.

Now that American males
knit, let’s see if Canadians
copy them on this, too.

“i