PAGE 4, THE HERALO, Thuraday, December 29, 1977

Red Adair

- “Some men are born great; some men
become great; others have greatness thrust
upon them” e

relnperfect though this quotation may be,

ed from memory as it is, out of the hazy

- Mists of childhood, it is enough to set the

_ background for any discussion of a living,
breathing, fire-eating modern-day Texas-sized

folk-hero like 62-year-old Red Adair.

Red — in case you haven't been reading the
news lately, after more than any normal man's
lifetime of snuffing out oil and gas well fires —
-. from the high Canadian Arctic to the burning
deserts of Saudi firabia, be} busily (or re one
say “casually'’?) engag extinguis two
of the world's worst gas well fires now raging out
of control, in Alberta,

But then, all the well-fires this acknowledged
great man ever tackled, were the “world’s:
worst”; all were “raging out of control’? —
because Red Adair only took on the really
“tough”’ ones; the ones nobody else wanted; the
ones all others had given up on and had said
could not be put out.

So many legends — all of them told as fact, and
well may BE factual — sprang up around the
feats of Adair that it is sometimes difficult to
know where fiction leaves off and truth begins.
Really, however, even that does not matter
much, The man has so often achieved the im-
possible, the incredible — even discounting the
Stories by 90 cent, there would be enough
“miracles” left over that he has performed in
front of witnesses and cameras and recorded on
television to substantiate his spectacular life.

But the most incredible news story concerning
this giant, — called in earlier this month, shortly
before Christmas, to put out two of the nastiest
gas well fires near Calgary, does not deal with
Red so much as it does with the blundering
beobishness of Canadian federal bureacracy.

Red, it seems, brought with him into, Canada,
along with the tons of special and specialized
fire-fighting paraphernalia, a suitcase or so of
stickers and souveniers to hand out to his
Canadian friends on the well site — and probably
to the mobs of onlookers and curious who follow
him around like a rock star.

The Candian Customs and Excise officials at
the airport — probably Calgary — insisted on
charging him duty on every sticker, claiming
they were for advertising purposes.

_ Now isn’t that a splendid example of civil

service efficiency?

Red is certainly not a poor man; his fees are
usually in the millions of dollars. To Red,
however, trying to fgorce him to pay a tax on
something he was going:to give away “free” did
not do anything for Canadian goodwill.

The news reports said the customs officials

would not change their minds — so back to Texas .
went the suitcase of stickers,’ decals’ and

Who won that battle? Did Canada? Hardly. As
a matter of fact, Canada almost lost Red Adair,
who seriously considered packing up and going

ome. bo

Canada is losirig around $60,000 worth of
irreplaceable natural gas ever day the wells
remain on fire. How much money would it have
made by taxing Red’s little suitease of decals?
One hundred dollars perhaps?

After risking his life — and saving a two
million dollar drilling rig, Red has gone home to
spend Christmas with his family for a couple of
days. One might find it hard to fault the 62 year-
old multi-millionaire if he decided not to return

to again risk his life and finish the job, Luckily,

the man is too big for that kind of thinking.

However — the United States government

might feel justified in retaliating, Just suppose
the US. were to charge duty on every Canadian
decal or bumper sticker Canadians took into the
United States?

Bonnie’s Column

hy Bonnie Roe from Terrace to visit and

wish us a joyous season,
With Christmas Day sharing the roaring log
past, the presents opened fire and reflecting in the
and enjoyed, there isnow double glow of friendship.
time toreflect upon what Now with the Christ-
has actually taken place. mas season almost at an
Children’s faces- radiant end, we can allow our
with happiness and the thoughts to turn onward
reflection of alithe lovely to Spring. The seed
things received, and the catalogs are already out
& ly home, to share all read and re-read an
e g

talked over.
associated with

The pictures — in full
eatest of all Seasons and glorious colours — of

things
this

ve the effort made all the beautiful
worthwhile. vegetables and flowers
This year’s turkey tend to make one yearn

dinner was eaten early for the warm nighis and

because the “Boss” had sunny days. ;
to awork afternoons. A This year, herbs will be
meal thisearlyintheday our mainstay with

lets everyone enjoy bot
the dinner plus a nice
evening with friends and
family.

Most of the preparing
was done late the nigght
before; the turkey into
the oven at Midnight
after a hard time of
trying to fit one very
large turkey into a too-
gma brown bag.
Enough! So back to the
more accommodating
aluminum foilwrap.

With a sumptuous sit-
down dinner to follow, the
wine was reised in a
meaningful toast then
ever yore get about
tucking into the delicious
mao ide Highway 16

ongelde way 16,
the traffic Ja ligne his
time of year, but many a
friend drove the 15 miles

comfrey (sic) very high
on the list. With luck,
maybe a few fruit trees

be added to the
growing “‘ordhard” on

our property.

Stil the Winter lingers
and will remain with us
for month yet. Wood must
still be cut and carried:
water lines kept unfrozen
and the animals and
humans kept warm. The
snow lies cold though
chiltingly beautiful on the
fields. The tractor has
been transformed into
snowplow for the present.
We atill must endure
months of long nights
followed by cold days
snow and the winds o
Winter; tempered, the
while, by the  oft-
remembered dream of
Spirng to come!

yy

Sorowtors Thun.

Cy

A

Cee

“Ive got my BA, BSc, PhD... all I lack isaJ OB.”

Alesson from Bella Bella

What did we learn from
the emergency at Bella
Bella where 1,100 people
Struggled through six
days without electricity
as wave of winter storms
passed over their com-
munity?

The aftermath of the
disaster js still being felt
and it is feared that tens
of thousands of dollars in
damages have heen
eaused. |. -

We can be thankful that
there was no major in-
r loss of life. The
orderly way in which the
Band administration
handled things should be
credited a ier that.
; 0 e wer
“cable between Benn
-Island and Campbell
Island was cut on the
evening of December 6, it
was not until Thursday
morning that I learned of
the disaster. My first call
after that was to B.C.
Hydro's general manager
who was not available,
then to Best, Hydro
general manager for
electricity operations
who told me he was
waiting for a report from

Letters to

’ I'd like to know what is
happening to our children
in sports — particularly
In the field of hockey.
Today our son had such
& bad experience, along
with a couple of other
hockey players his own
age, that the three of
them will I probably never
forget. The experience
could damage his outlook
on sports — but worse
than that, we feel that
unless other parents and
the people of Terrace are
made aware of what is
taking place the harm
being done will go un-
checked and those rep-
ponsible will go on
damaging the sports side

of our yo ples lives
immeasurably.

Our boy was selecte as
one of the players to
represent Twin River's
team in Terrace in the
Christmas hockey
tournament. As parents
we were proud to pay the
5 hockey registration
ee,

You should have seen
the boy’s face! You could
not find: a happler boy
anywhere, when he was
selected. It was the best
Christmas resent
anyone could have given
him. He was wound up til
the first moment he
stepped on the ice for his
first game-which was this
morning.

He was at the Terrace
Arena bright and early at
6 o’elock in the morning.
He was told to there at
that time and he was.

His next game was 2:30
this afterncon. He
dressed at home so he
had only to put on his
skates when he got to the
Arena. He arrived-all
excited at his next game.

the zone manager at
Terrace before dediding
on what to do. Not g
enough, I said. A view
that was confirmed all
along the line. I then
phoned the office of Jack

avis, the minister
responsible for Hydro. At
that number there was a
frustrating round of
people not in. ~

Soon after I called Ted
Neale of the Provincial
Emergency Program
who was very co
operative.

The emergency
programs people in-
jormed me that Hydro
was attempting to get a
mobile generator from
Bella. Coola but, with
minus 15 degrees weather
in the area, mere, was no
way to move arge.

In the meantime,
Hydro in Vancouver
advised me that they
were moving
replacement cables up to
Port Hardy by road and
planned to bring at least
one in from there to Bella
Bella by helicopter. But
that evening another
blizzard hit and by
Friday morning it was

He was telling us all the
way there how hwe was
goinbg to do his best to
win for the team.

‘Then I saw him again-a
few minutes later. About
five minutes later-and I
could not believe it was
the same boy that had
been walking on top of the
world, full of spirit and
fun. His face was white as
a sheet. He was in tears-
and I mean tears! When
he told me what had
happened I tried to calm
him down. Then he sat on
the bench and I went into
the dressing room, and
approached the coach. I
asked him why he took
him off the team. He sald
he had two‘other players
there that Hé did not have
in the first game, and
their names were not on
the team ligt. He said that
he was the¢oach and that
he wanted a WINNING
team. He said that in
front of the other boys-
and he also used the
excuse that my son Kirk
was late!

Now-the teams for
these tournaments are
set Up well in advance:
the kids are naturall
excited about them, ta
about them for days and
nights. They fet psyched
up and are built up to play
the game for their team
regardless of how good or

ra player they may

ete

This particular team
(Twin River) consists of
tittle fellows (my gon
Kirk is 11), Now they
knew they did not have
muchg of a chance-if any,
as a winning team; for
one thing they had never
played ogether before,

ut they were aure going

clear the helicopter plan
would not work.
_ It was then that I first
asked that the Queen of
Prince Rupert be
diverted from its route
between Vancouver and
Prince Rueprt to carry
the cable from Port
Hardy to Bella Bella. The
traffic manager said no. I
moved on Charles
Gallagher, general
maanager of the ferry
2orporation. It took him
aaly 40 minutes to order
the ferry to divert. The
mercy ship. arrived
Saturday morning and by
Sunday night the first
replacement cable, able
io carry enough power for
ts at least, was in
ace. ;

While I admire the
work of the Hydro in-
stallation crew who
restored power to Bella
Bella, I am still disap-
pointed with the slowness
of the Hydro brass.
Frankly, I am shocked
that Jack Davis,. the
Toinister reponsible for
Hydro, did not become
involved in this
emergency.

all out to try, and were.

excited at having’ the
chance to participate.

For that reason, too,
we- the parents- went all
out to give them our
fullest support. There
was nothing we would not
have done to help them do
their best, and cheer
them on,

Now, Kirk has never
been late for a practice or
& game. In fact there.
were times when he had
his practice was an hour

long and he stayed there -

two extra hours to better
himself... but mainly
because he enjoys hockey
as a sport.

‘He was put in that
division because the
coach said he was
capable of it.

When he went to the
erena to sign up, it was
for asport and for fun and
for physical exercise to
make a healthier body.-

There was nothing on
that application stating a
boy can be -summ
removed without notice,
by the coach just because
@ is not satisfied.

Ifa that is the case- it
should be stated so on the
application form. Then
every enthusiastic boy
would know, and not get
his hopes up falsely. He
would be prepared for the
axe to fall at any ume.

What happened to Kirk-
and two others today
makes me feel our boys
are looked on as game
winning machines to b3
run or rejected and shut
off like chain saw motors,
Or one would think the
team was playing for
money- rather than clean
8

I wonder how many
other parents in Terrace

I am asking Hydro to
consider compensating
the community for the
damage done as a result
of the loss of power.

More important, the
stupid mistake made
back in 1968, when they
put the power generator

Denny Island to
provide wer for
Campbell Island by way
of cable, has got to be
rectifies immediately. It
just won't do. Certainly
there should a

enerator on Denn
sland for the small
community there, but the
people of Bella Bella need
a power generator of
their own, one that is not
endangered by vessels

. passing over.the.calbe in

water less than’ seven
fathoms deep.

I am asking Hydro to
give priority to that job
ause the disaster of
last week is bound to
happen again if they do
not.

In the meantime
congratulations to tha
people of Bella Bella for
their perseverance over
the disaster.

the editor

feel the same way I do,

‘and have had similar
- experiences?

_ Disappointed Father

‘This letter is written by
the mother of an 11 year-
old son, who along with
another boy, heard the
coach tell his father in
front of the team that the

urpose e@ team was

win, and he could not
play on it presumably, as

s being on the team
would rpevent it from

inning.

Now, the team knew it
didn’t have a winning
team; they had never
even played together as a
team before. But they
would never admit they
were a bunch of losers,
and in their minds they
were out to win- no
matter how poor.or how
good each individual

player might be; the

.strong would help the
y . weak the quick would

help the slower ones;
they would build each
other up; cover for one
another. They were more
than inexperienced,
fumbling 11 year olds.
They were (in their
minds,) going to be the
best team in the world...
as a TEAM. Knowing
this, this ls why we gladly
provided billets, helped
out at the arena, kept
score. Got up at unear-
thly hours in the mornin
to get our sons up, fed,
and made sure they
would not miss a game.
And what now? Ga,e
over, How many other
mothers have been
through the same ex-
perience?
Puzzled Mother

Ottawa Offbeat

Ottawa — Just like old

times,

There on the rear
platform of the Tran-
scontinental Electién
Special, the Old Warrior.

That's the drill in an
accord reached by
Conservative Leader Joe
Clark and former Prime
Minister John Diefen-

ker.
It'll be Dief’s train, but
Joe will board it from

time to time as the Chief pl

whistle-stops across the
land like he did 20 years
ago when he showed the
Liberala - thelr one and
only lesson sice .
one days of Richard
mnett — that Torles
ean sometimes wih
elections.

They should make a

eat team — the Young

oe and the Old Warrior
— but lest you think the
Chief is getting soft in his
83rd year, be advised
there's a deal.

Prime Minister’ will set
up a new and special
de ent, '

t 8 6will)«=6lbe—stthe
“Department of the
CBC."

Dief won't necessarily
the Minister in c @
the CBC; but he'll

sure to have a lot tosay —

out of what the legions
who are on the vastly
overstaffed and over-
blown payroll know as
“Mother Corporation.”
In the industry of
electronic media com-
munications, if you're
safe in the arms of
“Mother Corporation,"
‘ou have a mortgage for
ee on the taxpayers.

it
anized top to bottam
with’

a urge of
separatists, Frotsk tes,
Maoists, socialists,

iness-balters, com-
munists and perha 8
broken up and so te
shareholder-owried’

to fp .

private enterprise risk-
CG) o id .
Neither Joe nor Diet
have sald pe word ae
e cam , an
even jest about the futors
of the CBC. ;
But talk gets around,
For strategic reasons
of out it, ey both, bela
a , ney 5
discreet, may deny it.
What fun and mes
though if it all fa into

ce. wor Et

Dief, even when he was
Prime Minister, never
cared for campaigning by

t, .
Hout over too many
voters,” he says.

“All they ever get to
see of qu is your jet trail
or — if they happen to be
tuned at the right time —
your face on the ‘TV
tube.” ,

Jet-hopping from b|
city to hig city, Dief rani
ago discovered, gets a
campaigner a crowd only
equal to the capacity: of
the hall the local party
organizers book. ft

hocking Piet an
_ ways
weleomed pert bocuay Be
was an ex eu
a nett
e lon for
laughs — but isolates him
from individual. conta
with the audience, -

Cam by train
gets te canilidete not
only into the big cities fo
the mass crowds, but in
the whistle stops for rear
platform and station-side
chats with Individual
voters, and into the
church basements and
school auditoriums of the
“back country.""

On such excursions, the
pigsty he

gns than any o
Ef ony party makes it a
point to shake the hand of
every man, woman and
child within reach. an

Conservative Leader

oung Joe Clark with the

‘Living Legend” in.
person.” by ats side,
campaigning as a team,

be, for.
the’ Liberals "pater,

Think small
byJim Smith —

ee ‘

Musical Ministers

One of the more tradi-
tional parlour games starts
with (a) some players, (b) a
numbers of chairs equal to
one less than the number of
players and (c) a source of
music. The music plays while
the players prance around
the chairs. When the music
stops, the players rush to the
empty chairs. Whoever is left
standing is out of the game.
And the game continues un-
til there is only one player.

In Ottawa, they've taken
this old favourite — called
“musical chairs” — and mo-
dified it for political players,
Several cabinet members oc-
cupy the ministerial chairs.
Every few months, the poli-
tical tune changes and the
ministers are shuffled into
other chairs. Some of the
ministers are left without
chaits when the music re.
sumes. Most of the others
fall into chairs that are dif-
ferent from the chalrs in
which they started,

All of this is considered
good fun in Ottawa. But “mi-,

nisterial chairs" costs the Ca- *
nadian public dearly. At this

very moment, virtually na:
minister in all of Ottawa”
truly controls his ministry. . «
Most people, hearing this
news of ministerial eunuchy
for the first time, are shock-
ed. More surprising, haweyer, .
is the fact that some minis-
ters do have at least a partial
grasp on their portfolios.
After all, the game of minls-
terial chairs doesn’t provide
enough time for the average
human to gain control of
such a complex function as
running a government minis-
ty. ;
The upshot -of all: this
movement has been transfer
of control from elected offi-
cials to senior civil servants,
At one time, deputy minis-
ters existed to translate, mi- --
nisterial edicts into action.
Today, deputy ministers are
the true directors of their
departments while ministers ©
have become figureheads.
Probably no Minister of Na:
tional Revenue since Herb .
Gray (October 1970 to Oc-.
tober 1972) has truly under-
stood the Canadian tex -
system. 7

TERRACE

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EDITOR ... ERNEST SENIOR

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