6 7 Terrace Review _ Wednesday, uy 19, d 989 |

The way
I see it...

by Stephanie Wiebe

-building houses in the first
_place? ‘Why do we do it? You
never hear about the pioneer
‘families of yesteryear ‘‘camping
out”® just for a good time, do.
you? Those people weren’t stu-
pid. That’s why they invented
modern civilization.

And'so the story ends-as I
bathe my children in clean,
running hot water, feed them

 microwave-warmed ‘food, and
tuck them into their soft, warm
beds, inside our decorated
sheltering home.

“Did you have a good
time?’ I ask. oe

- “Yeah! When can we g0
“again?”

So that’s why we do it — the

kids just don’t know any bet-

Recently, our family went

camping. Not the real “‘rough-
- ing it” camping, where you
pitch:a tent in the middle of
nowhere and get as uncom-
fortable as possible — but we
did sleep in a small trailer,
without running water and
flush toilets. Not barbaric, just
inconvenient enough to make it
‘fun.

The kids had a great time,

. running around in the woods,
and we adults were quite re-
laxed, too, enjoying the fresh
air and outdoor scenery. I
began thinking about this tradi-
tional summer ritual called
““camping’’ — why do we en- -
joy it so much?.

Think about this for a mo-
ment: we work diligently to
earn money for a nice home,
with indoor plumbing, in-
sulated walls and carpets; we
hang pictures and curtains to
our liking; amass the latest in
appliance technology to ease
the burden of daily chores; and.
tenderly care for a lush green
lawn, plant. ‘flowers and shrubs -
until our own small corner of
earth is just the way. we like it.
Then, ‘‘just for fun’’, we leave
-this cozy nest we have so care- .
fully built, to spend cold, damp
nights out in the wilderness
where insects can feast on our
lifeblood, where the simple act
of making coffee becomes a
challenge against nature, where
the dirt and filth of this planet -
becomes embedded in chil-
dren’s ears and toes, and we
expose ourselves to the whims
of the savage beasts whose
homes we are invading. Aren’t
these the reasons people started

City reviews staff
expense allowances

untamed pioneer in all of us.’

Mitch Kohl, a resident of the
4700 block. Scott Ave., has
brought several concerns before
Terrace city council which are
presently being discussed by the
Planning and Public Works
Committee. - _

One of these, the lack of

Sparks and Munroe, is being’
considered for inclusion in the —
1990 budget. Kohl complained
about a city culvert under his

Sports fishermen using Ferry
‘Island as a ‘convenient -spot to
fish won’t have to ‘‘rough it”’

ter. And I guess there’s a bit of

“sidewalks on Scott Ave.-between °

TERRACE — City council’s
Finance Committee is reviewing
a Staff/Management recom-
mendation that per diem rates
for members of boards, commis-
sions, agencies and union
employess be updated. Accord-
ing to a report from that
meeting, the proposed change
would give union employees a
meal rate of $33 per day, an in-

crease of $8 per day over the cur-

rent rate.

The report states that the cur-
rent rate of $25 per day ‘tis too
low when compared to provin-
cial and federal rates’? and if
adopted the new rate would
offer $7 for breakfast, $8.50 for
lunch and $17.50 for dinner.

The current per diem rate for
administration and members of
council is $40 per day outside
the lower mainland and $50 per
day within the. lower mainland.
The Management/Staff report
notes, however, that conferences
for management and council are

usually held at more expensive
hotels where the cost of meals

are higher.

Other recommended changes

include travel, private lodging
and gratuities. The current poli-
cy on travel states that the most
economic mode of. transporta-
tion must be used, and delegates
who use their own vehicles will
be reimbursed at 25 cents per
kilometer or return airfare —
whichever is the lesser. In order
to encourage the use of city-
owned vehicles, however, it has
been recommended that this be
increased to 28 cents. per
kilometer if a private vehicle is
used at the request of the city
but reduced to only nine cents
per kilometer if a private vehicle
is the delegate’s choice.

The final two recommenda-
tions would change the rate of
reimbursement for private lodg-
ing from $7.50 per day to $12
per day and tips from 50 cents

when checking in or out of

hotels to one dollar. The Fi-
nance Committee’s recommen-
dations on these proposed
changes could be presented to
council as early as next Monday.

The current per diem rates
were established in February
1983... of :

Twenty: ‘three Terrace Scouts. and Venturers joined 31 others from Smithers, Houston and -
Kitimat at the Terrace Alrport last Thursday on the first leg of thelr journey to the 10-day

Canadian Jamboree at Fort Amherst near Charlottetown, Prince Edward island. Ten of the

group left.on a morning flight without Incident but the rest waited for over four hours, while — -
- AlrBC attempted to correct an aircraft problem in. Vancouver. The Scouts didn't seem .
botheréd by the delay, though; some played chess while others read comic books while laz-

ing on the terminal floor. So It's true, Boy Scouts are always prepared - — for anything. |

‘driveway entrance which plugs
up with snow in the winter and
grass in the summer, causing the
ditch to overflow and flood his
front. yard, Kohl says “he has

about safety — particularly
where children are concerned.

Kohl said that it has been six |

years since he was told by the

city that Scott Ave. was slated as

been complaining about the. the next street for sidewalks, but
ditch for years but to no avail. Am he’s. still waiting to see them

“You people are. paid good tax
money,’’ he told council.
“When are we going to see some.

“Tesults?’?

His other complaints were

any longer. The city has in-
stalled two temporary wash-
room facilities near the Ferry
Island gravel bar.in order to
provide a short-term solution to
a health hazard identified by
Public Health in the area.

The city’s tourism and
economic development officer,
Peter Monteith, brought the
matter to the attention of the
Tourism and Economic
Development Committee during
an in-camera meeting earlier this

‘built, During that time, he-says,
sidewalks have been installed on
Olson and Hamer while children
from five different schools con-
~ tinue to walk on the roadway of
Scott Ave. between Sparks and

Health concerns cited in decision |
~ to build riverside outhouses

month. According to a report

_resulting from that meeting,
- “people are fishing on the gravel

bar and relieving themselves in
the bushes”’ and a Public Health
Inspector has told the city to
take immediate action or an
order may be issued against the
city.

In adopting the committee
recommendation, council asked
parks superintendent Steve Scott
to investigate a long-term solu-
tion to the washroom problem.

Children’s safety issues detailed ©

Munroe — a situation which he .
describes as dangerous. ‘‘Let’s.
have something for the. kids to -

walk ony Kohl told city coun-
cil. oy

Other safety issues named by.
Kohl: include crosswalks where. .

regulations are not enforced and

children doubling. on bicycles

‘call over the road’”’ without be-
ing reprimanded. And then
there’s heavy duty trucks and
equipment parked on city streets
contrary to a city bylaw and

motor vehicles with broken.
‘headlights,

of which. he has
counted as many as six in one
day.

Kohl wants to know why laws
regarding these and other inci- .
dents which pose a potential
threat to our children-are not

enforced. “I have travelled from
Saskatchean to the Kootenays,
Okanagan to Terrace, Kitimat,
Prince Rupert,” says Kohl. ‘‘1
have never seen a town such as
Terrace with such poor regula-
tions, and if they are on the

town books there is a lack of:
_-consistant,enforcement. ”

4535 Greig Avenue. Terrace, B, C. V8G 1IM7

pasa send a subscription to: -

| Subseription Order Form

wo Be 14 year — $24.00.
a Cheque a ‘Money Order

wi

Name. ane sn
7 Address enna a

ee Ere Expiry f Date.
, Phone. ae pablo > Mall or bring this form to:

‘Seniors in Tertate ‘arid District $12.00. ames,
“Seniors outelde Sh eee and: Diatret | ae to.

oO | Master Card ‘oO Vis

“g Card No: : as :

4535 Grel
- Terrace, B.

Terrace and Thorhhitl residents only: subscribe new yani racelve a free copy of Close up
_ Magazine with your Subscription canes

Terrace Review
Avenue,
. V8G: 1M7