One ringy dingy ... Suspicious Dear Sir: I wonder what the NDP are up to now? ‘The other night I received a phone call from a rep- resentative of a lower mainland company who spe- cializes in doing public polls, I was invited to attend a focus group for the princely sum of $40, just for being there, A. focus group is supposed to be a small randomly selected sample of the local population who get together and hash out ideas and feelings on a poll topic. They ask some demographic questions like sex, age and employ- ment to ensure they get a good cross section of the public. The feelings and concerns expressed at the focus group are then used to formulate the questions that will be asked of afl people that participate in the larger sample phone poll, “The results are then published and used for a variety of reasons depending on who is conducting the poll. Every- thing was going well and I thought myself well on the way to earning $40 for an evening out. ‘The demographic questions went along, Yes, they needed a male in his mid forties who was not employed by the government. Then the last question, ‘‘Ona scale of onc to ten — how would you rate the job the provincial government is doing on improving the B.C. economy?”’ -T couldn’t answer in the negative so I had to respond with a one, “Oh, I’m sorry — we already have our quota of people in the five and under category,” said the voice. That really doesn’t surprise me — but ] wondered if anyone had responded in the five to ten category — so I asked the voice on the plone. phone poll a CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD The Mail Bag “Yes, we've had a few.”’ “But you're still looking for some more,’’ said J, ‘“How many phone calls have you made?” The vaice wouldn’t tell me. “Doesn't that bias your sample?,’’ I asked. '‘I mean, you want to have a representative sample of how the public feels on an issue, and yet you are guaranteeing that half the focus group will feel positively about how the government is handling the economy — right?” “Oh, I don’t know that. I’m only paid to ask the ques- tions, goodbye.”’ Poor girl probably had to spend all the next day on the phone looking for the those people in Terrace who think the government is doing a good job on the economy. Not to worry, the government doesn’t cate about long distance charges — they don’t pay the bill, the taxpayer does. What concerns me is the spin (propaganda) the currently- elected officials will put on the poll results — especially since the questions are bound to be skewed in their favour by selectively (not randomly) choosing focus group at- tendees. Stay tuned the poll results will be out soon and good to within 2 per cent — 19 out of 20 times. Greg Cowman, Terrace, B.C, Recycle Yourself. ™ Tite Kibsiky FOUNDATION of Canaan | ; - BC Branch ~ ; (604) 736-9775 or 1-800-567-8112 Biitish Columbia CANADIAN Transplant LIVER Sociely FOUNDATION (604) 877-2100 or 1-800-663-6189 Decide to Be an Organ Donor and Tell Your Family. (604) 681-4588 or 1-800-856-7266 AT WORK: Dakota traffic control employee Joel Dundas signals cars on Kalum Street. He's sick of drivers ignoring his signs and swearing at him. Beware Dear Sir: We're a new traffic con- trol company having lots of trouble with a lot of drivers, especially on Kalum St. We have had people swear at us, finger us, and totally ignore our signs and signals. Our traffic control people are out there to help the people get to where they are ’ going as safely as possible. When these inconsiderate drivers speed, spin tires and spray gravel all over, and endanger the lives of workers and our workers, they should consider that it ‘may be one of their own friends, family or children they may hurt or kill, We phone the RCMP on average twice a day with the licence numbers and will continue to so if that is what it takes. Drivers should be aware that itis a traffic violation to ignore or go through a flag- ger’s signal, and also to turn signs around or throw them off the road. We thank those who do acknowledge and respect our efforts in traffic control. Please be patient with us a while longer. Al Craft, Dakota Traffic Control | a You know what you want. We have people who can help you get there. Wb 7 Our. Financial Solutions Managers are experienced professionals who go - 2 programme has empowered them to find customized solutions that help you ach i A Bank of Montreal IT is POSSIBLE® way beyond everyday banking. A multi-tiered training i oe ieve your goals, Call 1-800-663-0241 to set upa meeting, ‘Or, when you visit your branch next, simply tell your FSM what you're looking for. With a little help, who knows how far you could go.