~ Stockings full of coal _ A cloud hangs over the approaching holidays for many families in this area. Teachers in local schools will be advising their students to prepare for a long absence from classes because it appears there is little hope for a contract settlement between the board of School District - 98 and the Terrace District Teachers’ Association. With its membership having delivered a strong man-~ date to strike, the TDTA executive recently ran out of patience and threw a deadline for settlement of J anuary 3 on the table. Whether that deadline is realistic depends on who you talk to, but one thing about which there can be no question is the extent of disruption a teachers’ strike will have on the community. oe Those with the most to lose in this situation are obviously the students, particularly those in the upper grades who are on a rigorous schedule of study that involves periodic exams. The teachers themselves are going to suffer financially, and because the overwhelm- ing majority of them are morally committed to their profession (why else would anyone be.a teacher?) a strike will be a painful experience on that account as well. | , In addition there will be support personnel, including © classroom aides and maintenance people, who will be out of work without even the paltry benefit of strike pay and ineligible for unemployment insurance. oo Working parents’ will be faced with the task of arranging — and paying for — child care, with the only 7 alternative being a leave of absence from the job. | In summary, a shutdown of the schools will be an economic as well as educational blow to the community. None of the primary players in this drama are taking the situation lightly, but it’s apparent that an extraordinary -effort will be required to avert a strike. The teachers’ bargaining team Say — they’re prepared to. negotiate throughout the holidays to reach a settlement, and it would be at the very least a gesture of good intent if the board’s team would make the same commitment. In the overall perspective on this issue the provincial . Ministry of Education should not get off lightly. Their policy of capping wage increases in the funding formula at an unreasonably low rate — below inflation — sets the stage for brawling among the local proponents. The - teachers look greedy, the board appears not to. take education seriously as a profession, and the taxpayers wind up with either another round of property tax hikes or a pack of dissatisfied teachers. It’s time for a change. 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CONTAMINATION Wednesday ——i} “Pers by Bob Jackman . ‘ Council’s Inaugural meeting held December 5 saw the — Mayor and Alderman Cooper elected as Terrace’s reps to the Regional District. Historically, these appointments help to “shake out’? the Committee chairmanships — only rarely has the RD rep taken an inter- nal chairmanship as well. I would not be so pre- sumptuous as to suggest to the Mayor who he should put where, but let’s see if we can second-guess him. Since the In- augural, if past years serve as an example, the Mayor has been asking who’s interested in what, individual aldermen are lobbying for turf, and the Mayor is trying to find com- promises where conflicts occur. It’s also a time for rewarding the Joyal and punishing the prodigal. - - The chairmanship of an im- portant committee is not the place to learn the ropes, Ne) look for experienced people in the key positions. Fearless Forecast No.l —~ | Sheridan as Finance Chairman again. It’s hard enough to keep tabs on the Treasurer when you know which questions to ask, but then you have to be able to translate what he’s saying so the rest of Council can under- stand it. Danny by default. Fearless Forecast No. 2 — Hallock to Parks and Recrea- tion. This committee flounder- ed last year — and will have to ~ deal decisively with Christy Park and the Pool Expansion. The Department Head had a — different agenda from Council's for most of the year ~- meetings held within 24 hours of each other (Rec Ad- _, Vvisory Commission and Council Committee) came up with two | different sets of recommenda-— tions. Ruth sent a strong message with her motion to get - on with-the soccer fields — she can provide the needed hammer ' to get the Department and. - Council working in unison. Fearless Forecast No. 3 — _ Last year, not even the chair- man of the Community and Cultural Services Committee knew for sure that it was called (if in fact that’s what. it was! called) — but it was a catch-all _ “When you consider that the Mayor has to ‘leave his business for up to an hour for each ” public service appearance, he should be ap-— vo Cooper stays on.as head of “S . — Public Works. - No. 6.— Despite all the good.” woe : reasons for it, the Finance ° Chairman will not be a member. . : ook of Public Works, the City’s - major cost center. Me No. 7 — I'll probably bat two for six on the other forecasts, but I’m not saying. which two until next week. The ~ ; Mayor may also do Fearless Forecast No. 8 — none of the. above. 7 plauded rather than dumped on.”” for social issues. If it doesn’t go down the tube, look for a. _ yookie alderman here. Fearless Forecast No. 4 — “Mo Takhar to head Public Works with Bob Cooper re- maining as a member. If tradi- tion is broken, Cooper could continue to chair this one. Smoothest-running department in the City under Stew Chris- _ tensen. Expect better manage- ment information systems in place by the summer construc- tion season. Ruth chaired PW one year, did well, and could: resurface here if the Mayor doesn’t put her in Recreation. Fearless Forecast No. 5 — Most of the Tourism function will go tothe Chamber of - Commerce but Economic Development will remain a priority. If forecasts one to” four are on target, Darryl =. - Laurent will get Tourism and FicDev — though new to Coun- cil, he’s hardly inexperienced. Mo Takhar, who has developed a presence in Victoria and regionally, will land here if = @ One cheap shot the Mayor rere didn’t deserve was the onehe | - got not long ago for making). - ‘proclamations and getting his aaa picture in the paper. Maybe it: does seem to the uninformed’ ~ ase that there are a lot of special © weeks or days or months, and it is a little’ tough to keep track. But for most volunteer fund- © 9 es. raisers and service clubs, the ©9007). best publicity they can getona eos limited budget may just be to - have a couple of members’ pice. 2 2 = a tures in the paper, with the ea Mayor signing their proclama- - tion, or kicking their-football, or whatever. When you con- _ sider that the Mayor has to. © - leave his business for up to an” cere hour for each public service - - gesture, he should be applaud- - a - ed rather than dumped on. ~ @ At-least someone is reading oo the column. -It was good to hear from Detlef Beck that the Community Futures Program hasn't disappeared — but then | | ~ neither has Council’s Kermode = med er gure ON ee eee oe ee ae ee . me iy a = _ aloe ne