The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - AS ; | | S rq D th @ CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD The bikini contests Dear Sir: I had breakfast in the restaurant at the North- em Motor Inn and made an observation which [’'d like to pass on, We live in a culture that objectifies people, and especially women, as merely sexual objects. As a result young women are often in danger and indeed several disappear each year along highways such as pass in front of the hotel — never to be scen again, often their bones found . much tater, bleached by time, victims of some- one who. saw them momentarily as mere objects of desire. One wonders if the perpetrator of the rape and murder had not attended one or more “bikini -contests” or “wet T-shirt nights” at some local pub, with each “contestant’s” prurient display ar- ousing “natural” instructs beyond his ability to distinguish between object and desire (not to ex- cuse such actions on his part, but very real world observation.) One also wonders if it would not be more so- cially responsible for local establishments to re- fuse to degrade. other human beings by objectify- ing women as purely sexual beings. Would such socially responsible behavious re- sult in fewer “disappearances” and fewer fami- lies mourning and greiving -— sometimes for years? . . One cannot be absolutely sure but wouldn’t it be worth the try? Wouldn’t it be worth the inner satisfaction to know in one’s gut that at the very least one is not contributing to the sadness and degradation of our society? “Personally, I think it worth the effort. Rev. Jim Church Kitimat, B.C, - All children must be allowed to say goodbye Dear Sir: Our family recently went through a situation that should never have been allowed to happen. The second wife of the deceased would not allow his biological adult chifdren to view his body to find some closure, that is not until the RCMP got involved. Even then she allowed them only 30 minutes to say goodbye. In this day and age blended families are the norm. The lesson to be learned here is: Make out a will aqd don’t forget to include alt biological, children." ° changé to have the rights of the biological child- ren included regardless of the current marital sta- tus of a parent and in the absence of a will. At the very least they should have the right to view and to say goodbye to their own parent(s) without having to seek approval from that par- ents’ spouse — as they may or may not have a good relationship with that person. To voice your disapproval for current practices you can call 1-800-665-3899 Funeral Association of BC Sec 51. Together we can make a differ- ence, , Pam Bouvette Terrace B.C. Anglers, it’s your turn Dear Sir: As‘a commercial fisherman [ and my compa- triots have done everything to preserve the steel- head. And what has the sports crowd done besides standing shoulder to shoulder along the banks of the Skeena waving their rods madly? They’re driving their four wheel drives all over the gravel banks (a friend of mine counted more than 300 vehicles, those he could see) from Rupert to Ter-" race. Even with catch and release, a poor steel- head hasn’t a chance in hell of getting up the river! ‘ Anyway, there is evidence that there never was a Steelhead crisis. There certainly isn’t one now. Rob Brown in one of his columns chattered away about some character who caught a steel- head and couldn't decide whether to mount it or eat it, Why doesn’t Andrea Williams admit it? The main ambition of the Terrace Steelheaders is to destroy the commercial gillnet fleet. Andrew Williams should mind his own busi- ness and keep an eye on his sports buddies. We commercial gilnetters have done our share, now it’s up to them. Dennis Peacock Prince Rupert, B.C. ore - We Would ‘like’ yout’ hélp'i tying to effect a ANGLEAS on rivers should take their conservation rhetoric to heart and lay off commercial MCCONNELL ESTATES resident Arno Bremmer says he’s very happy at the new supportive housing project. Bremmer has lived at the brand new estates for the past two months, seniors complex wonderful Dear Sir: I would like you to know, when they built Mc- Connell Estates, it was a miracle to help make people happy again after going through sickness in their lives, It is wonderful for them. I see the change in them, taking a jay in life at last. Bill and his wife :‘Melva, are: able to help and make: us féel' it’s our home, They are a perfect: team, we all ‘get along, theyhave a spririt'of good will for everyone. 1 hope they stay. Please SS My son was also turned away from hospital Dear Sir: I'd never heard of a bile duct injury until a year and a half ago when my son was left precar- iously clinging to life when a surgery to remove his gall bladder went seriously wrong. His catastrophic injuries required repair by a skilled liver transplant specialist in Vancouver. Without the repair he would certainly have died. [ was told by a surgeon at VGH that my son had “one chance at surviving this.” His life hinged on a successful outcome of a very complex and dif- ficult procedure. Pve recently been told that bile duct injuries are considered to be an acceptable risk of a cholecystectomy (gal! bladder removal surgery), especially in remote and rural communities. Bile duct injuries are most likely to occur dur- ing laparoscopic cholecystectomy, a procedure geared toward faster recovery time and a smal- ler incision site. The incidence of bile duct injur- ies is increasing, not decreasing. Disturbing. Also disturbing is that a delay of up to three weeks is common in diagnosing bile duct injur- ies. But, early diagnosis is critical to a good out- come. In my son’s case he was discharged home from the hospital despite being in acute distress as a result of the injury. He was dying, but the injury was not diagnosed. I was stunned when I found out he’d been re- leased. The day prior 1 was reeling from being told that because his liver enzymes were so high he was at risk of liver failure and that an ultra- sound had showed an accumulation of fluid in his abdomen, below his liver. Presumably a collec- tion of bile or blood. Turned out to be over two litres of bile, plus blood and clots from a severed hepatic artery. He was also massively infected. But he was sent home. avr fishermen, says Prince Rupert letter writer Dennis Peacock. don’t change them. If we could keep Bill and Melva everyone would be so happy and well, I know. Randy the night man is good also. Peggy whe is the head of the patients rooms has done an excellent job and choosing the workers, the couple Bill and Melva, and Randy. It is truly a wonderful place. Sa much care and love, . ee Stl vey; He AN a +4 ++ Theresa Celine Terrace, B.C. Even more disturbing ~ being in acute dis- tress with severe pain, weakness, jaundice and vomiting my son made several attempts to be teadmitted to hospital. He was sent home twice and finally admitted on the third visit to the emergency ward, at which time he was sche- duled for another surgery when the extent of his injury was discovered and he was scheduled to be transferred by air ambulance to VGH. He did everything but die on their. doorstep. All this is, I’m told, was an acceptable standard of care. , For a month I didn’t know if my son would survive. As a result of the delay in diagnosing the bile duct injury it was more than three weeks be- fore my son had the life-saving repair surgery and another 14 days before he stabilized and we were told he would be OK. OR, at least, for now. There are no guarantees for the future. Now my son faces ongoing medical costs (which it appears he is to absorb himself} and the potential of future life-threatening complica- lions. Alter researching bile duct injuries I’m very disturbed by the incidence of this devastating and life-threatening injury and that it is consid- ered an acceptable risk of having a gall bladder removed. Shame on our health care system and government for not aggressively working toward eliminating the cisk. This is a preventable injury. In my opinion, there is ‘nothing acceptable about il. my Terrace, B.C. Aboriginal people were effectively conquered Dear Sir: ; The idea of compensating people for the loss of land allegedly owned by their ancestors hun- dreds of years ago — when the loss was duc to the evolution of history — is preposterous. Evolution is defined as ihe natural process of growth and development over lime. Things that happen during the evolutionary. process are neither right nor wrong — they simply are. Now because of political correctness we’re expected to look back at the last 300 or 400 years using today’s sensibilities and make cor- rections because decendants don’t like the way history has unfolded. Sorry, you don’t get a do-over just because history was unfair. ‘History is a complex inter-connected fabric of events. . An infinite number of actions brought us to our present situation and we're being asked to blame certain specific events made by previous socie- ties. Ses - In our rush to be P.C. we're buying into the in- valid notion that we should feel guilty and need to atone for decisions made hundreds of years Nancy Lamiming, . ago ~ using the principles and morals of those times. Why is this generation obligated to right every wrong that has occurred throughout history? How far in history should we go back? How can you expect lo make right every event we now disap- prove of? The Greeks of ancient times had slavery as its base us did the Roman Empire. The Spaniards wiped out countless nalives of South America. Genghis Khan's armies swept across: most of China, Russia and Europe, destroying everything in their path. So Should every decendant now ask for repara- lions from the countries where these -invaders came from? You simply cannot change history. Trying to do so will cause more problems than il solves. Ce enn - Some natives proclaim that since their na- tion was not “conquered” (the land. was’ not taken in war) they still have ownership of the land. Webster’s defines conquered as “to subdue or defeat”. In those early years resistance and opposition was squelched by settlers and the government who, right or wrong, dominated the native population and look over. Sounds like being conquered to me. Our government was far to eager to legitimize the concept of land claims. In my opinion they're afraid to say ‘no’ to aboriginal people, It doesn’t matter that we can’t afford this non- sense. They’*re more worried about doing what's P.C. than doing whal’s right. Aboriginal people threa- len violence and our government buckles under. Someone explain to me why we are lending money to someone so they can sue us? And also explain how the courts can change the rules to accept memories and slories (hearsay evidence) as fact? ; Remember, some are fighting over the same land and the claim is for 110 per cent of the country. Hearsay evidence is not used in courl for good reason ~— because it’s unreliable. Why are we letting such a tiny minority of peaple (about 2 per cent) hold B.C. and Canada hostage and dictate policy and law? And if native people are reading this. Why are you being so supportive? You will be trading one paternalistic regime for another. Instead of Indian Affairs treating you like children and deciding your fate, now it will be your band council trea- ting you iike children and doling things out as they see fit. So much for being independent. The government insists that settling land claims will result in certainty and prosperity. | couldn’t disagree more. . Aboriginal people expect a nation-to-nation approach. This will mean about 80 small nations — some with only a few thousand people — each with their own government, laws, rules and fees. To promote their cause, native groups imply that unemployment and poverty is exclusive to natives and the fault of the “white-man”. They need to recognize that thousands of non-natives are struggling to survive and are headed into an uncertain future. Our present course will result in thousands of ; working poor who feel alienated. and.resent .the _ ‘‘ereation of wealthy quasi-reserves whose people’ have special rights and privileges non-natives can never attain. Talk about a divisive situation ~ this will never bring about certainty. Equality is the cornerstone of our Canadian identity. A.Canada where some get preferential treatment, and others are excluded, due to ethni- city — this sounds un-Canadian (and racist). Not | a future I could ever support. If you agree, .you need to be more ‘vocal and not worry whether it’s P.C.to do so. The future of Canada is at stake. - Peter Randrup Smithers B.C, Logging affected wells Dear Sir: Just a quick comment to the letter in The Ter- race Standard (June 5, 2002) entitled, “Water woes Untrue”’. The vast majority of the Irene Meadows resi- dents get their water from wells 100 feet deep and deeper. It is this aquifer level that was affec- ted by logging and is a concern to most of our re- sidents rather than the available creek water. The first well in this meadow was drilled in the 1970s. This meadow. has been under non- Nisga’a ownership since about 1917. Lloyd Brinson Nass Camp, B.C. Health care where and when we need it — not _An open letter to Gordon Campbell: Dear Sir: , A tecent announcement by your government stated that $30 million new dollars would go to- wards the B.C. Ambulance Service, and I ap- plaud you. This service has long been under-fun- ded. But, being as I normally see problems with political promises, | must comment, | The problem with more money for ambu- lances, and a whopper of a battle with other health care providers, leads me to conjure up vi- sions of a fleet of “mobile health care units” for paramedics who presently have to hunt for an emergency ward with room to treat their patients. I did notice that your plan suggested a variety - of time frames for critical care for various parts of the province — the closer I live to you, the more likely f get to survive a medical emer- gency. That bites. I would like to suggest that a division be drawn in the taming of the ambulance service. — Anything in the lower mainland can remain as the B.C. Ambulance Service, Everywhere else we'll call it B.C. C.O.W., which of course stands for B.C. Congeals On Wheels because that’s. what we'll be doing. ; _ Yes, it is a sad state of affairs, - a an ae -., Chris Spangl Terrace B.C.