. A4 - The’ ‘Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 12, 2006 TERRACE Ss TANDARD > ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 PUBLISHER: ROD LINK ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. - V8G BR2 TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 '- FAX: (250) 638-8432 _. » WEB: www.terracestandard.com . EMAIL: newsroom@terracestandard. com a heck of a. - place to live When seven people lined up to receive, medals awarding them with-the city’s:highest honour re-; cently, they represented hundreds of hours of vol-, -unteer work making Terrace a great place to be. Sandy Glendenning, Bev and George Bujtas, Don Highe, Corbin King, Bill Redpath and Mo Takhar each received the Order of Terrace for the countless hours ‘they’ve spent volunteering and : contributing to the betterment of our community. They’ ve raised money for food banks and hos- oo : - pital equipment, donated time and energy to youth’ en, groups: and. sports organizations and. contributed | : to community development projects. ~ What all these people have in ‘common is their desire to make Terrace a better place by taking the time to give of themselves without asking for : anything i in return. . Volunteers are in many, many ways ‘the back- bone of this community and their work. often goes unnoticed. , 7 7 Citizens on Patrol walk downtown: streets af- es ter hours making sure businesses have locked up Co properly, the Beautification Society creates and . maintains beautiful parks and gardens, the Raga- ‘muffin Rescue group cares for feral cats, coaches lead our young people in a wide range of sports. ‘And how about the hundreds of volunteers that 7 make the biggest party of the year — Riverboat "Days — such a success? Or the musicians, actors. _and artists who put on Plays, art shows and con- certs? Our emergency services workers and volunteer search and rescue teams have earned accolades for their work and literally put their lives on the | line to help others. ‘There are so many volunteers i in our commu- | nity that it’s impossible to name them all, but you can bet they’ve affected you in some way. . - During this year’s Adventure Challenge a run- - ner suffering from what is believed to be heat stroke went off course and had to be retrieved from Terrace Mountain and taken to hospitai. . It was a tense time while emergency response crews and volunteers worked together to bring her down from the mountain and get her to the 7 hospital. The woman was treated and released that same | ~ day and had this to say about the incident: — | “Tl learned what my body can’t do, but I learned what my ‘community: can do,” she said. ; It speaks volumes about the. kind of people. that make up the ‘social fabric in our community ~ and.that’s something we should all be very, very I proud of. So, in case you didn’ t get i it — thank you, volun- teers, » you make Terrace a heck of a place to live. PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link _ ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS: Sarah A. Zimmerman , COMMUNITY: Dustin Quezada NEWS/SPORTS: Margaret Speirs , FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping, Carolyn Anderson ‘CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Alanna Bentham . ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: — Bert Husband, Ellie Higginson - AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik PRODUCTION: Susan Credgeur SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: $57.94 (+$4.06 GST)=62.00 per year; Seniors $50.98 (+$3.57 GST)=54.55; _ Out of Province $65.17 (+$4.56 GST)=69.73 Ousside of Canada (6 months) $156.91(+10.98 GST)=167.89 MEMBER OF B.C. AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION - CCNA NEWSPAPERS AND Rononhirestr B.C. PRESS COUNCIL (www.bcpresscouncil.org) - Darre Colentie ond Tebow Serving the Terrace and Thornhill area. Publishad on Wednesday of @ each week at 3210 Clinton Street, Terrace, British Columbia, VBG SR2. S B lack Pr ess Stories, photographs. illustrations, designs and typestyles in the Terrace Standard are the property of the copy- fight holders, including Black Press Ltd., its illustration repro services and advertising agencies. __ Reproduction in whole or in part, without written permission, is specifically prohibited. Authorized as second-class mail pending the Post Cifice Department, for payment of postage in cash. Speciai thanks to all our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents _to limit disturbances. COMPETITION . "THE BOY WHO RED WMD — FOR THOSE that haven’t . " seen it, when the cruise ships dock in Prince Rupert and the passengers start to flow off.the . |» vessel and make their way into : the city it is quite a site to see. Now this sometimes hap- | pens at 7 in the morning, but it is amazing even then, how the city comes alive with activity. - The streets fill with people, businesses. open; the harbour “comes alive with small charter . - vessels jumping into action for one tour or another. For those . Staying on land, the street . busters, bikes, scooters even | - rickshaws, the downtown of Prince Rupert lives again’ and _ at times ‘has a: very Victoria ~ look to it. | _ | The challenge that every community is dealing with right across the north is the _ problem of downtown revital- ization. The introduction of | large box stores, in most cas- es, has them setting up shop on’ ‘the outskirts of the communi-' ty, continuing to draw people ‘out of the .traditional down- town core. Just look around - at Prince George, Quesnel or Nanaimo — this is not a chal- lenge unique to Terrace. Once the foot traffic moves on, busi- nesses start to fail and the slide begins. . Now for Prince Rupert, the natural advantage of the cruise ‘ship traffic and-the lack of | large box store development on the outskirts of the city . have truly allowed the city to re-invent itself. The number , WHEN YOU hear “think- tank” on TV news, does an image of a round metal struc- ture polished as an Edmonton « oil refinery flash through your — mind? Tanks typically are airtight, windowless, claustrophobic. To promote imagination, a° think-tank would need to be climate-controlled and well - lighted with a private cubicle for each thinker soundproofed Per- haps backlit mock windows : festooned with ‘rainbow sun- catchers snag infant notions and hold them until they break free as ideas... ’ Soothed by music of. his choice, outfitted with both a comfy sofa and an adjustable: ergonomic chair, the thinker doodles on napkins, scrap en- velopes, or origami airplanes before aiming them to be cri- tiqued by a co-worker ina dis- tant cubby. He energizes his subcon- scious twiddling with wooden - alphabet.blocks (now weight- ed to combat childhood obe- - sity), Lego, and tinkertoys. ‘Filing cabinets are standard issue, along with pushpins for nailing down conclusions and ‘waste baskets for corralling false starts. ' Perhaps you, too, picture - Rodin knockoffs ROGER HARRIS of new Specialty stores open- ing is impressive. The city is - ‘acquiring a new look’and with it, a new brand that I believe holds tremendous promise and opportunity for that commu- nity. . “So what has -this got: to do with Terrace? We certainly don’t have cruise ships. But the nagging question of downtown revitalization is critical to the’ future of our community. We have seen ‘significant investment by the large retails‘chains and that is a good thing. We are the hub of the region from a service and shopping prospective and that will only continue to grow. -But the large box stores are" continuing to. locate on the outskirts of the community and in some circles there has _ ‘been a strong advocacy for those. businesses to locate in Thornhill, a plan that would THROUGH BIFOCALS CLAUDETTE SANDECKI crouched around a big box, arms clasp- ing their knees in a posture reminiscent of humiliated third graders serving detention. This» pose likely originated the pop- ular expression, thinking out- side the box. Do limits define how far outside the box their thoughts might range to keep one team from trampling on the thoughts of another? It’s also possible these em- ployees swim lazy circles in a pool while waiting for a bril- liant idea to surface much as the Vancouver Aquarium’s © belugas relax between feed- ings. Do think-tank staff qualify as tradespeople, or fit more in "Nass, : Hwy37, heading to Alaska or.: draw even ‘more people out of the downtown: core. In Terrace; we have a very interesting fellow who spends _a lot of time trying to get peo- ple to listen ‘to him. He has . been advocating for some time. -for a site downtown, to be es- - tablished for motor home cara- vans. Now let’s take a minute to think about this. " Today, most people who - travel by motor homes are. se- niors or early retirees. They come to our part of the world - looking for-adventures in the’ outback. It.is places like the Stewart, Kitimat, Vancouver Island that’s on their schedule. Terrace. isn’t the destination but, rather the ’ route or means to an end. They drive into our town in the evening and leave in the early hours.going wherever the ‘road takes them. For the most part, they are self-contained; all they need is a place to park, re-charge the water and unload the tank. Now remember that it is ,not unusual for caravans :to contain 20 or more motor homes. After a long day on the road they don’t want to cook they want to go out for dinner. They might need the services of a laundromat, local store to recharge’ the supplies — or maybe just a walk around a downtown looking at the local arts and crafts. Or maybe.they . seek an evening at-the local se- nior centre or a little outdoor an intellectual category. When they come in to work in the morning -how is their day’s assignment given to them? Who parcels out the subject to be thought about, and how do they know when they have fulfilled their day’s quota of . thinking? Does a thinker count his thoughts with a clicker "just as.a lab technician tallies white blood cells? How does the employer evaluate output? | Or would that be input? What is the dress code for ~ this all-in-your-head endéav- ‘our? Relaxed and casual — no ties or buttoned collars — to al- low thoughts to float around, unimpeded, plus: regulation headgear — not a hardhat but - a beanie topped by a battery- powered propeller to cool a brain under stress. Then there’s the delicate matter of hiring. How does one advertise for a think-tank employee? “Wanted: Indi- vidual to occupy himself con- structively with only his inner thoughts yet able to articulate and generously share those thoughts with team members. Pencil doodling an asset. Must. be able to sit motionless for hours. ” (Sufferers of restless leg syndrome need not apply). “Specialized training is no doubt necessary, but what sort? up - ‘ fore an election. Tenace has its c own cruise @ ships concert in the park. would be on tap? ; becoming more important for ° these new aged adventurers is “medical services, a downtown . | ° location close to’a Clinic and - pharmacy may be exactly what : : - the doctor ordered. ' - A plan that starts to look ‘ at the downtown area’for.a‘ ., motor home park just might : wy ‘be what the businesses there: ; need. There is available land ° to develop,’ water and sewer ; infrastructure is in place. A. summer season that brings 20? "J or-more units once ‘or twice a. week would have a significant ? - impact on foot traffic | in the. city centre. y It’s not that the community : is not trying to attract these : caravans, but maybe we’re not : selling the right features: "and : but it’s.a long way from the : downtown core. : Terrace’s cruise. ships : just might have wheels. Our : strength as a service cen-~ tremay be our marketing © piece. So while we seem to work hard at. marketing loca-*: tions outside the downtown to - park these vehicles, we might — 3 just be missing the boat. So.the next time Mo wants ' to talk about caravan parks ‘ maybe a few more people - should take some time to lis- ; ten, it might just be the ticket we're looking for. . * A short course in’ ‘computer + . 4 animation? A correspondence . course in art; such as Charles « Schultz took before launching : Snoopy? Degrees’ in Sociol- « ogy, Sciences, even Math? ® Vancouver's Fraser Institute, : when rating the quality of our ! province’s schools , shovels.” . out percentages as freely as - politicians scatter loonies be- To work in — or at —a think- tank, the employee must get -: some satisfaction besides a: pay cheque every two weeks. : At each shift, can a thinker - 1 point out his accomplishment ‘' 7 . - the way a carpenter can say, “I: . When you lookatthedemo-. - graphic, the new service that is: . nn Cen ¢ "putting them in the right place. : i Ferry Island may be quaint,: —% Thinking starts inside the tank — | finished partitioning the main . : floor today. ” ' Exactly what does a think- 4 tank produce? In what form is . it packaged? And who buys it? « Webster defines a think-tank ’ as an institute, corporation or. group organized for interdisci- plinary research (as in techno- logical and social problems: ) *i From what I gather, a think- tank will work to support any : conclusion you'd like to draw. ° Name your goal and a think- : tank will supply evidence to - support it. Their price may be exorbi- ~ tant, their information contro- versial, but its guaranteed to - dazzle. ' . . oa So aa ee sar wt ne teem tw tem ste ies ey ses et ie