Ad - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 20, 2003 : STANDARD ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 PUBLISHER: ROD LINK ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. * V8G 5R2 ‘TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 » FAX: (250) 638-8432 __'WEB: www.terracestandard.com _- EMAIL: newsroom@terracestandard.com Keep it “SIR, I remind you that in this schoolhouse, please take off your hat.” The tourist promptly re-_ moves his headgear at the instruction of Mrs. Thompson, the school teacher. Welcome to one of the gems of British Colum- bia — Barkerville. Located east of Quesnel after a scenic 50-minute drive, the former gold mining | town is living history, one of the true gems in possession of the provincial government. Along its main street are located original and recreated buildings dating back to the interior gold . rush days of the late 19th century. It’s a place where you are now as likely to hear German, Dutch, or American twang as you are to — hear Canadian English. Mrs. Thompson and others in period dress en- . tertain and inform. Tours and demonstrations — outline the importance. of the Chinese in B.C.’s history and provide insights on how the gold was - taken from the ground, And that’s what makes Barkerville special ~ a - place that is for tourists as much as a place where the province’s early history is researched and pre- served. But Barkerville, and more than a dozen other heritage sites in B.C., are under a cloud because of the provincial Liberal government’s drive to | cut costs and off load responsibilities. The goal is to find contractors, non-profit socie- ties or community groups to take on Barkerville - and other heritage locations such as Fort Steele in the Kootenays. Progress, at least as measured by the provincial government, is slow. There was only one inter- ested party to-take:on-Barkerville; the nearby .vil- lage of Wells which, in its'6win right, is a histori- cal place. It has now dropped out because it’ judged it could not at least run the site on a break- ' even basis. The provincial government remains committed to ridding itself of Barkerville and the other herit- age sites by next year. It may very well be an im- . possible task. The challenge the Liberals have : given themselves of balancing priceless history and heritage against bottom line government may not mesh, A sidelight is the importance heritage sites have | to local economies. They employ local people. They bring in tourist revenue, one of the founda- tions not only of local economies but of the pro- vincial economy itself. The provincial government would do well to take a pause and take a deep breath in its haste to shed itself of the province’s history. Billy Barker started a gold rush which, by ' some estimates, resulted in the mining of more than $800 million in gold in today’s prices. It’s as valuable today as a heritage and history resource , as it was in gold back then. PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS: Jeff Nagel NEWS/SPORTS Sarah A. Zimmerman 2002 WINNER NEWS/COMMUNITY: Jennifer Lang CCNA BETTER FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping & Carol McKay NEWSPAPERS CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Terri Gordon COMPETITION ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Bert Husband & Denise Young TELEMARKETER: C.J. Bailey COMPOSING: Susan Credgeur AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik 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 Outside of Canada (6 months) $156.91(+10,98 GST)=167.89 MEMBER OF ( B.C. AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, CARADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION G CNA Pn a ny ties ‘Seliteh Eobeadio ol Teive B.C, PRESS COUNCIL (www.bepresscouncllorg) Serving the Terrace and Thomhill area. Publishad on Wadnesday of each week at 3210 Clinton Street, am Terrace, British Columbla, V8G 5R2. Storles, photographs, Illustrations, dasigns and typestylas In tha “Ferrace Standard are the proparty of Ihe copyrighl holders, Including Caritoo Press (1969) Lid., tts illustration repro services and advertising agendas, Repreduction in whole or in part, without written permission, Is spactically prohibited, Authorized as second-class niall panding tha Post Office Department, for of postage in cash. Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents =~ VICTORIA — When gay mar- riage and abortion on demand are considered merely matters of alternative tifestyles and human rights issues, alongside marriage, the union between one man and one woman and the miracle of birth, something is distinctly awry in the state of Canada, And when supporters of aforementioned alternative lifestyles and human rights is- sues tell the Pope to “butt” out, they are ignoring one of the basic democratic rights we should all uphold, that of free speech. As my colleague, Norman Spector, pointed out in a re- cent column, we didn’t hear a lot of demands that the Pope butt out when he pitted his message against that of the communist empire during his visits to Poland, the country of his birth, and became instru- mental in the fall of commun- ism. is decidedly against the tenets of the Catholic church, the Pope is supposed to shut up. Furthermore,-he merely ap- pealed to members of his faith which, of course, includes a great number of Members of Parliament. Freedom of speech is net the exclusive right of those who support gay marriage and the other sex-related issue that Web sites aid ° ALONG WITH reviving Ter- race’s in-school Grades 6 and 7 music program, the Dare to Dream Foundation has proven ’ several things. They’ve proven (a) the community supports music ed- ucation, rating music an im- portant educational compon- ent, not a frill (b) despite severe government cutbacks to their health care, seniors con- tributed generously to ensure all children benefit musically. and (c) the public will donate generously so long as they're sure their dollars will be spent as intended, Indeed, “The foundation gave the community a vehicle it could use (to contribute) and it responded,” notes foun- dation organizer Donna Zie- gler. Teachers in the U.S. have ’ begun using the internet as a vehicle to gather donations from across the country for their underfunded school pro- grams. The internet idea origi- nated with Philadelphia teach- er who set up a web site, DonorsChoose.org. Anyone interested in con- tributing to a teacher’s class- rolls no WWE LIVEIN CAGES 7 WITHA METALTUBE FOR WATER AND OUR. D GOMES |N Boxes .. Yes! 200, Wn ~ | WW ee j Way bites te tee “ AFTER A SUMIMER OF TINKERING, ED Figures our HOW. To BEAT THE HIGH COST OF GAS The Pope can talk all he wants — ‘FROM ‘THE CAPITAL” HUBERT BEYER wan’t go away — abortion. As a basic democratic right, it applies no less to the Pope then to any one of us. In his capacity as head of the Catholic church, it is his re- sponsibility to speak out when core beliefs of his faith are challenged. The Pope had every right to issue the directive that bishops Ae Su Phattwas fine, but2when! it—-read-a-letter to_their..flocks,... ' -comes'to gay marriage, which saying that homosexual unions are not in fact equivalent to marriage, and that attempts to pretend as much in civil law must be opposed by Catholics as a matter of conscience. 1 find it extremely ironic that the church would be ac- cused of sticking its nose into the affairs of the state when it comments on the meaning of marriage. In law, gays and lesbians THROUGH BIFOCALS CLAUDETTE SANDECKI toom efforts can donate money for a specific use in the en- deavour. One teacher collect- ed $3,500 to buy library books for her classroom. Oprah Win- frey bought an upright piano for a music program. As proof of where their money helped, donors receive a letter from the teacher and from each individual student as well as photos of the donor’s purchase in use by the students. Teachers who seek funding post a one-page proposal OVERCROWPING AND NOISE CAUSE AGORESS IVE SOdAL BEHAVIOUR: . are equal in every respect to heterosexuals. Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation is considered an offence under every human rights legislation. Gays and lesbians are entitled to spousal benefits, What’s more, the majority of Canadians have absolutely no problem with gays and les- bians. So why hijack an institution that has been part of every major religion, long before the state inserted itself in the busi- ness of marriage? It's the in-your-face attitude of many gays and lesbians, the garish gay pride parades that turn many people off. It also turns me, off when I see heterosexual couples “making out” in public. And that has nothing to with being prudish. It’s a matter of good manners and taste. They should get a room. The fact that many marriag- nose into the affairs of the church and not the other way around, So why am I taking the side of the Pope when I haven't seen the inside of a church in decades? Let’s say it’s a reaction that is prompted by plain common sense. Marriage as an institution is founded on the presumption that couples will have children (sarry, cloning won't do it) who need a stable environment. Successful marriages do just that. And since the state also has an interest in children who, af- ter all, are the future of a coun- try, it, too got into the marriage business long ago. Denying gays and homosex- ual the right to a union equal to that of a heterosexual marriage does not mean they are being discriminated against. There is, in law, such a thing as righiful discrimination. ‘és tid “in divorceand “that! ‘Jt denies ‘the -15-year-old.:the marriage has lost much of its meaning as @ sacred institu- tion, should not be a reason to further undermine it. I also find little solace in the government's assertion that churches will be allowed to opt out of marrying gays and lesbians. That it even should be worth mentioning, makes me believe - that it’s the state sticking its reacher would-be donors can study. Donors can then earmark their funding for a specific program or a single item needed by the program. I can understand why donors responded enthusiastically to both the Dare to Dream Foun- dation and the Donors- Choose.crg web site. We're weary of our money, whether taxes or donations being bun- died into general revenue. Think what happens when a child in need is profiled on the evening news. Dozens of . strangers send money or de- posit in a charity account, Contrast that with our response to an annual fund drive. A website on the Philadel- phia model might be the per- fect vehicle for Terrace teach- ers to seek donations for their special programs. Like shopping by catalogue, a web site gives the prospec- tive donor time to compare, to weigh pros and cons, and to donate anonymously. Then to be able to stipulate how you want your money spent is a crowning touch. A web site, with access to right to drive, it allows Chinese restaurants to -hire Chinese waiters only, it allows the state to apprehend children at risk. . I am fairly certain Ottawa will go ahead with its plans to allow homosexual unions. I just thought ['d put in my five cents worth one last time. Beyer can be reached at: E-mail: hubert@cooicom.com. Or phone him at (250) 381-6900. efforts the wider world, could draw donations from former grads no earning good salaries as profes- sionals, or from entertainers like Diana Krall and Nellie Furtado who got their rudimen- tary training from a classroom teacher, I'm not in favour of public donations to support classrooms or food banks, because it lets the government use our taxes in other ways such as building Whistler highways so drivers can legally trim their driving time by five minutes. ‘ At the same time, kids grow up fast. If we don’t help our schools and teachers deliver the education our kids deserve, they'll be working age before the New Skeena mill employs our loggers. In the words of North Caroli- - na’s Ron Clark, winner of the 2001 Disney, Teacher of the year Award, whose grade five classes have travelled to Dis- ney and twice to the White House, “Communities are will- ing to help teachers, as long as teacher can give solid reasons for how the contributions can make a difference.”