Ad - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 7, 2001 sate | 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 EMAIL: standard@kermode.net Hello, there ON THE next page you'll find a letter from the . TD bank criticizing the reporting of the role it has played in the latest SCI financial crisis. For the record, the TD bank has declined to speak or to be questioned about this matter. Why, we don’t know. The aforementioned letter is the first communication received from the bank since ~ the SC] bank account was frozen more than two. - months ago. For the record, the TD is a big and powerful in- stitution. So big, in fact, provincial cabinet mini- ster Rick Thorpe — an elected official, mind you — once had to hustle out to Toronto, cap in hand, to speak with bank officials who, while obviously unelected, apparently carry a lot more clout than an entire provincial government. Jts shyness on this matter is a mystery. For the record, the various protests have never been about or aimed at local TD employees. The bank’s branch in Terrace happens to be the local symbol of its power and wealth. So it quite natur- ' ally became the focus of protests by those who have a problem with the bank, not the employees. For TD officials to now sound shocked is naive. For the record, the TD bank this past week do- nated 425,000 copies of a special children’s book to grade one students across the country. This was done to promote TD Canadian Children’s Book Week. Now this is a pretty generous and very public act from an institution which ob- : viously believes deeply in the value of learning. And that makes it even harder to believe that a bank which has this kind of corporate spirit can- not at the same time completely and fully explain _Its, Position to.the people. of: the, northwest con-, cerning Skeena Cellulose... * ay China, ho | ; LOST AMIDST the conflict between Canada and the United States over softwood lumber exports was a trade mission to China in recent weeks on the part of the Council of Forest Industries. The council advocates for the forest indusiry and it has a firm eye on China’s burgeoning po- pulation and massive expansion of the home con- struction industry. Right now the Chinese build with concrete and steel, The council’s aim is to convince them to build with wood. There’s a huge upside — the council reports that only 500 wood frame homes have been built in China each year. To start, the council has been working with Chinese officials to develop building codes for wood-frame homes and expertise in using wood. Even a modest taste of this market would do wonders for the B.C, lumber industry and should be encouraged as a counter-balance to the Ameri- can protectionism. As they say, knock on wood, PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER; Edouard Credgeur NEWS: Jelf Nagel 2001 WINNER NEWS/SPORTS Sarah Zimmerman cee eed NEWS/COMMUNITY: Jennifer Lang COMPETITION FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping & Carol McKay CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Terri Gordon ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Mark Beaupre & Stacy Swetlikoff TELEMARKETER: Stacy Swetlikoff DARKROOM/COMPOSING: Susan Credgeur AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik ' SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: ° $55,15(+$3.86 GST) per year: Seniors $48.85 (+$3.42 GST); Out of Province $61.98 (+$4.34 GST) Outside of Canada (6 months) $152.34 (+$10.66 GST) MEMBER OF B.C. AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION Re AND G@ CNA Seer rer B.C. PRESS COUNCIL. (worn bepresscouncllorg Serving the Terrace and Themhil fea. Published on Wednesday of ach wack at 3210 Clinton Street, Tarrata, British Columbia, VaG 5R2. Storlas, photographs, iustrations, designs and typestyles in tha Terrace Siandard ara the property of the Copyright holders, including Carboo Prass (1969) Lid, its Hlustation repro services and advertising agencias, Reproduction in whole of in part, without written parmission, is speciically prohibited, Authorized a5 second-class mail pending tha Post Office Departmen! for payment af postage in cash. Special thanks to all our contribulors and correspondents for thelr ilme and talents ° { GUESS THIS 18 WHAT THEY MEANT BY RETURNING TO NORMAL ROUTINES SO THE TERRORISTS DON'T WIN... Offshore VICTORIA — That the Liberal government will lift the mora- torium on offshore exploration, in place since 1959, is probab- ly foregone conclusion, just as it was inevitable that the more environment-friendly NDP maintained il. The questions that should now be asked are whether off- shore drilling can be done safely without harm to the en- vironment and whether the riches many people anticipate will materialize. With regard to the first question, we have consultant’s report that says ail and gas ex- ploration off the B.C coast can be done without an unaccept- able risk to the environment, Jacques Whitford Environ- ment Ltd. Of Burnaby says in his report that there are no “fatal flaws” in exploring the Queen Charlotte Basin in ., Somparison with olher offshor ree Os and gas. Jegions around ‘the. world. Now, | will bet you dollars to doughnuts that a consultant hired by let’s say the Suzuki Foundation would come up with a different assessment. Consultants are a. bit like economists. They hardly ever agree on anything. And what constitutes an ac- ceptable tisk or fatal flaw? Is the possibility of a fierce storm, not unknown on the Typing EVERY CHILD given access to a computer should be taught how to sit and how ta position the hands on the keyboard. Otherwise the child’s future may hoid chiropractic treat- ments and the pain of carpal tunnel syndrome. Before computers became as common as the cold, you rarely heard of carpal tunnel syndrome unless you hobneb- bed with tennis players. Now, carpal tunnel syn- drome is.a routine complaint, lumped in with other repetitive stress injuries common to people who repeat the same motions throughout their work shift. You see cashiers wearing a leather sling on one hand. Of- fice staff are absent on sick leave resting a painful wrist - grief that proper posture might ward off, Begin any activity with a teacher and the first thing you learn is posture for that skill. o/- 09 319% TARIFFS 3 DEVASTATE 4 FOREST TOWNS ' | i ‘ | { { ‘FROM THE CAPITAL’ HUBERT BEYER B.C. coast, that topples an oil- rig an acceptable risk or a fatal flaw? You take your pick. On the other hand, we have been taking tisks for years by having giant oil tankers navi- gale our waters. Was the Exxon Valdez disaster in the _fatal-flaw or acceptable- “tisk category? . frantically Searching for revenue, would covet the potential riches from offshore oil and gas explora- tion and exploitation, And it is also understandable that the Liberals are more inclined to do so ihan the NDP was, The Liberals are, after all, a busi- ness-friendly government. But what of the potential riches? Again, that depends on whom you ask. Some politi- Tt is understandable. tha a “ government, cians have for years stoked the first of anticipation, while en- vironmentalists have warned of dire consequences. But most of all, the govern- ment should be careful not to excite the public too much with promises of great oil and gas fortunes just around the comer. The Geological Survey of Canada has estimated that there could be 9.8 billion bar- rels of oil and 25.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas off the coast. That would be nothing short of a bonanza the revenue po- tential of which has been esti- mated at $100 billion, sug- gesting huge revenues for the province. Enter a dose of reality. The deposits the survey speaks of are mathematical projections _ based on the geography of the areas. Limited drilling, £9. fr ‘has not uncovered ‘anything. In other words, there may not be a solitary barrel of oil or cubic _ foot of natural gas there. Dr. Chris Yorath, who was a senior research scientists with the Geological Survey of Ca- nada, believes that estimates of the deposits are overly opti- mistic. He says the deposits may be in the range of 20 per cent of the survey's estimates, “The press and provincial politicians should adopt a de- DID ANYONE TELL THEM WE AREN'T THE TERRORISTS? reserves still unoroven gree of skepticism before they announce to the world that the - Queen Charlotte basin will be the next petroleum bonanza,” Yorath said recently. What's more, the oil and gas industry has, so far, not shown any great eagerness to start off- shore exploration, The industry is quite busy in the northeast of the province, and it cannot be assumed that it will line up with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of investment to find out whether there is oil and gas offshore. We shall know fairly soon whether or not the government will give the green light to off- shore exploration. The Whitford report will be considered by. a panel! of three scientists headed by former University President David Strong. The panel will report back to the provincial government by mid-January on the safety of lifting the moratorium, My guess is the moratorium will be lifted. But when it is, It would strongly urge the govern- Ment not to raise too high the hopes of the public, particular- ly in coastal communities whose livelihood has already been savaged by an ailing for- estry industry. Beyer can be reached at: E-mail: huberit@coolcom.com; Tel (250) 381-6900; Web Attp:/www.hubertbeyer.com need not be painful i | | i I THROUGH BIFOCALS. CLAUDETTE SANDECKI Violinists hold the instrument under the chin and finger the frets with the left hand. Stu- dent drivers position their hands on the steering wheel at 9 and 3 o’clock. Even Tiger Woods honours the traditional golfers’ stance. _ These postures evolved .as the most effortless way to per- form a skill. But computer @ pugeytear keyboarders’ posture, particu- larly their hand positions, are devolving. Watch computer operators in classrooms, on the job, in movies and news clips, They slouch, legs entwined around the chair legs, wrists Crazy- Glued to the computer frame. Only their fingertips move, like elephant trunks reaching blindly over a concrete barrier hoping to find a peanut. No wonder their wrists throb. I learned typing from a cer- respondence course in grade nine. Every day’s lesson began with the same reminder: Sit up straight, feet flat on the flcor, one foot in front of the other. Hands over the keyboard. Hands, wrists and forearms held in a line, That position let my fingers hang free to move in all direc- tions. Major muscle groups held my body in balance, I’ve typed many an eight-hour shift without physical discomfort. You SAID: ir F WOULD , MIKE MS Ont siney!! And that was before photocop- iers and electric typewriters. Often I typed eight copies. Only a powerful touch would make all copies legible. Yet I've never had a hint of ‘carpal tunnel syndrome, Sit down at a piano for a be- ginners lesson and the first thing you're told is, “Sit up Straight, feet on the floor. Hold up your wrists.” No teacher wants her healthy piano student looking deformed. Unless you're Victor Borge. He clowned around at the key- board to make people laugh, but when his fingers touched the keys he automatically adopted proper posture. A computer in every home and classroom is fine...if kids are reminded every day how they should sit, and how their wrists should be held up. Don’t let their potential be handicapped by. faulty -key- board habits, habits difficult to tetrain away later. .