Page 4 The Harald, Munday, December 24, 197? TERR ACE/BEPIMAT daily herald Ganeral Office - 635-4357 Clrevtation - 635-4357 Published by Sterling Publishers GEN. MANAGER . Knox Coupland EDITOR - Greg Middleton CIRCULATION - TERRACE . 415.6357 KITIMAT OFFICE - 632-2747 ’ Published every weekday at 3212 Kalum Sireet, Terrace, B.C. A member of Varifled Circulation. Authorized as second class mall. Registration number 1201. Postage paid in cash, return postage guaranteed. NOTICE OF COPY RIGHT The Herald retains full, comptele and sole copyright In any advertisement produced and-or any éditorlal or - photographic content published In the Herald. Reproduction Is not permitied without the writien permission of the Publisher. EDITORIAL We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. From the publisher, Knox Coupland, and the advertising staff, as well as the editor and news and sports reporters, through the production department to the crew that mans the press and puts the papers together, and from the paper boys and girls and the people who deliver the papers to them and to the local merchants, we wish you the best of the holiday season. CONSUMER COMMENT If you are one of the countless numbers of con- sumers who will be returning to stores with the hope of returning unsatisfactory or unsuitable Christmas gifts, here are a few things that you should know about refunds and exchanges: . Buying a gift or any other product is like signing a contract with the seller. You mutually agree to ex- change your money for the item, and the exchange may be reversed only if you both agree. Unless a product is defective, was misrepresented, or was offered fraudulently, the retailer may fairly and legally refuse to accept your return. Offering refunds or exchanges for unwanted merchandise is strictly a matter of store policy, and soit is in your best interest to ask before the purchase is made, and know exactly where you stand should a problem arise. Because you cannot automatically expect a refund or exchange, it pays to shop carefully before selecting gifts. If you’re doubtful of correct fit, colour, or any other quality, ask the salesperson to clarify the refund policy before you buy. If returns are accepted, ask whether you will get a cash refund, exchange, or credit on future purchases. Be sure to keep your sales slip. If the store does not provide a detailed bill of sale, you may wish to write the name of the store, date, article, and refund policy onthe back of your cash register receipt. Having such eermation at hand can help to resolve problems ater. Lay-aways and deposits are also potential problem areas. Again, it is up to the customer to ask about store policy. Deposits are accepted as an indication of your intention to buy, and may not be automatically refunded if you change your mind about the purchase, ° If you're bargain-hunting at the after Christmas sales, keep in mind that sale goods sekiom can be returned, even to stores that normally de take things back. So shop carefully, and avoid impulse purchases that you may later regret. And ask about refunds before you buy--you may find the store’s policy is a firm ‘‘all sales final’. ATRILL THINKS by Thomas Atrill “Vote as you wish, but besure to vote.” Yes, we are going to have the pleasure of going to the polls February eighteenth, presumably to re-elect the party we voted in last May, If we Canadians were not such a patient people, we might be a bit exasperated by such a turn of _ events. In times like these, it is best to think that what ap- pears to be a failing of our democratic system, could in fact be its strength! No government is truly strong or entrenched. No government can safely introduce legislation that disagrees with a majority of the op- position. And, equally important, no government can effectively administer the affairs of a country without a reasonable majority, In my view, we are faced with a rare choice; a decision to make which will have far-reaching effects on the future of our country. We have reached a fork in the road. It is up to us to decide the direction we wish to go. Stripped of all window-dressing and verblage, the choice is between socialism and capitalism. Surely, the issues are important enough for us to take the time and effort to study the two inimical systems, honestly evaluating the performance and benefits of both. What, after all, is the source of wealth? What motivates Man? Which system Is self- sustaining, and which is parasitical? Do you think of yourself as an ant in an ant-heap, or as a worthwhile individual? Give it a lot of ¢areful thought. Reality is an unforgiving force. If we ignore it, we may be destroyed by it. This may be our last chance to balance the books and create those conditions that make it possible to realize the potential of a free and prosperous Canada. Think first; then vote. — 1 DANT HANNA, BrAKoURD . At cHRETMAS! a) "Ip heck with Iran!” GE I Albist aah ~ oO WITH Fabs an 9, BEY PAPLOACTIU pee ext COTANCSaUING! ole oes ie a He “I'd like it gift-wrapped.” “ PERSKY’S PERSPECTIVE ‘By STAN PERSKY 1 thi ik Fred Regensberger ought to be made the onneipal of Prince Rupert Senior Secondary School, it's not that I've got anything against the present principal, Hank Stefaniuk. In fact, Udon’t know Hank» niuk well enough to have anything against him. ite just that Fred is about the most sensible, co- operative, unbureaucratic person I've met in all my years of working in and around a variety of schoo) systems, and pretty soon he’s going to be out of a job. Since the solution in most big corporations is not to put someone out of a job, but to kick him upstairs, that's why: [ thought of making Fred the principal. i . ‘ Fred is currently the night janitor at PRSS. As a sensible person myself, I'm willing to back off from my suggestion of making Fred the principal, and settle for him continuing to be the night janitor. So would Fred. Unfortunately, Fred has committed the irremediable sin of reaching the age of 65, and is therefore subject to the iron law of mandatory retirement. No matter that he’s perfectly sound of mind and body, to say nothing of being a pretty good janitor. No matter that he’s not eligible for full pension benefits (because of various facts of life which are too complicated to explain in anything short of an epic novel). He’s 65, and there's nothing more to be said, Well, I thought there was something more to be said. Sol picked up the phone and called Marty Winkelaar. He’s the Prince Rupert representative to the board of directors at Northwest Community College, where 1 work, After we finished talking about some college business, I said, “Marty, this doesn't have anything to do with the college, it’s a personal thing, but since you're sort of connected to.the Prince Rupert School Board, 1 wanted to ask your advice about Fred, the janitor at PRSS. I know he’s 65, but he’s a good janitor and wants to go on working. Is there any chance he can be extended for a year or so?” Marty suggested that I call Bob, who's on the Prince Rupert School Board, I did, And I also called Hank the principal and someone in the mairitenance division, just to besure I wasn't stepping on any toes. Hank said it was fine by him if Fred went on being the janitor. So Fred put in a request to the school board asking to be extended beyond the mandatory retirement age. Since all this was happening around the Christmas season I was hoping for the best, and even decided not to get grumpy over the fact that the Xmas commercials on television began even earlier this year than last year. In the meantime, a few things happened. First, the iron law of mandatory retirement apparently can be bent. The Terrace School Board decided that Ted Wells was such a great secretary-treasurer that even though he was 65 it would be okay to extend his em- ployment for a couple more years. Second; the human rights conference sponsored by B.C.'s' Human Rights Commission passed a resolution saying that man- datory retirement at 65 was discriminatory and that the Human Rights Code ought to be amended to protect people from forcible retirement. Third, being an academic type, I thought through all the arguments about mandatory retirement and came to the conclusion that while having the right to retire at a‘certain age is a legitimate protection, being forded to do sois unfair. Actually, I never encountered any, arguments, The only objections I ran inte.against waiving the mandatory retirement rule were: (1) it’s arule, and (2) if we doit for him, it'll set a precedent. Fourth, I received a memo from the administration of the college where I work telling me to butt out. Apparently the Prince Rupert School District was “very upset at the College over what they consider interference by the College in their operations." (Being “very upset,” by the way, is the most calamitous emotional state a bureaucracy is capable of experiencing.) Since I had been very careful in my busybody activities to make it clear that I was in- terfering as a private citizen and not as a represen- tative of the temple of learning which employs me, I was vaguely disappointed to learn that the publicly- elected school board felt “upset” at being asked a few questions. (Of course, in my prayers at night, I prayed that the administrator who was so fearful of “im- plicating the college”’ that he wrote a memo about it, would, while attending Christmas miass, be touched on the shoulder by an angel who would remind him to : worry more about Fred's job and less about offending the princes of temporal power,) Eventually the Prince Rupert School Board met. The vote was 4-3, Against Fred. (The vote went more o less along political lines. The liberal and social emocratic types voted in favor, the conservative types against. But just to prove that I'm not a partisan about these things, I can pass along the reliable rumour that the deciding vote against was caat by an NDPer.) However, the board did decide they would write Fred a very good letter of recommendation in case he went looking for another job. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. Dear Sir: _ The generows supply of The B.C, Heart Foundation tickets Srrinted by Totem would like to thank all those Press, people who have helped our ‘The help of Candy Strip- donation drive in the Skeena pers to man the stand. Mall with donations of The most generous time, material and practical assistance and help given by assistance to the booth, the owner of the Nutcracker Our thanks to: Sweet, John Davis, to make Grace Fell Florists for % 0 of the special event, thein donatlon of a plant, a hanks to those people The occupational therapy who have ao generous department | of Milla “Thanks as well for the oe Meniorial Hospltat for the ot'the plantic bubble, kindly mactame hanger. The use of the wooden Jeat by the Terrace Co-op. stand from Kefo's Kraits. Yours truly The posters drawn by bell Bernadette Desjarding and Fane Chaltnan Lorretta Harrison. B.C. Heart Fund.