Page A4 - Tha Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 31, 1993 I ae aa ee Registration No. 7620 Phone (604) 638-7283 (1968) Lid,, i's Hlustration repro services and adverising agence. Sarving the Terrace araa, Published on Wednesday of each weak by Cariboo Prass (1969) Ltd, at 4847 Lazalle Ave., Tartace, British Columbia. Storles, photographs, illustrations, dasigns and typestyles in the Terrace Slandard are tha proparty of (he copyright holders, including Curiboo Press Reproduction In whole or in part, without written permission, i specifically prohibited. Authorized as sacond-class mall panding the Post Office Deparimant, for payment of postage In cash. ERRACE STANDAR ten ey tenn Publisher/Edltor: Rose Fisher - Front Office Manager, Pam Odell - Typesatter, Rod Link '. |. Arlene Watts - Typesotter, Susan Credgaur - Composing/Darkroom, Special thanks to ESTABLISHED APAIL 27, 1968 _. danel Vivelros - Advertising Consuftant, Sam Collier - Advertising Consuttant, all our ~ Advertising Charlene Matthews - Circulation Managet 4647 Lazelle Ave., Terrace, B.C., V8G1S8 yy naaars contributors and ai correspondents ~ Mike L. Hamm SS ey Fax (604) 638-8432 — ¥ oe cs a for their time and Production Manager: Rat: Sea nae css Sth 1955 Ss talenis. ES cna Edouard Credgeur aE Wssaerng CO at DITORIAJ Orenda millions Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday, dear Orenda. Happy Birthday to you. That’s right. April 9 marks the first an- niversary of Orenda Forest Products receiving approval in principle from the provincial government for its $500 million proposed pulp and paper mill south of Lakelse Lake. And what has happened in that year? The company has been beavering away on get- ting a range of ‘environmental and other studies in place to satisfy provincial criteria. It is taking part in a provincial in- itiative designed to help give natives a piece of the economic action. It?s been working away on finalizing engineering plans, marketing plans and the like. The biggest task has been lining up the $500 million. In the best traditions of high finance, Orenda has stitched together a complicated and exotic package involving more than 10 banks, the Finnish govern- ment and a mysterious group of investors that must put money into something that uses Finnish equipment. But the trickiest of all these has been Orenda’s request for a $100 million provincial government loan guarantee, Orenda says the banks want the guarantee to give them an added sense of security. Politically, a, provincial commitment of this size would be a sign the NDP would not stop the project at some point. And backers of the guarantee are quick to add | that it is not the same as giving a loan. Those either opposing the guarantee or expressing reluctance: — including govern- ment officials’ --“wonder why, if this is such a hot project, it needs provincial financial backing, They point out that a loan guarantee may not be.a direct loan but it is still money that can’t be used for something else as long as it is committed. There’s also the overriding consideration of why governments should be involved in this kind of thing in the first place. Even the most preliminary research results in a list of government screw ups caused when the public sector dipped its financial toes in the world of private enterprise. The province has already given Orenda a vote of confidence in providing a lengthy licence guarantecing it more than enough wood from the public’s forests as it is for the planned mill development. That’s why the argument that banks need a further level of security doesn’t quite wash. Assignment of public wood to Orenda should be a significant sign to financiers that the province backs the Orenda project. Yet all of this takes a much different turn with news that the provincial government has bought nearly $100 million worth. of Westcoast Energy shares and $50 million f uoog OF COURSE... our HOW DO | HOOK = > in MacMillan Bloedel shares. _If buying directly into companies is to be a provincial policy, then forget the loan guarantee, Let’s purchase a chunk of Orenda, make it a true northwest company and share a piece of the profits. There is risk involved. But it is roughly the same risk as giving a loan or a loan guarantee. In all three circumstances the public’s money is put on the line. Better to put it into a situation where it has the chance to accrue to the benefit of the tax- payer than to have it simply benefit one corporation. Bike police Here’s hoping the local RCMP detach- ment does proceed with plans to put of- afloat ‘Of Hibufitdin:bikesz ThEexpedianiom, *“is"that the officers will-beable to do 'thitigs”* ‘they ‘can’t do now with the result being more innovative and better law enforce- ment. There’s already one golden opportunity awaiting the officers. It is putting an end to the annoying, dangerous and illegal habit of cyclists biking on sidewalks. Sidewalks are for pedestrians. — Scaling the heights Whether Geminis, Juno, or Oscars, award nights are suspenseful in most ways but one. Microphones. Like the porridge in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, microphones are too high, too low, seldom just right. For a short person, the mi- crophone towers like a peri- scope, tempting them to rise to Through Bifocals © _ by Claudette Sandecki the occasion in a hand-over- hand climb, The tall person, as tough afflicted a severe spinal deformity, stoops. way down and looks sideways at the TV camera from under a forehead as wrinkled as a Shar-Pei pup. ' But stationary microphone aren’t all that’s vexatious about. award ceremonies, Often ‘presenter of different heights are paired together. A six-foot Glen Campbell shares the, mike with'a four-foot Pia Zadora, Neither ‘can. address the mike comfortably. -Mean- while I’m ill at ease watching participants squirm like plumbers trying to wedge themselves .under:.a kitchen sink to unscrew : a ‘tap with a wrench. Microphones should be fully - adjustable. Long before this, electronic wizards should have — occupied theniselves originat- ing a high tech version of the podium microphone. Especial- ‘ly since: Queen. Elizabeth’s disappearing act. last summer. .- As the diminutive monarch stood behind 'a lectern built for rangy George Bush, her voice — seemed to come from i amicto- -- phone wearing a. brimmed : mauve hats: : Fora start; rather than a. srgid = ' suspended just above the head - music. groups to crowd in and . would be dented. ‘ness. is‘in order. At the mo- microphone, put them on a . flexible arm like a gooseneck lamp that can be bent up, around, farther away for those who stand straight unaided, pulled closer for those who hug the podium for security, Microphones could be dou- | ble, even triple-pronged, good for. winning groups. ° The » lowest mike would suit child stars, the highest would do for basketball players. The middle mike would stay average, as it is. Lapel mikes could be a solu- tion, so long as a wide awake ‘technician is put in charge of switching them on and off, Otherwise we could be treated to outrageous ad ‘libs during winners’ mad dash to heft the award. ‘A chandelier style micro- phone in.a wagon wheel shape of participants would allow talk at once, But unless they solve the height thing, domes “While we're anyway updat- ing microphones, some flashi- ment, even if it’s a glitzy. Hol- lywood. Oscar award show, the milctonhone is always. a black . ball. Why not stud it with seed pearls? Diamonds? Add _ se- quins? Make it flash like globe lighting in a disco ceiling. ‘A perfect mike would be non-existent or transpar- ent,perhaps an electronic field invisible as a cloud of perfume yet capable of vacuuming . sound from its immediate sur- roundings. Then nothing would obscure the celebrity’s face, But if George Fox can sit next to Kim Campbell in the Juno audience, surely Radio Shack can solve this awkward prob- lem. In the meantime, on award nights I'll: be all atingle with suspense .., about the winners’ heighis. I’m no whiz with electronics, we REALLY ~ Came CONSERVATIVE Ey SO ae by, 2 4 >. Young people hit at gov't inaction VICTORIA — ‘The Har- court government has dismally failed to meet the needs of young British Columbians.” That’s how the British Columbian Youth Council Ge up its first t report, on INDE givematcat. Zire ie Ear (Hat acténipariied that acid statement was the kind you'd have been reluctant to show your parents. The youth council, a 19- member non-partisan advisory _ board to the B.C. government, tracked five areas of govern-. ment initiatives, and rated them as follows: Student and Youth Employ- ment - C-minus; Advanced ed- ucation - D; Youth and the En- vironment - C-minus; Amend- ments to the Infants Act - B- plus; Amendments to the Child Protection Act - In- complete. “In less than 18 months, this government has managed to | ax the Environmental Youth Corps, virtually eliminate — funding for summer student employment and renege on a promise to frecze tuition fees,”” said council chairman, *. Dean Crawford. * “As young people, we are constantly being told we are the future leaders of this pro- vince. Yet, when push comes ‘to shove, this government is - unwilling to make the invest- ment necessary to help us prepare for the challenges ahead,’’ said the council’s vice-chairman, Heather Work- man. We should have such opposi- tion in the legislature. But like all opposition to government, be it Her Majesty’s Loyal one or the extra-parliamentary . type, the youth council has, of course, the luxury of being able to criticize without Tegard to reality. Make no mistake, today’s youth cannot look forward to SORRY CAN'T MAKE.IT! SCHEDULE CONFLICTS rm a tr Pf. DOSGEREL tN JANUARY 2 PRIOR COMMITEMENTS = From the Capital by Hubert Beyer .. eee gee oa er the future with the same certainty of having a job with all the rewards that brings as the previous generation: - ~ The future will hold little in store for anyone without a uni- versity education, but even a degree - if you can afford the tuition fees or land an ever- more scarce summer job - of- fers no assurances. Today’s economic reality, \- which those opposing govemn- ment can ignore, offers lwo choices: keep spending _ money, regardless of liscal deficits or deal with the in- creasing debt. . The former will saddle future generations with financial bur- dens they cannot hope to manage, Ignoring the crushing | debt load thal results from un- checked government spending is an assured road to disaster. The latter, although tough in the short haul, at least offers the future generation a chance of realizing ils hopes and aspirations. Few people dispute the need to keep government spending’ under control. But ironically, the same people who demand fiscal prudence from govern- ment, aren’t willing to scale down their expectations, Public demand on the public “purse continues unabated. — Business and industry want in- centives tax relief, while preaching fiscal restraint, Every polilical pressure group, from anti-poverty orga- nizations to the environmental movement to students to teachers to doctors,. demand AT RAINGOW LoDGe - - OM TROUT LAKE IN . THE RUGGED RANGE Hou AgOUT MEETING more from government, all the while agreeing that govern- ment spending is out of con- trol. So, the youth council is by .. no means alone in condemn~ ing government for ignoring what it considers legitimate and important demands. And I suppose when you're 20 years old, can’t find a sum- mer job and have difficulty scraping together the follow-- _, ing year’s tuition fees, the. - demand for a freeze on fees seems pretty legitimate. So does the demand for in- creased welfare rates, more public housing, incentives for: investors, higher salaries for teachers, increased fees for doctors. Unfortunatel y, there’s only one trough the government ‘can go to, the taxpayers’ wal- lets. And they’re empty, folks. I’m not saying that the NDP or any other government in Canada are doing a spec- , tacular job of curbing govern- ment spending. There’s still a lotof fattobecut. Unlike Bill Clinton, who is cutting White House staff by 25 per cent, the Harcourt ~. government’s political flunky: tolls are swelling. The NDP has more flaks working for it. than the Socred government - did in its heyday. .But under no circumstances should spending be increased, no matter how legitimaté the - cause, And that goes for the youth council as much as busi- ness and industry. SOUNPS PosstBLe WE COULP CANCEL OTHER MEETINGS! | TUGGLE PRIORITIES. MAKE AN EFFORT. “To BE invoLyvED!!