Aa - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 22, 2006

TERRACE

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

“Sugar-coated |

You’ve probably seen them on television.

Commercials paid for by the provincial govern-'

ment encouraging parents to talk to their children '
‘about the consequences of doing crystal meth.
There is light, peppy music in the background
andi images of what are supposed to be homemade .
‘movies of a: young boy growing up, having fun
with his parents. Birthday parties, measuring his”
height on the wall, playing ball — all those feel-
good things nice families should do together.

The: commercial ends with the image of a

‘somewhat grumpy, looking teen’ with ruffled hair’
~ "watching the television and listening, to music on
. his earphones. Just then the boy’s. father walks:

through the door and. past: the boy: without so |

much as an hello.

“You've hada lifetime to talk to your kids about

-_erystal meth. What are you waiting for?”

_ The point is well taken that parents who speak

“to their children’ about perilous things may. bet-
ter prepare them for making good choices. But if
these commercials are meant to convey the hor-

“tific consequences of meth addiction to our young .

" people, they have failed.

Television commercials can be a powerful tool, |
but it’s a disservice to the public,to. sugar-coat the.

__ devastating effects of meth addiction.

.. Teens who are trying to kick the habit say ad-
diction to the drug can happen after using it for
‘the first time. It’s really addictive, they say. They —

~ speak of the pain that comes with trying to stop

-using it. Many meth users begin losing their teeth |

within months of becoming addicted.

Images of birthday parties and first steps just
don’t reflect the ugly side of meth addiction.

‘Remember the bait car video from the Lower
~ Mainland that showed a violent man freaking out
‘while on crystal meth? :

Cpl. Tim Shields of the province’s Integrated

» Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team calls it

“the most chilling bait car video that seasoned
auto theft investigators from around the world

‘have ever seen. It demonstrates unpredictable and
volatile behaviour exhibited by a young man high

on crystal meth...
It shows the:car thief trying to shoot a handgun
out the window, flailing about in the driver’s seat

and screaming at the top of his lungs — all while

driving the vehicle at high speeds.

That video might be a good starting point to il-
lustrate the perilous, and very real consequences
_ of meth addiction.

It might be unpleasant but neither are the ef

. fects of meth addiction.

There’s no question the provincial government
is taking a serious approach to’ dealing .with the
growing crystal meth problem in B.C. but it seems
it missed the boat with these television advertise-
ments. ~ Se

- 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, Todd Holkestad 2005 WINNER
AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik . NEWSPAPERS
COMPETITION

PRODUCTION: Susan Credgeur

SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL:

$57.94 (+$3.48 GST)=61.42 per year;

Seniors $50.98 (+$3.06 GST)=54.04;
Out of Province $65.17 (+$3.91 GST)=69.08

Outside of Canada (6 months) $156.91(+9. 41 GST)=166. 32

MEMBER OF.
~ B.C. AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION,
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION
" AND .
B.C. PRESS COUNCIL (www. bepresscouncil.org)

Serving the Terrace and Thomhill area. Published on Wednesday of S

each week at 3210 Clinton Street, Terrace, British Columbia, V8G 5R2. Black Press
Stories, photographs, illustrations, designs and typestyles in the Terrace Standard are the property of the copy-
right holders, including Black Press Ltd., its illustration repro services and advertising agencies.

Reproduction in whole or in part, without written permission, is specifically prohib:ted.

Authorized as second-class mail pending the Post Office Department, for payment of postage in cash.

Special thanks te all our contributors and
correspondents for their time and talents

‘Canada: '

_ of higher heating bills.
roads, and weight gain. plus .

‘hike on crown land,

Policy shouldn’ t create poverty —

A recent ‘Ipsos. Reid poll .

found that 74 per cent of Brit-

‘ish Columbians support. in- ©
creasing our welfare rates.

They are calling for up to a 50.
per cent increase in welfare.

rates. That will be just enough

to raise people receiving wel-
fare’to the poverty line, the ~
amount of money required to.

buy the very basic necessities

' of shelter, food, clothing and

health care.
~ Welfare rates in British Co-

welfare gets $510 a’ month;

$325 for shelter, $185 for ev- -
_ erything else. That’s $6 a day

to live on, only 41 per cent of
their minimum living costs.
Welfare meets 48 per cent of
the basic needs of a parent
with a child.

“How did it get so bad? In
2002 the incoming govern-
ment created the largest deficit
in BC history, in part by creat-
ing a tax cut for everyone.

Remember that? It then
proceeded to cut every gov-
ernment service to pay for it.
Over the next.two years, it
“saved” over $92 million’ by
taking it away from welfare
recipients. Our poorest paid
for our tax break. Here’s how.

First, government cut the
basic benefit. A mother with
one child lost $43, down to

$961:a month. A mom with.

; a

cuest commeNT
lumbia are lower today than - a

_ they were 12 years ago. Our °

poverty rate is the highest in

A single person on.

- ROBERT HART

two children lost $90. If you're’

already below the poverty line,

that loss is huge. These losses

affected over 21,000 families
each month for the next two
long years. The shelter al-
lowance for families of three
or more was cut between $55
and $75. Already inadequate
to cover the high cost of rent,
this forced more families to
supplement the rent with the
rest of their welfare cheque.
Roughly 9,000 families were

affected each month, which
sent a lot of children to bed

hungry every night.

To make matters worse, in
the past people could earn be-
tween $100 and $200 to sup-
plement their assistance. This:

iS Widely seen as a proven .

way to help people begin their
journey into paid employment.
Every other province has this
provision. The government
cut it and the spousal support

exemption. ‘another modest ©
supplement of $100°a month.

“Totaled, the cuts,.came to-at

least $395 a month. Benefits

to older people were also cut. .

Those aged 60-64 lost $98 :a
month.
Prior to 2002, many lone

“mothers could combine in-

come assistance, paid employ- '

‘ment and child support so that
their, incomes would reach’.
just. above the poverty, line.

By 2004, the percentage of

_ Single moms living in poverty
rose over 15 per cent, 13 per -

cent higher than the national
average: Between 2000 and

2004, government ‘transfers
to lone mothers here declined.

by $2,300 a year. The national
drop was $200. Government
policy put. people into pov-
erty.

It doesn’t have to be this
way. 89 per cent of polled
British Columbians
that we should all have access:
to assistance in time of need,
that it’s a necessary human
right. It’s what makes us a car-
ing society.

The government insists that
the jobs a strong economy cre-
ates will answer all poverty
questions. But it doesn’t be-
cause not all the new jobs pay

enough. We should make sure

‘that when people get off wel-
fare into employment they can
support their families. _

The present minimum wage
of _S8fhr. ‘only covers 80 per

believe

cent of essential living costs

so full time employment.does

not remove people from pov- . --

erty. Abolish the $6 starting

wage, it’s a grant to employers .

at the expense of their poorest

- employees.

In addition, raise the mini-

would allow a person working
full time to support their family
at the minimum level. 256,000
British Columbians earned
less than $10 an hour accord-
ing to Statistics Canada. _
‘Most are not’ teen-agers.
They are breadwinners, earn-
ing half a loaf, forced to use

| food banks for the other half: :
The availability of jobs doesn’t

matter if the pay is so low it
cannot sustain a livelihood.
‘The numbers’ used here are
not anonymous figures. They
represent -all kinds of British
Columbians living in poverty
when they don’t have to. We
can afford to have every citi-
zen and family living above
the poverty line. One sixth of
our present surplus, a surplus
the poor themselves helped to

‘ create, would lift them out of

‘poverty. We can be free of
poverty in British Columbia. It
is a choice.

Robert Hart is the Past .

President of the British Co-
lumbia Association of Social

Workers and a member of the
‘Knox United Church Mission

& Outreach Committee.

Flies are gone, but the bugs aren ‘T

Winter brings the. hardships
icy

one. liberating feature ~- fewer
run-ins with insects and ma-
rauding wildlife. .

Once grizzlies have denned
for the winter so it’s safe to
what
wildlife might endanger urban
homedwellers? At least two
kinds, I’ ve learned, both smali
but devilish.

Take last night. While wash-
ing supper dishes I picked up
a saucepan sitting on a layer

of trimmed brussels sprout.

leaves: As.. I plunged the
saucepan into the suds. I felt a
sharp stinging in the tip of my
left ring finger. I yelped and
let go of the saucepan.
Attached to my finger was
a chunky black insect half an
inch long. Because I had just

added wood to the basement

stove, I guessed it to be a spi-
der. They’re dangerous.

“A spider would like to kill
you if it could,” says Montana

_ internist, Dr. James E. Gouaux.

The aftereffects of even an
ordinary spider's bite has left
some victims ill for two years.

I quit cussing and turned
bloodthirsty. Flipping through
brussels sprout leaves like a

THROUG H BI FOC ALS
CLAUDETTE SANDECKI

timid Stellar’s Jay, I sought
the menace, finally skimming
aside soapsuds until a lifeless
black bug banded by a broad
white collar floated into view.
The hot soapy water had done
him in. To be sure, my husband
flushed it down the toilet.

My larger winter menace
threatens not my person, but
my home. It’s a woodpecker.
Possibly a _ pileated wood-
pecker; I haven’t seen much
more than a greenish streak
as it darts off because I’ve
shooshed it.

I first realized our house
was under siege by a feath-
ered foe one afternoon when I

“heard what I thought was fran-
tic knocking on our front door.
Yet when I ‘looked out, no one
was standing at our door-and
no vehicle was parked at our
gate,

I resumed reading. Again I
heard an imperious knocking
at the door. Again there was
no one at the door or parked
at the gate.

The third time I heard the
pounding. I tracked the noise
which reverberated through

_my feet and seemed to come

from outside the end wall.
Was a trio of teenagers

~ pelting rocks at our house? I

couldnt see anyone on the

street. Both dogs seemed un-

perturbed.

Donning jacket and shoes,
I rushed outside and peeked
around the corner of the house.
High up in the gable end a
woodpecker clung to the stuc-
co, rat-a-tatting its beak near
an air vent where the stucco
meets the metal in two points.

Over several days, the bird
has. chipped away, blunting
one of the stucco points. Now,

-whenever I think I hear some-

one knocking . I spring open
the window in the gable wall,
whack my knuckles on the
wooden windowsill, and shout

obscene instructions to the
confused bird.

What kind of termite does it

- expect to dig out of our stucco

wall?

I know better than to con-
sider this woodpecker harm-
less after a September report
in the Vancouver Sun. In one
night a pileated woodpeck-
er drilled and smashed the
sideview mirrors on a row of
cars parked on East Kent Av-°

_enue in east Vancouver. Next

night the owners covered their
surviving mirrors with plastic

' bags.

Pileated woodpeckers g grow
to be the size of a small crow
50 cm. long, with a wingspan
of up to.76 cm and'can weigh
up to a third of a kilogram.
Like jackhammering of con-
crete, their drilling of hydro
poles: reaches a decibel level
audible throughout a neigh-
bourhood. .

Luckily for the bird, it’s |
-built to drill hard materials

such as oak trees in its search
for bugs.

. Its head i is designed to ab-
sorb impact, preventing brain
damage, says Dick Cannings,
a naturalist and former cura-
tor of the University of B.C.’s
vertebrate museum.

“mum wage to $10/hour. That © —