AA- - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, April 5; 2006

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S TANDARD |

ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988

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Clear the air |

, 7

CITY COUNCIL clearly received some very bad

. advice when it put its plan for a second sheet of :
*< ice out to tender this winter.

The.premise was that contractors would submit.

‘ lower bids during the off-c onstructiori season in’
a hopes of lining up work ahead of spring time.

But that turned out to be wrong. The lowest bid, «

: $10. 8 million, was more than the previous lowest

bid council: received when it first asked for prices ~
" . Jast summer. | | | a

_ Obviously nobody 1 was watching what was go-

- ing on elsewhere. A burgeoning economy is driv-.
ing up. the cost of material and labour causing a.
‘» tidal wave'of rising costs that swept.o over ‘the sec-

- -- ond sheet of ice plan: -

Council could have used its short-term borrow-

a “ing. power to close the financial gap estimated at}
+ elose to: $6 million: But it wisely - chose not do
od this. AS. council stated, such’a‘move would ham-

: string any other plans that might require borrow-

: the province has already | kicked i in $1 million and
ite and ‘the: federal governnment' have ‘commited

: > ing and limit its ability to react to.a crisis. And
> it really lacked the. moral authority to undertake |

such a move.

. Council now | has three options. One i is to find
‘a way to. cut costs. That’ s difficult because. the
-. © project is as barebones as it can get — couple of»
~~ dressing. rooms and 200 seats in addition to the’
md sheet. of ice: Any further cuts and we alt end up .
oe with, an outdoor skating rink. < ~ .
© At least one city councillor. has suggested find:
cyt ing out what other communities have done. Which
“isa good idea but the puzzle i is that why this hasn’ ty.

been done already.
Option number two is to find more ‘money. But

_ themselves to’a further ‘$2 million that’ 5 condi--

tional upon the project going ahead. ~
Option number three rests with the taxpayer and

. involves the second option. The last referendum
on: this i issue was years ago. City taxpayers voted.

60 per cent in favour of long term borrowing. But
‘the plan. also involved. rural taxpayers and they

defeated it.

Council really has no. idea anymore if the av-

- érage city taxpayer still wants: a second sheet or

would prefer something else.

That’s why it should consider another refer- .

- endum for long-term borrowing. Holding.a vote

“would be expensive. But council has already |

Spent close to $500,000 on fees and revision after |
Doe revision with nothing to show for it. |

And it should also ask that rural taxpayers be

- included. ‘After all, a second sheet of i ice would

- benefit ‘a rural resident as much as a city resident.

__- At the very least, a combined city-rural réferen-

* dum would clear the air once and for all. Voters }

generally get things right. It’s way. past time to
ask them what they want to.do.

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~e

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#

wens FOREVER» ag
- GRATEFUL To You, :
. ‘CANADA, For THe |
7 SACRIFICES MADE
“To HELP US
“Regund our

JA MESSAGE, FROM THE FUNDAMENTALIST cleric ASSOCIATION, OF: meno

INFeASTAMETURE
PRIORITIES WE .
‘Would LIKE,
To Focus ON: oe

fs “2. SCAFFOLDING -

ap ~ (Surrapve FOR
| © HANGINGS)
2. ARENAS WITH ae
. Stavium seatina Va

_ (SUITABLE. FoR ON

AMPUTATIONS, -
BEHEADINGS.
AND Sanwa)
. 2. PRISONS, .
_ “DUNGEONS, |
HOLDING ceus

Let’ Ss hear it for our small towns

LIKE MANY. ‘Canadians, I~
"started March 22, 2006 with
. lews from my radio. And like ©
'many others I shared in. the:
.immediate shock and horror of

the lead story: the Queen of the
North sinks off the coast.

Being a northwesterner,.

I was familiar with the con- | [
tent of thé lead story. I knew ~

~ the Queen of the North; 1 had.
sailed her several times, both .
. along ‘the spectacular. Inside |
. Passage and to the: ‘Queen: ;
“Charlotte Islands. , i
In’ fact, on my last voy- a

age north from Port Hardy to

-Prince Rupert, I was lucky
enough: to take in a couple of.

hours from the bridge while a

‘friend, working for B.C. Fer-
ries at the time, was navigating -
' the waters near Hartley Bay,

and I was his guest.
As March. 22 progressed J

: discussed the. events with: my
* students at the school where

I teach arid during lunchtime
with colleagues.

As I made my way home
from work that afternoon I was
sickened to discover two peo-

_ ple were missing. Well into the

evening I listened and watched
more news, completely rivet-
ed. When it was time to go to

' bed, and even though two lives

by then. were presumed lost, I

- felt an odd emotion creep into -
, Me — pride.

How and why could I feel
pride? I relocated to this part
of Canada in 1989 from Nova

‘Scotia. Being connected. to
water is in me, both by lin-.
eage and by choice. So when .

I left Hubbards, Nova Scotia

to come to this part of Canada,
specifically Kitwanga, friends

~ and family were baffled. Hub-

bards wasn’t a huge commu-
nity by city standards, but it

-was only a thirty-minute drive

from Halifax, a complete ur-
ban,, Metropolis. compared,. 0,
Kitwanga, Doo. 2 ce oe

. “But there’s ‘nothing around
you except trees, mountains
and rivers! It’s SO small and

. isolated. How far away is
a real city?” came collective
cries of family and friends af-
ter seeing aerial shots I took
my first year there. .

What those photos of a small
and yes, somewhat isolated
community, could never fully

. Show to’someone who didn’t:
know this part of the world was °

- to quote Stuart McLean’s Vi-.

nyl Café - “we may not be big ©

but we’re small.”
That’s what my story is re-
ally about. I-am a proud north-

-erner. I am proud because I

understand what Hartley Bay

is all about. Hartley Bay is

_GREER KAISER |

~ being recognized, and rightly
SO, aS a community of heroes.
_ Another “small” Canadian
community is being celebrated

for its compassion and gener- |
. osity in a time of need...

Hartley Bay’s collective
selfless act on a cold and rainy
- night is nothing new to those

of us who know small towns.
‘Tt reminded me of another. di- :
_ Saster to which I am also con-
~ nected.

' Swiss . Air “Flight 111
_ crashed into the.waters off of

St. Margaret’s Bay, Nova Sco- —

tia. I ‘can show you the-exact’
_ spot where Swiss Air.111 went
down on any chart or map of
the area. These are the waters
where I learned how to swim,
sailed for countless hours and:
fished for mackerel in my
youth. Flight 111 flew directly
. over, my.Childhood home.mere.
‘seconds before impact, “Wak-*)
‘ing people all around the U-
shaped bay. "

Just like the residents of
Hartley Bay, fishermen and
boaters from all around those
waters headed out to try and
help. I know some of the men
and women who went out that

night and. who were trauma- —

tized by the grisly discoveries
they found in those black At-
lantic waters.

Tightly knit smail-commu-
‘nities with people very much
like residents of Hartley Bay,
did what came naturally to
them — they offered whatev-
er they could because it was
needed.

‘This is'a secret most Cana-

dians in the large centres never

Bets ver .the,,many,

“fully understand: like those’ of
us ‘who live in small towns.

- Small and isolated communi-

ties may struggle ‘day to day

merely to exist, but if someone —

needs help, we do what we can

without hesitation. -:

We .can argue - politics,

disagree. on four-day. school’
» weeks, government funding,

and spend — time criticizing
each other for trivial matters,

or we can choose to let the rest.

of Canada ‘see something we
already know. People who live

in small towns are to be hon-

- oured and celebrated. ' Those

of- us, forgive the’ pun, who . |

live beyond Hope, are: ordi-
nary yet incredible people.
The loss of the Queen of t the .

North and its aftermath will |

“not conclude in a day, a month

or a year. ‘It will take time to
at
“collectively” suffered.

‘Batii in the heartland’ \ versus
hinterland debate; I’ll choose
small over big any day, be-
cause I know the truth. While
thriving urban
“might 1 make some parts of life

easier, compassion and empa- ;

thy affords us true riches. -
In my opinion, (and with-
out offence to big cities) these

riches just seem more common »
-and commonplace in. towns

like Hartley Bay, Kitwanga,
Hubbards and Peggy’s Cove. -
To small town Canada and

economies .

our everyday heroes, »I of-'

_ fer my gratitude and a a simple
“thanks.”

_ Greer Kaiser is ‘a trans-
planted Maritimer living (and

loving it) in ees B.C. .

HARTLEY BAY and Gander,

Newfoundland have much in -
- common. Both are small iso-.

lated communities with the sea

‘ at their front door, and a gen-

erosity toward strangers.

. Imagine rousing from ‘a
=| warm sleep at.2 a.m. to orga-

nize a .Dieppe-style rescue

1 flotilla of ‘fishing boats and .
prepare to receive 99 strangers .

with no notice or prep time.

Those people weren’t just»
popping by for lunch. They —
arrived wet, cold; some with-

out shoes or coats, all without
personal belongings, and prob-

. To have a small village like
Hartley Bay with only 200

-residents greet these shivering,

shipwrecked souls with warm
quilts and blankets, even cloth-

ing for those who escaped the .
sinking ferry in night attire, to
a heated hall where tables were
laden with food and hot drinks ©
-- the only comparison that

comes to mind is Newfound- .

land when 9/11 grounded doz-
ens of international planes on

_Gander’s tarmac for a week’s

impromptu stay and deplaned
hundreds of foreigners in need

somewhat disoriented —
from the calamitous events of.
the previous hour or two.

THROUGH BIFOCALS

‘CLAUDETTE SANDECKI

of emergency lodging.

One of the practical points
that no doubt assisted this
instant hospitality was the

town’s self-reliance. Isolated

as they: are, I expect they’ve
learned to stock up on staple
' foods, just in case. There’s no
running to KFC for a bucket
of chicken, no dashing to the

. deli or bread steaming from a

supermarket oven.

Every household must stock
supplies in case their regular
ferry service is interrupted by

‘storm or mechanical failure -

- or a sinking. These families
no doubt had shelves and large

freezers bulging with micro-
waveable goodies.

ing drizzling down its sides as
a centerpiece for one hall table

. at that inopportune hour?
'- With. only minutes notice,
_ the town’s women had no time
~ to fluff quilts, whip up a pan of

sticky buns, or wash sneakers.
They shared what they ‘had
available and it proved to be
more than enough.

. The men of the village, too,
~ held up their share of the res-
_ cue. Jumping aboard a boat in

the dark to face-a brisk wind

_and choppy seas can’t be much

fun. And the worry of the mis-
sion would have them as high

on‘adrenaline as any first re- .

sponder answering a 911 call.

Yet, if media reports are cor-

rect, none hesitated to. put to
sea in one of 80 small boats.
Miraculously, in an. hour
all 99 crew and. passengers -
- except for two passengers
still unaccounted for -- were
plucked from the. Queen of

the North before it executed a .

movie-perfect stern-first dive.
Now there’s talk about
ways to thank and honour. the
community of Hartley Bay for
their generosity, care and com-

How else ;
_toexplain a bundt cake with ic-

Hartley Bay deserves a reward —

fort by erecting a memorial.
Certainly a memorial would
enlighten future visitors about
the community’ s participation
in the Queen of the North’s fi- -
nal hours. But why nota living _
memorial? Maybe a perpetual
annual scholarship named for
the two missing passengers;

‘or an annual supply of. books

for the school’s library; ora
standby generator for those.

' times when. the town’s -pres-
.-ent source of electrical power

must be temporarily taken out
of service for major repairs.

-After. Gander billeted ev-
eryone from immigrants. to
CEOs they had a say. in‘ how
the grateful visitors chose to
reward them. Gander opted for
university scholarships, and a
classroom stocked with up-.
to-the-minute computers and
software.

InaTV interview, one Hart-
ley Bay matron downplayed.

her community’s rescue re- . ~

sponse as just something they.

do, acting with “one heart.”

Before any form of ‘me-
morial is decided upon resi-
dents of Hartley Bay should
be asked for their suggestions
— and then heeded. .

iy
SES

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