A4- The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, January 19, 2000

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
EMAIL: standard@kermode.net

Loyalty’s price
IF NOTHING else, Skeena NDP MLA and cabi-
net minister Helmut Giesbrecht is a loyal mem-
ber of the government. You won’t find him pub-
licly criticizing the actions of his administration,
its policies or its general direction.

He’s stood firm on the area of health care, in-
viting people to contact him with their stories so
he can determine what went right and what went
wrong, Virulent critics of government health care
are categorized as political opponents, which is
fair enough given that Mr. Giesbrecht’s job is to
defend his government, right or wrong,

He stood firm on the Nisga’a treaty, again cate-
gorizing opponents as those who do not favour
native self government and control over their fu-
tures.

Problem is, Mr. Giesbrecht nowadays appears
to be loyal to the wrong person, a person who is
no longer the premier — Glen Clark.

How else can one explain Mr. Giesbrecht’s
support of Gordon Wilson, pegged “Flip
Wilson’’ by his detractors because of his jump-
ing from one political party to the next, for the
leadership of the NDP next month. |

It would seem Mr. Giesbrecht is one of those

who blames the other leading leadership candi-
date, attorney-general Ujjal Dosanjh, for the de-
mise of Mr. Clark over the still unresolved matter
of a casino licence application. It was Mr. Do-
sanjh who revealed that Mr. Clark was under in-
vestigation, thus making it impossible for him to
continue as premier. Mr. Dosanjh’s revelation is
construed as the reason Mr. Clark had to resign.
Mr. Clark still carries a lot of weight and his.
supporters now, back, Mr.. Wilson.in.the atlempt

to stop Mr::Dosanjh from becoming the Idader..}

And Mr. Giesbrecht, a Clark supporter, has hap-
pily signed on.

Loyalty is a prized commodity but Mr. Gies-
brecht’s loyalty seems to be misplaced. There
will no-doubt be consequences to this come elec-
tion day.

What's up?

IT’S ABOUT time for the province to issue a re-
port on how things are going at Skeena Cellulose.
We’re approaching the third anniversary of the
company nearly going belly up, only to be saved
by a timely intervention by the province.
Since then the company has cut costs, made in-

vestments and found and then lost a potential

buyer.

Information since the rescue has unfortunately
been all too scanty, smothered by a veil of se-
crecy that befits the CIA.

We are owners of this enterprise and its health
determines the health of the northwest. A report
to the shareholders — that’s us — is justified.

PUBLISHER /EDITOR: Rod Link
ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur

NEWS Jeff Nagel » NEWS/SPORTS: Christiana Wiens

1998 WINNER " NEWS/COMMUNITY: Alex Hamilton

CCNA BETTE

NEWSPAPERS FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping
COMPETITION CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Carole Kirkaldy

ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS:
‘Sam Bedford, Mark Beaupre & Stacy Swetlikoff
TELEMARKETER: Stacy Swetlikoff
. ~DARKROOM/COMPOSING: Susan Credgeur
’ AD ASSISTANT: Donna Sullivan, Kulwant Kandola

. SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL:
$57.30 per year; Seniors $50.75; Out of Province $64.39 —
Outside of Canada (6 months) $138.25
~- (ALL PRICES INCLUDE GST)

MEMBER OF
B.C. AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION.

CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION i
We CINTA, cooneer irene

B.C. PRESS COUNCIL

Serving tha Terace and Thamhill area. Published on Wadnasday of ach waek at 3210 Clinton Street,
’ Terrace, British Columbla, V8G 6R2,

Stores, photographs, illustrations, dasigns and typastyles in tha Terraca Slandard are the proparty of the

copyright holders, including Cariboo Presa (1968) Lid, its iltustrallon repre services and advarlising

agencies.

Reproduction in whole of in part, without writtan parnission, # spadfically prohibited, :

Authorized as second-class mall pending ihe Post Office Department, for payment of postage In cash.

Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents
for theif time and talents wd ‘

Cage match: The two Gordons

VICTORIA ~ When 1 sug-
gested in a recent colurnn that
Joy MacPhail's chances of be-
coming leader of the New De-
mocratic Party were slim to
none, she fired an e-mail mes-
sage back at me.

it started out with “Hubert,
Dearest,” and then proceeded
to chastise me for having sug-
gested that her leadership bid
was doomed for several rea-
sons, not the least of which
was having tabled the fateful
phony budget.

She pointed out, correctly,
that she had had no hand in
preparing the budget, since
she didn’t become finance
minister until shortly before it
was tabled in the legislature.

On the other hand, it was
she who tabled it, she who
tead it, word for word, in the
legislature and she who defen-

"ded “itl It follows that she will threw (hede suppoit behind him

oid to wear it.

over to my way of thinking
last week. Realizing that. the
wheels had fallen off her cam-
paign wagon, she quit the race
and threw her support behind
Ujjal-Dosanjh. |

Predictably, Dosanjh wel-
comed her support with the
appropriate grace and humil-
ity, while Gordon Wilson as-
sertted that it didn't matter to
his campaign whom MacPhail

MacPhail “obviously, Same

‘FROM THE CAPITAL
HUBERT BEYER

supported.

A bit of the old sour-grapes
syndrome there. Had MacPhail
announctd she was supporting
him, Wilson would have ex-
pressed the appropriate grace
and humility, He did when for-
mer premier Dave Barrett and
cabinet ministers Heimut

-Giesbrecht and Harty Lali’

void

I ‘previously 'dotisideted ”’

Wilson a spent force, but I am
compelled to revise my opi-
nion. It appears that he is
picking up considerable sup-
port, even among trade unions.

And here I should like to
respond to a recent broadside
fired at me by an old friend,
Jeff den Biesen, former pub-
lisher of the Lillooet News.
Jeff sold the paper a few years
ago and now lives in Salmon
Arm.

The broadside I refer to
came in the form of a letter to
the editor of the Salmon Arm
Observer. “Chase Hubert back
on the fence,” was the head-
line.

Jeff called me on the carpet
for having by implication in-
volved Wilson's family, speci-
fically his and his wife Judi
Tyabji's children, in one of my
nastier pieces on the leader-
ship race.

For the record, Jeff was
right and 1 stand chastised. It's
easier for me to take this re-
buke from Jeff because | know
him to be a good and fair
newspaperman.

Years ago, David Suzuki
wrote a tather damning piece
about me. Jeff expressed his
outrage in a column of his
own, pointing out to the fa-
mous physicist and environ-
imentalist; that describing mei!

asia fod] of the’ forest industry
and an.enemy of: the environ-

mental movement was not
only a distortion of my record
but plain insulting.

To his credit, Suzuki apolo-
gized in a letter to the editor,
longer than his original tirade
against me. One tends to re-
member such things. So, Jeff,
put me back on your Christmas
card list.

Back to the leadership con-

test. Notwithstanding Wilson's

contention that MacPhail's

support for Dosanjh means -

nothing, it means a great deal.
Because of her past work for
labour unions, she still has
considerable ties to the trade
union movement that may well

translate. into delegate support: -

for Dosanjh at next month's
leadership convention.

I still believe Corky Evans
would be the best choice for

the NDP, but what I think _

means zip, zero, nada, to the
NDP.

know who would be the better-
choice for the NDP, Dosanjh or
Wilson, but I know a Wilson
victory would be a dream come
true for the media.

Can you imagine Wilson —

As for the other two, I don't ..

squaring off against Gordon ~

Campbell in the next election,
the same Campbell who. took
his, job as Liberal Leader away

from him, the guy. he: hates «;

with a passion?

It would be the nastiest -

campaign in living memory.
Wilson wouldn't have a snow-
ball’s chance in Hades of win-
ning the election. Neither

would any other NDP leader, ~-

but a Wilson-led campaign
would be one for the books.
Reach Beyer at: E-mail:
hubert@coolcom.com Tel &
Fax: (250) 381-6900, Web
http://www. kubertbeyer.com

| Children will love this present

FOR A gift to delight any girl
between the ages of 2 and 9,
buy a blackboard. Choose a
generous size, add a box of
rainbow chalk, and toss in a
cheery washcloth for a wiper.

Her parents will approve.
Blackboards have no tiny
pieces to be lost, stepped on
by bare feet, or choked on by
a visiting baby. They need no
batteries. They have no sharp
comers,

When our “granddaughters
return home from schcol, their
favourite pastime is playing
school. Both want to be tea-
cher using the blackboard. Its

six square feet of blank space ‘

invites creativity, and gripping
chalk instead ofa pencil rests
their wee hands.

Our 2x3 foot pressboard
blackboard is portable. A nar-
row wooden frame prevents
bending, breaking, or denting
of the edges. Depending on
where the kids choose to set-

BUSAMEN USE GAS |
FOR FIRES AND LIGAT
THEIR MATCA ON THEIR
PANTS FLY...

THROUGH BIFOCALS
CLAUDETTE SANDECKI

tle, they haul it from room to
room, prop it up against a
table or chair, or balance it
against an open file drawer.
Sometimes they lay it flat on
the floor. They can spend an
hour together printing, draw-
ing, or playing tic tac toe.
Your only difficulty buying
a blackboard might be finding
one for sale. In my search for a
birthday blackboard, 1 phoned

LIKETHS See 2!

every likely Terrace store-toy,
department, hardware, craft,
drug and book. Nothing.

At a stationery store, an ac-
commodating salesperson of-
fered to order the blackboard
of my dreams. Luckily I have
more than a week before the
child’s birthday.

The blackboard on order
measures 23 x 36 inches and
costs $26.70. (Not that expen-
sive when you consider the
average Barbie doll is $24).
No animal shapes or letters
around the edges take up pre-
cious writing surface. The nar-
row frame is of inexpensive
wood, not mahogany, oak, or
aluminum with a three inch
ledge for spare chalk, an easel
stand, or wall mounting hard-
ware.

As a kid, my fondest wish
was to own a blackboard big
enough to really write, not
some dinky little greeting card
sized excuse. Over the years

“™~
“es #

Pve watched our two two

daughters, and now our grand-

daughters playing with chalk
en their boards.

When conventional play
palls, they place the chalk-
board as a bridge between two
tables, cover it with a bed-
spread, and use it as a tent or
tunnel.

Five years from now, it can
serve them in new ways, as a

message centre, a handy place

to jot reminders, or as a corral
while assembling a 300 piece
jigsaw puzzle.

How many of our kids’
school friends have’ their own

blackboards at home? One. My -

phone inquiries proved other
adults would like to buy black-
boards, if only they knew
where.

Perhaps some enterprising

farmer’s marke! vendor could.
build blackboards. All it-takes’ 3.

is pressboard, blackboard paint,
and grooved moulding,

WHICH (S WHERE You >] i
SPUBED THE GAS, RIGHT?

iu Le ,
fe a 2 a) haat ae

rae