Ad > The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 21, 2001 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 The Three Rs BEST WISHES to the Coast Mountains School District as it tackles the tough job of boosting the reading, arithmetic and writing levels of its stu- dents. Much has been made of the low test scores der- ived from a new provincial government effort to determine how students are doing in select grades in schools across B.C. Indeed, much should be made of the results as they don’t paint a pretty picture in this area with the test scores generally showing a below the average result for Grades 4, 7 and 10. The test results clearly indicate local taxpayers aren't getting an adequate return for the tens of millions they pump into the public school system each year. Taxpayers have only to compare the public school results with those of independent schools to tell them there’s something seriously wrong. The independent schools scored higher in what is a virtual unpaid advertisement for themselves. Parents concerned about the education of their children and, finances permitting, will be casting an interested eye toward the independent schools. If the public schools were instead a highway project gone awry or a fast ferry escapade, there’d be calls for a royal commission. Of all the results, the most disturbing are those for students in Grade 4. These students have barely started their education and already, there are signs of trouble. So now we’re faced with the. situation of the school district promoting literacy, playing catch: up on the long and complicated road of preparing young people for their future. This is an odd position for the school district: a It’s odd because teaching: children to read, write and do math is the job of the school district in the first place as part of its normal and regular func- tion. By now having to promote literacy as a special task, the district is in reality admitting a failure to perform its duties despite years of extensive and expensive programs. To fix this problem, efforts must start at kin- dergarten and in the primary grades. It’s here where young minds are at their most trainable and open to learning, relatively unscarred and un- cluttered by television and video games, A re- newed emphasis based on the core foundations of reading, writing and arithmetic will only make what comes after that much more attainable. Educators will hasten to add that they are not alone in this task. They’re right. Parents and guar- dians must take responsibility. To simply assume the school system will take care of their children is wrong. Homes and schools cannot operate independ- ently. There is too much at stake. But first, schools must put in place proper foundations. PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS/SPORTS: Jeff Nagel NEWS/SPORTS Sarah Zimmerman NEWS/COMMUNITY: Jennifer Lang FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping & Carol McKay CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Carole Kirkaldy ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: $am Bedford, Mark Beaupre & Stacy Swetlikoff TELEMARKETER: Stacy Swetlikoff DARKROOM/COMPOSING: Susan Credgeur AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik & Clare Hallock SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: $54,88(+$3,85GST) per year; Seniors $48.62 (+$3.40GST); Out of Province $61.69 (+$4.32G5T) Outside of Canada (6 months) $151.60 (+$10.61GST) MEMBER OF , : = B.C. AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, GC ( - CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION ; AND BC. PRESS COUNCIL Sarving the Terrace and Thomhili area, Published on Wednesday of each wank al 3210 Clinton Street, Tenace, British Columbia, V8G 5A2, Stories, photographs, iliustrations, dasigna and typastylas In tha Terrace Standard ara the property of the pod holders, including Cariboo Press (1969) Lid, Its Mustration repro services and advertising Se tton in whole of In part, without writen parmissten, is specifically prohibited. Authorized as becond-cless mall pending tha Post Ollice Department, far paymen of postaga in cash, Telidak Bcteniie on? Yotse Speclal thanks lo all our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents ~ + CNA _. | BRAZIL ADDRESSES CANADA'S ‘MAD COW CONCERNS Matelie s \ as | ry Ve, Wh Faq: iz wd thpapee thus CHEER ETE Ce te Nice, sets On AR Ce gies NDP’s troubles keep on coming : VICTORIA ~- Last week, the NDP wagon blew a few more gaskets. The wheels fell of some time ago, but the old jalopy kept lurching along on ils axles. Now it,s barely moving, not even qualifying as a fixer- Upper. You could almost feel sorry for Ujial Dosanjh, the premier. First forest ministry staff find a few cartons of documents that sink the Carrier Lumber ap- peal and then his Minister of Transportation and Highways ’ packs it in, blaming his boss for running the province from his office without consulting his ministers, Harry Lali, he of the flashy suits and ties, gave the pre- mier no warning. The high-pro- file Indo-Canadian who repre- sents the riding of Yale-Lii- fooet, quit his cabinet post: in . a file ‘the wake of what NDP MLAS: called a stormy caucus meet- ing at which cabinet approved the controversial moratorium on prizzly bear hunting. He has since been replaced by Skeena NDP MLA Helmut Giesbrecht, Lali is said to have told his cabinet colleagues that the . hunting ban would further split the province along north-south lines, rural folk versus cappuc- cino-sucking, condo-dwelling city slickers, FROM THE CAPITAL HUBERT BEYER He’s got a goad point. Whether or not you agree with the principle of banning the hunt of grizzly bears, the fact is that pressure for the mora- torium came almost exclus- ively from the urban south, where the only hunting going on is for department store bar- victoria ‘will have “their liveli- hood threatened by the ban, but guides and outfitters in northern British Columbia are going to be hit hard. I couldn’t bring myself to shoot a grizzly bear. 1 have problems killing flies, but that doesn’t mean everybady else has to think the same way. If the grizzly population is stable and their survival not threatened by limited hunting, who am | to impose my views on others? No Body in. Vancouver, ‘and Those who advocated the hunting ban claim there are no reliable data regarding the grizzly population in this pro- vince, estimated at about 13,000. And that gave the gov- ernment enough of an excuse to impose the moratorium. Having said all that, at- tributing Lali’s resignation ex- clusively to the hunting ban would not be correct. _ There has been friction be- tween Lali and the premier since the latter was chosen party leader. Some go as far as to say Lali hates Dosanjh. Lali has been one of the mest loyal supporters of Glen Clark, the former NDP leader and premier, Like many others, Lali still resents the fact that Dosanjh blew the whistle on Clark when, in his former capacity ad ~attorneye, general, he ane “, onounced dthat. a ‘criminal ! ine vestigation against’ "lath Was underway in connection with the awarding of a casino li- cence. In the last leadership race, Lali supported Gordon Wilson, and not his fellow Indo-Canadian Dosanjh. Reacting to Lali’s resigna- ition, the premier said that when tough decisions have to be made, tough people are needed, and Lali wasn’t one of those, to which Lali later re- plied, “that’s a crock ~ they don,t come any tougher than Harry Lali.” That’s vintage Lali for you. He’s not known for har- bouring self-doubt. Lali’s move clearly blind- sided Dosanjh, and the timing couldn't have been any worse. The election will have to be held by next June and the last thing Dosanjh needed was an- other example of a party and government in disarray. Lali was first elected in the 1991 NDP sweep under the leadership of Mike Harcourt and was re-elected in 1996. He says he is not running in the next election, which is probably just as well because no NDP seat will be safe, par- ticularly in central and northern British Columbia which feels about as alienated from Victor- ia as western Canadians from Ottawa. _ itt: the last press conference “before hé'left with Jean Chre- “Hien the’ Prime Minister, on the “trade mission to China, a re- - porter asked Dosanjh jokingly whether he’s coming back, considering all the problems he is facing. The premier laughed, but you have got to wonder whe- ther the rewards of politics are worth the trouble. Beyer can be reached at: E-mail: hubert@coolcom.cam; Tel (250) 381-6900; Web Attp:/{www.hubertbeyer.com Has she got a deal for you REACHING AGE 65 is both good and bad. The good news is you begin to receive a pen- sion, you pay only dispensing fees for drugs, and one day a month you get a 10 per cent discount at some stores. The bad news is it’s time to write a will, name an exec- utor, and decide on funeral plans. Some people can be deci- sive about their funeral plans. Not me. British Columbia has the lowest transplant donation rate in Canada. I always hoped ta dco my bit {o improve that ratio, For al least 20 years I've carried an organ donator card. But that still left me to decide whether my remains should be cremated or buried. Most of my extended family still lives in Saskatchewan. The thought of cremation re- THROUGH: BIFOCALS. CLAUDETTE SANDECKI pels me; surviving an arson put me off entirely, Consequently, I compro- mised. I will donate my body to science. Annually about 100 to 120 bodies are donated to the University of British Co- lumbia’s Department of Anat- 7 HUMANS - ee LIKE HAIR. i 25 wERE me EXTRA FURRY! HUMANS LIKE AFFECTION ! SO WE MAKE A FUSS OVER THEN | omy for anatomical study and medical research. Donating your body to science “has the unique distinction of rendering service after death to society.” The university could use 20 to 40 more bodies each year. For the body to be acceptable to them, death may not in- volve an infectious or conta- gious disease. The body must not harvested of donor organs, and must not be autopsied or embalmed. Because the body may not be embalmed, it. must be whisked to the university as soon as possible. This it does in a specially designed trans- portation box provided by the funeral home. For anyone living (or at least dying) north of Chilli- wack, cost of transporting the body to the lower mainland usually by plane must be paid AND IN RETURN THEY FEED AND _ SHELTER US! for by the family or the estate.” : The need for rapid transfer of.” me the body to the university: means it is essential the donor informs family, doctor, and ex- ecutor of intentions well in ad- vance of death. Waiting until the reading of the will would be too late. Donating my body to science would postpone any funeral ar- fangements for two. years. At the end of two years, the uni- versity would either cremate my remains and return my ashes, or my family could claim my remains and hold a regular burial. UBC's brochure, A Unique Contribution, notes “donation of your body is a very special, gift to the future health-care at- titude.” Not in my case. My donation is motivated equally by pro- crastination, SO BEING A DOG (S BASICALLY ALL