A4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 19, 2005 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 | lt s not enough DOWN IN Victoria on the desks of three cabinet ministers sit three identical . envelopes contain- ing the results of the inquiry by provincial coro- ner John Andrews into the deaths of two Terrace = men, Dean Ganson and Richard Brown. y . The facts are horrendous. The pair,.who were. ‘driving a truck full of seafood south on Hwy97, . were killed Aug. 27, 2004 when a tractor-trailer unit carrying paint products driven by David Hart. of Abbotsford crossed into their lane, resulting in a head on fiery collision. As Mr. Andrews points out in his i inquiry, Mr: - Hart. had been drinking, and had cocaine’ and: __ crystal meth in his blood stream. Further, Mr.. _ Andrews gives enough information to indicate Mr. Hart-was more than n likely a long-term drug abuser: He also points out, using the findings of the pa- thologist ‘who. examined Mr. Hart’s blood, that “paranoid psychosis associated with abuse of » -[erystal meth] might have played a role | in the mo- tor vehicle accident.” Now, unlike .those coroners depicted in TV - shows who embark upon dramatic crusades, the “real-life ones in B.C. are far more conservative - and muted. So it’s not surprising Mr. Andrews “did not build on his findings when it came to list ing recommendations. What Mr: Andrews did do is ‘recommend that - trucking companies and’ others have on-line -ac-- _cess to driver records so as to give them the best . possible information from which to make hiring decisions. | While that might give employers a hiring tool, it’s not, enough, Mr. Hart may very. well have NO eT ew been a drug abuser. But he was placed i in the care .]. ‘and control of a‘large vehicle which, in the wrong hands, becomes a lethal weapon. Is there anything wrong, for instance, in imple- menting twice-yearly medical examination re- * quirements for drivers to screen out those who should not be behind the wheel? Can random sampling for drug and alcohol abuse habits fur- .ther provide safeguards? It’s not too much to ask when you consider that large vehicles are travel- ling bombs, hurtling down the roads we all use. - What’s also needed is a broader examination of the long-haul trucking industry. Anecdotal ‘and more solid evidence suggests some drivers routinely take drugs to stay awake on long trips where endurance is the key to income. If that’s the case, then things need to change. And that change begins with attorney-general Wally Oppal, solicitor-general John Les and transporta- _ tion minister Kevin Falcon, the three cabinet min- isters who received the findings of coroner John _ Andrews. To have the findings gather dust would _ simply compound the tragedy that took place last _ August outside of Williams Lake. 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, Susan Willemen AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik PRODUCTION: Susan Credgeur SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: . $57.94 (+$4.06 GST)=62.00 per year; Seniors $50.98 (+$3.57 GST)=54.55; Out of Province $65.17 (+$4.56 GST)=69.73 Outside of Canada (6 months) $156.91(+10.98 GST)=167.89 MEMBER OF B.C. AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, 2005 WINNER NEWSPAPERS COMPETITION CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION . \ . . Fino AND : (CNA senna Noten B.C. PRESS COUNCIL (www.bcpresscouncll.org) . ' “Belas Gotemaie oot Yotoe Serving the Terrace and Thomhill area, Published on Wednesday of each wesk at 3210 Clinton Street, Terrace, British Columbia, V8G 5R2. @S (@) Black Press Stories, photographs, illustrations, designs and typestyles in the Terrace Standard are the property of the copy-- right holders, including Cariboo Press (1969) Ltd,, its illustration repro services and advertising agencies. Reproduction in whole or in part, without written permission, is specifically prohibited. Authorized as second-class mail pending the Post Office Department, for payment of postage in cash. Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents CCNA BETTER: me. oxen wo pes ae ea Sree Ee amt AS UNICEF'S-. HORRIFYING IMAGERY DOCUMENTING THE BRUTAL ANNIAILATION OF THE SMURFS ROCKETED AROUND THE WORLD, SUSPICION BEGAN To FALL ON THE OnLy CARTOON: CHARACTER. KNOWN eC) HAVE EASY AccESS TO. Meany, ARTILLERY | Student supports left unfulfilled — i (The following is an‘edited © ‘excerpt from a speech given by NDP MLA Robin Austin Oct. 6 during debate on Bill 12, the bill that imposed a two year contract on B.C.’s teachers, leading to their taking strike action.) I remember three years ago starting out as a special ser- vices assistant in a grade four _ Class at a school in Terrace that _ Spanned grades four to seven. What that means, of course, ‘is that the children who were, : arriving at this school year had just gone through the adjust- ment of leaving their primary - schoo] and were now at their intermediary school — el- | /1 AISUTIC child may be identified and ementary school. The teacher I was speaking of had a class from a neigh- bourhood that has been suffer- ing economically for a number. .of years.. Many of the kids that at-— tended this class were not _ fortunate enough to have the kinds of supports from home that are an important part of achieving student success. There were over ten identi- fied children in the classroom. At least three kids had behav- iours that meant they were in no way ready to learn as they had trouble with self-control and an attention span. that could have been measured in moments rather than in min- utes. 7 _ There was a child who suf- fered from autism but did not have a full-time aide as the hours had been cut due to the shortage of our school district to apportion all the hours the. | child qualified for to that’ par “ROBIN AUSTIN ticular child. — In School District 82, a require a full-time aide for four hours or three hours, but sometimes, these hours, these. resources have. to be juggled : within each school and taken “’ to other children in order ‘to try and get some service to as many people as possible. That’s the state that we have arrived in. So even though there may be. dollars attached — to a particular identifiable problem, those dollars are not able to go to that child because .of the overriding need and oth- er children who have not been ‘taken care of. In short, the classroom on the first day of class in this particular school reminded me of a bazaar in the city of Cairo. It was sheer bedlam —a cacophony of noise — and a- number of children who were feeding off all the bedlam that was around them. ~ That was day one, and I can tell. you that as I watched that - not exceptional | _ District.82, and I suspect they- “teacher go about the monu- mental task of bringing order out of chaos and getting the kids to the point where teach-. ’ ing, and more importantly learning, could take place, I was in awe of her ability. _ Within a number of weeks, _ she had these kids almost be- having like humans. As a re- sult, the year became a pro- ductive one for those.kids. _ These, conditions are in School are not very different from anywhere else in the province. We have created a learning atmosphere that is not condu- cive to learning, because we have put too many kids into” each class. We made a decision a num- ber of years ago to integrate - “our ‘mainstream. classrooms. ; This was done because we wanted to value all people. And creating an inclusive society is to the betterment of those who were once parti- tioned off from the mainstream as well as. being better for those who are not challenged, because kids get to learn from an early age that human be- ings come in different sizes, different ethnic groups — and yes, some have challenges to overcome that the. majority of people never even have to contemplate. But that decision means that the supports that used to be going. elsewhere. to segregate . those students, often in institu- tions, had to be transferred to the school system. _iIfa child needed multiple supports when they lived else- where, then those supports should also now be. in the classroom. I do not believe that the school system has been given the kind of resources: to ad- equately support many chil- dren with disabilities, and this » limits their potential growth as well as takes time away from other children Teachers behave very much — like parents do. If they have a child with serious needs, then their attention is drawn’ to them, as it should be But we have an expectation as parents that all our-kids in the classroom will get per- sonalized attention from the teacher. This is a constant struggle -othat teachers have — the abil- _,ity to.address the needs: of: the ‘Inajority’ while~. looking ° af- ter the needs of the minority, whether they have language differences, learning difficul- ties or other challenges that separate them from those kids who are ready to move on with the next piece of material. As parents in the home it is easier for us. If we have a child with special needs, we overcome the interna] conflict by rationalizing it within the relatively small confines of | our family unit or we get sup- port from family and friends. But in a classroom how does a teacher overcome e this, conflict? All of us are taxpayers, and we all want the best for. our child and demand that the ' teacher pay attention to our in- dividual children. So what dlicl you do anyway? * THIRTY- TWO years as an _ upholsterer taught me one thing - many people have no idea what upholsterers do. Consequently they -scrap well built older furniture rath- er than re-upholster or repair . it. Pin broken cushion zippers together instead of having the zipper replaced. And spend. hours shoving a needle through boat topping to hold loosened — zippers with fishing line. <. , I first learned how little was known about upholster- _ers’ work when. the owner of a 1970s pickup came to see me after spending days driving miles to every auto salvage yard between Smithers and Prince Rupert searching for a- replacement seat. His original seat had worn through to the springs on the driver’s end. He hadn’t found | an exact seat anywhere. The closest seat called for new: bolt holes in his. truck floor to fit the seat’s wider frame. Finaliy, someone sug- gested he bring his pickup to In a few hours I rebuilt his original seat from the springs . Skidoos, RV’s, restaurants or waiting | THROUGH BIFOCALS CLAUDETTE SANDECKI “up with new burlap, new. pad- ding, and matching vinyls. The seat looked fine and felt great. He also knew his seat hadn’t been damaged in any accident. Uphoisterers can do more ‘than restore truck seats, or: seats for ATVs, motorcycles, boats, _ airplanes, rooms. They can build canvas boat tops, enclose hot tubs, re- cover gym mats, and replace headliners in vehicles and CNR cabs. They sew asbestos squares in canvas tents for stove chim- neys; replace canvas, zippers, windows and screens in tent trailers; recover high chairs, crib mattresses, and baby bug- gies. They winterize fifth wheel _trailers by sewing a snap-on skirt around the trailer’s base and add outdoor storage with a waterproof enclosure around the hitch. Upholsterers also construct “soft” cabs for heavy duty equipment such as road pack- ers, and fashion “skirts” for caterpillar tractors to keep in» engine heat while the operator is snowplowing. Because upholsterers stock zippers in many weights and lengths they can replace zip- pers in sleeping bags, boat tops, jeep tops, lawnmower bags, backpacks, motorcy- clists’ leather chaps, gun cases and hot tub covers. . - Custom work knows no limits. [ve lined a wooden ‘memorial casket with velvet, enclosed a first aid stretcher frame to keep blankets and medical supplies ary and en- able it to float, relined a U.S. . Navy helicopter ‘pilot’s hel- met, covered Usk’s cable car, hot dog vending carts, and the canvas stacks on.a vacuum truck. _T’vealso bound carpet, sewn seat belts, made a canvas cov- er to retain heat from.a load of asphalt, repaired trampolines, added anchor ties to tents, and installed grommets. Because most ‘seating is made up of sections sewn to- gether, any section can be re-. moved along its stitching lines _and replaced with similar fab- ric. This allows repair.of dam- age from kitty claws, stab wounds, rips, and cigarette burn holes in sofas and chairs. - . Sagging springs can be re- tied. Broken springs can be re- placed. Base material and pad- ding can be replaced restoring the furniture to years of use and beauty. , A few upholsterers special- ize in one field, vehicles, air- planes, boats. But most enjoy the challenge of a variety of work.