oa kite Td ee a ee i me ge ge Se EE Sia ire ena a et RL OE eee gk ces ees scngieneeee Page A4 — Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 14, 1990 ERRACE STANDA eS " ESTABLISHED APRA, 27, 1968' : Régiatration No. 7820 4647 Lazalie Ave., Terrace, B. ¢.,\ veG 188. * (e0a) 638-7289 Serving ‘tha Terrace area. Pubiched on Wednesday ofeach week by £aniboo Press (1989) Ltd. at 4647 Lacele ave. Terrace, British Colum, Stories, photographs, Imustrations, designs and lypestyles in the Terrace Standard are the property of the Ponrriht holders, Including Cariboo Prass (1959) Ltd,, its il . Production Manager: a ot Na Sports, Malcolm Baxter — Nows,... “Rose Fisher — Front Oftice ‘Manage i pesetting/Daskreom:.* : Yi a ee cay Ridin — ‘Advertising Manager; Janet Viveiros = Advettising Congultant, * “Sam Collier = _Aavetang Consuilant, Kathrine Hicks — Graphic’ Artist Special thanks to all. Our: contributors and ‘correspondents for Aheir time and 1 talents, ms hustration repro services and advertising agencies. ei all ae frepreduction in whole or in part, without written pernéssion, Is specifically proibhid. Edouard Credgeur.: ~ a Atburized as second-class ral pending the Post Offce Department. or payment of postage in cash, Pile ie = ~ “ “ ~ EDITORIA ‘imply revolting There’s the old joke about the servant who rushes: into the king’s quarters. “‘The peasants are revolting,’’ gasps the servant. ‘‘Of course they are,”’ responds the king. That, in short, is what all the fuss is _ about concerning the provincial govern- ment’s latest fiddle. over paying for. education, Taxpayers are revolted by what education costs and the profes- sional bureaucrats in the education game are revolted by the idea of asking the tax- payer for money. The way things stand now, the provin- ‘ cial government gives each district a chunk of cash. Anything it thinks it needs over that, it raises taxes. Under the proposed mew system, each district would get a chunk ef money, there would be allowances for inflation, For anything after that, the school district would need voter approval. It’s a simple concept and one that is supposed to be at the foundation of our society — the requirement that taxpayers have a say in how much they should pay and where it should go. But, to listen to those who are a cozy part of the educa- tion factory, it’s heresy. One report last week, painted the horrifying picture of school trustees ‘going hat in hand’ "to taxpayers. Imagine that. - What’s right with this proposal is 5 that it places with the taxpayer a form of con- trol over what, up until now has been a bureaucracy that has governed and financed itself. What’s wrong with the proposal is that it has all the appearances of an election campaign platform clever- ly designed to divide and conquer. Overall, the idea is sound. And if school districts and their employees don’t like it — that’s tough. It is their job to provide education. It is also there job to seek the assurances and support of the taxpayer. In the marketplace it’s call- ed selling your product. If a business doesn’t provide what the paying customer wants, then it doesn’t last for very long. Higher learning For the past month Prince George residents have been drooling over the prospect of a northern university. That’s sbecause~ its main campus would be “located:in that city and that means jobs “and more money circulating in that area, Their optimism is based on a report calling for the formation of a northern ’ university based mainly on the lobbying efforts of Prince George residents. There are two reasons for the op- timism, One is that the provincial government has all but promised such an institution would be created. The second is that .we’re close to an election and elec- tions mean the expenditure of large amounts of money. to increase the government’s chance of being returned to office. Just how close that election is can be measured by the province’s response — yes, it likes the idea but no, there hasn’t been any money set aside yet. a northern university should have regional campuses, each one specializing in ihe main economy of the area in which it is located. That proposal has survived in the report mentioned above but doesn’t have the . Prominence it had earlier. Lately there’s been a strong northwest lobby to have here a forestry faculty of the proposed northern university, Given that wood processing is the dominant economy of the area it does make sense. It’s something to keep in mind before things get confused with the building of an educational bureaucracy and its ivory towers. Checking out ° check up . Going to the doctor is as diverting as preparing income tax. ‘-’m not apprehensive about pain or physical discomfort. I Bifocals just shiver with the anticipation by Claudette Sandecki of ‘being clad in nothing more Through than a jacket fabricated from bleached pulp, and elastic im- When first proposed, it was suggested ~ ‘ruined his whole day. Let’s ee Sa prints. :-\My expectations grow from ‘the moment I jot the appoint- ment on my calendar. . “The first hurdle is selecting an outfit from which I can quickly change to patient garb. For this, I sift my closet for an ensemble emobodying the largest number of examination criteria: Cuffs must. be loose enough to push above the elbow. Once, I.wore a blouse with fitted cuffs that refused to go higher than mid-forearm. To bare.a target vein for the lab-tech to draw a blood sample, I had to disrobe one arm. Which IF could have ~ managed with ease of people in - the lab’s walting room would . have averted their eyes. «The blouse or sweater can be a pull-on if I’ve recently had my hair cut; otherwise I'll opt fora button or zipper closure. Pan- tyhose and elasticized slacks do away with garters and belts, And::I-.always take along my largest. handbag to secrete my. glasses, scarf, gloves and novel. “Shoes can be a predicament. Slip-on pumps streamline the doffing. Process. . But in. ex- change . for” their: dash of © ;frantically stuffing my. unmen-. elegance, I’m predisposed to pneumonia, Thus for a winter exam fur-line boots are the sen- sible option — though they're a tad incongruous with the tissue vestment. . Given a choice, I schedule medical exams in July. Then I need only sandals, and one layer of clothing. That’s all the hook on the examining room doar. - will hold, More is sure to slither to the. floor, distracting . the physician from my. spiking’ blood préssure, The office nurse leaves me’ with the chipper assurance, “Doctor will be right with you”’, She returns to the securi-. ty of her familiar work sation, decently clothed, comfortably . warm. Meanwhile I'm left in the examining room wondering whether “‘right with you’’ translates into two minutes or 9, ol , If the doctor arrives within two minutes he may.catch me tionables into my handbag. On the other hand,-if I’m left to wait half an hour,. I'll be so blue. she'll think’I'm seeking a. second Pe ee opinion before undergoing valve surgery. Two paper napkins the color of skim milk sit folded on the examining table. One shakes out into a cropped jacket with plastic ties at the collar. The larger napkin masquerades as a sheet, to preserve my modesty. It: makes no bid to ward off chillblains. ’ There’s nothing else to do but don Mac-Blo's finery, hop. Up on the paper-draped table, and cozy up with the industrial- sized paper towel. ;Coem to think of it, visiting the doctor in winter has its bonus — at least my. feet are “warm, => =. ar 3 ary Asa, THERENTE. mn uy Referendum ae simply no good VICTORIA — Fleeing to Hawaii immediately after an- nouncing that school tax referendums would be resur- rected for the third time in 20 years, was one smart move by Education Minister Tony Brummet.: Sticking around might have face it, basking in the sun and letting the warm sand run through his toes must have beat listening to the chorus of scorched cats that greeted his ‘decree, back here at home. Seeking temporary political asylum in Hawaii also got him off the hook, as far as ques- tions by the media are con- cerned. I certainly have a ques- tion or two. For example, I would like to know where the minister found the courage to refer to the referendum scheme as tax relief. From where I sit, it looks as if all the minister's plan will accomplish is a shift in the burden of collecting taxes from the provincial government to school boards. According to the new school funding plan, the provincial government is to take over the cost of students” basic educa- tion estimated at $5,259 per student package, they will have to go to referendum. The strategy is by no means anew one, In 1969, W.A.C. Bennett had a similar brainstorm. Of 33 referendums held between 1969 and 1972, only six passed. When the socialists hordes stormed the gates in 1972, they quickly kill- ed the education-by- referendum method. In the early. 1980s, Bill Ben- nett's Scoreds came up with a similar idea. Again, they of- fered to pay the basic cost of education and force school boards to raise money locally if they wanted more. After a while, the scheme was scrap- ped again, until now, when Vander Zalm's Socreds decided to have yet another go at it. . Then as now, the reaction has been extremely negative, ; Except for the government, From the Capital by Hubert Beyer ‘nobody wants any part of it. sak Initially, teachers across the” province even threatened job action, and although they have now softened their stand a bit, they still maintain that trying _ to finance eduication by referendum will be disastrous, Parents, too, are angry, The B.C, Home and School Federation plans an anti- referendum campaign. Federa- tion president Maxine Wilson says her group plans to warn parents that the referendum plan will hurt the education system. School trustees like the idea even less. Some have said they may resign from their posi- tions. Others have warned that. nobody will want to run for school trustees any more if the government implements the — plan, . Schoo! trustees like the idea even less, Some have said they may resign from their ‘positions, ‘hich, ‘With | a little ‘luck; ‘might even be blown up | into a full-" blown election issue. But even if the government were serious about wanting to. curb spiralling taxes, tying:: <’- - something as serious as educa- ° tion to the whim. of the voting. ee public is not to be commend-.. ed. Governing by referendum is is. not part of our system. One of: the few exception are © 7: municipal capital expenditure. _ : budgets, By law, municipalities cannot spend | more than they: . collect in any given year, Plans for capital projects | that cannot be funded out of : the current budget must be ap- proved by the ratepayers who®.. aren't always inclined to agree.” with the need for the projects... ‘ Voters in the city of Victoria , last year turned down a $55 million referendum, killing, | - among other things, plans for a new police station and‘a: new. mn sports arena. Some people’ were, of - -tefloat the referendum some: “time in the future. The. police . course, disappointed, but ete a is always a-possibility to: © «). - - . would be just as happy about «0 You may well ask whether. the government was asleep at the switch, Shouldn't they have expected this reaction? They did, they did. In fact, ‘so far, everything is going as" - planned, including the strike threats: by teachers, The only problem may be that the teachers will come to their sense and refuse to take the . bait dangled so temptingly in front of them, - You didn't really believe that the government introduc- ed the referendum scheme to “avert a tax revolt,’* as Brum-. _ met claimed. The idea was to create a bit of ¢ a confrontation ’ Some of the kids would be" . grand parents by the’ time the: a ~ getting their new quarters five, years from now: re An education referendum, : on the other hand, can’t be™ just put on hold until the: voters ‘are in a’ ‘better moo voters might feel inclined, to” 1 pass a referendum... a In-a nutshell, the referen- _ dum idea-is just as unaccep- table and unworkable now as. it was in the late 60s and early 40s, and ‘the fact that’ people . : are fed up with. rising taxes has nothing to do'with it, Now as then, the idea.should be ae ed to-die a: merciful: death. . ETAND THIS WAS A: QUAINT LITTLE. TEA: ROOM "TL SLY MADE IT INTO A VIDEO PARLOR, AND THAT WAS AN OLD - FOLKS HOME: BEFORE SLY BULLDOZED ITFOR AN EQUIPMENT YARD... a Pants st SINS 5 epeATN COMPANY WHICH IS REALLY JUST A TAX SHELTER AND JVER THERE SLY's BUILDING A DISCO AND BODY RB. . Lesson ONE , NEVER "|. WRE A GUIDE WHO: ff REALLY , Kelouls THES