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Page A4 — Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 5, 1990

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EDITORIAL

With summer over, a local politician’s
thoughts turn to the November
municipal elections. What could make
this fall’s vote interesting is that for the
first time, all six aldermanic: positions
and the mayor’s chair are up for grabs.

That means there’ll be an exhaustive
search by candidates for issues and a

multitude of measures taken by each to

give themselves an identity. It'll be a dif-
ficult job for those on council who may
want to run again. By and large, it’s been
a fairly quiet, cautious and like-minded
group.

In some ways it is to be expected for
the end result of hours spent in commit-
tee and council meetings more than not
produces politicians who think along the
same lines.

What could set out definable positions
this time is what kind of community-
convention centre should be built to
serve the city into the next century.
There is no such facility now and that’s
regarded as a detriment for a municipali-
ty that not only has the responsibility of
providing for its residents but also one
that sees itself as a service centre for nor-
thern B,C,

The proposal of early this summer was

We need an issue |

greeted with caution due to the cost of
more than $4 million. Drawing just as
much caution is the position that the city
can attract sufficient convention groups
to justify that portion of the centre’s
designed use. There is also the recent in-
triguing possibility of adding a library
wing to the centre concept.

Although there were suggestions
earlier this year that a referendum asking
for taxpayers’ approval of the centre was
‘possible this fall to coincide with
municipal elections, the prospect now
seems remote. Instead, the concept is
undergoing a change and that means it’l]
take longer to put together.

' It would be a mistake for voters to
‘take the natural path of letting the issue
slide and council candidates off the hook
until final plans are put together for
review and discussion. Those people who
want to run this fall and those subse-
quently elected to council will ultimately
be the ones primarily responsible for the
final centre plans.

That means the candidates should be
questioned on every turn as to their posi-
tions on the proposed centre. It will
result in a more responsible and respon-
sive council when the centre issue finally
reaches the ballot box.

Way off track —

Billy and Johnny live on the same
street, Both are five years old. They lead
what’s considered ordinary lives for
young boys. Both go to kindergarten.
Billy goes for half a day. Johnny for a
full day. That’s because Billy’ s white and
Johnny’s a native.

The reasoning behind this, say educa-
tion officials, is that native children need
more help than do others. Simple as
that, they say. But it’s not so simple. The
policy reveais a massive assumption that

because a person has a different skin col-.

our, he then is considered to be
automatically behind whatever skills
educators say is necessary for a sound
and healthy education.

This policy has tinges.of bureaucrats
dictating what they think is good for
people. It also stands in complete con-
trast to the Year 2000 education changes
which will bring a more individually-
tailored approach to a child’s education.

A loo-loo of a problem

Inviting guests without pro-
viding for their comfort is bad
manners. Nonetheless crowds

Through |

of several hundred are lured by Bifocals

Terrace’s bandshell to apen-air by Cl

concerts in Lower Little y Claudette Sandecki
Memorial Park, which lacks ;

washrooms.

Consequently bandshell

Besides, - during July and

Homeowners

complain

listeners sit cross-legged on the
‘lawn, only half’ their attention
focused on -the music, while
they ponder what to do if nature
signals an early pit stop.
‘Experienced Little Park
visitors decide beforehand
-whether to pile into the car and
whiz to the nearest available
john; risk exposure behind a
clump of bushes; or tempt fate
and arrive protected by the
“unique Absorb-Loc System"
of a Depend(R) adult diaper,
Besides. the. many park
visitors, dozens of farmer:
gardeners spend Saturday mor-
nings selling their homegrown
produce at the farmers’ market,
situated next, to the park ona
paved parking lot.
.. Sure, if caught short, farmers

can. duck into the library's”

single, unisex washroom, But is.
one toilet. adequate to accom-__-
modaie library patrons, park .

users and farmers, And what of
and tear on the

’ library’s carpet?. and vandalism
to library equipment by rowdies
. punching computer keys as they _
pass ¢ hrough on their way to the

a

_peatances to fringé foliage. of

+ August the library is closed all

day Sundays and holidays.
Where are bandshell listeners
and park visitors expected to go
then?

In this province, the Public
Facilities Act, decrees that large

public parks be equipped with

comfort stations, -However,
schco] playgrounds and ‘‘local’’
parks are exempt. That's why
B.C, athletes can easily be singl-

ed out in national competitions.’ -

They run with their ankles,
crossed,
Victoria’s thinking seems to

be large parks draw genteel.-
habitues who merit deluxe’.

amenities. On the other hand,

frequenters of “local”. parks: of

can make do with furtive disaj

any comouflage they have time.
to reach.

Cities put in fire hydrants for °
the convenience of dogs”.

however, few home owners

‘Plant shrubbery for field-users, —
Consequently, playing: fields ~
_ without biffys have been a bone

of contention to sports groups .
— and playground neighbours

wy for years... ore

vociferously about their hedges.

being trampled, garden tools
being swiped, and fences being

broken by bail players scrambl-

ing for concealment.

B.C,’s Public Facilities Act
offers no interpretation of a
“local” park.

So until it is defined by a test

court case, or until empathic”

local governments budget for ~

washrooms despite the jatitude |

of the Act, ‘users of “local”
parks will -have to' keep both

— their fingers and their ankles
_erossed — or cut back their

fluid intake for 12 hours before. ;
‘kickoff, ‘like airline pilots. |.

Pads

 beeh kind ta’ AIDS victims, |

Go BACK PAST. tHe
CHURCH AND TURN |:
RIGHT AT THE LITLE 4.1.
GREY HOUSE |.” <a

Kinder and gentler
premiera must —

VICTORIA — Funny thing
happened to Premier Vander
Zalm on his way to the Queen
Elizabeth Theatre.two weeks
ago. He got a crash course in
real-world issues.

When the premier and two
bus-loads of Socreds, who had
paid'as much as $2,500 a head

_ to. attend a performance of Les
‘Miserables as-part‘of a-fund=~

raising event, showed up at the
theatre, they were greeted by |
an angry mob.

Trying to make his way into
the theatre, the premier got .
yelled at and spat on. Someone
clutched his leg, and his wife
Lillian was knocked to the
ground. It was not a pretty.
sight. In fact, it-was one of the
uglier manifestations of .
disrespect for our politicians in
recent years.

The premier seemed perplex-
ed by the confrontation. ‘']
don’t know what points they
were trying to make or what
points they made, but it cer-
tainly wasn't called for,’* the
premier said afterwards.

Weli, perhaps the fact that
some of the protesters were dy-
ing from AIDS had something
to do with their behaviour:
When you know you won't see
too many more suntises, your
reaction to injustice, preceived
or real, becomes more pro-
nounced.

True, nol all the protesters
were AIDS victims. Some
were there to agitate for in-
creases in welfare rates and the
minimum wage. They confined
their activity to carrying
placards..‘TFhe physical abuse

_ came from a group called
". ACT-UP,’ an acronym for . -

Aids Coalition to Unleash’

Power. -

It is one of the tragedies of

the.current administration that. -

its feader has a propensity for’
removing himself from reality:
If living in a semi-castle is bad
enough, behaving as if there.
are no blemishes‘ ‘on the
wonderful world of his im-
agination is worse.

«This government has not:

$o? ts THAT

(FOURTH. SrReET

From the.

Capital
by Hubert Beyer

And even though David Parker

- was-the-only cabinet:minister -

to openly voice his opinion on
AIDS sufferers, very few of
his colleagues disagreed with
him. AIDS, Parker said last
year, was a self-inflicted
wound.

What Parker was saying and
his colleagues silently agreeing

with was, of course, that most —

AIDS sufferers are either
homosexuals or drug abusers.

In the beautiful world of our
premier’s imagination, there is”
no room for such warts.
Homosexuality is abnormal
and against God’s wishes, ~
while drug abuse is.equally
damnable and
self-destructive.And if a few
haemophiliacs slip into the
same net,.well that’s regret- .
table, but what can you do?

With such an attitude, small
wonder the government runs
into trouble with AIDS suf-
ferers. ['m surprised it took so

‘long for outright hostilities to
break out.

What AIDS victims need is
understanding and assurance
that people around them care.
And I'm glad to say that a lot
of people do care, even if the
government doesn't, The story
of Doug Hinkel last year was
proof of that.

Hinkel is dying of AIDS, He

is a haemophiliac. He received

“tainted blood before the AIDS

‘scare prompted screening of

> blood and blood products,’

A. friend of Hinkel's told me
at the time that Doug had one

“final wish! for himself and one

for his children. He wanted to
see.the Atlantic Ocean just
"once: and ‘wanted to take his
children: to:a-Disney-like park -
-in éastern.Canada. |
-Both wishes came true

: than, to ithe generosity of

fe ¥

Hou would we

‘fund. Every time [ hear

readers who donated to 8 ru

disparaging remarks about |
AIDS victims, every time I

' witness the actions or rather

inactions of an indifferent
government, I think of Doug
Hinkel, ; :
Doug and all the other - .
AIDS victims are living on. *.
borrowed time, and you can’t

_ really blame them for not

observing the rules and niceties:
society expects from protesters.
lcan understand the =”
premier’s indignation over the:
incident. Nebody likes being.
pushed around and spat on, 7
but for God’s sake, think ;
about the provacation that —
drives peole to such action,
Think what it does to people...
to know they will die, within a
year or. two,
The premier called. the pro-,.
testers a bad lot. Maybe they:
were a bad lot, but it would be
incumbent upon the premier:to.
give some thought to why they:
behaved the way they did. ©:
If Vander Zalm goes ahead: -
with the election this fall, he

' has a great opportunity to -

assure what many of his sup”
porters consider the dregs, the
Outcast, the misfits of societs
that. he cares just as much -
about them as he does: about ¢: Sy
Peter Taigo and David Poole. °
There is an awful lot of in-*
justice, pain and suffering that
has, so far, been met-with i
difference and'lack of -
understanding: ht’s time for-
the premier to begin
understanding. :
To paraphrase.a passage | z
from his revered Bible to the
premier: ‘What you do tot
least among us, you shall
have done unto me.’* And

don’t just sit there and A rea,
act on it. :

GUESS THAT MAKES SE
TO NORTHERN ER