; DAYCARE

Castle situation explained

» Dear Sir:

In response to the King’s

-Castle’s micntion in the article

“Bromleys ponder next daycare
move” (Feb, 23);

‘In September, 1990 my wife

and I launched Terrace’s first out.
“+ wee, Of School care facility...

We had planned to open in our

home. ‘but ‘our application for
-rezoning was rejected by council.

‘We: relocated the business to

. 4727 Park avenue with the help
“of a-small business loan.

‘For the first four months we had

- Many families contact us for

childcare .but few were for

~ school-aged children,

- << In mid-November, 1990 , we
Acarned that provincial legislation
-had changed and we were now al-

~~ lowed to license in a R1 zone.

’ Knowing the greatest need in

Childcare was for children ages 3

to 5, we licensed as a family
daycare

- This allowed us to care for a

maximum of seven children. In,

~- order lo meet the needs of more
--than seven children we needed a

group daycare license.

«<The eily planner informed us
“that capacity levels were under

the complete jurisdiction of the
province and the province was
Hmiting us to eight chikiren.

~ [quote from a City of Terrace

memorandum, dated April 8,
1991:

"Regardless of the home oc-
cupation regulations in the
zoning bylaw, the city cannot
regulate the number of children
permitted in day care facilities

-operated in private family homes,

This is completely under the
jurisdiction of the province, with
the comununity care facility act.

Under this act, a community
care facility operating in a pri-

* vate family home can provide day

care for no more than 8 persons.

Basically, this is saying that a
community care facility operating
in a private family home can pro-
vide day care for no more than 8
persons (no matter what zone it’s
in)”.

Then I learned of other facilities
receiving licensing for more than
8 children.

I approached the province on

_this and was informed that if we

met all the health and safety
regulations laid out by the
municipality and province, an in-
crease in capacity would be
issued.

- We did mect these requirements
and received a license io care for
20 children. Being a bit confused,
seeing the province did not limit
us to eight children, we went to
the city to increase our capacity

Community. Health

a eats er

med
eine,
ST

Dear Sir:

The overly optimistic remarks
made by Dave Dennis on the Feb.
9 radio news aboul the com-
munity health forum held Feb. 5

‘need redressing.

It-is true representatives for 12
special interest groups were

Clecied.io the steering committce

for the planning of the future
Council
(CHC),

It-was not mentioned that grave
doubts: were expressed by most
present at the forum, including
the elected representatives, as to

_. the ‘ability of any CHC to be
‘ablelo improve delivery of health

care to the community within the
constraints of a restricted budget

“that is already too small,

-Mn, Dennis blustered and stut-

“| .- tered his way through these con-
ems, echoing vague government

promises. as to how increased ef-

"ficiency at ministry level and in-
- creasingly efficient delivery of

health care at communily level

. will overall produce more funds
* far health care.

It: was apparent to all present

-that his arguments were really
quite unconvincing and they
-failed.to adequately address the
-concems expressed.
~The Ministry of Health’s pro-
~- posed "New Directions in Health"

policy it’ is trying force down

"B.C. taxpayers” throats, or more
~- appropriately named "No Ditec-
tions in Health" will surely be
: just that. -

“Of equal significance, it is a
~ mes by which government ac-

countability to the taxpayer for
the way tax dollars are (mis)spent
on health care, may be passed
back onto the taxpayer.

The formation of Regional
Heaith Boards (RHB), and Com-
munity Health Councils under
them, will create two extra levels
of bureaucracy.

Most of the RHBs and CHCs
will likely consist of volunteers
with their own occupations to al-
tend to. The running of these
boards and committees will be a
full-time job in itself.

The answer is to employ per-
sonal assistants, with secretarial
staff, and administrators to coor-
dinate staff activitics and run the

Neil Courtney
on our business license. They
Flatly refused,
By this time the city had
changed it’s interpretation of the
community care facility act and

could, if they chose, limit
capacities of facilities with more
than cight children.

We found ourselves in a com-
promising position conforming to
one law and by conforming to
this law we were non-conforming
to another law.

We had already pondered and
executed two full day care loca-

Dear Sir:

In the Feb, 9 issue of The
Terrace Standard there was a
Ieport on the meeting to at-
tempt to establish a truck route
for commercial vehicles in
Terrace,

There was a suggestion put
forth by Glen Thomsen that a
"grandfather clause" might be
helpful to operators such as
Houlden Logging and Vic
Froese Trucking who have
been operating for years out of
properties based on the out-
skirts of the city.

Mr. Bowsher, by-law enfor-

-. Cement. officer, made the state-

ment that Houlden™ Logging ~~

had been oulside city by-laws
from the beginning because the
1965 building permit was for a
garage, which meant it was to
be used to store the family car.

Webster’s dictionary . de-
scribes a garage this way: "a
structure in which motor
vehicles are parked, a business
place where motor vehicles are
repaired and serviced",

That was what I wanted, and
that was what I applied for,

Tam sure that Ed Wilson, the
building inspector of the day, —
would have questioned the
plan to erect a building 48 feet

Brit experience shows danger
of proposed health overhaul

that in the intervening years ad-
ministrative staff have increased
by more than 400 per cent com-
pared to a 6 per cent decrease in
doctors, and a 12 per cent
decrease in nurses.

The cost of running the NHS in
Britain continued to increase, and
delivery of health care has not
improved.

This government Is re-inventing
the wheel, and it is a square onc
at that!

With so many health care ‘spe-
cial Interest groups needing repre-
sentation at CHC level, it is
certain that much wheellng and
dealing, unspoken influence and
alliances, will lead to the exclu-

This government is re-inventing the wheel, and it is a

square one at that!

offices. How will this be paid
for... out of regional and com-
muhity healih care doliars?

We all know how adept the
bureaucratic species is at not only
surviving and how it also excels
at thriving and multiplying even
in the leanest of times when
everyone else suffers.

Be wamed! The Conservative
government in Britain created a
three-tier system of delivering
health care within the National
Health Service, consisting of
regional health authorities, area
health authorities, and health dis-
trict authorities, in the 70s.

A tecent survey published: in
the Eeononilst magazine revealed

sion of weaker groups from their

fair share of resources.

Indeed, at a regional level less
influential CHCs may well find
their funding totally inadequate
for their needs, compared to that
of others.

This could result in an absolute
disaster for community health
care delivery. ;

To whom will the final finger
of blame point to... the taxpayer,
of course. Certainly nol the
government!

The crux of the whole problem
of funding “health care <is' in-
adequate funding. [t1s not over-

spending or inefficiencies In the

delivery 0 of. health. cate, although

tions, founded Terrace’s first
licenced shutile service, devel-
oped an integrated day
care/preschool program and now
were non-conforming to the city’s
new zoning bylaw thal allowed
day care in the R1 zone up to
eight children.

We desperately wanted peace

and for two years perused other
day care locations, all ending
wilh closed doors.

I belicve that if we had been
mecting the child care necds of
the children of our neighborhood
we would have achieved a spot
zone from City council,

These children did not necd us
but other children did, children
from other neighborhoods,

So in closing, let the blind see
and the ponderers ponder,

The Kid’s Castle on Birch Ave-
nue is closing. But don’t mourn
the loss of these child care
Spaces.

We know of another day care
and preschool which will meet ali
zoning bylaws, all health and
safety regulations, with three
times our space, cosling parents
less than our fees, all wilhout lob-
bing City council and opening in
a neighborhood near you.

Sincerely,
Neil & Ghyslaine Courtney,
The Kid's Castle.

Caution urged on trucking issue

long with a 14 foot door init to
house the family car.

I first ran a log truck from
this property in 1953, and the
city boundaries at that lime did
not extend this far.

At this point in time there is
‘no sewer servicing in our area

and no homes are being built
directly across from our prop-
erty.
When this begins to happen
it will be a strong signal to
make changes in our operating
base.

The issue of trucks parking
within the city is one that hes
been around for some time and
it must be dealt with very car-
fully.

My personal opinion is that
the day of parking loaded log
and lumber trucks at night
within the congested areas of
the city. must come to an end.

We have to keep in mind
however, that it is in ihe city’s
best interest as much as pos-
sible to accommodate this
large group of relatively young
high income spending people,

Don’t chase them out to
Thornhill.

Alex Houlden
Houlden Logging Ltd.
Terrace, B.C.

these may be contributory factors.

Neither will government
promises of a drastically trimmed
back Ministry of Health provide
the dollars that health care needs.

No doubt Ministry of Health
staff will be quietly shuffled into
other obscure departments. Look
for the layoff notices to believe it.

The concept of preventative
health care and reducing the need
for acute healih care is not new,

.This was the premise upon
which Aneurin Bevin based the
inception of the National Health
Service in Britain. in 1949; uni-
versal health care for all. .

This has not reduced the acute
health care requirements in
Britain. This is because different
health care needs have evolved
with time and will continue to do
sO.

An indirectly funded health ser-

vice through taxation tends to be —

perceived as a bottomless bucket.

It is not, Everyone pays. The |

Canadian tacpayer has to know
what.the true cost of health care

is, and has to.declde if they are

prepared to realistically fund it to
mainiain it at it’s current levels,
with all the services and facilities
that are currently available.

: The government must be honest

with the taxpayers, tell them ihe

true cost of health care, and mot
make. scapegoats out of the
people who. work in health or try

to pass the buck back onto the |

payer.

Yours sincerely, a7
_ Mail Lin, MBChB ©
. : ~"Terrace, BC, a i

: could be completed t this 8 year. ae

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, March 2, 1994 - AS

CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD

The Mail Bag

Answering knockers

Dear Sir

There seems to me to be three local groups that are constantly
being knocked - teens, teachers and the R.C.M.P.

If you were lucky enough to have attended Skeena’ High’s
‘Murder Mystery" Dinner on February 5, you would have seen a
truer picture,

The student’s Skeena Travel Club arranged, prepared, cooked,
decorated and cleaned up after a wonderful evening of fun, food
and entertainment.

This group represents a wide range of personalities and all worked
logether to make the evening a hit.

The teachers involved gave of their time and talents. The many
(unpaid) hours spent in getting ready for their performance was

_ gteally appreciated by both parents and students alike,

Then again, when you spend ten months of the year working with
{ecnagers, you must be able to think quickly on your fectl
The final-teuch cume at the climax of the evening with the arrival
of the R.C.M.P. They “arrested”’ the guilty party and carted him off
lo jail.
Only in a small close-knit community such as ours could this type
of co-operation occur, —
Hats off io the students, teachers and R.C.M.P. members involved
in making this evening a pleasure for everyone in attendance.
Joset Graham,
Terrace, B.C,

Tired of whining

Dear Sir:

I would like to respond to the letter “Schools changing’” in the
Feb. 9 paper.

Tam a parent with a child in the public school system and am real-
ly sick and tired of hearing the ‘‘poor, overworked, underpaid me’”
attitude that is so prevalent among today’s teachers.

It seems these persons (not all) feel they are the only educators in
history to be involved with students in extra-curricular activities,
and to have to spend extra time in seminar and meetings that retate
to their job.

What they don’t mention is that they are belng paid for those non-
instructional days.

None of the activities this group points out in their letter are any-
thing that was not previously done by past teachers.

I don’t mean to sound as though I dislike teachers because that
would be a misinterpretation of what I’m saying here,

What I do dislike is the constant whining and complaining that
seems to come from both teachers and their union. ; ,

It’s a union which [ believe is the root of the problem We are ex-
periencing today.

Let’s look at the facts. Teachers work, discounting recess and lun-
chtime, an average of 5.5 to 6 hours per day.

They have ali weekends and national holidays off, also all sum-
mer holidays.

They usually don’t correct students work during weekdays
anymore, but wait until weekends to do 80 (because they just can’t
keep up, you knowl).

And how many do thetr subject preparation time: during’ Class
when they should be teaching instead? ; oe bal &

Using childrens’ future as a bargaining tool
will only hurt the ones they proclaim to care
so much about.

Class sizes are smaller (but apparently not small enough for
some), between averaging 20-25 pupils compared to 30-35 pupils
25 years ago,

Proponents of the smaller class say education suffers when classes
are larger, Although I don’t advocate larger classes, how is it my
grade 4 teacher was able to give a class of 24-30 predominantly im-
migrant children, who neither spoke nor read a word of English, a
quality education?

So please don’t give me excuses. I’m tired of listening to it.

The excuses only go to show that whal is important to teachers is
not the teaching (it's just a job).

No wonder so many are turning to private schools because their
leachers are there forthe children, not personal gain...

Because of ihat, the level of education is better, ,

The argument parents must play an active role in their child’s edu-
cation holds water with me, but it should not be a reason for
teachers to slack off and dump their responsibility in the laps of

arents.
fT think it’s time for teachers and their union to realize that their
militant stand on educalion will serve to harm the education system
in this province.

Using childrens’ future as 8 bargaining tool will only hurt the ones
they proclaim to care so much about, ;
‘Ed Carrelro,
Terrace, B.C.

THE START IS FOR PEOPLE LEARNING TO READ.

The Start

New daycare to open

THERE’S A NEW child care place opening here next

month.

It will be located in the basement of the Terrace Full
Gospel Fellowship church on Munroe St. oe
‘Neil and Ghyslaine Courtney will be running a daycare -
and pre-school. Bach of those could one day look after.

20 children but will not have that many when they open. °

_ The Courtneys used to run a daycare on Birch Avenue,

The new daycare Is expected to be open n by the begin
ning of April.

Well grant news soon.

THE CITY should know this month if the arovince will
give it money towards the cost of drilling a water well. .

~ Engineering director Stew Christensen says the provin-

cial government has promised a quick answer. to the

city’s request for $600,000, half the cost of the project.
Last year Victoria tunred the city down,
Jf it says ‘yes’ this time, Christensen. says, the