Ad - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 7, 2002 - 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 Inquest needed WE URGE provincial coroner officials to hold an inquest into the death of four-year-old Vicki McLean. Unlike a coroner’s inquiry in which a coro- ner, with the help of experts, assembles the facts surrounding a person’s death, an inquest fea- tures a five-member jury. The jury hears all of the information presented and makes its find- ings and recommendations. And as is the case with a coroner acting alone, a jury does not as- sign blame — its job is to determine what exactly happened. The core timeline surrounding the death of Vicki is already known. Showing symptoms of a fever and sore throat on a Friday, she was seen by a family physician and medication was pre- scribed. By the next day she was sicker and was taken to the emergency room of Mills Memorial Hospital. This was the first of several visits over the weekend. Vicki was seen by medical profes- sionals. More medication was prescribed. But Vicki got sicker and sicker. She made her last visit early Monday morning and died several hours later at the hospital. A resulting autopsy revealed Vicki died of viral encephalitis, which attacks the brain tissue. The coroner acting in this tragic situation has the help of a medical investigator. That invest- igator is assembling the medical information tied to the timeline, including the standard of care that was provided to Vicki. This informa- tion is crucial to understanding what happened as the weekend went on. The goal is to put together the five ‘w’s — who, what, where, when and why — and, most importantly, the ‘how’ of Vicki’s death. The death of anybody is a tragedy. The death of a child is almost beyond belief. Determining the reasons and making recommendations so as to do the utmost to prevent this awful situation from happening again must be the paramount goal of us all. In the case of Vicki McLean, the job of deter- mining what happened — and why — deserves the kind of high level of public involvement and scrutiny that only an inquest can produce. The only way THERE’S ONLY one way to reach a resolution to the impasse between Skeena Cellulose and its unions concerning the former’s demands for new contracts offering lower wages in return for the promise of profit sharing. And that’s to hold a secret ballot vote. Skeena is convinced its offer is best in terms of re-opening the mills. Union leaders are con- vinced it’s a stinker. So let’s put the offer to the ultimate test - acceptance or rejection by the workers. PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS: Jetf Nagel 2001 WINNER NEWS/SPORTS Sarah Zimmennan SET OA PERG NEWS/COMMUNITY: Jennifer Lang COMPETITION FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping & Carol McKay CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Terri Gordon ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Bert Husband & Stacy Gyger TELEMARKETER: Stacy Gyger COMPOSING: Susan Credgeur AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: $56.25(+$3.94 GST)=60.19 per year; Seniors $49.50 (+$3.47 GST)=52.97; Out of Province $63.22 (+$4.43 GST)=67.65 Outside of Canada (6 months} $152.34 (+$10.66 GST)=163.00 MEMBER OF — B.C. AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, a CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION \ ND CN. fener eer B.C. PRESS COUNCIL (www.bepresscouncll.crg} ‘Tou tabale at Files Sening the Teaco and Thomhill area. Published on Wednesday of each week at 3210 Clinlon Street, Terrace, Brilsh Columbia, VG 5R2. Stories, photographs, lilustrations, designs and lypestyles in the Terrace Standard are the property of tha copyright holders, including Cariboo Prass (1969) Ltd,, its illustration repro services and advertising agencias, Feproduction {n whole of in part, without written permission, is specifically prohibited. Authorized as second-class mail pending the Post Olfica Departmant, for payment of postage in cash. Special thanks to all our contributors and corraspondents for thelr time and tatents EOIRICE 02 VICTORIA - A Eurail Pass is without a doubt a great way to get around in Europe. Enrail Passes come in many varia- tions. The mest expensive one entitles you to travel by train anywhere in Europe, except Great Britain, for a period of one, two or three months. I chose a less expensive pass that allowed me to travel in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Spain for eight days within a two- month period. I could choose the days on which I travelled. The cost: $1,250. When you buy a Euraii Pass, you get brochures that show happy people getting off sparkling clean trains, re- freshed and eager to explore their latest destination, I had booked first class be- cause some of the trips I in- fended to take would last close to 30 hours. What | wasn't told was that some routes don’t have first class. And because 3 didn’t read the fine print, I also didn’t know that you get soaked every time you make a reser- vation, double and triple if you want a sleeper in an overnight train. The first realization that rail travel wasn’t all the fun the brochures made it out to be came when — wanted to leave Paris for Almeria, in the south of Spain. I had to wait in Tattoo LAST WEEK while attending a movie my 21-year-old niece Shared a package of M&M’s with her girl friend. By 4:30 the next morning she was cov- ered with itchy welts. Her par- ents rushed her to the emer- gency room for treatment of a severe allergic reaction. They waited with her until 7:30 a.m. before they were able to take her home. This is her second episode of allergic reaction to eating candy containing dye, Her first episode occurred when she was three years old after eat- ing Skittles, a candy similar to M&Ms. But I’m wondering if her al- lergic reaction might have been intensified by her many tattoos. A London news item in the July 26, 2002 issue of The Province warns of a dye used in fashionable, temporary henna tatloos. The dye should be avoided at all costs, warns Dr. Joerg Christoph Prinz, a jeading German dermatologist from Munich University. “The skin dye has been fre- quently found to contain para- UHooP! GOLDBERG HAS St YORAM EP THE BEARS To SAVETHEM FROM HiBER-THERMIA® AND NOW EVERYONE ISMAD /! No CONSULTATION | Jaa Lt, eed WILD RIDES OF SUMMER Getting railroaded in Europe “FROM THE CAPITAL HUBERT BEYER line in blistering heat for two hours to get ta the reservations counter, only to be told that the train I wanted to take that afternoon was full. There was, however, another train that would take me to Madrid, where | would have to transfer. Unfortunately, that train had no first class. A second- class sleeper cost me $140, for which my granddaughter and I had the privilege of. sleeping with four strangers in’ triple- bunks, Another time, we were luckier and got a first-class sleeper for two. When we arrived in Almer- ia, after travelling some 28 hours, we were bushed and didn’t look anything like the models in the brochures. Another thing to keep in mind is that Germany runs the best and newest trains. The further south you go, the more dilapidated the trains get. [ got the impression that Spain and Italy buy the trains Germany doesn’t want anymore. There are other pitfalls. In Italy, workers strike at the drop of a hat. A couple of days after I took the train from Venice to Munich, Italian rail workers staged a wildcat strike for a day, leaving thousands of con- fused travellers stranded at railway stations. Prices in Europe are steep, compared to Canada. Prices on European trains are outrageous. A 200-millilitre Cola (we don’t even have such small bottles in Canada) will set you back by as much as $3. A sandwich costs anywhere up to $9. A full meal in the diner starts at 18 and can go up to $30. I had this idea of sitting in the dining car, eating a won- derful dinner while watching the world roll by, but after looking at the menu and the prices, I opted for a sandwich in the cafeteria instead. Having said all that, the Eurail Pass is still a bargain if you want to travel Europe ex- tensively. To go to as many destination by plane as I did by train would have cost a for- tune. Not only that, you get to see a lot more if you travel by train. Another advantage of the ~- STOCK MARKET Eurail Pass is that it-includes some ferries, including two routes between Italy to Greece. For young people, second class will do, too, and that was the method armies of kids, backpacking their way through Europe, had obviously chosen, The sheer number of back- packers in every railway sta- tion and on every train E took, reminded me of the late 60s when the flower children were on the move. Only now they take the train, then they hitch- hiked, Now they listen to punk music on their portable CD players, then they sang “When you go to San Francisco, wear a flower in your hair.” One more thing: if you plan to travel in Europe, leave with- oul it, your American Express card, that is. It is often difficult enough to find restaurants or Stores that accept VISA or MasterCard, forget Amex. But take you bank card. It works everywhere, ! * Europe is not yet as en- amoured with credit cards as we are. Especially the older people still cling to the quaint notion that if you can’t pay for it you shouldnit buy it, Still ahead: a few days with my brother and a four-day visit to Edinburgh. Beyer can be reached at: E-mail: hubert@caoicom.com; Tel (250) 381-6900; Web Aup:/www,hiuberibeyer.com dye could be trouble THROUGH BIFOCALS CLAUDETTE SANDECKI phenylenediamine, or ppd, a chemical banned in the Eur- opean Union that leaves most people with life-long allergies to items as varied as sun- cream, ‘local anesthetic, the dye in black clothes and eye shadow.” Prinz said: “If there is as much as 10 per cent PPD in an ink, it will spark allergies in 80 per cent of people, I really would warn parents to keep their children and teen- agers away from this stuff at all costs. These things could life.” My niece has learned to tat- too other people by practising on herself. An array of designs decorate her bare arms and shoulders. She may even have more, hidden tattoos. No skim- py clothing hangs in her closet. A gifted artist, she has been paid well to paint a life-sized mural on one wall of her high school gym, and she constant- ly doodles and draws while she chats on the phone. Tattoos of her own design give her an edge over competitors. She may do several tattoos a week, at an average of $140 each, working at home. Happi- ly, she didn’t offer me a tour of her working area, needles or equipment including her auto- clave. | would have flinched. The whole taltocing process is too personal for me. | have felt less intrusive watching an or- thopedic surgeon do a hip re- placement. Tattoos have never appealed lo me. | never intentionally seek pain. “Does the needle hurt?” I asked her. “A little,” Then there’s the problem of changing your mind. Tattoos are relatively permanent. Think of those Hollywood actresses with their boyfriend’s name ~ even their husband’s name — artfully carved on some tender area of their scant anatomy. As aften as celebrities switch alle- giances and marriage partners, ' they ought to use the kids’ party kind - peel and stick. Two or three baths and the tat- too is gone. Even that’s longer than some Hollywood marri- ages. Tattoos and earring piercings have too many similarities to lure me. For some people, a Single ear piercing leads to years of recurring minor infec- tions, crusting, scabbing, re- verting to plain hoops to treat the area until it heals. Why vo- luntarily perforate your body to achieve a design of dubious . beauty and meaning? My niece uses her tattoos to screen boyfriends, At the first sign of his aversion to her tat toos, or vetoing of extra tat- toos, he’s gone, She could £0 through life a tattooed spinster, affect the rest of a person’s she admitted, avoiding M&Ms, UT THE CONSERVATIONISTS — T'LLTHROW So muct MONEY AT Ave A ALAN: -_ ae THIS PROBLEM THAT EXERY BODY Steer NY Sibel scion rans Yr , CH, ; , CrP eCUE iY IMAGE FOR, | DOCUMENTARIES TOURISM), HABITAT PORTER TY CAND BUSINESS) ° You've o, bear to it, ne den ECTION INDUSTRY COMPENSATION oeeiNe TASK FORCES :.. wees a , fice 62 PY bi ” iC 3 . ey AY Yi GES & ANS” © HF NORTHERNERS HAVE om A PRICE BUT.IT:: Pee CANT MONEY! ONTINVED MEXT SPRING: