B4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 9, 1997

DAVE TAYLOR |

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Banking blues
hile neither MacKenzie King’s Lib-
erals nor R.B. Bennett's Conserva-
tive governments could find the
money to stari an adequate public
works program to soften the blow of the
Depression, all interest on government bonds
and large bank loans was paid in full. It seemed
interest on loans was a sacred trust, but human

beings were expendable.”

So writes Floyd Frank, recalling the hardest of
hard times for Terrace: a time when his beloved
Skeena Valley, torn apart and still sopping wet
from the preat Bible-sized flood of 1936, was a
depressed place in a depressing world.

Things, as Dwight D. Eisenhower sald, were
never so much the same as they are right now.
Following on the heels of the most ignominious
oligarchy in Canada’s history, namely, the
Tories led by the great Mulroon and his quisting
cabinet, we are now saddled with Mr. Chretien
and his corporate-minded liberals marching
around like aged, business suited, occidental
versions of Mao’s red guard, waving their little
red books of lies and broken promises and sing-
ing four squarish hymns to deficit reduction.

Historians have observed that while we no
longer have world wars, unceasing global con-
flicts like those between Serb, Croat and Mus-
lim, or Israeli and Palestinian, or the sparring
between rival factions in Cambodia and East
Timor — to list a few slaughter houses —
creates a war of global proportions in terms of
overall destruction of people and property.

There is enowgh evidence to suggest that eco-
nomic depressions of the global varicty have
undergone a similar transmutation. One
wonders if global poverty isn’t higher than il
ever was. Despite all our putative wealth there
are a lot of people sleeping under bridges. In-
stead of one whopping depression we have
these so-called economic down tums, mini-
depressions that would be more devastating
than they are if not for the social safety net our
federal government is hell bent on unraveling.

Terrace and Prince Rupert are about to fall
into another one of these econamic slumps
thanks to the amoral dealings of Repap. Repap
by another name is any one of the balf dozen
forest giants who have creamed Skeena forests,
creanied off profits, then left our communities
with the economic DTs.

The Royal and TD Banks have had a pulp mill
fall into their unwilling laps. A large percentage
of our forests are comprised of pulp wood. A
modem, non-polluting, pulp mill of the self con-
tained variety would do well on the site where
the old mill stands, Of course it would take a
large investment of capital to build a such a
mill, and, though the banks were more than
willing to float big time loans to what was ob-
viously a shaky enterprise, their spokesmen
have told our own Jeff Nagel they’d like to dis-
tance themselves from the pulp industry.

Instead of the adventuresome businessmen
they purport to be, the banks prefer to belly up
to the government trough, whining and snivel-
ing for a taxpayer handout like the mega wel-
fare bums they really are.

Only a few months ago I heard some poobah
from the Royal Bank crowing like an over-
heated rooster about profits in excess of a bil-
lion dollars, Much of that profit was generated
by service charges, those niggling little fees
banks charge us to do our own banking at
ATMs, among other things. So have the banks
given their overworked and technologically
threatened tellers a wage increase that will bring
up to salary levels commensurate with the
demanding job they do? Nope. On the contrary,
there has been talk of layoffs.

Chartered banks are what these institutions are
called. The government issucs them a charter
which has enables them to make such obscene
profits playing and trading with their
depositors’ money. The original idea of a
charter in the U.S, shortly after American Revo-
lution. Behind the idea of chartering was the
mutualistic notlon that socicty would benefit
from the operations of the bank while the bank,
naturally, could not exist outside of society.

Ifa bank, or any other business, began operat-
ing in a manner detrimental to society, its
charter could be revoked. That power has been
lost over time in the legislative jungle. This is a
pity, for were it still in effect, it’s possible thal a
bank that has profited mightily in our com-
munities might invest In the jobs and the people
that have done business with them.

Can a bonk change? asks one of those
nauseous ads for mbaux. Apparently not. Banks
still act as they did In the Great Depression put-
ting greed and profit over people. If I were a
logging contractor, or anyone cise tikely to be
adversely affected by the closure of the mill in
Port Ed, [’d make a point of boycotting the
banks involved and take my business to one of
the Jocal credit unions. ©

TERRACE HURLER winds up, locking for another strike in their second match of the Finals, Friday

“TERRACE STANDARD.

against Quesnei. Terrace went on to win this game 10-2.

ROUNDING THIRD and heading for home, Terrace
takes a decisive lead in a game Friday.

Local juniors tops
at Copper climb

THE REIGN of Terrace’s
junior cyclists continues as
two local teens took top spot
at the Copper Mountain
Hillclimb two weekends
ago.

Sumy weather drew 25
competitors to the first an-
nual event, which had
alhictes ride up, then down
Copper Mountain's steep
road,

For a full hour, top com-
petitors sweat ‘* oul on the
10 per cent grade,

And in a brilliant battle to
the finish line, two Terrace
teens fought for first place. ©

‘In the end, 16-year-old:

Chris Scarborough edged

oul 17-year-old fellow team
mate Adam Spensley to take
top spot, The two finished
just two seconds apart at
57:30 and 57:32 respective-
ly. ,
Third and fourth places
went to Rupertites Judson
Rowse and Mike Morse,
while fifth, sixth and
seventh went to Terrace’s
Jon Lambert, Brandon
Smoley and Kyle Mason.

The first woman to cross
the line was Terrace’s
Wendy Shymanski, 37, at
1:16:15. .

The oldest competitor was

Norn Stack, 44, who fin-

38-7283

’s best

Local girls
prove tough
to beat at
Provincials

TERRACE SHOWED teams from
all over the province this weekend
that northwest softball players are
some of the best in B.C...

Organizers couldn’t have asked
for a better weekend to host the
1997 Bantam C girls softball
Provincials.

More than 200 girls aged 14-15 ar-
rived in town Thursday, complete
with coaches, family and fans.

Fifteen teams were on hand to
fight for the provincial title in a
four-game round robin toumey, fol-
lowed by an elimination round Sun-
day.

And Terrace got the ball rolling

early, with two decisive victories.

On Friday morming Terrace,
dressed in their battle blues,
stomped all over Windermere. This
one Was a mercy-match as Terrace
was up 17-5 after five innings.

Later that afternoon, Terrace con-
tinued to chew up the competition,
This time they wolfed down Ques-
ne] in another mercy ruling. The
girls were up 10-2 after seven in-
nings when the game was called.

The next day the girls continued
their winning ways, destroying Van-
couver 19-0 in the morning, then
blasting Richmond 7-1.

The wins sent Terrace into the
elimination round with a record of 4
wins and no losses, Coquitlam,
Richmond, and Summerland also
made the cut,

Unfortunately, the final games had
not finished by the time of press.

“Check ‘the Stop Press section of —

page ‘A2 to see if (hey managed to
take the Provincial Championships.

this past weekend.

Richmond and Sooke respectively.

Three softball teams, including the
girls’ PeeWee team, the Squirt boys, and
the Midget girls were batting in P.G.,

Local youths storm Finals

WHILE TERRACE was slomping the
competition at home, other local teams
were fighting their own battles a1 Provin- well.
cial Championships all over the province

Meanwhile, Terrace Minor Soccer had
thelr allstar teams attending provincials as

The Under-19 girls and the Under-14
girls were in the lower mainland, while
the Under-12 boys and Under-13 boys
were in Prince George.

Look for their results in an upcoming
Standard.

ished at 1:38:44, while the
youngest biker was 13-year-
old Rory Stevens who fin-
ished in an impressive
1:24:00.

“Tt was nice to sec such a
diversity in ages,” Wendy
Shymanski noted. “This is
really something anyone can
do if they put their mind to
it. We hope io have even
tmore competitors next
year”?

The next big bike racing
event in Terrace will be the
McBike duathlor, which
takes place July 20, The
race will include both biking
aiid running events.

t

REBECCA ADAMS, 21, and another competitor wind
tielr way up Copper Mountain two weekends ago.
Adams finished 22nd. (JOHN BARTLETT PHOTO) .

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