a ete gee igen ge Page we ey ee wine Ue a a eee eT a AER ep RT 0 ne SE A The provincial ambulance ser- tee’ 8 centralized communica- tions center at Kamloops was of- -ficially opened by Health “Minister Peter Dueck earlier this “month. The Kamloops centre is responsible for all ambulance "service outside the Lower _” Mainland and Vancouver Island ‘and provides ‘continuous ~. .eoverage to 100 B.C. _. munities, including Terrace. _com- ‘ py Tod Strachan . “On pre- ‘counselling, | ‘and principles of feminist coun- Fi a! re Me -".Many communities and . organizations, particularly in the ‘north, opposed the ‘‘centraliza- tion” of « ambulance dispatch service when it was first im- plemented last November. But ‘Terrace ambulance service unit chief Mike Dwyer says: that the opposition was based ¢ on misin- formation. According to Dwyer, the new system is far superior to any which previously existed — it of- fers around-the-clock monitor- ing by qualified ambulance at- . tendants and a state-of-the-art phone system which insures the quickest possible response by . local attendants. The centralized phone system has: 29 in-coming ~ Pro-Choice coalition AC ‘workshop on counselling ~ techniqués and an extensive in- - formation survey on abortion. . services are part of a research project taking place this summer in Terrace. The Northern Pro-Choice ~ Coalition believes that only with unbiased, factual information ‘will it be possible for women to exercise their right to choice in _ ‘abortion, ‘spokesperson Helen ‘Furmanek says. - by Charlynn Toews - With this goal in mind, Fur- . manek and co-workers Dana ‘Boyce and Donna Donnan are surveying Northwest hospitals, ‘ nursing stations and women’s organizations regarding the abortion and counselling ser- __ vices and sources of financial aid they may offer. About 150 ques- -tionnaires have been sent throughout the Northwest, "covering the area from Quesnel to the Yukon border and the - Queen Charlotte Islands to Prince George. Through a Chal-- lenge 88 grant, the three students are collecting the information and disseminating it to the 35 women ’s resource centres in the northern half of the province. The staff will also be organiz- ing and sponsoring a workshop and — post-abortion medical aspects, selling, with a local doctor and Coalition members acting as facilitators, About 15 partici- _ pants from the area are expected to attend the August 20 “workshop to learn or improve _ their counselling skills. Because funding is limited, no travel or “ accommodation subsidies will be -provided for _ workshop, which will have a $35 fee. the one-day ' According to Coalition mem- ber. Maureen . Bostock, counsel- “Jing services currently available through the Pro-Choice Coali- ‘tion includes birth control infor- . . Mation, how to get an abortion dn” Terrace and surrounding areas, and referrals to doctors as _ well as referrals to other Terrace agencies providing pregnancy- - -telated services if the woman ‘decides to continue the pregnan- cy. } - Furmanek said survey responses received so far have shown that information is great- ly needed, with many. women’s: 4 senate workshop, _information survey | groups unsure of where to find counselling services or abortion referrals,. The Terrace-based Pro-choice' Coalition is the only such group attempting to collect and disseminate this type of in- formation, . A problem ‘with the vast distances in the north has also surfaced. Women in - isolated northern communities such as Stewart have to travel either to Terrace, or to Whitehorse — a two-day drive — to obtain an abortion. And hospitals may have long waiting lists once the woman arrives, Financial aid for travel or ac-_ commodation is often needed, but unavailable. To this end, the Coalition started a Trust Fund earlier this year to assist women. The staff are also collecting in- formation on the government assistance available to women who choose to continue their pregnancies, either raising the children themselves or opting for adoption. Early survey results also show that abortions are available in Terrace and Smithers hospitals up to 12 weeks, and Dawson Creek up to !14 weeks. A total of 21 hospitals and 15 nursing sta- tions were sent the question- naires in June. | By September 2, the informa- tion from the survey and work- shop will be available for the use of individuals and organizations throughout the Northwest. The young women will be returning to their studies in schools in Ter- race and the University of Regina. Furmanek said her decision to get involved in the project stem- med from her personal beliefs. ‘It should be the woman’s choice. No law, no government should make the decision for her,” emergency lines and six ‘'911” emergency lines and handles an average of ‘144 calls daily. Also, if any error is made by the caller, dispatcher or driver while communicating vital infor- mation, such as the. location of the emergency, the dispatcher can confirm or correct informa- tion immediately using an audio tape system which automatically records all calls. Soon to be add- ed is a computer-assisted dispatch system which will make it possible to immediately deter- mine the source of the call. Dwyer says that the use of this technology is vital for providing the quickest response time for local crews, but the cost of in- stalling and staffing it in every B.C. community would be far too expensive. By centralizing, the system becomes affordable and earlier critics who said, “How will a dispatcher in Kamloops know where | live,’’ didn’t understand the system. - He explained that the dispat- cher doesn’t have to know the exact location of the emergency, that’s up to the driver. It is only required that the dispatcher has ~ access to the best in communica- tion equipment and is qualified to tell the caller how to deal with ; “Terrace Review — Wednesday, July 27, 1988. 19 ~ New ambulance ¢ dispatch ‘system ‘ta far superior’ the emergency until the am- bulance arrives. . As far as concerns over the length of time for crews to res- pond, Dwyer says that the new system is faster than before. When a caller dials 638-1102, the first question he is asked is, “For what city?” As soon as the community is identified the dispatcher has only to press a button, and pagers for on-duty attendants alert the crew even while the caller is still on the line, - It?s a far superior system that works, says Dwyer, and it works continued on page 20 During the summer City of Terrace public works crews are in ‘evidence everywhere around the city. This group recently installed a new fire hydrant In the 4500 block Greig Ave. Report says. CAI service improved The National Transportation Agency of Canada (NTA) has completed its investigation into complaints of high air fares and poor service on the Canadian Airlines International (CAI) Vancouver/Terrace run late last fall. The NTA concluded that the cost of air fares compares favorably with those offered in other parts of the country, and the agency also says CAI has recognized and taken the neces-- sary steps to alleviate complaints relating to customer service. The report points out that it is impossible to compare the Ter- race situation to routes like Van- couver/Toronto due to large disparities in population, the: volume of . passengers and distances flown. The revenue per mile CAI realizes on its Vancouver/Ter- race run, the report said, is slightly below average: the average revenue reported by NTA after investigating nine similar routes in Canada was 41.6 cents per mile for every passenger carried, and CAI’s Terrace/Vancouver run realized 41 cents. The least profitable of Catch limits clarified Confusion among sport fishermen regarding recently- _issued catch limits for steelhead in the Skeena and Nass River systems has prompted the B.C. Fish and Wildlife Branch to clarify their regulations. Northern Regional Fisheries biologist Bob Hooton stated last week that the catch limit throughout both river systems will be one per angler, except in those areas where the limit is zero. Total catch-and-release areas include the Babine River, the Kispiox River, the Suskwa River, the Sustut River, McDon- nell Lake, and sections of the Bulkley and Morice Rivers, Fishermen requiring further © information should contact the Terrace Ministry of Environ- ment conservation office, all in the study was Moncton, N.B. to Deer Lake, Nfld., at 38 cents per passenger mile — and the most lucrative run, Cran- brook to Saskatoon, Sask., at 48 . cents. ‘On the other hand, there were apparently fewer discount fares being offered to passengers us- ing northern runs compared to those on flights ‘elsewhere in Canada — 36 percent compared to 55 percent — and NTA recommended that. CAI should -review their policy on discount fares; but the report also noted that additional flights by com- - peting airlines will probably serve to correct the problem. CAI admitted that its ‘‘on- time performance” between September and December last ‘year was “‘lessthan satisfactory” ‘on the Terrace run due to the shortage of one aircraft, in- adequate planning of station and enroute times, military exer- cises at Comox Air Base forcing commercial planes to divert from their flight path, and adverse weather conditions. Since that time, the report notes, CAI has added an extra aircraft to the run, adjusted the station and enroute times and has paired northern destinations dif- ferently. The report also notes that the number of flights at the Terrace airport were reduced from 42 in 1986 to 26, in the fall of 1987, with the number of direct flights also reduced, but states that this is another problem which has been alleviated by competition. aah NOTICE Riverboat Days Parade Marshalling Area 4700 Block Park Avenue between Sparks and Eby Streets All parking or stopping of unauthorized vehicles on this street is prohibited between the hours of: 7 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Saturday, July 30, 1988. SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC WORKS cry OF TERRACE Wate