AA - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 4, 2003 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 Home grown IT SAYS something about the continuing regis- tered nursing shortage when after three years, lo- cal health officials continue their pursuit of a group of Filipino nurses now living in Libya. At first it was five nurses interested in coming and living in Terrace. That number has now dropped to three and it may be a year yet before those three have the path cleared to come to town. What this points out is the tenacity of those Fil- ipino nurses and of local health care officials. It also points out that much is left to be done to” ease the nursing shortage. When health care offi-” cials talk about bed shortages it’s not really beds they are talking about — rather it’s the nurses and. others needed to take care of the people in the beds. As it is, Milis Memorial Hospital has taken money that was to be used to hire registered nurs- es and instead hired graduates from the North- west Community College’s first-ever licensed practical nursing program. This means registered nurses are more free to do undertake their more specialized duties. And several new full time registered nursing positions have been created instead of casual po- sitions which don’t carry with them benefits or the certainty a full time permanent job provides. In Prince George the Northern Health Authari- ty has provided several years of refresher pro- grams for former nurses who wanted to return to the profession. This attracted 27 people. A similar provincial effort has been less successful - result- ing in six people from the north taking up the off- er of a $3,500 grant to renew their qualifications. The real cure for the nursing shortage rests with ideas such as establishing a registered nursing program in Terrace. Aspiring nurses would take the first two years of their Bachelor of Science in Nursing requirements at Northwest Community college and their final two years through the Uni- versity of Northern British Columbia here, This would keep young people in the north, providing them with skilled, high income jobs of- fered by willing and hungry employers. . The program itself would be an economic gen-: erator for Terrace by employing instructors and others needed to keep it functioning. The success of Northwest Community College’s first-ever li- censed practical nursing program, which graduat- ed 26 people this year, indicates what is possible. Three of the 24 local people who graduated | from UNBC this past weekend received Bachelor ° of Science in Nursing degrees from the universi- ty’s Prince George-based program. Cengratula- tions to them and let’s hope that number climbs in the years ahead. It would be nice to have that term “home grown” be used in a context different than the one. to which it is now more commonly attached. PUBLISHER /EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS: Jeff Nagel NEWS /SPORTS Sarah A. 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Stories, photographs, illustrations, dasigns and lypestylas in the Terrace Standard ara Ihe property of Ihe copyright holders, including Cariboo Press (1869) Ltd., its illustration rapro services and advertising agencies. - : ' Poproduction in whoia or in part, without written permission, is specllically prohibited. , Authorized as second-class mail panding the Post Ofita Department, fof paynént of postage in cash. Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents “for thelr time and talents | P Be He CABIN MUG ie Miss THe BUSH), OR Tre FOR ToDAY!! BYINGANG MUG (SHE'S (AITO FENG SHul Now) [SUPPORT CANADA'S | CATTLE INDUSTRY Children once more are at risk VICTORIA — When govern- ment tries to curb spending, an arguably laudable goal, cer- tain things that might be desir- able, won't get done. The key word here is desir- able. When necessary things don’t get done in the interest of savings, bad things may happen. Clearly, one the priorities of government ought to be to act in the best interest of society’s most vulnerable members — children. The public, partisan as it may he on other issues, speaks with one voice on this one. Governments pay lip service to the need to protect children. All opposition parties invari- ably claim government isn’t doing enough. You will never hear a politician say that too much money is being wasted on child protection. Things get confusing, how- ever, when an opposition party finds itself in the government's: position after an election. Quotes come back to haunt the former crilics of govern- ment inaction. “Government has an obliga- tion to protect and provide for those most vulnerable in our society, especially children at risk and those in foster care,” said Gordon Campbell, now the Premier, during the last election campaign. Inherent in the above quote FROM THE CAPITAL HUBERT BEYER is, of course, the accusation that the then NDP government wasn’t doing enough to protect children. “There is clearly a problem of resources in the Ministry of Children and Families," said Christy Clark, now Deputy Premier, in 1998, while in op- position. How do those statements ‘ stack up to the stark reality of the Liberal government’s pro- posed budget cuts of up to 30 per cent in programs involving child protection in one way or another? Clearly, they don’t. Family Partners, a coalition of groups advocating better services for the protection of children in British Columbia, voiced its alarm over the pro- posed massive budget cuts in a letter to the premier, dated May 16. “As family members, we are deeply troubled by informa- tion, confirmed recently by senior bureaucrats, of cuts of 40 per cent or more being con- sidered for vital child and fam- ily services in at least two re- gions of British Columbia,” the letter states. We are’ further concerned that core services for children and youth with special needs, which your government prom- ised to protect (see above Campbell quote), are also be- ing considered for cuts.” In a follow-up letter, dated May 22, Family Partners reit- erated its misgivings over the proposed cuts and additionally accused the government of keeping those most directly af- fected in the dark. “We have previously voiced strong support for your goals of improving openness and ac- countability. However, many ‘families feel as“ much’ in‘ the dark today about what is going on and what changes are in store..as we did a year ago,” the letter says. “We therefore urge you once again to carefully consider the many reports, questions and concerns that urgently need to be addressed to restore faith in a process that appears to be seriously off-track.” The British Columbia Asso- ciation for Child Development and Rehabilitation has also weighed in on the issue. In a May 11 letter to the premier, the association cites federal contributions totalling more than $400 million towards services for children in B.C. over the next few years and de- mands that they be spent on these services. The letter recommends that the premier adhere to his New Era for British Columbia prom- ises to “increase emphasis on early childhood intervention programs for families with spe- cial needs children” and “stop the endless bureaucratic re- structuring that has drained re- sources for children and family services.” That’s what I mean by state- ments coming back to haunt politicians. What the premier so valiantly attacked when in opposition, mamely the “endless ‘bureaucratic restruc- turing,” is what his government “is dnvolved in right now. Once again, services for children are being restructured. Wouldn't it make more sense to postpone desirable but not vital projects such as new highway construction or the Olympic hopes and allocate the money to where it most benefits those most deserving of help - our children? Beyer can be reached at: E-mail: hubert@coolcom.com. Or phone him at (250) 381-6900, We expect them to perform A RECENT story in The Van- couver Province reported the finding of two Canada Post bags of mail under a log in a farmer’s field near Courtenay. The canvas bags contained 300 pieces of Christmas mail issuing from the second week of December. It was then a letter carrier hired for holiday relief work was fired after only four days for “not delivering according to performance requirements” along his route, At the time, at least one Comox resident complained to the post office she had not re- ceived Christmas cards she was expecting from her mother and other relatives. Had the fired postie once been a pa- perboy? He fits my experience with paperboys. Years back, while walking our dogs, I stumbled into a cache of The News-Advertiser dumped in some saplings along a cutve in the road. Seems a paperboy believed no one would notice or care if he skipped delivery of that weck’s issuc. But that paperboy would a [ue PALMTREE M IN: THROUGH BIFOCALS: CLAUDETTE SANDECKI have been mistaken No matter how unimportant that newspa- per might seem by his reading standards, he could bet some- where along his route lived someone with a life so routine that the sight of that folded newspaper jutting from his mailbox would be the high- light of his day. The newspaper and its fly- ers might prove to be a disap- pointment, offering’ no surpris- es, notable facts, or bargains suited to the reader's taste, Still, the newspaper with its Not THE SNOWFLAKE MuG (SHELL FEEL CHILLY) OR THE SORE MuG GHELLTHINK OF WORK), OR UG(S flyers would check off an ev- ent in the course of the house- holder’s day. On time delivery is import- ant to merchants who pay to have their flyers dispersed along with the weekly newspa- per. Even at a few cents per flyer, the expense adds up. So, too, does the merchant;’s ex- pectations for increased sales, If one customer mentions missing the week’s flyer, an investigation will! begin into the behaviour of her route’s paperboy. Last Saturday Bargain Store clerks were asking customers to take part in a store survey, We were asked, “Have you re- ceived one of our store flyer's in the past month?” followed by, “Would you give us your postal code?” “Sounds like the paperboy hasn’t been delivering your flyers,” 1 said to the associate ringing up my two seam rip- pers, She nodded. Over the years I’ve had a phone call or two from a news- paper’s circulation department asking if I'd been receiving TRIP) ON THE FALL ASPEN MUG! THATS PERFECT their free newspaper regularly. More than once I might have started an investigation after my newspaper failed to arrive within 48 hours. . Up to 48 hours I think, “Maybe the kid is sick, Maybe his family took him out of town for a week. Maybe he broke his leg playing soccer. One of his parents will be along tomor- row.” But when each new day ar- tives but my paper doesn’t, I phone the person in charge of paperboys. I also report tor- eador and other harassing moves made toward my dogs, I always feel guilty then { _Teport a miscreant paperboy, but I shouldn’t. The paperboy has a contract to deliver. If he doesn’t deliver, he’s commit- ting fraud. Should I encourage him to become a crook? I don’t think so. His employ- er cannot see how he perform- ers on his route, But I and do- zens of other householders can. Both the newspaper and adver- lisers will pay for poor or non- existent service unless I act as a route quality control super- visor.