A4- The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 6, 1999

“TERRACE

| STANDARD

ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988

PUBLISHER: ROD LINK
ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. « V8G 5R2
TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 + FAX: (251) 638-8432
EMAIL: standard@kermode.net

A funny thing

IN THE strange but irue file, there won’t be
elections this fall in one of the more contro-
versial public sector areas — health care. Mem-

bers of the Terrace and Area Health Council |

are instead directly appointed by the provin-
cial government. This is a relatively new sys-
tem, replacing one in which local societies ran
health care facilities with representation, in
the case of Mills Memorial Hospital, from
groups such as the hospital auxiliary.

When first introduced, the new governing
system was criticized. There were also accu-
sations that the province chose people more in
line with its political philosophy.

Here in Terrace those criticisms grew when
the new Terrace and Area Health Council was
immediately immersed in budget problems. No
matter what it did, or didn’t do, it was criti-
cized for not listening to local people and act-
ing as their servant and for kowtowing to what-
ever policies were coming out of Victoria,
Where local people wanted the council to
breath fire and brimstone, it instead preferred
to quietly go about its business.

Looking back, that may have been a wise
move. Since this was a new way of doing busi-
ness, it made sense to first figure out the lay
of the land before conducting any type of ca-
valry charge. And since budgets and overall po-
licy are set by. the province, local health coun-
cils didn’t have a lot of control regardless.

As well, this is a local health council and
some of the more pressing health care needs

here, recruiting, and: keeping specialists, for in-.-:
stance, can only be'tackled ‘regionally.’ The’

provincial government decided against a north-
west regional health authority, leaving local
health councils to painfully find ways of doing
things together.

All this began to change this spring with the
artival of Tom Novak, a cost-control and man-
agement expert hired by the health council at
the strong suggestion of the provincial govern-
ment. Through various circumstances, he’s now
temporarily running Mills Memorial and Kiti-
mat General Hospital, making him in spirit, if
not in reality, the region’s health care czar.

Through Mr. Novak we’re seeing, for in-
stance, the first moves toward regional speci-
alty medical services. You have to know that
this has the quiet blessing of the provincial
government given that he arrived at the sug-
gestion of the government itself.

So here we are without a locally elected
health care body working in tandem with a
powerful non-elected official on local and re-
gional issues. And darn it if things aren’t hap-
pening which will ultimately benefit the area.

Amazing thing democracy. You just never :

know how many forms it will take,

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Serving tha Terrace and Thornhill area, Published on Wednesday of each week al 3210 Clinton Siieet,
Terrace, British Columbla, VIG 5R2,

Stories, photographs, illustrations, designs and typestyles in the Terrace Stendatd are the proparty of he
copyright holders, including Cariboo Press (1969) Ltd., ils iffustration repro services and advertising
agencies.

Repreduction in tole or int part, withoul written permission, 1s specifically protibited,

Authorized as second-class mail pending the Pos! Cffice Department, for payment of postage in cash,

Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents
for their tle and talents

Coming clean is a better way

VICTORIA -
closets and letting skeletons
tumble out has become the lat1-
est political rage.

Minnesota Governor Jesse
Ventura told reporters even
before he entered the guberna-
torial race that: a‘brothel, in
Las Vegas, I believe, named a
room aflerc him.

He wanted’ to save the
media the trouble to dig up
dirt from his. pist; he said,
adding that, try as they might,
they wouldn't ‘find-a.thing on
him from the day he gat mar-
ried.

Earlier this month, Michael
Portillo, a former Tory
defence secretary, touted as a
likely successor to” William
Hague, the party leader, con-
fessed to homosexual experi-
ences as a- student at Cam-
bridge University.

~ And “here” at-home; Jane”

education minister; ‘called ‘a
press conference ‘last week
and revealed to
reporters that’she had been a
drug addict during her late
teens and early twenties.

That was 30 years: ago.
Still, shé felt compelled to
drag the skeleton out of. her
closet after a reporter con-

- fronted her with rumors of her

past dng addiction. To the
reporter's credit, he wasn't
afier a cheap story. He told

How To

AFTER AN exhaustive
study of mecling practices,
University of Missouri
researchers concluded meet-
ings reach decisions faster if
people stand, yet the quality
of decision-making is every
bit as good as at sit-down
meetings. Meetings are more
than 30 per cent shorter, too.

These findings offer cost
savings for every scheol board,
city council, and regional bedy.
Savings in furniture, coffee,
deli snacks, scratch pads and
executive time.

Any body of 10 or fewer

representatives could gather

around a single stand up
microphone like radio. actors
doing Jake and the Kid. As a
bonus to disteners, magnified
thumping of papers on.oak
tables would be absent.

If B.C. legislators had to
stand, sessions would. be
shortened by as much as.two-

‘months, adding big savings in

Vicloria-lo-constituency
travel costs alone. And with-

lOPULATION !

Opening

stunned .

HUBERT BEYER

Purves he wanted to doa slory
on how she managed to reha-
bilitate herself. If she didn't
want to do that story, there
wouldn't be story, period.

‘Tl suppose it must have
occurred to her that if a princi-

.pled reporter had heard the

rumors, it wouldn't be toa
slong .before some-sleaze bag ...

“Puaved?" Nova Seiiti's bw anwould hear the:same thing andes uy
destroy -her career.

Aull confession, made
voluntarily, was, therefore, the
only logical choice, which
isn't to say that it didn't lake
extraordinary courage for her
to submit herself to the humil-
daling experience of a public

-confession about her past.

This. new. trend among
politicians of exposing their
past is, of course, a direct
result of the media-driven

. public preoccupation with the

private lives of elected repre-

sentatives.

There was a time, not that
long ago, when a politician's
private life, sexual dalliances
and all, was not part of the

public domain. It was
believed, and rightly so, that a
person's private life was
sacrosanct.

That has changed drarmati-
cally. Anyone entering public
life had. better be squeaky
clean or get busy preparing for
a public confession.

Some haven't caught on to
the new order. Bill Clinton
obviously thought he could
get away with trying to seduce
every woman in sight. Well,
he did get way with it; but at a
steep price.

History will remember him
best for being the most
promiscuous president than
anything else he may have

inhale.

Also a litile slow on the
uptake is George W. Bush, the
Republican front runner for
the presidency. He's being
hounded by the media over
rumors of alleged cocaine use
‘in his younger years.

Rather than coming clean,
Bush keeps asserting thal he
could pass this test and that,
going back to 1974, when he
was 28 years old, leaving

"a¢complished. OF» caurse,,
Clintod! 8 'a9e"the Bay who *
said he smoked pat but didn't ;

open the possibility that he‘
was a cocaine user before that. '
] still prefer the old days '

when politicians were judged ¢
solely on the strength of their ‘

performance, and their private

lives weren't dragged across .

the front pages. Bul for better

ar worse, those days are. gone. -

Purves got nothing but.
accolades for her confession. :
Her party leader, opposition «

mentbers, columnists and edi-
torial writers all agreed that
her bravery deserved full
marks.

Yet,
some headline hunter to blow
her out of the water, she
would have been crucified by
all the — aforementioned
guardians of all they consider
wholesome and noble.

The story would have been
the same. A young woman got

had she waited for”

eos ee

seriously, addicted to, hard ‘
drugs, lost custody of. her’,

child,

offered herself to public ser-
vice and got elected.

Would it not make more
sense if the media stopped

rehabilitated herself, |
built a successful career, -

digging for skeletons in the ,

‘first place?

Beyer can be reached at -

Tek: (250) 920-9300; e-mail:
hubert@coolcom.com:;
Fax: (978) 477-5656
web:  http://www.hubert-

beyer.com/

speed up meetings

THROUGH BIFOCALS
CLAUDETTE SANDECKI

OUR SCIENTISTS HAVE
FOUND THERE ARE

me 7wWo TYPES OF Moose
OR "MORPHS (N THE

out desks, their trained seal
pounding would disappear.
What a relic£!

Foreing Oltawa’s senators

_ to stand - and stay awake -

would thin. their ranks as
effectively as’ a | dance
marathon, We'd abolish. the
senate without firing i single
yote.

AL elections, .we'd choose .
our-representatives the way a
horse breeder selects an ani-
mal — we'd look for an indi-

ONE ‘MORPH’ IS.
EVERGETIC ANP
ADVENTUROUS WiTd
LONG SEASONAL

MoVE MENTS |

vidual with stamina, as well
as sound feet and legs. Our
result couldn’t be worse than
we're gelting now,

Budgel shortfalls would
shrink owing to substantial
savings in plush furniture,
meeting space, and janitorial
services,

A side effect of shorter
meetings would be more fam-
ilies spending extra time
together. Civic-minded par-
ents who attend meelings
until eleven could be home
before soccer practice ended.

This week, in a search for
additional ways to shorten
meetings, CBC radio asked
for suggestions. Here are a
few:

Use chairs upholstered in
slippery vinyl. Remove the
front casters to create a down-
ward slope. Tiring of con-
stantly scrambling to sit back
in their chairs, meeting-goers
will shorlen their arguments,

Encourage’ everyone’ to
drink several cups of coffee

prior to the meeting.

Schedule meetings before *

8 a.m. or after 5 p.m. No one
wants to arrive before work or
stay afterward for a frivolous
meeting.

Cancel regular Monday
moming staff meetings. held
for no
Everyone talks sports scores,
swaps tales

specific purpose. :

Se} RE RT

of weekend -
escapades, and goofs off until ~

noon. If there’s no need fora ::

necting, don’t hold one.

Try BS Bingo. Each partic- -

ipant receives a card printed

with current meeting buzz- "'

words - and phrases such as

stakeholders, bottom line, out *'

of the loop,. The first time
you hear one of these expres-
sions during the meeting, you
check it off. When every
buzzword has been checked
off, you yell “Bingo!” and the
meetings adjourns.

- But Missouri University’s
advice will join the pile of
ignored studies already gath-
ering dust. .

WHILE THE OTHER

ie

MORPH DOES utrleé. U 1
AND JUST HANGS UNDERSTAND On 7 Thing
AROUND ITS TINY THE CONCEPT 7

HOME RANGE /