TheReview Wednesday, May 9,1990 — A7 It has been 30 years since the last tree in British Columbia was cut down and the Last Logger turned off the last chain saw for the:last time and silence, not trees, fell in the woods. No one is really sure what exactly caused this event. Most people say it was not one but a series of events which began in the 1960s with the hugging of trees by people protesting against clear-cut logging and ended in 1992 with the infamous British Columbia Chain Saw Massacre wherein one hundred nearsighted loggers inadver- tently (they said) sliced one hundred tree-hugging ‘protesters in half while sawing down one hundred trees. Whatever. The important thing for our discus- sion here is that logging stopped, pulp and paper companies converted their plants to accept recy- cled paper only, and big trees fell by themselves. No one knows if they make a noise doing it. Then followed a whole series of events. For example, all paper was recycled and it became, if not a crime, certainly a big no-no to bum or ~ otherwise destroy B.C. Ferry receipts and other scraps of paper. Hoarding paper was against the law and offenders were banished to the Prairies and forced to spend the rest of their days in that treeless wasteland. Daily newspapers became weekly and the weeklies turned monthly. Subscribers, if they wanted their current issue, were required to hand back an old paper for recycling. Advertising flyers and junk mail disappeared completely. Magazines folded, merged or went electronic. Paper diapers were declared illegal and landfill sites grew smaller. (Actually, I don’t think any- thing can grow smaller. I should have said shrunk). Grass and trees appeared where garbage had once festered. Diaper dumps became parks where young: mothers walked their cloth-clothed - children. The provincial government decided to eliminate its unnecessary paperwork. This reduced its paper requirements by 93.5 per cent. Of the remainder, six per cent was toilet paper. Legend of ihe last logger Government employees, whose previous responsibilities had been to bend, fold, mutilate and file papers, soon tired of standing around drinking coffee and drifted off to less taxing endeavours. Actually they did not tire of drinking coffee all that soon. It was just under 11 years before the first bureaucrat quit and the others drifted off over the ensuing six years. By this time the provincial debt had been repaid and the government, with its coffee budget down sharply, was able to cut taxes by 23 per cent. The money raised from the sale of abandoned filing cabinets, desk drawers and waste baskets helped too. But the above is not meant to infer that these changes evolved in an aura of peace and tranquil- lity. No sir In fact, at the beginning, out of work loggers stomped around waving their chain saws and hard hats. But no one paid much attention and after a few days they found other work. Some got jobs in the recycling plants but most hired on with provincial park departments which were then desperate for staff. For now the woods were made for walking and Butish Columbians had entered the groves in droves. Existing trails needed to be upgraded and new trails cut — cut around, not through, the trees. The province became Canada’s playground and visitors flocked to B.C. The GPP (gross provincial product) rose six per cent the first year and has grown 10 per cent per year ever since. All this prosperity did not go unnoticed by the province’s citizens and they petitioned the B.C. government to honor that Last Logger of long ago who, by laying down his saw, made so much possible for so many in so few decades. And the province responded admirably. Now every afternoon a crowd gathers to kneel on the grass in front of the Legislative Buildings in Victoria, not to protest but to pray before the solid gold statue of the Last Logger which has replaced whatever used to be atop the dome. Terry Huberts, m.v.a. Saanich & the Islands 2388 Beacon Avenue Sidney, B.C. Phone 656-6061 Office Hours 8:30-4:30 Monday - Friday WATER! CONDITIONING IRON REMOVAL CHLORINATION PURIFICATION FREE WATER ANALYSIS gS hd ATERTECH 24 HOUR SERVICE — 382-9468 Our Reputation fis on Your Head HOUSE OF RUSSEL HAIRSTYLISTS LTD. UNISEX ¢ 656-1522 ss ®@ Precision Cutting IN SIDNEY CENTRE #102-2367 Bevan Ave., Sidney, B.C. (Next to Safeway) In search of the greatest pumpkin tt GREAT PUMPKIN FANS are invited to try their own hand at growing a monster for the Saanich Fair’s 20th annual pumpkin-growing contest. Last year’s winner weighed in at a hefty 134 pounds, taking first place from among 80 to 100 overgrown entries. Special packages of mon- ster pumpkin seeds are now available for $1 apiece at Valley View Gardens, 7013 E. Saanich Rd, or from the agricultural society office on the fairgrounds during office hours.‘‘Feed it any- thing from beer to milk, you can name it, tame it or turn it so it gets rounded better,”’ suggests an anonymous pumpkin growing expert. The pumpkins will be judged at the 122nd annual fair Sept. 1, 2 and 3 on the Saanichton Fair Grounds. * xk + THIS IS THE WEEK THAT IS — recognized during the second week in May is Canada Health WeekMay 7 to 12; Forest WeekMay 6 to 12 and Safe Drinking Water Week May 6 to 12. KK *K PITCHING IN TO Pitch-in Week, a nation- wide clean-up program May 7 to 13 are local participants from Brentwood Elementary, First North Saanich Brownies, Dogwood District Girl Guides, Greenglade Elementary, Mt. New- ton Middle School, Keating District Girl Guides, Brownies and Sparks. kK OK TALENTED TOES are invited to tum out for the Victoria Arts Collaborative 1990 Interna- tional Summer School of Dance, Aug. 1 to 19. The school, directed by Constantine Darling, offers top instruction in ballet, repertory, modern and jazz dance. Auditions for scholarships and student placement will be held this Sunday, May 7, starting at 9:30 a.m. Students must pre-register by phone at 384-6393. 53 23 23 PEOPLE WHO ARE concerned about their hearing can now have it checked from the privacy of their own homes. A free Dial a Hearing Screening Test has been set up by Victoria-based Occupational Hearing Services. A brief record- ing will play eight different test tones to screen a person’s heanng. The recording will also provide information about medical problems associated with hearing loss. To receive a screening test, call 386-TEST (8378). The program operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. a TURN OUT TONIGHT for the Sidney and North Saanich Memorial Park Society’s annual general meeting, starting at 7:30 p.m. in the annex of Sanscha Hall. Directors elected at tonight’s meeting will help determine the future of the community hall and memorial property if the expected highways expropriation occurs. ~McKIMM & LOTT BARRISTERS, SOLICITORS & NOTARIES NICHOLAS W. LOIT CHRISTOPHER S. LOTT TIMOTHY FE LOTT R.G. WITT LAPPER D., MAYLAND MCKIMM GRANT S. WARRINGTON GEORGE EF McKIMM - COUNSEL Personal Injury / Real Estate Criminal Law / Wills & Estates Family Law / Commercial & Co. Law Municipal Law FIRST 1/2 HOUR CONSULTATION FREE GANGES CENTRE BLDG. GANGES, B.C. 537-9951 9830 FOURTH ST. SIDNEY, B.C. 656-3961 e DRAPES - BLINDS - BEDSPREADS e UPHOLSTERY - SLIP COVERS \ SUNLIGHT BINTERICDS LOCATED INSIDE STANDARD FURNITURE 10th FLOOR SIDNEY CENTRE 655-1574.