Paga 44 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 1, 1993

OQ ERRACE SL AND AR . Jef Nagel - News/Community, Malcolm Baxter - News/Sports, ki = ae . ae nee | A erereaitor: Rosa Fisher - Freel Offica Manager, Pam Odell - Compositor,, : a ans Pee nes ere rermee . ~- Rod Link. >. Tilcia Walker - Typasetter, Susan. Credgeur « Composing/Darkroom § jal: = : . FO Nal , Susan Credgeur +! ; Special thanks to os | . ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1886 " _. | _ an Janet Viveiros = Advertising Consutaht; Sam Collier -Advartising Consultant, a our : wos an eo “Charlena Matthaws = Circulation Manager... —— Registration No. 7820 4647 Lazelle Ave., Terrace, B.C., V8G 188 tanauer ee ae aaa contributors and Phone (604) 638-7283 | Fax (604) 638-8432 — Mike L. Hamm ese, tk Ag. | correspondents Serving the Tertace rea. Published on Wednesday af each week by Cariboe Prass (1960) Ltd. at 4647 Lazelle Ave., Terraca, British Columbia ; ae : yer noe OE Wee Dae for their time and Storloa, photagraphs, lilustralions, designs and lypastyles in the Tastace Standard ara tha property of the copytight holders, including Cariboo Press Production Manager: ve Go “gt : [ae veRinéo talents. — (1969) Lid, i's Hlustration repro services and advertising agencies. Ed d Credae Th at g 35 . cincuLaTi¢N & : Reproduction in whole or in part, without written permission, is specificaly prohibited, G@cna ouard Uredgeur att 7 - — Authorized #8 second-class mail pending the Post Offica Dapartrrent, for payment of postage [n cash. - conn

DITORIAL,

There’s been one question not completely addressed in the ruckus over residential de- velopments along. the banks of Howe Creek. And that is, is Howe Creek really a

. greek? Not really, at least ‘according the city’s public works people. As the story goes,

Howe Creek is. actually a drainage ditch

dug many years ago when the area-at the foot of the bench was a large swamp. Providing a channel for water to escape was one way of drying up ‘the swamp,

making it suitable for farming and the such .

back then. oe If we follow this line of thought, we’re left with the conclusion that it’s a bit silly to get into a row about the future of a

- simple, artificial drainage ditch.

But, alas. Mother Nature has a habit of - judging where she can do her thing, Over the years the ditch transformed itself into a classic creek. It’s become the home to and generator of a pleasant little eco system. It’s ‘meant the adoption of the creek as habitat by fish. And it’s become an ac-

: Sa sometimes seems that a graduate * school course-in poker is a mandatory re- quirement for those who become big

: dandy-found'of card playing going on right “iow ‘between “Alcan and the’ provincial government.over who is going to pay for the ‘Kemano Completion. Project’s extra ‘ expenses. _ “ rn .

Those extra expenses siem from the shut- < down of the ‘project in 1991 in-response to

- @ federal court decision. The- project was. : half-way finished and Alcan had spent -

.$500;million. ‘Since. then things have be- “ come more expensive. Alcan estimates it'll : take several hundred million more dollars

‘ on top of the‘original $1 billion cost to fin-

fsb things up.

Ditch the creek?

, figel® in‘Disiness and-polities. We hive’ &.”.""The. provincial” govetnmeat’ is" plesiding

od

cepted place for people to enjoy the out- doors. All in all, it?s a marvelous accom- plishment for what began as a simple drainage ditch,

Judged from this perspective, council

~ finds itself in a real pickle when consider- ~ ing the future of Howe Creek. Replicating

what the drainage ditch;has become today would cost a tremendous amount of

“money, Municipalities elsewhere which -

have done so find themselves the benefi- ciaries of awards for creativity and enhan- cement of the environment. Walls across the country are covered with plaques and the such giving congratulations for creat- ing fish habitat.

Can this council allow the conversion of this unintended natural bonanza into some-

“thing else? Will it fall victim to the pres-

sures of urban growth that have resulted in bad decisions in other jurisdictions? Even in simple economic terms, this council should consider what has been returned for what was invested in creating the ditch. Wealth can be counted in many ways.

it has with crown corporation B.C. Hydro’ as a way of making up the extra amount

poverty, saying it can kick'in'a couple’ of

- more dollars but nothing spectacular. - The poker aspect comes into play as each

side tries to bluff the other. Alcan, for in-

-stance, has- apparently threatened some kind of legal challenge. The province has said what. it is against, but hasn’t revealed

what it is for. _ -

All of this places the taxpayer, the person

who- will ultimately pay for what is de-

_ cided, in an unreasonable position. Poker is fine when only those playing are affected. But when the stakes are so large, it’s time...

to close down the game. ©

a Becauso. we live only a block : ~

| Death stalks hi ghways

| from Yellowhead 16, it’s possible in the. quiet of the night to lie - awake... listening - to _ traffic. *

: caré:whihe and ordinary vehicles _ ‘hum: away to the cast or : decelerate approaching Terrace. - ._What-are they all doing driving | mm "inthe middle of the night? = 8

Through Bighiteen-wheelers labour, sports ° Bifocals

_by Claudette Sandecki

> ment’s lack of popularity was”

Alcan wants to renegotiate sales contracts

"time adviser, to the Public’

» newly-created Crown corpora-

. certainly ladled out his share

The question haunts me when- . ever: T hear of an accident such as “ the.one near Hope recently where ‘.@ car crossed into the oncoming

> ‘path: of a truck. The car’s five

young occupants were killed in-

* gtantly. The time? Two .m. .

... ‘Why ‘weren't they safe in bed at “that:hour? How is. it for them a

~ steering’ wheel held more’ allure

- than a pillow? -

' Occastonally’ the night stillness

§s pierced by the siren of an am-

_- bulance, firetruck, or: police. car. ‘The -tisiron ‘my.atms springs to

~ attentioti, my heart pounds, and 1.

50 many private people are on the

“highway well past pub closing,

“Two issues ago this newspaper

- reported a study that revealed the

hold my bréath'as'I try to discern ~

~ which: typeof emergency vehicle

. itis, and where it’s headed: 7 -

“Was the- call-in response to a

| sportscar wrapped around a.

hydto ‘poll?An cighteen-wheeler -

_ jackkhifed Into the Skeena? Or a

parked motorhome with a heart patient: slumped. on the. carpet?..-. chooses without’ running into a ul . > patrol car. = flashed-on The National, images. ~- flicker.

_ Like: :. year-end: cnews photos : Of “highway: carnage - * through my head. . -

‘Long haul truckers have an ex:

" guse to‘drive through the night. | ‘Thoy have deadlines io mect, and - = ‘tuany-of. them work shifts, But -

‘have-frouble--understanding. why

—

main cause of death in this tegion

of young people between the ages

of 15-19 was motor vehicle acci- dents. These included motor vehicle... occupants, cyclists, pedestrians, motorcycles. and all- terrain vehicles,

The statistic ought to convince. caring parents that young people . should have an early curfew to.

‘clear them off the highway before © ‘drunks and dozers drive out’ ~ Granted, highway deaths do oc-

cur at any hour of the twenty. -

four. But ‘statistics would no - . doubt prove the riskiest times are - ‘between 10 p.m.and early dawn.

That’s when each motorist thinks

_ he’s the only one on the highway,

free to drive as recklessly.as he

Well, there are things far more

life-threatening than a patrol car - - fo mn Into. Things like ‘drunks.

Druggles. Faulty”. vehicles. In- experienced drivers. Split second hazards: such«:.as.- meandering

_ Those, black bears, or distrac- “«flons caused by fellow passengers:

with more interest in silliness than safeiy.

With Labour Day weekend around the calendar corner, we must brace. ourselves for another undertakers’ special, Our roads are sure to be' the scene of an in- evitable quota of senseless, sick-

ening slaughter. Despite the un-- dying efforts of police . road-.

blocks, Cownterattack, and groups suchas Mothers Against Drunk ‘When. it comes. to late night

‘driving, it's wise to ignore: the you can’t beat'em, :

maxim, “If join’em.”

those around him had bélter: ' "mot get too cozy.

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(FOR YOUR J

: Premier forges ahead -

to create a new image

VICTORIA — A while back

I said that one of the major —« - reason’s for the NDP govern- . From th e the public perception that. Ca pital Premier Harcourt isn’t in ee ee charge of the store, aview by Hubert Beyer shared by many. Well, [Olks, it: css ues are looks like we cteated’a 9 monster. ;

hen came-wiiat I consider

coube had ster propk thai Ine premier, zi leadersh hadobviously decided to-shed

‘take more of a:hands-on ap- proach,” and then prompily: “St did so. oy SES Ss The first manifestation ofa ~ :- less laid-back premier was.a” shakeup in his office. The © shuffle, which involved.a © number of bodies, wasn't the - most inspired move, butat. _ least it signified (hat Hare ' might finally believe that the premier, 280k

Teould have done without

the blatant patronage appoint-. ment of Linda Baker, his long-

Sector Employers Council,

tion. rete It’s not that ]’m agairist patronage per se, I’ve always = rs all along the ine h defended government's right --- “sentsirong. messages to the... to appoint to sensitive posi- _. governn itv tions people they can trustio ; implement its policies rather: than block them to further .~ their own political agenda: -:” I didn’t condemn Bili Ben- nett for making patronage ap- pointments, I didn’t hold it © against Bill Vander Zalm, who. -

of trough appointments, an I’m not about to get on the NDP’s case for doing the thing

however, is different, That-job" demanded someone without -,.’ political baggage, and Baker. - falls a bit short of that requife- ment, I’d'say, 0 I’m also not too crazy about” the creation of the ‘‘public is sues response team,”” whichis ~ a damage-control outfit by:an ‘other name. Still, the premier ~ did send out a-message tliat, -

esolve thedoc:

veto the 1992-93 fis-

Plan (0 6.5.

AULED..:

POtKET IN-MY BROKEN AND. BLEEDING WE ° CRAWL BACK T0:THE TRUCK ONLY To FIND WE

Have No Keys 2! /"

I

"Mayors all along the line had °

cly' agreed is -

limits, the:growth of - doctors. under the. ~~”

ly, Pere cnites a binding...

ition mechanism: . change his style: Will he succeed? That’s hard to say. I >. suggest you watch the polls -. \. over the next 12 months or so.

THEN WE GET. MAUL ) TICACHING. MY WATCH SUPER VELCRO BYAGRIZ2LY who TEARS THE \- | HEY WHAT [my aia wy creDrr Dovee SNAP Burr ouToF Your Fancy Pants!) | ARB YOU — |\CARPS MY.

abuse and certain efficiency

:cmeasures are expected to save ““tgxpayers-an estimated:$370

million over the next four:

“years. ‘The next and final proof of ‘how much the premier intends _ to shake thing up will come at

cabinet-shuffle time. The shuf- fle, which initially was ex- pected to be a minor one, will

~~: now: probably ‘have major con- _.. Sequences for'anumber of. - cabinet members,

-] will refrain from speculat-

"ing any further than I have al- yeady done ina previous ..

column on who will be in and

“who will be out, but I expect a “number of rather lacklustre -‘tinisters to be replaced by —

more forceful personalities who might better be able to

‘get the government's message

out to the public and instill some confidence in the pro-

_ Vince’s various commercial - and industrial sectors; -

‘Harcourt has fwo years left .

to overconie his image prob- ~ lem, and from what J can see, he’s well on his way. ~~

All of which is a bit of a pity because I prefer the style of leadership Harcourt has been giving. I don't like one-man

"= shows. | abhorred the dic-

tatorial tendencies Bill Vander

Zalm showed throughout his —

time as premier. 7 Alas, the public in general likes strong leadership, even if | they disagree politically with the governing party,, - People get nervous when

they perceive that theirleaders

aren’t in charge. Harcourt - seems to have understood that and appears determined to