OPINION wl ky The & etl gar Sun AS PUBLISHER JON JARRETT SHARLENE IMHOFF DONNA JORY EDITOR ADVERTISING REP. JOHN SNELGROVE CATHERINE ROSS PRODUCTION MANAGER ADVERTISING REP, DENISE GOLDSTONE ROBERT PROCTOR CIRCULATION MANAGER ADVERTISING REP. JIM ZEEBEN NICOLE BEETSTRA REPORTER PRODUCTIONOFFICE BRENDAN HALPER MARION ANDERSON REPORTER PRODUCTIONREPORTER Direct Department Phones General Office «14. oe) i Ads Display Advertising senseseeneeerens 385-2278 365-5579 Fax .... editorial comment Small gestures go a long way It's common knowledge that this time of year can be a difficult one for many people. As the summer green gives way to drying and dead leaves, and the warmth leaves the air around us, some people just seem to be more susceptible to the cold. It's been known to chill right down to the soul, leaving a Irritated by the trivial Ron’ Jeffels Syndicated Columnist It’s not the savage sabre-thrusts of life that wound a man and drive him to the edge of brooding despair, terminal depression, sometimes gentle madness. You know: public ridicule, abject,, failure, loss of a job, the sickening’ plunge in those shares of Continental Scam or even the first black bruise on the soft white belly of the new car. And I know the idiot who did it! As a species, we are resolute, we are resilient, we are obstinate. If we were not, mankind would never have risen from the primordial slime to create boom’ cars, accor- dians, TV commercials and politi- cians. So those things we can and do endure, We put on the armor of courage, lower the lance of resolu- tion and — pennant streaming — return to the battle. i we even gird up our person feeling hope slip away. Rash ly give way to rash actions. All too often, the gifts given by another person are missed in the everyday onslaught of life. How many times has a harsh word been used instead of an understanding smile or perhaps a gentle touch? How many times have we have unknowingly trampled ability of perhaps even not so near— to us? With so much emphasis placed upon success and the monetary value of individuals, it only makes sense that dili- gence must be used to protect the other side of life. That part in each of us that constantly yearns for the understanding and acceptance of another person. The feeling that no matter what happens in the course of our lives, someone, somewhere will always love us on an unconditional basis. As the season for giving is set aside pad rapidly moving closer, and we eagerly look forward to“the time spent with families, let's remember that giving can happen on a daily basis. Everyday of the year. It's nice to give something special to someone dear and whom we love, But how much effort does it take to offer a smile, or a genuine “hello” as we walk down the strect? Whose day might be affected by such a seemingly small gesture? Perhaps, just maybe we will touch someone who is feeling the chill, and a little warmth might seep from our soul into someone else's? And isn't it easier to get a result we want from an employ- ee, for example, when we use patience and a little kindness rather than a hard-nosed approach? And doesn't it just plain feel good when we know we have made someone's day a little brighter? Isn't that what giving is supposed to be all about? Marion Anderson A Little Knowledge 1) In what year was Canada confederated? What colours do you mix to get purple? ‘What's the highest SERAPH? in North America? i Suip! uric acid. d. (Poor old Tommy Vorr, Alas he is re, For what he thought. was 120 was H2S0z.) INES Don Addis loins, although I am not now - and never have been — quite sure why loin-girding is a useful and effica- cious Preparation for combat. No, it’s not the brutal; unexpected sabre-thrusts of life that destroy us. It's the thousand, daily, niggling, trivial, little pin-pricks of irritation that drive us to drink, despair, some- times to the psychiatric couch. So do you mind if I stretch out on your psychiatric couch, Doc? I swear that T'll be brief, and the whole thing is paid by medicare, anyway. People say you're warm, under- standing and .. .what's that new word in ‘Sociologese?. + ah, yes — close-caring. So I am no longer a- Freud. I know you will close-care ~ me, Here's a list of the things that stretch me on your leather, It’s not complete, How could it be? We only have a 50-minute hour. Maybe Ican unfold my full damask of despair in our next session and the one after that and... I’ve got this phobia, see, about. . . knee-jigglers. I know, I know! It’s totally irrational. Why do you think I'm here! Never heard of a knec- jiggler, you say? Not in Gray's Anatomy or Freud on the interpre- tation of dreams? Well, let.me tell | you, they’re everywhere, One day they'll take over the whole world, including Moose Jaw. A knee-j jiggler? ‘That's the dude in the fast-food joint at the table next to mine who — ceaselessly, insistently and at high velocity — actuates the muscles of the ankle, calf and thigh until he’s doing a devil’s dance, He usually wears mouldering sneaks and a baseball cap — reversed, of course, loathe knee-jigglers! I think that anyone who Jiggles - or juggles — the knee, openly, in a restaurant, is... below the salt. You say it may not be the jiggle but the cap, reversed? Or the fries? Or the sneaks? Never thought of it, Doc, Never! Well, explain another of my mental aberrations. Each week, every week, for the last six months, I've received a letter from the Bleeder's Digest telling me that I’ve again won first prize. .. provid- ed I fill in, fill out or fill up the form. I tug the forelock of respect and obey, always, Can't resist! They now owe me 20 million bucks. It never comes. I can’t sleep. things I'm off my feed and on the bottle, So tell:me, Doc, what corrosive com- pulsion makes me obey those let- ters? And why do I always rush the coupon as I’m ordered? Are others Subject to the same miania? Half the population, you say? I feel purified, The hour's nearly up so I'll have to hurry, What my irrational animos- ity towards drivers on the freeway who shave at the wheel; celluphons Ottawa, prepare two-over easy with toast and coffee, leave the flashing amber on permanently... and then become the fifth car to tum left on the red? Am I totally starkers, Doc? ._And people who bnuise past me on escalators — to go where! Inserts in magazines. . . queues in banks where I qualify for the OAP. . . funny on TV... hines on telephone that play Bach when what Treally want is heavy-metal rock and the manager’s head. . . People who order me to have a nice day... Time's up? But I never got around to that extra, obscene three on the 40-cent stamp! Next week? Okay. Right. See yuh, Doc, RR. Jeffels is a Richmond free- lance writer and former principal of The Open Learning Institute. "Wednesday, October 30, 1991 Letters to the Editor The Castleyar Sun t+ I would like to take this oppor- ‘unity to express my concem over the incident in which a family pet “was shot. Thank goodness the ‘wound was not fatal, although I ,.am very surprised the cat sur- , Yived. I am horrified at a socicty “tin which individuals are not edu- ‘ Shs to respect life in all forms, dless of fe _, Many times in my life I have heard of incidences where an indi- -.. Dear Editor: This is an open letter to the res- ~. idents of Castlegar and district to . inform you of one ef the negative - results of the new mill expansion - and growth in this area. I recently received a notice of a rent increase. The new owners have raised the rent from $440 to -* $700 dollars a month. There have been no improvements and I was : told it is because, “That is now a fair market price.” When looking ‘for new accommodations I dis- . covered this increase in rents is community wide. So what are the 2 Move from Castle- Slings and arrows Nigel Hannaford Syndicated Columnist One looks at the prospect of IS POLITICALLY INDEPENDENT AND A MEMBER OF THE STERLING NEWS SERVICE Established November 28, 1990 Second Class Mailing Permit Pending Published by The Castl Weekly on Wedhe aye a 465 Columbia Ave., Castlegar, B.C. VIN 1G8 Brian h as ry-Gen- eral of the United Nations Organi- zation with a certain amount of sat- isfaction. Our gain would be their loss of course, but those of us who are worried about the apparent momentum towards world govern- ment should be reassured by Mr Mulroney's record in the national unity department. Not in our time... oo We have from time to time pointed out in these columns that Canada’s tax laws discriminate against married people. The prob- lem is simply this; a married man and woman who together earn $50,000 per year will pay approxi- mately $5,000 more per year in federal taxes than if they were not married but simply lived together. Now somebody has challenged the system. A Hamilton couple, noting that common-law couples with children are cligible for tax: credits which are not available to married people, has launched a suit in the Ontario Tax Court and are basing their case on equality provi- sions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We await the result with interest. I'm sure that the future of the insti- tution of marriage in this country does not rest on judicial interpreta- tion of Canada's tax laws, but we should certainly endeavor to see that being married doesn’t actually carry a financial penalty. 08 The CTV recently noted a leaked federal government docu- ment that proposed an ‘open-door’ policy for homosexuals in the Canadian Armed Forces. It is not policy yet and we sin- cerely hope that it will not be so. There is no quicker way to finish the CAF as an effective organiza- tion than to create a situation where the blokes in the front line can't advance because they're protecting their rears. ‘Big Apple’ beckons Mulroney Trying to fathom the process by which the United Nations chooses anew Secretary General is a bit Ever since the external affairs minister Lester Pearson won the Nobel peace prize back in the mid- *50s, Canadi: have of like trying to sort out the of a new Pope by the College of Cardinals. capturing the UN's top job. Now that it is finally being Mike Duffy Syndicated Colum nist pushed one of us, how do many Canadians react? “No, it can’t be true!” Yes, it is true, and the big pow- ers - the United States, Britain, France, the Soviet Union - four of the five permanent members of the Security Council - do want him, 1 y is young, bilingual, Journalists ‘are watching intently but so far there's been no puff of smoke spotted drifting from UN headquarters. And unless I miss my bet, there won't be any announcement from that handsome. glass tower on New York's East’ River for wecks, per- haps months yct. When ‘it'does come, insiders here are betting the person nomi- « nated will-be Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. experienced in world affairs and dad pasa pared to even consider the UN job until Canada’s unity crisis has been resolved. He’s in an ideal position. He isn't asking for the job, and if he takes it, it will be on his terms. The current Secretary General, Javier Perez de Cuellar, is due to step down at the end of this year. At.71 (he tums 72 in January), he’s been telling friends for some time no that he’s counting the days until his departure. But id de Cuellar, a career diplo- mat, could be talked into staying on. for another six months to a year, would not be able to use as to downsize bureaucracy and climi- nate waste, even if it makes him unpopular, If Canadians. think government My here is bloated, Canada’s worst is ° nothing’ compared to the waste and < of the UN Mulroney. has apparently made it clear to George Bush, John Major \. : and the other, world leaders who are _ e chim. ‘that he is not pre- domestic Canadian issues as a tea- son for saying no. are about 15 candidates king the position, including Norwegian Prime Minis- ‘ter’ Gro. Harlery Brundtland; and a black! Africans who say it job. went to onc of them. Ching nportant because itis a permanent member of the Security Council, said carly on it favors.a candidate from the Third World. The Chinese have been in dis- grace since the Tiananmen Square massacre, but are slowly being rehabilitated. The Americans have given China special trade concessions, and Canadian Agriculture Minister Bill McKnight has been in Beijing working on a big wheat sale. McKnight - the first Canadian minister to visit China since. the bloody .events of, 1989 -.roasted China’s: human rights record in his meetings with ministers there. ly in Geneva Canada nominated China to be “rapporteur on a UN: committee dealing with human rights. ‘ McKnight’s specches about human rights notwithstanding, it is ‘hard to believe the Canadian action in Geneva wasn’t Part ofa larger plan. >> {Watch for “Mulroney for Sec- Gen” signs to sprout in Beijing any day now, and for the Mulroneys to be in New York within the year. gar? I have lived in this arca for thirty years and I love it here. I am not the only one facing this dilemma, There are families, some with single parents, seniors and people on fixed incomes, suf- fering terrible hardships because of this situation. Let’s hope that our new gov- emment will reinstate the rentals- man office and the controls on rent increases. At the present time renters seem to have no recourse. To all you folks out there who plan to get rich quick, I hope your greed comes back to haunt you when the transient residents leave town. Marion Verishine more letters on_page AIA pated = HERSHEY PUMPKIN Halloween Treats your choice each vidual has killed or tortured a helpless animal. Why is this so acceptable? There was a concem about the possibility of injuring a child, I don’t see that we should ¢ven have to address that as an issue — a feeling, loving, moving life was shot, and regardless of whether or not it’was loved by someone, it felt pain, Furthermore, it did not understand why it was forced to feel this pain. I um abso- lutely sickened by this display of sadistic behavior, and I feel fortu- nate enough to have been brought up in a way that was respectful of life, If an animal is annoying, or loud, it is not necessary to kill it, or even hurt it. There are organiza- tions which will aid in removing the animal from the area, Another Preventative measure for pet own- ers is to ensure that your pet is fixed so the tendency to wonder is decreased. I hope this incident will encourage parents to educate chil- dren on the value of life, so more familics will not have to go through watching their pet suffer in the years to come. Sincerely, Shawna Mason Castlegar CORRECTION Pete's TV ad in this week's Leisure ” section should read: ‘Sale continues on selected items only’ We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused Pete's customers and staff | interested in becoming We offer excellent train Call 365-2556 (after. 6) or 3 to the Pass Creek Fire Dept. 365-3722 has openings for several people firefighting, safety and first aid. ‘Help Us Help Our Community’ Become a Volunteer Firefighter Or come out Tuesday nights at 7pm iunteers Wanted!!! firefighters. ing in 65-6007. Hall. HEADQUARTERS Carver Toothpa CREST each 100 ml 4 "99 99 ste ULTRA TIDE aL. each 6”? ! KODAK GOLD 100 -24 > Twin Pak w/Mini Kolorkins & Redeemable at this store only: Coupon valid onl until Oct. 29, ‘91 without 7 with coupon Redeemal ! 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SAFEWAY "202." We bring it all together ¥ Sate Nov. 2, 1991 We reserve the right to limit sales to retail quantities. day & Friday Sunday 9 a.m.- 9 p.m. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. 9 a.m. -6 p.m.