BC. Cc. Newapapers Assocation, and the B.C. Press Council. Established 28; 1990. Mail 10420, PUBLISHER MARILYN STRONG SHARLENE IMHOFF EDITOR JOHN VAN PUTTEN SPORTS KAREN KERKHOFF REPORTER editorial comment ¢ untimely and horrific death of Stanley Humphries student Jolene Ozeroff struck deep at the heart of We could only shake our heads at the injustice that one so young and talented was taken from a society that should trea- sure such rare attributes. After all, it is the Jolene Ozeroff’s who give us hope that there will be someone valuable in which to entrust our fragmented world. But what was just as striking was the way in which Jolene’s death, and its inevitable tidal wave of grief, was dealt with Acard ley Humphries officials and Ozeroff family members. An emergency meeting of a crisis team was held on Sunday, the day before grieving and shaken students would return to walk the very same school halls that Jolene had just walked on Friday. The team had an unenviable task—that of trying to help Jolene’s friends and acquain- tances come to terms with the wapedy and“ their grief. The task could not have been an easy one—after all, they-knew and loved | Jolene too, and were struggling with their own piercing grief. And yet when mourning students entered the school on Monday, officials were armed with a plan of action; address the circumstances of Jolene’s death head-on; hold a memorial for their lost schoolmate; and offer plenty of Kleenex, sympathetic ears and most importantly—shoulders on which to cry. The message was clear—dying is a part of life. It is truly heartening to think that our chil- dren are being cared for in more ways than only educationally. That their emotional well-being is as conscientiously cared for as their academic well-being puts a name to the lie that teachers “are only there for the That school officials acted and were able to devise a plan so quickly underscores the commitment they feel towards our children. It underlines the fact, that in their way of thinking, they are much more than educators. Stanley Humphries is indeed a quiet school these days. But it is a school that will face this tragedy with a determination and unity of which we can all be proud. There might be a lot of things wrong in the world today, but last Monday, at Stanley Humphries, and despite Jolene’s death, there was a lot that was right in our little comer of the world. What happened on Monday was a shining example of how a small community and dedicated educators can triumph in a time of desperate and dark despair. And with that knowledge it is good to know that Jolene’s spirit lives on at Stanley ies Secondary School. Humphries We salute you. ERRORS: Fhe advertiser agrees that the publisher shail not be liable for Gamages arising out of errors in any advertisement beyond the #yMOUNt paid for the space actually occupied by that portion of the advertisement in which the error occurred, whether such error is due {othe Regligence of ts servants or otherwise and there shail be no liability for non-ineertion of any advertisement beyond the amount pe ah All adv ng Subject to publisher's approval. Contracts must be completed within one year from contract TMS 15 ‘YOUR CAPTAIN... WOULD ALL THOSE PisbeniGERs FowO FoR The INPENDETIZABLE, CLOUD WrrerR We CALL “CASTLEGAR AlRfoar” , PLEASE wentivy WoOURSELE To TRE FLkut ATTENDWT WO Yoo Wilt BE ISSUED A PARACAUTE $* a Take note, all you ministerial secretaries researchers and other gseaive poyees: the Liberals have got you in their sights, and if the NDP loses the next election, you're toast. And the method by which you're going to be terminated won't be pretty if the firing last weck of four Liberal staff mem- bers is any indication. Normatly. the episode I refer ta, would hardly rate.a colomn, After” all, people arc laid off every day. But I am convinced that the brutal method by which the Liberals got rid of four lowly office workers. constitutes the shape of things to come if the Liberals form the next government Here’s what happened: On Wednesday morning last week, legislative assistants Joyce Linnel and Donna Shannon, systems analyst Mary Thurtell and researcher Lorne Grasley showed up at work as usual inthe Parlia- ment Building’s second-floor offices, occupied by the Liberal MLAs. Soon after arriving, they were individually approached by a woman who turned out to be an employee of Peat Marwick, a management consulting firm. They were told to put their per- sonal belongings into a carton, take their purses and get the hell out. Well, perhaps not in those exact words, but the instructions were clear: leave now, the cartons will be delivered to you later by courier. All four were escorted out of the offices and told not to come back. A paltry four-week sever- ance package was all they got. One of the staffers wanted to take a slip of paper with phone numbers of friends and family off the wall. She was told not to. Could she print out her resume, which was in the computer? The ansWer was no. How about some had in the fridge? No. th f the four took it rather well. but one woman lost her ¢omposure. She cried. One of the women was in the process-of moving when she got fired. She wanted to be closer to her place of work. And even though her supervisor must have known in advance that~ the woman's days were numbered, he made her change the day of the move, which cost her the $50 deposit. The Liberals paid Peat Mar- wick $4,000 to do their dirty work. Judy Kirk, the new execu- tive director for the official oppo- sition, said she hired Peat Marwick for the job because she to help us in the t ition, to pro- vide emotional supjyprt to individ- uals. I wanted to. be sure people were handled as professionally, as humanely as possible,” she said I'd say the job was done pro- fessionatty, alright. Hell, why didn't they just hire Tonya Hard- ing’s husband and body guards. They might have improved on the Professionalism. A couple of well-aimed swings to the knce caps with a sturdy baseball bat would have assured that the women will never set foot in the Liberal offices again. . I don’t know how they handle employees on the planet Kirk comes from, but it seems to me that the proper way of letting peo- ple go doesn’t involve manage- fnent ing firms. wanted it done in a professi way. The 16-member Liberal cau- cus, she said, was trying to get ready for the next legislative ses- sion, and felt some reorganization was necessary. Total staff, she added, will be reduced from 26 to 23, with the focus on research and communications. “Peat Marwick was contacted Whatever -happened to calling people into the office, telling them that they've done a great job, but unfortunately, there’s some down-sizing to be done. And if they need any help, they've only to ask. Humane layoffs also include offers of references and help in finding a new job. Liberals pay $4G for hit job I happen to know the women who got axed. During the last ses- sion, they worked to the point of exhaustion. They worked week- ends, and when the legislature sat late into the night, they often didn't get out of the oftice until midnight or | am.. And for their cfforts, they got treated like din I didn't exrect people like Bob Chisholm, whose definition of employee relations is somewhat alien to me. to have sympathy for the four fired stat! members. but | expected better from Val Ander- son, for whom I have always had a Tot of respect I would have thought that Anderson might bring a little of his grounding in Christianity — he’s a United Church minister — to this nasty little episode. But when I talked to Anderson last weekend, he didn't wear ‘his charity on his sleeve. He admit- ted that the affair probably wasn’t handled too well, but that’s as far as he went. No protest, no admo- nition of the people who botched the job. Now, if I had been treated this way, I'd be slapping a law suit on these jokers faster than you can say Gordon Campbell. I’m sure the courts would come up with something better than four weeks’ severance pay. In conclusion, I wonder what they would do to their political enemies, considering the treat- ment they accord to their own employees. data. No gontingert orders accepted. Printed in the US A Children need their time in the sun too Yet Ah, that Spring should vanish with the Rose! That Youth's sweet-scented manuscript should close! Edward Fitzgerald There is excitement within when -we anticipate the arrival of spring days. It seems to bring about the’ rejuvenation of spirit and physical energy that winter seems to leach. Winter has such a dominating presence at times. Its weather cer- tainly seems to have the strength to control our activities and even our moods. With the coming of spring comes a sense of freedom. We feel more in charge; a renewed scnse of purpose. Our neighborhoods seem to spring alive as people emerge to work and to approach activities with new vigor. It is at springtime more than ever that the thoughts of youthful days return. As a child, those ‘warm, yet brisk days, seemed to generate the most carefree and playful of attitudes. Having the time to play. and to choose at what, gave such a won- derful sense of liberty and empow- erment to a child. The energizing effect of breezy spring days seemed to make the optimism and lightheartedness of youth to blossom. That first day of being able to go out without your jacket was abways-exciting, What ‘a charge it was to feel the emerging sun warm your body, bounce your spirit and propel your youthful pursuits to new heights. ‘ Do those wonderful spring days still hold the same effect for chil- dren? I dearly hope so. When I was a child I was obliv- ious to the serious side of life. The of the world were indecd just that. Today, we seem to expose and to explain the many adult and global problems and issues that abound. Times and situations have changed, but our children need the chance to grown and play unaware of the adult world that we seem to thrust upon them carlier and more often. We try so hard to give our chil- dren the things we may not have had. Hopefully, we will also give them what we did have as well— the freedom of unplanned time and the chance to be carefree. Tronically, as adults we seem to spend most of our time planning and working to give ourselves that same sense of freedom. __ The sun in the face, the breeze on the arms and the dirt is being Propelled from under new sneak- ers as I run heedlessly into the uncharted world of a brilliant spring day. This is my most vivid memory of childhood. What a gift it would be to once again experience that joy of a child‘s spring day. Is it so small a thing To have enjoyed the sun To have lived light in the spring, To have loved tv have thought to have done; To have advanced true friends and beat down buffling foes Matthew Arnold Grant Lenarduzzi, the principal of Robson Elementary School, was born and raised in the Koote- nays. He has been a teacher and administrator in the Castlegar area for the past 14 years. He and his wife Heather have two youn girls, Hannah and Sophia. His previous writing and research articles have been done in the area of at-risk children. Wednesday, March 9, 1994 The Castlegar Sun Page 7A. Letters to the Editor ua Time for WKP to wake up and take notice Dear Editor: Tt seems that the West . Kootenay management and Utilicorp, the ulility’s Ameri- can owner, haven't noticed the investors. Extracting that kind of profit from West Kootenay Powét customers at a time when infla- tion is less than 3 per cent and most obvious fi fact of life forBritish Columbians; the economy is slow and interest rates are down When these people asked the B.C. Utilities Commission for a 7.6 per cent increase in rates for 1994, their request includ- ed an 11.5 per cent rate of return for their American Cc would pede to get 5 por cent interest with so much security seems to0 greedy even for Utilicorp. By contrast BC hydro has been seekihg anngal increases of only 3.5 per cent lately, and part of that is due to a hidden tax levied by the B.C. Government. West Kootenay Power rates, have gone up so much faster since Utilicorp’s 1987 takeover, that WKP’s own fig- ures (from its 1993 rates hear- ing) predict average rates will exceed BC hydro’s in three to four years. I can imagine how West Kootenays Power customers will feel about being charged more for electricity than other British Columbians, simply to enrich a Missouri multinational corporation. We were pleased that the BC Gouk apologizes for no-show Dear Editor: A recent letter to the editor published in your paper points out my absence at the recent Peace Symposium held in Bril- liant. I had originally been con- tacted regarding attending the full weekend and I explained that my schedule did not permit that length of involvement. It was left with an open invitation to “drop Tasty Delites EAT IN ORTAKE OUT 292 Cohumbia Ave. 365-7401 We Install BUILT-IN VACUUM SYSTEMS + NO Bags to buy + NO Fitters to clean + 4.1 peak horse power * 140° water lift + 10-year motor warranty $ COMPLETE vant HAND TOOLS (Ojher models available) 365-5087 At your house? It's time to call your Welcome Wagon hostess. She will bring congratulations and gifts for the family and the NEW BABY! in” for whatever time I was ailable. It wasn’t until after the weekend that I heard that I had been expect- ed to address the symposium with opening remarks. The fault was entirely mine. A written invitation had been sent to my office, but I did not see it until after the event. My regular scheduler was away that week and the invi- _ THIS I$ A ONE TIME OFFER, WHEN THEY'RE GONE, THEY CHRYSLE Plymouth Jeep Eagle “Vehicle shown with pockage 270. tation was put into my bas- ket and then slowly covered with other business. I did not reach it until the following Monday. I have since instituted new proce- dures to ensure that this does not-occur again. I have also written to the organizer and apologized for my absence. Jim Gouk Utilities Commission decreased West Kootenays Power's interim rate increase to 5.7 per cent, the Kootenay~- Okanagan Electric Consumers Association (BCA) has been asking it to do it for years. We will be intervening at ‘West Kootenay Power's March 7-18 rate hearing in Rossland and intend to argue for further reductions in the increase, as well as a more sensible policy for obtaining further electricity mapplics. We do our best to represent West Kootenay Power's cus- tomers at these public hear- ings, but more member of the public should attend and tell the Utilities Commission what it should be doing. Anyone interested is wel- come to contact me in Kaslo or Fred Marsh in Castlegar for more information. Don Scarlett WHY SHOULD YOU COME TO OUR SALON? Our continuous In the latest techniques and trends in hair color, perms, cuts and styles enables us to recommend the precise service or product that fits your special needs. We're here to serve you In our full-service Matrix Essentials salon. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO REALLY BE NEEDED? Sure, we always need blood. But that's just the beginning. Who runs the blood donor clinics? Who telephones, registers and assists at each clinic? 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