Wednesday, November 25, 1992 @ PAGE 6 = = = Op Dave McCullough Publisher Scott David Harrison Editor Bob Proctor Marketing Manager Mickey Read Composing Room Foreman Warren Chernoff Accountant Mary Ann Fullerton Circulation Manager Burt C. b OurWiEWS Adrian RAESIDE Smecher takes fall he brouhaha may be over, but | it certainly won't be forgotten. School District No. 9 and Castlegar city council kissed and made up Monday night, burying the hatchet on a month-long debate which had the elected boards trading pot shots. The school board has every reason to be appalled that Castlegar city council tried to extend its powers into the educational domain. Council’s report to the Education Funding Review Panel was as ill- prepared as it was ill-advised. If the board is looking for a scapegoat in this entire affair, it needs to look no further than Coun. Doreen Smecher. A). AW \ Smecher was left holding the bag by her municipal counterparts, who claimed they were given no time to consider her radical report. The most competent councillor Castlegar has, Smecher was submarined by her cohorts who began to back-pedal as soon as the school board caught wind of the contents of the report. That unsettling submission belittled the role of school boards, stating that they didn’t have the wisdom to select superintendents, define policy and negotiate teachers’ salaries. Hogwash. School boards are as effective as the people who sit on them and Castlegar has done well with the likes of Gordon Turner, Mickey Kinakin and Evelyn Voykin. Council has no business pulling the carpet out from under School District | No. 9. Smecher may be taking this fall, but it’s all of council who are to blame. lcommunity, lrealize that some things just lmayor, you don’t challenge ithe councillors and you lespecially don’t challenge the that our fair city is rolling I’m back in the ne city’s dog house The more I live in this the more I aren't challenged. You don’t challenge the city administration. Instead, we’re supposed to take everything on faith and trust with the punches. > But what happens when Comparison the city takes one on the ee \chin, when its mission statement is derailed by the very bureaucracy that makes me cringe? Well, it would be easy for me to ignore the things I see and hear. Too easy. I’m not one to pay lip-service to those who have grown to expect it and I’m not about to. Instead, in the interest of the 6,700 citizens that call Castlegar home, I demand straight answers from the people who define and redefine our tax rates. If I don’t get \them, I make noise. And lots of it. With that in mind, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to some people that I’m in Castlegar’s dog house. And if the outfall from a recent story is any indication, I could be there to stay. Last week, I wrote a story which outlined ! troubles between city hall | and its CUPE workers. |The story was a 'controversial one —a iclassic case of union versus management. I don’t regret writing the story. I do, however, regret running one quote which said the city’s superintendent of public works “caused a lot of grief for a lot of people.” Poor judgment and one apology later, I thought the story was as legitimate as anything I’ve written on Celgar, Cominco or the Regional District of Central Kootenay. The city thinks otherwise, though. please see HARRISON page 7 Harrison S treet TALK Publisher Emeritus L.V. Campbell Aug. 7, 1947- Feb. 15, 1973 Question: Should abandoned rails from Castlegar to Robson be used for public recreation? Vi Plotnikoff Castlegar “Definitely. ’'m a hiker — it’s a great idea.” Chloe Hegan Castlegar “Definitely. It’s great for mountain bike riding.” Koozma Pereverzoff Pass Creek “Yes. So people can make use of them.” Wally Wiznuk “Sure. It would be good for bikes or Mary Pereverseff Blueberry Castlegar “Yes — let it be for * e recreational use.” walking. m@ Wednesday: November 28, 1602" The News OtherVIEWS Please address all letters to: Letters to the Editor Castlegar News P.O. Box 3007 Castlegar, B.C. V1iN 3H4 or deliver them to 197 Columbia Ave. Letters should be typewritten, double-spaced and not longer than 300 words. Letters MUST be signed and include the writer's first and last names, address and a telephone number at which the writer can be reached between 9 a.m. and5 p.m. The writer's name and city or town of residence only will be published. Only in exceptional cases will letters be published anonymously. Even in those cases, the name, address and phone number of the writer MUST be disclosed to the editor. The News reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity, legality, grammar and taste. Letters tcoWHE EDITOR Bill 84 tips scales in favor of labor movement To Premier Mike Harcourt, On Nov. 3, 1992, you were advised by a number of senior leaders in the business community of their disappointment and concern with the new Labor Relations Code proposed in Bill 84. In your public response to the concerns of this group of business leaders you and Labor Minister Moe Sihota expressed surprise and concern that the business community was not supportive of this legislation. We want you to be aware that concern with Bill 84, as introduced, is. widespread in No leadership Canadian authorities are trying to help the Red Cross evade responsibility for hundreds of Canadian hemophiliacs who got AIDS because they were injected with contaminated blood products in the early 1980s before mandatory blood testing was implemented. “No one is responsible”, is what the Cabinet is saying. Sure. According to Randy Shilts, author of And the Band Played On, leaders of the blood industry, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Atlanta Center for Disease Control first met in July 1982 to discuss what to do about the blood supply in view of the fact that three hemophiliacs had AIDS. The decision was to do nothing. Dec. 10, 1982 the CDC published this warning: “AIDS... occurrence among homosexual men, intravenous drug abusers and persons with hemophilia suggest it may be caused by an infectious agent transmitted.... through exposure to blood or blood products.” Canadian authorities were aware of this warning. According to Shilts, one of the CDC’s most eminent experts on epidemics, Don Francis, pounded the table at a meeting held on Jan. 4, 1983. “How many people have to die,” he shouted at the blood industry officials. “Give us the threshold of death that you need in order to believe that this is happening and we'll meet at that time and we can start to do something.” Canada did not act until this debate was resolved in the U.S. the employer community. Contrary to the opinion of your government that this legislation is balanced and fair, we believe that the balance has been tipped dramatically in favor of organized labor. This legislation could well lead to the destabilization of British Columbia’s labor environment. It is clear that proceeding with this legislation, as drafted, will not contribute to your stated objective of improving the investment climate in B.C. through increased co-operation between labor and business. for AIDS fight One million blood transfusions were administered in the U.S. after this meeting until March 3, 1983 when the public Health Service first recommended that blood donors be screened to discourage those from high-risk groups from donating their blood. Although there was a blood test available even then to detect a donor whose immune system was impaired, this was regarded then as “too expensive”. The test cost $6. By early 1984 the leading cause of death in hemophiliacs in the U.S. was AIDS. The blood bankers line still was: “no conclusive proof”. The Ronald Reagan administration blocked AIDS funding to the point that a two-year delay resulted in starting the process of getting “legal proof” — a $50,000 chimp, and it had to be established that that animal had become infected. Only early in 1985, after this had been done, was blood in the U.S. routinely tested. By 1987, it was clear that about 12,000 Americans. had been’ infected by transfusions after the CDC had begged blood bankers to test blood. The 1987 international AIDS conference had a seminar for blood bankers on how to defend themselves in blood transfusion lawsuits. This failure of institutions to act to protect society at large because legal doubt was exploited by special interest groups is being replayed on a colossal scale over planetary ecological issues. Unfortunately, we don’t have 12,000 planets to kill. David Lewis Crescent Valley Mr. Premier, we are not satisfied with Bill 84 and add our voices to those who communicated with you on Nov. 3rd in requesting further consideration of the issues considered by the Panel of Special Advisers on which there was no consensus. We would be pleased to meet with you to discuss our concerns and look forward to a satisfactory resolution to this very difficult problem. Ron Armbruster President Castlegar and District Chamber of Commerce Overrated ideal It in ‘slim’ pickings Some of the points raised by the fit, educated and financially well-off man seeking a slim lady are good ones. It is understandable to be looking for a mate that cares about her/himself, and love themselves in a healthy way. But if it is these qualities that are desired then why not state them instead of using such a general adjective as “slim.” Being slim doesn’t necessarily mean being healthy. Nor does slim enable one to nordic ski, cycle or hike up a mountain, being healthy does. It’s not only slim people who do sports and love the outdoors. And it’s not only obese people who “overeat and wear out the couch”. It’s not only slim people who eat nutritious food, and it’s not only obese people who eat greasy, junk foods. When advertising for a possible life- time mate the emphasis should be on life- style. Slim is not a life-style, it is a body shape that has become an overrated ideal. Jessica Bullard Crescent Valley Harrison continued from page 6 Depending on who you believe, the city is so angry it’s looking for someone to hang. The city has gone as far as to grill CUPE representatives in the hopes that the union will offer it a sacrificial lamb. For some unexplainable reason, these bullying tactics appear to be working. How else do you explain the public apology made by CUPE Local 2262 to the superintendent of public works and council? Anyone that knows anything about the internal problems at city hall is well aware that the comments I reported last Wednesday are echoed throughout the city works department. How CUPE could suggest that the comments were made by one worker and by no means reflect the opinions of the executive is shocking to me. CUPE has all but offered one of its members to our head- hunting city hall. I’m hoping common sense will prevail, because if the day and age when an individual can’t express dismay with his/her employer are gone, I going to have a lot of trouble finding another job. With that said, what is it about the story that has city hall on the proverbial war path? If I were a betting man, I’d say it has to do with the underlying arrogance that dominates city hall. For far too long, citizens have sat on their hands and allowed Castlegar to dictate every rule and regulation. Why, it amazes me that some citizens can go to the washroom without asking permission. School’s out folks, and it’s time that city hall got: off its high horse and started listening to the things that are being said about it. Why, if only there were a few more Joan Bahks and Jacquie Hamiltons around, things would be so much easier. I’m not suggesting that things are beyond hope — hardly. It is my sincerest wish that city hall looks within itself and discovers’ that its sometimes dictatorial and combative style doesn’t work. This is the 90s and city hall must take criticism with a grain of salt — heck, maybe even an entire shaker. If city hall is out to get the individual(s) I spoke to for my story, it can do so knowing that I'll be following its every move — dog house or not. Shooting the messenger doesn’t change the message.