INION

February

**) WAS ONSEN

Childhood is our ‘formative season’

Our seniors are still preoccupied
with concern about the children of
today and their lack of
for the old meanings and values in

We find that our children now
belong ina immense system called

editorial comment

the hurt is

It’s ing that a probl which is so pr
community, receives so little attention.

The problem is domestic violence. And in Castlegar,
knows no ethnic, cultural, social-economic,

who think i Y

Home is where

in our

it

class or educa-

barriers.
For those local resid

sand and did some simple

Ten per cent!

RCMP for help.

adds up.

nity spirit

doesn't exist, cap irene helgtr plas cnr iiner 0

arithmetic. By simply localizing
the conservative national statistics which indicate that one in
every ten women are abused in their home, we discover that
Castlegar potentially has 650 women enduring this problem,
based of course, on the fact that Castlegar has a population
reaching 6,500 people. It doesn't take a math whiz to figure
out this is an astounding ten per cent of our total population,

If this fact alone doesn’t hit home, here's something else.
Of all the women in Castlegar who are being abused and
manage to come forward, 90 per cent end up calling the

There might be two reasons for this extremely high per-

centage. Castlegar, has no locally based transition house or

vai astald Tams for eeomaca to ue. So, when they do need

help, the RCMP are pretty well their only alternative. The

only other possible alternative, is likely the crisis line in
i calls.

Another cost. And let’s not forget those legal bills. It all
But there's another, more important reason why Castlegar
socially

and oppression that not many people can ever understand.
These feelings in turn, serve to depress and isolate the com-
munity as a whole and does absolutely nothing for commu-

One group in Castlegar is bravely treading where no oth-
er group has dared. The Castlegar Women’s Association,
after hiring a program coordinator, is striving to establish a
safe-home System for women. The system will not stop

from ng, nor will it wipe out these
staggering statistics. What it will do though, is provide
women with puysaeld evecel from an explosive situation,

. Our seniors belonged to
a much smaller system when they
were children. It could be called “the
apprentice system”. You were not
taught in one place and sent to work
somewhere else. You learned on the
job. It was a very practical, applied
method of learning. Our modern edu-
cation system teaches our children
what has been done and what has to
be done. Unfortunately, it cannot
teach them what can be done. This is
called “creativity” and children are
ire it to

If you look about, you will quick-
ly note that those who can come up
with “ideas” are usually those who
have read a book or two. They have

an ability to think of something
unique, follow the concept through,
and apply a technique to solving a
problem. If we do not expose our
children to a daily diet of knowledge
through books we are seriously limit-
ing them in their ability to cope.

Seasons

Elma
Maund

&

When our children run into

is that, as a mature student, you are
professors

children. If children are never called
to task for their carelessness, laziness
or ion, that is exactly

your beliefs. It does not necessarily
shatter them. Our children learn dif-
ferent styles of thought from ours.
‘They should be able to their
own inner intellectual standards,
which can help them to leam to eval-
uate modern situations . Our
children should be able to draw obvi-
ous connections between what is
being taught to them and what they
are experiencing in their lives and in
the world around them. Our modern
education system is well designed.
We should be turning out educated

thinking, and they will, for no one is
perfectly lucid all of the time, the
might look inward and worry about
their inability to understand just what
is going on. They might fear they are
flawed if they cannot understand the
situation. they might not

that the fault may lie elsewhere. To
experience this, go back to university
as a mature student! The difference

It may be popular to blame the
education system for the inadequa-
cies in our children, but the “old val-
ues” are learned at home and long
before a child enters the education
system. If parents avoid confronta-
tion with their children it reflects
their own uncertainty and their lack
of clear values, morals and purposes.

what they will become. You cannot
care about others if you do not care
about yourself.

Caring parents believe their chil-
dren should be exposed to life in all
its contours, all its sorrows and all its
joys. Children taught self-discipline
and self-determination will learn
effective self-management. There is
a belief that each child is entitled to a

age” in which it is responsi-

ble for nothing. I have heard parents
admonishing each other to simply
“let children-be children”. This is
when I find it most difficult to
remain silent, and often I do not

Postponing the “getting of wisdom”

simply postpones maturity and
makes life more difficult for all of
us. Wisdom is always “in season”.

Elma Maund is a communications
consultant, a facilitator, administra-
tor and a writer. She is presently
coordinator of the local Seniors
Action C.

I believe this forms irresp

Drop in
needed for
drop outs

In what was reported as a ‘key

concerted action of Canadian busi-
messmen to address the ‘alarming’
thirty per cent drop out rate among
Canadian high school students.
“These are times of global competi-
tiveness,” he said, “and if we do not
meet the test of these times, we will
be left behind as a country.”

Slings &
Arrows

Nigel
Hannaford

the-actions he for

them was 10 get directly involved in,’

schools, provide up-to-date equip+
ment, staff interchanges and use the
government's ‘Stay-in-School’ logo
in their corporate advertising. Oh
dear.

All these good intentions, yet how
futile. Let's look at it, point by point.
First, if industry wants to supply
equipment to schools, that's fine.
School taxes being what they are, one
would have hoped that schools could
have bought what they needed, but
more is always better.

Staff interchanges - if you can get
businessmen to give up their time -
would be a most salutary cross-fertil-
ization of academia and practical

and i gardii

'y groups.
ae renee
‘Stop the hurt!

ng the

But the success of the Women's organization and its pro-
car nee Airy arr. pee poet vansieenlaamad

SI.

pplication. I use the ‘if’ there
because the culture shock to be

dured by a fellow to
the disciplined environment of the
workplace, upon walking into a typi-
cal high school, is more than most
would bear.

I presume this is meant to be atwo-
way street and I also suspect that once
teachers got a taste of working in an
atmosphere where things got done,
they were not constantly trying to
order and at least basic civil-

© 1982 Creators Syrscate. tne

cae

ities could be depended upon from
their clientele, there would be some
wastage from the teaching profession.
To put it plainly, they would quit
— and find work in industry.
ically, many h are

excellent organizers. (One has to be. I
imagine.) They

Cadieux is perfectly correct when he
says that Canada has got to compete,
but it isn't from the ranks of the
dropouts that we are going to recruit
the captains of industry for the twenty
first century. Some people are ambi-
tious, some are not. Some are bright,

some are not. Some

would be much

“These are times of
global competitive-
ness,” he said,“and
if we do not meet
the test of these
times, we will be left
behind as a country.”

— PIERRE CADIEUX
Federal Youth Minister

the logo, well,

depends on the
industry. It may at
least be noticed on a
pop can but corpo-
rate advertising
doesn’t have much
of a readership
among the a youne:
especially the thirty

per cent we're con-

want a career, oth-
ers do not.

What is needed
here is not a pro-
gram to keep stu-
dents in classrooms
until they're eigh-
teen, but rather one
that addresses the
reality that some
should be out of a
classroom when
they're fifteen,
apprenticed to a

cemed about.
The flaw in all this is simply the

ion that all people will profit

from a twelve year education and
desire it. Educators and politicians
just can’t shake this notion. Mr

trade. By all means
take your academic elite, those from
whom you wish to make scientists,
accountants, professionals and busi-
nessmen and pour the resources into
them.

These people will compete with the
rest of the world. For those who are
less gifted, less motivated or whose
behaviour is such that they are a dis-
traction to the ones who want to leam,
get them into the workforce. They
will leam more from the real world
than their school; they will earn
money and pay taxes and they will
probably be happier. And they will be
doing something useful. It does not
matter how many brilliant people we
graduate from our education system,
we are still going to need all the fel-
lows in the service industry.

I would say that if a young man is
half way to learning to become a good
plumber by the time he's nineteen
he’s accomplished more than if he
spends his late teenage years being
passed through a school system which
he has determined to learn nothing
from. (If you doubt me, try and find a
plumber to make house calls.) The
question, Mr Cadieux, is not how to
prevent that thirty per cent from drop-
Ping out, but finding them something
useful to drop into.

‘Steady as she goes’ economy needed 1 right now

MPs return t the house of Com-
mons tomorrow from their extended
Christmas break, and they'll find
Brian Mulroney fit and ready for a

Not that one can see there’s much

rank Se up there with having a root

canal. Sadly, more and more the Com-

mons Question Period resembles the
fake confrontation of TV

In the never-ending search to

make mountains out of molehills,

room for meaningful debate. The
constitutional committee is hard at
work until the end of the month, and
the ec ic policies of the

rm Sir

§S POLITICALLY INDEPENDENT ANDO A
MEMBER OF THE STERLING NEWS SERVICE
Established November 28, 1990
Published by The C: Sun

Weekly on
465 Columbia Ave., Castiegar, B.C. ViN 1G8

CGmenrinnwersccdesswecccascurwmnccqopmmmpseccocomenssccoanansccscacsncecccssccccerscsccce

provinces have effectively de-fanged

the federal opposition.
Mulroney can’t wait to point out
Bob Rae's new-found fiscal conser-
to NDP Leader Audrey

MacLaughiin.
With Liberal Leader Jean Chretien

ry Press Gallery tongues
have been wagging over Mulroncy’s
decision to meet with groups of jour-
nalists in .off-the-record “back-
ground” sessions. ;

As a believer in the old maxim
you learn a lot about a person by
looking them straight in the eye, your
humble servant went along with the
CTV News group last week, to have
an up-close look.

‘We found a prime minister crack-
ing jokes about the public animus
(some would say loathing) of him,
unconcerned about his party's low
standing in the polls and determined
to sce the Current constitutional nego-
\iations through to a successful con-
clusion.

He was full of beans, and appeared
not at all, stressed-out by the brutal
agenda which faces him.

There was nothing said or done
which suggests he's considering quit-

ting, in fact he talks confidently of
winning.

It sounds tike someone's been
putting mood-altering drugs into the
PMO water cooler, but like it or not,
this is the Mulroney we'll see tomor-
row in the Commons.

Some of his confidence has to
come from the knowledge that the
worst of the recession is behind us,
and the economy can only improve.

Ruth Gitter, chief economist at the
Toronto Dominion Bank, says the
economy has begun to rebound even
though the official statistics are slow
to report it.

In fact the stats are just now com-
ing out for the worst of the downturn.

The Gross Domestic Product - the
value of all goods and services pro-
duced in the economy - grew by only
onesenth of 1% in November, That
was 1/2 the rate of growth reported in
October, but i was growth none the
less.

Liberal Leader Jean Chretien wants
more. He proposed a $1-billion, one-
year program of economic stirmulus.

He says the government should
help fund new roads and sewers,

,

lower the minimum downpayment on
homes to 5% and allow first-time
homebuyers to use up to $7,500 of
RRSP savings as a downpayment on
a house.

Chretien’s program sounds a lot
like the way the government dealt
with the 1982 recession.

“Special Recovery Projects”
accelerated spending on public works
- were designed to alleviate unem-
ployment.

Unemployment topped 11.7%
compared to 10.3% in December,
interest rates soared to more than
22.75% compared to about 8% today
and inflation was 12.9% compared to
today’s level of about 2.5%

The lesson in all this?

Trying to fight a recession by
spending borrowed money does little
to reduce unemployment. It puts the
future at risk by raising both interest

Fates and the rate of inflation, both of

which make our economy less com-
petitive when the recession ends.

“Steady as she goes” - it’s diffi-
Cult, but there is no viable economic
course.

Wednesday, February 5, 1992

The Castlegar Sun

Letters to the Editor

Revitalization — a benefit

Dear Editor:

“People may ask, how can any-
one be opposed to Revitalization?
It’s like motherhood and apple pie.
Every one should be in favour—
yes, until you examine the ramifi-
cations of cost versus value, and
then the picture is different.

The horrendous cost to some
of the affected properties will

most certainly destroy a number
of cxisting businesses, and drive
others out of the downtown area.
We have been asked, why
should a landlord worry about the
40 per cent additional tax load?
After all he can pass it on to his ten-
ants, be they merchants or service
providers. The merchants then pass
on the higher costs to their cus-

tomers, The customers, in turn
looks at the higher prices, and heads
across the border to the USA.

The merchant then starts look-
ing for locations outside of the
downtown area, where City taxes
are 40 per cent less.

Should for any reason,the be a
delay in either the recovery in the
price of pulp, the re-opening of

Dear God: You wouldn’t believe what

Dear God: I know how busy
you must be with a whole uni-
verse to worry about. that's why
it occurred to me that you don't
have time to read our papers, and
your TV reception might not be
good. So I thought I'd drop you a
note about how things are going
here.

Well, things couldn't be going
any better, at least as far as your
image, is concerned. You
wouldn't believe how well-loved
you(are on this planet today and
how much is being done in your

I hardly know where to start,
there's so much going on. So I
might as well start in Northern
Ireland, where you've always
been very big. Ah, what religious
fervor can be found there!

The Irish Protestants are so
devoted to you that they do
everything possible to make life
miserable for the Irish Catholics,
because they don’t think the
Catholics have the right approach
toward worshipping you. And the
Catholics do what they can to
make life miserable for the
Protestants for essentially the
same reason.

In their great love for you,
they shoot at one another, bomb
one another, set one another afire,
and kill little children,
bystanders, cops, soldiers, and
old ladies. Some have been com-
mitting suicide by starvation
Then each side buries its dead,
goes to church, and gives fervent
thanks to you for being on its
side. It is very touching.

And one thing about these
people: Their devotion to you is*
unshakable. They've been doing
this for about 400 years. So it’s a

good thing that you have an
entire universe at your disposal,
because I don’t know where else
you could find room to accom-
modate the souls of all the people
who have died there in your
name.

You're also highly regarded in
a country called Lebanon, where
just about everyone believes in
you, although they don’t agree on
what you should be called.

In that country there are
Moslems and Christians, and
they've created different sets of
rules for worshiping you. Natu-
rally, they say you have sent the
tules down to them. I don’t know
if that's true that you gave them
the word, it would really simplify
things if there were only one set
of rules. I would cause less hard
feelings.

But such details aside, they are
expressing their devotion to you
by killing each other by the hun-
dreds. I guess they figure that if
one side can wipe the other side
out, it will prove that their way of
worshiping you is correct, and
you'll be pleased with them.

So every day they lob shells at
one another and blow up the usu-
al men, women, children,
bystanders, old ladies and stray
dogs. And every day, they take a
few moments out to thank you
for your support and to promise
that they'll continue their efforts
in your behalf.

Now, not far from there are
countries called Iraq and Iran
The Moslems in those countries
basically agree on what to call
you, but they disagree on some
details concerning how best to
Worship vou. ‘86 they're killing
one another, too.

It’s more than a little confus-
ing, though, because in Iran there
are people who call themselves
Baha'i, and they too have their
own way of showing their respect
for you. Unfortunately for the
Baha’i, their way doesn't include
killing others who don’t share
their point of view. So that makes
them patsies, and the Moslems in
Iran, in their love for you, have
been kicking the Baha'i around
pretty good.

Just a short missile ride away,
there's a lot of religious action
going on between a country
called Israel and just about every-
one else in that neighborhood.

The people in Israel also have
their own set of rules for wor-
shiping you, which they say you
passed on to them. And they con-
tend that you look more favorably
upon them than anyone else, This
has always caused a lot of hard
feelings, because a lot of other
groups figure that they're your
favorites. (It must be hard being a

Letters Policy

Letters to the Editor are wel-
come on any topic of local or
general interest. Letters should
be double-spaced, typewritten, or
legibly handwritten, and no more
than two pages if possible. Let-
ters will be edited in the interests
of brevity or taste if necessary.
All letters must be signed, with
address and telephone number,
although names may be witheld
from publication for valid reason
by the approval of the editor.
Send letters to: The Castlegar
Sun 465 Columbia Ave.,
Castlegar. B.C.. VIN 1G8, or
drop them off at the office.

Opinion cannot go unchallenged

Dear Editor:
Everyone is entitled to their
opinion, but when the expression
of opinion impunes the reputation
of this company and our hard-
working employees, then that
opinion cannot go unchallenged.

In a letter to your paper, Mr.
Harry Killough states that he has
been mistreated by West Kootenay
Power, that we have become “trig-
ger happy,” and he implies that
there is some insidious plot to do
him a disservice because he is a
board member of the Electric Con-
sumer Association. Balderdash!

Mr. Killough has received noth-
ing but first class attention from
our capable staff in the Castlegar
office, our Division Manager in
Castlegar, our Corporate Solicitor
at head office in Trail, our Cus-
tomer Services Manager at head
office and the B.C. Utilities Com-
mission. All this time and i

everyone that this bill is a normal
cost for the service he requested.

Mr. Killough’s tenants moved
out. His tenant was our cus-
tomer—not Mr. Killough—and the
tenant advised WKP to discontin-
ue service. We did. Mr. Killough
believes we should have known
that he did not want the service
disconnected. How could we
know? He did not tell us and the
new tenant did not tell us. Ours is
no different than service provided
by any number of businesses: from
BCAA to BC Gas to American
Express. The service is in the name
of the person paying the bill.

WKP has since made a special
service notation on Mr. Killough’s
rental property. We discussed with
him how his particular concern
could be addressed and we took
steps to accommodate his needs.

For the record, we would do the
same for any customer in Mr. Kil-
lough’s position. But no matter
how much you insist Mr. Killough,
we cannot rely on a crystal ball to
know your needs. When we know,
we do our level best to accommo-
date special customer require-
ments. Mike Bradshaw
Director, WKP Community
& Public Affairs

Volunteers Needed
365-3127 or
365-7512

the sawmill, or construction of
the bridge, EVERY TAXPAYER
IN OUR CITY AND NOT ONLY
DOWNTOWN LANDOWNER,
will feel the effect of our massive
debt

_ The City is presently in default
in their payments on the Industrial
Park loan. This debt was acquired
without taxpayers permission, yet

or a curse

everyone in the City is liable. The
City is again trying to circumvent
the will of the taxpaying public,
borrowing millions more without a
money by-law.

I would urge all those receiv-
ing notices of their proposed tax
increase, return them to City Hall
before February 10, 1992 indicat-
ing your objections to this atro-

is done in your name...

father figure.) Israel's statement
that it’s No. | has also made
some people wonder this: If the
Jews, after all they've been
through over the centuries, are
really your chosen people, what
do-you do to somebody you don’t
like?

Anyway, the Jews and their
Muslem neighbors — both of
whom claim your complete sup-
port — have been going at it for
about 30 years. But I don’t think
they'll ever equal Ireland’s
record, because they'll all eventu-
ally have nuclear bombs. Boy,
will you have a crowd showing
up!

Well, I know you're busy, so
that's all for now.

P.S. I never believed any of
those stories going around a few
years ago that “God is dead.”

We Want

to Make
Your
Business
Look Good.

GOLDRUSH

over a $128.40 service charge
which Mr. Killough does not think
he should pay. Yet Mr. Killough
has been advised consistently by

CASTLEGAR WOMEN’S
ASSOC.
and
CASTLEGAR COMM.
SERVICES CENTRE

presenta

VOLUNTEER

TRAINING PROGRAM

SAFE
HOME
PROVIDERS

TO REGISTER CALL

365-2104

British Columbia
Burn Awareness Week

that:

of reach and out of sight;

less; and

° @ February 2 - 8, (1992 ©

As the Castlegar Fire Department wants you to have a
burn free life, PLEASE remember today and always

¢ matches and lighters are tools, not toys — one out of
nine children has started a fire with lighters — keep out

© hot liquids burn like fire, and scalds are the number
one cause of death and injury to children under four —
supervise children when you're cooking or drinking hot
liquids and take the time to turn down your water to a
safe 54 degrees Celsius (130 degrees Fahrenheit) or

* . only a functioning smoke alarm can save your life —
test the batteries in your smoke alarm.

Because fire and burn related incidents are a leading
cause of accidental death, please take the time to
ensure your home is a safe home.

The City of Castlegar
460 Columbia Ave.,
Castlegar, B.C. VIN 1G7

Please Arrest
Can Be Located At __

How could you be? We don't
have one weapon that can shoot
that far.

cious additional tax load

N. Oglow
Castlegar

HAIRLINES
1444 Columbia Ave.,
Castlegar, B.C.,
365-6700

Mon. - Sat. Wed. te Thurs.
‘til 8:00 pm

Teleflora —

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Valentine's Day
is Friday, February 14

Sale starts Feb. 5-16

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50% off

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HANG’S NURSERY & FLORIST

2601

~ 9th Ave., Castlegar

365-7312

DOING TIME FOR CHARITY
"Lock Up Your Boss .. ."

. Anyone you would like to see

have ‘em arrested on

Monday, February 10

12 p.m. - 5 p.m.

:
Hi Arrow Hotel Jail

Fee: '20° per Hour—ie: 3 hours - 60 - All day *100°
Note: Once in jail, the captive may post their own bail after the first hour
by matching the contribution.

All Proceeds Donated to

VARIETY CLUB
FELPING BC'S SPECIAL CHILDREN

on behalf of
Kootenay Columbia Child Care Society

Charged With
Sentence (time in jail)

Contact Person(s)

Phone

Drop off at the Hi Arrow Hotel front desk on or before Feb. 10, 1992

Cash or Cheques accepted

Total $

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