Wednesday February 3, 1993 @ OurViEWS AdrianRAESIDE Mrs. McGoo at the wheel aah... it’s nice to see that the Aizsczenes Corporation of ritish Columbia is leading by example. In the same one-year period that the Crown corporation has'seen fit to raise the average insurance premiums by 20-plus per cent, we discover that its newly-appointed president and chief executive officer is a regular Mrs. McGoo behind the wheel. In the past five years, Robyn Allan has collected seven speeding tickets and 23 points on her less-than- sterling driving record. That didn’t matter to the New Democrat government, though. Ignoring those obvious driving blemishes, our patronage-proud government handed this 37-year-old lead-foot the keys to ICBC’s top post. Allan’s appointment is almost laughable... almost. Let’s face it, ICBC is the most heavy-handed provincial nuisance we have. After brow-beating the public into believing we are the most careless speed-demons in the world, ICBC has a repeat offender calling all the shots. Talk about credibility crisis. Robyn Allan has two choices — quit or be fired. Clearly her driving record proves that she cannot and should not hold such a lofty title. After all, how in the world could ICBC promote another anti-speeding campaign when its own boss has put the pedal to the metal... seven times. It’s time for Mrs. McGoo to ease off the gas and take a left turn right out of corporate headquarters. Streef TALK I had one of those visits That didn’t happen, that I was expecting but wasn’t looking forward to Monday. See, at 1 p.m. Monday a couple members of Castlegar’s finest dropped by to talk to me about Saturday’s editorial. If you missed it, The News questioned how the Castlegar RCMP could let an alleged criminal walk away after admitting to five recent break-ins without so- much as a charge. Needless to say the RCMP members were less than impressed with the editorial, not that I expected them to be. It didn’t help all that much to see sports writer Jonathan Green and reporter Neil Rachynski taking odds on the exact time Castlegar’s finest were going to slap the cuffs on me, drag me out by my heels and place me in a small cell with some burly guy named ‘Bubba who was looking for a friend for the night. s.D.HARRISON Harrison Comparison 2 Sd though. And I’m happy to report that at no point did either RCMP member size up my wrists, poising that ever fearful question: “Interested ‘in trying on these shiny, stainless-steel bracelets?” Humor aside, there is something unsettling about encounters with the police that make people trip over their tongues. I was no exception. To their credit, the two members quickly put me at ease, saying my chances of ever meeting a burly guy named Bubba were slim and none. Especially in Castlegar. Instead, they took it upon themselves to chat with me about the tone of the editorial. I’m glad they did... honest. See, the Castlegar RCMP is one of the most open departments I have ever worked with during my journalism career. please see HARRISON page 7 eee eel Feb. 15, 1973 Member of the B.C Merle Mills Castlegar “He’s done as well as anybody else in this riding.” Polly Bartsoff Castlegar “] think he did all right, but he’s no magician.” ae ‘4 Stuart Berg Glade “As far as ’'m concerned he tried.” Dorothy MacPherson Castlegar “He did quite well— he did as much as a politician can do.” Question: How do you feel MP Lyle Kristiansen did during his time in office? Bob Pakula Castlegar “It’s hard when you’re (in opposition.) He did a good job.” @ Wednesday February 3, 1993 dTheNews Other VIEWS Please address all letters to: Letters to the Editor Castlegar News P.O. Box 3007 Castlegar, B.C. V1N 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. and 5 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 Letters tcoWHE EDITOR Norman straddles the fence As Shakespeare observed, ‘One man in his time plays many parts’. It is interesting to note, therefore, that my good friend Ron Norman having done the newspaper editor part, the columnist part and most recently, has played the novelist, is preparing to take a part in the field of politics — or so it would seem. In his last column entitled ‘The Year 2000 has people pondering’, he examines the Ministry of Education’s holdover from the Social Credit government’s well intentioned but questionable educational version of the popular science fantasy movie ‘2001’. After a brief consideration of his topic Ron plants both feet firmly on the ground — one foot on each side of the educational fence, at the same time voicing a resounding ‘maybe’ on its theses. This exercise reflects a hitherto undiscovered talent in the realms of obfuscatory rhetoric and ambivalence which will immediately place him well up the ladder to success in the public service. However, after 47 years as a teacher, I have been somewhat less than impressed with many of the schemes and methods originating in Victoria and strongly inclined to give careful preliminary study to the failures and successes of educational systems elsewhere in Canada and the U.S., and more particularly in Japan and the European democracies. They have had a lot of experience in this line of endeavor and our Rotary Exchange students have all been greatly impressed. I have, as well, some reservations about the child’s bicycle readiness hypothesis as a model for new educational theory. Nonetheless I wait with bated (or baited) breath for the second part of the account of his war with the windmills in preparation for a new career. John A. Charters, Castlegar Eyes peeled and ears open In response to Ron Norman’s passive re- quest in his column of Jan. 23, here is my list of the top five reasons why Castlegar resi- dents would be particularly prone to UFO sightings, taken from an informal poll I con- ducted: 5. The aliens are Rebel’s season ticket holders. 4. Martians just love bugging Barbara Tandory. 3. Celgar doing worse things to the drink- ing water than we thought. 2. Flying saucers are an efficient way for aliens to commute to and from city council meetings. 1. Subway just opened. Keep your eyes peeled! . Greg Nesteroff South Slocan Blueberry Creek doesn’t need its own fire hall Re: The letter from Wayne Nedjelski “Blueberry Creek fire hall a complete waste of money”. I am in complete agreement with his comments and observations and it is refreshing to find someone else that is concerned about high costs beyond our means. It was our understanding there would be no action taken without government grants. Evidently we have a group of zealots determined to go ahead with a fire hall, regardless of cost. The Regional District and directors are only too happy to accommodate us. They are always happy to try and justify their existence. In regards to Castlegar supplying us with fire protection, they offered us protection several years ago when a committee of humble firemen met with ratepayers of Blueberry. The meeting was held in the Blueberry Creek school. A member of our District opposed their offer. This member seemed to have all the answers. Our water lines were not adequate. Our fire insurance rates would not be reduced. He practically shouted the firemen out of the meeting. I blame myself for not speaking up in favor of their offer. I must have been confused along with everyone else that was present. At any rate, we better not hold our breath waiting for fire protection from Castlegar. I’m told firemen have a very long memory and am sure they did not appreciate the reception they received here the last time. In the meantime, buy a couple of smoke detectors and a fire extinguisher and practice fire safety habits. Also a word to the zealots. It will cost approximately $1,000 for each fireman’s gear and a Scot pack at $500 each, required by WCB. The fire trucks must be replaced every 10 to 15 years. There are many other expenses too numerous to mention. I would suggest that our group of anxious fire protectors find some other hobby. W.W. (Bill) Gattrell, Blueberry Creek Has the forest industry finally cleaned up its act? Premier Harcourt is going to Europe to stop the spread of environmentalists’ “misinforma- tion”. The B.C. Forestry Alliance’s Jack Monro says “We did some things wrong in the past, we're not doing them wrong anymore.” (Early Edition, CBC Radio Feb. 4.) Has the forest in- dustry finally cleaned up its act? After the Donna Creek disaster in June, 1992 (where over 60 kilometres of stream chan- nel were damaged or destroyed), Fletcher- Challenge was directed to audit 1,400 kilome- tres of their roads in the Mackenzie area. “Some 269 sites were examined, the major- ity by a real reconnaissance using helicopter... Two hundred fifty-nine (96 per cent) of the sites were found to be in some form of non-compli- ance with the associated road or cutting per- mit.” (Dobson Engineering Report, page 24, Oc- tober 1992). Just more pesky environmentalists’ misin- formation I guess. Jim Pine Victoria Harrison and taste. continued from page 7 The local RCMP detachment is pretty free with its information — both on and off the record. I can hardly say the same about their counterparts in White Rock and Surrey, who perfected the phrase “no comment.” Maybe that’s why the local de- tachment was taken aback by Sat- urday’s dubious editorial. Despite their opposition, I stand behind what was written — I can’t under- stand how an alleged criminal can admit to five local crimes and not be charged. Enter the grey area — an equally frustrating territory for police officers and law-abiding cit- izens alike. See, as the members explained, the Castlegar crimes were never ignored. Instead, after hours of in- vestigation, the local department made a trade with their Lower Mainland counterparts. A five-for-six deal, so to speak— five confessions for five closed files and the promissory note that the alleged criminal would never be tried in Castlegar. In turn, the al- leged criminal will be tried for sep- arate crimes committed in and around Vancouver Makes sense? To you and I, no. To the police, it’s part of everyday life... an exercise in frustration that handicaps them from per- forming their duties. That part of everyday life, I want nothing to do with. See, I like my black ’n’ white world, calling a spade-a-spade and letting the facts speak for them- selves. And on that level, I can’t accept that five crimes will go unpun- ished. Nor can I accept that our lo- cal police have been forced to ‘play ball’ with a legal system that ap- pears to favor criminals over vic- tims. Why, we only need look at Canada’s Young Offenders Act — the laughing stock of the criminal justice system — to see that our legal framework is in need of a dramatic overhaul. A complete revamping of the criminal justice system is some- thing I strongly believe in. I am tired of seeing victims victimized and criminals coddled by such an inadequate legal system . Commit the crime and pay the price. I don’t think I’m asking for much. It’s funny, my brother-in-law Eric says the same thi Who’s he, you ask? Just one of the many RCMP of- ficers who serve and protect.