jay, September 21, 1901 8 iheNews | OurWiEWS Don’t throw in the towel At last. : British Columbians will finally get the long-overdue opportunity to make their views known in the only poll that really counts, a provincial general election on Oct. 17. The election is shaping up to be a nasty battle with the potential for the two main contenders, the Socreds and the New Democrats, to end up grappling in the gutter of negative political campaigning, as Hubert Beyer points out in his column on this page. f : That type of campaign is worrisome enough. : igs But perhaps‘just as distressing is the possibility of many voters so turned off by politicians of any kind and their campaigning that they don’t even bother to vo etm not going to vote” and “I don’t really care” were the responses of several people The News contacted in its recent poll. And some of the responses on the news from people on the street last night, after Premier Rita Johnston called the election, indicated the sdme attitude. It’s too bad people have become so fed up with politicians that they’re willing to ignore one of the keystones of a democracy — the right to vote. Rossland AdrianRAESIDE . oo, ue Sk yh a male . wnrtttOltllllls ni Yor ua“, yi maa wn ATS COMING OOH, 100K... Mi Mitt it ¥ Odyssey We're on a sp: hip. We blasted off last week. Desti- nation? Unknown. Today we get to open the sealed envelope informing us of our mission. No sooner is the envelope open and we've started to set Year 200 e Let’s hope it doesn’t hap in Trail. The Socreds and New Democrats have nominated able candidates and we've | heard the Green party will also field a | candidate in the election, so voters will | have a wide range of philosophies from | which to choose. ‘ Ask the candidates tough questions about things that are important to you — the economy, the environment, forestry. Tell them what you expect from your elected representatives. Then listen to what they have to say and make an informed decision about whom to vote for. Dave McCullough Publisher Simon Birch Editor the coord: than a voice crackles over the intercom. It's ground control. ‘ “Uh, guys, we're going to have to hold off on those coor- dinates. There’s a bit of confu- sion down here about wheth Comments from the Crossroads | on NORMAN program for students in kindergarten through Grade 3. The“intermediate pro- gram, for Grades 4 through 10, was supposed to kick in by 1994 and the graduate program for Grades 11 and 12 by 1995. The biggest change from the old system was the shift to individualized learning; students would no longer ad- vance by grade levels, but ac- cording to their own pace. No more failing or skipping cond booster rocket is eae We're taking another look at the whole business. We'll get back to you in a while. In the meantime, just sit tight.” Welcome to The Year 2000: A Space grades. The old curriculum was to change, too. No more English, French, language arts, Odyssey. : For anyone having trouble making ‘the gon- nection, the provincial gover ‘3 riculum. Peter Harvey a Plant Foreman But whatever you do, don’t ignore this election. Mark Davis Advertising Manager | OF, the table. Warren Chernoff Accountant Heather Hadiey Circulation Manager Burt Campbell! There’s just too many important issues reforms called The Year 2000 is the spaceship; grouns trol is the Education Ministry; and tigre te and hers are the crew. "The ministry launched its Year 2000 reforms last year with the introduction of the primary VICTORIA — The opening round goes to Mike Harcourt. He was cool, confident and statesman- like in his first campaign speech in the Parliament Buildings press theatre, carried live on TV. Rita Johnston, by comparison, was nervous, sweating profusely, as she told British Columbians she will stand on her record during the 29-day campaign. The fact that a Greenpeace protester, who had managed to get past the guards, quite rudely in- Publisher Emeritus L.V. Campbell ‘Aug. 7, 1947- Feb. 15, 1973 Hubert BEYER Skelly began stumbling over his words and finally froze in mid-sen- tence, asking reporters whether he could start over again, a bit of a dif- ficult task on live television. Johnston gave us a taste of what's to come in terms of negative minis' , arts ws | practical arts. It was all part of inte- grating (another favorite ministry word) cur- Also out was the old marking system of A, B and C, to be replaced with a new ungraded system where teachers would provide parents please see NORMAN page A7 Campaign ’91 begins: Harcourt 1, Johnston 0 British Columbians and can't tell the difference between right and Rita Jobnston and Social Cred- when she ber of is- Report from Victoria terrupted her speech also didn't help Johnston get off to a good start. Nor did Bill Vander Zalm's PP in court ona breach-of-trust just a few hours be- fore she called the pres The performance ywo par- ty leaders struck me as an almost perverse replay of the 1986 cam- hands the election ,in the same room. Minutes after he left, then NDP leader Bob Skelly took his place at the podium. want a government that will “manage the economy so that it will continue to provide good, se- cure jobs. Ttevovert, tes, hd sit hand laying. A vote for Joh sues she believes are on the voters’ minds, including jobs, taxes, and i ” She didn’t men- ball p' he said, is a vote for a government that has “abused power, interfered in the p 1 moral decisii ing like a nervous wreck, of viel rPbiag ere paign opener. Only this time, the 21, 1991 feserves the right to edit letters for legality, grammar and taste. Letters coWHE EDITOR Support sought On Oct. 8 at 7 p.m., the Chri Lake Currently, the fire hall is in the legal name of the community club. This was Community Club will hold a public meeting and subsequent ballot vote concerning the use and ownership of the Christina Lake fire hall. The fire department has occupied this building peace it was built in the 1970s. H ; the regional district di quired at the time it was built as it was the only legal entity at the lake. We feel a trust relationship has and does exist the community club and the fire 5 it, one it appears to be willing to break at this time. It was the fire department alone which secured the M, Maxi L , Mrs. is proposing that the use of the fire hall be changed to whatever purpose she may deem appropriate in her as x It is the view of the fire department that to allow her and other groups to meet in the hall could affect the safety and security of the building and contents and also the community. There is a very real possibility that a serious liability problem could exist if the hall is opened up for a variety of group ng! The lake has a community hall for these types of functions and it is opinion of the fire department that the taxpayers are paying for fire protection at Christina Lake, We do not feel you are paying protection money for what would amount to another community hall and we especially object when the ch proposed by the regi director appear to be designed for her personal convenience in her elected capacity and when those changes could result in the long range in a tax increase because of the hall’s expanded use. tgage, signed it, built the fire hall and maintained it to date. We are now asking the club to turn over legal title to us and this is being denied in favor of the regional director’s plans to expand its use. This is your fire hall. If you want it to stay a fire hall we ask that you make a point of attending this public ing. Your manager Ken Arnett, the Slocan Valley Watershed Alliance, himself, and Terry Dods, representative of Slocan Forest Products. Evans hoped for a resolution that would end the desperate attempts of people to have their concerns listened to. All agreed except Terry Dods, who refused after three attempts by Corky to encourage such a ing, and who luded the appeal by asking Corky to leave. This is representative of the Slocan Valley Watershed Alliance’s hard work and endeavors to come to an acceptable resolution between all parties without having to be forced to such actions as peaceful civil disobedience. It is also vote on that night may have a significant impact on what you pay in fire protection taxes in future. The fire department is here to support this community. Now we are asking for the community to support us so we can ensure your fire hall remains a fire hall. One communityhall is enough: K.B. Gresley-Jones Fire Chief Christina Lake Fire Department No cooperation I was present at the rally that took place in Nelson on Sept. 10 in support of the 84 people arrested at the Hasty Creek blockade. Being well aware of the injustice being perpetrated, I was additionally upset to hear that Corky Evans had tried, unsuccessfully, to arrange a last-hour meeting between Arrow forest district rep! of Slocan Forest Products’ use of the supportive power given to them by the government and the courts to turn a deaf ear to appeals from the public. The company has its injunction, and it is going to use it, even over the protests of 250 and the arrest of 84, showing no inclination hat to with i concerns. Scott Cherry New Denver Group does good work I would like to thank the Castlegar and District Development Board for its help in sending a group of five young hard-working people to cut down the weeds and generally clean up the Brilliant USCC Cemetery. It was a well-organized and well- monet project. The young people did work. Nick Konkin, Caretaker Brilliant USCC Cemetery continued from page AG with examples of how the student is progressing — e1 ‘izing suc- cesses and avoiding eqmparisons with other students. There was just one problem: many parents didn’t buy it. And neither, apparently, does the min- ister of education. That’s why Stan teachers)? Wondering what the hell is going on, that’s where. Any- one in their right mind would have serious doubts about anything coming out of the Education Min- istry these days. Look at the recent track record. Less than six months after intro- ducing the dual entry p: the space shuttle because the first rocket booster (the primary pro- gram) is up and running, but with the second booster (the intermedi- ate program) and the re-entry booster (the graduate program) still on the drawing board. ¢ Don't get me wrong. I think the about how it would be implement- ed. They were especially con- cerned about eliminating the grad- ing system and how it would affect their children if they wanted to go on to post-secondary studies. ‘Hagen has since said he wants a provincial education standards Hagen announced recently that the intermediate and graduate programs will be put on hold for a year while a special external advi- sory committee on education re- form headed by prominent busi- nessman Edgar Kaiser studies changes to the proposed system. Where does this leave parents and_students (not to mention rogram, the ministry suddenly cancelled it. Dual entry was to be thé “engine” to drive the new coritifiuéus learn- ing system. It didn't even get out of the driveway. Now another part of the Year 2000 program is in doubt — and again after the changes have al- ready been initiated. It’s a bit like NASA launching , Year 2000 reforms should be de- layed; they need further study. I attended a workshop on the inter- mediate program here last Febru- ary with about 30 other parents from throughout the West Koote- nay. The overwhelming response to the program was negative. Par- ents said the program was too vague and they were worried board to develop standards for the province. Students will be tested to see how they meet those stan- dards.) Let’s not have another dual-en- try catastrophe. Let’s take our time and make sure the changes we are making in our education system are the right ones; ones we won't be cancelling six months from now. squander the province's fortunes with abandon. The NDP will high- British Columbia has ever seen. It'll be sewer city between now and voting day, Oct. 17. go as 1972, the year Dave Barrett took the NDP to its only victory in British Columbia, to scare the hell out of the voters. The NDP, on the other hand, will probably dig up a few Bill B kel light Joh 's enth ic sup- port for Vander Zalm right up to the moment he was forced out of But it'll get a lot dirtier than that. Brace yourself for Socred TV ads showing long lines of unem- ployed workers in Ontario blam- ing their plight on Bob Rae's NDP gocorsanent, asking British soul brother of Bob Rae who will hether they really want to suffer the same fate. sare prepared for vicious NDP dredging up every scandal the Social Credit has been hit with these past five years. They'll do ev- erything to paint Rita Johnston with the Vander Zalm brush of cor- ruption, patronage and i choice but to retaliate. The campaign will also be a tence. In this campaign, the past will feature as prominently as the is- sues of the day, if not more so. And by the time it’s all over, you may be excused for believing that it was a race between Bob Rae and Bill Vander Zalm. Patrick Kinsella, the Socreds’ chief spin doctor, has already warned the more squeamish So- cial Credit supporters that they may not like what they will see, but that it has to be done. And Mike Harcourt’s NDP will have no lister’s dream. It app that the rather dramatic lead the NDP had over the Socreds a few months ago has been narrowed down to anywhere from five to 10 percent- age points, which makes weekly polling a fascinating game. And lest I be accused of not knowing that other parties are al- so in the race, let me say that Lib- eral Leader Gordon Wilson acquit- ted himself very well. Voters, he said, had a chance, this time, to get rid of both the old parties and get the government they deserve — a Liberal one.