? PAGE Wednesday, April 29, 1992 eis ; } ‘OurWiEWS = = <= S _ Dave McCullough Publisher For the sake of our children t is time for our governments to [se up to the national epidem- ic known as child molestation. From top to bottom, governments can no longer stand idly by while children are being touched and fon- dled in the cruelest of ways. It would be easy for us to ignore the problem and pretend it doesn’t exist. But the sad fact is, it does. And child molesta- tion shows no signs of subsiding. A recent report issued by the B.C. Ministry of Health revealed that the average — as if there is such a thing — multiple offender molests 70 chil- dren over a period of 10 years. That is 70 young lives damaged forever and our governments and communities stand back and let it happen. It is incumbent upon Attorney General Colin Gablemann and his Ottawa counterpart Kim Campbell to protect our children. They are, after all, children. As uncomfortable as the child molestation problem is, we must start talking about it. We must also pressure our governments to pass concrete legislation which allows our children to speak up and enables communities to fight back. : Lawyers and judges must be given clear directives from governments which enable them to put offenders behind bars where they belong. The Ministry report is a sad state- ment about British Columbia. But the saddest thing of all is that this heinous of crimes will continue to fes- ter until governments start seeing children as the innocent victim they (altlegar Nows Castlegar becoming poll-erized For those who were hope- ful that all the fighting between city hall and the Coalition Unaccepting Rash Bureaucracy was over, again. In an: unprecedented: move, CURB is taking its fight to the public. Somewhere between page 2 and 24, readers will find an advertisement sequestering their opinions on the reloca- tion of the city works yard. The renegade citizens .p. HARRISON Harrison — Comparison the very few of them that bothered to swagger to the polls — rejected the road referendum® some five months ago. As for sewer repair, whether peoplé- are aware of it or not, the city doesn’t have to go to the citizens when it plans to make changes. According to the Municipal Act, any city can borrow as much money as it needs to make repairs deemed critical. group is adamantly opposed to this $850,000 move, say- ing the city marooned taxpayers by fast- tracking this unnecessary project. CURB contends that the city should spend the dough on road rehabilitation, southend sewer repairs or a secondary access through town. Good enough... or is it? See, I’m one of those folks who doesn’t know what to think. I agree that the city’s roads must be given the utmost of atten- tion. But, if you recall, Castlegar voters — are. Streef TALK As for the secondary access through Castlegar, I don’t think 100 per cent of the blame can be placed on the:city’s shoulders. Like most cit- izens, the city blindly believed the govern- ments of the:day would make good on a promise to build the Castlegar-Robson bridge. Despite government commitments, as recorded by the Celgar Expansion Review Panel, the city was left holding the id; axed. bag Weer the ot Ee psa see HARRISON page 6 / at Lorne Shalanski Castlegar “Yes, it’s supporting the U.S. and not" Canada.” Shirley Argatoff Castlegar “Yes, in some ways.” nl y, Barb Zemendek Robson “Yes, I think it’s harmful.” — . Jo-Ellen Orritt “Yes, cross border shopping is very harmful.” Question: Do you think cross border shopping is as harmful as the government claims? Barb Bray Vernon Castlegar “Yes, but sometimes we have no choice.” @ Wednesday, April 29; 1992 ithe News OtherVIEWS 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 lastnames, 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 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 coWHE EDITOR CURB asks for reply In today’s News, everyone will see the public opinion poll placed by the Coalition Unaccepting Rash Bureaucracy. It.is very important that everyone complete this poll and either send it to the address listed in the ad or drop it off at one of the three locations. The importance of this poll is to send a message to city hall as to just how the citizens feel. We have had public meetings and expressed our opinions and to no avail. I ask all the citizens of Castlegar to send .this poll whether you are for city hall or not. In response to Mayor Audrey Moore’s comments that anyone can go out and buy up a bunch of papers and slant the poll in our favor, give us a break. This may be the thoughts of city hall, but they are certainly not that of CURB. Now, for her most incredulous statement yet, ‘Change the council in 1993.’ Well, Mayor Moore, the way you are running the show, we won’t need a council in 1993 because no one will want to live here, or I should say, no one will be able to afford to live here. Just one final question Madam Mayor, just when did you ever consult with the public over the city works yard? I checked with a couple of councillors and none of them can remember any public meeting on the subject. Oh yes, don’t forget to sign and send in your response to our poll. Mike O’Connor President Coalition Unaccepting Rash Bureaucracy Gun owners misunderstood My attention was grabbed last week by the “Street Talk” section of the April 18th issue of The News. I thought the question, “Do you think Canada’s gun control laws are strict -enough?”, was a good and honest one. However, I was highly shocked and distressed at some of the answers that indicated these laws were not strict enough. I’m sure they were honest opinions, but appeared to me to be somewhat unsubstantiated. I don’t think anyone, unless they are into shooting as a sport, has even the slightest idea of just how tough Canada’s gun laws really are. I know whereof I speak, as I, myself, recently stepped into the ring with this country’s lawmakers. I’d had a .22 rifle for sometime and enjoyed it to no end, but after awhile I decided to try my hand at one of the most difficult of the firearm sports — pistol shooting. Researching all possible options, I decided on a .22 automatic pistol and ordered it from the local sporting goods store. When I went in to pay for the pistol and take it home, I was instead given only the receipt for it and directed to the RCMP There I was given a myriad of forms and slips to fill out. Now I was headed back to the sports shop to get the firearm where I would then again have to turn myself 180 degrees and head back down to the police detachment. There, the officer would check the published barrel length to the very millimeter, the magazine capacity, the caliber, the model, the make and, of course, the serial number. Finally, I had to sign my John Henry to one last form — the form that gave me just enough time to get the pistol home, lock it up, and toss it in the closet. Since my job hours and those of the sports centre and police detachment did not coincide very well, this process took two days to complete. I might also point out that this entire hassle wasn’t made any easier by the RCMP. There I encountered people who did not seem in the least eager to help me get my pistol and acted as if I was asking them to scrub my toilet with a toothbrush. If I didn’t know any better, I would almost venture to say they were trying to discourage it. To top it all off, as I was walking out the . door, instead of an,“Enjoy your new pistol.”, I was given a “Don’t shoot yourself in the foot.” Yes, literally. : How many criminals and murderers do you know that would go through this entire process, just to get a gun? Right now, every form of law enforcement and government in this country knows exactly what gun I possess. Not that this is bad, but it gives you that genuine feeling that Big Brother is watching you. How would someone feel if they were treated like a pre-ordained murderer every time they want to purchase a baseball bat or insure their car? These objects can, and have proven themselves to be lethal weapons in the wrong hands. Just compare the number of motor vehicle fatalities on B.C. highways every year to those caused by firearms. See how many drunk drivers there are out on the road lately. How many firearm enthusiasts do you know that go out shooting while they are drunk? Logic would indicate that the government should be cracking down on motor vehicle legislation, but this is exactly the opposite. Many present gun laws and those being proposed are simply misdirected and indiscriminate. They don’t abide by any system, logic, or. facts. Legitimate gun-owners are suffering and criminals are unaffected. What good is imposing—a law on someone who won’t observe it. This point can be driven home by the fact that despite a, deep recession, the illegal drug trade is booming. Does anyone have an explanation for this? I also came across statistics that show that, in the U.S., New York has the nation’s toughest gun laws, yet at the same time is the easiest place in the U.S. to purchase illegal firearms. : As the old saying goes, “If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.” If anyone has a logical argument to this, I’d like to hear it. ¥ I would like to close by saying again that it deeply upsets me that the public is as greatly misinformed as it is on the gun control issue. It disturbs me even more that the government can throw its weight around so easily. Lately it’s been pumping out gun laws left and right and simply telling people to “Live with it.” ae Se, This is something that should be expected in countries run as dictatorships — not Canada. “=~ Td also like to say that gun enthusiasts are not a bunch of goons and fanatics. It’s always been my experience that they are a great bunch of people (both male and female, by the way), who are out for nothing more than fun and a safe time to be had by all. Though, I do wish more people would find this out for themselves. Terris Dods Crescent Valley Harrison continued from page 6 In a perfect world, Castlegar would have a bridge, roads worth driving on and no sewer — problems to speak of. But the world is not a perfect place. Reality is, our roads suck, our bridge is being built with speculation instead of concrete and our southend sewer The relocation is a joke. Perhaps, they’re right. After all, $850,000 bylaws. is a whopping amount of money especially in recessionary age. citizens this group says being traced. With that, why has the relocation of the public works yard become such a contentious issue? Because it’s there. The city has planned this relocation for some time, and despite having discussed it at public hearings and open council sessions, there are some people who believe. the breaks. the and taste. too much money as city crews the other, only to return a short while later for coffee and lunch Walter Flux appointed to the Community Plan CURB has suggested a Update Committee. relocation site somewhere near ' Community Complex, something that can easily be of that very committee.) Official done after touching up a few We’d be foolish to think this poll is entirely about the relocation of the city works But money isn’t the only yard. Instead, the poll is as thing CURB wants addressed. . much about the relocation as it is CURB’s own battle for city- relocating the works yard tothe wide acceptance. industrial park doesn’t make sense. It believes the out-of-the- CURB has been shut out of the way location will cost taxpayers _ political scene. Why, the closest thing the citizens group has shuttle from one end of town to come to being embraced by the city was having vice president Despite several attempts, (Much to the city’s chagrin, Flux was later elected the chair So how should residents respond to this poll? Clearly, there are two choices we can make. We can ignore, taking the time to line our bird cages with CURB rhetoric, or we can respond. I’m hoping the latter is the option. After all, Castlegar’s bird cages can always be lined with this very column. As for me, I’ll play CURB’s game. And much to CURB and city council’s surprise, I'll vote in favor of the relocation. Why, you ask? It’s quite simple. The relocation has been thought out and justified. Delaying it any further only means more tax . dollars in the long run.