Wednesday, July 29, 1992 &

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Adrian RAESIDE

Braced for
byelection

ctober 17 is turning out to be
Q: bigger day than anyone
could have imagined.

Not only is it the day Castlegar
voters will decide on a new RCMP
building, but it now appears that we
will also be selecting a city councillor.

Expect Marilyn Mathieson to
resign her council seat, paving the
way for a city byelection. While the
departure of one of council’s most
competent members to the Lower
Mainland is a clear blow, it couldn’t
come at a better time for city hall.

Let’s face it, a referendum on a new
RCMP building isn’t going to get the
the people running to the ballot boxes
— the road referendum proved that.
However, the election of a new city
councillor will, which is exactly why
Oct. 17 will be Double Decision Day
in Castlegar. ;

When — not if — the byelection is
called, expect the political fires that
burned relentless throughout the
winter to be rekindled.

Look for the Coalition Unaccepting
Rash Bureaucracy to come out of
hiding to field a candidate. And
expect that candidate to be either
Walter Flux or John Moorlag. Other
names that may surface as

speculation runs its natural course
could be Chris D’Arcy, Jim Gouk and
Nick Oglow.

We shouldn’t kid ourselves about
the pending byelection. As politically
clean as we would like it to be, it will
likely come down to a contest
between traditional Castlegar

Mr. Ben Johnson,

F clean Ben Johnson

I sure do. It was kinda

Somewhere in Barcelona

Dear Ben,

Hi Ben, how’s it going?

Good, I trust.

Well, have you seen those
Games so far... man is Canada
having trouble.

Geez, even our traditionally
strong boxing team is being
manhandled by a bunch of
half-pints from that pugilistic-
powerhouse of Japan.

Did you see that one, Ben?
Right jab, left hook, body shot.

s.D.HARRISON

Harrison
Comparison

like being kick in the crotch
by Big Ben... the horse that
is. Boy, did that sting.

I remember the night you
ruled the world like it was
yesterday. The boys and I
were sitting in my
Lennoxville, Que., living
room at the time, tossing
back a few pops while trying
to shoo away the butterflies
that lined our patriotic stom-
ach. -

I confess that I expected

Ouch, did Canada ever get

ed. .
pe then there’s CTV. With next to nothing
good to report, our national television network
was forced to call Monday our best day yet. Our
top competitor finished fifth. _

Oh well, if there is one thing that Canada
has always been tolerant of it’s mediocrity.

But that’s not you, Ben. Heck, you ruled the
track world for a fair number of years before

your arch enemy Carl Lewis
to win the 100-yard dash
that day. After all, Canada is content to finish
in the shadows of other nations.

The Free Trade Agreement is evidence of
that. :

I'll try to leave the politics out of it, Ben. Af-
ter all, you've had your share of governmental

ief.
Need I mention that public bathing session

steroids got the better of you.

thought and those dying to change it.

Streef TALK

Remember that Ben?

popularly know as the Dubin Inquiry?

please see HARRISON page 7

Joyce Warren
Kelowna

“J haven’t been

Delores Mix
Kelowna

“I haven’t seen

‘Tom Ehl
Castlegar

Question: What do you think of Canada’s performance so far in

“I don’t know. I

Leon Warren
Kelowna

“I haven't kept up

the Olympics?

Mackenzie Pyne
Nanaimo

“Pretty good.”

watching them at all.”

anything about
Canada yet.”

haven’t been
watching.”

to date on the
Olympics.”

¢

Other VIEWS |

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@ Wednesday, July 29, 1992

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 ‘oWHE EDITOR

As a member of the health care team, I
have been following the negotiations
between the physicians and government
with growing concern.

Both sides seem to have taken an
immovable position and seem inflexible to
one another’s demands.

This government has once again, as
others have in the past, stated there is a
lack of funding available in the budget for
wage increases.

Although this is nothing new to the
average worker, the physicians appear to be
hearing it for the first time.

Many cutbacks have occurred in
education, social service and government
employee sectors. These employers have
had to deal with minimal wage increases,
decreased benefits and pensions.

An open letter to
Education Minister Dr. Tom
Perry:

I have a strong interest in
the history of British Columbia.

The doctors must realize that the public
has a hard time feeling sympathy for them,
a small group with fully paid pensions by
the taxpayers of B.C.

‘The government must negotiate
in good faith, respecting previous
agreements already made with
past government.’

As well, the physicians are relatively
highly paid “government” employees.
Granted, they have overhead and expenses,
but each clinic usually has at least three
doctors to split expenses and yet still earn a
substantial income. Threats of office
closures and withdrawal of physician

These include proper care of
the environment, the rights of

Arbitration needed to end BCMA quarrel

services only aid the government with its
own public relations.

As with the nursing strike a few years
ago, the public is unsympathetic when
threats to availability of services, either
pir a to non-emergent, are issued.

The government must also recognize its
responsibility to the physicians.

The government must negotiate in good
faith, respecting previous agreements
already made with past government.

The only solution appears to be binding
arbitration in which each side will have to
accept what is best for the general public.

After all, the health and welfare of the
majority is what is important.

Isn’t it?

Name with held
by request

Nelson a great place for degree programs

who are applying at the coast
and being turned down to come

I am writing in support of
Nelson University Centre’s
application for degree-granting
status.

NUC'’s two predecessors —
Notre Dame University and
David Thompson University
College — have over 6,000
alumni.

Despite that, Notre Dame
University’s charter was
wrongfully cancelled and
should be restored.

Around the turn of the century,
Nelson was the largest city
between Winnipeg and
Vancouver.

It also had the first hydro-
electric generating station in
B.C., ahead of Vancouver.

Nelson is the heritage capital

of Western Canada and
deserves to have a degree-
granting university.

NUC’s proposed curriculum
shows a strong interest in
innovative courses that our
society needs.

women and global justice.
These are, of course, in addition
to all the normal, traditional
courses.

Another important factor is
that at the present time 18,000
applications for admission are
being turned down by B.C.’s
coastal universities every year.

A strong NUC would make it
possible for students from the
interior to get their university
education without the high cost
of living at the coast, plus it
would allow a number of those

to Nelson for their university
education.

This would be an important
benefit to other groups of
applicants, plus it would be a
positive cultural and economic
benefit to the Nelson area.

I strongly hope that you and
your B.C. government will
support Nelson University.
College’s creative application ~
for degree-granting status.

Pierre Burton
Toronto

Salute to the Concerts in the
Park.

Please permit me _ to
publicize this happy event and
to express my appreciation to
the Castlegar Arts Council, to
the artists and singers, to the
radio station for its generous
loan of sound equipment, to the
sponsorship by the various

merchants of Castlegar and
finally to the attending
residents of Mountain View
Lodge, as well as to the ladies
who work like beavers
attending them.

When I observe some of the
seniors in their wheel chairs
tapping their feet to the time of
music, I recall the brilliant

Summer concert series a musical lover’s delight

statement, “In as much as ye
have done this unto the least of
these, my brethren, ye have
doen this unto me.”

Last but not least — my
admiration and thanks to the
sweet ladies of the Castlegar
and District Hospital Auxiliary,
you deserve an Olympic gold

medal for service to this proud
community.

Let’s see a good attendance
at the final concert on
Thursday, July 30, at noon.

By this attendance, show
that you care.

Pat Romaine
Castelgar

Harrison

continued from page 6

What a waste of money that
was. Months of probing, prodding
and finger-pointing to discover
Canadian athletes were using
steroids.

Like there was any doubt about
that to begin with?

Back to the run, though. Man,
what a run — legal or not, I still
get chills every time I see it.

And you? You bolted down the
track like never before. With your
one finger raised towards the
Seoul skyline, it took you just 9.69

and taste.

seconds to, establish a new

Olympic, world and- personal
record.

I can still hear Don Whitman’s
voice screaming: “He done it. Ben
Johnson has done it.”

Wow, what a run. The single
most impressive athletic display I
have witnessed.

That run was wiped about by
steroids, though.

As depressing as that was —
and boy was it — it was even more
depressing watching the Canadi-
ans public abandon you. Ben
Johnson the Canadian became the
Jamaican-born runner who tar-

nished a nation’s sterling image.
Give me a break.
If the general public and the
Canadian Track and Field Feder-

ation didn’t expect so much from’

our athletes, I hardly think they
would be forced to ingest steroids.

As much as we want to believe
we are a kind, gentle lot, Canadi-
ans are a cut-throat as the rest of
the world when it comes to the
Olympics.

As a nation, we whole-hearted-
ly endorse the notion that first
counts and second doesn’t. And be-
cause of that we force our athletes

to cheat.

With that in mind, Ben, I won't
be looking for any medals from
you.

Instead, I’m one of the few peo-
ple happy to see you overcome the
public spanking you were forced to
endure to satisfy our naive popu-
lous.

I wish you well, Ben.

Win, lose or draw, you're still a
Canadian in my books.

From one of your
few remaining fans,
Scott David Harrison