WEDNESD March 31, 1993 Wednesday, March 31,1993 The Castlegar Sun Letters to the Editor SHARLENE IMHOFF EDITOR MARGE LALONDE CIRCULATION MANAGER JOHN VAN PUTTEN SPORTS REPOR TERPHOTOGRAPHER KAREN KERKHOFF REPORTER General Office rculation Classitied Ads Display Advertising Newsroom Fax PUBLISHER MARILYN STRONG Direct Department Phones CATHERINE ROSS ADVERTISING REP NICOLE BEETSTRA PRODUC TION/OF FICE LINDA ANDERSON PRODUC TION MANAGER CHRISTINE MOYER ART DIRECTOR MELODY SEMENOFF ADVERTISING REP 365-5266 365-5266 365-7848 365-2278 365-5579 365-7762 editorial comment budget, and to alcohol.” three per cent when purc income tax surcharge on cent effective this July they say they want the the ministers, a continued freeze on MLA's salaries as well as a salary-freeze for deputy eliminations tion of current services, they will? As residents, ALLY INDEF damages ar f error ya amount paid for the I! advertisement to the negligenc Paid for such adv All advertising subject blisher completed within fi accepted A budget with a difference? Ihe NDP /has released their second ment, BC'ers will be paying more taxes on a number of items, including an increase to the PST, gasoline, cigarettes and Other increases include a new luxury tax of $30 thousand, an incre ers effective Jan., 1994 and an increase to the income tax rate on large corporatioins by one-half of one percentage point to 16.5 per These are only a few of the increases, but they could have been worse. And if residents of this well-to-do province are serious when then they'll only grimace realize they're being done for a reason For_the first time in a long time, the gov- ernment is leading by example. It's nothing short of refreshing to see a five per cent pay cut in the cabinet salaries of the premier and ministers and senior managers of Crown cor- porations and government agencies making more than $100,000 annually. Afterall, who deserves to make more than $100,000 a year anyway? What exactly do they do? But the NDP are probably making their boldest move by axing the positions of assis- tant deputy ministers, executive directors and directors. Government is well known for it's top-heavy positioning, so the complete elimi- nation of these over-paid duplicate positions is long-overdue. Afterall, taxpayers of this province can only pay for so many positions. One has to wonder though, at the cost of the severences and pensions as a result of the From its overall appearance, Finance Min- ister Glen Clark focused on four themes when tabling this year's budget: investment, protec- wealthiest bear the greatest and reducing the deficit. It sounds great, and the figures pre- sented to us appear eve work? Will the NDP really do as they say for the cutbacks, pay the numbers and proniises add up correctly The CaStiégar Sun PENDENT AND A HE STERLING NEWS SERVICE tablished November 28, 1990 fe Castlegar Sun Weekly on Wednesdays Member of Canadian Community Newspapers Associatior B Mmunity Newspapers Associatior and BC Press Council Ave . Castlegar, B ERRORS therwise and there shall be no liability for non-insertior ny adverts tract date No contingent orde no one's astonish- hasing vehicles over ase in the personal higher-income earn- deficit to decrease, at the increases, and fair taxes where the n better. But will it we can only watch taxes, and hope the Svertisement beyond the pied by that portion of the ad. whether such error is due ement beyond the amount approval. Contracts must be a John certainly don’t have to | ee much of a guess as 0 what side of the fence you sit on (as you wear your smoking jacket of course) about this issue of hiking the puffers taxes. ; If the health concerns and wamings are not enough to con- vince people to kick the habit then I say the government should keep on increasing the taxes and make people pay for their stupid- ity. Afterall, these taxes will be needed to cover the cost of the burden smokers currently place on the health care system, and in the years to come as they suffer fronrlung cancer, asthma, heart disease etc. How long before People get the hint that if they smoke they are not only slowly killing themselves but damaging the lungs of everyone around them? Take the Surgeon General's warnings which are on every package of tobacco and cigarettes. Some of the warnings say, “Smoking during pregnancy can harm the baby”, “Smoking is the major cause of lung cancer”, “and Smoking reduces life expectan- cy.” What do you think Karen, that they had nothing better to do with the spare ink in the printing plant? Why shouldn't the government increase taxes on tobacco protuctS al every opportunity? If the thought that your lungs are slowly being covered with a black lava-like tar doesn't pur suade you to stop this habit, an empty wallet might. Wake up and smell the roses. Speaking about the sense of smell, do you realize when you retum from one of your visits out- side (which is a step in the ght | direction, out the door) for a breath of fresh air (slightly fikered air), the. smell that lingers behind you can be one of two things; either the smoke brigade is returning or someone has put an animal carcass in the office heating system. Your comment about smokers Government g to &, since it really depends on where they light up. The way society is progressing, (yes I do call it Progress) it's against the law to smoke in public places. If enough people continue to | puff on the dried plants which have been treated by countless chemicals (which are also causes of various cancers) then the gov- ernment will continue to gouge that smouldering segment of the population, and they should con- | tinue to up those taxes. I don’t want to hear anymore about how smokers are carrying the burden of the taxes in this country. I say the government has the right idea. It's found an easy and con- stant source of revenue and like any bright entrepreneur in todays tough times if you find a market take advantage of it Isn‘t it time for a smoke break Karen? I think I hear the govern Ment cash register ringing up another sale. Cons and crooks ha¥ve ased the old saying, “you" can spot a sucker a mile away The same thing applies here, but the government and any other member of society can smell a being law abiding is also weak, §™moker coming a mile away heek ohn, I know what I’m ing sensibilities into a tailspin, but here goes anyway. The government is making crooks out of a certain sec- tion of the law-abiding pub- lic—the smokers. Tax upon tax has been added to tobac- co} products so that the addicted smoker either has to pay the price (literally), quit a habit which has been likened to a heroin addiction, or smuggle contraband across the border in order to assuage their habit I would like to clarify that I don't feel this is a smoking/non-smoking issue to be debated between two opposing sides, but rather an issue of a strong-armed gov ernment holding goods (tobac ¢O) as ransom. All Of us, whether we smoke or not, have been taxed right left and cen tre, and yet our nafional debt is not diminishing. Where exact ty does our G.'S.T. and P-S.T go if not towards decreasing our national debt? And now ouging smokers? . ren they want to tax a growing minority even more! It seems hypocritical of the government to punish the general smoking public, when just a few months ago mention was made ina provincial paper about the tax breaks federal employees get. It seems that federal employees, whether they smoke or not, are allowed to buy tobacco products tax-free. The report went on to say that there were MILLIONS of dollars of tobacco products purchased by the employees in a one year span. When it was calculated how much each government employee spent on tobacco, it was determined that there was approximately $6,000 spent per year, per employeé, on tax-free tobacco (that was for all employees, smokers and non-smokers included). This,is absolutely ridicu- lous! A person would have to have three heads and three mouths and smoke every minute of the day to use $6,000 worth of tobacco per year. So how come federal employees, (who receive nice fat salaries anyway) are allowed to do what the average smoking public can't—buy cigarettes without first taking out a personal loan? I think the government is Starting to look more and more like a voracious bot- tomless pit, and smokers will be their first prey. Not too many people will notice, or care, that smokers are being eaten alive. After all, aren't smokers being looked down upon as the bottom of the barrel nowadays? After they are done taxing the smokers to death, they‘ll be rid of us. The big question is who's next? Oh, by the way John, I thought you would like to know that I can smell a non smoker a mile away. if you have any org I about this week's Cheek to Cheek, feel free to send us your comments In a letter to the editor c/o The Castlegar Sun. If you have a subject that you would like to see debated in the Cheek to Cheek column, Karen and John would love to hear your suggestions. Call the newsroom at 365-5579 or fax us your ts at 365-7762 and req Dear Editor: The annual B.C Ministry of Environment Freport just arriy, 4 in the mail. This report covers the year 1990/91. It was printed in 1992. It was mailed out in 1993 Moving right along: accord ing to this 1990/91 Environ ment Ministry report, Environment Ministry expendi ture amounts to seven tenths of one percent of the overall bud. get. Until now, I wondered why the annual government budget report; which is mailed to every household in the Province, never contains any information regarding the amount of money the province spends on environ- mental protection. When angry environmental ists stormed the Legislature, Harcourt answered those critics who said he had promised too much to environmentalists and delivered too little: “We're keep. Obituary Knutson On Saturday, March 27, 1993, Norman Knutson of Trail, BC formerly of 100 Mile House passed away at the age of 74 years Mr, Knutson was born November 1, 1918 at Ordale, Saskatchewan where he grew up and farmed until moving to 100 Mile House in 1955.-While in 100 Mile House he worked in the forest industry until his retirement in 1982. On Decem ber 24, 1959 he married Lillian Lidstrom at 100 Mile House Mr. Knutson was a member of the Lions Club and past presi dent of the 108 Mile Lions Club. He enjoyed golfing and wood working He 1s survived by his wife Lillian of Popular Ridge Lodge Trail, BC, one brother Kasper of Ordale, Saskatchewan and sister. Anges Lundren of Shellbrook Sask. Several nieces and nephews, Ken & Allen Knutson of Robson, BC There will be no funeral by request, cremation has taken place. The ashes will be taken to Shellbrook, Saskatchewan for burial in the family plot Cremation arrangements are under the direction of thé Castle: gar Funeral Chapel Editor's Note: The Castlegar Sun is pleased to present a new community column titled My Turn. We welcome Sun readers to participate by submitting their written essa y or opinions, and a photograph for publication. Copy for the column should be between 250-300 words, including a brief biography of the author. Deadline for submis- sions is each Friday before publication. The Castlegar Sun reserves the write to edit for brevity and clarity School Board No. 9 trustees meeting of March 22, 1993. The request, put forward by two students to sell condoms at SHSS for one. week during lunch hours as a part of their career prep pro- gram, drew a variety of interesting responses from the trustees In many ways these responses reflect the different methods used by society in general to approach the sensitive moral issues which confront all of us today. Some people take a strong stand based upon a conviction of right or wrong. Others would say that there is really no way to legislate morality so let's just try our best to keep things as safe as possible for everyone. Still, others would say that we should look at the economics of the situation and let that be an indication of how to make our decisions Having grown up as an adolescent through the “freedom and liber- ation” movements of the 1960s, I was caught up with so-called “new morality” that came into vogue during those years. The rejection and removal of many of the traditional values and restraints in the area of morality was supposed to produce a soc iety that was more “enlight- ened” and people with fewer “hang-ups But now here we are in the 90s. and we need to ask ourselves if this has really happened or have we been left as a society that has lost touch with our roots and as a result are now floundering when 4 Comes time to make clear decisions regarding the “rightness” or “wrongness”™ of the moral issues we confront today. Indeed two of the words I seem to hear the least when these issues are disc ussed are the words “right” or “wrong Few people dare to enter the dangerous territory. Whose, standards will we use? By what code of ethics will we determine our way into the future? One-thing is for sure, the issues will not go away and we'll be forced by them as individuals to “come out of our closets and make our views known. [sect read with interest the Castlegar Sun report of the ee If this so-called “new morali- ty” which our enlightened soci- ety seems to have embraced is really so good, why are we see- ing such poor results? Family breakdown and divorce is widespread, sexually transmitted diseases are running rampant and people in general seem to be less satisfied in their relation- ships I trust that we won't become so taken up with so called “new thinking” that we lose our abili- ty to determine whether or not it is really producing the results we want in our society. I, for one, applaud trustee Bonnie Horswill’s stand against allowing the sale of condoms in the high school. I also must dis- agree with trustee Mickey Kinakin’s statement that there is no such thing as safe sex. A sexual relationship that is withins the confines of God's order is not only safe, but very satisfying. Perhaps a better Changing times and changing morals Way to put it is there is no such thing as “Safe Sin.” Stuart Laurie is the pastor at Living Waters Faith F ellowship and Principal of the Christian Academy in Castlegar. He resides in Castlegar with his wife and three children 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 Just who is sowin drop them off at the office. E. EMDE 1480 COLUMBIA AVE. CASTLEGAR, B.C. VIN 3K3 (604) 365-7616 Res 365-3253 DINING LOUNGE Open 4 p.m. Daily 365-3294 Located 1 mile South of Weigh Scales, Ootischenia. Celgar, Westar and Cominco vouchers accepted ing Our commitments” The media said of Gary Hart that they would never have exposed his extramarital affair and ruined his presidential chances except that Mr. Hart used to make a big dealwat press conferences about how he would never do such a thing When I questioned Premier Harcourt on C.B.C. radio prior to his election about the NDP inability 10 come up with a cred- ible environmental policy Har- court proclaimed that he “... didn’t know how to lie”, and in fact he “never” did so. Note that the media hordes are not ques- “ioning Harcourt’s credibility over whether or not he lied to those environmentalists who helped him win the election. There are, after all, journalistic Principles. Environment policy isn’t Harcourt’s private life. Back to the mailed-out-in- 1993, printed-in-1992, 1990/91 “annual” Ministg of Environ- ment report; John Cashore, the Minister, announced as a “high- light” of the report, that yet another study is underway to determine the sources of green- house gas emission in B.C. My mind drifts ... the ever vigilant Inspector Clouseau-, Cashore stumbles by, complain- ing about all the motor vehicles in his way, walking into factory smoke stacks, relentlessly seek- ing out the elusive arch-criminal carbon dioxide. Overcome by exhaust fumes, he passes out before he can solve the case. The Ministry of Energy Mines and Resources published its study of B.C. carbon dioxide sources in 1990. American, Canadian, German, and Japanese studies have all con- firmed that to act to reduce car- bon dioxide emissions is to become more energy efficient and hence more internationally g the seeds of despair? Germany and an. already gwice as energy efficient as North Americans, are acting swiftly to become twice as efficient as that. There will be no such eco. lunacy here NDP B.C. is going to order more studies According to Antoinette Hal- berstadt, we should not “sow the seed: of despair which is our biggest enemy”. At what point will the budget for protecting the Legislature from rioting environ- mentalist exceed the expenditure for the Environment Ministry? Will this be a cause for ordering more studies? Who is sowing the seed of despair? competitive Jo David Lewis Crescent Valley PUT SOME JINGLE IN YOUR POCKETS With Sun Classified Ads! 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