OPINION Wednesday, May 19, 1993 Letters to the Editor The Castlegar Sun 6A WY The Cast! gar Sun A ~” Zs PUBLISHER MARILYN STRONG SHARL ENE IMHOFF CATHERINE ROSS ADVERTISING REP NICOLE BEETSTRA PRODUC TION/OFFICE LINDA ANDERSON PRODUC TION MANAGER CHRISTINE MOYER ART DIRECTOR MELODY SEMENOFF MARGE LALONDE CIRCULATION MANAGER JOHN VAN PUTTEN SPORTS REPORTERPHOTOGRAPHER KAREN KERKHOFF REPORTER General Office Circulation Classified Ads Newsroom Fax ADVERTISING REP Direct Department Phones 365. 365-5 365 Display Advertising vertently “baited” those smelling barbecues As soon as they take ing to the telephone to sance™ bears. What is it officers to do aggaway? answer the real problem bears If the bear is a repeat offender “aggressive” or dangerous he will be destroyed for the simple crime of foraging for food. (Wouldn't you be aggressive if you were hungry and looking for food?) If the bear is a breeding sow she has a editorial comment The ‘bear’ facts ould you put out an appetizing assort ment of food and then call the police when someone decided to help them- selves 'to the irresistible gourmet selection? You might not realize it, but some of you are doing just that when you leave your garbage around for bears to come and dine on. It's the time of year when the conservation office is inundated with numerous calls about “nuisance” bears from people who have more than likely inad- bears our “bait” we run scream complain about the “nui we expect the conservatior that of humans ‘baiting’ and considerec We live in a rural area, and’in fact we live in an area which was inhabited by bears long before it was inhabited by humans. We have encroached upon bear habitat, and then teased those bears with a mouth-watering assortment of garbage, old frui whieh we've let fall to the grounc t i, and tantalizing 1 Phere are only a couple .of things they can do. and any of the options available to them don't 1 better chance of living. However, first she will be tranquilized, which is a great risk in itself, and then she will be transported or relocated to another area The problem with relocation is that many of the “nuisance” bears know only one way in which to obtain food—and that is by foraging. When a bear is taken out of its habitat and then expected to gath- er its food in the same way as its “wild” brothers do, they are put at risk Destroying a “nuisance” bear for rummaging through garbage that humans left unattended is an atrocity. To think they are being destroyed only because they were looking for food makes that atrocity even worse Relocating or destroying bears is economically costly, and from a humanitarian standpoint cruel and unjust. But above all, if humans would just learn some simple lessons those tactics would be totally unnecessary. We can’t educate the bears—but we can educate the “nuisance” humans who insist on ignoring clear anti bear-baiting directions. Don’t leave your garbage out overnight. Don’t leave wrappers laying around your yard. Don’t leave fruit lying on the ground—-pick it up If you don’t want bears in your neighborhood don’t invite them in SZ The Castiégar Sun ZS IS POLITICALLY INDEPENDENT AND A MEMBER OF THE STERLING NEWS SERVICE Established November 28, 1° Published by The Castlegar Sur Weekly on Wednesdays Member of Cariadian Community Newspape B.C. Community Newspapers Assoc and B a Ave Press Council R nish damages arising € amount paid tor the space act advertisement in which the error occurred, whether such error is due to the negligence of its servants or otherwise... and there shall be no hability for non-insertion of any advertisement beyond the amount paid for such advertisement cupied by that portion of the All advertising subject to completed within one year fi accepted ublisher's approval Contracts must be contract date. No contingent orders John s anything in life, the police, presence™ at Stanley Humphries could be looked at from more than one angle Karen, we both know you are 4 touch past high school age than myself, but your views on our Royal Canadian Mounted Police spending time trying to increase their visibility to the students did not really surprise me because it follows your pes- simistic views towards new ideas. One could argue that despite their denial of ‘such actions, RCMP could be using their new-found freedom at our local high school to pursue some low key investigations on.some of the students. On the other hand, we could believe the RCMP who say they are using this opportunity to improve their image with the teenagers of our community If the local members of the police force do use their oppor- tunity at the school to carry out investigations, then I personally think they have overstepped the bounds; and their actions will only further tarnish the teen's view of police The RCMP have an image that, through overdramatization on television and in the movies, has been blown way out of the waters of reality Improving public perception of the role police play in the community is needed, and starting at the school level is a good way to ynvince th hagers that the police are not out to get them but to help them when needed Police forces in Canada have been. for vears, visiting the cle mentary schools and talking and visiting with the younger chil- dren. If you ask some of the kids in the junior grades that age old f. what do you want to u grow up? Lam pos would get a few que stior be when y itive you inswers for a police officer Somehow, in the passage of tume between junior school age and high school, the perception and views on the actions of the —_—_—___—_ omy | police change from one where the kids look up to the officers as role models, to one where RCMP are actually feared In some cases, as the student's age, so does their paranoia and fear of ‘peace officers’ being out to. get everyone. Granted, your conscious is a result of your actions. While it's admirable that RCMP have recognized they have an image problem with teens and are attempting to fix it by becoming more visible, I have to wonder if any of ‘these students will take the time. to find out there are real people behind those uniforms. People who have teelings hke any one else does. This 18 not just a uni formed. officer with a gun lapped t book of daw his/her side and a 1 their disposal Te¢nagers need to change theit attitude, towards the cops”. They to stop look ing at “them” with disdain and distrust t of Co-operation and even friendship. Police are you. they are there community that Not out to to ensure a sal we all live and work in But I guess that change in attitude comes with age and maturity ecently, Stanley Humphries Secondary School initiated a pro- gram in Which Castlegar RCMP officers become more visible, and therefore hopefully interact with students in a positive way In order to do so the officers will spend part of their work days at SHSS. Even though some recent violent situations at the school I don’t think that having the “cops” at SHSS is a good idea. Even if the RCMP are there to jnteract with the students most of the have come to light let's be honest students are not going to-embrace the “let's be buddies” concept, especially when it Comes to police officer Today's students are tac wih growing pressure ind t be faced with the specter of “br brother watching every mbv even while in school, cannot be pleasant After all, let's face it, school just as.much a mil arena a itis a learning arena Students feel free and comfonable to be themselves t something which some youngsters are not always encpuraged to be. We often hear adults telling young people to “grow up”, “act your age quit Police presence Karen acting so dumb", and on and on. Most of the students at SHSS are fine young people, adults in training if you will, and to put officers in a-place which has been traditionally “theirs” may be a grave error. Does the administration really think that having police in the school will work? As law abiding adults, don’t our hearts race a little when we see a police officer in our vicini ty, even though we are innocent of any crime? Having police officers more visible is not going to break a lifetime of habit Imagine this, “Johnny” decides that police are nice peo- ple after all, not the adversary most of us have been raised to think the law is. He goes in just to shoot the “***" with Mr. Nice Guy officer. As he enters or leaves the room where the offi- Cer is, one of the other students see him. The next day, through no fault of “Johnny's” one of the students in school gets busted for an infraction. In a school the size of SHSS the word would spread like wildfire that “Johnny” was seen the day before talking with the police officer, and a serious and erroneous assumption of guilt would be made based on someone's observation. From that day on, until the day “Johnny” left school, his life would be pure misery. He would be branded a “nare”, and noth ing he would say or do would ever change wh.it had happened If there is a legal problem with any of the students at the hool, then by all means call police in. But until that hap let the students be student ind enjoy their young lives betore they have to grow up and face the harsh world which we have so generously help made n the way John, 1 fully kpect you to be biased about this considering the fact that law enforcement runs in your family I heard you wanted to join but they wouldn't let you because Foreign labor practices far from safe Dear Editor a Labor practices in a toy factory in Thailand which have been called “questionable” by investigators would more properly be called crimi: nal, Over 200 workers, mostly women and girls, died when locked doors, lack“pf alarms and other basic safety measures prevented them from escaping a fire Women around the world join us in feeling outrage at these deaths of our sisters. Just 2 months ago women around the world were cele brating International Women’s Day and reflecting on the progress that we've make. This fire is a grim reminder of how far we have to go. It is very similar to the fire on March 25, 1911 at the Triangle in Thailand will be brought to justice The similarities between these fires and many others in labor histo- ry, as well as present times, remind us that the struggle for basic pro- tection for workers is still far from achieved. Less than three years ago a fire in the south of the U.S.A. ata chicken processing plant resulted in the deaths of a number of workers. Locked doors were a factor in that case as well. At a time when the Canada/US trade deal and NAFTA are attacking labor standards in Canada we cannot be complacent What happens anywhere in the world is relevant to us, without FAIR trade practices, workers pay with their lives. We end ‘up con- More letters page 8A you were too short if you have any sorq Call the newsroom at 365-5579 or fax us your t th 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. and req ts at 365-7762 Local hire policy advocates fairness and honesty cently, the City of stlegar has received Fa lot of flak because it awarded the contract for down- town revitalization to an out of town firm. Various local groups, it seems, had been lobbying coun- cil to consider giving the contract to a local firm even though the Price-tag was higher. During the years I've been on the local School Board, we've faced this issue several times Given the fact that many Board members are union-oriented, we looked at trying to award building projects to local contractors over outside bidders. In the end, how ever, we were bound by provin cial regulations that’ require public bodies to accept the low bidder, providing the Jow bidder is competent and qualified to do the work. I expect that the City of Castlegar was in the same bind Once bids have been received and opened, it is quite clear to everyone (and the contractor understand this) who has the low bid, and thus who will likely d the work. Usually. the only way a low bidding firm will not receiv formal approval to do the work 1s if the firm is judged as being incapable of handling the project or has a history of problems on it sites or has not done good work In fact. a contractor's reputation has to be quite bad before its low bid would be unacceptable. Even then, some documentation might be required by a Board or Council before bypassing a low bid. The only other reason I know of fér a low bid being turned down is when all the bids are too high. Most projects undergo intensive value-analysis and an estimated cost for the project hag been decided upon before going to tender. If all the bids are far above this target figure, likely even the low bid will be unac- ceptable and re-tendering will occur I've often wondered why the necessity of accepting a low bid, why governments insist on this provision. Historically, I discov- ered, it has to do with keeping costs low. If it is known that local firms have preference, then what's to stop these firms from bidding higher than is necessary to make a nt profit’ In addi ton, hem « ‘ r Coun i} know wt r proje neludes contr ide the k how can a Board alr n? Finally Council be sure that collus: has not occurreg amongst local bidders to push thé price uf While accepur 1 local firm bid over a low bid 1s admirable in terms of putting more local peo- ple to work, the payer could be That's why the regulation is in place and has to be adhered to Iremen © many hour egar School uch issues. We ra clause in the 1 that bidder At that time ost to the tax way out of line wranglin Board had tender which stat use local labor only we were told that such a claus could only be suggested and yuld not be made mandatory Otherwise ran the nsk of get ting bids fror locals wh« might bid high or bids that were higher because of the “local hir ing only” clause Most Boards and Councils in small cities such as ours would accept local bids-if they could Not Naving the experience of dealing with thousands of tenders yearly, Boards and Councils have to accept the advice of those who do — usually government depart ments with civil servants who have long memories of what has happened in the past. The “low bid” regulation is in place because of bidding abuses over the years. Accepting the low bid may not always be right, but that regula: tion has met the test of time in not allowing a lot of other bad prac- tices to occur. If human nature were such that we could trust that local contractors would always put in a fair bid and that they would not get together in their greed, I'm sure there would not be a need for protectin Gordon Turner at Selkirk College and has served » the School District No. 9 board for over nine véars—the 1s an instructor ust six have been as chairman women, children, and men floors of a 10-storey building Shirtwaist Company in New York. That day 175 workers were killed; The company occupied the top three nd many jumped to their deaths to pe being burnt alive. After an investigation, charges were Jaid. In 1911, the employer was found not guilty; let's hope that the company tributing to these conditions with our ability to buy cheap toys for our children who mostly have too many. West Kootenay Women’s Association Sam S bsssccossssnessssnsscostee lesssesesssesssssssesessoeeee MAY 14-MAY 24 i No debating final decision on grad night Dear Editor: This letter is in reference to the “Cheek to Cheek” column in the May 12, edition of the Castlegar Sun, which was enti tled Graduation celebrations, I, personally, rarely bother to read the silly column by John Van Putten and Karen Kerkhoff. | made an exception this time because the title concerned my grad class of ‘93 What I found in the article was two people trying desperately to find a controversial topic in a, non-controversial issue. No “small group decided to extend its control,”; the class of ‘93 made a democratic vote at a meeting of all grads and the grad Inner joy can only come through acceptance of Jesus Dear Editor: Since I invited Jesus to come into my. life two years ago I have experienced a deep inner joy that no amount of trials of this world can smother. And believe me there have been many! As | experience blow after blow I am strengthened as | turn to God's instruction book, the Bible, to find out how Jesus would want me to handle each situation. It is not that bad things that happen don’t hurt any more...but I have the confidence that if F just take courage fom Him and follow His guideline everything will come out right in the end and fit with His loving plan for me. In knowing this | have an inner peace that I never had before, I just have to be patient and keep doing my part even when the world has seemed to go nuts around me I trust in His word that He will never leave me or forsake me (Heb. 13:5). Even though | am not perfect by a long shot...I know He loves me dearly just as He loves each one of us. But it is up to us to open the door and invite Him into our heart. I can testify from personal experience to those who have not done so yet...you will never regret such a decision! He is the only one who died for the wrong things we have done, so that we could have eternal life with Him I have been asked to invite friends to the Ralph Bell Cru- sade, Since Jesus came into my life my love for others has increased so much that I don’t want to miss-anyone with my invitation to come to the crusade and listen to Ralph Bell (an asso- ciate of Billy Graham) a fantastic speaker who will teach you so many wonderful things about Jesugy Our area has been so blessed to have something so ter tific as the Billy Graham Crusade come to visit us. Who says God doesn't love us? I would like to thank all the churches and people who helped make this wonderful event possible Iris Bakken Salmo Letters | Policy Letters to the Editor are welcome on any topic of local or general interest Letters should be double spaced, typewritten, or legi- bly handwritten, and no more than two pages if pos- sible. Letters 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 drop them off at the office. Poetry will NOT be published. Great gifts for graduatio Decorative accessories, writing instruments puzzles, mugs and more! EinSwine available here \ del CARL "Your Friendly Pharmacy" A AZA DRUGS | Castieaird Plaza « 365-7269 council. The result was, a deci- sive, unanimous resolution on the part of the students in grade 12 to ban alcohol and other substances from our party. This decision was not forced on us, and was arrived at by the will of the class to make our grad the best it can be for everyone Those grads who do decide to make the choice to drink are doing it alone and will not attend the party. Those who attend, will be in a substance free state, peri- od. I know many of the grads who are of legal age to drink and plan to come to the party sober, and are prepared to have some fun. The ones whom I know that plan to drink that evening will have to do their drinking separate from the majority. “So why not permit moisture to be served under circumstances where there can be some con- trol?” John asks. Moisture is a euphemism for alcohol; alcohol at a large event spells inevitable problems to the safety of the par- ticipants (you can’t control everybody). Many graduations have tried to “..:permit drinking in a controlled manner...” have found it to be impossible, and grads die or are seriously injured We decided not to take that route. We decided to have our party the safest way we know of (no alcohol). These are my own opinions and accounts of events, but get it through your heads, THERE IS NO DEBATE! The grads made a decision based on overwhelming evidence that dry grads are the best grads. The only arguments for wet grads are weak ones Those who make the fight for a wet grad have a problem if they can’t see their way through one party without a drink Sincerely, Jason Peil ‘Auto Body & Hull Painting - Complete Boat Repairs and Paint Refinishing ci - ICBC Claims Handled Promptly - Complete Auto Body Repairs - Custom Painting ~ Refurbishing - Gel Coating - Factory Paint Matching - Keel Capping 1364 Forest Road (Labatt's Bldg.) 365-2505 Hwy. to Grand Forks - turn in at 14th Ave. (Emcon) t—) WADSETA aR . 3 Miles East on Highway 3B Mon., Tues., Wed., Sat 9:30-5:30; Thurs. & Fri. 9:30-9:00; 00 HydraSpa 3 Day Hot Tub Blow Out May 20, 21, 22 All 8x8 Fully Loaded Deluxe Spas, Complete include: White, fully equipped. ‘92 Sundance 4 dr. AC, auto. "92 Acclaim 4 dr. A/C, auto. Choice of 2. ‘92 G. Caravan SL Ac. ‘92 Dynasty AIC. Choice of 2. JUST ARRIVED! "92 Ex Chrysler Co. Lease Cars. 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