Page 2 June 1981 Cassiar Courier ALASKA GOVERNOR ' DISMAYED The following is a copy of a telex sent to the Honorable ’ Bill Bennett. The Honorable Bill Bennett, Premier of British Columbia, Province of British Columbia, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C. V8V 4R3 | noted with dismay an item in the March issue of the Cas- siar Courier asserting that | had met with David Barrett and agreed to contribute $2,000,000,000 towards the ex- tension (of the railroad) through the Yukon into Alaska. This is not only totally false but apparently an attempt to propel my office in the B.C. apousleat arena in a most em- barrassing manner. Not only have | never stated | would commit a single dol- lar to the railroad extension, | could not do so if | chose without legislative approval. During the many cordial and co-operative discussions | have had with you on this matter, we have discussed the possibility of extending the railroad and Alaska currently is studying the potential for rail extension into various _ parts of Alaska. Until such studies indicate to the contrary, it is my continued assumption, as it was in 1979, that the extension of the railroad to connect with the Canadian system exceeded both financial capability and economic prudence insofar as both the state of Alaska and British Columbia were concerned. | would appreciate anything you can do to clarify and set the record straight. Sincerely, Jay S. Hammond, Alaska State Governor MLA. REPORT | AL PASSARELL | have the pleasure of writing my column this month while visiting Cassiar with my wife and three children for a short holiday. The government estimates are still plodding along, with the major estimates of Health and Highways still to be debated. Knowing the interest these two specific Minis- try estimates have generated in Cassiar, | would hope your ‘letters and phone calls will continue to come. ~ In regards to the. Dease Lake extension railroad, and the Alaska connection; | made an error in the amount of funding the State supposedly pledged. Before my election in 1979, Dave Barrett addressed a joint session of the Alaska House and Senate. From this meeting a joint resol- Media Manipulation By now, everyone but the government has had a good laugh over Premier Bill Bennett’s plan to use tax dollars for adding some Hollywood glamour to the personal images of the Socred cabinet. The notorious internal memo offering special services to ministers — which apparently includes a $14,000 con- . tract to a Hollywood-based couple of ‘body English’ advis- ers on when the Premier should shave, Grace McCarthy should avoid letting her-hair get “frizzy”’ and Don Phillips should stop going off the “deep end” — has made the So- creds a laughing stock. The purpose of the present regime, however, is far from funny or harmless, as unfolding events have shown. For the first time, a professional image-maker has been hired, not as a consultant for some government pro- gram, but has been infiltrated into the very top reaches of . the civil service. Douglas Heal, the advertising agency man who. authored the notorious memo, has been made a de- puty-minister at a $62,000 salary plus perks, such as car, generous pension and other fringe benefits. What has he done — all with cabinet approval — ina very brief period? First, he took charge of the government’s advertising efforts, which this year has leaped to approximately $25 million, an increase of several hundred per cent over just a few years. Next, he began creating a new bureaucracy, indicating he will rely heavily on hiring persons from his old ad agency for such jobs as duplicate press secretaries for the Premier in Vancouver. .of dollars for two or three companies into the Northeast _“Gracie’s Finger’’ _ fused by the ministers. Sierra Club Expresses Concern In.a letter of April 24 to Lands Minister James Chabot, Sierra Club Co-ordinator for Wildlife and. Northern Af- fairs, Rosemary Fox reminds the Minister that his respon. sibility is to the public and not to B.C. Hydro. *’Granting a permit to Hydro to build an access route to Site Z (in the Grand Canyon of the Stikine), in view of the reasons for which a permit was originally denied, will constitute a clear breach of public trust and a peunEing of native rights’’, the letter states. ¢ The Club’s letter states that the Minister has a “‘respons- ibility to ensure that the public interest is protected by not permitting irreversible changes to be made in ad- vance of a decision (on B.C. Hydro’s dam proposal) by the Utilities Commission”. The Club’s letter is referring to B.C. Hydro’s appeal against the Lands Ministry’s denial of a permit to Hydro to build an access route into its proposed dam site Z in the Grand Canyon of the Stikine for the purpose of transporting equipment for exploratory work in connec- tion with dam construction. The Lands Branch denied the permit on the grounds of the sensitivity of the ter- rain, the difficulty of preventing access to users other than Hydro, the availability of other means for Hydro to acquire desired information, and public opposition. The Grand Canyon of the Stikine is a nationally recogniz- ed heritage feature. Parks Canada’s Regional Analysis of Natural Region 7 (Document No. 10728 UC) in 1976 rated the Stikine as an area of national landmark interest evaluating it as a “truly spectacular feature of the Can- adian northwest’. In 1973 a Parks Canada survey team recommended that the entire Stikine upstream of the “Alaskan border be set aside as a wild river because of its many outstanding attributes. ution of the two Alaskan legislatures endorsed the connec tion of Dease line into Alaska. It appears | received erron- eous information, since Governor Hammond never pledg- ed funding for this rail line. To err is only human, and | made an error in the funding aspect. With millions of taxpayers’ dollars going into the rail line for the Northeast coal development to ‘subsidize Jap-_ anese coal companies, we believe public monies should: ‘be- ‘spent | developing and improving existing lines. “The econ- omy. of the. entire.North:« of this continent would ‘boom with the completion of the Dease extension in through. the Yukon and into Alaska, instead of allocating millions coal project — a project where the present Government has committed future generations of B.C., without know- ing exactly what the cost to the taxpayers of B.C. will be. If the present°government knew the cost, then all con- tracts and agreements would become public by now. In conclusion, when a public official makes a mistake they should admit it at the earliest opportunity, instead of attempting to dance their way out, as is the case with and the “Dirty Tricks” affair. My mis- take was honest and | apologize. Then he was spotted at a closed Social Credit. party | conference in Harrison Hot Springs where he “explained” and ‘‘answered questions” on how the millions of dollars would be used to bolster the government's image. Because the secret session on re-election strategies was a private party matter, all efforts to obtain a transcript of this civil servant's advice to a non-government body have been re- Next we learned that a government film and televi- sion studio in the health department, which had*been used to make instructional films for civil ‘servants and the pub- lic, was taken over by Mr. Heal to create a new central studio for all government ads. It was claimed that starring cabinet ministers in these films to be shown on television was just coincidence. : Now we learn that professional actors will be hired to play supporting roles for the ministerial movies, as well as . Hollywood advisers on hair cuts, shaves, pancake make-up “body English’’ and avoiding performances going over deep ends. ; Mr. Heal has been hired for a program apparently aimed at media manipulation to improve the Socred im-- age with publicity gimmicks instead of programs that help the public. Doing it with tax money adds injury to the in- sult. And just as serious, his hiring — as several deputy ministers havé indicated by comments that his activities have been “irregular” and “unfortunate’’ — has clearly be- gun undermining the impartiality of the public service for which all British Columbians pay. - ERICKSON GOLD LAYOFF During the latter part of May a number of employees were laid off from Erickson Gold. When contacted, Mr. Al Beaton, Mine Manager, stated that approximately 20 peo- ple were laid off because various construction projects, such as the mill expansion, were now completed. Yukon Campground Fees Increase Whitehorse, April 24, 1981 — Yukoners will continue to pay a daily charge of $2.50 for use of the territory’s campgrounds but the cost has increased for non-residents under a new fee schedule designed to bring Yukon’s charges in line with those across Canada. Under the old schedule, residents and non-residents were charged $2.50 daily or $10.00 for an annual permit. Canadian citizens over 65 years of age were not charged in either case. The daily charge for public transportation ve- hicles such as buses was $10 and the annual fee $100. The daily charge for non-residents increases to $5. The option of buying an annual permit will now be avail- . able only to Yukoners and the fee remains the same. The daily charge for public transportation vehicles rises to $25 and the annual permit to $250. The policy comes into effect in late May when camp- ground maintenance begins. Yukon campgrounds are maine. tained until about mid-September. Last. year, $48.000 in fees were collected in Yukon and the Minister of Renewable Resources, Dan Lang, says a no charge policy will be in effect for designated day use and picnic areas. These areas will be identified soon and are expected to include some of the smaller facilities along highways such as picnic areas, rest stops or access to boat landings. The permits are sold in campgrounds, some tourist outlets and Yukon information centres. CONCERT SOCIETY The Concert Society held a general meeting on Wednesday May 20, at the theatre. The purpose of the meeting was to try to find out what the public expects of the Concert Society and what can be done to inject new enthusiasm into it. Unfortunately, only three people, other than the executive, turned up for the meeting. To these three peo- ple we would like to say thank you for your interest. However! the meeting continued and various points were brought up. First of all, it was recognized that changes are who have already paid for tickets do not show up for con- certs there is something drastically wrong. Those present at the meeting felt that the scheduling was a major cause of concern. In the first season the Overture. Concert Society sent a complete schedule for the season. - This meant that all members of the Cassiar Concert Soci- ety received tickets with the full schedule on them at the beginning of the season. This was useful for shift workers who were able to arrange shift changes, if necessary. This past season the Overture Concert Society did not send a complete CONFIRMED schedule and the Cassiar Con- cert Society was unable to supply all the dates at once. The Overture Concert Society is going to be approached alized schedule can be issued in full. The executive also felt that eight concerts was too many. It was decided that there should be a minimum of: four concerts and a maximum of six — that quality was more important than quantity. It was also felt that the advertising could be saci im- proved and this is being looked at closely. of the concerts. They felt that in some cases the artists did not build up a rapport with the audience at all. Also, that the programs were not always suitable for a northern audience. It was stated at the meeting that to change this aspect of the concert need not affect the quality of the performance but could add to the overall enjoyment, as has been demonstrated by the artists who did have a rap- port with the audience. The Overture Concert Society will be contacted regarding this concern. Many ‘members have complained about people taking and did not occur here during the first season. The noise is definitely distracting and in future seasons this will not be allowed. ; ie These were the problems brought.up at the meeting and the Concert Society is doing its best to find solutions. The _ possibility of putting out a questionnaire to discover what cont'd. on Page 10 definitely necessary before next season. When 200 people « on this matter and it is hoped in future the complete fin- - Many Society. members have been disappointed by some — drinks into the auditorium. This is not allowed ina city CASSIAR Bits & Pieces CASSIAR’S FIRST SCHOOL TEACHER Some old timers may recognize this picture of Mrs. Char- lotte Cruikshank who was the first teacher in Cassiar. She came in 1953 until 1954 and lived in Room 5-at the'men’s staff house. The school was then located in what is now the Snack Bar. Mrs. Cruikshank died in February 1965 at 85 years of age. Thanks to Julian St. Georges for the in- teresting information and photo. We understand that Bob-Langford really enjoyed the im- promptu program put on by Ms, Redmonds Kindergarten class. Speaking of old timers, after talking on the ‘Take a Break’ show, Danny Demitri received a letter from ex-Cassiarite Mrs. Rademacher, who now lives in Ross River. Apparant- ly Danny used to babysit the Renemarnan. children when he-first came:heresii= s8stt) Gis pitta baatnd er oh Be acepe ter tron tt ~ It’s sure nice to see so many nicely raked‘ yards around’: town. Its amazing the amount of junk which emerges as the snow melts. The Jones’ visited with Lou and Lee Vujanich recently. They said to say “Hi to everyone in Cassiar’’. We hear that Mr. Buckley has been auditioning for next season’s concerts. Seems he had talent crawling out of the woodwork. While the said talent did a tremendous job, even providing their own staging, it was felt that a good deal of censorship would be necessary before a public performance could be allowed. Now that the snow has gone the kids are out biking. It would be nice if parents could teach their children road safety BEFORE A CHILD IS KILLED. Mrs. Peaker, from Victoria, was in town visiting daughters Leslie Johnston, Judy Walker, and Margaret Whalen and their families. , Rumour has it that Marion and Dave Cook’s trip East was every bit as eventful as most of their trips prove to be. Maybe next vacation they'll get their acts TOGETHER. “Our loss is their gain!’” Vivian and Fred Cousins will be moving’ to Bissett, Manitoba where Fred has accepted a position as Plant Maintenance Superintendent at the San Antonio Mine. WELCOME TO: Frank and Raren Hawker and their two children. Mr. G. Tooke and Family. _Ina Downing and her two children. FAREWELL TO: Hank Whalen. — Mr. and Mrs. Carnerro and Family who have moved to . Faro. Dorothy and Al Carlow who have relocated in Grand Cache. JUNE 3rd NORTHERN IMPRESSIONS by Joan Toth I never knew the day would come When I would want to go Back to the sunshine in the city Instead of all this snow. The peace and quiet in this town Is ever so enlightening As compared to the city life Where things are all so frightening. The people here are all so friendly No matter where you go. They ve always got a smiling face And always say hello. I think that I just might return On some snow blizzard day ~ Because the city just can’t offer The good old northern ways. espital dbappenings ‘May is a birthday month here at the hospital. Happy birth- day to Lucy, Jean and Nirmal. It’s Nirmal’s 29th again! Nice to see the snow disappearing and the lawns appearing. NOTICE TO ANIMAL OWNERS There have been quite a few people phoning for advice re- garding their animals which appear to have distemper-like symptoms. The best advice we can give for this is to have your animal vaccinated for distemper, as this disease is constantly making its rounds, and vaccination once a year is the only sure way to eliminate the problem. The vaccine can be obtained from any veterinary surgeon, and with an appointment, can be administered by a nurse at the hospital. Another common complaint among dogs is worms. De- worming. capsules are not available at the hospital but usually can be obtained at the store. If-not, any pharmacy (Whitehorse or Fort Nelson) will send them up on request. Fees for treating animals are as follows: x-ray $15.75 Injection 5.00 Treated by anurse ‘5.00 When animals are treated by the Doctor, he will charge a separate fee from the above hospital charges. If the doctor _ is called out on a Sunday or evening to see an animal he will charge accordingly. : NOTICE VISITING HOURS - We would like to remind you that hospital visiting hours are as follows: s 2:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. 7:00:P.M. to 8:00 P.M. Children under 12 are not permitted to visit. Your co- Bpertion in adhering to the above rules will be appreciated. Cassiar Courier June 1981 Page 3 Alexandr |. Solzhenitsyn: The Gulag Archipelago Three, Harper Perennial Library, 560 p., $2.95. With this volume Solzhenitsyn’s massive study of Russia’s destructive labor camps, his experiment in ‘‘liter- ary investigation’’, draws to an end. As with most of “is novels, these three volumes have had at their core the author’s own camp experience. They are enriched by his own personal acquaintance with pain. It has become fashionable these days to discount this author, once so celebrated as a herald of truth within the Soviet Union. The prophetic voice of his work was hailed as genius until the west rediscovered the age-old truth about prophets: that they turn their tongues on all forms of corruption, not just the forms we happen to despise in others. 3 Since taking up residence in the United States after his exile from Russia, Solzhenitsyn has turned his percep- tive gaze upon Western society, much to the discomfort of those who have found themselves impaled on his pen. But that is another story. This story is about what he originally believed to be the last days of the Archipelago, the days of the revolt which finally, after 40 years, rocked the foundation of the Soviets concentration camp system. As in the earlier volumes, his own experience as a ‘“‘zek’’ has been supplem- ented by the tales of others, related to him during his years in the camps and later, when One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich has its brief heyday as an officially ap- proved novel. We read towards the end of this volume that it was mail from zeks. that got this project started as the sudden realization that the camps still existed forced him to begin this labor of duty. But before that we learn of the revolts, hunger strikes, and social disorder which followed the death of Stalin and the fall of Beria. Part IV is devoted to the study of the Stalinist system of exile, that other strand in the mesh of the Soviet intern- al security system. His plan, as always, is to trace the his- tory of the plan and close it off with his own experience, for it was exile which awaited him at che end of ye stretch in the: camps. * =) Now that this series is complete, even though the story of the camps goes on, it forms a rather daunting pro- ject for anyone who has to begin at the beginning. The three volumes total a staggering 1821 pages of text, omit- ting to note the number of pages in the indexes. | would recommend that the interested reader should not be daunt ed by this. It takes awhile to read, but the effort is worth it. A friend of mine has suggested that the proper atmos- phere for reading can be established by totally stripping a room and sitting down with one very hard chair and a bare lightbulb hung frcin the ceiling. It’s a cute idea, but it isn’t necessary: Solzhenitsyn will take you to Russia without any props. nt The Bridge Club continues to meet every Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m. in the Upper Leisure Room in the Community Centre. New members are always welcome. The Club will close for July and August and a Social will be held at the end of June to wind up the season. > § Cossiar Courier the- Voice of Casstar Country ~ Box 400, Cassiar, B-C., VOC 1E0 z Phone: 778.7627 As of this month, free copies of the Cassiar Courier will he distributed to each householder, thus the 10 cent charge per paper will no longer apply. Annual subscriptions will remain at $5.00 to cover hand- ~ ling and postage. : The deadline for all issues will now be the 7th of each month. Please ensure that all advertising, articles and {et- ters to the editor are submitted before this date. There will be no August issue of the Cassiar Courier due to the lay off in July. Deadline for the September issue will be August 7th. COURIER STAFF:- ‘ Lee Coran, Kerry Jones and Katie Sevier. . The Cassiar Courier is published monthly. SSS Sa a S s j ee Se peccaaenps ere eeer enon ee ara a Ne ae Pep SSeS re pore