Page 4 May 1984 Cassiar Courier Town Council by Dave Brocklebank Cassiar Town Council has had to, due to cir- cumstances beyond our control, extend the dead- line for tenders for sidewalk repair and new con- struction of sidewalks to May 31. This is partially due to a foul-up of paperwork but — in the writer's eyes — this is due mostly to YOU, the Cassiar resident. For several months J have spent time and ink promoting the cause of input from you, the people who use the sidewalks, to tell us what and where you want improvements. The grand total of your public concern has been from a ‘few’ at the top end of Malozemoff, who would like a sidewalk up the hill to the townhouses. I would like to remind everyone —“The squeaky wheel gets the grease’. In other words, if you don’t make yourself heard; no one knows you’re there! Your town councillors are (elected by you): Rita Brown Joan John Pat Waldera Dave Brocklebank Ida Walters Mike Ryan Keith Kroeker Jan Wypych We cannot read your minds. Either -you pass along your concerns or we should fold our tents. It’s your town — no one elses — you make the town. It is with great regret that the Town Council has assumed custodianship of the Arts and Crafts Centre. There was a spirit that made anything in a reasonable person’s imagination viable — Involve- ment - Participation. We have seen the passing of a facility with everything to aid the residents of this area to blos- som. The Arts & Crafts Centre, through the ef- forts of a lot of different directors or executives, has struggled and at times fought to have you participate in an outlet for your own creativity, but you let them wither away. The Arts & Crafts Centre will be ‘mothballed’ (like an old battleship) until a group or organiz- ation can present a viable, constructive use for the facility. If such a proposal can be presented, then there may be life in the old girl yet. If not — maybe it can be designated a number: i.e. Theatre No. 1, Arts & Crafts No. 2. One day we may have a living, breathing ghost town with ‘people’ in the middle of it. A reminder to all businecces | in town — and to all Clubs — the ‘Welcome to Cassiar’ folders are to be updated and reprinted. If you want to be in- cluded, the deadline for inclusion is Sept. 1, 1984 In the next month or two the playground equipment, picnic tables and barbecues will be installed in the area next to the Creek below the Recreation Centre. Please make use of them, but don’t abuse them. TENDER DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES - CASSIAR TOWN COUNCIL HAS EXTEND— ED THE DEADLINE FOR ACCEPTANCE OF TENDERS FOR SIDEWALK REPAIR AND NEW SIDEWALK CONSTRUCTION WITHIN THE AREA DESIGNATED AS “CASSIAR TOWNSITE” ALL INTEREST- ED PARTIES TO SUBMIT A REQUEST, IN WRITING BY MAY 24, 1984, FOR DE— TAILS TO CASSIAR TOWN COUNCIL, C/O rvel Travel Service Lid. Lions Club by Dave Brocklebank SOMEONE — SOMEWHERE — OUT THERE Have you ever heard the song —— 76 Trom- bones Led The Big Parade The Cassiar Lions Club has band equipment and, if there is not some use made for it locally, we're going to have to donate it to somewhere it will be utilized! What a waste — this was accumul- ated by hard work and dedication here. Why shouldn’t it remain here? Why? Because better it is used anywhere rath- er than grow mouldy in the dark. - ELECTIONS The Club has held elections for the new 1984 /85 executive. Although they do not assume of- fice until July 1, 1984, they are: President — Tim Walters Secretary — Dave Brocklebank Treasurer — Bryan Lunsdale With a slate of several new directors, it is un- der their direction the way the Club will function during the next twelve months. The elections had to be held so early to pre- cede the Annual Convention. This year it is in Whitehorse. As the only Club from B.C. in our District, all the rest are from Alaska, Yukon and N.W.T., we hope to represent you well because, let’s face it — we represent not just Cassiar Lions Club, but Cassiar. Last year’s executive did a heck of a job and a ‘thank you’ to them: President Norm Cosnett, Secretary Tim Walters and Treasurer Richard Rudkowsky. Something that was overlooked in the last is- sue of the Courier — mainly because the writer was unaware of it — besides the heartfelt thanks to the volunteers who made Montre Carlo Nite a success — A special thanks to the Can Can girls who donated all their ‘Garter’ collections to the children’s playground and to the master of cere- monies Bill Pratt for his - shall we call it “Suspen- der’ collection (I didn’t know you had so many fans, William!) I say this for everyone of the Cas- siar Lions — ‘“‘You’re all something special to us!” Parents Advisory Council On May 25th there will be an election of 4 new mem- bers to the Parent’s Advisory Council. Voting will take place at the store and all residents are asked to place their ballot. This can be an informative and interesting committee. You will serve a two year term with meetings once a month. Anyone wishing to stand for election can contact a member of the present Council. The purpose of the Parent’s Advisory Council is to promote the free exchange of ideas between principal, staff, students and parents relating to school programs and policies. The Parents Advisory Council provides for the principal an opportunity to consult persons who are affect- ed by the decisions taken in school. The Parents Advisory Council, as an advisory body, can examine the education- al philosophies and policies of both provincial and local authorities and have the opportunity to suggest alternat- ives. Erickson Creek Columi Spring’s here! With snow storms raging in the East it’s even easier to enjoy the sunny, warm days we've been hav- ing. Spring at Erickson means mud and puddles and long lost articles appearing under the melting snow. The bikes and motorcycles are out; the sleds have been put away and wagons have taken their.place. There’s talk of seeds and Bre Cues and maybe we'll get some grass in this year! We have lots of congratulations to extend this month: Congratulations to Heather and Dennis Best on the birth of their second son, Collin Raymond, born March 8 in Burnaby. Collin weighed in at 7 pounds, eight ounces. Dennis is the mine surface mechanic. Congratulations to Dave and Jessie McConnell on the birth of their first child, ason Brian, born April 7, in Ter- race, The McConnells live in Dease Lake but have lots of ‘friends here. Dave has worked at Erickson from time to time as an electrician and Jessie has worked at the bank in Cassiar. Congratulations to Gunther and Carol Kriebig on the occasion of their wedding held April 7 in Dease Lake. Gunther works in the Erickson mill. We've had lots of visitors around camp this Sa John Lanteigne’s wife, Lorraine, was here from New Brunswick. Joan and Walter Bondesen are visiting Sam and Shelley while Jim and Carmen laze on the beaches of Barbados. June and Mike Smith, with their sons Chris- topher and Wayne, are here for a month while Don and Gigie McGlynn are out on maternity leave. Jim Whitaker's girlfriend Jacqui has arrived in camp and we'd like to welcome her to our community. Also, Elwood Anderson's wife Anne Marie will be arriving soon for at least three months. In other news around Erickson, E.G.M. President Kristian Ross has announced some new appointments. Fred \W. Davidson has been appointed Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer. Rick Somerville has been named Vice-President, Chief Geologist, Arthur T. Fisher has been: appointed Vice-President, Mining, and: eee a Biees has i been named Secretary. es Locally, a new dryer has Tee Srled in ihe mill. That should help Mill Super Jasman Yee get rid of some of the mud he’s been fighting with. Also, as usually hap- pens this time of year, our geology department is plan- ning an extensive exploration program. It’s nice to see the snow go. Take time to smell the flowers! Cassiar participates in Pulmonary Research Cassiar is participating in a research program which has made it possible for medical researchers in British Colum- bia to look for better ways of detecting and treating lung cancer at an early stage. Three years ago the Respiratory Division of the Van- couver General Hospital began a program of accumulating blood, sputum. and X-Ray data from a large number of British Columbians. Funds for the work were provided by the Pacific Pulmonary Research Society which was sponsored by the mining industry of B:C. The industry raised $1 million for the research and has encouraged people from within the industry to participate in the program. Funding for the first three years of the project was provided by 19 companies of which Brinco Mining is one. Brinco has contributed $100,000 over a 5 year period. Dr. Bill Nelems, President of the Society, said the group of participants were chosen because they represent the general population including the age groups and life styles in which lung cancers tend to occur. To date ap- proximately 3,000 people from 14 different communities have volunteered to participate and now form the base group for the ongoing study. If and when future funding By Bill Morrison BLUE HIGHWAYS, William Least Heat Moon William Least Heat Moon (aka William Trogdon), - part white, part Cree, taught English at a college in Col- umbus, Missouri. He had just been laid off. He and his wife, a native American of another indigenous nation, had just separated. They spoke of their marriage as ‘the Indian wars’. With nothing to do, and needing time to come to terms with the failed marriage, Least Heat Moon decided to do a trip around the United States. He would follow the ‘blue highways’ of America, those secondary highways that the old road maps always lined as blue. He would stay away from the major, red high- _ ways, and especially the spirit-numbing green of the In- terstates. His journey of discovery took him east from Mis- souri, across Kentucky into the Carolinas; south to the Cajun country of Louisiana by way of a bit of police harassment in Little Rock; then west across Texas and Arizona; North through Utah, California, Oregon and Washington; east across the grey dreariness of Montana and the Dakotas; through Minnesota and Wisconsin, . Michigan and Southern Ontario into New England; south to Long Island, New Jersey and the Chesapeake; west again through Virginia, West Virginia, and home to Columbus. The book is populated with the fascinating and sometimes bizarre people Least Heat Moon met on those blue highways, with nostalgic glances of an Amer- ica that the Interstates have left behind and forgotten, and with the philosophical musings of the author himself as he comes to terms with back-yard America. We hear so much these days about what we might call ‘Interstate America’, the American Juggernaut that plows through the human, as well as the physical, land- scape, levelling all before it, sweeping away anything that stands in the way like a tornado blowing tooth-— picks. The America with little knowledge of where it has come from, no notion of where it’s going, and no interest about where it is other than to get through it -as quickly as possible. The America that wants to make all the world the same, and put it on the throughway. ‘The America of the CIA and the Trident submarine; ‘Lebanon and the cruise missile. Blue-highway America, the America of the ordinary peovle and charming land- scapes, effervescent humour and depth of character, has all but disappeared from consciousness, and certainly from the calculations of the politicians (except perhaps at election time). Least Heat Moon’s book is a celebr- ation of that good America. There is the couple who are building a boat on a little river in Kentucky, making plans, as they struggle from week to week, float it down to the Ohio, down the Mississippi and into the great world beyond; the wife who says ‘It’s supper time. Come on in and put your legs under our table.’ Least Heat Moon queries, “Why is it that it’s always those who live on little that ask you to dinner?’ The small-town barber in a forgotten corner of ‘Texas. The Hopi Indian student at the Utah University whose thoughts on life and religion are worth volumes of sermons. The old woman on an island in Chesapeake Bay who compares the good life to a river: “Narrow at the head, and wider at the shore: a picture of a life well lived, I deem.’ And so contrary to most of what passes for life in North America, where what is striven for is an ever- narrowing mind lusting to hate the wider human com- munity. At the end of his journey, Least Heat Moon says ‘the migration had been to places and moments of glimpsed clarity’; and certainly we come away from his book with a renewed and clarified vision of life. This is a very special book, a book of unique inspiration, a book to be treasured. Highly recommended. es ae TENDER Bids are welcomed for the painting of the Cath- olic Church, including all preparation work. | VICTORIA, B.C. March: 13th 1984 — Proposed changes to secondary school graduation requirements were detailed in a discussion paper released by Education Minister Jack Heinrich today. “It is my intention, through this paper, to encourage the widest possible participation from all interested persons” said the minister. The Minister said the public, and parents especially, have demanded that secondary school students be provided with a greater sense of challenge and “this proposal responds to our own recognition of the need and that public demand.” Heinrich said the proposed changes represent the second step towards enhancing the quality of education, the first being the introduction of mandatory provincial examinations. . : The following are the major changes being proposed: * The number of courses required for graduation will be increased. While students will still be expected to enrol in a minimum of fourteen courses, the minimum number of courses to be successfully completed will be increased from twelve to thirteen. * The curriculum will be organized into a structure that will require students to select one of three programs of study: Arts and Science, or Career Preparation. * Students choosing the Arts and Science Program will be required to complete one 11 - level language course and to select four 12 - level academic courses in addition to English 12. Within the Applied Arts and Science Program, students who complete two 12 -~ level courses . from a specialty area will have this recognized on the graduation diploma. Students selecting the Career Pre- paration Program will have their area of specialty re- cognized on the graduation diploma as well. * Students will be required to complete at least one course in Mathematics and one course in Science during their senior secondary years. A selection of courses will be made available to service a range of abilities and goals. * A distinction is made between specialty courses, de- fined as courses having prerequisites at the previous level, and elective courses, which may be SLs without pre- requisites. he uote tarts * In addition to the 12 - level English requirement. the number of required 12 - level courses will be increased from three to four. selected from courses that have grade 11 prerequisites. *Current graduation requirements recognize the prime importance of acquiring communication and literacy skills in that English is now required in all 12 years of school. At the senior secondary level, however, there are differences in the nature of knowledge and the areas of application. For this reason, the majority of schools in the province offer differentiated courses in English. This plan. legitimizes’ those arrangements and provides alternate courses in English in grades 11 and 12 that will be more appropriate to the nature of the student pop- ulation, its needs and its goals. * Physical Education becomes an elective program available for selection, rather than a required course for all students, at the Senior Secondary level. * Although students will be expected to make import- ant career decisions at the end of grade 10, they will aan em reer ire © frp idem ee ore NEAT a ee AGENCIES ! General INSURANCE Broker 164 Elliott (Marvel Travel) HOLT Cassiar Courier May 1984 Page 5 BOON REVIZI) New graduation requirements proposed still be able to keep a range of options open through careful course selection. For example, a student selecting a Business Education specialty could still qualify for university admission by selecting the appropriate English, Mathematics and Science courses. * There are some students who do not aim for graduat- ‘jon. These students obviously have open access to any arrangement of courses deemed appropriate, both pro- vincial and local, so that their years in school can be as rewarding as possible. IMPLEMENTATION The revised graduation requirements will begin an implementation pattern in September of 1984. Students entering Grade 10 at this time will make grade 10 course selections which will qualify them for the new curriculum organization. Counselling procedures in the spring of 1984 should account for the changes. This timeline will permit schools and districts to adjust to the new requirements. In September of 1985, students will move into the second year of the revised structure and in September 1986, the third. The 1987 graduating class, then, will be the first group of students who will have met these re- quirements. “Many students in our schools are already enrolled in challenging programs. However it is important to re- affirm the central importance of English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies in ine programs of all stu- dents,” Heinrich stated. Heinrich pointed out that the needs of special educat- ion students must not be overlooked in the process of im- proving standards. “I believe that the achievement of hard working disabled students who have successfully complet- ed their special course of study deserves formal recognit- ion,” he said. Consultation with senior secondary principals and sim- ulation of course selection procedures based on this plan in several schools in the province have presented the Min- istry with valuable feedback as to the implications of the plan for course enrolments, facilities requirements, teach- er assignments, scheduling and other administrative mat- ters. In addition, broader feedback from the professional community and the public is a necessary part of the re- finement of this proposal. Responses should be addressed by May 31st 1984 to: “Graduation °87” Ministry of Education Parliament Buildings Victoria. B.C. V8V 2M4 For more details on the proposed changes to the curric- ulum you can obtain a copy of the paper put out by the Government from the local School Board Office. > <>