Cassiar Courier July 1989

Every year search and rescue

units, private citizens and
R.C.M.P. officers spend countless
man hours and thousands of dol-
lars searching for lost persors;
especially at this time of year
as families take to the wilder-
ness for their holidays. This

article, taken. from the Sar News,
could save a life.

Tragedy can destroy the
neatly arranged pattern of our
lives. We can feel lost, alone,
powerless and even abandoned.
Tragedy can shatter the meaning
of our lives, and like Humpty
Dumpty, it appears that nobody
including ourselves, can put’ the
broken pieces back together
again. Just when we think our
equilibrium. is back, another
tragedy can hit.
As. we Know, modern practice
is proving to us more conclusive-~
ly every day that man, in his
complex structure, is very vul-
nerable about his own survival if
lost. Despite all our advances
in science, we are becoming inc-
reasingly aware that if the lear-
ning ability for survival is not
taught at a young age, the conse--
quences can be fatal.

"Prevention" is a key
element being addressed by SARBC.
As education here is a must,
SARBC launched a full time prog~-
ram into the schools, teaching
the rules of survival. Gary
O'Brien (Community Services Div-

-ision of SARBC) spent many months
of research on this controversial

topic. In speaking with Colleen
Politano (author of “Lost in the
Woods") and Barry Casson (film-
maker for this movie), it was
easy to see that by basing the
program around "Lost in the
Woods", Gary had all the makings

for a fascinating program.

The big irony about teaching
child survival programs, has been
that while so many debate how to
do it best, especially at a time
when technology is riding high
and computers seem to track our
every move, it is a welcome
change to see Gary O'Brien cap-
tivating the hearts of all, with
his sincerity towards this. pro-
gram.

The initial program has been.
specifically tailored to school
children from kindergarten to
grade 7. The program is. presen-
ted with the idea of enabling the
child to learn in a fun way. At
the beginning of the presenta- =
tion, it is interesting to watch-
the teachers and children looking
around hesitantly, as if this was
to be just another lesson, but
within minutes even the shyest
one found themselves drawn and

quickly became engrossed with
Gary's magnetism. Depending on
the time allotment given by -each
school, the presentation will
last from 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Gary
feels that by giving a very act-
ive presentation, with a tremen-

dous amount of theatrics and
feeling into each of the nine
rules, the teachers and children

alike, would explore survival and.

- keep you warm.

OUR POINT >
CASSIAR R.C.M.P.

‘learn trom association. Arter
letting some time go by, the
children were tested, and their

overall retention was very high.
The response from everyone has
been overwhelming.

Since you alone, are
of your destiny, surviving be-
comes your probYem. The problem
solving can be easy if you know
the nine rules for survival:

master

1: Stay Together, DO NOT SEPAR-
ATE, if with a friend or pet.
Use the buddy system. Many fears
are subdued by keeping the body
busy, by talking and thinking
positively if with someone. Al -
So, use that other person or pet
to gain warmth. Cuddling up to a
large dog or friend will help

If with a dog. Do
Not let it run loose, the dog can
help you more by staying close
and providing heat and companion-
ship. :

Pa Stay in one Place or
DO NOT WANDER! This is the MOST
important rule. Fear and imagin-
ation hits .almost every person
who is face to face with being
lost. Fearfulness that can turn
to blind panic may cause a person
to injure or even kill himself in
the intensity of their terror.
Wandering around aimlessly, cer-
tainly will not help you or the
searchers, you must stop so that
you can think. By doing so you

may avoid the possible errors of:
hasty decisions. Look around
you, observing the problem for

. possible solutions. After think-
ing and observing all aspects of
your situation, plan a course of
action. Plan your activities,
whatever they may be, to _ take
advantage of the natural and
ready resources.

Sie Keep warm. Cold allows
time for trial and error
mentation. Your clothing and how
it is worn, may determine how
long you survive. As body heat
is energy, loss of body heat
through chilling, uses your re-
serve energy. A few degrees in
body temperature and you become
incapable of thinking or acting
rationally. Your head being the
most important part of the body,
must be protected. Maybe this is
why the old saying is “When your
feet are cold, put von your hat.

To prove this rule, ‘two onion
soup bowls are used. Boiling
water is poured into each, then a
lid placed on only one. At the
end of the program the children
tested the water temperature. Of
course, we all know. which was
warmer, but, to everyone's surp-
rise was just how much. A dif-~
ference of about 30 degrees F.

4. Find a cozy waiting place -
NOT A HIDING PLACE. A waiting
Place can be varied as one's
imagination. They differ with
every Situation, depending upon
immediate danger, natural mater-
ials available and type of body
protection needed. Your resour-:

cefulness at improvising your

needs can mean the difference
between life or death. Protec-
tion: from the cold and. wet is an

no
exper i-

‘and attract

Area.

“near a
greater in size than oneself.

immediate and constant problem.

Find a cozy place under a tree
and build a comfortable survival
bed. Try to make sure you have

an open area in sight. )
De. Put out something bright.

If you are certain searchers are

looking for you, do anything pos-—

sible to change the surrounding
landscape. In brush, cut cons-+
picuous patterns in the brush, or
pile brush or rocks to spell out)
a message. Some other sugges--

tions aré: put out flags,
paper, money, hair ribbons, a
strip from an orange garbage bag,
etc.
ed to also hear -
and fire by night, as both can be
noticed from a great distance.)
The key, is to do something
make an obvious
normal scenery.
6. Look bigger for
Signalling your distress and loc-

|

searchers.

whitel

The children were interest—
smoke by day.

tol
contrast to the)

ation probably will be the most.
important factor in getting,
assistance. If you see a plane
coming your way, go to that open

area you have previously selected

attention by
on the ground = and
arms and feet. Immediately after
the plane has passed, stand up,
as the ground can be very cold.

laying.

7. Do not lie on bare’ ground. |
Prevent excessive heat loss any
way possible. If you allow the

cold earth to carry away heat
faster than your body can  prod-~
uce, you will succumb to hypo~

thermia. To prove this rule: One
onion soup bowl is placed direct-~-
ly on cold earth, a second bowl
will have a piece of insulating
foam placed between the bowl and

the earth: Boiling water is then
poured into both bowls. To res~- |
emble hats, the lids are then

placed on each. Again at the end
of the program the children test-
ed the water temperature. The
demonstration certainly proved
how the earth can rob one of body
heat.

8. DO NOT eat anything you are
not sure of. Food is of minor
importance for short term surviv~
al. If you are healthy and com-
fortable, you should last at
least two to three weeks without
food. The rule is, donot eat
anything unless you are positive-

ly sure what it is. The problem
becomes. one of immediate know-
ledge of what is edible, what is

and what is worthless.
Can you imagine being seriously
ill while lost, with no one to
care for you?

9. Stay away from large
and lakes. No matter how over-
powering your thirst may seem,
use extreme caution against fall-.
ing into the water. Do not go
body. of | water’ “that” is
If
you cannot find such a place, im-
provise. Search-for green vege-
tation, or water holding plants.
Another way is, first thing in
the morning -some water can be ob-
tained as dewdrops on the under-
side of leaves. A source of wat-

poisonous,

rivers

er is an absolute necessity, but,
think before you act.
After teaching these rules,

the 24 minute "Lost in the Woods" —
movie is shown. Even though some

of the children had already seen
the movie before, the emotions
still ran high. Everyone love

it!

Continued on Page 16 ~

waving your |

Se ere SE

Pas

aa a

i

———

_ back

Opposition
Leader

Mike Harcourt

So much for open government.

Two weeks ago, the Socred
government sold off 570 hectares
of prime public land in the Lower
Mainland for $63 million. Every-
one but the Socred cabinet says
it's a. bad deal.

But Howard Dirks, the Minis~

ter of Crown Lands, says trust
me, it's the best deal we could
é get.

New Democrats ask for all

bids to be made public so British
Columbians can judge for them-
selves.

And
Attack
Democrat
ably exposed
deal.

the Socred response?
the integrity of New

Bob Williams who has
this bad business

KX
The Socred PR machine
cranked up.
Last
speech, I

is

weekend in a. public
noted the government
had sought advice from the Los
Angeles public relations firm
that worked for Union Carbide on
the Bhopal gas disaster.

As I said, this is a firm
that knows a disaster when it
sees one.

The government PR machine

was cranked up the same weekend
to go on the attack, claiming its
consultation with the firm amoun-—
ted to "coffee with a small num-
ber of civil servants" in the
interests of furthering "“profes-~-
sional development."

No doubt this advice
come in handy in managing
Socred disasters.

; KKK

What happened to telling the
truth?

Lyall Hanson; the Minister
of Labour and Consumer Affairs,
says he wasn't condoning a lie.

The lie in this case was
from Bert Hicks, the official in

will
future

Mr. Hanson's ministry who oversaw
pub licences. When asked by the
press if he had received a_ phone

call from David Poole asking~ him

to help the Premier's campaign
manager, Mr. Hicks said he _ had
not. You remember David Poole ~-

he's living -on $100,000 of
money in Ontario.

The Minister knew that was a
lie. Instead of correcting the
public record, the Minister chose
to help cover up the Knight
Street pub scandal.

' fhe Socred Cabinet doesn't
think Mr. Hanson should resign
for condoning a lie. So much for
honesty in government.

your

Are ‘Small-Print’ Consumer Contracts Valid?

You've probably seen _ the
"“small-print" contracts on the
of ski-lift passes, parking
receipts and air-plane tickets,
but have ‘you ever bothered to
read them? The print is small,
the words are big and the meaning
is complete gibberish. When you
make - your purchase, you are ag-
reeing to all the conditions that

are printed on the ticket, but,
are they valid contracts?
In most cases, the small

print on the back of tickets will
limit your legal rights. et
might be the right to sue if you
are injured or -if your property.
is damaged or stolen, the right
to bring certain items with you
into a theatre, or the right to
use the facilities ._ to which you
purchased entrance. Whether or
not these small print restric-—
tions can be enforced will depend
on the circumstances.

If the conditions are reas—
onable, then they will probably
be enforced in court. For exam—
ple, if a stadium has printed on
the back of their tickets a re-
striction on bringing alcoholic
beverages or illegal drugs into
the stadium, then this could be
enforced. If you were caught
with liquor ina hand-bag, you
could expect to be kicked-out and
there would be little you could
do about it. If the limitations
are unreasonable, however, the

court will probably not enforce
them, because you were not aware
of the conditions. Even if you

your name to a small-print
such as a car-rental, a-
greement, you may not be held to
restrictions unless you knew and
understood what the restrictions
were. In most cases, the con-
sumer does not read nor under-
stand the small-print contracts.
So this leaves it open _ to the
courts to strike down all or part

sign
contract,

of the contract in your favour,
if it finds the restrictions un-
reasonable. ;
‘What is the practical side
of all of this? If the amount of
money is small, then you are pro-

bably not likely to go to court
to prove your point. In that
case, you will be forced to ac-

‘cept the small-print restrictions

or make your consumer complaint.
If the amount of damage you have
suffered is large and you are

willing to start a legal action,
then -small-print contracts are
usually only valid if their res-
trictions are reasonable. In
other words, would an average
consumer find such a restriction
understandable and foreseeable or
are such restrictions accepted as
a standard industry practice.
For more information on con-
contracts, order your copy
book published by The
People's Law School Press, "A
Consumer's Guide to Contracts".
This booklet tells you how to a-
void contract problems, when you
can break a consumer contract,
‘how to avoid problem contracts,
and how to make an effective con-
sumer complaint. To order your
copy send $5.50 to The People's
Law School, #150 - 900 Howe
Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6Z 2M4;
or call us at (604)688-2565 for a
free booklist and a schedule of
our free law classes. ;
By Brian McRae, LL.B.
Legal Director, Public
Legal Education Society

sumer :
of a new

Cassiar Courier July 1989 Page 3

AN OPINION ©

Omineca Update
JACK J. KEMPF
- MLA FOR OMINECA
once before

perhaps
return to

in
the
our

As was done
British Columbia,
time is right to
roots.

On Junenil2 el I52, them people
of this Province went to the
polls. A group of 19 people not
affiliated at that Lime with any
political party, were elected to
the Provincial Legislature. They
ran under the banner of the B. C.
Social Credit League and ie
wasn't. until after that election
and prior to the opening of the

Legislative session on February
37, Lo Dobe ehatmethesy =) Mel, a Ghosesaica
leader (Premier) and formed a
political party. Thus began a
new era in British Columbia
politics, one which has given
this province govod government
‘until now.

The people elected those 19
members in 1952 because they
looked fur change. They were

sick to death of the broken prom-
ises and mismanagement of the old

time parties. An identical situ-
ation exists today. We've seen
enough of the "promise the moon
before election day, do as you

please afterward" syndrome!!

Many fear that if they don't
elect a "party" person their area
will lose out should that party
become government.. We in rural
British Columbia, particularly

‘the northern part of the province

know differently - we yet nothing

regardless. ‘Even if we. did,
isn't it about time that kind of
thinking, that kind of blatant

political patronage using our own
tax dollars, left the political

scene?

It's beem said many times
that democracy is very fragile,
and it is. Unless you the people
elect candidates whom you know
will speak for you and not
knuckle under to “party line
pressure"! it will disappear.
Erankilyy ots se ciny bir kia. SMeIy.
subtle way, it's nearly gone
already. Cievs lin OloantO Oo wetter
YOU, THE VOTERS, still hold the
tiller. Run candidates who you
know will speak your words, do
your bidding, work tor you.
Perhaps if enough are elected,
together we can make a
difference.

T can be rveached by phoning

387-3038 days, 383-9739 evenings,

OL -aby oO wrt bnige. C70 Parliament

Buildings, Victoria, B.C., V8V

1X42 FAX 387-4306.

Support the Democratic
Keep in touch with

PERIARD
RESIGNS

After twelve years
helm, Garry Periard has
his position as Business
of the Cassiar Rec Centre.
has opted for a career change and
will be the new manager of . the
Sportman Cafe effective July 3rd.

We take this opportunity to
wish Garry well in’ his new
venture.

pro-
cess. your
MLA.

aie setne
resigned
Manager

Garry