The Interior News from Smithers, British Columbia, Canada • 6

PAGE A6 THE INTERIOR NEWS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2003 More Letters -Declined life. The motivating factor for writing this letter is partly to vent my sadness arid frustration over such a situation, but more importantly to perhaps present a belter plan than, leaving a living, breathing little being to suffer a horrible demise. If someone cantipt provide for a pet, why not consider, an animal shelter? If that is not possible, how' i-'VA'lW rl 1 rn SM -TV. -V i.iiiHHnnf 1 -t, in terms of funding, or gestational age-limit killing an unborn baby or the reasons the mother gives' for want-" ing to kill her baby. Life Canada, the national umbrella organization for pro-life educational groups, commissioned one of the polls, and former Life Canada President Peter Ryan has been getting great media coverage over the issue in New Brunswick during the past month.

Dick Adema Smithers- Smoke and mirrors The Editor, BVTA President Dennis Courtliff is right to call the Ministry of Education's recent funding announcement "smoke and mirrors," and none of us should be fooled-. A mere increase of $35 per student $22 million to be shared across the province can't possibly repair- the damage already done by the B.C. Liberals' most famous broken promise: to protect funding for health care and education (New Era, Page 10). $22 million won't reduce class sizes that have already risen as high as 35 students in some schools. $22 million won't restore the special needs, English's a Second Language, and teacher-librarian funding slashed by many districts after last year's cuts.

NEW YEAR'S SURPRISE News photo by Heather Ramsay Raelyn Victoria Patrick surprised everyone irv the family by arriving at 4:03 p.m. on Jan. 1 three days before her due date. No one expected her to be the first baby of the New Year, butnost ef all no one thought she'd be a girl. But only her big brother was disappointed by the arrival of the third baby girl in the family.

Happy family members welcome Raelyn to life in Smithers. From left to right: cousin Julian Patrick, auntie Sharon Patrick, Brenda Lolly (mom) holding Raelyn and grandma Annie Patrick. Dad, Mike Patrick, had to work and missed the picture. planet for more than what Board is selling it for. Organic grain producers and "timers have been doing so for years.

The staff ut the Wheat Board did not take anyone to court, nor could they, that's a job for the police and court system. Everyone in this country, from the smallest farmer to the biggest oil company must have an export permit when they move goods out of the country. That's the law. Mr. Beyer says he does not like marketing boards.

On the other hand, most farmers see the value of working together through marketing boards to sell their products into the international marketplace. Writing from Victoria, Mr. Beyer might notice the 15 or so grain ships a month which leave Vancouver loaded with wheat and barley. All that grain is sold by the Canadian Wheat Board on behalf of western farmers. It takes a minimum of 35 square miles of prairie farm land to grow enough wheat to fill one of those ships.

All of that grain has to be the same grade and quality. If you can't provide product at that scale, you are not in the marketplace. It's only by working together that we western farmers are able to enter that world of giant customers and other giant traders. Without the Wheat Board we would be tied to the pathetic and small Scale efforts of the private grain trade, and you can be sure most of the profits would disappear long before they got back' to the hands of producers. I think any Greek philosopher could recognize what we call bull flop, and they called sophistry.

That is what Mr. Chatenay and his followers are preaching. Theirs is a kind of free market fundamentalism that has about as much relevance to modern agriculture as that ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes. All Mr. Chatenay 'and his friends are demon-; strating in their holy war against the Wheat Board is the old adage that the firsts causality of war is truth.

Ken LarsenJ Benalto, AB Majority for restrictions The Editor, Two recent surveys on abortion (one by Gallup, the other by Leger) show that only 25 per cent of Canadians support the idea of abortion on demand, funded by the tax payer. In other words, no less than 75 per cent of Canadi-. ans support some restrictions on abortion, whether about placing the pet in a box on the steps of a building (just before opening) where it will be found and perhaps have a chance professional offices, hospitals, offices)? At worst the animal would be treated humanely and not left to starve or freeze in anguish. would like to thank Babine Pet Hospital. I appreciate your help and concern regarding this puppy.

For anyone who considers treating any animal with such blatant disregard I hope you can take a moment to put yourself in their paws. Merry Christmas. Cheryl McRae Telkwa agenda The Editor, I would say Campbell and his Chretien clones need a reality check. B.C. is in trouble the softwood problem is the biggest.

If production can get organized with proper priced sales, everything else will fall into place. So What.js being done? For far too much time is being spent on dream time, the Winter Olympics which are a decade away and if they make a profit. Let's say Vancouver gets this so-called money fountain called Wint' -Olympics, do not Campbell and his clones know us taxpayers will have to pay the 10 years worth of costs getting ready for this two week party? If we are short of money now, how much will the interest cost us over 10 years time? Was this taken into consideration? How much will the rest 6f B.C. pay for this party? How much tax to date have been spent by the' promoters? How much will they rake off in 10 years time? Will we ever be told? How many promoters own property in Whistler or along the Sea to Sky corridor? Why not let us know? If I saw as much effort on our softwood dilemma as I am seeing put into this bid, I could support them. Until I see this, I feel that we are being ruled by frauds who have an agenda.

Ed Malicki Maple Ridge s. v'tm and Mr. Veniez should be reprimanded by the whole industry for even -presenting -such Ja weak case, because I feel this is the worst form of corporate bullying. Forcing these workers into submission because he knows they arc hurting financially and thinking they will sign the agreement at al costs sends a bad message to the rest of the work- ing people in B.C as well. The local council should bring forth a motion to call this to the attention of government MLAs.

Jf the whole forest sector gets shut down completely and I believe it has that potential to do that. this will definitely affect Mr. Campbell's chance to balance the budget by 2004. All because Mr. Veniez fresh start, means sign this or else.

Write to you MLA, approach local elected officials and tell them to act on your behalf. Remember 70-80 per cent of all exports Tn B.C. comes from the North, and the forest sector is the key driver in our recovery. With the Softwood Lumber Agreement and controversial duties we have enough to deal with. We don't need corporate greed Mr.

Veniez. Nipper Kettle Houston Ill-informed column The Editor, This Alberta grain farmer has seldom read such a pre-1 tentious and ill-informed article as a recent column by Hubert Beyer The Interior News about the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB). Ever since my neighbour Jim Chatenay and some of his fellow true believers chose to make spectacles of themselves in their jihad against the Canadian Wheat Board, fevered articles from urban writers like Mr. Beyer have become much too common. If only the thousands of pioneer prairie farmers, who worked so hard to create the CWB, these guys, their ignorance would certainly give them a chuckle.

Mr. Beyer apparently doesn't know his ancient Greek philosophers either. Diogenes of Sinope, preached against family life and all other social order, so perhaps he would have felt at home with Mr. Chatenay and his friends. After all, neither apparently feels any real community obligations.

Mr. Beyer claims Mr. Chatenay for an honest man. Yet he repeats the falsehood that Mr. Chatenay was charged for taking a sack of grain across the U.S.-Canada border.

This is wrong. Mr. Chatenay was charged for taking a vehicle out of a government impound yard. He got the equivalent of a traffic ticket under the Customs Act from Canada Customs, and to pay; so he went to jail. The Wheat Board had nothing to do with that, and if Mr.

Chatenay led Mr. Beyer to believe otherwise, well shame on Mr. Chate-: nay. Perhaps Mr. Beyer took the rest of his outrageously silly information about the Canadian Wheat Board from Mr.

Chatenay as well. This is a big mistake for a columnist who wants to stay on the right side of the truth. The Wheat Board does, not stop farmers from celling their grain inside Canada or anywhere on the Smithers Lions Club Club 200 Draw for November end December Draw Date Ticket! Name i a $22 million won't reopen the 44 schools forced to close last year, nor will it guarantee the future of Quick Elementary School here in our own community. The impact of these reckless cuts is felt every day by students across B.C., and will Only worsen unless the three-year funding freeze is lifted and Premier Campbell agrees to live up to his word. Unti then, meaningless and marginal "increases" that come from declining enrol-, ment are the best we can hope for.

Glenn Ewald Telkwa Consider the shelter The Editor, I am writing this letter in-the hope that the responsible partyparties feel they have options the next time they deal with an unwanted pet. Just in case your conscience bothers you at all, I should let you know that the beautiful, six-week-old shepherd cross pup you placed in a garbage bag, then tossed in a downtown dumpster in late November has been rescued and is now eniovine a haoov. healthv A HAZELTON FIRST News photo by Mike Weeber The first baby of the New Year born at the Wrinch Memorial Hospital in Hazelton was Tennille Ashley Danielle Moore. She weighed in' at 8.5 pounds on Jan. 1, 2003 at 9:22 a.m.

Her mom, Lorraine Moore, was in labour from late evening till the morning. Proud father, Floyd Moore, holds Tennille up to greet the new day. Get a Grip! with a set of four quality winter tires and get where you're going safely. For more details on winter tires and your chance to win a set visit any of these tire retailers: All Seasons Auto Repair Kal Tire Smithers OK Tire Smithers Tatlow Tire Hoskins Ford Sales Ltd Frontier Chrysler JeepEagle Ltd Coast Mountain Chevrolet Oldsmobile Kal Tire New Hazelton 4W 46 Nov. 1 173 JudyMons 47 Nov.

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