The Chilliwack Progress from Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada • Page 4

A4 THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, Tuesday, September 26, 2000 The Progress A Published at Chllllwack for The Chllllwack Progress Limited. "THAT BI0N'T 6ET AWlVf. tEEs AMj MEANWHILE) BACK AT THE DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES AND OCEAN 5... Hot air difficult to take without action Bad air is a terrible thing. You'll be hard pressed to find anyone who does not agree.

Hot air is perhaps the only thing worse. There certainly is no lack of talk opposing the proposed gas-fired power plant (SE2) our neighbours to the south are hoping to build. This newspaper has been full of coverage from every angle, right from the beginning. We've heard from the experts. We've listened to the doctors.

Many local residents have also done their best to get a word in. And we've certainly listened to the politicians. Chilliwaek MLA Barry Penner, Fraser Valley MP Chuck Strahl have banded together with mayor Clint Hames to vilify SE2 and everything it stands for. They should be commended for their ongoing fighting But the battle-weary citizens of Chilliwaek need more than talk and promises from its elected leaders. Tired of the rhetoric, we know from history that true leadership can take only one form action.

Local action In the past we dealt with the disappointments of promises made by naive parties like the Reform, who promised sweeping changes to an archaic system a closure of Stornoway and a hard line on wages and pensions for federal government and its elected officials. Talk is cheap. And while our leaders represent us well in the fight against SE2 speaking eloquently with buzz words on air quality, health, lost wages, families in crisis, and power to the people they seem to be full of talk and little real personal action. Certainly a change is needed here in the valley, of that there is no question. And a sharp change in attitude is the starting point.

But it will be painful to everyone and therefore historically slow. Until someone in power steps up and makes a personal sacrifice how can words alone show us the way? Experts are telling us the car is the one major contributor to air pollution not only here in our valley, but on the planet. Why do our political leaders continue to drive their expensive, gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs to work and play just like the rest of us? If sacrifice is what good change is all about, then we should look for our leaders to show us the way. We've all heard the obvious reasons against bad air, greedy power-plant owners and political, backroom deals, but what are we planning to do here and now? How are we going to make our city one of the best places to live in Canada? More importantly, what personal change are politicians willing to make? If riding a bicycle to Chilliwaek City Hall is not feasible for the mayor, council and city hall employees then it's about time we looked at the reasons why. Are the roads unsafe? Is the distance to far? Is our commitment to pedestrian and cycle paths good enough? What about public transit here? Is it adequate? If our public transit system is not good enough to get city employees to work and back, then how can the rest of us be convinced it will work for us? And why not support and put money towards an extensive rail link for residents from Hope to Vancouver? And not when its already too late.

Let's talk seriously today. Sure, let's keep up the fight against tyrants like SE2, but mere talk is nothing but words without punch. What we need are leaders in action, willing to make personal sacrifice as an example for us all, because it seems, no one is listening right now. OUR HISTORIC EYE The MAIL BAG to advocate for better treatment and rehabilitative practices. Because of delicious salad sandwiches prepared by clubhouse consumers and volunteers, attendance was good over the noon hour, and our work productive.

Lois also participated in the Abbotsford Mental Health Advisory Council. Yours sincerely, Myrtle Macdonald together a very capable and worth mentioning line-up and they were: Clay Thornton, drums; Gary Fidyk, bassist; Rick Genge, guitarvocals; Gary Raddysh, keyboard; Chris Taylor, vocals; Chris Butler, vocals; and the (I knew him when he had red hair) Red Hare, congas. I don't know what their plans are, but I would suggest you watch for their next performance. The Headline act was Chilliwack playing for "about the third or fourth time in the town that's named after them" as Bill quipped. But it was not really the original line-up, rather lead singer Bill Henderson and some of Vancouver's premiere studio musicians.

They ripped through all the favorite songs in the band's repertoire and were well worth the $25. a head ticket price. The band of about thirty years vintage, attracted a fair supply of gray haired attendees which I thought made for a pretty nice social event. Anybody notice the great tasting suds from the local micro-brewery? Old Yale Brewing Company opened quietly in Vedder crossing this summer and they are making some tasty stuff. I for one am glad they joined the party Friday night! Please tell me this will be an annual event.

Geoff Edwards Lois remembered Editor: Re: Tribute to Lois Inkman Many people recovering from serious mental illnesses are grateful to Lois Inkman for the work she did for their rehabilitation as executive director of the Creative Centre Society, since the middle of 1995, until last year. Two fine clubhouses, Cheamview at Chilliwack, and Abbey House in Abbotsford were under her jurisdiction. A varied program in the Fountain House model, was enjoyed in both places. Members in rotation gained new competency and initiative in gardening, maintenance, crafts, budget, cooking, purchasing, nutrition and computer skills. In a non-threatening, caring environment, their, network of friendships grew.

Many enjoyed lunch together at noon. A few community support workers work out of the clubhouse, keeping in close contact with staff and consumers. Lois knew how to stretch meager funding to accomplish much. She was a resourceful lady who helped make the lives of the mentally ill and their relatives happy and normal. This brought release from the heavy burden relatives suffer, if their mentally ill loved one merely vegetates at home, gaining no social Tasty stuff skills.

We are grateful to her for leadership that helped make the clubhouse a popular hub of activity for hundreds of people, enabling them to make tremendous strides. Those former patients who go to the clubhouse regularly blend in with the rest of society and are productive citizens. It is sad that there still are mentally ill people who are allowed to refuse treatment and remain socially inept. Budget increases to hire more clubhouse staff and community support workers could help bring in resistant people. They could also help members fill empty evenings and weekends with enthusiasm, instead of depression or desperation.

September 28, 1995, Lois became a member of the Mental Health Advisory Council for Chilliwack Kent-Harrison, as a stakeholder. The membership consists of one third consumers, one third family members, and one third stakeholders. As a family member of this group, I was often pleased with the ways Lois and her staff and consumers participated. We did much together Editor: Every now and then you get really good value for your money. A bunch of us showed up at the Rhombus Hotel last Friday night for what turned out to be the entertainment event of the season; the Huskers Football Club fundraiser.

Despite a few early glitches the evening was a huge success, I think the organizers should be congratulated. The opening act was Trevor McDonald and Friends. After seeing this performer solo with his "equipment as band" this was great. He put TALKING TOGETHER r-Timriiwwi mm 1 3 Ruth Nicol hopes her ijeanging moment may convince sport hunters to put down their weapons. Go and be greeted by wild things 1Z A group of picnickers photographed near the Vedder Bridge by itinerant photographer J.O.

Booen, who worked in Chilliwaek between 1895 and 1897. In 1895, Booen ran an ad in the Progress which read, "Wanted: 50 boxes of apples, 25 dozen good chickens, .100 pounds butter, 50 dozen eggs, in exchange for photographs, at J.O. Chiixiwack Archives Photo, pcoll 117 the shore of Peace Lake. As I walked, I fingered my worn memories of the lake, remembering how, as a child, the pines around it seemed as The Chilliwack Progress Ruth NICOL "Like most of her kind she's curious, always hiding behind trees or rocks to watch people. Human beings will hurt her, even here." I told him, haltingly, about my experience, playing it down as a trick of the imagination.

He said, "No, no. It's like coming to life." When I wondered if the experience had anything to do with the cougar, he smiled, enormously. "Yes, of course," he said, "This happens to us in the mountains, being recognized by a wild creature, and being changed." "How changed?" I asked. "Me, I was raised a he replied. "But now I pray to the world." Wild creatures can be found everywhere in our Valley around the edges, tucked into the corners of our days.

Me, I like knowing they are as close as Mount Cheam, as elusive as a dike bear grumbling after the last blackberries or as the geese flying over my home each morning. And my message to anyone who hunts and kills for sport is this: Disarm. Take your children to the mountain. Go, and be greeted by wild things. coloured cougar.

She looked at me for a long moment, as though imparting a secret, then vanished like smoke through the trees along the shore. My first momentary reaction was one of fear. After all, I had been raised with the myth that cougars stalk and kill human beings for sport. But she did not come back so I turned to the lake, watching it innocently, like a child. To my amazement, I was suddenly overcome by happiness, soaked in happiness like a sponge, overflowing with it.

I'll try to give you a further inkling. You know the feeling of joy when someone you love steps from a plane or a train after long absence, and you hold them in your arms? Well, imagine taking that joy and making it so intense that your heart could burst with it. That's how it was, and the joy lasted forever, yet for only a moment, leaving me in tears on the shore of the lake. Later a park warden told me the yearling cougar had been ill and he had nursed her. "We have to take her far into the mountains," he said sadly.

This column is aimed at the sport hunters in our midst, and not at people who hunt because they need the meat for sustenance, a different matter entirely. Mount Cheam looms like a benevolent giant behind our house on Ferry Road, her face ever changing yet always the same. She reminds me every day that I am a child of the mountains who, like many of my kind, hold memories binding us to the high country with hoops of steel. Today I'm going to talk about one of those memories. It concerns something transcendent that happened to me years ago in a place I know like the back of my hand, the upper Waterton Valley, a mountainous national park in the southwestern corner of Alberta.

I was forty at the time, at school in the city, and sick with longing for the natural world. And so I went to Waterton Park on an early September morning to see what traces, if any, of my younger self might be still there. Bundled up against a chill wind from the heights, I set off on the long walk around Assist. 'Sjpjav Manager: BARKWELL 702-5507 Editor: Rick COLLINS 702-5512 Publisher: Andrew FRANKLIN 702-5503 Sharon HARMSEN, Classified Manager Barry LX)DD, Production Foreman, 702-5546 EDITORIAL STAFF: Robert FREEMAN, senior reporter, 702-5513 Penny LETT, community reporter, 702-5516 Jennifer FEINBERG, reporter, 702-5515 Dale CORY, sports reporter, 702-5514 shadowy and tall as the nave of a cathedral, and how I canoed in the early morning across the lake to Hell Roaring Canyon ranger's station, and from there, a long hike into the soaring heart of the mountains. I remember thinking, this is my talisman, my soul's delight, my home.

Now comes the hard part trying to tell you what happened without sounding like a fool. But it's the single most important time of my life, and I have to try. Rounding a huge downed tree near the shore, I heard movement in the leaves and dried grasses behind it. Peering over its trunk, I came face-to-face with a slim, lion- A nhwstm'kn Jenna HAUCK, photojournalism 702-5517 Jessica PETERS, arts 4 entertainment reporter, 702-5541 Published at 45860 Spadina Avenue, Chilliwack, B.C. V2P 6H9 Main Phone: 1-604-702-5500 Classifieds: 1-604-702-5525 Circulation: 1-604-702-5520 Editorial Fax: 1-604-792-4436 Advertising Fax: 1-604-792-4936 Editorial e-mail: editortheprogress.com Advertising e-mail: advertisingtheprogress.com The Progress is part of the Metro Valley Newspaper Group and is a member of the Canadian Circulation's Audit Board, Canadian Community Newspaper Association, British Columbia and Yukon Community Newspaper Association and B.C.

Press Council. i imm i i Bfe ii mmT give us your Opinion editortheprogress.com Online www.theprogress.com Direct to The Progress newsroom: 1-604-792-4436 The Chilliwack Progress, 45860 Spadina Avenue, Chilliwack, B.C. V2P 6H9 E3ZLHJ CNA DIVISION.