12 - Sunday, Aprii 15, 1990 ~ North Shore News inquiring reporter Elizabeth Collings NO SOONER had the provincial government announced its Carmanah Valley decision than it was condemned by critics on both sides of the issue. The governmeni plans to introduce tegislation to preserve half the valley for a provincial park while permitting forestry giant MacMillan Bioedel to log the other half, pending environmental studies. But the Western Canada Wilderness Committee Shirley Morteil North Vancouver I'm an environmentalist. If the logging companies had been doing a good job reforesting, they wouldn't need to be going into prime areas. Do you approve Joan Dmytryshyn North Vancouver You’ve got to take a lot of things into considera- tion. I find myself a bit torn. I don’t want anyorie to lose their jobs, but I don’t want to see trees go either. major to log? North Shore seniors can help themselves by helping others AGING? It’s the easiest thing in the world. You just hang around, the years accumulate, it’s like snow falling. You don’t have to crank it, you don’t even have to plug it in. So why is it such a heavy trip for some of us? Instead of jump- ing out of bed in the morning to get going on the bowling or the wood-carving or the tapestry, we feel diminished, and we deplore. Our faculties, our physical strength, our memory — all in tat- ters. If we are in good health we abuse it, trying to be and do what we always could. We haven't got a grip on our new stature. We are the Elders, afterall, we were there when it started and we know how it ought to be done. We have survived adversity, ter- ror, hardship, and pain, but each one of us has lived in a world that was cleaner, simpler, slower and gentler. We have a lot to tell, we are the mobile microfiches of the world, but we falter, and forget, and think that devalues us. We forget the wonderful freedoms aging has earned us. We know who we are, at last, we don’t have to keep proving it. The demon of ambition has moved in with our children so that we can spend our declining years in gales of laughter. We are like a good cheese, ripe and fragrant and toothsome. We are to savor. Like a good wine, kept to maturity for bouquet and clarity. We rejoice. Options VOLUNTEER NOW and join thousands of people who daily reap the benefits of participating in their communities. The following are a few of the many volunteer opportunities available: CLERICAL WORKER, preferably with knowledge of Spanish, is needed for general of- fice work (typing, filing, phones) by a noa-profit organization work- ing with Third World countries. Flexible working hours, Mon.-Fri, 8:30-4:30. Training provided. CARING PATIENT visitors are wanted for one-to-one visits with lonely seniors whose families are not in town. Hours are flexible. Training and orientation provided. Also needed is a friendly DRIVER to drive seniors to a bridge game Eleanor Godley Now is our time to share. With old friends we celebrate our mem- Ories; with new ones, we renew ourselves. What counts most is the _ extension of one’s self, for whatever reason, to inform, to be informed, to applaud, to be in turn appreciated. We all have special recollections, special experience that can transform someone else's life. The key is that ‘‘someone else."’ it’s not easy for everyone to open up, to have a neighbor in for lunch, to take a shut-in for a drive, to offer to canvass, to read to the blind. There are an infinite number of areas where a volunteer is like a rainbow. All manner of associa- tions exist on the North Shore for the amelioration of loneliness and stagnation, so think of it this way — when you volunteer anywhere, you are denying your own loneliness and stagnation. The way to rid yourself of alienation is to relieve someone else’s alienation. There’s a long list of stuff I hope to examine in this space, like what about money? what about moving? what about teaching something you know?, and there are all sorts of agencies where you might discover the answer to your own aging woes. And if you haven’t got any woes, you’re the one to tell the rest of us how to do it. One of my favorite groups is the Keep Well bunch, which has a very practical ongoing weekly program in all three of our senior centres. They boldly declare their belief in the rich resources offered by senior people. Their big thing is simply to get us involved, with each other, with the comraunity, in whatever way we can tha? will br- ing out all that good cheese in us. for volunteers once a week. Actual hours are 12 to 4 p.m. Training provided. ENTHUSIASTIC, TOLERANT people are wanted to visit seniors on a one-to-one basis for conver- sation, letter writing, short walks and lunch dates. People are also needed for games such as cribbage, cards, or checkers, particularly during evenings and weekends. If you speak English and enjoy the company of seniors this position will interest you. RESEARCHER interested in Third World countries is wanted to collect information on specific de- veloping countries through library research and phone calls. Training provided. Hours are flexible Mon. to Fri. 8:30-4:30 p.m. SCRAPBOOK COLLECTORS are needed to collect and gather information on 14 specific devel- oping countries. This position will suit someone who is self-motivated and enjoys library research. Flexi- ble hours. Training provided. SPECIAL FRIEND with good listening skills and sensitivity to the mentally handicapped is wanted to share activities such as swimming, walks, and taking tea with a 29- year-old mentally handicapped woman. Hours are flexible, once per week. Training and orientation are provided. If you are interested in these or any other volunteer opportunities, call Dru at 985-7138 at the Voiun- teer Centre, a participating member agency of the United Way. Elizabeth Haverland West Vancouver Logging is part of our I! industry. You're not going to be able to stop the economy cold. Where else are they going of Carmanah Valley THE Topic: Date: Place: Time: Price: insists that half the vatley isn’t good enough. They say that run-off as a result of harvesting the upper valley could potentially harm the lower valley. Meanwhile, MacMillan Bloedel is also dissatisfied, arguing that the proposed park will translate into lost jobs and hardship for rural Vancouver Island communities. Jim Graham North Vanceuver Social They’ve made a_half- hearted decision about medical care. Why should they care about our en- vironment? decision? Henry Konishi North Vancouver I'd rather they leave the whole thing alone, but I guess half is better than nothing. . think typical decision. it’s a Credit THE GREAT DEBATE Ii MEECH LAKE ACCORD is Quebec the Only Distinct Society? Saturday, April 28, 1990 Centennial Theatre 2300 Lonsdale, North Vancouver 9:00 a.m. (Doors open at 8:15 a.m) $10.00 Tickets available at: McNews, 1460 Lonsdale, N. Van. V7P 3E5 (604) 984-4361 {neat be Metontes De deed 7 1325 MARINE DRIVE NORTH VANCOUVER. B.C. 984-9412 inquiries: 980-5185 Sponsored by the NVPC. Riding Assoc. 25% OFF our entire selection of top quality Architectural Hardware JADO BALDWIN SCHLAGE £7 5525 WEST BOULEVARL: = 13 140-1257! BRIDGEPORT RD, VANCOUVER, BC. RICHMOND, BC. VOA 3W6 VeV Wd (604) 278-4542 (604) 266-1252