Volunteer Recognition Week was a smash h i t ! The photo d i s p l a y i n t h e A r t Ga l le ry took weeks, months, years t o prepare and Atiba and P e t e r and Bob and Claude helped whi le an i n c r e d i b l e f e a s t s t a r t e d stomachs rumbling on Sunday and then t h e Free Bingo go t postponed t o t h e next Sat- urday because of Cu l tu ra l Sharing i n t he Theatre on Monday but Tuesday was GREAT wi th d inner and awards and s p e c i a l g i f t s f o r everybody so Wed- nesday would have fabulous Carnegie c h i l i f o r f r e e f o r Volunteers then Thursday had everybody recovering from Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday u n t i l Fr iday r o l l e d on wi th t h e Seniors having a dance wi th l i v e music and door p r i z e s u n t i l t h e wee hours s o Saturday came up wi th s i g n s proclaiming Free Bingo but t h e t i m e went from 6:00 which was wrong t o 6:03 when a r e s i d e n t genius saw t h e mistake and then t h a t was changed when Carnegie 's dog - you know, t h e one wi th no r i g h t eye, a missing

, l e f t e a r , t h r e e l e g s , r e c e n t l y cas- t r a t e d , answers t o t h e name "Lucky" ... pawed a message t h a t t h e number '30' has t h e '3 ' before t h e '0 ' and the time on t h e Bingo s i g n became 6:30 and 52 g i f t c e r t i f i c a t e s t o Save-On Meats were on hand a s p r i z e s AND IT WAS ALL OVER except t h a t a Bowling t r i p is happening on Friday May 4 t h from 12-3pm and Volunteers should s e e Pe t e r i f they wanna go! !!

are the

I U K I N G I T H A P P E N DOWN H E R E

. . I n no o r d e r at all - CKES SY (K) PETER EASTMAN (PR) BRIAN HETHERING?'ON (LC) BARB MORRISON ( B d ) ANITA STEVENS (A) BEA CHEA ( R ) J O E SAURIEL (N) ROBIE SCHOFIELD (K) DOROTHY WATANABE (R) COLLIN R O S S 0 (K) J I M MURRAY (K) CHUCK NORQUAY ( S ) TOM LEWIS (N) MARGARET PREVOST ( B d ) PAUL TAYLOR ( N / B ~ ) J E S S E McNAMARA ( P R ) PAT KENDALL (K) JOHN LINDSTROM (K) GENE CLARKE ( P R ) FLORA KAYNES ( P R ) J O E HEATH (PK)

S l l E I L A BAXTEK (POW) I R E N E SCHMIDT (POW) JOAN MORELLI (POW) VERA KENNY (K) BAIU3 GUDMUNSON ( V i d . ) S H E I L A BELL ( S ) 1IICHARD FOX ( K ) G M N T H I R S T ( L C ) CARRY GUST ( B ~ / N ) DAVE MELVIN (Snd) SHAWNEE SAWYER ( R ) PE'I'ER SHEKSTOBITOFF (K) IXINALI) HOIJSE (LC) JOHN KUKYLKO (K)

VERN SANKEY ( P R ) HENRY STEPHENS ( P R / B ~ ) LEN WHITFORD ( P R ) RAOUL PELCHAT ( P R ) MARY BROGAN (K) TORA (N) KEVIN PATTERSON (R) BRENDAN McEVOY (K) TAUM DANBERGER (LC) HARVEY WONG (K) FRANK RICHARDS (K) EGOR MAROV ( V i d e o s ) JOHN WHYTE ( R ) AL HOGANSEN (R) M I K I McMILLAN ( R ) DOUG SATHERTHWAYTE (R) C E C I L KAZAKOFF (R) DORIS RATHKE (H) P E T E R L I T T L E ( P R ) AL WILSON ( A r t ) BOB S A R T I (K) MUGGS SIGURGEIRSON ( B d ) STAN HENDERSON (K) GEORGE NICHOLAS (K) ED BUHR (K) WAYNE KELLAND ( P R ) J A Y CHARETTE ( S ) FLOYD WONG (LC) STEVE A K I N S (LC) MAUREEN RIVINGTON (A&C) LARRY L O Y I E (LC) B I L L SPENCE (WR) JUNE ROSE (R) DAVID CHASE ( P R ) P H Y L L I S K E I T H ( S ) V I C T O R I A ANDY ( R ) ROBERT ANDERSON ( R e c . )

ANDY HUCKLAK ( S ) B I L L QUINN ( S ) ALBERT MILTON (S) DAVID C A I R N S (P lan ts ) L A I L A BIERGAN ( L C ) GRAM HODGKINS (K) PAUL SAA (K) GREG SYLVESTOR (WR) DANNY KORICA ( B ~ / S ) NELSON SOCK (R) MIKE D U P O I S (M) GEORGE HARRISON ( B d )

L I L L I A N HARRISON ( B d ) ANDREW S I A H (M) P H I L FOERSTER (R) D E B B I E G O S S L I N (LC) ANDY MOWAT (W) H I R O NINO (LC) WAYNE SCHMIDT (M) DAN MacDONALD ( P R ) MIKE P O T T S ( R ) BONNIE STEVENS (K) SHARON GRUMRO (I<) B I L L WONG (K) DAVE WOODALL (LC) BARB W L G A R I S (K) CAPRICE CORMIER (V) BRUCE H A S L I P (K) WARDANCE (CS) LAUREL1 (CS) THERESA ( C S ) STEVE ROSE (M) BLAKE H I E B E R T (P) RAY CLARKE (B) DOUG McKENZIE (LC) B I L L DEACON ( L C I B d )

3

Therew~~s-young writer .... The Downtown E a s t s i d e P o e t s t o o k

t h e word o u t t o t h e h i n t e r l a n d on t h e i r r e c e n t t o u r of t h e North Coast of B.C. and t h e Queen C h a r l o t t e Is- l a n d s A p r i l 5-13. I n t h e group were P . J . Flaming, Cuba Dyer, Margaret P r e v o s t , Bud Osborne, Mikki McMillan and Bob S a r t i .

Nearly everywhere t h e y went, t h e y met w i t h a s p i r i n g w r i t e r s and w r i - t e r s ' groups. Many of t h e groups were s t r u g g l i n g t o g e t s t a r t e d i n t h e way t h e D.E. Poe t s were a few y e a r s ago.

Margaret had t h e f o l l o w i n g t o say: "The weather was g r e a t ! A l o t of

people t o l d me i t w a s going t o be I

wet- and c o l d . I must admit i t w a s a most e n j o y a b l e o u t i n g . The scenery

. a l o n e was f a n t a s t i c (and t h a t ' s my word, n o t B i l l y ' s ) , w i t h snow-covered mountains ... brea th - tak ing , p e a c e f u l and calm thoughout t h e whole t r i p .

We caught a bus from t h e a i r p o r t t o a f e r r y t h a t took u s t o downtown P r i n c e Ruper t , where t h e bus dropped u s o f f a t a m a l l . I n t h e pa rk ing l o t t h e r e w a s a s i g n t h a t I thought s a i d "24 h r s l i m i t t ' , bu t a c t u a l l y i t s a i d 2 h r s . Pam's comment ( a s we a l l laughed) "We know t h i s , i s n ' t Van.'' I guess i t w a s t h e p lane r i d e o r t h e f r e s h a i r t h a t bobbled my mind. A s we were s i t t i n g i n t h e van w a i t i n g f o r Bob and Cuba a young man came and asked , "Is t h i s yours?" It was Bob's bag, l e f t by t h e phone. Again we a l l laughed a s i t ' s no t l i k e Bob t o f o r g e t something.

P r i n c e Rupert i s a very n i c e p l a c e t h a t h a s n ' t been touched by c o n c r e t e h i g h r i s e s y e t , a s i d e from t h e pulp m i l l we s a w coming i n . The a i r seemed t o be c l e a n , w i t h a l l o f mother na- t u r e ' s b l e s s i n g s of t h e t r e e s , moun- t a i n s and an imals . I hope t h i s p l a c e w i l l n o t change because a t t h i s mom- e n t t h e y a r e as r i c h a s can be.

Our n e x t s t o p was i n Ter race ( t h e h o t e l w a s n o t whee lcha i r a c c e s s i b l e ) . We d i d t h e r e a d i n g i n t h e l i b r a r y which went w e l l w i t h o v e r 17 people a t t e n d i n g , i n c l u d i n g Lar ry Loyie ' s nephew. H e made a comment about Carnegie be ing t o o b u r e a u c r a t i c , be- c a u s e o f t h e w a l k i e - t a l k i e s i n t h e b u i l d i n g , bu t throughout t h e e n t i r e t r i p t h a t was t h e o n l y n e g a t i v e comment.

A f t e r o u r r e a d i n g L a r r y ' s nephew and. some. of h i s . f r i e n d s came t o d i n n e r w i t h us . On one end of t h e t a b l e w a s a young dat i -ge mothcr and h e r daughte r Meline. She t a l k e d w i t h us about t h e i r e x p e r i e n c e w i t h t h e s p i r i t u a l c l e a n s i n g of t h e mind and s o u l . A young Nat ive mah jo ined us l a t e r and spoke o f Alanon and t h e 12

s t e p s of M. It was v e r y good t o s e e our c h i l d r e n t a k i n g a n i n t e r e s t i n g e t t i n g away from t h e a l c o h o l scene .

Some of t h e p l a c e s we s t a y e d had e i t h e r swimming poo ls , saunas o r jac- u z z i ~ , which were r e a l l y n e a t !

Again I have t o mention t h e mount- a i n s because they were s o b e a u t i f u l . . some covered w i t h snow, t r e e s and w i l d l i f e , on e i t h e r s i d e of t h e road. I! Mother Nature c r e a t e d t h i s ; i t ' s up t o u s t o keep i t t h i s way . I 1 On one hand everyone was f a s c i n a t e d by t h e scenery and t h e calmness of t h e sur- roundings ... On t h e o t h e r hand w e were stunned by t h e ou t rageous p r i c e s . Coffee , i n one p l a c e , c o s t a d o l l a r i n a s tyrofoam cup! I ' m n o t q u i t e s u r e how a w e l f a r e r e c i p i e n t would s u r v i v e up t h e r e u n l e s s he o r s h e had a fami ly t h a t could he1.p.

I n a l l , t h e p l a c e I enjoyed t h e most was Kispiox. Margaret , our h o s t gave u s good f e e l i n g s of warmth and t h e p l a c e where we d i d o u r r e a d i n g made m e f e e l r e l a x e d and a t home.

Our f r i e n d Mikki r e a d a t t h i s one. When s h e read everyone l i s t e n e d be- cause h e r poems s a i d a l o t and i t r e a l l y made m e t h i n k . Her v o i c e c a r r i e s a magic sound and meaning.

A t t h i s r e a d i n g we had over 30 peop le , some of them d o c t o r s and s t u d e n t d o c t o r s who I met a g a i n t h e n e x t day. The t r a v e l l i n g was g e t t i n g t o me and I h a d n ' t a n t i c i p - a t e d u s i n g s o much medica t ion . But hey, I ' m h e r e t o t e l l t h e s t o r y ! "

A s a n o t h e r member of t h e group says I I One of t h e most encouraging s i g n s

was i n Smithers , a s m a l l l o g g i n g corn- munity e a s t o i P r i n c e Ruper t . Elore

Lilan 25 t e e n a g e r s came o u t t o h e a r t h e P o e t s - and t h a t was on a Fr iday evening, when t h e y could have been pursuing more t r a d i t i o n a l weekend d i - v e r s i o n s ! They weren ' t f o r c e d t o be t h e r e by some t e a c h e r ; t h e y were j u s t i n t e r e s t e d .

Next morning - Saturday 9 am - a h a l f dozen young women from Grade 9 a t Smi thers Secondary School m e t w i t h t h e p o e t s t o d i s c u s s w r i t i n g . They c e r t a i n l y t a k e t h e i r p o e t r y s e r i o u s l y i n Smithers . It t o o k q u i t e a b i t of coaxing t o g e t them t o r e a d some of t h e i r poems o u t loud. Here are t h e ones t h e y r e a d , a good example of t h e serious-minded and c r e a t i v e young t a l e n t i n o u r p rov ince .

(Thanks t o t h e Canada Counci l Explo-

/ r a t i o n s Program f o r h e l p , making t h e t r i p p o s s i b l e . )

u n t i t l e d

: Sandaled f e e t , s h o r t s and a r e d t - s h i r t . Tha t ' s what s h e was wear ing when s h e walked down t h e p e e l i n g

1 white s t e p s of t h e porch and on to t h e w h i t e sands o f t h e beach. The sun-drenched ocean s p a r k l e d b r i l l i - a n t l y , c a u s i n g h e r t o p e e r through h a l f c l o s e d eyes . A w a n b r e e z e wound h e r h a i r around h e r neck and t i c k l e d h e r under h e r ch in . Sudden- l y a melodic, s l i g h t l y magical sound deafened h e r e a r s . The sound was o f wind chimes, t h e wind and t h e sea- s h e l l sound of t h e ocean.

Turning w i t h t h e wind, s h e f e l t t h e g r a i n s o f sand between h e r t o e s . Before h e r , b u t a t a d i s t a n c e , s tood a dwarf-sized man wrapped i n l a y e r s of c l o t h s o s h e e r t h e y appeared t r a n - s p a r e n t . A v e i l covered h i s f a c e and head. H i s age showed through t h e wr ink les of h i s hands. The man l i f t - ed h i s hands i n t h e , a i r , t h e sound growing l o u d e r and more i n t e n s e as

he d i d s o . From each f i n g e r , b e l l - shaped, c r y s t a l l i n e wind chimes em- erged on i n v i s i b l e s t r i n g s one a f t e r a n o t h e r . On each, a n opaque f i s h o r s h e l l f i s h f l o a t e d w i t h i n i t . The g i r l watched w i t h amazement, f e e l i n g h e r body q u i v e r . Suddenly t h e b reeze w a s no l o n g e r broken by t h e b a r r i e r s o f h e r c l o t h i n g . Looking down a t her- s e l f , s h e saw s h e was covered i n a d r e s s o f t h e same m a t e r i a l a s t h e man was,wear ing. A v e i l descended

a c r o s s h e r f a c e , smooth on h e r cheeks .

The melody played i n t ime t o t h e waves, and t h e chimes showered co l - o u r s i n t o t h e ocean. Drawn uncontrol - l a b l y t o t h e w a t e r , s h e suddenly nee- ded t o f e e l t h e coo lness and t o be a p a r t of t h e dance t h e waves were l e a - d ing. The chimes followed h e r i n t o t h e w a t e r i n t h e manner o f geese mig- r a t i n g . She s topped when t h e wa te r was mid-calf and wai ted as t h e music and c o l o u r s formed a s o l i d and comp- lete c i r c l e around h e r , e n c l o s i n g h e r .

Then, w i t h t h e same g e n t l e n e s s as t h e heavens ho ld stars, s h e was c a r r - i e d toward t h e c l o u d s , whi te sand pour ing o f f h e r b a r e f e e t . Looking down, h e r s a n d a l s s a t i n t h e sand , waves c r a s h i n g o v e r them. She began t o s p i n and was merged i n t h e sounds around h e r . She became d i z z y and c losed h e r eyes and h e r world became b lack , s p l a t t e r e d w i t h f l a s h i n g co l - o u r s and t h e melodies of t h e ocean.

Andrea Pa ine

I She was only twelve Her body small and weak Her face rosey and always wi th a smile Her eyes g l i s t ened

Now. . . Her f ace is red and swollen And NEVER wears a smile Her eyes a r e puffy from t h e t e a r s t h a t streamed down her f a c e

He s tands the re wi th t h e smell on h i s b rea th And a g r i n on h i s f ace

How could he do t h i s ? Him...so b ig and s t rong Her...so t i n y and weak.

Kelly Hollingswdrth

'Memories

Each day the moon g e t s smaller . She s l i p s through t h e ange l i c c louds and over t he misty h i l l s , between the f a i r y t r e e s . I used t o be a b l e t o hear he r song whispered i n my ear c a l l i n g out t o me..to come and play. Now, i t is nothing but a s o f t c ry , beckoning t o t h e h i l l s t o l e t the s inging ch i rp of b i r d s be heard once again. The bubbling l augh te r of t he morning brook has long s i n c e ceased. Its greenish waves have turned t o an unkind brown, and i ts c a l l is not of happiness but t h e sad c ry f o r t h e rainbow f i s h t h a t once f r o l i c k e d wi th in i ts hea r t . The morning dew has turned t o a b i t i n g f r o s t , t h e s t i r r i n g green of t he o ld f r i e n d l y t r e e s has turned t o a kindred dead grey. But t he worst of a l l i s t h a t my f r i e n d the moon is g e t t i n g smal- l e r , he r s t a r l i t glow has faded and she no longer wears a smile .

Wild E l e c t r i c

E l e c t r i c Flowing 1 Wanting Needing 1

Nothing But t h e I

Music bleeding from t h e boxes Wild s o u l s held i n motion f e e l t h e freedom of t h e mixture of t h e music and t h e voices fo rge t your mind and t ake t h e r i d e t o hold t h e sound wi th in your body and f e e l t h e charge of wild e l e c t r i c .

T r i sh Elkin

She is e lipping away from me each day, over t h e ocean and beyond my fo rgo t t en world. I wish I could ca tch he r i n my n e t and f l y away, wrapped i n ' h e r arms, t o a p l ace where the b i r d s s i n g and t h e brooks laugh ... where t h e t r e e s a r e s t e r l i n g green and t h e f i s h a r e plump and a r e playing wi th in t h e brook's h e a r t .

Yet I cannot ca t ch her , she i s ever s o hard t o s e e now, My h e a r t is c a l l i n g out t o he r but t h e r e i s never any answer. The depths of my s o u l are no longer kindred, my thoughts a r e no longer sunshine and my eyes no longer spa rk l e .

Now t h a t she i s gone, I f e e l t h a t I should go with her .

Sarah Whately

The W e l l

The w e l l is a t r a p door. It opens i n t o darkness , a st i l l , b r e a t h l e s s d r i p p i n g , t h e r e a g a i n , d r ipp ing .

The c a s i n g is n o t a w e l l ho ld ing back t h e d i r t and tumbling g r a v e l ; i t is a p r e c a r i u s c o r r i d o r , a gap, a c r a c k i n t h e sha l low t e n t a t i v e s u r f a c e of t h e e a r t h j u s t h o l d i n g t o g e t h e r suspended above a v a s t pool o f q u i e t l y d r i p p i n g darkness .

A f i n e t r i c k l e of powdered wood t w i t c h e s and s l i d e s i n t o t h e darkness . A mouse's waggling whiskers

' pro t rude through t h e s l i p p e r y wooden w a l l . A pause, unsure . The c e r t a i n smell o f wa te r r e a s s u r e s ,

. and soon t h e gleaming eyes appear . 1 Another drop of wate r f a l l s .

- ~ o v e c r a f t ' s monsters always come o u t o f w e l l s . bur ied deep benea th r o t t i n g t e e t e r i n g

a n c i e n t f e s t e r i n g b u i l d i n g , . r u i n s , ru ined . But no behemoths l u r k unbidden, no misshapen mammoth b e a s t l i f t s t h e l i d on moonl i t n i g h t s . - No gnar led arms and broken f i n g e r n a i l s c reep over the sill.

Ins tead t h e s i l e n c e o f miss ing c h i l d r e n echoes here , and blood-pounding panic . The t rembl ing hand t h a t l i f t s t h e wooden cover is warm, its f i n g e r s d r y and gra ined w i t h d i r t from f r e s h l y tu rned ground.

A mouse f l o a t s a s i f t h e s u r f a c e was a m i r r o r , s o l i d , r e f l e c t i v e o f t h e c louds t h a t wander a c r o s s t h e b r i l l i a n t sky. The l i d slams a s , f a r away; c h i l d r e n ' s v o i c e s c a l l .

S h e i l a P e t e r s

Walls

These w a l l s t h a t a r e he re , Like a house f u l l of an i n f i n i t e number of m i r r o r s , s t o p me. These w a l l s t h a t a r e he re Trap my a c t ions And make me aware of an i n f i n i t e number of echoes. The theory of technos is u s e l e s s t o me - For I a m a t r e e Swaying i n t h e winds of time

and space and Yearning t o r e t u r n

To t h e o r i g i n a l p l a c e Extending my branches t o t r i l l i o n s

of suns I hope we become t h e i n f i n i t e one.

E l izabe th Thorpe

The Radio Access f o r L i t e r a c y Pro- j e c t w i l l be running f o r 2 more months u n t i l t h e end of June.

To d a t e we've been having l o t s of workshops on t o p i c s such a s i n t e r - viewing, sound o p e r a t i o n s , l i s t e n i n g & communications and c r i t i c a l think- ing. Some people a r e g e t t i n g invol- ved wi th shows a t Co-op Radio.

I n A p r i l , Channel 4 Cable TV had a 15 minute p iece on t h e p r o j e c t t h a t showed us t a l k i n g and working.

Anyone who i s i n t e r e s t e d i n g e t t - ing involved i n Co-op Radio and /or improving t h e i r r ead ing & w r i t i n g s k i l l s can s t i l l come and j o i n . Our next genera l meeting is Wednesday, May 9 t h , 12-2pm i n t h e Carnegie Theatre . I f you c a n ' t make i t , c a l l Brenda o r Helene a t 684-8494.

SPECIAL REPORT

(Under t h i s head l ine i n t h e last iss- ue, Ted Chiang wrote an a r t i c l e i n Chinese. Following is a t r a n s l a t i o n )

We hope everyone can t a k e a few minutes t o read t h i s let ter . I f you f i n d i t d i f f i c u l t t o unders tand, p l e a s e do f o r g i v e and f o r g e t .

The Carnegie Community Cen t re , which i s on Main and Hast ings , has

been s e r v i n g t h e p u b l i c f o r over 10 vears . The success of t h i s c e n t r e is n o t due on ly t o s t a f f , i t i s a l s o based on a l o t of h e l p and co-opera-

By t h e way, washrooms a r e l o c a t e d i n t h e 2nd •’1. and 3rd f l .

The most amazing t h i n g is t h a t you can s e e our Volunteers a r e a l l over t h e Centre, and we mean from t h e basement a l l t h e way up t o t h e 3 rd f .

So being our c e n t r e ' s members should always p a r t i c i p a t e . Our Vol- u n t e e r s work t o h e l p each o t h e r .

The Centre is open everyday; t h a t inc ludes b a s k e t b a l l games, p ing pong badminton, f r e e h a i r c u t s , Ballroom dancing, T a i Chi c l a s s , c h i l d r e n and f e s t i v a l s , en te r ta inment , e t c .

t i o n by t h e v o l u n t e e r s . Some people c a l l t h e Centre as

"china Library", because i t once was 100% l i b r a r y . A f t e r r enova t ion i t became a community c e n t r e bu t of course t h e l i b r a r y i t s e l f s t i l l ca tches a l o t of a t t e n t i o n t o every- one. The L ibra ry i s s m a l l e r now but

H l! I C

L

1

it has so many d i f f e r e n t books in- $

s i d e t h a t you won't b e l i e v e i t ! Also i n s o many n a t i o n a l i t i e s too! I

But, how do l i t t l e people know what E is r e a l l y i n s i d e t h e c e n t r e and what P is coing on t h e r e every day? Well, l e t u s t e l l you what we have h e r e and

1

what t o o f f e r ! (of course w e ' l l t r y E

t o make i t s h o r t and s imple) F F i r s t : On t h e Main Floor t h e r e i s . f

informat ion desk, t h e L ibra ry , smok- i n g lounge, Sen iors Lounge and t h e

: auditorium. ,

I n t h e basement, w e have t h e Weight - Room, A r t room, P o t t e r y room and Photo darkroom.

On t h e Second f l o o r we have t h e concession, Kitchen, Pool Room, t h e gym and our n e w s l e t t e r ' s o f f i c e .

On t h e Third f l o o r is our Program- mers' o f f i c e s , computer room, c l a s s - - room and our Learning C e n t r e ' s o f f i c e . b ,

~ e a d e r s , 9 community a c t i o n may s t i l l f o r c e Canada Pos t t o keep o u r p o s t a l s e r v i c e s

out of p r i v a t e hands i n our neighbourhood. P l e a s e , e i t h e r send t h e l e t t e r below o r come t o t h e Newsle t ter o f f i c e f o r a s e p a r a t e copy. Everyone!

1 ~ ~ r i l 27, 1990

I Harvie Andre I Min i s t e r f o r Canada Pos t

Parl iament Bu i ld ings Ottawa, Onta r io

Dear M r . Andre,

THIS LETTER I S BEING WRITTEN I N RESPONSE TO THE CLOSURE OF POSTAL STATION ' B ' . THIS I S THE SECOND TIME THAT C A N A D A POST HAS TRIED TO CLOSE O U R POST OFFICE D O W N .

I N 1 9 8 8 , THIS COMMUNITY FOUGHT LONG A N D H A R D TO SAVE O U R LOCAL t POST OFFICE, A POST OFFICE THAT HAS BEEN W I T H US FOR O V E R 4 0 YEARS

A N D DUE TO CONTINUING PRESSURE THE OFFICE WAS GIVEN A REPRIEVE.

IT I S A SAD DAY FOR US, WHEN WE HAVE T O FIGHT SO H A R D T O KEEP AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE, LIKE THE POST OFFICE, I N O U R OWN NEIGHBOURHOOD.

WE STRONGLY OBJECT TO H A V I N G O U R SERVICES CONTRACTED O U T FOR PROFIT, .AND WE ASK THAT THIS OUTLET REMAIN I N OPERATION. I

s i n c e r e l y ,

I

t Name

1 Address I ' Vancouver, B. C.

P o s t a l Code I

! ' I 8 .....a@.. . ...... e...... ...... 0 . 0 ........ . a * . . . . *. On t h e outgoing t r i p s , i n c l u d e p i c n i c s f e r r y r i d e s , camping, e t c .

Because w e have l i m i t e d s t a f f t o work i n t h e Centre and t h e r e ' s s o many t h i n g s need t o be done. So t h e r e f o r e t h e Volunteers should t a k e a l l t h e c r e d i t .

But r e c e n t l y we have some t r o u b l e g iv ing o u t t i c k e t s t o t h e s e t r i p s ! It is g e t t i n g t h e chairman's a t t e n t i o n and we b e l i e v e soon w i l l have a n ans- wer t o t h a t .

A f t e r a l l of t h e above, we want t o

make one t h i n g s u r e is t h a t wi thout t h e Volunteers ' he lp , t h e Centre j u s t won't be t h e way i t i s now!

Every member i n t h e Centre is equal and we should s h a r e our t imes t o he lp t h e Centre t o make i t even b e t t e r .

So p l e a s e , do come i n and be p a r t of u s , t o make u s a b i g happy family!

On behalf of o u r Carnegie Centre s t a f f s and v o l u n t e e r s we value your comment and we wish t o s e r v e you t h e b e s t i n t h e f u t u r e .

Thank you.

The young couple stopped dead on t h e t r a i l , a t a p o i n t n e a r t h e water- f a l l which plunged down behind t h e i r weekend s q u a t t e r cab in . There was a c o i l of smoke coming from t h e s tovep ipe . They always l e f t t h e i r c a b i n locked. There should no t have been anybody i n s i d e , no smoke..

A moral choice between feast and famine B Y AL METTRICK

I n s i d e they found a muscular mad- man wi th a L a t i n a c c e n t who s a i d he had moved i n . He had a l r e a d y pu t h i s s t u f f on t h e she lves . He had burned some of t h e c o u p l e ' s p l a s t i c p l a t e s and cups. He t o l d them i t was an ab- omination t o have p l a s t i c p l a t e s and cups amid t h a t n a t u r a l landscape. Next on h i s l i s t , t h e wi ld man s a i d , was t h e outhouse. He w a s going t o make firewood o u t of i t . It was s t u - p id , super f luous , when t h e r e was a whole r a i n f o r e s t a t t h e i r backs t o be f e r t i l i s e d .

It was a b i z a r r e nightmare f o r t h e young couple , a s t u d e n t and h e r mus- i c i a n boyfr iend who loved t h e i r week- end cab in and t h e gorgeous beach which s t r e t c h e d i n f r o n t of i t .

The half-mad c a r n i v a l which f o l l - owed, wi th much of t h e beach squat- t e r community t r y i n g t o g e t t h e in- t r u d e r t o l e a v e , whi le a t r i o of pass ing Jehovah's Witnesses i n t e r - ceded, seemed a f t e r w a r d s l i k e a dream. But on a s q u a t t e r beach any- t h i n g can happen, semi-somnolence one minute, Mardi-Gras t h e nex t .

The beach .where I b u i l t my c a b i n was a couple of hours d r i v e from Vic to r i a . Up nea r t h e West Coast T r a i l . Huge waves coming a t your house a s i f a dam had b u r s t , booming a c t u a l l y making t h e ground t remble . Eagles, whales, s e a - l i o n s , purp le s u n r i s e s and red s u n s e t s ; people who know i t c a l l i t a h e a l i n g beach, a p lace wi th s p e c i a l power. S u r f e r s came t o o , f o r t h e b i g waves. But my neighbours were most ly long-term r e s i d e n t s who had b u i l t p i c t u r e s q u e weathered cab ins o u t of d r i f twood , cedar shakes and t a r p s .

When I f i r s t moved t o t h e beach I wondered: "Why doesn ' t everybody do t h i s ? " The answer is , of course , i n t h e l i s t of t h i n g s s q u a t t e r s do wi thout - au tomat ic h e a t and l i g h t , t e l e v i s i o n , running w a t e r , conven- i e n t shopping and s o on.

"Your house w i l l evolve ," t h e man they c a l l e d Rivermouth t o l d m e . He had l i v e d on t h e beach f o r seven y e a r s , w i n t e r and summer, and he had only one p i e c e of a d v i s e . "Build it warm. I'

The beach c a b i n s r e f l e c t e d a l l s o r t s of a r c h i t e c t u r a l whims and f a n c i e s , but t h e b i g c o n s t r u c t i o n c r i t e r i a , t h e on ly common denomina- t o r , w a s t h a t they f a c e t h e s e a . A bemused a r c h i t e c t from Germany once s tood on t h e sand look ing a t arc el's p l a c e , s c r a t c h i n g h i s head. "How d i d you b u i l d i t ? " h e asked. "I had some body hold up t h e windows and I b u i l t around them," Marcel t o l d him.

Marcel f l ew a p i r a t e f l a g from h i s sundeck. He had a dog c a l l e d Grunt, b i g a s a camel. It was repu ted t o have taken down g u l l s and cormorants i n f l i g h t . It had dived i n t o t h e waves and brought o u t a s e a - o t t e r . It was a legend.

Br inging i n m a t e r i a l s i s a h a s s l e - t h e on ly parking l o t i s a long way from t h e beach, and, anyway, most of t h e s q u a t t e r s d i d n ' t own a v e h i c l e . So every th ing , a p a r t from windows and s t o v e , was u s u a l l y made up of s t u f f scavanged from t h e beach. The power- f u l t i d e s r ea r ranged t h e beach every day, dumping new landmark l o g s , new t r a s h and t r e a s u r e . One s torm a l o n e dumped a l l t h e p lanking I needed f o r a sundeck.

The rain, in turn, rearranged the ' various watercourses which ran down

through t the forest and across the , beach. We got our water from these

streams. I built in August. As winter rain

and storms began to rearrange the physical landscape, the isolation and hardships brought on by the changing seasons could provoke dramatic mood shifts. To keep busy was the only an- swer. I was delighted one night to discover that my homemade table was collapsing. It would give me some- thing to do the next day. My neighbor Keith had lived through it all before. He carved cedar, read a lot. He brought out a woman he had met in Victoria. She came from the city as she was, in an ankle-length dress. At first the rain didn't both- er her. "What rain?" she asked, clut- ching Keith, in love. "I can't think why anyone would ever want to leave

' this place." On my deck we sawed off the platform heels of her stylish boots so she could walk on the beach. But it kept raining and she was gone within a week. Keith turned his att- ention to other matters. He began to teach his dog how to balance bisquits on her nose. It was the rain of course, which

drove Luigi to take possession of the student's cabin. "It was cold and wet and I needed a place to stay," he told me afterwards. Luigi was from Guatemala originally. The beach had been his second home for almost 20 years. He had been away for awhile, however, and he did not know the stu- dents. The whole thing, he said, "was

I

blown up by people who came around interfering .I1

I The Jehovah's Witnesses, for ex- ample. Luigi had met them earlier on

1 the beach. When they showed up to

1 arbitrate the dispute in the cabin, , Luigi told them: "At least you could do something useful while you're here.

Go get some firewood. l1 The stove was 11 burning low. But they persisted in preaching, brandishing the good book. Finally Luigi became exasperated. He was also getting cold. "Give me one of your books," he said. They handed over a Bible and he tossed it in the stove. Luigi found another cabin and stayed

the winter. He turned out to be a quiet, helpful neighbour. But he was a man with a revolutionary streak, as many of the beach-dwellers are. In one of his 'philosophic1 moods, he said, "Society needs us..the poets, writers, eccentrics, the beach dwel- lers. We are the frame holding it together. The great painters always felt their canvasses needed a frame. We're the frame society needs." The spot I picked for my squatter

cabin was on a cliff about twenty feet directly above the beach. It was almost hallucinatory in its at- mosphere of beauty. But it was shad- ed by huge trees and sprawling bran- ches, and it proved to be a mosquito trap in summer and muddy when rains came. I had other problems early on. A huge dead cedar had to be broken up before I could build and I found out too late that it contained about a million wasps, all of which bit me. Then I didn't sleep for three weeks until I got used to the brow- beating surf. The driftwood I burned - because of its salt content - created massive creosote buildups in my airtight stove. The stovepipe rotted quickly. And the climate and sand and salt rotted everything else; shoes, clothing, nails, tarp...

(NEXT ISSUE . .PACKRATS AND OTHER HARDSHIPS. AND THE HIGHS OF SQUATTING ON A BEACH.)

The Ode of Ben Johnson

Ah Ben! Say how, o r when Sha l l we your gues t s Meet a t t he se a t h l e t i c f e t e s The Sun, The Dog, The T r i p l e Run Where we such ga ther ings had A s made us nobly wild, not mad; And ye t each r ace of t h i n e Out-did t he meet, ou t d i d t h e swine

My Ben! Oh come aga in : O r send t o us Your speed ' s g r ea t overplus;

But teach us y e t Wisely t o c o n t r o l i t ,

Lest we t h a t t a l e n t spend And having once brought t o an end

*..**.*..*. "in t h e back l a n e you

t h a t precious r ace ; t he s t o r e of such drugs 0

a t he world should have a no more.

0

a ' f r i e n d ' 0 0

CARNEGIE NEWSLETTER: s a t . 28/4/90

The Downtown Eas t s ide has always been portrayed i n t he media a s a s o r t of skid-row "den of thieves" . Over t he years many of t h e r e s i d e n t s & community workers have not iced t h i s tendency, and t r i e d t o show t h e media t h a t i t ' s a s u p e r f i c i a l & in- accu ra t e p o r t r a y a l , c i t i n g t h e f a c t t h a t j u s t a s many murders & danger- ous crimes occur i n o t h e r a r ea s .

Fr iday ' s Vancouver Sun contained an a r t i c l e by a well-known Carnegie mem- ber t h a t seemed t o push t h i s down- beat image even f u r t h e r , once aga in dragging the Downtown Eas t s ide t h r u t he mud of s ensa t iona l p r e s s imagery.

The w r i t e r has dubbed Hast ings & Main "cocaine corner" & goes on t o

I I say t he c ross roads of t h e downtown e a s t s i d e is f a s t becoming Vancouver's cocaine supermarket".

A Carnegie s t a f f member is quoted

PARKER BENCH R ' Z i

I Explore borders of your mind space ,

Spies on t h e s t a i r c a s e I

Privacy an i l l u s i o n He d i ed wi th beer can i n hand 4,000 dead o r i n j u r e d a t t h e i n t e r s e c t i o n below B e Low Mainly Hast ings, mainly though

Taum Dan Y Creag

0 m a can

ge t drive-through s e r v i c e , l i k e Mc- Donald's, and i n t h e f r o n t you've got t h e f u l l drug supermarket."

I ' v e l i v e d i n t h e Downtown Eas t s ide f o r t e n years now, & pass t h e s e loca- t i o n s almost da i l y . I n t h a t t ime, I ' v e been approached by coke d e a l e r s exac t ly t w i c e . This reminds m e of t h e t i m e I was stopped, quest ioned & searched by p o l i c e f o r t h e "crime" of walking through a downtown e a s t s i d e alleyway a t 2:30 am. The cop s a i d he was doing i t f o r my own p r o t e c t i o n ; he l e c t u r e d m e on s a f e t y , & s a i d i t was very dangerous t o do what I was doing. I t o l d him I ' d been walking through alleyways i n t h e downtown e a s t s i d e a t n igh t f o r years , & had not had any t roub le - i n f a c t , i t seemed t o m e t h a t t h e most th rea ten- ing t h i n g t h a t had happened t o m e i n t he a l l e y was being stopped & search- ed by t h e po l i ce .

Another i n t e r e s t i n g t h ing about t h e i nc iden t was how t h e policeman's behaviour towards m e changed from i n s u l t i n g t o p o l i t e , when he dumped t h e con ten t s of my pack onto t h e . .

hood of h i s c r u i s e r & discovered i t was f u l l of DERA paperwork.

I n any ca se I be l i eve t h a t articles such as "cocaine corner" accomplish only two t h i n g s - they i n c r e a s e t h e p re s su re t o "clean up t h e neighbour-

SUBJECTIVE ALLOYS By G a r r y G u s t

-

S T U P I D T H I N G ! ? CONSCIENCE

OFF. NAVLGATOR ON T H I S T R I P , 1

hood" - which i s about e q u i v a l e n t t o i n g a s he roes i n a v e r y narrow, one- "run t h e bums o u t o f town". . .& t h e y s i d e d image of o u r neighbourhood is a d v e r t i s e Carnegie as t h e p l a c e t o n o t smart r e p o r t i n g ... i t does, how- buy i l l e g a l d rugs . e v e r , a l l o w c e r t a i n i n d i v i d u a l s t o

The p r e s s h a s always been a sensa- promote themselves as s a i n t s - & c a s t t i o n a l i s t muck-raking s o r t of t h i n g t h e l i g h t o f s u s p i c i o n on t h e rest of anyway, bu t t o have "concerned" res - us .

i d e n t s & p a i d Carnegie s t a f f appear- TORA

tast side

is , I $ < hotbed obd rug trade By ROBERT SARTI

The crossroads of the downtown east side is fast becoming Vancou- ver's cocaine supermarket.

Stand around for just half an hour a t the corner of Main and Hastings, in front of the Carnegie Community Centre, and you will see as many as a dozen drug deals conducted in broad daylight.

Men in jean jackets and runners hand wadded-up $10 and $20 bills to other men and receive small

"paper packets in return. In the bushes by the building are

the litter of the drug trade - old syringes, empty Valium and bar- biturate bottles and the lit t le papers that hold the cocaine.

l l r r , r r u , r , , r r , ., V.,," ,I,,,,,,,. 1 1 I b I 1

days at Carnegie have to thread, t he i r way through t h e dope ' dealers to get into the building.

"It's tolally out in the open, it goes on night and day, and it's get- ting worse," said Carnegie security worker Bob Morrison, surveying the scene Thursday from the steps of the building.

Earlier in the morning, shortly after midnight, the sidewalk in front of the steps was the scene of Vancouver's sixth slaying of the year.

A 29-year-old known drug dealer was stabbed to death in an altercation with another man in his 20s. The assailant fled the scene on foot.

Police agree the situation at the intersection - within sight of Van- couver police headquarters - has worsened in the past few months.

"We have noticed an increase at that location, and we have noticed a number of what appears to be new players have gotten into the scene," said S. Sgt. Larry Smith, head of the Vancouver police drug squad. "That spot hasn't been used by the old-timers before."

Smith said the increase in the use of cocaine is worrying. Cocaine seizures by police in the city have grown from 83 in 1983 to 1,188 last year.

OUT IN THE OPEN: Carnegie security worker Bob Morrlson monitors front steps Thursday after slaying

DONALD McPHERSON: accosted by drug dealers

"It (Main and Hastings) is the convenient place to get cocaine," he said.

, He said the cocaine sold a t Main and Hastings is primarily intended for intravenous use. But there are indications that individuals are converting it for their own use to crack cocaine, the evermore dm-.: gerous derivative that plagues many American cities.

So far, he said, there is no indica- tion crack is being sold commer- cially in Vancouver.

The Vancouver drug squad

Don't If you aren't on the provincial voters' list, you can't vote in the upcoming election. Even if vou've voted in everv B.C. election for 30

Lose years, you may not be on the list.

Check to see if vou're reaistered todav bv calling the ~ l e c t i o n s B.C. office at 660-6848. if you're not on the list, you wil l be mailed Your application forms and a portage-paid return

Vote' envelope. You should also ca l l our community office at 253-7902 to ensure this gets done.

You must register yourself. No enumerator comes and no registration is allowed on election day. If you are at least 19, a Can. citizen and have lived in B.C. for more than 6 months, protect your right to vote by checking the voters list.

already devotes a "considerable" part of its attention to the Main and Hastings street scene, said Smith. He doubted much more could be done without a decision from the top levels of the police department.

Asked if the department was contemplating a crackdown, he replied: "A crackdown wouldn't be much more than what we're doing now."

Community workers say many drug dealers in front of Carnegie used to work further west on Hast- ings, in front of the Regent or Ral- moral Hotels or at Pigeon Park; and were moved on by police pressure.

Be fo re t h a t , t h e d e a l e r s operated out of the Granville Mall or Mount Pleasant, which have also been subjected to "clean-up"

' campaigns. Donald McPherson, senior pro-

grammer at Cdrnegie, walked out on the steps Tuesday and was immediately approached by a scruffy looking man who asked:

. "You want to buy some coke?" McPherson ignored him and the

man sat down on the'steps. He was finally ejected from the steps by a Carnegie security worker.

"The other day, I just walked down to buy a newspaper, six doors away, and I was asked eight times whether 1 want to buy coke," McPherson said.

Another time, he pulled his car out of the lane in back ofcarnegie, and while he was waiting to enter the traffic on Hastings, two men approached him with drug offers.

"In the back lane, you can get d r ive - th rough se rv i ce , l ike McDonald's, and in the front y ~ u ' v ~ g o t the full drug supermar- ket," he said.

Morrison, 33, and the other security workers routinely bar anyone from Carnegie who is observed dealing drugs outside, but this can bring new problems.

"I've been threatened, and told: "You're going to get it at night,' " he said.

The husky former truck driver and paramedic just shrugged and said: "I don't pay attention to that kind of talk."

Most of the dealers around Main and Hastings seem to be in their 20s and 30s. Many are white, but there are native Indians, Asians and Hispanics as well.

Street worker John Turvey said the lack of social services makes i t

di'ficult to wean many of the young people off the street.

In the past few years, his case- load of Latin American refugees has skyrocketed, hut he has no place to send them if they agree lo seek an education or a job.

"I would say 90 per cent of the young men are divertable (off the street) if we had the services," he said.

Downtown Eastside Resitletits Association worker Stephen Learey said DERA has been try- ing to deal with the problem of drug use in Pigeon Park, but therc are no easy answers.

He said some residents want increased police patrols in the neighborhood, while others fear too strong a police presence.

"Young girls, 13 years old, come down here, and say: 'This (drug scene) is fun,' " he said.

"Six months later, they're strung out and hooking on the street."

DERA has a $2,000 grant from the solicitor-general's department to study the problem.

"What do we want to do - push it out of Pigeon Park to Carncgie, and then where does it go from there, to Crab Park?" he said. "That's no answer."

"Restricting sexual activity to marriage and adult monogamous relationships

cy Former Socred health minister Peter Dueck on the sex lives of British Columbians

"Girls need to have the same attitudes as boys" (in order to achieve equal pay). " "I want to get back (into cabinet). In fact I thought Imight have been back today. I

Carol Gran, Socred minister responsible for the status of women deserve to be back. " Former Socred minister Bill Reid after he bent the rules and qave lottery dollars to his aolltical

"(Abortion) has nothing to do with my ministry. " friends.

Carol Gran, minister responsible for the status of women "The man must be either morally blind or politically foolish, either one of which is reason enough to keep him out of cabinet forever ... And there hasn't been a word of criticism from Premier Vander Zalm."

The Provincial editorial (March 2)

"I don't think there's anvthina in conflict with me takina f art in a decision for the use of agr~cultural land thaf l 'm the min~ster respon&ble for "

Socred agr~cul tura l mmste r John Savage on the S1 3 m ~ l l ~ o n dollar prof11 111s farnlly stood to make by hls governments d e c ~ s ~ o n to al low conversion of agr~cul tura l land Into golf courses

Learning Centre

The Learning Centre con t inues t o be f u l l of a c t i v i t y . Bing Ming Lau humbles us a l l wi th h i s courage i n w r i t i n g h i s s t o r y (Carnegie News- l e t t e r : Apr i l 15, 1990). He i s going through a g r e a t d e a l of p a i n rememb- e r i n g what happened t o t h e people i n Be i j ing on June 4 , 1989. Both of t h e Lau b r o t h e r s a r e admired i n t h e Learning Centre. Bing Ming is very g i f t e d a s a p i a n i s t a s w e l l a s a w r i t e r .

Sometimes I wonder who is t h e t u t o r a s I have l ea rned a g r e a t d e a l from Bing Ming. Learning is a two- way s t r e e t i f we j u s t t a k e t h e t ime t o l i s t e n . The Learning Cent re looks l i k e a United Nations Assembly - we a r e t r u l y m u l t i c u l t u r a l .

The Learners Conference was a g r e a t success . My f a v o u r i t e i t em was t h e video c a l l e d "Home of t h e Brave". It showed t h a t Na t ives i n both North and South America a r e ex- p l o i t e d i n t h e same ways. The Wel- f a r e Rights workshop w a s ve ry i n t e r - e s t i n g wi th a l o t of new people . One important t h i n g I l e a r n e d was how d i f f i c u l t i t i s f o r s t u d e n t s who are l e a r n i n g Engl ish t o unders tand what i s going on i n a l a r g e s e t t i n g . Yet i t seems easy on a one-to-one b a s i s . Tutors need t o g ive t h e i r s t u d e n t s suppor t i n l a r g e g a t h e r i n g s . A t t h e next conference i t would be good f o r s t u d e n t s t o conduct a workshop on what they expect o f t u t o r s . This may bu i ld conf idence a l l around.

The Learners Conference was very worthwhile..many of us now have new f r i e n d s .

I r e n e Schmidt

SUPPORT THE SQUATTERS on F r a n c i s S t . i

The Developers e v i c t e d f a m i l i e s on F r a n c i s S t ; f o u r houses are due f o r demol i t ion . S q u a t t e r s a r e l i v - i n g i n t h e empty houses.

They say , "Why should homes be empty when people a r e homeless and on t h e s t r e e t ? "

The g e n t r i f i c a t i o n of low r e n t a l communities by deve lopers - bui ld - i n g condos t h a t on ly t h e a f f l u e n t can a f f o r d - must s t o p . They e v i c t low-income t e n a n t s and never r e p l a c e t h e low r e n t a l homes.

These deve lopers t r e a t u s l i k e cockroaches but remember, t h e cock- roach is tough and always r e t u r n s t o f i g h t aga in .

Support t h e S q u a t t e r s .

S h e i l a Baxter

.J The poor d i e long. i',[ / )

The r i c h l i v e good. j i c>,,p / - The middle masses T

t a k e up t o o much room. ' i

The r i c h pour wa te r . /'

The poor make waves. 4 >', The middle masses t u r n t o wine and s q u i r e t h e t a x b i t c h .

The middle masses make wheels go round so t h e r i c h won't have t o crawl . The poor s i n g of r e v o l u t i o n , and t h e Ear thsh ip j u s t s p i n s on.

Garry Gust

I Talking Dirty in The Pas

Four white boys talking dirty, the name of The - Whispering four-letter words in ''Girl - Rape - Kill - I'

knowing The Pas won't protest, ain't a four-letter word, and fifty-three stabs with a sc or a word like "justice" don't mean a fuckin' thing, when you can't count to seven.

The Pas -

'COS "Squaw

rewdriver

White citizens talking dirty, h

know the murderers, but stay silent - A cops also is a four-letter word. A When Whites kill the Native Indian, they kill the country, and the land does not forget but lays fallow, waiting.

. .

I Sixteen years, blood of Helen Betty Osborne

like roots, has been coiling round the foundation of lies sustaining The Pas; sixteen years, Helen Betty's spirit

I has been forming wings, sixteen years - and Helen Betty bursts back from death, an eagle plunging from the past to rend the conspiracy of silence hiding The Pas, and all those lies tumble out, disembowelled and stinking

I while truth roars like a forest fire - through this shattered town, and the silence goes up in dirty smoke signals seen nation-wide.

White citizens of The Pas have had their good names scalded, have had their dirty mouths washed oul by the blood of Helen Betty.

I She has reformed the language forever made the name, "The Pas"

1 .,

I am f a r away now from pa in a s w e l l a s joy. I am very f a r from c a r i n g about any one of you. I c a r e a s l i t t l e about myself .

This i s my f a t e d d e s t i n a t i o n and I have worked hard t o be here : K i l l i n g myself a l i t t l e , every yea r

This is t h e p lace from where Marc Lepine took aim. The on ly d i f f e r e n c e s a r e he w a s angry he 'd a r r i v e d and he blamed women f o r being here .

Dis tance "some people a r e n ' t meant f o r happiness1' A dea r f r i e n d c a l l e d me up and

asked i f I could do a poem. A l o t of t h ings came t o mind but what s t uck ou t most was when I f i r s t m e t him. It was on Alexander S t r e e t i n a pro- t e s t f o r a l e v e l c ro s s ing t o Crab Park. He was l i k e a s e a s h e l l coming ou t of h id ing - when he senses no danger. H e ' s come a long way, cov- e r i n g a l o t of ground. H e y e t f i n d s comfort among t h e people who helped him ou t of h i s s h e l l .

I am f a r enough away now t o know he was not a monster. I am as f a r away a s he was.

from t h i s d i s t a n c e I endure, no t happy, hard ly sad a t a l l . In t h e nex t t e n yea r s I ' m s u r e I w i l l deaden myself t o sadness: a t home, a t l a s t , i n t h e d i s t a n c e .

Keep up t h e good work my f r i e n d .

- TREES

A s I s i t he re looking a t them th ink ing they were born h e r e

they grew up here they blossomed he re

and t h e i r r o o t s a r e h e r e they look p r e t t y gruesome, wi th

t h e i r l imbs po in t i ng i n every d i r e c t i o n But you know, they look b e a u t i f u l wi th

any shade of green. Who you ask? Why t h e t r e e s Mother Nature c r ea t ed .

Now You want t o end t h e i r l i f e here .

Margaret I

I

PEACE

One day t h e r e w i l l be Peace throughout t h e World.

L i f e i s no t always what i t seems When t h a t day comes Love can be sung and i t ' s w r i t t e n fll w i l l be calm and q u i e t

i n reams L i f e i s t h e physical t h a t moves us a l l Cries of hunger w i l l no longer be.

Love i s t h e g i f t t h a t can leave Sounds of l augh te r w i l l always be. wi th t h e f a l l Dreams can come t r u e

L i f e i s what I seek When t h e sky is b lue Love i s no t what w e ' r e supposed I•’ only t o f i n d

t o speak Deep i n your mind.. But w e break t h e r u l e s Like t h e r u l e s of school Peace w i l l come from coas t t o c o a s t .

Some r u l e s were meant t o be broken One day t h e r e w i l l be peace. Not a l l o f us Margaret

E l izabe th Thorpe

Just blink, and a year goes by. That's the way if feels sometimes with the Carnegie Community Centre ~ssociation. So much happens in the course of a year that it's hard to keep track. That's one reason why every non-

profit society, like the CCCA, has an annual general meeting (AGM) ev-

- ery year. It's a way for the member- ship to take stock of the progress of their organisation, and to plan the next year's growth. One of the important things that

happen at an AGM is election of the board of directors. The CCCA has 15 Board members. They carry out the wishes of the membership over the year. Any member in good standing, who has been a member for at least three months prior to the AGM, is eligible to stand for election. The

c--

4 0 I\\$ - - calling all

candidates main qualification is a desire to serve the people of Carnegie - all parts of the building. Board members are expected to participate i n the regular monthly meetings, and to take part in at least one of the standing committees. There will be an all-candidates'

meeting held sometime in late May, so members can meet and talk to any- body who is interested in running. The exact date and time will be pos- ted later, and published in the newsletter, so keep an eye out. The date of this year's AGM is

Sunday, June 3rd, at 2 p.m. in the Theatre. The meeting is open to the public, but you have to have been a member of the CCCA for 14 days to be able to vote. The CCCA belongs to all its members.

To be strong and democratic, it needs participation from all of us. See you at the AGM!

r

c ~ m m u n i t y Writing E ~ c h a n g e / ~ " ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"The workshops will be hands-on, - HOW TO PUBLISH YOUR OWN WORK (Tim Lander, Cuba Dyer, pj flaming

informal and subject to change due ..poets & publishers) to availability of people. Most im- Sher-D began, following welcome by portantly, we want to help each other Sheila, with a clear secret of per- blast blare and blather more poetry forming on stage: "You cannot do everywhere all the time and then some!' anything wrong." People laughed, but This quaint quote is from Pam Fle-

ming and Sheila Baxter, who both or- ganised and participated in this ev- ent held Saturday, April 21. The 3 workshops were: - HOW TO ORGANISE A POETRY GROUP

6 PERFORM YOUR WORK' (Sheila Baxter Organiser & Poet Sher-D Wilson Performance Poet) - HOW TO GET FUNDING (Don MacPherson Carnegie Programmer Gord Murray Normal Arts Society)

soon joined her in various 'warm-ups' and ways to loosen up for readings. Tim Lander has been a self-publish-

ing poet for years. He demonstrated how to make books. Cuba covered the history of publishing works of our own Downtown Eastside Poets and Pam talked of making collective, cross- cultural statements with writing. Thanks were given to the Carnegie

Assoc. & Bob Sarti for his hard work.

WEAPONS MAKE MONEY Weapons make money . and money and power a r e t h e reasons a r e war t h e market p l a c e is i n it making money. is a t war, is a t war. c a p i t a l i s t , communist r e l i g i o u s , a t h e i s t k i l l t h e c h i l d r e n

The c h i l d wakened from a deep s l e e p by t h e wa i l ing sound of t h e s i r e n . jumped o u t of bed s h i v e r i n g and sca red ran f o r s h e l t e r i n t h a t d a r k cupboard under t h e stairs. l i s t e n i n g , wa i t ing , a s t h e s i r e n wai led. t h e s t eady hum of a bomber plane came c l o s e r , c l o s e r then t h e w h i s t l e wheeeeeeeee hmmmmmmmmmm t h e house shook a s t h e bombs dropped she d i d n ' t udderstand why.. . . . . . . . . : . . ? She j u s t knew t h a t w a s war you k i l l them and they k i l l you s t o r i e s of hcuses blown away body p a r t s i n t r e e s head less corpses never f i n d i n g t h e i r body people bur ied a l i v e o r scorched and f r i e d were h e r bed t i m e s t o r i e s peace came

b u t n o t r e a l l y because ever s i n c e t h e r e has been war a f t e r war always someone k i l l i n g t h e c h i l d r e n \ ( 1 PEACE HAS NEVER REALLY COME Weapons make money i n t h e i r w a r s f o r power Peace. I a m a Grandmother now and I have never known a t ime when t h e world wasn ' t somewhere a t war What a l egacy I g ive my grandch i ld re ] A world always a t war. and Weapons make money weapons make money and bab ies a r e s t a r v e d and maimed Peace? W i l l I know i t before I d i e ? How many c h i l d r e n j u s t l i k e me a r e s t i l l v i c t i m s of war?

S h e i l a Baxter

7 What happened t o me d i d you w i t n e s s t h a t ?

T e l l me judge 1 i w e r e you w i t n e s s t o t h a t ? Jehovah, wha t ' s i n your name? Can .you t e l l me why? W i l l you t e l l me why? I d o n ' t t h i n k you w i l l You pu t m e i n h e l l f o r your purposes bu t why d i d you a l l o w Time t o a l l o w i t t o happen t o me?

There i s no reason And you make a mockery

of your own l a w s When w i l l they l e t me be

t o do what I t h i n k is r i g h t ? When w i l l you le t m e be t o do

what i s obviously r i g h t ?

E l i z a b e t h Thorpe

{ e r e ' s a g l o b a l warm s p o t Zight under t h i s b r idge lack o f funds : an l t i n h i b i t you, Iecause t h e wine las a l r e a d y been bought.

l e r e ' s a n i c e w a r zone lou can always t e l l 3y t h e f a c t i o u s propaganda Ind t h e l o n e l i n e s s t h a t abounds 3ut everyone seems a l l r i g h t Chere's a drug s t o r e nearby.

l e r e ' s a democracy i n a c t i o n . I

Zight h e r e on t h i s beach 3uy i t cheap and S e l l i t d e a r Che last g r e a t depress ion Began r i g h t here .

Greg

A s I gazed through t h e window, and over t h e t r ee - laden h i l l s , I t r i e d t o f i n d i n my mind any gay thought t h a t might be hidden but I could n o t .

Once aga in , I began t o t h i n k of how t h e y e a r s were f l y i n g by s o quickly .

Every day seemed t o begin gayly but then, suddenly, i t would t u r n and end as s a d l y a s a l l t h e days be fore i t .

I always wished I could hold a day, any day, i n my arms and squeeze i t nex t t o m e . This way i t could never escape me; i t would remain w i t h i n m e t o r e v e r , s topp ing t i m e and more h e a r t b r e a k s from

- coming a long t h e way. Even today i t seems t h a t t h e days

a r e g e t t i n g s h o r t e r . . e a c h morning I open my eyes . T e l l m e - why c a n ' t they l a s t f o r e v e r .

They have seemed t o s l i p through

- my f i n g e r s , as r i p p l i n g wate r does, ' down a w a t e r f a l l . They have gone

i n t o t h e p a s t - t h a t wonderful p a s t so f a r away.

Now t h e days t o come a r e approach- i n g f a s t e r and f a s t e r , l i k e a f i e r c e b l i z z a r d rag ing through t h e t r e e s , and each minute they come c l o s e r they push back my p a s t even f a r t h e r

I away. I want t o hang on to my youth. . .but

I cannot . It too i s being pushed f a r behind..behind t o l i n g e r w i t h my past . . locked f o r e v e r w i t h i n t h e boundaries of my h e a r t .

Sarah What e l e y

I

H i s r e g u r g i t a t e d a t t i r e makes of him an anachronism

f u r l s of smoke seep from t h e volcano of h i s f a c e ,

t h e physiognomy of which is a rough and r e d o l e n t p lace . And s p a r k l i n g f o r t h from t h i s t e r r a i n ,

baby b l u e eyes t h a t defy t h e mechanisms of h i s b r a i n . K.P.

NOON, MAY 12. BC COALITION FOR ABORTION CLINICS

is having a March & Ral ly s t a r t i n g a t ------------- Granvi l l e & H a s t i n g ~ . G u e r i l l a Thea t re and c e l e b r a t i o n s of t h e 20th ann iversa ry of the

; Abortion Caravan. 1

SECOND SPRING

More is t h e sorrow t h a t t h e Re l ie f o f t r u t h evades my s p i r i t . I n no u n c e r t a i n terms should s h e Give v o i c e t o t h e m a t t e r of my Des i re f o r h e r a f f e c t i o n : Is it d e l u s i o n o r i n t u i t i o n That beckons me t o l i n g e r Upon t h e thought t h a t t h i s Is a mutual madness? Aucunement, ou, vogue l a g a l e r e ?

G. Gust

685-4488 Wed. evening: 5 t o 8:30 . . D r . AL VENNEMA

Drop i n

n t i a l ) STD nurses a r e on s i te through t h e weekdays.

men t .

I DONATIONS SINCE INCEPTION: Yanum Spath -$Zoo 1

' E&gf@ggg@F, Nancy W.-$300 W i l l i s ~ . - $ 1 1 0 George B.-$15 Rich P.-$41 Robert S .-$70 Janc i s A.-$45 I

N E W S L E T T E R Luis P.-$20 Tom - $4.02

l l l E NkUSLETlCl I S A YUULlCATlUN O t l l l L Marg. S.-$20 L.B.T. -$I00

CARNECIE C O H H U H I ~ ~ CENTRE A S S 0 C I A T l 0 H Ted B.-$5 She i l a B.-$2 L i l l i a n H.-$20 James M.-$50 1,MacLeod-$200 Kelly -$3 J. East -$1 Nancy J .-$50 Sue H. -$20 s t eve R.-$10 N e i l M.-$2 B. & B. -$8

C i t y I n f o e t a f f c a e ' t accept Ian -$5 Pe t e r E .-$5.32 dunatlone for t l r ls Newslet ter , eo CEEDS -$lo Keith C.-$20 I f you can I ~ e l p , f lnd Paul 'I'oylor Linda F.-$50 Etienne S.-$20 et~d h e ' l l g lve you a recellbt. Mendel R.-$15 Wil f r id B.-$5

l l ~ i r l r l t s o v o l y lbot ly . K' l e m G . -$5 Anonymous -$48.73 Terry t h e T e r r i b l e -$lo0 Archie M.-$100 Linda K.-$100 Maureen R.-$5 Sandy ~ . - $ 4 0

NEED H E L P ? \

D E R A c a n h e l p y o u w i t h :

* a n y w e l f a r e p r o b l e m s * U I C p r o b l e m s * g e t t i n g l e g a l assistant * u ~ l s a f e l i v l ~ l g c o n d l t i o n

111 I i o t e l s o r a p a r t m e n t s * cl l s p u t e s w i t I i 1 a i r d l o r d s * 1 1 1 c o l 1 l e t a x

D E H A i s L o c a t e d a t 0 K a s t I l a s t i n g s o r p h o t i e t i 8 2 - 0 9 3 1 .

D E H A l l A S B E E N S E R V I N G '1'11E 1)OWNTOWN E A S T S T I I E F O R 1 6 Y E A R S

JEAN SWANSON: A Tribute

Jean hit my hero's list recently. ~t was during a meeting with Carol Gran (socred minister responsible for Women's affairs) and various women's groups. Mrs. Gran (as her I staff refer to her) was telling us

i that most students are content with minimum wages. She went on at length and I tuned out. Then I heard Jean say, "dot true ." She elabor- ated only enough, and I didn't tune out to anythihg she said. Till last year, my hero's list was

comprised of B Guys in my world, like Carl Sagan Rankin, Beethoven, "n: a former boss by the name of Walter Camozzi and such people who, in my life, had impressed me mightily. During the 1986 civic election Joe Barrett checked the list regularly (it changed depending on which poli- tician said what), but I told him there was no way he could be on the list until he did something outrage- ous..like lose his temper at City Hall with magnificent effect and have his name blasted across all the front pages. You can't be just any fool to make it to this list, but I like Joe very much. When I first met Jean I didn't know

what to think. She didn't fit into any of my people categories, and I accept a broad range of people, so I decided to study her ti1 I knew what to do. Last year I began attending some of her meetings, and I was slow- ly becoming impressed. Lest she think me too eccentric even for her circle I was careful what I said for months. It seemed a good way to learn some of the endless facts she seems to have forever stored in her head. She seem- ed a complete person: human, intell- igent, funny, endlessly punctual and organised, yet she never lost her temper of looked askew in any way.

She wasn't even an oddball like, for instance, Norm Levi. She was, as well

accessible, thorough, generous and always polite. When she ran for mayor I was worried that if she won I wouldn't have a chance to know her. The amazing part is that she did so much, all the time, with no fanfare, no headlines, no snide cracks and no head-bashing. She had a magic com- bination of qualities the like of which I could never hope to achieve. Wherever I went, there was a steady

stream of: 'I Where's Jean? She'll be here, won't she?" 'I I just saw Jean over there. Sure glad she's here .I1 "Did Jean bring those things we

need?" 1 1 Jean's working on it right now." I' 1 I m not sure - ask Jean. She'll know . " I' ~on't worry. Jean will know what to say ."

I' You mean to say Jean isn't here to- day?" That one amused me. I said, 'We

can't expect her to do everything all the time. It's tough to be ubiquitous. I'm her unofficial rep today."

That worked, In fact, mentioning her name works even with some socreds. Recently 1 was stuck for a reason to be at a private press conference with Health Minister John Jansen. Using "my sick old parents" didn't feel right because I don't much like my parents (everyone in my family~votes socred - can anyone blame me?). I tried this one: "I'm a colleague

of Jean Swanson, though 1'm not here at her request." The woman said, "Oh, fine! I know Jean. Come on in." Now, is that what we call "clout"? I hope she never quits fighting

against poverty. If she does, one of us will have to do it, and not one of us can do a better job. Thanks, Jean Swanson.

By JONENE BICKETT

END LEGISLATED POVERTY (ELP) i s a c o a l i t i o n of 2 2 groups ~ ; -B .C. involved i n a l l a s p e c t s o f s o c i a l change. The Annual General Meeting occur red i n A p r i l w i t h r e p o r t s on a c t i v i t i e s and t h e e l e c t i o n of o f f i c e r s f o r t h e nex t year . P r e s i d e n t i s Sam Snobelen, S e c r e t a r y i s S h e i l a Bax te r and T r e a s u r e r i s Margaret Ennenberg. Following i s a p a r t i a l l i s t of ELP a c t i v i t i e s from March, 1989 t o March, 1990:

Major Accomplishments: Vancouver schoo l food program was expanded t o 12 schools . Vancouver School Board a l s o s e n t v e r y good b r i e f on Chi ld Pover ty t o f e d e r a l committee s tudy ing t h i s . V i c t o r i a s c h o o l Board pu t $100,000 i n t h e i r p r o v i s i o n a l budget f o r a p i l o t food program i n two s c h o o l s , and Sur rey i s on t h e verge of do ing i t .

We had a s u c c e s s f u l campaign t o in form 49,000 so-ca l l ed "employable" peop le on w e l f a r e of t h e i r r i g h t s when t h e s o c r e d s t h r e a t e n e d t o c u t them o f f w e l f a r e i f they d i d n ' t look f o r jobs . I

We s u c c e s s f u l l y fought SS&H's a t t e m p t t o f o r c e s i n g l e p a r e n t s t o seek employ- ment by c i r c u l a t i n g about 1 ,000 c o p i e s of a n o l d le t ter t o F i r s t Uni ted s igned by Claude Richmond. I n t h i s l e t t e r , Richmond s t a t e d t h a t " s i n g l e p a r e n t s w i l l no t be fo rced t o s e e k employment."

We helped found a new c o a l i t i o n , Women f o r B e t t e r Wages. Th is c o a l i t i o n is u n i t i n g t h e demands o f working and poor women f o r b e t t e r wages and w e l f a r e .

We helped keep t h e l o c a l branch of t h e P r o Canada Network i n B.C. a l i v e and f u n c t i o n i n g t o b u i l d t h e u n i t e d f r o n t necessa ry t o c h a l l e n g e c o r p o r a t e agenda.

We p u l l e d o f f q u i t e a good province-wide F i g h t i n g Pover ty Conference.

Membership: Our new members are Together a g a i n s t Pover ty i n V i c t o r i a , S t . Margaret ' s Anglican Church, and McLean Park Tenants Assoc ia t ion .

S t a f f : Our s t a f f f o r t h e y e a r have been Pa t Chauncey and Linda Marcot te who worked, t h e o r e t i c a l l y ha l f - t ime bu t a c t u a l l y more, on t h e s c h o o l food p r o j e c t . Pam Fleming h a s been our ha l f - t ime e d i t o r of FLAWline and f a c i l i t a t o r f o r t h e Front Line Advocate Worker meet ings . Jean Swanson c o n t i n u e s as co-ord ina to r .

Money: The BCTF, a s u s u a l , i s o u r b i g g e s t s u p p o r t e r f o r c o r e funding. The VMREU, which has supported u s f o r y e a r s , gave u s an un-asked-for c o s t o f l i v - i n g i n c r e a s e of $68 t h i s y e a r . HSA s e n t t h e i r u s u a l d o n a t i o n of $1,000 b e f o r e we had t ime t o a s k f o r i t . We r e c e i v e d o t h e r d o n a t i o n s from un ions & churches . For s p e c i f i c p r o j e c t s w e r ece ived money from United Way (pover ty k i t ) ; Oxfam, Van Dusen, Urban Rural Mission, C h a r t e r Chal lenges (confe rence) ; Legal Serv- i c e s (ELP n e w s l e t t e r ) ; Law Foundation (FLAWline); and Laidlaw Foundation ( food program work).

Educat ion: We s e n t i n f o o u t monthly t o ELP members and f r i e n d s , womens' cen- tres, FLAWline l i s t , and anyone else who asked . W e t r i e d t o make t h e s e m a i l - i n g s i n t o a s o r t of a l t e r n a t i v e media package w i t h news t h a t i s n ' t i n t h e d a i l y p r e s s . W e i nc luded minutes of v a r i o u s mee t ings , FLAWlines, ELP newsle t - ters, and i n f o on t o p i c s l i k e w e l f a r e f o r b u s i n e s s , e f f e c t s of f r e e t r a d e ,

1 GST, U I c u t s , p r i v a t i z a t i o n of t h e p o s t o f f i c e , pover ty f a c t s , v o t e r enumera- i t i o n , CPP, how t o f i g h t t h e crackdown on "employables", housing, i n f o from Pro I Canada Network. Some of t h e i n f o was des igned s o t h a t groups could copy i t and

c i r c u l a t e t o members . . f lye r s , pamphlets , l e t t e r s t o p o l i t i c i a n s , o r p o s t e r s . Thanks t o David J a f f e , o u r v o l u n t e e r who p u t s o u t t h e m a i l i n g once a month.

School Food Programs: ELP has been u s i n g t h e s t r u g g l e f o r a food program i n s c h o o l s t o broaden t h e base of peop le who f i g h t pover ty . I n Vancouver we work- ed t o broaden t h e e x i s t i n g program from 4 t o 12 s c h o o l s . Th i s p rocess has r a i s e d t h e needs of poor c h i l d r e n t o t h e t o p o f t h e agenda of a r i g h t l e a n i n g School Board. A confe rence on i n n e r c i t y s c h o o l s was h e l d i n t h e C i t y , a t t e n - ded by o u r P a t Chauncey. The School Board a l s o s e n t a b r i e f t o t h e House of Commons c a l l i n g f o r a n end t o pover ty and l i s t i n g ELP's ways t o end pover ty . Th i s shows t h a t u s i n g o u r t h e o r y of u s i n g h t e s t r u g g l e f o r a food program t o broaden o u r b a s e of peop le f i g h t i n g p o v e r t y does work and goes on t o have a l i f e of i t s own. I n a d d i t i o n , t h e k i d s g o t f e d .

I n V i c t o r i a , where we have helped TAPS work on a food program, t h e School Board j u s t passed a p r o v i n c i a l budget t o i n c l u d e $100,000 f o r a p i l o t schoo l lunch p r o j e c t i n 2 s c h o o l s . A f e l d g i n g group of low income moth- e r s working a g a i n s t c h i l d pover ty i s forming.

I n Sur rey a p i l o t program is a p o s s i b i l i t y . I n Nanaimo a committee i s work- i n g on t h i s . A l l of t h e s e p l a c e s have h e l d Chi ld Pover ty Forums. I n Burnaby we are o r g a n i s i n g f o r t h i s .

Union Suppor t : ELP wro te suppor t l e t t e r f o r Women i n t h e Civ ic Workforce paper on pay e q u i t y a t C i t y H a l l ; suppor ted BCGEU workers on s t r i k e a t Look- o u t w i t h l e t t e r s and p resence on p i c k e t l i n e ; gave speeches a t B . C . Fed Pay Equi ty confe rence , HSA; suppor ted CFU i n h e a l t h and s a f e t y campaign; c i r c u l - a t e d CLC Tradewatch t o ELP m a i l i n g l i s t ; suppor ted CUPW i n e f f o r t s t o p reven t p r i v a t i z a t i o n ; suppor ted garment workers on p i c k e t l i n e .

S p e c i a l L e a f l e t s and P o s t e r s : We produced p o s t e r s on t h e CPP r i p o f f by SS&H

and t h e GST. We produced l e a f l e t s on t h e 1989 f e d e r a l budget , t h e GST and t h e r i g h t s of peop le on w e l f a r e i f they a r e "employablett . Meetings, Even t s , Demos Organized: We organ ized a meet ing of community groups t o s e e i f we cou ld f i g h t f o r b e t t e r t r a n s i t ; he lped w i t h s u c c e s s f u l pover ty forums i n V i c t o r i a , Nanaimo, Sur rey and Vancouver; he lped w i t h t h e lobby t r i p t o V i c t o r i a o f Women f o r B e t t e r Wages; r e g u l a r ELP and FLAW meet ings; p l u s l o t s o f work on C o a l i t i o n Agains t Free Trade demos and e v e n t s .

Out of Vancouver Work: We d i d food program work i n Burnaby, Nanaimo, V i c t o r i a , , Kamloops and Sur rey ; met w i t h t h e Chi ld Pover ty Act ion Group and BASIC a n t i -

i

pover ty group i n Toronto; i n Nelson d i d workshops f o r Women's c e n t r e and a l o c a l s o c i a l j u s t i c e group; a t t e n d e d FAPG confe rence a t Naramata; C h a r t e r Com- m i t t e e on Pover ty i n Ottawa; PLURA meeting i n Ca lga ry ; gave workshop on food program i n Toronto; Calgary S t a t u s of Women h e a r i n g s on pover ty .

B r i e f s : To Ci ty of Vancouver on t r a n s i t , t o t h e P a r l i a m e n t a r y Committee on U I and GST, t o t h e Sena te on U I , t o Pa r l i amenta ry Committee on c h i l d pover ty , t o C i t y on F a l s e Creek rezon ing and R i l e y Park .

Talks and Speeches: To B . C . Fed on pay e q u i t y ; t o Pearson Col lege on p o v e r t y ; a t Mayday r a l l y on f e d e r a l budget ; a t P a c i f i c Group c o n f e r e n c e on c o a l i t i o n b u i l d i n g ; a t HSA convent ion on p o v e r t y ; 2 workshops a t Adult Ed. confe rence ; Capilano and Langara and UBC on pover ty ; Maywood home on w e l f a r e r i g h t s ; Cal- gary h e a r i n g on pover ty ; Lu the ran M i n i s t e r s on pover ty and c o r p o r a t e agenda; a t a l l t h e pover ty forums on pover ty .

C o a l i t i o n Agains t 'F ree ' Trade: We played a major p a r t i n t h i s c o a l i t i o n , o r g a n i s i n g meet ings , d e a l i n g w i t h minu tes , h e l p i n g t o o r g a n i s e t h e demo a t Canada P l a c e , demo a t Royal Bank on t h e Budget; t h e Budget Watch; Pan P a c i f i c demo; U I demo; GST workshops; Sweethear t d e a l demo. We a l s o c i r c u l a t e d l o t s of i n f o from t h e Pro Canada Network t o o u r m a i l i n g l i s t .

ISSUES WE WORKED ON INCLUDE - ........................... S i n g l e Mothers - Informed women of t h e i r r i g h t s r e s e e k i n g employment i f they

a r e on w e l f a r e . We c i r c u l a t e d abou t 1000 c o p i e s o f a le t ter r)c s igned by Claude Richmond promis ing t h a t s i n g l e p a r e n t s would n o t be f o r c e d t o s e e k employment. T h i s was a good weapon f o r women t o u s e ; we g o t l o t s of media coverage on t h i s i s s u e .

GST - Wrote and c i r c u l a t e d a r t i c l e s on GST; wro te and d i s t r i b u t e d pamphlets on GST t o low income peop le ; p r e s e n t e d b r i e f t o p a r l i a m e n t a r y committee on

GST; wrote news r e l e a s e s ; he lped t o o r g a n i s e Pro C a n a d a / ~ ~ C campaign f o r f a i r t a x e s ; helped develop and p r e s e n t workshop on a l t e r n a t i v e s t o t h e GST.

U I Cuts - Wrote b r i e f t o P a r l i a m e n t a r y Committee on U I ; he lped demo a g a i n s t U I c u t s ; he lped o r g a n i s e p r e s s u r e on Sena te t o ho ld up U I b i l l ; p r e s e n t e d b r i e d t o Sena te on U I c u t s ; c i r c u l a t e d i n f o t o ELP members and f r i e n d s on e f f e c t s .

C h a r t e r Committee on Pover ty - ELP j o i n e d t h i s committee and i s s e e k i n g t o deve lop a C h a r t e r c a s e on p o v e r t y i s s u e s .

I l l e g a l S u i t e s - P r e s e n t e d b r i e d t o c i t y h a l l on i l l e g a l s u i t e s i n R i l e y Park.

' ~ m p l o y a b l e s ' - When Claude Richmond wrote l e t t e r s t o 49,000 s o - c a l l e d "employ- able '" peop le on w e l f a r e t h r e a t e n i n g t o c u t them o f f i f t h e y

d i d no t s e a r c h f o r j o b s , ELP and FLAW and member groups o r g a n i s e d a campaign t h a t informed people of t h e i r r i g h t s , g o t good media coverage t h a t e x p l a i n e d t h e r e a l s i t u a t i o n of t h e "employables". Then we b i l l e d t h e M i n i s t r y f o r o u r e f f o r t s . We haven ' t been p a i d , b u t we k e p t peop le from b e i n g c u t o f f .

Housing - We p a r t i c i p a t e d i n t h e TRAC demo a t C i t y H a l l ; p r e s e n t e d b r i e f s t o C i t y on Ri ley Park and F a l s e Creek r e z o n i n g s ; c i r c u l a t e d i n f o on hous ing p o l i c i e s t o members.

Dign i ty P l a y e r s - We con t inued t o s u p p o r t Dign i ty P l a y e r s , a t h e a t r e group made up o f low income peop le who have p r e s e n t e d p l a y s on t h e

hous2pg s i t u a t i o n , w e l f a r e r a t e s , food banks and hungry c h i l d r e n .

nAWline and FLAW Meetings - We continued producing FLAWline and holding FLAW meetings monthly for frontline advocate workers.

These meetings are useful to advocates who attend. We get new requests every month for FLAWline which one women's centre called their "lifeline".

ELP Newsletter - The ELP Newsletter continues to be produced monthly and dis- tributed by volunteers in food line-ups and at community agen-

cies. People seem to look forward to getting it because they know it is on their side. Thanks to Billie Nash, Joan Holloway, Kevin Anett, Sandy Cameron and Les Gallus for all of their dependable volunteer work in distributing it.

1 ELP Fighting Poverty Conference - Held on Jan.26 & 27 with about 120 people

from around B.C. attending. Highlight of cultural component, with art, crafts, photos and poetry created by low income people. An evening of entertainment gained all many new friends; helped anal- yze our struggle in the context of the corporate agenda, and priorised the issues we need to act on for the next year.

END LEGISLATED POVERTY : 3 2 1 - 1 2 0 2

There is a monumental groundswell of grassroots national displeasure being expressed in solid volumes of G.S.T. denunciations, aimed directly at the perpetrators of the conserva- tive cartels that are supposed to be the government of Canada. In effect,

, a revolution of no small significance is taking place Canada-wide. It is no wonder the working citiz-

enry is up in arms, when the tax burden increases like an endless stream to a point that defies sanity. While we are being forced to "tigh-

ten our belts", the arrogant blow- hards in the Commons Zoo in Ottawa exult in their proliferation and ex- uberance with the limitless luxury handouts to both their personal and foreign friends. The conservatives are decaying

within their own ranks, having ass- ured themselves of-the~divlne pdwer of rule..rather than public service to those who mistakenly elected them. Too long have we suffered the ab-

omination of multiplied repetitions of defiance and abuse in silence, This nation is aroused, angered and vociferously bellicose. This is a

tax revolt, the same kind that ini- tiated the United States of America! So Ottawa's conservative majority

will by the will of the people, -9

disintegrate into oblivion from whence it came.

HOOHOO (. . .more?!)

The Mulroney conservative mis- management of Canada's affairs has definitely earned for itself the connotation of a devastating master- piece of mindless mediocrity at best, totally dedicated to defiance of the public will, and the perpetuity of incompetence, scandals and cover-ups galore. Add to all this an arrog- ance of unlimited proportions, equ- alled only by its unbearable hypo- crisy reflected in its self-ingrati- ating luxury of tax-financed puffery and chauffeur-driven affluence. And now about Meech Lake, free

trade and the ignominy of the GST.. take your pick, dear citizen; either way you are bewildered and boated by the baloney that Brian has peddled to the population. You have my comments !

HOOHOO

CONDITION CRIT ICAL:

'She P r o v i n c i a l Government i s f o r c i n g s c h o o l s t o ho ld what a r e c a l l e d REI:EI<ENI>UMS t o g e t more money t h a n t h e y , t h e Government , w i l l g i v e f o r c h i l d r e n . On SATURDAY, -- MAY 5 t h , a v o t e w i l l be h e l d i n Vancouver.

O N '1'11E BLOCK I S A FULL-TIME J O B I N C A K N E C l E LEARNING CEN'I'KE. O N THE BLOCK I S THE SCHOOL LUNCH PROGW1 'SILAT PEOPLE PlADE 'I'HE SCI100L BOAR11 SET UP TO FEED HUNGRY KIDS. ON 'THE BLOCK ARE LITERACY PKOGRAMS TO TEACH PEOPLE TO READ.

I f you v o t e d i n t h e C i v i c E l e c t i o n s i n 1988 y o u r name i s o n t h e v o t e r ' s l i s t . You d o n ' t h a v e t o b e a p r o p e r t y owner t o v o t e . You c a n r e g i s t e r t o v o t e on v o t i n g day a t t h e p o l l i n g s t a t i o n .

The p o l l i n g s t a t i o n f o r o u r community w i l l b e i n C a r n e g i e and w i l l be open f rom 8 : 0 0 a . m . t o 8 : 0 0 p.m. Because t h e b u i l d i n g d o e s n o t oven u n t i l 9 am, p e o p l e w i s h i n g t o v o t e b e f o r e t h e n , between 8 a m and 9 am, c a n g e t t o t h e T h e a t r e by u s i n g t h e d o o r which is n o r m a l l y t h e w h e e l c h a i r e n t r a n c e - t h e door on b l a i n s t .

Feed a child,