People and Events

Maple Ridge (B.C.) Community Church has a new address: 301-20450 Dewdney Trunk Rd., Maple Ridge, B.C. V2X 3E3. The new phone number is 604-465-4211.

Pines Bible Camp in Grand Forks, B.C. has a new address: 10005 North Fork Rd., Grand Forks, B.C. V0H 1H8. Office phone: 250-442-2001; camp phone: 250-442-3316; fax: 250-442-0293.

The May 11, 1998 cover story in Maclean's magazine was devoted to "The Curse of Casinos". The 55 casinos in Canada earn $2.5 billion a year, with governments taking $1.2 billion of that. Police say that after a casino was established in the Niagara area, loan-sharking and extortion increased dramatically, the crime rate rose 10%, and reported cases of counterfeit money rose from 129 in 1996 to 693 in 1997. Many casinos extend credit, at no interest, to be paid back within one to four weeks. "Cashcall" machines at casinos permit loans of up to $70 for a fee of $14.25, or $7,050 for a fee of $179.25; users are subject to normal credit-card cash advance terms. Automated bank machines in casinos, which will dispense money but will not accept deposits, have earned a reputation as the casino's most dangerous machines. Child abandonment is an unanticipated problem, leading to 11 chargesincluding one criminal charge of abandonment against a couple who left their two-year-old child sleeping in a casino arcade at 2:30 a.m f the General Conference Mennonite Church; and George Stoltzfus, general secretary of the Mennonite Church. A bolder statement, calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons altogether, was signed by Canadian church leaders, including Marv Frey, MCC Canada executive director, and was sent to the Canadian government in February. Since 1945, there have been 2,051 known nuclear tests worldwide. The US has conducted more than half of the tests and is the only country to have used nuclear weapons in war.

The Indian Catholic Press Association, at its fourth national convention in Calcutta, India, issued a statement April 23 condemning violence by Hindu militants against clergy and the church in nine Indian states: Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The statement criticized political leaders for failing to implement directives of the National Human Rights Commission. The ICPA also demanded that the government of Bihar punish those indicted by the National Commission for Minorities for beating a Catholic priest and parading him naked through the town of Dumka.

Darrel Reid is the new president and CEO of Focus on the Family Canada, effective June 1. He has been chief of staff for Preston Manning, leader of the Reform Party, since July, 1996. Prior to this, he was director of policy and research for the Reform caucus for more than two years. He worked for Queen's University in Kingston, Ont. 1986-94, mainly as a manager of publishing and information services, and briefly as a history professor. He has a B.A. from the University of Regina, an M.A. from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. from Queen's University. Reid, who is anxious to maintain a Canadian identity for the Canadian branch of the organization, says, "The core issues of concern for the family [in Canada] are the same [as in the US]. However, how they are applied in Canada will be different."

Fresno Pacific University received a $6.4 million US grant April 14 from the Activities Integrating Mathematics and Science (AIMS) Education Foundation. Three million dollars will be used to build and equip a math/science/technology centre. Two million dollars will be used to endow faculty chairs in science and mathematics. The foundation also promised $500,000 for up to 100 half-tuition graduate scholarships in math/science/technology, and $320,000 for 32 undergraduate scholarshipsto be awarded over the next five years. AIMS was founded in 1981 by Arthur Wiebe, former FPU president, and the late Larry Ecklund, former graduate school faculty member. Original funding for AIMS came from the University and the National Science Foundation.

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