Castlégar ueOUUAHOGGOUOLEOOUGOOOOUUHONUUeNOUUOvoCOCceeduoqoqvogsnnoouenevoneeannoonvassuavonouonnsuvodousnduocensuuinnn TTT spirit and success wuanenninl HUtvucvusvutvusaavevnaynvoueoecoouevuiccseevngvuveeeecvnivcveuveonsveenieoveeeeuieaeveoonsevuaneeonaeeuaaensveuvenuseneeeneyntotsnnaevnnenvunagvnonnoneuoneeeevevovennnonin svanueeanueevvooennnnoensnenceeennoqoneengdgn ene Castlegar Olympic Celebration Crowds share in the FUN, FUN, FUN.. (clockwise from top right) Tammy Sookorukoff, last runner carries the replica torch into the Sateway parking lot; souvenir candles light up the parade to the complex; Bird's-eye view is need to see Celebration 88 video over the crowd; Olympic Coil raffle; Paul ipps (far right) receives a medal from Tim Barry, special assistant to Bob Brisco for his dedication to coaching, Pat Metge and Susan Campbell of Celebration 88 committe stand by; waiting for the torch light run to arrive at Safeway; this is what a cake walk is all about; carrying the flame along Broadwater Road; taking in an interesting display. CosNewsPhotos by Bonne Morgan BARGAIN HUNTERS SPECIAL ‘ Night, Double s 96 Ocoupenc; *Vancouver Coq 39. , -Minutes trom Lougheed Mall, Coquitlam Centr Gulidtord Town Centre an Exhibition Park New Westminster Quay -minutes trom -Plenty of free oversized Downtown Vancouver Parking -plenty of free parking Both Locations Just Off Highway #1 at 725 Brunette Ave., 3475 E. Hastings St Coquitiam, B.C. V3K 163 Vancouver, B.C. V5K 2A5 Tol: 625-7777 Tel: 294-47 Toll Free Both Locations 1-800-663-2233 “Subject to 2 nights stay offer valid to May 15, 1988 The Board of School Trustees of School District No. 9 (Castlegar) invites the. General Public to present briefs for its 1988-89 Operating Budget. Meetings will be held on: 88.02.08 Commencing at 15:00 at the School Board Office, 865 Columbia Avenue, Castlegar. Appointments will be arranged for groups and individuals at 15 minute in- tervals. Written briefs should be submit- ted to the School Board Office on o before 88.02.04. To be placed on the Agenda, please contact the School Board Office at 365- 7731. Board of School Trustees School District No. 9 (Castlegar) Proudly KOOTENAY BROADCASTING SYSTEM Presents Ala ng Cominco Gym TRAIL, B.C. Tuesday, Feb. 23rd :00 p.m. Tickets: $13 Advance/$15 at Door AVAILABLE AT: TRAIL: L&J Books, Parks & Rec. Office NELSON: Oliver's Books CASTLEGAR: Pete's TV ROSSLAND: Alpine Drugs CRESTON: Summitt Music By DAPHNE BRAMHAM Canadian Press VICTORIA intended to ease British Columbians’ access to government officials, programs and money, especially those who live far away from the power centres of Vancouver and Victoria. And Premier Bill Vander Zalm is as positive now about his decentralization plan as he was early last fall, when he named eight ministers of state and gave them each $1 million a year to get a start on economic development in their region. “It’s only been in place a few months,” he said recently in defence of charges of little action. ertainly soon, I expect we'll see the results taking shape very nicely.” But aside from one loan application being approved, a mini hiring boom in Victoria and a spate of meetings and new committees, there are few details about how decentraliza- tion will work and little evidence that anything has changed. Victoria's development commissioner, Ken Stratford, calls it “really very woolly, It's like wrestling with the fog. The eight ministers of state who are already cabinet ministers receive no additional pay and, in all but two regions — Nechako and Kootenay — they represent their own constituency areas. Each region also got a parliamentary secretary — Social Sredit backbenchers earning an extra $3,000 a year. The heavily populated Lower Mainland has two. Eight regional economic development officers have been hired, with salaries in the $40,000 range and offices in the legislature buildings. Also new in Victoria is a\ program co-ordinator\working from the premier's office. ven liaison officers are working out of government agents’ offices in the regions, although some may soon be riding around their areas in fully equipped motorhomes. DOESN'T CARE But even the government-touted, first beneficiary of the program isn’t sure — nor does he care whether it was decentralization or good, old-fashioned lobbying that got him Send flowers to USSR MOOSE JAW, Sask. (CP) — Canadians can now send flowers to relatives and friends in the Soviet Union. An agreement that allows members of FTD — Florist Transworld Delivery — in Canada and the United States to exchange orders with Soviet florists went into effect on Jan. 1. There are 17 FTD florists in the Soviet Union, all in the republic of Estonia, but others will be available next summer in major Soviet cities such as Moscow, Len- Vancouver. B.C. ingrad and Kiev. DAI MAKES SENSE 5 BRAND NEW STELLAR CL 2LITREENGINE © POWER STEERING CASSETTE DECK With Every New Car Purchase! * From Pete's TV in Castlegar! = 43te MANY MORE STANDARD FEATURES! (VEL We Have — An Excellent Selection To Choose BRAND NEW PONY eel 26 Per ¢ Atl SEASON RADIAL TIRES » FULL SIZE SPARE FROST * QUARIZ HALOGEN HEADLIGHTS, PLUS MANY MORE STANDARD FEATURES Total Price $11,397 Plus Many More Standard Features 1984 CITATION 1986 PONY 1981 MERC 4-DOOR, AIR LYNX WAGON Reg. $6,995 SALE PRICE Reg. $7995. DISCOUNT $ DISCOUNT $1700. 5,295 $1695 $ SALE PRICE Reg. $3,995 SALE PRICE 300 Se" $2,795 1980 RABBIT 1984 GMC S-15 1981 CITATION Reg. $5,995 Reg. $ Reg. $6,349. SALE PRICE ent a : oicoun $6, 29 5S — GED CASTLEGAR Dealer That ~h4" 8 =!= Makes Sense”’ Call 1.800.332.7087 or 365-7241 BILL VANDER ZALM still positive a $400,000 loan to equip his plant to b 500 pre-fabricated homes for export to Japan. After Jack Clayton's loan request was rejected by cabinet in November, he went for help to John Jansen, his Soered representative in the Fraser Valley who is also a Lower Mainland parliamentary secretary. “Within two or three weeks, we had the approval,” said Clayton. “I was impressed.” Decentralization hasn't impressed the usually suppor. tive medium and large corporations represented by the Business Council of B.C. “We're pretty neutral,” said president Jim Matkin. “We don't know will hurt or help . . . It’s hard to understand what it's really supposed to do. Vander Zalm denies the government is withholding information. “What perhaps might have been explained more is the fact that these regions should be built from the bottom up, in other words, the decision-making and what it is they're involved with, and how, should be decided at ‘the local level,” he said in an interview. SPREAD OUT But Stratford says British Columbia already ad ministers more of its services in the regions than any other province in Canada. “We have a situation where only 29 per cent of the provincial government's workforce is in the capital,” he said. “In the rest of the provinces, it's between 46 and 76 per cent.” Stratford, who feared civil service layoffs and empty offices in the capital city, was assured by Vander Zalm that the program's impact on Victoria will be minimal. But he’s still leery. “I wish somebody would hand me an agenda and tell me what the hell it is they are supposed to be achieving,” he said. Oksana Exell, a spokesman for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, says some of the 6,500 small business operators in B.C. are confused about whom they should appraach if they need government help. Should they call their elected member? Their parlia mentary secretaries? Their minister of state? Their economic development officer in Victoria? Or the liaison officer in the region? There is no simple answer. In the huge northern region of Nechako, liaison officer Barry Carter is the main contact, But his situation is unique largely because neither the regional minister, Highways Minister Stephen Rogers, nor parliamentary secretary Larry Chalmers, is elected from the area GATHERS INFO On specific proposals, Carter gathers information from local committees, ministry resource people and from regional economic development officer Val Richards in Victoria. From there he takes it to either Chalmers or Rogers. In the Kootenays, liaison officer Tom Greene said his role has been mainly to organize meetings and bring together local working groups. What role he will play in Special projects hasn't been determined. In the Lower Mainland-Southwest region, 350 business and local government representatives were invited to an inaugural meeting compared with 90 in the northeast. Other regions’ invitation lists fell somewhere in between, while Nechako's minister visited local government officials and business groups individually From those meetings, ministers are choosing as few as five people or as many as 30 for their economic development and social services committees. New Democrat Robin Blencoe, who represents Victoria, says this practice usurps the role of members of the legislature and municipal officials. “Unelected committees are making decisions instead of " he said. “It’s undemocratic and it's a Exell, on the other hand, said there are too many people involved to accomplish anything. “If you assemble that number of peo, you're not going to come up with objectives, you ask a committee to design a horse, you'd end up with a camel. With 350 people, ‘you couldn't even get a camel. LOOKING AT NEEDS Vander Zalm maintains that “a great deal is happening. “The process has only been in place a few months but already we're able to identify not only savings but ways of doing things more effectively and establishing industries in those outlying regions.” Shannon Messer, who works for the town of Gold River on the west coast of Vancouver Island, has been aggres- sively trying to attract development to the town. She was excited about decentralization after meeting regional mimister Stan Hagen, 36 hours after his appoint- ment. But her enthusiasm waned while she waited three months for further contact Messer already has a network of government officials in Victoria she calls for help and doesn’t expect Frances Norris, the Victoria-based economic development officer, can do much better. UBCM opposes taxes VANCOUVER (CP) — The troduced a motion that was Union of B.C. Municipal: passed by the legislature, in wants the provincial govern- structing its standing com ment to abandon a proposal mittee on finance, Crown for a uniform industrial tax corporations and government rate across British Columbia, services to examine and says Richard Taylor, the make recommendations on a union's executive director. proposed uniform industrial Such a rate would erode property tax rate local government authority Instead of municipalities to set tax rates, he said setting individual rates in Tuesday. their communities for in Finance Minister Mel Cou- dustrial property taxes, velier~said the government there would be a single rate. has not yet taken a position The taxes would be collected on the issue. and the revenues distributed Last month, Couvelier in- to municipalities by the pro- vincial government class for large corporations. In an interview, Couvelier The special category for said that while the munici- large, resource-related _ in. palities’ concerns about the dustrial enterprises such as proposal are valid, the in- pulp mills and mines will dustrial community also is enable local governments to concerned that municipalities tax them at a differet rate might abuse increased tax- from other classes. ( ation powers recently given In the past, heavy and light them by the provine industries were in the same “It is appropriate that this be considered by all-party ylor said any fears committee, and that’s what industry of municipal gov we're doing,” he said. ernments abusing their tax. Last month the govern ation authority are un. ment introduced legislation founded because local gov creating a separate property ernments have acted re sponsibly in the past He said many municipali ties have long-term debts calculated on future tax rev this financial planning in jeo- enues and the system Cou velier proposed would put Saturday, January 30, NEW TO TRAIL 1988 pardy In addition, if industrial tax revenues are not guar: | anteed, he said, municipali ties may think twice about EXCITING new’ photo display advertising concept. Let us adver- providing incentives tise for you with our 4x6 colour photographs of: ° Houses * Rental Accommodation ¢ Cars © Condominiums ¢ Trucks © Boats * Miscellaneous °* Business Services Excellent exposure, display and presentation. NO commissions, NO charge for photographs. 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