a3) Janvary 15, 1989 ( ‘astlegar News AS F'B'D'B A representative of the Bank will be in’ CASTLEGAR on JANUARY 18, 1989 to discuss your Business’ Financial and Managment needs. Why not call Us. today at 426-7241 to arrange an appointment January 15, 1989 Remember when 40 YEARS AGO From the Jan; 13, 1949 Castlegar News Date for the Court of Revision has been set for Tuesday, Feb, 8th. Assessment notices will be sent out of the debate over its decision. “We are here today to discuss, challenge, criticize and suggest changes to current policy,” Cheston said. “However, in conducting this dialogue and in evaluating forest policy, we must work from an informed perspective, We must continually challenge those who would’ use ignorance, half-truths and misrepresentations of the facts to discredit all of the accomplishments that are being achieved in forest Castlégar News MAEAABER OF THE B.C: PRESS COUNCH, ESTABLISHED AUGUST). 194 TWICE WEEKLY MAY INCORPORATING THE ANID WEEK MIRROR PUBLISHED SEIPEANBER 12.1978 AUGUSI 27. 1980 Weekly stocks TORONTO (CP) The. Toronto and New York stock markets edged up Friday, but slowed the pace of the early 1989 rally that has pushed the markets to new post-crash highs. The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index rose 6.15 points to Sawmill closures LV CAMPBELL PUBLISHER AUGUST). 1947 FEBRUARY 15.1979 PUBLISHER — Burt C Symor Gary Fleming Lo Bongve offre ses services Linda Kositsin 4 jeux langues officielles CIRCULATION MANAGER — Heather Hadley Put fears to rest The iriéreasing amounts of British Columbia tand and buildings. being purchased by Hong Kong and other Asian investors notably in the Lower Mainland, has kindled widespread public debate on the matter of foreign ownership. ¢ The debate is healthy, and timely ~ ) As the Vancouver Province comments: “The worst thing w# can do is not talk about it (the ‘beying spree’ by Asians). We need to clear away the myths and separate the fears from the valid concerns Maybe these fears are simply racism. If'so, let's make. that clear to everyone : Residents of the West Kootenay will find the debate strikingly familiar, The ‘late H.W. (Bert) Herridge, longtime Kootenay West CCF/NDP MP, almost single handedly got the provincial government to stop the sale of crown-owned watertront property in favor of a lease policy. He also spoke out strongly, and frequently, against the purchase at tax sales of private pro; ery by Americans, particularly potential recreational lands ~ The more things change, the more things stay the same. The arguments are much the saine in this present controversy as in the West Kootenay issue. Only the players have changed While a good, hard look at offshore ownership of B.C. proper ty is not too late, such an inquiry shouldn't be restricted to offshore ownership. A comprehensive look into property ownership by non residents from any country should be undertaken Energy Minister Jack Davis, one of| the provincial cabinet's most erudite members, notes in a letter to the Trail Times tha Australia has banned the foreign purchase of homes outright while Hawaii, he says, is moving in the same direction. In the continental U.S., “individual states are dusting off old laws aimed at absentee landowners in Europe, the Orient and elsewhere Mr-Davis noting that immigration is a federal matter while property matters are provincial, remarks that while foreign-invest- ment is welcome “regardless of country of origin, race, color or creed,” we must ‘set ceilings on the amounf of land they can buy in dividually and hold, on-population-growth in the Lower Mainland, on people densities, modes of transport, pollution and environmental damage of all kinds : An Unbiased inquiry is necessary to determine the facts, to separate them from any fiction receiving widespread general cir culation One particularly serious issue, as we see it, is no different in Castlegar than in Vancouver. in that beautiful coastal city an of shore investor comes in, believes real estate is undervalued relative to his own country, and\pays a “ridiculous” price. In Castlegar, a Vancouver resident is transferred here, comes into our community compares a house offered here with one he had in:Vancouver and pays “far too much” (to the joy of the Castlegar vendor) \f a Castlegar resident were unfortunate enough to lose his parents and inherit their Vancouver home, would he really like restrictions on who he could sell to? Wouldn't he like to get as much as he could and sell to the highest bidder? Facts are needed for the people of British Columbia to assess and to provide the provincial government with the valid intormation needed to formulate policy Where do present buyers live, and how much property (and what kinds and in what quantities) are they buying? Where are they buying, and what benefits or drawbacks result from these pur chases? Like so many subjects, the one of property ownership is an emotional issue. As such, no inquiry will satisfy the concerns of everyone. Bur the provincial government should give people a chan ce to express their concerns, and attempt — with any legislation considered desirable to put those tears to rest As the Vancouver Province concludes: “Maybe* our open market is taking us places we don't want to go. Suddenly we're rot sure just what it is we're selling. So let's find out ? Why the secrecy? Castlegar Ald. Terry Rogers took a stand this week which we commend. Ald. Rogers at Tuesday's city council meeting proposed a series of motior’s designed to clarify Mayor Audrey Moore's role on council's standing committees, to formalize a pracedure for getting items on council's meeting agenda and to make sure all council members are ‘kept fully informed of all mattess pertaining to the good government and management of the city That four council members — Mayor Moore, and Aldermen Albert Calderbank, Marilyn Mathieson and Doreen Smecher voted to reter all but one of the motions to a closed session of council we find disturbing. (The motion on information sharing passed only because Ald. Mathieson abstained from voting.) Why do those four council members find it necessary to discuss and debate behind closed doors matters relating to how council deals with the public's business? In our opinion, council's formulation or revision of its procedural bylaws should take place in an open session of council in full view of the public Although we weren't privy to how they did it, we're happy to see Ald. Rogers and his colleagues reached. some compromises during the closed session. But do the compromises go far enough to assuage public concerns? For example, council now has a procedural bylaw which states that any council member may submit. items for inclusion_on the proposed meeting agendas but only after the mayor has “endorsed the items. That word “endorse” has Ald. Rogers worried about the mayor's control over council's agendas. We, too, feel that the in clusion of “endorse” gives the mayor too much power over what mat ters of public interest get placed on the agenda As for the mayor's role as ex officio member of council's stan ding committees, we commend her for agreeing not to be a fourth voting member of the committees even though she will continue to sit as an ex officio member We felt four voting members of a standing committee which, if they attagreed, would comprise a majority of the seven- member council — could have led to the full council becoming just a rubber stamp for decisions made at the committee level However, we still feel that Major Moore has not fully ex plained her reasons for wanting to sit as an ex. officio member of the committees. At Tuesday's council meeting, she said she would “attempt to give guidance, history and direction" to the committees F She also argued that all council members are welcome to drop in on meetings of committees of which they are not members, to discuss issues but not to vote So now, that Mayor Moore has agreed to.no longer vote as a member of the committees, is her role as ex officio member merely symbolic? Time, we suppose, will tell to discover so much oil! ~ Letters to the editor Tradition broken Everyone| has-heard the-story_of the office boy or girl who later becomes. president of the company. But who has heard of the story where the office girl becomes president of the firm in her first day on the job? Well, that’s What seems to have happened to Ald. Doreen Smeécher. Mayor Audrey Moore appointed Ald. Smecher chairman of Castlegar council's administration and finance committee _and_a member of the planning and development commit tee and the works and services committee. All three committees are considered the “heavyweight” com mittees of council; they usually carry the greatest workload, responsibility and power Ald. Smecher’s appointment as chairman of the administration and finance committee — arguably the foremost committee of council — was particularly surprising. That- com mittee chairmanship is usually re. served for seasoned council veterans. I can't recall in the seven years that I attended Castlegar council meetings the chairmanship of the administra tion and finance committee ever going to a rookie alderman. In fact, I can't recall any alderman being ap pointed to all of the “big three” com mittees, let alone a rookie alderman. To. be fair to Ald. Smecher, while she is a novice on council, she is not a political neophyte. She has been a trustee on the Castlegar school board for nine years (and still is), and spent some of those years as chairman. And. her inexperience on council could be overlooked. if_others—on council had even less political experi. ence. But is that the case? Hardly. In fact, the opposite is true. Every other alderman — without exception — has more experience on Castlegar council than Ald. Smecher. Ald. Marilyn Mathieson, who was newly elected in November along with Ald. Smecher, served 1'/2 terms on council earlier this decade. Ald. Albert Calderbank has been on council for more than 10 years. Aldermen Terry Rogers and Patti Richards are both in their second terms, while Ald. Lawrence Chernoff is in the second year of his first term. So,-the-only-raw-rookie on-councit is Ald. Smecher. Yet, she is handed all_the plum committees, including the biggest plum of all —the chair manship of the administration and finance committee. To top it off, the appointments fly in the face o' council tradition — a tradition upheld byMayor—Moore—untilthis— year. Usually, newly elected aldermen chair the three “minor” ‘committees health and welfare, protective services, and parks and recreation. It is a of ‘apprenticeship. This allows the aldermen not only to learn how the system works, but also how to work the system. That tradition proved|its worth on Tuesday night in the very first meeting of 1989. As chairman of the administration and finance commit tee, Ald. Smecher introduced the city’s 1989 provisignal budget. This is nearly $7 million worth of your sort money and mine. And immediately her inexperience was evident. She was simply unaware of the procedure for approving the budget. In the school board system the provisional budget: is submitted to the provincial government for ap proval. Individual items can’ be altered in the final budget, but the overall figure can only be decreased — not increased. Ald. Smecher ap peared ready to ask if the same situation applies for Castlegar coun: cil. She got as far as asking about submitting the city budget for approval when the mayor cut her off, explaining that council does not submit its budget to Victoria, but has control over taxation. ‘ So here we have the chairman of the administration and finance com mittee unaware of how the system works. That's. not unusual; most rookie aldermen are. But that is pre cisely the reason why rookie alder men are-not appointed to positions like chairmanship of the administra tion and finance committee. It is the same reason the office girl is not made president of the company in her first day on the job. Since the mayor is respogsible for making the appointments, it makes one Wonder just why she appointed Ald. Smecher as chairman of the administration and finance commit. tee and as a member of the two other “weighty” committees, Is it part of a political agenda? Ron Norman Castlegar Westar replies This is in resporise to the letter of Mel McMullen in the Dec. 20, 1988 edition -of the Castlegar News. I would like to thank Mr. McMullen for his interest in our Management and Working Plan No. 7 and his obvious concern that TFL 23 should be properly managed. The’ forests, lakes, rivers and mountains in this region’ make it one of the most beautiful areas in B.C.-and-these re. sources must be carefully managed to ensure that we can enjoy them for a Jong time to come. I do, however, take exception to Mr. MeMullen’s approach of attack ing us in the newspaper. The process of approval for Management and Working Plan No. 7 included having the document available for review for a reasonable period of time at several public locations and comments were invited by both Westar Timber and the Ministry of Forests. The comments that were received were taken seriously and. will be incorporated into the final approved plan. Mr. MeMullen has not cooper - ated in this process, He makes many twisted remarks which have been taken out of the context of the plan He has never contacted us to discuss his concerns. Rather he urges readers. to “complain like hell.” Westar Timber has worked hand in hand with the Ministry of Forests and the public to ensure that the final plan would be of the highest calibre. If Mr. McMullen is truly concerned about the management of TFL 23 I suggest that he should contact us, and discuss his cpfiérns in person As a final ¢omment, Westar Policies Our government's endorsement of the U.S. attack on two Libyan jets in the Mediterranean made me really ashamed to call myself a Canadian. The government's original position of not taking sides until all the facts were known seemed reasonable to me, but when our ministers changed their minds the néxt day after talking to George Schultz, but without talking to the Libyans, it your Timber does not contribute to the ‘orests Forever” advertising cam. paign put on by other forest companies. We are, however, leaders in the private funding of refores tation of public lands and were spending our own money on refor estation long before it became law. Gordon Murray, R.P.F. Southern Regional Woodlands Manager obvious made it quite clear to the world who was deciding Canadian foreign pol icy. With a foreign policy like ours, it's no wonder we call our Minister of External Affairs Joke Lark. Who do you suppose would be con sidered the aggressor if Libya was doing military manoeuvres 15 nauti cal miles off the U.S. coast? Rod Retzlaff Glade More letters, page A5 in a few days to all taxpayers. * . Garbage collection notices will be sent out in a few days, payments of which were due on Dec. 31st last. The CM&S Board of Directors of the Pension Fund Society, agreed in principal to the granting of housing loans to employees of the CM&S residents within Castlegar, provided that they conform strictly to our society's normal regulations, pea ame At the Decemiber meeting of St. Alban's W.A. officers elected were: President Mrs. A.T. Horswill, vice president Mrs. J. Kelly, secretary Mrs. C.W. Petts and treasurer Mrs. H. Westwood. The first business meeting of St Alban's W.A. for 1949 was held at the home or Mrs. Kelly, Jan. 6, 1949. 25 YEARS AGO From the Jan. 16, 1964 Castlegar News The CBC-TV rebroadcaster being built here to serve Castlegar, Kin naird and the surrounding area will go on the air Friday, Jan. 31. It will operate on channel 3 with a power of five watts. * Canadian and United States nego- tiators have reached agreement on the huge Columbia River hydro and fleod—eontrel—project—it was amr nounced Monday night in Ottawa. External Affairs Minister Martin, at the end of a meeting with U.S, and B.C. representatives, said he hopes for a_signing of the accord shortly. * * With ratification of the Columbia River Treaty by the House of Com. mons the only remaining step before construction can-start on the three treaty projects, Rossland-Trail MLA Don Brothers has called on Koot enay-West MP H.W. Herridge to support the treaty and draft protocol when they are presented to the Commons’ external affairs commit. tee. Mr. Brothers said Mr. Herridge “had better speak on behalf of the people of this area and forget about his vendetta against this plan.” 15 YEARS AGO From the Jan. 17, 1974 Castlegar News Every person eligible to vote in the new city created Jan. 1 by the amal. gamation of the twin towns of Castlegar and Kinnaird will have their say in what name the city will carry. Municipal Affairs Minister James Lorimer said he is prepared to offer either a $500 prize or a scholarship for a local competition to give a new name to the community. He has left the method and conducting of the contest and the means by which entries are to be judged to the intreim council. e 168 Ce The new city of Castlegar-Kinnaird is in need of another dentist to ease the workload now being carried by the two local dentists. | A former Stanley Humphries graduate and now assistant registrar for the department of education in Victoria, Earl Cherrington, has been named one of five men selected to go to South Africa ona scholarship tour sponsored by the Rotarians. e- « « If the-Heart foundation is not re- ceiving funds from United Appeal they will be allowed to canvass the city for three hours during Heart Sunday, Feb. 24 5 YEARS AGO From the Jan. 15, 1984 Castlegar News A spectacular house fire Friday afternoon near Stanley Humphries secondary school resulted in about $50,000 damage, though no one was injured Castlegar Fire Chief Bob Mann said the fire broke out shortly before 2:45 p.m. at the Stan Bohnet resi. dence, 714-10th Ave. * Provincial cuts in school board budgets, along with declining: stu dent enrolment may spell the end for Castlegar's pioneering Russian im. mersion program. The pilot_program closes out its first year J, 30, and has 19 students enroll half-time in Russ ian kindergarten at Castlegar pri mary school * * -« Kootenay-West has received an additional $539,100 in federal job creation funding, MP Lyle Kristian sen announced this week. Together with the original $450,000 allocated for Canada Works projects earlier this winter, that brings the total amount of federal job creation funding in Kootenay-West to nearly: $1 million. VANCOUVER (CP) - closures in British Columbi products industry said have gone,” there have been mill closures. which he said lumber sector. ed the B.C. likely? The likelihood of sawmill is growing because the grip of low Jumber prices and high timber prices_on mill owners is tightening, a leader of the forest “Already across the country a number of shifts said Mike Apsey of the Council of Forest Industries. “I don’t have details on which mills have lost shifts, but a number have done so. And I am told by my colleagues in Ontario and elsewhere that “If markets deteriorate further then we will see mill closures... There's no question.” Apsey made his comments after a speech at the anpual Truck Loggers Association convéntion’ in lark clouds are gathering over the Meanwhile, a Forests Ministry officials defend. government's decision to increase the number of tree farm licences in the province. Wes Cheston, an assistant deputy minister, told log haulers the government is not-happy with some management today.” INCREASED COST In September 1987, the government announced changes in the way it prices, manages and renews forests. It increased the cost of much of its timber and shifted to industry much of its forest manage: ment responsibilities. The loggers association has led the attack on the policy, with the NDP and environmental groups. It believes one consequence of the policy will be gore of the province's forests under the control of fewer companies. Cheston reviewed concerns raised, “By converting forest licences and timber sale licences into tree farm licences, so the argument goes, we will be concentrating cutting rights into fewer licences,” he said. “However, the number of major licenseees and the nature of the rights they hold will not change. In fact, the aggregate AAC (annual allowable cut) of these licensees may be reduced as a result of the 10-per-cent takeback.” The government has decided to take back 10 per cent of the harvest from each licence it agrees to turn into a tree farm licence. that have been close at 3,492.41, stretching the gain for the week to 73.23 points. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials rose 3,75.points to close at 2,226.07, finishing the week with a gain of 31:78 points The small gains suggest opening year enthusiasm is continuing, said Toronto-based analyst Marshall Mill er of Midland Doherty, “January is often quite a good month,” he said. The New York market managed to recover despite news of a smaller. than-expected gain in retail sales last month, The U.S. Commerce Department reported that retail sales increased 0.2 per cent in December, a much smaller gain than analysts had esti mated, Brokers said blue-chip stocks were faced with some selling as investors cashed in on the substantial gains re cently In Toronto, advancers outnum bered decliners 368 to 312 with 409 B.C. Tel sells Microtel VANCOUVER (CP) — ‘Northern Telecom will take over about 60 per cent of the business ‘of the B.C. Telephone Co. subsidiary Microtel to strengthen Microtel’s position in a __competitive market, the companies ‘announced B.C. Tel and Northern Telecom have’ signed a memorandum of un- derstanding that- will-see Northern Telecom own and operate Microtel's bread-and-butter switching manufac turing plant in Brockville, Ont., said Gordon MacFarlane, B.C. Tel’s chairman and chief executive officer. Neither MacFarlane nor Robert Tel it didn't Ferchat, Northern Telecom's presi dent, would disclose the amount of a part of B.C. cre’ employment in British Columbia.”’ issues unchanged Friday on a volume of 24,570,024 shares traded worth $310,600,447. Ten of the index’s 14 industry groups gained, led by real estate and ate construction, up 0.52 per cent, and transportation, up 0.40 per cept. “Bons les BACKING INDEPENDENT BUSINESS Fedetal Busine: Bonque tederale penal ® Bank Canadit CENTRAL FOODS SPECIALS BLACK FOREST SLICED /SHAVED POTATO OLD DUTCH HAPPY COUNTRY CROCK V4 UB TUB NO. 1 QUALITY BOLOGNA OLD NIPPY CHEESE SCNEIDERS ~99° BRUNSWICK SARDINES ASST. FLAVORS, ..69° We reserve the right to limit quantities Prices limited to stock on hand PRICES EFFECTIVE SUN., MON., TUES., WED. OPEN SUNDAYS 10 a.m.-5 p.m. * CENTRAL FOOD Community Owned & Operated 2717 Columbia, Cast the sale, which they-predicted would _ close by June. Both men-and Premier-Bill Vander Zalm, who also attendéd the news conference, downplayed the shift of ownership of Microtel’s - Brockville plant, which employs about 1,600 people, and focused on the new joint company, which has yet to-be named “It is true that the Brockville operation will no longer be a part of B.C. Tel,”’ MacFarlane said. ‘But as Letters to the editor Water quality worries users We, as concerned Robson/Rasp berry water users, would ‘like to bring to the attention of all people using Pass Creek as their domestic water supply, the dangerous’ situa tion that now exists with our water supply As all of you know, there are-cer tain times in the year when we need to boil our drinking water to ensure that it is safe to drink. This should not be necessary On-any given day, you can drive through the Pass Creek area and see cattle wandering on the partially frozen creek bed, drinking at water holes and at the same time urinating and defecating on the ice. This ice will soon be melting and the urine and feces will be mixed in our drink ing water causing the bacteria count to soar Where are the fences to keep the livestock back from the creek, fences that are far enough back to keep the muck in the fields from leeching into our drinking water? In other places along Pass Creek Road, old automobiles lay stacked month, or 6 months al or-even a year. Las along the banks of the creek leaching oil, transmissidn fluid, anti-freeze and other liquids into. our water supply. Fish farms and pig farms may soor™ be adding their own pollutants to this soup. We need action now! Where are the bureaycrats, those from environment, water manage. ment, aid water rights, whose job it is to ensure a safe supply of potable water for down-stream use. There are 2,500 people who rely on this downstream water supply. Whose best interest is at stake? eligible to to receive 1 of the difference Do we, the . Robson/Raspberry water users, have to boil our water ‘orever to avoid Giardia and other intestinal diseases? We believe this issue deserves the prompt action of all health and envir onmental agencies to ensure an im. mediate solution to this dangerous situation. Calgary Astrid Austin Sandra Groepler RETURN | =*100 BOOK BEFORE FEBRUARY OUR VERY BEST B THROUGHOUT We can’t hold these year round incredible low fares at these super low levels for much longer. On February 1, Super SkySavers are going up. So book now and cash in on savings for your trip next head, year's prices on this year’s travel! And here’s our Super SkySavers™ Price Guarantee. Should we decrease the fare for your travel date between the time you purchase your ticket and the time you travel, you'll be 00% Montreal Sandra Wyllie Robson Campbell River Tracy Burgess belore SAVE $14.50 Pay only $7.50 to join INTRODUCING WEIGHT WATC! NEW 1989 QUICK SUCCESS’ PROGRAM. Weight Watchers wants you to be happy. 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