OPINION | 26, 1995 WY, The Caetl Gar Sun AWS Serving the 10,000 people of the Castlegar Area, The Castlegar Sun is published every Wednesday by Sterling Newspapers Lid. at 465 Columbia Ave. Castlegar, B.C. VIN 1G8. The Castlegar Sun is politi cally independent and a member of the Sterling News Service, Canadian C: . B.C, Cr Assocation, and the 8.C. Press Council. Established 28, 1990. Px Mail 10420. PUBLISHER MARILYN STRONG RON NORMAN CHRISTINE MOYER ACTING EDITOR PRODUCTION MANAGER IKHOFF TRICIA LAKTIN ROOnTEA % PRODUCTION ASSISTANT JEFF GABERT CATHERINE ROSS SPORTS REPORTER/PHOTOGRAPHER = ADVERTISING REP. MARGE LALONDE NICOLE BEETSTRA OFFICE/CIRCULATION MANAGER ~=—- ADVERTISING REP. CARI ROHN FRED JACK CLASSIFIED ADS ADVERTISING REP. »» Direct Department Phones General Office seses1 1965-5266 Circulation 365-5266 Classified Ads 365-7848 Display Advertising 365-2278 Newsroom 365-5579 Fax ... 365-7762 * ve, 4 a ~ 1908 beaten: assoc editorial comment A day to mourn Imagine waking up one day feeling like a million bucks. The world is at your fingertips. You have a good paying job. But before the day is over your life has irrevoca- bly changed inthe blink of an eye. An injury on the job has relegated you to the ranks of other unfortu- nate Canadians whose livelihood, or worse their life, has been cut short Seems unlikely doesn’t it? Think twice—it CAN happen to you or someone you love. Injury or death on the job is an equal opportunity disaster. It cares not if you’re black or white, or male or female It doesn’t care if you're sole support of your fam- ily, nor does it care that you’re a Canadian living in Castlegar. One split second can rewrite the final chapter of your life Death and injury on the job used to be common- place. It was routine practice to to hire workers with total disregard to the safety of the work place Many lives were lost doing what everyone has the right to do—work for a living But fortunately that has changed to some degree Worker’s Compensation rules and a growing awareness of a person's right to work in a safe area are have contributed to safer working conditions Employers have the undeniable responsibility to ensure that work areas are safe, just as employees have the unmistakable responsibility to ensure that they work safely. We’ve come:a long way, but there’s still a lot to do. Many injuries incurred on the job might seem minimal to some—especially if they aren’t readily visible—such as back injuries. But to the person who suffers on a daily basis and whose quality of life has greatly decreased due to these injuries their non-visible injuries are just as traumatic as those that are painfully visible April 28 is the Intemational Day of Mouming in recognition of those killed or injured in the work place. But it’s not enough to just simply observe the occasion and then move on to another day We must ALL work towards decreasing injury and death in the work place But most of all we MUST stop calling such tragedies “accidents”. An accident is something that is unpreventable, a twist of fate. Death and injury in the work place is preventable. Finally, but most importantly, WCB MUST ade quately recognize injuries in the work place and not add insult to injury by withholding or dragging out settlement of injury claims Those injured in the work place have suffered enough Karen Kerkhoff ERRORS: The advertiser agrees that the publisher shall not be liable for damages arising out of errors in any advertisement beyond the: amount paid for the space actually occupied by that portion of the advertisement in which the error occurred’ whether such error is due to the of its servants or and there shail be no hability for non-insertion of any advertisement beyond the amount paid for such advertisement. All advertising subject to publisher's approval. Contracts must be completed within one year from contract date. No contingent orders accepted ij GLaye ludge issue awfully smelly The regional district and the city are slinging sludge in a slippery turf war People who deal in sludge should wear plenty of cologne, because things are liable to get awfully smelly That's the moral behind The Great Sludge Debate between the Regional District of Central Kootenay and the City of Castle- gar. For those who don’t know their sludge from their garden-variety dirt, sludge is the accumulated waste from sewage treatment facilities. The City of Castlegar has two sewage treatment plants: one in the south end in Woodland Park and another across the river in Raspberry Both are slated for considerable upgrading thanks to federal provincial infrastructure grants. But before the upgrading can pro- ceed, the city needs to get rid of the sludge that has accumulated. That's where the regional dis- trict comes in. The city wanted to dump the sludge at the Ootische- nia landfill, which is a regional facility The city is a member of the regional waste management com- mittee and so has a say in the operation of the dump. But it is only one voice among many other communities which also sit on the committee, among them the two outlying rural areas: Lower Arrow Columbia and Area I. The regional waste manage ment commitice suggested that the city should offer something in return for using the dump, such as constructing a facility to handle rural septic sewage. The city had proposed to charge rural resi- dents to dump septic sewage in the city’s treat- proposal was for a shared pre-treat- ment facility that could handle the septic sewage The city balked, saying that it shouldn't have to be a partner in a facility that would have no benefit to city taxpayers and which could cost upwards of $200,000. The city came back with an offer of its own: the city would build and operate a pre-treatment facility and charge the regional district for using it. (The charge would be $150). This is where the waters quickly become muddy. Mayor Mike O'Connor says he had an agreement with the regional district and the district backed out He says it happened at a break- fast gathering in Nelson preceding the April 8 regional board meet- ing. Mr. O’Connor said he and the city were severely criticized by Letters to the Editor | THE VIEW | HERE Lower Arrow Columbia director Ken Wyllie Mr. O'Connor says he was so upset he left the breakfast session and didn't bother to attend the regional meet- ing Instead, he returned to Castlegar and Proposed the city go it alone on the sludge RON issue, NORMAN The region- al district says it wasn't quite FROM that way. (As an aside, Lower Arrow Columbia director Ken Wyllie is hopping mad about the city move. He has reason to be. You see, the city also decided that it would not take any more rural septic sewage at its treatment plants. It argued that the plants are near capacity. So where do rural residents get rid of their septic sewage? For the moment, they are trucking it to other municipalities. Even worse, rural residents could soon find themselves with nowhere to dump their sewage. They could be forced into building and operating a treatment plant of their own, which would be very costly.) But back to the city’s proposal and the supposed backtracking by the region. Regional district chair Hans Cunningham says it isn't quite the way the city described it “Mike was incorrect,” says Mr. Cunningham. The regional district never reneged on the agreement, because it never had the chance to discuss the agreement The pact was on the April 8 regional board agenda, but was tabled because there was no direc- tor from Castlegar present, Mr. O'Connor having left earlier. “The proposal was not even debated,” says Cunningham. As for Mr. O’Connor’s claim that the regional district tried to change the pact after it had already agreed to it, Mr. Cunningham says the city also tried to make some changes. He said the city placed the word “perpetuity” in the agreement, something to which the regional board would never have agreed. “We don’t normally use the word perpetuity,” explained Mr. Cunningham, because it means forever and the regional district can’t guarantee a contract forever. So where does that leave things? Well, the city is determined to go its own way. Mr. O’Connor is clear about that. And the regional district? It is left standing alone wondering what to do with its septic waste. Messy, isn’t it? Royal Commission on WCB long overdue Dear Editor: T would like to take a few min utes off from the footbridge crusade in order to offer a big bouquet of thanks to Terry Dalton—our local Robin Hood of the legal profession Through thick and thin—in sickness and in health nied himself to the cause of the walking wounded” from the wars of life in our comumunity he’s mar I'm speaking of our unlucky brothers and sisters of the Koote- vays who—through no fault of their own—have sustained lifetime injuries and loss of quality of life through accidents at work and on the highways. For more than a year, Terry has compre cies and practices of the Worker's Compen- sation Board when dealing with the injured Though I know of some good people who work for WCB, it appears this powerful arm of bureaucracy continues to operate in archaic ways that are unfair and antagonistic towards the people who desperately need their help. Unfortu: nately, it appears these people are at the mercy of the “ivory tower” of the Worker’s Compensation Board Surely it’s not acceptable in our so-called “just society” to take advantage of the injured. That sounds like the approach that Hitler used in Nazi Germany. Per haps we could believe this behav jor if it were coming from Baghdad or Tehran or Sarajevo But believe it or not, this unfair dictatorship is coming from our own Victoria. As if these injured people are not suffering enough from the physical abuse of their accidents, they are being subjected to years of mental abuse while trying to get just settlements of their claims. No one would dispute our gov- ermment’s need for careful man- agement of tax dollars. Heaven help us if we get into a disgraceful debt load like we sce at the federal level! But somehow our NDP gov emment seems to keep getting its priorities wrong Though supposedly founded on principles of social justice. we find this government violating its own sacred policies again and again. Everyone knows that govern- ment policy must be constantly evolving if that government intends to survive Everyone knows that a Royal Commission on the Worker's Compensation Board is long over- due. If WCB is afraid to take an honest look at itself, then the workers of B.C. are in even bigger trouble than they thought. In conclusion, my hat goes off to Terry Dalton—our Martin ‘Luther King of Castlegar—for his courageous campaign for the rights of our injured brothers and sisters of the Kootenays. As a matter of fact, I believe he is planning to appear at the provincial Legislature in the —near future—along with a large group of caring Kootenay citi- zens—to demand that such a Royal Commission be estab- lished without delay. If our premier wants to improve his chances of a second term in office, I suggest that he start by ordering this much-needed review to begin H: F. Killough Castlegar Wednesday, April 26, 1995 The Castlegar Sun Page 7A Castlegar youth speak ou JEFF GABERT Sun staff It may not surprise a lot of People that a group of youths were gathered in Castlegar’s downtown core last Saturday. But the reason they were there might Youthspeak is a newly formed local.teen group that is looking to change the image of Castlegar's youth around the community, The first step in their cam- paign was a garbage clean-up of the downtown core last Saturday that started at Kinsmen Park and spread throughout downtown, Many businesses and resi- dents have become concerned over the increased traffic of youths in the downtown core, but vice-chair of Youthspeak, Geoff Fontes, hopes the garbage pick-up will change that “We're here to make people understand that kids aren't around to make trouble after all,” said 16-year-old Fontes. Youthspeak was started at the beginning of this year and already boasts over 50 members, 25 of whom were on hand to Clean up the downtown. According to Fontes, it’s an organization “dedicated to pro- tecting the emotional and social well-being of youth.” Saturday's activity was a natural event for the group since it was also Earth Day, a day dedicated to protecting the environment for future genera- tions. But Fontes also wants people to sce that the youth do want to make a contribution to the community “We're trying to do this for the environr | and for the city - to make it look good,” said Fontes. “But overall, we want to make the people of Castlegar take a second look at us.” Youthspeak’s next objective is the creation of a youth centre. The facility is still only in its planning stages but the group Sees the centre as extremely important “It seems we get kicked out of everywhere we go right now,” said Fontes. “We gotta do something for ourselves.” Fontes said the facility will have a membership fee and an age limit and would probably contain an arcade, skate park, pool tables and concessions. The group is currently in negotiations with the city to gain contro] of the Bob Brandson pool facility and hopes their Earth Day activities will prove to the community that they can handle the responsibility. The group is also planning future activities. You can identify the youths by their special Youthspeak buttons. FOODS IN-STORE BAKERY Specializing in: Home-made breads, pastries, ples & more!! Also “RUSSIAN FOOD" including Borech, Pyrahi, Varenniki, Lapeha Located Playmor Junction Decorations Favors Stop in and browse! Just Ey's CHOCOLATE & Girt Suop 1114 - 4th St., Castlegar 365-7542 We weld anything... Anytime ¢ Anywhere ICE METAL WORK 5-811 Members of Castlegar’s Youthspeak show their com- mitment to the community and to the environment by picking up garbage in downtown Castlegar on Earth Day. The group is hoping that area residents will take a “second look” at local youths and recognize them as contributing members of society. SUN STAFF PHOTO /Jeft Gabert Ch Family ating wae California Fun Stay at the Cavalier Inn & Suites located 4 blocks from Disneyland® Park. Free Disneyland® Park shuttle service! Depart April 28, May 5 or 12 Cavalier Inn & Suites 3 ats. 5 nts. 7 ats. $339 | $379 | $429 (per adult based on two sharing) $269 cnua (2-17 yrs.) (per child sharing with 2 adults) INCLUDES AIRFARE & TRANSFERS! FiestaWest BCAA Travel Agency 596 Baker Street Phone 352-3535 Vancouver departures. Prices are per person, based on double occupancy, Child prices are per child sharing with 2 adults. Festa West terms and conditions apply, Not included. departure taxes and airport user fees. ADDED BONUS! CHOOSE EITHER A FREE 1-DAY PASS” TO DISNEYLAND OR UNIVERSAL STUDIOS! Building BC. 2ist Century Honourable Glen Clark Minister Responsible Court news = 3s Mario Dean George was ordered by Judge Ronald Fabbro to pay a $100 fine for a charge under the Narcotics Act at’a hear- ing held in Castlegar Provincial Court April 19. In other court news: Louis Alberta Da Costa was sentenced to 14 days in jail to be served intermittently and 18 months probation with conditions after pleading guilty to assault +e Raymond William Popoff was sentenced to three months in jail, nine ‘months probation with conditions and was ordered to pay $337.32;in restitution: after being found guilty'of breaking and entering } +s i Daniel Joseph Bosse has bern found guilty of driving withdut due care and attention and guilty of speeding by Judge Ronald Fabbro, Bosse was ordered to pay a $500 fine and has received a three month driving suspension! The Larry Kazakoff mentioned ih a previous Court news is not the Latry Kazakoff from Blueberry Creek. BUSINESS PLAN WORKSHOP MAY 12-1 4, 1995 This fun-filled, weekend workshop will teach you how to develop your | business idea into a solid business plan. Topics include: Seif ‘ Home Based Marketing, Obtaining F\ Past participant's comments include: “Very informative & entertaining!”,’ “Value for dollar was more than expected!” and H “Thought provoking & inspirational.” Location: KREDA T) 540 Baker Street, Nelson, B.C., VIL 4H9 Cost: $12! Registration is limited. Call Barb at 352-1933. Co-sponsored: Ministry of Small , Pricing, Cashflow, Equipment & Supply’ Needs, Laws & Legal Implications, Taxes & Insurance, Licensing, and | much more! Finding Ideas & Opportunities, Centre 5.00 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MINI SERIES Story Telling: Reconnecting Myth & Magic Date: Saturday, April 29, 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 HIV - Aids Chronicity Date: Friday, May 12, 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 par Early Childhood Educators of BC Code Date: Saturday, May 27, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 Family Support and Preservation Progr Date: Thursday, June 1, 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p. Community Building: Helping Challenged Adolescents and Adults to Find a Valued Place in our Communities Date: Friday, June 9, 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. All courses take place on the Castlegar Campus For more information, or to register, contact Kathy Markin at 365-1208. CASTLEGAR 365-1208 p.m. a. of Ethics p.m. ‘ams m. CAMPUS Infrastructure Works for the West Kootenays Castlegar Castlegar Castlegar Fruitvale Fruitvale Koote replacing the aeration system in the 20-year-old North Sewage Lagoon to meet current environmental standards adding a flow-equalization basin to the south sewer treatment plant to store untreated sewage when the facility is shut down for maintenance upgrading Columbia Avenue from 6th Avenue to King Avenue, improving access and connecting to the new C; gi son bridge reconstructing Columbia Gardens Road from Beaver Street to Tamarac Avenue to provide better access to the community's new commercial area upgrading the existing sewage treatment plant y Doukhobor Historical Society R. D. of Kootenay Boundary R. D. of Koot xpansion of the D Village Mi upgrading components of the sewage treatment plant to reduce the amount of solids remaining after wastewater has been treated $3,074,400 upgrading sewage pump stations at four different $1,460,140 y Boundary Rossland Rossland Rossland \ Trail Wartield Canada/British Columbia Infrastructure Works to address about the efficiency and environmental safety of the stations building a slow sand filtration plant and bypass $3,623,000 line around the Star Guich Reservoir to improve the community water supply installing a water main from Rossland’s water treatment plant to the boundary of the Red Mountain ski area, facilitating future development installing a sewer main from Rossiand’s existing sewage collection system to the boundary of the Red Mountain ski area, facilitating future development $900,000 upgrading the existing sewage treatment plant to improve the quality of wastewater reaching the Salmo River $310,175 resurfacing the Old Trail Britige replacing leaking sections of sewer lines, repairing old manhole lids and regrading roads with low manholes to eliminate overloading of Warfield’s sewage treatment plant due to storm water infiltration foundation for long-term job creation and long-term prosperity. in our ture lay the sw