OPINION

PAGE A4, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1990

MEMBER OF THE B.C. PRESS COUNCH.
ESTABLISHED AUGUST 7, 1947 TWICE WEEKLY MAY 4, 1990-
THE MID-WEEK 38

a 15, 1973

EDITOR Bir
OFFICE MANAGER — Linda Kositsin a=
CIRCULATION MANAGER — Heather Hadiey

EDITORIAL

important time,
but who cares?

If the attendance at Monday night’s forum for city council can-
didates is any indication, voter turnout in the Nov. 17 municipal elec-
tion could be an all-time low.

Fifty is a generous count of the number of occupied chairs at the
Community Complex and it took a lot of cajoling v moderator

‘
s Wr Ll

Anne Jones before anyone stirred to ask the

A tip of the hat to Pat Romaine — crutches and al — for being
the first to the microphone.

There’s not much doubt that the next three years — the length of
the terms of office for all elected municipal positions under the
amended provincial Municipal Act — will be three of the most impor-
tant years in Castlegar’s history.

Unless the provincial and federal governments deny Celgar Pulp
Co. permission to expand and modernize the Castlegar pulp mill —
which would be sheer folly on the part of those governments — this
city is poised to reap the financial and environmental benefits of a
larger and cleaner mill. Celgar currently accounts for about 44 per
cent of Castlegar’s tax base and that could increase to 75 per cent
when the $650 million expansion goes ahead.

It’s the voters of Castlegar, by choosing their elected officials on
city council, who can influence how that money is _ Spent. Roads,

LOCAL/PROVINCIAL NEWS

> — Comttonge pinate

Plans rales awareness

Vancouver
harvests
business
garbage

VANCOUVER (CP) — Every
month, the equivalent of about 1,700
trees is from the streets of
Vancouver and turned into paper.

The harvest comes from recycled

The urban forestry program begun

International, which covers about 75
per cent of the office space in the
Vancouver area, began in June.
More than 70 buildings represen-
ting more than 1.1 million square
metres of office space — almost half
the total in the Vancouver area —
involved and about three

By the end of the year, it’s expec-
ted to generate more than 6,000 ton-
nes of recyclable office waste paper
and 4,000 tonnes of old cardboard
cartons.

CASTLEAIRD PLAZA "Better you bet”
inaaee

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Choice needed
Please grant me space for the

Recent legislation on private land logging
only affects managed parcels, so it’s useless. And,

elections

First of all, | would like to congratulate and
thank all the newcomer citizens who have filed

sewer and water systems, parks and recreation facili police and
fire services, residential and other municipal taxes — decisions on
these and more will have to be made and will be greatly influenced by
the Celgar project.

Therefore, it’s baffling why so few people showed up to hear
what the candidates in this year’s election have to say. It isn’t likely
that Monday Night Football and reruns of Cheers kept most away, so
what's the reason?

_Some may have lost interest in the election after no one
challenged Audrey Moore for the mayor's job. If so, they should
keep in mind the mayor is only one person with one vote on council.
Even though Mayor Moore wields considerable influence over the af-
fairs of this city because of her experience on council, knowledge of
municipal government and political expertise, there are six other
members of council who represent the interests of Castlegar’s citizens
as well. :

Aad it’s your decision who represents you.

As Mr. Romaine pointed out Monday night, there are eight good
candidates for the six aldermanic seats. Read what they have to say in
this newspaper, listen to them on the radio, or tune in tonight at 8:30,
Friday at 12:30 p.m. or Sunday at 8:30 p.m. t@ Shaw Cable 10 which
videotaped the forum. It won't exactly keep you on the edge of
your seat but it may help you make an informed decision Nov. 17.

papers. This is not to say that the
Present incumbents deserve any criticism, but, if
we believe any democracy is the power of the
people, we must have the freedom of choice.

There is an alarming tendency among the
voting public to have lost faith in their
representatives, and the thought that *‘all
Politicians are crooks"’ and that ‘*we should throw
them all out."’ But I am optimistic and believe
that the heightened interest will result in a record
turn-out at the polls.

I would also congratulate Mayor Audrey
Moore for her winning by acclamation in contrast
to the present population poll of 15 per cent
support for the present Prime Minister of Canada
Pat Romaine
Castlegar

Allis not well
Beware! The current TY commercials,
pamphiets and newspaper ads by the forest
industry saying, **Clearcuts are not so bad’ and
“*Forests forever” are just another ‘smoke screen
All is not well. Ninety per cent of B.C.'s
logging method is still clearcutting for purely

VIEWPOINT

U.S. voters send
message to Bush

WASHINGTON (CP) — Angry The results on Tuesday were a
U.S. voters worned about a looming much-needed tonic for Democrats
recession sent Pres: n who for years have struggied to find
a polilncal focus. co-opted by the
powerful influence of Reaganism and

domination of the

Fed up with the tax b
pocketbooks and mou:
about Bush's leadership. voters sent
a scare Tuesday through Repubiscan

. they may have
found pS focus by appealing for
economic fairness and by suc-
cessfully painting Bush and his
Repubhcan party as protectors of the
In the process, the Democrats may

h. akhhough have sowed the seeds for a poten-
power of incumbency — oz f ually nich pobtcal haves: im 1992,
mailings. home-state spending and when the biggest prize of all —
other pers of office — meant mos: White House — is up for grabs
members of Congress who sought re-
dlection won.

For all the anti-gov
of voters, Congress 1
under the comtroal of
State races, however
ferent story

Voters kicked out
from governors’ mansions in omg
states like Flonda and Texas. and
threw scares imto incumbent gover-
ors im states where budget problems
had forced tax increases.

A former Republican senator who
Tan as an independent became Con
mectacut’s new govermor and a seif-
proctaimed socialist who campaigned
on a tai-thench platform won a
US. House of Representatives seat
from Vermont

The war over taxes is shaping up
to be as critkal am issue im the next

I couldn't feel better.” stad Roa

nment feeling
auned firmiy

goods and services tax and where
voters recently ciected an NDP
govermment im Ontario after years of
Liberal tax increases

It’s too samplistic to use Tuesday's

two years as the tax révokt of the late
1970s that helped secep Ronald
Reagan into the White House im 1980
On 2 promise to cut tanes.

Bush suffered poltxally when he
reneged om his 1988: campaign
promase of “no ew taxes” and then
looked bike be favored the rich by
opposing Democrarx proposals to
boost taxes om the weaithy im the
massive deface cutting budget deal

resuits as a gauge of how Bush =»

fare if he seeks re-election im 199:

whether the Democrass c

solely with a tav-thench brand of
But Tuesday's ciectoe sock =

vigorate Democratk hopes = 1992

For the sext two years, Democracs
are Bkely to be more aggeame =
chaBienging the Repubican peesieac

reasons.

This “‘smash and grab” approach to forestry
fits the Socred philosophy and may look good on
@ corporate balance sheet but in the real world
clearcutting is unsightly, deters tourism,
destabilizes the soil, destroys eco-systems and
microclimates, promotes slash burning and
induces a faster snowmelt in the spring with
subsequent soil deterioration and dry-out during
summer because of loss of canopy

Nature has taken tens of thousand of years to
develop these forests. They did fine without us
and now we come and ‘‘manage”’ the woods.

A ‘‘managed”” forest becomes a monoculture
or limited-species tree orchard — a private timber
supply! And it will take another 45 years
minimum before these tree farms can be harvesied
— 45 years! (MacMillan Bloedei. Forest
Perspectives, September 1990)

That's why there is so much pressure on old-
growth forests. The Ministry of Forests is still an
agent to the forest industry when they should be
responsible only to the people of B.C. and
Promote forestry practices which would
accommodate all groups: logging. water users,
tourtsm wildlife. exc

We need to get community control of our
forests and put an end to decisions coming from
Vancouver of off-shore.

Here is a string of imeffective and useless
poboes

Water Plan (IWMP)
pail the wafer users no decision-making power.
Not too long ago, the growing time for a tree was
cut by more than half to accommodate the
industry’s inventory. Of course, it also means
more waste. And there is still the practise of
grossly overcutting.

According to the Pacific Logging Congress:
“In 1988, Forest companies in B.C. logged about
240,000 hectares of land, restocked almost 300,000
hectares (seedling survival rate 73 per cent) but
there is a backlog of 437,000 hectares NSR
meaning Non Sufficiantly Restocked. Look at that
again: over one million acres NSR!

If the Ministry of Forests and the industry is
serious about sustainable forest practices, they
should first of all reduce the size of the cut blocks,
some of which are so huge that a satellite picture
can easily pick them out. A monument to greed
and stupidity. Are we doing better iow? Read lan
Mahood’s book on the B.C. forest industry — it’s
an eye-opener as to why we are in the current
bind.

The Forest Resources Commission is only a
shield to take the flak directed against Socred
shortsighted forest policies. The current shump is
partly due to mismanagement and incompetence
and the confrontations will continue until
communities have decision-making power
Ganter Retterath
Winkhw

Mismanagement

The layoffs of men in the forest industry are
blamed on poor market conditions, or the decline
in U.S. housing starts, as if the reduction in
employment was simply an artifact of recessionary
times.

of their heedless and often rapacious policies? Are
they now ready to recognize the fact that bigger
and bigger profits they garnered up until now have
meant that far fewer men would have jobs long
before the turn of the century? Do they care that

jobs,
air and enhanced our environment, will be largely
exhausted within 20 years? Does it matter that
what remains of our public forests is coming 10
resemble much of Europe after the war? This is
not just a descriptive phrase, it’s the truth. A war
has been fought on these mountain slopes, and
loggers, environmentalists, the aged and the
young, townspeople and city dwellers, are the
losers.

1 suppose it’s rough on management too, now
that the forest industry conglomerates are seeing a
major reduction in the multi-million dollar profits
they’ve scooped up for years. There’s likely to be
many glum faces among the very wealthy absentee
owners in the U.S., China, New Zealand and

By CasNews Staff

The Castlegar community task force on
substance abuse has planned a number of activities
for Drug Awareness Week, Nov. 4-10.

in, task force member Eleanor Elstone said.

People can bring in prescription or over-the-
counter medicines to find out if they are out of date,
appropriate to the needs of the user or safe to take
with other medications, Elstone said Monday.

The check-up program will run today and
Thursday.

Videos are being shown each day at noon at
Stanley Humphries secondary school and the
Castlegar Library is currently displaying pamphlets
and books on drugs and alcohol, Elstone said.

The task force, which is composed of people
from a range of backgrounds, has been working to
increase awareness of the drug and alcohol problem
for about a year and a half, Elstone said.

As part of that work, the task force is

show with a local radio station is planned, she said.

answer questions from the public during the show,
Elstone said.

Pringle said he is also completing a series of
talks on mood-altering drugs and a further series of
talks will be heid in the future.

The final session in the current series, which will
address the issue of finding health activities to take
the place of drug use, will be held Nov. 13 from |
p.m. to 3 p.m. at the community services centre,
Pringle said.

Pringle, who has been working with the
Community Services Centre since February, is
available to council individuals or families with drug
or alcohol problems. He will also speak to groups if
requested, he said.

Noting the usual round of holiday parties is not
far off, Elstone said people planning get-togethers
can call the community services centre for
information on setting up their own designated driver

a

Office employees collect waste
paper in desk-side boxes and dump
them into central collection bags,
which are in turn emptied into larger
collection bins and. eventually
trucked off to Paperboard Industries
Corp., which has a contract with the
buildings involved.

Paperboard Industries recycles the
waste paper into pulp, then turns it
into paper products.

For building owners, the savings
and profits are applied against the
building’s operating costs.

Ia

to survey Castlegar school children on their
and attitudes about drugs and alcohol and a in

ights

Program or a “‘mocktail”’ bar as an alternative to
alcoholic beverages.

Please recycle The NEWS

(

elsewhere in Europe. Even
here in B.C. must be wondering where will they
get their next $100,000 bonus which they intended
to invest in stocks or a condominium in Whistler

Meanwhile, hard workers all over the
Province face protracted unemployment and
wonder what happened to the pious company
concerns for “‘the jobs of our workers.”” It all
vanished, like the forest, in the name of profits.

Don’t we need an end to this big-business
exploitation of workers and resources and a real
Policy of sustainable resource use instead of its
counterfeit?

New Denver

But teil me, can that labor-saving
which the forest industry installed in its mills go
out and buy things? Can it save up moncy and
build a home and thus be a market for the wood
these profit-driven entrepreneurs have churned out
so inexpensively?

We have seen decades of using up the wood
supply faster than it could be replaced in the past
This has come about through “‘high-grading”’ the
resource (a euphemism for taking only the most
profitable trees and burning the rest) while putting
laboring men out of work in the name of
improved technology (which means still more
profit while burning the work force)

Mill layoffs have been the result and there
isn’t an environmentalist to blame for it. Recent
closures here im the K imchude C:

Please address ail letters to the editor
the

or deliver them to our office at 197
Columbia Ave. in Castlegar.
Letters should be typewritten, double-
spaced and not longer than 300 words.
Letters MUST be signed and include

Party

}

continued trom pege AS
going after the hordes of civil service
planners aad middie managers within
the bureaucray. There are programs
with half a dozen or more levels of
management between the people who
set policy and those who do the
work. Empires are built, butts are
covered and tons of paper are filed,
but there are not economic benefits
except to the bureaucrats and their
staffs. They will fight like wolverines
to hold onto their privileged
Positions, but for the good of the
nation they must go.

There are also cuts which can be
made without serious political and
legal battles. Industry, for all its
Pious dedication to ‘free enterprise”
sucks billions from the public
treasury every year. If cuts were
made equitably across the board,
with absolutely no exceptions,
di and

the writer's first and last names,
and a telephone number at which the
writer can be reached between 9 a.m. and
5 p.m. The writer's name and city or town
of only will be Only
in exceptional cases will letters be
Published without the writer's name.

the name, address and

Forest_Industry’s sawmill in Creston, the
shutdown of Westar’s logging operation in
Nakusp and reductions at the Slocan Forest
Products mill in Siocan

Number of the writer MUST be
Gisciosed to the editor

The Castiegar News reserves the right
to edit letters for brevity, clarity, legality,
grammar and taste.

Are the forest industry

‘Party of Anger’ appropriate

By LEE MORRISON

Las: fall. a columnist called the
Reform Party ““the Party of Anger.”
Sbe meant m= as a belittling put-
down. but I rather like the label. I
joemed the party because | am angry.
and bke all Canadians, | have plenty

reduced

the status of

a family which has slipped deeply in-
to dett and must lower its expec-
tations m order to save the farm
from foreclosure, we as a nation
must face reality before the national

fifth, To the mandarins, this is
heresay, but to Reformers and to Joe
Lunchbucket who pays the bills it is
plain common sense.

Even without butchering any
sacred cows, there are billions of
dollars to be saved, starting with cuts
at the top. The bloated salaries and

have dragged Canada to the brink of
ecomomx amd socal collapse. The
Literals and Comservatives, cheered
oe by thew kindred spurts im the
NDP have pilaged the nation to
fimamce ccomomi and social 4;

Leaders have a duty to lead. When a

grants, hand
tax concessions could be stopped
with barely a political ripple.

A smaller, but very significant
bundle of grant moncy is shovelled
out to special interest lobby groups
— an absolutely immoral abuse of

if you're

NEW IN TOWN

and don't know
which way to turn,
call

the power of taxation. Lobbying is
legitimate political activity only if the
bills are paid by those people
(natives, women, environmentalists,
artists or you-name-it) who the lob-
biests claim to represent.

Finally (and this is the big one) the
Bank of Canada must be restrained
from artificially inflating interest
rates. In the name of “protecting”
the Canadian dollar, the economy is
being strangled and_$0,000 farmers
and businessmen will be destroyed in
1999.

513,923

I've made a
DIFFERENCE
to
Education

in
School District
No. 9

For School Trustee

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contingent of Reform MPs arrives in

Peruments. to enhamce thelr own
pers amd privileges and to famen the
suflemg bureaucracy which intrudes
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