04/30/94 LEGISLATIVE | TRRaE BUTLO ING be IC TORTA SPORTS LOCAL PROFILE Kristiansen among MPs getting Golden Handshake feturn home with seni A Rockers and Rockettes clean up at Trail tourney aN sede Scie | sidents of the | Home alone? Not a chance! Take a second, closer look! Hee kingdom could be your guests/16 | Noe ons Fhe Castlegar Su VARIABLE Weather 3A Vol. 3- No. 50 ‘The weekly newspaper with a daily C ommitment’ ~ 75 Cents + G.S.T. r With speed and care A Castlegar man and woman, age 75 and 74, escaped serious injury when the vehicle in which they were travel- ing struck a telephone pole at the corner of Columbia Avenue and 13th Avenue, Oct 28. Besides RCMP and ambulance attendants, members of the fire department were also on scene in case of fuel spills. The couple’s vehicle, a 1993 Ford Taurus, was totalled with damage estimated at $8,000. Both have since been released from |_hospital SUN STAFF PHOTO / John Van Putten Defence withdraws In priest’s trial STERLING NEWS SERVICE In a surprise move yesterday lawyers for Father Paul Porn- bacher, 60, announced they were unable to represent their client any longer in the four day-old sex abuse trial Pornbacher’s lawyer Ken Sar- necki gave no reasons for apply- ing to withdraw as defence counsel for the priest who faces three counts each of gross inde- cency and indecent assault in connection with the alleged molesting of three young boys in the Nelson Diocese during the 1970's. Prosecutor Dana Urban did not object to the defence’s application but he told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Raymond Cooper he did not want a mistrial declared. “I don’t want to have all these wit- hesses testify again,” Urban told the judge Pornbacher rose from the pris- oner’s dock and told the court he would find new defence counsel Monday's proceedings were adjourned until November 12, at which time a new date will be set for continuing the trial In the three days of testimony prior to the defence's resignation the court heard from three Crown witnesses, now grown See TRIAL 3A Loaded truck overturns SUN STAFF A 28-year-old chip truck driv- er for NDB Trucking in Fruitvale narrowly escaped injury after the truck he was driving pulled left, entered into a ditch and rolled onto its side October 27. The accident occurred one kilometre from the Highway 3B junction at 7:30 am. when the truck was climbing a steep hill Although the driver wasn't injured, there was $1,500 dam- age done to the truck. As well, the load of chips were spilled Cut back scheme a saving tactic Voters invited to grill candidates KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff With no funding increase planned and next year’s financial future looking uncertain it was only a matter of time before Castlegar and District Hospital had to either start laying off staff or look the specter of budget-balanc ing in the eye and stare it down Hospital officials have chosen the latter of the two, and as a result, a tactic has been initiated which, if successful, will help balance the already strained bud- get and maintain jobs The strategy is simple, but will save the hospital almost $70,000 for the latter half of this fiscal year, which runs from October 31 to March 31, 1994 said Castlegar Administrator, Ken Talarico As of October 29, every five weeks, on a Friday, the hospital will be operating as if it were a weekend, meaning there will be no elective surgeries, lab tests, or x-rays done “All departments will be down to the same level of service pro- vided on weekends or stat holi- days,” Talarico said But the administrator continued to stress that doctors in Castlegar 2 sections Ann Landers 32 pages 11B Classifieds. Entertainment will still be available in their clin- Ics to see patients, and should an emergency occur, the hospital is committed to provide the same quality care it always has. Although staff will be work ing one less day every five wecks, the raise negotiated earli- er with unions will maintain cur rent pay levels ‘The staff is generally in favor of this. They get one day off every five weeks. It’s done with the full cqoperation of the unions and management.’ Should the strategy be suc cessful, Talarico estimates $140,000-can be saved next year Coronor states alcohol a factor SUN STAFF Fatigue and alcohol consump- tion have been listed as contribut- ing factors in a fatal accident which claimed the life of a Castlegar substitute teacher, Don- ald Vernon Parslow, 32, of Cal- gary, June 5 Coroner Arnold Sherwood, said that prior to the accident Parslow, who was a substitute teacher at Kinnaird Middle School, had spent several late nights preparing for exams and studying towards his degree as a Doctor in Veterinary Medicine thus contributing to fatigue On the night of the fatality Parslow had gone to a barbecue in Rossland. From toxicology reports it was determined that Parslow had an alcohol blood level of 08142, which is slightly above the legal impaired limit of .08 and which Sherwood said equates to the consumption of three to four drinks. On his way home at approximately 2 a.m. Parslow’s eastbound truck strayed into the path of a truck driven by Colin Briggeman, 18, of Castlegar. The accident occurred about 500 metres west of the Kinnaird Bridge. Briggeman and his pas sengers, two 14-year-old females, were taken to Castlegar and Trail hospitals and were later released Parslow, said Sherwood, was well-liked by his peers, was dedi- cated to his work and was an extremely hard-working man “It was a Godsend that the three young people in the other vehicle were saved.” The coroner's report deter- mined that Parslow died from multiple head and chest injuries. Day care dream fades KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff it was a great dream, but like all dreams it’s quickly fading away. Last year Selkirk College enquired into the feasibility of a campus day-eare-facitity-whose services would be available to both staff and students But Information's Officer, Joseph Lintz said the financial viability of the proposed day care is in question and unless it can be shown that the day care wouldn't financially impact on the already strained college budget. the future of the entire plan is in jeopardy “The college wants the day care to be self-supporting. Any day care proposal would have to entail a break-even position.” Lintz said that tenders went out to agencies who would be willing to provide day care on campus, but when proposals returned it became clear that unless a subsidy from the Min istry of Advanced Education came forth, there wouldn't be a day care Day Care plans also included the college's Early Childhood Education students, who could have a classroom within the faci! ity to apply learned knowledge a ee DAYCARE For all the local news Chamber hosting forum, November 10 SHARLENE IMHOFF Sun Editor One of the best ways to get a handle on who to vote for in the upcoming Municipal Election is to attend an All-Candidates Open Forum. All Castle gar voters are urged to attend an upcoming forum, November 10. Hosted by the Castlegar and District Chamber of Commerce, the open forum will include all can- didates seeking election or re-election for mayor, city council, and school board. “With the federal election now over, I think people are tired of open forums, which is why we felt it would be best to group together all the can- didates and get it over with in one shot,” said Chamber Assistant Manager Marcia Jackson, who added, “We might not have a lot of people come out, but it’s important to give people an opportuni- ty to grill local candidates.” All candidates have stated they would be partic- ipating in the forum. To prevent a marathon-long forum, candidates will be given a maximum of three minutes to make an opening statement. After each candidate is through, an hour will be allowed for candidates to receive questions from the audi- ence. After the 60-minute question period, candi- dates will end the forum with individual closing remarks, no more than 90 seconds long. “We think it’s really important for Castlegar residents to come out and ask what they consider pertinent questions to the candidates,” Jackson fin- ished. The forum, which begins at 7 p.m. sharp, will be held at the Sandman Inn. Precision points _ A Rossland athlete sidesteps her competition while competing in the recent West Kootenay Field Hockey Championships, held in Castlegar last Wednesday SUN STAFF PHOTO / John Van Putten “Gh RB es eR, Cpastie: