Fa ee a een ane BULK CARROTS B.C. Grown. Canada No. 1. Grade. 86/kg. 1.46/kg. FABRIC SOFTENER Downy. Sunrise or April Fresh. 1 Litre, enviro pak. FURNITURE POLISH Selected Varieities. Endust. 300-350 mi. sos PADS for Scouring. Pkg le. of 10 BEVERGENT for laundry. Reg. 8 Litre, or Super Concentrated 3 Litre. LUCERNE EGGS Medium Size. Canada Grade A. Carton of 12 Limit 2. Over limit price 1.38 ea. Fletcher's. 1.94/kg. POTATO OUND CHIPS EF 1° Old Dutch, 200 g. Lean. Approx. 10 Ib. bag: Limit 1. 4.37/kg. Your AIR MILES™ connection! Safeway is proud to be your exclusive grocer, drug store and florist sponsor of the AIR MILES™ program in Western Canada. Drop (J) by and join today i's absolutely free. Once you receive your AIR MILES™ cord, you'l be ble o earn travel miles at Safeway ond other great sponsors. You con even earn extra AiR MILES™ ot Safeway just by using your Bank of Montreal AIR MILES™ MasterCard. The more you use your card, the sooner you will be able to redeem your travel miles for Airline fckets forthe whole family You'll save like always and fly like never before! eee hee ae ey Wednesday, September 23, 1992 & Thompson. Seedless. U.S. Grown. Canada No. 1 Grade. SELF POLISH WAX Future. 750 mL GARBAGE BAGS Recycled. iGnceock, 40's Bags" Safeway. Selected Varieities. 2, 3 or 4 pack. PORK PICNIC Whole. Hock Removed. FRENCH BREAD Fresh baked, 400 g. SEPTEMBER, 1992 Prices in effect at your Castlegar Sateway Store. Quantity rights reserved. Some hems may not be exactly as shown. Ere cerener seer om Weekend outlook calls for cloudy with sunny periods and a chance of showers. @ OUR PEOPLE Gerry Rempel began his fire- fighter career as a 21-year-old with the Castlegar Volunteer Fire Department. Some 17 years later, Rempel finds him- self Castlegar’s top dog. page 9 Castlegar could become a pretty common word in NHL circles this season, as half a dozen locals look to crack the lineup at their respective train- ing camps. page 13 The Celgar expansion pro- ject is right on track according to manager Rod Meares. Meares says Castlegar can look forward to a sweeter smelling community by July. page 15 Farside Norman Letter Our People Charters Local Sport Work Place Action Ads Wheels '92 B.C Saturday September 26, 1992 75¢ News photo by CorinneJackson Who says practice doesn’t make perfect? Not Cécil Mark that's for sure. The Castlegar Volunteer Fire Department member put his skills to work Wednesday, using the powerful hose to clean up the entrance to the firehall’s bay. Cominco tossed $50 million Wl Labor Minister Moe Sihota says province is g to lend Trail smelter a financial hand Scott David Harrison EDITOR British Columbia may be giving Cominco a reprieve. Two days after the province announced that the Trail lead and zinc smelter would receive no tax breaks, Labor Minis- ter Moe Sihota has stepped onto the scene. Thursday Sihota said the province may provide Cominco with up to $50 million in loan guarantees to ensure the continued operation of the smelter. “He shouldn’t have done that,” Ed Conroy said. “He shouldn’t have said that.’ Sihota’s comments came as a surprise to the Rossland-Trail MLA, who one day earlier said “the days when we would reach into our pockets and pull out $50 million are over.” Cominco had been seeking tax breaks and reduced water rates from provincial and local governments to help offset two years of losses totaling some $100 million. The Job Protection Commission issued a report in April saying Cominco could save some $50 million annually with various tax breaks. The province initially balked at that plan, saying it and the federal government had already invested $134 million into Cominco’s new $200 million smelter — a smelter that has never worked. Ecomonic Development Min- ister David Zirnhelt said Tuesday that was enough. Enter Sihota. Concerned about a possible closure of the Trail operation, the Labor Minister announced that the province may provide the loan guarantee. Conroy says the loan guarantee could be made possible if Cominco allows B.C. Hydro to “retool” its generating stations at the Brilliant and Waneta Dams. Conroy said the excess power generated by the modernized dams would be turned over to the Crown corporation. “We are prepared to help, but under certain conditions,” Conroy said, using the two dams as an example. “We simply can’t lower their water tax levels because if we do it for one company, we'd have to do it for all of them,” Con- roy said. “We’re looking at things in the best interest of the taxpayers of this province. We have to make sure that we're not selling them the farm from underneath them.” Conroy cautioned that the $50 million loan guarantee isn’t a done deal. He said the province will negotiate a conditional agreement with Cominco in the coming weeks. “We're trying to do business like a company,” he said. “Like Cominco does as a company. “It will be a negotiation,” Conroy said, “And like most ne- goiations, you'll hear some hard talk and the drums rolling over the mountains but we’re going into them so everyone can be a winner... Cominco, the workers and the taxpayers of British Columbia.” Cominco would not comment on Sihota’s offer. MLA ED CONROY BACKS CHARLOTTETOWN ACCORD, PAGE 3