Castlegor News 1967 Review, March 25, 1967

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Trail « Fruitvale * Castlegar * Salmo * South Slocan* Nakusp * New Denver * Waneta Plaza * Kaslo

You are cordially invited to attend the

18" ANNUAL G

of Kootenay Savings Credit Union, Tuesday,

ENERAL MEETING

March 31, 7:30 p.m.,

Cominco Gymnasium, Victoria Street, Trail, B.C.

Please join us for an evening of informative discussio

n followed by refreshments.

Situated in the majestic Columbia Valley at the
confluence of the Kootenay and Columbia rivers on the
southern end of the Arrow Lakes, Castlegar is the
vibrant heart of the West Kootenay.

‘The city of almost 7,000 is located midway between
Vancouver and Calgary along the southern Trans-Canada
route, and is the focal point of four major highways:
Highway 3A which goes north to Nelson, Highway 22
south to Trail, Highway 3 east to Salmo (and-Calgary) and
Highway 3 west to Grand Forks (and Vancouver).

It is no wonder, then, that the city proudly proclaims
itself “the crossroads of the Kootenays.” It is the hub of
the resource-rich region it serves and its future lies » a
service and distribution centre. 5

But it wasn't always this way. As little as 25 years
ago the city was a bedroom community for the larger
West Kootenay centres of Trail and Nelson. The
economic base at that time consisted of the Cominco
smelter In Trail, Canadian Pacific Railway, logging and
small scale farming.

Today, Castlegar boasts a major pulp and lumber
operation, a fledgling industrial park, the region's
community college, the area’s only commercial airport,
and a host of light industry — large and small,

It is also quickly the region's i
and conference centre, with its eomplex of hotels and its
easy access to all modes of transportation.

In those 25 years, a number of major transportation
projects have been undertaken, including construction of
the Blueberry-Paulsen highway linking Castlegar with
points west along Highway 3.

The Castlegar airport was also built in the last 20
years, and is not only used by a largé number of private
aircraft, but has the region's four commercial airlines.

Pacific Western Airlines maintains a passenger and

Pe td dittaslsicveukar biel canadaln

freight service, connecting the area with Vancouver and
F It’s sister Time Air, provid
between Castlegar and Calgary.

‘And 1985 saw the introduction of two new airlines:
Air BC and Adastra Aviation. f

Air BC flies daily direct flights between Vancouver
and Castlegar, while Adastra flies between Castlegar and
Kelowna, and Penticton. And it soon will provide flights
to Kamloops.

In addition, charter airline and helicopter services
are available.

As well, Transport Canada is undertaking a 6
million expansion of the airport terminal building,
tripling its size.

‘The CPR travels south to Trail, west to Grand Forks,
north to Nakusp and east to Nelson. The Burlington
Northern comes from Seattle and Spokane, Wash. and
travels as far north as Nelson.

The city is also home to major truck’ transport
carriers, including Public Freightways, Williams Moving
and Storage, Skyway Distributors and, more recently,
Van-Kam.

As well, CP Transport relocated its depot from Trail
to Castlegar in 1983 to take advantage of the city's
céntral location. :

Labatt’s Brewing Co. also has a major distribution
depot in the city.

In 1982 the city established a fully-serviced
industrial park to handle the increase in light industry
requirements. The park. has 37 lots on Highway 22 in
south Castlegar, within easy reach of the airport.

Currently, there are three tenants in the park and
a special development board is helping market the lots.

The board has been active, setting out marketing

i and ii ing an ii i sales

program.

Good things happening

If 1986 was given a name, it would likely be falled The
Year of Corporate Change. It Was’ year that saw the two
largest employers in the West Kootenay change hands
and the propposed purchase of a third.

Teck Corp. of Vancouver purchased Cominco Ltd.
from Canadian Pacific in October a little more than a
week after Westar Timber Ltd. sold its Celgar Pulp Mill
to consortium of two Montreal companies and a Chinese
bank.

Earlier in the year UtiliCorp United Inc. bid $80
million for West Kootenay Power and Light Co. Two
major air carriers, PWA and Air BC, both of whom serve
Castlegar's regional airport, also made major changes.

But 1986 was also a year that saw considerable
improvements on a variety of fronts. For instance,
Cominco Ltd. announced it would proceed with its $171
million lead smelter modernization, creating 400 jobs in
the process and ensuring thousands of more jobs.

Westar Timber spent $7 million upgrading its
Southern Wood Products sawmill in Castlegar and
announced plans to spend another $13 million.

‘And there were a number of other highlights:

@ Cominco announced in June it would spend $15
million upgrading its zinc operations;

e A new senior citizens housing complex, Rosewood

GENTLE LIFE .. . The Castlegar-Robson cable ferry
that crosses the Columbia River at the city’s north

Manor, was officially opened in Sep ]

 Castlegar’s transit system was given the green
light in September and began its first run in
mid-November;

e A $2.4 million aquatic centre for Castlegar was
announced in May;

‘ Shaw Cable, the regional cable firm, transferred its
operations from Trail to Castlegar;

e Castlegar council agreed to pick up half the cost of
‘a $600,000 downtown revitalization project;

e A $5 million expansion to Castlegar airport,
including a new terminal building, was given the
go-ahead;

e Hollywood came to Castlegar in December with the
filming of the movie Housekeeping, starring Christine
Lahti.

e An enclosed $6 million mall was announced for the
eliptical site;

e A $700,000 Ministry of Forests buildings was
offieially opened in March;

Work on a $445,000 civic library began in
December;

A new waterslide and campground was proposed
for the Sunset Drive-in property in Ootischenia.

end is representative of the easy-going pace of the
community.

BRACE OF BRIDGES . . . New Brilliant Bridge frames
ol Bri 1g Ke River near
Castlegar. The arched span, ‘a structural rarity in

id Doukhob

Canada, was designed by engineers of the B.C.
Ministry of Highways to meet the unusual steep-
sided gorge, over the fast-flowing river.

WINTER WONDERLAND . . . Unique suspension
bridge leading to Zuckerberg Islan Heritage Park

in the middle of a Castlegar winter.

Co-operation key

The more I read and observe, and yes mull over, why
some ities are more ful than others in
the process of economic renewal, the message keeps
coming back loud and élear. Co-operation between local
people and groups within the community, make the
difference. People who initiate creative ideas and use new
approaches in resolving economic problems are the new
heroes of our time.

These successful cities and their people consistently
worked together pooling their resources and talents.

Where possible the City of Castlegar has over the
years been working constructively with a number of
committees, that have been very active, and productive
and I would like to salute some of these groups this year.

The first one, the Heritage Advisory Committee is so
ably chaired by John Charters. His team has
accomplished outstanding work on Zuckerberg Island and
are now working on preservation of the CPR station.

‘The Castlegar and Area Swimming Pool Group, that
was organized by Ron Ross, this group has developed
plans for a comprehensive pool-leisure centre, and is

ly active. This ittee recently met with Bill
Reid, Minister of Tourism, Recreation and Culture. Ron's
group will be submitting their plans to the minister and
are still pursuing community support for this excellent
project.

The Castlegar and District Development Society
spearheaded by Henry John is a knowledgeable, hard
working society, that has set up and staffed an economic
development office for Castlegar and area. The
employees, Richard Maddocks and Harry Stan, have
helped many new businesses and enterprises get started
in our area.

The re-structured Downtown Revitalization Com-
mittee is back in business. Jack Parkin and Joan Blain
have now been joined by three property owners. This
group will be meeting with council's Planning and Devel
opment Advisory Committee very soon, and I sincerely
hope that these people will come up with an acceptable
revitalization plan for our downtown area.

The Man-in-Motion working group that was called
together by Pat Metge of Regional Recreation
Commission No. 1 has representation from schools,
service clubs, media, interested citizens and members of

council, all people dedicated to making sure Rick
Hansen's visit to our city is a great success.

May I, by recognizing these few groups in this
article, as well, take this opportunity to thank the many
other s within our ity, who
contribute endless hours of time and effort to the vibrant
City of Castlegar.

Aastra More

Audrey L. Moore,
Mayor