uegi tive Library, Parlias Victoria, B. Cc, nt Bldgs., 502 Belleville 3s Pharmasave Drugs is ex- panding into old Taks Fur- niture building. -. A7 Doonesbury comic strip iy satirizes the case of real- SAABZ— life subway shooter Ber- nhard Goetz, and some people.don't like it... A3 The six regular winning numbers in Saturday's Lotto 6-49 were five, 18, 22, 23, 25 and 26, The bonus number wos twe. The pool of $1,951,996.70, awarded to those matching all six regular numbers, was won by a single ticket purchased in Ontario. The second-prize pool, awarded to those matching regular numbers and the bonus number, had 14 winners of $52,671.30. five. The $500,000 winning number in Friday's Provincial lot- tery drow is 2434580. Island adventure Columnist John Charters concludes his two-part feature on Dr. John Hall's visit to Papua New Guinea WEATHERCAST Sunny today with cloudy periods. Highs of -8°, Monday will see a mixture of clouds and sunshine. Chance of precipitation today and Monday is 10 per cent. 50 Cents Be VOL. 38, No. 10 CASTLEGAR, BRITISH COLUMBIA, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1985 2 Sections (A & B) MORE WINTER . . . Any groundhog who dared to show his head around Castlegar Saturday would have been blinded by the sunshine and forced back into his hole for another six weeks by the frosty temperatures. CasNews editor Ron Norman went chet of for groundhogs but only came up with this shot of sun framed by twin tree trunks. Groundhog observers in Ontario and Pennsylvania had more luck. See story page... A3 SMECHER. SAYS Board won't sit quietly for cuts By CHERYL CALDERBANK Staff Writer Castlegar school board is not going to take the provincial government's education cutbacks quietly, says board chairman Doreen Smecher. “If things keep happening,” says Smecher, the board “may get louder.” Smecher was reacting to a speech by Edueation Minister Jack Heinrich Monday in which he said most school boards in the province have been able to live with budget contraints, while some — whom Smecher said Heinrich classified as “rabble rousers” — are having difficulty. In an apparent jab at school boards like Vancouver which are vocally opposing. cuts, Heinrich said, “The issues are being exaggerated out of all reasonable proportion by some who are supposed to manage school districts in accordance with the ability of taxpay- ers to pay.” Smecher said it is not the Castlegar board's style to be classified as rabble rousers. However, she said the board, teachers’ association and Canadian Union of Public Employees have agreed to jointly submit to Heinrich a “factual account of what is happening to educagi6n in Castlegar.” In the brief, which Smecher said will be sent to the minister this spring, the board will invite parents and parents’ groups to include their remarks. “We are going to have a say,” said Smecher. “We are going to let him (Heinrich) know he is hurting us. He is not doing any service by cutting back.” DOREEN SMECHER . .. Heinrich doing this ‘wrong’ She said whenever possible, the board has sent a letter to Heinrich saying, “you're doing this wrong.” “We will go one step further and make a joint submission,” she said, adding that “if things keep happening” the board “may get louder. But Smecher said she was assured by Heinrich when he was in town last month that the end of restraint would come in 1986, when tax authority would be returned to the school boards. However, she added that if the economy is in the same slump it is now, it will do the school boards no good to have tax authority returned if tax- payers cannot afford an increase. In his speech, Heinrich said the government's three-year funding for- FOR WELFARE HIKE Council By CasNews Staff mula introduced in 1983 to ensure an equitable distribution of funds through- out the .province, provides enough money for a quality education for every B.C. student. In districts where this isn't hap- pening — where for example classes enough money for education, Smecher noted that when Heinrich was in Castlegar, he asked Smecher, “How is education in Castlegar, is it surviving?” “It is surviving, but needs to do more than survive,” she said. “If you look at just survival, we are dying. “If this period is going to end in 1986, then we can mark time.” However, Smecher said, “We've got to grow, we can't stay like this.” She noted that the major problems with lack of funding seem to be in larger centres. She said Castlegar traditionally has run a hardline edu- cational system. “We are better equipped to do that than major centres,” she said. “At this point they haven't cut as deep as what is happening in Van couver, But on the surface, it looks like already the next budget coming up is going to hurt us a lot more than up to this point.” The minister told his audience the province “cannot afford the levels of educational services that critics are demanding” — and neither could any other province. He said B.C. devotes similar re continued on page A2 studies request renter grants of $150 a year have been A coalition to “end legislated pov erty” has asked Castlegar council to support an increase in welfare rates “to the poverty level.” The coalition says for a family of six, the poverty line is $27,169 a year. However, council says it wants to check the figures quoted by the coali tion before it commits itself. The coalition, called “End Legislated Poverty,” says it believes the “vast majority” of people would rather work than collect welfare. “However, until jobs are available we believe everyone should have enough resources to provide for basic needs with dignity.” That means raising the welfare rates for 216,000 B.C. residents, the group says in a letter to council. “We are writing to ask that your council . .. pass a motion endorsing an ‘Let's Talk' will By CasNews Staff poses: . % * from on the provin- cial school system will be used to develop a new School ‘Act, as well as chart the direction of education “for the next little while,” says a University of B.C. professor who compile the information into research format. Dr. Todd Rogers, a professor of statistics who works in the Department of Measurement and Research Design et 4 public response from the Let's Talk paper on B.C. schools. 2 study like this will be dove “more often.” ‘The stody is & “serious stiempt” to try and — des of dent ve the taxpa| on how the school system ought to be ‘run in B.C., Rogers said in @ telephone interview from his - UBC office. “Its a very pr Rogers said. hoa. * sive look at in welfare rates to the poverty level and send a copy of the resolution to the Human Resources Minister, Graee McCarthy.” In an information sheet attached to the letter the group says most B.C residents on welfare exist on income of only half the poverty level “Welfare rates have been frozen since May 1982. Since then the overall cost of living has increased by 11.4 per cent,” said the coalition’s information sheet. As well, the coalition notes that d, as has rent control. “On top of that, the rates for some categories of welfare recipients have actually been cut up to $80 per month,” says the coalition. The coalition says the poverty level for a single person is $9,056, according to the 1984 Canadian Council on Social Development. The B.C. welfare rate for an employable single person is $4,500, says the coalition. Other figures include: e family of two — poverty line is $15,094 (B.C. welfare rate is $7,440). e family of three — poverty line is $18,113 (welfare rate is $9,240). @ family of four — the poverty level is $21,131 (welfare rate is $10,440) ¢ family of five — the poverty line is $24,150 (welfare rate is $11,580) family of six — the poverty line is $27,169 (welfare rate is $12,480). However, Ald. Len Embree sug gested council refer the letter to the Health and Welfare Committee to verify a number of the statistics in the letter. Embree, who chairs the committee, said he would like to do some “in vestigative homework” and return to council with a recommendation. City, CUPE making progress on pact By CasNews Staff Contract talks between the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the City of Castlegar continued this week with two sessions, on Thursday and Friday CUPE represents 33 inside and outside municipal workers. “We are making progress,” said administrator Dave Gairns, adding that talks “have gone cooperatively.” Gairns said contract wording is taking up a lot of the bargaining time. However, he noted, “We're not hung up on issues.” Gairns also said the main issues have yet to be dealt with, though the two sides are not that far apart Negotiations are not set to take place again until March because of schedul ing difficulties. The contract for the city workers expires at the end of this month. WOMAN WINS 360,000 By CasNews Staff Stella Palpmaruk will remember Jan. 19 for the rest of her life. That's the day the Castlegar woman and 13 partners won $5 million in the Lotto 6-49 draw. John Hauk of Edmonton held the lucky ticket in trust for the 14 partners — all of whom are related. Hauk will also receive the lion's share of the $5 million. A B.C. Lotteries spokesman said she isn’t sure just how much Palpmaruk will get, though she estimated it would be around $360,000. “It might be less than that (though) added Loren Plottel. Palpmaruk and five other members of the clan live in B.C. The other B.( family members who shared the ticket are: Blanche Polowick, Barbara Pep aak, and Mary and John Mulawka of Kelowna, and Fred Mulawka of Kiti mat.