PAGE} 6 = * = ?P Editor Bob Proctor Marketing Manager Mickey Read Composing Room Foreman Warren Chernoff Accountant Mary Ann Fullerton Circulation Manager OurViEWS Violence around us % re wouldn’t have known it in Castlegar, but an anniversary of sorts was commemorated Sunday. Three years ago, a little known man named Marc Lepine walked into a Montreal university, cowardly gunning down 14 defenseless women in a moment of terror that this community has obviously forgotten. It’s shameful to think Lepine’s act of madness has already been forgotten in Castlegar. One year ago, a handful of citizens gathered outside Castlegar city hall to remember one of the darkest days in Canadian history. Standing quietly, the sombre gathering lit white candles in memory of the 14 female engineering students who lost their lives to a madman. The sombre mood was not repeated in 1992. No vigil. No candles. No nothing. Why, the only vigil staged occurred in Nelson. But poor attendance showed little reverence to the memory of the 14 fallen victims whose lives were taken by a gun- wielding stranger. Marc Lepine’s savage act must never be forgotten, nor accepted. Violence against women is a cruel reality within the world we live. It hides in the same hideous crack that violence against children does. Fourteen innocent lives were lost on Dec. 6, 1989. How many more lives must be lost before Castlegar stands united against the violence that surrounds us? Blame it on the referendum That failed referendum It’s funny how things change. Just over a year ago, I arrived in Castlegar to find myself in the midst of something as trivial as a paving referendum. At the same time, Councillor Lawrence Chernoff and Superintendent of Public Works Barry Comin were on a local radio phone-in show, boasting about the merits of long-overdue road rehabilitation. s.D.HARRISON Harrison Comparison can’t be overlooked and while I still kick myself for blowing the coverage, I can’t help but recognize that this one referendum changed Castlegar forever. The aftermath of the December vote brought out the best and the worst of Castlegar. People like Chernoff were at a loss to explain the defeated referendum, while others like Mike O’Connor were Everything was happy, cordial and the thought of a failed referendum never entered my mind. Boy, did I screw up. While I was busy accepting the word of council as the gospel truth, some long- haired radio guy named Neil Andrews (aka Neil Rachynski) was playing voicers on CKQR from angry citizens that vowed to crush the city’s master plan. The-citizens won, defeating the Dec. 14 referendum which would have seen Castlegar borrow $1.286 million to pay for years of neglect. just getting started. O’Connor — together with a loose group known as the Concerned Citizens Coalition — went on to publicly embarrass city hall by publishing a list of questions in a local paper, demanding answers to some age-old questions. Castlegar responded in then-typical fashion, corralling a curious public on its turf, forcing it to play by its rules. Little did city council realize that the rule book changed and it’s been changing ever since. please see HARRISON page 7 Street TALK Burt C: Publisher Emeritus L.V. Campbell Aug. 7, 1947- Feb. 15, 1973 John Stuchnoff Castlegar “It should be. This is the centre of the district.” Tom Titford Castlegar “Yes. It’s halfway to Nelson and halfway to Trail.” Esther Cowlin Castlegar “Yes, because of the growth in this area.” Trudy Murray “Yes. We're central for air ambulance Question: Do you think Castlegar should become the regional centre for health care? Louie Zurek Castlegar Robson “Definitely — it’s the most central @ Wednesday, December 9, 1992 Other VIEWS: Please address all letters to: Letters to the Editor Castlegar News P.O. Box 3007 Castlegar, B.C. V1N 3H4 or deliver them to 197 Columbia Ave. Letters should be typewritten, double-spaced and not longer than 300 words. Letters MUST be signed and include the writer's first and last names, address 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 residence only will be published. Only in exceptional cases will letters be published anonymously. Even in those cases, the name, address and phone number of the writer MUST be disclosed to the editor. The News reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity, legality, grammar and taste. Letters toWHE EDITOR Big Brother watches over Slocan Valley Unfortunately, there are a few people in our society who, in their fervent zeal to suburban- ize a rural area, have failed to realize that by allowing bylaws such as Bylaw 923 to be passed in this manner they are trading their freedoms and rights to responsible govern- ment for white picket fences and pink flamin- gos. The major difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy the control of government regulations comes from the majority of the people, not from the will and whim of one man. Sadly, I am finding out that we appear to be living in a dictatorship, where the rule-mak- ers are operating completely without heed to the needs and wants of the people they repre- sent. You, the people, have been refused the right to input into the rules and regulations that you must live by — even where you have of- fered to pay for the right to input. This, in my eyes, is not a democracy. This is a dictatorial condition. I ask you — are you prepared to pay the price demanded by your apathy? Maybe when someone tells you that your house is too big or too small or the wrong col- or, and forces you by law to change it, you will wake up to the fact that it is too late to stop this rampant Big Brother attitude by some of the egomaniacs in our local government. If you wish to join the fight against corrup- tion of the democratic process, help us to fight Unsightly Premises Bylaws Nos. 606, 802, 817, 831, 832, 861, 917, 919, 920 and 923 throughout our entire Regional District of Central Kootenay. The most precious things we have are our rights and freedoms, and slowly these are be- ing taken away from us without even a whim- per. Austin Greengrass Vice chairman Slocan Valley Concerned Citizens Forum Winlaw Fat comments show little compassion for reality Peter Weingard would have been better off to keep his mouth shut. In regards to the subject of “fat” people, or what makes them “fat”... I am a slim woman who has overweight friends and family. I do not view them as,less of a person — emotionally or spiritually. I do not sneer or snicker at them. Nor do I try to make them feel guilty for their weight. There is guilt enough from people such as Mr. Weingard, who come up with ridiculous “guilt” comments about starving people in the world. Doesn't he realize that this is the very comment that our parents used to get us to eat “all” on our plate? I do agree with Mr. Weingard on one point. That the “diet industry” is a multi- billion dollar industry, that perhaps preys on overweight people. healthy choices are better — but then some in the “diet industry” teach this concept. It is, however, not much business of yours where these people spend their money. Just as it is not mine to know where you spend yours. Now what is “grotesque” is not necessarily the extra weight of some people — but the false opinion that all fat people sit at home stuffing their faces with abandonment! I do not care if Mr. Weingard wants to date a slim person. That, however, does not give him the right to “attack” overweight people. Mr. Weingard has shown himself to be an uncompassionate human being, with his past comments. Let’s hope he soon sees the light. We are all people, who should be loved for what’s inside not for how we look. T.L.C. Nelson Harrison continued from page 6 ¢ January — the Concerned Citizens Coalition turned in its garden party-like name, adopting the more confrontational moniker CURB. Council responded by dis- missing the grassroots movement as a passing fancy, nothing but a long-winded, short-sighted self in- terest group of malcontents who were committed to the fall of the empire. CURB took the criticism in stride, though, reluctantly using a skeptical media as its vehicle of expression. I, too, took shots at CURB, questioning its relentless badgering and its controversial name — a name [ still think belit- tles the objective of the citizens group. ¢ February — CURB attended its first council session, accepting the snickering of the establish- ment in its attempts to legitimize long-standing beefs. Council re- sponded by throwing CURB a bone, releasing settlement pay- ments to former employees which Coun. Kirk Duff said totalled “slightly less than $100,000.” The spirit of co-operation was stunned one council session later when Mayor Audrey Moore re- sponded to CURB questioning in a curious manner, using Latin to say “don’t let the bastards drag you down.” CURB responded by holding its first public meeting on Feb. 17, a two-hour bitch session that con- firmed Mike O’Connor as its re- bellious leader. * March — Council opened its doors to the public, tabling its well-prepared 1992 provisional budget with little opposition from anyone... even. CURB. Council can thank Duff and treasurer Jacquie Hamilton for avoiding the expected battle by providing page- by-page accounts of revenues and expenditures. . A strange thing happened on March 9 when CURB vice presi- dent Walter Flux was named to the Official Community Plan Up- date Committee. Even stranger, however, Flux was elected to head the 18-member committee just months after the citizens group blow the doors off city hall. ¢ April — After a brief hiatus, CURB returned to fight the relo- cation of Castlegar’s city works yard, saying it was an unneces- sary expenditure. The group went as far to publish a public opinion form in local papers, asking Castlegar what it thought about the $875,000 expenditure. Poll re- sults were dismissed by city coun- cil, for obvious reasons. * May — Council finalized the 1992 budget and its five-year cap- ital plan. Despite a two per cent cut in taxes, the expected cat calls from CURB followed. The citizens group questioned Castlegar’s cap- ital spending, focusing in on city hall renovations and final cost of the works yard relocation project, which came in $25,000 higher than projected. * June — Civic squabbles took a backseat to non-CURB issues as council finally took a proactive role in the affairs of the city, balk- ing at an Ed Conroy plan that would see tractor-trailers rerouted through Castlegar after a near fa- tal accident in Warfield. Council also berated Canada Post, de- nouncing rumors of a postal clo- sure in Castlegar. ¢ July and August — CURB took the summer off but The News didn't, unearthing the well-hidden Price Waterhouse Report much to the chagrin of a less than co-oper- ative council. A stream of editorials, columns and stories finally forced council to release the confidential report which gave city hall failing grades in six of seven categories. ¢ September — After a two- month vacation, CURB got the op- portunity it was looking for when Coun. Marilyn Mathieson an- nounced that she was moving to Vancouver and resigning from council. Armed with the Price Wa- terhouse Report and everything else, CURB braced itself for a run at city hall. * October — The council run was overwhelmingly successful as CURB-backed Doug Green waltzed into Castlegar’s White House ready to shake the founda- tions. The shaking hasn’t hap- pened, though, as an inexperi- enced Green has been playing it right, preferring to study the is- sues before exposing them. * November — City hall an yours truly squared off again, this time regarding the dissatisfaction of its works crews. The story was received with predictable criticism from city hall, which has reassured me that I'll be in the dog house for some- time to come. As for CURB, it sat this one out, preferring to let me take the brunt of Castlegar ag- gression through idle threats and off-the-cuff comments. ¢ December — the month has only begun, but it’s obvious to any follower that CURB has come of age. The once boisterous citizens group is playing coy with the pub- lic, saying its noncommittal about slating candidates for the 1993 municipal elections. Why, the fact that CURB has appointed a media relations direc- tor is indication enough that the one-year-old group has every in- tention to seek council jobs. eee What lays ahead for Castlegar is anybody’s guess. The past year has seen the city stumble, fumble and bungle. Efforts to cover up even the most trivial of matters has left the city looking less than favorable. The city-must begin to accept that times have changed, and, with that, it must change. Answers that appeased an apa- oo public in 1992 won't work in 1993. I know that, CURB knows that and here’s hoping council does. One failed paving referendum brought everything to a head. Only honest answers can bring things to an end.