February 12, 1989 Rl Castlégar News MEMBER OF THE B.C, PRESS COUNCIL ESTABLISHED AUGUST 71947 " INCORPORATING THE MID WEEK MIRROR PUBLISHEC PUBLISHER AUGUST” 1947 -Fem PUBLISHER — Bur! Campbell EDITOR non Birch PLANT FOREMAN — Peter Harvey ADVERTISING MANAGER — Gory Fleming OFFICE MANAGER — Lindo Kositsin CIRCULATION MANAGER — Heather Hadley Cv CAMPOELL it's a start Talk is cheap, the saying goes, but settling disputes has to start somewhere, We hope the meeting last Monday night at Robson Hall is the start of some kind of solution to the current controversy surrounding logging in. the Ladybird Creek/Norns Creek watershed north of Castlegar But — and call us cynics if you must — short of any dramatic con cessions by either side in the dispute or a sudden change in policy by the provincial government regarding logging in watersheds, we doubt if an easy end to the fight is in sight At this point in time, the division is too deep. On one side — the recently formed Robson-Raspberry Watershed Alliance and the Robson-Raspberry Improvement District and their supporters — there is a call for an immediate end to logging in the watershed. They say the logging. is causing sedimentation in the water supply, Norns (Pass) Creek, and that the sedimentation is rendering the RRID's ultraviolet water purification system ineffective against bacteria from animal and. human waste entering the creek from freely roaming cattle and a number of septic systems adjacent to the creek On the other side the Ministry of Forests Forest District office, and Atco tumber Co, of Fruitvale argument of the ministry's responsibility to rid the watershed of an infestation of spruce bark beetles which if.allowed to take wing this Spring could threaten additional stands of spruce, one of the more valuable species of timber in this area ‘ One side says the logging is being done poorly and offers to take everyone interested up to the watershed to see for themselves The other side admits past logging was bad but says current logging is good and offers to take everyone interested up to the watershed to see for themselves Both sides produce photographs to back their claims Atco Lumber'’s tte: ger Hons touwe jers why, tt sediment in the water from logging is the problem, water samples taken from the Upper Pass Creek system which is closer to his logging operation — have tested cleaner than samples taken in Rob son But improvement district trustees and watershed alliance mem bers point out that the pollutants against which the RRID's ultraviolet system is ineffective because of sediment in the water enter the creek downstream from the Upper Pass Creek system Without the sediment in the water, the ultraviolet system could purify the water supply, they say So obviously there's a long way to go to reach an agreement, not only about responsibility for current problems but also about who's going to pay for past mistakes which have damaged the water-shed Quite understandably, the approximately 2,200 water users in Robson, Raspberry and Pass Creek don't want to foot the bill Even though there was a lack of any agreements last Monday the watershed alliance members should be commended for organizing the public meeting at which the water users could hear for themselves the arguments from the various experts present and people closely involved in the dispute, rather than reading about them in the newspaper Having said that, we do commisserate with Mr. Louwe and Arrow Forest District manager Ken Arnett — who unfortunately for them personally have been cast in the role of “bad guys’ in the dispute — for having-to-state-their positions-in a short time and before a hostile crowd through its Arrow there is the We hope that all parties continue to talk to try to find solutions td the problems and that the water users don't have to resort to costly legal action which could bankrupt the local improvement district in an attempt to extract compensation from the government and/or Atco Lumber either to rehabilitate the watershed or to make improvements to the RRID's water treatment system, or both Meanwhile, what would be really nice to see come out of this battle and other fights over watersheds around the province is a change in policy on the part of the provincial government giving water users some teeth when it comes to decisions over what ac tivities take place in their watersheds Because, while we agree that logging may sometimes be necessary in watersheds because of disease or pests, we do not believe that the right of people in this province to clean drinking water should take precedence over the right of lumber companies to make a dollar We will be first in line with a glass of pure, clean water to toast a government which recognizes that right guidelines. The environment portfolio will be run under just but tough ™ For instance... its just tough if Quebec Anglophones don’t like their present environment. Letters to the editor Ferry closure shifts costs A few days ago I got to thinking about the economics of the Robson ferry operation. Itis obvious that those of us who live in Robson or Castlegar and use automobiles must drive farther to visit each other's community than we did when we had the ferry. But how much farther? How much does it cost us? Well, like economics, it depends. I had to make use of that ndispensable device of the formally qualified economist, the assumption First, 1 decided that a reasonable way to measure road distances would be to assume the Robson post office to be the, centre of Robson and the Castlegar post office to be the centre of Castlegar odometer of my ca! the distance to be travelled in getting from post office to post office is 15.6 kilometres via the Hugh Keenleyside dam and 14.2 km by way of the Brilliant and Kinnaird bridges. If the ferry were in service, the distance to be driven would be 2.3km include the trip. automobile should be shut down while everything else in To do my in formal study It was then easy, using the to determine that This does not ferry since the the ferry isunder way Of the two routes now available to us, the bridge crossing is the shorter by 1.4km, but this is still 11.9 km of extra road distance each time we travel bet Robson What does this cost us? ween and Castlegar Here we must again make an assum. ption. We will assume an automobile By MIKE HARCOURT Leader of the Opposition It’s time we as British Columbians took back our Torests For too long, our most important resourge industry has lurched along in a confusing direction. satisfying few people Socred forest policy has created widespread public uncertainty beyond the big forest companies. and distrust. But a consensus is now forming around the need to get serious about forest management today, and — ‘the public for the future vironmentalists, and independent truck loggers alike are calling for action That's why New Democrate royal commission on forestry in B.¢ look atall aspects of the industry and determine where it stands now and where it’s going I make no apology for my own party’s clear objec Forest workers, forest communities, en portant ay it's time for afull The time is right to tives on B.C.’s forests. We believe a roval commission must have two basic priorities in setting forth forest policy 1. sustaining the industry in the future, and of the industry 2. Controlling corporate concentration today Sustaining the industry: Cutting down trees means jobs, but those jobs won't be there tomorrow if we don’t get serious about forest management now We need a thorough examination of agement practices such as clearcut and start seriously caring for _ forest policy our environment current forest ma ting and waste utilization. We must commit ourselves to managing the whole forest so as to get the most jobs without damaging the environment Corporate Concentration: panies Our province and resource users are operating in an opportunity major policy initiatives are undertaken mine B.C public review must be done We've had a jong-history in B.C commissions as forum for examining certain elements The Fulton Report in 1910 led to the province's first forest act "40s and '$0s dealt with sustained yield management ob jectives and tenure changes. And most recently, in 1976 the Pearse Commission looked at tenure rights and ripe for a new royal commission stumble along. B.C present Socred government or the giant forest com. It's time to take back our forests. ever changing industriatand intermationat environment Yet despite record high levels of harvesting, we're get ting declining numbers of forest industry jobs ih return. We've-lost-control of our forests —100-much-of the public land is in the hands of big'private companies We're freezing out small independent eperators and making it difficult for communities to plan their futures. Steps must be taken by a royal commission to return decision-making and control of our public lands The Socred government has announced a series of public information sessions, but they've missed an im: to thoroughly examine the in. dustry. Information sessions are no substitute for a well. developed and co-ordinated forest pblicy Before any policies which a full and *s economic future of using royal The Sloan Reports of the mid Now, as we approach the 21st Century, the time is Let's not continue to forests belong to us all, not to the It’s time to make sure today’s forest policies and practices can serve both our needs and those of our children. that goes 25 miles on a gallon of gasoline, or uses 11.26 litres per 100 km. The cost of gasoline we will take as 45.9’ cents per litre, the price posted when I drove through town making my measurements. This assumption and this observation enable us to calculate that on each trip our car will use an ex tra 1.34 litres of gasoline and that this gasoline will cost us 61.5 cents. But wait. This 61.5 cents is.only the immediate out-of-pocket cost that we incur because of not having our ferry service. Our accountants Will not let us get away with this. We must factor in oil changes, tire wear, normal vehicle maintenance, insurance and depreci ation . The best way to do this is to assume that the car will have attife of so many years during which we will drive it so many thousands of kilometres, and then work out the ascribed to each kilometre travelled. | asked representatives of three large organizations operating in our com munity about this and found that they allow from 25 to 29 cents per kilometre We will take the midpoint of this range, 27 cen ts, for our working figure. Applying 11.9 km of extra travel gives us a cost of $3.21 for each full cost to be for the use of a private car this figure to our one way trip. If we brought a cost analyst into our discussion at this point he would tell us that we must also show as a cost the wages of the driver, and sometimes of the passengers as well True. I have thought about this, but at this time 1 am going to restrict myself to consideration of only the costs we have been forced to bear that can be directly attributed to the run ning of our automobiles — $3.21 for each crossing How many crossings do we make each year? I have at hand the January sheet of the 1987/88 year Castlegar Ferry Route Analysis. This shows me that in the 10 months from April 1987 to January 1988 inclusive, 504,213 units were taken across. Unit is not defined and I must assume that it includes motorcycles, larg and logging trucks. In the absence of fiscal transports sufficient detail we will assume, con I believe, that the low cost of-running a motorcycle balances out the high costs of operating trucks, and will use our $3.21 as the ex tra cost incurred through having to use the bridge route rather than the ferry The 504,213 unit figure for the 10- month period enables us to project a year-end figure of 605,056 units. At $3.21, each these 605,056 trips between Robson and Castlegar force the local accept $1,942,230 in\extra vehicle operating Even i enough to consider only the money we servatively large cople to some costs we were shortsighted take out of our pockets each time we buy gasoline we would be paying out $372,110 for fuel we would not have to use if the ferry were available to us We are told that the cost of running the ferry for a year is in the order of Robson voters | punished This might not people, but to others, thisis the truth In the last election, the people of Robson voted for the NDP asa protest against the-way-our-provinciat gover- nment was treating this area, so now our premier has taken the ferry at Rob: son out of service to punish us. To make things better, he awarded a con tract toa local contractor to replace a pretty good boat slip for around $140,000 or Now this would have enabled the ferry to run for over a year, but I guess us Robson voters have to be punished It seems that our premier and God aren't doing such a good job of run ning the province of British Columbia, when he can show his likes, which are few, and his dislikes, which are many It seems that in the Bible, which he says he believes in, it says believe and forgive. If he keeps punishing parts of this province, which is his duty to at least help, I think it says in the Bible someplace that God says revenge is mine. So it isn’t the premier’s place to do what he’s doing to the people of Robson What the premier did when he shut down the ferry was create 4 hardship for all youngsters and pensioners who used the ferry to walk across 10 do some shopping, visit a friend and get some exercise. Now these people have to walk around two miles to the appeal to some more railroad bridge, then when they cross this bridge, which has no railing, they have another two miles to walk, which isa very big hardship. If they can't-do this, it will cost them $12, $15 fora taxi, or they might take the local transportation which makes two trips a day. This is the people the premier is punishing. | am a pensioner, but | drive a-car. It is 13 kilometres around the bridge, and 11 kilometres by the dam, which is a very awkward way of transportation If this premier, who is supposed to be a leader of men and not a dictator, would give us the ferry back , he might win some of the voters’ confidence back | was a captain on the coast for 40 years and I’ve never before seen tricks like this played politically and if the premier keeps playing these tricks, I’m afraid he is going to kill his party Maybe it is for the better We have a province which I think we would gladly say is the best province in Canada, but tricks like this are going to hurt us, since only parts of British Columbia are being serviced. If this isn’t enough, let me know. In the meantime I shall be making notes about a few things I've forgotten. 1 hope the people of British Columbia reads this Capt. Angus Thodeson Robson $250,000, As long as the ferry is out of service the Ministry of Highways is saving itself this $250,000 every year But clearly, in the real world there is no saving at ajl. Thete is in fact a large in- crease in cost A. saving has been created in the books of the Ministry of Highways by shifting one of its costs on to a small group, the residénts of the Robson: Castlegar area — and in this case in the form of a greatly increased cost spread over a number of individuals names for this practice The Ministry There are and its corollary effect of Highways is externalizing a cost by forcing local people to do without a most useful service that it has been quite rightly providing for many years. The residents are being made to pay for an external diseconomy much greater than the saving the department has created for itself by externalizing one of its costs It is interesting to speculate on what this practice may lead to if we come to accept it F.G. Marsh Castlegar Response angers resident Reading the article on the pulp mill's response to governmental inquires relating to dioxin pollution really raised my ire. To begin with, the company_never raised the issue of further reducing the present level, stating it is “years ahead”’ of other mills in reducing its output. Then they had the nerve to say that the results of a recent study on the confidentait,**~ tt crime to humanity of a yery tevets-were ** isa high magnitude to cover up the poisoning of with Poisonous substance known to man’? our_environment “the most and expect to avoid any responsibility for it With record profits, and a history of exceeding current pollution, laws, not to mention a beautiful river that has for ail purposes, except as a dumping ground, lost its life, it’s time the com pany met its obligations. I'm suppase to respect the law or suffer the consequences. Does social justice only apply to the socially disad vantaged? Michael Anderson Castlegar Please address all Letters to the Editor to: The Castlegar News, P.O. Box 3007, Castlegar, 8.C. VIN 3H4, or deliver them to our office af 197 Columbia Ave nue, Castlegar Letters must be signed and include the writer's tull name and address. Only in very exceptional cases will letters be published without the Writers nome Nevertheless, the name and address of the writer must be disclosed to the editor Thé Castlegar News reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clority legality and grammar OE ee Fe eee ene re ne ae net sy. February 12, 1989 Castlegar News AS _ Letters to the editor Spill leaves bad taste An open letter to Lyle Kristiansen, Kootenay West-Revelstoke MP We in the Kootenays are some distance ‘from the West Coast, but | wasborn and Island. That region isa permanent part of me. At the least, any of us can travel there over distance that we can tr a barrier or asa way of access I am angered, grieved and deeply disturbed — disillusioned is too weak a word, because I have few illusions in this regard — by the circumstances of the Gray’s Harbor oil spill and raised on Vancouver cleanup. 1 have little to say about the actions of the towboat company and the U.S. officials involved; they were incompetent and hopefully their own people will deal and foolish, such a way that they never have the op- portunity to work such ruin again. But | find most offence in the behaviors of Environment Canada and the B.C, Ministry of the Environment, and | must discard them as effectual agencies. They only stifle cries of outrage and accomplish nothing significant in the desperately delayed movement to repair the injuries we cause our world, So long as environ mental policies do not change at the root, those ministries have my op. position rather than my support. They are quislings, betraying us all-for the sake of the imaginary status quo. Lam appalled but unsurprised to see the burdens of cleanup fall on a few wearied volunteers, the more so while Armed Forces personnel, ships and equipment sit on their high-priced bot toms doing nothing. If they are nat prepared or permitted to work for the preservation’ of Canadian beaches, coastal living things, and regional and native industry, what in the name of budget deficits are they for? Certainly not for national defense because work of this sort is really national defense. Perrin Beatty covets nuclear submarines at obscene expen- se. What will be left for them to defend? The provincial ministry has always seas, been a joke; for our flatulent ministgr to wash his hands of what he called ‘a federal matter’ is a joke in foul taste He is like one who chooses not to help his neighbor escape a fire because he is nota fireman, Please: emergency work first, ministerial protocol second! Politicians and administrators in this country are caught in a terrible sleep. Our way of life changes the world ever faster for the worse, and we are-the only ones who can hope or begin to set its course aright. The time for halfway measures is long past there are no longer any safe places. We belong — in our deepest life, in every cell as in our souls — toa world full of living things. To destroy them is to destroy ourselves. We have fio right to doeither F. Mark Mealing Castlegar ‘Meeting gives new insights The public information meeting of Feb. 6 provided new insight as to the dimensions of damage to the Robson. Raspberry watershed. The Ministry of edges that there should be no distin: ¢tion_made_as to whether Hadikan Bros.\Lumbering or Atco Logging was responsible for creating this—mess. Logging was responsible for creating Radical I am writing in regard to the letter entitled ‘‘Wrong, Directiotr’’ in Sun day’s Castlegar News (Feb.4) I cannot think of anyone who would disagree with. the first three or four points Mr. Killough has cited. I per- sonally agree very strongly that a gas turbine generator in Oliver or any other part of our great province is a step in the wrong direction forests acknowl Whatever they did, they did in direct breach and contravention of the terms of the cutting permits The ministry acknowledges its responsibility in failing to property in spect, monitor the logging, and assess and remedy the damage I agree completely with The ministry that immediate dialogue is necessary. | What is obvious is that the proposed IWMP “tool”? has not and cannot an swer .the question posed in editorial of Jan. 22: ‘The problem now is determining the severity of the damage to the watershed and figuring your out how to repair the damage and most importantly — who is going fo pay for the cleanup,"* including the cost of installing a new filtration method can't win However, I think Mr. Killough’s fif th “‘reason’” was a step in the wrong direction for, his cause. I haven't seen any Americans working on construc tion sites in B. C. and I don’t expect to But I’m tired of arguing about free trade so I'll get to my point We-have UtiliCorp. We have free trade, Those fights are behind us. If we're Goal exceeded The recent Christmas Seal campaign has been the Lung Associations’s most And it happened through the continuing generosity of British Columbians. A very grateful thank you for your newspaper, your readers, communities, ‘and regional Christmas Seal chairperson Bunny Charters of Castlegar, for the generous support given to the 1988 Christmas Seal campaign successful ever your The campaign officially ended Jan 31 with -donations reaching $1,186,000, @ significant increase over the projected goal of $1.1 million Beware Consumers beware chasing tables, coffee tables and end tables for your home, especially if they have glass tops or for that matter glass when pur anywhere. For two years, we have owned a glass coffee table, the centre being very thick glass with brass legs and a wooden Contributors from the Castlegar area were directly responsible for $4,010 of the campaign. Money raised through the annual Christmas Seal campaign helps fund lung disease research, school programs lung health among children, public and professional educational programs, and awareness campaigns highlighting the harmful effects of tobacco use, air pollution and occupational respiratory hazards Again, thank you all very much for your help. Maurice Cownden Volunteer President of glass She also received cuts requiring stit ches to her face and head. When all was said and done, she had 1% hours of or. thoscopic surgery in Trail Hospital on her middle finger to repair her ten. dons, which were cut completely, a cast and. 26 stitches. She now must have her hand in a cast for two weeks to promote Trame. Much to our surprise, we Tounrd out-the-glass-was not-as strong as-we had assumed and our daughter Angelas, 6, accidentally fell through the middle of the table last Sunday, causing great damage to her ring finger and middle finger on her right hand. and-phy py for-atongtimeto get the use of her finger back Please beware+that even if you think your glass table is btrong, everything has its breaking point. Beware Brenda Binnie Castlegar going to fight this gas turbine generator, we have to fight it together, regardless of. our position on the political spectrum. Slamming UtiliCorp and making dismal (and ridiculous) forecasts about our future with free trade will add no credibility to our opposition of gas: powered generators. Furthermore, it will discourage a great number of pedple who_oppose this project from joining the fight If we want “‘clean power,” let’s fight this proposal with ‘‘clean facts,” with practical concerns and environ- mental concérns, not with the point of view of a bunch of left-wing radicals We've proven on too many issues that wecan’t win with that approach alen Sorenson Castlegar Care home supported Ata recent directors’ meeting, it was resolved that the Castlegar: Chamber of Commerce encourage the mayor and council to approve the application of the intermediate care facility being proposed by Raspberry Lodge. It is the feeling of the directors that such a facility is urgently needed in Castlegar and that it meets the criteria of encouraging business and commer cial ventures into our boundaries. It will also generate tax revenues for the city, create employment, and provide easy access for local families, medical services, shopping, and recreation. It appears that the only objection has_been that property values would decline, and we feel it lacks sensitivity to suggest that property values! Ernie Turta President Castlegar Chamber of Commerce mere aging affects Overwaitea Chahko-Mika Mall, Nelson OPEN TODAY — SUNDAY — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. See Sale Flyer in Today's Paper! system. How the ministry would ex pect the Robson-Raspberry Im provement District to participate in a process of continuing to log this water shed without a hint of an answer to the question which you pose, is hard to imag bear liability for cleaning up the mess created in the past, how do they expect us to deal with this issue in the future? Only now are we obtaining an analysis of the damage to our watershed — the ministry’s report of October 1988 is at least a step in the right direction Cteartythe-anatysis of the risk oF logging to the rest of our watershed should be addressed now What we don’t need is more promises of good intention. We need concrete answers. The ministry and the companies have made many promises toeach other and to usin the past, most of which they have broken, except one They promised to log our watershed and they have. Sandra Wy Robson semanas The Militia Reserve your future Work part-time, ear extra and get @ tr al CENTRAL FOODS SPECIALS PALM BULK WIENERS 0.0.0. #1.94/k9. . 88° tb. $948 POT OF GOLD ‘PEPSIOR Chocolates $598 REGULAR/DIET 750 mt 7 © mus DEP. We reserve the right to limit quantities Prices limited to stock on hand Snor-Easy Foo0s | CENTRAL FOODS OPEN SUNDAYS Community Owned 10 a.m.-5 pom: 2717 Columbia, Cot PRICES EFFECTIVE SUN., MON., TUES., WED. legar CasNews:Classified Works. Phone 365-2212 PREVENTING EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION (An Update on the Human Rights Act of B.C.) ts the employér liable tor sexual harassment in the workplace? Can an em ployee be mandatorily retired at age 65? Are employers. required to hire minorities or persons with disabilities? What happens when a human rights complaint is filed? These questions and many other important topics for em. ployers, employees, personnel managers and trade-union officials will be ad. dressed Presented by the B.C. Council of Human Rights, Thursday, Feb. 16, 7-10 p.m. ot the Castlegar Campus. There is no ‘charge for this course, but please pre-register by calling Continuing Education, 365-7292, ext. 261 or 353. Celkirk &% lede CASTLEGAR CAMPUS Box 1200, Castlegar. B.C. VIN 3J1 (365-7292 EMPLOYERS! _ Looking for Competent and Productive Short-Term Employees? Co-operative Education is the formal integration of academic semesters at the college with paid work semesters in business, government or industry In providing Co-op student employment, an employer can satisty, at a reduced cost, manpower requirements arising trom vacations, special staft projects and other short term needs. Co-op also provides an excellent opportunity for evaluating future full-time employees Selkirk College offers the following programs inthe Co-operative Education format * Busi Administration m the Reserve of the Canadian Armed Forces’ Marketing/General Management Accounting/Finance * Electronics Engineering Technology * Computer Information Systems Technology ‘Ask Wf you qualify fer Provincial or Feder 7 further’ information contact: 365-7292, local 340, or 365-1228. CASTLEGAR CAMPUS Box 1200. Costlegar, B.C. VIN 3J1 related po: Accountants. Microtel Ltd.; Dor Project Accounti In business today, effective management teams are composed of team players who provide and contribute select specialized skills. One crucial role is that of the Management Accountant. , Management Accountancy now resents two-thirds of all accounting tions, and continues to be the fastest growing segment of the profession in Canada. Only the RIA designation specifically identifies professionals trained as Management Some local RIA’s include John Fedoruk, Controller, Telecom Business Group, Egger, Manager. Mobile Data Inter- national Inc.; Don Hincks, Western Regional Accounting Manager. McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Ltd.; Brian Kennedy, V.P. Administra tion and Chief Financial Officer, B.C Buildings Corporation. Management Accountants are employed as Account ants, Controllers, Vice-Presidents of Finance and Chief Executive Officers. ‘To earn the RIA Management Account- ant designation, candidates must complete the academic requirements of the Society's Professional Program and have at least two years of senior financial experience. The Professional sists of advanced man- agement and accounting cdurses specifically designed to train “Chief Financial Officers” in industry, com- merce and government For information on the admission re quirements into the Professional Program (Spring Semester), contact the Director of Education prior to March 10, 1989. The Society of Management Accountants P.O. Box 11548, 1575 — 650 West Georgia St... V. ouver, B.C. V6B 4W7 ‘Telephone: (604) 687-5891 Toll Free: 1-800-663-9646 Fax: (604) 687-6688. Accot da in all provinces nants of British Col make the designation cons s the used by m nd territories mbia. Ty use th jatent with their colleag: