eae ; i | Leqnig It Ye oh Alkolh e. SL CASTLEGAR NEWS, Thursday, June 15, 1978 NON ie Eta. q Ae UYU a) Distributed Bright and Early Every Thursday Morning at “The Crossroads of the Kootenays” TWO SECTIONS (A&B) Bos : Canada Week June 25-July 1 CASTLEGAR, BRITISH COLUMBIA, THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 1978 pu 26 CENTS _ CanCel Sawmill Blaze Origin Investigated By RYON GUEODES CasNews Editor VOL, 31, No, 25 gator's examination of the site. DO You WAI Li ¢ LOWER WAGES ? ¢ LESS BENEFITS ? ¢ POOR WORKING CONDITIONS ? © JOB SECURITY DEPENDENT ONLY ON THE WHIM OF A FOREMAN ? "Right To Work’”’ Laws Have One Purpose ... TO DESTROY UNIONS * Outside Interests Seek To Impose American Laws in B.C. The so-called “Right to Work” laws are an American import. In the states where they are in force, they have led to the:loss of much of the rights and conditions unions have struggled so long to achieve. Two groups, the. Independent ‘Contractors and Businessmen’s Association and the United Right- to-Work.Group, aided by such out of province bodies, as the National Right-to-Work Committee of Fairfax Virginia,. and the Canadian Con- struction Relations Association are fighting to impose “Right-to-Work” laws in B.C. They claim to be only interested in the welfare of the working man. In fact, they have only one interest to secure a work force that is unorganized and helpless. NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT! * IF YOU BELIEVE IN DEMOCRACY; _ * IF YOU BELIEVE IN FREEDOM OF CHOICE; * IF YOU BELIEVE THAT RESPONSIBLE UWION LEABERSNIP AND THE TRADE UNION MOVEMENT CAN BENEFIT OUR ECONOMY AND SOCIETY IN GENERAL; ..* IF YOU BELIEVE THAT YOUR CHILDREN AND YOUR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN ARE ENTITLED TOA LEGACY OF FREEDOM; INFORM YOURSELF — MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD For More Information Premier W.R. Bennett, Legislative Buildings, Victoria, B.C. Dear Premier Bennett: | wish to be on record as opposed to the introduction of any form of “Right-to-Work Laws” in B.C. Signed Nelson ADDRESS Trail Contact DARWIN BENSON, USWA LOCAL 480, TRAIL 368-9131 or RELSON-TRAIL DISTRICT LABOUR CENTER _ NELSON — 352-3651 The area beneath a double arbor edger in CanCel's main sawmill here has been named as the probable source of Satur- day's fire which put 150 to 200 sawmill employees out of work. A company statement is- sued Tuesday said the fire— which caused extensive roof and structural damage both to the main mill and the adjoining new $7.7 million smallwood mill—apparently ignited under the machine “and spread rapidly from that point.” Sawmill maintenance sup- erintendent Wally Miner told the Castlegar News yesterday the double arbor edger, used to saw fir logs into planks, was resting on second-floor-level beams above the concret¢ base- ment floor in the mill. Asked if the fire had ig- nited on one of the wooden support beams, Miner declined to comment, saying the cause of the fire was still under investi- gation. He’ also declined to say whether the mills’ sprinkling systems were in’ operation during the fire. Asked yesterday whether the sprinklers were in opera- tion during the fire, sawmill manager Chuck Dinning said there “didn't seem to be any-” thing wrong with the sprinkling system.” “The experts have looked at it and they haven't found anything wrong with it," he said. He said he doubted whether. there had been any problems with the water supply to the sprinklers. “A lot of things happened,” he said. “It’s hard to answer that question.” The sawmill manager said’ _ the sprinkling’ system: “wasn't: 150-200 Sawmill Workers Jobless faulty” and attributed the quick spread of the blaze to the “almost explosive type of fire” which resulted from the igni- tion of deposits and_air-borne particles of sawdust ignited in the sawmill. Castlegar fire chief Rene Archambault, contacted Tues- day, said “four or five" wit- nesses he met Saturday said they saw welding going on in the main sawmill before the “blaze started, but he added that they had not yet been officially questioned, Archambault said 34 mem- bers of the Castlegar Fire De- partment, who arrived at the mill 10 to 15 minutes after the fire was reported at 2 p.m., fought the fire with four pumper trucks, including ‘a Trail Fire Department aerial truck, The fire chief said flames shot 30 to 50 feet above the sawmill roofs and “spread real fast.” “It went from one end of the old mill to the other in no time at all," he said, He said he was satisfied with the volunteer firemen's efforts to control the blaze. “It was a dangerous fire and a big fire and those guys did a terrific job," he said. “I think that without us they would have lost the whole works.” Archambault said fire de- partment members, along with the mill crew, were fighting the blaze until after 7 p.m. He said CanCel crews throughout the night wet down the still- smouldering sections of the mill and adjacent areas. He said he was unable to determine the cause of the fire because it “was so, hot at the time we never got to it,” and once the fire was extinguished he left the site untouched to avoid interfering with the pro- vincial fire marshal’s investi- The company and repre- sentative of the provincial fire marshal's office began yester- day to investigate the cause of the blaze, Dinning confirmed that CanCel president Don Watson was also scheduled to arrive at the mill yesterday to take a first-hand look at the damage. Commenting on the state- ment in the company's Tues- Con't. Pg. A2, Col. 5) Task Force To Assess Impact of Fire A “corporate task force” will assess the impact Subject to Adjustment $37,146 Deficit Cited Castlegar and District Hospital showed an operating deficit of $37,146 for the past fiscal year, hospital board di- rector Merv Rush reported last Thursday. Rush told the more than 50 persons attending the Castle- gar and District Hospital. So- ciety annual meeting that the deficit was expected to turn into a surplus with the addition of the provincial government's * provisional budget adjustment. “The deficit amounting to 1.7 per cent of net operating revenue is a result of low oc- eupancy in acute care,” Rush said. “We are almost certain to have a surplus when the oc- cupancy adjustment is re- ceived,” A breakdown in the oper- ating of the hospital indicated raising costs in all categories. Rush “attributed the higher ¥ caruapay FIRE which caused extensive structur- f[al and roof damage to CanCel’s local sawmill op- erations reportedly start- ed beneath a double arbor edger In the main sawmill and quickly spread to the company’s new $7.7 mil- lion smailwood mill. In top photo, Casttegar Fire De- partment members wet I down the roof of the main sawmill, which sustained the most damage. In mid- die photo, the sawmill fire crew fights to contro! the tire which put 150 to 200 sawmill workers out of work. {n bottom phoio, onlookers watch from the Robson side of the Colum- bla River as smoke covers both the main sawmill (at right) and the new mill ” it). I fl —casNewsFotos by Riki | Hall and Burt Campboll § costs to an average increase in full-time employees salaries and an inflationary trend. Proposed changes to the Castlegar and District Hospital Society's bylaws had been cir- culated to members several days before, and adopted at the meeting with a single vote covering acceptance of all pro- posed changes. Included was amendment which gives the city and the ladies’ auxiliary each a repre- sentative on the board, Prior to the change the city had two representatives and the auxil- jary none. During the reports hospi- tal administrator Ken Talarico noted an increase of four per cent in the hospital occupancy while the average number of patients in hospital per day was “44, an increase of two. Talarico said government approved occupancy is 77 per cent and 46 patients per day. In presenting the medical report Dr. John Walton asked that the community at large put pressure on the government to have the ambulance services in small communities operate out of the hospital rather than in (Con't. Pg, A2, Col. 1) Ministries Deadlocked Over Student Housing CasNews Staff Selkirk College students have been told the rundown on-campus residences will not be open by September, princi- pal Mitch Anderson said ast Thursday. "Anderson told the college council in a meeting at the college's Nelson campus the College Votes To Renew Fire Protection Selkirk College council last Thursday approved renewal of its annual fire protection agree- ment with the City of Castlegar at a minimum cost of $742. Finance committee chair- man Helmut Krueger, who recommended renewal of the agreement—retroactive to March 1 and expiring Feb. 28, 1979—said in addition to the yearly retainer the city would charge the college $50 for every call answered by the Castlegar Fire Department and an extra amount for each fireman answering the call. Krueger told council mem- hers the committee was con- cerned over-the time elapsed since its previous fire pro- tection agreement expired in late February. He said the committee would check with council's legal advisors to deter- ; mine whether the college was covered by the new agreement during that period. . announcement. was necessary of day's CanCel saw- mill fire on the company's local pulp and interior woods operations, the company an- nounéed this week. A CanCel press release issued Tuesday said the task force “is now studying al- ternatives in terms of man- ning, mill reconstruction, and design, fibre supply to the pulp mill, fuel require- ments, log harvesting and road building requirements, The release noted that the sawmill provided “a substantial amiount” of wood chips and hog fuel to the pulp mill—and that the chip piles at the sawmill escaped damage. Gordon McLachlin, sen- ior vice-president in charge of logging, paid tribute in the release to the sawmill and pulp mill fire crews as well as the Castlegar and Trail fire .departments in their efforts to control the fire, and thanked employees who “worked all night . to fight the blaze.” “hécaiuse the’ p ial houging and education ministries had not yet resolved their deadlock over responsibility for the resi- dences after completion of the repairs. He said the housing minis- try, which owns the building, is willing to finance repairs to the facility's roof and has applied to the provincial treasury board for the $45,000 required to finance them, but is stil} un- willing to take responsiblity for the building after they are completed, “The ministry of education said the residences are the property of the ministry of housing and they don’t want to spend money on a losing pro- position,” he said. Anderson said he dis- cussed “a number of possi- bilities” in a recent meeting with deputy education minister Walter Hardwick, but “just couldn't resolve the issue.” Asked how long it would take to repair the building's roof, he said if the college received the $45,000 immedi- ately repairs would be com- pleted in about six weeks. The college “can always reverse its position” should the roof be fixed before September, Anderson said. Students were moved out of the residences into local hotels and motels, at housing ministry expense, in carly January because of leaks in the building's roof. THE INSIDE oe WEEDS: A bouquet for the city. Page Bil PURCHASED: The Tri- angle Pacific a A Slocan. e BOREDOM: wale a cats centre cure it? One Man's Opinion Ann Landers . Bill Smiley... . Classified Ads, Real Estate, and Automotive... . Pages SUAS Ae Editorial . . . Entertainment. Pages AG-, ‘AB ALO Telenews ... Pages B3-B4 Weekend Weathercast SOME SHOWER activity is expected today with un- settled conditions existing A into the weekend. For convenient home delivery of the Castlegar News, call 365-7266, @ Addition of animal! hospitals, veterinary clinics and kennels as permitted uses in light industrial zones; @ Allowance of manu- facturing in heavy industrial zones; e Deletion of art gal- leries, grocery stores, hospi- tals, mobile home parks, religious institutions, senior citizens’ accommodation and trailer courts from rural zones. Those are the highlights of proposed amendments to the city's zoning bylaw which will be discussed at a public hearing at City Hall 7 p.m. Wednesday. Amendments to City Zoning Discussed at Public Hearing City council voted last week to hold the hearing to enable residents to discuss or state their objections to amendments in Bylaw No, 215. ‘Other changes proposed in the bylaw include the re- zoning of all churches, re- ligious institutions, assem- bly halls and community " hensive commercial and highway commercial zoning inclusion of art galleries as a permitted use in “schools— institutional and public” zones and the inclusion of recreational vehicle sales and service as a permitted use in highway commercial zones. Ce d this week, halls to “sch and public’ zoning, and deletion of community halls, grocery stores, hospitals and religious institutions from multi-family residential zon- ing. Also proposed is dele- tion of retail store use from core commercial, compre- city planning technician Andy Swetlishoff described the proposed amendments as housekeeping measures, “We've been working with this zoning bylaw for over a year now and we're basically trying to clean it up.” he said.