~The Castlegar Sun Wednesday, February 13, 1991 = Celgar Continued from 1A. what we dig up. “Tt will look an awful lot like it did last spring, ” Browne ‘went on. “There won't be a lot'of people, but there will be a lot of equipment digging a lot of big, big holes in front of the mill, Secondary treatment lagoons will be built in the area of the dam. They'll be moving the material to use as backfill for foundation work in front of the mill,” After about six weeks of work, “we'll see some stecl structural guys show up and: very large cranes parked on the riverbank, Those cranes will ke a fixture there for about 18 months,” added Browne. “We'll put the services in for the camp — water, sewer, power, sanitary waste facilities, a few footings. They're mobile camps that will be delivered and assembled. They'll house just the workers, I'd guesstimate it will build up to about 1,200 people. That will last about eight months, then we'll see a fairly rapid drop down to about one or two hundred. Based on what I've seen in other locations, it will be late July before we see the camp. Until then, it will” be about the same as a serious construction downtown. Just large equipment and steel riggers. It’s not labor it sntensives it’s Sauipment i ice the b Name: Robin What you do there: Cashier Castlegar likes: Dairy Queen Castlegar dislikes: School Best kept Castlegar coke Pet: None Where you work: Kokanee Park Marine elkirk women's volleyball team Vehicle: Nissan Micra What would you rather be doing? Selling time - share indos in Mazatlan Frank Isernia up there will be “hundreds of people crawling over everything.” Browne estimated that the new mill will be mechanically complete at the end of April 1993. “Then we'll take a month to flush it out with water, test out all the instrumentation loops and the safety locks. Probably in June of 1993 we'll try to feed wood to the thing,” he said, “We've been working on a critical time path of 27 months. That's longer than an elephant.” . With the official go-ahead of the expansion, other projects will get underway as well, including \ Earthmoving machinery has begun excavating and backfilling the dite for the new Celgar mill. The existing.mill, seen in the background, will remain in production during construction. the bridge across the Columbia B River to to better idea of the time frame for Castlegar, “We hope to go to public meetings fairly quickly, hopefully in the next three to four weeks,” hg said Gordon after the public mectings. There are a lot of details to take care of before we look at construction.” The bridge will be a two-lane BUN STAFF PHOTO/ Nancy Urctey tight now.” “This project is excellent for the community, for the region,” said Harry Stan, executive director of the Castlegar and District Development Board. “It stabilizes of the Mini et with a sid Ik said Highways and Transportation. “They will be advertised in the paper,and on the radio and will be held in Robson or Castlegar, depending on the facilities available.” At those ings the A “ballpark figure” for the ‘cost would be in the neighborhood of $10-$15 million. “We're looking at the Brilliant interchange as well,” he added. “The total price for the two, the bridge and the . Brilliant the y for the next two ~ years; will improve transportation links for Castlegar; will enhance - Castlegar as a service and distribution center for the West Kootenay region; and the business community won't feel: any devastating effects of. this will go over the information it has and accept input from the Public to “see if there’ 's anything we *ve overl ” said would be around $15-$20 million. We'll be taking some proposals for the Brilliant interchange to the bridge “We're looking at five possible bridge sites and we'll bring plans showing where they are. We want feedback, positive or negative, for those possible sites. We'll have a The Castelgar Sun — welcomes hew staff Sun Editor Two new faces representing the Castlegar Sun can be seen around the area these days. Brendan Halper and Frank Isernia have bree over the Sports tech and “general assignment respectively. Halper comes to the Sun from the Salmon Arm Observer where, he was employed as a staff. and d He i from admitted. So ‘fax ail the people I’ve dealt with in Castlegar are very friendly and helpful. It’s a nice town that seems to be on the brink of some major growth.” Frank-Isernia graduated the two-year Mt. Royal College journalism course in 1968. He worked in the print media for serveral years prior to entering the hotel industry where he has been employed for the past 14 years. iginally from the Prairies, most recently from Calgary, Isemia has lived inthe West Kootenays for the past six months. ied to Sharon with two Cariboo College in Kamloops in April of 1990 with a two-year Fine Arts diploma. Twenty-four years old and single, Halper enjoys downhill skiing, mountain biking, and hiking in his spare time. He has a lot of experience taking sports photos but feels his writing is still a bit shakey. ‘vu appreciate any tips, help, or I can get,” he sons Michael, 12, and Brandon, 3, Isernia has a pilot’s license and likes to fly. He also enjoys sports in general and hockey in particular. He says he’s enjoying the laid-back atmosphere here. “I love my work,” said Isemia, “and I’m looking forward to getting to know the people of Castlegar. It's evident that this town is going to boom. I’m really excited about being involved.” 4 Airport Continued trom 1A All aircraft must report before entering the five nautical miles of controlled airspace. New updated weather reporting equipment is to be installed at the Flight Service Station to better assist in weather briefings for pilots. “I believe that this is a good step forward” said Hall,”"There will be two flight specialists on duty ai all time.” Flight service are quite happy with their new ‘facilities, and in general, with the aircraft movement at the aizport. There have been no significant probems since the control tower has-been vacated by Air Traffic Control personnel. The Castlegar Weather Sation will be’undergoing extensive renovations incorporating the recently vacated Flight Service Station into an impioved Atmospheric Enviroment Services center. The weather station will, for the" time being. remain at Castlegar “Benergeney R ‘Response Service personnel at Castlegar Airport have been increased to three from ithe cument two Presently loaning this service” added DR. Hall. Employees of ERS will remain on duty for 15 minutes after all were also included in the report.. The B.C. Government Air Ambulance or. those contracted by B.C. Health Services d flights have d patients should the EHS decide to © allow Air Ambulances Services to land at Castlegar Airport after dark. Statistics in the repost This is to facilitate an landing by the i will to service “The reasoning behind a 15 minute time limit is because any aircraft paint to make an di after the to the Castlegar area as aresult of Adastra "Aviation’ 'S past decision to cease this service. , The » present policy of EHS Air Service is not to allotted 15 minutes, will be closer to Penticton or Cranbrook, “ The not so good news is that Runway Edge Lighting will not be said - added to the Castlegar Airport © because it would be extremely. expensive. The repost stated that purchase and installation alone is between $750,000 and’$1 million digpatoh Air; Ambulances: to Castlegar after daylight. » “Under no circunstances, will there» be an air ambulance to the Castlegar Airport, * after dark,” said Hall. “Not even + for Priority 1 patients. It's’ far too 5 dangerous fo? anybody to attempt.” “But, the report indicated that that there are > approximately 10 to 12 night medivacs per year and two emergency. ons medical night landings in 1! The sober also stated that a private operator might be, able to install electrical runway lighting at his own costs, if Transport Canada authorized the activity, and the instalation met Transport Canada standards. The operator would also have to accept all liability relating to the use of the lighting. : Tyg, 7 once «the: ay dollars. The cost would be astronomical. under any circumstances,. because of the known terrain hazards, the report indicated. ) Servi Recommendation that Council a take no action at the present time.«:/ with regards to installing these electrically powered Runw: Landing Tights at Castlegar airport’ are ii Bates,‘ bas agreed to have his Air oli “Castlegar City Council will eat with Bates on Feb. 9, in camera, to, discuss this in further etait! * Council ‘was also informed, through the 'teport, that Castlegar ‘Hospital:has funding available to pay. for the costs of a Registered Nurse travelling with Peoety 1. a lied, Air Vac _ /* Programs Superintendent, Gordon ‘Transport Canada does not-have :. ‘ funding for such a project because: they would not certify Castlegar’ 7 Bs airport for general night operation. “personnel review this ~ flights. . users i Ministry that ney had no intentions of scheduling night ‘The Landing ‘systems’ would ‘not improve IFR limits at Castlegar,’ Council was told that: these Microwave’ systems are ‘being discarded by those who have them. ‘ “They are’so expensive that everyone is backing off"said Hall." They will not benefit the airport.” * repost said that Microwave _ but we’re kind of limited as to whit we can do there.” And, added Sutherland, “we have a.consultant looking at the Highway 3.and 22 interchange Brendan Halper as well for public input, , “The Development Board and the City now have to work out how we can dovetail the Keenleyside Dam project at the end of the two-year period. That’s what’ s important now, is to more development at the end of this project.” Wednesday, February 13, 1991 t i ‘The Castlegar Sun Lael od ok eae It's not always easy getting over the top By NANCY LINGLEY Sun Editor through Kootenay Pass at an ele- vation of 5,800 fect, is one ‘of the Tt hasn't been casy for trav- ellers headed over Salmo-Creston Summit this scason, and it will get worse before it gets better. “We've had above average road closures this year,” said zona Tweed hinict highest all major trahs- Portation routes in Canada, This stretch of highway is considered one of the most avalanche-prone highways in the province. There are a total of six avalanche areas on the Salmo:Creston highway - 5 the Ministry of Highways son “We paths, The mandate of the Kootenay about 170 hours a year, currently we're at about 228 hours already:-. And there have, been some fairly long: closures caused by large It's a real i nience to anyone who travels the. highway, but we have no other choice but to deal with the prob- lems as they unfold. We try to.” give a high level of service. We don’t close at any old time.” Tweedy. added that, to date, the statistics show that the snowpack at the Bel Maintenance camp at Kootenay Pass is 90 cm. above average, “That's considerably above average, and that’s 0.28 year aver- age,” he stated, “Early snowfalls started in October and steadily built up through November. In December there was a record saowfall of 385 cm, in that month alone, We have a snowpack of 270 em. today (Feb. 12) at camp eleva- Hone We ave bids in start areas of Pass A gram, instituted in 1975, is to “monitor the ‘avalanche hazard, > and when required, apply the appropriate control measures that will ensure the greatest margin of « safety tothe motoring public and | ‘the personnel working in the Kootenay Pass.” The avalanche program on Kootenay Pass is one of the best anywhere said Tweedy. “We make every effort to move traffic out of the pass in the direc- . tion it’s going during the times that the avalanche hazard > ets. We also try to look at the situ- ation 10-15 minutes on each sidé ' of the gates to bring that traffic - over. Usually when we have full road closures, large avalanches will run on their own. Our job is to try and identify those times. Sometimes large avalanches will mun outside of road closures, but, by and large, we do a good job. Up until 1985, we didn't open the Pp as deep as 350 c1 cn It's become obvi- ous over the time that I’ve worked here, since 1980, that closure time is definitely higher relative to a until we had a good east- bound lane and a good westbound lane. Our policy now is when the stability is dealt with, we cut a hole through for the biggest truck Every year we suffer through about 300 events — the total num- ber of natural and control avalanches. The primary culprit for most of the avalanches is the east side of the Pass.” Highway 3, which climbs on the h Then we let traf- fic through with minor delays while we work. People who have - been up here when things are falling apart don’t complain about the road maintenance. The ones that complain haven't seen it the way it can be.” Minsitry of Highways Avalanche Technician John Tweedy with.a rocket fired from a gas-fired avalauncher used for avalanche control in the Kootenay Pass. SUN STAFF PHOTO /Nancy Ungey Despite the potentially lethal combination of the travelling pub- happens every once in a while, But there have not been any major ‘The forecast for Wednesday; ' Cloudy with afternoon showers. likely. Highs will be near 4. The outlook for Thursday and Fri- day Calls for a series of Pacific disturbances: maintain ing moist but mild conditions. . yes dee Ed. note: Maybe the weekend could bring us sun! ;’ ALOOK BACK AT THE PAST WEEK: Temperature: Max/Dato’ Min/Date ~~ Mean. Normal Mean 91/6 2.0 Precipitatio’ nz Rain 2.5/7 29 Normal Total, * 10.8 om. Snow Total 22.5cm. 0.0cm. _22:8cm. Sunshine: * Number of Hours 8.3 REMARKS: A southwesterly flow provided mild temperatures, high freezing levels and a fair of pr ion. Snow prevailed above 1300 metres but was occasion- ally mixed with rain up to 2000 metres. Most ski resorts are unhappy with the weather pat- tern, but so far holding on. Norma! Number » of Hours 20.2 Forecast provided by ‘The South - Zast Interlor Weather Office lic and Mother Nature unleashed, the avalanche technicians have an outstanding record. The last set of avalanche-related fatalities took place in January of 1976 said Tweedy. “Occasionally we have a situa- tion where an avalanche comes down and a car drives into the avalanche because it’s dark and they can’t see it,” he said. “That situations occur since 1976.” There was a_significant- avalanche cycle last Tuesday, Feb. 5, noted Tweedy. “Tt was the largest avalanche so far this winter. We finally got the last of the clean-up done on Thurs- day,” said Tweedy. “Right now (Feb. 12) there’s not much hap- pening as far as avalanches. The road is open at this point, there at Castlegar, B.C, have been no controls since last . Basically, we're playing a waiting game now. We know there will be more avalanching in the future, But at this point are going quite well. We dor’t anticipate road closures, at least for a while. “We do expect to see some Pretty significant avalanche delays the rest of the season. the situation has to be dealt with as it happens. We try to keep avalanche management clo- sure time as short as possible. But there are times when that just does not wo. FEEDBAC By NANCY LINGLEY Sun Editor 44 "When Dorothy phoned me, I said to myself, ‘if Dorothy is involved in '"The'Celgar and mod has smany: off- shoots over the course of it's coming to be.-Much-needed highway improvements, a bridge to Robson, and, indirectly, a new shopping mall can probably all be attributed to Celgar. Another satellite of the Celgar project, hanging in close and ‘ing the ups and downs of , the review procedure, was the CCCM — Citizens for Clean Celgar Modernization. Now that the project is officially off the ground, what will happen to this or ization of several th 3? Sun Editor talked with CCCM spokesperson Ron Ross. : oe The Citizens for Clean Celgar Modernization was formed in self- defense said Ron. “It started when a group of people discovered that, although the bulk of the community seemed to be in favor of the Celgar project, if you picked - up'a copy of the newspaper at the time all you could see was negative reports, negative letters to the editor. “Tf I was a man from Mars and I bad picked up a newspaper, I would have thought the whole country was up in arms and opposed to the pulp mill proposals and I knew that wasn't true. I thought we should do some- thin, "PP was about that time that our leader Dorothy Bagg phoned. Dorothy Bage's husband is employed by Celgar, but at the same time, Dorothy has always been interested in community activities. She is the driving force behind the Kootenay Wes- Revelstoke Constituency Associa- tion for the Reform Party and been involved in other organizations as well. Now, she is the President of CCCM., ER TOMORROW SUPP CLLGARS MODERNEON Topsy. is going to happen.' So I said to myself, ‘why not?’ "The first thing we did was map out a strategy. We wrote letters to the editor to the negative publicity. We didn’t tell people to do that, we just made sure some were willing to. “We went on the radio and debated the issues with people from the Valhalla Society. I did three of those. Two of them were fun, one was kind of boring. The first two were really good with lots of back and forth dis- cussion. It was fun. That's the best way to describe it. The last one I guess we just didn't hit it off. “We went to the public meetings to let them know a lot of people sup- ported the Celgar project. “We started selling memberships for $1, also hats. We had over 1,000 members in a matter of a week. There's something in the neighborhood of 3,500 now. We used the money we raised to rent vans to attend meetings, for postage and for advertising. “We do have some money left over. The directors are going to have to decide what to do with it. We'll probably donate it to something.” In fact, said Ron, the group was actually too successful and that caused some grief. “What happened was the biggest problem we had was that sometimes we were more successful than we intended to be. “We decided to take a few people up the Slocan Valley to show sup- Port. We rented one van and there were too many people, so we got anoth- er one. When everyone arrived to get on the van, we found we could have had 10 vans and everyone took cars. There was probably 200 - 300 People. We were expecting 20 or 30. "So many of us going made people of the Slocan Valley angry. They thought we were there to intimidate them. That was not our intent. “We had some really good discussions with the people of the Slocan Valley, though. Most of them outside because the hall was full and we couldn't get in. I'm glad I went. I was able to understand their position bet- ter. “After that, we tried to discourage people from going. We only needed enough to show support, not to keep people out of the hall, We tried to meter the number of people we would take so we wouldn't fill the hall, so other people could get in. The object of the meetings was for the people of the area to talk to the panel. “And after talking to some of the technical experts Celgar had we understood better what they were doing and we wanted the others to understand, too. Then the hearings were over, and the waiting began. -"We waited and waited. We didn't do much while we were waiting. We didn't know we were going to wait so long. We thought the report would be out in a month. It took three and it's still not out. "Basically we sat and crossed our fingers. If the opposition stuck their heads up and made waves, we did, too. But they didn't really, “To tell the honest truth, I think they finally came to the same conclu- sions we did. But a lot of people who moved to the Slocan Valley moved there because of the laidback lifestyle and the slow pace of living. They didn't want that changed. They wanted to keep that quiet lifestyle and they were . afraid they'd lose it. They were worried about that. ” “But I don't think it's going to change it as much as they think. "On the one hand they were complaining that there’ would only be 30 new jobs, on the other they didn't want their lifesiyle changed. I don't think that's consistent. Even though the final report has not yet been released, the recommen- dations have been and. Ron has studied them with interest. ‘In the ob mendtions: they've lowered the speed limit which ‘really accomplishes nothing. I think that was appeasement and I think they'll see | aS that and will be annoyed. SUN STAFF PHOTOS / Nerey Lingtey "I'd like to'see the Highways look at the sections of road where the = School buses stop and widen the shoulders so there is‘a place for them to . Stop and let kids out and, conversely, when they're waiting for the bus, the fae ont have t0 stand ou the road One eee MOE Ley, <4 is it if a kid gets hit by a chip truck or a beer truck. “If we can use chip trucks to get it done, why not?. So. What about the future of the CCCM? . "I think maybe the role for CCCM to play in the future, now that the pulp mill bas the go ahead, could be to make sure that the province does some of these things. Make sure they get on with that bridge and the road. improvements in the Slocan Valley. Something needs to be done with that road. ‘T'm not suggesting there needs to be four lanes to Galena Bay, but you “don't need to be an engineer to know something needs to be done. Maybe a passing Iane and improved shoulders. They don't have to be paved. Just widened. Isit t really over now? "We're really delighted that the project is going ahead Tl tell you. T just can't believe it took that Iong for that report. “We have to decide if we're going to dissolve ¢ or sort of mothball the organization in case it's required further on. ; : ‘Tm not sure what could go wrong. I'm an engineer, That's my job. I get paid to try to tirink about what could go wrong and prevent it. ». “Lhavent thought ofit yet, but I'm sure there's something out there. preniiericahs anteaters alee ts! done.” 38