So ‘ CastléSair News February 20, 1985 RUNNING: IS IT GOOD OR BAD FOR YOU? By KIRK LaPOINTE The Canadian Press The debate on running knows little middle ground. Its supporters praise it as the ultimate sporting activity, improving everything from their self-images to their sex lives. Detractors insist it is a waste of time and a surefire cause of heart, leg and back problems. Evidence remains inconclusive on any array of issues related to running. What are its long-term effects on joints and ligaments? Do the physically addictive qualities of running have any psychological side-effects? Can city runners actually do more harm than good by inhaling the exhaust of downtown traffic? Some research in sports medicine is beginning to break down many of the myths associated with running. Last year, two important U.S. studies concluded that regular jogging or running helps protect men from cardiac arrest, ever. though they found the odds of suffering such -attacks during exercise were slightly higher than at other times. Still, running has at best a mixed public image — helped by such research but hurt by such events as the death last year of running guru Jim Fixx while jogging.Fixx's death has been attributed largely to heart disease — something no amount of exercise can erase. Those who love running will point out that no Olympic marathon entrant has ever died of a heart attack, but others persist in their belief that running can kill. INCREASE RESEARCH Now that the running “boom” has taken hold, and there is a wider sampling from which researchers can assess the situation, the next five years may lead to solid evidence to change many of the common perceptions about running. It’s doubtful may who now run are going to stop while the jury is out. But what if you want to start a serious program of running — say, a half-hour, every other day? Faced with this debate, what are you do to? Perhaps the best first step is to seek advice from the medicine or physical education departments of your local university, where experts are familiar with the latest research and are generally better qualified to discuss the pros and cons of running than the typical family doctor. But before you do that, let's put to rest the handful of the most common myths about running. Myth one: Running in cold weather is a health hazard. One of the long-held myths is that the lungs will “freeze” when cold air is inhaled. Truth is, cold air never makes it much farther than your throat. If the lungs tingle, it may be because they're being used more vigorously than usual. As for other hazards — frostbite, for example — layered clothing of non-synthetie fibres, thick gloves and a touque or head covering will protect runners in temperatures as low as -70 C. Apart from the hands, it’s important to protect the head because it generates about 20 per cent of body heat. Men are advised to wear an athletic support. MUST PUSH HEART Myth two: A short run is no better for your heart than a long walk. To achieve cardiovascular fitness, doctors say it is necessary to push the heart to at least 60 per cent of its potential — the maximum it can beat and pump blood through the system — three times a week for 30 minutes at a time. Many athletes even push the heart to 80 per cent of its potential for longer periods each day. Usually, the potential is about 205 beats per minute, minus your age. Even at a brisk pace, a walk won't give you true cardiovascular fitness. Myth three: Running improves health. Although there is some evidence about long-term health to support this belief — particularly as it relates to weight loss —generally a new runner will find his exercise program demanding and draining. Usually, that will mean the body's natural defences against viruses — particularly colds — will be reduced. Never confuse fitness with health. Many mistakenly believe vitamin supplements will help. But most Canadians receive the proper daily doses of vitamins in a balanced diet; the body will simply eliminate off-the-shelf vitamins and minerals. Myth four: Runners can take a long layoff and quickly return to form. Researchers are finding “reversibility,” the loss of muscular capacity to absorb oxygen, in runners as early as seven or eight days following a layoff. Two or three days of rest ean be just what's needed to cure a stale runner, but lengthy breaks can send you almost back to the drawing board. Myth five: The body was not made to run. Although the medical community is divided about the long-range effects running has on the body, anthropologists recently wrote in Britain that the body was made to run. After all, running uses the strongest muscles — in the legs, hips and heart. (busi Telephone 365-5210 Brian L. Brown Certified General Accountant 270 Columbia Ave. Castlegar Ph. 365-2151 MOROSO, MARKIN & BLAIN Certified General Accountants © 1985 241 Columbia Ave. Castlegar 2:15 “*l can hear the ocean!” *200 Quortz - Digital Tuning Medala Shortwave 365-5687 Peppercorn Dining Under the Palms at Uncommmonly Affordable Prices TERRA NOVA MOTOR INN 1001 Rossland Ave., Trail Reservations 364-2222 Ph. 365-7287 | Soligo, Koide with 8 & John L ASK CHES OR JOHN FOR AND ALL SERVICE FOR THE LIFE or BEAUMARK the APPLIANCES E.W.C. TO PROVIDE ALL PARTS: F THE MACHINE Chartered Accountants 615 Columbia Ave. (Upstairs) BUT DO OCCUR Perm complaints rare CALGARY (CP) — Bev Wagar had no reason to expect anything unusual when her hairdresser applied permanent wave lotion and sealed her hair with a plastic bag to allow the formula to take effect. The 34-year-old Calgary woman had received perms at least three times previously at other beauty parlors without incident. She has no skin allergies that she is aware of. But Wagar was in for a painful surprise the moment her young, male hairdresser removed the bag and protective cotton along her hairline so he could apply neutralizer. The nape of her neck stung severely. “I think it was the air touching it,” she said. “I dabbed at it and they put some cream on it. For about five days, I had a rough time getting to sleep.” Wagar suffered what is known in the beauty trade as a chemical burn. Her burn, about eight centimetres long and 2.5 centimetres wide, was located along the hairline at the back of her neck and took a week to heal. The pain, she said, was excruciating. Wagar's complaint is typical of several the Better Business Bureau of Calgary has received in recent years. The hairdresser apparently allowed the cotton on her neck to absorb too much moisture. It is standard procedure to change the cotton as often as necessary. Even though the perm solution — thioglycolate — ordinarily is harmless, it cam cause severe irritation if the skin is abrased even slightly. “We have the odd complaint but I have never come across a real serious case,” said Alice Foltinek, office manager at the bureau. Walter Birce, Calgary regional manager for Alberta Manpower's apprenticeship and trade certification branch, said such complaints are rare. “It's an industry that has a very good hold on its craft.” Joy Ockwell of Calgary, an expert in beauticians’ chemicals and a hairdressing consultant to the provincial government, said no competent hairdrgsser would inflict a chemical burn Harry's Cosmeticology, a standard reference guide for the beauty industry, said ‘the typical setting lotion contains ammonium thioglycolate, a caustic soda, ammonia and water. Thioglycolate is the universal chemical for permanent waves. The Merck Index, an encyclopedia of chemicals and drugs, warns that misuse may result in irritation. Ockwell, a 40-year veteran of the hairdressing industry, said thioglycolate is foul-tasting but does not burn. Why then do some people suffer burns? Ockwell said there a¥e four possible reasons: the patient might have a latent skin allergy; jewelry, such as a necklace might have chafed the skin; the thioglycolate solution might not affect the outer layers of the skin but is abrasive on the inner skin; or the cotton might have absorbed excessive amounts of lotion. The patron often reacts unconsciously by rubbing the softened skin underneath, resulting in a slight abrasion and vulnerability to severe irritation. In another instance, the burned skin might previously have been abrased, cut or affected by an open sore. severe skin Home childbirth less painful EDMONTON (CP) = Women who give birth at home rate childbirth is far less painful than those who gave birth in hospital, a study by nursing rsearchers at the University of Alberta has found. In the study, 191 parents painful affliction and a tooth. ache as the least painful on a list that also included heart attack, broken bones and migraine headaches. The study, conducted by nursing faculty members Caroline Park and Janice Morse, was presented to a whose babies were born in hospitals ranked childbirth as the third most painful exper ience ona list of nine possible kinds of pain. But 282 parents whose ba. bies were delivered at home ranked childbirth as the sec ond least painful out of nine. Both groups of parents scored a bad burn as the most recent nursing research con ference in Edmonton. “When we started I be was proven wrong,” Park said. She suggested the feel might be influenced by their wish to further the legiti macy of home birth. lieved the home-birth group would rate pain very high — I ings of home-birth advocates Castlegar CLOTHING, DRAPERIES Phone 365-7745 ‘ e/REDSPREADS : -verything on consignmen Henry John, 8.5c..CA. | Weapty New enor | WILLIAMS MOVING Resident Partner Russell Auctions Same TNO mevios 399-4793 |—————|_ pn, 365-3328 Collect Throms Country Harvest |_——————_—___ Buy or Sell by Auction Delicatessen “Sci SOME Ph. 365-5414 moving estimate. & STORAGE 2337-6th Ave., Castlegar Invite you to call them for o tree Let our representative tell you about the many services which have made Williams the most respec ML LeRoy THE COLANDER SPAGHETTI HOUSE ‘Specialing in Italian cuisine For Reservations Phone 364-1816 1475 Cedar Avenue Trail, B.C. A,B,C,D... orX, Y,Z Yes, whether your business name starts with A or with Z Business Directory advertising is for you! RATES ARE ATTRACTIVE TOO! Phone 365-5210 FOR FULL DETAILS COLEMAN COUNTRY BOY SERVICE Sump & Septic Tank Pumping Phone 365-5013 3400 - 4th Avenue Castlegar — B.S. 0.D. = RUMFORD e OPTOMETRIST PLACE LBZ superswoop | = a 1012 ath st Chimney Services Ltd. Phone 365-3361 Tues. - Fri. 9a.m. - 5 p.m * Complete Masonry Work * Chimney Linin * Certitied Fire Satety Mowers & DESIGN | |! —>rMy ALLEN olumbia Ave. of. 365-6141 SERVICES B.Sc. 0.0. DRAFTING ee S55 3 Plannin, Office interiors Construction Supervisions 65-2546 366 Bok FF —_ Tike hike prepares for baby CHICAGO (AP) — When Susan'Stone was pregnant with her second child, she didn’t prepare her two-year-old daughter for the newborn by telling her about the stork or the cabbage patch. Instead, she took her daughter, Jessica, to the hospital and explained where she would give birth to the new baby ‘I was anxious about her reaction to the new baby and I felt like I wanted to do all I could to make it easier for her,” Stone said. “It made me feel better than I was able to help her. “I feel that if you're a close family, you include them (the children) in everything, no matter how old they are.” Prentice Women's Hospital and Maternity Centre, part of Chicago's Northwestern Hospital, now offers its “Tike Hike” hospital tour for young brothers. and sisters to-be. The children to a recording of a baby's heartbeat, visit a nursery and view labor and delivery rooms, said spokesman Pat Miller Programs teaching children about the process of birth are now common throughout the United States. They help families grow closer and alleviate sibling competition that can cause trouble, especially in families with children close in age, said Michael Meyerhoff, administrative director of the Centre for Parent Education in Newton, Mass. ‘Sometimes it (sibling rivalry) can lead to a child sealding to death another child, or beating them to death,” said Meyerhoff, who has led workshops on infant listen and toddler education. “These are freaky cases, but it’s an extreme case of a common problem.” Usually, sibling rivalry leads only to wild households as children vie for attention, he added The Prentice program tries to “remove the mystique and fear” felt by children at the arrival of a new brother or sister, Miller said. “They see where mommy and baby’s going to be.” Meyerhoff says it is important to ease a child's fear about what happens to mother in the hospital but he cautioned parents against expecting too much from sibling education programs for children under three years of age. For those children, Meyerhoff said, “all the explaining in the world won't make a bit of difference. For a child of 18 months, love and attention are very closely tied and no matter how much you explain, it's going to have virtually no meaning,” he said Meyerhoff also explained that sibling rivalry problems often take parents by surprise because they tend to first appear months after a birth A newborn child is no threat to the older sibling, but in about six or seven months, when the infant is crawling around and the parents have to spend more time with the new baby, that’s when the older one feels neglected,” Meyerhoff said. “All hell breaks loose and parents can't figure out what happened. Meyerhoff advised parents to handle sibling rivalry by providing a half hour daily of undivided attention to the older child FOR PROFESSIONAL |" CASTLEGAR The Plumbing & tion, or * Carpets FUNERAL CHAPEL | |, Heating Centre * Upholstery : preter Sender * Car Interiors Dedicated to kindly, © Jacuzzi © Crone * Window Cleaning thoughttul service * Duro Pumps & Softeners For CAL Granite, Marble and =| > fYC Pipe Linings RICHARD VANTASSEL Bronze Plaques eee Trail 364-1344 365-7705 Phone 365-3222 2317 - 6th Ave. Castleger Saturday 9 a.m_-12 noon OPTOMETRIST No.2 - 615 Columbie, Cestleger 365-2220 or Nelson 352-5152 LE & GIBSON 4 PUBLISHER subscriptions rate to the CASTLEGAR NEWS is $90 per ervice) on ne edition. The pr newspaper carrier for both editions is only 66¢ 0 week (collected monthly). Second class mail registration number 0019 ERRORS The Castlegar News will not 11 is agreed by the adver tiser requesting space that the advertisement is accepted on the condition that in the event of failure to publish ony od. vertisement of any descrip. in the event that errors occur in the publishing of an advertisement, that por tion of the advertising space the erroneous F. PIRSH a ALL TYPES OF CONTRACTING “BUILDING SOON? | COMMERCIAL PRINTING 2045 Columbia Ave., Trail Call Harmony Homes * Letterheods * Envel * Brochures * Raffle Tickets * Renovations + fehere plane drown Ere. Ete * Custom-built kitchen cabinets | > [99.5 — — PRESS * Residential & Commercial — oes (ren Puass PACHITIOS * Big jobs or small jobs CALL KELOWNA CASTLEGAR NEWS 765-5191 COLLECT ASTL Ph. 368-S9VV || si cotemio ave. 008-7206 ——————_—____. See us for: * Complete nursery stock © House. plonts © Florist Service = FULL LANDSCAPING SERVI DMAMERCIAL OR RESIOENTIAL FREE ESTIMATES CHANG’S Nursery & Florist Ltd. 2601 - 9th Ave., 365-7312 Ss WATCHES + Bulove * Secho * Pulsar BONE CHINA + Dovlion * Wedgewood * Royo! Alber! 1355 Cedor, Trail 368-9533 Whether copytron Copier Systems CALL DAVE PLANT Residence 365-2818 or 112-800-642-1234 your name storts with A or M, or X, You'll find Business Directory advertising pays. 365-5210 Vorz event of an error, advertising js OF services at a wrong price, the goods or need not be sold. Ad is merely on offer to sel otter may be withdrawn at any time NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT Full, complete and sole copyright in ony printed mot. ter produced by Castle News Ltd. is vested in and belongs to Castle News Lid.; provided however thet copyright THAT PART AND THAT PART Y of any advertisement prepored trom repro proots engravings. etc the odvert and belong to the advertiser CASTLEGAR NEWS Established Aug. 7. 1947 Twice Weekly May 4. 1980 Incorporating the Mid-Week Mirror published from Sept. 12. 1978 to Aug. 27, 1980 L.V. (Les) CAAAPBELL Publisher Aug. 7. 1947 to Feb. 15. 1973 BURT CAMPBELL Publisher RON NORMAN, Editor. PETER HARVEY, Plant Foreman. LIN. DA = KOSITSIN, Office CAROL MAGAW Advertising Monoger a y Founder's Week Guides and Scouts this week celebrated Founder's Week, marking the birth- day of Lord Robert Baden- Powell... A3 VOL. 38, No. 16 WEATHERCAST Cloudy with isolated showers of snow but no ac- H iM wi wile lows will be Sa aad CASTLEGAR, BRITISH COLUMBIA, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1985 Public speaking Blueberry Creek Elem- entary school held its an- nual public speaking con- test this week. Story and photos... A7 The six wi 43. The bonus number was 33. The $500,000 winning number in Friday's Provincial lottery draw is 2911490, There are also subsidiary prizes. ining numbers in Saturday’s Lotto 6-49 draw were one, two, seven, nine, 20 and 2 Sections (A & B) WESTAR SAYS growth B.C.'s economy is expec- ted to improve slightly, Castlegar's Chamber of Commerce was told this Castlegar mills will keep running = Aes eas Staff Wi Westar Timber ame a “long-term WOOD SHORTAGE . . . Kalesnikotf Lumber Co. In Thrums says it could hire 22 more employees if it had more wood. Central Kootenay Regional District Sawmills don't have enough wood By RON NORMAN Editor Two West Kootenay sawmills are running into problems because they don’t have enough wood supply, Central Kootenay Regional District board was told Saturday. Peter Duck, director for the rural Slocan Valley said Slocan Forests Products in Slocan will be forced to lay off one shift next year unless it can get more wood. Duck said he met recently with the Slocan Forests Products mill manager who told him “they are about 70,000 cubic metres short.” Duck made the comment during discussion of a letter from Kalesnikoff Lumber Co. in which the Thrums sawmill said it could hire 22 more employees if it had more wood. Mill manager Peter Kalesnikoff said the mill's annual allowable cut is 40,340 cubic metres. However, the sawmill can cut up to 81,600 cubic metres — leaving a shortfall of 41,260 cubic metres. Kalesnikoff noted that in 1984 the company received its quota, plus some overcut. As well, it purchased more than 20,000 cubic metres from two private firms and from Westar Timber. However, Kalesnikoff still only got a total of 73,205 cubic metres last year — nearly 8,400 cubic metres short of its requirements. Board learned Saturday that Kalesnikoff mill and Slocan Forest products are running into problems because they don't have enough wood supply. CosNews Photo by Ron Norman “The Ministry of Forests has a lot of extra wood that could supply our need for as long as we keep operating,” said Kalesnikoff. He pointed out that in the Kootenay Lake Timber Supply Area, T and H Sawmills hasn't cut its quota “for a few years.” As well, he said Westar Timber hasn't used its quota since it closed its Nelson mill. Meanwhile, Floyd Dykeman, regional planning director, said he met with Kalesnikoff to discuss the situation. “The problem is rather straightforward and simple,” Dykeman said in a memorandum to the board. “An additional 41,260 cubic metres would allow Kalesnikofi Lumber to guarantee 15 jobs in the woods and seven in the planer mill.” Dykeman said Kalesnikoff Lumber doesn't want to rely on private sellers or larger mills for its timber supply because they don't offer a secure long-term security. Kalesnikoff's application for timber in the Arrow Lake Timber Supply was rejected by the Ministry of Forests, Dykeman said. However, he said it's possible Kalesnikoff may be able to get some of the undercut from that timber supply. “As assessment is presently ongoing by the Ministry of Forests to determine whether or not undercut sale is possible,” Dykeman said. Dykeman added that Kalesnikoffs problem is “not unique to the West Kootenays.” “Other mill operations located in the north end of Kootenay Lake and Nakusp face similar problems with secure timber supply,” he said. The regional board agreed to send the memo and Kalesnikoff's letter to the Central Kootenay Manpower Adjustment Committee's forest industry analysis consul tants for consideration and input. The forest industry analy: completed by April or May. ” to keep its Castlegar operation running at a meeting Thurs- day with city council. Westar president Sandy Fulton, and pulp mill manager Wilf Sweeney, who meeting, confirmed Em- what Mr. Fulton said. We have a viable in the sawmill and the pulp- from the Casth pulp and saw mills met with council for 1‘ hours, discussing community concerns about the future of the mill. mill.” Sweeney pointed out that Westar “spends a lot every year” maintaining Acting mayor Len Embree di the C This year, the meeting as “positive.” “They said they had a long-term commitment, and that they were quite pleased with the sawmill operation,” Embree said. Fulton told council that the sawmill is now more “profitable and produc tive” than three years ago, according to Embree. “What we wanted out of them is that this is an operation they will keep running. They said yes.” about $2 million will be spent on a new Embree said council didn’t go into the “technical side of forestry concerns, such as details on Westar’s tree farm licence — one of the biggest in B.C. — or the company's timber cutting prac- tices. According to Nelson Ministry of Forests statistics, from 1980 to 1964 Westar cut only about 65 per cent of its quota, although forestry regulations specify that the harvest level shouldn't fall below 90 per cent. Des Reais ee evened vee more bleached cleaning and ming sys- tem for the pulp mill, and approx- imately $2 million more will go towards maintaining a recovery boiler, and a steam generating bank, he said. If Westar’s “ulterior motive” was to “run this place into the ground, we sure as hell wouldn't be spending millions of dollars,” Sweeney added. However, Embree said Westar indi- cated at the meeting that no a is planned Fulton was of the Ci for at his Vancouver office Friday, but “in the near future.” APPLICATION REJECTED Chamber switches to plan B By CasNews Staff The Castlegar Chamber of Com- merce’s proposal to build a new chamber office on property near the Community Complex has been dealt a blow. But the project isn't “dead in the water,” says chamber manager Wally Peacock. businesses. Peacock said the chamber’s applica tion for a federal Canada Works grant to help fund construction of the new office was rejected, forcing the cham- ber to switch to “plan B.” That plan hasn't been fully worked out yet, Peacock said in an interview with the Castlegar News, though it in- volves donations of materials from local Peacock also said the chamber is trying to make the office a “tri-city” building, representing Trail and Nel- son, as well as In addition, he said the plan depends on the chamber’s negotiations with the City of Castlegar over a new fee for service agreement. Under the agreement, the city would continued on page A2 Racetrack won't A Nelson man’s plans to install a stock car and motor cross racing track near Castlegar have skidded into a dead end. Dick ‘Wills told the Castlegar News Thursday that a $40,000 federal MILAP (Modified Industry and Labor Adjustment Program) grant for his project has been turned down. Protestors rally against cruise By CasNews Staff About 200 waved And without the grant, Wills says the $120,000 track — to have been built on 45 acres of land two kilometres south of the viewpoint on the Castlegar Salmo highway — won't be built. Wills said the .6 kilometre track (three-eighths of a mile) would have meant jobs for the area. He added that he was “really angry” upon learning of the refusal Thursday. “To me, it doesn't make sense,” he said. “I don't understand the prior- ities.” The grant would have provided 14 weeks of employment for nine workers during the track's construction, as well as work for local contractors clearing the site. And once the operation was underway, long-term employment would have been created, said Wills. He said MILAP officials in Kelowna suggested that Wills carry out a feasi- bility study on his racetrack proposal. But Wills said he's already carried out placards and sang protest songs Friday at an anti-cruise missile rally in Castle- gar. Members of area peace groups and concerned citizens from Castlegar, Trail, Nelson, Rossland, Kaslo and New Denver met during the noon hour at Kootenay West MP Bob Brisco's con stituency office on Columbia Avenue. Speeches condemning the tests were made by spokesmen for Castlegar and Trail peace groups, a local minister, and acting mayor Len Embree Form letters and a petition pro testing the tests were distributed and will be forwarded to the federal gov ernment, according to rally organizers. The protest was originally planned to coincide with a cruise missile test Friday, but that test was postponed. This second Canadian free flight test of the United States Air Force cruise missile was to take place over north west Canada. The test may take place on Monday Protester Sally Mackenzie of Castle gar said the rally wasn't in vain “I think it's crucial to focus attention on what's happening,” she said. Olga Kittson of Castlegar, one of the rally’s organizers, said the rally was held despite the postponement of the cruise test, because it would have been difficult to cancel the protest on such short notice. Kittson added that Friday's protest ‘was more organized than one held at Brisco's office Tuesday, which at tracted about 60 people. She said no immediate plans have been made for more anti-cruise demon strations in Castlegar h on the project, and says a study on how much business the race- track would attract would be difficult. 8 public state- naar hen wsrenk gine estas cation of future plans. “I don't think it would serve any purpose if we'd sat there as a council of five technocrats and talked to them for hours,” Embree said. He said Fulton agreed to send city council a letter responding to the meeting, and a copy of the manage- ment and working plan for Westar's tree licence, which expired in Decem- ber 1984. continued on pege AZ be built “It's hard to predict for anything,” he said. “A hockey team — how many people will come to the next game? You don't know. You can only tell with a business that's been going on for a while.” Meanwhile, Wills has been forced to let his option to purchase the racetrack site slide — the deadline on which was ‘tended three times since it was originally set Jan. 10. Wills also cancelled a meeting for the Regional District of Central Kootenay for a second and third reading on re. zoning the land for a commercial race- track. He says that apart from the grant the rezoning application and Depart. ment of Highways approval for use of an access road to the property were the only two things hindering the track's construction, scheduled for this sum mer. Wills said he is confident that the re- zoning application would have passed, and said Highways approval was “not continued on poge A2 School board to voice concerns to ministry By CasNews Staff Students must foot the bill for field trips, school libraries aren't buying new books and schools may not be quite as clean as they once were. These are some concerns the Castle- gar school district will be communi cating to the Ministry of Education in a letter sent to Victoria this week. The letter was originally to be sent with the board's month budget, re- cently sent to the ministry to meet a Feb. 15 deadline, but was somehow overlooked. However, trustee Gordon Turner brought up the subject at the board's regular meeting this week, and re- quested the letter be sent “as I was pushing for that, and I don't see it there.” Board chairman Doreen Smecher said the letter has now been posted, and says it contains the following con- cerns on the January to June budget period: library book purchases have been eliminated; © financial assistance for field trips and cultural activities has been elim- inated: © mainenance and teaching supplies have been reduced: © custodian’s hours have been reduced; e@ the board's ability to replace teachers on long-term sick leave has been reduced; © special education co-ordination and assessment of students has been “cut drastically;” © the budget provides no salary adjustment provisions for staff; @ district resource centre hours have been reduced; @ travellilng allowances for trustees and district officials have been re duced. Smecher said that the importance of the travelling allowances for trustees and district officials shouldn't be underestimated. She said because the district is relatively small, trustees need to meet with other district representatives at meetings which are often held in Van couver — such as the B.C. School Trus. tees Association. General meeting scheduled for March 2. “Hf we stay in Castlegar and try to funetion in isolation we miss out on a whole lot of things,” said Smecher