Wednesday, December 23, 1992 Shir! StorCONTEST Santa, Jack and the white beat... The sleigh was packed, the reindeer were harnessed, but no once could find Santa. In the meantime a dazed and confused Santa was struggling to break free of thick ropes. He had been struck from behind by a huge white abominable snowman. There were legends shared around the campfire about a massive white ape-like crea- ture who roamed the barren Arctic Tundra of the North Pole. No one paid much atten- tion to these rumors but I found gigantic 18-inch foot prints around Santa’s sleigh. My name is Jack, I am one of Santa’s elves. I followed the tracks to a large semi-hidden ice cave. Sure enough there slumped in the corner was Santa. I whispered to him, “Santa its me, Jack; I'll save you!” Santa didn’t even stir. I crept inside the cave; between Santa and I, lay the beast that kidnapped Santa. Careful not to wake the shaggy giant, I tip-toed to Santa, untied him, and woke him softly. As Santa and I neared the entrance, an icicle fell smash- ing with a large crack! The monster leapt up and let out a deafening roar. We ran as fast as we could but the creature was gaining on us. An instant later, we crossed a frozen lake and the Snow- man vanished. He had fallen through the ice and would never again harm a soul. As we returned to the sleigh Santa was still shaken, The frown on Santa’s face was replaced with a smile as Santa hopped into the sleigh, gave me a wink and a hearty Ho, ho, ho! Ben Postnikoff Age 14 BIRTHS Graham-Boa — _ To Jayleen Boa and Paul Gra- ham of Castlegar, a girl born Dec. 15 at Castlegar and Dis- trict Hospital in Castlegar. Riding — To Leeanne and Warren Riding of Nel- son, a boy born Dec. 16 at Kootenay Lake District Hos- pital in Nelson. Stasyn — To Kathy and Martin Stasyn of Nelson, a boy born Dec. 14 at Koote- nay Lake District Hospital in Nelson. Lua — To Nelson Lua of Nelson, a boy born Dec. 13 at Kootenay Lake District Hospital in Nelson. 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Highs are expected to be minus 8 C. Lorraine Paszty has been in Taiwan for three months now. Although Paszty misses the snow back home, she is ad- justing well to life in the Orient and sends holiday greetings to the people of Castlegar. page 9 @ LOCAL SPORTS With just two losses in their first 25 games, the Grand Forks Border Bruins are the team to beat in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. The question is, who’s going to beat them? page 10 @ ARTS & LEISURE Coming up with fresh ideas on how to spend New Year’s Eve can be difficult. Preview has the low-down on where to go Thursday to bring in the new year. preview 3 Farside 2 Harrison 6 Letters 7 Our People 8 Local Sports 10 Action Ads 12 Calendar preview 2 Arts & Leisure — preview3 Homes preview 4 A at the Community Complex. News photo by Corinne Jackson Lesley Price holds her arms out in encouragement to her three-year-old son Rhylan. The two enjoyed a skate together Monday @ New Zealand tourists experience Canadian avalanche as winter storm closes Kootenay Pass Corinne Jackson NEWS REPORTER It’s been the best of times, it’s been the worst of times. While heavy snow has meant great skiing, it has also kept highway maintenance crews, avalanche technicians and tourists on their toes — inchuding two New Zealand travellers. After two days of avalanche control activities on Kootenay Pass, a car containing the tourists was hit Dec. 23. “These types of things will happen. “This is the first time a car was hit for a long time,” John Tweedy said Tuesday. The couple received some minor cuts after the window of their car was blown out, the Kootenay Pass District avalanche technician said. No one else was hurt in the avalanche. “We're dealing with Mother Nature here and... it’s a tough old mountain pass,” he said. Winter storms forced closure of the Kootenay Pass all day Monday and avalanche crews were removed from their sta- tions for safety reasons. All traffic was rerouted to the Koote- nay Lake Ferry before the pass was reopened Tuesday after- noon. “We were into a very significant storm over the last 48 Mother Nature conquers Kootenays hours. The wind average was 40 to 50 kilometres per hour and gust levels were 70 kilometres per hour throughout (Mon- day). “Using helicopters in those conditions is prohibitive and avalanche guns are also affected by the wind so we can’t feel comfortable that we’ve hit all our targets with zero visibili- ty,” Tweedy said. Avalanche crews returned to the pass Tuesday after the winter storms passed. How long the pass will be open this time is anybody’s guess. “The weather has abated now and has allowed us to con- tinue our work by helicopter,” Tweedy said. He said travellers in this area should be aware that the Kootenay Lake Ferry system also exists and should be used. Eliah Farrell agrees. The Ministry of Highway’s public in- formation officer said ferry services are increased according to need. She said although only one ferry normally operates dur- ing the winter months, a second vessel can be run during road closures. “It’s entirely driven by demand,” Farrell said. Meanwhile, the Kootenay Pass was not the only area to be hit by an avalanche. Some 220 skiers had to spend Christmas Day at Apex Alpine in Hedley after an avalanche clogged the access road out of the resort. | LOCAL EMPLOYMENT PROJECT FACES SECOND AUDIT — FEDS INVOLVED, PAGE 3