nawsneg nie ntact PAR TA NN sees Wednesday, November 18, 1992 @ @ Ed Conroy says opposition parties are grandstanding with Bill 84 Scott David Harrison EDITOR Ed Conroy says B.C. Liberals and Socreds are making the most out of very little. The Rossland-Trail MLA accused the two parties of grandstanding in their opposition of Bill 84. “They can do whatever they want,” Conroy said Tuesday. “All they’re trying to do is make political hay out of something that I believe is fair and balanced.” Introduced to B.C. on Oct. 27, the new labor code passed second reading last Thursday with the expected cat-calls from the Liberals and Socreds. “Labor has been repressed for so long thanks to the Social Credit’s Bill 19,” Conroy said. “All we’re trying to do is prepare legis- lation that is fair and balanced and I think we have achieved that.” Conroy said labor’s frustration is just start- ing to spill over. He said wildcat strikes dog- ging the B.C. Ferries Corp. are the direct re- sult of Bill 19. He said the sooner Bill 84 is passed the better. Not so, according to Socred leader Jack Weisgerber. Weisgerber said the wildcat strikes are just the beginning of many to come. “I think labor is putting pressure on the government not to make any changes to the bill,” Weisgerber said. “I have no doubt that the (B.C. Ferries) strike is a message being sent to the government.” The 104-item Labor Relations Code in- cludes a ban on scab labor, no provision for sectoral cer- tification, secondary picket- ing at the discretion of the Labor Relations Board and ‘1 the right of unionized work- ers to boycott materials from y a company or business in- @@ volved in a dispute. In addi- tion, the new law sees the re- moval of secret ballots for union certification votes. De- certification votes, meanwhile, remain secret. “You are taking a fundamental right away from people by taking away the secret ballot,” Weisgerber said. Weisgerber intends to take his opposition on the road, touring Quesnel, Prince George Terrace, the Central Interior and the Okana- gan beginning Nov. 22. He said he has no plans to visit Castlegar. Weisgerber dismissed any notion that Castlegar wasn’t a part of his tour because of its strong union roots. “We're not only talking about the very large Comincos of the world that this bill will hurt, we're talking about the little businesses and small operations that will be held helpless to labor.” ~ Ed Conroy Cigar riz N 365-5304 Chicken Time Buy the Bucket or the piece Always Delicious Always Affordable ONLY AT CHICKEN TIME CELGAR AND COMINCO MEAL TICKETS ACCEPTED. 2816 Columbia Ave. Council meets board HAWAIIAN NIGHT BUFFET NOW STRIPPING 1989 PONTIAC FIREFLY 1988 CHEV CAVALIER 1986 CHEV SPECTRUM 1986 PONTIAC SPRINT Western Auto Wreckers Granite Road, Nelson Ph. 354-4802 NOVEMBER 28 ¢ Tomato Pineapple Walnut Salad-* Tossed Green Salad e Coconut Chicken e Pineapple Beef Teriyaki e Pacific Asparagus « Pineapple Sweet Potatoes e Tropical Desert The Heartland Restaurant Located in The Sandman Inn 365-8444 CBS ete Sty ah. Corinne Jackson NEWS REPORTER The author of a controver- sial education report said she is set to meet her detractors. Coun. Doreen Smecher said she looking forward to meet- ing with School District No. 9 Monday following the report she gave to the province’s Ed- aeaion Funding Review Pan- el. “I think it’s great that we have an opportunity to discuss things,” Smecher said Tues- day. However, Smecher would not say how she felt about a meeting being called to dis- cuss a report that was council endorsed. Smecher came under fire last month from_ school trustees for the report which recommended the provincial appointment of superinten- dents, electing boards as an advisory body, and provincial bargaining solely with teach- ers over salaries. The report has also been criticized by some councillors and trustees for recommending the central- ization of school board author- ity in Victoria. The meeting is aimed at opening up the channels of communication between the two bodies. According to Coun. Lawrence Chernoff, the meet- ing will also allow councillors enough time to submit anoth- er brief to the panel — if they wish — before a report is giv- en to the Education Ministry at the end of November. Smecher said she is “enthu- siastic” about the meeting. “We used to deal like this on an annual basis,” she said. “I think it’s great to discuss areas of mutual concern.” Thieves pull plug on Shaw NEWS STAFF Friday the 13th was not a lucky day for Shaw Cable. Vandals caused over $5,000 damage to the cable company’s mainline amplifiers. Television service was interrupted to a large part of Castlegar and Trail area residences. Replacement equipment and technical crews were brought in from outside the area but TV service wasn’t restored until late Saturday. Shaw Cable’s regional manager Steve Lake said the ampli- fiers are a signal booste: r. “As goon as you interrupt the line the signal is gone,” Lake a & 3 Sead HOLIDAY Sap. S By COLONES 6 DERFUMES TRIAL SIZES REAL PERFUMES MM MEN LADIES - CHER * POISON * NIKI DE SAINT PHALLE * CAROLINA HERRERA - RUFFLES * SUNG FOR LADIES S * COCO BY CHANNEL * DRAKKAR * SUNG FOR MEN ¢ PERRY ELLIS * GUESS FOR MEN @ Wednesday, November 18, 1992 AroundTOWN Our person for Our People Corinne Jackson 365-7266 TEA FOR MORE THAN | Two The Castlegar Legion Hall is hosting an “Old Fashioned Christmas” tea, craft and bake sale. Everyone is welcome to attend the event planned for Nov. 21 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. a ADOPTION AWARENESS November has been declared Adoption Awareness Month by the Adoptive Parents Association of B.C. For more information contact Loretta Kazakoff at 365- 3770. WONDERFUL GIFT Gift givers during the upcoming holiday season can now give the gift of sight to a blind person living ina developing nation. The program, Operation Eyesight Universal, is a Canadian charitable organization. Your $25. covers surgery, hospital stay and food. In return, you receive a Christmas card with a gift certificate signed by the attending surgeon. For further information call 687-3555, or write to the organization at 815-602 West Hastings, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 1P2. RECOVERY I Salvation Army finds foot soldier with former alcoholic Dick Parr Corinne Jackson NEWS REPORTER Dick Parr describes himself as once lost, now found. The man behind Castlegar’s Salvation Army Thrift Shop and food bank was a trucker at one time. He was also an alcoholic. A heart attack last October put an end to Parr’s 22-year trucking career. The Salvation Army brought an end to a bout of drinking he can’t even remember starting. “I don’t remember starting, but I remember being drunk at 13. “I was actually drinking a 26-er of vodka everyday and dabbling into marijuana and my marriage was shaky,” Parr recalls. “I was a truck driver so I wasn’t always home and when I was home I was drunk, hungover, or was going to get drunk,” he says. At the time he was introduced to the Salvation Army, Parr was living in Lloydminster, Alta. “It was getting worse and worse. The Salvation Army just popped into my head.” According to Parr, Jan. 15, 1984 was the first time he “stepped into a church besides for weddings and funerals.” Eight years later, Parr is the Salvation Army’s Community Services co-ordinator for Castlegar. “This is my full-time job,” he says with pride, adding that it’s actually News photo by Corinne Jackson Castlegar’s Dick Parr has turned his life around, thanks to the Salvation Army. Now, Parr is trying to return the favor, operating the local thrift store and food bank. the Celgar expansion. “People have been trying to get into people’s basements to find a warm place to sleep with the cold weather setting in. “It’s hard to believe in Castlegar,” he says. But Parr feels that there is a greater need for the food bank than we realize. ‘| have real horror stories coming in here. For example, of people getting $1,000 a month and paying $700 for rent. It’s just terrible here right now with the Celgar expansion.’ more than full time. The thrift shop opened Sept. 1 and the food bank came nine days later. “There was a need for a food bank in Castlegar. The thrift store was the vehicle that we used to create money.” But according to Parr, the need for services existed before the September start date. Parr’s stories describing the situation in Castlegar are shocking. “T have real horror stories coming in here. For example, of people getting $1,000 a month and paying $700 for rent. “It’s just terrible here right now with —Dick Parr “I know there are people hurting much more than those coming in,” he says, adding he “can’t help them if they don’t contact me.” Parr believes the majority of people who do come in for help are a sign of bad economic times. “We have a lot of single mothers and single people who are unable to work and some with just bad luck I suppose,” he says, describing the average client. However, Parr believes food bank services are not an answer to these people’s woes. “Part of my job is to help people budget and help them not to use the food bank. “To try and help people to live within their means,” he says. Food hampers have been made up for 40 people so far and although Parr knows there are more people out there who need help, he wonders how long supplies will last. “(Food) is definitely coming in, but not as much as the clothes . It’s holding its own. “On Tuesday we put out three hampers and of course the donations did not equal the three hampers,” Parr says. But Parr has seen more difficult times and says he is ready for the challenge ahead. “Other churches are beginning to co- operate. “It’s coming together quite well,” he says. And as for life at home, things have come along fine as family has replaced the bottle for companionship. Parr says he is closer than ever to his wife of 27 years, Rhoda, and his four children. Although he doesn’t get to see one granddaughter living in Provost, Alta., as he’d like, he spends as much time as possible with the one living here. “It hasn’t been easy,” Parr says, reflecting on his past. “What I missed out with my own children I’m enjoying with my grandchild now.” He said some components were taken from Shaw’s main line facilities near the Kinnaird bridge. “There was nothing that would be of any use to anybody ex- cept a cable company.” 1128-3rd St. (Downtown) Castlegar - Ph. 365-7813