ME: NM ATM tT Soohaing Wednesday, April 8, 1992 m@ OurWiEWS seca a te DE April showers ‘ou have to question the mind Y set of the City of Castlegar at times. Tuesday, as though it was a good thing to do, council was forced to consider a ridiculous plan that would see Meadowbrook and Highland Drive homeowners pay for city mistakes. The plan, charging homeowners some $2,500 of a $5,500 bill to have their water pressure levels upgraded to something more than a steady drip, was about as worthless as the paper it was photocepied on. Think about it, not only do Meadowbrook and Highland residents have to run around in their bathtubs just to get wet, but now some city genius has decided that they should pay an extra $2,500 just to enjoy April showers like the rest of us. Why, the mere sight of waterfalls must-have these residents jumping out of their clothes in envy. All is not lost in ‘our fair city, though. Aldermans Bob Pakula and Doreen Smecher should be entitled to two showers a day for a year for openly opposing this half-baked notion of effective city management. As homeowners, we have the right Satisfactory water pressure is one of them. The city must rethink this plan. Passing the financial soap to Meadowbrook and _ Highland homeowners is one shower even the cleanest of citizens shouldn’t have to take. LLM? Vt, — = : os [attlegar Now! eu i TWN \\ AAS Patience is a virtue... yah right It is said that patience is a virtue. Why, I don’t know. Me, I’m about as patient as a Christmas morning child, just waiting to crack open this year’s loot. I find it hard, then, to understand just how the Robson Raspberry Ad Hoc Ferry Users Committee can still hold a smile after all these years. As you may have seen in | s.D. HARRISON Harrison Comparison Well, all that supposedly changed last week. MLA Ed Conory called The News to say he’d got his hot-little hands on the report and that he would be turning it over to the ferry users Friday. That was on Wednesday. j Being the crusty-before- my-time reporter I am, I phoned the ferry users Thursday for their comments. Spokesperson Saturday’s News, the ferry users were finally getting a chance to see the hush-hush nland es report. The _ report, comnwiiasibhad by the Socred regime, has been a source of consternation for this die- hard group for the better part of four years. For four years the ferry users have put on their bravest faces, politely petitioning the government for a peek into this much- maligned report. For four years, the ferry users we told in an equally polite manner to butt out. Terry Dalton hailed the release of the report as a triumph for democracy. Dalito said cre po ea tna ; Democrats are eoinmateed £ to opening the hallowed halls of government to all British Columbians. Hurray, I thought to myself. For once I can write something nice about the New Democrats not-so-blissful five month reign. please see HARRISON page 7 Street TALK Ryanna Westhoff Castlegar “Yes, I think that’s Ryan Closson Genelle “Yes, I think it “Sure.” fair.” should be even longer.” Question: Mike. Tyson was sentenced to six years in jail for rape. Was that a fair sentence? mene - Steve Reimer Castlegar Robert Jackson “If he did it, it’s a just reward.” @ Wednesday, April 8, 1992 _dTheNews Please address all letters to: Letters to the Editor Castlegar News P.O. Box 3007 Castlegar, B.C. V1N 3H4 197 Columbia Ave. Letters should be typewritten, double-spaced and not longer than 300 words. Letters MUST be signed and include the writer's first and last names, address and a telephone number at which the writer can be reached between 9 a.m. and5 p.m. The writer's name and city or town of residence only will be published. Only in exceptional cases will letters be published anonymously. Even in those arate the name, Joy Andersen Castlegar Ootischenia “It’s definitely not - too tough.” phone number of the writer MUST be disclosed to the editor. The News reserves the right to edit letters for legality, grammar and taste. Other VIEWS Letters toWHE EDITOR Corky is confused Please grant me space to address this open letter in response to our loveable MLA from Nelson-Creston, Corky Evans. Because of your winning personality and popularity, Mr. Evans, I have been restrained to remain silent about your TV defense of the Buy B.C. ads and the cross- border shopping. Gasoline, sold by U.S. corporations such as Exxon sell the same fuel in Canada at almost twice the price. We may be dumb but we are not that stupid. The same disparity applies to dairy products sold by Safeway in both countries. Your latest press release, particularly, upset and saddened me: Your statement that all watersheds will be logged in B.C. because of the shortage of timber. This is a downright sell-out to the Forest Alliance and is an unacceptable policy to the environmentalists. Please take the time to reconsider. Pat Romaine Castlegar Conflict, more conflict I read recently that Clark Binkley, the Dean of Forestry at UBC, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of West Fraser Timber.(Vancouver Sun 26/2/92). The next day I read that former Forestry Minister Claude Richmond is now a paid lobbyist for the B.C. forest industry (Victoria Times-Colonist, 27/2/92). These things raise a lot of questions. For example: . ¢ What insider information will this former minister pass on to MacMillan Bloedel and Fletcher-Challenge? e What ever happened to the B.C. Members’ Conflict of Interest Act? Perplexed by project The Nelson newspaper of March 31 carries a story about the closing of 15 feet of Hendrix St., between Baker and Victoria Streets, in Nelson. The closure will be done legally, which makes it a lengthy process according to city officials, requiring consent of property owners as well as provincial government approval. We are told that because of the procedures which must be followed, the closure may take anywhere from 18 months to two years. I cannot see why this small project take so long. . The shutting down of the Robson ferry had the effect of taking out about 400 metres of our highway system that had been in use for some 70 years. There was absolutely no consultation with any of the thousands of people affected. The residents of Robson and of Castlegar were forced to assume almost $2 million a year in increased out-of-pocket travelling costs. Many Castlegar businesses were harmed; some even closed. No doubt provincial government approval had been obtained with no difficulty since it was a provincial ministry that took out the ferry. As there are so few individuals affected by the Hendrix St. closure, and the reasons for it appear to be good and sufficient, I am sure that the local office of the Ministry of Transportation and Highways will be pleased to advise Nelson city council on how it may proceed more expeditiously with its straightforward and modest proposal. Fred G. Marsh Castlegar Questions remain There’s something going on ¢ With such obvious allegiances now evident, shouldn’t all value neutral ministerial decisions made by Richmond be reviewed for bias? e Why was the Richmond story tucked away in a small article on Page C8 of the paper? ¢ How can Dean Binkley retain his objectivity and academic integrity while wearing two conflicting hats? Is it any wonder that B.C. is so polarized when people like this exhibit such cavalier disregard for public perception and why distrust of people in power is rampant? Conflict of Interest Commissioner Ted Hughes should investigate immediately. Jim Pine Victoria quite understand. Perhaps some of your readers could enlighten me. The Ministry of Forestry audit of Westar’s management of Tree Farm Licence No. 23 which was released recently, pointed out several “failings” (like 62 out of 80 points). I’d like to know -— was Westar’s management team out in the field with a big whip saying, ‘Do it this way and do it now!”? Were road builders, loggers and truckers making their own judgements about where, what, when and how, or were they ‘just following orders? I mean, I really don’t get it! Does this mean people will just do whatever to get a paycheck? Or does it mean the ministry audit is a lie and the situation is really all okay? How will Pope & Talbot manage differently? Will the logging community (who obviously did the work for Westar) do things differently? Will the remaining 80 per cent of the local population just sit back and allow the situation to continue as is? If someone out there would address these questions I’d be much obliged. M. Colleen Bowman — New Denver Recycling success Thanks to all who helped make our first recycling day a big success — we collected over 6,000 pounds of newspapers! Thanks to the Recycling Advisory Group and the local Scouts and Guides and their parents who came out to help and stayed despite wind and rain. Thanks to the Castlegar News and Safeway for their help and also to the thoughtful person who donated munchies for the kids. We'll be back again on Saturday, May 2! Ad Hoc Citizens’ Recycling Committee Nothing funny about joke I found your paper’s attempt at April Fools humor to be in very bad taste. Your announcement about the sale of a local historic site was bad enough. The further jest that it was to a factious , Japanese corporation crosses the bounds of bad taste. After the appearance of your story, I heard several racist remarks aimed at Japanese people. cibeens of Japenese daring” the last war. Many of iace Seaerd were incarcerated in the West Kootenay region. These people today are a small but vital part of our community. Japanese- Canadians paid a horrible price for their ancestry. Not they, nor their children, need your attempt at humor. There is a small Japanese student population in our community. These students provide an economic and social stimulus to the Castlegar region. Your joke and the comments that arise from it is a poor statement on us being a host to these young adults. A small bit of advice. In planning an April Fool’s joke, make sure the fool is not you! Mickey V. Kinakin Castlegar Harrison Boy was I wrong. By the time _ later, it became clear that some- Friday rolled around, things had thing was ami e, no See, wanting to be a part of the blessed event, I had arranged it all important document. ready. A few pap ated with Dalton and one frantic phone call from the Ministry of Transport ready, I met the five people at 3:06 paid after all. p.m. By 3:07 p.m., it was over. No The ferry users, ough, worn n. . Imagine, I had arranged to with Conroy, Dalton and few other meet the gang at the Castlegar ferry committee members tobe on ferry landing — irony sells, I'll tell hand for the actual transfer ofthis my publisher. Friday, I jumped in- a to my freshly-washed-during-com- Friday rolled around and I was pany car and headed to the ferry landing. __Camera loaded and note pad Despite allthe photo, no report. be a bit ticked off was going to hap- Conroy had been told by the up- they have been ahex this ioork, pity-ups that he couldn’t release Friday was supposed to be a the report because the namesand break-through day for Robson fer- identities of several companies listed in the 50-page document _hadn’t been properly censored. fore it, Friday turned Feeling a tad embarrassed, he another day for the ferry users. apologized to the ferry usersand Another day where another me for wasting our time. _Me, I didn’t mind, I was being ——— a-virtue? ry purists. inetd, like so many days be- out to be just promise fell by the wayside.