* Saturday, April 4, 1992 THE FAR SIDE ae By GARY LARSON 4-1 Unnveisal Press Syndicate 1992 While vacationing in Africa, Pinocchio has his longtime wish to be a real boy suddenly and unexpectedly granted. @ Local hospital union takes first steps toward full-scale w. Glen Freeman NEWS REPORTER. * Castlegar members of the Hospital Employees’ Union came one step closer to a full- scale strike yesterday. According to local union chair Jean Weir, workers from the dietary department and purchasing stores were pulled from their duties yes- terday to protest a less than fair wage offer from the Health Labor Relations Board. _ “We were nice on Tuesday,” Weir said of a HEU three t ees hour study session, “but no more. Our provincial execu- tive has told us that when we ‘pull. departments, we are to Jeave only essential services in-place.” -. Weir also said that union leaders keep her up-to-date on a daily basis. “At this point in time I can’t say when we will havea full-scale walkout, but it’s on- ly a phone call away.” Castlegar HEU members have their picket signs made, and could be on the picket line “on five minutes notice.” The HEU has been offered a3.5 per cent raise in pay this year and a 1.5 per cent in- crease next year. According to the HLRA’s HEU steps up strike a Martin Livingston, the union is demanding a 56 per cent in: crease in wages and benefits) over the next two years. Currently members of the British Columbia Nurses’ Union are voting on whether} to accept a HLRA offer of; what amounts to a five per] cent increase retroactive to” April 1, 1991 and a 3.5 per | cent raise in 1993, and have | said they will support an HEU strike. Hospital Administrator | Ken Talarico said that ser- | vices would be disrupted should the HEU walk out. “There’s no way we can fare well when the staff is | substantially reduced,” he- said, “but we will do our best.” School distirct names new boss fought for education in the area.” Glen Freeman NEWS REPORTER Replacing Wayling will be Everette MARY KAY PRODUCTS ARE MISSING ONE VITAL INGREDIENT. ADVICE. And our advice is free. Call today. Professional Mary Kay Beauty Consultant 365-2353 MOST SKIN CARE AND GLAMOUR Mary Kay provides you with a personal skin care or Color Awareness consultation. ROSEMEYER ROSE 1. Highway #6 Province of British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Highways CENTRAL KOOTENAY HIGHWAYS DISTRICT PUBLIC NOTICE #8 LOAD RESTRICTIONS Pursuant to Section 26 of the ‘Highway Act’ and the provisions of the Commercial Transport Act, notice is given that load restrictions are rescinded effective 1:00 a.m., Friday, April 3, 1992, except for the following highways and roads. 1. (Monashee) 2. Highway #31A — Kaslo-New Denver 3. Highway #6076. Lower Wynndel Road (Creston Area) 4: Highway #6255 Pilot Bay Road (Kootenay Bay Area) 1. Hig! #4151 Ir Jin Valley Road (Edgewood Area) (Year Round) 1. Highway #31 “The app per of it to the C ial Transport Act shall apply”. for Minister of Pp Dated at Nelson, British Columbia this 01 day of April 1992. Pp Ai over weight permits of any nature are invalid for the duration of the restrictions on the above named Violators of the Regulations and Restrictions will be prosecuted. D.P. Williams : District Highways Manager — Central K t Highways. 9° tion and Hig Needles Ferry Landing (West) to District of Central Kootenay and Okanagan-Shuswap District Boundary provided under Section 7.06(2) of Castlegar and District School Board No. 9 Superintendent Terry Wayling’s successor has been named. After nine years as superintendent of Castlegar’s schools, Wayling is calling it a ca- reer. “My golf swing has really gone to pot. It’s time to change that,” Wayling said. “Actually, I’ve been in the business for 33 years, and it's time to go.” Chairman of the Board Gordon Turner says Wayling will be missed. “He has been extraordinary,” he said. ““T don’t think people know how much he Surgenor, Revelstoke’s superintendent for the 7 past five years. : : j “We are very excited to be getting a man of his calibre as the chief executive officer in this area,” Turner said. : : “There is something magical about him as” an individual. He is an exceptional education-§ al leader.” Wayling agreed, and said that the school | board chose a more than qualified person. “I believe that Mr. Surgenor has the people 7 skills to lead Castlegar schools into the future.” ' Surgenor will take over from Wayling in 7 time for the next school year. SS ae - vase >. HH g 88 Jo Castle 635 Columbia Ave., Castlegar OTs. gar Foods HOURS: Mon.-Thurs. & Sat.. 365-5755 PIONEER BACON 500 g. pkg. .39 BONELESS RUMP ROAST Or Outside Round ¢ Cut from Canada Grade A Beef ¢ 6.35 kg. (SEA FRESH = FISH & CHIPS 750 g. e : Pint Basket {74.99 ||. .9¢ SecondFRONT @ Saturday, April 4, 1992 éTheNews j Scott David Harrison EDITOR ; In 22 days, most of Castlegar unemployed sawmill workers will return to their posts. : Pope and Talbot president Abe Friesen said Thursday the Midway-based company should have lumber rolling out of the local mill by April 27. ~ “We want to get things started as soon as possible,” he said. “And that should mean having two shifts work at the sawmill.” Friesen said Pope and Talbot will take possession of the local mill on Tuesday or Wednesday. He said at that time, Pope and Talbot maintenance crews will conduct a two-week overhaul of the local mill before hitting the switch. Friesen also said that Pope and Talbot’s inland crews would be back to work as soon as the $22 million U.S. cheque is delivered. He said the crew would concentrate on timber harvesting and reforestation. The forests division will be centred out of Nakusp. Pope and Talbot ready to roll Friesen also reiterated Pope and Talbot’s plans to overhaul the Castlegar sawmill. He said the American-owned company will between $10- to $12-million in equipment renovations over the next year. “There is a fair bit of work involved,” he said, “but we are making the investment to make it a profitable operation.” ‘Pope and Talbot received government approval to take over the Castlegar mill and Tree Farm Licence No. 23 Monday, following an exhaustive 10-week review by the B.C. Forest Ministry. SUD-SATIONAL Gad-zukes st. ee a ae Saal s * Zuckerburg! NEWS STAFF Gotcha! Rest assured Castlegar, beloved. Zuckerburg Island isn’t changing hands. The front-page story you read in Wednesday’s edition of The News was an April Fool’s joke. Even spokesperson Loof Lirpa will tell you so. Loof Lirpa, after all, is April Fool spelled backwards. As for Ald. Kirk Duff and Richard Maddocks of the Castlegar and District Development Board, the two men fell prey to the slim-witted humor of The News. Duff and Maddocks were as surprised as you when they found their names attached to News photo by Glen Freeman United Church Youth did their part to keep Castlegar clean by holding a car wash Saturday in the Safeway our April Fool’s Day prank. Be on your toes next year 3.73 kg. ~ SPECIAL PRICING NOW AVAILABLE - | {Cominco Fertilizer 13-16-10s 8.99 FOR BEST QUALITY MEATS| SHOP CASTLEGAR FOODS!| We honor competitor's coupons on items we carry while stocks last. |Prices effective thru Sat., April 11 $ FRESH ~\ a] | AVOCADOES | | STRAWBERRIES} | MUSHROOMS CALL THE NEWS @General Inquiries 365-7266 OUR HOURS The News is located at 197 Columbia Ave. Our office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on weekends and Statutory holidays. SUB RATES The News is published by Castle News Ltd. for Canwest Publishers Ltd. Mail subscription rate to The News is $40 per year ($44 in communities where the post office has etter carrie service). The price on newsstands is 75¢ for each edition. The price delivered by newspaper carrier for both editions is only 90¢ a week (collected monthly). GST extra. Second class mail registration number 0019. rking lot. Castlegar, we'll be back! Jonathan Green NEWS REPORTER Provincial lumber exporters’ luck could go from bad to worse next month. On March 6th, the U.S. Department of Commerce slapped a 14.48 per cent interim duty on softwood lumber entering the States from Canada. The duty took effect at midnight on the lith and since then, Bob Sloper says exports south of the border have dropped drastically. “It’s just a trickle of the wood that usually crosses the border,” the sales manager of Fruitvale’s Atco Lumber Ltd. said Wednesday. “It’s virtually ground to a halt.” Sloper said that in the last month, the company has been forced to turn its attention to buyers outside of the U.S. “You try to shift production and focus on | ch-as-you-ean,” he said. Peter Kalesnikoff-of Kalesnikoff Lumber Co. Ltd. in Tarrys said all he can do is look elsewhere. “We haven’t shipped anything to the States so far,” he said. “We’ve been stockpiling wood, but we can’t keep doing that.” The tariff comes when interest rates in the U.S. are down and housing starts are up, an ideal time for companies like Atco and Kalesnikoff to make their money. Sloper said that when the annual slowdown starts toward the end of summer, some lumber exporters in B.C. could be in big trouble. “If anybody can stand around and think the market can take it, they’re in for a rude awakening in the fall,” he said. ‘We’re dealing in the international arena here and things just don’t ‘happen overnight.’ —MLA Ed Conroy . Although the demand for lumber in ‘the United States is great at the moment, Kalesnikoff says any sale automatically becomes almost 15 per cent less. “I can’t afford to do that,” he said. “It’s frustrating, but what can I do.” Lumber companies feeling U.S. pinch May 19th,” he said. If passed, Sloper said the industry will look to the International Trade Commission in July for a reversal. Local MLA Ed Conroy said the NDP government is doing all it can to prevent the tariff from becoming permanent. He said that Forests Minister Dan Miller tabled a report of his recent trip to Oregon protesting the tariff in the B.C. legislature Wednesday morning, yet it’s a fight that will take time. “We're dealing in the international arena here and things just don’t happen overnight,” he said. Conroy reiterated his belief that the tariff is a political move by U.S. president . George Bush to get re-elected this year. “Everybody in the wood-producing states just loves it, and they'll probably all vote for him,” he said, adding that he doesn’t expect the matter to be resolved until after the oper Said that the industry has been lobbying governments in both Canada and the U.S. to have the tariff dropped. “We’re trying to do it on both sides of the border,” he said. “We can’t just stand aside and let the U.S. attack our industry.” The U.S. commerce department will make a final judgement on the tariff next month, yet Sloper doesn’t think any amount of lobbying will make much of a difference. “Once they’ve taken this step, I don’t expect this to be thrown out the window on U.S. election. “If it goes to the appeal process and the Canadians win, George Bush won't care because he’s won.” Miller said Thursday that there is support for the industry from the other side of the border. ; “There have been some very positive editorials and news stories in Oregon and Washington,” he said. “We think there’s some allies there on the countervailing issue.