Saturday, May 2, 19928 THE FAR SIDE By GARY LARSON 47 Glen Freeman NEWS REPORTER The Hospital Employees’ | Union and the Health Labor Relations Association are still talking — but not to each other. “(Special Conciliator) Don Munroe is meeting with both sides separately,” said HEU spokesman Chris Gainor. “He’s just trying to get some idea of what the issues are and what a middle road may be, because he’s new to this conflict.” In the meantime, it’s busi- ness as usual at the Castle- gar and District Hospital. “Everybody's being looked after now,” said hospital ad- ministrator Ken Talarico, re- ferring to last-yweek’s can- celled surgeries. “There was no real danger, but it’s good to be back to nor- mal.” Munroe, appointed by the provincial government, has until May 15 to hand down his report on the situation. “I can’t say it’s going good or going bad,” Gainor said. “It’s just going.” Give the Gift of Life... . Be an Organ Donor ° British Cc (Nas come I society TracieS” BOUTIQUE Just a Reminder: _ We Carry Popular Brand Names 644 Baker St., Nelson ° New Spring & Summer Stock Arriving Daily! BOYS WEAR TO SIZE 18 352-6811 n Mon.-Sat. 9:30-5:30 p.m. Fridays 9:30-7:00 p.m Glen Freeman NEWS REPORTER Another budding artist has - been discovered at Stanley Humphries. Linda Chang, a 17-year-old Grade 11. student, has re- ceived regional recognition for her talent. She was awarded second place Wednesday in a presti- gious art competition. Art teacher Donald Fyfe- Wilson asked his students to design a poster for Canada 125, Canada’s birthday cele- bration. Three entries were selected from Chang’s class, and were sent in for judging. There were 286 entries re- gionally. “Linda’s poster was chosen as a winner because it dis- played a high degree of quali- ty as well as the ethnic diver- sity of Canada,” said the re- gional director of the B.C. Canada Day Committee. Schools set to show off works NEWS STAFF Castlegar’s students are about to put their school year into perspective. The Fourth Annual Spring Festival of the co \] a. . GANADA Local student claims priz [gree re News photo by Glen F Linda Chang receives her winning poster back from Geoffery Blackwood, regional director for B.C’s Canada Day Committee. 7 “We were looking for a re- flection of Canada, and she captured it.” Chang: said she was sur- prised that her poster gained so much recognition. “I didn’t expect to get this far,” she said, “but I’m reall excited I did.” Chang’s poster was turned professionally frame by the committee. It will be displayed at high school. arts display at 3:30 p.m., followed by a perfo mance arts show at 6:30 p.m. : Co-sponsored by School District No. 9, District Parents Advisory Council and Cast Arts will take place Thursday at Kinnaird Ju- 88r Community Arts Council, proceeds fra nior Secondary. The annual event provides the community with an opportunity to see just what Castlegar’s Grade 1 through 8 students have been doing since September. The festival gets underway with a visual “This is yg All Our Bes 635 Columbia Ave. Castlegar «36 : f Savarin MEAT PIE Turkey © chicken © beef e 2006.) L 79) canada Grade A sont T-BONE or WING STEAK Frozen © 8.12 kg. MULTIGRAIN| CHEERIOS. Or MEW Triples Cereal © 375 9. SURPLUS the festival will go towards the Castlegar P rm ject Society’s theatre proposal. is is the culmination of the entire scha year’s works,” Donna Moyer said. “It is a wé attended event and we hope that continues. HOURS: Thurs. & Sat.. Valley Farm FRENCH ~ FRIES 4-49 California Grown NO. 1 |STRAWBERRIES - Approx. 5 Ib. tray a) DAVE’S Located in Castlegar Foods New items arriving weekly! Come on in and check out the variety of items priced right at SURPLUS DAVE’S WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO LIMIT QUANT! @ Saturday, May 2, 1992 ou dThe News SecondFRONT 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. Closedon weekends and statutory holidays. SUB RATES The News is published by Castle News Ltd. for Canwest S Publishers Ltd. Mail subscription rate to The News is $40 per year ($44 in communities where the post office has letter carrier 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 Selkirk instructors seek hefty wage hikes Scott David Harrison EDITOR Selkirk instructors are asking the college for 11.5 per cent raises. According to the college’s director of personnel and employees, Selkirk’s 100 unionized full- and part-time instructors are asking to make as much as $60,000 a year by. Oct. 1. Current annual top scale wage at the college is $53,404. “The union simply wants more money than we can afford to pay,” Barry Jackson said. “That’s the only real stumbling block we are facing right now.” Jackson said the union hasn’t budged on its wage demands during the past two bargaining sessions. He said, while the college is “offering a very substantial increase,” it can’t afford an 11.5 per cent hike. According to Jackson, the average Selkirk instructor is earning $48,041 a year. Talks between the two sides broke off last Friday when six hours of negotiation did little to settle the dispute. The two sides can be reached. he said. ensured contract have arranged to meet in Castlegar for another round of talks this Wednesday. B.C. Government Employees’ Union negotiator Jeff Fox said he is optimistic an agreement “I am a optimist by nature,” The instructors are seeking a two-year deal that includes wage hikes, sick leave and benefit increases, better work schedules, professional development days and tighter language. Selkirk instructors have been without a contract since Sept. 31,1991. Stating he “doesn’t negotiate through the newpaper”, Fox justified the instructors demands, saying they want a contract that would gave them parity with other B.C. institutions. A strike by instructors would have little impact on the Castlegar campus, according to Jackson, but he said it may jeopardize courses in Nelson and Trail which both have programs that run until June. : MEET YA’ AT THE BEACH Local youth banned from Penticton NEWS STAFF A Castlegar man involved in the Peach Festival riot last July has been ordered to steer clear of Penticton for the next two summers. The man, whose identity cannot be revealed because of the Young Offenders Act, has been barred from Penticton after pleading guilty to mischief charges stemming for the July 28 riot. The two-year runs between June 31 to Aug. 31. Penticton Provincial Court Judge Gail Sinclair also sentenced the man to 45 days in custody, 22 months probation and 200 hours community service. The man is the third young offender sentenced in News photo by Ed Mills When your this small, any of collection of sand larger than a sandbox is as big as a beach. And so it was for these three youngsters who found their adventure in the sand at the Kiwanis Field. connection with the riot that broke out following an M.C. Hammer rap concert. 0019. No quick fix for Robson water woes Scott David Harrison EDITOR Ken Wyllie says Robson-Raspberry water woes won't go away overnight. The Robson-Raspberry Improvement District trustee says residents will have to be patient as the board tries to tackle growing problems regarding area water quality. s “The water quality has been improving,” said Wyllie, who was re-elected to.a three- year term on the five-member improvement district. “I know there are properties with very low water pressure, but we're trying to do it on a peacemeal basis.” That didn’t sit well with one resident at the three-hour annual general meeting who claimed he was being treated like a “second-class citizen.” Francis Jones, meanwhile, said efforts to flush sediment from the water lines with recently installed fire hydrants aren’t working. Shesaid shower water to her daughter’s neighboring property is laden with so much sediment, that her daughter is forced to shower at her home. “I can hardly see how there can be any sediment left (in the water lines), it is all in my septic tank,” Jones said. Although sympathetic, the improvement board said they are doing as much as they can. Trustee George Stein said improvements “will take time.” He said the installation of fire hydrants throughout the Robson-Raspberry area will allow the improvement district to slowly rid the communities of substandard water. He also said the improvement district plans to upgrade flow lines from its reservoir to ensure water is being properly treated with an ultraviolet disinfectant system before reaching area homes. That project is expected to take up to two years. . In the meantime, though, the improvement district agreed to issue boiling notices throughout the two communities. The notices are being issued in compliance with a B.C. Health Ministry recommendation that states the province’s surface and ground water should be boiled because of the threat of giardia and bacterial contamination. : : “It is a concern for us,” Wyllie said of giardia contamination. “It is a risk, we all know that.” Wyllie said the improvement board’s ultraviolet disinfectant system will go a long way toward eliminating giardia and other bacterias once the Robson-Raspberry lines have been properly upgraded and flushed of sediment build up. The improvement district cautioned, though, that no treatment process is fail safe. Elsewhere, Robson-Raspberry residents voted to have improvement district projects go to public tender. That moves comes after Robson contractor Gerald Evin complained that he was being shut out of the bidding process. The vote must be approved by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs before it is put into practice.