esrannien AUG. 7, Ha? U 12, 1978-AU6, 27, A.V. CAMPOELL — PUBLISHER AUG, 7, 1R47-FHR. 18. 1979 vested in and belongs to Castle News Lid fetes in owever, that cupyright in het port ahd thet pert only ot ‘ony odvertisement prepored Irom repro proals, engravings, eK. provided by the edvertiser shell tbetong to the advertiser remain in ond Puzzling The announcement this week from Education Minister Jack Heinrich’s office that the provincial government will close Nelson's David Thompson University Centre fn May | is both shocking and puz- zling. It is shocking, of course, to the residents of this area who rely so much on DTUC. Though only a han- dtul of Castlegar students are enrolled at the school, the centre's contribution to the community can be seen at all levels. In straight dollars and cents there is the centre's 100 staff and the payroll of more than $2 million There is also the money spent by DTUC's 400 9 decision unaware of the centre's closure un- til they heard it through the media. But the closure is also puzzling. It's puzzling because just this fall the province completed a $1.3 million renovation program at DTUC's Patenaude Hall and student residences. Why would the government authorize expen: novations if it intended to close the centre in less than a year? If the government only made the ‘decision to close DTUC in the last month, it should be taken to task for poor planning. Who in private bi s can afford to to about $775,000 a year. Then, there are the courses made available through the centre — both the extension courses and the diploma programs. And finally there is the contribution to the West Kootenay arts community, which has surely been dealt a severe blow. Residents from the Castlegar and Trail areas were able to attend readings, workshops and theatre productions staged and sponsored by DTUC. All those will disappeor when the school closes. Shocking, too the way the news of the centre's closure was announced. It came in the form of @ tive-paragraph press release from a government information of- ficer. Many of the instructors, sup- port staff or students were allocate $1.3 million on a building only to then close it down? In any event, it only goes to show that the government doesn't really have any long-range plans when it comes to education. It seems to make decisions by the seat of its pants. Finally, there is the letter from Mr. Heinrich to the Selkirk College board, dated Sept. 21, 1983. In it the minister says the province is “satisfied that the success achieved thus far by the (David Thompson University) Centre warrants its continuation.” How, in the space of less than four months, can the centre sud- denly not “warrant continuation’? It's a question that will undoub- tedly be asked many times in the weeks to come. It is hoped an an- swer is forthcoming. Lotteries are OK, but Lotteries aren't necessarily bad er Scalia baba he. says, They con By all odds, no one in Castlegar won the $7 million grand prize in in it reemathing to look forward: to", is the way Me Knox puts i Ob day's Lotto 6/49 draw. But then we were up againstsome stift Saahatch ik bat figures.— about one in 14 million, agree. They ically ‘the local Lot- to 6/49 ticket outlets this week. But there's something of the “banana republic” in a country that has as many lotteries as Canada. Surely the number of lotteries can be pared down. ding to officials. Still, ‘there’ s something to be said for playing lotteries, accor- ding to University of B.C. psychology professor Robert Knox. Mr. Knox points out that there's a lot money involved in lot- teries for a very small investment. Fred Merriman Now that spring has set in early this year with deep puddles from melting snow forming on Columbia Ave., (and it’s only Jan. 4) it’s a good time to talk about cross-country skiing. Suddenly it is all the rage. Our family had been thinking about it for two years. Under the relentless pressure brought on by sparkling white snow and clear blue skies we succumbed, The Nordic Ski Club of Castle- gar has opened some interesting ski trails at the Castlegar Golf Course + an ancient Kame terrace. The trails take skiers on one loop along green up to the old mountain road beyond the twelfth. We personally had the most fun on the hills on the road to the right of number 11. The skiers finally end at the parking lot near the club house. It's almost as much fun as golfing. Come to think of it, I didn’t even think about golf all the time I was moving around, falling down or tucking down some of my braver hills. We were fortunate to catch a glimpse of a fools hen which had the presumptious attitude to stroll nonchalantly across the trail where she could run the risk of being fluttered aside by some of the quite graceful atd fit folks we saw glide by almost like speed skaters with a rolling motion in a kind of winter wonderland ballet. a, ¥ e f/ I understand that more than 500 men, women and children are now registered members of the Nordic Ski Club of Castlegar and the organizers are most pleased with the numbers of interested and keen cross-country ski enthusiasts. Costs are only $10 for a family membership and $1 for an identif- ication badge which must be worn on the ski club trails primarily for insurance purposes because non- members are not allowed to use the trails due to an arrangement with the Castlegar Golf Club and the insurance company. The few rules that are posted seem fair and entirely reasonable. It is ‘common courtesy to honor the posted. rules and oblige the hard working volunteers of the Ski Club for the long hours they devote to the sport’ (mostly with little or no thanks from the hundreds who now enjoy the sport). We have not yet made it to the Mud Lake area beyond Nancy Greene Lake but certainly plan to do so. In the meanwhile, barring any more melting conditions, the golf course trails are only 10 minutes away. On behalf of those who may have not yet passed on their appreciation to the lspeneely and charter in April: Showers. Added: Princess. Letters to the Editor Metric is annoying Editor, Castlegar News: We have found ourselves becom- ing increasingly annoyed with the French and metric syndrome. Our blood boils a little as it seems to make more and more things difficult, at a time when we need all our energy just to try to stay afloat. We have all old equipment and can see it reaching a point where it will be hard to get standard bolts and parts. Even now we have to have two sets of tools, nuts, bolts and so on. I think all changing to metric did was to make it easier for foreign countries to sell us their metric tools. To add insult to injury, we have been told by the company that makes the boxes for our boxed stone that we will have to have all new inks made with French and metric on them. This will be very costly and a completely alindjifig waste. We're sure our boxed will “néver farther than it ever does, it should be our decision if we want French on the boxes. I felt it was in our best interest to ask the company to inform the government that the company lost a customer because I told them they could stuff their French and metric boxes! If we move to Quebec or France, then it would be in our best interest to learn to speak French. If someone wants to move to our h-speaking province, then it is in their best interest to learn English. When we went to Mexico we didn't insist that gradually over a period of many years. - I think the big shots that made the decision to go metric should pay for the change back out of their own pockets and maybe next e they'll pay a little they print English on the products‘ we bought. If a manufacturer wants to sell into a French-speaking market, it would be in his best interest to print French on those products.. But don't force the rest of us to pay extra to print French on our packaging. This is Canada, “Our Ramer Glorious and Free?” We Canad more and grief they're Sentng T also think they should pay all the extra we have had to pay because of double printing on everything like bil) books, invoices and order forms. Let's work together to make ourselves heard. We can do it. Iris Bakken and Deanis Beaulieu better stand up and do something a we want it to stay that way (or get back to that way). We've sat back and let metric and French be shoved down our throats like a bunch of wimps. Sure, some people have worked against it, but we as Canadians should those who pay for all these stupid ideas you're cramming down our throats.” It is sad that it will be a big cost for some businesses to switch back to Imperial measure, but it will still be in all our best interests. We should never have gone metric until (and if) our largest trading partner — the USA — had done so, and then it should have been done Stone Centre h and the baby prince in the Paramount News. * 6 6 The annual general meeting of the Board of Trade will be held on Jan. 21, Friday, in the Parish Hall, a attend this important meeting. 25 YEARS AGO From the Jan. 15, 1959 years in the Kootenays, 1899 to 1959,” kept his listeners entranced as he re- called events of early days. . Born in Springhill, N.S. in 1890, Mr. Crowe came to B.C. with his parents in 1899, settling in Moyie in the East Kootenays. He came to Trail in 1915, where he has been active in the edu- cational field and is now serving. as Please address all Letters to the Editor to: The Castlegar News, P.O. Box 3007, Castlegar, B.C. V1N 3H4, or deliver them to our office at: 197 Columbia Avenue, Castlegar, B.C. SERRE NEN RR NER ET Letteis must be signed and include the writer's full name and address. Only in very cases will on the city couneil. Mr. Crowe has, in the past, been president of the Associated Boards of Trade and Chambers of Commerce of Southeastern B.C. and in Trail, the J. Lloyd Crowe High School ton bog named in his honor: . 2« « St oe SS ee and District residents on letters be published without the writer's name. Nevertheless, the name and address of the writer must be disclosed to the editor. The Castlegar News reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity, legality and grammar. Queen in royal row By PAUL KORING LONDON — Newspaper photos of killing animals for sport,” it fumed. “Prince Philip refuses to recognize coverage. In a , departure from normal the Queen's six-year-old twirling a dead pheasant by the neck have led to the latest royal row with Fleet Street's newshounds. Claiming harassment after the photos appeared Saturday and Mon- day, the Queen urged editors to withdraw their staff from Sandring- ham, the country estate to which the Royal Family retreats for holidays. The photos, taken during the new year’s weekend, featured Peter Phil- lips, son of Princess Anne and her husband Mark Phillips, during a family bird shoot at the country retreat. The sternly-worded request to leave the Royal Family in peace, was the latest spat in the increasingly fractious relationship between the monarchy and Fleet Street, Britain's hewspaper row, over the insatiable appetite of the media for royal scandals, temper tantrums and below. stairs tittle-tattle. James Haslam, the Queen's assis- tant press secretary, accused the newshounds of “continuing to harass the Queen and her family.” Only. Britain's cheekiest tabloid, ‘The Sun and The Daily Mail had grat or cijee lnand oroona Casting, may I say “Thank you” to the Nordic Ski Club. Many of us now have one more reason to look forward to the winter snows and the chance to enjoy all four seasons of this rather unique valley along the Columbia River in southeastern British Columbia. — an argument much-disputed by some of Britain’s more outspoken wildlife organizations. The Daily Mirror capitalized on the event Tuesday with an outraged editorial comment. “The Royal Family never seems to understand the deep offence it gives to milliohs of people by its passion for the di in his being di of the World Wildlife Fund and an enthusiastic executioner of game birds and deer. “Prince Charles knows of. the criticism of his fox-hunting but chooses to ignore it. “But can Mark Phillips and Prin- cess Anne really know how disgusting is the sight of their six-year-old son waving a dead pheasant in the air,” said the newspaper. During Prince Charles's courtship with Diana, now Princess of Wales, an irked Queen also asked Fleet Street to stop harassing the young woman. However, the high-profile roman- ces of Charles and even more so his younger brother Prince Andrew have proved too much for the practice, p were invited just before Christmas to an open session with 18-month-old Prince Wil- liam in the garden outside Prince Charles's and Diana’s quarters in Kensington Palace. In the Le ow a small peal? of Tee eed uk vast aaa tae pictures are made available to other media. The open call, just before the holiday season, was allowed on con- dition that the press leave the Queen and her family alone during Christmas and New Year's. Still the newshounds showed up at Sandringham and recorded the event. Even the Times, which piously d this week in favor of the tabloid press. Last month Britain's Press Council ruled. that. newspapers_should not report the private behaviour and activity of members of the Royal Family “within a private place.” The council censured The Sun for has become a near-regular feature in the cheekier tabloids despite the apparent end of her friendship with Andrew. Queen's call for Fleet Street to restrain itself, is not stooping to sensationalism if it suits it. fodder for the Fleet Street tabloids and have an undeniable readership appeal. Nevertheless, the current feud between the Royal Family and the press underscores changing public attitudes about regal privacy. blurred and the press is less willing to automatically obey royal distums about Saturday, Jan. 31 when the Rossland Light Opera Players Loa Gay Ros- alinda or Di Fleidermaus 7 Hon. Gordon McGregor Sloan, one of Canada’s keenest judicial minds and B.C.’s chief trouble shooter, died yesterday at his home in Victoria. He gras 60. A former chief justice of B.C. and for the last year forestry adviser to the government, Mr. Sloan suffered a heart attack last November and has been ailing since. 15 YEARS AGO From the Jan. 9, 1969 News Castlegar It snowed last Friday — but two robins in Robson apparently thought 3] arrived. robins in that community. * 2 « The Castlegar district's first baby of 1969 was born when the new year was almost exactly three days old. James Christopher Hanson made his appearance at 1:05 a.m. Jan. 4. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Byron Hanson of Robson. * 6 « Castlegar council Monday night warned parents of children’ sleigh riding on town streets that the ’muni- ons. is not responsible if accidents While sympathizing with the desire YEARS AGO From the Jan. 11, 1979 Castlegar News City council approved Tuesday the assassinate President Reagan minister Menachem Begin in 1% pays, ‘ ‘The explosives — twice as 7.4 to level a city block — were an international communications equipment sa oe ae rin Lib The R P today’s editions. ESR ‘The newspaper said the locker in Alexandria, Va., by « Jordanian Palestinian activist the day before Begin arrived at “the White House in September 198%, The businessman, Harold McDowell, and the Jor- danian, Abdul-Hafiz Homanned Nassar, pleaded guilty more than a year later to one count ; of illegally possess and transport, ‘across state lines. McDowell was pl Probation; Nassar was sentenced to five years in prison. McDowell obtained the material for Nassar, who ar- rived in the United States in 1973 and was operating o store in Albuquerque, N.M., the Republic said. It said McDowell was paid $52,000 for the explosives and various electronic equipment. OBSTRUCTS ‘The Republic said it developed its report from court documents, reports obtained under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, interviews with law enforcement officials and other sources it didn’t identify. The newspaper said the U.S, Justice Department, dey in eens me gan ty Maes ‘dua’ iy : i 1 | ¢ took various” steps to thwart its investigation. ¢ rear rare rege ytam antes Te ol “At first-blush, I think that the Arizona Republic has jumped to « conclusion whieh can't be sustantiated” ‘He said it was a “quantum leap” between finding ere and saying they were part of an hatassinetion On the allegation that the bureau tried to hinder the fnvestigation, he said: “I can tell you we didn't. The last thing we do is try to thwart anybody's investigation. ‘That's ludicrous. We may have at some point ih time said ‘no comment,’ but thwarting is not an appropriate sine) Q PLANS KILLS? ‘The newspaper said it found “strong ctreumetabtigi evidence” suggesting that terrorists directed from Beirut planned to assassinate Reagan and Begin. It also said court records indicated unidentified people in Beirut, were involved and that federal officials refused comment as to why only Nassar and McDowell were trigd: ‘The newspaper said that in August 1981 N: told a friend “he had to make an urgent trip to Wi ton, ‘because Begin would be in town.’ ” It ‘said he and a Phoenix real estate salseaiani Who helped him obtain the explosives loaded them ‘hto Nassar’s car and that three days later Nassar checked into a motel in Alexandria. The locker was rented Sept-8, one day before Begin arrived in Washington, and Nas- sar’s car got a parking ticket two blocks from the White’ House later that same day, The Republic said. Nassar said he went to Washington for a del stration against Begin and that he rented the lock store the explosives until their overseas shipment id be arranged. mei denied the explosives were to be use® In the FBI and other, ified U.S. gi officials w paper said. Halt to attend Paormal KELOWNA (CP) — Chief Justice Allan McEachern re fused to grant a B.C, Su- * preme Court injunction Fri. day ordering the Kelowna school district to allow an eight-year-old boy, labelled as mentally retarded, to at. tend regular classes instead of going to a special school. Instead, he said, the mat. ter should be heard in a full trial ag-soon as possible. Lawyers agreed they should be able to proceed to trial within six weeks. Wietoria-based lawyer Da- vid Vickers, in a chambers ‘application, said that irrepar able harm would result to Arron Bales's social, emo tional and educational devel- opment if he were required to wait for the trial. ‘The action by Beva Bales, Arron's mother, against the school board is being sup- ported and paid for by British Columbians For Mentally Handicapped People. Vickers was seeking an a) More teachers to go, Kuehn VICTORIA (CP) — More than 2,500 teachers and edu- cation support staff will be fired next September if the provincial government can not increase the school boards budget by at least three per cent, a teachers’ spokesman says. Larry Kuehn, president of ' the B.C. Teachers’ Federa. tion, said the three-per-cent, increase is necessary just to maintain the current level of service. Kuehn and members of the Coalition to Defend Edu cation met with Finance Minister Hugh Curtis for nearly two hours Friday to provide the governmeatavith obsokn «to input on the needs in edu. cation. The minister received briefs from the teachers, the College-Institute Educators’ Association and the Canadian Federation of Students. The minister refused com- ment following the meeting. Barlier this week, Educ- ation Minister Jack Heinrich saidhis budget for the next fiseah year beginning April 1 would » probably be about $1.52 billion. INCREASE PROPOSED That is an increase of 8.6 per cent over the $1.4 billion in the current budget. Kuehn told reporters after the meeting, “If they cut the projected amounts that have been an- nounced to the school boards, we can see the of itude that B.C. citizens are guaranteed access to post- about 2,500 to 2,800 positions from the school system next September.” Kuehn said it was impos- sible to say if Curtis and his advisers were receptive to the requests. The teachers’ federation president said the coalition also asked the government to phase in the policy that re- sulted in the firing of tea- chers in three-school districts this week — Qualicum, Fer nie and Nanaimo. The brief from the college instructors called for more funding “if it is to -be-mere than an empty plat .growth, in the system be funded.” y The brief said colleges and institutes were the hardest hit during the pt three years. Their bu igets were cut by 4.2 per cent, while universities had their bud. gets chopped only 1.9 per cent. It said nothing more can be trimmed by the colleges and institutes. “Classes and instructors cannot continue to be over- loaded; waiting lists for courses cannot be allowed to increase forever; it is im- perative that some small to allow the boy to attend school. pending the otitcome of the action. McEachern said he wished to avoid having the. boy moved back and forth if the trial established facts that might put a different light on the situation as it was pre- sented by affidavits. He said he would ask court staff to schedule the trial of the action either in Kelowna or in Vernon as soon as pos- sible. Vickers told McEachern that the boy’s basie problem is a cerebral palsy condition, which manifests itself in hearing and visual impair- ment and a mental slowness that has resulted in a label of “mentally retarded.” The Kelowna school board decided in June to move classes blocks away. The special school has 26 students con- sidered mentally handicap- ped, aged from six to 19 years. The parents refused to send their boy to the segre- gated school in September and have tried to provide some kind of private tutoring “though they are people of modest means,” said Vickers. pe et Ls aca Coming Soon . . . See the Castlegar News of Wed., Jan. 11 JANUARY CLEARANCE Starts Jan. 3 Ladies’ Wear 30 Clearance Table in Giftware Dept. Fabric & Linens UP TO % Off 1217 - 3rd Street, Castlegar 365-7782 The Klothes Kloset’s fashion vales event A once-a-year opportunity to choose superb quality merchandise at irresistable sale prices! Reductions . up to Shop early for. Best Selections. % OFF Many more unadvertised specials! DE’: Ao ee OF f a9 Ww