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vpliament Bligs., 501 Belleville St

Victorsa, B. C.

~ Cast

Vol. 40, No, 44

60 Cents

Sa aad

CASTLEGAR, BRITISH COLUMBIA, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 1987

5 Sections (A, B, C, D & E)

Labor says strike ‘effective’

By SURJ RATTAN
and RON NORMAN
Organized labor's 24-hour walkout Monday in protest
against the provincial government's new labor code was
effective, the president of the Nelson and Trail District
Labor Council said Tuesday.

“I think it went very well on how people saw the
legislation,” said Gordon Titsworth. “It's obvious that the
anti-seditious bill that Attorney-General Brian Smith says
he's going to bring in is right out of the 18th century”

Titsworth- said approximately 5,700 people took part in
the one-day general strike in Castlegar, Trail and Nelson.

Castlegar was awash in pickets Monday as labor
targetted everything from the Castlegar ferry to local
supermarkets and hotels. Picket lines stretched from one
end of Columbia Avenue to the other.

Reaction to the strike varied. Those on the picket lines
were unanimous in their opposition to Bill 19, the industrial
labor relations act.

“It stinks”, said one man carrying a generic picket sign
in front of the downtown Super Valu store. He suggested the
province remove the bill “and do it properly. Have all people

union, business and government — (sit down) together.”

Another protester called the bill “the worst legislation
that’s ever been proposed.”

However, Wade Zammit, general manager of Westar
Timber's Southern Wood Products sawmill, which was shut
down by the general strike, was unhappy with the protest.

“The community experienced lost wages and benefits
of about $42,000", Zammit said the day after the protest. “I
don't really have an opinion on it or how I feel.”

However, he added later, “I'm not very pleased.”

All government services were shut down by the strike,
including the liquor store, provincial courthouse, Ministry of
Forests and Ministry of Highways.

Castlegar’s transit system was halted, and city hall was
behind picket lines, as was Celgar Pulp Co., Loomis Courier,
the Community Complex, Dairyland, Skyway Distributors.

SuperValu, Safeway, West Kootenay Power and Light Co.,
Selkirk College, unionized hotels like the Hi Arrow Arms,
the Monte Carlo and the Marlane, and all schools. As well,
Central Food Mart, which is non-union, closed for the day

Unions cross-picketed sites, carrying only homemade
signs opposing Bill 19. For instance, city workers, members
of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, picketed the
of the Canadian Union of Publie Employees, picketed the
picketed city hall, though neither union was identified on
the picket signs.

City administrator Dave Gairns called the situation at
city hall “friendly”. He said employees will be notified they

continued on page A2

WALKING THE LINE . . Teachers picket outside
Stanley Humphries secondary school Monday as part
of a one-day general strike called by the B.C

Federation of Labor. Only two teachers crossed picket
line in Castlegar school district.

CosNews Photo by Ron Norman

SUNFEST
TOUTED AS
BEST EVER

By RON NORMAN
Editor

Sunfest 87 kicks off Friday evening with a new
theme, a new date and a host of new events that
organizers say will make it the best Sunfest ever.

The annual Castlegar summer celebration under
went a major facelift this year, beginning with the date

“We have a new weekend,” explains Marilyn Strong,
Sunfest committee publicity chairman. “It's in June and
not July.”

Traditionally, Sunfest has been held on the third
weekend in July, though last year it was moved ahead
one week because a major convention had already booked
many of the hotel rooms and some community facilities

Strong says holding the event in June rather than
mid-summer allows more people to get involved. She
points as an example to the Kinnaird Junior secondary
school marching band which will take part in the Sunfest
parade Saturday morning.

The band hasn't participated in other Sunfest
parades because students were on summer holidays in
July

In addition, Castle Bowl, which normally doesn't
have bowling during July, will be open this weekend and
providing bowling for residents wearing their Sunfest
buttons.

Rainbows and Roses is this year's Sunfest theme,
and everything from the parade to the “night of murder”
at the Fireside Motor Inn will include the theme.

Strong says this year’s Sunfest involves a lot of new

people with ideas for new events. She notes that the
Castlegar Kiwanis Club will sponsor the first-ever
Sunfest demolition derby at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the
industrial park.

As well, Highland Helicopter will provide helicopter
rides at the derby site from 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. and there will
be a demonstration of hang gliding between 1:30 and 3:30
p.m., also at the industrial park

“Its going to be a huge success,” says Strong

Another new wrinkle in this year’s Sunfest will be
the focus on Kinsmen Park and downtown Castlegar. In
other years events have been scattered throughout the
community, from Kinnaird Park to the Community
Complex to Pass Creek Regional Park

“We're trying to centre a lot of events in downtown
Castlegar,” says Strong.

She notes that the parade winds through the
downtown and ends at Kinsmen Park, so events will
centre on the park and 3rd Street, between Columbia
Avenue and 11th Avenue.

The parade gets underway at 11 a.m. Saturday,
though it will begin marshalling at 9 a.m. at Monashee
Avenue. It will end about 12:30 p.m. at Kinsmen Park
where there will be an awards ceremony at 1 p.m

This year’s parade is shaping up to be a huge one.
The Grand Marshall will be Hec Gervais, 1961 world
curling champion and twice Canadian curling champ.

Strong says about 300 youngsters on decorated
bicycles are expected to take part, along with a variety
of floats in the Rainbows and Roses theme. There will be
clowns, vintage cars and marching bands, along with a
“few surprises.”

Strong says she doesn't want to give anything away,
but spectators will want to catch the parade from
beginning to end

The parade will be led by an honor guard from the
Legion followed by 300 Armed Forces cadets. Chief of
Defence Staff Gen. Paul Manson will view the cadets
from a dais in front of city hall.

continued on poge A2

Sub-post office
service expanded

By CasNews Staff

The Castlegar post office has ex.
panded services offered by its priv-
ately owned sub-post office in Castle-
aird Plaza.

But while the increased service has
been warmly received by area cust-
omers, the move has angered the union
representing local inside postal work
ers.

Castlegar postmaster Roy McNeil
said Tuesday customers living south of
Sherbiko Hill now can pick up “carded”
items such as parcels and registered
mail at the sub-post office located in
Carl's Drugs.

Before Canada Posi Corp. expanded
the service May 15, carded items were
returned to the Castlegar post office if
no one was home at the time of
delivery.

McNeil says customers are pleased
with the new service, éspecially the
fact they don’t have to travel to the
post office in downtown Castlegar to
pick up their items.

“It's been quite favorable,” he
said. “They've commented it’s closer to
them.”

McNeil pointed out that Carl's Drugs
is open more days and for longer hours
than the post office.

“They're open on Saturdays, where
we're not,” he said. As well, Carl's
Drugs is open Friday until 9 p.m. while
the post office closes at 5 p.m.

McNeil also noted that the ex
panded services benefit Carl's Drugs
by increasing customer traffic

SHSS grads
granted a
reprieve

By MIKE KALESNIKO

Castlegar’s high school graduates
have been granted a_ temporary
reprieve from B.C. teachers’ work-to-
rule campaign to allow grads to
participate in the annual graduation
ceremonies.

According to Mike Rodgers, newly
re-elected Castlegar and District Tea
chers’ Association president, grad
uation for this year's 162 grads at
Stanley Humphries secondary school
should remain unchanged from pre
vious years.

Rodgers explained that all those
events which staff members were
previously committed to were not
threatened by the instruction-only
campaign, which was launched last
month to protest Bill 20, the teaching
profession act.

“The CDTA supports the British
Columbia Teachers’ Federation in
struction-only campaign,” said Rod
gers. “However, for the items occuring
this year, staff have given some
teachers the go-ahead to finish off
extracurricular activities.

Rodgers explained that the CDTA
developed a separate committee to
oversee those activities which would
ordinarily require teachers to vol
unteer their time.

That committee has approved only
those events to which teachers had
previously committed themselves. This
included the SHSS's band trip to
Ottawa, two Geology 12 field trips, the
Physical Education 12's outdoor ed
ucation trips, and this year's grad
uation.
on poge A2

McNeil said there are no other
sub-post offices in Castlegar, but
“other locations are being considered”,

“It’s better for the people at that end
of town.”
However, he said Canada Post

some of them in Castlegar.

He acknowledged that postal unions
are unhappy with the change, but said
Canada Post has assured the unions no
jobs will be lost.

“Our number one objective is to
increase accessibility for customers,”
McNeil said.

But Ben Fietz, president of the
Castlegar local of the Canadian Union
of Postal Workers, says Canada Post is
giving away his members’ jobs.

“They're taking jobs out of here and
givirig them to lower paid employees,”
Fietz said in an interview Tuesday

Fietz said he agrees with increasing
postal service.

Cominco,
reassess

By MIKE KALESNIKO
and SURJ RATTAN

A meeting scheduled for this after.
noon between Cominco and the United
Steelworkers of America representing
production and maintenance workers
should give the union a clearer picture
of “where we stand”, according to
Local 480 vice-president John Owens.

Owens told the tlegar News
today that the meeting is not meant for
negotiations but merely as a chance for
the company and the union to reassess
their positions.

“The meeting's meant to find out
where they stand where we stand,”
said Owens. “At that time we may have
a better idea of how long (this strike
will continue)”

Owens said the first contract prop-
osal which was rejected during voting

inside

SUNFEST SPECIALS: A special
eight-page Suntest pullout sec-
ition is included in today’s issue
of the Castlegar News. The
special section features articles
and photos of activities, along
with a schedule of events for the
three-day summer celebration
that begins Friday E1-€8

D'ARCY IN HOUSE: Rossland-Trail MLA Chris D'Arcy spoke in the
legislature recently on three different bills 2

LOCALS ON TEAM: Castlegar area residents captured three of the
12 spots on the Zone 1 horseshoe pitching team that will ‘travel to

the B.C. Summer Games... BI

SOVIET LIFE: Canadian Press reporter Christine Morris takes a
close-up look at life in the Soviet Union ’

SEARCH ENDED: TALKEETNA, Alaska (CP)
in Alaska ended a search Tuesday for two Banff, Alta.,
missing on Mount Foraker since early Moy

Nancy Stromsem, a spokesman for the National Parks Ser-
vice, said the chief ranger at Talkeetna, the community closest to
the mountain, decided to end the search for Dan Guthrie. 27, and
tan Bult, 24, a former Fruitvale resident

Another party of climbers reported the avalanche May 6
several days after it occurred Guthrie and Bult started their climb

May 2

Bult’s family plans to hold o memorial service Saturday in his

hometown of Fruitvale

A service for Guthrie, originally from Willowdale, Ont

take place in Banff next Monday

Stromsem said it would be impossible to recover the bodies
even it they were found because of the danger of large chunks of

ice and snow falling on someone

Pp should be handling the job,
not private business.

“I would like to see one of our
employees doing the job,” he said

Fietz said there are specialized
postal outlets called “New Directions”
outlets.

“They work really well,” he said

Asked if the thought it practical to
open a specialized postal centre in a
community the size of Castlegar, Fietz
replied: ““Bhe sub up there probably
sells almost as many stamps as we do.
So it's not really small scale.”

He noted that his union is con
sidering filing a grievance on the

continued on poge A4

Local 480
positions

over the weekend by 54.5 per cent of
the Steelworker locals totalling 2,800
members simply did not satsify the
memberships expectations.

“We have to figure out exactly
where those problems were and see if
the company is willing to address
them,” said Owens.

Owens said union members still have
complete faith in the bargaining
committee and that no one on the
committees has any intention of
resigning. He said last Monday during
a meeting with committee executives,
the bargaining committee received a
unanimous vote of confidence.

Meanwhile, talks between Cominco
and office and technical workers are
continuing with mediator Richard
Longpre, a vice-chairman of the B.C.
Labor Relations Board

continued on page A4

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