a4 Wednesday, January 6, 1993 m@ Business Information Centre losing funding? Scott David Harrison EDITOR won't provide funding or sign a contract for 1993-94,” chamber manager Renee The Castlegar and District Chamber of Commerce says the New Democrat government is putting an essential ser- vice in jeopardy. The local chamber is demanding an- swers from Economic Development Minister David Zirnhelt regarding the future of the Business Information Centre. The chamber wants Zirnhelt to clarify rumors that has the province Read said Tuesday. “And as soon as they say that... well, we all know what that means.” The local chamber operates BIC as part of a service agreement with the province. In turn, BIC provides valu- able information to new entrepreneurs, existing business people and business- es looking to expand or relocate in Castlegar by putting them in touch with key personnel and resources. BIC severing financial ties to BIC. “They won’t confirm that they will or also allows the local chamber to keep touch with other chambers and the Economic Development Ministry through a province-wide networking system. The province grants the local cham- ber $8,500 per year to operate and or- ganize all BIC services, but Read fears that the money will be lost to ministe- rial cutbacks. “It’s like the entire NDP government is saying ‘No, that’s enough.’ It seems like every time we turn around, small businesses and communities outside the Lower Mainland are being stomped Read said the government must rec- ognize the important role BIC plays in Castlegar’s economic development. Read said BIC is a businessperson’s first stop, putting them in touch with vast services that the local chamber would be unable to finance should the province pull the plug on funding. ~The local chamber has gone as far as to draft a letter to Zirnhelt, demanding a renewal of the BIC contract and fund- ing on April. 1. The current agreement with the provincial government expires on @ Wednesday, January 6, 1993 Local schools on health kick @ Castlegar schools receive Healthy Schools grants totalling $2,790 Corinne Jackson NEWS REPORTER Some area schools should have received some welcome news today. Grant applications for implementing pro- pact on schools and students, Horswill said. “The schools that applied are obviously really gung ho and enthusiastic,” she said. Horswill said the response from schools was good but un- fortunately the deadline for applications was short. jects aimed at making their schools more healthy have been awarded to five Castlegar schools, Bonnie Horswill said Tuesday. “We got a real good response from all areas of the health unit,” School District No.9’s rep- resentative to the Central Kootenay Board of Bonnie Horswill “I’m sorry the time line wasn’t better because I know some schools wanted to get involved... but there was nothing we could do about the time. “The project has to be completed by the 15th prospective and existing businesses in on and kicked around.” March 31. New assessments have) homeowners alarmed Scott David Harrison EDITOR . John Collins says the phones to the B.C. Assess- ment Authority have been ringing off the hook. The Nelson-Trail‘area as- sessor says his~office has been inundated with calls from startled homeowners, questioning their 1993 as- sessment notices. “It’s the first wave, really,” Collins said, referring to some 300 phone calls the Nelson office has received since assessment notices were sent out. “(Homeowners) see the in- crease and get alarmed and we do our best to alleviate their concerns.” Collins said some 6,000 Castlegar area homes will re- ceive their assessment no- tices before Jan. 15. He said homes increased between 15 and 35 per cent for an overall average of 20 per cent. Aver- ages in Trail were 20 per cent, while Nelson experi- enced a.40 per cent jump. Collins cautioned that an increased assessment does not necessarily equal in- Collins said tax rates are de- termined by regional and municipal government and school and hospital boards. “It doesn’t necessarily mean there will be a tax in- British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority Application for approval of rate schedule 3808 and Health said. Stanley Humphries Secondary and Castle- gar Primary have both been awarded $750 to implement their plans. Valley Vista Elemen- tary will be given $690, Tarrys Elementary $400 and Twin Rivers Elementary $200. The money is part of $10,000 given to the CKBH by the Ministry of Health’s office of health promotion as part of the Year 2000's ‘Learn for Living’ curriculum. Approved projects — such as recycling, nu- trition, and anti-smoking, drug and alcohol awareness campaigns — will have a direct im- of June... so schools have time to implement the project,” she said. Grants were awarded based on student in- volvement in identifying areas needing atten- tion, planning projects and plans for executing them. As well, “the projects had to have a contin- ued nature,” Horswill explained. “With (the Healthy Schools) project it’s di- rectly affecting schools. “It’s not something that looks good on paper and doesn’t work in practice. “It’s really satisfying.” the assessed value of area crease,” he said. “We don’t determine that.” Collins said there is a sil- ver-lining to higher assessed values, though. He said that most munici- palities decrease their tax rates after assessment in- creases, adding that a larger assessment base means cities require less taxes to produce the same revenues. He said Castlegar home- owners should expect a tax increase if their assessed val- ue exceeds the city’s average increase of 20 per cent. Assessments are deter- mined according to the mar- Power Purchase Agreement with West Kootenay Power Ltd. Notice of Public Hearing 651-18th Street Castlegar, B.C. The Application B.C.Hydro is applying to replace its existing Rate Schedule 3807 — Transmission Service to West Kootenay Power (“WKP”) and the 1986 Power Purchase Agreement with new Rate Schedule 3808 and new Power Purchase Agreement (“the Application”) effective at a date to be d issi The Public Hearing d by the C dered to be a ket values in each communi- ty based on a_ two-step process. The assessor will es- timate the probable selling price of each home as of July 1, 1992 and determine the physical state of the property as of Oct. 31, 1992: Collins urged people with Dae is for Rate Design of Electric supporting Dr. Mark K. Jaccard, Chair Ms. Lorna Barr, Deputy Chair Mr. Kenneth L. Hall, Commissioner Public inspection of the Application The Application, ing material and Commission Order NO. G-119-92 are available for inspection at the following locations: ia Utilities Ci 6th Floor, 900 Howe Street Vancouver, B.C. of the public hearing into the January 15, 1991 Application by B.C.Hydro Tariffs and will be heard in Castlegar commencing February 8, 1993. The hearing is expected to conclude in Vancouver during the week of February 15, 1993 with dates, times and locations as noted above. The Division named to review the Application will be comprised of the following Commission members: Selkirk teacher returns from Russia Wi Wilkinson carries found memories of new found Russian friends Corinne Jackson NEWS REPORTER Myler Wilkinson has only been back in Castlegar since late-December, but he already misses his friends in Russia. “I’m happy to be back. * Canada is a rich and relative- ly secure country. At the same time I miss the intellectual and emotional interest of the Russian people,” Wilkinson said. Selkirk College’s language and literature department in- structor returned from a three-and-a-half month acad- emic exchange to Russia Dec. 16. “It was a very important visit — both personally and professionally,” he said. It was an experience that Wilkinson will never forget “even with the deep social problems (Russians) are expe- riencing,” he said. While in Russia, Wilkinson taught a cross-cultural study course called The Margins of Culture. The class on Canadian, American and Russian litera- ture was delivered at Moscow State Pedagogical University. Now that he’s back, Wilkin- son is looking forward to shar- ing what he learned and expe- rienced in Russia with stu- dents here. Wilkinson doesn’t have to worry about losing his connec- tion to the Russian people, however. Dr. Alexander Vaschenko will be arriving in Castlegar from Russia next week to teach Russian literature in translation and introduction to Russian language at the col- lege. CounterAttack nets one charge concerns regarding their as- sessment notice to contact the Nelson office at 352-5581. creased tax rates. Instead, Community Services still seeks counselor NEWS STAFF You can’t always rely on luck, Patricia Lakes says. Although Community Services Centre staff were able to han- dle one of their busiest times of the year — the holiday season— Lakes said this doesn’t mean more staff is not needed. “The fact that we deal with a difficult situation doesn’t make a difficult situation OK,” she said According to Lakes, the centre has yet to find someone to take on the new counselling position for adult women who have been victims of violence. Although money was approved for the po- sition by the Ministry of Attorney General community programs division in late-November, Lakes said she hopes the position will be filled by February. “We need someone who's all things to all people so that makes it a bit more difficult,” she said. “The staff have done a really A j ing case loads,that’s not always easy to do. fou don’t want to have to rely on luck to look after your case “We'll be very happy when we get this all sorted out.” British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority - Head Office Information Centre 333 Dunsmuir Street Vancouver, B.C. West Kootenay Power Ltd. Head Office: Waneta Plaza, 8100 Rock Island Highway, Trail, B.C. District Offices: Castlegar, Crawford Bay, Creston, Grand Forks, Greenwood, Kaslo, Kelowna, Keremeos, Oliver, Osoyoos, Penticton, Salmo, South Slocan and Trail, B.C. An Executive Summary of the Application is also available upon request at no charge from Hydro. Acopy of the Application and supporting material is also available for inspection at the office of the British Columbia Utilities Commission, 6th Floor, 900 Howe Street, Vancouver, B.C. Interventions Any person wishing to be present at the public hearing and to give evidence or cross-examine witnesses should provide written notice, to be received not later than January 8, 1993, to the C ission S y and to the Appli . The Notice should inchade a brief statement as to the nature of the interest in the proceedings and should indicate whether they intend to appear at the hearing. Submissions by interested parties — Letters of Comment Submissions from Intervenors and Letters of C from i d parties are requi the Commission S y and the Applicant by January 27, 1993. Clarification Persons intending to participate in the public hearing, and who are in as to the in which top d, may contact Mr. R.J. Pellatt, Commission Secretary, or Mr. B. McKinlay, Manager, Rates and Finance — Electrical by telephone at 660- 4700 or B.C. Toll Free: 1-800-663-1385, or in writing to the above address or faxed to 660-1102. d to be filed, one copy each with By Order Robert J. Pella Commission Secretary @ Lengthy campaign wraps up with just one impaired driving infraction Corinne Jackson NEWS REPORTER Final numbers are in and it looks like Castlegar’s Christmas CounterAttack cam- paign was a success. With 2,160 vehicles checked and 38 roadside screening device tests conducted between Dec. 8 and Jan. 3, only one person was charged for impaired driving. Castlegar RCMP Cpl. Al Hudema said the figures indicate “that people's drinking and dri- ving to excess is minimal. “We seem to always find that one individual that decides he has to drink and drive, unfor- tunately. “The concern I guess is that there were 17 24-hour suspensions (issued for drinking and driving)... There are still people out there that continue to drink and drive,” he said. These numbers might have been higher if the campaign was not in place, Hudema said. “Public awareness out there has increased. People are more aware that CounterAttack is there and police are going to be enforcing the law,” he said. Hudema said “the number of vehicles (checked) this year compared to last year were up. I think our impaired charges were the same or dropped. “T think (the campaign) went very well.” Put The Castlegar News Classifieds to work for you! 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