id aa a WS Silage eovertecr Te eee coletn to Costie Nowe Lik, provided. Newrever, than wepered tram repre procts, engrevings, eh. provides Let's help keep Castlegar clean Hat's off to ae basneae, 0 and b throwing garbage onto our District Ch ce for spearheading it move to make t a cleaner ci t's pea overdue. The chamber is asking residents to be more aware of the city’s lit- ter. Rather than just tossing a can- dy wrapper onto the sidewalk or a cigarette package onto the street, residents are being asked to make an extra effort to find a garbage can. And if you see a piece of paper on the sidewalk, stop and pick it up. Anyone who thinks Castlegar doesn't have a litter problem should take a stroll around the community. The garbage is everywhere, even in the down- town core. But changing old habits can be difficult. Residents will only stop iks and streets if they have a better image of the community. And to that end, the chamber should also be cong lated tor vs “Nea Re Wis HANDLING THE ACCOUNT, (S$ JONES WITH ‘THE 1. BESIDE. WIM WITH Fe MEXICO ACCOUNT...” uae its program to remove abandoned debris from the riverbanks. We talk of downtown revitali- zation and renovating unsightly ises, but simply k our sidewalks and streets tree from lit- ter is perhaps one of the easiest and cheapest means of improving our community's appearance. And while the chamber cites tourists and the upcoming jet boat races as good reasons to begin the clean-up, we would also hope that Castlegar residents would want to take part out of a sense of com- munity pride. Come on, Castlegar, let's show what we can da. Ron Norman Say a prayer for Kootenay West MP Bob Brisco; he's going to need all the help he can get if he wants to get re-el It's funny how quickly things change. Two-and-a-half years ago Brisco was on top of the world. He swept into office along with 212 other Progressive Conservative MPs in the biggest election victory in Canadian history. Not since John Diefenbaker’s 1958 landslide win had Canada seen such a majority in the House of Commons. And Tories vowed that the 1984 victory would be different than Dief’s win 26 years earlier. Dief made some critical mistakes that ended up costing him the prime minister's office, they said. Brian and the boys wouldn't make the same mistakes, they said. The Tories had learned from past errors, they said. Things would be different with a leader like Brian at the helm, they said. But here it is 2'/ years into their term and the Conservatives have sunk lower in the polls than Diefs worst nightmare. If an election were held today, the Tories woilld be trampled. And that gets me back to Bob Brisco. Brisco is a typical govern ment MP. He is not a member of the cabinet and isn't even considered cabinet material; he isn’t a personal friend of the prime minister; he doesn't hold down a high profile position in the Tory national caucus; he doesn’t even hold down a top spot in the Tory’s B.C. caucus. He's one of those backbench Tory MPs who slog through their con stituency work day in and day out. They are anonymous to everyone in the country but their own constitu: ents. But Brisco's attention to his riding has paid off handsomely. We've seen the merits of his hard work (and no one would deny Brisco works hard for his riding). We've seen it in the $3.5 million Castlegar airport expansion; in the $2 million Community Futures program for the Trail area and the $1.7 million Community Futures program for the Central Kootenay; and in the millions of dollars for job training and job creation projects. Yet, when it comes time for the next election, Brisco — and the other no-name Tory backbenchers like him — face a disenchanted elec. torate. And if the electorate wasn't a big enough problem, Brisco briefly faced extinction when the federal electoral boundaries commission wiped out his Kootenay West riding with a stroke of the pen. Brisco would have found himself having to battle Kootenay East Tory Stan Graham for the single-riding nomin. ation before he even began the elec- tion. Things have improved significant- ly since then, with the electoral commission reinstating Kootenay West. But in doing so they made a few changes to the riding. -They decided to eliminate Nakusp and the north end of Kootenay Lake while adding Revelstoke and as far north as the Mica Dam. That presents more problems for Brisco because the Revelstoke area is an NDP stronghold. So not only does Brisco have to face an unhappy electorate, but an electorate that includes more staunch New Demo- crats. That's a troublesome prospect for the likeable Brisco considering that he won by less than 1,000 votes in 1984 — and that was with the Tories’ popularity at a peak. Like I said earlier, Brisco could use some help from above — pre- ferably St. Jude, the patron saint of hopeless cases. . . The knock against Rossland-Trail MLA Chris D'Arcy over the years is that he doesn’t work hard enough. D'Arcy’s defenders have sai n't that he doesn’t work hard, but that he just doesn't get the word out about his accomplishments. That was only too evident this week with NDP leadership candi- date Mike Harcourt’s visit. Our CasNews reporter called D’Arcy's constituency office last week for an itinerary of Harcourt’s two-day visit. We were assured the agenda would be in the mail. When the notice didn’t appear this Tuesday our intrepid reporter called the D'Arcy office again with the same request — but this time asked that they give him the itiner- ary over the telephone (Harcourt’s visit was only two days away and we know how things can get waylaid in the mail). But D’Arcy's office still didn't have the itinerary. So Wednesday — one day before Harcourts arrival — our reporter called again for the itinerary. Still no itinerary. We never did get it. The point is, Harcourt’s visit went virtually without a mention in the media, except for an ad in the Trail Times and a four-line mention in the CasNews Bulletin Board (and the Times ad was taken out by the Trail Chamber of Commerce — not the NDP). I would have thought the Ross. land-Trail NDP would have been all over the local media with informa. tion about the Harcourt visit_It baffles me how D'Arcy and the ND! can run such a well-organized elec. tion campaign, but can't seem to operate a constituency office Letters to the Editor Tories doing good job Tam sick and tired of the opposition parties and media trying to brainwash everyone into thinking our Conser- vative government is not doing a good job. If they would put half the effort into helping to solve Canada’s problems as they do trying to discredit the Con- servative government we would be getting more for all the money we have to pay out. If the Conservatives spent most of their time and energy trying to dig up dirt, as the others do, I'm sure they, would find lots of things to make the Liberals and NDP look pretty bad. I found a small article about Yukon Liberal leader Roger Coles who was caught selling cocaine. I would think something that serious should be head- lines more than all the dirt that is being flung at the Conservatives. I feel the opposition is trying to come up with anything they can, even if they have tq bend the facts just to keep the govern- mént off guard, in the hopes that it will have to spend moré timé “jousting rather than working on solving our problems. I'm sure Prime Minister Brian Mul- roney would never condone someone ripping off the taxpayer for their own personal gain. I don’t think he shguld jump every time the opposition or media cry wolf, because they are alwayscrying wolf. To the best of my New mall not needed We have many fine stores in north and south Castlegar. The food stores have upgraded their buildings and given the public good service. Stores in north Castlegar will suffer if another mall is built. Competition is necessary but there is a limit. We have lost Bumper to Bumper, Stedmans and a service garage, so the economy is not that good. The industrial park was a mistake in being built far too early and proving to be costly to the taxpayer. Allowing a another mail is like robbing Peter to pay Paul. I hope Castlegar council will think twice before allowing another mall to be built at this sime. Many stores have been established for many years. Let's support these stores in business and keep the downtown core. One plaza is enough. JH. Byers Castlegar Praise Rebels The comments made by Surj Rattan concerning the Beaver Valley Nite Hawks have infuriated both Nite Hawk and Rebel fans alike. In a year when Grand Forks and Nelson failed to ice teams, Beaver Valley, with a much smaller population, was able to do so. They did this through hard work and dedication to the sport. This year’s version of the Nite Hawks is very young, but willing and I am sure they will develop into a team that will make Mr. Rattan eat his words. The Rebels are probably the most talented hockey team that this city has ever had and our best try at a provincial championship. Praise them, don't\degrade their opponents! The ite Hawks may have been outgunned, but‘ertainly not outclassed. James Rysen Castlegar knowledge Brian has always done the right thing when any wrongdoing was proved and has done what he can to keep everyone on the straight and narrow. When there are as many people as there are working for the government, you are going to have a few screw-ups from time to time. And the Conservatives have no monopoly on screw-ups, as the Roger Coles episode proves. All the catterwalling over the prison to be built in Port Cartier in Brian Mulroney's riding is ridiculous and unfair. Federal projects should be spread around to help the economy of various areas instead of creating an economic boom in some areas and leaving everyone else in economic dis- aster. I feel that B.C. should get the contract to build the new Polar 8 ice- breaker and I don't really care if it ~‘eosts more to do it here: We deserve to be'in on some of the federal govern- ment projects that will put’a little shot into the economy, too. I'm sure that the people of Port Cartier feel the same way about the prison being built there. I'm also sure that Brian Mulroney Readers There is a possibility that a drug will help regain some functions of two young ladies who cannot move or speak and who are at Mount Saint Francis Hospital for sick old people. Their doctor does not want to deviate from the “medical boundaries” imposed by government. This drug has not been tested in Canada for this purpose, even though it is one of the most popular prescription drugs in France. knew he would receive flak about it and Tm glad he had the guts to go ahead with it anyway. All I have to do is look at the bank rate on TV every night to know the Conservative government is doing something right. I noticed it was 7.53 per cent on Feb. 26. That is about the lowest I can ever remember it since I started paying attention to such things. When the Liberals were in power we were paying over 22 per cent on our business loans and inflation was ram- pant. Both have been brought under control under Conservative leadership and I take my hat off to them for ft. Th y is begii to respond done on the field during the summer season. "This accounts for the surplus at the ond of the year. one eto Cactlognt Five Dagedabitas Woe called to extinguish a chimney fire at the home of Mr. and Mrs. R. Mitchell on 2nd Avenue. Fifteen minutes after the arrival of the department, the fire was under control and it was reported by Fire Chief West that no damage was done. Playing at the Castle Theatre is ‘That's My Boy, starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.It's A laugh a minute. A hope that the coming year will see a start made on construction of an addition to the Castlegar hospital and that ratepayers of the hospital district ‘will give approval to an expansion program, was expréssed at the annual meeting of the hospital society last week. Ross McCutcheon, acting president of the hospital board of managers, told the meeting that the hospital bare sg pected to meet the i mands for service without silane’ beds and facilities. . 8 . Amalgamation of Castlegar and Kin- naird into one town is “out of the ques- tion” the Castlegar Chamber of Com- merce was told last night. L.V. Campbell, chairman of a special chamber committee on the subject, said nothing would be gained from such an arrangement. However, he said the committee will now look at the possibility of a district all across Canada, thanks to their efforts. They had a helluva mess to clean up. Let's not get eaught in an opposition and media plot to discredit a very competent government. We don't need game-playing in Canada. We need a little ion and back-up for a government ‘that is trying hard to cor- rect some h PI . Wake A district municipality, he said, would allow each municipality to main- tain its own identity. The vice-president of the West Kootena Associ: up and look at reality. Iris Bakken Salmo can help Reports on the situation have been given to Nelson-Creston MLA Howard Dirks and Kootenay West MP Bob Brisco. Readers can help by calling to inquire what is being done. Howard Dirks and Bob Brisco have the ability to do something. If not enough people contact them, nothing might be done. G. Makortoff Castlegar Condoms encourage ‘filthy’ sex practice Re: “Schools to get AIDS program” in the March 4 Castlegar News. “ Many are concerned about the ing of AIDS, jally in schools. Yet no one mentions thé cause of AIDS. Surely, we cannot expect to control AIDS without removing the cause. Trying to protect the fruit will not stop the disease if the problem is in the roots. I would be very careful about accepting the opinions of those who claim that youth have to be educated sexually in schools, enough to use condoms. These creatures might belong to the sadistic organization which for many years tried to intro- duce gay sex into schools. One of them was interviewed on the Trail ~radio station a few years ago. He claimed that gay sex is natural and normal, naming a couple of specific animals that do it (which I can't remember). THese creatures, no doubt, will continue in- sisting on sex education. Let us look at this problem with an open mind. Did we have the problem of AIDS before sex education started in schools? No! If today's youth did not know enough about sex we wouldn't have the problem; but as it is they have already graduated from normal sex to gay sex — filthy sex and so we have the problem of AIDS, which is acquired only through filthy sex, not normal sex: We have no one to blame but ourselves for the spreading of AIDS. Education starts right at home with our TVs where the youth watch this filth for many hours each week and come to believe that it is a normal way of life. They see the high class celebrities doing it, so it must be a normal and the proper thing to do. Some even spend thousands of dollars for satellite dishes so they can get all the skin movies which their children also watch. How can we control AIDS if this tutoring doesn't stop? I maintain anyone who is bringing up children with a TV in the house has no right to claim that they love their children and has no right whatsovever to complain of AIDS. Some claim that they control the TV for the children and do not allow them to watch filthy programs. They are fooling only themselves. Why have the satan box in the first place, when 99 per cent of the programs are cont- aminated with filth, crime, wars, rape, murder, etc? Everything the satanists produce is exactly for the purpose of corrupting the youth. We have learned to love this filth, so why complain? In a Sept. 28, 1986 CasNews article called “Lewis blasts smoking” Dr. Lewis claims “smokers should go around with plastic garbage bags over their heads.” The only way that condoms will help in school is if the students who indulge in filthy sex go around with the condoms pulled over their heads. Otherwise the condoms will only serve as an encouragement to practice filthy sex. Mike E. Chernenkoff Crescent Valley More letters. AS says there have been discharges of effluent into the Columbia River by the Celgar pulp mill. Ina letter to Resources Minister Bob Williams, Chuck Bradbury says “it appears Canadian Cellulose has a li- cense from the provincial government to slowly poison the Columbia River.” He said foam has been noticed along the Columbia River in large amounts every morning. . 8 «© A new arena by next hockey season? That was the promise made by Mayor John Landis and Ald. Andy Shutek at a civic dinner last Thursday honoring the Castlegar Midget Reps on winning the West Kootenay Cham- pionship last month. The mayor said a referendum on the issue could be called late in May and suggested the date May 20 as being a possibility. He told the boys discussions had been carried on between the Town of Kinnaird and the business community. . Kinnaird’s fire chief is on the look out for an Irish leprachaun. Rene Archam- bault told council “some Irishman got carried away on St. Patrick's Day and painted the fire hydrant in front of the fire hall a bright green.” 5 YEARS AGO From the March 14, 1982 Castlegar News A massive mudslide Friday morning near theGenelle bluffs closed the Castlegar-Trail highway for five hours and knocked out power in parts of Blueberry Creek for three-quarters of an hour. The slide, which occurred about 7:30 a.m. and dumped an estimated 25,000 cubic yards of mud trees and boulders, also ripped up more than 600 feet of railway track below the highway. * 2 6 Selkirk College Students Executive Council threw its full support behind Canadian Federation of Students’ week of action Wednesday by staging a pro- test and panel discussion on cutbacks to post-secondary education funding. Some 40 students placed cardboard tiles with Premier Bill Bennett's face and the words “Bennett cuts back” on the college floors and then protested the cutbacks by stepping on the tiles. * 28 6 Cominco’'s plan for a total shutdown of its Trail operations this summer should not have any effect on B.C. Timber’s Celgar pulp mill operations unless the shut down lasts longer than the announced five weeks, Celgar mil! manager Wilf Sweeney said Friday. plan al jarming: ‘Expert to speak ’ about Hanford | An internationally ac- -| claimed epidemiologist and business. Readers unfamiliar with the history of public efforts to provide meaningful input, and nenitane to the sere? effective watershed oe os cess for the Slocan Valley may find the Position How- vague as to be almost meaningless, and in any event, I fail to see how any such ever, as water licencee in one of the affected watersheds and a member of the Slocan Valley Watershed Alliance for’ several years, 1 have had the opportunity to witness this history as it has unfolded. Also, as a member of a local Watershed committee I have had some interaction with the Ministry of Forests. One of the consequences of my in- volvement in watershed issues in the Slocan Valley is that.I have learned the importance. of looking beyond “ superficial statements of the in order to get at the substance of their real positions. Anothér cor ence is that I have regretfully concluded that I cannot assume that the ministries are acting in good faith. In their Feb. 15 letter to the editor Dennis McDonald and Ross Tozer state, “. . . our ministries are now confident we have a ‘b ’ for the Slocan Valley, apparently in the absence of an le (to di could function effectively in the absence of defined guidelines or criteria which are essential in a water- shed management process. Rather, 1. suspect that such com- mittees would likely become a rubber stamp for the ministries’ IWMP, or worse, serve to foster increased polar- ization between concerned water licén- groups can muster the technical exper- tise that would be necessary for making good planning decisions, also) overall planning process. I find it difficult not to remain cynical about the ministries’ to all di of g the TWMP, and evaluating the performance of resource extrac- tors. Consequently, I must view the the Slocan Valley to work with them to develop IWMPs for hag residents’ that the ministries have gatha unable or unwilling, during 18 months of negoti- ations with the SVWA technical com- pypooed acting on our behalf, to arrive at watershed planning that will on an water- shed process le to Put them in p Once again we are called upon to consider the controverisal issue of whether to re-instate the death penalty in Canada. Whenever we see or hear of some gruesome murder incident — one of those sick mass. murders, ar when some disturbed individual shoots a p the death penalty. Perhaps ‘the most solid argument- against capital punishment is that there have been too many mistaken executions in the past, and too many {frame;ups" and too many executions of.,convenience.. Regardless. of . the in the face at point blank range with a shotgun — we cry out in our revulsion, and demand that these despicable in- dividuals be put to death. In cases of this sort the murderer certainly does not deserve to go on living. The problem is, there is no way —and never will be any way — of making an execution a civilized act befitting of the people of a civilized nation. Whether it is hanging or elec- trocution or lethal injection or gas chamber or firing squad — to lead a condemned man out of a concrete cell and perform some violent or traumatic act upon his body until he succumbs to death is not a civilized thing to do. Although less dramatic and less satisfactory to some in its finality, the civilized alternative is the method presently used in Canada, imprison- ment for life — which accomplishes the same objective of preventing the mur- derer from repeating his crime. It is often argued that the threat of death is a more effective deterrent to the would-be-murderer, but recent trial periods of the death penalty in Britain and the U.S. have shown that this philosophy does not hold true. I believe that the life-in-prison option would be more satisfactory if prison of- ficials were more firm on the duration of the sentence. Too often the offender is released prematurely or given a weekend pass from which he defaults and repeats his crime. I certainly sympathize with the anger and frustration of the people in our police forces, and understand why they in particular want the return of ig. science of a there are still far too many mistakes being made — humans are fallible and always will be. When the wrong man is convicted and executed by our society, how can that society ever be forgiven when the truth becomes known? The unpar- donable and irreconcilable tragedy cuts into us like a knife. In the case of life-in-prison there is always at hand that blessed option — if some exoner- ating evidence later shows up — of release, apology and some form of compensation for wrong done to the unfortunate person. Then the black- ness on the record of society is less black. Another aspect to be considered is the impact of the act of execution on the health and well-being of the ex- ecutioner. I should think that the business of execution must be so morbid as to make it very difficult for any man so employed to function as a well-adjusted human being. I would suggest that persons (other than per- haps relatives or close friends of the victim) who declare themselves ready and willing to earry out an execution, could themselves be suspect as a risk to society. Another problem that we do not often think about is the impact of the execution upon the members of the murderer's family. The offender by his actions has already caused unspeakable grief to others of his family (and even more so to the victim's family). And now after interminable periods of waiting for trials, for appeals, for stays of execution etc., I should think that as’ a rather transparent attempt to divide the water users of the Slocan Valley into University of Cambridge be- fore getting her M.D. from Royal Free Hospital in Lon- don in 1988, She is currently claim regarding the nuclear industry. Since the ‘60s, she has been documenting the link betweén childhood can- cers and X-ray exposure during preg Her findings, confirmed by U.S. studies, resulted in the medical profession gererally ing the practice of extrapolation of the high dose effects observed in A- that method, according to her and other noted scientists, is that it does not fit the facts. She bases her method on small, more easily lated entities and to sidestep the very real need for an effective watershed management Jim Rutkowsky Hasty Creek Watershed Committee Silverton rison the final morbid act of his execution, in asense, destroys the murderer's family as well. In the final analysis it is only a small part of the offender's mind that is guilty, ..7-.. the,.rest, of , the,, body,..is innogent. Jt.does, not seem,,to,, make sense to destroy the.entire body in order to stamp out the guilty part of the mind. This is analagous to cutting off a person's head in order to cure a toothache. It makes more sense to isolate the offender — permanently — from the rest of society, and then, during his lifetime in prison, having competent people offer to help correct the part of the man that has gone wrong. with all due respect (and hats off) to our justice system, which is as good as any in the world, because of the in- trinsic fallibility of all human beings, I believe it is not proper that we should have the power of life and death over other human beings — criminal or otherwise. The most lethal device to be entrusted to our “imperfect” hands is the right to commit these major of- fenders to lifetime imprisonment. Capital punishment involves a respon- sibility that is too great for us mortal beings to undertake. Surely, we have put some of our darker days and darker ways behind us now — let us not contrive to bring them back again. The guillotine, the Tower of London, the gas ovens of Auschwitz — these are not a credit our past. Surely, we who regard ourselves as among the more just peoples of the world have now metamorphosed ir- reversibly from the ugly larvae stage into the butterfly — we cannot go back to the larvae again. Lifetime imprison- ment, firmly enforced, is the only civilized way of dealing with those who murder. Harry F, Killough Castlegar Homegoods Furniture OPEN TODAY Sunday (March 15) Noon to 5 p.m. Phone Collect 693-2227 < — I | Floor Gover China Creek HOME GOODS © ‘— Furniture Warehouse ng Centre Phone 693-2227 statistical evidence. In her talk on April 11, she will describe the method used in the Mancuso-Stewart-Kneale routine X-rays on pregnant women, though that practice has not stopped entirely. In the '70s, she took part p t is. Why ti ‘at 426-7241 (collect) to ointment. 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