sw Castlegar News Update ‘90

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By HOWARD DIRKS
Chairman

Kootenay Regional Advisory Group
When Premier Bill Vander Zalm launched the
regional development initiative in 1987, we promised
two things: more opportunity for individuals
throughout B.C. to contribute to government
decision-making and a government more responsive to
the unique needs of different communities.

Regional program

irks says

As a result of input from the Parks, Recreation
and Tourism Task Force, land on Christina Lake has
been acquired and will soon be designated a new park.
Several properties on the Arrow Lakes, previously
owned by B.C. Hydro, are being acquired by the
Ministry of Crown Lands to be reserved for
recreational use.

The Sewage and Water Treatment Task Force
successfully lobbied for improvements to the
Creston sewage treatment plant. The

To achieve that goal, eight regions
were established, in recognition that a great variety of
factors shape the character of different parts of the
Province and that the needs of each could be better
served if government policy could be tailored to these
unique conditions.

To tap the community-level expertise, we asked
local government representatives and community and
business leaders to participate on local task forces
struck to examine regional issues and provide gover-
nment with direction on how to best address those
issues.

To help them accomplish that, we appointed
senior administrative officials — regional development
Officers and regional development liaison officers — to
coordinate and facilitate task force proceedings.

And to ensure that the concerns of the com-
munity, as identified by the task forces, are heard in
Victoria, cabinet ministers were assigned to serve as
regional advocates.

That structure has remained essentially the same
throughout the first three years of regional develop-
ment. Last December, Premier Vander Zalm announ-
ced the formation of the Regional Development
Board, a board consisting of five cabinet ministers and
three MLAs. Regional and Economic Development
Minister Stan Hagen was appointed chairman.

As one of the five cabinet ministers sitting on the
Regional Development Board and as MLA for Nelson-
Creston, I serve as the principal advocate for Kootenay
initiatives. Part of my job is to chair the Kootenay
Regional Advisory Group, the umbrella group
representing all regional task forces, and report to the
Regional Development Board

Have we been-successful in achieving the goals we
set in 19877 :

Experts from nearly every community in the
region have joined one of eight task forces to capitalize
on the ity to directly i
decision-making. Over the months, the task forces —
Parks, Recreation and Tourism; Sewage and Water
Treatment; Government Services; Transportation;
Education “and Work Force; Health Programs;
Natural R and Agri — have i ii
local priorities, and government has acted on many of
their recommendations.

upgrade, which Creston Mayor Lela Irvine called ‘the
most important thing that's happened here in a long
time,’’ will relieve pressure on the plant and accom-
modate further commercial development in the com-
munity.

The Government Services Task Force recognized
that Kootenay businesses needed improved access to
business information services. They recommended that
new computer terminals be added to government
ts’ offices so the public and business people could ac-
cess the B.C. government’s comprehensive B.C.
Business Network. That was done last fall. As a result
of another i iti 2
the region now have toll-free telephone access to their
nearest government agent.

The Transportation Task Force, which concluded its

exhaustive study of the region's ion needs
last year, identified improvements to the Cape Horn
Bluffs section of Highway 6 as a regional priority.
That work is now underway and according to task for-
ce chairman Jack White, also mayor of Elkford,
“*highways from the Alberta border to Hope are being
brought up to snuff.

Several other initiatives have achieved concrete
results.

STAN HAGEN
... chairman of

of the Cape Horn Bluffs section of Hig! y 6
was identified as a. regional priority by the Transportation Task Force, one of sever
forces under the s

Slocan and

Under the leadership of local business resource
teams, business services in every community are being
analyzed to identify ways to make them more in tune
with local business communities’ needs. As part of the
initiatives, the Elk Valley Business Directory, a com-
prehensive guide to business services in that area, was
published last month. Other directories will follow.

by East Kootenay Community College and the task
force.

A preliminary report of the Health Programs
Task Force, which assesses health care in the region, i:
now being i by medical p i During
the second phase of the study, the public will be asked
to help plan a regional organization of health

i to advise government on ways to im-

As part of the B.C. "s import
replacement initiative, the Kootenay region assisted
several regional businesses to attend a major trade
show at B.C. Place last October, a trade show that

diti of of

dollars in new sales. .
These are only some of the accomplishmeiits to
date. Many other key initiatives are underway.
The Parks, Recreation and Tourism Task Force
just completed a region-wide tour to gather public in-

prove the efficiency of the health care system.

The regional development initiative is_a_means,
not-an end. It is a tool by which every British Colum-
bian can contribute to building a diversified, resilient
economy, preserving a healthy environment and
making our education and social services systems the
best they can be.

There has never been greater opportunity for
members of the public, business people, local gover-
nment leaders, Native representatives, environmental

put on future tourism in
the region. The inquiry is part the most comprehensive
tourism study ever undertaken in the region.

The public has also been asked to identify ways to
make the i system more ive to the
region’s needs. The current study, spearheaded by
Education and Workforce Task Force and Selkirk
College, will complement previous studies completed

We would like to thank
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— people from all waiks of life — to in-
fluence government decision-making. That is the suc-

cess of regional development. Fs
As chairman of the Kootenay Regional Advisory
Group, I am proud to serve as part of this grassroots
initiative. And I am grateful to all members of the
ities th Koot region whose par-

ticipation is making it work.

Castlegar Motor
Licence Office

and

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Castlegar Motor
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605 Columbia Ave.,

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jaret and Walter Holuboft of the Kitchen
of

M
design and
sult your budget.

Kitchen

vanities and

Centre adds
larger showroom

Tired of your old kitchen?

Kitchen Design Centre in Castlegar
has kitchens to suit every budget.
Owners Walter and Margaret
Holuboff offer professional design
services, retail sales and installation of
cabinets, vanities and countertops.
And they deliver too.

““We give personalized service,”’
Margaret Holuboff says.

Over the past year, the Holuboffs
have renovated and supplied
numerous homes in the Castlegar,
Nelson, Trail and Grand Forks areas.

The company also moved to a
larger showroom, expanding to eight
kitchen displays from the previous
four. Kitchen Design Centre now has
three additional vignettes and
numerous vanity displays as well as a
large display of hardware such as
decorative handles.

“‘A new kitchen will increase the

ture representative for Kitchen Fan-
tasy for three years, supplying and i
stalling cabinets and vanities to area
residents.

In May 1987, he expanded his
operation to include, in addition to
Kitchen Fantasy, other manufacturers
suchas Norelco, Westwood and
Drex.

Walter says Kitchen Design Centre
offers quality merchandise and ex-
cellent installation by installer Alex
Hoodicoff.

“We help individuals design their
own kitchen,”” Walter says.

He says Kitchen Design Centre in-
tends to keep up with future trends in
kitchen design and will continue to
help_its customers__with_their—in-
dividual cabinet needs in both new
and renovated homes. *

Brian O' (left),
control of the ski hill to Eric Skat Pet
Mountain Resorts Inc. at ceremoni

Ski Club, signs over
in, president of the Red
on the mountain last June.

Red. Mt. plans
improvements

Many people who don’t ski, and
some who do, are unaware of the
illustrious history of Red Mountain.

Is it common knowledge, that Red
Mountain is one of the oldest ski hills
in Western Canada and also home to
the first powered ski lift built in this
part of the country? Does everyone
know that Red Mountain was once
the third-largest ski resort in Canada,
behind Lake Louise and Whistler?
Probably not

Red Mountain is mentioned many
times in the journals of Canadian*ski
history. Perhaps this is why the
Western Canadian Ski Hall of Fame is
located in Rossland. The skiing at
Red Mountain is truly world class,
one reason why it is numbered among
the few ski resorts in Canada qualified
to host. a World Cup event. With
serious skiers, Red Mountain is
famous. Often it is the mountain that
people have heard about, always wan-
ted to visit, but never have. Perhaps
that is about to change.

In June 1989, the ownership of Red
Mountain was officially signed over
to a small group of Canadian in-
vestors led by the colorful Eric Skat
Petersen. With 25 years of experience
in the ski industry, there couldn't be a
more knowledgeable captain at the
helm.

Skat Petersen’s plans for the moun-
tain are carefully conceived and
somewhat conservative. No high-
speed detachable quad chairs or sea of

i are in the
future for Red Mountain. This sits
well with the former owners of the
mountain, members of the Red

Mountain Ski Club, whose hearts

went into the development of the ski

hill. For some, the sale was a reluctant

parting.
I

upon
ownership of the mountain, Skat
Petersen initiated a summer main-
tenance program and at the same time
started a marketing department. The
immediate goals were clearing the
terrain of rock and to bring in new
skiers through stepped up efforts in
marketing and promotion.

Another equally important aspect
of the new Red Mountain ski ex-
perience is the level of customer ser-
vice. An information desk was built in
the newly renovated lodge to service
special events, ski school and general
enquiries.

New signage was added both in the
base facilities and out on the moun-
tain. Another snowcat’ was added to
the fleet in an effort to improve
grooming and to provide more terrain
appropriate for beginner and inter-
mediate skiers.

The ski school this season has wit-
nessed unparalleled success. New
skiers range in age from three to 60
with the age of the instructors Span-
ning 60 years.

Plans for the summer of 1990 in-
clude further blasting and

Design Centre in Castlegar provide professional
jops to create a kitchen to

Castlegar News Update '90

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of rock from runs, clearing and
possibly cutting of some short new
runs in the Long Squaw and Southern
Belle areas. A long-range study is un-
derway with respect to future devel-
opment of the resort which includes
plans for a day lodge located at the
top of Granite Mountain.

HOURS:

MONDAY-FRIDAY, 8 A.M.-5:30 P.M.
SATURDAY, 9 A.M.-5 P.M.

2245-6th Ave., Castlegar 365-3110

Kitchen Design Centre