March 9, 1986 Delong to the advertiser aapanen OF THEE B.C. PRESS COUNCR UBLISHER AUG. 7 1947-408. 15, 1979 SHER EDITOR — Roh Norman FOREMAN CIRCULATION MANAGER — Heather Hod! TWICE WEEKLY MAY 4. 1980 2 Burt Compbel! — Peter Harvey tein agow in ony printed mater produced by Castle News Lid. sgh that part and thot port only of Sad situation The fight by retired Castlegor teacher Alma McGauley to rescue her $70,000 in savings from the troubled Teachers’ Investment and Housing Cooperative is something to which we can all relate Here is someone who tor nearly half a century saved for her retirement, only to find out once she'd retired that h savings weren't as securely invested as she had thought. Her $70,000 has been ‘frozen along with the rest of the co-ops $268 million in funds because of o $65 million shortfall between the book valye and the market value of the co-op's assets It’s the type of thing that could have happened to anyone. In fact, another 45,00 co-op members in B.C.’ Alberta, Manitoba and the Yukon are in a similar position For many of them, it's a sad situation because they are senior citizens whose life savings are in- vested in the co-op. But who's responsible and can anything be done? Certainly, the B.C. Teachers Federation should feel some responsibility — if for no other reason than it’s the umbrella organization tor the investors, who are teachers or retired teachers. The BCTF goes to bat for teachers in a host of other difficult circumstances. Why won't it represent those who invested in the co-op? In addition, the BCTF has a pretty firm connection with the co-op. The federation allowed its name to be used in conjunction with the co-op for years before the label wos dropped in 1980. However, many members con- tinded 6 invest in the co-op under the impression that the BCTF played some sort of role in it The BCTF's concern that it could be liable for the $65 million shor- tfall is legitimate, but still shouldn't prevent the federation from supporting the investors in their fight to rescue the funds. Ot course, the investors them- selves are not without some responsibility. In fact the bulk of the responsibility should rest with them — and probably will As with any financial invest- ment, there is an element of caveat emptor (buyer beware). The teachers should have be aware that the co-op didn't insure their savings, just as any investor should be aware of the risks in- volved in any investment. The provincial government also has a responsibility to the co-op members. After all, legislation should have been in place to prevent this kind of situation. it may be a little late for the 45,000 co-op members, but the province should introduce legislation to prevent this from happening again. At least it would save future investors from a similar fate. But to ask the province to guarantee the $65 million shorttall would be the same as asking provincial taxpayers to pay for the investment mistakes of the co-op and its members. While Mrs. McGauley contends that a guarantee from Victoria could pave the way for a merger between the co-op and the bank, and would not involve putting up any money, it might also very well lead to a drain of co-op funds. What would prevent investors from pulling out all their funds on- ce the government put up the guarantee? The B.C. taxpayer would then be left having to cover the $65 million co-op shortfall. And the B.C. taxpayer shouldn't be put in that position _Out to get Segarty . News: It looks like the Opposition and the media are out to kill again. Haven't they caused enough problems for Terry Segarty? Why don't they do a few possitive things instead of mudslinging Mr. Segarty no matter what he does! Just a short time ago I remember reading an article that was calling down Mr. Segarty for getting “goodies for his area.” Now we read about how terrible he is for not getting Expo Legacy money for a library board in his riding. Several things puzzled me about the statements made in the article. Firstly Were the statements correct and in what manner were they delivered? (If they were). Mr. Segarty may have said some thing like, “If I'm voted in to represent you in the next election I'll work very hard to try to help you,” or something to that effect The statements in the paper don't make any sense because it is not just up to the MLAs as to who gets Expo Legacy money. Terry Segarty is not even on the Expo committee. It has been decided that the Expo money will be given out until the end of 1986 or so, and no election has even been called. I'm sure an energetic MLA can help the committee decide in a project's favor, but I'm sure a good MLA would have to take all the projects in his riding into consideration and try to support the ones that would be the best for the most people. If he isn’t voted in, he likely wouldn't be promoting any of the Expo projects to the Expo com mittee if there were an election before they were given out, would he? I cannot see anything wrong with an MLA deciding which projects he will support. The Opposition candidate has the same opportunity. An Expo project doesn't have to even go through the MLA's office to be supported It seems that being an MLA or any other type of politician is a “no-win™ situation. I'm sure’ this has a lot to do with the decline in capable people allowing their name to stand in many forms of elections. Iris Bakken Salmo Quotable Quotes PRESIDENT Ronald Reagan, after cutting off reporters’ persistent ques tions during a photo session, turned to a White House guest and said: “Sons of bitches.” Presidential spokesman Larry Speakes, asked later about Reagan's comment, said the president “doesn't recall saying it” and “he doesn’t recall anybody else saying it.” “If he said anything, he said: ‘It's sunny and you're rich,” Speakes added. TORY BACKBENCHER Don Blenk arn, when reporters persisted in ques tioning him about the issue of the RCMP abandoning a long-standing policy of not employing homosexuals now that the federal government has decried discrimination based on sexual orientation: “I'm literally amazed at you keeping on asking me (about) this problem of homosexuals. Are you all homosexuals here?” CANADIAN Olympic hockey coach Dave King, commenting on the squeeze he finds himself in as the NHL greedily eyes his better players: “It's almost to the point where when a guy starts playing too well, you've got to bench him. It’s that kind of situation. When you see a guy score three goals, you kind of gulp and say, ‘Geez, that's not good.” ” CLASSICAL guitarist Andres Sego via, on turning 93, acknowledged his age ‘has affected his performing be cause “now I need more time to rest between tours.” TELEVISION talk-show host Jack Webster interviewing Mila Mulroney, the prime minister's wife: “How do you keep your — how heavy weigh? One hundred Mulroney replied “How tall are you?” “Five feet nine and a half.” “You're maybe five pounds over weight,” Webster opined. “Are you five pounds overweight?” “Uh, I think so.” “Yeah, I was thinking that myself when you came in this morning,” Web- ster confided. “Jack, you never change.” meeting of t ‘Trade of Eastern British Columbia held in Trail Feb. 28, a resolution was supporting the Castlegar Air- port as a major airport for the West Kootenay area air service. 7 @ A letter was received from Canadian Pacifie Railway Company supporting the Commission in its campaign toward the removal of outside toilets and promising the removal of such struc tures on their property. . * Sunday evening Rev. J.B. Barnes delivered a special message in St. Rita's Chureh, his subject being Chris- tian Education of Youth. ‘Two solos were sung by Miss Nettlie 4 d Letters to the Editor Why is BCTF silent? Editor, Castlegar News: Thousands of teachers throughout B.C. and other western provinces will likely get only 75 cents or less on every dollar invested in the B.C. Teachers Investment and Housing Cooperative if it is liquidated immediately. Meanwhile, the teachers are limited to taking out a mere one-half of one per cent per month on their deposits, and their RRSP contributions are frozen. An additional irony is that coop investors will have to declare their “earned” interest and pay income taxes this year on money they may not be able to touch. For some of these teachers, many now retired, the money constituted Pollution must not continue Editer, ar News: I thi that your headline “City supports Westar” (Feb. 26) is some. what misleading. The fact that two-thirds of city council supports a motion made in council does not necessarily mean that the majority of people in Castlegar support that motion. Most of us, including myself must be very concerned with the economic situation as it applies to the pulp mill and sawmill and especially in view of the recent events at Cominco. But here we have city council urging us to ignore severe pollution problems in the face of the Environment Ministry, which was set up to limit pollution and protect our health; pollution problems which have for years exceeded acceptable levels. And now Westar is asking for a further 10-year period to clean up its act. As of today (Feb. 28) this whole area is covered by a dense fog with a most horrible stench. Mr. Fulton and Westar executives do not have to live with it, we do. I strongly urge all Castlegar res. idents to consider the long term effects on their health and the health of their children. The present situation must not continue. The Environment Min istry must act, now Bob Rivers Castlegar their life savings. The opportunity to return to the work force to recover this money is non-existent I feel that both the B.C. Teachers’ Federation and our provincial govern ment have obligations to help these teachers get a fair deal in this situation. As a former teacher I am especially disappointed that the BCTF has refused to become involved. Year after year the BCTF happily collected our dues in order to run the organization. Why is the BCTF silent when members and former members need help in this important matter? Because the BCTF sponsored the co-op from ‘1 to ‘73 and continued to advertise it and encourage people to invest, they have a moral and legal obligation to help their members. The provincial government knew for years that deposits in the co-op were uninsured, but did nothing to warn people. Furthermore, under the Co- operatives Act the government has an obligation to see that. the public interest is protected. As the employer, the provincial government certainly has a moral obligation to assist public service employees. I would like the BCTF and the B.C. government to take a positive ap- proach and help investors regain 100 per cent of their savings. Such involvement would restore the con- fidence of the 45,000 investors in B.C., Alberta, Manitoba and the Yukon. Sandra Robson Greetings from the land of the Aussies Editor, Castlegar News: Greetings from the the land of the Aussies. We are holidaying on the central coast on the Brisbane Water. As of now we are on a ferry boat cruising this vast tidewater lake on the M.V. Lady Kendall, a converted sailing ship built in Tasmania in 1903 and now used as a tourist passenger boat to cruise the island towns with such names like Gettalong, Pelican Island, Broken Bay and Way Wolf. It is very picturesque with homes all along the shores, green hills and birds of every description lining the shore; gulls, herons and huge black and white i country and magnificent pelicans. The day is beautiful, a clean blue sky after last night's rain. It resembles a super July day in Castlegar We have been here for three days and are returning to Sydney via electric train tomorrow Gasford is a pretty city of probably 20,000 population with the entire waterfront reserved for parks and recreation and the city built behind the area. In the center of this city is a four-square block area of trees, lawn, flowers and numerous benches where citizens and tourists can purchase their “takeaways” (take-out food) and share them with sparrows, gulls and pigeons A beautiful fountain is situated in the center and pretty flowers encircled by fish ponds — surround it. They are almost covered with lily pads. The lilies are luxuriant with blooms of red, pink, yellow and white Also located here is the Gasford Public Library (at least eight times the size of the one in Castlegar), and a community rest centre, this is financied by the state and the “shire” of Gasford. It contains rest rooms, and a lunch counter where one can buy tea, coffee, scones and sandwiches at reasonable prices and eat on a spacious verandah overlooking the park. This concession is staffed by senior citizens. senior citizens. We were thrilled to observe a Japanese maple in this park with a bronze plaque inscribed “This Jap anese maple was planted on Hiroshima day, Aug. 4, 1984 to commemorate all the innocents of war.” I am reminded of our own “com. memoration day” last summer and our own maple tree in Zuckerberg Island Heritage Park We leave this friendly lovable country and people this coming Sunday for Hawaii, but hope to return if only in our memories. Kindest regards to all. More letters page AS B.C. HYDRO TO BLAME Marina falling apart ... im the Arrow Lakes News What is it with B.C. Hydro? They don't seem to be able to do anything right for Nakusp. The new marina is a good example of things gone wrong. It took many years of negotiations, 15 years of bickering, 10 years of planning, road closures, water rights, plans, drawings, setting up of trust funds, expropriating, etc. ete. and finally a great looking marina was constructed Despite all the planning, the marina doesn't work on this reservoir/lake. It was designed wrong. Hydro designers and engineers didn't listen to the local people. They failed to observe basic weather patterns and so the marina simply is not built to withstand the weather and reservoir extremes. What we have sitting on the Nakusp waterfront is a million dollar piece of junk. Nobody who owns a boat wants to use the facility for reasons as numerous as hairs on your head. Some of the problems include: metal fatique, broken timbers, bolts working loose, bridges broken, lighting wires worn, alignment shifting, floatation eaten away, wear spots, anchors shifting, ete., ete. Without a breakweater along the long exposed western flank, the entire facility is subject to the wind and waves of all the systems coming down the lake or through Low Pass. Ice buildup during the winter on the exposed side tends to want to sink the concrete pods. The facility just can’t handle the wave and wind action. It needs added strength and protection. It also will not take the 80 foot rise and fall of the reservoir. Hydro turned the marina over to the village but before acceptance, the village carefully outlined some of the problems and had assurances from Hydro that they would be rectified. This has not happened. Two years have passed with little or no work done and the existing problems have simply multiplied. So, Nakusp has a beautiful looking marina which is not operational and likely will be condemned before long. Close to $1 million has been spent to date on the facility and it is not usable and certainly will become a heavy burden on the local taxpayer if it is to be fixed by the village. The marina will not pay its way unless it has boats moored at it. Boat owners will not use it because it is unsafe. There is the dilemma, and once again we have a good example of how B.C. Hydro fouled up something for Nakusp. They should have got Alphonse Guidon and Tom Anton and a couple of others from Celgar to build them a floating wharf. Look at the one at Westar . . . it has been there a lot longer, has no fancy, costly engineering and it is extremely functional. It will be used long after the million-dollar alba. tross is a pile of sunken te. ¥ by Mrs. D.A. Shea at the organ. * 6°. * Since about 40 per cent of the school population as well as many adults are suffering from the local attack of in- fluenza, Dr. L.S. Anderson, director of the West Kootenay health unit has issued instructions in order that the spread of the infection may be brought to a minimum in tl . ¢ Cold weather and snow flurries did not stop 10 members of the Kinnaird Catholic Club meeting at the home of Mr. and Mrs. A.D. MeWhinnie Jr. on Tuesday evening. The new school board office will be built this year on the highway between the B.C. Forestry and the RCMP building. The 35-by 50-foot building is modelled after the school board office built in Sidney to serve the Saanich sehool district. It will have an office in it for secretary-treasurer C.H. King, one for school inspector Claude Bissell, and a third office which will later be occupied by a consultant. In addition to the general office there will also be a board room and a cement vault. ._ * @ The installation of a dualtype “around-the-clock” depository for the local branch of the Bank of Montreal is complete and has gone into operation. It is the first unit of its kind in Castlegar. “6 6 A proposal that the twin villages of Castlegar and Kinnaird amalgamate into either a district municipality or a city was made at last Thursday's meeting of the Castlegar Toastmasters Club. Hugo Wood, a Kinnaird resident who is local forest ranger, told the club that amalgamation of the two “thriving villages” would bring greater efficiency and give greater benefits to the tax- payers whose dollars might well be spent to greater advantage. 15 YEARS AGO From the March 11, 1971 Castlegar News Stanley Humphries Secondary School's first entry in the Revelstoke Inter-High Skiing Competitions has re- sulted in one contender successfully returning with a trophy. Representing SHSS were Jim Moore, Dave Sylvest and Jack Woods. Woods won the giant slalom and was awarded a trophy. . 28 8 Monday's fire on the Columbia River saw the final scrap wood being burned from the old ferry ramp, leaving only one ramp in service. Government hihg- way crews have been spending the past six weeks dismantling the old ramp with its salvaged steel portions to be cleaned and transferred to the Waneta bridge where it will be used on that structure in April. ._ 28 « The West Kootenay Zone LA to the Royal Canadian Legion held its annual bowling and curling competitions in Grand Forks on the weekend. The members of the Castlegar LA won the first place bowling trophy. Team members were Mrs. D. Adshead, Mrs. Eve Sperling, Mrs. W. Rempel, Mrs. F. Bonnett and Mrs. J.H. Un- garian with Mrs. Stella Ball accom panying the team as a spare. Early spring has arrived at the Castlegar golf course which opened Monday morning with nine holes. * ° Marilyn Gorkoff has been chosen to represent Castlegar at the 1981 Ad venture in Citizenship program to be held in Ottawa on May 11-14. Gorkoff was selected from the stu- dent population of Stanley Humphries Secondary School for her excellent academic standing * 8 «6 The Selkirk College board elected its chairman and vice-chairman at a spec- ial meeting in Nelson March 3. Bob Buckley of Trail is now serving his fifth term as chairman of the board. HERITAGE PROJECT . . . Grade Blueberry Creek elementary school with project they 5 and 6 students at MORE LETTERS Concerned? Write! Editor, Castlegar News: Hats off to the editor for his with the aid of letter writing camp- aigns. I have received Sunday I esp- ecially like his suggestion that the populace pen their concerns to the appropriate government or corporate bod; y- Recently, I have heard numerous complaints: Cominco layoffs, teachers want a raise when everyone else is struggling, Celgar smells, Expo is a rip-off, why are we paying such high gasoline prices? Someone must have written about the latter, because Kootenay West MP -y replies from politi and have seen changes made, so its worth the effort. You don’t have to be William Shakespeare, begin with “I like . . .” or “I don't like . . .”, but please address your complaints or appreciations to those who deserve them. The local library can provide you with names and addresses. ‘And now I'm going to write a letter to Chris D'Arcy. I'm going to ask him to write a column about his past and d i now that he's Bob Brisco has made an irable at- tempt to address the problem in his two recent columns, and the stations are lowering prices. The seniors retained their pensions told us what everyone else has been doing wrong! Ann Robertson Castlegar What is medal for? , Castlegar News: 1 would like to make a few comments concerning an article in the January 1986 newspaper Golos Rodina (Voice of Motherland) regarding USCC honorary chairman John J. Verigin. The news paper shows Verigin receiving a medal for his outstanding contribution in assisting the Russian government in its struggle against the German army during World War Il. One must remember that many Canadian soldiers died in that war while Verigin was instrumental in obtaining an exemption from military service for Canadian Doukhobors. Why must Verigin get a medal from the Russians for hiding behind the backs of those dying soldiers, while the soldiers who died are long forgotten? Is the medal for his contribution during the war? Maybe it's for his contribution in the last several years. In Canada, Verigin's organization is — Now Open in the Castleaird Plaza — The woman who expresses herself with admirable grace style appreciate the and elegance will Ginette's. Imports from Montreal, Toronto, South Africa and India Includes: % Semi-precious and costume jewellery & Elegant handbags, beach bags, luggage and travel bags 9" & Exquisite silk scarves and belts in a rainbow of colors *% Fashion pantyhose and 100% Cotton panties Ginettes Boutique otters consultations tor the complete wardrobe every women Earring repairs ond necklaces restrung. Open Monday to Seturdey 9:30 to 5:30 personal co ordination and custom-made creations to suit Fridays to 9:00 p.m. known as the Union of Spiritual Community of Christ. But in Golos Rodina there is no mention of Christ, only the Union of Spiritual Community — union with whom? I would like to know when Verigin goes to the USSR to deal with his Russian friends where does he hide his Christ that he brags so proudly about when he is in Canada among Douk hobors? I am not so much concerned about Verigin and his group. Where he leads them is their business. What worries me is that there has been a lot of pressure in the last year or two from Verigin and the Canadian authorities to unite Canadian Doukhobors into one group. Since Verigin's group is 10 times larger than the Reformed Society, what chance do we have, to survive as true followers of Christ? distinguished collections at Castleaird Plaze 365-2793 worked on as part of Heritage Week. Learn of heritage The students of Division One at Blueberry Creek ele- mentary school explored their roots by making family tree diagrams. These were then mounted on a large piece of paper with a world were run from their family tree diagrams to their countries of origin. From this, students have learned that each family brought some of its cultural heritage to enrich the Can- adian nation. LETTER Council action ill-considered Editor, Castlegar News: 1 am pleased to commend you on your recent editorial comments on Westar Timber's failure to meet the required pollution standards at Celgar Pulp Operations. It is very disquieting to learn that the company has for 0 long been able to avoid adherence. to the required pollution control standards. The past number of years have been very profitable in the pulp industry and it is only recent market changes that have depressed the financial viability of pulp mills. If we aquiesce in the basic premise that industry must first make rip-roaring projects before it is obliged to reduce pollution to acceptable levels, then as a community we are paying an unacceptable price for employment. The fear of unemployment must not be the determinant of acceptable pollution standards. If the standards set by the Ministry of FURNITURE are trivial and unwarranted, then the company should publicly debate their relevance. If, on the other hand, the failure to meet those standards represents health and I hazards to the local community and other communities down-wind or down-stream, then we must insist that those standards are met. The action of Castlegar council in taking an interventionist stance on behalf of Westar is ill-considered. By all accounts it was a bad decision made under a “pressure play.” Did council not have time to consider the age and state of obsolescence of the present mill. By the time the 10-year holiday is past we may not have an operating mill. I believe that only by forcing the issue with Westar, now, can we have any real confidence that it will not walk away from its investment. I believe that it is in the best interests of the employees of Westar to ensure their continued employment that Westar be obliged to invest now in pollution control devices. Finally, the notable absence of two aldermen from the vote was a great disappointment. We may only hope that lack of courage was not the reason they did not participate in the vote on this sensitive issue. P.J. O'Connell Castlegar LUNCHEON MEAT SCHINNEIDERS. BULK, SLICED. 100 PEPS! OR CIGARETTES CANADIAN BRANDS. CARTON 2005 KRAFT DINNERS MACARONI & CHEESE. 225 G. Prices limi Just about everyone can benefit from per- sonal financial planning. It is simply the process of gathering, organiz- ing and analyzing financial information about your- self, and then acting on that information. and an Personal financial planning helps you gain control of your financial life. 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