P. Name: Jim Gibbins Where you work: Federal Express Castlegar at the Airport What you do there: Everything Castlegar likes: The complex, the scenery, the people Best kept Castlegar secret: The indonesion noodies at the airport cafe Pet: Dudley the nasty cat Vehicle: The Fed Ex van What would you rather be doing? Anything but working ; Couple lucky, say RCMP A Burnaby man and his 32 Castlegar RCMP member Corpo- year-old passenger escaped seri- ral Al Brown said the two were ous injury when the vehicle h was driving failed to negotiate a slight left;hand curve and rolled oming to rest on its roof ger were ta pital and were later released The driver and female passen very fortunate to escape with minor injuries”. The accident which happened May 29 occurred 13 kilometers west of Castlegar on Highway 3 1 to Castlegar Hos: Police say alcohol was not involved in the incident | Policing in British Columbia Additional Community Hearings of the Commission of Inquiry into Policing have been scheduled. We need to hear from you on the issues that concern you relating to crime and public safety. How can policing be improved in your community? You can get involved by pre. senting your concerns and recommendations in a written and/or oral submission at one of the Community Hearings Plan to get involved. This is an opportunity for you to voice your opinions and hear the views of others in your community Note: Hours of Hearing at each Venue be 2:00-5:00 & 7:00-10:00pm dune Location Venue Address 1001 Rossland Ave ntact the Commission of Inquiry for informatior and to schedule your preferred presentation time. POLICING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA Commission of Inquiry Room 155 - Plaza Level, 800. Hornby Street Vancouver, B.C., V6Z 2C5 Phone: 1-775-1452 Fax: 1-660-9032 Ma Castlegar's new Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant opening in July requires friendly people for full and part time positions as: « Customer Service Persons * Cooks Please apply in person during the following dates: Thursday, June 10 « 9 am - 2 pm or 6 pm - 8 pm Friday, June 11 *9 am - 2 pm at the Keenlyside room at the Sandman Inn Previous experience, particularly drive-thru service would be a definite asset. The Castlegar Sun Four accidents in one week mark revitalization growing pains KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff Things have not been going well for the city in its efforts to revitalize the downtown. Two broken gas. lines and two broken water mains in less than a week has plagued construction of phase two of the downtown revi talization project Castlegar City Administrator Gary Williams, said the contrac tor, West Wind Nurseries, and B.C. Gas, as well as himself, are going to meet to identify the way in which gas procedures are being handled and then make any necesSary changes. “We want to put some changes in the way gas procedures are being handled This is an old community. There may be other services which are capped off but are still live and not shown on any of the maps We want to identify those.” Williams said the first gas leak occurred May 27 when city crews dug up an old gas line when they were trying to “deal with the water break”. The gas line, which used to service a gen- erator at the old city well site, had been merely cut off at the service and then capped, instead of being cut off at the main. The newest maps did not show the old ser- vice, SO Crews were unaware that there was an old and live gas line where they were digging. Both the North and South Castlegar Volunteer Fire Departmefits, and a B.C. Gas employee were on hand to deal with the gas leak On May 28, the contractor was digging at 13th Ave. and Columbia Avé. when he uncovered and broke a water main. Williams said that most water mains are five to Wednesday, June 2, 1993 SUN STAFF PHOTO /Karen Kerkhof six feet below the service. Howev- er, the water main which. was bro- ken was only two feet below the surface. “The contractor didn't expect that.” City crews also uncovered and broke the water main while wying to repaur it. “Our crews broke it as well.” The cause of the latest rupture of a gas line by the contractor on May 31 has left Williams puz zled. “We don't know yet what happened.” Williams is hoping the meeting will identify old but still existing lines and help make revitalization go smoother Top photo: RCMP diven traf fic so firefighters can clean up a gas spill. Middle: Water shoots out after a city employee hits,a water main behind City Hall Bottom: Firefighters contain another gas leak from a ruptured pipe while two employees look over underground blue prints SUN STAFF PHOTO John Van Putten SUN STAFF PHOTO /John Van Putten City cleaning its mess at old Public Works Yard Sun Editor SHARLENE IMHOFF Two city councillors’ concerns over the untidiness of the side Public Works Yard has resulted in the start of a clean-up Councillors Lawrence Chemoff and Doug Green are both old south residents on 6th Street, and like their neighbors, they were annoyed with the unsightliness of the city’s works yard. “It’s untidy and unsightly and it needs to be cleaned up. said Cher noff. Superintendent of Public Works, Barry Comin, said much of the material at the old works yard includes metal pipes, barrels man-hole covers and even a few old vehicles that belong to the provincial govern KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff option.” The Ministry of Transporta- tion and Highways held an open house at the Brilliant Cultural Centre to introduce several options for the proposed Bril- liant interchange to those it will affect the most—Robson and Castlegar residents. Held May 26, the open house gave residents the oppor tunity to view the options and discuss the plans with High ways officials who were on hand to answer questions. In total there were eight mate of $6 million. But very, very rough figure Option One expensive and Verigin will not be impacted construction Vanlerberg said it i that the final dé interchange will be by mid-August with the gn being put out to tender options available, however fall Ministry of Transportation Pro- Construction for th ject Manager, Rocky Vanler berg said that more than likely option one will be the plan which is followed. “Most likely it will be the 50-55 kmh change is expecte early winter, with con 1994 completion of th gar Robson Bridge Major interchange under discussion Vanlerberg said it was uncer tain what the cost of the inter change would ultimately be, but did hazard a guesstimate. “It will be somewhere in the esti that’s a is the least s Tomb by the It’s not going to infringe on Verigin’s Tomb s hoped for th completed Project by lat inter pl slated to coincide with the Jul ment. The site is also a storage place for Castlegar’s antique fire truck as well as the city’s float, which is dusted off each year and entered in various parades. ‘Some of the material has betn moved, but we aren't finished yet,” said Comin, who maintains there are no materials of significant danger kept in the yard, which is a secured compound The works yard is approximately equivalent to three city lots, and is currently zoned residential. Chernoff expects that once the area is cleared, the buildings on the site will be demolished and the land will be ‘old off to make way for new housing We want it to remain residential in order to compliment what's ready there,” Chernoff finished. Full speed ahead on bridge construction KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff Paving will be “specified” fill Picr six. which is on the Robson side, is completed, while pigt five (also on the Robson side) is under comple- tion. Pile driving for pier four 1s scheduled to be completed Soon. There will bea total of Six plers—three on the Castle- gar side and three on the Rob- son side The physical gap between Castlegar and Robson is quick ly disappearing Transportation of Highways Project Manager Rocky Vanler- berg, verified that the bridge which is to span the two com- munities is still on schedule, with completion slated for July 1994 “Yes, certainly schedule.” Within the next two weeks, Vanlerberg said a large inverted pear-shape multi-plate culvert, ; through which trains will trav- Vanlerberg said on the Rob- el, ‘Will be installed. “It's big— son side, grade height has _ about 90 metres in length.” almost been reached, with the The detour on Columbia exception of fill which is need: Ave. which bypasses bridge ed to reach the abutment. The construction has been well fill which has been hauled thus accepted, said Vanlerberg, “It's far is known as “borrowed fill”, working well. The pulp mill however, the fill to the abut People say it's working very ment and the fill which will be well” laid down in preparation for it’s still on Wednesday, June 2, 1993 Hap SHARLENE IMHOFF Sun Editor Bud Godderis was never so happy to board a plane as he was the day he left Guatemala City. Godderis, who accompanied a small group of Guatemalan exiles back to their country in secret to attend human rights meetings, was forced, along-with the exiles, to abort the week-long stay when conditions in that country suddenly turned sour. Godderis said there was a feeling of foreboding in the air ly upon arriving in Guatemala, May 21 “There was a real uneasiness and tension in the air." Guatemala is a highly oppres- Sive country at the best of timess but under the protection of God deris's Canadian Citizenship, the travelling Guatemalans, who were exiled from their country more than 10 years ago for speaking out in favor of human rights and dig- nity, felt they were relatively safe “Things began to deteriorate almost immediately upon our arrival,” Godderis continued. After meeting with_ the Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman, a woman with whom Godderis was travelling received a terrifying telephone call from a friend, who worked with the Ombudsman. "At 5 a.m., she received a telephone call say- ing the Ombudsman's house was surrounded and that he had been placed under house arrest." Other developments were occur- ring at this time as well: the parlia- ment was dissolved, and the president of the country would now tule by decree. "Everyone immedi- ately switched to new rooms in the hotel we were staying. Then we worked on getting out.” Godderis said he could not get through to the Canadian Embassy for help, and he thinks it was due to deliberate interference. But after much communication, the Mexican embassy sent a van which then dropped the group off at the airpon, where an American Airlines jet had been delayed because of movement by the Guatemalan army “We found out later that offi cials from both the Canadian and Spanish embassy had tried The Castlegar Sun WEATHER __ OUTLOOK: The forecast for today: Cloudy with showers or al activist Bud Godderis and his wife, Ann, embrace each other at the Castlegar Airport, where Godderis's flight landed, Friday. Godderis was in Guatemala, using his Canadian Citi- zenship to protect some Guatemalan exiles who returned to their country in sec attend a human rights conference. The group had to change their plans however when their safety was placed in jeapardy after the swift total col apse and the arrest of the Human Rights Ombudsman Ik to help us After landing in Dallas, God deris called his wife to confirm his safety. Then, he boarded a plane for Vancouver, and finally connected to Castlegar. where he was met with open arms by his wife, Ann Cominco cuts another 100 jobs, and hints more on the way Sun Staff Cominco has announced that an additional 100 workers will be laid off as part of its new long- range business plan which offi- cials hope will ensure financial viability at Trail The plan targets a $50 million performance improvement through reduced operating costs and increased production. The announcement of the long-range business plan comes less than a year after a major restructuring of Trail operations, which saw the elimination of more than 500 work- ers over a period of six months. A media release lists sever- al reasons for the latest round of lay-offs, including heavy provincial taxes, financing the completion of the lead smelter modernization at Trail as well as continuing global recession and severely depressed metal markets. The release states that analysts do not foresee any improvement in zinc Prices due to continued over- supply of both metals and concentrates which has resulted in record high inven- tory levels and low prices Officials at_Cominco say they will be working with unions, émployees, suppliers, govern- ment and community leaders .to complete the transition to a new style of workplace practices. hopefully leading to a profitable operation at Trail The media release also stated that as a result of the new busi- ness plan, the scheduled August shutdown has been cancelled. €ominco expects the-impte mentation of the business plan to take place over the next four years, and further downsizing will be accomplished by 1z attrition, as well as plant and technological changes. possible thunderstorms. Lows 10 to 12. Highs about 20. Outlook for Thursday and Friday: moist and unsettled. — a A LOOK BACK AT THE PAST WEEK: Min/Date Normal Mean Temperature: Max/Date Mean 7 28.7/27 6.1/24 17.8 14.2 Precipitation: Rain Total Normal Total Snow 16.4 O° 16.4 18.2 Sunshine: Number of Hours Normal Number of Hours 72.2 52.0 REMARKS: Forests were tuming very dry until the precipitation came in the later half of the week. Duncan Lake, behind Duncan dam, looks like a river now instead of a lake. Behind the Mica dam the water is also very low; seems to be having some effect on local winds. Precipitation at the Castlegar airport has been light relative to the rural area surrounding the airport: Forecast provided by The South - East Interior Weather Office at Castlegar, B.C. ARROW LAKE RESERVOIR FORECAST May 29 -1415,.80 June 5 - 1421.30 Legal action between SVCCF and RDCK could wait until New Year before proceeding SHARLENE IMHOFF SVCCF were given one month to Sun Editor revise their petition, which they accomplished within the time Further legal action between == frame allowed. Now, a hearing the Regional District of Central has. been tentatively scheduled for Kootenay (RDCK) and the Slo- January 5, 6, and 7. The lengthy can Valley Concerned Citizens delay due to a solid Supreme Forum (SVCCF) Count schedule is disappointing delayed until early January to Brian Bailey, who is acting as a legal advisor and researcher for the SVCCF. “Unfortunately, we're pro gressing at a snails pace.” The SVCCF petition actually involves four applications in one The first is requesting that the magine lenge as required by the Judicial court declare all Unsightly living ike that in Canada Review Procedures Act. The Premises bylaws null and void; ( the second asks that certain sec- tions of the Municipal Act be declared null and void, particular- ly section 3 (10), which allows local. government to arrive on pri- vate property without prior notifi cation; the third application applies for mandatory injunctions, ordering the RDCK to show accounting costs of enforcing the Unsightly Premises bylaw; and the fourth application calls for the reopportionment of electoral areas. As part of the second appli- cation, the SVCCF is also contest- ing the narrow time frame allowed in order to challenge a bylaw, currently set at one month. Bailey, said the SVCCF was hoping to have the entire case completed before this fall's RDCK election, mainly due to the application on the. petition which involves reopportionment of the entire Regional District The RDCK have hired a firm from Victoria, which specializes in municipal law, to represent them. Due to the amount of trav- elling time, it was suggested that the hearing, when scheduled, should have a span of three con- could be 1994 Earlier this spring, during the of parliament Would he go back again? God t ) t tsn first day of a three-day hearing denis says the answer to that 1 ITOK the SVCCF was told the t firm and resoundin es ‘ r rf e Th petition they had presented to the nd o velled watt Supreme defectiv ince it failed to clearly grounds of their chal The feelings of anguish Court in Nelson was tension [felt while in Guatemala love t nt 1ey hav are nothing those people have to live compared to what to and t under thes state through a « 01 T can't every day. There is no protection SUN STAFF PHOTO / Karen Kerkhott These four Robson seniors enjoy their hot dogs, entertainment and perhaps a lit- tle ‘chin-wag’ during the Community Pride celebration, held on the grounds at the Robson School, last Thursday. secutive days, rather than spo- Commission on Resources and the Environment radic day-long appearances throughout the summer and fall. SHAI IE IMHOFF Sun Editor ORE process seriously flawed, says Watershed Alliance Stated the release The Commission on Resources and current CORE process. Lack of government direction, extensive loss of livelihood and private time, as well ely as no participant funding, has resulted in the Slocan Valley Watershed Alliance with drawing from the CORE pilot project In a media release which was received late last week, officials from the SVWA stated that although they are Committed to fairly structured negotiations through shared decision-making, there many drawbacks in the direction of th are too The demands of the local pilot hav. proven to be beyond the time and mone tary resources of our volunteer group Our participation to date has resulted in extensive loss of livelihood and toss ot private lives for some of our members have been Environment (CORE) is a decision-mak ing process wheré various sectors of soci “As far as I’m concemed, if the RDCK can hire counsel from Victoria when there is competent counsel in Nelson, then they can pay the travelling costs to bring them in for court dates.” But according to the RDCK’s legal counsel, Bob Macquisten, there is still question as to whether the amended petition Various re tatives who have been asked t t the CORE municipal d s to farmers to environ ensure that local people are able to partici- pate effectively in local pilot projects. This makes us senously question the gov- ernment’s real commitment to CORE,” States the release from the SVWA table fron mentalist exhaustive process has had only minor asked to meet on a regular basis, and through negotia tions, arrive at con sensus on future While the mandate to devel OP a province-wide Strategy for land use and environ land use mental manage- — ment would appear sent land-use conflicts under heavy criticism. ‘This makes us seriously question the government's h real commitment to CORE’ to result in firm solutions to past and pr pock the | which to develop strategies has « involvement from the prov The group cites other important reasons for its withdrawal, including: the CORE : ~ Land Use Chanter, which lays out the prin SVWA, th ip will stand up in court. “We're still studying the amended petition, I feel we could once again chal lenge the admissibility of it,” said Macquisten, who said there are a incial »vernment of long-term sustainability for the nhomy, the environment and the com. nunity. Ras Not beett-adopted as:govern number of issues to be decided yet before the hearing in January Grumblings in the Slocan Val ley over the governing practices of the RDCK grew louder after the RDCK passed an Unsighily Premises bylaw last fall. After a series of town hall meetings, a petitron was signed and sent to heduled for logging this sumamer are not the RDCK. which eventually led to the suit now filed. nent policy to provide the foundation for the pilot project: allocation Mf forest areas within the Slocan Valley as necessary ut that there as Water protection reserves is not possible under the local pilot, after the SVWA had been assured by CORE Commissioner Stephen Qwen that it would be, and; the fact that watersheds and visual areas ho participant other than tor out-of U CORE table milfions funding the pre r nt ha to pro tunable timber manay: 1 Europe and none to being protected while negotiations occur