POPS pgaag® TAY ROY PAS CLD saretepepere re insets PORSTLEGAR NEWS, ‘Thursday, July 28, 1977 Sunday’ ‘Most Snakes are Harmless, Beneficial to Environment Of all wild creatures, few have a worse reputation than snakes. The more one learns about these amazing animals, the more one reallzes how mls- understood they are. For in most parts of the Kootenays, any snake encountered is harm- less,.and beneficial, Snakes are reptiles, re- lated to turtles and lizards and lke their relatives, are cold- blooded animals. Being cold- blooded does not necessarily mean a creature is cold— rather, it means that their body temperature varies according to the temperature of the en- + vironment, Bubble Gum-Blowing Contest Calls for Individual Concentration The temperature deter- mines how active these crea- tures are, and in general the warmer the day, the more active the snake. On days of extreme heat snakes seek a shady: retreat to avoid over- heating themselves and at such times are often found under rocks or logs on the forest floor. ‘The darting forked tongue ofa snake has long been a cause of fascination, A snake's tongue is a sense organ which per- ceives chemicals in the air—a_ snake smells its environment with its tongue. Information from outside is transferred from the forks of the tongue to two holes in the roof of the -and depends on its ne ans TES reptile’s mouth and then to the brain, In the Kootenays we have ‘six varieties of snakes, three of which are limited to the dry country around Grand Forks and Midway. ‘These dry land varieties include ‘the Western Blue Racer, a quick reptile of ” rocky meadows and creeksides; the Bull Snake, a large snake of sagebrush country which feeds on various small rodents; and the Pacific Rattlesnake, 8 greatly misunderstood creature of dry, rocky areas. Unlike some of his south- is Ad —(BCOME aaa: : YOUR ‘ a weak may not have the world on a string, but she knows your community inside out. Hf you're new in town, call her today! Phone ered but quite common. This strange looking creature - spends most of its time under logs and rocks seeking small rodents which it squeezes to death like its larger relatives. Unlike the giant boas of the tropics, this fellow never grows larger than about 30 inches in length and is the most docile anaké of our region. Curious about snakes? At -the Kokanee Creek Nature House, you can take a look at some of the local snakes in our new display. Chances are, you'll come .to realize that these ‘ern our +a very timid and docile creature that bites only in extreme cases, On most occasions, it seeks cover when confronted are marvel at rather than some- 365-5638 or 365-5542 camouflage to avoid discovery. Most common throughout the Kootenays are the garter snakes: the rather drab brown and grey Wandering Garter Snake and the more spectacular red, yellow and black Valley © Garter Snake. These harmless creatures frequent moist areas _ and are particularly common in areas where tadpoles, one of their favorite foods, are abund- ant. Least known of our local snakes is the Pacific Rubber Boa, a snake rarely encount- thing to fear. Inland Roofing & Sheet Metal Ltd. Formerly interior Sheet Metal (1965) ) Ltd, Inland’s Guarantee: it, guaranteed workmanshi| Our company offs pulp ‘iran aed ‘oolng, insulati id sheet met 3 pea ‘or by the Master Sheet PR cut om ‘and B of British ¢ (Under New Management) Ken Denn 725 - 6th Ave. South, Cestlegsr, B.C. Bus, 365-7553 Res. Cominco Plant Tours Continue to Sept. 30 By OLGA OSING No matter what the sea- son, there is always a tour at Cominco, the largest lead and zine smelter plant in the world. There are tours of the metallurgical plants and tours . of the chemical and fertilizer plant—all located on the mighty Columbia River's banks in Trail, In a word, the tours are “educational”, a mine field of information about the smelter- ing process. ~ Cominco’s history goes back to 1895—to the boom days in nearby Rossland when one mine after another made high grade strikes. The news spread through the investment markets of the world and people streamed to the area. Among them was 26- year-old F, Augustus Heinze from Montana. He built a smelter on Trail Creek Landing * of the Columbia River. A year later it went into. operation treating Rossland ores. In 1906, the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company was formed by the amalgama- tion of a number of south- eastern British Columbia mines, the Rossland Power. Company. and the Canadian ‘Smelting Works. Seven years later the company purchased : the Sullivan Mine in Kimberley, : one of the world’s largest lead- zine ore producers. Years later the company's ‘name was changed to Cominco. v' ‘The metallurgical tour be- ‘gins with slides showing Co Facelift Raffle “Fails to Draw © Wrinkled Buyers :t. Slocan Valley ive on the Regional ict ‘of ‘Central Kootenay of: directors, said he, ‘RDCK administrator Reid Hen- » dergon and land ‘use officer C. a tion. of the site, ne ties ‘it. would ‘offer River an, Rootes pppinising. af # ink what we're doing © is checking out ‘with-the "a owner, Cominco, the possibility.” ; * through have been a a mig! ireluctance on the part of same employers who have Previously had? + of leasing it,” Brewster said. “It tooks good, but we'll also have to determine whether we would: ? -be able to ‘use the B.C,:Hydro access road to the site.” =” Brewster said © the ‘co: sideration of the plateau as dump ‘for Nelson is‘. still clients,” | “said - rander ‘Zalm. “But, L think the '- (continued ‘on ‘page A3):.. stage, Tw owned sites in the Taghum a. also being. considered, sal f in the morning ‘and in the evening, which are prime _ sprinkling times, the Pressure does recede.” Jack Scott, Robson Isriga- tion District board of trustees _ Secretary, attributed the loss in pressure to.a “heavy draw- down” on the district's 12-inch pipeline from Pass Creek. “It's only ‘a’ gravity-fed pressure,” “Those hydrants were put in by B.C. Hydee ata high point in the system and should never have been there,” he said. “It was a stupid place to put them.” area; which like the hydrants are near the end of the pipeline, : are often “temporarily out’ of water” at this time of the year. Although the irrigation district has previously tried to elimin- ate open-hose sprinkling, there are ‘no: sprinkling’ regulations : sarrently being. enforced, Scott 2: Les Godberson, who super: vises' maintenance at the Rob- son Recreation’ Society Pool nd ‘was one: of the residents to. control the fire, y the loss in pressure is a (pital summer problem in the sgn Tesi tee ee Page cane: svother ene a te pulp li October. 105 Jobs in oie et The second cycle ‘of the” federal government's, Canada Works program will provide an-- estimated. 105 “jobs on. worth: while _ long. projects. in program—totalling $20: million for B.C. this cycle—are distrib- uted bythe federal constituen- cles. with greater emphasis ‘on Kootenay West, a \ regional’ project: officer said this week. .~ Hazel Hoodicoff ‘told’ the Castlegar: News funds for the =.compared to: the $225,000 set areas. The program has allocated $525,000 to the ‘constituency this cycle, aside for the area in the firat~’. » ¢yele, which funded 14 projects “creating 86 jobs and 1300 workweeks. She ‘said some local pro- ject previously funded by the Canada’. Works | program—de- .:° signed.to replace ‘the Local \ Initiatives - Program—included ‘(continued on page A14)