soaseeasaae! ee a A2 CastlegarNews July 17, 1991 ‘| BRIEFLY By CasNews Staff Hydro grant surprises city The City of Castlegar’s bank account swelled by $66,677 today following B.C. Hydro's annual grant in lieu of property taxes on the utility's dams, reservoirs and powerhouses in the region. The.amount surprised city council,’ *~ "We got about $22,000 more in‘ grants in lieu of taxes than we anticipated in the budget," Ald. Doreen Smecher said Mon- day. Council budgeted $44,588, The actual grant is $66,677. Mayor Audrey Moore suggested the city should put the mon- ey into developinent of the proposed Twin Rivers Park along the Columbia River waterfront near downtown. However, Smecher said the $44,000 council budgeted for has already been “rolled into” other ateas of the budget and council would have to “reclaim” the funds for the waterfront park. City may chip in for fireworks A committee of Castlegar fire fighters which organized the Sunfest fireworks display may not have to pay the city $167.20 for postage on 418 letters the committee sent to local business- es seeking donations for the show. The city agreed to send the letters for the committee if the fire fighters reimbursed the city for the postage. However, the fireworks display — which cost $4,763.96 — ran a deficit of $679.66 and the fireworks committee asked the city to forgive the cost of posting the letters. Castlegar council was to vote last night on a recommenda- tion to approve a grant to cover the cost of the postage but was one alderman short of the necessary five council members who must be present to deal with financial matters. Aldermen Lawrence Chernoff, Kirk Duff and Bob Pakula were unable to at 8 a.m. Slo-pitchers ask for funds City council will decide Friday whether to pitch in $250 to help Softball B.C. stage the Senior C Mixed Slo-pitch Provin- cial championships Aug. 16-18 in Castlegar. In a letter to city council, local coordinator Robin Tomlin says the 16-team event is budgeted at $1,730 but will fall short by $530, the amount organizers of the tournament requested from the city. Tomlin estimates 300 people will be involved in the champi- onships. Council considers 2nd grant The Kootenay Columbia Child Care Society stands to receive another $2,000 to help pay for ongoing renovations to its building on 11th Avenue if city council approves the soci- ety's grant request. Council approved an initial $2,000 grant to the KCCCS ear- lier this year and at the time indicated its intention to approve an additional grant of $2,000 at a later date. A vote on the request is expected Friday. Residents pay promptly Castlegar residents were almost perfect in paying their tax- es on time this year, director of finance Jacquie Hamilton said Monday. é Hamilton told city council 95 per cent of the taxes assessed were collected by 4:30 p.m. on July-2— this year's deadline. The city collected $6.961 million by that time — up approxi- mately $750,000 from last year. Just over $1 million in homeowner grants were claimed, up $100,000 from 1990, Hamilton said. A total of 236 residents mailed their payments in, usually in the form of post-dated cheques, 50 more than last year, and 145 people used postage-paid envelopes the city provided. And 150 people signed up for the city's new tax pre-payment plan. The first instalments for 1992 were credited to their tax accounts July 15, Hamilton said. Interested taxpayers can still join the pre-payment plan. A finance department staff member can explain how the plan works, she said. 884 on Ul in Castlegar area As of May 23, there were 884 people claiming unemploy- ment insurance payments in Castlegar, labor market analyst Judy McCandlish said. The figure includes people who show Castlegar as an address but live outside city limits, said McCandlish, who works out of the Canada Employment Centre in Nelson. “The above figures also include some claimants who have found full- and/or part-time work but keep their claims active,” she said in a letter to Castlegar city council. "They continue to send in reporting cards as this saves them paperwork. Also, if they should become unemployed they would not be required to file a renewal claim.” attend last night's meeting, which was adjourned until Friday. By BARBARA TANDORY Special to the Castlegar News Garry Graham has a special reason for promoting a touring pottery exhibit coming to town July 18, , The Castlegar ceramic artist is one of seven new talents emerging in B.C. pottery to show their work at the West Kootenay National Exhibition Centre July 18-25 in a show called Choosing Clay, spon- sored by the Canadian Craft Museum. The show opened in Vancou- ver in March, an offshoot of an innovative idea originated by the B.C. Potters Guild which combines work by seven mas- ter potters and the same num- ber of new talents of their choice. hy Graham, 40, was chosen by Nelson artist-potter David Lawson who, admittedly, looked for his choice in the Interior and found it close to home. “It was important to me that the person I sponsored be an emerging artist in the Interior B.C. and working on vessels,” Lawson said of his selection. ‘Tm interested in the way Gar- ry is working on slowly evolv- ing series.” By the rules of the format, Lawson — whose pottery has been said to resemble ancient Mesopotamian art — is show- ing one piece in the exhibit, alongside five of Graham’s works of clay. Graham has already had a good deal of exposure in Van- couver, where his ceramic art is on display at the Canadian Craft Museum on Granville Island. He is now awaiting to be discovered at home. “Tve always done ceramics,” he said in an interview at his home in Ootischenia whose Mediterrean-look interior design — whitewashed walls, inside and out, and high ceil- ings — reflects the austere ele- gance of his art. “T have always had a studio, kilns and clay materials.” Graham calls himself an artist-potter. His name for his art is “sculptural vessels.” elects local potter Castlegar potter Garry Graham works on “sculpture vessels” at his studio in Ootischenia in prepara- tion for his exhibit at the National Exhibition Centre. Graham's ceramics depart just enough from the utilitari- an craft tradition to be p Ontario community. He dates his serious interest t ed as objects of art rather than clay pottery. The pieces he calls “torso” — their size and shape make them look like in ics to 1972, his arrival in Castlegar. But his serious involvement with clay came during the DTUC period, 1979- 81. CASNEWS FEATURE busts in sculpture — could serve as flower vases. But they don’t His ceramic bowls, likewise, are “sculptural vessels.” B.C. Potters Guild president Tam Irving, in an introductory review of the exhibit, remarked that “Garry Graham’s sense of geometry imbues his torsos with an architectural pres- ence.” Graham himself sees his art reflecting his liking for ancient art with its simplicity of form and artful geometry. “I am interested in antiqui- Although actively develop: ty, in archi’ ‘al work and heol findi T used ing a line of fi 1 pottery, Graham has so far preferred to work on large, decorative pieces, marketing them in gal- leries rather than in art stores. “In this kind of work you're always bouncing between craft and art,” heexplained, noting that his sense of art by no means keeps him from working on ideas of functional pottery. “I think something people enjoy is an interestingly deco- rated pot. I test like crazy.” to like Latin in school and I enjoyed Greek mythology.” Later, he studied history of world art along with ceramics, during a two-year course of study in the fine arts programs of the now-defunct David Thompson University Centre in Nelson. However, Graham’s emerg- ing in ceramics goes back to his youth in the late 1960s, in Wawa, a small northern Then, in the mid-1980s, Graham lived the life of an artist for several years, travel- ling in Europe, Scandinavi CasNews photo by Barbary Tandory which is the main reason he doesn't produce functional ceramics. “Having a day job has given me that artistic freedom to pursue sculptural art.” Graham said the highest- priced item he has sold went for $400. “But I do do functional work,” he said. “I just approach it on a more artistic level.” Graham also finds time for community work. He is a vol- Middle East and northeastern Africa. : In France in 1984-85 — where he accompanied his wife, Gail Oglow, who was taking linguistic studies — Graham _ did a work-study stint at a ceramics studio in Chambery, in the French Alps. From there they bicycled together for six months in England, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Ger- many. Afterwards, they trav- elled to Greece, then went to live in an Israeli kibbutz, where Graham worked as a guest potter at Be’er Sheva School of Visual Arts, instruct- ing a slab-building workshop. Graham says he returned to Castlegar “to get established in pottery.” Thus in 1987 he set up a private studio space and continued with “self-directed” studies of ceramics. Paradoxically, perhaps, he makes his living from his work for Loomis Courier Service, unteer firefighter with the Ootischenia fire department, and he and Oglow are valun- teers for Shaw Cable. Graham's personal commit- ment to the fine arts tradition expresses itself in the serial character of his pottery. “I work in series. The work comes out in series. Some of them have been evolving for six, seven years.” Choosing Clay opens with a reception at 7 p.m. Thursday. The exhibit, arriving from Brandon, Man., will continue on the road after its stop in Castlegar, mostly through Western Canada, although the organizers are hoping to take it further east. Graham's hope for the show is that it'll be a chance for his local community to see “the large world of ceramics.” Pottery, he says, is not just “mug and bow!” but also the finer art of clay “vessels” of plates, cups and vases. RIDGE. s08SON 3057 3058 With the help of new maps Issued by the Canadian Hydrographic Service, boaters will be able to navigate the Arrow Lakes with greater precision and enjoyment than every before. The maps, which are currently available at Scotties Marina, also contain information on marina and provincial parks locations. ‘ STREET TALK LONG-AWAITED NEW MAPS which cial activity such as the barging of wood chips, boaters can use to navigate their way around logs or wood waste commonly known as hog the Arrow Lakes are now available. fuel. The four new charts cover the area from 3 “Large Waneta to the Hugh Keenleyside dam, from the Keenleyside dam to Burton, from Bur- ton to Arrowhead, and from Arrowhead to Revelstoke. The maps include information on marina and provincial park locations, bottom condi- tions for use when anchoring or fishing as well as identifying h ds and aids to igation, says the Canadian Hydrographic Service which produced the maps. David Fisher of the Canadian Hydrograph- ic Service's chart and distribution office in Syd- ney said today the charts are now il at Scotties Marina on Lower Arrow Lake. He said he has also sent out applications to several potential dealers in Castlegar, Trail, Revelstoke and Fauquier and hopes to receive the applications back this week. Harry Stan, executive director of the Castlegar and District Development Board, said the maps were four years in the making at a cost of $500,000. While that may seem an exhorbitant amount of money to spend for four maps, Stan pointed out that the charts are crucial to the future development of tourism on the lakes, such as the operation of tour boats, as well as commer- vessels can now navigate the Columbia River from the 49th parallel to Revel- stoke,” said Stan, who added that most of the credit for the development of the maps should go to former Kootenay West MP Bob Brisco who got the project on the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ priority list. The development board played a key role in getting all the necessary players together and soliciting support for the project, Stan said. He said the need for the charts’ was sparked four to five years ago by an inquiry from a com- pany i d in building a resort on Lower Arrow Lake. The company's idea was to bring in visitors to the Castlegar Airport and then ferry them up the lake by boat. However, the lack of navigational charts meant the company couldn't get a licence or insurance for the size of vessel needed to make the idea work, Stan said. The charts are priced at $12 each plus appli- cable taxes. An additional chart which the hydrographic service urges boaters to use to interpret symbols on the navigational charts costs $4. - The Canadian Hydrographic Service is a agency of Fisheries and Oceans. . ‘ July 17, 1991 PERFECT PICNICS SERVED HERE 2816 Columbia Ave. GET A PERM-— AT REGULAR PRICE AND YOUR NEXT HAIRCUT] IS ON ME! FROM JULY 15 THRU TO JULY 24 The Madd Hatter 365-5850 475 COLUMBIA AVE. (ACROSS FROM CITY MALL) i | [1 No Frills « No Girnmicks ¢ Low Prices! [A Low Cost Warehouse Operation [4 No Commission Sales Staff No Membership Fee ¢ Volume Dealer - Warehouse Prices Selection of Brand Name oy aitere a Mattresses at US SAVINGS! OPEN TO THE PUBLIC MON - THURS & SAT: 10 am-6 pm FRIDAY: 10 am -9 pm ‘SUNDAY: Closed Prices as little as regular stores Castlouar: 4445 Minto Road 365-6433 Valley By CasNews Staff Two Slocan Valley property owners, aided by a coalition of environmental groups, sued the province Tuesday in an attempt to recover the cost of damages to their property caused by mud- slides in the spring of 1990. The lawsuit, filed in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, alleges the Ministry of Forests was negligent in allowing clearcuts and the construction of logging roads on Ottawa Hill about 10 kil res northeast of Slocan. Gases Continued from front page effect, but long-term impair- ment, no.” The same can't be‘said for the mill workers who are exposed to the various and unknown combinations of gases up cluse on a regular basis, said Him And while short-term expo- sure to the gases is an immedi- ate concern, the effects of long- term exposure is also being questioned. “After two years of working out there some of those workers are going to get evidence of air flow obstruction, lung damage,” he said. Celgar general manager Jim Browne said there’s no way of knowing what the long -term affects will be. “The industry is sponsoring research in that area, but no one has the answers yet,” said Browne. “I guess if the comparison wanted to be made, there are a lot of people in Castlegar who've been working in this environ- ment for 30 years. "But I don’t think anyone knows and I think that’s why everyone’s being so careful, (because) you can’t categorical- ly say, “Hey, go back, there’s no hazard,” he said. Meanwhile, carbon monoxide from the mill is believed to be what sent a Castlegar man working on the expansion pro- ject to hospital in May, accord- ing to a WCB investigation of the incident. “But there’s no way to check that in retrospect,” said WCB industrial hygienist David Mitchell. “(Carbon monoxide Poisoning) has to be tested for immediately after exposure.” Mitchell said carbon monox- ide poisoning can have similar sensations as a heart attack, which is how the worker The cl and roads were the major cause of the mudslides which wiped out a section of Highway 6, covered several properties with mud, boulders and broken trees, took out water and electric supplies to several properties and damaged the foundation of a house, say lead- residents sue ers of the Slocan Valley Water- shed Alliance and the Valhalla Society, to whom the property owners turned for help. Officials of Slocan Forest Products — which was logging the area — and the Ministry of Forests maintain the slides were a natural occurrence resulting from heavy rain at the time. "This may well be a landmark case,” Valhalla Society director Grant Copeland said Tuesday. “It will bring forth broad issues connected with proper conserva- tion practices and the damage tolerated by an industry-domi- nated government. “We feel it's time to make substantial changes in what the Ministry of Forests allows the logging industry to do, especially when our lives, homes and prop- erty are at stake.” According to the environmen- tal groups, professional investi- gation and technical analysis provided by the groups uncov- ered evidence that the denuded slopes increased the volume of runoff from the rains, while improperly located and poorly maintained logging roads col- lected the water and channeled it into creeks that were unable to handle the increased flow. The result was massive mud- slides and erosion in three creeks, environmentalists say. The groups cited more than 20 instances in which the Min- istry of Forests failed to follow or enforce its own guidelines and standards in the area. "Yet the Ministry of Forests can claim the slides are caused by rain and allow the clearcut- ting to go on,” said Richard Allin, co-chairman of the Slocan Valley Watershed Alliance. “When the landowners came to us, we felt’ something had to be done. It could have happened to any one of us.” However, Allin said the major problem was funds. “The individuals had sus- tained enough loss already with- out having to take on the Min- istry of Forests in court. Very few private citizens could afford it.” However, the ability of the property owners to take the province to court was strength- ened when the Sierra Legal Defence Fund agreed to take the case as counsel and the West Coast Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund agreed to help pay for the cost of experts and “other disbursements,” Allin said. Westar continued from front page “This is one probably one of biggest TFLs around the Province because of the two com- plexes together, the sawmill and the pulp mill. So the way I see it, if the mill is sold, the (TFL) has to go with it. It wouldn’t make sense any other way.” Ed Conroy, Rossland-Trail's NDP candidate, who works for Westar on the tugboats towing logs on the Arrow Lakes to the sawmill, said the government, as the “landlord” of the forests, should step in with a guarantee that the mill will continue oper- ating under new ownership and that TFL 23 will remain intact. “I think it’s incumbent on the government to come out and make a statement,” he said. Rossland-Trail Social Credit candidate Walter Siemens said today he'll raise the issue of the sale with Richmond. However, ‘he admitted forestry is one of the areas he's least knowledgable about. “I'm being very open ... I'm not as informed as I should be,” he said. However, he promised to keep an eye on the sale. Gravel continued from front page gradually cut away to almost ing in some places. Moffatt said it used to be six to nine metres higher in places than it is now. Ken Wyllie, Area J director for the Regional District of Cen- tral Kootenay, said the video “dramatically indicated the adverse impact of this develop- ment on the neighboring resi- dential area.” He has since called for the RDCK to support the residents. “It is my view that this devel- opment represents a-litany of neglect and abuse by the min- istry,” Wyllie says in a letter to , the board. The residents, while prefer- ring to see the pit shut down completely, are calling for the ministry to implement a man- plan and a rec} plan, to put a halt on further expansion of the pit and further reduction of the berm, to rebuild the berm and plant grass and trees, and to apply regional dis- a zoning regulations to the Castlegar News proudly presents Summer _ Concerts iu the Park This Thursday, July 18 KOOTENAY KLOWNS Erie Clade, Celeste Crowley and Troupe. Musical, magical, mysterious — and most of all funny! support of B.C. Tel, Wes: Free lunchtime concerts every Thursday 12 noon to | p.m. at Kinsmen Park Bring your family, lunch, and lawn chairs Sponsored by the Castlegar Arts Council with the co-operation of the Castlegar News and CKQR Radio along with the City of Castlegar These concerts are made possible through the epartment Store. Pharmasave and Moroso, Markin and Blain The Castlegor Arts Council gratetully acknowledges the tinancro! support of the Government of British Columbia through the Ministry of rous financial joe Insurance, Tourism, Recreation ond Culture In the event of rain, the concert will be held in the Legion Hall through the generosity Branch No. 170. Royal Canadian Legion OF SURPLUS EQUIPMENT The City of Castlegar will be selling by tender the following items: = + GMC (1979) 1/2-ton pickup Serial no. TCD1491517134 + GMC (1979) 1/2-ton pickup Serlal nq, TCD1491544047 + GMC (1979) 1/2-ton pickup Serial no. TCD1491515973 + Dodge (1977) 1/2-ton pickup Serial no. D14BJ75168622 + Fordson sickle bar + New Holland sickle bar +12 of Goodyear tires 16.9 x 28 (Loader) + 2 of United tires 14.9 x 16.9 x 24 (Loader) + 500 Architectural bricks + Armaco P.A. system + Sears lawn mower. Serial no. 556156 + Sears lawn mower. Serial no. 556403 + Assorted hubcaps (1 box) + Safe-T leg (dump box attachment) + Monarch sump pump + Homelite sump pump + Diaphragm pum + Gas boiler and fitter system (for swimming poo!) + Fertilizer spreader + 2 of Hose reels, 12 volt (1 with approx. 150 ft. hose -2 inch) » Sweda electronic cash register + 3-0f IBM ‘5251 Model 12 display terminals + Miscellaneous desks and cupboards + Norstar telephone system — upset price $2,500 — 6 of Model 7308 phones — 1 of Model 7310 phone — 2 of Analog terminal adapters Public viewing for these items will take place from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Monday, July 22, 1991 All sales are final on an as is where is basis. The highest or any bid may not necessarily be accepted. Sealed bids are to be submitted by noon Monday, July 29, 1991 and addressed to B. COMIN, A.Sc.T. Superintendent of Public Works City of Castlegar 460 C A to 365-7227 B.C. VIN 1G7