ll WZ The Castlegar Sun {S POLITICALLY INDEPENDENT AND A MEMBER OF THE STERLING NEWS SERVICE Established Novomber 28, 1 Pyblishod by Tha Ci Sun Wookly on Wodn ys 485 Columbia Ave., Castlegar, B.C. VIN 1G8 JON JARRETT ADVERTISING MANAGER DONNA JORY ADVERTISING REP. LANA FEDORA ADVERTISING REP. DENISE GOLDSTONE CIRCULATION MANAGER NICOLE BEETSTRA PRODUCTION CLIFF WOFFENDEN PRODUCTION SPORTS BARBARA TANDORY REPORTER JOHN SHELGROVE PRODUCTION Direct Deparment Phones General ONCE ssrssescorersseeensseeeeTBS-52668 36! Clavalled Ads ..... Dieplay Advertising Fax cesses ose Empty promises It was like a brightly-wrapped Christmas present with nothing inside, ite the hoopla and party atmosphere at City Hall last Thursday, the “Celgar announcement” was emptier than a Christmas stocking after the Grinch had dropped around to the house. By all accounts, what really matters to the success of this project is that the final report of the Review Panel be Teleased and be released soon, All the glad-handing and posturing and doling out of little bits of approval-in-principle really doesn’t mean did- dly to a company that intends to invest a vast sum of money into a project that, to date, is still subject to what would seem to be top-secret terms and conditions, reduc- ing the whole thing to a pretty high-stakes poker game. What is even more inane is that the situation has arrived at this seeming impasse at all. The prop for the ization and ion was due to the necessity that the company clean up its act and solve some environmental problems, When, or maybe if, this plant ever opens, it will be one of the cleanest in the world. Over 7,000 people signed petitions indicating that they were in favor of this project. When the Citizens for Clean ‘Celgar Modemization group was formed this past August, more than 1,000 members signed up the first week. There was a total of 3,300 members by the end of the first month. On the other hand, 340 Persons wrote letters stating their opposition to the project. Now, it is not to be thought of that those 340 persons don’t count. But isn’t it the premise of democracy that the majority rules? Granted, the review process was not a mat- ter that was up for a vote. However, the fact that over 20 times as many were for, as were against should have some bearing on something, somewhere. By any standard of what is right and sane in this world, Celgar should quietly fold up its tent and disappear silent- ly into the night. Nobody should have to fight so hard to spend so much to do so much potential good. A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE 1) In what state is the city of Phoenix? 2) Who is the premier of Alberta? 3) What is the name of the schooner illustrated on the dime coin? 4) Where might one expect to find a gargoyle? 5) In what years did the second world war begin and end? Answers 1) Arizona. 2) Don Getty. 3) The Bluenose. 4) A gargoyle is a carved stone beast, generally of mon- strous aspect, frequently attached to the gutters of mediae- val or in the Gothic style, for instance the House of Commons in Ottawa. 5) 1939-1945. A facile question perhaps, yet one that is often answered hesitantly by people under 30, I find. Cas CHEINES By Don Addis NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS: 1. GET SomME WRITING > parER Ron Jeffels Syndicated That painting has haunted me down the long, the angled corridors .. of time. You know. that painting. So does the world..We hold it in trust, in perpetuity, equally and jointly, as Part of a common heritage. That her- itage is rich. And at thir, the special t:me of the year — when the birth of a child is being honored, celebrated and sung across the world — that old, dead painter's tribute to the divinity in each of us, in all of us, is renewed and restated, yet once more. Fifteen centuries earlier, before Michelangelo. brought his brooding genius and immortal palette to the great domes of the Sistine Chapel, that child, the holy child — through his life and through his death — taught reaches out slowly, seeking, search- ing. . . searching for what? Peace, solace, guidance, knowledge, wis- dom, love: all of those. To yearn after such comfort is to be human. But the hand reaches out for something else: for divinity. From the void, from the dark, from the somber womb of a vagrant cloud, another finger touches his, That painting, The Creation of Man, persuades me that wisdom, all wisdom, reposes in the Hand. Not in the mind, not in the brain, not in the « psyche, not in the neurons and the Hand. ganglia: in the That is a curious, simple, eccen- tric assertion: a violent affront to Cartesian logic and to all that is mea- and ting life, breath, hope and some small share of all _ is sacred in the Mas- ter Hand. Adam is bom, and with him fe come, The painter colette the Ae birth. At Chri surable, You are entitled to condemn me, to hold me in scom, You have the right to use all those words against me. I feel no shame, But first, find that word band in the primer on anatomy. Find the cold, another birth, a rebirth, an endless renewal and the small divinity that lies within each of us, irrespective of digits 10, thumbs opposable, ‘bones 27, and all the nerves, muscles, liga- belief, race, color, sect, dogma, lan- guage, frontier, Let me be innocent and incautious, let me put off the tattered robes of learning which, in human but inex- cusable pride, I believe I may pos- sess, minimally. All that endless reading and rereading of books over the Tong, | the many years: poetry, his- that mystery that flesh'yields to spirit, that the pro- fane cedes passage to the sacred. Such is the legacy left by the child: the promise and the assurance that a small, flickering flame of the divine exists in every human creature, always has and always will, transmit- ted endlessly from one generation to the next, That is why we honor the child and celebrate his birth. T have never seen the original painting. I wish I had. One day I may make the long pilgrimage, but not now, not yet. I know it only through illustrations in the books and in the reference manuals on the history of art. But I’ve wondered at it and brooded over ita thousand times. First of the Blood — is languid, reclin- ing, inert: at rest on the great floating curve of space, place and planet. The left hand, lifeless, is raised and extended. The index finger Slings and arrows Nigel | Hannaford Syndicated A Columnist Through all the long, grinding years of Communism, the peoples of eastern Europe never lost the ability to laugh at their regimes. From time to time, samples would be picked up by westem magazines, especially the Reader's Digest. For example, the story goes that a group of journalists were being shown around an aircraft factory by a senior party official. ‘Soon,’ he bragged, ‘every,second person in Moscow will own an airplane.’ ‘Why would they want to do that?’ asked one of the journalists. ‘That way,’ said the official, ‘if they hear there’s bread in Leningrad, they can get there ahead of the crowd." Then there was the fellow who was notified that he had been placed on the list to be allowed to buy a car. tory, Pp , drama, mediaeval manuscripts in dark forgot- ten crypts and occasionally, now and then, the discipline I honor but which resists me and always will: science. Here is my innocence confessed. RAR Ses nee IN INBREAKING PLS SM, HE THEFEOREME BEHINDUS! © (SHO MALIA TEATUNES He went to the Moscow Lada dealer and enquired when one might be available. “March 31, 1998,” be was told. ‘Then it'll have to be in the after- noon,” he replied. ‘Why?’ said the showroom official. the ments, p and sinews inextri- cably laced together in a web of ite complexity. That’s what the manual says, And that says nothing. Think then of the hand that charms music, from the oboe and the violin, holds the surgeon's healing inife and the poet’s singing pen, sets free-the beauty in the artist’s brush and the craftsman’s blade. The hand, not the brain, brings the miracle. And at times of grief, of ecstasy, of wonder, of awe, of pain, the caressing hand, the healing hand, the knowing hand does what words can never do: lulls terror in the sobbing THE GST... you had to send it through Ottawa. As usual, they deducted $95.” Then again, when Brian Mulroney was visiting George Bush, he was impressed because Bush had so many good people around him. “We have a real problem getting people in Ottawa,’ he ber is coming in the moming...' Thier i centile dine in all these samizdat yams, it is a sort of helpless ‘Iaugh or else you'll cry’ element. It’s not healthy but unfortu- nately, it’s catching on in Canada. I proffer these two examples. ‘A little boy wanted $100 very badly and bis mother told him to pray to God for it. He prayed for two weeks. Nothing happened, so he decided to write. When the postal authorities reccived the letter addressed to God, they opened it up and decided to send it to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister was so impressed, touched and amused that he instructed his secretary to send the little boy a cheque for $5. He thought this would appear a lot of money to a little boy. The little boy was indeed delight- ed with the $5 and sat down to write a thank you letter to God. It went as follows. Dear God: Thank you very much for sending me the money. Too bad lamented to the president. ‘How do you do it?’ ‘Well,’ said Mr Bush, ‘I try them on this simple intelligence test. If they ~ getit, they're hired. Watch.’ And with that he called in Dan Quayle. ‘Dan,’ says George. ‘If your par- ents had a child and it wasn’t your sister and it wasn’t your brother, who would it be?? ‘Obvious,’ says Mr Quayle. ‘That would be me.’ ‘There,’ says Mr Bush. Well, Mr Mulroney liked that idea so when he got back to Ottawa, he called in Joe Clark and said, ‘If your parents had a child and it wasn’t your brother and it wasn’t your sister, who would it be?’ Joe thinks for a minute, then he Tuns out of the room, down the hall and bursts into Michael Wilson's Office. ‘If your parents had a child and it wasn’t your brother and it wasn’t your sister, who would it be?’, he blurts out. child; velage solace to' those in sor- Tow and in grief; makes the boly sign of the holy cross over the dead and the dying; blesses the bread; and heals the streaming wounds of life. All wisdom reposes in the hand, the hand that comforts, There is another painting that haunts me: a simple, innocent canvas by the German Durer which once * graced an altar in 15th-century Vien- na, Two hands at rest — hands wom, rusted, corroded by the years, hands that have known toil and repose, joy and pain, ecstasy and grief — meet to form an apex. And that is all: the hands of a simple, rude apostle raised in prayer, in piety, in supplication, in worship, There is yearning in those hands. They reach out across the endless centuries for the gift once given to Adam: the small, flashing flame of divinity which tells us that mystery transcends materialism, that the flesh yields to the spirit, that the profane cedes passage to the sacred. At Christmas, at this time of rebirth and renewal and the restate- ment of the Promise, may the Hand touch you, your life and all those you love, honor and hold in affection. RR. Jeffels is a Richmond free- lance writer and former principal of The Open Learning Institute, SSAIINIGR AG ” RIGHT. BUT WE'D BETTER HURRY BECAUSE IT LOOKS i UKE THE Peo Or ny ‘Me, of course,’ says Wilson. He runs back to Mulroney. ‘I’ve got the answer! It would be Michael ‘Wilson!’ Mulroney answers, ‘You're fired. The right answer was Dan Quayle.” To conclude this valuable insight into politics, back to Poland, circa One day, four people were sitting in a train compartment, an old lady, a pretty young girl, a Russian officer and a Polish patriot. The train goes into a tunnel and as the lights do not work, all is dark. All that is heard is a kiss and a slap. When the train emerges into the light, all are seated as before, but with different assumptions of what happened. ; The girl wonders why the Russian kissed the old woman and not her. The old woman assumes that the Pole kissed the gid and had his face slapped forhis pains. ~ The Russian thinks the Pole is a lucky chap because he kissed the girl while he the Russian got the slap. The Pole meanwhile thinks, ‘Boy, I'm smart. I kiss the back of my hand, slug a Russian officer and get away withit.” Merry Christmas to Slings and Arrows readers! Chretien gets into it while others watch It was a week of celebrations for Brian Mulroney and members of the Progressive Conservative caucus. On Wednesday, a smaller-than- expected crowd turned out for the Tory Christmas party. , Those: who did. attend seemed philosophical. They're doing what they believe is in the best interests of the nation, if only 14% of the voters understand, then too bad. They're going to stick the course. - . No sign of panic — yet. |‘ On Thursday the Mulroney's ‘host- ed in-town pals to cocktails: at 24 Sussex, and on Friday night out-of- towners were feted. Friday so those flying-in from afar would only have to miss one day of work, : Only true believers would fly across Canada for a free drink at 24 Sussex Drive. Everywhere the talk was of Jean Chretien’s by-election victory and how it was the best thing to happen to the Conservative party in months. Good because the Tories believe , Brian will mop the floor with Chre- tien when the two tangle on the floor of the Comnions. 5 Undoubtedly we're in for some dramatic moments when the two finally face-off, but imagine for a minute a different scenario. ‘But what would have happened had the Tory tactic backfired and Chrietien bad been defeated? | Chretien would have resigned as Liberal party leader. And that would almost ‘certainly, have sparked demands in the Tory caucus for Brian to step down. So both Chretien supporters and the Mulroneyites do have a reason for celebrating. ‘The Tories take great solace in the hostility of many Quebeckers to Chretien and his view of Canada. It is sad to see the way this man, who gave 25 years to the service of Quebec in the House of Commons, is treated by Quebec’s. nationalist But hardly the stuff of an Uncle Tom. Since'the failure of the Meech Lake deal, which they blame on Chretien, the government has been uncertain how to solve the national unity question, hence the Citizen's Forum and the joint committee onan amending formula. R The New Demperats Griticize the media and largely intelli- gentsia, They see his folksy, non-threaten- ing style, so much loved in English- - speaking Canada, asa sell-out. ‘They call him an “Uncle Tom" — and worse. But, no matter how he says it, what is Chretien telling us? ‘That we have a great nation; that : we are better off together — French and English — than apart; that peo- ple of good will can overcome the. difficulties we face and make great again (50°) 2 i Motherhood and~apple pie? initia- tives, but in honesty, they are no bet- ter off. they have one MP from Quebec, - American-born Phil ‘Edmonston. He is, in fact, more nationalist than many native-bom Quebecers. And his views tend to embarrass his federalist colleagues.’ » : The Tories wait, and the New Democrats hide out, while Jean Chretien dives into the middle of the debate in Quebec. Now that's more like the Chretien we remember! Duffy is host of. Sunday Edition, noon on CTV. Page 7A , Letters to the Editor The Castlegar Sun Thursday, December 27, 1990. elf i 4 de * Castlegar should look within itself for Deputy Fire Chief To the Editor: L understand that our city is hir- ing an assistant Fire Chief, Bravo. ~ with ‘a vol son from, Our last two Fire Chiefs were both brought in from outside our area and the last was from outside Castlegar has existed for years fire di and these men should all be com- »” mended on the fine job they have ‘b provided our community. Our city is growing very tapid- ly, and I do not question the need of hiring a second paid person, My question surrounds the nmor of where we will get this new per- the provii “I question why our city ‘representatives figure they can get someone more qualified if that person IS NOT from our commu- nity! Take a good look around Casitlegar — remember the fire at Celgar? At Mitchells Building Supplies? At the Castlegar Hotel? The Hi Arrow Hotel? In your own homes? Our volunteer men have gone out, sometimes in the middle of the night, and risked their lives, - then gone to their regular jobs in the community the next moming. Many of our volunteer firemen have be competently doing this for 10, 15, 20.years, They have also supported our community with lots of thankless hours of fund raising. The question of competency within our own city fire depart- ment, I believe, is not lacking in experience to fulfill this position of assistant Fire Chief, _ Now we have a paid position come up — I believe our city council should start looking in their own back yard, * Let's all support our own fire- men for the job. Our council is from our city — why not our fire- men? Sincerely, B. Miller : Parent urges review of school boundary To the Editor: .. For many years now, the L: Goal san School Board has had to * deal with concerned Parents from the South Slocan and Shoreacres _ area who are unhappy with the * present school boundary between * Nelson and Castlegar, As one of ‘© those Parents, I recently Tearned that once again the Castlegar 4 school board has no ii of hanging the b ry that was put into place in the 1960s. In the 1960s, School District #8 (Slocan Valley) was to be amalga- mated by districts #7 (Nelson) and #9 (Castlegar), Because various levels of government believed that harmony in the Slocan Valley could only be achieved if the Sons of Frecdom and the Orthodox D : Too little, To the Editor It is gratifying to see the provincial government finally give approval in principle to Cel- gar’s modemization. However, is it almost too little too late? Celgar is the first project to undergo the M.P.R.P. (Major Pro- ject Review Process). So far, it has taken 14 months and cost Cel- gar in excess of $30 million dol- lars. That is over and above what it has cost you and I as khobors were the too late to move quickly enough to save it. The federal government is afraid to give approval until the review panel gives its final report. ‘The review panel, understand- ably, is taking its time to do a thorough job. But, the clock is ticking. The bankers are going home. The M.P.R.P. process is a good one. But if theCelgar project fails, it will Send a clear message This costly “Experiment in Democracy” is less than success- ful. The guinea pig (Celgar) is nearly dead; and no one is allowed to “Take your dollars elsewhere, Canada works in slow Motion.” Don McDowell Robson, BC Unfair boundary is’ all that they've got To the Editor: It’s coming the time for my child's education to begin But with School District Number 9, we just can't win. We live in Shoreacres, and we like it very well But to get what we want, our ., home we must sell. , We would like to be able to use the schools that are here Not because they are better, but ; because they are near. Superintendent Wayling won't », have it, because of dollars I fear. 1 ., 1's a shame to see money come to * play . And in your own child’s leaming * not to have any say. It’s because of a boundary that was made years ago Separating Sons of Freedom and Doukobors As far as I know. Now the times bave changed, and those battles are fought And an unfair boundary is all that we've go. The Slocan River is where the boundary should be Tt only makes sense to you and to me, A new battle is starting; the fights just begun We're not going to quit until something gets done Nadine Stoochnoff We are presently repairing damages from the recent fire. We hope to have all areas of the hotel open very soon, Thank you for your patience. orEN eer & Wine Store 11 - 11. New Year's Day : Dec. 31 & Jan. 2 Reg. Hours Sony, the lounge is temporarily closed for. .: = repairs until further notice, Je 2 Hours: the amalgamation with due con- cem to the Doukhobor “problem”, but ignored geographic features, As we now enter the 1990s, a group of parents in the south Slo- “can and Shoreacres area are striv- ing to correct this oversight. All levels of government have been sympathic and supportive, and now we urgently need action. Our problem is acute. We have two schools (Brent Kennedy and Mount Sentinel) in our community that our children are denied access to. What parent can reconcile sending their children to a school Castlegar VIN 1G4 pee eee Happy New Year May your home be filled with the sounds of joy and contentment. GS ‘UNIQUE BALLOONS & PARTY SHOP #7 292 Columbia Ave. 25 km away when the neighbor- hood school is 2 to 3 km away? In an attempt to be reasonable, our only request to the Castlegar Board has been that they authorize an independent commission to review the current boundary and . ' submit their findings to all con- cemed. ‘We are prepared to accept the recommendations of such a body. Regrettably, we have been denied z this process. What is the Castlegar Board afraid of? Joe Moreira Chairman Boundary Review Committee Order by phone after 230 or drop in 365-6932 East Sth Averiue = On the Main Dot -Metatine Falts, Washington RE HOURs#ee0 am. 7: Special: Prices in Effect ‘How Until Jan. We ‘Will. Be Closed at 1 Boneless. Average weight 5-7 Ibs. western Family. Select Varieties Darigold 1 Pint TINY SHRIMP Pacific Pearl 4.25 oz: : EACH WEEK: 509- 446- 2824 ee — — Letters Policy Letters to the Editor are welcome on any topic of local or general’ interest, Letters ‘should be double-spaced, typewritten, or legibly hand- written, and no more than two Pages if possible. Letters will be edited in the interests of brevity or taste if necessary. All letters must be signed, with address and ‘telephone number, although names may be witheld from publication for valid reason by the approval of the editor. Send letters to: The Castlegar Sun, 465 Columbia Ave., Castlegar, B.C., ‘VIN 1G8, or drop them off at the office. ‘Guess Who's Wishing You A Happy New Year? Carvil & staff at - _ ANDERSON INSURANCE 605 Columbia Ave.. '». »- Ph. 365-3392 Wishes. 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