2_Castlégar News

.

January 7, 1989

T

Battle lines set in train ‘dispute

VICTORIA (CP) — The federal government plans to
appeal a B.C. Supreme Court decision forcing Ottawa to
maintain passenger fail service from Victoria to Nanaimo

on Vancouver Island.

Justice Minister Doug Lewis said Friday’ the federal
government still has the right to close the Esquimalt and
Nanaimo Railway as part of its massive Via Rail cuts.

$5,000 pi

The E and N carried an

nment argument

that brought the pi
The agreement

year, many of them tourists. The train — two or three self-
propelled dayliner cars — makes one round-trip daily.
“*It's a policy decision as far as we're concerned,"*

said from Ottawa.

It has been decided that we have'a contractual or con-
stitutional or statutory obligation by the court. That's fine.

We want to appeal that decision."”

The 220-kilometre passenger route between the Victoria
suburb of Esquimalt and Courtenay, on the east coast of
Vancouver Island, was due to be shut down Jan. 15

Lewis Vancouver Island.

Esson wrote

But Mr. Justice William Esson accepted a B.

gover-
that Ottawa was obliged to operate the

line in perpetuity because it was part of the Terms of Union

rovince into Confederation in 1871.
to build the line was not actually reached

until 1883, But Esson said its construction was implied in
the Terms of Union that referred to the building of a trans-
railway.

+ The province maintains the line’: 8 western terminus is on

~~
that the federal-provincial deal also

assumed the line would operate in perpetuity, even though
it was not put in writing.

The decision affects only the 112-kilometre stretch

Family
offers
reward

By CasNews Staff

The family of a Blewett man missing
since late October has posted a $2,000
reward for information leading to his
wherabouts. sr

The reward for information about
John Raymond Derhousoff, 26, has
been set up through the Skogstad and
Co. law firm in Nelson and any infor-
mation on Derhousoff is to be sent to
the firm or the Castlegar RCMP, a
poster describing the reward says.

Dealing with the reward through a
lawyer is common practice since that
method allows for the posting ofa
bond, Castlegar RCMP Const. Al
Brown said. The bond legally ensures
the reward money is available should
useful information be received, Brown
explained.

Lawyer Donald Skogstad, who is
handling the case, was out of his office
and unavailable for comment Friday

Derhousoff disappeared from his
home southwest of Nelson at about 3
a.m. Oct. 31. His car was found in a
Castlegar parking lot about noon the
nextday. ~

A one-day air search was conducted
by police and Derhousoff’s family and

volunteers searched the Castlegar area
for some time in early November

RCMP said at the time a more exten-
sive police search was not possible until
they received information from the
public providing clues on where to
look.

The RCMP are still hoping to
receive information from the public
that would allow for a search, Brown
said Friday,

However, anyone providing infor-
mation that would lead to receiving the
reward must meet certain legabcriteria;
according to the poster about the
reward:

For instance, the reward must be
claimed in writing by Dec. 31 and
anyone who ‘‘caused or contributed in
any way,’ to Derhousoff’s disap-
pearance will not be paid, the poster
says.

Derhousoff is described as 5 feet, 11
inches tall, 200 pounds, with blond
hair, blue yes and a scar across his
throat.

He wore silver wire-frame glasses
and at the time of his disappearance is,
believed-to-have-been wearing a blue
jacket, dark grey corduroy pants and
grey shoes.

Report states
literacy should
be top priority

- VICTORIA (CP) — The province
must make reducing adult illiteracy a
“*priority’’ for the next five years, says
a report submitted Friday to Bruce
Strachan, minister of advanced
education, training and technology)
A call for full partnership among
community colleges, the private
sector, community-based groups and
the government to provide literacy
training is one of the major recom
mendations in the report of the provin-
cial literacy advisory committee
“Addressing the needs of un
dereducated adults in British Colum
an urgent and mounting
social and human
** said the report, noting that
at least 17 per cent of B.C. adults can't
read or write well enough to cope with
the demands of society
In particular more literacy
programs are~‘‘desperately’* needed
for minority groups such as natives,
immigrants, refugees and prisoners,
said the report, titled Opening the
Doors to Lifelong Learning
Literacy is crucial for people to gain
confidence and live independently and

BRUCE STRACHAN
ives support

is necessary because of the inter
nationally competitive environment,
said the report

The 15-mgmber committee submit-
ted an 80-page report with 34 recom
mendations

Ultimatum given

VANCOUVER (CP) — Provincial
liquor store workers have been told
they must wear steel-toed baots or get
the boot
« Employees at all 260 liquor stores
have been told they will be sent home if

Lottery numbers

The winning numbers in Wed
neday’s Lotto 6-49 draw were 2, 14, 40,
41, 43.and 46.

The bonus number was 16 and the
four Extra numbers were 43, 61, 70 and
85 .

The jackpot’ of $4,724,910 was
divided into two prizes of $2,362.455

bers were 5,8, 16, 22, 28, 40, 45 and 5
These ‘numbers,

they report to work without steel-toed
footwear Sheila Fruman, spokesman
of the B.C. Governtnent Employees
Union said

The Workers’ Compensation Board
ordered. late last year that Liquor
Distribution Branch employees ex-
posed to safety hazards must wear
protective shoes

The ruling followed a series of ac-
cidents in an branch warehotse in
volving workers using small forklifts,
used for lifting and moving boxes of
bottles '

But Fruman said a November
decision by branch management that
all employees — including cashiers and
managers — must use steel-toed foot-
wear as of Jan 2 is excessive and un.
fair

of store operations, said steel-toed

‘Wednesday's winning Keno 57 But Bill Cross, the LDB’s director
3

provided by T
Canadian Press, must be considered

unofficial

boots and shoes are necessary because
all liquor-store employees
through hazardous areas

pass

between Wictoria and Na:
th to Courtenay, which wascompleted in 1915, was not part
of the federal-provincial deal.

imo. Esson said the section nor-

Lewis sajd Transport Minister Benoit Bouchard will
ensure that Via maintian service on the affected section of

line until the case is resolved.

But B.C. Attorney Generel. | Bud Smith said he wants

torunthe

Lewis said he will ask Smith to agree to take the case
directly to the Supreme Court of C

ada, bypassing the

B.C, Court of Appeal.

y section as well by

rescinding the cabinet order that covers the entire line.

“But if they refuse to do that, then we'll obviously
have to ourselves seek action directly against the CPR (CP
Rail), which owns the line itself and we'll do that without

hesitation,”’ said Smith.

The Canadian Pacific Railway took over the gover-
torun the

nment’s

“Then this matter will be considered by the highest
court in-the land-without delay,’’ he said. **Because of the
importance of this matte!
that way and we would like him to co-operate."”

But Smith hinted that his co-operation would be tied
to the maintenance of the Nanaimo-Courtenay section.

ir, we would like to. have it happen

me Bouchard so far has not responded to the province's

service

when it absorbed the E and N line in 1905. Crown-owned

Via took over all Canadian passenger rail service in 1977.
Esson, in his court judgment, left the door open for

the province to file a court action against CP Rail to save

the Nanaimo-Courtenay section

ts, Smith said.

request and ministry lawyers will work over the weeken¢to
find ways to keep ) that stretch of line open, he said.

The provincial government sees no point in speeding

up proceedings if it has to fight two cases through the cour-

“It is a matter of what is in the best interest of British

Columbia,"’ he said.

Looks like

@ wrong turn

“I told you we should've turned left,” is what the front paddler might_be saying to his partner
as the mural at the new | Castlegar and District Aquatic Centre provides a deceptive
for Saturday atthe grand opening of the pool.

CosNews photo by Burt Compell

Jonuary 7,1

1989

SS

Castlegar News 43

continued from front page
means a commission and fee-for-
service basis,’’ Turner said.
**People in Robson will still be able
to goand buy stamps and mail their
parcels. They will havezll the same
postal services they have now.””
Turner said Robson postmaster
Vera Salekin has been offered
another job with Canada Post but
a 14-hour-a-week part-time
position shared by three people on
a rotating basis will be eliminated
Turner said Salekin is considering
the position but would not com-
ment on what job Canada Post has
offered Salekin or whether the job
__ isinthelocal area
Salekin told the Castlegar News
on Saturday the job is in Montrose.
Turner said the condition of the
building Canada Post leases in

Post Office

Robson is one reason the Crown
corporation. is privatizing the
postal service there.

“In Robson in particular the
current building that we're a tenant
in is not in particularly good con-
dition so this is one of the reasons
we're looking at doing this,’’ she

“said.
a

Turner said establishing postal
services through a retail outlet
benefits both the retailer and the
custo! “The retailer makes
money off the sérvices and the
customer benefits because retailers
are open longer hours making ac-
cess to postal products and services
easier

She would not say how much the
commissions and fees are that

Canada Post pays businesses to
operate a retail postal outle

“That's not informati at
I'm really prepared to divulge,
she said. *‘I think that it’s certainly
a contract arrangement that a lot
of businesses are happy with
because we have this arrangement
with thousands of businesses

Opening

continued from front page

“We're proud of the fact that we
had a local contractor and local
people working on this facility,”
Moore said

And former Area J director,
Martin Vanderpol, now teaching
in Indonesia, was also singled out

. Strations. -

across the country in cities and
rural areas.

“People don’t make a living off
Canada Post but they make money
off us just like they make money
off all their other products,”” Tur-
ner added. ‘‘So we're one of the
products that contributes to their
Bottom litte."”

for his work on the building com-
mittee.

The opening ceremonies were
followed by public tours of the new
facility and demonstrations by the
Canadian Red Cross Society as
well as aqua fit and kayak demon-

wage

VICTORIA (CP) + The
province is appealing a B.C
Supreme Court decision that says
psychiatric patients must-be paid
minimum wage for work they per-
form while institutionalized

Attorney ' General Bud Smith
said the province wants a definition
of employment from the B.C.
Court of Appeal. The decision
could jeopardize training
programs now considered to be
thérapeutic, He said

Bruce Fenton, a patient at the
Forensic Psychiatric Institute was
paid 29 cents an hour for peeling
potatoes until he won his fight to

By CasNews Staff

The designated driver program
seems to be catching on and it may
be responsible for lowering the
number of holiday accidents this
Christmas season, Castlegar RC-
MP Staff Sgt. Doug Hall said
Friday

During the CounterAitack
roadblocks between Dec. 8 and
Jan. 3, police in the area stopped
numerous cars with passengers
who had been drinking but with a
sober designated driver, Hall said.

This was the first Christmas
police have seen designated drivers
in such large numbers, he added.

No fatal accidents occurred over
the holidays locally and there were
fewer accidents overall as well as
fewer charges laid, Hall said.

Four accidents this season

Province appeals

° .
ruling <
receive the $4.75-an-hour
minifnum wage last month

His lawyer, David Mossop, said
the ruling applies to triminally in-
sane. and non-criminal mentally ill
Patients, Sbut does not apply to
regular prisoners.

Non-profit agencies say. they
can’t afford to pay mentally ill
patients the minimum wage.

Trevor Thomas of the Van-
couver-Burnaby branch of the
Canadian Mental Health
Association said it would cost his
organization an éxtra $320,000 a
year. He said a training program
for about 40 people would have to
be scrapped

CounterAttack
helps, RCMP says

resulted in injuries compared to «
last year, the statistics show. Twen-
ty accidents resulted in property
damage, three fewer than the 23
which occurred during the 1988-89
season

During the CounterAttack cam-
paign, the RCMP checked close to
3,000 vehicles at 20 road checks
and charged 10 drivers with driving
while under the influence or with a
blood-alcohol reading over .08

Police handed out 10, 24-hour
licence suspensions and issued $3
warning tickets for various infrac
tions such as not wearing seatbelts
or driving with a taillight missing.

Last season, close to 4,000
vehicles went through -RCMP
roadblocks and 12 impaired
charges were laid. Twelve drivers
had their licences suspended

Police file

The Castlegar area was quiet over
the Christmas holiday with no-distur-
bances until Jan. 2 when police were
called to a Pass Creek residence,
Castiggar RCMPgaid

Peter Alex Konkin of Goose Creek,
near Krestova, was arrested at about 5
p.m. Jan. 2 after he allegedly attem-

Court news

In Castlegar provincial court, John
Alex” Cheveldave pleaded guilty to
driving with a blood alcohol level over
08 and was fined $300 and prohibited
from driving for 12 months.

Brian James Christopher Becker
pleaded guilty to driving while im-
paired and was fined $400 and a $60
victim’s surcharge, or, in default, sen-
fenced to 30 days in jail. As well,
Becker was prohibited from driving
for 12months

. . .

Kevin Walker Fraser pleaded guilty
to being intoxicated in a public place
and was fined $100.

. 28

Kevin Charles MacKinnor-was sen-
tenced to two years in jail and three
years of probabtion on two counts of
breaking andentering

sobe Pacheco Paiva was fined $100
for failing to stop after colliding with
an unattended vehicle

A Castlegar man charged following
an incident at the Crown Point Hotel
in Trail Dec: 4 has agreed to appear in
Rossland provincial court Jan. 17 after
failing to appear Dec. 18, a court
spokesman said

’ *

Roland Smith, 40, has been charged
with assault, causing a disturbance and
resisting arrest

pted to gain entry to a residence while
intoxicated, police said.

Konkin has been reléased on his own
recognizance after appearing in court
Wednesday on charges of breaking
and entering, assault and mischief,
RCMP said. bad

Konkin is slated to appear in
Castlegar provincial court again Jan. 2
toenteraplea

eet .

A Salmo woman receiyed minor in-
Juries Thursday after her 1972 Mer-
cury went over an embankment 10
kilometres east of Castlegar on High-
way 3, RCMP said

Road conditions were likely the
cause of Judy Elaine McQuary’s ac-
cident, police said.

Report

continued from front page

coalition and asking the groups to
commit themselves to the coalition and
Participate in the review process of the
Proposed expansion, Peppard said

Peppard said he has spoken to
Ministry of Enyironment officials who
told him that, at this point, the gover-
nment wants. only the names of the
groups that are interested in par-
ticipating in the review process and a
list of their concerns.

“*It will not be a detailed analysis,””
he said. “There is no time forthat.””

According to the environmental im-
Pact report the more significant impac-
ts of the mill expansion will be a 40-per-
cent reduction in the use of chlorine in
the pulp bleaching process. The use of
chlorine in the pulp bleaching process
Produces dioxins which have been
shown to cause cancer and birth defec-
tsin laboratory animals

The report, prepared by E.V.S
Consultants Ltd. of North Vancouver
and Cirrus Consultants of Vancouver,
is available at public libraries and-town:
halls throughout thé Wesi Kootenay

Boy dies in highway mishap’

KAMLOOPS, B.C. (CP) — A young Vancouver-aréa boy was killed
ina late-night accident Thursday on Highway 97, near Monte Lake in the
southern Interior.

Eight-year-old Matthew Jones died after a lumber truck lost part of
its load, which fell onto an oncoming bus.

His mother, Kimberley Jones, and bus driver Todd Harris, both 31,

__ 0! Richmond were in thie Vernon hospital with minor injuries.

A. fourth occupant, Ken Witson of Kelowna, was treated and
released from hospital. The driver of the truck, BriaseDuffy, 32, of
Coquitlam, was unhurt

RCMP said the highway between Vernon and Kelowna was as slip-
pery as askating rink.

Gorbachev is seeing visitors

MOSCOW (AP) — Radio Mogcow said President Mikhail Gor-
bachev has not cancelled all January meetings with foreigners to deal with
domestic problems, contrary to earlier reports that upset world financial
markets,

The radio teport said Gorbachev still planned to meet with UN
Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar during the week of Jan. 15.

In Tokyo, an official of the governing Liberal Democratic party said
today that former foreign minister Shintaro Abe was invited Friday to
meet with Gorbachev on Jan. 15 to makeup for a postponed December
engagement.

German communists under fire

BONN(€P) & Accusations that East Germany’s ruling Communists

are trying to secure an anfair advantage in their country’s first free elet-
tions aré souring relations with West Germany.

Bonn has warned that its pledge of massive help for East Germany

hinges on free elections, with all parties having the freedom to compete on
equal terms. .

East Germany's says the Ci party is
manipulating its control of key offices and the news media to ensure suc-
cess in the elections, due to be held in May.

Soviets talking to Romania

BUCHAREST (CP) — Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Sheva
dnadze arrived Saturday for a one-day visit to Romania, the first by a
Kremlin leader since a popular revolt overthrew the Communist gover-
nment of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.

Two weeks after the revolution in which Ceausescu was executed,
Shevardnadze met with new Romanian Foreign Minister Sergiu Celac,
amid tight security at Bucharest’s Otopeni airport.

The visit was expected to bring the promise of much needed

help for the i jan people and an improv-
ment in relations lortg strained by Romania's pursuit of policies indepen-
dent of Moscow.

Greed, apathy blamed for spill

JUNEAUY, Alaska (AP) — A state commission-on the Exxon “

Valdez oil spill called Friday for an overhaul’of the U.S. oil-transport
system and blamed the disaster partly on the U.S. Coast Guard’s relation-
ship with the oil industry.

The commission’ s report also blames the country’s worst oil spillona
reckless rush to profits by the oil industry. It criticizes government agen-
cies and the public for not insisting on stringent environmental safeguar-
ds.

The Canadian government also appointed a panel to look into oil
spills and thé response to such disasters.

Noriega's lawyers stand firm

MIAMI (AP) — Lawyers for ousted Panamian military leader
Manual Antonio Noriega say they are not seeking a plea bargain and will
move ahead with plans to bombard a federal court with motions to dismiss
drug-trafficking charges.

Meanwhile, Noriega remains hidden from the
ted to be in a basement room at the federal courtho'
several times with defence lawyers,

**A man whois innocent is not receptive to any plea bargain,” defen-
ce lawyer Steven Kollin said Friday after a two-hour conference with
Noriega. ‘General Noriega is not guilty of these charges and if we can find
ajury of 12 people who will have an open mind . .. General Noriega will be
acquitted.”” .

bliceye. He is repor-
where he has met

Invasion supported, says poll

NEW YORK (CP) = Ninety-two per cent of Pananians support the
American invasion that toppled Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega, a poll
suggests.

About eight in 10 of the 794 Panamains polled want U.S. troops to
remain” as long as necessary.””

The survey was done Tuesday through Thursday by CBS News and
Belden and Russonello, CBS claimed a four-point margin of error, but
acknowledged the poll was confined to cigs and was hampered by cur-
fews and general disorder ¥

White House admits cover up

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. President George Bush stood by State
Secretary James Baker on Friday after Baker earlier admitted-he tried to
cover upatrip to Beijing by two U.S. officials shortly after China’s crack-
down on pro-democracy students.

After the July trip became known last month, Baker acknowledged
he may have misled people in saying that a trip earlier in Decemb& to
China by Brent Scowcroft, the president’s national security assistant, and
deputy state secretary Lawrence Eagleburger was their first mission to
Beijing

Baker said he was trying to protect the president and his policy

Steelworkers back regulations

VANCOUVER (CP) — The United Steelworkers of America is sup-
porting proposed health and safety regulations for the mining industry in
British Columbia.

Ken says the aren't perfect but
they’ reafar cry from what has existedgMi the industry until now.

The union represents about 7,000 mine workers in the province.

Public hearings into the 1 which were by a
committee of government, industry and union representatives begin
Monday in Smithers

presentation:

CasNews photos by Si

twas a packed house Saturday « at the grand opening of the
new Castlegar and District Aquatic Centre. Clockwise from
top: It was standin room-only in the lobby for speeches and
orl Henne presents a wheelchair for use at
the pool on Dehelt of the Shriner's Club; a youngster joins
Castlegar Mayor Audrey Moore on stage during her speech.

Birch ond Burt Campbell

Grand opening

Allie

EAST BERLIN (Reuter) East
German Communist party leader
Gregor Gysi proposed Saturday that
all foreign troops should leave German
soil by 1999 and both East and West
Germany should cut their own armed
forces in half by 1991

Gysi, whose party heads a tran
sitional government in the runup to
free elections in May, said the two
Germanys should take the initiative in
disarming central Europe

But the Soviet Union,
States, Britain-and Franc
‘kept troops on German territory since
they combined to defeat Nazi forces in
1945, should play their part, he said

“The allies are urged to prepare
their troops for complete, planned
withdrawal in stages by 1999, begin
ning with the border. zone,"’ Gysi said
at a meeting of the party's executive
the official ADN news agency repor
ted

Gysi has no government position
But his speech, which
suggestions of a Europe with no armies
at all, turned the spotlight onto the
sensitive issue of allied troop presence
in the'two German states

the United
who have

included

Hans-Heino Kopietz of the London
based International
Strategic Studies said a 10-year pullouy
is possible if democratic reforms take
root in East Europe
PULLOUT POSSIBLE
‘The timetable is realistic,
that the Soviets continue
pullback That kind of timespan is
already “widety under
Washington and elsewhere,”’
Kopietz said he did not consider
Gysi’s second proposal — a $0 per cent
cut in East and West German forces by
T99T — realistic
“The East German army could more

Institute for

granted
their

discussion in

he said

7

quickly disband than the West Ger
mans, because they have a higher
proportion of conscripts, but that
deadline is too close,"’ he said

East Germany’s National People’s
Army has 173,000 soliders while the
West German Bundeswehr has 494,000
servicemen

Both armies rank among the most
disciplined and best-equipped in their
respective alliances.

The Soviet Union has some 380,000
troops in East Germany, while West
German territory affords bases to

246,000 U.S. troops, 67,000 British
and 50,000 French. The three western
allies also keep joint forces of 11,000 ir
West Berlin

The Soviet Union is currently with
drawing some $0,000 troops from cen
tral Europe, including East Germany,
as part of unilateral troop cuts of half a
million soldiers

The allied troop presence
many is closely tied with the continued

n_Ger
division of Europe. Though no longe
referred to as occupation forces, they
still ‘enjoy special rights in the two

German states that grew out of their
occupation zones

“*Without an end to military rivalry
between the two German states, any
talk of the
credible,
calls for German reunification

unity of nation is not

Gysi said in a reference to
Gysi said all military training areas
should be cleared in an 80 kilometre
wide zone along the East-West Ger
man border

A spokesman for the western allies
in West. Berlin said she had no com

ment on Gysi’s proposals

Crackdown feared as tension
on Soviet frontier

mounts

MOSCOW (Reuter)
began tearing down remaining border
installations along a stretch of the
Soviet frontier with Iran on Saturday
but troops patrolling the troubled
Azerbaijan region of Nakhichevan did
not intervene

Local journalists said Nakhichevan,
scene of a week of turmoil with
predominantly Shiite Muslim Azer
baijanis demanding more farmland
and freer access to Iranian Shiites
across the border, remained tense

They said angry crowds rejected a
call by an official delegation Friday for
the replacement of damaged border
posts, barbed-wire and other in
stallations.

Instead, protesters headed for a
stretch of the border Saturday to com
plete the destruction of frontier posts

“There has been no interference
from the militia or other troops,” said
a journalist. with the Nakhichevan

Crowds.

newspaper, Vorota Vostoka, But she
said troops in jeeps and armored per
sonnel carriers were patrolling the area
and the families of border troops were
being evacuated, raising fears of a
crackdown

The reports could not be indepen:
dently confirmed. Azerbaijan, in
cluding the capital Baku, has been
Closed indefinitely to foreign jour
nalists

WANTS MEETING

The radical Popular Front, leading
the protests, has detnanded a meeting
next week with Azerbaijani authorities
to discuss their grievances

The turmoil along the Iranian bor
der, which erupted on Dec. 31,
most volatile incident in a wave of

is the

ethnic unrest and nationalist fervor
gripping the country

In the disputed Azerbaijani territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh, tvial Ar
menians and Azerbaijanis exchanged

gunfiré in nightly shootouts, jour

nalists said. A correspondent at an.
Armenian newspaper said a rehewed
rail blockade of the territory's capital
Stepanakert had sealed off the region

Increasing separatist. sentment in
the once-independent Baltic republics
rivalry between Armenia and Azer
baijan, and unrest in other areas have
forced Moscow to turn its attention
more and more towards domestic
issues

On Wednesday, Soviet President

Mikhail Gorbachev is to leave for a

“fact-finding trip to the Baltic republic

of Lithuania. where the local Com
munist party cut its formal ties on the
federal Communist party

The mové by the Lithuanian party

which supporters say is the only way
to be competitive in coming elections
in the Baltic republic — has been at
tacked bythe Kremlin as athreat tothe
entire Soviet ty