WEDNESDAY, September 20, 19 A6

is every Lid, at 465

Columbia Ave. Castlegar, 8.C. VIN 1G8. The Castlegar Sun is polit

cally independent and a member of the Sterling News Service, Cana-

dian © N B.C. ¢c f

Newspapers Assocation, and the B.C. Press Council. Established
28, 1990. Mail Regi 10420.

Serving the.16,000 people of the Castlegar area, The Castlegar Sun
by

PUBLISHER MARILYN STRONG
ZEISMAN CHRISTINE MOYER
aa PRODUCTION MANAGER
KAREN KERKHOFF

REPORTER/PHOTOGRAPHER

JEFF GABERT
SPORTS

MARGE LALONDE
ATION

CARI DOLGOPOL
CLASSIFIED ADS
Direct Department

General Office
Circulation
Classified Ads
Display Advertising
Newsroom woe poorenee
Facsimile

editorial Caenial
No justification for
trashing of local
recycling effort

‘The Great Paper Chase has come to an abrupt end with no win-
ners in sight.

‘The sudden removal of office paper recycling bins and the dis-
continuation of free pick-up service by the Trail Ecocentre has
left those of us who are committed to recycling office paper both
stunned and angry.

We put our hearts into faithfully depositing our office paper
into the bins provided by Ecocentre. Every time we did so we felt
good about ourselves. We were doing our part for the environ-
ment. We proudly let others know that we recycled. We even
encouraged others to recycle with us

Ecocentre owner Mickey Pazurik told The Castlegar Sun that

tem: LOCAL TRANSIT ADYscy COMMITTEE SUGGESTS
TO INCREASE RIDESAIP 1A) CASTLEGAR ooo

Kinnaird propaganda leaves foul taste

h, the Kinnaird Park
A™ fields: They may
yet be the death of me.

No, I didn’t get smashed in the
head with a pop fly — I rarely
play baseball, and never at Kin-
naird. And I haven't been lugging
dirt and sod all over the fields, as
the construction of the new sports
facility continues — so I don’t
have a bad back, a sprained
thumb or a broken leg.

And yet these fields may soon
be the death of me. Why? How
could such a seemingly simple
concept — grass, mounds of dirt,
backstop, dugout — be causing
me such grief as I write this?

The answer lies in the verbal
tongue-lashing Ive been receiving
over the last three weeks from a
whole host of volunteers who
have been working to make their
dream a reality at Kinnaird Park.

Never did I dream thaG to

his decision to discontinue the service was due to —_
he claims that he’s losing mega money and can no longer provi
the service

We believe him. No one, especially a business owner, likes to
see money fly out the window

But Pazurik should have considered the potential risks when he
chose to strike out on his own and offer the free service in the first
place. Obviously_hebelieved he would make money on the office
paper recycling venture. And we believe that initially he did — that
is, until the bottom fell out of wood fibre prices. But that doesn’t
release Pazurik from the obligation he owes to all 55 of the Castle-
gar businesses that have been diligently recycling their paper.

It seems that when we were no longer useful to him he
dropped us faster than Julia Roberts dropped Kiefer Sutherland.
No ‘it’s been fun’, ‘see you later’, “can we work something out?’
— nothing. We deserve better than that.

Pazurik says he’s losing some $750 a week by continuing to
provide the free service. But he never even asked local businesses
if they would be willing to pay a fee for continuation of the ser-
vice. Most business owners who called The Castlegar Sun said
they would have been willing to pay for the service.

Instead, Pazurik now wants the Regional District of Central
Kootenay (RDCK) to subsidize his business. He blames the
region for refusing to do so, and in a letter which he has dropped
at each p ip he urges to apply pres-
sure to the RDCK to subsidize his private-sector venture.

But why should we do his dirty work? More to the point, why
should we, after being treated with such total disregard, help out a
private business which turns its back on its customers when
things get rough? Does he really believe that we have a feeling of
good will toward him? And does he truly believe that we will still
trust him to provide an uninterrupted service, even if his opera-
tion were to be subsidized?

The outstanding question is this: Why should the RDCK subsi-
dize a private enterprise? The region has already granted its own
recycling contract to Castlegar’s Ace Disposals.

The RDCK says there are two recycling depots in Castlegar,
and that those who are truly committed to recycling will transport
their office paper to those sites

Get real! How many people do you know who are willing to
do that, especially after a hard day at work? That's the last thing
we want to do when our homes beckon us so invitingly.

It's obvious that the office paper recycling part of the contract
with Ace Disposals isn't working, or 55 businesses wouldn't have
joined The Great Paper Chase. The RDCK needs to examine this
situation closely and work out a plan which will make the recycling
of office paper more convenient to those of us who wish to do so.

The sad reality is that although most of us say we want to recy-
cle, we only do so if and when it is convenient. This will likely
always be the case. If there had been a proper recycling plan in the
first place, we never would have had to join The Great Paper Chase.

Now, thanks to Pazurik’s actions, 20,000 pounds of Castlegar's
office paper could theoretically end up in the landfill. The ulti-
mate cost to taxpayers and their children and grandchildren will
be far greater than a simple matter of dollars. KK

ERRORS:

The advertiser agrees that the publisher shall not be liable for
damages arising out of errors-in any advertisement beyond the
amount paid tor the space actually occupied by that portion of the
advertisement in which the error occurred, whether such error is due
to the negligence of its servants or otherwise... and there shail be no
liability tor non-insertion of any advertisement beyond the Amount
paid for such advertisement. All advertising subject to publisher's
approval. Contracts must be completed within one year trom contract
date. No contingent orders accepted

parap the saying, “If they
build it, they will come for
blood.” Or at least some good
press from The Castlegar Sun
But that is indeed what has been
happening, to my surprise and
yes, occasional annoyance over
these past weeks.

As such, I thought I might
share some of my thoughts on this
subject with you, the reader. After
all, I have received many requests
(and some demands) that this
newspaper better publicize the
tremendous amount of work that
has been going on at Kinnaird
Park as of late. So perhaps this
will help to set the record straight.

I must first point out that there
have been many dedicated volun-
teers working out at Kinnaird
Park these past weeks, nearly 75.
Together they have put thousands

a BC 21 grant in the amount of
$40,000. The rest, of course, is
being raised by the community
itself — or more specifically, the
Castlegar baseball community.
This is indeed an impressive
accomplishment on their part,
something not easily forgotten.

Of course, even if I were to for-
get what I've just described, I can
be sure my memory would be
jogged very quickly by the numer-
ous Kinnaird
volunteers who
take it upon
themselves to
remind me of
their efforts at
every possible
turn.

They tele-
phone. They ,
come into the
office armed
with facts, figures and volunteer
lists, like a well-oiled machine. In
fact, I'm beginning to think they
have a volunteer shift at the ball
field especially set up to descend
upon The Sun, whenever the fecl-
ing arises amongst the group that
this paper is not’ being positive
enough in its coverage of com-
munity news — specifically, the
construction of the Kinnaird Park
baseball fields.

In a way, I suppose they have
a point. The Sun has not printed
any positive stories lately (or any
stories, period) about what is
going on at south Castlegar’s
biggest and most prominent
recreation area.

“How could you have missed
it?” the callers ask me. “Why don't
you come down here right now for
a guided tour?” they demand, in
tones that have come to sound
more th ing than inviting.

of hours of effort into building a
second baseball field on the park
grounds, as well as renovating
the main field. In addition, more

“Why do you only print negative
stories in your newspaper?” (A
int about editors

than 20 local businesses have

donated equipment, materials,
and even po’

to the development of the Kin-

naird ball fields.

As a result, a project that has
been budgeted at $146,500 is being
carried out with only one signifi-
cant source of government funding,

at just about any paper.)

So why don’t we just swallow
our pride, and agree to print sto-
ries about the Kinnaird develop-
ment? Why not just get it over
and done with? How about a
nice, big, fluffy promotional
piece, aimed at washing away the
public’s memory of what a bitter

fight it was to get the develop-
ment approved in the first place?
Are we at this newspaper not
insulting the fine volunteer
efforts of the Kinnaird Park
workers, by not printing a full list
of their names and donations,
whether in products or labour?
No, I don’t think so. Volun-
teering is exactly that — volun-
teering one’s time and energy,
without any thought of communi-
ty recognition
or public
glory. Do
those fine citi-
zens who par-
ticipated in

TAKE IT

OR

LEAVE IT last Sunday's
Terry Fox Run

DEREK for Cancer
ZEISMAN come to this
newspaper,
demanding

kudos for their efforts? No.

What about those residents who
volunteer their time and money for
the United Way fundraising drive
each and every year? No

Not to mention the local
Rotary Club and the Castlegar-
Selkirk Lions Club, both of
which have worked miracles in
this city over the years doing
good deeds for people locally and
world over — usually with next
to no public recognition

Is this a good thing? Of course
not. I personally wish I could
print glowing stories in this pub-
lication about every humanitarian
effort that ever took place within
Castlegar city limits. After all,
I'm the editor, right? I should be
able to print stories about any-
thing I darn well please!

But the reality of it is, I can’t.
To give a shower of public recog-
nition to the Kinnaird ball field
construction volunteers, as

ip e as their i
ments are, would be, in my hum-
ble opinion, patently unfair to all
those other unsung heroes out
there who do good deeds for oth-
ers, with no public thanks whatso-
ever — often because even we at
The Sun never hear out them.

Over these ‘last weeks, I have
come to realize better than ever
that there are volunteers out there

who are exactly that — volun-
teers. They do not come knock-
ing. at my door looking for
positive spin-doctor news pieces.
They do not telephone me here at
my desk and proceed to insult,
swear and yell at me simply
because I am trying to put togeth-
er this newspaper with limited
time, staff and resources, and do
not have an hour to spare for a
guided tour of a baseball field.
They do not show up here accus-
ing me of deliberately avoiding
their worthy cause, preferring to
substitute it in the news pages
with the “death of the week.”

Might I also mention that such
volunteers do not seek to place
their accomplishments in the pub-
lic spotlight, especially when most
of the volunteering is being done
for their own benefit — as in the
case of Kinnaird. I am bound to
face slings and arrows for that
statement, but let’s face it — we
are not talking here about feeding
the hungry or running a marathon
for world cancer research.

Instead, we are talking about a
dedicated group of baseball play-
ers and coaches who love the
game so much that they play it
more than current facilities will
allow — with the result being the
need for new local ball fields.

That's just fine, the way I see
it. I commend these baseball
players for their persistence in the

Wednesday, September 20, 1995

Liberal
nomination

anything
but over

Dear Editor:

Recently, several advertise-
ments, articles and letters have
circulated suggesting that Mr
Gentil Mateus has now been
nominated as the B.C. Liberal
Party candidate in the Rossland-
Trail ‘constituency. This is not

In fact, Mr. Mateus is one of
three candidates vying for the
nomination in our constituency.
He is joined by Mr. Jim Green
{sic] of Rossland and Ms. Rene
[sic] Read of Castlegar in seek-
ing the B.C. Liberal nomination
to represent our association in
the upcoming general election.

No one i has d

i | T./8 =

Dear Editor:

What do you do if you don"t
have a car?

Many people living in the
Castlegar district including

Bus service well
worth the cost

Castlegar’s unique linear
layout provides transit planners
with some unique scheduling
challenges. This past year,

hedule i enabled

teens, college students, seniors
and others on fixed incomes —
not to mention non-drivers in
general — all depend on
Castlegar’s public transit sys-
tern to meet their daily needs.
For those people, transit

P
the transit system to better
serve its commuters. And
some minor adjustments and an
additional afternoon run to
Selkirk College, the service this
year should be even better,

To encourage even more

plays a vital role im p ng

the added mobility that
people take for granted.
Whether it involves a doctor's

opportunities or just to
buy the family peo-
ple without their own mode of
transportation need the Castle-
gar Transit system. At a cost of
approximately one dollar per
person per month to Castlegar
and district residents,

bl

it seems a

the official endorsement of the
provincial party or of Gordon
Campbell, leader of the B.C
Liberal Party. Any rumour to the
contrary is false.

The Rossland-Trail Liberal
Constituency Association will be
holding its formal nomination
meeting this November. I would
invite all local Liberal members
and interested individuals to dis-
cuss the important issues facing
both “our region and our
province.

Then they can then make their
own decision as to which candi-
date could best represent this
constituency.

Bruce LeRose

President, Rossland-Trail
B.C. Liberal Constituency
Association

Letters Policy

Letters to the Editor are wel-
come on any topic of local or
general interest. Letters should
be double-spaced, typewritten,
or legibly handwritten, 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 tele-
phone number, although names
may be witheld from publication
for valid reason by the approval
of the editor, Send leurs to: The
Castlegar Sun, 465 Columbia
Ave., Castlegar, B.C., VIN 1G8,
or drop them off at the office.
Poetry will not be published,

face of significant y
opposition. But these fields are
not being built for the average
Joe out there. (I should know, I'm
one of them.) With the exception
of a few volunteers, the fields are
being built by baseball players,
for baseball players.

Which is great. But I can’t help
but wonder how many people
would just as soon have preferred
the status quo at Kinnaird Park.

The Castlegar Sun is a com-
munity newspaper, not a special-
interest publication, something
the news staff here tries to keep
in mind at all times. Glowing
news stories about sod-rolling
baseball players are really in no
one’s interest but their own.

That's what advertising and
letters to the editor are for.

Speaker’s Corner

Castlegar student Tamara Terry is pounding the pavement in search of
answers to questions that correspond with news stories that have appeared
in The Castlegar Sun. If you see Tamara, it could be your opportunity to
appear in Speaker's Corner, which is published each week.

Question:

Is there enough green
space and parkland
in Castlegar?

No, there are not enough
parks for everybody
The children need more
parkspace for their
recreational needs.

— Ron Coultish

playground and picnick-
ing environment. There
should be a decent park
in every district.

There are not enough
parks for the whole com-
munity to enjoy. Enough
baseball parks. I would
like to see more greenery.

— Karee Stuart

— Mary Eaton

yays use More
green space. It is impor-
tant to keep urbanization
and green space at a social
and economic balance
— Fraser Stewart

We need a scenic and
fecreational park that can
bring everyone together.
It's a great way of bringing
tourism to the x

— Karen VanDam

cost for such an
“ i
The Abiliti

Cc area to ny
out the-tity’s new and improved

Advisory Committee hosted a
Transportation Action Foram at
the Sandman Inn back in April
of 1994. At that time,
participants agreed that an
‘Advi

concerms
to the attention of the City of

Castlegar and the i pees Dis-
trict of Central Kootenay
(RDCK). Both parties were
approached and the Castlegar &
District Transit Advisory Com-
mittee was formed.

are that many of the
people who give transit a
chance will find that it p ch

z*

Reader to council:
Save our transit!

Dear Editor:

An open letter to Castlegar
city council:

I amy writing at this point in
time due to the ongoing discus-
sion about the possibility of shut-
ting down our current bus
system. I believe that this would
be a grave mistake for the City of
Castlegar, not only from a per-
sonal perspective, but also from a
monetary point of view. The bus
system is an essential part of any
vibrant, growing community. The
elderly, students and poor all ben-
efit from the service it provides.

Castlegar is growing at a very
rapid rate, to shut the bus system
down prematurely could end up
costing far more in the long run.
There would be expenses
incurred dismantling the current
system. Then the added expense
of setting it up again at a future
date when demand for its ser-
vices has grown with the
inevitable population increase.

Along with our growth in pop-
ulation comes growth in air pol-

a convenient alternative trans-
portation method. “Uptown,
downtown and all around the
town, come ride with us! Try
Transit!” s

Look for your free coupon
coming to your household
soon, and help make the bus

work for us. s
Kris Stanbra.
Coordinator

Castlegar & District
Transit Advisory Committee

Seamless Gutters
5" Fascia Gutter
4” or 5" Heavy Gauge
Painted Aluminim
r 5-Year Leakproof
atl Map Guarantee

365-3240 man

1S YEARS

Stop the

Dear Editor:

Please allow me to express a
few observations about the ugli-
ness of violence in the news sto-
ries we are seeing in the present
“computer age”

I think we should be more
concerned and alarmed about
where we are going, and the
crimes being committed by so
many of us who cannot distin-
guish between right and wrong.

This beautiful morning I was
sickened and saddened when I
heard the news that a 10-year-old
girl was carried out of her bed,
raped, then murdered by a 21-
year-old young man — a man
who was later arrested, only to
attempt suicide as a way to escape
punishment. This has all caused

violence

irreparable damage and heartache
to the girl’s loved ones, not to
mention society as a whole

This moming. I am grieving
for the news report that this youth
hanged himself in a prisoners’
facility. Such’ futility and waste.
The fault is collectively ours and
Tam ashamed.

Dear readers, now is the hour
to stop this carnage and misery. I
would urge citizens to join in an
effort to put an end to this insane
destruction of good people. Let
us pause a moment and take
stock of our obligations to our
fellow man. Let’s make this
world a caring place.

Love one another!

Pat Romaine
Castlegar

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Best SELECTION OF CELLULAR Propucts IN THE KooTenays!
Grand Opening Specials Coming Sept. 28 thru 30

1402 Columbia Avenue, Castlegar
Ph: 604-365-Cell (365-2355) ¢ Fax: 365-3798

Are You a Parent
of a Child In
Castlegar School
District #9 ?

Does Your Child Receive
a Paraprofessional
(Teacher’s Assistant)?

Are you concerned about
or feeling the effects of
job rearranging and T.A.
bumping?

If So, Please Call
352-7047
352-7803

lution and traffic congestion
Maintaining a bus system goes
hand in hand with the efforts our
community is already putting
forth to be environmentally con-
scious. Such as our existing litter
pick-ups, recycling center and
our downtown beautification.
With increased population and
our minimum, downtown parking
facilities, the bus will quickly
become a far more appealing
option to that of fighting traffic.
Bus service is also a reason-
able option for our seniors. It
helps keep them independent,
viable members of our society,
able to come and go as they
please. They can take cate of
bills, doctors appointments and
getting groceries without the
need to rely on others. Otherwise
they are forced to pay the high
cost of taxi service from their
monthly pension benefits. I per-
sonally know of one lady whose

husband died recently, that would
be hard pressed if the bus system
was dismantled.

Students also woald find it
very inconvenient without a bus
service in the area. Personally, I
set up my whole college schedule
around being able to catch the
bus to and from Selkirk every
day. If the bus service is no
longer available, I will find it
necessary to bike to school some
7 miles, no matter what the
weather. This would be extreme-
ly inconvenient as well as a great
time waster. Although it takes a
bit longer to travel by bus, the
time is well spent in studies and
reading necessary materials. This
of course, is not possible when
riding a bike.

The poor also rely on the bus
system. Maybe not so much in
the summer when they can walk

See TRANSIT AS

>
DEGREE ECC

Seven I

P

COLUMBIA BASIN TRUST

Community Workshops

In preparation for the 1995 Columbia-Kootenay Symposium, to be held in
Golden, from October 20 to 22, the board of directors of the Columbia Basin
Trust will be hosting a series of community workshops in the basin. The
workshops will provide a forum for dialogue among the people of the Columbia
Basin and representative directors of the Trust.

The community workshops will provide interested basin residents with detailed

information on:

© the recently proclaimed Columbia Basin Trust Act; and

© the subsequent binding agreement between the Province and the Trust.

As well, the Trust's directors will be seeking community input and direction on:
© the process for development of the Trust's Basin Long-Term Plan;

© the agenda for the upcoming Symposium and items for discussion; and

© setting short-term goals and guidelines for the board.

The input received from the community at these workshops will then be carried

forward to the Symposium.

f

You are welcome to attend any of the workshops scheduled for late September in
communities throughout the basin. The workshops will be held starting at 7:00 pm in:

Valemount
Invermere
Cranbrook
Kaslo
Creston
Trail
Revelstoke
Nelson

If you have any questions; please contact:

The Columbia Basin Trust

c/o 601 Vernon Street
Nelson, BC, VIL 4&9

The Columbi
@ partnership activity of
and the G

tel: 604-352-6665

. 18 Multi-purpose Room, Jaffray School

. 18 Nakusp Recreation Complex

19 Arena Lounge, Golden Recreation Centre
mh Valemount Community Hall

. 20 Invermere Inn
122 Inn of the South
2s Langham Cultural Centre

. 26 Lister Room, Creston Recreation Centre

. 27 Muriel Griffith Rm., Trail Community Centre
27 Revelstoke Community Centre

. 28 Banquet Room, Lord Nelson Hotel

fax: 604-352-9300

the Columbia Basin Trust
of British Columbi