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SATURDAY | ~

February 2, 1901
Vol. 44, No, 10
Castlegar, B.C.

3 Sections (A, B & C)

aif bn,

75 Cents

College to focus
on environment

WEATHER

Tonight: Cloudy with showers. Lows
near 1°. Sunday: Cloudy with o chance
of snow. Highs near 5°, Outlook
Continuing moist and mild, Probability
of precipitation: 80 per cent tonight, 60

1+ AS per cent Sunday.

Earnings
take a dive
+++ A6

Castles...

RS re

a.

we 'S

Win secures first place

---B1

| Reaction to plan sp

By DONNA ZUBER
Staff Writer

The West Kootenay would clearly benefit from
Premier Bill Vander Zalm’s proposed $1.4 billion
reforestation plan but Rossland-Trail NDP MLA Chris
D'Arcy says he doubts the premier is talking about ad-
ditional funds.

“There's no evidence at all,’’ D’Arcy said. be | know
that the Council of Forest ies has i d they

“It's an increase in

so it's
that’s. needed," he said. ‘I think it’s a reasonable
plan."’

Castlegar Mayor Audrey Moore said she hopes the
area benefits from the proposed plan.

**1 would certainly hope this area would receive a
good share of that money so we can get on to doing the
backlog of planting in this area,’’ Moore said.

do not think it’s an increase, rather he's restating
existing financing already in place. In fact, we're not
even certain if it meets the existing schedule of funds."

However, Rossland-Trail Social Credit party can-
didate Walter Siemens said the plan, which the premier
announced in a televised speech Tuesday, contains new
funds.

king forests would ate more jobs for foresters,

tree planters and silviculturists, she said.

Ed Conroy, the NDP’s candidate in Rossland-Trail,
said much depends on how the plan is administered.

But, ‘‘It’s good news any time money is put into
forestry in this province,"’ he said.

Details on the plan are expected to be announced
next week by Forests Minister Claude Richmond.

The i proposal was part of a 12-point’
program the premier announced Tuesday. The plan is
designed to protect the B.C. economy, he said. Other
programs include a freeze on takes,developing new sour-
ces of energy and referendums on major issues.

D'Arcy said the points “don't add up."”

“*When he’s tall about all this extra spending —
social spending, capital. spending and the pension spen-
ding for three areas — it doesn’t square with a tax freeze
in a time of recession,’’ he said. “I’m not saying | want
to see increased taxes, but you can’t have it both ways.

“That's the difficulty with the whole speech,’’ he
added. ‘‘There’s no hard information. There’s promises,
but they’re promises we've already heard."’

The premier talked about developing new sources of
energy, including cogeneration — electricity powered by

lits along party lines

steam produced by burning wood shavings and sawdust,
as opposed to coal or gas.

Conroy said generating power with wood waste is
essential to British Columbia and strongly opposes gas
power plants. As well, if Ceigar Pulp Co.’s moder-
nization and expansion project is completed, the mill
will not have as much use for wood waste from Westar
Timber's Southern Wood Products sawmill
Cogeneration would make productive use of the waste,
Conroy said

D'Arcy said he's ‘‘delighted"’ that cogeneration is
being “recognized as an option in B.C., particularly
where there is wood waste.’

However, the government needs to determine how it
would affect pollution, he said

please see REACTION page A3

HERE'S THE PLAN...

school.

Costvews photo by Donne Zuber

Student teacher Frank Klassen talks to o group of Primary 4 students at Twin Rivers elementary school. Klassen is one of
30 student teachers in the West Kootenay Teacher Education Program who practiced teaching a gym class Thursday at the

Municipal, rural directors clash
over cost sharing of services

By SIMON BIRCH
Editor

Municipal and rural directors
clashed at last Saturday's Regional
District of Central Kootenay board

they weren't

vices

consulted about
recommendation
municipalities shouldn't
share the cost of
they don’t

the
said
have to
development ser-

use, such as

“There's nothing to document any
of this stuff,’’ Herchmer said.

“The town (of Creston) will pay
their share but we want more infor-
mation than we’re getting,’’ he ad-

and

meeting over a r
which calls for and
rural areas to share equally the cost
of development services in the
district

If passed, the City of Castlegar’s
share of the costs for 1991 will be
$23,797.

The directors agreed to hold a
special meeting this month to try to
resolve. their differences.

Municipal directors argued that

costs,””

As well,
provided
doesn’t
costs.

“We have no problem with paying
our share. . . of legiti

al land reserve ded later.
Hans Cunningham,

Area G (rural

director for
Salmo), agreed
overhead

said director Bill Herchmer
of Creston. ‘‘What we object | to and
think is that there's no in-
put into any of these things.”
he said

to’ municipal
contain a breakdown of

should have been
consulted.

“We really haven't given

icipal di that chance,”” he

“IT certainly think we should

some municipal input into

‘ said.
have
this.

Ald. Doreen Smecher of Castlegar,
the city’s representative on the

information
directors

Pro-choice, pro-life
happy bill defeated

By DONNA ZUBER
Staff Writer

The federal government's attempt
to satisfy both sides of the abortion
debate failed because compromise
doesn’t work, a West Kootenay pro-
choice activist said

Rita Moir, a member of the
Nelson and District Pro-Choice women’s issues.

choices,”’ she said. ‘The majority of
Canadians did not
women and doctors made criminals
again. It reaffirms a woman's right
to control her own body."”

She said women’s groups can now
concentrate on birth-control issues,
such as education,

for different reasons. ,

Peter. Nachbaur, vice-president of
Nelson Right to Life, said ‘it looked
like a law that was made to be
broken."’

However, Nachbaur said he hasn't
given up on getting a law passed to
protect the unborn, adding that it's
easier to get a law introduced than to

want to see

and other

Group, said the bill was igh 1
defeated because having of perfor:
ming an abortion should not be @
criminal offence.

*°This is @ real triumph for women
and many Canadians who believe in
women’s reproductive rights and

a defeat.

to put
into the Criminal Code was defeated
‘Thursday by the Senate with a 43-43
tie. A tie in the Senate is

Pro-life groups arg also pleased
that the bill was defeated, although

back change an existing law.

He said bis group will also con-
tinue with eaycetion, with a view’ to
of what

abortion is.
“Most

regional district board, said the rural
directors have shifted the bulk of the
district’s planning activities into
development services.

“*1 don’t see anything in develop-
ment services that wasn’t in plan
ning,”’ she said.

Municipalities were able to opt out
of the regional district's planning
function but won't be allowed to opt:
out of development services

Figures provided at the board
meeting show Castlegar paid $25,750
to participate in regional district
planning in 1990 and $7,732 for
development services for a total cost
of $33,482.

The city’s share of development
services in 1991 is $23,797, a decrease
of $9,685 from 1990's combined
total for planning and development
services.

While that appears to be a saving,
had the cost of participating in
development services remained at last
year’s level and Castlegar opted out
of planning in 1991 as it intended to

. the city would have saved some
$16,000.

Rural directors also passed a
second recommendation limiting par
ticipation in the district's
planning function in 1991 to the Il
electoral areas.

John Voykin, director for Area I
(rural Castlegar) and chairman of the
rural directors’ caucus, said rural
directors decided to exclude
municipalities from regional district
pny because of the uncertainty

Oppose aboriion when they
fearo the truth,” id.

pege As

Developer
revives plans
for $7M mall

By SIMON BIRCH
Editor

A Vancouver developer has
revived plans for a $7 million shop-
ping mall next to the Sandman Inn
but said the project won't proceed
until the federal government ap-
proves Celgar Pulp. Co.’s plans to
expand and modernize its Castlegar
mill.

Sandy Reid said Thursday the
plans now call for a 60,000 square
foot enclosed mall with 20 to 24
stores, including a supermarket,
small department store, fast food
restaurant, movie theatres and ,gas
bar.

If the project proceeds, working
drawings will be completed within 60
days with construction slated to start
in early spring and completion of the
development by October, Reid said.

“The names of the principal
tenants will be released within the
next 10 days and the mix of mer-
chants in the complex will be a com
bination” of new companies to
Castlegar, together with an im
provement to some of the existing
merchants in the community at the
present_time,"’ Reid said in_a_news
release

David Daniel of Castlegar Realty
Ltd. has been handling the assembly
of land for the project, called Twin
Rivers ma

Reid told Me Castlegat News later

Thursday he has mitments for
nearly all of the stores and will be in

Castlegar on
finalize leases.

The project will employ ‘‘between
100 and 200 people during and after
construction,’’ Reid said in the news
release

Reid planned to proceed with the
project last year but held off because
of ‘‘misgivings about the Castlegar
economy.”

He said those misgivings have now
been satisfied

Reid commended Castlegar city
council for what he calls its “‘pro-
gressive role.in Castlegar affairs."*

He said he feels the proposed mall

Tuesday to try to

Editorial, page A4

is a ‘‘suitable complement to the
existing businesses in Castlegar.”’

“With this development and the
Celgar improvement to its plant,
which will improve the ecology of
this area, many jobs will be provided
for the Community,"” Reid said

He said he feels Castlegar is en-
tering “‘into a new area of importan-
ce in the affairs of the Kootenay
tegion’’ and will become ‘‘the most
vital community in this area, thus at-
tracting more business jobs to this
area.”

The Celgar Expansion Review
Panel submitted its final recommen-
dations to the federal government
this week. The provincial gover
fiment granted approval in principle
tothe -Celgar project in December
based upon an interim report from
the panel

By SIMON BIRCH
Editor

The Castlegar News offers a
belated “‘welcome aboard’’ this
week to the paper's newest
columnist, Catherine Shapcott of
Winlaw

Shapcott, who moved to the
Slocan Valley from Toronto last
fall, will write about life in the
valley twice a month.

Her columns will appear on the
editorial page of the Castlegar
News

Shapcott is an experienced
writer whose careet in journalism
covers 17, years as a reporter,
editor and critic. She began her
career in 1973 on the rewrite desk
at the Vancouver Sun, then
worked four years as a com-
munity newspaper reporter and
columnist in Oakville, Ont.

She freelanced for a year in
1979 for the Globe and Mail
before joining the Calgary Alber-
tan as a lifestyle/entertainment

please see COLUMNIST page AS

CasNews welcomes
new columnist .
from Slocan Valley