Page 2A The Castlegar Sun Wednesday, February 26, 1992 PACE.IN = Disappointment Continued from 1A reinstating the ferry.” The minister said that if there were no bridge in the future plans of the ministry, the rein- stallment of the ferry would be ‘What would you rather be doing? Listening to the = Crime Continued from 1A get hit with five thefts tonight most senous incident hap- pened on February 16 when the Maple Leaf store in Crescent Valley was robbed at gunpoint The.store’s awner, Sandor Lackovic, said two people entered and robbed his staff. One of them was carrying a 22 cali- bre rifle. “It was scary,” he said they’re crazy enough to come in with a gun they're crazy enough to shoot.” Five people, including four youths, have been arrested in the case. Denis Raposo was the lone adult charged. Raposo is from Castlegar as were the four young offenders. The five were arrested after a joint investigation by Castlegar and Nelson police . The alleged robbers will make their first court appear- ance for the charge on March 23 in Nelson Provincial Court Police offered counselling ser- vices to the staff at the store, which had never been robbed in its two year existence Lackovic said he’s installing y CaMeras to dissuade anyone with similar criminal intentions. “I feel very relieved they caught [the robbers],” Lackovic said. “It would have been a lot harder for my staff and customers if they didn’t catch them.” see Even closer to home, A 24- year old man has been charged with theft under $1,000 after allegedly stealing coins out of a donation box. The suspect was arrested at Blue Top Burger just before closing time on February 19. Police are seeking a man and his son for witnesses. They are reported to have seen the man at the restaurant. Celgar wood chip transportation study SUBMITTED A transportation study to examine barge, rail and road alternatives for supplying wood chips t0 the Ceigar Pulp Mill was announced today by Corky Evans and Ed Conroy, Members of the Legislative for the region. Transportation Minister Art Charbonneau. who is in Castlegar today to meet with local residents on transportation issues, said he looks forward to receiving the findings of the study. Last Thursday, in the early dawn, thieves broke into a Trail drugstore, stealing a large quanti ty of drugs—among them mor phine. Trail RCMP report there are no suspects. Also last Thursday, three break-and-enter incidents occured in Fruitvale. RCMP report culprits_entered Alex the Tire Man through a broken win- dow and rummaged through the premises. Nothing was stolen The same night, Karl Monk Sash and Door was entered and searched although nothing was stolen ae The final incident occurred at Guys and Gals Hair Salon where thieves kicked in the rear door, Tummaged through the office and desk area, and left with a small amount of cash. There has been no estimate on the damage they caused and so far there are no Suspects. Corporal Burt, from the Fruit- vale detachment, said he thinks the incidents were committed by local youths searching until they found money. Burt said three break-ins are quite eventful for an area like Fruitvale, but that they don't con- stitute a crime wave. “You can't predict criminals,” said Corporal Burt. “They could be local or they could be some- body doing a circuit through the area.” He said the best thing people can do to protect themselves is report suspicious vehicles and People “The quicker you get the crim- inals the less crime they're going to commit,” Brown said. “I don’t know how people can prevent crime but there's nothing wrong in this day and age with being suspicious.” “I am sure it will greatly assist us with our deliberations.” Char- bonneau said A request for proposals has been issued, and a consultant will be selected within the next few weeks to undertake the study,” aid Conroy (NDP - Rossland Trail) whose riding Castlegar The transportation alternative study will be overseen by the Kooktenay Regional Transporta ton Task Force The study was recommended mecludes very ly “In as much as we have a bridge coming, and it's just a case of—when can we deliver it—then it does not make sense to spend the very, very signifi- cant amounts of money to rein- state it for a very short period of time,”’ Charbonneau said. “When Mike Harcourt stood down here in 1988 and said, if we're elected we'll put the ferry back in—there was no bridge on the horizon.” The price tag on bringing back Robson's ferry service is more than $500,000, while operation costs would run around $250,000 per year. According to Charbonneau, the current estimate for the tlegar-Robson Bridge is, “Between $23 and $24 million— our Current estimate in current dollars.” “In terms of the Projects around the province that need to be done, this project has a rela- tively high priority.” Rossland/Trail MLA Ed Con- roy expressed his feelings on the issue the following morning, when he told the Castlegar Sun he does not feel good about Charbonneau's decision. @ Jobs “I worked hard for the restora- tion of the ferry,” Conroy said. “And I was hoping for announce- ment of the bridge.” Conroy said he hopes the pro- oe Robson ete "cat rt feelings of both anger and disappointment towards Art Charbonne: inister of Transportation and Highways. ject will go ahead in the near future but in the meantime he will be presenting Charbonneau with some alternatives. “I think that when times get SUN STAFF PHOTO / Brendan Halper tough like they are now, with regards to no bridge and no ferry, that we have to get a little inno- vation going.” oe Continued from 1A view Lodge.” When Mountainview Lodge, the new long-term care facility of the Castlegar and District Hospi- tal was opened in June of 1991, the $6.65 million project's 60 rooms (35 intermediate and 25 extended care), were fully funded and soon full, although it also has a waiting list of 48 people Between Mountainview Lodge and Castleview Care centre, there are currently 94 people waiting lo receive a bed. So why doesn't the munistry of health allow tund- ing? “We have to keep a balance between supply and demand, said McNeil. “The fact that there 1s a waiting list is not necessarily a bad thing.” According to McNeil, before the beds in Castleview Care cen- tre can be funded, an assessment must be made regarding the need not only locally, but throughout the region and province as well Allowing beds to be funded in one area might create problems in another centre in the region, such as the inability to fill funded = Freeze beds. The wait-list for entrance into a care home is considered, but it only represents the tip of the ice- berg. “We don't consider the wait- list to be unreasonable compared to other areas around the Province,” McNeil said. Dianne Ramage, administrator for Castleview Care centre believes the extensive wait-list should be given more considera- tion by the government than it has so far She. along with Andrews, has made applications to Duncan Dodds, Continuing Care Admin- istrttor at the Central Kootenay Health Unit and Ron Cameron of Mental Health, requesting that funding be made available for the beds. Earlier, Castleview Care centre made a proposal to Dodds and Cameron to receive funding in order to open a “special needs 21-bed wing”. This need for a special care wing, recognized by the government, would enable elderly people with Alzheimers and other afflictions of old age to be properly cared for. “Castleview Care centre already had the ability to house the special wing. The wing was built, and the furnishings and beds were all there, just waiting to be used. We were hoping to receive & positive answer to our request,” continued Ramage Incredibly, the government's decision, which was announced early in January, favoured spend- ing $1.3 million of additional taxpayer's money to build the and set the beds up in Trail “We have absolutely no idea why this decision was made,” Ramage said In addition to the $1.3 million to build the facility, the govern- ment will likely spend an average $55 per bed per day in the new facility once it is completed—a Price standard across the province for new centres. Gov- ernment funding at the Castle- view Care centre is less expensive according to Ramage, Costing $42.60 per bed per day. When questioned about the government's decision to build a $1.3. million addition to Columbia View Lodge in Trail when a completed facility was available in Castlegar, McNeil said the decision, which was made well over a year ago, favoured an area which was in need of the beds most “The Ministry does not favour profit over non-profit facilities. The need was in Trail, so they received the beds With the availability of fund ing almost non-existent, Andrews. says Castleview Care centre is incurming a “substantial” deficit “As we go further and further down the road, the costs are draining the corporation. We need the staff to cover the floor space and we have to heat and maintain the building as if it were full instead of half-full.” Andrews, who reiterates the fact that Chantelle Management Ltd was encouraged to build the extra beds, says cutback will begin in two months if funding is not made available so the addi tional 25 beds can be used. “The cutbacks will be exten sive and they will not be gradu- al,” he finished Continued from 1A The money from the machines covered only basic expenses for the committee, whose members all work on a volunteer basis. “That money is made in the community and spent in the com- munity,” he said. According to Jackman, if the freeze lasts any longer than 30 days, the committee might have to put a hold on all plans for Sunfest 1992 Although funds have been frozen, community organizations such as Sunfest and the Selkirk Lions must still pay out seven per Audiophile JIM ZEEBEN Sun staff It’s still three months away, but interest is already building in the first ever car stereo sound-off to be held in Castlegar. Known as Pete's Power Punch, after its sponsor Pete's T.V., the sound-off will be an event during by the Celgar Expansion Review Panel in its final report submitted to federal and provincial minis ters last year. The panel recom mended that the $700 million modernization and expansion be approved and attached a number of recommendations to that approval. including the comple tion of a transportation alterna tives study along highways 23 and 6. “There has been significant Public concern over the social and environmental effects of cent to sellers of the machines. “Each machine is a $10,000 investment just sitting there,” he said. Sunfest committee members have contacted Rossland/Trail MLA Ed Conroy and have asked him to make a presentation to Boone on their behalf. Conroy told the Castlegar Sun that he will be sending a letter to the Minister, requesting that the Program not be taken away. “It’s important to a community like ours,” he said. “I'll be requesting that it be reinstated as soon as posible—it’s a major con- “That money is made in the community and spent in the community.’ — DERM JACKMAN Festival Society president cem of ours.” Conroy also said the purpose of the freeze is simply to review the process and ensure the program isn’t being abused DERM JACKMAN S prepare for Pete's Power Punch the city's Sunfest celebration The date has been confirmed for June 27 at the Community Complex field. “The response has been phe- nomenal,” said organizer Jason Davis, saying that there has been a lot of interest in the event since it was first announced earlier in the year. “We've had lots of phone calls announced increasing truck traffic through small communities along high- ways 6 and 23,” said Evans (NDP - Nelson-Creston). This study demonstrates the govern ment’s commitment to review wood chip transportation alter native associated with the Cel gar Expansion.” Evans also announced that the consultant will hold public meet ings in the West Kootenays in order to obtain additional feed back from communities in the area. from people asking for advice on what judges will be looking for.” The sound-off will be a profes- sional competition authorized by the International Auto Sound Challenge Association [IASCA] Judges and prizes have been confirmed, along with several state-of-the-art demonstration vehicles. Davis said at least 200 people have approached him for infor- mation even though there has been no official publicity. The competition will be limit- ed to 60 entries in three cate- gories: amateur, novice and pro There will be 25.entries in the Novice Culegory, 25 divided between amateur and pro, and 10 cars com- peting for Sound Performance Level—or loudness. Organizers think the event will help create a fes- Uval atmosphere during Sunfest but they don’t think the noise levels will actually aggravate anybody. The competition will start at 9 a.m. on a Saturday moming and wind up at 6 p.m. that night “If anybody does have any ques- ons or concems they can contact * Davis said. There will be three judges and one head judge for the event Two officials will be from Phoenix Gold out of Vancouver. Another judge will be Carl Motz from Pioneer in Vancouver. “He's bringing the Pioneer demo van,” Davis said. The van, dubbed the “ice wagon,” is the same one which will represent Pioneer Canada in an international com petition held in the US The head judge will be the IASCA rep for this area, Michael Lazer The selected site, next to the rec centre. was chosen from a list that included the Selkirk College park ing lot and the old Kalamalka track There will be no admission fee for people who want to look at the car stereos. Also. the annual Sun fest vintage car show will be located next door to the sound-off Wednesday, February 26, 1992 The Castlegar Sun BRENDAN HALPER Sun staff Helping pe Castlegar’s Multicultural Soci- ety received great response for their Canadian Citizenship Course last Thursday night at Woodland Park Elementary School. Volunteer society members, along with volunteers from the community helped 34 People fill out the necessary application forms, two of which were adopt- ed babies from Romania. There were children and adul from Laos, Scottland, Australi England, Italy, India, Portu and the United States. The majority of those to become Canadian ci “The first time we did this was in 1985,” said Society Member Alexia Turner. “And we had 86 people that became Canadian Cit- 1zens—we were just swamped, we were at the school until mid- night helping people fill out the forms.” It had been three years since the last workshop and Turner Says phone calls from inquiring immigrants since September, Prompted the society to sponsor last Thursday's course. Labour Market Coordinating Com SHARLENEIMHOFF Sun Editor ishing Castlegar Multicultural Society member Neville Win Saen Ya Vong family with their Canadian citizenshi zenship course on February “If we feel there's a need in the community—we go ahead with it,” she said. “People really appreciate it because they can do everything in one evening here,” Turner said. “If they were doing it on their own they would have to go into the courthouse for forms, then go to a photographer, then to a ople become Canadians ‘SUN STAFF PHOTO / Brendan Halper ters (wearing glasses), helps the Pp papers during the society's citi- 20 at Woodland Park Elementary School. notary public.” The process would be fol- lowed by a hearing with a judge, and the swearing in ceremony would take place in either Ross- land or Nelson. With the society however, applications take about six months to be processed through the Canadian Government, then a travelling judge, who comes to Castlegar two or three times a year, will have hearings and orga- nize swearing-in ceremonies for the same day. —everything can be done right in Castlegar. “We've gotten really good Support from local service clubs and School District No. 9,” she finished. mittee to study future prosperity West K P for the Coordinating C ves A handful of residents throughout the. Kootenays are on their way to ensure i d The idea for a Labour Market Coordinating Committee was born after a study was commissioned by the K lop competitiveness, productivity and Prosperity for the area by estab- lishing a network-type Strategy , man. Region’s Education/Workforce Task Force in the fall of 1989. Respondents to the survey critical skill sh Proje for the up gz year by the federal government According to Kim Bergh, man- ager of the Canada Employment Centre in Nelson, the government has projected $20 billion for upcoming UI expenditures. Out of this, a mere $1.8 billion will go directly towards job retraining and efforts, while among educators, busi agement and labour. To ensure the broadest possible Participation, discussion and rep- resentation, two steering commit- tees have been formed; one in the East Kootenay and another in the West Kootenay. Both committees will use the resource services of federal and provincial govern- ment representatives when meet- ing “These regional committees will designate members to attend the Kootenay Region Labour Market Coordinating Commit- tee,” said Reg Conway, chairper- son of one such meeting held at Selkirk College Wednesday evening, geared to choose the Teachers JIM ZEEBEN _ Sun staff Shop teachers from around the West Kootenay had a glimpse of the future last Monday in the room at The teachers took part in a workshop, put on by two repre- sentatives of Merlan Scientific and difficulties recruiting skilled workers, despite high unemploy- blick mploy only a further $1.8 billion will be set aside for Canadian Job Strate- ment levels. By ga Labour Market Coordinating Committee, where rep s from labour, business, industry, educational institutions and the federal and provincial levels of government could meet regularly, there would be an opportunity for mtensive consultation among the Region's employers, employees and students to discuss current skills and training needs as well as future opportunities. Another reason for the birth of the Labour Market Coordinating Committee is the anticipated Unemployment Insurance expen- gy Prog “Canada has one of the most Passive unemployment schemes in the world,” Bergh said The Coordinating Committee, which is still far from being formed, will attempt to utilize the existing government funding towards increased training retraining ahd job development throughout the Kootenays “The Kootenays have been slower to recover from the reces- sion and its employment rate is high. If we want this area to become competitive and produc- tive in the future, we have to sta planning now. In fact, we're already falling behind,” Conway said. Volunteers have been meeting on a regular basis, alternating between Castlegar and Creston. The process at hand will be a lengthy and tedious one at best, but something that Conway and other Participants say more organiza- tons should become involved in. “T really think Community Futures should have been here tonight,” he said, citing one example Those who did participate in the meeting will be targeting per- sons from business, labour, indus. try and community groups to Participate in upcoming meet- ings—the next of which will take place in Creston May 6 “Anyone who believes that training and competitive needs in the Kootenays must be addressed should attend and participate This is something everyone will benefit from in the long-term,” Conway finished get a glimpse of the future ment of technology,” McCurdy said. “We're teaching them the concept of designing and manu- facturing with the sort of technol- ogy our industries need to adopt in order to compete.” The Merlan reps also demon- strated how to integrate the equip- ment into the course curriculum. It's supposed to help students sur- vive by teaching them how to be i learne: Ltd., which d rated how computers can aid in the Process a cr. Another main goal of the pro- gram has been to attract a differ- ent kind of student than those who have traditionally taken shop courses. Women in particular have often been kept out of this male dominated area. “A lot of females nowadays think shop areas are strictly for the guys,” Lust said. “This tech- nology has taken out the manual labour and instead has put the design component on the stu- dent's shoulders.” Lust said there will still be the traditional shops where students learn hands on labour. But there will be a new emphasis on prob- lem solving. “We want to attract students from the whole academic spec- trum,” he said. “The new tech- nology goes through all the Processes of manufacturing and reaches all aspects of the curricu- lum.” of and ing. “The whole thing fits into the Year 2000 program,” said SHSS shop teacher Don Lust. “We want to expose kids to the high tech world we're already in.” Through the use of a Comput- er Aided Design program the shop teachers could manipulate a mill to engrave patterns into a solid material. This technology allows the quick manufacture of complex molds and forms that would have taken much longer to create man- ually. SHSS owns some equip- ment sold by Merlan Scientific, purchased during the recent upgrade of the school ; With the technology, an image of a desired design can be created and manipulated almost instantly on the computer screen. This information is converted into numeric coordinates which can Bachelorette Valentine’s Day got a head start at SHSS in the Dating Game held February 12. Through “transla tors”, contestants answered questions put forward by their potential date, and were chosen at the end of the ing session. Nino DaCosta chose lucky Dooley. Miss Congeniality: Laurel Closkey; Mr. Congeniality: Greg Akselson. Most Likely to End up in Jail: Kris Chernenkoff. Most Likely to Get Divorced 5 Times: Michelle Boivert Most Likely to Go Bald: Adam Pruss Most Likely to: #2, Chelsea Van Viet, while there was no doub ‘par. ticipated, and The S.H.S.S. Scoop by Sonoko Kambara Win an Oscar: Christina Rowsell Most. Vicious Driver: Rory Perrier Next Bo Jackson: Kurt Roberts Next Einstein: Eric Ruljancich Next Prime Min- ister of Canada: Kambara Next Principle of SHSS: Mark Janzen Next Wayne to the audi- ence, some of whom: then be bya cutting mill. It's very high tech, but became a little less cryptic when explained by one of the Merlan reps. “From the outside it looks very intimidating,” Lust said. “But it’s not as intimidating to get into as you'd think.” Merlan's Stephen McCurdy, who travelled out from Ontario. believes that 90 per cent of the jobs that will be available in the year 2006 haven't even been invented yet “We develop programs to assist teachers with the develop- apparently had better answers to the question (as I heard after it was over). The evening of the 14th as very successfu: DaCosta ley Blessin pr Minister, with Repeal ong were and a nice job Andraya Hughes, Social Affairs Mini the help of Melanie Samaro- din who was in charge while Andraya was at the Grad Banquet. The Grad Committee presented awards to grads whose names came up the most time in special Chernoff. + Lowest Monotone. Voice: Curt Ross. Likely to be Married with’5 kids: Vanessa Of the voting Nicest Butt (boy): Mario Fehrenberg; (girl); Shel- Nicest Smile: Angi¢é Maida Also, some crowning took place at the dance as a fantasti result from the votes taken by the student body a week before the dance. The Grade 9 and 10 boys voted for a Princess while the Junior girls voted for Prince. Similarly, senior boys/girls voted for Queen/King. The honours went to: Princess — Jamie Faynor; Prince — John Rae Queen — Sonoko Kambara; King — Ryan Jolly They took home yummy chocolates and some Gretzky: Nino ha) crowns. (ha, 4 Although the results were not in when this article was written, the Senior Boys Basketball Team played in the Provincials Qualifying Tournament Voice: ‘last weekend. The girls have ‘already made it to the Provincials to which they will be attending in March. OUTLOOK: Temperature: Max/Date 11.3/22 Precipitation: Rain 20.2 Number of Hours WEATHER The forecast for Wednesday; Morning cloud giving way to afternoon sunny breaks. Highs near 12. Thursday calls for continuing sunshine with highs between 10 to 12. The extended outlook calls for increasing cloud by Friday with showers expected through the weekend. Temperatures will remain mild. A LOOK BACK AT THE PAST WEEK: Min/Date -3.4/23 Snow REMARKS: Another mild, wet week. Rain and/or snow was recorded on all seven days. Considerable snow fell over the mountains which is greatly appreciated by the ski resorts. The snowfalls and occasional winds were not appreciated by the Ministry of Highways as Kootenay Pass was closed for a time due to the avalanche hazard. East Interior Weather Office at Castlegar, B.C. ARROW LAKE er Feb. 22 - 1413.8 ft. «| Forecast provided ‘by The South - Mean 2.3 Total 30.0 Normal Number of Hours Banquet a wild success Steve Davis is a happy man. As president of the Castlegar and District Wildlife Association, he is more than pleased to announce that this year’s Wildlife Associa- tion banquet was a huge suc- cess—netting more than $4,600 “It was undoubtedly the best wildlife banquet we have had to date,” said Davis. “Now we spend the money.” The money which was raised through the banquet. auction of wildlife prints and the dance. will go directly towards securing land for wildlife—approximately 120 acres worth The land purchased for wildlife will be secure and remain undeveloped. “Basically whatever happens to that landbase will happen for the good of wildlife,” he said. Davis made special note of the number of non-hunters who attended the wildlife banquet. “You didn't have to be a hunter or a fishing person to attend the banquet, just have an appreciation for wildlife and its habitat.” Well over 300 people attended the banquet, including hunting enthusiasts from Saskatchewan and Eastern Canada. Watch for photographs from the Wildlife Banquet in the Sun's next edition. West Kootenay Big Game Trophy Association to hold its banquet SUBMITTED In 1940, when the old Trail Rod and Gun Club was formed, it became a group of concerned con- servationists who had one common goal in mind. This goal was to actively co-operate in the protection of our BC forests, soils, waters and natural habitat of fish and wildlife. The club grew to the largest wildlife club in the surrounding area with a membership of 678, with 112 of the membership being juniors. It was in 1956 when the idea of forming a local fish and big game trophy competition was first offi- cially voiced by Frank Uhrynovich. In May of 1957 a committee was formed by a group of enthusi- ast who wanted to hold a competi- tion to recognize some of the trophy fish and big game animals that were being harvested in our great province. Through the years the WKBG- TA grew to be recognized as the largest trophy club in the West Kootenays. Some of the projects which WKBGTA have been involved with and donated money to include: * The Heritage Fund which is used to purchase land from the gov- emment and other owners to secure wintering range land for big game animals, + The Grand Forks sheep trans- Plant and fencing project + Feeding the sheep on the ion The gun range, used by close to 400 members of our sister club, the TWA as well as numerous other weenenee eee eemmwececeeed Heading into our 35th year as an ° infuencial we wish to grow and as a result, Must generate new interest and public awareness. This year we " have adopted a new junior awards category. This will enable a person 15 and under to enter the Whitetail and mule deer category with their are very prestigious and consist of ‘ hand painted replicas (1/10 scale) of each category of big cage ani- mal. These works of art are pro- duced by Louis Paul Jonas Brothers of New York. This year our 35th annual ban- quet is scheduled for Saturday, March 7. Doors open at 4:30 p.m, Supper at 6 p.m. Tickets are avail- able at various outlets in Fruitvale, Trail, Salmo, Rossland, Grand Forks, Creston, Nakusp, Slocan and Nelson, or any executive member. Phone 368-5619 or write to Box 327, Trail,BC VIR 4L6. Please plan to attend. A new face in The Sun The Castlegar Sun is pleased to welcome Niki Menard to our staff on a temporary basis Niki, who is a grade 12 stu dent at Stanley Humphries High School, has expressed an interest in pursuing a career in Journalism. This interest has brought her to us, where she hopes to gain a better under- standing into the goings-on at a Inewspaper. Welcome Niki !