Saturday, December 5, 1992 @ @ Saturday, December 5, 1992 3a TheFARSIDE By Gary Larson Ho, Ho, Ho — time for pull out the pens for Letters to Santa @ Deadline for letters is Wednesday, Dec. 15 NEWS STAFF Ho, Ho, holy smokes boys and girls, it’s that time of year again. Time to put pen to paper and give Good OI’ Saint Nick an idea of just what Castlegar and area children will be seek- ing from our jolly, red-cheeked friend this Christmas season. The News has teamed with Santa Claus for yet another year. A long-time reader of The News, Santa has asked us to St. Nick joins with The News ocal kids to Santa is Wednesday, Dec. 15 — 10 days before the joyous celebration itself. All letters should be ad- dressed to, Letters to Santa c/o The News PO Drawer 3007 Castlegar V1N 3H4 An even easier solution would be to have your Moms or Dads drop off your Letters to Santa at The News, located at 197 Columbia Ave. We are open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. We also SuperValu settles help him discover just what area children would like under their trees this Dec. 25. With that in mind, The News is pleased to announce the return of its annual Letters to Santa special. All Letters to Santa will be published in the Dec. 18 edition of The News and forwarded to the jolly man himself. Deadline for Letters to have a convenient mail slot where Letters to Santa can be dropped off at any time. Ten lucky letter writers will receive two tickets each for an upcoming show at the Cas- tle Theatre. Come on kids, Santa and The News are waiting for your replies. Ho, Ho, Ho... Corinne Jackson NEWS REPORTER A deal has been struck. SuperValu employees have a new contract after the Team- sters’ Union members voted in favor of the company’s latest of- fer Wednesday. Sixteen of 24 workers took part in what was a unanimous vote. The contract offers a three per cent wage increase this year and a two per cent hike the following year. It also provides mem- bers with higher pension benefits and a signing bonus, Richard Howes said Thursday. “I’m just happy that we're able to get it settled,” the Super- ‘alu manager said. Howes said the signing bonus was offered in lieu of retroac- tive pay to July 1, 1991, when the last contract ran out. “It was too complicated to pay retroactive so we agreed to a signing bonus. This way (employees) are further ahead with the signing bonus,” he said. “I’m just glad that it was dealt with quickly.” According to Keith Kennedy, “most of the people were basi- cally happy with the settlement.” The union’s business representative called the turnout “fair,” and said “the results indicate the atmosphere with regard to the vote.” The new deal is effective from Dec. 6, 1991 until July 1994. The City of Castlegar Public Works Department will be relocating to their new facility on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 1992 The new location is at 4450 Minto Road (Industrial Park) Telephone 365-5979 (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) After hours emergencies only: 365-3341 HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA FULLERTON, DEC. 5 With love, Rob, Mary Ann, to HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY BRITTANY SCOTT From Dad, Mom, Jenny, Lisa and Nicole Brandon & Ashley THIS WEEK'S WINNER IS INDICATED BY THE DAIRY QUEEN LOGO. Phone in your birthday wish or drop by the Castlegar News office. We will print it free of charge. All birthday greetings must be in by 10:00 a.m. Thursday for our Saturday paper. Our phone number is 365-7266. Pick Up Your Royal Treat At The Castlegar Dairy Sundae, Soft Drink, Fries & Single Burger ...... Christmas Coke Glass Included Give a Gift in Good Taste $1 and $5 Gift Certificates PHONE OR TAKE-OUT ORDERS OUR SPECIALTY 4 CASTLEAIRD PLAZA CASTLEGAR 365-5522 oy AR brazier. = = © 7 — = S B CALL THE NEWS @General Inquiries 365-7266 OUR HOURS The News is located at 197 Columbia Ave. Our office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on weekends and statutory holidays. SUB RATES The News is published by Castle News Ltd. for Canwest Publishers Ltd. Mail subscription rate to The News is $37.50 per year. The price on newsstands is 75¢ for each edition The price delivered by newspaper carrier for both editions is only 90¢ a week (collected monthly). GST extra. Second class mail registration number 0019. Corky Evans won’t pick favorites i Nelson-Creston MLA say he won’t choose sides in educational debate Corinne Jackson NEWS REPORTER Corky Evans says he’s not picking sides. The Nelson-Creston MLA said Wednesday’s petition to the B.C. Legislature on behalf of Nelson University Centre doesn’t mean he nec- essarily supports the school’s accreditation bid. “I presented a petition from my constituents and I would even ifI didn’t agree with my con- stituents,” he said Thursday. Evans said he acted in a neutral role and was only doing his job. “(Tabling a petition) should not be construed as the personal opinion of the MLA,” he said. Evans said he does not understand Mickey Kinakin’s concerns that presenting the petition Corky Evans shows a favorable bias to- ward NUC. “If the West Kootenay Teachers’ Education Program has a petition to their gov- ernment I'll carry it,” Evans said. The WKTEP President, Kinakin has been arguing against NUC accreditation, saying it would be a waste of precious government funds. However, Evans said NUC’s petition was asking for support, not money. If WKTEP wants Evans to present a petition to the legislature, he said it “must be a revenue neutral petition like NUC’s. “My guess is Mickey Kinakin knows all this — being a student of government,” he said. Evans also spoke to concerns that the report by the newly appointed commissioner on post- secondary education in the Kootenays will be biased. Commissioner Dr. Margaret Fulton is past- president of NUC affiliate Mount St. Vincent University in Halifax, N.S. “I have spoken with her at length and I think she’s a person with a very open mind about education and the college system. “She understands this is not a commission just concerned with the aspirations of Nelson,” he said. “If Margaret Fulton recommends that (NUC) be granted a charter, I'll do what I can to help them achieve that. “If Margaret Fulton recommends expansion for Kootenay School of the Arts, or Selkirk Col- lege I'll support that too.” TOPSY TURVY News photo by Neil Rachynski Road conditions in the Castlegar area continue to wreak havoc — as the driver of this car realized Thursday. Tow truck operator Bob Fichten wrestled with the task of removing the vehicle from Selkirk College Road. seniors’ Survey complete @ Maund getting down to business, tabulating result of wide-spread housing survey Corinne Jackson NEWS REPORTER Elma Maund has her work cut out for her. Now that the senior’s housing survey is completed, the project manager will begin entering the information into a data bank. Maund said she has received 780 completed forms back — a 28 per cent return. “We have had some excellent ideas and we want to look at those,” Maund said. According to Maund, the next two weeks will be spent going through the forms, developing questions to take to the advisory board and the seniors committee and tabulating the information. Conroy letter expresses ‘regret’ @ Rossland-Trail MLA says school buses the safest mode of transport for students Scott David Harrison EDITOR Ed Conroy is an apologetic man. In a letter tabled at the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary’s Saturday meeting, the Rossland-Trail MLA states that he “regrets” comments he made to The News. Angry that the RDKB and the Trail school board okayed a plan that will see school bus service for some 300 students replaced by public transit, Conroy vented his frustration in a Nov. 21 interview. He told the RDKB board “to get off their fat asses” and come up with a better plan to address declining usership. “Let me begin by offering my sincere apology for the tone of my comments regarding the members of the regional district which appeared in the Castlegar News, Nov. 18, 1992,” the letter to RDKB chair Doug Swanson reads. “It is difficult enough being a public figure without being subjected to personal attacks of that nature. “On this occasion, my deep frustration over the issue and the impact that it may have on many of the families I represent got the better of me and I regret that,” the letter continues. Conroy acknowledged that the RDKB and the Trail school board are within their rights to replace school bus service with district transition, but he expressed concern over safety issues. “In rural areas... I believe proper school buses are still the safest and most effective way to transport groups of children to school,” he states. Conroy reiterated his belief that better alternatives to the district’s ridership decline can be found. In the Nov. 18 interview, Conroy said the RDKB should schedule its routes around Cominco shifts, offering workers direct service to Rossland, Fruitvale and even Castlegar. Conroy closes the letter by offering the RDKB any assistance it needs in providing an alternative to the plan. The plan is expected to save the Trail school board $48,000 a year. “We have had extensive com- ments. “Obviously people have some idea about the services they'd like to be provided with,” she said. Responding to comments that money may have been better spent on housing instead of a survey, Maund said “the cost of the survey would not have built one unit.” Maund said too many surveys have been conducted by bureau- crats and this survey answered the needs of the community. “We needed some seniors’ — the end-users’ — opinions on what their needs were and what they wanted to see and would be able to afford,” she said. “We can see there is a housing shortage — period. But we need- ed this. “We’re excited about the re- turns.”