The Castlegar Sun (ali] Trail Home Hardware Building Centre (aki) WOOD PELLET FUEL TRUCKLO: O \e ” . (SS Friendly Fuels Inc \ Y “Yesterday + Waste - Today's Energy” Wednesday, September 6, 1995 @ Radar Continued from A7 penalize the light speeder. If they are used this way then the plan will not work, because the public will not accept it Your editorial makes reference to this being a “tax grab”. Mr. Weisgerber in his infinite wisdom sees this program as another way to “fleece the residents of B.C. of their hard earned dollars”. Speed related crashes claim 200 lives and injure 7,800 peo- ple every year in this province. Over half of those people are innocent cyclists, pedestrians or passengers, The monetary costs to ICBC alone exceed 400 mil- ee Silk Screening 365-2210 sie erance Gare ‘pont Col. NA ‘Complete Body & Paint Facilities Auto Glass Replacement Towing 2316 - 6th Ave,, Castlegar 365-5114 Located Playmor Junction * Come in & visit ust! lion dollars. Everyone who buys vehicle insurance feels the brunt of these costs. Without question, the monies generated from these cameras will easily allow the plan to be self sustaining. Imag- ine, a government program that will not only save lives, but is fully self-sustaining as well. But WHO is actually paying this money? If you are travelling at speeds SIGNIFICANTLY over the post- ed speed limit in areas clearly identified as HIGH ACCIDENT ZONES and you pass through this area where there is a sign warning you of camera opera- tions, you will be in the picture. If you are in the picture, you are likely one of the drivers that we need to have slow down! Cameras don't discriminate and can take a picture a second If you wish to dispute the ticket you can still do so, and if you are not the driver you will be allowed to bring forward the actual driver who will take the charge instead. Yes, this actually means that we'll have to be care ful when we lend our vehicles Do many of us lend our vehicles anymore? If we do, do we lend them to the kind of people who wouldn't come forward? If YOU do, then I-bet you only do it once. Nice of your friend to drive your vehicle like this! This isn’t Ontario and this isn't Alberta. Our injury producing crash rate in B.C. is a whopping 45 per cent higher than Alberta and 22 per cent higher than the You're ing a crime that until now you have likely escaped from. A crime that is killing us in more ways than one. If you are like the vast majority of drivers in this province how- ever who get about one charge in five years, and who are paying either or il ge. In the Koote- nays, about 55 per cent of our injury crashes and 70 per cent of our fatal crashes are speed relat ed. The figures for B.C. are not significantly different. Lets stop once and for all con- cerning ourselves with what kind for the activities of the high end speeder, you should be encourag- ing this plan wholeheartedly. So, it is only those clearly commit- ting a costly crime that will be “fleeced”. It would be nice to have the funds to hire enough police to effectively enforce even one law, but that isn't going to happen. Also, while a police member is busy writing up one perpetrator, another dozen or more are driv- Complete Body & Paint Facilities Auto Glass of s these will generate. The revenues are only coming from those who very much deserve to make the contri- bution and as these people slow down, so will the revenues. Let us instead celebrate a plan that will see 60 lives saved and 9,000 crashes prevented each year. Let us look forward to saving upwards of 100 million dollars per year in ICBC claims and 200 million per year in societal costs, This plan is recognized and endorsed by BCAA, ICBC, police, and a host of other con- cerned groups and individuals who recognize that the whole package of government traffic safety initiatives is well Towing 2316 - 6th Ave., Castlegar 365-511 d and will be extremely effective. Geoff Koganow Regional Manager ICBC Public Affairs and Road Safety Kootenay Region THE SPINNING WHEEL One of Castlegar’s newest restaurants is The Spinning Wheel. Located beside the Doukhobor Museum, across from the airport, this vegetarian, non- smoking restaurant is open for lunch and dinner. Specializing in Russian cuisine, all the meals are Prepared from scratch using fresh ingredients. From chopping cabbage and carrots for borscht to baking homemade bread and pies, all the food is lovingly prepared under the direction of head cook, Olga Hoodicoff. Owners Alvie Ostrikoff and Sara Legebokoff have spent a lot of time ensuring the menu items tantalize tastebuds and satisfy their customers. Famous for their borscht and Russian cuisine, thespinning Wheel’s fresh juices, veggie burgers, bunwiches, pita delights, pasta, salads, international appetizers and a kids menu are all proving very popular. Whether you're dining in or out or looking for a different place to entertain out-of-town guests, be sure to try the food and service at The Spinning Wheel. And if you don’t have room for dessert, take home one Chinese food fresh from our wok... Lunch Smorg * Tues., - Priday 12 pm - 1:30 pm Saturday & Sunday Smorg ¢ 5-8 pm ENJOY OUR LICENSED OUTDOOR PATIO. TO 6 PM Monday to Saturday & 8 pm on Friday Open Sat., Sun., Mon., Holidays » 4.9 pm Tues - Friday * 11 am -9 pm a 982 Columbia Ave, Castiogar, B.C. Garden 366-7414 Gam CASTLEROCK CAFE 330 Columbia Ave., Downtown Castlegar | 365-2619 of their special homemade cream or berry pies fora midnite snack. Head cook at The Spinning Wheel Olga Hoodikoff stirs the filling for one of her famous pies. Youre Inutted... The Lion's Head Dining Room TRY OUR HOT & SPICY CAJUN Hi ’ KIDS MENU AVAILABLE Featuring fine dining in a relaxed atmosphere SOMETHING SPECIAL! Ken can cook right in front of you at your table for your most Open 5 pm Tues.-Sat. ¢ Sun. at 4 pm * Closed Mon. Across the new bridge tn beautiful Robson 365-0181 joyable dinner. With reservations only WESTERN CUISINE Steak * Seafood Specializing in Chinese Cuisine (Hi Arrow Hotel) 651-18th St., BC. Castlegar, 365-5020 CHINESE & Festival for the Singing Forest Midnight « Seywood Farms + Queen's Bay Mustc by:+ Members of “Neck of the Wood Marimba Band” * Diane Taylor « Buckshee with Duncan Johnson + Peter Theissen * More TBA j Dance Performances by: ¢ Extra Sauce * Kagami (Butoh Dance) ws Workshops for Children & Adults T.BA J *': Tickets: Adults $10, 12-16 yrs. $5, Under 12 yrs. Free pie , Eco Centre Bayside Books in Kasio and Gate. Info. 354-4019 Co ee ee Artisans for the Singing Forest Multi-Media Art Auction ° 5 SAT., SEPT. 9 ¢ 2 p.m. - Available at Eddy Music, Earthbom, Va 29 m. COME TO THE 1995 ROSSLAND FALL FAIR Crafts from around the Kootenays Live Entertainment with Dennis Gunn and Clahan Dance Exhibitions, Art Show and Sale. Information Booths, Agricultural and Home Craft Competitions. Door Prizes ROSSLAND ARENA Sat., Sept. 9th - 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sun., Sept. 10th - 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Member B.C. Assoc. of Fairs & Exhibitions) f Rese eseeee resent Castlegar Aquanauts BinGo License No. 798380 Saturday, Sept. 9 Castlegar Arena Complex 365-s666 With Bull's Eye Barbecue Sauce 2305 Columbia Ave., Castlegar, B.C. OR 1 medium BBQ Chicken Pizza’ & 1 medium, 2-topping-Pizza for the same price. - Russian & Vegetarian Food THE SPINNING WHEE], * All you can eat borscht, all day Vegetarian Batery * Homemade bread ¢ Fresh juices ¢ International cuisine © Open for lunch & dinner | Reservations appreciated ° 365-7202 Located across from the airport, beside the Doukhobor Museum $1000 JACKPOT Prizes subject to attendance $500 Bonanza * $500 Odd/Eve, 4 Early Birds $200 ea. ven Regular Games Pay $100 arty Bird 6 pm, Regular Bi . mem Doors open at 4pm "™ . DOUBLE UPS Good Neighbour Prize Door Prins woe SPORTS Sports Dept. Jeff Gabert 365-5579 The Castlegar Sun WEDNESDAY, September 1995 A9 If you _ build it ... SIDELINES Home sweet home! The Lewiston Truckers have won the Grand Forks International four time and the Orlando Juice foud out why — they know how to raise dust and score runs when it counts SUN SPORTS PHOTO / Jeff Gabert GFI's 20th birthday a hot ticket JEFF GABERT Sun Sports The Grand Forks International baseball tournament completed its 20th year last week- end and the script has remained the same all along - “If you build it, they will come.” Larry Seminoff is not an Iowa corn farmer but he is the architect of one of the boldest baseball moves in Canada. It all began back in 1974 when he approached a local Grand Forks business about starting a big -baseball- tourna ment. Nothing major, just a few teams com- peting for $1,200 in prize money. In 1975 six teams took the field in the first GFI and the ball just kept rolling. What kept it rolling was a combination of things from the quality of baseball to the overwhelming inter- est and participation by the large crew of vol- unteers. But for Seminoff, it all came down to a deep feeling fostered in childhood. “It’s the love of the game,” said Seminoff. “Ever since I could pick up a bat and throw a ball I knew I loved baseball. It just happened. As a kid I found myself tuning in to games wherever I could - on the radio or television.” As time wore on, the tournament started gaining a reputation for a high quality of base- ball and an even higher quality of organiza- tion. Better and better teams came to the event and future Major League stars like John Olerud (1987, 1988) of the Blue Jays and Larry Walker (1985) of the Colorado Rockies Zaitsoff loses JEFF GABERT Sun Sports, The roar of the motors at the Northport International Raceway in Northport, Wash- ington has always had a Castlegar tune to them and that has certainly been the case again this year. The biggest race of the season was held last weekend with the overall points championship up for grabs. All racers were given double points and Castlegar driver Gord Zaitsoff was holding second place going in. Things looked good for Zaitsoff early on as he blew by Blueberry driver Niki Hyson in the last lap of the eight-lap heat race to take first place. Hyson finished second and both were qualified for the Main Event as was another Blueberry driver, Doug Weir. All three drivers came off the start line well, but it was Zaitsoff who took the early lead in the 30-lap final. He was way out in front with four laps remaining and began lap- ping other cars when suddenly the engine died. It turned out to be a severed negative battery cable and Zaitsoff managed to coast the remaining laps ending up in fifth Hyson suffered a flat tire near the end of the race and finished just behind Zaitsoff in fifth while Weir found himself knocked out of the race after a four car pile-up. Zaitsoff needed to finish first or second in the Main to have a shot at the overall title but the fifth place finish had him settling for third. The result marks his best ever season but it is still frustrating coming up just four laps short of the title “We did work on the car all week,” said Zaitsoff pointing out the revitalized rear end “The car was running just perfect and no one found their way to the annual tournament In 1987, Seminoff and some dedicated vol- unteers spearheaded the construction of James Donaldson Park complete with lights and an improved grandstand. That was also the year the tournament truly became international as a team from Japan made the trip a Pacific to play. The new park and 12-team for mat saw over 3,000 fans in the stands for the Opening game and by the time the event was over total attendance was up 160 per cent Prize-money hit $30,000 in 199@°with $12,000 going to the winner. This year’s first place prize was $12,500 with the top seven teams are all assured of going home with money The 13 teams participating in this year’s tournament were Portland Taylor Electric, Team Chinese Taipei, Long Island Brewers, San Diego Stars, Chicago Prairie Gravel, Louisiana Lightning, New York Robins, Wis- consin Cavaliers, Reno Diamonds, Lewiston Truckers, Orlando Juice, Seattle Studs and Team Canada. The Team Canada team was made up of players from the National Baseball Institute and included two players fresh off the Babe Ruth World Series in Trail. D.J. Ashman and Todd Thompson both played a major role for the Trail Blue Jays during the World Series just a week earlier. Thompson saw the most action and looked good playing third base and at the plate against Orlando Friday night. Both players will remain with the National Baseball Insti- tute which provides young, high performance players from across Canada with the opportu- nity to sharpen their baseball skills while still allowing them to pursue their education goals. And an education is certainly what they got Thursday night as they lost their opener to Seattle 16-2 on Thursday and then proceeded to lose to Orlando 11-9 on Friday and Reno 8- 6 on Saturd Despite the losses, Seminoff was glad to have the team in the tournament We added the extra team with the Canadian flavor,” said Seminoff, “and that was special.” The team to beat at the toumament was Chica- go. They scored 37 runs in their three round- robin games to lead the pack going into the money round. They had a bye in the first round on Saturday but found themselves up against the surprise team from Lewiston on Monday. Lewiston barely slipped into the playoffs as the Wild Card team and then came through in their first game with an impressive 13-3 victo- ry over Orlando. They brought one of the biggest teams to the tournament and their depth ended up being the key as they surprised the Chicago club 8-4 in the semi-final game They faced San Diego in the final Monday night, who had just come off an exciting vic- tory over Portland that featured a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to win the game See @F A10 Northport Ger wr ca eR een «we the spark in Castlegar and Blueberry residents Gord Zaitsoff (left) and Niki Hyson (right are two of the hot drivers on the Northport circuit. was going to touch me “It's just one of those things you don't expect to happen.” Hyson managed to finish seventh overall in the points race after limping in with the flat tire and Weir finished fifth overall Zaitsott believes the three top ten finishes by Canadian drivers is an indication of things to come “We've had Canadian cars down there [at Northport] since 1990,” said Zaitsoff. “But now the Canadian cars are starting to domi nate. But that's solely due to the local spon sorship by business. It wouldn't be possible Photo submited without them.” Last weekend was the last official race of the season, but there is still one more sched- uled event down at Northpon Raceway. The Tom Patrick Memorial Competition is an annual event in memory of Patrick, who died at the race track in 1991, and will be held once again on Sept. 17 The race 1s open to all drivers and there are no restrictions. Zaitsoff will be there with a four-barre! carburetor and an air spoiler on the roof. He expects to add about 10-15 mph to his overall speed and should be pushing a high of 90 mph during the race Back to the Old Grind There is only one sure way to deal with the daily stresses a sures of life - grind them away. The Golden City Grind i: its 17th year of rigorous activity all in the name of fun. The Grind features three challenging races for all athletes of varying shapes and sizes. The first is a called the “Grind” and features a 10-kilo- metre run around Jubilee Park, through the streets of Rossland, up to the Red Mountain Ski Hill and then back again. For people .not interested in that amount of physical strain there is also the “Hilly Two” which is a two-mile course that can either be walked or run. The organizers say it’s as much fun as the grind only over sooner The final excursion is the “Mini Run” which is simply a flat one kilometre route for beginners. Anyone can do it and wheelchairs and strollers are welcome. The Golden City Grind is all part of Rossland's Annual Golden City Days Celebration so it stresses participation and fun for the whole family. The fun will all start at 9:30 a.m. on September 10 with a registration deadline of Sept. 8 Late registrations will be accepted but fees will be slightly higher so join now. For more information on the Grind or Golden City Days call the Rossland Recreation Office at (604) 362-7396 o1 Kate Wright at (604) 362-7351. And put your runners to the grind stone for a change Enlarging The Sporting Mecca Castlegar has turned into something of a Sporting Mecca over the last year and it seems there is an increasing interest from people outside the ry. A coastal is looking into the feasibility of a multi-sport facility in the Castlegar area and wants your input. The facility would house such activities as indoor ten. nis, soccer and floor hockey but could be expanded for many other activities. If you have an interest in such a facility write up your suggestions and send them to Box 547, 465 Columbia Ave., Castlegar, B.C., VIN 1G8. Where There’s Smoke There’s Great Hockey It isn’t Return of the Jedi, but for the people of Trail it is the long awaited second coming of supposed hockey glory. The Trail Smoke Eaters are preparing to embark on their return to top-nc'ch Junior ‘A’ hockey and it all starts with an exhibition game this Saturday The Penticton Panthers will be visiting the friendly confines of the Cominco Arena at 7 p.m. for the second game of a back-to-back exhibition series with the Panthers. The game will be a big test for the Smokies who will play with the Panthers in the BCJHI or Division. The two other teams in that division are the Merritt Centennials and the Vernon Lakers. The Trail Smoke Eatery the ad coach this season will be Dan Bradford and it has just recentiy be cr announced that former Beaver Valley coach Hank Deadmarsh \ ill take up the assistant coach position. Seth Martin has alse jomed th staff as goaltender coach. Trail’s furst regular season game plas the BCJHL will be Friday, Sept 15 in Penticton and thew first hove game will be Sept. 16 versus the Vernon Lakers. Skating The Light Fandango Jennifer Chant and Jennifer Zandvlici are back as coaches ot the Castlegar Figure Skating Club and that means quality teaching on top of a fun time. In case you didn't know, the Figure Skating Club does a lot more than figure skating. They also have an excep tional Can Skate and Can Power program which is specially designed to teach all young skaters the intricacies behind skating correctly. The registration day for the club and all programs is Thursday, September 14. Registration can be made at the Castle gar Recreation Complex from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. For more intorma tion call Lori at 365-0185 and Corinne at 365-7074 Rebs Get Ready To Rumble The Castlegar Rebels are excited about this season for many rea sons. There is a new owner, there is a new coach and the new sea son is right around the corner. The Rebels training camp starts tomorrow at the Complex from 8-11 p.m. and runs until Sept. 10, which will also be the date of the inter-squad game. Over 50 play ers are expected at camp this season. New head coach Pat Price has yet to decide how many players he will keep for the year but he should have a good idea by the time inter-squad game is over That game gets underway at 4:15 p.m. on Sunday and admission is by donation to the Rebels Educational Bursary Fund. If you attend the game, you will also be able to enter a raffle draw to see an NHL exhibition game in Spokane between the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks on Sept. 17 Comment Of The Week The sport of baseball in the West Kootenay has taken centre stage over the last couple weeks and it has closed to rave revicws That should really come as no surprise to anyone since the area has a tong baseball tradition that goes back tarther than Trail coach Andy Bilesky’s memory. However, both the Babe Ruth World Series and Grand Forks International were special events run in a market not used to high calibre ball. In the wake of the World Series, many baseball enthusiasts in Trail think Butler Park could make a good home to a semi-pro or even professional franchise. I must be remembered that Grand Forks tried that with the Grand Forks Rattlers and failed. When push comes to shove the sport of baseball is a curiosity that will never fully capture the hearts of West Kootenay sports fans as long as there is ice available and hockey pucks to be shot If you have a comment to offer or a sideline you want delineated in the SUN sports section, call Jeff at 365-5579. He'll take care of ya.