r likes: My house you work: Playschoo!l ou do there: Play with my buddies pt Castiegar secret: | can't tell secrets What would you rather be doing? Vehicle: My BMX Playing Nintendo call at 365-5266 or drop by our 465 Columbia Avenue, Castlegar. _Our erro In the Feb: 3 Edition of The Cc investigation launched against Arrow Forest District attributed a quote to the Arrow Forest District offi quote, which suggests that the forestry office viewed tt mere oversight”, did not come direct! er source. The Castlegar Sun apologizes for th inconvenience it might have caused ar Sun, a story Thied *Formal ngfully tlegar. The tuation “as a from anoth. rror and for any y from the office Forestry office upset with coverage SHARLENE IMHOFF Sun Editor Manager of the Arrow Forest District, Ken Arnett, said the forestry office is not taking the current investigation into Proce dures and conduct lightly—nor is it viewing the situation “as a mere oversight™»as The Castle gar Sun implied in its last story Amett said he is upset with the way in which the media has been handling the stories involving his Office. “We are definitely not tak ing this lightly—believe me we're not.” Recent allegations of harvest ing on public forest lands with out adequate approval, and the subsequent province-wide audit of pre-harvested silviculture prescriptions (PHSPs) bygthe Ministry of Forests has recently led to a full investigation by the Association of B.C. Profession al Foresters. A PHSP is a legally required document outlining how log ging will take place, how the area will be regenerated, and who is responsible to manage the area. Arnett said the recent coverage has ignored the that it Office administrativ pla After finding one prob: which dated back to paperwork com pleted 10 ye initiated their own investigation, and then the Ministry of Forests investigating dll offices for possible lem late in September ars ago, the office administrative foul-ups Basically what's happening r are getting slammed blem, and then Arnett stigation by the Association of B.C. Profession- al Foresters will determine whether any foresters from the Arrow Forest District acted unprofessionally with regard to the submission and approval of PHSPs, or whether they have been put in an untenable position such that they were Properly discharge sional obligations In other words, we want to find out if they are victims of the system,” said Bruce Devitt, association results of the investiga tion will be made publi acting The inve som unable tc their prc The Castlegar Sun Wednesday, Februar y 10, 1 993 @ Hearings Continued from 1A in his service area suffers up to four outages day because of th inadequacies of the power feed from WKP. Princeton Power's reque for an adjournment was su; ported by the City of Rossland and the Regional Districts of Kootenay Boundary and Cen tral Kootenay B.C. Hydro is seeking a rat increase for sales to WKP which the smaller utility says would ates by 17 per cent harply thereafter 1id the increase urage WKP urces and holding ydro rate in and again r interim rate and 1993 will ton next month KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff Ministers make no promises while ping and reducing the deficit Clatk said an inequality between revenue” Even, though the financial future of the province looks uncertain, Provincial Finance Minister, Glen Clark, is counting on job cre- ation and the help of the taxpayers of B.C. to help make the future brighter, Ata public meeting held at the Sandman Inn on Thursday, Clark rationalized a short stop in Castlegar as a sharing of the provincial financial burden with the people it will most affect—the taxpaying public “Leame here today to share with B.C. what s. We know some finan. increases won't be pop- ular, More taxes is never a popular choice, but the government fa cial decisions and ta we're not in a popularity contest.” The finance minister said the provincial government has identified three priorities ‘to help put the province on a healthier financial road, such as: job creation and investment, protecting health care and education, and cap- Sun Staff No one was injured when a garage at 309-7th Avenue was totally destroyed by fire, last Thursday night Castlegar Fire Chief, Gerry Rempel, said the fire depart- ment received the call at 8:02 p-m_, but the fire was well underway by the time firefight- ers arrived. A contingent of 15 fire-fighters spent approximate- ly half an hour assuring that the blaze didn't spread to adjacent buildings The close proximity of the ‘garage to the house caused a serious Concern fo the fire chief. “The house was about 20 feet SUBMITTED ‘The Crew’, a musical group consisting of four talented young men, will be giving a per- formance at St. Peter Lutheran Church, Castlegar, on Tuesday, February 16, at 7 p.m. This group was originally formed in 1988 to be a songleading group for a national youth gathering. Since then, The Crew™ has broadened its focus, and it now performs as a music ministry team These young men have taken their act to schools and various Christian churches. They per- form concerts; sing for coffee- houses and special events. In short, they will go wherever they have the opportunity to perform and proclaim the Gospel message of Jesus Christ Recently they had the opportu- nity to perform before audi- ences in the the Ukraine A recent review described ‘The Crew’ as “a quartet with versatility to pro- vide: sing-along entertainment; group activities; and an eclectic (and always surprising) suitcase full of talents, inchiding drama, Wildlife ban SHARLENE IMHOFF Sun Editor If you haven’t already pur- chased your ticket for the Castle- gar and District Wildlife Associations 29th Annual Awards Banquet and Dance—you're too late, tickets sold out early last week. CDWA President, Steve Davis, ther the deficit approaches five perc eight per cent The minister elaborated on the projected $2.3 billion shortfall for the coming year, which he said is due in part to the slow eco- nomic growth, and overspending in some a such as welfare, and health care. In order to cap the rising deficit, an aggressive effort will be applied towards job creation, said Clark from the garage, and it was a concern to me. It was a fairly old garage, the wood is dry and you get a lot of heat from it. It's called radiant heat and it can ignite other combustibles.” In addition to the destroyed growth and increased spending has helped fur- The span between the two mM, with revenue growth at three per cent and spending increases at “There will be major job creation initia lives, using Crown corporations. We are deter mined to put more of a focus on those areas which need it (such as job creation).”” Responding to a question regarding the possibility of a water rental fee break for Cominco, Clark said that to favor one compa- ny, and not others would be unfair to both the Backyard fire destroys garage and damages home. “You don Clark s care system, care funding “Funding The current sustainable, but we don't believe in use in Castlegar taxpayers and to other companics. “t want to use the tax system to subsidize this industry. If we relieve it on Com inco, then we'd have to relieve all sectors. id it is essential the government recognizes the importance of a viable health but said the way in which health is utilized needs to be assessed for the health care system is not fees. health care system will not look the same in five years. If we fail, someone else will come in at the next election and we'll probably end up with a U.S type of health care. system.” A growin. “Nothing garage, Rempel said the house received an estimated $800 damage to the vinyl siding which was melted by the heat Although West Kootenay Power was called out to cut the power to an overhead electrical g welfare case-load also leaves Clark apprehensive, and he recognizes that careful examination and restructuring of the system is essential scares me more than looking at those case-loads. We have to start rethinking a system which was made up in the 60's. It's a huge challenge and needs fundamental changes.” wire, Rempel said the discon nection didn’t disrupt power supply to other residents. The source of the fire has not been determined yet and an investigation is still being con ducted Position of volunteer firefighter proves popular KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff Castlegar fire chief, Gerry Rempel, is very popular these days—well, his job of! firefight- ing.is very popular. For-the first time in a very long time Rempel has had to tell would-be firefighters they will be put on a waiting list, due to the current number of volunteers. - This is a unique situation for Rempel, but he’s not complain- ing. “There were’years when there was no wait list, and we've had years when the wait the list wasn’t as long. I don't remember having a wait list this long though.” Rempel said the large wait list is a verification of what he Musical 8roup to perform at St. Peter Lutheran church already knows spirit and ca Castlegar. wait list community ing is thriving in “I'm happy to see such a large It means that people in community want to get involved, and that they're com munity-minded,”’ There are currently 41 volun teer firefighters, with a waiting list of 18 hopefules Members of ‘The Crew’ are (Il-r) David Liefertz, musical diréctor: Paul Mercier; Joel Haberstock; and Gary Brucker, administrator. comedy, stunts, a varied song- book and a message all of which can change pace at the drop of a hat.” said that even though the tickets have sold out, a list of names waiting for last-minute cancella. tions of current ticket holders is growing. Davis said 300 tickets have been sold. “But we could. probably sell another 100 or so quite easily,” he said. At $20 for each ticket, holders are served a meal which includes The public, especially the young and young at heart, is cordially invited to attend this concert at St. Peter Lutheran both domestic and wild meat After a brief award ceremony, a dance is held. This year, the wildlife association has recruited the service of a taxi company that will take those residents, who decide not to drive, safely home Money raised from the event will be directed towards land acquisition for wildlife. “We've looked at several sites, Church, 713 Fourth Street, Castlegar, on Tuesday, February 16, at7 p.m +e quet and dance tickets sold out but so far, nothing has been pur chased,” said Davis, who added that winter feeding programs and a fisheries program is also funded by the annual event Davis attributes the over whelming response to this year’s ticket sales to this area's interest and general concem for wildlife North Castlegar sewer system in need of repair City sends out both SHARLENE IMHOFF Sun Editor A planned upgrade to the North Castlegar sewer and. water system has resulted in residents of that area discovering a $29 increase to their utility bills for 1993 Utility notices were mailed to residents just over two weeks ago, and one city official says that a number of inquiries are being made by resi- dents who are unsure why they have received an increase on that Partic- ular bill. Of the $29 increase, $15 is going to cover the cost of the city’s loan for one year. The city plans a 20-year pay-back period. “That works out to be approximately 32 cents each day for a year,” Municipal Clerk Diane Kunz said The remaining $14 will be the revenue used to maintain the current system, covering current operating expenses. The total cost of the upgrade is approximately $255,000. The city 1s planning to borrow $200,000 of that cost—it has already secured one grant from the provincial government worth $32,000 and Kunz said that city staff will be applying for more. Prior to receiving their bills, residents of the north end received a petition from city hall, explaining about the upcoming utility bill and allowing citizens the chance to say no to the city’s plans if they so choose. “If we get a substantial number of petitions against this, we'll have to look seriously at the options of what else we can do,” said Kunz, who maintains that the problems with petitions and North Castlegar sewer system are serious and need attention. One of the goals the city has in mind is to increase the capacity of the sewer system in the north end. The system, which is now running at full capacity, also needs to have one lift station completely replaced. “This particular lift station is so old we can't even buy parts for it anymore,” said Kunz. Another lift station, although in better shape, needs to be refurbished so its capaci- ty can be increased “Currently, if someone wanted to develop in North Castlegar, they would be unable to because the sys tem is not only delapidated, iF just wouldn't be able to handle the increase North Castlegar residents have until February 26 to sign and send in their petition against the long+term borrowing proposal utility bills DIANNE KUNZ Wednesday, February 10, 1993 The Castlegar Sun Parents frustrated over lack of s SHARLENE IMHOFF Sun Editor The concem over safety at an intersection in South Castlegar is Now growing into anger by those parents who have children that cross the street en route to and from Kinnaird Elementary School each day The 24th Street intersection, located just after Kinnaird Hall, is considered Highway 22, and parents feel the high volume of traffic warrants having pedestrian lights established to allow a safer passage for children. Although the intersection is the responsibil- ity of the Ministry of Highways, the cost of erecting the pedestrian lights would be shared 60/40 between the government and the city respectively. The Kinnaird Elementary School Parents Advisory Council is not alone in their opinions. The Castlegar and District School Board, City Hall, and the local RCMP station also support the idea of pedestrian lights for that Particular crossing “Even though it is marked as a Celgar hoping to have permit amended KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff The Celgar Pulp Company is claiming that the Ministry of Environment has changed direc- tion in mid-stream, leaving them up the creek, or river to be pre- cise, without a paddle. Celgar Environmental Manag- er, Jim McLaren, said the Min- istry of Environment had approved in principal to issue per- mits for modernization based on Proposed emission limits which were measured on an hourly aver- age. The approval was made in 1991. “They issued an approval in principal and made a commit- ment to amend the permits.” But McClaren said when the permits were received from the ministry, the allowable emissions were based on what is known as an instantaneous stack level Instantaneous stack levels are readings which are taken every minute for one hour, thereby pro- viding 60 readings for one hour. McClaren maintains the origi- nal understanding was that the permit be issued on the basis of hourly emission levels, and this is Ministry sets up shop in previous home KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff The Ministry of Transportation and Highways has set up an on- site office at one of the homes they purchased to make room for the Robson/Castlegar Bridge The office, which is located at 118 Columbia, will be utilized as the ministry's site office for the duration of the project, which is expected to be completed by July 1994. Highways Public Informations Offiger, Eliah Farrell, said one of the reasons the Ministry has set up an on-site office is to continue to keep in touch with the needs of both Castlegar and Robson resi- dents. “We will be on-site to have contact with the community. We have tried to be active with both Castlegar and Robson from the beginning. We'd like to keep that involvement going. We're aware we're building between the two communities and that we have to be sensitive to those com- munities.” In response to both environ- mental and aesthetic needs, Highways staff has identified and marked trees which will not inter- fere with bridge construction or design. In order to continue meeting the needs of both com- munities, Highways plans to issue regular progress updates and establish an ongoing commu- nity liaison committee, Farrell said the liaison com- mittee should be in place by the Pedestrian crossing, kids still wait for ten or twenty cars 10 pass before they attempt a cross One. of these days a-kid is going to get impatient—I don't want to be the one picking him or her up when happens,” Lawrence Chemoff, a city coun cillor and a paramedic for the B.C. Ambulance Service Chemoff said the crosswalk has been a concern since 1986, but it wasn't until traffic began to increase dramatically in Castlegar that action was taken by the ents’ group and the City of Castle- gar. Letters of concern have been written to the Grand Forks divi-. sion of the Ministry of Transport tion and Highways, as well as Rossland-Trail MLA Ed Conroy. Parents are now. beginning to wonder if anything will ever be done about the intersection, since their letters to both the ministry and Conroy have been unan- swered. Chernoff is so incensed at the ministry, he has been think- ing about getting parents together to picket the crosswalk. "T'll go out there myself if I have to," said Chernoff, who also where the problem lays. “When the permits were amended in June 1991, the num- bers were generally O.K., except that they were based on instanta- neous stack levels.” Instantaneous readings are inconsistent, McClaren said, since there are sulphur dioxide and total reduced sulphur emis- sions which sometimes flare up for several minutes at a time. “There would be momentary spikes in the measurements. All of our budget was approved on measurements which were based on an hourly average.” McClaren said that under the current permit, should momen tary emission spikes occur, Cel- gar is at risk of being in non-compliance with the direc- tives Of the permit “It (occasional high levels of reduced sulphur dioxide) probably has no impact on the community, but it puts us in non-compliance.” Reduced si iS aré the offensive smelling emissions of which Castlegar residents occa- sionally get a whiff In July of 1992 Celgar applied to the ministry to amend the per- afety at intersection Ministry says a decision will be made by Friday A spokesperson for the Kootenay Boundary District of the Ministry of Transportation and Highways has told The Castlegar Sun that the dedvision on whether a traffic control device is'needed at the 24th Street intersection will be made by this Friday, District Technician Stew Turner, said that after receiving calls from The Sun last week, he also made phone calls to the traffic engineer in Kamloops, who is responsible for.assess- ing the results of a traffic count which the ministry performed at the intersection last year, “I have talked to him and he’s Promised to get.back to me on Friday,” said Turner. The Castlegar Sun last spoke fo a ministry official in Octo- ber, and was told that the results would be released in November. Turner said he is unsure why such a delay has taken place. “I do know that this person has a tremendous workload,” said Turner. “But why such a long delay? I can only speculate.” The traffic survey, which the ministry completed in 1992, determines the volume of traffic over periods of time, and will result in whether a control device is placed at the crosswalk. has a son that attends the school Other parents are voicing con cems as well “This is really getting frustrat- ing. We have a legitimate con- cern—-our children's safety,” said Ron Norman, from the advisory council That frustration is mounting since reports are coming in of near- misses at that intersection “People travelling that high- way a lot of times don't realize there is a crosswalk there. So when‘they see a car stopped, Sometimes they'll just pass the vehicle. Meanwhile these kids walk across the street thinking the car is going to stop—and it doesn't. “It's happened already, I'm surprised we haven't had an ident yet,” said Norman. MLA Ed Conroy said he understood the city of Castlegar was responsible for the 24th Street intersection and therefore was responsible for setting up pedestrian lights. “My understanding is that because the area is within city $ the city’s and not the ry’s responsibility.” mit to allow emissions which were based on an hourly average, said McClaren, “We requested that the permit be changed back to what was intended by the panel's. recommendation, which was based on one hour averages.” However, at the end of ~ = WEATHER today: a ridge of high Temperature: Max/Date 5.65/20 Precipitation: — Rain Sunshine: OUTLOOK: The forecast for pressure is producing a very Stable circulation resulting in mainly cloudy skies. The cloud will be thick enough for a snow flurry or two. Highs 1. or 2 degrees. Lows M1 or M3. A LOOK BACK AT THE PAST WEEK: Min/Date Mean Normal Mean -2.6 Normal Total 13.4 Normal Number of Hours 9.1 Outlook for Thursday and Friday: cloudy skies but sunny periods are expected both afternoons. Temperatures warming a few degrees. Forecast provided by The South - East interior Weather Office at Castlegar, B.C ARROW LAKE RESERVOIR FORECAST Sorry, not available November 1992, the ministry then told Celgar that if the permit was to be amended, Celgar would have to signify its intent by notifi- cation to the public. Notification to the public requires publication through the media of Celgar’s intent to change the permit. Members of the public who responded within the first 30 days of the publication, (from the end of November 1992 to Jan. 8, 1993) have until Feb. 11 to tespond to Celgar's intent to amend the permit McClaren said Celgar should receive notification of the success of their bid to amend the permit within a couple of days after the Feb. 11 deadline “We're optimistic that given the facts, that all the hearings were based on one hour averages, they wouldn't say no. We conclude the approval is appropriate.”’ SUN STAFF PHOTO / Sharlene Imhoff Castlegar Seniors Association President, Isabel Gerrard, knows the temporary fix for a leaky roof is the gopd-old ice cream bucket. cure, but it keeps the floor in the senior's centre from becoming slippery. The roof, which needs extensive repairs, was leaking after a build-up of snow was not removed on time. While Gerrard says she'll battle the leaky roof on the main floor, she fears treading in the centre's basement—since she doesn't own a life-jacket. It might not be a complete Police receive report of club-wielding youths KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff Castlegar RCMP officer, Cor- poral Garth Huziak has verified that there was a call made to the local police station regarding a sighting of a large group of youths carrying what appeared to be home-made clubs at the Located at 118-Columbia Avenue, this previous home is Now an office for the Ministry of Transportation and High- ways throughout the duration of the bridge construction. end of February, and that regular liaison meetings will commence after it is established. “We're just beginning it now, but it should be in place by late February. After that we will be Meeting as regularly as required.” Clearing and grubbing of the Castlegar Arena Complex in mid- SUN STAFF PHOTO / Karen Kerkhott January. site for the 438-metre bridge is scheduled to begin as early as this week. After completion of the bridge, Farrell said the on-site’ office would then be turned over to the British Columbia Purchas ing Commission, who will then A “clarification meeting” put the home up for sale which was held Feb. 8, between KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff KAREN KERKHOFF West's employee startles burglar in the act the noise. The suspect is d Sun steff mph of West's d p-m. Feb. 4. d to An surprised an intruder who had smashed the front doors in an attempt to gain entry at 8:30 ‘The clerk had been working in the back room of the store when the doors were store when the employee app eS “foot nine inches tall, medium build and wear- ing dark clothing and a waist-length jacket, Approximately four minutes after the doors at West's were smashed by an intruder, a window was also broken at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. A witness Supplied the RCMP with a vehicle. license number, The vehicle belonged to a man from Surrey who is an employee at Celgar. After the Celgar Shed as five ployee was questioned by the RCM,he admitted that. he had broken the bank win- dow. The suspect said he became frustrated when the bank teller machine wouldn't take his bank card. The suspect denied that hé had any involvement in the incident at West's. He will appear in Castlegar Provincial Court Feb. 17 to answer to charges. The suspect’s name can not be released until formal charges have been laid. , Huziak said by the time he arrived at the complex, which was approximately two minutes after he received the call, there were no club-wielding youths in sight “We were there within two min- utes of the call and saw no large group of kids hanging around.” Huziak said that he is not aware of any other reports of large gang-like groups of youths in Castlegar, but did say that he Castlegar and District Teachers Association and School District No. 9, has resulted in a potential agreement between the two sides. CDTA president, Bill Gorkoff, said the next step is to bring the Proposal back to the prospective members for ratification. “The meeting went really well We reached an agreement in com mittee. Now we need to take it back to the members fo ratify.” Although Gorkoff declined to comment on the specifics of the agreement. he is confident the agreement will be accepted on both sides. “Tt was give and take on both sides. I don’t want to give any details until it is ratified, but I doesn't always read all of the other officers reports The report. of a large group of youths carrying potentially dan- gerous weapons was made by an adult, Huziak said Although carrying a stick around is not considered an offense, Huziak said that should the stick be used in a threatening manner, it would then be consid- ered an assault weapon. Clarification meeting results in potential agreement think it is a fair agreement.” School District No. 9 secre- tary-treasurer, John Dascher, is also optimistic the agreement will be accepted by the board. Dasch- er also declined to comment on the specifics of the agreement “Yes, there was-an agreement I think everybody is quite pleased that we managed to do it in such short order.” The agreement was put before CDTA members Feb. 9, but Castlegar Sun deadlines pre- cludes the results of the meeting. S.D. No. 9 board members will decide Feb. 15 on whether to accept the proposed agreement CDTA has been without a con tract since June 30, 1992