. SPORTS LOCAL FEATURE Selkirk College students The changing face of health Castlegar now home to top ranking amateur golfer 4 Larsen lookin far WEDNESDAY February 3, 1993 Vol. 3- No. 11 The ", astie TT lcs uf oo Weather 3A ‘The weekly newspaper with a daily commitment’ 75 Cents + G.S.T. Formal investigation SHARLENE IMHOFF Sun Editor . Recent allegations of harvest- ing on public forest lands without adequate approval, and the subse- quent province-wide audit of PHSPs by the Ministry of Forests has léd to full investigation by the Glance New Environmental Health officer Former Environmental Health Officer for Castlegar, Andrea Hall, has been replaced by Edward Walsh. Walsh takes over as Environmental Health Officer immediately. Golden Anniversary The CAstlegar-Robson Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion will be holding a Golden Anniversary Coffee Party and Bake Sale on Feb. 13 at the Legion Hall. The fun begins at 10 a.m, and will conclude at 1 p.m.. Tickets are $1 each and everyone is welcome. Keeping it in the family It must run in the family, since Castlegar Mayor Audrey Moore's mother, Lily Mooer, also received a medal for her work towards bettering her community,.and country..Mrs. Lily Mooer, who. is 91-years young, resides in Fredericton, New Brunswick of B.C. Profe Foresters into the conduct of the Arrow Forest District. The investigation by the associ- ation will determine whether any foresters from the Arrow Forest District acted unprofessionally with regard to the submission and approval of pre-harvested silvicul- ture prescriptions (PHSPs), or whether they have been put in an untenable position such that they were unable to properly discharge their professional obligations. “After hearing about the allle- Government releases new health care strategy KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff The Ministry of Health is initi- ating a new health strategy, which, if effective, might very well change the way health care launched against Arrow Forest District gations, we originally did a pre- ~ sional Foresters, which is the Screening to find out if the allega- tions appear to be founded,” said Bruce Devitt, from the Associa- tion of B.C. Professional Foresters. Devitt said the pre- Screening resulted in a full inves- tigation to be started. He expects it will be completed by mid June 1993 “The results of the investiga- tion will be made public. This is too big an issue, it needs to be told.” e The Association B.C. Profes- and District Hospital Administra- tor, Ken Talarico, agrees with the need to supply preventative medicine to the public, even though less funding will go towards acute care facilities and will flow to preventative instead. is viewed, ad d and defined in B.C. The strategy, which is known as “New Directions for a Healthy British Columbia”, will include 38 specific initiatives such as: ani phasis to be put on p tive health care; establishing community health centres which will provide centralized services at the local level; and establishing health councils. Health care in B.C. is being Streamlined, and redefined in part duc to the growing. costs of dis- pensing health care. Castlegar “I think preventative medicine is a good thing. I'm in total agree- ment with preventative medicine; Last year, the Castle- gar and District Hospital received less funding than expected, while more funding was awarded towards preventative health pro- grams. In response to the decrease in funding, Castlegar Hospital laid off dietary, mainte- mance and nursing staff. Talarico agreed that the provincial government is correct in developing these strategies, Provincial ministers en route to Castlegar SUN STAFF , Donning the hardware Minister of Finance Glen Clark, and Minister of Municipal Affairs Robin Blencoe, will be visiting Castlegar Feb. 4 to speak about the upcoming Provincial budget and meet with the public : Trail/Nelson MLA Ed Conroy will also be at the open house, and encourages the public to attend the event “This will give the people of our area a chance to listen to the Mimisters and ask them questions about the economy and the future of the province. It’s a unique * opportunity.” “If a person is concerned about the budget, or the economy ..algough many communities mandatory registering body for professional foresters, has the power to levy disciplinary mea- sures against its members—such as expulsion, suspensions and other reprimands. A PHSP is a legally required document outlining how logging will take place, how the area will be regenerated, and who is responsible to manage the area. The Arrow Forest District office viewed the situation "as a mere oversight." with the view of keeping people healthy, and therefore out of a hospital. “The government objec- tive is to reduce acute care beds im the haspitals to 2.75 beds per 1,000 people. In B.C. we far exceed that ratio.” Talarico said in order for the Strategy to be effective, other ser- vices need to be in effect and working. “It's probably appropri- ate by-in-large. But if the commu- nity doesn’t have the same support services such as home care, or home support, then there would be no place for. these peo- pile to go except to acute care. You need all the necessary support ser- vices in place for that to happen.” Mimistry of Health spokesper- son, Mike Galway, said that throughout B.C. have already started planning their strategy, it will be several years before the new health care initiative will be in place. “The ministe¥ (Elizabeth Cull) hopes that by the end of 1997 the system will be up and in place across the province.” of our province, then I rs them to talk with the Mi . Tt | For more details, See Page 1B ] -———Getting out the green! — In the middle of winter, the colors of summer are appreciated more than ever. Jahn Chang, owner of Chang's nursery in Castlegar, prunes the various plants that are kept in his greenhouse. SS SUN STAFF PHOTO / John Van Putten isn't every day that the public gets a chance to bend the ears of the Ministers.” The open house which is to be held at the Sandman Inn from 10 a.m. to 11 am. will be sponsored by Castlegar and District Cham- ber of Commerce. SHARLENE IMHOFF Selkirk College has prepared response to review tion in the West K degree granting status options. While waiting for Selkirk College will be publicly releasing their p to the Post-S y Edu Review, on February 8. ‘The draft report was to be released last Monday, but was Hed after College . jogether the draft report, which will be sent to the review committee that is being chaired by Dr. Margaret Fulton. The input board members, members of the Faculty Associa- tion, BCGU and PPWC as well as from Trail and to come in, Fulton, who was appointed by the NDP government to chair the process, will be ing inf he at interviews throughout the area and meeting with the advisory committee in Victoria. Fulton visited Castlegar earlier and was satisfied that people in the community realized how impor- tant the review is to the future of post-secondary and officials, parti Ly Nelson-Creston MLA Corky Evans, came under fire when Fulton was appointed to chair the review Process due to her ties with the Nelson University Centre as a former consultant, Some resi Nelson The Post-S Edu review, which began in December, is gathering information on the future of post-secondary educa- still believe that any final report which Fulton hands in will be slanted towards the Nelson University Centre. Realty of poor economy has finally hit Trail, says mayor depressed prices. Property in local property tax Members of the community proudly wear the Canada 125 Commemorative medals they received from MP’Lyle Kristiansen, (top left). The recipients are (standing from left): Burt Campbell, Peter Kalesnikoff and Peter Oglow. Sitting (I-r): Alexia Turner and Castlegar Mayor Audrey Moore. SUN STAFF PHOTO / Shartene Imhof! For all the local ne TRAIL, TIMES, : The news that Cominco’s Trail operations will close for two months. this year is disappointing, but should be seen as an opportu- nity rather than a catastrophe, says Mayor Sandy Santori. Cominco announced Friday it will hak metal production in Trail in April-and August and close its Kimberley mine for 11 weeks starting in June. "Although I am very disappointed, it does not come as a shock,” Santori said “We have known all along that things are af a critical Stage with Cominco and decreasing prices have obviously forced them to make a business decision.” The company said,the-cut in metal production stemmed from rising zinc inventories and Zinc was selling for 50 cents U.S. a pound Friday, down from the already low. prices in the mid- 50s:a year ago. The price of lead was “close to an all-time low” of 19.3 cents, said company spokesman Richard Fish "My hope is that the two- month closure is the worst it is going to get,” Santori said. “In order to ensure that, it becomes even more critical that all the stakeholders that were identified in the Job Protection Commission report meet the recommendations outlined in the report.” Coincidentally, as Cominco was making its announcement Friday morning the city issued a statement indicating it will cut Cominco taxes by $600,000 annually as its contribution to the $2.5 million-$3 million in local reductions recommended by the JPC (see story below). Last month, the regional dis- trict indicated it would reduce the company’s taxes by $ 2 million. “As a community we have a lot of big decisions to make,” Santori said. “The reality of a poor global economy has finally hit Trail, British Columbia. As gloomy as that may appear on the surface, people must realize that the findings of the Job Pro- tection Commissioner were - itive. If the stakeholders do their fare share Cominco can continue to be a viable operation.” The only portion of the JPC report that has not been implement ed is reductions in provincial taxes. The government and Cominco are involved in negotiations over water fees and other provincial charges.