SPORTS LOCAL PROFILE oo obs Picking up steam ‘Townhouses a concern A 36-unit townhouse proposal concerns council/A3 Focus on fostering w woman has that special love/1B “Vol. 5-No.1 « t ar + Ten 6eor Youths charged in death — JEFF GABERT Sun Staff It has taken almost 10 months of investigation but police have finally laid charges in the traffic accident that led to the death of 16- year-old Jolene Ozeroff of Glade. dzeroff, who was an exem- plary student at Stanley Humphries High School, was a passenger in a truck driven by Jason Popoff, 19, which collided with another truck driven by Patrick Tomlin, 19, in the early morning hours of March 5,1994. The accident happened near the junction of Highways 3A and 6. RCMP have now charged Popoff, Tomlin and Leon~ Soukeroff, who was a passenger in the Popoff vehicle, with crim- inal negligence causing death. All three are from the Crescent Valley-Shoreacres area. Nelson RCMP Cpl. E.A. Yaskiw said Soukeroff was charged because “there is some indication the passenger-might have contributed to the accident.” It’s not unusual, said Yaskiw, that investigations regarding death take 10 months, especially when main witnesses are seri- ously injured. The trio will make their first court. appearance in Nelson Provincial Court on Jan. 31 Pulp mill, union back at table KAREN KERKHOFF Sun Staff = It’s_a strained relationship between PPWC (Pulp and Paper Woodworkers of Canada) Local 1 and Celgar Pulp, but both sides have agreed to get back to the bargaining table to resume nego- tiations. Al Bléssin, human rélations officer for Celgar said the mill served 72-hour-lockout notice Jan. 1 after PPWC members par- ticipated in overtime bans and “study sessions”. This, explained Blessin, resulted in Celgar offi- cials questioning whether it would be profitable to start up after the annual Christmas shut down. “The question was should we or shouldn't we.” But a meeting Jan. 2 has resulted in an agreement. Celgar and PPWC will return to the bar- gaining table next week, mem- bers will return to normal mill operations; and all strike activity will be halted while parties negotiate Union officials have been unavailable for comment - “astiegar Sun COLD Weather weekly newspaper with a daily commitment’ 75 Cents + G.S.T. 7—-Skling fun i Rossland-Paulsen Trail at t $0 warm that Wales was able to ski in T-shirt and toque: SUN STAFF PHOTO / Ron Norman Slip sliding away, Don Wales of Red Deer, Alta. strides out of the trees on the ihe Paulsen cross-country ski area. The weather was Developers face hike in city fees Sun Editor ie Road changes in works RON NORMAN Sun Editor Castlegar’s road system will get a new look when city council unveils proposed changes to its major road network plan at a pub- lic hearing next week. The changes primarily affect the south end of the city, where major on Columbia Avenue. As well, he said the new plan, which goes to a public hearing Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the coun- cil chambers in the basement of the B.C. Hydro building, is nec- | essary in light of the number of new developments proposed for the south end. A 129-lot subdivision, called have been prop Phil Markin, director ‘of devel- opment services, said the new plan came at the request of the Ministry cin, ye sobrempet agen Ld ways to all Ri d Subdivision, has been proposed at the end of 3rd, 4th and-Sth Avenues. As well, a 150- lot manufactured home subdivi- sion has been d across the ig! y off 37th Street, and a 36-unit h It’s going to cost developers more to build in Castlegar—a lot more. Castlegar council has intro- duced a new bylaw which will increase municipal subdivision fees, known as development cost charges, by as much as 500 per cent. For instance, the new fee for a single-family subdivision will increase by some $3,800 per lot. The old charges for developing a single-family subdivision were $991 per lot. The new charges will come in at $4,803. “It’s going to add to the price of a lot,” admitted city adminis- trator Jim Gustafson. But Gustafson noted that the charges are good news for the majority of taxpayers because it means developers will be paying a greater share for things like sewers, roads and water. Phil Markin, director of devel- opment services, said the increases are the first in 15 years. The last time the development cost charges were updated was in 1980. “It’s been awhile,” said. He said city staff surveyed other B.C. municipalities to see Markin what they charged and then Castlegar adopted fees that were similar. The new bylaw was given three readings and sent to the provincial Municipal Affairs Ministry for approval. Markin said the ministry agreed that the new charges are Pracurnesirl with those levied by other municipalities. Gustafson said the charges will be collected and placed in a reserve fund and spent on capital projects like upgrading Columbia Avenue and storm sewers. The city has identified nearly $26 million in long-term capital projects that will be needed if Castlegar's population contin- ues to grow as it has in the last few years. The development cost charges will pay for some 40 cent— or $10.5 million—of that. The remainder will be picked up by general tax revenue. In a comprehensive report on the new development cost charges, city staff point out that the charges “are used to finance works of general benefit. to the city rather than works which ben- efits only limited properties.” As well, the development cost See DEVELOPERS 2A Council releases $32.9 million plan “SUN | STAFF The City of Castlegar has released its first 20-year capital plan and it calls for $32.9 million to be spent by the year 2014. ~ In the past, the city has devel- oped five-year capital plans, but administrator Jim Gustafson said the provincial government required a 20-year forecast to is planned for Columbia Avenue just south of Stellar Place. Many of the proposed changes to the road network-plan will see local roads upgraded to collector roads to handle more traffic. For instance, residents on Sth Avenue south of 32nd. Street will see their road upgraded from a local road to collector status. A local road is intended to serve the properties abutting it, but is not intended to carry traffic i. See ROAD 3 3A Pp the city’s new devel- opment cost charge bylaw. “We have‘a difficult time say- ing what we are going to do next week let alone 20 years down the road,” Gustafson said. In 1995 the city expects to spend $3.24 million on capital projects, including: _* $1.38 million for downtown revitalization, + $939,000 for general road improvements, * $400,000 for Arrow Lakes Drive upgrading, * $290,000 for equipment leas- es and purchases for road work. In 1996 the city expects to spend $700,000 for a new firehall and another $175,000 on roads. A new city hall and more work on Arrow Lakes Drive are the big projects slated for 1997 and 1998, with the city hall ringing in at $500,000 in both of those years and the Arrow Lakes Drive work at $1.55 million in each year. The plan calls for $190,000 to be spent on storm sewers in 1997 and $400,000 in 1998. Also in 1998 is the first phase of the new Twin River Park, with $300,000 targeted. As well, there is $200,000 ear- marked for a new fire truck in 1998 and the same amount again in 1999. Columbia Avenue south improvements are pegged for 1999, 2000 and 2001, with $1 millign being spent in each of those years. Friends of Parks and Trails have been busy RON NORMAN Sun Editor , They call themselves “friends”, but the group of a dozen or so people doesn’t have your usual acquain- tances. They're friends are parks and trails. "We're a group of people dedicated to participat- ing in (and) working tow: ard guiding others to share in outdoor recreation,” explains Elaine Robinson, one of the “friends The group, formally called “ ‘Friends of Parks and Trails”, is one of the best kept secrets in Castlegar. Formed two years ago, it meets about once a month at the Community Complex to discuss area parks and trails. The group includ from the Forests Ministry, Selkirk College, the Castlegar Heritage Society, the Regional District of Central Kootenay and West Kootenay Naturalists. as well as individuals interested in outdoor recreation Local outdoors enthusiast Colin-Pryce is the group's teader: Robinson says the group has worked extensiv«ly on a number of projects, among them Dove Hill Park, Pass Creek Park and the Brilliant Overlook Trail. Much of the group’s work is done by volunteers. For instance, Robinson points to Ivar Reinsb*kkcn, who painted the benches along Dove Hill Trail and then managed to get the Nordic Lodge to pay for For all the local news a Thee’ 's a person doing work for nothing and a community group supporting him,” says Robinson Then there’s Bob Switzer who has contributed $1,300 out of his own pocket to create the park around the train station museum “He has worked continuously on this project, a tribute to his wife’s memory.” says Robinson. The Forests Ministry has also been active. Min- istry employee Greg Goldstone is hoping to produce a map of all the parks and trails within the Castlegar sthool district boundaries. Presently, the Forests Ministry has a map only detailing its trails “The plan is to produce a comp i says Goldstone, that includes every trail in the area regardless of which group maintains it. A brochure with a map and trail description will then be made available to the public, similar to the Forests Ministry trail brochure. “We're just in the very, very early stages,” stone added Meanwhile, Goldstone's colleague at the Forests Ministry. recreation officer Dave Fitchett, says the ministry has done a lot of work to its trails. The Mel DeAnna Trail near the Castlegar-Salmo lookout has been upgraded. New bridges have been Gold- See PARKS 2a map,”