OPIN

September 15, 1993

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The Castiégar Sun
TIS
PUBLISHER MARILYN STRONG

SHARLENE IMHOFF CATHERINE ROSS
EDITOR ADVERTISING REP.
MARGE LALONDE NICOLE BEETSTRA
CIRCULATION MANAGER ADVERTISING REP.
YOHN VAN PUTTEN CHRISTINE MOYER
SPORTS REPORTERVPHOTOGRAPHER PRODUCTION MANAGER

KAREN KERKHOFF SHAUNA KATTLER
REPORTER OFFICE MANAGEFYCLASSIFIEDS.

Direct Department Phones
General Office 365-5266
Circulation 365-5266
Classified Ads 365-7848
Display Advertising 365-2278
Newsroom 365-5579
Fax 365-7762

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jar Sun

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465 Columbia Ave. Castlegar, B.C. V1N 1G8

1S POLITICALLY INDEPENDENT AND A
MEMBER OF THE STERLING NEWS SERVICE
Established November 28, 1990

Published by Sterling Newspapers Lid
Weekly on Wednesdays
Member of Canadian Community Newspapers Association
B.C. Community Newspapers Association
and B.C. Press Council
Publications Mail Registration pending

editorial comment

The sky is falling!
The sky is falling!

Living and working in Castlegar has some
wonderful advantages. How often is it that a
person can look out their windows to see the
wonderful majesty of the mountains which sur-
round us? And isn’t it nice that for most of us,
getting to work only involves a ten or fifteen
munute drive?

Where else in this province can a person be
within driving or walking distance of the
mountains, beaches. and almost pristine wilder
ness? The comfort of recognizing faces around
us as we venture “downtown” has a definite
appeal also

But. unfortunately. along with those advan
tages of living in a small city in the Kootenays
is the unwillingness. (or is it fear) to change
Along with the resistance to change comes the
Propensity for rumors gone awry. When rumors
and the ability to not see beyond our own living
rooms join hands, we end up with a situation
much like the one which was addressed Tues-
day night when a group of Castlegar residents
met to discuss the possibility of convicts or
juvenile offenders moving into their perfect lit-
tle neighborhood (which we’re sure has perfect
citizens living there with their perfect children).

What had started out as a rumor that juveniles
were moving into the area quickly progressed to
juvenile offenders, and then the scariest of all—
hardened ex-cons.

The phones at The Castlegar Sun rang furi-
ously as we scrambled to find out what the
truth was behind the rumors. Not only were
the phones ringing, but on occasion, the talk
about the convicts could be heard in the local
restaurants.

After much research, it was discovered that in
fact, these were not criminals who were moving
into the neighborhood, but youths who had
committed the unpardonable crime of trying to
better, themselves and their living conditions,

While we're not Saying that we shouldn’t
question who moves into our neighborhood, it
was pointed out that not one person asked the
project manager what the real story was

In fact, one neighbor named “John” went as
far as to question the adjoining neighbors—but
not the manager of the project

Come on Castlegar, let’s not become known
as the Chicken Little of the Kootenays'

ERRORS.
that the publisher sha’
f errors in any advertisement beyond the

The advertiser agrees i be atite:tee
damages arising out
amount paid for ti

advertisement in which the

he space actually occupied by that portion of the
> occurred whethe "
and there shall be r

to the negligence of its servants or otherwise

habblity tor NseMIon of any advertisement beyond the amou
paid for such advertisement
A 19 Subject to publisher's approval Contrac

m rontract date No cont

John

If you were a store owner,
Karen, would you want sever-
al hundred students to con-
verge On your store each day
during @ one-hour pétiod, just
to hang pat? :

Imagine that you'are one of
those Castlegar store owners
who is working alone during
one of these weekday rushes,
and all of a sudden fifty students
drop by and spend their hour
long lunch just hanging out

This is a dilemma faced by
many Castlegar businesses on a
daily basis, now that school has
resumed for another year. When
that many energetic students
meet in any given location it is
inevitable that the store owner
will begin to feel overwhelmed
by the sheer numbers.

Each weekday during lunch,
Stanley Humphries Secondary
School students venture off
school grounds and it"s the
downtown businesses which
are on the receiving end of
that influx

While it’s not always entirely
unwanted business, those stores
might run into a problem trying

those peak times.

I am not saying the store
owners should totally banish all
students from their store, but
they do have the right to limit
the number that can be in the
store at any given time

Posting a sign and enforcing a
limit of say, ten students (each
store could set that number as
they see ft atone time would
help the person working in the
fo maintain a feeling of
Provide
ind-theretore be a more pleasant

store

control better service

clerk to their customers

By limiting the number ot
people

lunch hour charge for restau

OF posting a miaimum

fants, store owners can maintain
control over what goes on

For restaurants, a minimum
charge is a good way to make
sure that the “customers” taking
up space are only doing so if
they have purchased something
there. If the right to have a mini
mum charge was not there, the
Next time you go out for lunch,

to control what goes on during -

Aah UEC RN AF

—-

Limiting student access

Karen (even though you are out
to lunch most of the day) and
only have a short time to do so,
you might find yourself waiting
in line for a table while several
groups of students sit with little
or no food purchased and taking
up the space that another hungry
customer could be using

With time running short,
you forgo your lunch (good
thing, it was more-than-likely
a meat-based meal anyhow)
but your stomach still tells you
it needs food

Imagine how you would feel
if after making your way to
another restaurant to hopefully
grab that elusive bite to eat
youre met with vet another full
house made up miunly of a mas
sive mob of students

If ther
table

Was only one small

herween them would

table

per

you grab th or turn

around and find somewhere else
to cat’ T would bet money you
would tum tal and try to find
somewhere else to cat your meal
IN Peace

How can vou comment on
in high
“Do
you even remember what it was
like to be in high school?” and
“barely.”
So how can you argue, what

what it was lke to be

school, when I-asked you

your answer was

you can’t even remember?

One day John, you and I are
going to have to sit down, and I
am going to have to have a seri-
ons talk with you. I sometimes
wonder where you get your
ideas from, some of them are so
far out in left field that if you
wrote a letter from there it
would take a month to get here

Just because people are chil-
dren doesn’t mean that they
don’t have feelings or rights.

To tell children they can't
frequent your place of establish-
ment based solely on their age
is a blatant case of discrimina
tion. I thought most people have
realized by now that discrimina-
tion is not.an acceptable prac
tice mn this era

There are lots of things chil
dren can't do because of their
Most of
the mutations we set for chil

und rightfully so

dren are based on what we

beheve is night or healthy for
them. We tell them when to go
to bed. when to brush their haar
what tood to cat, what not to
say, and on and on

Now

wrong

I'm not saying that is
But what |
am saying ts that quite often
children are
in which they had no part of
That is a terrible feeling for
anyone— children or adults

But to blatantly exclude chil-

far from it

left with decisions

Karen

dren from a business establish
ment because of the assumption
that they are going “to rip you
off” is unfair to the children
who are honest and who have
money burning a hole in their
pockets.

There are many children
who were raised with morals,
and stealing doesn't fit into
their agenda.

Let's give those children
credit for following their own
morals. and leading lives which
in some cases, far outshine
some sorry adult's life

Don't people realize that is
precisely the children that they
exclude from their business
establishment who have the
most disposable income?

While I can sympathize with
the business owners, I can't
condone the practice of arbitrar-
-ily banishing them from the
Premises. There has to be some
other answer to their problem.

Instead of banishing them,
thereby in effect making it
someone else's problem, why
don’t the business owners as a
group, work together to see if
they can find a solution which is
agreeable to all—business own
ers and children alike

I can guarantee one thing, if
the children had alternatives I
don't think they would choose
to hang around a business each
and every lunch hour

By chasing the children out
of their businesses all they are
doing is foisting the problem

onto someone else
Now, the busine
Hey, those kids arent

S owner
might sav
our problem. We'll
banishing them completely

olve it hy

But my response to that sont of
chetonie is that itis about ime that
we all understand, as) human

beings. thatthe children of our

community ots) everybody s
responsibility

Oh, as for remembering
back to my high school years, I
can assure you that I choose
not to remember those turbu
lent days

There is an advantage to being
my age—people no longer treat
me as a second-class person

if you have any

or th about this week's Cheek to Cheek, feel free to

if you have a

bj. that you

send us your comments in a letter to the editor c/o The Castlegar Sun.
like to see debated In the Cheek to Cheek
column, Karen and John would love to hear your suggestions.

Call the newsroom at 365-5579 or fax us your t

and

s at 365-7762

There is more to gardening than dirt

“That's hysterical,” my friend
squealed as I stuck my hand in
the dirt and popped out a few
potatoes. She stood there, a suc-
cessful, intelligent grownup,and
watched in awe, because she
never really knew where potatoes
came from

Often friends come by during
the gardening season and are
offered some produce to take
home with them. Time after time
they are delighted and surprised
to see food actually hanging off
plants right there in the yard.

I am surprised by their sur-
prise, and how far people have
removed themselves from the
sources of their food since the
Industrial Revolution

This disconnection, I think, is
cause for great concern. We, as
an intelligent. social species—a

species of animal, don’t forget
have become separated from one
of our fundamental reasons for
getting up in the morning. We
need to find food in order to sur-
vive and continue our species. In
one sense, this is IT: the meaning
of life

Somewhere between cashing
our cheques and pacing a shop-
Ping cart up and down the aisles
of the supermarket, something
very valuable has been lost. The
fruits of our labour have become
less edible and less meaningful
home equity, durable goods.

There is hope, though. I have
been part of an unlikely group of
urban poor who got together and
grew gardens, and made compost
where there had been empty
building lots

We learned to provide for our

Do you have a gem of wisdom or a point of view you would like to share
with our readers? If so, the Castlegar Sun welcomes your submissions. The
My Turn column should be typewritten and contain 400-600 words.Please

selves and others directly, and as
our gardens grew, so did our self-
respect. Human dignity, self
reliance and gardening are linked,
it seems.

Although this is not an urban
centre, we are beginning to suffer
more of the problems of urban
civilization and could do well to
adapt the allotment garden system
to our communities to augment
our familiar backyard gardens.

There is a lot to rediscover
about ourselves, our cultural
roots, and our niche in the world,
and although it's getting late in
the season, there's still time to
plant radishes,

Ruth Parrish is a resident of
Nelson, having moved from the
East Coast four years ago. She
has a bachelors degree in fine
arts, and owns a-design and

call The Castlegar Sun for more information at 365-5266.

illustrating business. Needless t;
say Ruth ts also an avid organi:
gardener

Wednesday, September 15,

Letters to

the Edito

stlegar

Sun

Page 7A

Disca

Dear Editor

Believe it or not, dear little
Castlegar is not immune from
problems which face the larger
urban centres

What started as a fun evening
out with the kids turned into a
weekend of worry. As we headed
to one of the local restaurants
downtown for dinner, our three
year old (who has a habit of inves

Ugating pieces of garbage on the
ground), stopped and picked up
some broken glass in the treed area
between city hall and the Bank of
Montreal—right beside the side
walk on Columbia Avenue. We got
him to put it down, but what we
didn’t see him pick up was a small
orange piece of plastic

We headed to the restaurant and
ordered our meal. After a time, we

Noticed our son was holding thi

orange piece of plastic between the

his lips. We took it from him thi
thinking it was a plastic plug used
for putting screws into gyproc

On closer investigation, and to me

our absolute horror, we discov un

ered it was the discarded needle we:

part of a syringe the
Our minds raced...AIDS was
Probably not a risk since the virus

Today’s Canadians need. new

Dear Editor;

The Election has now been calle
to Canadians to choose who will lead them

The choice they make will depend upon
their view of who has the best plan for the

future

Kim Campbell is taking the Conservative
It will focus on
ing spend
ing to areas which will create economic
activity and employment without increasing

Party in a new direction
reduction of the deficit by focu:

taxes.

We must spend smarter, not more. She is

d. It is up

renewal

feel it is time for

a leader with a vision for the future of Cana

ader who listens and responds
She represents real change
The party has gone through a process of
Twenty-five of thirty-two candi
dates in British Columbia are new candi
dates who have not been elected before but
more open government
I am prepared to make the personal com
mitment to the people of this riding that is

Revelstoke

These
us on the high
we are on that

future, not a re

required. We have not been well represented

over the past 5 years

in Kootenay West

Donations needed for Romania

Dear Editor:

A call to grandparents and all
others who care.

As a retired school teacher I
have felt as others do when we
retire, that our really useful life
may be over. Then we met local
grandparents, Dave and Phyllis
Rathjen who act as if “‘life begins
at 50”. In a holiday visit to
Romania they saw the needy peo-
ple and suffering children, but
instead. of saying, “terrible, but
what can a couple of old folks
do”, they proceeded to build a
“pipeline” with a dedicated per
sonal distribution system from
our abundance in Canada to the
hungry of Romania

(You need to hear their stones
about weeks with Romanian cus
toms officials and the bureaucra
cy left from Ceausescu days')
They go back to Ploiesto again
this fall tor three
Supervise distribution and take on
to stan a-ha

months to

a new challenge
way house to prepare orphans
with documentation needed for
adoption

I say, “Bravo!” and “can we be
of help?” They say
need to keep our pipeline filled
and funds for shipping and the
half-way home”. So that is why
we wnite this'S.O.S to all the big
hearted folks of Castlegar. We
have lived and worked here most
of our lives and know this is one
of the greatest places with some
of the best people so why not
show the world we care by filling
a container of foodstuff and send
ing it as a practical love gift from
Castlegar.

In order to pass customs in
Romania they need’a standard.
ized box of food, so Dave and
Phyllis use the list of Canadian
Food Grains Bank which helps
all Eastern Europe and Russia

We can add a little decoration
and colorful sweets (gum or
smarties, etc.) but need to stick
close to this list: flour 2kg; sugar
2 kg; pasta 2 kg; rice 2 kg; dry
soup mix 1/2 kg / 4-S00gm; dry
fruit juice mix 500 gm; canned
beef or fish 2 kg; liquid cooking
oil - 21 litres ( in tin or sealed in a
plastic bag or plastic bottle.); for-
tified powder milk 2kg; tea 100
bags: solid chocolate bars 250

Yes, we

365-2213

CASTLEGAR
JEWELLERY
REPAIRS
Restoring & Designing

2721 Columbia Ave
(maxt-to IGA)

365-6450

gm. Charitable donation receipts
are available from Canadian Food
Grains Bank by a form with the
container.

Pat Metge at the Regional
Recreation Centre has joined in
support by providing an area for
Pick up of cartons and return of
supplies as well as churches and
others who may get involved

You can pick up a carton, fill it
decorate it if you wish or add a
card and return it by Oct 4-8th and/
or donate money for shipping or
filling boxes (costs about $10 to
ship about $45 to fill). Shipping

date must be before the middle of
Oct. - Thanksgiving Day.

Please consider helping with
this Castlegar & District Project of
Practical Love. Phone Bob and
Betty Sahlstrom at 365-5180.

PS. In considering the effort, I
said to Betty, “‘What is the point of
doing this because it won't solve
all their problems.” She replied
‘No, but it will give them new
hope and lift depression by simply
showing that someone cares."
That’s the wisdom and love of a
grandmother!

Bob Sahistrom

does not survive

onsultation

verified the hospital

We can do much better
elected as part of the conservative
The Liberals want to
They promise morc
are the

We need new policies

tor long outsick
body -but Hepatitis B wa
Mt possibl

A trip to to the hospital and
with a doctor and the
dical that
less his skin was punctured, we
re probably O.K.. On Monday

Health Unit's Medical Officer

tatl suggested

position

Parents — please, please

politics

warn

and will if I am
team
return us to the 60's
spending to create jobs
same policies that started
deficit, high inflation cours¢
has been so difficult to break

and a-plan for the

version to the past

Suffredine,

DINING LOUNGE
Open 4 p.m. Daily

365-3294

Located 1 mile South
of Weigh Scales,
Ootischenia.

Celgar, Westar and Cominco
vouchers accepted

rded syringe raises concerns

your children not to Pick up thin That child could be someone

of which they are unsure of. Yout Ou care for, too

lives could change in an instant! Two Concerned Parents

To those who abuse druy

there is little we could sav to make
you change your lifestyle, but it
you have any sense of re Spgnsibil
ity left, don't leave your néedle

laying around which can destroy
an innocent child's life and that of
those who love them

More letters —
page 8A

ELECTROLUX
FREE Pickup
& Delivery
Every Week
Sales * Supplies « Repairs

HEALTHTECH
THERAPIES
INTERNATIONAL

'MTERNATIONaL Ge A!
ARE INVITED TO ATTEND THE

GRAND OPENING
OF

HEALTHTECH THERAPIES INTERNATIONAL
‘on Sunday, September 19, 1993
from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Located at Blue Mountain Lodge
81 Kingsley Road, Christina Lake B.C
(turn at Kool Treat and towards lake)
Healthtech Therapies offers the-follo ing health services to
the Kootenays
* Colon Hydrotherapy (a completely safe and risk free
personal hygiene treatment new to Canada)
* Touch for Health * Deep Muscle Isolation Therapy
«Laser Therapy © Cranio-Sacral Therapy
¢ Electro-Lymphatic Drainage
Sharon Patricia
Hample @7d Albright
Will be pi to you and your
questions. Natural refreshments will be served.

447-6356

All Our Best From

Castlegar Foods

PRICES EFFECTIVE
SUN. SEPT. 12 TO SAT. SEPT. 18, 1993

Castlegar Foods - 635 Columbia Ave.,
Castlegar * 365-5755

Made in Store

PORK SAUSAGE

3.05 kg. © Family Pack

3
ei

2

Cut from Canada Grade A Beef ut from Can

TOP SIRLOIN STEA

57 kg. © Family pack 1 39 k

98 §

|
L

ake ae san

“Highliner

TEMPURA FISH & CHIPS

700 gram ¢ GREAT PRICE

O49

BEEF SHORT RIBS

Burns

COOKED HAM

69:

ada Grade A Beef

© Family pack

99

Ib.

tleqa

DINNER BUNS

50 Ib. Box

2.84 lite © While

Red Choice

TOMATO KETCHUP

99
4”

98

P 25 lb. Bag

Pink Salmon

stocks last S ol Giana ue
Bag

| B.C. Grown No, 1
25 Ib. Bag

GREEN

CABBAGE

a.

ST 48

Mainstay

DRY CATFOOD

$

Nabob |

GROUND COFFEE

1 kg. Tig * Regular grind® Limit 1 wh

1 with $

4

} ‘
le stock

LARGE

$598

—GG

5.00 grocery order

8‘

2 LITRE MILK
ST 9

—_____}

Foods

We reserve the right to limit quantities.
HOURS:

Mon. - Thurs., & Sat. 9 - 6, Fri. 9 - 8

OPEN SUNDAYS * 10 AM- 5 PM