SS Castlegar News November 17, 1985 WEA THER Kootenay region is on the cl valleys will gi I will remain at the surface. [2] EE) Ee) [2 [2 man over all but the Southwestern corner of the province. The n edge of the cold air, and will remain so through Monday. he occasional flurries, but little accumulation 1s expected. Ihe HNL princanorn Westar. Timber's Celgar pulp mill ‘will take an ex- tended shutdown during the Christmas/New Year's per- iod “because of the deteri- orating pulp market.” Plant engineer Merv Rush said Friday the mill will close when the last shift leaves at 7 a.m. Dec. 21 and start. up when the 7 a.m. shift reports for work Jan. 6. The mill normally budgets SPECIALS FOR YOU Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday THIS WEEK OLD FASHIONED CHICKEN NOODLE Dinner Hams| SOUP MIX suas rouse. JY ‘plans extended shutdown for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Jan. 1 closures. Rush said one boiler will be kept operating in the steam plant to provide warmth for the pulp mill and to supply energy for Westar's South- ern Wood Products sawmill. Meanwhile, in his monthly company newsletter, Westar Timber president Sandy Ful- ton says pulp prices are ex- pected to remain soft “well into 1986.” - “The oversupply of bleach. ed-kraft pulp in NorScan countries shows no sign of letup in the coming months,” he says. Fulton says the company will have to keep costs down and production up if it is to remain competitive and “limit any possible downtime over the next few months.” lumber mar- SMOKED PARTY GHERKINS MANZANILLA OLIVES OYSTERS MARACHINO CHERRIES sa, 5] 19|s2. $759 JUICE wore OR 5 cece? 1 79 480. TIN.... FOODS 2717 Col ee BRUNSWICK SARDINES TIN cers 299°: CENTRA| Snop-Easy oops | Ganiboer kets are also still relatively flat. “The market is now over- supplied because of the pro duction records being set in every lumber producing re- gion,” Fulton says. On a positive note, Fulton points out that Celgar Pulp increased production in the third quarter, with a record 577 tonnes per day estab- lished in July. And Southern Wood Products has increased pro- duction by 34 per cent and lumber recovery by 32 per cent. Ministry Duck re-elected to RDCK approves | ‘funding _ By CasNews Staff The Ministry of Education has approved funding for an economic development ten- tre“to be located at the Castlegar campus of Selkirk College. A deal was reached Friday between’ college principal Leo Perra and ministry offi- cials but_no details of the agreement were released. “I'm not sure of the de- tails,” Castlegar campus dir- ector Jim Cromwell said, adding that Perra phoned to say he had reached an agree- ment but did not reveal the terms. Cromwell said he didn't know if “they have approved the original amount we asked for.” Perra could not be reached for comment. The college's proposal call- ed for $150,000 for the first year of the centre's operation and_ $87,600 for each year thereafter. The centre — called the West Kootenay Enterprise Development Centre — would be funded by the Ed- ucation Ministry's Local Economic Renewal and De- velopment Fund. Selkirk College suggests the centre could be used to help ‘entrepreneurs . prepare business proposals, including things like profit and cash flow projections. The centre would also coordinate financial and man- agement training for owner/ operators and upgrading training for employees. Woman sentenced CRANBROOK (CP) — Linda Bohnenkamp, 22, was sentenced Friday to six years in jail for her part in the death of her infant daughter. Bohnenkamp's boyfriend, Corey Soper, 23, received the same sentence last month. By etapa TE CDE RBANE Electoral Fee My pealcrrurg Peter Duck was re-elected to} the Regional District of Central’ Kootenay board Saturday-night in one of two elections ‘held. in the: regional -district. Verigin who had 259 votes. , And Area F incumbent Dave Pearce won by 4 slim three-vote margin over challenger Nick Bowolin. Pearce had 224 votes to Bowolin’s 221 votes. Results are. unofficial. Three referendums were also held in the RDCK with two of them being defeated. TRUSTEES— ~ continued from front page — 94 to 75 — until the results from Ootischenia were tallied. There, Anutooshkin clobbered Rourke by 79 votes — 123 to 44. In Blueberry, Rourke polled 42 votes to Anutooshkin’s 24, while in Robson the vote was close — 51 to 46 for Anutooshkin. In the advance poll, Rourke shut out Anutooshkin 6-0. Joining Anutooshkin on the board will be newly elected Area I trustee Ed Conroy of Pass Creek. Conroy, who ‘works for Westar Timber's Marine Division, defeated Eileen K of Glade by a slim 32 votes — 235 to 203. Alex Reibin of Shoreacres finished a distant third with 36 votes. Conroy said his initial reaction to his election was “surprise.” “We were trailing by 72 votes before” the Pass Creek results came in,” he “It was Pass Creek that put us over the top. Conroy ‘polled” 143 votes in Pass Creek to Kooznetsoff's 39. In Shoreacres, Conroy placed third with 13 votes, while Reibin had 19 and Duck, with 559 votes, won over Nick’ Voters from South Slocan to Elliott in Area H voted 425 to 151 in favor of fire protection ‘service. The referen- dum called for the regional district to establish three fire halls, one in Crescent Valley, one in Slocan Park -and the third in’ Winlaw. Each fire hall is to-be fully “manned with volunteer firefighters and will be equipped with one pumper truck and one tanker truck having between them the capacity to carry a minimum of 6,819 litres (1,500 gallons) of water. The regional district is proposing to. buy second-hand tanker and pumper trucks through Selkirk College's retro- fitting program. Each truck would be certified for a minimum of 10 years. The annual cost of the fire protection will be $160,000. Cost of land and buildings for a 20-year term is $32,130, with another $54,867 for. trucks and equipment for a 10-year term and $73,003 for operation and maintenance. Voters in New.Denver, Silverton and a defined portion of Area H voted 233 to 198 against a referendum ’to pay for capital and ‘operational expenses required to operate the New Denver Arena. If approved, the referendum would have given the regional district authorization to borrow a maximum of $64,000 for a 10-year ern and levy a tax jent to g of $20,000 per year to meet the annual cost of maintenance and operation: A referendum for a recreational facility on the Creston flats was also defeated 94-22.” By CasNews Staff There were probably a few numb noses and tingling toes around Castlegar this week as the West Kootenay experienced some record cold temperatures. Record low mean temperatures were set on the first four days.of the week, said Jim Richards of the Castlegar weather ‘office. Mean temperatures are calculat- ed by adding the daily Cold weather sets records record of -3.3 set 19 years ago in 1966. The mean on the 12th was -4.1, slightly more than- one degree colder than the record low mean of -3.0 set in 1978. A mean of -4.0 on Nov. 13 tied the record set in 1978. But while the cold was constant,” there were no record low temper- atures. “It was very close,” Richards said, and and “one- or taking the average. For example, a high of 20 and a low of 10 gives a mean temperature of 15. : On Nov. 10, the mean temper- ature was -2.5, breaking the 1978 record of -1. On Remembrance Day, the mean was a biting -4.7, well below the old of a degree from the records. As for daytime highs, Richards said the weather office stopped keeping track of record low max- imum temperatures several years ago. = “It got too confusing keeping track of high lows and low highs,” Richards said. Briefly Kooznetsoff 41. Koozietsoff~ also, polled ahead of Conroy in"Tarrys — 123 votes to 79. “We had a lot of people who worked really hard,” Conroy said. He said it is too premature to discuss his immediate plans for his role on the board. “My first goal was to get on the board,” Conroy said, adding that he will formulate his plans over the next month or so. Conroy replaces incumbent Lovette - Nichvolodoff as Area I trustee. Nichyolodott | did not seek re-election. The Crown is appealing So- per’s sentence. Bohnenkamp and Soper were convicted in September of manslaughter in the death of 13-month-old Deidre Boh- nenkamp. The child collapsed and died Jan. 19,..1984. Evidence during the trial showed Soper shook the baby so violently while feeding her that brain damage resulted. Crossword City Tour. . . answer in Wednesday's paper 18a Dockhunets LZ Neloyed an 120 before 117 Arabian 118 Auld lang ~ Faeroe jwinds 122 Hoty ones: abbr Cs oa QNenus pDHvVinreNy Today's Cryptoquip clue’ Q equals F QUBDRNYY LYNIAF LPBRYAE VAASS DB 4DHSE sLYeD AVS This Cr d Puzzle d by the following busi COLUMBIA COIFFURES Ph. 365-6717 WANETA WICKER & THE KITCHEN CORNER 1458 Bay Ave., Trail 368-8512 SCHNEIDER'S SORE BAMONISCD BUILDING SUPPLIES LTD. Wanete Junction 368-6466 TRAM PAUL’S PLACE LTD. CHRYSLER — DODGE — PLYMOUTH Waneta Junction, Trail ff said she is in ie result of the close race. _ “I'm disappointed, certainly. But I think Ed has a tough year ahead of him,” she said. “I wish him the best.” Voter turnout in Area I was 27 per cent. “ED CONROY ..-Areal TONY GUGLIELMI . unseats Krull Court news By CasNews Staff Legion bingo is hanging on. Last month, the Castlegar branch of the Royal Canadian Legion said it would have to give up its Thursday and Sunday bingos at the end of October because of stiff com- petitition from larger opera- tions. But Dorothy MacPherson, chairman of the Legion's Thursday night bingo com- mittee, said a change to an all-paper bingo on Thursday's has given the game a tenuous boost at the branch. “This is our last push,” MacPherson said in an inter- view Friday. In: Castlegar provincial court this week, Trent Sin- clair pleaded -guilty to two counts of possession of stolen property and was sentenced to six months in jail and placed on probation for two years on each count. *- Thé sentences are to be served concurrently. Sinclair also pleaded guilty to three counts of failing to comply with conditions of re- lease and was sentenced to seven days in jail on each count, to be served concur- rently. Judge Bruce Josephson also sentenced Sinclair to six months in jail and placed him on probation for two years after he pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving. Sinclair will also serve that * term concurrently. By CasNews Statt Castlegar council hopes to . . .. . make it easier for businesses Robert White pleaded guilty to driving with a blood- aleohol count over .08 and was fined $400. oe Peter Stroes was found guilty of driving with a blood-alcohol count over .08 and_was fined $200. : Sell 365-7515 1106 3rd St., Castleger T n to locate in the city’s indus- trial park. Council this week gave two readings to a bylaw which will relax some of the park's zoning restrictions. The bylaw came at the urging of the city’s industrial commission, a volunteer ‘group of eight local business people. The commission was estab- lished two years ago to try to market the park, but so far has had marginal success. There is only one tenant in the park, the Castlegar Ani- mal Hospital, though a sec- ond tenant is on the way af- ter the commission secured a $159,000 grant earlier this year to ‘construct a new building. ‘The building will be leased “If this doesn’t work, we'll go down.” MacPherson said the Le- gion held its second all-paper bingo this Thursday and that the “crowds were a little better.” “We made a slight profit,” she said. A revival of Legion bingo would benefit local charities. “The Christmas hampers will get another shot in the arm” from the revival, Mac- Pherson said. The Legion must donate at least 20 per cent of the gross revenues from its bingo games to charities by law. But the percentage do- nated is often closer to 30 per Council relaxes. to Elektro-Dohmen Enter- prises. The -Castlegar firm plans to relocate in the new year. Another prospective ten- ant for the park was Chang's -Nursery and Florists Ltd. However, Jung Chang said in an interview Friday he is not going to move from his 9th Avenue location. “We're not going,” he said, adding the new building would have cost too much. Council approved a_ re- zoning application by Chang to permit him to locate the nursery at the park. However, Chang said the park's zoning didn’t play any part in his decision not to move. He said he couldn't ar- range financing. Chang also said he can- celled a $34,000 federal Can- ada Works grant he received for the project. Legion continues bingo cent, MacPherson said last month. - Even with the better crowds from the first two paper bingos, MacPherson said it will “take another two to three weeks” before the Legion can assess whether to carry on with the games. But: “it looks promising,” she said. The stiffest competition to Legion bingo comes from the area's swim clubs, particu- larly the Robson River Ot- ters which~holds a bingo about every two weeks at the Community Complex. In addition, Playmor Hall recently introduced a weekly all-paper bingo. zoning The park's relaxed zoning restrictions include allowing bulk fuel sales and storage, and retail sales, including showrooms and display areas. “I think we're making a fair number of changes,” said Mayor Audrey Moore. Moore said the changes should provide broader uses. -In a memorandum to coun- cil, city clerk Ron Skillings said the planning committee and industrial commission agreed at a joint meeting “that the economic conditions of today’s marketplace war- rants some relaxation to the zoning requirements to assist with the selling of lots in the park.”- The bylaw will be referred to the commission for com- ments, returned to council and given third reading Nov. 26. It will then go to public hearing Dec. 10. HAIDAS ARRESTED» SANDSPIT (CP) — Three Haida Indians were arrested ‘and charged with’ mischief’ Saturday as RCMP officers moved to dismantle a barrier on Lyell Island that had. kept.loggers from their jobs for more than two weeks. Police officers, instructed to act with tact: and diplomacy, arrested three Haida elders out of a group of about 25. The trio was taken by helicopter where they appeared in this community before a justice of the peace and were released. Charged were Watson Price, 80, and Ada Yovan- ovich, 67, both from Skidegate and Ethel Jones, 65, of Masset. As a condition of their release, the three were ordered to keep the peace and refrain from interfering with logging on Lyell Island. They are to appear in court Jan. 29 in Queen Charlotte City. MORROW STARTS CLIMB VANCOUVER (CP) — B.C. Shee Pat Morrow has started his Antarctic assault camp on the shoulders of Vinson Massi Bart Lewis, an associate of the expedition, said from his office in Banff that a telex from South America stated that Morrow and his team had established their first Camp at the 2,700-metre level. With ideal weather conditions, the Kimberley- based climber could stand atop the 5,140-metre-high Massif in three days. Lewis said the hardest part of climbing Massif, one of the world’s most remote mountains, is getting to the base. Working with a South Korean. joint climbing- scientific expedition, Morrow's team arranged for a Twin Otter, equipped with special fuel tanks, to make the 2,000-mile flight to the mountain from the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego. PATIENT STABLE EDMONTON (CP) — Wayne Yee is in critical but stable condition after becoming the third person to receive a heart at 's Univer- sity Hospital. A hospital spokesman said Yee, 38, from Prince Rupert, was in the intensive-care unit, where he is expected to remain for at least two weeks. Yee received the heart of an Foaeeneaaprn donor from southern ight-h transplant operation that began shortly before mid- night Wednesday night. LOSS CALCULATED OTTAWA (CP) — Parents in most parts of Canada will lose $11.28 in family allowance payments next year for each of their children‘under 18 if a bill now before the Commons becomes law. * The exact size of the loss was d by The ‘CRUNCHED . ... Driver of 1975 Olesmebile:, oy! Mailey of Trail, is in 22 near Fairview subdivision. Two others were also sent toh following three-car crash Friday morning on Highway HEAD-ON COLLISION —CosNews Photo by Ron Normen Trio injured in crash By CasNews Staff A three-car collision Fri- day morning on Highway 22 sent three people to hospital and resulted in approximate- ly $11,500 damage to the ve- hicles, Castlegar RCMP re- rt Mildred Connatty, 40 of Canadian Press following the release of the last necessary piece of information, the consumer price index of Statistics Canada for October. A senior official of the Health Department confirmed ‘the calculations at CP's request. The Conservative government is planning to trim cost-of-living increases in the baby bonus as part of a larger campaign to reduce the size of the federal deficit. STAR WARS FAVORED NEW YORK (REUTER) — A majority of the American people now favor President Ronald Reagan's Star Wars defence system and is unwilling to give it up as a price for an arms reduction agreement with Moscow, a new poll indicates: Fifty-five per cent of the public now favors plans to develop the space-based weapons system and 38 per cent oppose it, the poll by ABC News and the Washington Post said. Less than a month ago, the public was divided on the question and in July a majority opposed the system. COCAINE UNROLLED MIAMI (AP) — U.S. Customs officers unrolled 8,000 carpets after a trade# who bought them at a police auction found cocaine worth+$340,000 hidden in one. * ay The carpets, imported from Colombia, had been seized in March 1984 by U.S. narcotics agents during a raid on a warehouse where smuggled cocaine was found. They were left untouched at a police depot until being auctioned off a few-days ago. The owner of a chain store who bought the lot for $2,000 found 4.5 kilograms of pure cocaine as he rolled few carpets out to put on display. Police found no drugs in the other 7,999 rolls of carpet. KATE STRENGTHENS CORAL GABLES, FLA. (AP) — Hurricane Kate slowly strengthened Saturday as it lingered about 180 nautical miles north of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and began a slow drift west, the U.S. National Hurricane Centre said. Kate, the 11th named storm of the 1985 Atlantic Hurricane season, was centred at latitude 21.1 north and longitude 65.4 west, not far from where it developed early Friday, forecaster Gil Clark said. BOOKS BANNED HARARE (REUTER) — Books about ivory smuggling, sexual technique and ninjas have been banned by Zimbabwe's government. No reason for the action was given. Notification of undesirable publications is routine in the weekly Government Gazette, but rarely extends to popular paperback novels. The ivory-smuggling book is The Leopard Hunts in Darkness, by popular African novelist Wilbur Smith. It centres on an ivory-smuggling ring in con- temporary Zimbabwe involving a fictional cabinet minister. Cc was on the highway at 11 a.m. when she lost control of her 1975 Dodge four-door sedan in the slippery conditions about one kilometre south of the Fairview subdivision, the police said. Connatty’s car crossed the centre line and sideswiped a northbound 1976 Ford four- by-four pick-up driven by William Junker, 42, of Castle- gar, according to the RCMP report. The police say ‘Connatty’s car then began to spin and was struck on the right rear side by a northbound 1975 Oldsmobile driven by Jay Mailey, 26, of Trail. Connatty’s. vehicle then went down a 20-metre em-_ bankment on the east side of Highway 22 before coming to rest on its side. Connatty, Mailey, and Carol-Lynn Levick, 17, of Trail, a passenger in the Mailey car, were removed from the scene by Castlegar ambulance attendants and taken to Castlegar Hospital, the report says. Mailey was transferred to Trail Hospital where he re-" mains in satisfactory contl- tion, an RCMP spokesman said Saturday. Connatty is in good condi- tion in Castlegar - Hospital and Levick was treated and Poor economy hurting local organizations By CasNews Staff The economic downturn is having an effect on local groups and organizations, the chairman of administration and finance committee told council this week. “Due to the present econ- omic. situation many organi- zations are finding it difficult to continue operating,” Ald. Bob MacBain says in his annual report. “This has resulted in in: creased demands on city funds which are also limited,” he added. _MacBain said one of the most difficult situations the committee faced in 1985 was the distribution of grants and donations. Because of the large num- ber of requests, he said the committee has established a policy requiring all grant ap- plicants to submit their pre- vious year’s financial state- ment and current year's bud- get with their request. As well, all grant requests must be submitted by Dec. 31 for the following year's re- quirements. In other council news this week, Ald. Carl Henne said e S u Province won t By CasNews Staff The provincial government is being non- -committal the Kiwanis soccer field will be ready for use in 1986. Henne, chairman of the parks and recreation commit- tee, made the comment in his annual report. He said coun- cil closed the field in 1984 be- cause of the poor playing surface. “After a year of intensified maintenance on the facility the surface has responded very well and will be in com- plete use in 1986,” he said. Henne also said the Castle- gar Gyro Club plans to have the ball field at the .Com- munity Complex ready for use in 1986. released, said. Junker and his passenger, Barbara Junker, were not in- jured. Connatty has been charged with failing to confine a motor vehicle to the right side of the road, the RCMP said. the spokesman * . Cathy Laktin, 17, of Castle- gar, was westbound on High- way 3 when she came around acorner one kilometre east of the Kinnaird overpass and lost control of her 1981 Chev- ette, running into a ditch, Castlegar RCMP report. Laktin was not injured and damage to the car-is esti- mated at $3,000, according to police. The accident occurred at about 8:30 a.m. Friday. ee A collision at 9:15 Friday morning near the Broad- water Road turnoff on High- way 3A resulted in a total of $5,000 damage to two cars. The slippery road condi- tions resulted in a 1978 Ford pick-up driven by John Sook- ochoff of Grand Forks col- liding with a 1977 Ford pick-up driven by Gerald - Evin of Castlegar. oe fe A Plymouth driven by Doris Aussant of Castlegar slipped off Highway 3A near the Brilliant bridge about 8:30 Friday morning and re- sulted in $800 damage to the _ car. commit to dam “However, such projects are also expensive and project selection and timing must be based on cost-minimization about a proposal to install generators in Keonlersice dam. In a letter to C. objeuilves for the B.C. Hydro system as a whole. Committee chairman Gary Maloney, B.C. etiaiiter of Energy Stephen-Rogers says he fully expects the it of the B.C. Hydro system, individual timing is based on the lowest cost sequence of projects to meet generators at the dam would be “one of the next projects undertaken” by B.C. Hydro, but “it may not be the first.” Rogers was responding to a letter. Maloney sent to Premier Bill Bennett Sept. 6 asking the government to take another look at the Keenleyside project. The CEDC sent the letter after Bennett said the government is considering going-ahead with the Site C project on the Peace River if an export market can be found for the hydro power. CEDC secretary Richard Maddocks said Thursday the committee will keep giving the Keenleyside project a high Profile despité the government's non-committal response. e main concern is keeping Keenleyside dam in front of the people,” Maddocks said. “We'll get this thing one way or another.” Rogers says in his letter the government understands the region's desire-to go ahead with the project. “The premier and I fully appreciate that new hydro- electric project construction would be an excellent stimulus for the provincial economy, as well as.for the particular regions ”" Rogers says. demand “Current studies of supply options to serve California markets suggest that the Keenleyside project should follow Site C if overall costs are to be minimized,” he says. In its letter to Bennett, the committee noted that in the K dam would have minimal environmental impact, has full public support and will provide unit energy costs five to 10 per cent below those of the $3.2 billion Site C project. The committee also wants the government to consider “Site C separately from Keenleyside. “Keenleyside fits in to the scheme of things anyway, with or without Site C,” Maddocks said. Maddocks also cited as an indication of public support a ‘petition circulated two years ago which received about 2,200 signatures in favor of the Keenleyside project. “It’s not an issue locally,” he said. Maddocks said Maloney will respond to Rogers’ fetter. “We just want.to make sure that they're aware the public wants it,” Maddocks said. B.C. Hydro dropped plans to install wenerators. 2 Keenleyside dam when energy eS : November 17, 1985 Castlegar News A3 Het SOCIETY'S FINANCIAL WOES OVER By RON NORMAN Editor -The Kootenay Society for the Handicapped’s Clay Castle operation has solved its financial woes — at least for now, says the Castlegar branch's president. “At basal peru through a fortunate combination of isin good shape,” Gerry Ehman ia Castlegar council this week. However, Ehman added: “We were really worried about 18 months ago . . . there was serious question as to its viability. “Only the generosity of the people of Castlegar and the efforts of an extremely dedicated board brought us through.” Ehman said the city was also “an important contributor” and thanked council for its support. __ He explained that the Clay Castle is phasing out its ceramics line because of changes.in_the economy and in consumer tastes. As well, ceramics wasn't appropriate for some of the clients at the Clay Castle, he said. Instead, the Society has embarked on a new venture: the Pee Wee Diaper Service. The service is headquarted in Castlegar but will operate in Trail and Nelson as well. Regional board president Norma Collier said the diaper service will not make money, but will not cost the society as much as the ceramics operation. The service is part of the Society's vocational services which employ three full-time workers and costs $90,000 a year. As well, the Society is looking at full- time positions for its clients: with the Doukhobor Historical Society and with a new farm in the stages. The Society is also under contract with the Ministry of Human Resources to recruit, train and administer a life skills service. : zs “This service provides self-help training on an ‘as needed’ basis to i i in the Ehman said. It is designed to allow them to live independently. The Society also operates two residenees for eight handicapped individuals. The homes are staffed 24 hours a” day and programs are designed “to allow the residents as normal and independent life as possible,” Ehman said. Ehman said the, resences cost more than $200,000 to Pi and costs amount to about $400,000 a year — sono of that for salaries for the nine full-time and 11 part-time workers. Collier said the neighbors surrounding the two residences “have been very tolerant.” She noted that there were a few problems when the homes first opened, but those are “behind us.”- The Society also owns and manages four apartments for handicapped persons who live almost completely on their own. FOR COMINCO Province will consider fees VICTORIA (CP) — When it gets a request, the provincial government will consider whether, to reduce water rental fees to help Cominco Ltd. proceed with a new ‘smelter in Trail, Industry Minister Bob McClelland said this week. “But so far as I know, there is no official request at this time,” McClelland told reporters. “If there is one, then we'll consider it.” The federal government last week said it will buy $69 million of preferred, shares in Cominco to help the company build a new $270-million lead smelter in the West Kootenay city of Trail, to replace the 40-year-old éxisting smelter. Federal Energy Minister Pat Carney said Cominco has 90 days to accept the deal. About 300 direct and 300 spin-off jobs are at stake if the company does not replace the existing aging plant. But Cominco officials said the federal assistance is not enough, and that the company must have lower water rental fees from the provincial government before it can start construction of the new smelter. Cominco president Bill Wilson has said that. water rental for the current zinc and lead smelting and refining operations will cost the company $9 million this year, effectively adding two cents a pound to the price of zinc and one cent to a pound of lead. Trail freight disadvantage because of its location, Wilson said, but had a power cost advantage antl ¢ the provincial government increased the water rental. -y. West K ‘Power and Light, eins hydro power for’ Cominco plants, as well as selling electricity to some area municipalities. _ Both McClelland and Premier Bill Bennett said the provincial government has already given substantial tax breaks to Cominco. “In our budget in March, the benefits to “Cominco power from the dam would not be needed this pads what they asked us for — something in the nature of $40 million in property taxes forgiven,” McClelland_said.